Chapter 9: The Worst Possible Client
Deep in a heavily forested area, Team 7 was carrying out their latest mission.
"Are you in position, April?"Kakashi asked over his headset, coordinating his students movements.
"Yes, I've got the escape route blocked." She reported into her mic. "The target's getting closer, should I engage?"
"Negative. Hold your position for now." He told her. They didn't wan the target slipping trough and getting ahead of them again. "What's your distance to the target?" He asked the others.
"Five meters. I'm ready anytime." Naruto said determinedly.
"So am I." Sasuke said.
"Me too." Sakura added.
"Ok! Go!!" Kakashi ordered them.
"Uraaah!!!" Naruto shouted as the three of them leaped out at their target, catching it off guard.
"!!" The target cried out in alarm and tried to make a run for it.
"Oh no, you don't!!" April said, cutting off the cat's projected path as Naruto pounced.
"Gottcha!!" He said, grinning, as he trapped it in his arms.
"Nyaaa!!" The cat screeched in dismay, already struggling to get free again.
"Aww!! Ouch!!" Naruto yelled as the angry cat began trying to shred his face off with its claws.
"There should be a ribbon on its left ear… Are you sure this is our target, Tora?" Kakashi asked.
"Yeah, we're sure." Sasuke replied while April carefully pried the bristling cat off of Naruto, holding it's legs securely so it couldn't attack.
"Good." Kakashi said. "Lost Pet 'Tora' Search Mission… complete!"
With that, they headed back to report their progress and return in the wayward feline to its owner.
–∞–
The wife of the Land of Fire's feudal lord, Madam Shijimi, was extremely happy to see her beloved Tora again… the feeling did not appear to be mutual. Tears were streaming down the cat's face as she squeezed it tightly and smothered it with love.
"Ohh, my cute little Tora-chan. I was so worried." She cooed to the cat as she snuggled it with an excessive amount of unwanted love.
"Nyaaa!!" Tora screeched as if to say, 'I'll get you for this, you meddling kids!!'
'Gyahaha!! In your face, you stupid cat.' Naruto thought.
'No wonder it ran away.' Sakura and April thought, sweat-dropping.
"Now then, Kakashi's Team 7's your next mission is…" The Hokage said, getting their attention. "Hmm… baby sitting an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighboring village, and helping with the potato digging."
"No!!! No!!! No!!! No, thank you!!!" Naruto shouted abruptly, making an 'x' with his arms. "I want to do, you know, a more incredible mission!!! Find us a better one!!"
'I agree…' Sasuke thought, frowning slightly at the mundaneness of it all.
'I know how he feels, but… We have to go through all of this Mr. Miyagi crap to gain some experience before they'll let us do anything more exciting…' April thought. That's just how the system worked, unfortunately.
'Geez… How annoying…' Sakura thought. Why couldn't Naruto keep his mouth shut?
'I thought it was about time for this…' Kakashi thought with a sigh.
"You idiot!!" Iruka snapped at Naruto, shooting up out of his chair. "You're still just a rookie!! Everyone starts off with the simple duties and works their way up!!!"
"But!! But!! We keep on getting the crappiest possible missions!!!" Naruto complained.
"Quiet, you!" Kakashi said, giving him a quick whack on the head to shut the loudmouth up. He was only digging himself into a deeper hole.
"Naruto!! It seems I have to explain to you what these duties are all about." The Hokage said. "Listen, everyday the village receives numerous requests, from babysitting… to assassination. Each request is written down on these lists… and divided into ranks A, B, C, and D based on difficulty. The village is also divided based on skill. Starting with me, to the jōnins, chūnins, and genins. The missions are then assigned by us at the top to ninjas based on their abilities. And if the duty is completed successfully, we receive payment from the client." He finished explaining while Madam Shijimi was paying. "You guys just recently became genin. D-rank missions are perfect for you." Unfortunately, the one who most needed to hear this wasn't paying attention at all.
"Last night I had pork ramen." Naruto told his teammates. "So, miso sounds good for…"
"If you want something miso flavored, then I'll make miso soup, but I'm not letting you eat instant ramen every night." April said firmly with her arms crossed.
"Hey!!! Listen!!" The Hokage yelled at them. Sure nutrition was important, but they could talk about that anytime!
"I… I apologize…" Kakashi said a bit sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Before he knew it, he had gotten sucked into their little dinner debate, too…
"Geez!! All you do id give lectures like that." Naruto grumbled as he turned back around to face the old man. "But you know what!!? I'm not the troublemaking brat you still think I am!!!" He shouted before turning his back on him again with a huff, pouting.
'No, you've leveled up to 'loudmouthed punk' since then…' April thought with a wry smile.
'I'm going to get yelled at later for this…' Kakashi thought with another sigh. But both Iruka and the Hokage smiled slightly.
'Hehe, he used to only be able to express himself through pranks.' The Hokage thought, pleased with his growth. "All right." He said.
"Huh?" Naruto said, looking back at him.
"If you want it that much… I'll give you a C-rank mission." The Hokage told him, surprising them all. "It's a protection mission of a certain individual."
"Really!?" Naruto asked excitedly, immediately perking up. "Yay!"
'Sweet!' April thought with a grin, though she noticed Kakashi-sensei didn't seem too thrilled about the idea. Or maybe he was just in shock because the Hokage actually agreed with Naruto for once?
"So who is it!!? Who!!?" Naruto asked. "A feudal lord!!? A princess!!?"
"Calm down." The Hokage said. "I'm about to introduce him. Hey, will you come in here?" He called out to the client, who was waiting in the other room. They all turned as the door slid open and saw that their client was an older man in glasses, who was dressed like he was ready for a long journey, and holding a bottle of sake. He must have been drinking it while he was waiting, because his cheeks looked a little flushed.
"What's this?" The old man asked, taking another drink from the bottle. "They're all a bunch of super brats. Especially… the shortest one with the super stupid-looking face. Are you really a ninja? Hey!!?"
'Is he drunk…?' April wondered, sweat-dropping, as Naruto laughed.
"Haha!! Who's the shortest one with the stupid face…" Naruto started to ask as he glanced around at his teammates. They all took a step closer to help make their differences in height more obvious. April was the tallest, followed by Sasuke, then Sakura, and then… "!" Naruto tensed when he realized it was him. "I'll kill you!!!" He shouted with a vein throbbing on his forehead at the man who had just insulted him, while April held him back.
"I understand how you feel, but calm down!" She said with a wry smile, sweat-dropping.
"What's the point of killing the man you're supposed to protect, idiot?" Kakashi chided him, slightly chagrined.
"I am the super expert bridge builder, Tazuna." The old man introduced himself. "I expect you to provide me super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge."
'Something tells me that'll be easier said than done…' April thought as she continued to hold back an irate Naruto.
–∞–
Fortunately, the time allowed for the members of Team 7 to pack and make their own preparations for the mission and the journey ahead of them had given Naruto a chance to cool off, and by the time they were all ready to leave, he was much more excited about the mission.
"Let's go!!!" Naruto cheered enthusiastically as they passed through the village gate.
"Yeah!!!" April cheered in response with shining eyes, equally excited.
'She's sparkling…' Kakashi thought, sweat-dropping.
"What are you two so excited about?" Sakura asked.
"Because… I've never left the village before." Naruto said as he glanced around, trying to take in everything all at once.
"Right!" April said, brimming with anticipation. "Aren't you curious about the world outside?"
'Ah, that's right… Even though she's originally from another world, she's never actually set foot outside the village before.' Kakashi realized.
"Aren't you originally from another country?" Sakura reminded her.
"Oh, well…" April said, sweat-dropping, when she realized the mistake she had just made since only a few people actually knew the truth about her origins. "I mean, it's been a year since I came here, so it feels like forever since I've been outside..." She corrected herself with an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of her neck.
"… Hey!! Am I really gonna be safe with these brats?" Tazuna asked, pointing specifically at April and Naruto, causing both kids to sweat-drop while looking chagrined.
"Haha… Well, I am a jōnin, so don't worry." Kakashi said reassuringly.
'Wow, thanks for the support, Sensei…' April thought disappointedly. 'Well, I guess I was acting a little unprofessional.' She conceded, crossing her arms, as she gave herself a mental kick and to get her head in the game.
'Damn it!!' Naruto thought, seriously irritated. 'This geezer is the worst possible client. I should give him a shot in the face!!' "Hey, old man!!! Don't mess with ninjas!!" He yelled abruptly. "I'm incredible!! One day, I'll take on the super elite ninja title Hokage!!! My name is Naruto Uzumaki!!! Remember it!!"
"Hokage is the village's #1 ninja, right?" Tazuna asked, taking another drink from his bottle of sake. "I doubt someone like you could become it…"
"Shut up!!!" Naruto snapped with a vein throbbing on his head. "I'm prepared to do anything to become Hokage!! Once I become Hokage, you'll have to acknowledge me!!!"
"No I won't, you brat, even if you did become Hokage." Tazuna said bluntly, causing him to flinch in shock.
"…." Naruto grit his teeth as multiple veins throbbed on his head.
'3… 2… 1…' April thought, grabbing onto Naruto to hold him back as he reached his boiling point and exploded.
"I'll kill you!!!" He shouted furiously at the old man.
"I said stop, moron." Kakashi told the fuming genin, giving him what April liked to call a 'Gibbs slap'.
"Umm… Tazuna-san?" Sakura said tentatively after they had been walking for awhile.
"What?" Tazuna asked grumpily.
"You're from the Land of Waves, right?"
"What about it?"
"Umm… Kakashi-sensei? Do they have ninjas in that country, too?" Sakura asked.
"No, not in the Land of Waves." Kakashi replied. "But, in most other countries… The culture and customs may be different, but other hidden villages exist, as do other ninjas. To the many countries of the continent, the existence of a shinobi village means military power. This is how they hold and maintain advantages over each other. But it's not that the villages rule the countries, they merely stand equally with the country's government."
"But if the Land of Waves doesn't have a shinobi village, then doesn't that leave them open to attack?" April asked. She remembered them being pretty much just a dot on the world map that she had studied to brush up on this world's geography.
"A small island country like the Land of Waves doesn't receive much interference from the larger countries and may not need a shinobi village." Kakashi explained. "Since among the countries that use shinobi villages the Land of Fire, Land of Water, Land of Lightning, Land of Wind, and Land of Earth occupy large masses of land and possess immense power, they are known as The Five Great Ninja Powers. Their corresponding hidden villages are Leaf, Mist, Cloud, Sand, and Stone, and only the leader of each of these villages is allowed to carry the title of 'Kage'. Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, and Tsuchikage, otherwise known as the 'Five Kages' reign over the thousands of ninjas that exist in the countries throughout the world."
'In other words… even though the Hokage looks like a decrepit old man, he's actually a badass… like Yoda from Star Wars.' April thought, holding her chin. Sweet.
"Wow!! Hokage-sama is the best!!" Sakura said brightly. 'That lame geezer is that incredible? Sounds fishy…' Inner Sakura thought skeptically.
'That has to be a lie…' Naruto thought, remembering how easily he had defeated the old man using his sexy jutsu.
"You guys just doubted Hokage-sama, didn't you?" Kakashi asked, causing everyone apart from April to flinch guiltily. "But don't worry." He said with a reassuring smile, placing a hand on top of Sakura's head since she looked the most worried. "There won't be any ninja combat in a C-rank mission."
"Then we won't come in contact with foreign ninjas?" Sakura asked, relieved.
"…!" Tazuna said, looking uneasy.
"Of course not!" Kakashi said with a laugh.
"…" Sasuke furrowed his brow as he and April both noticed the odd expression on their client's face.
"That's weird…" April remarked when she spotted a puddle coming up on the side of the road, staring at it as they passed. The rest of the ground was bone dry…
"Don't lag behind." Kakashi said as he too spared the puddle a glance, giving her a nudge to push her forward so that she was in front of him. Behind them, the head of a dangerous looking ninja with a Hidden Mist forehead protector silently emerged from the puddle. Two enemy ninjas rose up from the small puddle and launched themselves at Kakashi, looping their bladed chain around the jōnin in a surprise attack.
"!!" April gasped, spinning around when she felt their killing intent, but it was too late, they already had Kakashi right where they wanted him.
"What!!?" Kakashi said as his eye widened in surprise upon finding himself suddenly restrained.
"Huh!?" Sakura gasped.
"What's this!!?" Naruto asked as Tazuna gasped in alarm.
"One down." The enemy ninja said as they pulled the chain taught. Their eyes widened in horror as they watched the bladed chain slice clean through Kakashi's flesh and bone.