As Team Seven walks to the Mission Desk to get their first C-rank, Ren yawns.
Naruto pauses in his bouncing to stare at Ren.
"Did you just yawn?" Naruto asks incredulously, "How could you be tired! We're getting our first C-rank today!"
"Buddy," Ren says, leveling a blank stare at him, "I was up at three a.m. training with Ino."
Naruto's nose scrunches up.
"Why would you get up that early to train?"
"Naruto, how are you going to become Hokage if you don't get up to train at three a.m.?" Kakashi asks.
Naruto makes a face.
Before an argument can start, Ren buts in.
"He'll probably become Hokage through the power of ramen." Ren says and Naruto nods sagely.
"Never underestimate the power of ramen." Naruto says.
Sasuke snorts.
"Ramen won't make you Hokage," Sasuke says.
Ren shares a look with Kakashi as an argument between the two starts.
"Children," Ren says, interrupting their bickering where before he might have just punched them both, "Do you want to get that C-rank or not?"
That shuts both of them up and gets them back on track. It's silent for a moment before Sasuke speaks.
"I'm older than you."
Ren smirks.
"Then stop acting like a child."
Arriving at the Mission Desk itself is weird. It seems almost like a liminal space, a place where reality isn't quite real.
It's a bit unnerving to tell the truth.
Still, Kakashi looks unnerved and strides in confidently, which leads Ren to believe that Kakashi might be liminal space himself.
"Team Seven requesting a C-rank," Kakashi says seriously. The desk shinobi raises an eyebrow at him and Ren feels his stomach sink as the desk shinobi goes through the list of available missions.
He's not sure whether he wants it to be the Wave Mission or not, because Wave would be predictable, Ren would know what was about to happen and that leaves him feeling more confident in his abilities. Then again, he could mess something up and one of his teammates could die.
Ren does not want his teammates dead, though they could be annoying as all hell, they were his team and Ren does not want any of them dead.
Still, a different mission, a mission that would be less dangerous wouldn't be frowned upon either.
Ren promptly remembers a saying in the Naruto fandom; 'Everyone's first C-rank goes to shit,' and promptly wishes that that isn't true.
He's already on Team Seven, he doesn't need more bad luck.
The desk shinobi fishes out a mission scroll and hands it to Kakashi.
"Escort mission," they say, "You and your genin are going to be escorting a bridge builder to the Land of Waves."
Naruto lets out a whoop of happiness.
Sasuke looks interested.
Ren feels his heart hammer in his chest.
"Alright," Kakashi says, "We accept."
With those words Ren feels as though he's doomed.
The desk shinobi nods.
"Your client will be waiting for you at the main gate at noon."
His mother is, oddly enough, excited to see him off on his first C-rank.
"Remember the essentials," she says, and Ren gives her an annoyed look and is about to protest that 'he is not a child' when he remembers that yes, he is in fact, a child.
So instead he pouts.
His father laughs at him.
"Do us proud boy," Kizashi says, Mebuki just smiles and shakes her head.
"Come home safe," she says as Ren leaves, and Ren can't tell if that's an order or not.
Tazuna, Ren thinks, looks like the type of man Ren would have punched in the face in his past life.
Ren might punch Tazuna in this life too, if the bridge builder keeps insulting Naruto like that.
"Tazuna," Ren says as they wait for Kakashi by the gate, "Ever been punched into a wall?"
Tazuna looks down at Ren and snorts.
"Like you could do that, Pinky," Tazuna says.
Ren scowls and starts to crack his knuckles.
The only thing that stops him from punching Tazuna is the hand that lands on his shoulder. Look back, Ren sees Sasuke.
"He's not worth it," Sasuke says, "An old drunk like him will probably wind up in a gutter somewhere anyway."
Tazuna makes an affronted noise.
Ren, smirks.
"You're right," Ren says cheerfully, "Though why anyone would want to kill him is a mystery."
There's a single clap behind them Tazuna and it gives Ren a vindictive shot of pleasure to see Tazuna jump like that.
"If we're done insulting each other," Kakashi says, "It's time to go."
Ren isn't quite sure what to do with the fact that they were, officially, on the Wave Mission. His whole idea of winging was going down the drain rather quickly as he couldn't stop worrying over what might happen.
What if he changed something for the worse? What if somehow he prevent Naruto from meeting Haku and thus Haku killed Sasuke?
What if?
There were too many 'what if's'. Too many things that could go wrong simply because Ren isn't Sakura.
He can't tell whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. Before he would have said it's a bad thing, that being too involved with canon would simply make things worse for him. But now he had Naruto and Sasuke and he doesn't want to let those friendships vanish.
So he has to do something to ensure Sasuke's safety. He just can't decide what he should do.
Then he remembers Gato, and a plan slowly forms.
Catching Ren's grin, Sasuke, quirks a brow at him.
"Does anything in particular have you grinning like that?" Sasuke asks.
Ren's grin becomes forced.
"Just thinking about the spar I had with Ino earlier today."
"Ohhh," Naruto says from in front of them, slowing down his rapid pace so he could walk beside Ren, "Does Ren have a crush?"
Ren, in no way shape or form, is going to have a discussion about his sexuality with Naruto of all people while they are on a mission.
Sasuke looks interested.
"Do you have a crush?" Sasuke asks, and Ren drags his hand down his face.
"No Sasuke," Ren sighs, "I do not have a crush on Ino."
"Then who do you have a crush on?" Naruto asks, and Ren is vaguely thankful that he knows for a fact Naruto doesn't have a crush on him.
Well, he hopes Naruto doesn't have a crush on him anyway.
That would be awkward.
"No one," Ren says, "I am interested in no one."
Naruto makes a whining noise and Sasuke rolls his eyes at Naruto's antics.
"You just wanted blackmail material," Sasuke accuses Naruto. Naruto, to Ren's delight, doesn't deny it.
The mission seems to be going off without a hitch so far, Ren notes.
He hopes nothing ruins it.
That day and the one after it pass uneventfully.
So of course, it's on their third day away from Konoha, when everything goes to hell.
so i heard you like updates?*laughs nervously* BEEN A WHILE HASN'T IT? fear not though, this story has not been abandoned. i just, needed to focus on some other things for a while and then the inspo for this story vanished so that's why it took me so long to update.
On the other hand! We are almost at 100 reviews! You guys rock!