Frozen Heart
Getting back into writing these stories... They are always on my mind.
Naruto is slightly grey in this story and it has elements of Killer Instincts.
I don't own Naruto or Killer Instinct
Enjoy
Chapter 6
Naruto woke up early the next day. His focus was on training. That was the only way to get rid of the urge to hurt people. He had to find a place to train in peace, so that he could unleash his full strength. He needed to be away from everyone.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard a knock on the door. Feeling slightly agitated, and somewhat on edge, he slowly opened it. He had a kunai in one hand while the other was on the door handle. He slowly opened till only his head was seen.
"Got a mission dobe." Sasuke said, looking at Naruto with boredom etched on his face. Naruto was slightly surprised by Sasuke's appearance. He thought that no one knew where he lived.
"We just got back from one, and we were told we had a few days off?" Naruto replied, looking at Sasuke as he took a peep through the door.
Sasuke could see that the place was a mess. The door was close to breaking and it had graffiti all over the place. Sasuke knew that this was the red-light district, but Naruto was the first person whom he knew of that actually live here.
"Kakashi-Sensei asked me to get you. He went to get Sakura." Sasuke stated, before turning and walking away. "We're to meet in the Hokage's tower."
Naruto was already dressed and followed after Sasuke. He had left his door unlocked. He knew that there was no point in locking the door, it'll make the idiot villages, even more eager to break in. Besides, he always had his most valuable possessions on him.
Naruto and Sasuke arrived at the Hokage Tower at the same time that Kakashi and Sakura did. Sakura looked tired, and was close to falling asleep. She was dragging her feet, wanting to get back to bed.
"Why did it have to be so early Kakashi-Sensei." She complained in a whining voice.
"Sasuke, you got Naruto. Good." Kakashi said with an eye-smile, ignoring Sakura's complaints. He deliberately sent Sasuke to get Naruto because he wanted him to see what type of surroundings Naruto lived in. Sasuke wasn't the only one whom had bad things happen to him, and Kakashi wanted him to see that.
"I agree with Sakura, why are we here so early?" Naruto asked, looking slightly pissed. He still wanted to blow off some steam, but couldn't because of this early morning call to go on some type of mission.
"We'll just have to find out from the Hokage directly." Kakashi replied whilst taking the lead and walking into the Tower.
Sasuke followed Kakashi, and Sakura went in after them. Naruto remained in one sport for a second, trying his hardest not to lose it. Taking a deep breath, he made his way through the doors of the Tower.
Naruto was surprised when the Hokage welcomed them. "It's good that you are here and I'm sorry to have called you up so early. I understand that you were promised a few days break, but another quest has come up, suited to your skillset." The old Hokage exclaimed, looking at the team assembled in front of him.
Naruto was sceptical about this whole ordeal. He felt that there was something off. Any other team could have gone on this mission, why his. And he also knew that they did not have a particular skillset just yet. They were Genin, they had none what so ever.
"Your mission is to escort a bridge builder back to his home in Nami no Kuni. It has a high risk of ninja intervention, nothing higher than Chunin. It has to look like a normal Genin cell took on the mission. This is to ensure the enemy doesn't become suspicious." The aged Hokage said, while having a sip of his tea. "Normally we would send someone else on the mission, but the client doesn't know about the ninja and he paid specifically for a C rank mission." The Hokage spoke again.
Each member of Team 7 couldn't believe that they'd be going on a mission where the likelihood of trouble is high. Naruto was still sceptical, but thought that it'd be a good way to burn of some anger. Sasuke was thrilled. He finally gets a chance to excel by testing himself against other ninja. Sakura was slightly scared, but felt the need to show off her skill. She was hoping that she could impress Sasuke, and even their Sensei, since he still didn't know about Team 7's training regimen.
"You are to convene at the main gate in an hour. Kakashi will fill you in with the details." The Hokage spoke, letting them know that this was a serious mission. "Oh and do be careful. You may have completed a C rank mission already, but this may be slightly different" The Hokage intoned, dismissing the Genin of Team 7.
Kakashi stayed behind to speak with the Hokage. He knew that there was more to it than what was spoken.
"You wanted to test your team further, so this may be a good opportunity." The Hokage exclaimed. "You and I both know that they are holding back their full potential, especially Naruto. It would be good to see how far they can be pushed." The Hokage followed up.
Kakashi was interested to see just how strong his team was, especially Naruto. Sasuke, he knew, had already unlocked his Sharingan, but he hadn't seen him use it yet, not even in spars. Sakura, Kakashi knew, was starting to get the hang of Genjutsu. She had the control for it. Kakashi also noticed that she had stopped fawning over Sasuke. Naruto was still an enigma. Kakashi read all the reports on him, but still couldn't quite figure him out. One thing he did note was his eidetic memory. It can be both a blessing and a curse.
"The enemy of the client may also have other thugs in his employ. You and your team are to assassinate them. They are to each have their first kills on this mission. I want to see if they can handle the duties of a shinobi." The Hokage explained. Causing Kakashi to stand up a little taller.
"Hai, Hokage-sama." Kakashi replied, before being dismissed. Now the real fun begins.
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura where standing by the main gate. They were in their usual position, Naruto looking out into the open wide world, looking away from Konoha and its foolish inhabitants. Sakura on the left, looking for their Sensei, and Sasuke leaning on the wall looking straight ahead. All directions were covered and Kakashi was once again impressed.
To the untrained eye, they looked like a bunch of teens standing around doing nothing. They did not look like shinobi at all. He saw their client approach the trio and decided to make his presence known.
"Yo." Kakashi exclaimed, appearing in front of the trio. Instead of the annoying outburst from Sakura, Kakashi was faced with silence. He looked at each and noted that they all carried backpacks. All items that they needed were in the backpacks, but it seemed like a slight overkill.
"Well, let's get started shall we." Kakashi exclaimed, whilst scratching the back of his head. "This is our client." Kakashi explained, making a motion for the old bridge builder to step forward.
"My name is Tazuna. The famous bridge builder of Nami no Kuni." The old man exclaimed. Naruto was still looking out the gate while Sakura and Sasuke nodded their head in greeting.
"My name is Sakura and this is Sasuke and Naruto." Sakura replied, pointing to both Genin respectively. "You already know our Sensei."
"So you're the ninja who is supposed to look after me… You don't look that strong." The bridge builder responded. He took a swig of his sake and noted that it felt colder. He looked up just in time to notice that the outside of the bottle had icicles hanging off of it. Feeling slightly afraid, he dropped the bottle and watched it smash on the ground, spreading its' contents all over the place.
"Well… We should get going." Kakashi stated, not waiting for the bridge builder to get in a response. He knew that Naruto was the source of the frozen sake bottle, Kakashi still could not figure him out properly. He had read all the information that he had on Naruto but felt that there was something missing. At first, he wanted to approach the Hokage with his concerns, but felt like the old man was playing him. This he kept to himself, but he always had a hunch that he should be cautious in trusting the aging Hokage, especially with matters involving Naruto.
Naruto was happy to leave the village once more. His lifestyle and circumstances were difficult, but he made do. Finding his home, his place of solace, destroyed after coming back from a mission, really ticked him off. He hoped that they could indeed face some shinobi on this mission, so that he could work off some steam. He was actually contemplating going all out, just to release the built up tension… only if they faced enemy shinobi.
At that thought, he noticed two puddles in the middle of the road. He noted that Sasuke and Sakura noticed them as well, but they continued on as if nothing was wrong. First issue they found was that it hadn't rained in close to a month, and Naruto knew that puddles didn't stick around for long after a downfall.
Kakashi was glad that his team noticed the puddles. He was going to let them handle this one. At that last thought, he substituted himself with a log, just as chains ripped through him. The enemy shinobi had made their move, but Team 7 were a step ahead of them.
"One down…" "…four to go." The pair of shinobi's smirked, one finishing the other's sentence.
Sakura was guarding the bridge builder whilst Naruto and Sasuke took care of the shinobi. Sasuke was the first to move and dispatched his opponent with taijutsu. Naruto utilised his skill with ice to knock his opponent unconscious. It happened in a blink of an eye and the members of Team 7 had barely broken a sweat.
"Well… it seems there was no need for me hiding." Kakashi exclaimed, appearing in front of Sakura and Tazuna.
Kakashi was surprised by the reaction time of his team. It would seem that the enemy shinobi underestimated their opponents. Next time, he knew, they may not be so lucky.
Sasuke and Naruto tied the shinobi to the trees, just as Kakashi finished sending a letter to Konoha, alerting them of their presence.
"It's time to move out… Everything good?" Kakashi asked, looking from his team to the bridge builder. Kakashi noted that Tazuna looked nervous, as if he was hiding something, but because of the mission, he knew better than to question the old man. Something like that could raise suspicion.
