(A/N: Hello~ how are you all tonight? I'm kinda sleepy… -yawns- I have school tomorrow! -cries- Anywayz, I wanted to update before the Labor Day long weekend was over. Hehe I'm so tired right now though, cause I had a sleepover with one of my best friends last night and we stayed up until six thirty in the morning. We were going to do an all nighter, but she and I kinda… fell asleep -.-' … I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed Snake's Legacy so far. It's you guys who have kept me inspired! ...I know. I'm odd, but I don't own Naruto. How depressing. Anywayz, on with the chapter!)
Chapter 6: The Mission
Snake turned to Hikari and Sasuke. "Snake-chan, go inside immediately. Sasuke, you're coming with me." She ran off, the Uchiha close behind, both following Kankurou. He led them by way of roof top so as not to have to avoid the civilians as they went about their daily lives.
They arrived at the Hokage Tower, ran up the steps, and knocked on the rosewood door of Naruto's office. "Enter."
"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?"
"Hai. I have a mission for you."
Snake-sama frowned as she observed the once-knuckle headed ninja, wondering if he had truly grown. "Hokage-sama, with all due respect, I'm on a mission. I'm guarding Sasuke, so a mission right now is impossible." She still showed the fact that she did not respect the Uchiha by continuing to conveniently leave a suffix off of his name.
"Hm. Then, I guess you will have to bring Sasuke with you. You are to go on a search and destroy mission. Hoshigake Kisame is your target." Sasuke's eyes widened at the name. They were searching for his brother's partner. Maybe Itachi would be somewhere nearby…
"Will Uchiha be able to handle it?"
"He will not be there to fight. Your job is to kill Kisame. His job is to watch, and, if things get too out of hand, to become a distraction while you recover."
"I will not be a distraction. I will help her kill Kisame." Sasuke said, indignantly huffing at the insult to his fighting abilities. "I killed Orochimaru with no help from anyone. How is Hoshigake Kisame any different?" He demanded
Snake turned to Sasuke. "You will only be in my way." She replied emotionlessly, without answering his question, and returned her attention to Naruto. "Continue, Hokage-sama."
"You may bring Snake-chan along to watch the Uchiha. This will be excellent training for her." He smiled at the thought of the small apprentice growing stronger; soon she would be ready for her ANBU test.
"Kisame was last spotted near the borders of Kaze no Kuni and Hi no Kuni, and I'm afraid he will become a problem if left to stay there. You have three weeks to go there, kill him, and return. This is an S-ranked mission. I will send out a rescue party if you do not return within five days of your three week limit. You will leave as soon as you pack. The guards will report to me what time you leave. Check with me as soon as you get back."
"Hai, Hokage-sama. We will be out of Konoha within the next two hours."
"Good. I will see you in three weeks."
Snake turned and left his office, Sasuke following close behind. "So now you're doing a joint mission?"
"Hai. Hokage-sama always does this, but never when I have been on guard duty. He usually sends me on search and kill missions, and tells me I'm in charge of finding someone or some information while I'm out there. But never something like this. Hokage-sama seems desperate to find a way to prove to me that you're trustworthy." She seemed to glare down at him as a smirk appeared on his face.
They arrived home to the Uchiha Mansion and began to search for Hikari. They found her sitting in her room, reading a scroll.
"Snake-chan, you've been given a mission by Hokage-sama. You are to come with me on a search and kill mission to look after Sasuke. Grab your pack, we'll get mine and Uchiha's, and then depart the village."
"Hai." She said, hopping off the bed and gathering said supplies with her mentor's help.
When they were prepared, they walked to the village gates, saying farewell to the guards. Snake was to be the team's leader since it was supposed to be her mission in the first place. "We will make our way as quickly as we can to the spot directed by Hokage-sama to wait for the Akatsuki member Hoshigake Kisame. When he appears, I expect the both of you to stay in hiding and whatever you do, do not come to my aid if I look like I'm losing. Is that clear?"
"Hai, Snake-sama." Hikari said.
"If you're losing, won't you need help, though?" Sasuke wondered aloud.
"No. If it appears that I'm losing, stay out of my fight no matter what. You will only get in my way. Is this clear, Sasuke?"
"Hai." Sasuke growled. He wasn't completely useless, as she seemed to deem him.
"If you get in my way and get yourself killed, it will be your own fault." Snake turned and began to walk away. Hikari followed her. Sasuke fumed and trudged furiously after them.
They traveled in silence for much of the trip, only conversing over directions and duties for the most part. Occasionally, Hikari and Sauske would hold quiet conversations, but those were typically cut short by the elder snake's hostile glances.
After several days of travel, she spoke. "We're nearing the border between Kaze no Kuni and Hi no Kuni. Make sure you stay on our side of the border, clear? If we cross into Wind Country, we could be mistaken for hostiles, and then attacked by ninja of Suna."
"Hai." Sasuke and Hikari said at the same time. Sasuke was apparently, albeit slowly, growing used to having to take orders from someone, for he didn't argue as much. Though he didn't take the orders willingly.
They found a cave near a stream a little ways away from where they were standing. "Why don't we stop here?" Sasuke asked. "That way we're not too close to the border and we can still see who passes nearby."
"This is fine. Snake-chan, I'll go ahead and set up our tent. You can help set up Uchiha's tent if you want."
"Hai, Snake-sama." Hikari agreed, pausing before speaking again. "Is it okay if I help you instead?" She wasn't as comfortable with the Uchiha as she would like everyone to think she was, and she knew he would not welcome the help.
"Aa." The masked woman paused for a minute, thinking. "Wait a moment. I have an idea. Instead of helping me, why don't you gather wood and start a cooking fire."
"Hai." Hikari hurried into the woods after doing a quick, careful scan of the area.
"Is it safe to let her go off on her own? She's only twelve, ne? Is it safe to let her scour the woods for firewood with the Akatsuki on the loose?"
"She has her summoning jutsu, if she is attacked she can let me know, and she's almost an ANBU agent. She can take care of herself. You should be more worried about yourself when we run into Akatsuki members."
Sasuke growled, but turned to set up his tent.
When the task was accomplished, Snake began to pack everything of hers and Hikari's into the tent she had set up, so Sasuke began to put his gear in his tent. Sasuke was pretty sure that she was only doing this because she wondered where Hikari was, but didn't want to seem nervous. "Snake-sama, why are you putting Snake-chan's pack in the tents? Can't she do that when she returns?"
"Snake-chan hasn't returned."
"Are you wondering what happened to her?"
"Hai, who wouldn't?"
"Fine then, are you worrying about what happened to her?"
"Hai."
"Really?"
"Hai. I don't lie unless it's important. I can't not be worried. She can take care of herself, but not against one of the Akatsuki. She's not that-" She broke off and tensed, hearing a rustling sound in the bushes nearby.
This gave Sasuke time to silently puzzle over the fact that she said she didn't lie, but told him that she didn't know who Hikari's father was. It must have been incredibly important that it stay a secret.
No more than a second later, Snake-sama relaxed and Hikari stepped out of the undergrowth. "Snake-sama! I'm sorry I took so long. I found a lot of fire wood, but I dropped it all in the river I found when knelt to get a drink, so I had to go back and gather more. Sumimasen."
"It's fine." Snake said simply. "Let's start the fire now." She took the wood from Hikari and began to pile it up. She backed away from the pile after finishing. "It would be easier if you lit it Sasuke. You have Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu and at least you would be useful for something."
"Why should I do that for you when you're perfectly capable?" He thought for a minute, debating the wisdom of adding the second thing he wanted to say. Deciding to just go with it, he spoke. "And I'm not useless!" His indignant shout made the snakes flinch from the noise. He could have given away their position.
"Light it." Snake ordered quietly, yet forcefully, as she warily looked around as though waiting to be attacked.
"Hn." Sasuke lit the fire.
Snake brought some noodles, rice, and a few slabs of dried beef out of her pack and began to cook it.
Conversation finally flowed lightly around her, but she did not take part in it. She preferred to simply watch the food simmer and listen to the sounds of the growing night. Crickets chirped in the surrounding bushes, and owls began hooting in the distance, all while her two charges conversed.
Snake finished the cooking and they all sat down around the fire to eat. Sasuke tasted his. "You are a good cook." He said, not wanting to admit that her food was truly tasty.
"You sound surprised. Did you think that just because I'm a good ninja, I can't cook?"
"Hai." He admitted with no embarrassment or shame.
"Hn." She replied, using a word from his very own vocabulary. "Hurry up and finish so we can clean up and get to bed. We need an early start in the morning. I'm going to go ahead and go to sleep." Snake said, standing up and going into her tent with her bowl. Sasuke figured she didn't want to eat in front of them because she didn't want to take off her mask.
Hikari and Sasuke soon finished and went to their separate tents. Sasuke was getting ready to go to bed when he heard voices coming from the other tent. Snake was talking to Hikari. She had apparently waited for the younger girl to enter. She must not have wanted him to hear their conversation. But he was curious, so he decided to move closer, hide his chakra signature, and eavesdrop.
"Snake-chan, tomorrow we will be confronting Kisame of the Akatsuki. You need to watch Sasuke very closely. If he gets in my way, it could cost us more than the battle. It may cost our lives. You need to keep him out of my way no matter what. Is that clear?"
"Snake-sama, is he really so weak that he would get in your way in battle?"
"Iie. Actually, he is very strong. Were he not a traitor, he would probably would be fun to spar with. But we have never fought together or against each other before. It is only wise to fight with a partner when you know their strengths and weaknesses. I know nothing about him, so it would be very hard to fight with him by my side."
"Ah. So you want me to keep him out of your way because you have never fought together and that could be perilous to your mission. I will."
"Good. I'm going go ahead and get some sleep, now. You take first watch. Wake me around one, okay?"
"Hai." Snake went to sit down on her sleeping bag.
Sasuke moved stealthily back to his tent, feeling more comfortable with the woman now that he knew she acknowledged his abilities and strength. He allowed himself to fall into a light slumber.
Soon, the elder snake was asleep. Hikari walked out of the tent and sat down on the nearby stump of a tree. She stayed in such a position until the moon's position told her it was one o'clock. Then she walked into the tent to wake Snake. "Snake-sama, wake up. It's your turn to sit watch."
Snake's eyes opened immediately, though the girl could not see them. She looked up at Hikari and nodded her head slightly. "Report?"
"Uchiha hasn't left his tent all night; though I picked up some movement with my Byakugan that led me to believe he hasn't slept much."
"Good. I'll check to make sure he is asleep before I take up my post."
"With all due respect, Snake-sama, do you really think he's going anywhere? I mean, wouldn't he have sneaked off while I was at watch instead of waiting until you started yours?"
"He might have tried to sneak off by digging a hole and leaving a shadow clone in his tent while you were watching, for all you know. I am going to check to make sure he's still there."
"How are you going to do that, Snake-sama? You don't have the Byakugan."
"But I do have stealth. I can look inside his tent without him ever knowing."
"But what if he's awake?"
"Don't worry, just get to sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Shouldn't you have made your watch shorter? I mean, I'm not the one who's going to be fighting Kisame, so shouldn't I have taken a longer watch?"
"I can survive on this much sleep. I've gone on solo assassin missions before where I didn't get much sleep at all because I couldn't let my guard down. Like when I was sent on the mission to detain Itachi for questioning. Just get to sleep, okay." Snake instructed softly.
Hikari was silent for a moment before she agreed. She collapsed on her sleeping bag, giving in only because she was more tired than she wanted Snake to believe.
The older woman walked out of the tent she shared with Hikari and toward Sasuke's. She listened for a moment, hearing nothing but even breathing, and lifted the flap slightly.
Instantly, Sasuke shot up into a defensive position, pulling a kunai from under his pillow and raising it. He grasped the metal weapon in front of his chest and turning to face the shadow at his tent door.
"Why so jumpy Sasuke?" Snake was directly beside him and had his wrist clasped in her hand before he had time to even blink.
"Oh. It's just you." He allowed his rigid stance to relax slightly.
"'Just me' asked a question. Lower your weapon and sit down." She ordered, letting go of the arm holding his weapon.
"Hn." He sat back down on his bed roll and put the kunai underneath it.
"Answer." Snake directed menacingly.
"We're looking for Kisame, aa?" He began, slowly speaking as though he were talking to a child.
"Hai. Why should that matter?"
"Kisame is my brother's partner in the Akatsuki." Sasuke said, spitting out the words 'my brother' as if they were poison.
"You mean Itachi?"
"Hai."
"Demo, why so jumpy?"
"Because he's probably around, too. He killed my entire family single-handedly, didn't you know?"
"Of course I knew that. But why are you worried that he's around here?" Her confusion, apparent by her rarely inflected tone, was not shown in her body language.
"Because he's powerful. I've got to be alert."
"Why are you speaking in present tense? Don't you mean was powerful?"
"What do you mean 'was'?" The demand was anger driven, spoken before he could restrain himself. He almost put his hand over his mouth, but his pride would not allow him to show that he was even slightly worried about her response to his rudeness.
Many times, she had bloodied her hands by wounding him for his disrespect. Each time, he learned his bounds and grew more frustrated with her and her power without being able to stop her. He couldn't retaliate or he would be labeled a traitor, and that was the most infuriating part of his stay in Konoha.
"He's dead." Her words pulled him back to the present. Had his anger not taken over, he may have sensed the slight sadness she allowed to flow into her tone and wondered at it.
"Who killed him?" Sasuke's demand was a furious sentence and he no longer feared her response, a mixture of that reflecting on his face. I'm going to kill whoever killed Itachi. He was supposed to be my target! I was supposed to be the one to kill him! That was the whole reason I went to Orochimaru for training! The whole reason I abandoned Konoha!
"I did." Snake exposed the not-exactly-secret words point blank, leaving Sasuke in even greater shock. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go take my watch post."
(A/N: I congratulate anyone who has figured out who Snake-sama is already. And virtual cookies to you. Her identity will be revealed in/around chapter nine. Read and review please.)