Hey everybody, sorry this update took so long. I won't make excuses I partied to hard this weekend and didn't get around to writing like I should have. Well, anyways I hope everybody enjoys. Feel free to review.
I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.
SETTING OUT
When Temari stepped out of the room Tsunade turned to Kakashi and Sakura and glared at them. "Don't give Naruto more information than he needs to know. I don't want the situation to get worse than it already is." Tsunade said in a low and fierce voice. Kakashi and Sakura both sweat dropped and nodded their affirmatives. Tsunade had received a lot of information earlier from Jiraiya and she worried about what could happen with Naruto. She just hoped that not telling him everything would maybe minimize complications. At that moment the door creaked open and Naruto stepped in. He walked to his team mates and stood next to them. He was unusually somber Tsuanade noted, maybe she had underestimated him. It was to late now there was really no choice. She looked from person to person before she spoke. Naruto said nothing, only stood there awaiting the hokages instructions. Tsunade began to speak. "So we all now know the situation. These will be your assignments. Sakura you will be the medical ninja of the team Kakashi will be the leader and you Naruto will support in any way possible. I'm sorry that I have to send you out so quickly on such a mission, but I trust that you all will be able to handle it." She looked at them to see if they would bring up anything. When she deemed they would not she bid them good luck. "Naruto, I'm sure you will know more about this mission then your teammates, but please do not make this personal. Remember you are on a mission for our village." Naruto didn't know what she meant yet, but committed her words to memory and nodded his head. He bid the Hokage farewell and left along with his team. Upon their departure Tsunade put her head in her hands and thought about what she did, it weighed on her heart to put Naruto in that position, but she knew he could handle it and if he didn't he would be glad because at least he had been given a shot. She sighed and looked around at her office, damn that brat she thought, making her work so hard.
Outside of the office Kakashi looked at his two new team mates and he asked them. "Are you two ready for the mission? If you have everything you think you'll need then go ahead and meet at the entrance I have a few things I have to get . I'll meet you at the entrance as soon as I can." He didn't wait for them to respond, but dashed off quickly to get his things as quickly as possible. Leaving Naruto and Sakura alone.
Sakura looked at Naruto and conceded that he had matured greatly, looking at him at that moment he seemed so grown up without his smile. "Naruto, I have to go pick up some medical tools. Do you want to accompany me." She expected a quick affirmative, instead her observation about his maturity was only re-enforced.
Naruto thought about her question and his first thought was that he wanted to go. Upon a little further thought though he decided against it. "I'm sorry Sakura I wish I could, but I might slow you down in looking for what you need or trying to talk. I think we'll have time to do that later on." He paused thinking of how to articulate his thoughts and then continued. "It would be most beneficial for the mission if I went and waited for you two. I'm already prepared so we should get this mission going." Sakura was a little surprised by Naruto's tone, he really has matured she thought.
In the past she had noted his determined look, but seeing him now it seemed to her that that look with which she was familiar had become more focused. "Ok, I'll see you at the bridge in a little while then." she said and bounded off. Naruto also dashed away to get to his destination as soon as possible.
Jiraiya was waiting in the training field for his last team member to show up. After they had left Tsunade's office he had told his new team to get ready for the mission. He had warned them to pack up well because there was no certainty on when they were coming back. Now in retrospect he regretted having picked those words because Hinata hadn't shown up yet and he thought she would never show up. He knew the importance of teamwork so he decided to start while they waited for her. He looked at his new team mates and began speaking. "I know the way we met wasn't under the best of circumstances, but we are going to be team mates so we should strive to get along and communication will be an integral part of that." Shino seemed to be paying attention and Kiba looked like the only thing he was paying attention to was the jerky in his mouth. A vain popped up on Jiraiyas head and a thought crossed his mind. Don't get mad Jiraiya there's no way this guy can be worse than Naruto. "Hey, Kiba, did you hear what I said." Kibas eyes snapped to attention and he nodded slowly. Jiraiya wondered if he was serious. He decided to call his bluff. "What did I just say then?"
Kiba swallowed the jerky in his mouth and a look of concentration fell on his face. As if trying to recall something from long ago. "You said we're going to make a great team." Kiba said proudly.
A giant sweat drop appeared on Jiraiyas head. "You didn't hear anything I said liar. Honesty and trust are also important on a team." Kiba's attention was once again starting to drift. Jiraiya once again popped a vain. "Lesson number one. Always be aware of your surroundings and pay attention." Jiraiya saw he still wasn't paying attention, he saw Shino was very attentive and had raised his brow in curiosity when Jiraiya unslung the huge scroll from his back. "You got that Kiba?" Jiraiya asked patiently, without even looking at him Kiba absently nodded his head. What happened next happened with alarming speed. Jiraiya raised his scroll above his head and brought it crashing down on Kibas foot. Kiba had no time to react he only saw a shift in movement before the pain shot up his leg and forced a scream out of him. YYYYAAAUUGGGGHH! Jiraiya lifted the scroll and Kiba fell on his butt indian style and cradled his now throbbing and swollen foot.
Kiba looked at Jiraiya with anger in his eyes and yelled at him. "What the hell is wrong with you! Why the hell did you do that for you bastard!" Kiba looked like he wanted to jump on Jiraiya and pound him to the ground, but his foot wouldn't let him. Akamaru was now next to Kiba growling at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya looked at them calmly and replied. "It was a test, to see how quickly you learn and your awareness." Jiraiya had used this same test on Naruto and it had been successful. Jiraiya often wondered how Naruto could still walk after all the abuse his feet took, but that was a question he would never have an answer too. He wondered how long it would take for Kiba to catch on. Could it be this guy is slower than Naruto, Jiraiya wondered. Impossible, he thought nobody should be that slow.
Kiba wasn't satisfied with Jiraiya's answer because he asked, "What the hell does that mean!" Even though the throbbing pain was starting to diminish Kiba could still not stand up.
It was Shino that answered this question. "I believe what Jiraiya-sama is trying to accomplish is to raise your awareness. Had you been paying attention to him, you would have noticed his strange behavior and been on guard when he made his move. You would have avoided this whole incident and your foot would not be hurting." Jiraiya liked this guy, he showed respect and knew the purpose of the exercise from the first time he saw it. Shino then said, "I don't think Kurenai or the Hokage would approve of this method of teaching." Shino was looking at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya chuckled a little bit, Shino was very smart he noted and subtle about his communication. "It may not be orthodox, but it is effective and it conditions you to be aware at all times not only on missions, but also when you may appear vulnerable." He nodded his head satisfied with his answer.
Hinata finished packing up and was just taking her time getting to the practice grounds. She was thinking of the mission which they had been sent on. The group mission was to accompany Jiraiya and assist him in any way possible. Hinata had found it a little suspicious that they would be sent on such a simple mission with so many other missions coming in. However Hinata had been given an extra mission and she kept reviewing the hokages words to make sure she had everything right. Tsunade told her that her mission was the true mission the mission given to the group was just a cover for this mission to be carried out successfully. Hinata was to spy on Jiraiya at all times and report any relevant information back to the Hokage. The Hokage felt that Jiraiya knew far more than he was letting on and felt that his information was relevant to the village. She did not want to find out information to late to act upon it and felt this was the best way to go about it. Hinata thought maybe she was overthinking the mission. Maybe it was because she wanted to be successful for the Hokage. Tsunade had given her, her trust and she wanted to earn the compliment that the Hokage had bestowed on her. That she was the best spy for the mission and she still had a lot of potential. This comment had really made Hinata blush, but she felt good about that and the last thing she wanted was to prove the Hokage wrong. By the time she made it to the practice field her mind was at ease and she immediately noticed Kiba's injured foot. "Ano, are you okay Kiba?" She asked Kiba grumbled something which Hinata took as an affirmative and she then looked a Jiraiya and Shino and asked them, "What happened?"
Jiraiya had noticed her before Shino or Kiba and noted how stealthily she had approached without even trying she was within attacking distance before Shino noticed. Jiraiya noted that Kiba may have noticed her earlier by his lack of recognition. She asked her question and he thought about how to answer if he told her then she would be aware already and he had to test her awareness as well. "Oh he just had an accident. No big deal." He said he started moving closer to her as he asked his question. "So what took you so long? You were supposed to meet us over fifteen minutes ago." Jiraiya was standing very close to her waiting for her answer.
Hinata really had no good answer to this. She brought her hands together and twiddled with her thumbs before she answered. "D-demo, I guess I just took longer getting ready than I thought I would." Her eyes flicked towards Jiraiya as he removed his giant scroll. "Ano, did I miss anything and what are you planning to do with that scroll?" Hinata asked.
Jiraiya was satisfied with Hinata's awareness. He saw no point in continuing further so he decided it was time to begin the real test in earnest. A small smile spread on his face as he began to explain what he wanted to do. "Since we are all here I think it is time to start becoming familiar with each others fighting methods. There is a saying that only through battle can you know who you are dealing with. So what I want is for you three to try to capture me by any means necessary. You are accustomed to each other so you are familiar with each other I on the other hand have a lot of catching up to do. So this would be the perfect opportunity to see how you three work together." Jiraiya's smile widened. " To make this interesting let's make this a wager, you will have two hrs. to complete this task if you are successful then I will treat for a week of our journey. However if you fail then you will have to treat me for a week. How does that sound." Jiraiya asked.
Hinata and Shino were about to think it over when out of nowhere Kiba blurted out. "You're on old man, I can't wait to eat free food!" A vain popped on Jiraiya's head. "Let's go guys, we can take this guy." He grabbed Shino and Hinata and dragged them away. Leaving Jiraiya standing there.
Seeing them take off Jiraiya decided to sit down. "This should be interesting." He said to himself he sat indian style and thought about what dishes he would order when they treated him.
Kiba and his partners were hiding behind the bushes. Hinata was the first to speak. "Do you think that was a good idea? He looks like a difficult opponent." Hinata asked. She didn't like having been put in this situation.
Kiba looked at his team mates with surprise. " I can't believe how little faith you have in our skills. He's just one old man. We have the advantage here. Plus, Shino is a genius and Hinata you're.." He paused trying to think of what to say. "Great, that's what you are. Let's go for it, it's to late to go back now. We have less than two hours." He looked at Shino with expectation on his face. "So what's the plan Shino?" He asked.
Shino looked at his friend and thought about it. "To have you pay if we loose. That old man as you refer to him is a Sannin." Shino looked at Kiba to see he was completely clueless. "In other words he's probably better than anyone we have faced so far." Kiba let out a disbelieving grunt. "I assume you won't back down so we could try some things and see how he reacts." Shino proceeded to explain his ideas to his team mates.
Temari was at the entrance deep in thought. She was thinking about leaving and not waiting for them. After all she reasoned they knew how to get there and an official request had been sent that they would respond to. She was leaning more and more towards leaving when a voice broke into her thoughts. "Hey Temari, Kakashi and Sakura will be here shortly. We shouldn't have long to wait before we head out." Naruto said. Temari had been so deep in thought she was taken by surprise when he showed up like that. It also surprised her how fast he had been in arriving. She looked at him and saw he was just like he was in the Hokage's office. Naruto noticed her looking at him and asked "Whats wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
Temari didn't expect the question, but since it was on her mind anyways she responded quickly. "Oh you looked just like at the office how did you pack for the mission so quickly." She asked.
"I packed this morning." Naruto answered, he knew she would ask why so he decided to go on. He spoke in a conversational voice. "I was taught to always be ready for a mission, so now I pack every morning as if I have a mission to do. So I'm always ready." He let out a laugh, but cut it quickly. " My sensei says that's the only way I could pack properly, otherwise I would forget something." Upon saying that he stopped and looked like he was thinking of something. He was wondering if he remembered everything. He would hate it if he had forgotten something, especially if it were important.
He reached towards his chest to make sure the Hokages gift was still there. His fingers reached the gift and felt the other gift and he felt the new addition there. Remembering it, he began to wonder what Hinata was doing.
Naruto had been quiet for a little while looking lost in thought. She wondered what he was thinking and that brought her to many more thoughts about him. It was not in her nature to let her curiosity linger so she decided to ask him. "Why are you doing this Naruto? Why are you so willing to help Gaara? I know I may be out of line, but just tell me why." She asked. Even though Naruto was standing there he seemed to awaken when he heard her question.
Naruto had be so lost in thought that he had a little trouble gathering his thoughts. He hadn't expected the question and really had to think about it before giving her an answer. A lot of memories went through his mind. Finding out Gaara had a monster inside him. Being on the playground when he was little and everyone leaving with family turning their backs on him and leaving him alone. The crushing loneliness. Finally he remembered the words Jiraiya had spoken to him once words that had stayed with him throughout their journey. He used those words to answer Temaris question. "Gaara is like me, my master once told me. Only those that have been through similar situations can know your situation. Value them because they are few and far between. The more unique the understanding the more you should value it." Naruto looked down a little bit at his next words. "I understand Gaara. Me and him have an understanding that, I guess I could say, nobody else could understand. It's hard to explain, but in a weird way I think of Gaara as a kindred spirit. That's why I want to help him. I know he would do the same for me as well."
Temari was touched. She thought she understood where he was coming from, but he wasn't great at articulating. She wanted to ask him some more things, but at that moment Kakashi showed up with Sakura close behind him. It was time to go.
PREVIEW
Finally a mission begun, time for some action with team 8. How will the situation develop in the village of sand.
RSO
dragonman180- Who knows what will happen to the gong when Naruto and Hinata hook up. I sure don't. lol not yet anyways.
acrazygirlofmanynames- I am so glad to hear that.
snakeeye12- yes sasuke will show up later. I don't have any plans for Sasu/Saku yet. I want to finish this arc first and see where I can go with it. I have a ton of ideas, but the challenge is working them all in. Gots to plan ahead dontchaknow. lol.
FFz- I know these few chs. have been kind of slow, but I'm trying to get some things out of the way so that when I get to the action, I can really get to it. Also these next few chs. will definetely have action.
warprince- done. Hope you like it.
Everyone thanx for reviewing. let me know what you think. Whatever comment pops into your mind don't hesitate to let me know. (storywise that is)