Chapter 1
Chapter 1
My music was blasting in my ears.
"Ugh," Naruto groaned, "Shut the music off! I can't hear myself think!"
Is it seriously that loud?
"You can think?" I asked, turning my ipod off.
"HEY!" He yelled.
"Shut up, idiot," Sasuke muttered.
"I AM NOT AN IDIOT!"
"Naruto!" Sakura sighed, exasperated, "Just shut up!"
Out of nowhere, a poof of smoke appeared, and out came the ever so tardy Kakashi.
"YOU'RE LATE, KAKASHI!" Naruto yelled.
"Heh, sorry," Kakashi replied sheepishly, "I got lost in the path of life – don't comment, Naruto. Anyway, let's start training. Sasuke and Naruto, you go spar, and Sakura can go teach Mia some healing Jutsus. Now go away, so I can read my Icha Icha book."
Pervert.
Walking over to Sakura, I tried concentrating chakra into my hands.
"You're getting better at this," Sakura stated, "Now keep concentrating on your hands, and think of mending something, like pulling together."
I nodded; not noticing Sakura cut herself with a kunai.
"Okay," I said, "Now what?"
"Now you heal me," She said, holding out her arm.
So that's how our usual training day went – Sasuke beating Naruto, Naruto screaming and demanding a rematch, Sakura ogling Sasuke, me trying not to get pissed at that, the usual.
Today, though, was not a usual day.
"Hey, guys!" Tenten waved from our usual table at the ramen restaurant.
"Hey," I smiled, ordering my food.
"How are you four on this beautiful, youthful day?" Lee asked.
"Fine."
"And you, the ever so youthful Sakura?"
Sakura, seemingly grossed out (for reasons I'll never know), ignored the question.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cooed, "Sit next to me!"
"Hn."
Sasuke sat next to Shino, who was quietly eating his ramen.
"Sasuke-kun! Hi!" Ino exclaimed – I was more tolerable of her, than Sakura, she actually seemed less…obsessive of Sasuke.
"Hn."
Again, with Sasuke's ever so developed vocabulary…
A normal meal, with most of the Rookie Nine, once again. Quite boring, if you ask me.
Another day, I thought, Another boring day. I wonder when Tsunade will actually give me an interesting mission.
After the little…err, incident…when the Akatsuki kidnapped me, Tsunade was adamant about sending me out of the city without atleast a few escorts. So yeah, it was a big no-no when it came to missions.
Honestly, in my opinion, my being kidnapped is no big deal, right? Right.
"Where's Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.
"Hokage wanted to see him," Choji replied, stuffing his face with ramen, "Don't know about what, though."
Everyone was discussing how their day was, for an hour or so, when a figure came running up to us.
"How troublesome," Shikamaru panted, "I've been looking all over for you guys."
"We're always here, Shikamaru," Ino replied, "For a guy with an IQ of 200, you sure are dense."
"Hn."
"Why w-were you look-looking for us?" Hinata asked.
"Hokage wants to talk to us. Mission."
I silently groaned. I've gone four, almost five, months without a decent mission, and I figured I wasn't going to get one anytime soon.
"ALRIGHT, LET'S GO!" Naruto yelled, leaving a forgotten bill on his way out.
"Idiot," Sasuke muttered, "He forgot to pay for his food."
"Nice," I snorted, leaving my money on the table, "I'll see you at home."
"Actually, Mia," Shikamaru put his hand on my shoulder, "Tsunade wants to see you too."
"Then let's go!" My gloomy mood was suddenly gone, replaced by giddiness at the fact that I finally have a mission.
I followed the others to the Hokage Tower, already finding Naruto waiting impatiently outside the office door.
"HURRY UP ALREADY, TSUNADE! LET US IN!"
I shook my head. Idiot…
"Alright, alright, come in!" The sound was muffled.
As we shuffled in, I noticed three people sitting in the armchairs.
"Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, what are you doing here?" I asked, confused.
"Hn," Gaara grunted, closing his eyes, "Beats me."
"Okay," Tsunade said, "Now that you're all here –"
"WHAT IS IT? WHAT MISSION ARE WE GOING ON?!" Naruto exclaimed.
"I was getting to that," Tsunade gritted her teeth, "Now shut up and let me talk."
She checked to see if everyone was listening before moving on.
"As I was saying," Tsunade regained her composure, "You guys are going on a mission."
"You do realize that we don't even live here, correct?" Gaara asked, referring to himself and his siblings.
"Yeah, I do," Tsunade replied, "But the Kazekage allowed it, so you're going."
"Whatever." He muttered.
"Anyway, before I begin, do you accept this possibly A ranked mission?"
Everyone nodded solemnly.
"Good, because after you've accepted, you can't go back on your word. You're going on a mission to retrieve a scroll that will further enhance Mia's powers, and you're going to find her spirit's brother."
"Katana has a brother?" I asked incredulously.
Well, this surely wasn't an ordinary day…
"Yes," Tsunade nodded, "We just found out from one of our spies."
"Where are we supposed to look for both the scroll and the spirit's so called…brother?" Sasuke asked.
"Mia's world," Tsunade replied.
A series of "Cool,", "Alright!", and "Hn,"'s were heard.
I, on the other hand, was freaking out…
What?! I thought, I don't wanna go back! I take back wanting a mission!
Crap, I was gonna have to go back to my utter and complete hell.
"How long?" Neji asked.
"A year."
Even worse.
"Why?" I asked, "Can't we just get the scroll and kidnap the guy – like you did with me?"
"Yes, but I want you to finish the school year," She replied, ignoring my horror struck look, "To divert attention away from yourself and Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. You four will attend school as regular students, like before, and the rest will act as exchange students from…somewhere…"
I sweat dropped. She was the one who was giving us the mission, after all.
"Anyway, you leave sometime this week, and the school year starts the twelfth. Now go away, I've got paperwork and details to work out." She demanded, taking a swig out of her sake bottle.
As I left, I had one fleeting thought.
This certainly wasn't a usual day…
Well, that and:
I'm so screwed.
Author's Note: I'm sorry I took so long, and sorry the title sucks. The title's probably temporary. Anyway, please review!