"Wait... You want to go on a mission with me?" Naruto asked, completely dumbfounded. I just nodded. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked, and for a second, he sounded serious.
"Maybe, maybe not." I shrugged. "I was just thinking, it's been a long time since we've gone on a mission together." In fact, the last time we had gone a mission, had been before Sasuke left. And that had been almost three years ago now. We'd never been close friends, but we had definitely drifted after Sasuke abandoned us.
"Hmmm. I think you just miss your boyfriend." The blond teased, crossing his arms and smirking triumphantly. I could feel my face turn bright red.
"Oh please, I can't ask my team-mate to come on a mission me, just 'cause?" I snapped, putting my hands on my hips. Yep, things were back to normal.
"Alright, let's go on a mission, but first, I'm taking you to the hospital, you must be ill." He chuckled, finding himself historical. He laughed louder when I groaned behind him as he walked back into his house.
"Just wait a minute!" He called. No figure going to get clothes on. I had accidentally walked in on him is his silly little pajamas.
When he came out, he was dressed in his same old orange and black outfit, with a backpack on as well. Whether or not we decided to take a long mission or a short one, I had few to last us both a week. He probably had more. Though, we couldn't do a very exciting mission, being that he was still a Gennin. I on the other hand was a Chunnin, training to become a Jounin. Guess the best we could get would be a C rank mission. I'd die if he dragged me on a D rank.
As if reading my thoughts, Naruto looked over at me and said, "There's no way in hell I'm going on a D rank mission."
"No way you'd be able to drag me on such a useless mission." I retorted.
Walking into the Hokage's tower, I couldn't help and keep my ears open about the group of Shinobi sent to infiltrate a town infested with Sound ninjas. In the Leaf country too. How absurd.
"Nikki? Hello, Earth to Nikki!"
"Huh?" I mumbled, mind snapping back to reality as Naruto waved his hand in my face. "Oh, woops. My bad." I said, smiling sheepishly. He stared at me blankly, one eyebrow raised, before rolling his eyes.
"Don't roll your eyes at me you little brat." I hissed.
"Then stop zoning out on me." He said, cocking his head to the side.
Wow, we hadn't even gotten our mission yet and we were ready to strangle each other. Of course, if I strangled him, Trisha would probably be waiting to get her hands around my neck. Guess that would just have to wait for later.
As we walked around, trying to decide on a good mission to take, Naruto started humming some random song. Breaking Benjamin possibly? Had he been listening to my iPod again?!
"What are you humming?" I asked.
"You Fight Me." Yep, he stole my iPod again... "Hope you don't mind, I got bored and heard it on your music player thing."
I rolled my eyes annoyed. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Then again, I wanted to go on a mission again, I wasn't going to back down now.
"...yeah, did you hear about the village...?"
"You mean with our Shinobies there? Oh yeah."
I stopped, and shifted to hear what these random strangers were saying.
"I heard that they were wiped out in a matter of seconds." My heart sank.
"No, man! You got it all wrong. Only half of them were killed. The other half were taken hostage." Not much better, but that raised my hopes, only a little bit.
"Well, I hope you're right. It'd be a shame to lose a bunch like them."
"Yeah, and wasn't the Copy Cat Ninja in the group too?" Now I was stuck in a spell, listening intently. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew Naruto was shaking me by the shoulder, but I didn't even stop to think about that.
"I think so. Don't know what happened to him."
"Would be a shame..."
And that was all I could take. I pulled away from Naruto, and ran straight up to the Hokage's room, ready to scream at her, and ready to collapse onto the floor and cry.
"Nikki! Where are you going?" Somewhere behind me, Naruto yelled, but again he was in the back of my mind.
Throwing the door to the Hokage's room open, I briefly saw Shizune jump with alarm. Oopps. Oh well. Storming, I slammed my hands down on Tsunade desk, and yelled with all my might.
"Why didn't you tell us about the Shinobi you sent to that village being attacked by the sand?! Make us wait until we hear those damn rumors flying around about them all being dead! Did you really think we wouldn't notice them gone!"
Tsunade just sat at her desk, letting me blow off steam, as Shizune recollected herself, and Naruto came running in still dumbfounded.
Then with a sigh, she just looked me in the eye and said, "We're working on it."
"That's it?!" I hissed. "You're working on it? Is that all you have? Why not send somebody out there to rescue them? Or at least tell us, so don't get worried about people we care about!" She just frowned.
"Nikki..." She started calmly. "I know you are considered about them, one in particular," I gulped, embarrassed, trying to keep my cheeks from turning bright red. "but there isn't much we can do. I can't keep sending fleets of ninjas down, only to lead them to their doom. And I can't leave the village unprotected."
"Then send us."
Tsunade and I both blinked and turned to see Naruto standing confidently behind me.
"Nikki and I will go. That way you're not sending a whole fleet."
"Naruto, I can't send just you two. Especially when you're just a Gennin. I'm afraid I can't do that." She said, shaking her head.
"Then we'll go by yourself. I don't need you to tell me what I can and can't do." I growled, turning to leave.
"Then by doing so, you disobey your leaders orders of staying here." I stopped, what was she up to? "Not only will you be disobeying my orders, you will be breaking the way of the ninja, and leaving the village."
I'd be breaking so many rules by doing this. So many rules that suddenly didn't matter to me. All that mattered, was making sure Kakashi was... alive. Then bringing him home, no matter what. Even if that mean brining back just a... body. I couldn't even thing about that!
"I order you, as a Chunin under my rule to stay in the village." She snapped, knowing I was struggling with that thought.
"Fine then. Guess I'll just have to give up that title won't I."
"Nikki! What are you--"
Untying the forehead protector from around my waist, I knew I was probably making a huge mistake. I was turning my back on the village. I was doing the same thing Sasuke had done a few years prior. But this was different. I had to find Kakashi.
"Can't order me around now." I said, dropping the headband on her desk. And just like that, I turned and walked out the door.
Slamming the door behind me, I could barely make out what Tsunade and Naruto were yelling about. They weren't yelling at me, they were yelling at each other. Naruto was yelling something about, 'just letting me walk out like that' while Tsunade yelled back, about, following me? I couldn't tell.
And I didn't want to know. So I broke out into a run, straight towards the giant double doors leading in and out of the village. I could hear Naruto running a few good feet behind me, but I had to ignore that.
And as I ran out the doors, only then did it hit me, that I was now a missing nin.