Chapter 3: A Simple Assignment

The task they had been set was relatively simple. 'Obtain a photograph of Hatake Kakashi without his mask.' Really, how hard could it possibly be?

Naruto found the copy ninja without much difficulty, Asuma had told him that the man enjoyed adult reading material, so he simply followed the thoughts to the local adult bookstore. Kakashi was walking out just as Naruto approached.

"Pardon me, but is your name Hatake Kakashi?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi looked at the kid over his latest purchase. Hmm, short, blonde hair, whisker marks. Wait, he's one of the new graduates, what's he doing here? "Hmmm, possibly, what do you want?"

Naruto held up a disposable camera. "Well, if you are, I just need a photo of you without your mask on. For some reason, my new sensei wants it."

Kakashi continued to look at Naruto over his book. A sensei really made getting a photo of me a mission? Well, I'll have to give her points for originality. "Sorry, kid, but I really don't feel like giving Kurenai any jack off material today."

Naruto really had to pause. Between the thoughts and images running through Kakashi's head, to the actual line he had just delivered, the poor genin was thoroughly confused. One thing, however was still perfectly clear to the new ninja, Kakashi had refused to cooperate under his own free will. Therefore, it was time to take action himself. Naruto began to turn away.

"Fair enough." Was his simple statement.

It was Kakashi's turn to pause, his visible eye blinking. "Really?"

"No."

In a flash, Naruto had jumped to Kakashi's face height, grabbed the mask with his free hand, and prepared his camera with the other. Kakashi had only a single second to react, but it was all he needed to grab Naruto's jacket and fling the rookie ninja across the alley. A quick glance in the mirrored window of the bookstore revealed the damage to his precious mask, a small tear that rendered his nose visible, but little else. Kakashi returned his gaze to Naruto.

"Okay, kid, you get points for originality and a better than average 'plan B', but you're not getting a photo of me."

Naruto picked himself up off the ground, stripping off his now ripped jacket. Damnit, that was my only one! "Sorry, but you haven't even seen Plan B yet!"

As Naruto delivered his declaration, two shadow doppelgangers jumped out of the dumpster behind Kakashi and grabbed his arms, while the original again jumped forward to grab the mask. Kakashi again reacted without thinking, this time kicking the young rookie backwards before spinning to dislodge the two clones. Okay, I can't tell if this kid is brilliant or just crazy. That almost worked! Time to get rid of this little runt before he actually get's lucky!

Kakashi viewed his opponent with a serious light in his eye this time. Naruto took up a ready stance, the images the cyclopean jonin had in his head were not filling him with confidence. Even though he could see the man's move ahead of time, Naruto lacked the speed and coordination necessary to dodge a fully trained jonin's attack. In the space of a single breath, Kakashi slid behind Naruto with his hands in the 'tora' seal.

"Konoha ninpo: sennin giroushi!"

Naruto's scream was audible his entire flight into the river.

-Later that morning-

Kakashi walked steadily down the road, book in hand and replacement mask in place, the incident with the orange-wearing genin wannabe almost completely forgotten. As he passed the local food stands, he noticed a new dango vendor had opened. Deciding that dango sounded like a good idea at the moment, the cyclopean jonin stopped to order a few sticks from the blonde-haired girl behind the cart.

Ino couldn't believe that her simple trap had worked, the jonin had actually been interested enough to stop. Now all she had to do was spring her trap. "Would you like to try some, sir? It's our family secret recipe."

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask. Girl's pretty enough. If she were about seven years older, I'd date her. Come to think of it, she looks familiar. "Sure, I'll take a stick." Was all he said.

Ino hid her smirk as she bent over to retrieve the treat. As she grabbed the treat, she also tripped a hidden wire underneath her stall with her foot. The wire triggered a small blow fan just to the loft of Ino's head, blowing flour all over Kakashi's face. Ino feigned shock.

"Oh dear, sir! I'm so sorry, here, use my sink to clean your face off! I insist!"

Kakashi really didn't know what to think of what had just transpired, but he accepted the odd girl's offer. Just as he was reaching for the brim of his mask, however, he noticed the child's obvious interest in his actions and, most specifically, his mask. Wait, didn't that kid say that getting a photo of me was a mission for his team? Instead of taking off the mask, the jonin simply washed his face off with the piece of cloth still in place.

Ino's heart sunk. Just when it was going so well, too.

-Later, Kakashi's Apartment-

Hatake Kakashi was a confused man. First the odd kid attacked him at the bookstore, then the flour girl at the dango stand. He was starting to expect attacks from every angle, he had gone to battle position every alley he had passed, palmed a kunai with every kid he passed. He had even stopped reading his precious book on the way home! Now, he was finally home and all he wanted was a hot shower and some down time with his latest purchase.

Shikamaru watched the jonin enter the small domicile, his plan thus far going smoothly. He knew that, regardless if Naruto or Ino failed or succeeded, the target would eventually return home and, after a day as stressful as this, would most likely take a shower. Knowing that, Shikamaru had placed an automatic camera in the man's shower at roughly face height, the one place where he would almost certainly remove his mask. Now all he had to do for his plan to come to fruition was wait for the jonin to take his shower, retrieve his camera, and develop the film.

Shikamaru easily observed the older man's movements through the building, as the lights in the different rooms would turn on and off with the man's passing through them, first the bedroom, then the kitchen, finally the bathroom. After the shower, the man retreated again to the kitchen, then the living room, and finally to the bedroom. The new genin waited for over an hour, waiting for Kakashi to go to sleep. It didn't take long for the light in the bedroom to go out.

The riskiest part of the plan was the retrieval of the camera, but the young shadow user managed to pull it off without his prey stirring from his sleep. After returning home, Shikamaru immediately set out to develop his film using the family's dark room. However, after only three shots in, Shikamaru found that there was one tragic flaw in his plan. Steam had completely obscured his camera lens, meaning that each and every one of his photographs was nothing more than a giant blur of white.

It figures, the one time that a plan has absolutely no snags in the execution, the end result had to fail. This is so troublesome.

-The Next Morning-

Ino, Naruto, and Shikamaru met in front of the WildKat, each looking a little worse for the wear for the previous days excursion.

Ino was the first to speak. "I don't suppose either of you had any luck either, huh?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Got nothing for all the trouble I went through, you?"

Naruto, minus his trademark jacket, shook his head as well. "No photo, just lost my jacket and a bit of my pride. The bastard has some sickening jutsu, though."

Ino crossed her arms and looked at the boys. "So, what are we gonna do? Asuma-sensei gave us till noon today to get the photo or he'll send us all back to the academy."

Naruto shook his head. "I've got no idea. My straightforward plan blew up in my face, and both of you guys got nowhere with subterfuge, so I'm at a loss."

Shikamaru put his hand to his chin for a moment, before a spark appeared in his eyes. "I might have an idea."

Naruto stared at the goateed genin. "If I were anyone else, I'd say I hope you're not thinking what I think your thinking, but since I'm not, I hope you're not serious."

Ino looked back and forth between the boys. "I feel a little out of the loop here, what's going on?"

Shikamaru looked at the blonde girl. "Don't worry, you're going to like this one."

-Back at Kakashi's Apartment-

Kakashi was just starting his day as his doorbell rang. How cute, my little student's are actually tying to track me down instead of waiting for me politely at our meeting spot. Guess I'll just have to teach them that sometimes it's better to follow orders than go above and beyond the call of duty.

As he reached the door, he couldn't resist asking a most cliché phrase. "Who is it?"

The answer actually surprised him.

"Porno delivery!"

With an answer like that, how could he not open the door? Whatever he was actually expecting on the other side, he certainly wasn't expecting what he found. The two blond brats from the day before were standing there, as well as the little brown haired brat who was running around his house last night.

Well, he couldn't resist at least one crack. "Here to egg my place for making you all fail?"

Ino just smirked. "No, we're here to make sure we pass."

Without another word, Ino delivered a swift kick to Kakashi's groin. While the jonin was staggered, Naruto pulled the man's mask off and Shikamaru snapped a fast photo before shouting. "RUN!!"

The three rookies took off at a rapid clip before Kakashi could regain both his composure or his wind. It took the cyclopean jonin almost a minute to recover, but when he did, he took off in a blood rage after them.

Back at the WildKat, Hanekoma and Asuma were just sitting down to a morning cup of coffee.

"So, my brats haven't been here yet?" Asuma asked the coffee man.

"Well, they were here earlier in the morning, but they took off again before they ever came in the door. Looked like they were on a mission, too."

Asuma took a sip of his beverage of choice. "Hmm, maybe one last shot at finishing the job? Not that I expect them to actually get it, but the fact that they're working together means that they've already passed."

Hanekoma took a sip from his own mug. "So, what is it that you asked them to get, anyway?"

Asuma smirked. "A photo of Hatake without his mask on. As I said, an impossible task even for a jonin, but they'll learn from it."

Just as the words left Asuma's mouth, the door to the shop flew open, Naruto coming to a sliding stop in front of his sensei. "Sorry it's not developed just got it running from homicidal maniac! BYE!"

Naruto threw the camera onto the counter before running out the door again, taking off in a random direction in hopes of not getting caught by a murderous Scarecrow.

Asuma looked down at the camera. "I don't believe it, the brat's actually did it."

A/N: Thank you evryone who reviewed! Keep them coming! For those of you who asked what the pin Naruto found in the scroll looks like, go to Google Image Search and type in The World Ends With You Black Skull Pin and you should get a good idea. As always, constructive criticism is welcome, flames will be doused and added to my ever growing nest. This is your one and only Shining Pheonix signing off.