Edited!
Kakashi made his way steadily down the sidewalk towards the Hokage tower with his nose buried in an orange book. One hand in a pocket, he walked casually to his destination and passed a few young girls who were walking out of Ino's flower shop. A pair giggled as they looked over at him to see what he was reading and a blush tainted their cheeks, making him offer an easy eye crinkle and grin. Of course, he wasn't just walking down the sidewalk, smiling shamelessly at reactions to his book or helping old ladies that happened to need his assistance crossing the street, as he puts it. Nope…He was once again late for a meeting with his team for a mission review that was obviously urgent to some degree, but he just couldn't find it in himself to actually pick up his casual speed; or as Gai would put it… "Walk with a youthful purpose…"
Kakashi couldn't help but smile to himself at the thought of Gai's face at the moment. It was their annual rival day and it happened to be Gai's choice for the challenge. Looks like Kakashi wouldn't be going to that one-not that there was a single complaint in his being.
As he reached the building, he paused in his steps and looked to the top floor where Tsunade's office was. They'd been waiting on him for nearly 45 minutes…. They could wait a little longer. It wasn't like they would be any less mad if he finished the chapter or not at this point.
With that decided he leaned against the wall near the door and continued reading Make-out Tactics.
Meanwhile, up in the Hokage office, Tsunade tried to ignore Naruto and Sai's insistent arguing. Sakura wasn't doing any better at keeping her temperament in check and it wasn't a surprise when the two only got louder.
"Everyone knows she likes you. It's that smile she has…" Sai pondered for a moment, not noticing Naruto's glare that disappeared once he realized Hinata liked him. But Sai had to keep talking. "Maybe it's a fake smile…I once read that you don't want a relationship with someone who fakes pleasure with sex because they aren't feeling anything for you…. If that's the case then that must mean," he continued, not taking note of Naruto's angry chakra rise again, "that you don't please women when having sex."
Tsunade honestly wasn't sure what to think of that statement as Naruto literally turned red. Sai was correct on a factual standpoint and it was taking all she had not to laugh. But Naruto shouldn't have been the topic of the conversation and she-on some level- had sympathy for him…
"Why is it always sex and dicks with you?! If you want to talk about that then talk to granny! I'm sure she'll listen to you seeing as she hadn't had a date in centuries!"
And the sympathy was gone…
Sakura stared wide eyes and quickly stepped by the window, knowing that Tsunade was not letting Naruto get away with that one...
"Na-ru-to!" she said in a low tone that sent shockwaves telling his instincts to get out of there.
But he was too late….
And just on cue, the founding's of the Hokage Tower shook as a few pebbles fell from the wall Kakashi was leaning on. Closing his book and setting it into the safety of his Jonin pocket, he poofed into the window, going unnoticed by the raging Hokage. The blonde woman stood in front of the crumpled crater of the wall, staring at a sprawled Naruto on the other end of the hallway.
Sakura had yet to notice as she shook her head at Naruto's carelessness and muttered a quiet "baka".
It wasn't his fault that Sai got him so riled up. She had the same problems too, though she would just punch him and get it over with instead of arguing… Judging by the way he saw stars spinning around his head, she imagined that her way was more effective.
"Get up, Naruto," Tsunade said heartlessly while crossing her arms. "I didn't hit you that hard."
Naruto flipped upright so he was sitting and rubbed the bump on his head. "What are you talking about? Ow! This hurts!"
Amber eyes narrowed darkly. "Do you want another one?"
Blue eyes widened and he jumped to his feet before running back through the wall and into the office before stopping and pointing angrily at the white-haired ninja crouched on the windowsill. "Hey!"
Kakashi raised a gloved hand and gave an eye crinkle. "Yo!"
"When did you?…You're late!"
Sakura turned around and blinked. "How long have you been there?"
"Time isn't relevant unless you make it. I, for one, don't," Kakashi recited, trying to sound like a philosopher.
"Stop copying Jiriaya's lines," Tsunade said with a skeptical twitch of her eyebrow.
Kakashi only grinned and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "So, I'm guessing you've been waiting on me to go over the mission details?"
Tsunade walked back to her desk and sat down before pulling open a drawer with the file in it. Opening it, she scanned through the papers until she found a letter.
"This letter is from the Kazekage. There've been sightings of Akatsuki outside the gates recently and rumors of a mercenary group going around and picking off teams close to the border. Gaara stated that his teams are too busy making repairs after a strange attack one night from a lone Akatsuki member and doesn't have enough to spare for additional scouts. He's already had multiple teams patrolling and has increased his own Village security."
"So which group are we supposed to go after?" Sakura asked.
"Obviously, Akatsuki is more of a threat, but there is higher risk going to confront a team from the organization. Gaara would prefer you go after the mercenary group. The teams that have been scouting regularly will be close if you need back up. He will have more information on the force needed to bring the team in."
"Alright! Get in, take care of the group and get back…" Naruto grinned. "That's easy!"
"Yeah, we'll see," she replied nonchalantly. Naruto pouted at her lack of response but didn't say anything; fearing that he would have another bump on his head.
"What is the time frame we're looking at?" Kakashi asked.
"We can start with 2 weeks," Tsunade replied, "Travelling there will take a few days and if you have any complications, you can send a report so we can go from there."
"Right then," Kakashi smiled. "Let's meet each other in twenty minutes at the gate."
Before anyone could respond, he disappeared in a cloud.
Sakura sighed and started walking out the door while dragging Naruto by the back of his collar, knowing that Sai was going to say something…
"Hey, Sakura…Does Hinata really like me?"
Again a sigh but before she could answer, Sai beat her to it. "Don't worry. She just has to see that you're dickless before she runs away."
Smile.
Naruto turned red in the face and whether it was from embarrassment or anger, Sakura didn't know…but she spun around, and her chakra-less fist connected with Sai's chin…
"Don't talk about Hinata like that! She's a sweet girl and wouldn't be like taht because she isn't shallow!"
And with that taken care of, she continued to drag a snickering Naruto back to his apartment while mumbling that Naruto is just fine for Hinata.
8/8/8/8/8/8/8/8/8/8/8
Only a few days later did they reach Suna after a long and boring trip. No enemies, no helpless travelers, nothing but the three others for company.
The climax of the entire experience took place when Naruto went to the springs for a quick bathe but was shocked to find Sai sitting on the edge of the bank, staring and watching with curious eyes. It didn't help that Naruto had thought he was alone only seconds prior as he splashed in the water, not to mention that Sai was naked….In all his glory he sat, cross legged and watched with fascination as Naruto's color drained from his face and he high-tailed it out of the water. Grabbing a towel on the ground and sprinting back to camp, Naruto was determined that Sai wasn't only interested in Ino. Mostly, it was because of the little incident that happened in the process of his "get away".
Poor Naruto hadn't escaped without Sai reaching out to the towel and pulling it just enough to see that, "You really have a dick…"
Red in the face and violated, Naruto returned to the camp and disappeared into his tent, determined with dark promises of getting Sai back…
But don't think badly of the dark-haired artist, for he was unaware that such acts were frowned upon. After all, his entire sexual interest was in a blonde kunoichi… Still, he shrugged from the sudden disappearance of Naruto and went into the water for his own bath.
When Naruto had returned, empty handed of his faithful jumpsuit, Sakura and Kakashi exchanged strange glances but shrugged, knowing that whatever happened wasn't something they needed to know. The mystery very well could've been solved, but it wasn't looked into. Instead, they packed their things the next morning and continued with the sun shining and the wind to their backs.
It was now that they stood in front of the Kazekage's desk with a nervous Sakura fidgeting lightly next to Kakashi. Now what could possibly have this kunoichi so worried? Well both good and bad come in pairs. This wasn't any different.
Gaara had grown since the last time she had seen him and although Tsunade and he had kept in contact-meaning that Sakura was usually the one writing majority of the letters for her Hokage-she hadn't actually seen him. He was taller than her; perhaps a little taller than Naruto as well, with his vibrant red locks and deep jade eyes. He smiled at Naruto, and they mingled for a moment before he had turned to the others in the room. A quick glance to Sai, a nod to Kakashi and a lingering stare at Sakura who fought to keep the blush down as she smiled.
Gaara blinked slowly but didn't return it, though he felt that he may have wanted to. Pushing the thought from his head, he turned to the order of business. Walking to stand next to his desk, he picked up a few pieces of paper and handed them to Kakashi who took them and began to scan the many reports on the mercenary group that the Sand-nin had filled out. Gaara took this time to lean casually against the desk with his arms crossed while staring at everyone in the room.
"I have teams going missing for various periods of time and returning injured because of this group. They don't have a name for themselves, and it isn't just random attacks. I think, by their pattern, they're trying to prove a point."
"And what point is that?" Naruto asked.
"Likely, that they have control over the borders and know what we are up to. A few other villages had very similar problems. Grass, Waterfall, and Tea have voiced their complaints, but no one has been able to catch them," Gaara continued. "As many of the teams explained, they're like a ghost. I requested further insight from those villages, and they offered small details, though nothing my teams haven't already noted. Their best advice is to wait it out. The assailants have moved around and no longer bothering travelers from their borders. The other Kages think that these harassers may just be bullying or possibly looking for something. Or picking fights for the cause of it."
"I'm assuming that no identification has been made from the teams that had returned?" Kakashi asked as he flipped to a different page and scanned the report.
"No. It's a group of four that attacks and leaves shortly after. It makes me wonder if they're trying to get someone's attention..." Gaara sat quietly for a moment before pushing off his desk and walking to stare out of the window overlooking Sunagakure. "A team of mine has been able to identify some of the individuals' village loyalties…"
Kakashi looked away from the paperwork to give Gaara his full attention.
"They are all missing-nin. Two aren't known what village they hail from due to neither wearing symbols, but one is from Sound…. and one from Konoha."
"Konoha?" Sakura asked with furrowed brows.
She pulled out a bingo book from Konoha and started to scan. There weren't very many missing-nin from Konoha, so it would only be a matter of time before they were able to identify them.
"And what about the Akatsuki?" Kakashi inquired.
"They've been keeping their distance since the attack from the one called Deidara. He was alone at the time which makes me believe that he came here on impulse from his arrogant attitude."
Gaara was able to keep the blond bomber from causing too much damage with the help of a large number of shinobi, but even so, he didn't want to know how well they worked in teams. He was relieved with the thought that the homicidal Iwa-nin had most likely acted out of term; by the way he retreated-clearly pissed that he hadn't retrieved the one-tailed. This would most likely buy Suna more time to prepare for another attack.
"So," Sakura began, filling the pause, "you think they won't be coming here until the activity dies down?"
Gaara looked to Sakura over his shoulder. She had grown since he had last seen her with her lustrous pink locks and curves. He recognized the skirt as medics and wondered how well her skills were since he had last seen. He figured she would be afraid of him still for what he did at the Chunin exams just years ago. Then again, she didn't seem like the type. She wasn't afraid of him and had no reason to. Her best friend had the Nine-tailed, after he hadn't answered her, he quickly commented, "That's what I'm hoping for."
Sakura seemed to ponder it a moment, not noticing his staring, before smiling brightly. "I'll keep an ear out for any of the Akatsuki's movements and keep you updated when we get back to Konoha! That should help so you can be prepared next time."
Gaara blinked. "Ok…That would be really helpful."
This time, Sakura couldn't help but let a blush tint her cheeks. Gaara quickly decided that he liked the effect on her, but he turned to his paper in hand, not letting his face betray anything.
Of course, Kakashi watched knowingly with a smirk behind his mask. It was about time Sakura started moving on from Sasuke. Naruto, on the other hand, stayed oblivious as he took the liberty of listening and looking around the office while Sai stayed quiet as he observed everything.
"There's only enough light left for us to find a place to camp, so we better get going," Kakashi explained as he led the way out of the room with a nod to Gaara.
Sai followed with his smile firmly in place while Sakura trailed behind. She stopped in the doorway and looked back to see Naruto searching in one of Gaara's desk drawers with wide eyes, and Sakura could feel her temple pulse. Quickly, she rushed to his side and pulled him by the collar of his shirt.
"Eh? Sakura-chan-what are you doing?!" Naruto yelled in shock as she started to drag him once again out by his shirt.
"Me? What are you doing?!" She chided back as she pulled him from behind the desk and past an amuse Gaara.
"You can't just snoop around in people's offices!"
"It's just Gaara's, and I wasn't snooping!" he whined.
"Gaara is a Kazekage-meaning he doesn't have to put up with you! You're lucky he isn't like Tsunade…." Her echoes continued until she was out of his office and disappeared behind the door.
Gaara smirked, knowing that Sakura and Naruto had a good bond together, and to be honest, he didn't really mind Naruto looking around. It made him feel accepted, seeing as many people still feared him, despite having gained the majority of the village's. Before he could ponder further, the door cracked open, and Sakura popped her head in with a sheepish smile.
"I almost forgot! We'll see you later!"
And before he could say another word, she was gone; leaving a slightly confused and yet pleased Kazekage.
0-0-0-0-0
A little less than ten minutes found the pair meeting with the others; Kakashi and Sai were just outside the village by the time Naruto and Sakura caught up to them.
"Where are we going to camp out at?" Sakura asked as she looked around the many dunes and golden sands.
"I was planning in the canyon, northeast of here," Kakashi pointed towards a vast landscape of nothingness.
The sky was expansive, pulled from one horizon to the other. The Leaf shinobi were all used to mountainous terrain filled with trees that offered windows or patches of the sky at a time. Kakashi always wondered if other shinobi came to Konoha and felt claustrophobic in an area filled to the brim with life.
"A canyon? But why?" Naruto questioned. "Is that where the attacks are happening?"
"No. The reports have them spaced out along the borders that are away from the ocean. The canyon is a good choice because it's a known pass that many teams take to and from Sunagakure. The river at the base of it is a good source of water before they travel over the dunes."
"Cooooll!" Naruto exclaimed with an enthusiastic punch in the air. "I've never been in a place like that…"
Kakashi gave the blonde a strange look, but it went unnoticed. Instead of saying anything, Sakura ignored him and started sprinting towards the direction Kakashi indicated.
"I'll beat you guys there!"
"I'm sure you will," Kakashi smiled and pulled out his trusty book.
"What?-No fair!" Naruto protested as he sprinted after her.
Sai watched Naruto and Sakura run before looking expectantly to Kakashi who walked patiently toward the miles of dunes ahead of them. Feeling the boy's gaze on him,
Kakashi gave him a curious look."…Can I help you?"
Sai didn't know how to say it and struggled to find the words. Instead, he looked at Sakura and Naruto with the trail of sand drifting behind what Sai wanted, Kakashi chuckled.
"Feel free to run after them."
"Actually," Sai hesitated, looking to the white-haired nin, "I was wondering what was allowed in a race."
"Oh…" Kakashi pondered it, a gloved hand meeting his chin. "Anything is allowed to make you faster, but don't attack each other."
"Hai." And with that, Sai darted after Sakura and Naruto, determined to try and find what was… 'fun' about continued to take his casual pace as a light breeze picking up and ruffling his hair.
Now that the drama was running at top speeds away from him, he was free to ponder to himself. With a quick snap, he shut his book and set it into his pocket before pulling out the Bingo book from his kunai sun was sinking lower, but it didn't hinder his view of the many profiles of the highly talented and missing-nin alike. Unlike Sakura and Naruto's book, his was ANBU specified; only giving extravagant details about deadlier missing-nin such as Akatsuki and those on a higher tier that Chunin would not be authorized to confront.
As he flipped through, he came across a few pages that fit the description of the reports and carefully folded the corners for later use to try narrowing the possibility of who it wasn't sure what they were up against. Apparently, the mercenary group kept their distance of Akatsuki and vice versa. At least, that was his conclusion if both groups could travel without any conflict. Then again, it was likely the unnamed group wasn't as tough as they made themselves to be. He couldn't imagine a small team of four being confident enough to purposely search out Akatsuki to goad into a fight. That was signing a death wish.
Overhead, the sun continued to creep low, creating a masquerade of colors to paint the sky in reds, purples, and oranges. The fluid clouds wafted over the horizon as the sun warmed the golden sands one last time for the day before night took over. The breeze was picking up, cooling the burning temperatures down as darkness drifted in. It was shortly after the sun had disappeared and the moon was in its ascent among the stars that he caught sight of the small spark of the fire backed up against the cliff side. A few fet away, the river rushed by uninterrupted.
Three tents stood crowded in a circle with Sakura, Naruto, and Sai warming up hot water over the fire, for no doubt, another helping of ramen.
"Hey! It's about time you came! I thought you got lost or something," Naruto commented as he opened an instant ramen grinned.
"I'm touched that you were worried about me."
"Meh," he grunted as he quickly poured water into the walked to the tent and opened it to see that they had taken the liberty of spreading out his blanket.
It must've been Sakura's doing… he mused.
"Are you going to eat?" Sakura asked when she saw that he wasn't going to join them like she had expected.
"No, I'm not hungry. I'll take third watch and you can decide who takes whatever else," he said shortly and zipped the tent shut behind watched the tent for a few moments before looking back to Naruto.
"What was all that about?" he asked with is mouth full of merely shrugged and began to pour her own water.
Sai, however, was not going to let the question go unanswered. "He's probably tired of eating your Ramen."
Naruto glared as he chewed his mouthful before swallowing and pointing at the artist.
"There's nothing wrong with my Ramen! He's never complained about it before."
"I did read that people will keep things to themselves rather than confront the person responsible for doing something that annoys them. I'd imagine this is along the same lines, don't you?"
Sakura rolled her eyes, knowing that the next few minutes would be filled with a new debate. So much for having a nice meal in.
Inside the tent, Kakashi had no intentions on going to sleep. Instead, he pulled out his Bingo book and started reading over the missing-nin's profile for the ones he had marked. Each one had different ranks and techniques, many being those he was already familiar with. Occasionally he would cross a profile that he had read about before and was able to mark them off of the possibility list.
From the attacks that was recorded by the Sand-nin, he was able to verify who one Tea-nin was and one River-nin though the other two remained a mystery. It was specifically the Konoha-nin that had him confused. There were only three possibilities of who this person could be and each very first that he read was a large fellow and thick muscled, standing at 6 feet and 4 inches. The second man was only two inches shorter but very skinny. Lastly was a younger boy, who looked Naruto's age with a tall Mohawk. At least when he saw this fellow leaf-nin, it would be easy to the book, he decided to get some much-needed rest and lay across his blanket with an arm behind his head before he slowly drifted off to sleep….
808080
Late night found the camp shrouded in darkness with the dying embers of the campfire smoldering softly. Warm plumes of smoke rose from the ash to the ebony velvet sky. Thousands of stars twinkled in between the ochre-toned sandstone walls. All was quiet except for the cool breeze of the desert wind whistling through the canyon silent as shadows, four figures carefully stalked down to the camp with practiced steps, never disturbing the rocky cliff face. At the base of the ravine, the river continued uninterrupted along the bank and over a few massive boulders, hiding the sound of steps against the loose rocks. The leader of the group raised a hand to the others, making them stop in their tracks halfway down the steep wall.
After a slight pause and reassessment of the area, the lone person carefully picked a path to the quiet camp. The leader continued across the rocky shale as a view of a sleeping ninja lay sprawled next to the smoldering fire with a small bubble of drool expanding as he snored.
Guessing that this particular nin was a heavy sleeper, the masked figure landed soundlessly on the compacted sandy ground before walking to the blond who remained unaware. After a moment, she scanned the area to see three tents, two which were filled while the blond male still slumbered near the lifeless fire. Looking down again, her grey eyes narrowed through the slits of her wolf-themed mask at the sight of the leaf symbol fitted across the shinobi's forehead protector.
Konoha...
Shit.
There was no need to confront Leaf-nin and create more trouble. She was better off leaving now before she drew unwanted attention.
With that decided, the stranger turned to walk away but was met face to face with another ninja that she hadn't noticed.
White lop-sided hair hung over another similar forehead protector that covered a single eye. The shinobi made a move by sending a kunai in an arc, the delicate wire attached catching the barest of light. The line wrapped around as intended, but as Kakashi pulled to tighten it, she disappeared in a flash before appearing above on the side of the didn't waste time tossing another kunai, already knowing the masked person would try to escape. It narrowly missed her ankle by a couple inches, though didn't slow her down as she darted up the steep cavern wall.
Kakashi pushed chakra to his feet to follow but stopped before reaching the water, knowing that it was useless. He was sure they would find each other another day. He watched three more shinobi follow the first, then disappeared over the top. With one more look down the ravine, the intruder stared hard at Kakashi who matched , once he was convinced they were gone, he looked to Naruto still sleeping soundly on the encounter was a little strange to say the least.
Whoever had entered was obviously the leader and had no intentions of causing trouble. Instead, it was like a curious animal, coming into the camp, when they thought it was safe to see who was occupying their territory. While the encounter with the stranger was brief, Kakashi had managed to take note of the person's silhouette and ability, clearly a female who had masterful chakra control. Unfortunately, he was not able to get a solid look at the forehead protector that was tied around her arm to see where her loyalties lie, currently or previously. But her skill...The stranger's chakra was masked so well that if it hadn't been his shift, he wouldn't have even woken to a disturbance.
The thought unnerved him.
There were very few times someone had managed to go unnoticed like that. The cause was either due to the others being very skilled, or he had let his guard down too much to notice. Regardless of the reason, he wondered if this was the same group they were sent after, or another team working in the area. He hadn't caught a solid look at the woman besides the mask and dark attire, though. The mask was usually something that elite groups wore, but she clearly did not have an official uniform, which hinted that it was her own personal aesthetic. White, animal themed with maroon and black markings, reminded him of Konoha ANBU mask. Then again, Konoha wasn't the only village that used those in uniforms, so that didn't necessarily narrow anything down.
Sighing, he walked across the dying embers and took a seat. It would be interesting to see what their purpose was and if they were actually the team they were sent out for or another unit.
808080
Morning came, and everyone was packed and already walking on the surface of the river. The team was getting further away from the desert as it led to the border with River Country. Towering trees started to become more abundant, casting shade around them, and the tall cliff became shorter, only reaching 40 feet along the sides. The sun wasn't as brutal, likely due to the canopy of leaves, yet the forest wasn't nearly as dense as their country. Instead, the trees were smaller hardwoods dispersed with a low grassy understory. The further away from the river they got, the less trees were around. The golden dunes eventually turned into grassy hills and cliff sides.
The team didn't venture away from the river though, which offered an easy walk under the shade of the trees. Sakura was humming away next to Naruto and Sai who bickered slightly but only in debate about smiles and emotions. At least Naruto was taking it well now and Sai was eager to learn more.
Kakashi stayed behind the group, wondering what had the team so easy going today. After he told them of the encounter the night before, they took to the best scenario; saying that the group might be some other team from River or another country looking for the same harassers. It wouldn't be the first mission that they had with the similar results. Jumping to conclusion that it was the team they were after could cause more problems, especially if it was another nation's members.
By late afternoon, the monotonous travel offered a change as the team came across a small clearing with broken branches, deep craters and scorch marks that were obviously a sign of a recent fight. The team immediately started searching the area for clues as to who it was that had been in the fight. But as soon as the search for clues started, it had ended. The chakra was everywhere and faded to an almost non-existent amount.
Kakashi shook his head in disappointment but decided to keep travelling through the forest in case something came up. The others followed with Naruto complaining about lunch time. Of course, Kakashi could only take so much of the whining before he eventually gave in and had them stop. Once again, Naruto pulled out his faithful noodle packet with a foxy grin. Sakura groaned when she realized that was all they had, and this earned her a confused look from Naruto. He just couldn't understand why someone would not want ramen when it was so convenient to make on missions. Sai and Kakashi hadn't mentioned anything about the problem of Ramen on the trip.
In the end, the team's lunch was quick and simple as they cleared out and started following whatever chakra trail or physical tamper they could find. Only twenty minutes later, they traced a lingering chakra signature to an area that was spring loaded with traps. Naruto was the first to make this unfortunate discovery as he tripped on a wire, sending a ball of kunai in his direction; fortunately, he managed to get his bearings straight in time to dodge it off to the side.
"You really aren't smart, dickless," Sai smiled, un-phased that his teammate almost got hit.
Naruto glared darkly. "Then let's see you get through without setting off a trap!"
"Naruto, we need to work as a team-" Sakura tried to reason but Sai cut her off as he started walking through the clearing, carefully glancing around for the many deadly wires and snares. Kakashi watched Sai carefully in case he needed help. If they got through this one step at a time, then they may find who was responsible for the odd protection in the middle of nowhere.
"Why would someone want to set up traps all over the area? It looks messy." Naruto asked.
"Because we're getting close to something they don't want us to." Kakashi continued to watch Sai, agreeing with Naruto on the snare placement. These traps were well hidden, though not in a clever order.
But it was then that Sai hit a concealed snare and a chakra string coiled around his ankle. A sudden groan from above in the trees turned his attention to an enormous log that started to swing down at him but was lodged into a branch that cracked under the weight. Slowly the branch started to break under the pressure and the log threatened to fall towards him.
"Sai, get out of there!" Sakura yelled.
Kakashi was already solving the situation as he tossed a kunai with a small paper seal attached to Sai who caught it. He kneeled down and sawed through the chakra string before summoning chakra to his feet to get out of the way of the log. But the release of the string around his ankle set off another trap as more chakra strings shot from tree to tree like a fence, blocking him in the path of the now loose log.
"Sai! Move!" Naruto yelled.
But Sai was trapped as he spun around to face the log that snapped the branch and was careening towards him. The swinging log gained speed as it preyed after him until a hand shot out of the ground at Sai's ankle before pulling him down under the earthy floor, narrowly missing the log.
Sakura and Naruto sighed in relief, but it was short lived as the wires holding the log snapped on one side, sending the swinging log back the other way. This time the free end crashed with the ground, uprooting other trees in its path and creating a crevice in the forest floor that trailed behind the destruction. Sai's head stared out with wide eyes, completely immobile. If Naruto wasn't so worried, he would've been proud to have noticed that Sai showed emotion, but he was too busy thinking of ways to get over and help. The crashing log was setting off traps everywhere. Just as it was about to reach Sai, it exploded in half from a paper explosive with one section swinging above the ground and the other sliding against the grassy understory until coming to a slow halt, three feet from Sai's head.
Kakashi stood on the other side of Sai with an eye crinkle and then leaned down to help Sai up.
"Woooow! That was awesome!" Naruto yelled as he ran to Sai now that all the traps were sprung from the log.
"Are you alright, Sai?" a concerned Sakura asked while scanning him quickly to make sure he wasn't injured. But Sai just flashed his fake smile.
"Don't worry, ugly. I'm fine-"
Punch!
"Ooohhh," Naruto winced with a snicker. "Bet you're not now!"
Sai sat up and rubbed his jaw while Kakashi only sighed.
"Let's go," he said and started leading the way through the forest.
Naruto quickly followed with Sakura walking calmly behind and Sai picking up the tail end. The sun was shining in between the canopy and the air around the team started lightening from the misadventure of the traps.
Kakashi once again had his book out while reading; not worried about any other traps that may be lurking in the shadow of the forest. By the way the wires broke under the pressure of the log, he could tell that they were old traps long forgotten. It was curious that the chakra trail they were following, before it disappeared, had recently went through there. He wasn't sure if the person just stumbled upon the old traps and kept them up, borrowing it for a getaway, or set them up years ago.
Sakura, Naruto, and Sai walked behind him, now talking about something to do with Ino, Kiba and Lee. He wasn't really paying attention, but as long as they were getting along, he had no complaints.
It was shortly after that he felt a sting of chakra, but it disappeared in a spark, not letting him know which direction it was coming from. He looked over the top of his book and scanned the area, searching for any other leaks of chakra but it was too difficult. Not wanting to alert the others yet, he continued walking, leading the teens towards a second river while staying attentive to the surroundings.
Spark-
There it was again…. But still undetectable. It was like whoever was lurking was playing with them.
Naruto and Sakura laughed at one of Sai's nicknames for Kiba, but Kakashi still wasn't paying attention.
A sudden breeze picked up and ruffled his white hair while the leaves rustled eerily above them.
Spark-
There it was and there it went-this time closer.
Kakashi slowed his steps and let a hand rest near the kunai pouch, ready for the first one to make the move. Team 7 was being hunted and he could feel eyes watching them.
But as they walked closer to the river, there wasn't any other sign of shinobi in the area. It was calm and no more foreign chakras were felt.
"Hey! Kakashi-sensei, let's go swimming!" Naruto yelled happily as he jogged to stand next to him.
"You can swim when we've set up camp."
"Aw! Come on!"
Kakashi just shook his head at the boy's attempt to plead.
Naruto's expression dropped. He glanced over his shoulder to Sakura and Sai. His pink haired teammate shrugged, but Naruto wasn't ready to give up. Seeing that Kakashi was too interested in his new book that he had gotten only a few days ago, a devious grin twisting across his lips. The blond turned to Kakashi slyly.
"So, we can go swimming?"
"I said no Naruto," Kakashi reminded while not looking away from the book, despite his attention being elsewhere. He debated telling the others that someone was nearby, however he knew that the best way to lure someone out was to act like they were unsuspecting. While Kakashi figured Naruto and the others could play oblivious well, he didn't want to take a chance. The report from Gaara had been very adamant of the target's skills in getting away. If teams from other countries had failed in capturing them, then he wasn't interested in possibly following the same procedures those teams had. In the end, he swallowed his warning to the others and stayed on guard.
"Oh…ok then," Naruto said dispassionately making Kakashi draw his brows together and give Naruto a strange glance. Why was he giving in so easily? "Then I'll just have to find something to talk about liiiiiiike…..whathappensintheendofMake-outTactics!"
Kakashi's pondered what he said before his eye widened. He wouldn't….
"In the end the main guy-" a gloved hand covered Naruto's mouth and a sigh of relief left Kakashi.
"So-you'll-let-us-swim?" came Naruto's muffled question through the glove.
Kakashi pondered it for a moment. He hadn't felt the chakra signatures for awhile, and he knew that the team was hot from the warm sun. If he didn't let them take a quick swim then he would suffer listening to Naruto tell him what happens in the story. Not to mention, it did go along with his plan to seem unsuspecting.
"Sure," he grinned and took his hand away.
Naruto punched the air and took off towards the river while pulling his shirt over his head and his long pants down, momentarily hopping awkwardly on one foot then the other, until he was in his boxers. Sakura grinned and started running after him, ready to feel the fresh water.
"Come on Sai!" she encouraged.
Kakashi watched each one pass him as if he wasn't there.
"Are you coming in?" Sakura asked.
"Do you want me to?" Kakashi grinned. But she merely shrugged and turned back to the water leaving a disgruntled Kakashi.
Do they think I'm too old, he sulked.
Sakura, Naruto and Sai were already raging a splashing war with each other as Kakashi sat along the bank with his book in hand. He didn't pay any attention to the three who yelled a few profanities in between splashes. Flipping a page, he leaned back against the tree, small splotches of sunlight shining between leaves across his page. Still, he hadn't felt any chakra and wondered if the strangers moved on or were still lurking. The latter seemed more likely, so he tried to sense out the area with his own chakra.
Sakura looked over to see Kakashi relaxed and smiled to herself before turning back to Naruto.
"Hey Naruto, let's play-" but she was cut off as she was pulled under the water.
Naruto grinned. "What do you want to play?"
Sai stayed quiet and looked at the water surface before looking to Naruto whose grin slowly disappeared.
"Sakura? Hey-Sakura…" He started to look around frantically but didn't see her.
The distressed tone turned Kakashi's attention just as Sakura's chakra sparked dangerously. Forgetting his book on the ground, he dove into the cold river water and started swimming to the gravelly floor, fighting the current to stay in place. His lone black eye spotted two fighting silhouettes visible through the murkiness of the water and he pulled a kunai, ready to get Sakura out of the attacker's hold.
Naruto was frantic as he made to dive under with Sai to help Kakashi, but two sudden strangers landed on the bank side.
"What the Hell?!" Naruto and Sai turned and began to swim to the opposite riverside and grabbed the kunai pack just as the two shinobi raced across the water surface after them.
"Here!" Naruto tossed Sai his pack and both dove back under the water, narrowly missing the pair of shinobi. Before anyone could make progress to counter, an explosion of water erupted and the first shinobi that had attacked Sakura was shot out of the water, landing unconscious on the ground.
The force from the explosion made the other two above Naruto and Sai lose control of their chakra and fall under the surface, where Naruto kicked one in the groin. Once they put enough distance between the enemy, Sai helped Naruto out of the river. Gasping for air, they crawled closer to their clothes to see Kakashi's head break the water surface while pulling an unconscious Sakura in his arms. Both Naruto and Sai ran over and helped pull Sakura out while Kakashi followed suit.
"What happened?! Who are they?!" Naruto asked as Sakura started to wake.
Emerald eyes blinked as she looked up to the three worried faces before coughing violently. Kakashi lifted her up to a sitting position until her coughing ceased.
"I'm alright," she said, thankful she had her kunai pouch on in the water.
But the sound of splashing turned the team's attention to the two men who pulled themselves onto the same bank.
"You come back for more?" Naruto asked as he stood to his feet.
One man scoffed, wearing a plain mask painted with red and white stripes. He was taller and thicker built then the other one who had a blue mask and a sound symbol on the forehead with a scratch through it.
"That was a cheap shot you little prick," the first man stated gruffly.
"Who are you and why are you attacking us?" Sai asked before Naruto could retort.
"What is this? 20 questions?"
Naruto growled but stopped as another masked figure landed in front of the two men. Slowly, the figured stood with a simple gray shirt, black pants that went to her knees, and blood red sash matching the wolf like mask, which gave nothing away. The outfit clung to her curves charmingly and long ebony hair was pulled into a high ponytail. A kunai pouch was strapped to her right thigh and two short blades at her low back. Kakashi recognized her as the woman from the night before and by the description, so did the others beside him. Team 7 stood with Naruto and stared at the three strangers.
The two masked men behind the newcomer went rigid.
"Boss…Uh…we were just-I know you said not to but…I-we're…." the huskier man sighed and mumbled a quick… "We're sorry, boss."
The woman looked over her shoulder coldly, receiving the satisfied reaction of the men as they flinched and looked away. They knew they were in trouble now by the glare the gray eyes pinned them with through the holes in the mask.
"I'll deal with you three later," she promised darkly.
At this point, both men considered their teammate, who lay unconscious on the other side of the river, lucky for not seeing the murderous glare.
Across from the strangers, a gleam from the newcomer's forehead protector wrapped snuggly around her arm caught Sakura's attention.
"You're from Konoha?"
The two masked men could feel their leader's eyes narrow in a glower as she glanced back at the Leaf-nin.
"Was."
"Why did you leave?" Sakura asked genuinely.
The woman said nothing at first but change the subject. "Why are Konoha shinobi all the way over here?"
"Yeah! Don't you have enough rivers to play at in Fire Country?" spat the tallest man.
The Sound shinobi stepped away quickly as the woman spun around and gave a firm whack to the other man's head.
"You're pushing it!" she hissed.
The gruff man rubbed his head and mumbled a second apology.
Finding the entire scenario strange, Kakashi stepped forward from his team to confront the woman. He only closed the distance slightly between the teams, leaving a spacious gap of 30 feet so neither side felt crowded.
"What is it that you have against the villages to make you attack their teams?" Kakashi asked as he stepped forward. The woman turned her attention to him.
"We have done no such thing," she denied in an even tone.
"Don't lie! We know from Gaara that it was a group of four with a person from Oto and Konoha. You guys fit that description and attacked us unprovoked," Naruto growled.
"Not to mention, you attacked us unprovoked..." Sai added bluntly.
The woman didn't reply clearly deep in thought over something. Kakashi only watched her, not sure what her intentions were. From the sound of it, her team had acted out of term and attacked without her consent.
"Well, it's unfortunate you feel that way, but you have us confused with a different group," she stated calmly and watched Team 7 curiously to see what they would do. Her previous agitation seemed to have lessened.
"Then what's your team doing here if not attacking others?" Kakashi questioned again.
"That's none of your concern."
"Actually, it is," Sakura interrupted Kakashi. "We're to bring in the team that's responsible for the attacks."
"Ah... I'm assuming that you're wanting to arrest us then?" she asked, and it sounded like she would have a mocking expression if the mask wasn't on.
"Specifically, you." Sai said with a smile. "You're the leader and accountable for your team."
"Oh," she said thoughtfully as team 7 watched her reaction. She pondered for a moment while shifting her weight to one hip and putting a hand to the muzzle of the mask. "Hmmm that's going to be a bit of a problem…You, see? I don't think I agree to those terms."
The two men behind her shifted and it was clear that under their masks, they grinned darkly.
"It wasn't like we were asking for your permission on the matter," Kakashi said in a firm tone.
"Konoha is out of their jurisdiction," came her simple reply. "Especially, without any proof."
"Even without it, you're a former Konoha kunoichi. We're in our rights," he retorted. He saw where this was going, and he couldn't help but be a little anxious to start the fight-which was a rarity for the white-haired man. The woman seemed very relaxed about the situation, but not arrogant. She was obviously a strategist with key chakra control.
When she didn't respond, he introduced another topic. "Why don't you take off your mask and give us your name."
It wasn't a request.
"I will when you do." He could hear the grin in her voice.
"Touché," he replied.
"I'll say this once, I don't want a fight," she warned, "but I won't back down if you don't leave this pointless mission."
The way she said it was almost teasingly. Or mocking. Kakashi wasn't sure.
"Yeah right! We don't turn our backs on any mission, believe it!" Naruto exclaimed proudly.
"There's a first for everything."
"Not with us there isn't!"
"Is it really going to go there then?"
Sakura couldn't help the amount of questions she had for the woman, aside from her identity. She wasn't trying to outright fight them. Instead, she was... indifferent to the entire situation. There wasn't any boastful or conceited meaning behind her words. For some reason, there wasn't the usual hostile vibe that other missing-nin had when they confronted Team 7.
"If you just surrender then it will be a lot easier on you," Sai commented, "and we won't have to fight."
"But why are you set on arresting me? If you look inside you're little Bingo books then you'll see that I'm not in there," she calmly pointed out.
Kakashi blinked. She was right. When he looked through it just the other day, she wasn't in there at all. "And why is that?"
"…..I don't have the answer to that," she said quietly.
"Well, that doesn't change anything," Naruto said in a calmer voice but the glare still firmly in place. "We're still taking you and your team in."
"Just try it, you little punk," grunted the tallest man.
"No problem!"
Suddenly, the silent blue masked man charged at them with a long, curved dagger to his side.
"Move!" Sakura yelled at Naruto and Sai as she charged to meet the blue mask in a battle. It wasn't until Naruto and Sai landed under a tree that the gruff man attacked them with a heavy punch but missed both as they narrowly dodged.
In the center of the clearing, Kakashi and the woman stared at each other, seeing who would be the first to make a move. Kakashi waited, muscles taunt and ready to move. He was patient, usually preferring to let the enemy come to him.
Eventually, the woman did just that as she flickered from her spot. Kakashi looked around, trying to find her chakra and soon grew slightly anxious when he couldn't detect her until she was only a few feet away.
Flipping to the side, and tossing a kunai at her, she did a quick cartwheel to the side before her hands flew in a mixture of signals. Kakashi took this time to charge but she had already finished.
It happened so suddenly that as Kakashi was nearly to her when a dark vapor curdled around him, circling skyward. The sun and woodland canopy were blacked out from view and the air grew thick. Was this an illusion?
Not taking the chance to find out what her trick did, he lifted his forehead protector and realized it was a genjutsu…and a dangerous one at that. Releasing the genjustu didn't prove difficult; the black vapor wasn't there to disorientate him, but rather to hide the true attack.
Kakashi's eye widened when his Sharingan noticed the explosive notes among the dissipating fumes.
"Kai!" she yelled over the strange. The explosion vibrated through the earth, and fire spread shortly into the air as smoke thrust towards the tops of the trees until it died to nothing.
Sakura was momentarily distracted and was rewarded by a deep gash across her arm from the deadly dagger.
The masked woman didn't pay attention to the others fighting on the bank as she looked to the burned spot only to see it empty of any body. Narrowing her eyes and pulling a kunai out, she jumped to land on the river surface. Sending her chakra out, she tried to feel for her opponent, but it was difficult when there was so much going on-specifically, the 20 clones the blond leaf-nin was using to attack her teammate. She continued to glance around the area until the familiar white hair caught her attention under the surface of the water. Grey eyes widened and she leapt out of the way just as his clone exploded under her feet, making her stumble as she landed hard on her knees. She wasn't given the time to move before a hand pulled her wrist behind her head, so the kunai's sharp tip was touching the skin on the back of her neck. His other gloved hand was holding the top of her head so she couldn't spin away.
He had her pinned, in a mercy hold, on her knees, with no other options.
"Concede?"
"This is just a minor inconvenience, hot-shot. Nothing to give up over."
"Then what other option do you have left?"
He could swear that he felt her smile.
"Care to find out?"
Suddenly, her chakra spiked, and his eyes widened just as the clone he held exploded. Both poofed in a cloud…Both being clones…
This was tricky…
It was then that both appeared in front of each other on the bank. It was clear that they had underestimated their opponent, yet both were testing the other's strength from a distance. The masked woman couldn't help but look over as another rumble drew her attention and she saw the pink-haired kunoichi punch the ground, sending the man in the blue mask falling into the deep crater unconscious. Furrowing her brows, she saw that the larger man was starting to struggle as he fought viciously with a painting that had come to life along with the other clones. Her team was dwindling. They finally picked a fight the idiots couldn't finish.
Turning back, she realized that she couldn't keep her attacks cautious if she wanted to escape.
"Tell me why you're attacking other teams," Kakashi insisted in a hard voice.
"I haven't done it," she replied as she soon became anxious over the fact that she may not get away.
"The descriptions match you and your team."
"Then you need to re-read the reports." Again, she started her next jutsu and Kakashi tried to identify it-watching every hand sign she made with the single crimson eye memorizing the signal.
As soon as she finished the last sign, she thrust both hands out and palms facing Kakashi. Suddenly, the river water pulsed and surged before pouring forward until it took the form of an enormous wolf with hollow eyes. It charged at Kakashi, but he flipped backwards and threw his own hand seals into the same pattern she had used. Grey eyes widened as she watched him repeat her jutsu that she had created herself.
The two wolves met each other in midair with a thundering force, until they released their form and disappeared. Water splashed and covered the clearing, the excess running off the bank and back into the river.
The woman was in shock and couldn't understand how she ignored his Sharingan. Suddenly, something nagged at the back of her head-that she knew who this person was. Something from her past that was important to know in that moment. She tried to fish the memory out and was rewarded with one that left a sinking feeling in her stomach.
"Hatake, Kakashi… The Copy-Nin."
Kakashi didn't show whether he was disheartened or not that she figured out who he was. Instead, he offered to keep it conservational in hopes to gather information. "Now you know my name-I didn't get yours."
"Because I didn't give it."
"Ah," he deadpanned. "Worth a try."
"So," she started, her voice a little bitter. "Do you forever remember jutsus you copy, or is it in the heat-of-the-moment sort of party trick?"
"Do you think I would really tell you my techniques in the middle of a battle?" he countered.
"Worth a try," she parried. "But really... Are those jutsus just filed away somewhere in that Sharingan for later use?"
"Perhaps... But don't let that hold you back."
His response was almost teasing, and the woman's response was lost as she wasn't sure how to continue with that information. Trying to out fight someone who could copy your attacks rendered most of one's useless. Not only that, but Hatake, Kakashi was a renowned shinobi for more than his Sharingan. She remembered his ascent in ANBU at a young age and many successful missions. He was a prodigy.
Taking the pause in her fight, she looked over to see that her last teammate was struggling to stay fighting against the three others and she knew she would have to help. But before she could make a move or form an idea, the sight of Naruto froze her. He was lunging at the tall man with a blue chakra ball in his hand. Her eyes widened as she watched him, knowing that a hit by that jutsu would render her teammate unconscious or even dead.
"How does he know the Rasengan?" she muttered to herself, but Kakashi heard.
Before Kakashi could say anything, her chakra pulsed, making him turn serious as he felt her demeanor take a drastic turn. Holding her right arm out so her palm faced Naruto, she gripped her wrist with the other hand and focused her energy. Kakashi rushed after her with a kunai in hand, determined that he had to stop it when a bad feeling jumped to his throat. As he got closer, he noticed an amber necklace glow every so slightly around her neck.
In the corner of his eye, he glimpsed to Naruto as her chakra rose and just as the blond reached the missing-nin, he stopped dead in his tracks, frozen in mid-attack.
"Sa-Saakura?!" Naruto yelled as he found his body wasn't listening to him, as if out of his control. "I can't move!"
Sakura left the fight to Sai and rushed back to Naruto, placing her hands on his arm. Instantly, the medic-nin retracted her hands as if burnt.
"What the-"
She attempted to hover her hands above Naruto's back and ease chakra in to diagnose him. Seeing his teammates in trouble, Sai sent a tiger at the man who fell back with a yell and hit his head, knocking him out cold.
The chakra inside Naruto was battering against the vessels, trying to flow angrily against an unmoving wall. His muscles were taunt as if locked in position. She tried to send her chakra deeper to find the source. Naruto's face contorted in pain, and he tried to lock a groan behind his clenched teeth.
"M-my Rasengan... What's happening?"
Sakura looked up and saw it shrinking until it fully disappeared.
The masked woman saw that she was the last and released her hold on Naruto-but in the tense moment, had lost focus on Kakashi. As soon as she dropped her arms and turned away from Naruto, Kakashi slammed into her, pinning her to a boulder. Her arms were bound in one hand behind her back and the other hand held a kunai to her throat with the tip biting into her skin just enough for a bead of scarlet blood to leak down to her collar bone.
"I'm guessing you can't forget about this?" she asked quietly, eyes meeting his own over her shoulder despite knowing he watched her with the Sharingan.
Kakashi said nothing with his calmer temperament gone. He looked to Naruto who had fallen to his knees, now vomiting all across the grass with Sakura frantically trying to ease his pain.
"What did you do?" His voice was dark and warm breath fanned over her skin.
She didn't say anything.
This didn't set well with Kakashi as he spun her around to face him and gripped her wrists. "Answer the question."
"He's fine now; it's a natural effect. Just give him food and he'll be as good as new."
"That's not the answer I'm looking for." His Sharingan began to spin, and she narrowed her eyes.
"He'll live. I'd say that's answer enough."
Kakashi stared at her mask, noticing the gun-metal gray that stared back with defiance. He was about to rip the mask off of her when his attention dropped to a pendant around her neck, glowing but dimming into nothing but a stone. Was that where the jutsu came from?
Before he could decide on the next move, his thoughts were cut short as the woman released a transportation jutsu and disappeared in a dark, storm grey smoke that dissolved through his fingertips….
"Give the boys my regards…I'll be seeing you soon…."
Hope you enjoyed! I'll be editing the next few chapters and then adding one or two before the story itself continues. Take care!
