Shinobi Leaves: What Lies Beneath

Ami Inuzuka isn't quite sure how she feels about her first Genin team. Her fellow Jounin make it seem easy, but dealing with three twelve-year-olds fresh from the Academy is driving her crazy! One of her students is color blind, another one uses hand puppets to communicate and the third is deathly afraid of dogs, including Ami's pet, Ryu. After a close call with the children, Ami's feeling the pressure of past mistakes. Ready to give up, she gives the kids one last, simple mission. Unbeknownst to the Inuzuka, there's someone out there who desperately wants to get their hands on one of her kids. And they're willing to do anything. Will Team 6 manage to pull themselves together in time to prevent disaster? Find out in the first of the Shinobi Leaves series, What Lies Beneath, updating every Tuesday and Thursday!

Rating: PG-13 (Some Violence and Sexually-Themed Humor)
Pairings: Vary

Shinobi Leaves, Characters © , wolfram18, angeloflight123
Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto

Prologue

1

The freezing rain whipped across the white dog mask covering the woman's face so violently that she raised a hand to steady it in case the straps around her head decided to give. The cold slush stung her exposed fingers yet somehow the pain brought relief. It kept her rooted to the field where she stood overlooking the eerily quiet village through the cluster of trees ahead, eyes searching for any sign of movement.

The thigh-high grass hissed as someone approached. She didn't turn away from the village as the man stepped beside her. They had spent their childhood together; it wasn't hard to determine his chakra from someone else's. He was nervous much like he had been when they were Genin, a trait Ami had thought he'd grown out of. The ANBU corps had forced them to grow up quickly and sometimes it seemed they had grown twenty years over the two they had been enlisted.

"Something doesn't feel right," Kai observed solemnly. Ami stole a glance at her former-teammate. He had finally started to grow taller than her a year after being promoted to Jounin at fifteen. His height hadn't changed much over the past four years, a fact that Ami frequently used to tease him. His wild straw-blonde hair was pushed back by his own ANBU mask, formed in the shape of a monkey's face. Underneath it, Ami knew his grey eyes would be alive with a spark they all got before a mission was played out.

"Everything will be fine." She tugged on the single braid of hair that draped down his back and shot him a reassuring smile even though he couldn't see it. He squeezed her shoulder with a heavily bandaged hand and forearm. Guilt shot through her body and she turned her attention back to the village. Underneath those bandages were deep scars that had been caused by her when they were training under the Sanin, Lady Tsunade after their original sensei, Orochimaru had gone rogue years ago.

"I know. It just feels different than other missions." He admitted with a sigh.

"Do you want to take Ryu?" Ami offered. For the first time since taking post, the large furred mass beside her stirred and glanced up at his human partner when hearing his name spoken. Kai looked at the black wolf-dog with gray dipped highlights on one of his ears, legs and muzzle. The dark red bandana around his neck looked like blood in the sparse moonlight. Kai swallowed hard and looked away from the brown and blue eyes of the dog.

"No, you keep him." He sighed again, summoning his strength. He let his hand fall from her shoulder as he turned away.

"Are you sure?" She grabbed his wrist. He nodded and she let go as he walked back to his assigned position. Movement to her left made her jump. Another man had silently joined her, making his way through the ranks alerting the squad that it was almost time to move. Tenzō, a man that had been experimented on by her former-mentor as a child, stepped close and lifted his own ANBU mask to reveal his face. Ami followed suit.

"Nervous?" He asked her. His large black eyes twinkled with a familiar spark she knew would be mirrored in her own hazel eyes.

"Excited," she corrected him. His fingers brushed back strands of her dark red hair that had fallen forward before outlining the fang mark on her cheek. Her heart fluttered when he touched his lips to hers.

"Be careful," he told her and kissed her again.

"You too," she smiled and they slipped their masks back on. Tenzō disappeared behind her without another word. Ami reached down and slipped her fingers through Ryu's coarse fur. He whined softly. "Ready, Ryu?" She whispered. Her right hand played idly with one blade on the staff she had strapped to her back. The sound of a bird crying through the woods made her heart jump. It was time.

Ami slipped forward through the brush. The squad around her disappeared into the scenery as they charged the village. Here in the depths of the Konohagakure forest, an international terrorist known as Killjoy had taken the citizens hostage and claimed the once peaceful community as his new headquarters. Images of the staked heads they had passed surrounding the village ignited a rage inside Ami. This man deserved to die.

A familiar aura came up on her left, a few feet away.

"Most saves wins," Kai hushed. Ami smiled.

"Loser buys drinks," she added to their challenge. She reached out her hand to him and he took it, giving it a quick squeeze.

"Be careful, Kai." She told him before letting go. They went their separate ways as the woods gave way to the village of wooden huts and the squad rushed in like fog rolling over a lake.