Title: The Mission From Hell
Author: JackieLupin (you can contact me at )
Disclaimer: Kishimoto-sama owns all!
Rating: Light R for suggestive language, swearing, and battle scenes. And maybe some sex later on.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THIS STORY: This is an AU, which means an "Alternate Universe." In this story, Sasuke never left Konoha and never attacked Naruto at the hospital after the Chuunin Exams. Also, I'm making The Hidden Sand Village an ally of Konoha; therefore, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro did NOT attack the Hokage Sarutobi with Orochimaru, and the fight between Team 7 and Gaara/Shukaku never happened. However, Orochimaru did manage to kill the Sandaime, so Tsunade is now Godaime. Sakura has trained underneath Tsunade for four years, so Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and the Rookie 9 are now 17 years old, while Neji, Tenten and Lee are 18. Yamato-taichou and Sai are also around, but probably won't have major roles in this story.
If you have any questions, please contact me and I'll do my best to set everyone on the right track! Thanks!
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CHAPTER TWO
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Sakura awoke just as the sun rose, blearily blinking the sleep from her eyes and yawning. She groaned as the pain in her temples intensified, suddenly wishing that she had gone to bed earlier than she had. She had fallen asleep only hours before... Kakashi and Jomei had entertained the four teenagers with stories from their childhoods... rather, Jomei had shared his own stories as a young boy in the land of Wind, and Kakashi, Sakura was positive, just made up his own stories. Kakashi's tale about fighting off ten jounin shinobi at the age of five was impossible, even for a shinobi of his caliber.
A quick glance around the clearing assured Sakura that Kakashi, Jomei, Akeno and Naruto were still asleep, tucked safely away in their bedrolls. Sakura's eyes lingered on Akeno's still form for a few moments. Sighing, she wished it was Akeno she was in love with. It wasn't hard to like the Sand-nin, but she liked him as a friend, even if he was very handsome. He seems to like me well enough, Sakura mused dejectedly, tracing the curves of his face with observing eyes.
Speaking of relationships... or lack thereof... Where was Sasuke? The bedroll beside Naruto's, on closer inspection, was empty.
"Sasuke?" she called out softly, throwing back the top of her bedroll to wobble to her feet. Hissing slightly as the cool morning air hit her skin, Sakura gazed into the canopy of the surrounding forest. "Where are you?" All that answered her was the chatter of birds in the air above her and the occasional rustle caused by the wind. Maybe he was on guard duty... It made sense, since Sasuke would be the one to get landed with it, since he liked solitude so much. Shivering, she grabbed her blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders, wishing she had thought to bring something warmer, even though they were in the desert.
"Here. I'm right here."
In another tone, those words may have been comforting. But since Sasuke had his chakra masked and could move silently, Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin at his impassive tone. She spun around to see Sasuke enter the clearing, sopping wet. He dropped his shirt onto his empty bedroll and searched through his pack for a new one before throwing it on.
"I went to bathe," he explained needlessly with a shrug.
"Oh," she said, her eyes glued to the small droplet of water that fell from his scalp and roamed over his forehead, over his eyebrow and down the planes of his nose and chin. Sasuke really was terribly handsome... if only he smiled more often. Most of the time he only reminded her of a petulant child with his morose behavior and lack of adult communication skills.
He looked back at her as she gazed at him, though his expression wasn't churlish or moody. "Did you, uh... sleep well?" he tried softly, then cleared his throat and looked away as though the grass was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. His dark hair fell into his face, hiding his eyes from view.
Her eyes widened in surprise at Sasuke's attempt at 'small talk.' "Y-yeah, I slept fine. Uh... you?"
"Other than Naruto's snoring, yeah," he replied, busing himself with rummaging through his pack for Kami knows what. His lips quirked with a repressed smile.
Sakura giggled softly. "Yeah, it's kind of annoying sometimes." Wow...he made a joke?
"Hn." And just as it appeared, the moment was gone.
She rubbed her hands together for warmth, then winced at the dirt that was suddenly smeared all over them and underneath her nails. How attractive, she thought wryly, futilely attempting to pick out the dirt and failing miserably. "Oh, Sasuke?"
"Yeah?"
"Where was that river again?"
He glanced up at her with a crooked smirk. "About half a mile to the south," he said, then went back to his work.
"If the others wake up, tell them where I went. I won't take long." Sakura turned around and zipped up her own pack, then slung it over her shoulders. Quickly, she rolled up her bedroll and her blankets, folded them neatly, and then placed them on the ground, ready to go. After pulling on her boots, she concentrated chakra to the bottom of her feet, readying herself to spring into the canopy.
"Sakura?" Sasuke called tentatively right before Sakura was about to leave, and she turned around, confused both by his tone and the fact that he had called her back.
"Yeah?" she murmured.
"I'm... sorry, about our training yesterday morning," Sasuke muttered, gazing up into the canopy above her, red tinging his cheeks slightly.
Sakura beamed at him, and Sasuke in turn relaxed and offered a hesitant smile back. "It's okay, Sasuke," she said warmly, then turned back around and headed off to find that river so she could bathe the dirt away.
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By the time she was sparkly clean and returned to camp, the other shinobi were wide awake. Kakashi was sitting down against a tree, absentmindedly stirring something in a pot and reading his Icha Icha at the same time. Sasuke, unsurprisingly, was nowhere to be seen, Jomei was sharpening his katana, and Naruto and Akeno were playing a game of shogi that he must have brought with him.
Sakura sighed and plopped herself down on the ground next to Naruto, then opened up her pack and took out a book of new jutsu she had borrowed from the library on Tsunade-shishou's orders that she broaden her knowledge of combat jutsu. Kakashi would probably want to head out in a few hours, but since right now he seemed content to merely sit under the tree and read his "romance" novels, then Sakura could cram some studying in.
After fifteen minutes of reading up on various techniques of offensive jutsu and finding nothing that suited her, Sakura glanced over at the shogi board. "Uh, Naruto," she said just as her teammate reached over to move his piece to the left, "If you move it that way, you'll lose."
"Huh? No, I won't... wait... you're right... Thanks, Sakura-chan!"
"Don't mention it." Besides, Akeno was obviously beating him. If Naruto wasn't aware of that...
Sakura was an expert on shogi, thanks to her lazy friend. Shikamaru had taught her almost everything she needed to know about shogi, not to mention combat skills. He taught her the basic rules of shogi, but refused to tell her his secret weapon. "If I tell you," he had drawled, "then I won't be the best at shogi anymore. You'll have to figure it out yourself if you want to beat me." Secretly, Sakura knew that she would never win against the Nara genius.
Sakura smiled. She was very lucky to have Shikamaru as a friend and mentor. Neji would spar with her from time to time, but he didn't take the time to explain what she was doing wrong like Shikamaru would, or break down a combination attack and teach it to her properly; instead, the Hyuuga would knock her off of her feet and tell her she was sloppy with her hand to hand combat, and they would do the drill over and over again until she figured out what she was doing wrong on her own. Kiba was a lot of fun to spar with, but it was much more entertaining watching him and Naruto spar due to the fact that their strengths lay in the same category: brute strength and a variety of handy ninjutsu. It was definitely Shikamaru that really taught her how to rely on her instincts, and she was so grateful to him.
And right now, Sakura wished she was training with him, not stuck on this dangerous mission that hadn't even really started yet. She sighed in exasperation and rubbed her eyes blearily. I just want to get this mission over with, she thought in frustration, I really wish Shikamaru had come along. I'm not doubting our abilities as a Team, but... this is an S-class mission, and we're only four shinobi...If this is a full scale war between cities, we'll need backup...
"Breakfast!" Kakashi called out, interrupting Sakura and her thoughts. She shook her head, slightly happy that they had been interrupted. She needed to clear her head... they would be fine! Kakashi-sensei was with them, and he was a feared shinobi! Even now in training sessions the three of them barely managed to keep him down for long...
"We'll be fine," she whispered, though her words were empty.
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An hour later, after breakfast was consumed and the campsite picked immaculate and lacking any sign that six shinobi camped there for the night, Kakashi got to his feet and cleared his throat. "Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto," he said, "It's time for us to leave." The five looked up at them and nodded reluctantly.
"Us as well," Jomei declared, standing up beside his protege, laying a hand on Akeno's shoulder. "We must finish our mission."
Kakashi shook hands with Jomei. "Good luck," he said, and received a nod in return. Jomei then patted Naruto's head and shook Sasuke's hand in farewell. Then, the old Sand shinobi shook Sakura's hand as well.
"Watch over your family," he said kindly, his experienced eyes twinkling.
"You as well," she replied warmly. Sakura then looked over at Akeno, who looked reluctant to leave. "It was great to meet you, Akeno!"
Akeno shook the black curls out of his face with a laugh. "You too, Sakura." Swiftly, he pulled her into a hug. Sakura hugged him back, liking the feel of his hard, strong body against hers. It felt... well, not like she had hoped it would. It was too much like a friendship than a romance...
"Goodbye, Akeno," she whispered.
And then the two Sand Hunter-nins waved a last goodbye, then disappeared into the forest as quickly as they had appeared upon them. Sakura blinked; last night seemed like a dream already. Not to mention this morning... what was with Sasuke's sudden change in behavior?
Sakura sighed, deflated. "No use worrying about it now," she muttered.
"What was that?" Sasuke asked her, confused.
"Ah, nothing!" she replied hurriedly, blushing, "Just talking to myself."
Sasuke merely frowned, but then his attention turned to Kakashi, who had begun to walk. "C'mon," the Copy ninja called over to them, "We've got to head out. We should reach Igarashi-san by late afternoon if we make good enough time."
"Hai!" Naruto said with a grin, shouldering his pack.
Sakura smiled at him, then punched him lightly in the arm. Over Naruto's fake groans and mumbles of pain, she teased, "That's new! You're the first to agree!"
"I'll have you know, Sakura-chan, that I do not argue as much as I used to!"
"Hn," Sasuke interjected with a smirk, "Dobe, you're known in Konoha for arguing, not for diplomacy."
"Or tact," Sakura smiled, throwing her arm around Naruto's shoulder and hugging him, "But we love you."
The dark haired Uchiha snorted, then increased his pace to walk slightly in front of them, "Speak for yourself, Sakura." His stride was subtly flaunting his words to Naruto, and she could feel the blond tense, ready to attack his friend and brother yet again. His blue eyes were glaring at Sasuke's back, and just when Sakura thought for sure that an earnest fight would break out, Naruto grinned and merely punched him.
"Teme!"
And then the bickering began. Again.
Within hours, the thick, overgrown forest had soon melded into swampland with itchy mosquitos and a dense, heavy fog that curtained everything more than five feet in an obscure cloud. And even more slowly, the marsh receded into long fields and meadows, the late summer bringing the last flowers to their brilliance as the long grass soon became yellow and bleached from the harsh sun. The terrain also changed; instead of the gracefully sloping hills and beautiful riverbeds, now there were only sharp cliffs and rocky outcrops dotting the horizon, with sparse wildlife and plant life. As Team 7 left the forest of their homeland behind, the temperature steadily climbed; if Sakura thought it was hot in Fire Country, it was nothing compared to how stifling it was in Wind Country without any trees that offered both shade and protection. Poor Naruto, trudging along in front of her, was sweating profusely and gasping for breath in the hot daylight where moisture was sparse. Every so often, the blond teenager tugged at the collar of his t-shirt, having discarded his track jacket a long time ago; now it was wrapped around his head like a makeshift burnoose. Sakura was envious of him; she didn't really have anything that large that could serve as a shield for her. Even Kakashi had taken off his jounin vest, slinging it over his shoulder. His standard issue shirt was wrapped around his silver mane of hair; he appeared much more comfortable only in his sleeveless, masked shirt and pants. Sasuke too had unwrapped his arm bindings and placed them in his pack, but in his shorts and black, sleeveless shirt, he was cool enough already.
Sakura, however, was nearly as hot as she had been at the bridge in Konoha two days ago as they waited for Kakashi. Her black sleeveless top did nothing to cool her down; instead, the dark color seemed to attract heat, and the netting she wore underneath it itched and chafed uncomfortably. Her shorts were damp from her sweat, and after awhile, her large, leather combat boots and her pack began to feel like they weighed a hundred pounds.
Falling behind slightly as Kakashi led Naruto and Sasuke forward across the arid desert, Sakura mounted a large boulder and scanned the horizon. All around her was wasteland... and everything looked the same. Except for a knotted, twisted old tree off in the distance to the east, there was nothing remarkable about the landscape. Everything was brown and yellow. How Iwate grew to be such a large trading establishment was beyond her knowledge, but since, from the description given to her in the mission scroll labeled Iwate as an oasis in the middle of the desert, she wasn't surprised.
For a few long moments, Sakura merely gazed at the surrounding land as she fought to catch her breath. It was lucky Kakashi was such a good navigator, with or without sun, because she'd be lost in the endless dirt and sand. Not to mention she'd die of dehydration rather quickly if she lost her way.
"Sakura," Sasuke called over to her. She looked over at him; he had stopped and turned slightly to glance over his shoulder as Kakashi and Naruto continued to walk. "Are you coming?"
"Hai, Sasuke," she replied, jumping down from the boulder and walking over to him, "I was just looking around."
He nodded, face as unreadable as ever. "It's a good thing to be alert," he commended, "But there's no way for enemy shinobi to hide out here. There's no cover." With a sigh, he turned back around and together they trailed behind their other two teammates.
"Well, there could be shinobi from Stone," Sakura reasoned, "Using jutsu like Kakashi-sensei does, when he hides underground."
"That's unlikely."
"But not impossible."
"Improbable."
"It could happen."
"Hn."
Sakura sighed at Sasuke's choice of words, knowing that the conversation was over. She wished... well, if she wished he was like any other guy, then he wouldn't be Sasuke. Why oh why did she have to like such an infuriating man? She felt like a masochist sometimes because she knew that her feelings were not reciprocated. It was odd, her relationship with Sasuke. One day he treats her like the dirt underneath his sandals and tries to kill her during training, and then the next, he attempts to start a conversation with her. The ups and downs really was confusing.
Looking up at the cloudless sky, Sakura realized that the afternoon was wearing down. "Kakashi-sensei?" she called, and her silver-haired teacher turned his head in acknowledgment of her question, "Aren't we getting close to the area Lord Igarashi is supposed to meet us?"
Kakashi stopped. "Yes," he said, straightening up from his slouch, "I'm afraid I lost track of time." He turned to face his students. "Alright, your mission has begun. This is where it gets tricky. I want you all to be on your guard, until this mission is over. That means that when we camp, two sleep, and two have sentry duty. As soon as we make contact with Igarashi-san, we'll need to be ready for any kind of attack. If I'm guessing correctly, Maeno Montaro, if that is indeed his name, will want him dead-"
"Kaka-sensei!" Naruto interrupted, his blue eyes wide in his tan face and one finger pointing to the east, "Smoke!"
"Where?" he commanded, swirling around to follow Naruto's gaze. Sakura turned to look; many miles away, a small curl of smoke could be seen on the horizon, barely more than a dot. Her stomach sunk in horror; whatever it was, that smoke didn't signal anything good.
"I'll sent my Ninken dogs to see what it is," Kakashi said, lowering his mask and biting his thumb. Releasing the catch on his kunai pouch, he withdrew a long scroll and smeared the blood across it. Within seconds, a small explosion went off in front of the Copy Ninja, revealing Pakkun. Pakkun shook out his short, bristly fur and gazed up at his long-time companion.
"What is it?" the pug rasped, and then wagged his curly tail in a distracted greeting when he saw the others.
Kakashi pointed towards the smoke. "You, Sasuke and I will go and scout up ahead. If that has anything to do with Igarashi-san and other shinobi, I'll need to stay behind, and you'll need to call in Sakura and Naruto." After addressing Pakkun and Sasuke, Kakashi turned to Sakura and Naruto. "I want you two to circle around to the rear of whatever this is, and do so quietly. I only want you to fight when I give you the signal, understood?"
"Hai!" Sakura and Naruto chorused.
"If everyone is ready..." Pakkun began, and Team 7 nodded.
"Move out!"
With that, Kakashi, Sasuke and Pakkun set off, running across the plains at a surprising speed. Giving them a few seconds head-start, Sakura glanced over at Naruto, smiled and nodded, and then followed off with her teammate, racing off behind the others. After a few hundred yards, the three veered off to the left. Her earlier exhaustion was left in the dust as they ran.
"That's our cue," Sakura panted to Naruto as the team split up, "Mask your chakra, baka!"
Naruto threw his head back and laughed. "Hai, Sakura-chan!"
The two ran at a breakneck speed; the plumes of smoke that had previously been only a speck on the horizon were now coming into focus sharply on their left. Not so far away now was a large village, the outlines hazy through the opaque fog obscuring all of it but the rooftops. What appeared to be a high rock wall surrounded the village and blocked her vision, but the tops of the stone buildings was visible. Everything was eerily still, but she could just pick out traces of a bright light flickering against the stone.
"It's a fire!" Naruto suddenly roared to her angrily, "The whole damn village is on fire!"
"What?!" Sakura cried, frantically attempting to force her legs even faster, but she was already at her limit, "Are you sure? Oh Kami!"
"We have to hurry!"
Sakura nodded, and then whipped her head around to find the distant figures of Kakashi, Sasuke and Pakkun headed towards the front gates. She and Naruto raced towards the village, steadily getting closer and closer. Finally, when they were only a hundred yards away, Naruto reached into his kunai pouch and took one of the knives out, then bit down on it, freeing his hands. Following his example, Sakura unsheathed her shuriken and gripped them in her fist, the points splayed out like a claw. This, combined with a chakra blade in her right hand, proved a deadly attack to any enemy shinobi not familiar with her attack patterns. If anyone was left alive, anyway.
Together, they leapt the high stone wall and vaulted on to the other side. Coughing, Sakura turned to Naruto and managed to rasp, "Leak a little of your chakra. I'll scan to see if I sense anything."
With a nod, Naruto complied, and Sakura used his chakra trace to cover her own; however, a search of the village revealed no other chakra traces immediately present, but there were large traces still remaining in the air... "Shinobi," Sakura murmured to him, "Maeno Montaro must have shinobi working for him, for there was a fight here. Lord Igarashi...I hope he is still alive..."
"Can you recognize any chakra signatures?" Naruto asked, his eyes fierce, "Did you sense anything familiar?"
She shook her head, knowing he meant Akatsuki or Sound, and her teammate relaxed slightly. "Good."
Suddenly, Kakashi, Sasuke and Pakkun appeared next to them. "I detected no enemy presence," Sasuke explained, panting and holding a stitch in his side, "Just chakra traces."
"Same here," Sakura offered, glancing up at their team leader.
Kakashi sighed and shoved one hand into his pocket. He looked lost for an answer, and Sakura could only be happy that she was not the one who had to lead the squad in a mission such as this. "We will need to search the village... if there's a chance Igarashi-san remains in this village, we'll need to find him." He glanced down at Pakkun, "I apologize. I don't have his scent for you to follow. We'll have to do this the hard way."
"Okay, let's split up," Naruto recommended hastily, "We'll cover more ground that way!" He was just as eager to find their next lead as she was!
With a nod of agreement, the four shinobi and Pakkun sprung away and headed in opposite directions. Sakura raced through the burning streets, ignoring the heat and burn of the fire and the smoke that threatened to clog her lungs. There had to be someone alive! But other than the roar of the fire and the screaming of the wind, the only thing Sakura heard were her hollow footsteps as she desperately ran. The village was too large...they might not find any survivors in time to save them before the fire grew out of control!
Sakura slowed down as she reached a small square where stores and shops had previously inhabited. All that remained now was debris covering the stone square, and a statue of a man now was faceless, destroyed either by those who attacked the village or by the destruction of the fire. She looked around... and saw nothing. With a small cry of frustration, Sakura angrily brushed the tears from her eyes. "This doesn't make sense!" she whispered harshly, "There has to be someone left!" She desperately trudged on, block after block.
A dark mass out of the corner of her eye near the village gates to the east made Sakura stop dead in her tracks. When she turned her head and her eyes trained on the figures that were eerily hanging five feet off of the ground, she opened her mouth and let out an unearthly wail of defeat.
Swaying slightly in the unforgiving wind were three bodies, suspended by their necks, unmistakably mutilated and then burned. Sakura, falling to her knees in the dirt and sand could only stare in horror; there was a smaller body in between what looked like two adults... a mangled body of a young girl... who could do such a thing?
"NO!" she screamed, then buried her face in her hands and sobbed. It was too late. She was too late.
The next thing Sakura was aware of were two strong arms wrapping around her shoulders and dragging her to her feet. She barely had time to glimpse Sasuke's horrified face through her tears before he spun her around in his grasp and pressed her face into his shoulder. "It's okay," he whispered, his arm clenching around her body tightly. Although his hold on her was meant to be comforting, the sensation was rather like being tightly squeezed to a brick wall, but Sakura was nevertheless touched by his concern. But then the reason for his concern sent her from a faint surprise into tears again.
Three steps of footsteps sounded behind Sasuke, and Sakura raised her head from his shoulder slightly to see Kakashi, Naruto and Pakkun arrive. "Oh Kami," Kakashi breathed as he spotted the bodies, his lone visible eye wide in his face, "What have they done...?"
"What's that?" Naruto asked, leaning forward and squinting into the darkness. He walked over to the smoldering bodies and gently cut them down. He carefully placed the bodies on the ground, and then grabbed a piece of what looked like wood from the rope that had held the girl. "Beware," he read to them, "This will be your warning. If you continue to follow us, there will be repercussions."
"It looks like Maeno knows we're coming," Sasuke said icily, releasing Sakura from his grip.
Kakashi nodded, face grim as he stared at the decimated forms of the three civilians. "We need to find Igarashi-san. If he's alive."
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Author's Note:
There you are, chapter two! This is a transitional chapter to the next stage of "The Mission From Hell," so I apologize if the plot didn't really seem to go anywhere too important... However, this chapter is important, not only because there are tiny hints of a foreshadowing, but if you skip paragraphs, you might be missing some character progression... Anyway, hope you enjoyed!
I hope to have chapter three out by the end of next week!