Word Count: 2019
A/N: Yes, it is time that I grovel. I'm so sorry for leaving this for so long (a month and a half, yikes!) but RL landed a haymaker on me and I haven't been able to get up. September was so hectic and this chapter has literally been the chapter from hell, you have no clue how difficult it was to write this.
So I, being the unforgivable person that I am, wrote instead, 5 ficlets and avoided this one like the plague.
But I'm really sorry, I will get and update up in two weeks or less even if I have to lose sleep over this.
Mur, go on to the story and ignore the unworthy authoress.
"A ninja is nothing without their familiars," A biased statement with quite a bit of truth often spoken by an exceptionally proud summoner--or an Inuzuka.
A familiar (also known as a summons) is something ninja consider a very valuable tool, and, if one takes the time to get to know their personality quirks and idiosyncrasies, a very valuable and loyal friend.
There are varying stages of interaction between a group of summons and their summoner, ranging from strictly business to something like a more sophisticated typed of pet (something Pakkun surely would have bitten Kakashi for even implying; some summons are more touchy than others.)
The type of summon a ninja has are almost always decided by their family. Most ninja clans had something called an animal affiliation, something which can be clearly seen when using an Inuzuka as an example. These clans have a instinctual affinity or inclination to wards a certain type of animal, and as such, if any other animal was used as a summon, their telepathic link may be compromised or non-existent; as opposed to an animal you had particularly strong bond to wards.
If a ninja is not part of a clan, or comes from a background of civilians, the way to find out your animal affinity is to consume a berry from a shrub grown in chakra-enriched soil; not unlike the chakra paper used to determine a ninja's element. In that circumstance, for a period of not more than 24 hours, that ninja would take on a dominant characteristic of their animal-affinity--such as if your animal was a bird, you would receive the enhanced eyesight and the sensation of being a certain type of bird.
Of course, such a technique put a grand strain on chakra reserves so only ninja with immense chakra would be able to utilize it; one of the reasons why many ninja are without summons.
Morino Ibiki's summons are vultures, something that really didn't come as much of a surprise to his subordinates (and to his own immense pleasure; seriously, how kick ass was that?), and something that scared the shit out of his victims. Something Ibiki had always taken advantage of; for some odd reason, people seemed to talk a lot quicker when they're told that they'll have their eyes pecked out and their entrails eaten, not that Ibiki knows why, of course.
Sandaime was actually the one that started Jiraiya on summoning frogs, he thought that it was the most prudent and safest choice for Jiraiya (read: "No way in hell am I going to let Jiraiya summon man-eating snakes!")
And yes, irony is a bitch.
-
Signing his summoning contract is one of the most fond memories Kakashi has of his father; back when Kakashi was young and he was old, back when he still thought Sakumo was the top of the world. It's not a very long memory -- Sakumo was a very busy man, after all, he was the White Fang --, but it's one of the few times that Kakashi can remember Sakumo smiling.
And what a smile it was.
Even with his face covered with his mask, Kakashi could tell (by the crinkles in the corner of his eyes) that his father was happy (and proud, of him).
Sakumo went through the seals slowly (but not too slowly, after all, his son was a genius), fixing Kakashi's chubby hands with his own battle-scarred ones, eyes twinkling with Kakashi insisted on doing it himself. Sakumo chuckled in that low laughter of his and watched (and didn't correct) Kakashi as he wrote his name in the family scroll, bright red to his dirty brown.
Kakashi's going to be great, he thought, and saw no reason to doubt himself. And when Kakashi looked up at him curiously, Sakumo's grin went from ear to ear (his eyes shined).
Then, went Kakashi slammed his hands onto the damp, dewy grass, Sakumo nearly held his breathe as he waited for the smoke to clear; in front of him lay a runt pug, curled up in a little ball, his new-born eyes still closed.
"This is it?" Kakashi asked, and Sakumo said nothing, standing back as he watched Kakashi scoop up the pug and hold the puppy clumsily in his arms.
"My name's Kakashi," his son stated matter-of-factly, lifting the dog up to his eye-level.
Kakashi then frowned, "I can name him, can't I?"
Sakumo nodded, "Yes, you may."
"Hmm," Kakashi pondered, brow furrowing in a way that Sakumo knew as his, nose wrinkling in a way that spoke of his mother.
"Pakkun," his son said, "I'm going to call you, Pakkun."
"Pakkun, eh?" Sakumo questioned, Where do kids come up with these things anyway?
Kakashi nodded decisively, "Pakkun, and he's going to be the best nin-dog ever."
"Anything you want, son."
It was then that Sakumo thought his son (his genius son) would be just fine.
-
"What the hell do you want now, brat?"
So my dog is still mad at me, wonderful.
"Now, now Pakkun," Kakashi smiled brightly, eye curving and hand reaching up to rub at the back of his head, "I just need you to do one little thing for me."
Pakkun snorted, "Oh yeah, and what would that be?"
"I need you to scout out that abandoned medic shack for anything that smells like this," Kakashi unsnapped one of his vest pockets and pulled out a plastic bag with a square piece of fabric in it.
"Hmm," Pakkun hummed and sniffed the fabric as soon as Kakashi took it out of its bag, recoiling instantly and snuffing his nose in the dirt. "What the hell is that! It's foul!" Pakkun snarled up at Kakashi, rubbing at his nose with a paw, "And look what happened to my nose! My soft, delicate nose! This is all your fault Kakashi!" Pakkun growled, "I could just bite you right now!"
"Pakkun, there's nothing to be upset about, it might smell a bit strong--"
"A bit strong my ass!" The irate pug interrupted.
Kakashi continued, "--but it's really nothing to get so riled up over, after all you are doing this for the good of all Konoha, and for that brand of shampoo that I don't have to buy you." Kakashi's smile was absolutely infuriating.
"You know," Asuma started, sticking his pinky finger in his ear and yawning lazily, "you're just not right. If I were one of your dogs I woulda pissed in your cereal years ago."
Genma snickered, "Might be a better idea to just piss on his porn instead."
Kakashi looked positively horrified.
"...sadistic bastards," Kakashi said, then began to mutter, "you'd give Ibiki a run for his money."
Genma smirked, "Nah, the job's cushy and all, but the baggage is enough to kill a man. I know you've heard about Ibiki and Anko."
"Don't be an asshole Genma, you should be happy for them," Raido started, "they're a match made in heaven, er, rather, hell--" The other three men (and one still irate dog) eyed him. "Oh what the hell?! I'm tryin' to be the good guy here, hell yes it's creepy, but as shinobi, beggars can't be choosers."
"You got that right," Asuma drawled, "we got some men here that will go after anything with two legs...and most things with four." Three pairs of eyes turned to look at Genma.
Genma glared, sticking his hands in his pocket and flicking his senbon in that way he does when he's put-out over something. "Oh yeah... screw you all."
His teammates and so-called friends shared a look, and Kakashi was about to open his mouth with a witty comment but he stopped as he felt an odd stinging sensation in his ankle. Kakashi slowly looked down at the ground and winced, Pakkun was currently gnawing on his ankle like it was a freakin' chew toy.
"Pakkun? ...You realize that I need that for my mission right?" Pakkun chomped harder and Kakashi swore, -- "Sonuvabitch!" -- shaking his leg and dislodging to smug summon as he directed chakra to his ankle in order to soothe the pain and swelling.
"Kakashi? You realize that calling a dog "Sonuvabitch" isn't really an insult, right?"
Kakashi growled.
Fortunately for his sanity (though it did absolutely nothing for his throbbing ankle), it turned out that Pakkun had followed the scent trail and found a proverbial gold mind. A Suna flak jacket was found ripped and bloodied in the corner of the dilapidated shack; and not only did where they able to scrape off bits of dried blood for testing, but even they found a damaged scroll in one of the chest pockets. Granted, it could all be planted evidence by some of the militant Suna nukenin that have been going around lately, but Kakashi highly doubted it. The flak jacket's design was obsolete, a type that had not been used since the Third Great Ninja War. (Kakashi remembered this, because as a thirteen year old jounin, he had worked together with a Sand medic nin on a recon mission, and after an ambush, that flak jacket was the only thing left of her.)
Though, if that jacket was indeed authentic, then it was a whole different story entirely as to how the square piece of fabric Tsunade had given him had been obtained. The perpetrator(s) would have had to have gone lengths in order to find an antique jacket like this, and then to go all the way to Konoha to plan evidence? It didn't seem right. So, following another train of thought, this jacket could have belonged to an actual ninja from the Great War, and chances are that they're still very much alive...or were killed in the scuffle that damaged his jacket so badly. But why would a renegade Suna ninja be in Iwa territory?
Maybe this is a set-up. Maybe they're working together. But a Suna nin and an Iwa nin? What the hell is this?
For once, Kakashi didn't know what to think.
-
An hour later, the team had finally arrived on the Iwa border, only to find that the area of infiltration was much more guarded than initially suspected, so much so that Genma had nearly gotten his leg taken off almost stepping on a trap that was considered too sophisticated for Iwa. Needless to say, Genma was pissed and had suggested storming in and "knocking the bastards off one by one", as much as he knew that that was impossible, if anyone knew the dangers of infiltration missions, it was Genma -- he still has the scars.
So now, infiltrating the border alone just kicked the mission ranking up a class, if they were caught, the repercussions would rival that of the White Fang's decision to turn back and save his teammates. It was common knowledge that Iwa and Konoha were at war, just no one had officially declared that there was a war. Everyone knew who to blame when Leaf ninja bodies were returned home with crushed bones and shattered skulls; same as everyone knew who to blame when Iwa was infiltrated again, and more classified information was stolen.
The only thing everyone doesn't know, is that Kakashi has taken more than 50 infiltration missions into Iwagakure, and that he was the one who took that mission and copied the Earth jutsu that was intended to burn Konoha to the ground. Not everyone might know, but Kakashi hates Iwagakure and the damned Tsuchikage and all the god-forsaken Iwa ninja more than anything. (Obito hates them too, he thinks, his Sharingan always seems to work better when he's fighting an Iwa nin.)
And really, the more Kakashi thought about it, the more this whole mission made so much more sense -- and on the other hand, there were so many more questions to be asked.
Surely Tsunade knew about the additions to the Iwa border control, and that being assumed, as reckless as she was, she would never send her shinobi into foreign territory for a frivolous cause.
Hmm, what are you up to Tsunade?
Kiki's Excuse Corner-
Quick one once again.
-If anyone noticed, I've changed the usage of Sand to Suna and Rock to Iwa. Mostly because I'm used to the subs and I find my self writing the story and think, "Rock? What happened to Iwa?" And then I just confused myself...which isn't good for when I write this when I'm sleep-deprived.
Worry not, I'll not be using fan-girl Japanese, only the names of countries, etc...