"Poison Veil" – By: Kiba Inubake
The next few chapters should be fun to write...! I love having adventure scenes in my work. And for your sake, I hope you do too, 'cause you'll be seeing a lot of them in this story...! ;)
Chapter 4: "New Mission: Journey to Kawa no Kuni!"
As promised, Anko treated Sasuke to the Amaguriama's specialty, sweet dumplings. Taking a seat on one of the numerous benches, Sasuke bit into his dumpling. His eyes grew big, and…he almost purged at the sweetness of it. He instantaneously turned his head away to hide his disdain from his sensei, but unfortunately, Anko caught on.
"What, you don't like 'em?" She asked, seemingly unaffected by his preference.
"Sorry, Anko-sensei… I don't have much of a sweet tooth," Sasuke replied. "Uh…so, what's with that mark?" He referred to her curse mark, in an attempt to change the subject.
"Oh…you mean this old thing?" She stared at her curse mark, while nibbling on a dumpling. "I…got this when I was about your age. But…I don't really want to talk about it…" She stared down at her legs, dangling just above the ground.
"…I see…" Sasuke understood. "Then, can you tell me about your childhood? I want to know more about you, sensei." It was as if he knew just what to say, because Anko suddenly burst into elation, like how a flower blossoms once sunlight shines down on it.
"You're not bad, kiddo!" She smiled. "Now! When I was younger, I had dreams of becoming a strong kunoichi, so…I ventured the lands with the Sannin Orochimaru," Anko told, though she lost some enthusiasm after she paused. Shaking her head briskly, she resumed her tale.
"Ah…I see," Sasuke said despondently. "I'm sorry to hear that, sensei." His sensei had told him the story of her ending with Orochimaru, and how she got her curse mark.
"Yeah…well…" Anko was at a loss of words. "…Sasuke, do you have any idea why I really taught you how to summon?" She asked, changing the subject.
Sasuke had been wondering this, actually. He wasn't sure why, so he had spent some time contemplating this. "Is it…because we've got a mission that requires that skill?"
"Bingo!!" Anko exclaimed. "…Well, actually, it doesn't require it, but it's always a good skill."
Sasuke laughed blithely, something he hadn't done in public in years. "Well, all right, then," He replied, still laughing. Once he stopped his giggling, he asked, "What's our mission entailing, sensei?"
Anko grinned. "Just wait until Shikamaru and Hinata meet up with us," She told him. He had forgotten his comrades were assembling here at Amaguriama. "Then I'll tell you, Sasuke."
Half an hour later, Shikamaru and Hinata had appeared. "H-hello, Anko-sensei…Sasuke…" The heiress greeted. Shikamaru simply waved his hand. He seemed to be sleepwalking, judging from his closed eyes.
"Hi, Hinata, and wake up, Shikamaru," Anko said in turn. Shikamaru opened his eyes reluctantly. Sasuke smirked in a friendly way…because only Sasuke (and me, actually…) would consider a confident smirk a form of greeting. "Now, as I was just telling Sasuke a little while ago, we've got our first mission. It just so happens to be a C-Rank mission, too!" Anko exclaimed, taking in the surprised expressions of her students—except for Sasuke's inexhaustible smirk, that is.
"A C-Rank mission? But isn't that kind of dangerous? I mean, we just got out of the academy," Shikamaru questioned.
"Based on your skill in teamwork and your tactics, I decided it would be a good challenge for you," Their somewhat-insane senpai explained. "Besides, it's only a trip to the River Country."
Hinata was a tad confused, as was everyone else. "K-Kawa no Kuni? What will we be doing there?"
"We're escorting a young boy to the Katabami Gold Mine," Anko elaborated. "Apparently he and his older companion were separated, or something…" She mumbled.
Sasuke's eyes widened. "All the way down there…?"
"Yep, but it's only an escort mission, so there shouldn't be much treachery," Anko reassured, using her peripherals to look at her lazy ass of a student. "We depart tomorrow morning; we're meeting with the client at the Hokage's mansion, so be there at around 8:00, all right?"
The three students all chorused, "Got it," although Hinata stuttered, and threw them off. –End of chapter!!
Like I hinted...! I can't wait to get this next chapter started. Oh, and based on the location I described, tell me if you know who the client is! If you get it right before I make the next chapter (I'll wait a few days to be fair), I'll feature your name here in the ending Author's Notes section.
