"Poison Veil" – By: Kiba Inubake
Well. The Sasuke we all know and loathe is finally gone...! You'll understand what I mean soon enough...
Also, I want to congratulate WielderoftheSharingan for his knowledge. (Though you just went to LeafNinja, didn't you?) Heh, I've been wanting to bring back that pair for a while now, actually. And so here they are...!
Chapter 5: "The Adventure Begins"
As told, the Genin of Squad 7 met up in front of the Hokage's building. Sasuke had seen Hinata leaving the Hyuga estate, and so they walked together. They managed to arrive a few minutes early. Shikamaru, on the other hand, had nearly been late; he sluggishly made his way over to his two comrades not even a minute before Anko appeared out of nowhere.
"Hey!" Anko greeted, grinning. She had leaped from one of the overhanging tree branches, unbeknownst to her cell. "You guys excited? This is an important mission, so do your best!" She motioned for them to go into the building.
Anko peered into the open office of the Hokage. "Squad 7, reporting for duty, Lord Hokage!" She announced enthusiastically.
"Ah, good morning, Anko, Sasuke, Hinata, Shikamaru," Sarutobi smiled warmly. "Come in." They stepped into the room and gathered around his desk. "Now, you'll be taking on the escort mission, correct?"
"That's right," Anko confirmed. "We're ready for it, Lord Hokage."
"Good! Then, you may come in, Ranmaru," Sarutobi said. Squad 7's attention turned towards the door, and on cue, a small, purple-haired boy with the most unnatural eye color stepped into the room. Sasuke narrowed his gaze and examined Ranmaru's eyes closely. 'That can't be a natural color… It's gotta be due to a Kekkei Genkai…'
"Um…hello…" The boy said softly, shuffling his feet. "My name is Ranmaru." His shyness was almost exactly like Hinata's, Shikamaru noted, looking at one to the other constantly.
While Anko, Hinata, and Shikamaru conversed with Ranmaru, Sasuke lingered back and focused on the boy's eyes. 'I've never seen anything like that before…'
"Is there something on your mind, Sasuke?" The Uchiha snapped out of his thoughts and turned to his village leader.
"N-no, it's nothing," Sasuke replied quickly. Lucky for him, the others in the room didn't seem to notice him and the Hokage talking.
"…You have your doubts about the boy, don't you?" Sarutobi inferred.
"..." Sasuke was silent as he looked down. He sighed and replied, "…Yes. It's just…his eyes intrigue me. Have…have you ever—"
"Hey, Sasuke!" The two were interrupted by Shikamaru. "We'll be outside," He said as the rest of his team and their client left the room.
Sarutobi decided to end the conversation. "You best be going now, Sasuke. Good luck!"
Though disappointed, Sasuke nodded, and departed.
The five walked down the road in complete silence. They decided it would be best to focus on the mission and constantly study their surroundings, rather than talk and let an enemy's presence slip by them. Sasuke had suggested this, being the introverted person he was.
"Hinata," Sasuke said. "This has been bugging me for a while now… I just want to know if anyone's around, so would you mind using your Byakugan?" He emphasized her bloodline trait to see if he could get a reaction out of Ranmaru—and sure enough, he did; Ranmaru froze up and quivered fervently. Sasuke peered over at him using his peripherals, and locked eyes with his target. Ranmaru stopped right as he was noticed, but it didn't get by Sasuke.
"Um…o-okay…" Hinata closed her eyes and activated her Byakugan. Sasuke hadn't thought she would actually pick up any presences, but as it turns out…he was wrong.
"I-I see someone! Hiding in the bushes to our left!" Hinata cried. "And…no, there are three! I see three people, and they have kunai in their hands!"
Ranmaru's eyes widened to their full extent. He whispered, "Oh, no…"
"Don't worry, kid," Anko reassured, placing her hand on his shoulder. "We'll take care of this." Anko sprinted off into the forest.
'That's not exactly what I meant…' Ranmaru thought. 'They must be here because of…'
Meanwhile, the three people Hinata had noticed (about 50 meters away) were attaching paper bombs to their kunai. They were about to make their attack, but a busty and seemingly slutty woman with outrageous hair swooped down from the trees and took them out.
"Okay, talk," Anko demanded. Back when she had attacked them, she smacked their heads against thick trees, and knocked them unconscious. An erratic woman she is. So then she proceeded to tying them up with some rope she had found in their bags.
Having regained consciousness, the tied-up enemies—which were discovered to be two men and a woman—gave in. One of the men, which was distinguished by a long, gray upside-down V mustache, was the first to speak. "We were only obeying orders…!"
Anko narrowed her gaze. "What do you mean?"
"We were following our boss's instructions—to kill the kid with the red eyes!" The other, mustache-less man, explained. Ranmaru gulped.
"And, why exactly do you need to kill him?" Anko continued her interrogation.
"Because he's in league with Raiga Kurosuki!" The woman blurted out.
"Raiga Kurosuki, hmm…?" Anko averted her line of sight to Ranmaru. "You're a member of the Kurosuki family?" She asked, almost mockingly.
Ranmaru looked hurt. He shook his head, "No…! Raiga and I are one! I am his eyes…! And he is my body!"
Anko's expression changed from disdain to confusion. "What…? Kid, you're not making sense."
"Sensei!" Sasuke interrupted. "Stop… I think I know what he means," Sasuke said, recollecting on his days when Itachi was still around, back when he had an older brother who cared about him and loved him. He clenched his fists, shook his head, and lifted it to lock eyes with Ranmaru. Tears streamed down Sasuke's face as he trembled with sorrow. "Ranmaru…! I'll reunite you with Raiga, no matter what it costs me…!!" He vowed passionately. Ranmaru almost cried from elation. An amazingly broad smile swept over Ranmaru's face.
"Th-thank you…! Thank you so much!!" Ranmaru exclaimed.
'Would you look at that… Sasuke does care for people,' Shikamaru learned.
'S…Sasuke? I've never seen you like this… It's…it's as if you and Naruto…' Hinata gasped, realizing she unearthed a great discovery.
"…Anyway…" A cloud of smoke appeared, and when it dissipated, revealed a long, purple snake. It wrapped around the assassins and bared its fangs. To say the least, the woman no longer had dry pants. "…tell us more about this boss of yours, or my friend here'll inject venom into your blood streams." The snake tightened its grip.
"Okay! Okay! We'll talk!" The woman cried. She sighed, "See…a few years ago, our boss's friend was "given a funeral" by the Kurosuki family. He never forgave them, so since then, he's waited for his chance to get revenge. He organized an assassination group, and sent us out to return the favor to someone Raiga loved."
"Is that so…" Anko said under her breath.
"His name is Kokuun Kaitei. You can find his hideout near the Katabami goldmine," The mustached man added.
"Okay, then… You can go now, Ritoru," Anko said to her snake, which vanished after she was given permission to leave. Anko turned to her group. "Ready to go?" –End of Chapter.
Touching moment, don't you think? If you're wondering why Sasuke seemed almost exactly like Naruto in this chapter…that's because he is. Think about it—underneath all of Sasuke's introversion and distress, he and Naruto think exactly alike. They would never leave behind a comrade; they would do anything to make someone happy… They're the same. They're exactly the same…
