Okay people, here is chapter two! I want to say thank you for all the people who favorited this and reviewed. I seriously was not expecting all those at all. Thanks again guys!
Disclaimer: forgot this in the last chapter (or did I…?). I don't own Naruto. That would be impossible, because than it would never have existed.
Chapter 2: The Mission begins
"Finally, a good mission! They've all been so boring recently…" The three Konoha ninja were jumping the trees, trying to cover as much ground as possible.
"Naruto, do you really think that's a good thing to say? I would rather have a D-rank mission than to have to follow those creeps," Sakura was jumping next to Kakashi, with Naruto a few paces ahead of them. The trio had just left Konoha a few minutes ago, but they had already covered a few miles. Kakashi had said that if they kept a hard pace, they might arrive at Wave by nightfall. Staying in the woods with Akatsuki roaming in the area was not a good idea.
Naruto scoffed at this. "Come on Sakura-chan, you know that we could take on anyone in that group. We're stronger than the last time we fought them. We're gonna beat them no problem!" Naruto was jumping the trees like a fox, and in the middle of his next jumped, he flipped in the air, as if proving his point. Sakura shook her head at this. She almost wished that he would hit his head, just so he would learn a lesson. His death was almost certainly going to be something stupid, like falling off a branch and forgetting to flip over. The only time he was focused was in battle, so there was no way he could get hurt there. No way at all.
After many hours of idle chitchat, jumping trees, and Sakura hitting Naruto on the head twice for some comments, they had arrived at the Great Naruto Bridge.
"Whoa…" the three of them stood at the entrance to the bridge. Sakura and Naruto stood with their mouths open, and it had been Kakashi who uttered the word. They knew that the bridge had been completed when they left, as they had been there for the finishing. They had no idea that the bridge would be named after Naruto.
"Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, did either of you know that this bridge was named after…" Sakura just couldn't seem to finish that sentence.
"That this bridge is named after Naruto?" Kakashi finished for her. Naruto was absolutely dumbfounded. Someone apparently respected him enough to name a bridge after him, was his first physical proof, besides the necklace hanging around his neck, that people were starting to see him. Not that goofy little kid he had started out as, but the full grown shinobi he was now. And he was thankful for that. Not that he would show it of course.
"Cool! I'm a bridge!" Naruto smiled his foxy grin with his teeth showing and laughed a little. Kakashi and Sakura sweat dropped at his antics. Behind them came a somewhat familiar voice.
"Naruto-niisan!" Naruto was glomped from the back. He saw two small arms around his waist. He turned his head to see a familiar green hat. Inari, the little boy from his first "C"-rank mission, was hugging him. The boy was now about twelve years old, and had grown considerably (A/N: not really sure what his age was in the manga, so I'm guessing). He now had a little muscle on his arms, and he was a little above Naruto's waist. He still was wearing the green hat, but he was no longer wearing the overalls. He wore black khakis and a white T-shirt with flames licking the bottom. He wore ninja shoes like Naruto and Kakashi, and they were colored black. He carried his crossbow and arrows on his back, but it seemed it was more of habit of carrying than actual use. The boy stepped back, and allowed Naruto to turn back and look at him. Inari had a huge grin across his face, not at all unlike Naruto's. He had a more confident air about him, like no one would dare push him around.
Naruto went down on one knee and ruffled Inari's hair that was under his hat. "Hey, Inari. I haven't seen you since that mission a few years back!" Naruto laughed out loud.
"Inari, where are you?" A voice came from behind the group. An old man a piece of rope tied around his head and a bottle of sake in his hand were two of the first things noticed about him. He also wore glasses. Besides that, if you didn't know the man, you would have never noticed that he was the bridge builder from the mission. He now wore a well cut suit, and had lost a little bit of weight, and now had a lean body, and his air was calmer now that he didn't have to worry about a millionaire coming after him.
"Grandpa! Look who it is!" Inari pointed at the ninjas. The man looks at the group with wonder, which almost instantly became enlightenment.
"Hey! I was wondering when you were going to visit," He walked over to the three of them and shook Kakashi's hand.
Kakashi smiled underneath the mask. "It's good to see you again Tazuna. But sorry, we can't stay long. We're on a mission. We were just about to head to our motel," Tazuna waved his hand back and forth, rejecting his words.
"Nonsense, you can stay with us. The people who saved our country aren't staying at a motel. Follow me," The group looked at each other and shrugged, and followed the former client.
The five people walked through the village. The leaf nin were all impressed. The town had gone from a rat-hole to a pretty prestigious city in only a few years. Tall buildings had been raised, and stores were frequent. The entire economy all seemed to be thriving. There was no one on the streets, and every man, woman, and child seemed happy and well fed.
"This is all because of a bridge?" Naruto said looking around in wonder.
Inari saw his big "brothers" astonishment. He chuckled at that. "Yeah, once the bridge was finished, it was easier for the people to cross and trade than going over the water. People started bringing back money and supplies. And all of a sudden, everybody had a job, and that means that everyone has money. Then people started coming looking for jobs, and traders came to well, trade. So basically, everything is better now that Gato is gone," They stopped in front of a large house with a well-sized yard in the front. The house was about three stories tall, and was well decorated exterior. There were gardens placed symmetrically throughout the yard, filled with well kept flowers, local and foreign. Apparently, being the builder who built the bridge that saved the town had some perks.
The house itself was a shade lighter than sky blue, with white trimmed windows. The house had a porch that circled the entire house, with chairs at intervals of a few yards. Compared to the place they had lived in before, while it wasn't exactly rundown, this place was a mansion.
Three ninjas followed Inari and Tazuna up the walkway and into the house. At the door, Naruto was tackled by a Burmese Mountain dog that looked oddly like a cat at the same time. While he was attempting to stop the dog from drowning him in saliva, another familiar person walked in.
"Poochie! Get off of him!" After one more lick, the dog then bounded over to his owner. A tall woman had walked into the room, her face annoyed at the dog that had just launched itself at the guest. Her brown hair angled away from her face and was cut to the shoulder. She still wore the same color and style was shirt and skirt, but they seemed to be made of a richer material. At the current moment, she wasn't wearing any shoes, so there was no hint to the change there.
"Mom! Look who we just found!" Inari pointed to the group behind them.
At first, Tsunami didn't recognize the group standing there, but after taking two steps closer, the mask, bright pink hair, and the sapphire eyes made everything click into place.
"Well what do you know? Sakura, Kakashi, Naruto, its good to see you again," She walked up to the group and when she said each of their names, she shook their hands.
"You as well Tsunami. Sorry to intrude, but your father insisted that we stay with you," Kakashi replied to the woman. And just like her father, she rejected the words with a wave of her hand.
"It's no problem at all. Come on in, you must be tired from your journey. Follow me, I'll show you to your rooms."
Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura all followed Tsunami up a flight of stairs onto the second story. While walking down the hallway, the newfound wealth was once again obvious. Plush carpeting lined the hallways, while artwork hung on the walls. Most of the work seemed to consist of ships and large buildings structures, staying true to the family's country and Tazuna's passion. Tsunami opened up a door for each of them, and told them that dinner would be in an hour. With that, she left the trio to put their stuff down and relax.
Each of them entered a respective room, and they all seemed to be uniform in décor, but were still nicely furnished.
Each room consisted of a bed, nightstand, and a dresser. The walls were a gentle beige color, and the floor was also carpeted. On one wall, a large window looked out onto the sea, no matter which way the side was facing. A door stood on the side of the room, which connected to a shared bathroom. Kakashi and Naruto shared one, while Sakura got her own. Sometimes it's beneficial to be the only girl.
Once Sakura and Naruto had put down their stuff, Kakashi called them into his room. The pair knocked and entered. Upon walking in, the two saw Kakashi without his vest on, lying back on his bed reading his favorite orange book.
"Well, it looks like we can start tomorrow you two," Kakashi turned a page in his book, not even looking up while he addressed Naruto and Sakura.
"Hai sensei," came from the two. Naruto was excited to start, still wanting revenge on some of the Akatsuki. Sakura was still nervous, but this was a mission, and as a shinobi of the Leaf, she was required to follow it through.
"Okay then. We'll wake up bright and earlier tomorrow morning to start gathering data. In the meantime, you two can go and relax or something. I'll see you at dinner," And with that, he dismissed his teammates to continue reading his Icha Icha.
"Ano, Sakura-chan, do you wanna come see the garden with me?" Naruto asked his teammate hoping to Kami that she would say yes.
"Sure Naruto, why not?" Sakura replied with a smile. Naruto now had a huge grin plastered across his face. He grabbed Sakura's arm and pulled her to the backyard.
As the pair entered the yard, they stopped in awe. Apparently, someone in the family held a large attraction to botany. A stone path led down the center of the garden, and was lined with Sakura trees. Behind that, masses of flowers of all shapes, sizes and colors were clumped together in an artful array. Some of the parks in the Konoha, which existed in the middle of the forest, didn't even really compare to it. All in all, it was a peaceful place to be.
The duo sat down on one of the benches that also lined the path. The trees were in bloom, and blossoms clung to the branches. This made the area even more peaceful.
"This place is beautiful, now that someone decided to take care of it," Sakura whispered, amazed by the beauty of the flowers.
"Yeah…" Naruto also whispered, as if someone spoke above that level, the scenery would disappear. For the remaining hour, the two did not saying a word, but needing to say a word. They just enjoyed each others company.
Almost too soon, Tsunami called them in for dinner. The two rose and stretched, then walked into the house. The sun had started to set while everyone was basically relaxing, the sun was now almost below the horizon.
"Come on, Sakura-chan, its time to eat!" The blonde ninja was suddenly full of life with the prospect of food. He ran inside, while his pink haired partner grew annoyed at his behavior.
"Calm down damn it! How are you able to be so calm one second, and then so hyper the next?" She was annoyed that he had ruined such a perfect moment. It had been quiet and cal, in the garden, but when Tsunami had called them in for dinner, Naruto had jumped up, causing her to fall out of shock.
"You should know Sakura-chan! I'm Konoha's number one maverick ninja!" Naruto smiled his foxy grin and strutted over to the house. Sakura just shook her head and followed.
The two arrived in the dining room, which like the rest of the house, was well decorated. Artwork hung on the walls, and the chairs and table seemed t o be made of fine wood. Everything fit the décor and nothing seemed out of place. The six people sat around the table, loading up their plates that Tsunami had provided. Inari talked with his big brother, enraptured in his tales of over exaggerated missions. Sakura and Tsunami talked about, well, just about everything you can think of. Kakashi and Tazuna talked about the current building projects going on in the Wave. After many hours of discussion and laughing, Kakashi told his team it was time to head to bed, because they had to be up early to scout tomorrow morning. The two followed while grumbling, saying that there was no point, because Kakashi was just going to be late anyway.
The three parted ways and headed into their respective rooms. Naruto, not feeling tired at all, just stared out his window, watching waves crash down onto a nearby shore. He thought about the day. He had felt at peace the moment he felt Inari hug him. He enjoyed the feeling of a family. Sure, he enjoyed being with his team and his friends, but this was different. He sighed. In Konoha, when the team split ways after a mission, Sakura would usually go to her apartment, or her parent's house, or go find one of her friends. Kakashi, well, no one ever knew where Kakashi went. And Naruto, he wasn't sure where to go. Go home to an empty house? Or look for one of his friends? Yeah, Kakashi lived alone to from what he knew, but most of the time he could find a fellow Jounin to hang out with. Whenever Naruto tried to find someone, it seemed as if they always already had plans. Well, at least he had his missions. He sighed for the second time in the span of about five seconds.
At that moment, Naruto heard a knock on the door. He was curious who it could be, because he thought that Sakura and Kakashi were already asleep, and he knew Inari was sleeping, thanks to the fact that he had heard the shouting match between him and Tsunami about proper bed time and stuff like that.
"Come in, the doors open," he called from his window space, not bothering to rise.
"Naruto? You couldn't sleep either?" A familiar female voice came from the doorway, approaching the window where Naruto sat.
"Nope, not at all," Sakura pulled up a chair alongside Naruto's post. She had changed out of her ninja gear into some soft pink pajamas. Her eyes were distant, as if she was thinking deeply about something and not really seeing the scenery in front of her.
"Naruto, I still don't think this mission is something we should have followed through on. But, I know that nothing I say is going to change your mind. So, before we leave tomorrow, I just wanted to say… thanks," With that, she quickly got up and hurried out of the room, leaving Naruto to ponder her words.
At the same time as this, two figures moved through the small amount of woods in the Wave. They wore black coats with red clouds, signifying the group they belonged to. Akatsuki.
It was pitch black, so there features were indescribable. All that could be said was that one was taller and slightly more muscular than the other, indicating a male. The other, shorted and slimmer, seemed to be female. They were holding a deep conversation while they ran.
"Well, it seems as if they brought the Kyuubi container with them. That will save us some time in tracking him down," this came from the larger figure, and the deep voice again indicated a male.
"Yes, this will make capturing him a whole lot easier than trying to get him to leave his village. He himself may not know it, but the security around him is a tad too high for someone like us to sneak in and capture him," This reply came from the smaller one, and the higher voice again indicated a female.
"Well then, shall we get going? Leader wants us to get him as soon as possible. Even though we have some time, its best to get him sooner then later," The pair stopped running, as though deciding where to head next.
"Yes, but, we should wait until tomorrow, when they split up to search for us. It would be troublesome to have to deal with the copy cat," The woman spoke with an air that seemed to say that she was in charge. And by the man's reaction, it was true.
"Fine. Tomorrow then," With that, the pair headed towards the town, preparing to capture their prey.
Awesome! Chapter two is done peeps! I hope you all enjoyed this. The action is starting to begin! Okay, now let's try to get five reviews or favorites or stuff like that during this chapter. Don't worry though, I'll still update even if I don't get them. Just please read! Oh, and if I come up with ideas for new stories, I post them on my profile. If you think it's a good idea, when you leave a review, tell me! Or send me a private message about what you think. Anywho, see ya next time peeps!