Well, here goes nothing, Sakura thought to herself as she walked into the shop, a bell tinkling somewhere to announce her arrival. As she had hoped, Ino was the only one minding the register at the moment, and as it was only a few minutes before closing time, no other customers were inside either. She smiled as she breathed in the heady scent of dozens of different types of flowers mingled together, but that faded quickly as she remembered why she was here.
"Just a second, please," Ino called out from behind the counter, not looking up from the potted plant she was watering. A few moments later, she nodded, satisfied, and placed the plant on a small pallet along with several others like it. "Now, how can I help…Sakura-chan?"
The surprise in Ino's voice shouldn't have bothered Sakura, she knew, but it did. She hadn't seen the blonde since the evening of the bell test, where normally she would have come by to visit for at least a little while nearly every day. It wasn't even like she had the excuse of training hard, as they were still only doing one ridiculously easy mission per day, occasionally with a few hours of training afterwards. Truthfully, she was afraid that Ino would still be upset with her for what she had said at dinner that night.
"I…um…" She trailed off, unsure of what to say. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry, Ino-chan. I hope you're not mad at me still."
Ino looked at her curiously. "Mad at you?" she asked, coming out from behind the sales counter and walking over to Sakura. "For what? I missed you this week, but I guess you've probably been busier than we have. Stupid lazy Shikamaru," she muttered.
"Not really," Sakura admitted, blushing a little. "Kakashi-sensei hasn't been teaching us much of anything at all, and he's only letting us do one mission a day. I just thought that maybe after what I said at dinner…"
"That's why you haven't been coming by to see me?" Ino exclaimed. Sakura winced as her friend glared at her for a moment, then hugged her tightly enough to squeeze the breath out of her.
"Silly Sakura," she said, stepping back a bit. "Yeah, I was kind of mad at you for a little while, I guess, but it's okay. I don't even disagree with you, you know, but did you really have to embarrass me like that? Shikamaru was making fun of me for days."
Sakura winced, for Shikamaru's sake as much as for Ino's, since she was sure her friend had found some way to get back at him for the teasing. "I know," she sighed, "and I really didn't mean to embarrass you, I promise. It's just that I was so tired, and…I don't know. You know I don't like talking about that kind of thing, and it just kind of slipped out. I really am sorry."
Ino waved one hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it," she said. "Now, what has your team been doing? It can't be any worse than ours. Asuma-sensei just sits around and plays shogi or go with Shikamaru all day, it seems, and Chouji and I have to spar by ourselves."
"I wonder if there's some kind of rule for jounin-sensei that says they're not allowed to teach anything," Sakura mused, leaning back against the counter as she watched Ino start to close up the shop for the day. "All Kakashi-sensei does is stand around and read porn while we practice. We've been doing some missions, too—well, if you count weeding gardens, walking dogs, and buying groceries as missions. Oh, and babysitting."
"You're joking," Ino said, giggling a little, then a moment later added, "You're not joking? Suddenly I don't feel so bad about my team…and I was actually wishing we could start doing missions, too, but I think I've changed my mind. Though, I'd probably pay money just to watch Naruto try to babysit."
Sakura smiled at the memory. "You'd be surprised," she said, thinking of how her friend, usually so loud and energetic, had gently held the small child in his arms. Of course, he hadn't dealt so well with having to change her diaper, but Sakura couldn't exactly fault him for that when she herself hadn't even been able to go near the infant girl. Even watching her teammates—and, in a truly shocking turn of events, Kakashi, who for once had put away his little orange book and helped his students—play with and care for the child had caused her heart to ache in ways she had thought she left behind years ago.
Fortunately, the others had seemed to understand, or, at least, they hadn't pressed her when she felt herself withdrawing from them. If they did understand, Sakura wished they would tell her, because she certainly didn't. She was no longer the frightened, lonely orphan girl, no longer the girl for whom books were the only solace and refuge from cruel peers and a too-large, too-empty apartment. She had friends now, had a purpose, and seeing a little girl be fussed over should not have caused any not-quite-jealous feelings to surface within her—but it had, and, obscurely ashamed of herself, she had busied herself with other household chores while her teammates took care of the child.
"So that's all you've been doing?" Ino asked, and Sakura welcomed the distraction from her thoughts. "I saw the other team—you know, Shino and Kiba and Sasuke-kun's—out at one of the training grounds a few days ago, and they looked like they were actually practicing. Guess they got the good jounin-sensei, even if they didn't look like they were doing all that well."
Sakura blinked, surprised. "They weren't? But, even if I don't really like him, Sasuke was the best in our class, and…ugh, I can't believe I'm saying this, but Kiba wasn't bad either," she admitted, feeling her face twist into a sour expression. "I don't know all that much about Shino, but I don't remember that he was too awful."
"He isn't," Ino said. "They all looked good by themselves, actually. Before I had to leave, though, I saw part of one of their team exercises, and that was kind of messy."
"Huh." Sakura frowned, then shrugged. Truthfully, she couldn't say she was surprised any more, now that she had a chance to think about it; Sasuke had never done well in team drills at the academy—perhaps the only area in which he had failed to excel—while Shino had always come across as a quiet loner to her, and the less she thought about Kiba, the better. It was somewhat disappointing to find out that they had gotten a decent jounin-sensei, though, when her team was stuck with Kakashi.
"And how about you, the 'number one kunoichi in the year'?" she asked, grinning teasingly as Ino finished with her duties around the shop and came over to stand next to her. "You're not ready to kill off your teammates yet, are you?"
Ino rolled her eyes. "Not yet," she said, pouting a little, "though if Asuma-sensei doesn't start paying attention to someone other than Shikamaru soon, I might be tempted. I mean, sure, he's really smart and they both like playing those games, but I can't just spar with Chouji forever."
Warning! Incoming Ino-rant! Sakura thought amusedly. It was clear that, despite her earlier feigned indifference, the blonde was decidedly not happy at being forced to play second fiddle to her teammate. The thought came to Sakura that perhaps Ino's jounin-sensei was attempting to teach her patience, but she immediately dismissed that idea with a poorly-concealed giggle. Not even the gods would have much success in that endeavor, she had a feeling.
"What's funny?" Ino asked. She gave Sakura a suspicious look, then poked her in the ribs—which only made her start giggling even more, as, to her eternal dismay, she was far too ticklish in that particular region. The reaction made Ino grin, as it did every time, and she positioned her hands in a clear threat.
"No! No! I give up!" Sakura exclaimed, fighting to control herself. "Please, no more tickling!" In desperation, she grabbed one of Ino's hands and began pulling her along as she headed for the shop's exit.
"Come on," she said, stifling a few final bursts of laughter, "let's go get something to eat. We got paid today for our first few missions, and I feel like celebrating."
Ino nodded happily, apparently hungry as well, and the two girls smiled at each other as they walked out of the shop. Sakura was thankful the distraction had worked—she really did hate being tickled—but even happier to know that she had her best friend back, even if she had never really lost her in the first place. Her only concern now was what her team was going to do if, or more likely when, the unspoken deadline they had set for Kakashi to start teaching them passed. For now, though, she was content simply to enjoy her friend's company.
- - -
Why am I here? Kakashi wondered to himself as he stood in front of a house he had never expected to enter again. For over six years, he had avoided it and its inhabitants, but something had brought him to change his mind in less than two weeks' time. If he were to be honest with himself, he had to admit he should have come immediately following the bell test, but he had needed time to consider things. Apologizing for words said more than half a decade ago was something for which he had had to prepare himself.
The door opened, and he instantly recognized the woman standing in the doorway. Tiny creases at the corners of her eyes marked the years that had passed since he last saw her, and his practiced eye noted the telltale signs in her carriage and body shape of someone who had once been in peak condition but had allowed herself to slip somewhat, but her hair was still as long and night-dark as it ever had been. Her striking blue eyes, though, held little of the sparkle he remembered from earlier days.
"Hatake-san," she said, her voice devoid of even the slightest trace of emotion. "I had wondered if you would come, after my son told me you had passed a genin team for the first time. Given its members, I'm sure you can understand my amazement at the news."
Not surprised in the least by this reception, Kakashi bowed deeply to her. "I…am sorry, Yukie," he said, for once abandoning the detachment he had cultivated after the deaths of his teammates and teacher. "You were right, and I made a serious mistake when I chose to oppose you. I wish that it hadn't taken me so long to realize that."
There was no need for him to specify what he meant; they both knew, and neither had forgotten that day. For several long moments, the wife of his old teacher, now the mother of one of his new students, simply stared at him. Finally, she nodded once, sharply, and motioned for him to enter. As she closed the door behind him and led him to the dining room, he took note of the changes that had been made to the house's interior since the last time he had seen it, most of them obvious products of a not-quite-teenaged boy's residence. Scuff marks on the stairs, several well-patched dents in the walls, even what looked suspiciously like a scorched patch on the wooden flooring in one of the halls—all of them gave the home a lived-in feel that seemed somehow right.
"I have to apologize for the mess," Yukie said, apparently having noticed his glance at the burn mark. "Naruto was practicing some basic fire techniques inside—for which he will be punished—and it seems he hasn't gotten around to cleaning up yet." Her voice, though no longer quite so cold as it had been when she first saw him, was still not precisely welcoming, and as they sat down he noticed that she failed to offer him anything to eat or drink.
Kakashi nodded. "During training sessions I've noticed he has rather…impulsive tendencies," he replied, content to allow her to control the conversation's direction. While she was not as direct as her husband or son, he was certain she would get to the point sooner rather than later.
He was surprised, though, when she actually laughed. "I suppose that's one way of putting things," she said, a brief smile appearing on her face. "How are they all doing? I read their final academy results, of course, but those never tell the full story."
Not stopping to wonder how she had obtained Sakura or Hinata's academy reports—being the widow of a former Hokage, not to mention at one point a well-respected jounin in her own right, gave Kazama Yukie a fair amount of latitude in such matters—Kakashi shrugged. "Hinata's abilities are fairly close to what the reports say. If anything, they underestimate her taijutsu skills, but she needs a fair amount of practice with her ninjutsu. I don't think it's a lack of ability so much as insufficient training, which doesn't surprise me at all assuming she's been taught to fill her role as Hyuuga heir.
"Sakura's reports, on the other hand," he continued, surprised to find that it was not as difficult to remain objective as he had expected, "are somewhat less accurate, and contain one especially glaring omission. Apparently, the Hokage himself has been personally instructing her in fuuinjutsu for over three years now—why, I don't know, since both of them refuse to tell me—and her chakra control is nearly as good as my own. Other than that, I'm almost surprised she was able to pass the academy's final exams, because her taijutsu skills in particular are pathetic. Her ninjutsu isn't quite so bad, but I suspect she's better suited for genjutsu."
"Does that mean you don't think she's…what was it? Ah, right—'a critical threat to this village's safety who should be permitted as little human contact as possible' any more?" The edge in Yukie's voice could have drawn blood, and Kakashi winced as he recognized the words he had spoken so many years ago.
"No," he said quietly, "I don't. Not any more. From what I've seen, she's simply a girl—unusually intelligent and mature for her age, perhaps, but hardly the monster I accused her of being. I owe you an apology."
Yukie frowned. "I don't think I'm the one you should be apologizing to," she said, her tone almost angry. "I'm not the girl who was forced to live on her own at an age when most children can't even fix their own breakfasts. If she's mature for her age, I think the reason why is fairly obvious, don't you?"
"I know," Kakashi sighed, feeling a faint flash of annoyance himself. "Don't forget the way I grew up. If either of us knows what she went through, it's me."
Yukie had the good grace to look somewhat embarrassed at his words, and she opened her mouth, perhaps to apologize. Kakashi held up one hand to stop her, though. "I wouldn't have wished my childhood on anyone," he continued, "but it seems like that's exactly what I did—and I would apologize to her if I could, but I can't. It would be pointless to try without being able to tell her why I did what I did, and I can't do that because of the law."
"I suppose you're right," Yukie said after a few moments' thought, though she still didn't look happy. "As for myself, I would have forgiven you long ago. What I said back then…well, I was furious with you when I said it, but six years is a long time to hold a grudge. I'll always regret not being allowed to raise her as my own child, but she seems to have turned out well regardless. Perhaps it simply wasn't meant to be."
Despite her words, Kakashi could see that the situation still bothered her more than she was willing to admit. He didn't doubt that she had forgiven him, but he suspected that she would never really be able to forgive herself for being unable to adopt the girl he now knew to be the innocent victim of her husband's desperate plan to save the village. From eavesdropping on his genin, he knew that Sakura had never even met her, and he wondered how deep Yukie's feelings of guilt ran.
"It wasn't your fault. You shouldn't blame yourself for the council's decision when not even the Hokage was able to change their minds," he said suddenly, only realizing after he spoke that perhaps the topic was too intimate to be brought up in the first conversation he had had with her in six years.
Fortunately, she didn't appear to take offense at his words, only smiling sadly and shaking her head. "Just like you shouldn't blame yourself for Obito's death? Or Rin's?" she asked. "Sometimes what you know in your head doesn't make much difference to how you feel in your heart. You know that as well as I do, Kakashi.
"Now, enough of the past," she added, forcing a deliberately light tone. "My son has been complaining that you haven't been teaching him or his teammates anything, and that the missions they've been on are 'boring and stupid,' I believe were the words he used."
Kakashi was surprised to find himself actually laughing, grateful not just for the change of subject but for the realization that she truly had forgiven him. He had missed talking with her, though he had tried to pretend—even to himself—that he hadn't. "You know what D-rank missions are like," he said, "especially the ones earmarked for genin fresh out of the academy. They're ready for more, actually; I've just been waiting to see how long it's going to take them to finally snap and do something about it. So far, I have to say I'm impressed with their self-control but disappointed in their lack of initiative."
"Tomorrow," Yukie said, a tiny smile appearing on her lips. "Apparently you've been given a deadline. If you don't give them a harder mission or start teaching them by tomorrow, they're going to talk to the Hokage. I believe Sakura is the one who managed to talk them into that plan."
Somehow, that doesn't surprise me, Kakashi thought. She definitely seems like the planning type, and she's far more patient than the other two. The dynamics of his team had come to fascinate him, as unlike most teams, none of the three genin had taken on a true leadership role. Instead, Naruto and Hinata seemed to defer to Sakura when developing initial strategies, while Naruto was the one who came up with the ways to implement her plans. Interestingly, Hinata, the only one of them who would hold a definite position of power in the future, seemed content to follow her teammates' lead most of the time.
Of course, that was all based on the way they behaved while carrying out routine, everyday tasks, as well as their performance during the bell test. When faced with actual combat situations, it was entirely possible that they would behave quite differently. Somehow, though, he didn't think so.
Aloud, he simply said, "Tomorrow, huh? This could be fun."
- - -
As Sakura walked into the Hokage's outer office along with her teammates, she couldn't shake the impression that something was somehow off about how the day had been going so far. They hadn't had a mission that morning, so their training session had run somewhat longer than usual. As she had come to expect by now, Kakashi hadn't actually taught them anything, but something about his attitude had been different—more focused, perhaps. At several points, she had been sure he was about to step in and demonstrate something for them, but it was as though he had changed his mind at the last moment each time, almost like he was teasing them.
One of the few non-academic subjects in which she had excelled at the academy had been situational awareness. While she might not possess Naruto's finely-honed chakra detection abilities, she had discovered she had an uncanny sensitivity for being able to tell when something about a situation simply felt wrong—and every single one of her instincts was warning her that her team was walking into something for which they weren't prepared. On the surface, it seemed ridiculous; they were in possibly the most secure area in the entire village, surrounded by highly-trained ninja. Even the idea that they might be in danger was unthinkable—and in any event, she didn't have quite the same sort of feeling as she had when her class had been tested on their ability to detect lethal traps.
Still, better safe than sorry, Sakura thought to herself, tugging on Naruto and Hinata's arms to halt them.
"Careful," she murmured, just quietly enough not to be heard by the chuunin guards standing by the door to the Hokage's inner office. "Something feels funny about this." Naruto and Hinata nodded, and she stepped forward and addressed the left-hand guard.
"Excuse me," she said, "but do you know if Hokage-sama is busy right now?" She didn't expect any trouble; the chuunin might not have liked her much, but by now they were used to her occasional visits to the Hokage, even if they didn't understand why she was one of the privileged few whom he would sometimes see without an appointment. Still, she was surprised when the man simply shook his head and opened the door, as normally she would have been made to wait while he checked with the Hokage.
That only added to her sense of unease, but as she and her teammates walked into the inner office, she saw nothing amiss. The Hokage was seated behind his desk as usual, smoking his pipe and reading through a thick sheaf of papers, and all of the other chairs were empty.
"Nice to see I haven't lost my touch."
If she could have jumped out of her skin, she would have. "Kakashi-sensei!" she blurted out, whirling around. Out of the corners of her eyes, she could see Naruto and Hinata doing the same, identical expressions of surprise on their faces. Naruto in particular looked stunned, for which she couldn't really blame him, as he had always been able to sense Kakashi's presence up until now.
"Aura concealment," Kakashi said, in answer to their unspoken question. "It's a fairly difficult genjutsu, and I'm not surprised none of you were able to pick up on it. It only works against chakra sensing, though; if any of you had actually thought to look behind you, or if Hinata had used her byakugan at any point, you would have seen me. Lesson one: Don't take any of your senses for granted. Always be prepared to look underneath the underneath."
Sakura's jaw dropped. Did he actually just explain something new to us? she wondered incredulously. That thought was followed immediately by another—namely, How did he know we were going to come here?
Her thoughts were interrupted when the Hokage looked up from his papers, though. "Ah, Team Seven," he said around the stem of his pipe, nodding slowly. "I was wondering when you would show up. How can I help you?"
"Did everyone know what we were planning?" Naruto exclaimed, a sour look on his face. Despite her own annoyance, Sakura couldn't help but laugh at him, though she quickly sobered when she realized that now they would be forced to explain themselves while the object of their complaints was in the room with them.
Well, at least that explains why I was feeling so weird about this just now, she thought. She did wonder, though, what could possibly have triggered her instincts when she had been just as clueless regarding Kakashi's presence in the room as her teammates. When she had first noticed her unusually sharp danger sense, she had wondered uneasily if it was somehow a product of the Nine-Tails sealed within her, but as she learned more about sealing techniques in general, she had dismissed that possibility. Now, though, she found herself wondering about it again.
Frowning, she put that thought out of her mind for the moment and gave Naruto a nudge with her elbow; they had decided that he should be the one to speak for them, even though—or, more accurately, especially because—Sakura knew the Hokage much better. She hadn't wanted to appear to be trying to trade on the fact that she was his student and ward, despite knowing that he would treat her no differently in official matters because of those relationships.
"Huh?" Naruto said, wincing slightly—perhaps she had elbowed him a bit too forcefully, she thought. "Oh, right. Well…um…we were kind of wondering if jounin-sensei are actually supposed to teach anything, or if they're just there to stand around and give us stupid chores disguised as missions."
Now it was Sakura's turn to wince, and she saw Hinata echoing her expression as well. Whatever else he might be, Naruto was about as far from subtle as it was possible to get. She hadn't considered that when she had come up with this loose plan, and now she was wishing she had tried harder to convince Hinata to present their case instead. She turned a pleading gaze on her friend and was immeasurably relieved to see her nod and give a tiny sigh.
"I think what Naruto-kun means," Hinata said, her tone smooth and measured, betraying none of the nervousness Sakura was sure she was feeling, "is that Kakashi-sensei just taught us more in the last two minutes than he has in the last week and a half. While each of us trains privately, we know we need instruction in the fundamental ninja disciplines as well, and we were hoping you might be able to talk to him and find out why he seems reluctant to teach us."
Sakura stared at her friend, impressed. Not only had Hinata presented their case far more succinctly and eloquently—not to mention less insultingly—than Sakura herself could have, she had managed to work in a thinly veiled reference to the fact that none of them were precisely run-of-the-mill genin. Apparently the political lessons she had always complained about to the others had turned out to be useful after all.
"Don't forget the missions," Naruto added, oblivious to the glower Sakura turned on him. "I actually kind of liked a couple of them, but I don't see what grocery shopping or dog walking have to do with being a ninja."
"They're still official missions," Sakura reminded him with a sigh. "We talked about that on the way over here, remember?" She had looked up everything she could find about how missions were organized, and, much to her dismay, nearly all D-rank missions were apparently very similar to the ones they had done already.
"Perhaps I have a solution for both of your problems," the Hokage said, startling her. He shuffled through the papers on his desk, then pulled out a thin folder with blue tape marking the edges. After glancing through the papers inside it, he stood up and walked over to Kakashi, handing the folder to him before sitting down in one of the more comfortable chairs in the room.
"Last night, one of our ninja stole a certain scroll from my private library and escaped from the village," he said. "A chuunin team has been dispatched to hunt him down and recover the scroll, but that leaves their original assignment open—which, of course, is where you come in.
"A small farming community near the border with Rice Field Country has contracted for a team to guard their fields during the busiest part of the harvest season. This is classified as a C-rank mission due to the community's distance from our village, but it is not important enough to justify the effort of reassigning another chuunin team to take it. Hidden Leaf intelligence reports show no signs of bandit activity in that area, so it should be safe even for genin, and it will give you field experience and several weeks' worth of time in which to begin your training."
Naruto's face lit up with a broad grin. "All right!" he said, practically bouncing up and down from excitement. "We're getting a real mission!" His enthusiasm was infectious enough that Sakura found herself smiling as well, though she noticed that Hinata seemed less pleased by the news.
"How long will we be gone?" the pale-eyed girl asked, glancing at the folder in Kakashi's hands somewhat nervously.
"Nearly three weeks total," Kakashi said as he flipped through the papers in the folder. "It's a two-week contract, and about three days' travel to the settlement each way."
At that, Hinata appeared relieved, and she smiled as well. "So, when do we leave?" she asked.
Kakashi took three sheets of paper from the folder and passed one to each of the genin. Sakura glanced down at hers; it seemed to be a supplies and equipment list, and she noted with some relief that she already possessed most of the items on it. At least they were going to be inside Fire Country borders for the whole mission, which meant that they would be able to use the travel shelters set at intervals along the main roads. Her one experience with tent camping, during the wilderness survival exam her third year, had not ended well.
"We'll be leaving the day after tomorrow," Kakashi said, once they all had their lists. "Be at the main gate at six in the morning. No practice tomorrow, since you'll need time to gather your supplies." With that, he waved and—to Sakura's astonishment—actually walked out of the office rather than poofing away in his trademark burst of smoke.
The Hokage looked up from his seat at the three genin. "If that is everything you wished to discuss, I believe we are finished," he said. "Sakura, please stay behind a moment."
It was clearly a dismissal, and Naruto and Hinata quickly left the office, though not before giving Sakura sympathetic looks. Sakura herself was confused, not sure what the Hokage would want to talk to her about that couldn't have waited until their next lesson together. Except, she realized, feeling rather stupid as she did, if we're leaving in two days, we won't be having any lessons after this until I get back.
"This will not take long, Sakura-chan," the Hokage said, motioning for her to take the seat across from him. "And no, you are not in trouble. While I would have recommended speaking with Kakashi before coming to me, I understand that he can be…difficult to reach much of the time. Now, as you have no doubt realized, we will not be having any lessons for the next three weeks, for obvious reasons."
Sakura nodded, glad that the Hokage wasn't upset with her for convincing her team to come talk to him about the problems they were having with their jounin-sensei. She hadn't really thought he would be—it was his job to take care of things like that, after all—but she hadn't been able to discount the possibility entirely.
"While you are on missions outside the village," he continued, "you may practice on your own. Nobody except Kakashi will associate a Leaf genin with the vessel of the Nine-Tails, and he knows of your abilities already. Indeed, if you have any questions while you are away, you may wish to ask him; he is not a sealing expert, but he does have some knowledge of the art."
All right! Sakura echoed Naruto's earlier exclamation, if only within her mind. She had always wished she could practice her fuuinjutsu skills more than once a week, and now she had been given permission to do just that. Not only that, the Hokage's comment about how nobody where they would be going would recognize her filled her with absolute joy. For the first time in her life, she would be exactly what she had always wanted to be—just another girl, with anything special about her being because of something she did, not because of something that had been done to her when she was less than a day old.
"…and I see you are not even paying attention to me any more, so I think I will let you go now," the Hokage said, giving her a wry smile. Sakura blushed deeply as she stood and bowed, hoping she hadn't missed anything important.
"Oh, and Sakura?" he called out to her as she walked away. "Good luck. A ninja's first real mission is an important event in his or her life, and I hope to hear good things from you when you return."
- - -
"You're…you're not late!" Naruto exclaimed, barely able to believe it when he felt Kakashi's chakra signature approaching. It was exactly six in the morning, and the night guards at the gate were just now being relieved by the first set of day guards. He had been there for the past hour, unable to fall back asleep when he had woken up early. Fortunately, his mother had been up early as well, so he was well fed in preparation for the journey.
Sakura and Hinata, who had been sitting nearby and eating a small breakfast of their own, stood up and grabbed their packs. They both looked a little sleepy, though Naruto couldn't understand how they could possibly be anything less than wide awake when they were about to leave the village on their very first mission—since he figured the D-rank missions they had been doing up until now didn't really count.
Kakashi simply shook his head, probably in disappointment that he had ruined his perfect record of being at least two hours late to everything, Naruto thought. "Let's get going," he said, once the two girls had gathered their packs and come over to stand by Naruto. "We have a long way to travel. Once we get to where we'll be staying for the evening, I'll show you a way to travel faster, but it will probably take you a few days to make it work properly."
This second shock in as many minutes—not only was Kakashi on time, he had just said he would teach them something—proved too much for Naruto, and he turned and pointed his finger at the jounin. "Who are you, and what have you done with Kakashi-sensei?" he asked accusingly, causing his teammates to break out into fits of giggles.
Kakashi rolled his eyes, then disappeared. At that same moment, Naruto felt something push him in the small of his back, and he stumbled forward. He recovered quickly and turned around, already looking around for whatever had hit him, when he realized he was missing something.
"My…pack?" he started to shout, then trailed off when he saw Kakashi, who was standing right where Naruto had been, holding a very familiar-looking pack in one hand.
Wow…he's fast! Naruto thought, feeling more than a bit of awe. He moved behind me and took my pack off even before I realized he was gone. His mother had told him a little about Kakashi, since she had known him when he was only a genin himself, but hearing about the man's skill was completely different from experiencing it firsthand. Naruto had known he was holding back during the bell test, but he hadn't thought it was by this much.
"Now," Kakashi drawled, "if nobody else has any comments, let's go." He tossed Naruto his pack and turned to walk through the gate and out of the village, Hinata and Sakura close behind him.
Naruto thought he heard Hinata murmur, "Goodbye, village," somewhat wistfully as they passed under the arched gateway, and he turned and smiled reassuringly at her. Like her, he had never been outside the village walls for more than a few hours before, and underneath all his excitement, he couldn't deny that he was a little nervous as well. This mission might be about as unimportant as it was possible for a C-rank mission to get, but it still marked the first time in his life that he would be on his own—well, not exactly that, he supposed, since his teammates and Kakashi were with him, but he no longer had the safety of the village around him. Judging by her expression, Hinata was feeling much the same way, but Sakura, on the other hand, appeared blissfully oblivious.
Or maybe not, he thought, frowning slightly. Maybe she's realized the same thing, but it makes her happy instead. That thought filled him with a mixture of sadness and anger—the former at the idea that his friend could be so unhappy that she was excited not just about the mission, but about simply leaving the village, and the latter at the people who made her feel that way. He had seen the villagers' reactions to her, and they made him wonder how anyone could be so hateful towards someone who had never done anything to hurt them—and while he sometimes suspected that Sakura was hiding things even from her friends, he was certain that she had done nothing to deserve the way she was treated.
Please, he found himself hoping, let her still want to come back with us after this is over. He didn't think he could stand the idea of her becoming a missing-nin, with hunter teams after her—and as the Hokage's student, he was sure she wouldn't simply be allowed to leave. He knew he was probably being silly and exaggerating things, that she was just glad to be doing anything other than boring D-rank missions, but something in the way her eyes sparkled as she grinned joyfully, not even even giving a backward glance at the village as they walked away, made him unable to completely dismiss his worries.
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Author's Notes: Hm...not really a whole lot to say here about this chapter. Sakura being silly, a bit more of Kakashi's past as it relates to Naruto's mother and Sakura, and the start of a new mission--mixed with a few scattered things that won't seem important for quite a while. Next chapter, naturally, will be all about the mission. My thanks to all of you who reviewed last chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed reading this one!