"Anei, what's your position?" Eneko's voice called quietly over the headsets. Anei shifted so he could see their target.
"I'm in position for attack, sensei-chan. Target in sight." Anei's voice came back through. Eneko shifted positions silently.
"Fushi, Retsu? Positions." She called the order. Fushi and Retsu both shifted as well, looking for the target.
"In position, sensei. Just give the word."
"I can see him, Eneko-sensei. Target in sight. Ready for the signal." Eneko smiled. The target was going to hate her for this later.
"Move in, team thirteen." She called, jumping in on her own to get a better view of the fun that was about to commence. All three of her team jumped and did their battle cries, running for the target. Their target, taken by surprise, froze, eyes wide, and then was tackled by all three genin and let out a startled cry, making all the birds in the area flee.
"Target acquired, sensei-chan!"
"We did it!"
"Yes! Another mission down for team thirteen!" Eneko heard her team before she saw them. The orange blob underneath them was their target, his blue eyes glaring at her furiously.
"Eneko-chan! What is the meaning of this? I didn't do anything wrong!" He yelled in indignation. Fushi poked his forehead from her position on his back.
"Tsunade-sama wants you and she gave us the mission of finding you, Naruto-sempai!" She called innocently. Eneko grinned. Fushi had mastered the art of innocence, making even Eneko believe she didn't know what was going on sometimes. They were still trying to figure out what her specialized style was. To Eneko's knowledge, only she and Itachi had kekki genkai. Naruto glared at her again.
"Tell your team to get off of me, Eneko!" Eneko then examined her nails, pretending that she wasn't at fault.
"Well, they're not fully trained yet. They don't listen to everything that little old me says." She pouted. "Why even bother sometimes, ne, Naruto-kun?" Naruto started writhing around on the ground but couldn't get all three genin off of him. His shoulders drooped and he sighed.
"Please tell your team to get off me, Eneko-chan?" He pouted. Eneko grinned and flicked her wrist only slightly. Her team jumped off the orange-jump suited boy and stood at attention by her. Naruto got up and popped his back, groaning.
"How many completed missions is that for us so far, sensei-chan?" Anei asked her, curious. Fushi and Retsu both nodded, wanting to know as well. Eneko blinked and pulled out a small notebook, checking off something and tapping her lip with her pencil. Her team waited in anticipation. Eneko shut her book and smiled.
"Well, for my team, that is 20 completed D rank missions. I think that deserves us getting a C rank or a B rank mission." They all cheered and she smiled. "But we've got to wait for Itachi-sensei to get back from his mission. He'll want to take part in such a momentous occasion." She warned them. It didn't seem to phase any of them and they pressed closer.
"Does that mean you'll treat us to dinner at your place tonight, Eneko-sensei?" She paused and thought about it for a minute, looking at their pleading faces. Eneko laughed and relented.
"Of course. Meet at my house in three hours. But, our mission isn't done yet, you three. We still have to deliver the target to Tsunade-sama." They saluted and tackled Naruto again, causing him to scream. All the way back to the hokage's office they pulled him along, even with his whines and complaints about not wanting to go. Eneko picked him up by the back of his shirt and deposited him on the floor in front of Tsunade's desk. The blonde-haired hokage was trying her hardest not to laugh.
"Thank you, genin team thirteen, for another mission well done. That makes it, what now, twenty?" She asked with a grin.
"Yes ma'am, hokage-sama. Eneko-sensei and Itachi-sensei are great teachers! We've learned so much from them already!" Retsu told her, excited.
"Yeah, and I'd bet we'd still be the best genin team even without two senseis. And we practically are, seeing as how Itachi-sensei keeps getting put on missions." Fushi said with a grin.
"Yeah! Sensei-chan and Itachi-sensei are the greatest!" Anei yelled, punching the air. The others did the same, while Eneko and Tsunade laughed.
"I see. Well, we may just have to reward you all with a B-rank mission. Do you think you all can handle it?" They all saluted.
"Ma'am yes ma'am, hokage-sama." Tsunade grinned at Eneko who held up her hand.
"But, they've already promised to wait until Tachi-kun gets back from his mission. And you'd better not send him on another for a long, long time, Tsunade-chan." Tsunade grinned and held up her hands in surrender.
"Of course, Eneko-chan. I wouldn't dream of it. Especially with you just starting to be a family and all." Eneko grinned, a light blush spreading across her cheeks. Naruto grumbled from his spot on the floor and Tsunade threw a book at him without even having to look. His sharp yelp of pain was all that she needed.
"Naruto. Jiraiya is wanting you for training on top of the Hokage Mountains in…two minutes." Naruto's eyes widened and he ran so fast out of the office that Eneko had to combat the winds with her fans. Fushi giggled while Retsu and Anei grinned at each other. Eneko snapped her fans shut, causing her team to go straight to attention.
"Alright, now, I want everyone at my house in two and a half hours for dinner and I'd best not see any dirt on anyone's uniform. Do I make myself clear, team thirteen?" Eneko asked in a style similar to a military-commander's voice. Her team saluted.
"Yes ma'am sensei ma'am." They called in unison. Eneko put her fan back in its respective holster and saluted back.
"Dismissed!" She called, putting her hand back by her side. They all put their hands back before walking out of the office, talking about how great their mission went. Tsunade laughed.
"You have such a way with them, Eneko-chan. I'm glad I chose you to be their commander. They needed the discipline and the playfulness of being on your team." Eneko sat down in a chair on the side of the room.
"I still don't get why you say that, Tsunade-chan. They seem like they wouldn't need much. They're all so happy and friendly with each other." Eneko said, rubbing her temples. "Naruto and Sasuke were harder to train than they were." Tsunade's grin turned into a grim frown and she pulled out a file.
"Yamino Anei. He was raised by a single mother who abused him, telling him he was at fault for his father walking out on them, when really, he was killed in action. Anei knows this and his mother knows this, but that doesn't stop her from blaming him. He knows his mother has a mental instability and is working on helping at the hospital to find a cure for her." Eneko's eyes widened. These were things about her fire user that she never knew about.
"Youjino Fushi. Both parents are alive, though she doesn't know who they are, because she was adopted. Her adoptive parents were good to her until they were killed in action some three years ago. She decided to live on her own and put on an innocent outlook on life so that she wouldn't feel her heart breaking inside of her. Her parents are both wind users and they think that's what she will be too. She has a strong kekki genkai that obviously hasn't awoken yet.
"And finally Metsuki Retsu. His mother died giving birth to him and his father's done the best he can to care for his son, but being a jounin, that's rather difficult. He's been practically raised by himself and has gotten into many fights, each one started by saying 'I'm doing this so you will not talk about my father that way.' He's told his father good things about you, Eneko-chan, and how he thinks of you as a mother figure." Eneko had tears in her eyes by the end of this little speech.
"That's partially why they always want to train and spend so much time with Itachi and I. They have so much to prove. Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun did as well, at their age." She sighed. "Well, while they are on my team, I refuse to let anything happen to them. I will not let my loved ones get injured. That is my way of the ninja." Eneko vowed, her eyes hardening with the promise. She stood up and smiled at Tsunade. "Now, if you will excuse me, Tsunade-chan, I have a dinner to cook for my team. I think I'll cook all their favorites tonight. By the way, when is Itachi scheduled to be home?" She blinked. Tsunade looked at a different file.
"Tonight. He's scheduled back tonight. He's only been gone a week, Eneko-chan." Eneko grinned at her.
"But I miss him. He's good to me, and I love him more than I could possibly describe it. Well, good-bye, Tsunade-chan. And try and keep a B-rank mission for my team tomorrow." She called, waving as she walked out the door. She heard a good-bye called in return before a small laugh and Eneko walked down the streets. She ran into Sasuke once along the way and he smiled at her and hugged her.
"Hey, Eneko-chan! Haven't seen you in a while? When's your team's next mission?" Eneko grinned.
"Tomorrow. We've got a B-rank. They've successfully accomplished twenty D-rank missions, so I think they deserve to do something more challenging than kidnapping Naruto or pulling weeds." Sasuke chuckled.
"Good luck, Eneko-chan. I may just have to tag along for that one. Hey, listen, got any new jutsus I could teach someone? I think all the other ones I know are a little too complex." Eneko grinned and gave him the statistics for a simple fire jutsu. He thanked her and went on his way, as did she, humming to herself. She got home and found it dark, as usual, so she turned on the lights and began cooking. She was nearly done when a knock came on the door. She looked at the clock, confused. It was a full fifteen minutes before any of her team were supposed to be there. She dropped what she was doing and answered the door.
"Yes, this is the Uchiha residence, can I help you with something?" She asked politely before even opening the door the full way. Itachi burst in the door, panting. Her eyes widened at his condition and she caught him as he started falling over, laying his head on her lap. "Itachi? Itachi, tell me what's going on!" She called to him. His eyes were wide as he looked at her.
"I need your help, Eneko. You know medical jutsu right?" She nodded, thoroughly confused. "I ran into one of my old teammates and he really needs the help. Please, don't ask questions and just come with me." He told her, grabbing her wrist and dragging her along. He went to the edge of the city and there was a man with blonde hair and closed eyes. She gasped at what he was wearing. A black cloak with red clouds. Akatsuki.