Chapter 10- Old Friends
Kakashi frowned lightly as he assessed the new individuals, trying to remember everything about them. The Village of Chaos… if he'd remembered correctly, then it wasn't really a village quite yet. However, it had already gained very powerful members, each of whom were trying to get money to raise their own village. It was a mercenary band, who owed no alliance to anywhere, and lent themselves out to anyone. Gato had obviously taken advantage of this fact.
Individually they were B to A-class, but nothing the silver haired jounin couldn't take care of. But… but he had also heard that their teamwork was less of teamwork, and more of one person with two clones- except of course, those two clones had completely different skill sets. Together, the three were deadly, and Kakashi imagined that even a kage would have a bit of trouble with them. If they were going to attack him together… he wasn't sure if he stood a chance.
Just then, Kakashi felt the intense stare of another on him, the killer intent almost tangible in the air. Lazily, the silver haired jounin met the gaze, returning it with almost a bored look.
"I want that one," The golden haired boy spat out his twig, uncapping his sword, "I want to test my skill against the 'Copy-nin Kakashi', the one who has been said to copy over a thousand jutsus."
Ah, so they wanted to go against him individually then. Good, that made things so much more relaxed. Kakashi felt the tension drain out of him as he gazed at the challenger. Mikael. The lightning user, the one with incredible skills in ninjutsu: the one who was supposedly completely ruthless, and always wanted to test his skills. Did that mean Mikael believed he could win despite Kakashi being the stronger one? Kakashi simply eye smiled, returning the challenge; Kakashi wouldn't lose, that was that. It didn't matter what Mikael thought.
"Fine, take him," The blond leader grinned at his teammate, then tilted his head to wink at Elric, "Hey you know, if you want to pretend to be a civilian, then make sure your steps don't sound like a warrior's. Too bad ya met me today, 'cause now I wanna fight you!"
The one who had proclaimed himself Ares looked no older than a teenager, but his lazy slouch revealed no openings yet looked effortless, revealing exactly how skilled he was. The sunny grin and light voice didn't put Kakashi off for a second; after all, he had met many ninja who could seem like idiots, but were a demon in fighting. Plus, Kakashi had heard about Ares, the one named after the god of war. His skill in swordsmanship was no joke, and there was a rumour that Ares had in fact, defeated one of the Seven Swordsman of Mist. With his wind affinity added, and his acrobatic taijutsu, the blond was not to be taken lightly.
The last one -the black haired one- sighed, "You two… just be careful Ares. Blond hair, gold eyes, red cloak… this is the 'Edge of Death'. Don't get hit by his taijutsu, alright? I'll take care of the kiddies."
Kakashi tensed; this was exactly what he had been afraid of. He wanted his team to get field experience yes, but not against a jounin! He only hoped that he could finish off Mikael in time to rescue his students. Baruna most likely, would try not to finish them off. After all, the black haired boy was known for his compassionate nature… amongst other things. Kakashi could only hope that Baruna would not deem the rest of Team Seven a threat, and simply put them out of commission using the genjutsus he was so well known for. Engaging him right now though, when one of his teammates had his eyes set on Kakashi, would be a mistake.
"Eh?" Ares turned to the dark haired boy, a questioning look on his face, "Why? What's wrong with this guy's taijutsu?"
Baruna sighed, shaking his head, "Honestly Ares, you should keep updated with the bingo book."
"Why would I need to?" Ares shrugged, "I've got you and Mikael to tell me everything. So, so? What's so special about this guy's taijutsu?"
"He's like a Hyuuga, apparently," Mikael explained, not taking his eyes off Kakashi, "He can destroy your chakra points and your tendons, if he gets a hit."
"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed, turning to Elric with wide eyes, "That's so cool!"
"And you never told us about it," Sasuke added, giving the blond haired jounin an accusing glare.
"Never saw the need," Elric shrugged, undoing his cloak slightly, revealing the Konoha headband. Elric was not going to pretend to be a civilian any longer. "You two couldn't learn it, since your chakra control wasn't good enough. Besides, you two know about plenty of other abilities that I'm sure no one else does."
"But still…!"
Elric put a finger to Naruto's lips, shutting the genin up. The jounin turned to the three mercenaries from the Village of Chaos, his voice slightly pained, "Can't we just… not fight? I wanted this to be a regular C-rank mission, where I take a nice break, and Naruto get some time outside of the village."
"Darn it," Ares scratched his head, shooting Baruna a helpless look, "I'm actually starting to like these people. Do we really have to kill them?"
"I'm sorry," Baruna actually looked apologetic, "But we can't dismiss the money Gato is offering to give us. We need it… for sensei…"
Interesting. So, these kids weren't that bad after all. Perhaps Kakashi wouldn't kill them then. He wasn't without a heart, after all. Besides, he didn't feel that his companions would be too happy with the silver haired jounin if Kakashi did kill one of these kids after they expressed their regret. Besides, they were just kids, young ones at that. It sounded like they weren't heartless, and might grow to be great ninja. It was a shame they had met under these circumstances.
"Arg!" Ares messed with his hair, probably thinking along the same lines as Kakashi, but obviously far more vocal about it, "I hate this situation! I don't mind it when we have to defeat bad guys but this is…!"
"Then just beat them," Mikael said calmly, drawing out his blade fully, sending a soft ringing sound throughout the clearing. "Our objective is to kill the bridge builder, so as long as we get rid of the old man, you won't even have to harm the others. That is the ninja way; they are hardy going to come after us once their reason to do so is taken away."
"Still," Baruna hooded his eyes, tranquilly drawing out what looked like two kunai tied together by a very long string, "This is the 'Edge of Death' and 'Copy-Nin Kakashi' we're dealing with. We'll have to go all out if we want to win. Do you mind me interfering with your fights, guys? After I'm finished with the kids?"
"Do whatever you want," Mikael swung his blade lightly, a soft glow starting to encompass it, "Help Ares first, though. I want some time with this guy."
"Hehehe…" Ares grinned, finally drawing out his blade, "It looks like even the cold hearted Mikael is touched this time. Otherwise, he'd never let us interfere with his fights, right Baruna?"
"You sound like we'll be easy to take out!" Naruto shouted, shaking his fists into the air, "But we're not! We'll guard this old man with our life! Don't underestimate us!"
Kakashi didn't get to see what happened next, because in the next instant all his attention was focused on the incoming Mikael. The golden haired boy moved… unbelievably fast. Kakashi only dodged out of the way at the last second. Kakashi flipped through the air, his hand flashing through a variety of handseals as a sudden lightning strike zipped towards him. Heh, so the Mikael kid wanted to defeat him using lighting, eh? Well, the golden haired brat was one hundred years too early.
Kakashi sent a light wind jutsu towards the blond, fuelled by the opponent's lightning strike. Mikael jumped sideways as the wind ploughed into the ground, sending up a shower of dirt. Kakashi squinted, trying to detect where the blond was, but to no avail. The dirt was blocking all his senses, making him paranoid. But, at least Mikael was in the same situation as Kakashi.
Finally, the dust cleared, and Kakashi was the first to see a blurry figure looking in the opposite direction. He didn't waste the opportunity. Kakashi leapt forwards, making sure not to disturb even a speck of dirt as he ran across the surface of the earth, jumping towards Mikael. The blond sensed him at the last second, spinning around to block Kakashi's kunai with his sword, but it was too late. Kakashi slashed at the boy's leg, intending to draw blood… and then the boy disappeared in a flash of lightning.
A clone!
Suddenly, Kakashi felt harsh metal at the back of his neck, and he knew he'd been duped. But… all was not over. Just then, Kakashi felt the figure behind him tense, and he knew that his real self had gotten there. With a small smile, Kakashi popped out of existence with a puff of smoke.
Mikael's voice was calm, controlled, but also slightly still, probably due to the kunai pointed as his throat, "When did you…?"
"Probably at the same time you did," Kakashi answered with a smile, tightening his grip on the kunai, "The dust does make for a lovely distraction, doesn't it?"
"Yes," Mikael nodded, drawing a bit of blood from his neck as it scraped against the kunai, "It is an excellent cover…"
Kakashi's eyes widened, and he quickly bent backwards, his kunai slipping through Mikael's throat. It didn't matter thought, because Mikael just disappeared in another flash of lightning. What was problematic, was the huge sword swinging above him. Kakashi cursed in his mind; he had underestimated the kid!
Not wasting any time, Mikael changed the direction of his sword mid-swing, plunging it downwards instead of across. Kakashi didn't have a choice. He caught the blade with both hands, hoping to stop its descent. A jolt of lightning passed through him, and fresh red blood seeped down his arms, forcing Kakshi to grit his teeth to seem unaffected. Using all his strength, Kakashi twisted back, ramming the swordtip into the ground and setting Mikael off balance.
Mikael was only off balance for a second though, as expected. Still, a second was all Kakashi needed. He leaped away, landing a fair distance from the cold eyes of the golden haired teen as Kakashi tried to diffuse the lightning in his body. Mikael was talented, that was for sure, if he had managed to channel chakra through weaponry. Kakashi should not have underestimated him.
"Use your Sharingan," Mikael commanded coldly, holding up his sword as lightning torrents ran across it, "Or else you won't live."
Grim faced, Kakashi pulled up his headband, and the world suddenly sharpened around him. It wasn't exactly that he thought he'd need it to defeat the brat, but he'd definitely need it to defeat Mikael quickly. After all, no matter how much Kakashi was impressed by his genin, he knew realistically that they would stand no chance against someone of high jounin level. Compared to genins, jounins were simply too fast, too strong, had too many aces up their sleeves, and most of all… too experienced. He had to defeat Mikael quickly, before Baruna could join them. It was time to end this.
Kakashi shifted into a taijutsu stance, this time seeing Mikael come at him in almost slow motion. Mikael was going to slash to the left, that Kakashi could see clearly. However, Kakashi didn't want to give away his advantage just yet. Kakashi waited until the last moment, before he dodged out of the way, just like a regular jounin would. However, Kakashi was also flashing through handseals as fast as the eye could follow. Just as Mikael swung the blade down, Kakashi kicked his foot forwards, seeing the opening early enough to exploit it. Mikael flew backwards, slamming into a tree.
A flood of lightning raced towards Mikael, who rolled quickly out of the way… or he should have. But Kakashi had seen where Mikael would go, because in his dazed state the golden haired boy wouldn't realize where Kakashi had aimed the lightning. The golden haired boy threw himself to the left of the tree… straight into Kakashi's jutsu.
Mikael let out a scream, as his body twitched as if in seizure. Slowly, it ceased, and Mikael lay there, breathing heavily. Giving the golden haired boy a slightly apologetic glance, Kakashi walked towards the enemy, kunai in hand. Mikael looked up, gazing at Kakashi hatefully as he struggled to get up. Slowly, the golden haired boy picked up his weapon, his sword almost dropping from his fingers as his hand spasmed. Kakashi sighed, and decided he should end this quickly, before he started to get regrets. Standing in front of the boy, and the boy not able to do anything but stand, Kakashi raised his kunai high in the air…
"STOP IT!"
The kunai slipped from his fingers as Kakashi whipped around, gazing wide-eyed at Mikael's unexpected rescuer. What…?
"You sound like we'll be easy to take out!" Naruto shouted, shaking his fists into the air, "But we're not! We'll guard this old man with our life! Don't underestimate us!"
Sasuke sighed; there went Naruto again, overconfident beyond belief, and aggravating beyond belief. Didn't he realize that they were facing a jounin here, and it was best to be underestimated? Years of trying to up his Aniki and failing had given Sasuke a healthy respect for jounin, but it seemed that even the simplest lessons couldn't get through Naruto's thick head. Idiot…
"Alright," Baruna started spinning one end of his nuchucku-like weapon, then without warning, hurled one end towards them. It went almost too fast to be seen, but Sasuke's body had an ingrained reaction. He automatically leapt away sideways… but found that the attached kunai wasn't aimed towards him. The bridge builder…!
Sasuke whipped his head around to face Tazuna, only to see Aniki holding up a metal plate, the kunai penetrated deeply into the rock. Aniki threw down the rock, moving his fingers experimentally as if they had been hurt. Suddenly, Aniki pushed Tazuna forwards, sending the old man into a facefull of dirt. A second later, a torrent of wind gushed towards the blond, knocking Aniki back into a tree.
"Your opponent, is me," Ares grinned, jumping to the place where Aniki had been second before, then tearing off towards the now bent tree.
Suddenly, Sasuke felt a whoosh of air pass by his ear, and he quickly turned to see the dark haired boy with the kunai-imbedded-stone in hand. Almost detachedly, Baruna pulled out the kunai, starting to spin it once again, "That jounin is very impressive; he stopped my one-kill move. Though, it does seem like his hand's suffering from it. I wonder… are the apprentices as impressive as the teacher?"
"You bet'ca!" Naruto promised, though he looked a little shaken from the earlier scene. That kunai had moved so fast… and none of them had seen it.
A small, sad smile flitted across Baruna's face, "Then we'll see… if you have the skill to back up your words. Careful, because if you don't, you might get killed."
"We won't die here!" Naruto cried, looking like he was fully intent on arguing. Sasuke's eye twitched, and he reached out, intending to stop the blubbering idiot, when he realized something. Naruto was buying them time. Whether intentionally or not (and Sasuke was really debating that, because sometimes Naruto could be a genius, but the blond also couldn't tell a lie to save his life) Naruto was distracting the hired nin. Baruna wasn't acting, and all the genin really needed to do was buy time until either Kakashi or Aniki showed up. But hold on, wouldn't this Baruna guy also know that…?
"Really?" Baruna asked curiously, stopping the twirling of his kunai as if Naruto's determination was distracting him from his task, "Is there something you need to do?"
Sasuke's eyes widened; no, it couldn't be! He closed his eyes, trying to close off all his other senses, then suddenly threw a kunai towards the left—into empty air.
And then, the world dissolved around them. Baruna leapt away from the fallen figure of Tazuna, just avoiding Sasuke's kunai. Naruto gaped, goggling wide eyed at the bridge builder's figure, then turned his head around to where they all thought the bridge builder was lying before. There was nothing but air and the empty earth. The Baruna they were talking to, likewise wasn't there.
"Wow, it looks like you guys aren't normal genin after all," Baruna commented lightly, sounding a bit surprised.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes; he had only detected that because of the chakra-sensing ability Aniki had taught him. Sasuke had felt something was off when Baruna's chakra signature wasn't where his body was. But if it wasn't for that ability… they wouldn't have noticed at all. This was a genjutsu expert, and next time, Sasuke wouldn't be so luck. Baruna would definitely up the level of genjutsu next time.
But… it wasn't like they were completely helpless. Sasuke looked towards Naruto, who nodded and held up two fingers. Baruna would figure out it was a signal of course, but he wouldn't know what it was a signal for. Naruto grinned, and created a small army of shadow clones who all lunged towards Baruna. All they'd have to do, was make sure Baruna was too busy fighting to create an elaborate genjutsu. Sasuke turned to his last teammate, his hands already flashing through seals, "Sakura, guard Tazuna! You're the best one out of us for detecting and dispelling genjutsu!"
Not technically true, but in the future she would be. He needed to build up her confidence now, and have a good excuse for why she should be the one to guard Tazuna. Just then, all of Naruto's clones started fighting each other. 'Baruna' disappeared with a poof.
"Lightning release: Clash of Titans!"
"Wind release: Drilling Air Bullets!"
Combined, Naruto's and Sasuke's jutsu raced towards the clump of clones, dispelling each and every one. Well, except for one. As soon as that clone leapt away though, Sasuke was flying forwards, aiming a kick towards the clone's head. The Naruto clone blocked it easily, but Sasuke followed up with another kick, which the clone still easily caught. Sasuke punched, which was blocked again, as the clone's hand moved forwards to meet his, Sasuke was able to slip the piece of paper within its sleeve. Hehe… Naruto seemed to appear out of nowhere, aiming a punch towards the clone's head. The clone blocked with an arm, then threw Sasuke in front of him, causing Sasuke to grunt in pain as he collided with Naruto, sending them both backwards.
Flipping backwards, the clone frantically searched within his sleeve, brining out the sheet of paper and throwing it away. Just in time. The area the paper touched exploded in an array of flame, but quickly disappeared before the forests could catch on fire. The purpose of an exploding tag after all, was not to create long term damage.
Just as the clone landed, chains erupted from his sleeve, tearing the orange fabric. But then, it wasn't orange anymore. The image of Naruto dissolved as Baruna looked in surprise at the rapid chains that were wrapping around him, trapping him like a snake. Baruna struggled, but it was to no avail, "How…?"
"Hehe, brilliant plan isn't it?" Naruto grinned, pushing Sasuke off as he jumped up, "I made this plan up originally to get Edward nii-san -erm, I guess that's 'Edge of Death' to you, or whatever- because we wanted a picture of his face when we caught him. For Sasuke's birthday, ya know. We just revised it a bit, for you."
Sasuke sighed at Baruna's still confused expression. Really, Naruto had to have a talent for explaining things without really explain them. Sasuke would just have to correct that, then. Baruna deserved no less than a full explanation. "This was a three stage trap. The clones were to distract you, but in reality we knew that you would try to change into one of them and make one of them look like you. The jutsu combo was to attack everyone, so you'd for sure get hit. I charged at you while you were avoiding the jutsus, so that you wouldn't see me coming, but just in case you did I had an explosive tag in my fist. I put the tag in your sleeve when I saw Naruto coming, so you didn't have time to react to it before he hit you. When he punched you, he stuck a seal on your sleeve, which was set to activate ten seconds after channelling chakra through it. You noticed the explosive tag, and got rid of that promptly, but the chain seal thankfully you didn't see."
Baruna shook his head, as if he couldn't believe the explanation, "That is an amazing plan, and perfectly executed. I'm sure you'll be great ninja one day. Also, thank you for allowing me the time by explaining, because now… I've got you trapped inside my genjutsu."
"Your opponent, is me," Ares grinned, jumping to the place where Edward had been second before, then tearing off towards the now bent tree. Edward cursed, rolling out of the way just as Ares smashed into the tree, nearly knocking the tree off its hinges. Jumping back to his feet, Edward leapt backwards, wanting to get as far from the genin as possible. Normally, he'd want to stay near them, but with Ares' destructive power Edward couldn't risk it. Besides, it seemed as if Baruna didn't intend to harm the genin, and it would really suck if one of them died because of the crossfire between Ares and Edward.
Now… what was the best way to beat this guy? He couldn't use fire, which was the most logical thing against a wind affinity, because of the forestry. He wasn't really sure if he wanted to use his taijutsu style either, because unlike the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist, Edward's chakra-destroying taijutsu couldn't be reversed. He usually reserved it for the scum of the earth, or missing-nins who had no future, but to cripple Ares forever would be… too harsh. Edward reached into his pack, and threw a slew of kunai towards Ares, all aimed towards vital pressure points. Ares simply waved his sword, easily batting them aside, and the ones he couldn't reach he simply dodged, moving his body as if it were putty. As he twisted, the green eyed boy threw his sword, sending it flying towards Edward.
Edward jumped sideways, his hands going through rapid handseals as he heard the dull thud of the sword imbedding itself deep into a tree behind him. He didn't have long to think about it though, because as soon as he regained his footing Ares was there, aiming a kick towards his head. Edward ducked, putting one hand on the ground. Ares followed the momentum, leaping over Edward's head and landing beside the large sword, yanking it swiftly. But Edward was already done his jutsu, "Earth Release: Entrapment!"
Edward rolled out of the way as soon as he felt the earth start to rumble, landing in a crouch. And not too soon either, because at that moment he felt the air whish by his head, signalling Ares' downward strike with his sword. He had almost got his braid cut off! Edward twisted around as soon as he was out of the way, ready to throw some senbons in vital areas. Except… Ares wasn't in the earth jutsu Edward had created. Edward looked up.
Ares was holding onto his sword hilt by one hand, completely upside down. He had used the momentum from the swing to get out of the trap before it reached its fullest strength! Edward felt a smirk dance across his lips as Ares landed, charging towards the golden eyed boy. Now this was some fight. It seemed like the one named after the god of war was something of an acrobat.
Edward had decided. There was only one way to end this. Concentrating, Edward slowly started condensing the water moisture in the air, thickening the area into a deep, dense mist. He jumped back a few paces, putting the barest hint of chakra into the mists. He could sense Ares perfectly now, see the green eyed boy in perfect detail, but Ares couldn't sense him.
Suddenly, the mists dispelled. Edward stared wide eyed at the grinning green eyed boy, who simply stood there as the mists slowly blew away. What…? Even wind affinities, had never blown away chakra-enhanced mist before.
"I know this trick," Ares stuck out his tongue, "My master was originally from Mist after all. You can't fool me with this."
Wait a minute… from Mist? Why did that… sound familiar? Just then, Ares leaped at Edward, swinging his sword. Edward dodged, but Ares didn't waste anytime, quickly following his first move with a second, and then a third, and then a forth.
Hold on, Hold on! "Ares, what was your master's name?"
"Huh, why?" Gradually, increasingly, Ares' speed seemed to get faster, and the air around them started to whistle with Ares' swings. Slowly, ever so slowly, the sword sped up, until it swung before the whooshing that accompanied it. "Oh I get it, you recognize this technique! My master is… Kiron of the Whirlwind!"
No way…
Pain lanced across Edward's arm, as Ares' sword finally connected. Frowning, Ares jumped back, putting his hands on his hips, "Hey, why'd you suddenly freeze like that?"
Edward sat down with a plop, resisting the urge to laugh. Huh, small world, wasn't it? He shook his head, ignoring the blood seeping down his arm, "Hm… you've grown. What happened to your red sweater? The one with the spider on its back?"
"Oh that? It got ripped up when I saved Baruna from- hey! How do you know about that? Ho-ho-hold on! You couldn't be… Edward Elric?"
Edward grinned ruefully, as he quickly went through some handseals for a healing jutsu, "I never did tell you my name today, huh?"
"Holy cow," Ares scratched his head, taking a seat beside Edward, "I'm really sorry. I can't believe I almost diced you up! But you look so different! Or maybe… I just remember you differently."
Edward rolled his eyes; tch, Ares was one to talk. Ares wasn't exactly the scrawny kid he used to be, and what the heck was with the whole Cyclops thing? And, it wasn't like Ares could have landed a hit on Edward if the alchemist wasn't distracted. But, now wasn't the time for that. Edward turned serious, "Ares, are you going to insist on going on this mission? Because if you are, even if we're friends…"
Ares seemed to get the implication, because he immediately shook his head, "No, not if it's you. I mean… we do need the money but… you saved my life once, and I still haven't repaid it."
"Good," Edward said, standing up and brushing his clothes off, "Then if you can stop your friends from wanting to kill Tazuna, I'll consider that debt repaid. I'll go stop Kakashi, can you see to my genin?"
At Ares' nod, Edward sped off. He arrived just in time too. Kakashi had his kunai high in the air, just in the position to strike down on Mikael's frozen head. "STOP IT!"
Kakashi paused, twisting his head around to blink at Edward. Edward nearly froze at the sight; even though he had heard of Kakashi's Sharingan, seeing it in person was… Edward closed his eyes, thinking of his deserted best friend. But, now was not the time to think about that.
"We've reached an understanding," Edward opened his eyes again, staring steely at Kakashi, "We've decided to cease fire."
Kakashi dropped his arm, covering his red eye again as he let out a long sigh, "Tazuna died? Well, I suppose…"
"No!" Edward shook his head, then glanced at Mikael, "Ares um… well, you should let him explain it, but basically we've decided to cease fire for the time being."
"Oh?" Kakashi perked up, looking interested, then he smiled benignly, "Oh this is good. I was afraid my little kiddies were going to be upset that they couldn't protect their first important client. Let's go back to them, then."
Without another word, Kakashi disappeared from sight, his chakra signature rapidly nearing the genin's. Edward took a look at Mikael, and stepped forwards, intending to help. Mikael's growl stopped him, "I don't know what you're playing at, but I for one, don't trust you."
Edward rolled his eyes as he felt two chakra signature coming towards them; well, it looked like he wasn't needed, then. As Edward left, he distantly heard the low voice of Mikael, "Ares, what is going on?"
Baruna's sigh followed his, "Yes, I just had the target when you stopped me…"
Edward arrived back at the clearing where Tazuna was at. The genin were all grouped together on the floor, with Kakashi standing not too far, reading that dirty book of his again. Naruto was just lying down, an arm thrown over his eyes. Sasuke was sitting, glaring at a random rock. Sakura was hugging her knees to her chest with one hand, the other hand clutching her head in pain.
"What… happened?"
Kakashi looked up from his book, his expression uncaring again, "They were caught in a genjutsu. Baruna intended to kill our client while they were in lala land. Still, it was impressive for them to hold off Baruna long enough for us to be done."
"If we didn't waste our time bragging," Sasuke said bitterly, "We would have never lost!"
"Yeah…" Naruto's voice sounded a bit depressed, which really wasn't like him, "Our plan actually worked perfectly. It's just we were too overconfident and…"
Kakashi shook his head, "Now you're being too overconfident. Do you really think three genin could stand a chance against a jounin-level ninja? If Baruna was serious, he could have wiped you out in three seconds flat. I'm proud that you've kept Baruna off for this long; most couldn't have done it."
"Hold on a moment," Edward cut in, gazing at his two self-proclaimed younger brothers steadily. He knew he shouldn't contradict their jounin-sensei because it would breed discord and… eh what the heck, Edward had never been one to follow the rules. "I believe that Sasuke and Naruto have actually forced Baruna to 'be serious'. The main reason they lost is because they aren't suited to fight against a genjutsu specialist. Weren't you serious during your bell test, Kakashi?"
Kakashi cocked his head, then eye-smiled, "I suppose I was."
Edward smiled lightly, then continued with his lecture, "Sasuke, Naruto, you two have the ability to take down a low levelled jounin, the only thing is you don't have the experience for it. Although Kakashi did take you two seriously, you still have one huge advantage over him. In Kakashi's bell test, he didn't want to kill you, but in the real world, most ninja aren't going to handicap themselves like that. Meeting Ares' team today was lucky."
Kakashi raised a brow, his smile disappearing as he gave Edward a scrutinizing look, "Oh? Do you know Ares?"
"Of course he does!" Ares walked out of the woods, with Mikael being supported by Baruna right behind him, "And don't you forget me again! Come visit us at the Village of Chaos when you have time, alright? Master Kiron would like to meet with you again!"
Baruna nodded, smiling as his gaze fell on the three genin, "You did very well. I am sorry about the genjutsu, but please remember to be careful about it next time. Grow up to be great ninja."
"Hm," Mikael looked away, "My companions are too kind, but don't expect other ninja to be like them. If it were me, I would have stayed to finish the job even if it meant my life."
Ares stuck out his tongue, throwing an arm around Mikael's shoulder and almost throwing Baruna off balance. Laughing and grumbling, the three walked away, with one last, backwards wave from Ares.
Kakashi's smile was deceptively calm, "Maa, what an interesting bunch they are. And efficient too, because they almost succeeded in their goal. I wonder what made them change their mind?"
Edward laughed a little nervously, feeling five sets of eyes boring into him. Quickly, he explained the whole situation from five years ago, about how he, Itachi, and Hikari had saved Ares and his master. Edward felt Kakashi tense a little at Itachi's name, and glance at Sasuke worriedly, and Edward was glad for that. Though Edward knew that Sasuke wouldn't have any adverse reaction to Itachi's name, it was nice to see that Kakashi was worried anyhow.
When Edward had finished, Naruto let out a low, long whistle, "Wow, that's so cool! Two of the Seven Swordsman! Why didn't you ever tell us about it?"
"I didn't think it was relevant to anything we've talked about bef-," Edward paused, feeling something at the edge of his consciousness, but wondering if he should reveal it. He had similarly felt Ares, Baruna, and Mikael approaching, but hadn't mentioned it because he was playing the role of a civilian. He wondered if he should do the same here.
"Edward nii-san…?"
No, that was stupid. It was best to continue being ninja, especially since Gato had probably gotten the impression that they had defeated three jounin-level ninja. It was Edward's mistake to continue trying to pretend being a civilian even after the Demon Brothers attacked. Edward smiled, gazing back behind them, "Looks like our reinforcements have arrived."
No sooner than he had said that, a blundering, green thing came crashing out of the woods, sporting a blinding smile, "Yosh! We have caught up!"
Next came a black haired girl, wearing a Chinese-style outfit and her hair wrapped in two buns on her head. She jumped out of a tree, obviously having been travelling the higher route. Landing with a sigh, she shook her head at the green boy, "Lee, you didn't need to run so fast. Neji said he saw that Team Seven was already waiting for us."
A moment later, two other figures appeared out of the woods. One was a cold, stone faced boy, which Edward recognized as a Hyuuga. Probably, this was the 'Neji' boy the girl was talking about. Beside the regal boy…
"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing to the two in green leotard, "Thick-brows, and even thicker-brows!"
"HOW DARE YOU INSULT GAI-SENSEI!" The one dubbed 'Lee' screamed, "I will challenge you to a duel! If I lose I will do two thousand pushups!"
Naruto let a feral grin spread across his lips, "You're on!"
Neji snorted, "Huh, a battle between losers."
"You bastard!" Naruto flew towards Neji, only to be held back by Sasuke, "I'll show you!"
"As if you could," Neji said coldly, crossing his arms, "Fate decrees that I shall always triumph over you. You are a simple orphan, and I am a Hyuuga."
"You- you-"
"You are mistaken," Sasuke glared daggers at the Hyuuga, his voice equally as cold, "Naruto could beat you with his hand tied behind his back."
Neji narrowed his eyes, "Uchiha, right? You should be an interesting opponent."
"Yosh! Is this a battle? I want to join in this battle too!"
"You bastard! Don't think I've forgiven you yet for calling me a loser! I'll show you who's a loser!"
"Guys… guys please calm down. We're on a mission here…"
"Maa, I don't know, watching these kids is kind of fun…"
"Kakashi-sensei!"
This was going to be a loooong mission.
"MY ETERNAL RIVAL KAKASHI WITH YOUR HIP ATTITUDE! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A MATCH, AND IF I LOSE I WILL RUN TO WAVE COUNTRY AND BACK FIVE HUNDRED TIMES!"
A very long mission.
He stabbed at his dumpling, glaring at it like it had killed his mother. Well… perhaps a better analogy would have been more along the lines of it stealing his money. He'd killed Mother himself, after all.
Across from him, his companion looked at him fearfully, which really didn't help with his mood at all. He sneered, disgusted; why did he have to be paired with such a lame partner already? Oh yeah, because he'd killed his two previous ones. He wondered how long this one would last.
Being in charge of the financial sector was not as easy as it seemed, and now that they were running low on money, it was up to him to make it up. Seriously, how did they expect him to magically appear with money? All the good jobs had been taken, and just randomly bumping into someone with a high bounty wasn't going to happen.
Besides, why did they expect him to do it? It was Leader's fault that they spent money just as quickly as he brought it in. Heck, he had brought in 100 million yen just last month; where was that money now?
Yes, he was definitely not in a good mood.
"Man! It was soo cool meeting him again!" The blond seated one table away from him exclaimed loudly, his voice easily heard by all the occupants of the restaurant.
And it just got worse.
He glared at the young boy just a few feet away; one was not supposed to be that loud in a public area! His fingers twitched; he yearned to strangle that insolent youth for disturbing him. He'd killed others for less. But at the same time, he didn't want to make a scene and get kicked out of the restaurant. That would surely drop his mood even further.
Just as he was contemplating whether or not to act, the blond's friend seemed to realize that it might not be best to make a spectacle of themselves.
"Shush, Ares," The black haired boy said forcibly, putting a hand over the blond's mouth. And then, the boy suddenly hissed, pulling back his hand as if he had been bitten. And in fact… he had. "By the Great Villages! What are you, a dog?"
The boy with yellow hair stuck out his tongue, "Who's a dog? But yuck Baruna, your hand tastes nasty."
"That's why you don't go around biting people," The dark haired boy muttered, "You should be happy I washed my hands before eating, otherwise…"
The blond made a face, "Thanks. But seriously, what's wrong with telling the world that I'm happy? I just got to meet my Aniki after all!"
"By the way," The only other occupant at that particular table said lazily, taking the grassweed out of his mouth, "It's not every day that I meet an opponent like that, and I couldn't even fight them because of you. You need to pay me back."
"What for?" The blond complained, "It looked like you were getting beaten pretty badly by the Cyclops, anyway."
The golden haired boy tensed.
The capped one sighed, "Mikeal, don't take it so offensively. And Ares, be fair. We were up against the 'Edge of Death' after all, and 'Copy-nin Kakashi'. To be honest, I didn't expect for us to win. I was counting on me finishing off the client before they…"
He had long stopped listening. As soon as he heard the words 'Edge of Death', and 'Copy-nin Kakashi', his mind had been on overdrive. The names sounded familiar, but where…?
And then, he remembered.
Slowly, a grin spread across his face. Well, well. He didn't expect to find them so coincidently, especially since they were both so well guarded by Konoha. But, they were both quite famous after all, and even if he hadn't memorized their information, he knew about them from the Bingo book.
Here was the solution to his problem.
With a grin that threatened to never go away, he stood up and put down his chopsticks, turning on his heel and strolling out of the establishment. He didn't bother looking back to see if his companion was following him; he was sure that the idiot would be scrambling to pay for their meals.
Sure enough, his assigned partner made it to his side, looking hesitant, "Um… um… not to question you but… are we going somewhere?"
Kakazu positively cackled. He had been hoping the hopeless idiot would ask him, "We, Tanto, are going to earn some money."
A/n: For those of you who guessed Ares's identity, KUDOS! For those of you who still don't know who the heck Ares is, he showed up briefly in Chapter 5, after the Ed's and Itachi's mission in Grass. And yes, that is WHY I made Ares show up way back then… so he could do this now. Planning is a pain. Ares probably won't show up again… unless you guys want him to? Anyway, now we should be getting to the exciting stuff :)