An:
I would like to thank the people who have reviewed as always. Thank you for your feedback they really help keep me going, sincerely S. o. t. A.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I'm doing this for fun not profit.
Chapter 47: Shadow Players
Kin arrived at a sleepy town at the edge of Water Country. Off in the distance she could just make out the island that Haku had described. Walking to the worn pier she asked an old man sitting near a rowboat, "I would like to go to that Island. Who would I see about taking this boat there?"
"You'd see me," the man replied, "But this boat isn't going anywhere near that cursed place. Especially since one of those damn shinobi has taken up residence there."
Kin supposed that the hatred this country felt towards its shinobi was still pretty strong especially since the town was far removed from Kiri she said, "Please there has to be a way."
Eyeing her suspiciously the man finally said, "I may have a boat to sell you but it won't be cheap."
"Deal," Kin quickly agreed.
An hour later she was half-way to her destination but grumbled as boat had been too kind of a description for what she was currently rowing to the island. A loose collection of wood that leaked would have been more accurate and it had almost bankrupted her to boot. However looking at the island she calmed knowing it would all be worth it once she could see Haku again.
Arriving at the island Kin found the small abandoned fishing village and let her boat get claimed by the sea as it finally sunk beneath the water. Walking towards the edge of the village she saw a penguin peek out from behind a building. When it saw that it had been noticed it took off running. Following it discreetly she allowed it to lead her right to her man. Once she spotted the fortress she quickly managed to get ahead of it. Hoping Haku was there she wasn't disappointed as she spotted him immediately as he was practicing in the courtyard of the fortress having climbed the wall surrounding it.
Having not seen him in almost a year in a half Kin marveled at the changes as he became a little more muscular than he had been, which was easily seen since he was without a shirt despite the cold weather. Haku still hadn't noticed her till the penguin ran into the courtyard shouting, "Haku….a girl has arrived on the island."
"Do you have a description of her Genin," Haku said but saw Kin standing on the wall. Genin began giving a description unaware the girl was above him. "Well she had long black her, and was rather fit I believe she may be a kunoichi."
"You left out absolutely stunning," Haku said.
Kin blushed until the penguin said, "Ah, she was rather plain looking to me."
"What," Kin said glaring down at the flightless bird.
"Intruder," Genin said preparing to defend the fortress but Haku stepped in front of him saying, "It's alright Genin she doesn't mean any harm." But realizing she might be perturbed that he never came back from Kiri added, "I hope." However his fears were silenced as she leapt from the wall sealing her lips to his.
Watching the two kiss, Genin said, "I'll just keep patrolling the island," needless to say neither said anything in reply.
Shikamaru was summoned to the Hokage's office. He had been enjoying a nice relaxing day of cloud watching trying to understand what was bothering Temari. Whatever it was it had to do with the scroll that had been delivered to her that morning. After reading it she had wanted to be alone something that when she first arrived he would have been fine with but ever since they had almost kiss he had to admit to himself he liked her. Although things between them hadn't reached that point again in the three months since returning to Konoha they had come close on several occasions.
Reaching the Hokage's office he was granted entrance and saw Temari, Lee, Tenten, and Neji also standing in front of the desk. Sakura was standing behind it and to the side of her master. Smiling the Hokage said, "Good now we can begin. I'm not sure if you know this but it's time for the race to the Todoroki Shrine. For those of you who don't it is a race held every four years to dedicate jewels to the shrine in hopes of keeping the sea calm."
"That's interesting and all," Shikamaru said, "But if this is about us entering it I'm going to have to refuse."
"Oh you'll be running the race alright just not as participants," Tsunade said.
"I don't understand," Temari said, "Why run it if we aren't going to be in it?"
"The race is an anything goes type of affair. You'll be guarding the runner of the Wasabi Family as he runs the race," Tsunade said.
"So even shinobi interference is allowed?" Neji said questioning.
"That's right," Tsunade answered, "Which is how the Wagarashi Family gained control of Degrashi port four years ago."
"I see, so whoever's runner wins the race gains controlling interest then," Neji said.
"Correct," the Hokage said.
"I still don't see why Konoha is getting involved in a dispute between semi-legal gangsters," Shikamaru said, his tone tinged slightly with distaste he felt since he saw it as almost working for men like Gato.
"Jirocho might be a gangster but he is also a man of honor," Tsunade said of her friend. "Furthermore you may not be aware of this chunin, but the lower half of Fire Country has been in the midst of a war on drugs ever since the Wagarashi Family took power. Do you know why that is?"
Shikamaru sensing he offended the Hokage tried to say, "I'm sorry f…"
But was cutoff as Tsunade said, "The reason for that is the Wasabi Family for all their gambling houses and other places of ill dispute do not traffic in drugs. Therefore, your mission is to make sure that the Wasabi win this race and to make sure they take control of the port. Am I clear?"
"Yes Lady Hokage," they all said.
Being dismissed by their leader they left the office. Once outside the building Neji asked, "May I assume you will be in charge of this mission Shikamaru?"
Shikamaru looked to Temari who nodded but he said, "Actually I think both me and Temari will be calling the shots. She'll be the overall commander thou."
Temari looked surprised since although making chunin months earlier she hadn't been given a mission to lead since she was from Suna. Something that had bothered her but hadn't mentioned. The fact that Shikamaru not only picked up on that, but was letting her have tactical command meant a great deal to her. Unable to keep the smile off her face she said, "We'll leave in an hour so get ready." The others nodded to prepare for the upcoming mission.
As they walked back to the Nara compound she said, "Thank you."
"For what," Shikamaru said playing that he was confused.
Leaning in she kissed his cheek saying, "For being you," and left it at that feeling far better despite the sad news that she would be returning to Suna after this mission. Something she had yet to tell Shikamaru yet as she was afraid he would simply blow it off. However his kind gesture made her wonder if she meant as much to him as he had come to mean to her. Maybe the answered would be found on the mission at least she hoped so.
It was an hour after Shikamaru and the others left her office and Tsunade was still rather annoyed with Shikamaru's comment about Jirocho. However she supposed she could understand his opinion somewhat. Yet he didn't realize that if you turned back the clocks over a hundred years being a ninja wasn't such a good thing either. Before the Senju and Uchiha founded Konoha most shinobi clans were viewed with distain, good enough to perform various tasks for nobles and the like, but not the type of people that they would associate with. Gangsters like Jirocho straddled that line still, except they stood more in the light then the shinobi of old did. If the people of Degrashi Port had a problem they saw him not the regional governor or even the Daimyo. That was why the Tea Country Daimyo started the race to prevent the more gangster like elements of fighting for turf to disrupt the flow of money not only into his coffers but into the village they used as a base and therefore the country.
An Anbu appearing before her desk forced her to turn her focus on more pressing business. "Yes what is it?" she asked hoping another emergency wasn't in the process of brewing.
The Anbu replied, "There is a team from Kumogakure here on orders from the Raikage to speak to you. Do you want me to send them away?"
Tsunade was surprised since Kumo had not sent shinobi to Konoha, officially that was, since the Head Ninja from the peace treaty signing nine years previous had been killed by Hiashi. That they sent one now could mean anything from another round of meaningless talks to possibly declaring war. "Did they say what they wanted?" Tsunade asked.
"They wish to talk about Konoha's recent crossing into their borders," the Anbu replied.
Tsunade narrowed her eyes as she thought, "Is that bastard going to try and force another standoff with us for the Byakugan using Jiraiya and Naruto as an excuse?" To the Anbu she said, "Tell me. What is your opinion of the group he sent?"
"Milady?" the Anbu replied obviously confused why she would care for his opinion.
"Do you think they are here to cause trouble for us?" Tsunade said clarifying what she meant.
"Well to be honest milady I think their reason for being here is mere posturing," the Anbu replied.
"So you do think they are here for a more sinister purpose?"
"No, I mean I believe they want to sound like they are here due to Lord Jiraiya's appearing in their lands but wish to speak to you on another matter possibly related or even for a different matter entirely."
Intrigued Tsunade asked, "Why do you believe that?"
"Well, the leader of the team seems rather cold and collected despite being in her late teens or possibly early twenties. Her two teammates however have been arguing constantly over ridiculous matters. Not a team I would expect the Raikage to send if he truly was upset."
"Agreed," Tsunade said, "Very well, you may escort them here."
Kurenai raised an eyebrow as a team from Kumo passed by the open air café she was currently eating at. Her curiosity was peaked but not nearly as much as the group of gossiping women a few tables down. Although they leaned in conspiratorially they left a lot to be desired about discussing matters in secret especially since her love life had been the topic of discussion a few moments earlier. She sighed in regret when the Kumo shinobi didn't provide enough entertainment as they returned to the subject of her and Gai.
"I just don't understand what she sees in him," one of the woman said. "He acts like a buffoon half the time and those jumpsuits he wears, ugh."
"Tell me about it," another one said who she recognized as Ami's mother. "I even heard she dumped the Third Hokage's son for him."
"Is she nuts? He's far better looking than Gai," a third lady chimed in.
Kurenai kept her face clear of the anger she felt, but guessed the women didn't believe that beauty was in the eye of the beholder. In any case, when Gai showed up she was sure they would be singing a different tune. They had agreed to both not taking a mission today seeing as tonight was supposed to be a rather rare lunar eclipse. However Kurenai had also managed to secure a pair of tickets to a football match between the Konoha Fire and the Tanzaku Gamblers for the Fire Country Cup being held in the Chunin Exam Arena. Gai was a huge fan of anything that as he said it displayed Youthful Competition and she would admit that even she was beginning to enjoy the game, that although far more popular in Suna, was gaining a following in Konoha. After all a sport where people knocked each other around while kicking a ball around was almost as entertaining as watching shinobi fight. It may be a rather mean trick but she was going to let him decide what they did tonight. If he chose the football game well it would prove he was human after all as the past three months with him had been even better than she thought.
Gai was a wonderfully attentive boyfriend and while there were times when she felt embarrassment at his antics at least he didn't read porn while holding her hand as she had seen Kakashi do from time to time. Why Shizune let him read those novels in public still she couldn't say. She just figured it was part of Kakashi's charm much like Gai's boisterous ways was a part of his.
The three women were chatting about her and Gai still till one of them stopped talking her jaw dropping a little before closing and licking her lips. Having a good idea why Kurenai turned to see that Gai was walking towards the café holding a picnic basket for their date tonight. Instead of the unflattering jumpsuit he was wearing a green short sleeve shirt with horizontal white strips. It also had a collar which was unbuttoned. The shirt did nothing to hide the hard muscles that his vest and baggy jumpsuit normally hid and was complimented by the tan pants he had on.
Walking to her table he kissed her cheek before sitting down and saying, "Are you ready for our most youthful date?"
"Yes," Kurenai replied with a smile, "But perhaps you would like to do something else?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well I managed to get two tickets to the match tonight," Kurenai said seeing a little fire light up in his eyes. She sighed internally figuring she should have guessed he would want to go to that instead of watching the stars and eclipse.
However he laughed saying, "A most tempting idea, however I said we would see tonight's eclipse so believe we should continue with our original plans. Besides you could probably sell those tickets quite easily and put them to the far better use of purchasing those chakra weights for Yakumo. The Chunin Exams are next month and although her Taijutsu has improved she does need more speed and power." He finished up his statement with his bright smile and she smiled in return but especially since the three women behind him were staring at him with stars in their eyes now. After all she doubted if their men had been offered a chance out of watching stars in favor of a sporting event then they would have grabbed it.
Standing she said, "Well shall we?"
Getting to his feet he held his arm out allowing her to hook hers into it and lay her head on his shoulder as they walked to the arena to get rid of the tickets before selecting a spot to enjoy the stars and each other's company.
The three Kumo shinobi before her looked rather nervous well the two dark skinned ones behind the blonde woman did. The woman who had introduced herself as Samui looked almost bored. Finally she said, "I believe you said you are here to talk about some of our shinobi appearing in Lightning Country."
"In a sense," Samui said calmly, "In truth, we were sent to learn more about a group that Lord Jiraiya mentioned."
"Is that right," Tsunade said folding her hands in front of her, "What pray tell makes you think we'll just give you this information?"
"Why else send Jiraiya to…" Samui began to say, but was stopped when Tsunade said, "What Jiraiya does during his training trip is his business. He was there to warn the jinchuriki of a possible threat. I don't believe he told you we were going to hand over anything. Frankly, I find it rather pompous of your leader to send you here especially in light of the way he tried to use the peace-talks nine years ago. "
"Listen here b…" Karui was about to say, but was silenced by a glare from Samui.
The blonde woman composed herself before finally saying, "You may be right in saying it is rather forward of us to ask anything of you in light of our past history. However, a threat against Jinchuriki is a threat against the Raikage's brother and our former sensei." Bowing almost completely in half Samui said, "Will you please consider our request?" She noticed that it was a gesture that was mirrored by the two shinobi behind Samui as well.
"You love your master so I'm willing to consider your request," Tsunade said after a moment. "However I don't know how much you are capable of negotiating but this information will not be free."
Straightening Samui said, "What is it we must provide?"
"Information, most likely," Tsunade said, "If we hand over this file then should Kumo learn anything of value on Akatsuki I want the second person to know about it besides the Raikage to be me."
"We will have to travel back to Kumo to relay your demands to the Raikage," Samui said after thinking for a moment.
"I look forward to his reply," Tsunade said dismissing the Kumo shinobi.
In truth she would have given it to them for nothing considering that a Kumo on guard against Akatsuki would hopefully thwart the group's plans for the jinchuriki. However in light of Konoha's past history she reasoned that giving them the information for free would make Kumo either suspicious or they wouldn't place as much value on it that Tsunade wanted them too. If playing hardball helped sell the idea of how dangerous Akatsuki was then so be it. Figuring she should tell Sakura to get her and Hinata's letters ready since she wanted to let Jiraiya know about the Raikage's interest she also pulled out two photos. One was akin to the pinup that she had first sent. However she hid that one in favor of one that had her dressed in her normal clothes leaning forward and blowing the camera a kiss. Placing her lips to the corner of it she blushed slightly as she sealed it in the envelop wondering what he would think when he saw it, before going in search of her apprentice.
"Sir, a team from Kumo has just left the village after meeting with the Hokage," Torune reported.
"Do we know what they wanted?" Danzou replied stopping his calligraphy.
"I'm afraid not sir," the Aburame replied, "One of Tsunade's Anbu spoke to them directly before ushering them to the office. Their meeting was short and they left immediately after."
"No matter then," Danzou said. "A meeting that short could produce nothing of true value, but we'll keep our eye on the situation. Now onto the matter of the upcoming race in Tea Country."
"Ah yes sir," Danzou assistant said, "Our agent has been in place for a while now, and all he wants to know is. Who do you favor to win?"
"Tell him the honorable son is to win," Danzou said giving the code for which family was to come in first.
"Right away sir," the assistant said to prepare a messenger rat.
"Sir?" Torune said his tone questioning and confused.
"What is it?"
"Why did we bother to tell his competition to hire the Rain-nin if we want Jirocho to win the race?" Torune said but quickly said, "Forgive me sir, I don't mean to question you."
Waving Torune's concerns off the Root Leader replied, "Your concerns are understandable after all we did set up the Wagarashi family to replace the Wasabi. However, that fool Kyuroku is proof that even if a man trades in more profitable items a bad business man is a bad business man."
"I understand," Torune said guessing that in the competition between Wagarashi and Wasabi, which Root acted as a silent partner with both, since the families provided the organization with the capital it used to run itself, the Wagarashi had lost. Therefore, Danzou was correcting the mistake he had made in installing the Wagarashi. "But that doesn't explain why you wished for them to hire the Rain-nin. Our agent is more than able to ensure Jirocho wins the race."
"Indeed he is," Danzou said, "However, there is another mistake I wish to correct."
"Ah the attempted assassination of Ibiki," Torune said referring to the incident that resulted in the sword of the Thunder God being stolen and Aoi defecting from the village."
"Right, had Ibiki been killed as I wished I would have considered the loss of the sword and scroll a small trade off for removing one of Sarutobi's most loyal pawns," Danzou said. "However, Aoi's failure to act as expected means he is not worthy of caring the blade. No sense in leaving it in such unworthy hands."
"What of the team the Hokage sent to protect Jirocho's interests?" Torune asked.
"IF anything they should make our man's job easier but if they get in his way he'll know what to do," Danzou said returning to his calligraphy.
Temari finished giving the greeting to the head of the Wasabi family. The man smiled saying, "Welcome, welcome. It's good to see that Leaf and Suna are working together again."
"I agree sir," Temari said sincerely, "Now may we hear the details of our mission?"
"Please call me Jirocho, well it started…" Jirocho went into the history of the race and how his family lost it four years ago conceding control of Degrashi port to their rivals. "Apparently they have once again hired a shinobi to make sure their runner wins the race. You are here to protect ours."
"It would be easier and faster to take theirs out though sir," Temari said hypothetically.
"Yes," Jirocho agreed, "However I would rather win the race fairly then not." Temari caught a look of surprise appear on Shikamaru's face who she noticed seemed rather conflicted about the mission, possibly the reason he conceded command to her. Something which made her a little sad as she had been hoping it had to do with the feelings he may have had for her.
She pushed aside those thoughts saying, "Very well si…I mean Jirocho. But we'll need to talk to your runner to get an idea of the route he wishes to take in order to come up with a workable defense."
Jirocho clapped his hands, a screen that led outside slid open to reveal a handsome young man who was kneeling with his head down. When he looked up Temari actually felt her cheeks heat up as the handsome man's brown eyes met hers. He gave a charming smile before saying, "I know I was against you hiring these ninja sir, but if you had told me they would be led by such an attractive young woman I wouldn't have put up such a fuss."
Laughing Jirocho made the introductions. Something about the young man instantly put Shikamaru on edge. He couldn't describe what it was exactly, a sense of familiarity coupled with the way he was staring at Temari perhaps.
Temari unaware of Shikamaru's thoughts said fighting down her blush, "We will need to talk about the route you are going to take for the race."
"Why," Idate said sounding confused, "Aren't you going to simply follow me?"
"That is a possibility however along your path there will be places that a shinobi may set up traps. My basic plan so far is to split the team in three. The first team will act as advanced scouts dealing with any traps or shinobi lying in wait. The middle team will be guarding Idate's person and the last team will prevent anyone from coming up behind to attack.
"Wow, beauty and brains," Idate said giving a tight smile that again caused Temari's cheeks to heat up, "Well if you want to talk to me about my route how about tonight over dinner."
Temari sent a quick look towards Shikamaru who despite the anger and turmoil he felt appeared disinterested. Her gaze hardened since she figured that if some girl was hitting on him she'd at least manage to look upset so said, "That sounds alright." Since she looked away to answer the questions she didn't see the look on Shikamaru's face switch from disinterested to shocked. However it only lasted a moment before he began pondering what it was about this Idate that bothered him so, outside of his interest in Temari.
"Great, I'll pick you up at eight," Idate said shutting the screen to the room.
Temari shifted her mind back to business saying, "If you don't mind, we'd like to be shown our rooms now."
Jirocho clapped his hands and a servant girl led Team Temari to the rooms they'd be staying in while they prepared for the race.
Haku was practicing in the courtyard again expecting another visit from Kin. It had been almost three months since she had visited to inform him that her team would be doing missions in Kiri for a while. The month she had stayed had been far too short for both their tastes. Her last letter had said that they had been incredibly busy with missions to help the Leaf's new allies. However due to the upcoming Chunin Exams, her sensei was giving them a little time off to relax before training would resume.
Part of the training that one of the scrolls he had found suggested was practicing his kata's outside in the cold. It had taken a while to get used to but now it was almost second nature to him. Another of his advancements had been learning to summon the various penguins. Although he still lacked the chakra to call on any of the larger ones he felt he was close.
"Did anyone tell you that training in the cold without a shirt is a good way to catch a cold?" Kin said.
Smiling Haku turned towards her saying, "It sounds vaguely familiar." Taking in his girlfriend's appearance he noticed that she was wearing a belt made of Sound headbands with X's carved into them.
Noticing where he was looking she gave a spin which raised her trench coat showing that the metal bands went all the way around. Finishing her spin she asked, "You like?"
"It's you," Haku said stepping closer to capture her lips. Feeling her shiver a little and not just from the cold outside but probably from how cold he was he said, "Let's go inside and warm you up."
"I was about to suggest the same thing."
Temari was scowling at Shikamaru who was lying in the corner with his back turned. Tenten who despite losing to her in the preliminaries last year had proved to be a good sport about it after talking to her during the mission, had quickly become a confidant about her semi-relationship with the Nara.
She was currently dressed for her date tonight in a nice kimono that sported several deer on it which she had brought for a night out with Shikamaru. When she had pulled it out she had almost sent a message to Idate to cancel but was afraid it would upset him and she figured having the runner they were supposed to protect angry would be harmful to the mission.
She had asked Tenten, in front of Shikamaru, what she thought she should wear hoping for some sign that her upcoming date bothered him. But Shikamaru hadn't even flinched, prompting Tenten to say she should dress up. What was worse was after changing and entering the room where her team was sitting everyone but Shikamaru complimented her even the stoic Neji.
A quick knock at the door announced the arrival of her date for the evening. Answering it Temari smiled saying, "Would you like to come in for a moment to meet everyone?"
"Sure if that's what you want," Idate said, "but it's not really necessary as I know with you in charge I'll be in excellent hands."
Temari stepped aside to introduce the team to Idate. Each of them courteously stepped forward as they greeted him except Shikamaru who didn't move from the corner. Growling Temari said, "The lump in the corner is the lazy bum who is the co-captain of the team."
"Well it makes me doubly glad that you're the one calling the shots then," Idate said giving a charming smile that made Temari blush. Sticking his arm out he said, "Shall we?"
Temari took his arm and the two left the room leaving the rest of the team behind. No sooner had they left then Tenten moved to Shikamaru and kicked the arm the lazy chunin was resting his head on. "Hey what's your problem," he said.
"What's yours in case you didn't notice Temari left with that gigolo?" Tenten snapped upset knowing how much Temari had come to care for Shikamaru and that she had bought the Kimono especially for him.
Getting up Shikamaru said, "I noticed, she's a big girl she can do what she wants," before leaving the room.
Tenten wasn't about to give up but was stopped by Neji who was sitting cross-legged in a corner, "That is enough Tenten." Tenten rounded on him but Neji said, "It does bother Shikamaru, however something else is eating away at him as well."
"Like what?" Lee asked wisely remaining on the sidelines.
"I'm not sure," Neji said standing as well.
"Now where are you going?" Tenten said as Neji began to leave the room as well.
"For a walk."
Tenten turned to Lee expecting him to leave as well so she wasn't too surprised when he leapt up saying excitedly, "Let us too see what this town has to offer."
Smiling Tenten held her hand out which Lee grabbed but was surprised when she took him to the room she was going to share with Temari saying, "Let's stay in and find a way to entertain ourselves." Lee's cheeks turning red told her that he understood her innuendo as he allowed himself to be pulled along.
Shikamaru had found a rough part of town and it wasn't five minutes before somebody tried to pick his pocket. He stopped the thief, who was a boy about his age, using his shadow possession jutsu. Realizing he was caught the boy begged for him not to call the authorities. Shikamaru told him he wouldn't if he did a little errand for him, to which the thief quickly agreed.
Heading to the restaurant that he had overheard Temari tell Tenten she would be at he hid in an alley watching as she chatted with the runner. He finally realized what it was about him that bothered him and that was he reminded him of the proctor of the Chunin Exam, Ibiki Morino. But, why he really wasn't sure. Yet, that wasn't the whole reason he was on edge about the man he carried himself like a shinobi, but was going out of his way not to show it. Which was the point of his little trip to find his thief.
Watching Temari he had to admit she looked beautiful in the kimono. For a while he had been convinced his whole reason for hating the young man they were supposed to guard stemmed from jealousy. However when he had come to pick up Temari it had confirmed for him the man was more than he seemed. Temari for the most part was a level-headed woman and this Idate was playing her. While there were plenty of stories of Kunoichi who used their feminine wiles to get information from their male targets, there were men who could do the same. He had the distinct feeling Idate was one of them. He could tell just from watching Temari as sometimes her face would scrunch up telling him that the young man had asked a question she felt uncomfortable answering. By her body language he could tell it wasn't a personal question but one related to the mission.
He was glad when the dinner finally came to a close and was pleased to see that Temari was walking a few steps away from her date. Unlike when she was with him where she'd be so closed they'd bump from time to time. They walked by the alley he was hiding in and when they passed he sent his thief to pick Idate's pocket. Watching the thief work he bumped into the runner, quickly apologizing for his clumsiness, before running off into another alley.
Shikamaru let him go already having told him he could keep what was in it as he had learned everything he needed to know. Idate was a shinobi and a pretty good one too. Shrinking into the alley he heard, "I see, so that was the point of your finding a pickpocket."
"Did you have reservations about our client's runner as well Neji," Shikamaru said turning towards the Hyuuga.
"I admit that whatever you saw I missed," Neji said calmly and without embarrassment. "However your little experiment makes it quite apparent Idate is more than a simple runner. How did you know he would let the pickpocket go?"
"Simple whatever he is doing here, he's trying to remain low key. If he stopped the thief it would call into question just how skilled he is. But as I'm sure you could tell even pretending to not notice what the thief was up too marks him as somebody that bears watching."
"But, what does his having sensed the pickpocket's attempt, and still let him take the wallet tell you?"
"That there's more going on behind the scenes then we know," Shikamaru said walking back to the Wasabi compound.
Temari entered the room that had been provided to the Team having skillfully avoided being kissed by Idate at the door and then going for a walk by herself after he left. Finding the room was dark when she returned she turned on the light and was surprised to see Shikamaru still up and sitting in a chair waiting for her.
"Enjoy your date," he asked.
Temari was tempted to lie and say she did, but didn't want to play any more games with Shikamaru so instead settled for, "What do you care?" As she made her way to the room she shared with Tenten.
"I wouldn't go in there if I was you," Shikamaru said.
Causing Temari to turn and ask, "Why's that?"
"I think Tenten tied that ribbon to the door as a warning," he replied.
Looking at the door Temari sure enough spotted the ribbon that was tied to the handle of the door. "Great where am I suppose to sleep?"
While she was staring at the door she missed Shikamaru coming up behind her saying, "I didn't like it you know."
Turning to look at him she said, "Like what?"
"Watching you with him," he replied.
Temari's eyes went wide as she said, "That pickpocket, you sent him."
"That's right, glad to see that you weren't too smitten with Idate to drop your guard," Shikamaru said amused while returning to his chair. "I take it you came to the same conclusion as me when he allowed the thief to take his wallet."
"Before actually," Temari replied which didn't surprise Shikamaru, "He kept asking questions about whether or not there was another reason for us to be here. I think he's a missing-nin."
"What makes you think that?"
Pulling the wallet with a smile she tossed it to him. Giving a cryptic smile of his own he said, "So you already knew I sent the thief."
"Yep," she said sitting in a chair next to him, "I found your thief after Idate dropped me off. He told me a lazy slacker told him to do it. Look at the I.D."
Pulling it out he read, "Idate Morino."
"Well that answers why he reminds me of Ibiki, they're brothers." Shikamaru said. "But I don't think your idea he's a missing-nin is entirely accurate."
"Why?"
"Just a hunch," Shikamaru replied, "But if he was a missing-nin I think he'd be a lot more nervous about shinobi from Konoha being here. Furthermore, why work for a man with close ties with the Hokage."
"Should we ask him?" Temari asked concerned.
"No, we'll observe him and report back to the Hokage after the mission. If he is a missing-nin hiding in plain sight then scaring him now would result in Jirocho possibly losing by default if he takes off," Shikamaru suggested standing and yawning.
Temari nodded her head agreeing with Shikamaru. Looking at the door of the room she was supposed to sleep in she said, "Um, where am I supposed to sleep?"
"Well if you want you can bunk with Neji," Shikamaru said causing Temari to scowl and cross her arms. Chuckling he said, "What don't want to try and make me jealous again."
Temari blushed at being caught yet said, "I'm sorry, it's just sometimes I wish I knew what you thought of me."
"Just ask," Shikamaru replied, "But if you really want to know, I think you're probably the most troublesome woman I've ever met. But for some reason I don't really mind. Come on you can sleep in my room I'll sleep out here."
"But…" Temari said not wanting to put him out.
"Temari, I once fell asleep during taijutsu practice standing up. I'll be fine."
Seeing his point, she got up to walk past him into the room but before closing the door said, "Thank you Shikamaru. For everything." She leaned in kissing his cheek and then closed the door leaning against it wishing she had been a little bolder.
Neji kept the amusement he felt to himself as Temari glared at Tenten for what had to be the hundredth time that morning. Normally he would be the one put out by the antics of his two lovebird teammates. So it was nice to see it happen to someone else from time to time. He had been the first to awaken the next day after Temari's date to find Shikamaru asleep on the small sofa in the common room half on it and half off. He wondered why until Tenten had awoken looking like the cat that ate the canary wearing an oversized T-shirt.
Figuring that his teammates had stayed in, he wisely did not inquire why Lee had not joined him in the room they were supposed to share. When Temari had awakened she had been less than pleased at the sudden change in sleeping arrangements to which Tenten merely shrugged.
Lee who it turned out had actually been the first one up but was running around the village for training had joined them shortly after. Confident that Shikamaru had stayed up to talk to Temari about his concerns and figuring if they waited for the chunin to awaken it would be closer to lunch then breakfast Neji asked, "Did Shikamaru share his concerns with you?"
Tenten took it the wrong way saying, "So he did talk to you about how he was feeling how sweet. Was he jealous?"
"I meant about Idate, Tenten."
"So did I, Neji." Tenten said her tone telling him she didn't see what else they could be talking about.
Temari smiled saying, "He means Shikamaru had concerns about who Idate really was." Tenten and Lee both looked confused so she shared everything that the pair had learned and how they decided to handle it.
As they nodded their understanding Temari pulled out a map and said, "Okay, here's our plan of attack for the race. We have three days and Idate told me the route he wants to take."
She began drawing on the map which immediately prompted a question from Neji as he asked, "He doesn't intend to start from the port."
"No he claims the currents from this point here," she replied pointing to a beach on the map, "are faster. Since I doubt our expected opposition knows of this, I plan for you and Tenten to start on Nagi Island at the Modoroki Shrine. Meanwhile, Shikamaru, Lee, and I will follow him to his boat where we will provide close support for Idate."
"So Tenten and I will be the team traveling ahead looking for ambushes," Neji said in understanding.
"Exactly, although the best place for an ambush I believe will be the suspension bridge between Nagi and O'uzu Island," Temari said. "Lee once we reach Nagi you'll probably be the only one that can keep up with Idate so you'll be the one nearest him at all times."
"Yosh, I will not let you down."
"Good, let's get ready then I'll want to run the race ourselves to see if there are any other good ambush points that the map doesn't cover."
"What about him?" Tenten said while jerking a thumb at the still sleeping Nara.
"Leave him to me," Temari said with a smile moving to wake him up in a similar manner as his mom.
Jiraiya and Naruto were sparing in the courtyard of the Daimyo of Bird Country. Naruto and he had been Toki's guests since Naruto had defeated the Watari, the group of wandering ninja that had tried to take over the country. Their leader, Hoki, had posed as a chancellor and secretly poisoned Toki's father, the previous Daimyo, and her brother. Jiraiya had allowed Naruto to fight each of the leaders of the group on his own considering it training. The group had escaped with their lives but they knew they had been in a fight.
Toki was watching them along with many of her retainers. They had remained in bird country for the past three months because Jiraiya's contacts had yet to catch wind of the six-tail jinchuriki. So instead of running around hoping to find the man and possibly tip him off he had people after him they had remained in one spot concentrating on Naruto's training. They had concentrated on Taijutsu and Ninjutsu much as he had originally planned. Now they were working on combining both to create a new fighting style. The first part of the training had been creating a one handed sign for the Shadow Clone Jutsu. That way while Naruto was fighting if he threw a punch with the other hand he could create the clone that would attack at the vulnerable spots of his target. In effect it was almost like the Flying Thundergod Technique as a Naruto could suddenly appear out of nowhere to attack.
Jiraiya smiled as he blocked an attack only to have to quickly roll away as Naruto tried to kick the back of his knee with the clone he created. In a sense it was like fighting Kushina and Minato at the same time. Preparing to meet Naruto's next charge Jiraiya smiled as he saw an image of the boy's parents behind him.
Naruto came in again but Jiraiya was ready striking out with a kick that caught Naruto in the chest but he was also sent to the side as the clone appeared to his right kicking him in the side. Rubbing the ribs the boy had hit he said, "Alright Naruto that's enough."
"Okay Pervy Sage," Naruto said causing some of the young women watching the boy to giggle.
"Stop calling me that," Jiraiya said halfheartedly knowing that the day Naruto stopped it was probably the end of the world. "Any way, finish packing we'll be leaving in a few hours."
"So where are we heading?" Naruto asked since Jiraiya had been less than forthcoming with the information thus far.
"Well I was hoping we'd have heard something about Utakata's movements by now but he's being cautious."
"Yeah I've been meaning to ask you about that," Naruto said. "Why were you able to find Zabuza so fast but this guy is almost impossible for your contacts to find?"
"Well that's because Zabuza while trying to stay hidden was also trying to make money leaving a trail for me to follow. Not to mention I had a starting point and a good idea of where he was heading. Utakata simply wants to disappear. I doubt he even goes near most cities, so him popping up is quite rare. Anyhow, it's time we begin putting all that meditation training to good use. I'll keep looking for him on my own as I'll turn you over to Fukasaku for the next year and a half."
"Who's that?"
"He's the toad that trained me in the Sage arts," Jiraiya replied, "So hurry up it'll take a little under a month to get there from here."
"A month isn't there a faster way," Naruto asked since he was anxious to get started.
"There is," Jiraiya replied, "but who knows we may run into Utakata along the way so there's no need to rush. Trust me, when you finally get there and have Shima's cooking you'll wish it took longer."
Jiraiya smiled as he watched Naruto try to hurry off to pack but was stopped by the group of girls including Toki who often gathered when they trained. Watching as many of them told the boy how they wished he could stay longer made Jiraiya happy especially in light of his godson's early years. Even if he didn't get any decent research out of it, because the boy refused to take advantage.
"Hey Jiraiya," the red toad that often acted as a messenger Kosuke said.
"Is everything alright?" Jiraiya asked since the toad generally was the one Tsunade used for emergency contacts.
"As far as I know," the toad replied pulling the scroll from his back after removing his goggles. "I think something important happened but she didn't seem stressed by it."
"Very well, thanks," Jiraiya said taking the scroll. The toad then disappeared in a cloud of smoke so Jiraiya figuring he had time before Naruto was ready opened it. Unsealing the letters for Naruto he placed them in the inner pocket of his jacket. Unsealing and opening the first letter to him as it was the one Tsunade wrote what was going on in. He was surprised to learn that his trip to Kumo had bore some unexpected fruit in the form of the Raikage asking about Akatsuki. He would have been happy with them simply keeping an eye out for the group. But going as far as asking Konoha about them meant the Raikage was taking the threat extremely seriously
Unsealing the file at the end of the message he skimmed it seeing that it was a report on the findings of the seal he had come up with for Tayuya. Already from the simple skimming of it he saw a few ways he could tweak it for better results.
Reading the more personal letter next he smiled as Tsunade described how proud she was of her students, as they were pushing themselves to be ready for the fight against Akatsuki. She went into quite a bit of detail about how she was feeling watching them wondering if she had wasted her life with her running from her problems for so long. That was something for Jiraiya to still get used to as he had often tried to be there for Tsunade but she never took advantage. However over the course of the past year and a half she had really opened up. She had even ended the letter saying she couldn't wait to see him again. At the end of the letter was a seal with a note next to it saying, "Because you asked so fervently."
Jiraiya knew what he hoped it was but was afraid that it was another trick. Unsealing it he found another brown envelop. Opening it he yanked the picture out quickly hoping to memorize all the details in case it turned into another hard body picture. However after several seconds and nothing happened he began to study it in more detail. Tsunade was standing in front in a grassy field and although full dressed she was bending forward slightly revealing a good dose of her cleavage while blowing the camera a kiss. The way she had one eye closed as she did it added to the almost pinup like effect and the imprint of her lips in the corner was the cherry on top.
He didn't realize it but he had stood there motionlessly watching the picture for an hour when Naruto came to get him asking why he wasn't ready. Shaking himself back to the real world. He stuffed Naruto's letters into the boy's hands and ran to his room ignoring the annoyed blonde's grumbling when he told him they'd leave tomorrow as he had inspiration on his side and needed to write.
As Tsunade made her way to the hospital she wondered about what the Raikage's response would be to her demands. It had been three days since the Cloud Shinobi had left the village depending on what the Raikage wanted she expected them back within the next couple of weeks. Jiraiya's response had been prompt yet she had been a little worried since he didn't mention the picture she sent. However Naruto's letter more than made up for it as he complained that after getting the letter Jiraiya had locked himself in his room and delayed their leaving for his new training.
Reaching the hospital she headed to the room she had asked Isaribi to meet her at. In the past three months Tsunade and her two apprentices had studied the girl's condition in great detail. The research was further helped by the notes that had been recovered from Amachi's skiff. Tsunade was now confident that she could either finish the process or cure her. Personally Tsunade would prefer to see the young girl chose to complete the process as she was positive that the girl would be a welcome addition to her forces.
Entering the room she saw Sakura running a scan over Isaribi to make sure the drugs they had given her in preparation for the process she was about to go through had run their course. "Well?" she asked her pink-haired apprentice.
"The gene therapy medication we've given her seems to have been absorbed Milady," Sakura replied writing her findings in the medical file of the young girl.
"What does that mean?" Isaribi asked obviously nervous around doctor type's still which Tsunade couldn't fault her. Amachi was lucky he was dead as Tsunade truly could not stand those who experimented on other human beings just to further medicine.
"What that means is that we can cure your condition if you so chose. Or, we can complete the process," Tsunade said having moved to a window and watching Isaribi's reaction to her statement. She saw the look of hope on her face at being cured, but there was also a thoughtful look upon knowing her process could be completed. "Well have you decided?"
"I'm…I'm tired of being a freak, Lady Hokage," Isaribi said after a moment, "I want you to cu…"
"Sakura, head up to the surgical bay and prepare for the procedure," Tsunade said cutting Isaribi off. Her apprentice nodded not needing to know what to prepare as the procedure was virtually the same in either case.
After Sakura left Tsunade said as she made her way to the door, "Follow me and please take those bandages off."
Isaribi looked uncomfortable but complied. Leaving the hospital Isaribi couldn't help shifting uncomfortably whenever someone looked at her. As they walked Isaribi said, "I'm not going to change my mind."
"Tell me," Tsunade said ignoring the challenge in the girls voice, "Are people looking at you like a freak now?"
"A few," she said noticing a few looks that fit the description.
"But most are merely curious are they not?"
"Yes," Isaribi conceded wondering how the Hokage seemed to be able to see despite not turning her head as they walked down the street.
They stopped in front of a section of the village where all the buildings seemed to be vaguely the same. Furthermore the people Isaribi spotted in the area all seemed to favor shades and coats with high collars to them. Curious she asked, "Where are we?"
"This is the Aburame compound," Tsunade answered. "What do you know of them?"
"Nothing milady."
"Well they are walking hives in a sense as the insects they use for battle live within them," Tsunade said noticing that Isaribi seemed a little nervous at that. "Does that bother you?"
"A little," she admitted.
"Do you see them as freaks?"
"No…merely different," Isaribi said honestly.
"Exactly, but despite serving this village faithfully for years there are still many that would and do," Tsunade said, "Do you get what I'm saying?"
"Not really," Isaribi answered understanding what the Hokage was saying but not seeing the correlation.
"The point is…people will judge you based solely on their own biases. I simply think it is a waste to see the abilities that you have to be wasted because you worry about what closed minded people think," Tsunade said beginning to walk back to the hospital. "Now let's get you cured."
"Actually maybe you could tell me what finishing the Kaima process would entail?"
Keeping her smile to herself Tsunade said, "I'd love too."
Kin awoke nude as had been her habit since returning to the island where Haku was training. With the Chunin Exams a month away and knowing that her first was supposed to end in her death she decided to take her relationship with Haku to the next level. She was laying on a fur blanket that had once belonged to a pack of wolves that had tried to kill Haku. Telling her the story he was convinced that they had attempted to even the score for the one his summons had killed when he had first signed the contract.
She wasn't surprised to see that Haku was already awake and probably already training. Although he hadn't told her what he was worried about that was coming she knew it was serious just by how hard he often pushed himself. Dressing she made her way down to the courtyard again marveling that despite it being so cold that it didn't bother him in the slightest.
"It's enough to make a girl jealous that you feel training is more important than lying next to her in bed," Kin said causing Haku to stumble a little in his Kata.
"Well if I didn't come out here to train I don't think we'd ever leave," Haku said walking up to her and kissing her on the cheek before moving on to her lips.
As he pulled back, Kin opened her eyes saying, "Now there's an idea."
"Haku, Haku," shouted the slightly panicked voice of Genin as he ran through the gate. Turning to the young penguin whose boss Gunso left him behind in order to act as a sentry for Haku, the young man asked, "Yes what is it?"
"A man rowed up to the island and he has a wounded girl with him," the penguin said reporting what he spotted.
Haku ran inside quickly getting dressed and grabbing some medical supplies. Running outside he found Kin also ready holding Genin in her arms. Following the directions that the summons gave them they arrived at the fishing village. They found the two in a building with the old man whispering to the young woman, as she lay on an old couch, that she'd be alright. He stood to get up but the daughter grabbed his arm saying, "Please, don't leave me father."
"I'll be right back, the shinobi maybe in that old fortress. Save your strength," the old man said patting her arm.
"That will not be necessary," Haku said entering with Kin behind him. Despite the man having said he was going to search for him. He still appeared scared to see Haku.
"What happened to her?" Haku asked moving towards the girl and holding up his bag of medical supplies.
"Our village…the village has been overrun by pirates. They took it over a few days ago and have been doing as they please. My daughter…she fought one of them off but he stabbed her."
"Have you tried to get word to Kiri," Kin asked while Haku looked at the woman's wound.
"A few people tried to get a message off to them but…they…the pirates found out…" the man trailed off but they didn't need him to say what happened figuring that the pirates probably made an example out of them. "How did you get away?"
"We didn't. Those bastards let me row her away probably figuring she'd die before I got her anywhere." Dropping to his knees the man said, "Please lord shinobi save my daughter and home. I'm sorry for my earlier rudeness."
"Your daughter will live," Haku said having patched her up using some of the extra knowledge he had learned from his clan's libraries. Turning to the man who was still on his knees he continued, "You need not beg for our assistance we will gladly lend you our aid."
The man looked up his eyes shining with unshed tears at the generosity of the shinobi who he had treated so badly before. Haku walked by placing a hand on the man's shoulder as he passed. Reaching the boat that Kin had used to reach the island he bit his thumb and summoned Gunso and the rest of his squad.
Gunso who had grown bored with the beaches of Moon Country especially in light of the fact he had a summoner who hopefully would be getting into mischief soon asked, "I hope you have a reason for summoning me."
"I need those skills you are so proud of," Haku said calmly despite the anger he felt.
Giving as close to a smile as his beak allowed Gunso turned to his squad saying, "Boys it's time to start some havoc. Riko weapons." Responding to the command the silent penguin spit up a few rolled up paper bombs.
Getting slightly worried at the number of weapons being produced Haku said, "We have to tread carefully they have hostages." The four penguins looked up at him with varying looks of disappointment before shoving the more harmful weapons they had back in Riko's throat, for the time being that was.
Holding a kunai in his flipper using chakra Gunso said, "Well let's go save the day then." Piling in the boat they set course to save the village and maybe change some people's ideas about ninjas.
The people had lined up to watch the two runners begin the race. Temari could tell the people were anxious for Jirocho to win. Having learned how the Wagarashi did things she couldn't fault them. She turned to see Lee who was almost as excited to begin and probably wished he was running the race himself. Shikamaru was waiting by the boat Idate had stashed at the beach where he would launch from. He said it was to make sure nobody tampered with it but Temari knew it was because he found it too troublesome to run.
The person they were supposed to protect though was definitely a shinobi, therefore probably able to take care of himself to a degree and he also seemed to be loyal to a fault to the leader of the Wasabi family. However Temari knew loyalty to a man could easily simply be loyalty to a cause. So the bigger question was, what was an ex-shinobi doing in a gangsters employ and not as an enforcer? Jirocho had no idea of Idate's true skill set as he had told her the story of how they first met and about the knife that Idate seemed to cherish.
Also the fact that he hadn't asked for another date or talked about the one they had made her positive he had been looking for information. Possibly to find out if they were a threat to him, it may have been simply that he was a missing-nin and he was worried they were onto him. But Temari had begun to believe that Shikamaru was right, there was something bigger afoot. However, right now they needed to concentrate on making sure Idate won the race as the other matters could be solved later.
The leader of the Wagarashi family stopped in front of a spectator with green hair wearing a wool cap. "Are you sure you can pull this off?" he asked noticing the three young men behind the man he was talking to bristle a little.
"Don't worry, Idate may be quick but he's also quick to fold under pressure. We'll easily scare him off despite his bodyguards and if not there's always the more permanent solution."
"Very good Aoi," Kyuroku Wagarashi said with a dark smile, "I'll leave it in your capable hands." Before joining Jirocho, the Tea Daimyo, and various ministers, one of whom was in his pocket, on the platform as the race was about to commence.
Nearby at the boat that would take Idate to Nagi Island Shikamaru watched some dark clouds gather over their destination and said, "Something tells me today's going to be one of the ones where I wish I stayed in bed."