Disclaimer: Of course I own them! (looks behind her) oops, hold on the nice white men in the nice white coats are here for me again...are we going to the pretty padded room again?
A/N- Just something really random, but the first thing under 'Hatake' was 'hotcake'…heehee. What can I say? It amused me! So, this chapter I have some KakaIru too, but not much (cause I lurve the pairing!) anyways, I'm not really great at fight scenes...havent really written that many, so just tell me what you think! Reviews welcome and thanks to everyone who reviewed! ;)
"HE DID WHAT?!" She was going to kill him, murder him, strangle him with her own two hands, no, that wasn't painful enough- perhaps a forbidden jutsu?
"The Fox ANBU departed with the Beetle and Dog ANBU yesterday morning, along with Rock Lee and Yamanaka Ino." A slightly nervous Chunnin recited, glancing at the furious Hokage.
"AND YOU LET HIM!"
"Pardon me Hokage-sama, but you never said-"
"I KNOW WHAT I SAID!" Lady Tsunade sighed, slumping in her chair, hand automatically going for the almost empty bottle of sake on her desk. Oh yes, she'd need more sake, much more if she were going to make it through the day. Amber eyes flickered back up to the ninja that was shifting nervously from foot to foot. Right, she was pretty sure there was some rule against taking your anger out on your underlings. "You're dismissed." She waved a hand half heartedly, as the man bowed then left without another word.
"I'M GOING TO KILL THE BRAT!" There, she felt better already, although the screaming probably didn't do much to convince anyone of her sanity.
It was all Naruto's fault. She had more worry lines from him then anything else. Oh yes, as soon as he returned, she was going to have a nice long talk with him, one that ended with no missions for the next two months! It was that or beating him into a pulp for him and his friends going against her orders.
She'd have to deal with them as well…hmm, lots of time to think up different punishments. Refusing to admit that she should of just let Naruto go, Tsunade took a large sip straight from the bottle.
In the meantime she'd need more sake.
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"I believe he said his name was Uzumaki…Sasuke." The merchant glanced around at the mixture of shocked and disbelieving expressions. "Friend of yours?"
"You could say that." Ino replied hastily, cutting off whatever Kiba had intended on saying. The Inuzuka's mouth shut with an audible click, lips forming a scowl.
"What did he look like?" Shino asked quietly, no emotion showing on his face or in his words.
"Tall and pale like I said and he had dark eyes and hair like a raven, I believe. Wasn't very friendly either…I asked him how he liked his ramen and he replied with something about dumb blonds eating too much ramen, then stopped talking altogether."
Naruto felt a smile tugging at his lips at this. It was Sasuke. Out loud he asked, "How long ago was he here?"
"Oh, a couple days." He continued quickly at Kiba's growl, "Um, four days maybe."
"Which way did he go old man?" Kiba asked, loosing patience. Shino had a hand resting on his arm, silently telling him to keep it under control.
"South east."
"Thank you for your help." Lee replied quickly, as they paid for their meals, exiting the stand quickly. No one spoke until they were a safe distance away, discretely slipping around behind an older building.
"You think he's telling the truth?" Ino asked as soon as they stopped.
"He described Sasuke perfectly." Naruto said quietly, studying the brick building intently.
"Yeah, not friendly." Kiba added in. "But why take Naruto's name?"
"Perhaps as a security measure?" Naruto glanced over at Lee, confused.
"Why would my name be a security measure?"
"Gai-sensei says that to take another's name is a sign of trust!"
"Somehow, I don't think that's exactly it, Lee." Ino said gently. "Sasuke could be in trouble!"
"What do you think Shino?" All eyes turned on the silent teen.
"We should head south east. This town is full of watchful eyes." For the first time Naruto noticed the faint prickling feeling at the back of his neck. Someone was watching them. He needed to keep himself more aware, whoever it was, was highly skilled as Naruto couldn't pick out where they were hiding.
Kiba sniffed, growling. "Ninja."
"We travel in full ANBU gear from now on." Naruto spoke quietly, directing this to Shino and Kiba.
The others nodded. They knew the drill. Glancing around again, Naruto, along with the others disappeared in a burst of Chakra.
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"Naruto's gone?!" Iruka couldn't figure out why the ninja sitting across from him looked so calm. According to Kakashi, Naruto had disobeyed an order from the Hokage, going on a mission he wasn't even supposed to know about and the other shinobi looked completely relaxed!
"Hai." Kakashi had his feet propped up on another chair; identical to the one he was sitting in, in Iruka's kitchen.
"How can you be so calm?!" His money was on it being Kiba's idea to inform Naruto of their mission, although he wouldn't put it past any of them, they were a loyal group. Technically, he wasn't even supposed to know of the mission, but he had learned most of it from the Hokage's shouts when he had arrived to deliver some forms that needed signing.
"Naruto is a completely capable ninja, just look at how far he has come in the past few years." Kakashi replied, glancing up over his book, bored expression in place.
"I know that!" He snapped.
"Then what seems to be the problem?" That was the thing. He wasn't sure what the problem actually was. Naruto had been going on missions for years now. He had no doubts in the younger ninja's abilities. It was just that with every new mission, every new day, came the chance that he could lose the person that he considered to be family. It was a silly fear of course. As ninja's they went through this every day. It was the same whenever Kakashi was assigned to a particularly dangerous mission. He was just being ridiculous. As a teacher he taught children about the risks every day and yet here he was, fretting like a mother hen.
Suddenly feeling drained; he sank into one of the hard wooden chairs, resting his head in his hands. The fear of losing someone close to him, after he had already lost so much, was clouding his judgement. Naruto would be fine.
Strong arms wrapped around him, pulling him against an equally strong chest.
"Kakashi-?" He asked, startled. The Jounin was crouching next to him, arms pulling him against a warm body.
"Naruto will be fine. My money is on him bringing Sasuke back with him." Iruka felt a grin working it's way onto his face as he buried himself deeper into the hug.
"Thank you." He muttered, blushing. The other man merely replied by pressing a kiss against his temple, rubbing his back gently. This was the side of Hatake Kakashi that only he got to see.
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The sound of air passing by their ears and heavy breathing was the only sound as the group moved swiftly and quietly through the treetops. Feet barely brushed the branches as they kept up their speed, leaving the village far behind.
Lee kept his hands fisted at his side, the feel of the warm breeze pushing his hair out of his face. His comrades were tense beside him, Naruto and Kiba easily taking the lead.
"We are being followed." Shino's quiet voice only spurred them on faster. They were all itching for a fight, but as Gai-sensei had always told him, it was foolish not to know your enemy.
Shino's beetles were currently returning to the silent boy, informing him of their enemies. A slight frown appeared on his face as if listening intently to what the insect told him and not liking it.
"What is it Shino?"
"There is a group of them following us. Approximately eight of them."
"We should fight them! The strength of Konoha flows through our veins!" Lee pumped his fist in the air, mindful to keep his normally booming voice low.
"I agree with bushy brows on this one. They've been trailing us since the village and I wanna know why." Naruto stopped, coming to a rest on a thick tree branch.
"Alright! Been awhile since I've had a proper fight!" Kiba fixed the mask over his face, before disappearing into the shadows, Shino and Lee right behind him.
"Henge!" Naruto and Ino shouted, blending in with their respective trees, while they waited for their pursuers to catch up.
At the first sign of movement, Lee launched himself into the middle of the fight. Shino's insect's information had been accurate; there were eight of them, all wearing unmarked headbands, with skills that could have easily been Jounin ranked.
Lee smiled, white teeth shining brilliantly, at the adrenaline running through him. His fist slammed into one of his opponent's stomachs, knocking the breath out of him, leaving him open for Lee's kick. 'They are quick.' Lee observed as the ninja managed to dodge. 'But not quick enough.' His opponent reappeared behind him a moment later, but Lee was waiting for him. Dropping down onto all fours, he swept his leg around in an attempt to knock the other ninja's feet out from under him, then at the last moment, sped up effortlessly, bringing his fist up to connect with the ninja's jaw, effectively knocking him out.
Across the clearing he could see Naruto fighting furiously, trademark grin firmly in place. The others were fairing fine on their own, so spinning around he turned his attention back to the two ninja approaching him.
"Ah, it is a wonderful day for a fight! I only wish Gai-sensei were here to witness this!" He stuck his thumb out, which seemed to only confuse his opponents. They attacked together, working as a tag team against the bushy eye browed teen. He twisted, tilting backwards, avoiding the kunai aimed at his head, grabbing his own as the first ninja chose to attack him head on, kunai in hand. Metal clashed, as he attempted to hold off his opponent, while tracking the other's movements. These two were faster then the first. Using his opponent's own arm as momentum, he flipped in the air, fist connecting with the base of the man's spine, forcing him to his knees.
'Now for the other.' Lee lashed out at the ninja attempting to sneak up on him. He hadn't spent hours training his hearing with Gai-sensei for nothing after all! Movement from his left caught his attention as the first nin recovered, both attacking together. He was able to avoid the kunai aimed for his chest, but not the fist to his side, knocking him down just as he had done with the first nin. Silently he cursed, swearing that he would do one thousand crunches for that mistake, preparing to dodge the next attack even with the throbbing in his side.
Lee closed his eyes, waiting for the opportune moment to strike, when a new chakra made its presence known. So familiar too.
The enemy nin never stood a chance. Their screams were engulfed, just as they were in a cocoon of earth. Except it wasn't earth- it was sand?
"Gaara!" Naruto's voice directed him to the origin of the help. The kazekage stood on the forest floor, familiar cool expression on his face, teal eyes trained on Lee.
'Gaara'.