"Our missions are very simple: stake out the territory and see how things have changed since we were sealed away. Musan and I will go observe Konoha, which was the strongest of all the Hidden Villages before we were sealed. Setsu and Tohru will go to Iwa, which was, and may still be, Konoha's strongest rival. Gaara and Naruto are to travel to the countries of Grass and Rain. If they find nothing there, they might venture to the Land of Wind, but it's probably better that they don't. Gaara has gained some self-control under my and the others' teaching, but I don't trust him with members of his former village. If worst comes to worst, Naruto will restrain him. Yugito and Kudo will travel to the Land of Water, looking mostly for prospective jobs. Kudo will have the best advantage there since his skill is water. I only hope Yugito keeps a hold on that temper of hers. Reconvene in two months at our Headquarters and decide what to do. If one of the teams gets compromised…we'll deal with that when we get there."
Setsu and Tohru both stopped. Setsu lifted her head as Tohru edged his hand toward his belt. They were in an abandoned clearing. The perfect place for an ambush…
"That's far enough." Setsu stated and jumped back at the stranger, kunai already in her hands, and slashed at their stalker. He barely managed to dodge the kunai, and it sliced part of his cloak. He was, as Setsu expected, a boy, maybe in his mid-twenties. He wore large round glasses and had silvery hair. He was also a shinobi of the Sound, judging from his headband.
He was also very talented: he skillfully dodged her second blow and attempted to use it to his advantage as he concentrated some chakra in his hand and struck at her chest.
Setsu twisted to avoid the boy's blow and pulled Kei-kun out in one smooth motion. His sanded grip was as comfortable and reassuring as a lover's. He shone brightly in the late afternoon sun, beautiful as ever. A curved, snake-like smile touched her lips, all venom and fangs.
"It's been a while since I've had the chance to fight with my dearest friend." She snarled, swinging Kei to rest in front of her while pulling her other arm back.
The shinobi looked startled.
"Have we met before?" he asked confused.
"She's talking about the sword." Tohru grunted, glaring at her disapprovingly, "Don't go overboard. We still need to question him."
"You don't have to tell me twice!"
She leapt at the shinobi, letting Kei whistle through the air like a falcon. He twisted aside, the blade barely brushing past his face. He smirked, until a line of blood appeared under his eye.
"W-what?" then he glared as he realized, "Chakra extensions."
"Smart boy," Setsu taunted as she danced to the side, trying to throw him off, "Now tell me why you felt the need to follow us."
"You're not from any village, judging from the fact that neither of you wear headbands." The boy ignored her request and stayed at a safe distance, "But you've been trained in the arts of the shinobi, if I'm any judge. Missing-nin usually use their former headbands with the symbol crossed out. However, missing-nin also rarely keep together in a group. Partners tend to keep together, but…"
"Keep talking," Setsu snarled as she slashed at him, "Maybe you'll live longer."
"But then, why are you so wary around villages? If you're not mercenaries, not exactly missing-nin, then…"
His eyes suddenly widened. The earth beneath him was slowly melting into mud, trapping him at the ankles and then solidifying. He could only look up in horror as Setsu raced toward him, Kei held out to cut him. Then he smiled. Setsu blinked in confusion as she slashed next to his chest, a blow that she hoped would knock him out for long enough to capture and question him. It seemed to work as the boy gave a gasp of pain and slumped as far as the imprisoning mud would allow him. Setsu frowned and then gasped as the figure suddenly "poofed" into a log. The replacement technique! Damnit!
"Excuse my rudeness," came a voice from her right. She whirled to face him, but he managed to catch her across the chest with his chakra. Her chest constricted and she fell to her knees gasping for breath.
"Setsu!" Tohru shouted. He quickly drew his bag shut and raced to her side to intercept another blow which the boy aimed at her. They grappled for a moment, and Tohru was barely able to keep him off before the shinobi managed to break away.
"Don't worry about me," gasped Setsu, "he's-"
Too late! The shinobi was already sprinting for the cliffs.
"Damnit." Tohru ignored her colorful curses and calmly removed a small roll of bandages from his belt.
"Calm down. We still have time and we definitely know where he's headed."
"Hell we do! For all we know he could be getting his team to – ow!" Setsu winced as Tohru gently felt her ribs.
"You're lucky he just broke your ribs," Tohru informed her sternly, "Are you a rookie genin that you would take such a risk?"
Setsu scowled and turned away as he began to unroll the bandage.
"Besides," Tohru continued, "It's not like this was a total loss. While you were distracting him, I took the liberty of placing a tracer on him that only corresponds to my techniques."
"You mean…?" Setsu guessed, starting to grin despite her injury.
Tohru nodded.
"Looks like we're going to have to check out the Land of Sound, I don't like what I see."
"What're you talking about, ouyaji?"
"I managed to get this off of him in our little skirmish," Tohru showed her a small scroll.
Setsu blinked at the seal. It was sealed by…
"But that's-"
"Konoha's symbol." Tohru finished.
-----000000000-----
"We're actually headed to the Land of Water, so this job is a little out of our way…"
"Nonsense! I'll be sure to reimburse you for your…services."
Yugito inwardly fumed as their prospective employer continued to invade her personal space as they talked. She had no idea how dirty some words could sound with the right delivery. Even if they did need money, there was no need to stoop this low!
"Believe me," the man continued as he leaned closer to Yugito, "You'll thank me one day for handing you this opportunity."
His hand had not just landed on her…! That did it!
-------------------------------------------------
Yugito huffed as she caught her breath, her hands still placed in the "ox" sign. Kudo stood beside her, staring blankly at the unconscious man at her feet. All of the occupants of the restaurant avoided their gaze and pretended to be intent in whatever they were doing.
"Did you have to be so flashy?" Kudo asked painfully.
"The man was feeling me up." Yugito replied coldly, relaxing her arms and pulling back her seat.
"We could've gotten the job!" whined Kudo, "Sure it wasn't exactly what we were looking for, but it could've paid for a future meal or two!"
"I don't care," Yugito gritted out, "I won't be treated like a whore by anyone, especially an employer!"
"Excuse me," Both turned to face a short, wild-haired man with a thin moustache, "I couldn't help but notice how admirably the girl fights. If either of you are interested, I am looking for strong fighters as bodyguards."
"Really, how well do you pay?" Kudo asked eagerly.
"And what is your name?" Yugito asked pointedly.
"Oh me?" the man asked coyly, "You can call me Gatou."
-----000000000-----
I live! So sorry for the long delay, but in addition to my "lovely" family vacation, I have packing for college to do so I was a tad swamped this week! Thankfully, I was able to finish this chapter. FYI, the story will now be split in POVs of two "teams" on their missions.
To icegoddess5, littlesis666, Milisant fmalover478, WolfChibi-Chan, cooltony101neo, DurielZamoran: Thank you all so much for your kind reviews! They really remind me to get that butt in my chair and keep writing!
To BOBBY: You can forget about using my computer EVER AGAIN!!!!