The Mission

"Good afternoon, team nine." Hiruzen said, looking up from the papers on his desk.

"Good afternoon, Lord Hokage." The three students greeted. Shoichi merely smiled.

Plucking a scroll from the pile, the Hokage began to speak. "Shoichi has kept me abreast of your skills and progress. There's no doubt that you three are very talented. That is why your first mission will be a C-rank."

"A C-rank! That's amazing!" Ikasu exclaimed. Hizashi and Chikara exchanged a look.

"Yes, a C-rank mission. Your mission is to escort a carpenter and his daughter back to the Hidden Moon Village. It should take about a day or two. Your charges will meet you at the main gates tomorrow morning." Hiruzen handed Shoichi the scroll and dismissed them to prepare for their mission.

"Our first mission! And it's a C-rank. The Hokage thinks we're pretty good to give us a C-rank mission right off the bat." Chikara chirped happily as he scarfed down another piece of tuna. He and Hizashi had stopped for some lunch before actually going off to pack. Hizashi had finished his plate almost twenty minutes earlier but the Uragiri had a much larger appetite…or a tapeworm. He finally finished eating and they said their goodbyes.

When Hizashi returned to the Hyuga compound, he found Hiashi in his room curled up in a ball on his bed. His hair was splayed out and he was dressed in training clothes. "You're late, Hizashi." His voice was barely above a whisper.

Hizashi understood immediately what was going. As they had gotten older, Hitori had focused more and more on Hiashi's training as the next clan head. Sometimes he went overboard and Hiashi suffered. There had been plenty of times where Hiashi had sported large, ugly bruises and walked with a noticeable limp. A couple of times, Hizashi had taken his place, having disguised his cursed seal, if only to spare his twin some of the pain. Right now was one of those times. Hiashi's arms were covered in angry red marks, showing where his chakra points had been closed off and he seemed barely able to move his body.

"I'm sorry, brother. I was with my team." Hizashi began digging through a drawer in his desk, pulling various items out.

"It's fine." Hiashi maneuvered, with some pain, so that he could watch his brother. "What are you doing?"

Hizashi mixed some things in a bowl and then took Hiashi's canteen and added the mixture to it before offering it to the boy on the bed. "Drink."

Hiashi sniffed it. "What is it?"

Hizashi sighed in frustration. "Just drink it."

Somewhat annoyed, Hiashi took a few sips and deciding it wasn't too bad, downed the rest of the canteen. Almost immediately, he started to doze off and within a few moments, he was sound asleep. Hizashi smiled. After the first time Hiashi had come to him bruised and banged, Hizashi had wanted to ease his brother's pain. He'd spent countless hours in the gardens with his mother and some of the branch women learning about all the medicinal plants and herbs. His mother had showed him a mixture for pain and Hizashi had made sure to keep a steady supply in his room.

While his brother snoozed, Hizashi meandered around his room and gathered supplies for the mission. He packed a small kit, a gift from his mother, with his herbs and plants. He also grabbed a small mixture he'd been working on. He was hoping to slip it to Chikara; it was supposed to help with split personality disorder.

As night descended upon the Hyuga household, Hizashi moved his brother's still limp body (he'd have to adjust the ingredient amounts) and climbed into bed for a night of fitful rest.

Ikasu greeted him with a hug that lasted much longer than it needed to the next morning. He then noticed their charges, a middle aged man and a girl about their age.

"Nice of you to show up, Hizashi." Shoichi teasingly reprimanded. He gestured to the man and the girl. "These are our clients, Rikuto Ueda and his daughter Mitsuko."

Rikuto was a tall, tanned man with creases under his brown eyes but an otherwise kind face. He had long graying black hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. He was clad in simple beige clothes. He smiled in greeting. "I hear the Leaf ninja are the best. Thank you very much for escorting us home."

"Yes, thank you. We really appreciate it." Mitsuko added. She was gorgeous. She had brown hair pulled up in a braid with pieces framing her face and her eyes were a brilliant sky blue. A blue and yellow day dress adorned her body.

"Oh, it's no problem. That's why we're here." Chikara said pridefully. "Now to get you guys back home."

As they settled into their walking pace, Hizashi found himself watching Mitsuko. She often scampered off the path to collect flowers and pebbles. He began to join her, adding to his kit. After a couple of hours, they decided to take a break. Ikasu and Chikara were started arguing about trivial things as usual. Rikuto was showing Shoichi samples of his works. Mitsuko and Hizashi had wandered off into the forest together.

"Your eyes are very pretty, like miniature moons." Mitsuko said, picking a small white flower and sticking it in Hizashi's hair.

"Y-you don't think I l-look blind?" Hizashi stammered. Damn it, why am I so awkward?

Mitsuko giggled a bit. "Well, kinda. But I figured you weren't when you didn't have a cane or anything. Do all your family members have the same eyes?"

"Yes, unfortunately. It's a little creepy sometimes."

"I bet. Must be exciting to be a ninja."

"Are you going to be a carpenter like your father?"

"Maybe," Mitsuko began climbing a tree to retrieve an apple, "but I prefer sculpting so I might do that."

Just as her fingers closed around the fruit, a kunai whistled by and lodged itself in the trunk, knocking her off balance and causing her to fall. Deflecting another oncoming kunai with his own, he caught her before she hit the ground. He told her to stay put and activated his Byakugan; four enemies were hiding in the nearby bushes.

"Show yourselves, cowards." He sounded more confident than he actually felt. This was his first real combat experience and he was alone with a civilian girl who needed protection. But he couldn't afford to lose here…because how would he ever protect the clan head if he couldn't handle some petty thugs? He shook the thoughts from his head as one of the enemies stepped into the clearing.

"Oh look, it's a Hyuga. Just what we were looking for." He smiled creepily. "Come, give me those eyes."

With one last look at Mitsuko, hiding behind the tree trunk, Hizashi threw himself at the enemy ninja. He was good, parrying his attacks and keeping him at just the right distance to prevent Hizashi from landing any damaging blows with his Gentle Fist. A scream from one of the other ninjas distracted him long enough for Hizashi to strike with a Chakra Heart Stop, incapacitating him.

Shoichi appeared in front of his student. "I took care two of them, but the third one has all but disappeared. Be careful."

Hizashi only heard half of his sensei's words. He felt a painful burn at the base of his neck and his Byakugan deactivated on its own. The world became blurry, but he willed himself to stay upright. Shoichi, having seen the location of the last enemy, went after him. Hizashi moved as fast as he could in his state of vertigo to Mitsuko. He was incredibly relieved to see her unharmed.

The rest of the journey to the Hidden Moon Village went smoothly. The enemy ninja had been sent after them once their village had learned that a Hyuga was part of the escort team. Their goal had been to capture the Byakugan and the poison had been meant to make the process easier. But they had failed and Rikuto and Mitsuko had been safely escorted to their village.

Their mission was a success.