Second chapter for this new story is done. I tried to keep my momentum going from the first chapter, but then I realised the ending was a bit off, so after fiddling with it a bit, I hope it makes sense (it's more a transition between chapter 1 and chapter 3).
Fanfic. Don't own Naruto.
It amazed Naruto how things could go from good to bad so quickly. He woke up this morning, not because of his alarm clock, but because of someone knocking loudly on his door. And to make matters worse, he had not slept that well to begin with. So as he sluggishly got out of the bed, the knocking getting so loud and hard he wondered if the door would cave in suddenly, he could barely keep to himself the remark that escaped his lips.
"Why don't you knock a bit louder!? I'm pretty sure the whole of Suna hasn't heard you yet!"
The reply was not what he was expecting. He firstly heard a gasp, then a reply he wish he hadn't heard.
"At least Gaara could use the excuse of sand in his ears. What's yours dumbass!?"
'Perfect' thought Naruto sarcastically as he finally made it to his door, opening it to reveal Kiba. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company Kiba? Did your mother not want to beat you this morning, so you came over here to get an ass-kicking instead?"
Growling, Kiba was about to respond, when some type of stimulus behind him caused him to stop. Naruto could have sworn he heard someone clear their throat. 'Someone is behind Kiba. Why didn't I notice that right away? I gotta learn to calm down.' Looking around Kiba, Naruto noticed that said person was Hinata, but for some reason she was avoiding his gaze, and why was she blushing?
"Hi Hinata. Sorry about that I..."
"Save it Naruto, we don't have time to waste. You're needed at the Hokage Tower like Hinata and I. So hurry up and get dressed. I so don't need to see your package, especially this early in the morning." Kiba said as he turned away with a disgusted look on his face while Hinata's blush got deeper in colour.
Looking down, Naruto noticed he was only wearing boxers, and they left nothing to the imagination. What made things worse was that the open doorway started letting in the cool morning air.
"Oh shit! Sorry about that. Give me a second, and I'll be ready to go." Racing back inside his room, Naruto quickly got dressed, grabbing his storage scroll for missions. 'I guess that explains why Hinata was blushing.' Smirking because of the effect he had on the girl, his prankster side starting working overtime as he grabbed a breakfast bar, pushing aside Kiba unceremoniously as he locked his door behind him. "Okay, ready to go!"
"Geez, not so loud dumbass. It's still early." Said Kiba as he covered his ears because of the blond.
Ignoring Kiba, Naruto turned to Hinata as they started walking down the street. "Sorry about before Hinata, I was still pretty tired." Smiling to the girl, he took a bite of his breakfast as all thoughts of pranks left his mind.
"It's okay Naruto-kun, everyone sleeps in what they prefer." Hinata replied as a small blush appeared again.
Smirking from her response, Naruto couldn't help what came out of his mouth next. "Fair enough. So what do you wear Hinata?"
"Shit." Was the only warning Naruto got from Kiba as Hinata fainted right there. The next few minutes were spent waking Hinata up, and then they were off again to the Hokage Tower, Hinata avoiding looking at Naruto, and Naruto quiet because of the not so subtle threat he received from Kiba to keep his mouth shut.
Things became worse from there. Arriving at the Hokage Tower, Naruto and Hinata separated from Kiba, and continued onto their mission briefing. Entering the Hokage's office, Kakashi and Sai stood to the left of the entrance, while Tsunade, the fifth Hokage, sat behind her desk, a pile of paperwork on either corner of her desk framing her.
"Glad you two could make it. I was afraid I'd have to send out an Anbu squad to find you Naruto."
"C'mon Baa-chan, we aren't that late are we?" Naruto's off-hand comment got the desired reaction.
"Only if you're going by Kakashi-time. If you start wearing a mask and reading smut all the time, I might just have to kill you." Smirking, Tsunade enjoyed the moment while both Kakashi and Naruto stared at her with shocked expressions.
Before either could respond though, Tsunade got to business. "Kakashi, here's the mission briefing." Passing a mission folder to Kakashi, Tsunade continued. "We've received word from an informant that a former Sound-nin wishes to surrender to us in return for sanctuary. Naturally, they can't be trusted. However, this ninja has expressed knowledge of Oto's inner workings while the hidden village operated, and more specifically, information on Oorochimaru and Kabuto. Now even though Oorochimaru is dead, Kabuto is still a target considering the damage he has caused us in the past. You're to go to the meeting place listed and meet said Sound-nin, assess them and the information they can provide, then either capture or eliminate the target. Kakashi, you're in charge. Since two members of team 7 are away, Hinata and Sai will fill in. Because of the nature of the mission, it will be classed as A-rank. Any questions?"
Everyone in the room responded in the negative, except for one.
"You purposely held this back till they were gone, didn't you Baa-chan?"
"Yes Naruto, I didn't want this ruining what happiness they have." Seeing the sorrowful expression appear then vanish from Naruto's face, Tsunade continued. "Are you able to do this for them Naruto?"
"Hai, Tsunade-sama."
Exiting the building, their mission was soon underway, their destination a bridge between the countries of Leaf and Cloud. Arriving at the meeting point, the place was deserted.
"Anything Hinata?"
"Nothing Kakashi-sensei." Said Hinata as she scanned the surrounding countryside with her active Byuakugan.
Naruto did a quick scan of the area. "I suppose that means we're early."
"We aren't. We're right on time." Moving towards the bridge, Kakashi continued. "Fan-out. Look for anything out of the ordinary."
"Kakashi-sensei, on the other side of the bridge is a small note stuck to a tree." Hinata said as her eyes focused on the object.
"Is it trapped? Wait Naruto!" Spinning on the spot, Kakashi watched as Naruto leapt across the bridge, ripping the note from the tree. Preparing for a trap, the rest of team seven waitied several breaths, and when nothing happened, cautiously leapt across the bridge to join Naruto.
"Geez, Naruto. I thought you'd have more sense than that. What if the note had been a..." Kakashi's remark died on his lips as he watched Naruto studying the note. First Naruto's eyes grew wide, then all the colour drained from his face as his whole body started shaking.
"Kakashi-sensei. Where did Sasuke and Sakura say their honeymoon was again?" Naruto's voice was barely above a whisper, a low growl accompanying it as he spoke.
Just as he was about to reply to Naruto's question, a trembling hand gave the note to Kakashi. Only it wasn't a note. It was a photo of Sasuke and Sakura taken at their wedding yesterday, a small note written in the bottom left-hand corner.
Hugs and kisses. Kabuto.
Racing through the treetops with Kakashi, Hinata and Sai following behind, Naruto could only hope his friends were okay, and that this day couldn't possibly get any worse.