A/N: When I said I had a backlog, I meant it. This will likely be the last one this month. I edited this one tired, so hopefully it's up to my usual standard.
She felt so helpless. Just like that night over a year ago. First her mother, now a boy she had barely just befriended. Kaede couldn't help but feel cursed at the moment.
Kaede held onto the large branch she had picked up as she ran like it was her only hope. She was hidden in a hollow at the base of a larger tree, silently crying. The girl hated herself at the moment. She had run as soon as Osamu had told her to, and she felt like a coward.
It didn't matter that she had no training whatsoever. She had still run while another person selflessly took her place as a hostage. It had been awful when her mother had done it, but it made sense to her. Kaede, young as she was, understood completely what her mother had done was to protect her child.
Osamu, though... He was still a stranger for the most part. A kind one that she actually felt she could trust, but still a stranger. He had just taken her place with those odd shinobi powers. No second thoughts, and no regrets that she could read on his face.
"Kaede-san?" a voice called out from nearby, "Are you around? Your trail stops nearby."
Her breath hitched in fear. If she had been calmer, she might have recognized the voice, but she was wracked with fear, guilt, and sorrow.
She heard soft footsteps coming nearer, and she tightened her grip on her makeshift weapon. She would not go down without a fight. Kaede felt she owed that much to Osamu.
As soon as her stalker came into view, she leapt forward with an overhead swing, trying to bash his skull open. Her target caught the large stick with one hand, and the other shot out to her shoulder. Instead of striking her like she thought would happen, it grabbed hold and steadied her after her wild attack.
"Kaede-san, calm down." she realized that her target was wearing red, not black. He was shorter than she expected too, "It's Hotaka."
She let go of the stick and fell to her knees, sobbing in relief.
"Holy hell," the boy tossed the stick aside and knelt down, "Are you okay?"
"Osamu?" she managed to ask between hyperventilating breaths.
"He's okay," Hotaka smiled at her concern for his friend, "Yancha and him pulled one over on that asshole."
Kaede began to laugh. An odd combination with the crying that caused an odd hiccuping sound, but her relief after so much tension and fear was causing her to dump all of her pent up emotions at once.
Hotaka just sat down with her and waited patiently. He didn't even look annoyed that she was basically losing her shit. After about twenty minutes her breakdown began to peter out into sniffles.
"You good now?" the lanky teen asked her.
She nodded, not trusting her voice just yet. Hotaka stood and reached down to help the older girl to her feet.
"C'mon," he guided her slowly by the hand through the woods, "Everyone's worried about you."
He kept a slow pace for the physically tired and emotionally exhausted girl.
"You know it wasn't nice sending me in with incomplete information," he said after a few minutes of walking, "That can get a ninja killed."
"I'm sorry," she croaked, her throat scratchy and pained from crying.
He handed her his canteen as he continued to move, and she drank from it gratefully, "I think I know why you did it, but you could have just told us the old man would help out. We wouldn't have bothered with trying to fool him."
Kaede hadn't thought about that. She just figured the shinobi would try to trick him one way or the other.
"You're pretty brave," Hotaka commented after another long silence, "You know that?"
He was ahead of her, so he couldn't see the bewildered look she gave him. As if he sensed her confusion he started to explain.
"Making sure Takashi-san would see through me," he ticked off on his hand, "Trying to run off and resisting capture. Not abandoning Osamu until he told you to. You didn't even go that far, and tried to defend yourself as best as you could."
She was taken aback at the earnest praise. This young warrior, who had just fought a battle, was still bearing its marks, was calling her brave.
The rest of the walk out of the woods, over an hour long, was quiet, allowing her to digest that perspective on her actions.
When she entered the town, she could see the people moving around in something of a daze, cleaning up what damage had been done.
As they approached the center of town, she began to hear a conversation.
"The question still remains," Takashi's powerful voice reached her ears, "What now Hiroto-san?"
"I'm honestly not sure," the jonin's quieter voice answered, "I was on serious time crunch to get the pressure off the other team."
"I can guarantee you have his attention," they finally came into view in front of the pile of smoking rubble that had once been the central building in town, "But that does not bode well for Shun."
"I'm working on that," Hiroto sighed in exasperation, "If you would give me time to think out our next move, I might actually have something."
Takashi was about to reply, but was stopped short when he caught sight of Hotaka approaching with a girl that he soon realized was Kaede. Hotaka smirked as she stopped, and he continued on to the rubble where Masaru was digging about, looking for anything of interest. Osamu stayed near their Sensei still cradling his exhausted cat.
"Kaede-kun..." the old man breathed in wonder at her appearance.
She was disheveled from her run and subsequent emotional outburst, but her hair had actually held up very well. She had already pulled out the leaves and sticks that had gotten caught in it, so all that was really wrong was some of the stray strands that had gotten loose. She had washed off the makeup before bedding down the night before at Osamu's insistence, too. Something about it being bad to sleep with it on. The worst of it was her puffy red eyes.
Still, a big smile broke out on the old man's face as he gathered her up into a hug.
"I almost didn't recognize you with all that hair," he laughed as he embraced her, "You look quite fetching."
She smiled as she hugged him back. When he let her go, she immediately latched onto Osamu who had been standing nearby.
"You little bastard," she whispered into his ear, "I thought he was gonna kill you."
He bore the hug a bit awkwardly, "Nah... Can't die yet. Still too much to do."
She chuckled as she broke contact with him, and took a place back next to Takashi.
"I am quite surprised at your tactics here, Hiroto-san," the old smith looked around at the destruction, "Except for the explosion, you fought much as I would have."
Hiroto shook his head, "It needed to be showy. I took a huge gamble here for the overall mission, though. My team was never really meant for this kind of action."
"What do we do next?" once again the smith posed the important question.
"We?" the shinobi leader asked with a raised brow.
"You have drawn me into this," Takashi explained without any accusation in his tone, "You have also proven you are willing to do your best to spare bystanders in pursuit of your mission. If you need my help, I will freely offer it."
"We need the focus off this town," Osamu piped up. Both the elder men looked at him curiously, causing him to shrink down a little bit, "I mean... we have his attention. Why not draw it away with us?"
"How do you suppose we do that?" the jonin asked a bit sarcastically. He'd been thinking about how to do just that for a while now.
"Well... uh," Osamu rubbed the his wrapped forearm, "It's gonna sound a little silly."
"Speak your mind, boy," Takashi placed a friendly hand on the short ninja's head, clearly unaware of his discomfort with physical contact, "Old minds are rigid. It helps to have youthful and flexible minds about to balance us out."
"Piracy," he finally offered sheepishly, "We hit Gato where it'll really hurt him. In his money."
"You are suggesting we take part in such illicit activity?" the old man removed his hand, much to the boy's relief, "I cannot condone such action."
"I can see how that might work," Hiroto contrasted his samurai counterpart, "But where would we find a willing crew?"
Osamu shrugged, "I'm just putting ideas out there."
"Think I found it!" Masaru shouted from the rubble, "I'm surprised its not on the other side of the island honestly."
He and Hotaka came trudging out of the wreckage, the larger teen carrying a fist sized black orb that seemed to drink in the light.
Upon seeing it, Takashi breathed in sharply through his teeth and slapped it out of the boy's hand.
"AH!" Masaru held his wrist in pain, "What the hell, old man!"
"Do not touch that thing again!" the smith warned sharply, "It is far more dangerous than it looks!"
"What is it?" Hiroto knelt down to examine the sphere. He kept his hands to himself, however. If it frightened the old samurai, he certainly was going to heed any warning Takashi had put forth.
"I am surprised to find such a relic here," Takashi looked at the object in question with disgust, "It disappeared half a century ago from Iron's vaults."
"This is from the Land of Iron?" Osamu asked with interest. He was studying Takashi, and not the orb, however. He could feel the man's fear crawling across his skin like static.
"Not from there, no," the man shook his head, "Kaede-kun. Go fetch that scroll case you like so much from my house. Be quick girl!"
Kaede sensed his urgency, and despite being tired, she took off at a jog to complete her task.
"This thing is a relic from a bygone age," Takashi explained after she was gone, "It was decided that it, and other objects like it should be kept from the hands of those who would exploit them and bring ruin to us all."
"So you hid it away somewhere," Masaru reasoned out, "Sounds like a decent enough plan."
"You don't mean to say that this thing was made by sorcerers, do you?" Hiroto stood and looked the old man in his olive eyes.
"You are well educated," Takashi complimented, though he wished he could tell the man differently in this case, "Many of the shinobi clans who participated in The Great Liberation are either gone or have lost their history of that time to legend and myth."
"The Great Liberation?" Hotaka asked, his head cocked to the side, "Never heard of that. Was that covered at the academy?"
"Not that I remember," Osamu shook his head helplessly, "And I actually paid attention in history."
"It's said before The Sage," Hiroto turned to his students, "Most of humanity was ruled by super powerful chakra users called sorcerers. Some decent, others not so much."
"It was said the Sage of Six Paths sought to end their tyranny," Takashi took up the thread of the story, "He found a new way to manipulate chakra and taught it to any who would listen."
"From them you get the different disciplines," the jonin picked up where he left off, "Samurai, Shinobi, and the Priests."
"Never heard of that last group," Masaru scratched his head.
"They keep to themselves," Hiroto explained, "They rarely if ever get involved with the outside world."
"So the Sage got tired of the sorcerers and ousted them," Hotaka summed up, "Got it."
"There's more to it than that," Osamu palmed his face at his friends oversimplification.
"So what's it do?" their other teammate asked before the conversation could degenerate, "The orb?"
"We aren't too sure about its exact purpose," Takashi shook his head in frustration, "All we know about this thing is it corrupts whoever stays in contact with it too long."
The shinobi all took a step back from the black orb.
"It takes time," Takashi looked at them with a deadpan expression.
Their attention was diverted as Kaede came huffing up with a very ornate box.
"Thank you, Kaede-kun," the old samurai took the box from her and opened it.
"What's that?" Hiroto looked inside to see a scroll with a familiar symbol on it. He was wearing it on his shoulder; a stylized spiral pattern.
"It is a special storage scroll," Takashi explained, "It has all manner of nasty defenses built into it to prevent whatever is inside from falling into the wrong hands."
Unrolling the scroll revealed an intricate design. Takashi placed it on the ground and toed the orb onto it. A moment later it was gone, sealed away.
"That thing looked wild," Masaru said in wonder as the smith stored the scroll back in its case, "I don't suppose you would let me study that?"
"No," the old man denied quickly and adamantly, causing the large teen to pout.
But... science," he sighed in quiet dejection.
"Where did you get something like that?" Osamu asked curiously, "It has the same symbol on it that Sensei wears on his uniform."
"I don't know the connection there," Takashi frowned seriously, "But when I was a young man, younger than you kids, three items disappeared from our vaults."
"Our Shogun sent for the greatest seal masters he could find," the old man went on, "A single man came to us, Uzumaki Daiki, the only shinobi I ever knew before leaving Iron."
"Uzumaki?" the whole of Team Five asked at once, the Sensei looking at his students curious to know why they cared so much.
"He did wonders for our security," the old smith crossed his arms and stared off into space, remembering long gone days, "He stayed around for quite some time. He had an interest in our smithing. My clan's in particular. He also made these scrolls in case any of the stolen artifacts were found."
The shinobi ended their questions on the subject there. Takashi seemed to live up to Iron samurai reputation, but it was likely their questions would lead to questions of his own. He probably wouldn't take to well to being stonewalled on information after he had given so freely.
"So what are we gonna do next, Sensei?" Masaru asked the jonin with interest, "I swore I heard Osamu suggest we take to the high seas and go plundering."
"From fighting pirates to being pirates," Hotaka mused with a grin, "Ninja pirates... I like that."
Hiroto palmed his face, "We don't even have a crew or ship."
"Why don't we ask the spirit in the Shuurai?" Masaru suggested, "Maybe it will help us."
"I don't know, Masaru," Osamu didn't seem to keen on the idea, "Nee-san says kami are fickle as hell."
"I just said ask," the other boy defended, "I'm not saying we should go forcing it to do anything. It sounded kinda tired of people doing that to it."
"Alright," Hiroto threw his hands up in exasperation, "Let's go talk to a storm spirit."
XxXxXxX
Good day to you young shinobi, the spirit's voice was as odd as ever in his mind, like rumbling thunder, Have you done away with the latest crew?
Seated as he was on the core of the ship's seal, he found that the spirit didn't need his chakra to communicate.
"We have," Masaru confirmed, feeling a pulse of delight from the spirit, "My team was wondering if you would help us with something."
A request? It's disbelief was like a quiet wind, I am surprised enough to hear it.
"Would you be willing to power the Shuurai for the remainder of our mission?" the large boy asked.
An odd request, it commented with a mirthless laugh, I would have to by my oath.
"But we don't want to force you," the shinobi replied with a sly smile, "We could also be persuaded to make a good effort on freeing you from your obligation. I'm betting there's more to this ship that you know about."
You dangle my freedom like a treat, the spirit growled back, Shinobi indeed. Still...
XxXxXxX
Masaru climbed back onto the deck grinning like a loon. He was doing that more recently. Hiroto figured him to be the first of his genin to develop their 'ninja tic.' All the good ones had them. Kakashi with his porn. Gai screaming about youth. Hiroto with the drawing and drinking. Contrary to popular belief, Asuma's wasn't smoking. The bearded jonin played the flute. Well out of sight of his comrades, but Hiroto knew more about him than he let on.
In truth, Masaru already kind of had something he was edging towards the dark side of the moon about with the seals and science. Hiroto made a mental note to keep a close eye on him lest he go Orochimaru on everyone. He didn't think it likely, but paranoia was part and parcel to his job.
The boy was just standing there smiling crazily waiting for someone, anyone, to ask him how it went.
"So..." Hotaka of course. He knew what the larger boy was doing, but he was impatient, "What did it say?"
"Well Stormy says he's all for it!" the large teen replied with excitement.
"Stormy?" Osamu asked with a cough of surprise, "Storm spirits are immensely powerful, Masaru. You shouldn't be disrespecting it like that."
"Well, it's name sounds like a bunch of thunder and rain," the copper headed shinobi defended with a shrug, "There's no way I could say it, so I improvised."
Osamu just shook his head muttering about the ship being lost in a typhoon.
"Even if... Stormy will help us, that doesn't cover the crew we'll need," Hiroto poked his largest genin in the head, "So this idea is still a bust."
"No it isn't," Masaru swatted his Sensei's hand away, holding onto his smile, "Ask me why."
"..."
"C'mon!" the Hibaku whined, "Ask me!"
"Why?" Again the impatient Hotaka asked, this time with an exasperated sigh.
"Cause Stormy can control the whole ship on his own!" Masaru exclaimed excitedly, "All he needs is chakra."
They all stood staring at him like he had grown a second head.
"The sails?"
"Yep."
The rigging?"
"Sure."
"The rudder?"
"Uh huh."
"Who the fuck made this ship?" Hiroto asked after his team had rapid fired those questions.
Masaru shrugged, "Don't know, but I want to meet them."
"A few shinobi can easily pick apart most ships' crews," Osamu hedged.
"It'll throw a huge monkey wrench in Gato's affairs," Masaru added with a sly smile to his small friend, "Don't we get a bonus for every million ryo he loses cause of us?"
"Umm..." Hotaka felt it was his turn to mention something about how they should follow through with Osamu's original plan, but he was still stuck on how damn awesome an automated ship was, "This ship is pretty bad ass."
The other two boys palmed their faces.
"And what about Shun?" their Sensei was leaning towards the idea. They all had valid points, even if the last one wasn't all that eloquent, but shinobi had to be able to think through their actions carefully, "Gato will be sending men here in at most a few days."
"Leave someone behind," Hotaka suggested easily, "A single shinobi on prepared ground can easily take on up to fifty men without similar training."
"I don't like the idea of any one of you alone," Hiroto frowned as he thought. Truthfully the whole plan was sound, but a genin on his own with no back up was asking for trouble. Maybe if he had a team of chunin.
"Leave me," Osamu suggested easily, "My chakra is probably no good for the ship, and if the shit hits the fan, I have the best skill at evasion. Also, I have Yancha to back me up."
"What about the response from Gato?" Masaru didn't like the idea of their most fragile member being all alone, "You're not exactly a combat monster."
"I've been around you long enough to set up some decent traps," the smaller boy replied, not liking the tone his large friend was taking, "Besides... Yancha's good to go for combat now."
That was true enough, Hiroto supposed. The cat had the look of a combat powerhouse in her enlarged state. He'd seen full grown Inuzuka hounds that didn't compare. Takashi was also here. He didn't expect the samurai would just sit back and do nothing.
"I could stay instead," Masaru offered, giving Osamu a worried look, "Ambushes are my area of expertise."
"You need to be on the ship," the smaller genin argued, his tone growing sharp in annoyance, "The spirit has only spoken to you, and they'll need you for taking out Gato's merchant fleet. Hotaka and I don't know how to set up your detonators."
"What about Hotaka, then?" the big teen offered.
"That's it..." Osamu's face voided of all visible emotion, "Say what you're really worried about, Masaru."
Having only seen the small Sakibou ever get like this once, the other two genin felt a chill go up their spines. Only Hiroto recognized the aura around his smallest genin, and he was impressed he could level that much wide area killing intent at his age. Maybe channeling so much spiritual energy was beginning to have an affect on him.
"It's just..." Masaru wrung his wrists in an uncharacteristic show of nervousness for someone who regularly dealt with materials that could turn him into human confetti, "You almost died back there. With your chakra the way it is..."
"We've had this conversation before, Masaru," Osamu's voice was so chilly they were surprised it didn't form a frost cloud, "I have a goal that requires me to be a shinobi. I will not back down from a fight just because I could get hurt. I can take care of myself, and you know it."
"All it takes is one stray hit, though!" Masaru exploded back in anger, "Hotaka broke three of your ribs with a love tap for Kami's sake!"
Hiroto had never seen his team like this before. They were always so close that he often felt like an outsider. Looking at Hotaka, he saw a grim sort of acceptance on his face. He'd done this song and dance before, and from his body language, there was nothing he knew of to stop it.
"What would happen if you screwed up setting up a bomb?" Osamu asked quietly. The deathly calm in his voice was seriously creepy combined with the blank look on his face, "What happens if a detonator goes off before you're clear?"
"That won't happen," Masaru was far too good at his job for that to happen. Everyone knew it.
"And I won't get hit," the smaller boy replied evenly, "Misdirection, evasion, and ranged takedowns are what I do. I got caught earlier because it's what I had to do to save Kaede-san."
Masaru looked ready to argue his point some more, but he stopped when Hiroto laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Osamu and Yancha stay," he was decided on this. It would cover their bases and give the two boys time apart to cool their jets on what was obviously an ongoing debate, "Leave him any trapping equipment that won't be useful on the open ocean."
Grumbling, but unwilling to go against a direct order, Masaru leapt off the ship and sped away with Hotaka to retrieve their gear from camp.
Hiroto turned to Osamu expecting to see him look at least a little bit smug, but the boy just looked pained. Fighting with his friend like that apparently hurt him.
"What was that about?" the jonin asked warily. He wasn't sure if the small boy was willing to share.
He let out an exasperated and long suffering sigh, "He just feels the need to protect me."
"Well he did raise some good points," the jonin wasn't trying to stir the hornets nest, but Osamu was able and willing to see all sides of an argument.
"He's made them before," Osamu's voice became sharp again. This really was a hot button for him, "But the truth is: he's arguing something that's true for any one of us. I may not be as durable, but any shinobi can be taken out if he gets unlucky or stupid."
His Sensei just shrugged and accepted that. It was a truism of shinobi life, and Masaru was being overprotective. Osamu wasn't helping things by demanding the chance to prove he could be just as effective on the battlefield as the trap specialist, though.
The only reason he was willing to allow it, despite his vow to protect the remnants of the Sakibou, was because he recognized a possible rift forming in the team. One that would get all of his boys killed. He was willing to take the risk in having the wily illusionist stay back and do what he had to. Not that Hiroto was just going to up and leave without ensuring the boy had someone to look out for him. Old man Takashi had already proven trustworthy. He would get the samurai to make sure Osamu didn't bite off more than he could chew.
XxXxXxX
The office of one Doctor Juro was an interesting place. The eccentric (at least to his clan) branch Hyuuga did just about everything he could to get people to forget his familial connections, and so his personal space at the hospital was covered in art. The place was a riot of color, and many would say that Hyuuga Juro was similar in nature. He swore freely, made ribald jokes, and generally enjoyed his life.
He stayed away from the Hyuuga compound, hilarious dinners to scope out his most interesting patient aside, because the branch family regarded him with jealousy. Who could blame them? His seal had been botched, and no one knew until his elder brother had attempted to activate it to keep him from using his talents outside of the clan. The main family regarded him with fear, as he was a completely free agent. Though he was a doctor first and foremost, he had ruined multiple attempts to either kill him or reapply the seal.
So it was with a bit of surprise that he opened his office door to find his nephew waiting patiently for him to answer the knock.
"Hiashi?" his eyes widened slightly. He'd always been emotive for a Hyuuga, "What brings you here, my boy?"
Hiashi stepped into the office when his uncle made way for him and looked about curiously, "You have a greater love for the arts than the Hokage it seems."
Juro let out a bark of laughter at hearing that, "More like it hurts Hiruka's eyes to see so much color."
If Juro didn't know his nephew better he wouldn't have caught the amusement in his eyes. It was subtle, but it was there.
"What brings you by, Hiashi?" the doctor asked, waving to an extra seat as he retook his own, "I hope this isn't about me coming back to the hold."
The clan head took the offered seat, sitting rigid as ever, "You made it perfectly clear to me you did not wish to return. You still do our clan honor with your talents. That is all that really matters to me."
Juro smirked at the words. Hiashi was far more diplomatic than his pugnacious father. He remained silent, waiting for his nephew to get to the point.
"You are the primary physician for Sakibou Osamu, are you not?" Hiashi finally asked, surprising his uncle.
"I am..." Juro answered carefully, not altogether sure where this was going, "If this isn't council business, I can't share his information, though."
Hiashi waved his hand to dismiss that notion, "I only wish to know if his kekkei-genkai is compatible with ours."
Now that was interesting. He doubted Hiashi would ever be able to bring either Sakibou into the Hyuuga fold. From what the doctor had gathered over years of treating the boy, the Sakibou clan had been built on notions of personal freedom and responsibility. You were free to do as you pleased, and responsible for whatever consequences you incurred. Cohesion was achieved through familial bonds, and not through overbearing rules.
"I believe so," Juro answered as he turned to a filing cabinet next to his desk. A pulse of chakra into the locking seal gave him access, and he pulled a thick manilla folder from it. He placed it on his desk and opened it.
"Genetic sequencing is particularly difficult on a Sakibou," he commented, his annoyance during that unsuccessful ordeal reviving for the moment, "So I don't have a definite answer for you, but all indications show his bloodline is based completely in his chakra. Perfectly compatible with the Byakugan."
"And the sensory aspect?" Hiashi pressed with obvious interest. He seemed to have a vested interest in the boy, "What of his ability to sense spiritual auras?"
"As far as I can tell," Juro thumbed through a few of his notes as he spoke, "That ability isn't unique to his clan or even a bloodline necessarily. I've been compiling a list of confirmed and alleged mediums in Fire, and none have any connection to the Sakibou that I could find. If I recall correctly, we even have a few in our history."
Hiashi seemed to like the news he heard.
"What exactly are you planning, Hiashi?" Juro asked curiously, closing the file and returning it to its place, "I highly doubt either Sakibou would agree to enter the clan. They have designs on the rebirth of their own."
"I am counting on that, Jiisan," Hiashi graced him with a serene smile before standing. The doctor hadn't seen the man look so honestly content in decades, "I appreciate your time. You should come eat with us more often. The last time was certainly lively."
"Ha! That it was," Juro agreed heartily. He stood and gathered his nephew into a hug. Hiashi stiffened at the contact before relaxing and returning it, "You tell Hiruka he can fuck himself."
Hiashi sighed at his uncles impropriety, but let it be. He left without another word, purpose evident in his stride.
Things are about to get interesting for the Hyuuga, the doctor thought with a grin, Hiashi... what are you planning?
XxXxXxX
Sakura went through another motion of the academy style's kata, slowly raising her arm to turn aside an invisible punch.
Ploop.
The pink haired girl drew her blocking arm down as she punched out with her other hand, again going slow to make sure she had the movements down right.
Splorp.
She returned to the ready stance, fists up to protect her face from incoming strikes.
Ping.
The feeling and sound of something hitting her Leaf plate caused her to lose her concentration and she fell straight down into the cold stream she had been practicing on. She surfaced a moment later to hear her blond teammate laughing as he stuck to the underside of a branch nearby, a few pebbles still in hand.
"Naruto..." her face was stuck in that odd smile she got when she was truly angry as she climbed from the water, "Come down here."
"Uh..." the blonde dropped his ammunition and shook his head to her order, "Kakashi-sensei said to do this so you could really master water walking. I'm just following orders!"
"I'LL SHOW YOU ORDERS!" the kunoichi's anger finally burst forth as she leapt at the low hanging shinobi.
He released his chakra hold on the tree and flipped around to land, darting off into the woods, "Please don't hurt me, Sakura-chan!"
The girl in question landed after missing her initial assault and took off after him, "COME BACK HERE, YOU ASS!"
Nearby, Sasuke opened his eyes to see what the ruckus was about this time. While his two teammates got along famously now, they still had their moments. Naruto was, and always would be, annoying, and Sakura had a temper hotter than hell.
"Did you really tell Naruto to throw rocks at her?" he asked the now seemingly empty woods.
"You're already getting Jiheki down," Kakashi appeared nearby with a smile, "Yea... I was getting bored, and those two are always good for a laugh."
Sasuke shook his head. He could still hear his teammates tearing through the woods.
"She's keeping up with him a lot better," Kakashi commented as he watched his students through the trees, "What do you think of their progress, Sasuke?"
Sasuke grunted, unwilling to let on that he was honestly content with his team for once, but Kakashi's smile didn't drop as if he knew what he was thinking anyway.
"Once we get back to Konoha, I'm going to find someone to tutor Sakura on medicine," Kakashi chose to let that line of conversation drop, "I'm thinking Naruto could make a good sweeper. Some good wide area ninjutsu. He's showing some talent with Doton."
"And me?" Sasuke couldn't help but ask, knowing that his teacher was baiting him.
"You fight like I do," the cyclops turned to him, "You're a precision type. I'll work with you directly to hone that. Teach you to make use of Naruto's penchant for mayhem to pick out and destroy key targets."
Sasuke liked the sound of that. Kakashi had proven to be an excellent duelist in their last engagement despite being caught, and Sasuke had a suspicion that he'd done it purposely to see what they would do. Who seriously fought a Kiri ninja out on the water if they had other options?
"Naruto. Sakura," the jonin shouted out to the two running genin, still managing to sound blasé even then, "Quit playing grab-ass and get back to work. Zabuza won't underestimate the three of you again."
Naruto stopped when he heard his name, allowing Sakura to catch up to him and clock him one good. He was sent spiraling to the ground, where he groaned in pain.
Wonder if I can get her to harness that anger, Kakashi thought after seeing the way she put down the normally durable blonde, A medic with close quarters capabilities would be a nightmare. Tsunade-sama proved that.
Despite the heavy blow, Naruto was back up and scampering after his now mollified teammate in a few seconds.
"That was a good one, Sakura-chan," he commented with a smile.
"You want another," she shook her fist at him with a smirk. She felt a little bad for losing her temper, but hitting Naruto was like hitting a rock. She had never broken him before, and it didn't seem like she would anytime soon.
"N-no thanks," the boy waved his hands towards her as if it would ward her away.
"Good news from Team Five," Kakashi got all of his genins' attention, "Their gambit went off without any real problems, and their going to keep the pressure on. We shouldn't have any issues until Zabuza comes back after Tazuna-san."
"I'm going to start taking Sasuke and Sakura with me to the bridge," he went on, growing more serious as he briefed them, "Their current training can be done there and doesn't require too much effort."
"What about me, Sensei?" Naruto asked excitedly. You could always count on the boy to get behind a good operation.
"You'll stay near Tsunami-san and Inari-kun," the jonin explained, "You can keep an eye on them while you practice Yamahagosha. Keep some clones around as pickets."
The genin nodded their understanding after receiving their marching orders. Kakashi had to wonder just how much moaning and bitching he would have gotten had he not taken measures to control his team weeks ago. He would have to remember to thank Hiroto for kicking his ass into gear.
XxXxXxX
Hiashi walked at a sedate pace through Konoha nodding in polite greeting to anyone who acknowledged him. Some in the clan might have thought it beneath him to greet common citizens this way, but he wouldn't have his clan go the way the Uchiha did before their demise.
Coming on the gates of his clan hold, he noticed his eldest daughter's Sensei waiting with her two team members. The travel packs they all had suggested they were about to leave the village. He recalled Hinata had told him she was to take on her first C-rank mission, but it shouldn't be for a few more days.
"Kurenai-san," he greeted her with an incline of his head. He looked to her two students next, "Kiba-san, Shino-san."
"Hiashi-sama," the quiet bug user responded in kind.
"Sup old man?" the Inuzuka replied along with a bark from the small dog in his jacket. Just like his mother.
"How are you Hiashi-sama?" the genjutsu mistress greeted respectfully as she dug a knuckle into Kiba's head for talking to a clan head like that.
"I am well," he replied evenly, ignoring the pained sounds from the dog user, "I was under the impression your mission wasn't for another few days."
"The bandits have gotten bolder and the Fire Legion is no closer to finding their hideout," Kurenai let out a sigh, "The Legion asked Hokage-sama to step up our timetable."
Hiashi nodded in understanding. He was very familiar with the changing dynamics of politics and how they could affect missions.
"You are confident in your team for this task?" he asked looking at the young boys who would be accompanying his daughter.
"We got this," Kiba answered confidently, "No bandit can hide from us."
"Kiba-san is correct," Shino agreed tonelessly, "Why? Because our team is comprised of the best tracking clans in Konoha."
Their conversation was interrupted by the gate into the Hyuuga Compound opening to allow Hinata to exit and join her team. She stopped when she saw her father, but moved to join them a moment later.
"Are you prepared for your mission, Hinata?" Hiashi leveled a serious look at his eldest child. It might have come off as a question of her capabilities, but he was feeling paternal worry. It was her first mission out of the village after all.
"I-I believe s-so Otou-sama," her head began to dip, but she remembered his reprimand from a while ago and met his gaze nervously.
"Be sure to follow Kurenai-san's instructions," he advised, his eyes boring into hers to drive the point home, "She may be a newer jonin, but she still has a great deal of experience."
Hinata nodded her understanding.
"Be on your way, then," he told Team Eight as a whole, "It would not do to keep the Daimyo's men waiting."
He entered his clan hold, leaving his daughter's team to their own devices. He was sure Hinata was in good hands. He wouldn't have pulled strings to ensure Kurenai was her Sensei if he didn't believe the woman couldn't handle the job.
XxXxXxX
"Choose your battlefield carefully, Osamu," Hiroto told the boy as he and his other two students prepared to depart, "A single ninja on prepared ground can decimate a force of normal soldiers."
The boy nodded his understanding. He'd started as a genin months ago as a specialist in manipulating people to get information. Hiroto had forcibly broadened his horizons in an effort to make him battle ready. He was about to show just what he could do.
While Hiroto didn't like the idea of leaving him behind, It was a necessary evil. Someone from the team had to stay back and keep an eye on the large island. While Masaru and Hotaka were each better suited to the task, Osamu was easily the clearest thinker of the three.
Masaru walked up and handed his small friend two scrolls, "I left instructions for the more complex devices and some suggestions on deployment."
"Thank you," Osamu nodded to his friend. There was obvious tension between them, but it was clear that neither wanted to part on a bad note.
"Just... be careful, Osamu," the large boy walked off before the argument could start again.
Hotaka came up next and clapped his little friend on the back, "We'll be back with shiny loot, and awesome stories. I'm expecting some crazy tales from you, too."
Osamu laughed at his lanky friend, "Don't get too caught up in the lifestyle. We're shinobi first."
Hotaka scoffed at the notion, before heading towards the Shuurai.
"Try not to frighten the locals," Hiroto smirked at his unusual looking genin.
"Too late for that..." the boy looked into the town to see people glancing their way warily, "Save a town from slavery and they think you're going to eat them. Looks like I'll be camping for a while still."
"Don't worry boy," Takashi's deep voice called out as he walked up, "You can stay with me and Kaede-chan. Kami knows the girl wouldn't forgive me if I left you out in the cold."
Osamu looked up at the large man towering over him, and gave a mirthless smile, "Are you sure about having a shadow-walker in your own home."
"You've earned some respect from me for what you did, Osamu-kun," he patted the boy on the head with a hand that could have palmed his skull, "You Konoha shinobi are alright I suppose."
Hiroto nodded thankfully to the old man. Takashi was the only reason he felt safe leaving just one of his team behind.
"Make sure you contact Team Seven and update Kakashi-san from time to time," Hiroto gave him his final orders, while handing him the high powered radio he'd been using to keep in touch with his peer, "His call sign is Dopple. He knows yours already."
Osamu nodded and waved towards the ship, "Tide will be going out soon. You have a shipping company to harass."
XxXxXxX
Kaede came into the living room of Takashi's small house to find Osamu pouring over a map of Wave. His back was turned, but she didn't doubt he knew she was there.
"Kaede-san," he greeted without looking up, "There's only one road into Shun, right?"
"That's right," she confirmed with a nod he wouldn't see, "Are you sure Gato will send more men?"
She sounded a bit fearful, but her face was defiant. She was tired of being afraid.
"He has to," Osamu told her in a neutral tone. He needed to keep a level head about this, which meant controlling his fear that he couldn't handle it, "If it gets out that his thugs were taken down in a town in just one morning, the rest of Wave might start bucking his control."
"Astute observation, boy," Takashi walked in from his workshop holding a pair of clawed metal weapons, "I have what you asked for."
Osamu examined the weapons. Each one was a a set of four finger length blades shaped like a beast's claws connected to a bar for him to grip. They were extremely close range, but he wouldn't be using them for much besides making bodies look like they'd been mauled by some animal or monster.
"Perfect," he nodded in approval, "That was very fast, Takashi-san. You truly are an amazing smith."
He placed the claws down and began to sift through the gear Masaru had left him. From the looks of it, it was only half of his arsenal, but that was still quite a bit. He wouldn't actually need that much. Just a some trip wires and kunai launchers to keep his victims inside his chosen kill zone.
"What's your plan," the old warrior asked with interest as he examined the map Osamu had been looking at, noting an area circled in the forest around Shun. It was a large depression. An area that was awful to fight from.
"Classic ambush with some intimidation," Osamu said simply, "I'm going to get them where I want them, kill most of them, and scare whatever is left so bad no one will ever dare come back."
"You can do all that yourself?" Kaede asked, worry clear in her voice.
Osamu shrugged, "I specialize in manipulating people, on or off the battlefield. I'll need to pull out some tricks I haven't really tested yet, but I'm confident I can pull this off."
"That's supposing Gato doesn't send more than you can handle," Takashi groused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "Are you sure you don't want my help?"
"I don't want you caught in my genjutsu," Osamu shook his head. He wasn't all that worried for the veteran, but he didn't want this man to see him at his worst, "It's going to be indiscriminate. Besides, I'll need a place to fall back to if things go wrong."
Takashi nodded his understanding. He'd been placed in the reserve force more than once.
Osamu stood and moved for the door after gathering as much as he could carry in his pack. Not for the first time, he cursed his inability to make good use of seals. He had to get Takashi to unseal the gear from Masaru's scrolls.
"I'll be back in a few days if all goes well," he walked out the door and made for the forest.
"Be careful, Osamu-kun," Kaede called after him as the door shut.
"Don't worry, Kaede-chan," Takashi put an arm around her shoulder, "He'll be fine."
She smiled at the new honorific the old man was using despite her fear of losing a new friend so soon after meeting him. It fell away a moment later though, as her thoughts refused to move from the young shinobi, "I just don't like seeing him, or anyone really, going into battle."
The old smith nodded knowingly next to her. He had often dealt with that sentiment on both sides.
"Come on," he guided her away from the now closed door, "I'll make us some tea."
XxXxXxX
"Total. Fucking. Annihilation," the words were spoken slowly so each one was enunciated perfectly, "Everyone in Shun dead, and that smith, Takashi, dragged back here."
Gato was briefing his men on what he wanted done about the liberation of the fishing village on the South-eastern point of Wave, and he was royally pissed. His right hand was in a cast where a certain effeminate shinobi had broken it.
He was sending thirty of his better fighters down to Shun. He had to make an example of the town before news spread, but could ill afford to look weak in the main town where most of Tazuna's workforce resided.
His men were smirking and nodding at his instructions. They hadn't really gotten to have much fun once Wave was on lockdown. There weren't many fighters left in the country. Gato had seen to that long ago. They would just have to make due with a town and some shinobi. After all, how hard could it be to kill four ninja?
In the next chapter we'll get to see Osamu break out his kekkei-genkai to actually attack his enemies. I tried to capture the same level of power that some of the para-elemental bloodlines have. After that chapter, you get some filler to update us on the other teams, get some background on some of the more recent additions to the character roster, and see what's going on in Konoha. After those, Wave will come to an end in a couple of chapters.