I have to say that I don't own the rights of the story:
The original author of the Naruto series is Masashi Kishimoto
Also, Im not making any profit of this fanfic.
I have to mention something else: English is not my first language and it's also my first try making a English fanfic
SPECIAL NOTICE:
Im planning all kind of surprises on this chapter and the next one. Dont stop reading if you dont like one of them, you might regret it, trust me...
Oo0o0o
Chapter Three (First Mission C - part ONE)
After the training, Kurenai goal to create bonds within the group went well. She feared at first that Shino wouldn't be able to fit well with Naruto but it went better then she first thought. Naruto energy seemed contagious, as Shino and Hinata spoke more than normally.
The next morning, they were all waiting for her. She was delighted to see her three genins were having a conversation about what to expect in their first mission. After seeing Hinata family, two days ago, she was glad to see she will be able to connect with Naruto. Those two will be good friends...
And maybe even a bit more, thought Kurenai. We will just have to wait and see.
Their first mission assigned was to catch the cat of the Fire Lord's wife. It went extremely well, the poor cat didn't have any chance against those three. They even had the time to come back to the Hokage Tower and ask for another one. Kurenai soon realized Naruto's Shadow Clones were definitely an asset for Rank-D mission, as in was making the team finish their tasks much faster. One day, they were even able to make four missions! Even the Hokage was really impressed by it.
But it was obliviously a matter of times before Naruto complained to her about the missions given to them.
"Those missions are ridiculous!" Naruto whined one day. "Why couldn't we something more challenging? Something worthy of my great skills as a ninja?"
Inwardly, Kurenai cringed. She knew Naruto wanted to do more exciting missions, but she really wished that he had more sense than to act like a brat before the Third Lord. "For starters, Naruto, it is up to me to decide what kind of missions the team does. If you want more improtant ones, then you should talk to your teammates in privet, and then, if they agree, ask me."
To her surprise, Shina spoke up. "Sensei, not to usurp authority, but Naruto-San may have a point. It has been two weeks since our first mission, and we have trained and worked continually to improve. Logically, we should take more difficulty missions to in turn push ourselves further."
Naruto grinned. "See, Shino thinks like me!"
Shino visibly flinched at Naruto's remark. "I stated a point that was worked off of yours," he said coolly, "That means we are in agreement. It does not mean we think alike." Then Shino added, under his breath, "God forbid we ever do."
"Say, what's wrong with you thinkin' like me?" Naruto demanded.
As Shino explained how he thinks logically while Naruto thinks emotionally and how Shino does not ever want to be an emotional thinker like Naruto, Kurenai noticed Hinata look uncomfortable with the topic. Hmm…
The Hokage chuckled as Naruto tried to argue with his male teammate. After a pause, The Hokage asked, "Kurenai, I do have a rank C mission that can be fitting your team. Do you think they are ready?"
Naruto spoke up. "Of course we-!"
Cue to Kurenai hosting him off the ground by his collar of his jacket, forcing him to look into her strange, red eyes. "The Hokage was talking to me, Naruto. I just told you that I'm the one who will decide what Missions our team does. Unless you'd like to spend the next few days studying ethics and manners rather than learning how to be a better ninja, zip your howling screamer."
The perspective of those lessons and the VERY scary look in his sensei eye's convinced Naruto he should hold his tongue for now. He nodded after gulping.
Dropping Naruto painfully on his butt, Kurenai turned to the Hokage. "They might be prepared for it," she answered, "depending of the mission. Can you tell me the details about it?"
"Of course! A village in our territory keeps having their vegetables stolen from them at night. Since they couldn't find the thieves, the farmers want someone to investigate what is happening and find the culprits"
Kurenai thought for second and looked at her team. She finally nodded and agreed. Naruto was filled with joy about this. Shino was the same as always but he was looking discreetly at Hinata, who seemed worry behind her faint smile.
Once outside the Hokage Tower, Kurenai led Naruto away from the others, and spoke to him. "Naruto, if you have a problem with me, come and talk to me about first. I'm sure we can work something out if you do that. What you just did was questioning my judgment in front of others and I don't like that at all. Do you understand?"
Naruto nodded.
She continued. "And you were lucky that Shino was thinking the same as you do but Hinata didn't say a word about it and didn't look happy by all this, did she?
"Huh?" Naruto said, titling his head, "I don't understand Kurenai-sensei, Hinata is super strong-"
"That's not the point Naruto. If you had thought a little more about your teammates, you would have talked about it with them first. Hinata and Shino are not as outspoken then you so it's your job to talk to them and try to understand how they feel. If you overlook their feelings, you might lose their trust or their friendship..."
From Naruto facial expression, she knew she had gotten the point across. He nodded and became very serious. "I understand Kurenai-sensei. I will try to be more careful from now on."
Kurenai sighed in relief. "I'm glad you understand. Now, I have to give you all a briefing, let's go back together."
Kurenai explained they were going to travel for about 4-to-5 days for their mission and to needed to prepare accordingly. They'd have to meet at the Southern Gate in two hours. What Kurenai didn't tell her student is that she was supposed to have a special date with Asuma tonight. She had to make a detour to his house to left a note explaining the new events before going to the rendezvous point.
On the first day of travel, once they had stop for lunch, Kurenai made an announcement. "During our travels, I will teach you about chakra control. First off, I will teach you how to climb to trees once we are done with lunch. If you do well, it may increase our traveling pace."
Once she showed them how it should be done, she sat back and watched them. Thanks to her training from the Hyuga Clan, Hinata was clearly the best at chakra control. Soon, she climbed all the way to the top of her tree.
"Wow, Hinata, that's awesome," said Naruto, making her blushing.
He and Shino, however, seemed to be having more difficulty at the exercise. Naruto couldn't help but watch as Shino slowly progressed.
Naruto begin to see Shino as a potential rival, thought Kurenai with a smile. It's not really a bad thing, as long it's a friendly one.
Soon, she decided that was enough and to start walking again. The On the fifth day of travel, the three of them finally were able to climb trees without problems. She explained that since they have no difficulty with this exercise, they could jump from trees to trees. Not only was it faster but it was also more stealthy then walking on the main road. Naruto did want to try it...but soon, the forest ended and was replaced by a giant plain. They could even see the village where they were supposed to head.
"Don't worry Naruto, you will be able to try it once we go back to the Leaf Village," said Hinata to comfort him.
"Everyone," said Shino, "we should focus on the field now that we are close to the village. In fact, I'm hearing a weird sound coming from the field at 4 o'clock."
Everyone stopped immediately and her genins begin to focus.
Kurenai resisted the urge to smile at their reaction. I think I know what the source of the noise is but let see how they handled this, she thought.
Now that they stopped talking, they heard the faint sound Shino was talking about.
"I-I'll check it out," said Hinata. "BYAKUGAN!"
After a few seconds, she let a surprised sound and rushed to the border of the forest.
"H-Hey, Hinata, wait for us!" Naruto shouted, jumping after her, the rest of the team following suit.
They found Hinata removing a collar from a little rabbit. The poor thing was panicked and was making sounds as it tried to escape. She took it in her arms and tried to calm it down.
"... A rabbit? Oh, those little guys are so dangerous," Naruto grumbled. He hoped for something more exciting.
Kurenai finally smiled. "Well, from his appearance, I can tell it's a domesticated bunny. It ran off far of the village, I'm sure his owner will be overjoyed that we found it. Good work you guys, now let's keep going.
"A-Ano" Hinata squiked. Then she added, bashfully, "Kurenai sensei, may I be the one who hold it?"
"You already are holding it Hinata," laughed Kurenai.
Naruto tried to pet the little bunny but it bit him. As Naruto hollered in pain and humiliation, Shino advice that he should sterilize the wound before continuing, as rabbits can be rabies carriers. To which Naruto started screaming that he had been infected with rabies.
The whole time, Hinata smiled and petted it, who seemed to accept Hinata touch.
Hummm... Hinata may have a gift with animals, Kurenai pondered. She's very kind after all.
Even as Hinata tried to comfort Naruto, he was still in a foul mood the whole time.
"I hope that thing's owner raises them so he can eat them later," the blond grumped, casting a dark look at the rabbit. "That'd teach it!"
"Naruto-kun! Don't say things like that, p-please!"
Naruto sighed, and looked at Hinata a bit guiltily. "Fine Hinata, you win. You like the little guy don't you?
Hinata blushed slightly and looked down. "Y-Yes. I would like to have a pet but my father wouldn't approve. He's really strict about this."
And about all the rest too, sadly thought Hinata.
Naruto noticed the sadness in her eyes, so he said, "I'm sorry about what I said. I'm sure his owner must be a good person, he will surely be glad to have it back."
Naruto... She was glad he didn't seem mad anymore.
Meanwhile, Shino had a hard time concentrating... Even if he will never admit it, he wanted to pet the bunny too...
O0o0o0
After the villagers gave them a warm welcome, they were brought to the village headman's house for a briefing. The headman explained that their vegetables had started to disappear a month ago. Once a week, the farms closest to the forest got a bit of their vegetables taken. They thought it was wild animals at first so they set up fences and a few guard dogs. But the problem wasn't solved and not long ago, they even found the dead body of one of the dogs. The cause of his death is still unknown as it doesn't have any external injury on his body and seemed healthy the day before that.
Kurenai thought for a moment before turning to her genins.
"Alright, here's the plan: Shino, you are coming with me. Hinata, try to found the owner of the little bunny. Naruto will help you with his Clones. Once this is done, you two go investigate the last farm that had their crops taken."
Pausing, Kurenai closed her eyes and breathed in before continuing. "If you find the sourse of the problem, contact me immediately. You must NOT engage the source of the problem on your own and must stay together. Just try to find as much information as you can before reporting back to me. Now go!"
Once Hinata and Naruto left, she turned to Shino. "Could you put a tracking bug on them Shino?"
He nodded and after doing so, followed his sensei to the house where the dead dog has been buried. It was near the border of the forest so it took a while to get there. The old farmer was glad to show them the grave of the dog and give them a shovel.
"My sons buried him," the elder explained. "I'd have done it myself, my back is hurting a lot because of my age. They're working on the field right now, I'm sorry we can't help you more."
Kurenai thanked him and the farmer went back inside. As Shino pulled up his sleeves, Kurenai stopped him. "No Shino, I will do it. Just concentrate of removing the worms and bugs of the dead body as much as you can, understand?"
He nodded. After his teacher unearthed the corpse, he did his job and cleared the body of any invertebrates (Kurenai called them insects, but Shino pointed out that worms and several of the creatures did not have the necessary six legs to be classified at insects) that where eating it.
Kurenai visibly shuttered at her job: dissect the body to find anomaly.
After a long while, she finally understood what was wrong. The poor dog's tongue and throat were swollen, suffocating it. It dyed from air loss.
Normally, I would say it's a death by strangulation or some other form of suffocation but there's no damage to the neck, and no indication that his mouth was covered. It could be a disease or poison.
"Shino, have your bugs check to see if anything is in his lungs" she instructed. Then she shuttered as the boy held out an arm and let a line of beetles crawl down into the corpse's mouth.
Shino's eyes widen almost instantly. "There are trace residues of an organic pollutant in his lungs. It may be smoke or poison; possibly both."
Kurenai nodded: " Thanks Shino, you have been a great help."
Shino didn't answer immediately.
"I may have found a clue about how he died but it doesn't give a clue about the circumstance of his death. I assume we should, on the safe side, return to Naruto or Hinata.
"You are right Shino, we should head back. Let's bury him again and return to them."
While doing the job, Kurenai was wondering if what Shino just said was because he was concerned for his teammates.
Even for me, that boy is hard to read, she thought. I have a bad feeling however, we should regroup with Hinata and Naruto quickly...
Ironically, not long after she thought that, Shino stopped. He then showed his concern, even if it was with a neutral voice. "Kurenai, something is wrong... I'm very worried about Naruto and Hinata. I placed only one tracer bug on them since they were supposed to stick together... and the hive inside me doesn't sense it anymore."
Kurenai had a chill coming out of her spine...
Meanwhile... "dramatic music":
Hinata and Naruto didn't have any luck finding the rabbit owner's. The only person who claimed to be its owner was bitten by the little critter and hid behind Hinata afterwords, shaking in fear. After Naruto chased the beguiler away, they figured out they should stop looking for its owners and start the mission. After they asked for directions:
"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"
While the Clones headed for every farm that was pointed out, Naruto and Hinata went to the last one.
" I hope we get some butt-kicking action soon," Naruto mused aloud. "I know investigation is an important part of the ninja work but how can I prove I'm the strongest just with that?
Hinata sighed. "Th-That will come soon enough Naruto... You shouldn't wish for it."
"I know, I know," Naruto responded, "but I'm bored. We should - HUH?"
Without warning, the rabbit struggled out of Hinata's arms and ran in the direction of the farm like crazy. They were both surprised by the sudden reaction of the bunny... However, Naruto soon reacted with a grin.
"That bunny is gonna win the race if we don't hurry! C'mon!
"Na - Naruto-kun..."
But it was too late, Naruto was already running behind the rabbit. She began to run after them also, not wanting to be left behind... If she had focused more on her surrounding, maybe she wouldn't have been taking down by a surprise attack.
A man quickly removed her body from the road and hid her in the tall grass.
Chuckling darkly, he whispered, "This is way too easy. Too bad for you little girl, my poison is gonna kill you in a flash. And too bad for me, I don't have time to have some fun with you. See you again in the afterlife..."
He then rose up and went in the orange youngster's direction.
O0o0o
Naruto arrived at the farm and looked everywhere but he lost track of the bunny:
"Awwww man! The bunny ran away! Bah, anyway, I guess we should focus on the mission now-" He turned around, but Hinata wasn't there. "Huh?" He putted his hand above his eyes and scanned the road, but he didn't see her anywhere. "Hinata?"
She probably spotted the rabbit and is after it... I wish I had her eyes, they are so useful. Oh, I know! I will start investigating, I'm sure she will be impressed if I figure out something on my own!
He then looked at the terrain at the border of the forest. There wasn't any rain lately here so it should have leaved footprints or something but there wasn't anything.
Humm... I'm not very good at this. Maybe I should ask the farmers to see what happened.
Actually, at that very moment, something very rare happened to Naruto: he had a rare flash of insight!
Nobody seemed to be working on the field and the farm seemed awfully quiet. Having a bad feeling he went to the main building and investigated as stealthy as he could. He then understood what was wrong when he went to the stables.
The only noise in the air was the buzzing of flys. Before even opening the door, Naruto smelled an overpowering stench. It was a sickly-sweet, metallic smell that tasted like copper and made his stomach churn. Without realizing it, Naruto began to shake. Willing himself to press on, Naruto pushed open the doors…and then wished he hadn't.
Blood pooled on the ground before him, and in a corner, corpses were stapled together. He recognized the nauseating-copper smell now, and it was so overpowering, that he doubled over and puked. He slammed the door, his heart beating like crazy...
Hinata! I have to find her and Kurenai sensei... and fast!
He then summoned two others Shadow Clones and was preparing to order then to find his teammates when he heard the voice.
"Where do you think you are going?"
The voice was coming from the stables roof. Standing there, grinning, was a bald ninja with a big moustache, grinning evilly:
"Normally, I would just kill you but I'm almost done here so I will leave my associate deal with you."
Suddenly, Naruto and his clones were pulled down to their waists in the dirt and couldn't move their legs. The two clones vanished in a puff of smoke. A moment later, a few large moles came out of the ground. They were wearing ninja gear and holding a huge scroll.
"Aden-sama, we found it and it wasn't easy, mind you!"
"Good boys. The master will be pleased."
Quick as a flash, five Narutos stood around the trapped original. While two of them removed Naruto's legs from the ground, the others snatched the scroll from the moles and kicked them hard. Much to Naurto's surprise, they vanished with a puff of smoke
"I don't know what happening here so unless you tell me, I won't let you have the scroll!"
The ninja laughed like it was a great joke. "You are a fool... not even worrying of what happened to your teammate while you were rushing over here."
Naruto's anger suddenly vanished, and he became pale as a ghost. "What do you mean?"
"I'm going down there... if you know what's good for you, you will leave the scroll and search for your friend down the road you came from before it's too late."
He then jumped but Naruto reacted quicker. Naruto and his clones rushed to the forest. The ninja was beginning to get upset.
You want to play that badly kid? Fine... Once we are done, I will kill you...
Without wasting a second, he rushed after Naruto. Surprisingly enough however, he found the boy on his knees, crying. The scroll was just beside him, ready for the taking.
Well that was easy... My poisonous bombs will do the trick in his state...
Naruto sensed the attack coming at his back and didn't stir.
"Game over kiddo," said the enemy ninja, dropping the bomb...
Meanwhile, once again...
When the two clones beside Naruto vanished by the mole attacks, all the other knew in the same moment what was happening. Most of them went in search of his teammates and sensei. The one closest to the farm was lucky enough to find Hinata:
" HINATA !"
She was pale and breathing heavily. Her voice was nothing more than a whisper:
" Na... Naruto... where are you?"
Naruto took her hands, and said, voice shaking, "I'm here Hinata... Please! You'll be alright. D-Don't worry, I'm going to...I'm..."
He didn't know what to say. Tears began to appear and he couldn't stop them from flowing.
Hinata smiled faintly: "I...I wish I could have... stayed... by your side... I'm so... sorry Na..."
She couldn't say a other word. Her mouth dropped slowly and her chest moving air. Naruto, in panic, try to find her pulse...
There wasn't one...
Something cold and dark began to fill Naruto's Clone. The clones vanished, unable to stand those emotions... as well as the original. He fell on the ground, the image of Hinata dying in his arms, the tears filling up his eyes...
It's my fault... It's ALL my fault...
A mix of despair and anger filled his heart. He barely sensed the poisonous smoke bomb hitting his back...
He killed her...
As the poison cloud of the bomb was released, something exploded inside of him...
END OF CHAPTER
AUTHORS NOTES
I had a hard time with Microsoft Word for this chapter...