[Chapter 7: Mission Possible!]
I do not own any of the original Naruto characters.
PLEASE ENJOY :D
P.S I apologize for updating so late. I had a crapload of work to catch up on along with midterms D:
[ - ]
It had been nearly a week since Akira last spoken with Naruto. Just the thought of that night sent shivers down her spine so, she put it off as much as possible and decided to focus all her time and energy into training. Akemi put Akira through brutality however, achieved significant results. She surpassed the ninja level of genin and decided to take action in making her granddaughter into an official ninja of the leaf. Akemi spoke with Iruka-sensei and the board of the Ninja Academy and settled an agreement for a crash course Akira could attend to prepare her for the final examination. The board was doubtful and resistant toward this so they held an audition for Akira.
"Don't be nervous, Akira, you'll do fine." Akemi reassured her granddaughter, gently rubbing her back to calm her racing heart.
"Thanks grandma," Akira sighed before stepping through the entrance of the small room where her audition was being held.
Four middle aged ninja sat side-by-side along a stretched wooden table, looking at the raven haired Oita sternly. She swallowed hard as she stood before them.
"Good afternoon," Akira said quietly before bowing.
"Good afternoon, Akira," Iruka-sensei smiled. "We have a number of jutsu for you to perform, are you ready?"
"Yes, sir!" Akira straightened her back and could feel the chakra inside her fire up.
One of the board members that sat to the right of Iruka-sensei stood and held a sign with Japanese characters that wrote "clone".
"Please perform the clone jutsu," he said then planted his bum back onto his wooden chair.
Tiger, Boar, Ox, Dog. Akira swiftly performed the hand signals and a puff of smoke appeared to the left of her. Once the smoke cleared, a perfect clone of her appeared, smiling back at her. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she smiled back. Akira managed to do the remaining jutsu perfectly and was asked to leave the room for a brief moment. She slid the door open and closed it behind her, only to lean back on it in exhaustion.
"How did it go?" Akemi asked.
"I think I aced it," Akira responded.
Akira could feel the door move behind her and she immediately lifted herself and turned only to notice Iruka-sensei poke his head outside. He had a wide grin on his face, which gave Akira a sense of relief and happiness.
"Congratulations, Akira, you have been accepted into the Ninja Academy," Iruka said. "Now, I shall inform you of the ground rules."
Akira nodded her head swiftly and listened intently.
"Since you have incredible skill, it will only take 14 days to train you, but in the duration of these 14 days you are to attend every class on time, no tardiness," Iruka explained. "If you are late, you will be placed in detention. If you are ill you must bring a note the day you come back, otherwise you will be sent to the head office to discuss a punishment. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal." Akira said.
[ - ]
"Chicken Cutlet Ramen," Teuchi said then gently placed the hot bowl and platter of fried chicken in front of the starving blonde.
"Thanks old man," Naruto groaned as he slowly reached for a pair of chopsticks.
"What's wrong with you, Naruto?" Teuchi asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
Naruto slurped the noodles then swallowed hard, "The old hag has been giving me lame missions lately! She's assigning me another one later today and I can only pray that it's not another D rank mission."
"Please Kakashi-sensei, I beg of you, let me join you!"
The familiar voice made Naruto jump. He gulped the last of his ramen then twisted his body to see where the voice was coming from. There she was, Akira begging Kakashi-sensei for something. His eyebrows grew close together as he continued to eavesdrop on their conversation; however the hustle and bustle of the market place it out. The two started to drift away into the crowd and Naruto was much too curious to just sit for another bowl. He reached into his pouch, lay the money on the table and sprinted.
Naruto tried his best to follow them through the busy crowd but eventually lost sight of them. But, following them somehow brought him to the Hokage's office building. He slumped his shoulders then made his way into the building. He reached the top floor and entered Tsunade-sama's office. He noticed a beautiful blonde woman, not many years older than him, dressed in professional business attire.
"Nice of you to finally join us, Naruto." Tsuande huffed.
"Naruto, this is your client for today, Midori." Shizune introduced. "You will be escorting her to the Village of Sand."
Midori smiled and placed her hand before Naruto for a shake. He accepted and bowed slightly. Shizune approached the hot-headed hokage and whispered into her ear. Tsunade rustled through the scattered papers on her desk and scowled.
"Hmmm... this is strange..." Tsunade whispered
"What's the matter?" Naruto asked.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone available to assist you and Kakashi on this mission." She responded without taking her eyes off the desk.
"Agh Granny Tsunade, we don't need another team member," Naruto groaned. "Just the two of us is enough for a babysitting mission..."
"Naruto, shut your mouth," Tsunade hissed. "This woman is the CEO of the popular Yakiniku Q located in almost every village in the Land of Fire!"
Naruto blinked and turned to the timid, petite, young blonde standing beside Shizune. She seemed much too young to obtain such a high ranked job.
"She deals with millions upon millions of ryo and enemy nin from the Land of Sound have been hired to capture her as a ransom," Tsunade yelled. "So, I suggest you take this mission very seriously!"
Tsunade's rant was interrupted by a gentle knock on the door. She called for them to enter and Akira's head popped into the room. Naruto felt his entire body turn hot once he noticed his beautiful friend float past him and stop before the heated blonde leader. Kakashi and Akemi immediately followed behind the young konoichi in training.
"What's going on here?" Tsunade spat, eyeing Akira up and down.
Kakashi placed a hand upon Akira's shoulder and smiled under his mask, "This will be the team mate that will accompany us to the Sand."
Both Naruto and Shizune's jaws' dropped. Tsunade punched her fist onto the desk as she shot a glare straight at Kakashi.
"Do you think this is a joke? She isn't qualified for such a dangerous mission, she hasn't even graduated as a genin!" Tsunade yelled.
"Actually, we arranged a crash course with the Academy that lasted for about 2 weeks and I graduated just a couple of hours ago," Akira smiled, flashing her brand new headband that replaced her fathers'.
Tsunade shook her head, "You have no experience."
"Although I have no experience, I have the determination and skills required for even an A-rank mission!" Akira exclaimed.
"You trained for just 2 weeks and you think you have the will to KILL another ninja? Life here is different than America, princess." Tsunade hissed.
"I won't hesitate anything if it means my teammate is at risk of death," Akira sternly responded. "Just give me one chance to prove I have potential, please."
Tsunade released a long sigh and shot a look at Kakashi. She rubbed the temples of her head as she closed her eyes. Shaking her head in disappointment, she reached for the pen and quickly signed Akira's name on the mission statement.
"Akemi, you are to accompany Team Kakashi as well," Tsunade sighed.
Akemi nodded her head, "Yes, of course."
Akira smiled and leaped forward for a hug. Tsunade was completely caught off guard and had no idea how to react since this wasn't the type of reaction any of the Konoha nin have ever had when given a mission. She awkwardly hugged Akira before yanking her off.
"Now go get some rest, you are departing from Konoha tomorrow at 5AM." Tsunade said before dismissing Team Kakashi from her office.
Akira's eyes met Naruto's as they made their way toward the exit. Akira immediately looked away as she felt the temperature in her face rapidly rise. Naruto frowned and decided to overcome his fear of Akira causing him serious bodily injury. He gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him. This had taken her by complete surprise, causing Akira to make an awkward and sudden turn having her legs twist and her foot trip over the other. She immediately lost her balance, falling toward Naruto. He quickly reacted and caught her before they both fell to the ground. Her nose was touching his.
"You okay?" he smiled.
She smiled back, still blushing, "Yeah, thanks."
Akira pulled away from Naruto, still feeling embarrassed.
"I'm sorry!" the two said simultaneously.
The two continued to interrupt one another until Akira finally spoke, "Look, I overreacted that night, sorry for all the trouble." She said as she felt her face blush.
Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously, "There's really nothing to apologize, I shouldn't have looked anyway."
Akira shrugged and a warm smile lightened the mood between them. Naruto could feel his heart sink in his chest at the wonderful sight. Suddenly, she linked arms with the nervous blonde and dragged him toward the staircase that led to the exit.
"C'mon, let me show you how much I've improved this past week!"