Keisei no Suna

A/N: This is an OCxSasuke fanfic. The OC is my creation, along with any characters regarding her past and also the antagonist in the story.

Chapter 3 – Uchiha

A few days had passed since Mio and Naruto's discussion. Only two days later was she released from the hospital and given an inn to stay at for the duration of her stay, paid by the Hokage himself, she couldn't exactly argue. She found herself trudging through the streets of Konoha on a sunny, summer afternoon with a slight breeze to cool down the crowd. Mio, on the other hand, had taken the heat well as Suna was dreadful during this time of year, so she had grown accustomed to the dry heat.

That morning she had Shikamaru come by to tell her there was an important meeting and that Naruto requested she be there for it. He told her to come by around noon and left without saying anything else. If anything, she felt that the smart jounin walked on egg shells around her, which she didn't quite understand why. She admitted countless times that she had no intention on endangering Konoha. She had no gain from it so shouldn't that be enough? Wasn't greed was filled the drives of many who attack others? For something to gain?

Mio arrived at the Hokage tower easily, seeing as it was deep within the village and was in front of the Hokage monument. Five faces were carved into it which didn't interest Mio as much as it should. She was too busy dealing with the butterflies in her stomach to really pay attention to her surroundings as the thought of a meeting fogged her mind. That was one of her problems, focusing too much on such petty things that she should just take in stride. Regardless, she took in a deep breath and let it out.

"Here it goes."

"Ah, Mio, how are you feeling?" Naruto asked, a small group gathered around the table and parted to make way for the newcomer. She smiled sheepishly. "Fine. A lot better actually, thanks." She said and tried hard not to make any eye contact with anyone but the Hokage.

"Relax. I called you guys here to discuss the matter of the murder cases lately. Most importantly, the one that Mio was caught in." He eyed the girl before looking at everyone else. "Shikamaru?"

The lazy jounin nodded and spoke aloud. "We have some word that he might be staying at a small, recluse village inside the Land of Rain. However, we believe that he's heading to the Land of Earth. Reasons why, we don't exactly know, but we are trying to find out." Mio listened closely. Why would Ren go to the Land of Earth when she was here in Konoha? Why not attack her when she was about to die…

"Bastard…" She mumbled to herself, not noticing she spoke outloud. Naruto looked at her and asked worryingly, "What?" Mio looked up quickly and noticed the attention fixated on her which she shook her head. "Nothing, continue."

"Anyways. We just need to get a clue as to what Ren is up to, and if we can, stop him before these murders get out of hand." Shikamaru told them, which they all nodded. "I will be assigning Team Taka to this mission." Naruto told them, which Mio lifted a brow and awkwardly raised a hand. "Uhm…what..who?"

"Us." A male's voice brought her attention to a rather tall raven, wearing anbu uniform and a mask on. The three with him were masked as well, so Mio couldn't get a good look at him but looked confused. "Wait. Naru—Lord Hokage" catching herself before she got into some trouble with the others. "I…with all due respect I can take on this mission myself. Hell! I can just get out of your hairs and just take this as a personal thing, no need to involve yourselves!" She tried to convince him but Naruto grinned and shook his head. "This is my condition, Mio. You will not take on Ren by yourself." He told her simply.

Mio frowned, furrowing her brows. Was she really going to argue with the Hokage? She could just go against Ren herself, but at the moment she wasn't at the top of her game. Actually, she hasn't been at the top of her game for years now. So maybe having the three with her until she could handle herself…maybe she could get away—

"Alright?" Naruto said, bringing Mio's attention back down to earth.

"Alright what?" She questioned, and looked around.

"The mission. You'll leave tonight and meet up at the west gates." He explained to her. She nodded. "…Fine." Was all she said before the Hokage dismissed everyone except for Mio.

"You know the one who spoke up, the one in the middle?" Naruto asked her, as she recalled that raven haired male. "What about him?"

"He was the one that found you outside of Konoha on the verge of death, in case you wanted to know." He gave her a grin. Mio looked behind her at the closed door and sighed. "Better go thank him then." She said, before turning back and saying, "Thank you for everything."

"W-wait! Excuse me?" Mio called out to the three Anbu who walked in the hall. They stopped in their tracks and turned to her. The three had animal masks on, the one in the middle wearing a dog mask, the girl, Mio presumed from her body structure, wore a cat, and the male on the other side wore a dragon-like mask. They didn't say anything but Mio gave a shy smile before asking, "Were you the one who found me?"

"Yes, I was." He said in a monotone voice, giving the girl a shiver. Boy were anbu always serious.

"I uh…just wanted to thank you uhm…"

"Sasuke." He said bluntly, which she smiled, lighting the hallway up.

"Sasuke….thank you Sasuke. I owe you big time." She said before turning on her heels and running down the hall.

The girl beside him took her mask off, revealing deep pink locks and thick rimmed glasses. Karin, their sensor and healer of the team, was rather flustered. "That girl's chakra is very bright. Very warm too." She spoke aloud. Her teammate, the dragon masked, revealed his features as well, his white hair showing and violet eyes looking at the end of the empty hallway. "Way too bubbly for my taste." He said and looked at Sasuke, who shrugged. Turning, leaving his mask on with the other two following. He wouldn't tell his teammates that she thought she was rather bright and had a feeling she would be a problem. Most of all, he prayed that she wouldn't jeopardize this mission.

Mio had little to nothing to pack. With her scarf wrapped tightly around her slender neck, and large summoning scroll behind her, she was ready go. She did, however, stock up on the essentials, some snack bars, kunais and shurikens in case and three smoke bombs.

The blonde arrived at the gates at 9PM sharp, the three anbu ready, masks on and katana at their backs. "Ready?" Sasuke had asked Mio who nodded, casting a determined look.

"Let's roll." She said before the four vanished into the night.

Two hours into their continuous run, the team found themselves making great timing, close to the edge of the Land of Fire borders. The trip was silent, which Mio did not mind, however, she felt the awkward tension in the air. She sighed, her legs burning from the strenuous run. She was beside Sasuke, who was up front, so she fell behind, next to Karin and Suigetsu at their six. Sasuke turned his head to ask, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, not wanting to seem like a bother. "Just fine."

"We can stop if you need to rest, but we will need to push harder when we get back on the road." Suigetsu told her, which she shook her head, pulling her scroll in front of her and releasing it, quickly biting her thumb and smearing it, a poof of smoke clouded her vision then a large tiger came to her view. "Mio-san." It ran alongside her, which she smiled. "I just need a lift for a bit, please." She told her summon, who purred. "Of course."

Mio jumped onto the tiger's back, and moved below the group, as they were traveling by treetop. "I'll keep up."

Karin scoffed. "Just who does she think she is? I swear if she slows us down…"

"Karin can you shut up for a minute?" Suigetsu told her, which she turned, and glared under her mask, huffing.

"Quiet. We have company." Sasuke muttered, eying the blonde below. He was curious to know if she had sensed them as quick as he did.

Before Sasuke could ask his question, Karin spoke low, "we have three behind us and two on our sides."

"Spread out, we'll take them out one by one."

On the ground, Mio didn't dare to turn around. She felt the chakras that surrounded the group and they were definitely not friendly. Moving one arm to reach into her back pouch, she quickly swerved left, avoiding a kunai that aimed for her moving arm. "Let's play that way then." She said, and turned around, saddling the tiger backwards and performed hand signs quickly. Mio took a deep breath, and made a tunnel with her right hand and blew into it, a large ball of wind blew and she watched as the opponent above her moved into vision which allowed her to throw a kunai.

The sound of a knife imbedding into a tree trunk discouraged the girl as she turned around. She was getting rusty seeing as she hasn't fought in years. Placing her hands on the back of the tiger, she pushed, throwing herself into the air and kicking to her side, hitting a blocking shinobi.

"What do you want!?" She yelled, only to receive silence as her answer as another shinobi hit her back, knocking the wind out of her. She couldn't sense them like she did years ago in her fighting years. She closed her eyes, and suddenly felt her body thrown over someone's shoulder. She formed a fist and was about to land a hard hit to their tailbone before a voice stopped her. "Calm down, it's just me." Sasuke had told her in a low tone, and she stopped.

Karin and Suigetsu had managed to round of the shinobi in a short time, taking out a handful of the attackers, leaving only one alive. The group landed on the grand, Sasuke letting Mio down, which she nodded as a thanks and looked the man who was beaten to a bloody pulp. "Who sent you?" Sasuke questioned the shinobi who only grinned. He wasn't going to give up any information, and Mio knew this. She suddenly found herself kicking the side of his head, the male falling to his side. "Bastard, who sent you!?" She yelled, receiving a chuckle. "The beauty of the sands sure is beautiful when she's angry." Mio's eyes widened as she turned. "Let's go." She mumbled, and disappeared. Suigetsu and Karin looked to each other before their leader who nodded for them to follow her. Sasuke would finished the male off, only after the man had whispered, "Ikito-sama."