Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.
Warning: Chapter contains excessive character bonding with references to drugs and the occasional swear words. I apologize for the hiatus but more on that will be explained in the author's note below.
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Chapter Nineteen
Poker face
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"NARUTO!"
'Uh-oh', the blonde gulped, turning anxiously to face the redhead currently stomping up to him. What had he done now?
"Y-yeah, Kyuubi-chan?"
He was totally unprepared for the hug she pulled him into.
"You did it! You did it, you big dolt!", she laughed musically, "How did you get ol' grumpy over there to get back with the team?"
Naruto laughed too, casting a glance over at their sensei who was now having a quick word with Sasuke.
"Aw shucks, it was nothing, Kyuubi-chan. You know I've always been excellently diplomatic." He didn't bother mentioning in any detail, the manner in which Itachi had punished them.
"What are you two lug-heads grinning about?", Sasuke spat irritably, the moment he strode up to them - hands stuck in his pockets, and looking a bit healthier than he had the last time they'd met. Kyuubi ignored his barb and embraced him warmly too, much to his chagrin.
Naruto simply rolled his eyes.
"Dobe", Sasuke frowned, moments after being freed from the girl's generous bosom.
It was a sign that there was still some bad blood between them when Naruto didn't bother retorting in any way.
The evening was nice - and cool - and the team had gotten together for their weekday mission. No-one had expected the Uchiha to show up but it was a good thing he did. After a month or so, team three could finally be complete again.
'Or maybe, it wasn't such a good thing', Kakashi mused, sitting on the roof of his Impala, and flipping idly through random pages in his new Icha Icha book. Mere moments into the new mission, the two boys had gotten into a fracas.
A very huge one.
"Naruto. Sasuke. That's enough", he ordered, even as each boy tried to force the other head-first into a pot of manure, "I'm sure Mrs Lee wouldn't appreciate either of you getting rotted plant parts all over her backyard."
Neither boy heeded his command and in their struggle, tumbled into Kyuubi who had just been arriving with a fresh load of the stuff. The entire bowl tipped and toppled over her head, caking its fiery strands in gooey muck.
There was a brief moment of silence - a period in which Kakashi took the opportunity to sneak away - before there came a bloodcurling scream.
Hours after that, (and after nursing both boys back to health), the team resumed their chore, working steadily into the night until the matron came to relieve them.
"Oh, how splendid! You all have done such a wonderful job!", dittered the kindly, bubbly woman that was Mrs Lee, "I'll be sure to give y'all a good tip, oh yes I will!" - but by then Naruto was already in a foul mood.
The genin had tended to chickens, cleaned out the pigry and tilled manure into the soil - and that was only after they'd weeded the nursery, fed the ducks and shaved the eaves off corn cobs. It was with a dour expression that he received his tip, and as they approached their sensei, Kakashi saw it prudent to add even more woe to his misery.
"Maa, what do you think you're doing?", the elite jonin asked, pinching his nose exaggeratedly, "There's no way I'm letting you into my car - not smelling like that~"
"The fuck!", Naruto yelled, finally losing his temper, "I've had it with this! Do you hear me?! I've had it!"
Sasuke and Kyuubi - dirtied and sweaty - fell silent as the blonde began what was quickly becoming a very popular rant.
"How long do we have to keep doing this, ne?! Working these useless D-ranks?! Ever since we got back from the Wave, all you've had us do are worthless kiddie missions that ain't even worth nothing! You've seen what we are capable of! - back at the bridge! We want to improve! I want to improve! If you don't let us take C-rank missions here on out, I'm going to quit the Oniwabanshu right-fucking-now!"
Kakashi raised a bored eye over his book, "Say something, Naruto?"
"Ghjkh!", the blonde fumbled, fingers spasming with rage, "You stupid..." Oh, how he wished he could strangle the motherfucker right now...
"I think we should stick with sensei this time around", Kyuubi began uneasily. It was obvious she still held more than a few unpleasant memories of their last high ranked escapade, "I'm not sure we are altogether ready yet."
Naruto gave her an incredulous look, "That's what I'm saying! We need field experience, Kyuubi-chan! We are meant to be mercenaries, not underage labourers for soon-to-be-deceased citizens!"
A cooking saucer flew out of nowhere, striking the blonde in the back of his head. It seemed Mrs Lee hadn't retreated into her home yet.
"How rude!", she sniffed, raising her nose into the air and slamming the door of her cottage behind her.
"Itai...", Naruto groaned, rubbing the lump that had now formed on his crown, "Crazy old hag..."
"Enough", Kakashi spoke, shutting his book and rising from his position, "Our next assignment takes place tomorrow. We'll meet by nine at the bridge overlooking the Asagi lake. Come packed."
"Another mission?", Naruto uttered confusedly, but their sensei was already seated within his beloved car - "and I wasn't kidding when I mentioned it - you all need a shower."
Naruto's curses followed him all the way down the lane.
Kyuubi sighed. She'd almost forgotten just how much of a pain being around these set of people could be.
"Naruto-kun", she began, sliding up to her blonde teammate, and yawning somewhat wearily, "Sensei's right, you know? We should probably get cleaned up before heading home. There's a lake; not too far from here - I-I wouldn't mind you washing my hair...", she added suggestively.
Naruto wrinkled his nose, "Why would I want to do that? Your hair looks soooo messy. You should wash it yourself, Kyuubi-chan!"
Sasuke tried to maintain his aloof mein as Kyuubi; flushing in embarassment, proceeded to pummel the blonde into the ground.
Some things never changed, it seemed.
It was definitely cool to be back on the team again.
XXxxxXX
(Yesterday, 19:30)
"Kakashi... are you sure about this?", the bandanna-wearing jonin asked, lazily rolling the piece of senbon stuck between his teeth.
"Yare, yare... ", his masked companion replied, lone eye surveying the pack of cards unfurled in his hands, "Call. Ten."
"Wha...?", Asuma fumbled, almost dropping his cigarette in the process, "You're not bluffing, are you?"
When Kakashi simply deadpanned at him, the bearded jonin grumbled and raised his hands in defeat, "Fold. I'm out of this one."
Genma laughed, "Seriously? You're really no good at this, aren't you? I even heard one of your genin has started beating you in shogi recently." He adjusted his hand then strummed a lax look at Kakashi, "Called, I guess, but you still haven't answered my real question yet, Copycat", he pushed a number of chips to the center.
"What about you, Kurenai?", Asuma asked, turning to the only woman present in their midst.
The red-eyed beauty drew her eyes away from her viscious glaring of the deck and muttered, "Umm... I..."
She glanced at Kakashi. He glanced back.
'Damn that man!', inner Kurenai roared, 'It's always impossible to tell what he's thinking! - and that mask of his only makes it worse!'
Said masked jonin tilted his head slightly to meet her gaze.
He gave her an eye-smile.
Kurenai flushed and turned away, glaring at the third man at the table.
Genma was hard to read too, especially if you had no idea what to look for. The erratic movements of his senbon always threw all but the best off-guard, and having worked as a pro-gambler; he had become more or less a card-shark in no little terms.
She glared again at her deck.
"Call, raise thirty."
Asuma's eyebrows rose slightly at her declaration, but apart from that, no one else gave any indication of surprise.
"Called", sighed Kakashi.
"Called", Genma did too.
There was a bit of tension as they all revealed their hands, but being the top jonin they were, they all managed to keep their cool.
"Full house", Genma smirked.
Kakashi eye-smiled in return, "Full house too but Aces high", he revealed, causing the ex-pro-surfer to groan in frustration.
"Woah", Asuma exclaimed, "It seems Kurenai claims this round again, guys."
"Huh?"
"Four of a kind", the wild-haired beauty said, a seductive smile playing on her lips, "I guess this all belongs to me?"
"Woah-hoah, you're incredible, Kurenai-chan", Genma laughed, watching as the woman piled her winnings, "That's three in a row now. You better be careful, Kakashi. It seems she's catching up to even you."
"How are you doing it?", a surprised Asuma asked.
"Doing what?", she purred, glad to have found something she was better at than he was (she still hadn't forgiven him for kicking her ass at the bowling alley last week), "It's just like dispelling genjutsu. You analyse your target and look for any faults at the seams. Then you uncover what is hidden underneath the underneath. Everyone has quirks, no matter how much they cloak it - even cyclops over there." The last was directed at Kakashi who had already begun dealing new hands.
It was a rare occasion indeed that all four would find themselves without duty, so they had come together for a favorite pastime of poker night at Genma's. Due to the fact that Gai couldn't make it (something about needing to fan his nephew's flames of youth - whatever that meant), Asuma had seen the need to bring along rookie jonin Yuhi Kurenai in his stead.
A decision they were all now regretting, it seemed.
Genma fixed Kakashi a look as he finished dealing the last hands. "I still don't get it, ya know?", he finally conceded, "They're still kids, barely even fifteen. Why do you always enjoy putting their lives on the line?"
When the masked jonin didn't reply, Kurenai decided to probe politely, "What is it, Genma-san?"
"What is it?", Genma repeated. He raised his arm in frustration, "It's Kakashi! Just yesterday, he walked into my shop and retrieved a fairly-high B-rank mission... for his genin!"
Kurenai gasped.
"They can handle it", came the scarecrow's stoic reply.
"But... But I thought there was an approach to this sort of thing", the red-eyed brunette interjected, "It said so in the manual we were all given."
"Nobody reads that stuff, Kurenai!", Asuma roared in laughter, causing her to blush fiercely.
"Yeah", Genma inserted, recalling his own instructing days, "But Kakashi obviously needs to. Last two months, word was out that his team was caught in some high profile A-rank incident, and they went up against the Demon of the Mist and the B.K's own steam-armored mercer to boot."
The kunoichi's eyes widened, "Momochi Zabuza?". One of the requirements of being a top Oni jonin was to memorize almost every profile entered in the Bingo archives, and Kurenai certainly took her vocation seriously but... "B.K's steam-armored mercer?"
"He means Han of the Bakumatsu", Asuma helpfully explained, "From the useful intel Kakashi procured - he's now one of the jinchuuriki of Iwa."
Jinchuuriki.
That was another word Kurenai had been forced to get used to after assuming her position. It irked somewhat that she had been left out of the loop all this time while the younger ones of their generation; like Kakashi and Anko, had been hoarding years of jonin experience under their belts. She'd only just met the Sandaime for the first time four months ago, dammit (despite knowing his true identity all along) and it really wasn't fair! She couldn't stop the anime-style tears from flowing in her mindscape.
"Kakashi-san! You ought to be a bit more careful! I'm sure you wouldn't want to be probed by Personnel anytime soon."
"Nah", Asuma waved her off, "Tsume-san hasn't been bothered by such stuff in years. She'd probably give him a pat on the back and say 'good dog!', if she even got wind of it."
"But aren't you worried about the safety of your genin?"
"Like I said, they can handle it", the silver-haired jonin asserted, feeling a bit irked that they had decided to abandon their game for this pointless discussion, "At that age, we were fighting in the war; and, you really are awfully interested in my team, Genma. Why is that?"
"Tch", the other jonin yawned, reclining in his chair, "I couldn't care either way, but I got an investment in that little cell of yours."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "You mean Naruto?"
"Yeah. You never know just how much better he makes my day around here."
"You were the one who taught him the Taijyu Kage Bunshin, weren't you?"
Genma sputtered for a moment causing Asuma and Kurenai to drop their jaws in shock.
"No way! That blonde kid knows the kage bunshin?"
"But that's an S-rank jutsu! What if he'd died in the process?!"
(Somewhere in an abandoned alley, Naruto sneezed twice. 'Okay, that's it. I'm definitely sure I'm coming down with something.' He wiped his nose on his sleeve and turned to face the thug who had earlier tried to mug him, "Alright, you bastard! Let's finish this!")
"Hold up. Wait a minute!", Genma implored, "I didn't teach the half-pint that. I just gave him the means to learn it. He'd more than merited it anyway with the good business he brings around here - plus, he's an Uzumaki! Those kinds of jutsu were basically created for the members of his clan."
Genma's aura then darkened, "And what right do you have to turn this on me, Kakashi? - when your sensei taught you pretty much worse during his day."
The Copycat didn't reply.
"This mission", Kurenai asked testily, "What's it about?"
"Huh. Some mob chief paid a hefty sum to get rid of the business of his main competition. It's a casino on the outside but that's just to hide the true nature of the complex from the cops because there is a drug store hidden within. He wants the entire facility razed in a manner that would send a message. Anybody who gets in the way, he wants dead. Mobsters usually ain't so free with their coin, but considering exactly what this guy put forth as reward money, he means business."
"There'll be no killing", Kakashi interrupted, noticing the queasy look on the rookie's face, "Should it come to that, I'll do it myself."
There was a bit of silence as they awaited Kurenai's verdict - not that it mattered - but they all knew just how troublesome she could be.
"Kakashi-san", she finally spoke after a while, "I have a request to make?"
The silver-haired jonin raised an eyebrow.
"Allow my team to also participate in this mission!"
Now, it was Genma's turn to face-fault - along with Asuma.
"Kiba has been on my neck for something tougher for a while now", Kurenai continued nervously, "and I know Shino is discontent too, though he prefers not giving it voice. My team needs the experience and they are the best tracking cell you can get anywhere. Please accept!"
Kakashi frowned thoughtfully, already weighing the pros and cons of his answer. It was a nice proposition, especially considering just how one-sided his squad was. They could learn from this - but - there was also the matter of the Kyuubi...
He glanced subtly at Kurenai. The Sandaime wanted to keep things under wraps as much as possible, but even Kakashi knew that it would only be a matter of time before the other companies found out about the Oniwaban's jinchuuriki status. Zabuza already knew about it as it was.
Plus; there was also the small fact that he was in dire need of a very serious break.
"Yare. Yare", he sighed in his most disinterested voice, "Sure - so long as you do a little favor for me."
Kurenai eyed him suspiciously.
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Kyuubi sat serenely, legs hanging over the bank; feet wading peacefully in the lucid water. She sighed.
"I hope sensei takes all day this time. It'll definitely be worth it right now."
Sasuke glanced at her oddly before returning to his prior occupation, which was... well, brooding. He'd decided to rest atop the branch of a nearby tree, quite unlike Naruto, who had had no qualms about stripping to his boxers (Kyuubi had squealed at this) and diving headfirst into the lake. The blonde was now reclining in the water, lazily flapping his arms to keep him afloat.
Kyuubi smirked. 'That Naruto, he truly has no worries', she thought, '...and an amazing body to boot! But then...'. Her eyes narrowed.
Where a rather painful scar should have been, lay a smooth layer of skin stretched across four-sets of well-toned abdominal muscles. There was only the slightest evidence of scar tissue, a far cry from what should have been proof of his near-fatal injury at the bridge.
Kyuubi frowned. She had always wondered how Naruto had survived her attack back at the Wave but she'd never bothered to give voice to her thoughts on the matter.
Could it be that she had done something to him? Something that made him live? She'd seen enough of those god-awful vampire movies (you know the ones) to know that certain species could transfer a potent serum or healing agent via their blood. Was that what she had done? Come to think of it, was that what she was? A vampire?
She chuckled. Despite promising her sensei that she would accept whatever... no, whomever, she was wholeheartedly, she hadn't let the matter drop ever since the Bridge incident. She had pulled up every record available on the Hanataka she could find and had googled every single one of her trademark characteristics - from the flaming chakra to the speedy regeneration, and had gotten... jacksquat. (Oh, except a picture of some cool, nine-tailed fictional creature known as a Pokemon.)
Backed into a corner, she had turned to her parents, despite recalling vividly the looks of horror on their faces the first time she'd manifested. Unfortunately, her mother had fled in tears the second the question left her mouth, and her father; pulling her aside, had informed her that Senna blamed herself for whatever might have occured. He disclosed that the good doctor; Mr Sarutobi, had proposed that her condition could be a result of chakra poisoning from birth or something more severe and that it was prudent they took a little more time to monitor the situation before jumping to conclusions. Nonetheless, Kyuubi - despite being unsatisfied with the explanation (it was the same thing they mentioned before dammit!) - knew she could never bring herself to question them again. Her mother's pained reaction told it all. She loved her parents and trusted them whole-heartedly. They would never hide anything from her.
Right?
She sighed and stared at her blonde teammate.
That said, what did Naruto think of me?
She'd never gotten the chance to ask him, and he'd never brought it up either, but he had seen her transformation that day. 'Had he told Sasuke?', Kyuubi wondered frightenedly, suddenly glancing shrewdly at the brooding boy, 'It was very possible. They were best friends, after all... but...'
Naruto's behaviour towards her hadn't changed since their mission. He'd gotten a bit more mature and had stopped making advances at her, but it was also possible that he was simply putting up a front. She twirled her fingers nervously.
The reason she had drifted closer to him was to try probing his mind in order to evoke some sort of response - be it fear, distrust or loathing. So far, however, Naruto hadn't shown any of these. He'd simply acted like... Naruto.
Unable to take the frustration any longer, the red-haired spitfire got up abruptly and waded over to her friend. The blonde didn't look up until she had cast an obvious shadow over his face.
"Kyuubi-chan?"
"Naruto", the girl began, suddenly beginning to feel a bit flustered (where did that come from?), "We need to tal..."
"Woah-hoah! How are you doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"That!", the blonde replied, his eyes the size of dinner-plates.
Kyuubi growled annoyedly, "What are you talking about, Naru...", only to realize belatedly that in her rage, she had water-walked across the length of the lake without knowing she'd done so.
Naruto had now twisted positions mid-swim to stare up at her and Sasuke too; intriguingly, though he tried to mask it behind a somewhat nonchalant demeanour.
"Come on, spit it out", Naruto urged.
"It's nothing really - just water-walking. Kaka - " She had meant to say Kakashi-sensei taught me, but quickly realized the impact such a statement would have. It would only have brought about more questions as to why she had been training alone with their teacher...
More perveted questions on Naruto's part.
"My dad taught me", she finished lamely instead.
However, before anymore could be said, there was a honk and soon, a not-too-familiar convertible had pulled up at the edge of the lake.
"YAHOO!", yelled a voice Kyuubi was sure she should know, and not a second later; a feral-looking boy had hopped out of the vehicle, scraggy-looking puppy in toll, "Alright, Akamaru! Let's hit the lake!"
"A-ano, K-kiba-kun, I-I'm not sure sensei brought us out here for a swim", a short lavender-haired girl spoke, appearing moments after him.
Kyuubi brightened immediately. "Hinata! -", she had begun to call but then Kiba dive-bombed into the lake with such a force that she was momentarily thrown off her feet.
"What the - ?", Naruto yelled, hacking and spitting out lake water, "Kiba?! You stupid git! What do you think you're doing?"
The Inuzuka perked up at the mention of his name and turned to growl at the blonde - dog following suit, "Naruto? What the fuck? What are you doing here?"
"I asked you that question first, you witless mutt!"
Kyuubi sighed, ignoring the brawling boys and turning back to the bank. Sasuke was on his feet now, shuriken held threatingly in both hands. Two other people had appeared behind Hinata.
"Uchiha", a short, stoic greeting came.
"Aburame.", Sasuke grunted back.
Hinata flushed as she was caught in the middle of the now pissing contest.
Kyuubi raised an eyebrow. 'Why were they here?'
It was then that she caught sight of the tall, red-eyed woman who spared her a small smile in return.
"Everybody, settle down. My name is Kurenai Yuhi. I'll be handling your missions for today."
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"Is there something on my face?", Kurenai couldn't help asking, once they were settled in a small glade underneath the nearby trees.
Naruto narrowed his gaze, "What happened to Kakashi-sensei?"
"He was called off on duty, but I'm more than capable of filling in for him."
The blonde snorted, earning him a sharp nudge from his female teammate.
Kurenai smiled. She had already gotten the full profile on team dynamics from the one-eyed jonin. He'd said the best she could do to keep them in line was ignore them, but Yuhi Kurenai wasn't called the ice queen of the Oniwabanshu for nothing.
"Alright. That's enough", she said sternly, eyes steeling over, "Since we've all introduced ourselves, I will now brief you on the assignment so we can begin right away."
"Wait. Are we gonna be working with these guys?", the blonde interrupted once more, gesturing at Kiba.
"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"
Naruto snorted again, causing Kurenai to frown. The blonde was definitely a tough one, but she had broken many a man several decades more experienced than he was.
Suddenly, Naruto felt a sense of breathlessness overtake him and before he even realized it, he was on his feet, causing everyone to stare at him in horror. He frowned and wondered what they were gawking at, only to glance downwards... to find that he was now totally butt-naked; his boxers pulled to his ankles, and a tiny, irregular weenie exposed to the world.
He screamed.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Naruto?", Kyuubi yelled, but it was Sasuke's knock to the skull that forced the blonde to calm, who quickly patted himself down only to find his boxers and trunks still in place. The blonde looked at Kurenai in shock while every other person stared (or glared in Kyuubi's case) at him strangely.
"Is something wrong, Naruto?", the jonin asked sweetly.
"N-no ma'am", he answered, snapping to a salute. He was never - EVER - going to attempt getting on her bad side again. Shit. Such an ordeal certainly couldn't be good for his health.
Kurenai spent the next fifteen minutes going over the mission details with them. They would be staking out a pretty notorious casino in the mid-town areas of Konoha tonight. The activities of the casino weren't their business, however. Their true mission lay in the ware-house hidden within. (Bummer, Naruto had whispered to Kyuubi, and here I thought we'd be asked to rob the vault like they did in Ocean's...)
Kurenai had stated that she would be going to gleen whatever she could from the inside, while the rest (being minors) would be formed into three teams and tasked with scoping the perimeter - including memorizing guard schedules, observing the clientelle, and uncovering any hidden entrances. Their target was to sabotage the warehouse in such manner as to be purposeful, but they also had to take utmost care since security was definitely not going to be lax. That, and they didn't want to end up revealing their identities.
Naruto grinned. This was going to be fun.
"Um, would you need help with that?", Kyuubi asked, noticing Kurenai try - and fail - to clean a mud stain off her car. The team had decided to regroup later that evening and the boys were already dispersing as it was. Shino had been the first to leave, followed quickly by Sasuke. Kyuubi shrugged at the incidence. She'd make sure to ask Naruto why the raven-haired male had been acting even more emo than usual.
"No, it's alright. I've got it."
The elder kunoichi finished the chore with a satisfied 'hmmph', before turning to face the teen; diligently cleaning her hands with the smooth rag.
"So, Hanataka Kyuubi, right?"
"Kurenai-sensei?"
"..."
"..."
"Your eyes are so awesome!", both women squealed at the same time causing Naruto and Kiba to turn and watch the scene in shock.
"Oh, I've always wanted to meet a kindred soul", Kyuubi moaned, "You have no idea how horrible it is having bear this burden alone! I thought it was just me and my mom!"
"I felt the same way too, dear! I can't even begin to mention how happy I am."
The women grinned again before melding into a hug. Naruto leered as he watched their lascivious assets mash appealingly against each other.
"Aww. You wouldn't be needing another member in that now, would you?", he inserted.
Both women immediately bonked him on the head, "Shut up, you perv!"
"Itai!"
'Naruto-kun', Hinata flushed violently, from where she was quietly watching the scene.
"So", Kurenai continued, remembering her part of the bargain with Kakashi, "Your sensei told me that you are currently taking a beginner's program in genjutsu?"
"Yeah", the redhead replied, rubbing an arm embarrasingly, "I really have very little jutsu knowledge. Plus, it would be the best way to complement my team - the others are more combat-oriented than I am." She left out the tiny bit of information that she needed to learn genjutsu in order to acquire the control required to harness her volatile chakra.
"Well, I am something of an illusion master myself", Kurenai stated gently, "Genjutsu is one of the least appreciated forms of the combat arts, so it pleases me to see a member of this new generation take an interest in it. Maybe, I can show you a few pointers later if you want?"
"That would be awesome."
It was a little while yet till they were done and Kurenai had driven off with her remaining students in tow, leaving Kyuubi and Naruto to their own devices. Of course, the blonde; being the gentleman he was, had decided to walk her home.
Not that Kyuubi minded.
'It's not a date', she stubbornly insisted to herself, even as she sidled up to her blonde counterpart as they walked down a busy street, 'I'm simply walking with him so I can glean any information he has on Sasuke. That, and to find out exactly what he thinks of me.'
"Kyuubi-chan?"
'It's not a date. It's not a date', she repeated unconsciously to herself.
"There's a ramen stand nearby. Would you mind..."
"It's not a date!"
There was an awkward silence that followed her proclamation (loud enough to turn the heads of a few passers-by) and it was only after a few moments had passed that the stunned redhead realized what had actually escaped her mouth.
Oh no.
"Naruto, I'm s-"
"I never said it was!", the blonde snapped angrily, an unusual fierceness clouding his looks, "I wanted to ask if you wouldn't mind waiting here a bit while I ran to pick some beef. Do you have to act like I'm the fucking plague everytime I'm within ten feet of you? What the fuck is your problem with me anyway?!"
Kyuubi was only slightly aware that her eyes were now the size of dinner-plates.
Naruto? He feels I treat him like a plague? But... but... I thought that's exactly the way he should be thinking of me?
"Naruto, I'm -"
"You know what? Forget this!", the blonde snarled, turning on the spot, "It probably was the stupidest idea I'd ever gotten anyway. Walking with you? Who was I kidding? I've forgotten just who exactly I've been talking to."
"Hey, wait, Naruto...!"
But then he was lost in the sea of people, before Kyuubi could say another word.
'Stupid!', the redhead growled, smashing a fist against a nearby wall, 'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' Why did she always have to make everything go wrong? She'd just wanted to talk to him, she hadn't meant to act so nervous. Where the hell did those other thoughts come from anyway? Was she really that averse to the thought of going on a date with her teammate?
"He must really hate me", she muttered, a saddened look crossing her face. Taking a turn, she began walking miserably back to her own home.
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Of course, the first thing Kyuubi had done immediately they met up that night was to try approaching the blonde. However, he proved equally as skilfull at avoiding her as he was at annoying other people. Right now, he was lodged in a faux conversation with Hinata and Shino; and the redhead, not wanting to seem rude, was forced to stand beside Sasuke and simply watch them.
They were all donned in black, as Kurenai had advised. Well, except their sensei - who flaunted a rather appealing red number made even more alluring by the shawl of see-through green draped over it. She was going to play the role of the seemingly rambunctious gambler after all.
Kyuubi had traded her normal wear for a pair of black combat pants and mid-riff top, while Sasuke had simply thrown on a black hoodie. Hinata and Shino had switched to darker versions of their original outfits but it was Naruto who went all out the most; dressed in an all-black mug suit with matching head warmer to hide his blonde hair. The two teams were now gathered around the jonin who was delivering last minute instructions.
"I'm going to be dividing you into pairs, so we can get this done quickly and efficiently. ETA will be in an hour and I expect this phase to be completed in double that time."
Kiba; dressed in black sweats, was perched upon a branch, performing look-out of the park which they had made their rendezvous point. When he gave Kurenai the OK sign, she continued.
"Kyuubi and Hinata-chan, you're team one", she ordered, unfurling a rather crudely-drawn map, "I want you both on this rooftop marked X. You'd have a direct line of vision to the casino from this point. Your job - you'll need to concentrate, girls. You'll be watching the entrace and observing everyone who goes in or out. I doubt the owner would be stupid enough to traffick his drugs via the main gates but let's see if you can pick up on specific personnell who have duties different from those of the others. Oh, and do make sure to memorize all guard schedules."
She looked at the girls, "Hinata's Byakugan will be of great aid here and it would be excellent practice for your observation skills, Kyuubi-chan." She didn't bother adding that she was also pairing them together to lessen the risk of any intimate frivolity with the boys. Teen hormones were always all over the place, and pairing any of them together might result in less than appropriate results. The jonin instructor hand manual had more than elaborated on such things, and Kurenai would be damned before she was called anything other than a stickler for rules!
"Shino, you're with Sasuke", she ordered next, facing the two sub-emotionless boys, "You're taking point B. You'll both be in charge of sweeping the entirety of this area. I want to know what sort of neighbourhood this is and the kind of traffic that flows within this region. Map out the roads and nature of the streets, and note any alleys or exit ways you might find. Shino; you'd be taking command."
Sasuke frowned minimally at this but Kurenai couldn't care less what he thought. Shino was specifally clan-made for these sort of missions. The range of his information gathering skills were far more impressive than even most jonin.
"Hold on! Does that mean me and dog-boy over here get to be the last team?!"
Kurenai sighed inwardly. She'd more than expected this, and yet, she glared hard at the blonde.
"Yes, you are, and you better take this seriously, Naruto, or we'll be cutting you out of this mission."
Kiba snickered, causing his sensei to turn to him, "And you too, Inuzuka Kiba! Behave yourself! I'm sure you wouldn't want your mother to hear of this insubordination."
That forced the feral boy to pale noticeably and he too fell quiet.
"You're team C. You have the most dangerous of the three assignments so you'd have to be much more careful. While I'm doing recon on the inside, you two will be scoping the perimeter from the out. Scour the entire building and most importantly, stick to the shadows! Do not raise any alarms and avoid patrols at all costs! I want you to clear the parking lots and the building in general and see if you can uncover any hidden entrances to the warehouse. Kiba, take charge. Naruto; follow his nose."
Like Sasuke, the blonde frowned irritably at being ordered to follow but he too, kept his complaints to himself.
Kurenai sighed, withdrawing a small gradesheet, "Now, in tradition with what we usually do, I'll be grading your progress at the end of the day" - yes, yes, her precious manual had also advised on the neccessity of this - "Team two, you know what this is used for. It'll give a good projection of your strengths and weaknesses by the end of the month, and the specific areas you've got to improve..."
Naruto snickered briefly at this only to shut it when the wild-haired woman rounded on him.
"Oh, and I'll also be grading your team, Naruto-kun", Kurenai smiled falsely, showing white teeth, "You can take it as seriously as you want but your sensei agreed that whoever got the lowest grades would not be learning the new jutsu he has to teach."
That got Naruto to turn stone serious.
Kurenai smiled appreciatively at him, "Now then, team. It's time to move out!"
XXxxxXX
That was thirty minutes ago.
Hyuuga Hinata and Hantaka Kyuubi had now successfully made it to their designated location, by climbing through a sky hole, but they were in for a great shock.
"G-guards!", the lavender-eyed girl eeped, causing Kyuubi to duck to the ground.
"Where?", the redhead whispered, glancing nervously in return. Kurenai's orders were clear. They were not to engage.
"N-no, not here", Hinata corrected, also dropping subtly to the concrete, "T-they a-are not on our rooftop but they are p-packed a-across the ot-other ones." She took a deep breath to control her stuttering, "A-ano, I d-don't think they can see us... yet... b-but they are definitely a-armed."
"How can you see them?", Kyuubi asked, still keeping to the floor. Her eyesight was usually sharper than most in the dark so if she missed it...
"They are dressed in midnight black t-too, so t-they'll be h-hard to n-notice unless you look twice", Hinata quietly replied, "It was their chakra signatures that alerted me to their presence."
"Chakra signatures?"
The heiress simply nodded.
Kyuubi stared dumbly at her for a moment (could Hinata-chan sense chakra?) before finally speaking, "Kurenai-sensei must have suspected as much then. Must be why she set us at a location a rather fair distance away."
She raised her head and chanced a peek across the streets. Now that she knew what to look for, she could also make out a few shapes transversing across the adjacent rooftops. Some distance away, she thought she even saw the light of a cigar.
"Hinata."
No answer.
"Hinata?"
She turned to find the other girl drawing odd circles on the ground and humming to herself, "Are you alright? Hinata?"
The humming girl eeped and immediately flushed an atrocious colour, "I'm f-fine, K-kyuubi-chan. W-what is it?"
The redhead looked at her sceptically, "Riiight. Can you make out anything else with those senses of yours? Like, the number of guards or the kind of weapons they carry?..."
The Hyuuga flashed through a small number of seals in response, "Byakugan!"
'What the hell?!', Kyuubi thought, almost jumping back in shock. The veins around the girl's eyes had bulged to pronounced levels, and tissues were now visible in the usually pupil-less organ.
Un-pertubed by her reaction, Hinata focused sharply on her targets, "T-there are eleven men in all. Two at three o' clock. T-three directly on top of casino. The other six are scattered randomly in pairs across the other rooftops."
A pause.
"A-anosa, they seem to be armed with some sort of short weapons, K-Kyuubi-chan. Definitely not swords. W-what do you think it might be?"
The redhead shrugged, "Tasers maybe? That's what the Shinsengumi use right?"
She noticed Hinata looking at her strangely from the corner of her eye.
"What?"
"Y-your hair."
"What's up with my hair?", she asked, wondering if Hinata was also one of those other fashion freaks.
"I-it's almost b-black."
Kyuubi pulled a small strand over her shoulder and stared at it in shock. Was that what it always looked like? The silky lock was now a very, dark red that could have been mistaken for black in the poor of the light.
"Is that a partial henge?", Hinata asked with interest, "T-that's v-very impressive, Kyuubi-chan. I had no idea you could do those."
The girl didn't reply.
What could it be? A chakra transformation?
She noticed the slight manner her hair shimmered each time she brushed a hand across it - but she hadn't activated any transformation... knowingly. Was her chakra reacting to the fact that she was supposed to be in stealth mode?
She glanced at the heiress awkwardly, "Can you make out anything else with those... those eyes of yours?"
Hinata squinted, a small frown marring her features, "A-ano, I-I guess... I'm not as g-good as Neji-nii-san, but I can make out the entrance and the small amount of security lined about. T-there seems to be an odd stand of sorts next to the door. A detector; I think. I can't make out the people going through it though."
Kyuubi marvelled in wonder. She could barely even see below her eye-level, not much to talk of above the other buildings lined in front of them.
"Would you need to get closer?", she asked, now realizing why their sensei hadn't issued them any binoculars.
The shorter girl looked at her in horror, "B-but we might get seen by the guards!"
Kyuubi smirked, "Even if it comes to that, we can take them. There's gotta be a gray area in their patrol where we can set watch without attracting any attention."
Hinata fell quiet for a few moments before replying, "T-there's an unwatched spot atop a mall a few metres up left. I-it's the smallest bit h-higher than the surrounding areas so w-we'd have to crouch, a-ano, but how are we going to reach it?"
"Leave that to me", the redhead smiled confidently. Maybe, it was time to show just how much she'd developed since her training with Kakashi began.
"Are you sure about this?", Hinata asked, once she was secured piggy-back style along the other girl's back.
"Poosh", Kyuubi declared nonchalantly, blowing a strand of hair out of her face, "Just keep an eye out and tell me which way to go."
"O-okay... the right side is occupied n-now. Start with the building to your left...", but Kyuubi was already on it.
Focusing chakra to the soles of her feet with a single seal, the young girl took off in a sleek run - despite the added weight on her back. Hinata had been a bit distracted by the flames of red chakra she noted amassing around the girl's feet, and as such was unprepared for the sensation of weightlessness that hit her a few minutes later.
Only her mercer training prevented her from screaming in shock and giving their position away.
Seconds later, they were hitting solid ground, the odd chakra buffering the impact of their landing.
"Hinata, where?", Kyuubi asked, still skidding with her momentum.
The young heiress scanned the scene again , "C-continue advancing from the left - in a half circle...!"
There was another run and jump - and with an impressive leap; Kyuubi was streaking silently through air once more. Hinata tried not to glance at the busy streets below them or those beautiful, flashing neon lights; even as the redhead landed and sprung forward once again - almost missing her target this time - before coiling into another...
"D-duck!"
The redhead rolled gracelessly with her momentum, hurting the Hyuga more than a bit in the process.
"T-the g-guards over there are l-looking our way", she quietly pointed out at Kyuubi's silent query, "T-they might have noticed our movements but they don't seem to be quite sure."
Kyuubi chanced a glance to her right, "Fuck!", she cursed, making the other girl colour some at the violent language, "Those goons at the other end have a clear view of our position. We need to move before someone sees us!"
"B-but...", Hinata was conflicted. The men she had been watching earlier were now waving torches in their direction. What to do...?
But Kyuubi made that decision for them.
Grabbing Hinata, the fiery redhead calmly rolled sideways; off the rooftop, only to make a daring leap the moment her last foot had left solid ground.
Hinata couldn't hide her scream this time, although luckily; it ended up being drowned out by the rush of wind.
"Oh no... t-that b-building is too h-high! K-kyuubi-chan! T-there's no way we can make it to the top! We are bound for collision...!"
However, she was shocked for the umpteenth time that night when the redhead twisted mid-air with feline-like grace to catch her footing on the trunk of a window pane. The young girl barely wasted any time getting used to their new perpendicular position before she was hurtling up the length of the building, still lugging a frightened Hinata in tow.
A guard flashed a torch sharply at the unexpected blur only to be met with an empty area.
He scratched his head.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
(With Naruto and Kiba)
The two brash males hadn't gotten off to an easy start. It was one thing to even manage getting this close to the premises, but how the hell were they supposed to successfully map out the entire area?! What with the number of henchmen hanging around, and the fact that despite Kurenai explicitly stating that Kiba was to be the leader, Naruto had already managed to get into his first disagreement of the night.
"No way!", he hissed, glaring angrily at the boy before him, "You cannot possibly hide an illegal stock in some warehouse adjoining your cover. Trust me, it's gotta be underground!"
"This ain't one of those secret agent flicks, you idiot!", Kiba angrily fired back, "You ain't no Arthur Lupin the Third! How do you search for an underground facility you have no idea about? Start digging with a shovel? I say we start our inspection from the back and work our way up from there!"
Naruto, of course, knew right from the beginning that Kiba had the better point but it would be a monsoon in hell before he readily admitted it to the bastard. His suggestion would only end up making their jobs harder than it already was! He sighed. Nontheless, he couldn't deny that he was growing tired of the prickly rose bushes they were hiding in with each passing second.
"Alright. Alright", he groaned, pinching his nose and wishing this wouldn't turn out to be something he would regret, "We do this your way. How good is your henge?"
"I'm starting from the back whether you like it or not, you half-witted... huh?", Kiba pulled up short, not expecting the argument to be quelled fairly easily, "Okay, I guess. Why?"
"Sticking to the shadows won't work this close to the building", the blonde explained, "Not with the amount of lights and people milling about, not to mention; any security cameras that might be hidden here. We'd have to transform into guards." He looked at Akamaru, "Though I'm not sure what to do with the dog."
Kiba snorted, "Don't worry about Akamaru! He's an Inuzuka breed. He was trained for this!"
Naruto nodded, chancing a peek through the bushes, "Coast's clear. We'd have to morph quickly and move out without anyone seeing us. On the count of..."
Kiba shouldered past him, "Don't inflate your ego just yet, dung bag. I'm still the one running this shenanigan."
He was shocked by the blonde grabbing him around the neck, in a vicious chokehold.
"W-hat the...?!", he struggled violently, lashing out with his claws.
"The fuck! Lay still, dammit! Someone's coming!"
Kiba managed to still himself in the nick of time as one of the black-suited men walked up to their brush, head roving left and right. All three mercers (including Akamaru) held their breaths, wondering if they'd been found out, or were soon to be...
However, rather than rifle through their position or radio his colleagues via his walkie, the man did what they least expected.
He grabbed his weenie and took a pee.
Naruto felt his temple throb.
'Let me at him! Let me at the bastard!', Kiba struggled viciously in his grip, intent on carrying out bodily harm on the man who had come very close to wetting his Vans. The blonde struggled to hold him in place, feeling the beginnings of a slight migraine.
"Aaaaaaah", the guard declared, finishing his business with a soft sigh and zipping the fly of his cheap suit. Naruto was pretty much cock-sure that he wouldn't be forgetting the eye-full he'd just received... (He decided to ignore his use of the word 'cock' in that statement too).
However, just when it seemed like the goon was done, and Kiba could finally calm from his murderous high; the still oblivious motherfucker decided to pull a 180 on them and take opportunity of the free time to have a quick smoke.
Naruto and Kiba shared a frightened look.
"Mami?", the man called, now puffing a plume of smoke over the phone, "What's up baby? It's your boy; Jinosuke... Yeah, I'm still on the job... You missing me already?", a perverted giggle, "... I'm missing ya too, baby. You know how it is... yeah... what am I thinking now?", he grabbed his sack, "I'm thinking of all the things I'm gonna do to ya, when I get back... Just you wait... I can picture it now, mami. Me and you, over the counter, nothing but your skirt and apron and..."
Now stuck inbetween the bushes and a horny man - the stench of piss and cigarette smoke assaulting their noses - both boys seemed to reach an epiphany of sorts at the same time. They looked to each other and nodded.
"Yeah, baby, you know I love it slow... I'm gonna give it to you... just the way you lik... mmph!"
It was hours later, at four pm the next day, that the guard would come to; all naked and bruised, to find himself riding a cargo train to Suna (courtesy of one of Naruto's clones); no recollection of how he got there. Meanwhile, the two boys had now emerged from their hiding spot, brushing the last of the grass stains off their clothes.
"Shoulda let me gouge him", Kiba complained; nose still stinging from the abuse it had been put through earlier. Naruto spared a glance at him before bringing his palms together and performing a perfect henge, transforming into a rather inauspicious disguise.
"We'll perform our own individual sweeps first and see what we can find before meeting up. I'll advance through that section while you go down this way", Naruto directed, ignoring the sour look the boy threw him, "I hope your nose's back in top shape, Kiba. We'll be needing it."
The scraggy teen finally nodded, performing his own version of the henge which turned out to hide his dog as well (a combination technique), "Alright then. Stay away from those detectors, ramen breath. Let's go sniff out some coke!"
He then proceeded to vanish in a swirl of leaves and smoke.
Naruto raised an eyebrow. 'Shunshin no jutsu? Where had dog-shit learned that from?' He frowned as he recalled that he still hadn't learnt anything substantial from their supposed sensei (he'd mastered Delayed jutsu on his own, after all). Sighing, he turned on his feet and proceeded to carry out his earlier objective.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
(Back with Hinata and Kyuubi)
The two girls were panting heavily on the floor, neither willing to speak after the near-adventure they had encountered just now.
Eventually, it was Hinata who composed herself and crawled over to the edge, subtly peering at the target building now a shorter distance away from them. Kyuubi joined her moments later.
"Better?", the redhead asked, still panting from the exertion.
Hinata turned, a somewhat angry look on her visage, surprising the usually volatile redhead, "Y-you a-alm-most g-got us c-aught, Kyuubi-chan! O-or w-worse, k-killed! H-how c-could you?", in her despair, her stuttering had become more pronounced, "W-where - where did you learn such an awesome justu from?"
Kyuubi gaped at her in silent shock for a moment but when she finally spoke, she did so with a pleased lilt, "It was nothing, Hinata-chan. Most mercers can do it anyway. It's simply channeling chakra to your limbs to increase the strength of your stride and jumps. No big." She didn't bother adding that there were probably few mercenaries alive who would have been able to jump as far as she could.
"B-but, b-but, what about your chakra? It was red and it felt so... so..."
Kyuubi joined the girl across the ledge, a silent look adorning her features, "But it's nothing compared to yours isn't it, Hinata-chan? You can see better now, right?"
The girl flushed and nodded, "A-ano, I-I can make out the f-features of all the guards now, and the w-weapons they carry. You were right, Kyuubi-chan. They all seem to possess tasers of some sort. A few own some shuriken but that's about it."
She focused some more, "J-judging by the strength of their coils, I'd s-say n-none of them are mercenaries... they seem to have limited chakra knowledge, though."
"You can see through walls right?", Kyuubi pointed out, "What can you see from here? Can you make out Kurenai-sensei?"
Hinata frowned, "Barely. Majority of the halls seem to be lined with a chakra-coating metal of sorts. C-constantan, I think. Whoever the owner is, he definitely took our abilities into consideration."
Kyuubi let out a small whistle, "How many poker tables are in there?"
Hinata giggled, "I'm not really sure due to all the interference. But, I'd say twenty. Give or take."
"What about toilets?"
"Eeek!", the lavender-haired girl covered her eyes, flushing daintily in the process (the redhead envied her for this unique colouring ability), "I'm not supposed to do that!" but then she chanced a look, "There are three rooms; two ladies and one men's. I can't tell the number of stalls."
"What colour are my panties?", Kyuubi asked off-handedly.
"Kyuubi-chan!", Hinata shrieked, scandalized.
The redhead grinned back, "What?! An ability like yours? Who's to say there's no peeping tom out there reaping its benefits?"
Kyuubi sighed and trained her eyes back on the activity in front of them, "But I'm curious, you know? What sort of ability is that?"
"Umm, it's the Byakugan, Kyuubi-chan", Hinata replied shortly.
"Byakugan?"
"Mm-hmm", a cute nod, "It's a kekkei-genkai passed down among the members of my clan. It gives us a wide range of abilities; including the ability to see distant objects clearly, pierce through barriers, and observe the human chakra system."
Kyuubi stilled. Had Hinata noticed anything strange about her chakra? About her?
If the heiress had, she thankfully didn't bother to mention it, "More experienced members of my clan are able to give the exact details of a person's health or thoughts just by watching them, then of course, there's the 360 degree line of vision... and I know it's four fingers you're holding up, Kyuubi-chan", she finished with a giggle.
"Aww, no fair", the Hanataka pouted, "That's very impressive, Hinata-chan. I've only seen one other of such techniques (she shuddered as she remembered Kakashi's eye). Funny thing is, most people would think you're blind when you can even see ten times better than they could! No offense meant of course." She wondered if there would be any possible way to channel her chakra to her pupils like she'd done with her limbs. She'd have to run it over with Kakashi-sensei first but if it were possible, the benefits would simply be awesome!
The Hyuga spoke quietly, bringing her out of her reverie, "Sasuke-kun should have something similar, shouldn't he?"
"No", she wrinkled her nose, "Why?"
Hinata looked at her oddly, "But he's an Uchiha."
"So?", then she remembered. The moment after Kakashi had recovered from his battle with Zabuza, Sasuke was unusually bothered that their teacher possessed the sha... Sha... Sharinden?, and he'd stated himself that it belonged to his family. But... she'd never seen him use it before, had she?
Then it her. The flashes of red in his pupils during their battle with Kakashi. The migraines that followed after his fight with Haku. The collapse in the middle of Konoha. His self-imposed exile following that. His recent subdued behaviour... Naruto's secretive actions.
She slapped a hand to her fore-head, "I'm such an idiot..."
"N-naruto-kun..."
"Huh?", Kyuubi asked.
Hinata blushed and repeated again, "N-nar-Naruto-kun! Him and Kiba-kun just crawled out of a flower bed and jumped a guard right now."
"What?! You can see them?! Those idiots! They'd throw our mission in jeopardy!"
Hinata seemed to fidget unusually, "It's n-not his fault. Naruto-kun is a bit impatient is all."
"Yeah and reckless too!"
"Daring..."
"Headstrong."
"Self-willed..."
"Loud mouthed!"
"Un-yielding..."
Kyuubi smiled, "Hinata, is there something you wish to tell?"
Were it not for the fact that they were on a very important mission, the heiress was sure she would have fainted by now.
"A-ano, n-nothing, n-nothing, Kyuubi-chan...!"
However, the redhead was having none of that. "Come to think of it", she hummed, "You've always acted strangely around him way back since boot camp..."
Kyuubi shot her a sharp look, "Were you guys dating or something, Hinata-chan? If he broke your heart, I'll make sure to break his skull!"
"N-no! That's not it at all!", Hinata cried, sure that her heart had stopped beating for a few seconds, "N-naruto-kun would never do such a thing!"
When Kyuubi didn't reply, the girl turned away and continued her observation, "It's just that... It's just... I..."
"You love him?"
Hinata softly shook her head, "I... I can't say. But I owe him my life..."
There was a brief silence that followed that powerful statement and Kyuubi generously allowed her friend to gather her thoughts.
"Naruto made me who I am today", she stammered, tears gathering around her eyes as she recalled a rather fond memory, "When I was younger, I was far more timid than I am now."
"You're not timid, Hinata-chan", Kyuubi growled, causing the girl to spare her a small smile.
"My bodyguard had overlooked me for a few minutes, and a trio of bullies had cornered me at the swing I usually sat on." A small tear. "They kicked dirt at me and called me weak. Useless. They said my rich background wasn't good for one who was constantly sitting at the bottom of the class. They teased my eyes and the fact that I had a small learning disability... It was in the midst of their hitting and kicking that Naruto arrived." She smiled, all signs of stuttering were gone.
"You should have seen him then. I had no idea who this boy was nor where he came from, but he was definitely not from our school. He was just so... so... different. So dirty. So malnourished. He was carrying a large bag in which he stacked these empty bottles and cans. Standing next to those huge bullies, he seemed even shorter than I was - with clothes a few sizes too big, and shoes that looked like they'd seen better days during the wars."
Kyuubi nodded. She could already tell, mostly from her experiences with team Three that Naruto had suffered a rather hard childhood.
"However, there were two things I noticed immediately about him..."
"His hair and his eyes, right?"
Hinata nodded, "Even despite the filth, his hair was an unnatural gold, unstained by even the slightest bit of dirt, and those eyes... Anyway, he walked up to those bullies and demanded they fight him there and then. I was so surprised and scared. I even told him to go away, but he held his ground. He said he was looking for a good fight." A sorrowful look crossed her face.
"They threw everything they had at him, and each time, I thought he would stay down, but he didn't. He took on all three of them and won. Then he turned to me. He said I was too weak for him to even bother fighting and that one day, when I'd learnt to get my face off the dirt, he'd be waiting. However, he said... he said that if I kept laying there, stronger people will keep coming to trample on my weakness until I couldn't even hold my head among those of the weak. It was at that time that my guard arrived to chase him away." Hinata laughed at the memory.
"I tried calling him back because he'd abandoned his sack in the process, but it was only when I finally got home that I realized the lunch money I saved throughout the day was missing!"
Kyuubi laughed too. It was exactly the sort of thing Naruto would do. He'd done it to her own father!
"I vowed from that day forward to never let myself be trampled on for my weaknesses and I started working towards it too. You could imagine my shock when I saw him again on the day of our admission. He'd changed too, but I could still remember those eyes... and that hair... not to mention his funny set of whiskers. He couldn't remember me though..."
Hinata glanced at Kyuubi who had been paying rapt attention and turned the shade of a tomato, "O-oh! I'm s-sorry if I b-bothered y-you w-with such a long t-tale! I-I c-couldn't..."
"It's alright, Hinata-chan", the redhead cajoled, stumped at Naruto's ability to influence people even at such a young age.
Come to think of it, wasn't that what he had done when Ibiki had ridiculed them back at the camp?
Wasn't that what he'd done when he sacrificed himself to save the life of his enemy?
And wan't that what he was trying to do by forgiving her for grievances she had no control over? And yet, here she was (ungrateful as always), doubting and judging the motives behind his actions...
"Hinata-chan."
"A-ano?"
She pulled the shorter girl into a hug, "Thank you. You made me realize some things about my team today that should have been obvious to anyone else."
The girl flushed at the attention. Eventually, they were forced to pull away due to the discomfort in their respective thoracic regions.
They resumed their original mission.
"Hinata-chan?"
"H-hmm?"
"My panties are red by the way."
The guards on the rooftops could have sworn they heard a shriek that sounded like the coming of ten monsoons.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
(And not to forget...)
Sasuke sighed and leaned his head against the nearest wall, distrustfully eyeing the dark muck that adorned much of its length. The entire alley stunk of things only Naruto would be better off mentioning and the brunette didn't want to stick around any longer to know of such things by name. He'd been here long enough as it was.
The district surrounding the casino was a relatively peaceful one with a few motels, a mall, apartment complexes, and civilians who were usually back home from work by six. So, it was to Sasuke's surprise that such a street could actually exist in this region; especially considering the high profile casino that had been established just a few metres off.
It was worth giving some thought, that was for sure, but he'd already learnt at an early age that the government of the country were more interested in wrestling power back from the mercenaries than actually caring about the state of their cities. The multi-million ryo fund injected into the Shinsengumi project was already more than proof enough of that.
He sighed.
Shinsengumi. Itachi. Sharingan.
Just like that, his brother had advanced one more step ahead of him. It was obvious now who was the favorite in Fugaku's eyes. Sasuke was definitely sure his father's patience with him had finally run thin.
What good was a heir without a bloodline?
He tightened his fist angrily.
He wasn't a fool. He knew there was something going on within the clan. He was aware of all the secret meetings his brother and father had been attending; and he was even more aware that slowly - painfully - he was being left out of the loop; despite also being an Oni mercenary as it was.
He sighed. He might have been a soldier of the Oniwaban but that that didn't make him an Uchiha in any way. He'd lost that right in his father's eyes.
A tear formed somewhere. He quickly squashed it.
"Shit", he groaned, rising painfully from his position and treading down the alley. He was useless in this mission. Why Kurenai had forced him to come along, he couldn't entirely tell. The Aburame was doing all of the work as it was.
"We've done everything we can, Uchiha-sama. I'm sorry but you're son is just not responding to any treatment."
"If you like, we can send him to some of our colleagues in Kumo, but there also runs the risk that they might want to covet his eyes for themselves, no matter how damaged it might seem."
He could still remember the words of the doctor from that specialist hospital back in Taki... the look on his father's face as those words were spoken...
"What are you doing out here, princess?"
He stilled, hands fisting the hem of his hoodie violently.
"Night too cold fer someone like yer to be snooping around, yer know. 'specially, someone as cute as yer..."
His stomach churned as he turned to face the drunk would-be robber or rapist. The scarred man brandished a jagged metal pipe which seemed to have materialized from the dark.
"What say yer, sweetheart? I'll hate to spoil such a pretty face. Just come quietly with me and ma crew. We'd make sure ter treat yer right."
It was then he noticed there were about four of the men. They had probably been watching him a while from the shadows, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. It must be a sure sign of his turmoil for him not to have noticed them till now. (And why the hell were there so many miscreants abiding in Konoha? Was this as a result of the power struggle between the mercers and the government?)
"She's pretty", one of the men grinned, "Does she have any money?"
"I'm a boy", he gnashed out roughly.
"Doesn't matter", another replied, "You're even prettier than the last girl we did in. Come here, sweeyheart, there's no way to run. We won't bite."
Sasuke lowered his face.
He'd always called Naruto a deadlast, but that was what he was right now.
Useless. Weak. Disgraced.
Without his sharingan, he had no pride. And without his pride...
One of the men snaked an arm across his neck.
He grinned.
... he had no morals.
"Stop it now, Uchiha!"
Sasuke didn't stop, barely seeing through the mist as he raised the pipe to club the man one last time, blood droplets already painting his face. A powerful hand intercepted the blow.
"Get out of the way, Shino."
The Aburame eyed him stoically, "He's unconscious. They all are. One more blow to the head and this man will die."
"Well then, I would have done the city a favor, wouldn't I? Since the Shinsengumi are focused on the more obvious tasks, someone's got to clean up the city, right?"
"And, you became appointed the one to do so? By who? Kami? Because I'm sure he'd have never condoned such a thing."
"Last warning, Shino!", but Sasuke was surprised by the fist that smacked across his cheek, knocking him into a wall and loosening his hold on the piece of metal in his grip.
"You embarass yourself, Uchiha", Shino spoke stoically, barely having moved from his position, "You embarass your clan and you embarass your mother. Is this what has become of the might of the powerful Uchiha? Reduced to murdering street grime in cold blood?"
"You have three seconds to take that back, Shino", the Uchiha growled, rising dangerously to his feet, "Or, I swear..."
"Look at yourself..."
And it was then, despite his best tries, that he caught sight of his reflection on a puddle in the moonlight: Bloodstained. Filthy. With a maddened look in his eye. He tried to look away. He really did. He tried to take vengeance for the caustic words Shino had spoken... but then he thought of Itachi. And Mikoto. What would they say should they see him now?
What would they think?
Sasuke smashed a palm to his face. What was happening to him? First the falling out with Naruto, and now this?
Shino had kneeled over the wounded men, checking for any signs of vitals. He looked up once he was sure Sasuke had composed himself.
"They are still alive. The last one - just barely. Since I've finished scouring the region, I'll have to move them to the nearest hospital. You're coming along."
Sasuke frowned, trying to quell whatever anger he had left in him, "Shino..."
"Save your breath, Uchiha Sasuke. I knew you were twisted right from the moment I met you. However, I won't be reporting this to sensei."
Sasuke heaved a sigh of relief. The last thing he needed was for Kakashi to get any wind of this and deem him unfit to continue in his service to the Oniwabanshu.
"You have anger management issues", Shino observed darkly, "And how do I know, you ask? Because there was a time I had them too - back when I first gained control over my kikaichu. I do not blame you."
Sasuke nodded, feeling a bit grateful though somewhat irked with the manner of his speaking.
He noticed the bugs Shino had released in anticipation of the fight return to him and couldn't help but ask the question.
"How did you deal with it?", he licked his dry lips, "Your anger issues, that is."
Shino looked at him oddly before placing his hand in the thick of his coat and withdrawing a small white substance.
Sasuke's eyebrows rose in surprise as he realised what it was.
"Is that a joint?"
"Does it bother you, Uchiha?"
"N-no. Not really. But what do you need it for? What does it do?"
Shino held the stick up to the light. "Initially, when I started developing my kekkei genkai, I had problems controlling my kikaichu. Why? I was mentally unstable and I could not focus enough on meditation to establish symbiosm with my bugs. It eventually got to the point where they started devouring not just my chakra but also my flesh because they could not appreciate the container wherein they were placed."
He took a pause and glared hard at Sasuke, effectively obscured by his dark shades, "It was then - when it seemed, I could not continue on as an Aburame - that an uncle of mine prescribed this for me. Was it useful? The hallucinogenic effects of Cannabis helped calm my mental state and the aroma also seemed to appeal to my kikaichu. It sedated them and made them much more docile... more peaceful." A pause, "Eventually; through strenous meditation, I gathered enough focus to achieve perfect dualism with them. I do not have need for this anymore. However, my family recently discovered that the aroma tends to soothe the wounded or agitated bugs. Now, my mother keeps an incense house in our veranda that continuosly emits the scent. It is a family therapy now."
"How would it help me?", Sasuke asked, looking sceptically at the stick. He wasn't an Aburame and he doubted that Cannabis would have any positive effect on his doujutsu; or any of his skills for that matter. Not to mention that he wasn't particularly clan-raised to do drugs. Shino's hippie family sounded so much different from his usually stern one.
"I was not offering it to you, Uchiha Sasuke, you asked me a question. However, you need to keep your mental state in check. Why you ask? I would not answer that. Nonetheless, it is of utmost importance that I stabilize this men and quick."
"I will take it, Shino", he finally responded, feeling somewhat odd for acqueiscing to the offer, "I'd like to give it a try."
There was nothing psychologically wrong with smoking, was there? Socially, maybe, but psychologically?...
Of course, there was. However, he was a mercenary now. That didn't matter to him.
"How many of these should I take?", he asked, reaching out for the item.
Shino seemed unusually happy to part with it (maybe he was looking for a kindred soul? Had he introduced the Inuzuka to these too?), "No more than one in three days, until you feel comfortable enough to quit. I do not need to remind you that it is still a drug, Sasuke. Do not abuse it nor indulge in it needlessely."
The Uchiha stared at the frizzled wrap of paper in his hand as Shino set about using the kikaichu to gather the beat up men.
Well, first time for everything, right?
"Katon..."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Alright; to get the ball rolling, I realize that quite a few of you probably have some bones to pick with this story or, worst case scenario; have ended up abandoning it entirely. And to be honest, I wouldn't begrudge you.
I started writing this much in the same manner a little kid dives into a box of sand. It was my first attempt at fanfiction and I was so interested in all the places I could take it. Years later; I guess, reality has finally set in.
This does not mean I will be abandoning this fic nor does it mean I won't make an effort to its completion, but I'm jaded and in dire need of seriously rediscovering my mojo. Least I can ask of you all is to show some support and inspiration.
On a final note; I've received more than one complaint on the issue of Naruto's development. I think Naruto's developing perfectly enough for THIS story. It might be slow, I'll admit, but he's learning the basics and he's fighting better than his original counterpart. There will be a time when he'll need to learn a thousand jutsu in the span of one year, but... it is not this day. A time will come when he'll say all the cool words and get to lay all the hot chicks, but... it is not this day. (I'm not hinting at a sequel, am I?)
Today, he's as normal as me or you; a slightly above average mercenary in a slightly above average world. To those of us reading this who possess incredible God complexes and believe that they are the best thing since the second coming of Jesus, well, believe what ever you want. I'm not going to write a character that suits your needs.
To the others, who simply want my own version of the blond to show some potential and act like the hero of the series that he is, I assure you that I will do my best (and speedily too) to make sure Naruto grows into his shoes.
Thank you all for the support.
K. S.
(P.S Hinata's condition is dyslexia. I hope this clears the confusion why she was acting rather weird around Naruto the first time they met.)