The streak has been broken. After several days without a mission, I find I've been assigned to a team on today's trip to the mission room.
"Just to Tanzaku Quarters?" Asked Yuna, who'd been assigned as the mission's captain. It seems like I've only ever heard of miss Kinjo going out on escort or bodyguard missions, so this isn't unexpected.
"Yes, just to the quarters. They said they have protection in line there, and that you're free to go after you arrive." Said Lady Tsunade, looking up at Yuna.
"Did they say what kind of 'high value' cargo they were carrying?" Asked Tenzo, folding his arms.
"No, they just asked for it to be guarded, keep a close eye on it." We all share a few uncomfortable looks, but this isn't the first time any of us have had to safeguard an unnamed package for a merchant. Tsunade lowered her voice, and said, "But I've heard of this trading group before. They mainly deal tobacco and other drugs, but there are a few stories floating around of abductions and rival dealers being delivered to former clients in pieces." This is even less welcome news than a lack of information on the cargo, but Yuna only frowns slightly for a moment.
"How soon do we move out?" Tenzo asks.
"They're coming down through the North gate this afternoon, and you'll be leaving with them." Tsunade looks up at us, and asks, "Any more questions? Then you're dismissed."
Before getting stocked up on supplies, we meet over lunch to discuss our roles on the team. None of us have worked with each other before now.
"That's two," Tenzo says after taking a bite of his dango.
"But, I'm not an as experienced medic ninja as miss Kinjo, though." I say.
"That's fine," Yuna says. "I think that since there are two of us, we shouldn't split up medic duties. Besides, with you having your Byakugan, I think you should take point. That okay?"
"Yes," I nod.
"And also, we don't know how big this little caravan is," Says Chojiro. "We may be strung out along the whole thing."
"Rotating watch, like usual?" Asks Tenzo, taking another bite of dango.
"Of course," Yuna says. "Though, if you don't mind, I'd like you to take one of the night shifts the last couple days of the trip, Hinata." I see her reasoning behind this, and nod. Yuna takes a drink of her tea, and continues. "Now, aside from miss Hyuga here, I'm not familiar with any of your jutsu. I don't want any surprises coming out in the middle of a fight."
"I'm basically the greatest Fire Release user ever," Chojiro says, taking a long drink of his sake.
"Please, everybody knows you only know two jutsu," Tenzo says, referring to the Fireball Jutsu and the Phoenix Flower Jutsu.
"But everybody also knows that no one does them like I do." He takes a sip of his sake, and says, "Just wait until I learn my third."
Yuna clears her throat. "Okay, so that's one Fire Release user. Tenzo?"
He shifts in his seat. "I know a wide range of useful jutsu. But, uh, none of them are elemental." Chojiro smirks, and Yuna shoots him a glance.
"So things like shuriken jutsu, then." Tenzo quickly nods. "As for myself, I'm training in Lightning Release, but mainly find myself more comfortable in hand to hand combat." Yuna looks around at us, and says, "I'm sure there will be plenty of easy time on the mission, so we'll work on coordinating things while we're on the road." For a few minutes we're silent, focused on eating. When we're done, Yuna picks up the tab, and we go to prepare.
Usually, I don't make much use of shuriken on my missions, but I pack some extra, just in case. With my usual mission gear quickly found and packed, I decide to copy one jutsu from my Water Release scroll, and bring it with me to study. As I'm scanning them one catches my eyes: Black Rain Jutsu. Hmm. After only a moment, I decide to take it. It has a couple similarities to the Rainmaker Jutsu, and with it being black, I could use my Byakugan to use it almost undetected at night. I soon have the jutsu copied from my scroll, and tuck it into my jacket. I decide to take extra nutrient bars, and other travel foods, too. It's still fairly soon after lunch, so I head out to one of the training grounds to practice my two rain jutsu.
First, I work on their common element: the creation of rain. Rain comes from clouds, which are a kind of condensation, a bit like mist- like a hearty stew, instead of a broth, in food terms. It's not quite that easily done, as there are winds blowing above the ground I can feel where I'm at, breaking up my small clouds. Denser, then. I focus on the concentration of my Water Release, and the cloud survives the breeze, and begins to rain down big, fat drops of water. I smile and move out from under it to observe it, but not long after the rain stops. Ah- perhaps a bit more refined. I work on controlling the release of rain for many minutes, before I realize I have somewhere to be and hurry off to the North gate. I feel good with how I've worked it so far, though. It should be simple enough to complete the jutsu later. An idea sparks in my mind, but I shelve it for another time as I hurry off to the gate.
I see Yuna is already there, and off to my side I see Chojiro coming up, which surprises me as I didn't think him the type to be early for things. Yuna nods to me and Chojiro.
"You look like you got rained on," He comments.
"Yes, I was working on a jutsu that creates hurricanes of water sharks." Chojiro eyes me skeptically, and I sigh. My attempts at humor are never appreciated.
"...Well, just don't use while we're in range," Yuna says. "You two ready to move out?"
"Mm-hmm." Yuna nods, and we loiter around the gate for alittle bit before I see Tenzo walking towards us. "About time! Was wondering when you'd show up, Kawada."
"It took me a while to get all my tools and supplies together," Tenzo says with an annoyed shrug. "They here yet?"
"No, but they should be soon." Yuna looks over her shoulder at the empty road behind her. Which, oddly enough, soon produce a carriage riding in. We wait and after a moment I can see a second carriage behind it, laden with boxes on the top. The horses whinny and snort as they get to the gate, the lead carriage coming to a stop. "Are you gentlemen headed to Tanzaku Quarters?"
"Yes, actually. Wait- you four wouldn't happen to be our ninja, would you?"
"We are."
"Excellent. We'll be going right through the village- could three of you travel with the boxes in the second coach? They're awfully expensive."
"Will do, sir." Yuna bows and takes Tenzo and Chojiro with her. The driver looks after them, then waves me over.
"What we're really transporting is in this coach," He whispers. "We just need a few extra people to throw off our pursuers, make them think the coach with our herbs in it is the valuable one. Keep this to yourself, okay?"
"Yes, sir." I walk around and hop up onto the bench, sitting beside the man. He has crow's feet at the corners of his eyes and dark stubble shading his jaw, and an overall tired appearance. He stays quiet as we ride through the village, and out the West gate. He seems more alert and his eyes dart across the road, looking into the trees and bushes. "The weather is lovely today..."
"Hmm. Yeah, it ain't bad. But knowing our luck with trip it'll be raining before sunset." The man stays quiet and watchful as he drives, and soon Konoha is fading behind us.
Hours later in the evening, the man's prediction comes true. I've been practicing the Rainmaker Jutsu, and have gotten it to where the cloud produces a gentle but steady rain. He shoots me a look, and I move the cloud farther away from the carriage. I think now that I've got the basic building block of the technique down, it will be simple to connect my chakra sensing to it. I decide to move on to the Black Rain Jutsu. Though structurally similar, the chakra composition is different: slick and oily, rather than natural water. The hand seals help with the chakra control, and soon enough the rain takes on a slick black appearance. My first few tries merely had the look of dirty water. I sense the driver is getting tired of the rain, though, and stop with my practice.
Though tense, a couple more hours pass without event, and far ahead to our right I see a semicircular clearing in the trees by the side of the road. The caravan edges over and rolls into the clearing, lining the far edge. Yuna sends Tenzo and Chojiro off for firewood, and gives me a nod. I activate my Byakugan and survey the area, only finding wildlife, the caravan drivers, and my team- until I look down right before I was going to deactivate my Byakugan. I double check the coach I rode on, and it's no mistake: there are seven small women/young girls stuffed into it. The driver is off relieving himself, and I'm about to check in on the girls when Yuna walks over.
"Pretty boring so far, huh? I'd be using jutsu to make rain clouds to amuse myself if I could, too."
"Well, they weren't strictly for amusement," I say. "I've only recently learned the jutsu, so I was getting in some practice."
Yuna gives a small smile, and nods. "Better than what I had. There's only room for three on the driving seat, so Chojiro sat inside with the cargo. The fumes or something must have gotten to him, because the man is high as a kite right now. He's been telling me to summon Bahamut for the last half hour."
"Ah. That would explain why I heard him shouting strange things..." Yuna chuckles, and flips her hair out of her face.
"So what were those jutsu you were practicing, anyways?"
"One was a chakra sensing jutsu, and the other- the black one- is flammable."
"Hmm. What do you need a chakra sensing jutsu for? You have the Byakugan."
"I... have been feeling someone watching me, and couldn't detect them with normal means..."
Yuna frowns slightly, but only says, "Well, just let me know if you find anything, okay?" I nod, and she heads over to start making a fire pit.
I have the first watch. It's shortly after sunset, and I'm facing out towards the forest. Tenzo is in the tent to my right, already soundly asleep. I have a feeling he's the snoring type. I begin to empty my mind of its thoughts, entering an almost meditative state where my eyes aren't focused on any single object. I have a kunai at the ready in my lap but so far, the night is still. Until I hear snoring- not Tenzo, but Chojiro, who must be snoring very loud indeed if I can hear him this clearly from the other side of the carriages. My quiet focus lost, my thoughts wander for a little bit before settling on Naruto. I fear I may have ruined our friendship by giving in to the watched feeling's urging and kissing him. We'll still know each other, but whatever we might have won't be the same. I suppose what he said to me before I left was actually very nice, though I couldn't see it at the time. I sigh, and force myself to calm down. I take three slow and deep breaths, then use my mist jutsu. "Water Style: Creeping Mist..." I blow out a thick carpet of fog that expands weaves its way through the undergrowth, until it looks like a cloud has settled on the bottom of the forest. The dreamlike scene keeps my focus on the jutsu, and I lose track of time as the night goes on.
I sense the occasional mouse and rat crawling about, but the night is still, until I feel someone coming up behind me. "You did this, the mist?"
"Yes," I answer Yuna. "It's another sensory jutsu."
"Well, it's beautiful, but I'm not familiar with it, so if you wouldn't mind..." I nod and release the jutsu, the mist evaporating. The forest gets just the tiniest bit louder too, but that may have been my imagination. I get up and step over to my tent, very ready to get to sleep...
In the morning after the horses are fed, we set off at a quick pace. Chojiro happily took his seat inside the carriage with the boxes, and again I'm up front with the lead carriage. "You going to be making it rain again today?"
"Perhaps for a little bit, but I got in a good amount of practice yesterday." The man nods and flicks the reigns, urging the horses on faster. As the sun edges up in the sky, I do decide to practice a bit, but with my mist. Yesterday I had the idea of taking the Black Rain's chakra composition and applying it to my mist, and then perhaps later, with my chakra sensing abilities. First, I activate my Byakugan, and look ahead: the way is clear. At first the scope of the jutsu gives me trouble: instead of going vertical, it comes straight from my mouth. This mostly happens in spurts of black liquid. The driver sees this once and looks alarmed; I smile to show him I'm okay but apparently that was even worse. I remember the jutsu is supposed to come out as a mist, and a couple tries later, it does so. I wash my mouth out with a gulp of water, and return to watching the road.
Though I begin to feel worried, noon comes without trouble. We stop for lunch, but the drivers are always in view, and I'm not able to look in on the girls. I can see that they're there, but not tell what state they're in. Presumably they aren't doing so good, as they haven't been fed or let out to relieve themselves, as far as I know. Though it's not the one I've been feeling lately, the uneasy and watched feeling grows as we travel. It shifts from malign attention to outright Killing Intent, escalating to the point where I feel I have to tell Yuna and the drivers- I don't even need my Byakugan to check. "Captain Yuna, and sir, I think we're headed straight into an ambush."
"That's ridiculous. They shouldn't have been able to come straight through Konoha behind us, they should be at least a half day behind."
"Tenzo, and Chojiro- CHOJIRO!- get ready. I'll take point with Hinata." Yuna nimbly leaps onto my carriage, landing on the roof. The driver snaps the reigns, and coming around the curve I can see a bridge up ahead. Blocked by a group of rogue ninja. The horses whinny as they're pulled to a stop, and I follow Yuna down to stand between the horses and the ninja.
"GIVE US BACK OUR GIRLS!" Shouts one man, having a desperate and ragged voice and appearance. He draws a katana and steps forwards, pointing it at the lead driver. "I know you have them with you, and if for one second-" The man is cut short by a lightning bolt spearing into the ground at his feet, making him flinch back. He quickly regains his composure, and signals for some of his ninja to move to our right. Shouldn't he have some to our left? That's when movement catches my eye in that direction- floating on the calm surface of the river is another group of ninja, ready to attack.
"Hinata?" Tenzo asks. "Now would be a great time to use that shark tornado jutsu you mentioned..." He thinks I was actually serious, wow. Though I don't know any such jutsu, I'm a short dash away from the river, and there is something I can do. Water walking is one of the most fundamental ninja skills; using your chakra to not break the surface tension is something that even Lee, who can't use regular jutsu, can do. And as I learned when I first began training my nature transformation, disrupting the surface tension is even easier than water walking. In a split second I leap over to the river bank and dip a finger in the water, using my chakra to break the surface tension. And once it goes, it goes fast- a few of the ninja see it coming, but none have time to react before the rip reaches them and they sink into the river.
I dart back to stand beside Yuna. We're stlil outnumbered, and the way is blocked to our fron and right. "Hold off on your jutsu," The man with the katana orders. "We're not going to do that so close to them..."
"There aren't any girls with us," Yuna says. "You're mistaken, and need to move away." The man takes another step forwards, and to the right of the bridge I see the sunken ninja starting to climb out of the river.
"Black Mist to your right..." I whisper to Yuna. She takes a small step forwards, and I quickly form the hand seals and blow out a wave of the mist, like nightfall creeping over the river bank. "Chojiro!"
He give me a dopey smile. "I've seen the alignment of the cosmic anuses," He says, while stringing together a long sequence of hand seals and then blowing out a terrifyingly magnificent phoenix of flames. It swoops over the ninja to our right, igniting the mist with a whoosh. The flames propel the phoenix even faster to the ninja on the bridge, running through them and setting them alight before dissipating like a handful of flower petals tossed upwards. The dopey grin returns, and Chojiro looks over to Tenzo. "Even electronic brain pancake crystal elderly." And with that, he promptly passes out.
"Put out the bridge, and toss them in!" Yuna orders. I shake my head clear and use the Hand of Waves jutsu to douse the flames, moving in and quickly tossing the charred ninja off the bridge. Many of them are still conscious, but I don't know how they'll swim out of a river with such heavy burns. In a few moments the bridge is cleared, and the lead driver waves me and Yuna off. The carriages ride through, not stopping to pick up my team, and we have to jump on as they go by.
"Son of a bitch finally learned a third jutsu," Tenzo says from the second carriage. We barely have time to catch our breath, the caravan riding at a full gallop.
As I would later learn at dinner, Chojiro doesn't remember the confrontation at the bridge, at all. I'm still a little nervous, the face of the man who'd drawn his katana sticking in my mind. Perhaps he was a relative of one of the girls. An extra bit of anxiety comes from having snuck my nutrient bars to the captives- they were indeed girls, dirty and malnourished. Barely a heartbeat after I dispelled the Optic Delusory jutsu, the driver was walking back to the carriage to get his bedroll.
Yuna has the first watch tonight, so I get to take a short nap, or at least try to. Between the watched feeling and the situation with the girls in the carriage, I'm too tense to sleep. I do my best to let my body rest, but just as it seems I'm starting to, Yuna knocks on my tent pole. I sigh, and head out. "You did good today..." She says, giving me a tired smile before stepping over to her tent. Taking a few calming breaths, I get seated and stare out into the night. I think of what, if anything, I'll do about the girls, then perform my Creeping Mist jutsu and settle down for a long watch.
In the morning, I wake up from a dreamless sleep. No one really says anything, we're still a little bit on edge from the confrontation at the bridge yesterday. From what I remember, Tanzaku Quarters is close by, now. If we keep the same pace we set yesterday we should get there soon after sunset.
The driver looks over at me, the wind whipping his hair around. "You told the others about our special cargo?"
"No, sir. I haven't told them."
"This run was supposed to have been a secret. Sure, people get kidnapped, but they shouldn't have been able to trace it back to us."
"If you don't mind me saying so, perhaps you need to vary your methods."
"A midnight smash-and-grab needs no variation."
"Maybe it has to do with who you took..."
"Not with this bunch. They're basic, run-of-the-mill product." Though I take offense at how the driver described the girls, I hold my tongue. The driver sighs and turns his attention back to the road, unnecessarily flicking the reigns to goad the horses on. They've been riding hard since last afternoon, and while I'm no expert on horses, I'd imagine they'll need a break sometime besides during lunch. Lunch comes without incident, and I rub the necks of the horses for a moment as I check to see where everyone is. The drivers are off relieving themselves, as is Tenzo. As Yuna walks around the second carriage to check on Chojiro I perform the Optic Delusory genjutsu, projecting a scene of me leaning against the carriage. Quickly I open the door, and look in on the girls.
"Here..." I say, passing them the last of my nutrient bars. "We're getting close, just hold on a little longer." I shut the door and release the genjutsu, finding the driver walking up. He looks at me strangely. "Yes?"
"...It's like I just blinked, but I know I didn't..."
"Well, this trip's been hard on all of us." The driver stares up at the sky as he mutters something to himself, and rifles through his pack to find something to eat. I hear someone coming up behind me, and I turn to see Yuna walking over. She doesn't look happy.
"What was that?" She fiercely whispers.
"I- I was checking on the cargo."
"You shouldn't need a genjutsu to do that."
"I was told to keep the cargo a secret, Captain Yuna. I should hardly think it would put me at fault for following the wishes of our employers."
"True. But you shouldn't need to keep your look in on the cargo a secret from your employers." Yuna stares deep into my eyes, her dark eyes like stone arrowheads. "Don't compromise the mission."
"I vow upon my family's honor that I won't compromise the mission, Captain Yuna."
"Good. Just play this by the book from now on, alright?"
"Yes, Captain." Yuna nods, and turns back to the second carriage.
We set off at a gallop again, and now that we're a good ways towards Tanzaku Quarters other wagons appear coming towards us. They skitter away to the other side, many times running off into the grass. The wild ride goes on, and I don't have time to relax and use the Chakra Sensing Technique. The ominous watched feeling from yesterday returns, faintly at first. I wonder if it's the ninja we left behind at the bridge. For a while, at least, I ignore it and try to focus on watching the road.
The noontime slides into the afternoon, and the feeling grows into a fiery wind, almost blowing me back. The Killing Intent breaks open like an egg sticking all over me. I try to put it aside for a little longer, but I can't anymore. I decide to check with my Byakugan just to make sure. After activating it I can't see anyone in the immediate area. I sharpen my focus from all around me to farther out, still finding nothing. Further extending the reach of my Byakugan- to its limit- I slowly scan the horizon. I do see people there, some riding on horses ahead of wagons, a few walking, and some standing in the forest. Actually, a large number of people standing in the forest. It's tense, but as we come along a dogleg in the road, it's clear that they weren't on the road, but are waiting off to the side. At the speed we're going, we'll be there in a a minute. "Captain Yuna! There's an ambush waiting for us up ahead!"
"Another one?!" The driver asks exasperatedly. I look out towards the front again, and see that the people with wagons have blocked the road off.
I turn to him, shouting over the horses galloping. "Slow down when we get close!" I'm not sure if he heard me, as his jaw sets in a hard line and he stares ahead at the road. I frown, and turn back to the second carriage. "Captain! They've cut off the road!"
"Alright! Chojiro, get ready to help Hinata again! Tenzo, we're going to shoot underneath!" The blockade appears in the distance, and I prepare to use the Black Rain jutsu. I form the hand seals and send out my chakra farther, wider, and wider still, farther than I've done for this jutsu before. I see the dark clouds take shape and begin to rain, like reality being wiped away. It's a noticeable strain on my chakra to maintain the jutsu at this range and scale, but I keep it up as we get close enough to make out the faces of those waiting for us. They aren't the same ninja- some of them don't even wear forehead protectors or look like ninja- but they all have the same aggressive and determined look on their faces.
Before Yuna or I give the signal, Chojuro uses the Phoenix Flower Jutsu, small balls of flame shoot off towards the barricade and the forest. The black cloud and the surrounding forest light up, a massive ball of flame scorching the earth and mushrooming up into the sky. The driver has barely slowed down. The Hand of Waves jutsu isn't strong enough to potentially clear the way, so I call upon one of my other first three water jutsu. "Water Style: Raging Waves!" I blow out a stern trumpet of water, spinning away one of the overturned wagons. It's not quite far enough away, but then a lance of lightning splinters it, and we're able to pass through the flames. I look back over my shoulder at the blaze and see Tenzo picking off two men that had stumbled out of the forest. The driver now has a strained and elated look, and drives the horses all out.
After a few minutes we slow to a fast trot. I have my breath back, and activate my Byakugan again to search the road ahead. This time, there aren't any ninja waiting for us. Hmm. What if the ninja that were chasing the caravan didn't make it past Konoha, and these that my team faced were from somewhere else, like Tanzaku Quarters? That would mean someone was expecting the shipment, and was coerced into disclosing the identity of their supplier. Or, perhaps, a relative of the girls knew of the... underground trade market in Tanzaku, and was quick enough to figure out where the girls would be going. Maybe both; in either case, that would mean someone is waiting for the girls and the caravan... which makes me wonder what kind of protection these people would have in the Quarters to not need us when we get there.
Later on in the afternoon, the traffic going to and from Tanzaku Quarters forces us to slow. I'm a surprised we got here as early as we have, given that it usually takes about a day longer. Though, I suppose I shouldn't be, with the pace the driver set. The afternoon stretches on, and though we're going at an easy pace now, I'm still nervous for what lies ahead in the Quarters. The trees thin out, and now near sunset, I can see our destination up ahead. "Junichi, we're going to go to the second instead of the first!" The driver calls over his shoulder. Moments later we pass through the gates and take a right turn, heading along the wall. Passing under an overhang jutting out from the wall, we come to a stop. The driver hops of the bench and walks to stand beside the back door of the building. "There's a pub in the front, so this would be a good place to grab a bite to eat if you're gonna do it now." Reaching into his sack, the driver takes out four small pouches and tosses them to my team. "A little bonus for getting us here safely." The driver nods to Junichi, who takes a couple of the boxes with him and follows the lead driver into the building.
My team trades a few looks, and they too head in to the building. "You coming, Hinata?" Asks Tenzo.
"In just a minute, I need to stretch my legs first."
"Alright." After the door closes, I check the alley. Clear. I whirl down and open the carriage door, stuffing my bonus into the hands of one of the girls.
I take out a kunai and slice through their restraints. "Run. Run as fast as you can." Before I even finish speaking they're doing so, as as the last and youngest girl leaves, I cast the Optic Delusory Jutsu to give the appearance the carriage is still occupied, and close the door. Technically, as I got the girls safely to the city, I didn't undermine our mission. I hurry into the building, the back of it dimly lit and smelling of tobacco and other smoking herbs, moans- of what type I'm not sure- softly poking at my ears. I make it into the pub, and immediately spot my team. Chojiro waves to me, and I go to sit at their booth.
"The server caught us as we came into the pub, and got us these pretty quick," Says Tenzo, pushing a mug over to me. I take a sip, and it's sake. Better than nothing, but I prefer water when I'm on a mission. There's a brief moment of quiet before Yuna speaks up.
"Do any of you want to hang around in the Quarters before we head back?"
Chojiro gives a noncommittal shrug. "I don't particularly care to, Captain," I say. Yuna raises her eyebrow in question, and I explain, "...I don't want to get caught up in whatever our employers have going on."
"Fair enough," Tenzo says before taking a sip of his sake. "If you ask me, we ran into too many ninja for what was in the coach." I nod, doing my best to ignore the look from Yuna.
"Back on the road after we finish our drinks, then?" The rest of the team nods, and we quietly finish our sake. I can't be out of this building soon enough. Mercifully, before long we are out and on our way back to Konoha, the setting sun behind us as we sprint away.