Chapter 13: Things Begin To Get Interesting

I sigh as I find myself perched at the top of the gate, on the top edge of the large doors that allow it to be open in the first place. I crouch there in waiting, having been asked by Kakashi to wait for the kiddies there. In turn, he'll be saying 'hello' to his friends on the KIA stone for me before he goes to get a hopefully sober Tazuna. I don't want a drunken old man hitting me again. It was both insulting and creepy. I'm back and dressed in my usual black dragon scale clothing, by the way. I watch as Sasuke is the first to make it to the meeting spot, pack on his back and hands shoved into his white shorts pockets. Sakura is next to show up of course, her strides nervous but her eyes willing to look 'cool' in front of her crush; pathetic girl. The final one to come along is of course Naruto, who apparently forgot to brush his teeth as he thought he'd be left behind if he was late. That's just not right Naruto. Still, with all of them gathered, I watch as they simply wait for those that have yet to come along. Unknown to them, that number is now down to two people.

"Sorry we're late you three!" Kakashi eye smiles to our students with a wave.

"YOU'RE LATE!" The loud duo shout to the silver haired man and the old man as one. Aaaaannnnd now I can see sound again. Thanks you two. I wiggle a finger in my ear, trying to make sure that it still works after that shout.

"Yes, well," Kakashi chuckles, "Let's get going shall we?"

While Naruto runs through the gates with a happy shout and explains to Sakura that this is his first time out of the village, Sasuke is slower to follow his team mates. It's only after Kakashi stops Naruto from killing Tazuna a second time, that the black haired boy of the group speaks up, "Where's Cross?"

Tazuna looks at him oddly before questioning, "Who?"

The boy glares in turn, "Cross. The woman from yesterday".

"Oh!" The old man jumps to attention before looking to Kakashi, "The brat is right. I thought the pretty woman was coming with us".

"She's been here since the beginning," Kakashi eye smiles to the lot of them before looking at my perch and calling out to me, "Ready to go Cross?"

I fall from my perch with more grace than is probably necessary, but no matter. I like to be a show off every now and then. I land with a light touch down from the help of my wings that work to help me do so. I grin to the lot of them, bearing harmless fangs, "I've been ready to go all day," I tell Kakashi. "Shall we go?" the scarecrow nods before we take to walking in a casual line. There's no reason to fall into formation; it's a low C-ranked mission, it's unlikely it'll be dangerous. Still, from right to left it's Tazuna, Kakashi, myself, Sasuke, and then finally Sakura. Naruto, the curious fox he is, is in the front of us all, walking ahead. He's obviously determined to show Tazuna that he's not worthless or weak.

It's silent for a little while until Sakura decides to speak up. "Say, Tazuna-san. You're from Nami no Kuni, right?"

"Yea," the old man gruffly answers, "What of it?"

Her attention comes to my silver haired friend and myself. "Kakashi-sensei, Cross-sensei, there are shinobi in those lands, right?" Wrong.

"No. There are no shinobi in Nami no Kuni. But in other countries, there are hidden villages. Each with their own cultures and formalities. They are where other shinobi reside".

"To the people of this continent," yes there's more than one, "The presence of shinobi symbolizes a place's strength. Military strength that is. Meaning that shinobi are soldiers that protect their home and help maintain the balance between other countries," I follow up. Hey, I know my stuff too you know.

Kakashi's turn, "The ninja villages are not controlled by any government; they're independent and have equal status. A small island like Nami no Kuni has natural protection thanks to the sea; there's no need for a hidden village or shinobi. There are five ancient lands that possess shinobi on this continent. And if you are either lucky or unlucky- it depends on the situation- you have a high possibility of meeting someone from each of the countries".

And now me. "These five lands are the lands of hi, mizu, kaminari, kaze and tsuchi. Each occupy vast territories, and together they're known as the five great shinobi nations. Hi no Kuni has Konohagakure. Mizu no Kuni has Kirigakure. Kaminari no Kuni has Kumogakure. Kaze no Kuni has Sunagakure. And finally, Tsuchi no Kuni has Iwagakure".

"Only the leaders of these hidden villages are permitted the name 'kage', meaning shadow. Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage and Tsuchikage. These are the leaders that rule over thousands of shinobi. Including you and I". Kakashi finishes off.

"Wow! Then Hokage-sama is someone really important!" Like you believe that, girlie. Naruto has an unimpressed look on his face.

"Hey! You two were just doubting him, weren't you?" Shakes of Sakura's and Naruto's head occur. His stern voice lets up as he places a hand on the girl's head. "At any rate, there are no ninja battles on a C-ranked mission".

"And we won't come upon any foreign ninja, then, right?"

The silver haired man chuckles, making me smile. I've always loved the sound of his laughter. Don't know why but I do. "Very unlikely". And then all is silent again for another half hour or so. That is until Miss Curious McCurious Pants decided to start asking me personal questions. Great. I mentally sigh as the question comes. It was gonna come along sooner or later, but I would have preferred it to be later. "Hey Cross-sensei...This has been on my mind ever since we became a team. I hope it's not too personal but...Why don't you have a last name?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Kakashi stiffen up ever so slightly, and from the other corner of my eye I see Sasuke perking up a bit as though curious himself. "It's not too personal," it is, but I have a back up story. "I don't have a last name because I dropped it. When I was little, my village was attacked by Nukenin that thrived on simply killing the innocent, raping women and tearing children limb from limb. This wasn't long after the Third Shinobi War, just so you know. I came from a simple clan of winged people with large chakra reserves, but preferred not to become shinobi due to our love for simple lives. When my village was burned down, I was one of the last to be targeted. Seeing as I was one of the last survivors, and I was a stubborn little bitch, they decided to play with me, breaking my claws and ripping off my wings," why not add a bit of horror to it? That way she doesn't try to dig deeper. "I was lucky enough to be found by Kakashi whom was supposed to stay at my village for a break from a mission on that night. He killed the Nukenin- they weren't strong really, just strong enough to easily kill the average person so...Chunin- and took me to Konoha. There I became a shinobi and I progressed rather quickly. And so, here I am. Best friends with Kakashi here and one of two of your sensei-tachi".

By the time I'm looking at the pink haired girl, her eyes are brimmed with tears, "H-how old were you?"

I smile a fangless smile down at her kindly, "I was thirteen when Kakashi saved my life". The honest to god's truth right there. "I'm twenty one now, whether I look it or not. So that was eight long years ago; you were just four or five yourself back then".

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura looks to the silver haired man, his eye travels down to her curiously. "Thank you for saving Cross-sensei". Yes. Thank you Kakashi.

There's merely an eye smile to her before his gaze comes to me, "I'd do it again even if I didn't have to," he mutters, dark eye meeting my bright ones. Why did my heart just skip a beat at that?

For a little while longer, it's silent for maybe an hour or so, even as we pass a puddle that seems fresh despite the fact that it hasn't rained for days. My eyes lightly narrow, and I fall into a casual but more guarded way of walking; where as earlier I was completely relaxed. However it's not long- like two seconds- after we've all passed the puddle that those hidden in it strike. I force myself to do nothing save concentrate chakra in the necessary fashion as chains wrap around not only myself, but Kakashi as well, pinning our fronts together. It'd look passionate if it weren't for the fact that we're about to be ripped to shreds.

"What?!" Kakashi mutters, eye wide in surprise.

"Damn it!" We should be given awards for our awesome acting abilities. Our bodies are torn to shreds, and next thing I know is that I'm crouching on a branch above Kakashi's own.

SASUKE'S POV

To hear such a sad story from my angel is enough to make my heart reach out to her, and I barely keep myself from taking her hand and twining my fingers with her. I want to show her that I care. But...I don't know how. I curse the fact that I can't hunt down the Nukenin that had taken her family from her. But I do feel a grudging thankful feeling to Kakashi for saving her in the first place. I just wish it was me and not him that saved her. I mentally sigh. I was born during the wrong time, it seems. I should have been born during the Third Shinobi War.

The peacefulness went from me being able to calmly think about how I'll be showing Cross my power on this mission, to nothing but pure rage. Why? Because, there's a gasp and two voices of surprise as out of literally no where two chains wrap around Kakashi and Cross, bringing their fronts flush together. Take away the chains and it would look like they're holding each other romantically. That doesn't help the anger that boils into rage as Cross' beautiful body is ripped into nothingness with a, "Damn it!"

"Two piggies," one of the enemies growls out, rushing for myself and Naruto.

My black eyes narrow and a silent snarl curls on my lip as I quickly pin my opponent's claw glove to a near by tree before quickly smashing the chain that had taken Cross' life as though it were his throat. And then I really do go for his throat, pulling out a kunai and without a second thought pulling it through. I don't feel any remorse as I turn, not bothering to see the blood spill from his throat as I know it'll do. I watch as the other rush at Naruto and as he cowers, I push my body to beat the ninja to him. But not to protect him, seeing as I leap and land on his back, bringing him down with my momentum. My kunai finds a home I his skull, and I glare down at the body. That is until suddenly it turns into a puddle of water. "What?" I question, whipping my head in the direction of the first one I killed; there's a puddle in its place.

"Get behind me!" I hear Sakura demand from in front of the bridge builder. My eyes widen; I won't get there in time. Nothing of mine will. Am I going to end up like Kakashi said I would if I left friends behind? Suddenly, out of no where, there is an arm around each of the shinobi's necks, clothes lining them and spinning them into the ground. Is that..., "Kakashi-sensei, look out!" Kakashi? From behind him, two more shinobi that look exactly like the two I killed and the two Kakashi has pinned.

"I got it I got it!" A familiar voice that seems to have managed to sound both playful and calm at the same time coos from not too far away. Seconds later, I find my eyes wide and my heart thrumming heavily in my chest. Right behind Kakashi is none other than Cross herself, a vision of both death and casualness all in one. Having literally tackled the men from where ever she was, she crouches between the dead bodies with claws through their hearts. I can't help but be amazed; I didn't even see her approach them, let alone hear her save for her voice. My angel...Is a figure of death, beauty and power all in one. I've just realized just how perfect my angel is.

CROSS' POV

As I crouch between the two downed bodies, I can't help but grin. They may have only destroyed a log in the place of my body, but I did not appreciate being wrapped in chains. I don't being restricted that much. However, my grin falls and my once wagging tail slumps in disappointment. Why? Because, "Damn it, they're just mizu bushin". I pout as I stand to my full height and cross my arms under my bust, claws sheathing them by my command. "Why did you get the real guys?"

Kakashi looks from me to the men he's tying up by now, and then back to me with an eye smile, "Because when it comes to having my back in a real situation, you tend to go over board. We need these guys alive if we wanna find out why they decided it was a good idea to attack our employer. If we didn't need them alive, I wouldn't have moved first".

I sigh but feel a pair of eyes on my frame. Mine wander to the source only to lock with black relieved eyes. For a second I think I'm looking at Itachi, but it's really Sasuke I'm meeting gazes with. "Hey," I offer him a fangless smile and walk towards he and the others while Kakashi does some interrogating, "You three okay?"

"Are you okay?" Is Sasuke's turn of words.

"I'm fine. Both you and Sakura did rather well; good job the both of you" I grin now, "I'm a Jonin remember? Those guys are barely Chunin. Thanks for your concern though". My eyes now fall onto Naruto, and his bleeding hand. "Naruto...Sorry we didn't help you out earlier; we didn't know you were going to freeze up like that. You should probably flush the poison out of your your blood before something bad happens".

Naurto's blue eyes widen a good deal, "P-poison?!"

"Hey," Sasuke taunts, a smile spreading across his face mockingly, "You alright? You're not scared, are you, Scaredy Cat?"

I sigh "Naruto!" His attention comes to me, "Just reopen the wound to let new blood flow and that should do the job. However...For now don't move too much; since the poison is in your blood, if you move too much it'll spread. Now we have to see who...And what they want," it's now that my attention goes to Kakashi whom by now has the Demon Brothers tied to a tree securely. "Right, Kakashi?"

"That's correct," he nods out, his single eye lazily drifting to me before going back to the brothers. Naruto isn't too far from the tree they're tied to so he doesn't have to be carried or anything close to that in order to listen to what's going on. "These are Nukenin from Kirigakure known as the Demon Brothers. They specialize in relentless attack and continue to fight no matter the sacrifice".

"How did you know of our ambush?" One of the brothers questions from behind his mask. Is he stupid or something?

I sigh before coming to Kakashi's side and shaking my head while hanging one of my arms on his shoulder. "You guys are obvious," I inform, "A puddle on a day where it hasn't rained all, nor days prior? Come now. You underestimate our ability".

Tazuna looks to us with a sound of thought before questioning, "Then why did you let the Genin take care of things?"

"We could have taken them out right away," Kakashi tells the old man, "But then we wouldn't know who they were after, or what they wanted".

Tazuna doesn't seem to like what Kakashi is implying, and his voice becomes gruff and protective of himself, "What are you getting at exactly?"

"This: We didn't know if they were after us, fellow shinobi, or you: the master bridge builder. When you put in your request, you asked for standard protection. From robbers and the like, making it a C-ranked mission. However, what just happened indicates that this mission is beyond the expectations we had".

I can easily hear the quivering in Sakura's voice, and the look in her eyes is obviously uncertainty, "This is a B-ranked mission; it's way too dangerous for just Genin. Besides, Naruto has poison in him and if we take him back to the village he can be treated at the hospital".

"That's true," I turn, walking towards Naruto only to walk around him and wrap my arms around his shoulders and rest my chin on his head. "The poison in his blood stream seems to be more potent than the average stuff. He would be a liability once it started doing its job". What that job is, I don't know. I'm not a professional on stuff like this. I just know that it's poison and just how much there seems to be.

Suddenly the boy rips himself from my hold, and runs a bit away from us, "Why am I...Ugh...Why am I so useless? Why am I so...So different!? Well you know what? No more!" It's then that with a kunai he opens the wound, dabbing the blade into it and letting the blood flow as free as a river. "I won't lose to Sasuke! Upon this wound, I swear to never turn away or back down ever again," he looks to us, a serious grin on his face, "I'll protect you old man. Don't worry, I'll be fine".

Kakashi decides to ruin the 'cool' moment that the boy had managed to build up by bluntly stating, "Naruto...That was cool and all, but if you lose any more blood you're going to die". Annnnd insert freak out fest here.

"Alrighty," I sigh out, rolling my eyes at the sight of Naruto freaking out, asking Kakashi to help him, and complaining about being too young to die and what not. I turn to Tazuna before questioning, "Ready to tell us the truth?"

Dark eyes meet molten gold for a long silent moment before finally the man sighs and nods before moving under a random tree and sitting to lean on the bark. "Alright. You got me. The truth is...A C-ranked mission was all I could afford. I'm a master bridge builder on an island that is surrounded by water and that's imports and exports are all by ship. Over the past few years, our land has been ruled over by the tyrant known as Gato. Through his monetary power, he's put my home into poverty. So I and other men in my profession decided to build a bridge to the mainland. If we can do that, then the way we can trade will change drastically!" It's now that he slumps from his hopeful sitting position, body language obviously showing disappointment. "I only lied because I wanted to help my home. But that's okay. You guys go ahead and turn back to your village; I'll be fine on my own. I just hope that when my daughter and grandson hear that I've died trying to make their lives easier, that they don't mourn and lash out at any of you".

I sigh. Honestly I could leave the man behind, clear a path and then take him home.. It wouldn't be right to leave him to go home alone. However, this isn't just my mission. My eyes trail to my silver haired partner, "Well?"

Kakashi sighs, "It's not just up to me. We do have Genin who are a part of this mission too you know". As one, our attention goes to the three kiddies. "What do you three think?"

Sakura is the first to speak up, a tinge of fear in her tone, "This is a B-ranked; you said so yourself Kakashi-sensei. It's way out of our league! I think we should turn back. Surely we could work out something between the village and Tazuna-san, right?"

"No way!" Naruto motions with his arms in a large 'x', stance wide and firm. "I just made a vow that I would never turn or run away again! This man needs our help! We have to help him! Think of the good it would do for all of us!" Oh ho? Looks like we have a natural hero complex going on here. My eyes go to him, only to find black meeting gold. Was he looking at me this whole time? I didn't notice.

"We should go," are his simple words, making the vote two against one. However, Sakura is all for it upon hearing Sasuke's vote, and we're off once more.