Hello my dears, and welcome back to Song of Aether!
Just a heads up: I will be entering NaWriNoMo, or National Write a Novel Month, which is this November. Hence, I will be taking a month long break from fanfic writing in November. However, I would like to get up to chapter 14 before I leave you all; thus, I will try my best to get not one, not two, but three whole chapters to you before I go on a month long hiatus- that sounds fair, right?
All I ask of you is that I receive at least 10 reviews a chapter; that's not asking too much, is it?
So if you would like the maximum amount of updates before the big break, please review:) Thanks very much everyone for being the best readers ever, and I hope you like this next chappy!
Special shout out to my beta, Uchiha.s, who makes me laugh so hard at her edits it ought to be illegal:) Much love!
Chapter 12
Paranoia and Dirty Hippies
"Said she, blushing the hue of the flower,
'When did you become so clever?'
And laughing like the ringing of a bell and free
She threw her little arms all around me."
~The Second Book of Akash, verse XII
"Oi, good morning Yuki-chan! Looks like you're the last one here today!" Konohamaru called as he waved from their familiar meeting place on the training grounds; meanwhile, Cho was busy looking at a pink wildflower, and Ryuu was staring off into space while he picked his nose. It was just another typical morning for the maladroit members of Team Five.
Yuki all but growled, "Konohamaru-sensei, please. Please. Yuki-san will do nicely. Sorry I'm late. I had to help out my narcoleptic mother and visit with my elderly grandmother."
"Narco-what-now?" Ryuu looked at her askance.
Cho patted her somewhat dense teammate on the head. "Good thing we don't have to take extensive vocabulary tests to become ninja," she muttered under her breath.
"What was that?" Ryuu asked innocently.
"Nothing Ryuu-kuuuuun!" Cho cooed with a smile.
"Enough kibitzing troops, I've got an announcement!" Konohamaru was grinning all too widely for Yuki's taste; he gave his team a thumbs-up before continuing, "We've got our first C ranked mission today!"
"All right! Nice sensei!" Ryuu beamed.
"Cool." Cho nodded politely.
"I'm jumping for joy. Quick, somebody take my pulse, I think I might be having a heart attack." But Yuki's biting sarcasm (which Konohamaru was sure was genetic or something) could not quell Ryuu's genuine excitement. The blond quickly punched Yuki in the shoulder and ran, calling over his shoulder, "Last one to the Hokage's tower is a rotten egg!"
"The only one who is rotten is you!" Yuki spat, as she began taking long strides after her much shorter compatriot. Cho rolled her eyes and started jogging alongside her sensei as she wondered aloud, "Do those two ever let up?"
"As Lee-sensei would say, they are full of the passion of YOUTH!" Konohamaru laughed.
It was no surprise that Yuki made it to the tower first, followed closely by a winded Ryuu, and lastly Cho and Konohamaru running at an amiable pace. After all, Yuki was excessively tall for her age, and, to put it delicately, Ryuu had yet to hit his growth spurt. But Ryuu, far from defeated, shouted jovially, "Oi, Yuki-chan, bet I can make it to the Hokage's office before you!"
"In your dreams— Ooof! Cheater!" Yuki fell flat on her ass as Ryuu made a mad dash up the steps. Yuki struggled with her shoelaces that Ryuu had somehow managed to tie together in the minute they were waiting for the rest of their team to catch up. "RYUU! YOU ARE SO DEAD!"
Konohamaru shook his head. "Ninja are masters of deception, Yuki. Let this be a lesson in awareness." Cho fought down the urge to offer Yuki her hand, since Yuki looked as likely to bite Cho as she was to let her help her up; instead, the husky ninja raced up the stairs after their sensei. Yuki grinned ferociously and bit her thumb, then smashed the bloody finger down on the pavement. In a poof, Tama appeared. The little black cat looked up at her in curiosity.
"Mistress?"
"Take me up the stairs as quickly as possible!"
Tama grinned and grew until she was the size of a small panther— Yuki hopped on, and in an instant, they were a black blur on the stairwell. Thank Kami I took dad's advice and started training with Tama! Yuki had been initially disappointed when Amaya hadn't been the feline that had showed up when she began calling her summons; but after working with Tama for a week, Yuki considered herself lucky. Unlike the intimidating and mentally unhinged Amaya, Tama was an agreeable and placid character. Ferocious and reliable in battles against straw dummies, yes, but overall her temperament was much easier to deal with than her mother's.
Ryuu huffed as he made it into his father's office, but smiled proudly— Yosh! I totally beat that Uchiha!— but his smile quickly turned into a look of confusion as he noticed Yuki had already arrived, and was seated like a queen on the back of her summons, albeit still with tangled shoe laces.
"Hey! No far, you used Tama! So that was the black whirl I saw on the steps. I thought I was just dehydrated and seeing things!"
Tama stuck out her tongue and then disappeared in a poof; Yuki landed on her feet as graceful as the jungle cat she had just dismissed and commenced with untying her shoe laces. "Hn."
Naruto grinned down at the genin from behind a large pile of paperwork. "Ninja can use any tool at their disposal, Ryuu-kun. Remember: there's no wrong way to be a Ninja!"
Ryuu moaned, "Dad...I think you just jacked that from a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial..."
"What? Oh man, I was going to use that at the academy's commencement speech, too. Are you sure, Ryuu-kun?"
Yuki smacked herself in the face. Why did she get the impression that she was surrounded by utter incompetence?
"Good morning, Hokage-sama!" Cho beamed cheerfully as she sauntered her way into the office.
"Gooooooooood morning, Naruto-sama!" Konohamaru said with a grin.
"Alright, looks like the whole gang is here! Shikamaru! Hey! Shikamaru! Can you bring gramps in?"
Shikamaru drifted in from the hall and muttered, "Geez Naruto, whenever I come home to the village I become your personal servant. It's so—"
Naruto held his hands over his ears. "Don't say it. Don't. Say. It."
"Troublesome."
Naruto sighed. "I'm going to pretend like I didn't just hear that, ok?"
The Nara smirked and opened the door to the antechamber: out hobbled an ancient, wizened man, leaning heavily on a gnarled cane. Naruto gestured towards the stranger and began, "This here is Gomakashi-san. He's a wealthy merchant from Ame, and he requires an escort back home."
Gomakashi smiled agreeably, "I'm terribly worried about all the disappearances happening along the border. It would help this old man sleep at night to have you wonderful ninja watching over me."
Ryuu grinned broadly, "Sure thing, gramps!"
Yuki rolled her eyes and jabbed her rash companion in the side before declaring, in the even tone of a proper and polite shinobi, "It would be our honor, Gomakashi-san."
Naruto chuckled and continued, "Gomakashi has sold all of his wares in town, so you won't need to guard over any wagons. It should be a fairly simple and straightforward mission. The journey to Ame will take about two days going at an easy pace, so we'll expect you back in the village before the week is out."
Konohamaru bowed politely. "Yes sir!"
Naruto replied, slightly amused, "So, does Team Five accept the mission?"
"Yes sir, Hokage-sama!" Yuki formally intoned.
"Yes sir, Hokage-sama!" Cho answered smoothly.
"Hells yeah!" Ryuu fisted the air.
Konohamaru reached out and ruffled the blond's hair.
"Um...I mean, yes sir, otousama!" Ryuu blushed as he corrected himself.
Thankfully, their client seemed to have a sense of humor, as he chuckled at Ryuu's enthusiasm.
As Team Five departed the office, Shikamaru leaned against the back wall, his eyebrows furrowed in thought.
"Oi, Shikamaru, what's got your goat?"
Said Nara shook his head. "Nothing, Naruto…it's just, well, Gomakashi is a weird name, isn't it?"
Naruto laughed. "It literally means hanky-panky, doesn't it? Maybe the guy earned a reputation with the ladies!" He wagged his eyebrows.
Shikamaru shook his head. "It also means underhanded...or deception..."
Naruto waved his concerns aside. "Well, guess I won't be buying any of that merchant's wares then. So, Shikamaru, what else is on the agenda today?"
The Nara shook his head again to clear his paranoid thoughts and began looking at the day's to-do list on his massive clipboard. After all, they had done an extensive background test on the client, and everything seemed to be in order. Still, you couldn't blame the head of the Intelligence Department for being a bit jumpy, what with all the strange happenings on the border. Shikamaru thought that thankfully, Sasuke should return in a few days and shed some light on the whole Madara conundrum.
"First things first," Shikamaru droned, "we've got to get a handle on this paperwork."
"Awwwwww—"
Shikamaru took a deep breath. "If you get all your paperwork done by noon...I'll take you out for ramen."
"You will! Aw, hells yeah! Shikamaru, you're the BEST!"
The so-called genius of Konoha rolled his eyes and unceremoniously dumped a large stack of papers on Naruto's desk; just as Naruto was about to make some hand-signs, Shikamaru interrupted him. "Naruto? Remember what happened last time you used shadow clones to help you complete your paperwork?"
Naruto stopped mid hand-seal, his good mood deflating. "Aw, come on Shika, that was only one time—"
"When your clones mixed up all the papers, signed the wrong things, released homicidal maniacs into the streets, approved funding for a carnival freak show—"
"Hey! Yeah, the prison release thing was an epic failure, but the traveling circus was totally awesome!"
Shikamaru sighed wearily. "Just do your paperwork."
"But—"
"No paperwork, no ramen."
Naruto grumbled something about geniuses under his breath and commenced with signing the dreaded papers; Shikamaru shook his head and sat down at his corner desk, there to compile his own reports. It wasn't pretty: the numbers of people disappearing on the border were increasing every day, and the villages on the edges of the country were starting to freak out.
Shikamaru glanced out the window, and fancied that he could see Team Five departing through the front gates. He felt another pang of paranoia and shook his head. They had already sent out numerous other genin and chunin teams to escort various and sundry people between Konoha and the border. Furthermore, Konohamaru was a decent fighter, and Ryuu had the hiraishin tattoo; if anything untoward happened out there, Naruto (and a herd of ANBU) would come running.
Shut up, brain, and let me work, Shikamaru caustically thought to himself as he skimmed over more reports. Kami, was he was anxious for the intel Sasuke would hopefully bring home; because right now, he felt like he was a few pieces short of a shogi board.
Sasuke broke his modest camp while humming a tune. Without Sakura's constant teeth gnashing and cover stealing, he had actually slept quite well: although a part of him felt guilty about this. I guess it's nice to have some space after ten years of marriage... He languidly stretched his arms out to the side as he broke out a ration bar. Tsubasa, his hawk summons who had guarded over him as he slept, glided down from the treetops and perched on his shoulder. It had been a long time since he had seen Tsubasa's plumage, but from what he remembered, it was a lovely assortment of red feathers, while her underwings were colored white and striped with gray.
She cocked her head at him and then made a throaty noise. Sasuke chuckled and broke off a piece of his breakfast for her. "There you are, Tsubasa, thanks for all your work." The red tailed hawk grabbed the treat greedily, and then was gone in a puff of smoke. He idly brushed his shoulder after the bird disappeared, then picked up his small backpack and instrument case. Time to hit the road.
He had not been traveling more than a few miles when he felt a group of people approaching. Should I hide, or play it cool? Sending out discrete chakra tendrils, he noticed that none of the travelers had any chakra to speak of. He decided to stand his ground. It might do well for my cover to join up with other travelers anyway, and perhaps I can gather some intel from them.
Of course, if Sasuke had been able to see their appearances as they approached— a kaleidoscope of patchwork clothing that screamed of rainbow ragamuffins— he probably would have concealed his presence and saved himself the trouble.
"Well hello, fellow wanderer!" shouted a voice from behind him. Sasuke mused, Yes, these folks are definitely not ninja. Has anyone ever told this lady it's not safe to talk to strangers? Apparently not, because he sensed that she was running to meet him.
"Oi, hello there!" the mysterious woman called again. "Oh goodness me, you're blind! And you're traveling alone!"
Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "Hello?"
"Oh my, how rude! My name is Kasumi, and behind me are Gorou and Haruki."
"Good morning!" one of the aforementioned men called.
"Hey there, I'm Haruki, it's nice to meet you!" The second man took Sasuke's hand in his and gave it a hearty shake.
Sasuke bowed politely. "I'm Sora. It's nice to meet you, too." Sasuke spared a thought for Naruto's daughter Sora, and hoped that she would not mind if he borrowed her unisex name.
Kasumi glanced at his instrument case and gushed, "Oh, Sora-san, it looks like you're a musician too! What luck! We were just on our way to Ame to play a gig ourselves— we're called the 'Traveling Stardust Experience', have you ever heard of us before?"
"Um...I don't think so..."
"Oh really? Because we're super famous!"
Gorou broke in at this point, "Kasumi-chan, don't be rude! Hey, Sora, where are you traveling to? We could walk together for a ways?"
Sasuke sighed and replied, "I was going to try my luck at one of the border towns. A fellow told me that Akash pays musicians very well for their time."
Silence.
"You—you're going to Akash? By yourself? Oh my, oh my! Don't you know there's been a werewolf stalking off with innocent people near that town?" Kasumi all but shrieked. Huh. So Ryuu didn't make up the bit about werewolves...but what a bizarre rumor. Instead of voicing this thoughts, Sasuke cleared his throat and replied, "An old friend of mine said he'd meet up with me in Akash. I hadn't heard any of the rumors that you mention, but personally, I don't believe in werewolves."
Kasumi began to lecture him about werewolf safety in a motherly tone, as if she weren't half of Sasuke's age. Sasuke nodded politely but maintained that he couldn't keep his friend in Akash waiting, and while he really did want to travel with them to Ame to see their so-called 'Traveling Stardust Experience,' he had appointments to keep. After much harraging, the trio decided to accompany the insane blind man to Akash, lest he be devoured by werewolves and his soul come back to haunt the hapless three. Kasumi was particularly insistent that they couldn't leave the poor man to perish in the wilderness, and was convinced that the good karma points would protect them from any unholy creatures of the night as they traveled. Sasuke sighed, but agreed, convincing himself that it would only help his cover to travel with other musicians.
As they traveled, Sasuke learned many things from the overly friendly Kasumi, but unfortunately, nothing of consequence was revealed.
"So Sora, where do you hail from?"
Sasuke sighed convincingly. "I'm an orphan. My family was all killed in the wars when I was young, so I've spent the better part of my life as an itinerant musician." It was all true, more or less. One thing Sasuke had learned in his years of being a ninja was that it was beneficial to be as truthful as possible when going undercover— it increased one's credibility.
Kasumi gasped. "Oh, how horrible! You've been alone all these years— don't you have any sweethearts?"
Sasuke, posing as Sora, sighed dramatically again. "I have one. But she's tried to kill me multiple times..." Again, mostly true.
"Whoah, really? Whatever for?"
"Let's just say that she has an anger management problem. So...what about you, Kasumi?"
Sasuke had meant the question to be taken as 'where do you hail from,' but Kasumi took it another way entirely. "Oh, Gorou, Haruki and I are all lovers."
Sasuke choked on his own spit. After he recovered, he mumbled something about how 'nice' that must be. This must be what the hippies call 'free love.' How...outlandish. Peace time does weird freakin things to people. Sasuke was experiencing quite the culture shock after leaving for the first time in over a decade.
As the sun set, Sasuke made camp with the hyper hippie girl and her laconic lovers.
"Sora-kun, would you like to play some music with us?"
Sasuke forced himself to smile. So I'm Sora-kun now. Sure doesn't take Kasumi a long time to make friends. In truth, the last thing he wanted to do was to play with these vagabonds, but it was vital for the sake of the mission, so...
"I'd be delighted, Kasumi-chan," he ground out.
And with that, the 'Traveling Stardust Experience' unpacked their instruments— a guitar, a flute, and one tambourine in the hands of Kasumi— and they started to 'jam.' Sasuke winced. He was more of a classical-jazz-folk-music-fusion kind of guy. He was not sure what to call the 'music' the trio was playing, except to classify it as 'extremely awful.' Sighing, he whipped out his mandola and strummed some mindless chords along with the 'band.' Oh Kami, I hope we get to Akash soon...
a/n have a great weekend everyone! And remember, if you'd like to get a bonus chapter this week, then please review! Much love!