Hey, guys!
Sorry for the long wait! School is about to start and I was starting to get busy again. And that was just getting ready for school! T︵T School starts in a week so, update will be more slower. But, I will still update; no need to worry!
Anyhow! I apologize to for any wrong grammar or spelling and I hope you enjoy!
(Chapter 9 - One Big Mistake)
"I miss, Naruto-nii!", cried one Ryuu as he stretched himself over the couch; hogging all the space. Aki sighed in exasperation for umpteenth time this day. "Ryuu-kun, Naruto-nii just left yesterday", the strawberry blonde woman sighed; her hands gently cleaning the dirty plates. Naruto left for another mission since yesterday morning and now, the kids, especially the young blonde child, are missing theory brother figure already. And since Hiro just left to find some firewood, she was left with 6 kids, all alone.
"But it feels like it's been a hundred years! When is coming back?!", Ryuu whined. This time, it was Kazue was the one who proceeded to shut him up by hitting him on the head. The young blonde yelped and rubbed his bruised head, he was about to protest when he saw the scary look the redhead had. "I'm going to shut up now", he mutters and drops his head in submission. Junko giggled in the background, her favorite doll in her small hands while she watched her 'siblings'.
"Listen, Ryuu-kun, Naruto-nii won't be coming back until he finishes his mission. But don't worry, I bet he'll be back in no time so, be patient", Aki soothed. After cleaning the dishes, she prepared some snacks for the kids to temporally stir their minds away from their blonde older brother.
Things weren't as fun and exciting when Naruto wasn't with them, it was like there was something missing. The kids would instantly miss the older blonde male as soon as he leaves through that wooden door. But, it couldn't really be helped; Naruto is a mercenary, which meant he had to go to work every time someone called him. And believe me when I say that he has a lot of clients. Who wouldn't want a righteous hero saving them from harm.
Meanwhile, 8 figures made their way to the peaceful cottage with practiced stealth. The first 6 figures sneaked their way in while their last two teammates waited outside; incase someone decides to interfere with their mission. The unknown group melted into the shadows, watching the family through the window that was beside the house. The children ate their snacks while they conversed with one another, Akiko smiled as she tentatively listened to the young ones happily chatting. 6 bodies sharply nodded at each other before entered the cottage without being noticed, their first target; the kids.
"Wow! That story sounds awesome! I wish Naruto-nii could've told me that", Shiro muttered around the cookie that was on his mouth. Junko reprimanded her big brother about 'not talking with food in his mouth', Kazue nodding in agreement beside her. 'Girls are weird', the brunette male thought to himself. Shiro softly chewed on the chocolate-chip cookie and hummed in content, he already missed his Naruto-nii, just like everyone else. He wished he could come with his brother to his cool missions, he wanted to see how awesome Naruto was when he kick butts.
Grumbling under his breath, the brunette swallowed and stretches his hand to grab another cookie. But before he could reach for his treat, smoke erupts throughout the room. The kids coughed and rubbed their eyes to clear their vision. Junko clutched her doll tighter, beyond terrified of the occurring events; she steps back and suddenly tripped on a foreign object. Fearfully gazing up, she screamed in fright as she came face to face with a scary looking man with a mask.
"Junko!", Shiro, Kazue, Ryuu and Hideki called. Naoki narrowed his eyes at the man, he secretly reached into his long sleeve jacket and pulled out a jade necklace that adorned a seal in the front. It was a special seal that Naruto made and gave to Naoki, it was used whenever there was an emergency. It would send alarm-like signals to the one who created the seal, informing him that someone or something was messing with his family. The white haired children applied chakra to seal, hoping that their big brother would get the signal soon, and hid the necklace once more.
Aki jumped as she heard the horrified shriek of her youngest 'sister', she immediately drops what she was doing and took off to the living room. 6 men in dark cloaks and porcelain masks were grabbing and tying up the kids, as they struggled and for their young lives. The young woman charged at one of the men, who was pulling on a scared Ryuu, and tackled him to the ground with all her might. She nailed the anbu on the nose with a strong punch and powerfully squeezed his neck with her hands, effectively choking him.
"You leave my family alone, you cold blooded killers!", Akiko screeched madly as she squeezed the man's neck harder. Hey, just cause she's a girl doesn't mean she didn't learned a thing or two from her blonde saviour.
The masked ninja coughed and wheezed, he shakily pulled out a senbon needle that was dipped in a knockout potion and harshly poked the woman's shoulder with it. The potion immediately took effect and knocked Akiko out in a deep sleep. The ROOT anbu's teammates successfully captured the last of the kids and tied them all up, he then picked the strawberry blonde woman up and tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"The coast is clear. No sign of any other occupants in the house, including the main target", one of the anbu's announced blankly. The others nodded and dragged the kids and Akiko out of the cottage to leave and report back to their master.
"Hey! Stop! Who the hell are you!", Hiro angrily shouted, dropping the dead branches he was carrying. He was coming back from gathering firewood when he unexpectedly saw men in masks leaving their home with his surrogate family tied and struggling in their binds. The two anbu's that was left outside, approached the fuming silver haired man, the latter threw a right punch at the nearest ninja and kick to the other. The ROOT anbu's slightly staggered but continued on, throwing their own attacks; often hitting the man with their own retaliation.
The children cried and lightly sobbed as they watched Hiro get beaten up and injured by the bad men who attacked them. Each of them held different emotions while they struggled and stared at their black and blue guardian. Kazue felt useless, Shiro felt scared just like Junko and Ryuu, Naoki felt nervous and Hideki felt angry. Never have they experienced such situation that it made them worried for their family member's safety.
As the anbu's finally stopped assaulting the silver haired man, they left with the kids and the unconscious woman; leaving an injured Hiro behind without care. Hiro tried to keep conscious but the pain and exhaustion made him give in to the darkness that slowly swallowed him whole. The last thing he saw the men in masks leaving, his family in tow.
Meanwhile, Somewhere in the Borders of Wind Country
Naruto calmly walked with his cloak and mask clasped firmly on his body and face. He received a request from a merchant a few days ago; pleading to save him from a mysterious man who kept terrorizing him and his family. And since the merchant lived in a non-shinobi village, there were no ninjas who could help him with his problem. The blonde was supposed to leave the day after he got the message but he really wanted to spend time with his family.
Sighing, he continued his journey to his new client's house, hoping to end this mission soon. The blonde glanced at the sun in the sky, determining that it was early afternoon. It was a little windy, today and there were a few clouds in the sky; all in all, it was a nice day. "I wish I would have stayed, it's a great day for a walk in the woods with the kids. Oh well, a mission is a mission", Naruto muttered under his breath before swinging his arms up to his head and crossed them behind it. He supported his head on his intertwined hands, just like what he used to do as a kid, and stared-unfocused-towards the blue sky.
The blonde demon trudged down the path, his mind drifting into his own little world as he lightly relaxed himself. His time of peace was suddenly interrupted when he noticed the gentle glow seeping through his cloak. Lifting his cloak, he found the frantic blinking glow of his pendant; which was completely identical to Naoki's given one. Naruto wasted no time, he crossed his fingers into a familiar hand sign and a shadow clone instantly popped into existence. He then sends the clone to complete the mission for him and immediately sprang towards the direction of his home.
'Please no! Let it be just a prank. Kami, just keep them safe!', he internally begged; racing in full speed in hopes that nothing wrong happened to his new family.
"-iro! Hiro! Wake up, man!", a voice shouted. Hiro grunts, groggily opening his eyes. His onyx orbs met worried blue ones and it instantly woke him up. "Naruto!", the silver haired man enthusiastically yelled, relieved to finally receive help. "T-They took them, Naruto! They took the kids and Akiko!", Hiro tried to explain but his great concern towards the children and the strawberry blonde woman made him choke slightly. Naruto firmly placed his hands on the panicking man's shoulders and gently shook him.
"Hey! Hey! It's okay. We're going to save them and bring them back! But before we could do that, you need to tell me who took them, buddy. Calm down and explain slowly", the blonde soothed him. Hiro nodded and took a deep breath, calming his nerves and successfully relaxing his body to avoid anymore agonizing pain. "Alright, now, tell me what happened", Naruto stared with fierce determination swirling in his eyes.
"W-Well, I just got back from gathering firewood, when I saw 8 men in white masks carrying Akiko and the kids. Akiko was definitely knocked out while the kids were conscious and tied up. I-I tried to stop them but, they were too strong", the silverhead explained with his head bowed in shame of not being able to protect his precious people. The blonde mercenary patted his shoulder in reassurance, silently telling him that it wasn't his fault.
"It's fine, Hiro. You don't need to blame yourself, you did what you could. Tell me, is there anything that could help us identify those men?", Naruto questioned, getting an affirmative nod from his friend.
"Yeah, they were all wearing black cloaks and Anbu masks", answered Hiro. The blonde demon narrowed his blue eyes, which were morphing into red, slitted orbs, his fists harshly clenched underneath his cloak as he felt his anger rise. Noticing the increasing anger in his friend's body language, the silver haired man almost felt bad for the person who unknowingly won a one way ticket to Hell.
"...Konoha", Naruto growled with animosity. The clear night sky unexpectedly turned blocked and clouded with deadly storm clouds. Lighting and thunder softly rumbled beneath the dark gray curtains, informing that shit was definitely about to go down. 'Now, I do feel sorry for the person who pissed him off', Hiro thought to himself.
Finished!