(Welcome back! This is the First Chapter of a new 5 Part Arc. Kuroda's regular squad is still recovering in the hospital. Since he is 100% he has been assigned to accompany Team 15 on their new mission. Will they be able to work together, or will his presence cause conflict within the team? I love feedback and constructive criticism, so please leave a review so I can improve my writing and storytelling skills. Enjoy!)
"Wait a minute, why are we here again?" asks Tousen Nahana as he scratches his head. His dirty-blonde hair is packed with so much gel, to keep it standing straight up, that it stays perfectly in place even as he messes with it. Team 15 along with Kuroda is standing in a waiting room outside a more formal meeting room. The room is a simple off-white color with sliding panels on two sides and a few wooden chairs to sit down on. Kuroda and Shun are quietly sitting on two cream-colored chairs watching all the commotion.
"You're the Jonin, you're the one who should have the most information about the mission," Rame Tsu says, a vein bulging out of her forehead as she stabs her finger at her mentor.
"I thought you were all paying attention though," he replies waving his hands innocently.
"Ugh, you idiot," she sighs as she slaps her forehead.
"Is he…serious?" Kuroda whispers cautiously, to the dark-skinned boy seated beside him.
"No, he just likes messing around with Naoko and Rame Tsu," Shun whispers back, "He acts like a fool, but he is actually really talented. He just likes to be eccentric because he feeds off people's reactions."
"Please, won't you explain it to me?" Tousen pleads, as he is on his knees begging, "I'll make the village look bad if I go inside and don't know what we are here for."
"Fine, I'll sum it up for you," Naoko sighs sourly, "We are in the Tea Country because the Wasabi Clan has been having trouble with a man who owes them a lot of money. He has been entering their gambling houses all over the area and wears a different disguise every time. The Clan's own debt collectors haven't been able to catch him, so they hired us to do it for them."
"Oh, that's right," Tousen says as he jumps to his feet and puts his hand under his chin to look like a wise man, "You know the Tea Country is famous for their gambling houses and the variety of different games you can bet on. Why, the 5th Hokage used to wander these lands searching for the best game around. What a glorious woman! Such beauty and grace and power! It was long before my time, but she got a reputation for her gambling. They used to call her…"
"We don't need to know about your necrophilia fantasies!" Rame Tsu shouts, "Just go inside, we've made them wait for us too long already."
"Hey, don't be shouting about that kind of stuff," he shushes, trying to calm her down "Everyone will hear and think I am a pervert."
"You are a pervert!" the girls shout in unison.
"So harsh," he says, cowering in a corner, overwrought with despair.
"Is it always like this?" Kuroda asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Always," Shun sighs, resting his chin in his hand.
"Alright we better go in and talk to the Clan Chief to see if there have been any new developments," Tousen announces, suddenly recovering from his depression. He opens the sliding panel and they enter the beige meeting room. The room is already occupied with several men in formal attire. Important members of the Clan are sitting in two parallel lines with the head of the clan at the far end. He has sharp black hair even though he seems to be entering into the later years of his life. He is dressed in blue robes and seated cross-legged sipping a cup of tea.
"Ahh, you must be the team sent by the Leaf Village, please have a seat," he says politely, motioning with his hand towards the empty mats on the ground.
"Thank you, sir," Tousen replies formally as he sits, "I am Tousen Nohana. This is Shun, Naoko, Rame Tsu, and Kuroda. It is a pleasure to be working with the Wasabi Clan again."
"Yes, we have a long and prosperous history with the Leaf," the leader replies, "I just wish we were meeting under better circumstances."
"Yes, let us get down to business," the Jonin responds, "What can you tell us about the situation?"
The clan leader motions his hands and one of the lesser members hands a scroll to the Jonin leader. He unrolls and examines it and then passes it along to Shun.
"This man owes us a substantial debt, which he gained a few months ago. He opened up a tab at several different locations and lost lots of money. But after a while he began winning large amounts," the head of the clan explains, "Our collectors were sent after him, but he seems to have ninja-like abilities."
"What do you mean?" Shun inquires, his neutral expression changing into a frown..
"I've been able to corner him a few times with my team," says one of the lesser clan members, "I have seen his face several times and each time it looks completely different. Also every time we corner him he has been able to disappear in an instant."
"Sounds like a Transformation Technique and a Body Flicker Technique," Naoko whispers to her best friend.
"Yeah, I agree," Rame Tsu says nodding.
"However, he does have a unique method of betting," the clan leader explains, "That is how we have been able to recognize him each time."
"I see, and what exactly is this betting style?" Tousen inquires.
The members of the Wasabi clans exchange significant glances, hesitant to respond to the inquiry. The Clan leader clears his throat and then nods towards one of the other members, giving his permission to reveal the information.
After the meeting the team is shown to their quarters and left to discuss their strategy for capturing the elusive gambler. They are given a single room, but it large enough to comfortably fit five beds plus a few dressers and it has its own private bathroom.
"Well, it all seems pretty obvious to me," Tousen says, leaning against a wall, "We just have to wait until a message comes in from the Wasabi Clan. Once we know that the gambler is at one of the betting houses we can immediately go and capture him."
"You make it sound like it will be simple," Naoko responds, plopping down on one of the beds.
"It'll be fine," Rame Tsu interjects, "We just have to do what we are best at. Beat up the bad guy."
"It is just a waiting game then," Shun states.
"Isn't anyone curious about the motives of this guy?" Kuroda asks, "I mean, he knows that the Wasabi are on to his scheme, so why does he stay in the country? He could easily go to another country and restart there."
"True, but like I said earlier the Tea Country is famous for having a large number of gambling houses," Tousen reiterates as he picks some dirt off his shoulder, "No other country has this many within such a short distance of each other. If you look around it may not look like a rich country, but there is a lot of cash flowing around each and every day."
"You work where the money is," Shun nods.
"I guess," Kuroda replies, rubbing his chin, "But still there has to be some ulterior motive."
"Well, we can interrogate him once we catch him," Naoko suggests, stretching her arms over her head.
"I'm sure the Wasabi Clan will want to take care of that," Rame Tsu says, with a happy grin.
Over the next few days the team lounges around waiting for a call to come, but none does. Everyone starts to get restless, itching to get into a battle. Eventually Tousen decides that he will pass the time by trying his luck in a casino.
"Sounds like fun, I've never actually been gambling before," Kuroda says, jumping off his bed.
"Oh, sorry, but I'll be the only one going," Tousen announces from behind the dressing panel, "No one else can come."
"What? Why not?" Naoko questions.
"Well, that should be obvious," Tousen points out as he jumps out and reveals his brand new lime-colored tuxedo, "You're all minors. You're too young to gamble."
"What? That doesn't make any sense," she exclaims.
"Yeah, I mean we can risk our lives on dangerous missions, but we can't gamble?" Rame Tsu adds with an incredulous expression on her face.
"Hey, don't blame me," he says innocently, "I didn't make the rules. Anyways I'll be out for a while. Let me know if any messages come in. Don't make a move without me."
"Hey, wait, are you sure this is a wise…" Kuroda starts to say, but before he can get the rest of the sentence out Tousen has zoomed out the door.
"Same old Sensei," Shun comments, shaking his head.
"I bet he's not even going gamble," Rame Tsu speculates.
"Yeah, he is probably going to a brothel, because he is a pervert!" Naoko adds.
"Well, this is certainly different than a mission with Team 3," Kuroda thinks as he plops back down on the bed, "But now that Tousen is gone I could benefit from this opportunity." He stands back up and grabs his weapons holster off the table and secures it to his leg.
As he heads for the door Naoko questions, "Hey, where do you think you're going?"
"I'm just going out for a bit of exploring," Kuroda replies innocently, "I've never been in this country before, so I thought I'd take a look around."
"What happens if the gambler shows up?" Rame Tsu asks.
"Hey, I'm just an extra on this mission anyways," he says, "I'm sure you can handle it on your own if it comes down to it."
"Well, he's right about that," Naoko agrees.
"Fine, but we're not going to be responsible if you get into any trouble," Rame Tsu warns, frowning and crossing her arms over her chest.
"See you later then," he says, waving as he exits.
"Hey, where are you going, Shun?" Naoko questions when the dark-skinned boy follows after Kuroda. He gives no response or explanation as he leaves.
"Typical men," Rame Tsu sighs, "Always leaving the women to do the work while they go out and play."
"Whatever, at least we get some time away from that perverted Sensei of ours," Naoko says, falling back onto her bed.
"Yeah and I don't think he'll be back for a while. So maybe we can have some fun of our own," Rame Tsu suggests with a hopeful smile.
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? While the squad waits for their target to make an appearance Kuroda decides to take a walk. But what are his true motives for this sudden urge to explore? Read the next chapter to find out. As usual, if you want more information on my characters you can see their bios on my profile page. Be warned, there may be some spoilers. Also I'm in the process of getting pictures drawn for the characters, but I have no idea how long that will take. If you're interested in drawing and have a DA account then send me a Message. Enjoy the next chapter, and please review.)