Arc Two: Team Work

Chapter Nine

Summary: Hitomi wasn't a people pleaser. But at the same time she wanted them to be happy. Hard thing to balance. Never bothered her though.

This chapter is (extremely) late and short. More soon, promise.

"Awe, look at how cute you are minny ninja!" The enemy kunoichi cooes.

Hitomi called it.

She really did.

They had a quiet night, she woke up at dawn, ran some patrols with her sensei and then came back, everyone ate breakfast the caravan loaded up and they hit the road. They were so close to being in the clear she tasted it. That's when they attacked.

"I guess it's a gift to look so young." Hitomi flicks a stand of hair, "that way when I'm as old I won't be as wrinkly as you." She smiles sweetly, ignoring the way the woman's face was quickly turning red. "I know you're old baa-chan, but you're not that old are you?"

The pink haired woman hisses.

"A Kiri nin, a Kumo nin, and a Iwa nin, all in Konoha borders." Minato's voice was steel, "I assume Hokage-sama has notice that you all are passing through?"

"Of course," the single Iwa nin smiles warmly, spreading his hands in front of him.

After a brief skirmish they had stopped the fight short and now it was three enemy nin standing before Minato, Kakashi, Shisui, Hitomi and Hamatsu. It was like they were testing the waters, seeing what they were up against before making the real move. Which wasn't surprising seeing as two of their group had stayed back.

Hamatsu-sensei, on her right was tense but appeared casual, "funny, I don't remember hearing about this.." He says calmly, his voice promising retribution. "Perhaps you had forgotten? It's such a common mistake after all, honestly, how many times have I not checked in with the ruler of the land before passing through?..."

"Never." Minato replies nonchalantly. "So, let's just skip this part and you all can explain why you're actually here."

The blonde cloud nin sneers, "I'm afraid that's not Konoha business."

"Actually it is," Kakashi's voice was tight, anger hiding a sliver of fear.

"That's right, you can comply or you can be removed." Shisui smirks, his pinwheel eyes spinning.

"We mean no harm, we're just passing through.." the Iwa nin smiles again, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

"How exactly did you three meet? If I may ask?" Hitomi questions sweetly, "maybe I just can't read maps but you three sure had to go out of your way to meet by chance."

"Maybe you can't read." The cloud nin glares. "And it's not. your. business, little one."

"So," Hitomi ignores him, "can we assume your two friends are Kumo nin, Kiri nin, or Iwa nin? Are some mix?" She tips her head cutely, "judging simply by chakra I'd bet on Kumo and Kiri." The words were light in the heavy tension that hung over the group.

The Kiri and Kumo nins eyes narrow on her.

"So am I right?" Hitomi raises a brow.

"No." The pink haired girl growls.

"Right," Hitomi smirks, "and I'm not cute." She taunts.

The woman looked about ready to launch herself across the gap and tear out Hitomi's throat. The Iwa nin was shooting her side glances as if he saw it too. But Hamatsu cleared his throat, drawing the attention to him.

"So why did you attack us then?" He asks slowly.

"Simple misunderstanding. There was a Suna group we met previously, and we made a temporary truce to survive them." The Iwa nin didn't smile this time. "Well, we will take our leave now."

"Where is the Suna team now?" Minato's eyes narrow.

"Burned 'em." The Kumo nin sneers, looking all to happy with it.

"Consider it an act of good will." The Iwa nin adds as he gives a sign to retreat. The Kiri woman left first, with a glare to Hitomi and an approving look over her sensei's body. Then was followed by the Kumo nin and then the Iwa nin.

Hitomi refused to gag.

Once the nin were gone, they immediately took off in the direction of the caravan. And Hitomi couldn't help but think, for a group that had supposedly just banded together, how did they already have a set leader? And decide on hand signals? Each village had their own signs and meanings and it didn't make sense for them to be so familiar with each other. And the Iwa nins outfit had interesting amounts of blood and cuts. And no wounds or bandages to back it up. Sure there was medical ninjutsu, but judging by the amount of blood and the sizes of each slice that would've taken a lot of chakra to heal up entirely.

So was there a med nin in their group or did he steal a Iwa nins outfit? If he did steal it, she thought with a deepening frown, then maybe it wasn't a Suna team but a Iwa team. That would make more sense because Iwa and Kumo didn't get along well, never did and probably never would. Iwa nin invading wasn't a surprise, they had been at it for weeks or probably months now. But then these nin took care of all of them and one even went as far as to steal clothes and an Iwa head band... that was suspicious. Protocol demanded that the two jounin go take care of them, and it was concerning that both her sensei were just a few feet behind her instead of taking them out.

Hamatsu-sensei and Minato exchange glances as they retreat, silently planning the downfall of the group.

As they traveled the two jounin fell into flank position and started whispering. Hitomi let Shisui and Kakashi take lead, settling herself in the middle of their little group to hear more, and hopefully get some insight.

"You recognize that Iwa nin?" Minato asks lowly.

"Yes, that's why I didn't attack." Hamatsu-sensei responds even lower, "the kids can't be there for that fight. Sensei is in the area though, his mission led him not far from here."

"I'll send a messenger toad once we regroup." Minato nods.

"If they come back before then we could have a problem. And what about that group they supposedly took care of?" Hamatsu-sensei's frown deepens, "I'll send word through ANBU channels to warn the upcoming patrols."

"This isn't a good feeling.." Minato sighs through his nose, no doubt wishing to rub his temples.

"I know." Sensei responds immediately, "we'll finish the mission and get the kids back safely. It'll be fine."

"So you didn't kick their butts?" Obito starts to pout.

Hitomi rolls her eyes, "nope."

"Why?" Rin questions, lowering her bowl of miso.

Hitomi didn't answer as she took her time lifting her water to her mouth.

"The fight will come soon enough," Kakashi says, "just let it go."

"Shut up baka!" Obito rages with a raised fist.

"You wouldn't do to well anyways deadlast." Kakashi smirks, laying on his back over by the wall and tossing a small hand ball into the air lazily before catching it and repeating.

"Calm down Obito." Rin placates, resting a hand on his arm. He complies, grumbling under his breath.

"What was the deal with the Iwa nin?" Kenji asks, plopping down across from her at the low table. He makes a face, "I know you have some idea, so just say it."

Hitomi raises a brow, wondering what made her Hyuuga teammate so chatty now. The others tuned into this as well, all varying levels of interest.

"Hm, I guess I have at least one idea that could be plausible." She shrugs lazily, and despite her formal seating she leans forward and rests her elbow on the table, setting her chin on a balled fist.

"What is it?" Shisui asks, eyeing her carefully, she snorts inwardly as he looks for her hidden gestures and clues.

"There is a possibility that he is a Suna missing nin."

"What makes you think that?" Shisui questions.

"He had Iwa getup, so how do you figure?" Kenji frowns, his arms crossing with a silent huff.

"You said there was a Kumo ninja involved as well?" Rin asks slowly, looking down ant her hands, "Iwa and Kumo don't have good relations, Iwa has burned all bridges with them. So even if he was a missing nin, odds are he still wouldn't like Kumo."

Hitomi nods in agreement, liking the way she could see the gears turning in their heads. It was more fun to let them figure it out on their own then to just throw the answers in their laps. Besides, it's not like she gave them some complex riddle, just a simple gather the clues game similar to those they played in the academy.

"So he's a missing Suna nin then... huh.. didn't see that coming." Kakashi mumbles to himself, having already accepted the idea. He starts to toss the ball into the air again.

"Alright, let's go with this idea for a bit." Shisui nods, "so he is a missing Suna nin, how do we find out if that's true or not? I don't suppose Sensei will just tell us will he?"

Hitomi smirks, "no I don't suppose he will." To lazy to put chakra into her legs to stop them from going to sleep she tips to the side and crosses her freed legs, hands massaging the pins out of one ankle.

"So, how about it? Bring out that bingo book you stole, I know you have it with you." Kenji sniffs, "you take it everywhere.

Hitomi glares, "you mean the one I'm not supposed to have and that's supposed to be a secret, genius?"

"Yes, that's the one." He smiles a deceiving smile.

"You have a bingo book?" Kakashi's eyes widen marginally.

"Mm." Hitomi responds pulling it out of her thigh holster.

"How?"

She shrugs, "picked it up on the last C rank with sensei. It's very useful, you should get one."

Kakashi glares and Hitomi smiles warmly flipping through the pages, passing over Ame, Iwa, Kiri and she finds Kumo and flips through slower, looking for a certain face. Shisui gathers closer to her side, leaning in to watch. Obito all but flings himself onto her back, his eyes widening and his mouth falling slack as he stares at the book.

"So cool." He whispers, Hitomi glances up at him in amusement, wondering if he even knew he said that out loud.

"Here he is." Hitomi stops the passing page and flattens it to the table for all to see, "Tempest Tatsu is what he is known as."

"A violent, windy storm dragon." Kakashi deadpans, "great."

Hitomi smirks inwardly at the meaning of the name and title. It wasn't surprising honestly. She had heard a thing or two about this man in particular since his defection. And just like his namesake he was violent, and ruthless, his wind jutsu cut through just about everything it's gone against. If Hitomi and the other genin hadn't had the two jounin with them they would be very dead. Very, very dead. Hitomi wouldn't dream of going toe to toe with this man.

Although, Hitomi thinks, his Fūton is weak against sensei's Katon. Fire could beat wind if you knew how to use it, though also wind could go well against fire, but also with fire, seasoned duo using specialized Fūton and Katon were terrifying with their deadly accuracy. Hopefully there wasn't a Katon user on that team, and if so, hopefully they weren't well acquainted.

But thinking of Katon and Fūton duos, Hamatsu-sensei and Minato were one of those duos she knew to be deadly as such. She learned that on those out of village missions she went on with them and Fumiko or Kushina, though mainly Fumiko, Kushina wasn't allowed to go far from the village. But her two sensei... she smirks at the thought, what she would give to watch those two take on this Fūton user. She would want to be far enough away to only see and catch no explosions or debris. But close enough to catch the hand signs to the awesome jutsu that would no doubt be in play.

"What's that face for?" Minato chuckles, sliding the door open, "nothing good I assume."

"Is that a bingo book?" Hamatsu-sensei's face takes an exasperated look.

Hitomi shrugs, picking up the book and casually tossing it to him. He catches it flawlessly. "Is that him?" She asks, turning around to lean her back against the table.

Minato peeks over his shoulder before rolling his eyes and moving towards Rin where an empty mat sat to her right.

"Yes," Sensei flips the book closed, "he doesn't have a flee on sight mark yet," he says slowly, handing back the book, "but you're all genin, so, flee on sight." He smiles warmly.

Hitomi rolls her eyes.

Obito silently bounces beside her, the idea of running from a fight not sitting well with him.

"No problem." She says before her best friend can curse out her sensei. She flips open the book and finds Kiri's section, "Just the rumors of the guy are messed up. I want no part of him."

Kenji examines her then Shisui who nodded in agreement with Hitomi even though he probably hadn't heard the things she had heard. Seeing the look in her dark eyes, he nods as well, deciding to follow his team for now since there was an unknown reason for their dedication to this. Hitomi silently appreciated the fact that the two weren't at each others throats and hoped it would last the duration they were not safe in their village.

"What did I tell you about snooping around the jounin stand by station?" Hamatsu-sensei moves to stand over her, ruffling her hair violently. "You know nothing good comes from their."

"The Jounin have a stand by station?" Obito mutters, pranks going through his little Uchiha brain. Hitomi ignores her sensei and tries to nod,

"We pranked them a few weeks ago Obito, remember the sunset tags?"

"That was you?" Minato smirks, just one side of his mouth quirking up.

"Yup." She pops the p. "You were out of the village then weren't you?"

"Hitomi." Hamatsu-sensei all but groans, "stay away from there. They're jounin, you don't think they won't notice you and your bubble gum hair?"

Hitomi mock glares, "you tell me sensei." She says boldly, "have they noticed it was me and just won't act on it because you're my sensei? Or do they really not know?"

His golden eyes narrow but she sees the hidden mirth, and the tang of violence at the thought of doing something horrible to his comrades should they retaliate against his student. Hitomi shakes her head.

"No, they don't know yet," he shrugs finally, after gaining more than one stare from the other genin around. "But they will soon. Worry about the Inuzuka, the Aburame, the Uchiha and the Hyuuga- though the Hyuuga don't normally stick around there, and the Uchiha have the police station to tend to."

"That doesn't mean they can't be there." Hitomi finishes his train of thought earning a nod. "And the Aburame trust their kikaichū to much, so I have no plans of pulling their legs anytime soon- especially if they have eight of them..." Hitomi shivers.

"Scared of a little spider Hitomi-chan?" Obito giggles spaztically, thrumming his fingers together in his basic plotting moves.

"Obito, I will end you." Hitomi says simply, and said boys eyes widen drastically as he gulps before nodding quickly.

"Right Hitomi-chan," he exclaims, laughing loudly, "I was just kidding, I would never do that to you!"

Hitomi rolls her eyes and turns back to her sensei, deftly watching Kakashi and Kenji leave for their rotation, with silent hand signals to each sensei.

"And the Inuzuka hounds will smell me and remember the scent." She adds, "not interested in that. Though I was watching Tsume the other day and it was the funniest thing ever. Apparently she's looking for a mate."

Minato and Hamatsu-sensei exchange glances.

"Why are we talking about Inuzuka mating tactics? That is not a safe topic." Shisui smirks, flicking a grain of rice at his cousin after shivering dramatically, "it isentally scarring to be frank."

Hitomi returns her own smirk with a nod.

"Alright, alright." Minato cuts in just as Obito readies himself to tackle a grinning Shisui. "Hitomi, Rin you both take next rotation. The rest of you fan out around the main home and keep vigilant watch, report in anything suspicious." Blue eyes narrow on a blue and orange clad Uchiha, "and don't do anything obnoxious or stupid."

"Hear that Obito?" Hitomi questions as she stands and dusts of her pants, "Sensei wants you to just lay down and not do anything other than breath until it's time to go."

Then she was running, Obito on her tail. Moving quick enough to remain out of reach, but slow enough to make the boy think he had some kind of hope of catching her.

Reviews

Darkdust27- yes! I agree and I can't wait!

Loyal Fan- #1 it's been so long! Sorry about that, something did come up and I wasn't able to get on as much. #2 I'm alive and all your worrying has encouraged me t owork harder to get back on. #3 I am alive!

Lady Syndra- I can't reveal Aiko and Jiraiya's future, but it has some downs. No dying in childbirth, thank you! Amd yeah that idea would be devastating... can't do that.