Chapter 12: Mission Accomplished

-o X o-

AN: Surprise, I'm back! Hope you haven't forgotten everything, since it has been a year or so since my last update. This one feels a bit anticlimactic after such a long wait, as it just wraps up the courier mission to Taki, but I hope you enjoy the chapter nonetheless!

-o X o-

Waking up again was not a pleasant business.

As soon as my consciousness returned, I remembered everything, and my eyes shot open. I was in a dimly lit room, lying on a what I supposed to be a hospital bed. An IV was attached to my arm, and bandages wrapped most of my upper body. Not that I had much experience in such places, but the room was unlike any hospital room I had ever seen before. It was shaped like a round dome, and smelled earthy and natural, instead of the sterile, chemically scent I expected in such environments. The staff had kindly left a large glass of water on a stand within arm's reach. After downing it, I activated my Byakugan to take in the world outside my quarters.

Thankfully, the strange shimmer that had tinted my vision during the end of my battle with Jirobo was gone. I quickly noticed that my room was underground, carved out of the earth amidst the root structure of the biggest tree I had ever seen in my life. There were several other rooms like mine, and many of the ones nearest to me had other wounded people in them. I noticed Fuu's sensei- Hayato san? - on a similar hospital bed in a slightly larger room nearby but didn't see anyone else I recognized. This was confirmation enough for me that I was in the medical wing of the Hidden Waterfall Village.

While the hospital was comprised of a hive like design of narrow corridors and small individual rooms, there was a much larger cavern carved out directly beneath the center of the massive tree trunk, spacious enough to build all sorts of buildings, despite the whole thing village being underground. In that district, lounging in a guest house of sorts, I spotted Naruto and Akiko, seemingly none the worse for wear. That was a relief; they must have disposed of Sakon and Ukon without too much trouble. But where was Anko sensei? Maybe she was meeting with some of the Taki leaders.

I tried to take stock of my own injuries next, and I realized that the hole Kidomaru's arrow had made in my abdomen had been patched up rather nicely. It was tender to the touch and would probably leave a nasty scar, but I felt confident that I wouldn't die from that or my other injuries now. Everything else had been soothed, if not outright healed, by the medical personnel.

As tempting as it was to get up and leave, I figured that poking around in a foreign village would be discourteous and dangerous, even going directly to my team. I wasn't sure I would be able to walk yet anyway, so I stayed put. Thankfully, it wasn't long before my team decided to come visit me.

"He's awake!" Naruto bellowed upon entering the room. "Tedashi! I'm so glad you're alright! You had so many injuries, and the blood, and… well, yeah." He looked down at this point, a far cry from his normal exuberance. "It was scary. You had a hole going right through you. I'm… I'm sorry that you got hurt."

"Thanks, Naruto," I replied, watching as Akiko took a seat in one of the guest chairs a respectful distance away. Her katana had been resealed, but she still had the distinctive silver hair and ghostly blue eyes of her previous spirit possession. "And it wasn't your fault by any means," I continued to my blonde teammate. "You saved us by holding off the metal man twins all on your own. By the way, where is Anko sensei? Is she ok?"

Naruto looked relieved- had he felt guilty about me being shot? Akiko nodded solemnly in response to my question, though it was Naruto who burst into explanation. "Yeah, but she had to get back to the village to deliver important information about our mission! Since you couldn't travel yet, she left us here to look after you. She'll be back in a couple days to pick us up again."

"Also, the people here were wary of letting a foreign jounin into the heart of their village," Akiko added, still in her deep, modified voice. "Taki is known for their secrecy and security. Providing shelter for three young children is one thing, but allowing a jounin access for any amount of time would be seen as a major security threat."

"Yeah, what old man Asakura said," Naruto confirmed with a nod. "Oh, Tedashi, did you guys meet? This is one of Akiko's spirits. It totally creeped me out at first," he said, before he leaned in, whispering, "You know, ghost," in a voice that was still quite audible, then leaned back and continued normally, "but he's actually a pretty cool guy. Asakura used to be a samurai, like a million years ago! Can you believe it?"

Akiko's face twitched slightly. "Well met, Tedashi kun. My name is Asakura, and I am indeed the spirit of a samurai. I lived about 600 years ago, to be moderately more precise. Akiko also sends her greetings. We have switched roles, so to speak. Though I am in control of her body now, she perceives everything I do, and can communicate through me. This reversal of roles is the consequence of giving a spirit possession complete reign over one's body, as we were forced to do in our last battle."

"An honor to meet you, Asakura san, and thank you for keeping Akiko safe in the last battle," I replied, then frowned. "It's not permanent, right?"

Asakura's head shook in the negative. "With time and experience, Akiko will become stronger with me as a guide than with me in full control, but she is still relatively new to combat, and that deformed redhead kunoichi was far beyond her ability- especially after undergoing that strange demonic transformation. Akiko's own reflexes were not yet fast enough to combat such a demon, so she willingly gave control over to me. Unfortunately, we are in such a state now that we shall require assistance from a Yamanaka to safely and properly separate when we return to Konoha."

"Ah, that's Ino's clan, right?" Naruto asked, perking up at the familiar name. "They can help you get sorted out?"

"Indeed, and the Onikuma clan is greatly indebted to them for it," the samurai answered. "From what I understand, the Onikuma have grown significantly in numbers and in prominence since coming to the Leaf Village and allying with the Yamanaka, but I would prefer to let Akiko chan explain their clan history in her own voice, when she is able. Suffice it to say, she will back in control after a brief session with a Yamanaka expert."

"I see. By the way, how long have I been out? When is Anko sensei coming back?" I asked.

"After the fight, the Taki ninja brought us back to the village," Naruto began to explain. "At least, they brought us close to the entrance. Some guards met us there and didn't want to let us in at first, but Anko sensei demanded they at least take the three of us genin in, since she had to get back to Konoha anyway. She handed over the mission scroll too, then took off. Then you slept the entire next day, and woke up today!"

"As for the second question," Asakura added, "A jounin can make the trip between Taki and Konoha in under two days. If they send a team traveling at a normal pace to retrieve us, it will only be a few days longer before their return."

At this point, a middle-aged doctor entered the room. He was a short, jittery looking fellow, whose hands fluttered at the ready when they weren't actively engaged in some task. "Ah, the foreign boy has awoken," he commented brightly, rubbing his hands together. "Very good, veerrrry good. I knew you would wake up today, I knew it, no matter what Shizuka said. He never was very good at dealing with real injuries, you know, not like me." He leaned in closely as he stated this last part, opening his eyes exceptionally wide, like it was a conspiratorial secret he was sharing with me. I leaned back deeper into my pillow, trying to maintain a socially comfortable distance between us.

He straightened up and zipped around the bed, examining my body here and there before snatching up a clipboard and furiously jotting down some notes. "Excellent recovery time thus far, simply excellent, no doubt due primarily to my expert handiwork. Not that I'm surprised, of course, but really someone ought to take notice of these things. I shan't be surprised if you're walking about in three or four days at this rate, and what would ol' Shizuka think of that, I wonder?" He grinned madly and made one last flourishing stroke across his clipboard.

"Uh, thank you, doctor…" I said, a little concernedly.

"Ah, of course, introductions! If you insist, I suppose. it's not like I need the recognition and fame that will come from giving my name to my many successful patients. But since you insist on knowing, I suppose I can divulge my name to you. Not that you need to share it with the world, mind you. But yes, anyway, my name, for likely you haven't heard of me where you're from, though I'm quite well known around here, and respected by those who know the craft. You can call me Doctor Tako, best in the business here in Taki, and quite possibly beyond, though I'm not one to boast about it."

I stared at him blankly for a minute. "Ah, my thanks for your most excellent ministrations, Doctor Tako," I eventually replied. "It seems that word of your skill has not yet travelled as far as Konoha, though I'm not involved in many medical circles."

"Is that so?" he asked, seeming a bit let down. "Bah, no matter, no matter, a job well done is its own reward, they say," he muttered. "Well, perhaps they'll know after you return, if you'll inform them. For the benefit and overall reputation of Takigakure, that is. All the better if our allies in the Leaf know we have a competent, reliable medical staff. But you better mention me by name- Doctor Tako, my boy. Not out of any vanity or conceit on my part, of course- you'll never meet a doctor so humble as myself. But I wouldn't want them to mistake my work and that of our head physician Shizuka; he's a malpracticing quack, though I shouldn't gossip. But enough of this, you need rest now. I'll continue doing checkups in the mornings, and if all is well, I'll permit you to leave the hospital complex in a couple days, provided you walk gingerly and cautiously, using a cane to avoid undue stress where you don't need it. A nurse will be by shortly with a meal for you. Now everyone out! You heard me already, the patient needs some rest."

Naruto and Akiko exited before him, and the odd doctor gave me one last solemn nod before closing a circular wooden behind him on his way out. Not having anything better to do, I decided to go back to sleep rather than wait for the nurse.

I had barely closed my eyes, however, when I felt something tickle my nose. Opening them again, I saw small dirt particles crumbling from the roof, the source of my facial irritation. Just as I activated the Byakugan, a hole opened in the ceiling and a green haired girl dropped down. Unfortunately, she had bored the hole directly above me, and fell directly on top of me in an undignified heap. I groaned.

"Oof," she muttered, rolling off me and on to her feet. "Sorry 'bout that. Not all that adept at earth jutsu yet, especially when precision is necessary. Anyways, are you still bedridden?" She smirked at me. "Are you going to be crippled for life now? You sure take your time recovering."

"I was shot," I said drily. "With an arrow. Clean through. Then punched by a mutated, drugged up giant. And then nearly blown up. And I am recovering just fine- or at least, I was, until you came dropping in on me like that."

Fuu shrugged. I noted that she had a large cast covering one forearm and hand, but otherwise looked quite healthy. "First of all, this makes us even. Now you know how I felt when that explosion went off and you got slammed into me. Not fun. Secondly, that wart faced mountain man punched me, like, a dozen times at least, and here I am, still walking. Quit being a sissy."

"His first punch blew up your hand! Maybe he was taking it easy on you after that. Besides, but you can't fault me for not recovering as fast as a Jinchuriki."

"Aha! So you do know about that!" Fuu exclaimed, pointing accusatorily with her good hand. "But how? It's supposed to be a secret, outside our village at least. And aren't you… aren't you scared of being near a demon? I could kill you where you lay right now, you know," she finished, glaring a bit.

I shrugged. "First of all, my kekkei genkai lets me see chakra. I could see a second source of chakra in you once you started using it. As for you being a demon, that's not true, and we both know it. I know a little fuinjutsu, and I'm bright enough to know that the thing inside a seal is not at all the same as whatever- or whomever- the seal is written on. And lastly," I looked down at my bandage-wrapped body, "any ninja worth his salt could kill me right now, Jinchuriki or not, so I have no reason to fear you more than anyone else in that regard."

She looked at me oddly for a minute, thinking. "Huh. Well, I guess what you said is true, but not many people see me that way." She paused again, then quirked her hip. "By the way, how long have you been a ninja? Shouldn't you, like, not be telling me about your kekkei genkai and fuinjustsu skill and stuff?"

Oh. I just told a foreign nin more than was strictly necessary about my abilities. I felt like I could trust her though; maybe because I knew her background a bit from the show? No, that's not right, I hardly remembered anything about her from the show, other than the fact she hosted the seven tails. Maybe I opened up out of pity for a Jinchuriki like Naruto?

I stared at her blankly, trying to think of a suitable reply.

"Well, whatever," she scoffed. "Stupidity aside, it's kind of nice that you're willing to talk to me normally. Most of my village wants nothing to do with me."

Jinchuriki prejudice. I wished Naruto was here, he would know what to say better than me. I felt bad for her, but I wasn't that great at comforting or reassuring people. What would a socially competent, empathetic person say in this situation?

"That's rough buddy," I said. Nailed it. Ok, new plan, what would Naruto say? He would go into his own backstory and form some kind of personal connection- I'll try that. "It's because of the Biju, right? Most of my clan feels the same way about me," I said. She looked at me skeptically, and I shrugged. "Well, not because I'm a Jinchuriki or anything, obviously. But they don't trust you because they're afraid you will turn on them or something, right? My mother slept with an enemy nin from Kumo during a mission. I was the result. It's bad enough that Kumo was our enemy in the last war, but just a few years ago they schemed to kidnap our clan head's daughter and ended up killing the clan head's brother. My clan is ashamed of the circumstances of my birth and outraged at my lineage. Plus, I think there is some unfounded fear that I might have loyalties to Kumo, even though I've never even met anyone from that place. I don't even know who my father is. It's not a fun combination for me."

She didn't look particularly moved, but I continued. "Naruto has it even worse, but I'm not going to get into that. Even so, we've become good friends, and made some other friends as well. The village is wrong to fear and hate Jinchuriki, though I suspect ignorance more than malice in most cases. But they don't all feel that way, and some who do won't feel that way forever. You'll meet some good people too, even if it takes some time for them to understand you."

Fuu sat down in one of the visitor chairs, propping her head up with one hand as she stared at me with her orange eyes. "Taki isn't that big of a village. I've met just about everyone by now, and they're all the same. I've already been a ninja for two years. I've tried to prove that I'm loyal, and safe, and… human. But they don't notice."

I looked at the ceiling, thinking. No one deserved to be treated as less than human, especially someone who actually tries to be a good person. I didn't remember much about Taki. Maybe they come around to like Fuu eventually, but I couldn't in good conscience promise that. "Well, I'll introduce you to Naruto and Akiko tomorrow," I decided. "At least you'll have a few friends in the Leaf Village, until some from your own home come to their senses."

She continued to study me for a minute, face blank. "Better than nothing, I guess," she said after a pause. She tried to look disinterested, but I saw the barest hint of a smile. "Anyway, I got to go. Got better things to do than share village dynamics with a foreign invalid." I twitched and scowled as she smirked. "Work on your fortitude, pretty boy. What kind of delicate ninja who ends up in the hospital from one punch?"

As soon as she said it, she hopped up into the hole she had burrowed in the ceiling. "I was shot!" I exclaimed as the dirt filled in beneath her, restoring the ceiling of my domed room, leaving me muttering to myself. "Freaking arrow, all the way through… not just one punch… I'm not delicate… demonic sage energy punch is not just one punch… I am tough!"

"Sure you are, deary," came a voice, startling me. A kindly old nurse had arrived with my meal, having walked in at some point during my tirade, and I hadn't even noticed her enter. "Here's some food; a big, tough, growing boy like yourself needs to eat, you know!"

I flushed with embarrassment as she set the tray at my bedside and left.

-o X o-

Three days later, Doctor Tako released me from the hospital, noting curiously that I seemed to have sustained some additional minor blunt force trauma since during my stay. And while I agreed that 'blunt force trauma' was a fitting descriptor for Fuu, I decided not to mention her visit, and soon joined Naruto and Akiko in their guest house.

"Tedashi's here!" Naruto called excitedly as I opened the door and walked in.

"Thank the heavens. Relieve me of his presence, I need to meditate," Asakura's voice nearly begged.

I grinned. Naruto has an invasive personality. "I can take him off your hands for a bit. Wanna give me a tour of the village, Naruto?"

"Ah, yeah! Wait until you see the roots in this place! It's awesome! Not as awesome as Konoha, but still really cool. Maybe Hokage-jiji could get a big root structure like this to protect Konoha too."

I didn't comment on all the things wrong with that statement, physically and metaphorically.

Naruto seemed to barely restrain himself from dragging me as I hobbled out the door behind him. We spent a good hour walking around the village, though not half as fast as my blonde friend would have liked. Eventually, we found a nice, grassy spot next to an underground river, and I asked Naruto to stop so I could sit and rest. The running water provided some ambient noise, and I wanted to discuss some sensitive information. I activated my Byakugan as well, and sure enough, we had a single Anbu observer, though he was quite a way off- close enough to observe, but too far to overhear.

"Hey, Naruto," I said softly, getting his attention as I sat. "I wanted to talk about our fight with those demonic ninjas."

He looked a bit uncomfortable, but sat down next me. "Yeah, sure. They were crazy strong, but we got them! What did you want to talk about?"

I looked at him directly, trying to convey all the acceptance I could with a look. "I want to talk about your red chakra. You know, the stuff you used after I got shot."

Naruto was definitely uncomfortable now. "Ah, you noticed that? Yeah, sure. What about it?"

I shrugged. "I know what it is. I just wanted you to know, you don't have to hide it, or keep it secret, or anything. I know it's scary and kind of dangerous, but hey, we're still friends, alright? I don't want you to be all self-conscious about it."

His mouth hung agape for a second as he stared at me. "R-really? You know what it… You saw… and you're ok with that?"

I nodded. "Yeah, the Kyuubi, right? I know it must suck to have a monster like that in your gut, but I think he saved our lives this time. He gave you a lot of power, didn't he? That's how you were able to fight the half-metal demon guys?"

Naruto nodded, looking contemplative. "Yeah. It… spoke to me. When you got hit. I was so angry, and… and scared. I thought you were going to die. The fox said it could give me power, enough to avenge you and destroy the enemy. But even with all that power, that guy was so strong, I still couldn't kill him. I always thought I was going to be the strongest. I have to be, to become Hokage, you know? But those guys… they were on a totally different level. I wasn't strong enough. How can I become Hokage like this?"

"We'll keep training," I said, resolutely. "We'll get better, harder, faster, stronger. Those guys were stronger than us, but we're still alive, and stronger now than we were before. This was our first real mission. If we keep improving, every mission, and in between every mission, we are going to become stronger than those guys. And we'll get better at fighting together, so even stronger opponents won't stand a chance against the united Team 6. Someday we'll face stronger enemies than these, but we'll be ready for them. I'm certain of it."

Naruto nodded, looking fiercely determined. Did I just talk no jutsu the inventor of talk no jutsu? "Yeah, you're right Tedashi!" He jumped to his feet in excitement. "I'm going to train til I drop every day! I'm going to work my butt off every mission! And you better believe it, I'm going to become Hokage!"

He sat back down, looking much more like himself. "What should I do about the fox though? I mean, he's a big ol' evil demon, but he's also strong. I really might have died without his help there, but was that even me? I felt so angry, I was losing control of myself."

I thought about it. "It sounds like the fox manipulated you this time and drove you into a frenzy. But what if you could harness a bit of the fox's power, without losing control? We could talk to the Hokage about it, see if he knows a safe way to practice that. Anyway, how did you beat Sakon? I passed out after we beat the red head girl, I didn't see how your battle ended."

Naruto's face twisted in distaste at the memory. "A red hair guy from Taki came to help, but he was totally freaked out, and didn't do anything to help. Then that creepy metal demon guy split into two again- he called the other one his brother, yuck- and then this green haired girl came to help too. She was pretty beat up already, but at least she actually tried to fight. And then Anko sensei came, but Sakon, the stronger one I think, grabbed me and merged into my body. It felt gross, like I drank an entire carton of spoiled milk at once, and the contents were churning around through my whole body, and I couldn't throw it up.

Naruto grimaced at the thought, which then morphed into a smirk. "Then I saw the Kyuubi again, in his sewer cave thing, and Sakon was there with me. And the Kyuubi scared the piss out of him, and said, 'You call yourself a demon, snake spawn? Get your foul, bastardized chakra out of my vessel,' whatever that means, and then my whole body burnt like it was on fire from the inside, and the spoiled milk feeling just, like, disappeared. And then this nasty black ash stuff started falling off my body, and then I really did throw up, but Sakon was gone. He was, uh, discinerated? Something like that, Anko sensei explained it to me later.

"Anyway, his brother was steaming mad after that, but he didn't stand a chance against Anko sensei! She had the creepy black tattoos that looked kind of like Sakon's before he went full demon, and she crushed the brother with this massive earth jutsu before he could even get close."

"Wow, I'm impressed. I'm not sure if your kill was really gross or really cool," I replied, a little surprised at how Naruto's battle had ended. Sakon could fuse with other people too? Did he do that with Kiba, in the canon story? I couldn't remember. "I guess it was both. By the way, you should know that the green haired girl also has a big chakra monster sealed in her too. She's the Jinchuriki of the seven-tailed beast."

"She is?" Naruto asked in shock. "No way! How many of us are there?"

"There's nine beasts total, though I don't know how many are sealed into Jinchuriki. Yours is the strongest," I replied.

Naruto's eyes glazed over for a minute before he spoke again. "The fox says that you're the smartest idiot on the team," he muttered with a frown. "Though he added that he'd still eat you in an instant, given an opportunity."

I shrugged. "I don't doubt it. But even so, I'm glad you're his Jinchuriki, and let him know I said thanks for saving our skins. He'd be a powerful ally if he agrees to work with you. Maybe you can even become friends with him some day."

Naruto's eyes flashed red and a spike a killing intent let me know exactly how the fox felt about that idea. It ended as soon as it began, and Naruto's eyes regained their usual blue color. "Yeah, I'm not sure about that one, Tedashi," he replied shakily. "The fox had a lot of things to say about friendship with humans. I think it's safe to say he's against the idea. He also takes back what he said about you being smart."

I grinned. "Well, it was worth a shot. We should start heading back to the guest house. It's up to you if you want to tell Akiko about our big, red not-friend."

"You're really not afraid of him, huh?" Naruto asked curiously. "Sometimes, he still scares the daylights out of me."

"Hm. Well, it was the Fourth Hokage who sealed him, right? I'm pretty sure we can trust that he knew what he was doing. Besides, if he somehow does break out, he'll probably tear me limb from limb whether I feared him or not. Since I can't do anything about that either way, it doesn't make any sense to be terrified of him. Our fear doesn't make the seal any stronger, right?"

Naruto was thoughtful as we strolled back to the guest house.

That night, he told Akiko/Asakura, who only nodded stoically at the news.

"Akiko and I had been discussing the possibilities," the voice of Asakura spoke from her body after hearing Naruto out. "This was one of the scenarios we considered. I am no stranger to the power of the tailed beasts, and witnessed one of their containers do battle many years ago while serving the Onikuma clan. Akiko chan is less knowledgeable on the subject, but it would be rather hypocritical for an Onikuma to fear or disdain another Shinobi that uses a sealed entity for power, even if the Kyuubi is far stronger than any of the spirits this clan interacts with."

That was good enough for Naruto, and he sighed in relief. His two teammates didn't hate him for the power he carried within him. It was a good day.

-o X o-

The next morning, a knock came at the front door. I was dressing in the room that Naruto and I shared but activated my Byakugan to watch as Naruto hopped across the living room to answer it, finding Fuu on the other side. "Oh, it's you," he greeted the green haired kunoichi eloquently.

Fuu rolled her eyes. "Don't get so excited, Whiskers. Tell the cripple and the girl with the identity crisis to get their stuff together. I'm going to escort you three out of the village, to where your sensei is waiting." She stepped inside and looked around as Naruto shouted in joy at the thought of reuniting with sensei, ignoring the unflattering nicknames. The three of us quickly had our stuff packed and followed Fuu out the door.

"I'm going to blindfold you here," she said after a short walk, "then lead you the rest of the way out of the village. We don't want anyone to know how to get back in here, even if we're allies at the moment."

I tried not to laugh at the idea of blindfolding a Hyuuga. I mostly succeeded.

After blindfolding us, Fuu made a couple loops through the village in a lackluster attempt to make us lose track of our location, then led us out through a secret tunnel that led to a gap between two giant roots on the surface. She kept us blindfolded for a little longer, bringing us about a mile from the entrance, before finally removing the cloth bands that 'restricted' our sight.

"Alright, almost to the rendezvous point now," Fuu said. "Let's go."

We were close enough that I could see Anko sensei and her escort team- a very recognizable team- with my Byakugan now, waiting for us in a small clearing. It didn't take too long for us to get there.

"Anko sensei!" Naruto called as we entered the clearing ourselves. "I'm glad your back! Takigakure was cool, but I'm ready to get back to Konoha now."

Anko smiled, but she looked tired. "Yeah, me too kid. By the way, you'll be excited to know that this was upgraded to an A rank mission, due to the high-level opponents we faced. Congrats on completing your first A rank!"

"Wow! Awesome!" Naruto was glowing now. "How many ninja get an A rank as their second mission? I guess Team 6 is just that awesome."

One of the escorts scoffed at his outburst. "Who are these guys, sensei?" Naruto asked.

The other Jounin spoke up this time. "We are Team Guy, and it is always a delight to help another youthful Konoha team! Naruto kun, your determination to fight opponents so strong on only your second mission has inspired me! When I return to Konoha, I will do a hundred laps on my hands in honor of your youthful spirit!"

"Yosh!" his little doppelganger exclaimed. "Guy sensei! I too am inspired by the youth of these young genin! I will also do a hundred laps around Konoha on my hands! Then, I shall challenge one hundred chunin to a spar! Then, we must also take on an A rank… no, an S rank mission, to match and surpass the passion and youthful courage of our comrades!"

Their other two teammates sighed, as Guy and Lee embraced in a manly hug of youthful passion. Neji wouldn't meet my eyes, probably out of embarrassment over his team.

"Riiiiight," Fuu said slowly, interrupting the awkward scene. "Well, I'm just going to go home now."

Anko held up a hand. "Thank you for your help, kunoichi san. You and your team saved my genin, and the Hokage has sent me with a letter of gratitude and a monetary reward worth four A rank bounties as thanks to your village for your help. Please deliver this scroll to your leader."

Fuu looked surprised and took the scroll Anko extended with a nod. "Well, your team isn't half bad, Anko san." She turned and looked at us with a smirk. "Well, at least most of them aren't. Make sure you toughen up the cripple for me. I don't want him dying from a single punch like he nearly did this time."

Come on, why in front of Neji?

I scoffed. "I was the one who killed that monstrous chakra dude," I insisted, trying to salvage some reputation in front of Team Guy. "He had you dead to rights."

She twitched. "Maybe. But since you are the only one who can see chakra, maybe you made up the fact that he had so much?"

"You told her what the Byakugan can do?" Neji suddenly interrupted, startled and perhaps a bit angry.

"He basically gave me a full rundown of his skills after the battle," Fuu teased.

Anko laughed. "Tedashi, you can't just go and give away all your secrets to a foreigner, even if she is a hot, badass kunoichi who saved your life."

That had us both blushing. "Shut up sensei, that's not what happened."

"Akiko suspects that is exactly what happened," said Asakura's voice with a wry smile.

"Oh, how hotly do these Flames of Youth burn!" Guy interjected.

Neji looked half confused, half repulsed. "But if you told her about the Byakugan, why did she still blindfold you on the way out? Is she an idiot?"

"Hey, who are you calling an idiot!" Fuu objected.

"I didn't tell her about that part, Neji," I defended.

"Wait, what part? What am I missing?" Fuu asked, still scowling.

"Yosh! 360-degree X-ray vision!" Lee shouted helpfully.

"Shut up, Lee!" came a chorus of voices from Neji, Tenten, and myself.

Fuu looked stunned. "So, the blindfold…" Then she facepalmed. "You couldn't have told me that earlier? Whatever, just don't tell anyone from Takigakure, and neither will I, otherwise we're all going to be in trouble."

"Agreed," Anko said, smiling broadly. "Alright, maybe we should depart before we share any other clan secrets."

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, let's get going. See you around, Fuu."

"Don't die in the meantime. I'm out of here." And with that, she turned and started hopping back towards her village.

Anko grinned mischievously at me. "You see a pretty girl, and you start sharing clan secrets before you know the first thing about her. Oh, I can't wait to introduce you to the old hermit when he's back in town."

"That's not… It's…" I muttered, still flustered.

"Alright, all teasing aside, I'm sure we're all excited to get back to Konoha," Anko continued, cutting me off. "How about some quick introductions, then we can be on our way?"

"Right!" Guy exclaimed. "I am Might Guy, leader of Team Guy! These three are my Youthful Genin!"

"Yosh! Well said, sensei! I am Rock Lee, Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast!"

Tenten sighed. "They can be a little over the top. My name is Tenten, nice to meet you."

"And I am Neji Hyuuga," said my kinsman.

"Woah, are you like, Tedashi's cousin or something?" Naruto asked excitedly. "You guys look kinda similar!"

Neji grunted.

"Something like that. I'm Tedashi Hyuuga," I said, for the rest of Team Guy's benefit.

Akiko raised her hand. "I am Akiko Onikuma. And before you ask, my voice is distorted due to a clan technique gone wrong, which I cannot fix until we return to Konoha.

"And I'm Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village!" my last teammate declared.

Anko clapped her hands once to get everyone's attention. "And as you all know by now, I'm the number one sexy single in Konoha, Anko Mitarashi! So, Guy, can you lead the way?"

"Right!" the exuberant jounin exclaimed. "Follow me, and let us ride the winds of Youth to Konoha together!"

-o X o-

AN:

Thanks for reading after all this time! I have a few more chapters written out, though I tend to spend a long time reviewing (even if the quality doesn't seem to reflect it, it could be much worse!). I recently started thinking about the Chunin Exams and got motivated to write more. I don't even have any groundbreaking ideas for that arc, I just love the idea of a multi-stage ninja competition to earn a promotion, especially the 2nd and 3rd rounds. If I stick to my current ideas, things will really go off the rails soon after the Chunin Exam Arc, though we have a while to go before then. Peace out!