Disclaimers: I own NOTHING in the Naruto verse except my OC and that's okay dokay with me;
Author's Note: Well lookie what we have here? It's been a couple weeks since I last uploaded this story and it's because I've hit a speedbump some time ago. It could be because of the C19 virus the world has thrown themselves into, it could be that my imagination has been going in a loop because of re-watching Supernatural (Which it has, my craft suffers because of it). Anyways, I'm back in the grind so Enjoy!
Chapter: Traveling
When they made it to the Eastern gate, Sakura was already waiting for them by the entrance of the check in station but no signs of the client or their sensei. Naruto huffs in annoyance but smiles when their pink haired teammate see them and waves, so naturally Naruto waves back with his unused hand. Sakura took a glance down for a split second, blushed and smirked behind her hand.
Over the last couple weeks, Ino and Sakura have seen the boys hold hands more often and would gush about it like the fan girls they are. The first time Ino told her, Sakura didn't believe a word the platinum blonde said and said blonde bet she could prove it. At that exact moment in time, Roxanne just happen to walk by as they argued over what the winner would get and being a closeted fan girl herself, she literally put herself in the middle and offered a prize.
What prize you may ask?
What prize indeed (insert evil cackling and hands rubbing)
You may remember the day where 2 boys also made a bet while the girl was training a little puppy, eh? Remember now?
That same night, the film was developed and once the pictures dried, Roxanne happen to make a few copies and stashed them in her special box in her night stand. We say special because only by her chakra can the box open. Sneaky, eh?
Anyways, Roxanne just happen to have one of those copies and at a great angle but failed to elaborate on what the picture was about. That peaked the girls interest and Ino, wanting to win at all cost, suggest that Roxanne make a clone to follow her and once she sees the target will set the clone off. The original will stay with Sakura so there'll be no time wasted in meeting up. Sakura agreed with the terms and Ino shot off after Roxanne made her clone.
Being the determined blonde that she is, located the target in no time and once the clone popped off, both Roxanne and Sakura met Ino during the beginning of the market evening rush. Ino stood behind a stall with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face as both Roxanne and Sakura walked up to her. Roxanne smiled as Ino grabbed Sakura's arm and pulled her close to lean over from behind the stall where they could see:
Sasuke leading a pouting Naruto by the hand as he tried to get him to smile by pointing to different stalls for their dinner that night. Sakura gasped and Ino nudged her with a wide grin as Roxanne looked over the girls heads to watch. However what happen next, not even Roxanne could of counted on fate to intervene.
Sasuke leaned in close to Naruto's face and rubbed his nose with the blonde's nose. Naruto blinked twice, smiled and then laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.
The girls went wild! They screamed into their hands as they jumped out of sight of the boys and Roxanne covered her ears as she laughed along.
When they calmed, they looked to where the boys are and saw that the boys started walking, both Ino and Sakura turned to Roxanne as she smirked and revealed to them the prize: a photo at the perfect angle with the perfect light with the perfect scene of Sasuke and Naruto's first kiss.
The girls went wild! And proceeded to pass out from massive nose bleeds. Roxanne chuckled as she tucked the photos in their pockets and walked after the boys, with her hands behind her and humming a tune.
After that, whenever Sakura saw the boys holding hands, she'd blush and giggle behind her hand.
So back to the gate: the boys met up with Sakura and asked how long she's been waiting.
"Actually I just got here. Did you guys got everything you needed, it's going to be a long trip there and back" Both boys nodded and asked if she had all she needed. As she nodded, a breeze picked up and Kakashi appeared.
"Yo" a hand up in greeting as Kakashi looked around "Where's the client?" Everyone shrugged and Kakashi sighed, hand on his hip and leaned on one foot
"Whatever. So what did you boys find out?" Here Sakura's attention was peaked but didn't ask.
"Well apparently there's this gang where the client's village is that has a 'company' that imports drugs and such. A bunch of blood thirsty thugs"
"Might be why the client needs an escort there, But that means this should be a A mission, right sensei?" Sakura asked as Kakashi nodded
"Yes, it should have been. Why would the Hokage agree to this as a C mission, unless?"
"Unless the client didn't have enough money to pay for an A mission and the Hokage agreed, thinking we're none the wiser" Sasuke finished, Naruto and Sakura nodded in agreement.
"Wait, something Roxanne said" Naruto scrunched his face in thought, Sasuke smiled and squeezed his hand 'He's so cute'
"Oh, She said it'll take us weeks to get there and that we'll end up staying to protect and guard him for another couple weeks and then come back"
"Hey, that's right. But why would we need to guard him when he gets home?" Sasuke ask
"Well, he's a bridge builder, right? Maybe these thugs will try to kill him so he won't be able to finish a bridge that'll.." Sakura didn't' finish
"That'll connect his village to the main land, of course!" Kakashi finished her sentence.
"Sensei, what are we going to do? This classifies as an A or higher and we didn't' even try out for a B yet" Sakura ask as she looks at him with a worried expression. The boys looked at each other, silently communicating as Kakashi watched their expression.
A few weeks ago, when Roxanne came home and she gave them their celebration dinner and movie, they asked her why she got to go out of the village on missions. And she said:
'Do you want to take on harder missions? Are you ready for them?' and they didn't have an answer then. They do now. The boys nodded to each other and looked to their sensei, looking determined to go ahead with this mission and finish it.
"If you're sure?" He asks. The boys nodded.
"We're sure" they turned to Sakura, "Sakura?" She stared at the boys for a moment then threw her hands in the air.
"Fine. But if I get killed then I'm going to kick your ass!"
"Sounds fair" Sasuke said as he nodded to those terms
"We'll even bend over for you, Sakura" Sasuke choked at those words and Sakura squealed before turning around, hiding her face. Naruto looked at both, blinking confusedly as to why they reacted that way. Kakashi patted the blonde's head.
"Hey" someone yelled to the squad and they all turned to see their client walking towards them, waving at them with their free hand as the other had a new bottle attached to it.
"I'll do the talking, you guys don't need to make any contact with him, unless he decides to sober up" Naruto snorts at the comment but kept quiet all the same.
Kakashi went to greet their client and set up ground rules for their trip, which the client grumbled about for a couple minutes before agreeing. Kakashi told the group that he'll be taking the rear, the boys will be in front and Sakura with the client. Of course said client was going to protest that a little girl couldn't possibly protect him, until he turned to said girl and gulped at the look she was shooting his way that effectively shut him up. Naruto sniggered behind his hand.
Kakashi smiled and gestured to them to head out, which they did as silently as possible, wanted to keep the peace for a little while longer.
OOOOO
Rock country. Well, near Rock Country: (2 days out of the village)
We were resting in the shade, in sight of a large boulder up ahead which signaled to the two that they are almost to or within Rock Country and Milo was nursing his feet because of blisters while Roxanne was pacing back and forth, growling out loud.
"I told you before we left to change your socks to better ones because we were going to take our time walking and not running. But did you listen, NO! And now look at you, blisters on both feet! We could have been at the check point by now" Roxanne exclaimed her displeasure at not keeping up with the schedule as she looked to the sky, guessing they had a couple hours left to actually make to their check point but won't have time to make camp or catch dinner before it got dark.
"You know what? Quit complaining and do something then!" Roxanne crossed her arms at her Jonin and clicked her tongue.
"Like what?" she snapped back
"Carry me" Roxanne stared blinking for a moment before throwing her head back and laughed. A minute later she stopped and gave a condescending look to her Jonin.
"Seriously, you want me to carry you to the check point? Awake?"
"Yes awake, if we happen to bump into someone then just use one of your Transformation Jutsu to look like an adult" Milo said as he wrapped his feet up with clean white bandages, covered them with his socks and carefully slipped on his shoes. When done, he looked up to his Genin and smirked.
"You want to get there quickly, you want to get settled in by night fall and at this point, you have no other choice" Milo said smugly as Roxanne glared at him.
"Or, I can just chop off your feet, leave you for dead and lie my way through this mission, how about that?" the smug smile wiped clean from Milo's face as it turned white from the thought of having his feet chopped off.
"God! You're such a wuss!" She yelled as she threw her pack to the ground and opened it, taking out rope and throwing the pack to Milo. "Put that on. I hope you don't get rope burn easily" unraveling the rope, Milo grabbed the pack, released a sigh and kept his mouth shut as Roxanne lifted him onto her back. Tying the rope to keep Milo on her back and tying it so it isn't uncomfortable for her, Roxanne held Milo's legs on either sides of her and turned her head to give him a fangy smile with a glint in her eyes, Milo gulped loudly.
A power jump and they were flying through the air into the trees with Milo gasping for air that knocked out of his lungs from the jump. Milo wrapped his arms around Roxanne's neck and buried his face into the back of her neck, trying to get his breath back under control. Roxanne laughed and went faster. She's determined to make it to the check point in under an hour so they can make camp and Roxanne can torture Milo very slowly for not listening to her and having to carry him like the pansy he is. That being said, she gave another power jump that had them soaring through the air above the trees and as they start to drop down, Milo's arm tighten and he screamed into her neck, making her laugh.
"Wuss"
OOOOO
That same night as the sun was almost about to set, the squad with their client made camp deep in the woods, away from the road and near a flowing stream. The client passed out once they stopped and he laid somewhere to the side, Kakashi checking on him to make sure he's breathing. The boys caught, clean and roasted fishes for their dinner. Sakura looked for edible berries to eat after their fishes and once everyone settled, they enjoyed the quiet evening.
"I'll take first shift tonight. Naruto I'll wake you in a couple hours. Everyone get some rest before it's your turn"
"Sensei?"
"Yes, Naruto?"
"Do we have to check on him during our shift?" Naruto pointed to the drunk laying on his side.
"No, he should be fine, just make sure he's breathing sometime during the night"
"Ok"
Naruto and Sasuke both took out their sleeping bags, laid one on the ground next to a tree and cover themselves with the other, Naruto snuggling into Sasuke's side as Sasuke wrapped an arm around his blonde. Sakura and Kakashi watched in amusement as they got comfortable on the ground, sharing a smile before Sakura zipped up her own sleeping back and closed her eyes. Kakashi watched the boys breathing evened out along with Sakura and picked up a stick to move the embers around the fire.
OOOOO
"DAMN! FUCK!" someone's scream echoed through the land, scaring away any roaming critters.
"Hold fucking still, it's almost done!" another scream along with someone struggling to get away.
"You are JUST enjoying this, aren't you!" A man yelled at the girl
"It's what you get for being a wuss, now HOLD STILL!" She sounded very smug with herself.
Another round of screaming and adding in a curse or two.
"Take it like a MAN!"
More screaming and cursing the girl for being born. After 10 minutes, the screams died down but whimpering could be heard.
"There, that wasn't too bad"
"Fuck you and the horse you rode in on" Came a growled reply.
"Maybe when I'm a little older and I'll have to find a horse if that's what you fantasize about"
Milo gave a one finger gestured to the girl as he laid back on his sleeping mat, breathing heavily from the excruciating pain he had to endure for the last few minutes after they set up camp.
Roxanne made camp while Milo sat on his sleeping bag, unwrapping the bandages from his feet. What he didn't see was an evil spark that lit Roxanne's eyes as she got her first aid kit ready, along with sticking a knife into the fiery embers of their campfire.
Next thing he knew, he was tossed on his back and screaming for all he's worth as Roxanne cut and squeezed out the yellow liquid from his blisters, then with the burning metal of her knife, the dead skin was removed. She repeated the action on his other foot as he kept screaming to the skies. After that, Roxanne rubbed disinfectant into his wounds that burned like the fiery pits of hell as he screamed his lungs out. While he screamed, Roxanne took her time applying ointment and wrapping up his feet with clean bandages as he laid whimpering, she patted his leg and got up to look for dinner. He rolled to his side, covering himself with his sleeping bag and laid his head on arms, watching the campfire cackle nearby.
His eyes closed, exhaustion taking over his body as one last thought went through his mind.
'What kind of sadistic bastard did she come from if she enjoyed hearing me scream?' and sleep claimed him.
OOOOOO
"Naruto?" someone was shaking the blonde, being careful not to shake to hard or it'll wake up his bed mate too. Naruto open his eyes and turned his head to see Kakashi shaking his shoulders.
"My turn?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes and sat up. Kakashi nodded and stood back up, making his way to his own sleeping bag, crawling in and was out like a light. Naruto chuckled, made the signs and snuggled back into Sasuke side as his clone threw in a couple logs for the fire to help keep the animals away. The clones looked to their client, seeing the rise and fall of his chest, he turned back to the fire, moving the embers around.
OOOOO
Hours later, Sasuke was being shaken awake. He looked up to see Naruto. He looked confused for a minute before looking down to also see Naruto. Nodding his head to the clone who puffed out of existence, Sasuke made the signs and snuggled back down, wrapping his arm around Naruto's waist and instantly falling asleep. Sasuke's clone smiled down then walked over to the fire, throwing in a couple logs and looking to their client. See that he's still breathing, the clone leaned back up against the tree to watch and listen to the forest.
OOOOO
Milo woke up to the first rays of the morning sun and groaned as he turned over and covered his head.
He heard chuckling and gave the finger in the direction it came from, earning him a full on laughter. He groaned again and sat up, taking in his surroundings to see food roasting on the fire, tea made and Roxanne sitting to the side, smiling at him.
"Did I actually slept through the whole night after you violated me?" Roxanne scoffed
"Well, what can I say, you have a nice pair of lungs and I did enjoy you screaming my name" She smirked at the rising blushing on his face. Milo moaned and dropped his face into his hands, not looking up until he got his blush under control, he could hear Roxanne laughing.
"I didn't scream your name" he said, his voice muffled by his hands.
"Of course you didn't" Roxanne loved missing with her Jonin, it was just too easy
Then he heard her moving close to him and he didn't have time to register the fact that Roxanne knelt beside him, unzipped his sleeping bag and grabbed his foot, making him fall back on his back.
"Why do I bother?" he asked the skies as he laid there while Roxanne inspected his feet "Do you not have boundaries for personal space?" Roxanne turned her head to the man, shrugged and looked to the foot she held in her hands.
"Nope. I'm a cuddlier by nature, I prefer contact when possible, even if it means smacking you on the back of the head from time to time or carrying you great distances. Even if I slit your throat, my hands need to make contact before you grow cold" and rambled on as she looked at both his feet, making sure it's healed properly so they can move on. Milo laid on his back, looking up through the tree all around above and sighed.
"Well. Good to know you'll hold me when I die" said dryly
"You bet I will, either by my hands or someone else's"
"Very romantic" Milo said dryly as Roxanne dropped his foot and sat back on her legs, giving Milo a dazzling smile.
"That's the spirit! Now get up, clean up and eat up. We got a long way to go and since you're healed up, we can leave as soon as we're done" Milo shot right up and picked up his foot.
"What! That's impossible! Injuries like that can't heal overnight" He yelled as he looked at both feet very carefully, seeing that Roxanne was right, every blister on his feet was healed and he looked up at the girl in amazement.
"How?"
"A secret, shhh" and smiled as she lightly punched his shoulder and stood up, heading to her mat and took the meat off the fire. Milo watched as she cut the meat in half and threw him one half, he caught it but continued to watch the girl while she ate, ignoring the looks her Jonin is giving and with a small smile, she ate her meat.
'What is this girl?'
OOOOOO
The squad with their clients stopped whenever they are nearing a village, due to the fact the client badgered them into stopping so he can fill up on his alcohol levels which resulted in them spending the night most times. The last one was near the outskirts of Land of Waves and their Client, Tazuna, stocked up as much as he can carry. Even tried to bribe the Genins in helping him carry more, but all three ignored him.
In the how long they have traveled, none of the Genins actually spoken to their client, opting for ignoring the drunken boozehound as much as they can. Kakashi, however, does not have that luxury due to the fact he's the adult of these Genins but give any questions a short answer.
When their Client, Tazuna, declared it'll be another couple days walk on land before getting into a boat for the rest of the way, everyone gave a sigh of relief. Of course it was short lived when a puddle nearby erupted 2 shinobi's from it and threw shuriken-laced chains towards Kakashi but never made its mark as a short blade caught the chains and stuck itself deep into a thick tree.
The 2 shinobi's eyes widen at the quick throw and turned to see who threw it only to be faced with a spin kick connecting their faces and knocking them to the ground, out cold.
The force of the kick had even Kakashi wincing.
Naruto landed on his feet and lightly nudged the 2 bodies with his foot. Seeing as they are out, he gave a thumbs up to the rest and took out some rope from his pack as Sasuke went to the tree and pulled out his blade. Kakashi watched both boys tie up the attackers and turned to see if Sakura and their client were ok. Sakura released a breath and stashed her knife while their client had his eyes bugged out.
"Still think they're snot-nosed brats?" he got a shake of the head in response as Sakura giggled and went to help the boys search the knocked out duo.
OOOOO
Climbing high on a rocky mountain, Milo wiped the sweat from his brow as he stopped to look at the scenery high on the side. Looking down from where they started and looking up to the sky, he saw that they've been climbing for about 2 hours now and gave a huff.
"Why are we up here again?" he asked his Genin who is a ways up ahead of him.
"Because this is one of my places and since we have a mission in this land, figures it'll be easier from here after my time is up"
Milo sighs but follows nonetheless. When they reached a certain height, Milo looks down to the land below, seeing as they look like ant crawling but knowing it's just the rocks and the heat of the sun making them dance like that. He sat and took out a canister to quench his thirst, not looking at Roxanne as she disappear somewhere to his left. After gulping down the water, Milo wiped his mouth with his sleeves and turned his head this way and that but could not find the girl.
"Roxanne?" Milo stood and walked to where he saw her last. He scaled the sides, tripping over loose rocks and the further he went, he started to get worried.
"Roxanne!" he yelled as he stood in front of a boulder his size, searching down and searching up. Next thing you know, he was yanked by the scruff of his neck collar and fell back. The impact was loud and dizziness fogged his mind. It took a while for his vision and hearing to clear and when he did, he heard snickering above him.
"Had a nice trip?" She giggled at him. Milo growled and sat up, rubbing the back of his head. When he looked back up, he noticed the entrance he fell in from and saw a glimmer of chakra covering the entrance. Roxanne saw him looking then held out her hands to help him up.
"Safety precaution. On the outside it's just a rock with no signature but on the inside, it's like a two way mirror. Only by my hand can you gain entrance so if you leave while I'm occupied then you won't be able to get back in until I'm finished, clear?" Milo nodded as he was hauled back to his feet, dusting the dirt off his pants and adjusting his pack. Following Roxanne through the tunnel that just about reached his height, She lit up a fireball with her hands so they can see their way and Milo can see some light a ways ahead. Neither said anything until the narrow tunnel ended and a large hall came, the height of the ceiling was probably 20 feet and there's an opening that allowed the light in above.
Milo whistled his approval then look around while Roxanne made a fire in the middle of the hall that looks like a firepit. The firepit in the middle, a door to the left and a kitchen to his right. Further down, he could see an area with a couple cots leaned up against the wall, another door to his left and another tunnel entrance in the far right corner.
"So" Roxanne said as she dusted her hands, the fire catching on and she waved to the kitchen. "The kitchen is fully stocked with non-perishables foods and ready to eat meals or rations. Believe it or not, the plumbing works so the bathroom is over there and there" She pointed to the door on their left "That one has a shower stall and that one has a full bath tub that can probably fit 5 people in. There's a pile a woods there" She pointed next to the entrance where they came from and saw a large pile of fire wood, neatly stacked.
"That entrance" Roxanne pointed to the far right corner "Is where I'll be. The same rules apply as before. Whatever you hear or feel, do not go down" Roxanne picked up her pack "Or"
"Or you'll kill me and make it look like an accident and you'll have the Hokage to back up your story, I know"
Roxanne smirked at the snarky reply from her Jonin, gave a two finger salute and disappeared through the tunnel, leaving Milo alone.
OOOOO
Elsewhere, a stout man was raging to his thugs, yelling at their incompetent in letting a couple kids defeat them. A man sat on a couch, his legs crossed at the ankle, his arm over the back of the couch and he gave the air of boredom while listening to the small man yelling.
"Zabuza! What are you going to do?! This is such a disgrace for the Demon of the Mist's men to be defeated like that" He would of kept going but got silent when he felt a large sword sit on his shoulders and he knew that if he moved, the sword will easily cut him in half with little pressure.
"Shut up, Gato, You're giving me a headache" the one called Zabuza pressed the sword a tiny bit down before lifted the sword off the short man and stood up from his seat, holstering the sword on his back.
"I'll take care of it myself" Zabuza stated as he started for the entrance
"They'll be expecting an ambush by now and from what I hear, they have a high ranking Jonin with them"
Zabuza scoffed and waved a hand dismissively "Obviously they've haven't met me yet"
Gato grin at the retreating back of Zabuza Momochi, better known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist.
2 cents, comments, reviews and such are welcomed!