It was a blisteringly hot afternoon as Mirou skipped his way across the lawn, placing the weeds that he had dug up in a yard waste bag before skipping across the yard again back to where he was before. His whole team had gotten a mission today to help an elderly man with his lawn, apparently his children would usually come over to help but there was a bit of a sick bug going around. Despite the crazy heatwave Kohonagakure was experiencing Mirou was as chipper as ever, refusing to complain while helping out someone in need. His teammates however didn't share in his enthusiasm.
"It's hot as shit out here," Anri complained. "We should be out there doing real missions, not some old man's gardening."
Emiru didn't look up as he replied. "I can assure you that even if we were out there doing 'real' missions, it would still be 'hot as shit'."
Anri huffed and crossed her arms, flinging dirt at Mirou's face as she did so. "Well at least we would actually be doing something, not just playing gardener."
"Oi, less talking more digging! Those dandelions aren't gonna pop themselves!" Hagura yelled from her shady spot on the house's porch.
Anri dropped her tools and ran up to her teacher. "Hagura-sensei! I've had enough of these stupid chores you call missions, I want to go on a real mission! Like guarding a wealthy merchant, or finding a sacred scroll, or taking down enemy ninja!"
Mirou stopped his digging and looked in the direction of the conversation. "Well, the sooner we're able to do these missions without complaining, the sooner we can-"
"Shut up bird brain, nobody asked you," Anri hissed.
Mirou shrugged and went back to work. Having been on the same team with Anri for over a month now has given him thicker skin.
"You know he's right though," Hagura said while putting her hands behind her back, "The whole point of these exercises is to build trust and communication between teammates and between the community. Take Emiru and Mirou for example, Mirou makes conversation with all the clients and tries his best to get along with them no matter how stubborn they're being. Emiru always thinks of the team and how to support them, even when they're being... difficult."
Anri scoffed and rolled her eyes while Hagura continued. "You on the other hand, are constantly back-talking clients and never listen to your teammates. At this rate you'll be a Chuunin by the time you're the Hokage's age," she laughed.
"Well I don't see you doing any 'team building' Sensei."
Now it was Hagura's turn to roll her eyes. "I already had my team building days, if I did the work then you three wouldn't learn anything."
Anri wanted to say more but instead picked up her shovel with a huff and stomped her way back to the lawn. Hagura watched each of her kids with a close eye, silently noting to herself all the changes that her kids had gone through over the past month. Anri was still her same old self, snappy, quick to explode, but now her explosions were shorter-with anyone that wasn't Mirou that is. Emiru was more open, more accepting, whatever happened in the forest changed him for the better, even if he was still closed off to authority. And then there was the Uchiha, Hagura watched him with special interest. He was a more capable person now, less phased by his teams' pointless bickering and he held himself as their equal instead of a liability. These buds were blossoming into some pretty beautiful flowers, but they weren't quite there... yet.
"Perhaps..." Hagura thought "Perhaps I can speed up the process."
When the mission was done and each of the team was paid their share (Anri complained about pay as always), the three kids were about to go their separate ways when the booming voice of their Sensei stopped them in their tracks.
"Hold it!" Hagura yelled. The three kids stopped and looked back in confusion. Hagura continued, "Now, I've been hearing your complaints about the lack of 'real' missions we've been going on, so I've decided..." She paused for dramatic effect. "To take you all on your first C rank mission!"
"What!" Anri yelled. "Are you serious! That's awesome!"
"Are we really ready Hagura-sensei?" Mirou asked with a worried expression.
Anri scoffed in response. "Of course we're ready, but you need to toughen up half n' half, I don't want to hear any of your pathetic girly screams out there."
Mirou shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away. "There's nothing wrong with being girly," He thought.
"What's the mission Sensei?" Emiru asked, not bothering to care about the conversation in front of him.
Hagura shrugged dismissively. "Don't know yet, we'll be assigned the mission tomorrow so get some rest, squirts."
Hagura then vanished, leaving the three kids alone with varying degrees of excitement. Anri was barely containing her joy, practically vibrating on the spot at the chance that she'll be able to prove herself. Emiru was just wondering what type of mission they would be going on, he liked to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. Mirou was just nervous, he trusted Hagura-sensei's judgment but he couldn't help but feel that they still weren't ready. When he realized that Anri hadn't noticed that he was still there he tried to slip away quietly, but the moment he started moving he caught her attention. So much for being on the stealth team.
"Oi, birdbrain," she called out. "Try not to die out there alright, I'm not carrying back a dead guy, I'll just leave you for the vultures." She said with a wicked smile, shoving Mirou roughly as she walked past and causing him to fall.
Emiru gave him a sympathetic look as he also left, leaving the Uchiha alone in the dirt. Mirou got up and dusted himself off before leaving in the direction of his home, he needed to get ready for tomorrow after all.
Mirou walked through the shopping district as a detour, just in case he was forgetting anything important that he would need for tomorrow. Just as he was about to go re-stalk on some basic survival supplies, Choji-- who was there with the rest of his team-- booked it in his direction, grabbing his arm and spinning him around to face the other direction.
"Mirou," he spoke, his voice shockingly serious for the laid-back Akamichi that Mirou had come to know. "Do you want to eat BBQ with our squad?" He asked, still Stone cold serious.
"I- er... what? I-"
"Great! Let's go!" Choji announced, dragging the confused Uchiha towards the familiar BBQ place.
When Mirou entered with Choji he saw the rest of his team sitting in the middle right seats. Shikamaru looked as bored as ever, fiddling with his chopsticks as Ino went on another rant about god knows what, and Asuma whose face was warped with poorly masked regret. Choji dragged Mirou to their seat and sat him down with a thud before taking a seat himself.
"Hm, look what the cat dragged in," Shikamaru announced, leaning back in his chair.
Ino looked up from her rant and beamed, completely changing her mood. "Mirou! Finally someone who can communicate like a normal person!" She groaned.
Shikamaru glared. "It's not my fault none of us want to listen to your girl problems," he retorted.
"Girl problems? What problems? Is everything alright?" Mirou asked in a concerned voice.
The others collectively groaned as Ino started her story from the top once again. It was about Sasuke mostly, with a bit of flower shot troubles sprinkled in between. Mirou listened intently, even when some of the things she was saying about his cousin made him... uncomfortable.
"Well," Mirou started, "Sasuke is my cousin so I have I bias when I say anything about him, so I don't think I can give you any advice about that-" Ino fell dejectedly. "-but that lady was definitely trying to scam you out into getting a refund."
"I know! Even told her 'Those kinds of bugs aren't even from Kohanagakure', but then she said that she 'WaNtEd To SeE tHe MaNaGer' and Dad had to throw her out of the store! Some people are just unbelievable!" She complained, throwing her hands in the air dramatically. Mirou nodded in agreement.
"Aaaanyways, enough about me, what about you? What's been going on, anything interesting?" Ino asked.
"Actually yeah, Hagura-sensei said that we can go on a C-rank mission tomorrow."
Asuma's eyes narrowed at the news. "It's a bit soon for a C-rank, don't you think?"
"Yeah, aren't C-ranks meant for Chunnins? You're only one month into being a gennin." Shikamaru added.
Mirou nodded in agreement. "That's just what I thought, but if Hagura-sensei thinks that we're ready then I feel... confident." He spoke, though there was obvious doubt in his voice.
"Good on you man," Choji congratulated as he ate the last piece of beef, "I wish we could go on cool missions like that," he whined.
"Tell me about it! All we ever do is the same boring old lost cat call and roof cleaning," Ino added.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes at his teammates. He himself didn't mind the easier missions, but he could understand the frustration his teammates were feeling. "Just forget about it. Obviously team 6 is gonna get the harder missions, Mirou has the Sharingan."
Mirou looked confused. "What do you mean? Why is the Sharingan important? Doesn't everyone get an equal chance?" He asked.
Shikamaru could have told him the truth, but he looked into his friend's tired eyes and realized that it wouldn't do him any good. Shikamaru knew that being on a team with Anri had been a severe mental strain, and he hadn't exactly dealt with the death of his mother in an emotionally healthy way.
"Well... you're team deals with stealth right? It's kinda hard to do stealth stuff while pulling weeds."
Mirou nodded in understanding. He still wondered why his friend brought up the sharingan specifically, but he trusted his friend's intelligence and decided to drop it instead. When the group was done eating mirou brought out his wallet to pay but Asuma put his hand up and brought out his own.
"But I'm not a part of the team, I should pay for my own meals," Mirou reasoned.
"It's fine kid," Asuma assured him. "Choji can eat like the world's gonna end, you aren't even a fraction of the bill."
"But-"
"I said it's fine, kid," he emphasized
Mirou looked like he wanted to argue more, but he kept his mouth shut and decided to feel gratitude that he was willing to pay instead of guilt for not paying himself. After saying his goodbyes Mirou walked his way back towards the Hokage's office, completely forgetting what he came here to do in the first place. He hoped that Sasuke and Naruto would be there so he could tell them the news, Mirou just liked to be prepared is all.
As he came up upon the office in the distance, Mirou heard a familiar voice arguing in the distance.
"What, you think you're better than me Teme!"
"Shut up. You're annoying."
"Why you!"
"Naruto! Don't talk to Sasuke like that!"
"I wonder who that could be," Mirou thought sarcastically. He jogged over to the direction of the argument and found the entirety of team 7 almost yelling in the middle of the street.
"You wanna fight Sasuke?! You and me! Right here right now!"
"You can't compete where you don't compare Dobe, how about instead of trying to be 'better' than me, you just worry about catching up."
"Hey! I don't know what that means but I'm gonna wipe that smug look off your face!"
Mirou turned the corner and saw a white-haired man holding Naruto in one Hand and Sasuke in another, they were naturally both trying to fight despite their feet no longer touching the ground. The man looked like he would rather be anywhere other than here, and so did the pink-haired girl standing beside him. "Sakura" Mirou reminded himself.
"Am... I interrupting something?" he asked, not daring to come any closer lest he get roped into another one of their pointless arguments.
Naruto was naturally the first to answer, his voice as loud as ever. "Mirou! Tell this stupid Teme that I'm just as great as any other ninja in this village!" He demanded, trying and failing to wiggle out of the Jonin's grasp.
"You can barely build up enough chakra to do a simple replacement jutsu, just admit that you're holding the team back." Sasuke retorted.
"That's enough out of both of you," The man warned, putting both of them down. "Now you two can either learn to get along or you'll be stuck finding stray cats and fixing shingles for the rest of your life."
They both huffed and turned away, causing the man to sigh and bring out a book that was unfamiliar to Mirou. The Uchiha looked between his cousin and friend, feeling as if he had been put in another difficult position. But this was nothing new to him, breaking up arguments between these two had become a second job at this point.
"Naruto," he started, "you're right, you're just as good as any other Konohagakure ninja."
"Ha! See Sasuke!"
"-But, sometimes your mind can... wander a bit, and it can make you fall behind."
Naruto frowned, wondering where this was going.
"But that's why we do all these little D rank missions you know, it helps build focus, focus on the mission."
Naruto now looked confused. "Why does that matter? It's just a stupid D rank, it's not like it's important or anything," he grumbled.
Mirou paused, trying to find the right words to explain but also not confuse his friend. "Well, think of it like a kind of training."
"Training?"
"Yeah, training, it's training your mind to focus on future missions. It's like when you use fake Shurikan for practice before you use the real ones. The more you learn to focus on these D ranks, then the easier it will be to do the C ranks and B ranks, and the more you focus the easier it will be to catch up."
Naruto nodded, not understanding a thing his friend had just said. "I don't really understand but if focusing somehow makes you stronger then I'll take your word for it."
Mirou sighed, oh well, time for plan B. "That's alright, I don't know if you can focus more than Sasuke anyway."
"WHAAAT!" Ah, right on the money.
"I can focus way better than stupid Sasuke! Just watch! Kakashi Sensei, give me a mission so I can focus on it!" He demanded.
Kakashi didn't look up from his book as he replied. "All missions for today have been assigned, but it's nice to know that your friend here has properly motivated you, maybe now you'll actually do as you're told without complaining about it every minute."
Rather than listen to the new argument going on, Mirou moved to Sasuke's side, who was still bitter about being picked up like a stray cat. Sakura was also there, but she was busy giving Naruto a nasty look.
"Shouldn't you be with your team?" Sasuke asked, determined to ignore the blonde as he tried to climb his Sensei to convince him otherwise.
Mirou shook his head. "We finished early today, Mr. Fujisaki made us drinks to help beat the heat."
"Hn."
Mirou shifted nervously before continuing. "And... we'll also be getting a new mission tomorrow."
"What else is new," Sasuke remarked.
"It's a C rank mission."
"WHAT!"
Naruto stopped his pleading to his Sensei and pointed a finger at Mirou accusingly. "You were going on to me about all this focusing stuff when you're going on a C-rank mission?!" He yelled.
Mirou put his hands up to his face, slightly embarrassed by his own hypocrisy. "Ah, sorry Naruto," he said sheepishly.
"Well Maybe Sasuke's cousin gets to go on a C rank because he already focuses on his missions, unlike someone," Sakura complained.
Naruto huffed and turned, not daring to talk back his his beloved Sakura. Mirou hid a laugh behind his hands and said nothing, deciding to let the scene unfold before him. Sasuke focused solely on his cousin, noticing how Mirou's expression changed when he mentioned the mission, he was worried, stressed. Whether that was about the mission itself or having to tell him about it he still couldn't tell. Mirou was always one to hide his emotions, and he could hide them well when he wanted to, especially when it was about something he knew would make people worry. Sasuke knew that his cousin still had a lot of hangups about his mother, refusing to let her worry about him was always a big one. But Mirou was getting better, Sasuke thought, he was more willing to tell when something was bothering him, so at least that was something.
After the five ninja were finished causing a scene they parted ways. Sasuke and Mirou went back to the compound as they always did, Sakura went home to her parents, and Naruto decided to stop and get some ramen. Mirou and Sasuke walked home with very few words between them, Mostly Mirou talking about his day as usual with Sasuke adding an affirming 'hn' every few minutes. Sasuke's mind was preoccupied with that mission, his gut was telling him that something was fishy about it. A new gennin team getting a chuunin rank mission after only a month? It wasn't unheard of, but Sasuke knew his cousin's abilities and he knew that having him out on the field this early was the wrong choice. He could have said something when they got home, but he knew that Mirou's head wasn't in the right place for such criticisms right now.
"The morning," he thought, "I'll talk to him about it in the morning."
But he didn't talk about it in the morning. Sasuke didn't know but Mirou had forgotten to mention that he would have to wake up extra early today in order to meet his team at the village entrance. At 4:30 in the morning, Mirou tiptoed his way downstairs and out the door, being mindful not to wake up the other in the house. It was still dark out by the time he made it to the gates, his Sensei and fellow Gennin waiting for him already.
"Alright, looks like all the sleepy heads are accounted for," she grinned. The "sleepy heads" in question were all exhausted, Mirou especially so since the stress from the mission caused him to lose sleep.
"Now that everyone is here I'll explain to you the details of your C rank mission." She got out a small scroll from her pouch and opened it. "A retired Ninken snuck out of the village two days ago and was spotted out in the forest south southeast of the entrance, but managed to get away before it could be captured."
"So it's just a stupid lost dog job?" Anri groaned.
"This Ninken is in a dangerous position right now. If we can't find it and bring it back then it could be at risk of being captured by ninja from another nation. If that happens then we could be revealing valuable info about Kohonagakure training techniques and Ninken abilities." Hagura crossed her arms and stared down her student. "So no, this isn't a 'stupid lost dog job'."
Anri fell silent after this, feeling embarrassed and frustrated for being called out in front of her peers.
"This Ninken, does it have any relation to the Inuzuka clan?" Emiru asked. This caught Mirou's attention.
"Yep, the poor dog is old and senile, but still very skilled. Usually a task like this would fall upon the clan, but there's been some... conflict between the clan and the council for the past while, so now it's our responsibility."
Mirou frowned at the news. Kiba never mentioned anything about any conflict, though they hadn't talked much since that fight all thise months ago.
Hagura clapped to catch the attention of her team and grinned a toothy grin. "Well that's enough of that. It's time to get going now. Ready team?"
"Yes Hagura-sensei!" They all replied.
"Right! Let's go."
Hagura signalled to a ninja on the village walls, who then signalled to another ninja on the ground. The gates opened slowly allowing team 6 to leave. The squad ran out towards the area where the ninken was seen last, around 30 minutes southsoutheast near the waterfall that feeds into Konohagakure's river. They arrived at 6, when the sun's first rays were only just starting to peek over the horizon, drowning the forest in the tree's shadows. The team stopped just as they entered a new area of the forest.
"Alright I think that it would be in our best interest to split up, less likely for it to be able to track our scents," Hagura explained.
Emiru stood next to Mirou, already formulating a plan in his mind. "Okay, Mirou and I will go-"
"Nope, no no no, absolutely not," Hagura interrupted. "You two always partner up for missions, now it's time to switch it up a bit."
Emiru hesitated before moving beside Anri. "Alright, then I'll go with Anri to-"
"Nope, no you're not," she interrupted again, grabbing Emiru by his collar and dragging him towards her. "You, will be partnered with me going east," she pointed towards the other two kids. "And you two will go together South. We'll start here in the southeast area and move further out, then we'll meet back here at noon." Hagura instructed. "And remember, don't go too close to the waterfall. That's where the last team lost track of him, and it's supposed to be heavily trapped."
Mirou looked at Anri's clearly pissed-off face before turning back to his teacher. "Are you sure that these teams are the best idea? Emiru and I have good teamwork, and for a new mission in an unfamiliar place against an enemy that isn't in the right state of mind, I think that teamwork should be a priority."
Hagura sighed and patted Mirou on his back. "Look Uchiha, I understand your concerns, but in a real battle we don't always get to pick and choose our partners, so you're just going to have to suck it up and be the bigger person."
Mirou looked to Anri once more before nodding. He would just have to put his personal grievances aside for now, this was nothing new. The teams split up, Team Hagura/Emiru going East and Team Anri/Mirou following the river South. Hagura's face was uncharacteristically stoic as she darted through the trees, something that didn't go unnoticed by her student.
"Is something wring, Sensei?" He asked, his hand coming to rest on his umbrella.
"Nothing you need to worry about," she replied.
But Hagura was stuck in her own thoughts about the mission. This mission had to succeed, she needed this to succeed, she needed him to succeed. Hagura recalled all the times she failed her Jonin exam, the humiliation she felt from all her peers. Now that she was a teacher she vowed to herself that she was going to be the best damned teacher there ever was.
Hagura picked up her pace, a newfound determination coursing through her body. "Let's pick up the pace partner."
Emiru nodded and sped up, not taking his hand off his weapon.
On the other end, Mirou ran as quietly as a mouse, trying his best to keep to himself while Anri muttered to herself. She was still pissed at her Sensei for calling her out in front of her peers, in front of the people who should have been idolizing her, not laughing at her, she could never hear them but Anri always knew that they were thinking, that she was just a clanless nobody who would never make it as a ninja. But she was going to show them all, she was going to catch that stupid dog before anyone else and be the hero.
Mirou scanned the area with his Sharingan, keeping a close eye on his surroundings while his partner moved to the ground to search for the missing Ninken. He made sure to keep himself far enough away from Anri as to not disturb her, but close enough to help in case she got into trouble. He stayed ahead of her while watching the ground for traps, his speed being greater than Anri's. Something caught his eye that forced him to the ground.
"Wait," he called out.
Anri came out of the earth to see what was up. Mirou crouched on the ground and brushed away the grass, revealing a hidden trip wire. He pulled on the wire, causing a barrage of senbon needles to wisk back his head and hit the tree beside him.
Anri scoffed at the demonstration. "So what, I would have just gone under it dumbass."
Mirou frowned. "I know, but the fact that-"
"You just love shutting me up don't you," she snapped.
Mirou was taken aback by the sudden outburst. "I... what?"
Anri scoffed and leaned forwards. "You just always have the last word don't you, Uchiha."
Mirou gulped and took a step back. "I didn't mean to-"
"Oh you didn't meant to? I call bullshit! Ever since you became Sasuke's supposed cousin you've just been looking for a reason to rub it in my face!"
"No! I haven't."
"Just shut up!" She yelled, stomping her foot on the ground. The earth beneath her cracked slightly, causing the young boy to pale.
Anri glanced to her side and got an idea. Right on the tree the senbon hit, there was a spider trying to spin its web. She quickly jumped up and snatched it out of the tree, holding it between her fingers. Mirou's breath hitched and his palms began to grow sweaty.
"A-Anri, what are you doing" he cautioned, his voice quivering as he spoke.
"You are going to listen to me and you're going to listen good," she growled. "I'm the one who is going to find that Ninken, I'm the one who's going to complete this mission, and you aren't going to do shit to stop me."
Mirou nodded, his eyes never leaving the eight-legged fiend in his partner's hand. "Th-the wire," he whispered. "Hagura Sensei said that the Ninken set up traps around the waterfall area, so there will be more going forward-"
"Shut up." Anri snapped. The gears in her head were turning, or at least whatever gears she had to begin with. "If that dog is setting up traps in this area, then that means that he has something to hide, like himself."
Anri gained a wicked smile. "You, come with me and stay out of my damn way."
Mirou nodded, not daring to argue with the pissed of girl holding a spider. They both stayed low to the ground with Anri occasionally ordering Mirou to search around with his sharingan. It was during one of these searches that Mirou came to a realization, this was it, Anri was going to use this kind of tactic to force him to comply every time. As long as he was on this team, he would never be free from torment. The thought caused Mirou to tremble, but he hid it well, he needed to focus right now.
Just as the two were nearing the edge of the waterfall, Mirou once again saw a trap using his his sharingan, a paper bomb on the ground that Anri was about to step on.
"Look out!" He shouted in a panic, grabbing Anri by her shirt and pulling her back.
A bit of dirt from her shoe kicked up as she was pulled, landing on the bomb and causing it to explode. Mirou acted on Instinct, covering Anri's body with his own to shield her from the explosion. He felt a piece of debree hit him in the back of the neck hard, causing him to cry out in pain. After the dust had settled Mirou crouched down and grasped at his bleeding neck, his own blood soaking his hands and the back of his clothes. Anri stared down at him in contempt.
"Get up," she spat, her voice barely containing her rage.
Mirou didn't get up, causing Anri to take matters into her own hands. She used one arm to pull the injured boy up by his collar and shove him against the tree, and the other held the spider. Mirou whimpered in both pain and fear having no way to escape his predicament.
"You little shit!" Anri hissed. "What the hell do you think you're doing playing hero!"
"A-Anri There's-"
"SHUT UP! All you ever do is try to keep me down! Do you think it's funny? Huh?! Laughing at poor little Anri!? HAHAHAHA!?"
"Anri please, behind us," Mirou gasped, tears started rolling down his face.
Anri slammed him against the tree once again, causing him to cry out and get blood all over the place. Mirou was desperate now, grasping at Anri's arm with a weak hand, causing him to get blood all over her arms. His sharingan was still active and searching for a way out, but his vision had become blurry with tears.
"Ever since you became an Uchiha you've just been rubbing it in my face, but not anymore." She ripped off the part of Mirou's sleeve that had the Uchiha clan's crest and held it up in front of his face. "You don't belong to the Uchiha, you don't belong with Sasuke! You have no right to wear his crest, you're nothing but a freeloader!"
"The Traps... Anri please."
"Just admit it already!"
"Please Anri behind us-"
"ADMIT IT!"
"There's a bomb!"
Anri slammed Mirou up against the tree once more, not knowing of the paper bomb on the other side. It exploded, taking out the tree and flinging to two kids away. They rolled on the ground hard, causing scrapes and brushes before rolling off the side of the cliff. Anri panicked and grabbed a hanging root to stop herself from falling, her other hand wrapped around the leash that was supposed to be for the ninken. Mirou's hand slipped around the leash as he fell, catching his arm and causing them both to grit their teeth in pain from the sudden weight.
And there they were, dangling off the side of a cliff by a root, and Mirou barely being held by Anri at the end of a leash. Anri had some brushes and scrapes, but Mirou was hurt really bad. The back of his neck was still injured, but now there was a much larger wound taking up most of his back, and splinters of the blown-up tree now stuck in his free arm. Mirou's ears were ringing and the world was spinning, he was barely conscious and losing way too much blood. They needed Hagura as soon as possible.
"Shit!" Anri called out as she tried to pull herself up, but she wasn't strong enough. She looked down to her bruised and bloodied partner and thought about dropping him, she was always taught that the mission was more important than her comrads after all. But when she looked down at the Uchiha she simply couldn't find it in her heart to drop him.
"Sasuke would never forgive me," she told herself.
"Don't you dare die on me!" She yelled, trying once more to pull herself up. "I won't bring you home if you do, remember? I'll be leaving you to the animals!" The panic was evident in her voice.
Mirou could barely groan in response, in too much pain to speak. He tried to move his injured arm to reach the flair in his pouch, but even moving just a finger was enough to send bolts of pain through his entire body. There was simply nothing that they could do.
"HELP! HAGURA-SENSEI! EMIRU! ANYONE!" Anri tried yelling, but it was no use, no one could hear them, no one would find them for at least another two hours, maybe even more.
When the weight of the situation finally hit her, Anri started to cry. "This is all your fault, Half n' half," she sobbed. Anri was completely unwilling to take the blame in the situation, it wasn't her fault, she was just doing what she had to do.
"If he had just told me about the bomb instead of whining like a little baby, then none of this would have happened," she tried to reason with herself in her head.
Mirou felt the tears of his partner fall onto his wounded skin. It stung every time, but he let her cry, the situation did seem hopeless. He tried moving his arm again, but then looked up to his other hand that was caught around the leash. It barely any injuries besides some small cuts from the tumble, and besides some circulation loss that was setting in he could move it just fine. Right when Mirou was trying to come up with an action plan, there was a horrific creaking noise coming from the root that had saved them from the fall. The weight of them both wouldn't be supported for much longer, there was no time for a plan. Mirou knew that there was a flair in his and Anri's pouch, but both of Anri's hands were occupied and he was severely injured. Mirou knew what needed to happen, he needed Anri to let go.
"An... ri," he choked out, but Anri wasn't having any on it.
"Just shut up, please, just shut up," she cried.
Mirou knew that she wouldn't listen to reason, he needed to take matters into his own hands. With every last bit of strength he had, Mirou focused his remaining chakra into his uninjured hand, causing a small flame to appear on his pinky finger. He held up the flame to to leash and watched as it started to smoke, realizing that this would probably be the last thing he would ever see. Mirou took a deep breath, taking in the trees, the distant sounds of birds, the waterfall. It would have been a beautiful scene if he wasn't about to fall to his death.
Anri smelled the smoke and looked down to see what was going on. "Wh‐what are you doing," she asked with wide eyes.
"Anri... could you please tell everyone how sorry I am," he asked in a weak voice.
"No, no no no no no, what do you think you're doing?"
"Just make sure to use the flair to get Hagura Sensei, you need to use the black smoke for emergencies."
"I don't need to be saved! You hear me! I don't want to be saved!"
The last part of the leash burned away, causing Mirou to fall. In an instant he reached into his pouch with his good hand and got out the flair. He pointed it towards the sky and let out a projectile spilling out green smoke. He didn't have enough time to change it, but it would at least be enough to catch the attention of the other team. Mirou felt nothing as his body hit the water, all his strength had already left him. His eyes closed, no longer having any reason to keep them open, and he embraced the darkness awaiting him. Mirou could only hope that his friends and family back home would be able to forgive him.
Way back east, Hagura was busy trying to get her own leash on the Ninken. Emiru had the bright idea to lure out the old dog using their rations and it worked like a charm. Just as Hagura picked up the now sleeping ninken, she saw green smoke rising in the distance, signifying that Mirou and Anri had somehow also found the missing Ninken. Hagura looked from the dog back to the smoke and to the dog again. Did they perhaps come across a clone? Or another dog altogether?
"Let's go find out what's going on," she said to Emiru, who was just as confused as she was.
The two had barely started running when they saw another flair rise in the distance, this one black in colour. Hagura's stomach dropped as she saw it rise towards the clouds like a dark omen.
"Take this and catch up," she ordered, passing the still-sleeping Ninken to Emiru before dashing off towards the smoke. Hagura's heart was racing as she approached the scene, seeing her student brushed and bloodied and struggling to lift herself over the edge of a cliff. Hagura was immediately by her side and grabbed her arms which were covered in blood, and pulled her to safety. Her eyes scanned the surrounding area for her last student but found no sign of him.
"Anri, where is Mirou," she begged.
Anri sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes, smearing blood across her face. "That idiot fell!"
"What!?"
"He dropped himself off the side of the cliff!"
Hagura couldn't believe what she was hearing, this was supposed to be a simple mission, how did it end up like this.
"Emiru, take Anri back to the village," she ordered.
Anri sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes, smearing blood across her face. "That idiot fell!"
"What!?"
"Please be alive, for the love of God please be alive," Hagura prayed.
She checked his pulse, not expecting to find anything. Hagura nearly melted on the spot when she felt a very weak pulse. He was still alive and breathing but just barely, if he didn't get to a hospital soon though he wouldn't be alive much longer. Hagura scooped the boy up, being careful of the injuries on his back, and raced back towards the village.
"You're going to be okay," she reassured. "We're almost there, just hang on a little longer."
But the unconscious boy didn't respond. The village walls peered over the trees, they were almost there, they were so close.
"Don't worry kid, I'm gonna make this all better, I promise."
Kakashi watched as team 7 painted the sides of an old building, his attention being caught more so the the book in his hand than the children he was supposed to be watching. Naruto looked towards the village gates in anticipation, not paying attention to the paintbrush in his hand. The white paint dripped from the brush and onto Sakura who was standing below him.
"Argh, Naruto!" She snapped. "You got paint on my clothes! You're paying for that!"
"What? Oh, sorry Sakura," he mumbled, not really paying attention. His mind was wandering towards his friend who still hadn't come back from his mission, shouldn't he be back by now? How long did a C rank take anyway?
"Pay attention Naruto," Kakashi said, now suddenly right beside the blonde. Naruto jumped in shock, falling off the platform he was on and landing flat on his back.
"Your friend is going to be fine," Kakashi assured, ignoring the fact that his student had fallen. "Mirou is a strong kid and a good Ninja, he's more than capable of completing a mission."
Naruto grumbled and sat up cross-legged. "I-I'm not worried!" He denied, "I just want to go on a super cool out-of-village mission too!"
Kakashi sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be getting through his student's head anytime soon. Sasuke ignored the commotion his team was causing and looked out towards the gate as well. Ever since he woke up with Mirou already gone he'd had a strange feeling in his gut, like a cloud over his head that simply wouldn't go away.
"You too, Sasuke," Kakashi warned. "All of you, back to work,"
Sasuke was about to pick up his paintbrush and start painting again when he heard a commotion coming from the gate. A swarm of medical ninja flew past him overhead and towards a group of other ninja now standing by the gates. Sasuke could hear a lot of shouting, but couldn't hear what they were saying. He got a familiar sinking feeling in his stomach, dropping his brush and running towards the crowd.
"Sasuke! Where are you going?" Sakura shouted after him, but he didn't listen.
As he approached the scene, the first thing he saw was the blood, dripping slowly to the ground. The next was his clan's crest, tattered and torn but still somehow intact. Then he saw his face. Mirou was almost drowning in blood, his nose and forehead were smeared with red, and his face was covered in cuts. His arm was barely recognizable through the shards of wood that punctured his skin, and the back of his hair had been burnt off. His back was scorched and still bleeding heavily, causing a sickly burnt iron smell to choke the air around him. The smell almost made Sasuke vomit.
Before he could even say a word, the medical ninja had taken off with Mirou, leaving Sasuke alone in the dust. He was still in shock, the memory of his cousin's body seared into his memory along with the rest of his family. Beside him stood Kakashi who looked upon the young Uchiha with pity.
He placed his hand on the boy. "You're dismissed, Sasuke," he spoke. "You should go to him."
He didn't say "Before it's too late,", but the echo of the words hung in the air.
Sasuke wasted no time running to the hospital, desperately pushing his body to its limits to get there on time. When he made it to the entrance he swung open the doors with force and ran past the secretary, causing her to call out after him. He ran past all the rooms and ran directly to the area with the emergency rooms before being stopped by Shikaku Nara.
"Hold your horses there kid, this is a hospital, not a race track."
"Let me go, I need to see him," Sasuke snapped.
The Nara frowned in understanding, but didn't let go. "You can't see him right now, the doctors are doing their job and can't be interrupted." He explained.
Sasuke stopped struggling but smacked Shikaku's hand away. He walked over to the benches and took a seat, holding his head in his hands as he thought about what could have possibly happened to his little cousin. After just a few minutes of waiting, he could hear other footsteps racing down the halls and closer to his location. Kiba was the first to emerge from the hallway, panting like a dog. The next was Shikamaru, no doubt being contacted by his father beforehand. He was followed closely by Choji, who was most likely contacted in a similar manner.
"What the Hell happened!?"
"Is he gonna be okay?"
"What's going on old man?"
All the kids there with the exception of Sasuke started piling in the questions, overwhelming the Jonin.
"Oi, keep it down ankle bitters!" A new voice snapped.
Kiba's mom and sister, Tsume and Hana entered the waiting area. Tsume in particular had a rather grim look on her face, she had been friends with Mirou's mother since they were Gennin, she had known Mirou since he was just a baby. Not knowing whether or not the poor boy was going to make it, whether or not the last embers of her lifelong friend would be snuffed out, it was killing her inside.
"Mom!" Kiba called out, "what happened! What mission did he take?" Ha asked, his voice almost desperate.
"It was a C rank," answered Skikaku, "it was the retrieval of a runaway Ninken, the one posted by the Inuzuka clan."
Tsume growled, showing off her sharp fangs. "The Hokage should have left the matter to our clan, not throw it away to some kids."
Shikamaru clenched his fists together as he sat down. "It doesn't make any sense, even if it was an incredibly well-trained Ninken, Mirou was one of the fastest Gennin out of the academy and he had the Sharingan, he could avoid traps and attacks even if he couldn't go on the offensive. Plus he had his team and his Sensei. This was an old and senile Ninken, not even in his prime."
The room fell silent with contemplation as they mulled over Shikamaru's words. He was making sense, the team was specifically designed to be able to sneak around and avoid danger, even with a Ninken's smell the dog was old and losing its senses, there must have been something else at play.
"You know," Choji started, "Anri is also on Mirou's team. You don't think..." He and Shikamaru shared a look of understanding.
"You don't think... what?" Hana asked.
The two boys shook their heads. Anri wouldn't do this, she couldn't do this. Anri was strong yes, but she wasn't a borderline murderer... right?
After waiting another 20 minutes without news, the doors to the emergency room finally opened and a doctor stepped out. The people who were once sitting were now standing in anticipation, waiting for the news about their beloved Uchiha.
"Who here is the boy's guardian?" She asked.
The groups eyes shifted to one another, not sure how to answer that question.
"He doesn't have any," Sasuke spoke for the first time since sitting down. "I'm the closest family he has."
The doctor looked hesitant, but Shikaku nodded subtly from behind. "I see, you are Mirou Uchiha's emergency contact, correct?" She asked. Sasuke nodded.
"Well, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that Mirou is stable, his life is no longer in danger."
The room let out a collective sigh of relief.
"However," she continued, "There was some very serious Injuries to his arm and back, I'm afraid that there will be some long-term damage."
The doctor handed a clipboard to Sasuke, detailing the many injuries that his cousin had sustained during his mission. On the right was an image of a body with markings on it showing where his injuries were, Sasuke almost felt sick again seeing the red Ink covering its body.
"What kind of Damage?" Hana asked, grasping her younger brother by the shoulder. She could tell that he was having a hard time holding it together.
"Well, there were many small cuts covering his body, as well as a few bruises that were of little concern, however, he sustained a grade 3 concussion so we will have to seriously monitor and evaluate him when he wakes up. His nose was impacted, but fortunately not broken, and there was some water still in his lungs and stomach, as well as some serious blood loss. Our main areas of concern are his neck, back, and left arm. His arm was pierced by multiple wood fragments and suffered a transverse fracture from the impact of his fall. His neck was hit by a piece of burning debris, causing 3rd degree burns. We believe that after his neck was injured he may have fallen against or was pushed against something, causing the debris to go further into his skin. Lastly, and our biggest concern is his back. Most of his back has very serious 3rd-degree burns, possibly even 4th degree."
The room fell silent, everyone stood in shock over what they had just heard.
"What's the worst-case scenario?" Shikamaru asked carefully, trying to not let his emotions betray his face.
The doctor gave him a sympathetic look before answering. "The concussion could have caused some brain damage, and the burns could cause nerve damage to those areas. His arm is difficult to guess this early on but it could range between some numbness to the skin, or possibly losing function altogether."
There was a pause, like someone had sucked all the air out of the room. The group let the doctor's words roll around in their head like a dark cloud threatening to take away the Mirou that they know and love. Sasuke started to feel his chest tighten, his lungs felt like they weren't getting enough oxygen. He turned away from the doctor and speed-walked his way toward the front of the hospital, roughly shoving his way past anyone who stood in his way. He heard the other's call for him, but he didn't care, they couldn't help him, and they couldn't help him. He went over to a quiet corner of the hospital and crouched down, his legs no longer able to support the weight in his chest. Sasuke was breathing erratically now, he knew that he was hyperventilating and that he needed to take in less oxygen. He put his hands over his mouth as he breathed, trying to push out the bodies of his dead clan out of his head.
"He's fine," he reassured himself in his head, "The doctor said that he was fine, he's still breathing, he's gonna be okay."
Sasuke was able to calm himself down, but he felt exhausted. He wanted to do something, anything, but he was completely useless in this situation, he hated this feeling more than any other. Just as Sasuke was about to leave, he saw Anri being checked out at the front desk. Before he even knew what he was doing Sasuke started walking towards her, needing to get some answers out of her no matter what.
Anri turned and saw the person she admired standing beside her. One half of her wanted to blush, but the other half was panicking. Did he already know? Was she in trouble? No there was no way he knew, there's no way anyone knew. Anri decided then that she would say nothing about it, especially to Sasuke.
"It wasn't my fault," she reassured herself.
"Sasuke, I-"
"What happened?" He cut her off, getting straight to the point.
Anri hesitated, her eyes unable to meet his. "We got caught in a trap, Mirou was closer to it than me. He fell, I didn't." She was lying through her teeth, she knew that, but Anri couldn't risk the truth getting out.
Sasuke said nothing as he walked away, not bothering to say anymore. It wasn't that he didn't care for her explanation, in fact it just made him angry, angry that it was something so simple. To think that a common trap was almost enough to kill him, that it was almost enough to make him alone again, Sasuke pushed these thoughts away to the back of his mind. Mirou was going to be fine, Sasuke had trained him better than to die in such a pitiful way. Sasuke left to go home, he needed to get ready for when Mirou came back after all.
"He's going to be fine, he's gonna come home, he doesn't have a choice."