NARUTO IS PROPERTY OF MASASHI KISHIMOTO
"Kyuubi talking"
'Kyuubi thinking'
"Normal speech"
'Characters thinking'
Author's note:
Generation Lost
Chapter 2: The Dirt Whispered
"But that was then
And this is now
I'll make it up to you somehow."
Sasuke raised his head slowly at the sound of oncoming footsteps echoing through the dark corridor, he was unenthusiastically chewing the tasteless dumplings the morbidly obese chef cooked for him. Despite them being cold and tough, the young Uchiha didn't mind the taste.
He swallowed politely before speaking, "I thought you had escaped already."
Kabuto regarded him with cold eyes as he walked past the long dinner table and sat three seats away from him. "My life's work is here. I'm not going to leave them behind just because of the change on the chain of command. Although I am surprised you hadn't destroyed the results of Orochimaru-sama's experiments."
"Why would I do that?"
"Well, you always bragged to Suigetsu and Jugo you'd dismantle every lab once you killed Orochimaru-sama." The grey-haired medic shinobi said resentfully, pressing his hands together and trying to disguise his distaste for the whole plan.
"That," started the dark haired genin. "-was two years ago. After analyzing the new position I'm in, I realized it would be a shame to waste the valuable resources at my disposition."
Kabuto raised an eyebrow at his words. "You want to take over?"
Sasuke offered a sly smile, while cleaning his mouth with a napkin. Kabuto frowned at the situation; it certainly wouldn't be hard for the Sharingan user to gain the loyalty of most of Orochimaru's followers. The only thing oto-nins sought in a leader was strength and, until last week, they had seen in Orochimaru's the strongest ninja on their land but now that Sasuke had absorbed him, they would turn to him instead.
"I thought you were going after your brother as soon as Orochimaru-sama finished training you."
"I've been using the spy division to locate him. I have a team ready to part tomorrow morning." Replied the onyx-eyed man, getting to his feet.
"How can you expect to run over Orochimaru's affairs if you're not even here?" Kabuto was slightly annoyed that the Uchiha thought it would be so easy just to leave without a riot taking over.
"That's why I'm leaving you in charge for the time I'm away." Said Sasuke coolly, looking down at him.
"Me?" The former Konoha-nin asked, skeptical.
"You have the most experience running the affairs of the country. People know who you are and fear you. It shouldn't be a problem."
Kabuto finally exploded, rising over so fast that the chair crashed to the ground. "Listen, Sasuke-sama. The fact that I'm still here doesn't mean I won't be going away. I have no respect for you or your new objectives. In fact, I couldn't care less what you were to do with the country with lord Orochimaru gone! You're just a spoiled brat that has no regards for others' hard work!"
Sasuke listened to Kabuto's little rant impassively. Nothing Kabuto said was new to him, since he already knew just what the infamous medic-nin thought about him. After Kabuto stopped talking, it was Sasuke's turn to speak,
"I can't understand what you're so worked up about." The Uchiha took a step towards Kabuto. "I spared your life, kept your experiments, and I'm even giving you a higher rank than Orochimaru ever did." He took another step forward.
Kabuto, although older, couldn't help to gulp at the new aura emanating from the Uchiha: it was dark, cold and dangerous. The older ninja took a step backwards subconsciously.
"If you want to suffer the same fate as your old master, just say the words." Even in the dull darkness of the room, Kabuto could still see clearly the red reflection of the summoned Sharingan. "But if you stay around, we could change the fate of this putrid country."
A cold bead of sweat ran down the medic-nin's brow. He had looked directly into Sasuke's eyes and there was no escape from the Sharingan now.
"Take charge while I'm gone." Sasuke continued, seeing that Kabuto was too scared to respond. "If I return and you're not here, I will personally hunt you down."
In the three seconds it took Kabuto to answer, his mind had already endured two days of cruel torture thanks to Sasuke's Tsukuyomi. Once Sasuke decided he already had enough, he stepped back and released his genjutsu.
Kabuto fell to his knees exhausted, his hands and knees still shaking. He produced a series of distraught whines that proved he was still shocked beyond words.
"Are we clear?" The raven-haired teen asked superiorly, tilting his head to the side. The other man was still groaning in place, unable to answer. "Hn. I'll take that as a yes."
Before exiting the room and leaving Kabuto to himself, Sasuke added, "You should eat something, you look terrible, Kabuto."
Sasuke was not to be seen again for another two weeks.
When Jiraiya arrived it was 2 A.M and he found the two young ninjas still sitting comfortably in the luxurious couch, talking happily about old times and laughing like mad. The old sannin, although pleased that the blond could maintain a close friendship for three years, was somewhat irked that they had eaten his pizza… and they didn't even save him a slice.
He let it pass though, not wanting to start another argument with his young apprentice. Naruto, upon seeing his master arrive, hurried to him and made him apologize to the Hyuuga. Rolling his eyes but offering no buts, the white-haired sannin complied.
He bowed shortly to the lady and repented for his words earlier that night. Hinata, as expected from the girl Naruto remembered, bowed much lower and stated that it was just a misunderstanding.
While Jiraiya made himself a sandwich, the two teens called it a night and Hinata hurried home, hoping to infiltrate the Hyuuga state without getting caught by her father. Just as she closed the door behind her, the sannin smacked Naruto's head with the back of his hand.
"What the hell was that for?!" the blond exclaimed, narrowing his blue eyes at the senior.
"A man shouldn't let a woman walk the streets alone at night." Jiraiya said wisely, claiming Naruto's previous spot on the couch.
"Hinata can take care of herself." The blond stated firmly, feeling sorry for the poor bastard that tried to mess with the girl. "She's a chuunin."
"She's a lady." Corrected the older man, munching on his turkey sandwich. "It isn't whether she can take care of herself or not. It's about you looking like a gentleman in her eyes."
"Huh. So now you know how to act like a gentleman." Said the whiskered chuunin with a frown, crossing both his arms in front of his chest.
"If I need to, yes." Replied Jiraiya, expanding the lower part of the couch and getting his pillow from a cupboard besides the TV. "Now leave me alone, I need to see Tsunade in less than four hours."
"What for?" The Uzumaki questioned, peering at the scroll Jiraiya had brought with him. "What did your informant tell you?"
The tattooed man sighed, unraveling the scroll to show Naruto neatly aligned codes, written in oily ink. Some of the writings had watered down on the corners but it was legible enough. It was advance coding, Naruto noted, the one Jiraiya usually used to communicate with his informants; It would take him at least three full days to decipher the contents, so he waited for Jiraiya to explain.
"It appears that Pain will be leaving Amegakure a month from now, along with his partner."
"Great! That means we can finally infiltrate the city when he's not looking. We can hide until they come back and cut their throa-"
"It means I can infiltrate Ame while they're gone." Jiraiya cut him off harshly. "But it won't be as easy as you make it sound. First I'll have to establish a base and analyze all the possible ways to sneak in without anyone noticing."
The man noticed Naruto's flaring nostrils and deep frown. He knew what he was going to ask before he opened his mouth, "Naruto, you can't come with me anymore. If you want to be promoted to jounin you have to start doing missions for Konoha."
"I have been doing missions!" The blond exclaimed, clearly outraged, placing both palms on his chest.
"Those were undercover. You have no official missions under your chuunin position yet." Jiraiya, seeing that he was about to protest hurried to say, "Besides, now you can work with Kakashi and go after your teammate! Or have you forgotten about the Uchiha boy?"
"What? Of course I haven't!" The blond spluttered, clearly offended at Jiraiya's suggestion. His mind immediately switched from Akatsuki's leader to Orochimaru's pupil.
"Then why are you willing to delay his search?" The older man asked calmly, already knowing that Naruto's angriness had died down and could only pout at his decision of leaving him in the village.
"I'm not."Naruto replied, lowering his eyes. "I just… We've been going after Pain for so long and now…" The whiskered chuunin wavered. He had grown to enjoy his adventures with Jiraiya, no matter how dangerous and painful they turned out to be. Furthermore, no matter how strong his master was, the blond always felt it was his duty to accompany him wherever he went; just to be sure he had someone watching his back. "We know almost nothing about him, save for his name and that he's Amegakure's leader! But you couldn't find out what his abilities are or just how strong his partner is! Hell, we haven't even seen their faces yet! You pretend to take him down on your own with so little information?"
Despite his angered tone, Jiraiya could feel the worry in the blond's words. Naruto had always had a hard time expressing how he felt around people, even to Jiraiya. The sannin measured the Uzumaki with his eyes, noticing just how much he had grown since they parted from Konoha, and in three years of taking care of Naruto he head learn to read his emotions.
The older man's eyes softened at Naruto's concern for his well being.
"You make it sound like I'm just gonna barge in without any backup plan." Jiraiya said understandingly, eyes turning to Naruto fondly. "Naruto, I'm a sannin. If there's something I know how to do, is to fight. Don't worry, I'll come up with a plan to take down Pain. But Orochimaru is someone we can't keep ignoring any longer. And since Tsunade has made me responsible for tracking Akatsuki down, I now leave Orochimaru in your hands."
"Orochimaru hasn't made any move for over a year! It might be a while before we can locate him again… I want to see Akatsuki done! And Pain has given us so much trouble I feel like I owe him a Rasengan to his heart!" the blond pouted, driving his fist against his palm, but Jiraiya could see that his eyes didn't hold the will to argue with him anymore.
"I'll give Pain your regards." Smiled the white-haired writer, taking off his vest and throwing it aside. "But it's already been decided that you should return to active duty. You're not coming and that's final."
Naruto seized Jiraiya with his eyes, lips trembling to say something else. Jiraiya didn't let him.
"Leave me alone now. I need to sleep and so do you. Don't you have your team evaluation in the morning?"
The blond shrugged his shoulders. "Kakashi's gonna be late anyways. I don't need to be there on time."
"But you need to be in shape if you want Kakashi to accept you back in his team. Better go to sleep, boy."
Naruto huffed one last time before turning on his heel and storming out of the living room and into his bedroom. Jiraiya smirked, thinking that no matter how strong he had become, he still acted like a five-year-old sometimes.
Kiba paced up and down the fancy lobby inside the Hyuuga compound. It was the room nearest to the main entrance gate, and the one that the Inuzuka was most familiar with. He and Shino would always sit in the comfortable looking leather couch while they waited for Hinata to greet them.
This morning though, not even the beautiful paintings hanging down the room walls or the gentle sound of the small stream in the garden could calm down the brunette's nerves. It had been almost thirty minutes since he announced his arrival to the Hyuuga guard flanking the gates and there was still no sign of the indigo-haired beauty.
It was most unusual for Hinata to take so long to meet him. The young woman was renowned for her punctuality. Needless to say, Kiba was worried. Akamaru was starting to get restless down at the beautiful garden; it seemed that his canine companion was also feeling unnerved by their female friend's tardiness.
'Could she be ill or something?' Kiba asked himself, biting his lower lip worriedly. The man immediately shook his head. It didn't seem plausible, since he had seen her off last night and she looked perfectly fine and healthy.
The teen threw his head around, dark eyes looking for a guard he could talk to.
It was then that he heard fast steps coming down the main hall. He knew it was her from the sweet scent that slowly drifted through the air; Kiba halted immediately and straightened up to greet her.
The Hyuuga heiress turned the corner and almost crashed against her teammate. She halted in her steps, slightly breathless.
"Hinata…" Kiba started; ready to start showering her with questions.
"I know, Kiba-kun, I'm so sorry." The girl immediately bowed apologetically, ignoring the happy barks Akamaru was giving her from the garden.
"What happened? Are you sick or something?" The Inuzuka placed his hands on her shoulders and searched her face with concern, noticing her eyes weren't fully awake yet.
"I overslept." Hinata confessed embarrassedly, finding it hard to look at him in the eye.
"We better hurry. We're supposed to meet the Hokage in fifteen minutes." Kiba said.
"I'm so sorry, Kiba-kun. I kept you waiting…" continued the girl, looking down at the wooden floor.
"It's okay, I'm not mad. I was worried something had happened to you last night." The Inuzuka chuckled, relieved that Hinata didn't have anything serious. "We should hurry, though."
The girl agreed with him, and they both approached the open gates, Akamaru following closely.
They walked briskly through the village. Kiba offered a few jokes but he couldn't make her engage in the conversation; her mind was far away and her feet moved mechanically. He stopped talking when he realized she was keeping to her thoughts to herself, and it wouldn't make any good prod her to tell him what she was thinking.
Hinata almost tripped with another chuunin as they entered the Hokage building; she offered an honest apology and ignored the worried glances Kiba was sending her way.
"You sure you're feeling all right? You are spacing out a lot." Her tall teammate commented, lowering his head to take a better look at her.
"I'm just a bit tired, Kiba-kun. I'm sorry I'm worrying you." The girl replied with a kind smile, one that made Kiba's breath stop short. He tried to hide the blush that threatened to creep to his face.
"Heh, what did you do last night that kept you up?"
Hinata lowered her head a bit, trying to suppress the guilty smile that was now adorning her face. "It's kind of a long story, Kiba-kun."
"Wanna talk about it at lunch?" Kiba asked with a grin, but he didn't get to hear Hinata's reply as they arrived at the Hokage's front doors.
"Good morning, Hirumi-san." Hinata called over to the secretary working down on a pile of papers scattered on top of her desk. The eighteen-year-old woman looked up, already knowing who the owner of the soft voice was.
Hirumi offered a practiced smile back to the girl, greeting her as well. As always, the Hyuuga heiress was with her loyal dog, Inuzuka Kiba. The Hokage's assistant looked with indifferent eyes as the younger woman bowed curtly at her, Kiba imitating her actions.
"Hinata-san, Kiba-san." The black-eyed woman said somewhat cold. She looked down at a sheet of paper, and then looked back up towards them. "You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago."
"I'm so sorry." Hinata continued to speak, bowing even lower at the woman. "It's my fault."
"C'mon, Hinata, don't say that. Everyone oversleeps once every while, right?" Kiba offered Hirumi a smile but the woman barely looked at him.
'I guess Hyuuga Hinata is not so perfect after all.' Hirumi thought, smiling inwardly. She couldn't help hating how everyone, even the Hokage herself, protected the Hyuuga princess. No matter what she did, she was always forgiven. Everyone treated her like she was royalty, protecting her from even the smallest things.
Hirumi always thought that being a chuunin meant that you could fend for yourself, but even with her flask jacket on, people continued to fret at every little that happened around her. It was unfair that Hyuuga Hinata had everything one might want in life: money, status, respect and beauty.
Hirumi was convinced that the Hyuugas had bribed the judges from the Chuunin exams to let their precious heiress become a chuunin. After all, how could a frail-looking princess pass all the three stages of the chuunin exam without help from her family name?
"As a general rule, if you don't turn up at the appointed time, you don't get to see the Hokage." The woman said, enjoying the look of disappointment that sprang to Hinata's face. She smirked, "Luckily for you, Hokage-sama has yet to finish her previous meeting."
"Thank you, Hirumi-san!" Exclaimed Kiba, as looked to his partner with a relieved smile. "Kurenai-sensei would never let us hear the end of it if we were to lose our meeting."
Hinata also sighed in relief.
Hirumi watched the two of them with a distasteful smile, but her attention was drawn towards the Hokage's office.
Kiba and Hinata also heard the muffled voices that were steadily getting louder coming from the inside of the red doors. Hinata cocked her head to the side while Kiba frowned at the situation. The Inuzuka immediately was aware of the familiar scent that still lingered in the hall.
"Is that… Naruto?" as soon as Kiba finished speaking, the doors slammed open from inside, and two figures emerged rapidly from the office. A loud bang was then heard as the two persons hit the cement wall just besides Hirumi's desk.
The dark-haired assistant gasped and stood from her chair, quickly backing away. Kiba and Hinata stared at the scene before them, and they were soon joined by Sakura, Kakashi and Tsunade and another jounin none of them had ever seen before coming from the office.
"You better take that back or else I'll cut your tongue."
The hall echoed with the threatening voice of Naruto; his right hand was firmly enveloping a short-haired man's neck, while his other hand was clenched into a ball.
"Naruto, put him down!" Sakura ordered to his newly reincorporated teammate. Just two hours ago they had passed Kakashi's bells test and they had been summoned to the Hokage's office to meet their new teammate.
Said teammate was wearing a shocked expression at Naruto's sudden attack, but now that the initial shock was over, his face returned to the calm mask he was used to wear around people.
Sai slowly smiled at Naruto, before speaking again, "I heard the story of how you almost got killed going after Sasuke-kun. I'm surprised you're still gay for his dick even 3 years after receiving a blow to the heard."
The pale, short-haired Root member paused for a moment, almost as if to think about the implications of his words. There was an intense silence while his words sunk in. The blond's frown vanished instantly, only to leave a pair of round, surprised eyes. He couldn't believe that those words just left the other man's lips; not only did he insult Sasuke to this face, but he also insulted him in front of everyone.
Sai, seeing that no one was going to say anything, continued to speak in his smooth voice, "That makes you a pussy, doesn't it?"
Naruto didn't notice how everyone's eyes were resting on him; his eyes were completely focused on the smiling ones of who was supposed to be his new teammate. The little self-control that was holding him back from hurting that man any further was crushed to pieces, as blind rage fixed itself in his mind. The whiskered chuunin's nostrils became almost too wide, while his eyes narrowed dangerously.
He knew what he was going to do now, and so did the rest. The only person in the hall that seemed unaware of the impending danger was Sai himself, who was still smiling like an idiot.
Without saying a single word, the blonde's fist loosened up and started forming a blue ball of light from out of thin air. Hirumi's dark eyes watched entranced at the mass of chakra swirling in Naruto's palm. The woman reached to the conclusion that it was quite beautiful, her mind not understanding why everyone else was wearing a horrified expression at the sight of the Rasengan.
"Are you crazy?" Tsunade called pointedly, hazel eyes staring in surprise at the blond's tensed muscles, while chastising herself for permitting Danzo manipulate the Council into letting his pawn become team 7's new member.
"You can't do that!" Sakura's voice was heard over the noise of chakra ripping through the air. The former ANBU member, Yamato, looked at Kakashi; his dark eyes urged the grey-haired man to intervene, but Kakashi didn't seem to have much sympathy for the kid.
Sakura called Naruto's name repeatedly, taking a step forward but afraid to do anything rash in fear that the blond would launch his attack at Sai's face. The Root-member's eyes had now become serious, as he looked at the blue ball hovering not so far from his face. He could feel the incredible power housed inside the tiny attack, and he could also feel the thin strands of his hair waving back against the current of air the Rasengan created.
"Dude!" Kiba exclaimed, alarmed at the seething Kyuubi container, whose eyes were locked with Sai's. The Inuzuka's eyes deviated from Naruto as soon as he caught Hinata making her way slowly towards the blond.
"Naruto-kun." The girl called in her low voice. It was really hard to make herself heard over the noise of the swirling chakra, so she placed herself carefully right next to him and spoke again, straining her natural low voice so Naruto could hear her. "You are taking this too far."
Just when she thought the blond was ignoring her, his blue irises switched from Sai to hers, anger written all over his face.
"Didn't you hear what he just said to me, Hinata?" Naruto growled, gripping Sai's throat even harder, to remind him that he hadn't forgotten about him. He could feel how the older man wanted to swallow, but the crippling force he was applying wouldn't let him. "I warned him more than once… he asked for this!"
"Those are just words." The Hyuuga continued. Even though she was still feeling worried about the mortal jutsu the blond had on the palm of his hand, she spoke as calmly as she could. "You should just ignore them."
"Ignore them." Naruto repeated mockingly, eyes darting from Hinata to Sai, but finally deciding to rest his sight on Hinata. "Hinata, he's talking shit about Sasuke and me! And Sasuke's not even here to defend himself!"
"Nothing he said was true, you know it and we know it. Please…" Kiba and Hirumi watched incredulously as Hinata placed her hand gently on Naruto's upper arm and raised her head to look directly at the Kyuubi's container face. The Inuzuka felt himself clench his teeth. "You're alarming everyone, Naruto-kun."
Her words seemed to finally reach the blond as he looked around to see that at least five more employees were poking their heads around corners to get a closer look at the developing situation. They all seemed deeply scared.
Naruto called off his Rasengan, albeit reticently. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he withdrew his hand from Sai's throat.
Sai had been listening attentively at Naruto and Hinata's interaction and seemed quite amused at the blond's compliance at the Hyuuga's plead. 'I must look further into this.' He made a mental note to research just what her body language towards the taller boy meant.
"She just saved your life." Naruto hissed, before turning on his heel.
The thin shinobi greeted his words with a cock of his head and a light smile. Sai resisted the urge to massage his now bruised throat.
"If you are quite done with your alpha male demonstration, we should continue our meeting in my office." Started a fuming Hokage, a vein throbbing vigorously on her temple.
"I can't believe you still let him in our team even after knowing he was like this." Naruto accused pointedly, throwing a dirty look at the Hokage and marching off into the office with his fists clenched tightly together. He was quickly followed by a glowering Sakura and an unconcerned Kakashi, with Yamato following close behind.
"Get inside." Tsunade spat, turning to Sai with uninviting eyes.
Not even flinching at her tone or the look she was giving him, the seventeen year old Root member walked past her into the room.
"You two also." She ordered, referring to Kiba and Hinata. Team 8's members looked at each other confusedly before complying and hurrying inside. Tsunade's tired eyes surveyed the employees still wandering around the scene. "Back to work all of you! Show's over."
After a short, yet lively discussion amongst the Hokage and Naruto regarding team 7's new member, both parties managed to calm down after Sakura and Hinata intervened.
Sai really seemed eager to push Naruto to the limit, as he claimed his position standing right next to the Uzumaki. Everyone else in the room stared in shock at the boy's clear disregard for his life, but fortunately for him Naruto chose to storm away from him and stand besides Hinata at the opposite end of the room.
Now that everyone was standing in attention, Tsunade decided to proceed with their conference.
"Hinata, Kiba." The Hokage started after a long sigh. "You might have already notice the two new faces in the room."
The large breasted woman turned to Sai and Yamato, which were standing side by side.
"You already met Sai." Tsunade said sourly, nodding to the seemingly happy short-haired man. Sai waved a hand at them. "He's team 7's new member. Yamato here, is to be team 7's substitute leader for the mission I'm about to assign you." Said man nodded at shortly, showing them a polite smile.
The Hyuuga heard Naruto huff grumpily, as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. Hinata had to wonder why was it that Naruto's team was being assigned a different captain, when Kakashi himself was standing with them in the room.
The sixteen-year-old girl rested her eyes discreetly on their new team leader. Yamato had short, brown hair and oval-shaped black eyes. He was wearing the standard jounin uniform, just as Kakashi.
"You two have been selected to join team 7 in a mission in Yugakure no Sato*." The older woman handed out identical folders to every teenager with the details of their newly appointed mission. "In the last four months, twenty villagers have disappeared."
Hinata didn't dare open the folder while the Hokage was speaking, but besides her she could see that Naruto was inspecting the contents of the first few pages. The blond's eyebrows knitted in concentration as he learned that eight children were among the missing; the youngest being only four-years-old.
"Two months after the first kidnapping, Yugakure started an investigation with its own shinobi force." Tsunade continued, although she sent an annoyed look at the Uzumaki as he turned another page of the report. "It took them almost the same time to reach their first clue as to who might be abducting their people. They believe the kidnappers are a criminal shinobi gang that operated in Kirigakure but had transferred to their territory."
"Why are they calling us, then?" Kiba chimed, waving the report uninterestingly. "They already know who they are, why don't they just go after them?"
"Yugakure's possesses only a handful of shinobi, Kiba. It has forgotten how to repel a shinobi menace." The Hokage said patiently.
Noticing the confused expression on Kiba's face, Naruto decided to clarify. "Yugakure used to be a shinobi village but decided to exploit the hot springs in its land instead. Almost all of their shinobi activities ceased just after the Third Ninja War and they are now focused on tourism; just like it happened with Getsugakure*."
The Inuzuka cocked an eyebrow at the blond, who proceeded to bury his nose in the report. The rest of the present shinobi in the room gave Naruto an impressed look. Sakura had to wonder if Naruto had been doing historic studies of the minor shinobi villages around the world.
Tsunade, although still angry with the tall teenager's outburst, couldn't help to smile at the knowledge the blond had gained outside of Konoha. 'If he just acted that mature all the time, he could get to jounin before his seventeenth birthday.'
But the Hokage could only hope. She knew that Naruto had always had a temper that was nearly impossible to control, and by judging by what had just occurred with Sai a few minutes ago, the blond had a long way to go before he could keep himself in check. Tsunade's eyes rested on the Hyuuga heiress discreetly as she recalled that it was her who prevented the blond from carving a neat hole in Sai's face. 'Maybe I made the right call to assign her to this mission.'
"It is just as Naruto said. It proved impossible for their shinobi to deal with the missing-nins on their land; they killed every ninja that was sent after them, along with a few villagers here and there. Not only that but they're wiping out every shinobi that crosses the city. They have people working for them, mostly thugs and lowlifes, who are on the lookout for ninja or any other threat for their group. Once they are spotted, they're killed and thrown into the streets for everyone to see."
The blond noticed how Hinata stiffened at Tsunade's words. He couldn't deduce what her expression was, but he guessed she must be horrified.
"Now that they have seen just how weak Yugakure really is, they became bolder in their attacks, appearing in broad daylight and threatening the higher ups into keeping silence."
"Seems like a regular terrorist group to me." Commented the whiskered young man, scratching his cheek.
"Kudo is known as the leader of the criminal group. We don't know anything about him but his name. It was him who barged into the Council meeting giving death threats all around. Kohaku Watari, Council member of Yugakure, decided to send for help without their knowledge. According to the letter not a single villager knows where Kudo's hideout is or what he is doing with the people he's kidnapped."
Tsunade placed both palms on top of the polished, mahogany desk and glanced at every face in front of her. "Only Watari knows you are coming. I want you to use that advantage and pretend you are just tourists, while you search for Kudo and the missing people. Do you understand?"
"Hai." Everyone said in unison.
"Right." Tsunade closed her own file, and then she leaned back into her comfy chair. "It's a two days and three nights journey to Yugakure. You'll be leaving tonight so you can enter the city when it's dark. Yamato will fill you in the details of the mission. Dismissed."
The group started to fill out the door, but the Hokage called after them. "Except you, Naruto."
The blond, who was just to cross the door, groaned loudly while stepping back in. He cursed under his breath as Kakashi closed the door behind him. The masked man winked encouragingly at him before closing the door to give them privacy.
"I know what you're gonna say." The blond started, shoving his hands deep in his pocket and looking anywhere but Tsunade's face.
"I don't care, Naruto. We had a deal." The Hokage said angrily, crossing her arms tightly on top of her breasts. "You promised to calm down about your new team member if I assigned you an A-ranked mission."
The blond rolled his eyes, ready to reply to her words but the Hokage continued to speak heatedly.
"I fulfilled my part of the bargain, but what about you? You almost killed the boy."
"You never told me he was going to be someone from Root!" Naruto retorted quickly. "The last thing I need is for Danzo's spy to inquire about my sexuality every five minutes."
"Naruto…"
"Right now I could be packing with Ero-sannin, discussing ways to infiltrate Ame…" The blond continued bitterly.
"Naruto, you and Jiraiya had your fun already. Right now you need to complete missions for the Village. Not only that, but you also need to remember how to be part of a team and fight along with others." Tsunade said.
"I fought along with Jiraiya for years!" The Uzumaki replied quickly. "We never failed one single mission!"
"Jiraiya is a sannin, Naruto… It's very unlikely for him to fail a mission. And I know what Jiraiya is like in missions." The Hokage said wisely. "He tries to do everything by himself, and I'm sure that's how he taught you to fight."
Tsunade knew Jiraiya was the hero type. Everything he did he did it alone, and if he was working with anyone else he would just split part of the assignment so that his partner wouldn't interfere with his work. "You do that while I take care of this." Was his favorite phrase.
"Maybe we didn't have the best teamwork in the country but at least I was there when he made a mistake." It was Naruto's time to get serious now. The blond approached to her desk and planted both his hands firmly on her desk. "Jiraiya may be the strongest in Fire country but he's not perfect."
"Naruto…" the Hokage started but the blond raised his voice to make himself heard.
"Granny, there's a reason why Pain is feared even among his partners." Naruto's eyes darkened as his voice fell into a whisper. "He rarely leaves his village and he doesn't fight, but he is capable of controlling the likes of Uchiha Itachi. There's so much we don't know about him and you still expect Jiraiya to destroy him in his own village? That's risking too much!"
"He will have enough time to spy on Pain before making his move, and if there's something that Jiraiya is better at than fighting and drinking, it's gathering information." Tsunade locked eyes with the male youth, feeling somewhat irked that Naruto was trying to make her feel guilty for assigning such a dangerous mission to her former teammate. "He will go his way and you will go yours. The decision's been made, along with the paperwork."
Tsunade's harsh tone made Naruto inhale sharply in frustration. His blue eyes finally lost the staring contest and fell to the desk, but he still needed to say something else,
"Baa-chan, please…"
"We're done, Naruto. Go pack your stuff." The Hokage said authoritatively, taking a pile of files on her right and focusing her attention on them.
"It doesn't have to be me, just… don't let him go alone." Naruto whispered, bowing his head slightly.
His words made her head snap back up in concern. The older woman looked at his hunched form on top of her desk and stared in disbelief at his plead, her heart aching with tenderness at the boy's worry for his master's safety. For Naruto to plead like that only showed how the Uzumaki had grown to love Jiraiya.
The woman rounded her desk and placed a hand on top of Naruto's shoulder.
"Naruto…" Tsunade started, making him raise his eyes to face her. She offered a comforting smile. "He's doing this for your own safety. If he defeats Pain, Akatsuki won't have clear leadership and it will most definitively disband, leaving you out of danger. Jiraiya has offered to do this himself and I trust him with this task. Have some faith in your master, won't you?"
"I do have faith in him." Naruto hurried to say.
"And he has faith that you can now take care of yourself." She placed a hand on his back and led him towards the exit. "We both have. Now go with your team before they leave you behind."
Without a word, the blond let Tsunade push him out of her office. There was still so much on his mind he didn't notice Kakashi and the others were waiting for him next to the elevators. Only when Sakura called his name did he snapped out of his trance.
"Everything okay?" the pink-haired medic asked, noticing his deep frown and far away gaze.
Naruto only produced a distracted nod and paused before them, next to Kakashi who was still as cheerful as always.
"I think my part here is over." The masked man said, referring to his assignment of overseeing his students get acquainted to his substitute and the new member of his team. "The meet n' greet went rather well, didn't it?"
His words were received with incredulous stares of almost all the teenagers, except for Sai's permanent smile.
"More like a disaster, I'd say." Kiba snorted humorlessly.
"It can only get better from here on." Yamato said, trying to match Kakashi's enthusiasm.
"That's the spirit." Cheered the grey-haired jounin, and proceeded to place his hands on Naruto and Sakura's shoulders. "Good luck with my kids, Yamato. I hope they don't give you much trouble."
The former ANBU captain shook Yamato's waiting hand and nodded to team 8, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
There was an uncomfortable silence immediately afterwards, where everyone tried hard to avoid Sai's disturbing grin and Yamato's searching eyes. The new captain put on his best smile and broke the silence.
"I suggest we all get something to eat and discuss everyone's role in this mission."
"Do we have to? Hinata and I already had plans for this afternoon." The Inuzuka immediately started to whine. The Hyuuga could see Yamato was starting to get slightly annoyed at Kiba's pouting, but she knew why her friend was behaving like that; Kiba hated taking orders from strangers.
"Your plans will have to wait." Yamato said impatiently. "I want everything to be clear before we head out."
Yamato decided they would have an early lunch at a curry restaurant three blocks down the Hokage building. He offered to pay everyone's meal but that didn't do much to lift the spirits of the younglings around him.
Kiba was grouchy at pretty much everything that was happening right now. First of all, he was upset that the restaurant didn't let dogs inside, so he had to tell Akamaru to wait for him at his house. Also, he was the second person that morning to try to murder Sai: the older ninja had called the whole Inuzuka clan a bunch of zoophiles.
Captain Yamato was quick enough to restrain Kiba before his clawed hands reached Sai. It took Hinata almost ten minutes to calm her teammate down. The older shinobi took the Root member aside and warned him about commenting or insulting his other team members. The short-haired ninja seemed to comply with Yamato's orders, because he had refrained from speaking for the last twenty minutes, but he was still analyzing his new team's interaction with a creepy smile on his lips.
Kiba glared at the unappealing food on his plate and picked at it with a spoon. Yamato was giving a speech on undercover tactics but the only thing Kiba could think about was meeting with his dog at home to try and catch a quick nap with him.
"- We mustn't let anyone know we are ninja once we are in Yugakure." Yamato paused to take a gulp of his drink. "Any ninja traits that might give us away must be disguised during our stay in the hotel."
Sakura and Hinata nodded at his words. The girls seemed to be the only ones paying attention to their leader. Naruto had his elbows propped on the table, his plate already empty.
Yamato turned first to Hinata, who was at the opposite end of the table, between Naruto and Kiba. "Hinata-san, your family is well known not only in the ninja world, but also among common business people. Anyone who sees your eyes will most definitively guess you're a Hyuuga and, therefore, a shinobi. A pair of contact lenses should be sufficient to make you look like a normal person."
"Hai." Hinata nodded her head obediently.
"What about us?" Sakura asked, eyes glinting with excitement. It had been two years since she last left the country in a mission, due to her studies, and was clearly eager to get back on duty.
"We," Yamato paused to look at Sakura and Sai pointedly. "can go without disguising ourselves. Without any shinobi traits to rat us out, we can pass unnoticed just as we are."
The captain turned his body to the Uzumaki. His shoulders were hunched up and he was looking out the window, looking uninterested about the whole conversation. As soon as he felt Yamato's eyes on him, he raised his eyebrows. "What?"
"Your hair and your whisker marks need to go." Said the man seriously. "Especially your whiskers."
"Why?" interjected Kiba. "Those are not ninja traits."
Naruto sighed, massaging his cheek absentmindedly. "Jiraiya has some pretty big enemies. And since I was with him for so long, some of those also transferred to me."
"You are in Iwagakure's Bingo Book." Yamato said, recalling reading that piece of information on Naruto's file. "You will have to watch out for Iwa-nins."
"Yeah… that wasn't pretty." Replied the blond with a smirk.
His teammates looked at him with amazement, each of them wondering what was it that the Uzumaki did to be considered a black-listed ninja on Iwagakure's eyes. Sai frowned lightly; he was sure there was more to the smartass sitting right in front of him. He wished Danzo had told him what was so important about that blond.
"I know how to disguise myself." Continued the blond, straightening his back. "I'll dye my hair, don't worry."
"Cover your whiskers with some make up. You'll have to do that every day for as long as the mission lasts."
Naruto's face ticked in annoyance at his words. "I know." He cursed undercover missions under his breath, but knew it had to be done if he didn't want to place his comrades in danger.
Kiba immediately sniggered, thing which guided Yamato's attention towards him.
"Kiba-san, you too. You can't go around showing your Inuzuka tattoos to the world."
"I won't wear no makeup!" Kiba shouted, face flushing in anger. "Besides, it might come off when we get to the hot springs."
"There is water proof make up, Kiba." Said Sakura. "It's not that bad."
"Absolutely not! I would be the laughing stock of all my family if they find out!" The Inuzuka seemed absolutely terrified about the thought.
"Man up, Kiba." The blond said rashly. "Or are you afraid you might like it?" The blond said with a sneer. The brunette inhaled sharply at his words, face turning into a scowl.
"Men don't wear makeup." The dog lover said slowly, glaring at the blond. He turned his head harshly towards Yamato. "I'll use a genjutsu."
"Kudo's men will be surveying the city carefully, there's no doubt about that. Using chakra will only alert them that we're around." Yamato said, tiredly massaging his temples. If this is how Kiba behaved every day, he would have to buy a bottle of aspirins before the mission starts. "That means no genjutsu or any type of jutsu. You will be normal teenagers and I'll be an ordinary business man. So you'll wear makeup every day, just like Naruto. End of discussion."
Before Kiba had time to reply, the older man stood up.
"Go get everything you need. We will meet at nine o'clock in the East Gate." The unmasked ANBU took out his wallet. "Study your character's background. I'll quiz you on the road."
/
"He's gotta be here somewhere!" Karin said, unaware that she was talking way louder than she intended.
She leapt from one boulder to another, followed by her two male companions. She didn't need to look over at them to know they were just as shocked as she was.
Three hours ago the burned down ruins they were walking on had been a glorious rocky palace hidden inside a small mountain. The glorious fight they had just witnessed from a safe distance had imploded, and all that was left was just an enormous hole.
Jugo noticed how there were no birds in the sky, and the whole forest surrounding the mountain was dead silent. The animals must have fled as soon as the fight between the Uchiha brothers began, he deduced.
"Are you sure he's alive? Maybe you're just sensing Itachi's chakra." Suigetsu said, slowing down to look at an Uchiha crest painted on a broken wall.
"I know Sasuke-kun's chakra by heart, you idiot!" she barked, turning her head viciously at her companion. They were now climbing over the side of the burnt hill, and towards the roof of the Uchiha's destroyed hideout.
Once they reached the surface, thick smoke hit their faces and made them cough in reflex. "What's that smell?" The red-haired woman asked, covering her nose with her sleeve.
"I think it comes from those flames." Jugo said, pointing at the corner of the roof that intersected with the mountain. Since he was the tallest of the three, he could see how the fire was still consuming the dirt, grass and stone.
"Holy shit." The white-haired man breathed, already feeling drained due to the dry, hot air surrounding the place. "I've never seen black fire before."
"It must've been Itachi." Karin said, looking hastily over the ruins, trying to spot her leader. "Sasuke-kun can't do that."
She cursed out loud. After reaching the ruins, Sasuke's chakra signature was almost nonexistent, and that made it almost impossible to locate his position.
"Look." Jugo was looking at the dark clouds that had gathered at the west end of the mountain. They were still electrified. "He must be there."
They hurried across the building, surrounding the large hole that had been the stone roof and finally making it to the edge of the structure. At first they missed him but then the reflection of his katana attracted their attention.
He was lying beside his blade, with his dead brother face down right in front of him. Karin called his name as she rushed to his side and tried to wake him up. He had lost his shirt, his chest and arms were burned and bruised. Both brothers had thick, dried blood running down their eyes and cheeks. That meant they had both used their Sharingan to the limit.
"He doesn't look that bad. Just a little bit worn out." Commented Suigetsu, kneeling before Sasuke's still body.
"The important thing isn't his body but the state of his mind, remember the Sharingan is the strongest genjutsu..." The orange-haired man said, walking over to Itachi and analyzing the small smile that was on his face. 'What the hell happened between them?'
"He isn't waking up." The concern on Karin's voice was evident. She raised her eyes to Suigetsu. "Help him bite me."
The water user nodded his head and held Sasuke's jaw between his hands, opening his mouth slightly as Karin raised the sleeve of her left arm and put it near Sasuke's face. After they had adjusted Sasuke's teeth on the woman's arm, Suigetsu pressed Sasuke's jaws together hard enough so that his teeth could pierce Karin's skin. The woman bit back a moan and, after a few seconds, Sasuke's wounds started to heal.
Both Suigetsu and Karin frowned. Even after having all his major and minor wounds patched up, their leader still wasn't reacting.
"We must take him back." Jugo kneeled down and hoisted the Uchiha teen onto his shoulders effortlessly. "He needs to rest properly."
"I assure you that no amount of rest will help his mind when he wakes up." A smooth voice said just a few feet away from the group of young ninjas. Karin let out a small shriek, but Suigetsu and Jugo didn't show any signs of alarm.
"When did he get here?" the white-haired man asked to his comrades, but his question was ignored by his teammates.
"We don't have anything against Akatsuki. The fight between them was personal. You can take your comrade's body if you wish." Jugo seized the masked man with a calm stare.
"I planned on doing just that." Replied the dark-haired man, approaching Itachi's body and placing him under his left arm. "But I'm afraid I'm planning to take both Uchihas with me."
"We won't let you take Sasuke."
Suigetsu turned at Karin as soon as he saw she was shaking slightly. "What is it?"
"H-His chakra…" managed to mutter the red-head with a pale face. "I can't feel it."
Suigetsu's eyes widened in alarm at her words. He turned to the man, who was no taller than him and stared nervously. Karin was a chakra sensor, and the best at that. If he had learned anything from her was that everyone expelled chakra, no matter how hard they tried to suppress it. It was a ninja's essence.
His eyes rested on the only opening the mask had, and managed to see a red eye staring back at him. 'Is that a Sharingan?'
The man stepped closer towards them, and they all felt their bodies tense in response.
"Karin, guard Sasuke. We'll handle him." Jugo ordered, placing Sasuke back down on Karin's lap. "Let's go, Suigetsu."
"Tch, I don't remember Sasuke naming you second in command." The man complained. However, he stood up and brandished Zabuza's sword.
They lunged against the stranger. Jugo had his eyes on the man's heart while Suigetsu was planning to behead him with just one swing of his sword. The stranger didn't seem to mind their attack, as he just carried on towards them calmly.
Karin witnessed with unbelieving eyes as both her teammates ran through the cloaked man's body, as if he hadn't even been in front of them at all. Jugo and Suigetsu halted their sprint and turned their heads towards the man's back.
The woman was too scared to fight off the man who now had his gloved hands on Sasuke.
"Don't worry, I'll give him back to you once he's ready." The muffled voice of the man said. "Family must always stick together, after all."
Karin heard the man's chuckle as he disappeared in a vortex with the Uchiha brothers in tow.
"My name is Hiyotoka Hinamori, daughter of a dango shop owner back in Tanzaku." The indigo-haired kunoichi replied firmly.
"Very well, Hinata-san." Yamato smiled at the Hyuuga in approval. Hinata nodded her head, brandishing her new black pupils to everyone gathered round the fire. Yamato turned his head to Naruto.
"What about you?" His question was directed to Naruto, who had been prodding the flames with a stick. "What's your name?"
"I'm…" The Uzumaki was not blond anymore. His pitch black hair was almost invisible in the darkness, and his whisker marks rested under a thin layer of makeup. Aside from his astonishing blue eyes, there was nothing else that his teammates could associate with the Naruto they knew.
Naruto frowned as he struggled to remember his code name, his eyes then lit up. "Ah yes! I'm Uritaka Nagari-sama, I'm the son of a police man. My dream is to become a samurai! I also have two illegitimate sons and I'm married to the Daimyo's daughter…"
"Naruto! Don't joke around." Sakura reprimanded, shoving his shoulder rashly. Kiba laughed out loud, while Hinata muffled down a giggle.
"If I'm gonna be a different person, I might as well be someone interesting."
"We must be as convincing as possible, Naruto-kun." Yamato intervened, putting down their profile information. "If we are to investigate the town no one must suspect us. Just stick to your profile."
The blond sighed. "Fine. Forget what I said about being married… my name really is Uritaka Nagari, I'm also from Tanzaku, and have been Kitaru's friend since we met in fourth grade… Can I just say that this name sucks?"
"Just be thankful you aren't called Kitaru…" Kiba announced with a slouch of his shoulders. Unlike everyone else, he was laying down on top of Akamaru that served as a pillow for him.
"Why don't you go, Kiba-kun?"
"Just like I said, I'm Kitaru uh…" Kiba closed his eyes shut as he tried to recall his last name.
"Inamoshi." Hinata whispered with a hand over her mouth loud enough for only Kiba to hear.
"Inamoshi!" the Inuzuka concluded with a grin, he also had his Inuzuka markings disguised. "My uncle invited me and my friends to Yugakure no Sato to have a good time, while he's busy being a business man. I've known all of my friends since school."
"How's your uncle called?" the brown-haired man asked.
"Err… I'm sure his last name is also Inamoshi…" The boy offered a weak laugh.
"You don't know your own uncle's name?" Sai questioned from the far side of their camp.
"Shut up… It's hard enough to learn my own new name." Kiba retorted angrily.
"Kiba you've had two days to memorize all of our identities. Tsunade-sama even named us after our own initials so it would be easier to remember."
Kiba hung his head as Yamato talked. The older man sighed. "We'll be getting to Yugakure by noon tomorrow. From now on we'll start calling each other by our new names, so we can get use to them."
It had been two days since they left Konoha. They donned normal clothing, leaving all ninja related clothes and headbands home. The group had encountered travelers along the road to the limits of the country, but as they got closer to their destination, fewer and fewer people were sighted.
"Kiba- I mean, Kitaru-kun, since you couldn't answer my question, you'll get the first shift tonight." Yamato ordered, rising from his sitting position.
"I know." Kiba replied through gritted teeth.
"Sai, go fetch some more wood. I'll place a few traps round the perimeter. The rest of you please set up the tents. We'll get to Yugakure tomorrow noon, so we need to be well rested."
There was a collective "Hai!" as the teens got to work. As soon as Yamato got out of sight, Kiba opened his mouth,
"He sure likes to order around."
"He was part of ANBU. It's natural for him to be strict." Sakura replied while she helped Hinata take out their tent from the back pack.
"Kakashi was an ANBU captain but he was never like that." The black-haired Naruto said. "He never really cared if we obeyed or not."
"He did care… in his own way. They just have different personalities, Kakashi-sensei's laid back and mostly carefree, Yamato-san is more cautious." The pink-haired girl pulled both ends of the green fabric over the stick skeleton of the tent.
"It's too early in the mission to be cautious. He's just a control freak." Kiba dug his palm into the stake that was connected to a thin rope that held the tent in place. With just a slight push, the stake went all the way into the ground. "I don't know Kakashi that much but I'm sure this mission would be more fun with him."
"He doesn't do undercover missions." The ex-blond said while he unrolled his sleeping bag inside the tent.
"Why's that?" Kiba questioned.
"His mask." Naruto dropped himself heavily onto his blue sleeping bag, and placed both his hands under his head. "It would mean he'd have to take it off, so he comes up with these stupid excuses. I'm pretty sure he accepted the reconnaissance mission just so he wouldn't have to come with us."
Sakura agreed with the Uzumaki, while Kiba was still sulking over his failed oral quiz.
"How am I supposed to pretend he's my uncle if I don't even get along with him?"
"Give him time, Kitaru-kun, he's just getting to know us."
"Ehh, Hinata you take this too seriously. We're still hours away from starting the mission, you can still call me Kiba."
"Hinamori-chan's right. We need to get used to our new names. You don't want to let Hinata's name slip by accident." Sakura rose from her kneeling position and placed her hands on her hips as she surveyed the small tent.
Kiba grunted. "So Hinata's Hinamori, Naruto is Nagari, Sai is Sachi, you are Sanemi and Yamato is…" The Inuzuka looked at Hinata for help.
"Yamahiki. Inamoshi Yamahiki." The Hyuuga said. She placed her sleeping bag next to Sakura's inside their tent. Kiba repeated his uncle's name under his breath to ensure he wouldn't forget it.
"How's Akamaru called?" Naruto pointed his thumb to the over-grown dog. He still doubted dogs could grow that big; deep inside, he was sure Kiba fed him steroids.
"His name was shortened to Maru. He's got the easiest name." The teen grinned wolfishly to his dog and wrapped his arm around the animal's huge neck. The dog barked happily, frightening off a few mouse and birds near them.
Night fell and Yamato ordered them to sleep as soon as they had finished with their meals, which consisted of fried fish sticks and nutritional bars. Kiba and Naruto had agreed since day one that they would share a tent, since the girls were sleeping together and the only other choices were either Yamato or Sai, and none of them seemed like a good tent partner.
Since Kiba was the first one to watch over for any enemies or dangerous animals, Naruto had the tent for himself. He went to sleep with his coat on, since the weather on Hot Water Country was colder than Konoha.
He had trouble getting to sleep but he managed to shut his eyes after an hour of struggling. The blue-eyed shinobi couldn't wait to get to Yugakure and get into the famous hot waters he once had visited.
Naruto had one of those rare dreams where you knew you were dreaming but still had no control over the surroundings whatsoever. He was sitting in front of a dying fire, in the middle of a thick forest. He was turning his head repeatedly to a specific spot behind him; his hair was as blond as it had always been. The bushes hugging the trunks produced noises occasionally, louder every time Naruto turned to look at the spot. It sounded like there was something behind those bushes that dragged its feet on the ground and rattled the leaves together, daring Naruto to stand up and find out for himself what was really hiding in there.
Naruto knew he shouldn't get away from the fire but there was a crack of a twig that promised the entity behind those bushes was big and solid. It rattled the leaves again, this time louder. He was sure that thing was calling him, beckoning him to approach. The blond heard his name being called over and over. He hesitated.
As soon as he was about to incorporate to his feet and investigate, the fire cracked and a hot spark landed on his shoulder. The blond emitted a short grunt and opened his eyes.
"Naruto-kun." The voice belonged to Hinata, as did the silhouette that was looming over his sleeping form. She had her hand over his shoulder and was shaking him gently, until he finally sat up straight. The black-haired teen looked at his right, where Kiba was sleeping soundly.
"Is it my turn already?" The blond asked groggily, raising his head towards the girl as his mind was trying to retain the weird dream he had just experienced, but felt the image of the forest falling apart.
He saw Hinata nodded her head. She had been calling him by both his code name and his real name but Naruto didn't seem to respond. The girl had to maneuver around Akamaru sleeping outside, open the tent and shake him awake since Naruto was such a heavy sleeper.
The Hyuuga went back outside to let Naruto out. The boy yawned widely, rubbing his whiskered cheek absentmindedly; the makeup had worn off already.
"Sorry I took so long." Naruto guessed it was sometime around 3 A.M. He had the last shift of the morning.
"It's OK, Nagari-kun." She whispered in response.
"You don't have to call me that when there's no one around, Hinata." The blond said in a low tone, walking over the still warm ashes where the fire had been. The girl looked at the ground in apology.
"This is my first time being undercover." She confessed, hugging herself over her brown coat. "I'm just trying to get familiar with our names."
The blond smiled at her effort. 'She's really trying not to screw up on her very first undercover mission. I might as well play along.'
"Hinamori." The blond whispered.
"Uh?" The girl raised her head in confusion, then remembered it was her new name and nodded.
"Can I still call you Hin? That way I won't accidentally call you Hinata."
Despite the cold morning, Hinata felt her cheeks warm up. She couldn't put into words the way she felt when he called her that.
"Hai, Nagari-kun." She answered with a small smile. The kunoichi watched as Naruto recovered his water bottle from inside the tent.
The faint moonlight washed over them, and Hinata had her eyes fixed on the boy's hair.
It had been two days and Hinata still hadn't gotten used to Naruto's dark hair. The whisker marks weren't such a problem for her to deal with, since they were small and almost imperceptible until you got close enough to him, but the black mane hanging on top of Naruto's head just threw her off her comfort zone.
It was almost as if he was a completely different person. Every time she would think of the Uzumaki the first thing that came to her mind was his messy, golden hair swiveling around his ears; that and his blue eyes made up the core of her image of Uzumaki Naruto. But now, each time she turned to look at him, there was a brief lag on her brain as she gazed into his eyes and reminded herself that that was Naruto she was looking at.
"Do I really look that weird?"
His voice seemed to come from a million miles away. The sixteen-year-old shinobi caught Hinata staring at him for quite some time now.
Hinata discovered, once she snapped out of her trance, that the Uzumaki had walked right up to her and had been standing in front of her for a few seconds now. Remembering she needed to react in some way, Hinata waved her hands frantically in front of her while her face flushed in embarrassment.
"I-I'm sorry, I still haven't gotten used to your new look."
Her momentary stammer made Naruto raise a now black eyebrow. 'Old habits die hard, I guess.' Despite her massive improvement on expressing herself, stuttering was a possible response when being in presence of Naruto.
The 5'8'' shinobi smirked slightly at her reaction as he took a seat on the log right beneath him. Hinata stood in silence as Naruto rested his chin on his palm. Why couldn't they kick off a fresh conversation? Three days ago, at their first reunion, they had been chatting effortlessly. If Jiraiya hadn't shown up Hinata was pretty sure they could've kept talking even after the sun came up. She assumed that the blond's silence meant he wanted to be left alone, so she planned on turning around and catching up on her sleep, but Naruto spoke before she could retreat.
"I do feel strange when I look at my reflection. It takes a while to recognize myself, you know?" He had placed his chin onto his palm and was now looking at her. "I've done this to myself hundreds of times but I still can't get my head around this black hair."
Slowly she kneeled down and took the log next to him. Her eyes found a weird looking rock in front of her feet and she looked at it while saying,
"Did you have a favorite identity when you were travelling with Jiraiya-sama?"
Naruto gulped down some water with a smile. "I once pretended to be a prince from the ice lands, Jiraiya being my faithful butler. We even got an invitation to the party we were supposed to infiltrate. Jiraiya combined cloaks and scarfs to make us look presentable yet extravagant, but we ended up looking like a couple of clowns. We came up with these silly accents as well."
The dark-haired boy chuckled at the memory.
"Turns out there was a nobleman that served the Ice King in the guest list, and we got busted. We managed to steal the package we were after, but I almost lost my hand trying to escape." His chuckle turned to a full laugh. He had to place a hand in front of his mouth to repress the noise since Akamaru produced a short whine.
"Prince Kamoi." Hinata suddenly said, sitting right next to him on the hard ground. Naruto's laughter stopped at once as he turned to face the girl with wide eyes. The Hyuuga was looking at him with eyes full of realization.
"How did you…"
"I was there with Neji and my father last year." Hinata's eyes were shinning with excitement. Naruto shifted his sitting position so now his whole body was facing Hinata.
"You were at the Ceremonial Ball hosted by the Fire Daimyo, last October?" the blond asked, incredulous.
"My father goes every year." Hinata explained, a smile perched onto her face. "He took me after being appointed future clan head… I can't believe it was you who jumped out of the building that night."
Naruto's eyes clung onto her, unbelieving, as she continued to talk,
"As soon as my father heard there had been a break in, he had me and Neji go back to the hotel… how did you survive that fall? We were on the 27th floor!"
"I managed to cling onto a rail of a balcony right before hitting the floor." Naruto winced at the memory. "Since we couldn't use chakra for fear of them suspecting Konoha, I used only my left hand."
The blond placed his hand in front of her face and pulled at his wrist with the other. "My wrist snapped off from the force, and my scream attracted more guards. We had to lose them around the kitchens and we had horses waiting for us not too far."
Hinata was clinging to his every word, mesmerized. They had been so close! If she had been more alert she could've seen his face a year earlier!
"Can you imagine? We could've met!" the blond exclaimed with a wishful grin. A hand fell on top of his shoulders and they both jumped when they noticed a person standing right behind them.
"I think it's wonderful that you are enjoying yourselves but the rest of us are trying to sleep." Yamato had a grim face and displeased eyes. "Hinata your shift ended an hour ago, go to your tent. Naruto, you're not even concerned about looking out for anything suspicious, you'll be carrying everyone's bags until we reach the city."
The Uzumaki rolled his eyes as he bristled under his breath, while Hinata apologized profusely and bowed good night to them both. Being too excited to sleep, she focused on Naruto's presence outside, roaming around and muttering to himself. Sakura, although annoyed that they had disrupted her night's sleep, couldn't help to feel happy for her lady friend as well.
Author's section
(The Dirt Whispered – Rise Against)
Yugakure no Sato – Village Hidden in Hot Water.
Getsugakure – Village Hidden Under the moon
Thanks for reading!
- Patty