Hello again everyone I'm back once again to bring you another chapter of my story; if you are enjoying it please keep on supporting me and my other works. Now with nothing else to say let's begin.

Stitched Kitsune: Chapter 13

Snow Country: With Naruto

Naruto opened his eyes to see the ceiling of his cabin as day light entered through his window; Naruto sat up with a yawn stretching his arms.

"Morning already" Naruto said as he got out of bed and looked at himself in the mirror; over the past couple years Naruto had grown taller as he was now 5'2" and slightly muscular due to years of training with Kakuzu, Sasori and Zabuza. Naruto's hair was also longer and his stitched expanded over his body as he grew "I think I should have Mie cut my hair again" he said as he walked over to his closet and get his cloths.

A few minutes later Naruto walked out of his room wearing his leather jacket, black pants, blue shinobi sandals and a dark orange muscle shirt under his jacket; while he normally wears a mask, he doesn't wear it in his home as it's unnecessary. Naruto smelled the air and began to walk to his kitchen 'something smells good' Naruto thought as he walked in.

"Naruto; you're up" Haku said as she was cooking breakfast; Haku was wearing the pink Kimono she wore whenever she wasn't wearing her shinobi gear "just in time; I was making breakfast for everyone" she said. Naruto smiled and walked over to Haku giving her a kiss on her cheek making the ice user blush.

A year after they met Haku asked Naruto if she could be his girlfriend along with Fu and Karin; Naruto said yes but only if Fu and Karin agreed as he did not want to cause tension. Haku asked both Fu and Karin who accepted as they both liked Haku and saw her as sister; since then, Haku has been living with Naruto.

"Morning Haku; where's Fu and Karin" Naruto asked before the door opened and both Fu and Karin walked in holding baskets "never mind; hey girls" Naruto said they both walked over.

"Morning Naruto" Fu said giving him a kiss on the cheek (Fu's wearing her canon outfit).

"Morning love" Karin said doing the same (Karin is wearing her outfit from her Kusa genin days).

"Hey girls; what you got" Naruto asked and both Karin and Fu showed him 2 baskets with about a dozen eggs each "damn that's a lot" he said and Fu nodded.

"Yep; my babies are laying more eggs than ever" Fu said with pride "didn't I say it; chickens for eggs, rabbits for meat and a vegetable garden sure cut down on our grocery bills" she said and Naruto nodded.

"You got that right" Naruto said as both girls walked over and placed the baskets down next to Haku "so Haku when are you and Zabuza going to leave off for that mission" he asked.

"Soon; but I'm not sure" Haku said as she placed another pancake on a plate "Gato said he'll inform us on when we should go" she said and Naruto nodded.

"What was the mission again" Karin asked as she sat down at the table "you mentioned it but I forgot" she said.

"Some old man from Wave country is building a bridge and Gato want's us to kill him" Haku said and Fu got a thoughtful look.

"Wave country… why does that seem familiar" Fu said and Naruto shrugged.

"Who knows; if you don't remember it's probably not important" Naruto said and Fu shrugged not caring "well just let us know when you're about to go" he said and Haku nodded.

"Of course," Haku said "now then time for breakfast" Haku said in a sing song voice as she placed the food on the table.

"Oh man my favorite meal of the day" Naruto said "hey Karin can you pass the syrup" he asked and Karin nodded and did so.

In another cabin: With Sasori

Sasori was working in his puppet work shop performing necessary maintenance on his body when he heard the door open up behind him; Sasori turned around and smiled.

"Morning honey" Mie said as she walked in holding a little girl's hand.

"Morning daddy" Toka said with a bright smile; Toka was the daughter of Sasori and Mie and the sunshine of Sasori's life. She was 4 years old and looked like Sasori when he was human except, she had pale skin and red hair the same as Mie and Karin.

"Morning sunshine" Sasori said walking over and picking her up "morning Mie" Sasori said as he leaned in and gave her a kiss. "What you 2 doing in here" Sasori asked and Mie smiled.

"A messenger hawk came in; Kakuzu needs to see you at Doto's castle in an hour" Mie said "he didn't get into specifics but it seems like there is a job coming up" she said and Sasori nodded.

"Well, I best get a move on then" Sasori said as he handed Toka to Mie and gave both his daughter and his wife a kiss before walking out "I'll be back later" he said and Mie nodded. As Sasori exited his workshop, he wondered what kind of job Kakuzu was calling him in for 'must be a pretty big job if he sent a messenger hawk' he thought.

Doto's castle: a little while later

Sasori, Zabuza and Doto were all sitting in a conference room looking at Kakuzu who called them all in for a meeting "I called you all here to inform you that there is a job available and I require all of your assistance" Kakuzu said.

"Oh… and may I ask why am I here" Doto said "I'm a ruler of a country; not a mercenary" he said and Kakuzu looked at him.

"That's the reason I require your help Doto" Kakuzu said making Doto raise an eyebrow "I have been contacted by a client in Rice country and he's asked for me, Sasori and you specifically" he said making all of their eyes widen. "From what the message said, this is no ordinary job nor an ordinary client" Kakuzu said "I don't know who it is or what the specifics of the job is; but if he's requesting all of us it must be big" he said.

"So, what is your plan" Sasori said "if we are going to do a job, we need to know who we are working for, what the job is, and how much it's going to pay" he said.

"Yes; which is why I ask that you come with me to rice country to meet the client" Kakuzu said before turning to Doto "I also request you allow us to take Roga with us to act as a middle man for you" he said and Doto nodded.

"Very well; but remember I never made any promises, if I assist you there better be a something worth my time" Doto said and Kakuzu nodded.

"Very well I'll come with you" Sasori said "allow me to inform Mie and Toka; I do not wish for them to worry" he said and Zabuza chuckled.

"You got whipped by that red head puppet boy" Zabuza said irking Sasori "well if anything happens keep me in the loop; I have a job from Gato and I won't be in country, so if you need me send Naruto to fetch me and Haku" he said and Kakuzu nodded.

"Understood" Kakuzu said "we will leave tomorrow for rice country; we should be back in 2 weeks" Kakuzu said as he began to walk out. 'I best inform Naruto before we leave' Kakuzu thought.

In Konoha: With team 8

Kurenai, Hinata, Kiba and Shino were all walking to the Hokage office as they were called in for a joint mission; Kurenai and Hinata were walking side by side as they walked to the tower. Kurenai had been with her team barely a month and was surprised when she was told her and her team were being sent on a joint B-rank mission.

Kurenai would've been ecstatic however for the past couple weeks her mind has been elsewhere; Hinata had confided in Hinata a secret that shook her to her core. Hinata told her that her father was responsible for the disappearance/murder of the Kyuubi jinchuriki over 7 years ago; and that Hiashi and the Hokage have been covering it up ever since.

Kurenai was like the rest of Konoha having distain and prejudice for the Kyuubi container as she used to believe that he was the Kyuubi reborn; while she never talked to or met the boy, she kept her distance and did not trust him. Now however her beliefs were shaken and she had no idea what to think.

Kurenai at first couldn't believe that Hinata would associate with the boy but Hinata surprised her by defending him; she told her about how they were friends for months and he never did anything malicious. How Naruto was abused at both the orphanage and by the village and how he was a kind person; Kurenai upon hearing this began to self-reflect and now believes she was wrong about the boy.

Now Kurenai was disgusted with herself by how she judged Naruto before she even met him and now was disillusioned with the village and wondering what other dirty secret the village had.

"Kurenai sensei" Kiba shouted snapping Kurenai out of her thoughts "are you ok; I've been trying to talk to you" he asked and Kurenai nodded.

"Oh, sorry Kiba; I was lost in my thoughts" Kurenai apologized "what is it you wish to say" she said.

"I was wondering what kind of mission we have" Kiba said "I mean a joint mission of 2 genin squads; must be a big deal" he said.

"I too am curious" Shino said in his monotone voice.

"I'm not sure about the specifics but from what I was told it is an escort mission" Kurenai said and Hinata looked at her.

"Do you know what team we will be working with" Hinata asked and Kurenai spoke.

"No, we will have to wait until we get to the tower" Kurenai said and Hinata nodded; Kurenai and her team continued their way to the tower to be briefed on the mission.

Hokage office: With Hiruzen and Tazuna

Tazuna and Hiruzen were both in the Hokage office discussing politics while they waited for the teams to arrive for the mission.

"I'm glad you can assist me lord Hokage" Tazuna said to Hiruzen "Gato and his cronies have been squeezing the life out of Wave for over 6 years now" he said and Hiruzen nodded.

"Konoha is always happy to help people in their time of need" Hiruzen said "just remember out agreement; we protect you while you build the bridge and in return you give Konoha a trade agreement" he said and Tazuna nodded.

"Of course," Tazuna said "so who are these people who are supposed to be protecting me" he asked; suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"That should be one of the teams" Hiruzen said "come in" Hiruzen said and the door opened; Kurenai and her team walked in and stood in front of the Hokage.

"Team 8 reporting as ordered" Kurenai said and the Hokage acknowledged her.

"Welcome Kurenai" Hiruzen said "Tazuna this is jounin Kurenai Yuhi; Genjutsu specialist and leader of team 8" he said and Tazuna looked at her.

"Nice to meet you mam" Tazuna said "but uhh… isn't your group a little young" he asked and Kurenai spoke.

"They are full fledge ninja Mr. Tazuna; you have no need to worry" Kurenai said; Hiruzen then interjected.

"Don't worry Tazuna; you will also have a second team with you and they have over a year of experience" Hiruzen said; a few seconds later the door opened once more and a loud voice boomed through the room.

"Yosh! Hello lord Hokage; team Guy reporting in" Might Guy said with vigor and a shining smile; Guy was a tall man with a bowl cut, thick eyebrows, wearing a green jumpsuit with a flak jacket over and orange leg warmers. Behind him walked in his 3 genin Rock Lee, Tenten and Neji Hyuga.

Lee was 14 and looked very similar to Guy imitating his haircut, jump suit and his smile; while he could not use chakra, he was training to be a taijutsu specialist.

Tenten was also 14 and she was the only girl of the group; she was wearing a pink shirt, black pants and had her hair in 2 Chinese buns which gave her, her signature look. She was the groups weapons specialist and wished to become as powerful and as famous as her idol Tsunade of the sanin.

The last member of the group made Hinata shrink away and stand behind Kurenai in an attempt to hide herself; Neji Hyuga had an air of arrogance around him as he looked around the room. He had brown hair and the Hyuga's trademark eyes; he wore a beige shirt, brown pants and had his right arm and leg wrapped in bandages.

Neji looked throughout the room and saw the person who disgusted him the most "Lady Hinata" Neji said with a scowl "I'm surprised you're here; normally you'd be off hiding in your room as usual" Neji said. Hinata backed away and looked to the ground unable to meet his gaze.

Kurenai seeing this stood in front of Hinata and glared at Neji "you better watch your tone genin" Kurenai said in a warning tone "I will not tolerate you talking to my student that way" she said. Neji was about to retort but was stopped when Guy paced a hand on his shoulder.

"Neji enough" Guy said losing his cheerful mood "I know about your circumstances but you will be respectful" he said and Neji nodded as he glared at Kurenai and Hinata. "I apologize Kurenai; I hope our 2 teams get along well during this mission" Guy said and Kurenai nodded.

"As do I" Kurenai said.

"Ok; that's enough" Hiruzen said gaining their attention "I called you all here for a mission" he said as he gained everyone's attention. "Tazuna here is from wave country and he is building a bridge in order to connect it with the main land; however there seems to be some difficulties in his project" Hiruzen said.

"What kind of difficulties Lord Hokage" Rock Lee asked.

"A criminal tycoon named Gato seems to not want him to complete his bridge" Hiruzen said "so both of your teams will be responsible for 2 objectives; protect Tazuna while he completes his bridge and fight off anyone who tries to harm him or his family" he said. "Gato is a powerful man and has a lot of money; so expect both mercenaries and rogue ninja to be on his pay roll" he said.

"Yosh! Very well lord Hokage; we will complete this mission without fail" Guy said "we should leave tomorrow morning at the earliest convenience" he said and Kurenai nodded.

"I agree, Hinata, Kiba, Shino; go home and pack for an extended mission, 2 months minimum" Kurenai said and all 3 nodded.

"Yes, Kurenai sensei" they all said as they began to walk out.

Hiruzen seeing this nodded '2 jonin and 6 genin; I'd hate to be the poor fools who try and fight them' he thought as he stamped a paper and pressed his intercom "Yoko, mission 11232 status is now active" he said.

"Yes, lord Hokage; I'll process it at once" Yoko said over the intercom.

The next day: Naruto's cabin in Snow country

Naruto, Fu and Karin were all sleeping in their shared bed when they heard a knocking at the door; Karin heard it and got up 'what he hell' she thought as she got out of bed and Naruto opened his eyes.

"What's going on" Naruto asked yawning.

"I'll check it out; it's probably mom bringing Toka over" Karin said as she walked out of the room to the front door; Karin opened the door expecting to see her mom but saw Zabuza, Fubuki and Haku standing there instead "huh… hey guys; what are you doing here, weren't you going to wave country today" she asked and Zabuza nodded.

"Yeah, we were; however, we ran into a little problem" Zabuza said making Karin confused "get Naruto and Fu; we're going to need your help" Zabuza said and Karin nodded.

A few minutes later Naruto, Fu and Karin were all sitting on a couch in their pajamas looking at Zabuza, Fubuki and Haku.

"So, what's up" Naruto asked and Zabuza spoke.

"I got a repot from Gato about our target" Zabuza said "he went to Konoha and hired 2 teams of ninja in 8 total as escorts and body guards" he said.

"If it was 1 team of a jonin and 3 genin it would be no problem" Haku said "however with 2 jonin and 6 genin we are not taking any chances" she said. "So, we are asking that you 3 join us on the mission; Fubuki here volunteered to join" she said and Fubuki smiled.

"It's been a while since I've been in combat and I wouldn't mind a good fight" Fubuki said and Naruto chuckled.

"Ok, ok I'll help" Naruto said "so when do we leave" Naruto asked and Zabuza smiled.

"Tomorrow; pack your shit and get ready for battle" Zabuza said "it'll take the target 5 days to get to wave; however, it will take us 3, so we will have plenty of time in order to prepare" he said.

"Alright cool sounds like a plan" Naruto said.

"Awesome another job" Fu cheered "man I was getting kinda bored; I haven't been on a job since Yuga" she said and Karin groaned.

"You are too energetic for this line of work" Karin said adjusting her glasses "however I am interested in using my new puppet" she said with a smirk.

"Well it's settled then, we got ourselves a mission" Naruto said "I better get packing" Naruto said as he got up and walked to his room with Haku following him.

"It's been a while since we've been on a mission together Naruto" Haku said with a smile.

"Yeah; it's been how long 4 months" Naruto said.

"Well, once we are done with the mission, we can go on a ramen date" Haku said making Naruto produced a face splitting smile and had twinkling in his eyes.

"I'm going to hold you to that" Naruto said making Haku chuckle as he entered his room and began to pack his stuff "now then; what do I need…" Naruto said as he began grabbing cloths and equipment.

Konoha front gates: at the same time

Hinata was standing with her team at the front gates waiting to leave off for her first mission outside Konoha; her cousin Neji's team was also waiting at the gates as both Kurenai and Guy went to go and get Tazuna.

Hinata adjusted her forehead protecter tied around her neck and looked at the back; Hinata looked at the small piece of writing on the back and read it 'for Naruto'. Hinata smiled at this which didn't go unnoticed by Neji who was standing across.

'What is she smiling about' Neji thought; before he could speak, he turned and saw Kurenai, Guy and Tazuna walking to the gate.

"Sorry everyone; I had to do some last-minute paperwork" Kurenai said "are we all ready" she said and everyone nodded.

"Yosh! By the power of youth lets succeed in this mission and return home safely" Guy boasted loudly as he walked ahead "follow me everyone and stay alert for any un-youthful enemies who will try to attack us" he said.

"Is he always so loud" Tazuna asked Kurenai and she rolled her eyes.

"Trust me; this is nothing" Kurenai said as she walked with her team surrounding Tazuna in a protective formation.

As Hinata walked out of the gates she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer 'Naruto; watch over me and keep me safe' Hinata thought as she opened her eyes.

Unknown to Hinata her prayer will be answered sooner than she expected.

Ok another chapter done; I hope you all enjoyed it, if you did, please like comment and share with your friends. And until next time bye.