"Would you stop COMPLAINING! God, ever since we left the village, you've been yabbering!" Sakura yelled at Naruto who was recoiling under her glare. Naruto gave evil looks to Sasuke from behind her, as she skipped along to walk next to him. You walked next to Kakashi and the old man Tazuna, whom you were supposed to protect as a mission.
You scowled at Tazuna's odor as he continued chugging from his sake bottle.
Trying to ignore Sakura and Naruto's squabbling, and the old man's almost-drunk complaints, you gazed at the clear blue sky and relived the events of last night.
* * *
"Yes, my Ryo-hime." Ryuusuke stated calmly, and narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. "And who do you think you are to touch the Iwakuri Ryori, princess of our village?" He demanded, smirking slightly, as Sasuke looked taken aback.
"W-what?"
"I'm not a princess, and definitely not anyone's princess, so Ryuusuke, unless you want to sleep out in the streets, go to the couch." You said loudly, dismissing it.
"Sasuke, go back to your own house. We have enough people here. Naruto, you can stay here for the night if you wish. I'll make ramen tomorrow morning." Satsu caught on, but before she could shove Sasuke out, he grabbed your wrist.
"You need to explain some things to me." He said, his eyes narrowed.
You wrenched your wrist from his grip as you muttered, "Fine, fine..."
* * *
In the end, he had forced you to tell him the truth about Ryuusuke this morning during one of the weeding missions. Naruto had glared at Sasuke while Sakura had glared evilly at you while you two did this.
Now-
Splash!
"Yech." You said, as you accidentally stepped on a puddle. Silently, you observed Kakashi's eye scan the puddle. Somehow, something clicked in your mind; One puddle in the middle of a dry dirt road? Of course Kakashi-sensei noticed. Small seeps of chakra were evident, and you knew that the shinobi had resurfaced from the puddle. You jerked around suddenly when chains shot out of their armor, wrapping them around Kakashi-sensei and they pulled instantly, tearing Kakashi to pieces. Your eyes widened and Sakura shrieked, with an expression of utter horror, and Naruto just stared, petrified as his remains splattered onto the ground.
"K-Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto finally yelled, as the two ninja said joyfully;
"One down." And suddenly, they both appeared behind Naruto. He didn't move, being petrified in horror. The Mist ninja tried to kill him the same way as Kakashi, with chains, but suddenly a shuriken and kunai flew at the chain, and nailed it to a tree nearby with a loud thunk. Sasuke had aimed carefully.
You took a running leap and landed on the Mist ninja's hand armor, kicked them both in the face, balancing yourself with your hands on their hands. They jerked backwards, and the chain dislodged itself from their hands. Free from their situation, they both dashed for Tazuna, until-
"Guah!" Kakashi had their heads safely in headlock. They didn't struggle; Kakashi had already knocked them unconscious.
"Hey."
"Kakashi-sensei!" You uttered out. "You're alive?"
"You're alive!" Sakura yelled joyfully as relief flooded you. You sighed tiredly. Show-off. Apparently it looked like Sasuke was thinking the same thing, judging by the expression on his face. Naruto turned to look at Kakashi's 'remains' and noticed he used a substitution jutsu.
"Naruto! I'm sorry I didn't rescue you sooner," Kakashi sensei said. "-but I didn't think you'd freeze up like that." Behind you, you heard Tazuna heave a relief-filled sigh. "Anyways," Kakashi continued, "-good job, Sasuke, Ryori. You too, Sakura." And he dragged the mist shinobi away.
You noticed that Naruto got no recognition and seemed like he noticed it, too. You saw him survey Sasuke, until-
"Hey, are you all right?" You almost lost your footing. Sasuke was being nice? "-Scaredy-cat." Naruto stiffened at the latter, and you noticed.
"Hey, you moron! Don't call him a scaredy-cat!" You called, as you heaved Naruto up to his feet. Suddenly, Naruto was about to yell at Sasuke when Kakashi yelled out his name.
"Their claws are soaked in poison. You need to remove it quickly." Kakashi guided. "Stop moving around, it'll spread the poison. Oh, by the way, Tazuna," Kakashi added, and Tazuna jumped, asking,
"Wh-what is it?"
"I need to have a word with you."
* * *
Later, you all surrounded the Mist ninjas, who were tied to the trunk of a tree. "They look like Hidden Mist Chuunins." Kakashi surveyed. "They are known for continuing to fight no matter what."
"How did you read our movements?" One of them asked, his voice distorted from his mask.
"There shouldn't be a puddle on a sunny day where it hasn't rained for months." You said, crossing your arms over your chest.
"If you knew that, why did you fight?" Tazuna asked you, frowning.
"Because I knew Kakashi-sensei had a plan." You answered simply. The others gazed at you for a moment before looking at Kakashi.
"I could've killed these two instantly, but I needed to find out who they were after, first." He said, and glanced at Tazuna.
"W-What do you mean?" Tazuna asked, startled.
"I wanted to know if they were after you," he referred to Tazuna, "-or us. We haven't heard there were shinobi after you. Our mission was to simply protect you from thieves or gangs. This is now an at least B-ranked mission." Kakashi's eye held a slight trace of anger. "Your request was a simple protection until your bridge was finished. If it was known that shinobi were after you, it would be a more expensive B-rank." Kakashi said. "When you lie about a mission, it causes problems. We are now operating outside our duties."
"Then this mission is too hard. Let's quit. We need medicine for Naruto's wound anyways. We need to see a doctor." Sakura said, obviously a bit intimidated. Your eyes narrowed. This was finally a chance to do a good mission! What were they babbling about?!
"Hmm," Kakashi said, thinking for a moment. "I suppose we have to get treatment for Naruto..." He glanced at Naruto, who suddenly drew out a kunai.
What the-?!
"Narut-" Before you could finish, he embedded the kunai into his hand, where he got cut from the mist ninja. Everyone looked shocked and Sakura gasped loudly. "Naruto, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Your voice quavered and Kakashi glanced at you.
"Yeah! Are you some kind of a masochist or something?!" Sakura joined in, but she quieted when Naruto spoke.
"With this kunai I'll protect the old man!" He grunted, vowing. He turned and grinned, still painfully. "We're going to continue the mission!"
"Naruto," Kakashi sighed, "-you're about to die from blood loss." You flinched, and took a step backwards, clenching your hands into fists. Silence followed, as Naruto shook. "Seriously. You're gonna be in trouble if we don't stop it." Kakashi grinned under his mask, and Naruto jumped, before panicking.
"Oh no! Oh no! I can't die like this!"
"Oh, Naruto..." Sakura said, obviously annoyed. She failed to notice Sasuke gazing at you weirdly.
I would think she would be the one bandaging up Naruto, not Kakashi-sensei... He thought, and noticed your expression.
You were pale, paler than normal, and your eyes were a bit widened. Is she frightened? He followed your gaze, and saw Naruto's hand, which was covered in his own blood. Something clicked in his mind and the picture came together.
* * *
You hate humid weathers. It was the reason why you lived in the Village Hidden in Leaves, not the Village Hidden in Mist. The boat rocked back and forth as the old man behind you sailed, but you weren't seasick, thankfully. Sasuke and Kakashi were seated in front of you, with Naruto and Sakura in front and Tazuna and the sailor in the back. You noticed both Kakashi and Sasuke shooting you frequent glances every once in a while. This annoyed you to no end. The mist was endless, and fog you hated.
"At the base of the bridge," The sailor said, "-is the Wave Country." You all looked up instinctively and saw an enormous bridge with countless pillars already rising from the sea. Behind it, cranes were loaded with pipes, and the land looked hectic.
"Wooow!" Naruto shouted. "It's huge!"
"Quiet down!" The sailor scolded. "Why do you think we're not using the engine?! We'll be in big trouble if we're caught."
Everyone looked apprehensively at the sailor and Tazuna. Kakashi spoke, breaking the silence. "Before we reach shore, Tazuna-san, we need to know the identity of those after you. If you don't tell us, then our job is at its end when we reach shore."
"That's a bit harsh." You told Kakashi. He pretended he didn't hear.
"I guess I've got no choice but to confess. No," he corrected himself, "-I want you to know." Your curiosity doubled. "You've probably heard of him; the wealthy shipping magnate."
Get on with it. You thought impatiently.
"A man named Gatou."
Whoo. this one was long.
I hope you enjoyed Bittersweet Symphony #8. Sorry there wasn't much 'romance' in it.
Hoobastank is AWESOME.
Sorry.
Naruto- Shooting Star.
