NO! NO NO NO!!"
Lord Hokage sighed. "Yes, Naruto, these are the only missions available for ninja of your ability."
"But I'm sick and tired of all these so called 'missions', when they're actually just chores! It's child labor I tell you!" Naruto's face was scrunched up with anger, turning red. "Give us something exciting! Adventurous!"
The rest of Naruto's team stood in agonizing silence as their loud-mouthed companion continued to badger Lord Hokage until he finally gave in. "Fine," he sighed heavily, not wanting to put up with Naruto any longer than he had to. "I'll give you a C-ranked mission-"
"Woohoo! Awesome! Finally some action-!"
"This mission will be a bodyguard mission. You will need to escort your client back to his village unharmed. It's nothing adventurous, but it's the best I can give you, you all being Genin."
"Ooo! So who are we escorting? A prince? A princess!?-"
"No, a bridge builder. Send him in!"
The paper door slid open before Naruto had time to react. Tsukiko stared at the drunken old man who lazily -bottle of whiskey in hand- leaned against the doorframe. Kakashi did the same, cursing Naruto's persistence in his head. You have got to be kidding me.
"Ya mean this bunch 'a brats are supposed to protect me?" He hiccupped and took another swig of his whiskey. "I'd be better off walkin' by myself if that's the case."
Ignoring him, Lord Hokage began to speak. "This, is Mr. Tazuna. You'll be escorting him back to his home in the Land of Waves."
Tsukiko zoned the rest of them out and stared out the window to her right, gazing at all of the Academy Students running around outside, enjoying their recess. This would be her first time going outside of the Village's walls. Though she dreaded going home to pack, not to mention having to explain the mission to her mother and step-father, she looked forward to leaving the Village for a day or two.
"Tsukiko," the sound of someone calling her name snapped her back into reality; it was Sakura. "We're going to meet at the Gates in an hour, so you need to go home and pack."
She nodded and separated from them once outside of Lord Hokage's office. Only when she was about two blocks away did she notice Kakashi was following her. "Uhm, was there something you needed to tell me, Sensei?"
"Hmm?" He looked up from his book. "No, I just thought I'd pay your parents a visit."
Hoping he didn't notice the look of utter terror upon her face, she struggled not to quicken her pace.
"Is that a problem, Tsukiko?" He asked, coming into step beside her. He knew full well it was going to be a problem for her, but he wanted to make sure that she made it out of the village without anymore bruises.
"N-no," she cursed herself for stuttering. "No, it's fine." This has to do with what he was asking me the other day…
"Good," he replied cheerfully, snapping his book shut, knowing that with as smart as she was, she knew the basis of his plan. "Are we close, by any chance?"
"Uhm, yeah, we are. It's just right up here…" Tsukiko's home was quite small; it was an off-white, one-story house that had unkempt bushed lining the front of it. It was a little ways off the road, but not so much that it was secluded.
As they traipsed up the stone pathway that led to her front door, her heart started to beat faster and her anxiety started to grow ever stronger with each step. Her step-father would be far from pleasantly surprised by her Sensei's visit.
With a trembling hand, she opened up the screen door and lightly rapped on the oak one. They waited momentarily for someone to answer; her mother opened the door.
"Hmm. You're home early," she said as she studied Tsukiko and Kakashi, arms crossed over her chest, brown hair pulled back into a low bun, not letting them in just yet. She leaned against the doorframe. "Who's he?"
"I'm Hatake Kakashi, Tsukiko's Sensei," he bowed politely. "Pleased to meet you."
"Yeah…well, come in then, I guess," she led them into a cluttered living room where Tsukiko's step-father sat watching television. He looked up briefly to acknowledge his step-daughter's return, only to get up and glare at Kakashi.
"Who are you?" His eyes flickered with anger as he turned his gaze back to Tsukiko.
"I'm Hatake Kakashi, Tsukiko's Sensei," he bowed again, taking note of his anger.
"Why're you here?"
"Well you see, I've come here to tell you that Tsukiko and our team have been assigned an escort mission, so we'll be gone for a few days if all goes well." He could see the suspicion rising in the man's eyes. "We'll be transporting a bridge builder back to his home in the Land of Waves."
"I don't like the sound of it," he said gruffly. "Being out of the country, not to mention strange men-"
"I assure you, Tsukiko will return unharmed. There won't be a single bruise on her."
She knew her step-father hadn't caught that, but Tsukiko certainly did. That statement was directed at him; she wished her Sensei wasn't being so protective all of a sudden.
"Fine, go pack," he sat back down, feeling defeated and pissy. "The only reason we let you attend that ridiculous ninja academy was because that damn father of yours left it in his will…if I was your father, I’d make sure you were a normal kid."
Tsukiko ran off to her room to pack before she let anything that would earn her a slap slip out of her mouth. How dare he act as if her father was a bad man for wanting his daughter to know how to protect herself? The arrogant bastard. Her father was a million times a better man than her worthless step-father could ever hope to be.
She packed as quickly as she could, hoping she wouldn’t get it for Kakashi visit when she returned. She could practically feel her step-father's anger and unhappiness radiating off his body. But at least for now, she would be free of him, even if it was only for a few days.
"Ready to go now?" Kakashi asked, taking notice of Tsukiko's presence; she nodded. "Well, we'll return in a few days-" he put an arm around her shoulders, "-until then." And in a cloud of smoke, they reappeared in front of their teammates at the Gate.
"Shall we go then?"
