True Self, New Self

Hello everybody! I know I'm awfully late with this chapter, but I had some problems... sorry!!! As much as I will like to have writting as my only resposibility, I don't, so I may have problems posting the chapters in the usual rate, but I will do everything in my hands to don't have that problem. Any way! On with the review answers!!


feisu: *hugs* Yeah, I love Ginji chii mode, specially in that scene with Akabane, lol!

HellzAngel: I'm not that confident on my skills to write a spar/fight scene either, I just keep thinking that they aren't good enough! And still, no Sasuke in this chapter, but he will make an apperance in next one!

crazyforkakashi: Thanks!

trulywicked: Yup, I had that moment too when I wrote it!

mike: You will have to wait and see! And for the fluff, ok! And for lonely, he still has his family right?

XZanayu: Thanks!

Hello: Here you go!

Izzy: lol! ^^

pwnd: Ok! No prob

Zahin: Ok!

starfall: Here! Another chapter!

Savin-me: Yup, I got scared when I wrote it too...

On with the chapter!

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True Self, New Self.


Chapter twelve: Small Favors.


Another month has pass, and it's getting harder for me to not turn down the offers to stay at Suna that I receive daily. It is nice you know? Live in a village where almost everybody knows you and likes you, where people respect you. It never was like that back at Konoha, there people was very reluctant to sell me things, if they let me in their shops at all, here if I take a walk through the market I leave with fruits and flowers that the people there give me when I walk near their shops. But no matter how nice is living here, Konoha is still my home, the place where I grew up and had friends, the place I will always protect, even if it doesn't want me there to protect it to begin with. I will go back to Konoha when this month comes to an end.

But for now, I will enjoy my time here.

I'm in my afternoon lessons with Gaara. Well... I don't know if they still can be called lessons, because I now know as much as Gaara about how to be a Kage. So it is more like I'm sitting in his office helping him with mission assignments and reports. It can be boring sometimes, especially when I have to help dealing with the genins, but there are one or two that never cease to amuse me, because they act like Konohamaru. But right now, we have in our hands a very interesting mission, and a problematic situation because of it

"We may have a problem with this mission Kazekage-sama." Ryoku, code name Shikyo Taka (Death Kawk), leader of the ANBU says.

"Yes, this can represent a problem indeed." Gaara says, folding his hands over his desk.

"If we refuse this mission, people will start to think that the village is weak. But currently all the ANBU available are on missions, and if we send some of the ones that are still in the village, it will leave us open for an attack. We can't send a jounin either, because this missionn may be too dangerous and the assassination missions are for the ANBU... this is a real problem." I say with a matter-of-fact tone.

"That is exactly my point Kaji-san. So what are your orders Kazekage-sama?"

"The village security is top priority right now, submit the mission request to Konoha."

"That won't be neccesary," I say, drawing their attention to me,"I'll take this mission. I'll dress like a Suna ANBU and carry it, that way the village won't look weak."

Gaara looks like he's in deep thought, but finally he nods.

"Very well. I'll let you take this mission. Ryoku, take Kaji with you and give him an ANBU uniform and the mission scroll."

"Yes sir! Come with me to the ANBU headquarters Kaji-san." he says and dissapear in a poof of smoke, sure that I will follow him.

"Be careful Naruto, I don't want to hear Godaime's complaints later if something happens to you."

"Don't worry Gaara, you know that I'm fully capable of carrying out this mission without hitches."

"I'm very aware of that. Now go, Ryoku must be wondering where you are."

"See you later!" I say, before dissapearing in my own puff of smoke. Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker) is certainly one of the most useful techniques ever.

I land on the ANBU headquarters main hall, where I felt Ryoku's chakra. The ANBU HQ are supposed to remain hidden for everyone outside their ranks, only ANBU and the Kage are allowed to know it's location. But Gaara took me there once and since then Ryoku and other ANBU members keep taking me here for various reasons. Gaara blames it to my supposed magnetic personality, and to tell you the truth, I'm starting to beleive him...

"Please follow me Kaji-san." He says entering a door at the far end of the room, to his office.

"So, the mission is to track down and kill a missing-nin from Hoshigakure that defected in order to join Orochimaru, am I right?"

"Yes, we beleive that he's being escorted by a chuunin team from Oto. The man stole some important scrolls from the village. The mission is too hunt down the missing-nin and retreive the scrolls." He said taking out a hunter-nin mask of Suna from a drawer of his desk and handing it too me. This mask... looks exactly like the one Haku weared, the only difference is the symbol at the forehead, it is from Suna, not from Kiri. But I can let myself drown in memories right now, there is a mission that needs to be done.

"I will go to my room to collect some things I will need and I'll leave inmediatly. Do we know anything about their whereabouts?"

"One of our informants said that they were heading to Oto and were near the east border of our country. They must be reaching Hi no Kuni (Fire country) by the time you find them."

"Understood." I said, placing the mask on my face and dissapear to the Kazekage mansion.

[Jiraiya's POV]

Yuki and I have just arrived from our training session at the desert. He's proving to be a good student, just like Naruto. I walk to the kitchen to get something to drink, training in the desert leaves you very dehydrated... But I feel a chakra signature appearing out of nowhere inside the mansion and just at the same time I turn my head, I see a blond hunter-nin, or so I think because he's wearing a hunter-nin mask, walk quickly in the direction of the rooms. He looks very familiar... holy crap, that was Naruto.

"Oi gaki!! Hold on a second there!" I say running to catch up with him.

"Make it quick Jiraiya, I have to leave for a mission."

"Did youo decide to join Suna or what?"

"No, this is a favor for Gaara." He says before continue walking. I follow him to his room.

"Again?! Kid, at this rate you will carry missions for Oto too! It is the only village left, you had carried missions for all the rest, are you trying to impose a record or something?"

"What is wrong with helping the persons that had been kind to you?" He says while he gets his weapons.

"Nothing, nothing."

"So?"

"Just be careful, Tsunade will have my head if you get even a scratch on your body."

"I know, Gaara said exactly the same thing." Even when his mask on, I can tell that he has one of those foxy smirks on his lips. Damn that kid, he always get himself in this kind of messes...

[End of Jiraiya's POV, back to Naruto's POV. Current location, Hi no Kuni's west border.]


This boys are really chuunin? It wasn't that hard to find them, plus they lit a fire. I thought that maybe the missing-nin would be more intelligent than that at least. I'm perched on some tree branches above they camp, supressing my chakra so they can't spot me. I have been following them for a couple of days now, studying their behaviour in order to create an efficient plan to carry out this mission without unneccesary casualities. Tonight is the night, they have been traveling non stop for quite a while now and all of them are tired. They don't sleep on tents, the missing-nin carries the scrollss, and they take turns on guard duty.

The plan is simple, take care of the guard as quietly as possible, sneak in the camp, kill and dispose of the target, retreive the scrolls and leave. But I need them asleep first so, for now I'll wait and listen to their conversation.

"Uchiha-sensei will be proud of us." One of the boys said.

'Uchiha-sensei? Sasuke has a chuunin team? Somehow I can't imagine Sasuke teaching some kids.'

"Why do you keep calling him sensei? He never taught us a thing, and we had to go to all of our missions alone."

'Knew it.'

"Yes, he doesn't deserve to be called sensei."

"But he's Orochimaru-sama's aprentice. It is an honour to have him as our jounin teacher."

"Whatever. Go to sleep now, I'll take the first turn. We are supposed to reach Oto in two days and you will slow me down if you're tired."

'That brat... is so full of himself. Well, almost all of Oto's shinobi are like that anyway.'

Finally, they go to sleep, even the missing-nin. I wait for a few hours until I'm sure that is safe to put in motion my plan.

I sneak at the boy who is on guard. As soon as I'm behind him I hit some pressure points at his neck, knocking him unconscious and grabbing him before he falls of the tree branch he was on. He never heard me coming, my stealth abilities are too good for a mere chuunin to notice me, using my kitsune abilities as an advantage against my opponent. I'm in the woods, and this is my territory.

I repeat the procedure with the other two boys and move to my target. I stand over him, sword in hand, ready to take off his head, when he wakes up. I can see the horror in his eyes just before I swing my sword down, extinguishing the light that were on them forever. I pick up his head and place it in a bag. As a hunter-nin, I'm supposed to bring the head of my target back with me as prob of succed of my mission. With a simple fire jutsu I reduce his body to ashes and take a look at my surroundings. Mission complete, and with no unneccesary casualities.

"You boys are lucky. There is an order of kill on sight against all Oto's ninja. But I don't like to kill when it isn't neccesary, plus, you're the teme's team, and even if he doesn't like you, he won't like the idea of his team getting killed. He's too perfectionist." I say, smirking behind my mask and dissapearing. I have to get back to Suna to make a report of the mission and deliver the scrolls.

[Change of scenery! Back at Suna, Ryoku's office. Ryoku's POV]

It's been five days since Kaji-san left for that mission, and I'm still not that sure if Kazekage-sama should had let him do it. After all, the oponents are three Oto-nin and a missing-nin from Hoshikagure, and we all know how dangerous they can be... No matter how strong Kaji-san is, he will return a little worse to wear, I bet. But I don't expect him to come back for a few more days at least.

Poof!

"Hiya! I'm back Ryoku-san!"

"Kaji-san?! But what... how!"

"Mission acomplished, here are the scrolls, and the missing-nin." He says placing two bags over my desk.

"Hmmm... status?"

"Unharmed, here is the mission report." He says handing me another scroll.

"Good job."

"Here." He says removing his mask and offering it to me.

"You keep it, think of it as a souvenir."

"Thanks! Now I want to go to my room and get some rest if you don't mind."

"Of course, you're dismissed." As soon as I say that, he's gone in another poof of smoke.

Kaji-san... is something from another world...

[Back to Naruto's POV]

"Tadaima!!" I say as soon as I put a foot at the Kazekage mansion.

"Okaerinasai Naruto-niichan!" Is the only warning I get before a silver blur pounce on me.

"Hi there Yuki-chan, how have been things around here?"

"Everything is like always, Naruto-niichan! How was your mission?"

"It was fine Yuki-chan."

"I want to go with Naruto-niichan in the next mission!"

"Maybe, depends of the mission. Deal?"

"Ok!"

"So, I'm going to take a bath now, ok?"

"Ok! I will cook something for Naruto-niichan so you can eat something after your bath!" He says, getting of me and bouncing his way to the kitchen. I just shake my head, this kit is trully something!

I go to my room and take my bath, changing my clothes into fresh ones. I go to the kitchen where a nice plate of azukimeshi (Is a plate made basicly of tofu) is waiting for me, along with a smiling kitsune youkai.

"Itadakimasu!" I say before start eating.

"Do you like it Naruto-niichan?"

"Yes, it is very good Yuki-chan." I say before taking another bite.

Well... things are falling into normality again, and the time for me to go home draws near with each passing day.

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I don't know why... but I got the feeling this chapter is shorter than usual!