Something Wicked comes this Way

Something Wicked comes this Way

Author: Ryuosen
Chapters: 2/30
Words: ~ 26000+
Rating: PG16 for violence and death
Characters: Iruka, Naruto, Sakura, ANBU
Pairing: Kakairu or Irukaka claimed at 30kisses, others not decided
Theme: # 24 good fight
Warnings: spoilers for entire series just to be safe, violence and blood
Disclaimer: Since Kakairu is still not canon, it’s unlikely that I own it!!

Summary:
A botched exam, a desperate student, a stolen scroll, a devious traitor, an overly strict teacher - and suddenly Naruto finds himself on a pilgrimage of self-discovery, maturing and growing of his own making.


"talking"
thoughts, letters..

Final annoying author's note
This story is a birthday present for my friend Noir and she enjoyed it so far, even though it’s far from finished and her birthday’s passed.
Sorry for not updating earlier, but real life was being a real bitch!
Thanks to the two, who reviewed: Mare and NekoDoodle, I’m glad to hear that you like it.
Also thanks to the ones, who didn’t review but still read it as well as putting the story on fav lists or alert.

I think that it all, I hope you will enjoy the story...

Ryuosen

Word explanation
Teme - Naruto’s insult for Sasuke, I think VIZ translated it to bastard
oni - jpn. demon
hime - jpn. princess
Shannaro - Exclamation of Sakura’s alter ego, usually indicates anger or displeasure
Ohayo - jpn. Good morning
kaa-san - jpn. Mother (polite form)
mochi - jpn. Food, rice cake
ume - jpn. Fruit, plum
Tora - jpn. Tiger
Hitsuji - jpn. Sheep
Kawa no Kuni - River country
Kaze no Kuni - Wind country
Sunagakure - village hidden in the sand
Iwagakure no sato - village hidden behind the rocks

~previous chapter~

Entering the room he went straight for the closet, riffling through it until he found what he was looking for. Unzipping the standard vest he pulled the long sleeved shirt over his shoulders dropping it carelessly onto the floor before taking the new piece of clothing.

“Naruto, you better appreciate what I’m doing..”

Chapter 1 Hit the road Jack!

~~~two months after Mizuki’s betrayal~~~

Patience had never been one of his strong points, the ability to remain motionless for hours with no end having been deemed useless years ago. The very same went for listening to lectures or paying attention during those lectures or demonstrations, which had been the reason why it had been such a pain in the ass to relearn those very useful traits. But he had learned those lessons again and discovered that, while he was no genius, he was no dope either. Take that teme!

If somebody had told him prior the past two months that he would not only learn patience, but also regard it as a valued skill, he would have laughed in the person’s face and played quite a nasty prank on him or her. Although that would have been his answer two months ago, now he knew better. After all his world had been turned upside down in a span of those two months. He had simply changed, for the better. At least that was what he hoped.

Smiling slightly to himself he adjusted his grip on the scope and zoomed in on one of the lightened rooms, still empty as two hours ago. Suppressing a sigh he scratched his cheek, while he had learned to appreciate patience, he didn’t enjoy waiting by any means. Adjusting his position to be more comfortable the young man got ready for another night of waiting.

It only took two more hours until something finally happened and damn it he had nearly reached his limits. The door to the room on the left opened and a man in a black clothes walked in. He was older than him but many were, probably In his twenties and handsome in a way with dark brown hair framing high cheekbones, dark green eyes and a straight nose. The man known as Muraki Takahito smiled, in way many women would probably find quite fetching. Something about him drew you, he could tell. A pity that he had to die, not today but at the end of the week his time was up. As of now he didn’t have enough information to go in for the kill.

But he would be patient, he would gather the needed information and then he would make his move. Thus the reason for his visit tonight and why he hid in the top of a tree in the middle of the night: research. Keeping his senses sharp, he silently leaped onto another branch. The layout of the grounds and mansion needed to be committed to memory, as well as the positions and routes of the guards. Not to forget their shifts. In this line of business there was no room for sloppy work.

Muraki Takahito was a man with money and influence, a quite successful businessman and part of the inner council that advised the daimyo. Additionally he happened to be the must trusted advisor of Hi no Kuni. He was important and therefore well guarded.

Gazing at the man, who was unaware of the scrutiny, he reflected for a moment that his death would be a quite severe blow to the country in which he currently resided, but it would recover. It always had. There would be other advisors to take his place and frankly he didn’t owe this country anything, nothing at all. He wasn’t affiliated with Konohagakure and therefore only loyal to himself. Maybe one day he would swear loyalty, but not in the near future. He enjoyed this life too much to give it up.

He slipped onto the wall that barred anyone from entering the premises, well anyone who wasn’t trained in the arts of using chakra or having a handy tool nearby. He noted the positions the guards held and which routes they patrolled. None of them appeared to be shinobi, as he felt no trained chakra. Appeared being the keyword, as there were dozens of ways to tame chakra, seal or alter it. But according to the previously gathered knowledge all of them were samurai. Swordfighters and other warriors, who had sworn their loyalty to the young merchant. A smart move on Muraki’s side as they would never willingly divulge knowledge on their master. Shinobi on the other hand, could change sides in the blink of an eye. Even if it meant that they would become missing-nin.

He had once wanted to be one of them. Before failing for the third time, before he had finally understood what it meant to be a shinobi. Before that he had always tried so hard to please others, to be get attention, to be acknowledged. But now after discovering the joys of freedom and ultimately a life without worrying about the opinions of hateful villagers and scowling shinobi, who while not openly attacking, despised him just the same.

But as already stated, for now he didn’t need to be concerned with it, his only concerns were learning of new jutsu, refining old ones, training and getting money. Eating and drinking was after all essential for a growing boy. Even if said growing boy looked like a teenage female at the moment. A teenage female dressed in a dark blue kimono, with a black obi tied around her waist. The broad obi making it possible for her to carry many useful items on her person. With their help and the new jutsu she had learned, work was easy most of the time.

It was always nice to learn new jutsu, even though it was quite a challenge to acquire them. Most shinobi didn’t like it when someone copied their techniques, but that had yet to deter him. Just by simple observation he had managed to gain six new jutsu in the last three weeks. Of course after watching them he still had to experiment to see, just how much chakra he needed for the desired effect. Not to mention that the experimentation offered him ways to develop his own jutsu. .. well he still needed practise and experience, it would take time until his first jutsu was finished, but so far he was satisfied with the progress he was making. With the help of the Kage Bushin jutsu it took only a few days at most do master the observed arts. Iruka-sensei really should have proven his point as he had lectured about observation being an important skill for shinobi, for example by pointing out that you could learn jutsu just by observation.

He felt a small pang as his thoughts drifted towards his former sensei. The blond Kyuubi container missed the chuunin dearly. Iruka-sensei was one of the few people, who had always been nice to him. As far as he could remember the young man had never showed any signs of prejudice, despite having lost his parents to the monster locked inside of him and only now, looking back with eyes open he could appreciate the subtle manoeuvres his former teacher had executed to make his life a little easier. And if not for the debacle that was the night after the genin exam, he would never have noticed at all.

Mapping the grounds out and having finally noted all positions, he resolved to call it a night. The situation wasn’t was bad as he had originally assumed, while the grounds were wide and heavily patrolled, none of the patrols appeared to be shinobi, which meant no jutsu. Samurai could be formidable opponents and he would be a fool to underestimate them, but they were not trained in the arts of the shinobi. No they mostly tended to rely on weapons like blades and hand-to-hand-combat, poison and trickery being the methods of the ninja.

All in all it meant that the assassination could take place as planned. Now it only had to stay that way, he would observe the mansion for a few more days, perhaps investigate possible escape routes as well. Hiding the scope inside the folds of the kimono he was currently wearing, the blond finished his round around the grounds. Without a trace Naruto vanished, none of the warriors even suspecting his presence.

Silently he arrived at the cheap inn he was staying at. No one paid attention to the blonde woman in the dark kimono, not even the dark green coloured umbrella drew their attention. The distance between the mansion and the inn wasn’t exactly the longest, but it was enough to think about the gained information, but not deeply enough to loose focus of his surroundings. The building that housed the inn was old and the paint had already started to chip off, not that he took notice as he entered.

The clerk’s eyes lightened up as “Minako” approached him. It was apparent to anyone with eyes that the old man fancied the much younger teen, who had rented a room two weeks prior. Immediately the older man fumbled with something behind his desk before lifting something up.

”A message for you Minako-san.”

He offered her a non-descript envelope, his hand brushing along hers for longer than necessary, while shooting her a lecherous grin. Not that the blond teen took notice, far too interested in the contents of the envelope. Yet she simply stuffed the piece of paper into one of her wide sleeves, thanking the man briefly before turning around and going towards the stairs, completely ignoring the fact that the clerk stared at her ass.

The room Naruto currently lived in was on the second floor, which reflected the outside look of the building. The dark wooden entrance door was new and stood out against the cracked wall like his old orange jumpsuit against any kind of background. Sliding the key into the lock she opened the door, her senses concentrated on the chakra treats that had been woven in front of the window and the doors.

All of them were intact, no one had tried to enter the room. Good, that meant now she could turn his full attention to the envelope, but before that she needed a shower.

The envelope ended on the table as the young boy turned female teen entered the bathroom. The bath was like everything else in the inn: old, dingy and run-down. But for him it was enough as all facilities were still functioning and the door could be locked. Who cared about chipping paint and cracked tiles when all you did at the place was sleep and wash, certainly not him.

With quick and by now used motions he unwound the obi that had held the kimono in place, taking care to fold it just right as not to scatter the assortment of shuriken and kunai hidden between the folds onto the ground. Only as the long piece of fabric had been placed on a small surface, did he pull the kimono off revealing the maturing body of “Minako”. Naruto grinned, he really made a damn fine woman.

Minako, as he had named the female disguise, was one hell of a specimen though nothing compared to his Oiroke no jutsu1 version. But as she was never meant to compare that was just fine with him. His anti-pervert jutsu was the illusion of a man’s wet dream, while Minako was simply a beautiful growing teenager with long sun-kissed blond hair, held in a high tail, a heart-shaped face with big clear blue eyes, a small nose and full rosy lips. Her body was slim, even though appearing to be still in puberty, it lacked the hips that would make giving birth to a child easier with muscles hidden beneath tanned skin. Opposed to his perverted version Minako had a normally sized chest and no hourglass figure to seduce men, instead her stature was that of a fighter. Simply because, while he found it easy to blow kisses at perverts in his curvy form, fighting was uncomfortable as hell. Even bound his huge breasts got in the way. Having noticed very quickly that he was definitely no Tsunade, he had given his female disguise a shape that still identified her as female but was as close to a male’s body as possible. It made fighting a whole lot easier.

Folding the kimono as well he stepped into the shower to get clean. Observation, while not exactly strenuous, was for the most part a dirtying activity, which often involved hiding in uncomfortable as well as filthy places. Naruto had indeed spent the last three days hiding in bushes, trees and a koi pond, of all things in order to observe his target unnoticed. He felt he was entitled to have a shower. It would be a wonderful experience after a hard day of work and only now in the safety of the shower, did he release the jutsu, that let him be female.

Shuddering he waited until the rest of the chakra had vanished before stepping under the spray. Minako’s body was relatively comfortable to move and fight in, but nothing could beat the feeling of being yourself and in your own skin. Sadly the water was not as warm as he usually liked it, but considering the inn, he wouldn’t complain. It wouldn’t matter anyway, cheap places were often booked out and the blonde container knew that there were hundreds of others, who would rent the room without question and complaining about something mundane as the water temperature.

While he would have liked to linger longer, the envelope on the table drew his attention and effectively distracted him from enjoying the lukewarm water. So the boy left the cubicle, stepped onto a towel and dried himself hurriedly. Faintly he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and for a second he froze before the youthful face relaxed. After spending days in his female disguise, his own felt somewhat foreign, although it was probably because he had yet get used to the many faces and masks a shinobi had to wear.

He briefly compared his male face to the female on of his disguise. The eyes were the same shade with Minako’s being larger and rounder shaped. The nose was a copy and fit in both the male and the female face. Minako’s lips were fuller and darker than Naruto’s, but his face slimmer with sharper cheekbones and a more pointed chin. The colouring of the skin and hair were the same. All in all Minako was a female version of Naruto while appearing older and more grown. His female version was also quite taller, a fact that was only slowly remedied. Years of malnutrition and wrong eating habits had consequences and the damn prisoner in his head couldn’t fix everything.

Pulling a simple yukata from a surface next to the sink, he dressed hurriedly. With a small snap he closed the bathroom door and entered the main room. The table, where the blond had left the envelope on, stood next to the lone window with a rickety chair to the left. Then there was a dresser and a bed, whose mattress had already seen better days. The room was tidy with Naruto’s few possessions neatly stuffed into a travelling scroll at the end of the bed. He was ready to leave anytime.

Another harsh lesson, being unorganized was a hindrance for any ninja, whether genin or ANBU. Simply because the second you needed to search for a scroll could be the one that cost you your life and damn he wasn’t about to die because of such a foolish mistake.

Carefully he sat down on the chair, the old rickety thing looked like it would break any second, but it didn’t so he ignored the ominous creaking sounds and took the envelope that had arrived during his scouting mission. He looked at it for a few seconds before letting it fall onto the surface again. The fact that it was a letter and not a scroll indicated that the person, who had sent him this, was a civilian since scrolls were only available to shinobi and to buy them you needed to have proof, the sign of belonging to a village or you knew where the black market was. No the potential client was definitely a civilian.

The envelope had a no notable sign and was blank save for his name that had been written on it, or rather Minako’s name. Feeling the quality of the paper with his fingers, a lone eyebrow rose in question, it was not paper but actually thick parchment: High quality parchment as well as a very expensive ink stone, for he couldn’t see any traces of dirt or non dissolved ink particles. Few people could afford such items, but his future client could and that spoke of his ability to pay the blond’s services.

But first he needed to know what exactly he was supposed to do.

Gathering a tiny amount of the Kyuubi’s chakra in his right, he waited until the burning sensation changed his hand. The changes weren’t obvious, at least not when you didn’t know what to look for, but he could see it clear as a day: The subtle rearrangement of his bones, the greater resemblance to a claw and the by now sharp nails. He found it fascinating to watch the effects the oni had on his body. The first time he had seen just how much the Kyuubi could influence him, the blond had been frightened but now he felt only fascinated.

Considering that the Kyuubi was in essence just spiritual chakra and remains of a demonic energy the effects were magnificent. By will alone the Kyuubi managed to change his very genetic make-up. It was damn near unbelievable, but true all the same. Not that is was important right now, but a potential job offer was.

Slipping the elongated nail into the parchment he ripped it open. There was a single sheet of parchment inside, again with the elegant strokes on it. The letter was addressed to Mina, which were the first two syllables of his assumed name. Browsing over the short letter and the request his eyebrows rose. It was no small task that was asked of him and would at least take three weeks to complete.

A guardian job.

It sounded interesting and the payment was more than acceptable. Sadly details on the job itself were sparse and he didn’t know against whom he would protect his client. He needed to accept the offer first to get more information and that was dangerous. He would have to do research on the hime before making a decision. Luckily he had a few days before he needed to reply, so it could wait a little.

Besides first he needed sleep, the last days had been draining and he would be able to think far clearer after a good rest. Folding the parchment he stuffed it back into the envelope and shoved the letter underneath his pillow before sliding under the sheets. Wiggling until he was comfortable his head formed one last rare thought before his mind drifted away into the realm of sleep.

I wonder if Sakura-chan has as much fun as much I do…..

~~~the same day, twelve hours prior~~~

Shannaro, I hate you sensei!!

Now Haruno Sakura considered herself a non-violent and calm person, few had actually managed to get her riled up with the exception of Ino-pig, that baka Naruto and anyone who dared to say something against her precious Sasuke-kun.

But at the moment the pink haired kunoichi was on the verge of exploding, of screaming herself hoarse and killing that lazy excuse for a baka that she was forced to call sensei. How was she supposed to impress Sasuke-kun, when all they were doing were menial tasks like weeding flowerbeds, buying groceries for old people, walking dogs or catching that trice damned cat.

Crouching behind a bush Sakura tried desperately not to loose her temper, lest tipping the animal off, She wasn’t going to chase after the damned beast again. Listening carefully for Sasuke’s confirmation, she adjusted her position. He should be ready.

A cracking sounded in her ear and alerted her. Seconds later Sasuke’s could be heard over the small piece of technology in her ear. . how she loved the sound of the dark haired shinobi and one day she vowed to herself, the voice would be filled with warmth while speaking to her.

“One day, soon.”

it would be hard she knew, but she was prepared to fight for it, she wouldn’t loose to Ino or any other girl. Everyday she got up early to shower, dress and do her hair, to look good just for the last Uchiha. And while he had yet to acknowledge it, she was sure that he appreciated her efforts. Besides Sakura knew that she was smart, smarter than Sasuke, though she was careful not to flaunt it. God knew how angry he got when he wasn’t the best, but that was probably because of the high expectations the village and he had for himself.

The young girl knew just how much the last Uchiha expected from himself. His words from the day of the introduction were still ringing in her ears.

~~~the academy, two months prior~~~

Sakura was excited, today she would finally earn what she had worked for. Hours of studying and finally she had made genin and as of today she would be part of a genin team as well as meet her sensei. Not to forget that Sasuke would be on her team, the pink haired girl was confident concerning that matter. They were both top of the class and it was only logical to pair the two of them up. At least in her opinion that is.

The day had already started in her favor. Ino had lost the race against her and she was sitting next to Sasuke, who was as always deep in thought. The blond idiot had failed the graduation exam for the third time, which meant there was no chance that they would be on the same team. Soon the annoying call of “Sakura-chan” would be nothing more than a distant memory in the back of her mind. The only thing she might have to worry about was the danger of being on the same team as Ino. But something told her that she would get her wish, Ino wouldn’t be on the same team as her and Sasuke.

Patiently her class waited for Iruka-sensei to appear only to be surprised as Suzume-sensei entered. She studied them briefly before standing in front of the class with a clipboard in her hand.

“Ohayo, for those who don’t know me, I am Suzume-sensei. I’m here to announce the genin cells.”

Sakura noted that Kiba raised his hand.

“Yes?”

“What happened to Iruka-sensei?”

Suzume-sensei looked surprised, studying Kiba intently for a few seconds before she nodded slightly.

“Iruka-sensei was injured two days ago as he confronted a missing nin. He is still recovering, that is all I will say about it. Now for the teams.”

The Inuzuka looked somewhat disgruntled and not satisfied with the answer, mouth still open as to continue his line of questioning. The rest of the class was bursting with barely restrained curiosity and Sakura herself was no exception. A real missing nin, here in Konoha? And Iruka-sensei had fought him?

“Team 2..”

“Hey Inuzuka, what do you know about it? Tell us!!”

Droning out the announcements of her former sensei, the young kunoichi leaned forward so that she could hear Kiba’s reply. From the corner of her eyes she noticed Sasuke doing the same. Naturally Kiba preened under the attention he was receiving and Sakura was tempted to smack him, but restrained herself. If she actually did smack him, the other genin would probably clam up and not tell them anything.

“My kaa-san told my sister about it yesterday. Apparently the traitor stole something real important from the Hokage. I don’t know how Iruka-sensei got involved but kaa-san that he was the one to confront the missing nin and was gravely injured. But the missing nin got arrested.”

Sakura sat back as Kiba trailed off, her mind already progressing what she had heard. In a few years that might have been her, her duty to stop someone from harming the village, to confront a traitor and stop him. According to Kiba Iruka-sensei had been seriously injured, he might have died. A possibility that was no longer out of reach, but also very probable. The thought sent chills down her spine and she shuddered. But she would be ready, she had to.

“Team 7.. Haruno Sakura .. and Sasuke Uchiha, jounin-sensei will be Hatake Kakashi… Team 8 Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuga Hinata and Aburame Shino, your sensei will Yuuhi Kurenai, Team 9..”

Sakura’s hearing gave out, had she heard right? She and Sasuke were on the same team, together. Jumping up she squealed, she had done it. In the background she could hear the annoyed screams of anger and Ino’s complaining, but for once she ignored it. Her wish had come true.

“Team 10 under leadership of Sarutobi Asuma consists of Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino. .. These are the teams. Your jounin-sensei will pick you up after lunch break, so I suggest that you use your remaining time to already get to know your team mates. And for those who wanted to ask..”

Suzume-sensei’s eyes were hidden behind glasses but her stare was no less intense as she addressed the class, focusing on the enraged girls on the right side of the classroom.

“Team 7 consists of two students because of the uneven number of graduates. And no, there won’t be any changes.”

Ino-pig’s open mouth shut abruptly and she scowled. The blonde would certainly have been the loudest protester and Sakura couldn’t help but feel smug about it, She managed to hold her tongue though, Suzume-sensei was clearly in no mood to argue.

“Why is Sasuke-kun in the same team as forehead?!”

Sakura scowled, how dumb could Ino actually be. Suzume-sensei’s temper was almost as bad as the one of Iruka-sensei. The pink haired was indeed correct with her prediction, because the dark glare that the older woman send Ino was scorching in it’s intensity. But nevertheless she answered the blonde’s question.

“Uchiha-san and Haruno-san have been placed together because they are both top of the class. Usually the best student is paired with the worst in order to balance the team out and cover all areas of strengths. But due to the uneven number of graduates this year, the rule cannot be applied. Under such circumstances we tend to place the two best students together, because we expect that they have the most potential to balance out the missing third member. Your sensei will be here after lunch. I wish you luck!”

Having finished her piece the dark haired kunoichi turned around and left the classroom almost as quietly as she had entered it. There was probably another class waiting for her. Left behind was one excited class, whose students couldn’t wait for lunch break to be over and on cue the lunch bell sounded through the academy, signalling the beginning of thirty minutes of rest.

Sakura tried to follow Sasuke outside, she hoped they could have lunch together and get to know each other better… and if things really went well, ask him out on a date and maybe.. maybe get her first kiss from him. But the boy brushed her off, as usual and went back inside the building, ignoring every attempt at communication. His bento was still in his hand. Sakura watched him go and felt her heart sinking as the brunet left. Another failure, but she wouldn’t give up. She had to prove that she wasn’t just one of Sasuke-kun’s fangirls. No she loved him even if she didn’t know him that well, yet.

Her green eyes rested on her, in her opinion, bony knees as she sat on one of the many benches that surrounded the academy. Her own bento box next to her, but she made no move to eat, she wasn’t hungry. Hopefully working with the last Uchiha would be easier, the kunoichi knew that Sasuke-kun was far better than her in terms of fighting, genjutsu being the exception. But only because of her superior chakra control, otherwise he would have surpassed her in all areas of shinobi techniques. Not that it bothered her, Sasuke-kun was a genius after all and it was expected that he surpassed them.

With her resolve to do her best strengthened, the pink haired girl grabbed her bento, smiling as she saw that her kaa-san had prepared sushi for her. Proud, that was what her parents were, proud of her managing to graduate in a class dominated by the clans. She was the first ninja in their family with both her parents and their families being civilians. The day she passed had been celebrated, her mother had prepared her favourite dish with her favourite dessert mochi with preserved ume, while her father had presented her with two pouches filled with kunai and shuriken as well as her own bank account at the Konoha Central Bank.

Now as a shinobi she was considered an adult in the eyes of the village laws, regardless of what decisions she made now, she would be held responsible for them and she would bear the consequences of her actions. It also meant that she would earn money now and that made it her right to own an account to manage her earnings. Moving out had also been a possibility, that she had considered but ultimately decided against. Her parents had told her that she was welcome to stay as long as she liked. That the room of her childhood would always be hers and she had gladly accepted.

Careful inquiry had given her the impression that the beginning missions weren’t exactly well paid. If she moved out, then she would have to restrict her spending. Products like cosmetics and make-up wouldn’t be on her shopping list anymore until she had advanced in the ranks and done harder missions. And it wasn’t as if she could as her parents to pay an apartment for her, that went beyond irresponsibility. She was a shinobi now, she would act like one. Everything else was unacceptable.

Grabbing the chopsticks she dug in. Mhmmmm … another bonus of still living at home was that her kaa-san insisted on preparing her bento, which tasted about one hundred times better than her own.

The bell rang, signalling the end of lunch break, only moments after she finished her meal. Closing the box she turned around to enter the academy building for what was most likely the last time.

Sasuke was already back, sitting in exactly the same position, with his hands folded in front of him. Probably thinking about something related to his new team, while his face had not given away anything about how he felt about their team, she had noticed how his shoulders had tensed and since Sasuke was her love-interest she made her business to know as much about him as she could get her hands on, therefore she knew that his shoulders tensing meant distress or that he was feeling uncomfortable. In other words he was not happy about working with her and that thought made her heart clench in pain.

it was also the reason she simply nodded in greeting and took her place next to him, being silent for once. From time to time she peeked at her crush from the corner of her eyes, but his position hadn’t changed. He made no effort to talk to her. Sakura tuned out as the door opened from time to time and older voices called out the numbers of other teams. Around them the classroom emptied as more and more jounin came and fetched their teams until only she and Sasuke were left. Sakura growled, where in the name of hell was their sensei??!! It had been more than two hours already since the team of Ino-pig left and that been 15 minutes after the end of lunch break!!

At first she had been happy that her and Sasuke were alone, but as he continued to rebuff her attempts at talking with him and flat out rejected her idea of a date she grew quite angry, mostly from humiliation knowing that the boy she loved didn’t want her.

Keeping quiet as not to loose more face in front of Sasuke-kun, she seethed until thirty minutes later the door was slid open. She and Sasuke turned around to face the person that was hopefully their jounin-sensei. Silver hair was the first thing that struck her eyes as she studied the man in the threshold, but as he opened his mouth, hidden by a mask she noticed, voice oddly muffled she was shocked and the rest of the meeting a blur until Sasuke started his own introduction and spoke that one sentence that sent shivers down her spine. It was like a splash of water into the face, clearing her muddled thoughts.

“There’s a man I will kill!”

“Only one third of the class will become genin. The rest will return to the academy.”

~~~shrubbery, mission D~~~

Yes Sasuke really expected much from himself and she would do everything in her power to help him achieve his goal. She wanted to see a smile on that usually stoic face. She hadn’t failed him yet and would continue to do her best.

Turning her attention back onto her target, which was sitting near a bush, completely unaware of her presence. The rough pink tongue stroking over the rust coloured fur, cleaning it off dirt. Oh how she hated that damn cat!!

A cracking sound in her ear and then she heard the signal. Sasuke rushed at the beast from one of the surrounding trees, arms extended, trying to catch the feline.. and failed. The animal evaded the brunet shinobi and ran off, right into her direction. Sakura was ready, before the beast knew what happened, the kunoichi had grabbed the cat named Tora and held her close, taking care to immobilize the paws to avoid injury. She had learned that one pretty quick after Sasuke had been maimed the first time around.

Claws scratched and damn the scratches hurt.

Checking for the bow that was the trademark of Tora, she sighed in relief. A bright red bow was tied around one of the ears. Securing the cat she angled her head to so that her team mate would understand her.

“Target caught, I repeat target is caught.”

Now to bring the beast back and clean up. All that sitting hidden between the bushes had left reminders in form of stains and dirt. Definitely getting clean. They had already caught the feline two times today and every time they had thought they were finished, until the damn beast had proven to possess the wits of a genius and had escaped again. Besides before chasing Tora they had already weeded the garden of Kotane-sensei. All Sakura wanted to do now was getting rid of the animal, take a long shower and go to sleep.

In moments like this she wished that she was still a student under the care of Iruka-sensei. She really wished it, being pre-genin had been far easier.

~~~on the other side of the village, the Hokage’s tower, the main storage room~~~

He hated his duty, he really did, because if you worked at the mission desk, you not only had to deal with your own paperwork, but also with the one of every kami damned shinobi there was. And most of those aforementioned thrice damned men and women couldn’t write a decent report to save their lives. Unfortunately for him, Mizuki belonged to this category as well.

Suppressing a quite animalistic growl, he shook his head. How some of those adults could write worse than pre-school children gave him a headache. Why again did he have to do this? Ah yes, his duty to the village and the Hokage. Closing another folder he sighed for the unmentioned time, he absolutely hated the chunin as well as jounin of Konoha, especially Mizuki, at the moment.

Putting the old document back into the box he had taken it from in the first place and grabbing another one, he blew the dust away. This one, too, was a report Mizuki had written several years ago. Snapping the pages open he browsed over the details and frowned. This mission, a B, had been a success, as long as the casualty was ignored. One of the chunin, who had been tasked alongside Mizuki and another chunin to steal an important scroll from Iwa, had died. The other two, Mizuki and Himura Akito, had returned relatively unharmed with Himura sporting a dislocated shoulder and several cuts. Mizuki had been at full health since he had, according to the report, been the one to carry the scroll and therefore had been protected by his comrades.

All in all the mission sounded like a typical B-rank mission. So how had Hotari Daisuke died?

Of course, his death was described in the report and the explanation wasn’t illogical either. It happened often that shinobi sacrificed themselves for their comrades or to complete a mission and this one might not have been any different, if not for a small detail. One that probably hadn’t, years ago, carried any importance, but now in lights of the recent events was a crucial hint.

But for what?

An additional note had been written by Himura Akito. The note stated that the trio had split up during the chase from the Iwa shinobi with Himura acting as a bait. That in itself wasn’t unusual either, it was a proven if somewhat cowardly tactic: leave the weakest behind as to distract the enemy.. but it remained fact that after meeting up again, Hotari Daisuke had been dead and Touta Mizuki had been the one to verify his death. Another anomaly was, that he had stayed behind for a longer amount of time than needed to burn the dead body and collect the ashes.

Even more so, he had offered to do the task and all supposed credit for sentimentality aside, that was just plain stupid. As scroll carrier Mizuki should have left immediately, especially considering that the Iwa shinobi had just killed his protector. Himura also noted that the side, where he had found Mizuki for all appearances unharmed, bared no signs of battle, neither the upturned earth, which was a key factor in most doton jutsu nor signs of blood. He further assumed that Mizuki must have escaped his enemies and brought the body with him to burn him before meeting up again. As his senior he had noted that, while it was a very nice gesture, it was also a tactical error which could have cost him his life.

The note ended there with a scrawled signature and date stamped beneath.

Comparing the date to the one of the mission report revealed that the note had been handed in after Mizuki had submitted his report, which was likely the reason why no one had paid any attention to it. The main report had already been handed in and additional notes were written countless times afterwards, because details had only been recalled after a good night of sleep. So the shinobi on duty had stamped the additional report and filed him correctly, but he had probably never read it.

A fatal mistake, because now with Mizuki being a traitor, they had to revaluate every single mission, every mistake every casualty the chunin had reported until they knew from what point on had he been an enemy of Konoha. Closing the folder he stuck it into his vest before closing the drawer. After studying this mission in more depth it would be advisable to visit Himura Akito. He remembered dimly that the man had been promoted to tokubetsu two years ago and he specialised in … tactics, bingo. Such an important position stopped generally the rapid flow of missions, with any luck he could talk to Himura after lunch. Perhaps he should also advise Ibiki to question Mizuki on this findings.

Mizuki was a sly one, he had already proven that by deceiving them, maybe for years.

But as slithery as he was, he had no clearance high enough to even know about the existence of the scroll Uzumaki Naruto had stolen. The conclusion was obvious to even a blind person, someone had told him about it, someone not only knowing about the scroll but it’s exact location. Coincidence was impossible, even most jounin didn’t know about the scroll with the possible exception of few of the Hokage’s personal ANBU, himself included.

Well now, almost anyone knew about the existence if not the contents, the stint the Kyuubi container pulled was anything but inconspicuous.

Mizuki though was a loner by nature; he was rarely seen in the company of other shinobi and his circle of friends included a few chunin, most of them being sensei at the academy, but no jounin or ANBU.

“Which means that someone who knew of the scroll’s existence told him, but who?”

Making sure that nothing was disturbed he stepped out of the room and closed the door, security seals activating immediately. Touching the wall, the surface rippled and he was gone, leaving no trace of his presence behind.

“I need to see the Hokage and Ibiki.. they need to know about this…”

The pan tiles on the roof rippled and he slid onto the top of the tower. For safety purposes the headquarters of the torture and interrogation department were hidden in another part of the village, which meant that he should see the Hokage first since he was already at the Hokage’s Tower and later visit Ibiki after discussing his findings with the Hokage.

The plan was blown the minute he landed on the sill of the window of the Sandaime’s office. Another ANBU, Tora, caught sight of him and signalled discretely that the Hokage was still in a meeting with the daimyo of fire country. Giving a simple nod, he leapt off the building and onto the next. Seemed like he would see Ibiki first then. Drawing his protective cloak tighter he sprinted off.

Silence greeted him as he entered the building through one of the windows. With confidence he jumped into the room, landed in a crouch and waited for a few seconds while pulsing his chakra in a sequence of short impulses and only as he felt an answering sequence did he move. Hokage knew what would happen if he hadn’t waited for the identification to end.

Adjusting the cloak, he left the entrance hall and entered one of the longwinded corridors, which existed a hundreds times throughout the whole building. Only those who knew their way wouldn’t get lost, the rest.. poor human beings…

The heart of the building, being a stark contrast to the entrance hall, was filled with life and activity. The hall shaped like a square with a dome like ceiling made of safety glass. The shining sun lightened the whole room, though during summer the heat could be unbearable. Old desks littered one of the corners with two ANBU scribbling something, probably reports for Ibiki. Another corner held a few couches and seats for the ANBU to rest or wait until their duty or mission started.

The remaining hall housed a large office desk, not unlike the one of the Hokage, where one of the ANBU accepted the reports, never below the rank of A and therefore classified. The handing out was either handled by Ibiki or the Hokage himself, always depending on the situation. The last wall of the hall held doors, which led into the cellar levels, where all offices, storage rooms, holding cells and the interrogation rooms as well as the dungeons, used for physical torture were located.

Giving a small greeting to his fellow comrades, who sat around a table gambling, he opened one of the numerous doors. Silently he noted that none of the remaining men on duty was concealing their face and for a brief moment he had the urge to take off his mask as well, but as fast as the feeling had come it was already gone again. It was a foolish notion, he knew that he couldn’t take the mask off, logic reminding him brutally what his duty demanded: Foolish thoughts indeed.

Two stairs down, once left and three time right and he stood in front of the office of one of the most influential man of Konoha. Knocking briefly in a special sequence he waited until the familiar baritone voice allowed his entry. Then and only then he touched handle and opened the door. Slipping inside he was greeted by his grim looking superior. Giving a quick greeting he pulled the folder from behind his vest and threw it onto the paperwork laden desk in front of the imposing master of T&I. They both didn’t waste their times with useless greetings, not when the situation was dire.

“Time to take a dive into the past!”

~~~Hi no Kuni, Tanzaku Gai, a food stand

Life was great, Naruto decided. Had he known that living outside of Konoha was like this, he would have left a lot earlier. Looking around he studied the civilians mingling on the marketplace, the stands packed with people haggling over prices and wares, while enjoying a bowl of steamed vegetables. But the best of all no one recognized him, no muttered comments and no overcharged prizes on food or other goods. Just peace.

Leaning against the counter, he smiled, it was

really a nice village. Full of beautiful women and job opportunities. Work had been plenty since he had left Konoha over two months ago. Not to mention all the important things he had learned during these months, far more than in six years of attending the academy.

He really should sent the old man a present, no one had helped him like this before, ever. To think that nearly all his sensei at the academy had deemed him a hopeless case, how laughable. Taking a few ryou from a hidden pocket he left them on the counter and waved a farewell. The next job was waiting and it wouldn’t be good to be late. Tardiness could cost reputation and lives. Lifting the thick travel scroll he strapped it to his back. After securing the strap he walked into an alley without being seen.

Carefully stretching his senses he felt nothing and only then his hands lifted and his fingers formed the sign of Hitsuji for Henge and immediately followed by the cross like one of the Kage Bushin no jutsu. The concentrated chakra, he had, ran through his coils and seconds later the young boy had been replaced by the woman child named Minako.

She wore her dark blue kimono with a koi fish sewn into the dark fabric in a hundred shades of red and gold. The broad obi, silver coloured, was tied in a traditional bow. The wooden sandals and the white socks completed the outfit. Her hair was for once secured in a knot and decorative chopsticks held it in place. Simple but very elegant looking.

Smiling demurely Minako turned around and summoned her matching umbrella from her scroll before securing it on her back. Bracing the rain protection against her left shoulder, she left the alley through the opposite end. The sight that greeted her now, was a lot more colourful and lively. She had reached the main road of the city. Observing the men and women hurrying along, the blonde haired kunoichi strode leisurely towards the best inn of Tanzaku Gai. The enormous surface was painted in a pale golden colour with balconies, offering a beautiful view of the castle that towered over the city. The windows made from fine crystal glass and the doors guarded by samurai.

The front of the inn was decorated with potted plants, which were in dire need of a little watering from what Minako could tell. Gardening being one of her hobbies, so she knew more than enough about it. With a brief nod towards the guards she sat on one of the many benches, which had been placed alongside the inn. Now all she could do was wait, royalty was rarely on time. Setting her umbrella aside, she pulled a small orange coloured book from the folds of her obi. Opening it at the bookmarked page, she began to read. For all purposes complete immersed in the course of the story.

She was stifling a giggle as the double doors opened and beautiful woman, along with three girls dressed like servants, stepped outside. Snapping the book shut, she shoved it back behind the obi, then stood and bowed properly, like it was befitting a member of the royal house of Kaze no Kuni. Turning her head she glanced at the three servants and noted that another three, all males this time, had joined the group. All of them wore the fitting uniform that proclaimed them to be servants of the hime’s family. Minako held back an aggravated sound, the hime might as well made an announcement to make her presence known.

One thing was clear, he couldn’t hope, that whoever wanted her dead, was unaware of her location.

“Himitsu-hime.”

The beautiful woman simply nodded, not deigning herself to speak with the kunoichi, who stood in front of her, still bowing, with eyes on the ground. One of the servants had been sent to the stables, because he returned with eight horses in tow. Without acknowledging her, he proceeded to assist the hime onto her horse, the by far most beautiful animal Minako had laid her eyes on. Another one of the serving girls pulled her aside. Months ago that kind of attitude would have had her blood boiling with rage, but no longer. Instead she simply let herself be pulled, as the girl whispered into her ear.

“Minako-sama, the hime wishes for you to guard her on her journey home to Sunagakure. The guarding of the hime takes highest priority. She has successfully negotiated a contract between Suna and another party, but there are those who do not want the contract to be fulfilled. The hime is expecting attempts on her life. We will travel by horse to save time and you will pose as one of the hime’s companions. We have a horse ready for you as well.”

The servant pointed one of the horses out to her before continuing.

“If someone dares to attack the hime during our journey, you will intervene. The hime wants the ones behind the attempts, that surely will be made. Any questions?”

“Am I expected to interact with the hime?”

A shake of his head was enough answer and Minako nodded. She turned around and mounted the horse the servant had indicated to be hers, taking care to copy the elegant way the hime sat while looking completely at ease. Hopefully she wouldn’t make a fool of herself, after all this was the first time she had ever seen a horse let alone ridden one.

Carefully she shifted on the saddle, testing the boundaries and hindrance the leather made item presented. After a few minutes she had found a position that offered her easy access to her weapons and mobility to wield them, while still being seated like a proper lady. The umbrella ended up being strapped above her travelling scroll and both her legs were swung over the back of the horse and rested on the same side. Taking the reigns between her fingers, again copying the remaining travellers, she encouraged the horse to move.

Surprisingly the sleek brown coloured animal did exactly what she wanted. Giving a nod to the hime, they were off. Minako was ignored throughout the whole ride and it made the boy turned girl somewhat glad that he was no royalty. Because if this was how they treated their friends and companions like, she didn’t want to see how their enemies were treated. Come to think of it, she had been hired to kill their enemies. There she had the answer to her question.

Time moved slowly as the days passed. It only took roughly a week before they had reached the borders of Kawa no Kuni and the journey through the country proved to be peaceful as well, but Minako was still on guard as opposed to the servants, who had lost their tenseness five days after the beginning, probably believing that the danger was already over. The Kyuubi container didn’t agree.

On the night of their first rest she had ordered one of the servants to show her the planned route and she immediately had guessed that any assassin attempt would be made once they had passed Kaze no Kuni’s borders. Simply because once they left Kawa no Kuni behind they would be alone, alone and helpless with no population in sight.

Katabami Kinzan was the last village in Kawa and after it there was nothing but a rocky mountain like terrain with a few goat farms in between. No one could help them, once they passed that point. The borders of Kaze no Kuni were rocky and then nothing but sand with few oases scattered throughout the desert. Even shinobi avoided travelling through the landscape filled with nothing but sand. It was the perfect place for an ambush, the hidden village was miles into the country and it took days to reach it. They would be caught in a trap of their own making, but there was no avoiding the desert. Not when you wanted to reach the village hidden in the sand.

After coming to the conclusion Minako had set to relax and conserve chakra throughout the days they travelled through fire country and later river country. She savoured the night spent at the inn in Katabami Kinzan for it would be the last time she slept on a real futon for weeks.

Travelling through the desert took time and patience, two habits she had only recently acquired. But it was necessary, otherwise they might get lost and then, death was almost imminent. They couldn’t afford it in addition to the assassins, who might attack them soon. Carelessness could kill them in this situation.

Henged clones had scouted the surrounding area during the last days and they had found traces of another group travelling through river country with maybe two miles distance between them. It had to be their attackers, of that Minako had no doubt. She had never been able to catch any of them off guard to kill them, but she knew they were getting restless. The formerly meticulous hidden campsites, now often showed signs of being cleaned half-heartedly as well as sloppy concealment. Either they had noticed and tried to confuse her or they were really anxious to kill the hime. Sadly Minako couldn’t tell which of her guesses was correct.

Not that it changed anything, she would be ready for them!

Nudging her horse a bit, she sped up until she was on par with the hime. The clone, which had henged into a squirrel, had just dispersed and given her interesting information. The most interesting since Minako’s discovery of the second camp. Finally they had grown impatient enough, the attempt was now inevitable and only a matter of time. Discretely she had given the servants a pre-arranged signal.

Danger ahead!

Now they would be on alert as well, she had stressed several days ago, that they had to act completely normal, while preparing for an encounter and the defence. She had even taken to surprise them until they didn’t bat as much as an eyelid. Sadly the servants were silent as graves most of the time, which left Minako without a conversation partner, but they had been well trained. Without the prior training they certainly wouldn’t have adapted as well as they had.

In a few minutes one of them would feign an accident and then the most certain would be assassins were fair game. The position of power would be theirs and their enemies wouldn’t know, wouldn’t have the slightest clue that she had changed the rules and left them hanging in the air. A fox like smirk graced her full lips, she couldn’t wait for them to realize the truth.

Five minutes passed in agonizing slowness and it was all pure force of will that kept Minako from screaming and therefore blowing the whole charade. But then finally, finally the servant acted. Seemingly on his own, one of the packages tied to the servant’s saddle loosened and dropped to the ground. As planned the group stopped, the servants immediately ushering the hime into their centre, surrounding her while bowing profusely and apologizing for their tardiness. Meanwhile Minako and another servant, a brunette, whose name she forgot time and again, no matter how often she asked for it, “checked” on the dropped package. In truth she merely gave reminders, on how the servants were supposed to act once the attack was underway.

Scanning the area discretely, while supposedly looking for tears in the paper, which had been used to wrap the treasure, Minako noted that the other servant, a female with blonde hair, had secured the reigns of their horses.

Everything according to the plan..

There was only so much paper Minako could pretend to inspect, so she took the package and retied it to the saddle before declaring that the contents were still intact and that they could continue their journey. Now they entered the part of the plan, which was open for improvisation since none of them could have known, when their enemy decided to attack.

There they are…

Minako’s eyes narrowed as she secured the last strap on the saddle. One of her hands moved towards the umbrella still strapped to her back, while her left foot shifted to accommodate her weight better. She was ready.

Here they come…

For a moment, no one breathed as figure cut through the density of the mist, which had enveloped the valley they had been passing through. Minako suppressed an annoyed sigh, to think that there had been a time, where she had thought, that such dramatic moves were the way to win, was embarrassing. How naïve she had been, she would never know.

The man, probably in his late thirties, attempted to jump over her and the horse to get to the hime. Needless to say he failed, as Minako had been prepared and pulled the Katana, which had been hidden in the tube of her umbrella. The sleek blade slid through the air and cleaved her opponent in half. On instinct she threw the servant, who had tended to the horses, into the arms of the brunette, whose name she always forgot.

Her weapon came up and blocked kunai, which had been aimed at the princess. Minako concentrated, she felt as her senses expanded, grew raw in case of sensitivity and filled her being. No detail escaped her now, not in this state. She was shinobi and no one would stop her.

The remaining men and women attacked and she reacted. Movements became a blur to the untrained eye and seconds later the next assassin was dead. Growling, she sensed chakra. Trying to twist away he noticed as something wrapped itself abound her midsection. A tree had grown behind her, the branches twisting around her, fusing her with the bark, trying to trap her. The blonde really hated genjutsu. Above her she could smell her attacker already, the sharp odour of sweat and blood having alerted her of his presence.

Her grip on her weapon tightened as she swiped one of her fingers over the steel, skin breaking like paper, with blood welling from the wound. For her, pain was the easiest option of breaking genjutsu. Seconds later she felt the hold, that the supposed tree had on her, loosen and knew she was free, yet she stood motionless. Acting as if still caught in the jutsu, she waited. Only as her attacker was right above her, did she act. Her once trapped arm moved and the blade broke through the air, giving the attacker, a male, barely time to evade. But he managed, even as he lost quite a few strands of hair.

However he never noticed the kunai, that flew his way and pierced his throat, severing the spinal cord and killing him immediately. A distressed cry caused Minako to turn around, creating a clone while doing so. The copy readily distracted another attacker for the original before drawing a shorter female in a taijutsu match.

After insuring that the genjutsu user was indeed dead, she attacked the former opponent of her clone, which it had abandoned to fight the female. It was another male, he wore a mask, which covered the lower half of his face, concealing nose and mouth from her prying eyes. Bringing her Katana down in a slashing motion she wasn’t surprised to find it blocked by a kunai, in a close fight the more than one yard long weapon was a definite disadvantage.

Giving her opponent a kick in the chest, she withdrew the blade, sliding it back into it’s sheath. From the most distanced angle of her periphery, she could see that one of the servants was about to get killed. Her finger formed a familiar seal and she replaced herself with the box that was the only flimsy barrier between the servant and the far more deadly opponent.

Appearing right before the servant she plunged a kunai into the stunned face of her opponent before paying attention to the one she had missed with her blade. But before she could fully pay attention to him she felt shivers run down her spine and her body moved on instinct alone as she twisted away to evade the kunai that nicked the left side of her chest. Her other hand drew her Katana again and with a precise slash the throat was slit, blood pouring out and drenching her kimono.

Jumping away from a slash, she faced her original opponent, who sported a very interesting haircut. Again twisting, her fingers graced the kunai, which was still stuck inside one of the dead bodies. Clutching the handle she ripped the pointed blade from the body and threw it at her enemy’s face, forcing him to retract his sword and giving her room to form handseals for another Kage Bushin, which promptly vanished in a puff of smoke.

She could hear the oddball snicker but ultimately ignored it. If there was one thing the old man had pounded into her thick skull, it was the fact that overemotional tantrums as well as loss of concentration would end badly. And after many hard learned experiences, she had learned to let her emotions go. They had no place on the battlefield. Sheathing her Katana again, she loosened the strap on her umbrella instead. Grabbing the rain protector, she blocked the sword again, pressing the blade away from her body; legs tensing, preparing to jump and finally twisting into the air. The blade was drawn in mid flight with the sheath flung away. A hand shot out from the ground and grabbed the ankles of her attacker, the nimble fingers closing, pulling and the male was abruptly drawn into the earth.

Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu

The blonde was ready and neatly severed the head before landing on her feet again. Focusing on the last female, she ignored the blood that splattered over the earth and her face. The opposing woman was performing handseals and she was doing it at high speed. Her blade struck the earth and her own fingers slid into the familiar position of Kage Bushin, but this time she didn’t create one or two of them, but twenty. A mental comment and they formed a barrier between the hime and her opponent, a wall made of kage bushin.

Grabbing her weapon she evaded the katon jutsu, which engulfed her barrier and destroyed the copies in an instant. Minako winced as the memories assaulted her, burning to death was definitely unpleasant, but at least the servants along with the hime were safe, not even the heat of the chakra induced flame had reached them. The opposing woman was also on the move, having taken the sword of her companion. Their blades clashed and immediately Minako yielded, letting her body be pushed back. A fight between shinobi wasn’t honourable, it didn’t matter to her, who won the contest of strength. Only the result counted for her. Using the Katana to block the other blade, she drew a kunai from one of her hidden pouches. Reacting quickly she knocked the sword aside and entered the other’s personal space. Before the woman could react the kunai had pierced her chest, destroying the tissue protecting her organs.

With one last choke she fell forward, trying, even while dying, to reach Minako, trying and failing. The Kyuubi container stepped away and the female’s outstretched hand landed on the bloodied ground. Regarding the terrain carefully, she came to the conclusion, that the area was safe! Only now, did she turn towards the group she was hired to protect. The servants cowered on the ground, the hime invisible in the mass of bodies, but to Minako’s relief none of them appeared to be injured in any shape or form.

She hoped that none of them suffered from shock or any other psychic ailment, because it was far from over. That much Minako could tell, it was probably just a test. A movement to gather information, maybe on the hime’s defences, on her group’s abilities or simply if she suspected something amiss.

“Is the hime uninjured? Hatanabe-san?”

“No Minako-sama, we are unharmed.”

She nodded in relief, her Katana wiped clean with a soiled rag was returned to it’s sheath and the umbrella strapped to her back. Quickly her fingers formed a seal and another two clones popped up. One gesture later they had henged into small animals and scurried away to scout their surroundings. Meanwhile the blonde ordered the servants to help her clean up the area and pile the bodies together. She needed to get rid of them. Though before she would carefully filch their pockets. It was possible that one might have information on their person.

But before that the camp needed to be set up, there was no point in travelling any further. She could tell that the attack had left the hime shaken and rest was something they all needed now. So with a quick motion of her hands she created another pair of clones, which were sent to gather water from a nearby stream. As she had yet to learn any good suiton jutsu, they would need the water to clean up as well as cooking something for dinner.

The shinobi turned kunoichi took her time to inspect the hime, who by now had left the cluster of her servants and sat on the side. One of her female servants, a redhead named Kasumi, next to her and offered some beverage, sake from the looks of it. Now Minako had no reason to suspect anything amiss with the servants, while not having enough time to do an in-depth background check, it had been enough to know that all of them had served the hime’s family for years and none of them had reason to betray her. Though that didn’t mean, that they wouldn’t, money often was a fine incentive. Thus the blonde pushed a bit of chakra towards her nasal receptors and effectively enhanced them. The smell of sake drifted over her senses and she quickly compared the different nuances to the smell she had memorized during her time with the old man and found nothing. As far as she could tell the sake was clear.

Relaxing a bit the hime accepted the drink offered, for all purposes unaware of the eyes on her person, and took small sips. Slowly the colour returned to her pale face and she stopped shivering. She would be alright, Minako decided, probably just shaken from the amount of blood that had splattered the area. She had to wrinkle her nose at the image herself, it was far too noticeable.

Any shinobi worth his money would know immediately, that someone had fought here. But it couldn’t be changed, all there was left to do was to clean the area to the best of her abilities. Then a meal and a brief rest before they would continue with their travels. She wanted to use the few precious hours of the night as much as possible. Entering the desert during the day was a foolish thought, especially with the horses exhausted as they were. They needed to reach the first oasis before the sun was high and the temperatures unbearable.

The clones reappeared with the water rations, which were promptly used to refill the canteens and set up a pot to cook a bit of meat broth as well as cleaning the area and Minako herself. The kimono, she had been wearing had been splashed with blood and was ruined for good. No one had time to clean the fabric properly and blood was a bitch to wash out after it had dried, therefore she could save herself time and get rid of the clothing right away.

Within minutes she had redressed in another one, taking the soiled clothes she put them on the bodies and used the strongest katon jutsu she was capable of, taking care to make the flame as hot as she could without burning her lips. Katon jutsu weren’t her speciality, but she could make them work well enough. One deep breath and the fallen ones were burning, cremated to ashes in an instant along with her favourite kimono.

Only thirty minutes after the attack they all rested around the campfire and waited for the broth to finish.

“After the meal, we will continue our journey. The sun is already setting and we will reach the first oasis during the night before the temperature rises again. Let’s spent our day resting and recovering. At the next sunset we’ll continue.”

In the end the meal was quick, none of the travellers having much of an appetite to consume more than a bowl of the meat broth before the small camp was broken up again. Checking once more that nothing was left behind they mounted their horses to tackle the most difficult station of their journey: the desert of Kaze no Kuni. The Kyuubi container created more clones, which promptly henged into coyotes. Giving the order to scout the area and circle their group the clones ran away. A warning beforehand was appreciated and Minako was sure that this was far from over.

They urged the horses on, faster than before. The borders were crossed and the rocky terrain of Kawa no Kuni was left behind. Now they were really on their own. No outside help would come. The setting sun wasn’t warm, but she was confident that they would reach the first before the night was over. Deserts at night were usually very chilling and made travelling impossible except in Kaze no Kuni. Here the wind was responsible for the hot temperatures, which sunk only fractionally during the night, leaving it warm enough in the desert to travel through it.

Her prediction came true, their group reached the first oasis shortly after midnight. By now the moon had risen and offered enough light to navigate through the small patch of greenery. A fact Minako appreciated, as a fire would have been too dangerous considering that there would most likely be another ambush in the near future. The hime was preparing for bed as the servants mingled around her, either assisting or taking care of the horses. The poor animals were heaving and exhausted. She would have liked to continue, but it was impossible. The horses wouldn’t last until the next oasis and Kaze no Kuni had very few farms and outposts. The desert being a natural barrier, which kept outsiders at bay.

No for tonight they would have to stay here and probably the rest of the day as well. She wasn’t very comfortable with the thought, but there was no way around it. Turning around she made more clones and gave them the order to set traps around the camp. She was about to get ready for the night herself as the memories of one of her clones left in the desert flooded her mind. They weren’t good.

Another group of assassins had apparently entered the desert and were heading straight for them, among the group were missing-nin from Iwa as far as she could tell. During a brief rest the clone turned coyote had managed to spy on them and overheard the discussion of their plans. It was worrying. The desert was like a home turf for the Iwa nin and she was fairly sure that she had seen one of them in her bingo book before. Some stupid brutes or canon fodder may to be among them as well. But most of them were dangerous to them and she could need all of her cunning and every advantage to defeat them. Calming herself, she took a deep breaths. Only as her pulse returned to normal did she stop. Opening her eyes, her face adopted a determined expression. It was time to fight. Turning away, she hurried towards the hime to inform her of her plans.

It was a passable plan, at least for one made up in a span of five minutes. And more importantly, he could be realized in the short amount of time available to them.

It had taken another hour to get everything ready, but now they were ready to confront their enemy. Minako had estimated that the shinobi wouldn’t travel by horse but by foot, seeing as they mostly used doton jutsu and therefore could use their chakra to maximum effect with little loss. They had waited until another clone had dispersed and it was only a matter of time now. Glancing at the camp, she nodded to one of the servants.

It had begun.

“I’ll be cleaning myself. Please don’t leave the camp anymore. The traps I have prepared are lethal.”

With that she gave a short bow, fetched a towel and stepped out of the camp, bypassing her traps with little effort. Her eyes swept briefly over two hidden clones, but she made no move to acknowledge them. The spring was nothing more than a few rocks, where water trickled from a small opening in the stone, but it would have to do. Setting her umbrella aside, the blonde untied her obi, now adept enough to let it fall to the ground without having the shuriken making a sound. Undressing quickly she shoved the clothing next to the rocks before looking around. Seeing nothing she stepped under the water. It was freezing yet soothing, the aches of her muscles were washed away. Inspecting her body she came to the conclusion, that the first fight hadn’t been too hard. The few bruises she had acquired were already healed as was the scratch from one of the kunai. The wound had already closed and only visible as a pink strip on the otherwise tanned skin.

Adrenalin had her on high alert since their group had entered the desert, but now with the knowledge that the attack was imminent, she was bordering on panicking. In all the time she had been on her own, she had never encountered opponents, who might defeat her. It was a first and it caused her heart to thud against her chest. It made her recall the old man’s words.

“Never challenge a superior opponent and you’ll stay weak forever!”

They were ringing in her head, consuming her very essence. Her father had once been the strongest shinobi of all countries. He would have never gotten there, had he not taken risks and pitted his skills against the ones of others. Others who must have been stronger than him.

“Without work and training you will be left behind! Talent will only get you so far!”

So true, her eyes flashed open and her body tilted backwards just as a blade came out of nowhere. It missed, hitting the stone in front of her and stayed stuck. She stretched her arms out and did a backflip landing behind her attacker, who had let go of the weapon to pull out another blade. Ducking the next swing, she crouched, grabbing her umbrella. Minako gritted her teeth and used chakra to steady her stance. Her opponent was a good deal stronger than her.

The assassin was unprepared for the next move, the blonde child, who had moments before matched his strength, suddenly fell back, causing him to loose his own footing. Stumbling forward he used chakra to avoid falling over and fell right into the female’s trap as a fist suddenly pressed into his stomach. The force send him flying. From the corner he could see that the blonde pulled at the grip of the umbrella, a hidden weapon. Twisting the man landed in a crouch, studying her for a few seconds before charging.

He evaded her swing of the blade concealed in her umbrella, but never noticed the clone hidden behind a rock. The copy’s blade came down and destroyed the attacker. Minako avoided the blood that splattered over the sand, having already seen her next opponent. Throwing herself backwards, she twisted through the air, evading another set of kunai and catching the last one. Landing she threw it back, a nauseating sound telling her that her aim had been true.

A small breeze was her only warning and for a few moments the Kyuubi container was glad that her body was currently naked, otherwise the wind wouldn’t have registered. Ducking her leg swept out and pulled her attacker’s feet from under him. Her hand already throwing a shuriken, before her fingers slid through a series of handseals.

Shuriken-Kagebushin no jutsu

One shuriken became many and rained on her opponent, who used Kawarimi to escape her single shuriken, yet it wasn’t enough to escape the mass of projectiles she had created. One pierced the throat and ended his attempt to evade her attack. Landing she swallowed a pained sound as a kunai scratched her hand, forcing her to drop her Katana. To avoid another attack she rolled aside and hid behind the rock, that housed the spring.

A scream, one of her traps had activated. Ignoring her injured hand she speedily grabbed her weapon and pulled it back behind the rock. The injury wasn’t serious, but as long as she was unable to use her right hand, she would have to careful. Though never in her short career as mercenary had Minako been this glad that the old man had forced her to become ambidextrous as now.

Pushing chakra into her hand she latched on the stone and pulled her body up, strained her ears she listened for any sound before she attacked. Narrowly avoiding a fireball, she sped into the personal space of the woman, the katana in front of her. The woman’s eyes widened as she was impaled. The blonde container pulled the blade from the body and pushed the dazed woman to the side, using her as a shield for the kunai thrown at her. Ducking she used shushin no jutsu and was gone from the spring.

Reappearing inside the camp center, she warily examined her surroundings. None of the traps had been triggered yet, but that didn’t mean anything. Muscles tense she waited. The trembling ground was the only warning she got before a hand shot out and attempted to grab her ankles. Frantically Minako tried to jump out of reach, but was ultimately too late. Thick strong fingers wrapped around her calves and pulled. She was powerless as her body sunk into the desert ground. Stupid, she had fallen for the same technique she had used hours ago.

To her right, she saw one of her traps being triggered and sighed in relief, one less. Then silence, no triggered traps, no exploding clones and no terrified screams, just this void, like every living being was suddenly gone. A quick glance to the tents and the horses reassured her that both were untouched.

A rustling sound caused her to turn her head again. Their enemies were coming together, secure in their victory. Three carried the bodies of the dead to the centre, another one, a man with a stocky built towered over her. The tanned skin, lighter than her own, was stretched thin over the bulky muscles with countless scars scattered over the aged face. The glare he gave her could have killed her, had it been a weapon. Hmm, apparently he didn’t like her…

More bodies were dragged into the centre, her traps disabled and new ones set. So far the tents had been ignored, but the blonde container knew that it was only a matter of time before their attention would be focused on them. Glaring at the man, she suspected to be the leader, she tried discretely to free herself, to loosen the earth around her body.

It proved to be a useless endeavour, she was stuck, the soil and sand around her holding like a vice, making movements near impossible. With releasing a frustrated groan she watched as another one crawled out of the earth. The one who had pulled her down. She gave him the deadliest glare she could muster under the circumstances, but he was only amused by it.

All of the shinobi appeared to be Iwa-nin, ninja from Iwagakure no sato, if their headbands were to be believed and it were much more than she anticipated. Whoever the hime had angered with her negotiations was far more powerful and rich than previously assumed. To pay for what had to have been four full jounin cells one had to have some serious cash. It made Minako wonder, what exactly had been the objective of the negotiations and with whom but speculations could wait. First she needed to complete her own job and that meant keeping her charges alive.

So while she still glared at them she studied her surroundings, looking for loopholes in their own traps and possibilities to escape. Only as the Iwa shinobi gathered did she stop and concentrated on them. They were discussing the situation and she had to push chakra in her ear to hear them as she was only average in lip-reading. A dangerous endeavour since the receptors inside the ear were very delicate and sensitive. Using too much chakra and her senses of hearing as well as balance would be shot to hell and she would rather not find out if the Kyuubi was able to heal such injuries as well

She didn’t even feel the chakra flow but knew it reached it’s destiny and the sounds of voices filled her ears. They were speaking in their, what she assumed was their native tongue. While all shinobi countries shared a common language, the dialect varied from country to country. During the last months she had taken to learn the other dialects, but had focused on the ones of the surrounding countries, especially the lands allied with Hi no Kuni.

The Iwa dialect was hard and Minako only understood fragments of it, but she got the gist. It didn’t look good for her or the hime. Apparently she wasn’t a real threat, only a measly failed kunoichi. And for that comment alone she would see all of them dead. Though the fact, that she was deemed harmless was a factor working in her favour, none of the shinobi appeared to be watching, but she knew that impressions could be deceiving and with shinobi it most likely was the case.

Still she tried to free herself again, as the group of shinobi broke up. They were walking towards her, surrounding her, trying to intimidate her, but the blonde was having none of it, baring her teeth at them in a feral gesture that would make the Inuzuka proud.

Two of her opponents stepped away, surprised by the animalistic look the woman child had adopted. The way her elongated canines, perhaps a born bastard Inuzuka, gleamed in the moonlight and the big round eyes were filled with ferocity. Their leader however was unimpressed and stepped forward until he was a foot length away. He sneered before spitting in her face. The young woman didn’t even closer her eyes as the slimy fluid hit her left cheek instead staring at them like they were the worst scum on earth and to her they probably were. He didn’t feel guilty that she had to die now, that was just his duty. Just as she had done hers, and he had to admit for someone so young she had done well. More than one of his comrades had died at her hands. They had underestimated her and paid the prize.

Glancing around he noticed that his leader had drawn his own weapon about to end this mission. He knew the bitch, that was acting as the ambassador of the Kazekage, would be no problem once the whole thing was over. But it still struck him as odd, that she had not tried to flee during the commotion. The tents, who had persons inside, were still untouched and the horses stood almost unnaturally rigid, having made no move to shy away and escape. Something was definitely wrong but it was too late to warn his leader as he lifted the axe and swung it down.

Apprehensive Minako watched as the massive weapon was lifted. The curved blade glinted in the moonlight before it was swung at her.


tbc....