One Rainy Night

A/N: One last chapter before I'm gone. I'm going to the airport in about 2 hours... I'm a bit excited and right now I don't want to go... But I can't do anything against it now :) I'll have to make the best out of it XD

Thanks for the reviews!
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>b< 6. The One Evidence

One and a half week had passed by without a mission for Team Kakashi.

The only thing Naruto and his team had been doing was simple training so they wouldn't cause Naruto a relapse.

Naruto yawned.

He had been summoned by the Hokage early in the morning, the sun had yet to rise.

Contrary to public belief he was not a morning person because of the Kyuubi – foxes were nocturnal after all – especially lately he wasn't quite so fond of having to get up early.

Standing in front of Tsunade, his vest was still open, not orange this time but green.

Sakura had used the last week to convince him to wear a normal vest. It wouldn't attract as much attention as an orange one so he wouldn't be the first to get targeted. Thus something like the incident on their last mission wouldn't happen again and Iruka wouldn't have to worry that much about him when he went on his next mission. That really was the only reason why Naruto had changed colours.

The blond's hair was ruffled and his eyes threatened to fall shut again.

One thing was for sure, he wasn't a morning person.

Furthermore his stomach was grumbling early in the morning and it was not because he was hungry. Being a chuunin had completely taken care of the food problem.

It seemed his fever wasn't completely out of his system by now... Because he was hungry but couldn't eat anything. He couldn't keep the food down.

And so here he was standing in front of Tsunade's desk.

He wasn't alone, though.

Shikamaru was next to him.

It wasn't easy, but he managed to beat Naruto in looking the most sleepy.

His eyes were falling shut, his hair wasn't put into a ponytail yet and the typically bored and tired look was on his face.

Next to Shikamaru was Ino. She looked about ready to throttle the Hokage for the early call. But of course she was already properly dressed and her hair was put into her normal, long braid.

And last but not least was Kiba with Akamaru standing on Naruto's other side.

They were the only ones that looked completely awake and not ready to kill the Hokage on the spot.

“Old Hag, what is it you want?” Naruto couldn't resist but ask in spite of his tiredness.

“Brat, don't call me that!” Tsunade glared at Naruto, a vein throbbing on her forehead.

“You are here for an important mission. A rich merchant, a very, very rich merchant, requests to be protected on his trip to Waterfall Village. Shikamaru will be the leader of the team.”

“Why are we here and not the rest of fox face's team? Wouldn't it be a lot better if fox-face were with his team and not with us?” Kiba wanted to know.

“Of course it would be better!” The Hokage boomed. “But there is no way that can happen because Kakashi already is on an important mission. Sakura can't come because there are a lot of complex surgeries in the next time which she isn't able to perform yet and therefore has to learn and Sai is on an art exhibition.”

“He's what?!” Naruto asked, now completely awake.

Tsunade smirked, then she said, “Just kidding. Actually he's on an important mission as well.”

“Then why not take a team that's here completely?” Ino asked. “Because none of the other teams that is currently here suits this mission. Besides Naruto has already been there. It should be easier for you if someone on your group has already been there, given the circumstances that no one knows one hundred percent for sure where its location is.”

“What do you mean?” Kiba asked.

“How troublesome.” Shikamaru said, more asleep than awake.

Tsunade glared at him before she looked at Kiba.

“Waterfall Village is not a strong Ninja Village. Their strongest shinobi is their leader, who is as strong as one of our normal ninja. At least that is what our latest reports state.”

“Then how do they still exist?” Ino asked intrigued.

“Nobody knows where the entrance to the village is, except for the people who live there.”

“What?! So we're leading that guy somewhere into nothingness?” Kiba exclaimed.

Tsunade shook her head and explained, “No, the merchant will be leading you and when you are in a certain distance to the village and you and he assume it safe he will ask you to leave him. Besides that Naruto has been there once.”

“So the merchant is from the Waterfall Village?” Shikamaru asked.

Tsunade nodded her head and said, “I expect you not to follow after him. It is not for you to know where the village is.”

“But why did we have to be so early? The sun hasn't even risen yet.” Naruto complained.

Tsunade fixed him with a level stare, then she said, “Our costumer wants to depart as early as possible so that he will reach his village as early as possible.

“In fact”, she said, “he wants to depart in half an hour so I would suggest that you hurry and pack your things.”

Groaning was heard, but nevertheless the group disappeared to do as they were told.

After all it wouldn't be good for someone of the them not to be prepared.

Exactly half an hour later all of them were standing in front of the gates, even Shikamaru was there although Naruto had doubted the genius wouldn't fall asleep again. The merchant was already waiting, his two employees standing at his sides. Both of them were to carry the merchant's goods. The sun was just rising.

The merchant was in his mid forties, nevertheless his hair was still black. It was short as was his beard above his upper lip. However his face already had some wrinkles. He wore a grey hat, brown trousers, a green shirt and a simple brown vest.

Surprisingly, he wasn't fat. He probably had to work hard for his wealth and couldn't allow himself to get too corpulent or otherwise he wouldn't be able to work properly. A merchant from such a little village most likely had to work hard to survive the hard business of the global market.

Introductions were made, then they took of at a walking pace so that the packed employees could follow.

Naruto was still complaining about the “ungodly hour” but no one else took any notice of his rant.

“Shut it, Naruto, you're going on my nerves! I can't understand how Sakura survives this!” Ino shouted after one hour of Naruto's complaints.

“But, Ino-chan! Don't you think that it's too early for this kind of stuff as well?” Naruto asked.

She scowled at him and answered, “I may think the same as you but I can live with it. Take it like the shinobi you are!”

“Yeah, fox-face. One could think that you don't like to be on missions any more. Normally you are the first to volunteer for them.” Kiba said.

“Of course! I need the experience so that I can become Hokage one day!” Naruto said, already starting to grin like usual.

“Then why are you this grumpy?” Ino asked, irritated.

“Not feeling quite so well. I think it's the after effect of my fever.”

“How troublesome.” Shikamaru interjected.

Ino just rolled her eyes at her friend and then turned her gaze at Naruto. “But if you're not feeling well, then why are you on this mission?”

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and said, “The Old Lady wouldn't have let me go if it had been anything bad. Besides I would've pestered her long enough to give me a new mission anyway.”

“I'm travelling with an ill body guard?” The merchant asked alarmed.

Naruto shot him his best grin and said, “No, and even if I were my healing abilities are quite good. I'll be healthy again in a few hours.”

The group carried on until the sun set.

They made their camp in a slightly protected clearing in the forest that was on either side of the road they were travelling on, each of the ninja – and the nin-dog – taking watch in turn.

“So, fox face, you've been there? When?” Kiba wanted to know.

“Some years ago when I was still a genin and the bastard was still with us, we had to protect the leader of the Waterfall Village. He had been in Konoha for some reason. And when we reached the point where he wanted to separate from us we met two children who were admiring him to no end. We had been talked into cleaning a lake! That was soooo annoying!! And Kakashi-sensei got an urgent message form Konoha and had to return home. So unfair! He had to do the cool stuff while we were cleaning the damn lake! We should follow once we were done. After that however one of the villagers came to us, bleeding and all that stuff. Imagine how surprised we were. We learned that Waterfall Village was under attack from some rogue nin and Shibuki, the leader, decided to allow us entrance. And then the bastard and I beat the shit out of the rogue nin's leader””

“You were the little guy back then?” The merchant asked.

Naruto grinned and nodded his head. “Shibuki protected the village and tried to kill that stupid leader of the rogue nin Suien but got wounded, the bastard and I were beating the shit out of him, he fried that stupid 'Hero Water' – some stupid water that increases your chakra tenfolds... quite pathetic if you can't do anything without having some sort of drug at hand – and I made the killing blow. Man, did that Suien guy annoy the hell outta me!!”

The merchant looked at Naruto with a new perspective, not any longer with disdain and condescension, but with something akin to acknowledgement and disbelief.

Who would have guessed that the same ninja from back then was now again on a mission to Waterfall Village.

“You always were the one for justice.” Kiba said, grinning widely. “That had nothing to do with justice! He was just plain stupid and annoying! Besides that he threatened my friends!”

“Whatever.” Kiba said, grinning as if he knew that Naruto had done it for justice.

The group was travelling further on their way to Waterfall Village, when Kiba and Akamaru, who had been some steps in front of the rest, suddenly halted and Akamaru began growling and barking.

“I agree”, was Kiba's response, his forehead set into a frown.

“What is it?” Shikamaru asked.

“Akamaru and I can smell a large amount of blood in front of us.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SASUKE will make an appearance in about 2 chapters!!!

Hope you liked it!!!

And I forgot to mention that I'm gonna be home for Easter Break (that doesn't mean, though, that I've been very creative in UK) so if we're all lucky my muse struck me and I wrote something until then XD

R&R