A Darker World

Sneakyfox thank you for always reviewing in fact you are the only one to review the last chapter. Jiraiya isn't so much horrified as he is shocked. He knows they were forced to do things, but what he saw was genuine affection and like you said, they're so young.

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Shikamaru Nara walked down the streets of Konohagakure on his way to meet up with his team. For a second his eyes drifted towards the sky and the white puffy clouds, but the sight of the clouds only reminded him of the loss of his cloud gazing friend. His eyes quickly darted back down earthwards.

The accident had happened months ago, but he still missed Choji like it had happened yesterday. Everyone told him that he should simply let it go. It was an accident and there was nothing anyone could do about it. However, even after he had read the final report for himself, there was something about the incident that didn't seem right to him.

It seemed incredible that a simple wilderness survival exercise could turn deadly for two students. Particularly since the other student had been Sasuke who had never been anything but top of the class. Yet the same mudslide had taken them both. It didn't seem right to him. He shook his head to clear it. He was just rehashing the same ground again and it was getting him nowhere.

“Shikamaru you beat sensei here,” Ino shouted from underneath the tree their team was meeting at today.

He waved a greeting and as he got closer said, “Sensei is running late? That's unusual for her.”

“Yeah, you're usually the one holding us up,” Ino said with an over dramatic sigh.

“I've never been late. I just don't show up early,” Shikamaru said knowing that Ino was just trying to bait him. They had been a team for about six months now and in a way he didn't really understand they had meshed.

“True, but sometimes we could start our training earlier if you showed up earlier,” Shino said from where he leaned against the tree’s trunk.

He sighed, “I'm not a morning person, but, since you two are being so troublesome about it, I'll show up early tomorrow.”

Before the brief conversation between the three of them could die, a soft voice spoke up from behind him, “Sorry I'm late.”

Shikamaru turned around and said in almost synchronicity with his teammates, “Good morning Kurenai sensei.”

“Good morning,” she said finishing their morning ritual. “I just got out of a meeting with the Hokage regarding this team which was why I was late.”

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in surprise. There had been a meeting about his team? “Is everything okay?”

Kurenai nodded, “Yes of course, but I do have a question for you three. As you know Konoha will be hosting the Chunin Exam in about three months. We would like to have a good showing and the Hokage sees promise in this team, if you agree to participate.”

“He really thinks that about us?” Ino said voicing Shikamaru’s exact thoughts.

“Yes Ino. He believes you will.”

“Excuse me sensei,” Shino said, “but I believe to participate in the exam, it is required for a team to have eight D-ranked missions completed successfully along with at least one C- ranked mission which we have not done.”

She smiled as she answered, “Yes you are right Shino, but if you agree there is a C- ranked mission waiting for us to accept it today. If you three all agree.”

The trio was silent for a moment, but then Shino said, “I would be willing to give it a try.”

“Yeah me too,” Ino added. “I mean if the Hokage thinks we can, we might as well try.”

Shikamaru could feel the eyes of everyone fall on him and while he didn't have any interest in taking the exam himself, he didn't want to be the one to hold everyone else up. Mentally, he sighed and said troublesome to himself before saying out loud, “All right.”

“Well, since it's unanimous meet me at Mission Hall in fifteen minutes. The mission should take a little more than a month so pack accordingly.” With that said Kurenai made a hand sign and disappeared with a cloud of smoke.

Her quick disappearance proved she knew her team well as Ino complained loudly, “A month! What type of mission takes a month? I mean what about clean clothes? I don't want to smell you two for a month.”

“I should hurry, my family lives pretty far from here,” Shino said beating a hasty retreat.

“Yeah, mine too,” Shikamaru said leaving Ino behind to complain to herself.

Shikamaru’s mother was the type of woman who liked to be prepared. Every week she made sure her son packed a bag suitable for a long mission, saying, “You never know when you will have to get up and leave in a hurry.”

He considered it a real drag, but because of his mother’s caution, he only had to grab his bag and leave a note on the fridge saying, have mission month-long love Shikamaru. It was his first time leaving such a note, although, he was used to finding them from his parents and it felt kind of weird. He actually felt like a ninja for the first time since he received his forehead protector.

Arriving at Mission Hall before either of his two teammates, he ended up waiting alone with his sensei. For a second, he thought of trying to get a few more details out of her about the mission, but figured he would just have to hear it all over again once his other two teammates showed up. Shino showed up a few minutes after he did and Ino barely managed to make it in under the fifteen minute window.

Kurenai then led them into Mission Hall which had almost become a familiar sight to Shikamaru. He had been here eight times before to receive the dullest of D-ranked missions and this time the room was no different. Danzou, the leader of their village, looked up at the entrance and said in a raspy voice, “You chose to accept the mission, good.”

Like the other eight times Shikamaru had seen their Hokage this close, he found his eyes wandering to the scar on his throat. It moved up and down when he spoke and it sort of reminded him of a chicken. There were rumors about the scar. Some said it wasn't an old battle injury like the loss of his eye or his arm, but more recent. He always meant to ask his father about it, but it wasn't like it was important.

A man came in from the side door and he looked like he was ready to go on a trip somewhere. He eyed them and Shikamaru had the impression, he didn't like what he saw.

“This man is Tazuna, an engineer building a very important bridge in his home country of Wave. You are to escort him back there and continue to guard him and his work site from bandits and thieves. It is estimated that this mission will last a month though that is not a firm date. Your resulting pay will be adjusted accordingly. Any questions?”

“Yeah, I got one,” their clients said taking a swig from a sake bottle. “Why are you having kids protect me. They look like they're only a few years older than my grandson.”

Shikamaru definitely didn't like this man, but fortunately Kurenai stood up for her team. “Tazuna Sir, I understand your reluctance to believe that these three that look so much like children could fight off bandits, but I assure you they are skilled. Each of them comes from a family of ninjas and from a very young age has been trained in deadly arts. In short, no one would want to meet any of these three in a dark alley.”

Tazuna stared at them for a minute, but was either convinced by their sensei’s speech or simply didn't see another option as he shrugged in acceptance. Shikamaru could tell, though, that Ino did not like this client. One of the things he had learned about her was that she did take pride in her skills, even if it wasn't always self-evident.

Kurenai and Tazuna quickly discussed some minor details about their travel arrangements and then they set off. It wasn't until they passed the gates of Konoha that his team fell into a formation around the client. Shino took the point, walking a good ten feet in front of them and surreptitiously leading his bugs out to scout on ahead. Ino and he flanked their client with their sensei bringing up the rear.

They continued on this way for nearly an hour before their client finally broke the silence. “Sorry, about before. It really looks like you know what you're doing.”

“Of course we know. It's what we've been trained to do,” Ino sneered.

Shikamaru quickly added, “It's understandable. Being a ninja is just one of those things that best to start when you're young.”

“Do you have any choice then? I mean in being a ninja. When I was your age I had no clue of what I wanted to be,” Tazuna said taking a swig from his bottle.

“It's a living,” he answered with a shrug.

“Technically no one's forcing them,” Kurenai spoke up from the rear.

“Technically,” the man echoed not sounding convinced.

“Well, in these three circumstances they are coming from a long line of ninjas. I suppose there's a certain family pressure there, but if any of them said tomorrow that they quit, that would be the end of it. Even if their families objected the village would support their decision simply because if a ninja's heart really isn't in it they tend to get people killed.”

Or worse, Shikamaru added in his head thinking of some entries he had read in the Bingo book.

“Still, how can you tell this is what you want?”

“It's a pretty good living,” Ino said surprising everyone. She seemed to notice this and added, “My dad's a ninja, but my mom is a civilian. She owns a flower shop, but I know my dad makes more than her.”

“So how young do you guys start out,” the man asked trying to make conversation.

Kurenai answered the question for her students. “Well, strictly speaking they start at age six, but their first two years at the Academy isn't much different than any schooling. There's a little more emphasis on physical conditioning and they do learn how to handle weapons, even if none have sharp edges though.”

“Are all hidden villages like that?”

Their sensei paused here which caught Shikamaru's attention as he wasn't really sure how other villages handled training. “For the most part we all follow the same formula now. However, our village is different in one aspect. Usually at the age of twelve students graduate from their respective academies and become Genin. They're put on teams for further training and that is how it used to be in our village too, but in recent years it has changed.”

“Change,” Tazuna said sounding interested.

“Yes. You see the last year of the Academy is actually only three months instead of the standard year. There is no real graduation exam anymore and simply all students are put on Genin teams for a minimum of three months. Most teams stick together, but a few students begin to specialize. For example, if their fighting skills really aren't up to snuff, but they are intelligent they might start to be trained as an analyst for intelligence or code breaking. If they have extraordinarily good chakra control perhaps they'll be sent over to the medical corps to become a doctor or nurse. Those who stay on their teams pursue a more general training and will eventually become of what most people think of as a ninja.”

Tazuna was silent for a minute before saying, “That sounds reasonable. Why is it that only your village does it?”

“Because it costs Ryo,” she replied. “During those three months, they are directly overseen by a Jonin which is the highest-ranking ninja that can be given a mission. Not all villages can afford to do that.”

“But, I checked around. Konohagakure has the cheapest rates. How do you manage that?”

Shikamaru was kind of interested in hearing the answer to that too, but before his sensei could answer that question she shouted, “Scatter!”

His training kicked in and he jumped off the road into the knee-high grass. As he landed he rolled, losing his pack to free up his movements. He felt and heard an explosion before sparing a glance over to where they had been. Where their client had been standing was a small crater. However, no one seemed hurt. Ino had jumped to the other side of the road while Kurenai had jumped back, pulling the client along with her. Shino, who had been in no danger, was crouched in the middle of the road.

“I missed,” an unfamiliar raspy voice said.

Shikamaru turned towards the voice which had come from behind the group. The man was wearing a cloak that obscured his features, but he could see that he was holding two strange looking swords. Strangest of all, though, was that the man was just standing there even after he launched an attack. It was so counterintuitive to everything he had learned that he immediately thought he had to be a distraction, but after a few seconds no other attacks came.

“Just have to kill the old man, but the others are getting in the way.”

Is this guy talking to himself Shikamaru thought? Great, they had been attacked by some crazy ninja guy.

“Shikamaru,” Ino whispered from across the road, “anytime you're ready.”

The young Genin shook his head. He could tell there was something not right about the situation, but his team had practiced capturing individuals like this. With the grass hiding his hands, Shikamaru extended his shadow, but not directly at their target. Instead, he sent it to the woods towards his right so he could simultaneously extend his shadow while hiding its approach from his target. When he was in striking range, he shifted his weight which was a signal to Ino who signaled Shino to attack.

What happened next was almost perfect. A swarm of insects flew out of the woods to buzz around their enemies head. It was supposed to be a distraction and it worked, but at a cost. The man performed a quick Jutsu that sent electricity across his body which basically made him a giant bug zapper. That didn't matter, though, as at that very second his shadow darted out from the woods, only to have him jump away at the very last second.

He sent his shadow after him, but the man was surprisingly agile, flipping across the field while simultaneously blocking the kunai that both Ino and Kurenai were throwing at him. Landing on the opposite end of the field, he snarled, “I'll kill you later,” and flipped into the trees disappearing.

From start to finish, the whole attack had happened in less than five minutes and Shikamaru was left feeling kind of stunned. Had that really been a battle? He wasn't sure, but once he was sure that the man wasn't coming back he got up and headed towards his sensei as did his other two teammates.

She was glaring at Tazuna who was looking guilty. “That was no ordinary bandit. That was a ninja and he was coming after you. Why?”

The man shifted, clearly uncomfortable and after a moment said, “Well, I wasn't sure, but somebody may want me dead.”

“Why would someone hire an assassin to kill you? You're an engineer building a bridge. What haven't you told us?” Kurenai demanded in a tone none of her students had ever heard her use before.

The man nodded slowly, almost to himself. “I am just building a bridge and that's why there are people who want me dead.” He told them the story of his country and of a little man with big ambitions. Then he told them the trials and tribulations of building his little bridge and the threats his workers had endured. The villain of the story seemed to lack any scruples, sinking as low as he needed to maintain his monopoly.

“Then a few months ago Gato died.” Tazuna paused here in his story for a second as if savoring the moment. "We thought it was a godsend and for a while work went into overdrive. For a while we didn't have any problems, but someone must've finally taken over the old organization and it's happening all over again.”

The man straightened and said desperately, “Were only two weeks away from completion if I could get all my workers back. I just need a little time.”

Shikamaru had listened to the man's story and he really did want to help, but when he looked over at his sensei she was shaking her head. “Why didn't you tell us this? This mission is far beyond the scope of a Genin team. It's B-ranked at the least maybe even A.”

“I would have,” the man said cutting her off, “but we can't afford one of those missions. I could hardly afford this one.”

There was a long pause and Shikamaru watched the stoic expression of his sensei, knowing her well enough that her outward calm demeanor was not what she was feeling. He was pretty sure what she was going to say, but the words still surprised even him.

“I'm sorry, but it would be irresponsible of me to continue this mission knowing what I know now. Even if we were to succeed I would certainly be relieved of command of this team and if one of you were killed, I couldn't live with myself.”

“Sensei,” Ino said speaking up, “let's try. I'll accept the risk.”

“Ino,” Kurenai cut her off sharply. “That is noble of you, but I hit that man with two Genjutsu and he shrugged them off as if he didn't even notice them. Now that I think about it I think I remember where I have seen those particular swords from before too. They're very unique and I believe they were specially made for one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. That means that man is an elite assassin. Don't be mistaken, he allowed us to live, this time.”

“Couldn't the village set up some sort of payment system,” Shino ventured. “It's not like they couldn't pay one day for a higher ranked mission.”

“No, there's not a chance of that happening,” Kurenai answered. “It would set a precedent and no hidden village could survive with such a system of payment.” She paused for a moment and Shikamaru wondered if she was expecting him to voice an objection. After a moment, she continued, “For what it's worth, I am truly sorry. If things were different, well they're not,” she said lowering her head

“Yeah, I get it,” Tazuna said.

“All right, let's go home.”

Walking past Tazuna was hard. He wanted to shout, to say he didn't care about the damn risks, but he fell in behind his sensei because even though he had been moved by the man's story, he understood why it couldn't be. Glancing backwards once, he saw the man, who was now slumped, shouldered. When he turned back around he heard the shattering of what sounded like a bottle against the ground and winced. He did understand why they couldn't continue the mission, but doing the right thing had never felt so bad before.

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Naruto stood alone in a quiet forest. Then, with one quick movement, he drew three kunai, throwing them at a tree. A second later, he groaned in disappointment. Only one of the kunai had stuck to the tree, while another had bounced off of it and the third had missed altogether. He went to retrieve his weapons and tried to console himself with the thought that a few months ago he wouldn't have even been able to get one in the tree. Jiraiya said he was doing pretty well with throwing weapons, but he wanted to be able to throw three at once and hit three different targets.

Over the last three months, Naruto had found that he liked training. It gave him a sense of power. It was nowhere near how he felt when he had taken Konohamaru away from the House, but it was something and he liked it.

Jiraiya’s training schedule was a lot different than what he remembered at the Academy. Of course, back then he didn't remember paying all that much attention when he was in class. Apparently, traditionally there were eighteen disciplines to become a ninja, but the Academy only taught nine of those. His abbreviated training was only to cover five of those disciplines or so Jiraiya had explained to him and Konohamaru on their first day of training.

Naruto was not sure, but when he had been attending the Academy, he probably would've preferred this abbreviated training. However, now he held a secret desire and that was he wanted to learn all of the eighteen disciplines and more. In his mind he hadn't quite fully worked out the reasoning for that, but somehow he had decided that he wanted to be strong enough to set his own rules.

Of course, he would need more than just the eighteen disciplines. Naruto knew he would need to be strong and that too was covered in Jiraiya’s training. A smile crossed his lips as he bent over to pick up the kunai that had missed the tree. He and Konohamaru had never been fat, but he could tell they were developing muscles.

Their training had so far lasted only three months and in that time much of his suspicions of Jiraiya had faded. The man was nice to them and only seemed to demand that they try their hardest in return. Jiraiya had even known his birthday and they had celebrated accordingly. They had gone into a town where he and Konohamaru had been treated to a meal consisting almost entirely of junk food. They had then rented a room at an Inn where Jiraiya had announced he had no intention of returning before dawn.

The thought of that night could still bring a smile to his face. Jiraiya had warned about kissing in public and when they were in a town Naruto tried to remember to do that. However, he also picked up on the fact that their sensei wasn't comfortable with them kissing in front of him either. He might've been more annoyed by that if a mysterious bottle of lube had not appeared in the pack he carried the day he had received it.

It was small things like that which helped build trust between the three of them. The man's acts of kindness were at often times small, but never really stated. They weren't conditional either, like the candy bars had been at the House. About the only time he ever made a big deal about doing something for them was with Konohamaru's lamp. After one dark night, which had almost sent Konohamaru into a panic, the man had gone into a small village and purchased a lamp which they used on especially dark nights. Jiraiya complained about it ruining his night vision and always slept further away from them on those nights.

Naruto was pulled out of his thoughts by a child's cry. As they were in the middle of the woods he knew it had to be Konohamaru, and without another thought ran in the direction of the cry. It turns out his friend wasn't that far away and when Naruto saw his predicament, he had to stop from laughing.

Konohamaru had stepped into a snare trap and was currently hanging upside down his little arms maybe a foot off the ground. He was also currently glaring with all his might at a small monkey named Monkiibijinesu who was perched in a nearby tree and seemed to be amused by the whole situation.

“You okay?” Naruto asked as he came towards Konohamaru.

“Yeah,” Konohamaru said not taking his eyes off of the monkey. Then he added to the monkey, “You cheated! You never said you were going to use traps.”

“I didn't?” The monkey answered trying to sound as if he was surprised. “Well, I'm sure I didn't say I wasn't going to use them.”

“Yeah, but you didn't say you were going to use them either,” Konohamaru complained.

Monkiibijinesu folded his arms and nodded, which required him to bend his whole body as if he was giving little bows. “That is true, but your objective was to catch me and mine was not to be caught. Laying traps is a good way to slow down your enemy. Now before you accuse me of cheating again, if this was a real chase do you think I would really care if I played fair or not?”

Naruto waited, but Konohamaru didn't say anything to that so he said, “I'm going to cut you down.”

Grabbing the rope just below where he was going to cut it, he slashed the kunai clean through the rope which was another thing he wouldn't have been able to do a few months ago. He also couldn't have supported Konohamaru’s weight with one arm even for a second, but now, well, at least it was a controlled crash to the ground.

“Well, young Sarutobi, I guess this is it for today. You didn't catch me today, but perhaps tomorrow you will catch me or perhaps not.” With that, the monkey disappeared with a puff of smoke going back to wherever it came from.

“I hate this,” Konohamaru said loosening the rope around his ankle before throwing it aside. “Why do I have to chase some monkey around to build up my stamina?”

“Well Jiraiya said stamina is important and you are improving. Remember you used to have to take breaks and now you can chase him for the whole two hours.” Konohamaru was looking away from him and sensing something was really bothering his friend, he sat down and asked, “What's wrong?”

Konohamaru was silent for a moment before he finally spoke up. “Monkiibijinesu keeps talking about my family and some of them I sort of remember, but when I try to think about them, I can't really remember much.”

Naruto frowned. He kind of had trouble remembering things, but when he really thought about it he could remember Konoha and his life before the House. His memories were not really happy, but it shouldn't be that way for Konohamaru. Perhaps since he had been younger he couldn't remember as well. That didn't sound like that would be a good thing to tell him right now though.

“I wouldn't worry about it too much. I attended the Academy, but I don't remember much of it. I mean you're picking up chakra manipulation a lot quicker than I am and I'm supposed to have learned some of this stuff.”

“Yeah, that's true. Jiraiya told me you are his worst student ever.”

Naruto smiled at the jab and pushed Konohamaru over playfully before tickling his side and saying, “He didn't say that. Admit you're lying.” Konohamaru giggled as Naruto’s hands slipped under his shirt. Over his friends giggling, though, he suddenly heard someone clearing their throat very loudly which caused him to look up. “Hi, Jiraiya, we were just taking a break.”

“Yeah, I can see. Listen I just met up with one of my contacts and he told me where this guy I have been looking for might be in a few days. So pack up, we're heading out.”

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Authors note: Monkiibijinesu should translate as monkey business. Oh how I amuse myself.