InuYasha Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Sensei Exchange ❯ Mission One, Part I ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter Four:

Mission One, Part I

 

She jumped, grabbing the holster on her thigh as she gazed down at the kunai that had landed between her feet. Her breath picked up, wondering if they were under attack, if she needed to be ready at that moment. However, when she sensed nothing, and was not impaled by more projectiles, she allowed herself to gaze closely at the kunai resting so innocently between her feet. On it was a strip of white paper, and she watched as it blew lightly in the wind, the words jumping out at her instantly. Her eyes widened, before she nearly lost her footing, wondering at the strange little doodle that had been printed onto the strip of paper after the written message.

 

Bending down to take the kunai from the ground, she glanced upward, and wondered for a moment if the quick movements within the shadows was the new sensei her new squad had been assigned to, or merely something she had seen. TenTen was not quite sure, but knew there was a good possibility it was from the message she had been given. She shuddered slightly, wishing that she could have convinced Gai-sensei to put her onto another squad, but knew from watching Naruto that that was not going to happen.

 

Once more TenTen glanced down at the message on the strip of paper, and twitched. The Sunagakure shinobi obviously thought highly of himself, especially if his companions constantly turned hostile on him, as Neji's new sensei had done. However, she could not help but allow her lips to twitch slightly at the words printed neatly and boldly on the thin paper.

 

`TenTen, you have twenty minutes to meet me at the spot I chose. From, your devilishly handsome new sensei, Miroku.'

 

After it was a small doodle of himself giving her a smirk while holding his chin in his hand. It was a rough sketch, poorly drawn, but obvious in design of what it was supposed to be. That, and the way he had signed his name was the most ridiculous thing someone had ever given her, whether it was for missions or otherwise. Not only that, but as she peered closer, she realized that there were little arrows pointing to the doodle, and little fireworks, while descriptive words had been sprawled all around it in a rather awkward circle.

 

Tucking the kunai away, TenTen turned away in order to return inside to retrieve the items she was not currently carrying. After all, she sighed, there was no telling what her new sensei was going to put her through, and she had a feeling that she would need to protect her butt.

 

OoO

 

“So, did you determine anything good about your squad last night, Kagome?” Temari asked. She ignored Kankurou when he muttered about how she should not care, taking note how the girl following her younger brother turned slightly toward her with a smile.

 

“I believe they will work well together!” Kagome exclaimed. “Of course, that will be after I stop them from hating each other, since I felt a lot of hostility as I left between Neji and Sasuke.”

 

“Well, they are of rival clans,” Temari nodded. “Like you and Inuyasha.”

 

“Hah!” Kagome laughed. “That dobe isn't my rival, he's simply a nuisance that I have not been assigned to kill yet. Once I am, though, he'll go down without much trouble, since my clan's techniques have been specifically designed in order to counter anything a Taisho throws at us. Then, no one will ever get the wrong impression about us again, because they will know that my clan is better than his.”

 

Kankurou smirked, deciding to nudge his way into the conversation. “Isn't it said that a long time ago your clans were nearly family?” he asked. He watched as Kagome stiffened, and knew that she was about to blow, but shifted his eyes slightly as she swiftly turned halfway, her chest heaving in her anger. His eyes gleamed, enjoying the sight as she spouted off some nonsense about them never being close, when it was common knowledge in Sunagakure that they had been very close until some type of betrayal inside the clans.

 

“—there is no way that I would ever consider that stupid rumor true!” Kagome growled. “Our clans are far too different to have ever been close, and they never will be!”

 

Temari shook her head, before slapping the back of Kankurou's head when she noticed where his eyes were located. Kagome refused to wear anything loose fitting, declaring that her traditional Higurashi robes showed her status both as a member of her clan and a member of Suna. However, she knew full well that it caused her body to be shown a bit more than the girl would like it to be, no matter how good it was in certain situations. One day the Higurashi would realize that and most likely switch to the more causal clothing of her clan, but for now she would simply stop Kankurou from ogling her like a piece of meat.

 

“Ow, what the hell, Temari!” Kankurou shouted. “I didn't do anything wrong!”

 

“Yeah,” Temari drew out, shaking her head slightly. “I saw where you were looking.”

 

Kankurou scowled, “I was not!”

 

“Were too!” Temari growled.

 

“Was not!”

 

“Were too!”

 

“Was not!”

 

“Yes, you were!”

 

Kagome blinked, inching closer to Gaara as the siblings fought between themselves. Shifting herself, she smiled at the Kazekage's back as they moved toward the Hokage Tower. Her eyes shined, before she realized something as she watched him take each step. “Kazekage-sama?” she asked.

 

Gaara turned his head only slightly to show he was listening. He wanted to get the additional meeting with Tsunade over with as quickly as possible, which meant getting his siblings there and making Temari speak as quickly as she could. However, he had a feeling that the Godaime Hokage would not be so well this morning from the muttering he had heard from the ANBU assigned to tell them she was ready to see them. Apparently Shizune had been unable to stop her from heading out the night before, which meant Tsunade would be even more irritable this morning and want them out as soon as possible so she could sleep.

 

“Who will guard you while I am teaching these Konohagakure shinobi?” Kagome asked, her eyes flashing. “I know that I cannot go against your word, Gaara-sama, but I cannot leave you unprotected. My first priority is to keep you safe, and I think that would be the highest priority of any shinobi from Suna.”

 

Gaara paused in step, and finally stopped. He noticed that his elder siblings had stopped as well, eyeing him a bit in curiosity, but it did not matter to him if they saw. Brushing his hand over his clothing, he said, “I am not defenseless.”

 

“I know, but—” Kagome began heatedly, but stopped when his hand rose for silence. She knew her bounds, and she knew that she would do as he told her to. She would never defy his word, but she was concerned for his safety now that she had realized she would spend most of her time with her new squad and not by her Kazekage's side.

 

She settled her hand onto the younger girl's shoulder, and watched as she glanced up at her. “It has already been decided that Kankurou and I will be watching Gaara's back while you're with your squad. Tsunade-sama even said last night that she would be willing to give up a few ANBU if it becomes apparent that we can't handle ourselves. Don't worry so much, Kagome,” Temari said softly. “Besides, you'll be the first to know if we need your help, and I'm sure you'll be the first to get there.”

 

Her eyes blazed, “Of course. I will protect Gaara-sama with my life.”

 

“Tch,” Kankurou muttered, “not like you're going to have to. Gaara can take care of himself, and with us following him around, I'm sure that we'll have no problems, and you can go back to standing at his side in Suna real soon. It's not like you need to get your panties into a bunch.”

 

Temari swung at her brother again, watching as he moved in order to avoid the attack. “You're such a pervert, Kankurou,” Temari seethed.

 

“Hey, what did I do now?” Kankurou asked, his eyes widening when Temari's hand went to the strap of her fan. He never understood why Temari felt the need to hit him, when it was clear that Gaara was constantly getting all the action. Hell, his brother had been like a monster less than a year ago and already he had a woman that wanted to stand at his side for no reason other than to protect him. Gaara got to stare at her while she wore that tight clothing, and order her to do anything that he wanted her to do. Gaara was probably the one constantly dreaming of what he would do to her, so why was it that he was constantly the one being hit?

 

Kagome ignored them, turning her eyes back to the aqua ones staring at her. She then lowered her eyes respectively, wondering why she felt a little weak because she could not do both at the same time. “I understand now, Gaara-sama,” she said. “I will do as you have assigned me, and train my squad the best I can.”

 

Gaara turned away, knowing that she would do as she said, for she had never lied. His eyes shut for a moment, allowing the feeling that swept over him to sink deep into his mind and settle there. He was glad that he had had his battle with Naruto, because the world he saw now was much better than the world he had seen before. Turning his head only slightly to watch her begin to follow him, he was glad that she had wanted to work beside him. Her loyalty was something amazing, and he knew that he had been lucky to have it directed toward him.

 

OoO

 

As soon as the ANBU posted outside the Hokage's office saw who had arrived, the door was swiftly opened, whether the Hokage was prepared for his visit for not. However, Gaara did not acknowledge the masked man with more than a glare when he noticed that his head had turned to the girl standing behind him and just a bit to the left. He was pleased when the ANBU swiftly turned his head, but the small amount of anger bubbling beneath his skin did not leave until he was positive she had entered the Hokage's office and the door was shut behind them. So, it was obvious how Tsunade managed to notice and snicker knowingly at his tense stance.

 

Tsunade rubbed a bit at the sore spot on her forehead, before giving a small yawn. “So,” she began, glancing at the black clothed Higurashi, “this is the final brat you brought with you?” She snickered again when she noticed that Gaara began to glare at her, and wondered if she should try and provoke him a bit more, but decided against it when she noticed the slight rattling of his gourd. She had a feeling that he had a long way before he was completely rid of his killing instinct—the wish to kill that Naruto had once described to her—and she did not wish to be challenged or killed because she had insulted his little girlfriend.

 

Temari quickly stepped forward, remembering a time when someone had tried to get Kagome to go out on a date while using some misplaced words. “Yes,” she said, “this is Higurashi Kagome. I believe that we gave you the information you needed on her yesterday.”

 

Tsunade shoved a bit of her paperwork around, and opened the folder that she discovered under the surprisingly small stack. She looked over it, and then ordered the girl to step forward. She was a happy that she was not like that Inuyasha boy, because she instantly did was commanded of her. “I am sure you already know that there is a chance for an imposter to slip by our notice,” she received a nod, “which is the reason that I must ask you some personal questions.”

 

“Of course, Hokage-sama, ask whatever you wish of me,” Kagome replied. She had nothing to hide, especially not in front of her Kazekage.

 

“How many siblings do you have?” Tsunade asked instantly. It was a basic question, one that anyone could have found out, but she would ask the questions the way she felt she needed to. Then, when she was sure the girl was tired of being questioned, she would ask her something that only the true Higurashi Kagome would know. If she paused in answering, or could not, she was not even sure she would get the imposter into a jail cell before Gaara attacked, demanding answers.

 

“Two, but one is disowned and no longer considered apart of my family.”

 

“Name the one not disowned,” Tsunade stated her next question.

 

“Higurashi Souta,” Kagome said.

 

“Your father's occupation?”

 

“ANBU, he was killed in action,” Kagome swallowed a bit. Though it was true, it hurt just a bit to know that again she had had to remind herself that one day he was not simply going to walk in the door. Shinobi died, it was the way of life, and he had wanted to die honorably and he had gotten his wish.

 

Tsunade noticed the pain in the girl's eyes when she answered the question more than she had needed to. In fact, she was about to ask when he had died, and how, but decided to direct her questioning elsewhere. She understood that look, knew how much it hurt to have someone torn away from her, and her doubt that this was Higurashi Kagome softened a bit. “When did you become a genin?”

 

“At the age of six,” she answered.

 

Tsunade then asked for the exact date and received the answer just as quickly. “Your squad, who did it include?”

 

“Higurashi Chinatsu, Taisho Inuyasha, and Yasuo Miroku,” Kagome said.

 

Tsunade shuffled through the paperwork a bit, and then spotted something a bit odd for a Sunagakure shinobi. So, with a small smile, she lifted her head and asked, “What animal are you able to summon, and at what age did you learn the technique?”

 

Kagome straightened herself a bit more, “I learned how to summon on my tenth birthday, a gift from my mother. The creature I summon is a—”

 

OoO

 

Naruto scowled, watching Kiba as he patted Akamaru on the head. The nin-dog backed and wagged his tail, before snickering at something that Kiba said. However, he was not really paying attention to what was happening between them, his mind going back to when a stupid kunai broke through his apartment window and dug a nice hole in his floor—just more damage that he would have to pay for, even if he had not caused it. Not to mention the one who did it was most likely not going to do anything about it, and he could only hope that he did not continue to do it for the remainder of the time he was there.

 

With a huff Naruto slumped to the ground, crossing his legs very childishly as he glared at the ground. This sensei was already as bad as Kakashi-sensei, since he was ten minutes later than his note stated he would be, and he had hit on Sakura as if she was nothing more than one of Kakashi-sensei's novels.

 

TenTen gave a small sigh, wondering why their new sensei was already twenty minutes later than he said he was going to be. However, she had taken notice that she had arrived first, which meant that he had probably given her the message first, which meant he was not that late, but definitely late. Though, that gave her reason to glance about once or twice, wondering if he had been in the trees watching them, watching her, and waiting for a moment in order to—

 

“Hello, my delightful students!”

 

Reflectively, Naruto jumped to his feet and yelled, “YOU'RE LATE!” After the words left his mouth, he glanced around, wondering why Sakura's voice had not added to the volume of his own, only to realize that they had been placed onto different squads. He sighed, and twitched, because Sakura had gotten the guy with the cool sword, and Sasuke got the pretty girl with the awesome jutsu, while he got the pervert.

 

Miroku scratched the back of his neck lightly, before saying, “There is a wonderful explanation for that. I randomly chose which of you I gave my messages to, and then I waited in order to see if you would follow my instructions. I'm sure you're aware that it is good to follow your sensei's instructions, but perhaps not if it endangers the life of your teammate. So, I merely wanted to practice a routine exercise that my sensei often pulled on me, though she usually had Inuyasha and myself up three hours before the arrival time and brought Kagome when she felt we'd waited long enough.”

 

“That doesn't explain why you left us waiting here so long after we all arrived!” Naruto shouted.

 

“Ah, that is easily explained as well,” Miroku grinned charmingly, “because there were three lovely young ladies that seemed to just draw my attention to them. And though they tried to deny it, they were only playing hard to get—”

 

Akamaru barked suddenly, and Kiba looked down at his companion nodding. “Yeah, I noticed that stink, too,” he smirked. Then, turning his head toward the fourteen-year-old supposed to be their sensei, he said, “Akamaru and I think that those women were really hard to get, since they were giving off a scent that would tell even the dumbest animal that they weren't welcome.”

 

Miroku scowled, “Yes, well they simply did not know what they wanted. They were obviously confused after I stepped into their path so dazzlingly. After all, it is easy to get confused when someone such as I steps into the path of such a lovely female while they are talking with their fellows about the newest fashion. They were simply bewildered.”

 

“More like hostile,” Kiba chuckled. Akamaru gave a humorous bark, letting out a few dog-like chuckles as he wagged his tail and turned his attention back to his partner. And within seconds Kiba had returned to his discussion with Akamaru, both of them happy to have one another, instead of being completely alone with people they did not know how to work with.

 

Miroku shook his head, before smoothing his bangs back a bit. “Even so, I also had to finish setting up a few things. I am now done, and we may begin whenever you would like, since I must teach you something while you're under my watchful eye. Especially since I promised Naruto that I would help him learn a jutsu as wonderful as Kagome-sama's, though I am sure she would tell me that it is not nearly as great.” He grinned humorously, remembering all the times that Kagome had turned on Inuyasha because of his foolish words. He was glad for the Taisho's actions, since it relieved him of most of her hostility.

 

Naruto suddenly grinned, “Yeah! What are you gonna teach me, hentai-sensei? Huh? Huh?” He fisted his hands, thrusting them out in front of him as he bent over a bit. “I'll bet that it'll be totally awesome, and I'll beat Sasuke-teme's butt when I use it against him. He won't know what hit him—”

 

“Well, I did not plan on beginning that exercise until later,” Miroku sighed. “So, I'm afraid you'll have to make due with what I have prepared at the moment, Naruto.”

 

“—and then I'll show him just how good of a Hokage I'll be,” Naruto continued, still grinning widely. Then, something came to mind, and his smile began to falter as he said, “But… Sasuke-teme's got Kagome-sensei to teach him, and she'll probably teach him that awesome black dragon technique. She'll probably have tons of totally awesome jutsu to teach him, and… and she'll probably be able to teach him all of them because of that stupid sharingan he's got!” By the time he had entered this part of his thought, his smile was gone, and a deep frown had settled onto his face. “He'll probably even be able to get a kiss.”

 

Miroku, catching onto Naruto's train of thought, chuckled loudly. When he had caught the other shinobi's attention, he said, “I doubt that, Naruto.”

 

“What do you know, hentai-sensei?” Naruto scowled. “Sasuke-teme's got lots of women falling at his feet for no reason! He's got a huge fan club! I kind of feel bad for him sometimes because he's got all those girls chasing after him, pretty or not!”

 

Miroku shook his head, “You'll find by the end of these two weeks that Kagome-sama is not like most other women. And neither is my dear, sweet Sango.” A light, distant expression filled his face as he stared up into the clouds for a few moments, the image of his dear, sweet Sango coming to mind. And then, slowly, the clouds began to form into beautiful bikini clad girls, all of them winking and waving at him. Then, oh then, he watched as Sango's image replaced them all, Kagome standing just behind her shyly, both with a passion in their eyes just for him.

 

Naruto blinked, his features softening as he wondered what that could possibly mean. However, as he watched Miroku's expression change, he knew instantly when he had turned into an exact copy of Kakashi-sensei and Ero-Sannin, and he scowled distastefully. Pretty women were one thing, but he would never understand why the older shinobi around him needed to fantasize so much, instead of simply going after the real thing.

 

“Oh, Sango,” Miroku sighed blissfully, earning him odd and disgusted looks.

 

OoO

 

“So, Kagome, did you ever arrange a meeting time for your squad?” Temari asked. She glanced back at the Hokage Tower, wondering why in the world Tsunade had taken so long to ask one simple question that only a Higurashi would know. She would have just asked in the first place instead of trying to wear her down, but she also knew it was Higurashi Kagome from the way she acted and responded around her brother. She had watched them close enough for the last few months to know that an imposter would never be able to respond correctly—and she was positive that Gaara knew that, too, which meant any imposter would most likely die at the first mistake.

 

“Oh, I didn't give them an exact time, but I told them to go to the Ichiraku Ramen stand at eight,” Kagome grinned. “I put a sign up saying that if I wasn't there that they should go to training ground eight and wait in a meditative state.”

 

“Are they even going to know what that means?” Kankurou asked suddenly.

 

“Probably not,” Kagome smiled, “since my clan does do a few odd things, but I'm hoping that at least one of them will. Even if they don't, that's not important, since I'm not here to teach them that, but to broaden their shinobi techniques.” She tilted her head to one side, and said, “I'm expecting to find Hinata trying, Neji bored, and Sasuke sitting in a tree somewhere, though!”

 

Kankurou shook his head, before saying, “I don't see how the Hokage could think anyone would be able to impersonate you. Everyone in your clan is odd.”

 

Kagome turned to glare at him, fire burning within her eyes. “Tell me, would you like to know what it feels like to take Inuyasha's punishment for five minutes, Kankurou?” she asked. “Because, at this moment, I think I would very much like to teach you how hard he hits the ground.”

 

Kankurou shuddered, and quickly shook his head. Once the girl returned to watching Gaara's back, he sighed and muttered about how angry she always was around him. It was not his fault that her clan did such odd things—probably hiding something, as he had always said—and there was no reason for her to suddenly turn on him. Hell, he was the Kazekage's brother, he deserved a bit of respect once in a while, yet she seemed to often ask him whether he would like to be hit like Miroku or beaten like Inuyasha.

 

Temari smiled, and fell back so that she was in step with Kagome. “How long do you plan on making them wait?” she asked after a few moments. If she remembered correctly, Kagome's sensei had been a woman who often liked to drink before missions, be late on more than one occasion, and constantly tease her about the fact that they were related. It would only be right if she had picked up a bit of her habits, though she knew the girl would ever touch any heavy alcohol and was far too nice to keep anyone waiting for more than twenty minutes. In fact, she remembered a time that she almost hurt herself because she had woken late, thus arriving in the Kazekage office late—but, of course, that could have been because she felt she had disappointed him in her tardiness.

 

“Not long,” Kagome smiled. “I made sure to go there yesterday with Hatake-san when he offered and I set everything up.”

 

“What are you planning to make them do?” Temari asked curiously. She had often heard that Kagome's sensei had been slightly insane, so there was a chance that some of it was handed down to her relative.

 

“I'm planning on making them search for—”

 

OoO

 

Hinata frowned, before saying, “Neji-nii-san, I-I really think that y-you should be at least trying to do w-what Kagome-sensei asked of us.”

 

Neji sent her a small look, and shook his head. “I see no point in meditating the mind,” he replied. “I am not facing danger, and at this moment I do not think I need to calm my emotions.”

 

“B-but,” Hinata tried. “K-Kagome-sensei said—”

 

“Tch,” Sasuke butted in, “Kagome-sensei wrote and asked us if we would please try to meditate while we were waiting for her. The way she wrote it was obviously not a demand, which means that we don't have to do it, and she probably doesn't have a punishment set up if we don't.”

 

“I-I still think that—”

 

Their attention snapped to the large amount of chakra suddenly appearing as sand gathered along the ground in the area. It was obvious from the golden grains that it was Gaara who was going to arrive, but Sasuke and Neji tensed in case there was another sand user like him. They doubted it when they noticed the way the sand moved as it gathered, swimming along the ground out of the forest and straight into their line of view, until a large mound followed and quickly mixed with the sand that had already congregated.

 

Once the remaining trail collected with the other particles, the large amount of sand rose into the air, and then fell away from the shadows forms once hidden from view. Gaara's red hair was the first thing to appear, the sand slithering down his face and neck before slipping up into the gourd on his back. After his features had been exposed, the figure buried into his chest began to move, quickening the speed of the sand as it moved over their clothing and flesh. The person stood just high enough to reach Gaara's chin, but it became apparent that the person was bent slightly as they straightened, reaching his forehead, before finally pulling away from the Kazekage. Only a moment went by before the person turned, but the long hair being uncovered from the sand made it quite clear that their sensei had arrived.

 

Kagome shivered as the sand slid over her arms, rolling over itself and up into Gaara's gourd. She sighed a bit, having never really liked being buried in sand since her brother had used his first wind style jutsu. However, it had been warm, and the feeling of Gaara's hands gripping her arm and waist, though they had fell away with the sand, had been comforting. The sand did not bother her too much, because she would protect her Kazekage and in return he would help and protect her, as he had once stated.

 

“G-good morning, K-Kagome-sensei!” Hinata greeted. Her cheeks heated slightly when Kagome cast her eyes over them, as she quickly got to her feet, feeling slightly foolish for having tried to do something she had never truly gotten. To make matters worse, both boys on her squad had completely ignored her pleas, when she had hoped that at least one of them—she knew that Neji could have—would have been able to help her understand what she was supposed to be doing exactly.

 

It was exactly as she had told Temari it would be, since Neji was standing next to Hinata with a bored expression, Hinata had been on the ground and was now embarrassed from trying to meditate, and Sasuke had positioned himself up in a tree nearby. A small smirk appeared onto her face, since she had won twenty dollars off Kankurou when he had the foolish mistake of asking her if her prediction was wrong, and then betting it would be. It quickly disappeared as she turned her attention to the female on her squad, and said, “Hello, Hinata. Are you ready for your first mission?”

 

“M-mission?” Hinata asked. She remembered hearing about the test that Naruto's team had been put through, and the other random tests that their senseis' had come up with before. However, she was not quite sure what to make of her Sunagakure sensei's words, since it was clearly too soon before they could go on a mission. Neji and her would probably be able to work well together, but she was not quite so sure when it came to Uchiha Sasuke, since he did not seem to be familiar with the Hyuuga style.

 

“Yes,” Kagome smiled brightly. “I made it all by myself, though I have to admit that it is slightly based off the test that my sensei gave my genin squad. But, it will be quite different, since even now my sensei complains about me surpassing her. Oh, yes,” she looked behind her, “Gaara-sama will be watching, since I pulled him away from his siblings and they might take a while to get here—Kankurou was complaining about being hungry.”

 

“What is our mission?” Neji asked. He wondered for a moment how a shinobi could seem so altruistic, always smiling and happy unless she was around that one person she could not stand. However, he quickly pushed the thoughts away, since he did not care why she was always putting others before her, especially when it was clear she should when it came to Gaara. She was from Suna, Gaara was her Kazekage; it was obvious that she should give up everything and anything for him, whether she wished it or not.

 

With a small movement of her wrist three colored sticks were pulled from her sleeve and she quickly tugged them the rest of the way out. They were ordinary, and each the same dimensions, which made their coloration the only difference between them, for one was white, one yellow, and the other blue. “Your mission is split into sections,” Kagome began, “for first you will need to find my summon and retrieve from it a message that will lead you to the second part of your mission. Once you have gotten the message, you will follow its instructions, and if you do so you will find me. If you do as the message says, and I will know if you didn't, you will have take these from me,” she gripped the sticks, “but I promise you that I will not hand them over without a fight.”

 

“H-has your summon a-already been released?” Hinata asked curiously.

 

“No,” Kagome said, before another thought popped into her head. “Oh, and it is best to remember during this mission that things might not always be as they appear,” she pulled the white stick away from the others with her other hand, and twisted it slowly between her fingers, “which is the reason I expect you to try and get this piece here. If you don't, well, we'll just have to wait and see what happens when you can't see things as they really are.”

 

OoO

 

“Mission?” Kiba blinked. “What exactly is this mission?”

 

“I have put thirteen strips of paper onto random trees within the surrounding forest,” Miroku stated, his face becoming very serious. “Your mission is to try and locate each piece within an hour while relying on one another. However, do not think that because this mission sounds simple that I have made it so. You must watch for anything out of the ordinary, and you must be alert for enemy attacks. For this mission, you must have open eyes, but also open minds.”

 

Naruto frowned, saying, “That still doesn't seem that hard, hentai-sensei.”

 

Miroku cast his eyes over them, and the genin tensed when they noticed how sharp his eyes had become. “Yes, but you will find that it will become harder the more time you waste,” he replied.

 

Kiba smirked, looking down at Akamaru as his nin-dog gave a happy bark, allowing him to know that he could already smell the trail their sensei had left behind. If the mission was going to get harder the more time they wasted, then it was a good thing he had Akamaru, since his friend could sniff out almost anything. His nose would find the trails leading to each strip of paper, and then they would walk out of that forest with a grin on their face when their new sensei realized they were not pushovers. Glancing at his teammates, he allowed his smirk to get a little bigger, since he had the good-looking weapons master and Naruto, who had proven to him that he was a lot more powerful than he first appeared. “So,” Kiba asked, “when do we start?”

 

Miroku's happy smile returned to his face, and he glanced up at the sky for a moment, watching the clouds as they roamed over the vast blueness. “I would say,” he began, “right about… now.”

 

TenTen quickly lifted her arms to protect her face when the explosion happened, and listened to the chuckles her sensei gave off through the noise. Her feet slipped on the ground, and she could bet that the others were not doing so well themselves when the wind whipped wildly toward them, pushing her further backwards. She dug into the ground, forcing her body to stay upright, as she heard loud barking and a sudden yelp.

 

“Akamaru!” Kiba yelled, turning when the wind finally began to die down. His eyes searched frantically for his companion, before they cast over Naruto, noticing that the blonde had managed to catch Akamaru. He sighed, having thought that his friend had slammed into a tree from the yelp he gave, but figured that he must have hit Naruto's thick head.

 

Naruto shook his head, watching as dirt fell to the ground from his shoulders and hair. Holding the nin-dog a little tighter to his chest, he looked over at Kiba and grinned widely. However, his grin quickly faded when a pair of fangs latched onto his arm, and he yelled in pain. “What the heck!” he screamed, trying to yank the white dog from his arm, “Why the hell are you biting me, you stupid dog?!? GAH, get off!”

 

Unable to help himself, Kiba snickered, before calling for Akamaru. The dog let go of Naruto's arm, and quickly pushed against his chest in order to return to his side. The blonde shinobi fell to the ground, waving his arms wildly in the air as he whined about how he had not done anything to deserve being bitten or knocked over. Then, he watched as Naruto pouted, looking slightly angry and crestfallen as he crossed his arms stubbornly over his chest. Kiba allowed another snicker to escape his lips when Akamaru jumped into his arms, because Naruto kicked at the dirt and began to whine about why he deserved to be stuck on a team he did not want, when he should have gotten Kagome-sensei.

 

TenTen sighed and shook her head at the childishness that her two new squad members were showing. Kiba appeared to be highly amused by Naruto's slight injury, and Naruto appeared to be ready to put the blame of his situation onto anyone and everyone's shoulders, but mainly Hatake Kakashi's. “I think,” she said, catching their attention, “that we should be concentrating on the mission we've been given, instead of allowing more and more time to pass as we complain.”

 

“I'm not complaining!” Naruto shouted.

 

“Yeah, keep tellin' yourself that,” Kiba chuckled.

 

Naruto turned slightly red in the face, and then replied, “S-shut up, you… you dog-loving freak!”

 

“Freak?” Kiba asked. “I think you should try looking in the mirror once in a while, Naruto!” He growled at the insult, listening as Akamaru quickly agreed, beginning to growl with him.

 

TenTen twitched, and then wondered if she would have to resort to violence in order to get these two to listen to her. Naruto had quickly gotten off the ground and jumped in front of Kiba in order to thrust his face into his. Then, they began to yell at one another, Akamaru barking continuously, and she could just bet that he was throwing his own insults into the mix. Instinct told her that they would not stop for quite some time, which would shorten their limited hour, so she allowed her hand to slip into the holster on her waist. However, as her hand wrapped around the cool steel, she saw Kiba whip his head to the left.

 

Kiba allowed his eyes to widen, the sound of splitting wind overtaking the sound of Naruto's shouts. The small sound sent him into action, quickly pushing both him and Naruto to the ground as Akamaru leap out of his arms to avoid being crushed between them.

 

“AH!” Naruto yelled, his back hitting the ground roughly. His yell was cut short, though, when only seconds later six shuriken hit the ground near his head, the metal gleaming malevolently in the sunlight. He gulped, feeling Kiba let go of his arm as he rose, before he reached down in order to help him to his feet. Naruto took his hand, and glanced in the direction that the shuriken came from, noticing a dark shadow moving through the trees.

 

“Move!” TenTen shouted when she noticed the next barrage of weapons flying at them. She raced to the right, moving toward the trees before veering off to the left, hoping that the boys were following her. However, even if they were not, she hoped that they were not harmed in the attack.

 

OoO

 

A loud bang echoed into the forest as a dark figure shot out of the smoke that filled the air. It rose into the air, obviously able to fly, before spreading its wings and doing a quick flip, and even in the distance it had created it was obvious that the creature was a bird of some sort. The animal tucked in its wings and fell toward their sensei at an alarming rate, but she did not appear to be worried in the slightest. In fact, she straightened her arm without any hesitation, watching the bird as it soared closer and closer to her. At the last second, however, the large bird unleashed its large wingspan, and flapped continuously until its long talons wrapped around her arm, and its body rested onto her, wings tucking in to its side as its head turned to look at them with bright orange eyes.

 

“Akeno,” Kagome greeted the large, dark bird. Her other hand swept over his near black feathers, before the bird dipped his head and her hand gently touched his auburn beak.

 

The bird lifted his head, opened his beak, and greeted her in return. “Kagome,” he replied, his voice seeming to echo for a short moment, its dark tone heated in a natural, yet strange way. “What is it you wish of this one?”

 

Kagome continued to pet the large creature, her hand moving over his tail feathers, so long that they nearly reached the ground. “I wish for you to use your speed, and help me in my mission for my squad,” she replied.

 

“This one will do as you ask,” Akeno replied, his voice soft.

 

“Thank you,” Kagome smiled. “I am glad to have a friend like you.”

 

“As is this one,” Akeno said, a screech escaping his beak as he stared at her. Then, his head turned in order to gaze at the adolescences Kagome had called her squad, for surely the red haired male could not be apart of it. “This one suspects that they are your squad.”

 

“Yes,” Kagome nodded. She stopped her petting, and reached into her holster to pull out a thin scroll. She allowed Akeno to take the scroll into his beak, before turning her attention back to her squad. “This is my summon, Akeno,” she stated softly.

 

“A-amazing,” Hinata stuttered.

 

Neji's eyes narrowed when he saw the bird's orange eyes settle onto him for a moment. He had seen birds from Suna while on missions with Team Gai, and he had never seen a bird like that. There was something odd about it, something that caused his legs to tense when it had burst into the open.

 

Sasuke, however, was the one to ask the question swimming in their heads. “What type of bird is it?”

 

“He,” Kagome chuckled, “is a bird born of fire. His kind is not native to Suna, but my mother was a very lucky woman when she came across his mother, Kayo. She created a bond with Kayo, and in return for her kindness, Kayo allowed her to create a summoning pact between them. Then, on my tenth birthday, my mother summoned Kayo, and she approved of me learning the summons, and on that day I was given Akeno's friendship.”

 

Hinata blushed a little as she said, “H-he's beautiful.”

 

“Yes, he is,” Kagome nodded. “However, now is not the time to be dallying.” She turned her head to Akeno, and saw him nod once, “I believe you know what I wish of you, Akeno. Avoid them by any means possible, but should they surround you or capture you, give to them that scroll and return to my side.”

 

Akeno nodded once more.

 

“Now, please, do as I ask of you,” Kagome said as she raised her arm.

 

The newly formed squad two tensed as the large bird spread its wings into the air, and then swept them downwards in order to lift into the sky. The bird did not waste time once it had detached itself from its summoner, rising higher and higher into the air, before giving another twirl and falling toward the ground. Hinata and Neji were forced to spring apart when the bird came soaring between them, but they were also forced to bring up their arms to protect their face when the bird surprisingly burst into flames. When the heat died down, squad two glanced toward the forest, watching the now brightly colored bird as it flew deep into the forest, further and further away from them with the scroll they were meant to retrieve.

 

Neji twisted around when he felt the small surge in chakra, but was not able to determine where their sensei had gone. His eyes bulged, his kekkei genkai activating, but he was not able to detect any sign of Kagome's chakra, and he suspected that somehow she had gotten out of his range.

 

“Are you two just going to stand there and gawk?” Sasuke asked.

 

Neji glanced over and glared a bit. “Of course not, Uchiha.”

 

“Lets get moving then,” Sasuke stated, channeling chakra into his feet in order to increase his speed. He shot into the forest after the bird, feeling the burst in chakra from both members of the Hyuuga Clan, and knew that they were following him. However, it did not matter to him when he focused his attention onto the bird's decreasing light, its flames either dying down or its speed increasing to keep it out of range.

 

OoO

 

Kiba grinned, quickly pulling the strip of paper from the trunk of the tree. He nodded to Naruto, watching as the other genin grinned widely at him. However, he quickly cast his eyes over the forest, looking down at TenTen as she pulled a scroll from her holster. He doubted it would do any good, their sensei had already proven that he was a master of wind style, much like Temari had been when she defeated the weapons master. He was not going to completely rely on that fact, though, because he did not know the full extent of TenTen's abilities, and he doubted that even in two weeks he would.

 

“That's four down,” Naruto cheered. “Nine more to go.”

 

“Yes,” TenTen smiled, “but we have to remember that there could be traps anywhere. Miroku-sensei told us to watch for anything out of the ordinary, and I'm beginning to think that that could be something he was talking about.” She pointed ahead of her to where the vines were strangely gathered together, “I think we should avoid that, go around somehow, since there's no telling what else he could throw at us.”

 

“Good idea,” Kiba said. He then looked down at his companion, and asked, “Akamaru, which way now?” He knew that the dog's nose would always be better than his own, and watched as Akamaru sniffed around for a bit, before finally barking back his answer.

 

“Well?” Naruto asked impatiently.

 

“Akamaru says that his scent travels straight into those vines,” Kiba replied. “They might be a trap, but his scent is coming from inside them. It's too faint to be him, but it could be another piece that we need.”

 

“It could still be a trap, though,” TenTen reminded them.

 

“Well then,” Naruto grinned, “we'll just have to find out, won't we?”

 

TenTen almost jumped in order to stop him, but noticed that he had put his fingers together in a hand seal. She was not surprised when clones appeared around him, each one identical, and looking ready to charge. She had seen him use multiple clones against Neji, and had expected Neji to defeat him easily, but her friend had gotten too confident for his own good and had fallen after a fascinating battle. It was obvious that Naruto had great potential, especially if he could defeat a genius like Neji.

 

“Ok!” Naruto shouted, pointing toward the area, “Go check it out!”

 

The clones sprang forth, every one of them shouting with the same intensity that Naruto had used. They easily pushed through the thick vines hanging from a high branch, and began moving further and further into the forest. It appeared safe enough, until it became noticeable that the clones were slowing each time they brushed up against a vine. The deeper they went, and though it was harder to see, it became apparent that the vines were swaying softly, brushing again and again against the clones until one burst into smoke. After the first one fell, the others quickly followed.

 

Naruto blinked, and scowled. “What happened?”

 

“They looked like they ran out of energy,” TenTen commented.

 

Akamaru barked, and Kiba sniff the air as well. “It is a trap,” he said after a moment. “The scent of chakra is thick in the air now, and I'd be willing to bet that it was sucked right out of the clones.”

 

“So,” Naruto frowned, “they steal chakra?” He almost shuddered at the memory of the blue-skinned member of Akatsuki wanting to chop off his legs and arms while he stole the fox's chakra. Uchiha Itachi had been frightening enough, and the added effect of someone being able to steal Kyuubi's chakra from his very skin had almost sent him into a complete internal panic until Sasuke showed up. He was just glad that after he could not summon Kyuubi's chakra that Ero-Sannin had showed up.

 

“Seems like it,” TenTen sighed. “We're going to have to be careful if we have to go inside it. The vines looked like they moved toward the source, which means we'll have to move quickly, and avoid touching them completely.”

 

“What are we standing around here for then?” Naruto asked. He ignored the yells of his new teammates telling him to wait, and pushed himself toward the hanging vines. Within seconds he had reached the vines and twisted left, right, down—left, left, right, down, down, right—and jumped only slightly when the first thin piece of vegetation brushed up against his arm. After the second small brush he grabbed onto his arm, pulling it closer to his body when he noticed that the vines were beginning to move quicker, flicking out at him, and causing him to push himself more to keep out of range.

 

Akamaru yelped, hiding inside Kiba's hood when they pushed themselves into the vines after Naruto. They were beginning to whip around, much faster than they had with the clones, almost as if they were hungry and ready for the kill now that they had had a taste of chakra. However, the hood did little help when it slipped from Kiba's head, forcing Akamaru to hold on and try to avoid the vines the best he could from his position. The whimpers that escaped his throat made Kiba's anger rise, wondering why Naruto had to be so knuckleheaded and jump right into the center of danger at every turn.

 

TenTen twisted again and again, dodging the chakra sucking foliage the best she could. Her eyes were focused on Naruto's orange jumpsuit, the brash genin now holding a kunai in one hand and cutting away some of the vines that threatened his path. The method did not seem to be working, though, because each time he managed to slice one from its position, another fell from the branch high above. She glanced around when she noticed Naruto stumble, allowing several of the chakra absorbers to latch onto his limbs, and silently cursed when she how wet the vines seemed. The fire jutsu she had had in mind would do little good in these conditions.

 

Naruto let out a cry, allowing his chakra to gather, and shouted, “Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!” Clones appeared all around him, the hundreds low on chakra, but enough to distract the vines from himself. He raced forward, hoping that the exit was close, and ignored the sounds of the clones around him popping out of existence when he noticed a large, thick tree just ahead of him. The vines seemed to swing away from it, and he grinned as he pushed himself forward again.

 

Kiba and TenTen were relieved when the vines began to go after the hundreds upon hundreds of Naruto's suddenly in the area. They were all wielding kunai and shuriken, attacking and destroying as many of the chakra absorbing vines as they could before they were destroyed. Though Kiba and TenTen had never seen so many clones at once, they were happy to no longer be the target. However, that did not stop them from wondering where Naruto had gotten the chakra to create all of the extra clones, when it was clear that he had had a large amount drained from his body.

 

Naruto burst through the final row of vegetation blocking his path and trying to drain him further after so many clones had been taken. The whipping wind was increasing and he turned to watch as the remaining clones he had created gave popped and disappeared. He bit the inside of his lip, fisted his hand, and waited, until finally TenTen broke through the vines, pulling on the few that had wrapped around her arms. Kiba raced through soon after, Akamaru looking exhausted, but still growling and gnawing through a vine that had gotten caught between his fangs. Naruto sighed in relief at seeing them, glad that his new squad had made it through the thick mess.

 

“You idiot!” Kiba shouted as soon as he saw him. “What the hell were you thinking, rushing in there without a plan?”

 

Naruto bristled, and raised his hand in the air. “Hey, at least we made it,” he yelled back. “And besides, I didn't see or hear you doing anything to help us!”

 

“Yeah, because I was a little more concerned with saving my life!” Kiba replied. “Do you even realize what could have happened if one of us had used a large jutsu to help the others escape, and then those freakin' weeds sucked them until they were dry! You could have killed any one of us!”

 

“Maybe next time you should try speaking up!” Naruto snarled.

 

Kiba growled, “Maybe next time you should try shutting up!”

 

TenTen twitched.

 

“Or maybe,” Kiba continued, “you should try thinking for once in your life!”

 

Naruto was cut off before he could even speak. He narrowed his eyes and huffed, watching as Kiba's anger raised another notch. However, he almost flinched when Kiba allowed his final sentence to fly.

 

“You know,” Kiba hissed, “I'm surprised that squad seven is even still alive! Kurenai-sensei told us about that mission where that assassin attacked you guys, because she wanted us to pay a bit more attention to our surroundings, even on lower rank missions. And you know what, Naruto? Your squad was lucky to have a jounin like Hatake-san, and a prodigy like Sasuke, because I bet without them you wouldn't have gotten any type of motivation to move, and you would be—”

 

“Stop it!” TenTen finally lost it. “That's enough from both of you! It doesn't matter what just happened, as long as we continue to move forward and find the final pieces that Miroku-sensei told us to get!”

 

Kiba tensed, realizing how loud he had gotten and just how much he was throwing at Naruto. It was not his fault that he had not been able to move at first against such a powerful assassin, especially for his first supposed C-ranked mission. His change in mood caused Akamaru to whimper softly at him, telling him that it was alright, but it was not, because he should not have pushed what had already happened on Naruto. Hell, the blonde had beaten him during the preliminaries of the chuunin exam, which proved that he could adjust, even in harsh situations. “I—I'm sor—”

 

“You've wasted a lot of time.” Their sensei's voice was stern, serious, but humorous in a way. “Unfortunately for you, this tree is quite large, and though you've found my perfect hiding place, I doubt that you can get all the pieces you need before your time runs out.”

 

Naruto's head snapped up, because straight above him was Miroku-sensei, leaning lightly on the staff he had carried into Konohagakure. Almost in slow motion, the pervert pushed away from the staff and grinned in a way that told him the jounin had a trick up his sleeve. Then, he positioned his hand toward them, his feet braced against the trunk of the overly large tree, and Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the small black hole opening up on the palm of his hand.

 

“You better hurry before your time is sucked away,” Miroku said.

 

OoO

 

“Damn it,” Sasuke cursed, forcing down the urge to use the sharingan. He might need to use it later, and he did not need the damn mark on his neck reacting before then. Not to mention the fact that he did not need the Hyuuga Clan to know that the only remaining Uchiha in Konoha could not use his kekkei genkai for long. No doubt that the head of their clan would quickly find out once the heir and prodigy knew.

 

Forcing the urge away completely, Sasuke returned his gaze at the bird soaring ahead of him. It appeared to be only ten yards or less and he would be able to use a water jutsu to stop the flaming creature in its tracks, thus allowing him to catch it. Chakra flared when he realized that fact, but he cursed again when the bird suddenly veered to the left, and he was forced to slam his foot against the trunk of a tree to follow it. Then, he rose his arms once more when the large bird tucked its wings in to spin, and raced through the illusionary fire it created to block his path—he was not going to be tricked by that twice.

 

Akeno turned his head when he heard the cry of the one following him. His hold tightened on the scroll in his beak, as his emotionless orange eyes watched the shinobi shoot through the steam of fire he had used to burn the forest. Unlike the first time, the fire was real, and it appeared that the boy had gotten a bit burned. When the boy continued to follow him, allowing his burned hand to fall limp at his side, he cast his eyes over the fire and watched as it suddenly died.

 

Returning his eyes to the forest before him, he swerved away from a tree, and then flicked his eyes toward the forest to his right. The other human boy was following him with increasing speed, his eyes watching him and flickering constantly to the forest in front of him, obviously having problems seeing that tiny spot. He knew that the girl was somewhere in the forest to his left, further behind both of the boys, but also beginning to increase in speed. At the first barrage of weapons thrown by the white-eyed boy, he gave a powerful thrust of his wings, and allowed the flames to engulf him further.

 

Hinata panted a bit, wondering how much longer the chase could go on. However, she pumped chakra into her feet to increase her speed a bit more, while allowing her hands to flow through the familiar motions. “Byakugan!” she whispered strongly. Her vision sharpened instantly, focusing in on the stream of fire following Akeno, but keeping herself aware of the forest around her. The bird shot out of range of the weapons Neji had unleashed upon it, the fire increasing and causing the air, even at the distance she was positioned, to heat.

 

Sasuke gritted his teeth, and pushed himself to keep following the bird. His hand was throbbing, but he had gotten a small break, since the burn was not that bad—it simply hurt like hell, almost like the fire was still licking over the wounds. His attention moved away from the burn, though, when he saw the bird heading straight for a tall tree, almost as if it planned on heading through the trunk. Bringing both his hands up, he tried to ignore the pain that shot through his arm as he created the hand seals and then brought his hand up to his mouth.

 

Akeno's head snapped around when he heard, “Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!” His eyes pierced the flames soaring toward him, spreading out so the stream was not headed directly at him, and saw the shuriken embedded inside. He could make out bits of cord as well, and allowed a soft keening to escape him at the sight. The boy might think he could trap him easily, but he would be proven wrong.

 

Neji prepared another attack when he saw the trap the Uchiha had laid for the bird. However, it appeared the summon was not about to disappoint his summoner when he shifted and soared up the length of the tree he had almost hit. The fire jutsu the Uchiha had unleashed became useless, as well as the shuriken and wire now visible, and the Uchiha jumped out of the bird's flight path when it twisted and soared straight back at him. Neji watched, twisting his head around as he skid to a stop, as the large bird shifted into another line of trees, heading straight for Hinata.

 

Hinata tensed, gathering chakra into her hands and knowing this was perhaps her only chance at stopping Akeno. Through the flames she could see the chakra points within his body, but her eyes focused onto the orange flames that made up his eyes, glaring at her heatedly. The fire made the bird seem much, much larger, and her breathing picked up with each flap of his wings, knowing that she had to time herself perfectly. Then, when his eyes seemed to be the only thing she could see, she thrust her hand up, and released the chakra gathered there in a large arched stream.

 

Akeno screeched when the first streak of chakra hit him, entering his body and blocking the points that released the chakra producing most of the fire surrounding him. His wings flapped frantically, trying to change his path and remove himself from the girl, but another wave of chakra hit him, blocking more chakra within his system. His angle odd, and his fire dying down, he allowed the scroll within his beak to drop between his talons as he clawed at the air, before leaning his beak back to return the attack.

 

Hinata increased her speed, pushing more and more of her chakra into the bird, and feeling herself growing weak, since she had not completely perfected the flexibility the style demanded. So, she stopped her attack before she was able to block all of the bird's chakra points, and felt arms wrap around her shoulders when the wave of black fire swept over the place she had once occupied. Her eyes closed tiredly, but she looked up and smiled at her cousin as he watched the bird twist his head about and finally shoot into the sky to escape.

 

Sasuke landed beside them, watching the black bird in case it decided to return and seek revenge. However, the bird flew away, and he clenched the scroll in his hand tightly. The hand still hurt, but it seemed that the pain was strangely beginning to die now that the bird was gone—and with it, he popped open the seal holding the scroll shut.

 

“W-what does it s-say?” Hinata asked.

 

“Are you hurt, Hinata-sama?” Neji asked, ignoring her question.

 

“N-no,” Hinata shook her head. “I'm j-just a b-bit ov-overwhelmed is all. I'll b-be fine in a m-moment.”

 

“If you say so,” Neji sighed, releasing her shoulders. She appeared to be fine, and he was glad, even if he was a bit shocked that she had managed to change their family's jutsu to suit her. He supposed that it was for the best, though, since Hinata needed something a little more in order to fall back on.

 

Sasuke unraveled the scroll completely, and read over the neatly printed words carefully. His eyes narrowed, before he said, “`Your mission is nearly complete. To find me, retrace the steps you've taken and remember to search the trees, for I may be closer than you think.'”

 

“S-so we c-came all this way j-just so we could g-go back?” Hinata asked, blinking in confusion. “I-I don't understand.”

 

“It's a test,” Neji scowled. “To make sure we do as she wants, since it is best to follow the orders of your sensei.”

 

“T-then we s-should g-get going,” Hinata said. She stood a bit hesitantly, but quickly regained her footing when she slipped lightly. Neji was standing at her side when they moved off, searching for scorch marks that would help them retrace the steps they had taken.

 

OoO

 

Kiba quickly pulled the strip of paper from beneath his feet, and watched as Naruto tried to grab ahold of the branch he was on in order to keep himself from being pulled upward. He did not know what it was, but their sensei had somehow created a void in his hand, one that was pulling everything into, the wind blowing wildly around them all of a sudden. He heard Akamaru's barking, but watched as the branch Naruto was attached to cracked and moved upward toward the hole in their sensei's hand. “Naruto!” he shouted.

 

The wind was incredibly loud, sweeping along his ears and blocking his hearing as he gripped the bark beneath him. His chakra was not helping and he assumed that it was the strong pull that stopped he from producing enough chakra at one time in order to stay on without grabbing the branch. He turned his head, pressing his right ear into the bark of the tree, and heard—as well as felt—the branch tilting upward, the wood cracking and tearing away from the rest of the tree. Panic was beginning to sink into his skin, his breath coming out quicker as he fought to come up with a solution to his problem, but he continued to come up a large blank.

 

TenTen pulled a scroll from her holster, and after striping the piece of paper from the tree she was positioned on—she almost wanted to roll her eyes when she remembered their sensei telling them they were placed randomly—she unraveled the scroll. The length shot forward the instant she flicked it, and she was surprised when it was caught in the wind flowing into the hole on Miroku's hand. In almost an instant it was pulled out of her grasp and sucked into the void that he had created. Feeling stupid, she pulled another scroll from her holster and jumped onto a branch parallel with her new sensei's.

 

The scroll unraveled and instantly almost countless amounts of weapons came into existence. TenTen reached out and grabbed the nearest one, a sickle, and flicked the weapon toward the jounin. It came dangerously close to hitting him, before he moved his hand away from Naruto and pointed it directly at her. The sickle was easily sucked into the endless void, and TenTen grabbed a weapon close to her in order to sink it into the bark of the tree she was positioned on. However, almost instantly the thin weapon began to slip from the spot she had positioned it, and she felt herself sliding toward the vortex.

 

Kiba cursed, watching as TenTen's other weapons were sucked into Miroku's jutsu. However, his eyes narrowed slightly when he saw his eyes twitch slightly, as blood filled his nose. One of the weapons seemed to have sliced into the rim of the void, before the foliage being consumed by the hole covered up the scent. He went to move, but stopped himself when he realized that the jounin would just reposition himself so that his attack was stopped.

 

Teamwork.

 

That was what they needed, so Kiba quickly jumped to Naruto's side. “Naruto!” he growled.

 

Naruto lifted his head, and realized that the wind was no longer pulling at him. However, he had to pop his ears before he could hear what Kiba was saying, and listened as Kiba came up with a reasonably good plan. He nodded, saying, “Got it.”

 

“Good, so I'll get the paper, you distract him,” Kiba said, before moving toward the other strips of paper he had seen.

 

Naruto felt free without the wind pulling at him. He loosened his arm, and then glanced up at the pervert. He was grinning, his jutsu sucking TenTen closer and closer to him as she tried to stop herself from being pulled into his strange jutsu. However, Naruto scowled when he saw TenTen slip again, having to quickly stab the weapon she was holding into another area to stop herself from flying toward him. Thinking quickly, Naruto glanced over to where Kiba was now positioned, and then brought his hands up to do the hand seals. He knew it could do a lot of damage, but it would be worth it if he could distract him long enough for Kiba to get the rest of the strips of paper and stop this insanity.

 

Bringing his hands together, he summoned three clones to his side and motioned for two of them to begin his plan, while he and the other clone jumped up behind the pervert without his notice as he stared at the female on his squad. Then, after allowing his hands to move once more, he stuck his hand out, and watched as the other two shadow clones launched themselves from their position toward the pervert. He felt the chakra gathering, the wind swirling, and quickly launched himself forward with the clone behind him, ready to strike and hopefully defeat the Sunagakure who was supposed to be teaching them.

 

Miroku's grin faltered, his hand snapping up in order to pull in the identical Naruto's rushing at him with some type of swirling chakra in his hand. He watched as Kiba grabbed TenTen, pulling her away as well as plucking another strip of paper from the branch of a tree. He was ready to pull his hand together and make the hand seal to stop his technique when the Naruto's flying at him suddenly popped and ceased to exist. His eyes widened, his face turning when he heard Naruto's shout.

 

“Rasengan!” Naruto thrust his hand forward, the swirling ball in his hand extending and increasing in speed, almost as if it was waiting for the strike. He watched, his feet pushing him faster, as his new sensei suddenly put his hand over the hole in his other while using a strange one-handed seal, and the void disappeared within seconds. He was almost upon him when the Sunagakure shinobi grabbed the staff at his side when thrust it out, surprisingly catching him under the armpit.

 

Miroku bent his knees, hurling Naruto over his shoulders and into the trees beyond. His already widened eyes became a bit wider when they exploded, the attack in Naruto's hand slicing into them with ease and creating a swirl design—it was obvious that the spinning technique was powerful, and he was glad for his quick reflexes. Working with Kagome and Inuyasha had helped him learn to avoid anything that appeared to be a furious attack—they would simply never learn when to stop.

 

TenTen, now back on her feet, readied herself for another attack when the jounin glanced up at the sky. She blinked in confusion, feeling it rise even higher since Naruto's attack slice through six trees, when he suddenly pulled a watch from his pocket. However, she gave a sigh of relief when he finally spoke, and slumped to her knees.

 

“RASEN—” Naruto stopped in his tracks, almost falling backwards, but was instantly caught by the new clone he had created. His chakra faltered, the technique dying before it had even began.

 

“It appears that your time is up,” Miroku smiled. It was odd to see such a smile on someone who had just tried to suck them into what appeared to be an endless void—and set up a trap made of foliage to drain them of chakra. It was even odder to see that smile on his face now, because he had instantly went from being their enemy—actually trying to kill them—to being their sensei once more. Serious to carefree showed how random their new sensei was going to be, and that smile was going to get on their nerves very quickly.

 

OoO

 

“How f-far did we travel?” Hinata stumbled a bit, knowing that her chakra was beginning to run low. However, she was determined to keep up with both her cousin and Uchiha Sasuke, and see the outcome of this mission before she tilted over from exhaustion. Her sensei appeared to be kind and generous, and would no doubt help her once she did, but she would show her that though she was not as strong as either male, she would try the best she could. And she would once again silently thank Naruto for giving her the courage to do so—especially if she ever saw pride in Kagome's eyes.

 

“Quite some ways,” Neji muttered, his byakugan eyes scanning the area once more for signs of the way they had come. It was not hard to do so, for the bird's flames had scorched through many things, yet had never set the forest ablaze. It could obviously control fire very well, possibly vegetation as well, since he had seen the bird lick fire over the trees and then, with a flap of its wings, it had simply vanished. “It should not be long, though, before we reach the clearing that we started in, Hina—”

 

His senses had not flared at all, nor had he sensed any change in the area, or the chakra that should have become present. However, he saw, and turned to watch, as their female sensei materialized behind the heiress of the Hyuuga Clan. “What the—” Sasuke began, but was not able to finish his sentence when he finally felt the area shift, genjutsu lifting from his dulled senses. At that moment he cursed the fiend who had dampened his sharingan abilities, since he should have been able to instantly see straight through it.

 

“Hinata-sama!” Neji turned on the spot, propelling himself to the position where Hinata stood. She was turning almost slowly toward the female behind her, and it was hard to tell exactly how fast Kagome moved as her hand struck out. However, it appeared Hinata had moved almost just as quickly, for clutched in her hand was a yellow stick, before she began to fall to the side. He halted on the branch below them, noticing that Kagome had turned her attention away from the fallen Hinata and was now staring down at him.

 

Chakra flared into the points of her hands, and she moved with surprising quickness, her hands moving through the seals she obviously needed. Neji barely heard her voice say the name of her technique before the sun was blocked from his view, and the flapping of wings filled his ears, signaling that the bird she had summoned had returned. “Wind Style: Heavenly Blades,” was the only warning he received before she sliced her hands through the air, the chakra mixing with the air currents to create deadly blades. However, it became apparent that the word heavenly was added because of the yellow flare they received when her summon added fire to the mix.

 

His first instinct was to escape, but his second overpowered it as he spun on the spot, chakra forcing its way through the points of his body. His ultimate defense was created within seconds, and he was not worried about the attack harming him—much, if at all.

 

Sasuke's eyes shifted, the hold he had had over his sharingan gone as he found himself staring her down. She had abandoned her fight with Neji, allowing the Hyuuga to spin until he stopped and turned his attention toward them. However, he did not want the Hyuuga to interfere in his battle, as much as he knew from working with Naruto that he should depend a little on his teammates' abilities. So, he watched as her eyes spun, silver flooding the surface, and then tiny blue ovals pierced through the ocean of silver in order to spin, creating the circle where her pupil should be.

 

Kagome turned her head only slightly when Neji jumped from his spot over to where Hinata lay. Then, she returned her attention to the Uchiha before her, knowing that he would be a hard cookie to crack, since it was obvious he wished to work without the clan that had rivaled his years ago. She had thought that the bright, and somewhat adorable, Naruto would be able to sink into his skin, making him at least think about teamwork, even when it was with someone he did not wish to work with. It appeared, though, that she had thought wrong—but that did not mean that she could not try and beat some sense into his brain.

 

Well, at least Neji and Hinata are willing to work together, she sighed.

 

For a moment Sasuke thought he saw something else flicker, but in that instant her eyes seemed to fill his vision. The silver orbs were glaring at him, challenging him, and Uchiha Sasuke was not about to back down—especially to a kunoichi—no matter the ranking between them.

 

The two lunged at one another, weapons suddenly drawn, their kekkei genkai menacing. Akeno watched from his perch, allowing the Kazekage's hand to sweep over his feathers as they were concealed from the genin present. His summoner was not using her entire strength, simply pushing forward and falling back, keeping her jutsu on high, and using her kekkei genkai to its maximum. Akeno knew that her chakra was dropping quickly, and it would not be long before she was not able to go any longer. However, Akeno also knew that that would never stop a girl like Kagome, because once she set her mind to something, it happened.

 

Not to mention his friend was not stupid enough to overstep her bounds for such ridiculous reasons.

 

Sasuke was forced to tear his eyes from hers again, focusing on the kunai that she held expertly in her hand. He watched for any hints toward jutsu, his body ready to mimic her movements if need be, and waiting for anything that his eyes had seen before. The rings in her eyes drew him in again, though, and he growled lightly when he felt his cheeks heating up, as he wondered what she was thinking about. For as long as he had known her—which, truly was not very long, but enough time to tell what type of personality she had—she was all smiles, and her emotions were written deeply into her deep blue eyes, but now she was almost entirely the opposite. Her face was neutral, and each time she struck at him, he could tell that she had closed off the window to her soul, her eyes looking deadly, and on the verge of appearing emotionless.

 

She fell back again, her foot sliding underneath her on the moss of the tree. Her sandal dug in, the toe bending at an angle as she stopped herself from hitting the branch on her knees. Her eyes flicked toward the sky, taking notice of how low the sun was beginning to get, as she controlled her breathing from turning into pants. Her opponent did not appear any better, but Sasuke had not been using his chakra for so long, nor had he used so much in one sitting, though she knew very well that his sharingan was draining him more and more.

 

Sasuke moved forward, reaching for the sticks she had attached to her side. He swore that he saw something shift again, but his head began to hurt at that moment, and he reached out for the white piece attached neatly to her waist. However, his eyes widened when he had to move from her path, a blast of wind rushing through the trees and rustling the leaves as it went by. His focus had been so keen to the piece he wanted to get, remembering her warning, that he had not even noticed her hands move.

 

Making sure to correct his balance, Sasuke turned his head to see if the thirteen year old had thrown another jutsu his way. However, his new sensei was simply standing there, as if she was waiting for him to make the next move. And not wanting to disappoint, or appear weak, Sasuke moved from his new position, feeling his chakra drop a bit when his clone sprang into existence.

 

Her hands moved, and on instinct his feet came to a halt. His clone dropped to the level of branches below them, but his sharingan was focused on the movement of her hands, watching carefully. Things seemed to slow down, allowing him to see the seals that she was using and calculate the final ones. At the moment he realized what jutsu she was about to use, and that his hands were copying her movements, he quickened his speed.

 

The final two seals waiting to be completed, shock overcame Sasuke's focus, halting his movements. His red eyes widened as his sensei's body was engulfed in flames, and turned to dust before him. The fire swirled into the shape of a dragon, the flaming mouth opening in order to swallow him as well. Knowing that he had no chance of escaping, he raised his arms to protect his face, before the heat surrounded him. Surprisingly, the heat was not as hot as he had anticipated, and it was not what caused the hair on the back of his neck to rise.

 

No, it was the breath suddenly on his neck that made him tense.

 

“You were very clever to release that clone, since it managed to stun me long enough to steal your piece from me, however, you were foolish to forget the details I gave Naruto on my kekkei genkai.” Her mouth pressed against the shell of his ear, and Sasuke forced down the urge to shudder. Then, she leaned forward, her hand gripping his shoulder to turn him slightly, thus giving him a good view of her swirling eyes. “My ketatamashiigan is much like your sharingan, and allows me to anticipate your movements. That is the reason you were not able to copy my jutsu, because I saw what you were planning, and I placed a clone before myself. You were so focused on copying my dragon that you never even realized that you were copying a clone that was designed to follow my movements at a much slower pace.”

 

Sasuke gritted his teeth, cursing himself as he stared into her silver eyes. Then, he grunted when her hand struck a certain point on his neck, making his vision spin. Before everything went black, he managed to glare at her slightly, and heard the pop that signaled his clone had gone extinct. However, those things did not seem so important as he lost consciousness, wondering why Kagome affected him so badly that he had made such a stupid mistake.

 

Kagome turned instantly, dropping Sasuke's slumped body as Neji flew by her. She glanced down, and narrowed her eyes slightly when she realized the final stick she had attached to her waistband had fallen toward the ground with the brush of Neji's fingers. The Hyuuga was clever, even more so than she had imagined, to have attacked her when she was about to treat Sasuke's burns. Her hindered focus had been the perfect target for him, and the Hyuuga had managed to easily take the final stick she had had.

 

Turning her eyes, she watched as sand gathered around Sasuke's body before he hit the ground far below. Her near emotionless face lightened up, her eyes returning to normal with a single blink, before a smile stretched out onto her features. She silently thanked her Kazekage, before turning on her heel to retrieve the stick that Sasuke's clone had dropped. She would return it to his hand, and then awaken Sasuke and Hinata in order to tell them who had succeeded in seeing the truth, and who had been too blind to see it.

 

OoO

 

“Well,” Miroku said, “it appears that you managed to retrieve ten out of thirteen strips. Since you weren't able to get all of them within the hour, you'll have to live with the punishment that I give you.”

 

“BUT,” Naruto interrupted, “hentai-sensei, we got most of them! Shouldn't that count for something?”

 

TenTen congratulated him on his efforts silently, but knew from the gleam in her sensei's eye that they were not going to get what they wanted—of course, she could be wrong, but that gleam was scary. However, she had to admit that for their first mission together, they had done pretty good.

 

“Yeah!” Kiba and Akamaru agreed.

 

“Though,” Miroku coughed lightly, “you did surprisingly well with each other, you still did not meet the requirements given to you. So, you will receive a punishment. But, because you did so well, I'm merely going to make you… get here an hour earlier than normal in order to practice your teamwork.”

 

“W-WHAT?” Naruto's mouth fell open. “Do you know how early that is? Is the sun even up that soon?”

 

“Yes, the sun is bright and cheery that early, Naruto,” Miroku chuckled. It was obvious that the genin did not wish to get up that early. “And, if you're late, I might have to punish you a bit more. So, I suggest that you arrive on time, or even before it if you can.”

 

Kiba and Akamaru sighed in acceptance. There was no point in arguing with the one that would basically run their lives for the next two weeks.

 

TenTen frowned, wondering if she'd have to be twenty minutes before everyone else like before.

 

Naruto allowed his head to drop in defeat.

 

“Look at the bright side,” Miroku lifted his finger in encouragement, “my punishment is not nearly as harsh as Inuyasha's or Kagome-sama's would be.”

 

OoO

 

“I told you we shouldn't have stopped,” Temari muttered.

 

“Well, I was hungry, and Gaara can protect himself,” Kankurou replied. “Besides, I don't see what you're so worried about, Kagome's with him. It's not like they're suddenly going to be attacked and have to fight for their lives. And, even if they did,” he said before Temari could butt in, “Kagome's perfectly capable of defending both of them. Not to mention that those Konohagakure genin are with them, so stop worrying all ready.”

 

“That's not the point,” Temari hissed. “We are supposed to be watching him while Kagome can't, not possibly damaging her training time because Gaara's there.”

 

“How's he going to do that?” Kankurou asked.

 

“Isn't it obvious?” Temari huffed. “Gaara likes Kagome.”

 

“So?” Kankurou snorted. “I figured that out a long time ago. It was extremely obvious from the way he continued to stare at her when she told him that she would do anything for him. Hell, did you see that look in his eye? It was like he wanted to pounce on her, lock her up, and never let anyone else see her again.”

 

“You're not getting the point, Kankurou,” Temari continued. “The Konohagakure genin seemed quite interested in Kagome as well. What if one of them decides to try something on her while they're training? If Gaara's there, it'll be a bloodbath!”

 

“Like that's going to happ—Huh?” Kankurou turned his head when he realized they had arrived in the training ground Kagome had said she would be using. His lips twitched, before he began to laugh hysterically, leaning over in order to grab his ribs. “Holy crap, that's brilliant!” he laughed.

 

Temari could not help the twitching of her lips as she stared at the scene before her. Gaara was standing close to Kagome, which was not unusual, but the sight they were staring at was quite humorous. Hinata was scuffling her feet about before them, a light blush on her cheeks as Kagome congratulated her on something. Behind her, though, was Sasuke and Neji in two curious positions—Sasuke was hanging from a tree by a rope wrapped around his left foot, and Neji had been buried beneath a pile of sand that reached his neck.

 

“I was actually quite surprised that you saw through my genjutsu, Hinata,” Kagome smiled. “My kekkei genkai does a very good job at hiding them, which is the reason Sasuke could not see through it, but I'm happy that someone managed to do as I asked them.”

 

Sasuke twisted lightly in his position, his arms crossed over his chest. Blood was rushing to his head, and he hoped that his new sensei released him before he became dizzy, but that was not what angered him at the moment. “I could have sworn,” he growled.

 

“Shut up, Uchiha,” Neji muttered. “Your annoying voice is not going to help us out of this.”

 

OoO

 

KibaSin: I managed to get this chapter finished, but I cannot say when the next chapter might be done (or anything else for that matter) because last Wednesday my laptop at home decided to break - of course, it was partly my fault, and I hate myself for pushing the cord too far into the back, but it's broken now. So, I hope to get it fixed soon, since I also need to have my left mouse replaced (it doesn't work either, which is why I'm very glad I'm a wiz in word and short cuts). However, until then I will have to make due with typing on the time that my local library gives me, which isn't a lot, and an ancient computer that someone is letting me borrow until mine is fixed - however, it too does not work very well and continues shuts off, so I'm not quite sure how long I'll manage. But, I hope, really hope, to have my laptop taken in by this Wednesday and hopefully fixed within a week, so I cannot type till then and I have a lot of homework on the side anyway.

Kiba

OoO

Dictionary - unfortunately, with my information all on my laptop, I will have to wait on setting up this part of the chapter. But, if you do not know the meaning of a word, please feel free to ask.