Naruto : Struggle Of Childhood

Mission

"What is it with Kiri nin and blood?" Hinata sighed.

"It's trait that all of them seem to share isn't it?" Sai agreed.

"They also really like to call themselves demons," Naruto pointed out, "Zabuza: Demon of the Mist. The Demon Brothers, who were kind of pathetic. Kisame, doesn't his name mean 'Demon Shark' or something?"

"You can see where he got the name," Sasuke muttered.

"His mother named him very appropriately," Gaara nodded.

"I hope we never have to go against him," Haku said, "There's something about his blue skin that's always disturbed me a little…"

"Anyways," Neji said, "back to the topic, Zabuza, did you have any other reasons other than a possible favor?"

Haku nodded, "I…felt that Isaribi-chan, she was Zabuza's assistant, should talk to him a little. She…is something like us, but I don't think I should say unless she lets me, or shows you herself if we meet again. Zabuza said that he knew someone who could help her, but he might have been lying. I wanted to give her a chance to talk to him without someone else around."

Sai nodded.

"I guess that's alright," Neji said grudgingly, "he did call the fight to an end…"

"I guess there really isn't much else to say," Gaara shrugged, "We'll find out what happens. By the way, we're going home right?"

"You mean Ero-sennin's place?" Naruto asked, "Yeah, I thought that would be the best idea…"

"What are we going to tell Tsunade-san?" Sai asked.

Everyone looked at one another.

"That…is going to take some fast talking;" Sakura said thoughtfully, "Sasuke is not eligible for the job."

"Thank goodness," Sasuke muttered, "I really don't like being thrown through a wall, or given Ninja Puffs three meals a day."

"What is it with you and that stupid cereal?" Neji sighed.

"I'll talk to Baa-chan," Naruto cut in, "Or Hinata or Sakura. I don't think that any of the rest of us will be able sweet talk her enough. Eventually, I think she's going to find out."

"Would it be worse for us to be there or out on a mission?" Sai said thoughtfully.

"You know…" Kimimaro said just as thoughtfully, "I can't really say, they both have some disadvantages…"

"At any rate," Hinata said, breaking up the conversation, which seemed to be on the verge of turning into nonsense, "We should get some sleep. We're going to be traveling all day tomorrow."

Naruto sent her a grateful look.

Since the inn was supposed to be abandoned, it didn't take much to turn out the lights. There was no one around that any of them had been able to sense, and places like this were the best places to go when you didn't want attention. Water Country was full of inns and even towns that had been abandoned or everyone had been killed. Since the country was at constant civil war, and the Mizukage kept changing, things were always like this. Naruto had a feeling that things were probably worse in Earth County at the moment.