✔️Heal My Heart {Kakashi Hatake}

104 | team meetup

The journey to the Land of Iron was made in complete silence. No small talk, not even any further introduction. All we knew about each other were our first names and village of origin, and that was about it. I was more than happy to be cooperative, but neither of the others responded to any questions or statements, except Ikari occasionally telling me to shut up because nobody cared. I dropped it after a while.

Because we spent no time dawdling, we reached the Land of Iron much faster than I had originally anticipated. It took less than a day to arrive, and in fact evening was only just falling when Ikari halted us.

"This is the meeting point," he said. "The Sand and the Stone are late, but we should wait for them."

Thanks for that, Captain Obvious, I thought, but decided not to say anything in case he got so annoyed at me he refused to work with me. I didn't know what to make of Zanko, either; he hadn't said a word to me or Ikari through the whole journey, though his presence was certainly imposing.

Only a couple of hours later, two more shinobi arrived, a guy from the Sand wearing a strange cloth thing over his head, and a girl from the Stone who was short and stocky but with a smile on her face, unlike the three men.

"You guys are the other half of the team, then?" The Stone girl guessed. "I'm Yokina, this is-"

"Sakyū," The Sand ninja interrupted. "I can introduce myself."

Yokina just smiled. "What're your names?"

"I'm Miyoshi," I said with a grin. It was nice to see that there was someone else who actually wanted to be here.

"Zanko," The Mist ninja rumbled.

"Nice to meetcha!" Yokina grinned. "Hey, you're from the Cloud, right? What's your name?"

"Ikari," he muttered.

Yokina smiled brightly. "Great! Are we all ready to go?"

"I am," I supplied.

"You know, if we weren't ready, I don't think we'd be here," Ikari commented dryly. "Do any of you know where we're actually supposed to be?"

"Nope!" Yokina and I said at the same time. Zanko and Sakyū didn't say anything at all, so Ikari sighed.

"It seems I'm the only one who bothers to get mission details anymore. Whatever, it's this way."

"Follow the leader, then!" Yokina grinned.

"Aye aye, captain!" I saluted.

"Great, I'm stuck with two morons and two salt pots," Sakyū grumbled.

"I am not a moron!" I gasped dramatically, feigning hurt.

"It's okay Miyoshi, I'm here for you." Yokina put a hand on my shoulder as she cried imaginary tears.

"Aww, don't cry, Yokina!" I pulled the Stone kunoichi into a hug, and she flung her arms around me and hugged back.

"Can you stop being idiots, just for a second?" Ikari snapped. "We have an important mission to complete and it could be dangerous. Don't forget, you're supposed to be representing your villages, and the way things are looking, it's not good news for the Leaf and the Stone!"

"Lighten up, wouldja?" I pouted. "We're just trying to have a little fun."

"We're not here to have fun, we're here to prevent the spread of a highly contagious, fatal disease!" Ikari pointed out.

"Alright, geez, no need to be a killjoy." I rolled my eyes.

The rest of the journey passed in relative silence. I ran beside Yokina, who was the only other person willing to talk. We had a casual conversation about general stuff: how annoying ninja are when they get chakra drain, how frustrating it is to heal broken bones for stupid reasons, and other stuff like that.

"So Miyoshi, got someone waiting for you back at the Leaf?" Yokina asked suddenly, giving me a sly sideways glance.

I tried not to blush, but I felt my cheeks burn. "Why do you ask?"

"You do!" Yokina exclaimed triumphantly. "You so do!"

"So what if I have a boyfriend?" I mumbled.

"Tell me about him." Yokina begged. "Is he good looking? Is he nice? Do you ever... you know." She smirked.

"No, we don't!" I was positive that my face was glowing. "And does it really matter?"

"Yes, it does," Yokina insisted. "At least tell me if he's good-looking or not."

I laughed nervously to myself. "Good-looking is a bit of an understatement."

Yokina sighed dramatically. "Lucky. I'm still single over here."

I shot her a fleeting grin. "Don't see why. You're cuter than I am."

"That's not true, you're just saying that." Yokina blushed.

"No, I'm serious," I said. "Your skin is perfectly tanned, and look at me. I'm actually the same shade as fresh snow."

"Maybe, but I'd kill for your hair."

"And I'd kill you if you laid a single hand on it," I said instantly.

Yokina just laughed.

"Are you going to shut up now?" Ikari asked.

"What would you do if I said no?" I wondered aloud.

"Shoot myself in the head, probably," he grumbled.

"That wouldn't be advisable," I said. "Especially since you're the only one who knows where we're going."

"Exactly." Ikari rolled his eyes. "See how you like it."

"Can we all just stop arguing, please?" Sakyū begged. "It's giving me a headache."

"Fine." Ikari went back to glaring at the path ahead in silence. I frowned and crossed my arms, but was wise enough not to antagonise anyone further. This mission could be the start of good relations between the Five Great Shinobi Nations, and I didn't want to mess it up.

"How much further?" Yokina asked.

"Not far," Ikari responded cordially. "A half hour, maybe. We'll probably be expected to begin work straight away, so if anyone needs a break before then, speak now or we'll just keep going."

I glanced at Yokina, and we mutually agreed that we were fine. I had virtually limitless energy anyway, thanks to the many benefits of my Kekkei Genkai. Zanko and Sakyū didn't say anything either, so Ikari just nodded.

"You'd better all be okay, because the future of our villages may just depend on it."