At the end of their training session for the day, Seek said that the following day was another training session. The day after would be her first mission with her new ANBU team. After the first day of training and the spar with Seek, Akira felt a little more comfortable with her new team. They accepted her into their formations and brainstormed ways to include her skills in their attacks. They worked hard, and Seek pushed them hard. Just like how Kishi had pushed Ranka, Muta, and Akira into their teamwork.
Akira had caught up with Ranka and Muta the evening of her first day. They were shocked to see her in her ANBU uniform, but not unhappy. They both congratulated her and offered to buy her dinner, which she gratefully accepted. She was starving after the full day of training. They hadn't stopped for lunch but had ended a bit early in the evening.
"So do you have a code name yet? Are you allowed to tell us?" Ranka asked excitedly.
Akira bit her lip. "I don't think I'm allowed to tell you what it is, but I do have a code name."
"What is it?"
Muta smacked Ranka's arm. "She just said she can't tell you, dummy!"
Akira giggled.
After dinner, Muta headed for home while Akira and Ranka walked around the marketplace for a bit.
"So Ranka, what are you going to do now that I'm leaving the team and going to the ANBU?" She asked him. She held her hands behind her back, with a big smile on her face. She had grown to really like Ranka and was glad that they were getting some one-on-one time. She supposed that maybe she could even call it a crush. She had started to get the butterfly feeling in her stomach when he was around, especially when he smiled at her.
Akira bumped his shoulder with hers as they came to a stop in front of a dessert shop. Ranka lifted a hand and rubbed the back of his head, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "Well, you know, I'll probably still be going on missions and stuff."
Akira cocked her head to the side, her long red hair splaying partially over her shoulder and partially down her back. She smiled wider. "Do you think you will stay partners with Muta?"
"I hope so. Though the team really won't be the same without you." He lowered his hand, brushing her upper arm as he did so. Akira's stomach flipped.
"You think so?"
Ranka nodded. Then he put an arm around Akira's shoulders. "Let's go get some dumplings to celebrate your promotion!"
Akira laughed, blushing furiously. Ranka led her into the desserts shop. After they got dumplings, they continued to walk around for a bit until Akira said she had to head home. Ranka kindly walked her home, then said goodnight and left for his own place. She skipped up the stairs, smiling brightly.
The next morning, Akira woke up early as usual to go on her run. She still had a smile on her face from the night before. Joking around with Ranka while walking through the market had been so much fun.
She pulled on her ANBU uniform, minus her mask, which she had left at ANBU headquarters. Then she gathered her weapons and headed out the door. The sword still felt strange on her back, so she wanted to run with it to get better acquainted with the feeling of carrying it. She ran her laps, then finished at Kakashi's apartment. He wasn't there, but an apple was. Akira was glad that she had packed some snacks today.
When Akira reached headquarters, there were more people around outside and inside. It wasn't as empty as it had been the day before. She met her team in the locker room and was pleased that she was not the last one to arrive. Seek was the last one through the door, and he had a surprising announcement for them.
"Instead of training today, we have been assigned a mission," he said. Akira looked up from her arm tape to stare wide-eyed at him. Already? She had just joined yesterday, and didn't even have her tattoo yet!
"Sir?" Bear questioned.
Seek nodded. He didn't have his mask on, and he looked rather perturbed. "We will be tracking a rogue ninja spotted on the outskirts of the Land of Fire. This may be a multi-day mission, so make sure you bring enough gear. Remember, sealing scrolls only, no backpacks. Meet at the gates in fifteen."
He walked back out the door, and immediately everyone in the room started fussing with weapons pouches, and supplies. Akira had never been so glad for a hard-earned lesson in her entire life. During one of her earliest chunin missions, they had ended up away from the village for two nights. She hadn't known a sealing scroll jutsu, nor had she expected to be away from the village for so long. Thus, she didn't have any food or extra weapons with her. She remembered the look Kishi had given her and the lecture that followed. She learned how to use sealing scrolls when she got back. Now she always carried two with her, one for food pills and other supplies such as her sleeping bag, and one for extra weaponry. They stayed tucked into the pouch on her belt at the small of her back. A small medical kit was also in there.
"You ready to go, Fox?" Sparrow asked. Bat was by her side. Akira nodded, her stomach feeling a bit queasy. "Got all of your supplies already?"
"Yes, Kishi sensei drilled that one into me on one of our first missions when I became a chunin." She would never make the mistake of not bringing supplies with her ever again. Just like the day she had left her weapons pouch at home.
Sparrow nodded. "Good. Let's head out then."
The three of them donned their masks and quickly left the building. They arrived at the gates in no time, Seek already there waiting for them. Bear and Juke were only a minute behind.
"Everyone ready?" They nodded in response. "Good, let's go. Akira, run with me so I can give you a rundown on mission protocol."
Akira stepped up so she was beside Seek, and was hot on his heels as he leaped up into the trees and started jumping through them.
They ran for a few minutes before he started speaking.
"Within the ANBU, we are trained to be elite assassins. That means you're going to have to kill people. That also means we carry a heavy burden of secrecy. That being said, only use code names when outside of headquarters, especially outside of the village. Got that?"
"Yes sir."
"We take part in a lot of assassinations in and out of the Land of Fire. If you are ever gravely injured beyond enemy lines and beyond help from your teammates, and you can't make it back, there is a jutsu that you are expected to do. As shinobi, our bodies give away a lot of secrets. You can learn a lot about a village from a corpse, especially a shinobi's corpse. As members of the ANBU, we hold a lot of secret village techniques within us. So if you are ever beyond help in any way and are going to die, you must destroy your body to keep the enemy from gaining insight. Understand?"
Akira was shocked. Destroy her body? "Y-yes, sir."
"I know it's a lot to take in. You were supposed to get a rundown of the protocol before your first mission, not during it. This should just be an easy assassination though, our intel says the rogue shinobi we are to track is a genin originally from the leaf village. There were reports of them committing petty theft in a village close to the border with the Land of Sound." Seek still sounded a bit tense. His chakra revealed that he wasn't as sure of himself as he sounded.
She swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. "Yes sir."
The team didn't talk anymore until they came to a stop to take a quick water break. They drank what they could, then started off again. They had nearly reached the town by afternoon. Akira couldn't help but be a bit shocked by how far they had traveled in such a short amount of time. Staying in the trees had quickened their pace immensely, compared to ground travel.
Seek motioned for the team to split up in one of their reconnaissance formations. Juke and Bear would go around the left side of the village, Sparrow and Bat around the other. He and Akira were to head straight on and infiltrate the village proper. Their goal was to find the rogue ninja and dispose of him. If he were to escape, the others would be ready.
They kept to the shadows, Seek leading the way. Akira stayed close by his side, not wanting to get left behind or disappoint her new superior. It was a different kind of adrenaline rush than any other mission she had previously been on. In this mission, Akira had to make sure she wasn't seen by anyone. As a genin and chunin, she had not been limited by this factor. But as an ANBU black op, she was.
Seek led the way down a shady alley, effortlessly hiding in the shadows. Akira mimicked his movements, using her sensory skills to monitor passersby for any sense of malice. It was what they had practiced the previous day. Beneath her gloves, her hands were clammy and sweat dripped down her forehead. This had not been what she expected her ANBU career start to be.
Before long, something piqued Akira's interest. A tall man with white skin and long black hair had walked past the alley with slow steps. A sick smile twisted his lips as if he knew they were hiding there. She could feel his killing intent in his chakra. A dark, twisted, spiraling abyss that held only an eternal lust for power.
Her blood ran cold in fear.
"Captain–"
"I know. Retreat to the forest, we have to call for reinforcements."
Akira turned and started to make her way back down the alley. But as soon as she turned around, she was met with a terrifying sight. The man she had just seen walk in front of them was standing at the other end of the alley with a grin on his face.
Now that she was facing him head-on, Akira could see the distinctive snake-like markings around his eyes. His eyes were yellow, and his pupils were vertical slits. His canines were longer than normal, like fangs. His tongue flickered between his lips, long and thick.
"You're quite far from home, aren't you little leaf ninja?" He hissed. Akira was frozen with fear, her eyes wide. Seek stepped up beside her, kunai drawn.
"Orochimaru," he said coldly.
Akira suppressed a gasp. The sannin? There was no way they could take him on, not without help! Akira shakily drew a kunai and moved into a ready stance beside Seek.
"What brings you two to my lovely hideaway?"
"Fox, we have to get out of the village. We can't fight him here." Seek hissed under his breath. "Use your headhunter jutsu to get out and go find Sparrow. Tell her to signal for backup. I will lead him away."
"Yes sir," Akira whispered back.
"Orochimaru. Your crimes against the leaf village have labeled you as a rogue ninja." Seek said.
Orochimaru just grinned.
"Now!" Seek said.
Akira steeled herself and formed her hand signs. She disappeared into the earth below them without saying a word. Above her, she sensed Orochimaru and Seek running at each other. She didn't hang around to find out what would happen. She moved through the earth, under the village toward where she knew Sparrow and Bat were hiding. She went as fast as she could and as far as she was able to before she had to release the jutsu and reappear above land to avoid draining too much of her chakra. Then she ran.
She reached the edge of the village without anyone trying to stop her. She moved swiftly through the shadows, leaping from building to building. It wasn't long before she had left the village boundary, and was running through the forest toward Sparrow.
Upon her arrival, Akira was out of breath and panting. Sparrow dropped down in front of her and grabbed her shoulders.
"What happened?"
"Orochimaru's here, Seek needs backup. We have to signal for help. Seek is trying to lead him away from the village."
Sparrow cursed and turned to Bat, who had just dropped out of the tree behind them. "Bat, get a message to Lord Third immediately. Signal for the other team. Fox and I will provide immediate aid."
He nodded curtly. "Right." Then he jumped back up into the tree.
"Alright, Fox, where are they now?"
Akira closed her eyes and reached out with her chakra. She did her best to calm her nerves while looking for their chakra signatures. She found them a little ways away from the village. Orochimaru's was strong. Seek's was a little weaker. They were entangled in a fierce battle.
"South of the village, by about a quarter mile. We need to get there, quickly!"
Sparrow nodded. "Let's go."
They took off running. They took the most direct route possible while avoiding the actual village itself. Akira could sense the battle ahead of them. She didn't like what she was feeling. Orochimaru was extremely powerful, and Seek had to use everything he had against him. She pushed herself faster.
After a few minutes, they reached the clearing they had been fighting in. It was barren of plant life now, from a multitude of jutsu blasts. Seek and Orochimaru were facing each other in the center of it. Seek's left arm was limp, and he held his left shoulder with his right hand. He was panting, and almost out of chakra. Orochimaru was just smiling at him with an evil glint in his eyes.
Sparrow and Akira landed on either side of Seek and a little in front of him. Akira brought her fists together in front of her chest and started infusing her chakra into the ground beneath the three of them.
"He's...a lot stronger than I thought..." Seek said, his voice strained.
Sparrow tightened her grip on her kunai. "I've sent for backup. Juke and Bear should be here shortly."
Orochimaru laughed. "Is this it? Are any more playthings coming?"
Sparrow hissed in anger. "Surrender, Orochimaru."
He laughed again. It was a cold laugh as if he found her remark amusing in the sense that it was far-fetched. Akira glared at him. But she still couldn't shake the pit of dread that had been forming in her stomach.
Bear, Juke, and Bat landed in front of Sparrow and Akira, weapons drawn.
"Ah ha, now here's the rest of the party!" Orochimaru taunted. "You'll make a great midday meal for my little pet."
"The other team?" Sparrow asked through gritted teeth.
"Close by, almost here."
Akira remembered Seek saying something about a second ANBU team on the way to back them up just in case when they had stopped for a break earlier in the day. She assumed that was the team that they were talking about.
Orochimaru slammed his hand into the ground.
"Summoning jutsu!"
A giant purple snake appeared in a puff of smoke with Orochimaru atop its head. It reared up and hissed angrily at them.
"Scatter!"
All six of them scattered in different directions as the snake slammed its head into the ground in an attempt to swallow them all whole. Akira had used her chakra to propel her up into the air backward. She kept her fists together in front of her chest.
"Quicksand jutsu!" She yelled.
The chakra-infused earth where they had been standing turned into a deep pit of quicksand. It sucked the snake's head into it, and Orochimaru had to jump off of his beast to avoid getting caught. Akira willed the quicksand to reach up around the snake, pinning it up to another four feet above the ground along its massive body. It hadn't been her initial plan, but it had worked. She landed on the ground and reached out with both fists. The earth hardened again.
"Water style, water blade jutsu!" She blew a burst of water from her mouth that flew at the flailing snake. The water formed a blade that went right through the snake above the quicksand, effectively decapitating it. The body fell to the ground with a thump and went limp.
"You insolent girl!" Orochimaru screamed.
Akira turned her head to look at him just in time. His arm had extended, becoming a snake. She jumped away just as it slammed into the ground where she had been a second prior.
"Earth style: trapped door!"
Bear's jutsu had no effect. The ground had opened up under Orochimaru, but he had jumped away from it effortlessly. His arm retracted back to normal length.
"Fire style: phoenix flower jutsu!" Sparrow shot a flurry of small fireballs in Orochimaru's direction. Somehow, he was able to avoid all of them in midair. He landed on the ground and turned to face where Seek was currently kneeling.
He did hand signs so fast Akira could barely keep up with them. She slammed her fists together in front of her chest again.
Orochimaru launched two snakes out of his arms at Seek. The snakes released swords out of their mouths. They were aimed directly at the ANBU captain's chest.
Akira dropped to the ground and slammed both her palms against it. "Mud wall!" She shouted.
A thick wall of earth erupted from the ground in front of Seek right as the snakes were about to impale him. It knocked them upward, and Juke came in from the side with his sword to cut their heads off. His sword was glowing with blue chakra, and Akira recognized it to be his wind nature chakra enhancing the blade.
Juke landed in front of Seek. "Defensive formation 'C'!" He shouted.
Akira sprang up from the ground and over to where Juke and Seek were. Bear, Bat, and Sparrow joined at the same time she did, taking up positions around their captain. Juke was at the front, Bear and Bat at the sides and Sparrow and Akira at the back. Put her fists together in front of her chest once again, and funneled chakra into the ground. She was prepared to either suck all of them down with her quicksand to protect them or use it as an attack like she did before.
Orochimaru grinned at them. "Same old tricks, I'm afraid. You ANBU shinobi never learn." His eyes fixated on Akira. "Too bad I never got my hands on you, young one. You would have made a wonderful test subject."
Test subject? What was he on about?
"Your vile tests are what got you here in the first place, Orochimaru." Seek struggled to get to his feet. "You'll never hurt another one of us again."
Akira sensed the oncoming team, and with a chakra signature she recognized leading them. "They're almost here, captain."
Seek lowered his chin slightly. "Good. Attack formation 'F'."
Juke, Bat, and Bear all ran at Orochimaru at the same time. The snake shinobi had no issue dodging their attacks. Sparrow and Akira jumped in front of Seek, and Akira infused her chakra with the ground beneath Orochimaru.
She extended her arms again, fingers outstretched toward Orochimaru.
The ground under him came to life, half a dozen tendrils of quicksand shooting upright from the ground and lashing around his ankles and wrists. Orochimaru stopped moving for a moment. He grinned and stared at Akira. He licked his lips, a sinister look on his face. Then his tongue shot forward from his mouth, a sword materializing at the end of it. It was flying straight at Akira. Her eyes widened. It was too fast!
"Chidori!" A screeching sound like a thousand birds chirping filled the air.
A shinobi with silver hair and a lightning-encased hand landed in the line of fire. The chidori cut Orochimaru's tongue in half, the disconnected part flopping to the ground with a wet thunk. They straightened and kicked the tongue away. The lightning faded from his hand.
Behind her, Seek let out a sigh of relief. "Perfect timing, Dog."
"Well, if it isn't Kakashi, the copy ninja. The friend killer." Orochimaru spat. Akira could barely understand what was going on anymore. How was he talking when he just had his tongue cut off?
Seven other ninjas landed in various places around the field, effectively cutting off any escape route that Orochimaru might have used.
"Fox, work on healing Seek." Kakashi directed. Akira used her quicksand to spread Orochimaru's ankles and wrists out further to his sides, forcing him to widen his stance. Her quicksand flowed down over his hands and hardened, wrenching them open and keeping them in place so he couldn't form hand signs. The rest of the tendrils then hardened in place. She dropped to her knees beside Seek, who had dropped to his own when Kakashi had arrived.
Seek lifted his right arm and allowed her to pull it over her shoulders. She held his arm with her right hand and wrapped her left arm around his back. Then she jumped away, carrying her wounded captain. She reached the edge of the forest and jumped from branch to branch until she found a large rock. She set Seek down so he was leaning up against it, facing the battlefield.
Akira placed her hands on his shoulder, examining it. She felt the bump that informed her it was dislocated. The joint had been pulled apart.
"Captain, I need you to lay down on this rock on your stomach. I have to put your shoulder back into place."
Seek nodded, and Akira helped him climb onto the rock. She had him drape his left arm down the side of it, then she grabbed his wrist and slowly pulled it straight down, increasing the pressure until she felt it pop back in. Seek winced, but relief flowed through his chakra.
Behind her, the battle was raging once more. Akira glanced over her shoulder as she helped Seek back down, then moved to his side to apply medical ninjutsu to his shoulder. She glanced between the battlefield and Seek periodically, keeping an eye on everyone else.
Orochimaru had broken free of the restraints she had put on him, not to her surprise. The twelve ANBU members in the field were fighting together to try and take him down, but he was still able to dodge most of their attacks with ease. She turned back to Seek's shoulder. She was almost done applying aid.
Neither one of them spoke, too tense to relax enough to do so. Akira finished the jutsu, and Seek rolled his shoulder a few times to loosen it up. "Thanks, Fox."
Akira helped him stand back up, then handed him a food pill. He took it without question, sliding his mask part of the way up to eat it. Then they both turned back to the battlefield and started making their way toward their comrades.
When they reached the clearing, they took up positions behind Kakashi, who was in a defensive stance with a kunai in his right hand.
"Sparrow and Fly are down, and Orochimaru isn't stopping. We need to find a way to retreat." Kakashi growled.
"No, we have to finish the mission. We have to kill him." Seek snapped back.
"Seek, it's a suicide mission."
Akira unsheathed her sword and ran to where Sparrow was laying on the ground. Orochimaru had summoned two more snakes, and one was bearing down on her collapsed teammate. She came to a stop in front of the snake, halting it in its path. It reared back and hissed at her in anger.
As it swung its mighty head forward, Akira spun and dropped to hook an arm around Sparrow's waist. Then she leaped away, narrowly avoiding the snake. She dropped Sparrow at the tree line, then started running toward the other fallen ANBU member. The one who Kakashi must have been referring to, Fly. Thankfully, this time she didn't encounter another snake. She grabbed him and deposited him next to Sparrow, out of harm's way for the time being. Then she joined the fray.
She joined up with Bat, who was fighting one of the giant snakes. She surprised it by leaping onto its back from behind and slicing her sword across the back of its head. The snake reared up and shook violently, sending her flying. She hit the ground and rolled, coming up in a crouch. She put her fists together, one hand still holding her sword.
She formed three signs, then put her hands on the ground, dropping her sword. "Earth style, rock thorns!"
Small, conical-shaped rock thorns about a foot in length and six inches in diameter shot from the ground all around her, flying toward the snake.
"Wind style: wind spiral sword!"
Bat's jutsu hit the snake at the same time that Akira's rocks punched through its hide. The snake screeched in pain, blood gushing from the hundreds of wounds it had just simultaneously received. It flailed for a few seconds, then dropped to the ground and ceased movement. Akira felt its chakra drain away.
Two of Kakashi's teammates had taken care of the other snake. Now it was just Orochimaru left. He was locked in battle with a furious Kakashi and Seek.
"Bat, how do we help them?" Akira called out to her teammate. She picked up her sword and sheathed it before standing.
Bat ran over to meet her. "Attack without getting in their way. Come on!"
Bat ran toward the three shinobi. Akira followed after him. They engaged with Orochimaru in taijutsu, careful to avoid each other's strikes. Kakashi and Seek had been being pushed back toward the forest, but with the added assistance from Akira and Bat, they were able to gain back some ground.
Orochimaru was unlike any opponent Akira had ever faced. His fighting style was so unique she struggled to counter it and avoid attacks. It was like his limbs and tongue constantly transformed into snakes and lashed around, kunai at the ends of them. She spent most of her time dodging his attacks, instead of delivering her own. Eventually, one of them was able to land a good swipe across the back of his calf with one of their blades. He stumbled to the side briefly.
Akira picked up a rock and created a bomb out of it. Then she threw it at Orochimaru's back.
"Earth style: mineral bomb!"
The bomb exploded against his back, searing his skin and hair and sending him stumbling forward a few steps. Orochimaru let out a yell of pain and spun to face her. He glared at her and bared his teeth. Akira raised her kunai, but couldn't stop the wave of fierce killing intent that washed over her and froze her in place. Her eyes widened in fear. Orochimaru launched himself at her with blinding speed.
A spray of blood splashed the right side of her mask as a blade found its mark.