-🌸-
Sakura: "Naruto, can you hear me?" She asked; her brows furrowed in seriousness
Sakura was sneakily hiding behind a tree, observing her target with caution. She doesn't remember exactly when did this mission started, but she could say that morning was definetly reaching it's end.
For this especific mission, her entire team were using headsets as a way of communication. Their target was quite an complicated case and they needed to separate everytime to make their strategies work; hence why it would be good for them to communicate despite the distance.
And the worst thing is that, Sakura was mentally preparing herself for the other missions to come today. If they didn't managed to sucessfully handle them, her team will be behind and she doesn't want that to happen.
And, for some reason, she's feeling an excrutiating 'toll' on her shoulders.
Having to re-organize everything when the current situation keeps changing is completly exhausting - especially now that her team constantly moves from area to area.
Starting from the village until hitting the forests.
She's not assigned as the leader, per say, but Rin and Kakashi tend to count on her to make the plans of the missions, since being accepted as genins.
Either way, both Jonins perceived her attentive and quick thinking on the training they had, so they're probably trying to improve that aspect of hers more and make the other two take some steps forward also.
Of course, this would only happen if the mission needed such a task in the first place.
But, she sure hopes that this time they can finally move on from this duty and go do something else. It could be something boring and simple, since she wouldn't have the need to 'think' of every possible outcome that could happen.
But, as of now, she and Sasuke have been constantly planning their strategies and Naruto is the one who has to do the 'hard-work', as he would say.
Which is what he's doing at this exact moment...
Naruto: "Loud and clear." The boy answered back in a whisper - hidden under the grass of the camp.
Sakura: "How much closer you are to the target?"
Naruto: "Um... I would say 3 meters." He nodded while watching the target.
Sasuke: "Do you see any future complications you might get yourself into?" The boy questioned on the other line; not hiding at all the smirk he was doing behind the tune of his voice.
Naruto: "I'm talking to one right now!" He shout-whispered back in annoyance - which the Uchiha on the other side became annoyed on hearing.
Rin: "Shh! You three! Focus! We're almost done here." Their sensei spoke on the other line "Remember, the target can be really naive, but she can transform herself into lightning in seconds."
Kakashi: "All possible outcomes were calculated?" The jonin's voice subtly inquired
Sakura: "Most of them were... again." She replied with an tint of sarcasm "But, we can improvise if something unexpected occurs." She nodded in confidence
Kakashi: "Oh, you really thought about it? I was expecting to hear something different this time." He passed a hand on the back of his head on the other line.
Naruto: "Huh? Like what?" He suddenly asked
Kakashi: "Like: 'We don't predict the future sensei'. That type of stuff." He tried to imitate their voices like litlle kids would do.
Sasuke: "I wouldn't be surprised if it came out of Naruto..."
Sakura: "Pfft!" She held her sudden will to laugh; thinking that Sasuke's tune of voice came out quite funny.
Naruto: "Hey!"
The blonde forgot about his current position and let out an yell loud enough for their target to hear. She turned her head to the side, seeing if she could perceive where did the noise came from.
Her glare became suspicious and her body language clearly showed her alarmed demeanor.
Naruto sweatdropped for these past few seconds that his target scanned the area; trying his best to hide his form from her.
Rin: "Kashi-kun, don't distract them! Naruto was three meters away from the target." On the other line, the genins could hear their sensei scolding the other one.
Kakashi: "Yeah... my bad, Kame-chan." He quickly shrugged it off while still passing his hand behind his head.
Naruto: 'Damn you Uchiha and white-hedgehog! Wanting to piss me off at times like this!' He furiously thought
Sasuke: "She's not alarmed anymore."
The Uchiha noticed from affar, the way that their target went back to become unfazed by her surroundings; Naruto paying attention to his front once more and Sakura scanning the situation herself for confirmation.
Sakura: "Right. I think we can proceed to approach. Sasuke?" She asked looking in the direction the boy was hiding
Sasuke: "On it." He quickly replied with a nod
Sakura: "Naruto?" She asked while looking at his hiding spot.
Naruto: "Yeah, I'm- ah..."
Suddenly Naruto stopped after feeling an immense need to sneeze.
Naruto: "Ah... AH-"
The blonde's friends immediatly knew that he wouldn't be able to hold it any longer and decided to step on action without his confirmation.
Sakura: "Sasuke now!" She hurriedly got out from her hiding spot.
Sasuke: "Tch. This idiot!" He quickly left off as well.
Naruto: "ACHOO!!"
Upon the big sneeze, their target immediatly locked eyes on the direction the boy was and when moving her eyes a litlle above her, she intercepted the other two hunters that wanted to catch her.
She immediatly flinched and made her body go all the way up before sprinting into the wild. Sakura and Sasuke immediatly went after her; Naruto already being up and sprinting after his two friends.
Rin wasn't kidding when saying that their target could transform herself into lightning once being alarmed of any dangerous situation. It almost seemed like she had an sort of speed boost on her body that made her muscles pretty much prepared for running.
The blonde catched up with his team.
Naruto: "Sorry! I wasn't supposed to-"
Sakura: "It's okay! She would have probably escaped either way, like last time!" She quickly responded while continuing sprinting
Sasuke: "How can she be so slippery? We weren't even supposed to be chasing her right now. You've put her on a genjutsu back then." He inquired while looking at the pinkette and running.
Sakura: "Well, I didn't thought she would release herself so quickly with the noise of light boxes falling to the ground." She said between breaths - looking at the target in front of her "Either way, we have to catch her here or it could become worse."
Naruto: "Man! Didn't know how much difficult this could be!" He grumbled while running but then an ideia crossed his mind "Oh! That's it!"
Sakura and Sasuke looked at eachother with confusion; observing the boy getting a litlle away from them.
Naruto then made a hand sign and a single clone appeared some meters away in front of him. The clone crouched while giving his hand, apparently to give the original an boost.
Once Naruto got closer to the clone, he immediatly was sent with force in the air - not so many meters - but sufficient enough, to make him become much closer to his target. An big grin was on his lips, seeing his hands almost touching the target.
Naruto: "Yeah! I got her, I got her!"
Sasuke and Sakura payed attention to him - both of them cheering for him to catch her with their widened eyes.
However, just when Naruto was about to make a move, he instantly felt his foot hit something on the floor and felt his body falling on the grass.
Sasuke and Sakura started to slow down and go to the fallen boy's direction; their hype dying a second after.
Once arriving there, they immediatly started to help him out of the floor, pulling his arms with difference force.
Naruto: "Hng... I didn't get her." He mumbled while having an defeated expression.
Rin: "Hm... our target is quite a thing to note." She thought on the other side of the line
Kakashi: "Where did she went this time?" He asked
Sasuke looked in the direction that their target was before and he immediatly saw her entering on a common area of the camp they were in.
Sasuke: "She's not too much far. We can still reach her." He looked at Sakura while answering his sensei - Naruto already being up and trying to get the dirt out of his attire.
Naruto: "Rin-ne, this is getting really annoying! Now we need a new plan again!" He crossed his arms with an scolding expression; his big sister just chuckling on the other side.
Rin: "Don't worry now, I have an inkling that we're very close to finish our mission. And I think we can re-use one of Sakura-chan's plan. After all, the best approach we have against our target - besides food or toys in general - is genjutsu."
Kakashi: "*Sigh* We're lucky they didn't stop us from using these tactics." He passed a hand behind his head on the other line.
Sakura: "Well, it's pretty quiet here so I doubt there will be any more sounds to wake her up this time. So, I think we can try once more." She explained
Naruto: "As long as I don't get scratched again, I can try to get her one more time." He crossed his arms "I'm the one who's doing this since the beginning, either way."
Sasuke: "Well, someone needs to plan this up in detail and with brains. That's why me and Sakura need you to grab her." He looked at the boy; his arms also crossed and brow raised.
Naruto: "Huh!? Are you saying I'm dumb?! I was the one who gave Sakura the ideia of using genjutsu! Why didn't you switched places with me that time?!" He exclaimed back
Sakura: "Because we didn't and don't have time for this!" She entered in the middle of them; annoyance being splattered on her eyebrows "Look, we just need to catch our target and bring her in safety. I'm all fine with letting you decide what me and Sasuke can do, but as long as we finish our mission! Okay?"
The boys complied with her reasoning by not saying anything else - looking at their sides while trying to forget what just happened.
At the other side of the line, both senseis just looked at eachother with an tint of awe and surprise, but the moment passed as soon as Kakashi's voice echoed.
Kakashi: "Come on kiddos. Time to strategize again."
The jonin spoke and Sakura and Naruto proceeded to follow Sasuke, to where their target ran off to...
-🌸-
Kakashi: "Alright, what's the difference to the target?"
Team 7 were once more hidden behind the trees and now they had the perfect opportunity to finally reach their target.
Sasuke: "Five meters away. I'm ready anytime." The boy confidently spoke.
Naruto: "So am I." He whispered
Sakura: "Me too."
Rin: "Ok! Is the plan already set?" She asked one more time through her headset.
Sakura: "Yeah! Everything's ready." She nodded in the other side of the call.
The genin's glares were mostly focused and attentive when they watched their target completly unbothered once more.
Kakashi: "Perfect." He spoke "Then go!"
In one swift second, all three of them jumped from their location and immediatly launched themselves towards the target.
From Naruto's sudden outburst, their target immediatly flinched; not knowing which direction to take.
She didn't had too much options anyway, as Naruto immediatly grabbed the cat's figure on his arms with an proud but serious expression.
Naruto: "Got'cha!"
"Nyaaa!"
The cat immediatly started to move herself with agression on the boy's arms, trying to scratch his cheeks intensely. Naruto tried his best to not let the cat get into his face, which was almost starting to become impossible.
Upon seeing the scene, the pinkette ran into action to make things more easy.
Sakura: "Alright girlie, time's out on that." She answered before doing a single hand sign "Cherry nap!"
The agressive cat - upon feeling the sensorial motions of the genjutsu flowing on her - started to calm down and relax with an deep purr coming out of her throat. Naruto instantly calmed down, seeing the cat happily sleeping on his hands as if it was tranquilized.
Naruto: "Woah... she calmed down." He watched the pet's figure intently with beaming eyes - feeling Sakura helping him out of the floor
Sakura: "Now that's what I'm talking about. Just needed more concentration this time." She smiled while grabbing the blonde out of the floor.
Naruto: "That was so cool, Sakura! You have to teach me that." He beamed even more, jumping on happiness.
Sakura: "Calm down, goofball. You'll wake her up." She grabbed the cat from Naruto's grasp - the cat apparently appreciating to be on the girl's arms more.
While the moment happened, Sasuke turned to speak with his sensei who had called him out.
Kakashi: "Ribbon on the left ear. Are you sure this is the target, Tora?" He asked on the other side of the call.
Sasuke: "Yeah, we're sure." He answered
Rin: "And the target is not struggling?"
Sasuke turned himself, seeing the cat sleeping on Sakura's arms while Naruto slowy pet it's head. An smile was made on the young Uchiha's lips.
Sasuke: "Not at all."
Kakashi: "Good. Then that means-"
Rin: "Lost pet 'Tora' seach mission is complete!" She beamed while being at Kakashi's side
Kakashi: "That's right." He casually smirked under his mask.
-🌸-
The team got right back to the Hokage's office and immediatly spotted the chubby woman - Madam Shijmi who was the owner of Tora and the fire country lord's wife - portraying an immense worried expression on her semblance.
However, before she could ask in a lightning if they managed to find her cat, Sakura immediatly went forward and gave the animal to her owner.
Upon seeing Tora, Madam Shinjmi couldn't help but completly beam on sight; her pupils showing an immense happiness.
A second later, and the soft snores that the cat was making were abruptly stopped and replaced by an immense whine; feeling the tremendous force of his owner's hug once more.
Madam Shinjmi: "Ohh, my cute litlle Tora-chan. I was so worried." She continued to hug it like an stuffed bear - the cat trying immensely to escape.
Naruto: 'Ha! That's what you get from trying to scratch me!' He internally thought
Sakura: "No wonder it ran away..." She mumbled to both her senseis - who were present behind her.
Kakashi: "The poor thing." He shooked his head as Rin silently chuckled alongside Sakura.
Hiruzen cleared his throat once the whole ordeal was finished and the chubby lady's problem was finally out of the picture. Iruka was also on the third's side and was patiently doing his duties.
Hiruzen: "Very well. Now Team 7, your next assigned mission is... hmm... ah yes. Babysitting an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighbouring village, and help with the potato digging."
Naruto: "What?! No, no, no! Absolutely not!" The boy screamed getting the attention he wanted "I simply refuse! This time I want an incredible mission! No! An very awesome mission! Dismiss these ones and put us on a better one!"
The team looked at Naruto with their own internal conflicts running.
Sasuke: 'Even though dramatic, I agree. We've been only doing these simple stuffs around and nothing more interesting. Sparing is starting to become repetitive too.'
Sakura: 'I was starting to think when would he finally mention it. It's too obvious which part of the timeline we're progressing now.' She quickly thought in discretion 'Can't say he's wrong since we've been trying to catch that cat since the morning. And even though we're in the lowest ranking of shinobi, I don't think shopping or potato digging would show our true potential anyway.' She sweatdropped with an nervous smile.
Kakashi: "*Sigh* I knew it was just a matter of time..." He muttered
Rin: "At least you were prepared now." She smiled back at him, which did not help Kakashi's worry at all.
Iruka: "Naruto!" He called the blonde, which made him immediatly look up at him "That's not how it works!"
Naruto: "Well, I say it is! What about it!?" He scolded back - Iruka just getting more annoyed.
Before letting an discussion appear in the air, the kunoichi on the room stepped up.
Rin: "Ah- Naru-kun."
Naruto: "Hm?" He looked at her with more calm.
Rin: "Unfortunatly for all of you, the genin position doesn't get that much help in these 'awesome' types of missions, you know? Everyone starts off with simple duties and slowly rank up with time. It happened with me; Kakashi-sensei; with Iruka-sensei and even with the Third, as well."
The old man simply nodded back to the blonde when he looked at him for a second.
Naruto: "But, Rin-ne! We keep getting the most crappest missions to ever exist! Who wants to take care of an old man's brat and help with potato digging anyway?! What does this have to do with being an shinobi?!"
Kakashi suddenly bonked Naruto on the head - instantly making him stop.
Kakashi: "Be quiet now." He firmly stated while Sakura held her laughter and Sasuke merely smirked.
The third hokage suddenly spoke with confidence.
Hiruzen: "Naruto! It seems I have to explain to you, what these duties are all about."
Naruto payed attention - trying to make the pain of the bonk go away. The rest of the team paying attention alongside him.
Hiruzen: "Everyday, the village recieves numerous requests of all types. From baysitting... to assasination."
His cold voice towards the end, made the genins somewhat feel an cold feling on their stomachs.
Hiruzen: "Each request is written down on these lists and divided into an A, B, C, D ranking; based on their difficulty. With this said, the village is also divided based on skill. Starting with me to the Jounins - Like Kakashi and Rin - Chunins - Like Iruka - and finally to you three genins who are considered as apprentices. The missions are then handed out by us at the top two ninjas based on their abilities, and if the assigned duty is completed succesfully, we receive payment from the client."
Hiruzen then looked at the team.
Hiruzen: "Like Rin said, all three of you just recently became Genin. So D-rank missions are perfect for you."
Meanwhile, Naruto had only sat on the floor while Rin and Kakashi stood there watching him; the white haired jonin observing and trying not to sigh heavily while the brunnete was already developing an sudden nervousness on her stomach.
Sakura and Sasuke could only glare with side-eyes the boy's behaviour.
Naruto: "Last night, Ne-chan made pork ramen for me, so miso sounds good for-"
Hiruzen: "Hey! Listen to me when I talk to you!!"
Rin: "H-Hehe! I apologize for his behaviour, lord third!" She quickly spoke - not being able to hold her nervousness from her voice "Naru-kun, behave now..." She said on a alarming yet sweet cold tune; her expression darkening for a second.
The boy did not flinched too much, despite starting to get goosebumps from the glare that his big sis was sending.
Naruto: "Don't need to get scared by this old man, Rin-Ne! Everything he always does is just lecture us at this, lecture us at that. It's completly boring! And he's only doing this because he keep looking at me, as if I just cause trouble everytime!" He still stood on the floor while making his remarks "But you want to know something!? I'm not the troublemaking brat that he still thinks I am! I'm done with this!"
Rin could only see from her perspective the pouting angered face that Naruto was doing and she couldn't help but put her hand on her hips while taking an quick sigh in defeat.
Sometimes, Naruto's temper tremendously makes her remember about his mother; she could almost hear it on her ears.
Iruka at the other side was quite surprised by the boy's statement - slowly making his lips curl up into an proud smile.
Iruka: 'Even though Nohara-Senpai takes care of him now, it seems even she can't escape from these sudden outbursts of his, time to time.'
Kakashi: "We'll definetly be scolded for this." He muttered loud enough for his partner to hear.
Rin: "Shush you..." She chuckled - her hand moving to cover her face for some seconds.
Hiruzen was attentively watching the blonde in these silent seconds that passed.
Even though it came out as an whine, it was clear that Naruto wanted to grow as a shinobi and desperatly needed the experience that this ninja-world can give.
There was also the fact that the boy's words came out as an expression of what he was feeling and wanted to say - usually the hokage's faces would already be covered with paint by now or the streets would be completly euphoric to look at directly.
An smirk formed on the old man's lips as he puffed his cigar.
Hiruzen: "Alright."
Naruto: "Huh?"
Not only Naruto's attention was caught, but the entire Team looked up at the hokage with surprised looks. Rin and Kakashi in special - as Sasuke and Sakura were more relaxed in comparasion.
Hiruzen: "If you want it that much... I'Ill give you a C-rank mission. It's a protection mission of a certain individual."
Naruto and Sakura's excitiment immediatly ignited.
The pinkette knew this was an peak moment of the storyline that would be tremendously important and she was very excited to experience her first dangerous encounter with the shinobi world out there.
After all, she would have to get out of the village eventually.
It wasn't a surprise that Naruto would love the ideia of getting out, since it's been quite some time he's last got out of the village with Rin by his side.
Naruto: "Hell yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" He looked up and screamed in joy; punching the air right up.
Another bonk was made on the boy's head, and this time it wasn't Kakashi who delivered it.
Rin: "Now, now, Naruto. We're still in the hokage's office, show more respect please." She quickly scolded him.
Naruto: "Hmph... sorry." He mumbled but then started to speak again after remembering something "Ah! But, who?! Who will it be?! A Feudal Lord?! A Princess!?"
Hiruzen: "Well, calm down there. I'm about to introduce him." The third spoke with patience "Mr Tazuna, you may enter."
In one second, the office's door was subtly opened and grabbed the attention of the shinobi inside. An old man carrying an beer botlle on his hand was present on the door and he had took some good drinks before reaching there.
He had grey hair with a large beard and dark eyes. An sleeveless V-neck shirt was being seen on his torso alongside an obi.
Tazuna: "What's going on here? They're all a bunch of stupid brats." He took a sip of his botlle, looking at the genins a second after; his voice tune completly showing his frustration "Especially the shortest one with the most stupid face I've ever seen in my life. Hey!? Are you really an ninja?"
Rin became rigid and serious upon hearing the man saying that without a care for the boy. Even though she knows he's somewhat drunk, it was still really unecessary to say 'that' of all things.
Kakashi softly made his hand go on her shoulder as a way to say 'calm down', which made her deliver an soft and silent sigh.
Rin: 'Drunk people doesn't know what they do.' She shooked her head while quickly thinking.
Naruto: "Hehe... who's the shortest one with the stupid- face?"
He looked on his both sides, seeing how taller Sakura and Sasuke was compared to him; both of them completly amused by the boy's sudden reaction after.
Sakura: 'Man, forgot the detail that I'm taller then him. At least for now...' She smirked while looking at Naruto
Sasuke: 'It's been a while since I saw how tall Sakura was...' He smirked 'Hmph. Not bad.'
Naruto: "HEY! JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!? I'IL KILL YOU!"
The boy was furiously stoming around - trying to run towards the old man who still observed him from affar with an disappointing glare.
Kakashi and Rin were holding him without any difficulty with the difference being that Rin had an nervous smile and Kakashi was more chill.
Kakashi: "What's the point of killing the person we're suppose to protect? Idiot!"
Naruto: "It doesn't matter! I'Il show him how to respect people!"
Rin: "If you don't stop right now, no miso soup with my special cream, for you!"
In a second, Naruto stopped and even managed to get out from his senseis grasp.
He was suddenly smiling like an sweet litlle angel and beaming with an joyful aura.
Rin and Kakashi could only sweatdrop as Sakura and Sasuke could only watch the scene with uncertainty - thinking if they truly fit on the situation at all - or if they were just existing there for the time being.
Sakura couldn't help but think they've acted like the boy's parents then anything; holding and preventing him of doing something irrational.
Kakashi does seems to be getting more used to the boy's attitude and with Rin speaking things about him everytime, it may be easier to handle.
Kakashi: "I see. So food is his weakness..." He mumbled towards his partner.
Rin: "It... usually works most of the times." She mumbled back.
Tazuna: "Listen closely."
The man suddenly spoke; catching everyone's attention.
Tazuna: "I am the super expert bridge builder, Tazuna. I'm expecting you to provide me full protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge."
-🌸-
As the genins fully accepted their mission, Team 7 was officialy in charge of the C-rank mission the Hokage gave them. Since Tazuna needed to be protected all the way towards the Land of Waves, they were quickly advised to organize their equipment and supplies to appropriatly travel.
Sakura was the only one who actually needed an more supervised permission out of the three genins, but her parents did not seemed too much worried and were truly more then just excited for their daughter's first real protection mission.
Mebuki couldn't stop talking about how rare this was to occur when she was Sakura's age and Kizashi had to stop her from telling an reeally long story that didn't had anything to do with it.
Either way, Team 7 was soon prepared to leave the Leaf Village's gates and completly stuffed with their equipment and supplies on their bags.
Tazuna, Kakashi Sakura and Sasuke were patiently waiting for Rin and Naruto.
The brunnete Jonin needed to adjust some things on the boy's bag and they decided to wait just a litlle bit.
Tazuna: "How much till they get here?" He asked Kakashi in frustration "I don't have all day you know?"
Kakashi: "I'm sure it won't take a minute. She's probably just checking some things with him since she's responsable for him." He shrugged while looking at his partner from affar.
Tazuna: "Responsable, eh? Poor girl. Must have a lot of patience."
Kakashi: 'One that I don't have...'
Kakashi could only darkly grin behind his mask, trying his best to not say something he would probably regret later.
The old man was giving him migraines since they've started the preparations to leave, so his patience is almost running thin without Rin on his side for support.
The young Uchiha was quite bored of not speaking and decided to have an chat with Sakura; who was also pretty much anxious to start walking, giving how her feet keep making her move while standing.
Sasuke: "So? How are you feeling about us leaving?" He asked in curiosity and the girl immediatly perked up to him.
Sakura: "You know? I'm actually really excited! It's the first time I'm leaving the village for a mission." Her eyes beamed with stars for an instance but stopped once she returned to reason "We're going to do this more in the future, so it's really good to have an taste of it now."
Sasuke: "Hm. Positive as always." He replied neutrally; the girl eyeing him with suspicion a second after.
Sakura: "Hm. Realistic as always." She crossed her arms while giving him and challenging smirk "You could relax yourself a litlle more, Uchiha. I'm pretty sure you're excited to explore the Lands instead of running up to catch cats."
Sasuke: "Tch. Of course I'm relieved of being here rather then doing that. It's just better to not let our guard down. If you want to 'relax' then do it, but I won't close my eyes so easily." He looked sideways; taking note of the green area around them.
Sakura: "Pssh. Come on Sasuke, I was just kidding. I'm just saying that you don't need to look at everything as if it will attack you from all directions. You actually think I don't notice when you start looking at everything and everyone with suspicion?" She said with somehow worried brows - which the boy didn't fail to notice "I just want you to relax in a... natural way. Not to let your guard down. But to look at things with more ease." She gave him an simple smile.
Sasuke looked at the girl's direction feeling that tint of nervousness hitting his heart.
Sakura just revealed that she does observe him when they walk together just to have a talk.
Of course that the Uchiha would be somehow paranoid of walking closer to her on the streets of the village - he doesn't know if he might appear and take her away from his life too.
But to know that she was starting to get worried of this paranoia did catch him with surprise.
At first, he had to look away and not show his blush, but he managed to control and speak back.
Sasuke: "*Sigh*, Alright. I guess I can try... to do that." He spoke but continued before the girl could cut him "But I'Il do it my way, we're clear?"
Sakura: "Fine by me." She shrugged her shoulders, but her eyes told him she truly became happy with his response.
Naruto: "Yeah! Let's go!"
The pinkette had flinched for a second, not expecting the boy's sudden yell. Rin came towards him while chuckling; petting his head right after.
Rin: "Someone's really excited." She looked down at him.
Naruto: "Well, of course! It's been so long since we left the village!" He spoke while taking a look at his surroundings.
The pinkette found the statement weird...
Sakura: "Huh? You already left the village before?" She raised up an brow while looking at him with confusion.
Rin: "It's been a while actually." She quickly explained, trying her best to not get nervous with the way Kakashi suddenly looked at her "But, yes! We indeed got out one time."
Naruto: "Now I'm ready to do it again!" He exclaimed
Tazuna: "Hey! Am I really going to be safe with this brat?"
Naruto could only irk in annoyance since he thinks it's the third time, that this old man keeps barking nonsense at him out of nowhere.
Before Kakashi could even disregard the man's rambling, the kunoichi did first.
Rin: "Don't you worry, Mr Tazuna. You are being accompanied by two Jonins. I'm sure that's more then enough proof that there won't be any difficulties." She kindly explained
Naruto: "Yeah! It's better that you remember that well! So don't mess with ninjas, old man! That's why I'm so incredible!" He then pointed his finger towards Tazuna's direction "One day, I will be the self-proclaimed Hokage of this village! Uzumaki Naruto! So remember it!"
The boy's firing spirit was something that was constantly observed by Rin - Kakashi was only about to know this side of his from now on.
Everytime he would speak about it, the kunoichi couldn't help but actually feel something enlighting her heart and mind; warming her care and love for him even more.
Naruto reminded her so much of him.
Even his smile looked the same...
Obito also constantly spoke about how much he dreamed of becoming Hokage himself.
And even though she never clearly revealed the feeling back in the days, she now understands that she was constantly cheering and wishing that he would fullfill his dream; to make it be true.
But, as always, there's always certain factors or people who can't believe it at all...
Tazuna: "Hmph. Hokage is the village's number one, right? Someone like you getting there is quite unbelievable. I doubt it." He looked at the boy while taking a sip of his beer.
The blonde's fury came back into life once hearing the old man doubting him.
Naruto: "SHUT UP! I am prepared to do anything to become Hokage! And when I do, prepare youself to acknowledge me!"
Tazuna just gave him an judging look - apathetically looking away.
Tazuna: "Heh, as if. I will never do that you brat. Even if you did become Hokage."
Naruto just gritted his teeth; popping his vein in complete anger and annoyance. His grunt was already being heard, however before he could do anything again-
Rin: "Naruto, no!" The brunnete swiftly held his shoulders back while looking at him with seriousness "What have we talked about before?"
Naruto: "This isn't-"
Rin: "What do we do when we get angry?" She cutted him; not caring that the others were present.
Naruto: "Argh! Rin-ne, this is just-"
Rin: "What do we do... if we get angry?"
Her voice was assertive and her eyes did not locked anywhere else but on his own blue ones.
The boy immediatly looked elsewhere, trying to ignore the fact that he's embaressing himself right in front of his friends; his other sensei and his so annoying mission.
He crossed his arms while still having an annoyed expression. Then, he started to just breathe in and out slowly and trying to not tense his muscles more.
Rin: "That's right. We breathe..." She held an neutral expression while observing his this time and started to massage his arms with her hands. In a quick whisper, she spoke closer to him "I know Mr Tazuna is a rigid man, but please try to have patience. You don't need to bond with him or even take to heart what he says, but we still need to protect him. Don't forget he's not only mine responsability- is yours too..."
With an confident glare towards Naruto, the boy finally ceased on the sudden outburst of anger.
His tensed muscles relaxed and he was apparently just annoyed.
Rin looked back at her partner with an nod and a simple smile - signalizing that they could finally continue.
Kakashi: "Alright! Our journey awaits us!" He kindly spoke
Tazuna: "Tch. About time."
Sakura could only watch the man with an annoyed side-eye; scolding him. Inner-Sakura couldn't simply stay silent and had to scream her frustrations inside the pinkette's head.
Sakura: 'AND HERE I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE EASY TO DEAL WITH THIS FOSSIL! I'M THIS CLOSE ON ACCIDENTLY STEPPING ON HIS FOOT!'
Sasuke: "Hey, don't bother..." The boy nudged the girl's shoulder taking her out from her thoughts "Come on."
From beneath the forest's trees, two figures observed the Team starting to go towards their next destination; silently taking note of their equipment and mannerisms.
It wouldn't be too late for them to attack.
-🌸-
Naruto was still somehow silent despite his excitiment slowly building back up. However for the pinkette it was quite unusual to say Naruto and silent in the same line, and as such, she decided to do an quick check-up.
Sakura: "Hey. You're not a clone are you?" She suddenly asked the boy; bumping softly on him at first.
Naruto: "Huh? Of course not Sakura, why?" He said
Sakura: "Because knowing you the way I do, you would probably be in our fronts and simply taking note of everything your eyeballs can catch." She smirked while crossing her arms "And not in total silence like this."
Naruto: "But I am doing that. Just not the way you were expecting..." He crossed his arms while looking down
Sakura: "You know that if you want to talk about anything I'm here, right? Not gonna force you in anything, but just want to make sure."
She smiled and gave the boy soft taps on his shoulder before proceeding to get closer to Sasuke again - not giving Naruto a proper time to reveal something that was on his head and speak about his frustrations.
He just decided that he could speak about it later and that now it wasn't the time to get annoyed by what happened.
As such, he decided to let his excitiment flew in and went to go exactly what Sakura mentioned before.
Walking in front of everyone, Rin couldn't help but be content once seeing him smiling towards the green scenary.
Deciding to end the silence, the pinkette thought about a question and when it came she proceeded to ask...
Sakura: "So Tazuna-san is from the Land of Waves, right?"
Tazuna: "Indeed. What about it?" He answered
Sakura: "Does that mean they have ninjas in that country too, Sensei?" She looked at Kakashi who was next to her
Kakashi: "Well, not exactly, but before I can answer that bubblegum, it's important to understand the structure of our shinobi nations first." He paused, allowing a brief silence to setlle "There are five great countries that are powerful and influential in the shinobi world: The Land of Fire, where Konoha resides; the Land of Water, home to kiri; the Land of Earth and it's village Iwa; the Land of Wind, which houses Suna and the Land of Lighting, dominated by Kumo."
The pinkette nodded towards his explanation with curious eyes and now Sasuke was paying attention to the topic as well.
Kakashi: "Beyond these, there are smaller, less influential countries - Just like the Land of Waves for example. While they might have ninjas, they may not be as organized or powerful as those from the great nations. But answering your question, no. The Land of Waves do not receive the interferences of larger countries; thus they do not require a shinobi village."
Rin: "And a litlle thing to note." The kunoichi subtly appeared on the conversation, having heard everything since the beginning "The larger countries are the only ones whose leader is reffered to as 'Kage'. They reign over the thousands of ninjas in the world and are considered very powerful shinobis. Each one of them is reffered differently according to their country. The Fire Country - which our village resides - gives the leader the title of 'Hokage', which roughly translates to 'Fire Shadow', since it's inhabitants are commonly more known for using mostly fire-style jutsus."
She looked up in thought; her index finger pressing her lips lighty
Rin: "Although the last part isn't exactly true to every single civilian and shinobi that lives there."
Sakura: 'Seeing how incredible the kages are supposed to be, it sounds fishy when you realize that the old geezer never actually took care of Naruto himself; even if he could.' Inner-Sakura, although more composed, couldn't help but note that statement "It does seem like a lot of responsability." She answered while having an curious brow raised.
Sasuke: "More then the air-head could even dream of." The dark haired boy replied, which made Naruto flinch in annoyance and his big sister to chuckle.
Rin: "Don't need to be so down about it though. Once you get the handle of it, I'm sure you start to manage." She flipped a strand behind her ear with an nervous smile present "Not that I know how it truly works, hehe..."
Suddenly Kakashi patted Sakura's head which made her slighty jump in surprise.
Kakashi: "But don't worry, bubblegum. There won't be any sort of combat in a C-rank mission." He kindly smiled
Sakura looked for a milisecond at Tazuna's direction before replying.
Sakura: "Yeah, well, it's just out of curiosity. Never know if they might appear, right?" She smiled
Rin: "Even if it's true, there's nothing to worry about! After all, our mission doesn't involve protecting him from shinobi."
The old man accompanying the team couldn't help but look at his front with an newfound worried glare. It was difficult to keep up hiding the information inside himself, but he couldn't reveal what he hid from them, all of a sudden.
Especially now that this team could potentially leave the mission if they wanted, since they weren't warned about the real 'problem' to deal until he got to his destination.
The Uchiha did took notice of his behaviour - finding it very odd - but he decided to keep it to himself since there wasn't anything he could do about it right now.
As the team continued to walk further, they all eventually crossed paths with an single puddle of water nearby.
Both Kakashi and Rin looked with discretion at it's direction - perceiving the obvious disguise that could only distract normal civilians and genins at best.
At least that was what both Jonin thought.
Relaxing their mannerisms either way, both just continued on as if they didn't knew anything.
Sakura had took a note of the puddle herself, however she decided to wait for the right opportunity.
The thought that she could try to disperse the disguise and attack right away was very tempting, but what would happen was a good opportunity to show off how much she improved to her team.
In no way that she would just stand protecting Tazuna and don't try to help with the situation - and also leaving all the credit to the emo.
That's why shadow clones exists for her benefit. And she's pretty convinced that her clones can do an excellent job.
As if on cue, a head emerged from the puddle, revealing that in actuality it wasn't just a single person.
Their bodies emerged from the disguise; the one hiding in the back of the other, quickly launched himself in the air and straight into both Jonin's direction.
In one swift second, chains got out from their metal gauntlets and made a rough contact with the jounin's arms and body; piercing through their skin and leaving an heated fever from the quick movement.
The genins alongside Tazuna immediatly looked at their Sensei's direction.
Kakashi: "What!?" He widened his eyes
Sakura: "Kakashi-Sensei!"
Rin: "How?!" She became tense
Naruto: "Huh?! What's this?! Rin-Ne!"
Kakashi and Rin were stuck and connected together by the metal chains, as the two ninjas from before were now encasing them using the gauntlets.
"Two down."
In one swift movement, the two ninjas moved their arms in opposite directions, shredding the two Jonins into pieces of meat in the air.
The limbs fell on the floor - leaving an rough taste in the atmosphere.
All three genin and Tazuna were unsettled; fear and anxiety building up in their stomachs at different paces.
Sakura: "They're gone! Sasuke, the attackers are gone!" She quickly looked at Sasuke's direction with a nervous sweat; taking him out of the quick trance.
Naruto: "NE-CHAN!" He screamed, his body trembling a second after 'N-Ne-chan just got...'
However before the blonde couldn't even finish his anxious and shocked thoughts, the two attackers suddenly appeared behind him - an heavy aura spreading through Naruto's back.
"Three down."
In one crucial movement, the pinkette summoned two clones to stay closer towards Tazuna - who were still pretty much shocked about the whole ordeal. The original Sakura jumped in the air, swiftly grabbing one shuriken and one kunai.
Aiming right towards the chain, she released an considerable amount of chakra to her hand and throwed the shuriken instantly.
The weapon got stuck on a tree nearby, surprising the two attackers. However, before they could think of striking back, the girl throwed the kunai she was holding with the same amount of force and chakra and fixated even more the chain on the trunk; said trunk already having cracks as if someone just punched it.
The two attackers couldn't take their chain from it's recent position and immediatly noted that they were stuck and couldn't get their arms back with their usual strenght. However, before they could think of something, Sasuke came from above and positioned his legs right on the top of the attacker's arms.
He grabbed their gauntlets - and with force - delivered an strong kick to both their faces at the same time. They felt the pain coming in their face but the boy's attack was proven to be beneficial.
Seconds later, and the chain broke from the gauntlets - releasing their arms.
Both ninjas ran and positioned themselves briefly, before deciding to strike the team again. One went towards Naruto's direction, while the other one went towards Tazuna's position - the old man accompanied by Sakura and her two clones immediatly became aware.
The original Sakura was tense but not worried or scared - if anything she was already positioned in front of Tazuna while her two other clones were just waiting for opportunity to arrive.
Sakura: "In positions!" She said towards the clones, holding an kunai in front of her. The clones became present at both of Tazuna's sides and prepared to defend him "Mr Tazuna, behind me!"
The attacker arrived closer to Tazuna and Sakura's figure, only helding it's powerful hand at their direction. The chuunin was locking his pupils on the girl's green ones; seeing the determination on her eyes and yet not becoming bewildered by it.
Sasuke saw the whole scene happening from affar and worry immediatly filled his heart.
Despite Naruto needing his assistance and consequently being closer to him to facilitate his job, he couldn't let the thought of Sakura getting killed right there in front of him. Without him trying to do anything to protect her and have her back.
His instincts spoke louder and he let Naruto out of the picture with an immense heavy counsciousness. In one swift second and he was already in front of the pinkette; who in response only flinched in surprise by seeing the boy suddenly flicker in front of her.
The girl's mind did not corresponded with her surprised expression though...
Sakura: 'DAMMIT, UCHIHA! THIS IS NOT THE DAMN TIIIIME!!' Inner-Sakura screamed in pure fury; disappointed on seeing the same scene happening even if she was completly prepared for the incoming attack.
The attackers never managed to lay a single attack on the genins and at Tazuna.
Kakashi and Rin sucessfully catched the chunins, although with some difference.
The white haired Jonin grabbed the one going to Tazuna's direction using his brute strenght and arm, while the Kunoichi simply delivered an flexible kick towards the face - of the one chasing Naruto - and held his foot when his body turned the other direction; making him upside-down.
Both attackers were finally down.
The scene was quite a memorable one to say the least and the genins simply held different reactions towards the two shinobi. Despite being nervous before, Naruto immediatly widened his eyes open in surprise and shock - quite the same one he had before, when seeing his tutors die.
Sakura: 'Phew! It was about damn time.' She sighed before giving an simple smile 'And that was a hell of a kick, Nohara-senpai.' She nervously replied
Sasuke: 'What an show off. Did he made Nohara-sensei be this dramatic as well?'
Naruto: 'W-Wait!' The boy looked at where the members and blood was supposed to be, only to see nothing present at all 'Kakashi-sensei and Ne-chan used clones...'
An immense relief permeated his heart and mind, as that feeling of anxiety and uncertainty was finally leaving his being.
The old man - finally puffing out from his stress - could only observe with nervousness. 'They were finally saved now', that's what he thought.
The kunoichi finally gave a look at her litlle responsability on the floor - managing to not drop the chuunin on the ground just to give him a quick worried hug.
Rin: "Naru-kun, you're okay?" She smiled kindly "We're really sorry for not helping right away." She smiled nervously
Kakashi: "There's no 'we' in this, Kame-chan. I got him injured. Didn't thought he wouldn't be able to move." He replied
Rin: "Well, we can't know what could possibly happen, you know? Don't need to blame yourself like this- actually! It's no one's fault." She answered
Kakashi: "Well, either way, we must congratulate you both. Great job Sasuke; Sakura." He said, taking the two genins out of their comfort zone for a second "Both of you showed to us what teamwork means in the batllefield, as well as keeping your duties on check. It was really smart to summon two clones to protect Mr Tazuna in the case of something going wrong before attacking, bubblegum."
Sakura couldn't help but internally beam in pride and content, but of course being careful of not showing that from the outside.
She could only smile kindly and normally.
Rin: "Your timing was also perfect, Sasuke-kun! You knew exactly when to attack and how to attack. And you even kept the focus point of the mission alongside Sakura-chan, which was protecting Mr. Tazuna. Keep up the great work." She smiled towards the black haired boy while clasping her hands.
Even though he didn't showed it, Sasuke was content to receive the compliment. It's not like he wasn't used to being praised by a simple thing he can do. And for some reason, Nohara-sensei's compliment sounded truly genuine on it's own accord, so of course he would accept them.
From affar, the blonde simply observed the compliments and meaningful words that were being delivered to both of his best-friends. At first, he was still trying to get out of his shock but before anything could get inside his head, the primarily thing that came was...
Naruto: 'I didn't do anything. I just... stopped there and did nothing. I froze. And yet... they didn't.' He looked at the Uchiha's direction 'Sasuke was able to fight in our first real batlle with someone. He didn't seemed afraid or hesitant at all. And he's just casually standing there as if nothing happened; I don't even see a spec of dirt or dust in him. And he's not the only one...'
Then he looked at Sakura's figure.
Naruto: 'Sakura managed to get prepared in seconds. She didn't even stop to think, she just went and moved. She seemed so confident on her aim. Her posture just screamed that she was ready for what was to come.'
Sasuke: "Hey, what you're staring at?" The boy suddenly asked, also grasping Sakura's attention "Need any help, Mr. Scaredy Cat?" He smirked proudly towards Naruto's direction, igniting the boy's anger in seconds.
But before the blonde could scream at the Uchiha-
Rin: "Naru-kun! Don't even start! Their claws are soaked in poison and you were hit by it. We have to remove it quickly."
Sakura: "Yeah that's right!" Suddenly Sakura perked up and started speaking "After all, it will become worse if we don't take it out. We will need to open the wound, release the poison from your body, make sure it doesn't spread out to your whole nervous system, appropriatly check if it's spreading through all your body - if it's spreading through your whole body we will need to open up - so we can check if it's true, and if we don't, we will have to take you back to an special hospital, so that you can survive at a percentage of 0.001% of chances." She normally spoke "Don't move too much though, that way you will save the rest of your body from the infection." She nodded her head with an confident smile
As if the girl's settings were put on speed up, the team looked at her with obnoxious and nervous glares. The jounin slowly sweatdropped comically - Rin even more since she clearly knows everything was made out - as Sasuke just became completly confused with the whole explanation; looking at the girl as if she grew two heads.
Naruto: "WAAAAAAH! THIS IS TERRIBLE! I'M GONNA DIE! I'M GONNA DIE! I'M GONNA DIE!!" The boy became desperate while grabbing a fistful of his hair with force and concern
Sakura just continued doing what she already was doing - which was laugh.
Despite finding it childish, Sasuke couldn't help but smirk upon the girl's joke a second later.
Sakura: "Relax, goofball! I'm just kidding!" She smirked at the anxious boy who locked eyes with her "We won't need to do ALL of that. Just a litlle bit of it, and you'll be fine."
Rin: 'Sakura-chan has quite the humour I see...' She nervously replied inside her mind 'Even though it's impressive to see how detailed she is on her explanation. If I wasn't a doctor myself, I would probably believe it.'
As the situation was adressed properly, the white haired jonin spoke.
Kakashi: "Mr. Tazuna?"
Tazuna: "W...What is it?" The old man replied
Kakashi: "We need to talk to you." His glare became serious.
Rin became present right into his partner's side, still holding the chunin on her hand and looking at Tazuna with an neutral expression.
-🌸-
Both Kakashi and Rin tied the two attackers on a tree - they apparently not having too much force to get out from their grasp and just letting themselves be tied up. The team circled the attackers and when both Jonin finished the job they made their way closer to the genins nearby.
Kakashi: "These guys are Chuunin ranked ninjas that came from the Hidden Mist Village." He spoke while glaring at them "These types of ninjas are known to keep fighting no matter what."
"Tch. How did you read our movements?" One of them asked
Rin: "It's quite an easy deduction, actually. A water puddle simply 'existing' on a sunny day, even though not a single drop of rain had fallen from the sky in weeks..." She pretended to think while looking up and redirected her pupils at them a second after "Hm... I wonder how's that possible..."
Tazuna: "Tch. Why did the both of you let the brats fight them, when you already knew about it?" He asked in slight frustration and the two jounins looked at him.
Rin: "Well, if we wanted, these two would have already been dead instantly some hours ago. But there was something me and Kashi-kun needed to figure it out first." She hugged herself while looking at Tazuna.
Tazuna: "Which is...?" He waited for the reply
Kakashi: "Who their real target was." He looked in seriousness towards the old man
Tazuna: "What do you mean?" He raised a confused brow
Kakashi: "It means that a question appears. Were they after you or one of us? We weren't told that we would need to protect you from ninjas. Our mission was to simply protect you from thieves or gangs."
As Tazuna simply had no reply to give back, the kunoichi spoke while crossing her arms.
Rin: "It's certain that this isn't an C-rank mission anymore. It had ranked up to at least an B-rank mission. Just protecting you from 'ordinary dangers', until you complete the bridge you're currently constructing, would be truly an simple thing to do when compared to ninjas."
The old man once more did not reply; not knowing what to say...
Kakashi: "If we knew that ninjas were after you, this mission would have been an expensive B-rank, like Kame-chan said. I'm sure you must have had your reasons for doing this Mr. Tazuna, but problems will appear if you lie about mission details. We are now operating outside of our duties."
The genins only looked at the situation with silence - not knowing what they could possibly say. Sakura was expecting this moment to happen, but it was unlikely that she could have done anything different.
She can't stop thinking repeatedly about 'the changes she can always make to improve as a person and others', but she's starting to notice that she's questioning this specific part too much and in the end it happens anyway.
At least she was able to do something more appropriate back with the chuunin ninjas.
However, when briefly looking at Naruto, she remembered something...
Sakura: "W-Well, if that's the case Sensei, it means we aren't ready for these types of missions, right? We were not only tasked to do something different but we also need to go back to the village and get medicine for Naruto's wound."
Rin: "But, Sakura-chan, didn't you brought some medicines before coming? I even remember you counting them and seeing one that's specifically for poison." She tilted her head in confusion
Sakura: 'Dammit, I do remember that I've showed her...' Nervous Inner-Sakura made her appearence, but quickly got away to respond "W-Well, y-yeah, but I don't know if it will work on Naruto! It would be good to have an more profissional look into it as well." She nervously replied
Sasuke: "Since when you became so afraid of a change of plans?"
He asked having an brow raised at her and the pinkette immediatly felt her blood boil in anger at the Uchiha; her hair even looking alive for some seconds. If looks could kill, her immense annoyed glare would have buried him 7 palms beneath the ground by now.
The boy however did not fret at all and just continued staring at her neutrally.
Kakashi: "You know what? Bubblegum is right to worry." The team looked at his direction "I mean, this might be too much. I guess we should return to the village to treat Naruto. You guys shouldn't be put in such a dangerous situation either way..." He shrugged while looking away
Rin could only glare at him with an smug grin while also shooking her head in the process. She knew exactly what he was doing and his immediate response would come seconds after. The yellow haired boy immediatly became angered upon the words that were being delivered.
Once again, people were doubting his strenght and capacities.
He could only grab his kunai and-
Naruto: "GRK!"
Pierce it, into the back of his hand. The team immediatly looked at him with shocked and surprised expressions - not perceiving his irrational movement at all.
-🌸-