Chapter Ten:
It's warm.
Disgustingly so.
Naruto can feel sweat dripping down his neck and onto his back. He makes a face and turns to look at his… teammates, but they look very much the same like him; flushed from the blistering heat of the weather.
"Am I really expected to place my life in the hands of these three brats?" Tazuna mutters, side eyeing the only jounin in their group.
Kakashi manages an eye smile, walking at the rear end of their formation with his hands tucked into the pockets of his pants. "There's no cause for concern," he says, "I'm an elite ninja and my pups have been very well trained."
Tazuna doesn't look the least bit convinced, but he does finally quiet down his complaining. Naruto is ever so thankful. He'd be even more thankful if the man didn't stink so much like bitter alcohol.
Ugh.
Wrinkling his nose, Naruto continues leading the group with Sasuke in tow. They're about three, maybe four hours away from Konoha when Naruto spots a puddle on the edge of the dirt ridden path just up ahead. He sends Sasuke a discreet look and the other boy nods, having spotted it too.
There's been a heat wave for weeks now.
Naruto would have definitely remembered scrambling to leave his cramped territory to bask in the cool relief of rain. Simply for annoying him ━ for daring to bring up the notion of rain ━ Naruto leaks a bit of Kurama's fiery orange chakra into the sole of his sandal and steps onto the puddle making it sizzle with heat.
Naruto curls his mouth into a soft, little smile. The puddle starts to evaporate beneath his foot. Behind him, he can hear the sound of Sasuke engaging in a quick fight, followed by the sound of Sakura pulling out a kunai to protect Tazuna.
Reaching down, Naruto slips his hand into the puddle and starts pulling out an over-heated, unconscious ninja by the back of his shirt. The strangers hidden mist headband catches a glint of sunshine and Naruto turns to ask Sasuke, "are these seriously supposed to be chuunin?''
Sasuke, disgruntled but not surprised by Naruto's skills, answers in his usual monotone voice, "I expected more of a challenge. Just goes to show how much stronger leaf shinobi are." He has the other mist ninja beneath him, unconscious on the ground from having tried attacking Tazuna from the woodlands around them.
"Or perhaps, you simply have a better teacher," Kakashi quips in, looking absolutely unbothered and calm. "Great teamwork, pups. Sensei is very proud of you all."
"Doubt it." Naruto snorts. "Here," he passes the unconscious mist ninja to Kakashi, who takes a hold of the man with a bored expression. He holds the mist-nin by the scruff of his neck, like he's simply a misbehaving dog that needs to be punished.
"You did very well,'' Kakashi praises, eye-smiling down at Naruto. He then lowers his voice considerably, "that wasn't your chakra, was it?''
Naruto gives him one of his overly innocent looks. He flutters his blonde eyelashes to sweeten the deal and even fiddles with the hem of his jacket, making sure to look extra shy. "Wouldn't you like to know, sensei?''
Kakashi's eyebrow visibly twitches, but he doesn't dig for more information. He grabs the second mist-nin, makes sure he's properly knocked out, and ties the two of them to a nearby tree.
"What a hassle," Sakura mutters, placing her kunai back into her thigh holster. She gives herself a moment to breathe in deeply and then exhale softly, before she swiftly turns in her spot. Like a snake seizing a chance for an attack, she grabs Tazuna by the front of his shirt and hauls him over her shoulder, slamming him to the dusty ground with a grunt.
Tazuna lets out a loud, surprised and pain filled hiss. He looks up at Sakura from the ground with wide, terrified eyes. His mouth opens and closes, like a gaping fish out of the water struggling to survive.
Sasuke steps closer to Naruto. He mutters, "say goodbye to our mission."
Naruto makes a low, agreeing noise. "Goodbye, alcoholic-san."
"The fuck is your problem?" Sakura asks, crouching down to glare menacingly at Tazuna. Her nose scrunches up in disgust as she catches the scent of stale sake, sweat and fear all mixing together. "Are you trying to get us killed? Those mist ninjas are chuunin. They rank higher than us. We're fresh out of the fucking academy, you piece of━"
"Ahem," Kakashi clears his throat hesitantly, cutting Sakura off. In a soft, placating voice, he says, "sorry, Sakura-chan, but I think it's best if I ask him a few questions first before you put him into a coma."
With a huff, Sakura stands back to her original height. She grumbles something about dislocating both of Tazuna's shoulders as she joins her teammates off to the side.
"Don't mind, don't mind," Naruto sighs, holding his palms up in a peaceful way, "I'm sure you'll get another chance to beat him up."
Under the guise of keeping himself safe from Sakura's demon-like clutches, Sasuke nods, agreeing.
"Next time…" Sakura trails off, raising her hand and clutching it into a tight fist. Her knuckles crack from the pressure and she glances over her shoulder, glaring at Tazuna who gathers his bearings and manages to stand to his feet.
''Are you the real target of the mist ninjas?'' Kakashi questions, slipping his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Or is it my team? After all, the request that was relayed to the Hokage was that you have an escort to protect you against any roving bands of thieves and brigands. There was never any input about other shinobi.''
Tazuna stays quiet. His gaze lowers to the ground. A bead of sweat rolls down the side of his face.
Naruto's fingers twitch beside his thighs. The need to suffocate Tazuna until he yields and answers his Sensei's questions grows.
"In any case," Kakashi sighs, rolling his head from side to side, likely easing up a muscle near his shoulder, "it's clear this is more than a B-rank mission. To protect you from ordinary dangers until you complete the bridge you're currently constructing would be a simple thing. However…"
He pauses, reaching out a hand to ruffle Naruto's blonde locks, making the genin frown. Kakashi continues speaking, "as I've said earlier today, my pups are very well trained, but when push comes to shove, they are just that ━ well trained pups, not elite ninja.''
Sakura's expression turns to understanding, while Sasuke's fills with palpable disappointment. Naruto, on the other hand, looks contemplative.
"In spite of that," Kakashi smiles, his one eye closing as he retreats his hand away from Naruto's hair, "whether we continue on with this assignment depends on the three of you. It is beyond question that this mission would have been classified and priced as a mission for the elite, had Tazuna given the truthful information about it. Do you think yourselves capable to continue?''
"I can't tell if you're being serious or not right now," Sakura frowns. She nudges Naruto, who in turn, nudges Sasuke.
Narrowing his onyx coloured eyes, Sasuke peers up at Kakashi with distrust. The slant of his mouth falls into a straight line as he scents the air. "He's serious. We're being given an option."
Sakura makes a face. "Don't ever ask me this kind of question ever again, Sensei." She says. "I've been throwing around twenty kilograms of rice, flour and potatoes for the elderly during the past, what? Month or so? I have muscles growing in places muscles shouldn't be growing in. Of course, I'm capable." She pauses, curling her mouth into a deep frown. "But let's be realistic here," Sakura crosses her arms over her chest, "how are three genin with minimal training supposed to get through such a high ranked mission? It's best if we return home."
"Hn," Sasuke's disagreement is as eloquent as ever. He waits, knowing Naruto will undoubtedly answer the right thing for him. When the blonde doesn't speak up, Sasuke tilts his head in confusion.
"Oi, dobe," he pushes with words, because when he does, Naruto always fights back. He's never not once outright ignored him like this.
''What's the matter? Don't tell me you're a scaredy cat, just like Sakura is?'' To add salt into the wound, Sasuke smirks, sure that the action itself will irk Naruto.
To his and Sakura's disbelief, Naruto keeps quiet. He's blank faced, staring past Kakashi to look at Tazuna, who's sipping from his bottle of stale, cheap sake.
Sakura visibly hesitates. "Naruto━"
"That's who we're supposed to give up our lives for?'' Naruto asks, low and quiet, turning his blank gaze onto Kakashi, successfully making goosebumps rise up all over the jounin's body. "You said the level of this mission could go higher than a B-rank, right? That means we're up against chuunin, jounin and in the worst case scenario, missing nin. To be truthful, I'd rather slit my own throat."
"Naruto!" Sakura exclaims, her mouth dropping open in shock.
Sasuke flinches and his hand snaps out on instinct, wrapping tightly around Naruto's wrist like an iron bar.
Kakashi, with his heart thundering loudly behind his ribcage, tilts his head to the side and Naruto copies the movement with the precision of a wild animal sizing up its prey. "You…" Kakashi struggles with his words, before he manages to say, "are a lot like your father.''
"Sensei, I really doubt the Yondaime was suicidal," Sakura chides.
"No, he wasn't," Kakashi agrees, "and neither is Naruto-kun. He's simply stating that if the three of you decide to continue on with this assignment, it'll only turn into a suicide mission."
Silence falls momentarily over team seven.
Naruto scoffs, breaking it. He manages to shake off a rather reluctant Sasuke's hand and starts walking on ahead. "Let's go," he orders.
"But… but that isn't the way back to the village," Sakura points out, blinking in confusion.
Naruto pauses in his steps. He glances behind him with a scowl that could rival Sasuke's any day. "I promised Iruka-sensei I'd protect the three of you the same way I protect him. I don't know about you guys, but I'm definitely not dying on this stupid mission. So, let's go."
"Hn," Sasuke moves his hands back into the pockets of his white shorts and follows after Naruto, slipping back into their earlier formation of leading the group towards the village hidden in the waves.
They don't spare another glance behind them and Sakura shares a rather miffed look with Kakashi. "This is your fault," she says, raising her finger and jabbing it into the jounin's chest, "it's because you keep praising us for our minimal, useless skills and now we think we can do the unthinkable, like survive a B-ranked mission."
Kakashi huffs out a quiet laugh. "Maa, Sakura-chan, who do you mean by 'we'?"
A flush rises to the girls cheeks, colouring them a bright red. Embarrassed, Sakura runs after her teammates, leaving Kakashi to deal with Tazuna and the two chuunin from the hidden mist.
"My pups truly are the cutest," Kakashi murmurs to himself, pleased with their choice.
°°°°
1893 words//unedited.
listen, did i forget i was supposed to be writing this fic? absolutely. have i risen from the dead to update this? of course i have. on a side note, jeremy is thriving 🍃 she is keeping me sane ~
as usual, comments keep me motivated 😎 thanks for all the support, guys, until next time! 🍃🍃