Naruto shook with excitement as we stood in front of the mission distribution counter.
"Alright! A mission, a mission! Can't wait to do one!" Naruto squeaked happily.
"What's with you and saying the same thing twice? For example..." Liz cleared her throat and impersonated Naruto, "Hey, hey! Yeah, yeah. A mission, a mission!" she squealed in a high-pitched voice.
"I don't sound like that," Naruto pouted.
"Pft, I'm surprised all of your windows are still intact," she scoffed.
"Come on, Liz, why do you always like teasing people so much?" I gave her a stern look.
"Well, at least you're not a victim," she said crossing her arms in front of her chest.
Sakura sighed, "Kakashi-Sensei isn't here though."
"He's probably late," I assumed.
"Likely," Naruto agreed.
"No, Kakashi isn't coming," a female voice said nonchalantly.
We straightened up at the sound of the Fifth Hokage. Shizune was just a step behind her, carrying Tonton the pig in her arms.
"Eh? Old Lady Tsunade!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Don't call me Old Lady!" she growled, frustrated with Naruto's stubbornness.
"Um, Hokage-sama, what do you mean Kakashi-Sensei isn't coming?" Sakura asked politely.
"As you all know, most of the Jounins, including Kakashi, are on a different mission," she said as she sat down behind the mission counter, "This time, you five must complete this mission on your own. This is a B-rank mission. You must be a bodyguard and an escort," she held the scroll up to show us.
"Bodyguard and escort?" Sakura echoed.
"I'm sure you know how these missions can easily become an A-rank mission depending on the situation," Tsunade continued.
"Yeah, happens all the time," Liz said quietly to no one in particular.
"So, who are we protecting?" Sasuke urged.
"I dunno," Tsunade shrugged.
"Don't know? What do you mean 'you don't know'?!" Naruto outburst.
"Well, every four years in the Country of Tea, the Todoroki Shrine Offering Ceremony takes place. We have received a request to escort a runner who is going to participate in the race taking place there," her face darkened as she continued, "However, before the messengers got here, they were attacked by a mercenary hired by the opponent."
"Mercenary?" Naruto repeated.
"Um, I still don't get the whole picture," Sakura added.
"Really guys? Why can't you do something other than repeat what the person just said with a question mark at the end? Research, guys, research," Liz tapped the side of her head impatiently.
Tsunade shrugged again, "Can't help you. You'll have to get the details from Boss Jirocho in the Country of Tea," she said, splaying her hands in a gesture of her ignorance.
"Boss Jirocho?" Naruto echoed again.
"What did I just say?!" Liz fumed.
Naruto ignored her, "Oh! That Boss from back then!" he shouted, remembering something... for once.
"Thank you," Liz breathed.
"That's how it is," Tsunade pushed her chair back and stood, "Now that you understand, get ready to leave. You need to arrive at the Country of Tea by the end of the day. Hurry!" she barked, pointing to the exit.
"Yes, ma'am!" Sakura straightened her posture dutifully.
"Okay!" Naruto roared.
Sasuke just grunted an affirmative.
"My personal salute will be: Okay, I'm a normal person, so, goodbye!" Liz walked out the door.
Tsunade gave me a curious look, "It's her way of making fun of those three," I explained in short.
Tsunade nodded with understanding and we took off after Liz.
We walked down the dirt path and saw the first sign in ages. It marked the borderline on which the territory of the Country of Tea started.
"Hey, Sakura-chan, are you hungry?" Naruto whined after a few more steps.
"A little," she said, actually thinking about the question.
"What about you two," Naruto asked.
"We can survive without food for another week or two," I said dryly.
Naruto looked at us dully, "Okay, so I'm not going to count your votes since you guys are superhumans... so it's decided! Look! We conveniently found a tea shop! Let's take a break there!" Naruto pointed to the tea house before us.
He raced off ahead of us.
"Hey, Naruto!" Sakura called after Naruto half-heartedly.
"He planned this all along, didn't he?" Liz chuckled, "He probably would've taken a break even if no one agreed to his idea."
"Most likely," I let a light smile dance on my lips.
When we entered, Naruto was already saving a seat for the five of us. We sat down and waited for the shop owner to stop by. There was only one other person in the shop, a male.
"Welcome," the lady said kindly as she put down five cups of tea in front of us.
"Oh, miss, I'll have oshiruko!" Naruto said immediately.
"I'll have dumplings," Sakura added, "What about you, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, completely disregarding Liz and I.
"Tokoroten," Sasuke said after a second's pause.
"And you two?" the kind lady asked.
I smiled, "We'll be okay with tea."
"Okay, please wait a moment," she nodded and walked off to prepare the dishes.
We sat back and Naruto started his usual speech of how he was going to be the hero and work the hardest. Liz and I noticed the only other guy staring at us.
"What do you think he wants?" I asked Liz in a whisper.
"Dunno, maybe he's just stunned by our awesome beauty," she snickered.
He stood up and walked over to our table, he looked around our height and age, but I wasn't sure. He was wearing a short cloak and held a straw hat with his hand. Two brown eyes glinted under his short black fringe. The rest of his hair was tied back in a spiky ponytail.
"Relaxing with some oshiruko on a sunny day like this? Ninja must have it easy," he drawled.
"What?" Naruto looked confused since we didn't know him.
"Watch your mouth, pal, or it might just get sliced off," Liz snarled.
"Liz," I shushed her.
"Konoha must be too peaceful," he smirked, "I only see dumb-looking faces in front of me," he insulted.
"What did you say?!" Naruto challenged, slamming his hand down on the table.
"Oh, wait, there's a few cuties here... especially this one. I take back what I said," he looked at Sakura, Liz and I but focused on me.
I stayed impassive but Sasuke had a harder time doing that than I did.
He leaned across Sasuke and Sakura, putting his face just a few inches away from mine, "My name is Morino Idate. What's yours?" he said as seductively as he could.
I blanked for a few seconds, his name ringing a familiar bell in my head, but I recovered quickly.
I just fixed him with a cold stare, "Why don't I teach you how to hit on a girl. First of all, maybe you shouldn't insult her teammates before you care to learn her name. Next, you should slice those lips off your face like my friend here suggested before I do," I said each word clearly.
"Yeah! How dare you get so friendly with Elvira!" Naruto shouted, shaking his fists angrily.
"Ugh, Naruto, you dumb butt," Liz face-palmed.
"Elvira, eh? What a beautiful name. We must've met for a reason," he said purposefully.
I was aware that Sasuke was gently sidling closer to me, as if to pronounce that I was taken... which I wasn't, but you know what I mean.
"Do you want to talk about our future with me?" he winked.
I brightened my smile, "Of course! I already have it all planned out! In the next few minutes, if you don't get out of my face, I'll commit murder and get arrested," I frowned, "A shame I couldn't justify it as self-defense."
"I'm so proud of you right now, Vira," Liz chirped.
"Aw, don't be that way! You could always quit being a ninja and marry me," he suggested.
In seconds, I had a fistful of his shirt collar in my hand and our faces were almost touching, "If you ever propose an idea where it involves me quitting my occupation as a ninja, I'll personally tear your heart out... and, no, I will not marry you," I released him.
"Aw, what a shame, then how about you?" he turned to Sakura.
"Hey! Why the hell are you trying to pick my teammates up when you've just met them?! Do you take us for fools?!" Naruto screamed.
"Obviously with Captain Stupid Face right here," Liz muttered.
"That was just a joke..." he sighed, then turned his gaze on me, "Not for you though, you're welcome to accept anytime," he winked and I cracked my knuckles as an answer.
Sasuke stiffened again.
"Hey, loser! I, the great Idate, hate ninja! If you continue hanging around the Country of Tea, you're gonna get hurt!" he bared his teeth at Naruto, showing all signs of hostility.
"I like that! If you want a fight, I'll give you one!" Naruto said just as heatedly.
Electricity seemed to spark between them as they stared each other down.
"Hey, Naruto," Sakura was making a feeble attempt at getting him to calm down.
"This is stupid. We don't have time to deal with this punk," Sasuke chided.
"That was my line, but nonetheless, I agree," Liz mumbled, bored.
"You two be quiet!" Naruto growled.
Liz's temper flared, "What did you just say?" she challenged Naruto.
"I-I mean just Sasuke! Sasuke, be quiet!" Naruto repeated, not daring to make the same mistake twice.
"I thought so," Liz said and calmed down.
Sasuke just sighed and rolled his eyes.
"But I'm not letting a guy who makes fun of ninja get off free!" Naruto protested, "I'm going to teach him a lesson and..." when he turned back around, Idate was already gone, "Huh?"
"He's gone," Sakura noticed.
"Yeah, that happened a while back," Liz blew a strand of hair out of her eyes for the lack of something better to do.
Sasuke looked surprised.
"I'll admit, he's fast, but not fast enough to escape our detection. We just didn't want to waste the time," I said flatly.
Naruto stomped his feet angrily, "Where did that guy go?!" he raged.
"Here you go," the lady was back with all of their orders.
Naruto sat back down, albeit, a little grudgingly, "Damn it," he grumbled.
The lady put down two bills in front of us.
"Two?" I asked, grabbing them for inspection.
"Oh, that man left, he said you would take care of it," she said, answering my question.
A lot of things happened at once. Sakura twitched angrily.
Naruto struggled to suppress his anger, "That cheap skate played us for fools!"
Liz was a bit harsher, "That little bastard, he messed with the wrong chick today! I'm gonna beat his-" she continued to swear and curse.
Sasuke, however, slid under the table and pressed his ear to the floor.
"He's gone pretty far, judging by how fast he moves," I noted as he sat back up.
He dipped his head, understanding.
"I'm not just going to sit here after being mocked. Let's go after him!" Naruto proposed a tempting idea.
Naruto grabbed his pack and ran out. I put a handful of coins on the table.
"Thanks!" Liz called over her shoulder as we all raced after Naruto.
Naruto was in the lead, chasing after Idate while Sasuke, Sakura, Liz and I hung back, not expending too much energy.
"He's got some good speed, not nearly as good as Lee, but still good. He's had training," Liz acknowledged.
"Who is he?" Sakura wondered, creasing her brow.
"I don't care! I'll catch up to him no matter what!" Naruto declared, now right in front of us.
"Not if I catch him first!" Liz challenged and shot ahead of Naruto.
I sighed, "Okay then, me too!" I zipped after them.
We all raced past him and stopped to hide in the trees as we watched him trip and fall. He hung from a branch off a tree.
"Ouch..." he grumbled as his straw hat fell off, "Damn it, Swift Runner Idate's once in a lifetime mistake," he said, ashamed.
He leaped down and landed on his feet neatly.
Naruto's obnoxious laughter rang through the air, "Serves you right," he sneered.
Idate looked up and found Naruto standing in the tree next to him. He backed up a few steps.
"You've got guts trying to outwit us," Sasuke said coldly, Sakura stood by his side looking down on Idate from the tree across from Naruto.
Liz and I leaped down to corner him from in front and behind, "I'm gonna kick your butt all the way to the other side of the planet," Liz said, cracking her knuckles at the same time.
Idate gritted his teeth and did something unexpected. He fell to his knees and curled into a ball.
"I'm sorry!" he wailed.
"Huh?!" Naruto was dumbstruck.
"What a dignified way to lose," Liz chided, sarcasm drowning her words.
"I'm sorry!" Idate cried again, "Someone stole my wallet and you guys came along when I was thinking of what to do... so, I did that on impulse!" he whimpered.
I narrowed my eyes, replaying his story in my head, A possible theory... but, I don't feel like I can trust this guy...
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura came down from their perch, "Now that I've heard your story, I feel sorta bad," Sakura murmured.
"Then you should have said so from the beginning," Naruto said, probably feeling guilty as well.
Something shiny caught my eye as it fell from the tree above, it was aiming for Naruto's head. My hand shot out to grab it before it could hit him.
"Woah!" cried Naruto, surprised.
I retracted my arm to see that in my hand was a black pocket knife with golden sequins on it. I turned it around in my hands curiously.
"What's that?" Naruto asked as he saw what was in my hand.
Idate suddenly lashed out and grabbed it from me. I didn't try to stop him.
"Don't touch it!" he growled.
"I just did," I retorted.
"Wow, I've never seen Vira so feisty before," Liz remarked, an amused smirk on her face.
He flipped backwards and put a meter or two between us, "This is mine," he held the pocket knife protectively in his hand and slipped it into a pocket inside his shirt.
He bent down and and unclasped weights from his ankles then picked them up.
"Ready..." he held them at chest height to his sides, "Set... go!" he dropped the weights and created two small explosions.
Dirt and dust erupted a meter into the air, hiding him from view.
"Weights?" Naruto wondered aloud.
Liz and I took off silently.
When the dust cleared the other three had realized what had happened, "Huh?! He ran off again!" Sakura cried, frustrated.
"They left us too!" Naruto whined as they chased after us.
"Hm, better get fit!" Liz called behind her shoulder and pushed her speed.
I kept up with her but not to catch Idate, "Liz, it's not worth it. We're expending too much energy. We need it for our mission, besides, the others can't keep up," I looked back at the three ant-sized figures, waiting on a tree branch for us.
"Wait, let me just get him back for giving us his bill," she winked and I followed after her as we caught up to Idate using our maximum velocity.
"Hey, you loser! Don't think we can't keep up!" Liz taunted.
She started to bicker with Idate on the run and she motioned to me. I nodded and closed the distance between us and Idate. I found the pouch hanging from his belt and yanked it away. Liz stopped abruptly and blew him a raspberry as I pocketed his coins.
"Victory is sweet," Liz sighed.
We ran back to where the others were waiting.
"Aw, why did you stop and beat the crap outta him?!" Naruto complained.
"Because we're ninjas. We use stealth," Liz shrugged.
I threw the small pouch of coins at Naruto who caught it with his hands. His face lit up.
"And he has officially paid the bill," Liz chuckled, "What a bad liar."
We were greeted warmly by Boss Jirocho the moment we stepped in, "Ah, I'm so glad everyone came," he smiled.
Naruto, being at the front of the group got to introduce himself first, "Nice to meet you, nice to meet you!" he started in a failed attempt of a more mature voice and held his hand out while bowing his body.
"Here we go with the repeating," Liz sighed, rolling her eyes.
We sighed and waited out Naruto's infamous introductions.
"I was born and raised in the Country of Fire, the Hidden Village of Konoha. I was first bathed in Ichiraku Ramen. Last name, Uzumaki. First name, Naruto. Also known as..."
"Idiot," Sasuke said in an undertone.
"Idiot!" Naruto finished, repeating what Sasuke had said, then he realized his mistake, "Wait! No! That's not it!" he stomped his feet angrily.
Liz was already on the floor, choking on her laughter and tears falling from her eyes. Even I couldn't hold back a bit of laughter. Sasuke glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, mischief lingering in his pupils. It was a good thing Boss Jirocho was also a humourous man, he laughed heartily along with us.
"You guys are cheerful, like the last time I saw you," he chuckled lightly.
"Boss Jirocho, you look good yourself," Naruto smiled.
"Hey, Naruto," Sakura chided, asking him to be more formal.
Jirocho shook his head, his eyes crinkling from a smile, "It's okay, it's okay. Boys need to be energetic like that," he said.
"Oh really? Then this guy here has a problem. I think we should send him back to the hospital to check his gender," Liz smirked.
Sasuke looked as if he were about to explode at her but I put a calming hand on his shoulder before he could do anything.
"Hmph," he cast Liz one last hostile glare before speaking, "It seems that we're done with the introductions, so let me get to the point. The Fifth told us to get the mission details from you," he said seriously.
Jirocho nodded, "Yes, about that..." he hesitated, "Do you guys know about the Todoroki Shrine Offering Ceremony?" he asked.
"Todo... what?" Naruto asked, dumbly.
"My god," Liz hissed and put herself in front of Naruto, "Tsunade-sama mentioned it before we left. All we know is that it's a race that happens every four years and we're supposed to be a bodyguard and escort for the racer," she finished in one breath.
"Ah, I see. I might as well tell you the whole story then. Make yourselves comfortable," he gestured to the comfortable tatami mats around us.
We all knelt down and patiently waited as he started his explanation.
"It began a long time ago, legends say the people offered the jewels of the Dragon and the Tiger in the Todoroki Shrine to quell the storms and it always worked. That's how it started. Now, it has become a ritual that happens once every four years. At first, we only offered jewels to the shrine but about ten years ago, it became a ceremony where the first one to get there becomes the man in power," he lowered his head slightly as he continued, "But very recently, another side to the festival has surfaced. Since the olden days, this port town of Degarashi has sheltered two chivalrous groups, us, the Wasabi family and the Wagarashi family. As embarrassing as it sounds, these two families have had continual discord and have fought for the control of the city. As the conflict became more violent, townspeople got involved and people started to get injured. To put an end to that, an agreement was drawn up in the feudal lord's presence. Ever since, we've used an event instead of fighting to determine which group takes control."
"And that event is..." Sakura trailed off.
"It's the Todoroki Shrine Offering Ceremony, isn't it?" Liz crossed her arms in front of her chest, thinking things through.
Jirocho nodded, "Four years ago, Wagarashi won by hiring ninja. This time, we've received reports that they have hired ninja again. To compete, we sent messengers to Konoha requesting the aid of ninjas but they were ambushed by the enemy's ninja," he surprised us by touching his forehead to the floor, "Please, lend us your help," he pleaded, "We cannot lose this race to the Wagarashi family."
"There's no need to bow," I said.
"Yeah! Just leave it to me," Naruto said, thumping his fist against his chest.
"You mean more like us," Liz scoffed.
"So, who do we have to protect?" Sasuke asked.
"Oh! You will accept?" he seemed surprised that we would help him.
"Of course, why wouldn't we?" Sakura chirped.
Jirocho clapped his hands and the door beside him slid open to reveal none other than... Idate. He seemed just as surprised to see us as we were to see him. Naruto was completely shocked.
He pointed at Idate, "Ah!"
Liz smiled maliciously, "Oh ho ho, this is gonna be fun!" she shook her head in pity for Idate.
"Oh, you know each other?" Jirocho looked pleased.
I smiled, "We're already acquaintances," I threw Idate's money bag back to him, half-empty, "You dropped this."
Idate looked surprised, he felt his waist where his pouch was supposed to be strapped to. Once he confirmed that the pouch was his, he frowned angrily.
"Ah! I see, well, this makes things easier!" Jirocho smiled like a child with a new toy.
Lightning seemed to crackle between Idate and Naruto. Naruto seemed to be able to do that a lot. Later on in the day, we were to accompany Idate as we wandered the streets. Naruto walked alongside Idate ahead of us. The rest of us hung back a bit.
"Boss Jirocho is a great man," I heard Idate claim, "He doesn't actually bow to ninja," Idate said snobbishly.
"Even if he does put his head down, I'm not guarding a guy like you," Naruto rebuked.
"I don't want a nobody beside me when I run, anyways!" Idate said haughtily.
"Who did you call a nobody?!" Naruto yelled in his face.
They were causing heads to turn now.
"Oh boy, typical Naruto," Liz sighed as if tired.
"I'm the genius ninja who's going to take on the name of the Hokage, the great Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto screamed again.
"Hmph! The Hokage name is nothing!" Idate shrugged.
"The boss of a bunch of punks is nothing!" Naruto retorted angrily.
"Fool! Boss Jirocho is a great man!" Idate was rather angry now.
"The Hokage is the really great ninja who puts their life on the line to protect the village!" Naruto bunched up his fists.
"Boss Jirocho is a really, really, really great person who's constantly putting his life on the line to protect the city!" Idate was beginning to yell himself hoarse.
"Oh my, and here goes the my-horse-is-bigger-than-your-horse argument," Liz looked around idly.
"Hokage is much, much, much, much greater!" Naruto roared.
They growled at each other for a few moments then turned their heads away with a mighty huff. I sighed and saw Sakura looking at the souvenirs in a gift shop. Looking at the prices, she was probably thinking about why it was so expensive.
"I'm sorry," the shop owner said, shame in her voice, "They're expensive, aren't they?" she raised her eyebrows in understanding.
"No, not at all," Sakura said, a little embarrassed.
"I don't want to sell them at those prices but ever since the Wagarashi family came into power..." whatever the lady was going to say next was interrupted.
A loud crash sounded and Sakura, Sasuke, Liz and I were immediately at the scene of the crime.
"Please, forgive me!" the shop owner whimpered as he sat upon the ruins of a wooden crate.
"Who do you think allows you to run a business here? Are you trying to go against the Wagarashi family?" three men stood over the fallen one, snarls spread along their faces.
The man at their feet cowered, "N-not at all! B-but... I need you to pay... or..."
"You're not very bright, are you?" the man in the middle cracked his knuckles menacingly, "Hey!" he called to his men.
"Sir," they saluted and went inside the shop behind them.
"Please, stop," the shop owner tried to get to his feet again.
The man in the middle grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up to his feet, "I'll beat you up first!" he growled.
He raised his hand, ready to deliver a punch to the man's face but it never connected. Sasuke's hand stood in the way, holding the Wagarshi's hand back. He pushed him away from the shop owner.
"What... who are you?" the man was surprised to see a boy in front of him.
"Get out of here before you get hurt," Sasuke said calmly.
The man's two henchmen turned, "What?!" they immediately joined their leader's side.
Liz and I stepped forward, flanking Sasuke on either side.
"Kids! Please run! They're from the Wagarashi family!" the lady owning the gift shop cried.
"Don't worry," Sakura consoled with a smile, "Just one of them can take care of ten of them if they wanted to," she assured.
The men charged and I heard the lady scream and cover her face. The male that was aiming for me was throwing a punch at my head, I simply sidestepped and he ran right past me. As he passed, I grabbed his loose hanging robes and lifted him, none of his bodyparts were touching the ground. I spun him around a few times and set him down on his feet carefully. He was dizzy but he hadn't had enough yet. He ran at me again but I held out my palm and his face crashed into it, he careened backwards but gained his balance again. I pulled on my gloves and waited as he rushed me for the third time. I was ruthless this time. Each of my punches connected and every kick was a hundred percent accurate. My final move was to leap into the air and deliver a kick that crushed him to the ground. I saw that Liz hadn't shown an inkling of mercy. Right off the bat, she delivered a near fatal blow, mottling the man's face. The man Sasuke was dealing with couldn't even stand on his own anymore.
"We'll let you go now," Liz's opponent acted as if he had won.
"If you've learned your lesson, never go against us, kids," my opponent spluttered as one of his teeth came loose, he had to spit it out.
They turned around and picked up their leader and began to limp away.
"If we see you again, you're history," the man I had been fighting called over his back.
Liz's punching bag threw the shop keeper his entire wallet to pay for the damage. Sasuke, Liz and I cracked our knuckles all at the same moment, causing a rather loud noise that made the three bullies stiffen.
"We'll get you!" they cried, bolting and then I heard the other man say in a quieter tone, "Run! I've gotta pee!"
Liz cackled, "Yeah! Damn right, you better run! You big babies," she spat, cracking her neck too.
I knelt down next to the man and formed seals, just when I was about to press my glowing hand to his bruised arm, he shrank back, "It's okay," I smiled, "I have no intentions of hurting you."
After that, he let me heal his bruise and I straightened up again.
"Young man and women," he addressed us kindly.
We turned to look at him after making sure the Wagarashi people had hightailed it to the other side of town.
"Thank you," he said, inclining his head and holding the wallet in his hands.
"It was no trouble, sir," I replied and Sakura led the lady over.
"That felt good," she said with a satisfied air, "Jirocho-san from the Wasabi family needs to win the next race," she said.
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura murmured.
"Yeah," he replied, we could all hear the silent conversation happening between us even though Sakura hadn't addressed Liz and I.
If the Wasabi family didn't win, the city will fall into chaos being led by the Wagarashi family. Justice would be dashed from existence... and we couldn't let that happen.
We gathered in the wee hours of the morning to start the opening ceremony for the race. They released fireworks as everyone waited for the gates to open, the signal of which to start the race. We stood behind Idate as we waited for the race to start.
"I didn't know it was this big of a race," Naruto said, looking around in awe, "What kind of race is it?" he asked.
"I'll explain the course to you so that even an idiot like you could understand," Sakura said this kindly as if calling Naruto an idiot was nothing... it actually wasn't.
She held out a map, showing all the key points in the race.
"We start here at Degarashi Port. Once the race starts, they head for the halfway point, Modoroki Shrine," I noticed that there was a large body of water for the racers to cross.
"That's where the ships come in, right?" Liz confirmed, looking at the place where Sakura was pointing.
"That's what I think," Sakura nodded and continued her explanation, "At Modoroki Shrine, you must take one of the jewels of the Dragon and the Tiger and take it to Todoroki Shrine on O'uzu Island. That's the race," she finished and pocketed the map, "But those are the only rules set, so using secret paths, stopping other runners, setting traps... anything goes," she pointed out.
"So hiring ninja doesn't go against the rules and that's why we're here," Liz concluded.
"I wonder what kind of ninja the other guys hired," Naruto pondered aloud.
I felt someone's stare fall on me and I turned my head slightly to see the other runner, Fukusuke Hikyakuya, drooling over Liz and I. I stared back, but my gaze was filled with cold fire, cold enough to freeze someone's heart yet hot enough to burn their souls out. He quickly averted his gaze, blushing.
"Hey, I saw that," Liz smirked, "I can officially say that your death glare is equal to mine," she gave me a high five.
I smiled at Liz, proud that she was my best friend though I would classify her as my sister if we weren't obstructed by the link of blood or law.
"The ninja that they hired must be hiding and observing how things are going. Don't let your guard down, Naruto," Sakura continued, narrowing her eyes at Fukusuke.
"Yeah," he dipped his head once.
"All you guys have to do is watch," Idate said over his back as he warmed up, "Don't hang around me," he said icily.
"What?!" Naruto exclaimed angrily.
"I'm saying that I don't want anyone dragging me down!" he snarled.
"Excuse me, but our job is to be here to protect and escort you. It's not like we want to be here, so shut up and don't say anything else offensive or I'll tear your throat out," Liz snapped.
"I'd like to see you try," Idate provoked dangerously.
Liz cracked her knuckles, "Oh ho ho, you don't know who the hell you're messing with!" she prepared to beat the pulp out of him but I put a restraining hand on her.
"Don't, Liz, you know better," I murmured, shooting Idate a disapproving frown.
"Yeah, come on now, let's work together and-" Sakura wasn't given the chance to finish off her sentence.
"Like hell I'm going to work with this guy!" Liz, Naruto and Idate growled in unison.
"Hey! By the way, I'm a girl, if you were too dumb to tell," Liz added, her golden eyes flashing.
"Nah, I'm not dumb, you're just too masculine," Idate jeered.
Liz, surprisingly, did not launch herself at him but instead, sighed, "Boy, I wish he was Sasuke or Naruto, then I could beat the living daylights out of him and not feel bad that I didn't complete the mission," she shrugged, "I could always wait till after we win."
"Idate," I said, my voice dangerously low, "I advise that you do not further provoke Liz... I can promise you that you will regret it," I furrowed my brow.
I looked up at the sky as Idate turned away with an angry huff. The sun was due to rise any minute.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Todoroki Shrine race will begin soon," the announcer's voice emanated from the speakers located around the gathering, "Wasabi family runner, Morino Idate," a roar of cheers punctuated his announcement and Idate took the applause with a hand raised in acknowledgment.
I stiffened, That's right! That last name... could he be?, I could recognize that last name anywhere, it would be impossible to forget, not after the way I had been tortured, Morino Ibiki... has a younger brother?
I could tell that I wasn't the only one who had noticed the small detail. Liz and Sasuke were also regarding Idate with previously nonexistent curiosity.
The announcer continued, "Wagarashi family runner, Hikyakuya Fukusuke," the runner who had been previously staring at Liz and I let out a loud battle cry as the crowd cheered for him as well.
"This is it," I said aloud and prepared myself for a long run.
Liz exercised her ankle and knee joints, "Well, we're following him whether he likes it or not. It'll be better if we don't have to do anything, free money," Liz smirked.
"On your mark..." the announcer drew silence from the crowd as the runners got into a ready position and the large gates creaked open.
The sun's rays were just peeking over the horizon. The clouds drifted along in a breeze. Cool, sea air kissed my face as the wind reached past the large doors.
"Start!" the announcer's word rang loudly and the racers both took off, raising a trail of dust.
"Alright, let's go too," Naruto was cheerful again.
When we turned to look at Idate, he wasn't heading towards the two ships waiting at the runners' disposal, he had turned to his left, running along the water's edge instead of into it.
"Huh?!" Naruto exclaimed and we raced after him.
"Did he run?" Sasuke fretted.
Liz and I didn't say anything. We couldn't be sure of his motives though Liz and I had a few theories on why he chose a different route.
"Where are you going, Idate-san?!" Sakura called.
"Hey, wait!" Naruto yelled.
Idate was unresponsive but I could see the glimmer of confidence in his eyes. He had something up his sleeve, but he wasn't about to tell us.
"Wait, god damn it!" Naruto shrieked.