"She should keep in mind, she should keep in mind, there's nothing I do better than revenge."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Minxie's POV
Poke.
Poke. Poke.
Poke. Poke. Poke.
"Ugh... Stop...Take... The rainbows... And the llamas... Chicken... Shh..." I muttered, pushing whatever was poking me off of my face. So... Tired...
Poke. Poke. Poke.
"Err..." I groaned, smacking the assaulting object from my face. "Leave... Go home..."
Pinch.
"OW!" I shouted, sitting up on my bed abruptly and glaring at my assaulter, who just so happened to be Kylie.
"Oh, great! You're awake," She cheered, smiling her bright smile.
I glared at her. "Exactly! Why am I awake!? The sun's out! I am NOT a morning person!"
"Yeah, but you've got a mission, so get your lazy butt up!" She ordered happily, standing up from my bed. She ended up tripping over my bags that were conveniently spread out all over my room, their contents everywhere.
Her eye twitched as she stared at the items scattered on the floor and then looked up at me. "Weren't you supposed to be unpacking?"
"I was," I defended, "But then I saw my bed. It looked lonely, so I decided to lay on it for a little while, and here we are now."
She facepalmed, shaking her head. "Just get ready. Naruto's already here."
"He actually got up early!?" I exclaimed, my eye twitching.
"I know, right?" she said, smiling, "We're all surprised. Now, hurry!"
"But... I'M TIRED!" I whined, throwing my arms back down onto my bed.
"And I don't care," Mitchell said, appearing in the doorway, "So just get ready."
"Who even invited you here!?" I snapped, scowling at him. "First, you poke me awake, now you invade my domain!? God, you're both annoying!"
"You're lucky we didn't beat you with a stick," He said easily, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"Hey! That contract Josh set up is still in action!" I objected.
"Yeah, but we've lived here longer thank you. We have seniority," He countered, smirking. "Now, get ready. I'm tired of hearing Naruto talk."
Kylie flicked his ear. "Be nice!" She scolded. She turned back to me. "And get ready!" And after shoving Mitchell out of the doorway, she shut the door behind her.
I sighed, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. Who cares if we had a mission? Kakashi-sensei wouldn't be there early, anyway. Two years later, and he's still a lazy ass.
Sighing again, I unwrapped the covers from around me, standing up out of my bed sluggishly. About two seconds later, I ended up tripping over a random object on the floor and falling flat on my butt.
"DAMNIT!" I cursed loudly, picking up my lamp to beat the object that had tripped me senseless. I paused, however, when I saw that it was my own bag. My fault... Whoops.
I put my lamp pack on my night table, sighing, and crawled over to my bag. I started putting objects that had fallen out into it. When I reached the last loose item, however, I raised an eyebrow. It was the box of the necklace Tobi, or Madara, gave me, except...
Except it didn't have the necklace in it anymore.
And that was not only weird, but very bad. If what Itachi told me was true, then that necklace was a powerful artifact. And if it was gone... Oh, crap.
I quickly shoved the box into my bag, closing it securely this time. I got up, taking a five minute shower and throwing my clothes on. I picked up the twin swords Kakashi-sensei had gotten me, deciding to bring them as well as my usual weapons. I still hadn't used them, but maybe this mission would change that.
I heard Kylie yelling at Mitchell for God knows what, and Naruto adding in a 'Believe it!' here and there. At least I knew they were entertaining themselves.
Quickly and quietly, I ran from my room to Ryuu's room, not even bothering to knock. When I entered, I saw Ryuu seated on his bed, putting on his shoes. He wore his black pants, but sadly, he had no shirt on.
"Did you suddenly forget how to knock?" He inquired boredly.
"Possibly," I answered, smiling at him.
He rolled his eyes, returning to putting on his shoes. "What's wrong? You obviously didn't interrupt my entire morning just to look at me."
"Right," I began, "I had a question. Do you remember that necklace Tobi gave me?"
"Yeah? What about it?" He asked, strapping his shoes on securely.
"Just how important was it?" I inquired.
"Well, it's an ancient artifact that dates back to our ancestor Akira's time. It's extremely powerful, infused with loads of chakra. No one knows what it can do, but it's very important," He answered, standing up. "Why?"
I began feeling like a deflated balloon. The amulet was really that important? And I had lost it... Oh, crap.
"Oh, nothing... Just curious," I answered innocently, averting my gaze. Telling Ryuu wouldn't turn out good. He'd probably flip out on me for losing something that powerful. "Wow... Is someone calling me? Looks like I gotta run! BYE!"
"Minxie," Ryuu called, and I resisted the urge to groan, slowly walking back into his room. "What did you do?"
"Me? Why do you think I'm always involved in things?" I asked, playing dumb.
"Maybe because you always are?" He answered, crossing his arms over his chest. I facepalmed. Damn... He knew me too well. "Just tell me."
"Well... I got rid of the necklace," I said, smiling.
"That's good," he said, reaching for his shirt. Suddenly, he paused. "Wait... What do you mean by 'got rid of?' You did destroy it, right?"
"Well... Not exactly... But someone else did for me! Well, I hope they did..." I muttered.
"Someone else... What the hell are you- Oh, God." A look of realization washed over his face. "You lost the amulet!?"
"Shh!" I hissed, flicking his ear. "And I didn't lose it! It just... Went poof!"
"How... Went poof?"
I sighed. "I woke up this morning, and my bag was open. When I looked, the necklace was gone. There were no traces, no suspicious scents, no anything. I don't know who got in or how they did it, but they did, and they took the amulet with them."
"No traces? That... That doesn't make any sense," He muttered, shaking his head. "I'll check out your room again. Maybe you missed something." He pulled his shirt on over his head, grabbing his weapons easily.
"Okay, but I doubt you'll find anything else," I said, sighing. "But keep this on the down low, okay? No one knows I even have the amulet, and I'd like to keep it that way, especially if it's as important as you're making it sound."
"I won't say anything," He promised. "I'll tell you if I find anything."
I nodded. "Thanks, Ryuu. Now, I better go before-"
"MINXIE! IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR PRETTY LITTLE BUTT DOWN HERE IN THE NEXT TWO SECONDS, I'M GOING INTO THE KITCHEN!" Kylie barked from downstairs.
"NOOOOOOO!" I shouted dramatically. "STAY AWAY FROM THE KITCHEN!" I ran to the door, pulling it open. "Sorry, bro, but I need to go! See you later!"
"Wait! What about my test of sanity or whatever?" He called.
"The Hokage'll figure it out! I'm sure she'll find someone! You'll be fine!" I assured. He sighed, grumbling to himself, and I tumbled down the stairs at an inhuman pace.
"PLEASE TELL ME SHE'S NOT IN THE KITCHEN!" I pleaded, looking around desperately for my blue-haired friend.
"She's behind the sofa," Mitchell said boredly, flicking through t.v. channels.
Suddenly, Kylie shot up from the sofa, shooting Mitchell a flat look. "Really? You couldn't even have PRETENDED to play along?"
"I haven't had breakfast yet," he defended, "I have no energy, and you're too loud."
"Blah!" She countered, sticking out her tongue at him. I caught sight of my favorite blonde, who was, sadly, eating ramen in the kitchen. He hadn't seen me yet, which was cool for me.
Being as ninja as I possibly could, I got behind him and jumped onto his back, covering his eyes with my hands.
"What the-" Naruto felt around, wondering why the hell he was suddenly blinded. He made sure to put his ramen down first, though, which was just another reason why he and I were best friends. We both understood the importance of protecting our food.
"Guess who!" I trilled happily, using a voice higher than my own.
"Minxie," He answered immediately.
"No," I denied, using a deep voice this time, "It's... Hayato."
"Well, Hayato," he said, "Your hands are surprisingly soft. And you're extremely light. But aren't you a guy? Am I the only one who finds you jumping on my back a bit weird?"
"Not really," I answered, "I've always been a bit curvy."
Mitchell shot me a glare from the sofa. "Not. Even. Close. I'm over here, Naruto. Something prettier than me and twenty times more annoying is on your back."
"Hey!" I shouted, suddenly using my regular voice. Aw, shucks.
"Okay... How about this method?" Naruto said, and suddenly, he was touching the side of my neck, my most ticklish spot.
I started laughing immediately, letting my hands fall from his eyes and wrap around his neck as I held onto him for dear life.
"Gotcha," He said, grinning happily at me.
"You cheated!" I objected, and he shook his head.
"No I didn't! You just gave yourself away," He said.
"Nuh-uh," I argued defiantly.
"Uh-huh!" He argued back. Suddenly, he grabbed my legs and hoisted me up higher onto his back.
I squeaked, almost falling off of his back in the process. "Are you TRYING to make me fall!?"
"That's what you get for making me wait so long," He said, smirking at me. "We'll see you guys later!" He waved at Mitchell, who only called a lazy 'bye' from the couch. Kylie followed after us, shooting me an enormous grin.
I raised an eyebrow at her, but she only shook her head, her grin remaining in its place.
"Creep..." I muttered, eyeing her. "Why are you even following us?"
"Hey!" She objected. "I am not a creep! But the Hokage summoned me, too. Said she wanted to see me... I have no idea what for."
"Ah," I said, nodding. I started poking Naruto's ear out of boredom, which caused the blonde to get an anime vein. He poked my knee in response, and I poked his ear back.
So he wants to play poke war, huh?
Oh, it's SO on.
~*~
"NARUTO! GET YOUR BLONDE BUTT BACK HERE!" I shouted, angrily waving a fist in the air. I was ready to kill my hyperactive blonde best friend. See, our poke war had taken an evil turn... And then he started tickling me.
And that was cool. You know, until he started throwing leaves at me.
Then came the twigs. Then the bark. Then the log.
And that's why I am now about to kill him.
"QUIT CHASING ME FIRST!" Naruto barked, running away from me.
"YOU THREW A LOG AT ME!" I shouted.
"YOU THREW A STICK AT ME! AND IT HURT! BELIEVE IT!" He exclaimed.
"WELL, IT DIDN'T HURT AS MUCH AS A DAMN LOG! NOW, GET BACK HERE!" I shouted.
"WELL... IT HURT MY SOUL! BELIEVE IT!" He countered.
"YOU KNOW WHAT!? NO! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! NOW, GET OVER HERE!" I barked.
Kylie sighed. "Guys, if you're gonna kill each other... AT LEAST STAY IN ONE FLIPPING DIRECTION!"
"YOU SHADDUP!" I shouted at her, and her eye twitched as I continued chasing Naruto around. What the blonde didn't see, however, was that Sakura and a very familiar silver-haired man were already around, and that very same silver man had his leg out.
What happened next was purely hilarious. Naruto, who hadn't seen our sensei's leg, ended up tripping over him and falling flat on his face and into the ground.
All was silent. You know, until I started dying of laughter. I fell on my butt as well, rolling around on the floor as I tried to control myself.
A good three minutes later, I sat up, wiping imaginary sweat from my forehead. "Whew! I think I just burned off half of my body weight," I said.
"Oh, right," I said, noticing Naruto was still on the floor, "Are you okay?"
"NOW you ask!?" He said, his eye twitching at me.
"I was going to ask earlier, but it was just too funny," I explained, smiling at him. Then, I noticed the person who had tripped Naruto.
"AH! KAKASHI-SENSEI!" I exclaimed suddenly, standing up quickly and tackling the jonin into a hug. "I MISSED YOU! And you remembered my birthday... WHY!? But I do thank you for the swords. They're so awesome!"
"Hey, kiddo," He said, ruffling my hair with one hand and hugging me back with his free arm as he smiled his familiar closed-eye smile. "Glad to know you liked them. I had them made specifically for you, you know. I'll show you how to use them later."
"You show me? I think it's the other way around, Kakashi-sensei. You're all... Old now," I teased, a smirk on my face. Sakura and Kylie giggled, while Naruto smirked from his place on the floor.
"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that," he objected smoothly, "I'm not exactly over the hill yet. I've still got a trick or two up my sleeve."
"Are you kidding? You were still late, Kakashi-sensei! Not much has changed," Sakura scolded, putting her hands on her hips. "And you two were even worse than him. What were you even doing?"
Naruto and I shot each other scowls, crossing our arms over our chests. "Well, Sakura..." I began, putting a hand on her shoulder, "In short, it was a poke war gone wrong."
Suddenly, a feather fluttered through the air, and I looked up. A bird was passing by, something strapped to its back. I felt... Odd, looking at that bird. As if something terrible was awaiting us if we followed it. As if something was horribly wrong.
"Minxie? Minx! Are you even listening?" Kylie asked, flicking my ear. I shot her a scowl, but said nothing else. "Are you okay?"
"Fine..." I muttered, looking back up to the sky.
But the bird was already gone.
~*~
"No! Nu-uh! I don't wanna go on that mission!" Naruto refused, shaking his head.
"Idiot... You do know who you're talking to like that, don't you?" Lady Tsunade asked, her eye twitching at him.
Iruka-sensei sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You really haven't grown up in your head, have you...?"
"Not even close," Sakura agreed. She grabbed Naruto, giving him a serious noogie. "I'm so sorry about him!"
"The Third really knew his stuff! He didn't give us these lame missions!" Naruto objected, which earned him a smack from Sakura.
Kakashi-sensei sweatdropped, and Kylie filed through papers on her desk. Yep, she was assisting the Hokage. Apparently, Lady Tsunade had trained both her and Sakura while I was away. I wondered how much she had really grown over the years.
"Lady Fifth! Something terrible has happened!" Someone shouted, and a Konoha ninja appeared in the doorway.
"Oh... What now?" Lady Tsunade sighed.
"We've just received word from a messenger bird! The Sand's Kazekage has been kidnapped by a member of the Akatsuki!" the kunoichi shouted in response.
And that's when I felt like someone had stabbed me in the chest. I knew something was wrong. I'd known something was wrong since I had arrived. But had I listened to myself? Of course not. I'm just that stupid.
"All right, then," Lady Tsunade spoke up, "Team Kakashi, you have a new mission. You will journey to the Sand and provide whatever assistance you can. Once there, you'll follow their orders. Understood? Good. Now, hurry and pack. Time is short in this mission, and you've got a long way to go."
She turned to Kylie, who was now looking up from her stack of papers worriedly. "Kimi, go with them. Your medical skills will come in handy. Just be careful," the Hokage ordered, and Kylie nodded, standing up.
Thoughts raced through my mind, and I felt worse with each one. The Akatsuki were involved in this mission. What if... What if my team ended up battling with them? What if they blew my secret, and Ryuu's, too? What if... What if the member who had kidnapped Gaara was Itachi? What if I encountered Itachi? I knew I would never be able to make myself hurt him, no matter what.
But, most importantly...
What about Gaara?
~*~
"Well, then! We're off!" Naruto said, stretching his arms. Our team was currently at Konoha's gates, all of us packed up and ready for our mission. Kakashi-sensei had taught me about my swords, and I'd figured out that they could be made smaller and bigger in response to my chakra, making them easy to travel with. I wouldn't be trading in my katana anytime soon, but it was good to have the swords as well.
"Good luck," Iruka-sensei called, and we all nodded in thanks. We turned around and headed out the gates, only to be stopped by Jiraiya-sensei.
"Well, well... Look at who's here," He said when he saw me, a smile on his face. "Good to see you, Minxie. Naruto wouldn't shut up about you, even when I bribed him with ramen. The kid's crazy about you."
"PERVY SAGE!" Naruto exclaimed, turning red.
I laughed, although I felt a bit red myself. "Oh, relax, Naruto. I think that's cute."
"Y-You do!?" He said, his face heating up even more. I nodded, and he grinned goofily.
"Oh, brother..." Sakura muttered, sighing, and Kylie giggled.
"Come here, kiddo," Jiraiya-sensei said, opening his arms. I hugged him, a smile on my face.
"Good to see you, too, Pervy Sage." His eye twitched at the nickname, and Lady Tsunade laughed from behind me.
He began talking to Naruto, sounding all serious-like, but I didn't pay attention. I had problems of my own; serious ones, at that. I'd choose my friends over the Akatsuki. I knew that. But what about Itachi? And what would my friends think if they found out that I was with the very organization that's caused so much harm to everyone?
"Minxie? Minx!" Kylie called, dragging me out of my thoughts. "We're heading out. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah," I said, blowing my bangs out of my face. "Just a little... Anxious, I guess."
"We all are," She agreed. "But it'll work out."
"I hope so," I muttered, "I really, really hope so."
~*~
"Gaara was kidnapped!?" Temari shouted, her eyes widened. We nodded solemnly in confirmation. We had run into her on our way to Suna, and decided she should know about her brother's kidnapping.
"I knew something was wrong..." The blonde muttered, her expression getting troubled. Hm. So she felt something too, huh?
"We reach the Sand in three days. We need to get a move on," Kakashi-sensei said, gently, but with an unmistakable sternness that reminded us of how very crucial it was for us to hurry.
"Right. Let's go!" Temari said, grabbing her fan. And with that, we all jumped up and took off into the trees.
I was so focused on my troubling thoughts that I didn't even notice I had gone way ahead of my team. Naruto was close by me, determination in his fierce expression.
"Both of you, slow down. You can't break formation. I know we've got to hurry... But you need to reign in your temper, or we won't be able to finish this mission," Kakashi-sensei warned from behind us.
"But..." I sighed, giving up on my argument. "Fine. Whatever."
"... I hate this! The Akatsuki... There's a reason they want us. You know now, too, don't you, girls? All of you?" Naruto asked. "The Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside of me... And the Prophecy Child."
I closed my eyes, sighing. So he knew now, too, huh? This situation only gets better and better.
"All three of us... We're carrying monsters in our bodies. But that's all they see! We're just monsters to them; not people! And I can't stand it!" He said, his foot breaking a branch off of a tree that be passed by. "We've all lived the same way; a life full of loneliness... But Gaara had it worse! He suffered a lot longer than we ever did! And now, that's why they target us!"
And he was right. Sure, Naruto and I had suffered our fair share of hardships... But Gaara had endured much worse. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair.
I'd grown to love the Akatsuki as a family. I always believed in seeing the good in people; no matter how bad they seemed. But was it possible for people to have no good in them at all? That, even though I cared for the Akatsuki... They were just criminals, monsters, after innocent Jinchuriki like Naruto, Gaara, and I?
"I can't slow down... Because it's just not fair! Why is it always Gaara!? Why can't it be someone else!? I can't let this go, no matter what! This time... This time, I'm fighting back! I will save him, no doubts about it!" Naruto finished, and I saw a tear escape his eye.
And I agreed. No matter what, no matter who stood in my way... I'd get Gaara back.
"Talk about self-centered... I don't agree with that way," I said quietly, flipping over a tree with ninja grace. Everyone stared at me. "We'll save Gaara, yeah... But we're going to do it together."
That made him smile.
~*~
"Naruto... Minxie..." Sakura called, and we both raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to continue. "You met him once, didn't you? Itachi Uchiha, I mean."
I felt my whole face darken, and I quickly looked away to hide my expression. "What about him?" I asked, my throat dry.
"He's after you, isn't he?" Oh, crap. What is it with these people knowing things!? So nosey!
"I've done my fair share of snooping around. He's the person Sasuke wanted to kill, isn't he? Part of the Akatsuki? And from what I've heard, the Akatsuki has ties with Orochimaru as well," Sakura continued, noticing our shocked expressions. "Look, all I'm saying... Is that the closer we get to the Akatsuki, the closer we get to Orochimaru. And from there... We get closer to Sasuke. We're running low on time. Sasuke's body'll be a vessel in less than half a year. This time, we've got to succeed."
"... Yup!" Naruto agreed. Kylie nodded in agreement, although I saw her eyeing me sadly, as if she was trying to figure something out.
"... Yeah..." I said after a while, flipping over another branch.
Oh, Sasuke... I hope you're okay.
~*~
Finally, after what seemed like forever, we reached the Sand Village. It was chaotic, as expected. I mean, their Kazekage was missing. I'd be pretty freaked out, too.
"Lady Temari! Thank goodness you're here!" A village guard said. "Lord Kazekage's been kidnapped! And Kankuro went after his kidnappers, but ended up injured! They say he only has a day to live!"
"What!?" Temari shouted, her eyes widening. "What... How did this happen!?"
"It was poisoning! By whom, I'm not sure... But it looks very bad! We can't find an antidote!" He said.
We all looked at each other worriedly, trying to figure out how the hell we'd get out of this one.
"Oh, God... What are we going to do...?" Temari muttered to herself, and for once, I saw her look helpless and scared. She was always so strong and tough, but this was a lot to deal with, even for her. I know I'd lose my mind if anything happened to Ryuu, but Temari had both of her brothers in trouble. I could only imagine what she was going through.
"You're going to do nothing," Kylie spoke up, putting her hands on her hips. We all stared at her like she was crazy, and I was ready to smack her in the back of the head.
"... Except give me some room. I'll examine Kankuro. And when I'm done... I'll have him cured, for sure."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ah, finally! The Mission to rescue Gaara is finally here :D ! WOOT! I'M SO EXCITED! There'll be a lot more action in the next chapter, I promise. The next one will probably be a bit longer, too ^.^
Sorry this one's so short :/ It's my birthday today, and I spent a lot of time having cake and having fun with my friends... But I made a promise to myself to upload today! So, here you are :D ! Hope you enjoy it! And I shall be uploading very soon.
-smilescutie3311 xoxoxoxo