Sakura's Pov
You know, I'm starting to think this was a bad idea. 'No shit you dumbass!' I carefully monitored the space between the edge of the cliff and the slowly approaching lava puddle. Now, I didn't expect Milo to cough up molten rock, and I'm starting to think he didn't either. Said lion was panicking as he paced back and forth on the other side of the lava. Well at least he cares am I right? 'I am going to rip out your eyeballs with a spoon if you keep it up with your damn optimism.' Have you ever considered a position in interrogation? 'No outer, no I have not, in fact, I probably wont consider anything when I'm 6 feet under in a wooden box!'
Wait, I remember like two wind jutsu from the manga, that might cool the lava. 'Ah yes, we'll just blow on the 1000 degree slime blob and hope that it stops moving.' Do you have any better ideas? 'No but I will live and die the devils advocate.' That could be an anime plot. 'That lava's getting awfully close would you like to do something about it?' So now you like my idea? 'Shut up and breath on the lava.' I sighed and formed what I was pretty sure were the hand signs for a wind jutsu. 'Wait, are we sure this is even your affinity?' I'm going with my gut. 'We gonna di-' "Boufuu Kyouzuu No Jutsu!" A moderately powerful gust of wind hit the lava, I watched as the top of it began to crystallize. 'Ok, it stopped moving, but it would probably set fire to your shoe if you stepped on it.' At least I didn't fall off a cliff. 'You damn optimist.'
Milo let out a sigh of relief as the molten rock ceased in movement. He carefully hovered his large paw over the lava, trying to check the temperature. 'Couldn't you just, chakra jump?' I slapped my forehead. 'Just, push chakra into your feet when you jump.' That doesn't sound too hard. I estimated the diameter of the pool, just to reassure myself that I most certainly would not be dying. I let my feet sink into a jumping position, the one I would use while doing floor. Chakra channeled through my legs as I hurtled into the air. 'Be ready to land idiot!'
I did land. In fact, I landed right on top of Milo, we went tumbling through backwards together. Excellent bonding. 'He's gonna kill you.' Well I'm gonna die eventually, I might as well take him down with me. We landed in a sad little pile of sweat and a small amount of blood. I flopped myself off and spit out the lion fur that had gotten into my mouth. Groovy, radical even, he hasn't lunged yet. 'Maybe you killed him... wait can summons die?' How would I know? 'Aren't you supposed to be omnipotent or something.' Not to my knowledge... but am I supposed to know everything wait a min-. 'Just shut up.'
Eventually, Milo let out a groan and slowly pulled himself up. 'Mood' Relatable. He raised his head and gave me a dry look, "Just to be clear, we tied. I haven't lost yet." he grumbled. 'Milo would get along great with Sasuke. Tell me I'm wrong, I dare you.' You're wrong- 'What did I literally just say?' But you dared me, I wasn't raised a coward. Then again I wasn't raised at all... like aside from the foster system and shit but I wouldn't label Gertrude as parent material. 'Who the fuck would name their child Gertrude?' Boomers with no taste. Milo sighed and rolled himself out on the ground, letting the sun coat his grey fur. 'Are we just going to ignore the lava rock?' Oh, absolutely.
...
'This is just, such fun.' I know, catching Tora for the fifth time in a week really brings me joy, especially when I'm wiped out from fighting Milo. Damn my civilian chakra reserves. 'We are slightly above civilian thank you very much.' I watched Naruto let out a war cry as he tackled the cat with practiced accuracy. Sasuke watched him with distaste.
We walked up the stairs of the Hokage monument, Kakashi had to keep Naruto from throwing Tora off the edge. 'It would shut the damn thing up.' And also get us murdered by the fire daimyo. 'Bold of you to assume I don't want to die.' Mood.
Naruto kicked open the doors to the office, walking in like he owned the place. Sasuke, watched unfazed. Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. 'He's so done' If this is the Wave mission, which I think it is, he'll be a lot more done real soon. Everything's going down after this thing. Naruto started to rant about being ready for better missions while the Hokage stared at him with the blandest expression I have ever seen. Iruka looked like he wanted to sock Naruto on the head. So this was already going great.
"-I think Naruto is trying to tell us he's not a kid anymore Iruka, and lucky for him a C-rank just arrived. Your client will be here so- and there he is!" I tuned into the last part of Hiruzen's speech thing. 'The timing of this mission is awfully convenient.' Yeah, it's almost like our corrupt leader was planning this. I'll add that to the list of reasons to resurrect Minato. '...How exactly do you plan to do that?' Kabuto. 'That doesn't answers my questio-' KABUTO.
Tazuna stood in the doorway of the office, the smell of booze and sweat wafted towards us. 'Oh that's really attractive.' I didn't really peg you as that type of person. 'Sarcasm you dimwit.' I know, but it's fun to see you angry. "These are the brats that are gonna protect me? Your kidding me right? There's no way shrimps like you could do anything more than act as shields. Especially the short one with the weird face, though he is well dressed." Tazuna scrutinized us before taking a swig of alcohol. I smirked smugly seeing as he approached my fashion sense. 'He's high as a kite.' Ok so the drunk man has good taste, I don't see your problem.
Naruto dragged me to stand next to him and Sasuke to compare heights. Sasuke smirked fully aware he was the tallest while Naruto lunged for Tazuna. Kakashi casually yanked him back by the collar. I giggled a little, "Naruto, with a diet consisting entirely of ramen, you can't expect to grow very tall." I commented. Naruto slouched glumly. "But it's so good!" He whined. Kakashi sighed and ruffled Naruto's hair. "Alright you three, go put your together stuff for the mission. Meet me at the gates in one hour." He drawled. 'I have a suspicious feeling that he won't be on time in the slightest.' I have a feeling you might be right.
...
Even Naruto was there before Kakashi. I sighed as he arrived an entire 27 minutes late. Tazuna's foot tapping was starting to annoy me. He ignored Naruto's squawks of complaint as he proceeded to walk out of the village. I tightened the straps of my backpack, my nerves already tense with anticipation. 'What's got you so worked up anyway?' We won't die, I think. 'That's not ominous at all' Yup.
Naruto cartwheeled his way out of the village, Tazuna watched, his expression a mixture of disappointment and fear. 'Why fear?' We're gonna get attacked. '...but this is a C-rank.' Not for long. We had to walk for awhile for the puddle of doom to come into my line of sight. I casually walked ahead of the group while forming the hand signs for the fireball jutsu. I whispered the words, letting a small stream of fire cover the water, evaporating it completely. Screams filled the air as the steam wafted upwards. My team and Tazuna stared at the slightly damp area on the road.
I panicked. My breath sped up slightly. "Shit." I cursed. Kakashi patted my head in a comforting manner. He pointed upwards to where the steam had drifted. It came to my attention that two screaming chunin were now falling from the sky. They hit the ground with a thud. Kakashi checked their pulses before grabbing some rope to tie them up. Sasuke turned to me. "How." He demanded. I got the idea. "Well, it hasn't rained in awhile so there wouldn't be a puddle, I was a little paranoid so I, ya know, torched them." I explained awkwardly. He stared at me for awhile before turning away. I let out a sigh of relief. Naruto turned on Sasuke. "Teme! Don't interrogate Sakura like that! It's rude!" Sasuke stared at him before his gaze flickered to me momentarily. "Shut it dobe, I do what I want."
...
Naruto had been enlightening us on the wonders of ramen variation for the last hour. 'It's not all that bad, I actually feel like I've learned a lot.' Naruto's gaze stopped dramatically on Kakashi, he squinted his eyes before stroking his chin. "Kakashi-sensei, we still don't know anything about you! Tell us some stuff!" He exclaimed. Kakashi didn't even look up from his book. "I'm sworn to secrecy." This is my moment, I cleared my voice.
"Kakashi Hatake, age 26, rank: jonin, graduated the academy at 5, chunin at 6, and jonin at 9. Known for reading porn on the battlefield and what's under his hitai-ate which I will not disclose without permission. He is the former student of the Fourth Hokage. And, that's all I've got." '9?! He was 9 fucking years old when they gave him the vest?! The enemies might as well have cowered in fear because look out Konoha's got a midget with a kunai!' Kakashi gave me a very dry look. I smirked, "Sensei, you may be 'sworn to secrecy' but I'm not."
3rd person
Kakashi was torn. Sakura was a slap to the face in almost every way. On one hand, she was adapting at abnormal rates in both personality and skill set. On the other, that was suspicious with a capital S.
Part of him was screaming to have her interrogated or at least talk to the Hokage about her unusual growth. Civilians didn't usually make it far in the shinobi world, Rin was an exception but she wasn't really a fighter but a healer. Then there was Sakura, taking runs that Gai would approve of, training until her hands bled. That just wasn't normal.
Then Kakashi wanted to smack himself.
He had already failed his own team. He wasn't going to let down sensei's kid, the last Uchiha, and the pink haired spitfire. Kakashi watched his kids squabble amongst themselves. "-kura-Chan do you know what Kakashi was like when he was our age?" Naruto questioned, still bouncing around. Sakura tapped her chin and spoke in a sagely voice. "There was a rumor, that he had a pole so far up his ass that he had to wear a mask to keep it from coming out of his mouth. So he was essentially Sasuke." The Uchiha promptly tripped and landed square on his face while Naruto and Tazuna cackled. Kakashi smiled.
Yeah, there was no way he would do that to his team.
...
Sakura pov
I'm pretty sure Sasuke's gonna kill me. 'Oh that's a definite, he's been death glaring since the 'stick up the ass' comment.' It's not my fault he tripped, Sasuke's just sensitive. 'I don't think I've ever heard 'Sasuke' and 'sensitive' in the same sentence. Then again, Naruto will probably say that at some point in their relationship.' I choked and proceeded to cough like there was no tomorrow. 'There won't be a tomorrow if you manage to die like this.' Thanks for the encouragement. Sasuke tossed a water bottle at my face. I caught it and quickly downed a quarter of it before tossing it back. "Thanks." Sasuke nodded and put the bottle back in his pack. '...do you think he poisoned it?' Now that you mention it... "Girly, keep the coughing to a minimum. Boat ride needs to be silent. Or Gato's men will be on our asses." Tazuna slapped a hand over his mouth once he realized what he had said. Kakashi slowly turned to look at Tazuna. He could look intimidating with only one eye, it was kind of inspiring.
"Tazuna." Tazuna gulped. "Would you like to explain what you just said?" Kakashi's eye gleamed sadistically. Tazuna shrank back in fear. "Well, as you know, I'm a bridge builder. The bridge will connect us to the mainline and free us from
Gato's rein. He is very rich and is able to control the waters, that means he controls the land of waves. He wants to kill me, because I'm building the bridge. I only had enough money to pay for a C-rank, even the richest on our island would be considered poor in the land of fire. Without me, my land will be driven into further poverty." He drawled out, preparing to guilt trip us. Kakashi sighed, probably sensing his impending doom. Tazuna adopted a sad tone of voice, "You can turn back, return to your village, I understand. I'll die, but that's not your problem, and my Grandson will cry, "Grandpa! I want my Grandpa!" Not to mention my daughter will hate the leaf village that failed to save her beloved father. But I suppose that's none of your business." Kakashi gave Tazuna a small glare as Naruto's eyes filled with tears.
The blonde pouted at Kakashi. "C'mon sensei! We can't just leave a village to die! Even if the bridge builder is a pathetic drunk!" He exclaimed with no hesitation. Tazuna scowled but didn't move to hit him or anything. 'Wow Naruto, what a savage.' I'm just glad Tazuna isn't abusive. 'Yeah, has the poison gotten to you?' I don't think Sasuke put anything in it. 'You took a drink from a suspicious emo guy, you would die in a bar.' First of all, I've been to a bar, and second of all, I have a very high alcohol tolerance. 'Didn't you die at like 18?' I never said it was legal.
Kakashi turned to me with his normal blank face. "Are you fine with continuing the mission?" I nodded, slightly confused. "Why'd you only ask me?" I questioned. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "Well I already know Sasuke and Naruto's answers. Your unpredictable." He reasoned. I contemplated his answer before shrugging. 'Your a suicidal masochist, god Kakashi of course she'll go on the death mission, why would you even suspect otherwise?' Hey!
...
I got more anxious the longer we walked. It was going to happen sometime, I just have to watch for the white rabbit. 'To lead you to Wonderland? You wouldn't make a good Alice, maybe the jabberwocky.' Ok, fuck you. 'I don't swing that way.' God dammit you're on a roll. 'I'm not done, if I did swing that way, I most certainly wouldn't pick you.' Wow, that hurt. 'Suffer in silence plebeian.'
I swallowed as Naruto began to fling kunai. 'What did you swallow exactly?' My will to live, but that's already gone thanks to you. 'Ouch, back with comebacks I see.' I'm out for revenge. 'Miss me with that Sasuke shit.' I tried to keep my cool as Naruto cuddled a now injured white rabbit. 'Well now he'll be super very very late for a very important date.' You're the worst. 'Actually that title belongs to Ami from the academy.' I guess true that.
I almost screamed when Kakashi told me to get down, almost. My body dropped to the ground with haste as a considerably large sword soared above us. 'Are we gonna mention that Naruto tackled Tazuna?' Of course not, why ever would you think such a thing. I pulled myself up to stand along with Kakashi. Kakashi stared you at the tree, seemingly calm. "Zabuza Mommochi, missing nin of the Land of Water." A tall, eyebrow-less figure with cow print leg warmers stood on top of a rather famous sword. 'You described him like he's a creep from an anime convention.' I'm trying to survive....hold up.
I have an idea.
I waited for Zabuza to finish his villain dialogue as I pieced together a speech. Kakashi looked ready to fight. 'You're gonna have to enact this speech of yours before they start trying to kill each other.' I awkwardly cleared my voice, everyone stared. "I propose a compromise." Zabuza stared, I prayed that he would humor me. He crossed his arms. "Well then, what is this... compromise of yours?" He questioned, I felt a small amount of killing intent spike my way. I took a deep breath. "Your not loyal to Gato right? Just in it for the money. So this is just a suggestion, but can't we just kill him?" I reasoned. I felt the wide eyed looks from my teammates as they register my solution, I continued. "I mean, I know what the guy looks like, he probably doesn't have any children, which means no heir. He's the root of a lot of problems and he's pretty much scum, I'm going to bet you know where his mansion is, so why not just kill him and get away with the money?" Zabuza held his chin, actually considering it. I'm gonna take a risk. "If you want a second opinion, you could just ask your accomplice in the forest." Kakashi's gaze snapped to the trees as Zabuza's nonexistent eyebrows rose. He paused for a moment and muttered to himself before calling out, "Haku! Get your girly ass out here!" He squawked.
Haku quickly rushed out of woods and stood beside Zabuza. Zabuza flicked his mask. "Off with the hunter mask." He commanded. Haku obediently removed it and strapped it to his leg. Zabuza gestured to me. "You heard her little suggestion, what do you think?" He asked. Haku froze, clearly not expecting to actually be included in the decision. He started to sputter as Naruto stared at him red faced. "W-well, we would probably get more money from assassinating Gato, and the civilians would let us buy stuff without chasing us with pitchforks." He pulled himself enough to come up with a response. 'This poor kid. Did I mention he is really fucking cute? Cause he's hot. Get to work outer.' This again? 'You really think I'm gonna let you die single? Again?' Ouch, that hurts.
Zabuza pondered his options for a few seconds before turning around, and beginning to walk. Tazuna stared at him incredulously. "Where the hell are you going? You didn't make a decision." He questioned. Zabuza looked back,
"Yes I did, now lead the way to your hut drunkard."
...
I'm sorry this took so long, I know, I suck. But anyways here it is, I hope you're all having a good summer and enjoying your quarantine. Don't get corona, if you already have it, that sucks. Well, use hand sanitizer, leave a vote, comment, and have a nice day.
Till I update again loyal readers.