Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Imouto Trilogy :: Hatake :: Even After All These Years ❯ Chapter 9: The Mission ( Chapter 9 )

A/N: A bunch of people have been asking me when Itachi is going to come in, but don't worry! He'll make his first appearance in chapter 12 or 13. So it won't be long yet (grins) Well, please read, review, and enjoy!

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

 

Claimer: I do own Kyomi and the story plot.

 

(1) - Again, I got this translation off of the internet, so please let me know if it's wrong. As far as I know however, metaru translates to metal and ryuujin translates to dragon god/king.

(2) - Hi no Kuni translates to Land of Fire. It's the country that Konoha is in.

(3) - As far as I know, we've never been told Team Gai's exact number, so I'm just going to refer to then as Team Gai for now. If anyone does know what their team number is, please tell me ASAP.

 

Thanks to my beta reader, BattleStations!

 

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Even After All These Years

 

Chapter 9

The Mission

 

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The next month was absolutely insane for Naruto. If he'd been worn out before by training, now he was just about dead. His schedule was hectic; he was always doing some sort of training, and he didn't think that he even had any time to himself anymore, except in the mornings. Even then though he didn't have too much time, since he had started sleeping in later in order to get a bit more sleep.

 

Every day Naruto would head out to his team meeting. About two or three times a week they would go on a mission, but most of the time Kakashi would just let them go for training. Naruto would then head over to wherever they were meeting for training that day--Kyomi had started having them move around again--and, once there, would have to find Kyomi. He was getting better at his tracking though, and Kyomi had begun removing all hints and clues of her passage.

 

Once the actual training began, Kyomi would start him off with his physical conditioning, followed by her "reaction time" exercise, and then a spar. Once that was done they'd work on whatever jutsu Kyomi was currently teaching him. Naruto was proud to say that just in that month he'd learnt five new jutsu. Well, nearly five at least; he was still working on mastering that fifth one.

 

Once the sun started to set, Kyomi would let him go and he'd head over to Kenmaru's shop. Kenmaru lived in an apartment above his shop and, surprisingly, he had a large training room up there too. The two of them would use that for Naruto's training and the blonde was quickly becoming very proficient with his axe; Kyomi had been correct in thinking that the weapon would compliment his style well. The older man still creeped Naruto out a bit--and the blonde often found himself wondering about Kenmaru's sanity, or, rather, lack there of--but he was a very skilled weapons master.

 

Speaking of his axe, Naruto was finding out that he loved the weapon more and more each time he used it. It was perfect because it had such power behind it, like a mace, but also had a blade--well, two if you wanted to be exact--for extra damage. Not to mention that Naruto thought that it just looked awesome. After a few weeks of learning to wield his axe, Naruto had gotten around to giving his weapon a name. He decided to call it Metaru no Ryuujin, Metal Dragon God(1). Kyomi loved it and even Kenmaru had grinned proudly when he told them the name.

 

Naruto smiled at the water from where he stood on the red bridge of Training Ground #7. He couldn't believe that it had already been just about two months that he'd been under Kyomi's tutelage. The time had just whipped by so fast, and yet Naruto could already tell that he'd grown so much stronger in that short time span. He knew that he'd be more than ready for the Chuunin exam when it came in two months.

 

At that moment Kakashi arrived. "We need to head over to the Hokage tower," he said seriously before Naruto and Sakura could even shout out their ritual greeting. Naruto frowned slightly as he pushed off the bridge's railing and began to walk after his team. This sounded serious. Were they going to be going on a C-class mission or something? That wouldn't be good; Naruto didn't want to miss out on more training than necessary.

 

Still frowning, Naruto decided that he'd just have to see to find out.

 

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Kyomi sighed from behind her ANBU mask as she approached the Hokage's office. She had been called just a little while ago by the Godaime. Kyomi hoped that this didn't take too long, as she didn't want for Naruto to be wandering around the training ground looking for her when she wasn't even there in the first place. Though, granted, that would allow Naruto to experience a wild goose chase or a cold trail. Hmm, maybe she'd have to actually do that sometime...

 

Kyomi was broken out of her reverie when she noticed that she had arrived at her destination. She slipped inside soundlessly before bowing low to the Godaime.

 

"Hokage-sama," she greeted.

 

The Godaime looked up at her and then set her paper work off to the side. She then clasped her hands and front of her on her desk and studied the silver haired ANBU before her. Finally, after a moment, she spoke.

 

"Ookami, I have a mission for you."

 

Beneath her mask, Kyomi frowned. She had just come back from a mission not four days ago and the Godaime wanted her to go out again? What about Naruto? Usually Tsunade was very good about only giving her missions every two weeks or so. That must mean that this was pretty important...

 

"This mission," Tsunade continued, pulling a piece of a paper in front of her. "Is classified as a high A-class mission with the possibility of becoming S-class. It will be an undercover/protection/espionage mission." Tsunade then reached across her desk and handed Kyomi a thick scroll. "The details of the mission are in here, but I want to explain the basics to you first right now."

 

Kyomi nodded sharply, slipping the scroll away, and then waited for the Godaime to continue.

 

"The mission itself actually consists of two parts. In the first part you will help two Genin teams with escorting Kurosaki Daichi, the son of a rich merchant, back to his father's estates in Hajime, a large city in the northern part of Hi no Kuni(2). The Genin teams will be told that this is just a C-class mission to protect Kurosaki-san from bandits, and for them it will be. However, Kurosaki Daichi's father, Kurosaki Hideaki, has informed us of some strange activities that have been going on. Apparently there is a very large possibility that there will be an attempt to kidnap Kurosaki Daichi just after he arrives back in Hajime.

 

"You will be going under cover in this mission as a young woman from Hajime who is returning to her home after a vacation here in Konohagakure no Sato visiting relatives. You will be going with the Genin teams and Kurosaki-san because you just happened to be leaving at the same time and are paying for protection as well. You will accompany the group to Hajime but return on your own after the completion of your mission. The only reason that you'll be going with the Genin teams and Kurosaki-san in the first place is just in case the kidnapping attempt occurs before they reach Hajime.

 

"The second part of your mission will be stopping the kidnapping of Kurosaki-san. After arriving in Hajime you will accompany Kurosaki-san--while still in you disguise--to his estate. Most likely the attempt will happen some time during this time, but if not then you will be offered a place to stay at the Kurosaki estate.

 

"When the attempt does happen you are to protect Kurosaki-san at all costs. You are to attempt to capture the kidnapper alive in order to find out who they are and who they were sent by, but Kurosaki-san's life comes first no matter what. If you do capture the kidnapper, get whatever information out of them that you can before bringing them with you back to Konohagakure. Do you have any questions?"

 

Kyomi shook her head mutely, attempting to digest all of the information that she had just been given. She already knew that more information and the mission and Kurosaki Daichi would be in the scroll she had been given just a few minutes earlier, as well as all of the information she would need on the disguise persona she'd be taking on.

 

As the Godaime opened her mouth to continue however, something popped into Kyomi's head. "Ah, wait, Hokage-sama," Kyomi said. Tsunade nodded for the silver haired ANBU to continue. "May I inquire as to who the two Genin teams are?"

 

Tsunade smirked, a mischievous light coming into her eyes. "Yes," she said. "They are Team 7 and Team Gai (3)."

 

Kyomi had to hold back a chuckle. Of course this was why the Godaime was having her go on a mission so soon. But having Team Gai as well...Kyomi sighed silently. That was going to be interesting, especially since both Kakashi and Gai would both be there...

 

The Godaime smirked again before continuing on, "You have half an hour to prepare for this mission. As soon as you're done report back here in disguise to meet with the two Genin teams and Kurosaki-san. You're dismissed."

 

Kyomi bowed to the Godaime Hokage before vanishing from the office with a poof of smoke. She needed to get to her apartment quickly so that she could pack and change into her disguise. She would also have to stop by Kenmaru's shop to let him know that both she and Naruto would be gone for a little while. Very aware of how much time she had, Kyomi pulled the scroll she had been given from her pouch, opened it, and began to meticulously study the contents. Within the next half an hour, she needed to know all of this information like the back of her hand.

 

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A little while later, Team 7 entered the Hokage Tower. Naruto had a slight frown on his face. He was worried that Tsunade would give their team a C-class mission, which he had a hunch that she would. She had been good so far about not giving their team any, thus allowing them to train a lot more, but it had been more than two months since their last C-class mission, which was a long time for even a Genin team.

 

As soon as Team 7 entered the Hokage's office--which was worrying enough, considering as they almost always went to the mission center, even for C-class missions--Naruto's eyes narrowed. Tsunade looked amused, which was rarely a good sign. As her eyes met Naruto's that amusement only increased, causing the Genin's eyes to narrow further. Still, he had to throw off his suspicions for now, so the blonde quickly put a large grin on his face.

 

"Hey, Obaba-san!" Naruto exclaimed. He then had to duck the heavy paperweight that was thrown at his head. Said paperweight made a good sized whole in the wall and then a scream of pain was heard from outside the room. All of the occupants--save for Tsunade herself--winced in sympathy.

 

"Brat..." Tsunade grumbled under her breath. She couldn't help the slight smile that slipped onto her face though. Speaking up, the blonde Hokage continued, "Good, you're here. Now we just need to wait for--"

 

Before she could even finish her sentence the door to the office slammed open. The Genin of Team 7 spun around in surprise, while Tsunade sighed and Kakashi buried his nose further into his book, mentally groaning. Into the room stepped Team Gai. Gai himself was grinning widely--and sparkly--with an excited Lee hovering near his side. Neji and Tenten simply looked resigned.

 

"Fear not!" Gai bellowed out. "For the Green Beast of Konoha has arrived!" Lee cheered, throwing his fist up into the air, but the other occupants of the room sweatdropped.

 

Tsunade sighed again. "Well, let's get started then," the Godaime began, straightening in her seat and taking on a more formal tone. "I have called you two teams here for a mission."

 

Naruto sighed. He knew this was going to happen. Out of the corner of his eye however, he noticed that Kakashi didn't look surprised in the lease bit, not even of Gai's arrival. The silver haired Jounin probably already knew about the mission and what it entailed; this was supported by the fact that he didn't even appear to be paying attention. Naruto wondered if this meant that Kyomi knew as well. This would probably be a longer mission, so Naruto hoped that he had time to let her--and Kenmaru--know about it, if she didn't already.

 

As Tsunade continued, Naruto shifted his focus back onto her. "This is classified as a C-class mission and is a basic escort mission. You will be taking the client to Hajime, protecting him from any bandit attacks that may occur on the way, before returning on your own to Konohagakure no Sato."

 

Naruto's eye narrowed once more. Something seemed off about this. "Eh?" he spoke up, putting on a confused face. "If it's just an escort mission then why do we need two Genin teams? I could do this on my own!" The other Genin murmured agreement, though some of them--namely Sasuke, Neji, and Sakura--shot annoyed glares at him for the last part.

 

Tsunade smirked lightly. This, at least, was proof that Naruto was perceptive, even if this was one thing that he shouldn't dig into. Kyomi would probably keep him in line during this actual mission however.

 

"It's because of the client," the Godaime answered. She then turned to Shizune, her dark haired assistant who was standing off to the side. "If you will?" Shizune nodded before quickly slipping out the room. She returned not a minute later with a man in tow.

 

The man was every bit a noble, from his attire, to the way he walked. He had shoulder length dark brown hair that was tied back at the nape of his neck and brown eyes that held a surprising kindness in them. He also was wearing a traditional man's kimono that was dark blue in color with a brown trim and traditional sandals adorned his feet. He appeared to only be in his mid to late twenties.

 

"This," Tsunade began as the man moved to stand by her. "Is Kurosaki Daichi, son of Kurosaki Hideaki, who is one of the richest merchants in Hi no Kuni. He is paying to have two Genin teams escort him to his home." She then turned to Daichi. "Kurosaki-san, these are the two teams. The two Jounin leaders are Maito Gai and Hatake Kakashi." The Godaime gestured to each person as she spoke. Upon hearing Kakashi's name, Daichi's eyebrows raised slightly. Doubtless he had heard of the famed Copy-nin and was surprised that he would be one of his escorts.

 

Tsunade opened her mouth to continue, when the door opened once more and, again, everyone turned to face it. Standing uncertainly in the doorway was a young woman, probably on in her late teens or early twenties. She had long waist length chocolate brown hair that hung like a curtain around her and warm blue eyes. Her physique and height were average, though it was partially hidden by the cream and red kimono that she wore.

 

Immediately, a smile came unbidden onto Tsunade face. "Ah, yes," she said, addressing the Genin and Daichi. "And this is Haruka Amaya. She has been here in Konohagakure visiting relatives and will be joining you on trip back to Hajime, which is where she hails from as well. She has paid for escorts, and so, with Kurosaki-san's permission we have joined to two groups. Please, come in, Haruka-san."

 

The girl nodded and stepped inside, obviously nervous about being around so many shinobi. Growing up and living in a non-shinobi village probably did that to a lot of people, Naruto thought, eyeing her. Naruto couldn't squash the suspicion that had risen in him the moment he first saw her. There was something familiar about her, as if he'd seen her somewhere before...

 

"Well," Tsunade continued, addressing the Genin once more. "I'm giving you twenty minutes to go home, pack supplies, and come back here, starting now. Get moving."

 

The Genin blinked at the abrupt dismissal, but quickly scattered out of the room nonetheless. Naruto was the last one out, a slight frown on his face. Considering that they would be moving at a civilian pace, it would probably take 3-4 days to reach Hajime, and then just about a day for them to return to Konohagakure no Sato. Plus, if they were attacked by bandits, that would also take some extra time. Overall, the trip would probably take about five days. Naruto's frown deepened. Five days without any training was a long time.

 

Just as the door to the Hokage's office closed behind him, Naruto felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. Surprised, the blonde whirled around to find Haruka Amaya standing behind him. He narrowed his eyes at the smirk on her face, which was so different from her attitude just a minute ago in the room. His shoulders were tense, but his mouth dropped at her next words.

 

"Lost in thought, Hige-kun?"

 

Naruto stared at the young woman before him in utter shock. How did she know that nickname?! As far as he knew, not even Kakashi knew of it! To make it worse, as Naruto stood frozen, the woman's blue eyes glittered with amusement. Naruto's thoughts immediately froze. Wait, those eyes! His jaw dropped even further as realization dawned on him. Her eyes were exactly the same as--

 

"--Kyomi-sensei?!"

 

The woman chuckled, her smirk widening into a grin. "Took you long enough," she said in reply, her familiar voice warm with amusement. She reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair. Said blonde was still too surprised to even attempt to bat away her hand like he usually did.

 

"You-- How...why-- ...What the hell?!" Naruto exclaimed, his eye twitching slightly.

 

The now revealed Kyomi chuckled again. "Sorry, Hige-kun," she said with a wink. "But that's classified information."

 

Naruto frowned, but nodded in acquiescence anyway. "So," he continued, suddenly brightening up. "That means that you're coming with us?"

 

"Yep!"

 

"...And Kakashi-sensei and Maito-san know that you're...you?"

 

"Yep!"

 

"...Huh...weird."

 

Kyomi scowled playfully at Naruto, before chuckling again. "Yeah, I guess so." She then groaned, hanging her head. "But this means that I'm going to have be with Kakashi-nii-kun and Gai-san for soooo long."

 

Naruto had to laugh slightly at this, though he too felt some trepidation coiling in the pit of his stomach. He'd never been on an extended mission with Team Gai and, honestly, he wasn't completely looking forward to it.

 

"So, Kyomi-sensei," Naruto said, looking Kyomi over more closely than he had before. "How come you didn't change your eyes with your henge? They're the only reason I was really able to recognize you."

 

Kyomi smirked again. "Henge? What henge?" she answered, to Naruto's confusion. "All I've done is dyed my hair and changed my clothes."

 

"Really?" Naruto asked, blinking in surprise. That was surprising considering as she looked so vastly different than she had before. "How come? Wouldn't a henge disguise you better?"

 

"It would, but it would also take way too much chakra to keep up for all of the days that I'll be in disguise. It would leave me too drained. And besides that, some shinobi of higher ranking can sense when chakra is being used. They--or even just a mediocre shinobi who is suspicious--could use a simple dispelling technique and then I would be revealed." Kyomi chuckled lightly. "You're going to have to learn not to rely on chakra too much. You'd be surprised at how much you can substitute civilian methods for shinobi methods with just a little creativity."

 

Naruto nodded, obviously mulling over this information. Offhandedly, he had to wonder just how it was that even a simple conversation with Kyomi ended with him learning something new.

 

"Well," Kyomi continued, a smirk coming onto her face. "What are you waiting around here for? You've only got fifteen minutes to go and get your stuff now." Naruto's eyes widened and then he quickly spun on his heel and dashed away, cursing under his breath. "And don't forget to wear your newer outfit!" Kyomi called after him. An unintelligible shout from the blonde was her reply.

 

Shaking her head while still chuckling, Kyomi walked back into the Hokage's office.

 

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Once everyone--that is to say Kyomi, Kakashi, Gai, and Daichi--were settled in the Hokage's Office, Tsunade continued with the more official business.

 

"Kurosaki-san," she said. "Haruka-san is the ANBU who is assigned to this mission." Kyomi gave Daichi a cool nod, her face a mask of indifference. Daichi nodded back, slight nervousness on his face. "For the length of the journey Haruka-san will stay in character. Even if you are attacked during the journey she will not intervene unless your life is in immediate danger. Hatake-san, Maito-san, and their Genin will still be there to protect you however, so it is highly unlikely that it would come to that. Plus, if everything adds up the way that it should, it is doubtless that you will be attacked before reaching Hajime."

 

Daichi nodded, still nervous, but apparently gaining a bit of confidence from that fact that he would have three highly skilled shinobi guarding him. "Thank you, Godaime Hokage-sama."

 

Tsunade smirked, but didn't comment further. After all, this was their job; their life.

 

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Preview of Chapter 10: The Bandit's Attack

 

There was no more time to think, however, as the men--bandits, Naruto realized, not shinobi--were nearly upon them. Naruto did the first thing that he could think of: he quickly pulled out his storage scroll and retrieved Metaru no Ryuujin, his axe. He then threw himself into the fighting that had already begun to develop, his axe swinging through the air.

 

From there, Naruto lost himself in the fight. There were so many men and they were everywhere. Naruto would cut one down only for another to nearly run him through with a samurai sword. He didn't have any time to think about the blood that quickly began to stain his clothes and splatter across his face, nor to notice the growing pile of bodies that was developing thanks to the group of shinobi. As it was, he barely even noticed when Neji cried out that there was another group attacking from the opposite side of the road.