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The Esoteric

VI

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He was craving another mission. As absurd as it sounded, Asuma couldn't deny its truth. It had been a week since his last scouting assignment with Kakashi and Kurenai and since then there hadn't been single thing to do but sit around smoking all day long. The hiatus in action was appealing for a while until eventually Asuma grew bored of seeing his own pupils. There was only so much "supervising" he could do while they did their mediocre tasks before his patience broke. He was never meant to be a teacher.

Sighing, the Jounin released another puff of smoke before looking at the game before him. He was losing miserably. It would have been embarrassing if he hadn't known of Shikamaru's unprecedented intelligence.

"You don't seem to be as focused as usual," drawled the boy's voice lazily.

Asuma glanced at him and shrugged. "Where are your teammates?" he asked before inwardly correcting himself. Technically, Shikamaru was no longer a part of Team 8 now with his new status. He still had yet to grow accustomed to the change.

Shikamaru gave derisive snort. "Ino's probably with Sakura engaging on some Sasuke dispute and Chouji is most likely at a restaurant or some other," he replied offhandedly as he contemplated his next move.

"Don't you have any missions?"

"I could ask you the same question."

The Jounin gave a snort of amusement. "I wonder what's on Hokage-sama's mind," he wondered aloud before glancing at the game with mild amusement. "It seems like I lost."

Shikamaru grinned. "Seems that way," he agreed.

Asuma sighed and stood up, stretching his back. "Well, I think I'm going to pay Kakashi a visit," he announced before looking sharply at Shikamaru. "You just relax and take in this break because I can definitely say for a fact it will probably be the last one you'll have for a while."

The younger boy rolled his eyes and Asuma grinned before departing. One week off a mission and he was already rotting away into boredom. He shook his head exasperatedly. He never thought a vacation could be so irksome. And it seemed like Genma and Gai were gone, too. Asuma narrowed his eyes. Two of the elite Jounins gone and Tsunade hadn't even said a single word to them. It was very suspicious indeed.

As he stepped into a glade, Asuma looked up at the sky. The piercing sound of a falcon could be heard as it circled the area. The Jounin arched an eyebrow. "Seems like the Fifth has something for us," he muttered to himself before turning to run in the opposite direction. "What's going on now?"

Suffice to say, Asuma was growing curious. If he couldn't go on a mission then the least he could do was settle a mystery here in Konoha. Where had Genma and Gai gone? The forest whipped past him as he headed towards the Hokage's office.

"Asuma!"

Briefly turning around, Asuma saw Kurenai catching up to him. "How's it going?" he greeted.

"Taking the scenic route are we?" she replied, smiling slightly.

"I felt like being late-Kakashi gets away with it all the time so why can't I?" he said, grinning mischievously.

Kurenai shook her head wearily. "That attitude is going to get you killed one of these days," she muttered under her breath.

"Eh? What did you say?"

"Nothing, nothing."

The two Jounins entered the main building, giving the ANBU agents a faint greeting.

"Have any idea why Hokage-sama wants to see us?" inquired Kurenai as she sat down on the lounging sofa.

Asuma scratched his head with some mild confusion. "Have no idea," he answered before the doors flew open to reveal Tsunade with Aoba trailing behind. Asuma stared at the two with mild confusion. "Okay, what the heck is going on?"

Tsunade glared at him. "Watch your tongue, Sarutobi," she reprimanded sharply before looking at her watch impatiently.

"Ah, good afternoon my fellow-"

"Late again, Kakashi," interrupted Tsunade harshly as she stared down hard at the Jounin, who had just popped in through a window.

Kakashi chuckled sheepishly. "Well, you see there was-"

"I don't care for excuses," cut in Tsunade again before facing the four Jounins. "I have some news for you. I'm sure you've realized the rather impromptu break you've been given."

There was a low murmur of voices as they nodded. Tsunade took a deep breath. "Well, that ends today," she said. There wasn't any sound of complaints but the older woman could see it all in their eyes. She began to smile slowly. "You know that Gai and Genma are missing. I will inform you now of where they have been."

The Jounins looked at her inquisitively. Tsunade smirked inwardly. Now I got their attention. Clearing her throat, she took out a scroll from her coat pocket and laid it out on the conference table. It revealed the entire geography of the land and all the countries and shinobi villages. Everyone gathered round to gaze at it searchingly.

"Hidden Shade? And it carries the same symbol from that shinobi we captured last week," murmured Kurenai in amazement. She looked up at Tsunade. "What does this have to do with Gai and Genma?"

The older woman smiled to herself. "That is where they are going now," she answered brightly.

"Hokage-sama-excuse my bluntness-but you're being extremely vague," remarked Asuma with a frown.

Tsunade grinned wickedly. "Doesn't the curiosity kill you? Well, though you may be aware of Gai and Genma's disappearance, I wonder how many of you notice another shinobi's absence," she calmly said, looking at the Jounins in the eye.

"Iruka is also gone," replied Kakashi quietly.

The blond woman smiled winsomely at him. "Correct! Now how did you realize this, Kakashi?" she inquired, arching an eyebrow.

The silver-haired man shrugged. "Naruto told me. He was raving about how long it would take for Iruka to return," he answered simply.

Tsunade bristled with suppressed resentment. "You mean to tell me you wouldn't have even known had Naruto not asked about him? Kakashi, I would have thought that you of all people would realize when a shinobi from your own village vanishes-"

"Pardon the intrusion, but what does Iruka-sensei have to do with this?" queried Aoba confoundedly. He was starting to get a little fidgety from all the verbal debates. Standing around and waiting for people was never his style.

Tsunade shot Kakashi one last glare before brushing aside a stray lock of hair from her face. "As I was saying, Gai and Genma have gone to the Hidden Village of Shade-to accompany Iruka on his mission," she continued, gauging everyone's reactions. When there were no outbursts of gasps, she frowned bitterly. Why is it so hard to surprise people nowadays? She crossed her arms. "Iruka is to track and kill a demon," she finished mundanely.

This time everyone did gasp. Tsunade snickered inwardly.

"Wait. Our Iruka? The Chuunin teacher at the Academy?" cried out Kurenai in shock.

"The very same one. How many people in this village have his name anyway?" replied Tsunade amusedly. A low murmur of surprise and puzzlement echoed throughout the office. Tsunade uncrossed her arms and her gaze turned serious. "However, this is no time for games. I'm sending you all off to the other main shinobi villages to warn them of the danger from Hidden Shade. This is official work we're dealing with so I'm giving you passes; there won't be any need to sneak in."

She then took out four slips of paper and handed it to each Jounin. "Asuma, you handle the Sand. Kurenai, you're heading off to Hidden Stone-make sure you don't anger them; they have high egos. Aoba, you're off to Hidden Mist. Play around too much and I'll have your neck. Shizune's already gone off to deal with Hidden Cloud. And as for you, Kakashi," she paused before placing a hand at her hip, "you're going to Hidden Shade to assist Gai and Genma. Somehow, I don't think having those two alone will cut it for this mission. And Iruka could use your help. By now they should be in the Metal Country so you better hurry."

The pass was then placed in his hand. Tsunade smiled slightly as she gazed at the others. "Now, are there any questions?" she asked.

"Yeah. What exactly are we warning them of besides a demon? I'm sure they'll want more details than that," quipped Asuma.

The older woman frowned deeply and massaged her temples tiredly. Why did I accept this job? "I'm sure none of you know of Iruka's ancestry so let me inform you now: his mother was from Hidden Shade. Before she came to Konoha she sealed away a demon. However, that demon has escaped and is now threatening every shinobi alive. Iruka's the only one who can seal and destroy this demon properly. So now he's off to do some training at Hidden Shade. If he doesn't fulfill this mission, we're all goners. Is that enough for you?" she explained tonelessly.

Asuma blinked in surprise, several ashes from his cigarette's end dropping to the floor. "Yeah," he replied numbly.

"Iruka is supposed to defeat this on his own?" inquired Kurenai worriedly.

Tsunade waved a hand carelessly at her. "Well, that's what Hidden Shade said but I for one am not letting him do this alone," she said with a smirk before looking at Kakashi. "So? You have any complaints about helping out our dear dolphin?"

The Jounin stared at her calmly before disappearing from the room with a puff of smoke.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "'Che, no manners whatsoever," she grumbled before leaving the office altogether.

Silence persisted for several more moments and Asuma finally broke down. "Umino Iruka? A demon slayer? Am I allowed to be a little horrifically shocked at this? And how come we never found out about Hidden Shade before? Did they just sprout out from the ground overnight?" he cried out.

Kurenai stood contemplating silently while Aoba began cleaning his glasses.

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The air was clean and the breeze was refreshing. Kakashi rested atop a tree with one leg dangling below casually. In his hand was a volume of Icha Icha Paradaisu but for once his mind couldn't seem to concentrate on the story. He sighed and closed the book unenthusiastically before taking out the pass that had only been handed to him a few hours earlier. He eyed it strangely. He had no quarrels with going to a secret shinobi village but it just seemed so unreal that for once, he was to watch the action from an outsider's point of view. This was Iruka's mission and he was to aid him. It was very unnerving indeed. How was a Chuunin supposed to handle a full-grown demon? It was obvious Tsunade harbored the same concerns as well despite her aloofness. Kakashi frowned deeply before throwing a kunai at a bush.

A brief yelp of surprise was sounded and the silver-haired man opened his book once again. "What is it now?" he called out.

A blond head poked out from the bush and on his face was an expression of aggravation. "Why don't we have any missions, Kaka-sensei?" asked Naruto as he climbed out of the shrub with some difficulty. His pants latched itself onto one of the thorny stems and he fell flat on his face with a resounding thud.

"Naruto, you klutz!" exclaimed Sakura exasperatedly as the boy sat up awkwardly.

Sasuke followed behind much more quietly and Kakashi stared down at him sharply before looking back at the other two. "You should be appreciative for the break. Have fun before your missions start up again, but don't cause too much trouble," he said. He was concerned about leaving them alone-especially Sasuke and Naruto. He would have to speak with Tsunade about them before he left.

"Eh? Are you going away, Kaka-sensei?" inquired Sakura wonderingly.

The silver-haired man nodded. "Yup," he answered.

Naruto stood up with resolution as he pointed his finger at him. "You're leaving us again!" he cried out indignantly. "I absolutely refuse to accept this! You're supposed to be teaching us, guiding us-" he shouted before Kakashi stopped him mid-sentence.

"I'm helping out Iruka."

The blond froze at these words. "Iruka-sensei?" he repeated quietly before launching into another rampage. "And what's taking him so long! It's already been a week! He's supposed to-"

"Be quiet," warned Sasuke before Naruto could say anything else. The latter looked at him quizzically before facing Kakashi humbly. "Is he in trouble?" continued the dark-haired boy impassively.

The Jounin smiled inwardly. He really doesn't miss a thing. "Oh, don't worry. He'll be all right," he replied winningly.

Sasuke's eyes darkened. "So he is. And Hokage-sama is sending you to help out," he deduced.

Kakashi stared at the boy with some amazement. Since when was he able to start reading through me? He began laughing. "Really, you're becoming paranoid, Sasuke," he retorted, masking his emotions. Worrying Naruto was not on his things-to-do list and if this conversation went on any further, he would be accomplishing just that. "Play nice with the other teams. Asuma and Kurenai have missions as well so it'll just be you nine, plus Gai's own students. Have a mini-tournament or something," he advised before vanishing.

Sasuke stared at the spot where Kakashi was musingly while Naruto began vocalizing his protests.

"What do you mean Iruka is in trouble? Do you know something, Sasuke? Tell me!" the boy cried out before grabbing Sasuke's collar forcefully without realizing. The latter glared down at him darkly and immediately Naruto released his grip with a nervous laugh. "Uhh…well! Let's go and visit Kiba! He said he wanted to spar with me!"

"Kiba? Does that mean Shino will be with him?" wailed Sakura as a tremor went through her body. "He creeps me out."

Naruto looked at her exultingly. "Have no fear, Sakura-chan! I'll be there so you don't need to worry!" he exclaimed bravely.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his friend's antics before remembering Kakashi's behavior. The other man was starting to lose his touch. He was able to read the usually unreadable Jounin easily this time. Iruka was in danger. Normally Sasuke wouldn't think twice on it since he was a Chuunin but why then would he need three elite Jounins to aid him on one simple mission? The situation must have been pretty bleak for Kakashi to appear so edgy. The other Jounins were leaving, too. What could be so important as to leave all of them unattended? That itself was a risky thing to do. Sasuke glanced at the Hokage's office building in the distance. It seemed like some undercover work would be required to find the answers. And that was fine with him.

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TBC

Sasuke the spy. I always thought he would be good as one you know. (Insert Mission Impossible theme.) All right, all right, so this story can officially be labeled as AU in accordance to the manga. (Grr..) And, uh, sorry for the wait. A month passes by quick! I'm also taking this story a bit slower now, you know, to try and figure out what I want to do and stuff. Yeah. :D