Chapter 10
So Long Suna
Chapter Art: Naruto and Sasuke standing together, pretending to look tough, with both their Genin teams standing prepared for attack. Obito has his hands forming hand seals, Mitsuki is launching forward with her hands clenched into fists, Haru strategically placed back with kunai in his hands. Ioka is preparing to throw a Fuma Shuriken, Toshi has his foot kicked out, and Hotan crouched low with spiked steel knuckles.
Early the next morning, Naruto stood with his genin at the gates of Suna. Haru and Obito each held a rope for one of the Ostriches. Mitsuki stood on the other side of her sensei, away from the large oversized birds, her fingers shoved knuckle deep in the back pockets of her shorts. Her face was wiped clean of any emotion.
It was her own mask, a cover up for the fact that she was freaking out on the inside.
Her black eyes watched as Naruto said his goodbyes to the Kazekage and his family, as well as to Sasuke who stood directly beside the Kazekage. All six Sunagakure Genin stood behind their sensei's respectively.
She was avoiding the stare of a certain Genin standing just to the right of the Kazekage, one who was smiling at her nonstop. She kept her gaze on her commanding officer, ignoring the black haired genin.
"We'll see you in the coming months," the Kazekage said. Naruto nodded, a look of full seriousness on his face.
"Hai, we look forward to it Kazekage-sama," Naruto said in a business-like tone. They stood stiff and business like for a short while before Naruto grinned.
"Take care Gaara," Naruto said happily. It wasn't noticeable if a person wasn't paying attention, but a small smile adorned the young Kazekage's face.
"You as well Naruto," he said. The two shook hands, smiling at each other. Sasuke merely stared at Naruto as he turned to his best friend.
"Sasuke, you better not forget," he said, a devious gleam in his blue eyes. Sasuke scoffed.
"As if Naruto, you're the one most likely to forget since it's not about Ramen for once," he told the blonde. His insult did nothing to hamper Naruto's mood, instead, the Orange Maelstrom smiled warmly.
"I'll let Sakura-chan know you're all right," Naruto said. Sasuke nodded once.
"Make sure your Genin don't die under your watch," Sasuke said, smirking.
"Make sure yours don't try to commit Mutiny."
"Yours would do it first."
"My team respects me!"
"You really are a Dobe."
"WHAT? !"
"Sensei, can we say goodbye to our new friends?" Ioka interrupted the two arguing Jounin. She stood up next to Sasuke, wearing her best ninja clothes, and a pretty smile painted on her face. Both Jounin stared down at the girl, surprised that their argument had been interrupted again.
"Uh, hai," Sasuke said, somewhat stumbling over his words. It was always Naruto who made him fight, always Naruto who brought out the child in him. Ioka smiled brightly at her Sensei, and scampered over towards Obito and Haru. Hotan and Toshi both stared after her before walking over towards Mitsuki.
"It was nice to meet you Mitsuki-san," Toshi said. Bowing slightly.
"We'll miss having another person who doesn't put up with Ioka," Hotan said. Neither boy wore much expression on their faces, but both looked her straight in the eye. Mitsuki nodded once.
"It was nice to meet you both as well. Maybe our teams will meet up again in the future," she said. Her face was also blank, but it was also carefree like it would have been had she been back in the Academy. Both Genin nodded back at her before going over to Obito and Haru.
To Mitsuki's surprise, Ioka came over to her after she said her goodbyes to Haru and Obito.
"Bye Mi-chan! Have a safe journey back to Konoha!" she chirped, a false smile tight on her face. Mitsuki cocked a single eyebrow at the shorter girl. It was all pleasantries, a face to put up to appear polite.
"Don't call me bye any nicknames. You don't know me well enough to title me so," Mitsuki said, not bothering to put up a front. She stared blankly down at the red headed girl, face harsh.
Ioka flinched back in surprise. She'd been expecting the same false pleasantries back instead of the rude retort she'd gotten. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it when she found nothing to say. She repeated this process a few times, looking like a small red fish, before she trudged back towards her Sensei's side.
Usabarashi looked from Mitsuki to his sensei.
"Sensei?" he asked, staring up at the Kazekage.
"Go say your goodbyes," Gaara allowed. His arms were folded across his chest, head down and eyes closed. Usabarashi grinned, and eagerly walked towards the purple haired girl.
"Mitsuki-chan," he said once he got close enough. He stopped just a foot away from her. Towering above the small girl by half a foot, he made her feel enclosed. A feeling Mitsuki did not like coming from this particular boy.
"Usabarashi, why do you find such joy in harassing me?" she asked point blank. Her eyes were staring up at him, whiles his gaze met hers as he stared down.
"I dunno, I just do. Don't forget about me okay?" Usabarashi asked, smiling. Mitsuki didn't smile back, she just stared with an emotionless stare that did nothing to deter the Sand Nin's smile.
"No promises. I'd like to forget the person who's been stalking me," she said. Usabarashi's smile didn't waver though, in fact it seemed to grow somewhat mischievous. She glared at him, pursing her lips. Her mask had melted away with the annoyance of this particular boy.
"Well what if I guarantee to make you not forget me?" he asked. The sun was shining down on his face, making his eyes seem to glow gold. Or at least turn the color of the sand that surrounded them. Mitsuki scoffed.
"What could you possibl-" Mitsuki was cut off by Usabarashi ducking in quickly and pressing his lips to hers for a chaste kiss. She stood still with shock as he pulled away, grinning like an idiot before backing away. He looked bloody proud to have done that. And every person gathered grew silent at what had happened.
Naruto was the first to do something, going over to Mitsuki before she exploded, or at least he tried to.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" she howled, launching herself forward. Mitsuki's assault was halted as Naruto looped an arm around Mitsuki's torso, pulling her off the ground.
Mitsuki had tunnel vision, all she could see was Usabarashi, all she could see was his smile, all she could see was how she was going to kill him.
Naruto laughed nervously.
"I guess we'll be taking our leave then, Dattebayo," he said, accidentally slipping into his former habit. He held the struggling girl back, feeling the bloodlust radiate off her like flames. He hadn't used that word in so long, usually only when he was caught off guard, like with this Usabarashi kid laying the moves on one of his genin.
Naruto waved as they walked off, holding a struggling Mitsuki tight over his shoulder.
Tadao stood beside his teammates, staring at the disappearing figures as his overly happy teammate waved still.
"Usabarashi, you're an idiot."
"Tadao! I am offended to here you say that! I was simply leaving Mitsuki-chan with something to remember me by!" Usabarashi said. He was acting zealously, absolute glee bubbling into his expressions.
"She's going to kill you if we see her again. And when that happens, I'm going to stand by and watch as a tiny little girl who's almost as short as I am rips your face off of your skull," Tadao said. With that being said, the young blonde turned around and began to walk back into the village.
"Eviiilll!" Usabarashi yelled, jogging after the younger boy. He was laughing the entire way, taking his friends dark words lightly. The obvious personality differences between the two were startling, the younger the more serious, and the older the more joyful. It was only Sora's laidback attitude that kept them from arguing with each other all the time, sometimes they ganged up on her.
She didn't even mind that, she just didn't care about much of anything other than her ninja skills. Sora glanced at her sensei once before skipping off after her teammates, her brown hair fluttering behind her in the wind.
Gaara looked towards Sasuke once his genin were gone, nodding his head to convey a silent message. Sasuke responded with a subtle nod of his own before the Kazekage disappeared in a swirl of sand.
Sasuke ordered his team back to training, having had spotted what Naruto's genin were practicing on their own time. He wasn't going to let the dobe and his genin one up his genin.
Did Sasuke miss Konoha? Simply, yes. He missed it a lot, but he grew accustomed to being in Suna. Both places were his home, and Suna didn't have the painful memories that Konoha held for him. But maybe if that Dobe ever became Hokage he could go back for a visit…
"You should have let me kill him," Mitsuki grumbled, walking a small distance away from her team (and the giant talking flightless birds). She could feel both her teammates stares on her as she walked, but she paid them no mind. She just wanted to be done with this mission.
"Miki-chan, we don't kill our ally's genin. That's a no-no," Naruto teased. The blonde Jounin seemed to be forever amused by the fact that Mitsuki had been attacked with a kiss. He was snickering every so often, grinning mischievously at her when he believed she thought he didn't know she was looking at him.
"Whatever, next time I see him I'm going to wipe the floor with him," she grumbled, kicking at the sand. Naruto only continued to snicker at the short girl.
Obito stared up at the sun, a small frown etched on his otherwise blank face. He wondered when they would get back, he had engagements to attend to in the coming weekend. His father was counting on him to attend this with him as a family.
"Naruto-sensei, when will we be getting back?" he asked curiously. To Obito's surprise, it gained the attention of a black eyed kunoichi. She stared unwaveringly at their Jounin sensei, awaiting his answer.
"We should be back by Friday," Naruto said, smiling. Obito nodded once, perfect. He'd have enough time to spend a couple hours with his mom then, maybe even his dad.
In his peripheral, Obito noticed that Mitsuki wore a disgruntled face, like she'd been told she'd have to spend a day with Tatsuki.
The group continued to walk back towards Konoha, taking their time because of the ostriches.
"Say, Condor-san, who taught you how to talk anyway? It can't all be self-taught and picked up," Haru asked the male ostrich. He was legitimately curious about it, wondering if he could teach some of his father's birds to talk.
Amazingly enough, the old ostrich began to laugh. Well, if it was a laugh, more like a weird cackle sounding thing. It was pretty creepy.
"If only, but if that were the case, I'd be saying "Dattebayo" after everything like Naruto," the ostrich croaked.
"OI! I don't do that! Anymore!" Naruto yelled.
"Didn't you say it back in Suna?" Obito asked slyly. Naruto glared at the silver haired genin.
"Never mind that, Condor, who taught you how to talk?" Naruto asked, turning the focus back to the giant talking ostrich. Man, and he wanted to appear cool to his genin…
Mitsuki shook her head at her Sensei. 'What an idiot…' she thought, keeping her eyes straight forward. The sooner they got the ostriches back to their home, the better. Stupid birds. Stupid Hokage, giving them a stupid mission with the stupid birds.
"It was a ninja, a defected one from Kiri. He is a friend of the animals. He's been releasing animals who don't want to be trapped for years now. He taught me to speak and kept releasing me," Condor explained, a happy gleam in his eye. It seemed he was fond of this particular human…
"A defected Kiri Nin? Don't they track down the lost ones and kill them to make sure that the Kirigakure secrets aren't revealed to other villages?" Haru asked.
"He mentioned that, but he has been there since your own sensei was merely a genin. I fear not for his safety," the bird said.
"He's really nice, he gave my father his name," squawked the female ostrich.
"A Kiri Nin would give an Ostrich the name 'Condor'…" Mitsuki said in a snarky tone. But when the Ostrich reached its long neck to try to attack her, Mitsuki quickly hastened her steps. Maybe taunting the giant birds was a bad idea, but she was sarcastic by nature…
"Miki-chan, don't taunt the birds, they can get violent." Mitsuki scowled at her sensei's teasing chide, her black eyes turning into a hostile glare. Her sensei only laughed in amusement.
Obito watched his comrades exchange the entire thing with blank eyes, absorbing the information he saw. His frown returned to his face, something was up with his female comrade. Was she scared of the birds?
Obito racked his brain to find an instance otherwise, but he couldn't remember a single incidence where Mitsuki had touched the birds. The only time that may have happened was when he and Haru had passed out, both had been standing near birds.
Obito surreptitiously created a distance between him and Condor and Mitsuki, walking at the back of their group. Best not to make Mitsuki's weakness known to everyone…
They'd been in the land of fire for a good solid hour, but it was growing dark quickly and they wouldn't be able to reach the animal preserve that night. So Naruto had the idea to stop at a nearby hot springs, and placed the ostriches in a roomy shack, it was large enough for more than two, and would keep them from running away. Just in case.
Haru was thrilled with the idea of a Hot Springs, he'd never been to one before. It was exciting, an open air bath under the night sky?
"Sensei, have you been here before?" Mitsuki asked, standing back behind her teammates, staring at the building. It seemed old to her, run down, like no one had been there in a long time… Were those cobwebs in that window?
"Miki-chan, the place just doesn't get much business anymore. This place is good, no worries, believe it!" Naruto grinned back at her. Mitsuki blinked once before her sensei shoved open the door, calling out loudly.
"HELLO!"
Shortly after the Jounin released his yell, a small crash was heard.
"Idiot-Sensei…" Mitsuki said, voicing the two other's thoughts. Naruto, embarrassed, refused to look at his genin, instead stepping inside the inn.
"You all right in there?" he asked, somewhat quieter. His genin followed him inside, careful in case something leaped out at them. Where had their sensei brought them?
Sorry I didn't post last Saturday. I should have. But I was at this thing for Camp, and I was gone until later Sunday. If I'd posted on Sunday, it would have given me a less amount of time for the next chapter, and then I would have felt rushed and would have fizzled out quickly...
This chapter is really a set up for the next couple of chapters, so not much action. And I feel I've been focusing too much on Mitsuki lately, so I'm going to start off chapter Eleven with Haru. Excitement. :D
Now for Reviews! Yay! My favorite part!
Bookworm73: You are great my dear. And yes, that is exactly what I was going for. Sasuke and Naruto can't change their relationship, they're besties!
Loyal fan: You're amazing! Thank you for reading! And yes, Obito is cute... but I'm a secret Michiru fan... Ssh XD
Ninja Trio's Best: Ginger's Unite! We do have souls! They're just on FIRE! And I love you my dear!
Doiti Etok: I'm glad I could surprise you! Sasuke's awesome, it'd be a shame to keep him evil or dead. He has a conscience somewhere inside him, and I explained my reasonings last chapter. :P I'm glad I could answer your question! You probably phrased it correctly, I'm just easily confused... You are special, and you've got the longest comment again! :D It was Sasuke in the last chapter art, but you get points for being the only one to guess! Here is your ramen, enjoy it! The Schedule will be in order... Now! I hope to see your lovely reviews again! :)
hypnotic flames: I hasn't seen you since chapter eight! I missed you! Yay, I feel my chapter was a success now.
So, that's it. I'll see you next Saturday Lovebuckets! Until then... I dunno. Peace out!