This Weird Team of Ours
By Joker's Specter

Chapter Two: Setting Out

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Kurenai Yuhi was still in a state of terror as Tsunade and Anko exchanged words. The Hokage had informed Anko who her "subordinates" would be, and Anko gave what was an unmistakable evil grin to the rest of Team Kurenai.

"Excellent!" she said as she ran her dark eyes over the chunin. "Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata Hyuga if I'm not mistaken."

"You're not," Tsunade interjected.

"I will be your leader for our next mission," Anko announced formally. "I expect steadfast obedience, optimum performance, and complete attention on the mission at hand at all times." Her eyes narrowed. "Those who fail to do so will be punished severely!"

Kurenai cleared her throat, and Anko seemed surprised to see her. "Oh, Kurenai! Hello."

Not caring whether she was joking or not, Kurenai turned to the Hokage. "Excuse me Lady Tsunade, but is this really necessary? I'm sure there's someone else, or even I could go if--"

"Nonsense Kurenai!" Anko said as she walked up to her team. She slung her arm around Kiba and pinched his cheeks, much to his disliking. "We'll have a great time, and they won't be a burden to me at all!"

"That's not what I mea--"

"Besides, with a bun in the oven, you really shouldn't be going on missions," said Anko. She gave a knowing, sly smile and added, "You should spend time with the future daddy instead, eh?"

Kurenai was at a loss for words. So was almost everyone else in the room by the look of things.

Fortunately for the pregnant jonin, her student who usually spoke the least could almost always find something to say if needed. "Lady Hokage, my team and I believe ourselves to be incompatible with Anko Mitarashi," Shino said with a calm voice. "It is not that we dislike her.." he spoke carefully, "but we are not used to Anko's techniques for leading. It would be more efficient for our team if we had someone closer to Kurenai's methods."

Tsunade, who at this point looked like she just wanted to go back to bed, said, "It can't be helped Shino. This is your assignment."

Shino nodded. "It was worth trying."

"Worth trying? That's it?" Kiba said, pushing Anko away from him and rubbing his cheek. "Tsuna--er, Lady Tsunade, isn't there anybody else? Anko will kill us before the enemy does!"

Anko grabbed Kiba's hair and pulled his head so his back was arched and he was looking straight up at her while she looked down on his face. "It's rude to make assumptions," she said with an evil glare. The dark-haired jonin released Kiba. When he stood up straight and glared back, he made sure that he was on the other side of the room a moment later.

Kurenai was getting worried now. They hadn't even started the mission yet and already there was trouble... Perhaps it was her motherly instincts kicking in, but she had to do something. "Lady Tsunade, I'll accept this mission in Anko's place if that is permissible."

The faces on her students reflected relief, and Kurenai felt at ease. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.

"Absolutely not!" Tsunade stated. "They'll have to make do with Anko. You will have your own mission, Kurenai."

Kurenai blinked. "I will?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"I'll give you the details once Anko's team has been dismissed," Tsunade said. She turned back to the chunin and Anko. "I expect you four to depart shortly. Discuss a meeting place and get to it."

And that was that. Nothing more could be done. Kurenai sighed and watched as Anko told her team to meet at the northern entrance in precisely one hour. Or rather, she said thirty minutes, but her team managed to get her to bump it up to two hours to allow them to properly prepare. It was nice to at least see Anko give them some leeway.

Everyone departed quickly, except for a very fidgety Hinata. She stood in front of the Hokage's desk and looked at Tsunade.

"Um, Lady Tsunade..." she said with a quiet voice. "Has...Naruto come back?"

Tsunade looked up from some scrolls she was digging through. "He has."

Hinata couldn't contain her excitement. "Really? Do you know where he is?"

Her chair squeaked as Tsunade stood up to stretch. "He's been sent on a mission to Sunagakure," she said with disinterest.

"Oh..." Hinata's face fell. Kurenai looked at the Hyuga heir and wanted to smile as she realized what was going on. She thought it was sweet that Hinata was still infatuated with Naruto, even after his lengthy absence.

"Do you know when he will be back?" Kurenai asked Tsunade. She figured it was something Hinata would like to know.

Tsunade sat back down and continued her work on the mess she had on her desk. "I don't, but considering the travel time to and from Suna and the mission he's on, I'd say three to four days, if all goes well..." She had a distant look on her face.

A nod from Kurenai. "Very well then." She turned to her student. "Hinata, please go and prepare for the mission."

Hinata gave a sad smile to her teacher, bid her farewell, and departed.

Tsunade leaned back, holding a scroll. "What was that all about?" she asked when Hinata was out of earshot.

Kurenai shrugged; it wasn't her place to spread rumors. "Word is getting around that he's back. She's probably just curious."

"I see," Tsunade said. She opened the scroll and handed it to Kurenai. "This is your mission."

Grabbing the scroll, Kurenai read it quickly. What kind of mission would Tsunade give her in this situation?

As she read it, a scowl began forming on her face, despite her best efforts to keep a blank expression. "A genjutsu lecture at the academy? I couldn't go with my students because of that?" she asked with a hint of anger in her voice.

Tsunade yawned. "Tch, I need a nap... No, Kurenai. While I had that planned for you anyway, the real reason is because your students will have to get used to this eventually, and Anko is staying on this mission no matter who her team is."

"But..." Kurenai started to say, but she was quickly interrupted. "I'm not saying things will go perfectly well, but think of it this way: Even if I did agree to it, your students would just argue that you shouldn't go on the mission. Am I correct in assuming that?"

Kurenai thought about that. Tsunade had a very valid point. She let out a heavy sigh. "There's really nobody else?"

"I'm afraid not, this is Anko's mission no matter what," Tsunade said. She checked the time. "I think I could fit a few hours of sleep in before Shizune gets back...maybe more if I hide..."

She caught Kurenai's disapproving stare, then waved it off. "Oh, go complete your mission and stop worrying so much."

"My mission isn't until tomorrow."

Tsunade walked out of the room. "Then do what Anko said and spend time with the future father."

Kurenai sighed and made her way out of the Hokage's office. There was no way she could relax at a time like that.

!-A- -R- -R- -I-!
!-V- -I- -N- -G-!

"Can you believe the nerve of that woman?" Kiba snorted. He was lounging on Akamaru's back as they headed home. Shino walked beside them, completely silent.

Akamaru let out a loud yip in agreement to Kiba's anger. The Inuzuka teenager patted Akamaru's head. "We should plan a way for you to pee on her."

Shino turned his head a few millimeters to his left so he could study Kiba out of his peripheral vision. This went unnoticed by the other boy.

"Kiba..." Shino said after a moment of considering. "I have a warning for you."

Kiba tilted his head to look at his teammate. "Eh? What is it?"

Turning his head completely to lock his gaze on Kiba, Shino said in a very serious voice, "Do not irritate Anko Mitarashi."

Kiba's face was blank for a few seconds, then he turned away. "Heh, I know. I was just joking. You've gotta develop a sense of humor, Shino."

Shino wondered if he really was joking in the first place. He wouldn't put it past Kiba to follow through with his plan, especially with someone like Anko. She was just the type of person that had the ability to hit all of Kiba's buttons.

"Really though, I'm excited. This should be a very interesting mission," Kiba said with a grin.

Interesting was an understatement, Shino thought. Despite his concerns, he simply nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to hurry home. I need to get Akamaru in for a check-up before we leave," Kiba said to his teammate. Akamaru whined a bit, but showed no resistance otherwise. "I'll talk to you later, Shino. Let's go, Akamaru."

Moments later they were out of sight. Shino continued his current course, wondering how well he might get along with Anko. She mostly seemed to be the loud, opinionated type. Perhaps even someone who could not admit to their mistakes.

Quite the opposite of Kurenai, he mused. Still, he was sure that he'd get along with her a lot easier than Kiba would. Maybe it would benefit him to volunteer to scout ahead for most of the mission. At least that way he wouldn't have to hear the inevitable arguing between her and Kiba that would take place.

Thinking of the mission prompted Shino to pull the scroll out of his pocket. It was just a copy of the original mission document, but neither Kiba nor Hinata had much interest in looking at these more than once. Shino liked to hang onto them. It was important to know all of the details thoroughly, just in case.

He ran his eyes over the mission description again, taking it all in. It would be a retrieval mission. Securing--and destroying--the documents and any other copies made. It didn't seem all that difficult, especially if the enemy were merely thieves looking to make some quick cash, like the mission document listed. Those always seemed to be the easiest of opponents for some reason... Shino would never understand the greed for money. Perhaps power, but money just attracted unwanted attention whether you were the rich person or the thief.

Despite everything looking like it would be a relatively easy mission, something stuck out to Shino. If they were low-level thieves, then how did they break into the Konoha Archives? The Archives are one of the most well-guarded places. It didn't make sense to Shino.

Tsunade had said it was at a time when there was low security, but that just raised more questions. How did they know to strike at that time? And even if there was low security, the guards still should have been chunin or higher. The thieves in question must have either had the ability to take out the chunin, or completely snuck past them undetected. Either way, it didn't sit well with Shino. His eyebrows creased together as he suddenly regretted not studying this closer while he still had the time to talk to Tsunade about it.

Perhaps he would bring it up with Anko... He wondered if it would do any good.

Before he knew it, he was home. He was hoping to talk to his father about their...unfortunate situation, but Shibi already appeared to be gone on his mission. What type of emergency mission was it, anyway?

Getting lost in his thoughts again, Shino walked to his room and shed his clothes. A three day mission practically required that he shower beforehand. He evacuated most of the bugs out of his body before stepping in to wash himself. The destruction bugs Shino housed inside himself didn't mind water too much, but Shino found that the better he treated them, the more efficient they performed for him. Since water was a little uncomfortable for them, it was natural to him to let his bugs roam his room while he washed himself.

Once he was clean and dressed in a new set of clothes--almost identical to what he always wore--he packed up what he felt he would need for his mission. For missions that lasted longer than a day or two, Shino would always upgrade to a larger backpack that was held in place by all four buckles on his coat, which gave him sufficient space.

He did a thorough check on his weapons, getting rid of anything that was too dull, and then headed down to the kitchen. He wasn't sure who would be home first out of him or his father, but he left a note stating where he'd be anyway. It was a habit.

Satisfied that he hadn't forgotten anything, Shino left his house early for the meeting place. He always liked going at his own pace. Something in the back of his mind told him it would be the last time he could do so for the next few days.

At least they wouldn't be out of practice anymore; that much was certain to Shino.

!-A- -R- -R- -I-!
!-V- -I- -N- -G-!

Kiba waved to Akamaru as Hana took the dog into an exam room.

"Don't feed him anymore treats! He always gives me weird looks after!" Kiba called to his sister as she shut the door. He scratched his head and exited the veterinary clinic, and then walked the few blocks to his house so he could prepare.

While walking up the stairs to his room, Kiba's mom called him into her office. He let out an annoyed grunt. "I have to pack for a mission," he called back.

"It won't take long. Get your butt in here," she yelled, causing Kiba to wince. Tsume Inuzuka was just as fierce as always.

Kiba pushed open the door to Tsume's office and walked in, shuffling his feet. "Yeah?" he said.

"You stink. I could smell you walking home from a mile away. Take a shower; I don't want any ninjas with dog-nins finding you out because you don't know how to wash," she said with a glare from her wild eyes behind her desk. Kuromaru was beside the desk, snoozing.

Kiba sighed. Same old thing as usual. "Yeah, yeah," he said. He turned to walk out.

"So Anko's your new jonin leader?" Tsume asked from behind him, stopping him in his tracks.

"Huh, you knew?" he asked, turning his head.

Tsume raised an eyebrow. "Of course. What jonin doesn't know Kurenai is pregnant? It was only a matter of time before she would be replaced," she said, as if Kiba had asked the stupidest question ever. Then she added with a growl, "You smell like Anko, so it's obvious. Go shower."

"Yeah, it's not my fault I smell like her," he said with a hint of anger in his voice.

Tsume smirked. "Don't piss her off," she cautioned.

"I know, I know," Kiba replied. "Can I go get ready now."

Waving him off, Tsume said, "Yeah, go. Come back safely, Kiba."

Kiba grinned. "I always do," he said with a slight amount of arrogance, and headed towards his room. He opted to shower before he started to pack.

After spending twice as long as usual in the shower--probably subconsciously, in an effort to get rid of the lingering traces of Anko--Kiba dressed in his usual attire and packed quickly. Despite the fact that he was going with someone who had so far pushed all the wrong buttons with him, he was excited for the mission. Finally he'd get to try out some new techniques. At least, he hoped he would. A wicked grin crossed his face as he thought about using them on Anko.

The woman had issues, and everyone seemed to know it. So why is this team going ahead as planned? Was it just unfortunate luck? Kiba found himself growling, and calmed himself. Of all the jonin in Konoha, they got the worst... Well, no, Ibiki might be worse, Kiba realized. But even so, Anko was psycho.

"He's healthy," Hana said as she met Kiba in the waiting room with Akamaru in tow.

Just as Kiba expected, Akamaru gave Kiba an expectant look.

Kiba glared at Hana. "You gave him a treat again, didn't you?"

Hana looked away innocently.

Rolling his eyes, Kiba pulled the second piece of jerky he took from the fridge and tossed it to Akamaru, who ate it happily. "Good thing I came prepared this time," he said to Hana. Then he looked down at his best friend. "I'd better be your favorite person, now."

Akamaru barked and wagged his tail, then walked toward the exit.

Hana giggled. "He just teases you. You're always his favorite."

A wide grin appeared on Kiba's face. "Of course I am--that's why we work so well together."

Hana smiled at her younger brother. "I suppose so." She looked at his rather full backpack. "You're leaving the village?"

"Yeah... A mission," Kiba replied. "Probably for three or four days."

"Huh... Odd coincidence, since we were discussing this just today. Just be careful," Hana said, giving Kiba a light hug.

"I'll try. Anko's leading the team, so no guarantees."

Hana pulled away and gave her brother a look that expressed pity. "Oh. Don't upset her, okay?"

Kiba groaned. "Everybody says that. I know not to upset her," he said, crossing his arms.

To his surprise, Hana started laughing. "I'm not the first, huh? We all just know you so well." She pinched his cheeks over his facial tattoos.

Kiba batted her hands away. "Okay, I'm leaving now. Bye."

He hastily moved away from Hana and her chuckling. "Bye!" she called to him as he walked out to meet Akamaru.

Akamaru fell into place beside him as he headed toward the entrance to Konoha.

"To be honest, Akamaru," Kiba said as he looked down at his best friend. "I have a bad feeling I'm going to piss off Anko."

Akamaru gave a soft whine and tilted his head.

Kiba grinned down at Akamaru, causing his enlarged canines to glint in the sunlight. "Seriously, piss on her head if she kills me, okay?"

!-A- -R- -R- -I-!
!-V- -I- -N- -G-!

To anybody who saw her as she walked past them, it was clear that Hinata was not happy at all. The day had so far brought her nothing but bad news, and it wasn't even halfway over. It had started off so well, too... She had such high hopes. Even though the Hyuga girl told herself she wouldn't be upset if he was on a mission, she was unable to help it.

Naruto Uzumaki was sent off on another mission so quickly... Did Naruto choose to do it himself, or did Lady Tsunade send him off without giving him a choice? Couldn't Naruto have been given a few days to relax? She probably could have seen him then.

Hinata shook her head; what was she thinking? She was starting to sound very selfish. Naruto was strong anyway. If anybody would be ready for their next mission immediately, it would be him. A forced smile appeared on her lips--Naruto would be okay. She would get to see him soon enough. His smile, his hair, his eyes... How much had changed about him? She was just dying to know.

Despite being deep in thought, Hinata instinctively turned down a shortcut. As she made her way to her home, her mind began moving into a different direction and focused on her new mission assignment. Around three days with just Shino, Kiba, Akamaru, and... Anko. Kurenai would no longer be with them on missions. Now that Hinata was alone, it started to sink in more. It was as if today was fated to make her heart ache.

The dark-haired girl took a deep breath. She filled her head with calm, soothing thoughts. The boys and Akamaru would still be with her. That was a positive thing. Her hands held the bottom of her jacket tightly as she relented and thought of Anko yet again.

Anko...perplexed Hinata. The teen never could quite figure out what to make of the famous jonin. She had been there when Anko cut Naruto's cheek. At the time, the Hyuga girl almost fainted when his blood was collected on her tongue, and she swallowed it. Yet, for all her odd actions, she was still regarded as a highly skilled ninja. Hinata couldn't figure out if she was safe or in danger with the elite jonin.

Hinata found herself at her home much faster than she had anticipated. She sighed to herself, realizing she had been worrying the entire time. It wasn't a good time to start stressing about everything. She had to be prepared and focused for the mission--lives may depend on her. Hinata would just die if anything happened to her teammates, especially if it was her fault.

Wandering into her house, Hinata made a beeline for her bedroom. Packing would come first. It had been a long time...she wanted to make sure she wouldn't forget anything. Even though she had done it many times before, she suddenly found herself worrying she might forget a crucial item.

Even after she had finished packing, she immediately unpacked and rechecked all her things. Everything was definitely there, including her portable cooking supplies. Hinata wasn't missing anything. But she still felt so anxious.

"You finally got a mission?"

Hinata spun on her heels to look at the source of the voice. Her sister, Hanabi, was standing in the doorway with a blank expression on her face.

"Yes," she said, startled.

Hanabi gave a quick nod. "I would have knocked, but you left the door wide open."

"I'm heading out soon," Hinata said quietly, returning to her packing.

"Okay," Hanabi said. "I'll let father know." Hinata heard her light footsteps exit the room and go down the hallway. Before they went too far, however, Hanabi added, "Good luck."

Hinata smiled. Her relationship with her sister had improved quite a bit since Hinata became a chunin. Not by much to most people's standards, but by enough to make a difference. It was something that made her happy.

With that warmth in her mind, as she neatly packed once more, she decided that she was ready to go. Since Hanabi had offered to inform their father of her mission, Hinata felt it was okay to leave right away. Despite how oddly comfortable the house had become for her lately--especially the past few months when she had no overnight missions--she was eager to do something that would greatly benefit the village.

With that thought in mind, she left the Hyuga compound and started her usual relaxed pace toward the meeting location. She would get there in time.

It would be...difficult...waiting for three more days to see him, but Hinata had already waited two and a half years. Even if he had been in Konoha just the night before, it would be easy to wait a little bit longer.

She wasn't doing a very good job convincing herself of that. Instead, she just fell back on logic and reminded herself that it would be impossible to see him even if she tried. But that still didn't make her feel any better.

!-A- -R- -R- -I-!
!-V- -I- -N- -G-!

Kurenai was proud to be a ninja. She thought she was quite good at it, and some of her abilities reminded her of how talented she could be. One such ability was refraining from showing any anger. Once a ninja became too emotional, it could compromise any mission, and she had taken that rule to heart. It wasn't often someone could break through that barrier so easily.

When she walked up to Anko at the meeting place, her face was blank, her back was straight, and she promised herself that she'd see her team off professionally. It would do good for them to see her having a strong resolution, and she needed to appear confident so they wouldn't worry.

But then Anko turned to her and said, "Your team is ridiculously slow, Kurenai. I'm going on ahead. Bye!" And that was all it took.

Kurenai snatched Anko's coat and scowled at her. "Now wait just a minute. There's still fifteen minutes until they're supposed to be here!" Her voice was a bit louder than she would have liked, but the other jonin was being extremely unreasonable.

Anko eyed Kurenai, then swatted her hand away. "I'll give 'em ten minutes," was all she said on the matter. She then looked at Kurenai's stomach. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

A little jarred from the sudden subject change, Kurenai actually stuttered. "I-I don't know. It's far too early to tell." What was it about Anko that was throwing her off? She never did feel comfortable around the woman.

"If it's a boy, I'll take him under my wing," Anko said, grinning.

Despite being surprised at the sudden statement, Kurenai was curious of something. She wasn't sure if she should ask, but she couldn't help it. "And...if it's a girl?"

Anko shrugged. "I can't have a younger female as a permanent subordinate. I've got more than looks to attract guys, sure, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

Kurenai put her hand over her face. "Anko... If the baby is a girl, then it will be a long time before she'll be attracting any guys."

"Not if there are pedophiles roaming about," Anko said simply.

"Anko!" Kurenai exclaimed in shock.

Anko's eyes widened. Kurenai thought that she was surprised at her outburst, but she saw that Anko was looking past her. Anko's eyes suddenly narrowed. "There's the fresh meat," she said with a disturbing smile.

Kurenai turned around to see Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino walking slowly toward the two jonin. She almost wanted to beg them to run away, but...a ninja's life was never easy. Anko would just have to be one more unfortunate obstacle for them to overcome.

Before the boys walked within earshot, Kurenai turned to Anko and said with a very serious voice. "Take good care of them."

"Your kids will be back home before you know it, mommy," Anko said with a yawn.

Sighing, Kurenai turned around to greet the boys. Akamaru ran up and received a pat on the head, while Kiba and Shino each said hello to the women.

"Where's the Hyuga?" Anko asked as she scanned the roads.

Kiba leaned against Akamaru and said, "She'll get here soon enough."

Anko crossed her arms and looked hard at Kiba. "Does your team always tolerate tardiness?"

All of Team Kurenai exchanged glances. "Tardiness? What do you mean?" Kiba inquired. "We're early."

Shino just looked at Anko from behind his black goggles and said nothing. Kurenai, meanwhile, was trying hard not to grab the boys and run. She told herself it would just be a few days. Suddenly, she was finding herself worrying a lot more about their well-being than she was earlier. It amused her that she was confident with them facing enemy ninja, but with Anko... Well, Kurenai's blood was boiling, to put it simply.

She expected Anko would get irritable if Hinata didn't appear soon. Fortunately for them all, the timid girl appeared in the distance, and walked rather quickly to meet the group once she saw them waiting.

"S-Sorry," Hinata murmured when she saw Anko's cold stare. "I wanted to make sure I didn't forget anything."

Kurenai gave an understanding nod. She was about to tell Hinata it was okay, when Anko cut her off.

"Can you keep up with a jonin at top speed?" she asked sharply.

Hinata's eyes went wide at the sudden question.

"They all can," Kurenai answered for Hinata. "But remember what I said."

All eyes were on Kurenai. She felt herself being studied by her students, while she felt a glare coming from Anko. She looked at the other jonin to confirm it. Yep, a glare. Kurenai narrowed her eyes and glared back, contesting Anko. Despite the chill running through Kurenai's body, she refused to let the dark-haired female in front of her act like she was. They were both the same rank, and she deserved the respect of a jonin.

Finally Anko shrugged and gave a fake yawn. "Okay, let's go then." And with nothing more said she walked up to the guards and handed over her mission papers for them to look at.

The rest of the team didn't budge as they looked around at each other. Finally, Shino straightened up and turned to Kurenai.

"I suppose we'll see you when we get back," he said with his usual deadpan voice.

Kurenai could only hope they'd get back. She quickly shook that thought aside, however; Anko was very capable, despite her obvious issues. Not to mention they were all exceptional themselves. They would be in good hands, at least in regards to the enemy ninja. When it came to Anko, well...

Her gaze fell on Kiba. "Kiba--don't upset Anko..." she warned.

Kiba threw his hands up in the air. "Doesn't anybody think I'm capable of not pissing off the crazy chick?!" he exclaimed.

Kurenai wasn't sure what that was all about, but she figured it wouldn't do any good to sort it out at that time. Anko was just getting the papers back, and would likely leave without the team.

"Stay safe, all of you," she said firmly. "Do as Anko says, and I'll see you all when you get back." Allowing a small smile to appear on her lips, she was hoping her confidence in their safe return would boost their spirits. Unfortunately, as they said their goodbyes and walked toward Anko, Hinata still looked frightened and Kiba wore a scowl that told everybody to back off. Shino was...well, who could tell with him?

"Okay subordinates, let's go!" Anko yelled with a fierce grin. She waved them toward the gate, and then led the way, taking off at top speed and jumping into the trees. Kurenai's team immediately quickened their pace to catch up, and soon disappeared in the distance.

Kurenai sighed and closed her red eyes. Why couldn't men get pregnant instead?

!-A- -R- -R- -I-!
!-V- -I- -N- -G-!

Anko wasn't in a good mood. She grunted as she kicked off a branch, launching her body forward at a dangerous speed. One misstep and she'd overshoot, falling to the ground. If that happened, she'd have to tuck and roll to avoid any serious injury.

Her feet landed on their mark, and kicked off again. She never missed.

The jonin was extremely pissed off, and for good reason. She wouldn't admit that fact to the three chunin behind her, however. And she imagined she was doing a good job hiding it, since she was several hundred feet ahead of them. Good. Let them stay behind--she wanted nothing to do with them at the moment.

Anko's thoughts reflected back to a few days earlier, when she was chasing down the thieves who broke into the Archives. Since she sent the guards away to have some quiet privacy while she researched, that left her as the only person in the archives at the time, essentially acting as a guard while she read. Yet, she couldn't even catch the idiot people who broke in. She fell into such a simple trap... It was so irritating. And now it was her duty to get back the documents, and she was wasting time with the kids who were tailing her.

It was her fault, and she intended to remedy the situation her own way. If only Tsunade hadn't forced her to bring the kids along...

And Kurenai... What business did she have trying to interfere? They were Anko's teammates now. Her subordinates. Part of Team Anko. With her as the leader, it was more like Team Awesome. Anko growled as she gave another rough kick, throwing herself through the trees while clenching her fists. She had some bones to break when she found those thieves.

The jonin calmed down long enough to realize that she couldn't feel the presence of the chunin behind her any longer. She stopped on a branch and looked back with an evil glare in her eyes. Stupid kids. Where were they?

Suddenly, a loud bark rang through her ear. Anko yelled and fell off the tree she was standing on, but managed to channel some chakra in her hand at the last second to cling to the side. Making no sound, she hoisted herself back up and glared at the three chunin who were standing right beside her.

Kiba grinned, bearing his canines. "Why'd you stop?"

"Couldn't detect your chakra," Anko muttered.

"That's why we're good for this mission," Kiba explained. "We've practiced a lot for this sort of thing. And yes, as Kurenai said, we can keep up with you."

Anko glared at Kiba. Her blood was heated and she wanted to hit something. The Inuzuka kid was pissing her off the most of all. At least the Hyuga girl looked like she wanted to melt and disappear, and the Aburame kid wasn't even looking at them.

Finally, Anko grinned back, not hiding her malice. "Keep up with this, brat," she hissed, and disappeared in a blur.

The wind rushed past her face as she used her powerful legs to shoot through the trees at top speed. Moronic kid thought he was something, huh? Anko wanted to strangle the little brat. She was in no mood to deal with his cocky attitude. For his sake, it was best if he didn't catch up to her.

She turned her head momentarily to see all three of them a hundred feet or so behind her. They were keeping up, but she was satisfied to see that they were having a hard time with it. She kept up the brutal pace, and not thirty minutes later they started falling behind.

Anko ignored them and didn't slow down at all. She had some anger to work out on the trees beneath her legs. She slammed her legs down, snapping a thick tree limb as she rocketed through the air. It felt good when she imagined it was a thief's face.

She knew she was radiating killer intent, and for once it felt good. It'd probably keep the chunin off her back for a while, too. The village was in a dangerous situation because of her, and she had to vent somehow. If word got out that a major client list was stolen, there would be backlash and it would hurt Konoha. If that happened, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. She had the guy with the client list, and the trap just came out of nowhere and...

"Tch," Anko muttered to nobody in particular. That was all she said for several hours. Her mind worked in overtime as she raced through the trees, making good time. She almost forgot about the chunin tailing her. The jonin wanted to make it to the hideout in a single day, but knew it was impossible with Kurenai's team. She read the reports; they hadn't been in practice for months, and only Kiba had any form of elite stamina, due to Akamaru. Shino and Hinata would likely need a break soon.

She looked back and could just barely detect the three of them behind her. With an exasperated sigh, she stopped on a tree and folded her arms, glaring at them as they approached her.

"Have any of you had lunch?" she asked as soon as all three of them were on a branch in front of her.

Panting heavily, the three of them didn't appear to be able to speak. It was just as Anko thought--they hadn't been through this much of a workout in a long time. Finally, Kiba shook his head to answer her question.

Anko sighed and jumped down to the ground. "You get a thirty minute break for lunch, and then we'll continue on. We'll move until nightfall."

They landed beside Anko and sat on the ground. Akamaru was panting heavily as Kiba dug out a bowl from his pack and poured the dog some water from a water bottle. Shino made no movement other than his chest moving up and down rapidly as he caught his breath. Hinata was digging through her own pack and pulling out some cooking supplies.

Anko almost felt sorry for the kids and their primitive ways. "Put those things away, Hinata," she said sternly. The jonin reached into her pack and pulled out some things that looked like black bricks. She tossed one to each of the chunin.

"What's this?" questioned Kiba with a disgusted look on his face.

"The best food you'll ever have. Pre-made for missions, it allows you to eat fast and move quickly after. It doesn't give stitches and provides more energy. It's my own recipe," Anko explained with a smug smile.

"Clearly..." Kiba muttered with an arched eyebrow.

Anko shot him a look. "Do you have something to say, dog boy?"

Kiba looked from Shino to Hinata--who was putting away her cooking supplies quietly--then back to Anko. "This smells like dirt," he said simply. "It probably tastes like dirt, too."

Anko twitched. Then, in the blink of an eye, she wasn't where she had previously been standing. Instead, she had a handful of dirt in her hand and was trying to force it in Kiba's mouth, with her palm flat against his lips. "Dirt, huh?! Why don't you try to compare it?!" she yelled.

Shino's eyebrows raised. Instead of breaking up the fight, however, he simply looked to Hinata and said, "I will miss your cooking, but for this mission at least, we'll have to stick to this...food." He broke off a piece and allowed a few bugs to try it.

Hinata's lips tried to smile at his remark, but her attention was mostly on the struggle between Kiba and Anko. She wore a worried expression across her face.

Kiba ripped Anko's hand away and jumped up, sputtering and spitting out any dirt that made its way in his mouth. "You're insane!" he shouted.

Anko stood up and put her hands on her hips. "I don't like loud boys!" she yelled.

"I don't like loud girls!" he yelled back. "And your hand reeks!"

Shino stood up and walked a few yards away, saying something about how his bugs were getting irritated with all of the killing intent.

"Um," Hinata said, her small voice cutting through the tense atmosphere. "I think we should eat quickly...so we can move on." She took a hesitant bite into the food Anko gave her. When she didn't spit it out, Anko smiled.

"It's a good thing she's on your team, dog boy. I bet you wouldn't know left from right without her and the Aburame boy," Anko jeered. Taking her anger out on the tree branches was okay, but venting on the Inuzuka kid was much more fun. To further irritate Kiba, she broke off a piece of her own food and tossed it to Akamaru, who, despite whining at the fight, hungrily ate it up.

Kiba glared at him. "Traitor," he muttered. That prompted more whining from Akamaru.

"Ten minutes and we're moving!" Anko announced to them all. "You don't have to eat my food if you don't want to, but it's the only thing you'll have time for."

She watched as Kiba grudgingly grabbed the food she had given him off of the ground where it fell during the struggle, and walk over to Shino, who seemed to be already eating it.

Anko suppressed a grin. She was feeling much better now.

!-A- -R- -R- -I-!
!-V- -I- -N- -G-!

"It did taste like dirt," Kiba said in a hushed tone to Shino as they jumped through the trees.

Shino wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he didn't.

"I hope this mission goes smoothly. I really don't want to spend more time than necessary with her."

Nodding, Shino said, "She isn't very compatible with our team." He paused for a moment, then added, "However, Anko Mitarashi is regarded as one of the village's top jonin. It might be beneficial for us in the end."

Kiba looked at Shino like he was crazy. "There are plenty of jonin out there. We just got stuck with the craziest one," he muttered. "She's even crazier than I remember."

Shino did notice that something seemed to be bothering Anko, which was likely causing her to lash out more than usual. He didn't know enough information on the subject, so he decided he was done speaking about it.

On the other hand, Kiba kept going on. "When we get back, I seriously hope Tsunade isn't planning on giving us more missions with her. If that's the case, I'm demanding she give us a new jonin."

Beside them both, Hinata had been keeping up with them silently. Shino wasn't entirely sure what Hinata's thoughts and feelings were on the situation, but he had a guess. Even Shino's own bugs were antsy within him. He was doing his best to keep them calm, but it was difficult with every issue stacked onto one another like it was.

Up ahead, Anko was keeping them moving at a fast pace. After the quick meal, she had immediately started on her way again with them keeping up at her speed. Shino had to admit that the food seemed to be working just as Anko told them. It really didn't taste very well, but he was certain Hinata could change that with the proper spices. He had saved a piece of the food in his pack to figure out all the ingredients another time.

Hours later, as the sun started to set beneath the trees, Shino started to wonder just how much longer Anko wanted to move. He looked from Hinata to Akamaru--who Kiba had hopped on thirty minutes earlier--and noticed how exhausted they were. Kiba was patting Akamaru's head while wearing a concerned look on his face, and Hinata looked like she was having trouble just keeping her face a normal color.

Shino himself was very irritable. His overly exhausted state was sending his bugs in a frenzy, and half of his concentration went to calming them down. He knew eventually they'd tire out just like everyone else, but that food seemed to be giving them a lot of energy, and they weren't the ones running through the forest to expel it.

It would be disastrous if the team was ambushed.

But still, he said nothing. The sun was slowly making progress, hiding behind the landscape, and soon it would be dark. Once darkness came, Anko would surely allow them to stop for the night. No jonin would want their teammates exhausted before infiltrating an enemy hideout.

Unless...Anko didn't care in the slightest. Shino focused his hard stare on her. He was sure she didn't want them to go through any harm, of course. But, what if she thought she could do this all on her own? She had an overwhelming sense of pride, especially since the mission had started. The Aburame boy was struggling to think clearly because of his exhaustion, but it almost seemed as if Anko felt that way; like she wished it had been a solo mission.

Suddenly, Anko stopped on a tree limb up ahead. Shino, Hinata, and Akamaru with Kiba all landed beside her.

Looking at Anko, Shino saw that she appeared to be deep in thought. It was much different from her earlier angered and arrogant expressions. He probably could have figured out what it meant if he wasn't so tired.

"We'll camp here for the night," Anko said quietly, motioning to a small clearing with just a few trees dotted throughout it.

"Finally! Kiba exclaimed, rubbing Akamaru's head and wearing a giant, relieved grin.

Anko jumped down to the ground, removing her pack from her shoulders. "And dog boy gets first guard duty," she said with a loud yawn.

Kiba's eyes bulged. "What?!"

As Akamaru started whining, Shino couldn't help letting out an audible sigh. No matter how much they would wished against it, it would certainly feel like a long mission.

End: Chapter Two