Fandom Squad Shithead: A Naruto AU

[Pine]

Tetsuo felt the familiar tug of the wire strings snagged on his target. He didn't need to see the woman burn the wire to know his seconds were numbered.

"Mizu, move!"

Tetsuo brought the wire to his lips and bit down with all his might. He hadn't been imagining it. As he wove the five hand signs for his jutsu, he knew he had hit a flow. It was subtle, but every move he'd made in this fight felt natural. No doubt the chakra control practice from the night was responsible for keeping this fresh on his mind. Now, with the desire to finish this in one move, he felt a surge of chakra roar within him like a controlled wave. He would pour everything he had into this jutsu, and he wasn't sure if the distance Mizu had put between herself and their opponent with her staff's final jab alone was enough to keep her unscathed from what he would unleash.

Tetsuo popped the wire out of his mouth and clapped it between his hands in their final sign: dragon.

Lightning Style: Earth Flash!

A volley of lightning sprung from his palms. They skittered in erratic arcs, jagged turns piercing foward to the left, to the right, bounding to cross again. Each time they intersected down the wire, they jumped to a greater height. The lightning bolts reached the end of their linear path. With no more guidance, they sliced across each other one final time before ending in one great flare.

 

[Gilzar]

A loud scream erupted from the flare. The woman was hit dead on with Tetsuo's attack, just as she had broken through the wiring. Mizu watched as the flash of lightning illuminated the battlefield for a brief moment, shining so bright that Mizu was forced to shut her eyes. Just what was that technique? Never once would Mizu have imagined that Tetsuo was capable of pulling off a technique of that caliber. It was always mentioned that he was above the average genin skill level but how far was that? She opened her eyes, looking for anything that could be left of the rogue woman.

To Mizu's shock, the woman was somehow still standing. The rogue was hunched over, favoring one side of her body. Elecrical burns were scattered across her skin like tree branches, while her clothing was now ripped and burned along its trimming. She breathed heavily, wiping blood away from her lip. In the shock of the blast, one of her teeth had bitten through her own lip. Smoke slowly trickled off of her figure, likely from her charred clothing. For a moment, she just stared at Tetsuo and Mizu, focusing on just breathing. A small stream of blood trickled from the right side of her mouth down to her chin, dripping down to the ground below her. Mizu was astounded the woman could even stand.

She let out a small grunt, and the pain on her face soured into a rage. Even on the verge of defeat, she refused to go down without a fight; not while she still had one more trick up her sleeve, and plenty of chakra. The woman quickly strung together a complex series of handsigns and slammed her hands into the ground. 'Fire Style: Scarlet Lotus!'.

A giant blaze erupted from all around her, rapidly expanding in all directions. Grass burst into flames as it quickly traveled over the glade. As it expanded in size, the inferno began to take the shape of a lotus flower. Each petal of the flower began to reach out like tentacles, trying to consume each of the genin with their flames. Three petals pursued each of the genin, coming from slightly different angles. Even Haruki would be pursued by the jutsu, although it would not go near Sando or Rei Takara.

 

[Pine]

The wire dropped from Tetsuo's trembling hands. The move had hit, but the effect was something he never could've imagined.

This was a jutsu he had practiced over and over again. It had taken a month of stubborn willpower and pouring everything he had learned, from his dad, to books, to the academy. He had done it many times, but never on a human target, and this was the most powerful, concentrated version of it that he had done yet. Her scream had been terrifying. He looked on with horror through a fogging gaze as more and more of her ruined visage came into his awareness.

And yet in spite of that, she was still standing. The shaking that had started in his hands traveled up the rest of his body. It hadn't been good enough. He had not been good enough. He was spent. Tetsuo had used up all of his chakra, already a shallower pool than normal from the lack of rest, and now it was taking him everything he had just to keep from slipping out of consciousness.

His breathing was deep and labored. Tetsuo stood, panting, until lost his footing and slipped to his knee, only just able to catch himself on one hand. He tried to pick himself back up, but every muscle in his body was viscous, numb and would not cooperate. For a second his vision went dark, but when he refocused, the woman was on the ground, and a bright, raging flame was swallowing the earth around her. He tried to get himself to his feet to run, but still his body would not respond.

Tetsuo pulled at the earth below him to turn himself around and collapsed in on himself, bringing his forehead to his knees. He would not be able to dodge this attack. He just had to hope the flame would take his back and nothing more.

- - - - -

Haruki had been dumbstruck from the moment Tetsuo had released his jutsu. He, too, had no idea what the lippy brat was capable of. It was nothing Haruki felt even near capable of doing on his own, having only the arsenal of basic ninjutsu required to graduate under his belt. Tetsuo had always made it a point to act like he was better than him in every way. Now Haruki saw the other boy had the mettle to back this up.

But Tetsuo's bravado would not save him now. Haruki watched, horrified in equal parts as just as his teammate had fallen, the woman's countenance became enraged, and she unleashed an attack of such impressive, deadly magnitude he never would've expected.

Haruki watched as the giant lotus flower took shape, his muscles going rigid with terror. It may have been a beautiful sight, except it was devouring the glade before him and threatening himself and his teammates with the same ravenous consumption. Now it was heading straight towards him.

"Sando, Rei, we have to run!" he cried out. Haruki was completely unaware that he among the trio was the petal's sole target. As far as he knew, if he moved strictly to protect himself, then they would be the innocent victims of this attack. Haruki grabbed Sando's arm, feeling he would be the slowest with his gimp limb, and sprinted across the lip of the cave towards the outer edge of the glade as fast as his feet would carry him, all but dragging the old man along with him. He could only assume Rei was with them, because he had not bothered to check first if she was latched onto her father as tightly as he thought she was.

 

[Gilzar]

The glowing red-orange petals of the lotus jutsu pursued the three genin. Mizu being closest to their enemy couldn't seem to move fast enough to get away from the tendrils of the fire ninjutsu. She ran, yet the tendrils caught up to up to her. Directly behind Mizu, the first tendril slammed into her back. Mizu was knocked face-first into the ground, her back side overwhelmed with the sting of burns. As she slowly picked herself up, the light around her grew brighter as the next lotus petal swept in for the kill.

In desperation, she would try something she had never done before. Mizu focused as much chakra as she could to her feet in the few seconds she had to react, then released it all at once as she jumped off her feet. Instantly, Mizu swiftly leaped away from the second tendril just as it slammed into the ground. Now she was moving through the air at a speed she had never experienced before, and once again she tumbled into the ground. Recovering from the jump, she looked up as the last tendril beamed straight toward her. Its light blinded her eyes as it rocketed toward her, and all the girl could do was brace for the impact...yet it didn't hit. The petal stopped without warning, but waved through the air as if trying to get closer. It seemed she was just out of the ninjutsu's range.

Something similar had happened to Tetsuo. The first lotus petal slammed into Tetsuo, knocking the boy back a fair distance as it hit his back. Immediately the other two tendrils tried to finish Tetsuo back, but they had stretched as far as they could reach. Tetsuo was just out of range of the jutsu. While the flaming lotus petals clawed at the air in front of the boy, they could not reach him.

Meanwhile, the arms of the lotus lunged at Haruki...yet stopped just before they hit him. All three petals moved and shifted at different angles in the air, yet none would strike him down. Haruki may not have realized it, but him grabbing onto Sando had spared him from the ninjutsu. This woman had been given specific instructions not to harm Sando or Rei, and would not risk doing so with this attack.

Mizu watched as the ninjutsu wouldn't attack Haruki. She eyed over to where Tetsuo was, but could only see a figment of him laying on the ground. Was he dead? The girl didn't have much time to look, however.

Without any warning, the rogue shinobi burst out of the ornate inferno and lunged at Haruki with a ferocious straight punch. Behind her, the flaming lotus slowly dissipated into the air. Sando collapsed back, trying to get as far from their adversary as they could. Meanwhile Rei clung onto her father, terrified from the situation. Yet from behind the woman Mizu was charging her, but it would take a moment or so for her to reach them.

 

[Pine]

The petal slammed into Tetsuo's back. The boy tumbled with a sharp grunt, rolling over and over across the glade until he skidded to a stop on his side. His field of vision swam and the inside of his skull buzzed. The petal had seared a hole through his clothes and singed the skin beneath. It was a pain unlike any he had felt before, not to this degree.

The impact of the attack begged to take him under. Tetsuo was not even aware of the other tendrils that had followed, standing off with predatory intention. Again, his vision darkened and his head hung heavy, taking a sharp dip into the earth.

Tetsuo's arm curled beneath him. He reached up and dug his nails into the burnt flesh on his back.

His eyes flew wide open. A surge of pain flooded his senses. He blew a long hiss through clenched teeth and dug in further. He fought every instinct to pull away, every compulsion to let the darkness take him. Tetsuo latched onto his pain as the one thread to ground him into the present. As he clawed harder and hissed louder, the dizziness started to clear and his expression became more focused and more enraged.

- - - - -

Haruki cringed as the petal lunged at him with blitzing speed. His muscles tightened again, fully expecting a painful blow beyond imagination. He shut one eye to it, but the impact never came.

He slowly opened his eye. There was no blinding illumination cast on him, nor the grass before him. Haruki stopped and turned to look in confusion. Before he could process any what or why the jutsu reacted the way it did, the red-haired woman appeared in a flash.

There was no time to think. Just as soon as the fabric of Sando's sleeve slipped out of his grasp, Haruki's arms crossed over him to block the incoming punch.

 

[Gilzar]

The renegade's punch connected with Haruki. Although his arms absorbed most of the blow, it was still enough to knock him off of his feet. As he hit the ground, the woman began making her hand signs once more. Her chakra was low, it was time to end this. If she could take care of this shinobi, there would be only one more to deal with.

Fire Style: Fire Dance!

Once more the woman's hands and feet became encased in fire. However, before she could strike Haruki down three Mizu's charged in from behind. Their opponent immediately took notice, hurling a flaming kick behind her to burst one of the shadow clones. The other two Mizu's began to engage with the woman, keeping her at a range with their staffs. Even with a numbers advantage the rogue was still a handful. Following a quick counter strike Mizu's remaining clone was destroyed by the fiery hands of their opponent. Once again, Mizu was forced to take the defensive against the superior taijutsu fighter. Yet as she once again began dodging the flurry of strikes she noticed something: their enemy was slowing down. All of the damage and chakra usage must have finally began to take a toll on the girl. Her strikes were still at an impressive speed, but not quite as fast as before. Mizu wondered how much longer she could maintain this pace if her and Haruki kept up the pressure.

"Haruki!" Mizu called out to her companion. "She's slowing down, attack her!"

 

[Pine]

Haruki grunted as he took the hit. He felt the force of her punch rock his very bones and he was knocked to the ground. In spite of the pain it caused him, he kept his arms raised guarding his body. But once again, the hit he expected never came.

He lowered his guard and saw the small group of Mizu's clones jump into the fray. It was amazing to see. Even ganged up on, this woman was still able to deflect every attack thrown her way.

That was when Mizu called to him. Something clicked in his head. The woman was indeed slowing. Having observed almost the entire fight, he was beginning to read her movements.

Haruki sprung to his feet and charged forward. He spun the kunai's ring around his finger and clasped down to readjust his grip. He came for her back to try to pin her between the two of them. With his kunai in his dominant hand, he cut a horizontal slash as his first attack.

 

[Gilzar]

Haruki's attack was a success. As the woman was distracted with Mizu, she didn't have enough time to react to his attack. There was some resistance from the woman's clothing, but Haruki's knife sliced into their enemies back. The rogue shinobi's breath was driven out of her body by the cold hard steel, and she audibly gasped for breath as the knife cut through her back. Recoiling back from the pain, the fire on her palms and feet faded, and she was forced to dash back from the two. Haruki's strike had broken her focus, and she wasted the little spare chakra she had left for the technique. Now she would have to fight the remaining two with conventional means, or risk death from chakra exhaustion.

A stain of blood began to pool on the back of the woman's vest. Frantically, she dug into her pockets and drew out two kunai knives. Wielding one in each hand, she let out a small battle cry before charging Mizu and Haruki. Quickly closing the distance, she unleashed a fury of fast, spinning strikes with her blades to keep both shinobi at bay. With her staff, Mizu tried to keep the woman at a distance while parrying any strikes. It seemed to be working, until her opponent faked a dagger strike with her left and immediately followed up with a head-kick from the opposite side of her body. In the heat of the moment Mizu fell for the bait, lowering her staff to deflect the blade. Head completely exposed, the rogue's kick connected cleanly with Mizu's head, shin connecting right behind her ear.

Mizu's vision suddenly flashed white, and she collapsed to the ground. Completely dazed by the strike, her legs felt like jelly. Every part of her wanted to get up, but her entire world was spinning. All she could manage to do was crawl to her knees, her body would not cooperate to lift her to her feet. While she wasn't knocked out, she would need some time to recover before she could get back up.

As Mizu lay on the ground, once again the woman charged Haruki. She spun her body to the left, then slashed both blades right at Haruki's torso.

 

[Pine]

With a grunt, Tetsuo managed to rock himself to his knees, sitting upright. He sat there for a moment, panting. The sting from the burn and the actions he inflicted on his own wound buzzed in his mind, but he felt like he had some sort of grip once again.

He willed himself to turn, reach, and peel back the tall grass before him. His movements were sluggish, and his body still did not want to cooperate. With the grass parted, he was now able to see, to his surprise, Haruki engaged with the enemy. But where was Rei?

He grit his teeth in fury. Tetsuo had given him one job. He wanted to scream, but it was taking everything he had even just to sit up. He simply did not have the voice for it. With extreme agitation, he ruminated on if there was anything that his worthless self could still do. He let go of the grass, letting the stalks brush back in front of him. He gazed over to the side, where stray flames, leftover from the lotus' effects, crawled out, continuing to devour all the grass around it.

- - - - -

Haruki hitched a breath at the same time that the red-haired woman let out a gasp. There was no doubting his attack worked, because he felt the subtle catch of his blade on her clothes and, for a brief moment, saw the mark it left. He took a step back in surprise. Not thinking about where he was, what situation they were in, why he did that in the first place, the young genin reflexively said, "I'm sorry!" He didn't have a lot of time to think about how bad he might have actually felt for his actions, because once again the woman was charging them. His body understood the danger, even if he didn't fully yet.

He was put on the defense. Every time the woman lashed with her blade, Haruki was barely able to clip the kunai away with his own in time. At the fourth exchange of blows, he thought his timing was maybe getting better, but then he saw the rogue's leg snap up with impressive flexibility and knock his teammate to the side.

Haruki gasped again, seeing Mizu go down for the second time. He took a couple of steps back, but then he remembered something suddenly. He remembered how last time, when Mizu had been struck with that flaming kick, Tetsuo had made an illusory clone that had allowed a counterstrike from Mizu. This gave him an idea.

Once again the rogue shinobi charged him. Haruki slashed his blade up to deflect her first blade while simultaneously stepping back to get out of range of the second one. He was moderately successful in this, but the tip of her second blade was just able to nick a small cut across his torso, cutting through even his mesh armor. He winced, the fresh wound stinging, but he had to keep moving.

Haruki threw his kunai down at her feet and pulled back to create some distance between them. He quickly wove the signs for the clone jutsu. This time, when he built the necessary chakra for this jutsu, he felt a strange sensation. Any other time he had performed the clone jutsu, he had felt like he was grappling for some nebulous power within him. Now there was intent. The chakra pooled in him like something that could be measured. It gave meaning to what he had done in practice a dozen times. It may not have been perfect this time, but this time when he activated the jutsu, it felt different, more controlled.

The intangible copy of Haruki manifested. Where it did, the copy of himself overlapped with his real body. Only on attentive inspection did the clone's presence reveal itself, creating a foggy outline of his form with every subtle sway that lagged between the two forms. He and the clone pulled another kunai and readied the blade to parry.

 

[Gilzar]

Rei continued to latch onto Sando's arm for safety. By now the two had retreated completely into the cave for safety. All they could do was watch as the remaining two Konoha shinobi battled it out with their criminal adversary.

Mizu slowly found her way to her feet, albeit on shaky legs. She stumbled for a moment, still trying to find her footing. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't shake this dizzy feeling. Had that woman struck her any harder behind the ear, she might have gone unconscious.

She watched as Haruki managed to hold his own against their opponent's attacks. He was actually deflecting some of her attacks, and even when taking damage he kept fighting on. Given the little confidence Haruki ever seemed to have as a shinobi, watching him go toe-to-toe with a woman as skilled as this one gave Mizu the small spark she needed to keep going. Haruki wouldn't fight alone, not while she was still conscious. Mizu then noticed his hand-signs. Although she didn't know what, it was obvious the boy was planning something. He undoubtedly just needed time. Mizu started making her hand signs for the only ninjutsu she had.

'Shadow Clone Jutsu!'

A barrage of shadow clones were unleashed by Mizu. Although she couldn't instantly create an army of clones, she kept throwing out 1-2 clones at a time in rapid succession. Each clone immediately charged the rogue shinobi, creating a long line of clones with what remained of Mizu's chakra.

The woman also seemed to pick up on Haruki plotting something. In the heat of the moment she couldn't figure out what, but that didn't matter. Her hand was forced to deal with Mizu's stream of shadow clones. Much like Mizu, most of the clones were on shaky legs. Their attacks were somewhat slower, and it didn't take much to put them off balance. One at a time, the woman popped each clone through a flurry of strikes and counters. For every three clones, one would get a decent strike through and do some damage the woman before being destroyed. This continued on for roughly a minute, before Mizu could sustain the attack no longer. Through the dust of all the destroyed clones, she searched to see what Haruki would do next.

 

[Pine]

Haruki had braced himself for attack, sure the woman would be first to charge him. Instead, a long line of Mizus charged in, overtaking the woman. Haruki's form slackened and he gawkward as one Mizu after another charged in. He had not been anticipating an intervention, let alone one like that, and it made him hesitate. He didn't want to accidentally get in the way or hurt Mizu, even if they were just clones.

He was thrown out of his rhythm by this, he almost felt his own clone jutsu slip out of his reach. Haruki, noticing this, anchored down on his focus just as the last Mizu erupted in a cloud of smoke. He looked over to where the real Mizu was, looking quite spent as she stood there, to verify that no more were coming. He took in one last deep, intentional breath before charging in.

Haruki and his projection ran forward to slam the rogue with his shoulder. Even through the dust, she was able to catch sight of him. The woman stepped back accordingly and slashed a shallow cut into his left shoulder. He grunted against the pain, but it was soon forgotten. The red-haired woman, although slowed from Mizu's strikes, was still relentless in her assault.

Haruki had to bring his kunai up quick to block her own, then step back as her second was thrust towards his stomach. He poised his kunai to lock it in his head, the metaphor of the blade being an extension of his arm. This way, he was able to keep just out of lethal reach, while still staying engaged enough to parry what he couldn't dodge. In only a short period of time, the dust had all but settled.

On his seventh exchange, just as she seemed to be closing the distance between them, Haruki enacted his small plan. The young genin dipped his real body out of the way, sweeping low to the ground to flank and pass her guard while leaving his illusory clone to stand and appear to counter her next attack. The real Haruki swung his leg in a low spinning kick, meant to strike the back of her knees. If he succeeded, he would immediately follow by throwing his entire body weight into her back to topple her and grapple to pin her arms and legs down.

 

[Gilzar]

After all of the damage she had sustained, with her chakra dangerously low, and stamina completely fatigued, the girl no longer had the speed to dodge Haruki's attacks. Her legs gave out from the well placed kick, and she collapsed under Haruki's body weight. She prodded and pushed to get free from Haruki, but it was no use. All of her strength was sapped, her arms trembled just trying to keep the boy from advancing his position in the grappling exchange. Hopeless as it may have seen, the girl wouldn't stop fighting, and she continued to squirm beneath Haruki to get free.

By now Mizu's head had finally cleared from the blow. Seeing the opportunity to end this once and for all, she ran up to Haruki and the restrained woman.

"Watch out Haruki!" Mizu warned once she was close to the both of them. She then whipped the back of her staff onto the woman's chin. Her head smacked back against the ground, and immediately the woman's body went limp. Although she was now motionless, she was still alive. Haruki could feel her breathing as he lay on top of her.

Mizu relaxed her staff against the ground, and just breathed. Her eyes searched for Tetsuo to see if he was still alive, and she soon spotted the shinobi on his knees a short distance away. She let out a loud sigh of relief and relaxed all the tension in her body. They had actually done it. The trio had managed to be an opponent of superior skill and lived to tell the tale. It was the most intense combat Mizu had ever faced in her life, and she could still feel the adrenaline surging through her system.

Taking a moment, she looked down to evaluate the damage she sustained. Her left side was covered in second degree burns, and most of her clothing was ruined with burn holes and scorch marks. She ran her hands through her hair to check for blood, but only found ash that had been raining from above. Mizu frowned, realizing they still hadn't heard from Katsuro. With a concerned look, she turned to Haruki and Tetsuo. The girl opened her mouth to speak, but was unexpectedly interrupted.

Out of the black of the night sky a dark figure dropped down into the shadows nearby tree line. Silently, the shadowy figure walked out of the trees and into the glade. As he left the cover of the foliage, the moonlight shined down and clearly illuminated the figure of Genzo. As he closed in on the group, damage marks all over his body became visible to the eye. He was much more beat up than at the end of his last fight with Katsuro. Once he was roughly ten feet away from the group, and able to make a clear visual on the group through, he unexpectedly froze. His blue eyes shot open as he looked upon the group of genin in disbelief.

Genzo eyed the limp body of the rogue chunin he had sent to intercept the group in shock. How the hell did these three manage to beat Emiko? They barely functioned as a unit when he fought them. The bewildered expression on his face crumbled into a look of irritation. He visibly sneered at the group, and drew out his blade faster than the group had ever seen before. Its blood-soaked metal shined in the moonlight above. His plan had been completely ruined by mere children. Emiko was supposed to dispatch them, then prepare Sando and Rei for a quick pick-up so they could getaway before Katsuro could catch up.

Maybe there was still time. Genzo angrily began to walk toward Haruki and Mizu, but halted in his tracks. Katsuro burst out of the foliage from the hill behind the genin, landing right in front of Haruki and Mizu. Much like Genzo, Katsuro was covered in damage marks from head to toe. It was clear that both men had engaged in a close battle, both having dealt a high amount of damage to the other. The jonin breathed heavily in exhaustion, yet squared up his posture to prepare for another attack.

Genzo quickly leaped back to mid-range, and pointed his sword toward Katsuro. He had determined this distance was the most effective to engage Katsuro at. Fighting at mid-range gave him enough time to evade the Jonin's taijutsu, while still being close enough to prevent him from using his most powerful explosives at a range. It wasn't a perfect strategy; Katsuro had found ways to close the distance and land his attacks. But Genzo made him pay for every attack, and almost had the veteran shinobi in a few close calls. Fighting him here wasn't in the plan, but there was still a chance Genzo could win this, he knew it. The rogue sand shinobi raised his free hand into a handsign and -

A cascade of kunai, shuriken, and senbon suddenly flew into Genzo's back. Blood splattered from his back onto ground. He let out a short cry of anguish, before stammering for his breath. Genzo was now hunching over from the pain nestled across his back side. In a look of terror, he frantically turned his back to see just who had thrown the weapons.

On all sides of the group, Sunagakure ANBU emerged from the foliage. It looked as though there were only five, but more could have been hidden away. They bore a variety of masks to veil their face, but the uniforms were unmistakable. These were some of the best shinobi the sand village had to offer, and they had Genzo completely surrounded.

Genzo frantically looked around at all sides in alarm. Realizing he was completely surrounded, he froze for a moment or so. All of the ANBU remained completely stoic. Some drew weapons, while others prepared hand signs. All Genzo could do was let out a small chuckle between his heavy breaths. He promptly coughed up blood.

"You got me good..." He suddenly raised his sword, as if he were to strike. But instead, he revealed he still had his hand sign from earlier. Genzo blasted off into the air, vanishing into the night sky.

"Stalker, Titan, after him now!" The deep voice of one of the ANBU ordered out. He was tall, and muscular with dark skin. Hiding his face was a mummy-like wrapping, hiding all but a small window of skin around his eyes. This man wore a standard Sunagakure flak-vest and pants, but had no sleeves underneath.

"Yes sir!" Immediately two of the ANBU leapt off into the forest in pursuit of Genzo.

"You've fought well, now rest. Your chakra level is dangerously low." The gentle voice of a woman said quietly behind Tetsuo. Behind Tetsuo was another Sand ANBU, bearing a devil-like mask and long brown hair. Just how long she had been behind him was unknown. She made a handsign, and her hands glowed with a bright green aura. Tetsuo felt a drug-like wave of pain relief as she pressed the healing ninjutsu into his back, treating the burns.

-----------------------------------------

For a minute or so, the remaining two ANBU talked between themselves, while the third brought Tetsuo back over to his comrades. By now Sando and Rei had emerged from the cave, joining the group as well.

The ANBU veiled like a mummy approached. "Sando Tekara, the Kazekage has deemed your protection of the utmost importance. We've been sent to escort you to Sunagakure, where you will enter our protection program within the village. Do you accept?"

"Yes." Sando said, glaring over his shoulder at the inferno behind him where the mansion once stood. Ash still rained down above them. He was not expecting the Land of Wind to send ANBU to escort them, but was thankful none the less. "Rei and I will come with you."

"Good. By the way, you all may refer to me as Sandman. I'm in charge of this operation."

Sando looked over at Tetsuo with a sly grin. "See? I told you I made a plan."

 

[Pine]

Even with the woman pinned, she continued to buck and pull against every attempt he made to restrain her. Haruki was almost certain it was futile, and she knew it too on some level, because each time he grabbed her arm to hold it down, he could tell it was shaking and weak. "Please, stop," he said, sounding very sad. Haruki knew she had to be dealt with, but he never actually wanted to hurt her, and the way she continued to resist made him start to feel like he was doing something wrong.

He snapped to attention when Mizu told him to watch out and he saw her rush in with her staff. He lifted his torso off of the woman and held his palms up as the young kunoichi drove her staff into the rogue's chin with a painful snap. Haruki winced and sucked air through his teeth, letting it out with a pitying, "Oooooo." He knew that had to hurt.

The silence between them that followed was what clued Tetsuo in. Was the fight over? He heard no more signs of a struggle. For lack of anymore substance to burn, the last fire was snuffed out, and he turned to look back at where he knew his teammates were. He once again peeled back the curtain of grass so he could see the two. Haruki had just dismounted the woman and was standing in a much more casual way, Mizu not too far from him. He couldn't believe they had done it. Part of him was on alert for the woman to rise up behind one of them to attack, but nothing of that sort happened. Instead, he watched the two of them standing near each other, posture relaxing in the aftermath of a battle fought victorious. Tetsuo was left feeling more than a physical distance away from them.

Before he could ruminate further, he noticed something caught Mizu's eye. In alarm and confusion, he turned to look for the source. When he saw the eclipsing, lean figure of Genzo, his heart sank. The ronin was in rough condition, but there was a ferocious look in his eye. But if Genzo was here, then that meant-

Katsuro would not leave his genin to worry long. Just as Haruki had started to cower back, the equally imposing Leaf jonin emerged, stepping in front of he and Mizu protectively. Haruki let out a nervous, shaky breath. At first, he felt relief. Their teacher was there. He wouldn't let anymore harm be brought upon them, simple as that. But then Haruki began to notice the bad shape the jonin sensei was in, and a few of the lacerations his body had endured undoubtedly from the very same blade Genzo intended to use against them now.

Then something else would surprise him. A barrage of weapons whistled through the night air and sank into the ronin's back. Haruki looked side-to-side for the source. Foreign ninja in strange masks trickled in from seemingly nowhere, surrounding Genzo on all sides. Haruki's eyes widened as each of these strangers prepared themselves to fight. He saw the handsigns for some. Between Katsuro's explosives, Genzo's blade and now this group of mysterious shinobi, he feared he and Mizu would get caught in the crossfire like Katsuro had warned not even an hour before.

Instead of fighting this time, Genzo seemed to activate a strange jutsu that propelled him away from the group at an impossible speed. Haruki blinked once and he was gone.

He watched in awe as two of the masked shinobi retreated behind the visible treeline in a flash. Haruki wasn't quite sure which village the Shinobi could be from - the drab tan garb many of them donned being nowhere near the thematic leafy green of the Konoha shinobi or flashy white of Cloud shinobi - but whoever they were, they were putting Genzo off all people on the run, and that was all Haruki needed to finally feel safe again.

Haruki listened attentively to the one with bandages wrapping his head. It seemed like they were Sand shinobi, the envoy that Sando had mentioned was supposed to meet to pick up him and Rei. This was good to know, marking an end to their duties for this mission, but mostly Haruki just wanted to know if he could catch wind of anymore of the strange shinobis' wicked codenames.

The young genin looked with surprise as the man that was seemingly the group's spokesperson addressed the rest of them. Haruki immediately dipped in a respectful bow. "Thank you, Mr. Sandman, sir, for saving all of us."

It was only then that his attention drifted back to their instructor. "Katsuro-sensei, are you okay?" Last time the jonin hadn't even noticed a cut he'd sustained on his arm, and he wondered if in some bizarre way it would be that case again for him.

- - - - -

When the gentle voice of a woman came suddenly from behind Tetsuo, the boy's body jerked in surprise. He whipped his head to eye whoever it was, but it was someone - or rather, the mask of someone - that he had never seen before. He cast her with a distrustful stare, both because he was still processing what the woman was saying and he felt incredibly off-put by her mask. But he was in no condition to be fighty, and before he had anymore time to react, she was pressing a warm hand into his back. Such an intense feeling of relief washed over his body that he gasped. After a moment, he registered that this complete stranger was actually helping him out. Tetsuo's chin dipped into his chest, resting his head and neck. He could not deny that the woman's gentle tone was enough to let him lower his guard in that moment.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he arm was hooked under his own and guiding him to his feet. Again, this was something he wanted to resist, avoid making himself look weak in front of everybody, but he could not deny the ANBU woman's help. As they walked, Tetsuo silently eyed her through the corner of his eye. He knew because of the treaty the Leaf and the Sand were effectively allied, and he knew he had seen an influx of shinobi of their type in his village hidden in the Leaf, it was strange to see that cooperation, or something akin to it, in actions.

He stopped where the medical-nin stopped. Perhaps it was just because he still felt a little foggy, but for now, he decided he trusted this woman.

Unfortunately, she stopped him too close to where Sando was able to look at him and say possibly the most annoying string of words the businessman could've said in that moment.

Sando may have felt some euphoric camaraderie between them in the aftermath of the battle, but Tetsuo did not share this sentiment. According to what Sando had shared in the tunnel, the man would've had no idea that the Sand's ANBU were going to find them here and chase Genzo off at the opportune time they did. He hadn't known any of this, and yet the gimp man was goading him as if he did. Tetsuo wanted nothing more than to deck the crooked businessman in the face. He was too tired to fight this, though.

Instead, the corners of his lips turned in a minuscule, nasty, insincere smile. "Great," he replied.

Tetsuo dropped it just as fast to roll his eyes away from Sando. His gaze fell on Rei, anxious to see how she was doing after everything they'd just been through. He felt the compulsion to ask her as much, but the words dried on his lips before he could ever speak them. Part of him felt unworthy of the young girl parting this insight to him, as he may have caused her even more grief if she'd picked up on any of the animosity between himself and her father.

 

[Gilzar]

Sandman returned the respect given to him by Haruki. He pounded his right hand to his chest, then bowed back to the genin, as well as the rest of the Konoha shinobi.

"You've all fought brought bravely, and with honor." Sandman said to the group, "Now let us take your burdens and finish this."

Meanwhile, the other ANBU loomed over the unconscious body of the red-haired girl. This one wore a gasmask of some sort with a white turban wrapped around the rest of the head. There was no telling just what gender this ANBU could have been, which was probably an intentional move to further hide their identity. Calmly, the Sunagakure elite flipped through the pages of a black book before settling on a page somewhere near the front of the book.

"Emiko Nakamura. Former chunin of Iwagakure. Seventeen years old, went rogue just a year ago." The ANBU's muffled voice called out through the gasmask. "She's alive...but she won't be up anytime soon."

"Impressive." Sandman said. "Three genin brought down a wanted chunin. We will take her back to Sunagakure, but I'll make sure the bounty is given to your team. It was your battle, after all."

Katsuro had barely moved from where he was last standing. With the arrival of the ANBU signaling the end of their ordeal, Katsuro just focused on catching his breath. His entire body was aching. From head to toe he was covered in a series of cuts, bruises, and even some burn marks. Genzo had pushed him further than he'd ever been pushed in a while. Had the sand shinobi not arrived when they did, he would have had to bring out his desperate measures and someone surely would have been killed. Haruki then asked if he was okay.

"Been better, but I'll be fine." Katsuro muttered to his student. He needed a drink after all of that, but his flask was empty by now.

Mizu meanwhile was taking everything in. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally. The last 24 hours had been an emotional rollercoaster for her. While she was grateful for the hidden sand's intervention, Mizu was just too tired to show it. Her body was feeling the side effects of her adrenaline dump, and it visibly showed. All she was capable of doing at the moment was just watching the Sand ANBU in quiet admiration. This was her first time ever seeing an elite unit like this in the field, and she wanted to pick up on as many of their tactics and habits as possible.

"Katsuro Katashi." Sandman called out to their sensei. "Kaito Sonkei was informed of the situation just before our departure. He instructed me to tell you that the birds are chirping once more. You may return to Konohagekure."

Sandman then faced Sando. "We are leaving now. If you have anything to say, now's the time."

Sando nodded. He limped over in front of the group with Rei by his side, and addressed them one last time:

"I know we've had our differences." Sando eyed Tetsuo for a moment. "But I'm still grateful for all that you've done. I'm in your debt, and I take that seriously. I owe each of you one favor. When the time comes, write a letter to my business headquarters with whatever you need. I'll make sure you get it, so long as it's within reason. Don't take this lightly... think about it for a while. I'm a man with many resources."

With that said, Sando looked down to his daughter. "Rei, is there anything you'd like to say?"

Rei nodded. She let go of her father's hand and ran over to Tetsuo. The girl hugged him, completely oblivious to any wounds her hands may have been prodding. "Thank you!"

Rei then bowed to the group, before running back over to her father's side and grabbing his hand once more. Sandman picked up the unconscious body of the rogue chunin, emiko, and flung her over his shoulder. The three ANBU then gathered around Sando and Rei. With a nod, the group walked away from the Konoha team and vanished into the night. As fast as the sand shinobi had arrived, they were now gone. The mission was now complete.

Katsuro looked at his team for a moment, then looked up at the burning mansion. Whatever they had left behind in the mansion was gone by now. It was unlikely they'd be able to salvage anything from the burning wreckage. He faced his team once again.

"Anyone need anything? Or are you all as ready to fucking leave this place as I am?"

 

[Pine]

Haruki took his sensei's word for it when he assured the young genin he'd be fine. A man as rugged and large as Katsuro was, it was not a hard thing to believe.

His attention followed Sandman as the Sand shinobi relayed a message from Kaito to Katsuro. Haruki's lips turned into a thoughtful pout. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't remember where he'd heard it from or who that was. The message was strange too. It must have been a formality to confirm that they had completed their mission, and therefore could return home. What was he talking about birds for, though? Was it some weird Leaf or Sand saying he hadn't heard before? Or did it have something to do with them being in the Land of Birds?

Haruki's speculation came to an end when it was Sando's turn to address the group. He listened in just to gauge if what he had to say would be a bunch of boring things an adult has to say before saying goodbye, but to his pleasant surprise, Sando offered a favor for each of them. Haruki gasped in delight. A favor from a rich guy? He said it had to be something within reason, but for a man of his status, that had to mean a lot of things right? Haruki never would've imagined getting such a cool perk when they first left the village, let alone for their very first mission. Sando may not have had a lot of very good ideas for home improvement, but Haruki felt confident that he did. He considered whether Sando may consider building on his parents' shop to get him a bigger room a favor. Specifically, one with a super tall bed and a slide attached. Or maybe he could gift him one of his butlers to cook him fancy meals every day and take out the trash for him on trash day. Better yet, maybe Sando could commission someone to build him a robot butler. Then he'd be the only person in the village with a robot butler, who would of course also be his best friend.

For the time being, Haruki was lost in thought, privately thinking over what exactly would be the best way for him to maximize how he uses this one-time favor.

Tetsuo had also been surprised by this offer from Sando. After their argument, the boy had felt almost certain the businessman would try to find some way to punish either him, personally, or all of them. Especially after the last comment made toward him, he had expected some more pettiness. Not only did this not seem to be the case, but he had said this would be something he would do for all of them. That would include Mizu, who Sando had treated with disgust and contempt from the moment he'd laid eyes on her. Then again, he had already started to show signs that his attitude towards her had changed back in the tunnel.

He took a moment to glance at her, specifically, now that he was closer. It did not need careful observation to know that she must've taken the most hits out of all of them from that fight. Her clothes were torn and parts burned away all over. In spite of the injuries that she had sustained, Mizu seemed as attentive as ever to the adults around them.

Tetsuo turned his attention back when Sando asked his daughter if she had anything to say. The young girl had been so quiet in almost every interaction they'd had, it took Tetsuo by complete surprise when Rei ran into him and wrapped him in a tight embrace. He winced for a moment, the skin on his back still tender even after the healing, but his features immediately softened after. She had ran to him, specifically. When she said her thanks, it was while her cheek was still pressed into his stomach and her arms were squeezing his sides. Something in his chest ached. This was something he had desperately needed and he didn't even realize it.

It felt all too soon that she had let go of him. "Take care," he told the girl quietly as she turned to hurry back to her dad's side. With nothing more to say, they rejoining the remaining Sand ANBU and disappeared into the treeline.

Almost as soon as Rei was out of his sight, under the protection of another, it felt as if all the strength that had been holding him up before had been sapped from him. It took an exorbitant amount of energy just to keep standing. He was exhausted. Everything in him ached. For a second again he felt lightheaded, and a pressure seemed to have built in his sinuses. Tetsuo swallowed his spit and, perhaps because the toll of everything from that day was crashing down on him at once, his vision became misty.

"Fuck," he said under his breath. Tetsuo squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away. He rubbed and squeezed his eyes, hoping it looked to anyone that looked like he was trying to get a fleck of ash out of his eyes while he collected the minute moisture in his eyes on his fingers. He just shook his head in response to Katsuro's question.

It took Haruki longer to process the question, having to pull himself from his material fantasies. When he thought about what he might need, he looked back over to where the manor on the hill was. Then it hit him. It was burning. The manor was going down in flames. The great big suitcase he had brought with him was toast. Haruki's eyes flew wide open and he clapped his hands on his cheeks as he cried, "My stuff! All my clothes I'd brought. My favorite lunchbox. Sponge." He stifled a dramatic half-sob. "It's all gone." So many snacks. His shampoo. The coloring book he was going to use someday. The little pocket video game he brought with him everywhere. His duck-lipped pixel baby, Sponge, perished by the flames after he'd been so careful to feed him almost every day.

As if that wasn't bad enough, he now looked at the one remaining pair of clothes he had, which were the clothes on his back. He picked at the hem of his shirt, which had a stain on it from where the blood from the rogue's cut on her back had soaked in during their grapple. "Oh, man," he said quieter to himself now but every bit as pitiable.

 

[Gilzar]

"Sorry kid." Katsuro said in reply to Haruki. Haruki may have overpacked for the mission, but that didn't mean Katsuro wanted all of his things to burn away. It was a lesson that Haruki probably wouldn't forget, but it was unfortunate that it had to have gone to the extremes.

Mizu also frowned upon realizing that all of the things she packed were gone. She did pack light, but the girl didn't have much to begin with. The other two pieces of clothing were key parts of the small collection of gear she had. Even the clothes she had on now were ruined. Internally she just shrugged it off. They had been through so much these past few days that she just couldn't bring forth the energy to care about it. Once they got back they'd be paid, and Mizu would just have to do some clothes shopping.

With nobody objecting to Katsuro, he led the group out of the forest and back to the main road. He didn't have his map on him, but Katsuro remembered the route well enough even in the dark. Most of the walk back down to the border train station was relatively easy. Almost the entire route was downhill, a blessing considering the rough shape the group was in. Mizu and Katsuro barely spoke a word the entire walk. After about an hour and a half of walking, they reached the train station. The group then had to wait for the earliest train route, which was at 7 AM.

After a long wait, the group finally boarded the train and headed home. The ride back was uneventful, but it only lasted an hour and a half. Hopping out of the train, just as the group was about to enter the village gates they were halted by the chunin manning the entry booth.

"Kaito instructed me to send you to his office. He wants to personally debrief you."

Katsuro complied and lead his group back to the Hokage office. The time was now around 9AM.

----------

Kaito calmly sat at his desk within the Hokage's office, in the same exact manner as when the group last saw him. Nothing had changed about the office since the team was last inside of it. The room was completely devoid of any decorations, other than the old desk that sat at the center with a few papers lining the top of it. Even Kaito looked exactly the same, draped in the same outfit as before.

Behind Kaito stood Matsuda. She was leaning back against one of the small sections of wall between the giant windows overlooking the village. Her arms were crossed, and she carried the same warm smile the group had become accustomed to at this point. Matsuda looked upon the group in a way that made it seem like she was proud of them, even though most of them had only just met her a few days before.

"Please, come in." Kaito instructed to the group as the enter. He clasped his hands together, casually raising them near his face.

Katsuro motioned his group to enter behind him, and stood attentively in front of the temporary Hokage's desk.

"I've received the full report from the Hidden Sand, as well as your reports over the phone Katsuro." Kaito said in his calm, emotionless tone. "I understand things didn't go as planned...and I apologize. Had I known of the dangers beforehand I would not have sent you."

He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in before continuing. "However, you all handled yourselves well. Both Sando and Rei are now safely in Sunagakure. The ANBU team was pleased with you going beyond the mission guidelines to protect Rei and Sando, and so am I. They've all agreed to forfeit the bounty on the rogue chunin you brought down so that it goes to you three genin."

Kaito then reached into his desk, and brought out four envelopes. Each one was labeled by name and contained their payment for the mission. He set them at the end of his desk for them to grab.

"After all you've been through you've earned some time off. Starting now, you are all to take a week off. Then you will spend the following two weeks training under your instructor. After that there will be another mission for you."

"Any questions?"

 

[Pine]

The first thing Tetsuo did upon stepping into the Hokage's office was see if that obnoxious Uchiha woman was there, before she could make any comments about him not being observant enough again. Sure enough, she was on the back wall of the office, dead center where, if he gave his attention to the Hokage stand-in, he would have to see her looming over his seated figure in the background, like some freakishly tall imp. He made sure to drill her with a glare, just to make sure she knew that he knew she was there this time.

While Tetsuo stewed over why it was he had to keep running into this woman, Haruki was quick to show how delighted he was to see her. "Hi Matsuda!" he said, waving at her. He then gave his attention to Kaito, who he'd by now connected as the man that must have passed on that strange message to Katsuro.

While Kaito's flat affect may not have done much to show pride, Haruki felt it in the words he spoke, and the warm smile of Matsuda in the center behind them. The mission had been one of the most intense experiences in his life, but now with the evaluation of their performance and the envelope with their rewards right in front of them, he felt like all of it had been worth it.

Haruki quickly stepped up to grab the envelope off of the Hokage's desk. Just before he did, he discreetly looked at Mizu and Tetsuo's envelopes, just to make sure theirs was the same size.

When Tetsuo retrieved his, he noticed it was heftier than what he was used to. When they had engaged with the rogue, he never would've imagined that a bounty's reward would be passed onto them. For this, he again felt gratitude towards the Sand's ANBU. Not only the monetary sacrifice, but also for getting Rei and Sando into their borders safely. At the same time, he felt some amount of apprehension at Kaito's words. Yes, the mission had turned out to be more than any of them had expected. He had not genuinely expected them, as a new genin squad, to be wittingly sent on missions of that caliber, but did this mean Kaito would not send them on any more missions of the rank of what their mission was supposed to have been? He felt uneasy, thinking about having so much time off only to have to go back to the menial starter genin missions he always had to do with his old squad.

He didn't bother to ask about it though. Even after the rest on the train, he was still tired, and he was the hungriest he had been in a while. If he got too mouthy with Kaito again, Tetsuo wasn't sure he could survive another round of Katsuro physically throwing him out of the building and everything else that entailed.

Both of the boys shook their head in response.

Haruki, not waiting for their proper dismissal, turned to the group. "Hey, do you guys want to go get something to eat together?"

Tetsuo did not miss a beat. "No."

 

[Gilzar]

As Tetsuo gave her a glare, Matsuda shot the boy a quick wink. She didn't seemed bothered at all by his outward animosity toward him. Haruki then greeted her, to which she gave him a nod of acknowledgment.

Much like Haruki, Mizu was pleased to see Matsuda in the room. The woman had a strange presence about her. She looked relaxed leaned up against the wall behind Kaito, yet she still carried this unmistakable aura of confidence. As Matsuda smiled at her Mizu couldn't help but grin a little.

Katsuro remained silent, not having any questions for Kaito. Though he wouldn't show it, he was also proud of his students. It wasn't pretty, but they stepped up and got the job done when they needed to. He was just thankful they'd get some R&R for a few weeks. They were beat up and needed plenty of time to heal. Plus, getting an emotional break from them wouldn't hurt either.

Mizu grabbed her envelope, and stared down at it for a brief few moments. It was her first pay reward, and it felt heavier than she imagined it would have. She'd have to stop at the bank later.

Haruki then asked if anyone wanted to grab a bite to eat. Immediately she was reminded just how empty her stomach was. Mizu hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning...

"I'd go." She responded to Haruki. Mizu then looked over to see what Katsuro would do.

He just shook his head. "I've got paperwork to do. Gotta send that constable his report."

"Mind if I tag along?" Matsuda asked out of the blue, looking right at Haruki and Mizu.

 

[Pine]

Haruki smiled at Mizu, pleased. He had not cared if Tetsuo had joined them. If anything, the invitation had been much more of a formality that he had just forgotten to leave the other boy out of. He wouldn't have minded Katsuro joining them as much, but it didn't feel like a great loss that he wouldn't be there either. Haruki could probably enjoy his meal better without smelling their instructor, anyway. When he had invited everyone to eat, he had mostly been hoping for Mizu to agree to join. He had missed out on spending time with her back at Sando's manor the day before because she'd left too soon, but now might be an even better time to hang out, far removed from the context of any sort of mission.

Then to his surprise, Matsuda spoke up, asking if she could join.

Haruki's face broke into a wide grin. "Yes! I mean, no, we wouldn't mind at all!" He recovered from his linguistic fumble, only to move onto another one in his excitement. "What do you like to eat? I know a place that makes really good natto by my parents' shop, but we don't need to go to a breakfast place if you don't want to. There's also barbecue and, of course we wouldn't be trying to drink anything, but I know this one bar that has really good fried chicken. Also their grilled chicken is good too."

If someone didn't interject soon, he would keep talking.

Tetsuo had narrowed his eyes when Matsuda asked the rest of his squad if she could join them for food. Didn't this woman have a job? She said she was sort of part-time with the interrogation core, but every time he's seen her since then, she's been posted just standing around in the Hokage's office. Apparently whatever 'work' she was doing here must not have been that important either if she could just step out to eat with a couple of genin on a whim.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head to himself. With neither Katsuro nor Kaito seeming to have anything important left to say, Tetsuo assumed the debriefing had been concluded. Without a word, the boy turned to slip quietly out of the office.

 

[Gilzar]

Matsuda noticed Tetsuo eyeing her down once she asked to come along. She eyed him back for only a moment, subtly acknowledging she could see the boys emotions with a devious gaze, then looked back to Haruki and Mizu as if she was completely unaware of him leering at her. Tetsuo would hate to hear it, but Matsuda saw a lot of Katsuro in him. The boy brazenly wore his heart on his sleeve. One didn't have to be a professional interrogator to see all of the anger the kid had, just like Katsuro. As Tetsuo abruptly slipped out of the office, she couldn't help but wonder just where all of that anger came from? Was it because of the boys father or something else?

She shifted herself off of the wall, and walked to the front of the desk so that she was by Haruki and Mizu. Matsuda glanced over at Kaito, nonverbally asking for permission to head out for a short while. Kaito gave her a small a nod, and began to organize the stacks of papers scattered across his desk.

"Natto sounds good to me." She replied to Haruki. Matsuda then glanced over at Mizu. "What do you think?"

Mizu's grin turned to a smile upon learning that Matsuda would be joining them. It was a pleasant surprise having her join them. She was excited to learn more about the jonin who seemed to metaphorically wear so many hats around the village.

"Yes, I'm down for that!" Mizu replied enthusiastically.

"Then lead the way Haruki!" Matsuda called out.

Meanwhile, Katsuro remained in Kaito's office. He wanted to chat with him about Tetsuo's previous instructor.

 

[Pine]

"Okay!" Haruki said, turning to lead the group out of the office. Just before he crossed the doorway, he waved his hand back at his instructor. "Good luck with your paperwork, Sensei!" With that, he exited.

Tetsuo saw the expanding and shrinking light and an opening and closing door cast on the wall of the stairwell. If that wasn't enough to clue him in that the small breakfast group was close behind, Haruki's annoying voice approaching was an obvious tell. He had wanted his exit to be final, not giving anyone on his squad so much as a chance to look at him again for the next seven days. Much to his chagrin, they had not wasted time talking in the Hokage's office like he thought they would.

Tetsuo hurried his descent down the stairs to actually put some real distance between them now.

As Haruki led the two out of the office, he told them more about their destination that he had in mind. "The place I'm talking about is actually more of a cafe than it is a restaurant, but they have plenty of food. It's actually part of a hotel, but you don't have to be staying in the hotel to eat there. Maybe you've stayed there before, Matsuda? Unless you have your own house?"

Haruki would keep up the various topics of small talk all the way to the cafe.

- - - - -

Just as Haruki had described, the cafe was just the bottom floor of a larger building. The hotel was modest in size, being only four-stories. It was newer to the village, having opened up by a young couple just after the end of the war about two years ago. Over the past year, there had been a lot of talk about plans to add a few more floors, but so far there was no evidence of this expansion having gone into effect.

It was nevertheless a quiet, attractive place. The building was well-positioned between a few cherry blossom trees that had been growing there for years. The bottom floor itself had a wall taken out from one side. That way customers could enjoy the view of the hotel's tiny garden and the feel of the temperate Konoha climate year-round, even when it was raining.

As Haruki had walked by, he looked very deliberately in through a window to see if any of his friends were in there. Sadly, at this time in the morning, there were only a few customers seated at the varnished wood tables, none of them fresh academy graduates like he'd been looking for. One of the customers must have been staying at the hotel, if the man's bedhead was any indication.

Haruki shrugged and continued on, walking the rest of the way around through the entrance. "It's one of those you can walk into and you can just have a seat, we don't need to wait on anyone." There were twelve long tables lining the walls, six on each side. Menus were already placed neatly on each of them. On each side of the table they could either choose to sit on the same plush bench that lined the entire wall, or pick from one of two chairs to sit in. At the other end from where they stood, a bar allowed for individual seating from a selection of stools. Anyone seated there would have a close-up view of the baristas at work, but there was also a space dedicated to people checking in and out of the hotel, or for requesting other hotel-related services.

"You can pick where we sit," Haruki said, looking at Matsuda. She may not have been their jonin-sensei specifically, but she was still a superior to them. Privately, however, he hoped she picked a seat by the garden.

 

[Gilzar]

Mizu and Matsuda followed right behind Haruki as they walked through the village. Both of them actively engaged in Haruki's small talk during their small trip to the cafe. As they drew closer to the establishment, Haruki began to talk about how it was actually part of a hotel. Matsuda had some vague idea of which cafe he was referring to, but once the boy had mentioned the hotel that narrowed it down for her. She had walked by the place a few times, but had never gone in since she assumed it was only for hotel guests. If she recalled correctly the place was pretty new. Haruki then asked Matsuda if she had ever stayed there before.

"Can't say I have." Matsuda replied in a friendly tone. "I own just a small house in the Uchiha district, so I've never had the need."

Once the group arrived, Mizu gawked at the sight before them. This restaurant was absolutely beautiful. From the gushing pinks of the cherry blossom trees to the cozy green garden in the back. The inside of the restaurant felt open and spacious, even if it was just a smaller part of a hotel. Matsuda was impressed as well. It seemed like a neat little venue.

Haruki then asked Matsuda where they should sit. The jonin thought for a moment or so, glancing around the room. There were lots of options, but she could see Haruki eyeing the garden more than any other place of the restaurant.

"Let's sit by the garden. It's a nice day after all."

 

[Pine]

Haruki was no doubt pleased by Matsuda's selection, because her response plastered and enormous grin on his face and he rushed over to his favorite table.

From where they were seated, a bed of flowers were flush up against the wooden half-panel. Pink and white sedun mixed with snapdragon of every warm color, sprinkled with pops of catmint, which provided a faint minty aroma for anyone paying close enough attention. In the center of the tiny courtyard was a modestly-sized bamboo fountain. Every time the chute filled with enough water, they heard the pleasant, hallow thunk of the bamboo tilting back, then again the steady trickle of water. The garden was clearly a labor of love, as carefully arranged as any boquet.

When he sat down, Haruki slid into the booth side of the table. In his eyes, this was the only correct choice. Chairs were for adults, who did not seem to need as much fun in their lives. He poked the nearest menu with his pointer finger and slid it closer to him this way. "I mentioned natto, but I'm probably going to get something else," Haruki said. He glanced over the menu for less than five seconds before, distracted, he turned to Matsuda again. "Was there any particular reason you wanted to come have breakfast with us?"

 

[Gilzar]

Matsuda and Mizu followed Haruki to their table. There was an interesting assortment of flowers near where they sat, along with a prime view of the garden. Mizu wondered what the flowers were next to them. She wanted to decorate her window mantle with them, and bring some color to the otherwise drab white room. Without much thought Mizu slid in next to Haruki on the booth. Naturally, Matsuda sat on the chair side, facing both of the genin.

Once everyone was seated, Matsuda grabbed her own menu and looked over the selection. She had eaten earlier that morning, so she wasn't exactly interested in food. Instead, the lavender tea advertised on the menu caught her eye. Warm tea seemed like the perfect drink for this time of day. Meanwhile Mizu carefully looked over the entire menu. Everything looked good to her. She didn't care if it was natto or not, the girl just wanted to eat something. Haruki then mentioned he probably wouldn't go with natto, then proceeded to ask Matsuda why she had come along in the first place.

"It just seemed like a fun thing to do." Matsuda replied to Haruki. "When I was a genin like you two, my sensei would always treat us to a meal after a successful mission. I figured someone should do the same for you, since we all know that Katsuro wouldn't."

Matsuda looked over the both of them for a brief moment. Both of the shinobi stood out like a soar thumb in a place like this, and for obvious reasons. They were covered from head to toe with signs of their earlier battle. Cuts, burns, tattered clothing, etc. Compared to Matsuda's upkept appearance the both of them looked in pretty rough shape. She let out a friendly chuckle.

"No offense, but you both look like you've been through the ringer." Matsuda said, "Was the mission as rough as Kaito made it sound?"

Mizu glanced at Haruki and at herself for a moment. It was true, they both looked like a mess. Mizu had washed most of the dirt and ash off of her skin, but her shirt was still covered in burn holes. Most notably the lower left side of her blue long sleeved shirt was completely burned off. Luckily, her ninja mesh was dense enough that it didn't look inappropriate. She blushed, about ready to slink back into her seat in embarrassment. Yet Matsuda just looked her and Haruki in the eyes and smiled, assuring them it was okay without needing to say the words.

Mizu shyly avoided eye contact, looking instead at the interesting water fountain in the garden. "Yeah...it was pretty rough."

 

[Pine]

Haruki's jaw dropped just a little. He hadn't known that Katsuro wouldn't treat them, as Matsuda casually declared. He hadn't even realized that the jonin-sensei should have been. But now that he knew this, he was super jealous of anyone who had a different sensei. Did Matsuda have her own squad? He bet everything would be so much better if she was their sensei. They'd get treated to meals, and they probably wouldn't get yelled at all the time over every other thing. Katsuro was just so serious and grumpy, and if he knew anything about Matsuda so far, it was that she was super cool. She seemed to imply she was going to treat them, and she wasn't even their instructor.

Matsuda then chuckled and commented about their appearance.

Haruki gave Mizu a quick glance because she looked at him. He took a onceover inventory of himself, then back at her. He did look messier than normal. There was dirt back at the train station bathroom he hadn't quite been able to scrub out of his skin, even after washing his hands twice. Mizu definitely looked like she was in worse shape, though. He had only sustained the two cuts from their last fight, while Mizu had spent most of the fight closely engaged with their adversary.

Matsuda's followup question, Haruki jumped on quick to tell her all about it.

"Oh my gosh, it was so crazy!" he said. "We were just supposed to be looking for this girl, right? But turns out she got taken by this crazy guy in the village. No one even knew who he was, he'd just shown up one day. But not only that, there were like, these crazy bad guys involved. Some Naku Shita organization." With every declaration he made, he gesticulated with a wide-eyed expression, just to make sure Matsuda knew how serious he was being. "And there was this super bad guy, Genzo, he came after us day one. We had split up so Katsuro could go look in this minefield, so it was literally just us. We almost died like, five times."