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Magicalfoci
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A/N: Would you believe it? I'm back, but only for a little bit right now. I'll be really back in one more month. For real. Lucky me, I finally finished this chapter (a little short). I'll be answering reviews in a few days. All your questions and all. I really appreciate them too.
Missing Nins
By Magicalfoci
Chapter 4
Freeing a Nightmare
Hinata Issae, January 31, X-207
Session 201, Professor Jackal Saoyr
The first time she was successful, but that was the only time as well. She remembered waking up in a white room. At first the whiteness blinded her, and she recalled thinking she was in heaven, having died in the great explosion that made the whole of Konohagakure shudder and crumble. Then she saw the lines and the stains, and the pearly whiteness became duller and duller until it reached a yellow shade. Then she knew she was in a prison lit by a single light bulb.
The first person she met was Dr. H, who introduced himself very kindly. Enough so that she didn't try to hurt him right away. She didn't realize that she didn't have any weapons on her until long afterwards.
Anyways, Dr. H told her that he saved her from the explosion. Her and some others he found alive. Right now she was going to be taken care of. Then he went on talking about checking her for diseases, curing her of any chronic illnesses, and cleaning her of radiation, etc. It wasn't like she understood because he said those names in another language that he attempted briefly to explain in her language.
She knew he was foreign, and she knew that he was no medic-nin. She wasn't the dunce she made herself out to be sometimes. She knew that this man worked for the very people that destroyed her village. She could see it in his eyes. She could see it in the way he walked. He walked like the enemy—with caution thrown to the wind as if he feared nothing. At first she resolved to find out her situation as much as she could so she played his games. She talked with him, if only a bit too curtly. But then when she was left in the room for ten days more without visitors except the occasional meal… she attacked Dr. H the second he strode in through that door.
That was when she realized she had no shurikens, kunai, or scrolls on her.
They moved her after that. She was shackled and walked along the most curious hallways that had doors leading to so many different rooms. The idiocy that she was grateful for was that her hands were shackled together. She was comfortable walking with them and curiously looking into rooms at these men and women in white robes writing, tapping on flashy computers, looking into microscopes, or talking together. She recalled the drab, old computers back at home; they were rare and only convenient for team captains to write their reports. These computers however were slim, shiny, and far more colorful and advanced than the ones she knew. Everything was all so…
She started to realize that whenever she passed, these people stopped to watch her. Usually she liked attention, especially from men, but the attention she was receiving was more like the scrutiny of a scholar wanting to decipher an ancient scroll.
It was the windows that showed the huge basement filled with rows of large glass tubes that had wires and pipes running between them. It was the windows that showed the view of familiar faces trapped in a deathly sleep. It was the windows that gave her the incentive for what she did next.
She went wild. She saw the faces of Sand Shinobi, hundreds and hundreds of them. She recognized most from the mission she had to that village, and she could guess that the rest were also from the same village. In an instant, she had swung her hands to knock down the men around her. She remembered that she had screamed obscenities. Really, though, what was the point? They didn't understand anything.
It hadn't been the smartest actions, but she couldn't help it. She was angry at what was going on, and even worse, she was scared. She was more frightened of these weak little men and women than she ever had been of dangerous S-class missing-nins. And there was an even more horrible notion that entered her mind.
Did they have the Kazekage? And if they did, how in the hell did they manage that?
If even the powerful Kazekage, Subaku no Gaara, was fixed into a glass tube… If even the demon Shukaku could be reigned in even during his container's sleep, then there was no way out of this. Hope was dying like sparrows being shot one by one from the sky.
She fought and fought with her bare hands and feet. She chafed her wrists until blood seeped through, and she bruised herself from slamming her body into the hard walls. They were yelling in their language around her. Sometimes she fancied herself understanding their words, but that was later. They struck her down somehow and smog fell onto her face. She lost sight of what was going on, and she didn't remember anything afterwards.
For weeks, she was visited in a new cell by Dr. H. It was more comfortable, having a bed and a desk, but she was still shackled at the wrists and there were bars all over the door and window. He would talk to her and try to explain how all those shinobi were being cured of diseases. Those tubes preserve their life so they could give them weekly treatments.
"Are you going to do that to me?"
"You're in better shape than them. You won't take as long to be healed."
"How long will they take?"
"We're not sure yet. They're recovering very slowly because of the extremity of their injuries. Over a year, for certain."
Liar, liar, liar. They're not recovering from anything. They're never going to wake up. When you don't want them anymore, they're just going to die. I'm going to die.
He had touched her hands that she saw were shaking. I don't want to die, she decided upon his cold, smooth touch. It was smooth from lack of hardship. Smooth from lack of pain. Lack of work. Smooth like a snake.
But then, she was the snake. Her fingers automatically formed the triangular seal, and she began focusing her chakra. She raised her hands to his befuddled expression.
"Liar." And then she was sailing.
She blinked open her eyes and was immediately disoriented. Bland colors swam in her vision and lights turned circles in her head. When she composed herself, she saw her body lying sprawled out across the bed. Standing up, she noticed how small her body was and how much shorter everything became. Not wasting any more time than she had to on orienting herself, she first struggled to lift her body, to carry with her, but her strength was no longer what it had been. Dr. H's strength was not like hers; it was limp and tender. She could hardly carry her body across the room before collapsing in exhaustion. Damn this old man's body. Doesn't do much but visit people and talk, does he?
She left her body sleeping on the bed. She then walked out the door, closing it softly behind her and releasing the knob with a soft click. In the back of her mind, she heard Shikamaru berating her for leaving her body unattended. He wasn't here though. Maybe he was in one of those tubes?
She didn't need a second thought about where she wanted to go while she had the chance. She strode purposefully down the white hall, nodding when people greeted her. One shouted something incomprehensible at her, but she just gave a curt nod before turning a corner and escaping the confused face. She quickened her pace and tried to remember where the windows were.
She randomly turned another corner, remembering its location, and found herself at a dead end. There was a door and a sign with red words in the other language on it. She turned back to the corner and headed down the hall again, grateful for its vacancy. Then she saw stairs that she didn't recall on her one previous expedition with those bodyguards.
If I go down, I might get lost. At least from here, I know the way back.
The footsteps and voices she heard down the other end of the hall decided for her. She went down. I'll remember where to go. She went down the stairs to the next level. She opened the door for a peek and saw an identical hallway to the one she escaped from. She went down those next set of stairs and decided to keep on going. This way she knew to just go up those three floors… or four… now five…
It had become chilly by the time she went down almost ten stories, and the stairs finally seemed to end when the temperature had dropped a good twenty degrees. In front of her was a huge steel door with thick bolts running across it and around it. She hesitated for a good ten seconds before the thought, I've already come this far. I've already wasted all my time. She grabbed onto the handle and tried to turn it.
It was locked and a beeping sound greeted her before fading away. Her eyes jumped over to a little box that had a slit and was blinking red. I've come all the way down here for nothing, and for all I know, the shinobi might just be on the other side.
Footsteps were coming down the stairs. Turning around, she saw a young man fumbling with a ring of cards and keys. He looked up at her, gave a wide grin, and said something. She smiled like how she'd seen Dr. H do—with only the right corner of his lips curved upward. The man was babbling in their language, and he isolated a card from his keychain. She watched him swipe the card through the slit, which made the blinking red light turn green. Trying not to look too interested, she kept smiling and giving a few nods to the talkative man as he turned the handle and opened the door. Cold steam poured through the opening the door made, and they entered a refrigerator.
She was right. Instead of standing at the window looking down on the caskets, she now was among the glass bottles that held the shinobi. She followed the man at a distance before going her own way, looking as if she was here on her own business. She glanced at the pale faces caked with ice. Their clothes were their own individual outfits but frozen stiff.
She didn't know their names, but she knew them for what they were. She could feel the deep sorrow for the faces, eyes closed to the world. Their abilities will be unrealized and their strengths as shinobi will wane as they reclined for months and soon enough, years. Their village was gone. Their fame has been diminished. Their honor has been stripped of them.
The young man had wheeled over a cart to one of the glass caskets. He had pulled on rubber gloves and was preparing a needle. She watched him press a button at the foot of the tube and then turn a knob that slowly released a catch. Behind it was a switch, which he pressed. Then to her amazement, there was a humming as the casket finally began to slowly open.
She watched with almost morbid fascination as he pressed a switch at the head of the casket, and there was a slowly building puff of steam in which the ice began to disappear. There was a wait of only five minutes before he took the needle and began to draw gradually warming blood into the tube. There was a slight stir in the Sand shinobi, but then the young scientist picked up a syringed and injected the liquid into him. The body stopped moving.
She had to look away then.
Looking away had been luck and fortune for her eyes to have landed on that one casket. Ignoring the other man who was busily returning the body back to its comatose state and moving on to the next shinobi, she walked over to that one casket where the body looked extremely suspicious.
Her eyes trailed the thick purple rope, the long black hair, the pale white skin… Her breath hitched.
This is Orochimaru.
The enemy of Konohagakure lied like a lifeless doll in the tube. He looked almost small and frail, so in the contrary to his usual state of immense power and horrible wickedness. How did they do this? What explosions were those to be capable of even making the strongest vulnerable?
Despite her initial shock, a surge of satisfaction swept through her. Good, she thought. She was glad that not only were her fellow shinobi being taken down but the enemy ones as well. It gave her a sense of security to know that even these invincible enemies have been put to sleep so they weren't ruining their home country even more when they were already down to tatters.
But wait, if Orochimaru is here, surely…
She heard the rumors. She knew the story. It wasn't as if Sakura could lie about it.
Then she stifled a gasp. "Sasuke-kun," she breathed in excitement.
He was still the fine-looking boy she remembered, only more handsome and sharper now. Taller, too. His clothes fell open to reveal a chiseled chest and equally well-defined abs. His face was angular and the color of ivory that he resembled a heroic statue. Anti-heroic, she corrected. Her fingers splayed upon the glass, except that they weren't her fingers but Dr. H's.
She took a quick glance back at her only other company in this room. She looked up at all the windows lining the ceiling to check for spectators. None, except passerbys that didn't so much as glance down here.
No one suspected her yet.
She felt along the foot of the casket, fingers trailing the metal until it snagged onto a button. She pressed it, and then she went to the knob and slowly began working it clockwise. Her mind was yelling at her. What're you doing, Yamanaka Ino? It's too risky! The catch fell open. You're not going to get anything out of this! Sasuke betrayed Konoha! He won't help you! All he'll do is save his sorry ass!
She couldn't help but grin widely. But that's just it.
The button was pressed, and there was a soft humming as the glass began to slide away. She heard a call from behind, and turning around she saw the young man looking at her curiously. She waved him dismissively, hoping she had enough authority that would put a stopper to his curiosity.
There was a puff of cold steam as the air inside met the different and warmer temperature outside. Once Sasuke was bare to the world, she couldn't stop grinning. What she was doing was useless, but she didn't care. What she was doing will free one powerful, hateful, and vengeful shinobi, and she was almost certain that whatever Sasuke takes in his mind to do after this, it won't disappoint.
She went to the head of the casket and flipped the switch. Heat began to encompass the body. The young man had come up to her now asking things that didn't translate one bit to her. She held up a hand to stop the questions, wondering if she had yet overrun her authority. Then she gestured to the body as if saying, Just watch. And the young scientist did watch. Both of them watched.
As color began returning to those pale cheeks, the young man next to her became uneasy and was shifting around. He kept looking at her for reassurance and calling her, "Dr. H…" She didn't understand the rest.
When the body twitched almost unnoticeably except that it was noticed by their careful scrutiny, the young man panicked and pulled out a syringe similar to the one he used before, except this time it was filled with liquid. He said something and walked towards the body.
She didn't bother to stop him.
He held out the needle to Sasuke's arm, but in a split second that came as a blur, his arm was twisted around his back with the needle turned to his own neck.
It was just too late.
There was a low snarl. "Where am I? What have you done with my weapons?"
"Sasuke-kun," she said carefully. Immediately the needle was soaring in her direction, and she had to throw herself to the side to avoid it. She looked up to see those hypnotic Sharingan eyes twirling in her direction. The young man also was staring at her in befuddlement. She continued, unfazed, "I freed you. Get out of here, or they'll capture you and take you apart. They already have your master, Orochimaru." She had to sneer that last part. As much as she might have adored Sasuke when she was younger, she resented deeply how he went for this snake and abandoned his team, Sakura and Naruto, later on.
There was a short pause as his eyes stared at her. The room around her spun, and she was swept in dizziness. Finally, she heard: "Yamanaka's Mind Jutsu."
She tried to nod. "H-Hai." Closing her eyes and leaning against another casket, she said, "But don't bother with me. Just get out of here." She struggled to look at him. "Don't blow this place up."
He made an annoyed click with his tongue. Don't take me for a fool, she could hear him saying.
There was some shouting and she heard the door to the refrigerator open. It seemed some people saw them through the windows. That was unfortunate. She could have gone and opened more caskets. Just free all of them—dangerous or not.
When she opened her eyes again, the young man was lying dead on the ground. The men that entered the room were all on the floor, bleeding to death or already dead from crushed necks. She ran out of the room in a panic. I have to get back to my body!
She saw the flit of a shadow up the stairs but ignored it in her rush to her prison cell.
What he does from now on will be his business. I don't care what he does now, as long as he kills enough of these bastards.
She never succeeded a second time.
She was strapped to a wheelchair. Her arms were unable to move and her hands were bound down to the chair tightly enough to prevent any movement without cutting off her circulation. She was outside in a tiny garden where little daffodils were sprouting in even little rows behind outlines of stone bricks. Little cement pathways between the grass and bonzai curled through the garden and stopped at a courtyard where a round metal table sat.
They've finally relocated her into Dr. H's own very home, something she was sick of even contemplating. However, she couldn't fight them. Her former strength as shinobi has waned. Her muscles have atrophied from disuse and mistreatment. She could no longer defend herself against opposing shinobi, much less imagine leaping tree to tree. After how many years, such thoughts seemed like a dream. A faded one that she could barely grasp now.
The assistant doctor wheeled her forward and stopped her before the table. Sitting in one of the chairs, lounging in the sun with a glass of wine in one hand was Dr. H, looking immensely comfortable in his slacks and his gray vest. When he noticed her arrival, he shifted in his chair a bit to face her. "Ino, dear, how are you?" Their proximity, much to her dismay, decreased, and one of his old withered fingers lifted her chin. They were inexplicably cool and tender, like he rubbed lotion onto them every hour of the day.
It made her eyes want to stay focused on her lap, and accordingly, her refusal to answer his greeting became evident. "Now don't keep on moping like this," he said, disapprovingly. "It's not becoming of a very pretty lady such as yourself."
And there he goes again with the touching. He touched her cheek with the tips of his fingers and trailed them down to her collarbone. Sometimes he was decent and let them run over her arms. Other times he gripped her knee and rubbed his thumb on her thigh.
"It would be terrible to lose you," he murmured.
He shifted in his seat and tapped his fingers on her forearm. A thoughtful expression on his face reflected off the wine glass. He explained, "They've sent the order to suspend all unnecessary research. Or any experiments that have not made any contributions to our field." He gave her a long look.
"I don't know what has made you such a... tough nut to crack, but if you don't begin participating soon, we will be forced to... ahh... how shall I say it... to put you away? Most regrettably." He added, "I don't enjoy even considering that notion, but it will be done if I must."
Oh? This was new... She fought a smile. Then she said, "If I don't help, I die?" It came out as a croak because of all the drugs they've been pumping into her system, making her drowsy and dizzy all the time. Despite her uneven voice, he noticed her amusement.
"Yes," he said. He gave her his most scrutinizing stare and the movement of his fingers on her forearm stopped. They now gripped her skin, pressing enough to whiten.
"Good."
He gave a quiet disappointed sigh and abruptly released her arm. He took a long swig from his glass and stood up. "I guess it can't be helped. You'll be detained for one more week. If you should change your mind, please don't hesitate to ask for me."
Just as he started waving her away, she spoke up again in a quieter voice, "Please burn me when I die. I don't want the Anbu coming here to see me like this- wasted away like this."
His eyes snapped to her. "Anbu." Oh he should know what they were if he did his research right. But she wanted to help him get one part of that definition clear.
"The ones who sense the location of dead shinobi and clean up their bodies."
The focus in his eyes blurred with memory. "A ritual to relieve the soul of the body, no? A mere fictional belief you shinobi have," he confirmed to himself.
She said nothing, unwilling to correct him especially when the truth would only give more incentive. 'Relieve the soul of the body' my ass. Anbu aren't priests.
"And you say these Anbu will know where you are when you're dead?"
She stared hard at him. "You cannot even hope to capture them, Dr. H. They are famous for never being seen except when wanting to be seen."
Dr. H smirked. "And you believe Anbu are in the United Republic of Manus. To think that you still live in your delusions after five years. Forgive me for my saying so but I think it will be better for your sake once you are put away."
She lowered her eyes and closed them. "After destroying two hidden villages, how can you delude yourself into believing that there will be no shinobi to avenge them? That no shinobi are roaming your cities right now?"
He burst out laughing. "Because, you child, we have the technology advanced enough to flawlessly scan all transportation between these two continents. Also, all the shinobi, every last one is right here in the cold room."
"Except Uchiha Sasuke," she murmured, unable to fight off a degree of smugness. "And where there is one, there are always two more. We come in three's." Naruto and Sakura.
She was already being wheeled away, and she heard his short, forced chuckles and saw him combing his hair almost frantically. He won't be the one killing her. No one would be. She knew with a good amount of certainty and satisfaction that she had them in her clutches with her half lies and their cold assumptions. She just had to keep on waiting. Keep on protecting her mind.
My life has degraded to this. They don't need to kill me. I'd kill myself if given the chance. She ducked her head lower, trying to throw her long hair over her sunken chest and invisible waistline. I can't even claim to be a shinobi anymore.
"Since you're here," He started tentatively. "I'll go on break?"
"Whatever, man," Staz said, and he briefly went to announce his arrival to Mr. Nulo.
Lee also headed back, waving at the burly man who gave him an imperceptible nod while stirring a pot full of soup. He hung up his apron and took off his gloves as he exited out the back door where they had a few crates set out. Those were specifically placed for workers on break. They ate here, they did homework here, they talked here, and they napped here. Unfortunately, he was allowed only three minutes of respite before Mr. Nulo was poking his head out the door and saying, "Lee, we need some fat-free milk. Get some, would'ya?" He held out a wad of single bills.
Lee accepted them with a sigh.
It's become habit for Mr. Nulo to ask him to get things during his breaks. He could ask any of the other workers, but it always ended up being him doing those errands. It wasn't particularly Mr. Nulo's fault since customers requested the most variety of things, from diet homemade pudding to french fries in hoagies. What was Mr. Nulo's fault was his allowing all these special requests. It was Lee's own fault that he was fast on his feet.
Even so, he didn't actually mind the extra work.
He walked down the alley to the sidewalk, and from there, he raced four blocks down to the cornerstore.
To his surprise, yellow tape wrapped around one whole side of the street and cut off the sidewalk. There were firemen and sewage workers standing around talking on their transmitters or climbing in and out of of a drainage hole. A head fireman was waving a team of men into the sewers. They were all equipped in full bodysuits, helmets, and flashlights. Lee, further astonished, noticed the local vetinarian among them carrying a briefcase. Policemen had their guns drawn and were standing around the 'excavation' site.
He detoured to get to the cornerstore. Inside, he grabbed the fat-free milk and paid for it at the counter. Before he went, he decided to ask the cashier, "What's going on out there?"
The young girl looked up from her book. Pushing up her glasses, she gave a cursory glance outside before saying, "We've been hearing weird sounds coming from down there so Mr. Bloggs across the street called the police. Before you know it, they got the whole fire station down here."
"Weird sounds?"
"Oh, yeah, creepy sounds, y'know. Like when we're closing up at night we hear this rumbling... like a mini-earthquake or volcanic eruption. Then someone got to thinking there's a wild animal down there, like what we're hearing is growling." She shrugged. "I get out by six, so I don't have to listen to it very long."
"I see, thanks-" He and everyone present snapped their heads to the direction of an explosion of yelling from the team of men scrambling over each other to climb out of the sewer. There was this gutteral sound bellowing from within the sewer that made the ground vibrate, and as quickly as it erupted, it silenced.
"There they go again," the girl grumbled, settling back down with her novel.
Lee returned to the deli, mulling over the firemen and the mini-earthquake. However, as he was sent back to work, he quickly forgot, and his last thought was: I'll see it on the front page anyways.
There was absolutely nothing more devastating than a C plus. God may as well as decked her out in hell with this mark. Then the fact that the C plus was marked in bold red and took up half of her essay, crossing out letters and whole words. Why, it was practically a statement in itself. C plus.
Which was why, for the first time that month, she was actually staying at the school library after school and not going to her clubs or going home. She was here doing her homework. Marisce and Noria were with her, at least, but it wasn't like they were happy to be here. They figured they'd catch up on their homework while they waited for her determined, furious streak to die down.
It wasn't going to die down until she made up for this failing grade, however. (Well it was a failing grade according to her). Right now, she was making up at least five pages of problems from Calculus, but she was easily breezing through the third page already. Calculus wasn't her easiest subject, but it was easier than others. Now, Physics, on the other hand, that's a pushover, really… She blew at a strand of hair making its way across her cheek.
Suddenly someone joined them, dragging the chair along the tiles and greeting them with a chirpy "Hey, guys!" Sakura glanced up and mumbled a greeting back to Nina, who instantly began rummaging through her purse for her mirror and cursed loudly when her lip gloss and foundation fell. To this, Noria and Sakura exchanged little smiles. Well, someone was a bit irritated. "He didn't come today," Nina suddenly said.
Marisce looked up. "Who didn't?"
"That guy I was telling you about yesterday."
"Ooh, that guy." Marisce rolled her eyes. None of them knew who the hell Nina was talking about.
Sakura rolled her eyes as well and immediately switched her attention back to her worksheet. It was harder than usual, however, with Nina chattering away now and engaging Marisce and Noria into the conversation as well.
"Dan wasn't gonna pick me up today, but I thought I could sit at the bench with the others to see if he'd be there. No luck. I dunno, maybe I was a bit too harsh on the school and he decided he didn't like it or something. You think he's not transferring because of what I said? Was it me?"
"Nah, I'm sure he had other things to do."
"Mm, maybe, he… I mean, Uzumaki—cute name, isn't it?—seemed like he wouldn't care."
"Uzumaki?"
"Yeah, that's his name. Why? You know him?" All three girls looked at her.
Sakura clamped her mouth shut. Then she shrugged and coolly said, "Just funny." And strikingly intriguing. Was it familiar? Not very. Maybe. But she found many weird things familiar. Heck, those Ame's sandals were familiar when she first saw them, and they were the latest brand. Oh wait, where was she? She mentally shook herself out of her daze and stared at her worksheet again. Problem twenty, a review on limits again…
The door to the library opened again, and in walked five girls, giggling and chattering. They were all cheerleaders dressed in uniform—wait, scratch that, four of them were cheerleaders and one Hinata. Upon seeing the dark-haired girl that all the teachers, male and female, were infatuated with, Noria gave a loud groan. "Oh look, here comes Princess and her entourage. Sakura, get up there and put her in her place. You know, a little bitch-slapping."
"Oh come off it, Nori," Marisce was saying as Sakura ignored them. "She never did anything to you."
"To anybody, you mean. She's so… ugh…" The three left it at that as they diverted their attention back to their work. Nina was primping her hair.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with Hinata, however, but that seems to be the problem that her friends had with her. Sakura glanced up to see her talking with someone at the computers and exchanging notes. The other girls were sitting down at the edges of their seats, checking their emails probably before they left.
Hinata was really a nice girl. Nothing wrong with her. Almost perfect, to be exact, except for her air of… well, let's say uncertainty. The girl was so incapable of making a decision at times, especially when paired up with her in group projects, but everyone else says it's cute. The only real animosity Sakura held for her was due to competition in the grades department. She knew that right now Hinata had the top marks, but that's only because Sakura's been on and off duty for months now which made her play catch-up most of the time with classes. She promised herself a sweet victory if she managed to keep up with her military duties and snag the top student from the other girl. But that's for later… Think numbers, Sakura, numbers.
A squeal of laughter followed by a round of hushing erupted from the other side of the library. Hinata was murmuring something, and one cheerleader (Salli, was it?) was saying, unintentionally loud, "I can't believe he did that!" Sakura accidentally jerked in her writing from the sudden loudness that burst from that corner of the room.
Who did what was the least of Sakura's concerns. Marisce, Nina, and Noria had the same notion. With an air of finality, Sakura stood up, shot a heated glare across the room, and walked to the door with her friends following behind. The cheerleaders and Hinata quieted and watched them. Not even giving them a passing glance, she was out the door. The last thing she heard was one of the girls loudly mutter, "Bitch."
"Fuck you, too," murmured Nina softly with a sideways glance at the group as she strutted out the door last.
Once Sakura was out the door, someone bumped lightly against her shoulder. Looking back, she saw Tedhi and two other guys, one she recognized to be athlete superstar Neji Juuria. (Honestly, who couldn't recognize him?) She exchanged grins with Tedhi before walking away.
Inside, Neji went over to the counter to push his books into the slot for Returning Library Materials. He glanced over to the bunch of girls at the computers who were joking and laughing with Tedhi and Gibeson.
"You coming to our game, right, Hinata?" Gibeson was saying.
Seeing Neji come over, Tedhi said to him, "Come on, let's hurry up. I need that frickin' job."
"Oh, right," Gibeson remembered. He ran after them. "I still don't get how you're so sure you're gonna get the job at that garage. Micke's Place, right?"
"The only way I'm not is if we're late, you ass. We got to get there fast and then dress for tonight's party. You coming, Nej'?"
"No."
"As usual."
As they were heading out, they saw—"Kiba? Is that you?"—come in. With his customary, practically trademark, gray hoodie and black pants, they could spot the delinquent a mile away. Though, according to the rumors, Kiba could probably smell them a whole city away, especially since they just left the weight room.
Kiba glanced up and graced them with a wolfish grin. "Yo, mans."
"The hell you doing here, Kiba? In the library? No wait, in school," laughed Tedhi as he and Kiba slapped hands.
He and Neji exchanged stiff nods. "Gotta keep up my scholarly image, y'know?" he said while slapping with Gibeson.
They parted in loud laughter, much to the dismay of the more studious library goers.
"I see you already made connections," murmured Shino at his side.
He muttered back, "Heh, here it's called friends, bug-man. Anything else means something's up." After tossing his partner a sly smirk, Naruto waved and shouted back, "Gotta get my classes sorted out! I'm starting tomorrow!"
"I'll show you around then."
"Deal!"
As Naruto and Shino walked past the bench, Nose-Rings tipped his cap to Shino. "Hi, ma'am," he said, suddenly polite.
Shino just looked at him and nodded before continuing down the torturous path in his heels. Transformation Jutsus doesn't relieve one of everything. These shoes were still irritating no matter what form he was in.
"Ne, you leaving tonight?" Naruto asked, once they were out of hearing.
"Hn." Then he said, "Can you handle the… job? Make sure you have sufficient money to keep up appearances."
"The one at that supermarket, right? Course, I can! That's nothing for me!"
"Don't become… outlandish."
"What're you implying?" Naruto demanded.
"…Nevermind." He held out the folder they received from the counselor's office to him. "The classes all have room numbers and time slots. Remember to have it memorized."
"Which class will I see Sakura-chan?"
"You'll find out. Remain discreet, Naruto."
"Che, I'm more discreet than you right now." Well, not technically right now, since Shino was a blonde woman in a neat business suit walking next to him, but maybe yes, when Shino is dressed… casually.
"You have to be in…" Shino checked the schedule. "R215 by seven-thirty in the morning. No later."
"Wah?" Naruto stopped in outrage. "So damn early? I won't get any morning training done!"
"You didn't listen at all during the meeting."
"…so what? That old bag talked too slow. I just wanna see Sakura-chan and the others."
Unfortunately, things don't always work that way, Naruto.
"He's in your vicinity now. Keep a close eye on him. The only reason Konoha would send out Nine-tails is if they want an all-out massacre." Equal retribution, though the Nine-tails brat probably doesn't know his purpose.
"But the Akatsuki are here as well." And he knows it. He can feel the power rolling off the land for miles. Their power, the Jinchuuriki, the few scattered shinobi, and the sleeping shinobi. They all can feel each other, however. It's only whether or not they choose to be aware of it.
"And looking for him. Neither can happen until we're ready. Remember that."
"Of course, Kabuto-san." He hung up and brushed his dark fringe out of his eyes. Never would he have believed that there was to be a day when he would work with treacherous snakes like that medic-nin, but they had the same goals for once. And in the face of an absolute threat to their entire continent, they had to put aside old enmities. And honestly, it didn't bother him at all—what they're doing. It's just another mission.
He left the booth and strode down the sidewalk, tossing out a false smile to a random nobody. …of course, in another forsaken world.
