Н‘¾Ð‘¯Ð‘¬Ð‘Μ Ð‘»Ð‘¯Ð‘¬ Н‘¾Ð‘°Ð‘Μ𝑫 Н‘©Ð‘³Ð‘¶Ð‘¾Ð‘º €¢Ð’Ƒ𝒙Н’Ƒ• The mission (Book 1 End)

A quickly approaching Chakra signal snapped Akashi out of his thoughts. He stood up in alarm, grabbing his mask and putting it on while doing it. He didn’t recognize the Chakra, but he had sensed it before, so he wasn’t that worried. One of the ANBU appeared in front of him. Akashi couldn’t quite recognize the animal on his mask because of the dark. “Wolf, we have a mission”. Was all he said, before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Akashi sighed and followed after him.

_

He ended up at the Hokage’s office.

There were three other ANBU already there, including the one that called Akashi. He glanced to the side and saw that Coyote was also there. Seems like this was the team he was put on.

“Fifteen days ago, I sent a Jounin on an undercover mission, it took him five days to get there”. Tsunade spoke up and brought Akashi’s attention to her. “The mission was supposed to four days at most to complete, but he still didn’t return… I need you all to go to Kiri and bring him back”. She stood up and placed a scroll at the table. “In this scroll is his last known location. He was supposed to send me daily reports, but he suddenly stopped, he sent his last report from this location”. The squad leader took the scroll and pocketed it. “You have ten minutes to grab your necessities, then you leave immediately”. With that, everyone left the office.

Akashi quickly headed home and grabbed a scroll. He bit his thumb, drawing blood, and drew a circle filled with swirls in the middle. It briefly glowed once he connected the lines, before dimming down. After that, he rummaged through his house for stacks of kunai, shuriken, and a small packet of food. Finishing that, he brought it all to the scroll and using his Chakra, stuffed it in.

He pocketed the scroll and left the apartment.

_

He met up with the rest of the team near the Konoha gates.

Now that he was on the lightened up road, he could see which animals the others had on their mask. One had a bird mask, one had the coyote and the last one had a tiger.

“Since this is your first mission, let us introduce ourselves”. The one with the bird mask spoke up. “I am code-named Bird, I am the squad leader, you know Coyote, and the other guy is Tiger”. He pointed at each member as he introduced them. “Being the squad leader, I will take middle position, Wolf you take the front, Tiger go right behind me and Coyote you take the back”. Everyone nodded and they departed.

_

Their trip to Kiri took a little more than four days, since they had to go by boat. Akashi was a bit glad by that, because the two days of constant running had already taken its toll on him.

When they arrived, he had immediately noticed the difference between the villages. Konoha was more lively and green, the sun was always shinning. Kiri was dark and gloomy, the mist welcomed them while they were still travelling on the boat, and it still hasn’t gone away. Not that Akashi thought it would.

Once they made it to the shore, they quickly and silently set off towards the location that was marked on the scroll they got. It had taken a little more time to get there, since they were in enemy territory, but they made it.

They got to the location and, as expected, it was abandoned. The Jounin’s inn room was messy, various papers thrown to the ground, blood staining the floor, the ceiling and the walls. “Seems like he was discovered”. Coyote spoke up as he crouched down. He lowered his palm onto the dried blood and Akashi sensed him use his Chakra. A moment later, he stood up. “Indeed, he was discovered, but he put up a fight, there are three different kinds of blood here”. Akashi furrowed his brows.

How did he know that? Was that his ability?

“Wolf”. He heard Bird say and he didn’t need to hear the rest. He already knew what he was supposed to do.

He closed his eyes and focused. He sensed everyone in the room, Bird’s Chakra was calm like the wind, Tiger’s was like burning embers and Coyote’s was like static electricity. His eyes snapped open and he looked at the window across the room. There was an unknown signal coming from there, and judging by the amount of Chakra the person had, he concluded that it was a trained ninja. He silently gestured at the location and Tiger nodded.

He quietly walked over to the window, and a moment later, he thrust his hand through the glass. Bending his arm at the elbow, he grabbed the person and pulled them inside, pointing his blade at their neck. “Quiet”. He whispered, bringing the blade closer to their neck. Bird neared them and pointed his own blade at the person’s forehead protector.

“Kiri ninja”. He stated. At that, Coyote sauntered over to them. He crouched down next to the man and tapped his cheek.

“Why are you here?” The man stayed silent and Akashi heard Coyote sigh. “I hate this part of the job”. Confused, Akashi was about to ask what he meant, when the man’s painful groan interrupted him. He glanced at the ninja on the ground and his eyes widen. Coyote had a hand over his mouth, muffling his screams, while the other on was on his, now, broken finger. “Now, let’s do that again… State your business”. Akashi froze in place.

The man decided against speaking, making Coyote tilt his head. “Suit yourself”. He flicked his wrist and a crack resounded through the dark room. Another painful groan left the man’s lips and Akashi saw his eyes tear up. “Next time, I’ll break two at the same time… Answer me”. He commanded with a flat tone. The man was either stupid, or really loyal to his village, because he said nothing.

Akashi saw Coyote’s hand twitch, before he gripped the man’s index and middle finger. “I warned you”. Even louder cracks were heard, and the man violently convulsed on the ground, the tears slipping down his face. “Your whole finger goes the next time I don’t receive an answer”. Akashi felt cold sweat go down the back of his neck.

So this was the ANBU. This was how they worked. This was the job he got. This was the job he wanted.

The man stayed silent still.

“Stubborn fool”. Coyote grabbed his own blade and brought it close to the man’s hand. “I told you”. He raised the blade and brought it down, but just as it was supposed to cut the fingers, the man spoke up.

“Wait! Wait! I’ll tell you everything!” Not loyal at all. Akashi deducted.

“Smart boy!” Coyote sheathed his blade and leaned back. “Now… Speak”. The man furiously nodded, blinking his eyes.

“Of course!” He exclaimed while sitting up. Once up, he gripped his fingers with the other hand, pain obvious on his face. “A few days ago, I heard a Konoha ninja was caught and taken away. I think they intend to torture him for information about the village”. He said.

“Tell us where they took him”. Bird spoke up, making the man nod his head once more.

“He was taken to a remote location not far away from here”. He pointed out of the window. “I can show you if you’d like”. He added, making Akashi shake his head.

“That won’t be necessary anymore”. He already knew where he was. The man was telling the truth, they were not far from here. Not even a mile away. The other three ANBU looked at him when he spoke up. “I caught their signals”. The Kiri ninja’s eyes widen. He looked at the small boy in front of him, his red hair fiercely standing out. He never believed he would ever run into a sensor, but here he was, right in front of him.

“They’re not even a mile in that direction”. He pointed at the opposite direction of the window. “He was going to lead us into a trap”. The Kiri ninja had pointed at a different direction, a direction which held a lot of Chakra signals. Akashi had searched in a wide circle and not only in one location, when he had noticed a familiar Chakra.

It was the Chakra of the missing Jounin. He didn’t know the man, but he could recognize his Chakra since he had already sensed it before, in Konoha.

Akashi never forgets a Chakra signal once he senses it.

At his words, Coyote clicked his tongue. “That’s too bad”. Tiger had moved away while they were discussing with the man, but now he came back with his sword in hand. Before Akashi could interfere, he pierced the man’s chest with it and Coyote’s hand blocked the man’s groan. He thrashed for a moment, before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he dropped onto the floor.

Coyote wiped his hand on his pants and stood up. “Now that that’s over, Tiger, do your thing”. Behind him, Tiger did a couple of hand-signs, before he placed both his palms on the dead ninja. Immediately after that, his body lit aflame and disappeared a moment later. Bird noticed Akashi’s confusion at the sight and he spoke up.

“That’s the Body Elimination Technique, it’s so we don’t leave any evidence behind our visit here”. Akashi mutely nodded at his explanation. Bird sheathed his sword and turned to the door. “Wolf, lead the way”. Akashi turned around and led them towards the missing Jounin.

_

He followed the signal to a small cave which was surrounded by trees. The entrance was covered with thick vines and it looked very well-hidden. Coming closer, he sensed that the signals came from deep within. Deciding to follow his senses, he took out his blade and slashed across the vines. They cut clean in half, revealing the entrance. The others followed after him and they silently ventured inside.

The cave was dimly lit and after some time of running, they started to hear distant groans. Picking up speed, the groaning came closer and closer, until they could see what was going on. Akashi froze in his tracks. The sight before him making his stomach curl in disgust. About ten Kiri ninja were surrounding a heavily bleeding man in the middle. From his Chakra, Akashi concluded that that was their missing Jounin.

“So you still won’t speak? Fine! All you had to do was answer one, little question! Now you’ll pay with your life! I’ve had enough!” One of the ninja took out a kunai and grabbed the Jounin by the hair, raising him up. He pointed the kunai at his neck, but before he could do the deed, Akashi saw Bird throw a shuriken at him. It impaled the man’s neck, making blood sprout out, before he collapsed to the ground, consequentially dropping the Jounin.

“Intruders!” Another Kiri ninja yelled and pointed in their direction. A flurry if various kunai and shuriken came rushing their way, but Bird stood in front of them.

“Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!” He breathed in and a gust of strong wind exited his mouth, deflecting all the weapons that were thrown at them. “Go!” He ordered immediately after and the rest of them charged forward. Akashi side stepped a ninja who tried to slash him with his blade and spun around, hitting him on the back of the head with the hilt of his sword. The ninja fell to the ground, unconscious.

He ducked under a punch and brought his elbow up, knocking the offender in the jaw, making him stumble back. Akashi followed up with a kick to the stomach, which made the man pummel onto the ground. He switched the blade into his left hand and brought it down, stabbing the man in the thigh and twisting the blade to the side. The man groaned and Akashi pulled his sword out and reverse-gripped it.

Sensing someone approach from behind, he whipped the sword back and felt it cut through thin air. He shifted around just in time to see a kunai be brought down. He narrowly escaped head impalement, but his face wasn’t so lucky. The kunai had broken through his mask, cutting it in half and making it clatter to the ground. Subsequently, he felt the hot, stinging sensation go down his brow and to his cheekbone. He hissed and crouched down, the next attack missing by a hairs width.

Pushing forward, he wrapped his arms around the man’s middle and placed a foot behind him. He forced his body forward and as the man tried to take a step back, Akashi’s foot was in his way. The two of them stumbled down in a heap of limbs. The man flipped them so he was on top and Akashi saw the glint of steel in his hand. As it was brought down, he grit his teeth, prepared for the hit.

He saw the man stiffen over him and the kunai in his hand fell next to Akashi’s head. Slowly, the man limply fell onto the ground. A coyote mask was standing behind him. “First mission and you’re already trying to get yourself killed”. He was offered a hand and he took it. After being pulled to his feet, he blinked his eyes, confused as to why the scenery around him was red.

After a wave of stinging pain came from the right side of his face, he remembered. Removing the glove from his left hand, he brought it over the wound. He involuntarily blinked once the familiar green glow assaulted his senses. It was dark in the cave. Since he could see from both eyes, he was sure his eye wasn’t cut. Once the stinging disappeared, he stopped his healing.

He looked around and noticed that the others had finished cleaning up the rest of the ninja. Hearing a groan, his head whipped to the side where the wounded Jounin was. Hurriedly running to his side, he dropped to his knees next to him. “Can you hear me?” The Jounin nodded his head. “Can you see me?”. Once again, he got a nod in return. “Can you feel this?” He pressed onto the man’s knee and he nodded. Okay, nothing major had happened. The wounds were mostly on the outer part.

He placed the man’s head on his lap and with glowing hands, went over every wound on his body. Less than half an hour later, they were ready to go.

“The mission is done”. Bird said as he lead the group, this time he was in front. Akashi was second, with the Jounin being carried by Tiger, who was third. Coyote was behind them, on lookout.

_

The journey back took way longer than the journey to Kiri, since they had to carry the exhausted Jounin. After taking the man to the hospital, they made their way to the Hokage office. With a satisfied expression on her face, Tsunade declared the mission a success. As they turned around to leave, Tsunade spoke up. “Wolf, you stay”. She had called him by his code name, since he had managed to connect the two broken halves of his mask with Chakra.

He stopped and turned around to face her. “Take off your mask”. He did what she asked. As his face got revealed inch by inch, her eyes got wider and wider. “You…”. She glanced at the right side of his face, where the cut he had healed was. Seems like he didn’t manage to heal it completely, as a result, a long, dark, pink scar had already formed. “First mission and you already got a scar like that…”. Akashi could almost hear the pity in her tone.

“I was careless, so it was my fault”. He admitted. It was the truth. He was too confident in his abilities and that was his almost downfall. That unbearable Coyote had saved his life. He guessed he should thank him for that. Even though he feared that the older boy was going to rub it in his face till the end of time. “It won’t happen again”. He said. And it won’t. Next time, he’ll be more careful.

“I hope so… How did you like your first mission?” She asked, wondering what he was thinking about and wondering how he handled all the things that come with being an ANBU. The killing, to be precise.

Akashi blinked at her words, before he looked down, lips curling up in a small, almost unnoticed, smile. That had taken her aback a little. “You know… when I was little, I wanted to be a hero, one who saved people”. This was a surprise. Tsunade thought. She never expected him to tell her something like that. “That’s why I started learning healing at a young age. I wanted to help”. He continued and she watched as the smile slipped from his face.

“But… once I finished the academy, I realized things were not what I thought they were, and that kind of opened my eyes a little…”. She intently listened to his words. This was a rare opportunity and she wanted to make the most of it. “Still, I tried and I tried to keep on doing what I thought was right… but it was no use, things just kept getting worse and worse”. He exhaled an humorless laugh.

“Then, when I thought it was over, that things can’t possibly get worse… I was slapped in the face by the reality, that yes, things could always get worse”. Tsunade leaned on her desk, intertwining her fingers. Akashi twirled his mask from one hand to the other, nimble fingers grasping the spinning mask by the edges, before throwing it to the other hand.

“I wonder what my younger, more naive, self would have thought if he saw me like this… saw me not feeling anything at the thought of killing”. He chuckled at the thought. “Would he hate the person that is standing here?” He asked, but Tsunade knew the question wasn’t aimed at her, but at himself. “The irony…”. He shook his head, before clearing his throat.

“I don’t know how to answer your question in a different way”. He straightened up, making Tsunade sigh. He did answer her question, but not in the way she would have wanted. Since she had no questions left, she spoke up.

“That was fine… You’re dismissed”. With that. Akashi bowed his head and left the office.

_

It was still quite early in the morning, so he went home to change out of his ANBU gear to his usual attire. Once that was done, he decided to take a walk through town, since he had nothing better to do. But… of course… a walk through town wouldn’t be complete without an accidental bump.

Akashi slammed onto the ground with a painful hiss, before glaring in front of himself. This time, however, the green-eyed boy had joined him on the ground. His teeth were grit and an annoyed expression was on his face. “Again?!” He hissed out, glancing at Akashi.

“It’s not my fault! Watch where you’re going!” He argued back. The other boy angrily stood up, dusting his pants off. Akashi followed suit. “You’re not gonna apologize this time?” He asked, remembering the previous two times this had happened. The boy apologized each time.

The boy ignored him, instead, he chose to turn away and start walking in the other direction. Akashi frowned and followed after him. “Stop following me”. The boy grumbled, but Akashi said nothing. Groaning, the boy sped up, trying to get away. Not letting him escape, Akashi hurried after him.

“What’s your problem?!” He faced Akashi once they exited the busy streets of Konoha. The said boy had an innocent expression on his face.

“Whatever do you mean?” Akashi asked, raising his brows. That made the other boy’s temper rise beyond the safe line.

Without wasting another second, he surged forward and grabbed Akashi by the shirt. “You annoying brat! What do you want?!” The redhead winced as his neck bent at an awkward angle. That hurt. He grabbed the hand which held him by the wrist and pulled it away.

“You can’t be that much older than me”. He said, making the other boy’s lips curl up as he grit his teeth.

“Answer my question”. He forced out and Akashi crossed his arm in return.

“How old are you?” The ebony haired male looked away, scoffing.

“14, now, answer my question”. He answered and Akashi sighed, shaking his head.

“I wanted to say thank you”. He admitted, taking a step away from him. The other boy peered at him with suspicious eyes. Thank you? For what? “You know… for saving my life last night”. Akashi continued once he noticed the boy’s confusion. The boy’s eyes looked at the visible scar he had across his right eye and his own widen in realization.

“No problem… I guess?” His hand ended up at the back of his neck, nervously scratching it. He turned awkward all of a sudden, Akashi deduced.

“That reminds me… what is your name?” Akashi asked when he remembered. He can’t keep calling him ‘boy’ in his head.

“Uragiri Shinya”. Akashi was a bit taken aback. That’s an unique last name.

“I get that reaction a lot…”. Shinya spoke up, gingerly looking to the side, evading Akashi’s eyes.

“I didn’t mean anything bad by it”. Akashi hurriedly said, not wanting to make the boy uncomfortable. Damn… he needs to learn how to control his expressions better.

“No, no, it’s fine”. Shinya waved him off with his hand, but Akashi knew it wasn’t.

So, he decided to do something.

He shifted on his feet and straightened up, looking Shinya straight in the eye. The said boy was momentarily confused as to what he was doing. “Should I be concerned about that look in your eyes?” He asked and Akashi shook his head in return.

“I’d like to start over…”, he trailed off, offering his hand to Shinya, “Hi, I’m Uzumaki Akashi, you are?” A few moments passed, before Shinya finally took his hand in a handshake.

“Uragiri Shinya… nice to meet you Akashi”. He grinned, the sides of his mossy green eyes crinkling in amusement.

He grinned back, somehow relieved that things turned out this way. Seriously… he didn’t want to have a rough relationship with a member from the same squad.

“Nice to meet you, too, Shinya”. He replied.

He was glad he had made a new friend.