227A\N: This chapter fought me for NINE. GORRAM. MONTHS. Still not happy with it. Big thanks to Orange and Silvershadows.
Disclaimer: I own neither Youjo Senki nor Naruto.
Chapter 10
As their team ran towards the village gate, Sakura got close enough to Kakashi to ask: "Sensei, shouldn't we stop to pack? We've only got our D-rank mission kit on us!"
"We'll be moving fast; a pack will only slow you down. I've got enough rations in a storage scroll to see us to the client's location and back," replied the jounin.
"And if the client is not where we expect him to be?"
"Then it most likely means two Konoha genin are missing as well, and at that point it's definitely not a C-rank mission any more. In such a situation, you three will be heading back to Konoha, while I and Jounin Yuhi continue the mission."
"Uhh… who's Yuhi?" came Naruto's puzzled query.
"She's Team 8's sensei. I remember Iruka-sensei saying her name when our teams were announced," Sakura supplied.
"Ohhh, right. Say, who all else were in Team 8?"
"There was Hinata, and I think Kiba was there too… huh, I can't seem to remember the last one."
"Shino Aburame," grunted Sasuke.
"Oh, right, that weird guy..."
It didn't take them long to reach the gate. Waiting there, pacing like a caged tiger, was a woman with long black hair, red eyes, and a short white wrap dress on top of mesh that did little to hide her generous curves.
She turned to acknowledge their sensei, and the woman's obvious beauty only seemed to further emphasize the clear signs of worry and fatigue.
"Kurenai," greeted Kakashi.
"Kakashi," came the relieved response. "Thanks for being so prompt."
"Maa, I'm not going to be late when it's this urgent."
"I know. Come on, we have a ways to go."
Sakura had to admit, she was glad Kakashi hadn't let them bring their packs. The two jounin set a punishing pace, and it was clear that in spite of her exhaustion, Kurenai could have gone much faster if it hadn't been for the genin.
It was a sobering reminder of what a large gap of power existed between Sakura and a genuine elite.
When they stopped to rest at sunset, Kurenai was on edge. She wanted to push onward, insisting they were close to her team's location.
Kakashi pointed out that trying to find a pair of paranoid shinobi at night, even if they were genin, was just asking for a friendly fire incident.
"But… there is a compromise," suggested Kakashi. "If you will watch over my genin, I will go on ahead and track down your team. If I find them, I'll stay with them until we can meet back up."
Sakura was just as surprised as the rest of her team. Wouldn't it be easier for Kurenai to find her own students?
Then Kakashi ran through a rapid series of hand signs, and with a puff of smoke, an absolutely adorable little pug wearing a Konoha headband appeared on the grass. Sakura felt her jaw drop as Kakashi turned to his genin team with a smiling eye.
"Pakkun will let me find the others in short order. Team 7, Jounin Yuhi is in charge until we regroup. Pakkun, let's move."
"You got it, boss," the pug replied, as dog and man faded into the night.
Tanya held her peace until Sakura had settled down for the night.
"What. The hell. Was that?"
Sakura considered for a moment. "You mean the dog?"
"No, I mean the other talking animal that suddenly appeared in a puff of smoke! Of course the dog!"
Sakura couldn't help but snicker at the sheer frustrated confusion in the trapped spirit's voice. Silently fingering the jeweled orb hidden under her shirt, she whispered into her mind, "I think that was a summoned animal, a nin-dog. Don't you remember them being mentioned in class? The three sannin - the frog, the snake, and the slug summoners?"
"When they talked about summoned spirit animals, I assumed the actual summoning was some complex ritual that only needed to be performed once, and then the animal would be always by the summoners' side!" came the nettled response.
Sakura's thoughts were openly confused. "The sannin's summons were supposed to be the size of small mountains. How on earth would they ever accomplish their duties as shinobi if they were accompanied everywhere by an animal that big?"
"Considering they made their fame during a war, I assumed it wasn't an issue! Pardon me for thinking that summoning a magical animal was something that required preparation, not a spell that could be… be popped off at a whim!"
Sakura could almost picture a blond woman waving her arms as the rant continued. "I mean, how do those summons know to be ready and waiting? What if you try to summon one and the creature is sleeping? Come to think of it, if they can just summon up a magic animal so easily, why on earth don't they use it to summon actual ninja? Or is that something everyone does, and the academy just didn't think it important to mention?!"
Sakura frowned at the last part, and she cast her mind back, trying to recall everything she had read about summoning contracts. Unfortunately, it wasn't much. Once she and Tanya had started looking, they had realized just how vast the world of ninjutsu truly was. There simply hadn't been enough time to thoroughly research everything. It didn't help that summoning was one of those topics that seemed to have been deliberately censored from the low-security regions of the library.
Once they determined that summoning contracts were both rare and jealously guarded by their owners, and detailed information gated behind chunin rank, they had stopped looking and turned their attention to more profitable topics.
The one thing Sakura did recall was that summoning involved fuinjutsu, another topic conspicuous in its absence from the genin-accessible portions of the library. What they had found, though, suggested fuinjutsu was a fiendishly complex subject. So Sakura offered a theory. "Maybe they haven't worked out the fuinjutsu on how to safely transport people through the summoning technique yet?"
"People, animals, what's the difference? It's all biological matter!"
"Well, summon animals aren't really like regular animals, are they? They are often also called spirit animals. Maybe they're not just regular flesh and blood, which is why it is possible to summon them like this?"
Tanya grumbled a bit before responding, "We need to ask Kakashi at the first opportunity. He is our sensei, he might let a few crumbs drop on the details of the technique. The ability to summon reinforcements, even if they are animals…"
Sakura didn't say anything, because there was nothing to say. The utility of instant backup was obvious. Her eyes were just closing when Tanya suddenly spoke up. "Sakura, correct me if I'm wrong, but the Fourth Hokage - wasn't he an apprentice of Jiraiya the toad summoner, and a toad summoner himself?"
"Yes. Why?"
"And he was also known for his ability in fuinjutsu - and for developing a technique that allowed him to instantly traverse any distance."
It took Sakura but a moment to join the dots. "Wait… are you saying he used his knowledge of fuinjutsu and summoning to… what? Figure out a way to summon himself?"
Tanya gave a slight chuckle, "It's just a silly theory. That's probably not how it works at all. But now I really want to know more about fuinjutsu and summoning."
Sakura groaned. "I'll put it on the list."
Sakura breathed deeply as she let the breeze through her hair blow away the last vestiges of sleep. Tree-hopping was an excellent way to get the blood flowing, which was good because Kurenai had got them moving with the first rays of dawn's light.
Sakura had heard some stories from Tanya about the insane mission tempo and lack of rest during war, but that did not mean she was enjoying the first taste of such.
It was around mid-morning that Kurenai suddenly increased the pace to a flat-out sprint.
"She's spotted something, get ready!"
Sakura didn't need the warning from her inner voice. She was already drawing kunai and extending her senses to their limit. Soon enough, the genin could see the same thing Kurenai did – a large fog bank covering the road, in unnatural defiance of the bright summer sun. As they got closer, the muffled clash of metal on metal became audible from within the fog, as well as a faint buzzing.
"I can only sense Kakashi and my genin inside that fog." Kurenai growled. "And one civilian chakra… however many enemies are in there, they're very good at hiding their chakra."
Sakura focused her senses, and could barely make out the same thing. "I should be easily able to sense them from this close… shit, does that fog dampen chakra?"
"Sound too," murmured Tanya. "That's a specialist technique for sure…"
Further rumination was cut short as the female jounin spoke, "Genin, follow me, and move fast! We're reinforcing my students!"
Sakura felt her heart rate spike at the thought of charging into that sinister fog blind. Before she could express her doubts, though, the jounin ran through a rapid series of hand signs and a muttered incantation, and a film of chakra seemed to settle on the team.
Area genjutsu! Doubts assuaged, Sakura and the rest of Team 7 followed Kurenai into the billowing mists.
The distance to where she had sensed the weaker chakra of Kurenai's genin was only a handful of meters. Yet within the cold, damp, opaque whiteness, the journey seemed to last an eternity.
Sakura was running her physical enhancement to maximum capacity as she brought up the rear of the diamond formation. So, she was able to actually react when a powerfully built dark-haired man appeared with no warning and swung an oversized cleaver at her head.
Swung… and missed, as the cleaver passed high and left to Sakura's position. The enemy's eyes widened as the cleaver left ripples in the thick layer of Kurenai's chakra. Sakura had no time to feel grateful – her hand had moved of its own accord, burying a kunai in the man's elbow.
There was a pop of releasing chakra, and Sakura almost stumbled as the man collapsed into cold liquid. Water clone!
Looking forward once more, Sakura barely spotted the light reflecting off a barrage of shining needles. Once more, the genjutsu threw off their attacker's aim, the two needles that were on target to hit Naruto being deflected by deft shuriken from Kurenai.
And then the fog thinned, and the buzzing grew loud. In front of them was what seemed to be a circle of shining mirrors. Visible through the gaps in the mirrors were three figures.
At the center, a cowering lump that was presumably their client. On one side, a dark-haired girl in an elegant stance, bulging veins surrounding her prominent silver eyes, and large needles piercing her trembling limbs. And on the other, a whirling cloud of shrieking insects, with the vague outline of a boy somewhere within.
The girl - Hinata, as Sakura's brain belatedly identified her - turned towards her approaching comrades with relief flooding her features. And jounin Kurenai disappeared into a blur of speed, reappearing on the far side of the impromptu arena, a sandaled foot hammering into the crossed arms of a slim masked figure.
The masked ninja was knocked back by the kick, but instead of colliding with the mirror behind him, he melted into it.
Sakura could feel Tanya's shock mirroring her own, but she didn't have time to analyze the enemy's technique, because Naruto was already charging into the mirrored perimeter shouting "The heroes are here!" and Sasuke wasn't far behind.
Kurenai glanced at them. "Team 7, evacuate Team 8 and the civilian, I'll watch your backs!"
"You heard her!" Sakura shouted. "Naruto, distract! Sasuke, flares! Hinata, Shino, follow!"
"On it! Multi-Clone Technique!" The explosion of chakra washed out Sakura's senses, as a massive number of illusory clones were suddenly covering the area inside the mirrors. Half the clones were obviously distorted, and the remaining half were split between looking like Naruto, looking like random Konoha ninja, and looking like random naked women. And all of them started dancing around shouting and waving their arms like crazy.
While quantity had a quality of its own, Team 7 was taking no chances. It was now Sasuke's turn, and a stream of small fireballs left his mouth, scattered all around the mirrors, and exploded in bright and loud flashes of light.
While all this was happening, Sakura was diving on the elderly man who'd been curled up on the ground, covering his head. Slim arms tightened around his waist, and Sakura grunted as she bodily picked up the VIP and threw every bit of chakra into her legs as she rushed for the nearest gap in the mirror cordon.
As she neared that life-saving gap, Sakura braced herself and her client. And then, at the very last breath, she applied the force vector technique. Once, twice, two brutal spikes of force wrenching her and the screaming client away from their original course and towards a different gap. Sakura's last sight before she was hurled out of the trap was Kurenai intercepting the masked figure with drawn kunai. And then her world was pain, as Sakura bounced along the hard ground, doing her best to protect the fragile, heavy civilian with her own body.
The pair came to a rest in a groaning heap. Desperately struggling out from under, Sakura had barely gotten to her feet when a deluge of screaming clones and buzzing insects washed over her position. When her vision finally cleared, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. She and the client were in the center of a modified diamond formation, protected by her fellow genin. Hinata and Shino both had needles sticking out of them, but they were mobile, and Naruto and Sasuke looked unharmed.
Sakura was about to congratulate them on the excellent teamwork, when the words were choked by the raw, raging bloodlust that filled the air. A thundering clash sounded, and Kurenai came rolling along the ground before bouncing back to her feet, broken bloody kunai falling from her hands.
Following the direction of Kurenai's involuntary flight, Sakura swallowed as she witnessed the tall man-shaped avatar of murder. "I don't think this one's a clone," was the hysterical thought that kept running around her head.
Glaring down at Kurenai and the genin, the dark-haired man with the giant cleaver spoke. "All right, Haku?"
"A flesh wound, Zabuza-sama. Forgive my carelessness." Sakura tore her eyes from the terrifying figure of 'Zabuza-sama', and to the surprisingly gentle-voiced masked shinobi. Who, she now realized, was pressing one hand to a bloody wound on his neck.
"Not entirely your fault," remarked Zabuza, who seemed terrifyingly calm for facing down a Konoha jounin. "Kurenai Yuhi, Konoha's genjutsu mistress. Along with -" his eyes glanced aside "- Sharingan no Kakashi. I am flattered."
Sakura followed his glance and could barely keep from crying with joy as she saw Kakashi-sensei standing there, seemingly without a care in the world. But that nonchalance was a lie, as evidenced by the naked blades in his hands, and the raised headband revealing a glowing red eye with rotating black spots surrounding the pupil.
"Maa, you're quite the celebrity yourself, Zabuza Momochi. Bold of you to show yourself within Fire Country borders."
Zabuza's only response was an annoyed "tsk", as he brought up a hand in an incomplete sign. With an almost audible rush of displaced air, the mist doubled and doubled again, until Sakura could barely see the client at her feet. Heart in her throat, she readied her kunai and senses, and waited for the attack.
And waited. And waited. And then there came a burst of familiar chakra, and a powerful wind blew away the mist, revealing the two Konoha teams and a whimpering civilian, and not a single enemy in sight.
"He ran for it?" Incredibly, Naruto actually sounded disappointed.
"I do believe he did," replied Kakashi as he covered his sharingan eye (and wasn't that a whole different can of worms that Sakura had no interest in opening right now).
"Do we go after 'em, Kakashi-sensei?" came the eager response.
"Now, now, Naruto, we have a client to look after, and injured genin. Besides, protocol dictates a minimum of four jounin or ANBU when engaging enemy shinobi of A-rank or higher."
"Zabuza was A-rank?" Sakura couldn't help the terrified squeak in her voice.
Kakashi eye-smiled. "S-rank actually. An infamous missing-nin from Hidden Mist."
"Considering how you failed to mention one of the richest men in the world hates you enough to hire S-ranked missing nin, I'd say you're doing very well with only a broken arm."
Sakura's lips twitched at Kurenai's caustic tone. Now that they had made camp and were tending to their injuries, she had quickly realized the client was a rude, cantankerous old ass. Sakura could only sympathize with Team 8 for having to put up with the jerk. The man was so shameless he had spent half the evening complaining about his injuries… injuries that were at least partly his fault for lying about the mission.
Kurenai, it seemed, had reached the end of her tether, because she continued speaking. "Don't worry though. That broken arm is the least of your problems. I'm sure the Hokage will want to personally discuss your creative interpretation of the mission parameters."
That certainly shut up the old goat. It looked like her sprained wrist was making the female jounin cranky. Either that or she was worried about her students.
Frankly, Sakura thought they had all been incredibly lucky. Seeing as the first set of missing nin had used poison deadly enough to put Kiba in the hospital, she'd been astounded to discover that the senbon needles used by the masked nin had been completely free of poison. Throwing needles, Sakura knew well, were generally poor weapons for dealing damage, and were almost always used as a poison delivery system.
The only explanation she and Tanya could come up with, was that being missing-nin, the senbon user had a limited supply of poison, and hadn't felt the genin of Team 8 to be a big enough threat to justify the expenditure. He was probably right, too, going by the chilling descriptions of the shinobi's utterly ridiculous ice-based bloodline techniques.
As the camp settled down to a very tense night of keeping watch for a potential follow-up attack, Sakura decided to ask Kakashi about one oddity that Tanya had picked up on.
"Kakashi sensei, I was wondering… you said protocol for facing A-rank and higher shinobi was four jounin or ANBU. But aren't S-rank shinobi supposed to be much more dangerous than A-rank? Shouldn't there be a different protocol?"
Kakashi smiled indulgently at her. "The protocol is only the minimum amount of force. Also, there's the matter of expectations. A team of four jounin or ANBU are expected to defeat an A-rank nin with minimal casualties. The same team, facing an S-rank nin, is expected to survive with less than 50% losses."
"Ah…" Sakura muttered weakly as she turned back to sleep. As she did, a strange lack of motion caught her eye. Beside her, Sasuke had gone even more rigid than usual. Looking carefully, Sakura could see the starlight reflected in his eyes as her teammate stared out at something only he could see.
Sakura could guess why. Sasuke's brother, though, was a problem with no easy solution. Holding back a sigh, Sakura did her best to put aside worries about murderous missing-nin, and get some rest. Assuming she didn't get murdered in her sleep, it was still a long way back to Konoha.