Chapter 31
I stretched my arms and back as I switched out of my Anbu gear into regular clothes and waited for Haku and Kimimaro to finish. I thought about Naruto and his entourage and wondered if I should help them out but decided against it. They should be fine chasing Sai to Orochimaru's base. He should get to reunite with Sasuke for a bit. After my talk with Itachi, I have a better feeling of the outcome this time.
"We're finally back big brother." Haku said as he stared out at the village.
"Mn. It has been awhile. It seems quite peaceful here. On the surface at least." Kimimaro commented as he recalled Danzo and his organization Root. I turned to look at Kimimaro as I recalled the memory of Haku and I rejoicing the day he was finally cured and could rejoin our team. I smiled as I looked at our clothes and said, "Oi. Let's go see Mito-san. I'm sure she received our letter that we sent her not too long ago before we came back. Our clothes are probably finished so we should go pick them up and change."
"Mn, then let's go there first." Haku replied with a smile. The three of us walked over to Mito's store. Essential gear and wear tailor. It's the same as always I breathed out with relief as we all walked in. As Mito heard the bell of the door open she turned and said, "Welcome! AH?" She automatically knew who these three kids were. Well it would be more appropriate to call them young adults now. They weren't those three little kids who waltzed into her store all those years ago. Even though they grew up she would never forget their distinct features. One still wore a blindfold, one still had those distinguished two red dots on his forehead, and the other was still too pretty. "You three kids! Come over here and let me have a good look at you! Jeez it's been so many years. You don't know how surprised I was when I got your letter about tailoring you some clothes."
"Miss Mito-san!" The three of us walked over and bowed respectfully. She just smiled as she gave us all a good look. My have they grown she thought. "My my, Izaya-kun. You've grown. 178cm tall now eh? It's good that all of you added your dimensions in the letter or the clothes I made wouldn't fit. Kimimaro, 181cm. Haku, 164cm. Mn, you've all grown into fine young gentlemen. I have your clothes in the back. Go put them on." Mito said amiably.
"Mn." We all nodded as we went to the back. Haku grabbed his outfit and put it on. He had a hooded navy blue cloak with snow white fur on the borders with the length reaching just pass his knees. There were white snowflake images printed on the back of the cloak. He wore an unbuttoned navy blue coat with the sleeves reaching his elbows and navy blue arm braces. He wore a white shirt underneath and navy blue pants with the same color greaves. He had one ninja tool pack on his right hip and another on his left. His Leaf headband was worn on his forehead. He let his front bangs hang on the side of his face like he normally did but instead of tying the back of his hair up in a bun, he cut it so it was three inches below shoulder length and tied it in a similar fashion to Itachi's hair style.
Kimimaro wore a white capris pants with a light purple cloth that reached his knee length and had a ripped and torn texture around the bottom. He also wore an open chested white haori with purple flower patterns and a purple rope tying it in place by his waist. There were three sharp bones hanging on the front right side and the front left side of the rope. His Leaf headband was hung on the left side of the rope while a Flying Thunder God kunai was hung on the right side of the rope. He continued to sport the same hairstyle as he normally did.
As for me, I wore a hooded black cloak with 9 white tomoe patterns printed on the back. I wore a white dress shirt with black buttons with the sleeves rolled back before my elbows. The shirt was only buttoned up to the chest area leaving the neck area opened. I donned a black pants with a black belt and a ninja tool bag on my right hip. I wore a necklace with a small Flying Thunder God kunai ornament and five black rings with white characters for the nature elements inscribed on them on my fingers. A black ring inscribed earth on my left pinky, a ring inscribed water on my left ring finger, a ring inscribed wind on my left index finger, a ring inscribed fire on my right index finger, and a ring inscribed lightning on my right ring finger. My Leaf headband was tied to my upper left thigh. I sported a two-block haircut style with my front bangs at eye level. I placed my black blindfold on and walked out with Haku and Kimimaro from the changing rooms. "Thank you Mito-san!" The three of us bowed respectfully.
"Oh my! Indeed I knew you three were handsome but you three are now extremely dashing! Before you say anything I will not accept payment from you three. This time your clothes are free of charge. I remember you three saying you'd be gone for a while on a mission so consider this my welcome home gift after so long." She smiled and said. Although we hesitated for a moment, we thanked her for always taking care of our clothes as we left the shop.
"Are you still planning to wear your blindfold?" Kimimaro asked curiously. "Mn. It still isn't time for me to reveal these. I really only need them when interrogating or if we're faced with extremely powerful Genjutsu. Most other times my other abilities would suffice. And to be honest, I've gotten used to wearing one so I feel kind of naked without it." I replied.
"Should we go see Lord Fifth now? She knew that we were going away on a mission for Lord Third, but now that we're back we'll have to resume our duties as Chunin right? Ah? And Maro, you still need to take the Chunin exam right?" Haku said.
"Ah? That's right. I forgot about that." Kimimaro said in contemplation.
"Mmmm...Well, you're right, we should go see Lord Fifth and see if there's anything needed of us." I replied.
Knock Knock.
"Enter." Tsunade said as she read a pile of documents on her desk. Haku, Kimimaro, and I walked in at this moment and closed the door behind us.
"Oh? So you three are finally back eh? I haven't seen you three kids since you were tiny brats but now you all have gotten quite tall Haku, Kimimaro, Izaya." Tsunade said as she put down the document she was reading and took a good look at us.
"Yes, thank you very much Lady Tsunade!" We saluted.
"Hahaha! Well, at least you three aren't bowing like stiff branches anymore. Learnt to lighten up a little huh." She replied.
"Just a little." I replied as I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Lady Tsunade, since we've returned, we were just wondering if you had any tasks for us." Haku said.
"Hm." She contemplated. "I heard from Sarutobi-sensei about the Danzo incident. That bastard. His ways of doing things are always too extreme. For now there isn't any urgent missions that need to be completed. You three just got back to the village so why don't you take a rest for a little bit. I'll send word for you if a need arises."
"Yes!" We nodded and left her office.
"Lady Tsunade, I'm afraid Danzo might try to make a move on Izaya-kun now that he's back in the village. Even though Root is supposed to be disbanded and even though Lord Third confronted him on his actions I still have a bad feeling about it. Why is Danzo targeting Izaya-kun anyways?" Shizune said. Tsunade let out a sigh. "I heard from Sarutobi-sensei about the reason why Danzo covets Izaya. Since I trust you I'll tell you Shizune, but don't mention it to anyone else for now until Izaya himself reveals his power. Apparently he's like Yamato where he can utilize the Wood Style Kekkei Genkai. I don't know where Danzo got this information from but for now we can only monitor the situation. While I despise Danzo, the fact remains that he's still an elder of the Leaf. The thing is I have no clue what kind of plan he's concocting up in the shadows."
Knock Knock.
"Eh? Now who is it?" Shizune said.
"Enter." Tsunade said. Yamato walked in at that moment.
"Reporting." Yamato told Tsunade about the spy being Kabuto and their run in with Orochimaru. He relayed to her how Sai was given an order by Danzo to kill Sasuke and ended up leaking information of all the Anbu under the Hokage and Lord Third to Orochimaru.
"WHAT?!" Tsunade said with anger. "Although I despise him I thought he still had the interest of the Leaf in mind. To go so far as to even sell out our own Anbu to Orochimaru!? Is he planning to attack the Leaf with Orochimaru's help? That bastard! Shizune! Go change the codes on the information containing high class security documents right now!"
"Yes!" Shizune said as she ran out the door. Tsunade just clenched her fists in anger leaving a very scared Yamato standing very still without moving. "So, Izaya isn't the only one he's aiming for. Most likely he wishes to remove me from office and take the seat of Hokage himself." She said angrily.
Haku, Kimimaro, and I walked down the streets of Konoha relishing in the ambient atmosphere of the Village after our long mission. "Big brother, I'm going to buy some meat skewers! Do you want any?" Haku asked as we walked by the food stand. I smiled and nodded my head. "Sure Haku. Just don't eat them all first."
"I'll go make sure he doesn't buy out the food stand. And that he doesn't eat all the meat skewers first." Kimimaro said with a worried expression as he remembered one of our Anbu missions where Haku volunteered to buy some meat skewers to eat but ended up eating all of them first. I lightly laughed as I recalled that event and nodded my head. "Mn, that's for the best. I'm going to find a place to sit with a good view of the village. Come find me when you guys have the goods." I said.
"Mn." Haku and Kimimaro nodded. I dashed off to a large hill with a large tree at the top and sat underneath the shade in comfortable silence. A warm cool breeze was blowing through the air as the vantage point allowed for a nice clear view of the village below. "How peaceful." I whispered softly to myself. Just as I was about to close my eyes I quickly rolled to my side when I heard someone yell out, "Attack!"
That person missed completely as they hit the ground beneath the tree. "Ow!"
"Pffft! Hahaha! Nice try. Hanabi." I said amusedly.
Hanabi glared at me as she pouted and said, "You knew I was hiding in that tree didn't you? You didn't say anything on purpose!"
I awkwardly scratched the side of my face and said, "Well...Normally one doesn't announce their surprise attack first. And I didn't want all of your hard work to go to waste."
"Ah? What do you mean all of my hard work?" She replied nervously.
"Do you really want me to say it?" I said teasingly.
"Hmpf! I don't know what you're talking about." She said stubbornly.
"Ahem. You wouldn't happen to know about anyone following me in the shadows right? Like the person I sensed hiding behind the fruit stand when I walked by? Or the person I sensed hiding on the rooftop of Mito-san's store when I went to get my new clothes. Or maybe the person who was pretending to read a newspaper as I walked past the food stand?" I said with a smirk.
"Y-You! It wasn't me!" She said quickly and sheepishly as her cheeks turned a shade of red. I smiled and said, "Of course not. I didn't say it was you."
She turned to glare at me but before she could say anything else I showed her a soft expression with a light smile and said, "It's been awhile Hanabi. It's good to see that you're doing well." Hanabi's glare turned into a soft expression as well as she smiled and said, "You bastard. You didn't even tell me you were going away on a super long mission...I'm glad you're back."
"Heh, missed me that much huh?" I said with a tease. Her cheeks turned red again as she turned away and said, "Who missed you?! Did I say that!"
I just smiled at her reaction. I never knew Hanabi could have such amusing expressions I mentally thought. "You got even prettier." I complimented. This only caused the redness of her cheeks to reach her ears.
"Hmpf! I was always pretty!" She replied proudly, then whispered, "Thanks. You're not so bad yourself." I just smiled again and sat down with my back leaned against the tree. "Care to join me?" I asked as I patted the seat next to me. Without saying anything she moved and sat down next to me as we watched the hustle and bustle of the village.
"How did your mission turn out?" Hanabi asked striking up a conversation.
"Hmmm. How do I put it. There were times when it was easy and times when it was hard. And there were plenty of times when I was worried about the safety of my comrades. In the end I chose to believe in their strength and our bonds and we somehow made it through the tough times. All in all, it was a very memorable experience." I said while reminiscing the Anbu missions Haku, Kimimaro, and I took on for a little over the past two and a half years.
"Did you get hurt?" Hanabi asked with a hint of worry. I turned to look at her and said, "Worried about me?"
She frowned with a serious face and said, "Don't tease me about that."
She's a kind girl I mentally noted. "Missions always come with risks. I'm here now and don't have any lasting scars. You don't have to worry about me getting hurt too much. I'm very strong you know." I said with confidence.
"Mn." She nodded. At that moment two figures came running up the hill. "Big brother we got the meat skew-...ers…" Haku said as he noticed Hanabi sitting next to me. Kimimaro just followed behind Haku as he held more than ten meat skewers. Haku blinked a couple times before turning to Hanabi and said, "You?"
Hanabi just smirked and stuck her tongue out saying, "What about me?" Kimimaro gave a confused look and said, "Is something wrong?" I just sighed as I recalled the months before we left on our Anbu mission. Haku and Hanabi had a rough start since for some odd reason it seemed like they fought for my attention. They ended up getting along afterwards but every now and then their rivalry would start up again. Kimimaro was too busy training after his release from the Hospital so he only got to meet Hanabi a few times before we left.
Before Haku could respond to Hanabi's question I chimed in, "So do I get any meat skewers Haku?"
"Ah? I'm sorry big brother. I was lost in my thoughts for a bit. Mn, here!" Haku responded and gave me five skewers. He also decided to make peace with Hanabi for the moment and handed her two while he kept more than twenty himself. As Haku and Kimimaro sat down in front of Hanabi and I forming a circle I turned to Kimimaro and said, "Why do you have so many meat skewers?"
Kimimaro just sighed as he gave a side glance at Haku.
"Ah...Say no more. I understand." I simply shook my head in amusement. Hanabi just looked on at us in puzzlement. A few minutes later a puff of smoke appeared next to us revealing Yamato.
"Yamato-sensei?" Haku, Kimimaro, and I exclaimed in surprise.
"Yo! My precious students!" He said and smiled. "Eh? Hanabi? You're here too?" Yamato said in surprise as he noticed her presence.
"Why not?" She replied matter of factly.
"Ah...Hahaha, no reason. I was just surprised is all." Yamato replied sheepishly.
"Yamato-sensei, did you need us for something?" I asked curiously.
"Ahem, right. Actually I just need your help Izaya." He replied.
"Um? Me?" I replied inquisitively. Noticing that Yamato-sensei didn't want to elaborate I just nodded my head and stood up saying, "Alright." Hanabi stood up at the same time as she said, "Hey! If you're leaving on a super long mission again you better not forget to say anything." I turned to look at her for a moment in silence before giving a warm smile. I ruffled the hair on top of her head and said, "You'll be the first to know." Yamato and I disappeared in a puff of white smoke right after.
"Hmpf!" She pouted. He got really tall. And even more handsome. Is that even possible for him? Haku looked up at Hanabi noticing her still standing and said, "Hey, you're free to join Maro and I. But just so you know, if you want more meat skewers you'll have to ask Maro. These are mine." He then held his meat skewers closer to him. Hanabi just stared at Haku with a dumbfounded and incredulous look before letting out a small laugh. "Pffft! Haku, can I be your big sister?"
Haku just shook his head and said indifferently, "No thanks. I already have big brother and Maro. Besides, I'm older than you!"
She then turned to look at Kimimaro and said, "Then...Kimimaro, what do you think about me being your big sister!" Before Kimimaro could respond Haku chimed in, "No thanks. Maro has big brother and I already. You don't have to worry yourself over something like this. More importantly, what were you talking to big brother about alone?"
Hanabi smirked, "That's a SE-CR-ET." Haku gave her a glare as Kimimaro just shrugged his shoulders eating his food and listening to their banter.