Team Yumi re-entered the Hidden Leaf Village as the sun began to set over the Hokage Monument. They had just finished a mission, and were on their way to report their success to the Hokage. Despite the time of day, various villagers were running, talking, playing, and laughing through the streets. A few ninja discussed their most recent mission, while vendors tried to sell goods to annoyed customers.

 

"Heh... I really missed being in the village!" Koukon grinned, happy to be back home.

 

"Yeah. We can finally rest." Hikari wasn't as enthusiastic as her friend, but still smiled. "I can't wait to go eat some ramen." She rubbed her stomach, having missed her favorite food.

 

"Of course, that's the first thing you think of. It's always ramen with you." Koukon teased Hikari. "I guess that going to Ichiraku wouldn't hurt, though..." He looked over at his teacher. "Yumi sensei, is it fine if we head off?"

 

"Yeah, I'll go check in with Lord Hokage. You three can go off and get something to eat." The woman smiled back at her students.

 

"Alright!" Koukon shouted, and looked over to his teammates. "Let's go, Hikari! Are you going to come with, Kiniku?" He asked his best friend, hoping that the three of them could go together.

 

"It's been a while since the three of us got to go to Ichiraku together, hasn't it?" Hikari asked. "You should come with us, Kiniku."

"I don't care who I'm talking to. I won't let anyone treat me like a child!" Hikari snapped at Kiniku.

 

"Hikari, please-" Naruto tried to speak, but was cut off again.

 

"'Please?' You're still treating me like a fragile kid! I'm-" Hikari stopped, her knees feeling weak. She grabbed on to the Hokage's desk for support before she collapsed.

 

Koukon ran over to Hikari. "Do you need help?" He asked her. Ugh, she's still weak...

Kiniku

 

"Come on, Hyugamaki, don't do this to yourself," Kiniku said, at his teammate's side as well. "Lord Hokage doesn't think you're some kid. He doesn't think any of us are kids. We're ninja. Our job is to endure and serve the village no matter what task it may be. Isn't that right, my Lord?" Kiniku challenged his superior, his own stubborn want of not being treated like a child breaking through.

Naruto sighed. "Of course you're not kids. You're all great ninja. That's why we chose you for this mission." He answered Kiniku. "I'm entrusting this mission with all of you because I know that you can handle it." He spoke in a more serious tone now. "Now then, if you're all ready, I'll tell you what it is."

 

Hikari looked like she was about to speak, but Koukon quickly stopped her. "Come on Hikari, you're not going to get any better by arguing... Let's just listen to what old man Naruto has to say." He helped Hikari up, and whispered something to her. Hikari sighed, and stood on her own. "We're ready for the mission, old man." Koukon's gaze returned to the Hokage, and he now looked much more serious.

 

"Very well then." Naruto nodded. "The Kazekage has requested that a team should go to a small village within the Land of Wind. He says that he needs you to help in an... Investigation." He explained.

 

"What type of investigation?" Juukou asked.

 

"Well... You see, last night, a Sand ninja who was returning from a mission passed by this village. He rushed back to make a report to the Kazekage... He claimed that the entire village was wiped out." Naruto paused.

 

"How did that happen?!" Kiyoshi asked, surprised that such a thing could happen.

 

"You see... That's where you all come in. The Kazekage wants you to try to investigate and learn what happened there. He also wants you ready to leave in case another village is suddenly attacked." Naruto responded.

 

"I think I understand why you chose us..." Nibai commented. "Juukou, Fujiri sensei, and Hikari are three of the best sensory ninja available for the job. While you included the rest of our teams, they also fit well for the mission. Koukon and Kiyoshi are both excellent ranged fighters with incredible speed, while myself and Kiniku are experts at close ranged combat. Yumi sensei's deduction skills were also necessary in order to help us piece together what happened. Am I right, Lord Hokage?" He asked.

 

"You nailed it, Nibai." Naruto nodded. "Now then, you all need to leave immediately. Good luck with your mission!" He said, sending the ninja teams off.

Kiniku 

 

"Sounds good, Old Man. Let's head off everyone!" Kiniku said, grinning with confidence.

 

Fujiri

 

"Hm... well said, Nibai," Fujiri said, referring to Nibai's analysis. "I can see that you've been adhering well to my training."

Yumi nodded. "Right. Let's go, Team Yumi!"

 

Koukon looked at Hikari. "Come on, let's get moving." He told her, then left the room. Hikari followed him silently.

 

"We should follow them, team!" Kiyoshi exclaimed, running off to catch up with her brother.

 

"Yeah. Come on, Shiro." Juukou calmly left the room, closely followed by his wolf.

 

Nibai nodded. "Thank you, Fujiri sensei. I try my hardest." He trailed after the others.

Kiniku

 

"I can tell this mission'll be a piece of cake," Kiniku boasted, cracking his neck.

 

Fujiri

 

Fujiri stayed silent, not feeling as though he needed to speak at all. He wasn't the most conversational person, unlike his classmate Yumi...

After speaking to Naruto about their location, Yumi left the Hokage's Mansion, and the group made their way to the village gate. "Alright... So, if we leave now, we'll reach the Land of Wind in two days. When we get there, we're supposed to meet with someone from the Sand, and they'll escort us to this village we're supposed to check out. So... If you're all ready, let's move out!" She grinned to the crowd. After confirming that everyone was prepared, the group set off for the Land of Wind.

Kiniku

 

"So, Hikari..." Kiniku started; now that he had the chance, he was looking to talk a little with his teammate. "What's up with you and the Old Man? You got problems with him or something?"

Hikari avoided looking at Kiniku. "That's none of your business, musclehead..." She muttered, then went further ahead of Kiniku.

 

Koukon watched their exchange, and began to feel slightly guilty. He approached Kiniku, and sighed. "You know, I probably shouldn't say this, but... I can tell that she's still recovering from yesterday. She doesn't want to show it, but I know that's what has her so upset. I think that old man Naruto just ended up annoying her, and she took it out on him... She won't talk to me about it, but I can't think about what else could make her act like this." He explained. "We should just leave her alone for now. I'll try to help her get over it when I get a chance."

Kiniku

 

"You think so? Well, I don't believe it," Kiniku said bluntly. "Sure, she might still be feeling some pain from her fight, but she's always yammering on about the Old Man. She takes every opportunity she can to get all whiny about him. Quite frankly, it's starting to annoy me. If you spoke like that in the Matsuyo Clan, you'd get smacked."

"Oh, that's what you mean..." Koukon sighed. "Look, I'd love to explain it to you... But that's not really something I'm able to do." He answered. "And I doubt she'll tell you, anyway. It's best to just drop it and let it all slide." There was a slightly forceful tone in his voice as he said his last two sentences.

Kiniku

 

"Whatever it is, she better change her attitude as soon as possible," Kiniku retorted, not regretting any of his words for a second.

"Maybe that's what you need to do, Kiniku..." Koukon muttered. He knew that it wasn't the best idea, but he was getting sick of the way Kiniku was talking about his friend.

Kiniku

 

"Excuse me? I'm not the one disrespecting my dad, String Bean. I don't have a dad, period. Maybe the Yougan Clan doesn't do this, but the Matsuyo Clan don't turn their back on each other. All I'm saying is that whatever beef Hikari has with her dad, she should straighten out. Alright?" Kiniku said, clarifying his stance more, though a bit more angry this time.

Edited January 10, 201510 yr by Firaga Sensei

Kiniku

 

"Excuse me? I'm not the one disrespecting my dad, String Bean. I don't have a dad, period. Maybe the Yougan Clan doesn't do this, but the Matsuyo Clan don't turn their back on each other. All I'm saying is that whatever beef Hikari has with her dad, she should straighten out. Alright?" Kiniku said, clarifying his stance more, though a bit more angry this time.

"The Yougan Clan isn't any different, Kiniku!" Koukon glared at his friend, now feeling insulted. "You don't see me ignoring Kiyoshi, do you? I'm not saying that I approve of the way she treats her dad, but you don't need to treat her the way you are about it!" His voice began to rise.

"The Yougan Clan isn't any different, Kiniku!" Koukon glared at his friend, now feeling insulted. "You don't see me ignoring Kiyoshi, do you? I'm not saying that I approve of the way she treats her dad, but you don't need to treat her the way you are about it!" His voice began to rise.

 

Kiniku

 

"Alright fine, I shouldn't have brought clans into this... my point still stands. I'm not going to force her to do anything. I'm not even gonna yell at her, because it'd be a waste of time, but she still needs to shape up," Kiniku said, ending the conversation.

Edited November 12, 201410 yr by Firaga Sensei

Koukon glared at Kiniku. I'm sick of these two and their arguments... Why am I always the one who's stuck in between them? He thought to himself, then looked ahead once again.

 

After a few days, the group finally reached their destination in the Land of Winds. When they arrived, a man wearing all black greeted them. "You're the ones from the Leaf Village, right?" He asked, studying the ninja.

 

"Yes, we're the ones the Hokage sent here." Yumi nodded. "I'm Yumi Uzumaki, the leader for this mission."

 

"Alright. I'm Kankuro, the Kazekage's brother." Kankuro replied. "I'll be taking you to the village we need you all to investigate. It's not far from here." He turned, and began to lead the group off.

Kiniku

 

"The Village Hidden In The Sand... This'll be interesting, no doubt. It's not too often that I personally get to travel to other villages for missions. I wonder how Old Man Gaara is doin'," Kiniku said out loud as he followed Kankuro along with the others.

 

Fujiri

 

"Ahem," Fujiri coughed. "I am also leading this squadron. My name is Fujiri Aburame," he said after Yumi introduced himself. It there was one type of person who he couldn't let ignore him, it had to be a fellow Jonin like Kankuro.

Kankuro smirked after hearing Kiniku's comment. "Sorry kid, but you won't be going to the Sand Village. We're heading to a smaller village within the Land of Winds." He said as he led the group. He also heard Fujiri introduce himself. "An Uzumaki and an Aburame, eh? Interesting combination."

 

Eventually, the group made it to a village in the desert. The village's walls were intact, but when the group entered, they could see that various buildings and structures had been reduced to rubble. The area was completely silent, and devoid of life, excluding the shinobi who had just entered. "This is horrible..." Kiyoshi whimpered.

 

"What could do this much damage and go unnoticed?" Koukon asked as the team walked along a path.

 

"No clue. That's why we asked for your help." Kankuro answered with a grim expression on his face. "We're hoping that you can all look around and find at least a clue that could tell us what happened here. The Leaf has a lot more tracking ninja than we do."

 

Yumi nodded. "We understand. We'll solve the mystery, and make sure that no other villages share this fate."

 

"Thank you, Yumi Uzumaki, and you too, Fujiri Aburame." Kankuro bowed. "I need to return to the Sand Village. Good luck with your search." He ran off, leaving the Leaf shinobi to themselves.

 

"Alright... We should all split off and search for clues." Yumi said to the group. "Fujiri, do you have any suggestions on how we do this?" She asked the other jonin, feeling bad for leaving him out of the introduction earlier.

Fujiri

 

Fujiri acknowledged Kankuro's sign of respect, feeling grateful and also feeling that his own students and peers should show that kind of respect to him more often...

 

Also, after Yumi had asked him: "I believe the best way to do this is to cover as much ground as we can using our numbers. To do this:-" Fujiri lifted his arms above his waist and let the kinkuchi he had hidden inside his body scurry out from his sleeves. The insects crawled along the ground in formation, going off in different directions around the village. "Now, follow my kinkuchi; their senses are very sharp and they are trained to sense chakra," he instructed both Yumi as well as the students.

Edited November 28, 201410 yr by Firaga Sensei

Kiyoshi, Juukou, and Nibai all nodded in response to their teacher. "Yes, Fujiri sensei!" They all said in unison, then chased off after the bugs.

 

"So, they'll take us where we need to go...? This makes the search a lot easier." Koukon said, then began to follow a trail of kinkuchi.

 

Hikari activated her Byakugan. This should help, too... She thought to herself as she walked off in a direction.

 

Yumi also began to chase after a group on kinkuchi, studying her surroundings as she moved.

Kiniku

 

"Roger that, Aburame Sensei!" Kiniku said, trying to cover up that he forgot Fujiri's name for what seems like the umpteenth time for Fujiri. Under his hood and glasses hid a tick mark and a glare towards Kiniku before shaking it off and following along with everybody else and following his kinkuchi.

 

Kiniku followed his own traile thereafter.

Hikari

 

Hikari continued to follow her own trail of kinkuchi through the empty village. She used her Byakugan to scan her surroundings, hoping she could catch something the bugs might miss. Eventually, she decided to deactivate her Byakugan. I should save that for when the kinkuchi actually find something... For now, I'll reserve my energy. As she followed the trail, she eventually noticed that they rounded a corner. She turned... And found herself face to face with Kiniku. Great... Of all the people to meet up with, it had to be him... She quickly decided to continue following her trail, which she noticed had merged with Kiniku's. Could this get any worse?

Kiniku

 

"Oh... uh... yo, Hyugamaki," Kiniku said as he and Hikari faced each other, rather unenthusiastically at that.

Hikari sighed. "... Hey." She muttered, and continued on her way. It looks like we'll have to work together... Why couldn't it have been Koukon I ended up running into? She thought, frustrated by the unlucky turn of events.