Darkness and Shadows

Chapter 8- C-Ranked Mission.

I don't own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, Boruto, or any of their movies. They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto! Enjoy!

Kurisana's POV

"This is Sakura reporting in! The target is ten feet away!" Sakura reported, perched in a tree. "Sauske. Target five feet away." Sauske muttered, probably thinking about how this is a waste of time.

"Kurisana here, target is seven feet away." I muttered into the speaker, looking down from my perch directly above the cat.

There was a long pause. "This is Naruto! The target is nine feet away!"

"Hm... Naruto you are too slow." Kakashi-san scolded, leading me to scoff at how seriously they were taking it.

Naruto leaped off his tree and landed on the cat. As he grasped it in his hand however, it began to frantically scratch him.

"AHHHH I HATE CATSSSSS!!! He yelled into the intercom, leading me to throw the tool away and clutch my ear.

I rolled my eyes as I hopped down, grabbing the cat by the scruff. "Target verified."

The cat hissed and struggled, snagging my clothes as it tried to get away.

I yanked it off of me and shook it slightly.

"It's too fat for you to be holding it by its scruff like that."

I ignored Kurama's advice and held it further away, not wanting to risk it scratching me. 

The cat attempted another swipe at me so I tossed to Sasuke.

The Uchiha grabbed the cat firmly and had it calmed down in about ten seconds.

"Fucking cat lover."

I huffed a laugh as we headed back towards Konaha.

--(Time Skip)--

"Alright! For your next mission, you can choose between walking dogs, cleaning the roads of any garbage, and babysitting the Council's grandchildren." The hokage ordered, making me nod.

"NO WAY!" Naruto yelled, voicing everyone's thoughts. "I don't want any more of these beginner missions! Give us the real ninja missions!" I nodded in agreement but Iruka seemed less than pleased.

"OI! Show more respect for the hokage! You can't just jump from a Academy student to a Jonin so quickly! You have to gain experience so you don't die on your first mission!" Iruka screamed.

The hokage nodded in agreement. "There is a mission system that all ninja must follow. The missions we receive range from babysitting -like the ones you take- to assassinations, like ones Kakashi might be tasked with completing. We give the easiest ones, D-Ranks, to fresh out of the Academy genin like you. As you become a more experienced genin, you will begin to take C-Rank Missions, or escort missions. Your task is to protect the client from armed gangs and robbers." The hokage started, puffing out a cloud of smoke.

"Next are B-Ranks. These are for chunin, they include fighting low ranked ninja while protecting a client. A-Ranked and S-Ranked missions are kept secret depending on importance. These missions are completed by jonin or Anbu. They include assassinations of criminals or protection of a high ranking or heavily wanted client."

I nodded in understanding about his lecture.

I guess that makes sense.

I turned around to share my opinion with Naruto, only to see him rambling about ramen.

"Hey! Are you guys even paying attention?" The hokage cried out.

"I was." I muttered quietly, tapping my foot.

"Hey old man! I'm not just some kid now! I can take on these missions!" Naruto claimed, pointing at the hokage.

There was a moment of silence before the hokage spoke up, "Very well. I suppose you can go on a C-Ranked mission. You will be escorting someone to the Land of Waves."

I faltered. 

"I thought he just said these could be dangerous. We aren't ready for a mission out of Konaha, much less out of the Land of Fire!"

"Hm? There is likely some meddling somewhere."

Naruto's eyes lit up, "Really! Who are we escorting?"

"Calm down Naruto, I'll call him in now." The hokage ordered.

The door burst open to reveal a old drunk man with a bottle of sake in his hand. 

"These twerps are my guards? They look like they won't last a day! Especially the short one with the stupid look on his face!" The drunk yelled, pointing at us, swaying on his feet.

We all lined up to see who he was talking about. Sauske was easily the tallest, a good three inches taller than me, and I wasn't sure if he was even standing up straight.

I looked at Sakura. She was about the same height as me, though I may be taller than her when she removed her headband.

Last time I checked, I stood at around five foot one inch, making me a little over average.

Kurama laughed loudly as I looked at a blinking Naruto. 

"Kami, I hope he hits a growth spurt soon cause he is short as hell. He's comparable to your eye-level!"

Naruto, looking around, seemed to realize the man was talking about him. "Argh! You old man! I'll destroy you!" Naruto yelled.

As Naruto lunged forward, Kakashi-san grabbed the collar of Naruto's shirt as my brother struggled to get away.

"You can't 'destroy' the client Naruto." Kakashi scolded, placing Naruto down.

"Hm. You better keep that brat in line! Besides, I expect you to protect me with your lives!" The bridge builder announced.

"...with our lives? I thought this was C-Rank?" Sakura murmured thoughtfully.

"Civilians often underestimate the power of shinobi. To them, bandits and thieves are a large threat, and they think their power is comparable to that of a shinobi. Of course, this is incorrect. Sakura, you are not a front-line type, but you could easily take down twenty bandits if you were focused enough." I made sure to speak loudly enough that Tazuna could hear.

The bridge builder went into thought as my teammates also began to think.

"Team Seven." Kakashi stated, snapping my teammates out of it, "I'm going to pack my supplies. You should to. Only the essentials. I want all of you at the gate in two hours."

I nodded and swung open the door for them.

Kakashi-san smiled at me slightly and stepped out, guiding the bridge-builder out with him.

Sauske hn'ed and walked off. Naruto followed suit, dashing away, screaming about his "awesome mission."

Sakura looked at me for a moment longer. She bowed her head slightly and jogged off, already pulling a house key out of her pocket.

I sighed and walked forward, looking ahead as Sakura's back turned into another hallway.