The Flower That Will Someday Wilt |Naruto Fanfic|

Chapter 20

Ai/Itami POV

"What? A bunch of snot-nosed kids? And that little one with a weird face, you expect me to believe you're really a ninja?" The drunk scoffed, taking a swig of his sake.

"Haha! Who's the little one with the weird face?" Naruto obliviously asked, making Sasuke and Sakura line up. I didn't bother to, until I was pulled along by Sakura. I was only a few inches taller than Sakura, and a few inches shorter than Sasuke. I'm sure Naruto will be taller than us in about... 2 years or so. Hopefully.
I smiled and was about to tell Naruto it was okay, until he tried to destroy the man, as he put it.

Luckily, Kakashi held him back and scolded him. "I am Tazuna, the master bridge builder, and I expect you to take me to my home safely, even if it risks your lives." He introduced, making me suspicious.

This is a C Ranked Mission, correct? Then why do we have to risk our lives? I thought, narrowing my eyes at him.
It wasn't long until he noticed me staring at him intently, making him fidget but he hid it with insults. "And you, do you really believe that someone so innocent and fragile could be a ninja?" He sneered, making the Hokage chuckle, not in a warm way, but in a somewhat nervous way. Kakashi, on the other hand, seemed to be planning his funeral. And Naruto....

"Hey! Don't make fun of my friend!" He shouted, charging at him once again. I stopped him though, making paper cover around his mouth so he wouldn't talk, and, at the same time, be too busy trying to remove it.

"I'm sorry about his antics, but rest assured, we will take you back home safely." I told him, making him shocked. His remark did not offend me whatsoever, I knew that it was just a stall. And I had to agree, I did look fragile and innocent.

He cleared his throat and muttered a, "Yeah, sure." before heading off to our meeting point, which was at the front gate. As everyone went home, I fluttered off in a pack of butterflies and took an already-made backpack. You see, as an ANBU, you had no time to pack, so we had to do it earlier. I had a backpack for missions, with a rank, for training, and for traveling, different areas with different necessities. Since I had been obsequious, I took both the mission pack and traveling pack, from the Mist area, of course.

I flew off again and landed beside Kakashi, who was early. The man seemed to jump as he caught sight of me appearing from nowhere. Kakashi simply nodded, having had felt me coming. Soon, we were all grouped together and took a step out of the village. Naruto was bouncing everywhere, seeming to be ostentatious. He probably had not thought about possibly being followed by enemy ninja. But I couldn't help but smile at his childishness. He always seems to get rid of tension.

We walked for quite a distance, me listening to Kakashi tell Sakura how The Land Of Waves does not have ninja while I observed my surroundings. I didn't make it noticeable, just staring at things from the corners of my eyes and listening for footsteps. And that's when I felt it, plus, I saw it. A puddle, on a humid day, where it hasn't rained in weeks. I pretended as if it was never there as I passed it, knowing full well that Kakashi had seen it to. Since he was behind me, I had sent him the ANBU code hand signs. It's not much of an achievement, it's just watching hands move left and right, up and down. It also seems obscure, which it is. It took me six months just to comprehend and memorize.

Then, not a couple meters away, I felt the pursuers leave the puddle making their way here. I turned just in time to see Kakashi being cut into pieces by the chains. I was not shocked, nor frightened, since I knew he had used a substitution. Kakashi isn't so easily killed, after all, he is former ANBU captain.

Looking at the enemies, I recognized them as Mist Ninja, making me narrow my eyes. It's better to wait and see who their target is. It's either us, or Tazuna. And, just as they ran towards me, aiming to kill, I used a paper clone to take my place, me fluttering off to where Kakashi was. The man's claw dug into her heart, her showing faked pain as she coughed out fake blood. Soon, she dropped to the dirt, making Sakura scream in horror and Naruto freeze, like everything inside him had just fallen to pieces. He looked on the verge of tears as he watched as a pool of fake blood surrounded her.

Until, he lost it. "Itami!"

My lovely people, hello. And, sorry for late updates and horrible writing, I've been busy. I've been depressed lately and I can't seem to find any motivation to speak, but I still have the passion to write. My goal for this story is to finish it, with, possibly, 60+ chapters. I wouldn't mind going to 80. So, I'll see you on the next update.

ThatRandomLoveStory-