Completely On Purpose

Chapter 4

Sasuke and Naruto reported to the gates to Konoha at 5 am the next morning. There to greet them were Shikamaru, Sakura, Sai, Kakashi, and Yamato. Sasuke felt a warmth in his heart to see all of his former team back together, even if only for this brief period. Sasuke and Naruto faced toward the village, while the rest stood with their backs to it.

"So, you two are aware of what you're meant to do?" Kakashi stood in his Hokage garb, the long robe coming just above his ankles and his hat slung across his back. He looked so stark in the dark of the morning, it was hard for Sasuke to pay attention to what they were meant to be saying. "Oh, y-yeah, I remember."

Naruto spoke then to list the first part of their instructions. "They won't expect anyone from a hidden village to be coming for them, so it's appropriate enough to reach our destination together, we won't have to travel apart. Once we're there, we report to..." Naruto pulled his sleeve up slightly so that he could see something he'd written there. Sasuke sighed in exasperation.

"Arashi Yume," Sasuke supplied. Naruto nodded and made a sound like he finally remembered. "Yeah, yes. She's going to give us more information, further instructions." Kakashi nodded, feeling satisfied that they knew what they were going to do. "Seems that you understand. We expect you to be there in a week's time, and as such will be expect some confirmation of arrival shortly after that."

Kakashi stepped forward. "Now, just because there are no known enemy shinobi does not mean that you should go into the situation with your guard down. Obviously, this is a problem that can't be fixed by their ordinary means. Remain vigilant. It won't do us any good if either of you is captured due to negligence." Kakashi placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "Come back in one piece. We have faith in you." He was smiling.

Sasuke's face grew pink at the attention, so he turned his gaze to each of his friends behind him. Sakura and Sai were smiling too, though there was a clear difference in the level of emotion. Sasuke wasn't as used to Sai as everyone else was, so it was still slightly unsettling that he didn't know how to smile, not really. Shikamaru had his hands on his hips, and he was watching with one of the most bored expressions Sasuke had ever seen. Captain Yamato's gaze was more fixed on Naruto, and filled with worry.

"Arigatō, sensei," Naruto said, and Sasuke echoed him. Sasuke didn't remember the last time he'd been on a real, official mission, didn't remember the last time he'd left the village on official business. There was nothing much left to say, so after one last nod, Naruto and Sasuke were on their way.

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Naruto was terrible at reading maps.

"I mean, where even are we? Where did we start? Where are we fucking going?" Sasuke growled as he snatched the map. "Just give it here, you're useless. First of all, it's upside down," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes as he turned it right side-up. They had decided to save their strength and walk starting out, so that they wouldn't be exhausted by running when it really mattered.

"We started from here, and now we're probably right here, and we're going here. Kakashi literally marked it for us." Sasuke pointed with each corresponding here slowly, so that maybe Naruto might be able to pick up on what he was saying. Their chakra was in the map so that they'd always be able to know where they were. The little dots were moving even as Sasuke pointed to them. Naruto's face lit up when it finally sunk in. "Oh, I get it now!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes again and folded the map back up carefully. "Maps are not hard to read. How do you ever know where you're going?" Naruto shrugged. "I don't know; most of the time I don't even know where I'm going. I usually get blown off course, either way. I always end up where I need to be," he said matter-of-factly, crossing his arms and making a smug face.