The Akatsuki's New Target

Chapter 1: Team 13

"I hate espionage mission. If this one was at least an A-Rank mission it wouldn't be that bad," I said. I jumped through the trees with the slightest of ease.

"Isn't this the first B-Rank mission we've been on in almost three months? If I were Hokage, this is the last mission I'd send Team 13 on. We're the worst tracking ninjas in Konaha. Even Squad 7 is better at spying on people," Okami said.

"And don't they have that Naruto trouble-maker kid on their team? I'd think the enemy would catch them before they were within the boarders of their country," Yoru added.

"Yeah, Naruto was a trouble-maker when he was still at the academy. He only did it to get noticed because he was rejected," I paused for a second, reflecting on my own time at the academy.

*Flashback* (F.Y.I.: I put my flashbacks, dreams, etc. in Italics)

"Today class, we will be working with the Clone Technique. The hand signs to complete this Ninjutsu are: Ram, then Snake, and lastly, Tiger!"

"Look Iruka-sensei! I did it! I did it!"

"What-? Kasai, you couldn't have done it yet. I've only said the hand signs once. I think you should probably practice the signs fir-"

"NO! I can do it now! Watch me do it now, Sensei!" I argued. I was quite a stubborn child. "Ram, Snake, Tiger!" I said as I did the hand signs. As my hands formed the Tiger sign, two holograms of myself appeared, one on my left, one on my right. "SEE?!?!?!?!? I told you I could do it! But you didn't believe me!"

"Ok, ok. You were right and I was wrong."

"YAY!!!! What are we going to work on next, Sensei?" I asked avidly.

"Well, we can't move on to another Ninjutsu until everyone in the class can do this one. Why don't you keep practicing this one until we move on, ok Kasai?" Iruka-sensei said impatiently.

"But I wanna move on now! I wanna keep getting stronger so I can be a Shinobi soon!"

"No! First off, you will be a great Kunoichi, since you're a girl. Shinobi are boys."

"I don't care if I'm a Kunoichi, Shinobi, or some other -bi! I just want to be as strong as I can possibly be-"

"You need to wait for your classmates. Just because you pick up a new Ninjutsu in one try, it doesn't mean that everyone else in the class can!"

"But I-"

"I don't want to hear it, Kasai!"

"But-"

"NO! Now go to your seat so your classmates can have a turn to try this new jutsu!"

"But-"

"NO!!!!!!" Iruka-sensei was furious at me. I looked him straight in the eyes and he told me 'no' one more time, just with his stare. I could feel his eyes and it made my spine shiver. I felt the shame and averted my eyes to the ground. I slowly made my way to my desk.

"Did you see how that girl was acting like a brat?"

"Yeah. She thinks that she's so special because she can master a Jutsu in one try," I heard all these comments and more as I made my way back to my seat. I sat down and put my head on my desk and  quietly started to cry. Not because the other kids in the room were making fun of me, but because they were making fun of me in front of Yume.

*Flashback end* (Flashbacks, dreams etc. end when the Italics end)

I was always rejected in the Academy. Just like Naruto. Except the reason they hated me was because I was just so good, not because of the Nine Tails. I'm not trying to brag, everything just came to me easily. It wasn't my fault. They thought I was a show-off. I was just being myself.

"He isn't much of a trouble-maker anymore though. He hasn't needed to show off anymore. He has gotten noticed because he is out training with Jiraiya, one of the Sannin!! He's been gone for almost three years now," I reminded my team. "He's also the jinchuriki of the Nine Tails. That's what got him rejected."

"It has also gotten him noticed though," Yoru said. "The Hoakge is keeping an eye out for the Akatsuki. They seem to be after the Tailed Beasts. They already have the Five Tails. If they go after the others, it won't be long before they start looking for him."

"Rumor has it they've gotten the Seven Tails recently too," Okami added. "The Seven Tails' jinchuriki was from Takigakure. I think her name was Fu or something. But they got her pretty fast."

"That's why we're here. The Hokage expects that for the Akatsuki to get the Seven Tails that fast, they must have had at least one member from Takigakure. Lady Tsunade expects us to scout the village and find this member(s) and capture him/them," Yoru finished.

"That's why she sent us, a team of sixteen year old Jonin, who happen to be the most awesome ninja in all of Konaha!" Okami added with pride.

"But Lady Tsunade knows that we aren't good at tracking," I argued.

"Kasai, not to be mean, but you're not good at tracking. We are on the other hand," Okami boasted, gesturing at himself and Yoru. That was the last thing he said before I punched him in the face.

"WHY ON EARTH DID YOU DO THAT?!?!?!?!?!?" Okami yelled at me.

"BECAUSE YOU DESERVED IT!!!!!!" I yelled back.

"WELL, I OUGHT TO SUMMON HIKARI AND KURAI TO TEACH YOU A LESSON!!!!"

"ONLY BECAUSE YOU CAN'T BEAT ME YOURSELF!!!!"

"WHY YOU LITTLE-"

"Guys, I would suggest you stop, before I kill you," Yoru said. That's one of the things about Yoru. He is absolutely silent with everything he does. He had made two shadow clones, gave them kunai, and held them at Okami's throat as well as my own.

"We're sorry, Yoru," Okami and I said simultaneously.

"Good. Because we have company," Yoru informed us. "Better get ready. There are a lot of them."

"Finally, some action instead of this stupid espionage stuff," I said with anticipation. "Get ready, you Takigakure ninja, for Kasai Hono, the flame of Konaha!"

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OMG! This was so much fun to wright! I know I've already dedicated something to to lizzyuchiha but she inspired me to write this so I want to dedicate this chapter to her. So, if you have any questions, comments, or feedback, feel free to leave me a comment or contact me in some way, shape, or form. This isn't going to be a super long story so the chapters will be kind of short. This chapter is a little shorter than some of the other chapters, but I haven't written them yet so don't hold me to what this says. Thanks for reading "The Akatsuki's New Target"! God Bless and Peace Out!

~VS