The Akatsuki's New Target

Chapter 3: Team 17; Kujaku, Hachidori, and Karasu

"Wow, we scared them so much, I think that guy Tora must have wet his pants," Okami joked as we made our way through the gates of Konaha after a long days walk from the forest outside Takigakure.

"I know right!" I agreed. "I especially loved the part when I jumped out from my disguise as the big shuriken and kicked him in the face!!! That was the best part by far."

"Well none of it would have happened if you didn't have such an awesome strategist on your team," Yoru said, puffing with pride.

"I do have to admit, that was some pretty smart thinking, thinking that since they were from Takigakure, you knew they'd know water style Jutsu. If they didn't know water style Jutsu, we would have been screwed back there. We would have had to use your back up plan, which was good, but I liked this plan more. Good thinking," I told Yoru as I patted him on the back.

"I wonder what we should do next...," Okami asked.

"I don't know. Maybe we should see the Hokage and tell her about a mission clear," I suggested.

"But I don't want to now!" Okami whined.

"Well then, what should we do?" I asked, before a certain someone wearing an orange jumpsuit caught my eye. "I'll let you two figure out something to do. I just realized there's someone I need to catch up with," I said.

"Awwwww, does someone want to go see their crush?!" Okami teased.

"NO! All I was going to do was go say 'hi' to Naruto, you idiot!" I yelled as I smacked Okami across the face.

"Ok, ok, I admit it, I deserved that one," Okami said as he fell down from the blow.

"Can I trust you not to leave him out here all night and get him home safely?" I asked Yoru sarcastically.

"I can't make any promises," Yoru said, seeming to be quite honest.

"Well, that's good enough for me," I agreed and walked off to find the boy. I ran to the one place I knew I would find him even if the world was ending: the Ichiraku Ramen shop.

I walked up to the bar but didn't see the boy. "Hey, have you seen Naruto around?" I asked Teuchi. (Teuchi is the man who owns the shop.)

"I don't think he's back in the village yet because if he was, he's have been here already," Teuchi replied.

"That's strange," I thought aloud.

"I just saw him run in front of here, but he didn't stop," Ayame (the guy's daughter) said, coming from the kitchen.

"I know! That's not like him," I stated aloud. "I guess he must-"

"Hey, Kasai! Long time, no see!" I heard a familiar voice call. I turned around and looked into those huge blue eyes. His bright yellow hair was a contrast from his usual orange jumpsuit. A smile was printed on his face along with the three little lines that ran across his cheeks.

"Hey Naruto!!! How have you been?! What was it like training with Jiraiya? What did he teach you? Can you teach me? I'll be able to pick it up quickly, I promise!" I said with excitement.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold your horses, Kasai! Don't you want to catch up first before I start teaching you things?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, I guess that would be better than diving right in," I conceded. "Wanna talk over ramen?" I asked.

"Nah, let's go sit under the tree at the Academy and talk," He replied. I was startled by this response, but I did as he wanted. We waved goodbye to Teuchi and Ayame, who looked at each other in confusion, and started walking away from Ichiraku's and went towards the Academy. We stopped at the swing and sat underneath the tree.