Wildfire (A Naruto Fanfic Book 5)

Chapter 38

I felt Itachi nuzzle into my hair.  "We need to go."

I frowned.  "Hmmm."

He chuckled.  "We do have a mission."

I sighed.  "Mhm."  Suddenly, I was picked up and sat on the edge of the bed, scowling.  "You know, we really don't have a timeline here."

He didn't respond as he disappeared into the bathroom.  I huffed and grabbed clothes, going into the guest bathroom.  I quickly showered and braided my hair to fall over one shoulder.  When I stepped out, Itachi was waiting by the door.  I stuck my tongue out at him before slipping on my chain and weapons pouch.

I grabbed his hand, and we were outside Pein's office instantly.  Itachi raised an eyebrow, but I knocked, and we got the permission to enter.  I smirked when I saw who else was there.  "Hey, Blue Gills."

Kisame turned a sharp toothed smile about his lips.  "What's up, Shrimp?"  He looked at Itachi, then down at our hands.  "So..."

I shrugged.  "Things happen."

He didn't take his eyes off Itachi.  "I remember him..."

I flared my nose, releasing his hand.  "Can you not?  We have a mission."

He chuckled and looked at me.  "Scared I'll mess up your pretty boy toy?"

I face palmed and approached the desk.  "Anything I should know?"

Konan smiled.  "Nothing, be safe."

I nodded, but Pein spoke as I turned to leave.  "Kisame, go with them and keep her safe."

I narrowed my eyes over my shoulder.  "I'm sure I'll be fine."  Pein gave me a blank stare, and I bowed slightly.  "As you wish, Pein-sama."

Kisame laughed.  "This should be fun."

I punched his gut.  "Don't cause trouble, Fish Boy."

He rubbed it appreciatively.  "Getting stronger, not up to par just yet, though."  I scowled at him, and we left.  I felt something in the air as we were leaving, but couldn't place what it was.

As we got on the opposite shore, I looked at Itachi, who nodded his head in the direction of the nearest village.  I eyed Kisame.  "Can you lose the get up?"

He looked down at his cloak.  "I could, but why?"

I rolled my eyes.  "Itachi can't lose the headband. This is a Leaf mission."

He smirked.  "So... can't have criminals helping?"  I side eyed him, and he chuckled as he shrugged off the cloak and his slashed headband. 

"Thanks, Fishy."

He shook his head.  "Whatever, Small Fry."  He looked at Itachi, leading the way.  "You don't talk much."

He didn't turn around.  "Hn."

Kisame increased his pace and strode beside him, smirking.  "What was that?"

I rolled my eyes.  "Kisame, the mission."

He smiled back at me and taunted Itachi until we were upon the destroyed village.  We fanned out, searching for clues, and then we regrouped.  Kisame frowned.  "I could only make out one person."

I nodded.  "Strong wind chakra, for sure."

Itachi looked over the scene.  "One person could do all of this?"

Kisame and I exchanged a glance.  "Yeah..."  His gaze rested on me.

I pulled out a map.  "These are the villages that have been attacked.  None of them had anything special of note, and the pattern is seemingly random."  I took note of the damage around us.  "I need living people..."

Itachi observed the map.  "This is the closest..."

I shook my head and pointed to the furthest destroyed village.  "There will be survivors here, but we can stop by here first since it's on the way."

We set off again, and Kisame looked ahead.  "What you thinking, Kid?"

I looked up at him.  "Unless your Hidan or similar, you don't go around destroying people for no reason, and you certainly wouldn't remain in such a close vicinity."

Itachi nodded.  "They're looking for something... or someone."

Kisame punched my shoulder lightly.  "He speaks."

I rolled my eyes.  "If I know what they're looking for, then maybe we can figure out where to go next."

He thought a moment.  "How do you know there will be survivors?"

I smiled.  "Just trust me."  We, mostly I spoke to some villagers as we passed through, then looked at another village that had been attacked.  I took note that Earth Nature charka was largely used there.

Finally, we made it to my suggested place.  "Wait here."  I left them at the edge and went to the other side, disappearing behind a barrier.  The ones who made it through looked up and were notably relieved.  "Lady Kunoichi..."

I went to a familiar woman, though I couldn't recall her name.  "What happened?"

Tears formed in her eyes.  "There were four of them... they started attacking and asking about a scroll."

I furrowed my brow.  "A scroll?"

She nodded.  "I couldn't tell you what's in it, but those that could came here.  They gave up after spending half a day trying to break the barrier.  They're strong, My Lady."

I pat her hand.  "I'll be fine.  I'll let you know when it's safe to emerge."  She nodded, and I went back to the other two.  "A scroll... all this destruction for a scroll."

Kisame frowned.  "Must be something powerful about it."

I nodded.  "There are four of them, and it seems each take out their own village..."

Itachi looked around and then gestured for the map.  "Wind nature was here... Earth here... looks like water where we stand."

I sat on my heels, looking around, trying to pick out small details.  "And lightning..."  He followed my gaze to several trees near the barrier.  "Hmmm."

I scanned the perimeter as Kisame watched in amusement.  "Where to next?"

I smirked at him.  "You'll have your fight, Simple Shark."

He chuckled.  "Better sooner than later, Short Stack."

I shook my head and then looked at the map again, following the pattern with my eyes.  "Let's go to the center of all of this... see what we find along the way."  The men nodded, and we left.

Kisame looked back at the village.  "What's with the barrier?"

I smiled.  "An experiment of sorts at this point... they helped me out, so I made it.  Didn't expect it to hold up this long, though."

Itachi looked down at me.  "It saved lives..."

I shrugged.  "A successful test, I suppose."  The corners of his mouth turned down, but he said nothing further.  He should know by now that it was never truly my intention.