“Eh?” The ninja’s head cocked back, a quizzical gaze in his eye. A tall shinobi stood before him, wearing a light green vest over his blue shirt. “That’s right, Senpai,” the man began, removing his ANBU mask to reveal the serious, all-business face of Yamato. “The Fifth Hokage wants you in the Office.” With that, the man placed the ANBU mask on his face, the ears sticking slightly above his light brown hair, and jumped away, off of the windowsill. Kakashi grumbled, closing the book as he sat – annoyed – on his bed. He brushed his spiky, silver hair as he stepped out onto the windowsill, shutting the window behind him. Flying into the air, the famous Copy Ninja moved swiftly to the Hokage Building.

“Hokage-sama?” He asked, entering through the large door. Files beyond files were stacked on her desk, ants crawled around the oak legs, and ink stains cluttered his desk, ruining her superior posture as she nodded to Kakashi. Tsunade motioned for him to step closer, her eyes red – for she was obviously sleeping – and her tangled into a messy blond chignon. “Yamato-kun said that you-“ Kakashi was given no chance to speak as the door creaked open, and a brown eye gazed through the crack. “Tsuande-sama,” the voice began, and Tsunade grimaced. “Come on in, Shizune,” the Hokage grumbled.

“What business must I do now, Shizune?” Nervously, the Hokage’s assistant – and well-equipped Jounin – entered the room, holding files in her hand. “Sakura-chan’s training is progressing along well, and she has certainly grown stronger , and more . . . violent.” The woman shuddered as she was obviously reminiscing the bruise given to the bum who had been peaking on them. Kakashi chuckled, never afraid to tease, even to his superiors. “Taking after her master, I see.” Tsunade turned to Kakashi, still tired from the strenuous amount of missions she was to assign. Sometimes, she thought, I wish they would’ve just chosen Jiriaya, as big of a fool as he is.

“Very good, Shizune. Run along now, and make sure Sakura is worked to her hardest.” She waited for the Medical Ninja to leave, before she turned back to Kakashi, not once forgetting his presence during her talk with her assistant. “Kakashi, we got a message from a Sunagakure bird this morning. Apparently a pair of two odd, Kirigakure Missing-Nin have entered their Village, and their guards have all testified that they never saw them come in. They seem dangerous, and since Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai are out right now, and ANBU needs to stay here to protect the Village, I need you to go over there and help them out.” She awaited Kakashi’s answer, his one eye staring blankly at the Hokage.

“Oh no, don’t tell me you want me to bring –“ His answer was cut short, and in a moment of desperation he turned to see who was opening the door. “Here, Hokage-sama! I won!” A tall, muscular teenager stood with thumbs up stretching out. His green training suit and black bowl-cut identified him in a flash, and Kakashi slapped his hand to his forehead, the ANBU gloves leaving a mark. “Lee, Neji, and TenTen!” He shook his head as a jet black, long-haired man entered, a white garb covering his body and leaving the top of his chest bare. “Hyuuga Neji present.” Then, as if on cue, a girl came flying through the doors, obviously trying to get there second in order to impress . . . someone. “TenTen is here! See that, Neji? I was just behind you the whole way!”

Her eyes shone with innocence, but Neji’s clouded, blank eyes simply gazed toward Tsunade, not even dignifying her with an answer. “Great job, TenTen!” Lee yelled, attempting to give her an encouraging high-five. “Oh, whatever Lee,” TenTen pouted as she brushed him off, her eyes now curving into sadness.

Meanwhile, Kakashi flipped his head back to the Hokage. “Well,” he sighed, “if I must…” Truthfully, he was enthralled to be able to work with them. They were willing, prepared, and excited – not like Sasuke or Sakura was, and not as annoying as Naruto. Except Lee. Anyhow, there was no denying Tsunade, and he was eager to see how much Neji had improved. The powerful Jounin stood and sauntered past the three, pushing the door open. “Come on – I’ll meet you at the Gate and brief you there.”

Later on, Neji, Lee, and TenTen waited outside the Gate, grumbling about Kakashi’s absence. “Where is he?” TenTen groaned, her eyes still fixed on Neji. “I’m sure that he must have his reasons – if he is worthy of Gai-sensei’s rivalry, he is definitely a competent shinobi!” He said this with a strong conviction, his large dark eyes staring into the open space. Neji, however, shrugged. “Perhaps he’s just reading a book. Gai told us that reading is his number one weakness.” TenTen nodded, throwing her opinion – or rather, Neji’s opinion -- into the fray. “Yeah, Neji’s right! Gai said that Kakashi had two weaknesses – reading and laziness.” She said, but was quickly interrupted by Lee, who simply had to correct her. “Three weaknesses, TenTen. Gai says that Kakashi isn’t as dashingly handsome as he is.” TenTen rolled her soft, brown eyes, brushing her hand through her light brown hair, feeling it hit the two buns she fashioned. I’m not as strong as Neji or Lee, but I will prove that I am not a weak Shinobi!

A puff of smoke appeared, and Kakashi’s lean figure was leaned against the rail between the path and the gates. “There you are – I was wondering if you’d ever show up.” Neji and TenTen’s mouth opened in agonizingly annoyed fashions, while Lee on the other hand, smiled inwardly. “That’s Gai-sensei’s rival for you,” he muttered approvingly. “What do you mean?” TenTen gasped, “We were waiting for you!”

Kakashi shrugged, his eye checking the three of them. “Yes, well, I was helping an old lady to get her cat out from a tree.” Neji’s censorious glance mixed with his disapproving tone as he shot out a question at the Copy Ninja. “It took you an hour?” Kakashi blinked once. Kakashi blinked twice. Kakashi blinked thrice. “It was a tall tree.” And with that, he headed out, barking orders back to them. “Hurry up, guys – I’ll brief you on the way!”

- - -

Sunagakure

Heat poured down on the red-headed ninja, his green eyes staring out into the Village from the roof of his building. Gaara watched as his Village went about its normal way of life – children played, merchants set up stands to sell goods, and mothers gazed at their child from afar, silently ensuring that they were out of trouble. He smiled dimly, now accepting the love that his family and Village provided for him. Never before had he felt so . . . welcomed. He loved his job to protect the Village, and nothing in the world could surpass the satisfaction of being able to protect his friends. “Gaara?” A voice called out and the teenager knew who it was. No one else dared to call him by his first name so lovingly and kindly. “Yes, Kankuro?” He called back, turning to see his brother at the top of the stairs.

Purple make-up covered the Jounin’s eyes and lips as the knapsack of scrolls clattered together while he strolled over the cobblestones. Gaara’s tall figure was covered by a similar black uniform, and their eyes were the same shape, but the older brother – Kankuro – still towered his younger brother, shadowing his figure. The silhouette of Gaara’s gourd could be seen by all those who were staring up at the Kazekage building’s roof – more specifically, two certain people. A man and a woman, garbed in blue tunics and black sandals, stared malignantly up at the two brothers. They grimaced as Kankuro joined his younger brother, and they knew from simple intuition that the two Suna shinobi were discussing their arrival in the Village.

From the top of a line of homes, they could see most of the Village, but their eyes were fixed upon Gaara. “Takara,” the man said, unafraid to be heard, for if anyone was to challenge them, he was confident that they would not be defeated, “do you think we shall be seen as heroes in our Village for this? We left so abruptly after my father’s murder . . . I’m certain that some people found it suspicious.” The woman stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around his strong body. “Oh, Ryou-kun,”  she replied softly, “if we remove every Kage from every Village and make our Village the strongest of all, every man, woman, and child from Kirigakure shall praise us. No one shall even remember your father’s murder.” She spoke with the soft conviction that Ryou fell in love with, and he held her tightly, resting his head upon hers, breathing in the fragrance of her beautiful black hair. His black hair was cut short, falling shy of his collar, and they both had the same vivid blue eyes.

“Takara, I love you. When we return to Kirigakure and I am made Mizukage, I will buy you everything you want and more. Not once will we ever have to be shadowed by those who believed I killed my father, and no more will we slave for that fool of a Mizukage. Kiri will rise to the top, and you and I shall rule the Village. After that . . . we will rule every Village.  Nothing stands in our way! We are Ryou and Takara – the ultimate fighting force! Our love alone will crush those who have none.” Takara falsely embraced him, her red lips curving into a sly grin. “Yes, Ryou-kun, our love will crush all.”

But she had different intentions. Ryou would never be made the Mizukage, because he would be dead before they returned. Takeshi Takara – future Mizukage!