Wind and Fire Chapter 4

Kankuro's eyes flickered open.  He never slept well on nights before missions.  He had been doing this sort of work for nearly 10 years now and he was beginning to accept this as something that would never change about him.  He looked over at the clock.  It read 3:47am.  

Damn, he thought to himself as he lie there pondering his next move.  Go back to sleep?  Unlikely even if he tried.  It was only a minute later when he swung his legs over the side of his bed and he popped up bound to get things underway.  

At least today is only a travel day.  Even without a lot of sleep I should be alright.  

First he tackled the basics....washing his face, brushing his teeth, and getting dressed.  He then made his way to the small kitchen to get a quick bite to eat before packing and being on his way.  

The folder was left on the kitchen table last evening.  He opened it to glance at the information inside once again.  There really wasn't much there to be honest.  Just the guy's name, location, and a list of some of the crimes he had committed.  One thing that caught Kankuro's attention was the puppetry.  Some of the crimes had been rather brutal to be honest and he wondered how someone with a love for puppetry similar to his own could use them in such a sadistic way.  That's when he thought of Sasori and he quickly considered his own question answered.

After breakfast, he closed the folder and inserted it into the pack he had planned to bring with him.  He added some food rations, fire starter, and a bottle of water as well.

I guess that's it...I'm ready, except for....

He stepped into the bathroom for a few minutes before emerging with full Kabuki paint on his face.

It's time to get going...

He left his small home and made his way to the front gate of Suna.  No, it wasn't actually a gate.  It was more like a small crack between two giant rock walls; a crack that was easily guarded by the shinobi of Suna.  It was the one and only easy way in and out of the village.

Kankuro reached the entrance of the long portal to the desert in no time.  It was still dark out with only a red haze in the eastern sky to indicate the approaching sunrise.  This time of day everything was so peaceful.  The only people he passed were those regular hardworking citizens who were up early preparing for the long workday ahead.  

"Um, sensei?" said a voice from a nearly hidden person within the passageway.  Kankuro surely had his guard down given where he was and what he was doing, but he just barely caught sight of the figure of a person as he sprinted past him.  He immediately put on the brakes and turned around.

"Kankuro-sensei?" said the figure, now walking towards him.

Kankuro bent over, hands on knees to catch his breath.   "Who.....are......you?"

"Jento is my name.  It's very nice to meet you," said the now visible shinobi boy looked like he was in his early teens.  

"Can I help you?" Kankuro asked, still a little confused.

"Oh, yes.  I was told that I would be going on a mission with you today.  It's just the two of us, actually," Jento explained to his much more experienced counterpart.

"And who exactly assigned you to this mission?" Kankuro asked.  And why wasn't I told about it?

"I was told the orders came from the Kazekage himself," Jento explained.  "I see that you were, in fact, unaware of my having been assigned.  I was actually told that it was probably the case, which is why I am here so early.  Since this is the entrance and exit to the village, I knew that you'd be by.  I also know that you tend to get started on missions outside of the village very early.  So I stood here waiting for you."

Kankuro sighed.  This wasn't the first time that additional personnel were assigned to missions without his knowledge.  Gaara must have thought it best for this shinobi to accompany him, so there was nothing to do but trust his brother.

"Jento, you are a genin, correct?" Kankuro asked.  Jento nodded.  "What is your specialty?  Are you a member of the puppet corps?  Nah, you can't be.  I would have met you by now since I teach puppetry at the Academy."

"You are correct, sensei.  I am not talented in the realm of puppetry," explained Jento.  "I am more of a strategist actually.  I am not all that powerful, but they tell me that my intellect is actually quite high.  I retain most information that I'm privy to."

Oh great...a guy who probably thinks he knows it all.  I guess I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, for now.

"Well, not only should we get to know each other a little bit, but we should discuss the expectations of this mission," said Kankuro.  "Let's get going...we have three days of travel before we arrive at the Leaf.  That should be plenty enough time for us to talk."

And with that, Kankuro took the lead ahead of Jento and started on the trip to Konoha.

OlOlOlOlOlOlO

"Hey Izumo.  Kotetsu.  How are things at the gate today?" asked Sakura.

"Quiet, as usual," Izumo answered the pink-haired kuniochi.  "What do we owe the pleasure?"

"We're expecting company," answered Sakura.

"Well, we're always expecting someone, aren't we?" questioned Izumo.  For whatever reason, somehow both he and Kotetsu were assigned at the front gate to Konoha more often than not.

"There's a new mission and I'm on it," started Sakura.  "It's a joint mission with the Sand."

"So they let you out of the hospital?" Kotetsu asked.

"Exactly.  I'm officially off duty at the hospital and I had a little time on my hands.  They are due about now, so I figured I'd take a stroll to visit you guys and see if anyone's getting close," said Sakura.

"So how has life as a medical shinobi been lately?" Kotetsu asked.

"Not bad," answered Sakura, noting that she was now involved in what was known as small talk.  Although she was acquaintances with both Izumo and Kotetsu, they certainly weren't on her list of close friends.  But it was nice that they wanted to drive up a conversation no matter how light the topic.  

The small talk lasted a good ten minutes before Sakura figured that she wasn't going to be lucky enough to greet any Sand shinobi as they arrived at the village.  It just wasn't her lucky day.

"If they do come, feel free to send a messenger for me.  Like I said, they are coming for a joint mission that I'm on and I'm more than happy to be their escort," said Sakura.  "There's no sense calling for anyone else."  

"We sure will," said Kotetsu.  "Thanks for letting us know."

Sakura started walking away from the two guards.  Their gaze followed her as she started to walk back into the village.  She turned and gave them a friendly wave.  

It was right at that moment that Izumo suddenly noticed a new presence in front of him and the sound of someone clearing his throat.  

"Whoa!" Izumo shouted.  He hadn't even noticed anyone approaching.  

"Well if it isn't Kankuro from the Village Hidden in the Sand," said Kotetsu.  

"...and friend?" added Izumo noticing a much smaller shinobi standing in Kankuro's shadow.

"Sakura!" Kotetsu had the presence of mind to call after her.  Sakura turned and noticed the new figures who had just arrived.  She jogged back over to the desk at the gate.

Kankuro noticed Sakura coming over and his mind was once again reminded of that dream from the other night.  Sakura's mind played the same tricks and she found herself thinking of her dream.  Each thought how ironic it was to be meeting with someone they only recently dreamt about not very long ago.

"Kankuro, I see you made it.  Welcome," Sakura greeted her fellow shinobi.  "How was your journey?"

"We had no problems at all.  I just had to go a little slower this time to allow Jento a little breathing room," Kankuro said to Sakura.

"Jento?" she questioned.

Hearing his name, Jento stepped up and nodded his head at Sakura.  She smiled at his polite gesture.  

"My name's Sakura Haruno.  I'm a jonin here in Konoha and I'm also on this joint mission with you.  Feel free to ask me for anything you might need while you are here," she said.  

"Thank you," Jento replied.  Sakura Haruno?  She was the one who...

"Are they ready to go in?" Sakura asked.  She turned her gaze to the two gatekeepers just to make sure entrance into the village was ok.

"They're all signed in," noted Izumo.  

"Shall we then?" Sakura gestured with her hand, indicating it was ok to start walking.  

Sakura escorted the two shinobi to the building where their room was for the night.  After a three day journey, a nice hot shower was definitely welcome.  There was little time for rest, however.   They wanted to get a bite to eat before the meeting with the Hokage and his advisors was set to begin early that afternoon.  

"Where would you like to eat?" Sakura asked.

"Is there a place to get sushi nearby?" Jento asked.

"Strike that," Kankuro immediately interrupted.  "We'd probably best get something quick and near the tower so we are definitely not late to the meeting."

"Don't worry Jento, we can do sushi this evening.  How about we hit the noodle shop right across the street from Hokage tower?  It's actually quite good."

"Yes, that sounds fine," said Jento.  

They made their way to the noodle shop where they were served their orders in no time at all.  They took seats at a long table with benches instead of chairs.

"This is actually quite good," Jento noted after slurping in a spoonful of noodles.

"How is yours Kankuro?" Sakura asked.  

"Hm-mmm," he tried to answer with noodles sticking out of his mouth.

Just then another shinobi sat down next to Sakura.  "Hey."

Kankuro noted someone now sitting on his other side as well.  "Kankuro, I see you made it."

This trip was Jento's first time outside of his village as a shinobi and he was not sure about these two new shinobi who had just sat down.  But based on what they looked like and the research he had done he had a pretty good idea who they were.

He practically fell over himself trying to get up from the table.  "Uh....oh....Lord Hokage, I'm.....," he mumbled as he tried to stop looking like a idiot practically falling to the ground in his haste.

"Jento, what are you doing?" Kankuro chided his fellow Sand shinobi.  

"Sensei, isn't that....the Hokage sitting next to you?" he asked.

"Yeah, so what?  He's a good friend of mine," Kankuro answered.  "There's a time and place for formality and this noodle shop isn't it."

Jento felt like a bit of a fool.  He turned a bit pink as he carefully sat back down at the table so he could finish the rest of his lunch.  

"Naruto, Shikamaru, this is Jento.  He is on this mission with me.  He's genin, but I'm told he's quite a sharp thinker which is why he was sent on this mission," explained Kankuro.

"Sharp thinker?  Perhaps someone to try to rival me?" Shikamaru quipped.

"I'm sure no one will ever be as smart as you, Shikamaru," said Sakura jokingly appeasing her friend's ego.  "Though, I would bet on a Suna shinobi over you for matters involving the Sand."

"You never know....I know quite a bit about....," Shikamaru started to answer, but noted pretty quickly that he was taking this much too seriously.

"So Naruto, who is going to be on this mission?" Kankuro asked.  

"The two of you, Sakura and probably one more from the Leaf.  I haven't decided who yet though...we'll discuss that this afternoon," Naruto answered.  

"I can tell you who it won't be," Shikamaru added.

"Yeah, I know already," said Kankuro.  "You're headed to Cloud."

"Hey, how did you....oh, right," Shikamaru said flatly.  

"Don't worry.  Temari will be there.  She wanted this mission until she heard you were going to Cloud for the Raikage's celebration," noted Kankuro.  

"She is?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Let me just say this once....I don't know what you two are up to, but do not hurt my sister," said Kankuro.  

"I wouldn't dream of it," Shikamaru replied with a smile.