alliancesjr | Theater of War, Chapter Two

Took me a while, because I kept going back and changing things. I think I finally settled on how I want this chapter to look, though. Again, comments are wonderful, and criticism is definitely helpful; there are a few parts of this that don't seem to flow right to me, and I'm not sure how to change them.

Chapter Two
In which actual canon characters exist, Gendou gets to be Gendou, plot thickens, and Hiroshi has a touching family moment.

* * * * *

Hiroshi grinned as he scanned the rooftops. Every so often, he'd catch a flicker of motion, trailing them through Konoha. He shook his head, turning his attention back on their destination.

His mother's merchandise cart was no longer being used to carry the struggling Sound spy. They had escorted Misato to her shop, helped her unpack the cart, and carried the bound ninja bodily through the streets towards the administration building. Since then, Hiroshi had noticed a pair of ANBU watching over them, making sure their deposit in the dungeons was made successfully.

Konoha's administrative building was set against the cliff wall, directly underneath the Hokage memorial. It was symbolic, how the faces of five of Konoha's leaders watched over the entire village from high above while the clockwork of the village ran underneath. Mission assignment was handled from the building, as were Council meetings and private ceremonies. The Hokage's offices were there as well, and the Hokage's personal scroll library.

Interrogation had offices there, as well.

The Hokage's office was being guarded by a pair of administrative chuunin, who nodded to the four Konoha nin as they approached. "Kurohisa-san," greeted one of them, "the Hokage is expecting your team in her office."

Gendou nodded in return. "I will bring this--" he indicated the spy being carried by his team "--to Ibiki. Meet me upstairs."

Hotaru bowed. "Yes, sensei." She and Hiroshi dropped the Sound nin unceremoniously on the ground, and the three of them headed upstairs. They heard Gendou dragging the body across the marble floor to the stairwell.

Hiroshi motioned for his teammates to stop and held a hand to his ear theatrically. They waited until they could hear the rhythmic thumping that sounded very suspiciously like a skull bouncing off of concrete as its body was dragged down a flight of stairs.

-----

Tsunade looked up from the papers on her desk. "And there was just the one of them?"

"He was definitely alone, Hokage-sama," said Kensuke. He tapped the side of his nose and grinned. "Hayate and I made certain of that." The Inuzuka absent-mindedly scratched behind his dog's ear.

"This whole situation worries me," said Tsunade, frowning. She looked up at a swirl of shadow that suddenly appeared behind the three chuunin. "Gendou-san, what are your thoughts?"

Gendou raised a hand to adjust his dark glasses. "Otogakure has been performing very poor infiltrations, but they do appear to be strengthening somewhat. This latest spy may in fact have reached the outer gate to the village, were we not already on border patrol."

Tsunade looked at him sharply. "I hope you realize just what're implying by that."

Gendou bowed his head slightly. "It is too soon to jump to conclusions, but I have concerns that they are using Konoha to cull the weak from their forces. Whatever we do, we would be strengthening Orochimaru considerably."

"We can't just welcome them with open arms," snapped Tsunade.

"I apologize, Hokage-sama." Gendou appeared to be frowning beneath his tattered scarf. "I do not have any proposals to remedy the issue at this time. However, we shall soon know if there is any immediate action we must take against the Sound."

Tsunade nodded. "I'll send for you as soon as we can get information out of our friend here." She glanced at Hiroshi. "Tell your mother I apologize for what happened earlier."

Hiroshi bowed. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"Yeah, sure. In any case, your team will get the first assignment that comes from this." The Fifth Hokage smiled nastily. "It's about time we stopped wasting your talents." She waved her hand lazily, gesturing that the team was dismissed. They bowed respectfully one last time and filed out.

"Neh, sensei, what does she mean about 'wasting our talents'?" asked Kensuke, raising his smoked glasses. "I was enjoying border patrol. Nice and easy, and we can stay near home."

Gendou remained silent for a moment. "The Fifth seems to think that the latest spies are related to some major action Otokagure is planning. If her suspicions are confirmed, we may be allowed to take a more aggressive stance."

Kensuke scratched his coarse grey hair. "You mean we can attack them for once?"

Hotaru shifted uneasily. "We'll find out soon, won't we?" She stretched and smoothed out the roughened portions of her dress. "Anyway, you feel like dinner? There's that new okonomiyaki place down the street from the Ichiraku."

Hiroshi raised his hands apologetically. "I'm sorry, Hotaru, but I promised I'd stop back at my parent's place for dinner tonight. They're celebrating my sister's graduation from the Academy. Rain check?"

Hotaru nodded. "Kensuke-kun? Gendou-sensei?"

Gendou shook his head. "I must return to Interrogation. I thought I would lend Ibiki a hand with our new friend." He disappeared in a swirl of shadow.

Hotaru sighed. "Guess it's just you and me, Kensuke-kun." She snickered at the Inuzuka's flustered expression and winked at Hiroshi. "Tell Yukiko-chan I said congratulations!"

Hiroshi grinned. "Of course." He waved jauntily and disappeared up on the rooftops.

-----

The Moriyama household was a bustle of activity. Friends and family had gathered to congratulate Yukiko in her new hitai-ate, which she wore proudly (and a bit awkwardly) on her forehead. Her pigtails seemed to bounce constantly as she bowed respectfully to everyone's congratulations.

"Show me again, Niichan?" she asked, giving her brother her best puppy-eyes.

Hiroshi sighed theatrically and carefully formed hand seals. He winked at her as the soupbowl in front of him started to rock and steam. The soup inside splashed about, and a small dragon seemed to burst from the surface. It had a noodle body, noodle whiskers, and fishcake eyes. Yukiko cheered it on as it performed a series of midair flips before it fell back down into the bowl.

"Hiroshi, don't play with your food," Misato admonished. "You're going to make a mess."

"But Mooooom, it's not real," Yukiko whined. "It's genjutsu, and he won't tell me how to do it."

Hiroshi winked again. "I'll show you later. I don't want to tire you out before your new jounin-sensei has a chance to, you know."

Yukiko crossed her arms petulantly. "Iruka-sensei wouldn't even tell us who it was going to be! He said it was a surprise."

"Well, I know that Aburame Shibi is on the list for a genin team this year," said Hiroshi. "And Yamanaka Inoichi, and Nara Shikaku, and Akimichi Chouza. You might get one of those."

"Why didn't he just tell us?"

Hiroshi shook his head in exasperation and returned to eating his dinner. "You can't expect to be told all the answers," he said, between mouthfuls. "That's what being a ninja means. You need to look beneath what's beneath."

"Hmph."

-----

The rest of the evening was fairly uneventful. Yukiko was given gifts from all of the guests, including a new set of kunai, three sets of shuriken and a new holster, camping gear, flint and tinder, and various other tools of the shinobi trade. Her parents also presented her with a sword that Misato had traded for during her trip to Kimura. She pulled it out of its sheath immediately and stared at the edge.

Hiroshi became very quiet when he saw the sword. He hadn't been given a weapon like that when he had graduated the Academy; in fact, his parents had never truly supported his decision to become a ninja until well after his first real mission. They hadn't been outwardly against it, true, and they were as supportive as any parent could be, but things were always tense around the Moriyama household for a while afterward.

They had come to terms with it when he ended up saving the family store in an attack, though. Afterward, there had been a very long discussion, and his parents became noticably more supportive of his chosen vocation.

Giving their twelve-year-old daughter a lethal weapon, however, was a sign that they had finally abandoned their mistrust of shinobi, and fully accepted the fact that both of their children were now soldiers.

A part of Hiroshi felt the pangs of jealousy. He suppressed those, however; this was a time to be happy, and his sister wouldn't appreciate him feeling bad at her party.

"If you can manage to put that away without dismembering anyone," he said, grinning, "you can open my present next."

Hiroshi was fairly proud of what he had been able to put together for his sister. Knowing that she would be receiving as much field gear as she could carry from her friends and family, he decided to put some of his best genjutsu in scrolls he had purchased. There would be a time, he figured, when the Moriyama family became a full-fledged ninja clan, and passing down skills was the best way to start it. He had included all of Yukiko's favorite illusions (all of which she had begged him to teach her), as well as some new ones he had developed based on the stories he would read her when she was younger.

The look on her face as she opened the scrolls was priceless. She leaped at him in a full flying tackle-hug, and the two of them fell to the floor, laughing.

Chapter One / Continue to Chapter Three