Returning... with a twist

"You are to watch them from afar and ensure that none of them die. I speculate that this is an A rank mission instead of the C that it is marked down as. The leader of squad seven knows about your involvement in this mission and knows not to inform his students about it. Understood? Do not involve yourself unless absolutely necessary." A man with a grumbly voice spoke in the silence of his room, drinking a cup of matcha while giving his orders.

"Yes sir" A younger sounding boy said from in the shadows, his white, black and red mask barely visible if not for the dim candle light.

"Good. Once they've completed the mission you are to carry on with your other one in that land. Go"

With his orders given, the boy left in silence and waited for his mission to begin their own.

Beams of sunlight cast shadows at the entrance to the village. Two genin with hair the colors of pink and raven stood there waiting for their ever late sensei. The bridge builder is getting more annoyed and snarky by the minute.

"Good morning you guys!" The silver haired man said, raising a hand in greetings.

"Kakashi sensei, you're late again!" Sakura screeched.

"Sorry, I got lost on the path of life! Let's get going"

They four of them left the village in near silence, nothing but the sound of crunching rocks under their feet could be heard in the area. The walk was long and warm in the sun's light, a puddle sat on the side of the road evaporating in the heat.

Kakashi eyed the puddle with a judging look. Sasuke did the same and gestured to Sakura, who also took notice even if it didn't quite click yet she knew it would be trouble.

The boy hidden in the trees prepped to react if things got too out of hand too quickly, though having already performed missions alongside the Jonin his concern was low, though that was over a few years ago.

A drop of water fell onto his mask and the puddle erupted into ninja who he recognized as the "demon brothers".

'Shinobi from the hidden mist after the bridge builder in a C rank mission. Meaning that Gato is more than likely involved. He'll hire Zabuza Momochi and the swordsman's lackey if these two fail. That much is clear.' The anbu thought as he recalled the bingo book he recently memorized. Knowing that Gato is involved in this changes very little, just means that if those two get hired, he'll have to get involved.

Kakashi got cut into multiple pieces and Sasuke stopped the two while Sakura 'protected' Tazuna from a single kunai that was thrown her way.

In his usual fashion, Kakashi appeared at the last second and finished off the enemy before going to question them and learning the truth about their supposed "C" Rank mission. Still though they continued on until they came into an area that began to have small bits of fog spill into it.

'So he's already here? That was sooner than expected' Hiding in the brush, the anbu controlled his breathing, cloaked his chakra, and slowed his heart so he wouldn't be detected. 'His laky must be hiding in the trees'

A giant blade almost the size of a full grown man swung in at a great speed, embedding itself into a tree. Above it appeared a tall man whose face was mostly covered by bandages and had his headband lopsided on his head.

Conversation was shared before it turned ugly. With the two genin guarding Tazuna, Kakashi whipping out his fabled sharingan and the fog growing thicker; the odds of the boy having to get involved stayed as a steady possibility.

The small encounter went to the water, Kakashi now stuck in a small water prison. A clone jumped in between the others before being evaporated by a small fireball.

"Take Mr. Tazuna to safety, that's your mission." Kakashi ordered but was ultimately ignored as Sakura and Sasuke came up with a plan on the fly. Throwing a handful of shuriken and kunai at Zabuza as well as a demon wind shuriken, the A-rank ninja blocked and dodged the fighting instruments.

The sound of tightly bound wire pulled on the blades as they were pulled back in a wheel motion, the hidden anbu helping control a few of his own that he mixed in to ensure a hit. Those ones grazed him and cut into his arm. The demon wind shuriken gained its shadow and caused Zabuza to lose his grip on the prison, now fighting a very annoyed Kakashi.

Kakashi began mimicking the swordsman's moves without a single flaw to be found. Zabuza, being the patient man that he is; quickly became irritated and flustered at the inability to wrap his head around the technique that is the sharingan.

A giant wave sent Zabuza flying up against a tree with Kakashi standing above him, preaching something about how he was going to die before a barrage of senbon needles punctured his neck, leaving him in a death like state.

After they encountered the masked boy hidden in the trees posing as a tracking ninja who took Zabuza's 'corpse' with him. The rest of the day carried on with little action after Kakashi passed out due to chakra exhaustion.

Due to the trust Danzo had in him, the anbu rarely had to report mid way into his missions and only every reported on the task once it was completed; failure wasn't an option nor was it permitted.

The night passed them and so did the days as it was now mid way through the week. An eye was kept closely on them as they did what one would assume to be training of sorts.

'The faster the Uchiha trains the sooner Lord Danzo's task for me shall be completed' The blond boy thought as he watched them with a judgmental eye, chakra control didn't seem to prove very difficult for the pink kunoichi however the red-eyed raven seemed to have a few issues with the placement and amount needed.

'All it takes is a miniscule amount for walking up trees compared to water, as the amount disperses quickly over the large surface' Mental notes were taken and noted for later use, such as the strengths and weaknesses that plagued them like the arrogance and infatuation the duo had over one and other. 'Both have the aptitude for genjutsu that might even rival that of Itachi himself if done together and that there seems to be their issue'

Sakura and Sasuke stayed out in the forest over the course of the evening while Kakashi read his book at the docks in silence, the Anbu keeping an eye over both grounds. Eyebrow raised, he turned around to see a blonde, whiskered girl in pigtails and an orange jacket with matching shorts. A huge smile was placed on her face when she squinted her eyes.

"What's this?" He asked as a scroll tied with an orange string was passed to him, the girl was still silent as he read the contents. "You too, hmn?" He earned a nod from her. Placing the scroll into his pouch. Footsteps thumping on the dock caught his attention, not seeming to surprise the girl in the least.

"Once again, thank you so much sir! Have good evening now!" She spoke as she waved him goodbye and ran past the young ninja that she passed.

Looking back, he eyed his teacher who was still reading his book like when he last saw him. "Who was that?" The notion that his sensei would simply act that nonchalant seemed questionable at best.

"Just a local asking for an outside opinion on an issue" Closing his book, he started to walk back to their temporary staying place. "Let's wrap it up for tonight. Tomorrow we have to guard Mr. Tazuna at the bridge."

Sasuke and Sakura silently agreed to watch for the suspicious girl in case she reappeared.

The next morning would bring much into light and the return of a past friend angered the genin very much.