The Hyoton - 6

"Idiots."

Gaara disliked being left behind. He slung his gourd onto his back and burst out the bedroom door with an audible bang. His heavy footfalls alerted Tsunami to his presence before his scowling face appeared in the doorway.

"Good morning, Gaara-kun. How did you sleep?" She was awfully cheerful and it made him even more irritable.

'There's a missing nin after Tazuna and they leave me behind? What logic possessed them? Fools...' Gaara glared at the clock hanging on the wall above Tsunami's head and she was clearly unnerved by his icy stare.

"Where are they?" He deadpanned. He didn't mean to frighten her, but he was too grumpy to be polite at that point.

"Um, your teammates and my father left for the bridge nearly a half-hour ago," She answered, desperately trying to compose herself, "Would you like some breakfast-?"

He was already out the door.

*

Mist rolled in over the bay, gradually enveloping the bridge from bottom to top. The poor visibility discouraged a good number of the workers who had hoped for clear skies. It didn't take very long before Anko and the two present genin grew suspicious. It had been a perfectly clear day and the newly formed haze was sure to make their mission to protect the bridge builder more difficult.

Haku reacted the most strongly of the three waiting shinobi, sensing the unnatural, minuscule elements of chakra interwoven with the water vapor more quickly than even Anko had. He was more attuned to this development, and his voice held a tangible edge of controlled terror, "He's here."

There were sudden cries from a few unfortunate workers who had disappeared into the fog and beyond their sight. Unseen, a ninja killed them slowly, letting Tazuna's guards relish the pained screams, just to make his job interesting.

The hair on the back of Naruto's neck was on end, and he felt his hand grasp a kunai from his leg holster, wondering why they had left Gaara behind.

*

Gaara hadn't gotten very far. He was passing through a wooded area not far from Tazuna's home when he noticed something out of place. He detached his chakra-glued feet from the tree branch he had been balanced on, and leapt back to the ground.

The forest floor was littered with countless types of colorful plants that Gaara was certain Haku could name with ease and an explanation if he were there; but between a nettle of glossy ferns was a curious object roughly the size of a dog.

It was the smell too, he noticed. It was dead. It had been for a short while.

Bracken-colored and toppled over onto its side was a small wild pig. It was bloodied around the throat and gut.

Now Gaara was certainly no tracker, but from the looks of the bent foliage and the tracks that seemed oddly bipedal all around, the boar appeared to be the victim of a human rather than a natural predator.

Sand scooped the dead animal up a bit and he gave it a closer look, holding his breath because of the unbearable smell. Flies lined up along the gashes, clearly from a blade of sorts.

They were deep lacerations. He stepped away and set it down again, glancing over the two-footed trail that led away from the carcass and in the opposite direction that he had been heading in.

'Sword wounds.' He surmised, 'Someone was bored and felt like killing a pig on the way out here. Pathetic.' If it were him, he would've chosen something more impressive, like a bear or a wolf or something that may have attacked him first and could defend itself.

The question was a person, possibly two or three, wielding a sword was heading South, but to what point and purpose? Immediately his brain supplied an answer: other hit men. They weren't Zabuza, but they were still armed. If they weren't looking for Tazuna, then they were looking for the next best thing.

Gaara had vanished in a whirlwind of sand after drawing his conclusion.

*

"Inari!"

Tsunami poked her head out of the side door. Her son had said he would be busy that morning, of course he'd still have to have breakfast first, she reasoned. Frowning when no answer came, she stepped outside, taking in the fresh air as she made her way down to a nearby dock.

"Inari!" Tsunami called again and he looked up.

He had been fiddling with the kunai that Naruto had bestowed upon him the night before. He put it out of sight as he watched his mother come up to him. He was considerate enough to understand she wouldn't appreciate him playing with knives.

The walk wasn't long but she took her time, savoring the breeze. Tsunami paused a few feet away from her son who looked to be lost in thought, "Inari, come inside and get some breakfast." She watched as he stared at the waves and then nodded to her.

Inari stood up and paused, again drawing her attention, "Um, mom?"

"Yes?"

"Those ninja who went with grandpa, they're..." He searched for a description, "...not so bad."

"No, in fact they're quite honorable," She smiled down at him, "I told you they were nice people." He nodded again, more enthusiastically.

The smile vanished from his face when someone came up from behind his mother and seized her roughly. She restrained herself from yelping because the last thing she wanted was to alarm her son. Her hands flew up to the blade that was level with her throat and she stared at Inari, her eyes screaming at him to flee.

"So this is the bridge builder's family, eh? Not very impressive if you ask me..." Another thug spoke from behind his counterpart. Tsunami struggled, a low, feral growl rising from her throat as the second thug closed in on Inari.

"Let her go!" Inari howled, immediately brandishing his knife, and his mother's eyes widened. She looked slightly grateful for the gesture.

His mother's captor chuckled at him, "You little runt! Put that away before you hurt yourself."

"I'm warning you! Let my mom go!"

"No Inari! Go find your grandpa and tell him what's happening! I'll be alright, just run!" The metal nipped at the exposed skin of her neck and she fell silent; indignation was clear on her face.

Inari felt his knees shake as he took a few short steps and was intercepted by the second smirking hit man, "Where are you going kiddo? Your mommy's in a spot of trouble right now, you know."

He didn't think when he hurled the kunai, missing his mother by inches and felt his breath hitch in surprise when it sunk into the thigh of her captor. Tsunami took advantage of the distraction to bite his forearm, and plunged her elbow into his gut, leaping away when he loosened his grip.

She threw her arms around her son protectively, glaring like a wildcat. The two thugs were clearly taken aback. Inari watched them; shaking, suddenly wishing he had another kunai so he could continue to fight.

The man with the sword extracted the kunai and tossed it aside with a clatter, "You'll pay for that kid!" Now they both had swords drawn and he briefly wondered how their luck could be so bad so early in the day.

The fluid movement of the sand impacted the hit men, knocking their heads together and creating a stylish, simultaneous knockout. Gaara appeared shortly after, looming over the two unconscious figures, wearing a bored sort of expression.

There was hope for breakfast yet.

"Are you alright?" It was partially rhetorical, but the red haired boy did his best to put some compassion into the words. It worked. Just a teeny bit. He was getting better at it.

Tsunami nodded, not hiding her relieved grin, "Yes! Thank you Gaara-kun! But you should hurry and see if my father and your friends are alright."

He nodded blankly and then looked down at Inari, "You did well. Though I don't think Naruto should've given you a kunai without showing you how to use it first." Inari saw his point; he had no idea what to do with the darn thing, so he figured throwing it could be a place to start when there was danger.

"Well, he said I could practice throwing it at you." The boy admitted, and his mother looked appalled.

"Did he?" Gaara's expression was somewhere between annoyed and amused.

His sand quickly went to work, crushing the two men's' arms with a sickening crack that made Inari and his mother visibly squeamish. It procured a few pained moans from the thugs but they didn't stir.

"They shouldn't bother you now."

Inari nodded dumbly as Gaara left and Tsunami, still deeply perturbed, kicked the discarded swords off the edge of the dock and into the churning water. Inari slowly bent down, picking up the kunai that he had used, silently thanking Naruto and his friends.