[First C-Rank! Part - 2]

[C-Rank Mission Accepted: Being a glorified guard]

[Discription: The Takashi family is about to go on an annual family trip to the land of hot spring…You are to keep them safe to and fro on the 14-day trip.]

[Rewards: +2000 EXP, +10 SP, +10,000 Ryo]

[Penalties: A negative mark on your shinobi file, -1 level]

'...'

'...wasn't Kurenai-sensei going to debrief Hokage-sama on the whole Kabuto situation...'

After a minute Sensei gatherers us up for a quick meeting… "We have a new mission...Team 8 and Team 10 will be collaborating on a mission to the land of hot spring… The client requested for more security personals than a single genin team so both our teams will be leaving tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM from the front gate...So I need everyone to be packed and ready at the gate at 8:45 AM...Understood!"

"Yes, Kurenai-sensei!" I did feel a little uneasy at the mention of team 10 but still replied with Hinata and Shino…

"Good, now this masked Tobi-kun, Hinata-chan, Shino-kun, your families have been informed of the current situation so there won't be any ANBU detail for you guys but do take care okay..."

"Yes, Sensei!"

"Okay! You guys have the rest of the day off! And Tobi-kun, try talking to your mother tonight rather than informing this information on her tomorrow morning, Okay!!"

I grumble a positive reply as I turned around and left the area with a huff…

---------------------------X0X----------------------------

I was standing with an embarrassed expression on my face as mom fussed around me about various things...I could see Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino snickering while even Hinata and Shino had a smile on their face…

"I'll be fiiiineeee MOM! Geez, you don't have to worry I'll be back in 14 days..." my grumpy expression was accompanied by a slouched back and tired expression as it took a lot of effort to calm mom down yesterday…

'Should not have played that damned prank on mom...I swear she's just making me feel miserable as a form of revenge...'

It took 15 more minutes of embarrassment before we finally left the troublesome women behind and were on our journey to the land of Hot Spring…

'So according to the Sensei, it will take us 2 days to reach our destination...' I was walking with Shikamaru slouching in front of me at the right side of the caravan, Hinata and Ino were at the left side. Chouji and Shino were walking in front of the horses while Kurenai-Sensei and Asuma-Sensei were covering the behind…

After a boring 20 minutes and going through my stats screen multiple times I decided to bother Shikamaru a little bit…

"Yo! Shika! How is your team doing!"

Shikamaru shot me an annoyed glare as he slowed his pace so that he was parallel to me, "You know, you didn't have to show off that much in front of sensei...he has been grinding us the past month… plus something's wrong with Ino too, after that day when you came to our training ground she has been training like crazy…I don't have any problem with you working hard man! But quit dragging me into it okay..."

I give Shikamaru a deadpanned look before replying, "Someday you will regret wasting time Shika..."

He ignored me and went back to his cloud watching so I closed my eyes and did a quick parameter check around us…

'Not a soul within 500 meters of us...what are Ino and Hinata-chan talking about...'

"Watch the fort, I'll walk around..." I threw the statement as I walked towards Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei…

They were talking about something but hearing me approach they went silent and looked at me, "Is something wrong Tobi-chan?"

Kurenai-sensei asked.

"No no...I just wanted to ask Asuma-sensei about something regarding the wind release..." I chuckle nervously as I scratch the back of my head…

"Hmmm… You don't need to worry about it Tobi-kun, It is a jounin-level skill so it will take some time for you to fully learn it..."

"Umm...No...wait" Instead of trying to explain by talking, I pick up a leaf from the corner of the road and hold it between my two fingers…

*Snip*

As the leaf got divided into two parts I started to explain, "No...Umm I mean I completed the exercise but it still feels like my mastery over the wind element is not as perfect as I had hoped..."

'It has been 5 days since it has been stuck at 35% and it is driving me crazy...'

"Well, I didn't expect that..." He and Kurenai-sensei exchanged a look after which he sulked a little and said, "Well there is another training method to further refine your control over the element...but that requires a special environment condition...since we are traveling to the Land of Hot Springs there will certainly be places there where I can show you how..."

I nod and bow, "Thank you for your guidance Asuma-sensei!" After saying that I turn around and jog back to my sentry spot only ...to notice Ino is there badgering Shikamaru with questions…

'What is she doing here...Hinata-chan is fine on the other side so why is she here?'

"Ino-chan, what happened!"

"Oh! There you are! Hi Tobi-kun!"

*blink*

'...'

"Did something happen?"

"No, I just came to say hi, I wanted to talk to you earlier but your mom looked like she would kill me if I went anywhere near you..."

I glare at her as she stifled a smile, I could hear Shikamaru chuckling so I took out a shuriken and threw it at him… 'if you don't wanna say that everything is troublesome then don't meddle into others affairs...'

"You should go back to Hinata-chan and continue your duty..."

She Ignored my advice and stepped closer, and started talking about everything that happened since we last met...

'Since when were we, such good friends...'

*sigh*

'This is gonna be a long journey ain't it...'