Chapter 23: Mask of the fox

In the outskirts of the village hidden in the leaves, a group of shinobi had gathered in the great trees that provided their moniker. All of the individuals had one thing in common, they all bore the Konoha symbol on them and they all faced a single man. "The spy was aware of our defenses, we don't know what information he stole but once he leaves the border it would be too late to find out." The man dressed in a black overcoat spoke with a seriousness that was mimicked by all the rest. "Our mission is simple, capture or kill. The spy must not make it to the border! Disperse!"

On command, the surrounding shinobi blurred away like shadows, their movements akin to a swift gale and their presence as hidden as a bird's nest among shadows of the leaves. Among the departed was a young boy with a hooded clock and a cat mask, his companion, a black furred cat, ran alongside him, matching his swiftness with ease.

Shin had been called in while on duty at the hospital, a Kumo spy had escaped capture and everyone available was sent out for the hunt. Since the spy had been injured and it had not been too long since his escape, trackers and hunters like Shin had been gathered to sniff him out.

"Catch a scent?" the boy asked his companion, to which a "Meow!" answered him with confidence. "Lead on then!" the boy commanded as the cat ran past him and started to chase the scent of blood. Shin could hear some distant barks and howls, trackers of the Inozuka clan were anything but subtle. While dogs were certainly better trackers but cats held the advantage when hunting a trained spy. Dogs could be led astray by fake scents, cats were easily able to distinguish the difference.

Pineapple led Shin on a straight path and after 2 hours he was close, Pineapple could smell it and a few bodies of the Konoha ninja that he had come across just confirmed this. Shin had paced himself because he didn't want to get in a fight while being tired from the chase, however all this was thrown out the window when, "Meow !_!" "Huh? Atsuki?" Hearing that Atsuki was close ahead, Shin started to speed up.

Soon enough he came to the sound of clashing metal. It was Atsuki along with a member of the Inozuka clan, fighting with a dark skinned man who sent a lightning strike at Atsuki who was barely able to dodge. 'What are those two idiots doing? That's not an opponent they can take on.' Shin sighed as he observed the bald and muscular kumo spy.

 [Name: E

Level: 86

Title: Spy of Kumogakure]

Shin hid in the shadows as he prepared his Wind Scythe before jumping out and sending a transparent wave of sharp wind towards the Kumo spy who dodged it at the last second as lightning flickered on his body, 'Tsk another fool for the slaughter!" the man remarked as Shin landed adjacent to Atsuki who was surprised to see him. "Go bring reinforcements, we'll tie him down." Shin commanded the Inuzuka ninja who nodded and disappeared.

"Tie me down? Hah! I'm gonna be long gone by the time they arrive, and you gonna be long dead!" a dangerous glint appeared in the man's eyes as Shin and Atsuki moved off the offensive. 

Shin threw out two sets of shurikens that the man simply dodged and moved to attack Atsuki but the Shurikens did a U-turn and chased him. The man 'tsk'ed' and jumped to a tree and around it as Atsuki threw tagged Kunais at the man. The Kumo ninja was far too fast to be hit but since they were in Konoha territory, they could be as loud as they wanted and attract as much attention as they wanted.

Shin took out a scroll and unfurled it as it unleashed dozens of explosive tags that flew at the startled man who cursed at Shin before running away from the massive explosions that followed. The shockwave knocked away the trees in a 20 meter radius as the man hit a tree. The spy landed on the ground as he wiped his sweat, "Damn kid, you think those are free or somthin?"

Shin simply smiled as started to make the hand signs for the Great Breakthrough. The spy jumped up but a moment too late as hands emerged from the ground and looked at him in place. "What the!" The dark man's expression twisted as he weaved hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground while yelling, "LIghtning release: Ground Lightning!"

A screaming Atsuki appeared from the ground and jumped away as a great wind blew towards the Kumo ninja and sharp shurikens hidden within the wind started to cut him. By the time the wind died out, the man collapsed on the ground, heaving and blooded, with a vengeful expression in his eyes. "I'm gonna kill you damn brats!" he swore but Shin simply smirked, "I'm afraid you won't have the opportunity." Leaves rustled all around them as figures emerged from the shadows. "Well done." The man in black overcoat spoke as he walked towards the fallen Kumo spy, his face twisting into a sadistic smile, "Let's have a chat shall we?"

A few hours later, Shin and Atsuki left the Hokage's office, "Man, it's been a while since we've done a mission together huh. Almost missed your misuse of explosives." the green shirted older boy remarked. "Well you can't blame me, after all, I am a Chunin. You can't expect me to be at the same level as some genin." Shin grinned with glee as Atsuki bit back in anger, "Hey! I made Chunin too, you know!" Shin replied with a wider smile, "True, it only took you one more year. I'm afraid you are so far behind that you can't even see my dirt!" "Why YOU!" Atsuki tried to punch him but the boy simply dodged and stopped the banter, "Come on, Mom is waiting." Atsuki stopped and the two started to walk back home, "Tsk, next time."

The duo walked the crowded streets on Konoha as people moved about with a smile brighter than usual, afterall today was the summer festival and everyone had dressed up and enjoyed the festivities. This festival brought many merchants and caravans to Konoha but such events also called for higher security measures and this was the reason the Kumo spy was able to escape the village.

The duo met up with Ryouka who was dressed in a White Kimono with flower patterns and the boys were forced to wear handpicked Hakama, a green with white vines for Atsuki and a black one with red patterns for Shin. The trio headed to the festival where Shin stopped to try every food stall and Ryouka and Atsuki had to drag him away.

Later on, they got masks, Ryouka got a fox mask, Atsuki was "forced" to wear a panda mask after Ryouka put it on him and said that it looked adorable and Shin naturally wore a cat mask. The three then went on to get some street meat when they heard a commotion. "Here! Get out of here now you monster!" The trio looked back to see the mask vendor smack a short blond kid with a mask while yelling. The kid simply got up and ran away, 'So much for the will of fire.' Shin remarked.

Shin sighed and turned around to order some barbeque when he heard a *smack* and turned around. The whole street was silent as Ryouka yelled at the mask vendor, "Is this how you treat a child!? You should be ashamed of yourself!" Shin and Atsuki were wide-eyed as they watched their mother chew out the man but that only lasted for a second before they moved. The mask vendor was stunned for a bit before snapping back and in anger he raised his hand, wanting to strike back at the woman that hit him but instantly froze.

Shin had flickered in front of Ryouka while Atsuki went behind the man and held a Kunai to his throat. The man's body became rigid as he even forgot to breathe. "Stop it." Ryouka said as she picked up the fox mask that was laying on the ground and walked away. Shin and Atsuki followed her, hearing a thud as the mask vendor collapsed to the ground behind them.

The two followed the woman for a while in silence before they stopped some distance away from a sobbing child, sitting under a tree in the woods, his head on his knees as his arms covered him.

Ryouka walked to Naruto and dropped down, gently embracing the surprised boy and wiping away his tears with her sleeves, "It's ok." The woman smiled as the boy looked up at her with tears filling his eyes and snot hanging from his nose. The kind eyes and the warm touch seemed to break something inside the boy as he hugged the woman tightly and started to cry.

It was a while before the boy stopped, after the constant luls and gentle caresses. The boy finally stopped crying but still refused to let go, his face still buried inside her arms. After his heart had bled out the tears, fear and reluctance took its place. The young boy feared that if he let go, he would never be able to feel this warmth again, he feared that the dream would break and he would open his eyes to a lie, that the one who had shown kindness to him would now show disdain. So he kept his eyes shut and his grip as tight as it could be, he didn't wish to let go of this moment, he didn't wish to wake from this dream.

Alas he could not get his wish, but his fears would also become unfounded as the same warm hands that had wiped away his tears, pried him from her embrace and as he opened his eyes, he saw the same kind eyes and the same gentle voice, "Do you want to watch the festival with us? I hear its going to be quite a show."

His eyes widened as his mind bloomed with the images of the many families he had seen at the festivals, the faces being replaced with his own as he had imagined time and time again, year and year after. As he had dreamed so many a time that he had lost count, the dreams that had blessed his nights and haunted his waking mornings. Naruto thought this was just one of those dreams, all he had to do was say yes and he could just carry on with his dream, even if he were to wake up the next day with the same haunting loneliness, at least he would have a wonderful dream to get him through the day.

Naruto looked at Ryouka, his eyes wide with expectations and his lips parting to say his heart's desire but he stopped as he looked down.

Those eyes, the eyes that had looked down on him his entire life, if he saw those same eyes cast their disdain towards her just because of him, he could not bear that. What if she came to hate him too because of that, he could not bear that. He didn't wish for people to look at her the same way they looked at him.

Alas, it was another wish that would not come true today as the woman's warm hands once more tore open his shell and caressed his cheek, lifting up his face, "It's ok." she smiled at him. "Here, I think this will suit you just fine." she gave him the fox mask the vendor had thrown at him as she put it on him and smiled. "Look, it's the same as mine."