🦊Naruto Hatake🦊

Chapter 16

Trap

Stoic: showing admirable patience and endurance in the face of adversity without complaining or getting upset

The mission was an assassination of a powerful illegal weapons dealer headquartered near the borders of the Land of Lightning. He would have to leave in the morning after he dropped his pup off at school. 'Crap,' he thought, 'It is really cold there this time of year.' He was packing carefully when Naruto came bouncing into his room. After looking through his clothes and approving he sent the boy off to bed.
.
.
.
.

The next day, he watched his boy run into the academy with his friends. It pleased him to see the confidence in his step and in the way he held his head high. "That's my son," he said smugly to himself. Sturdy of body and quick of mind, Naruto was his pride and joy and the envy of his friends. He was doing very well this year. Naruto had the best of friends in Sasuke, Sai and Kiba.

Kakashi learned his lesson from last year. He now inspected every piece of school work the boy brought home. There had been a time when he had felt Naruto wasn't getting enough credit on some of his work that he should have, but one visit with the Mizuki kid cleared that right up. He wasn't quite sure what to think of the instructor. He remembered that time long ago and the incident in the park, but Mizuki wasn't the one who did anything to his son. He was there though, so Kakashi kept a close eye on him. So far, everything seemed to be going well. Naruto was in the top of his class. Sometimes, it was good to have a fearsome reputation.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Exiting the village, he ran through the treetops to get to the border as fast as he could. He wanted to complete the mission as soon as possible to be home before his chibi's birthday. "Six years old," he mused to himself, "I was a chunin at six. My pup is still a little boy, thank Kami. He will not know the full reality of a shinobi's life until he is much older and better equipped to handle it."

Before everything fell apart in Kakashi's life, he had taken great pleasure in tracking his human prey; there was even a certain amount of pleasure in being hunted. It gave him an opportunity to prove himself by outwitting the shinobi on his trail. That fire was returning to his soul. Each mission since adopting Naruto brought him greater joy then ever before. Life was no longer a huge burden; his broken soul was healing. He thought maybe he should find someone to spend his rest of the like with. Kakashi's heart began to pound painfully in his chest as he broke out in a cold sweat at the thought of such permanence, plus he wasn't sure if his heart could take the idea of sharing his cute innocent little pup with someone else. 'Or maybe not,' he thought.

From the moment Kakashi arrived in the small town, he felt as though something was not right with this mission. Everything just seemed off when he met his contact. Every instinct was screaming at him, telling his something was most definitely wrong. He suspiciously studied his target with great care; aware of everything around him. He was determined to not be caught unawares. The operation appeared relatively easy. The target had non-nin bodyguards and lived in a house that was ridiculously easy to infiltrate. It was odd for a weapons dealer. Everything seemed too easy. He was a ninja; the mission had to be completed no matter the cost. He was no fool though, so he prepared himself well. He spent the whole day spying on the man.

Dense clouds hid the moon on the night he had set to accomplish the task, making the night even darker. Henging himself, he silently infiltrated the home and made his way effortlessly through it. He made it all the way to the target's bedroom before he felt a source of chakra come near to his location. Within seconds, more signatures appeared. Just as he thought, it was a trap. 'So be it,' he thought. "You all will die." He muttered low under his breath.