I could see it in the distance. The air was cool, a little drizzle settled over our boat, but I could still clearly see the island. There were a large number of boats littering the shore. Ranging from makeshift canoes to large steamboats.

Even with all of the boats, there weren't any signs of civilization. From what I could see, there were no buildings, no people, not even evidence of an old campfire. I looked over at my teammates to gage their reactions.

My beautiful teammate across from me wore her confusion. Her intelligent green eyes scanned the area as we drew closer to our destination. "Where are the-?" She was cut off by a clap of thunder. Suddenly the light drizzle became heavy rain.

Our leader and mentor, Kakashi, turned to head into the small cabin on our steamboat, his white hair looking dark grey as it got soaked. The rest of us followed suit, not wasting a second once we found shelter to look back at the island.

I noticed movement on my right. My other teammate walked over to the small desk to gaze at the map. "This is where the terrorist cell is located?" His deep, skeptical voice rung out into the darkness.

Kakashi joined him and sat down before flicking his fingers to light a candle. "It would appear so, Sasuke. The Gondaime was adamant they were constructing a dangerous weapon."

The lone female showed her worry. I could see why she was so concerned. We usually infiltrated buildings. We didn't have much available for camping and it looked like we'd need it.

"Don't worry Sakura, we're just looking for information. We'll be in and out in no time," I reassured. She looked over at me with a light smile before turning back to the front of the boat to see that we weren't far from landing.

"I'm not scared, idiot. I'm just…concerned." Her folded arms tightened around her chest before she released her breath. "You'd think that for such an imminent threat, they'd be more developed. Either that or they know we're coming."

"Let's hope that's not the case."

There was a sudden jolt in our boat. Collective thuds could be heard when we all slammed on the far wall in the shelter. I could feel heat to the right of me and saw that the right of the boat caught fire.

"Come on, get out!" Kakashi pushed us through the opening to get back on deck. The shelter and back of the boat was catching on fire.

"I got it!" Sakura ran out into the water and chakra streamed some of it onto the boat. She was actually doing pretty good. I could see improvements since she got trained by the Gondaime.

"You're doing great, Sakura!" I shouted out. As if to curse us, another bolt of lightning hit the back of the boat, sending Sakura flying in the opposite direction.

I couldn't think, just dove in to save her. Under the water, I searched for her body. She struggled to get her feet under her before she propelled her way to the top. We breached the surface just when Kakashi and Sasuke leaped into the water.

Not too far away from us, we watched as the entire boat was engulfed in flames before it slowly sank into the ocean.

"Since when does lightning strike the same place twice? And not a moment later?" We all looked at Sasuke. We couldn't agree more.

Our mentor got to his feet above the water and led the way to the shore.

Sakura wrung her hair out as she gazed out to where our boat had been just moments ago. "How are we getting back?"

"We'll worry about that once the mission's complete." Kakashi squeezed a rolled up document, "For now, we need to set up camp."

He handed me the parchment. "You and Sasuke go inland 3 miles and return here. Use the stars as your guide since we don't have a map of the island."

"What're we looking for?" It seemed like an appropriate question before my partner puffed out.

"Probably food, wood, and people. It would be best if we made sure we were at least safe for the night." Well, sorry I asked. I wish the others would come to my rescue before I got a snotty response from him.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head, I knew he was tired of us, "Sakura and I will search these boats. Maybe they'll have camping supplies. Maybe we can camp out in one. We just need to make sure they're green."

"Why these pairings?" I mumbled but I knew he'd hear me. I knew I promised the Gondaime to keep animosity to a minimum but being alone with Sasuke wasn't helping.

"Sasuke and I can create fire," he stated it like it was obvious, "It wouldn't do us any good if we had two unbalanced teams. It'll only be for an hour, Naruto." He gazed up at Sasuke before turning away, Sakura following him, to the furthest boat.

I huffed before looking up at him. He looked like he wanted to say something, something spiteful, but decided against it. "Let's go, dobe. We want to keep the concealment of night." I rolled my eyes before begrudgingly following him.

The ground underneath went from sand to mud as we moved further inland. He had two fingers extended from his hand while fire danced above them. A quick glance over at his face and I noticed he had his family trait active. I focused my chakra to extend my senses further with the help of the hidden beast.

I gathered wood whenever we came to a stop and he gathered any edible plants. I remember when I teased him about taking that as an extracurricular course back at the academy. At the time, it sounded so dull and pointless since we were trained in espionage, not camping. Guess I should've bit my tongue back then.

Most of our trek was done in silence. We both knew we weren't in immediate danger, we just didn't have anything to talk about. Well, I guess I shouldn't say that. We have things to talk about but it will most likely escalate into exchanging insults, an argument, or even a fight.

About two miles in, we were running out of pocket space and my hands were getting one to many splinters.

"Let's head back out. I'm sure we'll be set for at least a few days with what we've found." I nodded in agreement and we silently turned back.

"It's nice how quiet you've been. Didn't think it was possible."

"I made a promise."

He side eyed me before looking forward again. "Is that the only way you can be mature, if someone has you promise that you will."

"No asshole, I'm trying to make the only family I have proud." He stopped walking and I brushed past him, "Maybe you should try it sometime."

"You know I don't have a family."

"It doesn't take blood to be family. My parents are dead too, you don't see me acting like you."

"Like what?" His eyes seemed to glow brighter. I knew I was just one word away before things got messy.

"Whatever." I heard him start walking again.

I'm sure the last thing Kakashi and Sakura wanted for dinner were mushed berries.

I finally guided us back to the shore. I set up the sticks and Sasuke quietly lit them on fire. Kakashi and Sakura hadn't arrived back yet. No need to worry though, we did come back early.

I eyed Sasuke distributing what he found. This was ridiculous. After three years of knowing each other and accepting that we'd be on this team until we were jounin, we were still hostile towards each other. It's not like I want us to be this way. It can't be healthy for the team.

But whenever I look at him, it just doesn't seem like he cares. Obviously not about me, but not about Sakura or Kakashi or the team. It's like he has his feelings suspended above his head. For a long time, I just thought he was level headed but no…the guy was just emotionless.

Maybe that's why I can't stand him. Maybe that's why I can't stand that Sakura likes him. Maybe that's why I can't stand how people worship him.

"Is there a problem?" He was sitting casually back on a log that wasn't there moments ago. I looked away from him to see that four logs surrounded our campfire. I joined him on the ground and looked away.

"No teme, I was just thinking."

"First time?"

"Is the only thing you care about is how to insult me?"

"I don't have to put in the effort." He reached behind him and added another stick to the fire. "What's wrong?"

Whoa, 'What's wrong?' is much more hospitable than 'Is there a problem?' I knew he could see how confused I was. I looked away before he read too much into my expression. I wore my emotions on my sleeve.

"Nothing." He didn't press it any further.

"We were able to find bed sheets and pillows for all of us. Sadly no tents," Sakura announced as she and Kakashi approached our new found campsite.

When the two finished laying out the beds, they joined us on the logs.

"No tents might mean the passengers weren't planning on staying," Sasuke voiced.

"There were nine boats, all shipwrecked," I could hear the quiver in her voice, "What do you think is going on, Kakashi?"

"Who knows? Remember, our plan isn't to solve whatever mysteries we may find. We just need to find this organization and see if we can gather any information."

We went ahead and consumed what Sasuke gathered before we were assigned fire guard shifts. Kakashi, Sasuke, myself, and Sakura. I really hated middle shifts. Why can't I either go to bed late or wake up early? Oh well, I couldn't argue with the logic. At the darkest times, we need Sasuke and Kakashi's sharingans. With the hidden beast, I was also good with detecting movement so Sakura had to take the early morning shift.

Sakura dosed the fire and all of us, minus Kakashi, went to our beds.

The next thing I knew I was being awakened by active, red eyes. "Dobe, it's your turn."

"No shit, why else would you try to get my attention," I snapped back. I got up before heading over to the wood line. "Is there a reason why you're following me?"

"Giving you a summary of what's out there right now. I have the eyes, dumbass."

"Sorry that I wasn't born Uchiha."

"That's not what I meant, dobe." We both jumped up into the tallest tree closest to our campsite. "There's a pack of wolves to the west, they've been heading north my whole shift. There's a campfire a few miles northeast of here but I don't see any people so keep that area in mind."

"Got it." I felt a surge of chakra leave my body as I extended my senses.

I pushed myself to the base of the tree branch to get comfortable. He looked back at me with black eyes once again.

"What did you promise Tsunade?"

"What?"

"What did you promise her?"

"That I wouldn't rip your head off."

"Like you could." He continued looking at me before I turned my head to the area of the other campfire. "What did she ask of you?"

"Look, she said to not make how I feel about you jeopardize this mission, alright? She said to be more like you," I clenched my teeth before looking back at him, "Apparently I was her only concern. That if only I were like you, this team would be perfect. Everybody thinks you're fucking perfect. Why else would they think to balance our team, they'd put me on?"

"Stop being a pussy about it."

"Excuse me?"

"All you ever do is complain about how people compare us."

"Yeah, 'cause I'm the one who cares about the person you are," my voice was practically dripping with sarcasm.

"You are."

"Are you done stroking your ego yet? I don't care what ha-!" I bit my tongue. I knew I didn't mean it. "I don't care what kind of person you are," alteration of what I meant to say but still true.

"You're bothered that I don't care about the individuals in the team as much as you do."

"Yes, I am! Now just leave me alone. The only times I get away from you are guard duty and sleep. What're you going to do next, whisper in my ear while I sleep to drive me insane?"

"I don't get that bored, dobe."

"Then why are you here?"

"Maybe because I'm trying to." He looked away to the direction of the wolves.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, "Wait a minute, trying to what?"

"Care! About the people in the team, not just the team as a single entity."

"Why?" It just all seemed suspicious. For three years we were all kept at least an arm's distance away. Why would he suddenly care?

He looked like he was going to respond but instead got to his feet. "Keep an eye out in the east, dobe." He swung down from branch to branch, returning to our camp.

I exhaled before looking back out to the forest. "Why did you tell me?"

I was quickly realizing that the nine tailed beast had a limited amount of chakra. It was nearing sunrise and Sakura hadn't relieved me yet. The distance of my senses was beginning to close in on me, I could no longer sense the wolf pack which, last I'd checked, settled in on their destination. The camping area, I had no sense of. I gazed down, it was still dark but I could see the faintest outlines of our camp. I looked back out to the camp before climbing down the tree.

I'm sure they'll chew my head off for leaving my post but at this rate, Sakura's senses are better than mine. I pushed out my senses too far and I was tiring out.

Dust picked up around my feet when I landed on the ground. There was movement to my right, turned and nothing was there. The left, the bushes shuffled and suddenly nothing. Two areas, three. An ambush. I jumped back up a few branches and saw that the movement limited itself to the bushes in front of my tree.

Suddenly nothing.

A mosquito bit my neck. I went to smack it away only to be met with a piece of wood protruding from my neck. I pulled it out and it wasn't a mosquito. A dart, a light green liquid dripped off of it. My feet lost feeling and I just fell.

All I knew was I just kept falling.

undertakenheart-"Chapter 1 of my latest work. It's been years since I've written anything that isn't school related and even longer since I've watched Naruto. Hopefully I was still able to portray the characters. I'm sure you've noticed that Naruto isn't a complete goofball. He's older, more mature, but I wanted to keep the key elements of his character. The others, I feel are pretty consistent.

I have the next two chapters completed already. Working on Chapter 4 but that depends on whether or not anyone even reads this so, let me know what you think. The longest I see this being is six chapters."