Description: I'm not a ninja- not even close. I decided a few years too late that I wanted to become one, however I will do my part in protecting and helping my village. I don't want to be a hero or have a fancy title. If you must give me one, just call me a citizen soldier. OC-Centric, Cannon characters, no current pairings

Warning/Disclaimers: I do not own Naruto or the song used, however I do own my OC's and the plot of this story. There will be slight language and possible sexual themes

Citizen Solider

Today marks day three of my travels. So far, I have almost fallen into two traps left over from previous skirmishes and almost slipped out of the tree I slept on, which would have been a great twenty five feet to my death. Thank God, I was close to the small village Blade was posted at. The village was supposed to be only three days walk from our drop point in Suna.

I don't really understand why Xaria raved about this mission being dangerous, I thought, retying my hair in a messy bun. So far the most dangerous things I've come across are stray traps and wild animals.

When I finally made it to the village it was high noon. Following the directions that Xaria had given me, I found the inn where my teammate was bunking with ease. I asked the innkeeper for his room and found myself in front of the door seconds later.

"Well look who finally made it!" Blade greeted, ushering me into the room. "Took you long enough."

I sighed, rolling my eyes at the brown haired twenty-year old in front of me. "Yeah, yeah. You need to remember that I can't move as fast as you yet."

Blade smirked. "Still afraid of heights? Come on, jumping tree to tree isn't that scary really."

I could feel my face flush in irritation. "S-shut up! I'm not afraid of heights! I don't have the chakra control to get myself on the tree and push myself to run fast."

Blade sighed, green eyes suddenly losing their playful edge and becoming serious- he went into 'big brother mode' as I like to call it. "Kikyo, you need to learn these simple things."

I sighed, looking away from his serious gaze. "I know…I'm trying. It's been four years since I started training and I can barely mold my chakra. I study; I mediate…what's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you, you're chakra paths have just been left unused for so long that it'll take a while for you to develop them and be able to use them," Blade explained.

"How did you do it?"

He scratched the back of his short spikey hair in thought. "Well, Xaria put me through one hell of a training schedule to better my ninjutsu, plus I started training a little bit earlier then you. You also have to consider that I'm older then you."

I shook my head in annoyance. "But still-"

A knock at the door cut me off, both of our gazes zooming in on the door. We weren't expecting any one. If someone was on their way Xaria would have sent her nin-dog, Tenchi (well, Tenchi wasn't an official nin-dog, but she might as well be one), to inform us.

Blade moved towards the door, cautiously opening it. "Hello?" I peered around him and saw the innkeeper's assistant.

"Yes, there a few gentlemen asking for you. Should I send them over?" The assistant asked.

I saw Blade tense up, replying: "No, please tell them to leave."

Blade closed the door, moving around the room in haste. He didn't have many belongings out of his bag, but the few he did he shoved it back in. "We need to move. Someone followed you."

"Why me?" I asked, feeling offended.

"Because I would have known if someone was following me," He snapped back. He went to the window, opening it and motioned for me to come over to him. "Come on!"

Fear suddenly coursed through me. I've never seen Blade so panicked, and it scared me. We really were in danger. I followed his lead out of the window, feeling thankful that we were on the first floor and facing the back of the property- that way whoever is following us won't see us leave out the front door. I followed behind Blade closely as we power walked through the village-exciting it in a matter of minutes.

"Put this on," Blade instructed, handing me a beige poncho, with a strip of red at the edges. "We'll be entering Suna soon along with its harsh terrain."

We slipped on our ponchos and continued on. So far I didn't see anyone following us, though they could be hidden amongst the trees. We walked for about an hour before Blade paused, turning towards me with a grim look. Off in the distance I could see the changing terrain- sand blowing and jagged cliffs.

"Sis," He started. "I need you to promise me that whatever happens, you follow my directions."

I looked at him in confusion. "Yeah…of course. What's wrong?"

"I haven't been able to sense whoever is following us and it's putting me on edge," He replied, his calculating gaze scanning the area. "Consider this training for the big league when Xaria doesn't event think twice about sending you out on risky jobs." He reached out and tugged my hood over my head. "Let's go."

I did as I was told- I knew when to argue my point and when to just shut up and follow orders. Also, I trusted Blade with my life. He proved numerous times how reliable he was and just how far he would go to protect those around him.

I want to be able to be beside him though; I couldn't help but think as I stared at Blade's back. I don't want to burden him; I want to be as strong as him.

"Hey, Blade?" I called softly.

"Hm?"

"Why did you join Xaria Delivery and become what she calls a Citizen Soldier?"

He glanced over his shoulder, a soft smile on his face. "That's a story for another time, okay?"

I pouted, wanting to know the answer. "Alright, fine."

We continued on in silence, sand constantly stinging my eyes and making my whole body feel gritty. I fell into a state of calmness, trying to ignore the cliff side that was a few feet away from me and thinking maybe it was a false alarm-maybe no one was following us. I should have known that it was too peaceful. I heard the distinctive sound of a weapon wiz past my ear, making me flinch. I quickly, pulled a kunai out of my pouch. Blade reached for the handle of his katana that rested on his hip, unsheathing it and standing in front of me protectively.

"Blade," I hissed, trying to get him to move away from me.

"Stay back," He hissed back.

I watched as the enemy approached us- there were three of them. They were ninjas, but I didn't recognize the symbol on their head band, however the metal plates had a single slash through them. Missing-nin.

"They sent civilians to do a shinobi's work?" One of them questioned humorously. "These villages must be getting desperate."

I couldn't see Blade's face, but I heard him chuckle at the man's comment. What the heck was so funny? These men were ruthless missing-nin! They could kill us!

"What's so funny, civi?"

"Oh nothing," Blade replied back. In a blink of an eye he wasn't in front of me- reappearing behind the one who had questioned us. "I was just thinking that you really shouldn't underestimate a civilian. Some kick pretty serious ass."

My jaw literally dropped as I watched Blade, using the enemy's underestimation of him to his advantage; kick the missing-nin off the side of the cliff, sending a kunai after him. I heard a disturbing crunching sound, but couldn't take my eyes off Blade. He fought hand to hand with the other two ninjas- dodging, punching, and taking a few hits before coming back to his senses. He'd take his katana and skillfully blocks shuriken being hurtled at him from in front of him and the side of him.

Blade can't just be a normal citizen soldier like Akane and I. He...how is he keeping up with them? How did he kick they guy off the cliff? Questions swarmed through my head. Blade was a ninja…he had to have been to the academy- no he's at least at a chunin level.

Next thing I knew, the ninjas were defeated and Blade was walking back to me out of breath-blood and sweat dripping down his face. "Blade, you were a ninja, weren't you?"

"Not now sis," He replied, picking up his backpack from the ground. When he had discarded it was a mystery to me.

"No, Blade right now! How were you able to defeat them that easily?" I questioned, my voice raising. I wasn't angry, I was confused. "Why-"

"Kikyo!" He shouted, effectively shutting me up. His green eyes glared down at me- his muscular form towering over me. "Not now."

For the first time in four years, I was afraid of Blade. I looked up to him as my brother and a mentor. I knew I could always rely on him, and trusted him with every secret. Obviously it was a one-way street. With a shaky breath, I looked away from his hard gaze, saying: "I get it…not now."

I followed him in silence. I was going to ask him why he thought those missing-nins were after our package, but the question died in the back of my throat. I don't think I can take him snapping at me again.

It wasn't until night fall, when the wind died down, that we finally found a cave to settle down in for the night. Blade made a fire and heated us up some canned vegetables.

"Sis," He said softly, breaking the silence. "I'm sorry."

I looked up to meet his gaze, knowing that he meant. "It's fine…I shouldn't have pushed the issue."

He shook his head, placing his empty can beside him. "No, I shouldn't have gotten so mad about it. It's just hard to talk about." He sighed, looking out at the night sky beyond the mouth of the cave. "I was a ninja for Konoha. I used to wear that headband so proudly. I was one of the top students in my class, skilled mainly in taijutsu and weaponry- my ninjutsu sucks not going to lie." His hand curled into a fist. "I was a genin, passed the Chunin Exam not long after, and there I was, feeling like a big man when in reality I was weak. I got cocky on a mission." My heart ached as I watched him tremble from the memories playing in his mind. "My teammate died because of me- I let Hikaru die because of my stupidity and cockiness. Every time I looked at my jacket and headband I felt like a failure- so I quit. But that left me with more problems. I needed money and I had all this skill that wasn't being put to good use. That's when I realized that I shouldn't have quit. I should have learned from the mistake and kept going, but it was too late." He brought his gaze back to me, "That's essentially how I ended up working for Xaria. I needed the work and some way to help the village after I forfeited my duties as a ninja."

I could tell that what he told me was the abridged version of his tale, but I wouldn't push it. I was grateful that he told me that much. "Thanks for telling me."

"If we're going to be doing more jobs like this together, it's probably best that you know anyway," He replied. He reached over to his bag and began to pull out his blankets. "Let's get some sleep. We leave as soon as the sun rises."

As I laid down, the fire slowly burning out, I reflected back on my day. I know I wasn't the strongest, heck I was mediocre, but I thought I could handle more challenging courier missions. I loved the pressure, the need to meet the set deadline- the feeling of being depended on. I finally got the taste of a real mission- the danger and what true fear was. Without Blade, I would have been dead. In a way, I was like him during his chunin days- cocky and full of myself.

You idiot, I thought, berating myself. You really don't know what you're doing…

[Author's Corner]

~Thank you to all who read! Leave thoughts/comments/critiques in a review!

~Here's Blade's profile:

Name: Blade (Last name unknown- or Blade could simply be an alias, no one knows currently)

Age: 20

Appearance: Blade is about 5'8, muscular and lean from years of training. His hair a chestnut brown, short in spiky toughs. His eyes are green- nothing special about them really. His skin is lightly tanned from sun exposure, though he has a light complexion.

Attire: His usual appearance is black pants, black ninja sandles, and red shirt that is similar to the undershirt that Kakashi wears. On his hip he has his katana and on his left leg is is weapon pouch. When he is not on jobs/missions he wears simple shorts and t-shirts around town.

Family: None known- considers Kikyo his little sister