I

It was sunny inside, the sunlight shining on all sorts of scrolls and papers. I, a single female ninja, stood before one of the council members. "Here for your next mission, Hitomi?"

"Yes." I answered, my voice heavy with distraught. My last mission wasn't exactly pleasant. I come from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I stand about 5'8", have long silver hair and one blue eye, while the right is covered by my headband. I'm currently wearing a red halter, black caprees, and have black armbands and a black wrist brace on my right wrist...don't ask. "The last mission was a little...bloody. You have anything for me that doesn't require such slaughter?"

The man unrolled a scroll and slid it toward me. "Is this within your intrest?"

"What?" What was written shocked me. "This is for...the termination of a jonin and three genin. Since when do kill kids and their sensei's?" I read it again. "I won't do it. It's... It's wrong to kill a kid."

He stared at me it my eyes. "If you don't do this, someone else will. Now go, and don't come back until those four are dead. Understand?" He crossed his arms.

I grabbed the scroll. "Fine, but I might not come back afterwards. I am going after a jounin."

"Just go. He should be out in a clearing. The genin that he's training are on a C rank in the forest just outside the city gates. He should be there as well. You should take someone with you, if you need assurance." He leaned back in his chair, staring at me overe his glasses.

"Fine." I turned my back on him, walking to the door. "I'll take Saika with me." I left.

The hallway was filled with chunin and genin. Worthless genin...How can they even call themselves ninjas? No matter. Continuing down the hall, I ran into Iruka.

"Hey, Hitomi!" He was running. "Hitomi, wait up!"

He was panting once he caught up to me. "Iruka, is this important? I'm kind of in a hurry."

"This will only take a moment..." He breathing normally now, but seemed concerned about something. "Have you seen Naruto?"

"No. Why?"

"Oh man! Kakashi's gonna kill me! Or worse, Jiraiya!"

He began to run off, but I stopped him. "Calm down, would you? Kakashi's not the kind of person to act irrationally. I didn't think you were either, but..." I paused, hesitant to speak my mind. "Naruto will turn up sometime today, so stop worrying." I looked away from him, and spotted my comrade. "Just wait for a while. Look, I'm in a rush, Iruka. I'll talk to you later. Saika!" I left Iruka to worry about the kid, and soon found myselft jumping from tree to tree outside the city gates.

"So this mission... It involves him?"

I was solemn. I... "Yes. But he's mine. I'll let you take care of the three genin." I knew he could sense the doubt in my voice. "Saika... This wasn't my choice. I know we work as assassins, but this seems like going too far. What do you think?"

Saika's long blue hair covered his face, along with his only visible eyes. "Does it matter what I think? You shouldn't have this sort of fear. You've been one of us for two years. You're ready, Sei even said so himself. You're a kagunin, you've been touched by the Kekaya..."

Him stopping was a sign that we were close to our targets. I stopped one tree ahead of him. I closed my left eye and shoved my headband off of my right, revealing a red eye that wasn't truly mine.

"Genin ahead, three hundred and seventy-four yards. Jounin, three hundred and eighty-one yards. Move in and strike. Keep silent and keep to the trees until ready to strike. Begin!"

Jumping to other trees opposite to the direction Saika had, I stopped and opened my left eye. Just so you know, my right eye isn't mine. It belonged to the Kekayaken, a deity that all Kagunin are taught to worship. Parts of it are given to us, replacing the human part. It's a sign of a master Kagunin. Now you're probably wondering what a Kagunin is, aren't you? Well... the kagunin is basically a jounin that has mastered all types of juitsu and can wield all possible weapons, mainly swords, that have ever been formed, we're also a very well-kept secret. I myself am a master of genjuitsu, and I can perform types of ninjuitsu that have the ability to kill, not to mention that I've also trained in the Medical Core for four years... Saika is a master of all ninjuitsu, and can wield an Ahura, a long sword. He has the heart of the Kekayaken; it's what's keeping him alive. He... Enough about me and Saika, other information will be revealed in time.

Now, I stood on a branch behind my target, hoping that Saika was also in position. I could hear the conversation between my targets.

"Kakashi sensei!!! Why can't we fight against other ninja yet!?"

"I've already told you, Naruto, you're not ready. All three of you are still just Genin. If you want..." He pointed a finger at his face. "You can try to fight against me."

I couldn't see his face, but I guessed that it was a blank look. After all, it's Kakashi we're talkin' about, right?

"You serious?" Sasuke was grinning. "We couldn't beat you the last time we tried, and it hasn't even been a month since..."

"Kakashi sensei?"

He was looking in my direction. "Quiet, Sakura!"

She had a dumbfounded look on her face. It didn't surprise him, but Saika was probably wondering what I was thinking, letting myself be known. I was surprised that he hadn't seen me though. But then again, he was just a Jounin that was skilled enough to become a Kagunin.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan, Hidden Leaf Village. Age...unknown." I jumped down from my post. "It's been a while since I last saw you. You've grown stronger, finally a sensei to three snot-nosed Genin. Ha..."

He cautiously backed away, moving closer to his pupils. "Who are you...?" He noticed one of my katanas. "Kagunin... Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, get out of this area. Where there's one, there's always more."

I glared at him. "Can you sense him, or not?"

His right eye moved around while his left remained concealed. "There's only one more of you? Why?"

"Saika, now's your chance!" I shouted, cutting the Jounin off from his Genin. First to hit the ground was the Uchiha boy, followed by the girl. "Nope, no Genin for you!" I punched him in the stomach, but he burst into a small log. "Substitution!? Where are you?" I scanned for him with my Kekayaken piece, and soon found Saika laying beside me, out of it.

"Keep your bloodstained hands off of my students!" He revealed his left eye. It, too, was like mine. "Now the real battle begins!" Throwing a kunai at me, he told the only kid left standing to get the others out of the area.

"Saika." I kneeled down beside him, forming a handsign. With both my eyes closed, I used a healing juitsu on him. Saika breathed easier, but still didn't wake up. "Be safe. I'll be back momentarily." I stood, and couldn't believe what I was looking at. "How can you hold a piece of the Kekayaken!? You're not a Kagunin! Unless..." I stared doubtfully at the ground.

"It's a part of my past the I'd rather forget!" He threw three more kunai, which missed my head by inches. "Don't you realize that we're the same? I know what kind of juitsu Kagunin can do."

"I'll give you this, your aim is good, but how's your detection?" Forming a handsign, I became invisible to his sight. He could probably see me though, with that eye of his. Naruto had returned, which was one of the most foolish things I've ever seen a genin do.

"Sensei, they're in a safe place! What now?"

I had to laugh and come out from my invisibility. "You've certainly got quite a piece of art under your instruction don't you?" The white-haired ninja made a strike for me, but...

"Sensei!" Naruto was now struggling to get free from my grip.

"You should've listened to your sensei, kid. You should've stayed with your squad. Look at what this has come to... Now you're gonna die because of a foolish mistake."

"Don't hurt Naruto."

I looked up at Kakashi. "I see you've gained the ability of sympathy." I sighed.

"Kagunin are trained assassins, but don't go after someone just for fun, which means...someone wants me dead. Who?"

I shook my head. "Are you really that naive?" I held a kunai to the kid's neck. "Look, I don't like having to kill people, but hey, it's a living. I never met the client who wanted the four of you dead. But since I have to kill someone, I figure that I might as well enjoy it. As much as I hate to..." He tossed five shuriken at me, all missing.

"So you enjoy killing, is that it? No, not for a trained assassin..."

"Is that why you left the Kagunin, and went back to being a simple Jounin?" I pressed the kunai into the kid's neck, just far enough to draw blood. Naruto winced. "You can't perform any juitsu in your condition, Kakashi. You shouldn't even be able to move." A second image of me appeared.

He was lying on the ground, glaring at me as best he could. "What did you do to my body!?"

I tossed the kid to the ground and formed a handsign. My hands began to burn in my own chakra. "I numbed your body with a medical type juitsu. The muslces of your arms and legs should be in this state for at least two hours." I crouched down beside him. "How does it feel to lose at your own game?" I drove a kunai into his right thigh and listened to his agonized scream.

Next thing I knew, I had a kunai sticking out my back, just above my heart. "What?" I turned around, only to see my comrade standing behind me with his sword in hand and another kunai was thrown. "Ngh! Why!? Saika!"

"This bounty is all mine. I do thank you from restoring my chakra and mending the cuts, though. Say hello to my father for me in hell." I could no longer see. Trying to perform the right handsign, I was able to heal myself.

"Not quite, Saika." I drove my only katana into his chest, piercing that Kekayaken heart. "You... Hitomi... Why?" He fell to the ground and began twitching. "Hitomi..."

"To repay your favor. You can say hello to your father while in hell instead of me. Maybe I can claim you as the bounty instead." I looked over at Naruto. "Kid, call up the Rasengan and finish him off. He doesn't deserve to die slowly."

He gave me an angry look. "Why should I do what you say!? You tried to kill us!?"

"You do as I ask, and I'll heal your sensei, as well as you and your friends. If not..." I looked over at Kakashi. "He might survive the night. Now, finish off Saika like I said!"

"Fine!" I was amazed at the kid's strength. Saika's body was now nothing more than a heap of burned flesh. "Now help Kakashi sensei! And then you can help Sakura and Sauske like you said!"

I gave an angered sigh. "Would you take it slower? I can't help him here, a shaded area would do better. Tell me, where are your friends?"

"Back in the village. Why?"

I lifted the Jounin onto my back and went into the shade of the trees. "Coming? I might need your help, Naruto."

"Yeah, I'm comin'..." He followed me into the trees as I put down Kakashi and began to release chakra through both of my hands.His cuts began to mend, but something still wasn't right.

"Naruto, do you have any water with you?" He looked at me, clueless. "Well, do you?"

"No, why do you need water anyway?"

"Go find some, and hurry back. He might not even last the night if I heal the wounds and stop the bleeding. That's why I need the water." The bleeding had stopped, and now, the cuts and gashes began to mend. Naruto had run off panicing. "Hm?" I could sense someone behind me. "You can come out, Koji."

A young man with short spiky blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a black muscle shirt and beige board shorts had jumped down from a tree. "Hitomi. What happened here? Where's Saika? And..." He moved around to my right. "Isn't he one of your targets? Why are you trying to heal him!?"

"Silence, apprentice!" I sighed again. "Koji, do you have any plasma pills with with you?" I stopped releasing chakra through my hands. I could hear him check all of his pouches.

He was holding a small black pellet. "Last one I got. Are you all out or something? You don't look like you're bleeding, well, not badly."

Naruto had returned, but was hiding behind a tree. He threw a kunai, but something had clashed with it. "Dang!"

"Who's there!?"

I sighed once more. "Naruto, he's an ally of mine. Come on, he doesn't have long. You brought more water, didn't you?" He came closer and held a small gourd in front of my face. I took it from him, and tossed the pill in. Plugging it again with the cork, I gave it Naruto to shake while I collected a few plants. Placing what I had collected on my wounds, my hands began to heal as well.

"There, but how's this gonna help him?"

I gave Kakashi some of the water, and then sat against a tree and removed my wrist brace. "Listen closely." Koji did the same as me, placing his Fuma on the ground. "Because of what happened... your sensei's lost more blood than I initially thought. No matter what I did, he would've died because his body wouldn't have been able to regenerate. The water you brought back, I spiked it with a plasma pill. He should be fine, but now, I need rest before I can help your friends." I closed my eyes and began to sleep. Koji's words echoed in my ear. Why are you trying to heal him...