Chapter 1

"Woof! Woof! Woof! Wake up! Wake up!"

Sango Kurohyou peeked out from under her pillow and glared at the abominable alarm clock that had dared to wake her up. She growled and tossed her pillow at the clock, making it and the pillow tumble off of the nightstand and crash to the floor. Stretching luxuriously, Sango sat up from bed and glanced over to the window beside her bed. A sleepy smile spread over her face as the sunlight blinded her.

"Eh-heh. Shiny…" she mumbled.

Sango stared out of the window for a moment until her eyes adjusted to the harsh morning light. The bright, beautiful, blue sky greeted her. Her grin widened even further. "Such a pretty sky…" Sango glanced over to the clock on the floor, her vision still a little blurry from sleep. Slowly, she was able to make out the numbers blinking on the clock: 8:15 A.M. A sense of urgency pierced through the fog of Sango's muddled mind. It hit her suddenly.

"AH! I'm late!"

Sango bounded out of her bed and threw on her clothes, snatching up her headband as she bolted into the kitchen. Tying the headband around her neck in her usual particular fashion, Sango snagged a bread roll out of the pastry basket that she kept on the table in case of emergencies such as this. She stuffed it into her mouth as she raced out of the door, grabbing her gear and tools on the way out. She hopped onto the railing on the balcony outside of her door, gauging the distance between her perch and the nearest rooftop. She leaped across the gap, landing neatly on her target roof. Sango then sprinted for the meeting place, sending some of her chakra down to her feet for stability as she ran.

"Aw…" Sango sniffled through the bread, "I'm so late…"

Sango took a moment to cram the rest of the bread roll down her throat as fast as she could without choking. Breakfast of champions. Sango's philosophy was to never miss breakfast – no matter how measly it might be. As her sensei has taught her, it was important to eat a healthy breakfast every day. That…and always eat her vegetables.

Gloom soured Sango's usually cheerful countenance at the thought of her sensei. He was going to be so very disappointed in her for being late. Not that this would really be a change of pace. Sango drew closer to her destination until she finally managed to arrive, leaping down onto the street below. She glanced around anxiously for her sensei but found no sign of him.

"Huh…?"

Sango made certain and double-checked the area for her sensei, but he remained ever elusive. "Am I too late? Maybe he left to try to find me! Or worse…he got tired of waiting and just left!" With a groan of self-loathing, Sango plopped down onto a bench. She determined that she would wait right in this spot in case he returned. Settling in to make herself more comfortable, Sango basked in the pleasant, warm glow of the morning sun. Her eyelids began to droop imperceptibly as the young kunoichi became increasingly drowsy.

"Ah! No…can't sleep…fading…"

Sango sat up and yawned, rubbing her eyes. Not good. She needed to do something to keep her awake! She was growing drowsy again. "Stupid, warm, comfortable sun," she muttered under her breath. Sango bounced to her feet and began stretching, pumping her arms, and doing whatever she could to energize herself. It would keep her alert, and a good workout always got her pumped for whatever missions that her sensei deigned to send her out on.

"Aren't we bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning?" commented a familiar voice behind Sango.

"AHHHHhhh….so…good to see you, sensei," Sango half-shouted, half-whispered in a decrescendo as she whirled around to face her sensei, gripping her chest. She had thought that her heart had stopped for a second. In all likelihood, it probably had in that singular moment of abject terror. Sheepishly, Sango smiled up at her silver-haired sensei with a look on her face akin to that of a guilty puppy.

"Um, sorry that I'm late…again. The position of the sun and the moon…and the shininess…I…Forgive me!"

Sango nearly keeled over trying to make the deepest bow possible to her sensei. The kunoichi heard the exasperated sigh and a soft chuckle that marked her sensei's acceptance of her apology. Snapping back up to stand erect once more, Sango looked at her sensei with wide eyes of anticipation.

"So…? What's the mission today? What did you call me out for? Are we gonna hunt down Mr. Mittens again? Or walk Mrs. Takabuchi's humongous dog again? Last time was fun! He really likes minesweeping!"

The unbridled enthusiasm that Sango displayed was characteristic of the young kunoichi. Many would call her easily excitable. Sango preferred the term, "ready and willing". Her sensei looked off into the middle distance and rubbed the back of his head as he thought of how to phrase his answer so that Sango wouldn't spontaneously combust when he tried to brief her on the mission. At least, that's what Sango assumed he was doing.

"Well…actually…we are to escort an affluent merchant and his caravan to the Land of Rivers. I've asked Guy and Kurenai, and they gave permission for Lee and Shino to accompany us. Since we're not a full squad."

The news was met with disbelief at first. Sango had never been assigned on a mission outside of the village before. That was not to say that she had no field experience before. Orochimaru's invasion of the Konoha had provided ample learning opportunities, but most of the missions following the invasion involved the repair of the Konoha. It didn't help matters that Sango had been a year behind most of the other genin at the time. After the invasion, Sasuke had left the village to study under Orochimaru. That had left an opening in a particular sensei's squad. When Sakura and Naruto weren't off with Tsunade and Jiraiya, Squad 7 actually had some opportunities to work as a cohesive unit again.

Unfortunately, Naruto had left with Jiraiya on a long training adventure to return who knew when. Sakura was also kept constantly busy by Lady Tsunade, so that left Sango without much in the way of teammates. To have a chance to go out on a mission like this, let alone with a full squad was mind-boggling to Sango. Maybe she would finally get a chance to try out some new jutsu in combat!

"That sounds…amazing! When do we head out, Kakashi-sensei?"

"As soon as you've packed your things. Lee and Shino will meet us by the front gates."

"Alright! Gotta go get ready! See you soon, Kakashi-sensei!" Sango said with cheer as she bounced away, heading back toward her house to pack her things. As anxious as she had been to see the world beyond the village, Sango had somehow miraculously managed to keep it in check until the right moment came. That moment was now. She was beyond ready. Grinning from ear to ear, Sango soared over the rooftops.

"Whoohoo!"