Ino was known to be a fairly popular girl. Many people always thought that she would be Uchiha Sasuke's first choice in a mate. However, there was always that one other girl that made it difficult for the Yamanaka. Haruno Sakura was the blonde girl's rival. She'd be damned if she let the pinkette win over Sasuke's heart. Sure, Ino had a set back with being on a different team than Sasuke, but she was determined. It also helped that Naruto was constantly encouraging her. Ino thought it was of Naruto to cheer her on, but she knew why. He just didn't want Sakura to date Sasuke. Shikamaru, on the other hand, didn't care either way. The placid boy simply wanted silence. Chouji was a little on Shikamaru's side for that one and after a well placed slap by Sakura, Naruto joined them.

"Ino doesn't hit me that hard…" Naruto grumbled as he moved over to Shikamaru's side.

"So troublesome." Shikamaru grumbled as he watched the red mark on Naruto's cheek fade as fast as it had formed.

That was something that Ino and Shikamaru had begun to ignore. The blonde boy recuperated extremely fast. No matter what his injury, he was always good to go the next day. Asuma always put it up to the fact that Naruto was a fool and fools don't get sick. Or, in Naruto's case, don't stay sick. Shikamaru sighed and glanced at the upcoming fork in the road. His team would be taking the left route, while Team Seven would head down the right. He was grateful that it would quiet down after Uchiha Sasuke was gone. The group stopped before the two roads to say their farewells. Tazuna and the other old man that Team Seven was escorting spoke jovially of meeting up again sometime.

"Well, Kakashi… looks like this is where we part." Asuma said with a grin.

"Looks like it." Kakashi closed his book and looked on dully at the Genin teams.

"Asuma-sensei, we're going this way, right?" Naruto asked pointing down the left pathway.

"Yep, that's the way we're going. Team Ten, say goodbye to Team Seven." Asuma said.

"What? Why?" Ino gasped in horror as she remained clinging to Sasuke's arm.

"We're going down the right path." Kakashi pointed towards the left road.

"Ha." Sakura grinned at Ino.

"Tch." Sasuke strategically removed himself from the grasp of both girls and stood near Chouji.

"Have fun, Kakashi." Asuma gave a wave before trotting down the left path.

Kakashi frowned as Team Ten and Tazuna followed the brunette Jounin. He had the strangest feeling that Asuma was actually enjoying this. That Asuma was having fun teasing him. Kakashi looked back at his team and gave them an eye smile. They turned and started to head down the other path. The silver haired Jounin cast one last glance over at Team Ten before plunging his face back into his book. He also didn't miss the curious stare that his Uchiha student cast him. Kakashi figured he'd have to be a little more careful again with his dissatisfaction. Asuma would just love it if his students caught on that he'd wanted Uzumaki Naruto on his team. So, Kakashi couldn't possibly give his Jounin comrade that pleasure.

"Asuma-sensei?" The Jounin looked down at Naruto.

"What is it, Naruto?" Asuma lit a new cigarette.

"That other Jounin… Kakashi-sensei… he doesn't like you, does he?" Naruto asked.

"Hm?" Asuma raised an eyebrow.

"I got that same impression, Asuma-sensei." Shikamaru drawled.

"Oh really?" Asuma inhaled on the cigarette, then blew the smoke out and chuckled lightly. "I suppose we have a little wedge growing between us lately, but only because I keep teasing him."

"About what?" Ino asked with a sly grin.

"A mutual acquaintance of ours." Asuma answered back with a sly grin of his own. "I'm just surprised you all caught onto that."

"Naruto said he was radiating distaste the whole walk." Shikamaru nodded at Naruto.

"Was he now? I'd hardly noticed." Asuma laughed.

They group gave Asuma a strained look and turned their attentions back to their hike. As they moved along, something interesting caught Asuma's eye. He looked up at the sky, there wasn't a cloud. The area hadn't gotten any rain in quite some time. So, why would there be a puddle of water nestled so happily on the road? The Jounin maintained a neutral disposition as he and his team went along. If it was something to worry about, he'd have to wait and see. The group was in an easy going rhythm and he didn't feel like starting anything unnecessarily. If that puddle was indeed what he thought it was, then he'd deal with it when the time came. Several steps later, a pair of ninja exited the puddle and leaped toward Asuma first.

Their spiked chain wrapped around Asuma's large build and tightened until the flesh was ripped apart. Ino screeched in horror. Naruto's body locked up and he froze as one of the ninja's claws scratched his hand. Shikamaru was the only one to act, he knelt down on one knew and brought his hands together. The two ninja didn't know what hit them, the just knew that they couldn't move. Shikamaru allowed himself a momentary smirk. They were from another village that was for sure. Ino gave a sigh in relief; she'd unconsciously pulled a Kunai knife from her side pouch. Naruto as well had a knife in his hand as he pulled himself out of the state of shock he'd been in.

"Naruto, I can't hold this too much longer." Shikamaru called out.

"R-right." Naruto nodded and looked at the ninja closest to him. "Who's your target?"

"Stupid kid." The man growled out.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru's shout came just in time.

Naruto was able to jump back from the attack that came swiftly down from the one he'd asked. Shikamaru's shadow binding wasn't nearly strong enough yet. The team knew that, but someday, it would get better. So, for now, Naruto felt grateful that the lazy Genin could use it in the first place. The two ninja jumped into the air and Naruto prepared to move away, but a shadow appeared before him. Both of the enemies were caught rather easily in the arms of a different ninja. Ino was thrilled, she stepped forward in clapped her hands together. Shikamaru sighed in relief and Naruto grinned ecstatic to see that their teacher was alright.

"Sorry, 'bout that Naruto, Shikamaru, Ino." Asuma said. "I just needed to check how you'd handle the pressure."

"Yeah, well next time you decide to do that, leave out the theatrics." Shikamaru grumbled.

"I agree, I think you could have done that without making us watch you be split into sections." Ino scolded, folding her arms angrily.

"Right, right. Sorry." Asuma grinned and tied the two ninja to a tree. "So, from Mizu, huh? Now, my student asked you who your target is. Mind telling me?"

"Forget it." One of the Mizu ninjas growled.

"Right, then I'll assume that it's Tazuna-san." Asuma said with a frown. "If you were after me… you certainly wouldn't have been Chuunin."

Asuma stood straight and looked over at the guilty looking man. Tazuna's eyes met his and it was obvious that this wasn't an escort mission anymore. Also, judging from the strange liquid on the claws of the two ninja, they had poison in them. He'd seen Naruto get scratched and more than likely there was poison in the wound. This mission was over.

"Well, Tazuna-san." Asuma sighed. "I have a feeling that there're a few things that you haven't told us. We're going to have to head back to Konoha. This isn't a C-rank mission anymore and Naruto's been hurt. There's poison on their claws."

"True, we'll have to turn back." Ino nodded in agreement.

"No!" Naruto ground out.

"Naruto, you're poisoned, if we don't get it out of you, you could die." Shikamaru grumbled.

Asuma nodded and gave Naruto an apologetic smile. Unfortunately, Naruto would have nothing of it. The blonde took the Kunai he was holding and jammed it into the scratch. Asuma's eyes widened at the action. He was trying to bleed out the poison? Ino gasped and stepped forward.

"Naruto! What are you doing!?" Ino shouted.

"He's trying to bleed out the poison." Shikamaru said.

"And…" Naruto looked at all of them. "And it's a promise… I won't need protection anymore. From now on, I'll protect all of you."

"Hahaha… well, I suppose we can at least escort Tazuna-san to Wave Country." Asuma ambled over to Naruto and crouched down, holding out a hand. "Here, we better wrap that up now. I think you got enough out."

"Oh, okay." Naruto placed his hand in Asuma's.

Asuma took out his bandages and looked at the wound that Naruto had given himself. It wasn't terribly deep. What intrigued Asuma was to see that the cut was already healing shut. The Jounin eyed it momentarily before he felt Naruto's hand twitch in his own. He looked up to see worried blue eyes staring at him. He grinned and wrapped Naruto's hand. Asuma figured that it was probably the Kyuubi's doing again. Giving Naruto unnatural healing abilities. After all, Naruto lived off of ramen and practically nothing else. If Kyuubi wasn't active within Naruto, the boy would be dead from malnutrition. That, or Naruto would be larger than Chouji. Asuma stood and glanced back at the two Chuunin. Someone was after Tazuna and now that the Chuunin had failed.

More than likely, the next ninja sent after the old man would be Jounin level. The team began to walk again. Asuma was not looking forward to what this meant. He was hoping to continue the string of easy missions for a while. He didn't really want to have a show down with a Jounin. Especially, a Jounin from Mizu. He was never very fond of them. They were rougher than Asuma wanted to deal with and usually they wouldn't five up until dead. That made them even more annoying. He was hoping that Kakashi was having better luck than he was. Kakashi felt a sneeze coming, but managed to stifle it. His team was walking quite nicely in front of their charge. He was able to just meander along behind them without a fuss.

It was rare that he got to leave Konoha on a mission so easy and Kakashi found himself enjoying it. The team was chatting with their charge, an old man from Grass Country who specialized in weaponry. He was travelling home before going back out into the world and he didn't want any unsavory characters following him. Being a weapon specialist made the man a target for ninjas that want a powerful tool built by him. It had already happened twice and the poor guy couldn't put his family through that again. So, Kakashi sympathized. However, he couldn't help but wonder just how Team Ten was doing. He supposed that it would be a little more entertaining with Naruto's hyper tendencies.

"Everyone in the boat." Asuma said quietly.

"Why are we sneaking around now?" Ino asked.

"I believe Tazuna-san can explain that for us." Asuma took a seat next to his team and looked towards the old man. "You need to tell us what's going on. If you don't, the mission ends as soon as we reach the shores of Wave Country."

"Alright, alright." Tazuna sighed. "I apologize for having lied, but our country doesn't have enough money to have paid for the more expensive B-rank. You see, Wave Country is cut off from the outside world because we're an island. Not even our Feudal Lord has much money. So, I'm building a bridge to the main land. If I can complete it, then our village could grow and become more prosperous."

"Who's trying to stop you then?" Naruto cocked his head to the side.

"There's a man who owns a shipping company, Gato." Tazuna sighed. "He runs the shipping company on the surface, but he uses underground methods as well. Using rogue ninja to do his dirty work and keep competition low. If I finish the bridge, he'll lose a lot of money."

"I see. Gato, huh?" Asuma frowned deeply. "I've heard of him."

"Yes… and I understand if you don't want to help me after we get to shore." Tazuna said apathetically. "I'll probably get killed before I get home and my cute grandson will cry and cry. My daughter will grow angry and curse the name of Konoha for the rest of her life, but I understand."

Asuma felt the guilt that Tazuna was using on them work. Shikamaru, Ino and Naruto all looked depressed at the idea. Asuma shrugged and gave Tazuna a strained smile.

"Well, I guess we have no choice. We'll stick around until the completion of the bridge." Asuma said.

"Oh! Thank you very much!" Tazuna smiled gratefully, inwardly congratulating himself on the win.

"Hey, hey, could I help building the bridge?" Naruto asked.

"Hm? How would you help?" Tazuna eyed the young blonde.

"He can make a lot of clones of himself." Ino interjected.

"Yeah, he'd probably be perfect for assisting you numbers wise." Asuma nodded.

"Oh? Well, I suppose that would be pretty great!" Tazuna nodded happily.

"Alright!" Naruto whooped and was promptly pulled back in with hands over his mouth to silence him.

"Naruto, shh!" Ino chided.

"Nothing but trouble." Shikamaru grumbled.

"Sorry." Naruto laughed nervously.

The boat reached a harbor and floated to a stop next to a wooden walkway. The Genin were the first to step off. Naruto and Ino glanced around curiously. Shikamaru yawned widely, too bored and tired to really care about the scenery. Tazuna stepped onto the walkway next and looked around fondly. He was home. Asuma thanked the man that rowed them there and stepped onto the walkway. The man nodded to them and turned on the engine to his boat, leaving them behind. The group turned and walked towards land. Asuma was surprised that they had made it so far without another attack. However, he had a strange nagging sensation that they wouldn't get to Tazuna's home so easily. Shikamaru even looked a little more alert than normal.

They walked along quietly. Naruto and Ino had noticed that Shikamaru was more awake and both looked to Asuma. Their silent question was answered and Asuma smirked. He was surprised to see Naruto catching on as quickly as he was. He supposed that having Naruto learning from Shikamaru and Ino was a good idea after all. The blonde was more capable now than he'd ever been, while still managing to be Naruto. Suddenly, Naruto jerked a Kunai knife out and tossed it into some bushes. Ino and Shikamaru were at his side, prepared. Asuma raised an eyebrow at it because it was rather cute. A white rabbit leaped from the bush in fright and Ino and Shikamaru groaned.

"Naruto, it was just a rabbit!" Ino scolded.

"Oh no! I'm sorry Mr. Rabbit!" Naruto ran forward and held the defenseless creature in his arms.

"Getting us all worked up for nothing." Shikamaru grumbled a little.

"Hey, I swear someone was watching us!" Naruto retorted.

Asuma looked at the rabbit. He'd seen one like that before, but it wasn't white this time of year. He remembered Kakashi explaining to Gai that type of rabbit is only white during the winter. If you spot one that's white any other time of the year that means it's been kept in a dark place. That meant, this rabbit was a tame one kept by a person. A twig broke from behind and Asuma knew. This was where his luck would run out. No matter how much he didn't want to fight a Jounin. No matter how much he wanted a nice and easy mission. He'd have to deal with what he was dealt. A sound of something heavy and metallic flying through the air reached the Jounin's ears and he turned to his team.

"EVERYONE DOWN NOW!" Asuma shouted.


Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah… this really is going to be a pain to write! Really… seriously… holy schnikies… *dies* The length of the chapters will vary based on what's going on.

Okay… couple things;

1. The romance between Kakashi and Naruto won't really "spark" until Naruto comes back from training with Jiraiya (yes, I'm spoiling my own story… so there)

2. I've put a little something in my profile. It's near the bottom of the profile section before it shows my stories. Please, please read that if you are new to my stories. I'm getting a lot of the same messages/reviews on things.

3. There's no bashing in my stories that's any more excessive than in the show because I actually like all of the characters… well except Danzo.