So, as Genin, there are missions all of us go on, and I will say that they are quite boring. Most of the ones we get include finding a missing cat, weeding gardens, or walking dogs. These are the "D" rank missions. There are four ranks of missions. Academy students don't go on any, of course. Genin go on "D" missions, while Chuunin go on "C" and "B" missions. Jounin go on "A" missions. When we were in line to get our next mission, Naruto had to open his big mouth and say our missions were stupid. He said he had done too many stupid things in our missions. Sakura once again got mad at him. But, for his outburst, we did get granted with a level C mission. We were to escort an older gentleman named Tazuna to the Hidden Mist Village.

Once we got outside the village, Naruto and Tazuna got into a fight. I walked ahead to scout out some berries. I love the wild blackberries that grow through the forest, and I haven't been able to have any since I came to the village. They were perfectly ripe. I could feel Itachi laughing at me. Again with the laughing? I went back to where they were and Naruto was still arguing with Tazuna. Naruto looked at me.

"Where have you been! We've been waiting for you so we could leave!"

"Well, it looked to me like you two were arguing, so I took the chance to gather some ripe blackberries. Anybody want some?"

They all fell over and I started laughing. After that, we got on our way.

While we were walking through the forest, I noticed a puddle of water. This was weird because it was summertime and hadn't rained in days. I didn't mention this to Kakashi though. He noticed it himself. Soon we were attacked by two ninjas from my home, the Hidden Mist Village.

Kakashi was wrapped in chains and killed in front of us. That stopped the other three in their tracks immediately. Our most important mission was to get Tazuna to his village safely, so I moved. Sasuke stopped them from killing Naruto, but he didn't stop them fully. I jumped behind one of the ninjas and almost got him in the kidney with a shurikan. He got away, but I tricked him into a trap. I got caught by his poisoned claws, but I managed to knock him out the second he had fallen for it. Kakashi (he had used a replacement jutsu before) then knocked the other one out and carried them both away. We tied them to a tree and Kakashi explained some things for everyone, like how he knew they were after him, how he waited to see who the ninjas were after before actually attacking. They were both Chuunin level.

Itachi was disappointed in me, because he knew he had trained me better than to get wounded in such a battle. I got angry at that, because, after all, I'm only technically a Genin, and I didn't want to show off quite yet. He scoffed at me. I tried to block him off from my mind. It…worked. The distance between us must be giving me an advantage.

The old man, who was actually a bridge builder from the Land of the Waves, told us that he didn't know he would put us in this much trouble. He was building a bridge from the land to the island where his village was. This way, the village wouldn't be in the rule of Gatou, a tycoon with horrible intentions. He told us that he had to put in for a level "C" ninja mission because he didn't have enough money to pay for a level "A" or "B" ninja level.

We didn't know whether to continue this mission or not, until Naruto bled the poison out and gave us all a lecture.

I guess that was the best way to get the poison out. Bleed it. And so I did.

We were later attacked by none other than Zabuza. He was in a tree looking at us while balancing on his sword.

"Zabuza?" I asked in wonder. Kakashi heard me, but no one else.

"Oh, my, my, you are Momochi Zabuza, the exiled ninja of the Village Hidden in the Mist," said Kakashi.

Damn it, I thought. Now they all know. I turned and looked behind me. Sakura was looking at me strangely, Sasuke gave me a weird glance, but Naruto didn't notice anything…stupid.

Naruto started running forward, but Kakashi told him to stay back…it was too dangerous for them. I walked up next to Kakashi. Kakashi didn't tell me to go back, but he lifted up his head band and showed all his Sharingan.

"I'm guessing you are Kakashi, the Sharingan user," said Zabuza. "I'm sorry, but I'll need you to hand over the geezer."

"Everyone, form the swastika formation," Kakashi said calmly.

"No," I defied him. I then realized he was talking to the other three. The swastika formation only needs three people.

"Protect Tazuna-san."

"It wouldn't help anyway. You know that," I said under my breath.

"Don't join the battle."

"Too late for that," I said somewhat jokingly.

"To not interfere with the battle is teamwork," he told me sternly. Then to Zabuza, "Fight me…"

"I'm honored that I can see the Sharingan I've heard about."

Naruto then asked a series of questions about the Sharingan, which Sasuke, along with Zabuza, answered.

"Let's cut the chit-chat here. I have to kill the old geezer right away."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura got into the swastika formation.

"Help them," Kakashi told me.

"Kakashi…you know what I need to do."

"Amaya, I am your sensei! Please, do what I say! Go!"

First, Zabuza used the Mist Concealment Jutsu and disappeared. Kakashi walked forward into the mist until he disappeared. I went into the opposite direction, knowing that Haku would be nearby. I opened my mind to everything around me that had a brain of it's own. Tazuna…Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto…Kakashi…Zabuza…ah, yes. Haku. He wasn't far. I snuck up behind him and put a shurikan to his throat. He was surprised.

"I've gotten good at the silent killing technique, haven't I?" I asked him.

"But you would have killed my by now if that were the case," he answered.

"Yes, but I couldn't kill you Haku, I think of you too highly."

"Amaya?!"

"Yes," I laughed.

"What are you doing here?!" he asked.

"I'm with them," I nodded toward Kakashi and my team. "How bout you? Why do you want to kill Tazuna?"

"Well, we're working for Gatou. He hired us, but we didn't know you would be here, or them," he said gesturing once again toward my team.

"Zabuza didn't recognize me."

"Yes, but he noticed you disappeared."

"Yeah, and my team thinks I ran away," I said, reading their minds.

"Well, I'm here watching until Zabuza gets in a bad position."

"Me too, well, except, you know, for my team."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

Kakashi and Zabuza did this whole water clone thing, until Zabuza got the upper hand and kicked Kakashi into the water, where he trapped him in a water prison jutsu. Then he sent his clone back to kill the bridge builder. Kakashi told them to run away, but Sasuke was thinking, "No, we can't run. That was never an option the moment you got caught. Where the hell is Amaya? Stupid, ran away." Then he went into thinking about strategies. It was my turn to get back in there. If I didn't, they might get hurt.

"Gotta go," I said.

"See ya later…hopefully," replied Haku.

The clone of Zabuza had already knocked off Naruto's headband. That gave me an idea. Sasuke went for Zabuza, giving me the perfect opportunity. He knocked Sasuke out of the way, and I sent my headband flying at him. He stood in front of Naruto, who was frozen in fear, when my headband hit him. I assumed a defence position in front of Naruto.

"You won't hurt them. Not on my life."

"Hahaha! The little one thinks she can hurt me."

"I'm not so little anymore," I said under my breath, and I felt Naruto behind me getting up. "You ready for your chance Naruto? The chance to fight? To never back down? Because I'm here by your side. Let's do this!"

Naruto and I both ran at him. I read Naruto's mind, and he was bent on getting his headband back. I figured out what he was trying to do and copied it on the opposite side. Everyone yelled at us to get back. No. This was going to work. Naruto got hit back, but he got his headband. I had jumped at the last minute and jabbed a kunai in the back of the clone. It hadn't expected that. Its focus was on Naruto. It disintegrated, and I picked up my headband, staring at the real Zabuza.

"You can do better than that," I told him. It was too easy. He should have known. Why didn't he hit me the way he hit Naruto?

He made another clone, and this time I could feel him watching me, closely. If I tried that again, it wouldn't work. Kakashi stared at me, but I let him keep his thoughts. Naruto had fallen back, and I let them keep their thoughts also. I jumped back to them, never turning away from my enemy, my brother. Naruto spoke to him, telling him he would never back down again. Then he and Sasuke made a plan.

Kakashi told them to run again, but they didn't, and so Kakashi told them about the Village Hidden in the Mist's graduation exam. I hadn't heard of this before. During the exam, one must kill the other student to pass. It's either you, or him. But one year, my brother, who wasn't even a student, went in and killed over 100 other candidates. No wonder they wouldn't let me train as a child! That's what happened! I knew he had killed other students…but I didn't know it was this bad.

"It felt…so…GOOD!" Zabuza exclaimed, and the water clone elbowed Sasuke so hard in the stomach that blood came up through his mouth. Then the clone stepped on him. Before I could do anything, Naruto shadow cloned himself and jumped at Zabuza. Zabuza knocked all of the clones off, but then as Naruto was sliding back, he took a Fuuma Shuriken from his backpack and tossed it to Sasuke. Sasuke threw it at Zabuza, but, there was a second one in the shadow of the first. Zabuza dodged it, but the second shuriken was actually Naruto, who transformed back into himself and sent a kunai at Zabuza's arm, forcing him to sever the connection between him and Kakashi.

Kakashi was free. I stayed where I was. I knew that Haku was watching me and Zabuza. I stood with Sasuke while Kakashi and Zabuza fought. Kakashi mirrored Zabuza's movements exactly, and used Zabuza's jutsus on him. Then, when Zabuza was hit by a tree, Kakashi said, "You're going to die. It's over."

I spoke in Kakashi's mind. Not yet. It's not over yet. At that moment Haku sent his needles flying and knocked Zabuza out. Zabuza appeared dead, but small signals were still coming from his brain.

Haku, I spoke to him in my mind. Where are you taking him?

To heal. We will meet up with you soon, for better, or for worse.

Then Naruto went into a little speech about why Haku killed Zabuza, a strong ninja, when Haku was only Naruto's age. Kakashi had gone to talk to Naruto, so I knelt down beside Zabuza. He looked broken.

Take care of him, I said toward Haku.

I will. And since when have you forgiven him?

Honestly? I don't know. Somewhere in between realizing that he is my only family and fighting him.

Then Haku disappeared with Zabuza. Naruto got furious and started pounding at the ground. Kakashi stopped him.

He's gone, thought Kakashi.

I know. But this isn't the end.

Yes.

He's my brother.

I know. But never the less, what must be done will be done. Decide where your loyalties lie, because if you endanger my team, I will be against you.

If only it weren't so, Kakashi-sensei.

That boy, do you know him?

Yes. He's Zabuza's apprentice.

You knew this, and you let him get away? His tone was angry.

I looked at Kakashi, speechless. "Haku is the one that I respect," I finally said.

He remained speechless and thoughtless, a thing which is hard to do. And from then on, I knew he didn't trust me. I didn't have to read his mind for that.

We then began on our way, but Kakashi collapsed! I caught him before he could hit the ground.

He had used his Sharingan too much. We got him to Tazuna's house without encountering any more enemies and he rested. I sat next to him until he was awake.

"Your acting like a mother…or a lover," Kakashi said. He was still slightly out of it.

"You read too much Icha Icha Paradise," I said. "I told you I hate that book."

There was a moment of silence.

"You're uneasy about this…aren't you?" I asked.

"Yes, something is wrong here…"

"It's because he's still alive. I'm sorry. A true ninja doesn't let her past get in the way of the team, and those she cares about." A tear slid down my cheek.

"Are you just saying that to regain my trust? Or do you actually mean it?" Kakashi asked, half joking, half serious.

Before I could answer, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura walked in, and they talked about the situation with Kakashi. They all seemed surprised that Zabuza was still alive. Then Kakashi told them that he wouldn't have survived if it weren't for their help. Naruto was happy at this compliment.

The next few days we went out in the forest to train. This training was all about controlling chakra. The point was to work so hard that finding the exact amount of both physical and spiritual chakra would become second nature to us. Our task was to climb a tree, without using our hands. We had to focus the chakra to the soles of our feet, and use it to connect to the tree. Kakashi demonstrated. Kakashi threw four kunai down, and told us to mark the highest point we get to on the tree, and each time try to mark higher than the last. He told us to run at the tree to get momentum too, until we get used to it and it becomes second nature.

We first focused the chakra to our feet. Then we all ran at the trees. Naruto didn't get very high at all, then he fell. Sasuke got pretty high, but then his chakra became to powerful and he crushed the tree. I didn't get quite as far as Sasuke, but I definitely got farther than Naruto. I felt my focus slipping, then I marked my spot and jumped down. Sakura made it up on the first try.

"Well, it looks like one of the females on the squad has the most chakra control," Kakashi mentioned. Then he looked at me, as if daring to do better. That was almost the thought running through his mind at the moment too. I decided to try again, this time with a different strategy.

"Yeah, Sakura, good job! I always knew you were awesome!" said Naruto. I barely heard this remark. I was trying again to focus the chakra into my feet. I felt a burning hole around them in the ground. Too much…I thought. I eased up on the chakra…and felt the absolute perfect balance.

"Whatever…" Sasuke remarked. By this time I was walking toward the tree, and my focus was never depleted. Sakura's thoughts about Sasuke were like a feather blowing in the breeze to my mind. I stepped on the bottom of the tree. Kakashi was talking to Sasuke and Naruto about them not reaching their goals and to try harder. I was halfway up the tree. Sakura yelled at Naruto to stop talking. I was almost to the top…Kakashi was thinking about how valuable this technique would be to Sasuke and Naruto. I was at the top. I jumped to the branch Kakashi was on and I swung down to him.

"Hm, so you made it," he commented.

"I'm going to try again…" I said, and I dropped to the ground.

Sasuke and Naruto were both working really hard at this training, and so were Sakura and I. I had it down slow, but I had to work on going fast. It took me a bit to get that down. A couple of hours. Itachi never really taught me control like this. Kakashi was still there watching us. I ran all the way up the tree and dropped down again.

"Kakashi-sensei! Distract me!" I yelled to him.

He was on the ground and he taunted me about my family…abandoning me…everyone, hating me. I made it up the tree.

"Try harder!" I yelled as I dropped down again.

"You're not getting it!" yelled Kakashi. "Amaya! Run faster! You'll never succeed like this! You'll never complete your goals if you continue on like this!"

I got up the tree again, faster than before. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were watching us.

"You three!" Kakashi yelled at them, "Don't get distracted by this! Continue!"

They were all startled, and they ran up again.

"You'll never reach your goals! You're alone in this world! Nobody will ever love you!" Kakashi said. Coming from him, this hurt. Wait…coming from him…what? I used the pain to fuel the chakra.

"Control Amaya! Control! If you can't get this you will never move on! People will step on you, they will use you!"

I still had control…I had control in anger, and I had control in pain…but would I have control if someone I loved was in danger?

I was sweating and a mess at this point. I jumped down from the tree and stopped.

"Thanks…" I whispered. My heart felt like it was breaking. Even if he didn't mean what he said, all the pain of my childhood was rushing back.

"Amaya…" he said softly, and he caught my hand. It felt as if electricity ran through that touch. I immediately snatched my hand away and looked at him.

"I think I have it…" I panted, smiling at him. Inside I was a whirl of emotions. I didn't even know what to feel.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were staring open mouthed at us. I looked at them. "What?" I asked.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other and ran up the tree again. Naruto was catching on, he was almost at the same spot as Sasuke.

"Sakura, Amaya, you're done for today. Rest up, tomorrow you will go protect Tazuna-san at the bridge," said Kakashi. We stood up and left. Naruto and Sasuke were still going at it hard.

After Sakura and I stayed on the bridge that day, we walked with Tazuna back home, but on the way we had to stop to get ingredients for their dinner. We walked into a small shop…with barely anything on the shelves. Another man came in and tried to pick-pocket Sakura, and she surprised us all by turning and kicking him in the head.

This poor country…this poor country was filled with poverty, so much poverty that they were relying on this bridge to be built for food, as well as safety. It was heartbreaking.

"Sakura?" I asked.

"Yes Amaya?"

"You like Sasuke, right?" She was caught off guard.

"I see the way you look at him sometimes," I said. "Sakura, what's it like, to be in love?"

I could see the surprise on her face when I asked her this. Then, she softened a little.

"You know exactly what it's like once you feel it." She looked into the sky. "You see something beautiful in every movement, every word. My heart flutters at the sound of his voice, and every touch feels like electricity."

Electricity? I thought.

Sakura continued, "Once you feel it, it's almost painful. It becomes a longing, a goal you've set your heart on, but it hurts when you're rejected. I think the one thing that makes you realize you're in love is when you finally are aware of the fact that you would do anything, even kill, for the one that you love."

I was silent for a moment. "Thanks, Sakura," I finally said. Then I looked at her, and we smiled at each other.