|Author's Note: Like I've said previously, fight scenes aren't my forte, so I get lazy with them. Sorry, but I originally thought no one would ever read these, so I merely typed carefree. Time has passed, and I personally don't want to write more detailed fight scenes for this story. Apologies, but I get the main point of a fight across.|

|Cutting covenant means making an alliance, or close friendship.|


| "The brave men did not kill dragons. The brave men rode them." | Unknown


.:Nara:.

I entered through the gates of Konoha. Kuro and Haru were both greeted by their parents for completing their first jounin mission successfully. I walked by the happy praises from parent to child as they ignored me.

Kota walked beside me, and I could tell that he knew the pain I felt. I simply shook my head once in the thought that I wanted parental praise. On my first A-rank mission, the Hokage and Kakashi gave me a head nod coupled with a smile for a job well done. That's all I need.

I strode through the village to the Hokage's office. "Ah, Nara." I heard Shikaku say with a smile in his voice. I didn't know much about him, but he was always kind to me when I walked by. "The Third has been meaning to speak with you."

"Do you know what about by chance?" I asked as I stopped beside him. I think he and Kakashi are the only ones that aren't bothered that I never looked at them while they or I spoke.

"I'll let him explain it all to you."

"Fair enough." I said with a smile. I walked past him and into the room with the Hokage. I closed it behind me and stood in the middle of the room. I sensed another presence in the room that I didn't recognize.

The Third looked up from his desk. "Nara, how did the mission go?"

"Fine, sir." I said.

"That doesn't sound too reassuring." He replied.

"The mission was a success." I reassured.

"What about the teamwork?"

I presumed he'd ask about that. "A failure, sir."

"As I figured."

"It's merely because they were paired with me. Maybe if they were assigned another team Captain for their next few missions, they would have a more positive report."

"It still reflects poorly on them. They have to work together with the team I assign them."

"I understand, sir."

"What made it a failure?" He questioned.

"When facing the enemy, as the Captain, I told them to cover me while I engaged the enemy first. Then they were supposed to attack the enemy from behind. Instead, Kuro jumped in without thinking. In doing so, he endangered Haru's life."

"I see." He sighed and shrugged in his chair. "Nara, many people questioned me when I ordained you a jounin at the age of twelve. Now you're fifteen."

"Yes, sir."

"I have requested that one of my old students to train you."

"One of your old students?"

"The Sennin Jiraiya."

"Jiraiya?" I turned to the extra presence in the room. He took a few steps forward, and I naturally backed away the same amount of steps. The more I focused on his chakra, I remembered him as the man that taught me that a home is where people are thinking about you.

"Cautious, aren't we?" He said in a light tone with a snicker.

I realized my mistake. "Sorry, Jiraiya-sensei. I instinctively keep my distance sometimes." He stepped forward toward me again, and I didn't move. Kota sat on the floor next to me watching my new sensei.

"I accept, Third Hokage. I will teach her the Summoning Jutsu."

"Summoning jutsu?" I questioned and directed my attention to the Hokage. "I've attempted it before, and it was determined that I was unable to learn that jutsu."

"You're well developed in skill now and can harness your power better. This time, Jiraiya will teach you instead of Oda."

I moved my head toward my new sensei. I hoped with everything within me that he wasn't anything like Oda.

.:Jiraiya:.

"You are dismissed, Nara." She nodded and turned to exit.

"I will meet you outside the building in one hour to begin training." I stated.

"Yes, sensei." She replied and closed the door behind her.

"What do you think?" The Hokage asked me.

"It seems that she belittles herself in my opinion. How many elements did you say she could do?"

"Three."

"For that age? She's young to be a Captain, too."

"You're going to doubt my action as well?" The Hokage asked with a hoarse voice.

"I will admit that her blindness is difficult for me to grasp, but she's came this far by overcoming it. Who am I to judge?"

.:Nara:.

"Again." Jiraiya stated. I focused my chakra into my hand and exerted it onto the sheet of paper. He told me that infusing my chakra into the paper will help in deciding which animal summoning I am most suited to. Focusing and exerting my chakra was no problem, but the paper revealed nothing.

"Nothing is happening." I stated as I stood up straight. We have been trying this for about two hours.

"Alright, Nara." He stood beside me. "I'm going to show you the signs of summoning. I want you to do them. This way is dangerous, but I refuse to believe that you are unable to summon a creature."

"What will happen if I can't?"

"Then nothing will happen."

"What's the risky part?" I asked.

"Well balanced chakra will send the person in a reverse jutsu. Since you haven't signed with an animal, whichever creature you are most suited for is the place you will be in."

"Will they attack me, sensei?"

"Probably. That's the risk. If you don't want to do this, I won't make you."

I thought for a moment. It would be helpful in the future if I really could summon an animal. "Show me the signs." I stated. He took his stance and went through them. Without touching the ground to actually summon his frog, he simply acted as if he were to summon it.

I went over the signs in my head several times, and then I widened my stance to perform the jutsu. I went through each sign and made sure to not mix or mess them up. After the seals, I through my right hand on the ground. Smoke captivated me and once it depleted, I was in an unknown region.

I didn't feel Jiraiya near. I was stoked that it was possible for me to do the jutsu, but frightened by what creature I was in link with. I listened carefully and concentrated. I could barely sense any chakra presences here.

I sensed something coming closer. It was huge. I heard it snarl at me, but it wasn't a dog or wolf type of snarl. "How did you, a human, get here?!" He asked me in a deep rumble.

What was this thing? I didn't find the words to speak because it flung itself forward to attack me. I dodged to the left, but barely. This creature was fast. He turned back and slashed me with his tail.

I grunted against the impact of the earth. I heard him move closer and raise his foot off the ground. I wiggled from underneath his tail and jumped backwards.

"I'm not here to fight!" I called out so he could here me. Fear gripped my heart when I heard a deep rumble. His chakra was flaring inside of him. Fire burst forth from its mouth and it almost scorched me. The fire kept coming, so I obtained shelter from the boulders near me. Fire. I need to focus my defense around earth.

I felt movement in the chakra as it hovered over me. I could feel the chakra rumbling widely within him as he released the fire again. I jumped from underneath him. As I jumped, I formed the seals as fast as I could and the earth blocked the fiery flames.

I heard a slight laugh from him. "You were able to stop my flames? Normal humans can't handle my kind's elemental attacks."

His tail attacked again and I dodged left. Wrong move. He pinned me against the ground with his claw. I grunted since he knocked the air right out of me. I struggled to breathe as he put more weight in to his claw.

"Masashi!" I heard a female voice yell out. Her presence was more detectable, but still more hidden than a human's. The creature's pressure lightened, but he wouldn't allow me to get up.

"What do you want?!" He asked.

"What are you doing releasing that much chakra? You know we don't-" she stopped as she looked at me. "Masashi… that's a human."

He growled as his attention was brought back to me. "Yeah. I just found her."

"We should take her to the elders at once."

"There's no way we should chance that. What if she tries to attack us?"

"Feed her the paralysis berries. That should keep her calm until we reach the elders."

I didn't have enough air to even speak to assure them that I didn't want to fight, but then again, why should they trust? Apparently, they and humans don't get along too well. Then… why was I sent here?

I was told to eat the berries. I hesitated, but relented. I needed to follow their orders for now.

The next thing I knew, I was lying in the middle of a huge stone room surrounded by five chakras. There were ten other presences in the room as well.

"Ah, she awakens." Said one voice.

"She shouldn't be here." Growled another.

"Calm yourself, Hotaru. Right now, she should be treated as a guest."

"She is a human! She deserves nothing of the sort."

I sat up from the ground. After a few moments of silence, I decided to speak. "Can I at least know where I am?" I asked nonchalantly. I can't show fear while in this realm.

"Why do you act so carefree? We could kill you right now." Snarled one of the others.

"Then why worry?" I asked with a smile.

I could hear the gasps from a few of them. I was sure the others had shocked faces. "Why worry?!" Growled the earlier one. "Your pathetic life could end right now merely because I choose for it to."

I shrugged. "Then worrying won't change my fate, will it? You're obviously strong. If I fight back, your people will fight alongside you. So, judging from your chakras, I don't stand a chance."

"You can sense our chakras?" Asked the last of the ones surrounding me.

"Yes." But only when I'm at close quarters. Best not for them to know that, though.

"Do you know who we are?" The female voice asked.

"No, I don't."

One of them brushed up against me. I felt scales on his body. His face hovered in front of mine. "I see. A human without vision."

"She's even more pathetic than the rest of her kind!" Yelled the hot head from earlier.

"No. I believe she is just the right one." Right one?

"You don't mean that we can trust her, Daichi?" Came a female voice.

"I believe it is time for us to break the barrier between us and the humans. This young one managed to get here."

"All we do is kill her and no one else will come over that bridge, right?"

"No, it's not that simple."

"My first question is still unanswered." I spoke up.

"You are in Saya. The land of Dragons."

I held my breath, and without thinking, placed my hand over my stomach. "Dragons?"

"Only five people have possessed the capability to summon our kind, and that includes you."

"Four other people prior to me could summon you? I thought I was unable to perform summoning jutsu."

"Your chakra bringing you here obviously means you are highly skilled." His eyes observed me carefully. "Even for a human, you are very young to possess such high power."

"Why do you say that?"

"Masashi explained the battle from earlier. To be able to block a dragon's fire using earth jutsu has to be beyond average. I'm sure you realized that when fighting I presume."

I nodded my head.

"We should examine her fully to be sure, Daichi."

"Be sure of what?" He asked.

"I know what you're thinking. Before we are hasty, we should do as I have requested."

"Examine her? That's very rude, you know." Answered a female voice to my left.

"We have to be sure, Kazane. What if she is just like the other four?"

"We examined them, too, and didn't find anything at the time if you recall history correctly."

The other growled in reply to Kazane.

"Inari, bring me the scroll." I felt a small dragon leave the giant room.

"Are you sure about this, brother?"

He nodded. "Do you remember what the Dragon Mother told us when we were born? About the human child? What if this girl is the child she spoke of?"

"We thought that about the previous humans who entered our realm. What makes her any different?"

"Her eyes." He simply replied. The other dragons became silent. It seemed pointless to argue with Daichi now. "What is your name?"

"Nara." I replied. I was surprised when he didn't question my clan name. Inari returned with a scroll and handed it to Daichi.

"Now, Nara, all you have to do is make a signature with your blood on this scroll, and we are your summons."

"Is it really that simple?" I asked.

"To summon a creature and commit to a contract is. The real difficulty is training with your summoning. The most uncommon thing is actually entering their realm."

I stood up from the ground and bit my thumb. Blood oozed out and I walked up to the scroll. I spread my blood on the parchment. As I signed it, I felt a burning sensation on right shoulder blade.

I flinched. Daichi spoke again. "That is our mark. We are the only creatures that make a mark for contracts."

"So, now I can call on you to help me fight?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Dragons personally don't like the land of humans. We are probably the worst summoning for anyone to use since we do not assist in battle. We only help train the humans that can make it our realm."

"Why don't you help in battle?" I asked.

"Humans are easily corrupted by hatred and greed. That's why we were hesitant about training you. Anyway, using us in battle isn't the wisest choice."

"But you would be fighting alongside me. It's putting your training to a good cause." I replied.

He shook his head again. "If you call us in battle, we will only protect you. Anyone else on your team will mean little to nothing to us, so we won't help them."

"I see."

"Good. I will send you back to your world, Nara-chan. When you are ready to train, summon one of us and we will bring you back here safely." I could feel the smile in his words.

I bowed slightly at my waist to show respect. "Thank you, sensei." It was directed to all of the dragons around me. I vanished from the dragon realm and I popped up back in the field where I was training.

"How'd it go?" Jiraiya asked me. "What creature is linked to you?"

I looked towards him. "My chakra is linked with the dragon kin."

"Oh? The dragons you say?" He said.

"They gave me a mark."

"Ah. Then they truly accepted you. Wow. To think that I can actually stand in the presence of a person that can summon the dragons to her aid." He laughed.

I felt uneasy. "You're a sennin, Jiraiya-sensei. I am merely a teenager. Anyway, I can't summon their aid. I have to train with them first to understand them."

"You must be something pretty special for them to trust you like that."

Trust me? "Maybe it's just because of the Bijuu inside of me."

"I doubt that, Nara. I highly doubt that."

"How can you be so sure?" I questioned.

"There's just something about you." He said with his head raised in the air.

.:Kakashi:.

I walked to the entrance of the village. Awaiting me was Kuro. Inwardly, I was upset about being teamed with him, but it didn't matter. I refused to show it on the outside.

We waited for nearly two minutes when Kakashi showed up. For the mission, Kakashi was the leader and we were to receive a special artifact from a neighboring village. Even though it's a neighboring village doesn't mean it's right next to us. We would have to travel three days to make it to the village.

"You two ready?" He asked.

"Yeah." Kuro replied.

I simply nodded once. We jumped to the trees and began our mission.

We had just left the village with the artifact. Even though I wasn't looking forward to the mission a few days ago, it actually hadn't been all that bad. Kuro wasn't a smart mouth all that often, so that made it better.

I felt two presences near. "Kakashi." I said loud enough for him to hear.

He stopped and landed on the branches. Kuro followed suit and I kept my distance in another tree. "Yeah?" He asked.

I pointed to my right. "There are two chakra presences that way."

"Oh!" Kuro spoke loudly. He laughed. "That's just Haru and Kiza on a mission. They told me they would be around our area."

I didn't reply. Something wasn't right about this situation. If they were on a mission, wouldn't it be in a three-man cell? I only sensed two.

"Hey, Haru! Kiza!" He yelled out.

"What are you doing?!" I asked. "What if it's not them?"

"I know them from anywhere." He laughed. This still didn't feel right. The two started coming closer. "Let's go see them." He said as he jumped forward.

Kakashi took the hint from me when I didn't move. "No, Kuro. Let's just finish the mission."

"Oh, come on! I haven't seen them in forever." He exclaimed.

I didn't move my head toward him. "Then how did you know about their mission?"

"Huh?" He asked, all the laughter gone from his voice.

"You said that they told you about their mission. They couldn't have gotten it too much earlier before we were given ours."

"She's not too shabby." Said Haru. They had made it to us.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Asked Kiza. I sensed Kakashi grip a kunai from his pouch and prepare for what might happen.

"The blind girl is a nuisance to everyone in the village. We are doing them all a favor!" Kuro laughed maniacally.

Blah blah, epic fight scene!

I felt Kakashi being kicked in the chest and he was sent backwards. But backwards meant falling off the cliff. I raced to the edge and gripped two kunai. I infused them with chakra and threw them at a tree as I slid off the cliff.

The chakra turned into wind and pieced cleanly through the tree. I swiped my left hand to the left and the kunais circled around the tree. As I gripped Kakashi's wrist, the wire stopped us from falling the rest of the way down. I breathed heavily thinking of what might have happened.

I heard them moving to the wire. I attempted to throw Kakashi over the ledge and climb up, but I was too weak physically to do it at the moment. Kakashi was unconscious and I didn't have the physical strength to pull us both up.

Kuro stood over the ledge and hovered over me. "You really are bright, but nothing good can come from someone like you, Nara." I could feel the evil grin in his words. "This is the end."

The wire snapped and I was free falling into nothing. I listened to how wide the ravine was and pulled out one of my bladed tonfas. I gripped it in my left hand and slammed it into the edge that I was closest to. I added wind chakra to help slow us down. The sound made me cringe, but I had to stop our falling as much as I could.

I exerted earth chakra coupled with the wind to help in the process. We finally stopped. I released my breath with a heavy sigh.

I was able to balance chakra into my feet so I didn't have to rely on my tonfa. I waited until I didn't fell their presences anymore. I held him awkwardly in both of my arms and walked up the ravine. I was weak from the traveling and the random fight that it was difficult to carry someone up a cliff.

I pulled him over the edge and collapsed on the ground. I eased up off the ground and decided to at least make a small camp for now. Whatever jutsu he used drained Kakashi dry. He needed some time to rest.

I rolled out his sleeping bag and dragged his body onto it. I unzipped his jacket and pulled his chainmail and shirt up slightly. I just needed enough skin to close the wound. I reached into my pouch and grabbed the ointment.

I spread it gently on his left side. By how cool the weather was becoming, night was coming closer. I decided to stay awake all night to make sure no one else approached.

.:Nara:.

I felt the morning sun beat down on me. I rubbed my eyes from not having any sleep and rose from the ground. I looked in Kakashi's direction. I am going to have to carry him, aren't I?

I sighed with a smile and walked over to him. I pulled him off his bag and rolled it up. I bent down on one knee and pulled his body close to me. I placed his left arm over my shoulder and hoisted him off the ground. Being sleep deprived and picking up someone bigger and taller than I, it was difficult to hold him in this position.

I leapt to the trees, very ungraceful if I might add, and began the journey back to Konoha.

After one kilometer, I was breathing heavily. I needed to rest for a few minutes. I jumped on the last branch and descended to the ground. Without properly calculating Kakashi's weight, the impact of the land made me crumble to the ground. I yelled out and gripped my ankle that was filled with agonizing pain.

I replayed the scenario in my head and realized that I probably broke my ankle. I grunted and leaned against a tree. A broken ankle, huh? I closed my eyes and sighed. The only thing that could get us to Konoha soon is if someone from Konoha was nearby.

Oh, hey. I have an idea. I bit my thumb and performed the seals. Summoning jutsu. Instead of summoning Inari who always reverses the jutsu, I summoned Masashi.

He looked around with a confused face. "Nara?"

"Yeah." I said with a smile.

"Why have you summoned me here and not Inari? She is always the one that brings you back to Saya."

"I was wondering if you would be able to help me." I began to rise off the ground, but gritted my teeth from my ankle. I balanced myself against the tree. "Would you mind helping me carry Kakashi close to my village?"

He looked over to the limp body on the ground. "Nara-chan, you know the rules…"

I smiled. "But you're also helping me. You see, I can't walk well at the moment with this ankle. And I most definitely won't be able to walk while carrying another person."

I sensed his charka turn into a mischievous grin. "You're pretty sneaky, you know. And I'm probably the only dragon that will agree to doing this."

"That's why I chose you." I bent down to pick up Kakashi's body. I pulled it off the ground enough to put him on Masashi. "Also, you and I have better conversations."

"Better conversations? Dragons aren't good with talking to your kind." He stated with a hint of laughter.

I leaned against him as he walked forward. "At least you joke with me."

.:Masashi:.

Nara suggested that we continue walking when the night pressed on us. I watched as she struggled to stay upright and walk beside me.

"Nara, should you rest for the night? I will keep watch."

She stood next to me for a moment lost in thought. I understood that she wanted to return to the village, but driving herself into the ground wasn't going to help anything.

She sighed. "I suppose that's a good idea." She leaned against me and I lowered myself to the ground. I kept watch for the night and watched as she slept next to me. I wrapped my tail around her to let her feel secure.

They both slept soundlessly. It was about an hour before sunrise when Kakashi woke up. He raised himself off the ground and surveyed his surroundings. His eyes began to get used to the dark and he could see. His eyes stared at me.

"Are you not afraid?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nara told me about the dragons."

"You know how many people know about her linkage to my kind?"

"I believe only Jiraiya, the Third Hokage, and I."

"I see." I said.

"How is she?"

"She's just exhausted. She hurt her ankle while carrying you."

"She carried me?" He asked with a surprised look.

"Yeah. You fell off the cliff and she caught you in time and saved you. She connected wires to kunais, threw them at a tree, and made them wrap around it to support the two of you. The other member cut them and you both fell."

"We actually fell over into the ravine?"

"Yeah. She jammed her tonfa into the side of it to stop you two from falling any farther. From there, she carried you out and allowed you to rest while she watched for any enemies."

He sighed. "I seem to be so much trouble."

"You were." I stated bluntly. He smiled in return. "But she was able to say that me helping in carrying you was actually helping her and such. You better be happy that I'm a push-over for her."

"Well, I would personally like to say thank you, dragon."

"My name is Masashi." I said.

"Mine is Kakashi."

"Kakashi, I know we are not acquainted well, but may I ask something?"

"Yeah."

"Did you cut covenant with Nara?"

He didn't answer for a moment. "Yeah. I did."

I smiled. "What a privilege you and I have then."

"What do you mean?"

"Someone like Nara-chan trusting us enough to cut covenant." I raised my claw for him to see the palm of it. There was a scar. "That means that you and I are connected as well, Kakashi-san. I'm the closest dragon to Nara, and you are the closest human."

"What does that mean for you and I?" He asked.

"It means that I will bypass the rules to save and protect you for Nara's sake."

He studied me for a few moments. "That's a big step for the dragon kin."

I nodded my head. "We are supposed to stay out of human affairs. Unless a case like Nara happens. Those are our laws."

"Why do you have those laws? Having power like yours can help establish peace."

I shook my head. "The dragons of earlier generations attempted to help bring peace and balance to the world. Instead, humans tried to control our power to enhance more suffering. They did it all in the name of peace and prosperity." I shook my head. "It's pathetic. They were only greedy for power, and my kind suffered for it."

"And you don't believe that fighting alongside Nara and helping me will prevent people from trying to harness your powers again?"

"We've made it clear to Nara to not summon us during battle unless her life is on the line. The less people know of us, the better. Another rule, if we are summoned in battle, we will kill the enemy. No excuses."

"Then what help are you to Nara?"

"Unlike the previous four, Nara chose to use us as teachers and trained in our realm. The four before her didn't care whether their enemy died, so they carelessly called on my kind all the time."

"I see. What if she calls on you and doesn't have an enemy to fight?"

"That's when she requests us to train with her. She trains in both this realm and mine. In mine, everything is calmer so concentration comes easily."

He changed the subject. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"Two nights and a day." I replied. In return, he rose off the ground and stretched his limbs. He calmly walked over to Nara and placed his hand on her forehead. What was he doing?

"She doesn't have a fever, so that's good." He slipped his hands underneath her and picked her gently off the ground. He held her in front of his body and turned to me. "Thank you for all you have done. I can carry her the rest of the way."

I stood off the ground and looked into the man's visible eye. I nodded and vanished back to my realm.

.:Kakashi:.

We were about two kilometers away from the entrance of the village. Several times during the day, Nara fidgeted in my arms. I would pause momentarily to make sure she was fine. She calmed down and looked so peaceful asleep.

She fidgeted again and her eyes opened. I landed swiftly on a branch and descended to the ground. She was very lightweight for her age. I truly wonder how she carried me. I sat her down on the grass and leaned her against a tree.

"Are you hungry or thirsty?" I asked.

"I'll wait until we arrive at the village. Where's Masashi?"

"I woke up before sunrise and decided to carry you the rest of the way. I thought it would make it simpler for the dragon."

She began to stand off the ground, but stumbled to her right. I helped her hold her balance. "You sure you want to wait until we reach the village?"

She nodded. "It's less than two kilometers away. I'll be fine."

I pulled her right arm over my shoulders. I wrapped my left arm around her waist to help steady her, and we both jumped to the trees.

We landed by the entrance and walked into the city. Nara was breathing heavily.

"Kakashi, Nara!" Called out Haru. "Glad to see you gu-" He stopped in his sentence. "What happened?" He walked up close to Nara, and I kicked him to the ground.

"Stay away from her, Haru. You attacked us." I said.

"What do you mean? I was stationed by the entrance when you guys left on your mission. I haven't left the city since then." He was already back up on his feet. "Kuro said that the team was separated."

"Of course he'd say that." I replied bitterly.

"Kakashi," Nara entered the conversation. "Calm down. Let's go talk to the Third about this. The men that attacked us transformed as Haru."

I nodded and helped her all the way to the Third's office.