"Sasuke... I'm at point B."

"Sakura here…! I'm at point C!"

"… Naruto—I'm at point A!"

The slow response would not be ignored. "You're slow, Naruto!" Kakashi scolded. He even sighed, signaling his disappointment. Mayu shook her head. At the moment, the four of them were on a mission. It was a retrieval mission, and it had been the first time audio equipment had been used. Each team member wore an earpiece. Mayu was a bit intrigued on when this time period was supposed to be. "Okay, Team 7—the target has moved!" Kakashi's voice came through, causing her to focus on the task at hand. "Follow it!"

As instructed, the three shifted their positions, going after the elusive target. This target was beginning to become frustrating. The team had been after the same target for about two hours now. Mayu came to a halt and narrowed her eyes. The target was nearby—the closest that any of them had gotten. She took a brief look at her surroundings. Sasuke was behind her and Naruto was above in the tree. They could successfully ambush the target this way. No more running away. "Kakashi-sensei, we're close," Mayu stated in a whisper. "Can confirm red ribbon from my vantage point."

"Good job, Sakura. What's your distance from the target?" Kakashi questioned.

"5 meters," Naruto answered. "I'm ready—just give the signal."

"I'm ready, too," Sasuke said.

"NOW!" Kakashi instructed. The three genin jumped towards the creature, but it was Naruto that grabbed it. The target was actually a brown cat with a red ribbon in the shape of a bow attached to her eat. Mayu clasped her hands behind her back as she watched her teammate struggle with the feline. The kitty didn't seem all that happy about being caught off guard. To show her displeasure, the cat scratched profusely at the blond.

"I got him! I got him!" Naruto cheered, despite the numerous scratches the cat inflicted. Shaking her head a bit, Mayu walked forward, and then plucked the cat off her teammate by the scruff of her neck. The feline hissed and whined, but ultimately stopped aggressively waving her paws around.

"It's a girl, Naruto," Mayu stated. The blond scoffed, uncaringly, as Mayu held the cat close to her chest. She didn't struggle. In fact, the cat cozied up. Mayu couldn't help but melt. Cute…! "Aww! It's okay now. Naruto won't hurt you anymore!" she cooed, scratching at the cat's forehead.

"Me? Hurt that thing?!" Naruto screamed out incredulous. "It's the devil incarnate!"

"Like Sakura said, we have a positive ID," Sasuke confirmed, not really paying attention to his teammates' antics.

"Right, lost pet, Tora, captured," Kakashi said. "Mission accomplished."

"CAN'T WE GET A BETTER MISSION THAN THIS?!" Naruto yelled. "I HATE CATS!"

0-0

"My goodness… No wonder the cat ran away," Mayu murmured, watching the owner of Tora practically squeeze the life out of the poor kitty. It was a terrifying scene to watch. Didn't the large woman know how to handle a cat? She should if she owned a cat, for crying out loud. She found herself shaking her head. Honestly, ignorant people nowadays…

"Stupid cat…! That kitty deserves to be squashed!" Naruto snickered at the cat's suffering.

"Now then…" The Hokage—Sarutobi Hiruzen—spoke up again. He had already congratulated them on a job well done. "For Team 7's next mission, we have several available tasks." The first time Mayu saw him, she realized how old he really was. He had more wrinkles than what the show let on. Still, he had that friendly grandfather face. He definitely could block a swinging kick, old ninja or not. But Mayu assumed she would be drawn and quartered if she attempted to kick at Konoha's leader. "Among them are babysitting the chief councilor's three-year-old, helping his wife to do the shopping, digging up potatoes-"

The missions were chores. The beginnings of a ninja's career were not all that glamorous. It had been over a week of these types of missions. The team hadn't left the village, and they were all left to their own devices once they cleared the missions. There was a lot of leisure time in the days following the team's formation. Mayu had done her best to train on her own. Training sessions with the team was pretty much nonexistence at the moment. Kakashi didn't really teach anything so far. The Academy training should suffice for now, he had told them. And so, Mayu slowly improved all on her own. She still hadn't nailed any low-level jutsu, though. She struggled making seals still.

Mayu hummed lightly as she listened to the Hokage go on and on with the available tasks. She wondered how long it took for this team to begin real missions outside of the village. For the life of her, she couldn't recall when exactly an arc would start. Honestly, she could only remember in details of the Chuunin Exam, and a little beyond. Truthfully, she had stopped watching after… Her eyes glanced in Sasuke's direction.

"Noooo!" Naruto groaned in agony, startling Mayu out of her thoughts. His loud voice also caused the Hokage stop and look at him. "I want to go on a real mission!" he shouted with his arms crossed in the formation of an X. "Something challenging and exciting! Not this little kid stuff! Come on, old man!"

"Ah, he's finally reached his breaking point," Mayu remarked. Sasuke nodded his head in agreement. "I was wondering when this would happen."

"Though, he has a point," Sasuke replied.

"How dare you?!" Iruka yelled, slamming his hands on the desk in front of him. "You're just a brand new genin with no experience! Like everyone else you start with simple missions to develop your skills and improve yourself!"

"Are you serious?! Babysitting is not a mission! It's just a stupid-!" Naruto's little tirade was but off by Kakashi knocking him over the head.

"Would you put a lid on it?" he asked, flatly.

"Naruto, it seems you do not understand the tasks you have been given," the Hokage commented, gaining the blonde's attention. Mayu had heard this speech before. From her father, and several times from her mother. Chores were important because they allowed the individual to gain insight further into responsibility. She had learned the same thing in her Martial Arts classes. And school. It was a big thing in Japan. Start responsibility young so that one could have a successful life. Because of that, Mayu stopped paying attention to the Hokage.

Instead, she, and it seemed the rest of her team, began listening to Naruto. The blond was rambling about his plans for the evening. Dinner plans, to be specific. She wondered if she could find Ramen Ichiraku on her own. Naruto made the place sound awesome. "… so then I had this ramen yesterday, and I was thinking miso ramen today," Naruto stated.

"Silence…!" the Hokage nearly roared. The team of four stood at attention, flinching of the glare on the old man's face. Definitely not the leader for nothing. He seemed very much offended that his story had been unheard. Mayu sheepishly ducked her head. It felt like she was about to be scolded by her grandfather.

"Oh, sorry," Kakashi said, rubbing the back of his head, also seemingly sheepish.

"You're always lecturing me like you're my grandfather or something!" Naruto, however, was unaffected. He crossed his arms in a pout. "But I'm not the little brat that used to pull pranks! I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission!"

"I'm going to hear about this later..." Kakashi said, sighing heavily.

"Naruto wants us to know he's not a brat. He's a former brat," the Hokage said. "And he wants a mission... so be it."

"Huh?" Naruto said.

"What...?" Sasuke said.

So this was the start, was it? The reason for the change of chores to dangerous missions had been because of Naruto's whining. "Since you are so determined, I'm going to give you a C-rank mission," the Hokage continued, and then took a long drag of his pipe. Mayu found herself smirking. "You will be bodyguards on a journey."

"Really...?" Naruto said, turning his head. "Yes! Who? Are we guarding a princess or-?"

"Calm down, Naruto!" Mayu pulled him up from the floor by the back of his collar. He quieted down instantly. Mayu returned her gaze to their leader. "Who is our client, Hokage-sama?"

"I will bring him in now," the Hokage said. "Send in our visitor!" The four turned around, focusing on the door. An older man came into view with a bottle of sake in his hand. He had gray hair and glasses on his face. Mayu vaguely recognized him, and her lips parted in surprise. If she remembered correctly, this man had been connected to the dangerous mission in the Land of Waves.

"What the-? A bunch of snot-nosed kids?" The man's words came slurred and slow. The man was clearly drunk. Mayu narrowed her eyes. He was a bit rude, considering. They were in the presence of the Third Hokage, after all. The drunk took a swig of the alcoholic beverage. Not only that… The quick assessment of her teammates and herself made Mayu wanted to punch him. Repeatedly. "You, the little one with the idiotic look on your face," the man continued, pointing a finger. "Do you really expect me to believe you're a ninja?"

Naruto started laughing, looking around in search of the person fitting that description. "Who's the little one with the idiotic look on his f-" He stopped, furrowing his brow as Mayu and Sasuke stood on either side of him. The young Uchiha was the tallest. Mayu, in this body, was second, and Naruto was the shortest of them all. Realization dawned on him. Of course, the blond became angry. "I'll demolish you!" he yelled. Fortunately, Kakashi grabbed him by collar before he could launch an attack.

"You can't demolish our clients. It doesn't work that way," he scolded.

"I'm the super expert bridge builder, Tazuna," the man finally introduced himself. "I expect you guys to protect me until I get back to my country and complete the bridge."

0-0

Naruto was torn. On one hand, he was super excited that he finally got a mission where he could show off his stuff. He would be outside of the village for the first time in his life, and it would be epic. Stupid Sasuke could stuff it. This was the next step in his path to becoming Hokage. His body wiggled as he walked towards the entrance of the village because he couldn't contain his excitement. Then on the other hand, this was a pretty horrible first client. They could have gotten a princess or a daimyo, but no they were stuck with an old drunkard… who liked to insult them without warning. Jerk.

Keeping a snort in, Naruto picked up the pace to the gates. He hadn't needed to worry about it. He had gotten enough of that from the villagers anyway. He should be used to it. When the blond reached the front gates, he noticed that Sasuke and Sakura were already there. Both of them had bags strapped to their backs. Sasuke stood alone with his arms crossed, head turned to the side. Sakura seemed to be grinning to herself, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Naruto matched her cheery grin, and then ran forward. He stretched his arm up in a wave.

"Sakura-chan!" he greeted.

"Hey, Naruto," she greeted him as well. Not as excited, but she had greeted him all the same. Wow. She had really changed from their days back at the Academy. Now, she hardly ever ignored him. And made fun of Sasuke a lot. That was cool. Actually, the only times she had ignored him had been when she had a dazed look on her face. But Sakura had told them the reason for that at the beginning, so it wasn't that strange. He liked her even more now, especially since she never hit him anymore. "Are you ready for the mission?"

"Hell yeah! Bring it on!" Naruto gave a victory sign. "Watch me show off my super cool ninja moves!"

"I'm glad to see that you're so enthusiastic about this mission," Kakashi's voice interrupted whatever Sakura might have said next. They both turned to see their sensei walking towards them, along with the bridge builder. Naruto huffed lightly. The drunk didn't seem to notice the glare being directed at him. Once Kakashi verified a few things with the team—basically going over the parameters of the mission again—the five of them headed out.

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted once everyone had made it past the gates. "This is the first time I've left the village! I'm a traveler now!"

"Am I supposed to trust this brat with my life?" Tazuna asked. He sounded uneasy about the whole thing. He rudely pointed to Naruto, who scowled. "This kid's a joke!"

"He's with me, and I'm a jounin, so you don't need to worry," Kakashi chuckled lightly.

"Hey! Never insult a ninja!" Naruto yelled, pointing. "It's a big mistake! And I am one of the greatest ninja ever. Someday, I'll be the greatest Hokage and then you will have to look up to me! My name is Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Kage are powerful and wise. You are puny and brainless," bridge builder remarked. Naruto could feel his face twist in anger. "The day you become Hokage is the day I sprout wings and fly."

"Shut up…!" he shouted. "I'm willing to do anything to become Hokage… No matter what it takes! And when I do, everyone will have to admit that I'm the top ninja, including you!"

"I wouldn't acknowledge you even if you do become Hokage... ten times over!" bridge builder said. Screw it! Naruto was really going to demolish this guy. Releasing a battle cry, he lunged for him, but Kakashi got a hold of his backpack, keeping him in place. It wasn't fair! Who was this guy to be so…!

"Hey!" Sakura shouted, sounding pissed. Naruto flinched, thinking he was about to be called annoying. Maybe even hit. Yeah, he had been a little loud. He recognized the angry tone. It came right before the punch to the face. However, when he peeked at the girl, her ire seemed to be directed at the bridge builder. "Knock it off with the comments, old man!" Not just Naruto, but the rest of them stared at her, stunned into silence. "I'm sick of you insulting my teammate! How dare you, a stranger, trample over and mock his dream?!" She stomped towards the drunk, who took a step back. "Say something again, and I'll kick your ass all the way to the Land of Waves! Got it?!"

Sakura then sharply turned away, and then began walking again, leaving everyone else behind. Naruto blinked. Then blinked again because the corner of his eyes were doing this weird thing. He swallowed hard as he stared at the girl's retreating back. It hadn't been the first time she had stood up for him, and he was just as blown away by it this time. Sakura had never treated him like this in school. It was like… she didn't see him as an annoying thing. She saw him as a person, and seemed to believe in him. Why…? What had changed? The pretty girl he admired was finally acknowledging him. It seemed like she wanted to be his friend. An actual friend.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan," Naruto found himself whispering. "I'm gonna be the best friend ever!"

0-0

Hours had gone by, and Mayu was absolutely bored. Naruto had been hyper in the beginning, but even his energy had faded over time. Mayu wished she had brought a book along with the other items she had packed. No one seemed to want to make conversation at the moment. And humming lyrics to herself would only get her so far. So she attempted to remember what came next. Honestly, she didn't know, though. Basically, her knowledge of this dangerous mission extended to Haku, and that's it. All she knew was that this mission was the start of Team 7's simple missions turning into complicated higher-ranked missions.

"Hey… Kakashi-sensei?" Mayu began, hoping to prompt some type of trigger… or interesting conversation.

"Yes...?" he asked.

"What does a Hokage do exactly?" she asked.

"Hokage rule over thousands of ninja," Kakashi answered in the simpliest way he knew how.

"Seriously...?" Mayu murmured. She looked up in thought. "Naruto ruling over thousands of ninja? I wonder what that would be like." Suddenly, a visual of said teammate being Hokage came to mind. He demanded that everyone eat, at least, four bowls of Ramen every day. He would also order that each ninja must wear an orange jumpsuit so that it could be the trademark of Konoha. She smiled, not being able to contain her giggles. She had just had a clear visual of Kakashi and Sasuke in the same outfit as Uzumaki Naruto.

"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked. His voice made the girl turn towards him. Her face cracked, unable to hold back the grin. His eyebrow twitched and he frowned. Laughter burst from her mouth as she pointed a finger at him. She could practically sense the eye roll from him. "Okay, forget I asked..."

Wiping a tear away, Mayu finally calmed down, grin still lingering. She had freaked out everyone as in the group as well. Yeah, she was just that talented. "Well, anyway, there are no ninja battles in a C-rank mission," Kakashi stated, placing his hand on the girl's head. "So you can relax."

Relax? I want to go into a heated battle already!

Another hour passed, and the silence had become bothersome once again. The group had crossed a bridge a few minutes ago. Mayu noticed the group had walked by a puddle of water. There was no other puddles around, though. Suspicious, suspicious…! "Kakashi-sensei?" Mayu called out to him.

"Yes, Sakura," Kakashi said.

"Has it rained recently?"

"I don't think so. Why do you ask?" Kakashi asked.

"It's just… I noticed awhile back that there was a puddle," Mayu whispered to him. "It was a bit strange to see one, but not any others."

"Hm... You're quite the observer, Sakura," he praised as he patted her head.

"Okay, I'm getting a bit tired of being treated like I am a pet, Kakashi-sensei," Mayu mentioned, swatting the jounin's hand away. Kakashi only chuckled in amusement. And tried to get at her again. Huffing lightly, she picked up her pace, away from the man's wandering hand. Then without warning, something shot out towards Kakashi. Eyes widening, Mayu realized that it was a metal chain. She turned to see that it had wrapped securely around the jounin. Naruto shouted towards their sensei, but the man remained frozen in place. Mayu quickly shifted her attention to where the chain had come from. Two unfamiliar men had appeared out of nowhere, apparently hoping to take out the higher-ranked ninja in a surprise attack. An order was given, and then the two ninja pulled on the metal. Their efforts ripped Kakashi apart.

"K-Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called out in disbelief, drawing attention to him. The two ran over to him and were now behind him, planning to strike. It was too late to try to warn him. For some reason, Naruto appeared paralyzed. The ninja flung their metal things in the air, intending on killing Naruto, but Sasuke pinned the things to a tree. He had successfully trapped them. One of them shouted that he couldn't get loose. Sasuke then kicked the two. However, one of them did get loose and headed straight for Tazuna. Mayu ran in front of the old man.

"Stay behind me!" she instructed. Her legs trembled, but she pushed herself to ignore the quickening of her heart. As soon as the ninja was close enough, Mayu shot a hand forward. Her palm struck, snapping the ninja's head to the side. With her other hand, her fingers curled into a fist and delivered a fierce uppercut. Disoriented, the ninja did not prevent the swinging high kick. When her foot collided, she cried out in victory. "Shazaam!" The ninja slammed against the ground.

"Sakura...!" Sasuke exclaimed the name. Ninja were more resilient than the average guy, so he came at Mayu again. Sasuke appeared at her side, and together, the two genin launched a double kick. The soles of their opposite feet hit the ninja directly in the face. In the face! This was so amazing! The enemy ninja sailed through air, body twisting because of the force behind the kicks. He collided hard with the unyielding force of the ground. Mayu lowered her leg until her foot touched the ground again. The ninja did not get back up.

"Kickass!" Mayu shouted in glee. Beside her, Sasuke smirked. Kakashi, luckily, decided to make his appearance. He had grabbed the ninja before they could attack again. Mayu shifted her gaze to Kakashi. "And where were you?"

"Busy," he answered. That… smartass remark was cool. But the important thing was that he was alive. He looked towards the blond of the team. "Naruto, sorry I didn't help you right away. I didn't mean for you to get hurt," Kakashi stated. Still, he had a hold on the ninja. "I just didn't think you'd freeze up like that." He started walking towards me and Sasuke. "Good job, Sasuke. It was very smooth. You, too, Sakura. Lovely combination."

"Damn right," Mayu smirked.

"Hey!" Sasuke got Naruto's attention. "You're not hurt are you... scaredy cat?"

"SASUKE-" Naruto had been about to shout.

"Naruto, stand still... these ninja had poison in their claws," Kakashi mentioned. "We need to take out the poison as soon as possible. Don't move around. That spreads it." Naruto... It was really surprising to see him this way. Mayu watched her teammate, furrowing her brow. Thinking about it, maybe it had been his very first encounter with a danger such as this. She, herself, had frozen when she had had her first experience with an actual fight. Perhaps she should have paid more attention to this arc to actually see the development. "By the way, Tazuna-san..." Kakashi said.

"Uh... Yeah, what?" bridge builder muttered.

"We need to talk," he answered. Kakashi then tied the two ninja to a nearby tree. The five stood in front of them. "They are chuunin from the Hidden Mist village," Kakashi informed. "Their specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice."

"How did you know about our ambush?" one of the ninja asked.

"Sakura... would you like to explain?" Kakashi asked, shifting the attention to the girl.

Suddenly feeling flushed, Mayu cleared her throat. She shut her eyes for a few seconds to compose herself. "Thanks for putting me on the spot, Kakashi-sensei!" she began. His eye seemed to smile at her. Huffing a bit, Mayu continued. "Earlier, before the attack, I saw this puddle. It was only one puddle. Plus, it hasn't rained recently. What an oddity, right?" She looked down at the tied up ninja. "Your little trap couldn't fool me or Kakashi-sensei."

"Very good explanation, Sakura," he praised.

"Thank you!" Mayu responded with a huge grin.

"How could she notice that, but not me...?" Sasuke asked himself.

"That's simple, Sasuke," Mayu heard him and responded. She placed a hand on her hip and smirked at him. "It's because I got mad skillz, yo!" The dark-haired shinobi rolled his eyes. "Don't be jealous, bird brain."

"Shut up."

"In that case, why did you let the genin do the fighting?" Tazuna blurted.

"I could have taken them out quickly, but then I would have learned nothing. I had to know who their target was," Kakashi said, giving Tazuna a sideways glance. "And what they were after..."

"What are you getting at?"

"This... I wanted to know if they were attacking us—ninja fighting ninja or if they were after you, the master bridge builder," Kakashi said. "When you put in your request you ask for standard protection from robbers and highway men. You didn't say ninja were hunting you down. If we knew this it would have been a B-rank mission or higher. Our task was to simply get you to your destination and protect you were you finish the bridge. If we knew this we would have changed it and charged it accordingly. You must have your reasons but lying to us is not acceptable. We are now beyond the scope of this mission."

"Shouldn't you have considered that this mission might be too advanced for genin?" Mayu asked. "I mean, Naruto completely froze when we were attacked." The blond lowered his head, but his ashamed expression could still be seen. Mayu internally winced. She hadn't meant to call him out on his lack of action. "We need to get that poison out of him fast before it spreads any further."

"Naruto's hand could become a problem... Oh well, I guess we have to return to the village," Kakashi said, sighing heavily.

Naruto suddenly took out a kunai and stabbed himself in his already wounded hand, making everyone gasp in shock. "GASP!" Mayu exclaimed. Sasuke look at the girl strangely before turning his attention back to Naruto.

"Why am I so different? Why am I always so—argh!" he growled out.

"Naruto, please calm down!" Mayu insisted. "You really don't have to do that!"

"Yes, I do, Sakura-chan! I worked so hard to get here, pushing myself until it hurt!" Naruto cried. "Training alone for hours—anything to get stronger and reach my dream. Mayu smiled lightly. This was it, she realized. This was Naruto becoming the character she had grown fond of. "I will never back down again and let someone else rescue me. I will never run away and I won't lose to Sasuke! Upon this wound, I make this pledge. Bridge builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife. Real ninja never give up and neither will I! Don't you guys worry about me, I'll be fine! So let's go!" he finally finished.

"… Naruto, it was really cool how you got the poison out and all but..." Mayu began.

"But if you lose any more blood... you're going to die!" Kakashi finished. The statement was followed by silence, Naruto letting the realization sink in. He suddenly turned blue in the face and he was sweating bullets.

"Aaaaaaah!" he let out a dramatic scream.

"Really good idea to stop the blood now!" Kakashi crooned.

"No! No! No! I'm too young for it to end like this! No! No! No!" Naruto shouted, going into panic mode.

"Show me your hand," Kakashi sighed out, not appearing too worried.

"No! No! No!" Naruto shouts continued. Mayu rolled her eyes, and then smirked. It will probably get better from here on out. And by better, she meant more dangerous. "Um... um... you have a serious look on your face! You're scary me! Am I going to be okay?"

"Uh... yeah, you will be fine," Kakashi said, wrapping up Naruto's hand.

"So, are we continuing the mission, Kakashi-sensei?" Mayu questioned.

"Yes, we are!" he answered, standing at his full height.

"Alright…!" Mayu shot a fist into the air. She then turned to the quietest one on Team 7. "Isn't this great, Sasuke? Now I can show you some more of my skills!"

"Your mad skills...?" Sasuke visibly rolled his eyes. Mayu enthusiastically nodded her head, grinning. "Yeah, whatever."

"Man, you are a walking popsicle!" she stated, smacking his back rather harshly.

"Stop that!" Sasuke almost hissed.

0-0