I'm not gonna lie, not my best work. I promise I'll give you something a lot better later.

Chapter 7: A Little Sapling Grows

Kakashi brushed past the leaves. His breaths were laboured. The fight had taken a lot out of him. There was something off about this situation though. The wizards seemed convinced about different trade laws. Kakashi knew what the Daimyo told him. Bosco didn't like trade deals, but the Daimyo didn't say anything about illegality. Kakashi stopped. There was something way too off about this. He thought about the wizard with the red hair back in the clearing. If he could talk to her, she could give him some answers. She looked the most like the leader. Kakashi sighed. It was going to be a long day, and the sun had just passed noon. He turned heel and made his way back.

Yamato was getting nowhere. The girl had potential, but as of right now potential just wasn't enough. She was fast, but that was because of the flying cat. The cat sprouted wings and flew the little girl around all over the forest. The little girl would only ever get a couple of hits in. Again, not that she was bad or anything, but Yamato had just been doing this sort of stuff a lot longer. He saw potential in her. She was brave, tenacious, and quick on her feet. Give it a couple more years of training and she would be better than Yamato. Until that time though…

"Sky Dragon: Roar!" Wendy screamed. A gale blasted through trees and leaves. It left nothing in its path. Yamato sighed, dodged and retaliated.

"Wood Style: Great Forest technique!" The pillars of wood hit Wendy into the trees. She screamed as she was separated from Carla. The two of them cartwheeled apart. Yamato rubbed the back of his head. I better finish this off quickly¸ he thought. He jumped off in Wendy's direction. The cat wasn't really a problem, all it could do was fly around on little wings. That didn't mean much.

Wendy hit the tree hard. Her body didn't want to stand, so she fell again. With a thump she landed on the forest floor. The dirt wasn't very soft. She felt all the cuts and bruises on her. The wood had left a lot of splinters. She was eating air while she was trying to stand. With a lot of effort, she was finally able to get to her feet. Her hair was in shambles, but it didn't mean much to her.

"Carla!" she screamed. Her best friend had been lost. Carla couldn't hold a grip after all that wood came at them. Wendy grabbed her arm. Flames of pain shot through her body. She screamed out. Yamato landed in the clearing. He looked at her regretfully.

"I'm really sorry about this ok? I didn't want to beat up some little girl. It's just that, you know I have my job, you have yours. You held up well for a genin though. I'm sure your mentor would be proud of you. Since you're a little girl though I'm not going to kill you. Just surrender so I can bind you up ok? Wood Style: Smothering Binding Technique!"

Wooden tendrils lashed out at Wendy. They curled around her arms, her legs and one even made its way around her neck. Yamato had almost finished when a white blur took him from the side. He went spiralling onto the ground. He got a face full of dirt. His jutsu incomplete, the wood was brittle and easy to break. Wendy struggled her way out.

"My word child, where would you be if I wasn't here to help you? I hope that brute didn't hurt you too much," Carla said pulling at the roots.

"No he didn't. He was actually really nice about everything," Wendy looked off towards Yamato, "I hope he's doing alright..."

"Snap out of it child! This man is the enemy!"

"Yeah, sorry," Wendy chuckled. Yamato groaned and pulled himself from the dirt. He brushed away some mud.

"Looks like I underestimated you two. This means that I won't be able to take you so lightly anymore though, I hope you realise that," Yamato spat some twigs from his mouth.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Wendy's legs were shaking. She only had one shot.

Yamato admired the girl's determination. It's a shame we have to be on opposite sides.

"CHAAA!" Sakura broke boulders when she struck. Loke didn't mind too much. It didn't do anything to his suit. He pulled at his sleeves absentmindedly.

"You'll have to be faster than that!" Loke screamed at Sakura. Sakura was tempted to run at him again. The way he smiled at her, waiting for her to attack. That's when everything clicked into place. Sakura stood straight and took a long breath. She felt herself calm. She smirked at Loke.

"You talk a big talk, but then you run whenever a real woman shows up. You must be desperate," She put a hand on her hip.

Loke stopped, "Excuse me? You're the one who's been chasing me! I'm not desperate, I get tons of girls!"

"What, like that blondie? Are you kidding me, she ran away from you!" Sakura sniggered, "Honestly, you're just another wannabe. You say you attract all the girls, but all I've seen is repulsion!"

Loke smiled. How wrong she was, "Lucy ran away on purpose! It's all part of the plan for her to get to the brook!"

"Really? Ok, thanks a ton. I'll kick your ass later ok?" Sakura hopped into the trees. Loke stood there gaping. He had just been played, by a chick with major anger management problems and a forehead the size of the guild hall.

"That's it, she's going down!" Loke chased her into the woods. He found her running along the old hunter's trail. I have you now! Loke leapt into the air.

"Regulus Impact!" His ring shown golden. The light was a ray. It hit Sakura, sending her crashing into a rock. She had fallen to her knees. Her breathing was slow. A fist was on the ground, supporting her. Loke had run up to her. He fixed his hair, ready to gloat. He opened his mouth, but he couldn't speak. Sakura's fist had rammed itself into his stomach. It was worse than Elfman, Gajeel, Natsu and Gray rolled into one. He was flying, sailing through trees and rocks. He saw little clumps everywhere he looked. They seemed to be turning into a bunch of wonderful colours. It all shined like pixie dust. He saw it rising into the air. As he hit a boulder, he felt himself floating.

Sorry Lucy, I got cocky.

Loke vanished back into the spirit world, he needed to rest and see Aries.

Erza groaned. Her head felt like she had just tried to have a drinking contest against Cana. She heard metallic clanks. Bits of her armor fell away. Her stomach was bare for everyone to see. She brought a hand down and felt something sticky. The air smelled metallic. She almost passed out again when she felt weight on her side. She saw the man with the white hair supporting her.

"Take it easy, you're badly injured," Kakashi grabbed the med kit he had left behind earlier. He bandaged while he talked, "We've been played. The facts just don't add up. You claim what we're doing is illegal. That wasn't what we heard."

"The king of Bosco showed us the documents. Everything on it was very clear," Erza wheezed. She thought this could be a trick, but to what end? The man had won, he gained nothing coming back and patching her up.

"That may be true. When we took this job, we only took the Turtle Daimyo's word for it. We were so anxious to get our hands on medical supplies and cash," Kakashi ruffled his hair, "we made a mistake."

"Why though, what would the Daimyo gain from all of this?" Erza used her sword as a crutch, "What could he gain from making us fight, and getting brought up on charges of illegal trafficking?"

"What would your guild do if one of you ended up dead because of this? If one of ours killed yours, without any sort of actual justification," Kakashi's face didn't give away anything. Mostly because it was hidden beneath a mask and headband.

"They'd probably retaliate. If we get hurt in the line of duty, that's one thing, but if an unjust death happened… The master would probably wage war against the shinobi," Erza was on her feet now.

"Then that's the goal. The daimyo wanted us to fight," Kakashi held out a hand, "My name's Kakashi. No hard feelings right?"

Erza smiled, "Of course not. I'm Erza Scarlet. You better hope we don't meet on the battlefield again, I won't go so easy on you next time," she took the hand.

"Probably not," Kakashi's voice grew grave, "We have to hurry though. For all we know someone might already be dead. Will you be ok to walk?"

Erza had changed armor, "This armor will provide me the support I need till I can get a full treatment. Let's go," Erza ran off. Kakashi followed in behind her.

Wendy had gone on the offensive. With Carla backing her up, she was pressuring Yamato. He kept having to duck around her. Sometimes he would vanish from site, but Wendy would find him quick enough. She managed to push him back until he was up against a cliff.

It's now or never. I have to do just like Natsu would! Wendy took her ready stance. Yamato backed up against the cliff. He kept his hands raised.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Shattering Light! Sky Drill!" Wendy's gale hit like a tornado. Yamato was almost thrown through the cliff. He felt his body shattered. Little wooden splinters went everywhere.

"Kakashi taught me that trick. Wood Style: Smothering Binding Technique!" Yamato got both of them this time. Wendy turned to see the real Yamato nearby. She was fooled; this was it. She tried to struggle, but she was drained. The Sky Drill had taken up so much magical energy. Carla tried to fly away, but it was useless. They were flies in a web now. She felt pressure on her neck.

"Yamato! Stop!" Wendy heard a voice scream out. She saw red hair.

"We're here Natsu!" Happy put Natsu down on the caravan. The two of them had forgotten that the carriage was moving. Natsu doubled over as soon as feet touched ground. He felt bile down in his throat.

"Happy, I'm gonna hurl!" Natsu felt breakfast. It wanted to say hello apparently.

"Ew! Go throw up somewhere else!" A boy stood there in an orange jacket.

Again, sorry. Have a nice week people!