Hey everyone, before I start off this chapter I just want to thank Leesayshey for her review and say that I do appreciate them because I like hearing peoples opinions. Also, I just wanted to make a note that if anyone else is curious about the 'Naria beating Kakashi' situation, that will be explained later on. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Six: Naria's Pov

I walked through the hospital, wearing the uniform that the people in this hospital wore despite the fact that wearing it made me uncomfortable, mainly because Tsunade had told me to wear it, and walked towards the entrance since I had finished my shift for the day. What I wasn't expecting was someone coming up to me from behind and touching my shoulder, causing me to spin around and look to see Shizune.

"Naria, can I speak to you?" She asked and I nodded.

I'd been in Konoha for a while now, quite a while actually, and even though I hadn't made friends I guess you can say I spent a lot of time with Sakura and Lady Tsunade, as well as Ashita who was cocky and somewhat lazy if you classed getting everywhere late as lazy, which I did. Sakura had asked me, to my utmost surprise, to teach her more about the forest and where to find herbs in it. I did of course; it was helpful to keep my mind off other things. Also, I preferred not being on the streets of Konoha because it was hard to see all those happy families when I never got that. It was even harder when Mononoke was away, like she was now. She'd decided to take a long trip home instead of asking me to summon her mother. She had siblings too. She wasn't pleased because the assassins my uncle kept sending after me finally found where I was right now, and the one who had found had died trying to kill me because I had killed him first, and she knew more would find me soon enough. I wasn't so afraid of that, because it just meant that my life was returning to normal, yet still different. It was a good different though.

"You know the uniform suits you." She said and I rolled my eyes.

"Is that why you wanted to speak to me?" I asked and she shook her head, before holding out a scroll to me. I took it from her.

"It's the details of the mission you're to go on tomorrow." She explained and my emotionless façade faded to become one of shock. Wait, what? "Lady Tsunade has decided you're ready for a mission and a hard one at that. This explains it all, but I can say that you'll be going with a team called team Gai and that it'll be dangerous, that's why we need to send a medical ninja."

"And the council and advisers?" I asked, because I knew they were still wary of me, even though they'd never met me and I'd never met them. Still, you'd think after not attacking the village and not hurting anyone – excluding Ashita because he often got hurt in our training, not that I meant to do that most of the time – that they'd stop being so damn cautious when it came to me. I mean it wasn't a lie to say that I was dangerous, because I most certainly was, but that was only when I wanted to be.

"It isn't the council's or the adviser's choice, it's the Hokage's and she's come to trust you despite the fact that you're not a ninja of the leaf." She said and I looked at the scroll, still surprised. "Be at the gate mentioned in the scroll by seven tomorrow morning, alright."

I nodded and she left, while I held the scroll in my hand as a small tear ran down my cheek, surprising me and automatically making me wipe it away. The Hokage, Lady Tsunade, trusted me enough now to send me on missions with ninja of this village. To say I was surprised by that was an understatement and I dare to say that it made me... No, I wasn't going to say the H word just yet because I always became miserable again after I did. For now, I'd just say that I was glad that I could leave the village and go on an actual mission; that I had a purpose and could put my skills to good use. Still, I guess that the H word did apply, because that tear wasn't one of sadness.

Tsunade's Pov

"So, those are the details of your mission." I explained to team Gai.

Gai held up his thumb with a giant smile. "Don't worry; we can handle that in no time." He said and I sighed. Always rushing forward and pushing boundaries, Rock Lee following quickly in his footsteps. They were both so raring to go.

Let's see how they took my next decision. "There is one other thing. I am assigning a skilfully trained medical ninja to your team as a fifth member for this mission, as there is a high-risk factor and I believe one is needed." I explained, though that was only half a truth. I did believe that a medical ninja was needed on this mission because of the target they were pursuing and Naria was the most capable asides from Sakura, but I also wanted Naria on this team for her first mission to see if there was anything I had to worry about when she was with other people she didn't know on a mission. Usually I wouldn't send someone like her out on a higher rank mission than a D or C because she'd never been on one, but I personally thought she could handle it.

"Who's the medical ninja?" Neji asked me and I leant forward. This team consisted of two Jonin and two Chunin, so I figured they could handle her if something did go wrong and protect her if need be. However, I was not going to bring up the assassins as I didn't know if they'd show.

"Her name is Yukina Naria; she's the girl team Asuma saved quite a while ago now and who has been living in the village since then, though that obviously means that she is not a ninja of the leaf. She's already been notified of the mission and will be meeting you at the village gates at seven tomorrow morning." I explained to them and I saw the confusion on their faces.

This was not normally how we did things, unless she was the mission of course, but I felt that this risk was a risk worth taking after watching her and knowing what she was capable of – she was very talented ninja with unique abilities and she was only fifteen. She was silent unless spoken to, followed orders to the letter unless she saw a flaw in them (I had worked with her in the hospital and so had Shizune and she sometimes came up with alternatives to problems most couldn't solve or different ways to make medicine and antidotes) and was like a ghost when in the forest.

Her main strengths were her strength, speed, stamina, Taijutsu and intelligence, while her only weakness was Genjutsu and that was only because she refused to learn it. According to her stats at the moment it went – Ninjutsu 2.5, Taijutsu 3.5, Genjutsu 0.5, Intelligence 3.5, Strength 3.5, Speed 4, Stamina 5 and Hand seals 3 – giving her a total of 25.5 and again she was only fifteen. She was undoubtedly a skilled ninja – one who had basically trained herself beyond the basics Kakashi had taught her and had trained herself to the point of exhaustion – so it was unnerving to think how strong she might become if she unleashed what's within her, especially with her light jutsu/light release. Also, how strong she would be if she kept training.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but if she's not a ninja of the village, why are you sending her with us?" Tenten asked and I was happy she had asked.

"There are many reasons why, but for now I'll just tell you this and if you want to know more about it, you should ask her and she may answer. Naria is both a very talented medical ninja and a skilful ninja who also knows the forest better than anyone in this village can claim to and has trained herself to move unseen when within it. She is also friends with Kakashi and has been training with a Jonin I appointed." I explained, but then I became serious. "But more importantly, I want you to watch her. I want to know how she can cope on a team so I know if I can trust her enough to continue sending her on missions. This is her first time on a mission."

"So, this mission isn't only a mission, it's a test for her and you want us to be the ones who assess her." Neji said and I nodded, but then I felt the need to clarify something.

"Yes, but I still want you to trust her judgement about the forest. She is an expert in that subject." I explained and they all nodded.

Gai grinned. "If that's what you want, then that's what we'll do." Gai said and I nodded.

"Good, then you are all dismissed. Rest up for tomorrow." I said and I watched as they left, before I got up and went over to the window, looking out across the village.

"Wouldn't it have been wise to warn them not to ask Naria about her past? I'm not an expert, but I can tell she hates bringing it up and if they ask her about it on the mission it may cause some conflict. Naria may be more fragile than she seems and she seems like one of the strongest people I've met. She doesn't even like walking around the village." Shizune said and I sighed. She was right of course, about Naria, but still.

"I had thought about it, but I think it's better if they don't know, especially because if I told them not to bring it up they'd be curious. Also, being a part of a team means being able to be trust one another and not lie, and even though she won't be a part of a specific team, she should learn to handle them asking questions she may not like and not get angry about it. A ninja can't let their personal feelings or problems interfere with their mission; they have to trust their team or at least have faith that they can work together." I explained. Maybe this would cause problems if they did ask, but Naria had to learn to deal with people if she wanted to work with the ninja of the village.

Naria's Pov

I sat at the kitchen table I had that night, reading one of the medical books I had acquired in town as I ate my dinner (I had to go buy a cook book just to learn how to cook something other than fish over a campfire, though I stayed to cooking organic as much as I possibly could). I had finished packing my bag for the mission tomorrow morning and was actually eager to go on it. I had been in the village or training in the forest around it for quite a long time now. Well over a month; actually, I was losing count of the days like normal. All I know is that this was the longest I had stayed in a place in a very long time.

This mission, it would be a nice change from staying in the village. It was nice not having to sleep constantly on a forest floor, but then again, I rarely slept despite lying down every night and when I did it was only for a few hours. Still, I wasn't comfortable around so many people and most of the time I tried to avoid going out on the street.

This mission was also a break from Ashita. I mean he was already away on his own mission, but still it would still be good. Ashita was no doubt a loud mouth; he talked more than I wanted to listen about things I didn't care about. He was also a cocky and sarcastic shit who irritated me and sort of lazy when he wanted to be; it was like Kakashi all over again, except Kakashi was the better one. He always arrived late and often asked me to show him what I could do while he sat on his ass watching. I would have beaten him to a bloody pulp, but after the first time where I hit him so hard that he landed face first in the middle of the village Lady Tsunade told me to stick to light fighting in training and not kicking my sensei's ass as far as I could, that is after she finished yelling at me because I'd said I wouldn't put him in the hospital and nearly had. To my defence though, Mononoke and Sakura had found it funny – I hadn't... much, I just knew that he deserved it for annoying me so much. I healed him after it anyway, so no harm was really done. I mean he was sore about it for a few days, but that actually worked out great for me because he refused to talk to me. He actually gave me the silent treatment, which I did find amusing, because who knew an adult could be so childish.

I cleaned up the mess I'd made making dinner and then I went to the bathroom and had a shower. That was one thing I did like about staying here; I could bathe in something in other than a stream, a river, a lake or under a waterfall – or a hot spring if I was lucky enough to find one. A waterfall used to be my form of a shower, and waterfalls didn't provide warm water. This was a privilege considering I hadn't had a warm shower or bath since I was six, unless you counted the one or two natural hot springs I had happened across in the last two years.

Once I was finished I towel dried my hair and laid down on my bed, the moonlight shining through my curtains and onto my body. I just stayed lying on my bed as I stared at the window as I laid on my side and wondered if I'd ever have a good night sleep; I doubted it would happen because that'd just be my luck, but I'd be quite grateful if I got one. It would be nice to stop having nightmares every time I tried to sleep – I felt like I was living a nightmare for years so why was it that sleep couldn't be my only escape.

- Line breaker -

I woke up two hours later in the dead of night, sweating from head to toe with my hair sticking to my neck as a panted breath came from my mouth as I bolted upright, a hand moving to my forehead as I lent my arm on my risen knee as I tried to control my erratic breathing. Alright, nearly ten years of nightmares was driving me insane and eight years of barely sleeping and never feeling refreshed was too – was it so wrong for me to want one night where I could go to sleep before midnight hits and sleep until the sun was high up into the sky?

Well, I guess I was not going to be well rested for my mission tomorrow, good thing I was used to it now. My stamina was so good because I didn't sleep like everyone else and it wasn't from lack of trying. Also nightmares, they don't make you feel well rested. I couldn't even remember what the hell a good night's sleep bloody was anymore – it had been so long since I had one. There were times when I passed out cold from exhaustion and when I woke up I really didn't want to because I was having a much better time asleep. That's really sad thinking about it. It's like a reverse nightmare; like when you wake up from a nightmare you're normally so relieved. For me however, I wake up into the nightmare.