"What are you doing now? You know you won't get lunch unless you take a bell by noon." Kakashi stated, while briefly looking up from his book.

"I know, I know you told us already!" Naruto glared at Kakashi as he dragged himself out of the creek.

"Not bad, I'd expect you to have less energy after not having breakfast, but I guess that doesn't phase you." Kakashi smirked. 'So that's what you did. You purposely disobeyed me and gave them food, smart.' He thought to himself.

"Yeah, well I just really want one of those bells dammit! Besides you caught me off guard earlier, that's all it was, Believe it!" Naruto got up and adjusted his headband letting us know he was ready to start the first phase of the attack. 'Alright guys, I hope you're ready!' I thought to myself, praying this all went the way I wanted it to go.

"I won't go back to the Academy, and I will surpass the Hokage. That's why I'll get a bell no matter what!" The creek started to shake then a dozen or so clones of Naruto sprung from its depths and made their way to Kakashi. "Hah, you're to over confident Sensei. That's why you weren't expecting a Shadow Clone attack, my best jutsu."

"Great technique, but I don't think you can maintain it for very long. You talk like you're the best Naruto, but you're still the worst student. You can't beat me with this jutsu." Kakashi sighed. Then he jolted when he realized someone got him from behind.

"What, he got me from behind!" Kakashi was shocked.

"heheheheahahehe. Didn't you say 'Don't let your enemies get behind you.' Good advice Sensei, Believe It!" The clones all start to pile on Kakashi. "I had one of my clones sneak out of the river then I snuck up on you super quiet." Several clones held him down while one tried to punch him, instead that clone went poof and revealed a Naruto clone. They all fought each other until they all dispersed, but Naruto didn't give up.
Naruto looked down and noticed a bell, so he bent down to pick it up and ended up getting caught in a trap.

"Think before you use a jutsu, or else your opponent might use it against you. Oh and also, if the bait is obvious don't take it." Kakashi watched Naruto struggle in the tree for a moment. "A ninja must see through deception."

"I get it!"

"I'm telling you this because you don't get it. You think you get it, which is not the same as actually getting it, get it?"

The next thing Kakashi knew the Naruto in the trap disappeared revealing it to be nothing more than a clone.

"What the!" Kakashi turned around only to be actually punched by Naruto this time.

"I'm not as slow as you all make me out to be. Come on guys let's get him!" Naruto summoned a crap load of clones and they all started fighting Kakashi, luring him towards Sakura and Sasuke's trap. Once they were within range Sakura unleashed the Genjutsu, and we waited for it to take a hold of Kakashi. Kakashi wasn't expecting this and fell under a sleeping Genjutsu.

"My turn." Sasuke pulled on the wire and it all encased itself around Kakashi leaving him immobile, and just in case he woke up, Sasuke was ready to use some fire style jutsu.
I snuck up on Kakashi and was just about there when I noticed he was waking up from the Genjutsu already. "Shit! Sasuke Now!" Sasuke ignited the wire just as Kakashi woke up, and he couldn't do anything with the wire wrapped around him, well except use a substitution jutsu. The next thing we knew there was a log in the wire and Kakashi was standing where he had been in the beginning.

"Nice, try but..." Out of the ground I came and snatched the bells, much to Kakashi's surprise, the me who had tried to get him before was a clone. I needed a distraction to get into position. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all came forward and I tossed a bell to each of them, leaving only myself without a bell.

"What about you, you'll be sent back to the academy." Sasuke looked at me with a slight edge of concern that was easily masked.

"Rayne, take it, I don't mind going back to the academy." Naruto put on a brave face and put the bell into my palm.

"Naruto.." I took his hand and placed the bell in his palm then closed his hand over it.
"You keep it. Besides, It'll be easier for me to get through the academy a second time, than it would you. Cheer up, it's not the end of the world or anything." I smiled at them all.

"Well, you're the first bunch of students that actually worked as a team. You even went so far as to disobey my orders of not eating breakfast so you would have more energy." Kakashi walked up beside us.

"That was my doing Sensei. I ate breakfast, and brought them all small egg salad sandwiches. It gave them some food in their bellies, and the protein in the eggs gave them added energy." I turned and looked Kakashi square in the face.

"Calm down. You all pass the test. You may have cheated here and there, but you stuck with your comrades and didn't leave them behind. You worked as a cohesive unit, and even made sure they had energy with food, which would be similar to a medic giving them food pills." Kakashi smiled at us all.

"But Sensei why aren't you mad at us? We disobeyed your orders." Sakura inquired.

"In the ninja world those who break the rules are scum, that's true, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." I nodded and smiled.

"No truer words were ever spoken. Thanks for not sending me back to the academy, and thank you guys for listening to me." I looked at everyone in turn.

"No problem." Sasuke inclined his head in my direction.

"It was nothing really." Sakura said.

"I was just glad I could help out, and not screw it up." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Hha Naruto, screwing it up is what won us this, you did great bud. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Come on lets head to Ichiraku's. Kakashi Sensei and I are treating today." We all headed off to Ichiraku's in a rather happy and natural fashion.


A couple of weeks and a few miscellaneous missions later...

"Stupid cat, it deserves to be squashed." Naruto chuckled as he watched the cat we had just saved get hugged to death by its owner.

"Yeah, no kidding. You'd think the damn thing would have learned." I shook my head in dismay.

"For Team 7's next mission we have several available tasks. Ah, among them babysitting the chief councilors three year old, helping his wife to do the shopping, digging up potatoes or..." The Hokage had started reciting off more D rank missions when Naruto interrupted him.

"No! I wanna go on a real mission. Something challenging and exciting, not this little kid stuff. Come on, old man!" Naruto crossed his arms in an "X" signifying the fact that he automatically vetoed any and all of the missions the Hokage had just recently started citing.

"How dare you! You're just a brand new Genin with no experience. Like everyone else you start with simple missions to develop your skills and prove yourself." Iruka yelled at Naruto.

"Are you serious! Babysitting is not a mission it's just a stupid..gaah!" Kakashi punched Naruto on the head and Naruto fell to the ground clutching at his head.

"Will you put a lid on it." Kakashi sighed, in dismay.

"No offense Lord Hokage, Iruka Sensei, but I believe we're ready to try a more difficult mission. At least give us a C rank mission. If it ends up being to difficult for us we can always return and get a D rank mission, and you can pass the C rank onto someone who can actually complete it." I stepped forward and tried to reason with them. "However, if we do succeed on the C rank mission you assign us, can you promise not to treat us like little kids any more, and actually give us C rank missions that test our skills? D rank are okay, and I get helping people is important for creating bonds with other villages and people to further the village, but I believe we can do more by doing missions that fit our level of experience."

The hokage and Iruka Sensei stared at each other for a bit then looked at us. They noted that we weren't the same brats who had been in the academy. We had grown up, and some of us had matured faster then anyone could have guessed possible given the circumstances. The hokage turned once more to Iruka and began a short lived discussion which ended in him turning towards us and giving his verdict.

"Very well then. You all want a mission, and Naruto wants to prove that he's no longer a brat, he's a former brat, so be it. Since you are so determined I'm going to give you a C rank mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey." The hokage smiled at us while he smoked his pipe. He got a kick out of us and how we reacted, especially Naruto.

"Really. Yes! Who, who?" Naruto was eager to find out who we would be guarding, and truth be told so were the rest of us.

"Good question, who are we guarding?" I inquired politely.

"Don't be so hasty I'll call him in now. Send in our visitor." The hokage motioned for one of the Jonin to let in our client.

"What the, a bunch of little snot nosed kids." The man that came through the door took one look at us and started to drink some sort of alcohol from a bottle he was holding. "And you, the little blonde one with the stupid look on his face, you expect me to believe that you're a ninja?"

"Hey, watch it old man. We're the ones who are going to be guarding your ass, and you'd better believe that we wouldn't have gotten assigned this mission if we couldn't handle it. Besides you're one to talk, you look like a drunk old geezer to me. So why don't you tell me what you actually are?" I kept Naruto from rushing the guy after the insult he made, and instead threw back some equally intelligent, as well as brutal words.

"My name is Tazuna, I'm a master bridge builder, and I must return to my country. I'm building a bridge there that will change our world, but I expect you to get me there safely, even if it means giving up your life." He stared at me while speaking, directing the statement to me deliberately in order to judge my response. While Sakura viably paled, and Naruto stopped trying to fight me, both Sasuke and I remained completely level headed.

"Yeah, that's our job. What, did you think we'd do anything less just because you're acting rude to us? Not happening, if our job is to get you to your destination unharmed, then so be it." The look on my face said it all, I was serious and I wasn't backing down.

A couple of minutes later we had left the village and started our journey to the Land of Waves. For the most part it was quiet, now that the bickering with Naruto and the client was over. Geez. I remembered what Tazuna had said before we left when he got into it with Naruto again. 'That girl stands a better chance of becoming Hokage then you do kid. Hokage are powerful and wise, you're just puny and brainless.' Yeah, that didn't go over so well, not that I really expected it to.

"Hey, Kakashi why don't we take a short break up ahead. We're probably used to walking this much, Tazuna might not be." I motioned for Kakashi to come over and listen to my statement.

"Good call. We'll rest up ahead for a it everyone." Kakashi stated as we were coming to a flat area once we crossed the bridge. I noticed a puddle on the ground that shouldn't have been there, it hadn't rained in days if not weeks. Interesting.

All of a sudden as we passed the puddle two mist shinobi popped up out of it and sent chains towards Kakashi sensei enveloping him tightly. Then they both pulled and shredded him to pieces, or that's what it looked like at least.

"Aaah!" Sakura shrieked and backed up in terror.

"Ka...Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto hollered, only to have the two shinobi shunshin behind him.

"Now it's your turn." The ninja laughed as the readied themselves, then lunged to attack Naruto.

Sasuke threw a shuriken at one of the guys chains and stuck it to a tree, while he threw a kunai at the other guys and got it stuck to the same tree. He landed on both guys gauntlet arms, then pushed off and kicked them in the face. They detached their chains and flanked him. One went after Naruto while the other went after Tazuna.

'I've got to stop them, I've got to stop them!' Sakura thought to herself. "Stay behind me." She said out loud, while she pulled out a kunai and faced the enemy. Sasuke jumped in front of her ready to take the attack when Kakashi slammed into the one going after Tazuna, and I flew threw the air and kicked the ninja going after Naruto in the face.

"Oy! Don't forget about us assholes!" I shouted as we both knocked the ninja unconscious.

"Heh." Kakashi smirked at my retort then looked at the others. "Hi."

'Huh! Kakashi Sensei's alive! And Rayne's still a show off.' Sakura thought to herself.

'Hrmph, show off.' Sasuke thought while glaring at Kakashi. Then he looked at me and smirked. "She on the other hand did an awesome job knocking out the one dude in a single hit.'

'Huh! But he was, what! Kakashi sensei...used the replacement jutsu.' Naruto thought to himself, or so he thought.

"Actually, it's called the substitution jutsu. Either way you're right I suppose. You okay Naruto?" I went over and helped Naruto up, after dragging the one ninja over to Kakashi so he could tie them up.

"Sorry we didn't help you right away Naruto. We just didn't think you'd freeze up like that." Kakashi said while tying up the enemy. "Good job, Sasuke. You too, Sakura."
'I was useless, and Sasuke was so cool, like he'd done this a thousand times. Rayne was no different, if she hadn't come in when she did I'd of been toast. Didn't they feel scared at all, They're both so calm, not a single scratch on them, and I was so lame.' Naruto started doubting himself, so I put my hand to his face snapping him back to reality. "Huh" He said.

"I asked if you were alright. I noticed you had a cut on your hand and wanted to be sure you were safe." I was looking at him with worry clearly etched into my face. I wasn't good at hiding my emotions, you could always tell my mood by my eyes, that is if my face didn't betray it first.

"Hhe. You're not hurt to bad are ya? Scaredy cat." Sasuke smirked at Naruto.

"Grrr. Sasukee!" Naruto went to charge after Sasuke when Kakashi interrupted him.

"Naruto! Stand still, these ninja have poison in their claws, we need to take it out of you quickly." Kakashi stood up and looked at me. "You have to open the wound and remove it, it's in his blood so don't let him move around, that spreads the poison. By the way Mr. Tazuna. " Kakashi looked at Tazuna.

"Y..yeah? What?" Tazuna stuttered under Kakashi's scrutiny.

"We need to talk." Kakashi stated.


Kakashi had tied the ninja to a tree and started talking to all of us including Tazuna.

"They are Chunin from the Village Hidden in the Mist. Their specialty is relentless attack, they keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice." Kakashi stared at the Chunin ninja.

"How did you know about our ambush?" The enemy ninja inquired out of curiosity.

"A puddle, on a clear day, when it hasn't rained in weeks." Kakashi stated. "Plus, both Rayne and I noticed that someone had been following us as soon as we left the village with Mr. Tazuna."

"In that case, why'd you leave it for the Genin to do the fighting? Other than the one slowing them down, they all would have gotten turned into fodder." Tazuna turned and looked at Kakashi in confusion.

" I could have taken them out quickly, but then I'd of learned nothing. I had to know who their target was, and that seemed to be the same reason Rayne hid too." Kakashi said while looking Tazuna steadily in the eye.

"Hmm, what are you getting at." Tazuna stated indignantly.

"This, we wanted to know if they were after us, ninja attacking ninja; or if they were after you, the Master Bridge Builder." I moved up by Kakashi as I said this. I was just as irritated at this point.

"Correct. When you put in your request, you asked for standard protection from robbers and highway men. You didn't say there were ninja looking for you and hunting you down. If we knew this it would be a B rank mission or higher. Our task was simply to get you to your destination, and protect you while you finished building your bridge. If we knew we'd be fielding attacks from enemy ninja we would have staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B mission. Apparently you have your reasons, but lying to us is not acceptable. We are now beyond the scope of this mission." Kakashi continued lecturing Tazuna while I went to get some supplies from my pack to tend Naruto's wound.

"We're Genin, this is to advanced for our level of training, we should go back. And I really think we need to treat Naruto's wound and get the poison out as soon as possible." Sakura desperately tried to plead with Kakashi. Who stood there and looked at me.

"We knew what we were getting into Sakura. Some of us are ready for this, we'll protect you, if you feel you're not up to par with this. On another note I'm grabbing some things for Naruto, I'll treat his wound here that way we don't have to head back at all." I said while rummaging threw my back and to find my "on the go" first aid kit.

"Yes, but Naruto's hand could become a problem. I guess we should go back to the village." Kakashi said while deep in thought.

"Urgh! Why am I so different, why am I always, urgh." Naruto had pulled out a Kunai and stabbed it into the wound to bleed out the poison.

"Naruto, stop that what are you doing?" Sakura exclaimed, in shock.

"I worked so hard to get here, pushing myself until it hurt. Training alone for hours, anything to get stronger, to reach my dream. I will never back down again, and let someone else rescue me. I will never run away, I will not lose to Sasuke or Rayne. Upon this wound I make this pledge, Believe it! Bridge builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife. A real ninja never gives up and neither will I. Don't you guys worry about me, I'll be fine, now let's go!" Naruto gritted his teeth as he said the thing that had been bugging him the entire time Kakashi was speaking.

"Uh, Naruto. That was really cool how you took the poison out and all, but if you lose any more blood, you're going to die." Kakashi stated with utmost certainty.

"I've got it, move aside Kakashi. Come here Naruto and give me your hand." I went forward and wiped off his wound and cleaned it with some antiseptic spray. Then I put a small bandage on it. 'Hmmm, It's already starting to heal. This must be the power of the nine tails. It's almost on par with the ten tails healing abilities. Not bad, Naruto.' I thought to myself. "There all better now." I smiled at him as I put my first aid kit away.

"Hehe thanks! You're the best, Rayne." Naruto smiled back at me.

"Yeah well, you're my friend, and I couldn't very well let you bleed out now could I? Come on, we've got the rest of a mission to complete." I picked up my bag, and so did everyone else. Once we were ready we set off again for the Land of Waves.