| "Let no man pull you low enough to hate him." | Martin Luther King Jr.

| "Grace is contagious." | Unknown

| Atelophobia- fear of not being good enough. |

I walked into the room. Naruto, Sakura, and Nara followed suit. Every now and then, I wished that Nara would walk by my side instead of a step behind me. That is her character, though. She would rather be under someone instead of leading a squad.

"Kakashi, Nara." Tsunade spoke. She raised her head from her desk and eyed Nara. Tsunade had become accustomed to Nara keeping her distance, but she still tested Nara any chance she had.

Nara took the hint from the long pause and stepped beside me. "Tsunade-sama." She replied.

"We have received a request from a clan out of our boundaries. They have heard about Konoha's strength and they trust us in succeeding in this mission."

"What's the mission?" Naruto asked.

"I was getting to that." Tsunade said with a furious tone in her voice.

"Not quick enough." Naruto mumbled.

"Naruto!" Tsunade yelled, and Naruto shrunk into a corner. I smiled from the outburst.

The Hokage sat back down in her seat and folded her hands. "It's an escort mission. But this mission is vital to Konoha. Failure will result in a war between two nations."

"What enemies does this clan have?" Nara asked.

"It's unknown. But they aren't the biggest clan forged on peace and prosperity."

"Understood."

"What clan is it?" I asked.

"The Isamu clan. They are intelligent and strong, but they requested us to help their lord be transported."

Isamu? I'm not too familiar with them. In the corner of my eye, I saw Nara's facial expression change for a split second. I shrugged it off as nothing.

"For this mission, I appoint Nara as captain of the squad."

I glanced over to her and saw hesitation overcome her. She spoke with her head lowered to the ground. "Tsunade-sama, for this mission, I highly disa-"

"This is what I have decided. End of story."

"Hokage, I would rather Kakashi be captain for this mission."

"I have the final say, Nara. You are the leader of this mission."

"But, Tsunade," she persisted, "I reject. Let Kakashi be the leader."

"Nara!" The Hokage yelled. "What is with you? You've never done something like this before?"

I looked over to her. I could see that she was disturbed about something. I know she doesn't like being the leader, but rejecting the Hokage's orders like that was disrespectful.

She bowed slightly at the waist. "Please, Tsunade-sama, rethink your solution."

I looked to the Fifth and saw her hesitate. She looked to me, but I didn't know what to do.

She sighed heavily. "Everyone leave. Kakashi, you stay."

Sakura and Naruto exited with Nara trailing behind them. I saw her look over her shoulder at me with sadness in her eyes. Something about this mission was truly bothering her.

Tsunade crashed in her chair. "I've never seen Nara act like that."

"Something is bothering her. That's all."

"You say it like it's nothing." She laughed. "If something is bothering Nara, and she shows it, then it's not good at all." She said as she shook her head slightly.

"She hardly ever asks for anything. Grant her this, and she'll be fine."

"That's true. I just want to know what's troubling her."

"Nara won't open up about things too easily. It takes time with her. Even then, she still holds her secrets within the depths of her mind."

"Alright. For this mission, you are appointed as the leader, Kakashi. After everything Nara has done for me personally, I can at least grant her this request."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

"Dismissed."

.:Kakashi:.

"Sakura, Naruto, you'll watch over these areas near these wagons. Understood?"

They both examined the line of wagons and nodded their heads. They fiddled with their radio sets to make sure everything was ready.

"Nara, you and I will stay close to the lord of the clan."

She nodded her head. The door to the main wagon opened. A man dressed in many colors stepped forth and smiled. "Shinobi of Konoha, I wish to thank you for your hospitality."

I stepped forward. "It's no problem, sir. We will escort you all the way to the Isamu village."

He looked passed me and examined our group. "Are you sure that's enough manpower to protect me if bandits come? I am the lord of my village, you know."

He really just underestimated us to bandits? "I assure you, sir, these shinobi possess great power and are stronger than they appear."

"You have two girls in your group! How should that make me feel safe?"

I pointed to Sakura. "Sakura here was taught by Tsunade-sama in medical jutsu. She is very qualified for this mission."

His eyes shifted to Nara. "And what about her? She looks weak and unbalanced."

Nara removed her hood from her face. "This is Nara. She was offered the position of Hokage."

"Offered it, eh? I guess once they saw her so called 'skills' they took back their offer." He threw his back and let out a huge laugh. "I mean really? She's blind!"

I gritted my teeth, but didn't say anything.

Nara spoke. "I apologize that I don't meet your expectations." With that, she walked to the other side of the carriage and prepared for departure.

"I thought something like this would happen." The lord shook his head. "Konoha sent me worthless ninja. Akio, get out here."

A man walked out of the carriage. He was a little shorter than I and he had brown hair. "Yes, father?"

"Make sure these shinobi do their job." He snickered and entered his carriage. Akio walked over to me and offered his hand.

"I apologize for my father. Long trips put him on edge."

"I can see. Anyway, you can ride in one of your wagons. We have this under control."

"I was commanded to help, and help is what I'm going to do."

"We don't have anymore transmitters, so you'll have to stay near one of us if you're fine with that."

He smiled. "Fine by me, sir."

Nara still seems bothered, so sending him over to her wouldn't be the greatest idea. Sakura may be googly-eyed at him the whole time. Naruto will be a goof-ball the rest of the time, but he may be the best choice. At least, this Akio fellow will have a laugh for most of the trip.

I activated the speaker for the radio. "Naruto."

"Kakashi-sensei?" He answered.

"I'm sending one of the lord's men to accompany you."

"You don't think I can handle this?!" He screamed in my ear. I cringed from the shriek in the receiver.

"Naruto! Just do as Kakashi-sensei says." Sakura interjected.

I sighed and pointed behind me. "Naruto is guarding that area on this side. Explain the situation to him."

He stood at attention. "Yes, sir." Then he took off.

Kota stood next to me. I bent to one knee and patted his head. "You're not traveling with Nara?" I asked him.

He hesitated. "Kakashi… she's deeply troubled right now. She asked me to give her some space for a few hours."

"I'm sorry, Kota. Are you all right? You two are inseparable."

"I'm fine. I'm just worried about her. Except for the times Tsunade asked I stay behind in Konoha, we've been side-by-side most of my life. I respect her to know that she needs room to breathe right now, but I'm just worried about her."

"I probably won't be much of conversation." I replied. "You may want to walk with Sakura. You can try Naruto, but he would become annoying after some time."

"I prefer to be with you, Kakashi."

"Why me?" I asked.

"I'm used to you. The only people I choose to stay beside are Nara, Tsunade-sama, and you. Nara trusts the two of you, and so do I."

"Then it's my privilege if you accompany me."

The carriage began to stroll forward. The caravan followed suit. My team walked beside our assigned wagons and carts. After about four hours of walking, Nara sensed eleven enemies ahead. She said they were merely greedy bandits, so I decided to let Sakura and Naruto deal with them.

Nara stayed alert for other enemies. That wasn't hard for her at all since she excelled in chakra sensory. Not only that, but her sense of hearing was incredible. By the end of the day, the lord stopped the wagons and carriages and decided to make camp. All the drivers and workers gathered around the fire.

Sakura and Naruto made a little campsite for our group, but Nara still distanced herself from us. We gathered around the fire and cooked fish that we caught earlier. I looked over in Nara's direction and saw her leaning against a rock. She sat there with her hood up.

I stood up and walked over to her. "How long will you keep sulking?"

She didn't move her head to acknowledge that I was here. I sat down beside her and offered her a fish on a stick. "I'm not hungry." She said.

"You haven't eaten all day, and you've been walking nonstop throughout today. You need some food."

"I don't want it." She replied as she pulled her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs.

"Nara," I began, "I'm worried about you. You even pushed Kota away today. I've never seen you this down. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine." She still didn't raise her head to me.

I sighed loudly. "No. You're hurting on the inside. We're your friends. Please, don't push us away. We're here for you." I placed a hand on her shoulder and returned to the fire. After a few moments, Nara appeared in the firelight. Her hood was down, but her face was vacant of her beautiful smile.

She sat down between Sakura and I. Kota stood up from his position and sat beside her. Nara's eyes still showed pain, but she patted the wolf's head as he leaned against her.

I wonder what's going through her mind, and what is hurting her like this. From the times she's opened up to me, I know that her mind is a troubling place to hide in.

.: :.

The next morning, we began the journey early. Naruto was reluctant to get up, but after some bribing, he was full of energy for this long day. Today, Akio requested he walk by me to observe how a leader gives orders.

"Kakashi." Nara came on the headset.

"Yeah?"

"Two ninja presences are closing in on my side."

"I want you to deal with them then." I replied.

"All right."

I saw Nara jump up the cliff and unsheathe her giant weapon. She did a simple wind jutsu for her and the two shinobi fell from the cliff. They were still alive, but badly injured. Nara landed lightly on the other side of the lord's carriage. She began to walk slower to get back to her position.

"Amazing." Akio mumbled behind me.

"She is an incredibly skilled shinobi." I said.

"You said she was offered to be Hokage?" He asked.

"Yeah, but she declined."

"Declined? Why would someone decline such a strong seat as the Hokage?!"

"She has her reasons." I replied simply.

"What are they?" the Isamu lord asked.

"She said she was too young and other countries would see it as a way to attack Konoha. The other reason was because she is blind. The other countries wouldn't take her seriously."

He remained quiet. When Nara and the lord first met, he didn't take her seriously.

"Couldn't she just show them her power?" Akio asked.

"Nara is the type that she doesn't want to prove herself to anyone. A person can underestimate her all they want. In the end, she stands victorious in combat."

"What all can you tell me about her?" the lord asked.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Kakashi." Nara rang in my ear.

"Hold on one second, sir. " I pressed the button on the radio. "Yeah?"

"Five more shinobi two kilometers ahead of us."

"What are they like?"

"Three are fire natured. One is strong with weapons, and the other is strong in taijutsu." It still amazes me that she can tell all that from this distance.

"Can you take them by yourself?"

I could hear the smile in her voice. "Leave them to me." In the next moment, Nara, with chakra exerted into her feet, sped passed us and drew her sword. We watched as she used water techniques to quench the fires from the three ninja.

"What can you tell me about her?" The lord asked again.

"What do you mean?"

"How old is she. What is her clan? How long has she been blind? What elements can she use?"

"She is twenty-three. I'm unable to answer about her clan. She has been blind for as long as I've known her. And, she can use all five elemental jutsu."

"All five you say? I've never heard of such a thing."

She resorted to using wind chakra against the other two ninja. Before we even made it down the hill to the battle, it was already over.

Nara returned to her spot.

"She's the only one in Konoha who is able to do it."

"And you don't know anything about her clan?"

"Why are you so interested, sir?"

"I like to know about who is guarding me. That's all."

"Then what about the other members of this team."

"Yeah, yeah. But this girl is blind. I mean seriously, how good can she be?"

"She was originally chosen to lead this mission, sir. She's more than capable. I will say that she is stronger than I."

"Then why isn't she leading it?"

"She denied being captain."

"So she's someone who doesn't do what she's told? That's not a good quality for a shinobi."

"Sir, don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say that, you merely made a wrong assumption." I tried to say nicely, but I'm sure it didn't come out as calm as I had planned.

"How much about her do you really know, Kakashi? I mean do you truly know her real side?" He asked in a hateful tone.

"That is irrelevant."

"Whatever." He said and closed his window. Good riddance.

The rest of the journey was uneventful. A few more ninja and bandits appeared, but Sakura and Naruto handled them easily. Three days later, we had reached Isamu village.

The lord exited his carriage and had all the carts sent to his house. He turned around to face us.

"I guess you want your reward. But before that, I order that Nara steps forward." His voice became loud when he asked for Nara. I didn't like this. The white haired woman stepped beside me with her head held high.

"No, step closer."

I saw hesitation in her, but she couldn't refuse without knowing what the lord was going to do. "Yes, sir." She took two steps forward.

A crowd was beginning to form. I didn't like this one bit.

"Nara, I ask that you answer all my questions truthfully."

"Sir, where are you going with-"

He held up his hand. "You will do as I say."

She held her tongue, but I saw agitation in her eyes.

"Tell me what clan you are deprived from."

"I don't have a clan, sir."

"Oh, you don't? Well, then, can you possibly tell me how long you have been blind?"

Where was he going with this?! I saw Nara swallow, but she still held her head high.

"I was blind when I was seven."

"What caused you to go blind?"

Nara didn't answer. I watched as the lord's face changed to a wicked grin.

"Nara's a nice name, you know. But did you know that Nara has no meaning? It's the same as saying that you are nothing. Anything to add?"

Naruto stepped towards me. "What's going on, Kakashi?"

"Just stay back, Naruto."

"No, sir. I have nothing to add."

"Oh, really? So, you're going to hide the fact that you are a monster?!"

Nara simply shrugged. "I was never hiding it."

"Still the same little naïve girl as always."

"No. I'm a woman now, not a girl. I can hold my own." She remarked.

"Even after what happened, you chose to set foot back in this village? You know that I won't show mercy on you."

"I'm part of Konoha now. My relations with this village are no more."

"You were born in this clan, so you are still one of us, sadly. We don't want you, but we have to take responsibility for you."

"Responsibility?" Nara laughed. "Father, you sold me away to men who beat me. After that, they threw me out into the forest to die."

Father?! This was the man that gave her away? And this whole time we've been protecting him.

"There are ways to deal with monsters like you. You can bring nothing good to this world. The best thing for you to do is die."

No wonder she didn't want to be the leader of this mission. I needed to stop this.

I stepped forward. "That was a long time ago, sir. There's no reason to take 'responsibility' as you say."

"Stay out of this Konoha-scum! This doesn't concern you."

"Actually, what concerns Nara, concerns me."

"Leaders putting their life on the line for comrades." He rolled his eyes.

"No. She's my best friend."

"Then step away. Unless you want to be put through the same trial. Her verdict will also be yours. Her punishment will be yours, too." His grin widened.

"Kakashi." Nara said beside me. "I'll be fine." She smiled a bright smile and it was real. "There's no reason for you to go through this."

Her father spoke again. "So, you will go through with our trial willingly? That is your best choice."

"If I recall correctly, the trial is decided by the lord of the clan, correct?"

His grin showed victory. "You are right."

"After the punishment, I am allowed to leave?"

He laughed. "If you can handle the punishment."

I looked to Nara. She was deep in thought. I knew that she was going to go through with this trial so that conflicts between this village and Konoha don't occur.

She nodded. "I will go through the trial."

.:Kakashi:.

"For your past crimes, you will be severely beaten." Announced Nara's father to the people of Isamu.

Severely beaten? In breaking her body, he'll attempt to break her spirit, too?

His voice was loud as he declared her punishment. "You have to erase your past crimes from this village by spilling your blood." I could tell that he was enjoying this.

"What do you mean?!" Naruto yelled out. "Nara is the kindest and gentlest person I know!"

"Naruto." Nara said quietly. "This is their way of the village. Guilty or not, I have a monster inside of me."

"But you are going to be punished for something you couldn't stop! You didn't have a say of whether that monster be put inside you or not. Why should you be punished for it?"

"You don't have to do this." I said with concern. "They are the ones who did you wrong. Why do you have to be hurt just so they can feel better about themselves?"

"If you don't face your punishment, Konoha will suffer." Her father said. She knew Konoha could hold its own against this village; however, blood would still be spilled. Resulting in a pointless battle.

"I will face it." She said.

I watched as a man roughly grabbed her left arm and pulled her towards a fence. Two other men surrounded her and pulled off her shirt and chainmail. All that was left was her tank top underneath.

"It'll be just like old times, Nara." Said one of the men with a smirk.

"No, it won't." She replied.

They pulled her behind the chain-link fence and tied her wrists to two posts. She made no effort to pull against the bonds. She merely stood there and waited for what would happen.

A man stepped into the area holding a whip. "There's no way of escaping. Those wires are as strong as steel." He laughed loudly.

I watched as he brought the first strike down upon Nara's back. My words were choked within my throat. My heart throbbed terribly as I watched another lash against her back. My hands were trembling uncontrollably.

"Kakashi, this is isn't right!" Naruto yelled from behind me.

A tear fell from my left eye. "I know Naruto." I lowered my head, but I could still hear the sound of the whip making contact with her skin. "But this is her choice."

I watched as her face contorted under the pain of the constant whip. She didn't scream, though. She merely gritted her teeth. This enraged me. Why does Nara have to go through all this? Her village betrayed her. Her father sold her away. Men beat her to the point of death. They hit her hard enough to steal her sight. They threw out in the forest to die. And now, they say she's the monster? Nara never held a grudge against this village. She remembered everything, and she chose to forgive and forget. But now, she's the one tied to a post still enduring pain. All the pain of her body yelling at her. All the hate from the men stripping her skin.

How many lashes has it been? Each one echoed within my mind. I wanted to help her. If I didn't do something, what was the point of cutting covenant all those years ago?

.:Nara:.

The whip lashed against my striped back. My tank top was left in shreds from how many lashes were unleashed on me.

After all these years, my father still resented me. He still wished that I were dead. My childhood dream was for him to love me. For him to smile at me… I'll just never be good enough, I closed my eyelids, will I? I wasn't then, nor am I now.

Then, I felt a spark of energy. It wasn't from me, but behind me. It was in the cabin, the cabin where I was beaten as a little girl. This energy I felt was from a life from that possessed chakra.

My blind eyes flung open.

I exerted chakra into my hands and easily cut the wire that was supposedly unbreakable. I pivoted on my left foot and caught the whip in my hand. In the midst of the pivoting, I changed my eyes to the dragon eyes. This enabled me vision.

I looked into the eyes of the person that committed in punishing me. His expression showed fear.

My voice was icy, "Who's in the cabin?"

He backed away a step, but didn't release the whip. A voice entered my ears, "You went against the trial rules!" It was my father. I gripped the lash tighter and pulled it away from the man before me. He stumbled away from me as I walked toward the cabin. I discarded the whip and slowly opened the door.

I switched my eyes back to their normal form. This chakra presence seemed to be young, and I didn't want to scare the poor child. In the corner, I heard her whimper quietly.

I walked silently over to her and dropped to my knees. My voice was soft-spoken, "Hey there."

I felt her presence look up to me, but I heard the fear in her voice. "What… are you going to do to me?"

I offered a simple smile. "I'm going to get you out of here unscathed little one."

"Unscathed?" She asked with confusion.

"You're not going to be harmed anymore from those men, alright." I felt her nod her head. "Will you trust me?" I asked as I extended my hand to her.

She crawled toward me and I picked her up. She was skin and bones from malnutrition. I used my left hand to hold her up as my right hand helped her with balance. She rested her head on my upper chest.

I began walking out of the cabin. I heard gasps from the crowd from the sight of the little girl. I felt a man racing toward me to my right. I quickly pulled out a kunai from my pocket and threw it at him. I only kill when it deemed necessary, but I was ticked off.

His body fell lifeless to the ground from the kunai in his throat.

I began walking forward again. None of the other men attempted to attack me.

I heard a woman cry, "Mai! That's my little Mai!" I could hear the hurting in her voice.

The little girl perked up and looked toward the voice. "Mommy?"

I strolled over to the voice. I was unsure at first, because what if her family gave her up like mine did to me, but I quickly discarded that thought. This woman was crying and incredibly happy to see her little girl.

I handed over Mai. "Oh my… how can we ever thank you?"

"There's no need." I replied. My heart ached from the feeling of being around this woman with her child. I have never known an unconditional love like this, not even from my mother, but I was ecstatic that this little girl had someone around that loved her so much.

I walked passed the two and stepped closer to my team. I was exhuasted. Physically, my body was beaten and hurting. Emotionally, my heart throbbed and I wanted to pull it out of my chest. I was so close to forgetting all the pain and hate that came with my memories.

My father blocked my path. "You're not done."

"Yes, I am. I went through with the punishment, and now, I'm going home." I passed him.

He gripped my shoulder forcefully. "You're a monster. Monsters don't have homes."

In so many years, this was my first time hearing my brother speak up for me.

"This is wrong and you know it, father."

"She's a monster!"

"Monsters don't forgive and attempt to forget the past."

"Akio…" My father began.

"You always showed me love as a child. But her, she was just unwanted trash to you."

"She is trash. She has the dragon monster inside of her! She must be killed before anyone of us dies by her hands."

I stepped closer to the men. I picked around in my pocket. "Remember the night you sold me away?"

He didn't reply.

"And they gave you a certain amount of money for me. You might not have ever noticed, but they stole the money back one night.

All the townspeople listened intently to me. "They never knew it, but I stole the money from them. I was upset. I wanted to know why I meant so little to you…" That meant nothing to me anymore. "I counted the money, and kept it with me to this day. I've never used it. I've never reopened it ever since I counted it."

I pulled out the sack, loosened the strings and allowed the money to fall to the ground. "Enough money to buy three meals a day for a week."

"Maybe if I give you the money back, you can forget my existence." I looked over to Kakashi and the others. "This mission is over and we have no reason to stay."

I turned, jumped to the tree branches, and headed back to Konoha.

I formed my hands together and focused my chakra to my back. The wounds began to heal.

"Nara, please stop." It was Kakashi. In all my years knowing him, this is the fourth time he has said 'please' to me. It meant a serious talk.

I balanced on a branch and waited for him to land next to me. He landed gently. "Are you alright?" He asked.

I didn't smile or even look in his direction. "I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Tell me how you feel."

"I don't know how I feel."

"Please… Nara, you can trust me."

I already know that!

Tears streamed down my face. "My heart aches, but I smile on the outside. My mind yells at me my memories and how painful they are. My heart remembers the abandonment I felt, the worthlessness inside of me… Being beaten in that cabin wondering if I would ever breathe fresh air again. Left with my thoughts of why I was traded away…"

Kakashi stepped closer and I felt the rest of the team close enough to hear. I wanted to stop and just return home without anyone asking questions. "I tried to forget everything and forgive my father. I wanted to forget and live a life of joy. I smiled to everyone in Konoha. Many people walked up and said that I made their day by a single smile, but… I would go home and be haunted by my memories."

"You did forgive them. No one can fake something like that for that long. It was real."

"But I couldn't forget." I replied.

"Nara!" It was Naruto. "How can you say all those things? Anyone else would want revenge and death to those people. You got past all that junk and became a ninja who protects. You are the nicest and gentlest person I know."

"No. I'm not. I'm just like you. A monster rests within me. No matter how gentle and fragile I seem on the outside, the Dragon could be released."

"But you know how to control it." Kakashi replied.

"Control it?" I laughed. "This is one of a Bijuu. No one can control their power."

"There's a first for everything."

The dragon said, "Control me? I agree with Nara that it isn't possible."

Naruto spoke. "You have no place to speak! Because of you, Nara has been put into those situations in her home village."

The Dragon growled lightly. "I wasn't done, boy. I made a deal with the father of ninjas that I wanted to be sealed within human vessels. He questioned me. I replied that I wanted to understand the humans. I've been in many vessels, but I haven't been in one this long before."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I have been sealed within thirty-six different people before you. Each one became obsessed with the power that was within them. They used it against their people to gain power and recognition. The last age that I was in was a twenty-one year old man."

"I'm only twenty-three."

"They always asked me for power. Asking for more and more until it consumed their very being. I have seen Nara go through trials worse than the others, and she hasn't released me yet."

"What happened to the other thirty-six vessels?" Kakashi questioned.

"My seal was broken and they lived their lives without any help from me. Most of them became depressed and mediocre. Nara is the only one who has built her own power without my help." He paused. "And I respect her for that."