AN: Why is the wave arc always so hard to write? Even without explicitly typing everything Kakashi and Zabuza said I was getting frustrated with their dialogue. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy reading it :3

The famed Tora mission was harder than I gave it credit for. Though, that might not have been the case if I hadn't suggested to Kakashi that he let Sasuke lead the mission for practice. Naruto wasn't happy following directions from Sasuke, and Sasuke had no experience leading a team.

"I see it!" Naruto's voice came over the radio.

"Wait until we're in position." Sasuke ordered.

"I can get it on my own, 'ttebayo! Just watch!"

I had just managed to get into viewing distance of the darn cat when Naruto rushed toward it. I snickered as the cat scratched up his face and managed to dart away. "It got away." I informed Sasuke.

"Tch, dobe. I told you to wait!"

"I could have gotten the cat if you weren't yelling in my ear, dattebayo!"

"Whatever, find it!"

"Yes, sir!" I added cheekily.

We ran around for another fifteen minutes before I spotted Tora again. "Target sighted two kilometers west from previous site."

"Does it look like it'll remain still?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay, wait for us to surround the target. Then move in." It was less than a minute before his voice came crackling again, "I'm in position."

Naruto's answer took longer, "I'm in position.

"GO!" Sasuke commanded and all three of us converged on the cat at once. Naruto was the one who managed to catch the darn thing.

"Can you confirm the target?" Kakashi's voice finally came.

"Ribbon on the right ear." Sasuke said. "Target Tora confirmed."

"Good job, Team 7. Naruto you were slow, but you managed to capture the target. Let's go report to the hokage."

I felt a little bad for the troublemaker we brought in when I saw the way the Daimyo's wife was treating her. It really was no wonder the cat ran away.

"Alright." Jii-chan said. "Team 7's next mission will be… hmmm." He began listing off possible choices, all of which sounded unappealing.

"No!" Naruto interrupted. "No thanks to all of those, 'ttebayo! I wanna do something more exciting. Choose something else."

Once Naruto was finished with his demand I spoke, "Yeah, Jii-chan. Even Konohamaru can do these."

"Idiots!" Iruka shouted, and I adamantly refused to flinch at his unexpected interruption. "You're still novice ninja! Everyone needs to start with easier missions to gain experience."

"But we've only been doing dumb missions lately!" Naruto countered, and Kakashi hit him on the head before he could go any further.

"Cut it out."

"Naruto, Shiori!" Jii-chan called our attention before going on a long-winded rant about how missions work. I tuned out most of it the same way I did when Iruka-sensei scolded us for skipping class.

"Hey listen!" Jii-chan shouted when he realized none of us seemed to care about what he was saying.

"Geez, all you do is give lectures like that!" Naruto shouted. "But I'm not the trouble-making kid anymore! I'm a ninja now!"

"Okay." Jii-chan said, shocking us all. "If you want it so bad I'll give you a C-rank protecting a certain person."

"Yata!" Naruto and I cheered together.

"Who is it?" Naruto continued. "A Feudal Lord? A princess?"

"Calm down, I'm about to introduce him." Jii-chan called out to his chuunin assistants, "bring in the visitor!"

It wasn't surprising to see Tazuna walk through the door. He was exactly what I expected, except, I wasn't anticipating the overwhelming stench of alcohol. After spending so much time around ninja who worked hard to keep themselves as undetectable as possible it was a shock to the system.

"Huh? They're all jus' brats." Tazuna slurred. "'Specially th' short one with the stupid-looking face. Are ya sure yer a ninja?"

Naruto started laughing, not realizing at first who he was talking about. "Who's the shortest one with the stupid-looking…" Once he saw that Sasuke and I both towered over him he was ready to maul our new client, but Kakashi held him back. I snickered at Naruto, but he was so focused on his declarations to kill Tazuna he didn't notice.

After, mostly, calming Naruto down, Kakashi dismissed us to pack for the mission. I swung by the Academy to say a quick goodbye to Konohamaru before going to the village gate.

"Good luck, nee-chan."

I grinned, "Like I'll need it." Then I placed my hands on my hips and stared him down. "I better not hear that you've skipped class when I get back."

"I won't, I won't." He assured me.

"Good." I ruffled his hair. "See you when I get back."

Surprisingly, Kakashi was late to the gate. Not as late as he usually is, but I thought he'd at least be on time for a client. Naruto glared at him, but didn't say anything. He probably thought that ten minutes was better than a few hours.

"Maa, let's get going, shall we?"

Naruto got very excited for his first trip out of the village, and I couldn't help but giggle. I was sure that Konohamaru would act the same way when he gets his first C-rank.

"Hey, are you sure I'll be safe with this brat?" Tazuna asked.

"I'm a jounin, so…" Kakashi trailed off, not sounding very sure of himself.

"Hey, old man!" Naruto spun around to point an accusing finger at Tazuna. "Don't mess with ninjas! I'm incredible, 'ttebayo! My name is Uzumaki Naruto and you better remember it because I'm gonna be hokage!"

"Hokage's the village's number one ninja, right?" Tazuna drawled. "Doubt a brat like you could become it."

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted back, and I winced. Tazuna really got him going. "I'll become the hokage no matter what! Then you'll have to acknowledge me, dattebayo!"

"No I won't brat. Even if you did become hokage."

Naruto twitched. "I'll kill you!"

Once Naruto calmed down and Kakashi let him go I let myself fall into step with him. "Ne, Naruto." I brushed my shoulder against his. "You don't need some old bridge builder to acknowledge you. Ya know why?"

"Why?'

"Because I know you're great." I grinned at him. "And, obviously, I'm the only vote that really counts."

Naruto laughed. "Thanks Shiori. And now I've decided."

"hm?"

He spun around to face Tazuna. "I'll definitely make you acknowledge me during this mission."

Tazuna snorted. "Yeah, I'd like to see you try, brat."

All of us were prepared for Naruto to attack Tazuna again, but he just grinned smugly and continued to walk. It was more maturity than I expected out of Naruto at this age, and I was proud of him.

I almost missed the puddle on the side of the path. I probably would have if I wasn't looking for it. I was careful not to draw attention to noticing it, though.

Despite knowing it was going to happen, it was still a shock to see Kakashi being ripped to pieces. Sasuke was quicker to act than I was by pinning their chains to a tree then delivering a kick to both of them. The two detached their chains quickly and darted two different directions. I had to make a split-second decision: Naruto or Tazuna? Without thinking, I dashed to protect Naruto, delivering a solid kick to the enemy ninja's face-not unlike what Sasuke had done seconds earlier. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to avoid a nick to the arm from his claws.

I inhaled deeply before plunging a kunai into my arm. I barely registered that Kakashi had come back and taken care of the two ninja.

"Shiori!" Naruto exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"If I act quickly," I ground out, trying to avoid giving away how much pain I was in. "I might be able to get the poison out without losing too much blood."

"Let me see." Kakashi said. "It looks like the poison is out, but you will probably feel weak for the rest of the day." He gave his eye-smile. "By the way Shiori-chan, how did you know their claws were poisoned?"

"Oh, well. They're in the Bingo Book, right? The Demon Brothers?" I forced a laugh, but winced when it jostled my arm. "Ebisu forced me to keep updated on the Bingo book. Guess it came in handy."

"Maa, Ebisu's a good instructor." Kakashi said, finally wrapping my wound. Once he finished he turned to Tazuna. "I need to talk to you bridge builder."

I found that I had a lot less sympathy for Tazuna's sob story when I was holding my bleeding arm. Still, it was pretty obvious that Naruto and Sasuke were ready to see the mission through. And, whatever resentment I felt because of my arm, I knew I would regret it if I left Tazuna to die.

"Maa, maybe we ought to discontinue this mission. It's above our pay grade and Shiori-chan would benefit from a visit to the hospital."

"I'm fine." I blurted. Then I attempted to steady my voice and come up with an excuse to avoid going back to the village. "I mean, we promised Tazuna-san we'd protect him. I want to see it through."

Naruto, seeing that I didn't want to go back, quickly chimed in. "Yeah! And I promised to make him acknowledge me! I won't go back on my word, dattebayo!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at me but made no more attempts to dissuade us. "Maa, if you both feel so strongly, I guess we better get going."

The quiet on the boat ride into Wave Country gave me a lot of time to think. I wanted to protect Tazuna, but I didn't want Zabuza and Haku to die. No matter how I thought about it, I wasn't going to be able to beat either one into submission. They would have to make their own choice to leave us alone, but they had no reason to do so.

"It's huge!" Naruto exclaimed, dragging me out of my thoughts. He was quickly shushed by the driver.

Once we were back on land Naruto refused to leave my side. He was constantly glancing at the bandage on my arm and frowning.

Naruto knew, even without Sasuke's remark about him freezing up, that Shiori's injury was his fault. Shiori had jumped forward to protect him from the Demon Brother, or whatever he was called, and he wasn't going to let it happen again. He was jumping at shadows for a while, but he could have sworn the rabbit he threw a kunai at had been a ninja.

"Get down!"

Naruto couldn't take his eyes off the giant sword that came flying over his head. How does someone even throw that?

"Well well, if it isn't the Hidden Mist's nuke-nin, Momochi Zabuza-kun." Naruto had barely heard Kakashi-sensei's words. He was going to take out the shirtless freak before Shiori got hurt again. Kakashi-sensei's hand stopped him in his tracks. "Everyone stay back. This guy's on a whole other level. It will be a little tough unless I do this." Naruto stared curiously as Kakashi-sensei's hand went to his tilted hitai-ate.

"You appear to be Sharingan Kakashi." The stranger had a voice like gravel. "Sorry but… The old man is mine."

Naruto was still stuck on the Sharingan bit. What the hell was a Sharingan? It must have been pretty important for the freak to know about it. Maybe Shiori would know. She knew everything.

"Surround and protect Tazuna-san." Kakashi-sensei ordered. "Do not enter the fight. That's the teamwork here." When he finished talking Kakashi sensei, finally, revealed his left eye. The red was easy to see and Naruto's mind was sent reeling about who would have an eye like that.

"Ah, I already get to see the famous Sharingan." The freak drawled. "I'm honored."

"Sharingan! Sharingan!" Naruto finally had enough. "What the hell is that?"

"The Sharingan." It was Sasuke who finally answered Naruto's question but it was so long-winded and complicated that Naruto didn't understand it.

Then, the freak had to add more to the teme's explanation and just confused Naruto more. Apparently Kakashi-sensei was some great ninja, but Naruto wasn't sure he believed it. What kind of ninja is late all the time?

"Now, let's end the talking." The freak finally said. "I have to kill that old man! But Kakashi, it seems that I'll have to kill you first."

I had never felt killer intent before. It should go without saying, but it was terrifying.

"Eight choices. Liver, lungs, spine, clavical vein, neck vein, brain, kidneys, heart." Zabuza's voice made me shiver. "Which one should I go after?"

The wave of chakra Kakashi sent out felt tangible. I could still feel Zabuza's chakra in the mist, too. It felt like if I moved, even slightly, that I would be torn to shreds. I couldn't even breathe. If I breathed the two jounin's would be able to sense my chest movement and react like a dog to fresh meat.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi's voice rang past the killer intent. "Don't worry. I'll protect you with my life. All of you." He turned to give us his eye-smile that mostly only included his Sharingan eye because his other was out of view. "I won't allow my comrades to die."

For five seconds I could breathe. My breaths were shallow and unsteady, but they were there.

"Are you sure about that?"

Zabuza was behind me. Zabuza was behind me.

"It's over."

For that split-second I was sure I was going to die, but Kakashi was there. I didn't even remember stumbling away. But I must have because I was staring from a distance and from the ground as Kakashi stabbed Zabuza.

I was confused. Maybe I lost too much blood earlier or maybe it was the terror, but my mind was jumbled. I didn't even see Zabuza behind Kakashi until Naruto called out, and I should have known he'd be there.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow-motion and fast-forwarding at the same time. I could see everything that happened but I couldn't process it. It seemed very sudden for Kakashi to be trapped in the water prison.

Naruto and Sasuke had stood up a while ago, but I was still collapsed on the ground watching with horror as Zabuza created another water clone. "You think wearing a hitai-ate makes you a ninja?" The clone laughed. "A ninja is someone who has hovered between life and death so many times it no longer fazes them. When your name is listed in my Bingo book, then you may call yourself ninja. You three aren't ninja." He thickened the mist and cut off my visual of both him and my teammates until he used his knee to hit Naruto back several feet. "You're just brats."

"Guys, take Tazuna and run!" Kakashi ordered. "As long as he has me trapped in this water prison he can't move. And his water clone can't go that far from his body! Just run away now!"

"I-I can't do that." Why was it so hard to talk? Why was it so hard to stand? The moment I tried to force myself onto my feet I collapsed again and threw up.

"Shiori!" Naruto called.

Zabuza laughed. "That one's too scared to stand!"

Naruto stood up to stare Zabuza down. Without warning he dashed toward Zabuza only to be kicked back again. But he accomplished what he went in for. He got his hita-ate. "Hey, freak with no eyebrows." Naruto glared at him. "I don't know what's wrong with Shiori, but I know she's one of the strongest genin in Konoha. Put her in your Bingo book. And while you're at it, put the man who will one day become hokage: Uzumaki Naruto!"

I managed a small smile, but didn't dare try to stand again. I didn't know what was wrong with me either, and that terrified me. But I trusted Naruto. And I trusted whatever plan he was enacting with Sasuke.

Sasuke never expected it to be Naruto who would get them out of the mess with Zabuza. But even he had to admit the genius of the plan he had come up with. "You're finally thinking about teamwork, huh?" He said as caught the fuuma shuriken Naruto had tossed him. It was simple to spin around and pull his own out of the bag and toss them both, one in the shadow of the other.

The moment the plan had worked, Naruto rushed to check on Shiori. Sasuke was surprised to see that she had passed out. It couldn't have been fear. They had both panicked at first with Zabuza, but she was stronger than that. It was me that Kakashi felt he had to comfort. Sasuke reminded himself bitterly. It was just as angering to see how easily Kakashi took care of Zabuza with the Sharingan that shouldn't belong to anyone other than an Uchiha.

Still, it was worrying that Kakashi collapsed the moment the hunter-nin that had come to collect Zabuza's body left. Suddenly they were down two allies, Kakashi and Shiori.

"Naruto, you can use your clones to carry Kakashi, right?"

"But what about Shiori?"

"I'll carry her. We shouldn't have to worry about any more attacks for the time being."

Naruto stared at him suspiciously for a while before nodding. "Alright."

Thankfully, it was a short trip to Tazuna's house. Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, was more than happy to lay out two beds for their collapsed allies.

AN: I've discovered typing up things you've already written in a notebook can get very frustrating. Anyway, thanks for the lovely reviews last chapter and I'm looking forward hearing what you guys think of this one :)