Naruto grumbles to himself as he reaches down to yank another one of those damned weeds out of the ground below him. He tries to blink the sun out of his eyes without much success, eventually deciding to keep his head ducked down.

He was having some trouble dealing with all the weeds while the sun blinded him, unlike Sakura, who he noticed wore a pretty pink sun hat and sunglasses for protection. Even Sasuke had been roped into wearing an old farmer's hat to help him out with the rays of light.

They were all outside in a wide open farming area with no shade for miles. The closest thing he could connect to coverage would be the little house on the entire other side of the world. The wall that surrounded the village to the right didn't even provide any shelter. So they were shit outta luck.

The blond heaved a large sigh, wishing he'd taken a hat whenever the couple who owned the farm offered. They'd been so nice, even though the hats were probably a thousand years old. He'd wanted to show he could totally work despite the sun, even saying it wouldn't be a problem at all.

He took back everything he said not two minutes later.

Three hours of slouching over and pulling weeds again and again. His arms ached, and he was certain he had a horrible sun burn. That meant he'd have to walk like something was up his ass to avoid bothering said burnt skin. Which also meant he'd have to go to training and get pummbeled by both his team and Hibiki.

He flinched, thinking about how hard she beat him into the ground the first session back. She had no mercy on him for skipping the day before, and it was obvious she was taking out some irritation using him as her punching bag. While he knew it couldn't have been all because of him, it sure felt like it everytime she jabbed him in the ribs.

Naruto gripped a rather large patch and tried to pull his arm back. He frowned as it didn't move a single inch. He pulled and pulled at that area, but absolutely nothing was coming out. He tsked. If it was the sun bothering him, or his bruised ribs, it didn't really matter what irritated him. He'd reached his limit of tolerance.

"I'm going to rip you out whether you like it or not, you stupid weed!" He shouted to the plant, ignoring the snort he heard from his lazy sensei who was actually staying while they worked this time.

"Yelling at a plant isn't good for your health," Sasuke remarked not too far away. He'd paused in his assigned section upon hearing the outburst and chose to watch. Naruto was just too easy to rile up.

"You shut up!" Was all he could say in his defense. After being baked in the sun, the blond didn't have too much energy left in him to come up with anything more talented. Sakura sighed as a faint snicker slipped out from the Uchiha.

"Really, Naruto. You had to know it was going to be tedious work when we read the mission," She had also stopped to see what was going on with her team. She put a hand on her hip, tipping her yellow sunglasses down a bit to peek over the top and see the scene more clearly.

"Hmph. I did! I just didn't know it would be for so long.." Naruto mumbled with a huff. With his vigor to destroy the weed that had tipped the pot, he tightened his hold on the green menace. He started to infuse chakra into his grip, getting ready to yank the demon plant out of the earth and possibly burn it to ash.

"..Really?"

"This isn't going to end well.."

Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other, both resigned to the way their teammate was already despite their personality differences. They'd spent a month and a half dealing with his frequent misuse of energy in ridiculous schemes to know when to step back and let it blow up in his face. A week ago they had to bring groceries to an elderly woman who couldn't get them herself and Naruto decided to have a race to see who would reach the house first.

He'd ruined more than half of the bags they'd bought by running into something and they were forced to use their own money to buy the items he'd dropped.

Pushing her sunglasses back onto her nose, Sakura twists her fingers together and holds her breath. She really did like her team, though they were sometimes a bit too much. She liked the way they could work together and get things done, but some of the things Naruto and Sasuke both did were out of the box.

"Come.. on.. you.. stupid.. plant-!" Naruto yelled and yanked as hard as he could. He could feel the roots starting to breach the soil, and his eyes brightened. He was about to give it one last tug before giving a victory speech when the plant snapped in two. One part stayed in the ground stubbornly as one part flew with Naruto, back into the rows of crops from the momentum used.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at the blur of color that had conveniently passed by right beside the plant when the blond pulled. She listened to the shout of indignation as Naruto popped his head up with a turnip sitting right on top, turned to a very smug looking Sasuke who discreetly was shoving something into his pouch, and sighed. This was her team alright.

"Sasuke-!" Naruto shouted where he sat. He scrambled to get up, knocking the turnip down with a swipe of his hand.

"Yes?" Sakura shrunk back closer to her sensei, her face screwing up with nerves at the condescending tone of his voice. Since they became a team about a month ago, everyone seemed to open up and show their true colors. That meant the two were always fighting.

Sakura liked the times when they weren't rushing to rip each other's limbs off. They were all impossibly caring, though they each attempted to hide it without anyone else finding out. Sasuke and Naruto looked out for not only each other (though they won't admit it), but for her as well. They took notice of her shyness and did what they could to keep her out of harm's way, unless she takes the initiative herself. Usually, that job was Ino's, but since she had her own team now, she wasn't around as much.

Naruto was subtly insecure about a lot of things he did. He had this hesitation that made him freeze up whenever there was a choice on the line. He hid this part of him very well; Sakura hadn't even found out about it until about two weeks ago. It was like he needed someone to make decisions for him. Sasuke was a different story. He liked to pretend he wasn't outspoken with his opinions, but he is. If she had to describe him in one word, it would be prince. He liked to egg on Naruto and act as though he was superior in every aspect. Sakura knew he was just as shy as her when it came to interacting, despite his protests.

She still didn't know what to think about Kakashi. He was mysterious, but also playful. Dangerous, yet ridiculous. He hid behind his little mask and book, acting like the world wouldn't be enough to stop him if he tried anything. She liked to consider him to be just a dork who tries acting cool, though she knew he could really do some damage when prompted.

Sakura snapped out of her revelations when she noticed Naruto and Sasuke were wrestling again. She wanted to roll her eyes as she listened to the one sided conversation Naruto was yelling about. She peeked up at her sensei to see if he would do anything, but he looked as at peace with the world as ever.

"Guys.. We should just get this finished so we can go home already," Sakura tried to enter the debate, but they weren't budging.

"It's best to leave them be, Sakura-chan," Kakashi piped up, laying a hand on her head fondly.

"But we've been at this for three hours and I'm tired," She protested quietly. She didn't mind physical labor, but things as trivial as picking a field of weeds is hell.

"Yeah, dope. We're all tired, so stop complaining and get back to work," Sasuke decided to use her words as an anchor, putting up a bored facade even though he was forcing down a snigger. He'd straightened his back and put a foot in between them.

"You can't tell me what to do, bastard!" Naruto exclaimed, puffing his chest out.

"I'm older, so," He kept taunting childishly. He would never let anyone know that these pointless arguments were what kept him from thinking about that man. Being on this team was the only escape he had from his troubles.

"That's not even a real reason!"

"Hn."

"Don't do that stupid one syllable thing now! What does that even mean?"

"Hn," Was it possible for a two letter word to sound so smug?

"That's it! You're dead!" Naruto lunged at him once again, but Sasuke had stopped paying him attention. In fact, even Sakura and Kakashi weren't looking in his direction. He paused, "Hey-"

A loud thump echoed across the plains, freezing the blond in his place. The team of three stared anxiously over at the wall that protected their village. Sakura took a step back, her eyes wide as heart-stopping sounds of screams carried over from the other side. Sasuke and Kakashi were positioned in a stance, prepared to fight if necessary while the other two clamber to get ready.

Underneath the wall, a small opening began to show. Kakashi narrowed his eyes, opening his mouth to tell his students to find cover while he handles this, but he couldn't even get a breath out before a man dressed in weapons leaped into the fray. He looked smug, and he had to be powerful if he was able to get through the line of guards. He stopped upon seeing the small audience he had.

"What's this? A welcoming party?" He grinned viciously, something gleaming in his eyes as he took them in. He wanted blood. He didn't care if that was from a weak team of genin or a squad of ANBU. There was no reasoning with him, so Kakashi put his book away in the small holder he kept it in carefully.

Before he could engage the criminal, however, a black haired woman hopped over the top of the empty wall and dodged an attack sent her way by the no longer distracted missing nin. She raised a hand to signal for Kakashi to stand down, and he was able to identify her as Hyuga Susano.

"What's going on!?" Naruto questioned as the lady stood in a comfortable stance in front of them. She blinked back at him and was going to ask him something when the man moved.

"Enough of this standoff. I got places to be," He sneered, starting to run in their direction. He barely got ten feet before another body dropped over the wall and sprung into action.

"That was slow, Hibiki-chan," Susano commented from behind, "Had it been anyone else, they could've done real damage," She scolded the red head. Naruto's jaw dropped.

Hibiki twisted in front of the man, dodging the blade that attempted to chop her head off. She leaped from side to side, swinging, dodging, and trying to get the upper hand. The invader had already shown his abilities in weapon combat from the way he executed the guardsmen. He was large, and slow, but he had strength that he could throw around.

They went back and forth, neither getting anywhere. It was annoying to Hibiki who knew she needed to outlast him and let his energy dwindle, but to team 7 who had never been in a real fight yet, it was incredible. Naruto's eyes were practically sparkling with pride at what a brilliant friend he had. He knew she was an amazing shinobi, but none of her training sessions ever let onto this.

"Shouldn't you be helping her?" Kakashi asks, his nose back in his book when he realized it was taken care of. Susano hummed with a twitch of her lips and shook her head.

"It's Hibiki-chan's job as guard of Konoha to disarm and incapacitate that man," She made it sound so simple, but this small occurrence had blossomed new inspiration in the hearts of those three genin. Hibiki shoved her knee into the panting man's back without a thought, blinking upon seeing the bright, wide eyes of Naruto and his team.

"That... was amazing, Hibiki-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, rushing forward to meet her in the middle as the ANBU (who finally decided to show up) took the invader away.

"That wasn't even her full strength," Susano gossiped from the side lines.

"Susano," Hibiki rolled her eyes, not really caring for the praise since she knew it was true. She was just trying to irritate her by telling the genin. That way, they'd start bugging her for training or something like that. Like she didn't already have enough on her hands with the whole world thing.

"You should've seen her on this B-rank mission," The teacher began, leaning in closer to the genin who were all listening intently. Kakashi bailed, like Hibiki wanted to do, but instead she was roped into following along with the team and her sensei as she retold her missions in a small dango shop.

Hibiki sighed. She was just doing her job. It wasn't that big of a deal. She paused in her thoughts, leaning her head to rest on the palm of her hand. Her job? It's ridiculous how one simple word could throw someone into a train of pondering. She didn't even notice the stares of admiration from the two genin across from her.


Naps were good. They were enjoyable, helped you get through tough days, and kept unwanted attention away from you. When someone sees a person napping, they don't bother them because it's a well known fact that they must be exhausted. Or maybe they're just lazy. Or hiding. Like Hibiki.

She snuggled closer to the pillow she stole off of the bed, curling into it in the darkness she laid. She didn't really need a blanket since she still had her heavy uniform on. It warmed her up enough to be comfortable on the messy floor. She nudged an empty can out of her face, mumbling to herself about cleaning this place up.

She didn't know how he did it. Hibiki liked her entire apartment to be at least somewhat clean. No trash littered her floors nor did any dirty clothes. Unless she was all tuckered out from a serious mission or from a particularly difficult training session, nothing was left out of it's designated sector.

How did Naruto even get so much trash under his bed in the first place?

Hibiki pushed the question to the very back of her mind, and kicked the raggedy box that was stabbing into her back even farther. The reason she was napping (hiding) underneath Naruto's bed would be easier to answer. Susano had been helping out with a couple of the genin teams lately, giving them advice and such because of some program the Hokage was trying out.

So she's been downgraded on her mission ranks. Instead of C rank missions, it was bullshit delivery journeys and protecting a farmer's caravan as he passed through uninhabited areas. They were ridiculous, and she refused to babysit some kids while Susano chatted it up with the teachers.

And like the mature shinobi she is, she hid under a bed with her chakra concealed. It was the only way she could get out of those missions without bluntly saying she refused to go anywhere with them. Well, it wasn't the only way, but it was quicker than arguing with Susano who could win any argument you started.

Hibiki never agreed with the sentiments of the Third. She did respect that he had been a famous shinobi in his time, ending wars and starting peace. However, that respect can dwindle down to nothing when all he wants to do it make sure genin know how to handle their morals in a way that completely erases the meaning of a shinobi.

She muses on the idea of what she'd teach younger genin if she could. It would probably be to focus on yourself and your own interests. Worrying about other people was troublesome, and sometimes it led to false ideologies. Then again, if she was teaching them something to be of use to her, she'd teach them how to follow orders without thinking for themselves.

Hmm.. That sounds about right.

Hibiki was just drifting off to sleep once more, her eyes heavy and her breathing faint, when the sound of a door opening entered her ears. She grumbled to herself, listening to the seemingly roaring footsteps in her fuzzy senses. She knew it was Naruto even before he rushed into his room.

She wondered if the training on his surroundings would come into play here. She'd done a fairly decent job of refining his attention to the way things looked around him. If he noticed, should she give him a day off? It would be improvement and-

"Hibiki-chan?" She blinked her eyes open, peering lazily at the boy who was crouched down to look under his bed, "Whatcha doing?" He tilted his head to the side.

"Napping," Hibiki closed her eyes again, intent on going back to bed before he could begin his ramblings, but she was too late.

"I'm glad you're here actually. I just got this cool C-rank mission and I wanted to tell you all about it!" He started, grinning brightly. Then he paused, "You'll be able to hear better when you're not under the bed, Hibiki-chan."

She squeezed her eyes shut, but grudgingly slid out from under the bed. She shook her head to get all the dust and dirt to fling off her hair and propped herself to sit with her back to the bed. She crossed her legs, sleepily held the pillow in her arms, and motioned for him to start. He quickly matched her position on the floor so they would be eye to eye.

Most of the time whenever Naruto babbled on, Hibiki let it go in one ear and out the other. She didn't just ignore what he said, actually she analized a lot of what he tells her, but a good bit of it doesn't mean a thing. She rubbed her eye carefully, nodding to whatever he was indicating to. He just kept replaying the scenery for her down to the last detail, something she had taught him to do so she could be better informed. Unfortunately, he took the lesson literally and used the same technique with every story he had to speak about.

Sometimes there was something interesting, though. One word that popped out and gave a plethora of hints pointing in a certain direction. Luckily for her, this was one of those times.

"The Land of Waves?" That sounded familiar.

"Yeah! I don't really know where it's at.. But it's a C-rank mission, like the ones you do!" He beamed, as if proud that he was able to connect the two. He got a sour expression on his face next, "But the guy we're escorting is a real drunk bastard. He insulted me the first chance he got!"

"Ah. What's his name?" She asked, feigning curiosity.

"Taku.. Uh.. Taz..una.. Tazuna, I think. I wasn't really paying attention to him since he was so rude," He crossed his arms, pouting slightly. Hibiki tried to recall if she knew anything on this Tazuna man, but she could only gain the faint feeling of familiarity. Maybe he wasn't that big of a deal?

Still, it bothered her. Team 7 hadn't been on any C-rank missions yet, but it wasn't like they weren't prepared for it. She'd seen their training from time to time and they were at least average. She wouldn't mention it, but Naruto was the main one carrying the team in strength so far. She was proud of that, no matter how far below her he still was.

"That'll be fun," She smiles, "It'll be your first time out of the village, yeah?" She was genuinely excited for him, now. It was exhilarating to leave the village gates behind. She could remember the first time she was able to run straight ahead without the bindings of Konoha to hold her back.

"Mhm," He nodded, "It's gonna be soo cool! Besides the whole Tazuna thing, but still!"

"Mm.. Just stay on your guard. Take note of your surroundings and don't let yourself be caught in stupid traps. Stay focused and look towards the main goal," She advised him. Naruto soaked in every word she said with an eager expression. He couldn't wait to impress Hibiki with the report of his first C-rank mission.

"What was your first mission out of Konoha?" He asked, suddenly remembering that he didn't really know much about what type of missions she went on, besides what Susano had told them the other day.

"My first mission.." Hibiki blinked. She traced a shape into his pillow and thought about it. She'd been on an emergency scouting event. A lot of chunin were already out of the village, so she was called upon as a last resort with Susano in tow. Her and a team were told to find a messenger shinobi who had top secret information outside of the Land of Fire within a time limit. It was stressful, but they found the woman without any confrontation.

"Yo, Hibiki-chan? You still there?" Naruto tapped her cheek when she didn't respond. She cleared her throat and rolled her eyes.

"Of course I am. I just had to think about it," She retorted.

"Was it scary? What did you do about the environment? Were there any snakes? What about boars?"

After that, Naruto pestered her with questions about what it was like outside of the village. Hibiki knew the topic that began the conversation was gone, and complied with simple answers. She scratched her head as he read off a mental list of what he thought he should bring with him, and she sighed.

She didn't know why she bothered to listen as he expressed his concerns and fears about the mission. He was being paranoid, and she was sure the whole thing would be easy enough if the Hokage gave them the mission. But.. if it was reassurance he wanted, Hibiki straightened her back, she'd have to give it to him.

She couldn't have a timid henchman after all. That would defeat the purpose of everything she'd worked on. So, she calmed him down with a string of words she couldn't believe came out of her mouth and soon he was insisting she stay for dinner.

"I don't think I-" Hibiki froze as she felt Susano's chakra spike up from across the way. She knew if Susano caught wind of her, she'd be in for a seriously intense training session, so she says, "I'll come help you," And hurried to stand up to follow the blond into the kitchen, discreeting shutting the blinds to the windows.


Yoo. We're getting into the nitty gritty now.

Cool.

I had a lot more planned for this chapter, but ya know, Christmas. Have a happy few days, everybody. Until the next time?