I just felt that it was necessary to update this story once during my spring break, so here it is. I know there's not that much action in this one, but I enjoyed writing it since I haven't gottena chance to really update this chapter in a long time.

Hopefully you guys enjoy! And please, remember to review! I love to hear what you guys think!

Chapter 17: Taking Chances (part 1)

Dream:

"Akira!" screamed the Uchiha heiress as she watched the rubble crush her friend's body.

As she kneeled down to hold her friend's hand, she quickly let out tears as she continued to apologize over and over again of how she was terribly sorry. "Akira, I'm sorry. Please forgive me…" began Katara. "I never meant for you to die. You didn't deserve this."

"Katara…" began the bluette as she managed to stop the heiress from continuing. With shocked eyes, the Uchiha turned towards her friend and remained silent as she waited for Akira to continue. "Why did you do it? Why did you let me die?" The kunoichi had said as she glared at the Uchiha and took her hand away from the heiress' touch.

As the Uchiha stood up in shock and slowly backed away, she replied with, "Wha-what do you mean, Akira? I didn't do it on purpose! I swear I didn't! And I'm sorry, I'm sorry.." the Uchiha had said as her voice became more quiet and soft.

"That's a lie!" exclaimed the bluette as she got up and approached the Uchiha. "If you weren't the one in charge of the mission, I would've made it out alive…but look at you, you couldn't even save me. How do you expect to even be called a ninja?"

"Akira, wh-why are you acting like this…" stated the Uchiha as she backed up, but her back had suddenly hit the wall. As the bluette was only a few inches away, Katara looked at her closely and saw the eyes of her own demon. As Akira was just a breath away, she saw the leaf kunoichi take out a kunai and put it near her throat.

"Now, I get my revenge…" sneered the Kobayashi as she was about to give the final blow.

End.

"AKIRA!" screamed the Uchiha heiress as she woke up from her nightmare; as Katara looked around the room, she quickly realized that she had sweated a lot from the stress from her own nightmare. As she tried to shake those terrible thoughts from her head, she quickly wrapped her arms around her body in order to comfort herself.

"It was only a dream…" stated Katara as she looked at the clock. Seeing that it read 2:00 AM, the Uchiha swiftly got out of bed and decided to get some fresh air. Opening her balcony door, the Uchiha decided to stand outside for a moment in order to clear her own head. Trying to get rid of her own troubles, the heiress looked out upon the Hidden Leaf Village and as she looked around, she saw how the peacefulness calmed her down. Having just a few more minutes of relaxation, Katara returned back to bed, and without any more disruptions, she slowly fell back to sleep.

Today was a new day for Team 7 as they met up before dawn at the gates. All three of them were ready to complete this mission, but as Katara was still limping towards their meeting point, both Keiko and Koji showed a hint of concern.

"Katara, are you sure you're up to this? I mean we can still help you throughout most of the way if you want." Stated the Hyuuga as stood behind the Uchiha just in case if she fell.

Katara slowly turned back towards her teammate with determined navy orbs and replied back with, "Keiko, please, don't underestimate me. Don't worry about me, I can and will do this. I am the quickest on my feet on this team and on this mission, we need to be quick. I can do this."

"Kay, Keiko's just worried that you're pushing yourself too hard. I'm worried as well." The Takahashi said as he came into the conversation.

The Uchiha turned towards both her friends and as she looked at them both she responded with, "I know you guys are concerned, but I'll be fine. Come on, we have a mission to complete." And with that, Katara put her hand forward, waiting for her other two teammates to put their hands forward as well. Within a few moments, both of her teammates looked at her and put their arms forward. With newfound determination, all three members of Team 7 made it through the village gates.

Team 7 had been traveling for more than a few hours and as Katara was in the front leading them, she tried to hide her discomfort with each step she took. While jumping from tree branch to tree branch, she felt her side hurt more and more. Even though the Uchiha heiress tried to heal most of the wound with her own chakra, she couldn't heal it completely. The rest of her wound needed to heal on its own; but the downside was that, Katara knew that her wound would be a major risk factor for the mission. She tried to keep a façade in order to not worry her teammates, but step after step just made it harder for her to hide it.

Keiko and Koji knew how much their friend was suffering and although they wanted to address their concerns, they remained silent. The Hyuuga's white eyes watched the Uchiha every few seconds, as if expecting Katara to injure herself even more, while Koji's own orbs also did the same thing. Keiko quickly noticed that Katara was flinching every few moments, and as she noticed a clearing nearby, the Hyuuga asked, "Hey Katara, can we take break?"

Observing the Uchiha's reaction, both her teammates saw a look or relief past through her navy orbs and as the Uchiha turned back to reply, she said, "Yeah sure. There's a clearing right here. We should probably rehydrate and eat lunch."

Once Team 7 reached the clearing, all three members sat down and rested. All three of them sat around in a circle and as Keiko and Koji were busy eating away, the Uchiha heiress tightly clutched onto her side, trying to stop the pain. Although she continued to send some of her healing chakra onto the wound, it only eased the pain.

The Uchiha heiress was too immersed in the healing process that she didn't realize that her teammates had already finished eating. As they watched what she was doing, Koji quickly broke the silence by saying, "Katara, are you sure you're okay? I mean if you need some time to heal, we can always rest for a day or so. Lord Hokage gave us a deadline of about a week to finish this mission."

Katara looked at her male comrade with a look of shock and as she pondered about the upcoming situation, Keiko came in to defend Koji's words. "Kay, I know that your wound has been bothering you and I think it would be best if we waited another day for you to just rest up."

The Uchiha also looked at the Hyuuga with a look of shock and as Katara turned towards both of them, she said, "Thanks for caring you guys, but I'm fine. We can't waste anytime, especially not for my sake. We're supposed to stop them as soon as possible."

"Are you sure?" questioned the Takahashi as he looked at the Uchiha to see if there was any hidden uncertainty in her.

"I'm positive; so let's go. We can't let the whole village down; they're counting on us." Replied Katara as she slowly got up and grabbed her bag. Her teammates followed her actions as well, and as they both watched their youngest team member travel in front of them, both of them were thinking the same thing: 'Katara, I hope you know what you're doing.'

As the sun began to set, Team 7 had already made it towards the borders of the Country of Fire; they had traveled the rest of the way without any breaks and as Katara observed the sky and saw that they were about to lose light, she abruptly stopped their journey and decided to make camp.

"We'll set up here. Koji, can you go get some branches for the fire? Keiko and I will set up the camp." Stated the Uchiha as she and the Hyuuga got out the necessary items from their packs and laid them out. Two tents were quickly put up and as the sleeping bags were laid out, their male teammate came back with the twigs. As Koji set them down and made a spot for the fire, both Koji and Keiko stepped back as they watched Katara rapidly create the seals for a fire-based jutsu. As the Uchiha breathed in and leaned back, within moments, Katara released the fire from her mouth. Once that was done, all three members sat around and absorbed the warmth from the fire as they all waited for the water to boil for their ramen.

Moments later, their food was ready and as Team 7 ate in silence, Katara wondered back into her own thoughts. 'Alright, Katara, you can do this. Despite everything that has happened, you need to do this. Akira would want you to do this. Thought Katara as she was eating.

Disrupting her from her own thoughts, the Uchiha heiress quickly turned towards Koji as he addressed her. "Katara, so what are our plans from here on out?"

Looking at both her two teammates, she replied with, "Well, we have to leave pretty early tomorrow; the enemy will be expecting us more than ever, which means they will have more reinforcements. All the odds look like they're against us, but just remember that our mission is to take them down. Because of this, we'll have to be unnoticeable; so all three of us have to spilt up. You guys will only accompany me until several meters before their actual headquarters; from there, you guys will leave and I'll take care of everything else. My main goal is destroy all the bases from the inside out." She had explained. "I've already looked at a blueprint of all the bases, so it shouldn't be a problem, but if I take too long, go straight back and get help from the village, do not wait for me." The Uchiha declared as she looked at both her teammates with her serious, navy orbs.

"Katara, we can't just leave you behind! Don't you remember what Kakashi-sensei taught us? Those shinobi who leave their comrades behind are worse than trash. There's no way we're leaving you!" exclaimed the Hyuuga as she stood up from her own frustration.

"Keiko, I understand that you and Koji are apprehensive about this, but if I do end up in trouble, that is my own problem. Whether you want to stay or not, it is not up to you; it's my decision and as your squad leader, I'm telling you that if I am in trouble, go back to the village and get help." The Uchiha answered as she too stood up and faced the Hyuuga.

Knowing that this would fuel the Hyuuga even more, their male teammate quickly interrupted their argument with, "You guys…let's all calm down. We need to sleep early anyways, so let's just go to sleep. And Keiko." Addressed the Takahashi, "Katara is right. I'm sure she knows what she's doing. So just leave it up to her."

With that, the Uchiha quickly left the campfire and climbed into one of their tents. As the Hyuuga was about to head off to bed as well, she stopped as she heard Koji's voice. "Keiko, sit here." He had said as he patted a spot next to him. As the Hyuuga silently sat down beside her friend, she looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "Now what is this really about? I know you're usually overprotective when it comes to Katara and me, but why have you been acting so strange lately?"

"Koji…it's hard to explain." The Hyuuga began as she looked down towards the ground, drawing patterns on it with her fingers.

"I'm waiting, Keiko." Stated Koji as he stopped her from her previous action.

"I-it's just, after what's happened to her, I don't want to ever see Katara hurt again. I mean she's been through so much. I remember that day when her whole family died, and I saw one of my best friends slowly disappear. She's still hurting a lot on the inside, Koji; I can see it, and I can barely handle it now." Explained the Hyuuga as she quickly broke into tears. Trying to wipe them away, she continued with, "Everything's gone down hill for her, and I'm afraid that we're going to lose her again."

As Koji sat their silently listening to his comrade's explanation, he quickly jumped in and said, "Keiko, I understand how you feel, but you have to realize that Katara needs to grow on her own. I think by letting her complete this mission on her own, she'll find the closure that she needs. She'll finally be free. So just try not to fight with her anymore."

"I guess you're right…sorry about that, I tend to get a little too overprotective." Stated the Hyuuga as she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Hn…no problem, but that's what we both love about you." the Takahashi said as he chuckled.

The new day had finally come and as all three members of Team 7 packed up, they all finished within seconds and were ready to head out. With only a few more hours of travel left, the Uchiha heiress planned to get there before noon. With nod from the others, Katara quickly sprang up into the treetops as Keiko and Koji followed.

Just a few more hours later, Team 7 arrived at their destination. With just a few more miles from the base, all three members stood still in the terrain as they all looked at each other with a wish of luck in each of their eyes. As Katara stood there with her friends, she quickly took out two headsets for Keiko and Koji to put on.

"Here, put these on so that we'll be in communication. This way, you'll know when I'm in danger." Stated the Uchiha as she gave them each one.

"You sure about this, Katara?" questioned the Hyuuga as she looked at the Uchiha with sympathetic, white eyes.

"Yeah, I am Keiko. And don't worry about me; I'll be fine. You guys have to take care of yourselves. Now you know what to do; don't lose sight of the mission." The Uchiha heiress said as she gave them a sincere smile. "Now, let's do this." Said Katara as she extended her arm forward. Taking a glance at both her teammates, they all put their hands together. And at that moment, they were more than ever determined to accomplish this mission.

"Good luck you two." Said Katara as she quickly disappeared from the area. Nodding at each other, Keiko and Koji quickly split up as well and the clearing was now empty.

"Keiko, Koji, can you both hear me." Katara said as she spoke through her headset.

"Yeah." Both leaf nin said as they waited for the Uchiha to continue.

"I'm going to be inside the base in a few minutes. Keiko, use your Byakugan to see the whole base. Once I get inside, can you tell me if there are any enemy nin near me?" asked the Uchiha.

"Of course. I'll keep track of you." Answered the Hyuuga.

"Koji, I'm going to need a distraction to get inside. Any ideas?" asked the Uchiha as she hid behind a large oak tree, just a few meters from the base.

"Well I have been trying out this new technique, but I'm not sure how long it will last. My jutsu will create a mist that will make you appear invisible. But you have to move fast because I don't know how long I can hold it for you." Replied the male.

"It's okay, I'll make sure to make it quick. Alright, you guys ready?" asked the heiress.

"Yes.." both shinobi said and soon enough, the Uchiha jumped into action. Using his Shadow Camouflage Jutsu, Koji had to focus and balance his chakra levels to hold it; at the same time, the Hyuuga was using her Byakugan to scan the entire headquarters that Katara was about to enter. Within seconds, the Uchiha was successful at entering into the base and as Koji's jutsu wore off, the Hyuuga took her place as she kept track of her teammate.

"Alright Keiko, I'm in. So I'm going to plant these paper bombs around the whole base; you just to make sure to watch my back for me." Said the Uchiha as she stealthily passed through the different hallways and hid several paper bombs.

"You got it; I'll let you know if anyone is getting too close." Replied the Hyuuga.

With that, the heiress continued with her mission, placing the paper bombs at different places in the base; looking for major beams that would support the whole building, she was smoothly finishing.

"Katara! Just to the left of you, about 7 meters are two Cloud shinobi. They're both Jounin. Watch out." Said Keiko just as Katara put on the last paper bomb onto a large, solid beam.

"Thanks, Keiko." Whispered the Uchiha. As soon as Keiko had alerted her, Katara quickly focused chakra onto her palms and feet as she stuck onto the ceiling. Within moments, Katara felt Koji's jutsu take effect again, and trying to not make any noise as she saw the two Cloud nin pass by her, she was successful as she silently landed on her feet and continued on her way towards the exit.

Turning on her bloodline limit just in case, the Uchiha heiress focused on trying to locate an exit. As she crouched on the ground and felt for any sign of life outside of the base, she finally found one that was far from her location. Getting up on her own two feet, she suddenly heard something from her earpiece.

"Katara….(break) there's (break)…" started Keiko as the signal faded.

"Keiko? Keiko? Keiko!" said Katara as she tried to see if she could get the signal back. 'Great, so I'm on my own right now then.' Though the Uchiha as she smashed her headset in pieces.

As the Uchiha continued on her way, she suddenly felt a jolt of electricity go throughout her body. Her body suddenly wouldn't respond to her actions, and as she slowly fell to the ground, she used her blood red eyes to look directly at her attacker.

Trying to push herself up, Katara found it useless as she couldn't even move. Still trying to figure out who her attacker was, the Uchiha quickly saw that the Cloud shinobi was kneeling a foot before her own face. Using her eyes to look up at the young, dark-haired male, she saw his smirk as he realized who she was.

Slightly holding her up a few inches from the ground, the Cloud nin looked her directly in the eye and said, "Well, well, what do we have here? It must be my lucky day because I thought the Uchiha clan was extinct. Kenta-sama is always interested in rare bloodlines; he will be happy that I found you." Her attacker said just before he hit her pressure point and the Uchiha suddenly blacked out.

I hope this chapter wasn't too bad, but tell me what you truly thought about it and how the story is going along so far? I know I'm not at the plot where the Naruto series starts, but I just wanted to show you guys how the whole story starts from Katara's life and then afterwards, it wil tie into the Naruto plot that you guys know, but it will definitely be focusing on the Uchiha a lot more.

Hope you review!