That first sign of kindness, that congratulatory smirk—all lies. Namie believed that maybe, just maybe, Hiroto wasn't as much of an arrogant jerk as he first appeared, but as soon as serious training began amongst the team, she was certain her first impression of the man was completely right.

The girl struggled to her feet as she pondered this, bent over and bracing her hands against her knees as she caught her breath. It hurt. Even more than Kushina's training.

With a scowl, she steeled herself and lunged at the man, pulled her fist back and prepared to land a strike—and was immediately countered, flicked in the nose like an ill-behaved dog and sent tumbling backwards, landing harshly on the ground in a tangle of limbs.

She could barely touch him. Even with all of the openings he intentionally revealed, even when she memorized his movement patterns, she still wasn't swift enough to break past his defenses or overcome his quick reflexes.

A dry cough left the girl's winded body as she stared, dazed, towards the blurry patches of blue sky between the treetops as her world shifted back into focus.

Staring down from at her from above was the concerned gaze of her orange-haired teammate as well as the snide, superior glance that belonged to none other than Kakashi.

"Namie…" Kasuga murmured quietly, eyes flicking across the several scuffs and forming bruises that decorated the girl's exposed skin. "Do you…maybe…need some first aid?"

"Don't mind her." Kakashi waved an unconcerned hand. "You really need to learn how to tree walk so we can move on already."

Namie heaved herself up with difficulty, holding herself up with her elbows, and shook her head—bad idea. She clutched at her now-aching forehead and sighed. "He's right, Kasuga-kun. Just focus on your task right now." With a bit more struggling, she made it to her feet and brushed off her clothes, ridding them of dust. It didn't help her shabby appearance at all.

She aimed a vehement glare at the dark-haired man standing, indifferent and uninjured, before her.

"What's with that look? I'm the one who thought you would be talented. Did you let it go to your head because you were the best among your classmates, and because you could hold your own against a couple of chuunin? Someone like me is on a different level. It's high time you realize that and get serious, Namie-chan." Hiroto stared his student down and shook his head while admonishing her.

The blonde opened her mouth, aiming to use the usual age excuse, as she typically did with Kushina, but damn it all if he wasn't right. She did need to get serious; she was a shinobi, now.

'When did I get so complacent? I can't hold back anymore. I have to work hard and get the ball rolling.'

Even so, the man was seasoned. He was ANBU—probably at some point a captain of his own unit. And as tough as he was on her during training, he knew how to restrain himself but still make it hurt.

Before she could make a move, the man disappeared from her sights and there came a swift, painful tug to her ponytail. "Come on, short stuff, any day now."

That, and he liked to taunt.

"You're a fuckin' asshole!" Namie growled, teeth gnashing together as she lost hold on her temper and let the disrespectful insult slip, but just as she whirled around to unleash her next attack in retaliation, she was evaded, grabbed by the arms, and flipped carelessly into the air, left to the mercy of gravity once again.

"And you're a brat with a dirty mouth. Watch the language." The man shrugged and shook out his wrist in a mocking fashion—there was no way that movement hassled him even slightly—as he glanced coolly down at the blonde he'd thrown. "You're done. Trade places with Kakashi-kun and go help Kasuga-kun."

Despite Team One's initial endeavor to get out of the tunnel system and complete their secret test, teamwork generally fell apart, especially when they were all sparring with their sensei.

Kakashi clicked his tongue as he collided with his blonde teammate mid-air for the third time during their combined attempts to ambush and subdue the jounin. "You're too clumsy, flea girl."

"Don't—" Namie's jaw clenched as she picked herself up and glared at the small boy. "Don't call me that ever again, brat. And it's not my fault you don't listen to instructions! I told you I was coming in from the left—"

The masked boy's eyes narrowed. "And I told you to move in from the right because—"

"Umm—guys?" Kasuga's timid voice cut in quietly.

His voice went unheard by the blonde. "And you were supposed to distract him with shuriken, too, but you—"

The silver-haired boy also paid it no mind. "I already told you I'm not going to be the distraction here. And you're the one who dropped a kunai mid-attack—"

"Hey. Brats."

Upon hearing their sensei's strict, gruff call, the two immediately turned—only to find that Kasuga had been captured by the man, who held a kunai dangerously near to his throat. He released the boy from harm just as soon as he succeeded in gaining the other two children's attention.

"I killed your medic while you were busy fighting amongst yourselves. You failed this training exercise." Hiroto dropped his forehead into one of his hands and massaged a headache away. "You three, come here and sit. Now."

Without a word, the three sat in a semi-circle before their instructor.

"Your teamwork is really just awful. How do you expect to take on dangerous missions if you can't even get along?" He sent each genin a sharp stare. "You two," he pointed to Namie and Kakashi in turn, "ignore your third teammate—who is also the ever-important medic—and try to handle everything yourselves." His gaze traveled to the orange-haired boy. "And you, you're the calm one, the thinker, so you need to do your best to mediate for these two. Don't just stand by and let things happen. In fact, don't just stand by at all. You are the medic, so you should avoid immediate danger, but you also need to learn to defend yourself because your teammates won't always be around."

The man began to pace. "What you three are doing will guarantee at least one, if not all, of your deaths."

A chastised silence fell over the trio.

"So," Hiroto began, brushing his disheveled hair away from his eyes, "until you three are able to resolve this issue, you'll be undertaking what I like to call 'baby missions.'"

The trio's expressions soured.

"B…baby missions?" Namie repeated, about as enthralled as her teammates.

"Baby missions," the man confirmed with a short nod. "D-rank—sometimes ones that barely qualify as D-rank—all taking place within the village. Things like: babysitting, pet retrieval, folding laundry for the elderly, weeding overgrown gardens, delivering documents…things you can't possibly screw up with your current teamwork."

Kasuga smiled uneasily. "Hiroto-sensei, you really don't pull any punches."

"You expect me to?" The man turned his full attention to the medic.

His smile dropped away. "N-no sir. Sensei."

Hiroto eyed the boy momentarily before letting his gaze rove across the team as a whole. "To that end, your first mission will take place tomorrow morning at 0800 hours. Meet me in front of the Hokage's building and don't be late. If any of you are even a second late, you'll all be shoveling manure instead. Understand?"

Their reply came in unison. "Yes, Hiroto-sensei."

For the next two months, in between training together, Team One partook in several of these mundane "baby missions."

Their attitudes towards one another didn't change significantly, though they managed to develop a system to promote teamwork to show Hiroto that they'd improved—and so they could finally earn a higher-ranked mission.

That system, as simple as it sounded, was to pretend that each simple mission they worked together was a crucial, life-or-death matter exclusively reliant on their cooperation, similar to the secret test they'd passed.

Each was aware of the others' talents—that much was for certain. Only, biases and general dislike, as well as pride, often intervened. They were forced to put these differences aside for the benefit of the team and the completion of the missions at hand.

Finally, after the trio of genin proved they were capable of working together smoothly as a single unit, Hiroto determined that his team was prepared for their first, genuine field mission.

The trio was instructed to meet at the village's front gate before sunrise, with enough provisions to last at least a week.

Namie was first to arrive. No one else—save for the gatekeepers, who worked in rotating shifts all day, every day, since the gate was always open unless the village was under attack or during war times—was present.

"Of course it would be raining," the blonde grumbled as she huddled beneath the gatekeeper booth's awning to shield herself from the troublesome weather. It was only a light drizzle, but it was accompanied by chilled, early-spring winds that blew the moisture every which way through the village so that hiding from it was nigh impossible.

The rain shower had started after she was already a considerable distance from her home, too far to turn back, and she hadn't thought to pack a cloak or umbrella or anything potentially useful against the storm. The only protection she had was her shirt's hood.

"It's prob'ly going to keep up all day." One of the gatekeepers addressed her in monotone.

She wasn't familiar with either one—though, admittedly, the only gatekeepers she'd ever been aware of had been Kotetsu and Izumo. They wouldn't be around for another handful of years.

"Say, kiddy, yer not tryin' to run away, are ya?" The other guard, a tanned, green-eyed woman, spoke in a lazy drawl as she leaned over the counter to get a closer look at Namie. "This guy's always readin' a magazine or somethin' so it's not hard ta fool him, but me? Won't catch me turnin' m'back, nope," she grinned while studying the short blonde. Her eyes widened when she spotted the familiar glint of metal on the child's forehead. "Oh. New genin?"

Namie nodded and mumbled something noncommittal in response.

"They just keep getting younger," the blond man commented, briefly eyeing the small girl. "First mission?"

"Something like that." She pulled her hood closer around her face as she shrugged. It hadn't been her intention to start a conversation.

"So, who's yer sensei? Gotta be pretty strict, makin' ya come out here s'early 'n' all. 'Specially in this weather," the brunette continued on curiously with her strange country accent.

"Sarutobi Hiroto-sensei." She eyed the two shinobi.

There was a brief, odd pause in which the gatekeepers exchanged incredulous—and slightly terrified—glances.

The man snorted. "Ha, he's a teacher now?"

"Looks like it," the woman cracked another grin. Her warm gaze returned to Namie. "I feel for ya, kid."

'So, he has a reputation.' Namie averted her eyes from the two and glanced out at the village thoughtfully. "I feel for me, too," she responded a bit miserably.

Before any further conversation could occur, a dark shape landed on the soaked ground beside Namie without so much as a splash. Silver hair shook itself dry.

"You're like a dog," Namie snapped at the young boy, lowering the arm she'd raised to shield herself from the onslaught of wetness and wiping the stray droplets that had slipped by from her exposed cheek.

"And yet, you're the one with fleas," Kakashi shot back easily as he glanced around the area to see that their final teammate and sensei were still absent.

Namie clicked her tongue and turned away from the boy, refusing to indulge him with further comments. It was far too cold and early in the day to get into an argument with a five-year-old.

She noted that he also lacked a cloak or anything to drive away the rain. He was small and young, as annoying as he was, so she was inclined to believe that he was more susceptible to the cold and consequent sickness. The girl briefly thought to mention this before their tall teammate came bounding up to meet them.

"Oh, look, he came prepared!" The male gatekeeper pointed out to his partner as they shared a conspiratorial chuckle.

Indeed, Kasuga carried not only an umbrella to shield himself from the icy drizzle, but he also donned a light, hooded cloak and carried two more in his arms. He was buttoned up rather comically to the nose so that his face was almost as obscured as Kakashi's.

Namie smirked. Probably, his parents were the overly doting types who looked out for their child to a near-ridiculous extent. And had extra time to consider their son's teammates, as well. She recalled the times in the past when the boy "coincidentally" had three times too much food packed into his lunch during their longer D-rank missions.

Then again, perhaps it wasn't his parents. It could have been that he was just that considerate. In any case, given how they interacted, it was necessary to have a caring team mom like him present.

The boy exhaled dramatically as he stopped to catch his breath. "Good, I'm not late. It started raining on the way—so I went back to get these. Just in case." He handed the other two genin a cloak each and smiled nervously as he eyed their soaked states. "I, um, figured you'd both need them..."

Kakashi accepted the article wordlessly while Namie mumbled a quick word of thanks before wrapping the other cloak around her shoulders.

It did wonders to repel the rain.

And it was warm.

'This kid's a lifesaver.' She offered Kasuga a quick smile. "Hiroto-sensei's not here yet."

The trio waited quietly, only occasionally engaging in conversation with the gate guards, until, just as the sky began to brighten with hints of the dawn, their dark-haired instructor appeared. He signaled them forwards wordlessly and only stopped to address them once they were all past the village gates.

He also wore the appropriate gear for the wet weather, they all noticed.

"Good. You're all here, and you look prepared." Hiroto checked them over with a cursory glance and nodded. "Then, it's time to give you a rundown for this mission."

The three genin stood around him silently, waiting.

The jounin cleared his throat. "This mission is C-ranked. We've been commissioned by a wealthy landowner from Kakunodate* to act as guards along the property line. Currently, there have been several land disputes and cases of trespassing which the official guards alone cannot handle. Questions?"

Kasuga tentatively spoke up. "Yes, Hiroto-sensei. U-um, Kakunodate is three days' walk from here. Six days total round trip. Surely the mission won't take only a day, so…is one week's worth of supplies really…really enough?"

"Good question." The orange-haired boy relaxed, slightly, as the man smirked wryly. "We'll be taking the long way to Kakunodate, since the usual route was reported to have bandits roaming about. So, travel time will be three-and-a-half to four days, especially in this weather. The time we've been asked to spare the landowner client is five days in total, with room and board provided." Hiroto removed a map from his traveling bag as he spoke, and waved the trio—in particular, Kasuga with his umbrella—towards him. Once a dry spot was created, he smoothed the map out and traced the alternate route for the three genin to see. It was less direct than the straight shot the current path they stood upon produced, and there was less tree coverage as well.

"And what if we happen to run into bandits this way?" Kakashi questioned coolly.

Hiroto took a moment to study each child in turn. "If they engage as an enemy, take them out for obstructing the mission."

"Take them out?" Kasuga echoed, tone puzzled.

"Kill them," the jounin clarified without a hint of hesitation. "Interfering with shinobi business is a capital offense punishable by death. Everyone within the Land of Fire knows this. Every shinobi knows this."

"So," Namie's voice trembled almost imperceptibly, "there's a chance we have to kill during this mission?"

Hiroto slowly rolled up the map and eyed it plainly before speaking. "I won't lie to you. This mission has the potential to be pushed into B-ranking territory. It won't be pretty and controlled like your pass-fail test was. There will definitely be danger here. That's why teamwork is so crucial." He paused, long enough to fix the team with a reassuring stare. "But, keep in mind that I'll be here, too. You, Team One, are my exclusive responsibility and I'll do my best to keep you safe."

The three genin shared a strange look.

"Weird." Namie was the first to speak.

Kasuga nodded, agreeing with a shaky smile as he fidgeted with the bandana covering his head.

"Definitely weird," Kakashi confirmed.

"Are you really Hiroto-sensei?" Namie wondered suspiciously, scrunching her nose in distaste. "Because he definitely wouldn't say—ow!" The rolled-up map whopped her on the head before she could finish her sentence, and her teammates were dealt similar damage.

"Brats…" The dark-haired jounin ran an exasperated hand over his face as he turned and observed their surroundings. "It's time to go. Take up Formation E with Kakashi-kun at the front and follow my lead." He briefly glanced towards his team, smirking. "Oh, and you're going to get a good deal of stamina training from this. It won't be easy."

He definitely hadn't lied-easy was the last word they would have used to describe the trip.

The first day passed quickly, consisting of much traveling—as well as acclimating to the fast-paced mode of jumping between treetops. A handful of times they'd been forced to stop already because any given one of the three genin became victim to motion-sickness or fatigue.

Once, even, Kakashi had lost his footing on a particularly slippery branch and ended up tumbling to the ground and spraining his wrist.

It was certainly no drawback having a medic as part of their unit. Kasuga was able to heal his injury halfway and wrapped it professionally and with utmost care so it wouldn't be disturbed while mending itself fully.

All of these hindrances were to be expected, Hiroto assured them. Proper adjustment to the field for amateurs took at least three C-ranked experiences, and even then some shinobi still encountered difficulties. Despite explaining this, his displeasure was apparent.

They were determined to work hard and grow accustomed to their new lifestyle career after only one mission.

Outdoor camping was the easiest aspect they faced. Thankfully, the Academy had prepared them with nature trips as well as provided instruction on how to properly set up security perimeters. The dense forest vegetation provided more than enough protection against the constant downpour while they rested.

The second day of travel passed by less eventfully than the first.

"This is really boring, isn't it?" Namie sighed as she sat sprawled on the ground beside her teammates. It was the cloudy morning of the third day and, finally, the rain had eased away, leaving the forest damp and dewy. "I thought there would be…I dunno, more to an outside mission like this." She aimed a lazy gaze around the area, watching as Hiroto disarmed the trap perimeter around their campsite. Once that task was complete, the group would set off once again.

"Don't go looking for trouble," Kakashi warned in a low, unconcerned tone.

Kasuga hummed in agreement. "I—really, I'd rather have this kind of thing than something dangerous. Sorry, Namie. I guess I prefer boring."

The blonde merely shrugged and focused on tightening her forehead protector behind her head and making sure her short, messy ponytail was tied securely. Kakashi was right. It was probably better that they focus on getting to the target city than wish for something more exciting to happen.

'Be careful what you wish for, was it?'

The closer they'd come to Kakunodate's hilly geographical location, the more the trees had begun to thin out. Soon, tree travel became impossible because branches were too widespread, and running along half-muddy half-grassy pathways lined with thick rock became their alternative.

They moved forward in a "T" formation—Hiroto at the head with the three genin lined up horizontally behind him: Kasuga in the center, Kakashi on the left and Namie on the right.

During their several training sessions that occurred since their graduation period, their mentor had taught them about a dozen textbook formations to be used during travel depending on various circumstances. Most centered around Kasuga being the team medic; their lifeline.

Namie wondered if these tactical patterns were from his ANBU days, and whether or not he'd worked closely with medics as well. Taji was a medic in the Black Ops, after all; she couldn't be the only one.

Had she been focusing on her surroundings instead of losing herself in idle thoughts, she might have noticed the eerie shift in the wind, and the several shuriken that sailed along with the current, heading straight for her group's blind spot.

"Get down!" Hiroto barked at his team, and in an instant he'd used the body flicker technique to position himself at the back of the group as an immediate line of defense. The three genin crouched swiftly and without complaint, whipping their heads around wildly to witness their sensei deflecting the projectiles with a metal staff—one they'd never seen him wield before. A single shuriken ricocheted recklessly from the end of his staff and landed between Namie and Kasuga's hands, dangerously close to the blonde girl's fingers. It trembled as it lodged into the ground.

No—upon closer inspection, it was a familiar sight.

"They're attached to wire!" Kasuga yelled, surprisingly loud, as the weapon was retracted by a thin, steel wire and sent hurtling towards the dark-haired jounin's back.

It caught him in the shoulder, but instead of removing it, he simply snagged the wire that it was attached to and wrapped it around his arm before giving a sharp yank.

The wire, originating from a boulder a few meters away, went taught. For a moment, Namie was worried the wire was razor-sharp and would sever the man's arm—but that wasn't the case. The pull had drawn out a ratty, missing-nin vagabond from his hiding spot.

While this occurred, two other armed shinobi-bandits from obscure villages had circled around to the other side of the team while their backs were turned. Kakashi was the first to notice.

"I'll take this one!" As soon as he was spotted, the enemy on the left charged towards the young boy. Kunai clashed with kunai—yet it was clear who was at a disadvantage by size alone. That, and he was fighting with his previously injured arm.

Kasuga and Namie moved to engage the remaining bandit simultaneously. However, Namie threw out her arm to stop the orange-haired medic, sending him a meaningful stare. "I can handle this. Support Kakashi."

"Are you—" the boy opened his mouth to protest, because Namie was also quite small and also at a disadvantage, but upon seeing the steeled look in her eyes he realized her intent, nodded, and allowed her to act alone.

He ran behind the man his teammate was fighting and readied his shuriken.

The blonde reached into one of her bag's pockets and produced a scroll—the same kind she'd given her brother not so long ago—and quickly summoned a stack of her own shuriken from the seal. Similar to the bandits' attack, they were laced with wire as well. Wire thin enough to fool the eye in the overcast weather with little light to reveal it.

"Aren't you a buncha cute kids," the rogue man standing before Namie smirked nastily, mockingly, as he drew a short blade. "Playing ninja and all, even."

The girl scowled and expertly flung two of the kunai towards the man. They missed by a wide margin, one zipping between him and his partner and the other stabbing into the ground a short distance behind him on the opposite side.

Kasuga's shuriken, aimed from the other direction, landed in a similar fashion, crossing paths with his teammate's weapons. Kakashi's struggle with the taller man continued, yet he succeeded in pushing him back, closer to the other bandit, as he caught on to his teammate's plan—Plan Kakashi, which hinged upon the boy engaging the enemy first and serving as a distraction. It was one they'd practiced before, one constructed by Kasuga, to use against Hiroto.

Namie flicked another shuriken towards her own opponent, close enough to his foot to where he was forced to side-step and avoid having his toes impaled. "Your aim really sucks, kid!" He crowed, grinning. The bandit stepped forwards, raising his weapon, quickly tiring of humoring the child, but the blonde aimed another shuriken towards his face to halt his advance.

It was knocked carelessly away by his sword and landed uselessly in the dirt, but it succeeded in forcing the man to remain still.

Hands finally free of projectiles, the girl looked over to catch her orange-haired teammate's eye.

"Kakashi, move!" Kasuga called out urgently.

The silver-haired boy leapt back out of harm's way and, at the exact moment he moved, both Namie and Kasuga tugged sharply at the wires that remained in their hands.

The blades at the ends of the strings tangled together as they were pulled taught, and soon the two bandits were caught in the middle of the mess. They cried out as their legs were unexpectedly pierced by the several shuriken and, before they could move, the strings tightened, closed in around them and tripped them up—caused them to knock into each other and drop to the ground in a heap, losing grip on their weapons.

Once they were down, Kakashi quickly moved in to knock them unconscious with swift, easy blows to the back of the head.

Then, the three stood, helpless, considering their sensei's words.

They were to kill these men for interrupting the mission. The look the team shared conveyed the hesitation and uneasiness they each harbored.

It would be a first kill for them.

Hiroto was still occupied with the other bandit with a fondness for long-distance projectiles. It was difficult for him to get close.

But because he was currently engaged, he was unable to give them guidance.

Namie sighed. It was her responsibility, as the next adult in line.

"I'll do it." She reached down to unfasten her kunai holster and gripped one of the blades with an unsure, sweating hand.

Kasuga cast his gaze downward, avoiding the entire matter, hands clenched into tight fists.

Kakashi looked on coolly, though didn't utter a word. His lips were set into a thin line, behind the mask.

Just as the blonde stepped forwards to make her move, something flashed in the corner of her eye and panic seized her heart.

There, behind Kakashi, was an unanticipated fourth enemy, looming, with a blade raised, ready to impale—

He realized it as well, but his reaction was belated, the distance was too close, there was no time to evade it and certainly, certainly blood would be shed—

There would be death.

'Fuck—no.' The blonde watched with bated breath as time itself seemed to slow to an agonizingly sluggish, crawling pace. 'If Kakashi dies now, nothing will be right! It will ruin everything. Everything! He can't die. He's important. He has to live!'

Namie moved on instinct.

'He will live.'

Her surroundings blurred. Her body felt as if it were being sucked into a quagmire's heavy hold, her heart pounded in her ears, yet the enemy standing before her, her own hand, gripping the kunai blade—all of that was clear, down to the very last detail. The nicks in the worn metal, the pores on the bandit's dirty face, the fear in his eyes, lined with eyelashes she could nearly count—

She glanced down.

The black steel blade was lodged upwards into the soft flesh of the enemy's unprotected chest cavity, angled to reach the heart, deeply, gushing crimson, yet blood that did not belong to the enemy—a boy, a teenager, barely older than herself—spilled down past her wrists as well. The weapon was wrenched from her hands and a fresh wave of blood emerged as the blade sliced along her palms and it fell, along with the boy, forever embedded, to the ground.

He was dead.

She'd seen the life flee from his eyes—now empty, hollow as dead fish eyes—as abrupt as a doused flame. Death was certain. Death was quick.

Her eyes studied the crimson liquid—red, red, so much red—that stained her torn bandages and seeped through to her skin.

That blood—it marked her.

She killed him.

And she didn't feel a thing.

"Namie," a voice, obscure and vague among buzzing static, came from her right.

With that, the heavy haze weighing down upon her evaporated.

The girl glanced up sharply to meet the soft, downcast green eyes of her medic teammate. He was worried. Frightened. Lost. On the verge of tears. He couldn't look her directly in the face.

"His blood is mixing with yours—it's…it's not… not sanitary. We need to get this taken care of," the boy continued in a wavering croak, and Namie realized her hands were in the hold of another's—trembling. Her dirtied bandages were being slowly, steadily, removed by careful fingers.

Here she was, not much worse for the wear, alive. And so was Kakashi.

She wasn't sorry.

The fact that she'd killed a boy—and she glanced over at the lifeless body once more to confirm it—only a few years older than her current child self didn't bother her in the slightest.

He was nobody. Living and breathing though he had once been, he was no one.

No one but an enemy—insignificant. He'd simply made the wrong choice by crossing her and her personal objectives and met his end because of it.

Would she do the same for Kasuga?

Her cool gaze lingered on the medic nin.

He was, truly, also unimportant in the long run. He was yet another faceless background character in her small world.

She shifted her gaze to Kakashi. Had she done this for his sake? Or for what he represented? The boy was unharmed, though, finally, his apathetic exterior had shattered—if only briefly—and he was shaken by the close encounter with death. Well. He was only five years old.

It was almost laughable.

What was he—as young as he was—doing here, on the field? What kind of village allowed children so young to become shinobi and face such dangers?

He could have died. He'd almost died. Now, there he was, sitting on his ass and looking half-traumatized.

It was laughable.

"Namie. Breathe." A harsh voice ordered her, and a slight shake was dealt to her shoulders.

It only just occurred to her that her body was quivering and her breath was coming in in short, inadequate puffs. The last time this had happened…

'It was the first time I thought Kushina was kidnapped but it turned out to be a false alarm, wasn't it? I really lost it, then.'

She forced herself to calm down and took a few, measured breaths before working up the nerve to string a sentence together. "It's fine." When she finally spoke, she found her voice was strangely exhausted. "I'm fine. I did what had to be done." Her bright blue eyes landed on her teacher, unblinking. "You said it, right, Hiroto-sensei? 'Kill them if they interfere.'"

"…I did." The man eyed her warily as he conceded. His gaze traveled over the three genin slowly as he evaluated their conditions. He spoke at length. "The plan hasn't changed. We'll keep moving once your injury is taken care of."

Kasuga cleaned and mended the cuts on Namie's palms nicely. They were deep, but not deep enough to require stitches due to the applied medic jutsu, and all that was left were shallow gouges that he covered with medicated bandages. Infection was a lingering possibility, so she would have to be mindful and continue to change the bandages until the wounds healed completely.

Hiroto piled up the four bandit nins' bodies and, after ensuring none had outstanding bounties, burned them with an incredibly striking katon jutsu, leaving no trace whatsoever behind.

If she so wished it, Namie could pretend none of it had ever happened at all.

She could pretend her hands were free of blood.

As the group prepared to continue on, Namie glanced back at the spot where the bodies had been cremated.

There was nothing.

Nothing left to remind her of her sin.

This was the life of a shinobi…?

Kakashi's elbow brushed faintly against the side of the girl's arm for the third time over the course of two hours—they'd taken up a closer formation for the remainder of the journey, due to the previous encounter, and she was situated directly beside the silver-haired boy. Though they were walking with very little distance between them, he was not the clumsy type. He wasn't the type to intentionally get within touching range.

It was clear he was trying to get her attention without having to be the one to speak first and make it obvious. He really was a child.

'How irritating.' Namie sighed and eyed the younger boy with bland impatience. "What?"

"Why did you do it?" Kakashi spoke with an undertone of accusation. He stubbornly avoided her gaze.

The girl rolled her shoulders, hearing a disconcerting crack from the movement, but ignored it. "If you're going to thank me, just thank me."

"I knew he was there. I was going to evade," the boy countered petulantly, keeping his voice low enough that only the two of them were privy to the discussion.

Namie watched Kasuga and Hiroto's backs as they walked a short distance ahead. Every so often, the man glanced back and assessed the group.

Though, maybe he was just keeping a close watch on her.

She was well aware her response towards murdering someone was far from normal. Even for shinobi standards.

"Then, I didn't do it for you," the blonde replied with finality, tone just as quiet. "Let's just move past it. I'm not expecting you to return the favor or anything. Really. But, y'know, I would thank you if you did the same for me." She shrugged dismissively.

"Fine. Whatever. Fair enough." Kakashi scoffed and then fell silent for the remainder of the trip.

The group arrived at Kakunodate in record time despite the bandits' interruption.

None of them expected the town to be laden with cherry blossom trees in full bloom.

"Isn't this a little early in the season?" Namie glanced around at length as she and her group wandered the wide streets lined with historical-style architecture. The rain had stopped in this town as well, though puddles remained. A cool breeze rustled through the overhanging, pink-dotted branches.

It looked to be an ideal vacation spot—it was a bit of a shame they were visiting on business.

None of her teammates seemed to pay it any mind, however.

Hiroto led the children through the entirety of the town until they reached a bordered area near the outskirts, which hosted two wide-spaced properties as large as castles in the distances.

'Gated communities of the rich,' she mused, studying the structures in the background. They were certainly formidable homes and it was obvious that one hosted their client.

A portly man in traditional clothing scurried out from behind the gate to the fenced-in community and flagged the group down once they stepped close enough. He took one (blatantly dubious) look at the squad, noted the insignia upon their headbands as well as their small statures, and then turned his attention to the adult of the group. "You are…the ninja from Konohagakure?" were the first words he spoke.

Namie would have expected an introduction. The man was quite rude.

"Obviously," the silver-haired boy uttered under his breath, though he'd spoken so quietly that either of his teammates barely heard the word.

"We are, sir." Hiroto confirmed with a tone that was strictly business. This was the part where he would be inclined to introduce himself and his team, though he'd also noticed the man's impoliteness and thought it fair to respond in an equal manner.

The man's mustached lips pursed. "I was not aware the village would be sending…children…to aid us. This is—and I speak honestly—not work meant for the faint of heart." He set his hands into his sleeves and rubbed the no-doubt expensive material between his fingers thoughtfully. Perhaps he was truly concerned for their well-being, but the trio was more inclined to believe he was looking down on them.

Hiroto breathed a small chuckled and inclined his head as he glanced over his team. "I assure you, sir, we are all perfectly capable of handling this task." His even gaze returned to the shorter man. "Now, may I ask, sir, are you Advisor Murasaki?" There was such ice in his voice that the three genin collectively shuddered.

He may have enjoyed putting his team down and criticizing them, but it became a sore subject when others attempted the same.

The balding man's already-round eyes widened in shock upon realizing he'd failed to introduce himself. He held out his arms and nodded vigorously. "Yes! Yes, I've quite forgotten to present myself. I am the advisor of Tohya-sama's collective affairs, Murasaki." He gave a short bow. "Please, address me as Murasaki."

The dark-haired jounin allowed a small smile to cross his face as he returned the introduction. His three students followed suit.

Murasaki eyed the four of them, matching names to appearances, and cleared his throat loudly before addressing the group. "Please, follow me to Tohya-sama's residence. And take care to walk the proper side of the pathways—there have been," he paused, "well, you are aware of the situation. I shall fill you in on the finer details along the way."

Being aware of the situation never could have prepared them for the reality presented to them once they entered the area.

The property line division was clear—chain-link fences had been erected to prevent entrance or exit from either side, though these barricades didn't stretch along the entirety of the land. Scattered along the open sections of land were a handful of guards—guards wearing different colors, bearing various weapons—that faced each other with clear animosity and just as much hesitation.

If Namie didn't know better, she would have thought she'd stumbled into an active war zone. A few times, she'd thought to mention it to her teammates, but the tension between the trio—originating from the fact that she'd killed for the first time—was palpable. She kept her thoughts to herself.

'This isn't normal,' the girl decided. 'This is one plot of land—that's why there's not an actual fence splitting it up. These two buildings are on the same property. The pathways are set up to connect them to each other.' She let her gaze wander between the two mansions—the one in the distance and the one they were slowly approaching. They were designed similarly, neither looking more important than the other. They were meant to coexist on the plane, yet as it stood, there was an ongoing struggle to separate the two. 'Is this an inheritance dispute?'

Murasaki led the group into the feudal building and left them in a lavish type of reception room, instructing them to make themselves at home and wait as he fetched the lady of the house.

"Hiroto-sensei," Namie began, breaking the stifling silence that lingered since they'd arrived on the property. Once the man tilted his head in her direction and grunted to acknowledge her, she continued. "This is an inheritance dispute, isn't it?"

"Seems that way," the jounin confirmed. "Our client—the Tohya-sama Murasaki spoke of—and her brother Goro are from a wealthy family. Cousins to our country's current Daimyo, actually. Their father recently passed away, leaving the entire property in their care. There were no specific instructions on the matter of how it would be divided, however, which led to the current state of things."

Kakashi scoffed. "Why can't they just half it and be done?"

"Sometimes half isn't enough for people," Kasuga muttered, providing sound logic.

"So we're here to guard the lady's side of things until, what, the official ruling comes through?" the silver-haired boy asked, unenthused as ever.

"That's right. In five days, the matter will be settled fully. Now, up." Hiroto stood and gestured for the others to do the same as the fancy main door slid open to reveal a graceful woman with sharp eyes and glossy black hair who could be none other than Tohya.

Relative to the Daimyo, indeed. The woman dressed and behaved as if she were a princess. The long sleeves of her extravagantly-designed kimono barely brushed the floor as she glided towards the four hired hands, and the eyes she observed them with were aloof and judgmental.

Her painted lips quirked into an amused smile as she evaluated the group of shinobi. "Why, I was expecting nothing less than four able-bodied men. Not one able-bodied man and three young ones." She glanced at her advisor from the corner of her eye. "Surely there's no mistake, Murasaki?"

"Certainly, Tohya-sama, these are the Konoha shinobi we requested," Murasaki supplied obsequiously, attitude changing completely in the presence of his employer.

"I see. Sit, please." The woman spoke in a drawling, regal manner. Once they were all seated, she situated herself on a plush cushion as well, with Murasaki at her side. "I trust Murasaki informed you of your duties?"

Hiroto nodded. "He has. We're to act as your personal guard unit until the official property distribution is decided in five days' time."

Tohya's amber eyes gleamed as the edge of her lips tilted up. "Yes, precisely." Then, quick as a flash, her expression warped into a nasty leer. "That brother of mine is out for my head. He wants the entirety of the land for himself. Taking me out of the picture is the perfect way to get what he wants, too. Always gets what he wants, that one." The blithe smile returned. "Well, except for this time."

"An attempt has already been made on Tohya-sama's life—" Murasaki blurted, only to be silenced with a glare from the woman he served.

There was a lengthy pause in which Namie took the time to study the woman quietly. 'A vicious sibling rivalry, is it? Ha, once upon a time I could really relate to that. Even the part where it gets violent and one goes for the other's throat.' How strange, to witness the same type of situation in this world.

But then again, Itachi and Sasuke would face that kind of ordeal in the future, to a much bloodier and more tragic extent.

Brothers were difficult to understand. Sibling relationships were, ultimately, troublesome things, she decided.

On that note, even the girl's bond with her current brother was far from perfect.

Tohya breathed a quiet, dainty sigh. "Indeed, it has. Though, Goro and his men are all severe amateurs. I doubt you will have any difficulties with them; they pose very little threat." Her shoulders lifted in a light shrug as she stroked the side of her face with a finger thoughtfully.

"Y-yes, they are hardly trained as it is. Though, our men also…" Murasaki trailed off and cleared his throat when the woman caught his eye once more. "In any event, please do your best to protect Tohya-sama."

"I only ask for peace of mind. That is all I have to say on the matter." The woman moved fluidly to her feet and sashayed towards the exit without a backwards glance. "Please excuse me. I have business to attend to."

The stocky advisor spoke up after the woman waved a hand leisurely for him to continue and didn't as much as glance at the woman as she departed abruptly. "Yes, and to that end, you will all be provided the highest quality of lodging and dining during the days of your service. You will be free to use the lands—our side, naturally—and facilities as you see fit during down time. Are there any questions?"

Hiroto checked his three genin before shaking his head. "No. We understand. We'll begin immediately."

Murasaki rose to his feet quickly. "Perfect! Now, please follow me. I will show you to your rooms, presently, and then we will discuss scheduling."

"What," Namie seethed, gritting her teeth as the advisor led them to their rooms—two chambers: one for the leader, and one for the three genin to share. "What is this? I refuse to share a room with two boys."

Murasaki eyed the blonde child strangely, keys hanging limply in his hands, momentarily forgotten. "I beg your pardon? Aren't you—"

The girl set her hands on her hips and did her best to stand tall and appear imposing despite her short stature. She was a lady. A lady in her thirties—at least, inwardly. Not only that, but she deserved her own room no matter her age. It was only appropriate.

The man's eyes gradually rounded as he realized his mistake. A nervous smile stretched across his face as he fiddled with the keys. "My deepest apologies. I wasn't…aware."

"Wasn't aware of what?" the girl asked flatly, eyes narrowing.

Kasuga fidgeted uncomfortably beside her. Kakashi looked away and covered his masked face with one hand as if he were doing his best not to laugh. Hiroto was the one to speak and break the tension. "He thought you were a boy." A smile threatened to grace his face as well and he cleared his throat to hide the amusement as he turned to the stocky advisor. "I'll stay with Kakashi-kun and Kasuga-kun. Let Namie-chan have the other room, Murasaki."

'A—a boy?' Namie, whose jaw had gone slack from the outrageous confession, immediately snapped her teeth shut and scowled at the short man. ''Is it really that hard to tell? Maybe I should have kept the braids so this pea-brain could tell the difference!'

The jounin held back his student before she could react.

"Ah! Yes, of course." Murasaki scurried to unlock the doors while the young girl was subdued.

Once the group scoped out their bedrooms and set down their traveling supplies, the advisor presented them with a scroll listing their shifts as well as the local guards' own.

"Night attacks are what we are most wary of, at the moment," he relayed. "Once the sun sets, we will need you on duty to guard the castle's perimeter along with our guards, as well as someone to patrol Tohya-sama's living area. Then, from dawn to mid-morning, you will be rotated to border protection. After that, you will have the afternoon open to familiarize yourselves with the area and do what you wish. I will inform you of the next day's duties when that time arrives." The man glanced slowly across the group as he concluded his instruction. "I will let you decide amongst yourselves who is assigned where, but it was at Tohya-sama's request that the most capable be sent to protect her."

"Of course," Namie muttered. She briefly glanced towards the dark-haired teacher, wondering if he'd caught on to the woman's obvious intent. During the short time they'd been in the same proximity, she'd been eyeing him, although covertly, like a ravenous wolf after a piece of juicy meat. Not only that, but it seemed as if she'd been set on having a small harem of men in her services. Then again, maybe it was only female instinct that alerted her of Tohya's inclinations.

Or—a vague memory occurred to the girl—maybe her sensei just had that effect on the female population.

'Gross. Is he a playboy?' She almost laughed aloud and pressed her lips together to keep quiet as that thought surfaced. 'No way. Not with that personality.'

Hiroto appeared wholly oblivious or apathetic towards the matter. "Understood."

Murasaki nodded and rolled up the scroll. "Then, business is concluded, for now. Dinner will be served in two hours' time. Would you like to dine with the household or will you have your meals delivered personally?"

"For today, at least, we'll be staying in our rooms to rest until patrol time," Hiroto decided. "So please have them sent to us."

The advisor nodded once more. "Of course. Then, we will speak again in the morrow." He bowed shortly before seeing himself off.

"…He thought I was a boy." Namie watched the man waddle around a corner at the end of the hallway with a nasty glare.

"Well, you're not exactly—"

Hiroto cut in before Kakashi could continue his sentence and incite an argument. "You two go rest in our shared room. Check your supplies. I need to speak with this one." He set his gloved hand on Namie's shoulder as he spoke his orders.

This conversation was inevitable.

Any time a shinobi killed for the first time, they would be subjected to lectures, coached mentally and, most probably, psychologically evaluated. Though they were trained as killers, it did not come naturally. The first kill was the type of event that would make or break a strong ninja. It was a defining moment in the profession.

Namie knew this. The same thing had happened with Minato—not only when he'd witnessed his first death during a mission, but when he'd faced the choice to kill for the first time as well. Even Kushina had mentioned the matter in passing.

The blonde genin tapped her hands noiselessly atop her knees as she sat before her sensei, letting her eyes wander slowly about the tastefully plain, traditional room while the man gathered his thoughts and prepared his speech.

It was a fragile subject that someone as severe as Hiroto would have to handle with extra care.

Who would have thought? Death, fragile.

Memories of the encounter flashed before her eyes. The enemy's blood spurting, soaking through the worn material of a thin shirt—the feeling of the kunai, heavy with resistance as it pierced the flesh of his torso and her hands slipped forwards along the sharp edges of the blade in her quick, clumsy hold—

Her hands—the hands that dealt that killing blow—curled into fists reflexively.

The odd, jerky movement didn't go unnoticed.

"So," Hiroto finally spoke, his voice a low, contemplative rumble, "you experienced your first kill."

Namie looked up to meet his muddy eyes. She nodded for the lack of anything better to respond with.

"Tell me about it." He studied her with a guarded stare.

Her shoulders lifted in a light shrug. When she chose to reply, her voice was quiet, steady. "What's there to say? He was an enemy; my teammate's life was on the line. I acted on instinct. I would have done the same for any ally." For the first time in weeks, she fully dropped her childish persona and addressed him as an equal. As an adult. It came naturally.

So, too, did lying.

Hiroto recognized the change, though his only response was a quick blink. She'd never personally behaved towards him this way, but he'd been present when she addressed Inori and his father in the same manner. It was no mystery to him that she was a unique case: maturity beyond her years with the brains to match—all within a tiny, sour-faced child's body.

That was why dealing with her was so damn difficult.

When he'd taken on the assignment to be her jounin instructor, Inori had warned him that it wouldn't be an easy task. Not only because she was a prickly, snarky, unpleasant (and numerous other negative adjectives) little thing, but because her mind didn't work the same way a normal child's did. It didn't even work the same way theirs did.

Kakashi was also a special case, genius as he was, but he was every bit a child even if he tried his best to hide it. The difference between him and the blonde was substantial. Comparing them was impossible, and using one to measure or understand the other was unthinkable.

Namie, though, she was trouble. He'd often doubted her outward behavior—that of a temperamental, foul-mouthed brat, albeit one with talent—and dismissed it as disingenuous. He wasn't completely certain if it was all an act, but when she spoke with such sharp, direct words as if she were on even footing with someone like him, he was convinced that there was a gifted, silver-tongued liar lingering within her mind.

That, and…he wasn't entirely confident the girl was always fully, mentally sound. Especially after what recent events revealed.

Hiroto tapped his fingers along his thigh contemplatively. His gaze was not directed at the blonde fidgeting in front of him, but his attention was focused fully on her presence. "Let me clarify a bit. Explain to me what it was like, killing for your first time. Tell me what exactly you felt."

Namie hummed and smoothed out the hem of her shirt as she considered her response. This was likely the part of some assessment. He would judge her further actions based on her answer. If that were the case, it was better to lie with half-truths and what she believed he expected to hear.

"I was numb. I barely realized what happened. The kunai was already in my hand, so I," she paused and pursed her lips, searching for the proper words. "I moved. I didn't think about it. It just happened."

The girl dropped her gaze to the medicated gauze that covered her hands and kneaded the hem of her black shorts between her fingers. "My grip on the kunai was bad, though—because I wasn't thinking. It slipped when I struck. That's how I got hurt. It was," and, now, she spoke candidly. "It was hard. Piercing the flesh of a living human was harder than I expected. Feeling the bones crack. A-and then, there was the blood. So much blood." Her hands started to shake and she stilled them against her legs to hide the movement. "Was that normal? So much blood…" She began to ramble.

"That's enough."

Hiroto's voice was firm and commanding. The blonde genin halted her rant immediately.

The next words he divulged were a bombshell. "Did you know you were smiling?"

"Smiling?" Her heart stopped. Uneasiness squirmed within her chest.

"Smiling," the man confirmed, eyeing her with an unreadable gaze.

"That," Namie stammered, shaking her head, "that was…It was—coping." Her voice was unsteady. Her words were choppy. "I saw Kakashi. He's only five—almost six, maybe? I don't know. I thought," she paused. For an entire minute, she kept her silence.

"You thought—?" Hiroto prompted, one of his eyebrows rising almost imperceptibly. Initially, she'd spoken dishonestly. Now, her words were sincere. Unfiltered. She had a nervous, tactile habit that served to reveal her lies and now she'd dropped it completely and gone still.

The girl licked her lips, briefly noting they were dry. Chapped. "I thought it was stupid. He's a kid. Just a little kid. What's he doing, performing missions already? He's barely out of the Academy. Barely out of—of goddamn diapers. Genius or not." She inhaled sharply. Now, she was on a roll, unable to stop. "What kind of village allows a little kid to get in harm's way like that? What would you have done if he died? Who takes responsibility for that? I don't know why I thought about this, then, but—he's just a kid. Being treated like an adult. That's just fucked. Really fucked up. And it's funny, in a stupid, awful, twisted way. So, sensei, I smiled—"

"That's enough, Namie." Again, his interrupting words were authoritative. That, along with the usage of her name without an added honorific effectively shocked her into silence. "Stop."

She stared at him with her blue eyes fearfully wide. Had she said too much? Had she said something wrong? Surely, it was controversial. Diametrically opposed to the so-called Will of Fire they were all so fond of—or, was it? Sending children out to the field was already hypocritical enough.

The fact that she was alone in a closed room with someone from ANBU—a trained, professional assassin; someone who had been assigned to watch her once before—fully permeated her thoughts. Sensei or not, would he kill her for her words?

Well.

It would only be fair.

She'd killed, too, after all.

A life for a life was only fair.

She'd killed.

Killed killed killed and it was her fault—

Something wet splattered onto the back of her hand. There was a strange, clammy wetness soaking her cheeks. She touched her fingertips to the wet skin and realized they were tears. Fresh, still flowing.

The sight spurred her on and she continued to speak despite his order to keep quiet, voice steadily rising. "And then I thought I didn't feel anything even though I killed a living, breathing human being. Who was he, even? Does it matter? Does it matter, when someone's dead? There's nothing left. Nothing. They don't exist anymore. He was just someone who got in my way and got killed for it and I did the right thing—what you said to do—but I thought my reaction was all wrong and messed up because I didn't feel anything, but now I feel it, I—"

Something collided with her cheek, turning her head to the side—it was swift and hardly painful; only a momentary sting.

"Get ahold of yourself," Hiroto murmured, bringing his gloved hand back to his side.

"You—" Namie's expression contorted, baffled. She couldn't complete the sentence, only rubbed at her tingling cheek with a tender touch. He'd slapped her. Not harshly, by any means, but the intent remained. It gave her something new to focus her emotions on; it returned her to her senses.

The man's expression was just as troubled. With a sigh, he ran a hand through his backswept hair and sent a puzzled glance towards the ceiling.

A dense, pressing silence dominated the room for what seemed like hours.

Namie gradually calmed, and sniffled away her panicked crying fit. She breathed in deeply before addressing her teacher, keeping her eyes locked onto the weaved tatami patterns beneath her instead of facing the man. "Am I normal, Hiroto-sensei?"

"Normal?" The man's head snapped towards the blonde girl and he squinted as the fragile, vulnerable words registered. A wry smile twisted his lips. He shook his head. Then, finally, he fixed her with a cool, mocking stare. "Far from it. But," he continued as she met his gaze and opened her mouth to react, "you're also not abnormal."

Slowly, slowly, he reached forwards and set a heavy hand on her head to ruffle her hair. A rare act of kindness.

"You did the right thing. Your reaction to your first kill wasn't unhealthy. You're confused—I understand that. For now, you'll have to bear with it and deal with suppressing your emotions since we're on a mission. Then, when we return to Konoha, I want you to speak with Inori." His words were soft, but full of authority.

The girl's expression quickly turned when that familiar name met her ears. Her nose scrunched up unpleasantly. "Do I have to-? Wait," she huffed, "'Inori?' Not 'Inori-sensei?' What's with that?"

Hiroto shrugged and averted his gaze nonchalantly. His next words were condescending—a welcomed change to the stressful atmosphere that weighed down on them before. "What, you didn't know? We go way back. He was one of my genin teammates."

"No wonder he calls you Saru… I thought—" she quickly caught her tongue. Mentions of ANBU had almost left her mouth. Speaking about that was taboo.

The piercing gaze he aimed her way revealed that he was aware of her lax, near-slip. He cleared his throat loudly to gloss over the issue. "Anyway, as a precaution, you are to stay at my side whenever we're on duty during this mission." He rose to his feet. "Now, we'll have words with your teammates about this matter. They're pretty shaken by your behavior."

Namie stood and smoothed her clothes out, casting a bemused gaze to her feet. "Yeah, Kasuga-kun can't look me in the eyes." A small grin pulled at her lips.

Her usual façade settled into place.

Despite her unusual circumstances, the girl was naïve. Idealistic. A bit broken. Though—not to a dangerous extent. At least, she wouldn't stray with the proper guidance.

There was still something about her that he couldn't see. Something no one could grasp yet. A hidden agenda, perhaps? It was in his nature to be cautious, but he was uncertain as to whether being unable to fully trust his student qualified him as a proper instructor.

It was quite curious when she had said the bandit got in her way—she treated it as a personal matter instead of an isolated incident.

The man cast his blonde student one final gaze before he opened the door and exited the room.

She was a difficult one. Definitely a problem child.

Guard duty was, and it was unanimously decided, boring.

Tohya's soldiers were unskilled and far from serious about their jobs—and since the shinobi had arrived, they'd become even more careless. Apparently, as trained shinobi, the majority of work fell to them.

And nothing even remotely eventful occurred during the first two days of the mission.

Though, Namie was somewhat pleased to discover that her assessment of the castle's mistress had been painfully accurate. Her constant tailing of the older jounin had thwarted whatever scandalous ploys the woman had thought to conceive.

She'd never in her life expected to end up being a cockblock, and she didn't particularly care for getting between the woman and her desires—but, well, it was out of her hands.

Orders were orders.

"Ham."

"Mayonnaise."

"Eggs."

"Salt."

"T—ta—to—?"

"Bzzt. You took too long. Tomato?" Namie shook her head as the orange-haired boy stumbled on his words and broke the word chain.

"Ah…" Kasuga scratched the back of his head and smiled despite his third consecutive loss. "I can't think as quickly as you with things like this."

"Don't worry about it," The blonde dismissed. She had a sneaking suspicion she was being allowed to win because the boy was too soft-hearted to be ruthless against her. It was a well-known fact that he was a fearsomely quick thinker when training was involved. Unwilling to start another game, the girl settled for picking at the loose fibers of the tatami mats and listening to raindrops splatter against the outside walls.

It was the third day of the mission and, yet again, the rain had moved over Kakunodate. The trio had already finished guard duty for the property line that day and were left with nothing but free time to laze about their rooms.

Namie decided to spend her time with her teammates while Hiroto consulted with Murasaki.

However, her presence wasn't entirely welcome.

"Why are you in here, again?" Kakashi grumbled from his spot near the window, eyeing the blonde with apparent dislike. "You threw a fit over having your own room, but here you are." Instead of participating in their childish games, he busied himself with studying a scroll over some technique or the other. He barely glanced over as he carped on.

Ever since their sensei had sat them all down and discussed the event of Namie's first kill on the field, as well as the basics of what would occur when any one of them experienced the same thing, the interaction between the team had returned to what it once was. That is, Kasuga acting generally friendly and accepting and Kakashi being everything but.

Things had returned to normal.

"This place creeps me out," Namie confided, shrugging. "The servants just stare, and when I try to walk around the grounds or train, the guards on the other side stare, too." She shrugged. "I'd rather be here than alone."

Kasuga hummed in agreement, setting his chin atop the wooden surface of the table he sat at. "I've noticed it, too. I'm not sure they've ever seen shinobi before."

Before any more on the subject could be said, the door to their room slid open to reveal Hiroto, who eyed them with disdain. One antisocial child sat with his nose buried in a scroll, away from his teammates, another huddled near the room's kotatsu looking comfortably half-asleep, and the third actually sprawled out on the floor while staring at the ceiling with a bored expression on her face. "Not doing anything productive, I see. You three come with me. We're going to train."

"In this weather?" Kasuga questioned dolefully, glancing towards the circular window on the far side of the room.

The jounin shrugged. "Sure. Battles won't always be in perfect, sunny conditions."

Despite their grumblings, Team One faithfully followed their teacher to the wet, muddy grounds beyond the mansion. The soles of their sandals slipped into the sludge, until they noticed Hiroto remained unaffected by this because of his usage of chakra. They applied the same practice to their feet and balanced upon the thin layer of water that coated the ground to avoid slow, slurping, unsteady steps.

"You haven't succeeded in taking me down as a team, yet, so we'll continue with that type of training. If you manage to knock me off of my feet and into the mud, well, you pass." He eyed them levelly before reaching behind his back and withdrawing a metallic cylinder, which expanded into the staff they'd seen him wield a few days prior. "Only, I'll be armed this time, for a change."

"We don't even have specific weapons," Namie groused.

"I'm a little jealous." Kasuga sighed.

Kakashi sank into an offensive stance without a word.

The dark-haired jounin copied the boy's motion, clutching his weapon in his right hand. "Start whenever you're ready."

"How do we handle this?" the orange-haired boy asked quietly as he studied his teacher's movements. "He's never been armed before."

The blonde observed the man as well, eyebrows drawing together. "We should try to analyze his attack patterns. Find his weak spots, his openings, time his movements." She glanced towards the silver-haired boy.

"I'll go in first, then," he decided, cracking his knuckles. "Back me up when he makes the first strike." This instruction was aimed at Namie.

"Right, right. Kasuga, you'll observe and then we'll switch." The blonde crouched slightly, adopting her own offensive position as Kakashi darted towards Hiroto.

"Got it."

As soon as Kasuga spoke, Kakashi and their instructor clashed. The boy was mindful of the heavy steel staff, but Hiroto maneuvered it swiftly. As soon as he'd zeroed in with a kick to the man's unguarded left side, the metal rod cut into the space between his foot and the jounin's torso just before contact and he was easily deflected.

Undeterred, he pushed off of the surface of the staff and propelled himself towards the man's head, pulling his hand back and preparing to execute a second strike, but the man dodged with ease and shifted to knock his student back. The moment the man enacted his counter, while he was mid-attack and the weapon was in motion, Namie moved in from his right to sweep a low kick towards the back of his knees and upset his balance.

Only, her assault never made contact. Instead, her silver-haired teammate, caught by the end of the pole weapon, was sent crashing into her side and they both slammed unceremoniously into the dirty mire of ground with a series of noisy splashes. The two genin wasted no time rising to their feet and creating distance between themselves and their opponent. Kasuga hurried to his teammates' sides as soon as they were within his reach.

"He's quick," the boy panted, brushing his damp bangs away from his eyes. "There's not much of an opening, but he pauses slightly before making his next move with the staff. If Namie was just a moment faster, she might have landed that hit."

"The staff is lighter than it looks," Kakashi added, adjusting his mask slightly. "That explains the speed. But I don't think it's meant for offense. He uses it defensively."

"But he moves the weapon as soon as he senses trouble, right?" Namie asked, glaring at the jounin standing before them. He looked bored. As if they weren't a challenge at all—like they were only a swarm of flies. When her question was met with confirmation, she continued. "Then, I have an idea. Back me up!" Without waiting for their approval, she rushed towards the jounin.

The two followed her without comment, knowing it was futile to stop her when she was already moving. Even if they were blind to her plan, they excelled in adapting to various scenarios as a team.

"Again?" Hiroto smirked as the trio approached. "At least your coordination has improved."

The blonde was the first to come within striking distance. She pushed off from the ground and aimed an aerial back kick directly at his front—only to be barred by his weapon and pushed back. However, once the soles of her sandals made contact with the staff, she unleashed a burst of chakra towards her feet that allowed them to stick to the metal. The weapon's weight increased with the girl's additional burden and Hiroto's hold on it faltered. As soon as he was caught off guard by her tactic and allowed the weapon to drop down, both Kasuga and Kakashi moved in from behind with synced attacks aimed at the man's back.

However, he was quick to recover. Adjusting to the changed weight, he swung the staff—and child attached to it—towards the two remaining genin. Just as before, he bowled the trio over with one swift strike, sending them tumbling across the ground.

"Not a bad idea. A little reckless, not very well thought-out, but you surprised me, brats," he ceded, shrugging. He took a moment to swipe his waterlogged hair back and then a small, challenging grin spread across his face. "Show me more."

The trio groaned collectively as they picked themselves up and rose to their feet once again. Being knocked down and defeated was something they'd long since become accustomed to. The man never gave them the option to quit.

However, before they could continue the sparring match, a loud shriek interrupted them.

Hiroto immediately straightened his posture and narrowed his eyes as he glanced towards the direction of the scream.

"That sounded like the client," Kakashi panted, wiping away a streak of mud staining his mask.

"We're done. You three, follow me." The staff remained in Hiroto's hands as he took off at a running pace.

The team followed without question.

The sight they arrived to see was that of the beautiful Tohya arguing violently with her less-handsome sibling, Goro.

Though, the woman's appearance now was far from lovely. Her hair was tangled and damp, hanging in sopping wet tendrils around her face, which was contorted into a fierce—and slightly mad—scowl.

The skinny, sallow-faced—though regally-dressed—Goro also looked wretched as the downpour soaked him through. There was a stubborn, brutal quality to his own scowl.

A handful of armed guards—all nervous—surrounded them at either side, and, most importantly, this altercation was taking place on Goro's half of the makeshift property line, if only by a few, slight paces.

Murasaki hung back, away from the immediate dispute, and his worried expression morphed into one of relief when he spotted the group of shinobi.

"Thank the gods! Please, do something about this!" the advisor cried, gesturing to the event before them.

"The hell happened?" Namie couldn't help but ask while she and the others looked on at the childish but dangerous affair.

"I—I've only just arrived, but Goro-sama and Tohya-sama had just finished a discussion within his home and he deigned to escort his sister to her own side. And then…then it became this! He'd brought up instances where the guards were becoming sloppy and trespassing onto his half of the land. Tohya-sama, of course, denied the accusations and—oh, just bring her back to her own side before this gets out of hand!"

As they spoke, Tohya reached out and soundly slapped her sibling across the face.

For a brief, tense moment, the only sound that could be heard was the steady downfall of rain drops hitting the soaked ground.

Then, Goro's guards moved forwards with weapons in hand, at the man's own command.

Team One moved without incentive.

Hiroto shoved their client out of the path of an oncoming blade and knocked it off course with his staff while the three genin parried and deflected the weapons of Goro's guards, coming between the poor and belated defenses from Tohya's own men. The man was incensed when his attack was halted, and his teeth ground together so harshly that the entire group could hear the grating sounds.

"Back up!" The jounin snarled with authority, and, obediently, all guards present stepped back. The three genin also disengaged and returned to their proper side.

"Why are you listening to him?" Goro snapped at his soldiers, pointing towards his sister who sat, stupefied, on the muddy ground, tangled within her own robes. "I want that bitch dead."

Once his three men moved forward again, Tohya's two guards blocked their way.

The three genin stood behind these men and their client, ready to react should the need arise.

The next event unfolded quickly, however—and they were unable to prevent it.

With a yell, one of Goro's guards charged forwards and impaled one of the woman's men with the blade of his polearm.

The gleaming metal point protruded from the unfortunate man's back dangerously—had Namie not been dragged back two steps by the hem of her shirt an instant before the attack, it would have struck her as well.

Right between the eyes.

The injured guard fell to the ground with an anguished yell and he gripped at the weapon—which the other guard had dropped in shock—and tried futilely to remove it.

Everyone—even Goro—was too stunned to speak.

Finally, Kasuga approached the fallen soldier and, with shaking hands, assessed the damage. "I can…I can help," he tried, voice trembling. "I-I can stop the bleeding-"However, just as he began to apply his medical jutsu, the suffering man went still. Limp.

He was dead.

Goro was the first to interrupt the bleak silence. "It—It was trespassing! We had every right—" his voice died away when he realized no one was listening.

Wordlessly, Hiroto removed the weapon from the man's corpse and tossed it towards the ground. Then, he and the remaining guard raised the body and hefted it towards Tohya's section of the property.

Namie went to the speechless woman's side and urged her to her feet while Kakashi remained standing near his other teammate, who moved slowly, mechanically until he was also standing.

No one was quite sure what to say, so no one said anything at all.

Tohya's usual pristine appearance had become wretched.

The fine black lines that once surrounded her eyes now streaked down her pale cheeks and her robes remained disheveled. Her fine, dark tresses hung in limp, damp tendrils down her back.

Her lips, once twisted into something arrogant, were separated, leaving her mouth hanging slightly open in an undignified way.

Namie watched the woman's stooped form quietly as she sat beside the entrance to the woman's chambers a few paces away. Hiroto was standing watch outside, separated from the two only by a single, thin wall. She wasn't quite certain why she was asked to remain by the client's side specifically, save for moral support. Perhaps it was because she was the only female on the team. In any case, the woman clearly did not wish to be alone.

The sight stirred something in her heart—it was something familiar. Something miserable.

"Do you have siblings?" Tohya's voice, low and weak, asked feebly. Her back was turned, and her gaze was settled on the window that was steadily tapped by falling raindrops.

It was an unexpected question. The blonde took a moment to determine whether or not the woman was addressing her or speaking to someone else. Though, that would be impossible. They were the only two within the room. The woman's eyes were trained on her the next time she glanced her way.

"A brother," Namie answered carefully. "An older brother."

Tohya's clothing shuffled against the tatami mats as she shifted towards the child. There was a faint, troubled crease in her brow. "And how do you two get along?"

The girl considered the woman for a few, silent moments. She wasn't certain whether she'd been speaking of Minato or the sibling from her previous existence. Though, the other no longer mattered. She'd rather forget her past than think of it during random, idle moments.

"I don't know," she finally replied. And it was the truth. She and Minato did outwardly interact easily and care for each other—but what went on beneath the surface was a mystery.

There was a wall of secrets and lies that separated them.

"You don't know?" The woman pursed her lips, allowing a sliver of her former self to return. "It wasn't always like this between Goro and I." She moved to fully-face the younger girl and drew her legs up to her chest, hugging them childishly. Protectively. Then, she set her chin atop her knees and pouted. "Once upon a time, we were extremely close. But as the years passed, as father's condition worsened…as the topic of inheritance became the main focus of our lives…" Her voice became fainter and fainter until it drifted of completely.

"It drove a wedge between you," Namie supplied. She shut her eyes tightly. Was that the future that awaited her…? Another failure to communicate?

No.

She wouldn't allow it to happen a second time.

The woman hummed in agreement.

"It isn't too late," the girl realized.

Tohya's lifted her head in surprise and, at the same time, Namie's cheeks reddened faintly. She hadn't intended to speak that aloud. But, as she'd caught the woman's attention, it was only fair to share her outlook.

The blonde sighed and dropped her head back against the wall, watching the pale ceiling as she spoke. "It isn't too late to reconcile. Once, I thought mending relationships was hopeless—that things couldn't change. But," she paused, biting her lip. "It's not set in stone. People can change. Things can be different. And if you really value something, or someone, it's worth it to try your damndest and save it. No matter what kind of suffering comes from it."

For a worrying stretch of time in which Namie believed she might have said the wrong thing and earned the woman's ire, silence permeated the room. Only the sound of the rain and wind rattling the windowpanes could be heard.

Then, slowly, Tohya smiled. The shrewd, lively glint had returned to her once troubled eyes. "You are an odd, precocious child. I don't like you." Namie glanced towards the woman sharply, strangely, but before she could speak the woman continued. "But you are absolutely right."

For the first time in a long time, a genuine smile spread across the young girl's face.

Nothing had gone right since the mission began, several lives had been lost, but maybe—just maybe—at least one could be saved.

On the fourth day in Kakunodate, the mission came to an end.

The accidental death of Tohya's guard—a man who had worked in both siblings' service at one time—had upended all plans and discussions regarding the property. In a change of heart, both Goro and Tohya decided to sell the land and halve the profits that came from its purchase.

Murasaki saw Hiroto and his students off as soon as it was disclosed that their duty was complete.

"You will still be paid fully despite only staying four days. Tohya-sama insisted," the advisor informed them. "Ah, she is quite distraught. Otherwise, she would have come to bid you farewell and thank you for your services." There was a heavy silence as the group walked towards the entrance gate that led to the main town of Kakunodate. "Well, it was short, but it seems this is where we part ways."

Once goodbyes were exchanged and the gate had shut behind them, officially ending their first C-rank mission, the group of shinobi proceeded in silence.

It was only when Hiroto came to a stop that the others followed suit.

He scratched at the faint stubble on his chin as he regarded the motley children contemplatively. They'd been through a great deal, during the past week. One experienced a first kill, and they'd all witnessed five deaths in total.

For a first outside mission, that was quite a lot to handle. Especially considering their ages. They were all keyed up and stressed out—traveling back to their village in such a state was unwise.

"Well," he began, "the mission was slated for five days, so…we have some time to rest before we head back to Konoha."

The trio stared at him with apparent confusion.

The man returned their stares, blankly, then shook his head with a sigh. "I'm saying we get to have a mini vacation here in Kakunodate. Go, look at the cherry blossoms or something. You know how to have fun, right? Fun? How life was before you got me as a teacher?" He waved them off with a careless gesture. "Remember that inn we passed on the way in? I'll book some rooms there. So, that's where we'll meet up come nightfall. And we'll leave first thing in the morning."

"Fine with me," Namie quickly agreed, taking his leniency at face value. The four days on the siblings' property had been tiring, but the return trip would be even more so. A few extra hours of rest was preferable to leaving immediately and traveling for another four days straight.

Kasuga nodded and the silver-haired boy shrugged in response.

"I did…want to see the cherry blossoms close up," the medic mumbled, glancing at the pink trees wistfully after their sensei left them to their own business. "Do you want to come with me?" He side-glanced at his teammates, smiling a small, hopeful smile.

The blonde glanced at the blossoming trees. "I kind of wanted to do that since we got here, too," she admitted.

"Sure." Kakashi sighed and set his hands into his pockets. "Nothing better to do."

Kasuga offered both teammates another smile, brighter, this time, before leading the way towards a park filled with vibrant sakura trees.

The two remaining genin hung back and watched him go in silence. Both the blonde girl and silver-haired boy were well aware that their teammate didn't want to be alone. Along with all of what they'd faced during their mission, the medic had met with failure in saving a life. Even if it was out of his hands.

This was the least they could do for him.

"Hey," Namie began, turning her head towards Kakashi, who paid her no mind whatsoever. That was expected.

Just as the young genin made to follow his orange-haired teammate, the back of his shirt was snagged by a small hand that prevented him from moving forward. His shoulders tensed as he glanced up, with narrowed eyes, to see his blonde teammate smirking at him knowingly. A brief, unspoken understanding passed between the two, though the boy feigned ignorance and sighed. "What?"

The blonde gave a light, familiar tug to the dark material. "Thanks."

Kakashi shrugged off the girl's hold and rolled his eyes. "Right."

Without another word, they both approached the cherry blossom park where Kasuga was waiting.

For the first time since Team One had been formed, there was finally a sense of genuine unity.

A/N: *Kakunodate is based on and named after a real world location but is not meant to be viewed as the same place whatsoever.

I was going to split this up into two chapters since a lot is going on but what the hell, here's a ridiculously huge monster update to get it over with! Anyway there's enough words in this thing already so I won't add more to it with a long note.

Thanks soooo so much for all reads/faves/follows. Special thanks to these fantastic reviewers: Chocogirl24, Counting Sinful Stars, Guest (ch. 20), GlaresThatKill, coronadomontes, 10th Squad 3rd Seat, Kasuke. Hagase, littlemelonatplay, Ocean Waves, Storm Mega, chaosrin, SilverRider09, Abundant E, and GlidingOne.

Review replies are in the usual place (kettobase on dreamwidth)!