Shisui was waiting for us at the intersection. He shuffled nervously from foot to foot, eyes cast down and face slightly red. He tensed when he saw us coming. I slowed my pace, bracing for a confrontation that was sure to be highly awkward, but Itachi noticed and pushed me forward. I slid a dirty look over my shoulder and stepped up to the plate, jamming my hands deep in my pockets. Contrary to his usual demeanor, he kept his distance. A long silence stretched out. I could have sworn I heard crickets chirping in the background.

I was not speaking first. This was an apology, him to me, so I was not responsible for starting this conversation. I watched him fidget for a bit, growing rather impatient. My eyebrow twitched. How long was he planning to make us stand here in the middle of the street? I started tapping my foot, which got him even more nervous, until I was ready to just yell that it was fine already, and could we get on with it please?

He suddenly mumbled something. I didn't hear.

"What'ja say?" I tilted my head.

" . . . I . . . ry" I only heard bits and pieces. Now this was getting old.

"Speak up!"

"I'm sorry!" He yelled. Okay, better. He took a deep breath and continued in a more reasonable tone of voice. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's just that . . . There's some stuff happening, right now, and I don't really feel like talking about it."

"You mean you don't want to talk about it with me." I raised an eyebrow. That actually stung a little.

"Yes . . . I mean no! Aw, man!" He ran his fingers through his messy hair, looking frustrated. "It's not that I don't trust you, it's just . . ."

"You don't want me to know. That's fine."

"Tomoe . . ."

I put up my hands. "It's fine. It's not my problem. I don't care."

It was his turn to look hurt. "Oh. Alright . . . I'm still sorry."

"Don't be. It was my fault for overreacting. It's not like this is a big deal. I don't care about your problems anyway."

His mouth twisted, and I could tell my words were having an effect. It might have been childish, but for some reason, I felt like this was justified. I had to rein myself in before I said too much. I was not hurt.

"Let's go. We'll be late if we keep standing around here."

While we walked, none of us said a word. Itachi's eyebrows were slightly furrowed, either a sign that he was worried or that he was thinking. Since his eyebrows were often furrowed when he thought nobody was looking, it was rather hard to tell exactly what was on his mind. Shisui on the other hand was visibly upset, mouth twisted down, hand clenching and unclenching, eyes downcast and clouded . . . It was my fault, obviously, for saying I didn't care, and the thought made me a little uncomfortable. I kept peering at him from behind my bangs, wishing he'd just go back to his usual self already.

I sighed. Maybe I had overreacted . . .

"Tomoe-chan!"

"Waah!" I yelled in surprise. Something had tackled me from behind and was now hanging off my shoulders. "What the hell?! Shisui? What the hell is wrong with you?" I said, trying to figure out how he could have done a one-eighty that quick.

"Nothing." He said. I could hear the grin in his voice. "It's just nice to know you care."

"I don't, I just said so!"

"Sure you do. You just don't want to admit it."

"What the hell would you know about . . ."

"Tsk, tsk, Tomoe-chan. Be honest."

"Did you just 'tsk' at me? That's it, get off me!"

He jumped back before I could ram my elbow in his ribs. "Hey 'Tachi, don't you think Tomoe-chan needs to be more honest?"

Itachi smiled. "I would say he has been plenty honest lately."

My cheeks flamed up, remembering our conversation. Shisui laughed out loud.

"I'm really going to leave you behind this time!" I snapped, continuing on to the Academy. During the whole trip there, I had to put up with Shisui's teasing and Itachi's subtle jabs. I swear, those guys were having way too much fun at my expense. I guess this was simply a testimony to how well Shisui was able to bounce back.

Thankfully, they stopped when we got to the Academy. But as a result, the atmosphere was back to normal. We were ready to receive our mission as proper teammates.

Minato was sitting behind the long table, with forms and scrolls strewn about. Our sensei loomed behind us, in his serious gray way, his sword horizontal on his back. With his arms crossed and his eyebrows down, he always looked like he was at a funeral. Today was especially bad. I could feel the seriousness rolling off of him in waves.

"Squad nine, I have a special mission for you today." Minato said. He took a scroll from the left-side, and opened it. Next to me, Shisui was bouncing and bumping into me. I felt a bit jittery, but forced myself to remain still and impassive. Itachi, of course, was cool as a cucumber. One day, I was going to figure out if he really was that calm, or just had impeccable self-control.

"Every year we receive a request from a merchant caravan. They take a route through the Land of Fire on their way to the city of Kanzaki, which host a large market this time of year. Because the path cuts through a heavy part of the forest, it is a prime area for bandits, so the mission is classified as a B-rank." Minato smiled. "However, this year, the bandit group that had been causing so much trouble has been captured and the road is safe. Our scouts can vouch for that. So, this year, I decided to send a genin team to guard the caravan. They still insist on a shinobi presence, you see, just in case. Well, this mission should be an easy C-rank. A good way to start you off."

"You mean . . . You mean . . ." Shisui said.

"Yes. Squad nine, I am assigning this mission to you. Your job is to see the caravan safely to Kanzaki city. They will rendezvous with you tomorrow morning at Otafuku city, and the journey will take about a week. Hayama-san will be there to handle unexpected trouble, but this mission should be easy enough for the three of you to complete with minimal help from your sensei. Do you have any questions?"

My hand shot in the air. Itachi gave me a curious look.

"Yes, Tomoe?"

"Are you sure the bandits were captured?" I asked.

"Absolutely. They are in a prison awaiting trial. We've scouted the area extensively, and no other bandit groups have taken over. The road is completely safe."

I frowned, but didn't say anything else. I was a bit surprised this caravan would go to the expense of hiring ninja if the threat was completely cleared. This was probably just my imagination, though. There were other things a ninja would be good for: a sense of security, guidance if the path got rough, protection against wild animals . . . besides, taking the save side was just common sense. Yeah, just my imagination.

Itachi raised his hand. "Hokage-sama, when are we to leave?"

"That depends on your sensei. You just need to be at the rendezvous point tomorrow at sunrise."

"We will leave in an hour." Hayama-sensei said. "If that's all, go and pack. I'll expect you at the gate, in one hour sharp."

"Yes sir!" Shisui said, saluting.

"Good luck to you all." Minato smiled.

Packing was an arduous affair, and I wished Hayama-sensei would have given us more time for it. There was only so much I could cram in my backpack, and I couldn't bring all the substances I wanted because I needed room for things like clothes, and food, and kunai. That was the brilliant thing about being an assassin that used poison. Everything fit in a god dammed purse; the poison and whatever I was using to spread it, a backup dose or two, a Taser just in case, my wallet, some kind of fake ID, and bam, out the door. But no, now I needed all this stuff, because no ninja in their right mind would take off for a mission without a healthy supply of kunai and shuriken (which were expensive, by the way, and got lost really easily), and all the bells in whistles you think you might need because it would be so, so embarrassing to die because you didn't want to carry a bundle of wire.

My jobs had never lasted that long, either, so it's not like I'd needed to pack a week's worth of clothes. Whenever I moved, it was more or less permanent and I couldn't bring most of my stuff with me anyway. I just bought new stuff. Never would I have dreamed of taking a job that required camping out for a whole week.

So, here I was, wanting to bring all my poisons, but not being able to. If only I had taken the time to poison some of those kunai! That would have saved space. In the end, I brought several containers of a deadly plant extract (they had those hypodermic needle things in this world – just pop the cap and jam it into your opponent), a sleeping drug, the paralytic, and a couple of pepper bombs. I would have to be careful when using those. While I had managed to acquire a kind of gas mask that covered my lower face and a pair of sturdy goggles, my teammates had not. Heck, I don't think they even knew what I did on my days off, holed up in my apartment.

In the end, I finished with ten minutes to spare. I double checked that I had everything: clean clothes, food rations, water purifying tablets, a map and compass, brush and ink set, wire, an emergency flare, kunai and shuriken (taking up half of my bag and almost the entire pouch on my leg), my dear poisons, and . . . that was probably it. I knew I was going to realize, on the road, that I had forgotten something vital, but for now, all good.

I placed some more poison vials in my kunai pouch and in the inner pockets of my hoodie, just in case something happened to my backpack. I stuffed some gloves in my pocket, tied my headband around my neck, rolled up my sleeping bag and attached it to the top of my bag, and I was all set.

I raced through the streets, backpack bobbing up and down, a grin starting to spread on my face. For the first time in years, I was leaving the village! Big as it might be, I was starting to feel cooped up, stuck in one place. I passed by the Academy on my way, and saw Hana and some of her friends walking to school. I stopped in front of them, grinned toothily, and said.

"Got a mission! So long, suckers!"

Her mouth dropped. Was it petty? Sure was. Did it feel great? Hell yeah.

I didn't give her time to answer, I just zipped out of there, so excited I could barely stand still. When I got to the gate, Itachi, Shisui and Hayama-sensei were already there. We promptly set out from the village.

While we walked, none of us said a word. Shisui was visibly enthralled by our surroundings, never having been outside the village before, Hayama-sensei looked deep in thought, and Itachi was being Itachi. On my end, I didn't feel much like talking. Now that I was outside, it felt like a great pressure had been lifted from off my shoulders. I felt more like my old self.

Otafuku city was about twelve kilometers away from Konoha, so it took us three hours to get there. We were definitely not in any hurry, and I resented our sensei for not giving me more time to pack. Couldn't we have left late afternoon, get there in the evening, sleep, and go to the rendezvous point? Apparently not.

It was a bit after midday when we arrived, and to my great surprise the city streets were crowded.

"Is there a festival going on?" Shisui asked, eyeing the lines of colorful sidewalk stalls selling street food, toys, masks, and balloons, banners and decorations strung along the buildings, and the tide of people walking, wearing yukata and geta clogs, laughing and talking and eating. I skipped through the crowd, sticking close to the group, narrowly avoiding getting knocked over several times.

"This is a yearly festival. It goes on during the week before July seventh." Hayama-sensei said.

"This is for Tanabata?" Itachi said, dodging a large cart.

"Yes." We kept moving, going through side streets to avoid the worst of the crowd, until we were away from the main festival and the only people around were stragglers, lost people, and random city folk going about their business as usual. Hayama-sensei stopped in front of a small inn. It was two stories tall, built in the usual Japanese fashion, with wooden walls and tiled roof.

"We will spend the night here."

"An inn? Cool! I thought we were going to sleep in the forest." Shisui said, breathing a heavy sigh. "That would have sucked . . ."

"I'll say." I shuddered. I had slept outside before, as training, and I hated it.

We had a room on the ground floor, to the back. It was the traditional kind of place, with sliding doors looking out to a small garden, tatami mats, and futons in the closet. We set our stuff down and looked to Hayama-sensei to know what to do next.

"I have some business to take care of. Go out and enjoy the festival, but be back here by ten o'clock. Understood?"

"Yes!" We chorused, and wasted no time in getting out of there. Both boys looked excited to check out the festival, and I just followed along. I wasn't all that interested, being a bit nervous in crowds; I knew from experience how easy it was to kill someone by pretending to bump into them. I followed them because they seemed to want me to come.

On the way out, Shisui grinned and said. "Wasn't that nice of sensei? I'm so down for exploring this place!" He stretched. "I've never been in a city before!"

"Don't look like such a country bumpkin, you'll get robbed. And keep a close eye on your stuff." I said without thinking.

"Tomoe, have you been to a city before?" Itachi asked. We turned the corner into a bigger street.

'Yes. Yes I have. Many, many cities, much bigger and nastier than this one.' "Nah. My mom just gave me some warnings. Like, look out when crossing the street, don't follow strangers, stuff like that."

So we spent the afternoon hanging out at the festival. We got food from the stall; yakisoba, which was really good, takoyaki, which was not; cotton candy, chocolate covered bananas, and taiyaki. We played throwing games, the kind where you have to aim at a target and the kind where you have to toss rings on a bunch of sticks. Itachi took the best score (though Shisui and I tried really, really hard to beat him), and he gave away his prizes to the on-looking children. When I saw that, I was a bit upset. There had been something I wanted among the prizes he took, and I wanted to ask for it, but couldn't because I didn't want to admit I really liked that black comb with the multicolored firework pattern. I watched him give them all away, feeling bitter.

As night fell, lanterns were lit. More people wearing yukata came out, and while waiting for Shisui and Itachi to decide what to do next, I watched the girls in their colorfully patterned outfits and hair nicely made up with pretty ornaments, and rather wished I could wear that kind of stuff. I had always liked beautiful clothes; but only now did I realize how much I missed them. I tried to imagine what kind of yukata I'd like to wear. Something with a flower pattern, maybe? Blue would be nice, or maybe white, with a dark obi sash.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by Shisui tugging on my arm. We were moving along, and I didn't have time to ponder such ridiculous thoughts.

We tried scooping goldfish. Strangely enough, neither of the boys could do it; the paper scooper kept breaking. On my third try, I caught a red and white fish. I blinked at it while Shisui whined about how it wasn't fair, and Itachi congratulated me. I felt someone's stare on me, and looked to the side to see a girl my age, in a pretty white yukata patterned with blue waves and dragonflies. She had a pile of broken hoops next to her feet, and tears in her eyes. I looked down at the fish I had caught. It's not like I could bring it home anyway.

All I kept thinking after that was how I wished I could wear that yukata she had.

It was getting late and the festival was winding down. We sat on a bench, eating shaved ice with syrup, when Shisui jumped up, pushed his cup into my hand, and said,

"I forgot, I have to do something! You guys go back to the inn, I'll be right there."

"Wait, Shisui . . . And, he's gone." I said. I sighed, making a strand of hair flutter up. "Geez . . . what was that? Well, I'm eating his ice." He had lemon flavor, which tasted too tart after my strawberry one. I ate it up anyway, and winced, clutching my head.

"Are you read to go?" Itachi said.

"Shouldn't we wait?"

"No, Shisui will come back when he wants to. We might as well go back, since it's gotten so late."

"Okay, then."

The city was dead quiet as we walked through the darkness. Unlike cities in my world, the night was actually dark; there were very few lights, so that we could see the stars overhead. The night breeze was cool.

"Did you have fun today?" Itachi suddenly asked.

"Yeah." I said, insincerely. "I had a good time."

The conversation lapsed. I didn't feel like talking, anyway, because while the festival had been sort of fun, walking like this was much more enjoyable. Who knows why? Making it was the calm, or the silence, or the cool air in the middle of a hot summer, or just spending time alone with him like this . . .

I slapped myself.

He looked my way.

"Mosquito." I said.

I was glad, really, really glad that there wasn't much light, because I had just thought a thought that was so entirely unlike me, and not to mention inappropriate, that it made my cheeks flame up. I snuck a look sideways, and was relieved when I saw that he was looking up. I looked down, and balled my fists into my pockets. But I couldn't help myself from looking back up, through my bangs, even though my face was hot and my heart was pounding. I sighed heavily. I swear, there had to be something wrong with me . . .

"Where did Shisui run off to, you think?" I asked, reclining against the wall, skimming through a small book I had brought.

"He might still be at the festival."

"You think? It's getting awfully late. And where's Hayama-sensei?"

"His business must be keeping him occupied. He'll be back by tomorrow morning." Itachi stood up and stretched. "I'm going to take a bath. Do you want to come?"

I froze. My hands gripped the book. "Huh . . . is it a public bath?"

"Yes."

I gulped. "No . . . no, thanks, you go on ahead. I'll take one later."

"Alright. I'll see you in a bit." He got a change of clothes out of his pack, and went to bathe. The moment he closed the door, I breathed out a heavy sigh. For a moment, I felt like I'd had a heart attack.

Stupid Japanese, with their stupid custom of public baths. Seriously, what the heck was that all about? Couldn't they act like normal hotels and provide private baths? There was no way I could go out there like this! I was a girl, dammit! I slinked down against the wall, till I was almost horizontal.

"Damn Japanese and their skinship . . ." Come to think of it, how old was I? Six, almost seven? I had about five years before Shisui's need for close contact became a problem.

Still . . . that was only five years. Five years, and it would be impossible to keep this secret. Five years and I might be able to . . .

I looked in the direction Itachi had gone off to.

And I slammed my head against the wall.

"Ow . . . okay, weird thoughts, weeeeeird thoughts . . ." I rubbed my scalp. "Did I drug myself or something?"

"I'm baaaack!" The door banged open and Shisui strode it. "That took forever!" He looked around. "Tomoe-chan, where's Itachi?"

"Taking a bath. And don't call me that." I went back to my book, turning the page. "What were you even doing out there?"

"I was finding a bamboo branch to tie my wish on." he sat down next to me, closer than would be socially acceptable in most contexts. "What are you reading?"

"A book."

"I can see that." He rolled his eyes. "What's it about?"

"Plants."

"Oh."

I turned another page. I processed what he had said. "What kind of wish did you have that you didn't want us to know about?" I shook my head. "Scratch that, dumb question." I said, closing my book. I couldn't concentrate anymore. I got up and went to the closet to get my futon.

"Huh . . . Tomoe-chan . . ."

"What?" I grunted, pulling the heavy mattress out and dropping it on the floor.

"When this mission is over, and we get back to the village, I'll tell you about this morning. About the wish, too. I promise I'll tell you."

"You don't have to. Your business is your own." I rolled the futon out and retrieved the pillow.

"I will!" he said defiantly, and looked down. "I just can't, not right now."

I stopped moving around and took a good look at him. Well, he was looking guilty enough. "Fine. Do what you want. I'm not stopping you."

"Thanks." he said. He stood up. "I'm gonna join Itachi in the bath. Are you going to sleep?"

"Yeah. See you in the morning."

I slept fitfully that night, tossing and turning. The fact that Shisui talked in his sleep didn't help much either. I ended up awake at four in the morning, with an hour to go before sunrise. As I rolled over, my head hit something hard. I blinked, and picked it up. I was still bleary eyed, so it took me a moment to focus on what I was holding. My eyes widened.

It was the comb.

Black lacquer, with a multicolored firework pattern. The one I wanted, but couldn't bring myself to ask for. I looked at Itachi sleeping on the other side of the room.

He'd noticed. Itachi had noticed that I wanted it, and saved it for me. Just for me. I ran my finger over the comb, wrapped my hand around it, and smiled to myself. Now I liked it even more.

I tucked it deep in my bag, wrapping it in a spare shirt so it wouldn't get broken. I would find a better place for it once I got back to Konoha.

While making the minimal amount of sound, and feeling a bit giddy, I grabbed some clean clothes and went to take a bath. This early in the morning, no one was there, and I was grateful for it. I was able to use the women's bath, and wash my hair (I doubted I would have another opportunity in the near future). When I returned to the room, everybody was awake and Hayama-sensei was here. He was in full gear, sword strapped horizontally on his back, and the boys were getting ready. I hurriedly put my futon away and put on my hoodie, kunai pouch, and headband. I was ready at about the same time as them, and as a group, we set out towards the rendezvous point.

We ran through the forest, using chakra to jump across the big high branches. Hayama-sensei led the way, with the three of us in a line formation. We landed in a large clearing where several carts were parked and a few people huddled around a fire. They looked up when they saw us and one of them, a fairly old man with neither teeth nor hair came up to speak with Hayama-sensei. He rubbed wrinkled fingers across his scalp as he bowed respectfully and smiled.

"Ah, Shirakumo, nice to see you! I'm pleased to see you're in charge again. And who are these fine ninja?" he turned to us.

"Daikichi, this is my genin team, squad nine. They will be the ones protecting your caravan on this trip. From the right, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shisui, and Himura Tomoe. They're inexperienced, but very skilled. You can count on them."

"Ah, is that so? Well, I trust your judgment, Shirakumo. Though . . ." His smile slipped, and a worried look came into his eyes. He looked like someone's grandpa all of a sudden. "Aren't they a little . . . young, to be ninja?"

"On the battlefield, one's age is not a factor. They may be younger than the norm, but they are already full-fledged Konoha shinobi." he said seriously.

"I understand. Welcome, children. My name is Enro Daikichi, and I am the head of the Enro caravan. I look forward to travelling with you." He bowed his head.

"No problem, Enro-jiisan! No one's gonna lay a hand on the caravan as long as we're around!" Shisui slammed his fist over his chest. "Among all the genin, Itachi's the smartest, Tomoe-chan's the cleverest, and I'm the quickest! You can't do better than us, jiisan!"

"Ah, then I have nothing to worry about. You boys and girl seem like you'll be of great help to us."

"Huh . . ." I opened my mouth to protest. Shisui beat me to it.

He slung his hand around my shoulders and poked my cheek with a finger. "This guy might be small and pretty like a girl, but he's a guy."

"What? Pretty?" I growled, and kicked him in the shin.

"Ow! What was that for? It was a compliment!"

"No. No, it was not."

"Tomoe, Shisui. Do not bicker in front of our client." The look he gave us told very clearly of the pain to come should we ignore the warning. We both snapped back into the line. On Shisui's other side, Itachi chuckled, and wisely kept his mouth shut.

We were taken to the caravan proper, which was a long string of wagons and vans pulled by oxen, most of which carried goods, while others served as living quarters. There was a flurry of activity as people ran around, putting out campfires, strapping items on the vehicles, gathering stray livestock and rounding up children. It was lively, with people shouting at each other from carts spaced far apart, children laughing and finishing one last game of tag, and the creaking of wood and metal as contraptions were given a final check.

I turned to their leader. "How big is the convoy?" I asked.

"We have twenty main wagons carrying goods," Enro answered. "And another eight for living quarters. We total forty people, myself included."

"What kind of goods do you carry?"

"Mostly artisanal pottery and jewelry, sometimes fabrics and carvings, from the inland countries, to be sold in Kanzaki city's market. We also move assorted items for other merchants, when we have some space available."

"Is it all valuable?"

"Yes, very. The gold work, especially, fetches a very high price in the southern Land of Fire."

"I see." I nodded. "Is there a reason you take this route, even though it's a prime area for thieves?"

"It is the quickest path to Kanzaki, and the one we have taken since the time of our ancestors. To be truthful, I would divert the caravan further east, but there is a large ravine on that side, and the on other is an even deeper forest. Here," he reached into his pocket and drew out a map. "The path follows the ravine, staying half a kilometer away, for about half the trip. This is as far out of the forest as we can go."

"I understand." I nodded again. "We've been told the usual bandits were captured. When was that?"

"A fortnight ago. They called themselves the Tsuchigumo." he shuddered. "Demon spiders. Every year, we had to hire shinobi, and even then, we were under constant attack. We always lost cargo. But this year, we can travel in peace."

"Alright. We'll do our best." I said, and bowed politely.

"We should go around the convoy to get a sense of it." Itachi said. "Before they leave. We'll go over our patrol schedule on the road. It'll be a half-day before we reach the thickest part of the forest. We should be fine until then. Hayama-sensei, is that alright?"

Hayama-sensei observed the two of us, eyes unreadable, before nodding. "Do what you think is best. I will step in if you make a mistake."

The convoy set out an hour later, and we arranged our schedule. Two of us would patrol along the length of the convoy, in six hour shifts, while the other two rested. We would shuffle the pairs every day. As luck would have it (we drew straws), Shisui and Hayama-sensei were first. They got the easy part of the journey, as we would trade once we got to the deep forest, but that also meant Itachi and I would be saddled with the second evening shift, the one in the middle of the night.

I took a spot on top of one of the wagons and drew my hoodie down, ignoring the stares of the children, and got some sleep before my shift would start. The wagon bobbed and rattled on the road. We were finally off, for what all of us assumed would be an easy mission.

I stretched and yawned, patrolling among my side of the caravan. It was about one in the morning, and I was on my second shift. This was proving to be more boring than I'd thought. The convoy didn't go that fast, and there was absolutely nothing to do. Well, I did my job and looked out for anything suspicious, but the forest was so thick I didn't think I would be able to see anything coming. I considered using my Sharingan, but having it on for six hours straight would be too much of a drain on my chakra.

But then again, I thought, jumping into the nearest tree and looking east, if I wasn't going to be fighting anyway . . . what was the harm? Maybe I'd see something interesting. I could always turn it off, and it's not like it used that much chakra.

And so, completely arbitrarily, I activated my Sharingan. It was still frustrating, because it hadn't evolved at all since it had awakened. And Itachi already had three tomoe in one eye and two in the other; Shisui had two in both. It was so unfair.

I noticed Itachi passing by on the other side of the road, and looked back out to the forest. I froze.

I jumped over the caravan and went up to Itachi. "Oy, get Hayama-sensei, now!" I whispered urgently. He saw my Sharingan and activated his own. "Dead east."

His eyes widened. "Three of them. A reconnaissance team? They look like ninja . . . they just left."

I looked back to see the three chakra signature withdrawing. "Go get Hayama-sensei and Shisui. I'm going after them."

"What are you . . . wait, Tomoe!" He grabbed my arm as I turned around.

"If we can capture them, we'll get intel on where the enemy is hiding. There'll be losses if we sit and wait. We can't hold a defense with just the four of us, not with a caravan this big, and at night. Even if we can just bring down the scouts, we might be able to delay the attack until daytime." I jerked my arm away.

"Tomoe, this is reckless!" He went after me as I jumped back over the wagon line and into the trees, where it was easier to move on the higher branches than in the thick underbrush. I heard him pause at the edge of the forest. "Come back!"

I wasn't listening. I was travelling at top speed, my hand itching towards my kunai pouch. All I was thinking was 'if we're caught in guerilla warfare, we won't last the night.' This environment was perfect for it. And why the hell were there enemies here? Weren't the bandits captured? I shook my head. No time to think about whys and hows. I had to take down the scouts.

I chased them down, moving as quietly as possible and using my Sharingan to keep a fix on them. I smirked. They wouldn't get away from me, not with these eyes . . . oh, wait, I was sounding like an Uchiha. Urg.

I caught up to them at the edge of the ravine. The three had stopped and were waiting. I ground to a halt on one of the branches. I narrowed my eyes. Come to think of it, how was I going to take them on by myself . . .

I could have slapped myself, hard. My god, was this a stupid idea. There were three of them. I didn't know their skill level. I needed reinforcements . . . but I had forgotten I had backup. I was still used to doing missions solo, even after so long. My first thought was always, always, 'how can I take care of this myself.' What an idiot.

I had to go back, right now. I turned around and kicked off the branch. I caught a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye. I didn't have time to dodge. Something wrapped around my ankle and jerked me back.

I looked down to see a wire tipped with a small blade.

I was dragged back over the branch and out into the open, landing painfully in the dirt and scraping my hands on rocks and pebbles. I grabbed a kunai and sliced through the wire, standing up and facing the three. They were tall, wearing armor with cloaks; with my Sharingan, I quickly took in detail, like the smirks on their faces, the spider tattoos displayed on their forearms, and the weapons they had. Short swords, kunai pouches, and those wires with the blades. While I only had kunai, shuriken, and some poison vials I needed to get really close to use anyway. A straight-up fight would not go down well for me.

Wait, spider tattoos?

"Looks like we caught a little rat." One said, his smirk growing wider. "You're not that smart, are you, kid?"

I didn't answer. I was trying to gauge how fast they were so I could get out of there with a smoke bomb. My hand inched towards my kunai pouch.

A knife sliced through my cheek and imbedded in the tree behind me.

"Make a move, and you're dead. You're a hostage, ojou-chan. Act like one." The one in the middle said. He beckoned. "Come here. You're just a genin, right? You know you can't win. We've got traps all around this forest. You're not getting away."

My grip tightened on my kunai. I inched backwards. The one who had just spoken, who looked like the leader of the three, seemed a lot more calm and reasonable than the other two. His smile had something easy about it. I narrowed my eyes. He was definitely the most dangerous.

What to do, what to do . . . I smiled despite myself.

"Oy, brat, what's so funny?" said one of the dumber looking ones.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking I've been having a bad day."

The leader's smile widened. "You're aware of the situation, that's good. Drop the kunai, ojou-chan." He took a step forward. "Oh, now that I got a good look, you're an Uchiha. I'd recognize those eyes anywhere."

"Yeah, that's the problem with kekkei genkai. They pretty much useless if you want to keep your identity hidden." I said in a nonchalant manner. "I'm not a member of the clan, though."

"Why's that?"

"It's complicated." I shrugged. "My name's Tomoe. Nice to meet you, leader of the Tsuchigumo band of robbers." I did a mock bow. Escape: impossible; fight: unadvisable. Next option? Why, buy time, of course!

"You're well informed." The leader said. He returned my little bow. "My name is Ito, and I am indeed the leader of our proud band of thieves. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Tomoe-chan."

It was lucky the leader was chatty. He was a young man, mid-thirties maybe, handsome with a scar on his cheek. With his nice smile, conversation flowed smoothly, and his demeanor would have put anyone less experienced at ease. It was easy to fake that kind of attitude. I myself was an expert at it. Changing your act with the circumstances was an indispensable skill.

And he was a pro. I sensed no hostility from him.

"Well, this is rather awkward." I said, smile widening. "I'm really a hostage, aren't I?"

"I'm sorry to say that you are, Tomoe-chan. Now, be a good girl and put the kunai away. We won't hurt you. Come here."

"Boss . . ." One of his comrades said. "We should hurry, more might come . . ."

"Hush." Ito said. He crouched down to my level. "We aren't so bad, you know. Hey, how old are you?"

"I'm six." I said.

"That young and already a ninja, huh? Aren't you scared?"

At that moment, I sensed a familiar chakra coming. I put my hand on my hip and dug my feet into the ground, getting a better stance under the guise of being a little uncertain. "Hum . . . not really. I'm not your ordinary six year old. Or your ordinary ninja, for that matter. I'm actually quite good at what I do." My smile turned into a grin. "Also . . ."

His eyes widened. He abruptly stood, sensing the chakra, too late.

"I'm a boy."

A volley of kunai sprang from the forest. Two imbedded in one of the lackey's throat, and he collapsed, blood gushing from his neck. The other protected himself just in time. I looked up to see Itachi jumped out of the forest, getting shuriken ready for a second barrage.

I dashed forward and swung my kunai, clashing with Ito's hastily drawn sword. The shrill of metal on metal rang through my bones. He smiled down at me, and a drop of sweat ran down his temple.

"Yeah, you're not an ordinary brat . . ." he said. "Sorry for thinking you were a girl. However, I'm sorry to say you just aren't quite good enough."

Using his vastly superior height and weight, he pushed me back so hard I nearly fell flat. He pulled out his wire-sword combo, and I steadied myself for an attack that never came. He swung it at Itachi, who was engaging the second man, caught him by the leg, and jerked him towards the edge of the ravine.

I was running before I knew it. He was tossed clear over the edge. I caught his arm and tried to catch hold of the ledge. I missed. I felt the sinking feeling of my organs floating as we both fell, faster and faster.

Note:

-Tanabata is a Japanese festival celebrated on the seventh of July; one tradition is to write wishes on a piece of paper and tie them on a bamboo branch, which is then burned on the night of the seventh. The story goes that on that one night, the lovers Orihime (the star Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair), which are usually separated by the Milky Way, can meet.

And, another late update. But an update none the less! It was my birthday last week, and I was planning on updating before then, but time went by faster than I thought. Sorry.

Also, literal cliff-hanger at the end. Sorry about that. I'll try to be more prompt with the next chapter.

Questions, comments, praise, criticism, rants, complaints, requests, random thoughts, reactions to what happened? Leave a review!

Peace out.