Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Just my PCs.


The last time she stood in the room of the mission assignment desk was before she met Hitomi. She felt strange and out of place. Even as a child, she hardly ever came to this part of the Hokage building.

The long desk was placed in front of six floor-length windows that served as the main source of light during the day. It was a large and open room with multiple signs and words of encouragement for all the shinobi that came in.

Hiruzen sat at the center of the long table with others in various places. Sitting in one of the corners was a woman of a heavy physical build but was obviously wealthy given her appearance.

"… called you here because I am assigning you a mission."

The woman in the corner was older than her – at least middle-aged. Her robes were vibrant in color and smooth in texture. Her made-up face had bold colors and each finger on both hands bore a ring made from the finest materials. Thick bracelets made of gold adorned her wrists and on the floor by her feet was a large pink pet carrier.

"Jai? Did you hear what I said?"

Jai mindlessly watched the woman sit with an air of anxiety around her. A part of her told herself that this woman seemed like an important person to know, but Jai couldn't figure out who she was.

"Jai."

Hiruzen calling her name finally broke her free from her thoughts.

"You are assigning me a mission?" she asked because she wasn't sure if she heard him correctly.

When he answered her question with a nod of his head, she couldn't help but form a look of surprise on her pretty face.

"I know it's been a long time since you've been out in the field, which is why it is a C-rank."

A while was an understatement. Six years to be precise. Not since…

'Hitomi…'

"One of the hamlets in the east has requested medical aid. A summer flu has managed to infect the villagers. Their supplies are low, and their medical personnel is limited."

"A team of medics would be needed for this mission."

"You are correct. However, there is a drawback-"
"Oh, Jai-san!" came a surprised but enthusiastic voice.

She looked back and saw Umino Iruka approaching with his hand held up in a small wave of acknowledgment.

"Umino-san," she greeted.

"I never see you here. What brings you in today?"

"Hokage-sama is assigning me a mission."

With the mention of his title, Hiruzen cleared his throat to resume their conversation. "And I would like to get back on topic, Iruka."

"O-of course, Hokage-sama! My apologies!" he gave a quick bow before taking his place next to Hiruzen at the long table.

After taking his seat, Iruka looked over the mission's details.

"As I was saying earlier, there is a drawback. Because the hamlet is small, the people that reside there do not have a lot of money…"

She already knew what was coming next. "Finding a team that is willing to accept this mission with little pay will be difficult."

"Yeah…" Hiruzen sighed.

"Then I will do the mission alone," she said in her usual impassive tone.

"But that would prolong it! You would be gone for weeks!" Iruka blurted out. "I-I mean… your position in the village is far too important for you to be gone for so long."

"I am aware, Umino-san. But I trust Mitsuko to fulfill my duties while I am away."

"And what about Takeru?" Hiruzen asked.

"Coincidently, he is spending the week at a friend's house. I am certain that he wouldn't mind staying a little bit longer.

Ever since Kakashi took him to the movie, Jai took his words to heart and started to let him be on his own. It was hard at first, but she slowly adapted and started to find solace in the silence.

"B-but there's also the matters regarding the mission fees and-"
"You can wave my shinobi fee, or I can pay you the difference that they would owe."

Iruka sheepishly chuckled. "Jai-san, that's not how this usually works…"

"Money means nothing to me. I can fund the entire mission if needed."

Growing up, she was fortunate to not have to grow up and struggle financially. The house she grew up in had paid for the house she was currently living in, and her shinobi career was more than enough to sustain her. But after Hitomi's death, Jai found herself with more money than she knew what to do with. She transferred every asset of Hitomi's to Takeru that would become accessible when he turned eighteen. But until then, she was currently the majority shareholder of the Minami corporation, and the money that came with it was something Jai never considered. She put half away into savings for Takeru and put most of the other half into charities.

"You must really want to get back out there, huh?" Iruka smiled.

"I want to help. I know that I am more fortunate than others, and I have the means to help, so I will."

Hiruzen smiled around the end of his pipe and nodded in understanding. "Very well, Jai-"

The large door suddenly slid open with the newly formed Team 7 on the other side of the threshold. In Naruto's arms was a large cat with a red bow on the right ear that was desperate to get out of his firm grip.

"Ah, Kakashi. Looks like your mission was a success," Hiruzen commented.

"Tora-chan!"

Everyone in the room watched the large woman hurriedly rush from her seated place in the corner to Team 7 with the cat carrier in hand. She plucked the cat from the Genin's arms and immediately pressed her face against the cat's cheeks.

"Oh, my cute little Tora-chan! I was so worried!"

After hearing the cat's name, Jai realized who the woman was. "Oh!"

"What?" Kakashi asked as he moved to stand by her.

"That cat is Tora."

"Yep."

"And that is Shijimi-sama," Jai said in realization.

"Yep. That's the Daimyō's wife."

"I am surprised he is still alive after all this time."

The Genin merely laughed and judged as they continued to watch the cat's obvious look of misery from being reunited with its owner.

"What brings you here?" he asked with a small smile.

"I have been assigned a mission."

His lone visible eye widened in shock. "Really? That's exciting."

"Now then… the next mission for Kakashi's seventh squad is…" Hiruzen looked through the various scrolls that littered the table. "… shopping in the neighboring village, babysitting the Chief Councilor's grandson, and helping with the potato digging."

"NO!" Naruto yelled while his arms were held up and crossed in the shape of an 'X'. "NO, NO, NO! NO, THANK YOU! I want to do a more exciting mission! Give us something else!" he demanded.

The Uchiha silently agreed with his loudmouthed teammate while Sakura had a look of annoyance on her face.

Kakashi sighed.

'I thought it was about time for this…'

Iruka clenched his teeth in annoyance from Naruto's outburst and stood from his seat. "You idiot! You're just a rookie!" he shouted back. "Everyone starts off with simple duties and works their way up!"

"But, but! We keep getting the crappiest possible duties!" Naruto yelled back to his former sensei.

Kakashi stepped forward and hit the back of his Genin's head, causing the boy to fall face forward to the floor. "Knock it off!" he disciplined.

Naruto recovered and remained on the floor; rubbing his head to ease the pain that was inflicted by his sensei.

Jai wasn't sure if she should excuse herself since she hadn't officially been assigned or approved regarding her mission. But with the blonde's outburst, her mission was no longer precedence. So, she continued to just stand and stare.

"Naruto!" Hiruzen chimed in. "It seems I have to explain to you what these duties are all about."

Removing his pipe from between his lips, he began to explain the various requests that the village receives daily from neighboring villages. He then moved onto how the requests were divvied into different mission rankings based on their difficulty.

"You guys just recently became Genin. D-rank missions are perfect for you." Hiruzen's stern face fell into one of annoyance when he saw that Naruto's back was turned to him.

"Yesterday's lunch was pork bone broth noodles, so today will be miso broth…" the blonde thought aloud.

"HEY! LISTEN!" Hiruzen shouted.

"I… I apologize…" Kakashi apologized on behalf of his troublesome student.

"Geez, all you do is give lectures! But you know what?! I'm not the troublemaking brat you still think I am!"

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama…" Jai decided that she was just going to go ahead and accept the mission and leave the room. Her arm was raised to draw his attention to herself. "I accept the mission and will leave as soon as my affairs are in order."

A slight pang of guilt fell over the Hokage when he realized that he had forgotten about her. "Understood. Everything you need to know is in the scroll," he said as he held it out for Jai to take.

As Jai walked up to take it, another outburst came from Naruto when she walked by him.

"Ah! It's you again!" the blonde exclaimed and pointed at Jai from his place on the floor.

"It is not polite to point, Naruto." The dark-haired kunoichi gave him a blank look as she walked back towards Team 7.

Curious, Sakura leaned down to Naruto. "Oi, who is she, Naruto?" she whispered.

"Hmm…" Naruto had his hand under his chin. "I don't know her name, but she treated me to ramen once."

Sakura sighed. "You're an idiot…"

"Ah! Jai! Before you leave, how about you and I make plans for-" Iruka tried asking her out.
"Hey, lady!" Naruto called out.

Jai sighed while tucking the scroll away. "I have a name, Naruto."

The blonde Genin watched her walk back towards him and his team. Her voice was melodic even though it never fluctuated with emotion. And he could understand why Iruka liked her. She was one of the prettiest women he had ever seen, and she carried herself with grace and authority. Even though today was the most words they had ever spoken to each other, he knew that he liked her.

'Especially since she bought me ramen'

"I forgot it."

"My name is Jai," she said while standing over him.

Kakashi noticed his other Genin staring intently and questioningly at Jai while she and Naruto continued to converse with each other. "Um… Sasuke, Sakura, this is Jai. She's my-"
"Hey! Old man! Give me a more exciting mission!" came another outburst from Naruto.

Iruka and Hiruzen looked to each other before smirking. "Okay," Hiruzen agreed. "If you want it that much, I'll give you a C-rank mission."

Kakashi and Jai were both silently surprised that Hiruzen acquiesced to Naruto's demands.

'He used to only be able to express himself through pranks' Hiruzen chuckled. Naruto never ceased to amaze him.

"It's a protection mission with a certain individual," Hiruzen started to explain.

"YAY!" the energetic Genin exclaimed. "Who?! Who?! A feudal lord?! A princess?!"

His pipe back in his mouth, Hiruzen said, "Calm down. I'm about to introduce him. Hey, will you come in here?" he called to one of the doors.

Another door behind Team 7 opened to reveal an older man. He had a travel pack on his back, small spectacles on his face, and a rope tied around his forehead. One of his hands held a large bottle of sake.

"What's this? They're all a bunch of darned kids! Especially the shortest one with the stupid-looking face." The client took a large swig from his bottle, a very prominent red blush adorning his face. "Are you really a shinobi? Hey!"

"Ha-ha! Who's the shortest one with the stupid face…?" Naruto looked to Sasuke and Sakura, both about two inches taller than him.

"Not very bright, is he?" Jai mumbled to Kakashi.

Finally getting that the man was talking about himself, Naruto quickly got angry. "I'LL KILL YOU!" the shortest Genin declared as he attempted to lunge at their new client.

"What's the point of killing the person we're supposed to protect? Idiot!" Kakashi scolded his pupil.

The man took another swig from his nearly empty bottle. "I am the Super Expert Bridge Builder, Tazuna. I expect you to provide me super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge." Tazuna's gaze fell onto Jai and a devilish smile appeared on his face. "Will you be protecting me too?" he asked flirtatiously.

Kakashi's eye narrowed. "Uh- you see… she's-"
"No, she isn't!" Iruka bellowed out. "Er- I mean, she's not part of the squad…" the Chūnin quickly recovered.

"I am not part of your escort, Tazuna-san," Jai informed. Tazuna's flirty tone and Iruka's outburst seemed to go unnoticed. "I must take my leave now." She excused herself and left the room.

Tazuna sighed out in disappointment. "My trip back home would have been more pleasurable if she were part of my escort."

Kakashi glared at Tazuna, but it went unnoticed.

Hiruzen coughed. "Tazuna-san, unfortunately, Jai has been assigned a mission. But if you would like a shinobi of her rank then we can certainly get one, however, doing so will also increase your fee."

As much as he wanted to, Tazuna couldn't afford it. "Never mind then…"


A few weeks later…

After turning in their report and receiving their compensations, the Hokage strongly urged that they all pay a visit to the hospital after hearing the details of their mission.

Sasuke declined until the Hokage threatened the Uchiha's shinobi career. "You will not be allowed to participate in any further missions until a hospital official signs off on your file stating that you're fit for active duty. And that goes for everyone else."

With that being the final word from the Sandaime, Team 7 now found themselves at Konoha's hospital.

"Tch… I don't need to be here. I'm perfectly fine," Sasuke muttered under his breath from his place on the examination bed.

Naruto and Sasuke were placed in one of the larger examination rooms that could accommodate more than one person as two medics performed physical evaluations on them.

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Me neither. I could be on my fourth bowl of ramen right now."

"Now, now," their sensei started to say while reading. "this is standard procedure when a shinobi has endured injuries after returning from a mission."

The door to the examination room opened causing everyone – minus the nurses – to focus on the door.

"Jai nee-chan!"

"Hello, Naruto, Sasuke," the dark-haired beauty greeted. "I apologize for the wait; I just finished with Sakura's examination."

Jai briefly looked to Kakashi and their eyes locked. A quick look of reassurance was communicated non-verbally between them. Their eye-contact quickly ended when she grabbed the closest medical chart: Naruto's. After a few seconds of reading everything over, she gave him a quick once over and was surprised by his lack of wounds.

'Not a mark on him'

"He's perfectly fine, Lee-san," the medic further confirmed.

Jai nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Keiko-san." She signed off on his file; clearing him to resume his shinobi duties. "Good news, Naruto. You are healthy and may resume your shinobi duties."

"Yay! I'm going to go find Iruka-sensei and have him treat me to some ramen!" he exclaimed as he started to put his clothes back on.

"About that," Jai said, "it would be highly beneficial to you if you added more fiber to your diet."

Naruto stared at the Kunoichi in confusion. "Fiber…?" he asked, momentarily pausing in getting redressed.

"More vegetables," Jai clarified.

The blonde's face turned into instant disgust. "I eat the vegetables that come in my ramen!" he said as he zipped up his jacket and slipped on his sandals. "See you guys later!" he left the room with a happy spring in his step.

With one more Genin down, Jai moved onto the last one. "And how are you feeling, Sasuke?" she asked while looking over his file.

"I feel fine- ERGH!" he hissed through gritted teeth when the medic prodded his arms.

"Apparently not," she said; head still bent down while her hand made some scribbles and streaks across the paper. "Your body is still healing from all of the needle punctures you sustained. Nothing a quick healing session cannot fix. I am recommending a week of rest, but I am certain it will just fall on deaf ears…"

She ignored the sound of the Uchiha sucking his teeth in annoyance. "…that means no training and no missions. I want you back here next week for another physical evaluation, understood?"

"Fine. Can I leave now?" he huffed.

"You may leave when Omi-san permits you." Jai placed his chart back after she was done filling it out and signaled for Kakashi to follow her. "No training, Sasuke," Jai said in warning with a threatening gleam in her eyes as she opened the door. "I will know if you do."

Sasuke returned her glare with his own before sharply turning his head. "Hmph."

"You sure know how to push his buttons, my ningyō," Kakashi said as he turned a page in his book.

The two of them walked down the hall to an unoccupied examination room. "It is for his own good." She opened the door for Kakashi. "Now, it is your turn to be examined."

Kakashi found a stopping point and closed his book. "Hai, hai." Storing his book back in his pouch, he unzipped his flak jacket and slid it off his shoulders. After placing it on the back of the chair, he moved on to taking off his shirt and removing the pouch.

"Tell me about your mission."

Kakashi sat on the edge of the exam bed and let Jai's prodding and probing begin. He started from the beginning of their mission – when the two Chunins attacked.

"You should have returned to the village, especially when someone sustained an injury."

Kakashi nervously chuckled. "Well… it's not like I didn't consider it… Naruto was adamant about continuing the mission – and his injury was already in the process of healing, plus Tazuna was pretty convincing…"

"Deep breaths…" she commanded while placing the chestpiece of the stethoscope around his chest. Silence settled over them as she listened for a few seconds before moving it to his back and listening once more. "…the heart and lungs sound good…" she mentioned and put the stethoscope back around her neck. Next, she pulled out her pen flashlight. "Hitai-ate…"

He pushed it up to expose his other eye. After she quickly checked both eyes, she then moved onto his ears. A few more seconds went by before he heard the light click of the flashlight turn off.

"Right hand, please."

He complied and lifted his hand but then apologized when he realized he hadn't taken off his gloves. She said it was okay and just removed them herself.

"This is deep…" her trained eyes immediately identified it as a stabbing wound. "…but it is healing well."

He felt a warm sensation in the palm of his hand and watched her heal it.

"You are lucky it did not go all the way through. How did it happen?"

"I fought Momochi Zabuza."

Jai paused in her healing at the mention of that name. The Demon of the Hidden Mist. One of the Seven Swordsmen and an expert in silent killing. "Is that one…" she indicated to the long laceration across his chest. "… from him too?"

"Yeah." He continued to tell Jai about the events that occurred during their mission.

"Who is Gatou?"

"You can't be serious…" he said incredulously, but the look on her face showed that she was. "He is- was a very rich and powerful man… was one of the few wealthiest men in the world. He was the owner and founder of the Gatou Company. I figured you of all people would know who he is – especially with your other line of work."

He had a point there, but Jai had Daiki-san to handle that other lifestyle for her. Instead, she chose to ignore his last comment and continued the evaluation. "Death sounds too good for a man like him." She finished healing his hand. "Try not to do anything strenuous for a few days."

He nodded and gave a lazy 'hai'.

"Lay back," she instructed again.

The warm feeling returned as Jai started to heal the long laceration on his chest. "… I missed you…" she murmured.

He gently grabbed her hand with his uninjured one, pausing her healing, and gave it a light squeeze. "I'm sorry for making you worry," he said as he brought her hands to his clothed lips. For Jai, voicing or showing any type of affection to others was still awkward. Which meant that whenever she did say it, she truly meant it.

"It is alright. You are home now and that is all that matters. You mentioned that Zabuza had an accomplice. What happened to him?"

A look of guilt formed on his face. "I killed him with Chidori…" he whispered.

"You are remorseful about it…"

"It was intended for Zabuza, but he jumped in front of him at the last second and took the hit."

Hearing the regret in his words, she halted her healing again. "Do not feel guilty."

He met her stare and he couldn't help the small frown on his face when she showed no sympathy.

"He made his choice," she continued curtly. "you would have had to kill him anyway – if not by your hands, then by one of your Genin's – which they would have struggled with. You protected your team and saved Tazuna-san. You completed your mission."

She was right – harsh, but right. But he still couldn't help but feel sad about it, and she could see it.

"Sorry, I did it again…"

Even after all these years, she still had trouble sympathizing with others. But when he recalled how she used to when they were kids, he lightly smiled.

'She's definitely a lot better now than she was back then'

"They must have been very worthy adversaries for you to feel like this."

"Yeah." He continued to tell her about the mission and the battle on the bridge.

To be honest, he was envious of the younger generation. They were lucky to have grown up in a time of concord, but it left them ignorant of fully understanding the shinobi lifestyle.

She dispelled her chakra and walked over to the opposite side of the room to the medical cabinet. "He must have been very loyal to Zabuza to have sacrificed his life so willingly."

Loyal was an understatement. "He really loved Zabuza… it was a tragic end to a tragic life."

She looked over at Kakashi. "We, as shinobis, cannot afford to be caught up with feelings of regret and guilt. He made his choice to follow Zabuza, just as we made ours being used as tools of the village. It is the shinobi way. You cannot change it. The only thing you can do is learn from it and move on."

"I know…"

She grabbed a small brown jar from the cabinet and walked back to Kakashi. "I did it again…"

"… yeah…"

"Sorry." Instead of comforting and supporting him, she instead scolded him for being human and sympathetic.

He grabbed her hand again and gave it another kiss. "It's alright, there's no need for that."

The words she spoke were words that were forced upon her when she was a child. She was raised to be an ideal shinobi which left no room for doubt or any form of insubordination. But after she met Kakashi, her values changed. She could understand Haku's total devotion to Zabuza because she was just as devoted to Kakashi.

She loved her village and would always be loyal to her Hokage, but Kakashi meant more.

'And he always will'

She quickly shook her thoughts and went back to the task at hand. "This salve will help with the inflammation and scarring," after opening the jar, she gently applied it to his wounds.

His body twitched. "That's cold!"

"Sorry, I should have warned you." She closed it and handed it to him. "Apply it twice, daily until it is healed. It will help with scarring as well. Like Sasuke, you should also take a break from training."

He sat himself up and pulled his hitai-ate back down over his Sharingan. "Hmm… no promises, my ningyō," he teased but changed his tone after he caught the stern look in her eyes. "This whole time we've done nothing but talk about my mission when I didn't even ask about yours. How did your first mission go after almost seven years?"

"It was fine."

Kakashi waited for her to continue, but she just continued cleaning up her station. "Just fine?"

"It was successful."

"Nothing worth mentioning?"

"I aided the villagers and the virus is no longer an issue. I also stayed a few extra days and taught them new remedies and techniques."

"Hokage-sama mentioned that you even waved your shinobi fee."

"Yes, it is a small village and the villagers do not have much money. I have also reached out to my sources to help aid them for a few months. Just until they are able to be more self-sustainable."

Making sure that the ointment was mostly dry, he chuckled to himself and redressed. "Oh, my ningyō," he said as he approached her. His mask down and bunched around his neck, he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "never change."


A few weeks later…

She skidded back from the force of the kick. Her chest taking the hit, but she didn't falter too much. She was still standing.

"Are you certain you do not want to untie your hands?" one clone taunted.

"You are actually breaking a sweat," the other piped in.

Jai was panting and her clothes were covered in dirt. "I need to be able to defend myself in case I find myself in this type of situation."

Before the sparring started, she made her clones tie her arms tightly behind her back, emphasizing to them that they make sure she couldn't form any seals or use any weapons.

Hiruzen reassured her that he had no intention of assigning any more missions to her but couldn't promise that it wouldn't happen again. Knowing that there was a chance of being assigned more missions, Jai decided to train harder.

"Always trying to be one step ahead," one clone said.

"Just preparing myself for any and every scenario," Jai said.

Her two shadow clones simultaneously shrugged. "You asked for it," they said in unison as they charged.

Jai stood her ground and waited to strike. Both of her clones built up chakra in their fists and went to aim for Jai's head, but ended up contacting the ground, creating a large crater from the release of their chakra.

Waiting for an opening, Jai jumped over her clones in the knick of time but got hit with a kick while she was still in the air. She crashed back down to the ground and forced herself to ignore the pain. Not wasting any time, she quickly recovered and was back on her feet.

Her clones were relentless in their attacks, but she managed to dodge and deflect as best as she could. Catching one of her clones off guard, Jai built up chakra into her legs and feet. She kicked one clone in the back as hard as she could, sending her back approximately 20 feet into the surrounding trees.

The other clone went to attack Jai with another chakra infused punch, but she deflected it with a kick. Her body twirled and took advantage of the clone's opening. She appeared face-to-face with her clone and gave her a powerful head-butt. The force of her hit sent the clone backward, and Jai wasted no time in running after her. She brought her foot down onto the clone's sternum with a chakra infused stomp.

"URGH!" the clone cried before it popped into a cloud of smoke.

'One down…'

Trying to keep the upper hand, Jai ran in the direction of the other clone that was kicked into the trees. She came into a clearing amongst the trees and bushes and tried to sense for anything.

Three kunai flew through the bushes that she barely dodged. Coming out of the trees, the remaining clone made seals and ended in the seal of the tiger.

'Distance is her advantage'

A large flame erupted from her clone's mouth and barreled its way down towards the clearing she stood in. She had to quickly decide what her next move would be before it was too late. Her eyes hurriedly blinked as she looked around and weighed her options.

'The circumference is too wide for me to safely evade'

And it wasn't just the size. Upon impact, there would still be an explosion and a chance of the foliage catching on fire. Her eyes narrowed in frustration when she came down to her only option of survival. She molded her chakra and braced herself.

From her position in the air, the clone watched the ball of fire quickly fall to the clearing and waited for the impact. Her face fell when instead the Jutsu started to get weaker and smaller until it completely disappeared, leaving an intact Jai standing with her arms unbound and outstretched in the unscathed clearing.

The clone cursed herself as she watched Jai propel herself into the air where they re-engaged in Taijutsu until they both fell back to the ground where they both immediately distanced themselves and readied a new weapon: a pair of sais.

"Your hands are unbound. Is that not against the rules?" the clone commented.

Jai released a deep frustrated breath before responding. "The rules no longer applied after you used Ninjutsu."

"Just making sure you get a realistic experience. You think your hunters will show you any mercy?"

Her clone had a valid point. In a real situation, there would be no mercy. Neither exchanged any more words as they both waited for the other to make the first move. In the next breath, they both charged towards each other. The sound of their sais rang across the clearing as they clashed and exchanged more blows.

Her clone made another swipe at her head, but she managed the dodge it by twisting away. She kicked out her leg and brought it against the back of her clone, causing the clone to fall on her back. With her arms splayed out by her side, Jai quickly moved and sat on her chest with her feet stepping on the crook of her elbows. The blades of her sais crisscrossed over the skin of her clone's neck as they both came to a silent agreement that their spar was officially over.

The sound of light clapping caught their attention, both pairs of eyes looking to the side to see Kakashi walking towards them at a leisure pace.

"Nice job, Jai."

Her clone disappeared in a puff of smoke as she got back to feet and gave him a nod of acknowledgment. "Did you need something?"

His eye was closed as he smiled through his mask. "No. Just wanted to see what you were up to."

"How long were you watching?"

"Not long. Watching you made me think about our sessions when we were kids. Now that I think about it, it's been a while since we've sparred together."

"We can do it now if you want."

He hummed aloud to himself as he considered it. "Sure, why not?" He watched her nod once more as she took off her black trench coat. His eyes immediately saw light red ligature marks develop on her lower arms. "What happened?" he asked while holding her hand up for closer inspection.

"I had my clone tie up my hands to prevent me from using them."

"I see…" his mind started to wander into inappropriate territory. "… Y'know, my ningyō… if you like being tied up, we can always try it in the bedroom."

"How will that benefit my training?" she asked.

"Well, it's not really going to benefit it at all…"

"Then why would I do it?"

He sighed in defeat and wondered why he even bothered with sexual innuendos. "Forget I mentioned it. Any restrictions?"

She shook her head and gave her lower arms a quick rub to loosen the muscle. "No," she said as she straightened out her gloves. "Do not hold back."

"Only if you do the same with me."

"Always."

After they readied themselves, they took their stance. They were each other's best and worst opponents. They knew everything about each other: their fighting style, all their strengths, and all their weaknesses.

His chakra reserves were less than hers, and they were equal when it came to Taijutsu. In Ninjutsu, he had the upper hand. He could use all five basic nature transformations whereas she could only use three. But she was a master in Bukijutsu while he relied heavily on kunai.

As they were about to start, they had to stop when the shadow of a large hawk flew over them, its caw resonating through the trees. They looked up at the circling hawk then back to each other.

"Next time," Jai said.

Kakashi chuckled. "Whenever that is."

Jai picked up her discarded coat and put it back on. "Shall we go together?"

"Of course." His favorite novel already in hand, he brushed his shoulder against hers and lead them out of the training ground. "Do your arms hurt?"

She flexed her fingers and stretched her wrists. "Not really."

"It pains me to see ugly marks mar your skin."

"It was necessary."

"So, you say."

"What if I get captured and then somehow escape, but my hands are bound? I need to be able to defend myself."

"I get why you did it, my ningyō. I'm just saying that I don't like it when you're injured in any sort of way." His arm went around her shoulder and pulled her into his side, pressing her firmly against him. His head rested atop hers while his hand stroked and pinched the side of her face. "My sweet, precious, delicate, beautiful, Jai!" he said in an obnoxiously high-pitched voice.

She took it all in stride and just let him continue. She had long since gotten used to his childish antics.

"Want to get something to eat afterward?" she proposed.

"That sounds like a good idea. Where?"

"We can figure it out when we pick up Takeru after the meeting."


It was official. Team 7 was going to participate in the upcoming Chūnin Selection Exams. And Naruto couldn't have been more excited. And Jai only knew that because she was having a bowl of ramen at Ichiraku when Kakashi's team of Genin entered the small stall.

As soon as Naruto saw that she was sitting in the small shop, he sat in the stool on her right side and gave her his usual cheerful greeting.

"Oh, you're that woman that was with us when we were being assigned the mission to guard Tazuna-san," Sakura pointed out.

"Yeah! That's Jai nee-chan! This is Sakura and that's Sasuke!"

"Hajimemashite," Jai politely greeted even though she already knew of them.

Sakura gave her a polite smile while Sasuke just silently stared. The three of them placed their order with Teuchi and started to talk amongst themselves about the exams.

"Ne, Jai nee-chan!" Naruto got her attention after slurping up some noodles. "What are the Chūnin Exams like?" he questioned with a mouthful of ramen.

The spoon full of broth was placed back down into the bowl before she answered. "I never took them, so I do not know," she said in her usual blunt and emotionless tone.

All three Genin's faces twisted into looks of disbelief and confusion.

"Eh?! But you're a Jōnin, right?!" Naruto bellowed. "How can you be a Jōnin and not have taken the Chūnin Exams?! I mean, don't you have to become one in order to become the other?"

Sakura nodded her head in agreement with her blonde teammate. "What about your teammates? Did they skip too?"

"Because of certain circumstances I was not placed on a Genin team, and I did not have to take the exams."

The Uchiha remained silent but continued to stare and study the woman named Jai. The more she spoke the more questions they had. Even he was growing more and more curious about her. The only person he knew that advanced under special circumstances was him. Just the thought of him soured the Uchiha's mood.

'Was she like him?'

Naruto looked at Jai with awe. "That must mean you're really strong to be able to just skip a whole rank!"

"I suppose so."

"I bet you're stronger than Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sakura couldn't help but think the same thing. Upon first impressions, their sensei wasn't very intimidating. But they quickly learned that looks can be deceiving as she remembered their first exercise together as a team. Even after witnessing his skills and hearing about his reputation, it was hard for her to respect a man that reads novels like Icha Icha Paradise in public with no shame.

"I cannot confirm or deny that," Jai said between sips. "we all have our strengths and weaknesses that define us." She finished the last of her broth and stacked her utensils properly before standing from the stool. "Thank you, Teuchi-san," she said as she left money on the bar.

The shop owner gave her a smile and a polite nod. "See you next time!"

On her way out she congratulated the Genin.

"Wait, Jai!" Teuchi called out. She held one of the flaps away as she stood between the threshold of the stall and the village's street, looking back at the shop owner. "You left too much."

"It is for their ramen as well," she said as she indicated to Team 7.

"Really?!" Naruto's eyes lit up.

She nodded.

Sakura smiled just as brightly as Naruto. "Thank you, Jai-san!"

"Ganbatte, you three," she said before exiting the stall.


Next day…

Before the official exam started, Team 7 had an interesting beginning to their day.

After arriving at the Academy, Sakura had to dispel a Genjutsu that was placed on the classroom's number to confuse the participants, and then they had a tense run-in with Team Gai that later led to a very intense fight between Rock Lee and Uchiha Sasuke.

Right as Lee was about to deal the finishing blow, the fight ended abruptly when a pinwheel pinned his arm wrappings to the nearest wall and his sensei, Maito Gai, appeared in a flamboyant pose atop the shell of his tortoise summon. Team 7 could only awkwardly stand and watch the man in the green one-piece suit simultaneously scold and praise his student for his actions against Sasuke.

No longer wanting to bear witness to the strange Sensei-student relationship, Team 7 quickly left to go to the correct classroom of the first exam. When they approached room 301, they saw their sensei casually leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, waiting for their arrival.

"Oh… so, Sakura came too," Kakashi said in mild surprise. "Now you can formally register for the Chūnin Exam."

"What do you mean?" Sakura questioned, confused by her sensei's words.

"The truth is that this test can only be taken by teams of three."

"But, sensei, you said that the decision to take the exam was up to the individual."

"If I told the truth, Naruto or Sasuke would have pressured you to take the exam. Even if you didn't want to, if Sasuke asked you, you would have attempted to take the exams half-heartedly. For the sake of Sasuke and, well, Naruto too."

"Then if only Sasuke and Naruto had shown up…?"

"The exam would have ended here; they would not get to go any further." Kakashi's lazy look changed into a smile. "But you came of your own free will; you guys are my proud team. Now go!"

Kakashi watched his team walk into room 301. After they entered, he couldn't help but think back to the day he nominated them.

"I can't go along with this!" Iruka yelled at Kakashi. "They may be your subordinates now, but they are children who were my students. If it's about them, I know-"

"Iruka is right." Gai stepped forward, trying to talk the other three Jonin instructors out of their decisions. "It's not going to be that easy – you're too eager. I postponed my team's test-taking for one year and took care to build up their skills. Let them mature a little more first-"

"Hmph…" Kakashi brushed off his comrade's words of advice. "They may not be perfect, but they'll quickly blow by your guys," he dismissed.

A look of offense formed on Gai's face.

"That's enough. That's as far as the rookie matter goes," the Sandaime said, moving the situation along. "Now, we will nominate the non-rookie Genin."

'I may have said that, but even those fearless kids may be shaking in their boots right now…'

"Something serious must be on your mind."

He opened his lone visible eye and saw Jai standing before him, head tilted slightly back because of their height difference.

Her dark locks were twisted into a long braid with some stray strands framing her face. She wore her long black trench-style coat over a navy-blue corset-like top that had buckles on the sides and straps for the shoulders. Black shorts covered her lower half and her over-the-knee fitted boots covered her legs. Her attire was form-fitting and light for easy movement while secretly protective.

Shortly after her comment, a very loud outburst from his most boisterous student could be heard through the closed doors of the classroom.

"MY NAME IS UZUMAKI NARUTO! I WON'T LOSE TO YOU BASTARDS! YOU GOT THAT?!"

Kakashi's doubt soon changed into relief. "I'm fine now," he said with a light chuckle. "What brings you here, my ningyō? I didn't think medics were needed for this part of the exam."

"I simply came to observe. With the way you, Iruka, and Gai were arguing the other day, I wanted to see for myself how well all your Genin would do. You all seemed very confident during your nominations."

"You starting to doubt me now?"

"Of course not. I will always support you no matter what."

He placed his hand on her head. "Thanks." Leaning in, he gave her forehead a light peck through his mask. "I'll see you later."


Room 301 was now cleared of all the Genin. Those that remained, passed and were dismissed until tomorrow morning for part two of the exams. The only two left in the room were Jai and Ibiki.

"So, what did you think of my test?" the scarred man asked as he collected the papers.

"It was very…" she pondered for a moment to think of something appropriate. "… you," she finally answered as she helped her old captain with collecting the exams. "These are very difficult questions… and these responses are quite… poor," she said as she looked them over.

Ibiki chuckled. "I'll take that as a compliment." He paused when he collected another test. Looking at the blank sheet of paper he had just picked up, he had to do a double-take and focused on the name that was written at the top and chuckled.

'I didn't think there would be a guy that would pass with a blank test… Uzumaki Naruto… a very interesting guy…'

"Is something wrong?"

"No," he said as he added Naruto's test to the stack in his hand. "If you don't have any plans, how about we get some tea?"

Jai's ears perked when Ibiki mentioned tea. "I would like that, but Takeru is waiting at home for me so I cannot be out too late."

"Of course. Tell me, how old is he now?"

"He recently turned six."

"Six? Time sure does fly."


The two left the room after collecting all the tests and headed for the dango shop.

"That Naruto sure is something." Ibiki chuckled when he told Jai about the Genin's blank test.

"He is a good kid." She reached for a stick of dango. "He certainly keeps Kakashi occupied."

A sly smirk developed on Ibiki's scarred face when she brought up Kakashi. "Speaking of Hatake…"

"What about him?"

His smirk turned into a full-fledged smile. "Are you two…" he made a gesture with his hands. "… you know…?"

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "I am not familiar with that hand formation."

He made a different gesture instead.

"I still do not- what are you trying to say?"

Frustrated, Ibiki slammed his hands on the table, foregoing the subtle route and just deciding to just be straightforward like he should have done in the beginning.

"Intimate! Dating! A couple! That's what I'm trying to say!"

"I see… you should have just said that in the beginning."

He sighed. "You haven't changed a bit."

"Do I need to change?" she asked in seriousness.

"No. You're fine just the way you are."

And she really hadn't changed when he thought about how she was when they first met. Her hair was shorter then but that was about it. It came as a surprise when Hiruzen suddenly assigned her to his division and placed her in his team.

At first, he thought her to be too pretty and delicate for the nitty-gritty world of the Intel Division – especially when it came to his specialty. But he and his team quickly learned that they were wrong. Despite her looks, there was a ruthlessness within her. It became clear to them that she was more than just a pretty face. Shortly after, she became one of his best interrogators.

He watched her eat the last dango off the wooden skewer before he continued to prod her for an answer to his earlier question. "So….?"

"What?"

"Are you and Hatake finally an item?!" he hissed in frustration. It was these moments that he didn't miss. She excelled in many things, but she lacked overall social skills.

"Actually, we marr-"
"Ibiki!" a loud voice interrupted Jai and rang across the small shop.

The former teammates looked over and saw Anko approaching their table. The boisterous woman pulled up a chair and sat with them.

"Yo, Lee-san." She greeted.

"Hello, Mitarashi-san," Jai greeted back with a lift of her hand.

A cheeky grin soon spread across Anko's face as she eyed Ibiki and Jai. "Am I interrupting your date?" she teased.

Ibiki rolled his eyes are her juvenile comment. "Just catching up with an old comrade," he blandly responded.

"Actually, Ibiki, I have to go," Jai informed as she got up. "Ibiki, Mitarashi-san." She gave a slight bow to them before leaving money on the table and excusing herself.

"Jā ne, Jai." Ibiki gave her a light wave as he watched her leave.

"Did I scare her off?" Anko asked after Jai left.

"No," Ibiki said with a shake of his head. "she has to get back to her kid."

Her attention was peaked at Ibiki's last comment. "I didn't know she had a kid. What lucky guy snatched her up?"

"No one, as far as I know. And the kid isn't hers biologically. It's more like an aunt and nephew relationship. A friend of hers passed away not long after giving birth. She named Jai guardian over her son."

Anko waved down a server and placed two more orders of dangos. "We never really crossed paths, but everything they say about her looks is true. I know a lot of men that would love to be with her. I'm sure you noticed too. I heard she's one of Konoha's most desired women."

Ibiki merely shrugged his shoulders. That may be true, but he wasn't one of them. "Jai is too oblivious to notice any of that."

"And how would you know? You two had a relationship or something?" her dangos arrived and she proceeded to start eating them.

"She used to be part of the Torture and Interrogation Force – she was one of my best. But after the death of her friend, she withdrew and took on the position as the head of the hospital."

"That's not what I was hoping to hear," she said with a cheeky grin.

He rolled his eyes once more. "Still as nosy as ever…" he muttered. "Nothing romantic if that's what you're hoping to hear."

"You know I'm only joking!"