'I am so sorry I ever doubted you Nii-chan, I get it now, and I wish I didn't' Mitsuko mentally whimpered. Every part of her burned or ached or both. She was bent in half, propped up by a tree desperately trying to catch her breath.

They were almost to the meeting point just outside Tanzaku, and while Mitsuko wasn't the only one tired, the group had a very noticeable outlier.

Maito Gai, the Green Beast, was a kami-damn stamina monster.

They had just spent the entire morning sprinting a good distance across fire country, Mitsuko being the worst off of the group but everyone was at least somewhat tired. Except for a certain Taijutsu specialist ranting in prose about 'The Power of Youth!' at the head of the group. You would think he had spent the morning lazing away with how much energy he still had left. Mitsuko thinks of the odd stories her Nii-chan had told about him before, and how she really wishes they had been exaggerated.

It would be another hour of sprinting, but the medic didn't think she would be able to do it. She had barely been able to keep up with her older teammates, having to consciously circulate chakra to be able to match their pace. They had just stopped for a few minutes, but after a few more it would be straight back to running. She felt embarrassed even thinking it, but Mitsuko was going to need to ask for help, wasn't she?

Her gaze flickered between her teammates. Kurenai-san sitting at the base of a tree, leaning against it with her eyes closed. She looked ready for a nap. Mitsuko agreed with her.

Raido-san was pacing around the clearing slowly, having said he prefers to keep moving than stop all together. Genma was still standing, but had been leaning heavily against a tree. He was staring off into space, chewing on his senbon mindlessly.

Mitsuko took a few last deep breaths, finally feeling close to normal again. As soon as she felt like she should be able to talk, she made her way over to Genma. He focused on her as she got closer, snapped out of whatever he had been thinking about. "Something up, Hatake-hime?"

Her face twitched a bit, trying to ignore the discomfort at the title. "Genma-san? I've needed to use a decent amount of chakra to keep up, but if I use any more I won't be able to heal anyone when we arrive…" The girl trailed off, feeling embarrassed at admitting she was struggling. She didn't ever want to be the one holding a team back.

"Hatake-hime, you're the youngest on the team by at least five years. It's understandable you're struggling." Genma said in an almost teasing tone as he said this, vaguely amused at her predicament. "If you need to conserve what you have left, I'm sure either Raido or Gai wouldn't mind giving you a lift."

Mitsuko paled at the thought of being stuck with Gai. She must have made a face, since Genma finally broke and snickered a bit. He showed mercy regardless of his amusement, raising his voice a bit, "Raido, you mind giving Hatake-hime a hand?"

"Nah, I don't mind. She's tiny anyways, not like it would be an issue." The Kenjustu user replied

Oh, she hadn't realized Raido had been listening. She really needs to be more aware of her surroundings, that might come back to bite her one day. At least the older shinobi hadn't had a problem with helping out.

"Alright then, we should probably head out then. We have around an hour before we have to meet up with the client." Genma stated, his voice carrying to the rest of their team too. Kurenai stood slowly, stretching lazily. Mitsuko didn't see Gai, so she assumed he had gotten an unintentional headstart like earlier.

Raido had walked casually towards her, not slowing down a bit as he picked her up with a single arm slinging her across his back. It was like she didn't weigh a thing to the swordsman, how strong was he? She wrapped her arms gently around his neck, careful not to choke him. Mitsuko couldn't help but wonder, were piggyback rides considered a mode of transport? Kakashi-nii would sometimes give her a ride when they were going home at the end of a busy day. Raido wasn't bad at it, but Nii-chan gave better ones. She misses her brother.

As they picked up speed, heading in the direction of the designated meeting spot. Mitsuko took the time to evaluate her reserves, and those of her teammates. She was half empty, and Gai was buzzing loud enough she didn't even have to focus on him. Raido was tired, but still had the majority of his reserves. Genma and Kurenai were in similar conditions.

Mitsuko needed to ask her brother for endurance training when she got back, this was almost ridiculous. She wouldn't be able to keep up if she had been sent with less kind teammates, either wasting all her chakra traveling, or causing the group to need more breaks. She refused to be the weak link in a team, she may get called a Hime but she sure as hell won't act like one.

She spent the rest of the trip there resting, hoping to regain a bit of energy before she had patients to treat. She rested her head on Raido's shoulder, her eyes shut as she lightly dozed. It would be a bit longer before she would be needed.

Genma could see the treeline in the distance, where the forest made way to the clearing Tanzaku occupied. They had enough time that the group decided to slow down, walking the short distance left. The team leader checked each member over, making sure everyone was doing fine.

Kurenai was winded, but still battle-ready if needed. Gai was energetic as ever.

Raido seemed like he was fine, only a bit tired.

Hatake was a little worrying though. She was deeply asleep, almost snuggling against the swordsman. He wasn't the best at sensing, but he could tell the girl had a noticeably smaller amount of chakra left than what she started with this morning. It would be a good idea to let her keep sleeping, to let her rest until she was actually needed.

The rest of the team were already in their teens, they had the capability to keep up at these speeds. The medic might be a prodigy, but it was obvious that didn't extend to her physical abilities. That was the beauty of Konoha though, teamwork meant that wasn't an issue. They could make up for where she lacked in strength and speed.

Genma ran over the details of the mission he knew so far. They had been hired to escort a caravan of merchants to the capital of Fire Country, who had been attacked at least once already. They had paid out the nose to have a medic be assigned, so that meant either that someone was severely injured, or they had the disposable funds and thought it would be worth it.

They had also been told there may be someone out for their client, that it was likely they would be attacked again on their way to the capital.

The senbon user let out a quiet huff. Well, at least it sounded interesting. Certainly a change from his usual missions. Genma glanced over at his teammates, noticing Kurenai taking up a spot next to Raido as they walked, giving a small coo at the sight of the young girl asleep on the swordsman's back.

Gai on the other hand, was still leading the group, though he had slowed down to a brisk power-walk. That was a surprising amount of restraint for the teen, normally he would have been running laps around them even if the others had slowed down.

It was only another minute before they were finally out of the forest. If Genma looked, he could just make out the shape of a few wagons a ways down the road. He glanced over at Kurenai.

"Around 10 civilian signatures up ahead. No signs of shinobi or hostiles." She didn't even need him to ask, calmly reporting anyways.

It was nice to have a sensor as a teammate, it made some things simpler.

"I'll take point, and handle the client. Kurenai, you're in charge of Hatake-hime. I would like Raido to have his hands free if necessary. Gai, you're in back. Stay alert." He didn't really think they were about to be attacked, but it was a standard precaution. Team leader in front, second strongest team member watching for flankers in back, and the weakest members in between.

No offence to the two kunoichi, they were definitely good at their jobs, just didn't have the same amount of close combat capabilities. Kurenai was a long range fighter, with genjutsu as her weapon of choice, and Hatake was a medic and half their age. It was better to keep them in the center, where they would have the room to work if necessary with the close-combat users being their defense.

Genma also couldn't bring himself to wake up their youngest squad member just quite yet, as she still had noticeably drained reserves compared to when they had started this morning. They can let her sleep some more, to try and recover as much as possible before she needs to get to work.

They had finally gotten close enough to the merchants to be noticed. While they couldn't understand what he said, it was clear the man on watch duty had announced the ninja's arrival to the rest of the caravan. Given that nobody was rushing for them, Genma took it to mean that everything was fine for the moment.

There was a man parting the small crowd, tall and tan, a tense expression on his face. He seemed to examine each of them, lingering on Genma's hitai-ate.

"Nakashima Juro?" Genma called out, the man relaxing slightly at hearing his name.

"Yes, that's correct. I assume you lot are the team we hired from Konoha?" The man asked, giving each team member a considering look. The way his eye twitched and how he scowled slightly at the girl still asleep on Kurenai was concerning.

"Yeah. I'm Shiranui Genma, the captain for this mission. That's Namiashi Raido, The other man Maito Gai. The Brunette is Kurenai Yuhi, and the kid is Hatake Mitsuko."

The dark haired client gave their youngest squad member a look of disdain. "I thought I had paid good money for a competent team. What's with the pipsqueak?" Ah, it was going to be one of those missions. Lovely.

"The 'Pipsqueak' is the medic that you paid extra for, Nakashima-san. Hatake-hime is one of our best medics in the village." Genma tried to stay neutral, not showing the irritation he was feeling. It was a good thing the girl was still asleep, he doubted she would have taken this well.

"You're telling me, that the extra twenty thousand ryo I paid, on top of the damn mission fee, only got me this?" Genma could feel the other members of his team bristling behind him. Konoha shinobi didn't need to be close to be protective of each other on the field. None of the three teens behind him were amused at the clients attitude. Any half-competent shinobi knew you didn't underestimate someone based on appearance. Anything can happen in a fight, and anyone could win if they play their cards right.

"Don't judge a book by it's cover, Nakashima-san. I assure you, she's a very competent medic." A little irritation was slipping into his voice at this point, but thankfully the client dropped the issue for now. They spent the next ten minutes quietly discussing the terms and agreements between both parties, before they moved on. It wouldn't do any good if there had been any miscommunication between ninja and the client before the mission truly began. Thankfully, it seemed like the mission report covered most of the important bits.

Kurenai had stepped to the side, waking up their youngest squad member so she could get to work.

The client had hired her for three members of his caravan. Two men who were rather roughed up from the attack they barely escaped, and the client's young son. Funny enough, the kid was around the same age as the medic. The kid mostly had only a few scratches and bruises, but from how his eye was puffy and swollen, it was clear someone had gotten in a good hit.

Mitsuko, now fully awake if only a little sleepy, started her work. The young girl had started with the two men, finding the deep and still open flesh wounds on the two more concerning than the kid for now. While she was perfectly polite, and worked quickly, the young boy had the same look of disdain his father did. He also was noticeably impatient, crossing his arms and pouting. 'Well, this will be a fun few weeks, won't it?'

At least the other civilians weren't being dicks. They had been polite to the ninja, talking quietly amongst themselves. He could see the curious and slightly awed glances they sent at the medic's hands. It was always amusing watching civilians react to ninjutsu, they made the funniest expressions.

It had taken less than ten minutes for the girl to feel satisfied at their condition, the more concerning injuries closed enough for now. She then went to turn to the boy, but,

"It's about time! Why the hell did they send a brat, it took you forever to finish." The snotty boy glared at the girl his age across from him. He wasn't one to be calling other people brats, given he couldn't have been much older. The girl wilted at his comment.

Genma wouldn't tolerate anyone disrespecting his fellow Konoha-nin, especially when it's undeserved and coming from a little shit like him. "Hatake-hime is one of Konoha's fastest medics, Nakashima-kun. It would have taken most medics twice as long, at the very least." Genma couldn't get away with being rude, considering he was the team leader and this was their clients son.

Who didn't believe him apparently, given the ugly look and snort at Genmas statement.

The medic pushed through her discomfort, firing up her Raiton Mystical Palm that she was becoming known for. He startled at the way her hands lightly cracked and popped. The little snot piped up again, "What the hell is wrong with you! Can't you do anything right? How are you such a great medic if you can't even use the stupid jutsu correctly?!" He whined out.

Mitsukos had practically deflated, refusing to look anyone in the eye now. She looked much more her age when she was curled into herself and trying not to cry.

Oooh, Genma was really struggling now. That little shit is eventually going to talk down to someone who would have less reservations of beating his ass, and Genma couldn't wait.

It was surprisingly Gai who stepped in next. "Ah! My Youthful teammate isn't doing the Mystical Palm incorrectly, that's actually a Improved and Better version! Mitsuko-san is a Well-Known Prodigy for her Mastery of it!" It was almost unnerving, how Gai was still smiling but his eyes had frozen over.

The little shit took one look at the muscles obvious from under Gai's gear, and finally shut the hell up. Mitsuko then began healing the boy, rushing through it so she would be able to move away from him faster. Genma didn't blame her one bit.

It had taken her several minutes, but the kid's eye was good as new. The moment it was clear for her to go, she practically bolted. Kurenai followed her, a worried frown on the teens face. She always was the 'Big sister type', so it didn't phase Genma. Instead, the team leader gave the brat a frosty look, before speaking.

"I am only going to say this once. You are damn lucky brat that you haven't talked down to someone more willing to solve disagreements with their fists rather than words. If someone is wearing a Hitai-ate, you better give them the respect that they deserve. If you don't, it's going to bite you in the ass one day."

The kid gave him a stubborn glare, fading as he noticed how unhappy Gai and Raido were behind him. He seemed to rethink his words quickly.

It still didn't keep him from sticking his foot in his mouth. "Fine. Everyone knows all girl ninja's are good for healing anyways, why did Konoha send two?"

Raido looked down at the boy before speaking curtly, "Because Kunoichi can be terrifying and just as capable as shinobi and you are going to stop treating my comrades badly, right now." The swordsman didn't raise his voice, used only a firm tone of voice while staring the kid down.

Said Kid finally got the message, and shut the hell up.

With one last glance back, the kid power-walked away from the little gremlin.

This was going to be a long, long mission…

Mitsuko was rather irritated with herself. She had been trying so hard to be braver, to not make other people have to fight her battles. She felt like other people were always needing to step in on her behalf. Mitsuko's chest hurt and her face burned with shame.

The medic had just let the kid bully her, and her teammates had to be the ones to shut him down. Why couldn't she just say something? Anything?

"Hatake-hime? You doing ok?" Kurenai asked, jogging lightly to catch up to her. The older kunoichi had a concerned look on her face, and it only made Mitsuko feel worse.

"I'm fine, Kurenai-san. I'm sorry to bother you." The sniffle she let out at the end negated her claim.

The teen sighed. "It's okay to be upset, those two were being unnecessarily harsh to you. Hatake-hime-" Mitsuko cut off.

"Please, don't call me a hime. I hate that stupid name, why does everyone see me as a princess instead of a kunoichi first!" Mitsuko had to wipe a few frustrated tears from her eyes to be able to see where she was walking. "I know I am younger than most, but I earned my hitai-ate! Why do people see me a kid playing dress up?"

Kurenai caught the younger girl by her shoulder. "Hatake-san, then. I'm sorry I've made you upset. Why don't we sit down for a few?" Her voice had softened at the end, but Mitsuko couldn't understand the look on her face.

Kurenai wrapped an arm around Mitsuko's shoulder, guiding her to a nearby tree. They were a short distance from the group, but had plenty of privacy to sit and chat under the shade of the large tree. They spent a few minutes just enjoying the noises of the forest while Mitsuko calmed down.

"It's hard to be a kunoichi." Kurenai said, breaking the silence. "People think that it would just be as hard as being a shinobi, but it's even harder. You have to work twice as hard to get even half the respect a shinobi would have gotten from the start." She had a bitter smile as she said this.

"It will get better as you get older, and lose your baby face. It just means you have to work hard to get stronger in the meantime." Kurenai's smile grew the slightest bit. "If they won't take you seriously because of how you look, then make them with your skills. I heard you started training in kenjutsu with your brother. If you put the time and effort in, I can promise you it will be easier to gain their respect. Men like that always reconsider their words when the kunoichi in question has a sword in her hand."

Mitsuko let out a breathless giggle. She admitted to herself that the idea sounded nice. Maybe if she asks her brother, he would be willing to teach her a longer blade. She knew her family had a kekkei-genkai of a sort, that their chakra had such a strong raiton affinity, it would glow white with the intensity of the electricity. Her older brother didn't use any family techniques often, but they still had scrolls from when the Hatake clan was much stronger. Mitsuko decided to look into both of those options when she got home.

The two spent a few more minutes chatting about lighter topics, like Mitsuko's jutsu-creations and Kurenai's genjutsu training.

"The chakra control needed for high level genjutsu is insane. It feels so far away from my skill level, like I need to climb a mountain to get there." Kurenai gave a wistful sigh.

Mitsuko hesitated before asking "Sempai? May I ask which exercise you are using to train?"

The brunette looked amused at her new nickname, "I've been learning chakra threads. I think it's also something medics have to learn before they can pass their qualifications."

"You're right, I do need to start on those soon, to give myself plenty of time to practice them for the exam."

"How much do you know about them?"

Mitsuko hummed, thinking for a few moments. "Chakra threads are used as a chakra control exercise as it requires the user to mold their chakra at an intensely steady rate, while moving it to very precise locations at the fringes of their system. It makes you learn how to mold chakra at a consistent pace, and how to move it efficiently to precise locations."

Humans had two types of chakra within themselves, that also ran across different systems. The two main chakra systems, Yin and Yang, are closely intertwined with the central and peripheral nervous systems respectively. When you workout, ripping cells apart to grow back stronger, it does the same to your chakra networks. The more you workout, physically and mentally, the stronger and larger your networks will grow. Your pathways will be able to both hold more chakra, and use more at one time.

The reason Chakra control was such a necessity was because how it affects your use of jutsu. Better control means being able to mold a precise amount of chakra so as to not waste any, as any excess left after a jutsu is wasted. It also means you have the ability to move it efficiently to specific locations. To be able to move it to a specific location, it means you must be extremely familiar with the twist and turns your pathways follow. If you don't know where you are going, it will branch off into a dead end and get wasted. Chakra threads is such an intense exercise because it requires you to mold chakra and guide it to the very fringes of your system, to a point smaller than the tip of a pen.

Kurenai gave a soft huff, amused at the almost-rant that she had gotten in reply to her question. "Yeah, that basically sums it up. One thing you missed is that it also makes you learn to manipulate chakra that's outside your body. Normally with ninjutsu, you create it within yourself before sending it out. But with chakra threads, you have to send it out while still retaining control of them. That's the part that most get stuck on, myself included."

"Do you have any advice on how I can practice using it, sempai?"

Kurenai paused, her brows furrowing as she thought. "Well, if you need to learn them for your medic training anyways, maybe you could try using them in combat as well. Once you are able to form them consistently, try using a thread to retrieve any thrown weapons. Grabbing a kunai in the air and sending it right back is a useful trick, and they are pretty great for throwing explosive tags as long as you are careful not to activate them early."

Mitsuko listened intensely. She hadn't considered using them for weapons, as that's normally a skill only found in weapon masters. It must take an insane amount of precision to be able to grab a weapon out of the air with a chakra thread, so mostly those who can't afford to waste a blade learn them for combat. Mitsuko could feel a few ideas rolling around in her head, but that would be something to ponder later.

The older kunoichi stood up, before reaching out and offering a hand to Mitsuko. "I think it's about time to rejoin the others. We will be needing to start moving soon."

Mitsuko took the hand, pulling herself up. The two grouped up with the rest of their team. The young sensor could feel Genma and Raido a short distance from the girls, while Gai was on the other side of the caravan doing who knows what. Though, since it is Gai, he might just be doing more training. 'Does he ever get tired? I don't know how he does it.'

Genma glanced over as the kunoichi got close. "Alright, everyones here. It's time to get a move on if we want to make it on schedule. I have a feeling this is going to be a mission better ended sooner than later."

And with the serious nods each gave in response, they went on their way.

Something isn't right with the group. Mitsuko doesn't know why, but something about the civilians they were guarding just seemed off.

It had only been a week of traveling, and Mitsuko was bored out of her mind. She had spent a good portion of her trip practicing either her sensing while on duty or chakra threads in her downtime. The threads weren't too hard for the girl to get started, but she could only make a single thread about a inch long before it fell apart. It was a good way to keep occupied while still being productive.

It was her sensing that had been frustrating her more. When she was able to sit down and meditate, her range jumped to fifty meters compared to her usual thirty and detail increased significantly. She was not only able to tell who was around her, but also small details about them. Everything from their affinity to their specialty and even their personality affected their chakra signature.

For example, Kakashi-nii's signature was the one she knew the best. It was like standing on the edge of a thunderstorm, tickling the small hairs on the back of her neck. It crackles and pops when he's in a good mood, his amusement or contentment easily heard. But it would also get heavy and overbearing when he was upset. It was like being in the middle of the thunderstorm, and you were seconds away from being hit by lightning.

The civilians on this mission were interesting and frustrating at the same time. Most of the merchants mostly felt like some form of water. Burbling creeks going along their usual path, or the quiet drizzling of soft rain. However, the client and his son had noticeably different signatures.

The father was cool, almost chilly like a late autumn day. It wasn't particularly strong, but it was a noticeable difference to the others. The son, however, was like a snowstorm. An unhappy mess of snow and ice blowing everywhere. Just like how he couldn't control his emotions very easily, it showed in his chakra as well.

Mitsuko wasn't sure if this was something she should tell her captain. She didn't want to bother him if it wasn't something necessary. She was probably overthinking this whole thing anyways.

They had made it about halfway to the capitol so far, and Mitsuko was so ready to have this over and done with. The client's son, Nakashima Seiji, was a very unpleasant little boy. Even though he was her age with no comparable training, he acted like he was her superior. Every confrontation with the boy was filled with his snotty remarks. 'Why is he so smug? It's not like he's got any skills to brag about.' Mitsuko avoided him at every chance, but he still somehow managed to find her with ease.

The young medic was desperately wishing this mission could end sooner. She missed her brother, and she was tired at having to constantly move herself to get away from Seiji. For somebody complaining an awful lot about her, he seemed to seek her out way too often.

It would be another two weeks before they would get home, if all things go to plan. She honestly couldn't wait.

This wasn't the plan, This wasn't the plan! Mitsuko had to dodge a swipe of the man's sword, while still processing what had happened.

They were less than a few days out from the capitol when the expected attack finally happened. A group of men had dropped from the treetops above them. Neither of the sensors on the team had noticed them, which means they were trained, at least enough to know how to suppress their own chakra. They had been expecting bandits, maybe some low level missing nin. They certainly weren't expecting skilled mercenaries. Mitsuko had been told to stay with the client and his son while the others took care of the enemy.

There were two enemies for each Konoha-nin. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue as bandits usually lacked any serious training and weren't exactly the brightest. Each of her squad mates were occupied and drawn a slight distance away. They were too far away to be able to help when one more came out of hiding to launch himself at Mitsuko and the client. He had dived at the father first, swinging a blade at the man's throat while he was off guard.

Mistuko had barely made it in time to parry the strike, able to stop it from hitting the client but unable to stop it completely. Instead of the intended blow to the man's neck, it nicked her cheek as she struggled to deflect it completely with her tanto. From the way her cheek stung, and was starting to numb, Mitsuko worried the blade had been poisoned. This needed to end quickly, before it had a chance to spread. The more she moved and the harder her heart thumped, the faster it would go. Mitsuko managed to push her opponent back a step, the much larger man pausing his advance to look her over.

"Well, would you look at this!" The mercenary had a greedy look in his eyes while he inspected the young girl. "We were only hired to grab the Yuki brat, but what do we have here? A white-haired, Konoha kenjustu user?" It was disturbing, the way he leered down at Mitsuko.

She tried to keep her cool, staying calm and collected. It didn't work. She was shaking with adrenaline and there were a few tears leaking no matter how hard she tried. Mitsuko still held her ground. She had a slight scowl on her face, and determined gleam in her eyes. She refused to act like the scared little girl she felt like, to give him the satisfaction.

'Yuki, where do I know that name?' The name stuck out to her, she knew she recognized it, but she couldn't remember where it was from. The man in front of her somehow recognized her though.

"I'd bet good money you're one of the Hatake brats. We knew about the boy, he has a decent bounty, for his skill and his bloodline." Mitsuko froze, feeling her blood turn cold as she realized where this was going. He continued talking even as he lazily swiped at her. Even when he wasn't putting in effort, Mitsuko struggled to keep up.

"I'd also bet some real good money that you would fetch an even higher price. People are willing to invest much more if it means good 'returns'." The man snickered at his own joke, as if this was a hilarious topic. Mitsuko felt like puking, as she realized what the man was talking about. He wasn't just a mercenary, but also dealt in human trafficking.

Kushina-sensei had to give her 'The Talk' a few months ago, so Mitsuko knew what to expect from puberty. The young girl had learned about it from a medical standpoint already, but didn't know how it affects girls in other areas. Towards the end of the conversation, Kushina had told her in a hushed voice how the other villages and many more unaffiliated people were willing to buy a person. Of how they would be used, especially if you had a bloodline. Her teacher even talked about being kidnapped by Kumo-nin from inside the village, though she said they had wanted her more for a different reason.

Mitsuko refused to have that as her fate. She wasn't a product to be bought. She didn't want that to be her future. The girl had noticed the growing weight in her limbs, and felt the poison working. This had to end, quickly.

Mistuko knew she didn't stand a chance in a fair fight. Her opponent had been lazily slashing at her, like a cat toying with their meal. The man must have been twice her size, and more than three times her age. That just meant she had to be smarter, had to find a way to out-think him.

The man in front of her held a cocky smirk on his face, body language confident. He didn't think she was a legitimate threat. The man even seemed to be amused at her reactions, his eyes trailing over her face. She was still crying, wasn't she?

'I can use that, I have to!'

Mitsuko didn't enjoy lying, and she wasn't a great actor. But tears were never far from her reach. She didn't try to hold them back more, allowing big fat teardrops to roll down her face. She scrunched up her face and let her lip wobble a bit. If he was going to underestimate her, then she would use it for all it's worth.

"P-please walk away. This is your only w-warning." Her voice shook as she spoke. It was on the line between 'Pretending to be brave' and 'About to break down'. Mitsuko held her tanto in front of her, staring him down. The tip of the blade shook a tiniest bit. It wasn't hard to act and look like the scared little girl she felt like right now.

Being brave isn't being fearless, it's pushing forward despite

"Ha! You think you can stop me, brat? A scared little girl?" The man mocked her. He was taking pleasure in her exaggerated fear. He had been standing just a few paces away, and crossed it in a blink of the eye. He swiped at her again, aiming for her arms with Mitsuko barely able to dodge in time. He wasn't going for anything lethal, and the girl knew that he was aiming to take her alive along with her client.

The man lashed a kick to her ribs as she recovered from another near miss. The young girl went down hard. There was a distinct crack when he landed the hit, Mitsuko knew she had broken at least a couple ribs. Her breath was coming out strained, a pained wheeze leaving her as she tried to push up from where she had fallen.

Mitsuko held herself up on her elbows, looking up at the man to see him crouching down in front of her. He grasped her chin roughly, turning her head side to side. Like he was inspecting some sort of prize. She didn't struggle too hard, putting up a weak protest. Desperately hoping her opponent wouldn't see, the young girl sent out a chakra thread to the blade she had knocked from her grasp.

Just a little more, I can almost reach it! She was so close, and the man still hadn't noticed.

"Konoha has really lowered their standards, haven't they?" The man sneered. His guard was completely down, confident that the fight was over in his favor. He left his legs wide open, and Mitsuko knew this was her chance. The girl was just able to latch her fingers around the handle of her blade as the man spoke again. "Why the hell they would let a weak little Hime like you out in the field."

Mitsuko felt a burst of anger rush through her. She channeled Kushina-sensei a bit, lashing out with the tanto the man never saw while furiously spitting out "I am not a fucking HIME!" It was bad enough to be called that by her colleagues, and she has had enough. She wasn't a delicate little princess, she was a trained and lethal kunoichi and she sure as hell put those skills to use.

She landed a deep slash to the inside of his thigh. Blood gushed forth, and the medic in training knew she had severed his femoral. She felt the warm spray on her face, some getting in her mouth. Mitsuko was able to wrench herself out of his shocked grip. His blood pressure dropping from massive blood loss had knocked him out near instantly. It took less than thirty seconds for his chakra to fade, and she knew he was dead.

Mitsuko didn't know if she had ever been so angry, and she was pretty sure that was the first time she had ever cursed at a person before. Her anger lasted only a few more moments, before she cooled down with the realization it was way too quiet. The young girl looked up to see her squad mates standing a short distance away. They must have finished their fights just before her, just enough time to see the conclusion to her fight.

Blood dripped down her face, and Mitsuko couldn't feel most of it to be honest. The girl couldn't feel her limbs either. She was exhausted. Her eyes were drooping a bit as she looked over her teammates, and it seemed like she was the only one who was injured. At least she was able to finish the fight herself for once. Hopefully Kakashi-nii would be proud of her when she told him.

Mistuko didn't bother staying awake. Her team could handle it from here. She'll panic about her first kill later, she had earned this nap, dammit.

"I am not a fucking HIME!"

Genma had just finished his fight when he saw the conclusion of the young medics. The brutal stab to her opponents thigh was shocking enough, but it was her language that really got him. The girl passed out after a quick look at them. Probably only held out those few extra moments to make sure they were fine.

After that short pause, shocked silence deafening after the previous fight, Kurenai and Genma rushed forward. Kurenai had gone to check the girl over, evaluating her condition. Genma checked on the clients.

The elder Nakashima warily stared at the unconscious medic. He was very obviously unnerved and shocked by her actions, not having expected the young girl capable of them. His son on the other hand, had pretended like she didn't exist. His pale face and refusal to look even in her general direction spoke for him. Neither had even a single scratch on them.

'Serves them right, underestimating a ninja like that' The senbon user took a moment to be amused by their reactions, before getting to work on clean up. There were a few things that needed to be done before they could continue their travels. It wouldn't do to leave the bodies blocking the public road, and Genma had a feeling their client knew more than he had informed the mission office when requesting this mission.

"So, Nakashima-san, got something you would like to share with the class?"

And from the gulp the father gave at that, he knew he was in deep shit. Rank changes got expensive afterall, and no village took lying about the mission parameters lightly.

'Thank goodness we only have a few days left with them, I am so ready for this mission to be over with.'

Mitsuko woke from a deep sleep, knocked out the rest of the day and through the night. Kurenai had been sitting with her, and after noticing the girl was awake, she filled her in on the situation.

Turns out the merchants weren't completely unaffiliated with a village, as most of them were actually fleeing from Kiri. Their clients in particular, being distantly related to the main branch of the Yuki clan. They had left after Seijii had activated the Kekkei Genkai of the clan, Ice release. Kiri wasn't exactly friendly to those with a bloodline, and there were whispers of an impending civil war. It wasn't surprising they had made a break for it when given the chance.

It wasn't okay though that they had lied about who was targeting them. While it wasn't Kiri hunter-nin after them, thank goodness, human traffickers were still something they should have informed the ninja of. However, that raised the mission classification from a low C-rank to a high B-rank. The hike in price is probably what had made their client lie.

Mitsuko couldn't bring herself to care though. She was way too tired for that. Her fight had left her completely exhausted, having to circulate chakra to boost her strength enough to hold her ground against an enemy twice her size. She was lucky to escape with only a few scrapes.

The only true injury she had was where the man had nicked her cheek. She had been correct about the blade being poisoned, a minor paralysis kind that inhibited both chakra regen and wound healing. As it had taken well over eighteen hours for Mitsuko to wake up after her fight, she hadn't been able to heal it completely.

She now had a thin, angry red scar that started just under her left eye and went down her cheek. The young girl hoped it would make her colleagues take her more seriously, having such a visible scar. Facial scars are supposed to make you look cool, right?

Mistuko didn't understand why her teammates kept giving the scar nervous glances, until she had overheard them discussing the fight later that night. She didn't catch all of it, but some of the bits and pieces she did included "Oh Kami, Hatake-san is going to lose it when he sees her…" and "Who the hell had taught her to curse?"

Mitsuko considered telling them it was Kushina-sensei, but she was all too willing to pretend it never happened. While proud that she was able to finish a fight herself for once, she was rather embarrassed at how she had lost her temper. She hadn't exactly meant to use that kind of language, however much she meant the statement.

At least her teammates had started calling her Mitsuko-san now, though she couldn't shake the Hime suffix from the civilians. Including the surprisingly respectful Nakashima's, who now avoided her at any given chance. It made the remainder of the trip much smoother.

Huh, guess Kurenai was right. They really do take you more seriously when you have a blade in hand.

It had taken nearly a week over the expected time, but the caravan had finally made it. The capitol of fire country was visible in the distance, and the impending end of the mission raised everyone's spirits. While they would stay and rest a couple days, the Konoha-nin would be able to make the trip back in a fraction of the time it took to get here. She hopes Nii-san will be proud of her when she can tell him how her first out-of-village mission ended. Mitsuko is proud of herself, at the very least. It was definitely an interesting mission to start her career with.

She should have guessed that train of thought would jinx her future missions, fate had such a cruel sense of humor afterall.