The village was a vast, intricate labyrinth of noisy streets and alleys. Akira could hear the incessant ringing of cart bells even before the sun rose; impatient businessmen who had to get to the Hokage's office; mothers who had to leave their children at the Academy, facing the challenge of having to weave through a crowd of parents in the schoolyard; even some of the teachers who had stopped at the local bakery to get breakfast before class. Walking down the main street, Akira could smell the fresh batch of sweet dumplings and spicy steamed buns being baked for the lunch hour rush. To Akira, these were the tell-tale signs that the village was slowly waking up, and she couldn't resist buying a few dumplings on her way to meet Kai.

She barely recognised him as he arrived; the usual sky blue kimono was gone, replaced by a black shirt and pants, with a steel blue apron skirt, which swayed as Akira tackled him a hug and twirled him around with one arm. Though, Akira nearly lost hold of the dumplings she was holding in the other. Kai gratefully took two out of the four.

"I barely recognised you without the kimono," Akira said, biting down on a dumpling. "Is this permanent?"
"Yeah, I think it might be. At least for missions," Kai said, looking down at himself. "I'll probably wear my haori overtop instead of an entire kimono."
"Easier to manoeuvre, I guess?"
"That, and I have better access to my pockets and the fans on my arms. Speaking of which!" Kai suddenly got excited and swallowed his dumpling whole. "I used them to literally blow Kurenai-sensei away during our test!"
"Oh, that's right, I forgot to ask again! How is this sensei of yours?"

Kai laughed and ate another bite of dumpling.

"She's kind of like a big sister," he said with his mouth full. "She's honest, kinda stubborn, but she cares a lot about her students, and it shows. She's taken a particular interest in Hinata, actually. I think it's because she's the only girl in the group. Or maybe it's because her cousin Neji and her father are a bunch of morons—I don't know. But Kurenai is probably the greatest sensei we could have. I bet she's better than yours!"
"Oh, I doubt that."
"Really? What's your sensei like? Messed up like the rest of your team?"
"Hey, we're different, but we're not messed up—except for Sakura, maybe," Akira chuckled. "To be honest... Kakashi-sensei is an overgrown child—he Kancho'd Naruto."
"He what!?"
"Yeah, Naruto was doing these really pathetic attacks, and sensei got annoyed, so he shouted "one thousand years of death" and Kancho'd him!" Akira laughed. "I was hiding and couldn't exactly laugh, but it was hilarious."
"I heard rumours that he's super tough," Kai said. "That true?"
"Not exactly," Akira said, pensive. "He seems harsh, demanding and ruthless, but I don't think he is. See, we had to take a bell away from him to pass his test, which was hard because I mean—"
"Jōnin, duh."
"Right! And he also only had three bells instead of four, so he pitted us against each other—"
"Yikes."
"Yeah, it seemed impossible. But it turned out all he wanted was for us to work together as a team."
"With Naruto and Sasuke on the same team?" Kai scoffed. "Good luck, Kakashi-sensei."
"Hey, it worked out in the end though," Akira said, smiling. "His methods are a little... elaborate and complicated for nothing, and he's a bit dramatic, but they get the job done. Plus he's got this really cool hair, and you can't even see most of his face, so we have no idea what he looks like—"
"Oh, mysterious!"
"Abd he took us all out for lunch yesterday. He showed me this really cool storm creating jutsu, too! I was practising all night."
"That's why there were thunder and lightning all night!" Kai exclaimed, smacking Akira on the shoulder. "My mom was so mad—she couldn't go out and do yoga on the roof."
"You hate it when your mom does yoga on the roof," Akira laughed. "She always knocks over the satellite."

Kai and Akira arrived at the Academy with full stomachs and sticky fingers which they wiped on the old festival flags that had been hanging in the school's tree for as long as they could remember. Kiba and Hinata were already in the yard, engrossed in conversation, and much to Akira's surprise (and joy), it was Hinata that noticed them first. She put up a finger and quietly shushed her, then snuck up on Kiba and jumped onto his back. He yelped in surprise and tried to shake Akira off, to no avail. She eventually relented and swung off him and landed on her feet with an arm over his shoulders.

"Hey, Kira!" Kiba shouted, tackling Akira in return.
"How did you not know it was me?" Akira laughed. "I thought you had super senses."
"Yeah, well, Ino has gotten into the habit of doing that to every guy she sees, so I don't even bother trying to tell the difference or not. Apparently, she thinks it'll make Sasuke jealous."
"Of course." Akira looked over to Hinata and smiled. "Hi, I'm Akira—you're Hinata, right?"
"Yes," the girl said in a small voice. "It's nice to meet you. Kiba talks about you a lot."
"Does he now?"
"All good things, all good things," Kiba reassured, a stain of pink on his ears.
"So, Kai gave me his impression of Kurenai-sensei—what do you think?" Akira asked.
"Major respect for the woman. She kicks butt."
"Yes, she's really nice and caring," Hinata added. "She's a great sensei."
"How's yours?" Kiba asked.
"She's practically in love with him," Kai laughed. "'He's got this really cool hair and—'"
"Shut up," Akira growled, smacking Kai upside the head. "He's a great sensei, and I have the utmost respect for him. He's even taught me a jutsu already."
"Damn, she is in love," Kiba joked, earning him an elbow to the ribs.
"She was the storm last night," Kai said, nodding to Akira. "Oh, and apparently he kancho'd Naruto!"
"No way! Did he really?"
"Yup—Naruto flew straight into the lake!"
"Yo. What'd I miss?"

Akira recognised Shikamaru's lazy voice immediately. She unhooked herself from Kiba and went to hug him, but Shikamaru put his finger on her forehead to stop her.

"I'm allergic to physical affection."
"I'll break your finger if you don't let me hug you."

After a moment of silence, Shikamaru and Akira smirked, trapping each other in their ritual side-hug. Kiba reassured Hinata that this sort of behaviour was typical, and she accepted it rather quickly. The six of them hung out around the swing in front of the Academy and talked about everything from Kai's unruly hair to the amount of dango Kiba had once shoved into his mouth on a dare and the events of their tests given by their new sensei. Shikamaru talked a great deal about Asuma-sensei, who turned out to be much like him. As if on cue, Asuma and Kurenai arrived to pull Hinata, Kiba, Kai and Shikamaru away from Akira.

Akira waved and wished them luck, then sat down on the swing and aimlessly rocked back and forth for a few minutes until Kakashi-sensei showed up ahead of everyone else.

"You're early?" Akira said, tilting her head. "Did you hit your head or something, sensei?"
"No, it's mission day," he said simply.
"That's it? You're on time because there's a mission?
"Yup."
"You're weird."

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura spent hours trying to secure Tora, the cat by setting traps while Kakashi read comfortably perched in a tree, only for Akira to lure it with the simple promise of head scratches. The cat was immediately returned to the Feudal Lord's wife, who showered it so much affection the cat seemed to want to run away again. As she left the Hokage's office, Akira couldn't help but sigh. The tasks that the Hokage gave Genin were tedious, and while they were learning proper procedures for missions and many other things, Akira couldn't help but want more. By looking at everyone else's faces, she could tell she wasn't the only one, but it was Naruto who got up in the Hokage's face and voiced his opinion, as usual.

"Now then... For Squad Seven, we have many available tasks," the Hokage said. "Among them, babysitting the chief counsellor's three year old—"
"No, no, no! I wanna go on a real mission!" Naruto complained. "Something challenging and exciting, not this kid stuff!"
"How dare you! You're just a brand new Genin with no experience," Iruka-sensei shouted at him. "Like everyone else, you start with simple missions to develop your skills and prove yourself!"
"Are you serious!?" Naruto yelled back. "Babysitting isn't a mission! It's just a stupi—ah!"

Kakashi interrupted Naruto by smacking him on the head.

"Will you put a lid on it?" Kakashi-sensei said, apathetically.
"Naruto," the Hokage said commandingly. "It seems you do not understand the tasks that you have been given. Listen. Many different requests come here every day from babysitting... to assassinations. These requests are carefully recorded, analysed and separated into A, B, C and D ranks, depending on their difficulty. We ninja are also separated by ability: Hokage at the top, followed by Jōnin, then Chūnin and lastly, Genin. The ninja at the highest level then selects the appropriate ninja with the correct set of skills for the proper mission. And if the task is successful, we receive a fee that supports our village and our work. Since you are untried Genin, just starting down the shinobi path, you are given D-level assignments of course."
"You're always lecturing me, old man!" Naruto shouted. "But I'm not the little brat that used to pull pranks all the time! I'm a ninja now, and I want a ninja mission!"
"So be it."

Akira looked hopefully between Iruka-sensei and the Hokage.

"Since you're so determined, I'm going to give you a C-rank mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey."
"Really?" Naruto asked, getting excited. "Yes! Who - who? Are we guarding a princess or a big shot counsellor?"
"Don't be so impatient—I will bring him in now," the Hokage said. "Send in our visitor."

The door to the Hokage's office opened a few moments later, and a very drunk man walked in. Akira rose an eyebrow at him as he took a sip of mystery liquid from a flask. She and Sasuke shared a concerned look.

"What the—Just a bunch of snot-nosed kids?" the man slurred.

Akira frowned and looked up at Kakashi with a disgusted look on her face. The man only shrugged—he was powerless against the Hokage. Besides, it wasn't as if they'd chosen the client, either.

"And you? The little one with the idiotic look on your face—do you really expect me to believe you're a ninja?"
"Ha! Who's the little one with the—"

Naruto cut himself off upon noticing that he was the shortest of the group. He launched himself at the man, shouting, but Kakashi held him back by the collar.

"I'll demolish him!"
"You can't demolish the client, Naruto," Kakashi said, deadpan. "It doesn't work that way."
"I am Tazuna, a master bridge maker, and I must return to my country," the man said. "I'm building a bridge that will change our world, and I expect you to get me there safely, even at the cost of your own life."

After all the details were sorted out, Team Seven was disbanded until the following morning. Akira didn't even bother going to meet her friends. Instead, she went straight home and took the long way, going past the lake near her old house. She stood still and stared at the water for a long time once she'd reached it. There was always something about the rippling surface that called to her. Most days, it took all her self-control not to jump in and get soaked.

When she got home, Sasuke was doing his usual brooding by the window. There was a fresh pot of tea on the stove, and Akira helped herself to a cup before going out onto their balcony. There was a reasonably clear view of the village, and Akira sipped her tea as she watched the sun set over the rooftops. By the time she'd gone back inside, Sasuke was already locked in his room. With a sigh, Akira decided to turn in early as well. She had no idea how this mission was going to go, but she was going to get enough rest for once in her life.

The next morning, Akira woke up strangely refreshed. She hadn't slept much, and the little that she slept hadn't been good, but for some reason, Akira's spirits were soaring. As she and Sasuke left their apartment, a smile was plastered to the girl's face, and it wouldn't leave no matter how many rude things Sasuke said to make her stop.

It was only at the gates to Konoha that Akira understood why she was so excited. It was the first time she was leaving the village, the first time she was going outside of town to complete a mission, and neither she nor Naruto were taking it lightly. Akira walked backwards and stared back into the city, watching as the people within the walls got smaller and smaller.

Even Sakura was in a good mood. She smiled and laughed at Naruto and Akira who were practically running away from Konoha, chanting some stupid song that Kai had taught them many years ago. Sasuke couldn't do anything but scoff seeing them goofing off like that, but deep down he too was eager to go on his first real mission, even if it was with three airheads, a mysterious sensei and a drunk old man.

"What're you so excited about?" Sasuke sighed.
"It's our first time outside Konoha, Sasuke!" Akira said, smiling.
"We're travellers now—believe it!" Naruto added.
"Hey! Am I supposed to trust my life to these runts? They're a joke!" Tazuna said.

Both Naruto and Akira were angered by that statement but contented themselves to glaring at the man.

"They're with me, and I'm a Jōnin, so you don't need to worry," Kakashi reassured Tazuna. "Besides, Akira is one of the best students from the Academy. She's just... happy today. Naruto, well—"
"Hey! Never insult a ninja, it's a big mistake!" Naruto shouted. "And I'm one of the greatest ninjas, ever! Someday, I'm gonna be a Hokage, and you're gonna look up to me! My name is Naruto Uzumaki—remember it!"
"Hokage are powerful and wise, you are puny and brainless," Tazuna said. "The day you become Hokage, I'll sprout wings and fly."
"Ahh! Shut up!" Naruto yelled. "I'm willing to do anything to become Hokage, no matter what it takes! And when I do, everyone's gonna have to admit that I'm the top ninja and so will you!"
"Ha! You could become Hokage ten times over, and to me, you'd still be a nobody, a loser."

Naruto launched himself at Tazuna again, but this time it was Akira who held him back by the collar.

"Sensei told you, Naruto—you're not supposed to attack the client."
"Come on, let me at him—he'll pay for what he said!"
"Yes, it makes you mad. Yes, it's wrong what he's saying. But Naruto, you have to pick your battles! Fighting a client isn't the way you do missions. Sometimes you have to sacrifice a little dignity to get the job done," Akira said. "Now, go on. I know you wanted to lead the group."

As Naruto went ahead, Akira sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. If Naruto was going to keep acting up like this every time the old man said something rude, this mission would turn into a babysitting mission rather than an escort.

This... was going to be long.