Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, contents of the following text only serve entertainment purposes.

AN: This chapter has been re-edited.

New:Kuma, a missing leaf-nin (OC)as well as the kaze no jutsu (kaze - wind).

This chapter: The curtain rises... show us your skills! Encounter the bear of the forest!

Chapter: Kuma

"Noooooooooo!" Naruto's voice could be heard echoing in the forest. Sakura dropped the firewood she was carrying and swiftly silenced him with a punch to the head.

"Oi! What are you thinking!" she hissed. "Don't make so much noise!" Yuki and Sasuke looked up from the tent they were pitching up together. It was dusk and about time to camp. Yuki rolled her eyes while Sasuke muttered a curse under his breath. Really, what didNaruto think he was doing?

"My forehead-protector!" Naruto bawled, tears shining in his eyes. "It's gone!" A bush started rustling near Yuki and Sasuke's position. Sasuke jumped to the girl's side and posed for an attack. Suddenly, an animal appeared. It was a raccoon! And it was wearing Naruto's forehead-protector! As quick as it came, it disappeared.

"Naruto-kun! An animal's got it! It's running in that direction!" Yuki called out while pointing towards where they'd just seen it.

"What!" he bellowed before running in that direction too. Sakura followed him closely behind as they disappeared into the forest.

"Oi oi... how troublesome," Kakashi said, very Shikamaru-like, appearing beside Yuki in a poof. Yuki barely even flinched, Sasuke noticed. "Well. I'm going after them to make sure they don't get lost. Sasuke, guard the camp."

"Yeah," Sasuke muttered as he straightened himself up. His mind was still on Yuki. Normally, people would jump at Kakashi's sudden appearance. But she didn't. Was she a ninja? Sasuke caught her rolling her eyes before going back to fixing up the tent. She's so beautiful. Yuki mentally berated herself for being expressive. She was so used to using the mask that she forgot that now, without it, others could read her expressions. They worked in companionable silence.

"That does it," Yuki murmured as they finished putting up the last tent. "Uchiha-san, I'll pick up the firewood that Haruno-san dropped."

"Sasuke." Yuki stopped walking and turned back to look at him. His expression was unreadable. Why did he just say his own name? "We'll be stuck together for a while and I don't like people calling me by my family name." It reminded him that he was related to the person that massacred his family - Itachi. Then again, he normally wouldn't've cared about what people called him. He was practically jumping out of his own skin at his own, personal, suggestion. He decided to divert the attention of the subject. "Sakura would probably warm up to you more if you call her by her own name too." Damn. That came out wrong too! He hoped that she wouldn't get the implications of the statement.

"Thank you," Yuki said as she returned her attention to the firewood. "Sasuke-san." Sasuke found himself fighting a losing battle on blushing. He grunted and then turned around so she couldn't see his face. What was this? How could she affect him so? Damn. If she could be just as annoying as Sakura instead of being so timid. It was almost like Hinata... but Sasuke wasn't into girls that could barely look at a guy's face.

Yuki felt the hairs on the back of her neck start to prickle and there was an ominous presence lingering in the shadows. Not good.

"Yuki." Sasuke had called her. Yuki straightened, put the pile of firewood she'd just gathered near a hole on the ground that was to be used for a fire later in the night and then went to Sasuke's side.

"Sasuke-san?" Yuki asked, trying to put the surprise out of her voice when she realized that he was aware of the menacing presence in the shadows.

"Best not to be too far away from me," he mumbled to his bag as he squatted down, pretending to look for something in it. Sasuke winced at his statement again. It was getting too suggestive. What was it that his body knew that his mind refused to acknowledge? It couldn't be that he liked her! It couldn't be. It couldn't. Could it? Sasuke stilled his breathing as Yuki squatted down beside him, looking at him with her almond-shaped maroon eyes.

"What are you looking for, Sasuke-san?" she asked innocently. Sasuke grunted for a reply and then stood up. The thing... whatever it was that was emitting the intimidating vibes, was coming closer. Left or right? Up... North-East about 40 degrees North-wise. About 13 feet from the forest floor. The wind was picking up. Meanwhile, Yuki was several steps ahead. She sensed only one ninja coming in their direction. Male. Very strong. Carried weapons. What would be her plan of action? Would the Uchiha be able to handle it on his own? "Sasuke-san? I don't think we have enough firewood for tonight. Can we go look for some more?"

"Hn." Sasuke grunted as he fell into step next to her as they walked in an easterly direction. Sasuke kept his senses alert as the vibes faded in and out. Whoever it was, he or she wasn't concealing his/her own chakra well enough. Sasuke glanced to the young lady at his side and relaxed his muscles a bit. No sense getting her alarmed. Sasuke was dearly hoping that Yuki wasn't the type to start screaming and creating a hassle once being attacked. She screamed when Naruto appeared and found her a few days back. Then again, anybody would scream at the sight of that twerp. Sasuke snickered inwardly as he relaxed his pace as well.

They found a little clearing and stopped in it and started to gather the firewood. Yuki was practically sweating inside her shirt. She had her back to the Uchiha, who was only three feet away. How was she going to pull it off? She discovered that their opponent, if the hidden ninja decided to attack, was extremely powerful. Probably a jounin-level ninja. Or even higher. Could Sasuke handle it on his own? Sasuke was still only a chuunin, after all, even if he is the most powerful one - next to Naruto. What could she do to save him if the time came? She snapped a piece of wood she held in her hands as she mentally cursed her earlier mistake of being discovered. Sasuke looked over her shoulder inquiringly and then returned his attention back to his own pile, or rather, the person following them.

"What's this...?" came a sneer. "A leaf-nin and his girlfriend out for a little walk in the woods?" Finally, he was going to reveal himself. Yuki pretended to be shocked at his presence and scooted closer to Sasuke who -well, expected her to move closer, though he misunderstood her motives for doing so. "How cute. But I'm out for blood." In a swift move, Yuki was knocked off, her back pounded to a tree, making a loud cracking sound before she fell, face-down to the leafy floor. Sasuke's eyes widened at the suddenness of the attack. Too fast! "Whoops."

"Who are you?" Sasuke snarled as he jumped beside Yuki's crumpled body to check her pulse. It was still beating rhythmically, though its speed had picked up.

"I'm alright, Sasuke-san," Yuki choked, lifting her head a little to the side. Though she looked injured on the outside she was boiling angry underneath her skin. "How dare he attack without warning!" she was growling in her mind. "I'll get back at him. I will. I'll make him pay for my rib. Fuck that bastard!"

"Stay where you are, Yuki," Sasuke said as he gently moved her to sit and lean on the tree her body had just collided with.

"Aw... how touching..." the arrogant man taunted. Sasuke snapped his head around. Yuki knew that he'd just turned on his sharingan, looking at the bewildered expression on the man's face. "Uchiha..." he snarled, taking a defensive position when he realized who his opponent was. "Lucky me. I didn't think I'd get the honor of killing an Uchiha in all my life."

"You thought right," Sasuke growled back as he jumped to the air and threw some shuriken at him. Of course, he dodged, but Sasuke only wanted to judge his speed. While the two men were focused on teasing each other in their fight, Yuki silently didused a skill to maketwo shadowclones of herself. One to transform into Kakashi and another to transform into an animal. 'Kakashi' hid on the branches of a tree while the animal left in search for the other three ninjas they'd gone to the forest with - the real Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto.

Yuki pretended to watch the fight with a dull but frightened expression on her face, but was completely aware of each bruise that was developing on Sasuke's body. The pain on her side didn't disturb her as much as when the ninja caught Sasuke on his face and had sent him to the ground. It took so much energy to keep her body from turning on her own sharingan at every jutsu they casted. She was, literally, getting tired of watching them because of her own energy being spent on keeping her body under tight control.

Racking the memory reserves in her mind, she tried to identify the ninja that was attacking Sasuke. It was definitely a missing leaf-nin, judging from his hitai-ate and his enmity for the Uchiha. One of his eyes was scarred, reminding her of her elder brother, but the scar was different. It ran all the way down to his chin. His fighting style followed the animal-type taijutsu, that is the bear. Kuma. It was Kuma. Kuma was spotted last on the Konoha borders, camping out, killing more wildlife than any one person could consume or even use. He was a danger to the ecosystem of southern Konoha. If he wanted to, he could've moved upward, but nearing the the Konoha village was a risky business for a missing-nin. Hunter-nins were everywhere. Where were they now?

"Oh? Tired already?" Sasuke's body was crumpled on the ground. The jounin was too much for him, as Yuki suspected, he didn't bring up the emotions that could strengthen Sasuke in a battle, the emotions sheknew, would have at least given Sasuke the awareness that he had been thus far acting so weak...-this state of unwillingness to displaypower was so vastly different that it was entirely opposite as fo if Sasukehad been exposed to someone like... someonelike Uchiha Itachi, but Sasuke would never acknowledge that. Moreover, Sasuke didn't even try to bring out his chidori. Good or bad? No matter which, Yuki still had to give him credit since already, he had begun to stand up, thoughshakily. "Some people just never learn." Yuki winced inwardly as Kuma landed a kick on Sasuke's chest, making him land on the ground once again. "Especially you stubborn, stuck up Uchihas." He punctuated each word with kicks to the stomach. Yuki felt absolutely terrified at Sasuke's vulnerability. At that last kick, he had sunk quietly into the earth. A cough, and then he passed out. Kuma had hit a vital spot.

Sasuke woke up in a sitting position, his back supported by something, and someone hugging him from the side. He found his leg lying near a buttress root. He was near a tree. Raising his gaze a little, he saw a body, on the other side of the clearing, kunai to its throat, its head facing the other way, but he knew. That ninja he was just fighting, was dead. Yuki!

"Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke jolted away at the sound of the soft voice, and warm breath near his ear. He blushed at the term, so close to endearment and yet... "I'm so glad you're awake."

"Yuki... did you kill him?" Sasuke's voice turned cold. He was shocked at himself. How could he just pass out like that...? Nothing like that had happened since... since he had fought Itachi. Did he really pass out? Was he really that weak? Was that shinobi even stronger than Uchiha Itachi? It couldn't be. Maybe he had just gotten weaker... damn...

"I did, Sasuke-kun." Kakashi's face popped up in front of him. Sasuke couldn't stop himself from blushing. "Oh, not to worry about it. I won't tell the others," he said, correctly reading his mind. Kakashi then stood up and walked away from them, away from their view. Yuki made sure that her clone was a safe distance away before making it disappear.

"Sorry," Sasuke mumbled. Yuki looked at his blushing face in surprise. "I couldn't protect you."

"Don't mind it," Yuki said as she let go of him, brushing off the blush that almost creeped up her face."Are you injured?"

"You broke a rib, didn't you?" Sasuke asked when he noticed her clutching her side.

"No, not really. It'll bruise for a while, though," she said, lying through her teeth. "I have some medicinal herbs with me, if you'll let me..."

"Okay," Sasuke agreed, nodding as he leaned back. He was sitting on some roots of a tree. Yuki was startled at his compliance. In all those years that she'd been 'tailing' them, she'd never heard Sasuke willingly accept help. In all honesty, he never really needed all of it, but this time... Well, at least he didn't run away from her. She did her work in silence, ignoring the spasms of pain that threatened to consume her mind.

"Sasuke!" They both looked up at Naruto's yell that came from the direction of the camp. Yuki heard another yell and smiled. "Yuki-chan!"

"We should tell them where we are," Yuki said, bringing a hand forward to a one-handed seal. "Kaze no jutsu." A gust of wind started from their position, from where Yuki was blowing air through her mouth, heading to the camp. "We're here!" she exclaimed, raising her voice a little, letting the wind carry up the rest. Sasuke was staring at her.

"You can do ninja skills," he said in an emotionless tone. Yuki smiled. He must be suspicious. She only used one hand to create a seal. If that wasn't suspicious, what could be?

"Yes, I can," she said gently, not offering any more information than that as she stood up. Sasuke stood up, grateful that she hadn't offered to help him stand. He was tempted to accept if she did, but it would've been too damaging for his pride. "Can't most everybody?"

"Of course," Sasuke mumbled, still looking distant. Oh, he was getting very suspicious.

"Yuki-chan!" Naruto bounded out of the trees to their direction and practically shoved Yuki back down on the ground. Yuki noticed only one thing: Naruto had gotten back his forehead-protector. "I thought something bad happened to you..." He had a really cute puppy expression on his face, but it didn't change the fact that he'd probably just caused even more fractures on her ribs.

"Dead-last."

"What? Can't I be worried? Do you think you're so good that you'd be able to protect her by yourself, huh? Huh?" Naruto asked in an attempt to look menacing, but Sasuke just passed it off with a shrug as Sakura, too, appeared and bounded towards him like Naruto did to Yuki only moments before.

Before he let Sakura plague him with questions about his well-being, he turned around to look at the two on the ground and said, "Get off her, dunce." He disguised his jealously with that one word that could swallow Naruto whole.

"Say that again!" Naruto bellowed as he jumped up and started nagging at Sasuke with Sakura. Kakashi appeared by Yuki's side to help her get up. The trio were at a safe distance away and Kakashi looked over at hisyounger sisterwith concern at this rare moment.

"My rib..." Yuki muttered when he put a hand to her head.

"Kuma was it?" Yuki nodded. She had sent the details of what happened through her other clone.

"He's right over there."

"I see. Is your rib broken?"

"I'm not entirely sure. It can't be- butit hurts like hell." Kakashi made her start walking towards the camp so as to not make it look too obvious that they had deliberately lingered behind. He casted a fire skill over Kuma's body, and it quickly burnt to dust. "He was an S-class missing-nin." Kakashi nodded absent-mindedly.

"Let me help bandage you." They made clones of themselves go back to the camp as they sat down. "Yuki-chan?"

"It hurts," she whimpered. "Kakashi-niichan. It hurts." She just burst out crying right there. Kakashi looked down sadly at her. "He came out of nowhere and threw me to a tree. I couldn't react. I didn't know if I could. Maybe I should've tried? Then maybe I just, couldn't. He was only an S-class bastard. I should've been able to avoid it, or at least to block it. Anbus are supposed to be able to right? Right? Kakashi-niichan?"

Maybe she was too young to be an anbu. She'd killed more than he did when he was at her age. The breakdown didn't surprise him, though. Some nights, back when they were safe in Konoha, she would some to him, and ask, politely, if he could just sit with her and hold her. Respectfully valuing his time. And he'd always say yes. He'd always pick her up when she started crying and then held her for hours on end. Sometimes it came early in the morning, sometimes late at night. But he'd hold her like she wanted to, ever since she was only a child. It was a habit he'd never even think of breaking. Not for a sister like Yuki. Even if she wasn't a blood-relative.

"Hey, Yuki-chan," he whispered. She stopped hiding on his neck to look up at him. He had worry streaked all across his face.

"I know what you're thinking," she said dully. "You want me to stop, don't you?" He didn't mask the surprise that came from it. "I- I thought so. S-sometimes, I think about that too. But what would I be if I weren't what I am now."

"Being just a jounin isn't bad you know," he said lightly. "Sure, there isn't much adrenaline required in it, but from time to time, you get stuck with kids that could keep you on your toes for years." Yuki giggled at that, obviously thinking of Naruto. "And, being a jounin, you don't have to hide your face so much..." Yuki jerked up in surprise, earning a fresh wave of pain. "Shh... be careful. Of course I knew about it. That's why I'm your big brother, right? I know you hide behind your tough smiles when you're around me, but I know that you want to get rid of that mask. You want people to see you."

"Yeah, I guess... But I might not be ready to throw my mask away just yet..." she thought. "I guess this makes it my last mission as anbu."

"You've decided?"

"I'm 18! I can't waste any more of my life, now can I?" she said rhetorically. "Now, oniichan, I need help with bandages!" Kakashi chuckled at her sudden burst of spirit. It was so much like Naruto.

"Kakashi-sensei," said an irritated Naruto the next day. They slept with relative peace that night, each taking up a few hours watch with the exception of Yuki. "When are we going to get there? It's been almost two weeks and you told us that it'd take only one!"

"Dunce. It was your fault that we had to stop so often," Sasuke muttered loud enough for Naruto to hear, but he didn't take the bait this time as he was concentrating ontheir instructor.

"We've already arrived,"Kakashi said closing his eyes for a moment. They all stopped walking and looked back at him. "In fact, I think we went past the meeting point."

"What!" The enraged images of his three students shot up at him as he sweatdropped. "Why didn't you tell us earlier!" They spent a whole hour back-tracking with Yuki lingering behind with Sakura, thinking of the many ways they could murder the jounin.

"You're late," rang a cold voice as three hooded figures stopped them in their tracks. "Hatake-san?"

"Who are these people!" Naruto yelled as he ran forward. Kakashi stopped him by putting a hand up. Naruto, stood, seething at the entrance of the foreign figures.

"Can't you recognize an anbu when you see one?" Sasuke remarked as he came up beside Naruto. A vein popped.

"Sasuke, you bastard!"

"Sorry," Kakashi apologized to the lead anbu, stopping the coming argument. "We met up with a civilian along the way and decided to let her accompany us."

"Civilian?" The anbu jerked back when he saw Yuki stepping forward and bowing in front of him.

"I'm sorry for the trouble," she said timidly.

It was a good thing that anbus were required to use masks. This one had recognized her voice and was thinking, "What in hell? How did that ice queen get into this mix? Why was she traveling as herself with this measly group of chuunins? Where was her disguise? Did Hatake-san bring her? Why the big guns? Oh fuck! If I slip up now, she'll be reporting me! I knew we shouldn't have taken this mission. Damn it all!"

"Are you going to tell us what our mission is now?" Sakura piped up. The anbu turned its masked face in her direction.

"The Hokage didn't tell you?" The anbu gazed at their blank faces, Kakashi's including.

"It's very uncharacteristic for me to accept a mission without knowing what it's all about but the Hokage seemed adamant about us not knowing," Kakashi said as he rubbed the back of his head at his apparent irritation of her. "She only said to come prepared."

"Fine," the anbu snapped. "We and the hunter-nins requested a squad to help us make a trap to capture a missing-nin."

"He's that difficult, huh? Then again... this is only a B-class mission?" Kakashi said with bored look on his face. Well, it was only his visible eye that showed it. "So who is it? Why do you want the missing-nin captured instead of killed?"

"The missing-nin has some jutsu we wouldn't particularly like foreigners to get their hands on, so we'd rather dispose of his body after we manage to extract the jutsu. His name is Kuma. He disappeared from Konoha about three years ago." Yuki froze at the word Kuma. Kakashi's sharingan eye twitched, unseen.

"Kuma..." Sasuke repeated. "The man is about six feet and five inches tall, brown eyes, short hair. A scar from the eye right down to his chin?"

"How did you know?" the anbu, Sakura and Naruto asked in unison.

"I guess we've failed our mission then. He was killed yesterday," Sasuke said with an accusing gaze at Kakashi. The anbu looked at Kakashi to Sasuke and then back at Kakashi. He was sporting a sheepish look.

"Sorry about that. He tried to attack my students so I had to do something about it, didn't I?" Kakashi said, taking a defensive position. They didn't see the pale look on Yuki's face. It was her clone that killed it, hence it was her that did the job. "Hey! It's not our fault if the Hokage decided not to tell us what it was going to be about!" The anbu was cursing and kicking up the dust on the makeshift road.

"And did you dispose of the body properly?" he asked angrily.

"As properly as it could ever be," Kakashi answered.

"I guess that's it then," he muttered. He continued muttering something about wasting time as he walked away from them.

"Did someone try to attack Yuki-chan and Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked. Kakashi realized that Naruto and Sakura didn't notice anything amiss the day before. Kakashi shook his head in exasperation. They managed to get the whole story from Yuki instead - well, the most part of it.

"I guess that means that we'll be heading back." Yuki groaned inwardly. She was going to have to find a way to escape. Soon. Sasuke was staring at her.