"B-rank?" asked Ino. "Is that- is that a good idea?"

Sayaka shrugged. "We trust the Hokage."

Team Ten, standing at the foot of a stack of crates at the base of the Hayashi Castle walls, glanced at each other skeptically. Sayaka rolled her eyes at them from her perch on top of the crates. Naruto and Hinata sat one level lower, on a pair of crates with a respectable distance between them and fingers just barely touching. The two teams were waiting for Team Eight to show up so they could go get dinner.

"Tch, troublesome," said Shikamaru. He ran a hand through his spiky ponytail and sighed. "I guess there's nothing to say about that."

"It still seems awfully soon," said Ino. "None of the rest of us have taken anything higher than a C-rank. We're still just running support missions at the rear."

Sayaka huffed. "Team Seven has a lot of offensive firepower. It doesn't make sense to keep us back."

Shikamaru's brow furrowed and his eyes flicked from Sayaka to Naruto, then focused on Hinata. The heir to the Hyuuga clan averted her eyes. "I suppose."

"Anyway, where's Team Eight?" asked Naruto loudly. "Dinner is going to be over soon!"

Sayaka snorted. "What are you so impatient for anyway?"

"They definitely had ramen," said Naruto seriously. "I don't know what I'll do if they're out by the time we get there."

"Do you eat anything other than ramen?" Ino asked.

"Sure I do! There's onigiri, soba, udon, yakisoba, okonomiyaki, barbecue…"

"The least healthy food out there then, got it," said Ino dryly. "You're as bad as Chouji."

Chouji huffed. "I've just got good taste."

"Yeah, yeah, seriously, Chouji knows the best places in Konoha," said Naruto. "Shame I pranked like half of them before he showed me - they won't let me in."

"This shouldn't surprise me," said Sayaka with a sigh.

"Anyway, I say we go look for them," said Naruto. "Or hey, Hinata-chan, you can use your Byakugan, right?"

Hinata shook her head. "I checked a f-few minutes ago. They're n-not in the castle."

Shikamaru groaned and considered the crates. How uncomfortable could they really be? "Troublesome. I might take a nap."

"No you don't!" said Ino, grabbing at Shikamaru's arm before he could even move. "No more naps! You keep taking them!"

"So? There's nothing better to do right now."

Ino frowned, but he wasn't wrong. All the teams were on standby for the next forty-eight hours - the attack could start any time within that interval.

"Oh hey, I think I see 'em," said Naruto, squinting at the gates. "Yeah, that's them! Hey!"

Sayaka turned and spotted Kiba waving back at Naruto. Team Eight did not look like a happy team from this distance, and as they approached the reason became clear.

"Go swimming?" asked Sayaka.

"Unfortunately," said Shino. His kikaichu insects were doing an impressive job being creepy as they crawled across the surface of his jacket, flapping their wings ineffectually.

"We had to jump in the canals," Kiba groused, apparently not noticing Sayaka's change of attire. She found herself oddly disappointed and decided to try and ask him about it again later. "Trust Gato to have some fucking tracker nin on his payroll. Fuck."

"You guys were on mission?"

"Standard search and survey," said Sakura. She tried to wring more water out of her hair and failed. "There's more ninja out there than we thought at first, and Commander Sarutobi wanted another sweep to check what was going on."

Sayaka raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like a C-rank mission."

Sakura shook her head. "B-rank, though sort of easy."

Team Ten made a series of noises: annoyance from Ino, anticipatory tiredness from Shikamaru, and impressed acknowledgement from Chouji.

"Asuma-sensei is going to up our training," said Shikamaru. "We're the only team not taking B-ranks now."

"Be more excited," Ino scolded, whacking Shikamaru on the shoulder. "Getting B-ranks means that we're getting good at our jobs."

Team Seven and Team Eight looked at each other. The increase in mission difficulty was not necessarily a positive - with greater responsibility came greater pressure to succeed after all. True, the missions were more interesting, but…

"Anyway, we're going to go report in," said Sakura. "Then get changed, maybe take a shower. We'll meet you guys at the dinner tent?

Sayaka nodded. "See you there."

Naruto jumped off the crates and pumped his fist. "Awesome! Time for ramen!"


There was no ramen.

There was, however, plenty of udon, and Naruto considered this to be an acceptable substitute, especially because it came with all-you-can-eat tempura.

"Tempura's the only way for vegetables to taste good," he proclaimed as he dunked a tempura zucchini into his udon bowl.

Ino rolled her eyes at him from down the table and picked daintily at her tsukemono and grilled mackerel. "You eat like a little kid, Naruto."

"I don't turn thirteen until October, I'm allowed," said Naruto, pointing with his chopsticks, as if to emphasize his supposed youth.

"That's… that's not how that works."

"That's totally how that works!"

Sayaka sighed and leaned against one hand, bracing her elbow against the long communal table so that she could keep one eye on the tent flaps. Shikamaru and Chouji were quietly trying to avoid getting pulled into the slowly growing argument between Naruto and Ino, while Hinata seemed to find it all very silly and therefore humorous.

In fairness, it was a very silly argument about nothing, and Sayaka expected that Ino and Naruto were actually the type of person who found it kind of fun to be loud and noisy. She wondered if they were nervous, and this was the way they tried to get over it.

Sayaka sighed and looked down at her hands. They were still on the table. Maybe the nerves would come later, when they left to fight. Or maybe, after the mission with Fumiyo, and nearly dying, this didn't seem like that big of a deal. The briefing they'd received said nothing about A-class missing nin, and even if there were any there were plenty of jounin on hand. Sayaka could retreat safely and know that someone would cover for her.

She looked back up at the tent flap again and sighed. Where was Team Eight? It couldn't possibly take this long to deliver an intel report and take a shower.

"Is this seat taken?"

Sayaka blinked and turned, finding herself being accosted by a boy in a green jumpsuit looking very seriously at her.

"I'm saving it for someone," said Sayaka, putting a hand next to her on the bench. "Everywhere else is free though."

"Excellent," said the boy, and he leaped over the table to sit across from Sayaka. Nobody seemed to notice this. "My name is Rock Lee! I would like to spar with you when the fighting is over. Please accept my challenge!"

Sayaka looked at him, perplexed. His expression was almost disconcertingly earnest. She almost thought he was playing some convoluted prank.

"...seriously?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Because everyone knows Uchiha Sayaka is the best fighter in her graduating class," said Lee. He made a fist and frowned dramatically. "I wish to challenge the best fighters and prove that I can be a splendid ninja with only taijutsu! It is only natural I would seek you out."

Sayaka drank a sip of tea. "Um. I'm flattered?"

"I do not flatter," said Lee.

"No, I mean, I understand that," said Sayaka quickly. She pinched her nose in consternation. "It's just, I don't know how to react to a challenge like this."

"Please accept!"

"This isn't some sort of insane way to try and date me right?" Sayaka asked.

"It is not," said Lee. He paused, tilting his head curiously. "Do people do that?"

"I- I'm not sure," said Sayaka. "As long as you're not trying. I'm not available, so…"

"Ah, I understand," said Lee. "However, that is not what I am interested in. Please accept my challenge!"

"Sure," said Sayaka. What a strange person. "When we get back to Konoha."

"Excellent!" said Lee with a grin full of gleaming white teeth. "Thank you very much!"

Sayaka endeavored to quickly change the topic. "So you said you wanted to, er, use only taijutsu? Why is that?"

"Ah, I cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu," said Lee, digging into his meal. It was a rather alarmingly sized donburi. "Or more accurately, I am determined to become a splendid ninja on taijutsu alone! It is an exciting journey."

"I see," said Sayaka evenly. She tried very hard not to seem too skeptical. It seemed entirely impossible for a ninja to exist who couldn't at least do replacement.

"You do not believe me."

"It is admittedly difficult to believe."

Lee nodded. "I understand, but I will show you that it is real."

Sayaka couldn't help but smile in anticipation. "I look forward to it."

She took a moment to look at the tent flap again and frown. Jeez, the kitchen was going to actually run out of food soon. She looked at her tempura and wondered if she should save some for Kiba.

"Do you not like the tempura?" Lee asked. He shoved a large chunk of meat into his mouth as she looked up.

"It's fine," said Sayaka. "I'm just… I might save some for later."

Lee made a noise, swallowed, choked, and hurriedly gulped some tea before speaking. "You should not do that," he said. "It is better to eat a full meal, and then have a protein shake or nutrient bar later if needed."

Sayaka shook her head. "It's not like that. It's just my boyfriend-" saying that outloud made her stomach swoop unnecessarily "-got back late from a mission, and I don't want him to miss dinner."

"Ah, here," said Lee, and he dug in his waist pouch before producing two carefully wrapped bars. Sayaka took them, nonplussed, and was a little stunned by how heavy they were. Going just by their size, she would have thought they'd be half the weight. "These are the special nutrient bars that I use for training. Each is a full meal, but if he is coming back from a mission he may have missed one."

"Thank you," said Sayaka, she held them up to inspect the packaging. It was plain paper that had been wrapped as tightly as possible to the surface of the bar, then sealed with beeswax. A small label had been affixed over the seam of the wrapper, detailing the contents and name of the manufacturer. Sayaka narrowed her eyes. "Hold on, this is from that apothecary in the Western Shops district. Isn't he incredibly expensive?"

"But very effective," said Lee.

"I can't accept these," Sayaka protested, though she admitted to herself that she was doing so only because that was the way she had been taught. The truth was, she had been wanting to try out some of the training supplements from that apothecary, but the sticker shock from a package of twelve bars had made her consider other plans.

"It is not a problem," said Lee, waving his hand. "I run D-rank missions for Wu-sensei, and he pays me in training supplements rather than cash. I have many bars at home."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! It would be the greatest dishonor for me not to help a fellow Konoha ninja in need," said Lee. Then he grinned. "Besides, I am a year older, and what sort of senpai would I be if I did not encourage the spring blossoms of love and companionship between my underclassmen?"

Sayaka felt her face grow hot, but stuffed the bars into her pouch. Discretion, she felt, was the better part of valor here. "W-well, thank you. I am sure they will be helpful."

"What will be?" asked Kiba. "This seat taken?"

"Ah, no, I was saving it for you," said Sayaka, starting only slightly. Jeez, she needed to remember to keep her chakra sense active when talking to other people. "Kiba, this is Rock Lee. Lee, this is Inuzuka Kiba."

"Yo," said Kiba, setting down his food and sitting down with a wave. The rest of Team Eight found seats next to Shikamaru and Chouji. Akamaru had settled in with Sakura, evidently deciding that she was the most likely source of delicious scraps.

Well, the puppy wasn't wrong. Sakura was sitting next to Chouji, who had an immense pile of meat he was working through, and who clearly felt that sharing was caring. An entire katsu pork tenderloin appeared between Akamaru's jaws, and he set to work with gusto.

Sayaka saw all this in a glance, then turned back to her own part of the table. "Good evening!" said Lee, standing briefly to bow, then sit back down before Kiba could react. Lee gave Sayaka a bright smile. "This is your boyfriend? A good catch!"

Sayaka blushed again, and Kiba shook his head ruefully. "More like the other way around, but thanks. How do you know each other?"

"Ah, Lee wanted to ask for a spar," explained Sayaka. "For when we get back to Konoha. I said yes, and we got to talking while I was waiting for you."

Sayaka saw something cross Kiba's face between blinks, but he smiled. "Is that so?" he said, and casually gave his gyudon a stir. "What're you talking about?"

"Sayaka-san was saying that she was worried you would miss dinner," said Lee. "I gave her some of my protein bars in case you did not show. Luckily, they do not seem needed."

"Ah," said Kiba around a bite of his gyudon. Sayaka glanced between the two boys and noticed Lee hide a wince before Kiba swallowed noisily. "Well, thanks for that."

"It is not a problem," said Lee. He dug into his bowl, pulling up a mouthful of rice from the bottom to mix with the topping. "Good nutrition is important to be an effective ninja. What was the mission you were on?"

"Ah, it was just a B-rank surveillance mission," said Kiba. "Command wanted an update on the enemy's force disposition. The latest briefing should be going out after dinner."

"Were there any changes?" Lee asked.

"I'm not sure, we only got here a few hours ago, but there's a lot of ninja out there," said Kiba. He stuffed another piece of beef into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. "It's more than I was expecting at least, though I guess the guy debriefing me made a face like he had expected things to be this way. Didn't we see a drawdown of Gato's forces over the last few weeks?"

"Yes, but a force buildup such as ours is not invisible," said Lee. He ran his chopsticks around the rim of his bowl pensively. "Gato was sure to catch a few of the signs and redeploy a small reserve of shinobi here as a precaution. However, unless our jounin are much mistaken, that will not be caution enough! Our own force disposition can be changed to compensate."

Kiba and Sayaka glanced at each other. Well. "That explains why Team Seven is going to Amber Sector," said Kiba. "You guys can kill people pretty good, so…"

"It frees up chunin for other sectors," said Sayaka, nodding, "and if we mess up, the collateral damage will be buildings and not civilians."

"My team is being assigned to Amber as well," said Lee. "We will be working together then, Sayaka-san."

"It appears so," said Sayaka. Then, because it was polite, she bowed slightly over the table. "Please take care of me."

Lee blinked at her, then laughed awkwardly. "Ah, I am sure you will not need any taking care of," he deflected. "I am confident you are capable if our commanders assigned you to Amber Sector."

"Sayaka's pretty good, yeah," said Kiba. He picked up another piece of beef as he spoke. "Might be her taking care of you."

Lee laughed. "Hah! Perhaps!"

"Kiba, don't be rude to our upperclassman," Sayaka said, nudging her boyfriend in the ribs. But she felt her lips curl up at the flattery anyway, and Kiba grinned back at her unrepentantly.

"I'm sorry," said Kiba, bowing to Lee over the table. "I did not realize you were older, I should have asked."

The excuse was terrible, seeing as Sayaka had basically openly acknowledged Lee as her senpai about five seconds ago, but Lee didn't seem to mind. "Please, it is not a problem," he said quickly, slightly red in embarrassment. "We are only a year apart. You need not defer to me."

"Still, I am sure you can teach us a lot," said Sayaka. She put on a charming smile and pretended not to notice Kiba's scowl. "Maybe we can speak later? I have been having trouble with my endurance conditioning, and as a taijutsu specialist I am sure you have a lot of good tips."

"Of course!" said Lee, looking utterly delighted, though whether it was because of the chance to teach or the chance to do endurance training, Sayaka wasn't sure. "I will absolutely help my precious kouhai become better at running, or I will myself run one thousand laps around Konoha!"

Kiba and Sayaka looked askance at Lee, who had suddenly broken into a dramatic pose, eyes almost incandescent with passion.

"Please never do that," Sayaka said to Kiba using a glance and a nudge of her shoulder. "I will absolutely leave you if I have to put up with it daily."

Kiba rolled his eyes minutely, saying with the gesture: "Trust me, I'm the last person to get that fired up about laps."


Dinner concluded swiftly after that, with the genin teams wandering off to prepare for the coming mission and while away the hours in between. Team Seven and Team Eight visited the armory to pull weapons before they went their separate ways. Which was to say, Naruto and Hinata were almost indecorously eager to disappear, Sayaka wanted to spend time with Kiba, and Shino and Sakura felt left out of everything.

"We should date," Sakura said to Shino.

"We should?" Shino asked, alarmed.

"We may as well," Sakura said grumpily. "Literally everyone else is. At this point it's almost a fashion statement more than anything else."

Shino was silent for a long moment.

"I do not think that is how that works."

"Sure it is," said Sakura, and she looped an arm through Shino's to drag him off. "Come on, I'm sure Sayaka and Kiba want us to leave them alone."

Shino's face was obscured behind his high collar, but the look he sent Kiba clearly said "if you don't make good use of my suffering, I will put spiders in your underwear". Well, Kiba was happy to oblige, but the circumstances made things a little hard. He and Sayaka weren't like Hinata and Naruto, who apparently could find ways to enjoy being around each other in the most dull of situations. Though, part of that was because the two of them, Sayaka and Kiba, hadn't actually managed to get much time to spend together yet.

"I'll leave you alone too," Akamaru yipped to Kiba, or at least that's what Sakura assumed, because Kiba rolled his eyes at his dog as it scampered off to join Sakura and Shino. Sayaka appreciated the gesture, but felt at a bit of a loss. Hayashi Castle had little to offer in terms of couples activities. It was a working military encampment, after all. In the end, the two of them wandered into the garden where Sayaka had been practicing her chakra control after the near-disaster of her last mission.

"We really need to find some time to hang out for real," Kiba said as they walked down the garden path. He had to admit, now that they were in the garden, it was actually quite nice. Without the anxiety of the last time he had been here. "Meeting up between missions like this is kind of lame."

"Yeah," said Sayaka. The setting sun was doing interesting things as it filtered through the bamboo stands lining the path. "Sorry. It's been busy."

"Anything new with you?"

"I apparently have battle fatigue."

Kiba's eyebrows went up. "What, from your last mission?"

"Yeah. Nearly lit Shikamaru on fire."

"Shit."

"Mm. Sensei has me going to a counselor about it."

Kiba gave her a look out of the corner of his eye. "You don't sound happy about that."

Sayaka scowled. "It's boring, and I'd rather be training."

Kiba snorted. "That's a shock."

Sayaka whacked him gently on the shoulder with a small smile. "I don't like talking about feelings."

"Uh huh. But you're fine talking about talking about marriage stuff?"

"That is different," said Sayaka, rolling her eyes.

"If you say so," said Kiba skeptically. "But you know, if we're going to go the distance as a couple, we ought to talk about our feelings."

Sayaka grimaced. "I guess? Who says that?"

"Er, well, my mom and older sister lecture me about this stuff all the time," said Kiba. He shoved his hands into his pockets, flushing a little in embarrassment. "They seem to think it's important for being a good husband, or something."

Sayaka snorted. It was somehow not that surprising that the Inuzuka Matriarch had those sorts of opinions. "Trying to be as opposite as the Hyuuga as you can, huh?"

"Nobody oughta be that kind of uptight," said Kiba grimly. "Er, no offense to Hinata, but she's, like, the exception, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it," said Sayaka. She wrinkled her nose. "That doesn't make feelings something I like talking about."

Kiba looked up at the tree branches that stretched out overhead. "I mean, that sort of thing seems fine to me. It's like how you debrief after a sparring round, you know?"

Sayaka pursed her lips. "I guess that's why my counselor said to treat the sessions like training?"

"Yeah, probably," said Kiba. "I dunno, it's just what my mom says."

"Does she say anything else?"

"A lot of stuff about babies," said Kiba with a flat look. "Seriously, why does she have to be like that? Is it a girl thing?"

Sayaka laughed and bumped shoulders with him. "A little, but I think your mom's worse than most."

Kiba snorted. "Wouldn't surprise me, but anyway. What else is new?"

"Well so, I went shopping," said Sayaka, obliging Kiba with a change of topic. "I decided I wanted a new look."

"I noticed," Kiba lied.

"You didn't say anything earlier," said Sayaka, glancing over at him out of the corner of her eye as they rounded a corner to a T-intersection. A stone retaining wall held back a mound of dirt with several fruit trees, limbs heavy with nearly-ripe fruit, growing atop it.

"Well, er, I guess I wasn't paying that much attention," said Kiba. He paused to look her over. "It looks nice on you."

"You think so?" Sayaka asked, and she raised her arms to examine them. "I'm not sure about the long sleeves. I thought I might do arm warmers instead."

Kiba's eyes flicked to her midriff, where the underlayer lay close to the skin and was exposed by Sayaka's arm motion, then back up to her eyes. "Uh… uh huh."

Sayaka caught the glance and made a face. "You're thinking something lewd, aren't you?"

"Not at all," said Kiba casually. He looked away to hide a blush. "I was just thinking it seemed natural on you, compared to skirts. When did you stop wearing pants anyway?"

"Dunno, something like a year before we graduated?" Sayaka said. She picked at the hem of her shirt, frowning. "Why? Do you like it when I wear pants like this instead of skirts?"

"Er, skirts are nice too," said Kiba. The sudden pivot towards clothes put him on the back foot. "I think you look pretty no matter what you're wearing, to be honest."

Useless boy. "Uh huh. Ino says I have the 'dangerous kunoichi aesthetic'. What do you think, do you agree?"

"That's an aesthetic?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, like in manga, when the heroine is a fighting kunoichi," said Sayaka.

"I uh, I think we read different manga," said Kiba, brow pinching to think. Did any of the manga he usually read have that sort of thing? He was pretty sure they didn't.

"Really? You don't read the Karuido manga?"

"Oh, you mean like that?" Kiba asked, and wow that was an interesting thought. "I'd say you're doing a good job then. Though, er, not enough belts."

Sayaka laughed. It was true, the main character's costume in Karuido had a ridiculous number of belts. "I guess it is just a manga."

"I'm surprised you read it," said Kiba, intending to move swiftly on to new topics. "I uh, I thought you just spent all your time training?"

"Even I get tired of chakra control exercises," said Sayaka, "and you can't do physical training too much, or you just damage your muscles."

"That's true."

"Ino had a few other things to say too, you know," Sayaka continued. "She said you're supposed to hold hands if you're dating. We don't do that."

"Uh, well, you don't seem the type?" Kiba floated. He was not entirely sure where this was going. "Unless you're in a mood, I guess, but uh, we haven't really been dating for long so I don't know."

Sayaka reached out and took one of Kiba's hands. "Do you want to do things like that?" she asked. "Since we're talking about feelings and all."

"Er, holding hands is nice," said Kiba, looking down at their hands then back up at Sayaka. "You don't like doing stuff publicly though, right? 'Cause of the rumor mill."

"Well, everyone knows we're dating, it's not exactly a secret," said Sayaka. She sighed and pivoted, letting herself fall against the wall next to Kiba with their hands still intertwined. "People should mind their own business."

Kiba pondered, not entirely sure what had just happened but happy to be with Sayaka all the same. "I don't think people know how to do that," he said. "Seems to be part of the human condition."

Sayaka snorted. "What about dogs, do they gossip?"

"Oh gods yes," said Kiba, rolling his eyes. "Akamaru can spend days telling me about the latest gossip. You're lucky only Inuzuka can talk to him."

"That's a little disturbing," said Sayaka.

"It's the reason why the Inuzuka do so much intel and tracking work, you know."

"Gossipy dogs, huh," said Sayaka. "What do they say about us?"

"Apparently I'm super oblivious and should be more of a man about this whole thing," Kiba said blandly. "I should show you how much you mean to me by bringing you dead animals."

"...Dead animals?"

"Yeah, like, you know, that I hunted," said Kiba. He looked down at his feet, scuffing the dirt a little with his toe. "The older dogs say it's great for a romantic dinner."

Sayaka was silent for a moment. "...I can see how that might be nice."

"...do you want me to?" asked Kiba, turning to regard her with a strange expression.

"Mm," said Sayaka thoughtfully. "Not really, it's hard to find the time anyway."

"Alright good," said Kiba, leaning back with a sigh. "I'm not actually that good of a hunter."

"Really? You're a good scent tracker aren't you?"

"Nah, Inuzuka sense of smell is kind of overblown," said Kiba with an easy shrug. "We are better than normal people, but it doesn't compare to a dog or a wolf. My scent tracking is actually a clan technique."

"What does 'better' let you smell?"

"Well, blood's easy," said Kiba. He scratched his nose, thinking. "Especially if you've been stabbed or something. There's a lot of it, so it's easy to track. Gunpowder and smoke too. Can't track knife oil or anything like that, though I can ID people based on their smell."

"How does that work?"

"Well, everyone's got little habits that impact how they smell," Kiba explained. "So, like, Naruto smells like instant ramen, mildew, and dirt. You can kind of tell that all he does is eat instant ramen and he probably doesn't keep either his kitchen or his bathroom as clean as he should."

Sayaka considered this. It was true that Naruto ate way too much instant ramen, and she had serious questions about how sanitary his kitchen was the last time she had popped her head in, but the dirt perplexed her.

"What does the dirt mean?"

"No idea," said Kiba, shrugging. "I mean, he trains a lot right? So maybe he's just taking naps? But you'd think all of that would wash off in the laundry."

Sayaka considered this, then frowned. "Wait, does this mean that Naruto doesn't do his laundry?"

Kiba looked alarmed at possibly accidentally causing a fellow boy problems. "Er, I wouldn't say that? I'm just a genin, you'd have to ask my sister or someone else older. I might just be getting it mixed up with your scent."

There was a moment where they both processed that line.

"I smell like dirt?" Sayaka asked, letting go of his hand to round on him.

"Not in a bad way!" Kiba said quickly, raising his hands in surrender. "I uh, let me explain."

Sayaka pointed an indignant finger at him. "You better."

"It's just that you have lots of long hair and use the standard-issue field shampoo, which is scented like dirt from Fire Country," said Kiba quickly. "It's kind of nice, actually, because Sakura likes to use this flowery shampoo, and you get sick of it pretty quick."

"Wait, hold on," said Sayaka, holding her hand out to stop him as she thought, "if Sakura uses a flowery shampoo, what stops other ninja from finding her?"

"Oh she just has to rub some dirt in it on mission, it's fine," said Kiba with a dismissive wave of his hand. "If anything it's better since you get the local scent on you. Your hair would stand out in, I dunno, Lightning Country."

Sayaka blinked very slowly at him as she processed this. It had never occurred to her that scent masking could be this complicated.

"Okay," she said. "Then doesn't that mean Naruto might just use the same shampoo as me?"

"Yeah, maybe," said Kiba with a shrug. "Look man, I'm not going to go around sniffing everyone's hair. You and Sakura are the only girls I've memorized like that."

"What about Kurenai-sensei?"

"Oh right, her too."

Sayaka sniffed and thought over the new information she had been presented.

"You said you memorized my smell?" Sayaka asked slowly.

Kiba was wary. "Yeah?"

"What else do I smell like?"

"Other than dirt?" Kiba said. His brow furrowed, and he was silent for a moment as he tried to put it into words. "I dunno, honestly, it's hard to describe. Your shampoo stands out because it's supposed to stick around to try and mask other scents, but up close I can smell the detergent you use for your clothes and the soap you use when you shower. Those tend to fade though, and, er-"

Kiba came to a sudden stop and went a little red. Sayaka raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Well, er, did you know, the way people sweat is probably their most distinctive scent?" Kiba said. "So, uh, I can tell if it's you based on that."

"My sweat huh," said Sayaka. She folded her arms and regarded Kiba through narrowed eyes. "I feel like there's other things you're not saying."

"W-well, er, it's sort of embarrassing," said Kiba, looking away and going more red. "I- I mean, look, the human body isn't exactly pristine, okay? There's a lot of stuff that happens and if you spend a lot of time around someone you notice specifics. Everyone's different and all that, you know?"

Sayaka did not really know, but she suspected that she wasn't going to get any more out of Kiba. "...Alright then. I guess that's fine."

"Oh thank the gods," sighed Kiba. He pressed his palms up against his eyes and slumped against the retaining wall. "Let's not talk about that again, okay? I'm a ninja not a damn doctor."

Sayaka huffed and looked down at the ground. Kiba shoved his hands in his pockets as an awkward silence fell. He had probably creeped Sayaka out, talking about all of that. Too much information all at once. But what was he supposed to do? It wasn't like you could lie about-

Kiba was suddenly very aware of Sayaka being inside his personal space. He started to turn towards her.

"What-?"

Sayaka kissed him, once, on the cheek. It was a little rushed, like she'd decided to do it on some kind of impulse. A moment of contact, nothing more, and then Sayaka had pulled away.

Kiba spluttered. "W-what was that for?"

"Thanks for being honest," said Sayaka, turning away quickly and starting to flush. "It was a little awkward for you, I'm sorry."

Kiba blinked at her as Sayaka looked down at the ground while fiddling with her fingers. It never failed to surprise Kiba that the ice-cold Uchiha-hime could be so vulnerable, and it made him feel squidgy inside knowing that she only did it around him.

"So you like that sort of thing huh," Kiba said.

"...it's interesting," said Sayaka, flushing a little more. "We should remember to train together, and you can teach me about scent masking."

Kiba grinned broadly. "Alright, I can help with that."

He stepped forward and took Sayaka's hand, still grinning, and felt his heart jump when Sayaka smiled back. He was so lucky.


Night fell.

Sayaka and Kiba had reappeared from their walk while the sun was still well above the horizon and rejoined their teams at a respectable time. Meanwhile, Naruto and Hinata had re-emerged just before mission curfew in a way that Sayaka found highly suspicious. She found herself wondering if it was wise leaving the inventor of the Sexy Jutsu around a girl like Hinata.

Then Sayaka thought about what she was doing and decided she was turning into Hiroyo, and this was entirely unacceptable.

The team was confined to their room during curfew, except for things like going to the bathroom. The barracks were clearly intended for men, with only a single set of bathrooms and showers for everyone to use. As the ashigaru had all been cleared out into other barracks, this wasn't a big deal, at least for the older ninja. The war hadn't exactly allowed such luxuries as divided bathing, and especially not when the bathing space was actually just the nearest river. The genin found it all a little shocking, but followed their elders' leads in getting their business done and over with as quickly as possible. Getting caught in the bath was a terrible way to go, but, more importantly, rumors had spread that the offensive would start that evening.

Team Seven got in and got out of the baths quickly to clear space for the next team. Many teams weren't even bothering, and simply washed their faces and ran their hair under some tap water to freshen up enough not to lose focus in combat. Others, like Team Eight, were being made to head back out again, much to their annoyance.

"It won't matter much after a few days," Kurenai had said when Team Seven had run across them on the way back to their room. She was tying up her hair into a bun, with Sakura followed suit and looking grouchy. "The big problem is acne, but I know a few good brands for you to use, Sakura."

"Oh gods," Sakura groaned. "Ugh, let's go get this over with."

The rest of the night was spent waiting. By unspoken convention, Kakashi and Naruto were bunking on one side of the room while Sayaka and Hinata bunked on the other. Kakashi was on the bottom, Naruto on top, and while this seemed fantastic at first, Naruto quickly realized that the light from the solitary ceiling lamp was very bad from his angle.

"Move over, sensei," Naruto said, poking at Kakashi's head with a bare foot. "Let me sit with you so I can read."

"Maa maa, you should have thought of that before taking the top bunk," said Kakashi, apparently unmoved.

Naruto poked harder. "Sennnseiiii."

"Fine."

Hinata giggled at Naruto's antics as she braided Sayaka's hair into a tight pattern to keep it secure in combat. The two girls were sitting on the bottom bunk, Hinata's, facing the door with their legs crossed to enable the braiding. A mirror hung on the wall next to the door, and Sayaka could see in it the way Hinata's smile fell as she worked her way down Sayaka's back.

"Are you alright?" Sayaka said quietly.

"I am a-alright," said Hinata.

"You don't seem to be."

Hinata pressed her lips together in an attempt at a reassuring smile, but failed. Caught, she made a small sigh. "It is a l-little frightening."

"Worse than Zabuza?"

Hinata nodded, fingers still deftly weaving the strands of Sayaka's hair together. "F-fighting defensively isn't so bad, but here, if I m-make a mistake, it has m-much bigger consequences."

Sayaka reached back and put a hand on Hinata's knee. "You'll be fine," she said. "We're in a free-kill zone, remember? If you mess up, we can take care of it. It's easy."

Hinata swallowed. "T-that's the other thing. I… I don't know if I can k-k-kill someone."

Sayaka went still, and wondered. In truth she hadn't ever done it either. The only people on their team who had…

Sayaka and Hinata turned at the same time to look at Naruto and Kakashi. Naruto was deeply engrossed in whatever novel it was that Kakashi had suggested to him. He had curled up against Kakashi's side like a little kid, and the jounin had obligingly plopped his elbow on top of Naruto's head to use as an armrest. If it weren't for their completely different features, they would look like a pair of siblings spending time together.

"Let's not think about it too much," said Sayaka, turning away and looking down at her feet. "Remember Zabuza? Naruto would have hit him perfectly. It'll probably be the same for us."

Hinata frowned and twined another set of strands together. "Perhaps."

Sayaka glanced up at Hinata through the mirror. The girl looked very pale.

"The H-Hyuuga clan has always been known for its p-prowess in combat," Hinata said quietly. She tied off the end of Sayaka's braid with a piece of string. "As heir…"

Sayaka pulled her braid around to fiddle with the end. The string was dyed black, so it wouldn't stand out when she went out.

"The Uchiha are the same," Sayaka said. She breathed in, held it, then breathed out. "I…"

"You'll be fine," said Kakashi. He hadn't looked up from his book, but Naruto had, sitting up to look at his team more carefully. Kakashi turned the page and continued: "Trust in your training. You three train more than any other genin team of your year."

"It might not be enough," said Sayaka. "Or we might have trained the wrong things."

"Maybe," said Kakashi. He looked over his book at her, then slid his eyes over to Naruto, "but it's like you said, Naruto did it perfectly. You two taught him a lot, didn't you? I don't think you'll have a problem. The muscle memory is there, and your training has made sure that even if your mind doesn't keep up, your body will. You will be fine."

Naruto looked down at his book, expression mixed.

"When we're on mission, it doesn't matter what legacy you have to live up to, and it doesn't matter what others expect from you," Kakashi continued, remaining in his slouch as he looked back to Sayaka and Hinata. "Right now, you are part of Team Seven, which has been assigned with supporting other combat operations in Amber Sector. You have trained to do this job, and you will succeed. I have total faith in all of you."

Hinata's smile was wobbly, and Sayaka looked down at her hands. She clenched them.

"Do you have another book, sensei?" Sayaka asked. "I… could use a distraction."

Kakashi nodded. "What do you like?"


They fell asleep.

It was expected, even encouraged, and not just for genin. The old jounin all said that sleep was rare when you went to war, and that you needed to crash whenever and wherever you could. They turned the light out and lay for what seemed an interminable amount of time that was actually only a few minutes, dressed all in their mission gear, ready to deploy. Sayaka felt wide awake as she looked at the ceiling.

But then, as if between blinks, she was jerking upright to the sound of a knock at the door. A moment later it opened to a chunin holding a bag.

"Ready up."

It was absurdly early in the morning, and only Kakashi returned to alertness without issue.

"You need any stims?" the chunin asked as the genin roused themselves. Naruto's groan was like the sound of the dead.

Kakashi looked around the room. "A few oral ones only, I think," he said. "The weak ones. The kids won't need much."

The chunin fished around in the bag and handed Kakashi six small paper sleeves, tightly folded and tied off. "Here you go, Hatake-san. Go time in thirty minutes - meet at the East Gate."

"Understood."

The chunin moved on, leaving Team Seven to wipe the sleep from their eyes and adjust their clothes. As they finished, Kakashi silently handed them each a packet.

"It's bitter," he warned as Naruto went to tear off the top. "It's a powder so that it dissolves faster, but it also makes it taste terrible. Be prepared."

Naruto nodded, then poured the packet into his mouth. His face went through a wide progression of disgusted expressions as he hurriedly swallowed, then took a pull from his canteen to rinse his mouth out.

"Ugh," he groaned as he swallowed the last of the stim, then wiped his mouth. "Gods, that's terrible."

"Works well though," said Kakashi as Hinata took her own stimulant pack and grimaced.

"I guess," said Naruto, and he shivered as the stims hit his bloodstream. "Phew. That's a rush."

"Are you all stocked up?" Kakashi asked as Sayaka downed her stim.

Team Seven nodded, Sayaka needing a moment to process the intense bitterness.

"Alright, let's get moving."

They headed out into the night, quiet in the darkness and the humidity of nighttime near the ocean. Their sector commander, Hanamura Taketo, was waiting for them at the East Gate.

"Team Seven, reporting in," said Kakashi.

"Right," said Taketo. He flipped through a clipboard quickly, then nodded. "Right, Team Seven, proceed to rally point delta and interface with Redbird Squad. You'll be providing pursuit sweep and advance sensing alongside Team Gai."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Gai's team huh."

"Yes? Is there a problem?"

"No," said Kakashi. He sighed. "Old rivalry between me and Gai is all. I hope he doesn't bring it up."

Taketo snorted. "Right, I heard about that. It won't impact your mission."

"Shouldn't."

"Move out then."

Kakashi nodded. "Team, on me."

They moved. Rally point delta was a grove of willow trees near one of the main canals that ran through the center of Senfuku. The grove stood across from a tea shop, the reputable kind, not the sort in the red light district, with lamps that hung still in the dead night air. The ground sloped down towards the canal, which was wide enough to accomodate two small barges passing each other with goods for the businesses and workshops that populated that part of Senfuku. Team Seven came to a halt just outside the rally point and walked the rest of the way, ignoring the sentry and pushing aside the drooping fronds of willow leaves.

All except for Hinata, who lingered outside the curtain of leaves. Sayaka paused too, looking back, and saw HInata's face turn apprehensive, even fearful.

"Come on," Sayaka said. Hinata took a deep breath before nodding and stepping forward.

"Kakashi," greeted a tall man in a green jumpsuit, with a smile that would have been blinding in full sunlight. "Looks like it's you and me again, isn't it? Been a while since we could-"

"Not today Gai," said Kakashi, sighing. "Please. It's my team's first mission like this."

Gai's expression changed to something very solemn. "I understand."

"Sayaka-san," said Lee, waving at Sayaka from near two trees. "It is good to see you."

"Lee-san," said Sayaka, bowing. "This is your team?"

"Yes! This is Tenten," said Lee, gesturing at a girl in a pink qipao-blouse, hair done up in buns, and her belt racked up with scrolls, "and this is Neji."

Sayaka looked up at where Lee was pointing to a boy in the tree, apparently meditating until she saw the veins around his eyes. A Hyuuga then, and apparently pulling duty as the second sentry.

"We should, ah, leave Neji alone," Lee said quietly, edging away to a different part of the grove with Tenten. "He does not like mornings."

"I heard that," Neji said, voice like ice, and Lee winced.

"Anyway," said Tenten, hurrying them along. "Uchiha Sayaka right? It's nice to meet you."

She stuck out a hand, and Sayaka shook it.

"Wire work?" Tenten asked, and Sayaka looked at her with surprise. Tenten grinned at her. "I can tell by your calluses. I have them too. Can't find any gloves either, huh?"

Sayaka shook her head, smiling slightly. "Maybe we'll get a bonus after this mission."

"Hah! We can hope. This is your team?"

Sayaka nodded. "Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata," she said, gesturing. Naruto grinned and waved, and Hinata dipped into a small bow.

"Two Hyuuga will be good to have," said Lee. "It is a lot of territory to cover with just two teams."

"Technically three, if you split off our sensei," said Tenten. "What's your team's specialty?"

Team Seven looked at each other. "Specialty?"

"Yeah," said Tenten. She tilted her head at them. "You know, like, Team Gai specializes in kinetic assault, since we have three taijutsu specialists and I'm a weapons specialist."

Team Seven looked at each other again, perplexed. "Um, I don't think we're like that," Naruto said. "Uh, I have a new bloodline limit I guess? And Hinata-chan's Byakugan is pretty useful, and so is Sayaka's Sharingan, so uh, I guess we're the same?"

"But, if you're a pursuit squad, you should have a specialization by now," said Tenten. She looked very confused. "You've done this before haven't you?"

"Ah, I never said, but this is actually Team Seven's first mission of this type," said Lee quickly. "Kakashi-sensei mentioned it earlier, but we were talking."

"Oh," said Tenten simply. "Well then."

"We can do our job," said Sayaka.

"Of course," said Tenten. She put on a smile that seemed strained. "Commander Sarutobi wouldn't send you out if you couldn't. We'll be depending on you, okay?"

Team Seven nodded. Tenten wasn't very good at hiding her expression, and they could all tell she doubted their abilities. But there wasn't anything they could do except prove her wrong, and so Sayaka tried to change the topic.

"What sort of weapons do you use, Tenten?" she asked. "You mentioned wire work?"

"Oh, yes, I do that and a lot of others too," Tenten replied. She pulled a scroll out of its clip on her belt to show Sayaka. "I mostly pull stuff out of my scrolls. You can do a lot of work with a sealing scroll full of kanabo attached to wire, you know?"

Sayaka raised her eyebrows. "You do that with kanabo?"

"What's a kanabo?" asked Naruto

"A kanabo's a kind of mace," said Tenten. Naruto looked at her blankly. "Er, it's a metal stick with spikes on the end."

"Ohhh. How big is it?"

"Usual size is about a meter and a half," said Tenten, "and weight's about two kilos."

"Tenten is extremely strong," said Lee proudly. "Opponents often underestimate her because she wears pretty clothes, but I have seen her strangle men three times her size!"

"That was only once," said Tenten, flushing and ducking her head. "I don't usually need to do those things…"

"Ah, but you can Tenten, and that is why I am so proud to be your teammate!"

Sayaka looked down at her fingers, flexing them and wondering. How in the world could you maneuver a kanabo on ninja wire, much less more than one? The weight alone would pull the wire through your skin…

"You use the thin stuff, right?" Tenten asked, as if she could hear Sayaka's thoughts. Sayaka looked up and nodded. "Yeah, that's good for assassination, but you should try out the three millimeter wire. It's a lot stiffer, so it's harder to work with for shurikenjutsu, but it conducts chakra better and is easier on the hands. Mind you, it still hurts with the heavier weights, but in my opinion you can't beat it for weapons manipulation. Just switch to using bigger shuriken and you'll be fine."

"I'd need to carry scrolls like you, wouldn't I?" asked Sayaka.

Tenten nodded. "Sure, but it just takes some practice. You're a genius like Neji, so you'll get there in no time."

Sayaka raised an eyebrow and looked over at the tree that Neji was still perched in. "A genius?"

"Of the Hyuuga Clan," Hinata said. She looked over as well, apprehensive. "N-Neji-niisan is the most talented u-user of the Byakugan in g-generations. He is m-much better than me in… in everything."

Naruto scoffed. "Tch, he doesn't look so tough. Bet you I could take him."

Hinata shook her head and put a hand on Naruto's arm. "Do not."

Naruto subsided, looking mutinous at first but acceding to Hinata's request.

"What's his problem anyway?" Naruto asked. "If Neji's a Hyuuga, he should show his respect to his clan heir."

"I do not expect my f-family to show me such deference," Hinata said. He sighed. "We… Neji-niisan is my cousin. His father and m-mine were brothers. Twins."

Naruto's eyebrows went up very fast. For a second, Sayaka thought he was going to blurt out something rude and unwise. Surprise turned to shock turned to pity before Naruto turned his eyes to the ground, lips pressed tightly together. He stood quietly for several seconds.

"Yeah, I- that's fair I guess," he finally said. "I uh… sorry for bringing it up."

"It is nothing," Hinata said quietly.

Hardly nothing, Sayaka thought to herself. Not, at least, for Naruto, who had a famous capacity for putting his foot in his mouth. If he really was interested in Hinata - really wanted to pursue her romantically - he would need to learn a thing or two about the history between her and her cousin.

The trouble was, it wasn't clear what that history exactly was. There had been an incident years ago, now called "the Hyuuga Affair", where a member of a peace delegation from Hidden Cloud had tried to kidnap Hinata. The attack had failed, the kidnapper killed by Hinata's father, Hiashi.

So far, so much common knowledge, but it lacked any real details, especially about the aftermath. How had peace negotiations still concluded successfully in the wake of such an event? Why was it that Neji's father, Hiashi's twin from the Branch House, had ended up dead as well, mourned afterward in a short, private funeral that Hiashi had not attended in order, supposedly, to care for his daughter?

Konoha's public didn't seem to find such questions interesting, and maybe that was fine. But it wouldn't be fine for Naruto, who wanted to be close to Hinata. Nor would it be fine for Sayaka as, barring something truly catastrophic, it seemed that Hiashi had successfully forged an alliance between the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans through Sayaka and Hinata's friendship. Neji's constant, visible anger and disdain for Hinata surely arose from deep, traumatic roots, and while that made Sayaka feel sympathy for him, it also made him a potential threat to Hinata's life and title. Neither Naruto nor Sayaka could afford to be this close to Hinata without knowing what they were getting into.

Sayaka grimaced and licked her lips, trying to push this all out of her mind. She needed to focus on the mission for now. Thankfully, Naruto seemed to have grown some sense, so at least she didn't have to worry about that.

Then a rustle of leaves, heralding Kakashi's arrival, and Sayaka turned to look at him.

"Everything alright kids?" he asked blandly. His one eye glanced over the assembled genin. Sayaka wondered what he saw.

"Yes, sensei," said Hinata.

"Got everything you need? We have some supplies, so if you need a last minute top-up…"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Then get ready," Kakashi said. "The rest of Redbird is here, and the attack starts in five."

Hinata nodded. "Understood."