"Teaaaaaaamm 11!" the girls heard, watching as Takahashi sensei appeared before them outside the Hokage Residence. He had asked them to to meet him here, and Hana presumed they would be receiving yet another lame mission. So far - they had rescued a dog (which was cuute!), babysat a three year old and helped the councillors wife with her groceries.
Hana was growing slightly impatient. She wanted to be able to show her true potential and not be treated like a little kid. "What did you want to meet us here for?" Sumi asked coldly. "I wanted to bring you to see the Hokage. He has a mission for us" Takahashi sensei said, his voice suddenly serious "this will be no small task - so take it seriously". Nari pouted "what? Will we have to babysit TWO kids now?".
Takahashi chuckled, ruffling her hair, almost breaking it free of her ponytails "nope. This is a real mission. A C rank. We will be accompanying team seven". Hana perked up immediately upon hearing this. She would get to spend time with her brother on a mission? Cool! The gang entered the Hokage's residence and before long - stood alongside team seven and a master bridge builder named Tazuna, who needed bodyguards to bring him home.
Hana felt nervous about this mission. Something about it seemed off, but she shrugged it off immediately. She went to look at Sumi to see how she was reacting to the news, but Sumi was watching Sasuke. Hana nudged her, and so Sumi looked at her "sorry, did you say something?". Hana rolled her eyes playfully "do you think this is a good idea?". Naruto turned his head slightly to look at them. He had been standing directly in front of Hana. "Of course it's a good idea, believe it!" he chirped excitedly.
The 3rd Hokage cleared his throat "well it seems that everybody is all ready. Get your things packed up - you leave immediately. Tazuna needs to get home swiftly - so I don't want any delays". "Yes, sir!" everyone exclaimed, before they turned and left his office. Hana walked with Sasuke home - well, she walked behind him. He walked in front of her, his hands in his pockets as he stared straight ahead. Hana was feeling overwhelmingly nervous. She wished he was supportive and could sense her fear, but he didn't seem to.
She glanced up at the sky for a moment, almost being blinded by the sunlight. It was a wonderful day in Konoha. The birds were singing sweet songs, there was hardly a cloud in the sky and people were out, caring for their children and having conversations with neighbours about this and that. Hana's mind flashed back to the dream she had had. She had always wanted children. She had always wanted to fall in love. So it was no surprise that she would. Though there was one thing about that dream that stood out - the fact that her future husband said "when your tiny spark burst into a mighty flame". Whoever he was...maybe he knew of her father's words. Though there were a few who knew. Well, there was two. Choji and Shikamaru. Unless she told her future husband of those words, but a part of her didn't think so. A part of her thought whoever he was already knew her. Very well.
Sasuke stopped outside their apartment, unlocking the door and holding it open for her. "Thank you" she smiled, stepping inside. She was about to head towards her bedroom but Sasuke stopped her with a cough. She turned to face him, wondering what he wanted to say. "You seem distracted" he said to her. Hana's cheeks heated up. There was no way she could tell Sasuke about the dream.
"I'm just nervous is all" she shrugged. He nodded, stepping passed her and entering his own bedroom "fine". Hana blinked at him, but she was used to his cold behaviour. She wasn't sure why she expected anything more from him other than a cold shoulder. She stepped into her own room, packing a small, pink backpack and placing it on her shoulders. She gave herself one last glance-over in the mirror, fixing a strand of her raven hair that had fallen out of place. She stared blankly at her reflection for a moment. She was starting to become a teenager - and teenagers were the beginnings of adults. She was ever so worried about her future. Would she meet that man and fall in love with him? Or would she die in battle, or on a mission? She would have to wait and see.
She left her bedroom feeling pretty morbid, but she was really good at hiding that. She smiled slightly at her older brother, who stared at her with one eyebrow raised "there's something else you are not telling me about". Hana froze, looking at him and trying her best to conjure up something else in her mind. That's when it hit her. "Sumi likes you!" she exclaimed, causing him to jump ever so slightly "and she wants a date with you!".
Sasuke blinked, before he shook his head "no". "Why not?" Hana whined. "Because I am not a child who is interested in love" he told her coldly, stepping towards their front door. "So...are you telling me that you will never fall in love?" she asked him quietly. For some reason, this upset her. "Yeah, that's exactly what I am telling you" Sasuke said "love is useless. Love cannot benefit me or help me to achieve my goal. Therefore, it is useless". Hana nodded slowly, sliding passed him in a rage "nice to know, idiot". She didn't get to see his reaction, because she ran towards the village gates. He didn't call her - at least, she didn't hear him. Instead, he arrived ten minutes later, not even looking at his younger sister.
Hana felt like an idiot. She wished that Sasuke would see the situation the same way she did. That Itachi was innocent, and that someone else was the puppet master holding the strings. She hadn't even tried to talk to Sasuke about it. He wouldn't believe her, he would get very angry. Hana missed her parents and the Uchiha clan just as much as he did, but he was taking it too far in her eyes. Never falling in love? Who did he think he is?
After a couple of minutes, everyone had arrived. Sumi stuck by Hana, while Naruto and Nari waited excitedly in front. Tazuna started insulting Naruto, who tried his best to stick up for himself and proudly announced he would be Hokage someday. Of course, Tazuna retaliated by telling him that if he ever became the Hokage, it would be a terrible thing.
While Naruto was sulking and yelling, Hana sensed something was about to happen. She glanced around, gripping onto Sumi's sleeve. "What's wrong?" Sumi asked, blinking at her. "Someone's coming" she said "I can sense something". Sumi shook her off, shaking her head "damn, Hana. Don't be so paranoid. I don't sense anything".
Hana took a deep breath, allowing her hand to fall limp by her side "you're right - I am probably imagining things". With that, everyone took off. About an hour into their journey to the land of waves, and a few awkward silences later, Sakura asked Mr. Tazuna was he from the land of waves, which seemed stupid to Hana, but she ignored it. Kakashi then proceeded in telling Sakura that there were no ninja in the land of waves. He explained to them about the villages, and the Kage.
Just as they passed a river about half an hour later, Hana had that strange feeling again. Like they were being watched. Just as she went to turn around, she spotted two ninja emerging from a puddle. She gasped, lifting her hand to point at them. "What?!" Kakashi exclaimed, turning his head, his eyes widening. Suddenly, the two wrapped chains around Kakashi, tightening them so much that he exploded! Hana felt sick to her stomach "Ka-Kakashi!" Takahashi exclaimed, but he was next. They needed to get rid of the Jonin!
Hana jumped in front of Takahashi, earning a small grunt of disapproval from the two men. One of them wrapped his chains around Hana, who screamed out "Sasuke!". "Hana!" Sasuke yelled, running towards her. Meanwhile, the other ninja wrapped his chains around Takahashi sensei. He struggled to break free "you leave them alone! Leave Hana alone!". "Hana is it?" he chuckled darkly "I'll have a fun time with you". "Leave her alone!" Sasuke roared, attempting to kick him in the face, but he dodged it with ease. Hana had not seem Sasuke so caring in such a long time. Maybe it was the fear of losing her.
Takahashi managed to break free somehow, which amazed the others. While the man was distracted trying to get Takahashi back into the chains, Sasuke took out a shuriken and pinned the chain that bound Hana to the wall. "I can't move!" the male exclaimed, releasing Hana of her bounds. She ran towards Sumi, who was stuck to the floor with shock, and stood beside Nari.
Sasuke managed to beat them a little, but soon enough, they were charging at Hana once again. Hana closed her eyes, readying herself to die. Sumi took out a shuriken, yelling as she threw it at him "leave us ALONE!", but he kept running, dodging the Shuriken. Sasuke jumped in front of Hana, who gripped onto the back of his t-shirt as she still clenched her eyes. Suddenly, everyone gasped. Hana opened her eyes, only to see Kakashi was back! He had one of the men by the neck in a headlock, and Takahashi had the other in the same position. "Hi" Kakashi said, casual as ever.
"Sensei!" Sakura exclaimed gleefully "you're okay!". Hana sighed with relief, releasing her grip on her brother's shirt "Sasuke". "It's alright" he mumbled "I'm alright". With that, they noticed a scratch on Naruto's hand, and Kakashi explained that there was now poison from their claws in Naruto's bloodstream.
"What?!" Nari exclaimed "can't we get it out?!". "Yes" Kakashi explained "we can. We'll need to cut open the wound and get it out. By the way, Tazuna. We need to talk". Moments later, everyone stood around the tree that Kakashi and Takahashi had tied the men to. "They are chunin from the village hidden in the mist" Kakashi said, earning a nod from Takahashi "their specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting, no matter what the sacrifice".
"How did you know about our ambush?" one of them asked. "A puddle?" Takahashi said "on a clear day, when it hasn't rained in weeks". "In that case, why did you leave it to the Genin to do the fighting?" Tazuna asked. "We could have taken them out quickly" Kakashi said "but then we'd have learned nothing. I had to know who their target was - and what they were after". "Hm? What are you getting at?" Tazuna asked him. "I wanted to know if they were after us - Ninja attacking Ninja. Or, if they were after you. The master bridge builder. When you put in your request, you asked for standard protection from robbers and highwaymen. You didn't say there were ninja looking for you. Hunting you down. If we knew this, it would be a B rank mission or higher. Our task was simply to get you to your destination and protect you while you finish building your bridge. If we knew we'd be fielding attacks from enemy ninja we would have staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B mission. Apparently you have your reasons, but lying to us is NOT acceptable. We are now beyond the scope of this mission".
"We are Genin" Sakura spoke up "this is too advanced for our level of training. We should go back. And I really think we should treat Naruto's wound and get the poison out as soon as possible. Back in our village we can take him to a doctor". "Yeah. I agree with Sakura" Hana nodded, and so did Sumi and Nari. "Hm...Naruto's hand could become a problem" Kakashi said "I guess we should go back to the village". Naruto's face heated up with anger.
He suddenly lifted a kunai, stabbing himself in the hand with it, the blood pumping from it now. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes - completely dumbfounded by his actions. "Why am I so different?!" he yelled "why am I always - ugh!". "Naruto!" Sakura gasped, stepping forward "stop that what are you doing?!".
"I worked so hard to get here!" Naruto continued "pushing myself until it hurt. Training alone for hours - anything to get stronger. To reach my dream. I will never back down again, and let someone else rescue me. I will never run away. Upon this wound, I make this pledge - believe it! Bridge builder, I will complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife".
"Um..Naruto. That was really cool and all how you took the poison out - but if you lose anymore blood you will die" Kakashi said nervously. While Naruto freaked out and then got bandaged up by Kakashi, Hana took some time to talk to Sasuke, who was sitting on a rock. She took a seat beside him, placing her hands in her lap and coughing nervously "that was really wonderful. What you did. Thank you for protecting me" she said to him. He looked at her, before looking up at the sky "that's okay".
Hana smiled slightly, letting out a small giggle. Sasuke shot her a confused look, but she just rested her head on his shoulder. She wouldn't tell him why she laughed - it was way too weird to say. But in the moment he looked up at the sky - he may have looked a tiny bit cute. Not that she would ever admit that, though.