It's been awhile since I last updated...I believe around a month now. Sorry it took so long!


Weeks turned to months, Team Seven slowly sinking into the feel of their new lives. D-Ranks became the norm, as did training among the three and a handful of dinners at Naru's house, with Hinata or even the Hokage joining sometimes.

It was around the one and a half months mark that the Hokage finally decided to hand over a C-Rank to the group of Genin. Team Seven wasn't alone on the mission, however.

I~~~~I

"Oi, forehead, stop bugging Sasuke-Kun!"

"What did you say Ino-Pig?! Sasuke's my teammate, not yours!"

Two growls were heard, sakura and blonde clashing in a flurry of 'love' rivalry.

Off to the side, Sasuke scowled and looked away. Naru stood behind him, next to Shikamaru and Choji, watching the two girls argue over stupid subjects with annoyance.

Ahead of the Genin, Kakashi and Asuma both sighed, exasperation entering their faces as the two girls continued to argue along the trail.

Teams Seven and Eight had been walking a day straight, taking small breaks every few hours before continuing on their walk toward a village at the edge of fire country.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had assigned them the mission of delivering trade supplies to the small village, as well as taking a look at the strange happenings around the outskirts, such as loss of memory and time by those passing through.

The Daimyo himself had requested Asuma, as they had been close due to Asuma's previous job as one of the Guardian Shinobi.

There was also the fact that the way to the town was along the same path as the Fire Temple.

"Haruno, Yamanaka, shut up."

Sasuke finally snapped and glared at the two as his teeth clenched. He was already annoyed due to Naru's attention caught by the Nara behind him, and then the two girls had not shut up since they left. At the moment, he was close to tossing his Kunai at the two just to get some silence.

Almost immediately the two girls froze at the icy tone and aura from the Uchiha.

From behind him, he heard a soft sigh leave Naru's lips, before her hand settled on his shoulder. Sasuke's tense shoulders relaxed a bit, and his eyes slipped shut as he felt Naru's warm chakra surrounding him.

No matter what happened around him, Naru made Sasuke feel at home.

With her beside him, he supposed he could survive this a bit longer.

"Ugh! Get your hands off of him Naru!"

Or not.

I~~~~I

A metallic musk spread over a large area. Soft breaths left the mouth of a teenage Kunoichi.

Ivory locks were pinned up in a high ponytail, bangs framing a pale face as lavender-maroon hues narrowed on a broken landscape before them.

Roots were dragged apart, snapped by the force of Naru's Earth Jutsu, water turning the ground to mud.

A tremor ran through her knees, and Naru fell forward, collapsing in exhaustion.

It seemed she wouldn't be recreating that today either.

She was running out of time.

I~~~~I

Naru sighed as she fed the fire before her with more wood, glancing around their camp as she took note of the silent night.

Across from her, Sakura and Ino lay asleep in their tent. Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Choji shared another tent, and two separate ones were owned by both Kakashi and Asuma behind the ivory haired girl.

Asuma was off scouting, and Kakashi was supposed to be getting rest while he waited to switch with Asuma at the two hour mark. A light scoff left Naru's lips at the thought that Kakashi would ever do such a thing.

The silver-haired Jonin was sitting not too far away from her, reading from his damned book while his gaze lazily lifted occasionally to view her.

The blonde pushed her bangs aside as she gently poked the fire, breathing out softly whilst looking over the flames at her teacher.

She caught Kakashi's lone gray eye, narrowing her own while the hue darkened to maroon.

"Yes, Sensei?"

The Scarecrow's looks were starting to irritate the normally calm girl, but no one could really blame her after over a day of Sakura and Ino fighting over Sasuke.

Kakashi's fingers promptly snapped the cover of his book shut, his eye meeting her own still as he lazily set the book down on his lap. "I was wondering when you'd notice…"

Naru's teeth snapped shut to bite back a retort that would no doubt seem very odd coming from her lips. Instead the girl thought of Sasuke and Hinata, relaxing her shoulders.

"I noticed a while ago, Sensei."

Kakashi nodded, leaning forward as he propped his chin on top of the back of his hands, resting his elbows on his knees.

Naru felt exasperation well up inside her as she noticed the eye-smile taking over Kakashi's features, an irritating twinkle shining in that one gray eye when it opened.

"Ma, ma Aki-Hime, no need for such hostilities. I'm just your Sensei after all…"

Naru scoffed inwardly, keeping a blank face as she stared at the Copy Nin, completely unamused.

Kakashi huffed moodily at this, exaggerating his sadness as his eye flitted toward the other tents around them.

"Not that look, we don't need any more Uchihas Akihane, Sasuke, and his Ego are enough."

Akihane's lip twitched and she stretched backward, looking up at the cloudy sky to avoid Kakashi's gaze.

"I suppose."

Her voice sounded soft even to her own ears, causing her Sensei to feel concern for her current state of mind.

"Why do you feel so down, Aki?"

Kakashi's voice was just as low as Akihane's, shocking her slightly. Naru shook it off however, her maroon eyes darkening further as she thought about the past week.

A flash of blood, a fist hitting the ground. Anger, frustration, helplessness.

"It's nothing."

She tried to weave herself out of the thoughts she had, push against the newest target in her training and just forget about her inability to protect.

"If it was nothing, you wouldn't have said that."

A gasp left her lips, her eyes wide as her hands trembled. A call for her to quit, to stop hurting herself further, echoed in the recesses of her mind. She merely bit her lip and continued past the pain.

Akihane straightened, rising from the ground quickly. She avoided meeting Kakashi's eyes as she spoke.

"I'm going to rest…"

She turned and walked toward the tent where Sakura and Ino were sleeping, pausing when she noticed the sealed zipper.

A hand pressed into her shoulder, and her eyes widened as the fingers tightened and pulled her away from the tent.

A gentle shove sent her down into another tent, right into a sleeping bag and a flak jacket.

Silver locks fell over a half-smiling face, Kakashi's form crouched right in front of his tent and his student.

"Sleep here Aki-Hime, It's my shift soon anyways."

Akihane's mouth opened in protest, only for the zipper to cut her off sharply, Kakashi and the outside world disappearing into green blankness.

A scowl worked its way over Akihane's features, before she sighed deeply. It wasn't the first time she had stolen Kakashi's bed, but that had been entirely different, meaning she had done it without his permission.

(That incident may have also involved several traps, a bunch of glue, two dogs, a very happy Shisui, and also, a vengeful Snake mistress.)

I~~~~I

Naru was alone the next day, walking along her own trail through the woods as the sun shone through the leaves onto her head.

The albino had needed time to herself after their teams had arrived at the fire temple, sickened by Sakura and Ino's constant complaints and bitter comments.

An urge to dance in the small breeze had to be pushed aside as Akihane continued further into the Fire Country forest. It was not well known, but Naru always loved the greenery of Hi no Kuni the most, even more than the lovely waters near lightning country that she had seen while traveling with the Hokage once or twice.

The desserts and the swamps could not compare, nor the grasslands and mountains, or the barren lands and the frigid expanses. No land in all of the Elemental Countries truly measured up to such beauty.

"Amazing, no? The way this land appears alive."

Akihane turned sharply, her hand shooting to her weapons as she stiffened, her maroon eyes landing on the form of an elderly old woman, hunched over a cane with a kind smile etched across her sagging face.

She spoke again, angling her seemingly closed eyes up toward the sun as she sighed. "I did not mean to startle you, old experience dies hard dear. No need to worry too much, I am far too old to be any threat to such a Kunoichi as yourself."

Naru narrowed her eyes, raising a brow as she straightened, her hand staying within reaching distance of her weapons, her chakra roused and ready.

"It's dangerous to sneak up on a ninja," Naru spoke in a simple tone, one that held no real worry or emotion at all for the situation.

The woman chuckled and waved it off with a frail hand, turning instead as she started walking toward the shade of the leaves.

"And it is just as dangerous to listen to a crazy old lady, but do indulge this dying woman, would you?" The lady glanced back before she continued, Naru biting her lip before shaking her head and following the woman, muttering about stupid decisions as she summoned a clone nearby to head off and tell Kakashi about her discovery. Naru wasn't exactly sure why she chose to follow the woman, other than the fact a nagging voice in the back of her head urged her to trust the stranger.

'If I end up dead…Don't tell Hinata-Hime.'

I~~~~I

Naru followed the elderly woman further into the forest, taking note of the aged woman's greying blonde hair, as well as the small glimpses of blue from under her eyelids. The woman at one time must had had tanned skin, but now it was slightly discolored in places. There was also a certain grace to the woman, brought about by her hinting of Shinobi training back when she had first addressed Naru.

Her own maroon eyes remained the deep color amidst her wariness, drawing a smile from the woman's lips every time she looked.

Akihane didn't know what to make of the woman's actions, and she also didn't know what to make of the path the woman led her on.

The woods had thinned slightly, and by now Naru could wager she was at least 4 kilometers away from where she was supposed to be.

"Ahh…here we are."

The woman spoke, and Naru blinked as she looked around.

Her gaze shifted back to the woman, a bit too late as she suddenly found the woman's bright blue eyes staring into her own.

"I'm very sorry for this dear."

Naru moved her arm as she cursed, only to find her Kunai sliding against her palm. The woman stepped back, and blood hit the ground where Naru stood.

"Wha-" Akihane shouted, just before chakra surged in the area, the blood drawn toward a large array that drew Naru's attention to the ground.

All around her, seals awoke from their slumber, the blood on her hand slowing its dripping, just before something seemed to shatter in the area, the surging chakra shooting right toward Naru, causing her to gasp in pain as it was absorbed into her network, sending her to the ground.

I~~~~I

Kakashi casted a barely exasperated glance over his book as he watched Sakura and Ino haul water in a run toward the main grounds of the temple, bickering all the way. The monks tending to the grounds raised a few brows at them, whilst the boy they were trying to impress merely ignored them.

Sasuke was sulking, mostly due to the fact his second half was once again on her own somewhere. It helped the boy's mood slightly that Asuma was teaching him a new jutsu, one that Asuma himself had learned from the Sandaime.

Choji watched contentedly from his spot under the shade of the temple, peeling potatoes in skilled practice for dinner.

Shikamaru rested under the tree Kakashi resided in, having finished helping the Monks with whatever he had been assigned already.

The slightly peaceful atmosphere was disturbed by the faintest pulse of chakra, one that had Shikamaru's eyes opening and Asuma glancing toward Kakashi.

Kakashi waved his fellow Jonin off, dropping down beside Shikamaru as an ivory blur vaulted over the wall, landing right beside him.

The Copy Nin glanced toward the girl, who raised her arm to show him a red bracelet around her wrist.

"The Boss wanted to let you know she found something that might be related to the odd occurrences in the area. She wondered if you would send someone."

The Clone spoke up, dropping her arm as Kakashi debated the words. He knew from the red band that the clone was just that, a shadow clone, since Naru had come up with the code ever since he had confused her clones for her.

Finally, the Scarecrow spoke, glancing toward Shikamaru.

"Since you're done, would you mind going?"

Shikamaru sighed and rose to his feet, stretching as he nodded.

"It's a drag, but I'll do it."

The Nara noted the bracelet on the Clone's wrist before he nodded at it to lead him toward Naru's location.

The clone and her tag-along took off, leaving Kakashi alone.

"Hmm…"

I~~~~I

Akihane grunted as she woke, shifting her body whilst she forced her eyes open.

Her maroon gaze befell a large home, one that previously hadn't resided in the clearing she had passed out in.

Turning, Naru gripped the kunai left in her hand whilst looking around, noticing the pathway that he and the old lady had taken earlier before she turned once again to the home.

"What was that…"

Sighing deeply, Naru rose to her feet, cataloging the injuries she had, which were almost none.

Her hand was almost healed, and the only other thing she had was slight bruising from her abrupt fall earlier.

Naru shifted on her feet as she took in the Clan styled home in front of her, taking note of how well preserved it looked, despite the vines and other greenery overtaking it.

Shaking her ivory head, Naru tried to find an entrance, instead of finding a path leading to the side of the house.

Not having much else to choose from, Akihane started walking the path, taking out a second kunai for her other hand as she walked down the stones.

As she rounded a corner of the house, she noticed the path turn into a corner a bit further ahead, before disappearing inside the structure.

Akihane muttered, drawing forth her chakra as she followed the path, warry of her surroundings.

The further she progressed, the more an unfamiliar feeling in her chest started to grow, before it finally clenched when she stopped at the entrance to the inner garden of the house.

Her breath caught in her lungs, a gasp trapped in her mouth as she stared at the overgrown garden that no doubt served as a back yard for the occupants.

Several trees grew over patches of wild flowers and shrubbery, vines winding across the branches and onto the house where the branches neared the roof.

Wooden tubes, twisted in such a way that no carver could manage, hung from the older looking branches, several intricately made totems decorating the grounds.

At the very back of the garden, Naru spotted an area where the plants hadn't taken over, and instead two obelisks stood tall. Curiosity and a tugging in the blonde's chest drew her closer, until she was kneeling in front of the two black memorials.

Her hand brushed against the surface, and a surge of chakra left her body on instinct, the obelisks glowing blue for a moment.

Naru couldn't breathe when the names appeared, her eyes widening in shock while she felt backward, right into the patch of dirt left untouched.

Her eyes felt strangely wet, even as her fingers traced the name, the emotion in her chest making itself known.

Familiarity.

I~~~~I

Shikamaru found Naru kneeling in front of the obelisks, shocked at the appearance of the building, but his shock was nothing compared to what he felt upon seeing Akihane Naru in such solemn silence as her fingers trailed a set of names on the stone in front of her.

"Naru?"

Shikamaru spoke, watching as the ivory girl before him sighed, her body rising with grace.

"Sorry…I didn't mean to take so long."

Naru's eyes were a deep red, one that was bridled with sorrow.

"Please, don't mention this to Kakashi-Sensei or Asuma-Sensei…not until I talk to Hokage-Sama."

Her eyes hardened while she spoke and Shikamaru was struck with how much older the girl before him looked, how much she reminded him of his father when Shukaku was serious.

Her hand landed on his shoulder, and she leaned down, shocking Shikamaru more when she rested her forehead on the limb, her hair like the softest silk as it brushed the side of his face while he stood frozen in place.

"Please, do me this favor Shikamaru-San…Please."

Shikamaru felt his heart cave, and he sighed as his arm came around to pat the girl on her other shoulder.

"Fine, troublesome woman…"

The Nara felt a smile against his shoulder, just before Naru tightened her grip, pulling away from him.

"Thank you."

Naru nodded at the Nara, whose worry from the past few minutes after Naru's clone vanished abruptly and her chakra surged faded away.

So it was pretty short, but it wasn't the Wave mission, however it was a major part of the story. You'll find that this will influence quite a bit in the future, including the companionship between a Nara and an Uzumaki. Of course I could have had this out sooner, but writers block and the vanished urge to write kept me from doing so. This will be an End of the Year present for you all, so Happy Holidays. Maybe I'll get another out before New Years, but if not thanks for sticking with me through this small part of 2016!

Once again, sorry for updating, and don't expect much of a change through the next few months since we have mid-terms, PARCC testing, Discovery Testing, and whatever else they decide to throw at us. I already have two assignments to complete for the break, and I am helping my mom at work so I really don't have much time.

Omake-Namikaze Michiki

Michiki had seen a lot in her time and had helped many.

Hell, she had even helped the Nidaime live, and had become his wife!

Nothing could really prepare her for her death, however, nor the way that she was drawn right back to the world of the living by a complex array of seals.

Michiki was sure she was done, sure that she would finally see her family, her brother.

Instead, she found herself amidst a sealed house in the forest she used to live, waiting.

It didn't take long for it to happen, for her soul to be set free.

Michiki's relief was a little girl, a Kunoichi with ivory hair and stunning red eyes.

The girl bore such resemblance to that which Michiki was taken from, and it had given her hope.

So she leads the girl to her home, she released the wards and allowed herself to go.

She did not leave without gifting her grandchild with something, however, leaving it in a spot where the girl would no doubt find it when she returned to Konoha.

Miki smirked as she felt warmth surround her, shaking her head in exasperation.

"Of course she is a Kunoichi…Oh, Tobi what have you done, mixing my stubbornness with yours?"