Butterflies

"Me? I'm nobody. I'm not skilled like Uchiha-san. I am not passionate like Haruno-san. I am not smart like Nara-san. I'm not as strong as Chouji-san. I'm not as collected as Aburame-san. Or as pretty as Yamanaka-san. I'm not as confident as Inuzuka-san. If anything, I'm like Hyuuga-san, socially awkward. Oh wait, no, she's just shy. The socially awkward one is me." OC! Team 7 remix!

Chapter 20 – Work with me

8-8

#Team. Time for evening workout.# Captain begins. #Hawk, continue elemental meditation. Frog, sealing. Make fifty seals, like I showed you. No clones. Point is speed. Learn to make seals faster and just as neatly.#

#Wolf. Medic training. Diagnostic on Hawk. Keep up until you master it or pass out.# I glare at him. #I take your shift if you pass out.# Still glaring.

Once he shrugs it off, showing that he knows I'm going to do it anyway, I get down to my training. That I have to focus too much to grumble doesn't really mean I don't want to grumble though.

"Captain was right… too busy to read." I still complain a little though, even though no one responds.

8-8

"Sasuke, you need to keep in mind that your comrades won't like you stealing their jutsus." Captain actually explains it to him. He actually has to. I glare at Uchiha-san, wondering why he can't figure out something so simple, so basic, on his own. I mean, how would he like it is someone just strolled into his home and went through his family's library without asking him?

"…" Uchiha-san takes a subtle look at me, noticing my glare. He also looks at Naruto-nii, noticing the 'is this really a subject' look – it's kind of a surprised and annoyed look, just before a 'Sasuke, really?' look. "I understand. Is there a way for me to use my Sharingan without causing a fuss?"

"Not looking in their direction while they cast their jutsus. Otherwise, no." Captain says. I roll my eyes. Why does this even need to be discussed. I mean, these are things that should be considered common courtesy.

"Nn." Uchiha-san nods. "That will prove easier with Namiki, and harder with Naruto."

"Perhaps." Captain doesn't disagree, he just doesn't really agree. Still, I can kind of understand Uchiha's position. If Naruto-nii is close range, Uchiha-san will be facing him most. I'm supposed to be long range support, so he'll be facing away from me most of the time. That actually makes some sense.

"What if Naruto-nii keeps his back to Uchiha-san?" I wonder. I mean, I have no idea how the Sharingan works. All I know is that it copies things we wouldn't want him copying from us.

"Hmm. That might work." Captain thinks out loud, but he doesn't really think this is the end solution – he's still too busy thinking for that to be the case. "We'll try that during training tomorrow. For now, Sasuke, just don't activate your eyes or look at them while it's activated."

"Nn. Naruto, you're still pouring too much chakra into your feet. That's why I can feel you next to me." Uchiha-san explains. "I activated my eyes to try to confirm that."

"Hmm?" Naruto-nii looks at his feet, wondering about that. "Thanks, Sasuke! I'll try to work on that!"

"Why are you helping us?" I ask Uchiha-san. Sure, he isn't helping me in the least, but he should know by now that I consider Naruto-nii 'us', and not 'him'.

"Aya~aaa…!" Captain drawls, warning me to behave. I don't react to him though. I'm still gazing at Uchiha-san – gazing, not glaring. I'm more curious than anything.

"Because…" Uchiha-san trails off. I'm not sure what he's thinking, but I can tell he's thinking of unpleasant things. "If I don't help you when you need it, you won't help me when I need it."

"I'm not going weasel hunting with you." I tell him plainly. I'm not suicidal… usually.

"No. He's mine, but I need someone to watch my back until I'm strong enough to hunt him myself." He says, meeting my gaze easily. He's telling the truth.

Hmm. Naruto-nii and I need to become chuunin in less than six months. Working with Uchiha-san will be annoying, at best, but he's definitely someone that wants to advance quickly. He'll be at least as driven as we are to not just take the exams, but to pass with flying colours.

"Watch Naruto-nii's back and I'll watch yours." I offer, putting out my right fist for a fist-bump. He looks at me, curious at first, then cautious… then cocky.

"I can handle that." We bump fists. "Besides, not pissing off the team medic would be nice." He smirks at me. I roll my eyes.

"Oi, while we're at it. Kakashi-sensei, Aya and I need to ace the next chuunin exams." Uchiha-san's eyes go wide with shock, before a cocky smirk peeks out.

"I figured working with you would be in my best interest…" Uchiha-san seems amused. "Now it seems the once dead last is being ambitious as well." Uchiha-san turns to Naruto-nii, still smirking.

"And why is that, Naruto?" Captain wonders, his eye sharp.

"Oh, you know… this and that." Nii-san grins, obviously not willing to say more than he needs to about this. I smile a little myself. Naruto-nii is really sneaking when he wants to be, and he know we need this and that we need to keep our heads down while doing it!

"Hmm? To not only want to take them, but to ace them? What do you think, Sasuke? Are you three ready to face a level of training that might guarantee such results?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Ah… crap… Yesterday was tiring enough! The evil looking glint in Captain Ecchi's eyes aren't really convincing me that yesterday was a challenging day…

8-8

This is madness! Pure and utter madness! Stealth training on a river! And no, not the calm spot we started on, this is a RAGING RIVER RAPIDS! And we're now suddenly expected to not only magically not drown here, but also we're expected to stealthily cross this blasted river! And if Captain decides we're not stealthy enough? Live kunai! We're supposed to steal our lunch from him! Seriously! And the longer we take, the hungrier we get!

I miss yesterday's training already.

A kunai is flying at me. I try to check if it has a tag or some funny trick to it. It doesn't seem to, so I dodge it – I tried grabbing the last one… stopping the bleeding was NOT fun. I roll back to far side of the river, ducking behind a tree again. Obviously I messed up. But this camouflage jutsu is HARD! Adding the rapids, the water walking, and making no sounds at all! I mean, even when I breathe too hard Captain spots me!

This is some messed up training!

Still… even though I don't want to admit it, I know I'll be better for it. Naruto-nii's getting too sneaky for words, too. I mean, he already nearly made it across a few times. Uchiha-san is far more skilled in this than I'd hoped as well. So… it's mostly just me struggling along.

I huff as silently as I can. I'm already running dangerously low on chakra. And I'm hungry. And I'm not allowed to unseal anything – Naruto-nii made me promise.

I want to try using sound release, even if only to cover any sounds I make, but really I'm too low on chakra for that. I used to think I knew what low chakra meant… but after passing out yesterday, twice, from low reserves…

You think that would mean I should rest today, right? I mean, a worn out medic is useless to her team! Nope. That just means that the boys need to not get messed up, because I'll still be ordered to heal them. Thank Kami-sama they're being super careful!

And just think! After this, I still have my sound release training! And medic training tonight! Well, Aya, be careful what you wish for. You got it; the man's training you.

8-8

I sigh. This isn't exactly what I was hoping for. At all.

"Aya-chan, do you understand what your task is?" Captain asks. I sigh again, nodding anyway. Because he sees that I'm too low on chakra for that new jutsu, he's instructing me to practice my genjutsus. Not my sound release one either, no, this is a D-rank genjutsu he wants me to master. It's not too chakra intensive –genjutsus almost never are– but it's… demanding. And to boot, I'm supposed to cast it on Uchiha-san and Naruto-nii, so they can practice the genjutsu-release. And if they don't get out in less than a minute, the other needs to realise this and help them. Meaning, that I'm supposed to keep an eye on how long they're under the genjutsu, and make sure to warn the other to help them.

I sigh again. This is… hard.

Snake – Rat – Demonic Illusion: Hell viewing jutsu.

Both boys' eyes gloss over. I cast it right. Thank Kami-sama. Now for the countdown. At thirty seconds, Uchiha-san's eyes blink and come into focus once again. Whatever he saw, it can't have been pleasant, given the frowning eyes now looking at me. It's almost a minute later, so I nod to Uchiha-san, and he releases Naruto-nii.

"Again." I'm instructed.

Snake – Rat – Demonic Illusion: Hell viewing jutsu.

Their eyes gloss over again. Uchiha-san is quicker to release it, and Naruto-nii releases it in just over thirty seconds. "Again." So I do it. I cast the most horrid genjutsu on my brother and an idiot over and over again. One thing I'm really glad for, is that they slowly start getting used to it –desensitized to it– and start releasing it faster and faster. In just over three hours, Uchiha-san can release this genjutsu almost instinctively. Naruto-nii still needs a second though.

"Good. D-ranks are as good as mastered. Aya-chan, C-rank now please. Use Demonic Illusion: Hellfire." I'm instructed. I really wished he didn't pick this one! I mean, it's just cruel! The genjutsu makes you think every part of you is burning up so badly that you're melting!

Rat – Snake – Tiger – Tiger – Rat – Demonic Illusion: Hellfire.

This one takes far more concentration, far more chakra, far better chakra control. Still, it isn't impossible to do. And really, the chakra needed for it isn't any more than a standard transformation. It's just… so sensitive. I mean, I thought the diagnostic jutsu was sensitive! No, this one makes the diagnostic jutsu look like a walk in the park!

It takes Uchiha-san nearly a minute to release the genjutsu this time – Naruto-nii gets helped immediately after. "Again." I sigh, but cast the genjutsu again. The results are exactly the same. "Again." This is… heartbreaking.

8-8

"Captain, his wounds are completely closed. His skin still hasn't thickened enough to not risk them reopening in a fight though." I announce after dinner.

"Good. You will start reading the scroll on the Mystic Palm technique then." My eyes bug out! Even as I catch the scroll tossed to me, I can't hardly believe this is real!

"C-captain! That's an A-rank jutsu!"

"It is, but you are only learning the theory for now. After all, what use is the diagnostic jutsu, if you can do nothing with the information?" He says, eye-smiling. I sigh; can't really argue with that. I'd have to learn it eventually. "Besides, you're going to start learning the chakra scalpel jutsu tonight. So you won't have too much time to complain about it. Now pay attention. The handsigns are: tiger, horse, rabbit, rat, dog."

Tiger. Horse. Rabbit. Rat. Dog. Okay, I can live with that.

"You need to coat your hands with the moulded chakra. Only coat them. The first level of this jutsu allows you to use that chakra to cut through little more than paper, but if you can balance it well enough, I've seen people cut through trees." I nod, remembering mama telling me about things like that. "It'll take about the same amount of chakra as three substitution jutsus. But remember just how delicate the balance needs to be. Do the signs slowly, mould the chakra properly. We'll work on speed in time." I nod.

"Naruto, Sasuke, I believe it's time for the two of you to start on the body flicker jutsu. Aya will learn that one in the morning, but she needs this one more." Captain makes a single clone, which leads the boys off somewhere. He turns back to me. "Aya. I know you like to read up on jutsu before trying them. That's why I want you to start studying this jutsu now. You won't be learning it during this mission. If you manage to master the chakra scalpel, I'll probably show you the Healing jutsu. Sasuke and Naruto will probably need you to learn that quickly, after all."

"Isn't that the same as the Mystic Palm jutsu?" I ask, confused.

"No. The Healing jutsu can mend muscle tissue and close superficial wounds. The Mystic Palm can reverse bruises, mend veins and arteries, mend bones, and even force the patient's body to heal far more quickly. Because Mystic Palm is so demanding and so complex, it's ranked as an A – not to mention all the variations of it. The Healing jutsu is a high C-rank jutsu. Furthermore, you can use the Mystic Palm without needing to use the diagnostic jutsu, because you'd still manage to receive information from the Mystic Palm. The Healing jutsu doesn't do that. You need to do a diagnostic beforehand, and afterwards to check if it was done properly. You see?"

I shake my head, trying to figure out who this man is. I mean, he sounds like a medic! He shouldn't even know half of what he knows!

"Look, simply put, the Mystic Palm is like using the diagnostic jutsu, the healing jutsu, the bone mending jutsu and the blood detoxify jutsu at the same time. It's… dificult." He says, probably mistaking my awe with confusion or something. I shake myself out of my shock, looking away from him.

8-8

Oh. My. Kami-sama! That was GOOD! I pat my belly, more than satisfied with the meal I just had. I make sure to suppress a burp though! Most unladylike.

I feel quite happy right now! Especially seeing as Naruto-nii decided to spoil me and catch six fish just for me! Heaven knows I need the extra calories!

Looking around, I see the somewhat familiar faces of the ladies we'd rescued. Most of them are looking at me with a warm smile, but Yasu-san and Sakiko-chan are mostly glowing at Naruto-nii for spoiling me a little. I soooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOO deserve it!

"Naruto-nii! Thank you for taking such good care of Aya-nee! She looks so happy!" Sakiko-chan announces, smiling from ear to ear.

"Yeah, she kind of does. She's worth it." I couldn't agree with you more, Nii-san! "I mean, with how hard she's working, and how awesome she is with all those new jutsus? I don't doubt she'll be the most awesome kunoichi Konoha's ever seen!" And there he goes, bragging again. I role my eyes, too happy to care… too much.

"Nn. I think she's trying to not get left behind." Uchiha-san smirks a little, looking away from me. That boy is so weird sometimes. I mean, he talks as if he has a crush on me, but refuses to admit it – probably because he knows what I'd do to him if he does dare develop a crush on me.

"What are you talking about!? Sis has always been the most amazing kunoichi! She'd never get left behind! And I certainly wouldn't ever let her!" I smile, wondering at blondie's words. I mean, Uchiha-san is kind of right. I don't want to get left behind. And with how those two are obviously growing by leaps and bounds… I need to give every day, every training, every second my all to make sure I don't feel small around them.

Naruto had taken my advice, studying the book on elemental jutsu with a clone, doing Captain's insane trainings with twenty clones, the jutsu practices with just as many clones… he's… dangerously fast at learning things like that. And Uchiha-san? He takes three, maybe four tries to get the basics down. After that, it's all polishing work.

Me? It took me three days to stay dry while walking on water, and another day and a half for it to be semi-graceful. How in Kami's name do those two do it?

"Alright, alright. Enough of that. You've got twenty minutes to relax. Training starts soon. And you're not going to like it." Yeah. Because I loved yesterday's training?

8-8

Aya. Screw you. Screw you and your stupid assumptions that trainings can't possibly get worse. They didn't just get worse. They got MUCH worse!

Same workout as two days ago. Only this time on the rapids, wearing weighs on my shins and forearms, and while Captain's throwing pebbles at us to see if we're paying attention. That means that if we're mid push-up, we need to raise a hand to deflect the pebble, while continuing the push-up, while still on water and the weights are still very much attached.

Evil genius. Mostly just evil, but definitely some genius in there somewhere.

The weights aren't too bad, mind you. Just two and a half kilos each. But, adding that little extra weight for six hundred push-ups while defending yourself from an obviously bored ex-Anbu captain? And while having to constantly do little 'jumps' to force ourselves to do downstream slower. If we go too far, we have to do 'stealth evasion training', with live kunai again, to get back to our starting position. Sigh. Why'd I agree to this again? Oh, right. Naruto-nii. It's too bad I don't have the energy to slap him.

And after lunch, it's 'private instruction time' once again. Captain makes two clones, and I'm once again brought to a much quieter section of the river so I can focus. Not dry land, of course. That would be silly. I mean, why train on dry land when you can train on a river? It's just sooooo illogical.

"Aya. Time for the second step. I want you to snap, amplify the sound, and contain that sound into a little ball. Try to make it about the size of your finger tip if you can." Captain instructs. Hey, can I try to see if I can still feel my fingers first? I mean, six hundred push-ups aren't exactly an easy thing to do! Let alone the sit-ups, crunches, stretches, squats, and what ever other crap we've been doing all morning!

Snap.

Come on, Aya. You were amplifying these stupid snaps just fine yesterday.

SNAP.

Better. Better.

SNAP!

There we go. Now, how do you contain those sound waves into a ball?

SNAP!

Nope, that didn't work.

SNAP!

Yeah, no.

…

I didn't hear that, at all. I look to my fingers and snap again.

…

Nothing. I don't hear anything when I snap.

"Good. Good. Now, try to amplify it even more, while still keeping it contained." Yeah, how could that possibly go wrong…

I snap. I shake my head. I snap again. I can almost see something happening. And I mean, visually see something happening. It's almost as if the air is being distorted! I snap again and again and again. I try to control that little ball as best I can, trying to force the sound waves to do what I want them to.

8-8

#We have four more days. After that, two days to rest, and we head to the camp at noon.# I shrug, not caring. I'm too busy practicing that thing to soothe my muscles. Not that it's helping. Or that my fingers and palms look any less red from snapping all afternoon.

#Day after tomorrow we do a mock infiltration on one of the emptied camps. Frog will fill that camp with clones, you three will take them out.# Whatever. Can I eat in peace please? I'm starving!

"Hey, Kakashi. Have you heard anything from Asami's team?" Naruto-nii asks.

"No. Why?"

"Well, supposedly Gatou's behind this right? The same Gatou that's after Tazuna. So wouldn't there be some kind of connection? Maybe the things we're looking for are in Gatou's office by now? It would be smart to see what they know, or tell them what we know." Hmm, someone's been using their brains lately. Or, he just really wants to know how Sarutobi-san is doing. Either way is fine, so long as he doesn't forget where his heart belongs!

"Hmm. I'll send word, see what's going on over there." Captain seems impressed.

8-8

"Uchiha-san, eyes please." I demand. I'm not in the mood. I'm too tired, too hungry, too annoyed. I still make sure he's facing the other way though. When he nods, use Sound Release: Siren's call, singing some random song that's stuck in my head this time.

The singing isn't even all that important, really. It's having my vocal chords laced with chakra to cast the genjutsu.

"Can you see through the genjutsu?" Naruto-nii asks from a distance.

"I can. But I see the genjutsu as well. No wonder you weren't hurt. No one would want to break out of this." Uchiha-san says. I shrugs, still singing. "Naruto. Come see if you can work your way through this as well."

Another of Captain's absolutely evil genius plans. Have Uchiha-san use his Sharingan to break through the genjutsu, or at least work through it, it seems. This way, I can still use my jutsu in the future with him. And Naruto-nii? He's been working on coating every inch of himself with chakra to stop the sound waves from reaching him in the first place. If we work this right, they will be able to fight while I cast my jutsu and we can take out the bandit camp with ease – in theory.

Seeing as Naruto-nii's obviously trapped in my genjutsu… nope. Not anytime soon.

8-8

Frog in the lead. Hawk on his heels. I'm bringing up the rear. Eighty bandits. Thirty minutes to take them out. Kami-sama, Captain's really pushing us hard! I'd been expecting Yoshino-sensei to be the one to help us train for the chuunin exams, but really, I can tell that Captain is better suited – just not better liked.

Without a word, Frog engages the first four man group of 'bandits'. Hawk uses a kunai he tied to ninja wire so he can keep pulling it back to throw it again – no point in being wasteful. After all, one kunai costs about as much as a ten metres of ninja wire!

I'm mostly just the distraction. My genjutsus are good enough for that. I focus on who the boys are attacking, cast the genjutsu about a second before the attack should land, and we take out the groups with relative ease. I'm annoyed though. This isn't what I've been working my butt off for. Yes, I'm definitely keeping my team alive this way, but… this isn't what I want. I want to do more, to be more, to help more. I want to have my team know that without me, this simply wouldn't work.

One can always hope.

It takes us fifteen minutes in total. Not bad, but Captain just halved the time and says we need to do even better next time. I sigh. I really just want to get out of this place. I want to get back to Konoha. I want to train more, just not in the things Captain's teaching me. Yes, genjutsu is an incredible art, yes I'm helping in so many ways. But… I… I just didn't think I'd be reduced to this. To the back up. Yes, I'm in charge of keeping my team alive, should things hit the fan. But…

This just isn't what I want.

"Jeez, sis! You're really scary, you know!" Naruto-nii complains about something. I'm just not sure what. I turn to him, questions in my eyes. "My clones, they couldn't defend themselves at all! You timed your genjutsus perfectly, so every time they tried to block, we could just shift our attack at the last second and still take them out!" If you say so.

"He's serious, Namiki." And who asked you, Uchiha-san? "Set them up, let us take them down. You can work on other long distance skills once we get back." Yeah, whatever.

"I know you're not too happy about this. But for the time we have, you're seriously killing it! I know you're going to be awesome once you figure out how to combine your genjutsus with your taijutsu! And if you add the chakra scalpel as well!?" Whatever, Nii-san. You can't expect me to work on only my taijutsu and three basic academy jutsus for years and then suddenly become happy with a supporting role!

Whatever. It's not as if I'll ever be anything more than a supporting role anyway. No, it's Uchiha-san, it's Naruto-nii… they're the stars. I'm just the one meant to keep them alive until they can shine bright. I'm the sidekick; the good little girl meant to piece them back together when the world cuts them up.

I sigh.

Well, at least this is for Naruto-nii. "Come on, team. Let's head back to camp. Naruto, I'm going to need you to gather food again. Sasuke, you're in charge of checking on the girls. Make sure they're comfortable, warm, and have everything they need."

"Sure thing, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Nn."

"Aya-chan. You're coming with me. There's something I want to show you."

8-8

I'm led down the river. Past the camp I'd cleaned out, to another such a camp. Bodies were decomposing where they'd been slain. Some half eaten by local wildlife. It looks like there's been a battle here. Burn marks on the wood, slashes from all kinds of blades.

"This was Sasuke's camp. Notice anything?" I'm asked. I give him the rundown about the obvious battle, the traces, the jutsu being used. Everything. "Exactly. Sasuke is very much a fighter. He leaves obvious traces, obvious marks that I can use to identify a fire release user, and the scent in the air is of jutsus being cast. He's skilled as a fighter, but not stealthy. Come, let's take another look."

I'm lead to another camp. This time the scene is very different. Guards obviously on patrol, their throats slit. It looks like an assassin had been through here, just like Captain said. When I'm asked, I tell Captain just that. "You're right. Naruto is incredibly talented as an assassin. With some proper training, he could be one of the best. But he's also very obvious. I look around here, and I see that this place was targeted, picked off and looted. Traces are everywhere, scents everywhere. Still, a very good show of skill here. Now come. Remember this camp and the last. And try to look at the next one with fresh eyes."

I'm lead back to the camp I took out. I look at the bodies carefully lined up, the odd way blood is splattered everywhere. I don't know what to make of it. "When I look at this, I can't tell what to think. There's been no obvious battle, no sings of jutsu being cast, no scuff marks or markings of any kind. There's only the scent of a little girl, which considering there's the scent of thirty females here, isn't that odd. Was it an assassin? Was it gang related? If I didn't know what happened here, I wouldn't have a clue. And that's ignoring the obvious smiles on the victims' faces. This could be written off as a mass suicide on their leaders orders."

Why are you telling me this? Why are you showing me this? "What's your point?" I ask, frustrated beyond belief.

"My point is to show the skill similarities and differences. You took out just as many as your teammates. You showed your own skills. And you continue to sharpen those skills, to grow at an incredible rate. So, what I want to know… is why you seem to feel so small around your team?"

I snort. Goes to show what you know. Me growing at an incredible rate? Have you seen Naruto-nii? It wouldn't surprise me if he could unlock his primary element in a week. Uchiha-san mastered two new first jutsus in two days. And I'm still stuck fumbling with one jutsu.

Sure, I've gotten some smaller skills down in between that, and yes I've finally gotten the diagnostic jutsu under my belt, but I've been working on that jutsu for two weeks!

"Aya, listen to me." Captain gets my attention. I look back towards him, wondering when I'd looked away from him. "You're unlocking a unique jutsu style, keeping up with two future powerhouses in their training. Training in genjutsu. Training in medical jutsu. Most people couldn't progress as fast in one of these fields as you are in all three individually. Just because you're teamed up with two exceptional shinobi, doesn't mean you're worthless by comparison."

Whatever you say, Captain.

"Aya." I look to him again, looking right into his one eye – and I'm kind of annoyed he keeps the other one hidden away all the time, like he has something to hide. "Even if you aren't… I'm proud of you." I sigh. Whatever. Can we go now?

8-8

End Chapter 20

8-8

A/N: The next chapter is going to be about the final bandit camp. After that, there's only the trip back to Konoha. Sorry, guys, no teasers this time ^_^ All I'm saying is that I've foreshadowed that which is to come enough, for now.