Team 7 stood in front the Third Hokage, waiting patiently to receive their next mission. Or at least, outwardly waiting patiently. Inside, Sakura was positively fuming and she was sure both of her teammates were as well. For the past three weeks, all they'd done was trivial D-rank missions. They'd performed each mission perfectly, working surprisingly well as teammates, but nothing about their situation had improved. Sasuke was still quiet and moody, often going off on his own as soon as the missions were over. Sai put on a nice face and was polite no matter what the situation was, but after each mission he mysteriously disappeared as well. And Kakashi… well, he was just plain frustrating, always showing up late and coming up with stupid excuses.

All of these facts combined led up to Sakura's boiling point being reached; this wasn't at all what she'd expected when she'd first decided to become a Leaf kunoichi. Kakashi wasn't even really training them, since he was too busy with his nose always stuck in that stupid pervy book of his. Really, the one who should've spoken up was Sasuke—the one who actually wanted to become super strong—but in the end it was all too much and Sakura interrupted the Third before he could give them another D-rank.

"Um, Lord Hokage?" Sakura asked as sweetly as she could, trying to stop her voice from trembling with rage. She could feel Sasuke's eyes on her, but for the first time it didn't make her squirm and blush. It should be you asking, idiot! Argh! Her inner voice spoke against Sasuke, but she wasn't as surprised as she'd expected to be. The great Sasuke Uchiha who had won her first girlish crush over was… underwhelming. Immature, stubborn, and cynical, he was pretty much the opposite of who she'd dreamt he was. Which was why…

"We've done a lot of D-rank missions, and well, I think we're ready for something a little better now, wouldn't you say? Every mission we've done has gone off without a hitch so far."

Sakura had decided to focus on becoming a better ninja before she focused on love, because now that she knew even Sasuke had his annoying traits, she couldn't imagine finding a boy her age to like. While she waited for them all to grow up, she'd hone her skills until she was proud enough to stand on equal footing with the best them. Then they'd have to earn her love. She snapped back to reality to find the Hokage giving some speech on why D-rank missions were important to the village.

"But—"

"Sakura's right, Lord Hokage. How are we supposed to improve if we continue doing missions below our skill level? We'll still do D-ranks, but there should at least be a couple higher ranks sprinkled in there."

Sakura stared at Sai in mute surprise; she figured he must've been getting annoyed too, but she hadn't expected him to support her against an authority figure.

"I agree," Sasuke said from her other side, crossing his arms and frowning at the Third in disdain. "If we have the ability to do harder missions, won't it be better to bring in more money for the village?"

The Third let out a short harrumph, reaching up to tip his hat and hide his eyes as the three young shinobi waited for an answer. Even if he said no, at least they'd tried. But instead of flat out dismissing the voices of the inexperienced genin, he seemed to consider what they said. Listening to every villager, young or old, mature or inexperienced… he sure was a good Hokage.

"If Kakashi thinks you're ready, I have a C-rank mission that nobody has taken yet."

"Yes!" Sakura yelled, while Sai grinned as if he would've been happy either way and Sasuke muttered 'Finally.'

"The mission is escorting a master bridge builder named Tazuna to the Land of the Waves. You'll be protecting him from bandits and anyone else who wishes him harm. It may seem trivial, but there's no telling who or what you could encounter along the way. The keys to this mission are being prepared and putting Tazuna's safety above everything. Do you think you can handle it?"

"I know we can, Lord Hokage," Sakura said, beaming. "Right, guys?"

"I'm honoured you listened to us," Sai said, a smidge happier than usual. Sasuke smirked, but since he rarely showed anything other than coldness Sakura counted it as a victory. Not only would she become a great kunoichi—she'd make her teammates smile, if it was the last thing she did.


As the Team 7 genin left cheering, Kakashi let out a long sigh and turned to the Hokage, rolling his eyes to the ceiling.

"I never actually agreed," he pointed out, and the Third chuckled.

"But you never raised any protest, which is as good as agreeing."

"Fair enough."

After sharing amused glances, the Third's face grew serious and he stood, lighting his pipe and striding to the window to look over his village. Kakashi waited patiently as white puffs trailed through the air, the sweet, woody scent of the pipe filling the room. The pause stretched out, and the longer it grew, the more the room filled with a tension Kakashi couldn't place. He could suddenly feel sweat gathering at the back of his neck, and he knew this was about more than just some C-rank mission.

"Kakashi, I'm going to ask you something, and I need you to answer me honestly and without questions," the Third said. A rivulet of sweat trickled from Kakashi's neck down his back, leaving a trail of cold. "If anything were to happen to me, who do you think should replace me as the Fifth?"

"Planning to retire already, old man?" Kakashi joked lightly, but the Third didn't even crack a smile. He kept his eyes on the village, looking out into some future Kakashi couldn't imagine. He couldn't understand why the Third would ask, unless the clever old man knew of some threat no one else did. That didn't make sense though, right? If the Third knew there was some threat to his life—and by extension, Konoha's life—he would've told the Anbu or the other jounins.

"You would be my first choice, Kakashi Hatake," the Third said so quietly Kakashi had to strain to hear it. Kakashi frowned, walking around the desk to stand beside the Third and look out into the village. He wondered if being Hokage made the view any different. What Kakashi saw was hundreds of his comrades milling about in their daily life, most of the children bright and whole while most of the adults were cracked and fraying at the seams. It was a strange thing to see the aftermath of a war put scars on adults and smiles on children. A feeling of protectiveness came over Kakashi, suddenly. He didn't want to see another war; he wanted the next generation to stay as joyful as they were now.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage, but I don't think I'm quite the right fit for the job," Kakashi said, equally as quiet. He wasn't even Hokage—he wasn't even responsible for the village—and he already felt guilty when his comrades were broken. Being Hokage was like making a promise that you would protect someone, but instead of protecting just one person you were promising to protect the entire village. Rin…

"Hm, I wouldn't say the fit is the problem," the Third said thoughtfully, finally turning his attention on Kakashi. "But at this point, you're needed elsewhere. Which is why I called you in to ask who your choice would be. I trust your opinion, as a student of my former student's."

"Your former student…" Kakashi repeated, and something clicked in his head.

"Do you think—"

"Even if Jiraiya could handle this much responsibility, I doubt he'd agree to it," the Third said even before Kakashi could finish his sentence. But Kakashi forged on.

"No, I realized it was a stupid thought before it could even finish forming. But what about Tsunade?"

"Tsunade…" the Third thought about it for a second, then a smile broke over his face like the sun breaking through the clouds. He let out a loud laugh, looking lovingly back out the window. "Yes, she is indeed strong. Her heart has been gravely injured, but if anyone can pull through, it's her. Thank you, Kakashi."

"It's no trouble, but I have to ask why. You don't know something, do you? Like a planned attack or an assassination attempt?"

The smoke drifted out the window, winding up and up until it was no longer visible, gone to join the clouds. Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes followed it wistfully, squinting into the sunlight.

"There's always trouble brewing beneath the surface, Kakashi. Some of it you can prepare for and some of it you can't. I'm just glad to know that whatever happens, the will of the shinobi will stay strong throughout future generations with people like you and Tsunade around."

"Don't count yourself out yet," Kakashi said, laying a hand on the old man's shoulder. "We still need you."

"Oh, I'm not counting myself out—I'll fight with everything I have as long as there's life in this old body. It's just a relief to see that what I'll eventually leave behind will be so well protected. It's the reason I can fight with all I have."


Sai watched Sasuke covertly out of the corner of his half-closed eyes, studying the boy to see what his reaction would be to the rudeness of the bridge builder they'd just met. Sasuke was a remarkably well-controlled child, and if Sai hadn't been trained in recognizing the signs of emotion, he might think Sasuke was as emotionless as him. As it were, Sasuke only glared coolly down his nose at Tazuna, refraining from engaging in the tedious argument Tazuna was having with Sakura.

"We're ninjas, not children," Sakura was trying to explain patiently, but the twitch in her left eyebrow showed she was nearly at the end of her patience. Although Sai's mission was to watch Sasuke, he couldn't help but be endlessly fascinated by Sakura's blatant display of emotion. Everything she felt was clearly displayed in her face, movements, and body language, as if she didn't care that emotions were a weakness that could be exploited. Didn't care, or didn't know. It was odd though, that despite her emotional disposition, she seemed like she could become relatively strong.

"I need real goddamn ninjas. What are you gunna do, throw sticks at bandits?" the bridge builder slurred, shaking the bottle of alcohol he held at Sakura.

"Oh, I'll show you what I can do," Sakura growled, her hands curling into fists. Sasuke watched with the slightest amount of amusement, and the fact that he didn't try to stop her said more than words could. Sai was starting to learn that a lot of Sasuke's communication came from the things he did and didn't do.

"Sakura," Sai said, stepping forward to play the peacemaker. If the mission was compromised because of her, it was likely they wouldn't get another higher ranked mission for a long time. He needed them to get higher ranked missions to observe how the young Uchiha performed—if he was really as good as the rumours said.

"You're not really planning to mess up your first C-rank mission before you've even started, are you?" a voice came from behind Sai, and he felt his heart leap into his throat for a second. It was very, very hard to catch him off guard, but Kakashi Hatake had a strange way of doing just that. Danzo had told him Kakashi was a much better ninja than he seemed, but it was hard to believe the laid-back, calm sensei could be anything more than a slacker.

"Of course not," Sakura huffed, rolling her eyes. "I was going to smash that stupid bottle of his, though. We don't need our assignment drunk and loud while we're trying to stealthily sneak him back to his village."

"Good point," Kakashi said, tilting his head at the bridge builder in a command. The man muttered an obscenity under his breath but set the bottle down with a sigh.

"Well, if Konoha really plans to take this seriously I guess I'll cut back on the drinking for a while. Still, aren't they underestimating bandits by only sending one adult?"

"Our genin are more than strong enough to deal with bandits," Kakashi informed the bridge builder as they set off for their first mission away from the Leaf. Sakura glowed at the compliment, and Sasuke seemed to stand a little straighter. Usually, when he'd seen other people get happy after being praised, Sai had thought they were odd. What did a small, insignificant bit of praise matter? But, for some reason, he felt a flicker of something he didn't recognize in his chest. Kakashi's praises were hard to come by, and getting one felt…

"You coming or what?" Sakura called, and Sai snapped out of his reverie, offering her his usual reserved smile. Except it must have seemed unusual, because Sakura tilted her finger toward Sai with an 'Aha!' Sai frowned questioningly.

"That's the second one today," Sakura laughed at his curious glance.

"Second what?" Sai asked, totally confused. Sasuke, who had dropped back a little to listen, rolled his eyes.

"Second real smile," Sasuke said. "Your other ones are creepy. If you're not happy, stop putting on that stupid cheerful face. It's annoying."

Sai froze as the other two ran ahead, lifting his hand to touch his mouth. He'd been so sure his act had been convincing—he'd smiled at all the right places, frowned when he accidentally said something considered 'rude,' and laughed at whatever dumb jokes people made—but apparently he hadn't fooled any of his teammates. It couldn't be… the whole time that he'd been watching them, had they also been watching him? Was this part of what it meant to be comrades?

"Hurry up, Sai!" Sakura yelled over her shoulder, and he shook the thoughts off. There was no need for pointless thoughts like that; he had to focus on the mission. He grinned his fake grin and followed his comrades.


Kakashi was the first to notice it, and Sai noticed only moments after. Sasuke was third, and when Sakura finally saw it after noticing the boys notice, she was pissed. How was she supposed to prove that she was an amazing kunoichi if she was the last to notice stuff like that?

The puddle would've seemed inconspicuous during a normal summer, but the last few weeks of this summer in the Leaf had been exceptionally dry. It was such an obvious ploy, but Sakura honestly wouldn't have noticed it if the first two hadn't. Luckily, she was able to be of some use, because Sasuke started to ask about it and she quickly dug her fingers tightly into his arm, shutting him up. He gave her a sour look, then narrowed his eyes as he understood; they had the advantage, knowing where their enemy was when their enemy thought it would be a surprise.

They continued on as normally as they could, with Sakura casually sidling up on Tazuna's right side while Sasuke took his left. Sai walked behind them, his shoulders drooping theatrically as if he were too tired to carry on and he simply had to remain that far back. It was so obviously fake that Sakura wanted to kick Sai, but the ninjas attacking them must've thought Sai was just a drama queen, because they both sprang at once.

Sasuke knocked Tazuna into Sakura, who spun him behind her as one of the ninjas clashed with Sai. The ringing of kunai resounded throughout the air, as Sai held one of the ninjas off. The other one leapt towards Sakura, but Sasuke was already there to catch his blade with another kunai. Both enemy ninjas cursed as they realized they hadn't caught anyone by surprise, and leapt back to stand side by side. That was when Kakashi, who had slipped into the woods, saying he needed to use the bathroom, materialized behind them and slashed at their backs. The two narrowly avoided death, earning large gouges in the process.

"Hm. Ordinary bandits wouldn't be able to get out of there that fast," Kakashi observed, tapping his chin. "You aren't genin are you? So who exactly are you?"

Both ninjas were facing Kakashi, and Sakura saw her chance. She took out one of her own kunai and raised it in front of her. She'd never killed another ninja, and she wasn't sure if she really wanted to, but if that was what the mission called for, she'd do it. She gritted her teeth, took aim, and—

"Man, and I was having such a good fuckin' sleep too," a voice suddenly said out of the trees. Everyone on the battlefield stopped. The world stopped. Time stopped. An aura of such intense malice Sakura could feel it crawling on her skin suddenly permeated the air. Hate, hate, hate. Sakura could see herself die, could feel the life slowly drain out of her as her lifeblood leaked into the dry earth. Her breath shaking, she turned her head a fraction towards where the sound had come from.

"Where are you looking?" a voice laughed right into her ear. She screamed, throwing herself back at Tazuna and dragging him away from the new arrival. Friend or foe? The new person didn't seem to be with the two trembling ninjas in the middle of the clearing, but he clearly wasn't a Leaf ninja.

Red, mussed hair stuck out at all angles over a cruel, handsome face. Burning green eyes peered out from under lazy, half-closed lids, and a wide mouth was twisted in a sardonic smirk as the kid crossed his arms and arched a brow at Sakura. Dressed in a long black cloak and a loose-fitting black fighting uniform, he looked like some sort of assassin. Sakura's entire body shook at the amount of bloodlust radiating from the kid, who couldn't have been older than fifteen or sixteen.

"Kaze Naminato," the kid said, spreading his arms wide and turning in a full circle to offer everyone a huge, toothy smile. "That's my name. Kaze—wind. Everyone will know it soon!"

"Are you here for the bridge builder?" Kakashi asked, relatively calm under the amount of pressure that was being exerted everywhere. Sai's eyes were wide open in fear, and Sasuke's grip on his kunai was white-knuckled, his gaze turned inward to some inexplicable horror. As Sakura watched, Sasuke raised the blade and she wanted to cry out. Don't throw it. Don't throw something at that monster. It'll tear you apart. But Sasuke turned his blade towards himself instead, his hands shaking. Sakura started to move, but she knew before she could take a single step that she'd be too late, and Kakashi was too far away to get there in time.

"Sasuke!" she yelled, and the full brunt of the redhead's gaze snapped to Sakura, then to Sasuke, the only person moving. Sasuke plunged the blade into his heart, and Sakura's heart stopped. Then started beating again, only quicker than it ever had. Kaze stood in front of Sasuke, holding the kunai millimetres away from Sasuke's chest. Her imagination had seen it in his heart, but reality was almost scarier.

"Hey, you…" Kaze said, narrowing his eyes and searching Sasuke's face. Sakura's eyes were riveted on the scene, but she could still see out of the corner of her eye the two enemy ninjas. With even Kakashi's attention focused on the newcomer, the two seemed to see a chance to attack Tazuna. She spun to face them just as they lunged, flipping two kunai out. She doubted she could stop them both, but she'd at least try.

Until a warm spray hit her face and she was left standing there open-mouthed. Kaze was no longer in front of Sasuke; he was now behind the two enemy ninjas, his hands awash in blood. Because they were stuck through both ninjas' bodies. He must've used chakra to strengthen his hands so he could make them strong enough to do that. It was terrifying; his green eyes vivid against the scarlet spray, the metallic tang of blood scenting the air, and the dying gasps of two ninjas who had only moments ago been fighting with all their beings. In one second, Kaze had ended them.

"You're super pretty," Kaze said, pulling his hands from the ninjas' bodies with a wet pop and reaching out towards Sakura. She flinched, letting out a low whimper, and Kaze's hand paused just above her face. He made a disgusted sound, then reached into his cloak and threw something at Sakura. She reflexively caught it. It was a handkerchief, nothing more.

"Wipe the blood off yourself then," Kaze snapped, spinning on his heel to saunter back into the clearing. Kakashi had removed the band around his one eye, and was now staring at Kaze with a scarred red eye, his stance lowered and prepared to fight.

"Are you an enemy?" Kakashi asked, and one of his hands seemed to glow a little. Kaze looked around at everyone still alive, who were watching him with terrified eyes. Sasuke seemed to have regained his composure, although he still appeared shaken. Sakura thought Kaze might've whispered something to him before killing the other two ninjas.

"Not yours. Not yet!" Kaze said brightly, smiling as if his words weren't ominous in the slightest. "Those two were trying to kill you, right? And I fuckin' saved you! So be a little more grateful! Come on, Kakashi Hatake, be grateful!"

Kakashi's stance didn't relax in the slightest, but Kaze didn't seem to care. He ignored everyone as if they'd suddenly disappeared from his sight and started to walk towards Kakashi. Kakashi's hand began to glow brighter as Kaze got closer, until Sakura could actually hear what sounded like electricity coming from it. She kept looking between Kaze and Kakashi, wondering what kind of battle it would be. Even with that weird eye power, was there any way Kakashi could beat that?

"Is that what you used to kill Rin?" Kaze asked suddenly. Sakura had no idea what he meant or who he was even talking to, but the latter became crystal clear a second later. The light faded from Kakashi's hand like a candle being snuffed out, and Kakashi seemed to lose his strength, as if he'd just realized this battle was impossible.

"How do you know about that?" Kakashi whispered, his eyes widening in shock and something else. Something soul-shattering.

"How do I know?" Kaze asked, as he reached Kakashi. Kakashi watched him, now looking more like a cornered animal than a predator ready to attack. Kaze reached out, and Kakashi didn't bother to stop him. A sudden ink animal flew from Sai's direction, and Sakura gaped as it was struck down before even reaching Kaze.

Kaze laid a hand on Kakashi's shoulder.

"The Leaf sure has a lot of secrets, doesn't it?" he asked instead of answering Kakashi's question. Then he dropped his hand from Kakashi's shoulder and continued on towards Konoha.