Hi everyone! I just got all of these great e-mails today about people adding my stories to their lists!

THANK YOU SO MUCH…I wasn't sure if this story was very good but you guys have requested more chapters so here you go!

Fighting Dreamers

Scroll 8: Team Midori!

Haruka

Haruka woke up early the next morning. Practice wasn't until noon, but she wasn't used to waking up late. In fact, Haruka was completely unable to sleep past 7 o'clock. Many times, at her old house, she and her sister would take short naps while the other watched for enemies. There was not much to do this early since she'd gotten to Konoha. Often times Haruka would just sit at the window and watch the people come out of their houses and get their shops ready for the day. She lived across from a string of restaurants and tea houses, so it smelled like food constantly. However, Haruka wasn't fond of this because it meant she was constantly hungry.

It didn't take long getting to the training grounds. Haruka was pretty fast at traveling, considering the training she had gotten at home. She arrived pretty early so she waited for everyone to get there. About 20 minutes later she heard fits of yelling approaching. Riinchi and Ayame appeared off of the trail, fighting about whether or not it was a good idea to back talk the Sensei on your first day. It became quite obvious that these two would have problems with one another for a while.

"I mean, c'mon, authority is only authority if you see it that way" said Riinchi

"Yeah, and you're kind of SUPPOSED to see it that way considering we are ONLY genin" yelled Ayame

"but that is just stupid. A good bond between student and master means that the two of them are constantly teaching each other." said Riinchi

"Yes, but on your first day with that teacher, it is best to learn all the knowledge that you can before going against it."

"eh…..that seems boring" and with that Riinchi plopped onto the ground and stared at Haruka

"what?" Haruka asked

"You're that girl that hangs out with the drop out, aren't you?" he asked very nonchalantly.

"Nope, I'm that girl that hangs out with the drop out that is going to pound you into a tree if you ever call him by that name again" Haruka said, clearly angry.

"Nice to meet you" said Ayame as she extended her hand and a smile, "I think we are going to get along great"

"Eh…."exclaimed Riinchi as he attempted to fall asleep. He started snoring when all of a sudden the ground below him began rumbling. The earth shot up from underneath him, sending him flying into the air. He screamed as his body dangled weightless in the air. He was heading to hit the ground when he was caught by the ankle. Riinchi, Ayame, and Haruka looked up to see Midori sensei sitting in the tree.

"The next time you think about questioning the methods of your teacher on the first day, think about how close the ground was to your face" Midori said to Riinchi. With that she dropped him, he landed with a loud thud. Midori sensei flipped out of the tree, she crashed a hole into the ground as she landed.

"My juutsu element is earth, can you tell?" there was no reply, "psh….LINE UP MAGGOTS". The three of them lined up with perfect posture. "That was your first lesson, anyone wanna guess what I just taught?"

"To not question authority?" Riinchi guessed in a small voice.

"NO! but that was a good guess…glad to know you learned something" she said, patting him on the head.

"That we each have a special element we can use with our juutsus?" Ayame questioned.

"STRIKE TWO! But very good…we get to that later" Midori paced back and forth, "YOU!" she pointed at Haruka.

"That, it is important to save your comrades, even if they aren't very likeable?" Haruka really guessed on that one.

"OH WOW! You…you are the quiet introvert genius aren't you" Midori smiled , "She's right! In battle, your comrades are your strongest asset. Why? Because when you get hurt, they always have your back. You must LITERALLY trust each other with your life. Trust that no matter what quarrels you get into, they will always save you from certain DOOM!" Midori sensei was actually a very good speaker. She had this strangely scary enthusiasm that made a person scared, but excited at the same time. It was strange to think that, with the level eccentricity she put off, that she would be as good as she is with enthusiastic speeches.
"Alright you guys, enough getting to know each other. Let's begin training. This lesson is about your ability to detect the unseen enemies. This is a very important task to master. So we'll begin, think of this like a game of hide and go seek. I will give you these walkie talkies, this is advanced stuff so be super careful. The rules are simple, I hide…you seek. You have until nightfall. Any questions?"

"Hai sensei, what are the boundaries?" asked Ayame.

"from the training grounds to the inner part of Konoha…okay…ready, set" and with that she poofed into a cloud of smoke.

"WHAT? SHE DIDN'T EVEN SAY GO!" yelled Riinchi

"well, we should start," Ayame began, "I'll take the training grounds. Haruka you take the upper side of the city walls, Riinchi you take the inner city walls. If you find anything suspicious say your location and we'll meet you there for the hunt. Okay go" said Ayame.

"HAI" they both yelled as the three of them dispatched to their assigned locations. The upper city wall was not Haruka's favorite place to be. The guards always looked at her funny and she always got lost somehow.

"I just need to figure out where sensei would possibly hide up here" she thought, "it's possible she could be disguised as one of the guards, but how do I tell the difference. Maybe I can get Mokono to help me."

Haruka jumped on top of the nearest guard tower and peered inside through a hole in the top. She began surveying for Mokono. Ahead of her was a Jounin she didn't recognize. The man stood at 6 feet tall, he had choppy black hair that came down far in front of his face. From behind his hair peered two bright green eyes. He was completely suspicious looking as he leaned on a wall in the corner. "That could possibly be sensei, he seems a bit too suspicious though". She jumped up and perched herself atop one of the lookout posts with the sketchy jonin just below her. She peered beneath , "Possibly sensei, now I just have to…"

"HEEEELLLLLLOOOOOO….IS THIS THING ON…MADAE MADAE WE HAVE A PROBLEM!" Riinchi's voice pierced through the mike so loud that Haruka nearly screamed herself. The voice was so sudden that she flew backwards off of her perch and into the guard tower. She looked up to see the suspect Jonin had vanished.

"GOD DAMMIT RIINCHI…I HAD MIDORI SENSEI RIGHT IN MY GRASP," Haruka yelled.

"Well, sorry…..I'm lost….I'm not sure where I'm supposed to be," said Riinchi

"The inner city, looking for sensei" Ayame chimed in.

"I thought Haruka was going to the inner city?" said Riinchi

"no Riinchi…I'm at the upper wall" sighed Haruka

"the upper wall? Wait where are you Ayame?" he asked

" the training grounds, slow one" she replied

"wait, if you aren't at the inner city then where are you Riinchi?" Haruka asked

"that's just it….I have no clue," he replied

"Oh great…now it turns into Riinchi hide and go seek…what are you near?" asked Ayame

"ummm…a building"

"Well that narrows down…oh…NOTHING….be specific, you idiot!" she asserted

"can you describe it Riinchi?" Haruka asked

"oh…it's big and has a stone walkway…and lots of people, near that bridge thing. I started at the gate and went forward then a left and a right? I think…maybe left again…there's a dragon. Just come find me, I don't know where I am, RIINCHI OUT!" and with that he left.

"Riinchi...you still there? You're at the library," Haruka stated,

"It doesn't even matter where anyone of US are, what matters is where MIDORI SENSEI is," Ayame was only a few hours into being on this team, and she already sounded done with this gig. "Haruka, just go to the library. Help this poor defenseless pastry they gave us as a team mate. Because if I do, he won't be alive," and with that Ayame's mike clicked off. Already Haruka could tell who would often be chosen as leader of the group. Ayame just had that natural leader like personality to her. She always knew what to do and the best way to do it.

Haruka knew very well where the library was. Back when the Hokage had given her the information on her family, and mentioned her other unknown sibling, she had spent many a day trying to research whatever strand of info she could. The leads all ended at a kidnapping of whom she assumed to be her eldest sister, after that it went cold. There was no info on who was really suspected, or if they were ever investigated. This sister seemed to just fall off the map.

She was running across the roofs, it was her preferred method of travel. She was well skilled at parkour ever since she and Lee would play tag training games for fun after school back in the academy. It was a short-lived activity, but she missed it quite often. A short ways ahead, she could see the ending of the rooftops, and the clearing before the library. She decided to jump down to the street and go from there, so as not to suddenly drop of the end. She jumped down using a few balconies, and finally reached the ground. It amazed her how none of the citizens really reacted to people just jumping off of buildings all the time here. That seemed like something that should be concerning to shop and residence owners.

There was a tea shop somewhere around this part of town she liked a lot. They had this lovely tea that was infused with some kind of flower petals they got from the flower shop across from them, Haruka had no idea what flower it was, but it was the most amazing tea she had ever tasted. She could smell it from here, and it took everything she had to not turn in and order a cup.

Wait...she backtracked to the tea shop, and looked in more closely. "What is..." sitting at a table just off of the open entrance was Lee, and every few seconds he would look over towards the flower shop intently. Over at the flower shop there weren't really any people. Haruka could see someone with long pink hair through the window, and an angry looking cashier about the same age. The pink haired girl began marching for the door with her nose in the air, rolling her eyes and the counter girls remarks. Lee was very interested in trying to hear what they were arguing about, though something told Haruka he already knew. Haruka waited until Lee was completely distracted by the quarrel, and snuck into the tea shop. She crouched below several tables, and quietly scooted right across from Lee.

"Wow, pink hair," Haruka said as casually as she could manage, "wonder if she dyes it?"

"No, it's natura...AH! Ha-haruka-san?" Lee turned so red, Haruka thought he might have swallowed a bowl of peppers.

"So," Haruka egged on, "Who is she? Why are you stalking her?"

"I-I am not a stalker!" Lee defended, "I just," he sighed, looking down defeated.

"Sakura," he replied, "Her name is Saku—Haruka, what?"

Haruka was very close to Lee's face, with squinted eyes and a broad grin. Her eyes darted from side to side, observing his, and watching the redness of his face all fade into a soft pink just around his cheeks. Haruka began snorting laughter.

"you, psshaha," Haruka snorted, "You like her." She collapsed her head onto the table, still smiling broadly. "Oh, this is the best thing to ever happen to me," she almost cried of joy.

"It isn't funny, okay," Lee was just angry now, "She's very nice, and she's very smart, too. And what are you laughing at me for?"

"Have you talked to her yet?"

"N-" Lee looked away, and in a small voice replied, "no'

"Look at you, you are adorable! You're like a puppy."

"I am not a puppy, I AM A MAN!" he hit his fist to the table, Haruka continued laughing.

"well, go talk to her Mr. Man."

"I—I can't yet, I'm not read-"

"Oh, Sakura-san, hello," Haruka said in the deepst, manliest voice she could, "we haven't met, my name is Rock Lee, I am a manly-man man, in no way associated or similar to a small innocent purehearted puppy, just manly. You know why they call me Rock Lee, because I am so manly, I eat rocks for breakfast!"

Haruka stood with one leg on the table, and her fists at her hips, jutting her chest out as manly as she could.

Lee looked up at her with his eyebrows about as low as they could be.

"I am funny dammit," said Haruka, "You should be on the floor with laughter."

Lee huffed and looked away, putting his chin to his fist, and turning back to the flower shop.

"You know," said Haruka, back to seating position, "If you don't talk to her...I will."

"Haruka-san, why wou-"

But Haruka had already gotten up, and poking her head just out of the tea shop open wall, yelled to the pink haired girl who was now walking away. "SAKURA-SAN!" she whipped back around, hiding just behind the wall. Sakura turned around, looking every which way, rather startled. Haruka went to peer around and yell again, but she was jerked away from the wall.

"What are you doing?" Lee said angrily, "I am sorry Haruka-san, but you are embarrassing me. I don't understand why. You usually don't make fun of me, but today you are."

He was so angry. Haruka actually felt kind of bad for angering such a precious little flower.

"wow, you are so cute," she said, patting his shoulder, "I'm sorry Lee-san. I'm just excited for you. I'll stop embarrassing you, I didn't mean to be hurtful."

"O-oh," Lee bowed, "I am sorry, I mistook your friendship for unkindness. That was wrong of me."

Pure. Precious. Flower child.

Those were the three words Haruka would use to describe her best friend. What more, she didn't even think he realized how polite and proper he was. It was just so natural to him.

"IT'S THE LIBRARY!" Haruka jumped as Riinchi screamed into the mike, again.

"RIINCHI, STOP YELLING, DAMN!" she screamed at him. She forgot that no one else knew who she was talking to, and so for a moment the busy little street had all stopped to look at her.

"Oh, sorry," Riinchi said, "I figured out it's the library. I've been following a suspicious lady with blond hair, that seems to have shifty eyes, and is cautious of where she goes."

Haruka looked to Lee, as much as she wanted to stay and know more about this new found crush, she had a mission to complete.

"Sorry Lee-san," she said, "I have to get back to finding my sensei."

"You're still training?" He asked, "Wow, our training ended not too long ago."

"when did you get up?"

"Um, dawn, no, just before then. Gai-sensei wanted us to meet him at dawn."

"Wow, he's devoted."

"He's the best!"

"If you say so Lee-san. I'll see you later, I want to know more about this Sakura, and if she's worthy of you."

"Worthy?" Haruka was already running from Lee, "Oh, GOODBYE HARUKA-SAN!"

After retrieving Riinchi from the library, Haruka called Ayame and they all agreed to meet just between the training grounds and the library.

"How have we found nothing?" Ayame asked in a slight panic.

"I mean," Riinchi started, "The lady at the library was suspicious, and I can usually tell if someone is wearing a mask. But, her make up looked solid."

"Make-up?" Haruka asked.

"Yeah, I can tell how things are made, and thus know if they aren't real," said Riinchi, "I'm also really good at turning into things, like logs or making clay shields around me. My sister can actually turn her whole body into the things she observes. I wanna be that good one day."

"Wow," Ayame raised her eyebrows, "That's decently impressive. Anyways, it's getting near to the end of the day. I've been scanning the radio signals all day, no evidence of Midori-sensei talking to anyone."

"You can scan radio signals?" Haruka was intrigued.

"Radio signals, electric pulses," Ayame listed off, "If it has to do with electricity, or any kind of wavelength, I can tap into it. It's how my dad got into the ANBU, he can actually trace an electron through a powerline, and find the source of where it is headed to. He can also manipulate an electron if he needs to, or a wave."

"well damn," said Riinchi, "Okay. What about you, Haruka?"

The two of them looked intently at Haruka. She thought about it, but really she didn't have any of her families amazing abilities. She never got the chance to be taught how to access that part of her.

"I mean," she squinted, "I'm really good at taijutsu, and I've got genjustsu down decently."

"But, what about your family?" Ayame asked

"Well," Haruka shrugged, "I dunno. I don't really know them. I've really only ever had my sister Anei, but she left some time ago, so..."

"That's really sad...OW" Riinchi yelped as Ayame smacked him over the head.

"You can't just say someone's life is sad. That's rude!"

Haruka started laughing, "I mean, I'm glad I'm here now. It was hard at first after Anei left. But I've got my own little space, and now I've even got a few friends. I haven't really had any of those since I was...well...like four."

There was a low gurgling noise, and Riinchi started gripping his stomach. "Mmm, I'm really hungry," he whined.

"It's practically evening," said Haruka

"Did Midori-sensei say whether or not we were supposed to meet her back at the training grounds?" asked Ayame.

"I don't think so"

"We should get food," Riinchi whined. Ayame shot him a glare.

"No," Haruka said, "He's got a point. I'm pretty hungry, too. I mean, by now we have lost, and we have a bit of time before the end of the day, so...we might as well eat and then head back to base."

"Well you two can do that," said Ayame, "I'm going to keep looking."

And with that she left.

"so..." Haruka turned to Riinchi, "Ra—men?"

"Okay"

Haruka internally cheered. They both made their way to Ichiraku. They waved the cloth back at the entrance, and...

"MIDORI-SENSEI?" they blurted in unison.

Midori-sensei turned around and smiled a big smile, "I was wondering when you twerps would finally end up here."

"You were here the whole time?" Haruka asked

"No, you almost had me there at the guard tower," said Midori

Haruka glared over at Riinchi, angry that she could have won this thing early.

"I've been wandering around town for a while. No disguise, just watching where I go. Y'all hungry? I'll buy?"

"OH HELL YES!" Haruka cheered and sat down.

She and Riinchi made their order, and the three of them talked about what all had happened today.

"There was a lesson here," said Midori, "But, where is Ayame?"

"She went to go look for you some more."

"That girl needs to learn when to stop and breath," said Midori-sensei, "I was hoping this excersize, and having both of you as teammates, would help slow her down when she needed to. Well, let's go."

They made their way back to the training grounds, and sure enough, Ayame was sitting at attention, waiting for them. Haruka and Riinchi sat down next to her, and watched her face fall as Midori told her where she had been, and how Haruka and Riinchi had found her.

"I can't believe that you two found her by just going to get food," said Ayame.

"When you're on your last leg," Midori-sensei started, "Sometimes you have to keep pushing. But it's really very important Ayame, that you learn when those sometimes aren't. You won't always need to keep pushing. More often, you need to pay attention to your own body. You have needs like eating, and staying hydrated, that you cannot complete a mission without being on top of."

"Hai, sensei. I will try...uh...less hard next time," Ayame belted.

"Okay, just don't kill yourself, and have a time for yourself," said Midori, "Todays lesson was mostly meant for you three to learn what you work together with, and what you don't. Most of your missions are going to be following people without being noticed, and giving intel on their whereabouts. So, you need to keep on your toes, and also keep a good communication between the three of you. Ayame, you did good today, splitting up the team, but you should have stayed with them at the end. Riinchi, you got hopelessly lost, and had to interrupt another teammates search for help. You also are very loud on your mike, and I could hear you passing me on the street. Don't reveal your mission, keep discreet. But, you also did a good job by noticing you needed to eat, and paid attention to what your base needs were, so you could continue functioning. Haruka, you did good with scouting me out at the beginning, but you lost that after falling from the roof. Now, eventhough that was partially Riinchi's fault, you should still keep a low profile as best as you can in emergency. Had you just held onto the roof, and not let yourself get overwhelmed by Riinchi's yelling, you would have probably got me back there. Keep in control and concentrated."

Midori looked around, she seemed quite proud of all three of them.

"Well, that was fun," she said, "You all can go home now. And, Ayame, promise me you will eat a.s.a.p.? Don't just continue training."

"Hai, sensei," Ayame saluted

"Alright, 'night you runts!" and then Midori-sensei poofed away.

"Well," Riinchi stood up and stretched, "I'm glad we all got to know each other, see y'all later."

"Sh-she didn't tell us when we would be meeting again," said Haruka, very confused.

"For some reason," said Ayame, "I feel like that is going to just be normal with her."

They all agreed to show up tommorrow around the same time in hopes of Midori-sensei being there.

Haruka made it back absolutely exhausted. It wasn't even that late, but all she wanted to do was go to bed. She got in her room, and took off her training gear. Her bed had never felt so soft. She took a few minutes to just roll around in it, and enjoy how comfy it was.

THUD!THUD! THUD!

"Eep!" she squeaked as she fell off of the side. She rubbed at her back, and got up, looking up to the ceiling where the thudding noise had come from earlier. "Always someone running around on the roofs here," she complained, "I really don't understand how people just sleep without being terrified." Back at her real home, if there was any kind of thudding, or bang, or slight sound, she had to wake her sister and investigate. Any noise meant the possibility of an intruder.

"I guess this is what it is like to sleep somewhere safe and comfortable," Haruka climbed back into her bed. This whole experience was so alien to her. It was going to take some getting used to. She fells asleep replaying the funny encounter she had with Lee earlier. Haruka couldn't wait to see him be that precious again, and talk about Sakura. He was such a puppy, and when you gave him attention, he would beam with excitement. It was so cute to her.

Meanwhile, just conveniently off of Haruka's roof...

Naomi ran as quietly as she could across the roof tops of Konoha. She made sure to keep her footfalls light, and her landings soft. She paused for a second, admiring the night sky. She hadn't seen a full night sky in a long time, not with so many stars, and a calm city to enjoy it in. It reminded her of the long nights she would spend with Ryoku-sensei, practicing her kendo, and learning to control her chakra. She could almost smell the moss that hung off of the tree branches, and the fresh fabric of her training attire. And she could hear the whack of the wooden kendo swords as they collided together.

She missed that, it hurt her to remember it so well. Knowing that she would never have it back again. She looked up to the moon, it was nearly full. After closing her eyes and taking in what few beams of moonlight she could, she began again. On her way to the old Uchiha clan annex. She was told it would be empty, and most likely wouldn't have much surveilance, since it has been empty for years, so it would be the safest place to stay while completing her mission of reporting on the nine-tailed foxes jiinchuriki, as well as the shift changes of the watchmen, and daily surveillance of the city. She figured she would like it here, it would certainly be the most calm info gathering she had ever done for the Akatsuki.