**OMG! I didn't realize I was spelling Gaara's name wrong!!!! Someone should have told me!!!! EEK!!!!!

Demonic Princess: Uprising Chapter 4- A change in weather

-One month later-

Murakami Kana sat on the Hokage Monument with Gaara; with her knees tucked into her chest she rested her head softly atop them watching the distant glow of the sun.

"Gaara," She mumbled softly, her eyes fixed on the horizon.

"Hmm?" He said looking over at Kana.

"I need to tell you something." Her words were quiet and soft, "something that I have kept from you for along time." This got Gaara's attention and he turned his body away from the sunrise so he was facing her. "You know I have the ten tailed phoenix sealed within me, but you do not know the purpose of why she was sealed within me." She took a deep breath, still refusing to look him in the eyes, "Gaara, I was sent here by my father to gather all of the tailed beasts and destroy the elemental nations."

Gaara stared at her, "And who is your father?"

She buried her face into her knees, "Kudara, the King of Demons."

Putting two and two together he looked at her wide eyed, "Wouldn't that make you…" He trailed off.

Kana nodded her head, her face still buried, "A Princess? Yes."

"That explains a lot." The red head mumbled, "Why would he want to destroy the elemental nations?"

"The country has fallen from grace. They no longer care for the land around them; they destroy it with war and hatred. My father wishes for this land to be returned to its original innocence. It has been tainted by the power-hungry, war-mongering, shinobi that inhabit this land." Kana answered, lifting her head to look at Gaara, "That's why it's my job to rid this world of its evil before they end up destroying everything."

Gaara shook his head, "It's our job." He corrected, "I'll stand by you, no matter what you are. You will always be Kana, my best friend and savior. If you choose to destroy this world, I will be right there with you; protecting you from those who do not understand our cause."

Tears began to form as she looked at Gaara, "Thank you…" She whispered hugging the boy tightly, "I'm not alone anymore...."

She let him go and turned back to the slowly rising sun. "When do you think we should tell Naruto?"

He shrugged, "After our first mission, we will know then where his true loyalties lie."

-7 o'clock-

The three Genin stood at training ground 4 as they waited for Kakashi. The continuously D-ranked missions left the children with more time on their hands to train. But they soon grew bored of the daily routine.

"When is Sensei going to get here?" Complained Naruto moving his weight from one foot to the other.

"He is always an hour late." Kana answered, and then slid into a fighting stance, "Wanna' spar to pass the time quicker."

Naruto smirked then ran at her. Ducking under a punch Kana jabbed Naruto in the stomach, with enough force that it would only leave a bruise. He jumped back and drew a couple kunai then ran at her again. Grabbing her own kunai from her pocket, she ran at Naruto. Their kunai's interlocked, each one battling for supremacy. Then suddenly they both jumped back. Throwing her kunai, Kana was waiting for Naruto the throw his own kunai to deflect it. Only the screech of metal against metal could be heard as they continued to throw weapons at each other.

When the rain of metal stopped, they continued their Taijutsu match; kicking Kana in the stomach, Naruto continued his combination with an upper cut to the jaw, then a punch to her cheek.

She stumbled back and smiled at him, spitting blood onto the ground. Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, she made a few hand seals then disappeared.

"Oh come on Kana!" Naruto yelled, "You know Genjutsu isn't my best!"

Her laughter echoed through out the clearing, "Exactly why you need to work on it…"

He tried to look around but his body wouldn't move. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw her slowly walking towards him.

"Oh shit…" was all he could say before she decked him in the face. He flew back into a tree and slumped down unconscious.

Shrugging, she sat down next to Gaara and opened a genjutsu scroll.

-40 minutes later-

Kakashi poofed into the clearing reading his perverted book.

"Sensei, why do you read those books?" Kana asked putting her scroll away.

The young Jounin scratched the back of his head, "You wouldn't understand, I'll tell you when you're older." As he spoke to the girl, his eyes immediately fell upon her puffy red cheek and split lip.

"Were you and Naruto sparring again?" He asked, looking around for the young blonde ninja.

There was a moment of silence, "He's over by the tree." Gaara answered, nodding towards the tree Naruto lay under.

Kakashi sighed, "You two always end up hurting each other," He mumbled walking over to Naruto.

Crouching next to the boy, the white haired Jounin tapped a finger against his head and the boy awoke.

Naruto smiled sheepishly at him before picking himself up off the ground.

Shaking his head again, Kakashi walked back over to Kana and Gaara.

"If you weren't always late, Sensei, then we wouldn't be always be sparring." The young girl pointed out.

"Yea, yea, I'm here now so start your warm-ups." Said Kakashi, and the three immediately started doing push-ups, and crunches.

Kana finished first and she began stretching out her sore muscles.

"Kana add ten more pounds to your chakra weights and redo your warm ups." He commanded, "That was far too easy for you."

Sighing, she did as she was told, adding ten more pounds then started over. Naruto and Gaara were ¾ done and it became a competition to see who would finish first. They tied, and then began their laps around Konoha.

Kana finished ten minutes later and glared at Kakashi for giving the boys a head start on the run.

He shrugged, "You'll have to sprint to catch up to them…."

And that's exactly what Kana did. For half of the mile, she ran has fast as she could to catch up with Naruto and Gaara.

She mentally cursed her lazy sensei, when she saw the boys. They were just finishing their first lap, and were beginning their second. Pushing herself to go even faster, she finally caught up to them, but their pace was gruesome to keep up.

"Oh come on Kana," Naruto encouraged, "You're the fastest, of us. This pace should be easy." Or at least he thought he was encouraging her.

Instead he enraged her, "Really! Try having thirty extra pounds on every limb, and we'll see how fast you run then!" Kana yelled then ran past them.

"Hey wait!" He yelled running after her.

Gaara chuckled and continued his run at his own pace.

---

"Naruto, bend your right leg don't lock it up." Corrected Kakashi, "and Gaara widen your stance a bit, your legs are too close together."

As Naruto and Gaara sparred, Kakashi helped them when needed and praise them when they did something right.

During their spar Kana had to do fifty kicks on each leg then fifty punches. The dull 'thud' of her kicks continued as the spar went on.

Gaara ended up being the victor of their fight, wining only because Naruto wasted energy by throwing sloppy punches and kicks.

"Kana, you can stop now." Kakashi ordered, motioning for the three to come closer, "We will have our first C-ranked mission tomorrow. We are traveling to Wave Country, protecting a bridge builder named Tazuna. It will be a long mission, so pack whatever you may need. We will meet at the main gate at 6:00 AM sharp."

(AN: Okay I know what you're thinking. Another fanfic with the same first mission. NOT! It will be very different, maybe not at first, but things will definitely go down differently.)

As they walked home, Kana was quieter than usual. Her body ached, and you could easily tell it hurt to even walk. Gaara didn't say anything, but watched her careful out of the corner of his eyes. Her arms hung like lead at her side, and she shuffled her feet slightly instead of picking them up all the way up off the ground. Her blue eyes looked off into the distance, as if thinking of something important.

Naruto babbled on about what he thought the mission was going to be like, and Kana would occasionally add her own thoughts about the mission but other than that she was quiet.

Later that night after everyone had gone to bed, Kana lay atop the roof staring at the stars. With her hands behind her head, and her eyes closed she began a conversation with Suzaku.

"Am I ready for this mission?" She asked.

"Kana, do not doubt yourself; when the time comes you will see your hidden strength and trust your instincts. Besides, I will help you if you are in dire need of it."

"Thank you, I wish I had the same confidence in myself as you do." Mumbled Kana, disconnecting the mental link.

Standing up, Kana jumped onto a neighboring roof then continued until she came to the Uchiha Compound. Stopping a few houses away, she looked at the huge house. It was guarded only at the front gate, making it easy to sneak into.

'What am I doing…?' She mentally asked herself, not sure why she came here. She sat down on the roof and continued to stare at the house.

'I need to tell Itachi about my mission tomorrow…'

'But you can tell him at 4 o'clock tomorrow during your normal training session.'

'I won't be home in time to pack then…'

'Pack tonight or before you leave. Besides he might get mad that you came here.'

'Yea, I guess your right. I'll just see him tomorrow.'

Her mental debate with herself ended, and she took one last look at the house before going back to her own house.

---

Itachi lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He had gotten back from his mission a few hours ago, and hadn't even spoken to his family. Sasuke had tried talking to him, but ended up being ignored; for the eldest Uchiha was tired and covered in the enemies blood. Itachi's eyes moved to the stained clothes on the far right side of his room in a basket. He sighed and his dull coal eyes shut.

His thoughts drifted to the nine-year old girl he was training. She was two years younger than him, yet she acted as if she were years older. He remembered the first time he had seen her. She was happy and smiled much more than she did now. Itachi wondered what had changed her.

'Maybe it's my training…'

But he shook his head, 'No, whatever her situation is…she was forced to grow up…'

Itachi then sat up suddenly and whipped his head towards the window, 'What is she doing here?'

He saw her sitting on a roof top a couple houses away. She hid her chakra, but he knew it enough to know that she was there. He walked over to the window and watched her carefully. Her eyes were closed.

'She's debating on whether to come or not.' he deduced, then was relieved to see her leave.

---4 o'clock---

"Why did you come to my house last night?" Itachi asked.

"I needed to tell you something but decided to tell you this morning instead." She explained, "I'm leaving at 6 o'clock this morning for my first C-ranked mission and I don't know when I'll be back."

"And this couldn't wait because...?"

"I don't know." She mumbled, for the first time unsure of herself. She turned away from him, as if ashamed.

"Do not come to my house unless it is an emergency."

---6 o'clock---

When Garra, Kana, and Naruto arrived at the main gate they were surprised to see Kakashi already there with the client.

"This is Tazuna," He introduced, "Tazuna this Kana, Gaara, and Naruto."

"You expect these children to protect me?" The man grumbled, his breath smelling of alcohol, "They are what seven years old? That's as old as my grandson!"

Kana narrowed her eyes at the man, "If you keep insulting us, then might just refuse the mission and let you walk home alone and unprotected."

Tazuna shut his mouth, but glared at the girl.

"Tazuna, even though they are still children, they are capable of taking out bandits and such." Kakashi reminded, taking out his 'Ichi Ichi Paradise' novel.

"Of course!" He answered, trying to hide his nervousness, "Shouldn't we be leaving?"

Kana stared at him intensely before walking through the gates onto the road with Naruto and Gaara at her side.

---

"I don't like him." Whispered Naruto, "He's hiding something."

"Of course he is." Gaara answered, "Did you him quickly hide his hands? He's obviously nervous."

"For now we can't do anything. We already accepted the mission; when we find out what he's hiding then we can decide whether to continue or not." Concluded Kana opening a large thick red scroll.

Kakashi, who was in the back of the group, looked up from his book. 'What is she doing with that scroll?' He wondered but shrugged it off. He would ask her about it later.

As they walked Tazuna began to explain what wave country was like and his voice was dull and uninteresting, making Kana tune him out to read her scroll.

Naruto on the other hand, asked the man many questions and listened intently on everything the man said.

Once he ran out of questions, the group fell silent as they walked.

'Chapter 2 Basic Genjutsu's:

Genjutsu: Shibari - user binds the opponent in a genjutsu, rendering them incapable of movement and giving you the opportunity to deliver devastating killer blow.

Hand seals: boar, snake, pig, rabbit.

Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu- This jutsu causes the target to see a horrifying vision.

Hand seals: snake, rat

Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu- This jutsu changes the appearance of a nearby object or area in order to disorient the opponent.

Hand seals: boar, dog, ox'

As Kana was reading, her eyes wondered off the scroll onto the road a few steps ahead where a small puddle lay. She then looked up at the clear blue sky, narrowing her eyes.

'Something's off…'

Nodding to both Gaara and Naruto she put her scroll away and prepared for an attack. Within seconds of passing the puddle, two Chunin appeared behind Kakashi binding him with a shuriken chain which then ripped his body into shreds.

They then ran at Tazuna. Forming a protective triangle in front of the client with Kana standing at the point and Gaara and Naruto flanking her sides they stood waiting for their attack.

Immediately Kana began analyzing the two Chunin. She noticed they each wore a clawed gauntlet with a connecting chain that retracted in and out. They wore gas masks that covered their nose and mouth leaving their eyes the only visible.

"We need to immobilize the chain." She stated grabbing a shuriken. Flicking her wrist the weapon hit the chain pinning it to a tree. But it only stopped them for a moment. Detaching the chain, they attacked individually. They moved fast across the ground as Gaara attempted to immobilize them with his sand. He caught one the Chunin's foots and the other ran towards Kana, who guarded Tazuna.

Jumping in front of the rouge Chunin, Naruto ducked under the outstretched clawed hand and swept his foot underneath the ninja making him fall awkwardly to the ground. A grunt from Gaara made Naruto turn towards him. He was having trouble holding the other Chunin down.

"Go! I'll take care of this one!" Kana yelled, creating a genjutsu, "Genjutsu: Shibari!"

His body instantly froze. Appearing behind, the orange haired girl hit the back of his neck making him slump over.

"Ahh!" Gaara gasped, jumping back from the freed Chunin. He clutched his right shoulder tightly, trying to stop the bleeding.

Naruto stood in shock, trembling.

"Gaara!" Kana yelled, instantly by his side, "Naruto do something!"

But the boy only stood there. Turning her attention to the oncoming enemy, Kana side stepped a jab and noticed the blood dripping off the claw, Gaara's blood. She clenched her fists tightly, her anger rising. Continuing to dodge his attacks, she waited for an opening. When he over extended his arm, Kana took the chance by punching him squarely in the cheek, followed by a knee to the stomach, and finally an upper to the jaw.

He fell onto the ground but quickly tried to pick himself up.

"Genjutsu: Shibari!" He then fell over like his brother.

Still angry she turned towards Naruto, "What happened?!"

"He couldn't finish the enemy off." Gaara muttered, walking over to them, "I could only hold the Chunin for so long, and Naruto hesitated giving him the chance to get free."

She turned to Gaara and gently removed his hand to inspect the wound. The cut itself wasn't what worried Kana but the purple liquid around the wound.

"It's poisoned," Tazuna yelled over to them, "Their claws were poisoned." Lifting up one of the feinted Chunin's gauntlet for evidence.

"The nearest hospital is back in Konoha. We would lose time that we don't have if we went back." Gaara stated.

Growling angrily, Kana turned around and punched a tree. Her fist left a nice indent in the tree as she clenched and unclenched her fists. Naruto flinched, and looked down at the ground ashamed.

"Kana," Gaara said, holding out a kunai. She shook her head, "No, we should find a place to set up camp and find proper medical-

"Kana!" He yelled, "I would do it myself but," He then tried stabbing the knife into his shoulder but was stopped by his sand barrier, "I can't. You are the only one who can."

She paced back and fourth, shaking her head trying to figure out another way. When she finally came to the conclusion that there wasn't one she stopped and walked over to him.

---

Kakashi sat in the bushes, watching the scene. He had never seen them argue or Naruto be this quiet. 'What did Gaara mean by Kana being the only one?' He shook his head, he had much to ask his students. But right now, he was interested to see what would happen next.

---

Kana trembled with tears in her eyes and slowly pressed the kunai into the wound, making it bleed profusely. Gaara whimpered softly and looked away trying his best to deal with the pain. Biting her lip, she pushed to kunai deeper, making sure to bleed all the poison out. Soon the young boys arm was covered in blood as it continually bled.

'The poison is out.' Shukaku told Gaara.

"Shu…Shukaku…says the poison is out of my body." Whispered Garra hoarsely, before falling over unconscious. Kana caught him, and then softly set him on the ground.

"We need to stop the bleeding. Naruto give me your shirt!" She ordered, holding her hand out.

Naruto immediately obeyed, and stood next to her eager to help in any way he could. Kana cut the shirt in half, and then using one of the pieces she began cleaning the blood off his arm. Once that was done, she wrapped the other clean piece of his shirt tightly around Garra's shoulder and stood up.

She passed Naruto without a word then stopped when she reached the edge of the road.

"You can come out now, Sensei." Kana said loudly through clenched teeth before walking into the forest towards a river.

Crouching down, she dipped the bloody fabric into the water and watched as the red coloring seeped out of the shirt slowly flowing down the river in long thin wisps. Once the shirt was clean she washed her hands thoroughly before making her way back to the clearing.

Kakashi stood over by Gaara inspecting the wound, and then looked up when the young girl returned. Seeing she was still pissed, the Jounin kept his distance moving more towards Naruto; who stared down at the ground.

Kana sat down on the ground, moving Gaara's head onto her thigh she set the damp piece of fabric atop his head. She stared down at him, rarely had she seen him sleep and out of impulse she moved his red hair out of his eyes.

"He won't stay asleep for long." She announced softly, just loud enough for Kakashi and Naruto to hear.

Kakashi looked up at the distant sunset, "We will set up camp, but we first need to get off the road." He walked over to pick up Gaara but Kana glared at him.

"I'll carry him." She hissed, picking him up piggy back style then walking past Kakashi.

The white haired Jounin sighed, 'I think I just lost her trust…'he then turned his attention to Tazuna.

"When we set up camp, you have a lot of explaining to do." He said then motioned for Tazuna to follow Kana.

They went to set up camp near the river. Hoping to be of some use, Naruto immediately left to go find wood for the soon to be fire. Tazuna, also wanting to help, set up some of the river bed rocks in a circle for the fire.

"Kana, why don't you go get some fish for dinner?" Kakashi more so asked than commanded.

She looked up at him defiantly, as if daring him to order her to. He stared back at her, but with only a little more intensity. She held his gaze for few moments longer before, setting Gaara up against a tree and walking towards the river.

Kakashi sighed again scratching the back of his head, then walked over to the unconscious Gaara.

Gently moving the bandage slightly to the right, he saw the wound was almost completely healed. The skin where he had been wounded was a light pink color but other than that the cut was completely gone. His eye widened in surprise, 'Did Kana heal him when I wasn't looking? How could she though I haven't taught her any medical techniques…unless she learned them on her own…or has another teacher.' Kakashi moved the cloth back in place making sure it was exactly were it had been, he then opened his bag and began setting up his sleeping bag.

Naruto returned first with more sticks than they needed, and the Jounin nodded in approval. Putting a pile of the sticks in the circle of rocks Tazuna had created, Kakashi created a small Katon jutsu to light it on fire. Kana returned ten minutes later carrying eight fish, two for each person. She threw a couple at Naruto.

"I killed them already for you, that way we won't have to worry about our dinner flopping away." She scowled when she saw Naruto stare at the fish, "You can't even gut a fish?"

"Kana that's enough," Kakashi warned, taking the fish out of Naruto's lap and gutting it himself.

Kana whipped her head around to glare at him, "No Sensei, Garra is hurt because of him." She yelled, "And because you stayed hidden in the trees like a coward."

He narrowed his eyes, "That may be true, but that does not give you the right to make him feel even worse about it. He knows that it's his fault; not everyone's first kill is easy Kana."

She rolled her eyes, "What's your excuse then?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, sensei, what's your excuse for letting your own student get hurt? What happened to 'Those who break the rules are trash but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash? Huh?! Tell me the truth you pathetic hypocrite!" She yelled stepping forward so she was only inches from him, glaring up at him.

Kakashi stared down at her, noticing her change of eye color from her normal blue to a golden brown.

"Don't push my buttons, Kana." He warned, not liking her attitude.

She then narrowed her eyes and glared at him with more intensity than Kakashi had ever seen in such a small girl. Stepping even closer she stood on her toes and whispered boldly, "Or what?"

He raised an eyebrow, 'She knows that she can't beat me. So why is she challenging me?'

"Stop Kana…" Said a hoarse voice from across the clearing. Gaara stood up slowly using the tree as support and began walking over to the two.

"Gaara, he let you get hurt." The orange haired girl argued. He put a hand on her shoulder and gently pulled her into a hug. Even though he was younger than Kana he stood a few inches taller than her.

Clutching the back of his shirt, Kana began to cry. Burying her head into his chest she wept as her whole body trembled.

"I have never been so scared in my life. I…I thought I lost you." She mumbled; her words inaudible to the other three except Gaara.

"I'm still here," He whispered, "I haven't gone anywhere. Didn't I tell you that I was going to be with you till then end?"

His words brought more tears to her eyes, "Thank you."

---

Kakashi sat near the fire staring into the flames.

'Kana's right, I should have stepped in sooner. I let my student get hurt. I knew it was going to happen and I just…didn't do anything about it. Sensei…' A handsome blonde haired blue eyed man's face appeared in the fire, 'What should I do now? Kana hates me and will never trust me, Gaara's injured, and Naruto's well…depressed. I've screwed up horribly already as a sensei…' He rubbed his temples and looked up to see Tazuna sitting down next to him.

"Here," He offered, holding out a bottle of sake to him. The white haired Jounin stared at him then shook his head.

"Suite yourself." The bridge builder shrugged pouring himself a drink.

"Why were two rouge ninja's after you? A C-ranked mission does not involve encountering anything more than a bandit. So why did you lie to us and put my team in danger?" Kakashi asked.

Tazuna set his sake down and looked at the Jounin, "You know Wave Country is a relatively poor nation. I couldn't afford a team of Jounin's, but I needed some kind of protection so I took whatever I could get."

"Why do you need protection?"

"I'm a bridge builder and Wave country isn't connected with the rest of the world making trading harder. So if I finish a bridge from Wave to Fire country then it will prosper again. But there is a man named Gato-

"Gato as in Gato Enterprises?" Kakashi inquired.

"Yes, he has created a monopoly of our trade routes preventing free imports and exports; and he wants me dead so that I won't finish the bridge." Tazuna finished taking a swig of sake.

"I see. Tomorrow I will tell my students and they will decide whether they want to complete the mission."

Tazuna nodded solemnly then noticed that they weren't even here. "You know that-

"Yes, I know they aren't here." Kakashi sighed, "They need some time to work things out themselves. Today was a ruff day for all of us."

"Kakashi-san, I am sorry about lying to you guys. I just didn't know what else to do…" The bridge builder looked down.

Putting his hand on the mans shoulders the Jounin smiled sadly, "I know, we have a long day ahead of us so why don't you try and get some sleep."

Nodding Tazuna stumbled over to his sleeping back and lay down.

Kakashi bite his thumb, went through a couple hand seals then pressed his palm to the ground. A small white cloud appeared, and within the cloud of smoke a small brown dog.

"Pakkun, I need you to keep watch tonight." The man said tiredly. Pakkun nodded and plopped down next to the warm fire.

"Oh, my students should be returning soon. Just paw my shoulder when they do please."

The dog nodded and Kakashi too lay down finally able to sleep with no worries.

---

Kana, Gaara, and Naruto sat on a large boulder next to the river.

"How was that missing-nin able to hurt you?" Naruto asked, "I thought nothing could get through your defense?"

"I'm not sure." Gaara mumbled, pondering the question.

"It has to be speed." Kana realized, "If you opponent is faster than the sand, the sand won't be able to keep up with them thus not stopping the attack in time."

Gaara nodded seeing the logic in what she said, "So I need to work on controlling my sand better…"

His words drifted off, and they three became silent.

"I guess we should head back…" They had been sitting by the river for over an hour and it was getting pretty late.

"Yeah…"

----

Pakkun sat up, and stared in the direction of river as three chakra signatures approached. His eyes widened, their chakra almost seemed…tainted with something very powerful and evil. He had only felt this kind of chakra once. The small dog shivered remembering the Kyuubi. The immense, bloodthirsty, enraged fox tore through Konoha and would have completely demolished it if it hadn't been for the Fourth Hokage.

He caught their scent and cocked his head sideways confused, 'One has the scent of a raccoon dog, and…' Pakkun had to think for a moment then his eyes widened even more, 'the second smells of a fox…the last one I don't know…' He sniffed the air more, 'I haven't ever smelled this kind of scent before…'The dog started wondering over to Kana's things to get a better whiff of the scent, 'It's two different smells at the same time and it's defiantly more distinct than the others.' He sniffed her clothes, 'A hint of ash mixed with the dominant smell of blackberries(1)?'

Pakkun shook his head and trotted back over to the fire next to Kakashi.

"Your students have very interesting scents," He whispered into the man's ear, "I will discuss it with you tomorrow morning." Pakkun then touched his paw to Kakashi's shoulder letting him know that his student have arrived back at camp.

---

Kakashi crouched next to Pakkun and listened to him describe his students scent.

"You know already, Kakashi how you can tell a lot about someone by their scents. Well to put it bluntly, your students don't smell like normal humans. They have a scent of animals, except your female student."

"What do you mean, they smell like animals?"

"That's exactly what I mean. The red haired kid smells like a raccoon dog, and the blonde boy smells like a fox; of course there are other scents along with the animal, like Calamus(2) for the red haired boy, and Firethorn(3) for the blonde. Kakashi, how much do you know about these kids?" Pakkun asked.

"To be honest not much; they haven't shared much about their past. Kana and Garra were foreigners so there isn't much about them on file. I know about Naruto's past however and there is a lot about him on file." He answered.

"Well you might want to learn a bit more about them before you put your life on the line for them. There needs to be absolute trust between all of you, I shouldn't even have to tell you this." Pakkun muttered.

"Yeah, I know. I'll talk to them before we move out."

----

Kakashi went back to the clearing to find everyone already awake. He sighed and waved for the three to sit by the fire.

"I know yesterday was a ruff day for everyone and I wanted to apologize for not helping you out sooner with the fight. I want us to all be able to trust each other and not hesitate when we need each other the most. So, in order for that to happen I think we need to share a little about ourselves so that we get to know each other better."

"Like we did the first day we met you?" Naruto asked, not quite understanding.

"Sort of, but we are going to share more about ourselves than our abilities. I will start to give you an idea of what to say. My past is a bit complicated but I'll do my best. I graduated the academy at the age of five, and I was immediately dubbed as a prodigy by all. My mother died when I was young so I do not remember her much. My father committed suicide in front of me when I was only six years old because he had chosen to save his comrades instead of completing an important mission; which dragged the war on longer; making many people enraged with him included the comrades he had saved thus making him fall into a deep depression ending with him killing himself. When I was a Genin, my best friend, who was on my team died during a mission, then the other left Konoha soon after my Sensei died."

"I'll go next." Kana muttered, she then looked up at Kakashi, "Um…do I have to tell everything? Or can share things when I'm ready?"

He smiled down at her, "You can tell us whatever you want."

Nodding she took a deep breath then began, "My father is the only living relative I have left and he's a really strict man with a lot of political power as well as physical. He has never once shown any affection towards me. Always ordering me around, I grew up never knowing what it meant to love someone. I never knew my mother. Whenever my father talked about my mother it was always negative. I think he hates her. He says that she left me to die when I was born and ran off with someone else. I don't know whether to feel sad or angry but for some reason I feel neither. He sent me off with Takatsu to see the world and become strong. I've been trained all my life; I don't remember ever not training. I had numerous teachers, who were just as strict as my father. I never got to play with other children; I was isolated with only my teachers and servants."

Kakashi nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Thank you for sharing." He then turned to Naruto and Gaara, "Whose next?"

Gaara spoke, "I originally lived in Suna with my uncle. My father refused to speak to me or even acknowledge me as his son. Instead he favored my older sister and brother; because I'm the reason my mother is dead. She died in child birth. Whenever I tired being nice to people they would call me names, spit on me, or run away. No one ever wanted to be near me. I had only a teddy bear to comfort me. All I wanted was to be loved by someone. I later found out that I wasn't even loved by my uncle who had been putting on a show the whole time I lived there. He tried to kill me one night. It tore me up inside, and I didn't want to live anymore. That's when I met Kana and Takatsu. They made me feel loved, made me feel like I belonged somewhere. That I wasn't a useless piece of trash."

"Thank you Gaara, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded and spoke slowly, "I was born alone. Not knowing who my father or mother was, I lived in an orphanage for four years till they threw me out onto the streets. I found an abandoned building to live in and began living on my own. I lived off a single meal a day, and if I was lucky two. Sarutobi then entered me into the academy and I used everything I learned to help better my life. I was picked on, bullied, and beaten by children and adults. They would laugh at everything I said so I stopped talking. I did not understand why everyone hated me so much. I didn't understand why my life was hell when everyone else had mother's and fathers, warm meals, and people to come home to; I didn't understand why they had everything I didn't. I tried killing myself, numerous times, but I just couldn't seem to die. That's when I found a friend. He helped me get through each day, hour by hour. He was there when I needed to talk, and was my first friend. But I was still being bullied, beaten and ridiculed. The pain was greater than happiness. That is until two years later, when Kana and Gaara came to Konoha. They saved me from my loneliness, and pain. They gave me a reason to live."

Tazuna sat back few feet away from the group listening to their life stories.

'These kids have really been through a lot…'

Kakashi smiled sadly, "We each have our own painful pasts. Each person goes through some kind of hardship in their lifetime. The important thing is to find people you love and stand by them no matter what. Even though we don't have any family left, our friends and people we care for the most are our family."

---

They decided to continue the mission and they left the clearing eager to continue the mission.

Despite the long boring walk to Wave Country, Kana entertained herself by reading the red scroll Itachi had given her. Gaara and Naruto talked chatted the whole way there making the atmosphere much more enjoyable than before.

Kakashi inwardly smiled, pleased with the results of sharing their pasts with each other. But he couldn't help feel that there was still something they were hiding from him. Something big. But the Jounin decided not to worry too much about it. They would eventually tell him when they were ready.

As they grew closer to wave country the air around them became thicker and colder. The smell of the salty sea was evident in the air with every breath they took. Tazuna breathed in deeply, "Nothing like fresh air!"

Kana laughed, "The airs much more humid and it's colder. How can that be better?" She asked wrinkling her nose.

"It's comforting." He replied with his hands on his hips, "It's much more familiar than the piney woods."

"Are you happy to be home?" Naruto wondered.

"Of course! I can't wait to see my beautiful daughter and cute little grandson. I've been gone for quite awhile and I miss them." Tazuna mumbled, wiping away a fake tear.

As they walked they heard the distant sound of waves hitting the shore and the annoying call of sea birds.

"The ocean…I have never seen the ocean before." Announced Kana, as she anxiously walked faster towards the sounds.

Gaara and Naruto quickly followed her; they too had never seen the ocean.

Kakashi sighed, and hurried Tazuna along so he could catch up with his students.

He found the three on the shore line. Kana and Naruto were splashing water at each other, while Gaara stood back away from their water fight and stared at the sheer massiveness of the water.

Being so entranced by the ocean Gaara did not notice that Kana and Naruto's water fight had gotten much bigger and much closer to him.

"Take this!" Yelled Naruto, smirking evilly he enhanced his hand with chakra then hit the water completely drenching both Kana and Gaara.

"NARUTO!"

Tazuna and Kakashi laughed as they watched Naruto get chased by a pissed off Kana and an equally angry Gaara.

The silver haired Jounin smiled, 'No matter how strong you guys get, don't loose yourself in the bloody battles; remember these memories forever.'

They ended up throwing a very unwillingly Naruto into the water.

"That's what you get." Kana laughed sticking out her tongue. Naruto glared at them but then started joining in on the laughter along with Gaara and Kana. He swam to shore and they helped him up.

"Now we are all soaking wet and it's really cold outside." Kana commented shivering slightly.

They nodded in agreement, and walked over to Kakashi.

"I see you guys had fun." He chuckled, then looking up at the distant sun the silver haired Jounin announced, "We will set up camp for tonight and then continue early tomorrow morning."

---

As they all sat around the fire, Kakashi began asking them all sorts of battle tactic questions:

"What is the best way to get information out of someone?"

Naruto was the first to answer, "Either drugging them or retrieving the information from their mind via a mind jutsu?"

"Fear." Gaara answered, he stated it more than guessed, "Induce your enemy with fear."

Kana shook her head, "Your wrong, both of you."

The boys tilted their heads not sure why they had answered the question wrong.

"Why do you think they are wrong?" Kakashi asked.

"One: Drugging someone will not get straight answers. When people are not in their right minds they do not know what they are saying and won't even be able to tell which way is up. Thus you can't rely on the information they tell you. Two: To go into someone's mind is extremely dangerous. You have no idea what kind of mind set the person has or mental strength; however, a highly trained specialists, like the Yamanaka's, are more reliable to get the information but it is still a risky jutsu. Three: Fear will only frighten your enemy into telling you what ever you want to hear. Yes, it may be reliable at times but it is still not enough to break the will of some ninjas." Kana finished, her training with Itachi made her think through everything carefully, picking out all the flaws and details.

"Then what is the right answer?" Inquired Naruto, seeing why his answer was wrong but couldn't think of a better answer.

"Pain," She sated simply, "It is the most reliable method. No matter how strong willed someone is, no matter how adapt to pain they are, we are all only human. One can only take so much physical and mental pain before they break; and when they do, the information floods out like a river until there is nothing left to tell."

"These are all good ways, but Kana's is the best answer. It may be gruesome, and it may be bloody but it truly is the best way." He said then asked the next question, "If you are on a rescue mission and you need to get the medic on your team safely to a fallen comrade before they die and you come across a group of enemy ninja's what do you do?"

"How many are on my squad? And how many are on in the group of enemy ninja?" Kana asked, wanting to know every detail before she answered the question because the size of the team would certainly affect her answer.

"You are on a six-man team, against a four-man team." Kakashi answered a bit surprised that she had asked questions relating more in depth to the question.

This time Gaara was the first to answer, "I would dispose of the enemy ninja quickly, and then move on to continue the mission."

Naruto shook his head, "I would order the medic and either the tracker of the team or the fastest, to go on ahead and rescue our comrade while me and the remaining three shinobi defeat the enemy squad and catch up later."

Kana opened her mouth to answer then quickly shut it unsure of her answer.

"It doesn't have to be right Kana, just tell us what you would do in that situation." Kakashi encouraged.

She shook her head and closed her eyes playing the scenario in her mind. Kana watched each out come play out making her comrades stronger than the enemy. Then switching it around, she then played it out with the enemy being stronger. But still there were many flaws and ifs in the question that she couldn't get a complete answer.

Huffing she opened her eyes and shook her head, "I will tell you my answer but I will let you know this, sensei. Your question had way too many flaws in it allowing many possibilities that would change my answer. So I'll tell you the best one that I came up with. I would, if I was in that situation, agree with Garra and dispose of the ninja's quickly." She mumbled, obviously not satisfied with her answer.

"Garra and Kana are right. You are stronger together than you are separate. Plus part of the mission was to keep the medic safe; you have a better possibility of keeping the medic alive if you are in a group rather than with a single person that could get picked off leaving your medic alone. That's all for tonight."

Naruto groaned clutching his head, "Why can't I get any of the answers right? I think it through and I thought it was right when I said it but then I listen to everyone else's answers and see that theirs make more sense than my answer did."

Kana smiled, "I have something that might help." She then rummaged through her bag, "I know I put it in here…Aha!" Pulling out a small box she opened it revealing a folded up shoji board and a small cloth bag filled with the pieces.

"Shogi," Naruto exclaimed excitedly, "I didn't know you had this?"

The orange haired girl shrugged, "I forgot until I was packing and decided to take it with me. Gaara you should play Naruto." She suggested, offering the board to him.

He nodded and began setting up the game. Moving away from the two but still in the light of the fire, Kana opened the thick red scroll and continued reading.

Kakashi sighed and walked over to Kana. He sat down next to her, "How did you get that?"

"This?" She pointed towards the scroll. Kakashi nodded waiting for her response.

"I found it." Kana answered.

He narrowed his eyes, "Kana that is a high class genjutsu scroll with very hard and dangerous genjutsu's in it. One does not just 'find' it, it's kept in a guarded room. If you truthfully tell me where you got it, I will let you keep the scroll and help you with some of the genjutsu's."

She was silent for a few seconds, as if considering it but inwardly she was trying to figure out an answer that would sound legitimate.

"Make it sound good Kana," Suzaku said, "He is giving you a good offer, one that you could benefit from."

"Sensei, the truth is I didn't find it. I was looking for genjutsu scrolls in the library when I overheard some shinobi talking about a scroll room with vast amounts of high level techniques in the Hokage tower. So I went and checked it out. But there wasn't anyone guarding the room so I figured I could go in."

Kakashi nodded, satisfied with her answer. "Okay, but you might want to forget where that room was because it's forbidden to go into; and sense your are still a foreigner it would be very bad if you were caught in there."

She nodded, "Okay, I won't go back."

The silver haired Jounin then walked back over to the boys to watch their game of shoji.

"Nice work," Praised Suzaku, "If I hadn't known you were lying I would have believed you myself."

Inwardly the Phoenix smiled, 'She came up with that excuse within seconds. Being able to think and make decisions quick is a good sign. Plus the fact that she was able to convince a highly trained Jounin is proof that she is developing deception skills; which will come in handy later on in her life.'

"Suzaku, when do you think I will get my second tail?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure but I know that you are close. The Kyuubi container, Naruto, is close to getting his first tail. I think that once he does, you need to talk with him and ensure his loyalty to you. What do you plan to do after that?"

Kana thought for a moment, "Well I know I have to collect all the Jinchuriki, but I can't just waltz right into every village and take them. I need to plan everything out carefully, looking at every possibility to ensure the downfall of each nation."

Suzaku nodded, "It has taken years and years for these great nations to become what you see today, but it can only take one corrupt person to be the downfall of all their hard work. I will give you some advice for the future. If you wish to destroy each village without shedding the blood of your own comrades, create an illusion that no one can see through."

The nine year old girl cocked her head sideways, "What do you mean an illusion? Like as in an actual genjutsu?"

Suzaku shook her head, "You will have to figure out the meaning yourself. But I will guide you along your journey. Where do you plan on going after this?"

"I think I'm going to stay in Konoha for awhile. There are very strong ninja's here that I can learn a lot from. So maybe in a year or two, we will leave to continue our search."

"What about Takatsu? Have you talked to him about it?"

She looked down, "No, he's been acting really weird lately. And I feel like he isn't the same anymore. Besides I'm in charge, not him. I decide where and when we go somewhere." Kana announced, her voice firm and unwavering.

'And there's the leadership.' Suzaku laughed, "Yes you do, and don't you ever forget that. You should get some sleep, you have along day ahead of you."

Kana mentally nodded and opened her eyes.

Gaara and Naruto were still engrossed in their game of Shogi, so she decided to go take a look. Naruto stared intensely at the board, and didn't even notice Kana looking at the board over his shoulder.

She smiled, 'Gaara has him,' and then she turned and looked at Naruto, 'He knows it too. So how are you going to get yourself out of it, Naruto?'

Kana then glanced down at the board and became immediately engrossed in trying to figure out all of the possible combinations. After a few minutes, she stepped back and smiled waiting to see what Naruto's move would be.

Naruto snickered to himself as he took Gaara's Gold General making his King wide open.

"Check mate." The blonde declared stretching out his arms. Gaara's eyes widened as he stared at the board, "How? I had that perfectly planned out…"

Kana laughed, "There was a flaw in your plan Gaara. You forgot that a few simple pawns, if used correctly, can actually be useful in diverting the enemies' attention away from your true goal."

"Well said, but I think that's enough for tonight." He announced, waving them to go to bed, "We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. We will be entering Wave Country, and then your training intensifies."

--- Early the next morning ---

Kana slowly opened her eyes. Looking around, she was surprised to see everyone still asleep including Gaara; which was a rare event itself.

Moving out of her sleeping bag, the young girl stood up and stretched out her arms. Slipping on her shoes, she quietly left the clearing. The crisp morning air was refreshing on her skin and as she walked into the forest her feet crunched the fresh layer of thin frost underneath her. The young girl walked at a leisurely pace, enjoying the piney smell of the trees and the peaceful songs of the earlier birds. She continued deeper into the forest and came upon a water fall with beautiful white flowers surrounding it.

"Amazing…" Kana whispered, and careful not to step on any of the flowers, she made her way closer to the edge of the water. Crouching down, she dipped her hand into the water. It was bitter cold, making her yank her hand out.

"Oww…" She mumbled, clutching her bright red hand against her warm body.

A rustle in the bushes made Kana spin around and immediately fall into a fighting position.

"Whose there?" She called out, "Show yourself!"

There was another rustle in a bush off to Kana's right, and a small boy appeared. He stumbled out, obviously hurt, and fell to the ground.

Kana was immediately by his side, "Hey, are you okay?" She asked surveying his body. There were multiple bruises, and a large gash on his stomach.

He fell over onto the ground, his blood seeping onto the snow tainting it a deep red. Scooping him up into her arms, she quickly made her way back to the clearing.

"Kakashi-sensei!" She yelled as she entered the clearing. The silver haired Jounin was instantly up with a kunai in his hand ready to battle.

The girl inwardly laughed, 'Always ready for a fight.'

"Sensei, this boys been injured!" Kana laid the boy in front of him.

He looked at her then at the boy suspiciously.

"Sensei, he's going to die! Help him!" She pleaded. By this time everyone had gotten up including Tazuna and had gathered around the small boy. The red haired girl stared up into Kakashi eyes, almost begging him to help.

She didn't know why she wanted to help him so much. But something inside of her wanted to embrace him, to care for him and to heal him. She felt it in the very core of her being that this was the right thing to do.

'She's got some of her mother in her…' Suzaku thought to herself inwardly sighing, 'She's going to be a perfect successor.'

"Fine, I'll worry about the details later. Get me something to stop the bleeding." He ordered, ripping the shirt off the white haired boy.

It took an hour to heal him with the little medical knowledge Kakashi had, but eventually the boy was stable.

"You mind telling me what happened?" The Jounin demanded, obviously upset.

Kana stood up, "I was taking a walk through the forest-

"Why would you go off alone?" He questioned, "You could have been hurt or captured."

The girl was taken aback; this was much different from his normal lazy, laid back attitude.

"Yes, you were still sleeping so I decided to take a walk. And I came across this boy."

"That's it?"

"Yes, that's it."

Kakashi shook his head, "Kana you are a very smart girl, so why would you think it would be okay to bring in a foreign ninja out of the blue when we are on a mission?"

"He's a boy sensei!" She protested, "Not a full grown shinobi!"

"You're not seeing the point. Look how strong you three are for your age, so he could be just as strong if not stronger. What I'm saying is you need to be careful. We aren't in Fire country anymore; they have different laws and such here. If you break them, you are risking diplomatic tension. Just be more careful from now on, okay?"

Kana nodded, "I'm sorry, it's just-

She then stopped and noticed everyone staring at her, including Gaara and Naruto. They looked at her confusingly.

Her head dropped making her hair cover her face, "If he turns out to be our enemy…" She mumbled quietly so only Kakashi could here, "I'll kill him myself."

The young girl lifted her head and turned towards the others, "I'm sorry." She apologized then sat by the white haired boy's side.

As they prepared to leave, Kana began to move the sleeping boy onto her back.

Tazuna placed his hand on her shoulder, "I'll carry him."

Kana shook her head, "Tazuna-san, I brought him here. He is my responsibility not yours. Besides you're the client."

"True, but you won't be able to protect me if he's on your back right?"

The girl sighed and handed him over to Tazuna.

"Thank you," She mumbled before catching up to the others.

They walked in a line, Gaara to the left, Kana in the middle, then Naruto on her right. Tazuna walked in the center between the Genin and Kakashi, who brought up the rear. For the most part, they all walked in silence.

Kana was wrapped up in her thoughts about the boy that slept on Tazuna back.

'Why do I feel the need to help him? I could have just left him there to die, but that didn't feel right to me. I didn't even think about the consequences; I don't think I was thinking at all at the time, I just…did it. But I'm sure of one thing; I'm not going to let anything else bad happen to him.'

Kakashi looked up from his book, his eyes widened as he suddenly yelled, "Everyone, get down!"


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(1) Blackberries-represent Strengthening, purifying, centering, cleansing.

(2) Calamus- represents very calming, relaxing and pleasing to the mind

(3) Firethorn- represents romantic, sensual, clarifying, uplifting.