Yes! My next chapter! It's WAY different than the original manga; you'll see!

Chapter V: Mission to the Snow Country!

Yumi silently weaved through the trees.

"Yumi at point D," she whispered into the earphone.

"Sasuke in point B,"

"Sakura in point C,"

There was a long pause. "Naruto in point A!" he finally said.

"Could you have been any later, dobe?" Sasuke said irritably.

"How far away is the target?" Kakashi quickly spoke into the microphone, cutting off the argument that was sure to follow.

"Five meters," Naruto replied impatiently. "Let's do it already!"

"Alright…Go!"

Yumi jumped in front of the target as Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke came up from behind. Naruto grabbed it, and it turned out to be… a cat. Sakura giggled and Yumi rolled her eyes as the cat angrily clawed at Naruto.

"Remember," Kakashi reminded, "our quarry has a ribbon on its right ear that says 'Tiger.' Make sure there's no mistake."

"Target confirmed," Sasuke responded.

"Good! Then 'Mission: Find the Missing Pet' is accomplished!"

"WHEN WILL WE GET A REAL MISSION!" Naruto screamed into the microphone.

The rest of Team 7 yelled in pain and tore off the microphones, clutching their ears in agony at Naruto's tremendously loud voice.

"NARUTO!"

"Poor Tiger…" Lady Shijima cooed, crushing the unhappy cat in a huge hug. "Good little kitty-kitty…" she continued cooing in a sickly-sweet voice.

"Now, the next assignment for Kakashi's team seven will be…" the Hookage announced, "hmm…to baby-sit for the council of elders, to run errands to the neighboring village, to help dig sweet potatoes…"

"NO WAY!" Naruto protested loudly. Yumi winced, her ears still ringing from Naruto's previous yell. "NO THANK YOU! BORRRRING! GIVE US SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO DO. SOMETHING IMPORTANT! SOMETHING AMAZING!"

"DON'T BE A FOOL!" Iruka-sensei yelled right back. Yumi's poor ears were now screaming in pain. "You're only a beginner! Everyone starts out doing grunt work. It's where you get experience, so you can work your way up to bigger things!"

"We've done tons of small stuff. Can't we get some action!" Naruto whined.

"Naruto, that's enough. Knock it off!" Kakashi commanded.

"Apparently, Naruto needs an explanation of just what these duties are," Hokage-sama said sternly. "Everyday, our village receives many requests for everything, ranging from babysitters to assassination. We take that tremendous variety and sort them into categories from A to D, based on the degree of skill they require. We have also divided the shinobi into classes based on the level of their skills. After we of the Upper Echelon have sorted all the requests, we distribute them those of the level of ability deemed most appropriate. And if the ninja in question completes those duties successfully, then the grateful person he has helped pays him a fee. Thus far, the four of you have only just attained the lowest rank. Level D tasks are the best you could aspire to."

"Hmm… I had pork ramen for lunch yesterday, so I think I'll have miso ramen today," Naruto mumbled, clearly not listening to a word the Hokage was saying.

"ARE YOU LISTENING?"

"I…I'm sorry," Kakashi apologized for Naruto.

"I don't want to hear it!" Naruto said loudly. "All the old fart ever does is apologize and then give me a lecture. But it's not fair. There's more to me than the trouble-making screw-up the old man thinks I am!"

There was a pause.

"Very well," the Hokage said finally, thinking hard. "Since you put it that way…I will permit you to attempt a C-rank task—usually reserved for shinobi of the journeyman level…the protection of a certain individual."

Everyone looked at the Hokage, surprised that he would listen to Naruto.

"All right!" Naruto said excitedly. "WHO IS IT? SOME GREAT LORD? THE DAIMYO? A PRINCESS?"

"Actually, you're right." The Third chuckled. "Why don't you come in?" he called out to the door.

Slowly, the door opened, and an exquisite slipper slid out. The door opened fully as a beautiful girl looking about their age appeared, richly clothed in a spectacular silver-and blue yokata, holding a delicate paper umbrella and looking at them in surprise.

"These are the ninjas that will be protecting me?" she asked doubtfully, her voice high-pitched and musical. She looked around as if better-looking ninja would suddenly appear. Her search unsuccessful, she turned her attention back to them, disappointment clear in her blue eyes. "But they look so…small" she finished.

"No we don't!" Naruto yelled angrily, "We are great Shinobi, some of the best in the village!"

"Yeah right," she scoffed. "I bet you just barely became ninja!"

"Wha—" Naruto was cut off when Yumi placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's enough Naruto," she said quietly. Looking at the girl's smug face, however, she said, "Although I do wonder why the lady over there is acting so rudely to the very people who will be protecting her life." As the girl gaped at her, she said sternly, "Do not insult the people who will be helping you,"

As the girl stared at her in shock, Yumi stared right back. After a few seconds of silence, the girl looked away, a faint blush on her porcelain skin.

"Well, I guess it's ok…" she mumbled to the Hokage.

Yumi smiled, ignoring the astonished looks everyone was giving her.

"Well," the Hokage cut through the silence, "You will be escorting Yukime," he gestured to the girl, "to the Snow Country."

Yumi froze, and she whispered, "The S-Snow Country?"

"Why, yes, Yumi, is anything wrong?" The Hokage asked, peering at her worriedly.

"No," Yumi, faking a smile. "There's nothing wrong, Hokage-sama, please continue,"

The others had turned their attention back to the Third, all except Sasuke, ho was still staring at Yumi suspiciously. She waved him off and pointed to the Hokage, who had resumed speaking.

"This mission will probably take awhile, so prepare youselfs! And remember, you're going to the Snow Country, so pack warm clothes. OK! Meet at the front gate in one hour! Dismissed!"

As Yumi hurried along to her apartment, she sensed Sasuke's presence nearing. Abruptly, she whipped around to find him walking behind her.

"Do you want something Sasuke?" she asked politely, a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Yeah." He answered coolly, "I want to know why you seem so…upset about this mission."

"Upset? I'm not upset!" she assured him, "It was just surprising because we don't get missions from that country often."

When Sasuke continued suspiciously staring at her, she yelled, "OK OK! FINE! I'LL TELL YOU! GEEZ!"

Sasuke, who had not been expecting this outburst, was taken aback, but quickly resumed his cold demeanor.

"Well, you see…" she started reluctantly, clearly not wishing to tell Sasuke this, "…I'm…really…sensitive to temperature. If I get too hot or cold, even by a little I…faint."

Silence.

"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU REFUSE THE MISSION!"

"I had a feeling." Yumi stated plainly. "A really strong one that this was an important mission that would affect us all. I couldn't refuse."

Sasuke sighed, frustrated, "What kind of lame excuse is that? You might die! We should get a safer mission!"

"A Shinobi is always in danger, Sasuke," she reminded him. "There is no 'safe' mission. Shinning away from dangerous ones will get you nowhere. Besides," she added, "I won't die. Trust me."

She smiled warmly at him, and Sasuke felt his face heat up.

"Well," he sighed in defeat, "I guess I can't make you…but you'd better pack warmly! And…and be careful!"

"Aw, thanks Sasuke," Yumi teased playfully, "Whoever knew that the cold-hearted Uchiha would be so caring about his comrades?"

"Hmph!" Sasuke turned away haughtily, hiding the blush that was forming on his cheeks from Yumi's view.

"Don't worry Sasuke!" she assured, "Nothing really bad will happen! I know it! I'll be OK!"

And, smiling, Yumi waved and walked off, as Sasuke stared at her retreating back until she disappeared from view.

I know. Shakes head. Sasuke is BEYOND OOC, but I couldn't help it. I hate his stupid emo attitude, and I like this one MUCH better. Besides, I wanted a cute semi-romance between Yumi and Sasuke. I hope it doesn't come off as cheesy. And, as always, your reveiws are greatly appreciated.

IMPORTANT! MUST READ THIS!: I'm on a writers block. A serious one. I have NO IDEA what to do next. I chose the Snow Country Mission because the Wave country one focuses too much on Naruto (not that I mind XD, but this is YUMI'S story; not Naruto's), and I couldn't figure out a way to include Yumi in the spotlight, so I changed it! I have alot of cool stuff planned out, but...I DON'T KNOW HOW TO START THE MISSION! SOMEONE HELP ME! IF WRITERS BLOCK WAS AN INJURY I'D BE BLEEDING TO DEATH ON THE SIDEWALK! HHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLPPPPPPPP MMMMMEEEEEEEEE!