Hey y'all!

here's the next chapter!

I really enjoyed this one, and I hope that everyone was in character, and that you all enjoy it as much as I did!

PLEASE REVIEW!

Chapter 6: Authority

Leaves are light, and useless, and idle, and wavering, and changeable; they even dance; and yet God in his wisdom has made them a part of oaks. And in so doing he has given us a lesson, not to deny the stout-heartedness within because we see the lightsomeness without.

~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

Kazuki stuck her hands in her pockets as she walked, tilting her head back so she could gaze at the fluffy white clouds as they drifted by. The air was cool but not uncomfortably so, and the young genin took a deep breath before letting it out in a slow sigh.

Their client, an old drunk named Tazuna, grumbled to himself as they went, and Kazuki caught the eye of Ryuu as they walked. The two genin rolled their eyes, and Ryuu grinned as he sped up to walk beside his female teammate. Kenji was walking on the other side of Tazuna, his eyes wary and constantly scanning the underbrush. The light shined dimly on his

Their sensei was walking just in front of Tazuna, and her brown curls were pulled back in a tight braid that barely reached her mid-back. The Konohagakure headband was tied around her forehead, and her vivid green eyes glanced back at the three genin for a moment before returning to the road ahead.

"Sir, how long do you expect the completion of the bridge to take?" Hoshiko asked politely, and Tazuna frowned in thought.

"I'd give it at least two weeks."

"Hm…I see." Hoshiko murmured, and Kazuki grinned at the prospect of visiting another part of the country for so long. She always felt so cooped up in Konoha; it would be nice to be able to see other places for a change.

The group continued down the road, Kazuki and Ryuu chatting and pushing each other playfully. Kenji frowned disapprovingly at his teammates, which resulted in Kazuki sticking her tongue out at him.

There were two puddles of water in the middle of the road, and Kazuki and Ryuu stepped over them without a second thought, too engrossed in their conversation to notice anything else. Kenji, however, stopped just before them, his pale eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Sensei…"

Hoshiko motioned for him to be silent, and nodded to let the Hyuuga know that she understood his suspicion, putting her hands together briefly. Kenji stepped over them, and tensed as he prepared for whatever may come their way.

Kenji knew for a fact that it hadn't rained in nearly three days, and therefore there was no possible way that such prominent puddles could accumulate. It was some kind of ninja technique, one that Kenji was unfamiliar with. When he used his Byakugan, he saw two bodies of chakra hidden within the water, and he sped up to hiss to his teammates.

"Get ready."

Before either genin could ask what the boy meant, Hoshiko was suddenly surrounded by barbed chains, and they cut into her skin as they held her immobile. The jounin's eyes were wide and surprised, and the three genin caught a glimpse of two heavily armed ninja before Hoshiko was suddenly sliced into several pieces.

"Hoshiko-sensei!" Ryuu yelled, his bright eyes widening at the sight of two enemy ninja running towards the group. Kenji immediately moved into his defensive stance, darting in front of Tazuna and holding his hands out in preparation to protect their charge. Kazuki dodged as one of the ninja swiped at her, and excitement pulsed through her as she sank into a crouch, flipping out a kunai to block the metal claws that were attached to a bulky glove. Her violet-blue eyes sparked and flashed as she flipped her foot to collide solidly with the forearm of the ninja, preventing him from slashing at her. Her other fist lunged for the man's face, but the ninja dodged and darted out of Kazuki's range, his beady eyes narrowed and calculating.

The girl heard a yell, and turned to see Ryuu tumbling over in haste to dodge the other ninja's lightning fast strikes. Kazuki snorted at the panic in his eyes, and deliberately turned her back on him. She had her own battle to deal with…she couldn't be cleaning up after her teammates all the time.

Kenji noticed her actions, and his pale eyes narrowed, but he remained silent.

Though he was a bit unnerved at how young she was, the Hyuuga respected his red haired teammate immensely. She was a good teammate, even if her affection was rather subdued and her rebelliousness – most of the time – overwhelming.

But there were times when Kenji seriously doubted her belief in the word teamwork. Outside of training and missions, Kazuki was cheerful, playful, and an overall pleasant girl. But when they started training, Hyuuga seriously questioned her way of thinking, because sometimes her lack of concern or consideration of the weaknesses of others was astonishing. Kazuki had been treated like a genius all her life, and so she was arrogant as a result, but it was something more. Kazuki seemed…slightly unsatisfied, even when doing well in training, or hearing others say how much she had improved. There was always that dissatisfaction, and it made Kenji slightly worried about where that dissatisfaction would lead them as a squad.

Kenji's attention was drawn from Kazuki as the sound of two grunts of surprise filled the air, and pale pearly eyes flickered up to see his sensei standing there, her arms locking the two enemy ninja in a lethal headlock, her emerald eyes dark and dangerous.

Ryuu was on the ground, shaking and trembling, and Kazuki and Kenji both hurried over to where their teammate lay. Kazuki blinked at the sight of a long bleeding gash that went from Ryuu's wrist to the crook of his elbow. There was a slight greenish tinge to the wound, and Kenji swore. Kazuki knelt down beside the whimpering boy, and whispered.

"Those claws…they were poisoned."

Hoshiko, who had finished tying up the enemy ninja, moved over to their fallen teammate with a soft hiss of anger. "Yeah, they were. Dammit…" Hoshiko bent over the wound, her bright emerald eyes serious as they scanned over the gash. Ryuu's forehead was beaded with sweat, and his eyes were closed tightly as he struggled not to cry from the pain.

After a minute, Hoshiko turned to glare at the old man who was staring at the enemy ninja with fear in his eyes. There was no surprise there. There was no shock or confusion written on that wrinkled face.

Kenji and Kazuki exchanged glances.

Tazuna had known that ninja were targeting him, when his report had clearly stated that the worst that could befall them was common thugs and bandits.

He had lied to them.

Hoshiko stared at the old man for a moment, and her voice was controlled and carefully calm. "Sir, it's time you told us the truth. The whole truth. Why did you say that this was a mere escort mission when it's clear by your reaction to seeing those ninja that you were expecting fighters of this caliber to confront you?"

Tazuna made to argue angrily, but Hoshiko raised a hand so silence him. "On second thought, I honestly don't care. You violated our contract by lying in terms of what to expect, and therefore our services are not enough to complete this mission. One of my students has been poisoned and needs immediate medical attention. You can tell your story to the Hokage, sir."

Tazuna blanched at her curt tone, and the astonished reply that he was seconds from uttering died in his throat at the sight of Ryuu's bloody arm. Hoshiko turned back to Ryuu, and she murmured soft soothing sounds to the half-conscious boy as she reached into her bag for bandages and antiseptic.

Kenji moved beside his sensei, and the woman glanced at him before quickly binding the wound. "This won't do much; the poison has already spread into his bloodstream. I can't identify what kind of poison it is, but I don't want to take any chances. We need to get back to Konoha as quickly as we can."

Kazuki scowled angrily. "Oh joy…we finally get a chance to prove ourselves, and the minute something goes wrong, we crawl back with our tails between our legs. Whoopdeedoo…"

Hoshiko ignored the girl, who put a hand on her hip before continuing. "I mean, if we just hurried to the old man's village, I'm sure that someone could identify the poison, and Ryuu would be fine."

"This isn't just about Ryuu, Kazuki." Hoshiko murmured, sending a stern glance over her shoulder. "You three aren't ready to take on a mission like this, we have no idea what to expect."

"So? We're training to be ninja, not flower girls for a wedding! What better training then leaping into an unpredictable situation, a situation that will make us stronger in the long run?"

Hoshiko sighed. "Kazuki, that's enough. It's obvious by that statement alone that you aren't ready for this kind of mission." The woman had finished bandaging Ryuu's arm, and was now considering the best way to carry him without moving the injured appendage too much.

Kazuki snarled. "What, just because I'm not afraid of my own shadow I'm somehow not ready?"

Kenji rolled his eyes. "Kazuki, enough. You heard what Hoshiko-sensei said. Now drop it already."

"How can you defend her? You know that we could do this mission, Kenji. I know that you want to prove yourself as much as I do."

Kenji stared at her, and his eyes narrowed slightly in challenge as he barked. "I defend her because she is our sensei, and our superior, which is something that you can't seem to get through your thick skull. Yes, we could do this mission, but just because we can doesn't mean we should. It's true, I wish to improve myself, but I refuse to do so in favor of rushing into the unknown and possibly getting my teammates killed. Would you really risk the lives of your teammates with the simple excuse of bettering yourself?"

Violet-blue eyes clashed with pearly lavender ones, and Kazuki's hands balled into furious fists as her opponent didn't back down. Kenji was calm, but a small part of him sunk into the pool of unease as the silence grew without her answering his question.

As the seconds grew into minutes, Kenji wasn't sure he wanted to know her answer anymore.

Finally, Kazuki turned away with a huff of reluctant acceptance, and suddenly moved to help Hoshiko in lifting the now unconscious boy onto the jounin's back. Kenji watched her as she began walking with Tazuna and Hoshiko, and, with a shake of his head, hurried to catch up.

Sakura finally finished escorting her last person to the Uchiha Police Station, waving and giving the blushing young woman an encouraging smile. Since she was the first one to finish, Sakura sat down on the small concrete wall that surrounded the station, absent mindedly twirling a perfectly straightened pink lock of hair around a finger as she waited for her teammates.

Not a second after the kunoichi sat down, a dark haired boy came into view, and it took a second for Sakura to recognize who it was. The girl snorted, nearly losing her hold on the fit of giggles that threatened to burst forth at the sight of Sasuke's mortified scowl that was directed anywhere but at the citizen he accompanied.

The young man beside the genin was grinning widely, and clapped Sasuke on the shoulder as he reached the Uchiha Police Station. Sasuke closed his eyes in a desperate attempt to control his emotions, and waited until the doors of the station were safely closed before opening them again.

Sakura bounced over to him cheerfully, and grinned at the warning glare he gave her.

"Aw, c'mon…it wasn't that bad!"

"Shut. Up."

"I mean, think of it as practice! Who knows, when you actually start noticing the opposite sex – I know, it's a slim chance at best – you'll wonder how to actually get the courage to ask them out. And then you'll remember this day and think 'Oh wow, I'm glad I did that mission, because without it, I wouldn't have gotten the idea to ask my crush out in such a cute and romantic way'!"

Sasuke stared at the girl for a few long moments, and Sakura smiled widely at him despite the fact that he was currently examining her in the same way that one might examine someone who had just sprinted down a crowded street completely nude save for a sparkling pink tutu, singing the song Barbie Girl at the top of their lungs.

The two were distracted by the sudden appearance of their blonde teammate, who was waving to the pretty girl he had accompanied. The girl smiled hesitantly at the grinning Naruto, waving back before turning to disappear into the police station.

Naruto sauntered over, his hands behind his head and a beaming grin on his whiskered face. Sasuke raised an eyebrow in silent question, and Naruto puffed out his chest.

"That girl thought that I was the one asking her out, and said yes!"

Sakura burst out laughing, and Sasuke crossed his arms irritably as the girl choked out. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah! I must be some kind of stud, to get girls I don't even know to say that they'd willingly go out with me."

Sasuke smirked. "She probably forgot her medication today, Naruto."

Naruto flared, but settled back after letting out a long breath. "You're just jealous, Sasuke. I wonder…how many girls have said yes to you? Hm.? Any number will do…don't be shy…" Naruto put a hand to his ear theatrically, his eyes widening in feign surprise after a few moments of silence. "None? Oh my, what a down right shame!"

Sakura rolled her eyes as Sasuke leapt at Naruto angrily, the two boys yelling and tumbling over the street. Fists flew and feet kicked desperately at each other, and Sakura sighed as she moved safely out of the boys' range, sitting on the wall once more.

Boys.

Thankfully, Kakashi chose that moment to appear, his eyebrow rising at the sight of the two boys rolling on the street while exchanging kicks and yelling muffled insults. Sakura shrugged when the jounin looked her way, and with a chuckle the silver haired man yanked the two boys apart, leaning back to avoid the still swinging fists of Naruto. Sasuke glowered at his best friend, who was wiping away a small trickle of blood that originated from his split lip.

"I'm not going to ask what this was about, but I expect you both to kiss and make up, because we have more missions to complete."

Sasuke glared at the jounin, who gave a stern glare of his own. Naruto huffed, and grudgingly held out his hand. Sasuke stared at the hand for a moment, meeting the gaze of his blonde teammate before reaching out to grasp hands tightly.

"Sorry, Idiot."

"Same here, Bastard."

The two smiled at each other as their anger evaporated, and Sakura rolled her eyes once more as the two boys knocked fists amiably, moving to walk together as the squad headed down the street towards the Hokage Tower.

They were just passing the main gate when four figures came into view on the other side, and Kakashi went still at the sight, his eye narrowing as he suddenly disappeared.

Hoshiko knew that the boy was weakening, and cursed her lack of transportation seals. She had felt no need for them, seeing as it was merely a C ranked escort mission. Nothing serious. The woman scowled at the sight of Ryuu's ashen hands that dangled in front of her.

It only took one stupid mistake like that to result in a lifetime of guilt.

And this was Ryuu, the ray of sunshine in the squad. The only one who could reach Kazuki in her times of rebellion, the only one with whom Kazuki truly let her guard down. Hoshiko had often seen the two sitting by the lake on their days off, Kazuki venting heatedly while Ryuu listened without comment, calm and patient even in the face of her anger.

Ryuu was the one who was always smiling, even when the day seemed dreary and gray for Team Six. His energetic cheerfulness never failed to get a smile out of Hoshiko, and she loved the kid for it. She cared for Kenji and Kazuki as well, each extraordinary in their own way, but Ryuu had a special place in her heart that no one else could ever fill.

Hoshiko blinked as the gates loomed over them, and a familiar voice suddenly murmured from beside her.

"Hoshiko, what happened?"

The jounin turned to see a familiar silver haired man standing beside her, his dark gray eye serious as it scanned the boy in her custody.

Hoshiko had always been fascinated by the great Kakashi Hatake, but unlike some of the kunoichi, she also understood that he wasn't a very social man, preferring to be alone with his thoughts rather than drinking and joking with the rest of the jounin his age. As a psychologist, she understood that pushing herself on him would only result in him pulling away even more.

The kunoichi had been only eight – during the Third Great Ninja War – when Kakashi and the remaining members of his team returned from the battlefield after destroying a crucial bridge that allowed Iwagakure forces to cross into Kusagakure. The team was scheduled to rejoin the forces after a few days of rest, and a small group had stood to greet them at the gates. Hoshiko's parents were out on the front line, and so Hoshiko had stood there with her grandparents, eyes solemn and silent as they stared at the returning team.

Her memories of that time were fuzzy, but the memory of meeting Kakashi Hatake for the first time was clear as day.

Hoshiko peeked her head around the thick trunk of the tree she was hiding behind, her large emerald eyes curious as she stared at the thirteen year old jounin who was currently kneeling beside the large memorial stone that was carved with names of people Hoshiko had never met.

Her young mind couldn't wrap around the idea of what that stone represented, or what the names meant. Why were those names so important? Were they so important that they needed their names permanently written on a stone? What had those people done?

The boy knelt before the great and melancholy stone, his shoulders tense and full of restrained agony. His hands were tracing the line that held a particular name with a tenderness that reminded Hoshiko of her father, when he had been here. The tenderness that lay behind his touch as he tucked a few stray curls behind Hoshiko's ear, the softness that resided within the embrace of his strong arms.

The girl darted out from behind the tree, shyly walking towards where the silver haired boy sat silently.

The jounin didn't move as Hoshiko approached, quickly making his expression neutral as he turned to stare at the girl beside him. His left eye was heavily bandaged, and other cuts and bruises on his arms and legs were similarly cared for.

Hoshiko didn't smile, and neither did he. The girl slowly knelt beside the boy, carefully arranging her limbs so her stance was similar to his before asking.

"Why are you sad?"

The boy sighed. "I've just lost someone very important to me. He was my teammate." Hoshiko saw the name etched there, with the chilling clarity that sent a chill down the girl's spine.

Obito Uchiha.

"Lost? So you mean…they're all alone in the woods somewhere?" Hoshiko frowned, not understanding what the young jounin was alluding to. The silver haired boy couldn't help but smile – the barest hint of a smirk – at the girl's innocent response, and turned to stare at the stone once more.

"You could say that."

"Aren't you going to search for him?"

"No."

"Why not?" Hoshiko frowned. Why wouldn't he want to find his friend? His teammate was probably cold and scared without his friends…why wasn't this boy trying to find him?

"Because…he asked me to leave him behind." The jounin's voice was weaker now, the pain laced in every word. Hoshiko saw his shoulders hunch over in sadness as his gloved fingers resumed their tracing over the letters of Obito Uchiha's name.

Hoshiko huffed to herself, sitting back on her heels and pursing her lips. "Hm. Well, if he was your friend, then he must have had a good reason to stay…didn't he?"

The boy sucked in a deep breath, and glanced over at the smiling girl, his eye scanning her thick brown curls and the way her thin arms wrapped around her knees tightly under his scrutiny.

The silver haired jounin silently turned back to the stone. "I suppose he did. I still wish he hadn't asked me to leave him, though."

"Well, now you can tell him so!" Hoshiko chirped cheerfully, popping to her feet with a smile. "He's right here, listening to what you're saying! You should visit him a lot, so he won't feel lonely. That's what I'd want, if I was lost."

Hoshiko grinned at her companion, who was staring up at her with a shocked expression on his face. The girl waved, and turned to run away down the grassy slope, dancing around and laughing as the wind tousled her hair.

The war ended nearly four years later, and at the age of fifteen Hoshiko became a chuunin, and then a jounin quickly after that. She met the silver haired boy again a few years later, shocked to realize that the boy had in fact been the legendary Kakashi Hatake, and had over the years grown into the Copy Nin of Konohagakure. But by the way he didn't acknowledge her it was clear that he did not recognize her as the girl to sit with him that day.

Hoshiko didnt mind. But every time she looked at the jounin...she secretly wondered if he ever thought about that bold little girl with the brown curls. Did he ever wonder what had become of her?

Or had Hoshiko been so insignificant that she disappeared completely from Kakashi's memory?

The jounin shook away the memory as she sighed. "This customer was a bit dishonest when it came to the difficulty of his mission…and we were ambushed by some enemy ninja. I'll give the details later, but what matters now is that we get Ryuu to the hospital."

Kakashi nodded curtly, and glanced at the rest of her squad. "Do you want me to take Ryuu to the hospital? That way, you can take this guy," Kakashi gestured to the morose Tazuna. "to the Hokage and tell him the details of the ambush."

Hoshiko nodded, and Kakashi was surprisingly gentle as the woman deposited her charge into the jounin's arms. The jounin made to go, but Hoshiko reached out to touch his arm.

"Thank you, Kakashi."

"It's nothing."

And the silver haired man was gone.