Episode 6:
"Making Waves"
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I make any money off of this story.
A/N: I'm going to apologize for this chapter right away. You see it's really just a lead up into the next chapter. So as you trudge your way through it just remember that the next one will be better.
Sunlight streamed through the window to land on the face of a young girl with dark blonde hair and odd markings on her face. "Stupid Sun…" Naru mumbled as the bright light began to aggravate her. She shifted and spent the next couple of minutes trying to return to sleep but eventually gave it up as a lost cause. The blonde let out a growl as she untangled herself from her blanket. She swung her legs over the side of her bed and stood up.
Naru let out a yawn, her back arching as she stretched in a cat like manner. She ran a hand through her hair while she headed towards her bathroom. After relieving herself the young blonde turned on the water in her shower stall. Naru waited for a few seconds before reaching out to test the water temperature. Finding it to her liking she stepped into the stall and closed the sliding glass door.
Naru let out a happy sound as the nearly scalding hot water cascaded over her head and down her back. She began to hum a lively tune as she washed herself. All too soon she was finished and so she turned the water off and stepped out of the stall. The young girl grabbed a towel and dried herself off quickly before heading back to her room.
Naru went over to her dresser and opened the top drawer. She pulled out a few articles of clothing before making her way over to the bed where she began to dress. It was only a few minutes later that Naru found herself in front of her mirror. Despite the fact that she looked into the mirror at least once a day Naru was still amazed at how much the last month has changed her.
Even though she had been a shinobi for only a day Naru was removed from the active duty list after fainting in front of her new Jonin instructor. When her new instructor was unable to revive her he brought her to the hospital. That was where Naru met Dr. Sawase a kind woman who gave her the unfortunate news that she would need to spend a month recuperating from iron deficiency anemia. So Naru had been unable to go on any missions with her team.
Over the course of the last month Naru's diet had completely changed. In the past the only thing she had been able to afford had been ramen because food vendors and stores would overcharge her. This directly led to the girl's poor health. However after her trip to the hospital the Hokage demanded that Naru tell him why she wasn't eating properly.
When the Hokage learned that that Naru was being charged many times over what other people paid for basic items like food he was livid. He had ANBU visit every store and stand in the village and warned them that since Naru received money from the village that overcharging her was the same as stealing from the village itself. He also had ANBU mention that anyone caught stealing from the village would spend some quality time with Morino Ibiki the head of the Torture and Interrogation Division.
Naru smiled at her reflection as a feeling of contentment filled her. A month ago she had been a short girl with pale blonde hair and a sickly complexion. While she seemed lively enough she really was only skin and bones. A month of healthy eating had changed that. As Kiba would say she finally had some meat on her bones.
One of the more noticeable changes though was her hair. Previously it laid against her head in short curls the color of corn silk. However over the past month her hair had grown down to her shoulders, lost its distinctive curl, and turned the color of polished gold.
With Naru's weight changing so drastically the girl also had to get a new wardrobe. Her main outfit now consisted of a dark hooded sweatshirt that she kept unzipped over a black t-shirt. She still wore a skirt except the skirt now came to her knees and was black with orange trimming. Naru still had on a pair of shorts underneath the skirt but she had taken Sakura's advice and had switched to a short spandex variety mostly used by cyclists.
Naru gave her reflection a mischievous grin as dashed off towards her bed. Scrambling atop it she reached for her window and shoved it open before hoping out and onto the small balcony. The blonde gave a shout of joy before leaping to the closest rooftop as she headed to where her team was meeting.
It took Naru a grand total of 15 minutes to reach training ground number three. The hyperactive blonde skidded to a halt and stopped just a few inches from slamming into Kakashi. Kakashi looked down at her with his one visible eye and shook his head "Naru I know you just got placed on active duty again but that is no reason to try and break your neck."
Naru pouted "But Sensei I wouldn't break my neck from running." Kakashi's eye turned up in a smile "No but I might have broken it if you had bumped into me and caused me to drop my precious." Naru eyed the book warily and gulped "Come on Kaka-sensei! That's not funny!" By now both Sasuke and Sakura had approached the pair. "I don't think he's joking" said Sasuke. Sakura nodded in agreement.
Naru slowly took a step back "S…So what will we be doing today?" Kakashi placed his precious in his weapons pouch and seemed to think to himself for a moment. "Well since Naru has been cleared health wise and we've spent the last month training together I think it's time we tried for a mission" said Kakashi happily. The three youngest members of Team Seven let out a whoop of joy. At least two of them did Sasuke just Hn'ed.
So with that final thought Team Seven headed towards the Hokage tower to receive they're very first mission. A short while later Team Seven was standing in the mission room before the Hokage and Umino Iruka. "Team Seven is here to request a mission" said Kakashi. The Hokage studied them for a moment, his gaze sweeping over each of them. "Don't you think it's a bit early to be asking for a mission Hatake-san. Naru was only just cleared for active duty today" Iruka said.
Kakashi turned to his student's former instructor "Don't worry about them Iruka. They have been training for the last month together and I am confident in their abilities." Iruka turned to the Hokage "Hokage-sama I must protest…" "Iruka…" interrupted the Hokage "I know you care for your former students but they are shinobi now and Kakashi-kun is their Jonin instructor. If he believes they are ready than we must trust in his judgment."
The Hokage turned to address Team Seven "Unfortunately we are out of D rank missions however if you are truly confident in their abilities than I will allow you to take a C rank." Kakashi looked at his students "Well what do you say?" Sasuke responded with a confident smirk, Sakura placed her hands on her hips and nodded, however Naru had a different reaction. She just stood there with her head bowed and her small form trembling.
Kakashi gave her a worried look "It's alright if you don't feel that you're ready Naru. We can wait till tomorrow for a D rank." Everyone in the room leaned towards the girl equal looks of worry marring their faces. They were nearly knocked over when with a shout Naru jumped into the air. "Yahoo! No stupid D ranks!" yelled the blonde. Naru landed and was going to continue her shouting when Sakura smacked her upside the head. "Don't act like a child, idiot!" Sakura yelled to the blonde.
Naru stood there with tears in her eyes as her hands rubbed at the back of her head to ease the pain. "Ouch! Sakura-chan you didn't need to hit me!" said the blonde with a whimper. Kakashi covered his one visible eye and sighed "Maybe they aren't quite ready yet." Sasuke turned his gaze on Kakashi and glared. The Jonin removed his hand and glanced over at his raven haired student. Sasuke's glare didn't really bother him in fact he found it to be rather adorable that his little Genin was trying to intimidate him. "I think they'll do just fine on a C rank" said Kakashi. The Hokage nodded "We have one C rank, an escort mission to Wave." The Leaf's leader reached over to the intercom beside him "Sara, please send in Tazuna-san." The voice of a woman answered back through the speaker "Hai! Hokage-sama."
Team Seven turned to face the door collectively as it opened and a tall elderly man stumbled into the room. The man known as Tazuna managed to catch himself with one hand on a nearby desk while his other hand brought a bottle of sake to his lips. The man steadied himself as best he could before taking a swig from his bottle. "Ahhh! That hits the spot!" Said the drunk.
Naru turned to the Hokage in dismay "This is a joke right. Please tell me this old drunk isn't the client!" Tazuna gazed at the short blonde and snorted "Hah I came here to hire a team of ninja not a bunch of brats still in diapers!" The three youngest members of Team Seven bristled at the old man's comments.
Kakashi decided to intervene before one of his students got shuriken happy. The grey haired Jonin learned long ago that it was never a good idea to murder your client. At least not before they paid you. "There's no need to worry Tazuna-san. Naru, Sasuke, and Sakura are all shinobi of the Leaf and they will do whatever is necessary to protect you and complete the mission" said Kakashi.
Tazuna took another swig from his bottle and spoke in a rough gravelly voice "Yeah well we'll see than won't we." With that the old man turned around and staggered out of the room. Iruka coughed once to get Team Seven's attention "That was Tazuna a bridge builder from Wave. The mission is to escort him back to Wave and protect him while he completes his bridge. As stated the mission is Ranked C due to the probability of encountering bandits. Does Team Seven wish to accept this mission and all the responsibility it entails?"
Kakashi gave one final glance to his team before stepping forward and taking the scroll being offered to him by Iruka "Team Seven accepts." Iruka nodded solemnly. "If there is nothing else Team Seven than you are dismissed" said the Hokage with a smile. All the members of Team Seven bowed and began to file out of the room one by one.
Naru was the last one to leave but before she could exit the room she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. The blue eyed shinobi looked back to see her former teacher. "Yes Iruka-sensei?" said the blonde pleasantly. Iruka kneeled down in front of the girl. "Naru I'm glad to see that you're doing so much better but I still worry about you" Iruka said, his hand going up to brush a stray lock of hair from her eyes.
Naru's cheeks flushed and she gave her favorite teacher a smile "You don't need to worry about me Iruka-sensei. I'm stronger than I look and much better than before." Iruka frowned "Naru I know you're confident in yourself but it's only been a month since you left the academy." The diminutive blonde nodded "Yeah and I spent the whole month training with Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi-sensei. Trust me Iruka-sensei we're really different… I'm really different. I told you back when I was still at the academy. I'm going to be Hokage someday. Count on it!"
Iruka stood up and placed his hands on the girl's shoulders "I am counting on it Naru. I've always had faith in you so make me proud okay?" Naru gave him a dazzling smile and a hug before running off to catch up with her teammates. The rest of Team Seven were waiting outside when Naru finally exited the tower. Sasuke looked at her "You are so slow dead last." Naru growled at him "I am not slow bastard!" Sakura responded to Naru's comment "Don't insult Sasuke-kun you dumb blonde!"
Naru made a rude gesture at Sakura "Bite me pinky!" Kakashi rubbed at his temples and seriously considered turning around and declining the mission. "You three need to calm down and grow up. Normally a team starts with D rank missions so they can get used to the idea of working together as a unit. However due to certain circumstances you three have spent the last month training instead. Despite the fact that you have never actually been on a mission I believe that you three have sufficient skill to skip the tedious D rank missions and that is why I accepted the C rank but if you keep up this petty bickering than I will be forced to go back before the Hokage and decline the mission. If I have to do that than I promise you will regret it. Am I understood?"
The three Genin looked at their instructor with a bit of fear and nodded in unison. Kakashi's eye turned up in the approximation of a smile as his tone change to a happier one "Good! Then you're all dismissed. We'll meet tomorrow morning at the gate. Make sure you're prepared for at least a month long excursion." The rest of Team Seven said their farewells and started off for their respective homes.
See pretty boring right? Well anyways thanks for reading and as always please review!