: It hurts... : A Gaara Love Story : Deep inside.. :Chapter three:

"YOU ALL.. PASS! Congratulations! "

"NANI!? ", you all shouted out.
"I said, you guys PASS. Well done."
"Waaaaaaaaaaiii! WE PASSED!", you cheered.
"Heh...", Kakashi sweatdropped.
You started to dance around until--
"OW! ", you screeched and started to stroke your head... Just where a bump came out. "Why'd you do that for, emo kid!?
"What did you say?!"
"You heard me, baaaka!"
"I dare you to say that again.", Uchiha glared.
"Oh.. of course, I accept the challenge, EMO no baka!", you hissed.
"NANI!? WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU--", but then he stopped. "I don't care, do what you want."
"That was my intent from the start, anyways."
An angry mark appeared on his forehead, but he made it disappear. "Whatever.."
"Come on, guys.. you just passed because of teamwork, don't you make me re-think of my answer..", Kakashi sweatdropped.
"N-n-no sensei! Don't worry, they're always like that! Heh,hehe…" she said as she made a forced smile..
"Guys, we'd better be going now... Why not settle this another time, will you?", Kakashi hissed.
"Oh yeah, right. Gomen nasai, Kakashi-sensei.", you replied. "I have no time to waste with this no-life, anyways..", You smirked.
Everyone was leaving.. except for you.
"Um.. Arigato, Kilaru... I'm glad you didn't forget to untie me! Hehe. ", he grinned.
"Well, ja ne, Naruto nii-chan."
As you said this, you saw his eyes widen but then, he smiled and said "Yeah, see you, Kilaru one-chan!"
You hugged him and gave him a peck on the cheek, and said "Arigato." and then left.
"Ari..gato?.. Why "thanks"?" He asked no one as he touched his cheek and blushed slightly, through his confusion...
As the missions came by, the pleasure of doing something with others followed.
"Naruto! These are not herbs!" …

"Naruto no baka, don't just fall in the river!!" …

"He just HAD to pick the biggest dog, didn't he?" Uchiha asked while watching Naruto fall into mines because of his dog.

And then --
"SENSEI! WE ARE SICK OF THESE D-RANKED MISSIONS! I WANT A REAL MISSION!", Naruto shouted.
The Hokage looked through all the missions, and got a C-Ranked mission and said "Kakashi, I believe we can let you do this one." as he handed the report to him.
"Yes. And arigato, Hokage-sama."

-- : On the way back from the Hokage's office : --
"WAAAIIII!!" You and Naruto screeched in joy. "OUR FIRST C-RANKED MISSION!"
Uchiha still had his emotionless stare, though you could tell he was agitated about this as well.. Well.. at least happy on the inside.. no? you thought.
"Okay, everyone, get ready for the mission. When you are finished, meet me at the gate. I'll give you details about our "escorting" mission.", Kakashi said.
"Haaaiii!", you agreed as you went off.
So... I've got.. My kunai pouch,.. "Hai.", my weapons, some snacks,.. "Haii.. " you murmured. my headband, of course, and Cookie, my little plushie... Maybe I should hide it.. Yeah, I'll do that.. So.. my little teddy bear will be hid.. Um.. OH yeah! I got it!!

-- : At the gate : --
"Hey there Kilaru! Cool! I love your teddy bear backpack! It's…. Kakoii..(Cute) Heh.", Naruto said looking pretty... hesitant.. about saying "cute".
"Hai, arigato Naruto-kun!", you replied happily.
"Would you guys stop babbling about useless things?", Uchiha ended your conversation.
"Haii...", you mumbled, looking down.
"Okaaay.. Since there is no more chatting, I will explain you guys our mission. We must escort this man, Tazuna, to the village "Hidden In the Mist" and assure his safety. They are currently building a bridge and there are people who doesn't want the bridge done. That is why. So, be on guard.", Kakashi explain.
"Haii, sensei!", you all replied.
But then, something WEIRD happened. REALLY weird. At least, for your comrades.
"AAHh!", you screamed and clutched your head. ..Wh-what is happening!? "Um.. don't worry guys.. I'll join you... later..--"
"KILARU! IS SOMETHING WRONG?! ANSWER ME!", Naruto screamed. But, everything seemed so far away... You smiled as you fell to the ground.. and everything went black.
"KILARU! KILARUUUU!!", Naruto yelled.

-- : In the hospital : --
You woke up... but.. Something is wrong.., you thought as you realised this bed was neither yours nor the ground... "Wh-where.. am I?", you managed to murmur.
"In the hospital, my dear." a women said in a soft voice.
... The hospital.., huh?...
"WHAAAAA--?!", you yelled.
You tried to sit up but your body wouldn't let you.. for now. ..move, little leg.. Move… MOVE YOU--... leg.. please?
"H—How long have I been--",you started.
"Sleeping?", she finished. "For one... ENTIRE day!", she exclaimed.
"Oh.. oka-- NAAANIIIIIII?! ONE DAY!!" Oh no! The mission!! you realised. "Is my team already gone?"
"Of course, little one. They left a day ago, saying 'We can't wait for her. If we wait, we'll make Tazuna wait a hole day…' !!", she smiled. " But they told us to tell you to go to the Mist village.. You should meet them on the way there. That is, if you still want to do the mission, of course."
"OF COURSE I DO! ONCE I GET BACK THERE, I'LL KICK THEIR BTT FOR LEAVING ME HERE!", you shouted.
"Oh, and he knew you'd say that, so he said to give this to you." And she gave you an apple and a note saying "Gomen nasai, Kilaru. We didn't have a choice. See you later. Team 7" I am SOO sure Kakashi wrote this... ABSOLUTELY sure..
"Okay then, ja ne!" You took your bear backpack and you left.

Naruto's POV
Kilaru.. Be a good girl and rest, okay?
You left the hospital and started the mission without Kilaru. With that, she'll be angry at us.. Ouch!
I started walking, along with everyone else, but my mind was somewhere else. "WATCH OUT!" I heard as I snapped back to reality. Huh? What happened?... I saw nothing unusual, so I continued walking.
"STOP WALKING NARUTO! BAKA!" Then, I saw a puddle on the ground.
"Huh? What was THAT for?", I asked Uchiha-teme.

Your POV
-- : On the way there : --
GRrrr.. They'll pay, be sure about that..! I thought as I jumped from tree to tree. They'll pay DEARLY. I stopped as I saw something. A puddle? I thought as I saw it on the road. Bah, must be a trap, so I'll take another route to the Mist Village. But one thing.. WHERE in the Village Hidden In the Mist?! sigh I'll just have to search... Near an unfinished bridge, huh? And I'll ask people.. Easy. I ran for about 5 minutes when I FINALLY reached the village.
Now I know why it's named "Village HIDDEN in the MIST".. Haha...
I saw a man on a boat and asked him if he could take me to the other side of the water.
"Of course, young lady. But be careful. The other side is filled with malicious people." he answered. Then, his eyes were fixed on something. Your hita-ite. (Ninja headband)
"Is something wrong?", I asked. He seemed so... I don't know. He just seemed weird, all of a sudden.
"I saw these before..", he said. Your eyes widened. "A man, two boys and a girl wore it. I took them to the other side, just like you. Tell me, are you a friend of them?" he asked me.
"Well, kinda. They are my teammates.. But I fell unconscious right before we left and.. and….. well, they left me behind... So I came here after them."
"Ah, I see. Good." the man replied.
"Huh? Why do you say it's good?"
"I felt as though something was on their mind.. They seemed worry about something, but now I can understand why.", he answered.
They were worried about me?... I smiled. My friends are great… right?
"Hoooii! Here we are! Good luck, young lady! Be sure to find them!"
"Haaaiii!! I will!" I replied. This man.. is so kind-hearted..
I jumped off the boat and began running towards the bridge.
I asked some people if they knew where Tazuna lived, and I FINALLY got an answer. Yeaaaah! Just you wait for me! I began running until I found a house at last. Yay! Guyz, I'm comin'!! D
I knocked on the door lively.

Naruto's POV
"Naruto-baka! We told you to STOP WALKING, but noooo.. Mister just HAD to walk into their trap, huh?" Sakura screamed at Naruto.
"... Hai.. Gomen nasai.."
"Well, at least we got rid of the nins so I guess it's okay.. But don't do that again!" Sakura softened. "But that Zabuza guy could have KILLED us! Do you realise this?!.. Gomen nasai.. I shouldn't scream at you.."
"H-haii.. And.. no, it's okay.. Scream all you want, we could have died.. by my fault..." I looked down.
Awww… I wonder what is Kilaru doing right now… Is she already up? I hope so.. S
"Hoooii... Naruto.."
"Huh?" I looked up to see Uchiha's gaze was towards me. "What, Sasuke-teme?"
"Are you... ok?"
"Nani? Yes.. Why?" WHA--? Sasuke-teme, asking ME if I am OKAY? Wow... So sad that Kilaru isn't there to see THIS..
"You seem... Odd." Sakura stated. "You're not your usual self."
"Oh.. Eum.. Nope! I'm commmpletely fine!" Why are they thinking I'm not feeling well? It's not just because Kila--...She isn't there that I'm not okay!
We arrived at Tazuna's house and ate breakfast. After some chit-chat, we continued eating breakfast in complete silence for about 5 minutes when suddenly.. The door knocked. And.. It sounded like a little.. A melody? What the? We all looked at each other for a few long seconds.
"... I'll go check." Sasuke offered.

Back to you
I happily waited for them to let me in... And they did. After like, 20 seconds.
"Oh, it's you." Uchiha said coldly.
"Well, who else did you expect? Oh and by the way, thanks for rushing to open the door, everyone.." I said sarcastically with a sweatdrop.
"Well, no problem." Uchiha smirked.
I could feel my eye twitch like never before. WHAA--?! No.. I must keep my calm... eye twitching
"Hai haii.. Um, gomen nasai for being late, but I was kinda lost.." I explained..
Everyone sweatdropped. And so did I.. But accompanied with an innocent grin.
"Well, Kilaru, would you take a seat with us?" Tazuna offered me.
"Well of course I would! I haven't eaten anything for 2 days!!" I cried out.
"Whaa--?!" Everyone's eyes were popping out their heads.
"Ha.. hahaha! HAHaha!" I started, to laugh and realised that Uchiha was smiling! Not smirking, but S-M-I-L-I-N-G!!
"AAH! OMG!" I screeched out.
"What? What is it!?" Naruto jumped.
"NARUTO! You just WON'T believe me! Uchiha actually SMILED!!"
"Will you stop calling me "Uchiha"..? I have a first name, you kn—"
"Oh.. My... GOD! SASUKE.. SMILING?! Nooo! Really?!" Naruto seemed taken aback.
"Yup! He sure did" I laughed. "Well, whatever, we should eat.. Or the food will be COLD!"
Everyone finished their food as I started mine. I finished 5 minutes later.
"Hooii! EVERYONE! WAIT FOR ME!" I yelled as they walked out the house and headed towards the forest.
"Kusooooo!!" I ran as fast as I could to reach them.
As I finally did, I... ACCIDENTLY ran into a tree.
"Ite ite ite iteeeee!! This SOOO hurts!" I screamed louder than I thought.
"Um, do you know you looked.. SOO convincing?" Uchiha declared.
"Eum, I dunno, you tell me." I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Yeah, whatever." he replied.
"Humph. " I uttered Grr.. He SOO annoys me --; "So.. what were you doing these past few days?"
"Training!" Naruto answered.
"Yeah but, training what?" I asked.
"Climbing trees!" He replied
"Oh.. I see.." I looked at the ground. Climbing trees, huh? Reminds me.. (…) No, now's not the time... Memories only bring pain and misery. Even the good ones hurt me now. sigh
"Eum.. What do I do sensei? I already know how to do that!" you shouted.
"Euuuuh.. Let's see… why don't you.. do what you want..?" Kakashi suggested.
"I want to train! You know, learn new things!" You cheerfully said.
"Euuuh.. So.. How about walking on water?" he proposed.
"Already learned." you said.
"Let's see... Do you know how to.. whisper Put chakra into a weapon..?"
"Euuuh.. Well, we lear--" I started.
"Who do you mean by "we" ? Are you talking about your previous comrades?" Kakashi-sensei, cut me out. "The ones who--"
..Huh? H-How does sensei know about--
"URUSEI!" I screamed. "KEEP YOUR FILTHY MOUTH SHUT WILL YOU?!"
I rushed out of their view, panting. W-What is this I'm feeling.. W-why now?! Little by little, I heard water. Just like a river. ...WATER!!
"Aah.. I feel refreshed." I said as I soaked my face. "Geez, why did he have to talk about that!?" I sulked.
"There you are." A spiteful voice whispered.
"You again? I thought I was clear before, I don't want to have ANYTHING to do with you anymore, Zabuza!" You screamed to the mist slowly surrounded you. "Get away, you, the Devil of the Mist! Do not mess with me! Or you'll pay!" You angrily shouted.
"Oh we'll see about that."