Hello again, fellows. Here is chapter 9 for you, wherein the team embark on a mission involving a secretive village and Yoku has a bit of a chat. As a heads up to you guys, I've edited previous chapters to improve them as I realized some aspects were typed in a hurry and need refinement. I'm so sorry for the delay on this one, I had trouble writing it initially and it ended up being quite a bother. I have done some of the next chapter as well, though. Thanks to anybody who left a fav, follow or review, I appreciate it!

Remember when I was talking about drawing a picture of Yoku? Well, here it is:

prntscr com/ bjikay (Remove the spaces to use, and put a period between prntscr and com.)

I apologize for the quality of the photo, and for how crumpled the paper is. The drawing still needs tweaks and fixes, but is mostly done except for the color and outlining. I'm not much of an artist, so it's a little cruddy looking. I realize her headband is meant to be under her hair, but I ended up drawing it over. Imagine it whichever way you want, this is just an interpretation.

RadioPoisioning: Yeah, I was in a hurry to get out all the dialogue so I skipped details. I have gone back and edited the chapter to improve it.

Tanner Clark: Nice to know I amused somebody, there'll be a bit more humor in this chapter.

lizy2000: Yep, challenges shall await the genin next chapter.

Ginseng Tea: At that point Yoku's still new to ninjutsu, so didn't really have a full grasp on it. Also, her stamina and chakra are a bit more than normal, but not huge.

Hanabi Mirei: I'm glad to know you like it so far, Yoku will have more of an impact as time goes on.

I stood next to my sensei atop the tiled roof of a small building, waiting for Obito to arrive. We had been assigned a mission, a C-Rank. We were to retrieve a package from The Hidden Lock Village in The Land of Keys. What was in the package, I had no idea. For some reason our destination seemed to ring a bell deep in my mind. I was trying to remember why when our late comrade came to a stop beside Kakashi, who was below the building I stood on.

"You're late again!" he said irritably, pointing at Obito

"A lot happened on my way here and I got lost.." Obito babbled, wiping his brow and panting

"Those two.." I shook my head with a smile, broken out of my reverie by the usual bickering

"They're not exactly falling into line, are they?" commented Minato with amusement

"That's for sure. But you know, sensei.."

As I began my sentence, Guy suddenly appeared between my angry teammates and issued Kakashi a challenge. I bit my lip to stifle a chortle at the resulting mayhem.

"*ahem* I reckon that they'll get along someday." I decided I'd better get us moving "And for now, I'll hold them together!" I grinned and ran down the roof, jumping off and into the trio of boys

"Right you guys, come on! We're already late!" I said, grabbing each of their hands and pulling them forward

Leaving behind a bewildered Guy, we three ran as one. My eyes were bright, looking forward to what lay ahead.

Some time later, we'd left the village and were walking through rocky plains. My brow was furrowed in concentration as I tried to recall anything about where we were headed.

"Lock Village... I swear I've heard that before..." I mumbled; I turned my head to Minato

"Hey sensei, what's The Hidden Lock village like?"

Minato hummed in thought for a moment before replying "Well, it's small and secretive. Their community does business with larger villages, which is how they get by. They have shinobi adept in the art of espionage; they trade information."

My brows furrowed further, yet I still couldn't grasp any memories. Deciding to think on it later, I asked about the mysterious package instead.

"So then, the package we're picking up... is it a scroll or something like that?"

Minato smiled and replied jovially; "No, actually. The package is a collection of rare flowers."

My teammates and I came to an abrupt halt. Obito's jaw dropped in a comical expression of horror, Kakashi raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Uhm.. what?" was all I could manage in response, mouth hanging open

"Flowers, are you serious?! I thought this mission was important!" cried Obito incredulously, waving his fists about

"It is important, Obito. These flowers are useful, we need them for medical research." said Minato sternly; he seemed awfully serious about a bunch of plants

'We're picking up flowers from a spy village? I wouldn't expect them to deal in goods like that. Then again, maybe they're secret experimental flowers... uhhh...'

As I tried to figure out what was going on, I saw structures surrounded by a wooden wall in the distance. Minato pointed at them and spoke.

"There's the village, that way. When we come within range of it, be careful if you speak to others. Some of the villagers aren't trusting of outsiders."

I sighed; it was gonna be a long day.

I peered at the squat wooden houses as we came closer to the village entrance. Few people were about, most of them wearing forehead protectors. Stamped on the metal plates was the simple symbol of a key.

'Okay, I know I've seen that before.'

Hand raised to my face, I could feel the buried information within my grasp. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a crouched girl about my age with long, dark hair. My vision was drawn to her, as was my body. Without knowing why, a question escaped my mouth.

"Hey.. what's your name?"

She raised her head with a start. Her eyes were wide and honey-brown, a small mole under the right one. Her skin was a pale pink. She looked at me warily, but answered nonetheless.

"Hanare..."

Images hidden in a misty fog leapt to mind, followed by voices. I snapped my fingers as I remembered, a smile dawning on my face. Hanare flinched at the sudden noise, and I proceeded to reassure her.

"Hey, it's okay, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm just really glad I finally recalled something. Thanks, Hanare... I'm Yoku." I stuck a hand out in greeting with an easy smile

After eyeing me cautiously for a second, she took it in her own and shook it.

"Nice to-" our conversation was interrupted by an annoyed voice

"Hey, don't dawdle. We've got to stick to the mission." I dropped my hand and turned to Kakashi, poking my tongue out at him but following regardless. I waved goodbye to Hanare, who returned it with a small one of her own.

Rejoining my team, I walked beside them with a spring in my step.

In a small, dark room, two men stood preparing a cylindrical case with a wooden shell. Each wore a grey coat and protective gloves.

"Those leaf ninja sure wanted to get ahold of these, huh?" mused one, observing something held in his hand

"Yeah. Paid a ton. Frankly, I'm glad to be rid of em'. They're creepin' me out..." mumbled the other quietly, standing over the case and fiddling with dials in it's interior

The first man carefully placed the item he held into the case, glancing at it's settings as he did so. The second man rubbed his hands together nervously, eyes avoiding what was now within the case.

"Lock it." ordered the first man sternly, causing the second man to flinch "Oh come on, we've been doing this job for years. A little 'Dirty Work' is expected." continued the first man with exasperation, pushing his partner towards the case

"But this is just..." the second man shivered, unable to finish his sentence

Swallowing, he proceeded to double-check the dials within the case before closing it. Lastly, he clicked the lock into place with a sigh of relief. His partner picked up the case, walking to the door on the other side of the room. He proceeded to knock on it thrice; when it opened, the case was passed to another man. The door closed.

The second man took off his gloves, then ran a hand through his sparse hair "It's out of our hands now. I hope those damn leaf ninja take those... things far away!"

I was moving my mouth subtly, trying to whistle. The only noises I could manage to make ranged from blowing air to making broken half-whistles. For whatever reason, I just couldn't get the air to flow correctly.

"What are you doing?" asked Obito, stopping me for a moment

"Trying to whistle. I can't seem to get it right." I continued trying to whistle, but it got worse as I became embarrassed

"Why do you wanna whistle?"

"Because I finally remembered something." I gave up on whistling, switching to low humming instead

"It was the girl." said Kakashi suddenly, my head turning to him in surprise

"You're observant. But also right. You know, maybe you should have said hi to her too, Kakashi." I suggested-Kakashi closed his eyes and shook his head

"Maybe one day.." I mumbled, turning my head to the fast-approaching village.

'Finally, I can see what this place looks li-'

"Whoa, you three. This is where we stop." said Minato abruptly, standing in our path with a hand raised

"The Hidden Lock village is careful with outsiders. I'll go in and get the package, but you'll have to wait here until I come back." he continued, turning to go

The three of us nodded and our sensei disappeared through the gap in the wall into the jumble of buildings.

Several minutes later I sat drumming my fingers on the ground. I was observing the plains, which were sparse of vegetation except for grass. My eyes wandered from a couple of rocks back to the village. A few guards stood about at the entrance, silent sentinels watching us. I didn't like to look at them for too long-their gazes were eerily penetrating.

I got up when I saw Minato emerge from the village, flanked by two Lock shinobi and carrying a cylindrical case that seemed to be made of wood. I waved at him, then expressed bewilderment when the shinobi stayed after we regrouped.

"They'll come with us, to make sure we get this where it needs to go." said Minato in reassurance, sensing our confusion

I still retained some suspicion of the strangers, but nonetheless accepted the new presences. Our group set off running across the plains, leaving the mysterious village behind.

After about half an hour, we crossed back into the forest. I was glad to be back on somewhat familiar terrain, but our tagalongs were making me uneasy. They hadn't spoken a word since they appeared, and seemed not to really notice we were with them. Regardless, they seemed to be carrying out their task as needed, flanking Minato who carried the case. I attributed this way of acting to their village.

'Maybe the Lock village just trains it's shinobi in a certain way..'

After a while, my attention shifted away from them-I'd come to regret it later. After fifteen minutes had passed, their behavior had changed subtly. I came to notice the fact that they were closer to Minato-a little bit too close. They also seemed to carry an air of slight restlessness, their eyes glancing around every couple of seconds in a way that reminded me of drug addicts. Whatever was going on, something felt wrong..

I snapped to attention when I heard a whoosh of air beside me-one of the Lock shinobi was attempting to kick Minato, who dodged it in confusion. Despite his protests and questions, the Lock ninja continued going at him-when his partner joined in, Kakashi blocked him off. Despite attempts to reason with them, the Lock-nin remained oddly silent. Their eyes were wide with a strange and familiar look-it was borderline crazy.

Minato began to fight, hindered by the case-Obito tried to help him. Kakashi was getting pushed back-we ended up straying from the path and into the forest. I was about to perform a jutsu when I heard Minato's voice.

"Yoku, grab it!"

I barely had time to register the cylindrical object coming towards me-I caught the case with an "Oof!" in both arms, then jumped back onto a tree branch. The ninja who'd been attacking Minato shifted his attention toward me with an almost animalistic growl. I was a little off-balance, and the ninja moved with incredible speed-

-CRACK-

There was a splintering noise as the Lock ninja's kick landed solidly-on the wooden case. I was flung backwards off the branch I'd been on with the force of the impact, catching a glimpse of Minato as I fell.

I coughed as I slid backwards along the ground, leaving dust clouds in my wake. My arms were empty, the case having fallen onto the ground. I was surprised to hear a clinking noise close by, like glass. I got up in a panic to grab the case-then winced as I noticed it's lid had been forced open by the kick, a crack running down it's side. My eyes scanned the area for it's missing contents, then widened.

The thing that was rolling on the ground certainly wasn't a bunch of flowers. It was a glass canister with metal on either end, containing something suspended in a yellow liquid. Disgust filled me as I realized what it was-a pair of eyeballs, bobbing about like grotesque ping-pong balls. Their centers were abnormal-a chill ran down my spine as I gazed at the red-and-black pattern of the sharingan. Even though they were inactive, I knew very well how much damage those eyes could inflict.

Suppressing a shiver of revulsion, I grabbed the canister and put it back into the case's cushioned interior, shoving the lid down. I was relieved when it clicked, the lock still appearing to work.

I tried to stay silent as I crouched, hugging the case close. I tensed when I heard something land behind me-then sighed in relief when I realized it was just Minato. I stood up, still a little shaken from seeing the case's true contents.

"Where's the enemy?" I asked, peering into the trees cautiously

"They can't bother us anymore. Kakashi and Obito should catch up in a minute." he said calmly-I didn't pester him for details

I passed him the case carefully-it seemed much more fragile to me now.

'Best to pretend I never saw what I saw.'

I clasped my hands behind my back, avoiding my sensei's gaze. I felt sure he'd read me like a book if I met it.

Kakashi and Obito appeared, a little worse for wear. My vision darted to avoid Obito when it passed near him-it'd occurred to me that the eyes in the canister were likely taken from one of his relatives.

Now that we were all together, Minato held something up in one hand. All of us leant forward-whatever it was, it was rather small.

As my vision focused I saw the object more clearly-it was a tiny transparent dart "I believe this is why our escorts attacked us. Someone wanted to make trouble for us-not sure exactly who, though." Minato carefully placed the dart into one of his jacket pockets after a few seconds

'That would explain the familiar look those Lock ninja had... they were sick.'

"Whoever they were, I think they're gone now. They'd have done something else by now if they'd intended to stick around." I said, looking around warily nonetheless

Kakashi joined in with a question "What about the Lock shinobi?"

Minato looked behind him for a moment before answering solemnly "Whatever they were poisoned with was fatal-there was nothing that could be done."

There were a few moments of tense silence, before Minato broke it as he told us we'd continue on back to the Leaf Village carefully. We leapt into the trees, jumping from branch to branch as normal. I didn't say much on the way back, only responding to questions with short answers until they stopped. All of us were a little disturbed by the turn the initially normal mission had taken. The silence seemed to hang above us like a shroud, until we at last made it back home safely.

The evening after our messed-up mission, I was making a trip to see some people I hadn't spoken to for a while. I carried a pair of flowers in one hand-both were simple white lilies I'd picked up on the way. In the other hand was a small bottle of water. The sun was setting, signifying the day's end-people numbered few in the village's paths and streets, most of them packing up shops, doing some last-minute errands or just heading off somewhere. But no matter whether it was midnight or midday, the village was never truly quiet. After all, it was full of ninja who worked stealthily behind the scenes.

I found the place I was looking for-there were a few other people around, going about their business silently. My eyes flicked across the flat stones as I entered the fenced area-one, two, five, ten-sooner or later, I found the pair I was looking for. They looked just like the others, words and numbers carven into their surface underneath the Leaf symbol. But, to me, they were unique. I knelt down and carefully placed the pair of lilies in the small clay pot between the graves, taking out a withered old flower which I failed to identify. I tipped the bottle I'd brought and filled the pot with water, hoping the new plants would fare better than the old one.

The area seemed melancholy; not unusual, since it was a graveyard. The setting sun made it even more so, gradually darkening the sky and slowing the village.

'Small world..' I thought absentmindedly as I saw someone across from me also placing flowers on a grave

It was strange, sitting at my parent's graves while knowing nothing was actually buried beneath them. I suppose I liked to think that some part of them was there in a sort of ethereal sense, not physical. Whether my beliefs held true or not, I didn't know. I knew there was some form of afterlife, but considering I'd been reincarnated I wasn't really sure what to think about it.

I spoke quietly into the air, hoping something was listening "Hey mom, dad. Sorry I haven't stopped by in so long. Life's been hectic. I'm getting along pretty well with my team, we've completed several missions already. Though not without a few bumps.. just today, the mission we were on got kinda messed up. We came out of it okay though."

I glanced at the sky-it was dusk now, feeding the lengthening shadows as they crept along the ground. I rubbed my eyes drowsily and suppressed an instinctive yawn.

"I'm a little nervous about the future. The Chunin exam's coming up, and I don't really know what to expect. It's probably gonna be a bunch of difficult tests, so I'm gonna train in the meantime."

I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment as I continued "Also.. I'm kinda... in love with somebody who likes someone else. It's bugging me. I don't know if my feelings will go away, I just want them to stop messing with me. I've gotta focus on other things.."

I closed my eyes for a moment, letting sadness seep into my voice

"I wish you guys were here... you'd know how to help."

I noted sun was now a red line on the dimming horizon and decided I'd better go home and get some sleep. I got up from my kneeling position, stretched, and began my walk. I glanced back twice, before my tired body urged me onward.

Oh gosh, I am so over this chapter. I've had very little time to actually get it done and polished, so sorry it took me so long. The next chapter should be longer and more interesting-the team'll be getting into the Chunin exam. I may or may not spread the exam over two chapters, I have some of it written now and it depends how long it ends up being. Props to anybody who recognized the Lock village, it's a bit of an easter egg.

I'm going to take my time writing future chapters so I can make sure they're as good as I can make them. This means you guys might have to wait sometimes, but you should be getting more quality in the writing. Regardless, I promise this story will keep on going until the end. I'm really grateful to all of you, whether you're following the story or just casually reading. I'm glad to have received criticism, too-I've been learning how to better myself a little thanks to it.

Anyway, thanks for the support, and see you next chapter!