Truth: She could rely on her team.

"I can't believe she really did it," Kiyomi said, wide-eyed.

Miyako, Sayuri, and Kiyomi were tied to poles in the middle of the training field, arms wrapped around them and tied at the wrist. One minute Ayano was just angry and then suddenly they were tied to poles and she was grinning maliciously.

"When you've worked it all out, then you can leave," she'd said brightly, before walking off.

"I always thought Satoru was just joking," Sayuri said weakly, recalling the times he'd mentioned her tying up her team.

An awkward pause.

"I'm… sorry I insulted Satoru," Kiyomi said awkwardly. "That was… uncalled for and… really out of line."

"Apology accepted," Sayuri replied stiffly. She wasn't really comfortable with touchy-feely moments like Ayano seemed to want this to turn into. "I'm sorry I called you third-best. That was harsh."

"No it wasn't," Kiyomi sighed sadly. Her eyes were trained on the ground. "I am. I know I should work harder, and I know I need to, but whenever I start to work on my exercises I always think of something else to do and then something else. I've always been bad about procrastination." Her eyes were watering. "I was just so angry about everything with my dad, and I'm sorry I jumped on you like that Sayuri. It felt like you were just shoving my face in everything I was doing wrong and it hurt to hear. I'm really sorry," she said again, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I messed everything up. This was all my fault."

"No it wasn't," Sayuri sighed. "I could have just walked away, or let you just run yourself down like Ayano said. I shouldn't have let my anger get the best of me and I shouldn't have lashed out. I know better but I just got so angry…" She sighed. "When I was little, I was told every day that I was worthless, and for so long, I believed it. I thought I was weak and useless. Satoru saved me from that by bringing me here and because of that I've worked hard to show him he made the right decision. I just felt like… you were looking down on all of that and it's important to me. I lost it. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Kiyomi said. She shook her head and gave a watery laugh. "We've all got issues, huh? I guess we were both just unknowingly poking in some sore spots and neither of us handled it well."

"We could definitely have handled it with less violence," Sayuri agreed with a weak laugh.

"And we both shouldn't have dragged Miyako into it," Kiyomi added, looking at the girl who'd been silent until, watching hopefully as Sayuri and Kiyomi worked it out. "That was uncalled for Miyako, and I'm sorry."

"I am too," Sayuri agreed, both of them smiling at Miyako, who beamed back happily.

"From now on, if Sayuri and I really feel the need to beat the crap out of each other, we'll leave you out of it," Kiyomi chuckled weakly.

"We'll go someplace private to pummel each other," Sayuri agreed. The three girls laughed a bit at that.

"I think it would help if we all made some resolutions here," Miyako suggested softly.

"What do you mean?" Kiyomi asked.

"Like if something's really bothering us, we tell each other. That way we know there's something wrong and we can deal with it. We won't have to bottle it up until we explode on someone for nothing."

"Thanks a good idea," Sayuri agreed. "Alright, I agree."

"Me too," Kiyomi nodded. Determination entered her face. "And from now on, I'm going to really work on that procrastination problem I have. I'm going to work hard and do what I need to do. I'm not going to let my dad run my life," she said matter-of-factly, promising herself to do better.

"That's good," Miyako praised.

"And I promise to only give advice if it's asked for," Sayuri said ruefully. "I can see how I can come off as sort of a know-it-all sometimes. I suppose I just try and help too much and end up digging my own grave."

"It's okay," Kiyomi replied. "You just told me what I needed to hear."

"Well then, I'll give unsolicited advice more often," Sayuri chuckled.

"I promise I'll never use Saiketsu on you guys again," Miyako said with surprising vehemence, guilt in her eyes. "Unless it's to heal you," she tacked on.

"It's okay, Miyako, we don't blame you," Sayuri assured her.

"Yeah, we needed someone to knock some sense into us," Kiyomi grinned.

"But… what I did… your blood…"

"Was inside a very stupid body at that point," Sayuri said. "And it needed to be stopped."

"Are we okay?" Miyako asked hopefully, taking Sayuri's words to heart as her guilt eased.

"Yeah, I think so," Kiyomi nodded. "I think we all just took things the wrong way and it sort of got out of control. I'm glad Ayano tied us to these poles and made us take a good, long look at ourselves."

"Speaking of which…." A bone slid from Sayuri's palm and cut through the ropes. She freed Kiyomi and Miyako, all of them rubbing their wrists.

"She tied them kind of tight," Miyako said, wincing slightly.

"That was scary." Kiyomi shivered, recalling Ayano's wrath. "I'm never going to tick her off ever again."

"Me neither," Sayuri agreed, shaking her head. "I have no desire to be electrocuted."

Miyako laughed and pulled the both of them into a hug. "I love you guys," she grinned into the three-way hug. "We're gonna be fine now, aren't we?"

"Just needed to clear the air," Kiyomi agreed.

"Yes, we are," Sayuri said. Privately though, she wasn't so sure. There were some things that couldn't be forgotten, words that couldn't be unsaid, actions that couldn't be undone. Sayuri and Kiyomi had both said and done some harsh things today and now she was worried that no matter how much they glossed over this, some residual ill feeling might still remain. She was scared a wedge had been driven between the two of them.

"Alright ladies," Ayano said, clapping her hands. Sayuri paused her stretches, Kiyomi stopped her laps, and Miyako quit doing pushups. A week had passed since the Team 9 explosion, and things were back on track. Sayuri and Kiyomi were getting along better, and keeping their promises. Kiyomi was getting better about doing the supplementary stuff Ayano gave her and Sayuri was better about not jumping in with advice every time anyone complained about something.

"Gather round!" Ayano called, and the three drifted forwards, lining up in front of their teacher. "Now, since the blow-up last week, I've been watching you guys, and I'm impressed. I think you've really gotten better. You're getting along better, and you're working harder. So… I think it's time for your first C-rank mission!" she announced grandly.

"Are you serious?" Kiyomi gaped. She threw up her hands and cheered. "Yay! This is awesome!"

"What's it going to be?" Miyako asked worriedly.

"We're guarding a man on his return to village on the outskirts of the Land of Fire."

"Why does he need protection for that?" Sayuri asked in surprise. The Land of Fire was fairly secure. Usually protection was only requested by those who were trying to get to another country or had sensitive information on their person. A regular villager who wasn't even leaving the country rarely needed help.

"His village is being attacked every fortnight by a group of raiders," Ayano explained. "He came here to request help from the Hokage in getting rid of them. He's also worried they'll try and attack him on the way back to his home for seeking help from Konohagakure. We're to protect him on the way home and guard him until the force of chunin they're sending out to handle the situation arrive. They need a day or two to mobilize."

"Raiders?" Miyako squeaked. "Do you think we're ready?"

"If I didn't think you were, I wouldn't let you go," Ayano replied honestly. "These guys aren't ninja, they're just a group of muscled-bound thugs who think they're big and bad. I'm not gonna let you three get hurt," she swore.

"When do we leave?" Kiyomi asked excitedly.

"How long is this going to take?" Sayuri added. "I'll need to tell Satoru…"

"Just leave him a note, he might not let you go if it means he'll be cooking for himself," Ayano chuckled. "You'll probably be gone about four days. Like I said, it's not far, and the chunin tend to get their act together pretty fast. We'll be meeting Yasushi, the guy we're going to guard, at the gate tomorrow at dawn. Any other questions?"

"What should we pack?" Miyako asked. Ayano chuckled.

"We won't be moving as fast as normal because of Yasushi, so I wouldn't weight yourself down with much aside from provisions. Maybe a change of clothes."

"Alright," Ayano nodded. "Go explain things to your parents and get started packing. I'd handle any things that need to be handled in the next week, just in case we have to stay longer than anticipated. Training's over for now. It's time for the big leagues, kiddies," she grinned.

"Can you believe this?" Kiyomi grinned as they headed off. "A C-rank mission, our first one! Maybe now my dad will get off my case!"

"Let's hope," Miyako grinned weakly.

"Maybe we can convince him for you," Sayuri said, a bone sliding from her palm. She tossed it and caught it casually. Kiyomi grinned.

"You have no idea how much I would love to see you put my dad in his place. Mom doesn't really care what I do but dad's made it his mission in life to screw me over," she scoffed. "Four days of freedom. Awesome. See you guys tomorrow!" She waved as she split off towards her home.

"I'm still worried," Miyako sighed. "What if we fail? What if we die?"

"Think of it like this," Sayuri suggested "Do you remember a couple weeks ago when some civilian kids were picking on that little girl."

"Yes…"

"And they looked all tough."

"Yes…"

"And you knocked them on their butts?"

"Yes…"

"Think of these raiders as grown up versions of those kids," Sayuri said. "No real training, just running around looking tough and picking on anyone they can find who's weaker than them."

"But they have weapons," Miyako pointed out. Sayuri just faced her for a moment and pointed at her kunai holster.

"And what's in there?"

"Weapons…?"

"Okay then." Sayuri shook her head as Miyako split off for her house as well. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

That night after dinner Sayuri changed into her pajamas and packed her bag while Satoru lounged on her bed, talking to her.

"Nervous?" he asked as she went through her equipment pouch. She had scrolls inside, tags, spare weapons. A few plasma pills, a needle and thread, and bandages were stored in one scroll in case things went bad. The others were empty or holding spare weapons.

"Not really," Sayuri admitted. "Not as much as I thought I would be. It's fairly straightforward and I'm confident in our abilities."

"That's good," Satoru approved. "Half the time the biggest enemy genin have is their own nerves. They get so nervous they forget all their training and blunder into things."

"I don't think we'll do that," Sayuri said, shaking her head as she checked the edges of her kunai and shuriken for sharpness and nicks. She laid her kunai holster and her equipment pouch on the table by her bed, waiting for her tomorrow, and grabbed her backpack.

"So it's just an escort? The main threat is raiders?" Satoru recalled.

"Yes. Have you fought many before?"

"Yeah," Satoru snorted. "They look big and scary but a lot of them don't have much more training than the average person. Some will stand down just at the sight of a group of shinobi. That probably won't happen, seeing as you guys are all girls and three of you are so young, but in the future, you probably won't have to worry all that much. You three will be pretty threatening."

"That's what I'm hoping," Sayuri said as she set her canteen and provisions inside on top of a spare shirt and pair of pants. There were a few herbs just in case. She threw in a coil of rope on top. Rope was a highly useful thing to have with you. That was really all she was taking, aside from the sleeping bag tied on top of her pack. She hefted it and was pleased with how light it was.

"You pack light," Satoru said in amusement.

"I've survived on less before," she shrugged. "We'll be fine, I'm sure."

"You guys will do great. Ayano will probably start letting you go out on more C-rank missions if this goes well," Satoru assured her. "Now go on, get some sleep," he said, getting off her bed. Sayuri crawled under the covers and Satoru pulled the sheets up to her chin, brushing her hair back from her face.

"I'm not a kid anymore, Satoru," Sayuri protested weakly, but she didn't really mind.

"I know," Satoru sighed. "When'd that happen?"

Yasushi was an incredibly twitchy man. He was very thin, his clothes hanging off of him loosely. His face was boney and there were dark circles under his eyes. Every time there was a noise in the brush he flinched and his eyes darted around nervously. He had been wringing his hands since they set out.

"What was that?" he asked in a nasally voice as a twig snapped.

"Sorry," Kiyomi apologized, lifting her foot off a branch. She looked at Sayuri and Miyako and grinned slightly. They covered their mouths to hide snickers. Ayano sent them stern looks.

"Yasushi, you're in good hands," Ayano said for the third time since they'd left. It was now noon.

Yasushi sniffed. "Well excuse me if I'm worried about the… Raiders!" he yelped as something shifted in the brush. A bunny hopped out into the path, twitched its nose at them, and loped across into the tall grass. Yasushi let out a relieved breath of air and once again the genin were restraining giggles.

"They wouldn't dare come this close to Konoha," Ayano said, desperation tingeing her voice as she tried to calm him down. "We're still in patrolled forests."

"But they could slip through!" Yasushi argued.

"Sir, our guards are very well-trained and they're very alert," Sayuri attempted. Yasushi sniffed.

"I still think I should have better protection."

"How so?" Ayano asked, narrowing her eyes in annoyance.

"I'm being protected by women!" he exclaimed, waving his hands around. "Three of them are kids and one's wandering around with her eyes covered."

"It wouldn't make a difference, seeing as I'm blind," Sayuri huffed. Yasushi moaned.

"A blind girl! I'm being guarded by a blind girl!"

"Sayuri," Ayano hissed warningly as bone began to slip from her palm.

"Can't I just scare him a little?" she hissed in reply.

"No. He's an ass but he's a client. Be nice."

Sayuri took a deep breath and pasted a smile on her face. "I'm well-trained sir, and was in the top of my class. I assure you, I'm just as capable as any other shinobi."

"I doubt it," Yasushi grumbled.

"She's gonna kill him," Miyako said worriedly.

"And you're all skinny too," Yasushi added. "No muscle at all."

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" Miyako murmured.

"I could pick up and throw that little weasel!" Kiyomi growled.

They were all grateful to stop for the night. Sleep would be an end to Yasushi's complaints. The girls quickly set up camp while Ayano made a fast dinner. Yasushi ate quickly and almost immediately passed out.

"Wow, all the walking really tired him out," Kiyomi said, poking him in the side. He gave a loud snore in response. "He's a wimp."

"No he's not," Sayuri said guiltily. Ayano narrowed her eyes.

"What did you do?" she asked. Sayuri fished in her pack and held up a small pouch of tea leaves.

"That's chamomile," Miyako realized.

"You drugged him!" Ayano exclaimed incredulously. "Sayuri, you-" She paused and glanced at Yasushi, who was snoring away obliviously. "No, forget it. If he wasn't such a sexist jerk I might be angry. But as it is, I'm just glad he's quiet."

"You're my hero," Kiyomi grinned, patting Sayuri on the back as she tucked the pouch back in her bag.

"Why thank you," Sayuri smiled.

The next day was when things got touchy. They were out of Konoha territory and therefore if the raiders were going to attack, it was going to be around here. They would be at the village by late afternoon.

"You said this is where the raiders are most likely to attack?" Yasushi blabbered, looking left and right. Ayano groaned, regretting telling the girls that this morning. She'd thought he was still asleep… "Aren't you going to assume some kind of defensive formation? My life could be in danger! They could attack any minute!"

"Oh if only," Kiyomi grumbled. "If they do, can we just hand him over?"

"That's horrible," Miyako scolded, but she was restraining a smile. Sayuri grinned.

"And what are you smiling about?" Yasushi demanded. "This is dangerous! But of course kids don't understand how serious this is… Slacking off… Telling jokes… Gossiping girls…"

"Please can I hit him?" Kiyomi moaned.

"I call first," Ayano hissed back. The three girls had to actively restrain themselves from bursting out laughing as their teacher glared at Yasushi and made a rude gesture at his back.

Ayano paused suddenly and threw out a hand in front of the genin.

"And it's not as if there aren't better candidates for this job, because I saw much better choices in Konoha!" Yasushi continued ranting.

"Yasushi, shut up!" Ayano hissed.

"Excuse me?" Yasushi demanded, turning on her. "How dare you-?"

He screamed and cowered behind Ayano as a group of men burst from the bushes. Large swords glinted in the light, and there was even a man with a pair of axes in his hands. They were all tall and muscle-bound, but Ayano had been right. The three genin could pick out their weak spots already. They wore little armor and despite their scars and snarls, none of them looked like they had a particularly stable stance.

"Well well," chuckled the one in the front of the group blocking the path. He wasn't the tallest of them, but he was definitely the widest, with huge, muscular shoulders. He was clearly the leader of the group. There was a giant two-handed sword strapped across his back and he wore only a pair of pants and a pauldron over his left shoulder. "Yasushi, this is all Konoha's gonna give you? A bunch of girls? They must realize how pathetic your village is."

"My village isn't pathetic Akihiro," Yasushi squeaked, still hiding behind an annoyed Ayano. He glanced at the genin. "Tell them!" he insisted.

Sayuri shrugged. "We've never been to your village."

Akihiro threw back his head laugh. "I like her! Maybe I'll leave her alive and take her with us when leave. Would you like you that, my pretty?" he cooed at her mockingly.

"I'd rather swim in excrement," Sayuri replied, lips twisting in distaste. A couple of Akihiro's men tittered and he glared at her.

"Fine, you'll die with your little girlfriends and Yasushi," he snarled. "Come on men, let's fight!"

The raiders rushed them. Ayano held her ground, Yasushi whimpering behind her, and the genin fanned out. Sayuri swept her arm through the air and fired bone bullets at the first one who came at her, sending him flying back into the man behind him. He staggered as he caught his dead companion and tossed the body aside, snarling as he lunged at Sayuri.

Miyako locked one in a genjutsu, distorting his depth perception. He swiped with his sword where he thought she was only to hit nothing but air, a kunai slamming into his heart. He fell, blinking in surprise. She turned and ducked under the swing of one coming up behind her, only for Kiyomi to leap forwards and draw him away with a series of nicks across his body.

Kiyomi gulped as the man turned on her with a growl, blood dripping from a few minor wounds. "That's a really big sword…" Just as the man started preening she grinned and asked, "You compensating for something?"

He charged at her with a cry of "Bitch!" and Kiyomi ducked, dropping and sweeping his leg before popping up.

"Fireball Jutsu!"

The man screamed as he was engulfed in flame.

Ayano held her own marvelously. A few men went straight for her, seeing her as the shortest path to Yasushi. She proved that was a bad idea. The first man came at her and she leapt, kicking him in the chin with such force that his head snapped back and he dropped, neck broken.

One of his companions kicked him aside and raised his sword over his head, aiming to cleave Ayano in half. She made a series of hand signs and her entire right leg sparked with electricity. The man's eyes widened and he attempted an odd sort of half-pirouette to get away from her, but the kick caught him across the side, sweeping him into a tree. He hit with a loud thump and slid to the ground unconscious, clothes smoking.

Sayuri shrugged off her shirt, a bone membrane appearing under her skin as bone swords slid into her palms. She faced down two men, one on each side of her. She was behind Ayano. A few of the men had wised up and were trying to sneak around Ayano to get at Yasushi.

"Cute pig sticker," one of them sneered.

"That makes you the pig," Sayuri replied instantly. He growled and swung at her. Sayuri reversed her grip on the swords and raised her left arm. The man smiled, thinking he was about to slice her arm off. His eyes widened as his sword connected with her own and it held.

"What the-?"

Sayuri's other sword came in, dragging in a long diagonal from his right shoulder to left hip. She spun and elbowed him away from her. He dropped his sword, trying to hold his guts in as Sayuri engaged the other one. He'd tried to take advantage of her distraction by charging in. He clearly hadn't expected her to take out his partner so quickly. Sayuri drew back her arm and threw. The man ducked under the strike, but it thunked into the back of another bandit, dropping him. Kiyomi blinked as her opponent suddenly fell. She met Sayuri's eyes, smiled and nodded, and spun, kicking another raider in the stomach viciously.

"Now you're down a weapon," the man grunted, straightening. "What're you gonna do?"

He swiped at her chest and his eyes widened in horror when Sayuri's ribs burst out, holding the weapon at bay. He tried to disengage, but more bones caught and held the sword.

"This," Sayuri said, sweeping her blade across and slitting his throat. She winced in distaste as blood sprayed on her.

Miyako was on own. As soon as she'd dropped the first two she'd scampered up a tree and was now making use of her seemingly endless arsenal of senbon, pricking men across the battlefield and distracting them long enough for others to finish them off. A few of the bodies looked vaguely like porcupines, with silver needles glinting from all over them.

She saw one man coming towards Sayuri and started on him, hurling a rain of senbon across his back. The problem was that this was one of the few with armor on. Granted it was only boiled leather and not plate, but the senbon didn't go far enough through to do more than scratch him. Miyako knew a single shout would get Sayuri's attention, but she was wary of giving her position away.

Kiyom's eye was caught by the glint of silver and she saw a man with a couple senbon sticking out of the back of his armor advancing on Sayuri, who was locked with another raider, her back to him. She saw Miyako in a tree across the way, frantically hurling weapons at him, but he refused to go down.

"Fireball Jutsu!"

The man howled as he was set ablaze and Sayuri realized she was in danger. She spun and dropped him, disengaging with her opponent just long enough to hurl a kunai into his throat before locking her blade with him again. She smiled slightly. It was true, she could rely on her team.

It was a short battle. The raiders may have come with twenty men, but as soon as they'd seen their opponents were little girls, they'd dropped their guard. That was their mistake. The three genin took no prisoners, slicing through anyone who came at them. Ayano didn't have a lot of trouble. As soon as the raiders realized she was the strongest, the immediately began going for the weaker targets, the young girls, who ruthlessly taught the bandits not to underestimate them.

"Well that was fun," Kiyomi said, grunting in distaste as she nudged a corpse out of her way. "Do we just leave them here?"

"That seems a bit rude to future travelers," Sayuri commented, letting her bone swords crumble. There were a few stuck in chests of corpses and there was no way she was leaving them for others to use. She nodded to Kiyomi. "Thanks for that Fireball Jutsu."

"Thanks for taking out that other guy," Kiyomi said as she collected some of her kunai. Miyako dropped from the ground and started tugging senbon out of bodies, wiping them on her pants and putting them back in place.

"We'll shove them off into the brush," Ayano said, grunting as she heaved one up and tossed him carelessly into the foliage surrounding the path. "That way they won't block anyone's path."

It was messy work, and they were all pretty bloody when they were done, but at least anyone who came through later on wouldn't have to stare at dead bodies.

"Where's Yasushi?" Kiyomi asked, suddenly looking up. She paled. "Oh, please tell me one of them didn't run off with them."

"He's fine," Ayano said, staring down at the only body still lying in the road. It was Yasushi. She poked him with one foot. "The little wimp passed out the second I kicked the first one."

"You did snap his neck," Sayuri pointed out.

"Details," Ayano said, waving her hand dismissively.

I posted a new poll on my profile, please go check it out and vote guys!

Come on guys, over 3 thousand hits and 36 reviews? I don't like doing this, but I really want to know what you guys are liking or disliking about the story. I've tried to keep this on a weekly schedule, but I'm not going to post the next chapter until at least 45 reviews. I want to know if you like it! If no one does there's no point in me continuing to work on this!