Chapter seven: A new mission begins! Enter the Land of Waves!

This chapter was hard to re-write. There is so much necessary dialogue in these scenes it was difficult to cut out.

Hopefully it's not too terrible.

Enjoy?

Disclaimer: If I owned it, then I wouldn't need to write fanfiction.

...

"Kakashi sensei put us through the wringer at the testing grounds. But after learning a lesson in teamwork, we've been deemed worthy and are now full-fledged Ninja!

Sasuke is still being his jerk self; big surprise there. I don't know what his deal is lately.

Well, I wonder what's next for us?"

Akina closed her journal and turned off the light.

...

The four new genin of team 7 made their way through the woods quietly, making sure to stay out of sight, flitting from behind one tree to another.

"How far away is the target?" Kakashi's voice came in through headsets that each of the young ninja were wearing.

"Five meters and closing!" Sakura replied.

"How much longer are we gonna wait?!" Naruto asked impatiently.

"I'm in position." Sasuke announced, ignoring Naruto.

Akina sighed into the headset. "Guys... I'm serious. I don't think that-"

"All right! …GO!"

The four of them popped out from different directions, surrounding their target. Naruto jumped out and tackled the fat orange cat, holding tight. "GOTCHA!"

The feline screeched and writhed, attacking Naruto with its claws. After a moment Naruto lost his grip and the cat launched away.

"I told you... you can't treat a cat that way." The violet haired girl scolded.

"Has the target been obtained?" Kakashi's voice crackled through their headsets.

"We're... working on it." Sasuke replied slowly, glancing to Akina.

"Kakashi sensei, you need to be gentle with animals." Akina angrily added in her two cents.

There was a long pause before the headsets crackled again. "Alright, Akina. Take charge."

The girl nodded, sending Sasuke a triumphant smirk, before reaching into her hip pouch and pulling out a small snack bag. She opened the bag and shook the contents. "Here, kitty kitty. Here, Tiger."

The cat had been sitting near a tree, licking away the offending dirt from its struggle with Naruto. At the sound of the bag its ears perked; the cat turned to Akina, eyeing her warily.

"You hungry?" The girl knelt down and pulled one of the dried fish from the package, wiggling it out in front of her. "Come on."

Tiger sniffed the air and slowly stepped closer to the girl. She held the fish out in her hand and allowed the cat to go at its own pace. The cat sniffed and watched Akina, making sure she wasn't going to jump on him like Naruto had. Eventually Tiger took the fish, nibbling happily.

"Good kitty." Akina slowly reached out to scratch behind the cat's ear, which the cat happily allowed.

"Wow! You're really good at that, Akina!" Naruto said in amazement.

The girl turned to see the other three watching her with wide eyes, She giggled. "All you have to do is give them food and scratch behind the ear, all cats are like that."

Sakura stepped over and knelt down to slowly scratch Tiger behind the ear as well. "Aww, he's really gentle; listen to him purr!"

Naruto moved at least five feet away. "Gentle, my ass."

"Come on, we have to get back." Sasuke ordered.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Akina saluted mockingly.

The raven haired boy just snorted and walked away.

...

After bringing the cat back to the assignment office they handed him over to his owner. Once again the poor thing was screeching it's head off.

"Poor Tiger…good little kitty-kitty…I was so worried about you, I could have died!" Lady Shijimi cooed as she smothered the poor cat.

"Poor Tiger is right. It's no wonder he ran away." Akina muttered. Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Now, the next assignment for Kakashi's team seven will be…Hmm…to baby sit for the council of elders. To run errands to the neighboring village. To help dig sweet potatoes…" Lord Hokage read off a list.

"No way!" Naruto shouted before going on about how all their missions were boring and how he wanted better ones while waving his arms in an X motion.

Akina sighed. "He does have a point."

"Don't be a fool! You're only a beginner!" Iruka shouted from beside the Hokage. "Everyone starts out doing grunt work. It's where you get experience, so you can work your way up to the bigger things."

"We've done tons of small stuff. Can't we get some action?!" Naruto shouted back.

Kakashi bonked Naruto on the head. "Naruto, that's enough. Knock it off!"

"Apparently Naruto needs an explanation of just what these duties are…" Lord Hokage muttered. "You see..." and thus began a long speech about the different ranks of Shinobi and how missions are sorted by rank based on difficulty. Blah. Blah. Blah.

"I had pork ramen for lunch yesterday…so I think I'll have miso ramen today." Naruto rattled off.

Akina nodded. "I always get the pork, but Miso is good, too. I like it with extra bamboo and egg."

"That's too much bamboo..." The boy replied, scrunching his face.

"Bamboo is good for you." She argued.

"Are you listening?!" Lord Hokage shouted.

Akina rolled her eyes.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "I…I'm sorry."

"I don't want to hear it!" Again Naruto shouted about how they should be given better missions because he wanted to prove himself as a good ninja.

"You know he won't give up until you give him something he can exert some energy on." Akina shrugged.

Kakashi sighed. Iruka looked shocked at first, but then he smiled. Lord Hokage smiled as well, then nodded. "Very well, since you put it that way, I will permit you to attempt a C-rank mission-usually reserved for Chunin ninja… The protection of a certain individual…"

They were all a little shocked to hear this, even Kakashi.

"All right! Who is it? Some great lord? The Daimyo!? A princess!?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Seriously, Naruto?" Akina rolled her eyes again.

"Compose yourself. I'll perform the introductions straightaway. Please invite him in…" Lord Hokage ordered.

The door slid open, and in walked a big, gruff looking old man with glasses; he was also carrying a bottle of something.

I'm fairly certain that isn't juice... Akina eyed the bottle suspiciously.

"What's going on here? They look like a bunch of wet-nosed brats." The old man took a swig of his bottle. "Especially the midget. He's got the face of an imbecile. It's a joke right? You kids aren't really ninja, are you?"

Naruto laughed and looked between himself and his three companions. "Who'd you mean? Which midget? Which imbeci…?!" He stopped.

The other three all stood next to him. Sasuke was the tallest at 5 foot even. Sakura was second at 4'11". And, even though Naruto and Akina were equal at 4'9", Akina stood up on her tip-toes, appearing taller, thus making Naruto the shortest of the group.

"I'LL KILL HIM!" Naruto shouted as he launched toward the old man.

Kakashi grabbed Naruto by the shirt, stopping him from attacking their new client. "Wrong. No killing the old man you've been assigned to protect."

"Ya sure?" Akina snorted, earning herself a glare from Kakashi.

"I am Tazuna, a bridge builder of ultimate renown… Until I am safely back in my own country, where I'll be completing my next bridge, you'll all be expected to protect me. Even if it costs you your lives!" the man said.

"Bossy old guy, isn't he?" Akina whispered to Sakura, who nodded in reply.

"It's settled then." Kakashi said in mock cheerfulness. "You four go home and pack what you need; we'll meet up at the village gates."

The four genin all nodded, though Naruto was most unhappy, and left.

...

At home

"Oh! This is so cool! Little Aki's first C-rank mission! I know! Let me get the camera!"

"No camera! And stop calling me 'little Aki' it's really embarrassing!" Akina huffed as she struggled to pack her tool bag.

"Why not? It's your first mission away from the village, and I want a picture." Mai pouted.

"You act like such a little kid. And don't you have missions of your own?" the girl scolded her.

Mai sighed dramatically. "Little Aki is just no fun at all. And besides, I like my counseling job better than going on missions anyway."

Akina stuffed the last of her tools and her journal into the pack and sighed. "Fine, whatever, but I have to go. The others are waiting for me." she slung the pack over her shoulders and headed for the door.

"Oh! Akina, wait! There's something I'm supposed to give you!" Mai quickly ran out of the room.

"What now?" the girl asked, exasperated. She didn't want to be late for her first C-rank mission.

The young woman came back a few moments later, carrying a long object that was held in a violet cloth case.

Akina's eyes widened "That's-!"

"Tsukikage, your father's Nodachi." She removed the deep purple cloth covering, revealing a beautifully decorated sword. The blade itself was as long as Akina was tall and the handle and guard reached over her head. Despite the size of the sword, it was actually quite light, making the Tsukikage an extraordinary piece of weaponry.

The blade was made of the finest metals and fired to perfection, an intricate carving of moon flowers and vines came from the guard, snaking their way along the sleek blade. The guard itself was silver and in the shape of a Tsubaki, with carvings of its delicate petals in the metal. The fabric that criss-crossed the handle in a diamond design was the same deep violet color as the covering that had been over the sword earlier and the silver underneath had more carvings of moon flowers.

After a moment Mai handed the beautiful sword over to the girl "I was told to give Tsukikage to you when you received your first C-rank mission. I really didn't think it would be so soon." She sniffed and held back tears that threatened to flow "It doesn't have a proper scabbard, though. You're father ended up breaking the original and never was able to get a replacement made."

Akina nodded. "It's okay. I'll just use the harness for now." She then removed her pack and picked up the cloth case, pulling out a strapped harness with special locking mechanisms on the back. "Can you help me put it on?"

Mai nodded and assisted Akina with putting the harness on, then clicked the long sword into the locks on her back. "You know how it works, right? If you press the button here the locks will release." she pointed to a hidden button on the front of the harness.

"Got it." Akina nodded.

"Be careful." The woman said, still trying her best not to cry.

"Jeez, don't worry! I'm a Genin now! A full-fledged Kunoichi! I can take care of myself."

Mai smiled and sniffled again, wiping away a few stray drops of the salty liquid. "Okay, okay, I understand. I remember my first mission outside the village." The dark haired woman sighed dreamily. "I was so excited!"

Akina smirked up at her. "Just…don't burn the house down while I'm gone, kay?"

Her guardian huffed and crossed her arms. "Really, now! Don't you think I'm just a bit more responsible than that?"

"Sure, sure!" the girl picked up her pack, waved and turned to leave.

"Good luck!" Mai smiled and waved back, watching the violet haired girl as she stepped out the door. "And please be safe."

...

Only a few minutes later Akina met up with the others at the village gates, her pack and new sword 'n-tow. "Hey, guys!"

"Took you long enough." Sasuke complained, then froze when he looked up at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "It's not my fault; Aunt Mai wouldn't leave me alone." She didn't bother mentioning the sword that was strapped to her back, which the raven haired boy was now staring at in wonder.

"Woaaah! Cool sword! It's taller than me!" Naruto ran around the girl in a circle.

"Where did you get that, Akina?" Sakura questioned, eyeing the large sword warily.

Akina smiled and grabbed Naruto's shoulders, stopping his constant circling. "It's been passed down in my family for generations."

Kakashi stepped forward curiously. "Akina, are you certain you can handle such a weapon? Though I doubt you would even need to worry about it during such a mission."

"It's tradition, Sensei. And I've been trained to use a sword since I was only three years old." She replied proudly.

"Well, you certainly are full of surprises." Kakashi appeared to smile. "Alright. Time to leave." He turned and led the group towards the gates.

The gates opened and Naruto threw his hands up in the air once he was on the other side of the village walls "All right! Road trip!"

"What are you babbling about?" Sakura asked.

"This'll be the first time in my life I've ever been outside of the village!" Naruto said while looking around excitedly.

"Really? I guess your first time outside is a little exciting." Akina said distantly.

"Whaaat?! Does that mean you've been outside the village before, Akina?" Naruto asked, bouncing excitedly.

She nodded and glanced to Sasuke who was walking rather close to her; their elbows were nearly touching. "Yeah, a few times…with my father." She then looked down sadly.

"Really?! That's so coooool!" Naruto laughed.

"Am I really expected to place my life in the hands of this fool?" Tazuna asked, nodding towards Naruto.

Kakashi sighed. "There's no call for concern. I'm an elite ninja, and I'll be along, too…"

Naruto scrunched up his face and pointed at Mr. Tazuna "Listen, you old geezer! You don't mess with ninja. Especially not a really good one like me! In fact, I'm gonna be the next lord Hokage! So remember my name. It's Uzumaki Naruto." He shouted proudly.

"There he goes running his mouth off again..." Akina rolled her eyes at the boy.

Mr. Tazuna put the bottle he carried to his lips. "Hokage, eh? I don't think someone like you has it in him."

"Well, you're old and stupid!" Naruto shouted. "I am doing all the right things, and I'm doing them fast."

"Not really, Naruto." Akina sighed, shaking her head.

The boy grumbled but otherwise ignored the girl "And when I become Hokage, you're gonna wish you were a lot more respectful to me right now!"

Tazuna took a drink from his bottle. "Respect you? I don't think so. Not even if you become Hokage."

Naruto's eye twitched. "YOU ARE DEAD!"

Kakashi held Naruto by the shirt "I said no, you little dunce."

With Naruto under control they continued on their way to the land of waves.

"Um, Mr. Tazuna…?" Sakura asked nervously.

"What now?" Tazuna snapped.

"You come from the land of waves, right?"

"Yeah, What of it?" He answered.

"Um…Kakashi sensei…. Are there ninja in that country too?"

"No. Not in the land of waves. But, as a general rule, even with all the differences that exist in local customs and cultures, most other lands have their own hidden village where a ninja clan resides." Kakashi then explained about the different countries, hidden villages, and their Kage leaders, which he surmised to being the greatest and most powerful leaders in the world. Blah. Blah. Blah.

Akina sighed sleepily. Even Kakashi sensei likes giving long, boring speeches.

"Really? Lord Hokage is so amazing!" Sakura cooed like an idiot.

"You obviously don't really think so." Kakashi said.

The four Genin stopped in their tracks.

"There's nothing to worry about. You won't face any duels with ninja from other clans while you're handling C level duties." Kakashi smiled.

"So I don't have to worry about encountering any foreign Shinobi…?" Sakura asked.

"Of course not!" Kakashi laughed and patted Sakura on the head.

Even though the mood was light, Mr. Tazuna looked tense. Sasuke seemed to notice it as well.

Akina turned to the Uchiha boy. "What's his problem, you think?"

He merely shrugged. "Who knows, but I think we should keep our guard up."

The girl nodded in reply.

Naruto was jogging up next to Sakura who was in the front of the little group, Sasuke and Akina took post near Mr. Tazuna in the middle, while Kakashi took up the rear.

Ten minutes later there was the clanging of chains behind them and everyone turned to see Kakashi wrapped up in what appeared to be chains made from Shuriken that were attached to the gauntlets of two ninja.

"Sensei!" The four genin exclaimed in shock.

The two ninja tugged and Kakashi was shredded before their eyes and before anyone knew it the two ninja were behind Naruto.

Akina turned. So fast!

Sasuke jumped and pulled out a shuriken and kunai. He threw the shuriken, which hit the chain and nailed it to a tree. He then threw the kunai into the hole of the shuriken, locking both the shuriken and chain in place.

The two ninja tried to pull it free and failed.

Sasuke landed on the outstretched arms of the two ninja and, while standing on his hands, kicked the two in the face, knocking them back. The two ninja recovered quickly and, after releasing the chains from their gauntlets, split up. One went after Naruto again and the other went after Mr. Tazuna.

Akina took out one of her kunai and stood in front of Mr. Tazuna "Sakura, quick!"

Sakura stood next to her, also with kunai "Stand back, sir!"

Just as the Ninja were about to strike, Sasuke stood in front of the three of them.

And, in the blink of an eye, both ninja had been grabbed and knocked out by…Kakashi!

"Kakashi sensei…you're alive!" Sakura squealed.

Akina looked over to where he had been standing when the two ninja attacked, and there was nothing but a pile of sliced up wood. He used substitution…

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I should have moved to help you sooner…before you were injured. It never occurred to me that you would freeze up." Kakashi said.

Injured? The violet haired girl looked to Naruto; he had a cut on his hand.

"Good job, Sasuke. You too, Akina, Sakura." Kakashi nodded to each of them.

Sasuke turned and smirked at Naruto. "Hey… Are you okay…you big chicken?"

"Sasuke! That's not fair; it was Naruto's first real battle!" Akina scolded.

Naruto looked like he would attack Sasuke.

"Naruto! There's no time now for fighting. Their claws were poisoned. We have to clean that wound as soon as possible. If we cut it open more deeply, the blood flow will wash the poison away. For now, keep as still as possible, so the poison doesn't spread."

Naruto just stood there and glared at his cut hand.

Kakashi then turned to Tazuna. "Mr. Tazuna."

Tazuna jumped, startled. "Wha… What is it?!"

"I need to speak with you." The Jonin said slowly.

...

Kakashi had tied both of the ninja to a tree. "Our attackers appeared to be Chunin level ninja of the Kirigakure clan-mist ninjas." He glanced back at Akina.

She flinched. Ninja from the mist…

Kakashi explained that Mist ninja would give up their own lives to complete their mission and that there shouldn't have been puddles because it hadn't rained recently.

I should have sensed them ahead of time, but I had no clue…

"If you knew all that, why did you even let those creeps attack you?" Mr. Tazuna asked.

"I could have killed them at any time… But…I wanted to find out who their real target was." Kakashi answered with a sideways glance.

Tazuna stared at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Were you really the one they were after? Or was it one of us ninja?" Once again Kakashi glanced to Akina, then back to Mr. Tazuna. Kakashi pointed out that Tazuna had not reported that his life was in danger.

Tazuna looked down in shame.

"But if you expected to be the target of a ninja assault then it is beyond question that this would have been classified-and priced-as a mission for elite ninja. You may have had your reasons, but it's never a good idea to conceal the facts when you are asking for help. As it is, this task falls beyond the boundaries of the job we were assigned."

"We're not good enough yet to handle something like this… Can we quit? We'll need an anesthetic for Naruto's wound before we can re-open it and drain the poison. Can't we return to the village and have a doctor look at it?" Sakura asked.

Akina looked at her in disbelief. "What? Are you kidding?"

Kakashi hummed and looked up lazily. "This is…complicated. Do we go back now so we can make certain Naruto receives medical attention?"

Before anyone could say anything more Naruto took out a kunai knife and stabbed his wound, making the cut deeper.

"Naruto, what are you- No! Stop that!" Sakura shouted.

"Idiot!" Akina Rushed over to the boy.

Naruto just stood there. "With this kunai knife, I promise you, I will protect the old man." He turned and looked back at everyone "Reporting fit for duty, sensei!"

"Naruto, we needed a free flow of blood to clean the poison from your wound… But you've exceeded the need… You could bleed to death. I'm serious." Kakashi smiled as he walked over to the blond, pressing Akina out of the way.

Naruto then began to freak out, screaming about how he didn't want to die.

"Just like Naruto to do something stupid and reckless." Akina shrugged.

"Show me your hand." Kakashi said calmly.

"I don't wanna die! Save me!" Naruto cried.

"What are you, Naruto? Some kind of masochist?" Sakura asked mockingly.

Kakashi ignored the two of them and started wrapping Naruto's hand.

Akina walked over next to Sasuke, crossing her arms over her chest. "So dramatic." she sighed.

He glanced over at his cousin, bumping his elbow into hers. She looked up at him, blinking in confusion. He averted his eyes, pretending he hadn't done anything.

"It's all right, isn't it…?" Naruto asked, tears streaming down his face. "I mean…you know…"

"It looks like you'll be fine…" Kakashi replied, sounding unconcerned.

Tazuna stepped closer to them "Mr. …Mr. Sensei, sir…"

Kakashi turned to look at him.

"I…have something I need to say…"