D-rank missions had to be the most boring thing I've ever had to do. Those stupid 'missions' are basically just chores. After two months of nothing but D-ranks I was getting sick of it.

"Taiki-sensei are we getting another D-rank mission?" I moaned. Ayumu shoved me and told me to suck it up, "we're ninja after all!" he exclaimed. Taiki didn't answer but instead ran ahead of us to the Hokage's office yelling at us to hurry up.

"What's up with him?" Kichiro mumbled. When Taiki had 'conversed' with Kichiro a little while ago, he was scared stiff for a few weeks. Eventually we got him to stop fearing Taiki but Kichiro is still wary of him.

"Who knows? Let's just get going." Ayumu said and ran off ahead. I glanced at Kichiro before running off too.

"H-hey! Wait up!" Kichiro called.

Finally when we were in the Hokage's office he began listing off the D-ranks. With every mission he said, someone on Team One would decline it. Whether it be me, Ayumu or even Kichiro.

"Baby sitting"

"No"

"Gardening"

"No"

"Finding and capturing Madam Shijimi's Cat."

"No way!"

The Hokage frowned at looked up from his list. "Well it appears there aren't any more D-rank missions." He said.

Ayumu perked up at the Hokage's words. "Does that mean we can get a C-rank!?" He exclaimed. The Hokage smiled and glanced over to Taiki who nodded in return.

"Well you have been doing D-rank for quite a while and you have been very good. Alright, you can have a C-rank. Now let's see…Hmm here's a good one." The Hokage said "you will have to kill a wild animal that has been attacking a few villagers a few miles from Konoha."

My first real mission, I couldn't' wait! After the meeting I went straight home and started packing. We left for the mission early morning the next day.

"Taiki-sensei where is Kichiro-kun? I thought you said to be here by 5!" I exclaimed my arms flailing wildly in my frustration.

"That kid could have died somewhere on the way to getting here he's so clumsy." Ayumu sighed. I glance down at the sitting boy and frowned. I plopped down next to my teammate and picked a flower from the ground near me. It was then that I saw a cloud of dust coming our way.

"Well it looks like Kichiro is here!" Taiki said with a clap of his hands. Soon enough Kichiro reached us. He had a few scrapes on his knees and hands.

"What happened to you?" I hollered. Kichiro dusted off his knees and smiled sheepishly at me.

"Well you see I was sprinting to get here because I was running late and then a dog came out of nowhere and tripped me!" He admitted "then the dog's owner came along and yelled at me for hurting his dog, but it was the dogs fault! He tripped me! The owner growled at me and stormed away. He was scary."

I sighed at my friend and walked away. That boy really did have the worst luck.

I took us a day's worth of walking to reach the small village the wild beast was disturbing. The town was falling apart. Old building were broken or burnt down and people scattered from place to place.

I stepped on something and heard a small cracking noise. I bent over and picked up a china doll. I had cracked its head but the rest of it wasn't any better. The dress was torn and covered in dirt. The paint had begun to fall off and it was missing a shoe. I felt bad for the small doll. I looked around hoping to find its owner but there wasn't a child in sight.

"Nami-chan! Hurry up!" Kichiro called. I glanced over to him and noticed my team was waiting by a building. I tucked the doll into my backpack and promised I would find the owner. I jogged over to my team an apologetic smile on my face.

As we sat in a restaurant and waited for our food I couldn't help but wonder about the strange village.

"Taiki-sensei, what happened to this village?" I asked.

My sensei looked up at me and gave me a frown. His eyes swept the room and he leaned over the table "It's classified."

I slammed my head onto the table. Damn it! I thought he was actually going to tell me!

"Sensei, will you please tell us what happened?" Kichiro asked. He played with the strings and the end of his scarf so he wouldn't have to look in Taikis eyes.

"I can't." He answered. The waiter came over and dropped the food onto our table. The man was covered in dirt and sweat; his eyes seemed dull and unfocused. Our food wasn't any better, there was barley anything on the plate to begin with and it all looked unappetizing.

I grimaced and slid my plate away from me. Taiki was the only one who was eating. The waiter stayed beside our table staring off into the distance. I almost puked; Taiki was eating everything on his plate and most of it didn't even look like real food. Taiki looked away from his food for a split second and nodded to the waiter who then left.

I frowned at the action but did not comment. It was Ayumu who spoke next. "You can't tell us or won't tell us?"

This time Taiki did not look away from his food but gave a small grunt telling us his answer. He wasn't going to tell us no matter how much we asked.

I sighed and slipped away from the table heading to the bathroom. When I got there it was just as dirty as the rest of this village. I turned on the tap only to be greeted with black slime. I shrieked and jumped away. I grumbled in disgust and began walking away only to run into someone. It was a young woman who seemed too thin to actually be alive. The bones in her face were visible and her eyes seemed sunken.

"Um, sorry miss." I mumbled. The women glanced down at me. It appeared she was looking right through me.

"You're one of those ninja right?" She said her voice hoarse. I nodded and glance away from her. Her image was terrifying. "You should leave. The beast you came to slay is not here." With that she shoved me aside and walking into the bathroom. I shivered and ran back to my table. My food was gone and the others sat waiting for me.

"Now that Nami's back, who want's desert?" Taiki asked with a huge grin. My teammates groaned. The woman's words ran through my mind. 'Not here? What does she mean? Of course it has to be here! We wouldn't have come over wise, Right?'

Taiki waved a stick in front of my face snapping me out of my thoughts. "Dango?" He asked. I looked over to what he was referring to and held back a scream. It looked more like a dead animal then dango. I shook my head and forced a smile. How could Taiki eat that?

A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the wait. School work is just being plied onto me. Now I have a request of you folk; Can you all please vote for who you want Nami to be with. You could send me a message or vote on the poll. I really need your opinion. If the person you want Nami to be with isn't listed on the poll just tell me and I'll add them.
R&R Thanks a bunch -Irishcream-cupcakes