I don't own Naruto

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The first week was relatively peaceful –we set up lines of traps as we went, looking for signs of enemies in the area as we went, eating around a campfire before slumbering around it. It was a peaceful mission, as we followed the river that flower through the Valley of the End upstream.

Then we neared the border to the Land of Frost –that was the land that I had been rescued from a man who had manipulated me by a woman who was now dead. That was the land where I had hidden after escaping from the Hidden Cloud –beyond those borders were that hidden village of ninja.

Maybe it was just paranoia talking from being so close to the border of that land, so close to the place where I had memories of harsh times, but I felt uneasy.

It was night, and I was wrapped up in a blanket, huddled beside the campfire. I was having a hard time sleeping, although we had been practicing sparring using our jutsu –I should be wiped out from exhaustion, trying to replenish my chakra. But I just couldn't doze off –great, now Kai had begun to snore.

I pushed back the blanket, getting silently to my feet. I slipped through the trees, following the noise of the creek that we had camped near. I knelt down and splashed my face with cold water. As I straightened, I realised that there was something wrong. And now I knew what.

Apart from the sound of the stream, there was nothing –no sounds. I looked to the east –there was a faint blossom of light. It was early morning –very early morning. That meant that I should be hearing the chatter of birds from the trees. But there was nothing but an unnerving silence.

I headed back to the camp, alert for anything that might hint at an enemy presence. I remained on guard the rest of that night, even though Hayama-sensei had taken over guard duty for the rest of the night.

The next day, my senses remained at high alert throughout the next day. Kai and Osamu didn't seem to have noticed anything out of the ordinary as we continued laying traps –Hayama-sensei continued to scan the surrounding area from great heights, but his searches seemed to me to be focused on the far side of the river that formed our natural borders. He might have sensed the same thing that I had.

It was as we were sitting down to lunch that something finally happened. A dragon that seemed to be made out of water rose from the direction of the river, rearing over the trees and bearing down on us. We leapt for the trees as a ripple of lightning streamed in the direction of the water –some sort of collaboration jutsu.

"What was that?" Kai asked.

"That was an enemy attack –wasn't it obvious enough?" Osamu asked.

A whip-like construction of water whipped out of nowhere from the line of trees opposite us –as we jumped, it swung and curled at the spot where I had been moments before.

"Hazuki, use your Sharingan. Tell us how many there are," Hayama-sensei commented as we settled into the upper branches of another tree. Right –I was able to differentiate between people because my Sharingan perceived chakra as colour. I closed my eyes and concentrated for a moment –when I next opened my eyes, they were crimson with two tomoe.

I scanned the forest around and below, counting the different chakras that I could see. Then I had it –there were eight around and in front of us. But there were none behind us, meaning that our way back to the village was clear.

I relayed this information to Hayama-sensei.

"Alright, you three remain hidden," he told us. "I'll go and see if I can dissuade them from chasing us. If I can't, I'll give you the withdrawal signal –head straight to the village and don't stop for anything."

He didn't even wait for us to respond before he jumped out of his perch and landed in the middle of the clearing. Arguing about strategy wouldn't do us any good –Hayama-sensei was the only one who was able to stand against our pursuers and attempt to buy us time to get away.

"I want to talk to you," he called out. Seven ninja surrounded him. They were probably holding back a ninja to prevent them from falling into an enemy ambush. I gritted my teeth when I saw them –they were all wearing long grey tops that were gathered at the waist to present a sash-like appearance, with matching darker bottoms. Over their top, they were wearing white one-strapped flak jacket and arm and shin-guards. They were wearing headbands that bore a familiar –at least to me –symbol.

Now I knew why we had been followed and ambushed.

"Who are these guys?" Kai asked in an undertone. I guess that this was the first time he had seen enemy ninja.

"They're from the Hidden Cloud," I responded.

"Hidden Cloud, from the Land of Lightning? But this is the Land of Fire. What are they doing invading our territory?" Kai asked. Osamu clamped a hand over his mouth, motioning down towards the ground where Hayama-sensei was being approached by two ninja who must be leading the squad.

"I'm sure you're aware that invading the Land of Fire and attacking our ninja is a sure way to bring conflict between the two lands," Hayama-sensei commented. "It is in direct conflict with our treaty. Explain your actions."

"We have been tracking a runaway from our village," one of the leading ninja commented. He tossed Hayama-sensei a photograph, which our sensei briefly glanced at. "We weren't expecting to find that she had gone rogue. Return her to us."

"They're after a Rogue ninja?" Kai asked. "What's he talking about? There's no-one like that amongst us."

I couldn't respond to him –I couldn't tell him about my past.

"Look out!" Osamu suddenly shouted. I turned to see a Cloud ninja land on the branch behind us, sending shuriken at us –more accurately, at me. Of course –he was the eighth ninja, ordered to locate me while the rest kept the Jonin commander responsible for the team occupied.

We jumped backwards, leaping out of the trees as we escaped the barrage of metal weapons. Unfortunately, we landed in the open of the clearing, a short distance from our sensei and the enemy ninja. They immediately closed on us, all drawing katana, apart from the Jonin commanders who remained near Hayama-sensei, their own weapons drawn. It was a well-formed and well-rehearsed formation.

"I'll say it once more –return the girl to our custody," the Jonin in command stated to Hayama-sensei. "Although I would relish fighting a Leaf shinobi, I wish to settle this without combat. That girl never belonged in your village –she and her power belong to us."

My fists clenched. Hayama-sensei looked in our direction –and gave us the signal to withdraw. We needed to get back to the village. We scattered –as we left the clearing behind, we heard the sound of our sensei engaging the other Jonin. But looking back as we ran, we saw that there were six on our tail. They were easily keeping up with us and gaining –they had to be Chunin.

"Now what? What about Hayama-sensei?" Kai asked.

"Hayama-sensei is a Jonin –he'll be able to beat those Cloud ninja," I responded. We had the advantage –even now, I was leading my friends and comrades to the traps that we had set up. We had the fact that this was our land and we knew it like the backs of our hands on our side. We had to have faith in the abilities of our sensei.

"Was what they were saying back there really true?" Osamu asked as we ran. "Are you a Cloud kunoichi?"

"I lived in the Cloud, learnt jutsu from them, but I was never one of them," I replied. And it had to be true –I was still clinging desperately to what Yugito had told me when she had released me. "I was a prisoner to them, a tool." I pulled down the neck of my outfit to show the bruise that was sealed away. "This is a Curse Mark jutsu that they branded me with in order to control me. It's been tingling the last couple of days, and now I know why –they were close by and trying to activate it. But the Seal stopped it from working."

"Well, if you think that we're going to let them take you, you're wrong," Kai commented. "You're a comrade and a friend. It's because of your tactics that we were able to become a squad in the first place."

I was grateful for their continued support and friendship. Now I had to find a way to save my friends, no matter what.

An ambush would be our best bet –we had the advantage of playing in our own back-yard, meaning that we knew the best places to strike as well as the best ways to completely disappear. Numbers or ability didn't mean much if you could catch the enemy off-guard.

Of course, to lure the Chunin into an ambush, the bait had to be tempting enough for them to want to take the chance. And right now, as they pursued us, I knew that only one target would be attractive enough. I was going to have to be the bait.

"Alright, I have an idea," I told them. "We're going to splinter off –you take the left and right and slow your pace. When I give the signal, catch them in a genjutsu, Osamu. Kai, you follow up with a long-range Water-style jutsu."

"What's the signal?" Kai asked.

"When I draw my katana," I responded. We cleared the first line of defence and moments later heard the explosions as the Chunin fell into the trap jutsu that we had set. I risked a glance back –there was a thick cloud of smoke behind us. It was the perfect smoke-screen. I signalled to the others –we splintered off.

I slowed my pace, double-checking with my Sharingan to see six chakra colours coming after me, just as I had anticipated. I didn't want to get too far from the pursuing ninja, or leave the others behind. They were coming on fast.

I stopped on the next branch, turning to face my pursuers as they surrounded me in a circle. I made a quick count –I could see six chakras and no others that were elsewhere. None of them were clones. We had them.

"Surrender," one of the Cloud Chunin commanded –all of them had their katana drawn and some of them were crackling with lightning. They were ready to use brute strength if they had to.

I saw Kai and Osamu sliding into position on either flank –luckily, it looked as though none of the Chunin were the sensory type, otherwise this tactic would have never worked. I fixed my Sharingan eyes on the Chunin, establishing eye contact with them all. I cast a generic jutsu in order to paralyse them all. It seemed to work, every single one of them was rendered incapable of moving or even following my movements as I drew my katana.

I may be capable of genjutsu and controlling the flow of chakra through the enemy's chakra network, but I wasn't overly experienced at it. It took a lot of my chakra. I would only hold these ninja still until Osamu's genjutsu took over.

Then I noticed Osamu's chakra intertwining with my own as he cast his jutsu.

A tidal wave seemed to form from the other side of the trees where Kai had positioned himself. It swept over and into the Chunin, slamming them into the trucks of the surrounding trees. Things broke –not the trunks, though.

"I can't believe we pulled that off," Kai commented as we looked around at the battered and motionless frames. I deactivated my Sharingan to preserve my chakra. It was a relief that we had been able to pull that off –and it wouldn't have worked without teamwork and perfect co-operation or timing.

"Let's go and find Hayama-sensei," I commented, and we headed back the way we had just fled. As we moved, a figure appeared in front of us. But it wasn't Hayama-sensei. It was one of the Cloud jonin. Before we could do anything, before I had even the slightest change to come up with a strategy, Kai and Osamu had been knocked out due to the speed and power of the jonin's attack on the three of us. I felt a hand collide with the back of my neck, and the world went hazy as I fell into darkness.