My squad has been completing a lot of missions over the past couple months, sadly they've all been low rank D missions, so it's getting extremely boring. For example, yesterday we weeded someone's garden and the day before that we helped an old woman carry her shopping bags around the market and back to her home. Today was the worst one yet, we had to find some lady's cat; this cat was no ordinary cat, it was crazy fast and really mean. It took us the whole day to catch the dang thing, but now that we have it, we're on our way to grandpa Hokage's office to return it.

As we step through the door to his office, I glance over to the side and see a rather large woman standing by the window.

"My cat!" she yells, running towards us.

She snatches the cat from Naruto's arms and begins squeezing the poor thing; it struggles to break free of her grasp and now I understand why this cat runs away so often.

"Oh, I missed you so much, pookie! Why do you always run away?" the woman cries, kissing and squeezing the cat.

She gives us a quick thanks and leaves the room. I look over to Naruto and shrug my shoulders, a little confused about what just happened. Iruka sensei clears his throat from the front of the room, calling our attention.

"Great job, squad 7. You finished this mission fairly quick," Iruka says, flipping through the clipboard he's holding. "Now, for your next D rank mission you will be help-"

"Iruka sensei," I say, cutting him off, "would it be possible to give us a C rank mission? I think we're ready for it, we've been working so hard and these D rank missions are starting to get boring."

"I agree, these missions are too easy. I want a challenge!" Naruto yells.

"Even though I hate to admit it, they're both right," Sasuke chimes in.

I give Sasuke a quick glance, flashing him a smile as thanks for agreeing with me. I look back at Iruka sensei and he looks ready to explode; maybe asking for a C rank mission was a bad idea.

"What is wrong with you children? You only started taking on missions two months ago! You aren't ready for this; I can't believe-"

"Calm down, Iruka," grandpa Hokage says," Why don't we give them a C rank mission. They're ready for it, just choose something a bit easy to start out with."

"Fine," Iruka mumbles, rifling through the papers on his clipboard. "Here's a good one, a bridge builder by the name of Tazuna came here and filed a request for an escort back to the Wave country. Someone bring the bridge builder here so he can meet everyone."

All of us stand in anticipation, excited to meet the man that will be breaking us free from the village and the never ending cycle of D rank missions. After a few minutes, the door to grandpa Hokage's office opens and my excitement turns into disappointment.

A rather tall burly man comes stumbling through the door, a half empty sake bottle clutched in one hand and a tough look on his face. The stench of alcohol wafts off of him, making the hair on my arms curl. I watch as he half drunkenly walks in front of us, obviously not caring that he looks like a drunken fool.

"Tazuna, this is the team that will be escorting you back to the Wave country," Iruka says.

"Who? These little punks!?" he says angrily, ''I highly doubt these squirts can help me if I get attacked!"

"Hey! Who are you calling a squirt!?" Naruto yells.

"You've got to be kidding me," he grumbles, rubbing his eyes. "Fine, whatever. Just meet me outside the front gates tomorrow morning; no later than 7am." he says, making a quick escape out the door.

Sheesh, who does this guy think he is? We thank Iruka sensei and grandpa Hokage, taking our leave.

"Tomorrow should be interesting," Sasuke mumbles as we all split ways.

Tomorrow should be very interesting indeed.

"Naruto, hurry up or we're going to be late! I don't think Tazuna will be too happy if we're late!" I yell.

"I'm coming, no need to yell at me!"

"You're taking too long, just meet me there, ok!?" I yell, heading out the door and into the streets.

Despite it being rather early, the streets are growing crowded as people walk to school or to the market for the day's groceries. I start walking towards the village gates, soaking up the sunshine and avoiding people, when I see Sasuke walking alone up ahead. I run to him, falling in step with his long strides.

"Hey, wait up," I say.

"What do you want," he mumbles.

"I just wanted to see if you wanted some company on the walk to the gates; you don't need to be so rude about it."

"Where's Naruto? Aren't you guys always together?" he asks, but I can tell he's just asking to annoy me.

"Well he was running late and I didn't want to get yelled at because of him. And no, we aren't always together, I can do things without Naruto you know." I say, rolling my eyes. "Oh, by the way, thanks for agreeing with me yesterday, about the whole mission rank stuff. I really appreciate it."

"Hn."

We walk in silence the rest of the way, but as we near the gates I notice that Sakura is already waiting. Of course she's so perfect that she needs to get here extremely early, I roll my eyes. I notice Sakura is eyeing me and Sasuke, a look of jealousy evident on her face. I grin evilly, a plan coming to my mind almost instantly.

"Oh, Sasuke. I'm so glad we had this time to chat and learn more about one another. I can tell we're getting closer to each other every day," I say dramatically as we get within earshot. "Sakura, how nice to see you. Are you ok? Your face is so red you look like an overripe tomato?!"

"I'm fine," she growls, her hands balled into fists.

"Good to hear. Anyway, what were we talking about?" I ask Sasuke, adding a girlish giggle to the act.

Sasuke turns away from me, but not fast enough; I see a faint smile on his lips and I almost laugh out loud. I made Sasuke, SASUKE, smile! I didn't even think he could smile, I laugh, as a sense of accomplishment flows through me.

"Ok everyone, time to go… wait, where is Naruto?" Kakashi sensei asks, glancing around the group.

"That idiot, I told him he was going to be late," I grumble.

"Wait! Don't leave without me!" Naruto yells, running through the streets like a madman.

"Okay, now that everyone is here let's head out," Kakashi says, shaking his head.

As we head outside the gates, I take in the beautiful scenery. I haven't been outside the gates since I first arrived here seven years ago. At that time in my life I was still living in the Village Hidden in the Clouds, suffering through daily rounds of experiments. I don't remember a lot of what happened, but I know that they're the ones who put the two-tailed beast inside of me. They're the reason I lost six years of my life, the reason I didn't know who I was; if Grandpa Hokage hadn't found me, who knows where I would be right now, if I would have even met my brother, or if I'd even be alive.

I sigh, glancing at the ground in an attempt to hide the depressed look on my face. At this moment, I notice a puddle of water on the ground. How is that possible? It hasn't rained here for weeks, I think to myself, glancing over to Kakashi sensei.

"Um, Kakashi sensei?" I ask, pointing to the puddle on the ground.

"I noticed it too," he says.

I open my mouth to ask him another question, but before I can utter a sound two ninja jump out of the puddle. In a flash, they head for Kakashi sensei, killing him where he stands.

"Kakashi sensei!" I yell.

I turn to look at the two ninjas and they begin throwing kunai at us. I jump out of the way and look at the others. Sasuke already has some kunai out, ready to throw them at a moment's notice. Naruto just stands there, frozen in place and Sakura is so afraid that I can see her legs trembling.

"Sakura, protect Tazuna!" I yell.

"But Kakashi sensei.. He's - he's dead," she stammers.

"Don't worry about that right now, just protect Tazuna! We can't just abandon our mission so quickly!"

I turn around and head for the two unknown ninja. One of them runs towards Naruto, who is still unable to move, and I watch as he gets ready to throw a kunai at him. Before the ninja can release the deadly weapon, Sasuke is on top of him, fighting him with all his strength. I sigh in relief and turn to the other ninja, who is running towards Sakura with amazing speed. The poor girl has a kunai held straight in front of her, but she looks determined. I intercept the second ninja before he can make it to Sakura, throwing kunai at him at an alarming rate. I aim one of my kunai at the chain weapon the ninja uses, throwing it straight into one of the holes in the chains. The small blade catches and drags the man backwards, lodging itself and the ninja into a tree . I take the opportunity to grab one end of the chain weapon and I quickly wrap it around the man, making sure he's secured. I use another kunai to secure the end of the chain and I glance over at the others.

"Good work Sasuke, and you too Sakura," I say. "Are you ok, Tazuna?"

"I'm fine, thank you," he says, his voice trembling slightly.

"Naruto, what happened? You just stood there and let that guy come after you. You could have been hurt, or killed!" I yell, walking towards Naruto. "Oh no Naruto, your hand. Let me see it."

Sasuke mutters something into Naruto's ear and quickly moves aside so I can get to my brother's injured hand; I didn't catch what he said, but I can tell Naruto's attitude has changed drastically. I grab Naruto's bloody hand, pulling bandages and ointment out of my pouch to help treat the nasty looking wound. Suddenly Kakashi appears next to me and I jump in surprise.

"Good work Hikari, Sasuke, Sakura. Naruto, why did you freeze like that? If Sasuke hadn't come to your aid you would have been killed. Now, let me see your hand."

"Kakashi sensei, it looks like those blades were poisoned, it's probably in Naruto's system by now. We may need to head back to the village to remove it," I say, stepping aside and giving him Naruto's hand.

"No! I won't go back! I can do this," Naruto yells, taking a kunai out of his pouch and cutting his hand, letting the poisoned blood ooze out. "I promise on this pledge that I will not back down and let someone else rescue me! I will never run away!"

"Um Naruto, nice speech and all, but if you don't close up that wound you're going to bleed to death," Kakashi says.

"What!? Oh gosh, somebody help me!" Naruto yells, waving his hand in the air.

Kakashi bandages Naruto's hand, making sure we all know that he's going to be fine and turns to look at Tazuna.

"Now, Tazuna, why are these people after you?" he asks.

"What are you talking about? How should I know?"

"Well they weren't after me or anyone on my team, which leaves me with you. I also took notice of them heading straight for you as soon as I was out of the picture."

"What are you talking about, you weren't even here to fight; you left these kids to fight for you!"

"We could always turn back and explain to the Hokage why you lied about the true reason behind this escort, I'm sure he would love to hear," Kakashi says.

"No, please! I need you to escort me… I'll… I'll tell you everything, just please help me get home," Tazuna sighs.

As our boat enters the Wave country, a thick fog rolls in, making it difficult to navigate through the waters to the shoreline. Tazuna is finishing his story about Gato, a man who has been exploiting Tazuna's village, and the assassins he hired to have him killed. Apparently Tazuna is the only bridge builder in his village and if he were to die, the bridge he's been building won't be finished and the village will be left with no means to break free of Gato's tyranny. Kakashi sensei has made it clear to us that this mission has now been moved up to a B or A rank mission, but we all insist on finishing it; I want to help the people of this village, no matter the cost.

"Okay, we're almost to shore. We need to get to Tazuna's home quickly; we don't want to risk being discovered by these assassins," Kakashi says quietly.

"Yes Kakashi sensei!"

After the boat hits the shore, we all head out, remaining silent as we make the journey to Tazuna's home. According to Tazuna, it isn't very far from our current location, but knowing that someone may be close by stalking us like prey makes the trip seem longer than it is.

A rustle in some bushes to my right breaks my train of thought. I quickly get into a fighting stance while Naruto wastes no time throwing a kunai straight into the bush.

"Haha! I got it now," he says, walking over to see what he's managed to snag.

He pulls a dazed white rabbit from behind the bush and begins to apologize to the poor thing. I roll my eyes, sighing in relief. Wait a second, something isn't right about this, I think to myself, taking a closer look at the rabbit. This is definitely a snowshoe rabbit, its fur is pure white, and they only turn this color when it's winter and there isn't a lot of sunlight. This rabbit must have been raised indoors, someone must be out looking for it…

"Naruto, how could you hurt such a cute innocent creature?!" Sakura yells, pulling the rabbit from his arms.

"Sakura, I didn't mean to, it was an accid-" Naruto says.

"Tazuna, get down!" Kakashi yells, tackling the man to the ground.

Seconds later, a large sword lodges itself into the tree we were just standing in front of. I look up to see a rather well built man standing on a tree branch; his face is covered with a mask of bandages and a Hidden Mist headband wraps around his spiky brown hair.

"Zabuza," Kakashi growls, helping Tazuna up off the ground.

"Wait, isn't this guy in the bingo book?" I ask, "He's a missing nin and an assassin of the Hidden Mist, right?!"

"Yes, he's the one… wait, how do you know about the bingo book?" Kakashi asks.

"Uh… I... What's a bingo book?" I ask, giving him a nervous smile.

"Hand over the old man!" Zabuza yells.

"We don't have time for this. Guys, guard Tazuna and stay out of this fight!" Kakashi orders.

"Yes sensei!" we all yell, getting into formation.

We quickly form a circle around Tazuna, drawing our weapons and preparing for a fight in case Kakashi sensei needs our help. I can see Kakashi and Zabuza talking, but I can't quite make out what they're saying; instead of bothering to listen, I decide to formulate a plan in case everything goes south.

"No way," Sasuke mutters.

I look up to see Kakashi sensei without his headband on, and as I look closely at his newly revealed eye, I see the Uchiha clan's trademark.

"Is that sharingan? How can Kakashi sensei have sharingan? He's not a member of the Uchiha clan is he?" I ask.

"No, he's not," Sasuke says.

"So I'll have to eliminate you first, eh Kakashi? So be it!" Zabuza yells.

"Look, he's out on the water!" Sakura yells.

"Ninja art, hidden mist jutsu," Zabuza yells.

Zabuza disappears, leaving no trace that he was even here to begin with. I've heard that he is a master at silent killing, whatever that means, and I have no doubt that's what he's planning to do now, Kakashi sensei being his first target.

"Keep your guard up. He kills so fast and silent that you won't even realize you're dead," Kakashi yells.

"The mist is getting thicker," Naruto says, his voice trembling ever so slightly.

"Kakashi sensei, where are you? I can't see you anymore," Sakura whines.

"Eight points," someone whispers.

"What was that!?" Sakura squeals.

"Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, kidneys, artery, heart. Now which one will be my killing point?"

We all search through the mist, desperately trying to find the location of the voice. A noise rings out through the mist and it suddenly begins to clear up a bit; this must be Kakashi's doing. Sasuke begins to shake next to me and I cast him a quick glance. He doesn't look so good…. And what the hell is he doing? I think to myself as he begins to lift his kunai to his chest, a look of lunacy written clear across his face.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi yells, "calm down. I will protect you all with my life. I will not allow my comrades to die."

"I wouldn't be so sure," a voice says behind me, sending goosebumps down my spine.

Before I can blink an eye, Zabuza is standing behind me. Kakashi is too slow so I take matters into my own hands, quickly turning around and shoving my kunai into his stomach. My small victory is quickly cut short as water begins pouring out of the wound and the clone slumps to the ground.

"Hikari, behind you!" Naruto yells.

"Prepare to die!" Zabuza yells, raising his giant sword in the air.

I close my eyes and brace for the pain, but instead I'm shoved to the ground. I look up to see Kakashi sensei standing in my place, the sword slicing clean through his chest. I get ready to let loose a scream, but Kakashi's body begins to leak water and I sigh in relief.

"Now it's over," Kakashi says, holding a kunai to Zabuza's neck.

"I am not a fool," Zabuza laughs.

One of Zabuza's clones appears behind Kakashi and attempts to slice him with his sword. Kakashi moves out of the way just in time, but Zabuza is fast and manages to throw Kakashi sensei into the water.

"What is with this water, why is it so heavy?" Kakashi asks.

"Fool, it's the water prison jutsu," Zabuza says, appearing above Kakashi sensei.

Zabuza begins making hand signs, and Kakashi becomes trapped in a giant orb of water.

"I'll have to deal with you later. First, I'll finish those brats off," Zabuza says, making eye contact with me.

Zabuza makes another water clone of himself and the mist begins to thicken once more. Naruto moves up a bit, trying to find him in the mist, when suddenly the clone comes out of nowhere and kicks him in the chest, sending him flying back towards me and causing his headband to come loose, falling to the ground next to Zabuza.

"You can hardly be called a ninja," Zabuza says.

"Get the bridge builder and run! You can't win this fight!" Kakashi yells, desperately struggling to break free of the jutsu.

"Run!? We can't just run now! No matter how far we get, he'll still track us down and kill us!" I yell.

"We have to do this!" Sasuke yells, running towards the enemy.

He throws an army of shuriken at the man, using it as a distraction so he can jump in the air and take him by surprise. I watch in awe as Sasuke gets close while Zabuza is still dealing with the shuriken. Maybe he can actually pull this off, I think to myself, when my hopes are dashed. Zabuza grabs Sasuke by the neck and throws him back in our direction, where he lands only a few feet from me. What are we going to do, I sigh, shaking my head, ready to accept defeat.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yells, running towards him.

"I won't back down this time," Naruto mutters, charging Zabuza.

"Naruto, no!" Kakashi yells.

Naruto gets close to him, but it isn't good enough. Zabuza punches Naruto hard in the stomach and he comes flying back in my direction, slamming into me and sending us both to the ground.

"What did you do that for? You could have gotten yourself killed!" I yell, pushing him off of me and checking him for injuries.

"Even Sasuke couldn't get to him, so what made you think you could!?" Sakura yells. "Wait, you did it for your headband?"

I glance at Naruto's hand and notice the headband clutched between his fingers.

"Hey you! Put this in your bingo book! The ninja that will become Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves never backs down; his name is Naruto Uzumaki. Are you listening, Sasuke, because I have a plan!" Naruto yells.

"So, you're finally about teamwork, huh guys? Well, what's this plan of yours?" Sasuke asks.

"You'll see!" Naruto yells.

"What are you guys doing!? I told you to run! You will lose this fight! Now go, this is not a test to see how brave you are!" Kakashi yells.

"We aren't going anywhere sensei," I smirk.

"Have you kids learned nothing? You are nowhere near ninja," Zabuza laughs.

Zabuza's clone runs towards us at full speed, punching Sasuke in the stomach hard enough that he coughs up blood. He throws him to the ground and squishes him under his foot, pushing down with tremendous force. While Zabuza is busy with Sasuke, Naruto catches my attention and throws a large shuriken in my direction.

"Shadow clone jutsu," Naruto says. "I'm not giving up that easily!"

I glance at the large shuriken, taking a moment to try and decipher Naruto's plan, when suddenly it comes to me. As Naruto and his clones pile on top of Zabuza, I use the shadow shuriken jutsu to turn into a shuriken, leaving a shadow clone behind in my place. Zabuza tosses Naruto and his clones aside like they're nothing.

"Naruto, now!" I yell.

He comes running towards my shadow clone, grabbing me and the large shuriken, hiding me in the real shuriken's shadow.

"Sasuke, catch!" Naruto yells, throwing me and the shuriken to Sasuke.

"So this was his plan, not bad," Sasuke whispers.

Sasuke jumps into the air and throws the shuriken as fast as he can, aiming it at the real Zabuza; he then throws me in the shadow of the real shuriken. Zabuza has no problem catching the real shuriken, but when he sees the shadow shuriken flying towards him he has no other option but to jump out of the way.

"You kids are too naive," he begins to say, turning back to the others.

"Not so fast!" I yell, transforming back into myself and throwing a shuriken at him.

Zabuza obviously isn't expecting this and he does the only thing he can to avoid getting hit, he jumps out of the way, his opposite hand breaking free of the water prison holding Kakashi sensei captive.

"You little brats!" Zabuza yells, running towards me with the giant shuriken in hand.

"Crap," I mutter.

Kakashi is on Zabuza in a flash, blocking me from the shuriken blow. I plop into the water, resurfacing moments later.

"Good plan Naruto, you sure have grown stronger, you all have. Your team work was amazing," Kakashi sensei says.

"Thanks Kakashi sensei!" Naruto yells.

Kakashi and Zabuza jump back from each other and begin making hand signs, summoning a water dragon jutsu. I quickly swim to shore to avoid any injury and I watch as their water dragons battle; when that doesn't work they go back to using their weapons. It looks as if Kakashi sensei is copying Zabuza's every move; this must be the sharingan at work. Somehow Kakashi sensei gets the upper hand and summons this amazing water jutsu that forces Zabuza out of the water and against a tree. Kakashi sensei hurls kunai at the man and pins him to the tree, jumping to the branch just above him. But before he can give the final blow, Zabuza is struck in the neck by a couple of senbon needles, knocking him to the ground. We all hurry over to him as Kakashi checks his pulse.

"He's dead," a mysterious voice says.

We all turn to see what I believe to be a woman in a mask, the Hidden Mist village symbol clear across the top.

"Yeah, he's definitely dead," Kakashi says.

"I thank you. I have been waiting for the chance to kill Zabuza," the woman says.

"By the looks of that mask, you're a tracker from the Village Hidden in the Mist," Kakashi replies.

"Impressive, you are very knowledgeable."

"Tracker ninja?" Naruto yells.

"You don't know what a tracker ninja is? We learned it at the academy, didn't we? Tracker ninja pursue guys like Zabuza who turn against the village where they were born and raised. And when they break away from the village, tracker ninja go after these rogue ninja and assassinate them to avoid having their village's secrets told," Sakura says.

"That's common knowledge, you should study more," I mumble to Naruto.

"That's right, I'm a member of Hidden Mist Village's tracking unit whose mission is to hunt rogue ninja," the woman says.

"What are you?!" Naruto yells, pointing towards the woman.

"Don't worry, Naruto. She's not an enemy," Kakashi says.

"That's not what I'm asking!" Naruto yells. "I… I mean.. That Zabuza… That Zabuza was killed! That guy who was so strong… he was killed so easily... by a kid who's no different from me! We're.. We're pathetic and I can't accept that!"

"Well, I understand your disbelief. But… this too, is reality," Kakashi says, walking up to Naruto and ruffling his hair. "In this world, there are kids who are younger than you and stronger than me."

Naruto glances over at us, scowling. The girl jumps down from her position on the tree branch, picking up Zabuza and placing him on her shoulder.

"Your battle is over for now. I must get rid of this corpse, because it contains many secrets. Now then, please excuse me," she says and disappears.

"She disappeared!" Naruto yells, running to the spot they just stood.

"She's not here anymore," Kakashi says.

"What was all this for?!" Naruto yells, punching the ground, "What are we anyway?!"

"Naruto," I say.

"Darn it! Darn it! Darn it! Darn it!" he yells.

"Things like this happen when you're a ninja," Kakashi says, grabbing Naruto's hand before he can punch the ground again. "If you're frustrated, apply it next time! Our mission hasn't ended yet, we must take Mr. Tazuna home."

"So sorry, everyone," Tazuna says, giving us a large toothy smile, "you can rest at my house!"

"Okay, let's cheer up and go," Kakashi says.

Kakashi sensei takes one step forward and freezes in place.

"Uh, Kakashi sensei, are you alright?" I ask.

He doesn't respond, giving me cause for concern, when he suddenly collapses. We all run to him, calling his name and asking if he's ok, but with no response. I check for a pulse, and find one, I also check for any wounds, but the only wound he has is a gash on his arm from when he stopped Zabuza from hitting me with the giant shuriken. Did he pass out from exhaustion, I ask myself. I mean, there are no other signs of injury. Maybe using the sharingan takes a lot out of him.

"Mr. Tzauna, would you mind helping us carry him back to your place?" I ask.

Tazuna nods his head, hoisting Kakashi sensei over his shoulders, and begins the walk home, the rest of us following suit.