A/N: Found an old chapter that I hadn't finished yet. I'm really enjoying writing again. Working on this story again has been so much fun and I hope you all enjoy it, even so, I'm happy to write it lol. I can't seem to stop writing but this will most likely be the last chapter for now.

The Worst Possible Client

Chouko hadn't known what to expect from her first mission as an official team. She didn't think it would be anything too grueling being their first mission and all, but at the very least she thought it would have been something more...challenging, and while it was certainly...unique, it turned out to be a rather big disappointment.

The mission wasn't particularly difficult, and it was fairly mundane, but it was still annoying. Chouko didn't know what she was expecting, but she had hoped that it would have been a bit more...interesting.

She would have preferred going toe-to-toe with rogue ninja over getting mauled by a demented cat that was hell-bent on escaping from its overbearing owner. She could have been fighting bandits and saving helpless villagers, not chasing down a spoiled housecat. It was demeaning and annoying. It had taken them far longer to catch the mangy feline than it should have and it ended up with all of them covered in claw marks and a strong distrust for any cat that looked at them the wrong way.

Chouko felt no ounce of pity for the cat as it struggled to wiggle free from the iron lock its owner had on it. Torda, the demonic cat, mewled pitifully as his owner, Madam Shijimi, practically squeezed all nine lives out of his body. Chouko could somewhat understand the cat's desperation now, but that didn't mean she was going to show him any mercy.

She had suffered.

"Ohhh, my cute, sweet little Tora-Chan! I was so worried." The large woman cried. "Mommy was so worried about her naughty little fuzzykins, yes!"

Chouko grimaced, and her eye twitched.

"Sweet? Get real." Chouko grumbled. "Dumb cat probably ran away from home because it was being star - oompf! - what was that for, Sensei?!"

Chouko glared at Kakashi who was pretending as if he hadn't just clunked her over the head with his fist

"You're going to have to work on your manners, kid." He said, his visible eye crinkling into a crescent.

Chouko scowled and rubbed her sore head.

"My precious, sweet, darling Tora-Chan." The fat woman sobbed, rubbing her face against the squirming feline.

Naruto scratched his head with a grimace. "Serves him right, that stupid cat!" He said bitterly, having gotten the worst injuries out of the situation.

Tora didn't like Naruto.

"No wonder he ran away..." Sakura sighed.

Chouko couldn't agree more.

"That fleabag needs to be put down." Sasuke scowled.

Chouko snickered at the large slash across his face that was bright red.

Sasuke glared at her and Chouko grinned.

The Hokage loudly cleared his throat. He sucked on his pipe, staring at them from underneath his hat that shadowed his wrinkled face.

"The next mission for Squad Seven is..." He drawled, reading over the list in his old, wrinkled hand. "An errand is requested in the neighboring town, babysitting the Chief Councilor's three-year-old boy, helping with digging for potatoes, eh...helping his wife do the shopping -"

"NO!" Naruto yelled. "Noooo! I want to go on a real mission! Give us something challenging and not this little kid stuff, old man!"

Chouko, annoyed by the day's events, agreed.

"No disrespect to you Lord Hokage, but I agree with Naruto." She sighed exasperatedly. "It would be much better if we were sent on an actual mission, one that required the use of our skills and abilities, anything but this."

The Hokage raised a gray brow and gave the young Akimichi a look.

"You have quite a mouth on you." He said, blowing a ring of smoke.

Chouko's eyes widened and her face turned a deep red. "I-I didn't mean -"

"Chouko's right!" Naruto yelled. "Give us a real mission!"

'They have a point.' Sasuke thought. 'These tasks are pointless.'

'Man... they're such a pain!' Sakura huffed with a twitch. 'Jeez...can't believe I agree with them.'

Kakashi's shoulders slumped as he silently sighed. He expected this out of Naruto but held hope that Chouko would reign him in and keep his mouth in line.

'Guess she's no better.' He sighed, scratching the back of his head.

"You idiots! How dare you?!" Iruka-Sensei who had been quiet until now, shouted, slamming his palms onto the desk and glaring down the disrespectful rookies. "You're just rookies with no experience! Everyone starts with simple missions to work their way up to develop their skills and prove themselves!"

"But it has been nothing but crappy missions so far and we're sick of it!" Naruto shouted back.

"All we've done is a bunch of chores! When are we going to start doing some real ninja missions?" Chouko added.

"You two! Be quiet and listen! It is necessary to explain to you what a mission is." Kakashi sighed. "It's not something you can simply look over, understand?"

The two nodded reluctantly. Kakashi smiled and patted their heads like obedient pups. Chouko swatted his hand away with a huff, and Naruto pouted, glaring at the older jonin.

Kakashi held them in place by the head, eyes crinkling in amusement at their futile attempts to throttle him.

"Naruto, Chouko, it seems that the two of you do not understand the request that pours into our village each day." The Hokage said to them, drawing their attention back to it. "They range from babysitting to assassinations. Every request is carefully categorized and analyzed, and then from A, B, D, or D, depending on the level of their difficulty. The Hokage stands at the top and jonin, chunin, and genin at the bottom. The missions are then handed out by us at the top to the ninja of the village based on their abilities. A successful mission draws in revenue from our clients, which then goes into supporting the village. You are all inexperienced genin. D-Rank is perfect for you."

Truthfully...the group wasn't listening. They were more interested in hearing about what Naruto had for dinner the previous night, which had Chouko's stomach rumbling and her mouth watering. The Hokage snapping at them pulled all of their attention back to the rambling old man.

Kakashi chuckled nervously, having felt embarrassed about getting caught in their shenanigans.

"I-I apologize, Lord Hokage." Kakashi-Sensei drawled sheepishly.

"Maaaan! You always lecture me like you're my grandfather or something! But I'm not that little prankster you think I am anymore! I'm a ninja now, and I want a ninja mission! I have to get stronger so that I can protect the people and fulfill my duties as the future Hokage of the village!" Naruto yelled. "They're going to be counting on me to protect and lead them and I can't let them down, got that?!"

Chouko smiled, feeling proud of her friend.

Iruka-Sensei and Lord Hokage stared at Naruto with surprise written all over their faces. They shared a look before their eyes fell on the Akimichi girl who was grinning proudly. A sense of understanding passed between the two as they smiled fondly at the group of genin.

"Okay then, fine."

Their eyes widened.

"If you desire it so badly then I will give you a C-Rank mission." Lord Hokage said. "It will be a combination of an escort and protection mission."

Naruto's mouth split into a huge grin and he jumped up and down. Chouko's lips curled into a small, excited smile and her heart raced with excitement.

"Who? Who?! A Feudal Lord?! A princess?! Who-who-whoooo?! Come on, tell us already, old man!"

Chouko tugged on the back of Naruto's jacket with a heavy sigh. "Naruto, down, boy." She laughs, watching the blonde-haired boy practically vibrate on the spot.

"Don't be so impatient Naruto. I will bring him in now. Behave yourselves." The Hokage's aged eyes landed on Naruto and Chouko with a warning. Naruto pouted and Chouko shyly averted her eyes feeling rather silly about her earlier outbursts. "Send in our visitor!" The Hokage yelled to the shinobi standing outside his office.

They all turned to face the door anxiously waiting as loud footsteps drew closer. The footsteps sounded off to Chouko and a dreadful feeling overwhelmed her. They were heavy and clunky as if the person was stumbling around trying to catch their footing. Her feeling of dread only grew as the door slammed open and an older gentleman stumbled in, clutching a bronze bottle as if his very life depended on it. His cheeks were rosy, and his eyes were glazed and unfocused. Chouko didn't have to take a whiff of the air around him to know that the bottle contained booze.

The man looked at them all and sneered, his upper lip curling upwards. The man glared at them with his flushed face and hazed-over eyes.

"Huh? What the hell is this? These are just a bunch of snot-nosed little brats!"

The man rumbled angrily looking them over and taking a large swig of his booze. Alcohol poured out of his lips and onto the floor and his clothing.

The smell was pungent and made the room reek of cheap liquor.

Chouko gagged at the putrid smell and hid her nose in the back of Naruto's jacket.

"He's drunk!" Chouko scowled.

The bastard smelled as if he bathed in it!

The man sloppily wiped his mouth and pointed at Naruto.

"Especially you, the runt, with the stupid-looking face." He lazily dropped his arm and leaned against the open doorframe. "You expect me to believe that you're really a ninja? You're probably the village idiot."

"Haha! Who's the short one?!"

Naruto asked aloud wondering who the short one was. With mischievous smiles on their faces, they all stepped closer to him with Sasuke being the tallest followed by Sakura, and then Chouko.

It took Naruto a minute to figure it out.

"Sensei, you might want to restrain him," Chouko said tapping a finger against her chin.

"I'LL KILL HIM!"

Kakashi sighed as his Naruto senses tingled, prompting him to reach out and restrain the Uzumaki boy before he could go full-on feral on the man they were to be escorting.

"What's the point in killing the person you're supposed to be protecting? Idiot!" Kakashi sighed. "Did you not hear Lord Hokage? Behave."

"Remember what I told you, Naruto." Chouko sighed crossing her arms. "People like him aren't worth getting mad over. They're all a bunch of cowards who can't take people standing up to them."

"And you - butterball! - am I supposed to believe that you're capable of protecting anything other than your portion of food at dinner?!"

Her teammates choked on laughter, minus Naruto, who was still trying to mangle him. Kakashi's eyebrow twitched and sweat dripped down his face as he eyed the cherry-red Akimichi girl out of the corner of his eye. She was shaking and grinding her teeth and Kakashi was sure she was going to strike when she took a calm breath and eased herself away from the drunken man.

Chouko was furious but refused to give him the satisfaction of losing her temper.

"My weight has nothing to do with my capabilities as a ninja. However, as a word of warning, you probably should watch your tongue around the ones supposed to be guarding you. Accidents happen, you know. So it'd be best for you to keep your comments to yourself, Sir."

The drunken man fumbled on some kind of retort but let it die in his throat.

"Cocky brat." He drunkenly grumbled.

Kakashi exhaled and placed his hand on top of Chouko's head. He gave her an affectionate ruffle and praised her for controlling emotions, and was even going to express that he was proud of her until she decided to blow a big, fat, raspberry in his face.

Kakashi wondered if it was too late to send her back to the academy.

"I am Tazuna, a veteran bridge builder. I expect you to provide me with super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge even if that means giving your life." The drunk - Tazuna - slurred.

Something felt very off about this man, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. He was clearly an alcoholic, and she didn't trust drunks, but that didn't really justify the unease in her chest.

Her gut told her something wasn't right.

Chouko had headed home to prepare to leave for the mission. She was so excited. Her first C-rank mission. She was finally going to get a chance to prove herself and show her team and Sensei that she could be relied on.

"So you're leaving?"

Chouko looked up to see her little brother Chinaru standing at her door. He had his arms crossed and was leaning against the doorframe, a pout on his face.

"Yep." She smiled. "My first real mission!"

"How long will you be gone?" He asked.

Chouko shrugged and continued packing her bag.

"Not sure. The mission shouldn't take too long. A couple of weeks at most. It's an escort and protection mission. We'll be guarding a man who is building a bridge."

"What are you protecting him from?"

"Well, that's the thing..."

"You have no idea, do you?"

"Hey, you're not the one assigned the mission! If you want the details, go ask the old man." She snapped.

"Alright, alright, no need to get testy." Chinaru sighed. "Just be careful, okay? Don't come home missing a leg or something."

Chouko snorted.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll be fine, brat. Stop worrying so much." She smiled. "Look after mom while I'm gone. I'm sure she's going to be going crazy with both Dad and me out on a mission."

"Yeah, yeah, I will."

Chouko finished packing everything she thought she would need and stood up. She walked over to Chinaru and crouched down so that she could get a good look at him.

"Behave yourself and mind Mom." She ordered. "I don't want to hear that you were causing trouble when I get home. Understand?"

"Yeah, yeah. Go on your dumb mission already." Chinaru grumbled.

"Good. See ya, punk."

She kissed his forehead and patted his head.

"I love you."

"Ugh, gross!"

He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and Chouko chuckled.

"See ya, brat."

Chouko grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She turned and started heading downstairs.

"I love you too..."

Chouko paused and glanced over her shoulder at him.

"Don't tell anyone I said that!"

Chouko snickered and waved over her shoulder.

"Your secret's safe with me."

Chouko stared up at the large set of Kohona gates with a fond smile on her face. She had never stepped foot outside of the village, but she had come to the gate many times before with her mom and brother to see her dad off on a mission, or to welcome him home. Her father would always give her a tight hug and kiss her forehead, and her mother would cry and worry. Chinaru would always roll his eyes and complain.

The memory brought a smile to her lips.

She would see him again soon.

It felt different now, knowing she was the one going to be walking through the gates this time. It was exciting, but a little scary. She was a ninja and had been training for years to step out and make a name for herself, but a part of her couldn't help but feel nervous.

This was the real thing.

The start of her ninja career.

Chouko's grip on her backpack straps tightened and she let out a deep breath.

She could do this.

At least it was a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky. Somewhere, she bet Shikamaru was gazing up at the sky with a lazy smile on his face as Chouji crunched on his favorite barbeque chips while Ino badgered them about things that didn't matter.

The image in her head made her smile.

Chouko thought after all was said and done that she'd visit them and see how they have been doing.

"Alright! We're off! Come on, let's go!" Naruto cheered taking the lead of the group with Chouko right behind him, matching his pace comfortably.

What are you getting so excited about?" Sakura asked.

"This is the first time I've ever left the village!" Naruto grinned taking in all the sights. "I'm a real traveler now!'

Chouko chuckled and shook her head.

"It's exciting, but we have a job to do, so try to focus, Naruto." Chouko grinned poking his cheek. "Wouldn't want something happening because you got distracted."

Naruto grinned and nodded.

"Hey!" Tazuna yelled. "Am I really going to be okay with this squirt?!" He directed his attention towards Naruto.

"The only joke here is you." Chouko huffed, rolling her eyes.

"Chouko!" Sakura reprimanded with a firm glare.

"Hahaha! Well, I am a jonin. There's no need to worry." Kakashi said. "I'll be watching over them."

Chouko sensing Naruto was about to snap gave him a playful push forward with a knowing smirk. He pouted at her, and Chouko winked.

Naruto gave a short huff before a smirk curled over his lips.

"Hey, old man!" He called over their shoulders.

Chouko sighed.

"Don't go around mocking us, got that? I'm a super-elite ninja who will one day be called Hokage by the people of my village! Remember my name: Uzumaki Naruto!"

Tazuna gave a dismissive grunt, which pissed Chouko off.

"The Hokage's the super top-dog ninja in the village, right?" Tazuna snorted inhaling down more of his booze. "I sure as hell doubt someone as puny as you could become Hokage. The lot of you aren't worth much more than a headache. You'll just end up dead and becoming someone's burden."

Sakura's shoulders slumped glumly while Sasuke glared coldly at Tazuna.

"I find that ironic coming from you." Chouko snapped. "You don't know Naruto. You don't know Sakura, Sasuke, or Kakashi-Sensei, and you sure as hell don't know me. So until you get to know us, I'd appreciate it if you kept your opinions and your opinions to yourself. Don't go slandering our names around when you have none of the facts. We are ninja, and we will prove it."

Tazuna sneered and took another drink. Tazuna and Chouko stared at one another intensely. The whole time he hadn't taken a sip of beer.

"The day I acknowledge any of you is the day I sprout wings and fly, butterball." The older man grunted and turned his head to her.

"The wings of metamorphosis take time to grow and change, but those who aren't willing to put in the effort will never know that feeling. I think that's something my mom would tell me at this moment. She always says weird things like that, but they somehow make sense." Chouko smiled despite the tension in the air. "Your wings never grew because you refused to grow. You refused to change. You condemn the world around you and wait for other people to bring that change to you. Ultimately, you're left on the ground watching as everyone else soars above you."

Tazuna stared at her

"But that's fine, you have your opinion, and I have mine. You'll see soon enough."

Chouko sighed looking up at the cloudy blue sky with fondness while keeping an eye on her surroundings. She could hear bits and pieces of a conversation that Sakura was having with Tazuna that she didn't care much about, that is until she heard Kakashi interject himself into the conversation.

"No, there aren't ninjas in the Land of Waves," Kakashi-Sensei spoke. "But in other countries, there are hidden villages that each have their different customs and cultures where ninjas reside." Kakashi-Sensei paused to see if they were still with him. "To the many countries of the continent, the existence of a shinobi village means military power. In other words, that is how these nations maintained their relationships with neighboring nations. Even so, the villages are not under the control of the nations. The ninja villages are not controlled by any government, they're independent and have equal stats. Now a small island like the Land of Waves has natural protection from the sea, so there's no need for any ninja village."

Chouko listened closely. It was something she didn't know much about, and she wanted to learn.

Kakashi tapped his chin thoughtfully knowing he had all their attention of him.

"The Land of Fire has the Hidden Leaf Village, while the Land of water has the hidden Mist Village; Land of Lightning, the village hidden in the clouds. The Land of Wind, the village hidden in the Sand, and the Land of Earth, the village hidden in the Stones. Only the leaders of these hidden villages are permitted the name Kage, which means shadow. Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, Tschuikage; these are the leaders, the shadows that rain over thousands of ninjas."

No kidding!" Sakura laughed. "The Hokage is that powerful?!"

'That lame geezer is really that powerful? Sounds fishy!' Sakura's inner voice thought.

Naruto snickered remembering the time he pulled his Sexy Jutsu on the Hokage and how he fainted from blood loss!

Sasuke and Chouko were silent.

"Hey!" Kakashi yelled. "Are the four of you doubting the Hokage?"

They all froze and shook their heads.

"Well, don't worry." Kakashi-Sensei patted Chouko and Sakura's heads. "There won't be any ninja combat in a C-Rank battle.

"Then, there's no worry about getting into a scrape with foreign ninja!" Sakura breathed in relief.

"Of course not!" Kakashi chirped.

Chouko wasn't sure how she felt about all this. Chouko eyed Tazuna wearily out of the corner of her eye. He was fidgeting with his half-full bottle of booze, squirming under the eyes of anyone who watched him for too long. His eyes were shifty, too. Sakura continued to make small talk but Tazuna's answers were very vague and he didn't go into much detail or specifics.

Her gut was still uneasy.

There was something wrong.

Anything of notable importance he went out of his way to avoid answering by taking a drink and grumbling on about nosy kids, which was enough to deter Sakura and for her to move on to her next string of questions.

It was all very suspicious, but she kept her mouth shut.

Eventually, Tazuna reverted to non-verbal communication. He would shrug now and again or let out a grunt but it was clear that he had no more interest in talking to which Sakura seemed to take the hint.

Was he sweating? Or was it from all the booze he drank? Either way, he wreaked of booze and suspicion.

Something was definitely not right.

Chouko moved to walk beside Kakashi-Sensei. She gently bumped into his shoulder and with his attention, on her, she moved her fingers into patterns unlike hand signs made for jutsu, rather these hand signs were used for silent communication between allies, which was very useful for situations like this where stealth was required.

'He's very suspicious.' Chouko said without the use of words.

Kakashi Sensei nodded in silent agreement and gave her a gentle pat on the back, as they moved forward with added caution.

Chouko was beginning to think this mission wouldn't be so simple after all.

Chouko's stomach felt tight. There was a sudden shift in the air and Chouko felt very uncomfortable. Her instincts were screaming. Something was going on and she wasn't sure what. She could feel strange chakra signatures, and her hands clenched into fists. She discreetly looked around, trying to spot the source of her unease, but found nothing. As they walked they passed a puddle that was big enough to reflect her face, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

A puddle? There had been no rain in weeks.

She spared a glance at Kakashi-Sensei. He seemed a bit tense but gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Chouko swallowed.

She couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching her, and it made her skin crawl.

It was as if fate was taunting her because at that moment the air around them seemed to grow thicker. She heard a ripple of water, and then there was a splash and the sounds of chains as they wrapped around Kakashi-Sensei and tightened around him like a vice. Two masked men emerged from the puddles on the ground, each holding an end of the chains that wrapped around Kakashi-Sensei tightly.

Chouko's eyes widened in horror and she stumbled back.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" She shouted.

"E-EH?!" Sakura shrieked.

"WHAT TH-"

"One little piggy." One of the men spoke.

And then they twisted the chain. The sound of metal chains twisting and grinding against each other made her skin crawl and her stomach clench.

She heard a muffled cry come from Kakashi-Sensei, and then blood spilled out from his mask and soaked his front as his body was twisted in unnatural ways. Chouko wanted to look away, but her eyes were frozen on the scene in front of her. She wanted to scream, but the sound was stuck in her throat. She couldn't even breathe.

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be real.

But it was.

Kakashi-Sensei's body ripped apart in front of her very eyes and his body parts fell to the ground with a wet plop, followed by the sound of his blood splattering against the dirt road. His body evaporated into smoke, and then everything was still.

Chouko was horrified. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest and she couldn't catch her breath.

"Kakashi-Sensei...?" She heard herself speak.

"Two little piggies." The men said appearing behind Naruto who was frozen with shock.

Chouko's blood ran cold and she forced her body to move, but before she could do anything Sasuke zipped past her with shuriken and kunai in his hand, he aimed for their chains, hitting his mark and pinning them to the tree.

"It won't come lose." One of the masked men said.

Chouko watched as Sasuke faced them with determination in his eyes and her breath hitched in her throat. They quarreled for a bit before the men broke loose. One charged at Naruto and the other at Tazuna.

"Stand back, sir!" Sakura yelled moving in front of Tazuna with a kunai drawn.

Chouko moved quickly towards her best friend and got in front of her with her own kunai ready. She could see the fear in Naruto's eyes and her stomach twisted.

Sasuke moved himself in front of Sakura, taking a protective stance and glared fiercely at the man. When everything seemed hopeless, and their assailants were about to make their move, Kakashi appeared and grabbed the men by their necks.

Relief washed over her and she felt tears gather in the corner of her eyes.

"Sensei!" Sakura and Chouko cheered.

"Yo!" Kakashi-Sensei greeted as if he hadn't been ripped apart mere moments ago. "Naruto, sorry for not helping you right away," Kakashi said. "I never meant for you to get hurt. I just didn't think you'd freeze up like that, is all."

"Anyway, nice job Sasuke. Sakura, Chouko, you two as well."

"Hey," Sasuke called Naruto. "You all right...scaredy-cat?"

Naruto growled. He was shaking with anger and it was obvious he was ready to blow a gasket. He tried to scream his frustration at the Uchiha boy but was stopped by Chouko, who had taken hold of his wrist with a firm glare on her face that warned him not to move.

"You're hurt, Naruto." She said as if she were scolding a child. "Have you not heard anything Kakashi-Sensei said? Those ninjas claws were soaked in poison, so we have to get it out, quickly."

Naruto blinked and looked down to see blood dripping from his arm, and Chouko was right, it was starting to burn and his arm was throbbing.

Kakashi nodded.

"Our best move is to open up the wound and release the poisoned blood from your body," Kakashi said. "Don't move so much. You'll spread the poison."

Kakashi turned to Tazuna who was sweating and shaking. He was afraid.

"You and I need to talk. Now."

Kakashi-Sensei had tied the men to a tree. The others stood by wearily, wondering if they would break free and attack them again, but Kakashi-Sensei assured them that they weren't in any condition to fight anytime soon.

"These are chunin from the Mist Village," Kakashi told them. "They specialize in relentless attack, meaning they'll keep fighting no matter the sacrifice."

Chouko gulped.

"How were you able to detect are movements?" One asked.

Kakashi eyed them.

"There probably wouldn't be puddles on a clear and sunny day like today, when it hasn't rained in weeks."

Tazuna stared at Kakashi-Sensei.

"If you knew all of that then why did you leave the Genin to do all of the fighting?" He asked, and Chouko was curious too.

"If I had wanted to...I could have killed these two instantly, but.." Kakashi glanced at Tazuna. "I needed to know who the target was that these two were after."

"W-What do you mean?" Tazuna asked in a cold sweat.

"Quit playing games, you drunken fool." Chouko glared. "Your body language gave it all away, old man. You've been lying since the very beginning."

"Why you-"

"I needed to know if they were after us or if they were after you." Kakashi cut in. "When you put in your request you asked for standard protection from thieves or gangs and the like. This is a mission of B rank or higher. This was supposed to be a simple protection mission until you completed the bridge. You didn't say there was ninja looking for you, hunting you down. If we knew we'd be fielding attacks from enemy ninjas we would have staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B mission." Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "I'm sure you have a reason, but it causes problems when you lie about the mission details. We are now operating outside our duties."

Tazuna was silent.

'He's willing to put our lives at risk to save some coin,' Chouko thought. 'This old geezer...'

"This mission is too soon for us." Sakura gulped. "We still need medicine for Naruto's wound. We should go back to the village and get him to a doctor, quickly."

Chouko knew half of it was Sakura just being a coward and wanting to run - she did too - but deep down, there was a part of her worried for Naruto's well-being.

"This sure is a burden." Kakashi sighed dramatically. "Well, I guess we should head back to the village since Naruto needs to be treated, and all."

"Gyuuuuahhhh!"

Chouko's eyes widened. Naruto had taken one of his kunai and stabbed it into his wound. She rushed over to him, ripping the kunai from his hand, and to the surprise of the others - smacked him across the face.

Hard.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Chouko yelled trying to make him stop. "Have you lost your mind, Naruto?!"

"Naruto! Stop that! What are you doing?!" Sakura shrieked.

"I worked so hard to get here!" Naruto yelled, pushing Chouko away as he continued to stab at his hand.

She watched him wide-eyed and silent.

"All the time I spent pushing myself until it hurt! Training alone for hours - anything to get stronger, to reach my dream! I will never back down again and leave it for someone else to rescue me. I never run away. I won't lose to Sasuke. Upon this wound, I make this pledge, believe it! I'll protect the old man and complete the mission with this kunai. A real ninja neither gives up and neither do I! Don't you guys worry about me, I'll be fine! Now let's go!"

Chouko was in shock.

Naruto's eyes were a deep, rich, blue that reminded her of the sky and the sea. His eyes were full of determination and passion, and his words resonated with her. He was so strong.

She had always known that but...she was still taken aback.

She stared at him. He was bleeding. He had a look on his face that said, 'try and stop me, I dare you.'

She didn't try.

Sakura sighed reaching into her ninja pouch and pulling out some medical supplies.

"Naruto! You've got a self-abusive personality." She grumbled, pulling out some tubes of ointment that Chouko didn't recognize, and bandages.

"You have to do this, so sit still."

Naruto was stunned.

"W-what's that?" He asked, watching Sakura work.

"You've gotten the poison out of your body but now you run the risk of bleeding out." She said, wiping away the blood. "If you keep losing blood like this then you're going to die. Hold still."

"No, no, no! I'm too young to go out like this, Sakura!"

"Hold still Naruto!"

'Uhh, Sakura...you have a really serious look on your face. You're scaring me, am I okay?!"

Sakura blinked. The wound on his hand...was healing. She'd never seen anything like it before. Still. she kept quiet as she cleaned the blood and grime from his had, and wrapped it in clean bandages.

Chouko was slightly fascinated. When they were young Sakura had once expressed becoming a medical ninja, and even did a whole bunch of research and practice of her dolls, before deciding she wanted to be a ninja.

Maybe...Sakura could become a medic nin?

It seemed like she still retained some of that information.

Or perhaps she had never truly forgotten?

Naruto bounced around on his feet thanking Sakura for saving his life. Sakura only blushed and told him to shut up. Chouko pushed herself forward and flicked Naruto in the head ignoring his whining. She proceeded to grab him by the ear and scold him for being so damn reckless and making her worry and putting his life in danger and whatnot.

Naruto could only stand there and take the verbal beating while apologizing profusely.

Chouko sighed and held out her pinky. "You're not alone in this. We all made a promise, remember?" She smiled, wiggling her pinky finger. "So don't push us away, okay?"

Naruto stared at it with a solemn smile.

"Yeah, I remember." He said taking her pinky finger. "We'll all get stronger then, together."

"That's right, idiot." Sakura sighed and joined the pinky embrace. "Don't go putting yourself into any more dangerous situations, got it? I'm not going to come to your rescue every time." she huffed.

"And I'm not going to come to her rescue every time she fails to save you," Sasuke said. "You're still leagues beneath me, you loser. At the rate you're going, you'll never be able to catch up with me." Sasuke said, though added his pinky to the pile; they all smiled - or smirked - and shook on it.

"Look at my cute little genins!" Kakashi cooed. "You're all becoming such great friends!" He teased.

Chouko scowled at him.

"Let's make another vow, okay? That we'll never end up a lonely and old pervert like Kakashi-Sensei. All in favor, say aye!" Said Chouko with a grin and wink.

"AYE!"

Kakashi's eyes twitched.

This kid...

...Is starting to grow on him.