The day was nice and sunny but the air was tense as Team 7 was on a mission in the forest.
"This is Sasuke, I'm at point B" he said through a device that allow him to communicate to his team members from a distance.
"T-This is Hinata, I-I'm at point C" she said through the same device.
There was a pause "Hey Naruto here, I'm at point A, Believe it" he said
"You're slow, Naruto" Kakashi said as he screened the area and sees the target moving. "The target has moved! Follow it!"
Team 7 peeked over where they were hiding and quickly moved into a new hiding spot, closer to their target without it noticing them.
"Ok, now what's your distance from the target?" Kakashi asked
Naruto looked at the target from where he was hidden "5 meters, I'm ready, just give the signal"
"I'm ready too" Sasuke said
"A-As am I" Hinata said
"Oooook, NOW!" Kakashi yelled
All three of them jumped out to ambush their target from all three sides, knowing one of them would catch it.
"I got him, I got him!" Naruto said, being the one who caught their target, which happen to be a cat.
The cat started attacking Naruto. As that was happening, Sasuke confirmed to Kakashi that they caught their target.
When they got back to the academy, they went to the main floor, where they receive their missions. They went and returned the missing cat to his owner and saw how the owner was hugging and squishing him.
Naruto was laughing at the misery of the cat " Ha Ha Ha stupid cat! That kitty deserves to be squashed!"
Now I see why the cat ran away, she's practically suffocating the poor thing Hinata thought as she watched the poor cat being squished to the point of death.
A man clothed in white robes and wearing a red and white hat known as the Third Hokage spoke "Ok, for Team 7 we have several available task. Let's see we have babysitting the chief consoler three year old, helping his wife do the shopping, digging up potatoes and."
Naruto cut the Third Hokage off, making a X sign with his arms "Hold it! I want to go on a real mission! Something challenging and exciting, not this little kid stuff. Come on old man!
He's got a point, this is kid's stuff were doing Sasuke thought agreeing with Naruto
Why can't Naruto speak to the Hokage respectfully? Hinata thought, hoping the Hokage wasn't annoyed at Naruto's tone or request
-Sighs- I knew this was coming Kakashi thought looking at his student
Iruka slams his hands on the desk he was sitting at next to the Hokage "How dare you! You're just a brand new genin with no experience! Like everyone else, you start with simple missions to develop your skills and prove yourself!" He said in a stern tone to his former student.
Naruto stood his ground and yelled "Are you serious?! How the hell is babysitting a mission?! It's just a stupid-" before he could finish, he was knocked upside the head by Kakashi causing him to go face first on the floor.
"Will you put a lid on it?" Kakashi said
"Naruto, it seems you do not understand the tasks you have been given" The Third Hokage said to him as Naruto was rubbing his abused head. "Listen, many different kinds of request come into our village everyday. From babysitting to assassinations, these request are carefully recorded, analyzed, then ranked A, B, C, or D depending on their difficulty. We, ninja, are also ranked by our ability. Hokage at the top, jonin, chunin, and genin at the bottom. At the highest level, we select the missions and a sign them to ninja with the appropriate skill and experience. And if the mission is successful, we receive a fee at supports our village and our work. Since you are untried genin, just starting down on the shinobi path, you are given D rank assignments of course" he explained but sees Naruto ignoring him and talking to his team.
"Silence!" The third said annoyed
Kakashi rubs the back of his neck "Oh sorry" he said apologizing for listening to his students story instead of to the Hokage.
"You always lecture me like you're my grandfather or something. But I'm not the little brat who use to pull pranks all the time. I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission!" Naruto demanded turning his back on the Hokage, folding his arms pouting.
Oh boy, I'm going to hear about this later Kakashi thought rubbing his head
The Third Hokage chuckles, Naruto wants us to know he's not a brat, he's a former brat and he wants a mission. Then looks at Hinata and Sasuke And those two want to prove their strength and improve more too, I guess I can allow a higher ranked mission "So be it" he said
All three students looked at the Hokage with surprised expressions "Huh?"
"Since you are so determined, I'm going to give you a C ranked mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey" the Hokage explained
"Really?! Yes! Who?! Who?! Are we guarding a princess or a consoler?!" Naruto asked excited
"Don't be so impatient, I will bring him in now. Send in our visitor." The third ordered
The entire team turned as the door behind them opens to reveal an old man with glasses and a bottle of sake in his hand. "What's the? A bunch of little snot nose kids?!" The man said as he took a big gulp of his sake. "And you, the little one with the idiotic look on your face. You really expect me to believe your a ninja?"
Naruto looks at his teammates and laughs "That's funny but isn't that a little mean old man? Hinata's face isn't that bad"
"H-Huh?!" Hinata asked touching her face, feeling hurt and confused . It was true she was the shortest one on the team but no one could tell because she looked to have the same height as Naruto. N-Naruto thinks my face is bad
Sasuke glares at Naruto after hearing the comment about Hinata and seeing the hurt in her eyes, knocking Naruto upside the head. "You stupid idiot, take a good look at who he's looking at"
Naruto rubbed his head and was about to return the favor but did what Sasuke told him and saw the old man looking directly at him "Me?! Why you?!" goes to pounce on the old man but was held back by Kakashi. "We don't attack our clients Naruto, it doesn't work that way"
The old man take another drink of his sake before speaking "I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder and I must return to my country. I'm building a bridge there that will change our world and I expect you to get me there safely even if it means giving up your lives"
"Well Mr. Tazuna I assure you, we will do what we can and bring you there unharmed" Kakashi said
Tazuna snorts and finishes his sake "See that you do, we leave tomorrow morning, I'll see all of you at the village gate" With that said, he leaves.
After saying goodbye to the Hokage, Team 7 was walking home while Kakashi was speaking "Listen you guys, The Land of Waves will take us a while to get to. So make sure you pack everything you need, ok?" The students nods " Good, then I'll see you guys in the morning" He said going in the other direction.
Naruto jumps up and down in excitement "I can't wait for tomorrow! Finally a chance to test my skills. This is going to be great, Believe It!"
"L-Let's just do o-our best to get Mr. Tazuna t-there safely" Hinata said
"Yeah, Yeah that too. Stupid old man, thinking I have an idiotic look, I'll show him I'm a real ninja and then we'll see who's the idiot!" He says punching the air then sees he has to change direction to get home. "Well see you guys tomorrow!" Naruto said before dashing home.
Sasuke and Hinata starts walking home together again, it's been a normal thing for them since their homes were only 2 blocks away from each other. Hinata still had a hand on her cheek, thinking about what Naruto said earlier.
Sasuke notices this in Hinata as they were walking. That idiot really got to her, saying she's the one the old man was talking about. She doesn't look like that at all. She shouldn't let Naruto get to her, she shouldn't even be into Naruto. He thought still annoyed at Naruto for the comment he made with Hinata and even more annoyed he's feeling dare he say maybe jealous of Naruto. I don't understand why am I jealous of that loser?
As soon as she was in front of the gate to her house, Hinata turned to Sasuke "S-See you tomorrow, Sasuke"
"Hinata, wait a second" Sasuke said before she entered the gate.
"W-What is it?"
"You know Naruto is an idiot that shoots off his mouth all the time"
"W-Well I do a-admit he does go a bit over the line, but I-it's not all the t-time"
Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck and sighs "Don't feel down about he said, your face is not idiotic. You look fine just the way you are"
Hinata blushes at the comment and smiles gently at Sasuke "T-Thank you for saying that S-Sasuke. I-I won't let it get me down"
Sasuke looks at the ground, feeling his cheek getting a bit warmer and turns to start walking home, giving Hinata a wave goodbye.
The next morning came and everyone met at the gates of the leaf village and started to get going. Naruto was walking ahead of everyone and turned to them, pumping his fist in the air "Yeah! Alright!" He grinned
"What are you getting so excited about, loser?" Sasuke asked
Naruto ignored the loser comment and looks around the area "This is my time I've ever left the village. I'm a traveller now, Believe it!" He said excited
Tazuna points to the excited boy and looks back at Kakashi "Hey, am I suppose to trust me life to thibs runt. He's a joke"
Kakashi forces a chuckle "He's with me and I'm a jonin, so you don't need to worry"
Why did we have to get this old geezer to guard? I'm going to cut him down to size right now!! Naruto thought then turn and point to Tazuna "Hey, never insult a ninja, it's a big mistake! And I'm one of the greatest ninja ever! Someday I'm going to be Hokage and you'll look up to me! My name is Naruto Uzumaki, Remember it!"
Hinata smiles as she heard Naruto. He's so confident in himself and he states it like it's a fact, I wish I was like that.
Tazuna takes out another bottle of sake and starts drinking it. "Hokage are powerful and wise, you are puny and brainless. The day you become Hokage, I'll sprout wings and fly"
"Argh! Shut up! I'm willing to do anything to become Hokage, no matter what it takes! And when I do, everyone will have to admit that I'm the top ninja, including you"Naruto said yelling at Tazuna.
Tazuna gave him a look "You can become Hokage ten times over and to me, you still be nobody, a loser"
Kakashi sighs and sees Naruto about to attack Tazuna and holds him back "I told you, you're suppose to protect the client, not attack him"
Up in the tree from a distance, two people with scary looks on their faces were watching the team and Tazuna.
The group has been walking from the late in the afternoon in silence, Hinata was feeling uncomfortable with it and tries to start a conversation "E-Excuse Mr.T-Tazuna, the country you w-were born in is Land of Waves, c-correct?"
Tazuna keeps looking ahead "Yeah, what of it?"
"S-Sensei, are there n-ninja in that country?" Hinata asked
Kakashi looks at her "No, there are no ninja in the Land of Waves. But in other countries, there are hidden villages, each with their own different customs and cultures where ninja reside. To the people of this continent, the existence of shinobi villages mean strength, military strength. In other words, that's how they protect themselves and maintain the balance of strength with neighboring countries. The ninja villages are not controlled by any government, they are independent and have equal status. Now a small is island like the Land of Waves has natural protection from the sea, so there's no need for a ninja village. The five ancient lands that possess shinobi villages are the Lands of Fire, Water, Lightening, Wind and Earth. They each occupy vas territories, together they are known as the five great shinobi nations. The Land of Fire-the village hidden in the leaves, The Land of Water- the village hidden in the mist, The Land of Lightening- 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 leader of these hidden villages are permitted the name "Kage", which means shadow. These are the shadows that rein over thousands of ninja"
Hinata looked at her teacher in awe "A-Amazing, Lord Hokage i-is just amazing" I never thought that the Hokage was that important, it's so wonderful!
That old geezer fell for my sexy jutsu technique, so he can't be that amazing Naruto thought nodding to himself.
"Hey! You all just doubted Lord Hokage, that's what you were thinking, weren't you?!" Kakashi asked. Naruto just stood there, shaking his head, but Hinata turns to her sensei with an honest look on her face about to say what she thought, however Kakashi gently patted her head and smiles at her through his mask "I know you wouldn't have ill thoughts toward the Hokage, Hinata, so don't worry". Hinata sighs in relief and gently smiles back. "Well anyway, there are no ninja battles in a C ranked mission, so you can relax" Kakashi said
Hinata's eyes lit up "T-That means we won't run into a-any foreign enemy ninja or a-anything else" she said relieved to hear there won't be a battle during this mission.
"Not likely" Kakashi said chuckling.
Besides him, Tazuna was sweating a little as he had about there being no ninja battles. Hinata, being the most observant one on the team, caught this and started feeling nervous again. I really hope Mr. Tazuna is sweating because he's warm.
The group continue their journey, as they were walking, Hinata spotted a puddle. I don't remember it raining in the village, so how is there a puddle? She thought as they pass by the puddle. As they were few feet away from it, two ninja emerged from the puddle. One of them threw the other at the group with a spike chain connecting to him.
"What?!" Kakashi saw them but before he could do anything, was caught in the two ninjas chains
"Huh?!" Naruto said shocked
"Sensei!" Hinata yelled as she saw what was happening to her teacher
Before anyone could help, the two ninja signaled to each other and pulled on the spiked chains so hard that Kakashi was torn to shreds.
Hinata was shocked and shaking but pushed her fear fear aside and quickly got in first of Tazuna in order to protect him. She, then saw the ninja behind Naruto "NARUTO, LOOK OUT!"
Naruto looked behind him and saw the ninja were about to attack him, but he was too scared to protect himself or even move. Before they could touch Naruto, Sasuke jumped into action. He used a shuriken and a kunai knife to pin the ninja's chain to the tree. Then he jumped onto the metal claws they were wearing, held onto them and back kicked both of them in the face, causing them to break from their chains.
However the two ninja weren't down yet. They both scattered, one went after Naruto, the other went after Tazuna and Hinata. Naruto was still scared but saw the ninja and panicked, hit the ground and covered his head with hands.
Hinata saw the other one coming straight for her and Tazuna. I can't let him hurt him, I have to stop him now! "Mr. Tazuna, please stay behind me!" She activated her byakugan and got into her fighting stance.
Sasuke's eyes widen as he saw the ninja scattered. He saw both go after his teammates but focused on Tazuna and Hinata, saw her protecting the bridge builder and the ninja was coming straight at her. No, Hinata! He was quick and got in front of her, his arms spread out and was ready to protect her.
As the ninja was about to strike, Kakashi appeared and knocked him out with one arm as he was holding the other unconscious ninja in his other arm. Everyone was shocked to see that Kakashi was ok and unharmed.
Hinata smiles and tears up a little, Kakashi-sensei is ok, He's ok, Thank goodness!
Hmm He's a show off Sasuke thought with an unimpressed look on his face.
Naruto was shocked and awed at seeing his Sensei but quickly sat up "B-But he was?!" Then looked back at where the two ninja attacked Kakashi to see cut pieces of a log."Kakashi-sensei used the replacement jutsu."
Kakashi looked at his student "Naruto, sorry I didn't help you right away. I didn't mean for you to get hurt, I just didn't think you'd freeze up like that."
Tazuna sighs in relief, So they did save me after all.
"Good job Sasuke, very smooth. You too, Hinata" Kakashi said to his other students.
Naruto started to get up but was lost in his thought. I was so useless and Sasuke had to come and save me. How lame! He didn't even look scared!
Sasuke was about to say something Naruto when he saw Hinata walk over to Naruto to check on him. He glared at them and looked the other way. I did most of the saving and she goes off to him, unbelievable!
"N-Naruto are you o-ok?" Hinata asked
"Y-Yeah I'm fine, don't worry about it." Naruto said looking at the ground and started walking ahead.
"Naruto! Stand still, these ninja have poison in their claws. We need to take it out of you quickly" Kakashi said. Naruto looked at the wound on his hand and grunts "You have to open the wound and remove it, it's in your blood so don't move around. That spreads the poison"
Hinata looked at Naruto worried for his health, then remembers Sasuke was fighting them and rushes over to him, takes his hands in hers and looks for any injuries.
Sasuke blushes a little as he was fussed over by Hinata and takes her hands away from his arms and kept them his hands "I'm ok, Hinata don't worry about me" he said taking his hands off hers.
Hinata looks at him and sighs in relief "O-Oh good, I was worried, y-you were fighting, I-I was afraid the poison w-was spreading in you"
"By the way Mr. Tazuna" Kakashi started
Tazuna backed away a bit "Y-Yeah, what?"
Kakashi turns to him "We need to talk"
After tying the ninja that attack them to a tree, Kakashi and the other stood a distance, looking at them. "They are chunin from the village hidden in the mist. Their speciality is relentless attack, they keep fighting no more what the sacrifice" Kakashi explain
"How the hell did you know about our ambush?" One of the mist chunin asked
Kakashi looks at Hinata "Hinata I'm sure you know. You are the observant one"
Hinata thought about what she's seen during the journey and remembers the puddle "I-It was the puddle! I was w-wondering about h-how there was a p-puddle but no rain"
Kakashi nods to her "Correct, good observation"
"In the case, why did you leave it for the genin to do the fighting?" Tazuna asked
"I could have taken them out quickly, but then I would have learned nothing." Kakashi gives Tazuna a sharp look "I have to know who their target was and what they were after"
"Just what are you getting at?!" Tazuna demanded
Kakashi straighten up and turn to Tazuna " This, I wanted to know if they were after us, ninja attacking ninja or if they were after you, the master bridge builder. When you put in your request, you asked for standard protection from robbers and highway men. You didn't say there were ninja looking for you, hunting you down. If we knew this, it would be a B ranked mission or higher, our task was simply to get you to your destination and protect you while you finished building your bridge. If we knew we'd be fielding attacks from enemy ninja, we would have staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B mission. Apparently you have your reasons but lying to us is not acceptable, we are now beyond the scope of this mission"
Hinata walked up to Tazuna and gave a sympathy look "Mr. T-Tazuna, I understand y-you might n-not have enough m-money and wanted good protection a-at a low cost, but we're genin, t-this level of m-mission is too a-advance for us. I-it would be b-best if we go back and we really s-should treat N-Naruto wound and r-remove the poison right away"
Kakashi looked over at Naruto and looked away as Naruto was looking back at him "Naruto's hand could become a problem, I guess we should go back to the village"
Naruto glares at his sensei and takes out a kunai and stabs himself in the hand with it, getting the poison out. Everyone give him a shocked expression. "Upon this wound, I make this pledge never to run away again. Bridge Builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife." He grins at Tazuna and everyone "Don't worry, I'll be fine"
"Uh Naruto, that was really cool how you took the poison out and all. But if you lose anymore blood, you're going to die." Kakashi stated
Naruto turns a bit blue sweating bullets and shaking his bloody hand, panicking and moving around. Kakashi stood in front of him and grabs Naruto's hand and checks it. The wound is already starting to heal. This healing power, is it from the Nine Tail Fox? He thought as he bandaged his students hand.
Sasuke thinks about what was happening and smirks So this is a B ranked mission huh? This means more ninja are coming, this is the perfect chance to test my skills and see how strong I've gotten. Then looks at Hinata and his smirk lessen But it also means Hinata will get hurt, I'm having mixed feelings about this now.
Kakashi finished helping Naruto and looked at the sky, seeing the sun was about the set. "We'll discuss our next move tomorrow, for now we need set up camp for the night."
Everyone nods and starts setting up for the night. Hinata was going through her bag and found her tent, smiling. Oh good, I was a bit of a rush this morning, I'm glad I remembered to pack my tent she thought as she started to set it up.
Naruto was looking around in his bags, pulling out bowls of ramen, his clothes, pjs, and toothbrush. "Perfect! I have everything I need"
Kakashi looks at the things Naruto packed and sighs "If that's true, then where is your tent?"
"My tent?" Naruto looks around and dumps everything out again and searched around but slumps "I-I forget it"
Kakashi sighs again "You really are different from the others". He looks around and sees Sasuke still setting up his tent, Tazuna against the tree with his tent finished, and Hinata almost done with hers. Tazuna is our client, so it would be rude to ask him to share his tent. Hinata is completely out of the question. So.."Sasuke, you and Naruto are sharing a tent tonight"
"Why the hell am I sharing my tent with a loser?" Sasuke asked annoyed
"Why the hell am I sharing a tent with that jerk?" Naruto asked with the same annoyance as Sasuke
The night came and the fire they made was blazing in the middle of the camp site. Naruto and Tazuna were already in tents, sleeping. Kakashi was leaning against the tree sleeping, saying he was going to take a nap before he guards the night. The only ones up were Sasuke and Hinata.
Hinata was gazing into the fire thinking about the day and the challenge ahead and sighs. "Everything will be fine, you don't need to worry" Sasuke said looking at her, thinking the same thing she was thinking of.
Hinata looked up from the fire at him "H-How can you be so sure? We are only g-genin, we s-shouldn't be continuing this mission. I-I know it's important for t-the Bridge Builder to return home but t-this is too much"
"As long as we work together as a team, we'll be able to do this mission with no problem" Sasuke assured her
Hinata looks at him and her voice sound with hope "You really think w-we can do this?"
Sasuke looked at Hinata, saw how the fire's glow brought out her eyes and gives her a small smile "I know we can"
Some of the worry and anxiety that weighed on her heart lessened a great amount as Hinata saw that smile again. She smiled back at him "T-Thank you for a-assuring me, Sasuke" she said as she got up and went to her tent. Before she got in, Hinata looked back at him "Sasuke?"
Sasuke looked up at her, giving her his attention.
"Y-You have s-such a nice s-smile, you should s-show it more" Hinata said before saying good night and going into her tent.
Sasuke sat there alone with a blush on his face and sighs, looking into the fire "She thinks my smile is nice, huh?" He said to himself, feeling his heart pounding fast at what Hinata said and looked up at the moon. It's almost the same color as her eyes he thought to himself but shaking his head, rubbing his forehead "Damnit, what is this feeling I feel towards her?" He asked himself sighing, getting up and goes to his tent.
Unknown to Hinata or Sasuke, Kakashi was awake, listening to their conservation. As he saw Sasuke go into his tent, He sat there, beginning his watch, chuckling to himself. Oh, to be young and in love