Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, only the Gushikans and a couple others.

Chapter 17~ Missions

"This is not what I had in mind when I signed up for this ninja business." I mutter quietly while pulling weeds out of a garden.

Naruto and Sasuke were also semi grudgingly pulling up weeds while Kakashi sat reading off to the side.

I glared at the plants in front of me while I slowly pulled up the weeds before Sasuke cleared his throat.

"You're pulling up herbs."

I groaned angrily and sat back to stare at my minimal work.

After years of my sensei, father, and mother trying to drill plants into my head I still can't figure them out.

"I hate this." I said as I glanced at Kakashi who was chuckling quietly.

"What did you think? We'd throw you into the field right away? You need to learn a few things before that."

I scowled but breathed a sigh of relief when Naruto and Sasuke announced they were done.

This is being a ninja. Doing D rank missions all day. I do like the money but it's still mind numbing work. It's either weeding which I hate, dog walking which was only fun the first few times, babysitting which just makes me worry about Usagi, and catching the same cat that runs away every week like clockwork.

I hate it all.

"Ok guys, we'll meet back here tomorrow for more missions. Good work today. Takara? I want you to study up on your plants."

My face turned red and I turned away ashamed but irked off.

I breathed out annoyed and began to stomp off in the direction of Usagi's daycare.

It took no time at all and soon Usagi and I were on our way home.

"What did you do today Oneechan?" Usagi chirped as he held my hand and smiled at me.

I could feel my anger drain away instantly.

"Oh we took the dogs out and then weeded a lady's herb garden."

"Ooh sounds fun! Doggies sure are cute."

I nodded and squeezed his hand a little.

"You're such a sweet boy, ya know that?"

He giggled and nodded.

"You always say so!"

His face turned pained as he coughed into his hands so hard his knees shook.

I immediately went on my knees and started to riffle through one of my pouches I keep on me. A second later I pulled out a canteen and a face mask. I made him drink some water and then tied his face mask around his head.

"Did you take your lunch pills?"

He nodded, red in the face.

There were still a few blocks to go so I had him climb on my back and I jogged home.

When we got there I set him on the couch and let him catch his breath.

I don't understand. All the pills he takes should be healing his lungs and making him more healthy all around.

But... What am I missing?

"Oi oi! Let's play a game." I said, trying to smile.

He looked at me tiredly.

"What game?"

"It's called 'Are you a big boy?'.

He sat up and tilted his head.

"What do you do?"

"Well if you are taller and or weigh more than the last time we checked then you get ice cream!"

A spark flew into his eye and he got off the couch, "Ok! What's first?"

I motioned him to the wall and with the little pencil marks I had made as he grew I was able to tell him he was in fact taller.

"Yay! I get ice cream!"

"Woah woah little boy, now to see if you get sprinkles with your ice cream! To the scale!"

We ran upstairs to the bathroom and he stepped on it bouncing excitedly until I told him I couldn't see if he didn't stop.

I pulled out a notebook in the cabinet and checked his weight compared to last time.

I smiled at him.

"Alrighty! Sprinkles too! Let's get that ice cream!"

I made him and me a large bowl and after he and I ate, Dad walked in just in time to scold us for not eating healthier.

The night went as usual but I sent Usagi to bed early because of his cough from earlier.

Dad sat on the couch and I sat down in moms chair.

"Usa is sick."

He slowly lowered the scroll he was reading and stared at me.

"He has a cough or he has no chakra sick?"

"I don't know about chakra but he's lost weight. A lot, around seven pounds in two weeks. I think he needs to see a doctor."

Dad wrinkled his nose and groaned, "A doctor? Are you sure he's just not eating?"

"Dad, I watch him eat breakfast and dinner every day. I send a lunch with him to daycare and the ladies who work there have never told me he doesn't eat."

Dad frowns, "Maybe it's a faze?"

There was a pause before Usagi's scream split through the air like lightning.

Usagi screams for Dad.

Dad is gone in the blink of an eye and I'm not far behind him.

I burst in the room to see Usagi crying and Dad sat next to him on his bed.

"My legs hurt real bad!" Usagi cries.

"Your legs? Where?" Dad asks while pulling the blanket off him to look at his legs.

"My knees hurt, my top part hurts, everything hurts!"

I stare at his legs but nothing's visibly wrong.

"Sounds like cramps." Dad mutters while rubbing Usa's legs.

Usagi looks over to me and has tears running down his face.

"Why do they hurt Oneechan?"

I gulped and forced a smile. "We'll figure it out buddy."

I slowly back out of the room and run out of the house and down the street before I realize something dire to the plan I just concocted.

I don't know where Kakashi lives.

Instead I ran to Sasuke's apartment

because it's closer and banged on his door until it flung open.

A ferocious Sasuke emerged but the anger quickly disappeared when he saw my face.

"Takara? Is something wrong?"

I nodded frantically but held down my inner panic.

"Tell Kakashi I can't come to training or missions tomorrow. It's a family emergency if he needs an answer."

Sasuke's mouth dropped open slightly before regaining himself.

"What happened?" He asked cooly but I could tell he was worried.

"Usagi is sick, I'm taking him to the hospital first thing in the morning. Anyway, I really can't chat. I have to go home now."

I turned on a dime and ran back home as fast as I could manage and burst through the door to see Dad.

He raised an eyebrow but let my craziness slide.

"He fell asleep. He was asking where you went too."

"I'm taking him to a doctor in the morning. I went to get out of missions tomorrow."

He groaned but nodded.

"I wish I could go but I have to patrol."

The rest of the night was me sitting next to Usa's door listening to him cough quietly.

After I fed Usa and gave him one of his pills I carried him piggyback style all the way to the hospital where I was met by cheerful nurses who knew me.

"Takara! Not back for chakra exhaustion I hope!" One nurse even teased.

I gave a pained smile and motioned to my masked brother.

"Actually I need Usagi to see a doctor... As fast as possible."

The nurses glanced at him with worried faces and got to work finding him a doctor.

We sat down in uncomfortable plastic chairs with a very... Clean smell wafting around.

"Are you nervous to see the doctor?" I asked Usa. He shook his head and looked at me.

"No, I like them."

Makes sense, I think he and I have met every doctor once because of our diseases and disability.

"Gushikan?" A young nurse called out and we followed her to a doctor room and sat down.

We waited an enormous amount of time before the doctor rushed in and sat down.

"Hello my name is Doctor Soma. What seems to be the problem?"

He seemed to also be fairly young and had a nice kind face.

"My brother has been losing a lot of weight recently, his legs cramped up, and has been coughing a lot."

The doctor took a few minutes to skim Usagi's file before looking at us worried.

"Gushikan-chan," he said looking at Usagi, "have you always had weak lungs?"

Usagi looked to me to answer for him.

"Yes, he was born and immediately got a lung infection. He is currently on multiple medications to fight anything left."

The doctor stared at the chart confused.

"Um, where was he born? I don't have a hospital listed."

"He was delivered by c-section in the prison…" I paused to cover Usagi's ears. "During an outbreak, he inhaled smoke, debris, and other things as his first breath."

I uncovered his ears and he looked at me curiously.

The doctor took time to listen to him breathing and asked more questions before asking if he could do an inner check with medical ninjustu, I agreed.

He began immediately and after a few minutes makes notes on his clipboard and left. He came back with senior staff and they all checked Usagi. Then left again.

Usagi climbed into my lap and clung to me. I think they are starting to scare him.

Our doctor came back but stood at the door for a moment before asking if I could come into the hallway. One of our nurses came in and distracted Usagi with some toys the hospital had on hand.

I followed him after I made sure Usagi was busy and once we were alone in the hall the doctor began to explain.

"Have you ever heard of IPF? It's technically Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, but that's too much of a mouth full so we just call it IPF."

I shook my head and stared, not understanding the complex words.

"So when Gushikan-chan was brought into this world he breathed in a lot of polluted air. This air harmed his lungs and caused them to be dangerously hurt. Unfortunately no one was able to tell this when he was brought in because he was a baby, so all of their attention was on his infection, not even considering IPF."

I blinked, "So pollution causes IPF?"

He kind of shrugged at me, "Well we don't have the firmest understanding of it, that's what Idiopathic means. What we do know is either through the environment or viruses one can get IPF. Given the situation surrounding Gushikan-chan's birth it could honestly be either."

I nodded slowly, understanding that so far.

"In simple terms, IPF is scar tissue on the lungs. However the lungs can't function as well with this scar tissue. And it's progressive, so it will continue to get worse with time."

"Is there a treatment option or cure?" I asked quickly.

"There is no cure. Not yet at least. The best he can do is eat healthy, take medication to slow the progression, and not do anything that can further damage his lungs."

"But wait," I said, grabbing the wall for a little support, "You said it's progressive, And his lungs are already so bad! Just… what does that mean for his life."

The doctor's mouth turned into a straight line and his eyes looked away from me. "Well… I mean he will have a shorter life span than most. We can use medical ninjutsu to all but stop the spread. In fact we may even be able to slow it to a crawl but it will crawl. If he remains healthy, takes his medicine, and visits the doctor frequently it may be until he is in his teens that he'll need a lung transplant."

I felt myself pale and I froze as the word transplant whirled around my thick skull.

"I don't understand Oneechan."

I jumped and saw Usagi standing by the opened door. The nurse behind him looked pale too.

"I'm sorry, he just ran over!" She says but I pay her no mind.

I bent to the floor and picked up my brother, holding him close as I closed my eyes. "It means, your lungs are hurt, and we have to take extra good care so that you don't get sick."

A pause

"Am I okay?" Usagi asked, tearing up.

I swallowed thickly, "You will be. We will be careful, and you will live a long happy happy life."

The doctor cleared his throat and I looked at him.

"I feel the need to say this because of your background. This disease means he can never be a ninja. It would be too harsh of a strain on his lungs."

I nodded and hugged Usa tighter.

"I can't? Not even if I really really want to?"

The doctor nodded and I forced a laugh.

"I thought you don't like fighting."

He looks up to me and pulls at my shirt. "What if I decided I want to be like you?"

I want to cry.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry Otouto!" I hugged him.

We eventually left with his new medicine and I carried him as we began our walk back.

We got home and Usagi went to take a nap while I sat and stared at a blank wall for a while.

I got up and pulled out the book of plants I needed to study and began to mindlessly flip through until Usagi woke from his nap and crawled into my lap.

"What's that?"

"That's parsley." I happen to know a few herbs that I can put in meals.

"What's that one?" He asked, pointing to another picture.

"Uh I'm not sure, let me check." I flip the page.

"That's a purple coneflower. It heals wounds and colds. It's kinda a cure all."

"Could it cure me?"

My shoulders droop.

"No."

"Well it's still pretty. I like it. What's that one?"

We went through the entire book before dinner and then I sent him to bed.

When Dad got home we sat at the table and discussed. Dad never thought Usagi would be a ninja so he wasn't very sad about it. He was worried about the future though. If we aren't careful, he could get really sick. If that happened he might need to be hospitalized, and even worse, need surgery.

"Dad, what do we do?" I had my hands in my hair as I stared at the table. "He will always be limited by this and he doesn't even understand." I choked up a little.

Dad shook his head and smiled.

"I know you're worried for your brother but remember that he is a smart kid. He'll understand eventually... We need to be strong for him, we can't let him fear his own body."

I nodded silently and Dad patted my shoulder.

"Dad, you seem healthy. So was mom ever sick like this?"

His eyes rolled in thought and he grunted.

"I don't think so, in fact I feel like in all the years we were together she barely ever got sick."

I stared at him and tilted my head. "When's the last time you've been to the doctor?"

"No."

"No? Dad you could be sick too!"

"No, Takara, I'm the adult and I say no. You cannot make me go to the doctor. That's final, good night."

He walked away like a stubborn child. I shrugged and smiled bitterly.

"Takara! How's Usagi!" Naruto shouts as he jumps me at the normal meet up place.

"He is sick." I sighed and looked at him and Sasuke.

"How sick?" Sasuke asks, looking at me in a pitying manner.

"The type of sickness that doesn't get better. Ever. But he'll be fine for now if we are careful." I give a fake smile and try to get off the topic. Thankfully I didn't have to flounder awkwardly long because Kakashi showed up soon.

No he wasn't early, we were just learning to come late too.

After greetings we walked to the main building to get our first mission for the day.

Find the cat Torah.

Man I hate this cat but for some reason my conscience gets really excited for this one.

We spent hours walking through the forest all sneaky like before Sasuke spotted her so we all began to position ourselves to swipe down and get her.

"Sasuke, I'm at point B."

"Takara, in position at point C."

...

"Naruto at point A, believe it!"

"You're slow Naruto!" Kakashi groaned. "Ok team seven... Target has moved! After it!"

We stayed behind it and hid behind trees. The cat stood still again with its ears twitching.

"I'm ready." I muttered into my headset and the guys agreed with me.

"Alright, capture it." Kakashi commanded and we all jumped at it at once.

Naruto grabbed it by the midsection and it started to claw at him while I confirmed to Kakashi that it is Torah.

"Right, lost pet Torah captured. Mission accomplished." Kakashi said, finalizing the mission.

"Can't we get a better mission than this?! I hate cats!" Naruto screams into the headset and I hm in agreement.

"Takara get it off me!" Naruto yelped as the cat beat him up.

I reached over and grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and lifted it off Naruto. It stopped moving and glared at me.

It only takes a few minutes before we get back to the main building and I gently but with a look of hate give an exuberant woman her cat back. She cuddled and squeezed the cat painfully but Naruto I gave looks of satisfaction although he is more vocal about it.

After all, the cat has torn the two of us up big time.

Sasuke just gave a bored look through the entire experience.

"Alright for squad sevens next mission we have several options. Babysitting, helping shopping, harvesting potatoes-" the Hokage began in a tired voice.

"No!" Naruto yelled. "Come on old man, I want to go on a real mission, an exciting one with adventure!"

Everyone glance at me, whenever Naruto steps out of line and does something dishonorable or impolite I usually "remind" him to be respectful.

This time though I crossed my arms and squinted my eyes.

"I want a real mission as well. I'm tired of all these childish missions. My civilian three-year old brother could do all of these."

Silence

"Yeah what she said!" Naruto yelled and threw an arm around my shoulders. If I was going to agree with him he was going to milk it.

"How dare you two! You have to start at the bottom just like anyone else! You start with simple missions to gather skills!" Iruka boomed.

"Are you serious?! Babysitting is not a real mission!" Naruto countered.

"Neither is weeding. I'd like to throw that out there." I said in a monotone voice and raised my hand.

Kakashi took both of his fists and hit us in the back of the head painfully. Naruto fell face first into the ground and my knees buckled slightly before I reached up and held my head with a pained face.

"Quiet you two."

"Naruto, Takara, it seems you do not understand the meaning of your tasks..."

The Hokage then began to ramble on about how your level of ninja-ness equals what missions you can accept and how D level missions are important to gain trust and help the community. Also money. Yeah money is good.

"So for today's ramen I was thinking miso, Takara do you want some too? (I nod) Yeah so let's go to Ichiraku-" Naruto was filling me in on dinner when the Hokage yelled and caught our attention again.

"Look you act like you're my grandfather or something but I'm not the same little brat anymore! I'm a ninja and I want a real mission!" Naruto hollered and then turned around to pout like a little kid.

I chuckled quietly before my chuckle turned into a gasp.

"Alright fine, I'll give you a C rank mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey."

Naruto immediately overreacted and started to talk about princesses and councils but I couldn't help but be excited too, in my own way.

The Hokage brushed him off and called for our client to be brought in.

In walks...

A dunkard. Totally plastered, and began to diss us because we are kids.

That's okay, I'm a professional, I can deal with the ramblings of a drunk-

"And you, the short one with the idiotic face, how can I expect you to be a ninja."

I snicker and pity Naruto before glancing over to him and Sasuke before slowly coming to a... Horrifying conclusion.

"Wait... Am I the shortest one?" I lined us up mentally.

"I'm short?! Wait, when did you get taller than me?!" I raised my voice at Naruto and Sasuke who both looked confused.

"I'm short? I'm a shortie? Shorties aren't respected and super strong. I'm short, I'm the size of an eight year old, when did I stop growing?" I whispered my rant as I slowly sunk to my knees in depression.

"Ugh I was actually talking about the short boy. I guess you're just a sensitive little girl huh?"

I saw red.

"Sensitive! I'll shove that misogynistic, Gushikan destroying, rude comment up your a-"

Kakashi slammed a hand over my face and grabbed Naruto by the back of his shirt as he sprung at the guy for calling him idiotic.

"I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder, and I must return to my country. I am building a bridge that will change the world so I expect you to get me there safely even if it means giving up your life."

My life? That guy's serious huh?

I stopped resisting Kakashi so he let me go. I slowly took a step forward gathering the attention of the drunk man.

"Tazuna-san, as a member of the Gushikan clan and a ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves I would gladly give up my life in place of yours if such an occasion should happen on this mission."

I bowed my head and then grabbed Naruto's head and forced him into a bow.

"Also the idiotic one says sorry."

Naruto grumbled angrily under his breath but didn't deny it so my job was done.

"We will leave right away. Go home and pack the essentials for a two day journey there, and back. Maybe a few days in between if something goes wrong. We will meet at the gate." Everyone nodded but I was still confused.

"Uh, Sensei, where exactly are we going?"

"The Land of Waves."

Tazuna answered as if it was obvious.

"The Land of Waves?" I repeated.

Moms home nation.

"You okay Takara?" Sasuke muttered.

"Yea. Uh Hokage-Sama? Is my Dad available?"

"Yes, I'll have him meet you at your home."

I nodded and said 'see you later' to my teammates.

I rushed home and ran up to my room and began to gather equipment when Dad stepped into my room.

"So you have a big mission?"

"Yea, I'm heading to the Land of Waves as a bodyguard."

Dad tenses slightly at the sound of Waves but after a second sighed.

"Just come home. That's all I ask. I don't think Usagi and I could survive without you. It's questionable if I can feed the two of us till you come home."

I shot him a smile.

"I'll come home, I'm too tough to die. As for food, keep it low in sodium and try to make him eat more fruits. Don't forget his medicine and you have to make his lunch. If worse comes to worse hire a genin group to cook meals for you. Then you can play it off as helping the village."

He nodded. "What am I telling Usagi?"

I shrug. "Don't lie, he can know I'm on a mission, but tell him I love him and I'll bring him a gift if he is a good boy."

Dad grunted in acknowledgement and then went through my bag to make sure I had everything. He nodded in pride and then stepped away and went through a few procedures with me.

"Alright you're ready."

He stared at me for a moment longer before slowly hugging me. I hugged back and tried to ingrain his hug in my mind. It would be a while before I see him again. Or Usagi. I wish I could see him too.

Dad doesn't let go at first. Maybe he is doing the same thing I am. When he does pull away he ruffles my hair affectionately and gives me a rare grin.

"You'll do great, I have no doubt. So stay safe, listen to your Sensei, trust your comrades, and put the client first. Most importantly, don't die. That's all I care about. I... I love you."

I forgot to breathe briefly before settling a hand on Dads arm.

"I love you too Dad. Don't worry, I'll come home and make you proud!"

I smiled and then left. I arrived at the gate as the last one. I was lightly scolded but I am the only one with a family after all so I was given a pass this time.

I turned and looked out the gate. This is only my second time ever leaving Konoha, not only that but I'm going to my moms home nation.

What if I learn more about my family?

What if I find relatives?

I'm super excited, and so is my conscience.

Authors Note:

Sorry this is late... School ya know.

I think when I do update it will be on Saturdays and Sundays for now on.

I'm really sorry it has to be like this but I can't overload myself. I hope you understand.

I'll try to work hard for you guys.

Thank you and have a nice day.

~ToL