Sakura and Sasuke were already on the bridge, doing nothing but waiting. Sasuke leaned against the railing and looked behind him at the river. Sakura stood nearby with her arms folded. The tapping of running feet made her look up too see who it was. Naruto can running up and stood next to her waving his hand.

"Hey good morning Sakura, what's up?" He put his hand down and caught Sasuke's eye. Sakura looked back and forth between the two boys that were now glaring at each other. Sasuke looked the other way. Naruto did the same but he also crossed his arms.

'Good grief, not again.' Sakura thought her herself. 'They've been like this ever since we got back from the land of waves.' She let her head drop. 'Ugh. It's like being stuck with a couple of children.' Inner Sakura popped up in her head. It waved its fists and yelled, "Hurry up Kakashi sensei or you've had it!" Then her inner self went away.

A long time later...

All of their eyes were closed. Sasuke had his head lowered and was slightly annoyed. Sakura leaned her head back looking like she was going to died from hunger. Naruto's head was straight, but his face showed he didn't get enough sleep.

Kakashi suddenly appeared on top of one of the arches over the bridge. "Hey, guys. Good morning. Sorry I'm late. 'fraid I got lost on the path of life." Sasuke stopped leaning on the railing and stood up.

Sakura and Naruto jumped up and went into a rage. "WHA?!" Kakashi jumped down and Naruto ran up to meet him.

"I'm ready for the next ninja mission Sensei and hey come one, no more of this dumb beginners stuff okay? I want a chance to prove myself. I'm talking a real mission where I can show what I'm made of." He then proceeded to yell to try and get pumped up. He looked up and you could see the fire in his eyes. Almost literally. "I gotta break out and burn it up! See!"

Kakashi took a step back and put his hands up like he was pushing something. "Uh Right. I get it. That's great Naruto. Now, take it easy would ya?" Naruto's head turned around and glared at Sasuke who had his eyes closed and was trying not to pay attention. He opened his eyes and stared at Naruto, irritated. Naruto turned around still glaring at him, and thought, 'Sasuke. He's always rescuing everyone on our missions. Trying to grab all the glory and make me look like a chump, but he'll never get the edge on me.'

Sakura was now glaring at Naruto while Sasuke just look slightly more irritated than before. Sakura glared at Naruto while thinking, 'he's such a twerp!'

Sasuke did nothing and that just made Naruto even more determined to try and beat him in saving someone. Today's the day. His imagination took over. He saw Sasuke, wounded and bleeding, fall to his knees at a kunai sped towards him. He saw himself deflect the blade with ease, and look up with a smile and determination in his eyes. Sparkles were everywhere as he spoke. "What's the matter? Can't take care of yourself Sasuke?" He said in a mocking tone. His imagination faltered as he yelled, "Believe it!"

"Let us know when you're done fantasising Naruto, so we can start the mission. Alright?" Kakashi asked a little exasperated.

"Right!" He said without missing a beat.

"Could you not be so annoying Naruto? Just for once?" Sakura was very annoyed. There was a rustling in a nearby bush on the opposite side of the village. She turned "What was that?" A girl about the same age as Sasuke burst out. Everyone else turned to her now.

"Whoa! Who is she?" Naruto took a step toward the girl, but Kakashi put his arm in front of him to stop him. "Wha-?" He started. "What happened to her?"

The girl wore an outfit similar to Sakura's, except for the fact that her's was white with a black outline, had long sleeves, and had no design on the front or sides. The back had a whole in the middle where a clan's symbol would have been, so it was impossible to tell what clan she was from. Her black pants were tight and form fitting that reached her ankles before stopping, and both her arms and hands were tightly wrapped in cloth, like you might see on some older shinobi. A black piece of cloth covered her mouth and nose just like Kakashi wore his. She had the standard shoes like everyone else and wore a kunai knife pouch on each legs. Her hair was unnaturally long. Even in a high ponytail it almost touched the ground. It was ash gray in color, but it didn't make her look old. Some of her hair was left out of the ponytail, so it hung at the sides of her face at an equal length as the rest of her hair. In place of where a shinobi headband would be, was a black ribbon was tied behind her head.

What ruined her image though, was the fact that she was bloody and hurt badly. She had blood running down one side of her face and cuts on her arms and legs through her clothing. The white of her outfit was almost gray due to the dust and dirt on it, not to mention the grime on the rest of her face. She looked beat up but, not ready to give up on whatever she was doing.

"Stay here." Kakashi said before hurrying to the girl. He offered his hand. "Do you need help?"

She spotted his headband, backed up and yelled, "Stay back Leaf Village shinobi!"

Naruto was ready to jump in and fight, but Kakashi put his hand back. He didn't need look to know that Naruto was ready to fight. "Stay back." He said calmly. "Don't interfere. You might make things worse." He tried again, offering his hand once more to the girl.

She made hand signs to a jutsu, but she was faster than Sasuke, faster than Kakashi, and almost faster than the speed of light. Sasuke's eyes widened. 'That couldn't be..' She inhaled, and when she blew the air back out, it created giant fireball in front of her. All four of them had to leap back to keep from getting burned, even though Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto were on the bridge. Kakashi landed on the ground with only a slight tap. He quickly stood.

"Back up." He said, and they all did.

Naruto was amazed. "How did she do that?" Sakura was stunned, but didn't say anything.

Sasuke was dumbfounded and slightly scared, although he would never say it. 'How did someone not of the Uchiha clan produce a Fireball Jutsu this strong?' He finally spoke, "I've never seen anything like it."

Kakashi took a brief glance at him, then back to the still burning flames. "You are correct Sasuke. No one has ever been able to create this strong of a jutsu." The flames died down and Kakashi put his hand out again. "Be alert. This could be a trap." When the smoke cleared from air though, Kakashi found the girl passed out on the ground. He picked her up and carried her to Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. He bend down so that they could all see her.

Sakura was the first to speak. "Wow, if it weren't for all those cuts and bruises, I would say she would look quite cute."

Naruto stood there gaping. "How did a little girl made such a big fireball?"

"Little?" Kakashi asked. "Hardly."

Naruto looked up. "Whadda mean by that?"

Sasuke pointed to the girl with fake disinterest. "He means that she could be our age or older."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow to him. 'This girl really did catch Sasuke's interest. Just as I though.' He thought curiously. 'Interesting.' "Anyways," He said aloud. "We need to take her someplace safe, but away from the village, just in case."

"Oh!" Naruto perked up. "I know where a little cottage is. It abandoned so we can keep her there."

"But is it really safe?" Sakura sounded nervous. "I mean the girl. She did just try to kill Kakashi and Sasuke."

"What about me Sakura?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Sakura crossed her arms. "I doubt she would try and kill you Naruto. You're hardly a threat."

"Hey!" He yelled. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Now now." Kakashi went to put a hand on each of their shoulders, but remembered that he was holding someone. "We need to focus on the task at hand." He turned to Naruto. "Could you show us where that cottage is? Once we get her settled in," he nodded to the girl in his hands, "I'll go report her to the Hokage. Now let's go." And with that they off and into the woods.