The trees seemed warped as we sped through the forest, stalking the target for our mission. I stopped by a tree and peeked out. "Sasuke. I'm at point B." Sasuke recited clearly through the com.

"Sakura. I'm at point C."

"Ren. I'm at point D."

It was silent for a moment. "Naruto! I'm at point A! Believe it!"

"You're slow, Naruto. Okay, squad 7.... hm?!" Kakashi was cut off.

"There it goes! It's coming to you, Sasuke!" I call, moving positions. I could see it bounce between the trees. "I see it."

"What's your distance from the target?" Kakashi asked.

"Five meters. I'm ready, just give it signal." Naruto claimed.

"I'm ready too." Sasuke added quietly.

"So am I!" Sakura rang.

"Okay... now!" Kakashi shouted.

Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and I all jumped out, ready to tackle the target. Naruto quickly grappled it. "I got him, I got him!" Naruto shouted, holding up the cat with a pretty red bow on it's ear.

"Can you confirm the target?" Kakashi asked.

"Affirmative. We have a positive ID." I state, tugging the rampaging cat off of Naruto's face and cuddled it, giggling when it purred and rubbed it's head against mine.

"CAN'T WE GET A BETTER MISSION THAN THIS?! I HATE CATS!!!" Naruto screamed, nearly blowing out our hearing.

~*****~

We arrived at the Hokage mansion and watched in horror as the Feudal Lords wife suffocated the cat in her hugs. "Ohh! My poor little Tora! Mommy was so worried about you!" She screeched. I shivered gently, grabbing onto Sasuke's sleeve.

"No wonder that cat ran away...." I whisper to him, earning his agreement.

"Stupid cat! That kitty deserves to be squashed!" Naruto laughed happily.

"Now then... Squad 7's mission, we have several available tasks. Among them, babysitting the councilors three year old, taking his wife to do shopping, digging up potatoes, and-" The Third Hokage was cut off.

"Nooooo! I wanna go on a real mission! Something challenging and exciting! Not this little kid stuff! Come on, old man!" Naruto shouted. I snorted a little at him. He seriously was adorable with his familiarity with the Third. But I can't say anything. I call him old man too.

"How dare you?!" Iruka screams at Naruto. "You're just a brand new genin with no experience! Like everyone else, you start with simple missions to develop your skills to improve yourself!"

"Are you serious?! Baby sitting is not a mission! It's just a stupid- GYAH!" Naruto shouted in pain as I slammed my fist on top of his cranium.

"Knock it off, Naruto." I command, grinding my knuckles down onto his head to push my point ahead.

"Thank you, Ren...." Kakashi mumbled.

"Naruto!" The Third started firmly as Naruto sat up, rubbing his head and exclaiming in pain. "It seems you do not understand the tasks you have been given." He started. Naruto stopped complaining and looked at him in wonder. I flinched at that adorable expression he had on his face.

'Seriously? This kid is so annoying and loud, I don't even look at his features, but when he's quiet and curious, it's like looking at a small kitten.' I think to myself, feeling my cheeks start to burn. 'I hate being a girl sometimes....'

"Listen. Many different kinds of requests come into our village..." The third was drowned out in his explanation as Naruto started telling us about his Ramen.

"So, I had this Tonkatsu Ramen the other day and I'm thinking Miso Ramen today." Naruto babbled, making my stomach start to growl.

"Silence!" We all flinch, ashamed to be so engrossed in Naruto's tale.

"Oh! Sorry!" Kakashi apologized nonchalantly.

"Bah! You always lecture me like you're my grandfather or something! But I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time! I'm a ninja now and I want  a ninja mission!" Naruto huffed and looked away with a defiant look in his eye. I giggled lightly at his mannerism.

The third and Iruka-Sensei began to chuckle. "Naruto wants us to know he's not a brat. He's a former brat, and he wants a mission." The Third starts.

"No way." I mumble to Sasuke, looking back at his shocked expression.

"So be it." We all grinned and gazed at Naruto. "Since you are so determined, I'm going to give you a C-Ranked mission. You'll be body guards on a journey." The Hokage explained.

"Really?! Yes! Who?! Who?! Are we guarding a princess?! Or some big wig councilor!" He asked excitedly.

"Don't be so impatient. I will bring him in now. Send in our visitor!" The Hokage boomed. The door behind us opened up, making up whirl around. Then, we deadpanned.

'This guy reeks of Sake!' I scrunch up my nose, pulling my sleeve up to cover it.

"What the? A bunch of snot nosed kids?" The client jeered.

"Huh?" Naruto grunted out.

"And you, the little one with the idiotic look on his face. You really expect me to believe you're really a ninja?" He asked, pointing at us. It didn't take long for us to figure out who he had been referring to. I smiled underneath my sleeve.

Naruto began to laugh. "Who's the little one with the idiotic look on his-" He stopped as we crowded around him, showing him that he was indeed the shortest in the group. "Hm!" He started, his anger raising. "I'll demolish you!" Naruto tried to get to the client, but I had my hand gripped onto his jacket, keeping him at bay while Kakashi tried to calm him down.

"You can't demolish the client, Naruto. It doesn't work that way." He said gently, smirking underneath his mask.

"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. I expect you to get me there safely, even if it cost you your lives." Tazuna explained. We nodded and left to prepare.

~*****~

Surprisingly, I was the first to arrive at the gates. Tazuna arrived no less than a few seconds after. "Hey, brat. You're with the squad escorting me, right?" The drunkard asked.

I smiled as I turned to him. "Yes sir. My name is Ren Yukimura, one of the ninja assigned to guard you."

"Yukimura, where have I heard that name before...." He hummed, taking a swing from his sake. "Ah, a traveler from the Lightning Country. The village of the mountains was destroyed by a Yukimura, right?" He simply states.

"Ah.... Yes sir." I sigh, feeling my stomach drop at the mention.

"Hope they found 'em." He took another swig from his drink.

Sasuke arrived and leaned against the gate, smiling when I walked over to him, leaning besides him. "Who would've thought Naruto could get us a C-Rank mission?" I hum, chuckling when he smirked.

"I know. But whatever."

"Sasuke! Hi!" We both flinch as Sakura screams.

"Dear god, she gets louder each time I see her." I groan, looking back at her.

"Tell me about it."

"Shall we enrage her again?" I hum, smirking.

"Still holding that grudge?" He hummed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Green was not a good color with my eyes, Sasuke." I snap, earning a chuckle. He reached over quickly and grasped my hand as Sakura came into view. Her head nearly popped off.

After everyone arrived, we all started leaving the gate, Naruto leading the pack. He suddenly turned around and screamed. "Yeah!!" He exclaimed. I pushed my pinky into my ear and winced.

"Man, Naruto. You get louder and louder each time I see you." I say gently.

"What'd you say!?" He shouted playfully.

I giggled and patted his head. "Nothing, nothing. What are you getting so excited about anyways?" I ask, tightening my hands on my backpack straps.

"This is the first time I've ever left the village! I'm a traveler now! Believe it!" Naruto shouted happily, looking around in wonder.

I held my sleeve up to my lips and giggled again. Kakashi patted my head gently. "You're making quick friends, aren't you?" Kakashi asked, making me take a swing at him.

"Hey... am I supposed to trust my life with this runt? He's a joke!" Tazuna shouted whilst pointing at Naruto. Naruto stopped bouncing around, agitation on his face.

"He's with me and I'm a Jonin. So you don't need to worry. And you have my recommendations that Ren will also be a big help as well." He said gently. Pride swelled within me as I tried to calm Naruto down.

"Hey! Never insult a ninja, it's a big mistake! And I'm one of the greatest ninja ever! Someday, I'm gonna be Hokage and you'll look up to me! My names Naruto Uzumaki! Remember it!" He screamed.

"This is gonna be one loooong mission." I hummed, hearing Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi agree.

"Hokage are powerful and wise. You are puny and brainless. The day you become Hokage, I'll sprout wings and fly." Tazuna said while drinking his sake.

"Agh! 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 shouted angrily. I smiled warmly at him.

'Well, he's dedicated at least.' I thought to myself.

"Hm.... You can become Hokage ten times over, but to me, you'll still be a nobody. A loser." Tazuna kept going, just egging him on.

"Ah! I'm gonna make you pay for that!" Naruto screamed as I grabbed onto his jacket again. "Quit holding me back, Ren!"

"I told you, you're supposed to protect the client, not attack him." Kakashi said, looking down at Naruto.

~*****~

I watched the clouds drift by lazily, and I'm suddenly bombarded by thoughts of my lazy friend. I smile to myself as Sakura starts speaking. "Say... Mr. Tazuna." She started.

"What is it?" He asked, looking over to her.

"Your country is the Land of Waves, right?" She asked.

"Yeah. What of it?"

"Kakashi-Sensei, there are ninja in that country too, aren't they?" Sakura asked.

"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." Kakashi explained. He went into full detail about the different countries with their villages and I wanted to fall onto my face to spare myself another lecture. "To 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 power with neighboring countries. The ninja villages are not controlled by any government, they're independent and have equal status. Now, a small 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', 'Lightning', 'Wind', and 'Earth'. They each occupy vast territories. Together, they're known as the five great shinobi nations. The Land of Fire has the Village Hidden in The Leaves, The Land of Water has the Village Hidden in the Mist, The Land of Lightning has the Village Hidden in the Clouds, The Land of Wind, The Village of the Sand, and the Land of Earth, The Village Hidden in the Stone. Only the leaders of hidden villages are permitted the name, Kage, which means shadow. Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, Tsuchikage. These are the leaders. The five shadows that reign over thousands of ninja." Kakashi finished explaining.

My mind drifted to the Third Hokage. 'That old geezer? I remember seeing him being duped by Naruto's, Sexy Jutsu. And of course, men are pigs.' I deadpanned, my eyebrow twitching as I remembered the day.

"That means Lord Hokage is really important!" She squealed. I looked over at her and it's like her inner demon completely disagreed with her. We were all thinking it.

"Hey!" Kakashi snapped angrily. We all jumped in fright, humming nervously. "You all just doubted the Hokage, didn't you? That's what you were thinking?" He asked, anger in his tone. He took a look at me and I turned my head, whistling innocently. He sighed gently and placed his hand atop my head. "Well, anyway. There are no ninja battles in a C-Ranked mission. So, you can relax." 

I groaned out lightly. "Man, that's so lame!" I whined lightly.

"Why's that Ren?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Because now I owe Sasuke money...."

Kakashi started laughing as I fished out my purple froggy purse and reluctantly paid the antisocial Uchiha. We continued on the journey.

~*****~

I smiled down at the water as we passed over a low bridge, the water sloshing up onto the bay and into the air when I raised my hand, swirling it around in the air before dropping it back into the river. Kakashi smiled back at me. A puddle on the pathway fueled my excitement. I waved my hand and stopped when I got to it, gazing down in confusion. 'Hm.... that's... weird.' Then another thought occurs. 'It hasn't even rained in a couple of days, puddles shouldn't be out here right now...' I looked forward to see Kakashi urging me forward. I caught up with him, raising an eyebrow before turning ahead. Something felt wrong.

"What?!" Kakashi yelps as chains wrap around him. I stumbled backwards, shouting in shock as they rip him apart. My heart stammered a little before a few near by trees wilted in an instant, the water shooting out and covered my arms and half my face. I pulled out a kunai.

"Protect Tazuna!" Sasuke and I order, preparing to attack. I ran forward to one of the assassins, pulling my hands into the tiger formation. "Water Release! Water Whip!" The water coating my right arm slinks down, wrapping around my wrist and forms a snake like tendril, keeping it's form as I throw my arm out. It whip wrapped around his ankle and I tugged, pulling him up and over head, and slamming into the ground. I hardened the ice, trapping him against the ground in a thick coat. Before I could go help Sasuke, Kakashi appeared, stopping the ninja that were going for Naruto.

I blinked rapidly, trying to ward away any tears ready to fall. "Hi." He starts gently. Everyone sagged in relief.

"Huh?! But he was! What?!" Naruto muttered out, turning to look at the broken up logs.

"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." Kakashi started. I bit at my lower lip, keeping my head down as he tied up the ninja. "Ren, are you alright?" Kakashi asks after stopping besides me.

"I know you're more than meets the eye, but that.... really felt like.... I was six again...." I muttered out, gripping onto my skirt. I felt his hand push into the hair atop my head.

"I'm sorry." He hums, pulling me against his side. "I do hope you'll forgive me. But I needed information."

I nod up at him and sniffle, willing my tears to stop building up. "Sometimes I forget that I'm still a kid.... and it's hard to keep my emotions in check." I chuckle. He rubbed my head again with a chuckle, turning to the rest of the squad.

"Good job, Sasuke. Very smooth. You too, Ren, Sakura." Kakashi praised. Sasuke looked over at me and smirked. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Hey." Sasuke started, staring over at Naruto. I immediately knew what Sasuke was planning.

"Yeah?" Naruto grunted.

"You're not hurt are you?" He asked, mock kindness ripping through his throat. "Scaredy cat!"

Naruto looked ready to pop a blood vessel. "Sasuke!!" He started, going to attack him.

"Naruto, Don't move!" I yelp, surprising everyone as I strode over to him. "These ninja have poison in their claws." I pull out my med kid. "We need to take it out as soon as possible."

"Very good, Ren. How did you know?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, the blades turned the water I had used a light purple color, not noticeable unless you really look at it." I say with a smirk, pulling out a roll of gauze and bandages. "We'll have to open the wound. It's in your blood, so don't move around. That spreads the poison." Naruto looked down at his hand in shock.

"By the way, Mr. Tazuna." Kakashi started.

"Y-Yeah? What is it?" He asked nervously.

"We need to talk."

We all looked at the ninja tied to a tree, keeping at a safe distance. "Their Chunin from the Village Hidden in the Mist. Their specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting no matter the sacrifice." Kakashi explained.

"How did you know about our ambush?" They asked.

Kakashi placed his hand on my head. "You should try hiding in actual water. I didn't notice until Ren wanted to practice her Kekkei Genkai, and the water did not bend to her will." I looked up at him, awe in my eyes. "And on a clear day, when it hasn't rained in weeks."

"In that case, why'd you leave it for the genin to do the fighting?" Tazuna asked the questioned we all wanted to know.

"I could have taken them down quickly, but then I'd have learned nothing. I had to know who their target was." He said, gazing over at Tazuna. "And. What they were after."

"Hm? What are you getting at?"

"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-Rank mission, or higher. Our task was to simply get you to your destination. To protect you while you finish building your bridge. If we knew we'd be fielding attacks from enemy ninja, we would've 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 our mission." He finished, malice dripping in his tone.

"We're genin, this is too advanced for our level of training. We should go back. And I really think we should treat Naruto's wound and get the poison out as soon as possible. Back in our village, we can take him to a doctor." Sakura said.

Sasuke and I sighed in annoyance. "Hmmm." Kakashi hummed, thinking.

"Huh?" Naruto grunted, looking away from his hand.

"Naruto's hand could become a problem." He stated aloud. I raised an eyebrow at him.

'Did he forget I can pull the poison out because it's a liquid based poison?' I thought to myself.

"I guess we should go back to the village." He said finally.

Naruto looked ready to pop. Just before I could speak, he plunged a kunai deep into the back of his hand, reopening the wound to draw the poison out. I hissed in pain, rubbing the back of my hand.

"Why am I so different?" Naruto asked to no one in particular. "Why am I always- Aghh!" Naruto grunted angrily.

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

"He's drawing the poison out. Rather painfully, I might add." I say, patting her shoulder to try and calm her down.

"I worked so hard to get here! Pushing myself till it hurt! Training alone for hours! Anything to get stronger to reach my dream! I will never back down again, and let someone else rescue me! I will never run away. And I will not lose to Sasuke!" Naruto commanded himself. "Upon this wound, I make this pledge. Believe it. Bridge Builder! I'll complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife! Don't worry, I'll be fine." He said with a shiver.

"Naruto, that was cool and all, taking out the poisoned blood, but...." Kakashi stopped as I pulled water out from a nearby tree, waving it around.

"I could've taken the poison out anytime, without opening up a wound that'll make you bleed to death." I state bluntly. Naruto turned pale, then started thrashing around. "Good idea to stop the bleeding now... Seriously!" Kakashi started chuckling from the torment I was giving him. I grabbed his hand and wrapped it with water, drawing out any excess poison that could've lingered. But, his wound started sizzling and closing up after the poison drifted out. I blinked slowly, wondering what the heck kind of person this kid is.

"Uhm... Uhm... You two have a really serious look on your face, you guys are scaring me... Am I okay?" Naruto asked, shaking and shivering like a proverbial wet cat. I released the water and dried his hand to bandage it.

"Uh... Yeah. You should be fine." I state, looking back at Kakashi. I pressed my knuckle to my lips as Naruto flexed his bandaged hand for a second. The rest of the squad carried on as Kakashi and I stayed in the back. "Kakashi?"

"Yes?"

"Should wounds... heal that fast? I mean... my Kekkei Genkai doesn't heal wounds like that."

"Hm.... It's nothing to worry about Ren." He states plainly, catching up with the squad. I just look ahead at Naruto, wondering what kind power this kid has. I shrug and catch up with them, tightening my hands around my backpack straps.