~*****~

I looked up as Sakura yawned loudly the next morning. "Good morning, everyone...." She hummed.

"Here." Tsunami said quietly, handing her some breakfast. Sasuke and I sat together, both beat from training last night after everyone went to sleep.

"Naruto's not here? Looks like he was out all night, again..." Tazuna hummed gently.

"He's gone completely insane. He's out climbing tree's until it's dark." She started. "He could be dead by now, y'know from using too much of his Chakra."

"Boy, that's comforting if that's your first thought," I snap, glaring at her. "You should show more concern for your other team mates, rather than yourself and dear Sasuke over here."

She just glared at me as Tsunami agreed. "A child spending the night in the woods alone."

"There's nothing to worry about," Kakashi started. "Naruto's a goofy kid, but he's also a full-fledged ninja. He can handle himself."

"Sakura's right," Sasuke drawled. "Naruto's such a loser, he's probably lying out there dead somewhere."

I slammed my hands on the table top and stood abruptly. I bit into my cheek again before speaking. "I think I need some fresh air." I bite, leaving the room quickly. The morning air bites into my skin and I'm suddenly feeling a bit better. I needed some fresh air.

"Hey." I flinch as someone calls out. I look over my shoulder and glare.

"What?" I snap.

"I'm coming with you." Sasuke states coolly, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Why? I'm looking for Naruto, I thought you didn't care about him."

"Hn..."

I sucked in a bit of air, wanting to knock his lights out. I started stomping ahead of him, huffing and puffing angrily. I hear his chuckle behind me. A woman walks ahead of us, going the opposite direction. She passes by and I feel a sudden chill. I stop and gaze back at her in curiosity.

"Woah! I've seen a lot of weird things in my life, but this one takes the cake!" Naruto calls out, screaming in pain as Sasuke bashes his fist atop his cranium. I leaned against a tree and smiled at the two. "OW! What'd you do that for!?" Naruto yelped.

"Did you just forget about breakfast? You're such a loser." Sasuke said, trying to act all cool.

Naruto started giggling, making Sasuke a bit more agitated. I had to admit, watching those two together was adorable.

~*****~

Naruto, Sasuke, and I went back to training vigorously. Though, I sat at the tippy top of my tree, I gazed down below, watching the boys steadily climb higher and higher. I gaze out, staring at the small dots of pink and gray approaching our training area.

"What'dya think?! High enough for you guys? I mean, it's a long way down, huh?" Naruto screamed down at the pair. I start walking down the tree calmly, knowing his chakra has been used to to the almost maximum. Water slinks up my arm as I get in distance to use my water whip. Naruto acted as if he lost his balance and began to fall. Then, at the last second, he stuck fast to the branch he was one. "Haha! Just kidding!" He yells out. "You guys really fell for it!" Naruto jeers.

I bring my arm back. "Water style: Water Whip!" I murmur, throwing out my arm as his feet pop off. My water whip wraps around his ankle and leaves him dangling. I leap onto the branch he hung under and smiled as Sasuke appeared.

"You really are a total loser, aren't you Naruto." Sasuke comments.

I giggle and start swinging Naruto back and forth. "He may be a loser, but hey, I get some practice saving his butt!" I add, earning a chuckle.

Hours passed as I stood atop my tree, gazing at Sasuke and Naruto right besides me. They had both managed to make it to the top. "Hey... Let's go him." Sasuke states with a triumphant look on his face.

"Okay!" Naruto cheered. We all got down and supported each other was we walked back to the house. I kicked open the door, hauling them inside.

"What have you been up to? They look like something the cat dragged in." Tazuna stated.

Naruto looked up and grinned. "We both made it... Al the way to the top!" Naruto panted.

"Good. Now we move on." Kakashi started. "Starting tomorrow, you're both body guards for Tazuna."

Naruto began to cheer. "Alright!" He claimed, accidentally throwing us all backwards. I started to laugh as they both shoved at each other, catching me in the middle.

"You're such a loser!" Sasuke exclaims, but I could tell he was having as much fun as Naruto and I were.

"In a few more days, the bridge will be finished." Tazuna started as Naruto lay nearly asleep on the table. "And we'll have you to thank for that."

"You've all done great, but you still have to be careful." Tsunami stated.

"I've been meaning to ask you this, but I didn't have to chance until now." Tazuna stated. "Why did you decide to stay and protect me, even after you found out I lied and brought you all the way out here."

"Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage. Under the wind of a strong leader, cowardice cannot survive." Kakashi stated, making me smile.

"Huh?"

"That was a quote from my great-grandfather. The First Hokage." I say gently, making everyone look at me in surprise. "What? I thought you guys knew that."

Inari looks over at Naruto, who swears on all things, he's just resting his eyes. Tears began to run down his cheeks after some time of staring. "But why?" He mumbles out.

"What'd you say?" Naruto hummed, opening his eyes to gaze at the weeping child.

His hands slam onto the table and he stands. "All this stupid training is just a waste of time! Gato's got a whole army! He'll beat you down and they'll destroy you! These cool things you all say, they don't mean anything! No matter what you do, the strong will always win and the weak always lose!" Inari shouted.

"Just speak for yourself." Naruto snapped, laying his head back down. "It wont be like that for me! You got that!"

"Why don't you be quiet! Just looking at you makes me sick!" Inari screams. "You don't know anything about this country. You're just butting in! Always laughing and playing around! You don't know what it's like to suffer or to be treated like dirt!" Inari had struck a nerve. If anyone knew, Naruto did. And it pained me that he did. No one should go through that.

"Listen to yourself whining, complaining, like some sorry little victim!" Naruto snapped again. "You can whimper all day for all I care! You're nothing but a coward!"

"Naruto! You went to far!" Sakura reprimanded. I glared at her for a moment before excusing myself.

A little while later, I went outside, gazing at the small boy sitting by the water. I approached him slowly. "Can I talk to you?" I question softly, taking a seat besides him before he could answer. "Naruto can be a little.... harsh sometimes. But he doesn't hate you... Your grandfather told us what happened to your father. Your probably don't know this, but... Naruto also grew up without a father. In fact, he never knew either of his parents. And he didn't have a single friend in our village. Still.... I've never seen him cry, sulk, or give up. He's always so eager to jump in. He wants to be respected. That's his dream, and he'll put his life on the line for that, in a heartbeat. My guess? He just got tired of crying, and decided to do something about it. Even though were young and still learning, Naruto truly does know what it means to be strong. Like your father did. I think he knows better than any of us, what you're going through. What Naruto told you earlier, as cruel as it sounds, he's probably told himself that a thousand times." I gazed down at the boy, smiling bashfully as I ruffled his hair. "Good night." I hum, getting up and going back inside. I bumped into Kakashi. I rubbed my nose softly as he peered down at me. He closed his eyes, a telltale smile underneath his mask and ruffled my hair, pulling me in for a hug.

~*****~

I awoke early the next morning, yawning softly as Sakura came to. "Morning, Sakura..." I mumbled, pulling my hair into a messy bun atop my head.

"Morning...." We both set to get ready for the day, chatting lowly about whatever we wanted while the guys were still asleep. "Say, didn't you say the First Hokage was your great grandfather?" Sakura asked, running a brush through my unruly blonde hair.

"Hm? Yeah. I thought a lot of people knew. Lord Hokage was over the moon when I told him my dad's name. Apparently my dad was one of the Legendary Sannin." I hum, braiding my hair after Sakura finished brushing.

"Wow, I never knew. What's his name?"

"Shun Senju." I started rifling through my ninja pouch. "I have a picture of him.... Ah! Here it is. Supposedly, he looks just like The Slug Queen, Tsunade!"

"Oh, wow!" She squealed. "You're dad's hot!" I flinched in surprise, watching the steam billow out of her nose.

"That's.... weird... Come on.... You're never seeing this ever again..." I shudder, stuffing the photo back into my pouch.

"Whatever happened to him?" Sakura questioned as we exited our room.

I crossed my arms behind my head. "He died. My mother told me he just ran out of chakra trying to defend The Village In The Mountains, but...." I trailed off, pursing my lips. "He was hailed as a hero, while the rest of my mother was deemed worthless for not participating in the battle."

She didn't ask another question after that. Sasuke and Kakashi met us in the living room, and apparently, Naruto needed to rest a bit more today, so we left without him.

~*****~

When we arrived at the bridge, we were not entirely prepared for the sight before us. "Hold on! What the heck is this!" Tazuna shouted, looking shocked. Everyone was injured at the end of the bridge, groaning and whimpering in pain. "What happened?! Someone was here, someone got to them!"

I swallowed the lump in my throat and let out an even breath. A thick mist covered the area, and I pulled out a kunai, getting ready to defend Tazuna. "Sasuke, Sakura, Ren! Get ready!" Kakashi ordered. We jumped into position.

"It's Zabuza, isn't it." I question, looking around.

It was quiet for a moment, but death hath made it's appearance. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Kakashi. I see you've still got those brats with you. Those two are trembling still... How pitiful." Zabuza jeered. Sasuke and I did shake, but not from fear. Three water clones appeared before us. Grins slipped onto our faces.

"We're trembling alright.... With excitement." I giggle.

"Go on, you two." Kakashi smirked, propping his hands on his hips. We both took off, taking out the three clones with spectacular team work and speed. We landed side by side, watching all three clones collapse before they could made a move.

"Ohh, you could see they were water clones, the brats are improving." Zabuza started. "Looks like you've got some rivals, Haku."

"So it seems...." Haku agreed. Sasuke and I stared at the mask boy, neither of our faces faltering.