The sun started to rise, the chirping of birds was all that could be heard for miles around. A light breeze carried them through the sky, I was asleep on the cool grass, the wind rustled my hair slightly as slept, a collection of birds made it's way towards me. Naruto and I had been training all night, he was busy focusing his chakra control, I focused on strengthening my Daigan on the forest animals. Kale had been busy snacking on some of the field mice around the place, unaware of the girl picking herbs close by. She stood up, he long black hair moving behind her as she spotted Naruto and I asleep in the grass. Quietly she made her way towards us, he brown eyes darkening as she noticed our headbands. She stood above me, glaring down at my face, I rustled in the grass slightly. She reached her hand out to me.

"Good morning, everyone..." Sakura said with a yawn, rubbing her eye as she came out of her room. Sakura ambled towards the dinning room table, Sasuke was sitting there with his arms crossed, and angry expression on his face. Kakashi was looking down at the table, thinking. Sakura plopped down on the floor, scooting next to the table. "Here," Tazuna's daughter said with a smiled, giving Sakura a warm cup of tea. "Thank you!" Sakura nodded, she took a sip. "Naruto and (Y/N)...they're not here. Looks like they were out training again." Tazuna grunted, Sakura looked over at him. "They've gone completely crazy, Naruto's gone out climbing trees in the dark and (Y/N)'s playing around with the forest animals. They could be dead by now. You know, from using up too much of their chakra." Sakura said in a matter of fact tone, resting her hands on her hips. "Well, I certainly hope they're okay. Children spending the night in the woods alone." Tazuna's daughter said with a sigh, resting her hands in her lap. "There's nothing to worry about, even though the they're goofy, Naruto and (Y/N) are full-fledged ninja. They can handle themselves." Kakashi explained with a sigh. "Sakura's right, Naruto's such a loser. But (Y/N)..." Sasuke said in a worried tone, he got up from his seat and started to walk away. "Sasuke?" Sakura called out for him, he stopped in the front of the door. "I'm going for a walk." He answered back. "Uh, but we just started eating-huh..." Sakura turned to the table, looking over at Sasuke's empty plate. "Well, that was fast." She mumbled to herself. Sasuke left.

She knelt down to the ground, the birds flew away. She reached out her hand, strands of black hair fell onto her face, quickly she brushed them away. Slowly, my chest heaved up and down, my eyes closed shut. "You'll catch a cold if you sleep out here," She called out, her soft voice almost a whisper as she shook my shoulder. "Wake up..." "Gnnn..." I grumbled, my eyes slowly opened, a blur of pink was all I could see. I quickly rubbed my eyes as I sat up on the grass, she had a small smile. "Who the heck are you?" I grumbled, turning my head over to her, my cheeks flashed pink. "Oh, uh, I mean, hi there. Where did you come from? You know, what are you doing way out here?" I asked, stuttering my words as I looked at her. S-She's gorgeous! I gulped nervously. "I'm gathering herbs." She said calmly, "Herbs?" I raised my brow. "Yes, that's right. They're for treating illnesses, and different wounds." Her black hair floated gracefully around her, the birds started to chirp. "Do you need any help?" I asked, she smiled. "Some help would be nice, but what about your friend over there?" She asked, motioning towards Naruto, he was knocked out on the grass, I jumped. "Ah, jeez..." I rubbed the back of my neck, remembering our training last night.

"Hey Naruto!" I called, he turned his head towards me, gasping for air. "What is it (Y/N)-wow!" He smiled looking over at the large stag I made pass out, it was lying in the grass. "How far are you coming along Naruto?" I asked, peering over his shoulder. "Almost at the top, that's awesome!" I smiled, looking up at his tree. "Naruto, I think you even passed Sasuke with this one!" I grinned, resting my hand on my hip. "You think so?" He jumped up onto his feet, wavering slightly. "Hey, you okay Naruto?" I looked over at him, he looked a bit sick. "Y-Yeah..." He muttered. "I think you've used up too much chakra Naruto, and to tell you the truth, I'm not feeling so great either." I gingerly touched my eye lid, they were starting to burn again. "B-But-gah..." Naruto fell back wards onto the grass, "H-Hey!" I stumbled, reaching out to him, but I failed, falling down on my .

I picked a small sprout of the ground and tossed it into the basket, it was starting to look full. Naruto was still passed out on the ground, even though the two of us tried to wake him up, he wouldn't budge. We just winded up moving him along with us as we searched. "You start work early, huh sis." I looked over to her, her face brightened up. "I like it early, it's calm. But I didn't think I'd find anyone sleeping out here in the woods." She was looking around in the grass, a smile on her face. "We're training." I nodded, looking over at Naruto. "So, you two are ninja? I noticed that headband you're wearing." She looked back over at me, I smiled at her, pink rose to her face. "Mhm. Me and my friend over there and ninja from the Village Hidden In the Leaves." I pointed at the head band with my thumb. "Oh, I see. That's very impressive." She nodded, my face heated up, I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "But does that mean you're training for something dangerous?" She asked, I looked down at the grass. "There's no need to worry, I'm just developing my skills so I can get stronger." I explained, she nodded as she continued to pick herbs from the grass. "You seem very strong now, isn't that enough?" She asked, I shook my head. "No, I need to get stronger, I have to keep practicing." I said with a determined look in my eyes. "How so? Why is it so important?" She asked, leaning closer to me. "So I can protect my friends, and my village! Also, there's this kid that we want to prove something too..." I motioned over to Naruto, he was snoring. "So you're doing it for your friends," She began, I tilted my head. "Is there someone..." Her voice turned into a whisper, a dark look in her eye as he turned her head over to Naruto. "Is there someone who's precious to you?" She asked, I rubbed the back of my neck. When did she get so scary? "What are you saying, sis? What do you mean by 'precious', you don't mean..." My face turned red as I looked over at Naruto, I shook my head quickly. "N-No way!" I shouted, clenching my fist. "No, I mean-" She giggled, putting her hand over , my face was read. "I mean," She began, "when a person has something precious that they want to protect, they become genuinely strong. You want to protect your friends, I think that's very honorable." She nodded, I couldn't help but smile. "I know exactly what you're saying." I nodded, she nodded back.

After collecting a few more herbs, we filled up her basket together, she stood up, the basket in hand. "You will get strong, very strong." I smiled, standing up along with her. "Thank you for helping me, we'll meet again sometime." She said with a wave, I nodded. "I hope so." I nodded back. "Oh, by the way," She called out, I raised my brow. "I'm a boy." I jumped, n-no way! He's prettier than any girl I've ever seen! I watched him leave in shock.

"Wow, I've seen a lot of weird things in my life, but that takes the cake." I whispered to my self, looking down at the ground. "OW!" I gasped, looking up at Sasuke, his hand was on my head. "What was that for?! Hey, cut it out!" I whined, shoving his hand off, he puffed out his cheeks. "You twerp. Did you just forget about breakfast?" Sasuke asked, crossing his arms, I rubbed my head. "Hey, Sasuke!" I turned my head in surprise, Naruto was standing up looking over at the two of us with a big grin. "What is it, loser?" Sasuke asked, Naruto started to laugh. Sasuke's eye twitched.

"(Y/N), Naruto?!" Sakura shouted, looking around aimlessly, Kakashi was standing next to her. "Knowing them, they could be anywhere. And Sasuke hasn't come back either, I wonder where they all are." Sakura sighed, "WOOHOO!" I called out, both of them turned their heads towards me, I was cheering Naruto on. Naruto was hanging limply on the branch of a tree, "You rock Naruto!" I shouted at him, his face turned red. "High enough for you Kakashi-sensei? I mean, it's a really long way down from here." He shouted at him, Kakashi squinted his eye. Naruto jumped up on the branch, but he seemed to wobble on the branch. "Hey, don't fall-AH!" I shouted, watching as Naruto lost his footing, I was half way up the tree when I started to hear laughter. He was hanging upside down on the branch, I gritted my teeth. "Ha-ha! Just kidding!" He grinned, looking down at my, both of my fists were raised in the air. "I can't believe you fell for it!" He giggled, "I'm going to strangle you, you dork!" I shouted, running up the tree swinging my arms at my sides. Pop. I looked up to see Naruto falling, "I've got ya!" I shouted, feeling his side hit my chest, I held him in my arms, swinging on top of the branch he was on, "Why do I have a feeling this is going to end badly?" Kakashi said to himself, watching as I stumbled around on the branch, Kakashi's eye widened as I fell off the branch, just like Naruto, the two of us were screaming as we held onto each other, but to our surprise, nothing happened. "L-Losers..." Sasuke grunted, he was holding onto my arm, Naruto held onto mine. "Huh, Sasuke?" I looked up at him, he started to pull us up. "All right Sasuke, you're the best!" Sakura gushed, if I'm still sane by the time they finish their training, it'll be a miracle, Kakashi thought to himself.

"Hm, you're recovering quickly," "Huh?" I heard a voice call out at the back of my head, Sasuke had already gotten the two of us down on the ground, I started to shake. "You're arm, it looks a lot better," Kakashi-sensei called out, I looked down at my arm, a large hole had formed in the cast. My arm returned to it's normal color, "Yeah, you're right." I nodded, starting to tear the cast off. I clenched my fist, grinning down at my arm. (Y/N) also got the healing powers of the Daigan, amazing. Kakashi nodded.
-

The moon was up in the sky, I was gasping for air. I left behind a trail of sleeping animals, "Let's go back." Sasuke called out, I looked up at the tree. Both Sasuke and Naruto had reached the top, I smiled up at them. "All right!" Naruto said with a grin, I rested my hands on my hips.

"Now they're all late, I wouldn't of expected that from Sasuke..." Sakura mumbled looking down at the table, I pushed open the door, Sakura turned around. Naruto was in the middle of Sasuke and I, we were carrying him by his arms. "What have you three been up to? You look like some thing the cat dragged in." Tazuna looked at the three of us, we were all covered in dirt and scratched up, I grinned. "We all made it. We climbed to the very top." Naruto grinned, Kakashi nodded his head. "Good. Now we move on. Starting tomorrow, the three of you are body guards for Tazuna." Kakashi-sensei waved, looking back at us. "All right!" Naruto laughed, leaning back, "Gah!" I gasped as he dragged the two of us down onto the floor. "You're such a loser." Sasuke grunted, everyone started to laugh.

I gobbled down my dinner, I hadn't eaten all day, I felt like I was starving. "In a few more days, the bridge will be finished." Tazuna called out, I looked over at him with a small smile. "I have to thank you for that." Tazuna nodded. "You've all done great, but you still have to be careful." Tazuna's daughter chimed in, picking dirty plates off of the table. "I've been meaning to ask you this, but I haven't had the chance until now. Why did you stay to protect me, even after you found out I lied to bring you here?" Tazuna asked, looking around the table at our faces. "'Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage, but under the wing of a strong leader, cowardice can not survive.'" Kakashi spoke to us all, "Huh?" Tazuna's daughter looked over at him. "That was a quote from the first Hokage..." I mumbled, Kakashi looked over at me with a smile. Naruto was resting on the table, Inari looked over at him, shaking slightly. I looked over at him, tears started to well up in his eyes. "But why..." Inari whispered, Naruto turned his head over to him. "Hm? What did you say?" Naruto asked, Inari slammed his hands on the table as he stood up, tears rolled down his face. "All this stupid training is just a waste of time! Gato's got a whole army, they'll beat you down, and they'll destroy you!" Inari shouted, I looked down at the ground. "All these cool thing's you say, they don't mean anything! No matter what you do, the strong always win, and the weak always loose!" Inari shouted to all of us, I clenched my fists. "Just speak for yourself, it won't be like that for me. You got that?" Naruto huffed, turning his head away from Inari. "Why don't you be quiet? Just looking at you makes me sick, 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 and be treated like dirt!" Inari shouted at all of us, a ping went through my heart, I kept my head down. "Listen to yourself, whining and complaining like some sorry little victim. You can whimper all day for all I care, you're nothing but a coward!" Naruto shouted, Inari straightened up, I looked over at him with sorrowful eyes. "Naruto! You went too far!" Sakura shouted at him, Naruto shot up from the table. "Naruto?" I called out, he glanced at me before leaving the room, his hands in his pockets. Inari was shaking, tears streaming down his face.

Inari was sitting alone outside, staring down at the calm waters, I slowly walked up to him. "Can I talk to you?" I asked, he turned his head towards me, I plopped down on the ground next to him, he hugged his knees towards his chest. "Naruto can be a little harsh sometimes, but he doesn't hate you." I began, Inari kept his eyes on the water. "Your grandfather told us what happened to your father." Inari was unmoving. "You probably don't know this, but Naruto also grew up without a father. In fact, he never knew either of his parents, and neither do I." I said softly, "Huh?" Inari turned his head towards me, I had a small smile as I looked down at the water. "Still, I've never seen him cry, sulk, or give up. He's always eager to jump in. He wan't to be respected, that's his dream, and he'll put his life on the line for that in a heartbeat. My guess is he just got tired of crying and decided to do something about it." I explained to him, rubbing my hands together. "Oh..." Inari put his head back down. "Even though he's still learning, he know's what is means to be strong, like your father did. We know what you're going through." I smiled at Inari, "What Naruto told you earlier, as cruel as it sounded, he's probably told himself that a thousand times." Inari looked up at me, I patted him on the head.
-

Seagulls were gliding around the ocean, squawking at each other as they passed by, the sun was up in the sky. I was excited. I had already taken off the bulky brace that weighed down my ankle, it was feeling a lot better, I could barely believe it healed so quickly. "Okay, I leave Naruto in your hands. He's pushed his body to the limit, overdoing it as usual, so he may not be able to move today at all." Kakashi-sensei explained, I could hear Naruto snoring in side of the house. "What about you? You're still recovering yourself." Tazuna's daughter asked concerned. "Why? Do I look wobbly? I'll be okay." Kakashi waved, "Come on. Let's go." Tazuna called out, leading the way. The four of us followed close behind, "Still wasting time your wounds? I hired you to do a job, y'know. Are you listening Zabuza-HEY!" "Who said that?" I asked, looking around worriedly. "Are you okay (Y/N)?" Kakashi asked, we were halfway on the bridge. I nodded my head, running towards him. "Yeah, I'm fine!" I shook it off, smiling.

"Gnnnah-" Naruto mumbled, opening his eyes. "Naah! Why didn't someone wake me up?!" He shouted, sitting up in his bed. Naruto jumped out, turning around the corner quickly, "Where is everybody?! Where'd they all go?!" Naruto shouted, Tazuna's daughter turned around with a smile. "Oh, Naruto. Your sensei wanted to let you rest, you got the day off." She said sweetly, Naruto growled. "I knew it! They ditched me!" He shouted, throwing his orange jumpsuit on. "See ya!" He shouted at Tazuna's daughter as he slammed the door.

"Ugh, they could have woken me up!" Naruto grunted, jumping from tree to tree as quickly as he could. "Hmm?" Naruto looked down at the forest ground, a dead hog was laying down, large gashes all along it's sides.

"Hold on, what the heck is this?" Tazuna shouted, I gasped as I looked at all of the builders laying on the ground, "What happened?!" Tazuna shouted, "Some one was here, some one had gotten to them!" Tazuna shook his head in disbelief, Zabuza...I gritted my teeth.

"Inari, could you give me a hand here?" Tazuna's daughter shouted, "Inari?!" She called out, "I'll be right there!" Inari shouted back, running through the house. Two of Gato's men were standing outside, glaring in through the window.

Slowly, mist started to consume the bride. I quickly grabbed a kunai from my pocket, holding in front of me as I jumped back to protect Tazuna. "Sasuke, Sakura, get ready." Kakashi called out to them, the four us surrounded him. "Kakashi-sensei, it's Zabuza, isn't it?" Sakura asked, her legs starting to shake. "Sorry to have kept you waiting Kakashi, I see you've still got those little brats with you. That one's still trembling, pitiful." Zabuza called out, Sasuke grinned as his water clones surrounded us. "I'm trembling with excitement." Sasuke said with a grin, slashing his way through Zabuza's water clones with ease. "Ooh, you could see through the water clones, huh. The brat's improving. Look's like you've got a rival, Haku." Zabuza called out, the fake tracker from before was by his side. "So it seems." They called out, "Huh?" I whispered, why does his voice sound so...familiar?