Thank you for reading!!!! I really appreciate it!!!

Sakura

I face-palmed myself as Karina grabbed the stray cat. She didn't let go, even when the cat started trying to scratch her face off. Poor Karina...

Then I realized that a soft golden glow had appeared around Karina's face... what the heck?!

"Katagan!" Sasuke muttered. "Huh... so she has both?"

What was he talking about? Both? Both what?

"Katagan?" I asked, confused. Sasuke glanced at me, then back to Karina's glowing face.

"It's a chakra shield and the Katana clan's Kekkei Genkai. It can shield the user like a real shield, only it's stronger. I don't know much about it, but..." Sasuke shrugged.

"When it's fully developed, it can extend and sharpen into points and knives," Karina continued, standing up with the cat in her arms. It had stopped scratching her, and was purring contentedly in her arms. "And it can grab things or push things down, too... cool, huh?"

"Yeah! Can you do that?" I asked excitedly. It was so cool!! I wish I had a Kekkei Genkai... oh well... at least I was smart, right?

"No." Karina sighed, and started walking towards Master Kakashi, who had leaped down from a nearby tree.

"Target confirmed?" he asked, meeting Karina halfway across the clearing.

"Well, there's a ribbon on the left ear, and the description fits." She answered. "So I suppose so."

"Okay. Let's head back." Master Kakashi lead the way back to the Hokage's office, where an extremely plump lady scooped the cat out of Karina's arms and into her own. I sweatdropped as she cuddled the cat like she was trying to strangle it; no wonder the cat would try to run away if it was treated like that at home!!

"Oh, my cute Tora!" she exclaimed in a high, annoying voice. "I was so worried about you!" The cat gave out a yelp, which caused the lady to squeeze tighter.

"Who's that?" I whispered to Master Kakashi.

"She's the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire's wife." He replied.

"Wow. Poor cat." Karina muttered under her breath. "Jeez! That lady's not going to die if she doesn't cuddle Tora for a few minutes, but Tora will if she keeps hugging her!!"

"Good point." I laughed softly as the lady paid a Chunin sitting at a desk near the Hokage.

"Okay! The duties for Team 7..." the Hokage consulted a list sitting in front of him. "Babysitting, pulling weeds, watching a dog while the owner goes to the market..."

"If you don't mind, can we do something OTHER THAN THAT?!!" Karina yelled. I stared at her in surprise. I mean, sure, she could be hot-blooded, ignorant, and sometimes annoying but she was rarely so disrespectful.

"Karina!" Master Kakashi seemed scared.

"I'm sure the Hokage knows best," I added.

"But she has a point." Sasuke muttered.

"Well..." I smiled nicely at Sasuke, but he didn't look at me. "Maybe."

"Do you know how you are assigned missions?" the Hokage asked from his seat behind the large table.

"Yes; you tell us what you want us to do and we have to do it." Karina replied coolly.

"Not only that, though. Every day, clients come in with their mission requests. We classify them by difficulty. The Jonin and elites perform A-ranked missions; Jonin and Chunin share the B-ranked missions; Chunin carry out C-ranked missions; and Chunin and Genin share the D-ranked missions. As of right now, Team Kakashi is only able to receive D-ranked missions." The Hokage went into a long explanation of how they gave out missions.

"Okay, okay. So can we get a better mission now?" Was Karina even listening?!!

"Don't be a fool! You're smart, and you should know that we can't allow you to take on harder missions than your ability level!" Master Iruka, seated next to the Hokage, stood up and reprimanded Karina a bit. But I don't think she really cared.

"Yeah, yeah. Well, if you actually watch closely, you might find that my ability level is higher than you think! Or maybe you're not too observant?" Karina taunted.

Master Iruka sighed, but the beginning of a smile appeared at the edges of his mouth. The Hokage seemed content, too.

"All right, then." Said the latter. "Team Kakashi, I will allow you to carry out a C-ranked mission usually reserved for Chunin and Jonin."

"Really?" Karina seemed taken aback, as though she hadn't expected the Hokage to actually agree. "What's the mission?"

"You will be escorting our client to the Land of Waves. Call him in, please!" The Hokage called, and the door opened. We all turned around to get a good look of our first C-ranked mission client.

Sasuke

Our client was an old man who had a strange hat on his head and a towel around his neck. He was drinking out of a suspicious-looking bottle that reminded me of Sake.

"Hmm... they look like a bunch of brats. This is a joke, right? You kids aren't really ninja, are you?" he sipped from his bottle again.

"Sure," Karina said sarcastically. "Of course this is a joke. So you needn't come in, and you should just live out your life here while you wait for a cell who isn't a joke."

"Okay. So are you really going to be the ones escorting me?"

"No duh." Karina put her hands on her hips. "Who else would it be? The Hokage?"

"You, girl. You should show more respect to your elders." said the man, who was starting to get a little annoying.

"First of all, my name's not girl. And second, perhaps you should show more respect to us before we give respect to you. After all, you're depending on us to take you home. You owe us."

"Too bad. I'm paying you for this. I am Tazuna, a bridge builder from the Land of Waves. And I expect you to keep me safe until I finish my new bridge."

"-and I expect you to stop bugging me and be agreeable!" Karina yelled at him.

"Karina?" Master Iruka said from his seat. She turned slightly to look at him.

"What?"

"Shut up."

I could literally feel Karina's frustration; it was our first C-ranked mission, and here was our client: a cranky, old drunk who didn't even believe we were ninja. But I had to calm her down before she got us all into trouble.

"You can't hurt the client, though," I muttered in her ear. "So you might as well stop. It's not going to get you anywhere."

"Fine." Karina turned away, and Sakura called after her,

"Where are you going?"

"Home. I'm tired of this, and we have to get an early start tomorrow." She opened the door.

"Meet us by 7:30 at the front gates!" Kakashi yelled after her. She waved her hand behind her as a signal that she had heard.

"I'm going, too." I said, starting after her. I didn't like the client much, either, and I needed a break from all the missions we'd been doing. And a break from Sakura's endless fangirl talk, too.

"Bye, Sasuke!" Sakura called after me lovingly. I rolled my eyes; typical Sakura, and stepped out of the room.

"Meet us tomorrow!" Kakashi repeated what he had said to Karina. I nodded and went on my way.

Exiting the Hokage's office, I looked around. Where had Karina gone? Then I caught a flash of her dark hair disappearing around a corner. Good.

I ran as fast as I could through the busy streets, dodging shoppers and other fangirls on my way to the library. I needed to research what Karina had told me to.

Entering the double doors of the library, I looked around again. Where would I find information on something like this? I walked through the library, looking for subjects related to the Uchiha and Katana clans.

By the time I found a book that could possibly have the information I needed, it was already near dinner time. The library closed at seven, and it was already 6:30. I needed to hurry up.

Consulting the Table of Contents, I scanned the page quickly. And my hard work was rewarded. CHAPTER 6: THE UCHIHA AND KATANA CLANS.

I flipped to the listed page and started reading as fast as I could. Uchiha clan... Kekkei Genkai... the Sharingan... a friendship between them... and other things like that that I already knew. I snapped the book shut. Nothing!!

I sighed. When would this end? I had ten minutes left. And I wasted my last few minutes flipping through other useless books. Darn.

"Sasuke!!" Sakura ran up to me as I walked out of the library doors.

"What?" I demanded.

"The Hokage wants you." She said, then smiled prettily. "Come on."

"Fine!" I forced myself to walk with her ALL THE WAY to the Hokage's office. I swear, the Hokage specifically chose Sakura to come get me to torture me!!

When we finally stepped into the Hokage's office, he was talking with another Chunin that I didn't know.

"Ahh, Sasuke..." the old geezer sounded like my grandfather. "I'm glad you're here. Miss Haruno, please step outside."

"Yes, sir." Sakura went out the door, the Chunin following. When we were alone, and the door had shut, the Hokage looked at me.

"Why were you at the library?"

Did he know everything I did? Did he stalk me or something?!!

"Why do you need to know? Sir?" I added hastily, in case he tried to put me in prison or something.

"I'm just curious."

"Well... looking for... information." I made it as vague as possible, but the Hokage was no fool.

"Tell me more. You were looking up on Karina's Kekkei Genkai, weren't you?"

I gaped at him in shock. How did he know?

"I have my resources," he answered, anticipating my question. "I have also talked to Kakashi, and he agrees that you deserve to know."

"Okay..." I was confused, but I stayed silent. What would he tell me?

"Karina's full name is Karina Uchiha Katana. Her father, Kiyoshi Katana, was the head of the clan. Her mother, Akira Uchiha, was part of your clan. Did you ever hear of her?"

"Yes..." memories came floating back to the surface. I remembered my mother saying something about her childhood friend, Akira, abandoning the clan to do something forbidden. "But nobody ever offered an explanation."

"I can imagine. Do you know the reason?"

"...no..." my heart started pumping faster. I was about to find out the answer.