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        IT WAS NOISY. The journey was clamorous and barely quiet as they travel their way towards the border that leads to the Land of the Waves.

Bickering nonstop, the elder male continuously added fuel to the raging flames of the temperamental blonde haired Genin. Ai, the indifferent girl following in the side, founded it amusing at first, but as time progress, it had turned annoying and tiring in the ears.

"Say, Tazuna-san..."

The first to put a cut to all this nonsensical charade was the young Haruno. Her bright, clear evergreen eyes glowed in fluster of curiosity as she gave a subtle glance at the elderly man with a feigned touch of innocence. A single question weaved a small lecture to transpire in the group, filling the young minds with information that fed their curious minds.

The young and inexperienced listened with open ears, even the non-studious blond and stoic Uchiha carefully let the small talk seep in their memory. A casual expression masked her charming face as her blood red eyes glimmer in mild interest, repeating the intel for future use.

"Lord Hokage must be a great man!" Sakura cutely praised, an expression of glee masked upon her youthful visage.

That endearing peach blossom lips curled up with an airy chuckle breathing out those slightly parted lips of her, a vivid light dancing loftily within those pair of encorcelling eyes as they fleetingly glance at the two troublesome duo with placid mirth.

"The two of you just doubted him, didn't you?" The unrestrained tone of amusement loosely lingered within her seemingly insipid statement, a delicate brow risen to show an expression of frivolity with a blithe smile.

Their limbs froze from their momentary step, a soft squeak emitting from their lips as they slowly crane their neck back at the devilishly smiling girl with blooming hues of anxiousness within their eyes.

"Did you?" Seeing the fun playing in front of him, Kakashi wasn't able to help himself from joining the slightly mischievous ebony haired girl beside him.

They could only vigorously shake their heads in answer.

"Well anyways, there is no need for engaging ninja battles that are in C-rank missions. So, you could all relax." Kakashi exuded a bright reassuring smile with his eye fluttering close that evoked a refreshing aura around him, his hand lightly patting the young Haruno on her dainty head.

"We're not going to run into foreign enemy ninja or anything like that." Sakura hummed, the brimming youthfulness vivid on her slightly tinged ample cheeks, unaware of the tingling anxiety scraping Tazuna's bones.

"Well, we still need to watch out for bandits." A small word of precaution left the other female's lips, nonchalantly shrugging her shoulders as her slim legs carried on towards the rugged path.

The journey continued onwards.

Silence hung conspicuously above the group, lips pursed together with the unsaid relinquishment settled within their hearts as they trudge on the path under the blazing heat that burned their skin.

Dry foliage frolic their sight, towering trees stood on the sides like astute knights paying obeisance upon the arrival of their king, a puddle across the desiccated path that mirrored their passing silhouettes as they venture further.

Suddenly—

Steel-spiked chains winded itself around the unguarded Kakashi with terrifying speed, the piercing edges of the metallic weapon poking his skin through the seams of his clothes. Surprised gasps resonated, young and elderly eyes dilated in fear at the unknown enemies clad with the shadows of black. In a matter of seconds, a simple yet mighty pull of their weapon ended the life of their teacher under the seized hold of the two rogues—not a body left intact, but strewn to bloody pieces down to the dirt as his final grave.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Followed to the frightened shriek of the quavering pink-haired Haruno, Naruto screamed the name of their deceased teacher with great terror mirrored in his rounded eyes.

His bones screamed for him to run away from danger, the rousing fear in his heart drove him to the edge and made him unable to even jut his feet a step forward. The hair on the back of his neck stood to their fine tips, clearly numb in dread, once two terrorizing presence flashed behind him with ultimatum speed. Cold sweat drip chillingly on his back, a moment of pause in his breathing occurred. He was in danger, and he felt it far too late.

"Now it's your turn!"

Panicstricken, he whirled his sight at the danger lingering on his back, the numbing chill still vivid at the chatters of his pearly white teeth. His wide, dilated eyes could only watch in fright as the two heavily clothed rogues scourge out their peculiar-looking weapons towards him.

A small scream escaped his lips, body stilled akin to a frozen lake that betide during the adamant season of the fickle wintergreen, the shrill screams of the drawing blades echoing a dreadful tune in his ears.

The wretched claws of death neared, anxiously, close to his skin as the nimble blades glean under the sunny beams of the magnetic light.

Sasuke coldly harrumphed, that carved face vividly aloof with slim fingers securely holding a kunai blade and a shuriken with intent to dispatch. Scrupulously, those aimed weapons accurately marked its way to shackle and bind the winding chains around Naruto - the tip of the blade deeply plunged against the tree with no means of reverting back. An uncanny shock flashed upon the rogues' faces, bewilderment still pulling the strings of dubiety.

"It won't come out." One uttered with harsh dismay once the attempt to reel it back came to an act of failure.

The suffocating hold of the wretched air lighten at his appearance, a single interference gave a small crack of hope for them to flee. Gracefully, he landed with ease at their heavy-duty gauntlets and unceremoniously kicked them on their face.

The force hidden behind the delivery of his kick was enough to make the two to grunt in pain, their body arching back in reaction to the acute force. Fiery flames of ignition wickedly blaze within their limpid eyes, a crooked scowl that came to deviously settle on their lips as they ceremoniously unhinged the bladed chains from their gauntlets.

Their footing came without amiss, unhesitant with trailing musk of death lingering upon their deadly approach as they divide into two to settle the score. The towering man sprinted towards Tazuna with claws barring towards his throat, whilst the other took offense towards the still frightened boy on the ground.

A sudden flash of red swiftly whisked away from him, an unexpected kick aimed at his chest had taken him into a surprise as he staggered back with a grunt. A petite silhouette loomed above Naruto's disheveled figure, astute and lofty with a simple kunai blade held between her slim fingers.

ZSSH!

The sharp edge of the blade glinted menacingly under the benevolent grace of the silken shawl of sunny beams, the bloody tip hurling audaciously towards his unguarded forehead. He could only weakly dodge at the last second, his cheek lightly scarred in sacrifice for his poor attempt of defective action.

He drew a cold breath, his heart taking an abrupt halt when he felt a frightening vice shackling his throat and clawing his breath away from his drowning lungs. He felt frazzled to the point his rationality was overcome with supreme terror; he trembled.

A grazing chill traveled unto his back, the tremors of his beating heart turning erratic at the sight of maddening red hues. Her lithe figure stood gallantly with a crowning air of aloofness as she peered at him with a frigid gleam of detest within.

"Who are you?" Quietly, her calm mellifluous voice gently melted upon his ringing ears like a nucouos acid dripping with zeal.

Jaws firmly clenched together with greenish veins throbbing under his skin, he forcefully swallowed the wretched fear from the suffocating clutches in his throat. He snarled, teeth protruding from his lips with vile ferocity rousing from the deep pools of his eyes.

Her raised arm that vied a thin and frail appearance waved in a graceful manner that mimicked a slithering snake, she swiftly flick the dainty kunai blade in her hands towards the approaching enemy clad in black with great precision. Those bloody red irises maintained an indifferent look even at the sight of the dripping red blood, incurring a torrent of chills to the injured prey underneath her.

Once her toes touched the ground, those pair of austere eyes that mirrored a cold, depthless lake dully glimmer under the rays of the scorching sun as she gaze evenly to him with no lingering sentimentality within.

"Surrender." Her soft utterance aroused the anger that is silently simmering inside him. Coldly, as he gnash his teeth together with wild hate, he pushed his feet off the ground and sprint towards her with bloodlust burning in his eyes.

"Shut the hell up!" The undying flame of undeterred anger made him blind of the consequences laid in front of him. Humiliation drove him mad, with it becoming his drug and reason to pursue the need to kill her.

"Ai!"

A shout shrouded in great fright and hopelessness echoed throughout. Naruto, who laid weakly on the ground, felt a much more stronger fear course in his veins. His eyes were dilated, with apprehension and terror swirling violently within those enchanting color of blue. The dreaded thought of having her dying right in front of his eyes, suffocated and shredded every last bit of life in his heart.

An inch away from touching her skin, that menacing cold blade drew closer to her. His heart froze, it sinking deep under his stomach, horror flashing in his eyes. She was going to die and all he could do was stare as she die at the hands of the bloodthirsty rogue; death awaiting with eyes wide.

A hand reached out towards her, desperation glittering within his sapphire blue eyes, hopeful as he wanted to hold her away from danger. But, alas, he could only stay wistful at the thought. When the blade neared her lithe neck, a brazen breeze brushed its way towards Ai in an alerting speed. The nearing blade was easily flicked away with a simple move of a finger, the clothed rogue securely subdued by the familiar silver haired ninja that stood heroically in front of them.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Pairs of eyes landed upon the supposed place their teacher was inhumanely murdered, them seeing instead some disposed logs hacked to pieces. A surging wave of relief washed upon their weary hearts, a heaving breath of relief escaping their lungs that was once plagued with uncharacteristic dread.

"Naruto, I am sorry that I wasn't able to help you right away." A fleeting glance at the corner of his eye, those depthless black eyes peered beneath at the still frazzled Naruto with unfathomable emotions undeciphered within. "I didn't mean to have you hurt. I just didn't think you'll freeze up like that."

With that said note, he leisurely sauntered away with grip still frighteningly firm around the necks of the two cladded rogues. The air was still, almost suffocating, as he felt the indestructible weight burden at the crook of his neck to the slope of his shoulders, trembling as if a mountain was placed for him to carry alone.

He felt ashamed.

Dully, he could only gaze forlornly at the side as his enigmatic teacher give each a pleasing tone of compliments on the three successive fellow comrades of his; his heart feeling far more distorted at the warming sight playing in front of him.

"Hey, you're not hurt are you? Scaredy Cat." The proud, young Uchiha arrogantly uttered a provocative phrase towards the already saddened blond slumped at the coarse ground; a smirk curled on his thin lips.

Those discerning red eyes caught the turbulence within the silent colors of azure in his eyes, she quietly approached him with lips pulled into a thin line.

"Naru-kun—"

A pair of slender and pale hands pulled him gently from his pathetic grace, those despondent blue eyes were charmed into an illusive enchantment once it met a familiar delicate face fabricated into perfection. Those blood red lips curl into a soft smile, bewitching eyes profound and mesmerizing as they drown him deeply within them.

"Don't be ashamed. Being a coward is not a sin, lest having a heroic character just to put up a brave front. This is your first time outside the village; your very first experience in a life threatening situation—you must not feel ashamed because of this." Her soft, soothing voice, euphoric and vividly warm like the inviting embrace of early spring, coaxed him further into a calming embrace of assurance.

His quivering lips and trembling hands smoothen until a heaving air of relief escaped his lips, breathing out the toxicity engulfing his weary heart and chaotic mind. Naruto softly smiled, the blues in his crystalline eyes turning phlegmatic as the unruffled currents of the deep.

He deeply breathed in.

"I won't lose to you!" His finger stretched forth provocatively towards the aloof Uchiha, the burning flame within his eyes fortified with stronger determination after a small spark created by his ambitions.

"Naruto, stand still! These ninjas have poison in their claws, we need to draw it out of you quickly."

A thunderous clap pulled him away from his proud bravado, the careful warning spilling from the lips of his teacher turning him blue in arrant fright. Naruto could only hold his wrist, body jittery as he turn frantic on what to do.

"Stay still, Naru-kun. We have to open the wound and remove it, the poison is in your blood so don't move around, it will only spread." Ai could only heave out a soft sigh, supple lips pulled into a wry smile as she took his hand gently in restraint. He stiffly obliged to her coaxing, lips pulled into a firm line as if breathing loud can end him instantly.

Deep, abysmal onyx eye narrowed suspiciously towards the rigid elder that breathed out a surreptitious sigh of relief, his indifferent voice weaving behind the opaque mask with lingering coldness. "By the way, I think you need to explain something, Tazuna-san."

(A heart subtly jumps over with a tune of fright strummed upon the cord.)

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          A GRUNT BELLOWED IN THE CONFINES OF HIS THROAT as the tightening grip around his torso dug deeply onto his skin, an untold threat recognized with that limpid eye carefully warching them; predaciously.

"They are Chunin-ranked ninjas in the Village Hidden in the Mist. Their specialty is relentless attack, they keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice."

His articulate voice solemnly reverberate inside their ears, numbness still felt to their skin and scalp at the viciousness both rogues displayed earlier.

"How did you know we'll attack?" With clenched jaws, a disdainful rogue spat his question with eyes still sharp in murderous lust.

A moment of stillness occured, the four were left with their own thoughts as they come to the answer sought after—Kakashi didn't utter a word of answer.

"Was it that puddle earlier?" Softly, Ai muttered into a whisper as her delicate brows furrow together with a thoughtful expression drawn upon her face.

"Puddle?" Naruto, her guileless companion, repeated in question as his face scrunch up with prominent bemusement.

"That's right."

A subtle nod and a word of affirmation came from the lax man crowned with silver hair, his insouciant mannerism casting a dubious shade upon the hearts of those who witnessed his earlier strength.

"Care to explain why, Ai?" His words were drawled into a beat of laze as he turned his eyes to the small ebony haired girl behind him.

"Their time and usage for their trick was off. I believe Haruno-san can explain further and clearly in my stead." Ai curtly gave her reply, eyes tinged with an emotion unfathomable to any to decipher as she smile softly to her female companion.

The person in question was left frazzled, voice stuck on her throat, as anxiety ate her away. Those dainty fingers curl into a fist, delicate brows slightly furrowed together. Her lips parted, she could only say what was needed to be said.

"Um, your way of ambush may have been flawless if you didn't use a puddle as your disguise. It's, its broad in daylight and there were no signs that it rained, so why was there suddenly a puddle in the middle of the path?" She elucidated, distress hinting within her soft voice as she wallow the turmoil within her heart at the penetrating gazes drawn to her.

"Another correct answer."

Tazuna's face took a color of white, the heavy tune of his erratic beating heart made his lungs suffocated in the frightening claws of oblivious terror.

"You knew, but why did you leave it to a group of inexperienced brats to deal with the fighting?" He shakily asked, the glean of weariness found within the depths of his wizened eyes.

"I could have taken them down quickly, but then I would have learned nothing. I had to know who their target was and what they were after."

"What are you getting at?" Tazuna spat out far too aggressively than he intended, his palms going cold with his perspiration.

Kakashi elaborated the necessary information that was needed to be said: the mission, the disadvantages to his students, and harm it may cause if they accepted the mission. It simply made Tazuna despair with his heart stirred into turmoil, unable to retort.

"—This is beyond the scope of our mission." Ending his speech with his opinion given, Tazuna was left silent.

Sakura, the first to acknowledge the heavy consequences it might give if they accepted, opened her small mouth to firmly state her opinion. Those shaped eyebrows furrowed to show her distress at the matter, eyes bright in persuasion towards the man towering in front of her.

"This mission is too soon for us, let's give up! We also need an anesthetic to open Naruto's wound and get the poison out from his body. We really need to return to the village and take him to a doctor, immediately!"

That limpid eye flicker substantially with a surreptitious glean unknown, a fleeting glance given to the rigid boy with his head casted below. Kakashi didn't need to guess what was running around the small boy's head, even at the short months he has been assigned to guide them, he knows the character Naruto is molded in—this will be a big test for him to progress.

"This sure is a burden. Since we need to treat Naruto's wound, shall we go back to the village?" A deliberative tone of distress weave within his voice, a poignant act that won them over in an instant.

An unabashed silence caress them softly with its meticulous touch, the tremors fiddling at the weaving seams of his heart breaking apart as the welling flames burned ferociously at the off-setting thoughts that swam leisurely in his head.