Zabuza's sister

6 : Conversation interrupted

Naruto's burst in the Hokage's office after their hundredth "missing cat capture" decided it. Team 7 would be assigned to a C-rank mission. Escorting an old bridge builder to the Land of the Waves. Not exactly as good as Naruto wished, but different of what they'd normally do after all. He was already running all around the house as Dana finished packing her bag and put on her mask and cloak. She would accompany them for once, as they decided with the Hokage after he gave the mission to Team 7. Ultimately, she had to knock Naruto on the head to make him stop jumping around and be ready on time to meet the team at Konoha's entrance gates. The others looked calm, even if Dana could sense the tension emanating from Kakashi. He was worried for his students, he had a bad feeling. The girl had it too – but somehow mixed with something else – impatience, expectation. Naruto, him, didn't feel any worry and he was so excited that he got on the bridge builder's – Tazuna – nerves.

"Is this brat supposed to protect my life? He is a joke!" The man screamed.

"He is with me and I am a jônin, so you don't need to worry." Kakashi reassured him.

"Hey!" The blond boy interrupted angrily. "Insulting a ninja is a big mistake, and I'm gonna be the greatest ninja ever: someday, I'll become a Hokage and you'll look after me! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! Remember it!"

But that just made the old man laugh. The two of them began arguing, Naruto wanting to punch his face, Kakashi having to hold him by the handle of his bag. His sister approached slowly and knocked him down.

"We'll never begin the mission you were so impatient to complete if you're holding us back like that." She said, voice even, under the stunned stares of her teammates.

"Okay, okay... No need to punch me – again!" Naruto mumbled, getting the dirt off his pants.

She put an arm behind his shoulder and laughed lightly – her mask making it sound creepy for those who didn't know her.

"Come on, little one." The brunette answered. "We've got a mission to accomplish!"

And they led the path.

...

"Ayane-chan..." Sakura's little voice took the young woman out of her thoughts.

"Yes, Sakura-chan?" She replied as softly as possible with her gas-mask covering her melodic voice.

"I never asked you... Why are you in this team? Normally a ninja team is formed of four people only – a jônin and three gênin. And you don't even accompany us on all our missions. And you're clearly more skilled than anyone of us – except Kakashi-senseï, of course." She added quickly, a bit panicked.

"Hahaha!" Dana's laugh surprised her. "You are a curious one, right? Well, I suppose it's to be expected from the sorting number one of the academy." The pinkette blushed proudly. "Let's say that it's been a while since I already started to work as a ninja for Konoha, but I never had a chance to pass the exams. So now that the village is quite calm and doesn't need me as much as before, I can have a proper gênin training! And... to be fair, I was a bit jealous of you, young people. It's not that easy to be different. There are things I missed that I regret now, even if it just seemed selfish or inappropriate when it was the time to do them for me. So here I am now, being selfish after deserving to be!"

The younger girl stared at her teammate, startled. She had an even stranger silhouette beneath her cloak that day. Her back seemed to be carrying something big, plus her backpack. But her voice was even, walking with that charge without breaking a sweat.

"But then how old..."

Her question was interrupted by a movement she captured from the corner of her eye. Their senseï's body was almost instantly chopped into pieces in front of their horrified eyes. The two ninja who attacked him then jumped on Naruto screaming: