Unfurling Bud

Chapter Seven

'...' - Eliza talking to Inner Sakura.

... - Inner Sakura speaking.

Wave Mission: Part I

"No more of these lame missions, old man!" Naruto was red in the face, puffing out his cheeks and waving his fist in the air.

"Naruto!  You're still an inexperienced ninja! What makes you think-" Iruka  yelled. Said boy huffed and cut him off, crossing both of his arms into  an x-sign. The argument bounced back and forth between the two of them  before the Hokage himself put a stop to their fight. He ended up  grudgingly acknowledging Naruto's plea and granting us the long awaited  C-ranked mission after an eternity of D-ranked ones.

I felt myself tense.

No  matter how loud Naruto's cheers were, I couldn't bring myself to even  have one shred of excitement. A shaky breath escaped my lips as I  clutched the ends of my shirt. We weren't ready for this. We weren't. We  weren't.

I was going to feel my hands coated with blood for the first time.

I was going to hear their last words for the first time.

I was going to see their lives gradually fade away... for the first time.

People will die. My body shook with the slightest of tremors, a sheen of sweat coating my nose. No one noticed.

"Ah, there is your client now." I glanced up quickly, stopping myself from further acting like a pathetic coward. No time.

Tazuna  staggered in, sake bottle in hand, the pungent liquid dribbling past  his mouth into his beard. I felt my eyebrows furrow disapprovingly as I  bored holes into the bridge builder's side. It seems as if he noticed it  too, because he reflexively pulled his sake bottle closer to him. I  wanted so badly to take that poison and fling it out the window.

"What?  Jus' a buncha kids. Wha' they gonna do? 'specially that short one wi'  the idiotic face." Naruto blew up once he realized who. I glared  menacingly at the drunk man, wanting very much to throw a senbon near at  his head as a warning. The way he verbally stomped on Naruto like that  was hurtful. The anime portrayed as a sort of joke, but in real life, it  was so much more different. Those comments stung.

Kakashi sent me  a warning glance, as if  sensing my darkening mood. I gave a  slight nod in response, physically taking a step back to calm myself  down. It was no use getting worked up over this. I took a deep breath,  plastering a fake smile on my face. "Tazuna-san, I'd appreciate it if  you stopped badmouthing my teammate. I assure you, we are quite capable of handling a C-ranked  mission." He visibly flinched, dabbing his sleeve on his forehead. I  couldn't help the slightly mad giggle that escaped my lips.

0o0o0

The  warm breeze caressed our faces as we walked, loud chatter filling the  silence. I constantly glanced at the ground, searching furiously for the  shimmering puddle of water. Tazuna wasn't helping much either. He was a  constant eyesore, taking a swig of his beloved sake every few seconds  and dripping some on the dirt ground.

The cheap smell floated  around us like a cloud, irritating our sensitive noses. I could imagine  Kakashi feeling the most irritated, but he didn't say anything. He was,  after all, a professional. I huffed.

The moment we walked across  that wooden bridge, butterflies sprang up from my stomach. Puddle.  Water. Puddle. I tried hard not to stare at the clear pile as we passed,  but I still snuck glances at it. Kakashi caught my eye as it strayed  and my face heated up. Was I that obvious? Gosh darn. I casually pulled  out a kunai as I told Inner to get ready.