Naru: Misty Eyes (A Naruto Fanfic) [Complete]

Chapter Fourteen: Land of Waves Ahoy!

"I'm still not sure this is a good idea," Naru said as they walked. Team 7, after months of D-Ranks, was on its first C-Rank mission: escorting a man named Tazuna back to his village in the Land of Waves. Already they'd been walking all morning. Naru didn't mind, but there was something odd about the whole mission. Of course, it could also be that she simply couldn't stand the bridge builder.

"Yes, Naru, we heard you the first seven times," Kakashi sighed.

"And the last seven," Sakura added.

"Tch. Dobe," Sasuke said, otherwise remaining silent.

Naru frowned but kept walking. Then she stepped in a puddle. "Gah, now my feet are wet! This is great!"

"What's so wrong with a little water?" Sakura asked.

"I grew up in a desert! Water isn't exactly my style," Naru grumbled. "Why's there a puddle in the middle of the path anyways?"

"It hasn't rained for a while..." Sasuke commented. That alone was enough for Sakura and Naru to go back to back, putting themselves between Tazuna and the puddle.

"Seems we've been discovered," a voice said, coming from where the puddle in the road had been.

"Ew, I stepped on a person," Naru said.

"Two, actually," a second voice joined the first.

"And the good news just keeps getting better."

"Shut up, dobe."

"You wish, teme."

"Not the time!" Sakura exclaimed.

Before anything else could happen though, there was a rushing sound, like wind, and two crunches in quick succession. These were followed by two thuds and then silence.

"Did what I think happened really just happen?" Naru asked.

"Kakashi-sensei just killed them like it was nothing," Sakura breathed out, confirming Naru's suspicion.

"Now, Mr. Tazuna-the-bridge-builder," Kakashi sounded scary, "why don't you tell us what's really going on?"

A sob story later, they were still walking towards the Land of Waves. Naru, apparently the only one with common sense at this point, said, "I still don't think this is a good idea."

"Yes, Naru, we know," Sakura, Kakashi, and Sasuke said together.

"Just saying..."

~*~

They had almost made it when there was another rushing sound. Knowing it wasn't Kakashi this time, Naru hit the ground, pulling Tazuna down with her.

"Zabuza Momochi," Kakashi said.

"Kakashi Hatake," the newcomer replied.

Naru got up slowly. Whoever this guy was, he was dangerous. Extremely dangerous. She felt Sakura move beside her. She spoke quietly, "It's too misty to see anymore. Naru, can you help me get Tazuna out of here?"

"Right," Naru replied back just as quietly. She started them in the same direction they'd been going, hoping Kakashi and Sasuke would be alright. They didn't make it far before Naru stopped, hearing something Tazuna and Sakura hadn't. "Keep going, Sakura. I'll be right back."

"Wait, Naru!" Sakura called after her, but it was too late. Naru had disappeared into the mist.

Naru took a deep breath, getting back to the battlefield quickly. Sasuke landed beside her, having jumped backwards. "What are you doing, dobe? I thought you and Sakura got Tazuna out of here."

"We did. I came back." Naru didn't tell him that it was because she heard him get hurt, that it had scared her when she thought he could be dead.

Sasuke scoffed but didn't comment. In return, Naru didn't comment on how heavy his breathing was. "So do you have a plan, or did you come back to be in the way?"

"I have a plan."

~*~

"I'm never listening to one of your plans again, dobe," Sasuke said as they finally reached Tazuna's house.

"Whatever, teme. It worked, didn't it?" Naru shot back. She just wanted to get this mission over with. She failed to see the appeal of the Land of Waves. Whatever Kohaku liked about it, Naru must have missed it. Sasuke wasn't hurt nearly so bad as Naru had feared, thank goodness, and Sakura had actually read up a lot on medical ninjutsu, so she had been able to help as well. Kakashi hadn't been seriously hurt either, although he had been mysteriously deep in thought since their encounter with Zabuza. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, Naru?"

"Nothing..." Naru missed Suna. She missed Kohaku and Ryuu and Eito, Temari and Kankuro, Karasu and Tsuki, and Gaara. She missed home.

~*~

By the time they actually began their journey back to Konoha, Zabuza and his apprentice Haku had been killed, as had Gato and his army of mercenaries. The Great Bridge had been completed, linking Tazuna's town to the mainland. Sakura had put her novice medical ninjutsu skills to work more than she would've liked. Kakashi had already promised to start looking for a suitable medic-nin for her to train with when they got back.

Sasuke had gotten even more brooding after he partially unlocked his sharingan while fighting Haku. He still seemed upset with Naru for her recklessness during the battle, not that she'd been reckless on purpose. She hadn't intended to unleash any of the Kyuubi's chakra. It had simply happened. As it was, only Kakashi had seemed to realize that's what it was.

Naru, who'd never killed someone before, was still processing all that had happened. While her teammates had battled on the bridge, she had fought the two men sent to take Tsunami and Inari. Well, to take at least one of them. It had resulted in one of the men having a tessen sent through his eye and the other getting his throat slit by a kunai. Naru was still convinced she could feel their blood on her hands, and that was before she made it to the bridge, before the Kyuubi's chakra had made an appearance. What happened after that would haunt her for a long time.

Despite their different focuses of thought, all four of them were more than ready to be back in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Even Naru found that she preferred Konoha to the Land of Waves.