Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any associated characters.

Irina Akashira: Thanks for the advice! I hadn't actually considered some of those points, especially the Zetsu one. Right now, the explosive tag idea is the best plan in Aka's eyes, but she'll definitely end up with a different plan now. As for contacting Kushina, she probably won't ever reveal her secret to anyone since Konoha is a paranoid military village.


"Saburo-kun! Hisao-kun, How's it going?" I grin at my teammates.

"Pretty good Aka-chan. I finally got that fire jutsu down." Saburo responds. "Maybe I can get Sensei to teach me another."

"I'm afraid that you will have to wait for that Saburo-kun." Sensei arrives with a shunshin. He sighs, anxiously running a hand through his hair. "Sorry to be blunt, but Iwa and Konoha are now at war."

"What." Hisao gasps. "Please say you're kidding Sensei."

I know Sensei is not kidding. He warned us that the 3rd Shinobi war was fast approaching. Not to mention, I knew, according to the anime, that eventually the war would start.

Either way, I'm worried. We're not ready for war. I'm seven. Saburo is ten. Hisao is fourteen. We should be in school, learning, laughing and making friends, not fighting and killing. We may have read about war, but there's a difference between fighting in one and reading about one. We haven't even been in a true fight. In our last mission, we were outnumbered. We got help and retreated. We didn't fight. Sure we may have sparred, but sparring is different than fighting for your life. It's different than fighting for the life of your friends.

"Sorry Hisao-kun. I'm not 'll be fine though. You won't be on the front lines. Our team will act as a delivery team. We'll run new orders and supplies from Konoha to various outposts. We're leaving now for a C rank. We're delivering new supplies to three different outposts and will be gone for a week. Meet me by the front gates."

"Hai Sensei." We vanish.

I stare at myself in the mirror. Short wavy black hair tied back with a red ribbon. Dark eyes. Long black eyelashes. Porcelain skin. Small. Dainty. I don't look like a shinobi. I look like a doll, and the kimono top doesn't help. At Least it's a dark blue rather than pink. The only thing shinobi about me is the forehead protector tied around my neck and the calluses on my hands.

I turn away from the mirror, moving to pack supplies for the mission. A first aid kit, a change of clothes, ration bars, and weapons. "Imouto?" Kosuke-nii knocks on the door.

"You can come in nii-san."

"C-rank?" He asks, seeing the supplies I'm packing.

"Yep." I nod. "Did you hear that the war is starting?" It's a callous question, phrased like how's the weather or what are you having for dinner. It doesn't portray the fear I feel. Everything is all fine and dandy until you realize this is real life, not an anime.

He sighs. "Yep I heard. My team got promoted to chunin because of it."

"Chunin?" I gawk.

"Yah. We're skilled enough. We would have taken the last Chunin Exams, and probably been promoted, but one of my teammates was still injured from a mission. It made a lot of sense to promote us. They need all the Jounin possible for the war. My genin team is staying together though, and we'll still run B-ranks with Sensei, but now we'll run C-ranks without him."

I nod in understanding. "Okay." I rush forward and hug him. "Be safe."

"I'm not the one leaving for a C-rank." Kousuke-nii grins down at me, ruffling my hair.

"Nii-san." I whine. "Not the hair."

"Yah, I know. Be safe Imouto. I'll tell Kaa-san and Tou-san you're leaving on a C-rank. They're working right now."

"Thanks." I give him another hug before heading over to the gate.


Leaving Konoha, we leap into the trees. It's faster then walking and more stealthy than running down the middle of the road. I'm nervous. I fiddle with my Kunai pouch anxiously, afraid that at any time, something will go wrong. "Aka-chan." Sensei sighs. Everything will be okay. Just because the third war has started, doesn't mean we'll be attacked."

"Sensei don't jinx it. Now something bad is guaranteed to happen."

"Ah, Aka-chan, I don't think that's how it works." Hisao comments.

"Yah lighten up." Saburo grins. "Hisao-senpai and I will protect you." I slap him. "Owww what was that for Chibi-chan." I slap him again. "Aka-chan" Saburo whines.

"I can protect myself. You know that. We're all genin. Also, don't call me Chibi-chan."

"Hai Aka-hime!" I hit him again. "Gak! Stop hitting me Hime! And Senpai, don't just laugh. Stop our pint sized team mate! Gak. Hisao-Senpai, that's not your cue to laugh even more."

"Mo. Settle down guys." Sensei looks back at us with a smile. "Focus on the mission. Just because we're not likely to be attacked, doesn't mean we'll run into any trouble." We quiet down.

Despite my fears, I eventually calm down. I even teach my teammates I spy. It helps us pay attention to our surroundings and stay on guard while staving off boredom.

Saburo sighs "I spy with my little eye something that is green."

"A tree." Hisao deadpans.

"Ah Senpai. Your guess is right. Your turn."

"I spy with my little eye something blue."

"The sky?" Saburo asks.

"Yep."

"Guys that's not how you play! You don't choose the most obvious answer. You want to make it hard for your opponents to actually guess correctly." I glare at both my teammates.

"But Aka-chan." Saburo explains. "That makes the game hard." I turn my glare towards him. "Eep. Fine. I spy with my little eye something…kunai!"

I deflect several kunai thrown our way as a group of Iwa-nin appear. "Ahhh…. Sensei?" I stammer.

Yokuto-Sensei takes a step forward, putting himself between us and the Iwa-nin. "What are you doing in the Land of Fire?"

I examine the group. There's only three of them, but they are stronger than us with two chunin and a jounin versus our jounin and three genin. One of the chunin smirks. "What do you think we're doing, tree huggers?"

Yokuto-Sensei glares at them. "Either infiltration or sabotage. It was stupid of you to reveal your presence by attacking us. You've just blown your mission."

The jounin scowls. "Vengeance is not stupidity. My father was killed by Konoha in the second war; it will be easy enough to kill you and the little genin before finishing the mission."

I stare at the jounin incredulously. Did he really ruin a mission for something that stupid. We're at war now. He'll have plenty of chances to kill Konoha-nin, chances that won't interfere with whatever infiltration of sabotage mission he has.

I yelp as one of the chunin rushes towards me and the other attacks my teammates. Sensei is quickly attacked by the jounin and the battle begins.

"Drop the weights." I scream, barely dodging several kunai. Sensei gave us training weights to improve strength and speed, but against chunin we need all the advantages we can get. Thankfully, the weights are based around seals, making it easy enough to release the excess weight mid battle.

I block several heavy blows, arms shuddering at the strength behind them. I duck under the next few blows. He hits hard. "Smart girl." The chunin smirks. He's large and bulky, with a confident grin. I unfurl my whip. Extending my range will make it harder for him to get in those heavy handed taijutsu hits. His grin widens at that. "Very smart."

Running through several hand signs, he pulls up the ground around him as armor. Earth armor. Crap. I dodge several more blows, lashing out with my whip to prevent him from getting too close. Although the armor makes him move slower, those hits look twice as devastating. I dart forward, whip slicing against his armor; it doesn't do anything. How am I supposed to defeat him? My style is based on speed and critical hits. I don't have enough raw strength to break through his armor. I don't have any heavy handed attacks like the chidori either.

Ducking under several strikes, I frown at the whip in my hands. If I could infuse it with enough wind chakra, I might be able to break through his armor with a strong slice. I don't know how to do that though, and I know better than trying untested techniques mid battle.

I examine his armor, looking for weak points. His eyes aren't covered. Also, joints would be weaker; they need to be flexible to permit movement, something that makes them less sturdy. I lash out with the whip again, striking at the elbow. The whip at least slices his armor this time, but it doesn't deal any damage to him. I dodge several more strikes. Honestly, if the battle continues like this, it will just be a battle of endurance. As a seven year old, I would undoubtedly lose.

I chance a glance towards my teammates. Not good. Their opponent is faster than them, and seems to just be playing with them. She's a swordsman. Saburo, although learning kenjutsu, doesn't stand a chance against her, and she's more than fast enough to dodge any senbon thrown by Hisao. Hisao meets my eye. "Switch." I mouth. He examines my opponent before nodding, coming to the same conclusions I did. His poison and senbon along with Saburo's traps will be a much better fit against the rock armored chunin, while I'll have a better shot at defeating the female kenjutsu user.

I duck under another blow before darting towards the female chunin; my whip lash almost catches her off guard, but she manages to parry in time. "Aka-chan" Saburo squacks in surprise, dodging another sword strike.

"We're switching opponents." I duck under the women's blows, sending several rapid whip strokes that she barely dodges.

Saburo examines the rock armored man before nodding in agreement. "Makes sense."

I frown in concern. He has several deep cuts on his arm from the woman's strikes and his shoulder is bleeding rather heavily. "Hey, be careful." He nods before darting off.

The female chunin scoffs. "Switching opponents won't do you any good. You're outmatched here little genin."

"We'll see about that."

I'm the fastest of my team, and while the rock armored man was just a smidgen slower than me, making it easier to dodge his blows, the woman is faster than me. I block several sword strikes with a kunai, occasionally lashing out with my whip in an attempt to catch her off guard. She gets several light hits in while dodging all my attacks. She definitely outmatches me.

Sensei is out of sight, the jounin have long since moved their fight away from us.

I jump backwards to avoid another strike. I'm covered in cuts, but nothing serious. I may be slower than her, but I'm fast enough to avoid serious injury. Dodge. Parry. Duck. Dodge. My whip slashes through her arm, and I smile in delight. Finally, a solid blow.

Something seems wrong. I scream as cold metal slices into my shoulder. Substitution jutsu mixed with genjutsu. Frick. I stumble backwards, barely dodging the next blow. Frick.

The rock armored chunin hits Saburo clear across the chest, sending him flying. "Saburo-kun!" I hear Hisao scream. I want to run to them. I want to help them, but I'm having enough trouble with my own opponent.

Everything is sharper, clearer, brighter. I easily doge the next few blows the chunin sends. She stares at me in shock. "Uchiha…" I strike out with my whip. It becomes an extension of my arm, twisting and turning as I dance around my opponent. The world seems to move slower.

I push her onto the offensive, forcing her backwards and away from my teammates. I must protect them. They're now out of sight, fighting somewhere else in the forest.

Every strike, every move I make is calculated and controlled. I look for openings in her guard and strike at vital points. She manages to dodge, but I get several hits in.

I freeze as my whip slashes across her chest, just barely managing to creep into her guard. The woman stumbles backwards, blood gushing from her chest. She coughs, having trouble breathing, before crumbling to the ground. I stare as red pools out around her. Deadeaddaeeeaddddaeeddd. I killed her. She's dead. I killed her.

Boom. I startle as an explosion echoes through the clearing. Frick. My teammates. My teammates are still fighting. Or dead. Or the chunin is dead. I need to know if they're okay. I stumble through the forest heading back towards where they were fighting the rock-armored chunin.

The rock-armored chunin lays on the ground, armor crumbled around him. His skin is charred and several senbon stick out of him. There's a senbon in his eye socket. Dead. He's dead too. Saburo stares at the body, face ashen. Hisao next to him, comforting the younger boy. They're both okay.

"Hisao-kun! Saburo-kun!" Hisao jolts, turning to look at me as I run towards him.

"Aka-chan," Hisao gasps in relief as I embrace him in a hug before letting go.

" Are you okay?"

"Hai."

"Saburo-kun? Are you okay?" He visibly startles, hand jumping to a kunai as I rest a hand on his shoulder. "Aka-chan!" He gasps. "Sorry. I should have found you and helped. But he was dead. And his skin is all bubbly and charred." Saburo's face is slightly green as he stares at the Iwa-chunin.

"No, no." I pull both of my teammates into a hug, clutching them like a lifeline. "I get it. The Iwa-chunin, she's dead too. I killed her. I think we finished fighting around the same time." I half laugh half sob. "I…" my voice cracks. "I'm just glad you guys are okay."


Sensei finds us curled up next to each other a few minutes later. My cheeks are damp with dried tears and all of our eyes are suspiciously red. "I'm here if your guys want to talk." Sensei murmurs. "Or if you just need a shoulder to cry on." He doesn't say that it's okay or that everything will be alright which I appreciate. Everything is not okay, and he doesn't know if everything will be alright. Understanding and comfort is a million times better than empty platitudes.

"Thank you Yokuto-Sensei." I pull Sensei and Hiroto into the hug, the ninken offering big slobbery kisses to each of us.

"Aghh Hiroto." Saburo splutters, trying to wipe away the dog slobber.

With my team at my side, everything seems perfect in this moment.