PLEASE READ THIS: ON THE SOMETHING-SOMETHING CHAPTER (FIRST CHAPTER) I ACCIDENTALLY CONFUSED THE SENSES OF TOUCH AND TASTE AND MADE IT SEEM AS IF KAY COULD NOT TASTE A TUNA FISH SANDWHICH.

TO THE CONTRARY, SHE CAN.

AS ANOTHER GOMEN NOTICE, I ACCIDENTALLY STATED THAT KAY FELT TENTEN'S HAND ON HER SHOULDER. SHE DIDN'T.

Pheonix: Alrighty, folks, here goes nothing! This is set a few weeks later; Kay had been slowly progressing in her training, stuff like that. Team Relations have not changed much, Tenten trying to befriend Kay, Lee being Lee, Neji… Not caring. And Kay? Well, this story lives in her head, so live on to read how it goes. IMPORTANT: If you do not already know, I have written a side story for these called Prayer Box holiday specials, whatever holiday I want at whatever time period I want is written in there! Right now I am working on Christmas; the first part has been published. Please, if you do not like spoilers do not look there, it contains spoilers for this fic up to one and a half years after Kay's arrival, so beware. Oh hell, just go read it.

Disclaimer: Since I remembered, I might as well sulk in the memory of waking up this morning.

In English, no, Naruto is not mine.

Chapter Three: Journey to the Country of Waves, Kay gets nervous!

6:02 AM Hokage's Office, Konoha, Fire Country, Friday

"When are we going to get a B-ranked mission! I'm sick of D-ranks…" A grumbling voice of a certain fox container echoed into the hallway where Lee was nodding his silent agreement. The rest of the conversation going on inside was old news to Kay, the thud of Naruto hitting the floor face-first from Kakashi's punch, and she didn't realize the rest of it aloud until Tenten's voice called her name.

"Kay, we can go in now." The girl said, looking at Kay with a bemused expression. Kay chuckled at herself and followed. Tenten and Kay had an understanding so far. Kay wasn't ready for friendship; Tenten would be the silent teammate until that fact changed.

Kay smiled at the Hokage as they entered, and he gave her an exasperated grin in return. They had already established between themselves an inside joke, 'Naruto is a dipshit.' Of course, The Third had said it more like the child was confused and growing, but Kay knew what he meant.

"Today, your sensei Gai has offered his teams assistance in a volunteer mission." Kay sighed, knowing this must have something to do with her new sensei's eternal rival status to Kakashi, but her smile did not fade.

"You will be mapping the Wave Country, it seems a recent storm has altered the coastline slightly and the sooner the change is recorded the more accurate our records will be in future years." The Hokage nodded to Gai, who gave his good-guy pose to his teammates and the Hokage in the room, making everyone blink except for the silent Hyuuga. Kay wondered spontaneously if it hurt Neji to look at the sun.

Probably.

Wait, oh crap oh crap oh CRAP! Hokage-sama did NOT just say Wave Country?!

The Hokage, meanwhile, was saying that had there been any less members he would not have sent this mission for another week, as it took a lot of practice to get a map accurate enough these days, but with a five man cell he was confident in its success.

This means that Naruto and the rest of Team Seven will probably be fighting on the bridge, and if we're not careful, we'll run into them… Possibly change SOMETHING in the future…

Kay didn't see how it could change the future, but she didn't care. At this superstitious part of her life, she was sure any change in Konoha could alter the bigger picture.

Lee seemed to sense her distress, and looked at her oddly. Sensing his gaze, Kay blinked and waved at him, as cheerily as she could possibly muster at the moment.

Tenten saved her once more as they left the office, dragging her physically into motion without much notice.

This would be a touch mission.

10:00 AM Funeral Home, Japan, Friday

Marissa kept the hot tears of frustration, sadness and sheer anger from falling out of sheer willpower, her black, simple dress flowing as she walked up to the elegant table where pictures of Kay seemed to glare back at her, and letters to the 'deceased' littered the area around said pictures.

That damned bastard, why the hell is he doing this? A few weeks, and he's ended the search and pronounced her dead. It's true the police had no leads… But Kay has to be somewhere! She's… She wouldn't have died… She can't have died…

They had always said they'd die the same moment; their mental bond with each other would share the pain of their passing. And Marissa swore that whenever Kay was in distress or pain, she could feel it. Was that too strange?

She hadn't felt death. Hadn't even felt sadness. So where was her best friend? Kay had left her in the dark, alone to figure out this mystery by herself.

Will power wasn't enough, and as Marissa approached the little decorative table, she barely managed to choke down a sob as hot salt water poured from her deep brown eyes. Had her friend run away? Why would Kay not tell her in doing so?

Had he done something to her? Killed her, perhaps? Marissa fought the sniffle, her body shaking as she silently wept for her lost friend.

Anger at Kay for not being her to tell her just what the hell was going on, anger at Kay'/s bastard of a father, anger at herself, for standing her crying while, if Kay had been standing here and this had been another person's funeral ceremony, would have told her to stuff it and stop the crying.

Funny… For Kay to say that. Kay was usually so solid, a wall always there to be leaned on. Until the young Izurill was left alone, then she was a wreck.

God-damn-it, she would find this mystery out without the police. Her friend would not be in the dark for the rest of her days.

10:02 AM Konoha Forest, Konoha, Fire Country, Friday

Kay felt unusually upset as she walked, frowning slightly at the sudden wave of emotions and the strong urge to cry, or to tell someone to stop crying. This urge pulled at her like a weight, and many times Lee had turned back around to invite her to run with him and let free all her worries.

How the hell would taking away all her breathing air help her feel better?

As she walked behind Neji and next to Tenten, she recognized her anguish and tried to displace it as frustration. Deciding to practice her hand seals, she quickly formed the Ram, Rat, Horse, and hardest of all she had learned so far, the Dragon. She was slow and clumsy, and if Neji were to turn around no doubt he would tell her she was doing something wrong. She practiced on her speed with the hand seals and performing them at random, remembering how fast Kakashi was able to do it, without even thinking. Tenten watched with a smile and placed Kay's fingers in the shape of the Bird, carefully teaching her newest teammate the hand seal.

The rest of the walking trip went quietly, and soon they were on a boat, getting used to the land around them. Kay knew she could take it easy for about two days before she worried about the bridge, but on the third day she would have to do anything to keep her team from that area. She had even, in her mind of minds, contemplating kissing Neji, A. for her personal pleasure and B. for the effective distraction and surprise that would follow. Not to mention the chaos. Chaos was a good distraction.

Neji was silent throughout most of their boat ride, only holding a small conversation with Tenten and Gai over their plans for the next few days. The Hyuuga had helped the three to come to a conclusion that they would play it by ear, leave it open for adjustments and suggestions.

It had been half and hour, and Kay hadn't even realized that she was staring until a calm Hyuuga turned lilac eyes to her. Knowing she was blushing she looked away, finding the rippling water suddenly even more interesting. Neji closed his eyes and straightened his neck while Gai and Lee took turns being over enthusiastic about animals or sights along the water's edge. Fully prepared for this turn of events, Tenten sighed and pulled out her latest book, flipping the pages to her bookmark and instantly allowing herself to be drawn back in.

Neji cursed when his first distraction during his meditation happened to land right on his shoulder. His lilac eye burst open and narrowed, expecting to turn to see Lee or someone else trying to bother him, but was slightly surprised when he found Kay, breathing evenly with her body leaning against his, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder. He briefly wondered whether to push her off or wake her, but after a moment of this he looked to her face again. She looked comfortable, a truly odd expression that he couldn't say he had yet witnessed, and it would be difficult to rouse her without alerting the team to her current position. At least, that was the excuse he used for not pushing her away.

In the deep recesses of ones mind, there is always an area that can manifest ideas of things that the conscious mind may not ever have witnessed or experienced. Kay realized this as she walked through a forest, feeling a painful sensation with every footfall. The wind created a stinging sensation, and she imagined this was what the girls at school likened to getting shots with needles at the doctors. Kay likened it to being stabbed. Her voice cried out, and the vibration in her throat sent horrible waves of pain reverberating through her body. The hot tears that feel form her eyes rolled down the side of her face, sending the hair's roots into a dizzying sort of dull throb, but one that sent more tears and thus more pain coming out.

But alas, there was suddenly comfort, a familiar yet unreadable voice calling her name, asking her where it hurt as something warm and constant enveloped her upper body. 'Everywhere hurts,' She cried out to that voice, hanging onto the only comfort she had found so far. Everything went black after the voice assured her that it was alright…

"You're alright, Kay-chan, we're here! What hurts?" Lee yelled, shaking their new teammate roughly. Neji was watching with mild interest, and Tenten was calling Kay's name with Lee. The girl had been screaming in agony in her sleep, calling out that everything hurt. Gai was supporting Kay's back through Lee's not so gentle waking efforts, thoughtful worry etched across the teachers face.

With an inaudible gasp, the brunette awoke, the tears streaming down her face not causing any active pain, but the comfort of those arms, that voice, still fresh in her memory. Her eyes were open, but she had not moved at all, so no one yet noticed her waking.

"Lee, stop." Neji said, his sharp eyes catching the first glimpse of open-slotted blue eyes, and at his voice, the girl in Gai's arms seemed to come to life, taking in breath as if she had never done so before while meeting Neji's eyes with her own, now wide open ones.

He was the one in my dream… His voice was what kept that pain away…

That thought made Kay smile, before she suddenly frowned. Gai had released her, and Lee was looking at her worriedly as well as Tenten.

"What was that all about?" Tenten asked, the worry that Kay had seen not missing it's chance to join into the girls tone of voice as well.

"What was what all about?" Kay asked, just as bewildered.

"In your sleep you were screaming and thrashing about." Came Neji's matter-of-fact answer, his eyes still calmly observing her from his position farther away. Kay slowly took in their surrounding as she nodded in slow understanding. It was a small, but cozy room, and she figured they had reached the place where they would be staying for the mission's length.

"I'm sorry to have worried you." Kay reverted to her reserved self, her blue eyes hardening from their once frightened state to a more refined, calm one. "It was just a nightmare…"

"Do you need anything, Kay-chan?" Even when he worried, Lee worried too much, and Kay became annoyed very easily.

"No, really Lee, go put your energy into getting your stuff all set." Kay replied, noting the still-packed packs lying against the wall. This must be the girls' room, she decided, as Tenten stayed while the rest of the team went to another part of the building.

"So, Kay-san, when you were dreaming… Well, it seemed pretty nasty. Do you want to talk about it?" Tenten surprised Kay when she turned around to face the girl, an expectant but patient look in her eyes. Seeing the patient look as a sign to take her time in answering, Kay bit her lip. What could she tell Tenten? But the want for socialization carried Kay to nod her head in agreement, and before she could change her mind her mouth was moving.

"I don't know how, but I was somewhere where there was wind, walking… I could feel it all happening, but I'm not sure the feelings were correct. Everything was painful, extremely agonizing, the wind rubbing against my skin was probably one of the worst, actually. But then someone," Kay left out Neji's name for the sake of her pride, "Someone was calling my name, and I felt what must have been strong, warm arms encircle my upper body. Somehow, that didn't hurt… That's when I woke up."

Tenten pursed her lips, "Well, Kay-san, that could be good or bad. Good if it's only a dream, bad if it's one of those dreams that give you an idea of an occurrence in your life."

Pheonix: Alright, here's the deal. I'm writing this so that there will be two zeroes at the end of the story's word count every time. That's hard, but I'm a sped, so deal with it. Even right now, I'm counting down to zero from one hundred. I don't like cheese.

Alright, that was a lie. I like cheese. And bologna. And a few other things. Like Neji. And Kakashi. And Itachi. And my own personal RETARDS! (Those meaning my friends from school, haha.) Eighty three words. Now, wait, now that would be eighty four. Ninety two. Read and Review! Bye.