I do not own Naruto and his associated articles; only my OCs.

Time passed quickly after kunoichi's first battle. Learning many things about herself, Manami was constantly on the move with the team, establishing the front lines. Squadron Hatake was a well-oiled machine that incorporated the medic into the system with ease as the kunoichi slowly became accustomed to moving and fighting battles that she previously would have thought impossible to win, scenarios that any sane chuunin would hypothetically avoid at all costs. But the Uzushiogakure medic quickly learned to expect the unexpected.

Her performance in her first battle caused a swift change in procedure as a medic was deemed an irreplaceable asset to the team. While Manami was now allowed to participate in scouting missions (and the ensuing battles), she was never left on her own. One of her teammates was always in the immediate area so support her in case she was overwhelmed by the enemy. She was now also to be regularly trained by her Jounin level teammates when her duty as a kunoichi or medic didn't impede her. Increasing her evasion and defense were their main concerns.

She had never worked so hard in her life, Manami decided after nine months with the team. In Uzushiogakure, she had trained with all her being to reach her level of expertise but it didn't come close to training with an Uchiha who could analyze every single one of her moves and make her practice the same motion until she could do it without wasting any extra energy with unnecessary movement. Manami knew better than to complain, but it didn't change the fact that she felt on the edge of exhaustion for the first six months.

The training wasn't for naught. Manami could feel the difference in her reactions and in her body. She moved much more smoothly between positions and her speed increased. She spent many nights nursing her bruised body, frustrated with her level of combat and quietly cursing her smug teammate who made it a point to taunt her when he saw her.

Their most recent move had been the hardest to date. They moved deeper into Ame no Kuni, getting closer to their hidden village. Despite the enemy's decreasing numbers, their shinobi continued to persist, removing more of Konohagakure's numbers as their leader finally emerged from his village. Hanzo was proving to be the most dangerous of enemies, moving quickly and destroying regiments of shinobi faster than they could be replaced. His summon only made matters worse; there were no known cures for the toxic fumes it produced.

From their latest reports, the man was clear across the country, closer to the border of Hi no Sato. This was as much of a relief as it was a problem. A strategically planned strike on the enemy's base could bring the upper hand to Konohagakure, but the cost of such a maneuver was not guaranteed. With a Hyūga on hand, the process had been made easier, to observe and confirm their numbers but security was tight. There was a constant stream of shinobi entering and leaving the city, making it difficult for the team to get close enough for an accurate count thus delaying any movement from the Konohagakure shinobi that waited Squadron Hatake's report.

The weeks dragged on as the team inched closer to their goal, but never gaining access to the hidden village. Tension built amongst the team; they were full of energy but without an outlet to pass it.

To relieve the team, Akio took it upon himself to coerce Manami into 'fighting' outnumbered and against different opponents under harsh circumstances. This included fighting with only three weapons on hand, fighting with only one hand, fighting blindfolded, fighting sleep-deprived, fighting without chakra, fighting with only chakra all while training with him afterwards.

After a particularly difficult session against Daiki and Daichi, Manami collapsed into her cot exhausted. Her body ached from the exertion Akio put her through. While she knew that the tall Uchiha wasn't doing it on purpose, the medic couldn't help but feel that he was picking on her.

In her mind she argued that it was just nerves getting the best of her, but the fact remained that she had never had a full day to recover from the strain on her body. Exhaustion was normal in war and yet it shouldn't be a constant strain. Normally troops that were on the front were often relieved and brought behind their lines to recover before returning.

Aching, the kunoichi drug herself from her bed and started to change out of her soaked clothes. The rain had been nonstop for eight weeks, a highly unusual feat even during a rainy season. If it had been colder, they would have been buried under several meters of snow by now. Throwing her clothes over the crude drying rack that she had constructed from some leftover supply crates, Manami donned field clothes. Her two sets of camp clothes were dirty, leaving her with little options.

Koji entered the tent just as Manami finished dressing and sat patiently against the tent's entrance. The medic disliked the smell of wet dog. His ears dripped with water as he looked up her, waiting for her attention.

"Did you need something?" she asked snappily, throwing her vest onto the cot. It hit the side of the cot and slid onto the floor, much to the kunoichi's chagrin.

"Taichou needs to speak with you in his tent. He said as soon as you were available," the hound responded looking questioningly at the kunoichi as she picked up the vest in a huff.

" him I will be there in two minutes." She muttered, grabbing hold of her sandals. Koji exited as she took a deep breath to smooth out her nerves. She really didn't need any punishment for showing sass. Unlike Akio, who constantly questioned the captain's decisions, the kunoichi wouldn't be able to get away with such discourteous behavior.

Sandals on feet, Manami braved the rain to the captain's quarters. Inside Jirou and Akio were working hard at a pile of scrolls, translating the coded messages. The newest code was only a week old and needed to be hand deciphered upon arrival. The message coding had been changed twice over the last month, as messages were intercepted and broken by the enemy. The current one had two sets of encryption making it harder to decode.

Jirou looked up briefly from his pile of scrolls as she entered. Akio didn't so much as twitch. He had six thick scrolls and there were an additional pile of ten waiting on the inner corner of the table. Manami had missed a messenger. There was no way that the Hokage would have sent this amount of scrolls with a summon. They would have had to have been sealed into a scroll. The medic's ears picked up soft talking in Sakumo's private quarters. She put her hands behind her back and waited at attention.

Sakumo emerged from his sleep quarters, followed by a familiar face. Despite her emotional training, Manami's face broke into a wide smile as she recognized her year mate, Kenji. He looked a little worse for wear, his gear soaked through and his face tired, but that quickly changed when he spotted his fellow Uzushiogakure comrade. The taller shinobi pushed past the silver-haired captain, picked up the small medic and hugged her tightly.

"I told you, you wouldn't get rid of me that easily." He smiled, squeezing the petite kunoichi tightly.

"Put me down you idiot." Manami demanded, though his smile infected her usually calm demeanor. It had been a long time since the medic had seen anyone from her home village or had even heard from them. It was a refreshing feeling to meet one of her year mates after nine months.

The red haired shinobi complied with the kunoichi's wishes, setting her down onto her feet. His grin didn't dim as he looked her over, as though he was searching for any discrepancies with the smaller woman's physique.

Satisfied with his findings, he ruffled her hair and turned to Sakumo, "I see you've been taking good care of our imouto-chin. As talented that she is, she's a reckless handful if you don't watch her properly." Manami's elbow dug into her year mate's side, as she gave him a highly reproachful look. "You see? She doesn't agree with me, so she resorts to violence to silence me. You'd think that a medic would know better than to cause damage to her patients let alone comrades. But you really should have known her when she started to use her fellow year mates as guinea-"

Manami slapped her hand over Kenji's mouth, silencing his trip down memory lane. His eyes met hers, a glimpse of mischief gleaming in their deep grey depths. Manami's eyes narrowed in response, daring him to continue.

Sakumo cleared his throat making Manami break eye contact with Kenji and drop her hand. Her behavior was highly unprofessional for this setting. With her attention on him, Sakumo continued his line of thought, a small smirk on his face, "I thought you would be happy to be informed that one of your year mates was in the vicinity. Hamano-san and that he would be with us for a short while as we work on translating these messages. Seeing as you have been progressing quite well in your training, consider today a small reprieve from your duties."

"Thank you Taichou. It is much appreciated. Are there any other duties that you may need of me in the meantime?"

"If a situation arises, I will duly inform you. You are dismissed."

Manami bowed slightly to her captain, before quickly leading Kenji out of the tent. She was practically dragging the red haired man as she made her way to her quarters. Throwing open the tent flap, she shoved Kenji inside and secured the flap shut. Turning around, the medic buried her face into the man's vest, feeling the wet material squish against her face.

"Miss me much?" Kenji laughed, stroking the medic's hair.

"Oh shut up. I've been having a bad day." Manami retorted into his clothes, squeezing a little tighter.

"What? Is the rain making your hair frizzy?" Manami stomped on the man's instep, making him grunt from the pain, "Okay, okay. Calm down. I'll stop teasing you. Yeesh."

"Idiot," Manami murmured, releasing the fuinjutsu user from her grip. Looking him over, she frowned, "You've grown again."

"You noticed? It was only three centimeters. I ached for weeks and thought it was just the wet weather and overexertion." Kenji replied as he started to peel off his wet clothing. "But lo and behold! They made me do a physical after a particularly bad hit to the ribs and surprise! They informed me I had grown again. Though most of their medics seem to be kids with a scalpel and a book on anatomy; you should see the set of stitches they gave to Momo. Looks like a three year old was playing connect the dots." Manami scooped his wet clothing from the floor as the fully nude shinobi pulled a scroll from his supplies. "That being said, how's it been with you?"

Manami threw the pile of clothes onto her desk and started to wring out the excess wet, "I can't say that I have a place to complain. I didn't expect it to quite like this, especially being on the front lines." She hung his shirt from the frame of the tent, moving onto his mesh undershirt, "I've been kept on my toes, a couple of close calls here and there, that sort of thing."

"That's not what I've heard." Kenji replied, slipping dry pants on. "I got word about that incident with the village from a couple of months ago. That was a rookie mistake if I've ever heard of one."

Manami slapped his undershirt onto the bar next to the shinobi's shirt and turned heel. "I don't want to hear you of all people talk to me about close calls Kenji. As I recall, you've had an extraordinary amount of mistakes to date. The scars on your torso can confirm that." The medic jabbed her finger at a particularly nasty scar over the man's pectorals.

"Alright, I've got no place to talk relatively speaking, but I'm just voicing Soujin's opinion. Don't flail the messenger." Kenji replied as he started to wring his clothes along with his year mate.

"You've seen Soujin recently?"

"Manami, I see everyone more often that I want to, except for you. Your team is one of the hardest ones to track down let alone get to. The next closest camp to here is a day and a half's run through enemy territory."

"Then why did you come here idiot?"

"Because I thought you would like a break in the monotony." He chuckled, "As a messenger, I hear a lot of news from the front. Your team is one of the biggest sources of gossip, did you know that? A lot of ladies are jealous of your position here because of 'all the dreamy men you get to work with on a daily basis'." Kenji swooned onto her cot for emphasis, earning an eye roll from the medic.

"Liar."

"Oh, alright. So I made up the last bit but there is a lot of talk about your team. You've been a very busy medic if the reports are true."

"I suppose." Manami shrugged, throwing the last of his clothing onto her drying rack.

"Ah, don't start clamming up. I can see you are troubled. Start talking." Kenji started, patting the cot beside him.

Manami ignored the gesture and pulled the chair from her camp desk and sat down. "It's nothing like that. I just…" She fought with herself to say the words, "I just feel homesick." Her reply came out more of a murmur, but Kenji understood.

"Ah."

"It's not all the time. Just sometimes. And recently, the work feels like it's been piling up faster than normal, not that I'm complaining, I just get caught up in the moment and urgh!" She flopped back in the chair and threw her arms in the air. "I didn't expect to be put on such an astonishing team. I thought I'd be hanging back in the main camp, processing injuries back into Konohagakure or something."

"Instead of gallivanting on the front lines and establishing a reputation as trouble?" Kenji laughed, nudging the medic's foot with his own. "And if I'm correct, this is the first time you've talked about it with anyone?" Manami glared at the red head in response. "I take that as a yes."

"Well it's not like I could just drop everything to go and gossip with you and Soujin. I didn't even know what I was doing until I was doing it."

"And you were too shy to talk about it with your teammates? So you suffered in silence for these past nine months. You must really be a masochist.."

"I'm not that bad." Kenji raised an eyebrow. "What? I'm not."

"Deny all you want, but you are one of the shyest people I've ever been acquainted with." Kenji responded, lying across the medic's cot. "So… you want to talk about where you got all those bruises?"

Manami looked down at her arms, which were black and blue. "Oh these old things? Maybe my hair's been turning white from all of the stress, so I've taken to using hair dye to hide it."

"Come on now, if these guys are giving you a hard time, I'm not above doing a little talking with my fists." The red head cracked his knuckles for emphasis.

"You don't need to go that far. I've been receiving some extra lessons to compensate for as you so eloquently put it 'making a rookie mistake'," She gestured to the bruises, "These just happen to be the result of said training, though I've improved quickly."

Kenji gave the kunoichi a skeptical look, "I don't know how much I believe you. Why not heal it?"

"I did in the beginning. I found that erasing the signs of the fight just made Akio hit that much harder. At this point, I don't really feel the bruises. They just exist." She rolled down her sleeves to cover her arms.

Kenji's lips tightened, knowing that his year mate was lying but he not to push the subject. He made a mental note to have some words with this 'Akio' before he left.

"So," the kunoichi started, "tell me about your assignment."

"Where do I start? Well, I guess I'll start with after you left on your assignment. You see, Soujin and I-"

The afternoon progressed quickly as the Uzushiogakure shinobi exchanged their stories of the last nine months in the field. Manami didn't find her endeavors nearly as interesting as Kenji's, learning that Kenji had been assigned as courier immediately moving messages between Konohagakure and the main camp and escorting new shinobi.

He was moved into active duty after the previous messenger had been killed while delivering decoy documents. It had been unfortunate turn of events that resulted in Kenji's promotion to the front line. Having skills as a top class tracker and fuinjutsu user made him a prominent candidate for the job. He quickly adjusted to the workload, moving through enemy territory and finding his destination with envied ease. The red head had the tendency to over exaggerate, stating that Sanshōuo no Hanzō had chased him for important documents pertaining to a surprise attack.

Manami told him to save his stories for when the war was over and wanted to impress a gullible civilian with his tall tales. Kenji rebutted that all Amegakure shinobi looked alike when they wore respirators and that she didn't know that it hadn't been Hanzo on an extremely off-day.

The longer they talked, the more Manami could feel the tension melting away. Her mind and body were the lightest than they had been in the long time. As dinner approached, Daichi ducked his head into the tent and caused himself whiplash realizing that the medic wasn't alone. After Manami made sure he hadn't caused himself irreversible damage, he informed the two shinobi that their dinner was ready.

Manami and Kenji met the twin in Sakumo's tent for a very lively dinner. Kenji garnered the men's attention, filling them in on recent events along the front, while Manami drew into herself. She didn't mean to, it was habitual at this point. The red headed shinobi was quick to remedy the problem by telling fictitious tales about his comrade's youth with Manami jumping in and correcting his stories. The team was surprised to see the medic being talkative let alone smiling for that matter. She was always quiet and solitary, speaking only when spoken to.

Namazu was glad to see the woman finally coming out her shell, though the fact that she needed her year mate to do so was a little concerning. Maybe, he thought to himself as he finished his cold miso soup, the captain could arrange for a couple more visits from the courier. In the nine months that he had known her, this was the most progress he had seen. If being around a familiar face was the key to her happiness, he didn't see a problem in making it a common occurrence.

After the meal, Manami and Kenji retired to the medic's tent to continue their conversation. When Manami failed to hide a yawn, the red headed shinobi insisted that since it was her first day off in nine months that he wouldn't be mad if she chose to catch up on some sleep rather than continue to bore him with lackluster conversation. Manami's response was to throw his still damp mesh shirt, and smiling when it hit him in the face with a wet slap. In the end, she drifted off into a restful slumber Kenji mentioning that he wanted to check on the progress of the translations.

Manami was shaken out of her slumber by Kenji, who was dressed as if he was ready to move out. His face was grim causing the medic to sit up quickly. "What's wrong?"

"Plenty. You that you need to put on your reconnaissance gear and meet with Hatake-san in his tent in no less than ten minutes. I need to move out soon if I'm going to make it back to base camp."

"Base camp? But that's easily a three day run from here." Manami uttered, worry marring her face.

"Two and a half actually. I have to go. You can expect to see me more often though. I'm making it my personal mission to get all of the scrolls that you morons need and deliver them. Don't die until I see you again."

"You too idiot," Manami replied, clapping her hand on the red head's shoulder. They lingered for a moment, before Kenji pulled away with a smile. A quick wave and he was gone.

Manami wondered what had happened, as she selected a scroll from her desk drawer. It was a rare occurrence use the reconnaissance gear on this team and even rarer for the medic to use it. She unsealed the never used clothing; it was still as stiff and starched as the day it had been handed to her. She honestly had thought that she wouldn't have to use it.

Once she was changed out of her camp clothing, Manami gathered supplies, unsure of what she would actually need. She took her general supplies, praying that the taichou would let her pack more if they weren't up to par. She spread her scrolls across her cot just in case, so she could grab and go if that was the case.

Manami darted across the camp to the Taichou's tent. The camp was eerily quiet, even for this late at night. Inside the tent, one lamp was lit and Sakumo stood contemplating a map ; it was of the Kaze no Kuni border. This didn't bode well.

"Did you sleep well?" Sakumo asked as he rolled up the map. Manami watched closely as he secured the scroll shut and placed it into his hip pouch. Seeing that the kunoichi watched, the silver haired man gave her a weary smile.

"Yes."

"Good. I'm sorry that I couldn't guarantee a day off. Duty has called. The scrolls that were delivered by your Uzamaki friend contained orders from Sandaime. Sunagakure has finally made their move against Konoha and Sandaime tasked me with of splitting our forces to best counter their movements while maintaining our original objective here.

There will be three teams. The first team will be infiltrating their lines and attacking from behind to eliminate the biggest threats. The second will be a decoy to draw their front line into an ambush by our forces and the third will be remaining here to continue observations of Amegakure."

Manami nodded slowly, following Sakumo's explanation.

"You will be coming with Akio and me. We will be crossing behind enemy lines. This calls for us to travel lightly; no extra gear, shelter or homely commodities, just the bare essentials needed to fight and survive. Pack your gear and meet here for further instruction. Akio should be back from his last patrol by then. Keep in mind that this trip may span over the next three to six months. "

"Yes, taichou," Manami replied with a bow, before taking her leave. Three to six months of reconnaissance? The medic felt her stomach turn, her nerves affecting her mood. She definitely had not expected this to part of her career as a medic. Treating injuries and saving lives, maybe even performing autopsies but certainly not working undercover behind enemy lines with just two people. She was certain that her skills were needed elsewhere on the lines and yet she was about to immerse herself in a business that she had little skill in.

In her tent, the medic deposited her pack onto the desk and rifled through the contents. Obviously, she wouldn't be allowed to take large pieces with her, so she could get rid of many of the supplies that didn't serve more than one purpose. Extra clothes wouldn't be necessary either, the medic thought. Kaze's weather was less prone to constant rain and she doubted that she could have the leisure of lounging during this subversive mission.

While the medical bay was fully equipped, Manami decided that taking her supplies own would be enough; they were already sealed into two specific scrolls. Her problem came about when she had to decide whether or not to take along her blood supply. She felt that any injury that required a transfusion would result in death. The team would be unable to stop to perform such a procedure. But, the nagging feeling persisted, so she packed it if only for peace of mind.

Slipping the last of her materials into her pouch, Manami gave her tent a once over. There wasn't much that she could do with her clothes still drying on the rack. The rest of the tent was in order; her things packed away in the corner. The medic ran her hands over her body, checking her supplies, hands landing at the forehead protector on her head last. She adjusted it out of habit and exited.

As she returned to the taichou's quarters, Manami wondered how the rest of the team was going to be split up. In her mind, it seemed the obvious choice to leave the Hyūga here to continue to gather information, but he was a chuunin, so there would need to be a jounin here as well. Perhaps Namazu. Daichi and Daiki would be kept together as they worked best as a team rather than apart and they made wonderful distractions. Both were headstrong and, in her opinion, had a lack of self-preservation. They tended to dive headfirst into a situation without thinking it through.

Yoichi was a toss-up; he could be with either team and be an asset. Shuji was a long-range fighter, so he would be useful at either team. Jun would be best in the ambush squad. He was a very unassuming opponent though he sometimes came off as pretentious. Takeshi would be better off in camp due to his earth based jutsu and Yuudai would pose to be an advantage in an ambush.

When she reached the tent, Manami found it bare of inhabitants. The taichou was gone and Akio was nowhere to be found. The medic paced the tent . Manami stopped, hearing footsteps approaching the tent. From the impact and the rhythm of the steps it was clear to her that it was Akio. The tall Uchiha entered the tent, shaking the water from his unruly hair. He was dressed in the standard reconnaissance gear, the water sheening off the thick water resistant fabric. His looked well-used unlike the medic's, showing precise patch jobs all across the legs and torso.

"Ah, Ma-Hime, you're already awake? I thought taichou would let you keep sleeping for a while. It's not like the line was going to disappear if you got a full night's rest. If that was the case, this war would have over before it even started." The lengthy shinobi collapsed into a camp chair and looked over the kunoichi critically. "So you think I'm going too hard on you?"

"What?" Manami snapped back, unintentionally.

"So you think I am working you too hard with our little training exercises?" Akio repeated, with the intention of pushing on the medic's nerves. "Or did Kenji also take your hearing when he decided to inform Hatake-taichou that we were abusing you?"

Manami's face turned red as her blood pressure built. "I would never say such a thing," she hissed.

"Really? Because I was under the impression that you told your red headed friend that we regularly beat you to death and then brought you back just to do it all over again the next day. At least that's what he implied when he pulled me aside earlier." Akio retorted, "Perhaps you would like to clarify? You're coming off as an ungrateful little bitch that doesn't appreciate her team."

"Shuji likes to over exaggerate." Manami stated calmly. She wasn't going to give the Uchiha the pleasure of knowing he was dangerously close to making her snap. "We discussed my bruises for a moment and then moved on. I honestly can't tell you what prompted him to confront you other than that he is an honest fool. He didn't mean any harm and I apologize if he offended you."

Akio stared at the kunoichi before breaking out into a smile, "He didn't actually say most of that. Thought I'd see how you'd hold up against blatantly harsh accusations." Manami gave the Uchiha a withering look but he shrugged it off. "I needed to reassure myself of some things, please don't take it personally. It'll be a bore if you don't talk to me while we're on this mission. That Uzamaki guy really did try to tell me off though. It was kind of cute. Is he always like that?"

"Yes."

"At least you have someone looking after your interests. I'll never understand why you don't come to me for girl talk. I thought we were best friends."

"I promise to think of you the next time I start my menstrual cycle."

"I take back everything I said."

"That's what I thought."

The conversation fell into silence afterwards. Akio lounged in the chairs with an uncaring attitude and Manami continued her pacing. She stopped after she realized that Akio was watching her. Sakumo entered a short while later, with Yoko and Bakkin following behind mutely.

"The debriefing took a little longer than I thought it would," Sakumo declared, throwing open the barrier to his personal quarters. Manami watched as the silver haired man grabbed pouches from his cot and strapped them to his person. "We're ready to move out?"

"Yes, taichou," was Akio and Manami's immediate response.

"Excellent. The enemy has set traps around the area. We will be going single file order with the Yoko and Bakkin in front. I will be next. Manami, you're behind me and Akio you're bringing up the back. Focus is on speed and remaining unseen. Suppress your chakra the best you can. There are many sensors in the area. Step only where I step and pay close attention for my signals. It'll take about two days straight running to reach our destination, so don't expect many breaks. Understood?"

"Yes."

Sakumo led the way out of the tent. Yuudai, Takeshi and Jirou were present to see them off. The trip was agonizingly slow the medic becoming accustomed to staring at Sakumo's back. He was easy to follow and gave many indications of his next move. He was naturally agile. They moved quickly from deep in Amegakure to the border between the two countries. It was lightly guarded with very few Amegakure shinobi present. Whether it was an oversight was unknown to the kunoichi.

As they traveled into Kaze no Kuni, the trees receded and the humidity dropped off drastically. Instead of the mild and muggy winter, it was now dry and unpredictable. The sun warmed the deserted landscape quickly during the day and dropped below freezing at night, the sand refusing to retain any heat. Manami started to miss the weather of Amegakure as the group started their third week in the desert. She was also peeved at how the sand managed to find its way into everything the kunoichi owned.

It wasn't long before the team found their intended target. After observing them, Sakumo ordered them to fall back to set-up a temporary camp of their own, close enough to easily gain access to observe the enemy, but not close enough to be easily stumbled upon. Akio built a shelter for the team, digging a hole into the die of a dune and solidifying it with an earth jutsu he had once observed. It was crude at best but it would serve well as a place to hide.

The team quickly established a routine. After the sun set, the two jounin would set out towards the enemy's camp, while the kunoichi would scavenge for food and water. The enemy would send out patrols towards the border, though it was becoming more common to send them to also scour the surrounding area. This made it difficult to scavenge close to their site. If plant matter started to disappear and was deemed unnatural, the three Konoha shinobi would be in trouble.

The team had survived on snake meat for the last three months and an occasional but rare rabbit making its way into the mix. Another staple was rat. It was the least pleasant thing to cross the kunoichi's lips; the meat was stringy and eating a rodent was a sanitary nightmare. Scorpions were also an acquired taste. Manami missed the taste of plain rice. With a resigned sigh, the kunoichi set out in the opposite direction of the enemy's camp in search of food.

The temperatures dipped gradually that night, a teasing warm breeze playing with the kunoichi's beaded hair. Even the sand seemed to be retaining its heat better; it was a sign that summer was soon approaching. Manami dreaded the thought. She was certain that it would be hotter than Konohagakure, but instead of finding relief under the shade of a tree, the kunoichi would have nothing. Even their crude shelter, grew uncomfortably warm during the day.

Manami was a good ways away from their camp when she started to scavenge for that night's dinner. It was hard to judge exactly where to start due to the constant wind. The sand blew and was quick to cover the tracks of prey. In most cases, such as tonight, the kunoichi would start by looking for any rocky overhangs or boulders buried in the sand: places that were likely to conceal reptiles and insects that wanted to hide away from the intense sun during the daytime. It was also a good place to look for signs of moisture. If one were able to dig deep enough, it was easy to find water in the desert. But the exertion involved with such an activity would kill you. Manami understood this, but as a Mizu user could overcome this. In her opinion, it didn't take a genius to extract water from the earth, just the concentration and chakra reserve.

It didn't take her long to find the first half-buried boulder. It was sizable and probably outweighed the petite woman by a ton or so, but it was a good place to start. Manami pulled a kunai from her hip pouch and approached the boulder confidently, circling to find an exposed ledge. On the north side she found the entrance she was looking for. In the slivered moonlight, she knelt and started the tedious motion of digging. Being alone, the sound seemed tremendously loud, as if she were shoveling coal into a furnace rather than moving handfuls of sand.

After digging for a while, a snake launched from the folds of sand at the kunoichi. Manami reacted, planting her kunai directly into the snake's brain, killing the serpent instantaneously. This precise kill would insure that the venom sacs in the snake remained undisturbed and unbroken. The medic would be able to make an anti-venom using the enzymes found in said venom.

The snake writhed about in the sand dead but nerves still firing as Manami removed the kunai and continued her digging. It was a female viper and it was the beginning of this particular breed's mating season. She had been the busy little snake, judging by its body. Typically vipers gave live-birth, but this snake was one of the few special cases and laid eggs. Eggs, even if they were snake eggs, would be a delicious alternative to the shinobi's diet.

With a bit more digging, the eggs were found and deposited into the kunoichi's pack along with their dead mother. There had been no water to be found in this location however. With her sandaled foot, Manami kicked the sand back into the crevice she had created hiding the signs of her presence. Clapping the sand from her hands, she contemplated her next move. She had two hours before she was expected to check in with Akio back at camp, so she couldn't go much farther without being searched for and wasting the team's time.

The wind picked up, bringing a cool breeze to the kunoichi's face. Her lips to pursed. Even when the night was cool, the wind wasn't normally. The horizon was obscured and hard to see in the moonlight, but judging from what she knew of the region it was likely that they were experiencing a cold front, the likes of which could produce a sandstorm. She hadn't personally experienced a sandstorm, but from what she had heard, it wasn't something that one wanted to be caught unaware in.

Even if she was early, she'd rather have Akio's opinion on the matter. Dusting sand from her clothes, Manami turned back towards the camp. As she traveled back to the camp, Manami slowly became aware that someone was following her. She hadn't even sensed them; it was by a stroke of luck that the medic had seen a flash of light reflecting off the sand. It was gone the moment before she could comprehend what it was.

She kept her path, mind racing. Manami wasn't sure when they had started to follow her. There was an off-chance that they were an ally looking for the team, but there hadn't been any communication from the base camp since they had arrived. In her mind, it was without a doubt, an enemy. She scoured her mind for a solution while expanding her field of awareness to find the 'enemy'. It was clear to her that she couldn't let them track her back to the camp ,anyone with half a mind would wonder where a lone kunoichi had come from, especially this far behind enemy lines.

Manami turned her course, heading into the wind. They would either think she was leading them to her camp or that she was stupid, running into a potential sandstorm. The odds were in her favor. She would force their hand causing them to reveal themselves and whether they were friend or enemy would be determined.

The plan was good in theory but Manami had yet to detect their presence as they were outside of her range. The medic ran along a dune, the moonlight fading behind a thickening clouded sky. Clouds in the desert were not a good sign. Her eyes adjusted to the near pitch black conditions when a sudden wind whipped through the air, causing the medic's hair to rattle noisily. Manami tensed from her hair's jangling, leaping away from the dune in an attempt to escape her last known location.

It didn't work. Out of the darkness came a barrage of weapons. The sound of clanging filled the air as Manami blocked the projectiles with her kunai. Several grazed her clothing without cutting but two found their mark in her arms, a kunai caused a deep gouge in her right arm and a shuriken embedded through her left arm guard at the forearm. With a grunt of pain, the kunoichi landed on the dune's far side, feet sliding through the sand as she released the chakra that kept her astride.

In the near darkness, two shinobi appeared upon the top of the dune, a man and a woman. In the dark, she could see the outline of their armor. It was the enemy. Without moving her eyes from the duo, Manami pulled the embedded star from her arm. It was then, that the shinobi weren't quite sure what they were going to do with her,. Their words were muffled from where Manami was standing but the man's fingers twitched in a strange pattern, almost like a tic. It dawned upon the kunoichi in the last moment exactly what was happening.

In a flash, the kunoichi drew three tagged kunai from her thigh holster and threw them at the enemy. Two explosive tags and a generic summoning seal were attached. The couple dodged at the same time Manami did, deflected kunai and shuriken flying at the medic. Manami's left arm jerked back, pulling her towards the projectiles. The explosions of the tags disrupted the pull, freeing the kunoichi's hand long enough for her the form a seal.

The post explosion the medic appeared, as the super-heated sand burn into her clothing and exposed skin. It was a hard sensation to ignore, but her survival depended on it. One or both of her enemies were part of a specialized sector of shinobi that only Sunagakure possessed, the puppeteer squadron. She knew the theory behind the technique and knew that blocking bodily would only result in chakra threads connecting to the body, but she also knew that it was a long ranged technique, relying heavily on distance to ensure safety.

This did little to reassure the kunoichi. Though her taijutsu had improved thanks to her mentor's guidance, Manami doubted that she would stand a chance in a fight against strong puppeteer users. The best she could hope for was to distract them long enough for her teammates to find her, though that was a far-stretch. The risk would be on her. She was at a severe disadvantage in a long fight so she would have to take one of them out before her advantage of the element of surprise slipped away. She just hoped that the backlash wouldn't be too bad.

Manami flipped her hold on the kunai in her left hand, gripping two of the beaded braids in her right. With a quick sheering stroke, the medic cut away two of the braids, absorbing the chakra stored in the braid and beads into her right hand. Her hands clapped together forming a flurry of seals as the absorbed energy came to a rest in the pit of her stomach. With a deep breath, Manami released the chakra in her stomach and exhaled a torrent of water.

Manami could hear a cut-off curse as she finished her technique. Before her, as the shield of sand from the explosions cleared, lay a sizable pond, like an oasis in the middle of the desert. By her estimates, she had about five minutes worth of water before it was completely absorbed, five minutes to immobilize her enemies and only half of her chakra to do it with. At her feet laid her two braids unraveled, the beads split in half, the insides charred from the chakra's release.

Her water summoning had managed to catch the female shinobi, part of her left side was soaked and she appeared to be out of breath from the impact. Hovering over her protectively was the male who unraveled a scroll. Even in the dark, Manami could decipher the basic summon design. So this was the puppeteer.

The clouds rolled back, lighting the landscape as Manami went on the attack taking her advantage. The man released the scroll, a puppet appearing in a puff of smoke as Manami dodged pass the device, aiming at the shinobi's winded companion. The man was surprisingly fast, wrapping his arm around the female's chest and leaping away, while his fingers twitched, the strange puppet coming to life, swinging its scythe arms at the medical kunoichi.

Manami was quick to dodge, with a backhand spring away from the puppet. In mid-retreat, she threw another pair of tagged kunai, one at the puppet and the other at the retreating pair. The first kunai missed its target, as the puppet rattled angrily between the second kunai and its target. Its mouth opened, a chained hand shooting out of the orifice to take hold of the thrown explosive. The chain tightened as the puppet's head twisted, swinging the explosive tag back towards the kunoichi.

Manami had expected as much, leaping forward to meet her tagged kunai. While it appeared that she was deactivating the tag, she had truly never activated it in the first place. Instead she activated it at that moment, planting the kunai into the ground. The other kunai had been active and exploded upon impact. The puppet was quick to follow on its pervious attack, throwing itself at the kunoichi with a renewed vigor.

From the explosion, another Manami appeared heading for a direct attack against the unsuspecting Sunagakure shinobi. With his attention briefly off of his puppet, Manami slapped a tag onto the underside of the bladed arm before dispersing into a puddle of water as the blade cut through her form. The female enemy was finally recovered as she swung her naginata from behind her back. A swing of the long bladed weapon put a quick end to the water clone she had sent to distract them.

Biting her lip, Manami contemplated her next move. Putting the puppet out of action would solve a lot of her immediate troubles. She decided to stick with her gut feeling; she simply needed to maneuver the pieces to the proper position. A minute had already passed and nearly a forth of her original supply of water was gone, soaked into the desert floor. The longer she waited, the less likely she would be able to survive.

Manipulating her chakra, Manami formed another three clones of water and sent them on the attack. From this distance, hidden on the dune's upper edge, there weren't many effective jutsu that the medic could create. Truthfully, she could try to outrun the duo.

The clones lasted a while longer this time around, managing to move the enemy a bit closer to where she wanted them. Three minutes left until her water supply would be completely absorbed. The chakra needed to create the clones was very small but it was still a drain with only half of her chakra still intact, Manami needed to conserve as much of it as she could. Her head swam as her hand touched the deep gash on her upper arm. She had already healed it superficially; at the worst, it would be a painful bruise, so why did she feel so light-headed? And her arm was numbing extraordinarily fast.

Swearing under her breath, the medic realized her mistake. Those hadn't been ordinary weapons. She could feel her muscles starting to seize in her arms as she mentally kicked herself. All that moving around caused the toxin to move all that much faster. She was bad at countering toxins as it was. Judging by her symptoms, the poison was related to tetanus in the very least: skeletal muscles seizing, breathing becoming difficult and nausea. The onset was at a phenomenal speed, they were either expert poison makers or knew one in Sunagakure.

It took all of her strength not to scream, as she forced her arm to reach into her bag of medical supplies. Manami had a quick release shot for tetanus, though she had never thought she would have to use it on herself. Pulling out the scroll, she clumsily broke the seal and grasped at the syringed needle that rolled about on the page. Two minutes until her water supply was completely gone.

Finally she grasped the needle between stiff fingers, her arm was locked up completely. With careful but imprecise aim, the kunoichi stabbed the anti-toxin into her leg as her fingers started to crush the glass. With her free hand, she slammed the plunger down, injecting the serum into her bloodstream before she crushed the glass syringe completely with her dominant hand.

The rattling of the puppet grew louder as Manami desperately formed a seal, to make one last water clone. The clone emerged from the water far below and ran from the battle with the puppet quickly on its heels. Her timing would have to be impeccable; the medic thought gritting her teeth as her muscles slowly started to loosen. She would only have one shot at this. Turning her head slightly, Manami watched the clone dodge away from the puppet's scythed arms, avoiding the blows and bringing it closer to the kunai with the explosive tag. Only a little closer.

Her attention was completely on the clone and puppet that she was caught unaware by the puppeteer's partner. In the slivered moonlight, Manami could see her brown hair against her pale skin. "I'm surprised you're still awake with all those toxins in your veins," she spoke, holding her naginata against the crook of the medic's her neck. "You either have an especially strong will or you have some skill when dealing with poison. I suggest you surrender and answer my questions for quick relief."

"And if I refuse?"

"There are ways to make someone talk, Leaf bitch." Her voice was threatening and calm, not at all matching her hands, which were shaking slightly, holding the staff of her weapon tighter than needed. Fatigue, Manami decided, looking down at her hip pouch. She could feel movement from within.

The enemy tracked her eye movements and pressed the blade against her neck, nicking the delicate skin. "Dump your supplies in the sand," she demanded, steadying her grip on the weapon.

Manami took one last glance over her shoulder as her clone fell into place. "As you wish," Manami replied, unhooking the bulging pouch from her hip.

The clone dodged out of the way of the puppet's swinging arms one last time, sliding under it and kicking the undetonated kunai tag. The heat and sound of the explosion caught the kunoichi off-guard, her weapon erring slightly to give the medic a small opening. In the confusion, Manami flung her bag open, launching the newly hatched snakes and their mother at the distracted brunette.

The Sunagakure kunoichi jumped back, recognizing the small vipers, while swinging the naginata at Manami who had already clumsily escaped her range by rolling down the dune's side. The puppet is destroyed, she thought to herself using the rolling momentum to find her feet and slide through the sand. The heat of the explosion followed by the release of the water tag she had attached to the puppet had instantly melted and then cooled its inner mechanisms, rendering the joints immobile.

Her muscles burned as the magnesium serum pumped into her bloodstream, joints loosening as she continued her offense by attacking the puppeteer. Manami wasn't as fast as she normally was, but she was faster than the Sunagakure shinobi, who fumbled in his bag for a scroll. From behind, she could hear the kunoichi's approach, a fast sprint to catch up with the Uzushiogakure medic. A whistling sound signaled that she had thrown kunai to slow Manami.

Manami narrowly dodged to the side. She was within striking distance of the puppeteer as he pulled a scroll from his satchel. Manami threw a kunai, aiming for the scroll. It wasn't a strong enough as the kunai fell off course. The man, a red headed shinobi, dodged out of the way, and unraveled the scroll to summon another one of his puppets.

The distance between the two of them closed as Manami took a wild swipe at the scroll. The puppeteer was unable to pull the scroll away in time, as Manami sliced through the seal, disabling its ability to summon. She pushed chakra into her feet, propelling herself sideways out of the reach of the enemy's naginata, as the brunette kunoichi descended.

As she landed, Manami's knee gave out, the serum running the extent of its course. She was once again a sitting duck as her muscles and joints hardened. The toxin was quite resilient compared to her antidote, rendering it ineffective. With a pained grunt, Manami found her feet again shakily. With her chakra levels so low, the medic examined her limited options. Her face formed a grimace because all options pointed to her death.

Stiffly, Manami's right hand reached into her leg holster one last time taking a kunai into her hand, while she crunched a ball of explosive tags with left hand. She had failed her team and Sakumo-taichou, proving to be useless as a combative shinobi but she was determined to make sure there was nothing left to glean from this encounter. In fact, after she was finished she would be surprised if anyone would be able to tell the difference between the pieces leftover from the explosion.

The puppeteer and his guard stood defensively, waiting for the blue haired woman's next move. She could feel the blood pumping in her veins as she took in the sight, considering what would be the best way to catch the two Sunagakure shinobi in the range of her explosive tags. Throwing was out of the question; her joints were too stiff for such a maneuver. Her next move depended on her getting close enough to the duo without being incapacitated by the kunoichi's naginata's long reach.

Manami's heartbeat increased along with a rush of adrenaline. The poison was entering its next stage, affecting her nervous system, causing a cold sweat to run down her face. She gulped down a last breath as she gathered chakra to her feet, preparing for her last attack. A flicker of chakra flared behind her, as the medic lashed out in defense. Her wrist was caught, the kunai disengaged. Before her stood Akio, eyes blazing in the moonlight. Relief and anxiety washed over the kunoichi as words failed to form in her mind. Her eyes were starting to tunnel vision, as she struggled to focus on the Uchiha.

"Who are they? Friends of yours?" He started, releasing the kunoichi's wrist. Manami staggered back feeling vertigo. Closing her eyes, she forced herself to concentrate. Akio glanced at her briefly, "What's wrong with you?" His passive voice was laced with worry.

"Poisoned. Their weapons. Covered. Neurological. Antidotes- useless. Male…" She gritted her teeth as her jaw started to lock up, "Puppeteer. Female uses Naginata. Faster than looks. Both Suna… ga..." She could feel a seizure coming as she collapsed to her hands and knees. "Just. Kill me."

Manami blacked out.

Finally! We have chapter 7 out! I'd like to apologize for how long it took me to get this particular chapter out as my life got a little bit out of control and I underestimated the workload I had opted to take and how my anxiety and depression would flair. Not to mention the power of procrastination on my end.

Any guesses at our mysterious Sunagakure shinobi? Its actually pretty obvious but I like to think its not. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and as an added bonus if you go to my userpage you will see under the extras that I have created a tumblr for the extras to my story! Additional character information is available there and the odd spoiler or two.

Thanks to Prescripto13, xLilim, BananaPrincipessa, and mariposablossom for their reviews and all of my readers for their continued support. It is greatly appreciated and I couldn't do what I do without all of you.

And as always, critiques and reviews are greatly appreciated.