Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. At least not yet 0_0

InARealPickle: Shikai is considered a boy's name when I look it up, so idk where you looked. Either way it doesn't really matter. If it really bothers you then just think of it like 'Boy Named Sue' haha.

Sarahgri99: Glad you're enjoying it. Hopefully I'll finish it before you lose interest lol.

lbmatx: The side stories are really fun to write, so it's a good thing you liked them as they're going to keep coming.

A Tale of Two Outcomes

I took a step forward and my opponent, Rock Lee, immediately swung around towards me. I decided to throw caution to the winds and rushed forwards, blades flashing. I thrust towards him but he evaded my attack. I kept moving forwards and was able to avoid his counter attack. Now that he was basically blind, we were stuck to playing this game of attacks and dodges. We had been going at it like this for over ten minutes and neither had hit the target more than a handful of times. It seemed as though Lee could keep this up all day but I certainly couldn't. I was already able to feel my reactions slowing as my energy was consumed.

I threw a senbon needle at a rock behind Lee. Thinking the sound was me, he turned around to face what he thought was an oncoming attack. It couldn't have worked out more perfectly. I used the opportunity to strike at his exposed back. Lee was surprised but recovered quickly. He stepped forward to dodge the blades and then dropped to a crouch. A leg pirouetted out behind him knocking mine out from under me.

In surprise I let go of my kunai in a reflexive action to break my fall. Unfortunately the thud of my body hitting the ground pinpointed my location for Lee, and he made no mistake. Blow after blow rained down before I was able to scramble away.

I only had one kunai left now that I had lost the two I was using before. I pulled it out and threaded senbon through the fingers of my other hand.

Rock Lee, seeing the kunai lying on the ground, bent over to pick them up. Seeing that he was distracted I flung my senbon at them. Smooth as anyone I'd ever faced, he spun away and threw a kunai back at me. Even though he couldn't see where I was, by observing the direction the senbon came from he could deduce my location.

His deduction was spot on. I deflected the kunai with the one in my hand. Seeing its sudden change of direction, Lee had his suspicions confirmed. He immediately came after me.

I was about to back away when suddenly I had an idea. Now that he couldn't see me, maybe I could pull off a shadow possession. Even if it didn't work, it couldn't hurt to try. I dropped the kunai I was holding back into the weapons pouch strapped to my leg and held my hands up in the rat seal.

Just as he was about to reach me, Rock Lee noticed the shadow sneaking out. He jumped back out of range. I let the shadow dissipate. It didn't seem like anything would be able to stop this guy. Even though it looked like I held the initiative, if it kept going like this I felt his victory was assured. I had to catch him in my shadow possession, and I had to do it soon or else I was going to run out of either chakra or energy, as both were running low.

I turned and ran, not even bothering to avoid the sound of my feet smacking against the dry earth. I looked back and saw that my opponent was chasing after me.

My hand slipped into my pouch and I pulled out a string of ninja wire. I pulled out my last senbon and stabbed it into a nearby tree. I didn't have time to tie it off, so without slowing down I hooked the wire around the senbon and carried the two ends along with me.

I started curving my path off to the side in an effort to have Lee cut corners and perhaps miss seeing the wire. After I had a good twenty feet of wire strung out, held in a jagged hemisphere by the surrounding trees, I stopped.

I turned to face Rock Lee, who was almost upon me. I put my hands together and my shadow snaked out. Once again, Lee jumped back. My shadow posed no threat to his speed and agility.

But this time it caught him.

A look of surprise appearing on his face, just as a look of relief appeared on mine. I pulled my last kunai out of my mouth where I had place it right before attempting the shadow possession, just like in my fight with Ino. His eyes darted all around, and widened as he suddenly noticed the thin shadow creeping around the trees below the ninja wire he had missed.

I stepped forward and held the knife at his throat.

Waking up in the infirmary was starting to become a bad habit. This time I was all alone. I rolled off the side of the bed and stood up, stretching out my arms and yawning as I did so. I could already notice how much my chakra pool had regenerated since my fight.

This one was quite a bit nicer than the grungier and clearly less used one I'd been in before. Like the other one it had several beds, but it also had a number of chairs for potential visitors. There were flowers on the table by the doorway, and a window on the far wall really went a long way in making the place feel homier.

However, it wasn't the time to be dawdling. I stuck my hands in my pockets and strolled up the stairs towards the competitors' booth. I ghosted into the room without anyone noticing. It seemed like the last fight was underway, as the two missing participants were my brother and the sand girl.

Naruto was sitting off to the side and looked to be in a daze. I shuffled over and sat down on the floor beside him. Unfocused eyes looked up to meet mine, and then dropped back to where they had been staring holes in the floor.

I leaned to the side and bumped my shoulder against his. "So…"

The oohing and ahhing of the crowd was the only noise. Of the other contestants, Sasuke, the red haired sand ninja, and the older Hyuga, that left only Rock Lee to make noise in the booth. He was currently hanging over the edge of the booth, as if that extra 6 inches was going to make a difference.

"How did it go?" I prompted my teammate again after getting no response the first time.

The unfocused eyes moved off of the floor and came to rest on the aforementioned red haired sand ninja.

Naruto sighed heavily. I offhandedly noticed his hands had tensed and were scratching grooves into the floor by his sides.

"Well when you're ready. I'll be there," I said, jerking my head towards the front of the booth.

I stood up and dusted off the back of my pants. I lightly punched Sasuke's arm as I walked past. As soon as I leaned up against the railing I could tell Shikamaru was in a bad spot. He was hiding in the same patch of trees I had used to catch Rock Lee. Except after seeing how I had won my round, his opponent was staying at a safe distance. Against most opponents, this would be fine, as they didn't usually have a technique that could attack from farther than Shika's shadow could reach, but this kunoichi was different.

As if to justify my thought process, she waved her fan and a huge gust of wind rushed out. If Shikamaru hadn't jumped behind a tree he would have been blown into the wall at the edge of the arena.

It seemed like a lost cause. Knowing Shika, I was sure he would give up at any minute now. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a dark patch moving off to the side. It was definitely a shadow, but it was moving in the wrong direction. I follow its trajectory and noticed a hole. That had to be what he was going for. I cast my gaze around the rest of the arena. There was another such hole right behind the sand kunoichi.

I smirked and said casually, "Where did those holes come from?"

To my surprise it was Sasuke that responded. "My match."

I raised an eyebrow and glanced back over my shoulder at him. He grunted and continued the explanation. "I got the idea from a practice bout with Naruto, they helped me…" his voice trailed off.

He didn't finish the statement, but I could sense the unspoken part of the sentence, "they helped me in my loss". A loss to the supposedly prodigal Hyuga. To make matters worse, the aforementioned Hyuga continued to look completely indifferent, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary to beat the last Uchiha, a prodigy in his own right.

But there would be time enough to go over the previous matches later on. For now I turned my attention back to the arena.

The crowd gasped as they saw what I had predicted 30 seconds earlier. Shikamaru successfully captured Temari with his shadow. What I didn't predict was that he would immediately surrender. It was a bit of a shame considering he could easily have used the same tactic that I had done, holding onto a kunai to use after capturing the opposition. The only logical explanation was that he had lost all of his kunai already.

Regardless, it had been an exciting performance that would have led to a highly anticipated second match should he have advanced. It was a shame no one would get to see his next display. I absentmindedly wondered if they'd look to my next match for a similar experience. I hoped not. If my match with Rock Lee was anything to go by, I was incredibly behind in both ability and experience compared to the other contestants. I could only imagine how poorly I would have lost had he dispelled the genjutsu.

I decided not to worry about it for now, and followed the other genin out of the booth and towards the exit. Naruto, Sasuke, and I naturally fell into step together. If I had had to predict which of us would have been moving on after this point before the Chunin Exams started, I would have been my own last pick. All it meant was that we were farther behind everyone else than I had thought, and I had merely gotten luckier in my draws of opponents. The claim I made not that long ago to Team 10 about being the best genin team had clearly been proven to be just that, a claim. The reality was that no matter how gifted or not so we might have been, at the end of the day there were people who had worked a lot harder than we had.

The group of genin we had walked with slowly turned off of our path until we were the last three heading along it. Next to go was Sasuke, and then finally Naruto left, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I tried to take it easy that evening. Mother and Father fussed over me and Shikamaru. It was mostly Mother, who proclaimed how proud she was of us and how we were both worthy of the chunin rank, but Father got a few words in here and there.

At one point when Mother had taken Shikamaru to the bathroom to put a bandage on his right arm where he had gotten cut, I was given the chance to talk to Father in private. I wanted to tell him what had been weighing me down since my match, everything I had been thinking about, but the words became stuck behind a lump in my throat.

Without a word he came over and wrapped his arms around me, inherently understanding with his parental instinct that only arose in situations such as these what was on my mind.

"Whatever happens tomorrow happens. All I want is that afterwards you can answer these three questions—"

His voice was deep and gravelly, with a warm husk that was different from his normal lighthearted manner. I tightened my grip around his lower back and nodded against his chest.

"—did you do your best, did you have fun, and did you learn something. As long as you can answer these then the actual outcome is trivial."

I blinked rapidly several times and nodded again.

"What are you two talking about?" Mother's sharp voice called out from the living room doorway.

I let go of Father hurriedly and stepped back.

"Just some strategy," Father said, giving me a wink.

I managed a weak smile and then excused myself from the living room. I dropped straight onto my bed, not even bothering to get under the covers. But despite my exhaustion, sleep eluded me. All I could think about was what might happen tomorrow.

Eventually the thoughts must have transitioned to dreams because the next thing I knew I was blinking awake with the rays of the early morning sun streaming into my eyes. I quickly got dressed and slipped out of the house before anyone in my family could notice I was up.

I trudged in the direction of the Team 7 training field trying not think about anything that might cause me to have a panic attack.

Sasuke and Naruto hadn't arrived yet so I collapsed onto the ground and just stared up at the sky. I wasn't sure how long it was before they arrived, but it felt like only seconds before my view was filled with orange.

We exchanged greetings and then got down to business. Naruto was still feeling a bit depressed but had decided to open up on his previous match. As it turned out the reason he had been so upset was because it couldn't even really be considered a match. Despite throwing everything he had at the sand ninja, he hadn't even been able to land a hit. Meanwhile he'd been completely overwhelmed by said sand ninja's offensive prowess. There wasn't much I could learn from his match except that not forfeiting right away would be a mistake.

Sasuke's match had been a bit more interesting. He had pushed the Hyuga prodigy, Neji, to the edge. He was fast enough to avoid the Gentle Fist but not quite fast enough to consistently land hits. That's where the holes came in. He remembered Naruto using them during a practice match as a surprise attack, so that's just what he did. Except it backfired. Unlike Naruto he couldn't produce shadow clones, so the feeble normal clone he did was seen through right away by the Byakugan. So when he popped out of the ground Neji was ready, and Sasuke was finally overwhelmed by the Gentle Fist.

Just like against the sand ninja, there wasn't much I could do against Neji. According to Sasuke he had a technique that allowed him to spin in place very fast, deflecting away anything coming towards him. Thus the only thing I could do was play defense using my shadow so that he couldn't come near me until I eventually ran out of chakra.

I was beginning to realize that strategy could only get you so far. There were many other factors involved, like natural talent which these opponents clearly had, hard work which couldn't really be differentiated from talent in these matches, and the fact that some techniques were hard counters to others. It wasn't like shogi where each person had the same kit to work with. Some people had an advantage from the get go and couldn't be defeated through normal means.

Continuing to think like that wasn't going to benefit me in any way, so I banished the thought and jumped into conversation with my teammates. Kakashi-sensei had given us time off until the Chunin Exams had ended so we were able to just relax and enjoy each other company for once.

We ended up having a great time without having to worry about being shinobi for a while. Even Sasuke cracked a few smiles. It was a nice break, but all the while I had those nagging thoughts about the next round in the back of my mind.

Another match forfeited. Was it normal for the Chunin Exams to have so many forfeits? The sand kunoichi had just surrendered to her teammate before the fight even began, and to top it off I'd likely be forfeiting my match against the Hyuga prodigy as well.

I was still scrambling for an idea when the countdown for our fight ended. Without a strategy I turned tail and ran away. There wasn't anything I could do in a direct confrontation and if he was even as close to as fast as his teammate Rock Lee then I needed to put as much distance between us as possible.

At least that was the plan. As it turned out he was almost as fast as Rock Lee, so after my first two steps he had already caught up to me. I felt a finger poke me just below my right shoulder and my entire arm exploded in pain. I fell to my knees and tried to bring my hands up into the rat seal in an effort to force him away with my shadow possession.

My right arm wouldn't move.

Another poke in my lower back and I felt something burst. My working hand grabbed onto the ground in front of me and kept me from falling further. My body hunched over and I gagged. Spit mixed with blood dribbled down my chin and fell onto the scorched dirt near my hand.

I coughed and more blood spilled out. For some reason a third attack never came. I tried to look up to see what was happening but all my strength had evaporated. It wouldn't have mattered as my sight had all but disappeared between the clouding of tears and the black patches from the pain.

In the far off distance I heard a voice saying something about winning, and Neji's name was mentioned.

Someone tall helped me to my feet, and when it was clear I couldn't walk, allowed me to piggyback out of the arena.

I closed my eyes and trusted that this person was taking me the right way. I didn't bother opening them once more until we had stopped and I was being laid down on a bed. It seemed familiar but I couldn't quite place it. Then it clicked, it was the same medic ward that I'd visited yesterday, after my match with Rock Lee. With the realization that the pain was soon going to abate, I smiled.

The smile must have appeared to be a grimace from the outside, for the taller man peered down at me with a concerned expression. "Get some rest, you'll be fine," Kakashi-sensei said gently.

I nodded and closed my eyes once more, letting the silent wings of unconsciousness whisk me off.

I awoke after what I assumed was several hours of sleep. The pain had disappeared and, from what I could feel with my hands, there was no lasting damage. However, I still felt weak. I recalled what Kakashi-sensei had previously said, how some rest would fix everything. It was sound advice, but for now I had to get back home.

I kicked the blankets off of me and swung myself off of the bed. I was just about to leave the room behind me when I noticed a peculiar sound. A sound that was suspiciously similar to snoring. I turned around and the origin of said sound revealed itself. It WAS snoring, and it was my brother. He had fallen asleep in one of the chairs for guests with his head tilted over the back of the chair, his mouth gaping open. I grinned at the comical image.

Just as I was shaking him awake I saw someone else curled up on the bed behind his chair.

I dropped my hands from Shikamaru's shoulders. One of his hands whacked at the spot where one of my hands had just been as if to ward off an annoying fly. He mumbled something indistinguishable and went back to his deep sleep.

I moved around the chair and made my way to the side of the bed. My throat seemed awfully dry all of a sudden.

Her blonde hair had come undone from where it normally hung in a tight ponytail while she was sleeping, and was cast haphazardly across the pillow. The purple fabric that covered her neck was just covering the tip of her nose, almost as if she had tucked it in to keep warm. The covers were still in place on the bed, albeit now quite wrinkled. No doubt she had come to wait with Shikamaru and the two had accidentally fallen asleep at some point.

I reached out a shaking hand towards hers, which were curled up into tight balls by her forehead. I swallowed and changed my target to her shoulder. My hand wrapped around the outside of her arm and I rolled her over. I gently shook her until her hands moved to rub the sleep from her eyes. She blinked, and then yawned, before her glazed over eyes settled on me. Her eyes cleared and the corners of her mouth curved up into a radiant smile. "You're awake," she said happily.

I nodded, choosing not to point out that she had been the one who was just sleeping.

"Let's get out of here," she said jumping out of the bed. She tipped over Shikamaru's chair in passing so that he slipped out and landed face down on the floor and marched out through the doorway.

I stared after her wide eyed while Shikamaru picked himself up off of the floor cursing. We caught up with Ino at the end of the hallway where she was waiting for us. Together we left the stadium, just the three of us, almost like old times again.

"I was soooo worried in that fight against that green guy he seemed like he was going to destroy you but then you did something to him to get an advantage was that your invisibility thingy? I got super excited because I thought you were going to win but then he was still super strong and you couldn't seem to pull ahead and I thought he was still going to win but then you pulled off that trick with the wire like what you did against me and you won! and it was awesome I think I accidentally punched Sakura I was so excited but I said I was sorry even though I kind of wasn't am I a bad person? but now I'm getting off track your win was so cool not like Shikamaru giving up like the lazy loser he is you actually worked really hard and pulled it off so I'm not mad that you beat me anymore well maybe just a little but I'm mostly over it I promise," she took a quick pause to breath. "Then that next fight that Hyuga totally crushed you and I was so scared I thought you were actually dead and that Kakashi guy had to carry you out of the arena so I rushed to the hospital room with Shikamaru well not with Shikamaru I had to practically drag him there to get him to come he doesn't seem to care about you all that much he's a really bad brother and the hospital room seemed like it lacked a lot of important resources but you were all cleaned up when we were allowed in and since you were already sleeping we just decided to sit down and wait and I guess we dozed off 'cause the next thing I remember was you waking us up and you know the rest."

She was beaming the whole time she was blabbering on, not even realizing that no one was really listening. She talked so fast that I could only understand half of it, and Shikamaru was giving her the silent treatment.

When she finally stopped talking, I lightly punched her shoulder and said, "You didn't need to worry, I can take care of myself."

She gave me her biggest smile yet and then launched into another monologue about the rest of the tournament and how exciting the final match was. I nodded along but I wasn't really listening. The little seedling of doubt had started to worm its way into my head once more.

Shikamaru didn't talk the whole way back, and kept a disgruntled look on his face until Ino said goodbye. She gave me a mock examination which I passed with flying colors and then I received a quick hug before she ran off down the road. I waited until the last of her trailing blonde locks had disappeared from view before I started walking again.

I didn't know it then, but that was going to be the last time that I would see her for a while.

"So waddaya think, today's the day, isn't it?" Naruto asked. He was practically giddy with excitement. We had been promised a real mission after the disappointing results in the third exam, and we hadn't gotten it yet.

It was several days after the tournament had ended. The sand ninja, Gaara was his name, had ended up winning when Neji was unable to even break through his defenses even once. The resulting promotions had yet to be announced so for now it was business as usual. The day before we had gone over each of our fights with Kakashi-sensei in order to use them as a learning experience. It had helped Naruto to finally overcome the wall he had put up following his match. Sasuke, meanwhile, had done the opposite. It seemed as if each time we brought up his short comings he drew back just a little bit more. As for myself, well, I already knew I was outclassed going in. That belief was certainly confirmed. I was hoping I'd be able to talk to Kurenai-sensei again soon to run some ideas past her. She seemed to have opened up more to the idea of having a genjutsu student after we actually got a chance to work together.

"I think it is. I think today's the day. It has to be," Naruto said, continuing on despite not getting an answer from anyone.

Finally I gave in. "Naruto, we're standing at the entrance to the village. Kakashi-sensei told us to pack for a several day trip. Yes, I think today is it," I said while shaking my head. I looked over at Sasuke, expecting him to be smirking back at me, but he was just blankly staring ahead. The wry smile on my face slipped off. I observed him for a few seconds and then turned my attention back to Naruto. "Anyway, we should be prepared for anything since we don't know what type of mission this is yet."

Naruto nodded vigorously.

"Why, it's a super duper cool mission of course," said a voice from behind us. We whirled around to face our smiling teacher. "Come now, there's no time for explanations, we're already late." He marched right between us, through the gates, and out into the open forest.

"That's 'cause you took forever to show up," I heard Naruto grumbling off to the side. We all looked at each other and then, as if on que, took off after him at the same time.

Wherever we were going it wasn't anywhere nearby. Instead of jogging at a controlled pace Kakashi-sensei led us at a walk. No one said anything for the first several hours. We didn't have a very loud team so I wasn't surprised. Even Naruto's exuberance had been somewhat curbed by the quiet and serious persona that accompanied the other three of us. It was Kakashi-sensei who ultimately started the conversation.

"It's an escort mission," he said, pausing with a quick look in Naruto's direction. He must have suspected a complaint of some sorts as our last mission outside the village had also been an escort, or an interjection at the very least, but Naruto was silent. "There's a fairly wealthy family whose daughter has been receiving death threats. She is supposed to visit some relatives but the family doesn't want to risk her health. The compromise was hiring ninja to escort her." He paused again, glancing at all of us individually this time before continuing, "This is a C rank mission, we shouldn't be encountering any other ninja, so the risk is relatively low. That said, you should treat it as if it is much more dangerous than that. You want to be prepared for when we do get a harder mission, one where mistakes can't be made. Do you understand?" His voice had morphed from descriptive and helpful to stern. Each of us nodded. After our experience in the Chunin Exams we each knew how important preparation was. We had to treat this like the real deal.

"Good," Kakashi-sensei's tone lightened again, "then back to no talking, the silence was quite nice." He gave a quick eye smile and turned his attention back to in front of us.

After several more hours in silence Kakashi-sensei walked right off the road into a patch of brush. He started unpacking while the three of us watched in unease.

I decided to put words to the unspoken question, "Uhhh Kakashi-sensei? There's still several hours before dark, why are we stopping so early?"

"Oh good, you picked up on that. The reason is that if we were to stop at twilight we wouldn't have the chance to scout out the surroundings or search for a river to refill our bottles. Remember, just because this is a C rank doesn't mean we shouldn't treat it seriously."

We all nodded again and made about setting up camp. Following Kakashi-sensei's orders we set up a few small, shabby tents and then started scouting around the periphery.

"Now, normally we wouldn't scout as a foursome, that's just a horrible use of man-power and it also means that no one is guarding our camp, but for today on this first run through we'll do it together so I can teach you how to do it correctly," Kakashi-sensei said.

He waited expectantly until all three of us had nodded before proceeding. "The first thing you have to do is observe your surroundings. You should always assume that someone is looking for you. If we look around, what seems like the most likely place an observer would be?"

Naturally Naruto was the first one to answer. "Behind those hedges over there," he said, pointing them out so that we could determine which hedges he was referring to.

"Very good Naruto, but that's not quite right." Naruto looked crestfallen at Kakashi-sensei's words, but perked up when he continued, "If we were asking what the best spot to spy on us would be then you would undoubtedly be correct. That spot has both good cover, and a clear view of both our camp and the road without being too close to either. That being said, if the observer was even a little experienced, then they would know that that would also be the first spot we looked. When finding a place to observe someone, you have to find a spot inconspicuous enough to where you won't be found out, but not such a good spot that they might be suspicious of someone being there. It is all about finding that balance. That's why the best spies are the ones who can hide in plain sight. Make sure you remember that."

We all nodded diligently.

"Now, who can tell me where the best spot is?"

I looked around carefully. We were only a few feet off the road with the camp to our backs. The hedges Naruto had pointed out were about 10 yards away and there were a few trees sprinkled around here and there. Besides the hedges, I couldn't see any spot that would fit. Sasuke and Naruto didn't seem to know either.

Kakashi-sensei grimaced. "Really? No ideas?" he said, the disappointment creeping into his voice.

I shrugged. I really didn't have the slightest idea. It wasn't something we'd ever gone over before now.

Our teacher just shook his head and jerked his thumb upwards. My eyes followed its direction just as he said, "None of you even thought to look up."

Sure enough, almost every single tree in the area was the perfect cover for an observer. Unless you were looking for someone, even if you were standing right below them, you'd never noticed if someone was hiding in the leafy branches.

"Moving on," he said, turning and walking farther into the woods. "While you're scouting you want to make a note of key features. If a battle were to take place, what would your retreat path be? Which places are best for an ambush? You have to determine where you and your team have advantages and where you have disadvantages. Positioning is extremely important, and I know it often gets overlooked by new ninjas. Even if you know you can beat someone 1 on 1 eventually, it is still better to lure them into an advantageous situation for you that lets you beat them more quickly and more easily. The faster a fight ends, the less time there is for things to go wrong. If it gets dragged out then it only helps the person at the disadvantage, because luck becomes more of a factor. This is not only for scouting, this is for any fight you ever have. Remember it."

Kakashi-sensei gave us each a piercing look until we met his eyes and nodded.

"This is something you should already know from the academy, but you also want to make sure you check the sky. Knowing the incoming weather is just another factor that you have to be aware of."

"Why do we have to know what the weather is? A fight's a fight, in rain or snow," Naruto said.

Kakashi-sensei sighed. I thought I heard him mutter, 'this is why I didn't want to take a genin team', but I might have just imagined it.

"Because, Naruto, weather affects the entire world around you. Not everything is about fighting, but weather can affect that as well. Remember that kunoichi from Suna? Well, she would be much stronger on a windy day, because she utilizes wind jutsu. You also have to consider the effects on the environment. If it has been raining the ground will be slippery, and possibly muddy. You'd be wise to avoid running along the ground as much as possible—"

This had become somewhat of a lecture rather than a guide.

"—I don't know about you," he continued, "but I like to stay warm and dry when I travel. If a cold front is coming through and it's going to rain, then I'll be setting up camp early. Likewise, if I know the opposite to be true, maybe I push on for a bit longer."

I gave a rock on the ground a swift kick. Somehow, we'd gone from discussing ambushes to talking about the benefits of not traveling in the rain, and I wasn't sure how it had happened.

Kakashi-sensei was still talking, "—doubt the benefit of a good meal. The soup station at most inns is exquisite."

"Erm, that's great Sensei, but what about scouting?" I said, hoping to get us back on track.

"Yes, yes," he said, bobbing his head to the words. "The last thing you need to know, besides locating a water source of course, is to try to observe the area surrounding the team from a higher ground. It's very important to know more about the area than what you can see just in the vicinity. In this case, since there isn't a nice hill nearby, you could find a tree a decent ways off and look around from the top of it." He paused and quickly scanned the area around us. "Sasuke, go climb that tree and tell us what you see," he said, pointing one out.

Sasuke quickly scaled the tree and disappeared among the leaves. After a minute he called down, "I see some birds but that's all."

Our teacher seemed content with that, and since that was the end of the scouting tutorial we all headed back to camp. I drew the short straw and ended up having to make dinner. While I wasn't particularly good at it, I was a bit relieved because Naruto and Sasuke didn't strike me as the kind of guys who had learned how to cook. Luckily, since it was only a C-rank mission, we were allowed to bring real food and cooking utensils. It wasn't long before the savory smell of stew filled the air.

I didn't have access to spices, and I was still new to cooking so it wasn't anything fantastic, but it was good enough to get by. Everyone quickly ate, washed their dishes, and crawled into their sleeping bags. Kakashi-sensei had made a point that he was waking us up extremely early, and with his weird sense of time none of us wanted to risk not getting enough sleep.

Yet there I was, clutching the edges of the sleeping bag tightly around me, listening to the crickets chirping all around us, the sound of Naruto's soft snoring echoing from behind me, hearing the faint whistle of the wind every time it stirred up the leaves. The last time we had left the village, I had almost gotten everyone killed. It had been a wake-up call. I certainly didn't think I was 'all that' anymore….

….but I couldn't shake the feeling that it was going to happen again.

I bit my lip. Making up my mind, I quietly slipped out of my sleeping bag and crawled through the entrance to the tent. I stood up and dusted off my hands and knees. The chirping of the crickets was even louder outside. I looked around and picked a direction at random. The moonlight was able to sink through the forest canopy just enough to light my path. Eventually the trees opened up, giving way to an open field with rolling hills on the distant side. The moon's rays danced enchantingly across the tips of the grass. In a daze I walked forward. I almost didn't noticed the silhouette of a person in the corner of my eye. I swung my head and my hand darted to where my weapon's pouch usually hung—except I had taken it off before I crawled into my sleeping bag. Mentally berating myself, I inched forwards, hands at the ready.

I had come close enough to reach out and touch him, but he still hadn't moved. I dropped my arms to my sides and stepped up next to him.

"I don't believe I've told you the story of how I almost got my team killed," Kakashi-sensei said softly.

My eyes widened, but I kept staring straight ahead.

"I wasn't much older than you three, I must have been 15 or 16. I had been recently put on a brand new team, with people I had never met before, because my genin team…." his voice trailed off.

I had never heard him mention his genin team before. I was curious, but I was also afraid that if I pressed him then he might clam up. So I decided to stay silent.

"Well, I was on a new team. We had just been ambushed by a squad from Iwa. We were able to fight them off without any major injuries, but our leader wanted to retreat anyway. I was convinced I knew better than the team leader. I decided to press forwards after them. My team should have abandoned me, but they didn't. They chased after me right into a company of 6 squads."

My eyes widened and I clenched my fists. 4 versus 24 was not very good odds, even for a group of Kage. I waited for him to continue but he stayed silent. I risked a quick glance at his face. The one eye that I could see had softened and remained fixed at a point off in the distance. One only he could see.

I waited for him to break from the trance, but he seemed to be lost in his memories. Just as I turned to leave, he dropped his gaze to the ground and opened his mouth.

"I….I didn't know they were there," he said weakly.

I felt my pulse speed up. I had never seen him like this. He had always had unparalleled strength, nothing ever phased him. Now he was breaking down just by remembering something in his past. It reminded me of something I thought that I had long forgotten—when our father had first come home with a scar on his cheek. Mother had made a big deal out of it as always, saying how his face would never look the same. Father just smiled and said that he was lucky that a pretty looking face was the only thing that he lost.

I thought—just maybe—I was starting to understand what he meant by that.

I raised my hand and placed it on his upper arm. I wasn't sure how to comfort him, but just letting him know that I was there was something I could do.

He cleared his throat and continued on with his story. "I made it out of course, as did one of my teammates, but the other one and our team leader…." he trailed off again, but the sinking feeling in my gut let me know what the end result was.

Neither of us said another word. We just stayed there, staring off into the distanced until the hills began turning from a dark navy into an ashy grey.

When the sun finally peaked out over the horizon we left our little haven and made our way back to camp. He didn't tell me, but I thought I understood why he told me that story.

Not everyone gets a second chance, don't screw it up.

Author's Note: This was the hardest chapter to write so far. I've been working on it off and on since I put out the last one but I was just never really feeling it, and I kept reworking parts I had already written. I think I'm happy with how it turned out but ehh.

I think I'm going to re-work some of the first couple chapters before I write the next one, just because I've learned a lot since then and they are, well, rather poorly written. That being said, the next chapter should come sooner than the last two have. I'm not gonna put a timeframe on it because that never really seems to work out, but I enjoyed writing the end of this chapter so maybe I'll have a stroke of inspiration.

P.S. Did anyone figure out why I picked the title for this chapter?

"She was caught while spying on the Uchiha," a grey haired man with round glasses said.

Something in the shadows moved surrounding the man moved. A hiss of disappointment came clearly to his ears. The man didn't move. In fact, he remained completely still, stiffened to the spot as if he was afraid to move. "What should we do next, we can't pull off the barrier without her," the man said. He still didn't turn his head even though that something was now walking circling around him.

"Perhapssss you're right. We should quit while we're ahead," said a voice from the shadows. The grey haired man fidgeted where he was standing. "After all," the voice continued, "we still managed to secure one of our goalssss without detection. The curssse mark has been placed, it'sss only a matter of time before the Uchiha is mine."

Whatever was hiding in the shadows was now in front of the man once more. The man bowed and calmly turned and left. He pushed his glasses farther up his nose and quickened his pace. The time was near, and there was no guarantee that the Uchiha would come in time. In case he didn't make it, preparations would have to be made. He walked down the dimly lit hallway and suddenly spun on his heel and walked into an adjacent room. A man was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed, lost in thought. The man had long white hair and two dots on his forehead.

"It's time," the grey haired man said.

The other man opened his eyes, and upon seeing who was standing in the doorway, nodded and slowly stood up. The grey haired man again made a sudden turn to exit the room, and the two of them continued down the hall. They finally stopped when they came to a door that had an eerie blue light pulsating out from around the frame. The grey haired man paused with his hand resting on the handle. He gave a quick look to the face of the other man, but it was unreadable. He took a deep breath and then opened the door.

TBC