A year had passed, and the Maeda team, although far ahead of the second team of which Itachi was a part, could still boast of finishing second in their class in the ranking of missions successfully completed. If the team cohesion was still not their strong point, their complementary qualities allowed them to maintain themselves at a more than acceptable level: Tomomi used his brute force, Soga her intelligence, and Mitsuki stayed back to better anticipate the risks incurred by her two teammates. Her calmness and patience annoyed Tomomi as much as they allowed him to sometimes take the necessary distance on a complex situation, and thus avoid many injuries. And that's how they managed to escort, find, rescue, or even resupply the inhabitants who asked for their help at a D rank, or C in the best case.

"One year ... A year that we've been doing nothing but picking and walking! When are we finally going to get down to business! I heard that Team 2 even ended up getting an A-rated mission! Why doesn't that ever happen to us!" grumbled Tomomi as the trio brought a filled basket to an old woman in a remote village.

"Maybe because they spend more time acting than complaining?" poked him in the eye Soga.

"I'm not so sure, I heard they also bicker a lot sometimes!" laughed Mitsuki, refusing with a polite gesture the strange mixture the old lady stubbornly wanted to offer them as a thank you.

"Tch ... While we get along so well!" growled the boy.

With a glance, his two teammates were caught in a fit of laughter. But from a certain point of view, he was not so wrong: if their team often diverged, by dint of training, they did not remain for all that less welded! And this moment of hilarity was the proof.

"What do we have to do now? And then ... Where is Maeda-Sensei? It's as if he's purposely running away from unpleasant tasks every time!" the boy was annoyed again, obviously still not understanding his previous lessons.

"I hear they could use a hand cleaning the hospital from top to bottom. Shall I suggest your names?" squeaked a slow voice behind their backs. 

Shivers ran down Mitsuki's spine, still not getting used to the impromptu arrivals of their Sensei, who, if he was often absent, was just as good at surprising them at the worst times.

"Oh, Sensei! We were just looking for you! I was telling the girls how much we've missed your experience and sympathy lately!" Tomomi tried to make up for it in his most childish voice.

The look Maeda gave him left little doubt that he was hearing correctly, and the boy immediately stopped this vain simulation, allowing the man to express what he had come to tell them:

"Unless yet another D-ranked mission appeals to you, I came to tell you that you have been appointed by the Third of the Name to retrieve a scroll..."

"A scroll... C rank?" interrupted Tomomi, giving himself another stern look.

"A-rank." the Sensei clarified, however.

"A-rank?! How could retrieving a piece of paper be an A-rank mission?"

"If you would let me finish, Tomomi, perhaps you would understand that this 'piece of paper', as you call it, happens to be of the utmost importance. It is an addendum to the peace treaty between Suna and Konoha. Even the most foolish person knows how fragile this truce is. So can I count on you to be exemplary? Or should we leave this opportunity to the Uchiha prodigy and his team?"

Tomomi winced again at the thought. He didn't like being compared to Itachi any more than he liked competing with Mitsuki, and it was out of the question for him to let an opportunity to shine, and finally catch a glimpse of much more interesting mission prospects!

"Well. I guess it's a collective yes. See you in two days in front of the city gates. Take only what you need, I won't carry anything that doesn't come from my own pack." informed the Sensei, ready to leave them again.

"Excuse me Sensei, but ... Why is this mission of such high rank? Are we trained enough for this? Shouldn't it be put in the hands of Jônin?" questioned Mitsuki, skeptical.

Tomomi paled at the thought that this might be seen as a moment of weakness, and that the order might escape them, but a chuckle stretched at the corner of the man's unshaven lips.

"We're not doing it to you, are we Mitsuki? It's better to know as much as possible when you go on a mission, to be prepared. But for this time, you'll have to trust me. Both our destination and our route are kept secret, right here," he tapped his temple, "And it's best to keep it that way to ensure your safety. All I can tell you is that we're going into a minefield, and that it's best to have a few inexperienced Genin around, who will draw less attention than a detachment of Jônin."

Once the message was made clear, Maeda vanished this time, leaving the three youngsters to excitedly debate the most important objective they had been given. Of course, it differed only slightly from what they had been doing since the beginning of their apprenticeship, but the mere mention of a high rank lit up their youthful pupils.

And it was with this same eagerness that Mitsuki returned to tell her tutor the news, happy to celebrate with him:

"Stay vigilant at any occasion ! If you have any problems, rely on your Sensei and his experience! And above all ... Listen to him well and never separate yourself from your teammates!", Aruna lectured her, letting the teacher in him speak a little too much for the taste of his young pupil.

"This is not my first mission Big Brother! Everything will be fine, don't worry!"

"If you weren't so small, one might forget that you're still just a child as you've matured so much lately! Don't forget to eat well too! It's important if you want to become a great and powerful kunoichi!"

"Aruna...!", Mitsuki protested again with a scowl.

The man's laughter was interrupted as there was a knock on the door. Immediately recognizing the author of these timid knocks, Mitsuki snuck under the amused gaze of Aruna, who returned to his stove. 

"Itachi! I was just coming to see you!", the Hata exclaimed with a bright smile.

"Oh? I came because I wanted to tell you something...", the Genin explained a little less cheerfully.

"Me too! You won't believe your ears!"

"You first in this case!", invited the brown, seeing it as a good way to push back his own deadline.

"No, you! You look troubled, are you in trouble?"

Itachi shook his head, before glaring at her. The silence made the situation all the more laughable, what could they possibly have to say to each other that required so much drama? Itachi cleared his throat as Mitsuki opened her mouth, causing them both to stare at each other again in silence before laughing nervously. Then, with the same breath, they finally confessed in the same voice:

"I'm going on a mission for a while."

With round eyes, they each integrated this sentence before continuing their exchange in a much more lively manner:

"That's great! But why were you making that face? What are you going to do? Where are you going?" the younger one questioned.

"I thought you might be disappointed if I went away for a while..."

"Finally, Itachi! It's our goal to get bigger missions! I'm happy for you! But don't hang around too much anyway!"

With a wink, the beautiful ended up earning a shy smile from her opposite, more likely to rejoice with her.

"Yes, well ... It is not much, even if the rank of the mission is high, I am not sure that it will bring us anything, I would have preferred to train."

"It's a bit like us, but I think it's still a great opportunity to show our efforts nonetheless!" encouraged Mitsuki, more optimistically.

Implicitly, she understood that just like her, the content of the mission remained a secret, and did not insist on knowing more. Luckily, it seemed that their departures would be close, so she didn't worry about the time they would spend apart, believing that they would be busy enough on their own.

"I have to get back, Aruna made us a nice meal and he might grumble if I don't come and eat before everything gets cold! But we can go eat some dango by the lake afterwards, if you want? I earned a few extra coins on our last mission! That way it'll be kind of like saying goodbye?"

With another thin smile, Itachi nodded. Mitsuki quickly ran off, immediately boasting about how well her friend was doing. Even when they were separated, she was happy with the way they were becoming the best ninja they could be. She promised herself once again to follow Mikoto's lessons all the more assiduously: even if she couldn't become a powerful kunoichi, she would still be an unfailing support for her teammates! And her recent progress in medical Jutsu only increased this will.

After a short evening with her best friend, it was only two short days before she was summoned with her team by their Sensei. Their departure date had finally been moved up, and Maeda swore at their lack of preparation, despite Soga's assurance that they had trained sufficiently. Tomomi nodded briskly, arms crossed, as their superior looked on in exasperation:

"What is all this?" the latter ironically inquired, pointing to the heavy pack at the boy's foot.

"Weapons, scrolls, rations! Everything we need for our great mission!"

"And ... you're going to carry it all, by yourself, of course."

Tomomi nodded his head proudly again, confident that he was quite capable.

"We were just waiting for you, Mitsuki. This really wasn't the day to forget about waking up!" sighed Maeda as the young brunette rushed towards them.

"But, I...", Mitsuki wanted to defend herself, knowing she was a few minutes early.

"It doesn't matter.", the man interrupted her, reluctant to apologize, "All I ask from you now is seriousness and thoroughness. I don't want any stragglers, or the slightest complaint the whole way. I am the head of this wobbly team, and I don't want the slightest questioning of any of my orders. If I tell you to eat, sleep, move a finger, you do it. And if I tell you to run, you run. Is that clear?"

Mitsuki nodded, understanding the full seriousness of a mission of this rank, Soga opened her mouth, before snapping back, but Tomomi couldn't help but challenge:

"Run away? But we're here to fight! We are Ninja! It's against the rules to cowardly run away from a fight!"

"Because you obviously make it a point to follow the rules we dictate, of course.", Maeda grumbled with a dark look in his eyes.

But that wasn't enough to stop the boy:

"But then... Does that mean it will be dangerous? There's going to be deaths?"

"I'm just anticipating all eventualities. But if you keep on squealing, it may happen sooner than you think."

This time Tomomi swallowed his saliva, finally understanding this far less subtle undertone.

"Let's go. I'll explain everything on the way.", the man invited them as they walked into the forest without further ado, "We're heading three days away, to the border of the River Country. This is a peaceful area, but you must remain vigilant. The scroll we have to retrieve could be coveted by extremist groups, with a view to rekindling old feuds and starting a new war. We are going alone, to avoid attracting attention, but an elite ninja team is ahead of us to avoid any trouble. So the objective is simple: we go to meet our contact, get this paper, and return to Konoha. That's it."

He sighed again, before adding curtly without looking back:

"Let him work it out Mitsuki. He'll learn from his mistakes and carry his load by himself. Instead, focus on what's around us."

With a pained glance, Mitsuki released the heavy baggage onto the shoulders of an already breathless Tomomi after a few leaps from branch to branch, and called upon her senses to probe the thick woods around them. They hadn't left the Konoha area yet, so there was little chance of them being bothered here, yet Maeda insisted on their vigilance. Wasn't it dangerous to push them to their maximum early? Or maybe it was just a way for him to test their endurance...

"You're getting distracted again, Mitsuki...", the youngest was reminded, whose trajectory had been deviating subtly for a few steps.

Nothing escaped him. She quickly got back in Soga's path, and tried not to let her thoughts divert her from her goal.

And so it was for the first two days, peaceful, to the great despair of Tomomi who couldn't get rid of any tool. Soga had finally gotten some shuriken out of him while Mitsuki diverted the Sensei's attention by pretending to search with him for the fastest way to the border, but it wasn't enough to silence the boy's aching back.

"I'll take the first watch. Take a rest," Maeda announced coldly as he leaned against a tree a few feet away from the three Genin who were finishing some of the victuals Tomomi had willingly handed out.

Soga smothered their campfire as a precaution, as their teacher had repeatedly recommended, before lying down beside her friends. The night promised to be cool, and despite some bickering, they decided to stay close so they wouldn't have to suffer.

But in the middle of the night, a sound of a broken branch awakened Mitsuki, who then opened her glowing pupils towards their elder. He immediately signaled her not to make a sound, kunai in hand. He moved at a snail's pace to get closer to the little group, but a weapon with a scroll on top of it made him stop dead in his tracks.

An explosive scroll.

Maeda jumped back, quickly signing a few mudra. A wall of earth sprang up in front of his young pupil, muffling the explosion that woke up her two acolytes. Tomomi jumped up, ready to fight, as if he was not deeply asleep the second before, and Soga did the same. Startled, Mitsuki looked around for their Sensei, when a glare sounded near her cheek. She immediately lowered her head, one hand on the cut that the shuriken intercepted by their Sensei's weapon had caused. They were under attack, and she had to pull herself together immediately! She glanced at her teammates to make sure they were okay, and then ran into the smoke from the explosion to escape the gaze of their assailant. Was there only one? That was the impression she had. She gasped as her wrist was grabbed, but Tomomi pushed her to look at him so she would understand that they had followed her. Where was Maeda? Another bang shook the ground, and more blades clashed. Mitsuki counted, every tiny second between attacks. One person. It was possible that there was only one enemy! There were four of them. Luck was on their side! It was time to cooperate to get out of this situation as soon as possible!

"GO AWAY! IDIOTS! GO HIDE IN THE F..."

The Sensei's orders were interrupted by another outburst, then a growl. Was he injured? The tension of her teammates was palpable, and their pupils rested on her simultaneously, as if they were waiting for her to make the decision to leave. But the rumblings were close, and showed a difficult struggle... What to do?

A new scroll whistled between their feet, under the frightened eyes of the three Genin, who jumped out of reach of this new explosion. They had foolishly allowed themselves to be trapped, separated from each other, without the slightest visibility of their mutual positions.

"Think about it, Mitsuki...", the brunette tried to convince herself.

Her heart was pounding as she considered every possible scenario. Her eyes burned, making it difficult for her to see, and her throat knotted so tightly that she could barely hold an erratic breath.

Focus.

She had to prioritize, and it was clear in her mind: she had to find her teammates and get them out of there. Maeda had been clear, they had to run! She then got up, and went around the burned area, making sure to stay in the shadow of the bushes. Only the crackling of the flames now broke the silence, forcing her to move slowly. Maybe the fight was over? She couldn't take the risk without being sure. Her vision blurred a little more with each step she took. 

This smoke ...

And then suddenly, after a new grove, shadows! Three of them! It could only be her team! Forgetting all caution, Mitsuki rushed to them, relieved to have finally found them. But something went wrong the moment her eyes met Maeda's.

"Run away...", she read on his bloody lips.

Petrified, she let her pupils turn to the small figure kneeling beside her.

No ...

That was impossible! The blood froze in Mitsuki's veins at the sight before her. She wanted to scream, but couldn't, wavering towards her team.

"Mitsuki, you have to leave! Go and find the others! This is our only chance! MITSUKI!", Tomomi implored her.

But she couldn't hear him anymore, nor could she see him. There was only this body... Soga. Livid, her eyes still glazed over towards the foggy sky, terror stamped on her face, testifying to the brutality of her last hour. The cries of the living continued to encourage her to come out of her torpor, but it was too late, there was nothing left but this outburst of emotions inside her. Sadness, fear, anger... Her breath vibrated in the cold air, her pulse was out of control, and then ... nothing.

Maeda bit his lip at what he had so feared when he discovered this eclectic team. As the red became fully imprinted on the surface of his eye sockets, Mitsuki gradually lost control. If he had to lose his life today, it was his duty to spare her a tragic end. But how could he do that, when she didn't even seem to hear him anymore? If he had hoped for the arrival of the ANBU, surely this was not the time for them to discover this scene!

"Mitsuki, pull yourself together. I know you can do it," he encouraged her calmly, "We'll get through this... But you have to pull yourself together."

Tomomi looked at him in awe, seeing in that uncharacteristically fatherly intonation the sign of something he caught himself fearing even more than the one that had bound his fists and feet against that trunk. A sonorous laughter cut through the wood, before a shadow emerged from the flames and stepped between the girl and the men.

"Interesting..." the man responsible for the chaos persisted, "Exactly the reaction I was hoping for. But let's see how far you can go!"

Mitsuki took a step towards the voice, but was immediately stopped, as if paralyzed. She struggled, as the intruder moved towards what was left of her team. He slowly took Tomomi's face in his hands, appreciating the fear in his tear-stained pupils.

"What would happen if I did... that?"

With a gesture, the enemy thrust his kunai into the boy's stomach, giving him no chance as he choked on a bloody wave.

"Well, Mitsuki... Are you going to stand by and watch him die? You who has the ability to save him..." the killer hissed.

"Don't listen to him! You're not like that, I know you're not, stay with me, Mitsuki, we'll get out of this!", Maeda interrupted him, which didn't please their attacker at all.

And it annoyed him even more as the Genin's eyes returned to their normal hue.

"Damn seals. Things will never change in this damn village."

He turned away from the Sensei to Mitsuki, admiring her distinctive aura as she remained in his grip.

"Follow me, and I'll leave them alone," he offered, "I'll also free you from this prison they force you to wear. Your talents so precious ... By my side, you will never need to hide... Mitsuki Hata."

Managing with difficulty to turn her face towards him, Mitsuki pretended to consider him for a moment, earning a victorious smile from this abject man, before articulating:

"Ne-ver."

The dreadful laughter rose once more, causing Mitsuki's indomitable pupils to shrink a little more. This man knew her name, and knew what she was... He ...

"I know everything about you, eh yes. I also know who is important to you. Don't forget my offer, my patience has its limits."

With that, the man released her, before slowly turning on his heels. Coming out of her paralysis, Mitsuki drew a kunai and turned to face this powerful opponent, but there was already no one behind her. Trembling, still breathing heavily, she stood still for a moment, before turning around and dashing towards her fellows. Kneeling down, she hastily untied a shabby Maeda, her eyes imploring him to do something for Tomomi. But the Sensei didn't move, just raising his glassy eyes to her, his arms falling limply down his body. When Mitsuki saw him closer, she could only see how badly he was hurt. She didn't wait any longer before conjuring up green chakra at the end of her hands.

"Go to Tomomi, he needs your skills more than I do...", Maeda told her in a weak voice.

A coughing fit overtook him, making the air ejected from his lungs hiss horribly. But Mitsuki complied, crawling quickly to Tomomi, taking care not to look at Soga. Not now. If she hurried fast enough, she could save her Sensei next, and they would all go back to Konoha. If she went fast enough...

"Mitsuki?", Maeda tried to call out to her, when he couldn't hear a sound.

Not getting an answer, he gathered what little strength he had left to stand up. The girl stood upright, her fists clenched on her knees tucked under her buttocks. The livid face, its jaw contracted, and in spite of the vision which started to fail to him, it distinguished clearly the tears which flowed from its chin. Thus... It remained only her. 

"Mitsuki, don't stay here. There's nothing left. Find the ANBU team, tell them what happened, and go home. They'll finish the mission, don't worry."

The icy grass crackled once more under the Hata's movements, as she faced her Sensei, sobbing, but determined not to give up on anything.

"What are you doing?" the man questioned her, as he felt the warmth of that green chakra in her gut, "Stop it, you know as well as I do that it's useless. You'll exhaust yourself for nothing, save your strength. You have to survive, Mitsuki."

The frantic shaking gradually took over Mitsuki's body, the chakra flowed more and more abundantly, under Maeda's pragmatic gaze. Slowly, he took her hand to move it away from his chest, and in an unexpected gesture, pushed her to sit by his side.

"It's okay, Mitsuki," he assured her as he placed his hand on the top of her head, "I failed, but you were most courageous. Don't forget what I taught you, we only had a short time, but I hope my teachings will be of use to you, in the future. And... Don't tell anyone I told you this, but you were one of my best apprentices. You three have... all three of you, have been the best Genin apprentices entrusted to me."

"Haven't we been the only ones?", Mitsuki snorted as she let herself rest against his shoulder.

The man chuckled, causing her to wince in pain, before retorting:

"I see I wasn't that bad, like Sensei... Now, if you don't mind, and since you seem determined not to listen to my orders, once again, let's stay here, just in silence..."

Mitsuki nodded her agreement. At the end of her strength, she didn't even bother to hold back the tears that kept streaming down her cheeks. She simply listened to the wheezing of her Sensei, slowing down little by little, until this last sigh, similar to all those he intended for them during their numerous quarrels.

The silence became suddenly heavy, everything was finished, she had nothing more. She straightened up with difficulty, and faced this desolate spectacle. Nausea overcame her, and just as she thought she was going to explode inside, that scream stuck in the back of her throat was suddenly expelled in a gust that sent the surrounding groves to the ground. Dazed, Mitsuki fell back heavily to the ground, before finally losing consciousness.