"That was really cool what you did back there," Sakura said, falling back to walk with me. I shrugged. It wasn't anything special. I was surprised she was saying that to me though, and not to the raven haired boy walking in front.

"So was Sasuke," I pointed out, wanting to gauge her reaction. Her eyes turned dewy and she sighed, a smile gracing her lips.

"He was great, wasn't he? The way he took that guy out was awesome! Sasuke-kun is so cool."

"If you mean cool as in icy cool then I agree completely." Who wouldn't? The guy was a freaking iceberg.

"Yeah, he can be a little cold at times but that only adds to the charm."

"A charm I am yet to see."

Sakura huffed and pushed her face upwards haughtily. "You have no taste whatsoever. Next thing you know, you're telling me that you like Naruto."

I looked into the back of the idiot blond. "Well, he is cute ..."

Sakura squealed excitedly. It was so loud that everyone stopped and looked at us. Sakura waved them off. "Don't mind us. Girl talk."

Kakashi raised his brow and I briefly wondered what could be running through his mind. Naruto looked as curious as the proverbial cat. He continued walking but kept glancing back at us, no doubt wondering what we could be talking about. Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly and he looked at Sakura then me before continuing.

"You like Naruto?!" Sakura asked me, whispering frantically. I frowned. What was the big deal?

"All I said was that he was cute ..."

"Oh my gosh! You do like him! I have to say though, I do not understand your taste in guys."

Taste in guys? Did she think I wanted to eat him? I looked at her horrified. "I have no taste for guys," I said quickly.

She looked at me curiously, then her eyes widened. "A taste for ... girls?"

"No! No."

She sighed. "What do you mean then? Or is it that you haven't had that talk yet? You know. The birds and the bees."

I looked at her blankly. Everything that came out of this girl's mouth sounded like gibberish to me. First she was saying I had taste for boys and now she's talking about birds and bees. What the hell was she talking about?

"Oh. You haven't then." She didn't say anything else after that. She looked uncomfortable. I was glad for the silence however. If that conversation had went on any longer I don't know what I would do.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed suddenly. Everyone stopped.

"What is it, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked rushing towards us. I stared at her. What was the problem now?

She pointed down on my arm. "Lea, you're bleeding."

I looked down to where she pointed and saw that my skin was cut open on the inside of my arm. It was oozing blood. Even under my untrained eye, I could see the cut pulsating. How had I not noticed before? Even now, as I stared at it, I felt no pain.

Kakashi made a thoughtful 'hmm' noise. "Looks like that guy got a swipe at you without you noticing," he said. He came forward and took my hand. "It's poison."

Sakura covered her mouth. Naruto stared at my cut with a mixture of awe and trepidation.

"You better heal her quick," Tazuna chirped in. "If she dies that's one less person to protect me."

I jerked my hand back before Kakashi could do anything. "It's fine," I said. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure, Lea-chan?" Naruto squinted at me. "It doesn't look fine to me."

"I said I'm fine. Let's just keep going."

"But -"

"I'm fine!" I shouted this time. How many times did I have to say it before they got it in their thick skulls?

"You're obviously not fine!" Sasuke shouted back at me. I looked at him, surprised. He had been silent this whole time. "You're poisoned and you need help."

I stared at him a while longer then I turned to Kakashi. I whispered my next words so that only he could hear. "Can you just trust that I'm fine? Everything's fine."

Kakashi looked at me evenly. For a second I thought he wasn't going to believe me. I really wasn't going by anything here.

He clapped his hands suddenly and smiled. "If she said she's fine, then she's fine. Let's keep going. We don't want to be in the open when night comes down."

I sighed, avoiding eye contact until I finally heard the shuffling of feet and they were off. I stayed back a little, wanting distance between us. When I started walking and looked up, Sasuke was still staring at me. His black eyes held something I couldn't comprehend. I held the stare, not sure what do and hoping that he'll just forget about it and move on.

After a long while, he started walking again, his hands in his pockets. I let out my pent up breath.

I looked down at the cut. It was only a pink line now. It was almost fully healed. I wasn't worrying about that however. I was worrying about what my excuse will be when they find out that it's gone.

//

"It's true that I haven't been completely honest to you, sensei," Tazuna was saying. "This isn't just a simple escort mission. I'm being chased by a very dangerous man."

"Who?" Kakashi asked.

We were all on the boat, surrounded by a curtain of mist. We all listened intently on what Tazuna was saying.

"You've probably heard his name before. The incredibly wealthy Gatou."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "Gatou? The owner of the Gatou Company Gatou?!"

Tazuna sighed, nodding. "He does own the large shipping company but behind the scenes he deals with illegal drugs and other items, using gang members and wicked ninjas to take over. About a year ago he set his sights on the wave country and, through money and violence, took over everything. The only things he fears is the completion of the bridge."

"I see," Sakura said. "So since your building the bridge, you're in the way."

"So those ninjas were hired by Gatou?" Sasuke asked. Tazuna nodded.

"Why didn't you just tell us that in the first place instead of lying?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"The wave country is extremely poor, even the Feudal lords. We wouldn't have enough money for a B ranked mission."

He perked up. "But don't worry! If you quit now, and I die, my ten year old grandson will cry for a few days. And my daughter will hate the Leaf village and everything it represents. But, it won't be your fault!"

I rolled my eyes and turned my head to look out on the water. I have been in the Leaf village long enough to know that they weren't just going to turn away and leave him to fend for himself like that. I quickly lost interest in the conversation.

I looked down at my arm. When no one was looking, I had wrapped a bandage around the area, cutting my palm and rubbing some of the blood on to give it a realistic look. So far no one noticed anything. Except maybe Sasuke, but I wasn't worrying about him.

"We'll be there soon," I heard Tazuna say. We entered the tunnel and when we emerged we were in the wave country. Naruto exclaimed in awe.

I sighed. This was going to be a long trip.

//

Tazuna's grandson was a little brat. I had barely been near him for two minutes and I already felt like knocking him upside the head. This was surprising to me, since he was just a little boy, but no matter how I tried I just couldn't understand his situation.

Naruto seemed to have gotten it perfectly though. He stared at the boy with sympathy, even chased after him when he finished his short tantrum and ran off. I mentally said good riddance.

"Lea, can I have a word?" Kakashi motioned to me from the door. I glanced over at Sakura and Sasuke. It was the normal sight of Sakura drooling over Sasuke and Sasuke ignoring her to the best of his abilities.

I walked over to Kakashi. I looked at him with question.

"Come with me," he said. I followed him out until we were in a tiny clearing in the forest.

"I want to teach you a new jutsu." My heart leaped. That was one of the things I had in common with my teammates. The prospect of a new jutsu meant I would have stronger attacks for a battle when it came down to it. And I just knew, deep down, that it would come to it.

"Why?" I asked him. Why not wait until we were all here and teach us it at the same time? Not that I was complaining.

"I know you know that I know that something about you is different. Call it instinct but you need special attention." I wasn't sure if I should be offended.

Instead, I shrugged it off and got myself ready. "Then let's do this."

Kakashi circled me, looking me up and down. I watched him.

"You're still skinny. But we'll do something about that later." He widened his stance. "This jutsu is an extension of Shadow Clone Jutsu but it is just as - or maybe more - dangerous." He held up the hand signs. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Another Kakashi appeared. They both looked at me with even eyes. The original Kakashi did a few hand signs and he placed his hand on his clone. I frowned. What was he doing?

"Invisible Clone Jutsu!" His clone disappeared. My frown deepened and I looked around.

"Where did he - you - go?" I asked. A breath brushed the back of my neck and I flinched.

"I'm right here," a voice said behind me. I whirled around, kunai ready.

Something tapped my shoulder. "Wrong way." I face the voice, and slashed at the air with my kunai.

A deep chuckle came from behind me, again. I whirled but this time it was the original Kakashi. Beside him, the clone began to appear.

"And that's how it's done." Kakashi bowed.

He straightened up and came to me. "Hold out your hand," he ordered. I did as told. "Since you already have chakra control, this step won't be so hard. Concentrate your chakra into your palm in a flat swirling motion." I tried doing as he said but I failed. "Or maybe it will be."

"It's simple. Once your chakra is flowing at an even pace in own swirling direction, then all you do afterwards is transfer that chakra to your clone at exactly the same time. The head is the easiest way to do that."

I nodded, soaking up everything he said. He reached forward and rustled my hair. "Don't be too late, kiddo. See you around."

And he was off. I set to work, trying to master the chakra control in my palm.