Woo! Chapter 10! Sorry updates are being so slow. For some reason Wattpad has stopped allowing me to copy and paste from my word documents, which is where I write my rough drafts so I'm having to retype everything, word for word which is exhausting. Still doing it though, so I thank you all for you patience.

When Kakashi had said that he'd try to get tougher missions for his team you hadn't exactly expected the Hokage to go with it. And certainly not that quickly. Kakashi had informed you at dinner that night that his team would be escorting and guarding a bridge builder in the Land of Waves and that they'd be leaving the next morning. That had been nearly a month ago and you were a fretting mess ever since. You knew that the land of waves wasn't exactly known for being dangerous, but you'd heard rumors lately of a criminal group operating there in the last few months.

 Your instincts told you that something was very wrong with this mission and you'd done some research after the team had left. What you'd found had not given you any comfort. The land of waves was in the strangle hold of a mafia type shipping company, and you would bet your last dollar that they wouldn't take well to a bridge builder trying to break their hold on the islands. They'd probably pay top dollar to anyone that could stop it from happening.And all that stood between that bridge builder and the potential army of mercenaries coming after him was Kakashi and three fresh genin. With every day that went by without Kakashi's return you became more nervous. You couldn't focus on anything, even when Jiraiya came by to pick up your edits, he tried to cheer you up, but you'd ended up snapping at him.

 You were currently sitting behind the service desk at the book store, twirling your pen around your fingers staring out the window, but your eyes were unfocussed and you weren't really aware of what was around you. You were startled back to reality when your manager's loud voice came from beside you, "No it's fine Uta. I'll get him." You slowly turned your head and realized that there was a delivery boy standing in front of the desk. You had no idea how long he'd been standing there for. You mumbled an apology to both before grabbing the invoices. You didn't even know what was coming in today, which showed just how out of it you were, since you always had the orders memorized long before they ever came in. You signed off on the invoices while the manager opened the boxes to make sure everything was there. After the delivery boy left your manager handed you a stack of posters, "Here, go put these up outside. That won't require much thinking." You meekly grabbed the posters and the staple gun and went outside. Other than to make sure they were upright you didn't even glance at the posters, your mind instead wandering back to Kakashi.

 On your way back in you forgot to open the door and instead walked straight into the glass panel. You grabbed the handle and let yourself in, rubbing your nose. Your manager was shaking his head, "Uta if you're that worried about him then why not get permission to go and see how things are going. I'm sure the Hokage is due for an update anyways and you're less than useless here right now." You mumbled another apology and shuffled towards the desk, but the manager came around the desk and stopped you, pressing a stack of books into your arms, "I'm serious. If you stay here I'm going to have to do something about you. Take a sick leave or something, but just don't be here. The other workers think I go too easy on you as is, and if they see you acting like this at work it'll be a problem. Take the books you pre-ordered and get outta here." You nodded and grabbed the books turning to leave. The manager uttered some words that shouldn't be said in a work place before he ran and grabbed your bag and slung it over your shoulders before you could get to the door.Once outside you slid the books into your bag and decided to do as your boss suggested, making a beeline for the Hokage tower. Once there you walked into the office without even knocking. The Hokage looked up over the papers in his hand, "Aaah Uta. I thought I might be seeing you in here soon." He put his papers down and stood up. He came around the desk and stood in front of you, "I have a favour to ask. If you feel like you can handle it, can you go a check on team sevens progress?" You gave him a smile, "You knew I'd be coming." He nodded, "When I hear people saying that you're wandering around in a daze and have been irritable, which is very unusual for you, I figure it's a safe bet to be expecting you. Now are you able to go and check up on them?" You hesitated a moment, because if you said yes, then it'd be a mission. But you needed to know if Kakashi was alright, and that weighed out any reservations you had about going on missions. "Yes sir."

 He nodded and handed you two scrolls. One was directions on where you were going and the other was for your report. "Report back as soon as you can, however, if they need your assistance, you may stay to lend a hand." You nodded then bowed before turning and running out of the office. Once you made it home you tossed off your civilian clothes and began digging through your closet for the trunk that held your old mission clothing. Once you found it and pulled it out you blew the dust off of the lid. Your hands shook slightly as you reached for that latches. You took a deep breath, bracing for what you knew you were about to see, and you opened the lid. Right on top were two ANBU masks. Yours and your brothers. You gently lifted them up and set them on your lap. You blinked your eyes rapidly to clear the tears out of them and you began digging through the items in the trunk until you found what you needed. Once you had a mission uniform and the weapons you'd need you put everything but the masks back in. Your hands rested on the two masks. You'd tucked them away to avoid the pain they'd bring, but they were an important part of your life. You slammed the lid of the trunk shut and brought the masks over to your desk. There was a small hook on the wall above the desk.

 You quickly tied the straps on the back of the masks into loops then hung them on the hook. You stepped back to look at them. It looked right. More importantly it FELT right having the masks overlooking your home. You quickly ran back into your room and changed into your mission clothes, strapping the weapon to your body and sliding scrolls into pockets. You grabbed you old mission bag and put some food and water in. You knelt next to your regular bag and pulled out your notebook and a pen. You also pulled out the other books you'd been given that day. There were five book, three of which were pretty normal, but the last two were identical to each other. You turned them over to look at the front cover and you nearly dropped them in surprise. The books in your hand were a simple green cover with the only images and writing being on the front.

                                           Icha Icha Paradise

                                                By Jiraiya

                                         With Feature Story

                                              Cum Village

                                          By New Author

                                           Katsu Noboru

You slapped your hand against your head. You'd left the title up to Jiraiya, but now you were really wishing you hadn't. How were you supposed to gain any respect in the writing community with a title like that?You sighed and pushed both copies into your bag. One copy was for Kakashi after all. You slung the bag over your shoulder and headed for the door. You hesitated before turning back and kissing your brother's mask on its forehead, "Be back soon onii-chan. Watch the place for me." With that you headed out the door and started on your way to the land of waves.