I meet up with Kurenai and the other team member both who wait patiently for me at the village gates.

"You're late," Kurenai says kindly, giving me a soft smile as I approach.

"You're early," I reply. I look at the other Chunin who will be coming on this mission with us. I don't know him that well, but I've seen him around. He's got tan skin and dark hair pulled back into a high pony-tail... and a strange mark stretching across his nose. He looks a couple years younger than me.

"I'm Iruka, this is my first mission as a Chunin!" he exclaims, pointing happily at himself with his thumb. I give him a curt nod.

"Ayame, I'm the Jonin captain who will be leading this team for the next six weeks."

Iruka smiles widely.

We begin walking, discussing the details of this mission. We will be travelling to the Hidden Stone Village, though there is no rush so we'll walk and take breaks frequently in order to save our energy and stamina for possible attacks.

See, the scroll we are delivering contains a message concerning the relations with the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Stone, and could mean the difference between an alliance or an enemy. The problem is that the Hidden Mist Village is out to sabotage our relations with the Stone and prevent the contract from being signed.

Our mission is to successfully wade off any attackers and get the scroll to the Tsuchikage before returning. It should take 3 weeks to get there and 3 weeks back, if everything goes according to plan.

"No pressure," I mutter after we finish discussing the details. Iruka gulps a little but composes himself quickly.

"We'll succeed, no problem," he says, making big motions with his hands and trying to look confident. I smirk and give him a pat on the shoulders which causes his face to flush with colour.

"I have no doubts," I say. Iruka nods and Kurenai chuckles under her breath.

* * *

If you're ever given the opportunity to travel on foot for weeks on end, don't take it.

It's been nearly two weeks but it feels like longer. The days are long and we've had to keep going, even through heavy rainfall. Our feet are sore and tired from trekking the rough terrain, since the nicely made paths closer to the Leaf Village have long since disappeared. As we stop for the night to set up camp, the air grows cold. Kurenai starts a fire and I toss my bag down, pulling out the dry-packaged stew mix and a small pot.

"I'll go get some water from the stream up ahead," Iruka says, taking a metal water bottle from me. I thank him as he heads off into the trees.

Kurenai manages to start the fire and blows on it to keep it going while I toss my sleeping bag down and sit on one end of it, enjoying the warmth and light from the fire.

"It's been awfully quiet, don't you think?" I mutter. Kurenai places some more sticks on the growing fire and leans back on her knees.

"We are in the middle of nowhere in the Land of Fire and near the border of the Stone, far away from any known villages," she mutters, stating the obvious.

I roll my eyes, "Well, of course, but I mean it's eerily quiet. Why hasn't the enemy made a move yet?"

Kurenai just shrugs and pours the dry-stew package into the pot. "It's a good thing, don't you think? Maybe we'll make it there without any interruptions."

"Maybe," I say, but I'm not very convinced. The way the missions council talked this mission up really made me anticipate some real fights. But maybe they were just giving us the worst case scenario; after all, they did just choose to send one small team of Jonin and Chunin rather than all Jonin or even an ANBU team. It seems this mission is probably B-ranked, at best.

Iruka returns with a water bottle full, as well as wet clothes and dripping hair.

I can't suppress the laughter as it forces its way up my windpipe. "What, did you fall in the river?"

Kurenai joins in with my laughter and Iruka makes a grim face as he takes his green vest off and hangs it off the branch of a tree.

"It's not my fault!" he claims. "My foot slipped-"

I notice a change in the air near one of the trees. My head whips around quickly which effectively silences both Iruka and Kurenai as all three of us diligently search the treeline with our eyes.

"Who's there-"

I silence Iruka by putting my hand up, eyes still trained on the treeline. Someone appears the next moment and all three of us are pushed back and in fighting stances, guarding each other's backs in a three-man formation.

I grab the knuckle blades from my pouch and Iruka wields a kunai.

"Kurenai," I whisper, backing up slightly so she can hear me. "Where is the scroll?"

"Don't worry, I've got it," she mutters back. I stare up at the lone shinobi who wears Hidden Mist ANBU attire. "Keep an eye on that guy, we'll watch for others."

"O-others?" Iruka stammers. "But that guy's an ANBU, if there are others... how can we possibly hope to defeat them?"

My hand finds Iruka's shoulder. "Don't be afraid, Iruka. Just be on the defensive and don't let your guard down." He nods, gulping out an 'Mn' noise as he grips his kunai harder. The Mist ANBU makes his first move, coming at us head-on before disappearing in a cloud of mist.

"Clones," Kurenai says as she fights off more ANBU that approach us from the surrounding forest.

"Mist clones, similar to shadow clones," I add, forming the hand signs for a shadow clone myself. Another me battles with one of the ANBU but is defeated easily when the ANBU slashes with a kunai.

I move in front of Kurenai and guard her, since she's got the scroll. "Shit," I mutter under my breath. Iruka throws kunai after kunai and I know he must be running low on weapons soon. Each tool hits one of the clones and it disappears with a poof.

Then the enemy starts avoiding our throws and punches.

Damn it, the mist clones were to discover who had the scroll. Iruka takes one side and I take the other as we each take on one mist ANBU. I hear Iruka yelp out in pain and spare a brief second to look behind. He's on the ground, gripping his shoulder, while blood seeps through his fingers.

Gritting my teeth, I infuse my blades with chakra, holding firm against the katana that tries diligently to cut my head off. Kurenai is fighting an equal fight too, dual-wielding kunai to deflect the enemy's sword.

But more start coming out of the trees.

I knew we might have to fight mist shinobi, but I didn't expect them to send their ANBU Black Ops. Did Hiruzen know this would happen? Why would he send two chunin and a jonin if he knew this would happen? 

These guys are way out of our league at the moment, and I grunt as more continue to come out of the trees. I throw kicks behind me, trying to wade off the ones attacking from behind while defending myself from the ones in front.

"Kurenai," I yell. We make eye contact for just a moment as she reads my thoughts. With a quick nod, we both leap into the air, landing on tree branches above. "You run with the scroll and I'll retrieve Iruka. We can't take these guys on by ourselves."

She nods in understanding and starts off through the branches. I leap back down beside Iruka and put his arm over my shoulder, pulling him up.

"D-Don't worry about me," he grunts. "Just get out of here."

"I won't leave my comrades behind," I mutter, using my remaining energy to jump into the branches with Iruka, but my foot flips off a broken branch and we go tumbling. I let out a yelp, reaching out for Iruka as he falls. I can see the Mist ANBU approaching quickly but there's no way to get away mid-air.

I squeeze my eyes shut, thankful that Kurenai got away with the scroll. I never thought I would die so soon, though. I never even reached my goal of joining ANBU. Instead, I was defeated by them. Funny how that works.

For a moment, I think about Raven and the future we were supposed to have. I hope he turns out okay and doesn't dwell on the past, though that's not like him. He's always been the type to look forward to the future—everything is planned with him. He so perfectly organizes every little thing, including our futures. We've got it all planned out, so a change in that might hurt him hard. I really want him to move on and be okay without me, he deserves that at least.

I prepare for a hard hit from one of the enemy's swords. When I feel a sharp blade scrape my side, I cry out in pain. The breath leaves my lungs when I feel my back collide with something.

No, not something. Someone.

Someone has caught me and now we're running faster than my eyes can follow. I look up and see a strange cat-like mask. The silver-haired Hidden Leaf ANBU sets me down behind a tree. "Stay here," he says quickly before zipping away faster than my eyes can follow. I peer out from behind the tree and see countless Leaf ANBU take on the Mist ANBU.

"What are the Leaf ANBU doing all the way out here..." I mutter to myself, grunting as I clutch the wound on my side as it throbs and stings painfully.

"Beats me," a weak voice mutters. I turn my head to see Iruka leaning safely against another tree nearby.

"So you're okay," I say, eyeing the wound on his shoulder. He holds it with his hand, preventing more bleeding.

"Yeah, saved in the nick of time."

I hear a screaming sound, like a thousand birds all squealing at once, followed by several thumps which must be bodies colliding with the hard earth.

I look around the tree again to see as one of the Leaf ANBU, the one with the silver hair, pierces the last living body with a hand full of lightning and lets them fall to the ground. I try to get to my feet but my side screams out in pain and I gasp, falling down again.

Another ANBU, a different one from before, walks up and offers me a shoulder to lean on. It actually works out quite well because this one is shorter than me. His mask is different than the rest. There are thick black, red and green lines forming the shape of a strange-looking cat. His mask is much more distinguishable and intricate than the other ones.

Iruka is helped by someone too.

"We should get the bandages up and wrap their wounds, Senpai," the one I'm leaning on shocks me with his surprisingly child-like voice. It sounds like he's maybe 15.

Here I am, nearly 18, and I'm still just a Jonin. Meanwhile, this kid is 15 and already a skilled ANBU. Who knows how long he's already been one, too!

"How long have you been in the ANBU?" I can't help but ask him. He looks at me strangely through his mask for a moment before setting me down and grabbing some bandages.

"They're not supposed to disclose personal information while they're in uniform," Kurenai's voice calls out. I throw my head around, eyes wide and a large smile forming on my face when I spot Kurenai. She leaps down, pulling the scroll from her belt and smirking. "I wasn't about to leave my comrades behind. I can see you were well taken care of, though," she says as she nods to the group of ANBU around us.

"We have been shadowing you since you left on this mission. Our mission is to protect you three and the scroll. Lord Third suspected that something like this mighg happen," the silver-haired one called 'Senpai' says—the same silver-haired one who saved me earlier.

"I see," I answer, grunting in pain as my side starts to throb again.

"Let me wrap that for you," Kurenai says, taking the bandage from the young one and helping me out of my vest. The blood soaks through my blue undershirt around a large slash through the fabric and skin. "They really got you good."

"I apologize for not revealing ourselves sooner," the Senpai, probably the team captain, says with a monotone. "We needed to see if they had intent to kill so we can report the situation to Lord Third."

I shake it off, "Don't worry about it, uh, Captain." He runs a hand through his thick, silver hair and sighs. People begin taking the sword holsters off their backs and sitting or lying down, some choosing to lean against trees and others choosing to lay sleeping bags on the ground around the fire.

"We'll accompany you on the rest of your journey, now. And after the scroll is delivered, we'll be parting ways to pursue other orders from Lord Third in the Land of Stone," the captain says, choosing a tree stump to sit on.

I watch as he sighs again, pulling his cat-mask off and laying it on the stump. He rubs his face, the part that's not hidden by yet another mask, and I notice one of his eyes is slashed with a long scar. He keeps the eye closed, the other tired grey one staring at nothing in particular.

The young one from earlier sets up beside me, taking his mask off as well.

"I'm Tenzo," he says cheerily, offering his hand. I take in his young features. His brown hair is shoulder-length and his large, ovular eyes are like black beads and sort of creepy looking. But his expression shows nothing but kindness.

"Ayame," I say, shaking his hand. He smiles sweetly and I continue to stare strangely at him for a few more moments.

"What's the matter?"

"O-oh, nothing," I quickly compose myself, "You're just so young to be in the ANBU..." I can't seem to hold back the awe and jealousy. I wonder if he notices.

"Kakashi-Senpai joined when he was 13," Tenzo says, nodding to the silver-haired captain who rubs his forehead in his hands.

My eyes go wide as I put two and two together.

"You're Kakashi of the Sharingan," I say in surprise. He looks up, his single open eye analyzing me calmly. Again, I glance at the long scar over his left eye. He's a couple years older than me, Kurenai's age, so we were never in the same Academy class, but I definitely used to see him around the village quite frequently. Back before he got that eye of his.

I feel a shiver down my spine as I think about the rumors. Some people say he killed his teammate, Obito Uchiha. Others say he failed to protect him and Obito gifted the eye to him.

But apparently he also killed his other teammate with some highly-advanced assassination jutsu. Lightning, right through the chest. The piercing sound of a thousand birds—the same one he must have used to take down many of those Mist ANBU just a minute ago. What a terrible way to die.

But I guess a jutsu like that is necessary for the types of missions ANBU must complete. I should probably start working on one of those jutsu myself, if I ever hope to join ANBU.

Night falls fast and we're left in total darkness, except for the warm glow of the fire. Iruka finishes the stew and we eat, enjoying the thick, warm food as it makes its way down our throats and into our hungry stomachs.

"I'm sorry we can't offer you all some, we didn't pack enough food for this many people," Kurenai says, watching as the ANBU eat food pills.

"This is what we're used to. They don't taste so bad after a while. You get used to them," Tenzo says as he bites down on a tiny, brown ball. It crunches loudly and the sound of teeth on something so hard and dry makes me grimace. Thinking about only eating food pills for weeks on end almost makes me lose my appetite.

This is my future, I think.

"I'll take first watch, everyone else get some sleep," the captain says as he skillfully walks up a tree and perches in a branch. Everyone else slides into their respective sleeping bags or leans against some tree near the fire and one by one, people doze off. I stare up at the sky through the empty patches in the canopy of leaves above, counting the stars and feeling more tired by the second.

We get up at the butt crack of dawn the next morning, before the sun has even broken over the horizon, and began travelling as a group. It takes just one more week to arrive at the Hidden Stone Village. Nobody really talks much on the journey—I guess that's expected. They're ANBU, after all. I guess casual conversation while they're in uniform is not their thing.

In that week, whenever we set up camp, I get to know the one named Tenzo better. He gives me the run-down of his past, how he came from the Foundation and is a wood-style user, and I give him the basics of mine. I leave out the details, simply choosing to tell him about how I'm the niece of the Hokage and don't know my parents. I tell him about my dream to join ANBU and he listens intently, smiling the kindest smile I've ever seen.

The silver haired captain, Kakashi of the Sharingan, doesn't say much. I've decided he's a pretty bland guy—the total opposite of Tenzo. But I do notice Kakashi glancing over at me on the rare occasion. His grey eye keeps its bored look, even when I try to smile at him. He certainly lives up to the nicknames he's got: cold-hearted captain, cold-killer... and the meaning of his name, scarecrow, fits his personality perfectly.

With the scroll safely delivered, the ANBU team splits up with us, tending to their own secret mission here in the Land of Stone.

Kurenai, Iruka, and I begin our three week journey home.

Maybe it's from eating nothing but dried food packages or maybe it's exhaustion that I'm unaware of, but I have to stop a couple times on our journey to rest. I grip a tree, leaning over the ground while I clutch my stomach with the other hand. The nausea comes in waves but eventually it goes away and we can continue without interruptions.

The following day, it happens again. I throw up almost everything I managed to get into my stomach that morning, which makes me even more tired and hungry than before. Pretty soon, my head starts to pound.

"I think I need another rest," I say to Kurenai as I stumble behind a tree and vomit again. She comes up behind, patting my back as I try to get a hold of myself.

"You haven't been well these last few days," she mutters, concern filling her features. "I think we should stop in the next town and stay at an inn until you get better..."

"No, really, I'm okay. I just need to-" Before I can finish my sentence, the nausea returns full-force and I puke again.

"I know you're the jonin captain, but you're the sick captain right now so we're gonna stop, regardless of what you say." I sigh as Kurenai takes control of the situation. She's always been like that, it's just who she is. She cares about the well-being of others more than she cares about herself. Her and I go way back, since she's so close with Asuma, though she was always more Asuma's friend than mine. But she's always been there for me. So I nod, accepting her order since I know there's no way she'll let me decline it.

We make our way slowly to the next town, which takes two days on foot. I vomit each day before getting a hold of myself and feeling better. I decide to stop eating breakfast, thinking maybe it's the dried-food packages and nutrition bars which are causing my constant nausea. Eating the same gross food for weeks on end might be the problem. Or maybe I've just come down with the flu.

When we arrive at the small village, we check into an Inn and Kurenai and I take one room while Iruka takes another.

I lean back against the wall of the Inn, a bucket at my side.

"This is the worst possible time for me to get hit with the flu," I mutter, pulling my hair up into a bun.

Kurenai shrugs, "Not like we're in a rush to get home or anything. Rest up," she says, shoving water in my face and placing a blanket over my legs. "We'll travel the remaining two weeks' journey after you're better."

I nod, cuddling myself under the blanket. For a moment, my mind wanders. The flu I've been hit with is a strange one... it only seems to hit me in the mornings after breakfast, and then I'm fine the rest of the day. Not typical of the flu... and the flu doesn't usually last this long.

"Hey, Kurenai..." I say skeptically. "What's the date today?"

She furrows her eyebrows, looking at me strangely with her soft, red eyes. "It's the 27th, why?"

The end of the month already?

"Oh god."

"What?" Kurenai probes.

"I was due for my period a week ago."