We met up in the clearing early in the morning. The sun was just rising, causing the thin fog surrounding our ankles that drifted through the forest from the nearby body of water to have a slight golden tint. The air was crisp and cold, a perfect combination to send tingling pricks right into my lungs as I inhaled.

The twins grinned at me, excitement lighting up their nearly identical aqua eyes. Really looking at their eyes side by side for what seemed like first time in a while, I noticed a subtle difference. Yusuke's eyes were more on the minty side of aqua, whereas Ayana had a gentler blue hue to her aqua orbs.

"OK. So what do we do now?"

That...was actually a good question that I didn't quite have a good enough answer to.

Ask my brother. He has pretty good control. I glanced at my familiar.

OK.

I bit my thumb and performed the correct handsigns for a summoning. In a puff of smoke, Nisaku stood before us.

"Need something?"

I nodded. "My team and I are trying to increase our basic chakra control, but we aren't sure how to go about it. Any advice?"

The Kamaitachi brought his clawed paw to his fuzzy chin.

"Do you know how to climb trees using your chakra?"

I glance at the confused faces of the twins before turning back to Nisaku.

"I know that it's possible, but none of us have ever tried to do it before."

Nisaku smirked, in his own little weasel way, and nodded. "Then that is where you guys should start."

We followed him as he scampered over to the nearest tree. He turned so he could face us and began explaining the exercise.

"The object of this training is to walk up the trunk of a tree. This requires a significant amount of chakra control, since you need to have just the right amount to stick to the tree. If you use too much chakra, you will splinter the bark and be blasted away from the tree. Too little, and you'll just fall off." He faced the tree again, and rose up to his hind legs. Slowly, he placed a foot on the trunk, followed by the next, until he had both feet sticking to the tree. He stretched his head out to meet our amazed gazes. "It appears like this when done properly."

He then flipped off the tree, and gestured to the trees around him. "Now you guys try. But please, try not to destroy them too much."

We nodded and spread out to pick our own trees. The twins spared me a glance before turning to their trees. I faced my tree, considering it. I stretched out my left hand to touch the trunk, and then closed my eyes to concentrate.

Where does my chakra need to go? How much chakra should I use? I don't want to use too much right away, or else I'll be pushed away. What if I put one foot on, and then add chakra as I go to see how much I need? I nodded to myself and stepped away from the tree.

I felt a few sets of eyes burning holes into my back, but I ignored them in favor of completing the task at hand. I placed my left foot flat on the tree trunk. I squinted at my foot, urging the raging chakra pulsating in my core to maneuver its way to the soles of my feet. A smile tugged at my lips as the chakra jumped into action at my command. Once I had a thin layer of chakra on that foot, I lifted my right foot off the ground.

As soon as my right foot came off the ground, my body dropped from its upright position to lay parallel to the ground. I was able to hold it for a second before my foot fell away from the tree.

Laughter made my cheeks burn when I hit the ground. I groaned as I sat up, rubbing some pain out of my lower back. "It's not funny guys."

Yusuke was doubled over, as was Taibakaze.

It most definitely was, considering your usual proficiency in chakra control!

I scowled at the tiny Kamaitachi. "Yes, well, just because I'm good at chakra control doesn't mean that this is a piece a cake!" We stared each other down as those around continued laughing at our childishness. I stood up and glared at my tree, breaking eye-contact with the little animal.

A paw rested on my leg. I glanced at Nisaku to let him know I was listening. "Try taking it at a run, so that you have the momentum to flip away and land on your feet if you fall again."

I nodded and backed up a few steps before taking off at a dead sprint towards the tree. As I approached the tree, I urged the chakra to my feet again, using instinct instead of thought. I started to run up the tree, getting about ten feet up the tree before being blasted away by my chakra. I flipped down and landed on my feet. I turned to the rest of the group with a sarcastic grin on my face.

"Better?"

Taibakaze grinned at me. Much!

We all continued to run at the trees for hours on end, only stopping to break for lunch, which Ayana had the foresight to pack for us. After a sandwich and a water bottle, it was back to running up trees. By the end of the day, all three of us were panting, sweating, and simply overall exhausted. We glanced at each other before grinning slightly.

"Rough day, huh?"

"You bet! I'm exhausted."

"Man, Toshihiko. Your summons put us through the ringer, that's for sure!"

I chuckled and nodded in agreement. "You guys should have seen Nisaku in action when we made the bet for our contract. Now that was insanely cool." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Nisaku's chest almost swelling with pride at our comments of him.

I eyed my worn out teammates before pointing in the direction of Tazuna's house. "I think we should start heading back. As much as I would love to stay out all night training, I think we should get some food and rest so that we can recover before continuing this training tomorrow. It would only be destructive for our bodies if we didn't give them the proper fuel and rest that they need." The twins nodded with a smile and started to head back. Ayana paused to address Nisaku.

"Thank you, Nisaku. Without your help today, I don't think that I, much less my brother, could have made it to the top of those trees in just one day." She bowed to him slightly before straightening up with a kind smile. As I gazed at her in the early evening light, the reddish rays of light hit her hair just right to make her hair seem to be ablaze in a brighter shade of reddish-blonde than usual. Nisaku's response broke me out of my trance.

"You are very welcome."

As Ayana left the clearing, I knelt down to let Taibakaze to hop up onto my shoulder before addressing my familiar's brother myself. "Would you like to join us for dinner before heading back to your own home? It's the least that I can do after keeping you here all day to help us train."

The Kamaitachi gently smiled at me before nodding in agreement. "That sounds amazing. Let us go." I offered him my other arm so that the sickle weasel could ride on my unoccupied shoulder. He scampered up my arm and perched on the shoulder as I stood up to my full height.

I made my way back to Tazuna's house, listening as the two weasels chattered to each other over my head, and yet not understand a word being said. The twins were waiting for me outside of our client's house, and Ayana smirked at the sight of the two weasel brothers on my shoulders.

"I'm guessing that we are going to be having an extra guest with us for dinner?" I nodded in response, my smirk matching hers.

We entered the house, only to find ourselves confronted with a yelling match between Naruto and a young boy who looked like he could be the son of Tsunami. At hearing the tones of the voices arguing, I tensed and froze mid-step. Taibakaze, feeling my distress, dug his claws into my shoulder and hissed warningly. Ayana stepped back next to me and grabbed my arm.

"Whatever you are thinking of right now, it isn't happening. But I expect an explanation when we get some down time." I took a deep breath before nodding slowly.

The boy stormed past me, and time seemed to slow down. Tears were streaming down the boy's face, and I reached a hand out to stop him, but the moment was gone, and so was he.

I stared at the door the boy disappeared through before my arm was being tugged in the direction of the table.

"You said it yourself, we need to eat and rest. You can go after him after you eat something."

I sit down at the table, and reached for a plate of meat buns to share with the weasels on my shoulders. The brothers hopped down onto the table on either side of the plate, and each of us took a meat bun. With a few bites, the meat bun was gone and I stood.

"Excuse me, please."

Yugi-sensei nodded at me with a small smile, understanding what I was wanting to do.

I rushed out the door towards where I saw the little boy last.

Coming to a door that overlooked the water that the Land of Waves was known for, I sighed at the sight of the little boy sitting on the edge of the dock with his feet dangling over the water.

I approached from behind, making sure to step heavily so that he would hear me. "Do you mind if I join you," I asked him quietly. He glanced at me before shrugging miserably.

I gently sat down on the edge of the dock next to the boy. I quietly examined the boy. With a shirt, overalls, and an oversized white and blue striped hat, the boy was the epitome of a child growing up in these parts. His eyes were surrounded by red from crying, and his lower lip trembled ever so slightly. I bumped his shoulder with side lightly to get his attention.

"So what was all the yelling about?"

He scowled deeply. "You ninja try too hard. Why do you try to fight a losing battle? Why do you all try to act like heroes to save a people that you know nothing about? Why do you pretend to understand the suffering of others when all of you are living in riches and luxury?" As he spoke, his voice raised in pitch as he got more and more hysterical.

"Ah. I understand now."

He whirled around to me with his mouth wide open, ready to rebuke what I said, but stopped when he saw my expression. I couldn't see myself, but I knew how I felt. I was empathetic. After growing up in a village where all except a select few scorned my family, it wasn't easy for my parents to get a consistent income. Granted, it was easier for my father than my mother, but it was still an issue. As a result, we were one of the families that lived in the small population of poverty in Konoha.

"My memories are hard to reflect on, but trust me when I say that not all ninja live in luxury. Even in a village as prosperous as Konoha, there are those of us who still struggle to make ends meet. My family is one of them, and so is Naruto. The only difference is that he doesn't have a family to help support him. Naruto is an orphan, and he has been one his entire life. I think that of anyone on this mission, he probably understands how you feel the best."

He looked at me with confliction in his eyes. "Then why did he react that way? If he understands, why can't he leave me alone, at least?"

I chuckled at his words. "He probably can't leave you alone because you've gotten under his skin. You said that you don't believe in him, so he's going to do everything in his powers to prove you wrong and make you believe it."

With those words said, I squeezed his shoulder and stood from my seat on the dock. "Good night, Inari."

Exhausted after a long day of training and then the talk with Inari, I headed straight up to my team's room, determined to get a good night's sleep.