Edited 19/10/2019

Ashley's POV

"How does your leg feel Shino?" I ask, crouched down beside the Aburame, green chakra fading from around my hands.

"....It feels much better" he responds in his low voice. "Thank you."

"You're welcome" I say with a sigh, rising to my feet and wincing at the pain in my back. "Hinata is feeling better too, so now...."

"Th-Thank you Ashley-chan" Hinata repeats for what feels like the hundredth time, as I glance around, checking if anyone else is injured.

Seeing as the Dynamic Cell only turned up at the last minute, Choji and Sasuke are fine. They hadn't had to use up too much chakra and didn't have the opportunity to get hurt.

I see Kakashi Sensei leaning against a tree, speaking with Asuma and Kurenai, with none of the Jonin looking particularly worse for wear. Despite the fact that they had been fighting and trying to protect all of the Genin, all three Ninja seem uninjured.

Still looking around, I spot Naruto and Sakura, as Sasuke slowly heads over to them, his hands in his pockets. Sakura smiles up at the Uchiha, though she seems very tired. Naruto on the other hand, jabs a hand at Sasuke and shouts something at him, as energetic as ever.

"Sakura, are you okay?" I ask, walking over to my team and catching their attention.

"Oh, I'm fine" the pink haired girl assures me, sweat dropping. "I just used up a bit too much chakra. I don't have an endless supply like all of you."

Naruto grins proudly, not denying his impressive chakra supply, while Sasuke just folds his arms over his chest and smirks.

"....My reserve isn't that big either" I eventually admit, kneeling down behind Sakura and placing my hands on her back.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asks, trying to look over her shoulder. "And what are you talking about? You seem to have a lot of chakra!"

"I'm giving you some of my chakra" I explain, my brows furrowing in concentration. "I don't have that much, especially compared to Naruto."

"Y-You really don't need to give me your chakra" Sakura protests. "I'll be fine if we can rest for awhile."

"I'll just give you a little bit" I tell my teammate, my eyes drifting from Sakura's back.

My gaze lands over on Kiba, who is petting the sleeping Akamaru in his lap, seemingly deep in thought, if his creased brows are anything to go by. I feel my body stiffen suddenly when his eyes flick up to meet mine, a slight movement that immediately causes me to lower my head and stare, wide eyed, at Sakura's back again.

My heart beats loudly in my own ears as I focus intently on the green chakra surrounding my hands. Why do I feel so nervous? And why is my face so warm? I just don't understand this at all. I've never had a feeling like this before......And I've never reacted to another person this way. What is it about Kiba that is making me behave like this?

I close my eyes and, with a heavy sigh, drop my hands into my lap, my chakra fading away. I feel tired, my back still really stings and I'm strangely warm. As far as I'm aware, this mission hasn't even really started yet either....

I look down and turn my palms up to face me. My hands are trembling slightly. Maybe I used up too much chakra healing people? I was honest when I'd said that my chakra reserve isn't particularly large, and I'm not exactly a practised Medical Ninja either. I'm sure I use way too much chakra when performing basic healing.

"Hey Ashley" Sakura addresses, breaking me out of my thoughts and causing me to look up. She tilts her head, now facing me with a concerned expression. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine" I say with a nod, jumping to my feet to prove just how alright I am. I grit my teeth into a forced smile, as Sasuke and Naruto both regard me with flat expressions. Sakura also looks doubtful, though she chooses not to question me.

Before I can so much as take a step however, my legs give out from underneath me and I fall back to the ground. I fall forwards onto my hands, with my team members all leaping to their feet and darting forwards to help me.

"Ashley-chan!" Naruto cries, dropping to one knee beside me and placing one hand on my shoulder.

Sasuke, now also kneeling beside me, watches me intently, his dark eyes drifting from my shaking arms, to the wound on my back. The impact with the ground had partially torn some of my shirt, leaving the raw graze more visible.

"Ashley" Sakura gasps, her hands over her mouth and her eyes wide. "Be careful! You've overdone things again!"

"S-Sorry for helping..." I grunt, leaning back into a sitting position with Naruto's help.

"You haven't even healed yourself yet Ashley-chan" Naruto scolds me gently, pulling a face at the sight of my wound. "And you used up too much chakra!"

"I can't exactly reach the wound on my own back Naruto" I sigh, only to hear footsteps approaching.

"What's going on?" Kakashi Sensei asks, suddenly standing over us all. "Ashley, are you alright?"

"I'm fine" I lie, to which Sakura shakes her head vigorously and tugs on Kakashi Sensei's arm.

"She's not" Sakura corrects. "She just collapsed. Kakashi Sensei, can we rest here at least until Ashley's chakra replenishes?"

"......Of course" Kakashi Sensei eventually responds, studying me closely. "We need to wrap that injury too Ashley, if you're not able to heal it."

"I can heal it" I reply stubbornly, pouting a little. "I just can't reach it."

"You can't heal it with such low chakra" Kakashi Sensei answers back smartly. "Sakura, come with me. I'll get Kurenai to help you wrap Ashley's bandages. Alright, come on now."

My eyes widen as Kakashi Sensei crouches down and carefully lifts me up in his arms.

"H-Hey!" I protest, embarrassed as I am carried past the other Genin. What could be more embarrassing than being so injured that your Sensei has to carry you around?

"Just be a good girl for once" Kakashi Sensei orders quietly, a teasing gleam in his visible eye as he walks over to Kurenai.

I throw my hands over my burning face and exhale sharply, though secretly, I'm kind of relieved that Kakashi Sensei is looking out for me. If only this wasn't happening in front of absolutely everyone....

"Kurenai" Kakashi Sensei addresses the woman, causing her to stand up. "Could you and Sakura please treat and wrap Ashley's wound?"

"Of course" Kurenai agrees with a nod, leaning over to inspect my injury as Kakashi Sensei sets me down on the ground again.

"Ashley has a tendency to almost get herself killed to save us" Sakura laughs sheepishly, sweat dropping when I send her a warning look, though it is admittedly half hearted.

".....It's really nothing to fuss over" I mutter, only to let out a squeak as Kakashi prods me in the shoulder and knocks me back down to the ground.

"Nothing to fuss over huh?" he repeats, raising one eyebrow down at me, as I blink my wide eyes a few times in surprise. "You're normally far more balanced than that."

My shoulders droop at my Sensei's quip, the man giving us a peace sign and turning to walk off, leaving Kurenai and Sakura to deal with me.

"Alright" Kurenai begins gently, helping me back to my feet. "Lets go behind those trees and get started on treating your wound."

"At this point, I wish you would just let me die" I complain, allowing Sakura to drag me after Kurenai.

I stare down at the pool of water around my feet, rippling gently and sparkling so bright underneath the sunlight that I have to squint my eyes. A faint smile crosses my face, as a warm breeze blows around me, ruffling my hair. I slowly raise my head until I'm facing the sky and close my eyes, lifting my arms up out to the sides. I feel a chuckle escape from my lips as I enjoy the beautiful scene and reopen my eyes. A faint blue glow seems to emanate through the sky, casting a magical feeling all around me. I spin around in a circle, splashing my feet in the pleasantly cool water.

"....Hey" a soft voice calls to me, though I'm enjoying myself so much, that I pay it no mind.

"Hey Ashley-chan..." the voice reaches out to me again, louder this time, but still as kind as before.

I stop my spinning and glance around, though I am unable to see anything except for the water and the sky.

"Ashley-chan?" the voice whispers, right next to my ear this time.

I slowly open my eyes and blink a few times, feeling somewhat confused. I find myself leaning against something soft, my bleary eyes looking down at the dark grass of the forest floor.

"Huh?..." I ask sleepily, only to raise my head and find myself staring right into a pair of incredibly blue eyes. "Yeeeeek!"

I squeal with fright, darting backwards from a shocked Naruto so fast, that I almost tumble right over. He, as well as Sakura and Sasuke, all stare at me with bewildered looks on their faces. I stare right back, my eyes wide and face heating up so much, I raise one hand and place it on my cheek.

Had I........Had I fallen asleep on Naruto's shoulder?! There's no way.....There's just no way I would have done something like that.

"Are you alright Ashley-chan?" Naruto asks me, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "I didn't mean to scare you."

I don't respond to my teammate, narrowing my eyes at him suspiciously instead. While I've certainly been irresponsible enough to dose off every now and then, I've never experienced such a safe and warm sleep since Hakuba was sealed into my body.

Why do I get this feeling from Naruto? It's happened before, I'm sure of it. This overwhelmingly calm feeling, like I'm safe.

I don't understand it at all......

"Ashley-chan" Naruto begins again, looking somewhat concerned now. "Are you alright?"

I duck my head slightly and hood my eyes, averting my gaze from that of my three teammates. For some reason, I feel very vulnerable all of the sudden. First, whatever is going on with Kiba, then having to be carried and have my injuries taken care of and now this of all things!

My breath suddenly catches in my throat and I swear my heart stops, as I lock eyes with Kiba. He sits across from me with his back against a tree, arms folded comfortably behind his head and Akamaru lazily strewn across his lap. The Inuzuka watches me with an intent expression, one eyebrow sightly raised and the corner of his mouth turned up in thought.

I blink again, before shaking my head vigorously and scrambling to my feet, feeling far less dignified than normal. What is happening to me?

"Ashley-chan" Sakura begins, walking over and reaching out to steady me. "Your eyes are spinning. Are you-"

"I-I'm fine!" I interrupt Sakura, flinging up my hand to stop her and almost hitting her in the face.

"You can hardly stand" Sasuke feels the need to inform me, placing his hands in his pockets as he eyes me up and down.

"I'm telling you" I repeat stubbornly, frowning at my friends now, "I'm fine! Just stop.....fussing over me!"

Sakura, looks to Sasuke and Naruto dubiously, before heaving a sigh and raising her hands up in defeat.

"It's not like you'll tell us even if you're not fine" the pink haired girl mutters in disapproval. "But Naruto and I have to go now, so I hope you really are fine."

"Huh?" I ask, tilting my head to the side as a question mark appears above my head. "Go?"

"Yeah!" Naruto confirms, nodding eagerly. "The Leading Cell has to go on ahead now. That's why I was trying to wake you up. Kakashi Sensei came and told us just before."

"....I see" is all I say, turning my head slightly as I reach up to rub my shoulder.

Kurenai and Sakura had done a good job treating my wound and bandaging it up. The wraps make it a little hard to move my shoulder much, but it feels secure and comfortable.

I risk a look at Kiba, only to see him already on his feet and strolling towards Kakashi Sensei, Akamaru running ahead of him. Arms still behind his head, Kiba subtly glances over at me, his eyes now hooded. His gaze doesn't linger however, the Inuzuka being uncharacteristically quiet for once. I wonder if he's alright?....

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura addresses anxiously, her green eyes looking between the Uchiha and myself. "You're in the same Cell as Ashley, so please make sure she'll be okay?"

"...Hn...." Sasuke agrees, smirking at me.

I watch Sakura heave a deep sigh of relief, apparently glad to know that Sasuke will be looking out for me. I can't help smiling faintly to myself at that, a strangely affectionate feeling rising inside of me.

To think that Sakura, the girl who was in love with Sasuke and didn't like other girls being anywhere near him, so badly wanted him to make sure to look out for me......It's sort of touching, in a weird way.

Not that I'm going to say anything to her about it.

"Alright Leading Cell!" Kakashi Sensei calls out, briefly looking over at me and nodding when he sees that I'm okay. "Time to head out!"

"See ya later guys!" Naruto bids us farewell with a bright grin, before leaping up into the trees and disappearing from view.

"Stay safe" Sakura adds, waving at Sasuke and I, before she too vanishes from our sight.

I stare after my two teammates for a few silent seconds, my thoughts still swimming from the things that had transpired in such a small amount of time, when a quiet scoff from Sasuke catches my attention.

"What's your problem?" I inquire, raising one eyebrow at the smug look on his dumb face.

"Just don't give me any trouble" Sasuke taunts me, to which I can't help deadpanning.

"Keep making fun of me and I'll give you more than trouble" I retort, earning an eye roll from the almighty Sasuke.

"The way you're going" he teases, "I'm probably going to have to carry you all the way there on my back."

"You wish" I sneer, folding my arms over my chest.

"Who knew you were such a girl?" Sasuke says smartly, an evil look in his eyes.

"Hey, it's not my fault that I always get hurt saving all of you guys" I sigh. "It's not like this injury killed me or anything."

"That's not what I was talking about" Sasuke informs me, to which I turn and give him a questioning look.

"Then what are are you talking ab-"

I cut myself off mid sentence, when I see Sasuke smirk at me and tilt his head towards a tree near us. The same one that Kiba had been leaning against.

I feel my instantly face heat up again, my argument catching in my throat. What was that look supposed to mean? And why does it bother me so much that Sasuke is teasing me about it?!

I stutter a few times, scrambling to come up with some sort of defence and when I find that I cant, I pull my arm back.

"You idiot!" I finally bark, swinging my arm forwards in a vicious punch. "Wh-What are you even talking about?!"

Third Person's POV

A cool breeze blows through the swiftly darkening forest, as evening begins to make way for night. Crickets chirp all around the members of the Leading and Snare Cells, with the young Ninja settling down around a comforting camp fire.

".....Why do you reckon the Dynamic Cell is taking so long?" Kiba asks rhetorically, watching through half lidded eyes as Akamaru jumps around on Hinata's sleeping bag, the girl giggling at his antics.

"I-I'm sure they aren't far away Kiba-kun" Hinata responds, gently placing her hands down to pet Akamaru, her eyes closing. "I'll check for you......Byakugan!"

"You left Ashley in Sasuke's care right?" Shikamaru questions Sakura in a flat tone, before running one hand down the back of his neck. "What a drag....Is he even really someone who can be trusted with that responsibility?"

Kiba can't help gritting his teeth at Shikamaru's concern, his nose wrinkling. Why did the Nara even care who was looking after Ashley anyway? She wasn't on his team or anything, and it's not like they were particularly close. Or, not that Kiba was aware of anyway.

Shikamaru was really getting on Kiba's nerves.

"They'll be here very soon Kiba-kun" Hinata notifies her teammate with a kind smile, before looking down and tickling Akamaru's soft ears.

"....Thanks Hinata" Kiba grumbles in response, hands stuffed into the pockets of his shorts.

It's not like it mattered how far away they were anyway. Ever since that morning, Ashley had been avoiding Kiba. And not in that usual angry, throw him at a wall kind of way either. It was......weird.....

For quite awhile now, it had seemed like Ashley was finally warming up to Kiba. She wasn't usually angry or aggressive towards him anymore, and they'd even had a few rare moments where they had shared a laugh or too.

And after what had seemed like an unusually soft moment for Ashley, now she was being really weird around him. It was annoying for Kiba.

"What are you talking about Shikamaru?" Sakura asks defensively. "Ashley will be perfectly fine under Sasuke-kun's watch."

"Yeah!" Naruto backs Sakura up confidently. "They're friends and teammates after all!"

"Yeah well" Ino complains, dropping herself down onto her sleeping bad and twirling her hair around her fingers, "I don't like the idea of them getting all cosy and-"

"No one cares what you think Ino, ya ugly pig!" Sakura snaps, immediately firing up to defend her teammate.

"Sh-Shut up Forehead!" Ino shouts back, her jaw having dropped open at Sakura's sudden outburst at her. "You're just jealous because you can't get Sasuke-kun to notice you despite being on his team!"

"What?!" Sakura screeches, flames burning in her eyes now. She furiously crawls across all of the others' sleeping bags until she is face to face with a seething Ino. "Well it's not like he even sees you Ino! And you know why?! Because you're a big, ugly Ino pig!"

Kiba rolls his eyes skywards and shakes his head, once again thanking his lucky stars that Hinata had become his teammate rather than Sakura or Ino. He didn't think he'd be able to survive having such shrill women on his team every day.

Kakashi silently glances up from the book he is reading, sweat dropping at the sound of Sakura and Ino bickering. He'd never understand how these Genin could get a long so well one second, and then be ready to rip each other apart the next.

"....Maybe we should keep it down a little guys?" the Jonin suggests, only for his shoulders to slump as he is duly ignored by the two girls.

Kiba sighs quietly and dumps himself down onto his messy sleeping bag, before rolling over.

"Aarghh!" the Inuzuka shouts in fright, sitting boltright up.

Akamaru jumps into Hinata's arms at the sudden sound, with the Hyuga staring at Kiba through wide eyes.

"Shino" Kiba berates, placing a hand to his forehead and scowling. "What the hell man?"

".....Can I not set my bedding down next to my teammate?" Shino questions blankly, lying down with his glasses still on.

"Y-Yeah, you can" Kiba replies uncertainly. "Just....Can't you do it normally? Like, without giving me a heart attack?"

"I thought that out of everyone" Shino answers smartly, "My Inuzuka Clan teammate would notice my presence."

Before an irritated Kiba can respond, Asuma, Choji, Sasuke and Ashley appear at the edge of the camp.

"Hey you guys" Asuma greets calmly, something that causes Ino to snap out of her fight with Sakura.

"Sensei, Choji!" she greets, jumping up and smiling happily. "You finally made it!"

"What took so long?" Shikamaru inquires, blinking when Asuma and Choji both sweat drop.

"Kakashi's brats happened" is all Asuma says, pointing to Ashley and Sasuke with his thumb.

Everyone looks over to the two young Ninja, only to see a scowling Sasuke rubbing his cheek and Ashley standing beside him with one arm gripping her shoulder. She glares daggers at the raven haired boy, before closing one eye and wincing, seemingly in pain.

"....What happened?" Kakashi asks flatly, to which Sasuke just rolls his eyes.

"......Sasuke wouldn't shut his stupid mouth" Ashley growls, an anime vein on the side of her face. "So I shut it for him."

"And reinjured yourself" Sasuke adds under his breath, earning a wicked look from Ashley.

"It was worth it" the blonde girl scoffs, turning her head away.

"We had to stop and make sure Ashley's wound was alright" Choji speaks up, dumping his backpack down on the ground beside Shikamaru, before pausing in thought. "Plus we had to get her to stop chasing Sasuke."

"Sasuke" Sakura whines, standing up and placing her hands on her hips. "I asked you to look after Ashley, not pick a fight with her....."

"Heh" the blonde girl sneers, only to earn a scolding look from Sakura as well.

"And Ashley" she adds seriously, "You shouldn't be attacking Sasuke. Especially when you're already injured."

"....He deserved it for being annoying" Ashley growls, turning her head away stubbornly. Her cheeks warm at the thought of what Sasuke had been insinuating.

Who was he, of all people, to tease her about anything? Ashley still wasn't even sure why it had irritated her so much, but the point was, it had.

"What were you two even fighting about?" Naruto wonders curiously, head tilting to the side.

"N-Nothing!" Ashley immediately interjects, seeing that Sasuke is about to respond. "Sasuke was just being a huge jerk, like usual!"

Kiba watches the seemingly flustered Ashley defend herself zealously, as Sasuke begins to smirk in amusement and Sakura and Naruto question the two of them about the reason for their fight.

"....Who would have th-thought they'd all get along so well" Hinata smiles in amusement, watching Team Seven quarrel amongst themselves. "A-Ashley-chan seems to fit in well with them now. What a nice change....."

".....Yeah, a change...." Kiba eventually agrees, absent-mindedly petting Akamaru as the puppy snuggles in next to him.

"Sentry duty" Kakashi finishes his announcement, his words immediately met with a chorus of unenthusiastic groans. "Look, someone's gotta do it. Unless you all want us to die in our sleep."

"If it means I get to sleep...." Shikamaru trails off, avoiding Kakashi's stern gaze.

"I'll do it Kakashi Sensei" Ashley eventually volunteers, climbing to her feet and crossing her arms. "I'm not tired anyway."

"......How's your injury?" Kakashi asks, a skeptical look on his face as Ashley walks over to him.

"It's fine Kakashi Sensei" the blonde responds pointedly, clearly tired of being asked that question. "Its just a graze, it won't stop me from keeping look out."

"It's not just a graze" Kakashi corrects, shaking his head. "That was a high speed collision that almost knocked your shoulder out of place."

"Well, whatever" Ashley murmurs uncomfortably, shrugging her uninjured shoulder. "I can still do sentry duty."

"..........." Kakashi stares down at his student for a few moments through hooded eyes, before turning to the rest of the group. "Alright then. Who's going to take over after Ashley?"

"Sensei" the blonde speaks up, raising her head. "I meant, I'll keep watch all night."

"You're going to have to sleep at some point Ashley-chan" Naruto reminds the girl sleepily, sitting up with his sleeping back snuggled around him.

Ashley's brow creases slightly at this, her lips pursing in thought as she tries to think of a way to answer that question. How was she supposed to explain that it wasn't safe for her to sleep without telling everyone about Hakuba?

".......I have insomnia" Ashley lies, before bending her knees and jumping up into the canopy of the trees.

"What's insomnia?" Naruto asks, though he sounds far too tired to actually expect an answer.

"....That didn't sound true at all" Kiba comments, to which a few of the other Genin nod in agreement.

Sakura tilts her head back and looks up at through the trees with a worried expression, wondering why Ashley had said she has insomnia. She'd never mentioned it before, so was it just a blatant lie for Ashley to keep looking out for her friends?

"Alright everyone" Kakashi sighs, shaking his head. "Time for sleep. We've got a lot more travelling to do tomorrow."

The silver haired Jonin watches as everyone begins to settle down into their sleeping bags, murmuring sleepy good nights to each other.

After a few minutes of relative silence, Kakashi jumps up into the trees and lands on a high branch, only to see Ashley seated with her back against the trunk of a nearby tree. She glances at the man from the corner of her eyes as he jumps over and crouches down beside her, a questioning look on his face.

"......Yes?" Ashley eventually prompts, seeing that Kakashi isn't going to address her first.

"Insomnia?" the Jonin asks simply, to which Ashley releases a short laugh, though she doesn't seem amused at all.

"I didn't know what else to say" she admits with a shrug, looking back out into the distance. "I didn't know how else to explain that I can't sleep......Well, I can technically, but you know, it's not safe for me to."

Kakashi pauses for a few seconds, recalling what Ashley had told him about her Tailed Beast back during the Chunin Exams.

"......If you want to sleep" Kakashi offers kindly, "I can wake you up before you fall too deep into it. You'll just have to tell me how long that will take."

Ashley blinks in surprise at this, before turning to Kakashi with a faint smile on her face.

"Thanks for the offer Sensei" she says appreciatively, "But I'd rather not risk it. If anything bad happened.....I'd probably hurt them..."

Here Ashley tilts her head down towards the Genin sleeping on the ground, her brows furrowing at the thought.

Kakashi rubs the back of his neck as Ashley falls silent again, the cool night breeze blowing through the leaves and causing them to rustle.

It was a lot of responsibility for such a young kid to carry. Had anyone ever thought of the consequences of sealing Tailed Beasts into children before they actually did it?

"At least Naruto doesn't seem to struggle with sleeping" Ashley chuckles quietly, at the sound of a loud snore down on the ground. "His seal is obviously very different to mine."

Kakashi turns his head and looks down at Ashley, unsure of what to say to make her feel better. He blinks in surprise however, when the blonde looks up at him self-consciously, a sweat drop on the side of her head.

"Kakashi Sensei" she addresses softly. "I'll be fine up here. You can go and sleep already."

Reaching out, Kakashi places an affectionate hand on top of Ashley's head, before rising to his feet and leaping down to the ground. Ashley buries her face in her arms for a second, a tiny smile on her face, before she lifts her head and looks out into the dark night once again.

Ashley's POV

I walk back towards our camp site with a small ball of water hovering above my palms, only to see Hinata kneeling over the same fire that had been put out last night.

"Oh, Ashley-chan" the Hyuga greets me nervously, a spoon in her hands. "Th-That was fast."

"Fish aren't hard to catch when you can just grab the water like this" I boast, carefully stepping over to Hinata and making sure not to trip on any of the sleeping Genin that are strewn across the ground.

I'd been really hungry for a few hours now and as soon as the sun had risen high enough, I'd jumped down from the trees to make myself some food. I don't know if I disturbed Hinata or if she was already awake, but she'd climbed out of her sleeping bag the moment I landed on the ground.

I had been planning to cook myself some rice but Hinata, being the thoughtful person that she is, had suggested cooking breakfast for everyone. I had rolled my eyes, but in reality, it wasn't an unpleasant suggestion.

It just meant that I had to go and find fish though, according to Hinata. Which is stupid because I don't even like fish.

"Thank you" Hinata whispers, as I drop the ball of water on the ground beside her. Numerous small fish hit the ground and flop around helplessly, as a pot of rice cooks over the fire, Hinata carefully stirring it.

I heave a sigh and drop down into a cross legged position and begin to jab a sticks through each fish, before leaning them over the camp fire as well. All I wanted was some rice. I certainly wasn't expecting to go fishing this morning, if you can even call it that, let alone stab and cook some gross fish.

"Th-They smell good" Hinata closes her eyes and smiles at me. "I think e-everyone will be very pleased when they w-wake up."

"Here's hoping" I respond sarcastically, jamming my elbow down on my knee and resting my chin in my palm as I stare at the cooking fish. "I'm starving."

Hinata and I suddenly jump into the air with fright, almost sending the pot of rice flying everywhere, when Sakura lets out an abrupt scream.

"Naruto you annoying little bug!" my teammate screeches furiously, leaping out of her sleeping bag and belting Naruto in the stomach with a vicious kick. "Get away from me!"

I duck my head, just as Naruto's half asleep body goes flying over me and collides painfully with a tree. Hinata and I both stare at the blonde as he slides to the ground, our eyes wide.

Kiba leaps out of his sleeping bag and lands in a fighting stance, as Ino sits boltright up, clutching tightly at her sleeping bag. Shikamaru grunts loudly, as he catches Choji's foot with his chin, the Akimichi also having woke up with a fright. Sasuke slowly sits up, like a vampire rising from its coffin, a dark expression on his weary face.

"What the hell Sakura?" I eventually bark, wrenching my neck around to glare at the girl.

She crosses her arms over her chest and turns her head away, an anime vein throbbing on the side of her face.

"He was sleeping so close to me" Sakura shudders. "He was practically in my sleeping bag!"

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asks uncertainly, arm paused mid stretch to see if he's alright.

Still angry, Sakura stomps over to Naruto and aggressively grabs him by the collar, before tugging him close to her face.

"Don't sleep so close to me you spazzy, little twerp!" Sakura thunders, violently shaking Naruto back and forwards, so much so that his eyes begin to spin.

"Alright, alright" Kakashi speaks up, walking over and sighing heavily. "Put him down now Sakura. He looks like he's going to be sick."

"I-It wasn't on purpose" Naruto defends himself, falling into a heap on the ground as Sakura finally releases him. "I was asleep!"

"Way to wake us all up Forehead" Ino complains, untangling herself from her sleeping bag.

"As if you wouldn't have done the same thing" Shikamaru smirks, only to flinch when Ino sends him a warning glare.

"I smell food" Choji chirps, suddenly noticing the rice and fish cooking near Hinata and I.

Deadpanning at everyone, I jump up and stand in front of the fire protectively, my arms out as if to shield the food from everyone's view.

"Uh uh, no way" I growl, eyes narrowed. "Hinata and I went to all this trouble to cook for all of you idiots and-"

"Whoa, you guys cooked for us?" Kiba interrupts eagerly, suddenly sounding much more like his usual self as he walks over, Akamaru in his arms. "No way! Thanks Angel, thanks Hinata!"

"Yes!" Choji cheers, jumping out of bed and running over.

"Come on Shikamaru" Ino grunts, grabbing onto the Nara's arm as he tries to lie back down. He sweat drops as Ino drags him towards the food, still lying in his sleeping bag.

Naruto, suddenly totally fine, jumps to his feet and bounds over, eyes sparkling eagerly as he waits to receive some food from Hinata.

I blink a few times as everyone begins gathering by the camp fire, the commotion already forgotten with the promise of good food. I straighten up and stare at everyone with a questioning look, not sure whether to be annoyed with them or not.

"Psh, c'mon guys" Kiba urges, baring his teeth in a teasing grin as he grabs a bowl. "Hurry up, before Choji eats it all."

"Mmph?!" Choji questions indignantly, already somehow having managed to get himself a bowl of rice from Hinata.

"Choji, give Hinata some room" Sakura instructs, tugging on the boy's white scarf. "She can't breathe with you sitting that close."

Shino sits quietly at the edge of the camp fire with his legs crossed, holding an empty bowl expectantly in his hands. Kurenai walks by and hands him a fish on a stick, before sitting down next to Asuma, who is busy lighting a cigarette.

"Here Angel" Kiba says, suddenly standing next to me with a bowl of rice held in his hand. "Before it all gets eaten."

I raise my eyes from the bowl and look to the Inuzuka's grinning face, before I find my gaze lowering to his shirtless torso. Immediately I feel my face heat up and I quickly snatch the bowl from Kiba's hands, much to his surprise. Scowling, I whirl around and march towards my teammates, who are all happily eating at this point.

".....Thanks" I pause just long enough to say over my shoulder, glancing at Kiba from the corner of my eye.

He tilts his head to the side and uses his free hand to scratch the back of his head, a bowl of food in his other hand. He stares at me for a few seconds, before sighing and dumping himself down next to Shino to eat.

"Did everyone remember to thank Hinata and Ashley for cooking for us?" Asuma asks loudly, quirking an eyebrow at all of us. "They didn't have to go to all this effort you know."

"Thank you!" everyone choruses in unison, much to shy Hinata's embarrassment.

Not even willing to risk making eye contact with Kiba, I just close my eyes and duck my head, focused on eating my rice instead.

With relative peace, we all manage to eat our food and, upon instruction from Asuma, begin to pack up our make shift camp site.

"Hurry up and put a shirt on already Kiba" Ino demands, tapping her foot impatiently. "We have to leave already. And besides, nobody wants to see all that."

Kiba pauses, looking down at his toned torso for a few seconds, before raising his head and glaring at Ino.

"All what?" he asks sharply, annoyed by Ino's apparent disgust.

"Just put your shirt on" Ino sniffs, turning her head away and pointing her nose in the air.

"Why do you care so much if I have a shirt on or not?" Kiba questions smartly, now purposefully delaying getting dressed properly.

I watch Kiba's stare down with the back of Ino's head for a few seconds, only to look away. If only to give me a reprieve of having to have Kiba standing right in front of me.

Naruto zips up his jacket, only having just put on a shirt himself, before laughing cheekily and leaning in towards me.

"I bet she wouldn't be mad if it was Sasuke without his shirt on" the blonde teases loudly, only for Ino to gasp in embarrassment and spin around on her heel.

Kiba laughs loudly at the way Ino's mouth falls open, turning to give Naruto a thumbs up. I can't help rolling my eyes at the two boys. Nothing can ever be simple with this lot.

"S-So what?" Ino challenges, struggling to maintain her composure. "Sasuke-kun has a beautiful body. Especially compared to the two of you!"

I can't help bursting out laughing when I hear a choking sound escape Sasuke's throat, though right near me, I can see Sakura's eyes beginning to burn with rage.

Naruto and Kiba also continue to laugh, with Choji snickering behind his hand and Shikamaru rolling his eyes skyward. I'm sure he knows that this isn't going to go very well.

"How would you know?" Kiba asks, wiping at his eyes. "Do you peep through his window or something?"

"I-It was an accident!" Ino protests wildly, her face glowing bright red. "I w-was just walking past his h-house and anyway, he still had his shorts on!"

Everyone abruptly falls silent, as Ino's words take a few seconds to register in all of our brains. Almost robotically, I turn my head to look at Sasuke. Through a sea of wide eyes and gaping jaws, I see his eyes burning red, an anime vein throbbing on the side of his head.

While Sasuke has his back to Ino, if looks could kill, she would definitely somehow be dead right now.

Kiba's mouth twitches up into a triumphant smirk, his eyes gleaming.

"I was kidding" he says tightly, struggling not to burst out laughing again.

"I'm going to kill you Kiba!" Ino shrieks hysterically. "You jerk!"

"Oh no!" Kiba gasps, feigning fear. "I'd better run away, so you don't catch me!"

I place a hand over my mouth and grin to myself, highly amused, as Kiba spins around and proceeds to run away in slow motion, something that only provokes Ino further.

"Okay, okay" Asuma interjects, stepping forwards and grabbing Ino by the arm just as she is about to leap at Kiba like a rabid beast. "Enough of this. We really have to leave...."

"Good to see that you guys finally made it" Kakashi greets the Dynamic Cell as we walk out of the forest.

I stop and gaze around at the small harbour we've arrived at, noting a few very tiny boats floating in the water and one larger one docked close to a nearby pier. The ocean water ripples prettily in the sun, with a sea bird floating on top of it and squawking loudly.

I take a deep breath, not having smelled the salty scent of the ocean for quite awhile. Where we going to be travelling by boat now?

"As you know" Kakashi announces, motioning for everyone to gather around him, "We're now in the low South East of the Land of Hot Water. From here on out, we'll be travelling North East, over the ocean."

This immediately catches my attention, as the other Genin ooh and ahh over the idea of heading to a mission by boat.

"We're heading towards the Land of Lightning?" I question, tilting my head to the side. That seems odd.

Why would we need to head all the way out there? It's not like the Leaf Village is allies with the Hidden Cloud after all. It didn't seem very safe.

"......We're not heading to the Land of Lightning" Kurenai assures me, seeing that Kakashi Sensei has hesitated to respond to my question. "Just that direction. No need to worry."

I place my hands on my hips and pull a face at Kakashi Sensei, only for him to turn away and head towards the boat.

What's he being so weird for all of the sudden?

"Alright!" someone suddenly cheers, only for a stampede of Naruto clones to barge past me, almost knocking me right over.

I huff in annoyance and watch as the Naruto clones, as well as Kiba and Akamaru, shove past everyone and run right up onto the boat, almost pushing Ino and Sakura right over the railing and into the water.

"Hey!" the two girls screech, jumping down from the boat's railing to follow after Kiba and Naruto. They throw their fists in the air, shouting abuse as they give chase.

Sweat dropping, Hinata takes a much quieter approach with Shino at her side, the two of them strolling up the boat's ramp at a much more pleasant pace. Shikamaru and Choji are already aboard, with Choji pointing up at the clouds and smiling about something.

"Naruto!" I hear Sakura thunder.

"Kiba you jerk!" Ino shouts furiously. "Get back here!"

".....This is going to be fun" I state sarcastically, as Sasuke stops beside me, glaring up at the boat.

"....Yeah" he agrees, sounding about as eager as I do about this trip.

"Ashley-chan!" an urgent voice suddenly calls, causing me to turn my head and raise one eyebrow. "Help, save me!"

I smirk to myself, seeing that Sakura and Ino have Naruto bailed up against the ship's railing, with Kiba perched on the deck above, laughing at the blonde's predicament.

I bound over the water and jump up onto the railing beside Naruto, landing in a crouched position. As Naruto looks to me with a relieved expression, I grin at him and place my hand on the back of his jacket collar. Before he can react, I fling him backwards and jump down onto the boat's deck, smiling with satisfaction as I hear him hit the water with a loud splash.

"Serves him right" Ino giggles, as she and Sakura lean over the railing to wave triumphantly at Naruto. "Now it's Kiba's turn!"

"No need to force me!" the Inuzuka calls from above, already ripping off his shirt. "Cannonball!"

Sakura and Ino squeal and run away as Kiba leaps from above and crashes into the ocean below, sending water spraying all over us.

"That was awesome!" Kiba laughs as his head pops out of the water, Naruto swimming right beside him.

"That was mean Ashley-chan" the blonde whines, climbing on top of the water and pouting up at me.

Lean on the railing, I rest my chin in my palm and grin down at Naruto devilishly, as Kiba swims to the ramp and runs back up onto the boat. He skids to a halt beside me and, as I turn to look at him in surprise, he violently shakes himself off.

"Kiba!" I giggle, trying to shield myself from the flying water droplets.

At the sound of my laughing, Kiba grins at me, his eyes sparkling.

"C'mon Angel!" he urges, his wet hair dangling in his face adorably. "It's fun!"

"No way" I laugh, taking a step back. My laugh soon fades though, a sweat drop appearing on the side of my head as Kiba takes a step towards me, a cheeky smirk on his face.

"Don't you dare" I warn, bending my knees slightly. "Kiba. Kiba!"

I jump up just as Kiba dives for me, placing one hand on his back as I flip right over him. He swiftly spins around however and grabs onto my arm, pulling me right back to him.

"Kiba" I admonish again, though I can't help giggling again as he begins to herd me towards the railing. "No, I don't want to - ah!"

I freeze as Kiba sweeps my legs out from under me and carries me over to the railing, my hand pressed against his chest. I swiftly pull it away, as if I had been zapped by electricity, my heart thudding loudly in my ears.

"It's way more fun in the water!" Kiba teases, lifting my up slightly. He glances down at me and pauses, his broad grin fading at the sight of my wide eyed stare. "Hey, are you actually scared of the water or somethin?"

"Wha- no!" I deny, shaking my head. "I'm not scared of the water at all!"

"....Why do you look so afraid then?" Kiba questions me, his brows furrowing slightly.

"I'm not afraid" I retort indignantly, my face warm. "I just-"

"Uh, Ashley?" a voice interrupts, causing my head to whip up, as if I had been found guilty of something.

"K-Kakashi Sensei?" I answer, embarrassed by my current predicament. Why is Kiba still carrying me?

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything" Kakashi says pointedly, that annoying, teasing look in his eye, "But as you can tell, there's not a lot of wind to help us sail right now."

"And?" I prompt, already knowing where this is going.

"Could you use your Katsuryoku to put some wind in the sails?" Kakashi Sensei asks, looking between Kiba and I. I almost feel like he wants to say something.

I hope he doesn't. This is already humiliating enough.

"....Yeah, I can" I answer, much to my Sensei's relief.

"Great" he replies, already turning around to walk away. "When you're ready."

Kiba and I both watch Kakashi Sensei walk away, before I glance up at the Inuzuka, feeling strangely shy.

"Uh....Kiba?" I ask, to which he blinks and glances down at me. "You can uh....Put me down now."

"Fine" Kiba pouts, obediently allowing me to stand again.

As I am about to run off, I stop and turn to look back at Kiba. Against my better judgement, I reach up and ruffle his hair.

"Good Mutt" I say in a flat tone, inwardly smiling as Kiba swats my hand away.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever....." he mutters, though I see him close his eyes and grin to himself as he tries to fix his hair.

'How cute' I think to myself, only to slap a hand over my mouth, despite not having said anything out loud.

Kiba lifts his head and looks at me curiously, a question mark appearing above my head.

I just spin on my heel and charge after Kakashi, my face once again warm.

'Just focus on getting the ship moving' I tell myself sternly, jumping down to the deck. 'Stop thinking about....whatever that is!'