Chapter 8

"Team 7, reporting for a mission Hokage-sama." Kakashi lazily drawls out.

"Hmm... I have a C-rank here Kakashi-kun. Do you think your team is ready?"

The Hokage thinks we are ready for a C-rank mission? That is pretty cool! Finally, no more D-ranks. About damn time someone recognizes our talent!

"You have done a lot of D-ranks. And 13 Tora retrievals." The Hokage says after reviewing our mission records one more time.

That's right everyone, catching Tora is a Team 7 specialty. That cat is in love with me. The longest it has taken us to get Tora is two hours which is still half the time of the next team.

"I suppose they have done enough D-ranks. Sure, Team 7 accepts the C-rank mission. What is it?"

"It's an escort mission to the Land of Waves." The Hokage tosses Kakashi a mission scroll.

No. Please no. Any mission but that one.

"Tazuna! Come inside and meet the team that will be escorting you." The Hokage calls out.

It is official, this world hates me.

*Hiccup*

A drunken Tazuna staggers into the room. I hate my life, of all the damn missions I could get it just had to be this one!

"Who's my team? These runts? Ha! I bet kittens are more dangerous than these kiddies! Pink hair. What kind of ninja has pink hair? You sure you are smoking tobacco, Hokage?" The first words out of Tazuna's mouth are insults.

Must refrain from maiming the client. Must refrain from maiming the client. Must refrain from maiming the client.

"I assure you, my team and I are more than capable of handling a simple escort mission. After all, I am one of the best jonin in Konoha. I could take this mission alone without a problem." Jeez Kakashi, can you get any more modest?

Actually it is probably for the best that Kakashi is going. If we were any other team he wouldn't be there to go up against Zabuza and I don't know how the other jonin would hold up against him. I hate that Kakashi and Team Seven come as a package deal, that means I have to face Zabuza too.

"Fine." *Hiccup* "When we leavin?"

"I don't know about you Kakashi-sensei, but I vote at least noon tomorrow. That should give the client enough time to sleep off his hangover." I sassily say.

"Great idea Alvarcus! Meet at the front gate tomorrow at noon. Pack for a week."

The Land of Waves mission. The first true challenge of Team 7, and there is no Naruto. Aw crap, that means I have to pick up the slack. Sorry team, we might be dead.

Later that Night, at Alvarcus's House

"Kaa-san, tou-san I'm going on my first C-rank mission tomorrow." I wonder how they will take this news. Probably badly.

"A C-rank? So soon? Isn't it a little early to be getting those missions?" Kaa-san looks scared.

"I thought so too, but Kakashi-sensei says we are ready. I trust him to keep us safe."

"You remember my condition for becoming a shinobi correct?" Tou-san asks me.

"Of course. I do not get to die."

"Good. Make sure you come home to us."

"I will. Well, I'm going to go to sleep. I'll need to be at 100% tomorrow." I head upstairs and pause right outside of my door. I want to hear what they say now that I'm out of the room.

"A C-rank. Alvarcus is going on a C-rank. This could be the last night we see him. I don't want to lose our son." Kaa-san tearfully says to tou-san.

"He'll come back to us. I know he will."

"What if he comes back and isn't our Alvarcus anymore? What if this changes him? Fujita, what if he kills someone?"

"He will always be our son. Nothing will change that."

"I don't want to be the mother of a murderer."

"I don't want to be the father of one! Namika no matter what he does he will always be our son. Shinobi, baker, thief, librarian, murderer. He will always be ours no matter what he does. What kind of parents are we if we turn our backs on him? What kind of parents are we if we abandon him because he did something wrong? We are the ones who let him become a shinobi, we can't turn our backs on him now."

"I know. I know we should be there for him, but how are we supposed to help him? We don't know anything about shinobi! The only one we do know is…"

"You have to remember our son isn't him. No matter how similar they are they're not the same person."

"I can't help but see him in Alvarcus. They're just so similar!"

"He is our son, not that monster."

Who is this person? Which shinobi do my parents know? This isn't the first time they've talked about this mystery person, they compare me to him an awful lot. Always when I'm out of the room though, like they don't want me to know. Like they are afraid if I know I won't be me anymore. They've never said his name but they always sound afraid when he's mentioned. Could he be where my parents fear of shinobi comes from? And how the hell am I similar to such a "monster?"

So much for being at 100% tomorrow. I'll be running their conversation through my head for hours.

Front Gate, the Next Day, Noon

"Dammit Kakashi-sensei! Where are you? You can't be late for our first C-rank mission!" Sakura does have a good point. What kind of jonin is late for his student's first C-rank mission?

"Want to bet about when he shows up?" I suggest. We might as well make a game out of this.

"Heh. Kids betting. They start earlier every year." Tazuna mumbles under his breath. We all ignore him. I think that might become a trend for this mission.

"Okay. I say not for another hour!" Sakura eagerly bets.

Sasuke thinks for a few seconds then bets, "It will after five minutes but under an hour."

"Five." I boldly bet.

"Five what Alvarcus?" Sakura asks in annoyance.

"Four. Three. Two. One."

"Yo. Am I late?" There's Kakashi! Yes I won!

Everyone is staring at me. Why is everyone staring at me?

"Guys? I know I'm handsome, but staring at me like this is weird. My parents say I can't date until I am 30 so get any strange thoughts out of your heads."

Sakura recoils like she was slapped with a fish. "NO! Sasuke is the only one for me! I just wanted to know how you knew Kakashi was coming."

"Me too. How did you know I was coming?" That's Kakashi's serious tone. Did I do something wrong?

"I dunno. I just had a feeling in my gut, and a shinobi needs to trust their gut." Maybe I am a sensor? That would be pretty cool actually. Oh and I can test it really soon too! I can try to sense the Demon Brothers today. Hopefully before they try and kill us. Because they are going to try and kill us. Great, I have that to look forward to.

"Well now that we are all here let's be off! No point in wasting time!"

"That's rich coming from you sensei."

And so we set off, venturing outside of Konoha for the first time. I'd like to say that it was a big moment, one of realized ambitions and future dreams. It wasn't. Not even remotely. It involved paperwork.

"Kakashi Hatake, gennin Team 7 and our client Tazuna are leaving on a C-rank mission to the Land of Waves."

Kotetsu and Izumo looked up from their game of cards. Kotetsu shoved a form at Kakashi. "There. Fill that out. Then you can leave." After scribbling on the form (I am not even sure Kakashi tried to write any words) we head out of the village.

Fresh air! Lush green forests! Huge trees! It was practically the same thing as inside the walls of the village.

"Alright team. Let's get moving."

Off we went to our first real mission. Our first mission that goes horribly wrong.

Walking as a group was rather entertaining.

"So," Tazuna drawls out, "you kids are ninja?"

"The correct term is shinobi or kunoichi. Ninjas do not exist." Leave it to Sakura to correct such a common civilian error. They are practically the same thing.

"Sorry miss-know-it-all, not all of us live in a big fancy village. I still can't believe the Hokage gave me you runts." Is Tazuna trying to provoke us?

Alright. He is just asking for this. Slowly, very stealthily in hopes Kakashi does not notice what I'm doing, I attach a string to Tazuna's left foot. I give the string a tug causing Tazuna to trip over his own feet. Perfect!

"AAIIIEEE!" He fell flat on his face. It was beautiful!

THWACK

"Ow ow ow! What was that for Kakashi?"

"Bad Alvarcus. We don't do that to clients."

"But he deserved it!"

"Deserved it or not, we are hired to protect him. In fact why don't we all just stop talking?"

"That is easy for you to say. You just want to read your book in silence."

"Just because of that, take point Alvarcus." Ah great. I let my mouth get ahead of me.

Without speaking, I switch spots with Sasuke. We have a diamond pattern formed around Tazuna, with me at the front, Sasuke at the left, Sakura at the right and Kakashi in the rear. Wonderful. Now I can't prank Tazuna anymore.

Sunlight glints off of a puddle in the middle of the path. Could this be the Demon Brothers? How can I find out? I don't feel anything coming from the puddle so maybe this isn't them? How many puddles can we come across on our path? It can't be that many, this has to be them.

The puddle is twenty steps away. Ten steps. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. I pass the puddle. Nothing happened? Is this not the Demon Brothers?

The sound of clinking chains resonates through the air.

I spin around. There they are, The Demon Brothers. They already have Kakashi wrapped up in their chains. How did I miss that?

"First one." The Demon Brothers yank on their chain gauntlets and shred Kakashi into a chunky paste. One of them sprints towards me and throws a kunai at my heart while the other engages Sasuke.

"Second one." The rapidly approaching shinobi says eagerly.

Like hell! I am not going down that easily!

Just like the stones, I shoot out a chakra string and attach it to the airborne kunai. I whip it around my body and fling it right back at the original owner. I aim for his legs and miss in the worst way possible.

I ended up sending the kunai straight through his throat. Blood sprays everywhere. He grasps his throat and struggles to take wet raspy breaths. There is no way he is going to live, not with a wound like that.

I can't look away. He's slowly dying right in front of me. Bleeding out, staining his once clean clothes a dark red. With one final wet gurgle, and a look of utter hatred in his eyes, he dies.

I had my first kill.

Freak out later. There is still another enemy, Sasuke might need help. I turn around to assist my teammate, but he does not need it. Kakashi has the other Demon Brother thrown over his shoulder, unconscious.

Everyone is staring at me. No one moves. No one talks. No one makes a sound.

"Alvarcus. There is a stream about 200 meters north of here. I want you to go there and clean up. We will wait here for you. Can you go alone or do you want Sasuke to come with you?" Finally Kakashi breaks the silence.

Clean up? Why would I need to clean up? I glance down at myself. That is weird, I don't own a red shirt. Oh. I'm covered in blood. When the Demon Brother's neck was cut open, the blood must have sprayed onto me.

"I think I can... I... Sasuke? Can you come?" I shouldn't be alone right now. That is a really bad idea.

"Yes. Let's go." Sasuke looks... disgusted? Shocked? I can't tell. I can't devote enough brain cells to figure it out. All I can think of is the dead man's face.

"Take care of him Sasuke. I would go myself but this shinobi and I need to have... words together. Meet back here in an hour. If you are not back by then I am coming to get you."

Kakashi carries his hostage off into the woods. Sasuke and I head north to the stream. We run in silence. Not a word is spoken between us. After a few minutes we get to the stream. Glancing in the water I see my reflection. It looks like someone threw a can of red paint on me. I know it is not paint. It's blood. I have blood all down my front.

"This outfit is ruined. I should have brought clean clothes. Now we have to go back to get my pack."

"Here." Sasuke tosses something at me. Out of pure instinct I catch it. "I grabbed your pack." Oh, he did.

"Thank you." That was very kind of him. "You... you don't think any less of me do you?" Looking at my reflection in the stream, I can't help but think this changes everything. I'm not innocent anymore.

"No."

"But I killed him." I can't break eye contact with myself. These piercing yellow eyes seem much more sinister when my face is covered in blood.

"So?"

"Isn't killing supposed to be wrong?"

"He was going to kill us. It was him or you, and you got to walk away. You get to go home. You get to live to see your sibling be born." I break eye contact with the monster in the water and look at Sasuke. "You put every single opponent in the ground so you can see your precious people again. You do not get to die. You have a reason to live, so make sure the enemy is the one who can't get up again."

"You're right. I hate it when you're right."

"I know." I want to wipe the damn smirk off his face. "Now get out of those clothes, wash the blood off and let's head back."

"Thank you Sasuke. Really."

"Don't mention it." He seems really sad all of a sudden. Why? We were just talking about family and – oh. His family is gone. He doesn't have anyone left.

"You're one of my precious people too you know. I don't trust just anyone to watch my back. I knew you could handle yourself, so I didn't attack them both. I trust you to keep Sakura and me safe." My words shatter the famous Uchiha mask. For just a fleeting moment Sasuke looks truly happy.

"Get in the stream already. I want to get back to the others."

"Alright tough guy. Think I should jump in?"

"You better, or I will push you in."

"Okay, okay! I'm going-"

SPLASH!

"I told you I would push you in."

Sasuke and I return to the group in a comfortable silence. Kakashi, Sakura and Tazuna all look at me when we arrive. Tazuna gives a respectful nod, Sakura looks at me in pity. Kakashi is livid, I can tell by the way his hands twitch towards his weapons.

"I'm good. Sasuke talked sense into me. Then the bastard shoved me into a stream." Everyone chuckles at my expense, but Kakashi does not look happy. Not one bit.

"So. Tazuna. That missing nin had some very interesting things to say." Kakashi harshly says to Tazuna.

Tazuna pales.

"When you applied for a mission you requested protection from wildlife and bandits. If those missing nin are anything to go by, this mission should be a B-rank. At a minimum. I'm sure you have your reasons. That does not mean you can lie to us. That does not mean you can put my team in unnecessary danger! My team is not ready to combat shinobi! They aren't ready to take a life! You lied to us, and it cost Alvarcus something precious."

Kakashi turns his back on Tazuna.

"Team Seven, this mission is hereby suspended. Get your stuff, we're going back to Konoha."

"Wait! Please hear me out! The Land of Waves couldn't afford a B-ranked mission. We barely had enough for a C-rank! Our entire country is under the thumb of Gato! He owns a shipping business and is using it to bleed our country dry! The bridge I am building is the only hope for my people! Please! You have to understand! I didn't want it to happen like this. If I die, then the Land of Waves dies with me."

Kakashi doesn't turn around to face our former employer.

"Then you should have gotten a B-rank mission. Konoha accepts more than money as payment. Trade agreements, land, property, future business. You didn't. This is no longer our problem."

"Please! Don't go! If you abandon me a whole country will die! I'll pay for the B-rank when I have the money. Please! Please?"

"Team Seven, let's move." Kakashi orders us.

What do I do? If I leave now then I'll never have to face Zabuza or Haku. I can go home safe and sound to my family. All I have to do is sacrifice a country.

"No! Don't go. Please don't go." Tazuna falls to his knees. Tears are streaming down his face.

"I say we finish the mission." My voice cuts through all other sounds.

"Bless you, you sweet child!" Tazuna weeps.

"Alvarcus, don't fall prey to his act. He's doing this on pur-"

"I know. I'm not saying we continue out of pity for him, right now I don't really care what happens to him. But the Land of Waves? A whole country is depending on him to finish the bridge. If we walk away now we will be responsible for that. I don't know about you sensei but I don't want that on my conscious."

"He's got a point. Besides, we can't abandon our first mission outside of Konoha. Imagine how bad that will look on our sensei." Sasuke backs me up.

"We can't let a country die. We just can't. What kind of shinobi are we if we run away at the first sign of danger?" Even Sakura is backing me up on this.

"You three aren't ready. Not for this." Kakashi says.

"That's why we have you Kakashi-sensei. 'I am one of the best jonin in Konoha.' What happened to that guy?" I throw his own words back at him.

"Fine. We will continue the mission." Kakashi forces out.

"You better put a damn plaque with our names on it on this bridge." If we live through this mission I want my name on that bridge.

"I can do that. Thank you all so much. The Land of Waves hasn't had hope in a long time." Tazuna starts to tear up.

"You heard the gennin! No time to waste then, to the Land of Waves. Start walking! Alvarcus and I will catch up. I want to talk with him." Kakashi wants to talk to me? Probably about my fist kill. Or the blatant disregard for his orders.

The others start walking ahead. Kakashi pulls his book out, opens it up and shoves his nose in it.

"Ahem. Kakashi-sensei? You uh... wanted to talk?"

"Yes. You had your first kill today." He turns a page. "How are you taking it?"

"I wasn't kidding when I said Sasuke talked sense into me. He really did. Put it all in perspective. I'm good."

Kakashi pins me with an one eyed stare. So much for avoiding this conversation.

"Okay, I am not good. I'm pretty shaken up about it. That was a terrible first kill to have. Messy. Long. I watched as he chocked on his own blood. I watched the light fade from his eyes while he cursed me with his entire being. I will have nightmares about this day for a long time, probably the rest of my life. I know that. I don't regret what I did. He attacked me. I attacked him back, I won. I get to go home. He doesn't. Sasuke pointed out all the people I have to live for."

Kakashi raises an inquisitive eyebrow at that.

"I know right? I didn't expect that from him either. He set me straight. I'm not good, but I am okay. I'll live. I'll move past this. Then one day when I am S-rank I'll brag that on my first C-rank I got my name on a national monument."

"As long as you are okay. I went through all of this before and I want you to know that you can talk to me."

"Really? Because if I didn't know better, I'd say you were talking to Akane."

Kakashi's head snaps up from his book. "How do you know her name? Have you read these books?"

"Yep. They actually aren't that bad. I rather like them. Have you read the sequel yet? There is this huge love triangle between Akane, Tatsumi and Masumi. Jiraya-sama does a wonderful job of it."

"You truly are my favorite student." Kakashi says while wiping a fake tear out of his eye.

"I know. Now how about we catch up with the others? I'll race you!" We both take off into the trees.

Kakashi and I catch back up with the others easily. They are moving at a civilian pace, while we could run at shinobi speeds. It didn't even take 5 minutes.

"Alright team. Diamond formation. Tazuna in the center, Alvarcus take point. If someone throws something at us, throw it right back at them. Sakura right, Sasuke left."

We form up and start walking. Nothing note worthy happens the rest of the day. Sakura, Sasuke and I banter back and forth like usual. All three of us bug Kakashi-sensei just because we can. Once night falls we set up a camp and hunker down to sleep.

I had a nightmare. They won't be going away soon. Or ever.