Okay guys, we're getting close to the Chunin exams now, so Focus!
It is important that you focus! You know because if you don't you might fail school, never get a job, die from hunger in a ditch and-
Right, sorry, I got off track.
Remember Ayame's name has been changed to Miyuki
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I sighed. I was finally able to do missions with my team again, albeit only D-rank missions. Even so, I was relieved. The past 2 weeks I had been suspended and hadn't been allowed to go on missions. The Hokage didn't even let me train and had had ANBU watching my every move again. It was all because I didn't listen to him when he forbade me to go find my friends in my last mission. I was grateful though. He could've given me a much worse punishment, but because he knew my intentions were good and that he had a soft spot for me (which he didn't even deny when I teased him about it), he only suspended me from my missions as well as training. I'd attempted to go train, mind you, but the ANBU were always there to stop me. So I'd been bored for most of the time. That was, however, until I realised I could still study different techniques and Jutsu. I'd studied lots of different earth techniques and ways to find out if you could do any other types of Nature Jutsu's.
I sighed again. I may be able to do missions again, but this was just D-ranks. Chores, in other words. I knew why I was only allowed to do D-rank missions, but the rest of team 7 were also not allowed to get any C-rank missions. I wonder about that, so I asked Kakashi-sensei. Apparently it was because they'd also gotten another C-ranked mission which had turned into a B-rank again. Which was stupid, in my opinion. It's not our fault we attract decent missions.
I looked around my feet for the specific herb as I crouched. Our 'mission' was to find an herb called uhm... Mint I think; I wasn't really listening when the Hokage gave us the mission... Honestly I don't know why anyone would want mint leaves. It doesn't taste nice at all – in food I mean. I groaned. "This is so hard!" Everything looks the same and everywhere around me it smelled like mint so I had no idea what leaf was mint and what not.
My hand brushed a random leaf and suddenly I began to itch. My hand twitched and I stopped moving. The itching spread up my arm and to the other one. My eye twitched as I struggled to keep still and not scratch. I turned my eyes to look at the leaf I touched and I grunted at my stupidity. Poison Ivy. Just great. "Hey Miyuki-" Sakura began, coming up from behind me. I could feel her moving her hand to touch my shoulder – bad idea. Very bad idea.
"Don't touch me!" But it was too late. Her hand touched the skin on my shoulder. "Damn... Sakura. Don't move."
She'd been retracting her hand and froze. "W-what? Why? What's wrong?"
"You and I have been infected by poison Ivy. Whatever you do, don't scratch-" I was talking to deaf ears as Sakura was already scratching her hands and arms. I sighed.
"AH! IT'S SO ITCHY!" I heard Naruto yell. I glanced over at him, still hunched over in a crouching position. He was scratching himself, unconsciously nearing Sasuke who was trying to stay away from all of us. It was so hard not to scratch... All I wanted to do was scratch the itch.
"You're such a loser!" He grunted, annoyed. As he backed away he clumsily, and surprisingly, tripped over a root, falling right into a bush of poison Ivy.
"Sasuke don't scratch!" I called over to him. I bit my lip and scrunched up my nose. It was so, so, so itchy! Sasuke froze, his hands inches away from his skin. I sighed in relief but clenched my teeth and my fists. It was so itchy, it was almost painful. I still had half an hour to try and not scratch the itchiness. "Now we wait."
*
"Your next mission will be... plucking weeds out for Madam Akiko." The Hokage said, giving my team a very perplexed look. I knew exactly why. Naruto, Sasuke as well as Sakura all had white and pink blotches from the poison ivy on them. It's been a day and they only look worse than before. Sasuke had given in to the urge and scratched his arms where it itched. I was the only one who didn't have those blotches on me. Honestly I had no idea how I even resisted, but I did and I was glad I did otherwise I would've looked like them. The thing about poison Ivy is that if you can ignore the urge to scratch yourself for 35 minutes then it'll fade (A/N: just so you know I made this up) and I resisted – thankfully - so the effects wore off.
I laughed at Sasuke and Sakura's scowls and Naruto's grumbles. "I did tell you not to scratch, but you didn't listen did you?" All of them grumbled and I in turn grinned at them. All Kakashi-sensei did was sigh in defeat. He did not know what to do with me – that much was obvious.
*
I crouched by the woman's herbs and started pulling out the weeds. It was hard without a little spade to help me out, but I managed. I turned and saw Naruto pulling out both the weeds and the plants as well, and he was heading this way. "No, Naruto, stop! Those aren't all weeds." He didn't hear me and was getting closer. I held up my hand and waited for him to get closer, then I flicked him on his forehead. "Oh, no you don't. I've already pulled out the weeds here. You pulled out the plants and the weeds you knucklehead."
I stood up and dusted myself off. I heard an angry growl behind me. "Which one of you did this?"
I turned around. "Is there something wrong? The weeds are gone now." I said and smiled at her, hoping she'd be less angry.
She started shaking. Okay, she was definitely angry. She was peeved. "You pulled out the weeds... And you pulled out the plants as well!" She yelled.
*
I sighed, standing in the Hokage's office yet again but this time my team was unmarked. I had a purple bruise on my jaw from two days' ago pulling out weeds. That woman can really pack a punch... I took the fall for Naruto, but I'm kind of regretting it now. She knew that I was a ninja so she didn't bother to go easy on me. She was a beast of a woman. I wonder why she never became a ninja. She'd be one scary girl. Not that she isn't already... Yesterday our mission was to walk dogs. It was boring, but entertaining since Naruto's dog walked into a minefield and got out completely unscathed while Naruto came out charred and burnt. He healed fast though. Of course, typically, my dog also did some really weird stuff that got me in trouble. Trouble seemed to follow me wherever I went. "Next you will have to pick litter up from the river." I sighed. We're still doing the chores then.
*
This should be entertaining. I poked the fish that was being barbequed over the fire as the rest of my team took out litter from the river. I wonder... Do I like fish? I don't think so, but let's find out anyway. I took the stick with fish was on and bit into it. I chewed. I froze. Scrunching up my nose I spit the fish out. Okay, I hate fish. It's official. "Miyuki! You're supposed to help us!" I glanced at Sakura and stood up, wiping my hands on my tights. I threw sand on the fire and it was instantly snuffed out. I picked up the casket I was supposed to put the litter in and put it on my back, walking back toward the river. I started picking up litter. One by one I picked up cans and papers from the water. I stepped forward, looking for more litter and suddenly I slipped. "Eep!" I splashed into the water and my arm hit a rock. I came up for air and tried standing up, spluttering for breath. I breathed in water, it was not fun. I got to my feet before I was taken too far down river and stood there for a minute.
Next thing I knew I was being dragged underwater again by a hand gripping my leg. "Ah-!" Naruto had slipped and was pulling me along with him downstream. Right toward the waterfall. I moved my arms frantically trying to swim back, but Naruto was heavy and the current was too strong. I've never been a good swimmer anyway.
I held my breath, anticipating when the fall would begin. I was afraid, but there was adrenaline to drive the fear away. As suddenly as I was pulled underwater I was breathing air again, but the air was rushing past me as I fell down the waterfall. Then there was a hard tug on my leg and I looked up. Sasuke had caught both of us, but he looked like he was having trouble holding both of us up. I felt Naruto's hand slip, but my mind was still replaying the scene where I was falling. I wasn't focusing as much as I should've. I heard shouting and then the space where Naruto had held my leg felt empty, bare. I gasped as I started falling again. I was closing in on the water where the waterfall would either kill me or send me downstream – in which case I sincerely hoped for. I knew I was going to hit the water hard so I put my hands up to protect my face. I closed my eyes tightly. I didn't want to see when I'd hit the water.
I remember my whole body hurting as water pelted down on me. I remember trying to remember what I felt before Haku's ice senbon hit me and then the pain just suddenly lessened. Whatever I did then, I did now too. I was dragged downstream again and again I went down a waterfall. I held up my hands once again and closed my eyes, but this time when I fell I didn't land in water, but on hard, solid ground. The air was knocked out of me and my shoulder – the one I landed on – hurt. I lay there for a moment wheezing and then I slowly sat up. I hunched over, grabbing my right arm. I groaned, clenching my teeth. Dear Lord, it hurts! I breathed in through my nose and out through my clenched teeth several times before I attempted standing up. My whole body was sore, but somehow I got up. I cradled my arm, walking – more like limping, but not quite there yet either – the opposite direction of which way the water flowed, where my friends should be. It took a while, but I finally got there and when I did I regretted going back. They were still picking up litter; they weren't even trying to find me. It hurt. It really hurt. I stepped back, but –Murphy's law- there was a twig behind me which snapped as soon as I stepped on it. Their heads snapped up and relieved expressions crossed their faces. "Miyuki, you're okay! Kakashi-sensei went to search for you. We wanted to come with him, but he said we had to complete the mission so that if you were hurt you wouldn't have to work..." Sakura was babbling. She trailed off as her eyes landed on my arm which now had a dark blue bruise on it and had swelled a little. So they were worried after all. I sighed in relief, silently. I was worried there for a minute... "Miyuki, what-"
A smoke cloud suddenly appeared next to me. "Seems, you're alright after all." Kakashi-sensei's voice floated toward my ear. The smoke cleared and I could see him again. He glanced at the arm I was cradling. "Well, not completely unharmed, but..." He trailed off. "How's it going over there?" He called to my team.
They all stood up, sighing in relief. "Finally! We're done!" Naruto yelled. Kakashi nodded and he told us to go with him to deliver the report of the mission.
*
The Hokage sighed, looking at my wrapped arm. Turns out it only popped out of its socket. The doctor popped it right back for me. It was quite painful. "Trouble always seems to follow you, doesn't it?"
"I wouldn't say follow... It's more like it sits around waiting for me to get there." I said, casually leaning against the wall, and smiled a crooked smile. It wasn't very sore anymore and the doctor said it would be healed within two days. For some reason he seemed surprised by the very fact. At the time I was focusing on my shoulder that was giving me lots of pain, but now I wondered about that.
He chuckled and I smiled. "Alright. Team 7 you are dismissed." We'd already reported our mission. We all turned to leave and started walking out the door. "Miyuki, please stay behind." I turned and stepped to the left before Sasuke walked right into me.
I turned back toward the Hokage's. "Yes, sir?"
"You'll be meeting your new team at the hot springs tomorrow. You have a mission. They will explain everything to you." My shoulders slumped and I frowned. New team? That means I won't be able to go on missions with team 7 anymore. "Don't worry, you'll still be able to go on missions with Team 7. They were your first team, after all."
I grinned. "Thank you Lord Hokage."
He gave a dismissive wave of his hand and I walked out.
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Edited
Sorry for the short chapter guys! The next few will be longer, I promise
Remember Ayame's name has been changed to Miyuki