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"Hurry up! We're going to miss it!"

I ran faster through the trees to catch up with the rest of the team. Everyone wasn't too far ahead of me, but boy was I out of breath. Even Gyunyu wasn't slowing down for me. Every once in a while he'd check back to make sure I was at least not dying, then continue on like he ran miles every day. Sasuke was in front of me, and Isamu sensei in front of him, running in silence through the shadows. The other two members of Team 2 were jumping in the trees using their chakra. I didn't feel too confident about doing that just yet... Imagine if you miss the branch? That's like a twenty foot drop! No way am I doing that.

I panted and slid to a stop behind the thick trunk of a tree when Isamu sensei did, calming my thumping heart. We were just inside the perimeter of the forest, looking out onto a small field with train tracks dividing it. We were told to go take care of a group of black-market workers who had been reported stealing ancient scrolls from temples and selling them. It's my first time actually using whatever few skills I've managed to learn at the Academy. I nervously picked at the bark in the dark, my sight gradually focusing in the dim light of the moon. I was aware of every sound, every movement in front of me: Gyunyu sniffing my leg, leaves whispering in the night, Sasuke's pale face like a reflector beam looking back at me, Isamu sensei's pearl white hair covered by the hood of his cloak, owls hooting in the distance, the cold wind across my face...

I felt heat behind me. I whipped around and almost screamed my head off, blowing our cover. Luckily Hibiki placed a hand over my mouth, muffling the beginnings of it. He was literally like two inches from my face, his pale pastel blue eyes piercing through mine with mildly curious apathy.

"You're with me," he whispered, his freezing breath crawling across my face as he pulled his hand away. I nodded and tried to suppress the heart attack threatening to take over my body. Sasuke was with Miyahira, who I really, really looked up to. She is SO AWESOME, with these crazy butt-kicking moves that she made look so graceful. And of course she could be a model: she has a perfectly tan, slender body with curves in all the right places, a brilliantly white smile and mysterious greeny-blue eyes, and sleek brown hair straightened out of her face into a ponytail that hung low to her waist. It was after seeing her fight in practice one morning that I realized: I have no skill whatsoever. Fighting skill, I mean. Sure I can paint pretty well, and cleaning is a no-brainer for me. But I don't think I can defeat enemies by painting a portrait of them or cleaning their house. I can't do anything if I don't have Gyunyu or my contracts with the animals. I'm nothing without them.

"It's here." I followed Hibiki's gaze to the train moving quickly from the east, glinting lights in the field. "Come."

He led me to the tree furthest out in the forest. I saw Isamu sensei sneak low to the ground through the grass to the other side of the tracks. The plan was he boards from that side, Sasuke and Miyahira jump onto it from their above position in a tree, Gyunyu runs to the next train station to wait for us and help out if we end up in a fight, and Hibiki and I jump on from this side. I totally wasn't sure if I was gonna make it. Isuma sensei said if you failed to get on, just wait back in the trees until the train passes, then head for the next train station. I didn't want to be the one guy who didn't get on. So I'd been practicing for the past two days on focusing my chakra in my hands and feet, so that it grips an object's surface without me having to actually hold it.

I looked up when I felt fingers in my hair. Sasuke was hanging onto a tree limb above me, wearing a hooded jacket and preparing his kunai. He was staring into my eyes, his own wide and meshed with the night. "Stay safe," he whispered, curling his fingers in my hair. I knew what he meant: they had weapons and were skilled fighters. Isamu sensei said to try and stay clear of the people on the train and let him deal with them, just head straight for the stolen stuff. But there was a pretty good chance we'd run into them.

"You too," I whispered back, reaching up to touch his wrist. He hung there a moment longer before following Miyahira into the black canopy of leaves.

"-throw you."

"What?" I looked back at Hibiki. I'd always been a little scared of him: he was mostly apathetic, not showing any interest in anything in front of people. I think it's because he doesn't want people to know him, which would let them know his weaknesses. I heard his mother died in some sort of fire, and his father went to travel the world and hasn't returned. He attacks by focusing his chakra on the senses of other people, especially the ears. It causes a head-splitting ringing sound, that can sometimes cause deafness for short periods of time. I've heard Isamu sensei talk about it. It sounds pretty painful.

"I'm going to toss you on," he repeated, staring blankly at me. He gripped my waist as the train approached and then whizzed past us. "Three," he began, counting the cars. Wait! My mind froze, maybe because of the nerves or the cold of the wind whipping in our faces from the cars or how scared Hibiki makes me or the clunk! of Sasuke and Miyahira landing on a train car, but I couldn't say anything in protest. "-two, one-"

And suddenly I'm flying through the air for like two seconds before I'm gripping the side of the train. Without even thinking about it I had used my chakra to grip it with my fingers. The wind was painful against my head though, desperately trying to shove me off the side. Hibiki landed next to me, only seconds after I'd gotten on. He motioned for me to follow him to the end of the car, where it connected to the next one. I did, and felt a whole lot safer once I was standing upright again between the two doors. Hibiki looked through the window of each, before deciding that it was safe to go through the one to our left. I slid through the door after him, my stomach doing flips at the tension in my body.

Inside was a small, cramped space full of random items, from scrolls to musical instruments to beautiful-looking birds in cages to cooking items. All stolen. He sniffed the air, probably increasing his smelling sense or however it works. Apparently there was nothing of interest because we moved on to the next car.

Suddenly we came to a screeching halt, sending books and scrolls and plates flying from their precarious perches and crashing into the front wall. Hibiki prevented me from landing face-first and spearing myself on an ancient katana. My head did hit the stack of crashing china, however, and after a few moments of grey spots I realized I'd hit them on their way down.

"Ugh..." I pushed myself off the floor and looked through the darkness to find Hibiki. Then I noticed that his face was back to being inches away from mine. I almost had a seizure then and there.

"Sorry," he said, seeing that he'd freaked me out. He gripped both of my hands in one of his and used his other to reach up to my head. "Please hold still."

What's-

"Owwwwwwww!" I squeezed his hand as he yanked this HUGE piece of plate from my head. I felt cold liquid running down the side of my face and smelled the metallic scent of iron. Way to go. I get beat up by a bunch of plates, not even the bad guys. "Sorry," I whispered, forcing back the puke making it's way out of my mouth. I stood up on wobbly legs, leaning on Hibiki for support. "I'm good now. Let's go."

He held me up under one arm. "You're not-"

I never got to find out what I wasn't, because at that moment the car tipped.

That was also the moment that a bald man wielding a sword and running like there was chocolate at the other end of the car burst through the door and tripped over my falling form.

For about five seconds we all lay there in silence on the wall of the car, covered in paper and glass. The bald dude was laying on my legs, some of my blood spattered on his moon-reflecting melon, staring at us open-mouthed. At least I'm good for something, I thought in my haze. Hibiki stood quickly before the guy could react and kicked him hard in the head. I think. I can't remember too well. But whatever happened, it ended in the guy being knocked out and tied up. Hibiki pulled him out of the car and then came back to get me, and lay me in the grass where I waited until he found Isamu sensei to tell him where we were. While he was gone, I think I was going in and out of consciousness. I was staring at the beauty of the night sky, watching the stars fade in and out, until Hibiki's face took up the whole view. And he did some healing thingie with his chakra, so that the blood clotted around my wound instead of just continuously flowing out. This meant that I was actually aware enough to feel the headache. Man, I think I'd rather just be unconscious.

We sat there together, me with my bandaged head bandaging his arm that had broken in the tip. I was tired and feeling sick, and Hibiki- although his cool exterior remained whole- threw up. We caught the guys though. Sasuke and Miyahira came to tell us that Isamu sensei had called others to help with the criminals, so we could leave. Miyahira was unscathed, and Sasuke had one wrapped finger that cracked when he tried to block some guy's punch. He also had a huge bruise already visible in the dark that spread across his face. I felt bad that I hadn't really done anything.

Sasuke seemed apparently speechless, just staring at my head the whole way back. I hated that look on his face, evident even through my tired haze. It was like he felt responsible for me, and I hate hate hate it. I'm so weak that he feels he's responsible? I'm really useless aren't I? It was during those twenty minutes spent walking back to the village, at three in the morning, with sticky blood drying around my mouth and my friends all beat up and broken and the smell of puke in the air and Sasuke's stupid stare that I decided, I would not rest until I had an attack that would protect me. So that no one else would have to.