Something to Fight For (Naruto)

Helping (A Few People)

A week went by as Team 8 went on more and more missions, all of them "boring" and "a waste of time", at least according to Kiba. They consisted of picking up trash, babysitting, pet finding, grocery assisting, and other menial tasks. Kurenai and Kakashi managed to keep Haruka and Naruto from meeting in between missions to prevent anymore arguments. The two Jonin hoped that if Naruto was given time to cool down, he would come around to the idea of a sister.

He didn't.

Haruka would seek him out immediately after her missions were done, only to be yelled at. It became a bit of a routine for the two, but she never got used to it. Once she got over her depression of being yelled at, she would either go and work on the Chakra Scalpel or get more tallies with the help of Konohamaru and his two followers. They managed to get ten more on the list, and Haruka was able to activate the jutsu.

She still had to get used to the fighting style, but would need a sparring partner with a similar one. She had tried by herself to learn it, and then had gotten a shadow clone, but it was impossible to get used to the feel without an actual opponent. The shadow clone would disappear the second she landed a hit and when fighting by herself she couldn't get used to going for the enemy's weak points.

It was a technique not quite ready for battle unless there was an emergency, but she hoped one day she would be able to use it correctly.

Team 8 had just finished another mission, this one involving catching chickens for store owner. It was strangely difficult, the chickens being hell bent on living free. They were all covered in feathers and Kiba even had a bit of chicken poo in his hair. Instead of bringing him down, though, it seemed to get him even more riled up. The rest followed a few paces behind to avoid the smell as he howled through the streets, complaining about useless missions and chickens.

They had just gotten to the Hokage tower when Team 7 exited. Nii-san was skipping and yelling "C Rank! Gonna be a traveler!" He threw a few 'believe it''s in between, grinning wildly.

Haruka's heart skipped a beat in worry. He was leaving the village? That would be disastrous. What if he were to get hurt, or attacked? How would she help him then? She went to go and speak to him, perhaps convince him otherwise, when Kurenai stopped her with an arm.

Haruka tensed as Kurenai looked at her, frowning. "Leave it, Haruka. He is your brother, yes. But you need to let him be, at least for now." Haruka didn't respond, thinking of other ways to help him. She followed absentmindedly, frowning a bit in thought.

The Hokage gave them the money and sent them off without a mission. He saw the poor state of the Inuzuka and knew that the poor boy would probably be yelled at by any potential clients.

Dismissed, Haruka bolted away before the others could offer to eat together again. It had become another routine to eat together twice a week. They always went to the Bar-B-Que place at least once, just for the amusement of the others. It was funny, watching Haruka try to resist the Bar-B-Que and then give up. She would always eat the whole table, so they had taken to ordering some extra sides so no one would go hungry. Today, though, she had to help her Nii-san.

She knew she wouldn't be allowed to go with them, so she decided to try a trick an old women had showed her on her travels. During her search for her Nii-san, she would often meet people with useful techniques or something that could help her. She would try her best to get them to show her before she continued, with hard work, or whatever else. One very 'eccentric' man insisted on calling her "Musume" and get some pictures of her for a payment. It had cost quite a bit of hard work, but she managed to get the lady to show her a potentially useful skill.

Quickly arriving home, she grabbed two scrolls and swiftly flicked them out. She was going to try and make a summoning scroll. The woman had showed this, along with sealing scrolls. Haruka hand never tried the summoning, but remembered the principle. She wrote the necessary Kanji carefully but hurriedly. If she messed up at all, she could lose a few limbs when being summoned. Once she had them both filled, she added the necessary chakra. Rolling them up and sealing them, she ran to the gates, hoping they hadn't left yet.