Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, would I be writing fan fiction? – I obviously don't own Naruto.

AN: OH MY GOD! DID I JUST UPDATE? Yes, yes I did… I am so sorry for the very long delay. I kinda lost my inspiration for this story for a few months but now it's back, and I'm pretty sure I know where I'm going with this. I just got back from a long trip to Washington D.C. and I'm getting ready to go on another trip, so I can't say I'll update soon. I'll try but I'm not promising anything. I'm also trying to write for my other stories, but I can only focus on one at a time. I'll probably update this story again and then try to update another story. It just depends on if I have time and if I am in the mood to write. Thanks to all of you readers who review! I really appreciate the feedback.

Chapter Six: Double Vision

"Are there any ninjas in the Land of Waves?" Sakura asked.

Team Seven and Tazuna had met up at the gates at promptly 0600 hours. Kakashi was on time, shocking his students. Since then, they had been making their way towards the Land of Waves without running into any problems.

'My first time out of the village… so far, so good... even if it is only walking… or escorting… whatever. At least it's a C-ranked mission and not those stupid D-ranked chores.' Naruto thought, not really paying any attention to the conversation between Sakura, Kakashi, and Tazuna. 'Hmm… I wonder what it will be like in the Land of Waves… I'm guessing it's either an island or near a large body of water since I think Tazuna said he was a bridge builder. …I'm pretty sure he said he was a bridge builder.' Naruto paused to stare at Tazuna. 'He looks like a drunk old man to me. I don't know why he'd want ninja protection. He doesn't seem like anyone important-'

"Move it, idiot!" Sasuke hissed as he gave Naruto a little shove. 'Oops!' Naruto thought. 'Gotta stop thinking so hard and focus more on the mission. For starters, I'll start walking – I didn't mean to stop – and pay more attention to what Kakashi-sensei is talking about.'

"Geez, you don't have to be so rude," Naruto said, moving closer to where Sakura was and tuning into the conversation.

"…Hokage-sama is very wise and powerful…"

'They're talking about dad now? Well, he is powerful from what I've heard… not that I've ever witnessed any of his amazing jutsus. I've heard that he can be somewhere one second and then the next second he's half way across the country. Of course they're probably exaggerating… but he is called the Yellow Flash and I know he can appear just about anywhere in the blink of an eye if his special kunai are there. He is smart… wise… whatever. He'd have to be to deal with all the… Shit! I'm kinda spacing out again. I'll just look at the landscape and try to keep my mind blank.' Naruto thought.

A silence fell upon the ninjas and the client as they continued their journey. Naruto, leading the way and looking at his surroundings, was trying to focus on the mission, but it was proving difficult for him. 'Tree… Tree… Bush… Falling leaf…Tree… Bush… Tr- Hey! A squirrel!… Tree… More falling leaves… Leaves… Hmm… Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves… I wonder why the village is called that. I know that forests surround it, but why isn't it called 'the Village Hidden in the Branches' or 'the Village Hidden in the Tree Trunk' or 'the Village Hidden in the Roots'… I guess it's just the way it sounds. 'Village Hidden in the Leaves' does have a nice ring to it… Gah! Focus Naruto!… Tree… Tree… Shrubs… Puddle… Tre- Wait… Puddle? Why does that- Why do I have a small feeling of déjà vu?'

As they continued to walk, passing the completely harmless looking puddle, Naruto paused, staring at it. Kakashi looked at Naruto who was looking at the puddle with a questioning glint in his eye.

"Something wrong, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

Startled from his stare down with the puddle, Naruto looked up at Kakashi and responded, "No, it's nothing." 'It is nothing, right?' Naruto questioned himself.

-Two ninja jumped up from out of the puddle…-

Suddenly, two ninja with marks through their Mist forehead protectors rise from the puddle. The unknown ninjas trapped a surprised Kakashi with the sharp chains from their gauntlets.

-"One down." And a terrified scream is heard…-

"One down," they said as they pulled the chains, killing Kakashi and causing Sakura to scream out in fear and disbelief.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Focusing their attention on the others, the unknown ninjas continued heading towards Tazuna.

-The two ninjas are stuck to a tree by the chains that connect them…-

Sasuke grabbed a kunai and shuriken and ran out in front of the group, throwing the shuriken between the two ninjas, causing them to be pinned to a tree. Enforcing the shuriken, Sasuke threw the kunai at the chain and ran towards the ninja, kicking them apart.

-One of the ninjas sprinted towards Tazuna and the other came towards…-

The chain broke and the two ninjas separated, heading to different targets. One started heading to where Tazuna was standing. Seeing this, Sakura stepped in front of him, ready to protect him. The other ninja headed straight for Naruto, who appeared to be frozen.

'Wh-what the hell is going on? Double vision? No, it's not that. I know what's going to happen a second before it does. No, I see it, I see glimpses of it seconds before it actually happens.' Confused by the random flashes of the future events, Naruto stayed where he was until a vision overlapped with what was currently occurring.

-The ninja came at Naruto…

…The top of his hand was sliced…-

The top of Naruto's hand was cut. 'I was injured?' Naruto thought bewildered. Slightly turning, Naruto saw the enemy ninja turning to look back at him. 'He tried to attack… but I… ducked? I don't remember. I saw a vision of me… but I'm still confused…' Taking a quick look for Sasuke…

-Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of Sakura with his arms outstretched, ready to defend…-

…and saw him in front of Sakura, who was in front of Tazuna. Looking back for the ninja who attacked him, Naruto found the last place were he was to be empty. 'Oh no! Where is he?'

-"Yo!"-

Before the enemy ninja could reach Sasuke, Kakashi stopped him.

"Yo," Kakashi said with a smile, having both enemy ninja in his grasp.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed in relief. "But I thought…" She turned back, along with Sasuke and Naruto, to where she thought Kakashi had died only to see pieces of wood.

-"…Good work Sasuke…

…I didn't expect you to freeze like that, Naruto…

…I wanted to see who they were really after…

…Claws had poison…"-

Looking at the injury on the back of his hand, Naruto tried to get his bearings as the visions caused him to hear an echo and see with something like double vision. 'What is happening?' Naruto thought in a panic.

"… alright?"

"Huh?" Naruto asked as he looked up. Kakashi was kneeling in front of him with thinly veiled concern.

"I asked if you were alright. You weren't responding after I asked about your hand wound. Those claws on the gauntlets were dipped in poison," Kakashi said.

Turning to address Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna, Kakashi said, "We're going to return to Konoha."

"What?" Sakura asked softly.

"Wait! I-" Tazuna started to say but was stopped by Kakashi putting up a hand in a gesture to stop.

"Naruto has been poisoned and this mission is obviously higher than a C-rank," Kakashi said.

-Sticking a kunai in his hand to let the poison bleed out…-

'Should I?' Naruto questioned himself. Half-listening to Tazuna, who trying to explain why the two ninjas were after his life, Naruto grabbed a kunai. 'It is my first mission out of the village and the old drunk, err, bridge builder does need help. Those are two reasons why I don't want to go back to Konoha without successfully completing the mission… I also don't want to be the cause of the mission being a failure… even if it isn't a C-ranked mission anymore. If we go back now, I'm pretty sure that dad wouldn't let me go on another C-ranked mission and I'd be stuck with the D-ranked chores again. If we complete this mission, it'll prove to dad that we can handle the bigger missions.' Naruto angled the kunai above the wound on his hand. He looked at his teammates, his sensei, and the frantic bridge builder. 'Those visions, or whatever they were, caused me to be a liability… I froze and Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei had to save me. I won't let that happen again,' Naruto swore as he brought the kunai down on his wound and turning his hand so that his palm was facing up so that the poison would bleed out of the injury. 'I will protect the bridge builder and complete this mission. The next time an enemy comes I will fight and defend. I swear it on this wound and this kunai!'

Naruto ignored the startled gasp from Sakura and the exclamation of "What the hell are you doing, you idiot?" from Sasuke as he bit down on his lip to prevent any sounds from escaping his mouth and he pulled the kunai out of his hand, watching the contaminated blood flow out of the wound.

"Naruto," Kakashi said in a reprimanding tone of voice. "Why did you do that?"

Kakashi grabbed a roll of gauze from his kunai pouch and took Naruto's injured hand. As he began wrapping the cut, Naruto spoke, "I let the poison bleed out so that we can continue with the mission. We don't need to go back so that I can get medical attention. I'm fine now."

Sighing, Kakashi said, "That wasn't the only reason why we were going to head back. The missions is-"

"Not a C-ranked mission anymore and it's more than likely an A-ranked or a B-ranked. I know. I'm not deaf. I heard you guys talking. But Tazuna needs help and I won't turn my back on those who need help. I want to continue the mission. I know we can do it," Naruto said as Kakashi finished wrapping his hand.

"Naruto's right. I want to continue," Sasuke agreed.

"…I'm with Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun," Sakura said after a moment's hesitation.

Looking at his three genin, Kakashi stood up and sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. "You do know that it will be extremely dangerous." Recieving nods from his genin, Kakashi continued, "It looks like I'm out voted. I suppose we will continue on with the mission. But I am expecting full details out of you, Tazuna. I won't have you put my team in danger again by leaving out important information," Kakashi said as Naruto gave cheer, Sasuke gave a smirk, and Sakura gave a nervous smile. Tazuna, on the other hand, looked a mix between relieved and scared.

Naruto looked at his wrapped hand before catching up to Sasuke who started to lead the group away. Not a few moments after Naruto was walking besides Sasuke, Sasuke spoke, "You know, I never pegged you to be a scaredy cat, idiot. Freezing up like that back there."

"I wasn't scared. I was just waiting for the moment when you would fall flat on your face, which would force me to have to save your ass," Naruto retorted smoothly as he shoved Sasuke away from him.

"Naruto," Kakashi called. "Come here."

"…Sasuke started it," Naruto said pointing at Sasuke. Sasuke rolled his eyes and kept walking. Naruto went over to Kakashi, dragging his feet the whole way.

"I just wanted to tell you that if your father condemns me for allowing this mission to continue, I'm taking you down with me," Kakashi said in a sugary sweet voice.

"What? Why me?" Naruto asked.

"You're the one who convinced your teammates to gang up on me," Kakashi said.

"…You're the jounin sensei. Aren't you supposed to keep us in line?" Naruto asked.

"Probably," Kakashi said before making a shooing motion with his hand at Naruto.

"What?"

"I'm keeping you in line. You can go back to your fight with Sasuke."

"Shouldn't you be saying something along the lines of "Don't fight with Sasuke and pay attention to your surroundings" since we're on a high level mission?" Naruto questioned.

"Now Naruto, didn't you just say that I was the jounin sensei?… You shouldn't question your sensei. But it is nice to know that you have common sense. Most ninjas assume that they should always be paying attention to their surroundings."

"Wha-"

"Hn. Idiot," Sasuke said. "Quit asking stupid questions. It's annoying."

"What was that you bastard?" Naruto exclaimed as he stomped up to Sasuke.

"I'm too old for training kunai. I know how to handle the real things," Kenji complained. "Besides, I thought dad was going to help me."

"I'm sure your father will be home soon, but until then I will help you. And you will be using the training kunai because, while they can still be dangerous, they pose less of a threat."

"But Mom! I can use real kunai better than training kunai," Kenji whined.

"Training kunai are the same as regular kunai; the only difference is that the training kunai are dulled."

"…Fine," Kenji said in a despondent tone, following his mom as she search around the house.

"Did you hide the training kunai?" Kushina asked.

"No."

Kushina gave him a look. "Honest! I swear that I didn't hide them this time," Kenji exclaimed.

"I'm going to assume that you used them last. Where would they be?" Kushina inquired.

"They might be in my room. Or they could be in Naruto-nii-san's room. He helped me train a few months ago. I blackmailed him into it," Kenji said with a bit of pride.

"Kenji," Kushina said with a sigh.

"What?" Kenji asked innocently.

"Why don't you go check your room and I'll go look in Naruto's. Okay?"

"Okay," Kenji said as he walked up the stairs, his mother following up behind him.

Before Kenji walked in his room, Kushina suggested, "Why don't you clean your room up a little while you're looking."

"I can't do both at once. I'm either searching or cleaning, and to be honest, I'd rather search."

"Fine. But you need to clean your room soon before I can't see the floor anymore. As it is, I can only see small sections of your bedroom floor."

"I know where everything is," Kenji said defensively.

"Then do you know where the training kunai are?"

"…Good question," Kenji said before disappearing into his room.

Smiling, Kushina made her way to her oldest son's room. Opening the door, Kushina stepped inside. "At least his room is cleaner than Kenji's," Kushina murmured.

'I don't want to invade his privacy all that much. I hope that if he has them, they are in plain sight,' Kushina thought as she looked around the room, picking up a few items of clothing that were on the floor and putting them into a laundry basket that was in a corner of the room. Going over to Naruto's dresser, she spotted a partially opened drawer with a shirt hanging out of it. Picking up the shirt and folding it, Kushina opened the drawer fully to put the shirt back in. As she was shutting the drawer, something caught her eye. Peeking out from behind the dresser was a small container. 'What's that?' Kushina thought as she bent down to pick it up. 'My concealer?' Kushina thought, shocked. 'It's empty, but definitely my make up. This was my older one, the one I though I misplaced.' Thinking about the new one she recently purchased, Kushina questioned, 'I wonder if he has the one I just bought?'

"Hey mom! Guess what? The training kunai were in my room all along!" Kenji shouted from his room.

Pocketing the empty container, Kushina walked out of Naruto's room. Kenji met her in the hall with the pouch of training kunai in his hands. Ruffling Kenji's hair, Kushina asked, "Do I want to know how messy your room is now?"

"No. Probably not," Kenji said, ducking out from under her hand and racing down the stairs. "Hurry up, mom!"

"I'm coming," she called, walking down the stairs at an unhurried pace. "Go on out, I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay!" Kenji said.

Making a detour to the living room, Kushina picked up Naomi out of her playpen. "Were you having fun, sweetie?" Kushina asked in a baby voice.

"Ma ma ma ma ma," Naomi chanted.

"We have to go help your brother and watch him train," Kushina said as she walked with Naomi in her arms. Making her way out to the backyard, Kushina saw her son already throwing kunai at the practice targets. Sitting down on the back porch with Naomi on her lap, she thought about the empty container in her pocket. 'Why did Naruto have this? I'll have to see if he has the one I just recently bought.'

"Did you see that? I totally nailed five bulls eyes in a row!" Kenji exclaimed excitedly.

"Great job!" Kushina responded, smiling. "Keep up the good work!"

'I'll talk to Naruto when he gets back from his mission.' Kushina thought, watching Kenji gather up the kunai he threw.

AN: Again, sorry for the delay. My life has been really busy. I tried to make it longer than I usually do but I see that it's not that much longer. I also apologize in advance for any spelling or grammar mistakes I've made. Anyway, please Review and tell me what you think.