Hello! This is my first fanfiction being posted to this site, I really hope you enjoy it. ;o

Of course, I do no not own Naruto, Kishimoto does, except for my characters, Toshiko, Nanaki, Masaru, Houfu and Kamiku.


"Norimoto…"

Pause..

"Norimoto."

Another pause.

SLAM! "Norimoto!"

I shot up in my seat, large round glasses clattering to the table. "Don't eat that frog!"

I heard chuckles from around the room; all my vision showed me was a big, fat blur of tans and browns. From what I could tell the room was large and round, with a massive circular table in the middle of it. I felt my face heat up as I realized where I was.

Did I really fall asleep during the Council meeting? I fumbled for my glasses and slid them over my nose. Yura, a member across from me at the table, was standing up with his hands flat on the hard surface. So that's what woke me up…

"Norimoto, I expected better of you. This had better not happen again." An older woman whose name I had not cared to remember spoke near Yura. She obviously had some major standing in the Council, as a single look had Yura back in his seat and calm. "We were discussing the possible candidates for the position of Kazekage. Your opinion is needed on the matter…"

I cleared my throat, trying to will the blood away from my cheeks, and pushed my glasses farther up the bridge of my nose. "Well… From the files I have read on our ninja, I have deduced that none are currently up to par for the position of Kazekage."

Glancing around the room, I noticed the others looked doubtful. Why they were doubtful, I had no idea. They all knew I had read through every single file on the Sunagakure ninja, from the recently graduated Genin to the sealed files of the ANBU, even the files on the fools around me.

"You said none were currently up to par… Who would you recommend in the future?" Another voice spoke to the left of me. I looked down, fumbling with the fabric of my ninja outfit.

A few seconds passed.

"Well?" They were all looking at me expectantly now.

"… Sbu n Ra…" I mumbled, my gaze still pointed downward. "What?" Yura was tapping his fingers on the table, annoyed with the situation in the room.

With a small intake of breath, I looked up, looking at them all before speaking once again.

"Sabaku no Gaara."

"Pfffft-ahahahaaha!" The room burst into laughter. One or two of the younger ones even fell off their chairs. "Norimoto Toshiko! T-There's no possible way that boy would be able to become the Kazekage!" The older woman from before had tears in her eyes from laughing. Wiping the liquid from her eyes, she tapped a gavel on a small platform on the table. "The Council meeting is adjourned. You may go home."

I growled and stomped my feet out of the room, slamming the door behind me. They could at least take my opinion on the matter with a little more respect. In fact, my choice of Kazekage candidate was the only logical choice. Sabaku no Gaara might've had blood smeared on his file, but after Sunagakure's illogical invasion on Konohagakure, his misbehavior had all but stopped.

In fact, there were notes that he had actually tried helping around the village. Though the villagers were most likely scared out of their wits, it's the thought that counts, right?

My mind was elsewhere while I was walking around the village. Specifically, I was thinking about how nice it would be to punch Yura in the gut a few times. I was jolted from my thoughts when I bumped into something, or someone.

It turned out to be the latter. "Oh, Toshi-chan! We were just looking for you." Actually, it was one of my former teammates from my Genin years. Kaneyama Nanaki was the young Chunin weapons specialist. Slightly obsessive with pointy objects, her focus was on beating her opponents with brawn instead of brain. She has told me that many children from the Academy used to call her an "air-head." Until, of course, she pummeled them into the ground.

Nana-chan, as I call her, was an average looking young woman of 15, a year older older than I. She had long black hair to the middle of her back tied at the nape of her neck and shoulder length bangs. Her green eyes reminded me of emeralds. Nanaki's current ninja outfit consisted of a red bandana hitai-ate and red booty shorts. A tan, large belly shirt hung off one of her shoulders and a matching two pieced skirt hung to her mid-thighs. She had bandages down just past her elbows, as well as from her ankles to just under her knees and covering her stomach. She had left her two sais and three scrolls that often hung off her belt at home.

Next to her was our much taller teammate called Akawa Masaru. The shy and reserved member of our former team, he often stayed with Nanaki or I while out in public. He was average in both intelligence and power, evening out our team perfectly, though I'm sure he has improved in both since we last went on a mission together.

The girls following Masa-kun around and sending him glances full of admiration proved he was considered extremely handsome. Though it doesn't surprise me he has those fan-girls when he walks around with his flak-jacket unzipped and no shirt underneath. He had a white sash around his hips and typical blue ninja pants. His spiky carrot colored hair and deep grey eyes made him look much more flamboyant than he actually was. Four shuriken holsters adorned his body, one on each arm and each thigh. The males of his clan that have proven themselves all have a black goatee-like square tattoo on their chins, one of which he had.

I didn't consider myself as interesting as the two before me. I was Norimoto Toshiko, the smart but incredibly weak member of the team. I had shoulder-length hair with some of it up in a high ponytail, the color of which I called "gamboge," or a dirty blond. I hid my blue eyes with thick round glasses; without the clunky things I wouldn't be able to see a thing.

I wore a dark aquamarine short-sleeve wrap dress that fell to my mid thighs with black shorts underneath. A red sash held the dress closed. Under the sash was a brown leather belt with four water canteens, two on each side, connected to it. I had a red hitai-ate around my neck and brown fingerless gloves. Underneath all of it was a fishnet body suit ending at just below my elbows as well as my knees. In a fit of rebelliousness a few years ago, I gave myself two piercings in my bottom lip against my father's wishes. I have apologized for the action, but kept the piercings, as I grew fond of them.

"So~? How'd the Council meeting go?" Nanaki waggled her eyebrows at me, curiousness in her eyes. "There's a rumor going around that they were supposed to nominate for the Kazekage position!"

I sighed. "Sorry, Nana-chan. I was asleep through most of it. I didn't hear who was nominated." "WHAT?" Suddenly, I was being shaken by the shoulders by none other than Nanaki. "Toshi-chan, how could you do this to me?"

"Nanaki, you should stop shaking Toshiko…" Masaru placed his large hand on Nanaki's shoulder for her to stop. I caught my breath and held my head to wait for my vision to stop vibrating. "Did you nominate someone, Toshiko?" At least Masaru could be polite about asking for information.

Pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose, I spoke. "I nominated Gaara." Surprisingly, Nanaki didn't say anything for a few seconds. Masaru raised an eyebrow, surprised, but he seemed to understand why I nominated the Jinchuriki. Nanaki busted up laughing, just as the other Council members had done not long ago.

I glared. "Nanaki, someday you will understand the power that Gaara has. At the moment, however, I do not have the time to explain it to you. Father is expecting me at home." I nodded to the two as a goodbye, Nanaki still trying to hold in her bouts of laughter, and went on my way.

If an average civilian looked at the home I lived in, they would never be able to guess that a royal family lived within its walls. My father was the brother of the current Daimyo. Nowhere near as fat as his kin, Norimoto Houfu was thin and handsome, with crow's feet at his eyes and creases at the corners of his mouth from smiling so much. He had shaggy black hair and a short beard. I inherited his blue eyes and smile.

My mother, Norimoto Kamiku, had brilliant golden hair, much more beautiful than mine, and lavender eyes. She was of average build, perhaps a bit chubby from living a life of relaxation, but a beauty none-the-less. Most of my appearance had been given to me by her, though at a much more dulled and average shade.

Opening the front door, I called to my family. "Mother! Father! I'm home!" I kicked off my shoes and skipped towards the kitchen, the smell of dinner tickling my nose. "Welcome home, Toshiko." Mother smiled at me as she made rice and some sort of other delicious smelling part of the meal. "Your father is in the study. I'm sure he'd appreciate a visit from his daughter. I'll yell when dinner is ready."

"Thank you, Mother." I pecked her quickly on the cheek and stumbled up the stairs to my father's study. I knocked. A small "Come in." allowed my entrance. My father's study was full of many books and scrolls of every kind. An entire wall was covered from floor to ceiling with documents. He was currently reading a scroll on his desk, a small lamp illuminating the parchment.

"I'm home, Father." He turned to me with a smile. "Ah, Toshiko. My incredibly successful daughter whom I am so proud of." His smile widened. "How did the Council meeting go today?"

My face fell. I really didn't want to get laughed at again. "I really don't want to talk about it, Father…" I shuffled my feet.

He chuckled softly. "You know how fast word travels to this household, Toshiko. But, I understand. No matter what, I trust my daughter's judgment." He stood and lightly pinched my cheek. I was used to the act of love, so I didn't complain. "Good luck with the Jinchuriki. I'll see you at dinner. Now go figure out what you're going to do with that boy."

I smiled big. "Thank you, Father." I kissed him on the cheek and left him to his studies. Figuring out what to do with the Jinchuriki boy was easy enough. Getting him to agree was a whole other challenge.

It could wait until morning.


Well, there's the first chapter! I'd really appreciate a few reviews. c: Thanks for reading!