"Kuso." The curse escaped a pair of parted lips as a frustrated whisper. "She's late." The brown haired male eyed the elder men before him. He gave them a smile, and allowed a nervous chuckle to escape his throat. "Eh-heh." He raised a hand and idly placed it behind his head. "I am terribly sorry about this, Honorable Elders... It is not like her to be late. She is usually more than prompt, if not early." The man let his hand fall lazily back to his side. "Perhaps she was needed elsewhere...?" That lone question seemed to stir the elder men to life.

"Nonsense," replied the man in the center. "I am sure nothing is more important to this girl than meeting with the Elders of Konohagakure." The man sighed heavily. "Ever since the fourth Hokage was killed three years ago, we have had difficulty in ascertaining peace for our village. ...Tsunade is at a loss of what to do. I am beginning to doubt her ability to lead Konoha." A solemn expression creased the elderly man's already wrinkled features. "Iruka, we need the girl's help." He outstretched a hand towards the rice-paper door. "Now go. We will wait all day if we must."

Iruka sighed and bowed before the group of elderly gentlemen. He then lifted his head, allowing his brown eyes to fall upon the man in the center. "Hai, Danzo-sama." The tone of Iruka's voice betrayed his embarrassment. "I will go and find her at once." With that, the Chuunin excused himself, and exited the room.

Iruka broke out into a full-blown run once safely outside of the building.

"Kiara!" he exclaimed. "Kiara! Where are you?! I need you at the ninja academy right now!" Iruka stopped upon reaching a break in the trees. Kuso, he thought. Just when I need her, she goes missing on me! The man paled at the mere thought of having to return to Danzo and the other Elders empty-handed. No! He shook his head vigorously. I will not fail them! Iruka raised a clenched fist, as if preparing to speak a dramatic declaration of love. "I will not give up until I find her!"

The male darted off again, this time heading towards the nearest visible body of water. Danzo and the others had not spoke of why they needed Kiara. The girl was a talented Chuunin, and a valuable member of the ANBU Black Ops, but that still did not erase the fact that her weaknesses greatly overcompensated for her strengths. However, the Elders still desired her for something. Iruka was not certain what that particular something was, and that disturbed him greatly. He felt like an ostracized member of society. It were as if others were keeping a great, overbearing secret from him. Besides, Kiara had once been his student... He did not particularly like the idea of something negative happening to her, let alone any of his students. ...But it was too late for that, wasn't it? Everyone in Konoha had already been through so much suffering, and Iruka believed it impossible for them to experience any more heartache...

The man came to a sudden and abrupt stop as the voice of a young woman reached his ears. It was gentle and calm, yet it betrayed an odd sense of urgency.

"One...two...three.."

Iruka blinked and took a step forward. He called out into the dense foliage, halfway expecting an answer. "Kiara?"

Again the voice spoke, but this time it was a shout; the cry of an attack. "EARTH SHATTERING NO JUTSU!"

Iruka narrowed his eyes, and jumped upwards as the ground beneath him cracked and split apart. The jutsu had been incredibly powerful, to say the least. Had Iruka not jumped, the ground would have overtaken him. ...Just as quickly as the earth had split apart, however, it folded back together. It were as if the attack had never occurred in the first place. Iruka sighed as he felt the ground safely beneath him once more. The calm and gentle voice of a young teenaged female, an incredibly Earth-based jutsu, the counting... Yes, there was no longer any doubt within Iruka's mind. The individual he had heard was, indeed, Hotodasuke Kiara.

Mere moments passed before the dense foliage in front of Iruka rustled. A slender, lightly tanned hand reached out from behind the thicket of brush, and pulled back the gnarled branches. It was not long before the slender figure of a young female revealed itself from behind the leaves. A long black dress clung tightly to the female's lean frame, revealing a fair amount of cleavage. Two elongated slits ran upwards on either side of the dress and ended at her thighs, revealing the tight black pants she wore underneath. A pair of black open-toed sandals adorned her feet, whereas a glistening Konohagakure headband rested upon the top of her head. Straight, golden tresses cascaded to her waist, leaving two long bangs to fall down either side of her face.

The teenager stepped through the thicket of branches, allowing them to snap shut behind her. She appeared to be no more than fifteen years in age, and in this case one could trust the estimated guess made upon her age. The girl's sparkling emerald gaze fell upon Iruka, who was in front of her within moments.

"Oh... Ohayo, Iruka-sensei." The girl yawned and stretched. "You look worried...Is something wrong?"

Iruka crossed his arms over his chest. "You were supposed to meet with the Elders this morning, Kiara! You have kept them waiting!"

The girl instantly paled. "G-gomen nasai, Iruka-sensei! I did not mean to...That I-"

Iruka raised a hand to silence the Chuunin. Then: "You were practicing your jutsus again?"

Kiara's emerald gaze shifted back to the thicket of gnarled branches. She nodded. "Hai." A soft smile tugged at the girl's lips as she closed her eyes and inclined her head to the side. "Practice makes perfect, and besides..." She opened her eyes and shifted her head back to its correct position. "...you can never be too careful."

Iruka sighed. The girl spent much of her free time practicing that she rarely had time for other activities. To say Kiara was dedicated to being a ninja would be a grave understatement. Though Kiara was extremely talented, Iruka could not help but worry for her. After all, the main reason Kiara practiced her jutsus so much was so that she would be able to increase the speed at which she executed her hand signs. The girl was highly skilled with ninjutsu as well as long distance attacks, but not much of that mattered if she did not have the speed to perform her jutsus. One good thing, however, did come about as a result of Kiara's below average speed. The strength and power of her jutsus were incredible. Iruka often mused to himself that that was the reason why Kiara was sought out to become a member of ANBU Black Ops.

"-ka-sensei! Iruka-sensei!"

The man shook his head. "Gomen, Kiara. What is it you were saying?"

The girl frowned. A small sigh slipped past her delicate lips. "Nevermind," she replied. "Let's go..." Kiara strode past the older male, but stopped abruptly and glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. "I have no wish of making the Elders wait for me any longer than they already have."