Straining her neck as she stood, Karui clenched her fists and paced the room. Konoha's record vault was undamaged in the wake of Akatsuki's attack, but despite the loss in manpower they still kept the team from Kumogakure under watchful guard.
"Oi Samui," Omoi's fatigue was starting to creep into his voice, soon he'd be whining, "How much longer are we going to do this?"
"We're done initial research on Sasuke, the Uchiha Clan, and the missions of Team 7, but we still have to see what files Konoha has on Akatsuki, Orochimaru, and prepare a brief on Danzo before we can report back to Raikage-Sama." Samui shifted in her seat and closed the scroll she was looking at. "We sent off an eagle telling of our arrival in Konoha and how we're starting our investigation into Bee's attackers. Likely we'll get a reply in the next day or two with rendezvous information."
"I'm going out for a bit. Either of you two want anything?" Karui paused for a moment as Samui waved her off, Omoi started saying something about Fries that she chose to ignore. One of the guards shadowed her until she was out of the security zone, after that it was the usual guards in town keeping an eye on her.
'Some rich, tall, popular hottie might come onto me, you never know.' Her words came back to her, joking around with Omoi on their way to Konoha. The way things were in Konoha, the last thing on her mind was romance. People were struggling to get their lives back to normal after the attack. Rubble was still being cleared, survivors were still being found, those who survived took refuge in crude shelters and tents on the outskirts of their city living among the trees which gave their village its name.
Walking out of the gate, it surprised Karui that the general mood was not a somber one but a happy one. When she had first arrived she had seen children crying as their parents cleaned through wreckage to find personal belongings. The mood was much different now. Along what was once the main road were stalls set up with food, clothes, supplies, and even games. To be truthful, it looked more like a Summer festival than a refugee camp.
Passing the stalls, Karui picked up a quick snack as she moved along. While she knew she should get back to work at the Archives, for some reason she kept moving. A bit of human empathy moved her. Akatsuki had made two attacks against Kumogakure, but while Lord Bee's life was currently at risk, neither attack had done quite so much damage to the city as was done to Konoha. A sign indicated that the hospital was nearby, stealing a peek down the lane, Karui recognized a blond haired boy through a tent and quickly walked in the other direction. She felt her ears get warm from anger, frustration, and a hint of embarrassment.
In short order, she was out in the forest surrounding the village. Calming down, she took a moment to appreciate the nature that surrounded her, but it was only a moment. She was being followed. It wasn't the same guards who had kept tabs on her inside the city; this one had started tracking her only recently.
One of the things Karui liked best about her outfit was the lack of sleeves. In addition to being good for her Kenjutsu, it lulled other nin into a false sense of security just because she didn't have a kunai hidden by her hands. Yet between the folds in her skirt and vest, she had plenty of tools at her disposal in places others didn't expect.
Deciding to give her follower a chance to back out, she called out to the otherwise empty forest, "If you're keeping tabs on me for your Hokage, fine, but you're supposed to keep your distance. If that's not the case, then you'd best step off."
After a lack of response, she continued walking until she reached a good spot for a preemptive ambush. The one following her had reached a grove of trees that would be hard to maneuver between. A quick kunai throw behind her got her tail to dodge in just the right direction. Jumping backwards, she spun and took the feet out from under the young man who had been on her heels. Pulling out a second kunai she pushed his back into a tree and sat on top of him for leverage.
"I told you to step… off."
Her kunai almost at his throat, Karui was surprised at how close their faces had gotten from the brief skirmish. His face was red, and as Karui sat back she realized that in addition to the heat flushing on his face, there was a red mark on each of his cheeks.
Leaning back, she took a seat on the grass a few feet away from the young man. Straightening her hair, she didn't want to seem flustered, so she broke the silence, "I did tell you to back off. It is neither proper nor wise to ignore a kunoichi's warning like that."
"You don't have to tell me that. I've crossed my mother once and found that out the hard way, only once though." He chuckled and ran his hand through his brown hair as he righted himself. "Truth be told I was following you to ask you something, but I guess I was a little intimidated."
That comment threw her off a little. "Intimidated? I'm not that scary looking am I?" Just because she had a way of making Omoi nervous all the time didn't concern her, relatives are supposed to get under each other's skin. But a total stranger now said she made him nervous, that was somewhat unsettling.
"Well I was with my friend in the medical tent and he saw you passing by. He gave a little yelp and said that you were the one who beat him up." Standing up, he cracked his knuckles and waved off in the distance. Out the corner of her eye Karui noticed a shadow move in the forest as it drew farther back.
"Oh the blondie." Righting herself, Karui smoothed out her skirt and resumed walking, knowing her tail was right behind her. "I've never seen anyone ask for a beating before, but who was I to refuse him the request?"
He quickened his pace to catch up with her. "Wait, wait, wait… You mean Naruto asked you to beat him up?" The forest began to thin out as they reached a meadow marked by a single fence.
"Cross my heart, I don't lie about stuff like that. The only thing brutal about me… other than my fists," she motioned a punch to the air in front of her, "is my honest streak."
"Hot damn. I wish I had been there to see that." The grin on his face seemed unreal.
"Wait, you wish you had been there to see your friend get beat up?" Karui paused for a moment to analyze the smile on this boy's face. Sure enough she had missed the fact that his teeth were almost fangs. Turning her head she saw the shadow on the edge of the glade and realized it was a ninken. From what she knew of Ninken users in Kumogakure, she remembered there was a Clan of them in Konoha as well. It took her a moment to remember the name, Inuzuka.
"Sure, he's my friend and all but I've always wanted to beat him in a fight, ever since I lost to him in the Chuunin exams 3 years ago."
"Well your friend has guts, but no brains, that's for sure."
Taking a seat on the fence, the boy zipped down his leather jacket and smiled. "I'm Kiba, Inuzuka Kiba."
"Karui of the Hidden Cloud."
"It is a pleasure to meet you Karui. Say, are you hungry?" Giving out a whistle, the ninken from the edge of the woods started running in their direction. "There's a nice little stall that grills the best meat you've ever had. It'll be my treat." As the ninken arrived, he patted it on the head. It was bigger than she had thought an impressive breed. "This guy's Akamaru."
"Well if it's your treat." As they started walking back, Karui found herself exchanging a few side glances with Kiba. Sure enough he was taller than she was, offered to buy dinner, and he wasn't that bad looking either. It might have been a bit of a rough start, but she was interested to see where this was going.