Chapter 1
Maria groaned, slowly waking. Part of her wanted to just close her eyes and go back to sleep. Ok, all of her wanted to, but she knew she couldn't miss a single day of work unless completely necessary.
"Damn it all…" she whined, dragging herself out of bed. Even with the blinds pulled closed, the desert sun illuminated her tiny room. She stumbled blearily over to her closet, pulling the double wooden doors open. She looked at her clothes, and after some deliberation, she choose one of her favorite outfits. It was simple: tan cargo pants with deep pockets at the knees and a black leather belt with a few kunai attached to it (for emergency). Also, she wore a pale blue v-neck shirt with a long sleeved fishnet shirt under it. To finish the look, Maria tied her long brown hair into a ponytail with her headband tight around her forehead. Satisfied, she waked out of her room to the small kitchen part of her apartment. She ate quickly, then pulled on her combat books and left.
"Shit," Maria murmured. Late again. She picked up the pace to a run, knowing full well if she was late to the hospital again, she'd be in sooo much trouble. Even though it was morning, Suna was full of life and heat. Maria dodged through crowds, turning corners quickly. When people saw her coming, most had the sense to move out of the way. Maria was well liked in the village, but she had a strong reputation due to her unfortunate luck of always running into things. Or people.
Maria was an odd ninja. Outside a fight, she was clumsy and tended to rush into stuff. Even during a battle, she wasn't an expert fighter. But there was one thing she excelled at: medical jutsus. She was only 17 and already one of the most qualified doctors in the world. But, she'd never really been close to anyone. Sure, people liked her, but no one had ever known her to have any close friends or boyfriends. Not that guys hadn't always tried to win her affections, due to her beauty, but she'd always gently turned them down.
Maria silently cheered as she saw the tall medical building down the street. She made it! In all her happiness and self-congratulating, she failed to notice a final obstacle in her way. With and OOF! Maria slammed into something hard.
"Hey!" yelped a voice. Make that a someone. Maria hit the ground with a solid thunk. She struggled to her feet, only to find herself staring at a very unhappy Kankuro.
"Oh my gosh! Sorry!" squeaked Maria.
"Watch where you're going before you seriously hurt someone!" complained the puppet master.
"Are you okay?" she asked, ignoring his grumpy attitude. He gave her his normal cocky, flirty smile.
"Of course. I'm used to girls throwing themselves at me, but never this literally," he smirked. Maria rolled her eyes.
"Wow. How amazingly original. You think of that yourself?"
He grinned and said, "Calm down beautiful."
Maria was used to Kankuro's naturally confident nature. He acted that way around almost every girl in the town. Unlike most girls though, she didn't respond with flirting of her own, or those insufferable giggles. It's not that she denied that he was extremely attractive; she just didn't feel the need to try and impress him. Unlike other people though, she was committed to the belief he wasn't just a flirty guy who tries to get in a girl's pants.
"Where you headed?" he asked. Maria sighed.
"Hospital. Work, work, work," she responded. Kankuro nodded in agreement.
"Aw man… running out of time! Well not that I didn't have fun, but I need to head off," Maria said. Kankuro nodded his goodbye as she trotted into the building.
That's the end of chapter one. I'm always open to suggestions and insults. In my opinion anything people say will help me improve. But, if you just dislike everything, there's no need to be overly judgmental. Please comment and review and I'll do my best to keep writing and I'll try to answer any questions people ask with the next chapter!
Love,
Wolfe13