KankuroxOC

Part 1:

"So." Fern questioned the boy in all black as he stood up, putting her feet up on the desk in front of her so he couldn't pass. "What's in the sack?"

The boy looked at the girl, puzzled by the way she smirked at him. She was obviously a leaf ninja, probably around the same age as him. Her shorter hair was tied back into a ponytail, all but her bangs that fell in her face, and her headband was tied around her head like a headband. Her eyes were a deep green, and they looked at him with a curiosity. He also noticed the little golden leaf charm that hung on a necklace around her neck.

This had been the girl Kankuro had sat by during the written part of the chunnin exam today. He had noticed that she had filled out the whole paper without any signs of cheating, which meant she had to be pretty smart or sneaky.

"Why does it matter?" He questioned back, smiling. He knew Gaara and Temari were waiting for him, and they didn't like waiting. But he couldn't help but be a little curious about this girl and what she had to say.

"I'm curious." Fern answered with a shrug. "How about we make this into a little bet?" Fern was always curious, she knew it was a weakness of hers, along with all the bets and games she created with her friends. But hey, they always kept her life interesting. And that's what she thought of this boy from the sand village, very interesting.

"A game?" He asked, a new look forming on his face. Well, this girl was full of surprises.

"A game." She repeated, laughing as she jumped down from the desk she was sitting on. "I'll take a guess at what's in your little sack, and if I get it right I win. If I don't, you win." She looked up at him; he was only a couple of inches taller than him, and smiled.

"Okay, sounds fair." Kankuro agreed, smiling down at her. He had never met a girl as mysterious as her; he couldn't help but have an interest in her. Who knows, maybe this game would help him get to know her better. "What does the winner get?"

"Hmm, that's a good question." Fern replied, and she paused to think about it. "How about this? Loser has to buy the winner dinner." Fern already knew she was going to win, so why not get a free dinner out of it?

"Interesting." Kankuro stated, chucking. How could he lose? This girl had never met a puppet master; there were none in the Leaf Village. Even if she was well read on other villages, the odds were in his favor. Plus, he'd get a dinner with her if he won or lost. Seemed worth it to him to take this bet. "I accept."

"Yay!" Fern instantly brightened up when he said that, and he found that insanely attractive. "So, since we may as well drag this on and let the suspense build up, I'll write my guess on a piece of paper. Then, I'll give it to you, but you can't look at it. Whenever I see you use your weapon, you can pull the piece of paper out and see that I've won."

Kankuro nodded as she reached over and grabbed a pencil off her desk. He could tell this girl was good at tricks like this, he would be careful around her so she wouldn't end up tricking him. Tearing a corner off her test, she quickly scribbled down her guess and folded it up.

"Kankuro, what are you still doing in here?" Tamari's voice ran out, and the two looked up to see Temari and Gaara reenter the room. The two glared at Fern, but she didn't seem to notice or care.

"Don't lose it." Fern told Kankuro as she handed him the folded up piece of paper. With a nod, she turned and started walking towards the door where the other two were.

"Wait!" Kankuro called out when she had reached the top of the stairs. "What's your name?"

"Sorry, I forgot about that." She replied, laughing. "I'm Fern, you?"

"Kankuro." Kankuro answered.

"See you around then." Fern called out, and with a little wave, she turned around and bounded out of the room, ignoring Temari and Gaara.

Once she was gone, Kankuro slid the piece of paper in his most secure pocket, determined not to lose it.

"What was that all about?" Temari questioned as he walked up to join his two siblings.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." Kankuro told her, shrugging it off.

"Let's get back to the hotel." Gaara told them, sounding frustrated. Both quickly agreed, and then walked out of the room back into the hallway.

A little ways down, they could see Fern walking by herself.

"Fern!" They heard a voice cry out, and saw two boys run up to her. "Where have you been?" Kankuro guessed they were her teammates, but he still watched her.

"I just had a little something to take care of, no big deal." She explained, smirking.

"Don't tell me you were causing more trouble." The second boy glared at her.

She just laughed that off. "Come on, we passed the first part of the exam today, we should be celebrating! Let's go get ice cream or something." She told them.

That seemed to calm the boy's worries, and they agreed. With that, the three bounded out of the building and took off down the road.

Kankuro thought back to the paper as they walked down the unfamiliar village on the way back to their room. He was so temped to read it, but he knew that wouldn't be fair. As much as he wanted to, he seemed to be unable to. Maybe he just wanted the suspense and thrill this game from a mysterious girl would bring.