Prologue

1 year ago...

At one of Konoha's many training grounds, four of Konoha's shinobi are practicing.

One, the oldest member of the group, is a Jonin of near ANBU level skill. The other three, all born in the same year, are all Genin. Each of the Genin is training separately, while their Jonin sensei offers criticism and suggestions for improvement. A boy, the eldest of the three Genin, works on his jutsus, which he is not particularly fond of using, nor is he very good with them. A girl, the youngest of the three, practices her taijutsu against wooden training dummies, taijutsu being her specialty, though she is competent enough in other areas of combat. The third, a girl, works to improve her ability with her clan's favored fighting style.

The eldest boy stops practicing, and turns to the Jonin. "Sensei... Why do I have to do these pointless exercises? I already know how to do these things..."

The youngest girl pulls herself away from her training. "Do not complain, as it will help you become that much stronger, Daisuke. Just look at myself, or Yuuna. We practice, and either of us can take you down any time. Right Yuuna?" She turns to look at the other girl as she asks her question.

Yuuna, however, does not even so much as turn to look at her teammates, let alone speak, she just continues practicing.

The older girl waits for an answer, but after a moment, decides she isn't going to get one, so she turns back to the boy. "You see, Daisuke, if you showed more spirit, like Yuuna, and just did as you were told for once, you might see how it can benefit you."

"Well, maybe if I could get an answer from the person I actually ask a question without you giving me your opinion first, maybe I'd learn to see how other people think, and I wouldn't need to ask questions. Then I would do as I was told more often."

The Jonin was used to having these two fight about things. Regardless of circumstances, they'd find something to fight about. He usually let them argue for a while before resolving the issue. He stepped between his two fighting students to separate them. "Daisuke, Naoko, stop bickering. Daisuke, these exercises aren't pointless. Even though you may not like using jutsus, you still have to learn to use them. It is likely your opponent will use jutsus and if you can't use them, how will you know how to fight against them?"

"Aww... But Sensei... Jutsus are so boring..."

"You think jutsus are boring? Yuuna, please come over here. I have a demonstration I would like to make. Daisuke, have you ever seen a summoning jutsu?"

3 days ago...

Immediately upon returning from their week long mission, one team of shinobi makes their way to the office of the Hokage.

The Jonin steps forward. "Hokage-sama, Team 12, reporting a successful mission."

The Hokage glances up from some paperwork. "Well done Kazuki-san. Currently, there are no missions available for your team. The four of you have the next two days off. Dismissed."

"Hai, Hokage-sama"

The four members of team 12 left the building, each glad they had two days off. Before they split up and went their separate ways, Kazuki said he wished to speak with them. "Naoko, keep working on improving your speed, try using more weight while you train. I've noticed your taijutsu has been steadily declining in speed during training. Yuuna, I suggest you get someone from your family to help you work on your fighting style. I don't particularly know much about it, so I can't be of much help, but from what I've seen previously, it seems to be getting a little sloppy. Daisuke, it's only two days, so don't get into too much trouble, alright?"

Naoko and Yuuna nodded their agreement. Daisuke just grinned. The four of them walked off in their separate directions, as each had plans of their own.

The previous day...

Naoko, Daisuke, and Yuuna made their way to the Hokage's office. They had been called in for an emergency meeting. All three waited outside the doors to the Hokage's office, waiting for their sensei to show up, expecting the meeting to be something about a mission. One of the Hokage's assistants saw them waiting and told them to go in, and that they didn't need to wait for their sensei.

Naoko was first into the office, followed closely by Daisuke. Yuuna made her way in more slowly, not feeling any particular need to rush, as her teammates did.

Naoko spoke up first, eager to be sent on a mission. "Hokage-sama, you called us in?"

"Hai. I have some... rather unpleasant news for you three. I had sent Kazuki out in a four man squad of Jonin on an A-ranked mission two days ago. Earlier today, one of the members of his team returned to report on the mission. Naoko, Yuuna, Daisuke... Kazuki was killed along with two of the other members of his squad. That is all I needed to say."

The three Genin were stunned by the news. They all left the office silently. On their way out of the building, Daisuke saw that his two teammates were on the verge of tears. "Naoko... Yuuna... Kazuki may not be here anymore, but... but we still need to be strong. Naoko, remember when we were fighting over whether it was okay to be angry at someone for something they did, even if their intentions were right? When he broke us apart, remember what he said to us? 'A shinobi needs to conceal emotion at times, but needs to let them out at other times. It takes a wise shinobi to know when to show emotion and when to hide it. It takes a strong shinobi to show or hide emotion when you know you should, but don't want to. In a situation like the one you two were arguing over, the question isn't whether you should you be angry, the question is should you show your anger.' Well, I think now is one of the times we need to hide our emotion, we need to be strong."

Naoko stared at Daisuke for a moment before wiping the tears out of her eyes. She smiled slightly at Daisuke. "You're right. For once, you're actually right."

Yuuna also wiped the tears from her eyes and put her usual emotionless expression back in place. "The idiot actually made sense for once."

Present day...

A distressed Jonin burst into the Hokage's office. "Hokage-sama! Three shinobi have gone missing!"

"What? Who are they?"

The Jonin looked away for a moment. Unsure of an easier way to break the news, he spoke quietly when he responded. "The three Genin that were students to the now deceased Jonin, Kazuki. Hyuuga Yuuna, Yamanashi Naoko, and Ehime Daisuke."