This story is now given new life. I thank semperxsomniare of deviantart, and Opal kunoichi, Hiroakki, and December Silentvalefor helping me. To know if it's fixed chapter, look for the name December Silentvale when I thank who helped me.
"I spy with my little eye something-"
"Shachi! If it's another tree, I will freeze your mouth shut."
"Both of you be quiet. Why can't you be like Ren? You better not act like this when we get to Konoha. You're going there to represent our village. I expect better from you if you ever want to become Chunin." Their sensei scolded them.
"Yes, Sensei." Her teammates compiled.
"Don't worry. We'll be there soon. By the time we get there at the pace we're going, we'll have a week before the exams start." He said.
The others nodded as they continued their trek through the forest of the Land of Fire. You'd think with a name like the Land of Fire, there wouldn't be so many trees. They were huge! Ren sighed as she couldn't help but feel a little homesick from it all. It had already been two days since they left the boat and moved on foot. Sighing again, she looked over at her sensei and teammates.
Her sensei was none other than Ao. Ao was calm, prideful, stern man and was described as the epitome of a stereotypical masculine individual. He believed that men should be tough and decisive. He was a middle aged man with blue hair which is styled in a moused-up manner. His left eye was blue and his right eye was covered with an eye-patch. His Kirigakure's headband in the standard spot. He wore a talisman in each ear with the kanji for a humble form of "to hear" written on them twice on each side. He also wore the standard striped, grey suit, with a green haori that had white trimmings that stop halfway down, over them.
Her teammates were Shachi and Sakuya.
Shachi was a shinobi from the Hidden Mist Village. He's an aspiring rookie swordsman who trained to become a new member of the Seven Deadly Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. He was described as a goofball with a strange sense of having fun, such as turning a game of tag to a game of Predator vs Prey. Probably due to the village they lived it, nicknamed the Blood Mist village. Despite that, Shachi was quite reliable when needed to be. His reasons for joining the Swordsmen of the Mist was that he had a grudge towards them for giving themselves bad names and reputations as heartless warriors, so he decided to redeem the Mist Swordsmen, especially his aunt Ameyuri, who was his inspiration to become a swordsman, by creating a new generation alongside his friend Chojuro. His theme was a killer whale.
He had dark blue hair that's layered, slightly spiky and slicked back, going just below his shoulders. On the sides, he had some hair parted from the rest and tied with bandages. And had cerulean eyes. He also had pointed, shark-like teeth. His shirt was white with a black belt with a small blue gourd attached for water. His holster, which he used to carry his sword, was black and wore his forehead protector around his neck. He wore ninja sandals, a kunai holder on his right leg, and black pants.
Sakuya was a kunoichi from the Hidden Mist Village. She was the number one rookie kunoichi during her time in the Mist Village Academy and was considered to be the most popular. She was rumored to be a bit violent towards those she deems as annoying or enemy ninja, but mostly towards delinquents. If Ren were to describe her, it would be blunt, serious and collected with an intolerance to nonsensical situations or people. She was generally cold towards those around her, but slowly became softer to others, starting with her friends. Sakuya was a master of Ice Release.
Sakuya wore the standard ninja sandals, kunai holder on her right leg, fishnet stocking with black shorts. She wore a black turtleneck without sleeves under a white kimono that had light blue trimmings. Her left sleeve loose and flowing. The right just coming under her elbow and forming a cuff. At her wrist were white bandages and above it was a light blue tattoo of the kanji symbol for 'Ice'. Around her waist was a long green plain obi. Like their sensei, she wore her headband on her forehead. She had brown hair that went down a little below her waist and tied in a low ponytail and dark eyes.
"Ao-sensei. What will happen once we get there?" Ren asked.
"After we check-in at the front gate, I'll head to the Hokage tower. Meanwhile, the three of you can take a look around. Just try to keep a low profile. We don't want the competition knowing too much about us. Looks like the gate is just up ahead." Ao answered.
All three genin looked ahead. Just as he said, before them was the walled in secret ninja village of the Land of Fire. It was a massive wall said to have been made by the first Hokage. The red wood was old but still stood tall, sturdy, and proud. The gate leading into the village was wide open for visitors. The green doors had writing on it and above was a sign reading Konohagakure and their symbol.
They slowed down their approach, now on the final stretch of their journey. They walked up to the gate and saw only two men standing guard. Didn't this village have better protection than this? Especially with the Chunin exams approaching?
Of the guards one had brown hair, and dark eyes. His hair was combed down and always covered his right eye. He wore his forehead protector like a bandanna along with the standard Konoha shinobi outfit which went all the way up to his chin, and a flak jacket. His partner had long, spiky, black hair and dark eyes. He had a strip of bandage running across the bridge of his nose and a light-colored marking on his chin. He wore the standard attire of a Konoha shinobi complete with a forehead protector and a flak jacket.
Once Ao stated their business to the guards, he dismissed them to go and explore the village, but reminded them not to get into trouble and keep a low profile. Reminding them also once they were done to head to the hotel before dark. If he had to come find them, he told them it wouldn't be pleasant.
Walking through the village, the three of them explored the village, it had a totally different atmosphere. It was carefree and not as...blood thirsty as their home. Perfect weather. As they walked, they heard the sound of running and screaming. Looking at one another, they all nodded before going to investigate.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
It grew quiet as Konahamaru fell and looked up to see who or what he has suddenly collided with in his rush to get away from the scary girl.
Towering above him was obviously a guy, though they had never seen someone like him around before. He wore a black, baggy, full body suit with a red and yellow circle on the front and divided in half. He also wore a black hood which covered his head completely, and had cat-like ears and his forehead protector on his forehead. Further showing he wasn't from Konoha. Sporting a triangular face-paint design. There was something on his back that looked like a mummy with it's hair poking out. Despite the cat ears that might have made a less menacing appearance, the sneer certainly made up for it.
"Do you need something?" The black clothed boy asked, clearly irritated.
Next to him was a slightly older girl, had teal eyes and sandy blonde hair, which is gathered into four consecutive pigtails. Her outfit consisted of a single light purple-colored, off-the-shoulders garment that extended to halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. In addition to incorporating fishnet worn over her shoulders and legs, specifically on her right calf and her left thigh, she also wore her black forehead protector around her neck. There was something strapped to her back.
The others had stopped when they saw what happened. Sakura's anger already forgotten.
Without a word the older boy grabbed Konohamaru by his shirt. "So, does this hurt, punk?" He questioned with a grin.
"Put him down, Kankuro, or you know you'll pay for it later." The girl warned him as she looked around, as if she was worried something was coming after them. Though she didn't lift a finger to stop the boy.
"Hey, I'm sorry. The whole thing was my fault." Sakura said, quickly trying to defuse the tense situation. This was going to get ugly if nothing was done. She slightly trembled as she watched the two and worried for Konohamaru. Even if he did call her names, he didn't deserve whatever that boy was planning. She couldn't help but wonder who they were.
"You better take your hands off him right now!" Naruto demanded. No one treated his little dispel like that.
The boy huffed, finding something about all this amusing. "We've got a few minutes before he gets here. Let's mess with these punks, huh?" The boy asked his companion.
Konohamaru groaned as he dangled in the hold of his captor. Finally kicking him as he yelled. "Let go of me, you jerk!"
"You're feisty, but not for long..." The boy said as he gripped Konohamaru's shirt tighter and causing the little boy pain.
Naruto was beside himself in rage. His fury like fire through his veins. Demanding action to be done to protect Konohamaru from this jerk. "Put him down!" He yelled as he charged at the boy.
The boy chuckled at this and fully opened his eyes as he watched the furious blond come at him. With his free hand, with merely the twitch or two of his fingers, Naruto feet were pulled out from underneath him, sending him toppling to the ground, and spiraled flat on his back.
"What the... What was that?!" Naruto as she quickly looked back up at his opponent, mind scrambling to figure out what just happened. Sweating slightly in fear that he was in a little over his head.
"You're a Leaf Genin, too? Looks like your village is full of wimps." The boy mocked them.
Sakura stayed silent where she was as Konohamaru's teammates stood beside their boss as he was still recovered from the shock.
"Konohamaru!" They cried out worried.
"Hey, cut it out! It hurts!" He cried.
Naruto got over his shock and jumped back on to his feet. "That's it! Drop him now or I take you apart! You got that, fool?"
Sakura came up behind him and placed him in a choke hold. "You're the fool! Making threats isn't going to help, Naruto!" She scolded.
"You're annoying, all of you." The boy with the cat ears told them as his free hand began to form a first. "I don't like runts or any other scrawny weaklings. So when a wimp like this starts shooting off his mouth, I just wanna break them in half."
Naruto and Sakura gasped and stared with expressions of horror, who would do something like that to a innocent kid?
Konohamaru's friends whimpered and began to cry.
The girl with the four pigtails sighed at her teammates actions. Not impressed with him or the others reactions. Probably agreeing with her teammate that the others were just wimps. "Fine. I'm not involved in any of this, okay?"
"First, I'll take care of this little squirt, then I'll waste the other one." The boy said as he pulled back his fist and got ready to punch Konohamaru's lights out.
"No!" Naruto yelled as he charged once again. However, this wasn't needed as without a clear cause, the cat boy dropped Konohamaru. Eliciting a cry small cry of pain from the boy at suddenly being dropped. The cat boy himself was clutching his hand that he had used to hold Konohamaru hostage.
What had happened? Grunting, he let out a "Huh?" as he heard a sound of something hitting the ground and looked down to see a pebble.
He soon heard the sound of another pebble being tossed in the air and caught again and turned his head until he found the source of the sound and the pain currently in his hand. Only to find a boy sitting in a nearby tree.
He had black eyes and spiky black hair with a blue tint. His hair was hung over his face as bangs. The back for some reason stuck up like the back end of a duck. He wore a navy blue, short-sleeved shirt with a high collar, and white shorts.
His teammates recognized him as Sasuke.
"You're a long way from home, and you're way out of your league." Sasuke said as he continued to catch the pebble.
"Sasuke!" Sakura cried out in glee.
The cat boy was silent as he sized up this newcomer and his teammate smiled and blushed.
Naruto groans at seeing his rival, once again making him look bad.
"Naruto!" Konahamaru yelled as he rushed back to his boss's side and away from the scary cat man.
"Oh, great. Another wimp to tick me off." The cat boy complained.
Sasuke stops tossing the pebble and crushes in his hand, saying "Get lost." as he releases the dust that once was the pebble.
Sakura and Konohamaru's teammates gushed at him acting so cool, while Naruto was upset and Konohamaru cried. Asking his boss why he wasn't as cool and Naruto assuring his he could have done it easy, getting angry Sasuke made him look bad again.
"Hey, punk. Get down here." The cat boy ordered as Sasuke just glared at him. Ticking off the cat boy even more. "You're the kind of pesky little snot I hate the most. All attitude and nothing to back it up."
He said as he pulled the strap around his arm and pulled the bundle off his back and set it down beside him. His teammate watched in shock and began to question him.
"What? You're going to use the Crow for this?"
The cat boy didn't answer and even if he was it would have been interrupted.
Suddenly, a massive sword appeared, right in front of the black clothed boy. Everyone looked around for where the sword could have possibly come from, Naruto being the first to spot the one who had thrown it.
Up in a tree to the right of the one where Sasuke sat was a team of three. Crouching in the center, was a boy with dark blue hair and a big smirk full of what looked nearly like shark teeth, who clearly was the owner of the sword. On either side of him were two girls. One on the right stood with long brown hair and a kimono style outfit in white and light blue. The other one on the right was sitting cross-legged with a solitary, but disapproving look on her face.
She had sky blue hair with bangs and a small braid on her left side. The rest of her hair was pulled back a little in a small ponytail and the rest was loose as it flowed like water down to her hips. She had fair skin, hazel brown eyes and oval earrings that nearly blended into her hair if they hadn't seen them shine a little. She had a simple pendant necklace with a blue stone. Around her waist, she had a brown belt with a small gourd. Like her teammates, she had a kunai holder on her right leg, and a pair of ninja sandals. She wore teal blue pants and a green shirt under a long brown coat with a hood and that didn't seem to have any buttons or zipper. Just two pieces of string to keep it slightly closed. On her wrists, slightly covered by her jacket, were wristbands with her village symbol.
"MORE of them?" The cat boy nearly whined, before sneering. "Fine! I'll take care of all of you with this!" Gripping the object his teammate called the Crow.
"ICE RELEASE!" The brunette yelled.
In a flash, the brown haired girl shot ice at the boy's hand. Upon making contact, the ice quickly spread from his hand to the mummified object, freezing them together.
"What the heck?!" He cried as he tried to get it off.
Naruto and his teammates all looked to the girl with various expressions of shock.
"She can use ice like Haku!" Naruto commented.
The bluenette haired girl's black eyes flashed to look at Naruto. A questioning look replacing the disapproving look on her face.
'How does he know Haku?' The girl thought.
Kankuro glared at the newcomers and with a little maneuvering and force, he broke free of the ice. "It doesn't matter how many of you there are. I'll take you all down, you wimps!" He yelled at them.
"Kankuro. Back off." A low cold voice ordered, coming from the other side of the tree, opposite of the branch Sasuke was sitting on. Ren saw Sasuke stiffen as they all look to see who else came out to play. Ren noticed the boy who had spoken had good chakra control as he stood upside-down from a branch that was above Sasuke's with his arms crossed. He was also very stealthy for none of them to notice, even with all the noise the cat boy was making.
The boy had fair skin, turquoise eyes, and short auburn hair that was spiky. He lacked distinctive pupils or eyebrows and had black rings around his eyes, the kanji for "love" on the left side of his forehead, which his hair is parted in order for it to be kept visible. Ren wondered if it was a tattoo. He wore a black body suit with an open neck, t-shirt-like sleeves, and almost full-length leggings. With this, he wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips. He had a wide leather band from his left shoulder to his right hip with which he carried a larger gourd than the ones the other team of three carried and around which he wrapped his forehead protector. Showing he was from the same village as cat boy, now known as Kankuro, and his female teammate.
"You're an embarrassment to our village." The boy with flaming hair continued.
Ren wondered if this was the 'he' the girl was so worried about coming back.
The others thought these words were probably harsh from the way they gasped. Ren had to agree with him though. Kankuro was picking a meaningless fight with a child that couldn't even be ten yet.
Kankuro looked like he was about to break into a nervous sweat when he looked up into the tree and saw his teammate. Nervously smiled as he greeted him. "Uh. Um. H-Hey, Gaara."
The redhead, now know as Gaara, just looked at Kankuro without a word. Glancing at Sasuke before looking back at Kankuro to scold him further. "Have you forgotten the reason we came all the way here?"
Kankuro quickly returned the mysterious Crow back to his back as he tried to make excuses. "I know, I-I mean they challenged us. They started the whole thing, really. See, here's what happened-" Kankuro stumbled over his words. His tone was far more respectful that the way he talked to Naruto or anyone else.
Was it respect or fear that caused this. Gaara had to be younger than Kankuro by at least a few years.
"Shut up..." Gaara ordered.
Kankuro really began breaking into a nervous sweat for real. Gulping in fear.
"...or I'll kill you!" Gaara finished with a dark gravely voice that promised Kankuro a world of hurt. Narrowing his eyes at the older boy.
Kankuro was practically cowering in his fear as an obvious fake smile attempted to hide this and his cold fear. Defeated by mere words and pure intimidation.
"Ah, right. I was totally out of line. I'm, I'm sorry Gaara. I was totally out of line." Kankuro swiftly agreed.
Gaara turned his head to address the others. "I'm sorry, for any trouble he caused." he apologized. Almost as if Kankuro was his cat that was loose in someone's house making a mess.
"That's alright." Ren accepted the apology as she stood up in the tree on the opposite side of the street from him. "It was a misunderstanding. Sorry for temporarily freezing your teammate's hand."
"Sakuya, that guy got Ren to speak." The blue haired boy exclaimed with a smirk. Subsequently introducing both girls to everyone else.
"Pretty strange, isn't it, Shachi?" The brunette, now known as Sakuya, replied to her teammate. Wondering all the while how that strange red-haired boy got their shy, quiet friend to talk. Much less without a stutter at first.
Ren's attention was fully focused on Gaara. There was something unusual about him, especially how he was so easily able to get up on that tree without any of them noticing. He, on the other hand, was more focused on Sasuke, Shachi, and Sakuya who all revealed some of their abilities. To him, they seemed like worthy opponents, and that's all he cared about. After a few moments, he disintegrated into sand and reappeared in front of Temari and Kankuro, his back to the Leaf shinobi.
"Let's go. We didn't come here to play games." Gaara coldly told his teammates.
Kankuro, still very afraid of the now known sand user, answered immediately. "A-Alright… sure… I get it…"
The shinobi of the sand then began walking way, Gaara in front with Kankuro and the girl following a few paces behind on either side. Giving their leader space.
"We should get going, too, " Shachi said to his two female teammates. The two nodded and the three of jumped down from the tree to retrieve his sword that he threw earlier. It was still imbedded in the ground. After giving it a hug, Shachi quickly sheathed his sword.
Before any of them could get far, annoying high pitched voice called out to them. "Hold on!"
Ren's team were polite enough to stop and faced the owner of the voice, Sakura. She had ran a little ahead of her group to address them. However, Gaara's team didn't look like they had any intention to stop. This made Sakura insist further, with a louder voice. "Hey!"
This time, she was able to get their attention, as they all stopped in their tracks. They kept their backs to them as the girl answered her with annoyance in her voice. "What?"
"I can tell from your headband that you come from the Village Hidden in the Sand. And you," she diverted her gaze to Shachi, "You and your teammates come from the Village Hidden in the Mist."
"I see you've studied your geography," Shachi answered her mockingly, which earned him a glare from Sakura.
"I know that the we're allies, but no shinobi is allowed in another's village without permission." Sakura said, slightly beginning to act all superior to them.
Ren, Sakuya, and Shachi looked at each other in disbelief. Was this girl trying to pick a fight? That didn't stop Sakura from continuing what she had to say. "So state your purpose, and it better be good!"
It was silent before Sakuya broke the silence. "You may be smart academically, but you're really rude, you know that?"
"Huh?" Sakura asked.
"We went out of our way to help you out when it looked like you were in trouble and you haven't even thanked us. Here you are interrogating us. That's just rude. Are all Leaf shinobi as rude and ignorant of what's going on in your own village as you or what?" Sakuya asked, mocking her.
Sakura gritted her teeth in rage before the sand girl interrupted.
All three of the Sand Shinobi turned to look at Sakura. The girl that spoke before, who seemed to have taken responsibility for answering Sakura's constant questions, answered once again. The annoyance from before wasn't fading a bit from her voice as it was now laced with disbelief. "Really… Have you guys been living under a rock or what? You don't know what's going on, do you?" The girl then took out her ninja identification passport and Chunin admission pass. "We have permission. Of course you're correct, we are Hidden Sand genin, our home is the Land of the Wind, and we're here for the Chunin Exams. Get the picture?"
"Well, she pretty much explained why we're here, too," Shachi said to no one in particular. He then turned to Sakura. "Except that we're from the Hidden Mist, the Land of Water."
The blond haired boy looked as confused as ever, even from the beginning of the encounter,."The Chunin Exams? What's that?"
"You gotta be kidding me..." Sakuya sighed in exasperation. Ren was pretty curious about that blonde boy. He knew Haku. How? She didn't know, but she wanted to find out. It had been some time since she had heard anything from him. She had gone to the Land of Waves before coming here since that was were the last letter had come from. Only to find his and his master's graves.
"Well, I never heard of any Chunin Exams, believe it." The boy continued.
The girl scoffed in amusement at his ignorance and even threw in a mocking chuckle. "I believe it alright… That you're totally clueless."
Ren let out a small giggle that only her teammates noticed. She was surprising them more and more today. First she talked to a total stranger, and now she giggled?
The kids that were with Naruto explained to him what the Chunin Exams were all about, telling him that every genin needed to take these exams to become full-fledged chunin. "Oh! Well, why didn't you say so? I am so there!"
That last remark made Gaara snicker as he figured now that they answered Sakura's question, she would leave them alone. Without a word, he turned and began walking away with his teammate in tow. Just then, Sasuke, who was still up in the tree, came down and called out to them. "Hey, you, identify yourself!"
Ren wasn't sure which one he was addressing and apparently, so did the girl of the Sand Shinobi. Turning around with a smile and a light blush, a complete one-eighty in her personality from what they had seen earlier, she asked. "Hm? You mean me?"
"No, him," Sasuke pointed to Gaara, "the guy with the gourd on his back."
The girl turned back to look at Gaara as he turned around, and looked at Sasuke. "My name is Gaara of the Desert. I'm curious about you, too. Who are you?"
"I am Sasuke Uchiha." He answered.
Ren could feel a breeze blowing as the two started at each other.
"Gaara…" Ren whispered quietly under her breath. She didn't think it was loud, but apparently, Gaara heard it, since he looked her way. Breaking eye contact with Sasuke. They both kept eye contact for a few seconds, before he broke it and looked at her two teammates.
"I'm actually curious about the Hidden Mist team, as well." He said, his tone telling he was expecting an answer.
"What if we don't feel like giving you our names?" Shachi said to Gaara, trying to put up a tough front.
"I'm Ren. This is Shachi, and this is Sakuya." Ren answered as she pointed out her teammates to Gaara before her teammates could process what was happening. They were both speechless at how much more upfront Ren had gotten with that Sand Shinobi.
There was a moment of silence, filled with a lot of tension, that followed the short introductions. Ren didn't take her eyes off Gaara. Him, on the other hand, returned to having a staring contest with the Uchiha boy.
"Hi there! I bet you're dying to know my name, right?" Naruto asked, breaking the tension in the air.
Gaara blinked at the loud and obnoxious blond and answered, "I couldn't care less." Completely uninterested.
A quiet voice then said, "...I...want to know."
All of them looked to see Ren who had spoken. He teammates amazed and shocked. How was she so talkative today? Did someone kidnap her and use a genjutsu to take her place?
The blond boy's eyes widen and he grinned widely at her as if she just made his day. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, believe it!" He introduced himself.
"Uzumaki? You don't look like one. But then again, you could still be descended from one." Shachi said.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"You don't even know your own clan's history? The Uzumaki Clan were once a prominent clan in Uzushiogakure. They shared a distant blood relation with the Senju clan. Through the years, the Uzumaki and Senju kept close ties, with members at times marrying between clans, as with Hashirama Senju, the founder and the first Hokage, and Mito Uzumaki. Following the founding of Konohagakure at the end of the Warring States Period, the Senju chose to symbolize their clans' friendship by adding the Uzumaki's emblem to Konoha's flak jackets."
"Konoha and the Uzumaki's own Uzushiogakure remained close allies over the following decades, with the Uzumaki's providing fūinjutsu, among other things, to Konoha whenever there was a need. The Uzumaki's were most famed for their fūinjutsu, their skill with fūinjutsu earned them both respect and fear throughout the ninja world. However, some time ago, some of the world's nations banded together to destroy Uzushiogakure, believing the village was too powerful to be allowed to continue. The survivors of Uzushio's destruction went into hiding and spread throughout the world. Red hair was a common trait amongst Uzumaki clan members. That's why Shachi said you don't really look like one." Sakuya explained.
Naruto was in awe of this information. He didn't think he was a part of something as cool as that. There were the times he was curious about his parents. This information made him feel just a little closer to them.
"...Do you...think...we could meet up later? I...have something...I...want to ask you. Is there...a place...we could...meet up?" Ren asked, gaining Naruto's attention.
This caught Sakura's and Sasuke's attention. Why would this girl want to spend time with Naruto of all people? Why the sudden interest?
Her teammates getting freaked out. Sure she was acting shy like she normally would, but she hating talking to new people and avoided it. Why was she going out of her way to talk to this boy.
"Um...Sure. Oh! I know the perfect place! Ichiraku Ramen is the best! I go there all the time! Since you're new to town, you have to try it!" Naruto said, ranting about how great the place was.
Gaara got bored of this and without another word, he and his teammates left.
Shachi also was getting tired as Naruto went into ranting about the different ramen he liked. "Let's go girls, we need to find the place we're staying at." He said to his two teammates.
"Yeah," Sakuya relied. "let's go, Ren."
As they got further from the group of Leaf shinobi, the others began to question Ren and she started talking more openly to her teammates.
"How come you've become so talkative all of a sudden, anyway?" Shachi suspiciously questioned his teammate.
"Don't tell us you asked him to meet you because you wanted to go on a date with him." Sakuya joked.
"I was simply wondering who he was, and how he knows Haku. And no, I don't want to date him. I need to know what happened to him. That Uzumaki boy might be my only clue." Ren said.
"I'm wondering the same thing, Ren," Sakuya replied to her.
"Besides," Ren looked down, "they're interesting."
Shachi looked confused and not really convinced at Ren's answer. "I guess..."
"Enough useless talk, and let's just find that hotel that's supposed to accommodate all the contestants of the chunin exams," Sakuya said, while looking at the directions on her chunin pass.
"I guess we should hurry," Shachi sighed, "apparently we're supposed to check in for the first exam in a few hours. Plus, Sensei will get mad if we aren't there when he arrives. It'll only be worse if he finds out we were nearly in a fight."
Without saying anything more, they all focused on finding the place where they'll be staying at.
Later, after finding a place, and settling down, Ren was just finishing her tea when the team's sensei, Aoi, walked in. He gave her a rare smile when he saw her.
"Ren, could you do me a favor and give this letter to the Hokage?" Ao asked as he handed it to her.
Taking it, Ren answered, "Sure sensei." Shrugging a bit.
Walking the streets of Konoha, Ren kept her eyes open for the ramen stand. After she delivered the letter, she entertained the thought of going there and seeing if Naruto was there and getting some answers. As she entered the Hokage's office, she noticed the three siblings from before. They sat in the waiting room, seemingly bored. She walked over to the Jonin by the door. The guard glared at Ren coldly. She made herself comfortable on one of the chairs by the three siblings.
She noticed how Kankuro kept glancing her way. It made her slightly uncomfortable. If he had something to say, he should come out and say it, instead of just staring. After a while, he finally opened his mouth. "So you're really from the Village Hidden in the Mist, huh?"
Ren simply nodded in affirmation to his question. She didn't even turn her head his way. Anyone would be able to tell that she is from the wristbands that had her village symbol on them. She preferred wearing those instead of the usual headbands. Was he trying to start a conversation with such an obvious question? For Kankuro, it certainly beat sitting there for hours, not saying or doing a single thing.
"Not much of a talker are you…" Kankuro sighed.
Ren didn't give any reaction to that statement. She was just glad he found out about that so that he'd leave her alone.
"Man, how long do we have to wait to get in there?" Kankuro started whining.
Temari scoffed. "Quit your complaining. It won't do any good in this situation."
This whole time, Gaara was quietly observing the girl with the icy blue hair. She was an odd one. She didn't seem like the type to answer people, but, for some reason, she had answered him two times, almost immediately. Would she do that a third time?
"You've come to see the Hokage?" Gaara slowly asked her. His siblings were awed by his sudden interest in someone else's business. He wasn't usually like that.
Ren answered him, just like she did twice before that day. "Yes, I have something to deliver."
Even though her replies were brief, it was a considerable effort for her to actually respond to someone she practically didn't know.
After an hour of waiting, many jonin left the Hokage's office and the three sand shinobi got up and went in the Hokage's office, leaving Ren alone in the hall. Quite frankly, she enjoyed her moment of solitude.
She looked down at the letter in her hand and though back to just before they had left the Village Hidden in the Mist. Ao-sensei's team was the only team from the Mist to actually come this time around to the Chunin exams.
The current Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure. She had never really knew her Mizukage until they were getting ready to leave for Konoha via a boat. She remembered him coming to speak with them personally.
She had been told the Misukage was a young adult, though rather short for his age. When she got a real good look at him, she noticed he had short, messy, grey hair, which fell over the right side of his face and spiked up on the left. He also had pink, pupiless eyes and what seemed to be a stitch-like scar running from under his left eye, all the way down his cheek. His attire included a grey, sleeveless shirt with the Kiri forehead protector attached to the front, as well as a short-sleeved mesh armour, which he wore a green poncho. He also wore a turquoise sash around his waist, paired with a matching green apron over his pants and a pair of brown boots. Along with it, he would carry a club with uneven sized hooks, which bared a green flower on the larger end.
His words echoed in her mind. 'You are the only team that seems to have a decent chance of survival. The Chunin Exams are brutal and will test you in a number of ways. Ao-sensei believes you are ready and you already qualify. As the only ones going, I want you to be on your best behavior. You are not just representing yourselves, but more importantly, your village. Do not let your sensei's expectations be for nothing. I expect at least one of you making it to the final round. If you die during the exam, you will forever be a disgrace to the village. Show them what the Blood Mist is capable of.'
She shivered at the memory. The Chunin Exams were important to show the strength of the village and get more noble customers.
That moment of reminiscing was broken, however, when a lot more foreign ninja came to the hall, also waiting to see the Hokage. Some were alone, and others were with their teams. Ren figured they were all here for the same reason as her: delivering the letter of admission for the Chunin Exams. It was a procedure used to find out just which shinobi of those registered were able to make it, and who was missing, or simply decided not to take the exams.
It was also good to scope out the other competitors. A few minutes later, the sand siblings come out of the Hokage's office. As they left, Ren noticed Gaara catching a quick glance her way. She then got into the Hokage's office and delivered the letter Ao-sensei entrusted to her.
After her Kage meeting, the Hokage was an interesting experience. He reminded her some of the other people in her village. He had an air of wisdom about him, but other than that, overall seemed like an ordinary, tired old man who had seen a lot in his life and it drained him. He wore the Kage robes with the word fire on the hat and was in red. His is skin was slightly tan, his hair is grey, his face was gaunt, and he has the wrinkles and liver spots of old age. He had a single line running vertically under the outer corners of each eye, which stretched down into his face until they reached his cheeks.
After handing over the letter with a bow, Ren left and seeing she had some free time, headed off to look for the Ichiraku Ramen to meet up with Naruto. Upon finding it, she found herself liking the quaint and homey feeling it gave off. She was relieved to see Naruto was already there, but she was surprised at the bowls he had already got through. Three already done and working on a fourth. He certainly loved ramen.
Sitting down at the barstool beside him, Ren stared at him so he would notice her. Any good ninja would notice someone right beside them staring at them. After five minutes of Naruto totally being absorbed in eating, Ren sighed and poked him in the shoulder.
"Huh?" He said as a noodle stuck out of his lips as he slurped it in. Upon recognizing her, Naruto smiled.
"Hey! You're one of the girls from earlier! The one who wanted to know my name! Glad to see you came here to eat too! What are you getting?" He talked loudly.
Ren sighed at his loud behavior and turning away, she was silent as she looked at the menu. Normally she didn't like being around loud people, preferring silence and solitude, but this was important. Seeing her options she pointed to first to the Seafood Ramen with extra shrimp and a side of shrimp tempura.
"Seafood Ramen with extra shrimp and a side of shrimp tempura?" Naruto asked. He was confused at her quiet behavior, but thinking back he remembered how her teammates were shocked she was talking to that Gaara guy. Even when she was talking to him, it was hesitant and shy.
After seeing her nod, Naruto smiled brightly and relayed what she wanted to Teuchi to get her order for her.
Ren gave him a slight smile at his antics before quickly removing it from her face. She really liked this village. The way everyone here seemed so cheerful and peaceful. The cook was kind to her even though she was from a different village. Even the Hokage seemed like a nice old man though she knew perfectly well that he wasn't Hokage for nothing. Despite his age, she knew he was skilled.
It was interesting to walk around and notice the differences between the two villages. Sure, people were wary of her, but overall they were polite to her and her teammates. The Mist village wasn't as sunny and friendly. It was like the mist that always enveloped it. Mysterious, silent, hostile. She hated the name, "Blood Mist Village", wishing those days would be over.
She never spoke these thoughts out loud. It would be a direct insult to her Kage and how he ran things around their village. Treachery was unacceptable in the Mist. There was sadly quite a handful of reasons they had ninja deflecting and becoming missing-nin. And then there was the fact that they had some of the best hunter-nin to deal with them.
She hated the name her village had and it's brutal ways. A part of her understood why Haku's master tried to kill the Mizukage and wanted to take over. That was one of the reasons she never ratted them out, even though it put herself in danger if it was ever found out.
She was interrupted from her musing as the chef handed her the food she ordered and she immediately dug in after mumbling her thanks and opening up her chopsticks.
"So, ah, Ren, wasn't it? Why did you want to know my name and meet up with me?" Naruto asked.
Slurping her food, she paused and mumbled. "...Haku."
"Huh?" Naruto asked surprised.
"Haku...You said his name earlier...He had long black hair, pale skin and large, dark-brown eyes, and a slender frame. Easily mistaken for a girl...Ring any bells?" Ren asked.
"Um...Well...Um..." Naruto started, sweating as he wondered how this girl knew Haku. He said he didn't have any family.
"He wore the standard Kirigakure pinstriped outfit which stopped at his knees. Over this, he wore a green haori with white trimmings, and around his waist a brown sash with a fringed trail wrapped around his waist twice. He also wore light-brown platoon sandals with straps in the same color as his kimono and nail polish on his fingernails and toenails in matching blue green color. When wearing this outfit, Haku's long hair was gathered in a white bun holder, while two locks of his hair fell loose framing his face, bound with metal hair cuffs at the ends. Haku also wore a black forehead protector with the Kirigakure's symbol upon it. When in battle or moving covertly, he wore a hunter-nin mask on top of his forehead protector, which was white with thin, curved eye-holes and a red wavy design in place of the mouth, as well as the Kirigakure symbol etched in the top." Ren said without pausing, giving Naruto a full description of what the boy looked like.
"If you didn't meet his wearing that he might have been wearing his long hair loosely, and wore a pink, sleeveless kimono, with pale red edges and decorated with small plum-colored swirls, that went to his ankles. Around his waist was a simple white obi tied in a bow, and he wore a pair of light brown sandals with dark straps. He also wore a dark-colored choker around his neck. Now...Do you know him or not?" Ren asked impatient for an answer.
"Yeah...During my teams mission outside the village we went to the Land of Waves. We were hired to protect old man Tanuza, the bridge builder and stay with him until the bridge was complete. This guy named...um...Gato...He hired Zabuza Momochi and Haku to kill Tanuza. A lot happened and in the final fight between those two and us, Haku jumped right in front of Zabuza and was killed. Before he died, he grabbed Kakashi's arm, hoping that in death he would be useful to Zabuza in defeating his opponent. Zabuza thanked him, and tried to cut through his body to kill Kakashi, but Kakashi was able to pull away from the attack."
"When Gatō arrived soon afterwards, he chose to end his contract with Zabuza. That teme! He had the nerve to kick Haku! In a final act of repentance, Zabuza killed Gatō, at the cost of his own life. As he died from the injuries given to him by Gatō's men, Zabuza asked to be beside Haku in death, and asked if they could go to the same afterlife together. After that, we gave them a proper burial. How do you know him?" Naruto asked sad from the story.
Ren was silent as she absorbed this information. Tears building in her eyes. Shocking Naruto.
"He was my...cousin...I've never...inherited the Kekkei Genkai like Haku had...thankfully. Otherwise...We wouldn't...have been able to live in...Kirigakure. His mother and...my mother...were sisters. Sakuya...is from the Land of Snow...It's not unusual for them to have ice natures or...Kekkei Genkai with ice." Ren explained before facing Naruto and bowing in her seat.
"Thank you...for giving...Haku and Zubuza…a proper burial...Haku and I...often exchanged letters...I didn't...receive a letter... from him for a while...I went to the Land of Waves...I found their graves...Most would have left them to rot...Thank you..." Ren said with tears in her eyes. "It's good to...know what happened to them..."
"Don't mention it..." Naruto said. "Um...You're not going to seek revenge for what happened are you?!" Naruto asked worried.
Ren sat up and wiping away her tears shook her head. "No...Death...is part of the Shinobi life...Haku...was a pure soul...he died protecting...what was important to him...From...what you told me...he probably died happy...You gave him... proper burials... I...only have gratitude towards you...and your team..." Ren said as she finished her meal and placed some money for her meal.
"Thank you...for telling me...Farewell...Naruto Uzumaki..." Ren said as she bowed and headed back to the hotel.
Not going far from the ramen stand, Ren saw a Hyūga girl about her age. Possessing the Byakugan, She had the singature featureless white eyes with tinges of lavender. She had dark blue hair that she kept in a hime-cut which was short, kept just above her forehead with chin-length strands framing her face. She wore a cream-colored hooded-jacket with a fire symbol on the upper sleeves and fur around the cuffs and hem. Along with this, she wore navy blue pants and kept her forehead protector around her neck.
When the girl noticed Ren looking at her, the girl blushed and stuttered.
"Um...Sorry! I wasn't watching you or anything...I-I was just..." The girl stuttered.
"Name..." Ren said.
The girl quickly understanding. "Hinata Hyuga! Um...I was...wondering why...a ninja of another village...was talking to Naruto...I-It wasn't a date was it?"
Though it didn't show on her face, Ren mentally face palmed. A stalking shy fangirl.
"Nothing happened. It wasn't a date. I just wanted to ask him some questions." Ren said in a bored tone. "If you want him to notice you...just give him free ramen...it's all he talks about..." she advised her as she walked off.
Hinata watched the Kiri-nin leave, realizing she didn't get the girl's name. She was relieved she wasn't interested in Naruto. But Hinata couldn't help but feel that girl was lonely in a way. It reminded her of Naruto in a quieter way.
Back at the hotel, Ren looked up on the roof to see Gaara up on the roof. Seeing him notice her, she waved at him and went inside. Gaara watching her every move.