"You're late, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled as soon as he saw his teacher.

"Hmm? Oh, yes… I got lost on the path called life," Kakashi responded nonchalantly, barely even glancing up from the latest issue of the Make-Out series.

"Do you really expect us to believe that?" Sakura asked.

"Yes… Did I miss anything?"

"No. They haven't arrived yet."

"See? All that fuss and they aren't even here."

"That's not the point."

"Oh, well."

All of the shinobi of Konohagakure had assembled outside the gates to welcome a group of ninja from Kagegakure, the Village Hidden in Shadow. Kagegakure was a small village, and was considered unimportant politically. However, its leader had recently filed a request to hold a tournament in Konoha, and Lady Tsunade graciously accepted.

The leader of Kagegakure, who was called the Kageshukun (Or Shadow Lord) by the inhabitants, said that he wished to test the best shinobi and, to insure that Tsunade would accept, he made a very interesting offer. The village that produced the strongest shinobi would be able to recruit any ninja from one of the competing villages. Tsunade sent invitations to every Hidden Village, but only Sunagakure decided to accept. Since village leaders could not compete, Kankuro and Temari would be the only ones competing.

The Sand ninja had already arrived, and now everybody was waiting for the Shadow ninja. They were supposedly sending just two shinobi, which was fairly surprising considering the fact that Kagegakure was not known to produce exceptionally strong shinobi. In fact, Tsunade was originally expecting them to send at least five. Since they were only sending two, Tsunade had to hold a smaller tournament to determine which two shinobi from Konoha would be competing, as having more than two would give Konoha an unfair advantage.

"They're here!" somebody shouted as two people appeared in the distance.

Yusaski was a few feet in front of Amber. He wore a standard shinobi outfit with a dark gray vest. A black mask covered his face and concealed his eyes. A katana was strapped to his side. His shoulder-length black hair hung loosely and moved with the slightest breeze.

Amber wore an outfit exactly like Yusaski, but she did not have a mask or a katana. Her long black hair was tied in a ponytail. She tried to keep up with Yusaski, but he always kept the same amount of distance between them. Finally, she managed to get to his side and stay there.

"Why are you wearing that mask again?" Amber asked.

"I don't want my identity known," Yusaski replied coldly.

"Who would recognize you? It's not like you've ever been here before."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand."

They sank back into silence. A few moments later, Konoha came into sight and the two heard somebody shout, "They're here!"

Tsunade was the first one to speak to the Shadow ninja. The woman introduced herself first.

"I am Amber Katake and this is Yusaski-"

"Just Yusaski," the man interrupted.

"Well, Amber, Yusaski, welcome to the Village Hidden in the Leaves," Tsunade said, ignoring the fact that Yusaski refused to give more than his surname.

The Shadow ninja were welcomed like family. The men of the village were fascinated by Amber's beauty and immediately began offering her tours of the village. Kakashi, who showed little interest, was the one who got to do the honors. Yusaski, on the other hand, spent most of his time in his lodgings in the Hokage's mansion.

The tournament wasn't going to start for another month, since Kakashi and Guy, Konoha's competitors, needed time to recover.

Amber spent her time with Kakashi. After he had shown her the village, they discovered that they had a lot in common. They both loved the Make-Out series and they both had a horrible sense of time.

After a week of solitude, Yusaski finally started to wander around the village. He eventually forged a relationship with the Hyuga clan, impressing them with his knowledge of their clan and its prestigious history. He explained to them that he had met a Hyuga many years ago, and had become good friends with him. When asked who the Hyuga was, Yusaski ignored the question and quickly changed topics.