Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its universe, but I do own the characters used in this story unless otherwise noted.
Chronicles of Kiri
Chapter 1: New Acquaintances
The mist from which Kirigakure devised its name was thinner then usual today, as were the clouds that normally kept the village engulfed in gloom. Indeed, in select places the sunshine crept through to lend an almost cheery mood to the village. This cheerfulness had come a little bit late, as two days earlier their had been a sense of festivity throughout the village and the weather had proven absolutely miserable. It had been graduation day for Kiri's academy students.
Two such graduates were currently waiting by the edge of one of the many bodies of water near Kiri, this one a small pond that actually lay within the village's borders. Although very different in appearance, one characteristic was identical on both of the newly made genin's faces. This was an expression of rapidly growing annoyance, the source of which was made clear by the first boy's complaints.
"Where the hell are they!" he exclaimed, his voice ringing with indignation. "We were told to be here right at 4! It's 4:30 now! 4:30, Kata!"
The speaker, Bakuzen Misuto, was of roughly the same size and shape as his more stoic counterpart. His hair, sandy-blonde in color, rose away from his head in a manner roughly twice as chaotic as a train wreck. Wide, round and gleaming blue eyes stood out startlingly against the rather flushed skin of Misuto's pleasant, average face, one of them occasionally blocked by the Kiri forehead protector he insisted on wearing at a slight angle. These same eyes, usually alight with a good-humor, were currently fixed upon their owner's teammate, glaring at the still-silent boy with wrath that was as foreign to them as the sun's rays to Kirigakure.
The boy Misuto had called "Kata" was Yagami Katanade. Katanade was as dark as his teammate was light, both in personality and in looks. Stormy gray eyes glared out at the world from a pale, thin face and mid-length dark hair, which, while not particularly neat seemed the paragon of order when compared to Misuto's, topped off this picture. The greatest oddity in Katanade's appearance was a huge barrel with a pair of shoulder straps, a third as tall as the and half as wide as he was tall. The newly acquired forehead protector, of course bearing the symbol of Kirigakure, was worn around Katanade's upper left arm.
Katanade was currently drumming absent-mindedly on the barrel, producing a thick, low sound, and staring into the water. Finally deciding he wasn't likely to get any kind of reaction from the other boy, Misuto resumed his pacing, muttering softly to himself as he did so.
Who, or what exactly was late for a meeting with these boys, is a matter that could perhaps use some clarification. It was customary for genin, the day after being assigned to a team with fellow graduates, to meet their jounin team leader the next day. And, for the other two teams of genin, this had been very easy. The day after graduation they had met their team leaders outside the academy and been given their first mission.
Katanade and Misuto had been given a letter.
It had told them to go to the eastern shore of the Kikan Pond at 4 in the afternoon, and there they would meet the jounin to whom they had been assigned, as well as the third genin with whom they were to work. No further details had given, despite Misuto's certainty that there was something else to find in the text, perhaps written elsewhere on the paper in invisible ink. His efforts to persuade Katanade to help him look had failed, but had provided amusement for the other teams present.
Such ridiculous actions were nothing new to Misuto, nor the ire of Katanade, which he so often earned through them. It was a mystery to everyone how they had remained, or ever indeed become, such close friends as they were.
However, there was no humor in the clownish boy right now, as his pacing grew faster and he reached a new level of volume in his complaints.
"Still not here Kata! Why aren't they here yet! I mean, come on! What time is it!"
"4:32.Calm down." Katanade's drumming ceased as he finally responded to his friend, his tone carefully neutral.
Misuto was extremely excited to meet his teammates, and his impatience stemmed from having to wait for that. Katanade, on the other hand, was merely annoyed at being made to wait. Silent though he was, the rather grim young ninja was just as angry as his loudly complaining companion. Katanade merely possessed better self-control.
" Kaaataaaa!" The impatience in Misuto's tone had given way to a whining quality.
"When are they going to get here!"
Another voice, this one quiet but very authoritative, interrupted before Katanade could answer.
"Now. I apologize for making you wait."
Both boys turned to face the speaker, Misuto with admittedly less grace then Katanade as he started and whirled around, sliding in the mud and ultimately falling flat out on his face.
Standing before Katanade (and somewhat above his fallen companion, who was yet to climb to his feet) was a pair of women, or rather, a woman and a girl, Katanade noted on slightly closer observation. He also noticed the tight grip the older newcomer had on the younger's shoulder and the careful lack of expression on the girl's face.
"I am Tomiji. I will be the leader of this team. This is Kaguya Kyouko. She is a genin, like you." These words were spoken by the older woman, now identified as Tomiji, in a very formal tone.
At this point both of the newly introduced team members noticed the way Misuto was staring at them. The reason for this was immediately clear to Katanade, who head noticed long ago what Misuto was just now noticing.
Tomiji and Kyouko were both strikingly attractive.
The former was beautiful in a simple way. Her hair was black and quite long (falling well past her shoulders) while her forehead protector was pushed up to keep it out of her eyes, which were a very dark shade of sea green. Her figure couldn't accurately be described as slim, but was far from being heavy and she was certainly…well, amply endowed. Tomiji's manner of dress was equally simple, black pants of a stretchy material, allowing ease of motion. The shirt she wore was of a similar material, though white in color and managed to be just low cut enough to be just slightly revealing.
Kyouko, on the other hand, had a very delicate appearance. Though quite tall, she was also thin and her limbs appeared to be very fragile. Brilliant green eyes shone out from an elfin, pointed face and Kyouko's hair was a pale shade of silver, more accurately probably described as white. Her hair was kept bound in a very simple braid, which seemed suitable with the simplicity of her manner of dress (a long, shapeless white robe.)
It was only with careful study it would occur to one that Kyouko was bare of a Kiri forehead protector, and as things stood only one of the boys was capable of giving her the attention needed to notice this. This was, of course Katanade; the only thing Misuto seemed interested in studying closely was Tomiji's chest.
Fort a moment, the quartet stood in silence, before Tomiji's voice shattered it.
"Bakuzen Misuto?" Her tone was, shockingly as far as Katanade was concerned, devoid of rage. There was, however, a slight note of disbelief.
"Yes sensei?" Misuto replied, not altering the course of his gaze in the slightest.
"I would ask you to please maintain eye contact with me."
Within Katanade the familiar war of disgust and amusement that his friend's actions so often brought on was raging full force. However, the dead calm with which Tomiji spoke those words decided a clear victor of the battle, and it was amusement. Katanade began to laugh, not the soft chuckle he would usually allow Misuto the satisfaction of drawing out of him, but real laughter, bright and loud.
Three pairs of startled eyes turned to focus on him, and almost a full second passed before Misuto began to laugh along with his friend. After a moment, even Tomiji allowed a small smile to tug her lips.
Kyouko, however, remained expressionless, but that didn't really take away from the fun of the moment, and this meeting, though less then perfect would remain one of the fondest memories Katanade would ever come to possess.