Nineteen year old Hanako Shizaki laid in her hammock that was on the porch of her quaint little, one roomed tree house and let her thoughts wonder as she watched the clouds with her emerald green eyes. It had been three whole years since the Fourth Great Ninja War came to a close. Hanako thought about how she had left her village after it had been destroyed when she was thirteen. She found a secure spot and built her home in the tree. After the war, however, she was starting to wonder if maybe allying herself with a village would be a good idea.
Hanako's stomach let out a growl telling her she was hungry. She stood up and stretched her hourglass frame and shook out her long, board straight brunette hair. She lightly walked over to the counter and grabbed an apple she had picked only a day or so earlier. As she leaned up against the counter eating she felt a slight tickle on the side of her bare foot. Moving her foot she saw a small beetle.
"Hey little guy, you come in here looking for food?" She then grabbed some leaves from the counter that she kept for just such occasions and placed it on the floor in front of him. He quickly ate his fill and flew away carrying what was left with him. After living in the forest by herself for six years the bugs didn't bother her anymore. She figured she was invading their space so it was only fair that she care for the ones she came across.
She finished eating her apple then tossed the core to the ground below. She sauntered back to her hammock and laid down again. It was the quiet times like this she wished she had someone to talk to.
"Maybe it is time I tie myself to a village and make some friends. If I ever get in trouble it would be nice to know I had some friends who would come for me." She then ran through her mind the different villages and decided that the Village Hidden in the Leaves would be the best one since she was already in the Land of Fire and knew it well. It was a couple days journey from where she was residing so she packed up some food and headed out.
After two days of travel, her form fitting green crop top and her spandex black capris with a green waist band and weapon pouch, were pretty dirty. The fishnet t-shirt underneath her crop top kept most of the dirt off of her skin but she was still quite dirty. Her feet got the worst of it though, because she rarely wore shoes. She found she was able to be a better ninja without shoes on.
Upon arriving at the gate of the Leaf Village a shinobi with spiky black hair and a bandage across his nose stopped her.
"Hello stranger what's your business in the Leaf Village?" he asked plainly.
"I would like to see the Hokage about making this place my home." Hanako answered honestly.
"Follow me, I'll take you to him."
Hanako nodded her agreement and followed the man.
She studied the Hokage faces as she entered the village. The current Hokage was a man with spiky hair and a mask over the lower half of his face.
As she walked towards the Hokage's building she noticed a beetle land on the end of her hair. She pulled her hair over her shoulder, held up her finger and the beetle smoothly transferred onto it. Hanako felt that the tiny insect had chakra in its body.
"Who do you belong to?" Hanako asked aloud as she and her escort stopped walking. She looked around to see if she could find the insect user.
"I'm surprised you noticed it." came a masculine voice from behind her. She turned around to see a man with a light grey coat with its hood up, black glasses that hugged his face, and an earth green shirt with black pants underneath.
Hanako held out her hand and let the bug fly back to its owner. "I've lived with bugs around me for years I think it would be pitiful if I didn't notice one land on me." she replied with a smile.
"Someone with sharp perception such as yours must have received some form of training, yet I don't see you with a headband." The man stated.
"I'm Hanako Shizaki and I'm new to the Village. I'm on my way to the Hokage to see if he'll let me make a home here." There was a silence. "What's your name?"
"Shino Aburame."
"We should get going." Hanako's escort interrupted.
"Alright." she called to him. "See you around, Shino Aburame!" she waved as she followed her escort.
Upon reaching the Hokage's office the escort knocked on the door.
"Come in." called a male voice from inside.
The shinobi opened the door and let Hanako enter first then himself closing the door behind him.
Hanako studied the man behind the desk. His white hair stuck out angled to the left, his shinobi headband was angled down to the left to cover his eye and his mask hid the bottom half of his face.
"We have a traveler who wishes to settle down in our village." he stated matter of factly.
"Really? And what attracted you to the Leaf Village Miss...?"
"Hanako Shizaki, Lord Hokage. I've been living in the forest for the past six years and thought it was time I joined a village. I was already in the Land of Fire so it made sense." she explained.
"But why not join a smaller village if your just looking for a place to call home?" The Hokage asked.
"I would like to become a shinobi." Hanako answered simply.
"Have you had any training?" he asked raising an eyebrow and not sure what to expect out of the bubbly woman that stood before him.
"Yes. I trained with an old man from my home village till it I was thirteen." Hanako said getting a little more serious.
"Why did your training with him stop?"
"My village was attacked by bandits, as far as I know I'm the only one who survived the attack." Hanako paused. "But that doesn't mean I haven't been training! Please Lord Hokage, let me show you what I can do!"
The Hokage was silent as he thought. Hanako felt like she was holding her breath.
"Alright Miss Shizaki we'll see what you can do. Kotetsu, go get Lee and Shikamaru and ask them to meet us at the training grounds closest to here."
"Yes sir." he answered and left immediately.
The Hokage stood up and walked around his desk. "Follow me." he instructed.
"Thank you Lord Hokage!" Hanako said as she followed.
"Please, call me Kakashi."
Moments later Hanako and Kakashi watched as two men approached them. One had black hair pulled into a tight spiked ponytail on top of his head and had a neutral look on his face. The second guy had black hair as well but it was a short bowl cut that was accompanied with bushy eyebrows; the green jumpsuit he was wearing made him look even weirder.
Kakashi started walking out to meet them and Hanako followed suit.
"Lee, Shikamaru, I would like to introduce Miss Hanako Shizaki. She has requested to live here and become a shinobi."
"Most excellent! A new comrade is always welcome. Nice to meet you, my name is Rock Lee." the guy in the jumpsuit enthused.
"You want us to assess her skills, right?" Shikamaru clarified.
"That's exactly right." Kakashi said.
"I gladly look forward to the challenge!" Lee said excitedly.
"Then by all means, you can go first." Shikamaru shrugged as he and Kakashi retreated to a safe distance.
"Yes! Let us see where you are with your taijutsu!" Lee said as he took an offensive stance.
"Please don't go easy on me, I want to see what I need to strive for." Hanako replied taking up her own stance.
Lee immediately swung a kick and Hanako quickly dodged. A fist followed soon after which Hanako blocked. Keeping hold of his arm she swung a kick which he expertly dodged as he twisted his arm out of Hanako's grasp. He was faster than she expected, because of this the next punch landed on her face sending her flying. She recovered quickly and managed to land on her feet. No sooner had she done so and Lee was coming at her again.
The continued to exchange blows for several minutes and Hanako had managed to dodge or block most of Lee's attacks but had a difficult time landing punches on him. Lee however knew exactly when to strike and got through her defense.
One more kick sent her flying which she had landed like every other time.
"Good." Kakashi called signaling that they were done. "Lee, your assessment?" he asked as he walked over.
"Her taijutsu skills are needing some work, however I've never seen anyone who takes a hit from me recover mid air to land on their feet."
"My Sensei said that a stunned ninja is a dead ninja, so he taught me how to recover before I land. This way no matter often I get hit I'm back up ready to fight." Hanako informed.
"Alright, Shikamaru your up." Kakashi instructed.
"After watching your taijutsu I'm curious to see what you else you can do." Shikamaru said with a small smile.
"I'm ready when you are." Hanako said.
Hanako watched as Shikamaru weaved his hand signs and shadows darted out towards her. She quickly dodged. She had read up on lots of different techniques and she knew from her reading that if she got caught that would be the end. She also knew that if any jutsu she used caused a shadow, it could end up helping him instead of her.
Hanako then weaved her own hand signs, "Nature Style: Leaf Blades!"
Several leaves shot out from the palms of her hands leaving several small cuts on Shikamaru as proof of the ones he barely dodged.
Shikamaru then attacked again as he tried to get Hanako with his Shadow Possession Jutsu. Hanako watched the ground as she dodged but also did her best to be aware of the sky and anything else that caused a shadow. There were several minutes where all she could do was dodge. She knew if she wanted the Hokage to take her seriously she needed to do her best.
"Nature Style: Entangling Vines!" Hanako called as she weaved the appropriate hand signs and vines sprang from the ground and weaved around Shikamaru stopping his movement.
Hanako watched the gears turn in Shikamaru's head. "I've seen enough." he said.
Hanako released him. Kakashi and Lee made their way over.
"Well Shikamaru?" Kakashi asked.
"I would place her skills at a Chunin level, but I'm sure with the right training she could reach Jonin level in no time. As well I believe her kekkei genkai would be a great asset." Shikamaru answered.
Hanako stood anxiously waiting for the Hokage to give his answer about her staying in the village.
"Hanako, I would like to welcome you to the Leaf Village." Kakashi said giving a smile.
"Oh thank you lord Hokage!"
"Let's go back to the office and I'll get you a headband."
Hanako eagerly followed Kakashi back to his office. Once there he found a headband and handed it to her. She ran her hand over the face of the headband and just let it soak in that she was now a ninja.
"Is something bothering you?" Kakashi asked.
"No. I'm fine." Hanako tied the headband around her head and a big smile crossed her lips.
"Now as far as a place to stay goes I'm going to leave that up to you, but if you find you need some help please don't hesitate to ask."
"I think I can manage, but thanks for the offer."
After Hanako gave a respective bow she left the Hokage's office. As she wondered around the village looking for a suitable spot to live she found a wooded area right next to some training grounds on the outer edge of the village.
"This looks like a good spot. I think I'm going to enjoy living in the Leaf Village."