In the land of grass sat a short figure with a glazed look. He sat upon one of the taller building in the village hidden in the grass, looking out into the sunset. He liked this time of day, when everything wound down. People would prepare to cease their activities and make way for the night. The darkness was welcome release from the blinding light and scorching heat of the day.
In the Village Hidden in the Grass, all were governed by the sun. That was why he enjoyed it when it set. With it no longer in the sky, the people were free to do what they wished. And there was nothing more Kanashi enjoyed doing than absolutely nothing. Unfortunately, that was a poor desire for a ninja. Especially the top Genin in the Village Hidden in the Grass.
At that thought he shook his head, ruffling his short brown hair in the wind. He was supposed to be a Chunin by now, as were his teammates. But their Sensei had decided to take the extra time to train them for the next one. As it turned out, that was actually a very good move. The Leaf village had been attacked by the Sound and Sand during the last Chunin exam. Even the Hokage had been felled. Not to mention, all the other Grass ninja had failed to get to the third part of the exam. From what they had said when they returned, the competition was ridiculously tough. Karin had mentioned that she had gained something, though. She was rather quiet about what it was, however.
That thought made him worry. He and his teammates were the cream of the crop, the best the Grass village had to offer. But the second best team had indeed gone to the exams, and were slaughtered in the fray. In fact, it was said Orochimaru, the leader of the Sound, had personally killed them. That made him nervous. What if the same happened in the upcoming Chunin exams? They were being held in the Leaf again. Only six months after it neared total destruction.
The Village Hidden in the Grass was different from the Leaf village in many ways, one of these ways were team formations. Kanashi had heard that the Leaf balanced their teams by pitting different level ninja together to keep their power balanced between the recently graduated teams. The Grass village did not do that. Instead, they kept Genin of the same level in the same team. The top three students would form a team, then the next three, then the next, and so on. This was so the Sensei could more easily teach the students, since they would all be roughly the same level as each other.
He was the top student when he graduated 5 years ago. His brother, and other teammate were the 2nd and 3rd students respectively. His Sensei was rather lax, and it fell upon themselves to improve. Well, at least until they mentioned wanting to take the Chunin exams. Then Suiren-Sensei had really begun to work with them. Kanashi smiled, thinking about his Sensei. She was a lot of fun. A bit ditzy at times, but fun. Unfortunately, He and his team had always been gifted, and were nearly her equal nowadays. Though, from what Kanashi had gathered, the Leaf ninja were on a whole different league, even their Genin.
"Hey! Kanashi! you up there? Suiren-Sensei wants us to celebrate our last night in the Grass Village. Come on! She's treating!"
Kanashi lifted his eyes away from the night sky, and peered down below. His brother, Akari was there in his green turtleneck and white shorts, short swords strapped on his back and wearing knee-length sandals. Kanashi thought he looked silly, but apparently, some of the girls in the village liked the look. Of course, it might just be his Brother they liked the looks of.
He and Akari looked rather similar, actually. The big differences were their heights, and their eye color. Kanashi had blue eyes, the color of the sky, while Akari had Brown eyes. Kanashi was a head shorter than other kids his age, while Akari was a head taller. It annoyed Kanashi to no end when people mistook Akari for the older brother. Strangely enough, though, it annoyed Akari too. The smaller differences were Akari's short goatee and black hair, versus his own clean-shaven face and dark brown hair.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Tell Suiren-Sensei and Kujaku I'll be right there."
Kanashi didn't bother asking where they were going to celebrate. They always celebrated things at Suiren-Sensei's favorite restaurant. Kanashi enjoyed it well enough, after all, he wasn't one to force change. Change wasn't something he pined for. Which would explain his nervousness about tomorrow. They'd depart for the Chunin exams. The first one he would ever be in.
With a sigh, Kanashi stood up, and walked over the side of the tall building. With a small jump and a twist, he was walking down the side, clung to the wall using chakra. Kanashi jumped off when he was close enough to the ground that he was sure he wouldn't injure himself from the drop. He was cautious in that way.
After a brief walk, he came to the Akabachi, the Red Bee. This was the favored restaurant of his teammates. He gave off a smirk of satisfaction and entered the establishment.
"Yo! Kanashi over here!"
Kanashi looked over to the yelling Kunoichi in the corner, pleased to see his other teammate, Kujaku waving at him. She always was rather rambunctious. Luckily, they were regulars, and the owners didn't want to accidentally offend them, so Kujaku could be as loud as she wanted. Kanashi waved back and headed over, sitting beside her and across from his brother who was sitting by Suiren-Sensei.
"Nice of you to join us Kanashi, what were you doing out in the dark all by yourself? That's a little emo even for you." said Suiren.
Suiren was a Jounin of the Hidden Grass, and wore very standard gear. She wore a green jumpsuit with a standard vest, styled in the Grass's own fashion. Her hair was a light teal, and she had eyes to match. She was always teasing him for his apparently brooding behavior. He had been annoyed with it in his earlier years, but had grown to appreciate it for the light banter it was.
"The Darkness is relaxing Sensei. Besides, I was just trying to get my thoughts together for tomorrow. After all, it's going to be our first Chunin exam."
Suiren shook her head. "Don't worry about it. You three will pass no problem. You were wise to wait. People die in these things, and its best to be over-prepared in this case."
Kujaku smiled. "In that case Kanashi is set! He's Mister Over-prepared!"
Kanashi gave her a look. "Thanks, I guess."
Akari rolled his eyes. "You don't have to guess, you moron. It was a compliment."
Kanashi huffed in irritation. "If I'm such a moron, how come I was number one in the academy?"
"That was 5 years ago. I'd tear you to pieces if we fought now." Said Akari.
Suiren shook her head, amused at their banter. Akari and Kanashi often fought like this. And Akari usually was the one who provoked it. Unfortunately, today was a bad day to start a feud.
"Calm down guys, you can tear each other apart later. You need to work as a team if you guys want to come back with one of these babies." At that, Suiren pointed at her flak jacket.
"Don't worry Sensei, I'll keep them in line." Kujaku said with a smirk.
Kanashi gave off a smirk of his own, not bothering to challenge Kujaku's claim. Before long, their meals had come. Akari was trying something new, like always, and Kanashi ordered the exact same thing, as always. And Kujaku ate whatever Suiren ate. It was routine, and Kanashi enjoyed it. After all, they wouldn't be enjoying routine for quite a while.