Author's note: So day 2 and yeah... I would say something here but I honestly have nothing interesting in mind to write. I guess we'll just skip ahead to the 'hope you enjoy this chapter' shtick.

So, hope you enjoy the chapter and a good day to you all!


Outcasts – Arc 1 – The Knight of Konoha

Chapter 2 –Arrival


Land of Fire border...

It had been just under two weeks since Kazuki and the other refugees from his village had left the Land of Demons. Their journey took them longer than it should have due to the need to avoid the major nations such as Wind and Earth because of the animosity between hidden villages at the time. The Second Shinobi World War had taken its toll on political relations across the world.

Before entering the Land of Fire however, each person entering had to be examined by Konoha shinobi to make sure that no spies from other lands were attempting to infiltrate their home. There were many people in the world who could benefit from having an agent in Konoha.

When it came to Kazuki's turn to be examined he was approached by a young woman in her late teens... or maybe her early twenties? He couldn't tell. She asked him a number of questions: What was his name? How old was he? Did he have any family with him? When the final question was asked he didn't know what to say, so he just looked to the ground and shook his head. The ninja looked sadly at the boy and placed her hand on his shoulder. ''Listen,'' she said,'' I know its hard... losing family. But all we can do is keep moving forward. We can't change what's been done.''

''Right...'' He raises his head and looks her in the eyes. ''Is that what it's like? Being a shinobi?''

She wasn't expecting such a question from the child; a few moments later she said, ''Well... while its true that danger is a part of a shinobi's life and so death is something that we see, we have the power to make a difference and to protect the people that we care about... most of the time.''

The boy hums in thought at this, the woman's answer interesting him. ''Is it difficult to become one?''

Before she can respond to this, a shout comes from one of the other shinobi. ''What's this? Who does this belong to?'' Turning towards the voice they see the man standing in the cart, an arm raised high to show his findings. A blade, of by no means high quality, but a blade nonetheless was held aloft. Seeing it reflect the sunlight, Kazuki slowly raises his hand. ''Uh, yes that's mine.''

''Grab him!''

In an instant Kazuki was restrained by a shinobi who had pinned him to the floor. The sudden movements among the ninja shocked the refugees, who were being herded away from Kazuki. With a kunai pressed to his neck, he felt as though his heart was going to explode from the fear he was feeling. The man who had shouted before was now standing over him, firing a barrage of questions towards him. It was impossible however for him to answer; fear and shock had seized any words in his throat.

''THAT'S ENOUGH!'' The shouting man flew away from Kazuki. A swift punch from the young woman who had been seeing to him before created the newly-found distance. ''And you,'' she said to the man holding him down, ''release him.'' Slowly the male put away his kunai and moved away. The woman reached down and got the boy to his knees. ''You okay?'' she asked, but all she got in response from the dazed boy was a nod.

''What do you think you're doing?'' The man said this whilst gradually getting back to his feet, clearly shaken from the punch.

''I should be asking you the same thing. Look at him he's just a boy!''

''And you shouldn't let your eyes deceive you, for all you know he could be an assassin from another village in disguise.''

''Is this what we've been reduced to? Accusing orphans coming into our land of being killers? I refuse to believe that this child is anything but that: an innocent child!''

''Well how about you prove he's not a spy then?''

''Fine.'' She looked around as though searching for something. She stoped as it seemed that she finds what she was looking for. ''Could you come over here for a moment?' This was directed towards a young ninja standing in the crowd of onlookers, who obediently stepped forward. ''Please take a look at him with your eyes.''

'What does she mean?' Kazuki's confusion was apparent to the person approaching him who was amused by the boy. ''Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit,'' the person said with a smile. He was still unnerved however, especially having seen the eyes looking at him; two milky eyes, devoid of any pupils. Before he could say anything the ninja made a hand sign and said ''Byakugan!'' The strange word surprised Kazuki almost as much as the protruding veins that appear on the person's face.

After a few tense moments the person's face returned to normal. ''I have concluded that there are absolutely no camouflage, genjutsu or otherwise, in place on the boy.''

The woman smiled gratefully and thanked the ninja for her assistance before turning back to the man. ''Are you happy now?''

''Tch, fine.'' was all he said as he threw the sword at Kazuki, which he caught. ''But I'll be keeping my eye on you.''

He walked away. A victorious grin found its way onto the blond's face as she turned to Kazuki, ''Well that was fun, wasn't it?'' The way she had handled the situation amazed Kazuki as one second he was as good as a prisoner, the next he was saved by this amazing woman. She looked different following the heated exchange, incredible beyond description to him.

Only now when looking at her properly does he realise this.

She turns to walk away.

''Thank you,'' Kazuki says bowing to her, ''that necklace is beautiful by the way.''

She stoped, a hand unconsciously touches said green gem necklace and she carried on her way.

Konohagakure, three weeks later...

Following that incident with the blade it had taken just less than three days to arrive at the village under escort. After the border there were no more complications and all had proceeded peacefully, meaning that they made it to the village in good time. The first reaction from all the refugees was awe at the sheer size of it. In terms of not only size but also height, it was nothing like anything they had ever seen before. The number of people living there was off the charts compared to what these people, who were used to living in much smaller communities, were used to seeing.

Upon arrival, the refugees were assigned homes for them to live in; there was no shortage of housing at the time due to expansions made to the village in recent years, however because of the war residents of the village never numbered great enough to fill all these new buildings. There were those who felt it would be safer to not be living within a Hidden Village in the middle of a war. This meant that refugees of other lands, who were in need, were welcomed into the village.

As an orphan things had been a little different for Kazuki. He had ended up where all children without parents wound up: the orphanage. It was not a bad place per say, the sight of just how many children were like him though, without anyone to turn to was... unsettling.

In the weeks to follow Kazuki spent much time thinking on everything that had happened and what he would do in the future.

''Onigami, you've got a visitor,'' one of the orphanage attendants said, ''she's waiting at the entrance for you.''

''A visitor?'' It was unexpected for sure, who on earth would go out of their way to visit him here? He wondered this while walking to meet his guest—the result surprising him.

''Hey there kid.'' The blonde kunoichi said, a smile on her face.

''What are you doing here?''

''Well I was just in the neighbourhood and thought I'd drop by and see how you were doing.'' The air around her told him otherwise, she had a reason for coming here. Seeing his intent stare towards her she sighed. ''All right you got me.''

''Why did you come here?''

''Jeez you're too serious for a kid,'' she mumbled. ''I came here to check up on you, see how you're doing.''

''If that's all then I'm fine-''

''Don't interrupt me, I wasn't finished! You seemed like you were interested in becoming a shinobi when we spoke, I wanted to know if you were planning on entering the academy.''

''Was it that obvious?''

''Between your questions and the sword you have it'd be hard not to see. So, what are you thinking?''

No response. Kazuki simply looked up to the open blue sky. It wasn't that he hadn't made a decision. More that he didn't know how to go about it... literally. ''I want to try... I don't know how far I can go but I want to try and become a shinobi.''

''Well why not enlist? You sound like you've given this a fair amount of thought so why are you sitting around here?'' The boy didn't answer, instead turning his head away, which only piqued her curiosity. ''Kazuki?''

''I don't know...'' his voice trails off into impossible-to-understand mumbles.

''What was that? Didn't quite catch that.''

''I don't know how to do it!''

The woman erupted into a bout of giggles at this. Although he acted otherwise he was still just a kid after all. ''All right then, let me show you.'' With that she grabbed him by the arm and promptly dragged him away, much to his dismay.

Outside the Academy...

The Konohagakure Ninja Academy. The place that each and every shinobi of Konoha has gone through when beginning their ninja training. The courtyard in front of the building was empty bar two people: a young girl with shoulder-length chocolate brown hair and a middle aged woman who looked like a grown up version of the girl. They were facing each other down as though locked in a fight to the death.

''For the last time, the answer's no! I forbid you from entering that academy!'' The woman's tone is one of finality but the girl wasn't having it.

''I don't care what you say auntie, I'm going to be a ninja whether you support me or not!''

They had been like this for the best part of an hour with no clear victor in sight. It was at this time that the two new arrivals – the kunoichi and Kazuki, having been virtually dragged the entire way – entered the scene.

''Let go already! I can walk on my own!'' he says, exasperated. Hearing his voice the kunoichi lets go of him sheepishly. ''Ehehe, sorry about that. Guess I got a bit carried away there.''

''No, I'm the one who got carried away - by you!''

''Oh come on I said I'm sorry didn't I? Besides, we're here.'' It was only now, having stopped, that they realized they weren't alone. This didn't mean that the others had noticed them, their war was still going strong and there was not going to be a ceasefire.

Their comments and retorts being fired back and forth caught the attention of the new arrivals, who out of curiosity, couldn't help but watch the exchange. ''Do you think we should do something?'' Kazuki asked his companion.

''This looks like a personal situation, it's probably best that we not.''

...not that that stopped them from watching. Curiosity was an extremely powerful force after all.

''Give me one good reason why I shouldn't be allowed to sign up, go on!'' The girl challenged.

''Alright then how about this: do you think that your parents gave their lives just so you could become a ninja and get yourself killed?''

This visibly shook the girl. Her eyes widened and she took a step back. A moment later however the shock turned to rage as the girl began screaming bloody murder at the woman, who simply stood there, knowing that she'd gone too far. The verbal assault continued until the girl ran out of breath and descended into tears.

Seeing this Kazuki took a breath and began to approach the two. ''Hey Kazuki, what're you doing?'' The voice was lost to him as he continued his approach, determined to follow through. It was now that the woman took notice of their audience.

''Excuse me... I'm sorry to interrupt but...''

''Stay out of this boy, this is a personal matter.'' the woman snapped. The sound of sobbing drew his gaze. The girl, not much older than himself was stood their, tears streaming down her face at what had just occurred. Seeing this, his resolve renewed, Kazuki turns back to the woman.

''No. If what you said is true about her parents then you shouldn't stop her from doing what she wants. If they died for her then they died for the life they want her to have.'' By now the sobbing had stopped as the girl was listening to his words. Kazuki continues, ''My father told me that 'if you live your life making your own decisions then when it ends, there's no need to regret it'. If she wants to become a ninja then you should let her do it. It's her choice after all.''

Once again the woman didn't know what to say. Being lectured by a child on something like this was absurd, absurd enough to hit the point home. She'd lost all drive to stop her niece. All she did was slowly walk away. To the girl she said, ''I'll be waiting at home for you,'' and then she disappeared from sight.

The situation diffused, Kazuki remembered just why he got involved. ''Hey, are you alri-'' He was cut off by a pair of arms wrapping around his neck as the girl jumped on him.

''Thank you, thank you, thank you thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! A million times thank you!'' Although her eyes were still swollen from her crying, she was suddenly in a bright, cheerful mood. Her joy was so out of the blue that it was almost unnerving... hell her sudden mood swing as a whole were unnerving. One minute angry, then sad and now... this?

Unlike Kazuki however, this spectacle was very amusing from the point of view of the kunoichi still looking on from the side. The way that the boy had been so confident in his lecturing of the woman only to be dismayed by the perpetual hug of the ecstatic little girl was highly amusing. Taking pity on him she moves forward, breaking them up. ''Well it looks like the academy's getting two new students instead of one.'' This gets the girl to stop her infinite 'thank yous' but doesn't go as far as getting her to let go of her saviour. ''Come on you two, we can't be standing around all day.''

''Okay lets go,'' Kazuki says as he pried the girl's arms off of him.

''Hang on,'' the girl says. She takes a few steps back and then bows and rises with a wide smile on her face, an expression that shined as brightly as the sun, ''My name is Hayami, Hayami Tsuwatari.''

''Kazuki Onigami,'' was his response.

''Well, its very nice to meet you Kazuki.''

''Uh, likewise.''

30 minutes later...

''Okay and with that you are both now students of this academy, I hope that you both grow to be fine shinobi of Konoha... how does that sound? Professional? Cool?''

''Neither, a bit weird honestly.'' The kunoichi mock-glares at Kazuki for the comment whereas Hayami simply giggled at the two. The trio were walking out of the academy; both Kazuki and Hayami now both having been enrolled as students.

''But seriously, good luck you two. It'll be lots of work but I'd be willing to bet that you can do it.'' The smile on her face was almost the kind that one might give to a younger sibling.

''Thank you for all the help Miss... uhh'' Hayami started.

''Oh don't worry about it,'' she said walking ahead of the two, ''I just thought I'd do something nice for a kid, you were a bonus.'' She says with a wink. ''Oh and for future reference, just before I go,'' she added turning to face the two, ''the name's Tsunade.'' With that she disappeared, leaping away faster than their eyes could follow.

''Well Kazuki,'' Hayami said smiling, ''I suppose I'll be seeing you in class.''

''I suppose you will,'' he replied curtly as he turned away. As he walked, Hayami's gaze lingered before turning herself in the opposite direction and heading for home.