[AN: I am going to hell for this … I am SO going to hell for this … I still have so many unwritten stories on my page that I HAVEN'T FINISHED YET. Grrrrr, my viewers are going to hate me for this. *shudders* Oh, hey! Yeah, forget my, uh, rambling episode from before and just … I don't know, enjoy the first chapter of this story, I guess. If you've already read the summary and character bios then you're ready to read! Have fun! Ugh, I hate myself for this … Arigato!]

Point Of Inquiry

Tika's POV

Place: Konohagakure (Village Hidden in the Tree Leaves)

Time Setting: Pre-Chunin Exams

"This place is so big!" Hayato mused aloud, turning himself around as we walked through the crowded streets of Konohagakure. He spun back to his correct walking position just before he could collide with an elderly man carrying a box of finely shaped cabbages, his dark eyes still taking in every detail of the new village. "It's no wonder we got lost so easily."

"Speak for yourself." Akio mumbled, his arms stretched lazily behind his head and his eyes drooping as we trotted past another shop. "These streets aren't that difficult to navigate."

"Really, you think so?" Hayato challenged, cocking an eyebrow at his best friend and mock-rival. Despite the fact that I knew he was simply teasing his comrade, Hayato's temple adorned a popped vein, a sign that clearly stated that the brawlers' patience was wearing thin.

"I know so." Akio answered immediately with a smile, looking bored and all-too pleased with himself at the same time.

"Then why don't we head back to our room now? You can lead the way." Hayato clapped Akio on the back, causing the weapon-wielder to stumble forward out of his stretching position so he could catch himself before he smacked face-first into a pole.

Righting himself up again I noticed a tick, similar to the one on Hayato's face, appear on Akio's forehead. "I don't want to go back just yet. I want to look around before the Exams start."

"Suuuuuuuure, whatever you say, douche bag." Hayato replied, not even bothering to cover up his blatant sarcasm or the use of a foul name to his friend.

I quietly sighed at their behaviour. I enjoyed their conversations usually and even joked along with them when we were all together out and about like we were now. I can't very well say that I enjoyed their crude, male humour (although being a bit of a tomboy myself I didn't really mind it), but most of the time the boys amused me. I loved my teammates, I really did, but sometimes they got a little out of hand. Especially when we were in public. Correction: especially when we were in public in other nations. They knew how important our missions were, yet they still had to pester each other on a daily basis. In my mind I imagined that lightning would strike them both from the Heavens just to whip them back into their prankster selves if they ever decided to be nice to each other.

Oh well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

However, just before I could join my teammates in another round of tomfoolery (at their expense, of course), a high-pitched cry cut through the afternoon atmosphere like a freshly-sharpened kunai. On instinct, our entire team halted and glanced around, attempting to figure out where the noise had come from. Another cry - most likely from the same person - erupted from behind a fence that stood by our side. I could hear at least seven different voices mixed in with the fray, all of them young enough to at least be Genin. Akio, who was closest to the fence, peeked through a hole in the wood to observe the situation, whispering to us about what was taking place on the other side of the board.

"There's a big guy holding a little kid by the neck …" Akio trailed off, either from not having anything else to say or for fear of being heard.

However, a 'fear of being heard' was not a risk factor when it came to Hayato and Akio. In just a brief second they had hopped the fence and landed on the cobblestone in the alleyway next to us, leaving me to simply listen to the situation from where I still stood. The other voices questioned what my two friends were doing butting into their business, but didn't seem to do anything about it. I shook my head, knowing that once the boys were interested in something - anything for that matter - their attention wasn't going to be drawn away from it without a fight … or at the very least without a few annoying questions.

I got tired of merely standing in the middle of the road and decided to get a front-row ticket to observe this little show. I silently - and I do mean silently - hopped up to the top of a tree that hung over the alley. I settled myself on a branch just above my teammates - my presence still unknown to all that stood below me - and watched the debacle with an amused grin.

The big guy Akio had been talking about was indeed lifting a little boy up by his collar, the kid looking completely terrified as he shivered under the man's grip. The 'big guy' in question wore a black body suit with a matching black hat - which oddly resembled cat ears - fingerless black gloves, and had purple kabuki makeup traced across his face. He carried what appeared to be a puppet on his back, but it was concealed under a mess of tattered wrappings. The man in the black suit was about fourteen or so, give or take, but appeared to be on the tall side for this age. He also didn't seem to give a rats ass as to whether or not he scaring the child held within his grasp.

"You're starting to annoy me." He said, seemingly amused by the tone in his voice. "First off, I'm allergic to 'shrimp'!" Ooooooh, nice comeback, dude. So totally original. (Here's a fun fact about me: I'm the Queen of Sarcasm) "Bad enough that you're a short little kid … you're disrespecting your elders. You make me want to kill him."

I noticed that he wasn't actually talking to the child in his grasp, he was directing his words to the blonde boy positioned in a fighting stance a couple yards in front of him. This boy had bright yellow hair, electric blue eyes, and … were those whiskers? What the bloody fuck? Whatever. He wore a blue and orange jacket with matching pants and blue sandals, his forehead protector gleaming with the symbol of Konoha just above his brow. This boy seemed to still be a rookie, most likely shot straight out of the Academy not too long ago. He, along with the other kids on his side of the alleyway, all seemed astounded that the black-clothed shinobi had said such a thing.

A blonde girl with four pigtails sighed aloud, looking away from her puppet-master companion. "I … will not be held responsible for this …" She wore a light purple dress that buttoned up on the right side with a sash tied around her waist, most likely in order to carry the giant fan that was attached to her backside. She had mesh armour covering her forearms, parts of her legs, and her shoulders where her dress had suddenly cut off. She wore her forehead protector around her neck - just like I did - but it beamed the symbol of Sunagakure, the Village Hidden in the Sand. She had a very attractive face and, based on looks alone, I assumed she was older than the guy next to her.

The big guy focused his attention back on the smaller kid. "So I'll finish with this tiny shrimp and move on to the jumbo shrimp over there." He raised his fist, obviously intending to give the pipsqueak a nice, dark shiner.

"Hey, he didn't do anything to you." Hayato interceded, about ready to draw a kunai if the situation demanded it. He and Akio were both visibly unnerved by the turn of events, seemingly attempting to do the right thing, yet they were unsure just how to do that since this wasn't our town to fight in.

The big guy in the body suit looked over at my teammates, fist still raised in front of him. "He ran into me. 'Kid should've watched where he was going, otherwise he wouldn't be learning a lesson." His fist then began to fly towards the boys face.

Just as the blonde kid with whiskers was running over to help the defenseless boy out of trouble (but he probably would've gotten pummeled in the process), a rock clocked the black-clothed bully across the face, causing him to drop the smaller boy onto the stone path. Everyone looked in the direction that the rock had flown from and found a dark-haired boy perched across a branch in a nearby tree, a few more stones held within his hands. He wore white cutoff pants, a dark blue shirt with a high collar, and matching arm and leg bands. His forehead protector read Konoha as well, so I could only assume that he belonged to the same squad as the blonde kid. He seemed distant, his eyes holding little emotion and his expression more or less blank. The word 'emo' instantly popped into my head before I could help it.

"Tell me … what are you guys doing in our village?" The dark-haired boy said. Even his voice was void of emotion.

Silence passed between the eleven of us (although I couldn't have uttered a word even if I had wanted to) for merely a moment before the big guy spoke again. "Oh, look. Another little brat."

"Get lost." The kid sitting in the tree simply said.

The group from Konoha all seemed to marvel at this strangers 'cool factor', all except the blonde kid who seemed intent on glaring daggers at the new arrival. Ignoring the petty banter between them, the Sand Village boy continued speaking with the Leaf shinobi up in the tree.

"Come down, little squirrel!" He called.

"You're not really good at name-calling, are you?" Akio chuckled.

The Sand Village kid smirked at my comrades, his attention now focused on beating the crap out of five people. Damn it all, Akio, why couldn't you just keep your mouth shut? We could've been enjoying a nice steaming bowl of ramen by now. "Think you're pretty smart, don't you?" He shrugged the doll off of his back, holding the top of it at his side with a sinister look on his makeup-covered face.

The girl next to him seemed to finally have an issue with the standpoint of the fray, but not in the way that I was expecting. "Tell me you're not planning to use the 'Crow'!" That must be the name of his special jutsu or something … The girl tried to stop her teammate from doing whatever he was going to do, but before he was able to do so yet another voice joined the mix. This voice, however, was cold, demanding, and just like the kid in the tree, void of feelings.

"Kankuro! Don't."

Again we all looked towards where the voice had come from and saw a red-haired boy, not much older than the raven-haired kid a few feet from him, hanging upside down from a branch just over the two Sand shinobi. He wore a black T-shirt with short mesh sleeves, dark trousers and sandals, and had an off-white sash wrapped around his shoulders, although the end of it was hanging in front of his arms now. Another thick strap was secured over his chest which connected to what looked to be a large gourd, his forehead protector - which also gleamed the Suna symbol - tied around the strap of the container instead of on his body. I was impressed that he could carry such a heavy object on his back while hanging by his feet. He had his arms crossed over his chest, a stern, yet impassive expression on his pale face. His irises, which were a brilliant shade of aquamarine, were concealed beneath thick black rings around his eyes, a feature I wasn't sure was made by makeup or as a birthmark. There was also the kanji for 'love' written into the left side of his forehead, a mark that I'm sure was more of a scar rather than a tattoo. I couldn't get a very good read on him, but so far he seemed to be quite intimidating … to the other shinobi here, at least.

He continued to talk, his gaze directed at the dark-clothed guy who was nearly trembling on the pavement below. "You're a disgrace to our entire village. It annoys me that you'd lose control in a quarrel with children. Have you forgotten why we came here?" Second reading: he seemed to be the boss in the Suna squad. I narrowed my eyes as they kept conversing, all the while thankful that Akio and Hayato had not gotten involved in this fight.

"But Gaara … They started it. The little one slammed me." The big guy - Kankuro, as the red-haired boy had called him - muttered, pointing to the Konoha group as if he were a toddler explaining to an adult why he took a cookie out of the cookie jar before supper. It was honestly kind of pathetic.

The guy in the tree - Gaara, if I heard him correctly - wasn't having any of it though. "Shut up …" He responded, his voice like ice. "Or I'll kill you." With an attitude like that, I'm sure he would kill the guy, right here and now … Heh, now that would be quality entertainment. I almost laughed at the morbid thought. Thanks for my sense of humour, mom …

Kankuro visibly shivered at the nonchalantly-delivered assault and it seemed that the blonde girl next to him was about ready to tremble as well. Kankuro straightened up and apologized immediately. "You're right. I was out of line."

"We're sorry … Okay, Gaara?" The girl added, probably just to appease her dark-natured comrade. "Really, really sorry!"

The Gaara kid turned to the dark-haired boy, who still sat in the tree near him, and spoke. "Sorry about my friends." He didn't seem to take the word 'friends' to heart, meaning that his teammates really weren't anything special to him at all. What a waste. Suddenly, millions of tiny grains of sand began to swarm around the boys' body like a hive of aggravated, buzzing bees. After a moment the swarm disappeared, along with the red-haired boy who had been up in the tree. However, he reappeared on the ground, standing in between the two Suna shinobi, in the same swarm of sand that he had used previously. "I know we're a little early …" He began, his voice directed at his squad. " … but we did not come here to play around."

"I swear it won't happen again." Kankuro said immediately in a respectful manner.

I glanced down at my friends, who had remained uncharacteristically quiet during the whole scene, and saw them exchange a knowing look, most likely sharing the same thoughts that I myself was thinking. Our squad had come to participate in the upcoming Chunin Exams held here in Konoha, so who's to say that these Suna shinobi weren't here for the same thing? Hmmm, if we encounter them during the Exams, then it will be an event most interesting to watch.

The Sand team was just about to leave the alleyway when a voice, the female of the Konoha group, called out to them, causing them to halt. This girl was young, just like the blonde and raven-haired boys, but she seemed oddly frail for a kunoichi. She had lovely, long pink hair with her forehead protector - shining the symbol of Tree Leaves - pulled up in a headband fashion. A ninja's mark is not something to be worn fashionably, girl. She wore a sleeveless red dress with tight green leggings and matching sandals. Her skin was pale, but obtained a flawless glow, and she had bright green eyes. She didn't seem to have any ruthless qualities about her, but what she lacked in intimidation she made up for in knowledge.

"According to your headbands you three come from the Village Hidden in the Sand." The girl started. She then glanced at my two male squad members. "And you two come from the Village Hidden in the Rain." Yes, and it is indeed always hidden in the rain … "Your country is one of Konoha's allies … while yours remains neutral …" The girl added, still looking between the foreign shinobi that stood before her. "… But according to our treaty, your ninja are not permitted to cross the border without authorization. State your business! We can't just let either of you go your merry way!"

The girl did have a point, a very good one at that, but it surprised me that she hadn't even the slightest idea as to why foreigners could be taking residence in Konoha. I suppose it is to be expected though, with them being new recruits and all.

The kunoichi from Suna seemed to share my thoughts as she dug something out of her pocket and chuckled. "Ever heard the old saying about it being darkest at the base of the brightest lighthouse? Weren't you informed?" She said as she showed the flower-haired girl her travel papers, the name Temari written in bold. "As you guessed, we're junior-level ninja from the Hidden Sand Village. We're here to take the Chunin Selection Exam."

A moment of awkward silence passed before the kid with whiskers spoke. "What's the Chunin Selection Exam?"

"How dense are you?" Hayato said to the kid before the kunoichi could answer his question.

"Hey! So what if I don't know what it is?! Is this Exam really that special?!" This kid seriously needs to tone it down a peg. I think he split my eardrums.

"Well yeah, it's what determines if you're eligible to be a Chunin-level ninja." Akio responded just as easily as the girl with the fan had.

"Chunin-level ninja …" The kid muttered, still apparently lost about the subject.

The Sand kunoichi - Temari - then proceeded to explain why the Chunin Exams were being held and as to what they would entail, but her lecture was cut short when the young shinobi turned to the little boy who had been held captive earlier and began to rant and rave in excitement about becoming a Chunin-level ninja. His distraction seemed to only infuriate the girl as she shrieked about having good manners while listening to someone. All I'm missing right now is garlic-butter popcorn …

"Obviously you didn't get the memo." Hayato continued after the girl had given up on speaking. "Which is surprising since this is your town. You would think you'd be the first to know. Even if you are still rookies." The three Konoha shinobi all seemed to take a little offense to this statement, but nevertheless it was true. They should've known and were probably wondering why they weren't told sooner about this upcoming event.

"Speaking of memos, where's Teacup?" Akio asked, glancing around the area for a clue of where I might be.

I guess that's my cue to drop in … I slyly and silently made my way off the branch and hopped down behind my companions, my figure unseen even by the best Jonins' eye. I finally made my presence be known as I lifted my fingers and tapped both my teammates on their shoulders. They didn't shriek like I had wanted them to, but they did jump pretty far out of their own skins, which seemed to satisfy the inner prankster in me. The other shinobi were also a bit surprised at my sudden apparition, but didn't voice their protests like my squad mates were.

"You're like a fucking ghost, I swear." Hayato said as he tried to regain his cool, hands firmly placed at his hips. Akio held a similar position, looking embarrassed that I had bested him so easily.

I allowed a giggle to creep out of my throat, but because of my mask it was muffled and sounded a lot darker than I meant it to be. I suppose in my current state, I do look like a ghost. Haha, very amusing indeed.

The loud voice from the kid with whiskers interrupted my train of thought as he asked me a question. "What's with the mask?"

I blinked at him. Usually people didn't ask about my mask because, well, it intimidated them. I intimidated them, although I don't really see why. I was a frail girl, like the Leaf kunoichi, but stood at a whopping 4'6", which is strange for someone of my age. I had short, pale white hair - that's right, white hair … it's not funny, stop laughing, you shitheads! - which was held in several small braids at the nape of my neck and mini pig tails atop my head, and had skin the colour of ivory. Several piercings adorned my ears, as well as two on my face, and my eyes were a shocking shade of crimson. My eyes held blood, which is what made my appearance so intimidating sometimes. I had also recently taken a liking to makeup, so I wore black makeup - done right, mind you - around my eyes in an attempt to make the crimson more vibrant. My lips remained untouched, not that anyone would actually notice though.

My overall appearance wasn't exactly 'true kunoichi' as my mom had said once, but it worked for my style of fighting. I wore a flowy black halter dress, the frills an off-grey colour at the very ends with the same colour lining the top of the bodice. It showed off my growing figure nicely and in such a way that I was able to use my own body as a means of distraction most of the time. I had mesh armour covering both of my legs right down to my black sandals, and an off-grey belt hung around my waist with the figurehead of a goat as the buckle. I also had mesh armour covering my wrists to my forearms and wore black titanium arm bands with spikes coming out of them. My black Amegakure forehead protector was tied loosely around my neck, hanging just above my silver family pendant. I also had three tattoos: a dragon on my right wrist (symbolizing my mother), a star on my left wrist (symbolizing my grandma), and a ring of fire on my stomach (symbolizing the importance of equality).

During missions I was often mistaken for a porcelain doll, pretty on the outside but clearly very breakable. If only my enemies knew how wrong they really were. I didn't try to look different (well, okay, I sort of did), but looking the way that I do makes me feel comfortable, even if that means I'd get weird or disapproving looks from the higher-leveled shinobi.

However the mask that he was referring to was made of black titanium, like my arm bands were, which covered the whole length of the lower half of my face. It ended just under my nose - so I could breathe, thank goodness - and stretched over my jaw until it reached my ears, where it then buckled at the back of my head. There were short spikes covering the entire visible part of the mask, but they weren't sharp enough to do any damage. With the mask on I wasn't able to mutter a word, sometimes not even a sound, which is why I was wearing it in the first place. And now you may be wondering why I'm even wearing a mask like this … well, too bad, because I'm not going to tell you just yet!

Getting back to topic, I was not able to answer the boys' question because of my inability to speak at the moment. Therefore I always had one of my teammates answer for me. It was Hayato who had answered this time. "She's prohibited to take it off until the situation demands it." He said in the simplest way that he could.

"What situation would that be?" Kankuro asked, or more like demanded to know.

"One that you do not want to be in." Akio laughed as he cast me a dark look, but did not elaborate any further.

I raised my eyebrows at them as a sign of my approval and amusement at their choice of words. Way to make me sound creepy, guys, haha. Of course, it's not like they're completely innocent themselves. Oh no, my teammates were just as sinister as I was when it concerned our ninja ways.

Akio had a knack for weapons, that much I can tell you for now. He was of a good height for a thirteen-year old, standing at an even 5'0" and attaining a thin, yet strong build. He had tan skin, chocolate eyes, and short, spiky black hair. He almost always had a smile on his face when he wasn't on a mission and had a contagious laugh. He a piercing in his left ear - always ignoring Hayato's cracks about it - and even had two tattoos: several strings of barbed wire going down his left forearm and a large dragon resting on the right side of his torso. Both were partially visible past his sleeveless grey shirt, a black star-like symbol decorated into the middle of the fabric, and he had three black buckles wrapped around his left bicep and a blue sleeve over his right arm. His pants were plainly blue with black and grey sandals, his black forehead protector wrapped around his waist like a belt. He also had a white pendant necklace around his throat, a gift he cherished from his late grandmother.

Hayato was skilled with his hands, and not in the pleasuring way, you dirty, perverted chaps! (Well he could be, I don't know …) I'm not really allowed to talk about it just yet, so you'll have to wait and see what I mean. He had dark skin, a rich espresso colour that was untainted by freckles or sunburns. He did, however, have a scar over his left eye, but it made him look even more rugged than he did already. His eyes and hair were the same coal black colour, but light seemed to make it's way out of the darkest depths of those iris' whenever he spoke. He had five other scars, claw marks, all from an unnamed beast that he wished never to speak of again, located on his left shoulder and right bicep. He also had a white falcon tattoo on his left arm, but it was hardly visible under the wrappings on his arms. He wore a white sleeveless shirt, which became blue once it reached a certain trim near the middle of the fabric, and had on casual black pants. His sandals were black and blue, and he had a gleaming silver arrowhead on a chain wrapped around his neck. He wore a brown belt with two smaller belts around his right thigh, and had two brown pouches attached to his forearms on each side, for quick access to smaller weapons if he ever needed them.

I simply adored my boys - I mean this in a very casual way; I, in no way, harboured any romantic feelings for them whatsoever - and enjoyed my time with them. Although being a shinobi was a job, a very serious, life-threatening job, I was able to still have fun with it as we all worked together and destroyed shit. All in a days work, right? Haha.

The emo-looking boy, who had stayed up in the tree the entire time we had been conversing, finally hopped down and stood in front of the blonde boy and pink-haired girl. He looked over at the Sand shinobi with a determined look on his face. "Hey! You there! What's your name?"

Temari blushed automatically. "W-who, me?"

"No, I was talking to the spook besides you." He replied. I would've laughed outright if not for my mask.

The kid with the gourd paused before answering. "Gaara of the Desert, at your service." His eyes glanced over the guy in front of him, taking in everything about the opposing Genin. "And you are?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." He replied simply. He then turned to look over at our squad, but his eyes bore into mine as he asked the same question. "And what's your name?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, since he knew that I can't speak. I continued with this expression until Akio answered for me. "Her name is Kurosawa Tika, punk." There was a bite in his voice that I recognized well. It was the same bite that was in Hayato's voice whenever he was talking to another guy who was addressing me. I honestly had no idea why they reacted in such a way to others speaking to me, but I figured it was just their way of protecting me, for whatever reason. I sighed inwardly. Boys …

Sasuke just nodded, but not before giving Gaara and me one last glance. Gaara also gazed at me the same way he had at Sasuke. It was then I knew … I had unwittingly made two new opponents, both of which who wanted to fight me or see what I could do … Even though I honestly didn't care about either of these two. Our team has enough to deal with already, we don't need another problem to handle on our to-do list. What is with all these shinobi looking to one-up each other? … Oh, right … 'Cause that's what ninja do … But seriously, come on! I didn't even do anything. All I did was show up … Jeez, I'll never understand some people.

"Hey!" The blonde boy behind Sasuke called out. "Don't you want to know my name?!" It's crystal clear this boy wants attention.

"No." Gaara replied, turning around. "Let's go." Then, in the blink of an eye, all three of the Sand ninja hopped away from the alleyway.

Turning to look back at the Konoha shinobi, who were all exchanging confused and determined glances with each other, I then figured it was probably time to head back to our room at the inn. I nudged my teammates and gave them each a knowing look. I didn't even need to speak when the boys were able to understand me so easily, so the mask was no problem at all.

"Hey!" Hayato called out to the Konoha shinobi still standing in the clearing. They all looked over at once to see what was the matter. "Even though they didn't care to know, what're your names?"

The blonde kid stood up immediately, hands on his hips in a hero's pose with a radiant smile on his face. I swear the sunlight even grew brighter behind him as he spoke. "Uzumaki Naruto! I plan on becoming the next Hokage!"

Hayato and Akio looked as if they wanted to laugh, but I could sense that this Naruto kid was being serious. Dream big or go home, I suppose. The kunoichi behind him nodded respectfully at us, chirping out her name gracefully. "Haruno Sakura."

"Perhaps we'll see you guys at the Exams." Akio said before we all took off just like the Sand ninja.

As we reached the inn and made our way up to our room (Akio hadn't lied when he said he did know the way back to the inn, much to Hayato's annoyance), I couldn't help but smile behind my mask as my excitement for the Exams to start began to grow.

TO BE CONTINUED

[AN: First chapter done! Just to let you (that is, anyone who is reading) know, I don't usually update super quickly, so if the next chapter ends up being published in, oh say, two years, don't be surprised. Also, the romance (or any real feelings of friendship) won't start for a while (and I do mean a while). I just want to get the Exams off to steady start. A good Shonen manga is never worth reading if there is immediate romance in the beginning, so I'm using the same principle for my story. Please note that the characters clothing designs are obviously not what you would call 'ninja' because I'm not sure how to make unique ninja outfits, so their clothes may appear to be a bit more … modern, which I apologize for. Also, this is my first Naruto fanfic, so any flames I get will be used for the funeral pyre of Khal Drogo. Signing off - ShadowManipulator7 '-.-']