The voyage was silent besides Hotaka's attempts to friendly conversions. He began an interesting one that concerned the Sand village.
"Temari-san," he said in his elderly voice, "why are you coming to the Leaf Village? If it is any of my business of course."
"I am traveling for the kazekage. He is recovering so he cannot travel long distances."
"What happened to Kazekage-sama? Did he get sick?" I asked innocently. The Kages were slightly mentioned during my training and uncle never really taught anything else about it.
Temari looked at me tepidly and sneered, "the Kazekage just had Shikaku removed by the Akastuki. Where have you been?"
She looked down upon me in my chagrin and I blushed profusely, "I lived in a small part of the Star Village." I tapped the headband that I wore across my forehead and felt the cool metal under my finger. I felt closer to home and friends and family when I remembered my nationality. A smile came to my face and I went a little faster with the farmer's load in tow.
We reached the Leaf an hour before sundown. A chuunin escort was waiting for Temari at the gate. She was a visiting diplomat and deserved attention. Hotaka and I were just strangers who didn't require attention, we were let in rather easily when the chuunin gate guards noticed Hotaka and his wares.
Temari went ahead of us and spoke to the chuunin waiting at the gate. He was tall and had markings down his face. His face wore a scowl and muttered something about babysitting a grown woman. Temari glared at him and he snapped to attention, "Temari-sama, the Leaf is grateful to have your visit."
Temari disregarded the sarcasm he obviously displayed and bent in to whisper to him. I saw the chuunin glance at me and then looked to the sand jounin. He took another look at me then beckoned someone within the village.
A tall man with long brown hair, nearly black in the setting sun, and light-colored eyes came to stand by the chuunin's side. They spoke in soft tones and I tried to ignore them.
I helped Hotaka wheel the cart to a dealer's tent. His neighbor had arranged for them to share a tent in the market set-up of the tents off to the side of the ruin village. I bid Hotaka goodbye and finally went to take a look at the Leaf's damage.
There were tents everywhere and wooden structures built hastily to provide shelter. A large table was covered with food and bowls, the people had a mass dinner with all the restaurants and homes blown away. Children ran around the campground with makeshift toys and some genin were helping with the gathering of wood and supplies found within the forest.
I passed a large tent that heralded a medical cross. Perhaps I can assist with the healing. Uncle did teach me a lot of medical-nin techniques. I thought. They had a lot of injured and only had a few medicals on hand. I hesitated, but then saw a familiar figure.
A slender, tall back met my eyes as I noticed Temari speaking with a person being treated by a medical-nin. He was handsome, well at least he was my idea of handsome. His hair was pulled back into a spiking ponytail and his eyes were small and brown. He was speaking very seriously to the sand ninja and she had her hands on her hips and she spoke. Her fan was untied and on the floor of the tent.
I stood by the side of the open tent flap and watched the two of them. They seemed to know each other well enough to express a fraction of personality during the conversation. Usually, during diplomatic meetings, everything is severely official, but the two looked to be like a married couple in how comfortable they were in the other's presence, or how much they didn't really mind talking to the other. Maybe they weren't like a married couple if they were getting along so well.
Eventually, I realized I was staring, so did Temari's Leaf companion. He glanced at me quickly, frowned, and looked back up at Temari. She was standing with her back to the door and the boy was sitting on a mat laid out for him. The boy said something and Temari turned to me, gave me an icy look, then continued to examine me head to toe.
"Temari-sama." I said timidly. I used her as an excuse to enter the tent with my hands clasped white-knuckled in front of me, "is this the medical tent?"
"Have you been registered yet?" Temari asked as she bluntly ignored my question.
"R…registered?"
The boy scoffed, "you were right, she doesn't know anything." He looked at me then shooed away the person working on his leg, I presumed that it was broken in many places. "Try and fix me up. You have medical training, right?"
"Shikamaru, you shouldn't." rasped Temari. Shikamaru disregarded her and whispered a word that I couldn't hear.
I nodded and scuffled to the side of his outstretched leg. Confidently, I began the examination process. It was shattered in several places, three precisely. My hand went from a coy green to a bright lime as I churned my chakra into his bones and nerves.
Uncle taught me how to fix bones, something that was not widely known. I had a unique chakra, uncle said, that was perfect for pumping a numbing effect into the nerves as I set the bones. There were places that were being mended, but they were not efficiently bringing the bones together to their original positions.
The fragments were large, which benefited me, and my chakra made a seal to make the attachment seamless. I mended the muscles around the break and connected them back to the bones, as well as the nerves, and did a final check. Finally, I withdrew the numbing chakra and my hand went to its original pale color.
My heart was racing and my muscles trembled, not from exertion but from excitement. I was able to do something I was good at in front of a jounin and this Leaf ninja. I felt proud, especially when Shikamaru moved his leg painlessly for the first time in days.
His sagging eyes went wide with my ability. He was impressed and my chest swelled with happiness. I looked to Temari and she only looked down at me from her tall form. I averted my eyes and grasped the hem of my tunic that rested on my knees.
"Y…you shouldn't move a lot, but walking and jumping will not disrupt the healing." I said with my head still bowed low in respect to the sand jounin.
"That's impressive girl."
"My name is Oshiro Kazuka, Shikamaru-sama."
"Hm…you don't seem like the same blood."
"Shikamaru!" Temari shouted at him in haste. He obviously wasn't supposed to say that to me.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Instead of answering my question, Shikamaru stood and beckoned me. We walked out of the tent and he walked over to a pile of stacked boards and planks. There was a gathering around a campfire with young people sitting around it. I saw the chuunin escort and the man with the long brown hair who were sitting around the fire. They both looked up at me, as did a girl with long blue hair that was nearly black. She had beautiful light-purple eyes that went wide at the sight of me.
Others had the same reaction as they each turned their heads and gasped. A girl with blonde hair and purple garb jumped up and grabbed ahold of Shikamaru's arm, "Shikamaru-kun, who is this? She looks exactly like Sasuke!"
"Who?" I asked. I had never been a resemblance to anyone, not even my family. There was no way I could ever resemble someone from a different country.
Shikamaru shook the blond off and walked off to another pile of boards until I saw a small tent. Some of the teenagers from the fire site followed around the corner. The tent had a small light within and a shadow of a boy was dark against the tent.
"Naruto," Shikamaru called, the shadow moved and someone shouted back.
"Yo, Shikamaru! Are you finally walking again? Did you get a good treatment this time?" a blonde boy wearing a black t-shirt and orange pants pushed the tent flap aside. He had on a large, handsome grin that reminded me of Hotaka in the way that it seemed friendly and open. He stepped from the tent barefoot and frowned when he saw me.
Naruto stopped in his tracks and gave me more than a second glance. I stepped back but the others had surrounded us. "Naruto," Shikamaru said, "We need to talk."
"Who is this?" he didn't offer his hand or name or anything, so I bowed and introduced myself.
"I am Oshiro Kazuka, a ninja from the Star Village."
"That's what we must talk about, Naruto." Shikamaru said in a monotonous tone. He acted as if my introduction were just some words and not my name. I looked at the ninja man. I knew who I was, I knew my identity but why was Shikamaru concerning himself about it. Why wasn't I told anything?
Naruto scratched his blond head, "I don't get it Shikamaru. What's going on?"
Shikamaru sighed and said loosely, "She's an Uchiha."