[AN: I want to make two things clear that I didn't exactly explain in the last chapter … 1. I finished writing and editing the character bios and first chapter at a very late hour at night, so I was working on limited sleep. 2. I know the details of the characters were a little over the top, especially for a fanfiction since usually people just draw up their OC's and post them on art websites or something. But nevertheless, it is because I am a perfectionist when it comes to writing - especially with fanfiction - so I apparently felt the need to add every single detail there was into the first chapter. I apologize if this is annoying, but it's probably not going to change. Arigato!]

Tika's POV

Place: Konoha Inn; Room 9

Time Setting: Pre-Chunin Exams

I sucked in a deep breath through my mouth as I plopped down in a nearby chair. I grabbed the bottled water that sat on the table, the lid already unscrewed from the top, and took a long swig from it. The water running down my throat felt wonderful, a great medicine that my vocal chords had longed for after at least three hours of non-stop training. I released a relieved sigh once I was able to get my breath back, my body thankful that it was finally at rest.

I glanced out the window of the suite, admiring a family of blue jays that had built a nest in the tree just outside the glass barrier. The wind was blowing just slightly, enough to ruffle the leaves on their branches but not to actually tear them away. The sky here in Konoha was so very blue that I almost believed it to be an illusion, a trick of the mind, and the clouds were as thick and white as cotton balls, if not fluffier. The entire village appeared to be peaceful, the people walking by with ease and little stress. I could feel the serene atmosphere calm my thoughts, but I was also uncomfortable with the distractingly bright environment. Clear skies and tickling zephyrs were not apart of my usual element and it unnerved me for some reason.

I guess I'm just so used to the rain back home that I've forgotten what a waterless village could look like … how different it could be …

I had lived in Amegakure my whole life, never once stepping from the borders of the village (not like I could anyway, it's pretty heavily guarded shinobi territory). I hadn't even the tiniest bit of curiosity in my system to ponder what life was like in the other villages around the world. I knew they would be different, they could even be more hospitable than Amegakure, yet I still remained unfazed. I liked the rain, I enjoyed it's clean, misty smell and the sound it would make when it tapped against my bedroom ceiling. You would think that being around a stormy environment for so many years would cause one to grow tired of it, but not me. I'm weird like that.

I got up from my chair and took a seat on one of the double beds in the room, crossing my legs and steadying my breathing. I prepared myself for a meditation exercise, one I always undertook after I finished my genjutsu training. I was thankful that I had the whole suite to myself, the peace and quiet a bonus to helping me concentrate on my meditation. Our sensei, Yukimura Katsu, had taken Akio and Hayato out to practice their ninjutsu and taijutsu while I was able to do my own exercises by myself. I had promised that I would meet up with the rest of the squad downstairs in the main lobby to do some more training around noon, after I had woken up from my altered state of consciousness.

So, without wasting any time, I began to clear my thoughts of any and all distractions, opening my mind and body to the sounds and feelings around me. I quite enjoyed the strange, out-of-body experience. It was my favourite way to unwind after doing a stressful activity, despite the fact that training in genjutsu wasn't exactly stressful to begin with. Sometimes I would get so relaxed in my own imaginary universe that I would forget about the world around me; the true world where I was able to communicate with people and make my dreams become reality … even if sometimes reality hurts.

This was among one of the many times where I would be so deeply enveloped in my own mind that I failed to return to consciousness entirely. How did I become aware of this predicament, you may be asking? Well, after what only seemed to be minutes of silent meditation - when in truth I had been sitting quietly for two hours - I was violently shaken on my shoulders by a foreign pairs of arms. My peaceful thoughts were instantly shattered as my eyes snapped open, a sharp intake of breath ready in my throat in a hasty attempt to defend myself from an enemy. However, whichever jutsu I had randomly selected instantly faded away as I saw that I was not being attacked by a shinobi, but instead being forced awake by none other than my obnoxious teammate, Akio.

His expression read that he was annoyed, yet his eyes told me that he had been scared to disrupt my exercise. "Jeez, finally you're up. We've been waiting in the lobby for, like, a half hour." He removed his hands from my shoulders and dropped them at his sides. I then noticed that he was actually crouching in front of the bed so his face would be level with mine. "You're more difficult to wake up from simple mediation than Hayato is after a measly nap."

I blinked and felt my eyebrows knot together, somewhat taken aback by Akio's blunt joke. Of course, I had been used to his sarcastic sense of humour for many years now, I had even encouraged him to do so on many occasions, but I typically didn't appreciate being the butt of his antics. So, without even uttering a word to him, I demonstrated my feelings about the situation in one simple motion. I slapped him, lightly, across the face.

Laughter immediately spiked from the background. I glanced over and saw Hayato chuckling to himself near the door to our suit, a pronounced gleam of sweat apparent over his dark arms and forehead. Katsu leaned against a wall near him, arms crossed over his chest, causing his flak jacket to crinkle. "Dude, if she hadn't slapped you, I would have."

"Yeah, whatever." Akio said as he massaged his pink cheek timidly. I noticed his skin had a clear coat of sweat on it as well, an obvious sign that both the boys had been battling particularly hard outside earlier with our sensei. Akio stood up, ruffled my short, snowy hair, and walked to the other side of the room before I could swat him again. "But I was serious when I said we were waiting for a half hour."

I chuckled a bit and cast each of my squad mates an apologetic grin. It's certainly impressive how they all put up with me on a daily basis. Especially our sensei.

Speaking of Katsu, he had not moved from his lounging position on the wall, his golden eyes watching the scenery outside as he also listened in on our conversation. He had a Jonin's quick reflexes, a specialty of sorts in his case, but he didn't gloat about it, even though he definitely deserved the bragging rights. He was a humble man - a teacher, friend, and guardian, as well - and said that he was only doing what was necessary to ensure the safety of those around him.

He was very tall with a medium build, nothing to brag about yet still quite capable in close combat. He wore the typical Jonin attire - black pants with a matching shirt - along with an Amegakure flak jacket, completely grey since it matched the overcast skies of our village (a bit dull for a Jonin in my opinion). His hair was the same honey colour as his eyes, pulled back into a sort of Mohawk-ponytail, his head shaved at the sides while it was pulled back at the nape of his neck. He had a small goatee just under his lip, some stubble on his cheeks the only sign that he actually grew hair on his face besides on his chin. He usually wore a serious expression, sometimes more blasé rather than concentrated, but underneath his teacher-like façade he actually had a really good sense of humour. Sure, he had to order Akio and Hayato to knock it the fuck off during training (which happens A LOT by the way), but he told me once that he truly did enjoy our antics. I think that stemmed from the fact that he really liked kids, and it was pretty freaking obvious that he couldn't wait to become a father one day. Katsu had a very sweet cherry filling, but he didn't dare let that show when he was on duty.

His sharp, cat-like eyes turned towards mine. "I assume you've been practicing your genjutsu." It wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway, more out of respect than as an actual answer to his rhetorical statement.

"Well, it doesn't matter now." Hayato said, grabbing a nearby towel and flinging it over his shoulder. "I'm getting a shower."

"Hey! I thought you said you wanted to eat first?!" Akio exclaimed as he attempted to fight his way into the bathroom before his friend could. They always argued about three specific things: who gets the comfy bed to sleep on, who gets the last dumpling at dinner, and lastly, who gets the right to bathe first. It was actually quite an amusing sight to witness …

The boys began an epic tug-a-war with the towel, apparently not caring that they kept slamming each other into the archway of the bathroom door. I ignored their foul name-calling and witty banter as I stood up from the bed, stretching out my sore limbs that had been aching from sitting still for so long. I smiled as Katsu forcefully snatched the white linen away from the two teenagers' fingers, sliding past them into the bathroom. He uttered out a quiet "You two need to learn some patience" before he closed the door in their faces. It was now my turn to laugh outright as the two baka males stood there with puppy-dog eyes, staring at the bathroom door longingly.

"Well that sucked." Hayato finally muttered as he took a seat in a nearby chair. Akio followed suit and grabbed a couple bottles of water from the mini fridge. I took a seat next to them, propping my legs up on Akio's lap as they continued to converse. Oh, I really want to join in, but I know I can't … Grrrrr.

"Do you think the Chunin Exams will be as difficult as Scorpion said?" Hayato continued as he leisurely sipped at his water. The 'Scorpion', as Hayato had said, was simply an epithet for Katsu-sensei, a title he had acquired after he had completed a dangerous mission against some enemy shinobi from Iwagakure … But that's a tale for another time.

"Considering the beating we just took outside from him, I'd say he's simply preparing us for the worst." Akio responded in a very uncharacteristically philosophical manner. However, he did raise an excellent point. "I think he was just demonstrating what we might need to resort to if the time ever calls for it."

"Yeah, we need to be prepared." Hayato replied, sounding just as oddly mature as his comrade. I often wondered if they had multiple personalities where one side of them would say something intelligent while the other side did something incredibly stupid. But then again, they are teenage guys … A grin suddenly appeared on his face, all signs of his contemplative psyche gone. "But we still have our trump card to help us get through."

His dark eyes bored into mine, a palpable clue that he had been discretely talking about me. As much as I disliked his ever-so-clever wording about my usage in battle, I couldn't deny that his message rang true. I'm not saying that I'm some super powerful kunoichi who could take down a whole army with a single blow - I promise you that will not be happening in this tale - but I was capable enough on missions to be labeled as a prodigy among the young Amegakure shinobi since I was eleven years old. Granted, most of my abilities had come from sheer dumb luck, but I made the most out of a bad situation and turned it into a blessing. Well, perhaps 'blessing' isn't exactly the right word to define it as … a ' serviceable curse' would be much more fitting.

I rolled my eyes at him and turned away, a gesture to them showing that I was done with this conversation. Not even a moment had passed when the bathroom door abruptly reopened, revealing a refreshed-looking Katsu in the archway. His face was a bit more luminous due to his quick rinse in the sink and he had let his ponytail loose, letting the medium-length strands fall down his back. The Scorpion grinned at us, most likely because he had overheard our discussion, and motioned for us to get up. "Let's grab lunch. You can all continue your exercises afterwards."

Without further instruction, the four of us exited the suite and made our way down the stairs. Hayato and Akio kept complaining that they hadn't been able to wash up earlier, but the idea of food seemed to overpower their need for personal cleanliness. I mentally sighed in exasperation. They're such a handful sometimes … Oh God, I sound like a mother, don't I? … I seriously need to stop that …

As we meandered through the halls of the quaintly decorated inn, my gaze never drifted from the windows along the walls, my sight captivated by some of the passing pedestrians on the street. I could effortlessly distinguish Konoha ninja from plain civilians, and, although it really didn't interest me at all, I briefly wondered which of these citizens we would be encountering during the Exams tomorrow afternoon.

Well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we … I could feel a conniving grin make it's way onto my lips before I could help it.

TO BE CONTINUED

[AU: This isn't exactly a real chapter, per say, but more of a prologue sort of thing … just to get things warmed up before the Exams really start. The first stage of the Chunin Exams will be featured in the next section, so get ready to read a loooooooooooooong chapter. Man, my vocabulary is at an all-time low today, isn't it? Ugh. As I said before, there really won't be much romance in this story until probably the very end, so if anyone is looking for some serious Gaara loving *cough, cough* (calling out the crazy fan girls) *cough, cough*, you might want to come back to this story once it's been updated more. Wow, I'm actually telling people NOT to read my story … Well, this is a first … Signing off - ShadowManipulator7 '-.-']

[P.S. I am, again, kind of sleep deprived.]

[P.S.S. I obviously just made up the Konoha Inn. It's such a generic name, so that pretty much gives it away.]

[P.S.S.S. I like applesauce.]