CHAPTER 3

There was a shimmer then there stood a pale, slim warrior. His raven black hair blown in his face. Most everybody else were already waiting under the huge tree in the middle of Konoha. The group usually consisted of five. Today so far under the tree sat two and of course he just arrived. One of the missing worked at this hour so he would not get on until later that night. The other one was just running late.

"Finally, Rave." One of the two under the tree barked. He was a conjurer of sorts. He was quite slim himself but you could see less muscle on him. His hair a brunette shade swept across his forehead. He had a single mark on each cheek to represent his love for his dog, Akamaru. "Bya said he'd be on early tonight. He apparently gets off work early."

"Don't call me Rave…" the approaching avenger scowled at the dog boy. His black clothes resembled that of an assassin with his short sleeves and his white, shimmery cloak. He also wore fingerless black gloves. His six foot sword rested across his back as he agilely walked over and leaned against the tree. He continued with as much malice in his voice as he could muster. "The name's RavenBoy, Pup."

"No fair," the dog-like-boy whimpered sarcastically. "You let B call you Rave."

"Yeah well…" the raven turned towards the portal and grumbled irritably. "You're not B, are you?"

"Troublesome," a sigh brought Raven's attention to the other figure under the tree. His darker brunette hair was bunched back in to a ponytail that spiked at the tips. He was, as everyone came to agree one of the laziest clerics in all of Konoha. His quarter-staff lay on the ground beside him while he stared at the clouds through the tree leaves on his back. His outfit was white hooded robe over white pants and a fish net black tank top. "He's really late today."

"Probably got lost, Trouble." Rave smirked to himself as he recalled their first meeting. Before he could think about it fully he toppled to the ground. All he saw when he opened his eyes was gold. Eventually blue orbs met his obsidian ones.

A true sight to be hold was the only thought that raced through his mind as his gaze raked over the boy pulling himself into a sitting position. His golden locks washed across his forehead matching the golden feathers of the wings adorning his back that spread out to encompass his line of sight. His clothes were quite the contrast to his bright hair and wings. He wore a black tank top that matched the avengers outfit coincidently. His normally adorned cloak lay at their feet. The blonde was smaller compared to the avenger but his outfit fit almost as tight.

The avenger's muscle was sharp and smooth while the blonde had little to none which just added to his fragile look. "RAVE!!!"

"B," Rave struggled for air; though small the blonde still had some strength and when he jumped back on the raven he knocked the breath out of the avenger. "Off."

His voice was harsh and demanding but the affection hidden in it from the clueless blonde did not go unnoticed by the other two boys sitting near by.

"AHHH!!!!" With that the blonde jumped up and started bowing apologetically to Rave. "I so so so so so so so soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Alright alright!" Rave clamped his hand over the loud blonde's mouth before he could think of some other annoying apology. "It's fine as long as you stop apologizing and yelling, B."

"Oh! That's right! Almost forgot," the blonde waved his hands around childlike. "Rave can't call Kit 'B' no more."

"Why not?" Rave ran his hand through his hair roughly and sighed.

"Kit changed Blondie's name," the blonde smiled exultantly. "And there's no "b' in it at all."

"Oh ok…" He waited expectantly for the blonde to finish. When it didn't seem like the boy was going to anytime soon the raven decided to proceed before the other boy exploded with excitement. "Well, what's your new name, Kit?"

"That's it! That's it! That's it!" the blonde jumped up and down excited. "Kit changed Blondie's name to Kitsune! Rave always called Blondie Kit cause Blondie reminded Rave of a fox!"

"Kit," Rave bent his head to hide the smile growing on his lips. "What did I say about talking in third-person? And why did you change it to accommodate me?"

"Right, sorry." Kitsune scratched his head while grinning apologetically. Then a blush creeped across the boys face. "I had a nickname just for Rave that no one else used so I thought…"

Pup jumped up and cursed loudly. "I forgot today was a half day for me. Lunch hour is shorter."

"Same here, so troublesome." Trouble stood up slowly as usual. "And I was supposed to meet up with Shino for lunch."

"Same," echoed both the avenger and the broken angel.

Everyone dematerialized.