I awoke the next morning to a racket that could have probably wakened the dead. Hundreds of voices echoed in my eardrums, some yelling others whispering. I tried to block out the noise by stuffing my head under my pillow but no matter what I did, the voices only seemed to get louder. Finally having enough of it, I stumbled out of bed and headed for the living room. Kakashi must be having some sort of party or something and by the sounds of it the whole village was invited. But, when I entered the living room there was no one there. Nothing. Not even Kakashi himself. Once I realized this the voices suddenly stopped and I was left standing in the quiet of Kakashi's apartment. I listened intently to see if I could hear anything more but all I could pick up was the slow ticking of the kitchen clock.

I frowned at myself. Perhaps I imagined it all? Whatever it was, I shrugged it off and got ready for the day. I decided that I would wear a pair of my new blue jeans and sandals as well as a red sweatshirt with the number seven imprinted on the front and back in black. It was my favorite top out of all that I bought, but I wasn't sure why. While I was making myself breakfast, I found a note in Kakashi's hurried handwriting on the fridge. Apparently, he was going to be gone for a few days on an escort mission with Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. I whispered 'good luck' out loud even though I knew it was impossible for them to receive the message but I would have liked to see them off. Kakashi hadn't said whether it was okay to leave the apartment or not in his note. I didn't want to get myself into more trouble than I did yesterday so I kept to the books I had been reading. This took up most of my day and I had managed to finish reading Chakra Control. I think I understood most of if but a lot of the material required personal experience, of which I didn't have—at least, I didn't think I had.

"Man, I'm bored…" I know I wasn't supposed to go anywhere without permission, but every nerve in my being wanted to be outside.

So, knowing that I might be breaking some sort of rule, I gathered up my books and headed outside. Once the warm afternoon sun hit my face I felt a whole lot better. I spent a few hours wandering around Konoha and timidly observing the areas I hadn't visited yet. I mentally made up an excuse in my head that the reason why I was snooping around was to find a good spot in the sun to finish reading. As the day wore on, I started to think that no one would be too upset that I was out on my own and took more risks in exploring the area.

I wasn't really watching where I was going as I tilted my head up to gaze in amazement at the mountain that had sculpted faces in them-- one looked very much like Sarutobi. I didn't realize I was about to bump myself into someone until it was too late. Well, it was hard to say who bumped into who because the boy that zoomed by was moving so fast that he was nearly a yard away before he came skidding to a halt. I grumbled to himself, bending over to pick up my books when a hand reached out to help. I looked up to find the boy had come back and he stared with a such a glow in his eyes it made me flinch back in surprise.

"I'm so sorry! I did not see you! Are you okay?" The boy had such large eyebrows and he looked… very eccentric in his leaf green attire. "My names Rock Lee! What's yours?"

"Memori…" I fumbled a little, averting my eyes as to not stare.

"Lee! Be a gentleman and carry those books as an apology!" A second person arrived and he had to be some older version of Lee. This person must be on the same rank as Kakashi because of the green vest he wore. But comparing this odd looking fellow to Kakashi might be an insult to the latter.

Lee snapped to attention and quickly snatched up what books were in my arms. "Of course, Gai-sensei!"

Gai took a few paces closer and I instinctively leaned away but it went unnoticed by the grinning man. "So, you're Memori are you? I've heard a lot about you from Kakashi."

"You know Kakashi?" I looked up at Gai in thought.

My question was quickly waved aside as Gai took notice of the titles of books I had that were now in Lee's possession. "Ah! Studying are we? Well, so are we! We're about to go meet the rest of our team to train a bit, would you like to come for some pointers?" Gai lifted a hand to place on my head and grinned wide.

I sort of felt like I had no choice really. The two of them were grinning to big and Lee's eyes kept sparkling that I didn't think the answer 'no' would be suitable. So, I followed the matching pair to a more spacious area of Konoha where two others were waiting. A girl stood facing a spiraled target of which had several pointed weapons embedded into it. She turned about at our approach and sighed, diving into a lecture about how the next time they decide to challenge one another to save it after their training hour. I glanced around to the second boy who I found to my surprise, was staring back with intense light colored eyes. His gaze felt piercing, like he could see every detail of me and I couldn't stop the blush rising in my cheeks. I turned my head away as Gai introduced me to the other two. I learned the boy's name to be Hyuuga Neji and the girl to be Tenten. I smiled and gave a slight bow in greeting of which was only returned by Tenten.

"Memori-chan! Over here." Lee beckoned me forward to the tree where he placed my books with a grin. "Gai-sensei said that we could finish the day by teaching you a few things! So feel excited Memori!" I tilted my head in a smile. I felt like there was no way I could be as happy and excited as Lee.

"Pff. Do we really have to waste our time?" Neji wandered over along with Tenten. I glanced around and for some reason could not locate Gai. Where did he go? "You're name's Memori?" I nodded and Neji gave me that calculating look again that I couldn't meet with my own timid one.
"Hey. Be nice, Neji. And Lee, stop crowding her! You're going to freak her out." Tenten smiled at me and I felt a little better as long as she was around. Other two seem so high strong that if it was just them, I think I might crumble between them. "So, before we start, tell us what you know first, Memori." It was a little hard to explain, but I told them that my knowledge goes as far as what I read in my books. Tenten hummed in thought for a moment. "So, you just need personal experience now. We can help with that."

Before I knew just what was in store for me, I was facing Lee in an awkward defensive position that Tenten had put me in. The whole idea of me even raising a fist to anyone was weird and I was little bit scared. But, surprisingly, Lee and Tenten were very good teachers. They started out slow so I could follow and copy Lee's basic blocks and attacks. Sometimes I'd just feel silly and start laughing when I make a mistake and it was contagious enough to make the other two laugh as well. I was having fun acting out the illustrations I saw in my books. And I was happy to know that Lee and Tenten were having just as much fun as I was.

"You're really good at this Memori-chan!" Lee grinned as I blocked another soft yet quick punch. Over the course of the day, I could tell Lee was enjoying 'sparring' with me more than I was. That sparkling grin never left.

"Yeah, you learn fast." Tenten observed from the sidelines, often giving out pointers when needed.

Lee had quickened his pace over the last twenty minutes and was now on the offensive side while I took up the defense. It was an odd feeling, sparing. No matter where Lee moved to attack I always knew what arm to lift, what leg to lean on. Perhaps I've done this before? It could be a possibility and I was curious to how much my instinct—or my hidden memories—would reveal if Lee was fighting seriously. I was willing to take a risk.

"Lee? Could you fight me with your normal speed?"

Lee paused a moment and blinked. He looked to Tenten for some sort of answer as if he wasn't sure how to respond but when nothing came but a shrug, he stuttered shyly. "Uh, well. I don't think that would be a good idea. I mean, uh…"

"I'll fight you seriously."

I blinked around to find the owner of the voice. Neji stood from his seat under the tree and approached. I thought he got bored and left but apparently he stuck around. Why, I wasn't sure. He took his place and spread his feet apart in a very unique stance, palms out, ready to defend.