Sakura looked up at the sky as she walked along with Raven down the street. He seemed much nicer than she had expected, but that pain was still there in his eyes. "So...what's the Shadow Country like?" He asked as she looked at him.
Raven looked at her and sighed. "Before or after the massacre?" He asked.
Sakura, put her hand over her mouth. "Oh...I'm sorry...I forgot about it's history." She looked down. "I remember when Iruka-Sensei assigned me to a project about the Shadow Country. I couldn't really find out much about the country's way of life."
Raven watched the clouds pass by. "Before the massacre...It was beautiful. We experianced all the weather changes of the seasons. Winter would be cold and snowy and the summers would be hot and rainy." He sighed once more. "The forests were beautiful...full of animals and harmony. The mornings were the best...the crack of dawn was so peaceful to me." He looked down. "Now, we are a walking death trap. Letting me out was risky enough." He looked at Sakura, who was very interested in his story. "We hid in fear of another mass attack. Our once beautiful forests are laced with ninja traps...our ninja's are trained 10 times harder than they used to be and we are poor."
Sakura now understood...She could see the pain in his eyes glow. "I'm sure if you asked the Hokage, she will be glad to help the country." She said with confedence in her voice.
"That's not my choice to make. I am not the Lord of the Hidden Shadow..."
"Oh... " Sakura looked down.
Raven looked at her with a smile. "Hey hey! Lighten up! I didn't mean to get you down with my life's story."
Sakura looked back at him with a smile. "Heh, thanks for caring."
"You look better when you smile like that..."
Skaura blushed. "Wow...what a stud..." She thought to herself.
Else where in town, Asuma sat at a bar with a cigarette in his mouth. He thought about Kenai and him.
17 years ago...
"Ha!" Kenai yelled as he sent a stiff kick to the right side of Asuma's head. Asuma blocked with ease and jumped over a quick sweep. "Kage Te! (Shadow Hand)" Kenai yelled as his hands multiplied into 8 hands and they swung at him.
Asuma, blocked the real hands perfectly. He grabbed Kenai and threw him over his shoulder, but Kenai countered by holding onto Asuma's collar and turning. He fell onto his back and pulled Asuma down. He planted a foot into Asuma's stomach and foot launched him. Asuma flipped in mid air and landed gracefully on his feet and quickly turned to face Kenai once more.
Kenai stood up and brushed himself off. "I think that's enough for today." He said as he took off his gloves.
Asuma took a deep breath and relaxed. "Tired?" He asked.
Kenai looked at him. "No...I'm hungry!" His stomach growled. He looked down at it and laughed. "I guess I can't hit you with my Kage Te anymore can I?" He said as he looked up at Asuma.
Asuma pulled out a cigarette and some matches. "Not anymore! The real strikes are much more aggressive than the false hands." He explained as he lit up a cigarette. He held out the pack to Kenai as an offer.
Kenai put his hand up in rejection. "That will get the best of you one day Asuma." Kenai warned him.
"I'll quit, don't worry!" He said as he took a puff. "So...you want to head to Yameri's Steakhouse?"
Kenai's mouth watered at the sound. "...LAST ONE THERE PAYS!" Kenai took off, bookin down the street toward the resturant.
"WHA! WAIT! NOT FAIR!" Asuma chased after him.
Present...
Asuma is pulled back to the present by the sound of Kurenai calling his name next to him. He looked at her and gathered his thoughts back, pushing back the memories. "Hey Kurenai." He said.
"You ok?" She asked. "You looked deep in thought."
Asuma took a puff of his cigarette. "I'm ok. Just thinking about an old friend of mine." He sipped his Sake. "Yowai! (Tender) Another Sake, for the lady here!" He called out and the tender nodded. He handed Kurenai her sake.
Kurenai nodded in thanking him. "So...There is a new ninja in town. You hear?" She said after sipping her Sake.
Asuma nodded. "His name is Musei Raven. He is a ninja from the Hidden Shadow."
"Weren't they..."
"Nope. I thought they were destoryed too, but he appeared with his sister. Word has it they are on a mission. We didn't get any details about it, but someone doesn't want them to complete their misson."
"Well, Gaara of the Sand is coming here."
He looked at Kurenai. "Here? Why?"
"I don't know, I wasn't given any details, but I think it has to do with our two guests."
"Hmmm...things may get very interesting around here."
In the Hidden Sand, Genma and Aoba walk into Gaara's office. Gaara stands at a window and looks out at the horizon. "The Hidden Leaf...what is it that you want?" Gaara asked as he turned around.
Aoba nearly urinated on himself from the look Gaara gave them, but Genma stood steady. "We are here to ask if you would come to Konoha. There are two ninja's from the Hidden Shadow that have a message for you. They are being chased by some unknown ninja, so they cannot proceed here." Genma stated.
Gaara looked down. "Hmmm...Shadow Ninja...this must be important if someone doesn't want me to get this message." He looked up at the two. "Alright, I'll come."
"Thank you Gaara of the Sand." Genma said as he bowed his head. He pulled a scared Aoba out of the room.
"I swear he wanted to kill us...Oh man..." Aoba cried. "Thankfully you were here Genma..."
Genma wasn't paying attention to anything Aoba said. He was worried. Worried that Konoha would be caught in the middle of something dangerous...
