Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

A/N: Apologies to my beta Clark for not sending this for checking first... I've been having computer problems and all that. I was supposed to have gotten my new computer back on the 12th (my birthday), but the stupid computer store has been messing around with me. Anyway, here's the new chapter.


Chapter 51: Checkmate

Kita glanced up and down the street searching for signs. The air was cold and crisp in the morning and the sky was tinted with the signs of sunrise. Kita's ears swivelled as she picked up the sleepy chirps of birds in their trees just waking up before the dawn. Despite being in a strange place, the girl took a deep breath through her nose, feeling peaceful with the empty streets and her footsteps echoing slightly against the wall ahead.

I have to find some sort of guard station... Kita thought, looking up and down the length of the wall as she approached the end of the street and to an intersection. She spotted it a little ways down. And then a tree... ah, there!

She walked towards a long bench next to a raised garden. A leafy tree leaned over the bench, casting long branches overhead.

Nobody's here yet... what a great start to the day.

Grumbling about having to be kept waiting, Kita plonked down onto the seat... and waited... and waited...

Maybe I'm just early though? she thought, looking around.

Her ears twitched as she turned and saw a teenaged boy standing behind her near the raised garden. His face – no, his whole body – was completely still. Even his straight-faced expression didn't even move- only to blink occasionally.

"Uh... hello?" asked Kita, giving the teenager a good look-over. It was hard to see his eyes from underneath the spiky auburn hair and the dull green hitae-ate that was nearly covering his eyes. Kita could just see a glimpse of bright green irises underneath.

His outfit seemed sensible enough for a ninja- a dull green jacket trimmed with brown fur and sporting a lighter green cross-shape that ran down the zipper and around the middle. Somehow, the boy had placed his gloves clad with buckles over the top of his jacket sleeves so that fur poked out from a couple of holes near the wrist. His pants were a darker green, though with some kind of belt and buckle wrapped around the calves of the legs. He had chosen not to wear standard ninja sandals, instead opting for a pair of black sneakers with an art-deco type of design on them.

But the strangest thing that drew Kita's attention was the three small red triangles tattooed on the boy's left cheek under his eye.

The boy suddenly bowed elegantly, a smile moving over his face. "You must be Mitsukai-san, I presume. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"How long were you... uh, never mind." Kita flinched, feeling stupid at herself and wondering why she hadn't noticed him sooner. She stood up and bowed as well, remembering to stay polite. "And it is a pleasure to meet you...?"

"Please, you don't have to stand up for me." The older boy's smile instantly dissolved back into a straight-face look. "I am Sencha Arata." He fell silent and returned back to his original still stance.

What's with this guy? Kita asked herself, feeling a little awkward. Her awkwardness only grew as the pair waited in complete silence. The town slowly began to spring to life before them- carts of fresh food arrived and shops opened. People began to crowd the street as they bustled to get today's produce. Kita's mouth watered when she caught the smell of fresh fish- until she remembered how much she hated seafood that was.

Also, her view of the markets was abruptly cut off by a body standing before her. Kita squinted as she looked up, the person's face in shadow for a second while the sun shone behind. But they seemed to be staring down at her too.

The boy leaned back up to his full height, giving Kita a better look at him. He seemed to be the same age as the other guy, around fifteen or so. He had light blond hair, bordering on white, though the roots of his hair were a dark brown. His dark blue eyes narrowed as he looked down his nose at her and gave a disgusted look.

"They sent us another girl?"

"What?" Kita's brow twitched. "What's wrong with that?"

She gave the boy another look up and down as the boy stepped back further. He wore a fishnet shirt with short sleeves, though the things seemed a little small for him since it didn't cover his entire midriff. Over the top, he wore a long jacket with a high collar. The black of it was interrupted by a white checker design running along the bottom, as well as coating the inside of it, making an interesting, yet slightly confusing look. He also wore a chequered wrist band on his right arm.

And though it seemed a proper combination, his red pants and hitae-ate worn in the usual fashion seemed to clash, furthering the confusing design. Kita glanced down at his feet, almost expecting more checkers, but finding a pair of sturdy white boots.

Her gaze went back to meet the older boy's eyes, but she found herself staring at a series of blue dots that ran under the boy's right eye, and just over the bridge of his nose.

"Because girls are weak," jeered the boy, grabbing Kita's attention back.

"I am not weak," Kita retorted back, her hands balling into fists.

The boy gave a snort. "Yeah sure, that's what they all say." He prodded her in the shoulder with a finger.

Kita's ears flattened. "Who the hell..."

The boy's head suddenly jerked upwards to the tree. The frowning expression he had been giving Kita changed somehow, into one that seemed more peeved than infuriated. "How long have you been up there, Katsuro-sensei?"

"Eh, since last night... I'm nearly finished on this latest level."

Kita whirled around and stared up into the tree above them. A man in a jounin jacket sat high in the branches hunched over some kind of game device.

How... All night? But I didn't even notice him... Kita thought with a feeling of shock. She continued to observe the man who stared intently at the game screen, barely even seeming to breathe. He's so immersed in whatever he's doing that he's barely active... and... this guy is a shinobi? She glanced over at the first boy, Arata- he was still standing in his strange stance that seemed a little creepy. And he didn't even acknowledge him either... but I have no idea how long he was behind me that entire time either. What's with these guys?

"Phew, there's another boss down at last and a save point!" cheered the man, springing to life and pumping his arm in success. He pocketed the game and rubbed his eyes. "Is the new girl here? I was told she was some kind of cat-girl."

"Yeah, she's here," replied the boy that had insulted Kita before. He gave her another sneer.

"Great!" The man jumped down to the ground and instantly stared at Kita. A look of disappointment spread over his face. "This is it?" he asked. He walked over to Kita, instantly grabbing her ears by his fingertips and waving them up and down.

Kita glared up at the man as he continued to play with her ears. He seemed a bit younger than most other jounin she had seen with students their age; he was at least in his early twenties or so. His head was covered in a mess of uncombed dark blond hair, not to mention a 5 o'clock shadow of stubble growing unchecked on his face. A pair of bright, yet bloodshot hazel eyes stared down at her as he seemed to be analysing her as she did him. Kita thought for a second that the man seemed to be suffering from both fatigue and some kind of malnutrition, judging from his ashen appearance and the dark bags around his eyes.

She gave a closer inspection of his jounin outfit after her nose told her it hadn't seemed to have been washed in many days, maybe weeks... it was in a shoddy condition and his jounin jacket looked battered and worn, though it sported quite a lot of promotional buttons on it for things that sounded like video game titles. And as Kita glanced at his hip pouch, she saw it had been used to hold his game device and a number of games instead of the usual ninja support items.

"I don't like people doing that," growled Kita as she stopped studying the man.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you should try to feel some sympathy for me here. Video games had always promised cat-girls were supposed to be hot- you could hardly even be called cute."

The fur on Kita's ears prickled with agitation. The jounin finally let go and rubbed his chin.

"I'm going to call you Kitty." He nodded with a strange knowing smile.

Kita's lower eyelid twitched before she gave him a dark glare. "No," she told him firmly.

The man shrugged, seeing her expression. "Fine, Cat-Ears-chan it is then." He pulled his game device out again, sat down, and started to play once more.

"...'Cat-Ears-chan'?" Kita repeated, dumbstruck.

"Yeah," muttered the jounin casually. "If you don't like Kitty, then you'll be Cat-Ears. And the guy in green is Jeeves, and the other guy is Checkers."

Kita was feeling beyond confused now. "But he said his name was... why Jeeves?"

"Just ignore him," grunted the one the man had called 'Checkers'. He ran a hand through his hair. "His name is Yuugino Katsuro- he's our sensei." He gave a glare of his own at his teacher, who was already too wrapped up in his game to care.

...Who the hell... why did Tsunade-sama stick me with these weirdoes? The fur on Kita's ears continued to bristle irritably. Damn it...

"I take it you met Arata, Girly?" asked the boy, crossing his arms when she looked back at him with furrowed brows. "He's not much for introductions... are you, Arata?" He gave his head a jerk up at the other boy in green, a slight scoffing in his tone.

"Of course, Aitou-san," replied Arata with a brief nod and smile.

Kita took a breath, trying to stay calm, though it was hard. "You haven't even introduced yourself to me yet, 'Checkers'."

The boy's brows twitched at the name and glared at her. "It's rude to ask someone's name without giving their own first, Girly."

"Fine, it's Mitsukai Kita," she responded, her top lip curling up and revealing a pair of fangs.

"And I'm Aitou Susumu- definitely not pleased to meet you." Susumu narrowed his eyes. "It's not like you'll be hanging around a long time though. The other girls they sent us all gave up and quit after a few days."

"I can see why..." Kita muttered to herself.

Susumu caught her mumbled words and glowered at her. "It's because they were weak. None of them were strong enough to keep up. And I seriously doubt you'll be any different. All girls are the same- whiny, easy to give up, and the first ones to cry. You'll be crying and begging the Hokage to transfer you within a week. I'll even bet on it."

Kita briefly glanced over at Arata who was still standing silently and like a statue, then over at her new sensei, enthralled in his video game. She straightened up and stared Susumu in the eye. "I don't know who those other girls were exactly, but I can tell you that I'm not going to be like them. You want to make a bet? Sure then. I bet that I'll be sticking with you guys until my time is up." She crossed her arms. "So you better get used to having me around. I came here for one purpose, and that is to become as strong as the Kazekage of Suna, Sabaku no Gaara!"

Arata and Katsuro seemed to snap out of whatever they were doing and looked over at the silver-haired girl who had proclaimed her confidence so readily.

Susumu too watched the girl until a smile tugged at the edge of his lips. He burst out laughing. "You've got to be kidding me..."

Kita's arms uncrossed themselves as he laughed. One of her hands formed a fist. "YOU... BASTARD!"

Susumu suddenly was sent sprawling onto the ground as a fist slammed into his face. He leapt back up, a red fist-shape on his cheek. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!"

"You started it!" retorted Kita with a glare.

"You were the one acting all high and mighty with your 'I'm gonna be as strong as the Kazekage' speech! How could I not laugh? It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"It's not! I am going to be as strong as Gaara!"

"Don't make me laugh again!"

"Don't make me hit you again!"

"Hey," interrupted Katsuro, thumbs tapping away on his game, "if you're going to fight again, do it properly. Go wear yourselves out with a duel or something- you're making me mess up vital combo moves."

Susumu thought for a second and looked down at Kita, a sneer on his face. "So, girly, how about it? Only taijutsu and tools allowed."

Kita glared at him. "You're on."

"And if you lose..." Susumu smirked at her. "You're off the team."


Kita paced back and forth angrily when they arrived at the training field. She felt tense, not from the challenge, but from the sheer animosity she felt towards Susumu. It didn't help that the buzzing in the back of her head felt like delirious happiness. Kita kept yelling in her head for Nibi to shut the hell up, but it only seemed to make the bijuu even happier. And for some reason, Kita seriously felt like she wanted a scratching post as well. She settled on the thought of having to use Susumu as one.

A tiny voice in her head told her that she should keep a restraint on herself. If she injured Susumu too badly, she might get kicked out of the village.

You shut up too, Kita snapped at her conscious. I just want to teach him a lesson. He's a jerk! A bastard! He deserves some justice!

"Ready... Girly?" asked Susumu, cracking his knuckles. Arata and Katsuro stood a little far off next to a number of log poles.

Kita bared her fangs at him. "Yeah."

Katsuro, having put away his game, held up an arm. "Ready? Fight!"

Kita dashed along the ground at Susumu, claws extended to strike. Susumu pulled out a round ball and raised an eyebrow. He gave a smirk as he casually tossed it.

KABOOM!

A body went flying through the air out of the smoke and dust. Kita righted herself and landed unfazed, having just leapt out of the way. She looked up and leapt again as another came flying her way. The ball exploded beneath her. Kita landed and started to run again.

Susumu side-stepped, missing a fist aimed for his stomach. He grinned. "I'm not distracted this time. Your last shot at me before was a cheap one. Don't you girls have any sense of pride?"

Kita yelled sharply and stepped up the punches and kicks. Susumu easily dodged.

"Geez, you really are weak," he mused, ducking under a kick. "And slow as anything. It's getting really boring."

I'm not going to get beaten... I won't let him gloat over this... I'm not going to let him get the better of me! Kita's head felt like it was swimming. The urge she felt to at least give this guy a good beating was insatiable. It was...

It was like he was prey.

Susumu gave a bored sigh. "Looks like I'm about to prove myself right," he said with a grin. "It seems like girls really are..."

He stopped short as he felt a sharp pain in his hands from where he had raised them to block a punch. His eyes widened as he saw Kita gripping tightly against his hands, her fingers entwined with his own, and claws biting into his knuckles. She pushed against his hands, trying to get him to back down.

Susumu pushed back, surprised at her strength. He could only see a slight smile on the girl's face as she kept her head lowered. Black chakra suddenly flared up around her. Susumu nearly faltered as he saw a cat's tail appear behind her, waving curiously. It was then Kita looked up, purple eyes blank and her smile widening to a twisted grin.

"Looks like you're about to be proved wrong, nyan."


Katsuro watched on in interest as Susumu leapt back and threw another bomb. The girl jumped out of the way and charged forward at him, trying to slash him with her claws. Susumu seemed frantic to get out of the way of the girl-gone-mad.

"Interesting," spoke Katsuro with a plucky smile and pointing a finger up as if an idea had hit him. "A 'Berserk' mode!"

Another bomb went off. Susumu started yelling profanities at the girl.

"Crazy bitch! Get away from me!" He lobbed another bomb. Kita dashed out from the smoke on all fours and tried to pounce on him. Susumu managed to keep away with another explosion.

Katsuro raised an eyebrow. Things were getting stale now- like the two were just devolving to using button mashing now. The jounin glanced over at his other student. "Hey, Jeeves."

"Yes, Yuugino-san?" Arata continued to stare ahead, though it was unsure if he was watching the bizarre battle or ignoring it completely.

His sensei looked thoughtful. He rubbed a hand against his stubbled chin. "Got any Nepeta leaves?"

"Of course, Yuugino-san," replied Arata with a nod, understanding what he meant instantly. "I believe I have a variety that may be of use in this situation." He pulled a scroll from his pouch and unwound it, searching for the right seal. He waved a hand over the one he finally settled on and handed a small clump of leaves in a bag to Katsuro.

The man sniffed the bag briefly. "This will do." He squeezed it in his hand before throwing it towards Susumu. "Hey Checkers, heads up!"

"What?" Susumu caught the bag and looked it over, though keeping a close eye on Kita as she ran at him again.

"Go on, chuck it at her!" yelled his sensei.

"Whatever," retorted the boy lamely, chucking it at Kita.

The bag hit the girl in the face, her nose twitching at the scent.

"...Wha?" Susumu gaped in astonishment as the girl suddenly flopped onto the ground and started purring. The black chakra dissipated, though her tail kept waving back and forth excitedly as she pawed at the bag then rolled over it.

Katsuro walked over, and bent down next to Kita, patting her on the head. "Who's a good cat-girl?" he asked with a cooing tone. She purred as he scratched her behind the ears. Katsuro picked the bag up and jiggled it at Susumu. "It's Nepeta... you know, catnip."

"I... knew that," replied Susumu, crossing his arms. He stared down at Kita as she continued to purr helplessly. He gave a sigh and rubbed the sweat from his face. She'd sure given him a run for his money at least... much more than any other girl that had been on the team... except for...

Kita blinked suddenly and looked up, shaking her head and feeling dizzy. "What just happened...?"

"Nothing... Nothing happened," Susumu growled and turned his back to her.

Kita got to her feet and steadied herself from toppling over. Her eyes darted around warily. "Who won?"

"Won what?" asked Katsuro, scratching his neck whilst one hand furiously tapped away at his game.

"But... we had a fight..." said Kita with confusion. "And he said I'd be out if I lost. Who won?"

"Nobody did," replied Susumu. "Just forget about it. You can stay if you want, but I'm not going to go easy on you, Girly."

"Who's hungry?" inquired Katsuro, starting to walk away. "I could use some grub after all that excitement."

Susumu and Arata followed after, leaving Kita behind, standing dazed and confused.

But... what excitement? I can't remember... thought Kita with a concerned look. She glanced down as she saw something black and purple wave in the corner of her sight.

Susumu glimpsed back as he heard Kita swear and try to leap on her tail.

"Strange girl," he muttered. So we have what seems like a permanent girl on the team now for a while... though, she'll never be as good a replacement for Nikkou-chan...

Nikkou-chan... I wish you were still here...


A/N: Heh, well, there you have it- Kita's new team. I hope nobody thought I was going to stick with any of the canon guys... that'd be boring... The news guys are a pretty interesting bunch once you get to know them, and hopefully we'll get around to finding out more about them too. But I'm also hoping to have a couple more cameos from the canon guys as well.

About the Names:

Sencha Arata: Sencha is a 'Green Tea', whilst Arata is a name that means 'Freshness', so his name can basically translate to 'Fresh Green Tea', hehe.

Yuugino Katsuro: Yuugi means 'Game' and Katsuro is a name that means 'Victorious son'. Combined with 'no', it translates to 'Victorious Son of the Game'.

Aitou Susumu: Aitou means 'Regret', and can translate to 'Progressing', so together that is 'Progressing Regret'.

See ya next time!