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I, Syraxes, do not own the Naruto manga, Naruto anime, Naruto shippuden anime, the Boruto manga or anime, video games or Naruto novels. They are property of Masashi Kishimoto and Studio Pierrot. I am a fan making this for the enjoyment of other fans. Please support the official release

Sasuke followed Kakashi down through the underground entrance beneath the red building. It had taken a few days, but he had finally recovered. The weakness and soreness that had plagued him since the sealing had finally left him. He could move his body without the nagging sensations causing him discomfort and he was glad. Not a day too soon. It was the end of the second task, with the staff organizers calling in all the teams who passed.

He knew he should be focused on the task ahead of him, at either side of him, his teammates were ready, but Sasuke's heart just wasn't in it today. Since he had woken up, Sasuke had been plagued by the memories of the Cursed Seal induced dreams. He had re-lived his brother's Genjutsu, showing Itachi murdering the Uchiha Clan, this time with the facade there. It had been him, in his first year of the Academy. It had taken his form, and watched as his family was murdered again and again before his eyes, asking why he let it happen. Always talking, accusing him of weakness. It was his fault, he should have been able to stop Itachi. He was the only one who could; but he had failed. His brother murdered everyone he had grown up knowing, his entire family, down to every last man, woman and child. If only Sasuke was stronger, he could have saved his mother and father. He could have saved his family, the entire clan.

Power. If you only had power.

Rage, always so close since those dreams, filled him. That all consuming hatred of Itachi surging through him. If he only had more power, he could have killed his brother then and there.

But you were weak. Too weak to even save your family! The phantom of his younger self accused. It's all your fault.

Was it his fault? Was it because of his lack of power that Itachi had gone through with his plan, testing his abilities?

And now here you are, playing family with them. Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura. His life used to be dominated by Itachi; he had lived only to slay his brother and avenge his clan. He was supposed to be an avenger, but somewhere along the way, they had warmed themselves inside his heart. He cared for them, that was undeniable; Kakashi and Naruto were more like brothers to him than Itachi ever was. Sakura was more than that; in those nights when he allowed himself to think about the future, after Itachi was dead, he had come to think about the restoration of his clan. And Sakura was always in the fantasies, surrounded by a ring of children.

Is that really what you should be thinking about? His phantom had seemed to take great pleasure in tormenting him about them. Itachi is still alive. Is starting a family possible? He wanted to exterminate the clan. Your children will never be safe.

He wanted power to kill Itachi. Orochimaru (Kakashi had only told him who the girl was when the Cursed Seal was sealed) was right; at his current level, he could never hope to kill Itachi.

Come seek me out. I can make you stronger; I can give you power.

Orochimaru was an internationally wanted crime; S-ranked and actively hunted by the five villages and their host nations, as well as a number of minor countries. He had not only avoided capture, but has carried out attacks on all five villages while having a target on his back. Orochimaru was one of the few shinobi on his brother's level and he could use that to his advantage; to learn under Orochimaru...

But that would mean betraying not only his village, but his team. Natuto, Kakashi and Sakura; he couldn't take them with him. They wouldn't want him to go.

What have they ever done for you? They're holding you back.

But that wasn't true, even if the phantom wanted him to think was. Before he had graduated and been on Team Seven, Sasuke had been alone. He had shunned the company of others and threw all his free time into training, in his single minded pursuit of Itachi's death. Team Seven had given people he could rely on. Bonds of love and loyalty had been forged; how could he possibly throw that away? Even to kill Itachi, could he turn his back on the only three people left in the world that he loved?

No, he didn't think he could.

The sound of the door opening drew Sasuke's attention. Kakashi passed through and Sasuke followed, the last member of his team inside. They entered a large, white room. At the front of the room, the Hokage stood beside Anko, the woman in charge of the second exam. Behind here, shinobi baring the hitai-ate and flak jackets of all five villages stood. Kakashi pointed them towards the group of kids close to their age, undoubtedly the other Genin who passed.

Sasuke watched Kakashi move towards, what he assumed to be, a group of Jounin

Sasuke took a spot at the end of the group, Naruto and Sakura by his side.

"Alright maggots!" Anko spoke loudly, stepping forwards. "The second exam has come to an end! From this point forward, the third exam will be out of my hands. That job will be taken over by Shiranui Genma."

Anko took a step to the side, and a man took a step forward, wearing a Konoha flak jacket and hitai-ate.

"Eight teams have passed the second round of the Chunin Exams. From Konohagakure, four teams. Team Seven, Lead by Hatake Kakashi. Members: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke.

"Team Eight, lead by Yuhi Kurenai. Members: Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuga Hinata and Aburame Shino.

"Team Nine, lead by Might Guy. Members: Hyuga Neji, Rock Lee and Watanabe Tenten.

"Team Ten, lead by Sarutobi Asuma. Members: Shikamaru Nara, Akimichi Choji and Yamanaka Ino.

"From Sunagakure, one team. Lead by Hishiro Pakura. Members: Uzumaki Gaara, Hoshi Sumaru and Kawasaki Shira.

"From Kumogakure, one team. Lead by Senba Maori. Members: Kozuki Guren. Minami Muku. Tamaki Ryuzetsu

"From Iwagakure, one team. Lead by Lead by Tanaka Tayuya. Members: Kinuta Dosu, Abumi Zaku and Tsuchi Kin.

"From Kirigakure, one team. Lead by Kaguya Kimimaro. Members: Yuki Haku, Hozuki Suigetsu and Tsuchigumo Hotaru."

The proctor stopped reading for a moment, as if giving them time to process what he had said. Sasuke's eyes flashed over towards the team from Kiri, recognition coming to him; they were the team at Nami. The proctor hadn't mentioned Zabuza. Had the Pale Man killed him?

"The number of teams that have passed exceeded our expectations. Originally, a semi-finals had been planned, to cut down the number of participants, but instead, the final exam will consist of team matches. The tournament will be held over two days, the first day cutting the teams down to four, the second cutting them down to two, before the final match.

"The Hokage, along with a representative from the other four villages, will be judging the match. Each participant in the battle will be watched and the judges will decide if any one of you is worthy to be promoted to the rank of Chunin. The further your team advances, the more chances you'll have to impress the judges."

He stopped talking, waved his hand and the bandaged shinobi, who had handed Sasuke the map for the first exam, came to stand beside the procter. He was holding a box.

"One person from each team will take a slip from the box and read it out." Genma pulled out a slip of paper and a pencil. "You can come up now."

Sasuke turned to look at his teammates, his eyes meeting Narutos. He saw Sakura looking at the blonde as well. Naruto met their eyes, nodded and moved forwards.

Sakura caught his eye and smirked. Sasuke returned it.

From the papers, they read off numbers, and were told to return to the line after. Naruto was the last one, returning to his spot right before the proctor began speaking again: "Alright. Please take a look at this paper. You all just drew lots, and those numbers have decided your match up."

Sasuke pushed his chakra into his eyes, causing his Sharingan to blaze to life. The room became so much more clear and even from the back, the paper was easy to read:

Match 1: Suna Team Pakura vs Kiri Team Kimimaro

Match 2: Konoha Team 7 vs Kumo Team Maori

Match 3: Konoha Team 9 vs Konoha Team 8

Match 4: Iwa Team Tayuya vs Konoha Team 10

When the proctor was sure each team had sufficient time to read the paper, he put it away in his flak jacket. Sasuke stopped the flow of chakra to his Sharingan, his vision returning to normal. "The third phase of the Chunin Selection Exams will start one week from today. Representatives from all five villages are already in the city. Everyone from ruling Daimyo's, down through their nobility, to well connected and rich merchants, will soon be pouring into the city. The finals is always a tournament, it's one of the biggest events of the year, and it will determine if any of you are qualified to advance to Chunin. That's all I have to tell you. Hokage-sama."

Stepping back, he bowed to the Hokage, who took the front.

"This isn't only about your advancement, though that's why you're here. This is a chance for your village to show off it's potential. It's future shinobi. The better show you perform, the more potential clients will seek out your villages services. At the same time, if you perform badly, that may reflect on your village and lose-"

The Hokage stopped speaking, a masked Anbu agent appearing next to him. The agent leaned in and whispered in his ear. The Hokage nodded thoughtfully.

"I am afraid I must end this here," the Hokage said, speaking again, as the Anbu agent vanished. "You all have one week to prepare. Good luck."

"I wonder what that was about," Naruto muttered, pushing the door to the red building open. The sun was blazing today, the light blinding and Naruto thrust his hand up to shield his eyes for a moment. The Anbu agent had come in abruptly and ended the old man's speech. Was it something to do with Orochimaru? It was the only thing Naruto could think of. Had the Anbu cornered him?

He really wanted to know. Naruto knew it was going to keep him up into the late hours of the morning.

"It's bright out," Sakura said cheerfully from behind him. Naruto looked back, spotting his two teammates.

"Where's Kakashi-sensei?"

"He said he'd meet us later. Back at where we're staying." Sasuke answered him. "Said he had to go see someone."

Another mystery, Naruto thought. Probably something that was way above his pay grade. Genin were at the bottom of the chain-of-command. If Naruto wanted to be privy to any of the secrets, he needed to rise higher. The old man's hat is mine.

"What should we do?" Naruto asked, turning back to face them. They were the last team out, the others gone as soon as they were dismissed.

"We could train?" Sasuke suggested. Naruto nodded and was on the verge of consenting to another session, when Sakura spoke: "All we do is training. It's important, I know, but we have the rest of the week. And the day is halfway over. How about we do something else?"

Naruto blinked. "Like what?" They in Team Seven had never been the most social of people. At least under Kakashi's training.

She grinned. "Samābyū is a coastal city. Natsu no Kuni is a coastal nation. How about we go to the beach?"

Naruto had never been to the beach before. Konohagakure no Sato, like most of the hidden villages, were landlocked. Naruto had only ever been out of the village once he had become a Genin, for missions. Though he had spent some time in Nami, he never really had the chance to relax. Tomorrow would bring another day of training and then more training after that, getting ready for the final phase.

"Yeah, beach sounds good."

"Hn."

Yugao watched the precession from the dark alleyway. Konoha Chunin raced up to the group and began checking over a list.

Almost soundlessly, she heard a body drop down next to her. If Yugao hadn't undergone the specialized training, she would never have heard it.

"Buntaichō." She turned, staring at a fox mask.

"Kitsune," she answered curtly, her attention returning to the scene in front of them. "What news?"

She spotted Hayate walking towards the Chunin, and her heart gave a loud thump. Since preparations for the exam began a month ago, Yugao and her team had been part of the first Anbu units deployed. She hadn't seen him since she left. Her bed felt empty without him and she often woke up cold in the night, his warmth gone.

"The incident has been further investigated. The bodies that Orochimaru used have been found."

"Stripped of faces?"

"Yes."

Yugao sighed deeply. Right now she wanted to throw off her mask, her uniform and join Hayate. Why did I ever agree to join Anbu?

"Let's go then." It was with a heavy heart she turned away from him and jumped, landing almost soundlessly on top of the building, her second-in-command landing a moment after. They began to sprint. Inoshishi, Tora and Washi soon joined them.

"Is it true, Captain? Has Orochimaru attacked more people than just Uchiha Sasuke?" Washi asked.

"Yes. Uchiha Sasuke is our village's shinobi, it make sense you weren't informed about the others.

"Then his other victims were foreign shinobi?" Tora asked.

"Yes," Kitsune answered before she could. "Two of them. The Jonin instructor from Iwagakure, Tayuya and the Genin from Kumo, Guren."

"Guren? I was on duty when her team came face to face with an Iwa Genin team. She uses Crystals, right? I never heard about a shinobi manipulating crystals before."

"Neither have I," she muttered. "I asked Hokage-sama about it, thinking she was a member of some obscure Kumo clan. Maybe one whose bloodline manifested in very few members. He had never seen a crystal jutsu like that before."

For a moment, her team went silent. Then: "We should check the record's. There has to be something about a crystal. Some kind of jutsu that has been lost? Or a Kekkei Genkai that hasn't manifested in a long time. Either that or a jutsu completely unique to that girl."

If it was something completely unique to her, or some long thought extinct jutsu, Yugao could see why Orochimaru would want her.

"So did he place the Cursed Seal on her? The Iwa Jonin as well?"

"Yes." As for his interest in the Jonin, she had no idea. She must have something he wanted very much.

"Have we informed Iwa and Kumo?"

"Their representatives here, at the very least. They weren't too happy about it. That's why we'll be patrolling the city from here on out. We'll be working with other Anbu teams, under direct operation command of Elder Danzo."

Yugao could almost feel the dislike radiating from her team and she couldn't blame them. Elder Danzo was never a person she liked. He seemed to embody the darkness of the village, someone she would prefer to keep clear of. But Yugao was Anbu, and she knew how to shove her preferences aside for her duty. While she didn't like him, Yugao was under no illusion about his effectiveness; he excelled in his duty. He was extremely loyal to the village and she knew he wouldn't endanger it.

Yugao spotted the alleyway and she dropped down. Finding the right place, she extended her hand and channelled chakra through her fingertips. She placed her hands on the wall, watching as the hidden seal reacted, opening the secret compartment hidden in the wall. Yugao reached into her pouch, put the scroll inside and closed the compartment.

When she jumped back up the roof, her team was waiting for her, and they continued across the building.

Sasame ran through the building, pushing the medical nin aside as she moved. At that moment, she didn't care that they were shouting at her, that she was causing any disruption. Turning right down the corridor, she followed the directions Kitsuchi gave and came to a stop right outside the door with no windows. Poking her head inside, Sasame saw Tayuya sitting on the edge of the bed, tying the Iwa Hitai-ate to her forehead.

"Tayuya." Sasame spoke softly. Her cousin turned around and levelled that superior look at her. Sasame hadn't seen Tayuya since she had become a Jinchuriki and she had been put under Han's instruction. Tayuya was busy leading her own Genin team and had been out of the village when So Goku had been sealed inside her. Her mother had been born the heiress of the Fuma clan, though she, unlike her parents, married outside the clan. Sasame's father did not come from any great clan but a rank-and-file shinobi family of no renown. Her father turned out to be a prodigy and a great hero in the Third Shinobi World War. Her mother and father even met while she was fleeing from Konoha's Yellow Flash. He had married into the Fuma clan and lived there until his death.

Her father had one brother, also a shinobi. He never made it above Chunin and went on to marry a civilian. Tayuya was their only child and like Sasame's father, she turned out to be a prodigy. She earned the rank of Jonin by fourteen and she was only nineteen, already leading her own Genin team.

Sasame and Tayuya had grown up together. Sasame knew she had quite the mouth and the only time she refrained from using it was in the presence of Sasame's mother. How would her cousin feel about her now? She was one of the villages Jinchuriki and that seemed reason enough for her friends to cut ties with her. Even those in her clan feared her.

Tayuya slowly raised her eyebrows and the familiar wiry smile lit up her face. "Sasame. Come here brat."

The open familiarity and kindness was more than she could have hoped for. Sasame ran forward, planning to throw herself in Tayuya's arms, when the girl in question grabbed her and pulled her into a headlock. Tayuya's arm cut around her throat, squeezing and suddenly Sasame couldn't breathe.

"Hey runt! I didn't expect to see you here!" Her fist came down on Sasame's head and suddenly Tayuya's knuckles scraped against her skin. Unable to breath and in pain, Sasame pulled away, Tayuya putting up little fight. "Still can't take care of yourself, can you? I thought you and Han were supposed to be on some top secret training?"

Taking deep breaths, the warm feeling that Sasame had gotten earlier evaporated. "I came to see you because they said got attacked. Shouldn't have bothered."

Her cousin was still a bitch.

Tayuya laughed, slapping her hand across Sasame's back. Pain shot out from the point of impact and Sasame knew she must have infused chakra.

"Bitch!" She hissed, pulling back and rubbing where she got hit. This seemed to amuse Tayuya more and the girl let out another loud laugh.

"It's good to see you, Sasame. I was afraid what happened might have gone to your head, but you're still the same old Sasame."

Before she had arrived, Tsuchikage-sama had ordered her to keep quiet about her status as the villages new Jinchuriki. Tayuya must be under the same order, like the representative group was.

"Yeah, same old Sasame," she muttered. "So, what happened? I heard you were attacked."

Tayuya's smiling face vanished, replaced by a dark look. One of the medical nin poked her head in the room, the Iwa hitai-ate on her forehead.

"Hello," she said, pleasantly enough. "I wasn't aware you had a visiter, Tanaka-san."

Tayuya waved her hand, putting the topic to an end. The medical nin pursed her lips, checking her clipboard.

"Where have you been? The delegate said you left when I checked in at where you're staying."

"I was with my team. We were receiving instructions. Last task of the Chunin Exams."

Memories flashed through her mind of her own exams, her team risking life and limb for a promotion. Her team. Sasame hadn't been on speaking terms the last time she had seen them, before she left the village with Han. She knew they were afraid to be around her; afraid the monster might take over. Sasame hoped time away from her would help. She wasn't Son Goku and though she found the giant ape pleasant enough, she couldn't expect the villagers to.

She had been through so much with her team. She had been so close to them. A little time away and they'd understand.

Tayuya gasped and grabbed her neck, leaning down. "What's wrong? Tayuya-"

"Out of the way!" The medical nin pushed passed her. The women gentle pried Tayuya's fingers away from her neck and seemed to be examining something. Was it a wound? The woman touched it and Tayuya flinched back.

"Damn it, bitch! I told you not to touch it!"

It seemed her cousin was familiar with the woman. Normally her unfiltered mouth shocked people, but the med nin just sighed.

"The seal is holding, Tayuya-san. You are quite lucky Master Taizo was part of the delegation."

Taizo? The name sounded familiar. She had to rack her brain a bit, but the answer slowly came to Sasame. Taizo was an old Uzumaki man. He had met with her mother multiple times, trying to gain the Fuma clans favor. When Uzushiogakure had been destroyed, he had been one of the few who hadn't fled to Konoha. He had been an old friend of the Tsuchikage and instead had gone to Iwa. She knew he joined Iwa's sealing division, and he was the man who crafted the seal on her body that trapped Son Goku, but beyond that, Sasame didn't know much about him.

The next question was about the seal. "Seal? What seal?" Why does Tayuya need a seal?

"Nothing brat," she said quickly, glaring at Sasame.

"Nothing? How is needing a seal, nothing?"

"It's classified," she snapped back.

Anger blazed for a moment, but it cooled very soon. There wasn't any point in pressing the issue if it was classified.

Sasame sighed. "Are you okay, Tayuya?"

Kiba jumped back, grabbing his shoulder, where Hinata had just hit him. He tried to channel chakra through that spot in his arm, unsurprisingly finding that he couldn't.

Hinata's Byakugan was blazing at him. Hinata was always so timid, sometimes Kiba forgot about her Gentle Fist, and how effective it was.

Kiba was vaguely away of Shino and Kurenai-sensei watching from the side. This didn't appear to be a good showing for him. Kiba clipped his hand together. "Tsūga!"

Chakra surged through his body and Kiba took a running right, before he began to spin. Faster and faster, his body spun and he shot at her. Hinata jumped out of the way. Kiba came out of the jutsu and quickly turned around, aiming his kick at her head. Hinata brought up her arm in time to block his kick and to his surprise, brought her fingers towards his leg. He felt the impact and knew she had just shut off another one of his chakra points.

Akamaru jumped from behind her, slamming into her back, headbutting her. Hinata's hand fell away and Kiba took his chance; he pulled his leg back, grabbed her shoulders, and brought his knee up to her stomach, and hit her as hard as he could. Another uppercut and Hinata was on the ground. Kiba brought out his kunai, pushing it against her neck.

"Kiba is the winner," Kurenai-sensei called. Kiba dropped his arm to his side and offered Hinata a hand up, heaving her to her feet. "Hinata, did you lose track of Akamaru?"

She shook her head. "No. He was in my field of vision, but he attacked quickly and I couldn't respond in time."

Even after being on her team this whole time, Kiba still found it creepy that her Byakugan could see 360 degrees. Like she has eyes in the back of her head.

"Then we should work on your response time. Kiba, you recovered well from her attack; you pressed on and didn't let the closed chakra points get to you."

He shrugged, pushing his arm out and hitting Hinata on the shoulder, in a friendly gesture. "I've fought her enough to get used to it."

Hinata gave him a smile.

"Shino, you'll fight Hinata next."

"Right."

"Yes!"

They answered at the same time.

"Bark!" Kiba turned, as Akamaru came running at him. Kiba grabbed him when he jumped and held him against his chest. Kiba moved to stand next to Kurenai-sensei, as she started the match.

Shino's impressive as always, Kiba thought, watching as the match slowly began. As much as it rankled him to admit it, Kiba knew Shino was the most skilled member on his team, outside of Kurenai-sensei. He had fought him that first day his team had formed, and he had been swept into the floor.

Already the tide was turning in Shino's favor, as he began to push Hinata back, his bugs helping defend against her gentle fist.

Shino swept her feet out from under her, but Hinata recovered quickly, moving away from his next attack. The match was starting to pick up and Hinata ran towards him.

"Bark!" Akamaru said from his arms. Kiba looked down.

"What is it boy?"

"Bark!"

"Really? Where?"

"Bark!"

Kiba's head snapped up and his eyes scanned the forest around them. Samābyū was built on the coastal edge of Natsu no Kuni, a little ways away from a forest. Kurenai-sensei had this small clearing, a perfect area for them to train. Kiba hadn't come across anyone's scent when he first arrived, and since they had started using this, no one has run across them.

But Akamaru had heard sounds. The sound of human footsteps. From their left. All what he could see were tree's. No figure of a person stalking through the forest looking for them.

"Kiba, what's wrong?"

His eyes snapped back to his sensei. "Akamaru says someone is in the forest."

She frowned. "How many?"

"Just one." Kiba pointed to where Akamaru indicated.

Hinata yelped and Kiba turned to look; Shino had her pinned to the ground, face in the dirt, holding her arm behind her body.

"Shino is the winner." Like Kiba, Shino helped Hinata up. "I think that's enough training for today. Why don't we had back? We have the rest of the week. There isn't enough time to really build on the foundations we worked out, so I think we'll just continue mock matches."

Kiba looked around the treeline one more time; whoever was here didn't seem inclined to stay around lurking.

"We'll be up against Neji and his team."

That reminded him: "Neji. He's from your clan. Can you tell us anything about him?" Any weaknesses?

"His Byakugan is superior to mine; father says our Kekkei Genkai runs strongest in him."

Kiba knew first hand how dangerous Hinata's Byakugan could be and the prospect of battling it in a match didn't appeal to him.

It didn't take them long to reach the city. Kurenai-sensei left them in the apartment, no doubt swinging back around to see if she could find whoever had been in the forest. When Kiba brought it up with his teammates, Hinata thought it might be another team.

"Another team? Could a Genin get around without Kurenai-sensei noticing? Akamaru only picked up a scent."

Kurenai-sensei's senses weren't easily fooled; Kiba knew that first had. He had tried to ambush her more than once during their sparring matches and she always knew where he was coming from.

Akamaru had a better sense of smell than Kiba, who could only match it in his transformation. That jutsu hadn't been in effect.

"No. They couldn't. Kurenai-sensei is a sensory shinobi; if they had strong chakra, she would have noticed." Shino said. "How fresh was the scent?"

"Very. Someone was out there." Then how did they avoid sensei's chakra sensory?

"What if whoever it was, wasn't a shinobi? Someone could have put a Genjutsu on a civilian; or else paid them to spy? If they didn't have an active chakra network, she wouldn't have sensed anything."

That was true. Still... "Yeah but how would they avoid detection? I didn't hear anything and they weren't around us. Or at least, close to us."

"Perhaps they were off in the distance? Maybe they didn't get too close."

"But how would they be able to see anything? If they were spying on us, trying to see our ability, they couldn't have been far off. Especially if they weren't a shinobi."

If they were close enough for their scent to drift towards his team, they couldn't have been that far away...

Something didn't add up and Kiba sure didn't like it.

Author's Note:

Tonbo is one of the Chunin from the First Exam in Ibiki's test. The guy whose face was covered in bandages

The Anbu in the fox mask is not an OC. In the Kurama clan filler arc, he was the Anbu who was guarding the Yakumo. During Pein's Assault, in the anime at least, he helped guard lady Tsunade. If you want to know more about him, go to Narutopedia. His article is titled "Fox-Masked Anbu Member"

The rest of Yugao's team are not OC's either. Their pages can also be found on Narutopedia, under the names: "Tiger-Masked Anbu Member" "Boar-Masked Anbu Member" and "Eagle-Masked Anbu Member"

In the anime, I remember it being said Guren was the only person with the Crystal Release. Granted, it has been a very long time since I watched that arc, so I could be mistaken, but I'm under the impression it's unique to her. I will stand corrected though, if I am mistaken.

Taizo is an OC but he won't play any major part in this story. Possibly any part, really.