Well, here's chapter three I'm glad I've gotten so far in this. Usually I would just slack off... D:

-Chapter 3-

Searches and Gatherings

"Hmph." Was all Karen had to say to the 'one of these days' comment, and she looked down. One day pretty soon she would get him, or she hoped anyways. "Sharingan, eh? Heard that was from the Uchiha clan... So why do we have it?" Karen asked, looking up a bit. She was still annoyed at Kiltin, but this interested her. "Ah well, no matter. Let's save that for tomorrow, it's getting late." The girl sighed, starting to walk back to Sakura's house. Marmalade trotted behind her, picking Kenji up in his mouth.

Ame had watched the fight intently, not hiding as much now. She was kneeling, watching the group with interest. With all this fighting and training, she was getting a bit eager to train as well. Ah well, she could always do some target practice later, if she couldn't spar here.

"It can wait until morning. Karen, maybe we can talk tomorrow." He said, yawning. He stretched as he followed them, and of course they reached Sakura's house. Kiltin, taking Kenji from Marmalade as Karen and the large dog went into their room, went into his own, keeping a kunai knife under his pillow for guard as he lay down, Kenji lying next to him as the two quickly fell asleep.

Without another word, Sukashi walked away from the boy; he needed to find Naruto, and maybe Sasuke as well, though the Hokage would be the best choice. His eyes landed on the boy that was, moments ago, battling with the girl. The boy had true strength to use his opponent's weakness against her, even when they were what seemed like siblings. Sukashi noticed others; it was a girl, maybe she was one of his team mates. All he knew was that he was in the team two. He brought out his kunai knife and started fiddling with it. He enjoyed the silence but now that the battle had died down, he was bored, he brought out a scroll from his pocket; it was given to him by his father. Daisuke had forced him to study his family Jutsu and skills that only his blood-line carried. Sukashi's grey, with a hint of sapphire, eyes scanned the words over; now would have been a good time to practice his secret art and Jutsu. He hesitated before murmuring, "Makyō Hyōshō," ice mirrors forming around him.

After the fighters had left, Ame leaned back in a sitting position and took out a scroll of her own. She figured she might as well study a bit before going home. About five minutes into the reading, she heard a noise and instinctively ducked down into a bush. She tucked the scroll away and made a hand seal quite familiar to her. "Byakugan!" She whispered. Searching the area, she found just one person left, with what looked like a scroll in their hands. She heard something; words of some sort. She then saw the ice mirrors appear and narrowed her eyes a bit. "I've never seen anything like this before..." She muttered in her hiding spot.

Sukashi felt eyes on him, but ignored it for the mean time. He quickly entered the mirrors, with his kunai knife still in his hand. He threw it onto the center of the space that his ice mirrors formed. In the blink of an eye ten kunai knifes hit the center. He silently smirked to himself before Sukashi stepped out of the ice mirror and gathered his knifes off the ground, but as soon as he bent down the mirrors shattered. He cursed under his breath, he still hadn't mastered the technique. He wasn't concentrating enough; his mind was focused on his knifes for that second and it shattered. Sukashi got up and placed his kunai knifes away.

Yuki had been surprised when the boy said he had to speak with his father, as well as that he was a relative of Haku. He didn't really know much about Haku, just that his father fought him when he was younger. His father mostly told Niranji about things like this; they were much closer because, well, he himself didn't like to be around noisy people, nor obnoxious ones either. That's Naruto right there. He ran after Sukashi, standing a little behind the boy, when he saw the mirrors, and was a bit surprised. When they shattered he looked back at Sukashi, "Ano, Aokawa-sama, I can take you to my father if you would like." He said in bit of a shy tone when he started, but it soon turned normal. He didn't know why he was offering to take the boy, it was really none of his business. He didn't even know anything about the kid, besides his name and one relative. Maybe he was here to kill his father; he didn't know, he really shouldn't trust him.

With the Byakugan still active, Ame noticed someone else in the area. For now, she just decided to focus on the mirrors and the person who created them. The moment they shattered, she was just a bit suprised. The boy who had created them was standing in the middle with a bunch of kunai. She watched silently as the other boy came to him, and said something she couldn't quite make out, even though it was almost silent all around the three.

Sukashi snapped his attention to the boy he had talked with not too long ago; it was Uzumaki Yuki, though he almost laughed when he heard the younger boy address him 'Aokawa-sama.' It wasn't every day someone would call him with much respect. His ears perked as Sukashi heard the boy offer him to take him to meet with his father; that would help a lot and less troubling by trying to find the Hokage by himself. Sukashi hesitated before answering, unsure if he could trust Yuki. It might be a trap, but how? After all, the boy barely knew him. Then Sukashi noticed the uncertainty in the boy's silver eyes. Sukashi stated, "If you are unsure of your decision, you may change your mind. I'll not force you to do anything." He turned his attention to another pair of eyes; he felt them before he started his practicing. It was a girl with black hair, but why was she watching them? Was she a hunter-nin? He shook his head; that was the most absurd and preposterous guess,. Why was he jumping to conclusions? Still, he needed to be careful. Sukashi mustered the most treacherous glare at the girl, his stone grey eyes held dark menace. He brought out a kunai knife, just in cast the girl might try to strike, he slightly fiddled with it in a beat, while his other hand grasped the hint of his sword.

Seeing she had been spotted, Ame released the Byakugan and stepped out of her so-called hiding place. Noticing the weapon in Sukashi's hand, she told him, "There's no need to attack. I came here to train earlier, but it seems people were already here. I just decided to watch." Her gaze then darted toward Yuki, instantly spotting his silver eyes. 'So... Father was right when he said they would be here as well.' She thought, referring to the Uzumaki children.

Yuki looked at him and shook his head, "No, I'll take you." He hoped that his father wouldn't get mad at him for bothering him; it was a peaceful time, but still, his father was surely busy. Once he thought about it he sighed. Then again, it was his father; how much work could he do in a day? He was lazy, much like the previous Hokage. He knew it was respectful when he called the boy Aokawa-sama; he was older, and obviously much, much stronger than him, it was only right. He looked at Sukashi, then at Ame. He squinted his eyes a bit, looking hard at her. Then realized she as well had the Byakugan. He then realized how they were related; she was Neji-sama's daughter, his mother and he were cousins. His eyes widened a bit, but then returned to normal. He really wasn't secluded or anything, he just didn't really talk to people; and it was a bit of a surprise when he met a relative.

Sukashi once more thought of the younger boy's answer, coming to a decision. He finally nodded his head; it was a slight movement and seemed barely noticeable. Sukashi did not thank Yuki, but merely stated, "Lead the way." His hand never left his sword hint though, or his kunai knife being fiddled with. Then his mind wondered off as he thought of the possibilities of Yuki being in the same unit as him. The thought unnerved him for a moment, until he thought having the younger ninja in his team might actually come be to his advantage. After all, the boy seemed quiet, and not weak either. Sukashi snapped out of his thoughts before noticing that the girl was using a special technique. It was a blood-line trait; he had heard of this skill. It was known as Byakugan, and was used by only the Hyuuga clan.

"Well, if you two are leaving, then I suppose we might meet again." Ame said quietly, then sat down cross-legged and pulled out the same scroll she had earlier. It was on different Hyuuga techniques, given to her by her parents. It wasn't quite detailed enough as she'd like, but it was fairly good. She scanned over the parts she had already read, and continued on contently.

Yuki walked in front of Sukashi, quiet conscious of the fact that he was holding a kunai, and that his hand never left his sword. He frowned a bit, hoping that the boy wouldn't attack him. He walked through the village, looking back every so often, making sure that the boy was still following him. He was thinking back to when they saw Ame. He wondered why she was looking at him the way she was; it was pretty creepy. She looked at him like she knew something. He had just shrugged it off, he then realized something. This was the most he had actually talked or been around someone without being annoyed or wanting to strangle them because they didn't shut up. He was also a bit surprised he had been as nervous as he was. He wasn't ever nervous around anyone, and if he was, he could hide it very well. He soon reached the Hokage Tower, or whatever they called it now. He went inside, heading to the very top. He was stopped by an ANBU who asked what he wanted. He was standing right in front of his father's office, "I'd like to see my father." He said, giving the ninja a look that said, 'Are you going to deprive a child from seeing his father?'

Sukashi gave the Hyuuga one last glance before smiling to himself; today would be the day he would be able to know the history of Haku. He snapped out of his trance and took notice of Yuki's stat, it was obvious the boy was nervous and alarmed by his weapons. He placed his kunai knifes away into his pocket, but his hand firmly remained on the hint of his sword. He silently followed Yuki; Sukashi was merely a step behind the boy as they traveled to the Hokage's Tower. Once they were stopped by an ANBU, Sukashi stopped himself from killing the man, but his hand twitched slightly. Sukashi almost chuckled as his grey eyes spotted Yuki give the older man a pleading look. It was funny, but a bit uncalled for. He waited impatiently for the ANBU to move out of their way.

After a few minutes, Ame was still sitting in the same spot, but had a different scroll out: one about different kinds of weapons. She played with a kunai in her right hand a moment before throwing it at a tree with a flick of her wrist. Apparently, she had gotten up to carve a target, then went back over to her original spot. It hit straight at the bullseye, and Ame looked up to see how she did. She smiled in satisfaction, then went back to her scroll, taking out another kunai and twisting her fingers around it as if she were bored.

Yuki gave the ANBU an innocent smile when he let him pass, as he walked through he felt the man ruffle his hair as he passed. He frowned a bit and once he was in he fixed his hair. He pulled Sukashi into his office and closed the door, but didn't move from where he was standing. He mumbled a few insults at the ANBU and kept fixing his hair as well as he could. It just ended up looking messier than it was though, and he looked up at the older boy and muttered, "Uh, I hate doing that." He looked over to where his father's desk should be, expecting the man to be standing there. He wasn't quite sure why he was acting so, well, normal and casual in front of the boy. He would usually be very stoic. It was something about the boy's stoic-ness that made him want to just show emotion.

-------

Glancing back at Sakura, who was fuming with anger, she and Kosuke were just about to continue their stride until some Chuunin from the academy had run out to contact them. They wanted to know what had happened. Since Sakura wanted to take care of Niranji, Kosuke got stuck with the Chuunin. "It was the Niranji kid." He said while tapping his foot. Really, how many times did he have to explain it before they would understand? Finishing up their chat, Kosuke stepped out of the academy and started to follow Sakura.

"NIRANJI!" Sakura yelled once again, grabbing the Genin by his shirt collar. Her eyes looked as if they were on fire. "Would you care to explain...THIS!" She asked as a fire cracker, along with bits of burnt paper, was shown to him. Those papers took her hours to finish. It would take her forever to redo them. Why did Niranji always have to make work harder for her? Scowling quietly to herself, Sakura waited for Niranji to answer her. It wasn't long until Kosuke had reached them. Sakura dropped Niranji to the ground and both head mistress and Jounin glared at the boy.

Mitsuki had just exited(more like stumbled) out of the academy. She would have gotten out earlier, but was helping some Chuunin clean up the classrooms. Stretching her arms out, the Genin let out a happy squeal. It felt good to be outside. In fact, it was so good that Mitsuki could have fallen asleep right there if a she wasn't on academy grounds. Since she had nothing better to do, Mitsuki just walked around the area, humming a random song to herself.

His dreams again filled with unanswered questions, Kiltin's eyes were closed, but movement could be seen. He opened his eyes quickly as he woke up. Kenji was also awake and by his face. He stood up quickly as he looked at Kenji and smiled as the small dog leapt from the bed. Kiltin quickly made it and changed into a similar outfit that he had. He stretched quickly as he walked out of the clean room. Across from his door was his sister's. "She's probably passed out." He said to Kenji as he gave a few knocks on the door.

Karen moved a bit, turning under her blanket. Marmalade picked his head up and yawned, smacking his lips. "Mmf... The doors unlocked..." She groaned, trying to go back to sleep. The girl grabbed her pillow, shutting her eyes even tighter and furrowing her brows.

Kiltin smirked. "Well. I wasn't going to bother you." Kiltin said. "Just that, I have a few free meal passes and I was going to hand you one. But since you won't wake up..." Kiltin smirked, walking out of the front door. Kenji was in the sack on Kiltin's back as Kiltin began to jump on the rooftops. He knew he'd get Karen up with a free meal. His passing speed ended when he landed near the Academy. He stopped when he was five feet from Sakura.

Putting her glare on Niranji on pause for a second, Sakura turned around to see Kiltin. "Why lookie here... It's my boy." She said while walking over towards him. Kiltin wasn't her real son, but it didn't make a difference. He listened to her, ate her food, and did almost everything she told him to. So all the qualifications for being her son was definitely met. Ruffling his hair slightly, Sakura smiled at him. "Kiltin... you've been a good boy, unlike Niranji, right?"

When Sakura left, Kosuke continued to stare at Niranji, the piercing stare that he had developed when became a Jounin. Bending down to Niranji's eye level, the Jounin pulled Niranji's cheek. "You know how much trouble you caused... kiddie?" He said while stretching the flesh. "You burnt my lunch... It took me 5 minutes to pick out those riceballs, kiddie." Letting go of Niranji's cheek, Kosuke sighed quietly. Those riceballs were so expensive and he only got a little nip before they 'died'. Since Kosuke was getting tired of bending down, he was now seated directly in front of Niranji. "Do you know how much stress you cause?" He asked as he tapped his fingers on the grass. "And do you know what stress leads to?" Sighing quietly, Kosuke shivered. 'Wrinkles... they lead to wrinkles...' There would be hell to pay if a wrinkle ever made way on to his face. Yes... hell... Anti-wrinkle creams were that expensive.

Marmalade gave out a series of barks at the sound of a free meal, and ran to Karen's bedroom door, scratching at it. Karen threw a pillow at him to shut him up, then got out of bed, opening the door and going after her brother. She tackled him from behind, Marmalade landing next to him. "You should have waited! I would have come!" The girl pouted, frowning.

Kiltin smiled at her. She did care about him, and he knew it. "I just figured out some new technique." He said. He had forgotten the name since his head ached. "Actually, two of them." Kiltin said to her. "Karen. I was kidding, I'll get us a meal later." He said.

Karen whacked him upside the head, still clinging on, her arms wrapped around his shoulders. "So you woke me up for nothing!" She asked, looking over Kiltin's shoulder and Sakura. "Hi Mom." Marmalade whimpered when Kiltin said they weren't eating yet, and he barked in frustration.

Niranji shuddered as Sakura looked away from him. 'She's scary as all shi-!' Niranji thought to himself, feeling his cheek being stretched. "Ow! What the hell was that for!" Niranji shouted, glaring at Kosuke. "So what if your riceballs got burned? Should know better than to put stuff where I can damage it... I actually meant to throw it in the exit doorway, not on your lunch... Wait... Um... My other fireworks... I li-!" Niranji got cut off, dropping to the ground as all of his fireworks went off with a dull boom, red and blue shooting out of the Academy. "Hehehe... Um... oops? Gotta go!" Niranji said, scrabbling up and running off, heading towards his house.

Kiltin poofed into a small log. "Well. You would have just slept all day long if I didn't get you up." Kiltin said, patting her on the head as he vanished. He quickly appeared in front of Niranji. "Niranji, you should know better. You're setting a really bad example for the Uzumaki Clan. I swear, you don't see me doing anything stupid to embarrass the Haruno Clan." He said.

Karen fell onto her chin and got up, rubbing it. "Oww..." She grunted, sitting Indian styled. "Sheesh, at least give me a warning..." Karen jumped onto Marmalade's back and lay belly down, falling back asleep. The dog whimpered and followed after Kiltin, not knowing whether to go home or not.

Niranji ran to Kiltin and Karen and snickered a bit. "Heh... I didn't mean for that to happen..." Niranji said, listening to the whistling sounds of the fireworks going off. "So... wanna spar with me, Kiltin?"

Kama sat in a high in one of Leaf's huge trees. He sat staring contemplatively at the blade in his lap. It was about the same height as him and was almost too heavy for him to pick up. "This blade is part of my history..." He stared slowly at the half moon shape near the base of the blade. He had taken this blade from a dead hunter-nin killed by his mother. He had known the hunter-nin's son and he told Kama that his father's blade came from a legendary killer that had died and then had been retrieved by his father. "The man the blade had been retrieved from was Zabuza... That's it—Zabuza, the mentor to my cousin. This blade has been dipped in the blood of thousands... can I ever live up to the legacy? I will never forgive my country for what they did to my family. I will see the village of mist in flames and then only then will I ever be truly happy." Now the circle at the end of the blade was near his face and he could see his fellow Genins below.

Kama brightened when he heard that two of the Genins were going to fight. He quickly gauged the distance from him to the ground and boy was it sure a lot. Kama simply let himself slide off the branch into the air, one hand in his pocket and his blade whistling through the wind beside him. When he deemed it an appropriate height, about ten feet above ground, he swung out his blade so that it embedded itself in the trunk and Kama was jerked back up into the air. He quickly completed the turn and ended up standing on his own blade. He was now at the perfect height to watch all of the action. "Wooh, I didn't think that would work." He sighed.

"Not now, Niranji." Kiltin said. "I need to take a look into something closely." he said smiling as he darted off against the trees and walls. He had a great speed as he stood on one of the Village walls, the perfect spot for a view of the mountain with the faces of the Hokage on it.

Niranji smirked a bit and followed Kiltin, stopping beside him, sighing a bit. " So... when can I fight you?" Niranji asked, looking at Kiltin out of the corner of his eye.

"Hmph. I try and pay my respects to the Hokage of the past, and you keep interrupting me." Kiltin said to Niranji. "I have a feeling. Kenji's been acting odd. I'm saving my chakra, so I don't burn it out in Shadow Clone usage." He said to Niranji. "And I have a feeling...that something else is coming also. The air is thicker than usual; a 'storm' is coming, from a guess." Kiltin said.

"I know that! Sheesh... I just wanna fight 'ya is all..." Niranji said, looking over his shoulder a bit. "No offense man, but I've felt the same way... Like someone is always watching you..."

"Uh Niranji, we best head to the field." Kiltin said, vanishing. He quickly ran past one of the rooftops as he began to run steadily to the field, carefully keeping step as he jumped to the next roof, until he reached the Genin practice fields.

Ame looked up as someone arrived, throwing another kunai. It hit on a different target she had made, directly on the bullseye. She tucked the scroll away and got up, heading to the trees. Without a word to the person that appeared, she gathered up her weapons.

Niranji knew better than to argue with Kiltin and followed him, stopping beside him. "What's up? What are we going to expect here?" Niranji said, resisting the urge to turn his Byakugan on and look around, wanting to save that for his long wished for sparring match with Kiltin.

Sukashi gave the ANBU a cold glare before walking past him; his ears perked at the sound of Yuki cursing under his breath. It was an amusing sight really, his lifeless eyes flickered with mocking and laughter. This boy Yuki was a strange one. Then he shifted his gaze at an empty desk. Sukashi mentally cursed himself for his misfortune, where was the Hokage when he needed the man? He let out a grunt of displeasure. His eyes shifted back to Yuki before stating, "He's not here, then there is no point in me staying here." Without another word he stiffly walked out of the building with unease. Once he was out, Sukashi noticed a storm might be approaching soon. He started to walk back to the Genin practice field.

Kiltin landed on the ground. Silently arriving, he noticed an odd man reading a strange looking book by the wall. Kiltin stood there as he kept staring in confusion.

The Sannin known as Kakashi had not changed much in the large gap in years since the death of Orochimaru. Kakashi was now reading a book, "Oh...this looks like a good chapter." He told himself. He had found a copy of his favorite series, and a new book, The Return of Flirting Paradise. He closed the book as he noticed Kiltin. 'I guess I have to wait for more.' He thought, reopening the book.

-------

There you have it, chapter three! I'm going to have a kind of poll to see who likes which character the best. I'll probably set that up in the next chapter, and people can tell me in reviews who they like the best

Speaking of reviews, I need some! V.V ...Anyhow, time for the end-of-chapter questions!

Why is Kakashi here, waiting for the Genins to show up?

Who is Kama, and where's he from?

Why does Sukashi want to speak with Naruto so badly?

All will be reaveled soon enough!