I'm baaaack! Sorry this update is late! -sad face- I went snowboarding for a few days, so I had no internet connection, but I worked on this chapter for all you people :D

A super duper HUUUUUGE thank you to Raion (), Justalittlebatty13, Your Hoshi, and ZOMG () for the reviews. You guys are awesome, I love you all so much 3 It really makes me happy and inspires me to write more, so thank you again! From the bottom of my heart :D

So without further ado…oh wait.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.

NOW THEN!

Chapter 10: This Guy

"This guy?"

The Hokage nodded. He recalled the conversation he had with Kagami a few days ago.

"Sir…I want to become stronger. If I'm gonna rebuild my village, then I'm gonna need the power and will to do it."

She was still recovering at the hospital when they spoke. Despite the large bandage that nearly dominated her forehead, he remembered the determination in her eyes as she presented her request.

"If…if it's alright with you, may I stay in your village and train?"

The Hokage's eyes crinkled as he smiled.

"Of course you can stay, child. You are the memento of my old friend. You can stay here as long as you like," he said. "And," he added, "I will find someone to train and guide you. After all, you can only go so far by yourself."

And here he was! Kagami skeptically peered at the…boy? man?…who was supposed to be her new sensei. His face was covered by a cat-face mask, so his age was unknown to her. He could have been anything from age twenty to forty. Judging from his bare arm muscles, one of which was tattooed with a symbol, Kagami narrowed down the range to age twenty to thirty.

She squinted her eyes at him, trying to guess what he looked like underneath his mask.

Hmm, what's he hiding?…Does he have a wide forehead? Does he have wrinkles? Does he have sunspots? DOES HE HAVE A NEVER-ENDING CHAIN OF BOOGERS?

Little did Kagami know that he was an ANBU soldier, and being one meant that he had to wear a mask as part of his uniform, not because he had a wide forehead, wrinkles, sunspots, or a never-ending chain of boogers. Then again, Kagami didn't even know what the ANBU Black Ops was…at least, not yet.

"He is the one who found you unconscious outside of your village, and brought you back here," the Hokage said, matter-of-factly. "He is also one of our best…to-be" he teased. "Nevertheless, you're in good hands, Kagami."

The Hokage noticed that she was squinting at her new sensei, so he cleared his throat and spoke with the ANBU soldier.

"Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself? And you may take your mask off. She will be your student, so it is only fair that she knows what you look like."

The ANBU soldier replied with a "Ah…yes sir," and took off his mask.

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH!

"Hello, Kagami. I'm Shun," he greeted. "It's a pleasure to finally meet the conscious you," he quirkily added.

Kagami whipped on her OMG, WTF? face. This guy, this Shun, was NOT what she expected to see underneath that mask.

Yeah, he had short locks of spiky, red hair. Yeah, he had one green eye and one yellow eye. Yeah, he had a lopsided grin that was sort of cute…

NO! NO, I SAY! These are insignificant details, people! Well, maybe not for you readers, but…

What flabbergasted Kagami wasn't his cool hair, his weird eyes, or his charming smile…It was his age.

No, guys, he's not an old fart, although that would've been quite amusing. But anyway, Kagami didn't find it to be amusing at all.

Shun wasn't twenty, thirty, forty, or anything in between. He wasn't even an adult. He was a teenager. He was young enough to be her brother. Or maybe even her…boyfriend?

NO! You guys are silly. She's ten, don't get any crazy ideas.

While all of these thoughts bombarded Kagami's head, and while all your thoughts bombard your own head, let us all return to the story and now realize that Shun has been holding his hand out for Kagami to shake it.

She slowly reached out, then gripped his hand within her own. They pumped out two solid shakes.

Kagami started to say, "It's a pleasure to…"

It certainly wasn't a pleasure for Kagami to meet Shun. For her, it was like finding out her toilet was clogged with a brown monster that we all know so well.

However, this guy did rescue her, as the Hokage said, so he deserved some sort of respect.

"It's a pleasure to know that the one who brought me back here…is my new sensei," she finished. "Thank you."

Kagami knew very well that she could request to have someone else train her if she didn't like Shun. However, in the handshake she took part in, the deal was sealed. She had a feeling that they would be stuck together for a very long time…whether she liked it or not.

The Hokage smiled.

"Good! Now that you two have met each other-Shun! Why don't you show her around Konoha? And…you can tell her about the ANBU Black Ops."

"Of course, Lord Hokage," Shun said. He looked at Kagami and did his lopsided grin. "Let's go grab some lunch while we're at it."

"Those are the four kages of the of village, past and present," Shun told Kagami as he pointed at the stone carvings of the kages' faces.

He was wearing the regular shinobi uniform now, meaning the green flak jacket with the long black sleeve underneath. The Hokage decided to have Shun wear the regular uniform while he gave Kagami a tour of the village. For now, there would be no masks, no hidden identities. It would be only for today though, because starting the next day, Kagami would be joining the ANBU Black Ops. After today, Shun would resume wearing his mask, and Kagami would choose and wear hers. Only they would know what each others' faces looked like, with the exception of a few other people. But Kagami didn't know about any of this ANBU business…yet. The Hokage, that great old man, decided to leave all of the explanations to Shun.

As student and teacher walked through the village, Kagami took in the atmosphere of her new and temporary home. The buildings were tall and stood next to each other, with clothes lines hanging in the air from window to window. The streets were made of packed and trod-on dirt, and dust was kicked up whenever other children skipped and ran around. There were shops, bars, and restaurants, just like it was back in Hikunakure. But Konoha was bigger. Much bigger. And it had more people. Lots of people.

Kagami slowly spun around in circles, looking at everything they passed by. Shun had his hands in his pockets, watching his curious new student as they walked through the village.

"So…Kagami. What uhh…rank are you?" Shun asked, trying to get a glimpse of her background.

Kagami was walking backwards now, craning her neck this way and that, trying to imagine what Konoha looked like from a bird's view.

"Rank? Well…I don't have a rank. I'm not even a genin," she replied.

"Oh? No worries, then. Underneath my training, you'll have the skill of a jounin," he said. "Within a few years," he added with his quirky grin.

"Oh, really?" she said, not believing him. "What rank are you?"

"I'm in ANBU, so I don't have a rank. Oh hey, whadduya know? We already have something in common! Shun and Kagami: the rank-less!"

Kagami squinted her eyes and pursed her lips at Shun. Oh, you're real funny…NOT!

Then she realized that she didn't know what this whole ANBU thing was about.

"So what's this ANBU that you and the old man talked about?" Kagami asked.

Shun took his hands out of his pockets then clasped them together behind his head. He leaned back and looked at the strip of sky between the buildingsasthey walked through.

"Well…basically it's a special organization with highly-skilled ninja," he answered. He turned his head to look at her. "I know the Hokage didn't tell you about any of this. You'll be joining it tomorrow. But-hey! Ichiraku Ramen! Wanna eat there for lunch? We can talk about ANBU after."

Kagami tilted her head and gave Shun a curious look. What were the chances that he knew that ramen was her favorite food?

Negative one percent.

Kagami watched with big, stupefied eyes as she watched Shun slurp down his ramen.

"Um…how old are you?"

"Shikshteen," he told her, with a mouth full of noodles.

Kagami stared at him with the most outrageous look on her face.

No…freaking…way…SIXTEEN?

He was only six years older than her, and the Hokage chose him to "train and guide" her? Of all the people in Konoha, it had to be THIS GUY?

And there you have it! :D

I hope you liked it. I know it's a…probably really WEIRD transition from death and destruction to la-la-la we're in Konoha now, YAY! But…I tried D:

Thank you all for reading! Review if you'd like to, and stay tuned for the next chapter!

Until next time, ciao y'all.