As they wound their way through the streets of Konoha, four colossal stone faces towered overhead. "Baki-sensei, who are those people carved into the mountain?" Sakana inquired.

Without looking up, he answered, "They are the Hokages." Sakana nodded, remembering the many stories she'd heard both in Suna and Kiri about the strength and wisdom of those four men.

Soon they came upon an official-looking building. Baki presented their IDs to the guards at the door and they were ushered in by one of them; he had brown hair that was pulled back into a short ponytail and a thin scar across his nose. The man led them to a simple door and escorted the team through.

Inside sat an elderly man, who watched them silently as they entered. He was wearing red and white robes and a red hat. "So this is the Hokage," Sakana thought to herself.

"Welcome to Konoha, sand ninja," the old man said kindly.

Baki bowed. "Thank you, Lord Hokage. This is my team, Temari-san, Kankuro-san, Gaara-san and Sakana-san," He gestured to each of them in turn.

The Hokage nodded respectfully to them. "I'm looking forward to seeing all of you compete, but for now you must be tired. I will have someone show you to your rooms. Iruka!" he said, raising his voice slightly on the last word.

Sakana realized that this had to be the name of the man who had shown them in because he quickly re-appeared in the doorway. "Yes, Lord Hokage?"

"Would you show our guests to their rooms?"

"Oh, of course! Come with me, please," he said, turning.

Sakana's team bowed respectfully to the Hokage and then followed Iruka as he led them through the winding streets of Konoha.

It wasn't long before they arrived at what seemed to be a large hotel. Iruka talked briefly with the woman at the desk and then quickly returned to them. "Your rooms are 9 through 13. I hope they suit you. Good luck on the exams!" he finished with a friendly smile before disappearing back out the door.

Baki turned to them and said, "Meet me at the Eastern gates in half an hour for a bit of training. Until then do whatever you want." Then he too disappeared.

Temari turned to Sakana and said, "Do you want to go get settled?" Sakana nodded and followed the older girl up to their rooms. Temari took room 10, while Sakana took room 11. It was very nice with a bed, kitchen area and bathroom - only a little smaller than her own apartment back in Suna. Sakana laid out a few things from her pack and then decided to go for a walk, leaping nimbly out of her window and onto the ground below.

There were so many things to see that she had a hard time keeping her eyes on the road, and it wasn't long before she accidentally knocked someone over. "Omigosh, I'm so sorry" she said, offering a hand to the boy now sitting in the dirt. Onyx eyes flashed across her face and then promptly ignored her as he stood up on his own. Sakana tried again as he lightly brushed dirt off of his blue shirt and white shorts. "I'm very sorry; that was completely my fault."

"Hn," was the only reply she got before the boy walked off in the opposite direction.

Sakana watched him go, wondering what his problem was, when she noticed something strangely familiar on the back of his shirt – a red and white symbol, shaped like a fan. The image tugged at her memory, but she didn't know why. "Come to think of it, he looks familiar too…" she thought to herself. "But I'm sure we've never met before…have we?"