Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
The second time Ko saw one of the members of the girl's team was the night before the second exams. He was washing his hands at the restroom when the younger of the two males engaged him into a conversation.
"Hey, I'm Mitsue of the Stream," he pointed at the unfamiliar sign on his arm.
"Ko of the leaf," Ko replied. "Where is your village? I haven't heard about it before."
Mitsue laughed, "Yeah, we're pretty far from here and our population is too small for anyone to recognize us, let alone the Five Great Nations."
"Small or not, your team seems to be happier than the rest of us," Ko said.
Mitsue shrugged. "We make best of what we have." Turning the faucet off, he headed towards the door. Before pulling on the handle, he murmured, "Even sending little eleven year-old girls to face against enemies who can take her life just to get more Chunins."