Kin's POV
I stretched, catlike, on the futon. I had allowed myself one night of luxury before I made my way to Konoha . Admittedly I was looking forward to seeing Konoha again. It had after all been six years since I had obtained a new human body and I had spent all of that time training and avoiding as many ninja as I could.
I rolled up my futon and went through my morning ritual. Teeth brushed, hair combed, and clothes on I made my way out to pay for the room. I smiled formally at the receptionist as I passed her my cash. She smiled warmly back as she took my money and placed it reverently in the register.
"I hope you had a good stay! Please come again soon!"
I slipped eagerly out the door and into the half-light of the rising sun. It wouldn't take long to reach Konoha, but I wanted to arrive closer to noon, when most other travelers would arrive. That gave me time to stock up on supplies. I turned to go deeper into the city, towards the market.
I looked carefully at my reflection in a freshly polished kunai. This body had turned out rather different from my last one. My brown hair was long and hung, jagged, down my back and the pupils in my green eyes were pinpricks in the bright sun.
The kunai was of decent quality, but not what I was looking for. I replaced it and turned to the shopkeeper, a rather pudgy middle aged man with crinkly eyes.
"Do you have neko-te?"
"Cat's claws? Not here, though I do know who does. There's an old woman who lives down by the dump that has a set. I hear they're strange though, so you may not want them."
"I'll take a look down there. And I want two sets of your classic shuriken and one set of kunai."
"Excellent! Do you need anything else while you're here?"
"No, that should suffice. Thank you."
The man hummed as he wrapped up two dozen shuriken and twelve kunai. I didn't protest even though I would just seal them into a scroll later. I took the boxes and made my way through the crowd, weaving between giggling children and gossiping elders as I shuffled my way down to the dump.
I knew I was getting close as I sniffed and caught the delicate scent of rotting garbage on the wind. It wasn't as delicate once I got closer, and I sincerely wished I had a free hand to block the smell, especially since it took me nearly an hour to find the older lady that was supposed to have the neko-te.
She was a stooped granny with the kind of eyes that could see into your heart and see you. Her hair was the color of tarnished silver and her mouth seemed to sink into her wrinkles like quicksand.
"Hello, child. What can I do for you?"
"I heard you had some unusual neko-te, and if you're willing to let me see if they'll suit me I'd like to take a look."
"If they'll suit you?"
"I won't even try to make an offer for them if I don't like them."
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt. Come along dear and we'll see if they're right for you."
"Thank you."
She led me inside of a shack that tipped slightly to one side with the direction of the wind and I carefully avoided bumping into her doorframe.
"Here they are, try them on and see if they'll work for you."
There was a shuddering sound as she placed the neko-te on her tiny wooden table. I placed my packages on the floor and picked up one of the gloves.
It was made of chakra wire laced and twisted around itself to form a flexible mesh that would form to your hand until you ran chakra through it. I pulled it over my hand and pushed a slow stream of chakra through the wires on my pinky finger, the mesh hardened and a small blade curved out over my own nail, much like the retractable claws of a normal cat. I moved my pinky finger experimentally. The metal was stiff and it wouldn't break or cut, but it would move with my hand. I ran chakra through the rest of the lacing and the other blades slid soundlessly from their wire sheaths.
"Are you willing to part with them?"
"You like them then?"
"Yes, they're exactly what I've been watching for. Better even."
"Then go ahead and take them. I've never seen someone who works them like they're their own claws before. Just do me a favor and use them, I can't after all."
"Are you sure?"
The old womans crafty eyes glittered.
"Most definitely child. Now get going and play with them."
I watched her carefully for a moment before picking up the other glove and placing the flexible mesh on my other hand.
"Why?"
"Those only work for people who have died before. It's hard to find such people."
"I won't ask. Thanks ma'am."
The old woman cackled merrily as I scurried away with my boxes.
"I recognize her. She was a Jashinist for the better part of twenty years before a man named Hidan took over." Said Kohaku
"That explains the dead comment. How do you know that anyway?"
"Jashin is a rather annoying demon. He's too young to have his own body so he lives off of the life energy of other living things. Hence the sacrifices .I'm stronger , but our skills are very different. He grants 'undeath' to people, I remove the spirit and make it so it does not need a body so you can make another one."
"So that's how we switched from your old body to the human one?"
"Yep."
" what type of demon is Jashin?"
"Wind. And watch where you're going!"
I recoiled back as I nearly ran into a large folded fan.
"Hey watch where you're going civilian!" snapped an irritated Temari.
"I did manage not to run in to you didn't I?" I said dryly as she gave me a dirty look.
"Temari, don't lag behind." Said the stoic jounin known as Baki. I chuckled and slipped easily past Temari and over to stand in front of him. I stared at him for a moment before I allowed myself an evil grin.
"Chunnin exams? That's where I'm going. Though I'll need to speak with the Hokage first. I don't have a team after all and I need a sponsor. But if that's where you're going then I'll go with you. You're interesting."
"We don't guard civillians without a mission scroll and payment."
"Good, I'm not a civilian."
"I will kill you if you come with us." Said a scratchy voice. I faced Gaara and flashed him a grin.
"No you won't . You'd die first. Plus you couldn't catch me." He looked at me blankly for a moment.
"Mother will enjoy your blood." Sand began to trickle from his gourd and I rolled my eyes.
"Very scary. If you're going to kill me wait for the exams. That way you won't get in trouble for it."
The other three members of the team were watching, nearly paralyzed with fear. I shook my head and pulled out a sealing scroll from one of the many pockets of my black trench coat and sealed my boxes before replacing the scroll.
I proceeded to ignore the shocked looks on the teams' faces and the narrowing of Gaara's eyes.
"Are you coming or do you want to be late?"
Gaara proceeded after me, his eyes haunted with bloodlust. The rest of the group proceeded more hesitantly I chuckled again as Baki kept careful watch on me . It was good to have company.
"Hey!What am I?"
"You don't count."
The indignant demon retreated into silent moping as my mouth twitched in amusement.
Konoha, here I come.
…
Just so you know, neko-te are "cat's claws" and a ninja weapon. Google it if you're curious, though the neko-te I designed are a little …different from the ones normally used.
REVIEWS are loved…They feed( and MOTIVATE) the authors soul.
Especially when the author is supposed to be doing math homework, which is what has occupied my time for the past while(I'm sorry for the lack of consistent updates!)