"Unacceptable!"Jessica shouted at her brother as he packed, "You will need more than three pairs of underwear!"

"But sis-"

"NO!"

The duo were packing for the trip to Konaha, and their stay for the chunin exams. The Hanakage had been quite amiable to allowing Jessica to follow her brother, understanding as both a sister and a mother the feelings Jessica had. It was also a political move, as Jessica was still a civilian she could show how strong even the non-combatants of the village were. If the woman also happened to bring a man with her, well that would just be a bonus.

The siblings had squabbled for some time about Jessica coming, with Leo insisting he was an adult now and Jessica letting out a stream of crocodile tears to drown out his protests. He had learned from the best, but she was still the master of puppy-dog eyes. Packing had been another issue for the two, as Leo had never needed to pack for more than a day trip out of the village walls. Jessica who had traveled for so long before settling in the village knew better than Leo, no matter how much he cried about over packing.

"Well what the fuck are your god damn seals for then you little prick?" she could not help but glare at the stubborn boy.

"Oh yeah." The blonde mumbled back, as if the thought had just hit him.

"You god damn idiot" Jessica growled as she noogied the poor boys scalp.

The items stored away were separated into four scrolls: food, tools and weapons, Leo's clothes, and Jessica's clothes. The food was easy enough, with non-perishables and solider pills packed into the dark green scroll and tucked into Jessica's leather side satchel. The weapons and tools such as sharpening stones and rope were sealed into a black scroll and stored away along with the food scroll.

Leo's clothes had been sloppily packed until Jessica had him show her. She proceeded to smack the living daylights out of the boy and re-pack his scroll. As it was the peak of summer she packed light clothes for the boy, including multiple chain-mesh shirts, bandage tape, a half-dozen pairs of combat pants, and a full yukata in sun-set orange with a pink obi. Underwear and a spare pair of toeless ninja shoe were the last things to be packed, closing the blue scroll. It was then tucked into the side pocket of the leather bag.

Jessica's scroll was more diverse in the clothing packed into it, with multiple sets of green and blue sleeveless polo-necks, a few grey and black skirts, three pairs of brown shorts, and even a pair of nice black combat pants. A few of her nicer yukatas with the plain black and blue obis, plenty of under garments, and a set of nicer shoes were final touches in the packing. Jessica had made more than enough to spoil herself and Leo, and she planned on having fun while at Konaha. With her extra money tucked away into a smaller white scroll that was put in her red clothing scroll, both she and Leo were packed and ready to go.

The next day when the small group was planned to leave Jessica invited the two teams and their sensei over for a large breakfast. Everyone was dressed in clean travel clothes made of simple combat shorts, loose tank-tops, travel boots, and traveling cloaks. All the cloaks were the same brown color that tapered to a light pink on the edges, while the rest of the clothing were in varying shades of greens, blacks, and browns with only the head-bands displaying unique colors.

They group a breakfast of brown rice, beef soup, and seasoned vegetable, a good breakfast before long travel. The talk was quiet and light, with Miso running between chairs to snatch at any food that was unprotected.

After the small meal everyone, including Miso, left the house, with Leo last as he sealed up the doors and windows. With that finished the group of eight including the large dog walked towards the Hanakages office for their debriefing before departure.

"As you know, your seven will represent our village in the coming exam," The powerful woman began with an air of seriousness, "because of this you are expected to behave your best, but if a man is to challenge you to battle you win, and if a woman fights you, then you take her blood, as is the village way. No forfeiting, no cowering, and most of all, NO MECRCY!" the woman emphasized this point by slamming a kunai into her desk. "Now make your village proud, and slay those vermin that call themselves ninja." And with that the powerful woman dismissed the teams.

Renting a local fishing boat to the largest island of Water was the starting point of the trip. Once at the largest of the islands cheap tickets were purchased to take a large ship to one of Land of Fire's port towns. As the group waited for the ship, a large area around them as people avoided the imposing women, Leo came running with treats for everyone. Mostly senbei (rice crackers) for the adults and dango (sticky rice balls) for the girls, but he grabbed a yakatori (grilled chicken) stick for his sister to share with him. After the snacks were eaten the Nadeshiko residence boarded the ship that took them to the next stop. The trip was relatively short, only taking three hours, but was rougher than Jessica remembers it being.

Reaching land was a blessing, and Leo's outburst of "LAND, SWEET LAND!" seemed to lift everyone's sprits. The rest of the day would be spent running across the terrain, but if they took few short breaks then the teams would make it to Konaha before too late at night and could get hotel rooms, instead of camping.

The rest of the day was spent running, with Jessica clinging to Miso's back most of the way, as she did not have the chakra to go at ninja speed. It was ironic really, How she had carried Leo and Miso away from the main Ninja Nations, and they were carrying her back.

The looming gates of Konaha were what greeted the group as the sun was starting to set. Stepping off of Miso on wobbly legs Jessica used Leo's head as a support as they walked up to the guards. Two young men in their mid to late twenties sat at the station, one had what appeared to be a bandage across his nose and wild hair, while the other had his hair in a bandana with bangs covering one eye and an incomplete mask only covering his chin.

"Keep your eyes to yourself buddy!" Leo burst out as the two chunin had been inspecting the large group of females too closely for his liking. The boy quieted quickly though, when Jessica put a hand on his shoulder and smiled down at him.

"The bastards will rot in the brain because they are stunned by our beauty." She sing-songed in English, and then in Japanese said "be polite brother."

The Identifications checked out and the group was let to pass after explaining their reason for being there, Leo's glaring not helping the Chunin move any faster. The teams made it to a nice hotel that catered to visiting ninja, and went to their rooms, with the two senseis sharing a room, the two Hanami sharing, the rest of team twelve, and Kiko, Leo, and Jessica sharing the last one.

Tucking in for the night Leo cuddled up to Jessica, with Miso hogging the foot of the mattress.

"Big sis, will I do well in the exam?"

"Totally, and you will kill any motherfuckers who get in your way."

School is starting back up soon so updates will be slowed. But thanks for all the reviews, you guys make me smile with your thoughts and concerns.