Kanoko sipped her tea, looking down the isle of the tea house. She didn't look like Kanoko though. She was henged as Kakashi-sensei. Mask and everything, which made drinking tea… interesting.
Kanoko's eyes shifted up as her guest sat down across from her.
The Third Hokage.
With a hand seal, the Hokage sealed the area around the two of them – no one would be able to listen in.
"Thank you for meeting me here, Hiruzen." Kanoko told him politely.
"Well, I couldn't very well ignore an invitation to tea from my Sensei." Hiruzen stated plainly, picking up the tea pot to pour himself a cup.
Kanoko chuckled, "Now that's a word I haven't heard in a long time." Taking another sip, she asked, "I'm sure you're curious as to why I asked you here. I am aware we agreed not to communicate directly in this manner." The risk of others discovering her true identity was always a pressing concern to them both.
Kanoko sat her tea down and looked at her former student seriously, "I hear the chunin exams are drifting closer."
"Hai."
Kanoko continued, "I would also be a fool to be blind to the Village Hidden in the Sand's situation." Hiruzen looked at her curious, so Kanoko explained, "I'm afraid that Shikaku doesn't hide his worry at home all that well."
Hiruzen sighed, "I have reason to believe Konoha will be targeted by another contending power during the chunin exams."
Kanoko picked up her cup and her eyes hardening, "Who are you suspecting?"
"While all of the major signs point to our allies, the Village Hidden in the Sand…" Hiruzen started.
"As a ninja, you must look underneath the underneath." Kanoko finished for him.
"Hai. There is a long standing enemy of Konoha that I fear may be involved. One of my own doing." The Hokage looked up at Kanoko, to be met with a hard one-eyed stare. He didn't think he ever saw that look on Kakashi's face.
Kanoko sternly asked, "What do you mean: one of your own doing?"
The Third chuckled nervously, "You're in a 12-year old girl's body and yet, you continue to instill fear and awe in me." Looking away from his sensei's knowing stare, he continued, "I taught a group of genin by myself after you passed. Jiraiya, Tsunade – your grandniece, and Orochimaru. I taught them as you taught me. I used the bell test you once use on me. I emphasized teamwork and Will of Fire. And I taught them the rough realities of war." He looked back at Kanoko, "But I made a mistake. One of my students had lost his parents – the people that meant the most to him. Perhaps it was coincidence, or planted, but there was the skin of snake on their graves. It prompted, in a round-a-bout way, a discussion on revival, resurrection, and immortality."
Kanoko held up a hand to Hiruzen, indicating him to stop, "I understand, you need not go into further detail. Is this student the threat you imagine?"
"Hai. I've had recent reports of a new village called the Village Hidden in the Sound. Reports link my student, Orochimaru, to this village as its leader." Hiruzen finished.
Kanoko closed her eyes, "You believe genin from this village will take part in the exam. Hm. It's likely the Sand will as well."
The Hokage looked at Kanoko, curious.
Kanoko explained, "It would be foolish to discount them as a threat, if relations are this strained. Whether they are working alongside this Orochimaru, has yet to be seen, but both should be treated with the utmost caution." Kanoko took another sip of her tea, "Tell me. Knowing the danger this chunin exam will most certainly pose, are you still moving forward with the exams and are even considering allowing the rookie genin teams to compete?"
The Hokage took a deep breath, "Hai. Do you not agree?"
Kanoko gave him a hard look over her cup, "I don't."
The Hokage watched Kanoko, "Because of their inexperience? We were much younger when you had us go to war."
Kanoko reprimanded Hiruzen, "That was war."
"Then why? …Call me curious." The Hokage chuckled lightly.
"You are introducing the heirs of six powerful clans into a suspected trap. Politically, the damage could be exponential." Kanoko pause, "That is not the only concern, however. Naruto will also be in this exam. He is an untrained Jinchuriki. And yet, you would place him into a warzone with no protection. The potential for the unfortunate…" Kanoko looked away, then back at Hiruzen, with a serious expression, "Last, this generation has the potential of becoming great. I have seen firsthand their Wills of Fire, as well as the skills to back it up."
The Third Hokage raised his cup to take a sip, "If you were still Hokage, what would you do?"
Kanoko looked down at her tea, thinking. Her eyes snapped up, "Pass the honor to the Village Hidden in the Sand."
The Hokage coughed, choking on his tea, "How could you possibly suggest such a thing?!" Cleaning his face, he continued, "Refusing to hold the Chunin Exams would signal to the other nations our weakness! Even more so, giving the right to the sand village would mean sending our genin and jounin to their lands for testing. Wouldn't the risk be the same?"
Kanoko gave Hiruzen an unimpressed looked, "Yes and no." Kanoko raised her hand and held a finger in the air, "One: The major contention between the leaf and sand villages is economics. The wind daimyo has lost faith in his country's ninjas. The leaf village has profited from this, as the leaf village continues to be selected and paid for more and more of the wind country's missions. If we give the chunin exams to the sand, they will receive money from the tourist coming to view the event and be able to demonstrate to their daimyo their strength."
Kanoko added another finger, "Two: If we enter into an agreement with the Village Hidden in the Sand, given them rights over this year's chunin exams, we can earn back a reluctant allegiance."
Kanoko closed her eyes thinking, "I understand the need to replenish after two long wars, but stability among allies should have been a pressing concern as well."
Opening her eyes again, she added a third finger, "Three: With a healthy amount of rumors being spread out through civilian channels to the Lightening and Stone countries, we can lead them to believe this is a sign of good will to our allies – strengthening ties."
The Hokage gave Kanoko a pointed look, "Couldn't that just back fire on us? Lead them to believe we are preparing to war?"
Kanoko breathed in and out, "If the situation is that fragile, then allowing the chunin exams to take place here, where we can be infiltrated, would certainly bring war. Any infiltration, no matter how small, will demonstrate weakness to the other nations and they will attacked – that is, if the situation is truly that dire."
Kanoko looked at her former student seriously, "I do not believe this to be the case." She bowed her head slight, "However, as you stated, I am in a 12 year-old's body. I am not the Hokage I once was and much time has passed. I ultimately leave this decision up to you."
Taking one last sip before getting up. Kanoko stood by the table and said, "I asked you to protect those who love the village and those who believe in you. I look around and to be honest, there is very little I recognize." Kanoko paused placed her hand on Hiruzen's shoulder, "But I see the Will of Fire in so many of their eyes. I see peace and warmth in the streets. It's not perfect, but you have followed my brother's will – and for that, I am grateful I chose you as my successor, Hiruzen."
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Kanoko walked under the roof leading to the apartment door. She stood in front of a door with a small piece of paper on it and a red swirl drawn on the paper.
Looking up, almost turning around, she stills herself. She reaches up to the door, her hand in the shape of a fist, and knocks lightly on the door.
She waits for a half a second before starting to run away, "Oh, looks like he's not here, that's just too bad. Couldn't be helped."
*SLAM*
The door swings open roughly, a crumbled Naruto standing at the door. All he had on was his orange pants and a black shirt.
Naruto stares at Kanoko, with a dark look, not saying anything or moving.
Kanoko sighs and raises the bag she is holding, "I brought Ichiraku Ramen and the newest release of the "Power Ninjas: Operation Overdrive"."
.
.
.
Naruto's face quickly went from depressed to shocked to overjoyed before roughly grabbing the bag from Kanoko and running back inside.
Kanoko sweat-dropped. "He didn't even move that fast in the mission to the Land of Waves!" Kanoko turned around, hands in pockets, and started to walk away.
She didn't make it that far.
Before she knew what happened, three Narutos grabbed her and dragged her into Naruto's apartment.
Kanoko's claws sunk into the door frame. There was no way she was going in there! She had been there once before and was still queasy from the experience!
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Kanoko was leaning against Naruto's bed, on the ground, looking green in the face. Naruto was sitting crisscrossed next to her, cheering at the TV, ramen in front of him. Kanoko gazed at the empty cups of ramen scattered across the floor.
She sniffed, and looked to her left and saw some moldy milk spilled next to her.
Her cheeks inflated as she ran to Naruto's bathroom.
.
And right back out.
.
She jumped on his bed and stuck her head out the window, puking her guts out.
"ACK! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE PUKING!" Some yelled below.
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After the movie finally finished, Naruto turned to Kanoko.
Not that Kanoko noticed.
Her soul had left her body.
Returning to a better place…
.
Naruto crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Kanoko. Kanoko sighed and sat up straight, "Naruto. I'm not going to apologize for protecting you in the Land of Waves. I would do it again if it meant your, Sakura's, or Kakashi-sensei's life."
Naruto opened his mouth to argue, but Kanoko stopped him, "But I will apologize for how I went about it. I know you. You attach yourself so quickly to those to dub as friends. I don't understand it, but that's my problem." Kanoko paused thinking about Hashirama and how he was the same way: So trusting, making friends from enemies and wishing the best intentions for everyone.
"I may not understand it, but I did know you cared about Haku. I disregarded your feels by using him in such a manner. Beyond that, I never helped you through it. The death of a friend is always difficult." Kanoko closed her eyes.
"That is my failure. I abandoned you when you needed me most. I appointed myself as the leader of this team, but I failed to recognize your feels, respect them, and support you – to remind you that you are not alone and shouldn't suffer alone."
Kanoko looked Naruto in the eyes, "You will never be alone again, got it? You now have Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, and I looking out for you – always." Kanoko finished, placing her hand on Naruto's shoulder.
Naruto looked to the ground. He started gritting his teeth while his fist started tightening. He was shaking and Kanoko wondered if he was going to take a swing at her.
She held her ground, expression unchanged. If he was going to hit her, oh well, she felt as though she deserved it after all she did to him.
Kanoko twitch slightly as Naruto flew towards her.
.
Wrapped around her was one Uzumaki Naruto – giving her a bone crushing hug. When she heard him sniffle, she moved her hand to pat his back in comfort.
.
Kanoko looked up to the ceiling, "Why does everyone feel the need to bear hug me?"
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Sakura was sitting on the bridge railing while Kanoko was leaning against it with her arms crossed. Kanoko turned her head, feeling a certain chakra run their way.
Naruto ran up, waving his arm, "Sakura-chan! Hey! How are you?!" Naruto smiled at Sakura before turning to Kanoko, "Sup Kanoko!"
Kanoko slightly smiled and shrugged.
Sakura looked between the two, confused. "You two made up?" She asked pointing a finger between the two.
"Hai!" Naruto replied laughing before going into a review of the movie, "Power Ninjas: Operations Overdrive".
It was a few hours later that Kakashi finally made his entrance. "Yo!"
"You're LATE!" Naruto and Sakura yelled.
"Well… Anyways… I have news!" Kakashi said with a one-eyed smile.
Naruto started jumping up and down, "Is it a mission?! Please be another C-rank, please!"
Kakashi looked up with his hand on his chin in thought, "Well, it's kind of like a mission. You see, twice a year genin are selected to represent their village and compete, demonstrating their skills to their superiors. If they get far enough and show enough promise, they are selected to receive the promotion to chunin."
Naruto and Sakura were listening in carefully. Naruto had stars in his eyes and giggling thinking about making chunin before Sasuke.
Kanoko raised her hand, "Sensei, are you recommending Team 7?"
Kakashi smiled and responded, "I am. Of course, it's still your individual choice to partake or not. You don't have to, if you don't want to. It won't affect your teammates if you decide against taking the exam. I'm not going to lie to you. The exam is very difficult and some genin have died in these exams. There will be genin at all skill levels there: Ones that have been genin for a few years and genin for different villages. And not all of these villages are on good terms with the leaf village either."
Sakura looked down, unsure of herself, thinking about all the dangers and if she was strong enough to make it.
Kanoko knew that the choice to partake in the exams was a team decision, but understood that Kakashi was trying to give them an out, if they were unsure. He was right, to compete halfheartedly would get them all injured or kill.
Kakashi held out three pieces of paper, "Here are the application forms."
Naruto stared at the forms then back at Kakashi, then back to the forms, before he leaped and incased Kakashi in a hug – almost knocking him over.
"Ha! It's nice to see someone else fall victim to the bear hug!" Kanoko thought with a smirk.
"Don't- Don't slobber on my vest!" Kakashi exclaimed, throwing Naruto off of him and dusting himself off. "You have until 5am, 3 days from now to decide. If you decide to take the exams, pack in preparation for a month long mission and meet me at the village gates." Kakashi made a few hand signs and teleported away.
"Wait-! Dammit…" Kanoko called to her sensei before sighing. "I wanted to ask him about the exams… Oh well. I guess I get to find out with the rest of the genin."
Naruto started spinning around, giggling. Kanoko and Sakura just sweat-dropped.
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"YAWWWWWWWN"
Kanoko's eye twitched. She was on her bed, leaning against the headboard reading a scroll on Suna's Demon Desert – as they liked to call it. Kanoko knew using her water jutsus were going to be draining, in such extreme heats. She was reading about the plant life there – in case she needed the extra water in a pinch.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAWWN"
*eye twitch*
Kanoko slowly moved her eyes to the [waste of space] person next to her: Shikamaru. He raised an eyebrow at her, seeing her small glare, "Sorry. Is my *yaaaawn* yawning bothering you?" He was lying on the bed, in his normal pose, with his hands behind his head.
"Your entire presence in MY room bothers me." Kanoko thought, closing her eyes while turning her head away from her brother.
"YAWWWWWW-"
*CRASH*
Kanoko kicked him roughly – right off the bed in one swift movement.
"Arrrrg…. That hurt… Damn, troublesome woman…" Shikamaru muttered, rubbing his head. He turned onto his side, not moving from the floor, and resting his head in his hand – elbow on the floor for support, "So, *yawn* I take it that your team was nominated too?"
Kanoko looked up at the ceiling, "You're rolling around in your grave laughing at me, aren't you Hashirama? I bet you find this hilarious!"
Kanoko ignored her brother and kept reading her scroll. She had a lot to do in a short amount of time and she wasn't going to waste it by answering questions her brother already knows the answer to. He's just looking to pick a fight anyways.
*plop*
"Uff!" Kanoko squeak out from the sudden weight on top of her. He brother was now lying right over her stomach. She looked down at her scroll she dropped when her brother jumped on her, "You're a brat, you know that?"
Shikamaru just shrugged before turning around to his side, looking up at her, "You know the chunin exams are going to be Suna this time?" Kanoko stared at him like he was an idiot, then at her scroll, where the title was large and obvious: Suna's Vegetation. She face-palmed.
Her brother continued, "According to Tou-san, relations between Suna and Konoha are strained. If that's not bad enough, we'll be in unfamiliar territory with everyone within reaching distance, a fellow contestant in this little survival test. *sigh* The whole thing's a drag."
Shikamaru pulled at a string on the bottom of Kanoko's shirt, "To top it all off, we have to face our own comrades in battle too. What's the point of becoming a chunin if you have to step on your friends to get there?"
Kanoko was a little surprised at Shikamaru's question. She knew friendship was important to him. All anyone had to do was look at Choji and Shikamaru together to figure that out. Shikamaru even treated Naruto and Kiba well, dubbing them all "the losers", and they most certainly got on his last nerve.
Kanoko continue to look at Shikamaru in wonder, before asking, "What if we don't?"
Shikamaru lazily moved his head to meet her eyes, "…We form an alliance of our own?" Shikamaru said, reading her mind.
Kanoko nodded, "Or something of that nature."
"What about the other leaf ninja teams? What if they take offense?" Shikamaru asked, concluding this truce would occur only between the rookie nine.
"We have to be stealthy about this whole thing anyways, or we'll become a target either way." Kanoko rubbed her chin with her hand, "The bigger question is: How do we convince Sasuke? With Sakura and Naruto on my team and Ino on yours, it's going to prove challenging to convince him.
Shikamaru smirk, sitting up, "We don't have to convince Sasuke."
Kanoko disagreed, "The only way this works, is if all rookie nine are in."
Shikamaru shrugged, "I just meant that we only have to convince the other members of Team 8."
"I could see us convincing the Inuzuka, but the Hyuuga?" Kanoko knew of the Hyuuga's clan pride and wasn't sure they could convince a Hyuuga to team up with them. It would be easier to convince Sasuke…
Shikamaru chuckled, "You didn't communicate with Hinata much, did you?"
Kanoko shook her head.
"Leave that to me then." With that, Shikamaru rolled over to his side of the bed. Before turning off the lights, he looked back, "I'll have to borrow one of your teammates though."
Kanoko approved with a wave of her hand.
.
Kanoko wasn't she what good Sakura was going be to Shikamaru, but maybe she and Hinata were friends or something…
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Shikamaru strolled up to Naruto, who was eating ramen at Ichiraku's.
"Oi. Naruto. I need your help with something…"
Naruto stared at Shikamaru confused.