Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden or the characters aside from my OC's.
Dawn came with the scent of breakfast in the Saizo Clan's manor. It was a daily occurrence for the members of the Saizo Clan to have breakfast together. Kai joined the table for breakfast that morning just as he did every morning with a light greeting. The grumbling chorus of 'good morning' came back to him without enthusiasm.
"I heard you're preparing for the Chunin Exams." Saizo Hajime, Kai's father and the head of the clan, addressed his youngest and most talented son, "You're a proctor?"
"Yes sir." Kai paused his vacuuming of his breakfast just long enough to answer, "I have a meeting later today."
"Then hurry up and eat, Kai-kun." Kazahana Koyuki, Kai's wife to-be and a foreign noble from the Land of Snow.
Kai sneered at her like he always did, "I have plenty of time."
Kai's older brothers shook their head at the one-sided romance of the pair but remained silent for they were accustomed to all of their youngest brother's cold hearted refusal antics toward his famous actress of a fiance. It had always been this way and in the eyes of Kai's two older brother, it would probably always be this way unless something were to happen to suddenly change the way the young jonin looked at things.
"A proctor has a very important role, Kai. You shouldn't dally." Hajime said sternly, "Your fellow proctors will be waiting for you."
Kai mentally heaved a sigh, "Yes sir."
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
Hikawa Asahina's morning had lost most of it's excitement with her pregnancy. She no longer awoke early to prepare for her duty as a kunoichi, instead, she slept in and got up only when her bladder was at it's limit. She heaved a tired sigh, rubbing her tired back for the long day ahead. As sad as it is for a woman at the age of twenty-six, she still lived with her sickly old mother. She had her reasons for doing so and she had no problem with living and taking care of her only living relative but there were other problems that came with living at home.
The biggest problem was that the woman Asahina called mother hated Kakashi more than anything else in the world and she had made it rather clear that she disapproved of any and all contact that her daughter may or may not have had with the copy ninja. There was only one reason the pair of talent shinobi was not married and that was the disapproval of her mother. But Asahina couldn't blame her mother for the severe hatred she held for the copy ninja for Kakashi was the one who had killed her father, Hikawa Kazuhiko.
Despite that one crucial fact, Asahina had been close friends with the boy genius long before that incident so she came to understand the situation that had caused it and forgave the man for his actions but her mother was not so understanding. The woman held a hard grudge against the masked shinobi and reacted violently each time she saw his face. He wasn't allowed at the house and if, heaven forbid, they were ever caught together in the streets, her mother would chase him away with her shrieking and hurtful insults.
Asahina sighed as she prepared to go to the hospital for her prenatal check-up. She expected that she would have to go alone this time since Kakashi had unexpectedly ended up taking his team to Sunagakure for a high-class mission. She found herself, at five and a half months of pregnancy, itching to go on missions. She missed the action and often expressed how jealous she was that her lover was able to continue on missions when she was stuck doing nothing all day long.
She was just about ready to start her slow walk to the hospital when a knock at the door surprised her.
Her elderly mother screeched from the living room, "That better not be that ridiculous murderer! Bring me the broom, Asahina!"
The redhead rolled her eyes, opening the door carefully at first to peek out, "Kotetsu!"
"Yo." He grinned at her, pushing at the door lightly, "I came to walk you to the hospital."
Asahina shot him a suspicious look. Hagane Kotetsu was no stranger to her. Having graduated from the same class at the Academy back in the day, she knew that he was infamous for complaining and skipping out on his work.
"Asahina! Who is it?!" Her mother screeched impatiently from the back.
"It's Kotetsu! He came to walk with me!" She called back and when a noise of approval came in response, she hurried out and closed the door behind her, "You're going to get in trouble if you skip work too many times."
"Urk." The chunin groaned, "How did you know?"
"If you're not with Izumo, you're skipping work." The mother-to-be snorted, "Where did you abandon the poor guy this time?"
"We're only guarding the gate today." Kotetsu shrugged, "He can handle it alone."
Asahina rolled her eyes, "Guarding the gate is important, Kotetsu."
"Yeah well I think, if you think it's so important, we should start letting pregnant people like you take care of it. Nothing ever happens anyways." He grumbled, "It's boring."
Asahina rolled her eyes. She could practically countdown the exact number of minutes left until Kamizuki Izumo would come hunting this grumbling lazy man down.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
Hyuga Kori, having just cleaned up the house as her brother requested, was just about to take a break when her brother decided to come barreling into the house in a hurry. She looked up from her squeaky clean floor only to be greeted by a dirty footprint, "Neji!"
"Hn." Hyuga Neji grunted back in response, having just barely kicked off his shoes before reaching his room, "I'll clean it up when I get back. This is an emergency."
Kori gulped down the complaints at the sound of that, "What? Do you need help?"
"No. I'm going on a mission. Our team is heading out to provide backup for Team Kakashi." Neji mumbled, throwing his things together, "I'm heading to Suna so I won't be back for a long time."
"Oh…" She sighed in disappointment. She hadn't been to Sunagakure for a long time and she would certainly like to see Gaara again before the end of the month. She hurried to her room and rushed back out with a scroll, "If you see Gaara-sama, can you give him this."
The Hyuga genius paused in the gathering of his things and glared up at his younger sister, "You still talk to him? Don't you have better things to do?"
She shoved the scroll into his bag with the rest of his things, "Just give it to him."
He snorted, "Get me some water."
She scurried away to find him a bottle of water and scrambled back, "Why are you in such a rush anyways?"
He snatched away the bottle and shot her another glare, "This is an emergency situation. And more importantly, Gai-sensei won't be quiet about it if I show up later than him."
Kori sweat dropped, "I think you've got your priorities backwards. Gai-sensei's yelling more important than the emergency situation?"
"You wouldn't understand unless you were on my team."
"I guess not." She never really understood why Neji complained about his two hotheaded teammates. She actually thought that they might make things more fun but she knew when to hold her tongue.
As her brother made his way to the door, a guest came hollering for the younger Hyuga, "Kori! Are you home? Akamaru and I came to see you!"
Neji's hand froze at the door and he shot his sister a warning glare, "You need female friends."
It was not the first time she had heard that one and it certainly wouldn't be the last time. She rolled her eyes and rushed him, "Isn't Gai-sensei waiting for you? Kiba's team invited me to train by the river with them."
Dreading the idea of having to hear any roaring lectures from the overheated Gai, Neji hurried away muttering a few final warnings.
The younger jonin hurried to cover her sealless forehead with the village's hitai-ate, shoving her feet into her shoes, as she rushed out to greet the guest, "Kiba!"
Inuzuka Kiba greeted his longtime friend with a familiar wolfish grin, "Yo! It's been a while."
"I was on a mission for the past week." She shrugged, "What about you?"
"I've got nothing but free time." He spat, "I'm itching to do something but all the good stuff goes to you and Kai!"
"Ohh… You wanted to be a proctor for the Chunin Exams?"
"I went through hell trying to become a chunin! I'd like to put the little newbies through the same thing." He threw his leg over the back of his canine companion, "Hey. You want to race around to Hinata's?"
Hyuga Hinata was the eldest daughter of Hyuga Hiashi and therefore, Kori's cousin. Kori was a member of the side branch by birth despite the strange inability to be sealed by the curse that the rest of the side branch was burdened with, but she felt more strongly about protecting the members of the main branch than any of the others. For reasons that are obvious, such as protecting her seal-branded brother, she has never attempted to take advantage of her bare forehead to weasel out of her position in the lesser half of the family. The bare forehead that was the envy of the members of the side branch of the Hyuga Clan was not such a joy for her to have. In fact, she would have prefered to be normal since the multiple failed attempts to seal her bloodline were highly painful but that's an unresolved story to be saved for another day.
Not forgetting her friend's challenge, Kori's hands weaved the seals that became most familiar to her over the years, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique) Rokuro!"
Her loyal companion and fierce beast, the white tiger, made his appearance. He stretched out his limbs meekly, "Kori-sama, how may I be of service to you?"
The Hyuga had not been accustomed to the overly respectful suffix at first but the tiger's persistence was reluctantly rewarded with the permission to call her name however he pleased, "Kiba wants to race. You think you're up for it?"
The proud creature turned up his tail in the direction of the canine, "Does this poor thing want to be left in the dust again?"
"Hey!" Kiba protested, "We were right behind you last time and we did win once!"
"That was because you decided to pull an underhand move and urinate on the path to prevent me from pulling ahead." Rokuro scoffed, lowering his body to allow the kunoichi to mount him.
"Akamaru had to go!"
"Okay…" Kori cut in, having properly and comfortably mounted the great cat's back, "Let's just get this race over with! Don't hurt anyone and don't pee on Hyuga property."
"Got it." Came the snorted response.
The race began with paws pounding on the dirt, both creatures hurrying down the path to the home of the Hyuga Clan's main branch. The race was lacking in intensity since it was a very short distance to be covered but it was a cheerful game nonetheless. The resulting tie was not unsatisfactory to either of the competitors.
Hinata, who was standing out in front of her home, was not at all surprised to see the two racing around the corner and down the road, "Be careful."
The two animals skidded to a stop at the warning, nearly colliding with one another at the last moment but managing to stop within inches of one another.
"Good work." Kori praised her partner and, taking that as a sign to go, Rokuro disappeared in a puff of white smoke. The youngest Hyuga passed through the smoke that was caused by the disappearance of her feline companion and firmly plant her feet on the floor, "Hinata-sama, good afternoon!"
"Good afternoon." Was her cousin's meek response.
"Let's go!" Kiba didn't bother with much of a greeting, in fact, he remained atop his partner's back as they began their walk to the riverside, "Hey. How's Yui doing?"
Kori rolled her eyes at his mention of his crush, "She's fine but apparently, she's made a male friend in the Root."
The dog loving ninja made a sour face, "Who?"
"I don't know. I haven't met him yet and this is the first time she's ever brought him up." The jonin glanced over at her cousin and changed the topic, "Naruto's returned to the village. I haven't seen him face yet but Saizo implied that he looked about the same as always."
"I h-haven't seen him yet." Hinata squeaked, turning pink just at the mention of the jinchuuriki.
"That's probably because he's away on a mission." The younger of the two Hyuga's informed her.
The river at which they often trained was not far away thanks to the small talk and the laughter shared by the group of ninjas. Training is essential to keeping up and improving the skills required to do one's duty as a ninja. Another necessity is the lack of fear but they are only human and therefore there will always be something in the world that they will cower before. The beetle that came fluttering in the direction of the jonin as they reached their riverside training spot forced a shrill scream from her lips and laughter from the dog-loving chunin beside her.
"Shino! Right on time!" Kiba chortled, "I would've never expected it."
Hiding behind the white dog that simply barked happily in greeting to the beetle that came his way, Kori shouted and complained, "I thought you said you wouldn't do it anymore! Get it away! I hate these things!"
"I simply fell into habit. Why?" Shino muttered, coaxing the beetle to fly away, "Because it's the only way you will notice me before I greet you. On top of that, I was the only one not invited to meet elsewhere before coming to the training location."
"That couldn't be helped." Hinata smiled sheepishly, "You live in the other direction."
"He's sulking again." Kiba sweat dropped, peeling Kori's fingers from the fur of his canine companion, "You're going to pull it out!"
"I hate bugs." She shuddered, reluctantly releasing the clump of Akamaru's fur that was her only comfort.
"Then I'll be your training partner for today. Why you ask? Because you must learn to get over your fear now."
The scream of terror echoed long and far through the trees of the forest.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
The Tsukara Clan is famous for their swordplay and forging skills. Their weapons are sold at high prices for their extended lifespan and beautiful design. There are very few who chose to become ninjas over blacksmiths in the Tsukara Clan though many dream of it as children. Tsukara Toshizo was one of the few of his clan that followed that dream but that doesn't mean that he was ever excused from learning the forging skills passed down through his clan.
Today was one of the days where he would forgo his ninja training and practice making weapons in the back of his father's store. Toshizo was a teen of average qualities. Average looks, average smarts, average skills. It was no different for making weapons. No matter how much he practiced, he knew that he would never surpass his father in crafting weapons. But he never did things half-heartedly.
Pouring the red hot iron into the mold that would shape a set of shuriken, Toshizo was certain that he had done everything right. His morning was over by the time the set was completed and only then was he permitted to leave the store to go about his own desires. He gathered his puppet-sword and headed out to the training grounds where he sharpened his skills at a puppeteer. On the way, he spotted a long-time friend just outside her family-run cafe, "Hoshina-chan!"
The girl spun around at the sound of her name and smiled shyly, her glasses sliding down her face just the slightest bit, "Toshi-senpai!"
"H-Hey." He greeted her, having seen her adorable face he was reduced to the stuttering mess that he usually was, "I-It's really nice out…"
"Mhmm." She flushed, her eyes leaving his face instantly and settling on his feet, "Y-You're not with your team today?"
"Oh. Umm. They're busy." He frowned just the slightest bit. Hatori Hoshina would often ask about Kai, the blond being her first crush and all, but he found himself wishing that she wouldn't talk about him since she was his first crush. "B-Being jonins and all they've got a lot to do. Especially Kai-san."
"Ohh." She glanced up and noticed the frown, her smile slipping just the slightest at the look. She never knew why he tended to lose that kind smile whenever they talked for long periods of time. Perhaps, he found her annoying? "Th-That sounds like hard work. Do you have any missions soon?"
"Not that I know of." He shrugged, "I know that Kai-san is a proctor for the Chunin Exams."
"Oh! That's amazing." The genin gasped with genuine praise, "It must be nice to have a talented teammate."
"Y-Yeah… Well… Yeah." He laughed sheepishly, "I suppose so."
An awkward silence came down just like it always did and Toshizo took the usual cue to excuse himself.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
Momochi Yui often woke in the earlier hours of the morning before the bustling of the town began and donned her ANBU mask for the day. The underground base of the Root awaited her. As usual, she was the latest to arrive since she lived the furthest distance away with Hatake Kakashi. As a former ninja of the Mist and a former Bingo Book criminal, she was not permitted to live on her own. Instead, she and Aya lived under the care of the famous copy ninja, who was to keep them in check. Not that they would do anything in the first place. They had already found their place among the unbiased Team Nine and had no intentions of betraying their companions.
She reported in, announcing her presence like she did every morning, "Danzo-sama."
"Kyrie." Came the acknowledgement from the veteran shinobi. Kyrie was the name given to her by Danzo himself, her code name as an ANBU member and the name her companions used when addressing her. "Join your fellow members for morning training."
"Yes sir." She replied tonelessly, heading for the training room in the back.
She was greeted in the hallway by her senior ANBU member who went by the name of Sai. He greeted her, a mask over his pale face, "Kyrie, there's talk about an important mission."
"Hm." She showed her interest quietly, walking along beside him.
Without changing his blank tone, he told her, "The details are vague but it seems like it'll be an observation mission requiring us to fit in with normal people."
"Us? Are you implying that you and I are taking this mission?"
"That's unknown. I was using 'us' in the vaguest terms. 'Us' as in the entire foundation." He replied, "But in case that I am chosen, do you think you could tell me how to act naturally among normal ninjas?"
Kyrie hummed, "I am not the right person to ask. I don't really fit in all that well either."
"Is that so?" The confusion was the only emotion that Sai allowed to pass for that brief moment, "You joined the Root later so I assumed that you had spent time as a normal person before that but you must've been socially awkward from the start."
"I don't want to hear that from you." She replied to the blunt comment without missing a beat, "I'm not as inept as you."
"That's not something to brag about, Kyrie." He said, not in the least offended, "I've been a member all my life so it is only natural that I don't know how to interact with the normal ninjas."
"Well I was a shinobi from another country. You can't expect me to know how it works in Konoha."
"Then how did you learn to interact with your former teammates?"
She paused, remembering how she had read Kakashi's books, "I read books."
"Is that so? Maybe I should visit the library."
She thought about how she had been told by Asahina that all of Kakashi's books were models for how not to interact with people. She touched on the thought that Sai might also pick an inappropriate book to model himself after but she shrugged away the concern. He could handle himself.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
"No." Was the sharp response of Morino Ibiki at the routine pestering of his disciple.
"Why?!" Hanzo Aya shrieked, "I'm tired of the clones! They don't bleed!"
"That's precisely why you're working with them." Ibiki snorted, "You can't kill them on accident."
"But they disappear so easily!"
"That's only because you can't control your technique. If you inflict just the bare minimum, they won't disappear. What do I tell you every single day?"
She pouted, knowing that she had been defeated on this point, "We're the Torture and Interrogation Squad. Our main focus is not to torture but to gather information."
"If you know then get back there and try not to slaughter the clones."
"Yes sir…" She sighed, dragging her feet as she returned to the training room void of real people.
So it continues after a long hiatus. I was working on another story and also, I was totally trying to work my plot around the actual cannon ships. It's so heartbreaking but so heart warming at the same time to have solidified cannon ships. For those of you who don't know, Gaara actually ends up with someone via arranged marriage. There's a light novel about it so you should all go check it out. It's pretty cute.
Thanks for the encouragements to continue from the reviews on this story and my previous story "This is the Life of A Ninja." It really encouraged me to continue even though... I would never say my OC X NON-OC pairs win over the cannon pairings.
Also I hope everyone is having or will have a good summer! I've got more free time on my hands now so I'll be picking this up again!
To fianna2452: It's been a whole year since you've reviewed! Thank you for being such a devoted fan of boss man! XD
To my guest reviewer: "Please update" was a very short but powerful message to me. I didn't think anyone still wanted me to continue this one after all this time. So I reply: Please read.
To everyone who reviewed on the other story: Thank you and I hope you'll support this story even though it took me so long to come back to it. T_T