Disclaimer: I, the author of this story, do not own 'Naruto', in any of its forms, nor do I own it's characters, places, general plot or illustrations. Any character presented here not found in the original Manga or Anime of 'Naruto', was created by this writer and was in no way borrowed or stolen from another person's creation or work. Any similarities with both real people and/or existent fictional characters is purely coincidental, and unintentional.

Author's Note: In honor and celebration of our first two Favs and Follows here you have it: Chapter two of 'From Rain To Rust'. Enjoy.

From Rain To Rust

Chapter Two

'Enter Nin Team K!'

It wasn't that he didn't enjoy festivities—especially this one—since Konoha had more than surpassed everyone's expectations as a host; the sounds of happy Shinobi and civilians could be heard well into the outskirts of the village, food and drink stalls were thriving with customers and attention, bright, multi-colored lights were starting to become visible against the contrast of the setting sun, well-dressed beautiful people flooded the streets in a way that made every other corner of the world feel jealous about; between the flood of civilians from the Five Great Nations that had heard of the news about the celebrations with weeks in advance, and the actual shinobis either escorting their representatives, or participating on the Jōnin Exams, the streets of Konoha had become a truly beautiful collection of people from around the continent. Even those that were actively disdainful of loud and bright parties couldn't help but rejoice in the wave of fresh air that every single group of people that walked through the Konoha main gates brought along with them, this had truly been the first time every single person in the world could feel happy and joyful about overcoming the horrors that the war had left behind, the first time they could actually feel peace, tranquility, and happiness instead of mere relief for getting to not die thousands of miles away from home.

But even then, Kumogakure's own Omoi felt the need to distance himself from the proverbial frontlines of the festival and get a couple of seconds of solitude

Kumo's Fourth Raikage, A, and his party were the first foreigners to arrive to Konoha close to a whole day ago already; which meant that for close to 24 hours (it was more like 8, but Omoi wouldn't acknowledge so yet) all of Kumo's nin and representatives were the sole center-point of the vastness of Konoha's hospitality and attention. Now, he was well-trained on the politics of being a Ninja and a major representative of his village; but after the twentieth (it was literally only three) team of Genin come running towards you to ask if you could get them your older brother's autograph 'pretty please' 'Who the hell said Darui was his older 'anything', ANYWAY?', any guy would ask for a break.

Which is exactly what Omoi was getting near Konoha's gates, he'd even taken some solace in some two-sentences chats with other Chūnins doing some patrol time, and a couple of compliments from a particularly jumpy Jōnin in green tights lauding the power of his 'youth'.

Though his solace and peace were, as always (Really, Omoi?), shortlasting.

The date on the… 'Invitation' letter was somewhat vague in that there was only one explicitly written, and in that since there were mentions of the words 'Anniversary', and Celebration(s)', to go along with, they weren't sure if they had even arrived on time to the actual Exams or just to their conjoined pity party.

The sky was already showing more light from the stars and the moon than from the last ray of pink sunshine on the horizon, which meant that if they were right and arrived on the day of the first test they'd likely already be failed by default.

They'd barely gotten the letter yesterday, with there not being any actual 'kage' or Shinobi office active at all on Ame, they were lucky the mail-lady had recognized them as they passed and decided to give them the scroll, it could've been there waiting for them for weeks for all they knew! One day more and they would have lost it al-

'What was that?' The young Yoa Kanamono questioned himself as he looked around at his teammates.

"Kaori what the hell are you doing may I ask?" Yoa asked the girl on his far left. Not one of the three ninjas from Ame slowing down as they spoke.

"Oh! Why, yes you may, Yoa-chan!" Kaori replied quickly, snapping out of her small trance and stopping her murmurs before letting go of the beads on her necklace.

Yoa's eyes and lips narrowed in mild annoyance at the unnecessary use of the honorific on his name, clearly not a fan of it, but also deciding telling her so again to bequite futile.

"I'm praying!" Kaori chirped with a smile as the trio sprinted from tree branch to tree branch comfortably.

Kaori's response earned a very amused but sincere grin from the girl leading their pace from the middle, Runa. But decided to leave the floor to her bickering teammates for now.

"And what in Kami's name are you praying for, Kaori…?" Yoa asked once again somewhat unimpressed but barely hiding the endeared grin pushing against his lips.

"For us to arrive in time, Yoa-chan!" Kaori stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Purposely teasing her teammate with the honorific once again.

Though after a second her smile faded into a frown, shifting her eyes from side to side as if she was being watched, so she could 'whisper' (quite loudly) to Yoa.
"Can you imagine Runa's temper if we don't…?"

"OKAY!" The woman in question decided that wasn't a path anyone wanted to go down to. As endearing as she could find Kaori from time to time, she would hate it if she had to get into a fight with her before actually having a reason to.

"Remember we're in foreign territory, we probably ARE being watched" Runa tried to put her squad in order. "And even if we're not, we should still be aware of our surroundings."

Both Yoa and Kaori exchanged a silent glance for a second.

"I actually think you're right, Kaori. Maybe I should join your prayers this time." Yoa replied to her as if Runa had never spoken.

"I know, right? Can you imagine the way back if we don't get there in time?" Kaori answered with a terrified shudder, also ignoring her leader.

"OKAY THAT'S IT!" Runa cried as she reached for her sheath, not taking into account the thinness of the branch she and her teammates had jumped onto as she pivoted around. Which sent her, and her team crashing down to the floor once the branch snapped under them.

The weight of three near-full grown ninjas was more than enough to make some leaves and dust fly about from the impact on the ground.

"Nice chakra control there, chief!" Kaori 'congratulated' her teammate while lying flat on the ground, extending her arm upwards to give her friend a thumbs up amidst a chuckle.

"Yes, a full-fledged mighty leader alright..." Yoa replied more sarcastically, though it was evident he wanted to chuckle as well.

Runa's eyes were fixated on the sky above—not that she'd ever say it out loud—but Konoha had its perks… This was probably (if not certainly) the first time she'd ever seen a star studded sky, let alone one that looked like this… It was also the first time she'd traveled across a forest so immensely dense, she'd seen more animals and plants on their way over here than in the rest of her life back in Amegakure. She briefly considered just lying here, remaining in place with her back flat against the grass, now that she wasn't moving or pumped with adrenaline she could feel the numerous aches in her body, and the hunger on her belly, they'd been fortunate enough to find a river nearby to quench their thirst, otherwise she'd feel her throat burn as well, they came here blasting so fast that they hadn't even had the chance to eat something first or catch a prey along the way… She turned her head over to her teammates, her best and only friends; they'd followed her around faithfully for years by now, everywhere she told them to (which wasn't much outside Ame), every time she told them to, and however she told them to; they'd bled and ate, and sweated, and cleansed themselves, and cried together for longer than she could remember; they were surely feeling at least as miserable as herself, they surely ached and hungered as much, only they didn't show it (they never did); she considered telling them all of this, to simply surrender right here now to be able to send everything to shit, to lie there shoulder-to-shoulder with them until no one ached anymore, and until they could no longer feel any hunger, to tell them they needn't worry anymore, that they didn't have to fight and bleed and die for a village that was doomed to hell long before they even existed, that the three of them didn't have to carry the weight of thousands of forgotten souls on their young shoulders…

But she'd be lying to their faced, and both of them would know it, and they'd slap the living shit out of her if she so much as alluded to any of it. She hadn't found them, that was a lie they told themselves, she didn't push them to save their shithole of a birthplace any more than they pushed her.
She barely even lead them, because that'd suggest that anyone of the trio had more of the slightest idea of just what the hell they were doing in the first place than the other two.
She wasn't even older than them! (Not enough for it to matter anyway.)
They quite simply were two lonely girls and one lonely boy the world picked up and picked apart over and over again, till the only way they could keep it all together was by clinging to each other as hard as their bodies permitted… And they all knew it, they just wouldn't say it, ever. Because that'd mean opening a door that no one in their situation—much less a soldier—could let themselves open.

"Shaddap…" Runa groaned as she rolled over and tried to stand up. "I don't even remember the last time I ate… I'm just chakra depleted." She excused herself, knowing neither bought it, but she made her point.

"That actually makes sense, Mighty Leader." Yoa stated as he jumped back onto his feet in one swift move.

"Ugh… Showoff…" Kaori teased her male teammate before getting up slowly herself and dusting off.

"Maybe you're right… Maybe we should head back already…" Runa murmured just loud enough to be heard, unfortunately her previous line of thought had worn down her mind along with her body this time.

"But Runa!"

"I'm just saying, we've been at this for hours, we don't even know how far stupid Konoha still is…"

"But Runa!"

"I know, Kaori… But we probably missed the First Test already. Really it's no use, don't worry."

"Runa shut your hole and turn around." Yoa deadpanned before grabbing Runa by her shoulders and turning her around.

"Is that-?"

"Konoha!" Kaori cried in a mixture of elation for arriving and elation for Runa getting it.

"I'm just sayin', man. I believe it's a little unfair for us to be stationed all the way over here while the party 's going all the way over there." Kotetsu Hagane, the everpresent guard of Konoha's gates complained to his best friend Izumo.

"And for the tenth time: I heard you. But we were given a task and we shall do it. It'll do you better to stop complaining already." Really, Izumo somewhat agreed, but what the Hokage ordered, the Hokage got, specially if he had a say in it.

"No one's even going to come by anymore this late, we should just scurry off and have some fun of our own."

Izumo was starting to tilt towards agreeing with his friend… 'Really it wasn't likely anyone else would come right now, and attacks in a time of peace were pretty much non-existent which meant-...' "I should really bet against everything you say, Kotetsu." He interrupted his own thoughts as he made out the shape of three people heading their way, he nodded in their direction. "People coming."

"Technically yes, it seems we might have missed it completely or pass it by had you not broken the branch." Yoa conceded to Runa, if only a bit begrudgingly.

"So in essence I didn't screw up so much as I 'saved the day'. Right?" Runa shot back with a cocky smirk.

"Now you're pushing it." Yoa replied with a huff as he nudged Runa.

Yoa had to accept that as openly opposed as he was to this plan—more specifically to the fact that (in his eyes) in order for himself and his teammates (and by default their people) to take part in an event like the one they were about to participate on, they would have to metaphorically (if not literally) bow down to another one of the 'Five Great whatevers' whims, to pretend that everything that has ever happened between their village and everyone else's never even happened; even when everyone knew they had sometimes actively worked against Ame's own well-being!—just for one second he was glad to see the bright lights coming from deep within Konoha, not to mention the sweet smell of steaming hot food being sold about…

Sadly it was only a second.

Kaori had only walked a couple of feet ahead from her friends, she was starving, they hadn't had a bite to eat long before they got that famous scroll to begin with, they were literally looking to rest after their last 'call' when they got called to the post to get the letter.

It wasn't that she didn't agree with Runa's plan, afterall her reasons more than made sense; fighting wasn't the only way they could help people from back home (that was true), if they attended the exams they were guaranteed registration to that damn 'Shinobi Union' which meant that they could at least attract some attention to their village's current state; but even if that were true, Kaori wasn't sure if she wanted the 'Union' to turn their eyes to Ame in the first place (especially once anyone stopped to consider the role their former leader had in the past war and conflicts), it could only go one of two ways: they would either help with just what Ame needed (which was food, healthcare and resources), or do as everyone else and smell the blood on the water, attacking the village while it was vulnerable. And if they were that far away from home they wouldn't even be there to defend it in the first place.

The other point Runa made was the fact that if they got registered they could therefore get missions where they'd get 'paid'—which no one could deny would be a welcomed sight—and that knowing each of their abilities and what kind of 'missions' they'd get assigned they'd be paid handsomely enough to buy and distribute whatever the people of Ame lacked little by little.
Kaori liked that part; much too often they'd saved someone from violence only to find out shortly after that the same person had died of illness or hunger; she couldn't think of any other sentiment in the world that felt worse than that, how powerless she felt after every time she'd heard the same old speech be repeated to them… and the sad part was that it had happened to them so many times that the effect started to wear off… it was becoming just another part of everyday life they had to deal with: meet kid-help kid-bury kid; meet man-save man-bury man; meet lady-help lady-...no body to bury this time… They were all getting so tired of it, in body and mind, and if this whole 'Jōnin Exams' thing was going to help end that: then so be it, it would be worth it.

"We're going to need to see some identification before letting you pass, Miss." Izumo deadpanned to a girl wearing a spotless long black kimono, oversized prayer beads hanging from her hips and another regular sized set hanging from her neck.

Kaori instantly snapped out of her thoughts, being both surprised and taken aback by the apparition of a figure towering in front of her all of the sudden.

"I'm sorry, I believed this to be a public event?" The brunette stated, not letting much room for an argument.

"You believe right, Miss. But I can't let any person from outside the Five Shinobi Nations pass without some Identification first." Izumo replied, noticing she was wearing Amegakure's symbols. "Hokage's orders."

Kaori's blood boiled at the sound of those words, though she didn't let any of it be seen outside of a little clench of her jaw for a second. "Then you'll be happy to know I am from a Great Shinobi Nation." Kaori replied in a more hostile, yet still composed tone. "Now if you'd excuse me." She added before swiftly sidestepping the standing man.

"Actually-" another Konoha figure interjected her both physically and verbally, appearing to her side immediately. "-me and my partner will have to insist." Kotetsu replied to Kaori as he held her arm.

"Let. Go. Of my arm." The woman from Amegakure, who was in the middle of the Konoha Chūnin ordered them.

"I'm afraid we're gonna have to ask you to-" Izumo started but was interrupted as another two shinobi sporting Amegakure's symbols appeared quicker than a pair of summons.

"Kaori no!" Yoa quickly reached to snatch his teammate's free wrist before it reached her necklace, Runa meanwhile caught Kotetsu's arm in an iron grip and sent a scorching shock of lightning up the limb; making the Leaf Chūnin recoil a good few feet back from the Ame group.

"She did tell you to let go of her arm." Runa's voice replied with a stern warning, standing pretty much back-to back-to back with her squad.

"Kotetsu!" Izumo cried before unsheathing his half of the twin weapons he and his friend wielded.

"Oh, you really don't wanna do that." Yoa advised his Konoha foe with a mocking tone. Halfway extending his right hand before small particles of 'debris' started to swirl onto his palm.

"I'm fine Izumo!" Kotetsu replied as he stood up from where he had landed, looking over at the completely burnt fabric on the arm the Rain Kunoichi had shocked.

Izumo was calmed enough by the sound of his friend's voice. This didn't need to escalate anything any further, much less while Konoha was the host of an event of peace. "How about we all lower our weapons-" Izumo offered as he went to sheath his blade.

"How about next time you don't touch people without their permission?" Yoa whispered from behind Izumo, holding a shiny, black blade; so sharp that the mere contact with Izumo's skin made a tendril of blood run down Izumo's throat.

Izumo's eyes shot wide open instantly, his body freezing by pure reflex. 'I didn't even blink! Did I?'. "What do you want? What are you doing here?!"

Kotetsu surely didn't blink, he had his eyes dead set on this group of Amegakure kids as soon as he stood up, but even still the only boy of the group had moved at a speed so fast Kotetsu didn't even notice he was gone until Izumo shouted. He didn't have a choice, he had to call for help, if the shock the girl gave her, and how fast that boy had rendered Izumo defenseless was anything to go by, these kids weren't messing about. Though the worry of leaving Izumo there to possibly be killed in his absence didn't seem ideal either.

"Alright enough!" A strong voice cut through almost as fast as the blade he carried; Omoi slashing toward Yoa with lightning quickness.

"Not quite yet, tough guy." Runa smirked as she crossed blades with Omoi; her black Katana being visibly identical to the dagger Yoa still held against Izumo's throat.

Omoi's eyebrows furrowed when his attack was met with another, his face staring right at that of his attacker through the clashing blades; Runa's smirk changed only to wink at the man before taking hold of Yoa's vest with her free hand, snagging him back to where Kaori stood in a blink.

Runa sheathed her weapon then and there, in the middle of Omoi, Izumo, and Kotetsu; serving as a non-verbal cue for her team to do the same and lay-down the arms.

"Pardon the rude introductions," She smiled broadly and 'amicably' as if none of what just transpired happened. "My name is Runa Kashima, leader of Nin Team K of Amegakure. Nice to meet you."

To be continued...

Note: Once again thank you for reading; next chapter cointains the first taste of our dear 'Shika/Tem' pairing! So if I get one written review I'll release it as soon as I get notified! Stay sharp!