Chapter 3 - Meeting Fellow Royalty

Three days later . . .

"Huh, Konoha's climate is definitely a lot more comfortable than Suna's," Kankuro mumbled as he wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, relieved that he didn't smudge his face paint. "It's hot, but not terribly so. Plus, the plant life around here is unbelievable. All you see are trees in every direction you look at, as far as the eye could see."

"Well, they don't call Konohagakure the village hidden in the leaves for nothing," said Temari as the group continued moving from tree to tree. "The name wouldn't hold up if there were no leafy trees around to give it cover now would it...? Anyway, how much longer till we reach the village Baki?"

"I'm certain that we're near the Hokage Rock by now. The village will be located right at the base of it," came their mentor's quick response as he continued looking forward. "I don't have to explain to you three what the Hokage Rock is do I?"

"Don't worry about us Baki! We all know the history thanks to the tutors our dad assigned to us, so it's okay. We're covered," Kankuro assured. "I know you're supposed to be our mentor, but I don't think you need to worry about our academic standing, especially not for a mission like this."

"Sometimes I wonder why I even bother . . ." Baki mumbled under his breath. When he saw that the road below had shifted from dirt to pavement, he jumped down to the ground, the royal siblings following right behind him.

"Now that we've crossed onto paved road, it won't be long before we reach our destination. Another hour of running, give or take."

"Good! It won't be long now before we can sit down and rest in a bed for the first time in a few days." Temari mumbled as she looked up at their sensei. "But I feel that there's a bit of a 'but' coming along. The rest of this run isn't going to be entirely smooth sailing now will it?"

"It's 50-50 at best Temari," Baki mumbled, not bothering to use her proper title. The use of such distinctions was restricted to certain instances. Traveling between kingdoms while out on an official mission was one of those instances. "Make sure you stay on guard. In the past, some teams have tended to ambush their fellow competition as they were traveling to the village hosting Showcase proceedings. There's also the usual issue of bandits trying to make a mess of things, but that shouldn't be an issue since Konoha always has its ninjas patrolling the surrounding area on a daily basis."

"Pfft, as if we could ever allow ourselves to get caught in an ambush,"Shukaku mumbled with a snort, his overconfidence shining through. "Our sand would kill anyone planning such a thing before they even set foot into our field of vision."

"Unless the people planning the ambush are capable of powerful water-based ninjutsu that is . . . Then again, it's nice to know that you're very confident in our abilities Shukaku," Gaara stated as the group continued on their run. "Now that I think about it, this is the first time you've spoken in a few days. Something must be on your mind for you to hold your tongue for that long?"

"It's nothing you have to worry your little sleep-deprived head about, flesh bag."

Gaara would have raised an eyebrow at that, well, if he had any eyebrows to raise.

Instead, he kept his eyes on the road ahead, following the path as it widened the further they went, reaching to the point that it could fit a line of ten people standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Forty-five minutes passed before the group finally reached Konoha's gates, stopping when they reached the checkpoint area that stood mere feet from the main entrance

"Huh, didn't expect this many people to be coming in at one time . . ." Kankuro grumbled as he looked around the long lines that were stretching away from the check in booths.

"The Shinobi Showcase tends to bring in large crowds from far and wide, even for the preliminary rounds, and those are not usually viewed by the people at large," Baki explained as he took in their surroundings. "People come to stake their claims and set up shop before the festivities even begin, which means it tends to take a while to get through check in."

"Good thing we're royalty then," said Temari as Baki and Gaara started walking ahead. "Long lines are foreign to people like us. We'll just use our royal status to skip ahead of everyone else."

"We could do that, or we can use the express line reserved for royalty, nobility, high officials, and special guests at the far end," said Kankuro as he pointed to the noticeably short line in front of the booth closest to the main gate. It was the same booth that Baki and Gaara were heading for.

"Huh, the people of Konoha really are a convenient bunch," was all Temari could say as she and Kankuro quickly ran to catch up to the other two. Once they had all their papers approved by the shinobi at the desk, the four walked through the open reddish-brown gates and into a village that was so unlike their own.

While beige clay and stone were the norm for the buildings in Suna, their counterparts in Konoha were made with materials such as wood, brick, and cement. The buildings were also more multi-colored than the sandy hues that their homeland had to offer, but none of the buildings stood out more than the large, intricate, reddish-brown building that stood in Konoha's center.

"Hmm, that must be the Fire Palace,"Shukaku mused as Gaara followed his team down the busy street. "So that's where Kurama and Ryuna have been living it up these past few years. . . I got to admit. The place doesn't look half bad. I thought they would have done something stupid to the palace's design, like add a flame-shaped roof or something, but I digress . . . This whole village looks a little livelier than Suna don't you think?"

"It is? I never noticed before."

Despite no longer being in their home kingdom, the siblings were recognized well enough by Konoha's citizens. People whispered among themselves as they caught sight of the three royals passing them by. Gaara's name was mentioned the most, but it was more so out of curiosity and awe than outright fear, terror, or indifference. It was something he didn't expect, but it was a nice change.

"Huh, the people here seem much more receptive to your presence than your own subjects do . . . I guess your full reputation hasn't reached their ears yet."Shukaku said with a snort as Baki led the three onto one of Konoha's busiest thoroughfares, a wide boulevard lined with various shops, inns, and hotels. "I'm sure that will all change soon enough."

"Don't get your hopes up Shukaku. . . I'm not going on an all-out rampage just because you feel like it." said the young redhead as they soon reached a large seven-story hotel that took up one side of an entire block. "So, this is where we will be staying during our time here Baki?"

"That's what the official documents say, so say hello to your home for the next few weeks everyone," Baki calmly answered as he looked around at their surroundings. "Teams that come from the same kingdom are assigned the same hotel to stay in, so expect to see other teams from our homeland make their way here soon."

"I hope the rooms here are good . . ."

"This is supposed to be one of the best hotels the village can offer Kankuro, and with your royal pedigree, I wouldn't be surprised if they gave us the penthouse suite." said Baki as they walked into the sprawling, luxurious structure. They quickly handled their business at the check-in desk, taking their room key to the penthouse suite on the top floor.

"Hmm, not too shabby," said Temari as she looked around at their opulent surroundings. The suite was large enough to contain four bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. Their suite also included a living space, an elegant dining area, and an outdoor porch that gave the four an amazing view of the surrounding Konoha skyline. "This should do us just fine."

"Good to know," said Baki as he set his things down in the bedroom closest to the exit. "Now then, I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to have to leave you three to yourselves for the next few hours."

"You're leaving already?" asked Kankuro as he took off his puppet. "Where are you going?"

"All team mentors have to meet with the Showcase organizers at the village's Academy as soon as they arrive. Mainly to get more info on the event's activities, the overview, that sort of thing," Baki calmly explained as he reopened the door. "Konoha keeps its training areas in the eastern part of the village. Teams may already be there honing their skills for the upcoming challenges. . . I suggest you three do the same."

"C'mon man! We just reached the village and you already want us to start tra-" Kankuro cried out before Temari abruptly cut him off with a slap of her hand over his mouth.

"We'll leave within the hour," the blonde answered as she faced Baki with a serious gaze. Baki simply nodded before leaving and when he was finally out the door, Temari released her hold on her brother's mouth, but not before she shot him a nasty look. ". . . Seriously Kankuro, you can be really dense sometimes."

"What did I say?" the puppeteer asked, agitation marring his face. "Like I said before, we just got here! We haven't settled in yet! Is it too much to ask to have at least a few good hours of rest first before we start training again?"

"Just follow me you two. I think you'll figure it out once we get to the training grounds." The brothers shared a long look with each other before Gaara started following after their sister, leaving Kankuro to bring up the rear.

"But seriously, is it really that bad to ask for a quick rest around here?!" the puppeteer grumbled, hoisting his puppet onto his back before following his siblings out the room.

Neither bothered to give him an answer.

A - x - R - x - T

The siblings left their hotel and traveled along the rooftops, mainly to avoid anyone that may give them some kind of hassle due to their royal status. As they jumped from building to building, Temari and Kankuro looked around at their surroundings, taking note of anything they thought was memorable enough to remember for later. Gaara, on the other hand, kept his eyes straight ahead. The only time he moved his gaze was for the brief moment he glanced at the Fire Palace.

"Hmm, I can feel them," Shukaku stated, his voice cutting into Gaara's train of thought like a sharp blade. ". . . I can feel them both."

"You can feel both the Nine and Ten Tails within the vicinity?" he asked as he and his siblings came to a stop in the middle of an empty road. Behind them was a row of buildings of various sizes, but in front of them was one of the supposed training fields, with oak trees as far as the eye could see, a chain link fence standing tall a few feet in front of it.

"That's right,"said Shukaku, a small growl passing by his jagged lips."For us tailed beasts, it's pretty much impossible to hide our chakra signatures from each other when we're in the same general area, even when we're sealed away. . . Trust me, you'll find them in there, which means . . ."

"Their jinchuuriki are in there, already training," Gaara mumbled as he followed his siblings toward the entrance. "If you can feel your siblings' chakra, can you feel their jinchuuriki's chakra as well?"

"Somewhat. There are some similarities, but not much . . . I can feel a lot of untapped potential in there. It almost makes me excited to see what they can do with it once they're older."

"A lot of untapped potential huh? Well, considering the usual rules when it comes to the tailed beasts and their jinchuuriki, the royal twins are just like me. They're either training with each other or with whoever got assigned to their teams," Gaara mused as the he and his siblings entered the field. "The question now is who holds which beast?"

"Well, we're about to find out. If you and your siblings head a little west of here, you'll certainly run into them."

"Thanks for the heads up,"said Gaara, turning his head west. "Kankuro, Temari, let's head west."

"Why west?"

"Just a hunch Kankuro. . ." was all the redhead would say before he disappeared into the trees. His older siblings shared a glance before following him, stopping at the edge of a large grassy field. Realizing that they were not alone, Gaara was quick to spot a group of six standing in the field's center, all with varying hair colors that ranged from the normal to the unique.

"Hmm, it seems your 'hunch' has pointed us in the right direction," mumbled Temari as she came up beside him. "The two blondes . . . They're definitely the Fire Prince and Princess."

"How are you so sure?" Gaara challenged.

"I read their bio info of course! It may have been sparse, but it did have useful details to help us figure out their identities," Temari admitted, a small smirk growing along her face. "For starters, the info mentioned that they were both blondes, a trait they inherited from their father, which is impressive considering that anyone who ends up marrying an Uzumaki always ends up with redheaded children in the end. Conveniently enough, there's only two blondes in that group."

"That may be true, but did that intel also mention that the prince had whisker marks on his face?" Kankuro asked as he stared at the supposed prince in particular. "Like seriously, how are whisker marks natural?"

"Oh, they're natural alright, especially if the jinchuuriki has been one since his or her birth. . ."Shukaku mused with a throaty chuckle. "We tailed beasts have a tendency of 'marking' our jinchuuriki if he or she becomes our host as soon as they're born, or, in your case, before they are born. Anyway, Kurama marks his hosts with lines across his or her face that resemble whiskers, three on each cheek."

"You tailed beasts may not like being sealed away, but you certainly don't mind marking your territory," Gaara mused as the Fire Prince began dueling the raven-haired boy. "So, what does the Ten Tails usually mark her jinchuuriki with?"

"Ryuna's mark is a lot more subtle, not as present as the rest of ours. You won't know until you face the girl in a fight."

"Great . . ." Gaara turned his attention away from the duel to look at the Fire Princess herself. The girl stood between the brunette and the lavender haired girl, watching the fight unfold. Judging from how the brunette and lavender haired girls were speaking to her in whispers like they were adhering to her direction, Gaara quickly got the feeling that she was probably the leader in that three-man team.

"So . . ." started Kankuro as he took a step forward. "Should we make our presence known?"

"I think it's best if we keep quiet for now. What real reason would we have for disturbing them at this point?" Gaara and Kankuro didn't answer, knowing there was some truth to her logic. "Besides, the longer that they remain unaware of our presence, the longer we can watch them and study their moves."

"Is that so?"

At the sudden voice, which was coming from somewhere above the siblings, the three turned their heads, weapons at the ready, to see a blonde-haired girl standing on a branch in one of the tallest trees. It didn't take them long to realize that the girl was the Fire Princess herself.

"Huh, well this is unexpected," mumbled Kankuro as he held his puppet out in front of him, still wrapped in its bandages. "I could have sworn that we saw you standing with the others in the field just seconds ago."

"Ah, the beauty of shadow clones, am I right?" the princess asked, her gaze unwavering as she looked at the three, as if she was searching for any noticeable weaknesses they may have. "Judging from the weapons you're carrying, it's safe to assume you're the Wind King's children."

"You would be correct, but may I be so bold to ask? How exactly have you heard so much about us?" asked Temari, her voice taking on a challenging edge.

"Being a part of a royal family does have its benefits, don't you think?" she replied, her tone calm. "Although, I'll admit. I was a little miffed that all the info that could be gathered on you three were bio stats. . . I'm sure you three experienced the same thing when you received info on my brother and me."

"You have no idea . . ." mumbled Temari as the four heard footsteps from somewhere behind them.

"Hey sis!" exclaimed the Fire Prince as he looked up at his sister, his voice as loud as his orange colored outfit as he led the group over to their position. "These three aren't giving you any trouble, are they?"

"On the contrary Naruto. Our fellow royals and I were just having a little chat, that's all," said the princess as she jumped down from her perch.

"Fellow royals?" A look of realization soon replaced the confusion once he finally got a good look at the Sand Siblings' faces. "Oh yeah. Pa mentioned that we should look out for you three in the coming days."

"Despite only being here for about an hour now, you've already made quite a buzz around the village," mumbled the girl with shoulder length lavender hair as she pushed her black rimmed glasses up her nose. "Especially the prince with the 'panda-like' eyes."

"Did she just say 'panda-like' eyes?" Shukaku growled, his anger instantly getting Gaara's attention. It also had the side effect of sending a tremor of pain through the redhead's skull. "For her information, it's tanuki-like eyes. They're not panda-like, and I will kill any and all who continue to make that mistake!"

"Calm down you damn tanuki! You're letting something as simple as an understandable misinterpretation get under your skin? Really? Do you know how sad it is for you, a centuries-old demon, to be so easily irritated by the smallest of things?" Gaara responded right back, his eyes not missing how the Fire Princess was staring at him from the corner of her eyes.

"I don't care about who's making everyone talk. Right now, all I care about is getting ready for the Showcase," mumbled the raven-haired boy as he walked away from the group. "Are you guys coming? Naruto? Sakura?"

"Coming Sasuke!" exclaimed the pinkette as she eagerly followed him. Naruto grumbled something under his breath before following after them, quickly doing a small wave at the rest of the group before disappearing into the trees.

"Sorry about Lord Uchiha. As you can see, he's not really the most courteous person here in the village." mumbled the Fire Princess as she shook her head. The last name was definitely familiar to the siblings, considering it belonged to one of the strongest clans in existence. The fact that the Uchihas held one of the strongest dojutsu on the planet instantly made them a cause for concern for many shinobi, which meant that the siblings knew they had to tread carefully around Sasuke if they ever managed to fight him in the future.

"When is he ever courteous?" grumbled the scowling brunette. "Sasuke has been rocking the pompous attitude for as long as he's been wearing that ridiculous duck-butt hairstyle of his!"

"However, whether you like it or not, he does have the right idea," said the lavender-haired girl as she looked off into the distance. "We should be spending less time talking and more time training. Ishida-sensei won't be too happy with us if she finds out we haven't been training like we said we would."

"Damn, same goes for our mentor," Kankuro managed to spit out before Temari could answer for the group. "I guess we'll just have to part ways for now."

"I guess you're right," said the Fire Princess as she started walking away, only to look over her shoulder seconds later. "Unless you three plan on following us to study our moves like you originally planned."

Despite her innocent tone, the Sand Siblings knew that the Fire Princess' voice carried the hint of a veiled threat, one that she wouldn't mind acting on as a sudden chill went down their backs. The three had been on guard from the get-go, but now they were enveloped by a sudden tenseness that almost made their legs quiver, even Gaara's, who usually sees this kind of reaction from people as soon as they meet him.

"Hm, this chill is definitely Ryuna's doing," Shukaku mumbled, his voice sounding agitated, yet impressed. "Maybe my sister is more interconnected with her jinchuuriki than I originally thought. . . Better say something boy, but be careful with your words. If you say the wrong thing, you'll definitely pay for it later."

"Fine . . . Don't worry," Gaara finally said, deciding to take the tanuki's words to heart, this time around. "We're simply here to train, not spy."

"That's all I wanted to hear," said the royal as she turned forward. "Let's go Haruka, Nanami!"

"Right!" the two girls chorused as the princess leapt onto a branch. As the three disappeared into the trees, the siblings were left to contemplate on what just happened and what they've witnessed so far.

There was a lot to take in.

"Okay, did either of you two feel a chill just move through your spine?" Kankuro asked as he pointed to his own back. "Because I felt it, and it didn't feel good. . . Not good at all."

"It's probably due to the influence her tailed beast has on her," Temari suggests as she continued to stare off in the direction the three girls went off to. "Besides that, we at least got to see what some of our upcoming competition looked like. We may not have been able to witness any of their jutsu, but judging from how they carry themselves, they may put up a good fight."

"Che, the girl's last words; that definitely had Ryuna's claw prints all over it. She's definitely sealed in the Fire Princess. I have no doubts about that."

"Your sister definitely knows how to make a point."Gaara mumbled, more to himself than to the tanuki inside him.

"Gaara, c'mon! Let's find somewhere else to train!" called Temari, who was already halfway into the field with Kankuro when she realized that their sand-manipulating brother was still at the field's periphery.

"You have no idea flesh bag. Think of it as a common trait that all jinchuuriki happen to share. Ryuna just happens to be the best at it."

"And just when I thought you were unique in that aspect," the prince mumbled as he joined his siblings in the field. "Still, I'll have to be careful of the Fire Princess from now on. . . Now that I know who's sealed inside who, we can't take the twins lightly, especially her."

A/N: Okay, so, as you all have just read, I introduced Naruto and the rest of Team 7 in this chapter, well, sans Kakashi of course, as well as the Fire Princess and her crew. However, I never revealed the princess' name. Her name will be revealed in the next chapter. Thanks for reading!