Tsuki Yuhi's Story

This is where it all felt like it began for Tsuki. Yesterday, she had graduated from the academy now a Genin and ready to see her team. Although for the most part she was happy only to know she was on the right path, following her grandmother's footsteps, However something pained her. Tsuki's whole childhood, even now has been shown hate and pain. The village treated the girl cruely, shunning her or even physically hurting her. The only one who treated her kindly was her grandmother "Kurenai (Yuhi) Sarutobi". These wonders and thoughts only lead her to wonder since she was to be assigned a team soon how they would treat her, especially if not the students the jounin watching her. She oftened tried her best to not be seen among class and if noticed a natural kind attitude unless messed with but even sometimes with the kindest of words, they would only be thrown down.

Tsuki shook her head to the thoughts as she prepared her katana, sliding the weapon into her sash behind her. After that, she tied her hair slightly into a pony-tail and wrapped both of her arms and hands in cloth. She nodded feeling as thought her preparation was complete and headed out the door. She was a little afraid to walk among the open, seeing how daily people naturally treated her terribly. Although the Alley ways of konoha may be a little confusing she made sure she got where she needed. Which the location of where Tsuki traveled was close. Her grandmother's home. She saw the home in sight but she couldn't help but wonder once more where her parents were, if they were even alive. She approached the door shortly after knocking.

"Grandmother..?" She spoke a little loud in a nice tone.

"Hello my dear!" Kurenai said soon after inviting her in.

The two spoke and caught up on what they have been doing until Tsuki finally brought the question up about her parents once more. For a moment, Kurenai was silent but shortly after spoke. She only spoke saying they died by the nine-tails and said they made a mistake but obviously except to Tsuki. She had disappointment towards them. Kurenai excused herself shortly after and left Tsuki to finish her tea and step out of the home, walking back into the alley way to move to her next destination.

Yugao Kenzaki was in Konoha supposedly for diplomatic affairs. However, everyone knew she got tired of the same faces and opponents in Kirigakure. This was her last day here, and she just got out of a meeting. She went to the local bar and found someone to accept her challenge at a game of poker.

“Ah, another bad hand. This blows,” Yugao feigned dismay. Under her mask though, she hid a smirk.

“It’s unwise to blatantly bluff like that again Mizukage-sama. I was expecting greater of the Mist's Master Gambler," he folded, knowing not to go for the bait this time. Yugao had already told him of her “bad hands” twice, both times her hands were straights.

“Ah? If you say so,” she took the small pile of chips and then revealed her hand. She had nothing. Not even a two of a kind, “I told you I had another bad hand.”

The ninja balled his hand into a fist in frustration. The Mizukage was toying with him. It went on like this for 12 more rounds. In a total of 15 rounds he was robbed of all his chips. Never once beating her hand, or folding when he did have a better hand.

“Why did I take that ridiculous bet anyway?” he asked her while she cleaned up the chips and cards. Yugao took her mask off to sip her sake then looked at him with a bored look.

“Simple. You consider yourself a good gambler. When you heard about Kiri’s Master Gambler you couldn’t help but want to challenge me to a game to see if you could beat her,” she put her bottle of sake down, taking her gaze down with it, “when I challenged you, you felt compelled to say yes even though my bet was absurd. Why you ask? You had wanted to challenge me yourself. You’re opportunistic, so the Mizukage herself challenging you in Konoha was an opportunity you couldn’t possibly pass up.”

She placed the white mask over her face once again, then looked back up at him. He now looked as if he was scolded by a teacher. She held her hand out as if to help him get up but then she said,

“I’ll take that absurd amount of 3 million yen now please.”

The ninja’s face paled. He didn’t have the money on him. She pulled her hand back and turned around as if ready to leave.

“You can make up for the money by telling your Hokage I want 7 more percent of the trade income.”

There was a reason why all of the Kages were hesitant about discussing about deals with the Mizukage. She always got her way in some way or another. Even if it didn’t happen that day, she would find a way. She was certainly a political force to be reckoned with.

She walked outside and saw Tsuki Yuhi, Kurama’s new host. Yugao heard about the girl and wondered how the village was going to handle her. She decided to greet the little host, wanting to understand her personality to see if she could exploit the young host in anyway.

“Hello Tsuki,” she said in a kind tone. Behind the mask was another hidden smirk.

Mana was running full speed through the village, very nearly knocking over a few people but it was clear that he didn't care at the moment as nothing would stop his momentum, he had graduated the Academy a couple years ahead of most of the other students so far the past couple years he was without a proper cell to get to know and go on missions with. Now that was all changing, he was quickly paired up with a couple of other students with the wave of new Academy graduates and he was excited to meet one of them in particular. Her name was Tsuki yuhi and she was the new nine tailed Jinchuriki, so why was he so excited to meet her while everyone else in the village feared and hated her? Because in a way she was just like him, carrying the name of the Uchiha clan made him dangerous in the eyes of some of the villagers and the heads of the village due to Konoha's rough history with the clan itself, he always insisted that he loved the Hidden Leaf and would never do anything to bring harm to it. He couldn't change what the people thought, he understood though, they were all afraid of the Uchiha especially after what happened with the last great ninja war...

Even so Mana was determined to show them he was different, and he knew Tsuki suffered the exact same treatment among the village which made him feel like he and she were connected. He decided to check her home first to see if she was in to introduce himself, which is why he was in such a hurry, he'd heard she was there so he had to make it before she headed out again. He didn't pay attention to how long he'd been sprinting like this but eventually he could see old Kurenai's place rising in the distance as he got closer and then he saw her emerging from an ally way while some stranger stood at the entrance to the ally waiting for her which made him come to a stop, he'd never seen this masked person around the village so who could that person be? And what did they want with Tsuki? He felt around were his right back pocket would be to make sure his pouch of ninja tools were there, he wasn't sure if he would need them or not but better safe than sorry when dealing with strangers, especially makes ones. Mana would continue towards the both of them but at a much slower pace, if the masked stranger tried anything Tsuki he would still be able to use the element of surprise to his advantage, even if the masked stranger was stronger than him he still had THAT jutsu to fall back on. He had been practicing it fiercely since his Academy days and he now had the hang of it,. his fire ball jutsu was more focused and controlled while taking considerably less chakra to do.

His hands clenched and un clenched, he was flexing his fingers to prepare himself to weave the hand signs as quick as possible if it proved necessary, if it turned out to be so he would only have one chance at getting a direct hit before the masked stranger would flee or retaliate.

Yugao heard the complaints of villagers and turned away from Tsuki to the direction of the commotion. She heard someone running at full speed towards them. By the sound of the footsteps, the runner wasn’t as heavy as an adult, so she figured it was another kid. The running suddenly slowed to a halt.

‘Ah, a witness?’ she mused to herself.

She turned back to Tsuki and crouched down,

“You don’t need to be afraid of me, I’m Yugao, the Mizukage.”

She looked towards the direction of where she heard the villagers’ voices and the frantic running. If the kid interfered, it would be unwise to attack him or her. She was trying to get on Tsuki’s good side, so she did something risky. Along with taking her mask off, she took Nuibari and set it down on the ground below her. She looked back at Tsuki,

“See? Nothing to be afraid of.”

She was speaking to both Tsuki and the kid. She looked over again to the direction of the footsteps and villagers,

“Is that a friend of yours over there? He was running toward our direction in full speed. That’s usually a sign of excitement or urgency,” she gave a light smile as she looked back at Tsuki.

Yugao debated calling over the new kid to come join them. She knew how these village people are, rejecting those they found a threat or different. If he was the Uchiha child, she could gain his trust as well. An adult figure who doesn’t view these types of kids were exactly what these kids longed for. And friends, they yearn to be accepted and acknowledged. So an adult friend figure would be a bonus.

Yugao stood up and decided to just make him aware of the fact she knew he was there.

“When sneaking around, running at top speeds doesn’t help. Especially when you run into villagers who will complain,” Yugao then smiled.

Today is a good day. The sun was shining brightly up overhead, the trees shading her from the harsh rays but not so much that she couldn't feel its warmth. Birds were chirping in the trees as they flew about and the forest was just alive as she listen to the sounds. Yup today deffinatly a good day in Maki's mind. It had been nine years since she'd been told to go to Konoha by her village leader, but since he'd never said to go straight there she decided that a little sight seeing couldn't hurt. A lot had happened in that time and she was finally ready to once more have a home to go back to at the end of the day instead of sleeping on the ground or in a tree every night.

As the gates of Konoha started to come into view she let out a low whistle, impressed with what she saw. With that she hefted her small pack higher on her back as she skipped up to the gate, an eager smile in place. "Please state your name, where you're from, and business in Konoha," the chunnin asked in a lazy drawl, clipboard in hand.

"My name is Maki Inoue, I am a traveler so I'm not from anywhere really, and I'm here to see the Hokage-sama so that I can gain citizenship," she answered not at all bothered by his bored tone having heard it numerous times before when entering other villages.

"Mah, mah," the guard waved at her condescendingly as he handed her the clipboard to sign, but amused at her antics, "Hokage-sama is a very busy person you can't just drop in on the Hokage-sama unannounced you have to make an appointment first."

"Well, then it's a good thing that Hokage-sama has been expecting me for the past nine years then isn't it?" she questioned as she signed her name sloppily and handed back the clipboard before skipping on ahead before the guard could stop her.

Maki knew that from the way she dressed and acted that no one would ever guess that she was a ninja, in fact she looked like any other regular citizen, which made things easier for her since her opponents often underestimated her. No one ever seemed to notice that although she was loud, her feet never made a sound as they touched the ground. As she was skipping along to the Hokage Tower she ran across the Mizukage talking to two people without her mask on and she knew that that couldn't be good. She knew the Mizukage from her brief stay in Mist, things hadn't ended too well between them and unless she wanted to expose herself she wouldn't interfere. But then again, when had she ever really taken the time to listen to the perfectly sound reason that was coming from her head as she skipped on ahead to interfere anyway, if only to help out these two unwitting people.

"Mizukage-sama so nice to see you again, you seem to be doing well," she greeted cheerfuly as she bowed respectfully to the woman before looping her arm with the girl next to her. "Unfortunatly I don't have time to talk right now, as I am late for a meeting with the Hokage-sama, and these two are suppose to be my escort, they kinda left me behind as we were racing to the Tower. Perhaps we can catch up later?" she asked the lie coming easiy from her mouth and without waiting for an answer she was already walking off with a friendly wave and linked her other hand with the boy and walked into the crowded streets, hoping to get lost among the people.

Yugao put her mask back on with an amused look on her face.

“Ho~? The Saibi?” Yugao said aloud to herself, “Ah, she finally arrives.”

As the Mizukage, Yugao had easy access to information about other villages by drawing them out casually through conversation or through blackmail. She learned that Maki Inoue is the saichibi and was sent to Konoha. She never arrived, instead one day she was at the outskirts of Kirigakure. Yugao ran a tight guard system there, and they intercepted Maki before she could find the village. Yugao herself went to go see her wanting to meet the saichibi. After looking Maki over, not even saying a word to her, she ordered the guards to release her. She told her to never try coming back for Kirigakure does not accept ninja who do not follow their village leaders’ orders.

Yugao is an articulate strategist. She never forgets anyone she meets; the first time she meets them their face and her analysis is engraved in her mind. She recorded quirks, personality traits, weaknesses, habits, every possible little detail. Though the Saibi interfered, she felt another plan hatching up. She picked up Nuibari and placed it on her hip.

Yugao caught up to Maki and grabbed her by the arm, “You do realize that if you were to have an escort, he would have been a guard at the gates. Not two children who just graduated from the academy.”

Yugao hid a smirk underneath her mask, “You just came into the village nine years late. No one knows what you are capable of. If you are to have an escort, it would not be these two, especially since right now you can be considered a threat to the village. I certainly considered you one, you didn't follow your village leader's orders. For that reason alone you can be considered a rogue ninja."

Yugao made sure everyone in the area could hear. Her tone was cold. She looked down to face Tsuki and Mana,

"Now are you two really this young lady's escort? Tsuki, I know you weren't, you came from the opposite direction and you were walking when I met you, not running like this young lady stated," her tone shifted from cold to comforting, "What about you Mana?"

Tohru Hyuga

Tohru Hyuga stood in front of her mirror with her new headband in her hands. Sighing, she lifted up her bangs that hid her terrible branch mark. She traced he mark of it remembering the sad times of the past. Letting her bangs flow over it, concealing it again, she put her headband around her neck. She had graduated yesterday and she felt pride in herself that she had accomplished something. She knew she wasn't as good as the others and her father had told her so. But she was glad that she could finally become a ninja.

Walking out of her house, people looked at her uncomfortably and she tried to hid her face by looking down at her feet. "Just walk," she thought. They continued to stare at her knowing of the demon inside of Tohru. She hated the way they treated her. Like she was just a different person that could never become successful. Someday, she would prove them wrong.

While she continued to walk, she found a few people. Tohru saw Mana Uchiha before but had never spoken to him. She also saw Tsuki who was in her class back at the academy. The others she didn't know. She watched at people that were talking, afraid to greet them. Looking around she tried to be quiet while listening to their conversations. She knew it was rude but she rarely ever see foreigners. She continued to eavesdrop hoping that she wouldn't be seen.

Maki glared heatedly down at the offending hand that had suddenly grabbed her for the briefest of moments before turning a bright smile up at the Mizukaze ready to poke holes in her analysis. "With all due respect Mizukage-sama, I've never graduated from a ninja academy or been given a headband signifying that I had any status as a ninja so how could I ever be classified as a rouge ninja if I was never a ninja to begin with? As for my getting here nine years late, well I was never given any time constraints on when to get here just to get here and since I was never a ninja I had no obligations to follow through with his orders since he was casting me out of the village. Besides my arrival here shows that I can follow orders and I still have the gift that I was told to give Hokage-sama when I arrived," she answered knowing that she wouldn't know what the gift was and not giving the other two a chance to answer, hoping that they would just go along with whatever she was saying.

The vial of Hero Water that she'd carried with her for the past nine years was only known to her and her leader and she knew that neither of them would ever give up information in any way on where it was. It was her village's most closely guarded weapon and even though she only had a small vial of it it was still more than enough. "Besides Tsuki-san, here was just coming back for me and Mana-san had probably made it all the way to the Tower before he realized that he'd left the both of us in the dust! On top of that do I look even remotely like a ninja to you? I've been traveling all over the elemental countries for the past nine years, when would I even have found the time for ninja training? Especially since I never stayed in one place for very long and whenever I was on the road I was mostly by myself!" Maki finished poking holes in her analysis, glening information on who was with her from Yugao and making sure to be just as loud and keeping her tone bright.

Maki knew that by doing this she was essentially challenging the Mizukage and stepping on dangerous ground, but that wasn't something that she was unfamiliar with. At the same time though she was also making fun of her which more than made up for being suddenly grabbed in her book, something that she hadn't made a move to get out of so far and so to her they were even now. "Now if you don't mind letting me go Mizukage-sama, as you've already so graciously already pointed out I am nine years late, wouldn't want to make Hokage-sama wait even longer now would we. These two are here to make sure I make it to the Tower as quickly as possibe, without any more of the detours or sidetrips that I am so fond of," she grinned, feeling like she'd won this round.

The Mizukage let go of Maki's arm, took her mask off and let herself throw her head back in laughter. Yugao decided to let Maki see her face as she played this game with her.

'The kid's good I'll give her that much,' she thought to herself, 'not good enough though, not yet.'

Yugao smiled at her albeit a little condescendingly, "You were only six years old when you were sent here. Will you so kindly explain to me then, if you know no ninja arts, exactly how you managed to travel around the land unharmed?" she closed her eyes and continued, "In addition, I doubt your village leader would allow a six year old travel alone regardless of being a ninja or not... unless of course you have some kind of secret hm kid?" she opened her eyes again, the purple orbs feigning curiosity. With that, the Mizukage accepted Maki's challenge. Right now she didn't care that Maki had interrupted her talk with Mana and Tsuki, this was beginning to get fun.

"I'd also like to know how you managed to get to the outskirts of my lovely village. We're a tiny group of islands far away from the mainland. No one is allowed to take the boat there unless I give the ok. Unless, you know how to run on water like a ninja."

Yugao crossed her arms and looked at her with an unreadable expression. Though Yugao wore a mask to conceal her face before, now she wore it for intimidation. You wouldn't get anything out her facial expression unless she wants you to. One of the many reasons why she is the Mist's Master Gambler is that her poker face was second to none. She did not grow up in a family of master gamblers like herself without developing that necessary unreadable expression. However, she could see into others' like it was nothing, training as a ninja only sharpened her instinct and analyzing prowess. Now as the Mizukage, she gambled her entire village, that sense of urgency is what makes her even more formidable.

"So go ahead and enlighten me how you aren't a ninja."

“Hello Tsuki,” The woman spoke gently.

Tsuki stopped shortly before blinking . She didn't know how to react to the woman who spoke to her. She wanted to just go passed her but in a way Tsuki wanted to believe the woman was a good person. Suddenly the woman looked as if she came alerted of another pressence. Tsuki examined and watched as the woman spoke among herself. The mysterious woman suddenly turned and crouched down to Tsuki and spoke interesting words.

"“You don’t need to be afraid of me, I’m Yugao, the Mizukage.”

Tsuki could also hear the frantic running coming towards them but listened to Yugao proving herself innocent and kind. Her tone seemed to speak towards the boy as well.
“Is that a friend of yours over there? He was running toward our direction in full speed. That’s usually a sign of excitement or urgency,”

Tsuki blinked and spoke under her breath. "Me..friends..? I don't know many people who are kind to me to be my friend.." She spoke under her breath only to be introduced by another young girl. However she was introduced to be the Saibi. "A jinchuriki..?" she asked herself curious and scared at the same time. She still had no idea she was one herself. After moments Yugao gave a point. The idea of guarding someone like this gave her a headache anyways.. Suddenly the question was posed.


"Now are you two really this young lady's escort? Tsuki, I know you weren't, you came from the opposite direction and you were walking when I met you, not running like this young lady stated,"

"Honestly. . . truthfully i wasn't but even so - someone who couldn't introduce themselves with a decent attitude doesn't deserve my pressence of an escort..." She spoke in a slightly annoyed tone.

Tsuki listened to the girl trying to seem superior however...

"Besides Tsuki-san, here was just coming back for me" Immediately Tsuki folded her arms listening to her. She was getting completely annoyed by the attitude. She wasn't going to escort anyone and if Maki had any say in it. She wouldn't hesitate against her. Tsuki continued to listen to the conversation. Obviously Yugao was quite insightful yet Maki... seemed to have quite a personality which looked down and acted superior to anyone with know respect.

"So go ahead and enlighten me how you aren't a ninja." the mizukage said.

"No allow me... this crap needs to end - and allow me to do it... Listen.. I'm not going to be someones escort, especially YOU. Perhaps the boy will help but allow me to begin walking away towards my next destination - You can follow but i wont be defending you" Tsuki said beginning to walk off.

"See you and thanks for being kind to me" Tsuki said with a wave towards the Mizukage.

Maki's face paled as her lies were revealed by Tsuki. Why would this girl deny what she was saying? Couldn't she tell that she was trying to help her? Did she know what Yugao-san was hinting at? How could she know, unless all of Konoha knew who all of the jinchuuriki were? All of these questions flew through her head round and round wondering what had happened. Now that she had been exposed she wondered what the Mizukage would do. She also wondered if the boy, Mana would abandon her as well because of what they’d said. It would be the smart thing to do, she couldn’t deny that, and it wasn’t as though she wasn’t unaccustomed to people leaving her. Although she didn't know either of these people the sting was just as bad, sometimes she wished that she wasn't so impulsive.

However none of that really mattered right now. What mattered was what the Mizukage would do to her. This was one of the few instances where she was caught lying, none of which had ended well for her before. Unlike the other times though this was a Kage who had found out that she was being lied to and she'd heard of this one's techniques and had no doubts that she could find a genjutsu that would work on her. Now Maki almost regreted traveling around the five elemental unties for the past nine years insead of going straight to Konoha, because now she wasn't under the protection of any of the villages and Yugao could do whatever she wanted to her and no one would protest. She almost regreted it until she remembered all that she'd seen and heard and learned over the years and decided that if this was a consequence to her travels then so be it.

Despite the resolve firmly in her mind and her defiant look up at Yugao-san on the inside she was scared. Still she made no move to try to cover up what Tsuki had said and said nothing to the Mizukage's questions. All she could hope for was that either the punishment was quick or that the boy Mana got her out of this and to the Hokage.

No allow me... this crap needs to end - and allow me to do it... Listen.. I'm not going to be someones escort, especially YOU. Perhaps the boy will help but allow me to begin walking away towards my next destination - You can follow but i wont be defending you" Tsuki stated finally and was off on her way

Mana had remained quite while Maki and the Mizukage continued their conversation, who ever this other strange girl was, she was indeed foolish to try and pull the wool over the eyes of a Kage even if she was from another land. Especially now that Tsuki had denied the girls initial pretense it was up to him to be her savior or allow her own lies to burn her, he sighed and shook his head before looking back up at the two of them with a false smirk and said " you wouldn't be in this situation if you weren't such a slow poke " in a mocking tone to confirm at least half of the girl's story, she would have to explain why she attempted getting Tsuki involved with a lie and her being a Jinchuriki would make the girls intentions appear to have sinister intentions when in fact she was just trying to save her own hide. This is all the help he would be providing the girl because if he actually had to continue the pretense and escort her to the Hokage he would have to vouch for her to two Kage's with no knowledge of who she really was or were she really came from so if things went south he would be in big trouble as well, he looked back and could still see Tsuki just before rounding a corner out of view, he began to back away as he said " but now that your with the Mizukage she can escort you since she will have to make her presence in the village formally known " he said as he was sure if she was walking around with a mask on all this time until now and with no leaf Jonin escorting her the Hokage was probably completely unaware that Konoha was hosting another Kage, and that simply wouldn't do.

He turned and was just about to run off to catch up with Tsuki, the real reason he was here in the first place, but stopped and turned back to them with a sly smirk " Oh and I wouldn't mention this little situation to the Hokage if I were you Mizukage-Sama, you wouldn't want it to be known that you have been here this long without going straight there first, it might create a bit of a problem " he said as he waved one last time and ran off, he hoped that would give the mizukage some incentive to keep this quite and not try and report the girl, whatever she was really here for he was sure it wasn't something threatening to the village so he didn't want her getting into big trouble but from here on out she was on her own. If she was at all smart she would listen and use what he said to her advantage because as things stood, if they went to the Hokage they would both be considered trespassing and only by keeper their mouths shut could they help each other out trouble neither of them needed to be in. He rounded the same corner and it wasn't long before he caught up with Tsuki enough to see her in the distance " Hey! Hey! wait up will ya! " he called out to her, hoping she would here him and stop.

“No allow me... this crap needs to end - and allow me to do it... Listen.. I'm not going to be someone’s escort, especially YOU. Perhaps the boy will help but allow me to begin walking away towards my next destination - You can follow but I won’t be defending you” Yugao chuckled to herself as Tsuki huffed away back to her previous destination. Yugao took the mental note of Tsuki’s attitude, tone of her voice, the expression on her face, writing out the mental profile of Kurama’s new host.

Maki was giving Yugao a defiant look. She took a quick note of her facial expression; however, Yugao’s attention was still directed towards Tsuki, “Bye Tsuki, and no problem. Let’s be friends next time I visit hm?” she said in a friendly tone. She then placed her mask back on.

"you wouldn't be in this situation if you weren't such a slow poke "Yugao hid a smirk behind her mask, she took note of how Mana was playing along. His tone of voice was mocking, face was confident and somewhat playful, adding to her notes of the boy now.

“Oh and I wouldn't mention this little situation to the Hokage if I were you Mizukage-sama, you wouldn't want it to be known that you have been here this long without going straight there first, it might create a bit of a problem” She took note of the smirk he sent her. The smirk was one that said that he was challenging her. She chuckled in response though he had already gone to chase after Tsuki.

‘Sorry kid, the stakes are too low. You and I have nothing to lose. Maki’s the only one at risk here as I have none due to the fact I’ve already been here,” she thought to herself.

Right before she could speak to Maki an ANBU wearing the mask of an ANBU from the Mist appeared before her,

“Mizukage-sama, we’re late as it is.”

Yugao nodded and addressed Maki one last time, taking her mask off, “Farewell lucky number seven.” She winked at her then disappeared with the ANBU. While jumping from tree to tree, she reviewed the info she had gathered on the three children, organizing the mental notes of them into neater profiles. She certainly liked all three of them even though two of them had challenged her. She smiled genuinely, it had been awhile since she played with the Kenzaki children and the three kids reminded her of them. She loved her village, but she loved her clan too. She missed playing with the children, as a Jounin she had far more time to spend with them than now. She missed her father and mother as well, though her father was old enough to be her grandfather he had treated her well, albeit too well as she was a spoiled child when growing up. Her father was growing old and the new head of the clan would be chosen through the gambling tournament.

“Smiling Mizukage-sama?” the ANBU asked her.

“The first thing I'll do when we get back, is visit the Kenzaki clan.”

Tohru Hyuga

For Tohru Hyuga, feeling accomplished was not a familiar feeling. She held her new headband in her hands. Had she accomplished something when Tohru graduated? This feeling wasn't normal for her but it felt great. Her father had high expectations for her but she never met them before. What about now?

Tohru sighed and lifted up her bangs in front of her mirror. Staring at the terrible Branch mark that separated her from the Main House. She hated that mark and always hid it from everyone. Letting her bangs flow over her forehead, concealing the mark, she put her headband around her neck.
"Tomorrow," She thought, "Tomorrow, I don't need these bangs. I'll be led to a new team with new missions. These will only get in the way."

Walking out of her house, she looked up at the sun. It was so bright and shining today. Tohru looked around and saw families walking together. Children with their parents. She sighed and stuck her hands in her pockets. Tohru kept walking keeping her head down.

Tohru kept her head down not wanting to be seen. She was never good with people. Tohru started walking faster still keeping her head down. The faster she walks, the faster she would get to her destination, the faster she would be alone. She was walking so fast that she didn't even notice the others around her. That was her goal though. But when she walked into a person or two. "S-sorry!" Tohru stuttered. Looking up, she saw the person that she had bumped into. She remembered her as Tsuki, who was in her academy class and a boy. She never saw him before though, she knew him as Mana. Tohru did not know what to do.

Maki Inoue

She couldn't believe her dumb luck. For some strange reason or another Kami had decided to spare her any punishment from the Mizukage by sending an ANBU to take her away and Mana had decided to back her up. At least for now Kami seemed to look favorably on her. Maki was sure that her lucky streak wouldn't last though but she knew well enough to not think about that and to just be greatful that it had happened at all.

Smiling as widely as she could as soon as Yugao-san was gone she turned around and began to walk off once more while humming a tuneless tune. So far things were looking up for her and she couldn't wait to see how other things would change as time went on. Konoha seemed like a good place to sart over, but she wasn't blind, she'd seen the way that everyone had looked at the two people that she'd tried to help out. The girl she could understand, she semed to be more on the mean side. The boy however was really nice so she couldn't help but wonder what he'd done to recieve such looks.

In fact now that she thought about it those looks were really familiar to her. When she contemplated them more she realized that they were the same looks that she usually recieved when her secret was revealed. It made her wonder if there was more to the girl's mean attitude and how the boy could be so nice when he was surronded by that all the time, there just had to be more to the story. Not only did it make her curious of them but it also made her ashamed of herself. Traveling was just a way for her to run away from her troubles, she'd never faced them head on like those two did.

She stopped in her walk, her smile dropping as her mood dropped and she fell silent before she started walking again, smile back in place and humming. For the first time she had a goal of more than just surviving in her mind. If she was accepted into the village then she would try to get to know these two and if her secret was found out then she would endure the hate. If she wasn't accepted then she'd move on to another village and still try to get to know them as best she could (how she'd do that she had no idea at the moment but she was confident that she would think of something) and if they found out her secret then she would still endure the hate.

Walking up to the Hokage Tower she gave her name and was directed to the Hokage's office. She took a seat in one of the chairs in the hall and waited nervously to be called inside. After what seemed like forever but was actually only about fifteen minutes or so a jounin came out of the office and motioned her forwards. She nodded, took a deep breath to calm her nerves and stood up with a small hop and bright grin eager to get this over with. If she was rejected, well it would hurt but it wouldn't be the first time and it's not like she wouldn't understand. But still she hoped that she was accepted even if she knew that it wasn't likely. Maki walked to the middle of the room smile still in place as she gave a respectful bow to the Hokage. "Greetings Hokage-sama, it is nice to finally meet you. I hope that my delay hasn't made you too angry with me?" she questioned as she peeked up at him to gauge his reaction.

Tsuki walked partially annoyed by earlier's scene. She couldn't believe the way the girl acted towards her. To automatically assume she was a bodyguard and making her path for her. Tsuki shook it off and continued to walked through the allies towards the academy. She looked back to see if the girl was following but no sign of her, only Mana... Mana?! what did he want? no one ever comfronted her without doing something mean or terrible this much. This day was definately interesting. Suddenly the boy call out to her. Immediately and through curiousity Tsuki stopped and turned around towards him.

" Hey! Hey! wait up will ya! " was Mana's words. The feeling she took from the words made her feel they were somewhat kind but possibly important. This feeling was only interrupted by a bump. The girl's red eyes went piercing down upon the young Hyuga, Tohru. Almost taking it in hostility but calmed when words were spoken.

"S-sorry!"

The words were soft, scared and kind. Then again Tsuki knew immediately when looking at the Hyuga girl. She was by no means hostile. She always had a gentle and shy attitude. If anything at all during class. It was quite noticable and observative that she was nearly kind to everyone. Yet, that is only Tsuki's assumption towards her.

"Its quite ... alright, Tohru." Tsuki spoke softly before looking towards Mana.

"What did you need?" Tsuki spoke a little more seriously. It was getting to her that the boy was present when the Mizukage came to her and now this. Its obvious that this time, It wasn't a coincidence. She was being followed and the only thing that could be done was to question why. This day was indeed odd, for her to be acknowledged without hostile intent was something new to her and it only began when she joined the academy.

Mana saw that she had heard him and finally decided to stop and wait only seconds before she bumped into a young Hyuga girl who he could almost immediately recognize as the soft spoken Tohru, now that she was stationary his sprinting slowed to a job and then a quick paced walk as the gap between them closed. He could see a look of suspicion playing on her face which wasn't surprising seing as he followed her, and out of a strange situation no less, she wouldn't be much of a ninja if she wasn't even a little bit suspicious. He pushed his mildly curly black hair that had fallen in his face after slowing down and gave them both a toothy smile to appear friendly, hopefully making her less suspicious of him. Just before reaching them he waved at Tohru.

" Oh I didn't need anything, I just wanted to introduce myself to a fellow shinobi is all. I'm Mana, Mana Uchiha " He said as he held out his right gloved hand to her, the Uchiha crest could be seen on the back of it while on the left hand was the symbol of the Hidden Leaf, he preferred to wear it there instead of his forehead. He wondered how she would react to the name Uchiha, though he was not mistreated and shunned like she was as a jinchuriki, he expected her to understand how wrong it was to judge people based on things that did not define their personality.

Tohru Hyuga

Tohru stood there surprised at what had happened. She never meant to bump into Tsuki and was expecting something hostile. Tohru mentally shrugged it off. But that wasn't the only thing that surprised her.

"Its quite ... alright, Tohru." Tsuki had said softly. How did she know who Tohru was? She was in Tsuki's class but she was never noticeable. This feeling felt warm for Tohru.

"T-thank you, Tsuki..." replied Tohru not knowing what else to say. She turned her head to see Mana Uchiha. Although she never met him personally, she heard stories about him from her father.
"What did you need?" asked Tsuki differently from when she talked to Tohru. Mana seemed like he wanted to meet Tsuki urgently. Something important. Tohru felt like a burden that interrupted something. But she did have plans. Tohru shifted her eyes to the right. She could see it, the cemetery and the meadow next to it. It wasn't a long walk right now. But this was the first time something exciting happened to her. She waited to see what would happen.

Breaking up her thoughts, Mana Uchiha caught up to them and before he spoke, he waved to Tohru. What? Tohru never usually got waved to.

" Oh I didn't need anything, I just wanted to introduce myself to a fellow shinobi is all. I'm Mana, Mana Uchiha " Mana said. So it wasn't as important as Tohru thought. She mentally shrugged it off again. Tohru stared at the cemetery. If she went now, she might be back before dinner. But it wasn't like it mattered. Maybe she would get there in time. Tohru shifted her eyes again to watch Tsuki and Mana greet each other. Tsuki interested Tohru. Her father had always insisted to never go by her. Was this breaking his rule? Tsuki didn't seem like a bad person. Tohru usually listened to her father hoping to make him satisfied. But she didn't know what to listen to today.

Tsuki blinked for a moment before replying to Mana. Her red eyes then moved over to Tohru which then brought her to a grin. She was well aware of the history behind the Uchiha but at the same time she never was one to judge upon the history that families may have made. He was not "Sasuke" so therefore shouldn't be looked as him or so what Tsuki believed. As for the Hyuga to her eyes she was nothing more then just a calm and nice girl that Tsuki wanted to get to know in all honesty. Mainly due to how sweet and caring she was to everyone but she felt... like at most times she avoided her, even in the academy which made her kinda shrug the idea off. Not that she wouldn't accept it but it wasn't something that was being pursued. Honestly she really had no idea what it was but this is how it was for her and everyone in the academy excluding those who hated her completely. She gave up asking why and continued on letting life guide her course. Little did she expect this day to come.

"I see ... well I am Tsuki Yuhi . . ."

When she spoke this, she could feel some people turn and look at her as if they saw the demonic chakra soaring out violently. She sighed and directed her attention to the two. She felt the need to make a conversation although afraid. She never did talk among the students since most of the time they avoided her or treated her bad.

"So are you two excited about tomorrow - Seeing as tomorrow will be the day they decide our teams and Jonin?" She honestly had that idea flowing in her mind quite a bit this day. Getting a Jonin who hated her could prove to be a very bad experience for her as well as certain team mates but seeing these two, may show to have a different experience. As these thoughts came about suddenly she remembered hearing about a Village meeting. She had seen the Mizukage and met the Hokage of course but what of the others that follow..?

Tohru Hyuga

Tohru Hyuga looked at Tsuki and then to Mana and then to Tsuki and then to Mana. Thoughts swirled in her head as she recaptured her memories about the two. But there wasn't much to remember. Although, Tohru avoided her on her father's order, she knew that Tsuki was a hard worker but that people were not friendly with her. Mana was a new person towards Tohru yet she had seen him around and heard stories about him. And of course Sasuke and Itachi. Tohru wondered what Mana was like. But she knew that he was also an excellent ninja who graduated earlier than herself and Tsuki. Tohru didn't know much about these two but it wold never hurt to learn.

"I see ... well I am Tsuki Yuhi . . ." Tsuki had said. It was nothing more than just introducing herself but Tohru could sense that people were looking their way. Their looks seemed frightened as if Tsuki was a monster. But Tsuki didn't seem strange to Tohru. Tohru was good at sensing things like reactions and feelings but this large of a feeling was new to her.

Tohru started to think about random things of herself until Tsuki broke up her thoughts.

"So are you two excited about tomorrow - Seeing as tomorrow will be the day they decide our teams and Jonin?" The young Hyuga had also been thinking about this since she would be training with her teammates. Tohru wanted to be treated like she belonged there. She didn't want to feel uncomfortable since she was a little shy.

"W-well, I am really excited about tomorrow but I'm also a bit worried. I mean, I'm afraid I'm going to have bad teammates. Uh... I mean we're going to spend some time with them right? And if someone doesn't really like me I might feel uncomfortable there and I might not do so well. And.. I really want to become my best. But I'm still glad that I can start to become a full ninja tomorrow." Tohru said softly feeling a little amused. But when she realized that she had ran her mouth a little, she looked at the ground feeling a bit embarrassed. She had never talked this much to a new person. Things are really about to change, she thought. She really hoped that she would get teammates that liked her.