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Koiuta	By : dragonslover1 Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1149 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Koiuta, Love Song

Second Meeting

She recognized them immediately. Kiba, Hinata, Shino, and of course, Akamaru. She heard and felt a purr in the back of her throat at the thought of petting Akamaru again, and how he seemed to be looking at her with his squinted eyes, as though waiting for her to pull out her flute. She waved discreetly at them all, and two of the four waved back. From there, time seemed to fly.

She recognized certain kids who entered, most pointedly the three face-paint children and the rabbit the girl carried. As Tasha watched, they noticed her too, and stood to the side, being no more places to sit. With a fascination, she noted how Akamaru seemed to look at that rabbit, and then backed up a step. She was reminded again that this team was freaking scary. And the way those two boys flanked the girl between them was like two bodyguards protecting their mistress.

It didn�t take long before they were all seated in another room, next to strangers, with Chuunin graduates staring at them from either side of the room. The rules were simple � they were to answer the questions provided on the paper before them. When she first read them, she could have laughed; these were far too advanced for many of the students here, whereas she was smart enough and studied enough that she had no trouble answering them.

Rather than do something so simple, however, she chose instead to try and cheat answers. It didn�t take much for her to close her eyes and search outside of her body � astral projection was helpful in times like these, but so far she was the only one aware she had this ability. Her currently unconscious body sat straight up and made not a move as she went above the students and glanced at their papers.

Most of these students were absolutely lost. They were trying to cheat the answers and most of them weren�t doing very well. However, around three she saw were writing down the answers like they already knew them. Reading over their answers one at a time, she found that every answer she had in her mind matched, and returned to her body.

Eyes fluttering open, she looked down at her paper and began writing. With the way the rules were set, it was all or nothing for the teams � she couldn�t advance if her teammates didn�t. Closing her eyes once again as she finished, she sent out her astral self and looked over her teammates and their progress. Stretching out a little further, she also looked over the Chuunin holding marks for cheats. Her astral self frowned; they were both caught twice already, and it was only a few minutes in.

She floated down next to each of them in turn and whispered the answers in their ears. Naturally, they both gave startled glances around the room, but eventually, came to accept the answers and finally put their pencils down without being caught again.

They all passed, as she expected. But when the boys brought up their miraculous discovery of the answers, she looked at them funny, letting them decide for themselves if she cared enough to give them the answers or not. Logically, she must have been the one, but for those two, they�d believe happenstance before logic when it concerned her.

And then they were given a week to prepare for the �Forest of Death,� where they would spend a total of three days. For a week, that was all the information they had, besides where to show up on the eighth morning.

Three days, one scroll, possible deaths, and a team who could hardly stand her for two days. Best to get the Earth scroll as fast as she could, then have the three of them in different rooms for the remainder of the wait.

As soon as they established a base, she went immediately for the nearest group she could feel. Her teammates cursed at her as she left, but she wasn�t about to stay behind and deal with them. All of the elements seemed to be on her side, from the trees hiding the daylight to the relative unknown that all Genin had a tendency to fear.

Deciding that a useless fight wouldn�t give even experience, she showed herself to the first group of Genin she spotted. �Hello,� she said.

They stared at her with worry in their eyes. They were a young group from Konoha, and it made her want to turn away and leave them be. Still, this was a fight. �What do you want?� the leader stated, hair standing straight up with his forehead protector strapped to his skull, as were his teammates�. A redheaded girl with two high ponytails and a glasses-wearing boy stood up tall behind their leader. They looked her age, and the �leader� wore a vest she recognized as declaring him to be a Chuunin already.

�Take a guess.� She took a step closer. �I need the scroll of Earth. Do you have it?�

He scoffed. �Why would we tell you, outlander?�

�Because I just told you which was mine.� She tilted her head. �You�re not attacking. You don�t have the Earth scroll, do you?�

They went quiet.

�Of course,� she went on, �you wouldn�t say it very easily, would you? It�s supposed to be a secret. And I could be lying, as well, to try and get you to admit which one you have. . .�

�Udon, now!� he hissed.

She jumped back instinctively and found herself barely dodging a barrage of kunai. She drew her katana and sliced through a net, but it seemed the trap ended there. Pointing her blade at the three, she said, �Either that look of shock is faked or you didn�t expect me to get out. Why don�t you just tell me if you have the Earth scroll or not?�

Now she heard giggling and realized a second too late that she hadn�t been following the young girl�s movements as of yet. It seemed that several of the girls were now dancing in circles around her, and she had the odd feeling that she�d underestimated all of them. They didn�t look this capable to her moments before.

�Oh my,� she mocked, �I�ve been caught in an illusion. How will I ever free myself?� She snapped one of her fingers back, and the resulting shockwave of pain brought her back. She felt a little woozy, but those kids looked about ready to kill now.

�Those who ask for someone�s name are supposed to give their own first,� the boy stated, �so my name is Konohamaru.�

�My name is Moegi,� the girl beside him said.

�I�m Udon,� the glasses-bearing boy added.

Popping her finger back into place, Tasha replied, �And I�m Tasha. Now that we�re acquainted, shall we get on with it?�

Konohamaru frowned. �We have the scroll of Heaven. You�d better not have been lying.�

She shook her head. �I have the Heaven scroll too. There�s nothing to be gained from us fighting, it seems. However, for those who snuck up on us during this conversation. . .�

The three kids stood up straighter and took up a pose between them to fend off attackers from all sides. Tasha drew her katana. In three quick moves, she had a small whirlwind going above her head, and then she began continuously spinning in three ways � the katana spinning in her hand, her arm spinning around her body, and her body spinning in place.

All eyes were on her as she made seals with her left hand, releasing more and more chakra into her tornado, making it drop around her and encompass her. This was a second ability she never showed her teammates, her sensei, or her father, keeping it and its secrets to herself.

Once the seals were completed, she drew her previously unused blades and let them loose in the tornado around her. Then she made fourth spiral, walking around the three young ones and controlling her chakra just enough to slice at the villains around them. She didn�t hit any of them, and canceled the tornado as they leapt into the area, sheathing her two katanas but still holding out her favorite one.

She recognized the kids instantly. As she looked at them now, she took in details about them.

They were a group of very young Sand Nin, one of them being a very frightening young girl. She drew eyes to her easily, as her face was very pale and painted with graceful yet shocking black lines. Her hair covered half her face, she wore large golden earrings in the shapes of hollow triangles, and she was barefoot.

Her two teammates also have face paint, but both of theirs was dark blue � the two boys appeared to be twins. They both had wildly messy long black hair, and they both carried a brace on one arm, opposite the other.

The girl seemed to be their leader, as Tasha had guessed. She stepped forward and made a graceful bow, her eyes half-lidded. �I am Yone of Sanugakure,� she introduced. A small black rabbit hopped out of the shadows and up onto her shoulder. �This is Kusagi, and those two are Garu and Daru. It seems we, too, have wasted our time in appearing here. Our team will leave you be.� She made another bow, turned, and left.

The twin boys followed her, after giving them all fanged grins.

�Wow,� Konohamaru blurted.

�Wow?� Moegi echoed. �What�s so �wow�?�

�Probably,� Tasha broke in, �how popular this area seems to be. We should all leave.� She glanced down at the kids. �Work on your traps a bit more.� She gave them a smile before leaping away into the tree branches.

The next group she found had the fabled Earth scroll, and this time she waited in the shadows before attacking. She didn�t bother taking them all down, opting instead to grab the scroll and dart. They chased her, and she had no qualms about leading them back to her team�s safe area. The fight that raged there was riddled with attacks that aimed at her from her own teammates, and attacks that she threw back. The difference was, she wasn�t exactly missing them on accident.

The entire team needed to get through this, too.

In the end the team she took the scroll from, a fellow Rock team, ended up washed away in the river, dead. She didn�t feel much except a small amount of relief � her country�s ninja had a tendency to go awol anyway, and she hated the wars they started. How they ever managed to survive this long, she didn�t know, but she wasn�t about to stick around to find out.

Now for the hard part � reaching the center with the entire team intact. By wordless agreement, they kept their hands to themselves and kept an eye out for traps and tails. They chose a path that was in the treetops, which turned out to be the best idea as hardly anyone was this high yet.

Upon entering the tower in the center, she laughed to find that both of the teams she met earlier were already here. They were sitting far apart from each other, though. Taking up a spot between the two, as her teammates practically left the room to be away from her, she tried to strike up conversation.

�Where�d your team go?� Moegi asked not long into the talk.

Tasha frowned. �Probably to scout around. They�re good at that.� She�d openly lied just then. She glanced the other way and met eyes with Yone from before, and could immediately tell that the girl, though very young, had seen right through her lie.

To her credit, she didn�t bring it up. Instead, Yone began, �It shows a lack of trust when your teammates simply leave you behind. Do they think you�re useless?�

Tasha shrugged. �It seems you�ve got it wrong,� she argued. �They don�t need to tell me they�re leaving and neither do they need my approval. Our trust is strong enough that we know we�ll get each other if something happens � which it won�t in here.�

Yone made a sound of acknowledgment, but again, her eyes showed that she had caught Tasha�s lie.

It seemed only a day went by and they were standing, a whole twelve people � four teams � before the Hokage. Though she�d heard the Hokage was a woman, this one appeared to be a man. He gave them an unemotional look from under his hat and mask, showing only his right eye, covered in pristine white robes. He offered that they could have a preliminary match, here and now, six on six, before the final test would begin.

Tasha glanced around at the groups. Her group, Yone�s group, Konohamaru�s group, and a group she didn�t recognize from the Land of Waterfall. Known for their sneakiness and tricks, she wasn�t surprised to see one of their teams make it to the end.

�I have no problem with that,� she said. Several others agreed. Everyone�s sensei were present on the second-floor walkway and watching with keen interest. As Tasha glanced above, she spotted each sensei as leader of which team by forehead protector, but Yone�s was easiest to spot � her sensei was wearing all black, almost covered head to toe, had a large bandaged something on his back, and as well had face paint. It seemed to be a craze.

She leapt up onto the walkway and stepped down off the railing. Standing near-but-not-close to her team, she watched and waited for the matches to begin � for her own name to be called. The first was Konohamaru versus Daru of the Sand.

Watching this fight proved that both the Sand and Leaf villages were very skilled at training Genin, but ultimately, it seemed Daru wasn�t as powerful without his team present. Konohamaru pulled a trick that made Daru think he was going right instead of left, and Daru ran straight into a wall, knocking himself out cold. The interesting thing was that as soon as that happened, Garu winced and held his skull for a few moments.

Having been declared the victor, Konohamaru laughed outright, took a bow, then climbed back up the stairs to the second level. The second fight was Yone versus some male from the Waterfall village, and this was the strangest thing Tasha had ever seen.

Yone stood perfectly still, arms folded in front of her, Kusagi sleeping peacefully in her arms, and Yone literally did nothing but stand there. After several moments of her opponent sizing her up and trying to see into her, he rushed at her � but paused halfway and threw several kunai and shuriken.

Still unmoving, a black mist rose up around Yone, and melted and dissolved kunai and shuriken flew out the other side. They clattered on the ground, hissing, and continued to melt for several more moments. By now everyone was watching closely � except Yone�s team, who appeared to have known about this for a long time.

The Waterfall Genin apparently decided that close combat was a bad idea. He made a dozen clones of himself and mixed up, then all of them ran for Yone. Kusagi awoke in Yone�s arms and hopped out, hopping for the opponents. The clones merely smirked and laughed at the rabbit � that is, until the tiny thing underwent a transformation.

Though she started as a miniature rabbit, Kusagi ended up as a black tiger. No larger than perhaps the biggest tiger that ever lived, she attacked and smashed right through every clone without miss. With eyes on Kusagi�s attacks, the real attacker didn�t notice Yone move behind him until she reached around and clasped her hands on his own. Black mist returned and he screamed, that mist around his hands and apparently doing some damage, judging by the hissing coming from the mist.

Yone let go when he struggled hard, and he fell forward, hugging his hands to his chest and breaking out in sweat. Kusagi growled menacingly inches from him, drooling slightly, baring fangs and showing that her eyes were solid red now. Yone lifted her hand and, without a word, Kusagi obeyed, returning to her bunny form.

Kusagi leapt into Yone�s arms, and she backed away. The judge declared Yone the victor and the Waterfall Genin was taken away to the hospital. The ground where Yone had stood until now was partially eaten away, a hint at the destructive power of that mist of hers. It caught Tasha�s attention enough to know that this girl was far from a normal Genin � she only looked eleven or twelve.

Next was one of her team versus a Waterfall Genin again, and again, the Waterfall Genin was defeated despite the tricks he used. Her teammate barely made it out alive, but he was victorious and got plenty of praise � the praise that she wouldn�t get, even if she pulled off a much more spectacular victory.

And here was her chance: she was brought into the arena, facing off against her other teammate. . . time to show off. It wasn�t just that he hated her that made her want to toy with him, to play with him. It wasn�t just that they both knew he had little chance of winning, or that she felt obliged to return the favor he�d given her over the years. Most of all, it wasn�t just the want to prove to Konoha that she was a worthy ninja to take in. . .

She wanted to punish him for being an asshole during the entirety of the team�s existence. Though he once or twice showed an interest in being her husband, or perhaps a nightly lover, he never gave her the benefit of the doubt. Every bit of praise she deserved from the whole of the village was received by her teammates and sensei. She was tired of it.

She was going to give him zero chances to survive this encounter, take her vengeance but be merciful, and then, when he is defeated and in bandages, she fully planned on visiting him � giving him flowers, maybe � to make him feel shameful of the way he�d treated her. Too long she�d been prosecuted by them all, and today, she was going to start showing how she hated that. Maybe tomorrow everything would feel right with the world, but for now, only hatred existed.

Judging by his cold sweat, he knew it, too.

As soon as the judge gave the �go,� she rushed at him, drawing her favorite katana. �Time to stain the blade,� she hissed, just loud enough for her opponent-slash-teammate to hear.

He brought up his defenses, readied himself, and the two of them clashed. It was her most artful moment, almost a dance of sorts. Despite all of his training, he had little to no defense against swords � no shields of any sort. Every thrust and slash she made grew closer to its mark, even as his speed matched hers. And he was more desperate to get away than fight back, even as he refused to give up.

It wasn�t just her katana which she attacked with. False attacks threw him off, her legs doubled as weapons, she made clones of herself and confused him further � but she wasn�t about to finish it yet. She wanted him down, on his knees, and the more she thought of it, the more her chest burned with her anger. She was almost seething, even as her breathing remained perfectly controlled.

When he retaliated, she made a lightning-quick decision to allow it. Stepping back, she saw hope grow in his eyes with every hit she dodged and every move she took away from him. At last, when she spotted her opening, she decided to unleash her most powerful of attacks. The only problem with her attack is that she doesn�t know exactly how long it would last, even at its most powerful.

She kicked him in the stomach, hard enough to knock him off his feet and back a few meters. She leapt back then, putting several more meters between them. She turned, her side facing him, and stabbed her katana halfway into the ground � fairly easy since she already knew how to sharpen it with her Wind chakra. Clasping the hilt between her hands, she made seals as her teammate struggled through his pain and lack of breath to get up.

Seeing her katana in the ground, and looking like she was trying to get it out from a distance, made him cocky. He laughed at her, pointed, and yelled, �Some kunoichi you are!�

�Indeed,� she agreed, having gotten the full amount of time needed to pull this off. She stood, slightly bent, grasping the hilt tightly. Transferring her chakra to the blade and concentrating it on her target, she stepped forward and drew the blade hard � it tore a long line into the ground before lifting up, throwing up chunks of the ground, but that wasn�t the best part.

Her Wind chakra cut through the ground, following a path to her target, throwing up more and more blocks of the ground as it went. She sheathed her blade and watched as her horrified teammate leapt out of the way, paling as he realized that wasn�t good enough. . . The attack curved towards him again and kept going.

�Damn!� he cursed, constantly moving away as the invisible force picked up speed and kept going. The longest she�d ever kept this up was about ten seconds, but this time, she kept concentrating. She didn�t care if she ran out of chakra and the jewel beside her eye burst as its energy was used up; she was not going to stop until he gave up.

Obviously, her sensei wasn�t about to let her have a moment of victory. He leapt down between them and rushed her. It was difficult, but she had to release her concentration of chakra and allow the attack to fade in order to move away.

�What the hell!� she snapped.

He stopped, seething. Pointing an angry finger at her, he yelled back, �I disqualify you!�

Her jaw fell open. �You can�t do that! Besides which, your interference would disqualify both myself and him,� she replied, gesturing her battered teammate.

�No, I�ve chosen you,� he growled. �You�re going to go back to the village and await judgment.�

She narrowed her eyes. The anger that burned in her earlier increased dramatically, so much so that she could almost see the blood she was going to spill on her sensei. Instead, however, she opted for making a good impression on Konoha. �Or,� she offered, �I could never go back.�

He looked ready to strangle her. �What makes you think you have a choice?�

�The fact that I�m more than old enough to take care of myself, and. . .� She grabbed her forehead protector, took it off, and threw it at his feet, barely keeping a leash on her rage. �Well, I never wanted to live there, anyway.� Her eyes showed her hatred for him; this time, she allowed it to happen.

There was a stare down between them for a few moments, before he lashed out at last, kicking the item back towards her. �You put that back on and return, you hear me?!�

As it slid up to her feet, she stepped back. The motion alone said more than her words could have.

Her sensei received the message. He all but exploded, throwing his arms up in the air and screaming, �Who else would take you in, huh?! Who would want a bitch like you?! You�re hardly worth your weight in air, Tasha! You�ve done nothing but hold back the team since you joined ��

�Then what are you so pissed about?� she asked, her voice soft. �I�ll fend for myself, thank you. I don�t care where I go at this point. Who�s to say I can�t be inconspicuous and disappear somewhere without ninja?�

�I say, you�re gonna fucking die,� her injured teammate replied. �I hope you made out a will.�

�You can�t kill me,� she all but scoffed. �My father would go off on you.�

�You�ll be leaving him behind if you leave,� her sensei snarled at her. He seemed to be grabbing at straws at this point.

�Ask me if I care.�

�I�ll be telling him you said that.�

�Good. Add a hug and a kiss. Remind him that I�ve never lied to him, too. Then see who he believes.�

He seemed to get the idea at last that she wasn�t going to give in. He straightened to his full height, looked down his nose at her, then turned around. �Tasha is disqualified,� he told his student. �You win, prepare to enter the finals.�

She didn�t care about the finals anymore. She turned and walked a short way back towards the judge, then leapt up, landing silently near the Sand�s team. Daru was conscious at last, with Garu kneeling next to him and giving Tasha a suspicious look. Yone and her sensei, on the other hand, had eyes for the giant screen. The judge below was speaking with the Hokage, and at last, they reached a decision.

The judge threw his arm in the air and yelled, �Winner: Tasha of the Rock!�

�What!� her sensei shot back, standing with his team on the other side. �That�s preposterous; I disqualified her!�

Hokage stepped up to explain that part. �Tasha-san was not the one you came down to save. Therefore, she won the fight.�

The sensei leapt down again and faced Hokage, stalking up to him and looking ready to attack � until, that is, several ANBU members appeared between the two and stared him back down. Still, he wouldn�t be deterred and snapped, �Tasha used ninjutsu I�ve never seen; for all I know she cheated!�

�Impossible,� one of the ANBU said, face hidden totally. From the stance and shape of the body, Tasha guessed he was male. �These eyes don�t lie. The chakra was coming entirely from her own body.�

�She�s a dirty bitch and doesn�t deserve to move on!�

A second later and he was on his knees, clutching the side of his neck and coughing up blood. Tasha now stood on the railing, ready to attack, but someone had beat her to it � the Hokage now stood in a different position, but he�d moved so fast she hadn�t seen him. Still, the kunai in his hand gave away that he�d attacked, and Tasha didn�t feel an ounce of pity.

She stepped back and watched as ANBU took the man away, and the judge repeated the victory. Not much longer and Garu was facing against Moegi, and took a win over the girl. Konohamaru told her she did a good job, though, and Garu held back enough that she wasn�t hurt bad. Perhaps a hint at the good relations between Konoha and the Sand, the two held back when fighting each other, she noticed.

She saw the ANBU who earlier stated that his eyes didn�t lie pick up her forehead protector and walk off with it. For whatever reason, she felt like maybe they got her hidden message and were going to be judging whether she was worth joining their village.

The last of the fights finished, they were released, and even as she began walking off the walkway, she had a feeling like she�d done something terrible today.
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Koiuta