Team Yumi re-entered the Hidden Leaf Village as the sun began to set over the Hokage Monument. They had just finished a mission, and were on their way to report their success to the Hokage. Despite the time of day, various villagers were running, talking, playing, and laughing through the streets. A few ninja discussed their most recent mission, while vendors tried to sell goods to annoyed customers.

 

"Heh... I really missed being in the village!" Koukon grinned, happy to be back home.

 

"Yeah. We can finally rest." Hikari wasn't as enthusiastic as her friend, but still smiled. "I can't wait to go eat some ramen." She rubbed her stomach, having missed her favorite food.

 

"Of course, that's the first thing you think of. It's always ramen with you." Koukon teased Hikari. "I guess that going to Ichiraku wouldn't hurt, though..." He looked over at his teacher. "Yumi sensei, is it fine if we head off?"

 

"Yeah, I'll go check in with Lord Hokage. You three can go off and get something to eat." The woman smiled back at her students.

 

"Alright!" Koukon shouted, and looked over to his teammates. "Let's go, Hikari! Are you going to come with, Kiniku?" He asked his best friend, hoping that the three of them could go together.

 

"It's been a while since the three of us got to go to Ichiraku together, hasn't it?" Hikari asked. "You should come with us, Kiniku."

"Sure! I'd like to meet some other ninja." Sabaku grinned.

 

Koukon sighed. I hope Misaki's not there... After that conversation she had with Kiyoshi earlier, I really don't need to have these two meet each other.

 

Hikari shrugged. "I guess that works..." I really wanted to get something to eat, though...

 

The four made their way to the training grounds, where they were greeted by...

 

(I'll let you choose)

Ryuichi / Kiniku

 

"Ten thousand and seven! Ten thousand and eight! Ten thousand and nine!" was heard as the group entered the grounds. Ryuichi was doing rounds with a jump rope. Meanwhile, Shogo was nearby, practicing his strikes on a target strapped to one of the wooden logs, his breathing silent and his strikes loud. Akarui was also there, practicing her usage of kunai by using the log next to Shogo as target practice.

 

"Hmm. Figured these guys were training. Saba, this is Team Lee: Ryuichi Lee, Shogo Hyuga, and Akarui Uzumaki," Kiniku said, pointing out each individual.

"Yeah... We should have expected to see them here." Koukon grinned.

 

Hikari seemed a little on edge, and moved slightly behind Koukon. She watched as her cousin trained. Of all the people to be here...

 

"Wow... They all look really strong." Sabaku pointed out, amazed by their dedication.

 

"Let's go down and meet them!" Koukon said, as he led the others over to the three. "Yo!" He shouted, trying to catch the attention of Team Lee. "This is Sabaku, she's going to be staying here in the Leaf Village for a while!"

Ryuichi / Shogo / Kiniku

 

"Oh, hello there Koukon, Kiniku, and Hikari!" Ryuichi said, stopping his routine and setting the jump rope down.

 

"Pleased to meet you. I am Ryuichi Lee, son of the Hidden Leaf Village's Handsome Devil Rock Lee!" Ryuichi said, smiling and as his teeth sparkled a little bit.

 

"Going overboard with your introductions as always, I see," Kiniku said, chuckling.

 

"And this is-oh, uh, huh?" Ryuichi began, waving his arm to his right where he expected Shogo to be, but the Hyuga was still at his place by the log, staring down Hikari, of course.

 

"Oi, Shogo! You wanna say somethin'?!" Kiniku called, but Shogo turned his gaze away from everybody, making Kiniku frown.

 

"He's not much of a people person. Really anti-social," Kiniku said to Sabaku.

Edited February 28, 201510 yr by Firaga Sensei

"Yeah... He's not much of a talker." Koukon muttered, glaring at Shogo after he turned away.

 

"H-hello..." Akarui waved to Sabaku shyly.

 

"Oh, yeah, this is Akarui. She's kinda shy." Koukon introduced Sabaku to her.

 

"Well, it's nice to meet you three." Sabaku smiled to Ryuichi and Akarui.

Ryuichi

 

"I feel the same. So, Sabaku, are you visiting from another village?" Ryuichi asked.

"Yeah, I'm from the Land of Wind. I'm staying here to help out with an investigation the Leaf and Sand are both conducting." Sabaku explained to Ryuichi. "I might be here for a while, so I'd like to get to know all of you!"

Ryuichi / Kiniku

 

"Splendid. I hope you enjoy your stay in our village," Ryuichi said politely.

 

"So, Bushy Brows, how about we give a demonstration of our skills? It'll help Saba here be comfortable that we're doing her a service with the investigation and all that," Kinku asked.

 

"Do you mean a sparring match? If so, then I accept!" Ryuichi said with enthusiasm.

"Aw, come on, you two had a fight not too long ago." Koukon complained. "Why not change things up for once?"

Kiniku

 

"Quit gripin', String Bean. After all, Saba should be watchin' the best of the best have it out."

 

"Oh, the best of the best you say?"

 

"Yeah, I-... wait..."

 

The second voice came from a newcomer on the field. The person in question was a young man with long blonde hair.

 

"Aw man... it's Inorou," Kiniku said to himself.

 

Inorou

 

"What's the matter, Kiniku? Afraid I'm going to draw the attention from all the ladies now that I'm here?" Inorou chuckled, flashing all the females a quick wink.

 

"Buzz off, pretty boy!" Kiniku said angerly. "Ryuichi and I are trying to have a spar here!"

 

Ryuichi

 

"Come now, Kiniku, Inorou, no need to be hostile." Ryuichi said, trying to calm the two.

Edited March 1, 201510 yr by Firaga Sensei

"Inorou!" Akarui's eyes lit up as the boy entered, and she began to stare at him.

 

Koukon sighed. Great, not this guy again... "What the heck do you want, Inorou? Can't you see we're busy here?" He spoke, clearly annoyed by the sudden intrusion.

 

Hikari groaned. I wouldn't mind having a match with him so I can smash his face in... I'd love to see how his fans would react to that. She smirked, happy with the thought of girls being horrified of Inorou.

 

"Huh? Who's this?" Sabaku asked Kiniku curiously. "Another one of your friends?"

Kiniku / Inorou

 

"'Friend' isn't the word I'd use..." Kiniku said.

 

"Allow me to introduce myself," Inorou said, walking up to the group. "My name is Inorou Yamanaka, son of Ino Yamanaka and heir to the Yamanaka Clan. It's a pleasure to meet somebody as beautiful as yourself," Inorou added, taking Sabaku's hand and giving it a soft kiss.

 

"Oh great, he's already doing this," Kiniku groaned, grabbing the bridge of his nose.

Hikari gagged as Inorou tried his pretty boy act on Sabaku, and Koukon just looked even more angry at him.

 

"Hm... Thank you, Inorou!" Sabaku smiled at him. "It's a pleasure to meet a man as kind as you are."

 

Hikari looked even more disgusted. She's not fazed by perverts flirting with her at all, is she...?

Inorou / Kiniku

 

Inorou chuckled. "You're such a delight. I've never met a woman like you before."

 

"Gag me..." Kiniku said. Suddenly, he took his attention away from the group when he heard some rustling in the bushes nearby.

 

"Huh. Wonder what that was," He said to himself. As it turned out, Kiniku was being watched by a figure. This figure was the one rumbling in the bushes and had made their way on top of a tree nearby the group. He was poised to attack Kiniku.

 

"Haaaaaa!!" roared the attacker as he sprung from the tree and flew towards Kiniku.

 

"Oh. This again," Kiniku sighed, simply stepping out of the way as the figure, a large one, barrelled into the ground, tumbling onto his face and landing with a thud.

 

"Well, that didn't work," the figure said, the sound of his voice muffled by the ground covering his mouth.

 

"It didn't work the last fifty times either. Maybe you shouldn't yell when trying to surprise me," Kiniku said.

 

"Ahaha, true. But I can't help it. I just get so excited when the moment of battle between us draws near," the figured said, standing up and revealing himself to be a young, portly man with brown shaggy hair and a modified Leaf headband shaped like a bandana covering the top of his head.

 

"And this gentleman here is Chosen Akimichi, Inorou's brother and heir to the Akimichi Clan," Kiniku said to Sabaku.

 

Chosen

 

"Hello there. You must be the visitor from the Land of Wind. Welcome to the Hidden Leaf," Chosen said.

 

"Chosen, are you ever going to stop your silly bothering with fighting Kiniku?" Inorou asked, annoying at his brother's behavior.

 

"Of course not. We're eternal rivals, after all," Chosen said with confidence.

 

"Rivals, huh? Since when?" Kiniku joked, but Chosen ignored it.

Edited March 21, 201510 yr by Firaga Sensei

"I'm sure you say that to every girl you meet." Hikari muttered as she heard Inorou go on about Sabaku.

 

Sabaku was about to respond, when Chosen suddenly tried to attack Kiniku. "Yes, I'm Sabaku. It's nice to meet you, Chosen." She greeted the boy.

 

"There's two of them..." Koukon noted. "One more, and we'll have the entire weird team together."

Kiniku / Inorou / Chosen

 

"No kidding. Where is the old lady anyway?" Kiniku snarked.

 

"Probably sleeping around here somewhere," Inorou added.

 

"She's actually behind the tree I jumped out off. She gave me the signal to attack," Chosen said.

 

"Oh really? I just that's about as much work as you can put her through," Kinku said. Upon further inspection, the "old lady" could be seen napping behind the tree, hands behind head, legs crossed, and mouth wide open as she snored away.

 

"Ugh, so unladylike," Inorou groaned, plugging his ears. Chosen simply chuckled.

 

"Aw come on, bro, no need to be so hard on her. After all, she may be a bit lazy but she's still pretty smart," he said.

 

"That doesn't give her an excuse to act this way," Inorou fired back, annoyed.

 

While the two brothers bickered, Kiniku suddenly got a micheavious grin on his face and turned to Koukon. "Hey, String Bean: you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

"Heh... Yeah." Koukon also began to grin. "Hey, Hikari, follow me for a second." He told his friend, and the two approached the snoring girl. He quickly looked back at Kiniku, signaling for him to do something to get Hikari scared.

Kiniku

 

Chuckling to himself, Kiniku rubbed his hands together and quickly turned his back to the others. Reaching into his tool bag, he pulled out a mask he had recently bought at a shop, its face in the shape of a demon, and snapped it onto his face. 

 

Quickly turning around and getting in Hikari's face, he yelled; "BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!!"

Hikari shrieked loudly, and punched Kiniku in the face as she did so. As soon as she realized it was Kiniku, she began to blush. "D-don't do that! What is wrong with you and Koukon?!" She asked angrily.

 

"I guess I'm the only one who gets hugs." Koukon grinned, somewhat amused by watching what happened to Kiniku.

Kiniku

 

"GAH!" Kiniku cried as soon as Hikari's fist made contact with his nose, sending him straight back on his spine.

 

"Agh... come on, Hyugamaki..." he groaned, taking off the mask and gripping his possibly broken noise.

 

While Kiniku was groaning, the "old lady" let out a small groan of her own before sitting and yawning into her hand.

 

Shikaya

 

"Man, you guys are such a drag... I was having a great dream too," Shikaya said through tired voice and eyeballs, wondering why Team Yumi was gathered around her and why Kiniku was on the ground holding his nose.

Edited March 21, 201510 yr by Firaga Sensei

"That's what you get for being annoying and using me for your jokes again!" Hikari shouted at Kiniku angrily.

 

As Hikari dealt with Kiniku, Koukon decided to tease Shikaya. "You're always having a good dream. You should try to spend a little time in the real world for once." Koukon told her.

Kiniku / Shikaya

 

"Aw, whatever," Kiniku said, rubbing his nose as he stood up.

 

"The real world? But then I'd have to put up with you annoying people," Shikaya annoyingly said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Come on, people aren't that bad." Koukon sighed. "What do you even dream about if it doesn't involve people, anyway? Sounds pretty boring if you ask me, always dreaming about being alone."

Shikaya

 

"Not saying. It's too much a drag," Shikaya said, laying down to go back to sleep.

"Oh, come on..." Koukon sighed. "I could tell you what mine are like."

 

"No one wants to know that, Koukon." Hikari groaned.

 

"Oh, come on. They're not that bad-" Koukon was quickly cut off by the arrival of Yumi, who seemed to be in a hurry. "Oh, Yumi sensei. Did you find anything out?"

 

"Yeah... Koukon, Kiniku, come with me to the Hokage's mansion. We need to tell you what we've found." Yumi ordered her students.

 

"What about me?" Hikari asked Yumi, curious about why she was being left out.

 

"You still need to show Sabaku around the village. Besides, I feel like you two could use some time together, anyway." Yumi told her third student. "Now then... Follow me, you two!" She turned, and began to walk back to the Hokage's mansion, followed by Koukon and Kiniku. Hikari tried to protest, but was unable to speak in time.