A commotion in the crowd drew Natsuko’s attention away from Kazuhiko as her eyes sought out what the noise was about. The crowd parted just as a feminine voice called towards Natsuko and Kazuhiko. Frowning, Natsuko looked between the female ninja and her very unwilling travel companion in confusion. Who were they?


Kazuhiko, however, was already up and moving. It didn’t take long for him to put two and two together and figure out who the odd pair were, and the boy crossed the distance between them just as quickly. 


[color=lightsteelblue]“Jinn Kokono, correct?”[/color] he asked, coming to a stop beside the Jonin. Flicking his eyes over the shirtless boy on the ground, Kazuhiko frowned. While the boy’s eyes were light in color, they lacked the most notable colorations or traits that graced the Village of the Hidden Leaf, thus alluding Kazuhiko. And Kazuhiko hated being in the dark. [color=lightsteelblue]“Are you Tetsuba Zaisette?”[/color]


In the time it had taken Kazuhiko to ask his questions, Natsuko had sprinted over to the now-trio, skidding to a halt beside the Taketori as she eyed the shirtless boy in amusement. “Tetsuba Zaisette” had just about met all of her requirements for “teammate that she would mess with,” as Kazuhiko had automatically been ruled off the list due to his standing as both the genius and heir of the Taketori clan. However, formalities came before fun, and Natsuko tore her attention away from the pale boy to focus on her team leader, a Jonin with a fierce pair of scars running along her jawline.


[color=indianred]“Natsuko Rinha,”[/color] Natsuko said, bowing respectfully to the jonin. [color=indianred]“Thank you for taking us under your wing!”[/color] Introductions with the authority figure out of the way, Natsuko turned her attention to her other teammate that she was [i]sure[/i] would open up to her with time. After all, she didn’t ask for much—just a few personal details here and there, perhaps, paired with nagging attentions if they weren’t forked over. [color=indianred]“Nice to meet you, Tetsuba Zai-set-te,”[/color] Natsuko said, sounding his last name out one syllable at a time. [color=indianred]“Are you by chance foreign? You have a rather odd name.”[/color]


The question caught Kazuhiko’s attention, and his eyes flicked to his female teammate in momentary shock that quickly morphed into exasperated amusement. Only the likes of Natsuko Rinha could get away with such an upfront and rude question, and by “get away” Kazuhiko meant “be accepted for” because he was sure that even the Rinha herself knew that she probably wasn’t going to get much out of the boy so quickly. His eyes flicked to Jinn’s face briefly before focusing on the scene around him—lost and confused genin trying to match names to faces and faces to teams. He’d have to start now too, Kazuhiko realized. After all, it was team against team during the chunin exams.

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