Imperfectly Perfect (Naruto FanFic)

Chapter Twenty Two

"Fuzen Kanpeki?"

I look up at the man, studying him quickly. He had short green hair, two knifes strapped to his waist and a teasing smirk planted firmly on his face.

"Yes..." I trail off, unsure.

"We'll be your escorts for your trip!" He announced, pushing off the wall. "I'm Guerin, the sensei of the team that will be escorting you."

"Nice to meet you," I bow slightly.

"Hey, I'm Akira," a girl with short orange hair smiled, "And this is, well, also Akira."

I look between the girl with short orange hair and the boy with black hair in confusion. "You're both named Akira?" I ask.

"Mhmm," the girl nodded, "To stop any confusion, my nickname is Kira, meaning beam of light. You can call him," she jerks her thumb towards the boy, "Aki."

"Okay," I nod slowly, "And your name is?" I nod to the boy with white hair.

He tilts his head slightly, not answering. "He doesn't speak much," Kira said, "His name is Hibiki."

My lip twitches. Echo. A fitting name for the shadow of a boy. You could barely sense his presence, much like an echo.

"Now that introductions are over, ready to move out? It's a two day journey to our destination," Guerin said. "Your servant already has your luggage on the donkey. Let's go."

"Mm," I nod in affirmation, waving to the servant as she leaves.

And with that, we walk out the gates.

***

"No need to look so worried."

I look up at Guerin with a smile. "Sorry," I apologize, "I'm a ninja as well; it's a little strange to be protected end instead of protecting, y'know?"

"Ha, I understand," Guerin grinned, "But Kira and Aki are both chunin, and Hibiki is a fantastic ninja as well."

"I'm not worried," I reassure him, "I was actually thinking about the chunin exams."

"Oh? Why's that?" Guerin questioned.

"I participated in them, though I lost in the prelims," I admit, ashamed, "I was thinking about a friend of mine. I didn't get to see his fight. I was wondering if he passed."

"Oh, well what was his name? My team and I were viewing the prelims together. We may have seen the fight you're taking about."

"Really?!" I exclaim excitedly.

"Yeah," Kira grinned, "All the fights were amazing! There are so many strong genin coming up!"

"Yeah," I agree quietly.

"Speak up, baka," Aki ordered.

I stared, offended. How could he call me an idiot so casually? I was paying him for God's sake! That was so ride to say, much less to a paying customer!

"Ah, don't mind, don't mind him," Kira waved, "He doesn't mean it. It's just a bad habit of his."

"Oh...okay...?" I say slowly. People were strange. "Anyhow, his name was Mizuko. How'd he do?"

Before anyone can respond Hibiki appear in front of me. I stare into his eyes, shocked, then he taps me on the forehead with two fingers.

Then blackness rushed through my mind, quickly followed by a burst of color.

And suddenly I'm standing in the preliminary arena. I see the board, and to my surprise I recognize one of the names on there.

Mizuko vs Katasho