A tryst with destiny (Tales of a Gutsy Ninja - 2)

Chapter 29 - A day in Konoha

Aira P.O.V

Happy...

So insanely happy!

After weeks of suffering from the heat that Suna faces during summer, Konoha was a welcome change. 

Gaara: Aira, is there somewhere you wish to go first?

I considered my options. Konoha was filled with my favorite characters. I hardly spent time here since the Konoha invasion. For some reason, I didn't feel the sort of connect I used to feel. It might be because my fight with the Konoha council was still fresh in my mind.

And the fact that I realized the repercussions of what happens when you do something half-heartedly without proper planning.

A/N: Refer to chapter 13 - Where there is death, there will always be death of Tides of change (Tales of a gutsy ninja - 1)

Due to me saving Hayate-sensei, Baki(Gaara's teacher) ended up dead - he knew about the Konoha invasion plan and since his plan to kill Hayate-sense failed, Otogakure decided to abandon the mission and Baki was killed to cover up their actions while Hayate-sensei and my teammates memories were wiped blank by Kabuto. Of course I didn't let the others, especially Gaara know about it...but it did leave a very bad after taste.    

Gaara: Aira? Is something wrong?

Aira: N-No...nothing at all. It's just that I've gotten so used to Suna that Konoha no longer feels like my home. 

I almost feel like an outsider-

"Not so fast! Wait for me!"

Before I could react, a blur of orange tackled me the ground. Uzumaki Naruto...thank you for bringing me out of my reverie...by making me crash to the ground.

So this is what a down-to-earth welcome feels like...

Sakura: A-Aira-sama...sorry-

Aira-sama...

Aira...

sama...

Aira-sama?

Aira: Y-You don't have use honorifics with me! You do remember me...don't you?

Sakura: Of course. We met during the Kazekage rescue mission-

Aira: Not that! I turned into Senju Hashirama during the graduation exam and faced Hinata during the chuunin exam prelims...don't you remember? The one who went around calling herself Gaara's onee-sama...

Sakura: Y-You're that Aira? I...I was told that we were picking up Harune Aira...

Aira: Which is my alias...

Great.

Is that how disconnected I am with the world? Marvellous. My identity was pretty weak during my stay in Suna and only worsened after the formation of Kuroko...but to think that such highly ranked canon characters couldn't even recognize me.

Then I turned to face Sai, team seven's new member. While Naruto was engaged in a discussion with Gaara, Sakura became quiet...perhaps unsure as to how to react to the girl who beat her best friend(Hinata) very badly during the chuunin exams.

Aira: H-Hello...you're Sai right? Team seven's new member?  I've heard quite a lot about your art...

Sai: Is that so? Thank you...

I could see why Ino falls for him. If it weren't for his skin that looked unhealthily pale, he would be quite the ikemen. Sai seemed to be contemplating something really hard. I was expecting an emotionless face so this was quite the surprise.