Mokuren

Team Temari: Meeting

Disclaimer: I'm only going to say this once. Anything you recognize from somewhere else obviously doesn't belong to me.

Brief Author's Note: This is OC-Centric, takes place in Suna long after the series, uses some Japanese terms with no translations, and personalities are presented slowly. Everyone will seem stereotypical in the beginning - I am really, really bad at beginnings. I also introduce too many characters at a time, but there will be reminders of initial details for important characters.

Arc One, Team Temari; Chapter One, Meeting Temari-sensei

The Village Hidden in the Sand was the least populated major ninja village in the world. It was known best for its poisons, its puppetry, and its Kazekage, who had lead the entire world in an unbelievable war.

It was not known for forgiving useless ninja, regardless of how tired they might be.

"Team One - Maitsu, Udonsu, Kirikama!"

Entering the classroom as quietly as she could manage, Mokuren wasn't sure if she should feel annoyed that her clock had fallen behind or relieved that she hadn't been too late to hear all of the teams. She slid into a seat in the back beside Maitsu, hoping that her teacher hadn't noticed her absence.

Today was a very important day, after all. The first real day of her genin career. She should have gotten more sleep, definitely, and left earlier. If only her neighbor had actually passed the exam...

"Team Two - Kurekiro, Aomaru -"

"You've got rings around your eyes." Maitsu scolded Mokuren, sounding more irritated than concerned. Since they were in the very back, Inoue paid them no mind. "You'd better hope your jounin sensei doesn't expect anything of you today, 'cause you don't look like you could handle any work."

"Don't you worry about me, Chibi-chan." Mokuren yawned away Maitsu's concerns.

"Don't call me that!" The three-feet six-inches high kunoichi snapped, glaring fiercely. Maitsu's short spiky black hair, short eyelashes and board-flat chest caused most people to mistake her for a boy. As this also led to people taking her more seriously despite her height, Maitsu dressed to encourage this misconception.

Because of that desire to be taken seriously, Maitsu was one of the few people in their class that Mokuren actually thought deserved to be a ninja.

She didn't particularly dislike her classmates, but none of them trained enough for her to feel secure asking them to watch her back.

"Team Three - Kentsu, Mokuren, Tetsuko!"

Mokuren's head flew up, and she frowned, not knowing who her teammates were. The names sounded familiar, but she couldn't put faces to them. It was one of the few downsides to spending her indoor class time sleeping.

"Team Four - Aiko, Shirota, Mizuru!" Inoue finished up, rolling her scroll back up.

"Yumi-sensei, who are my teammates?" Mokuren stood up to ask.

"My name isn't Yumi, it's Inoue!" She shot back reflexively. "Honestly, how did someone like you ace the test?" The teacher moaned, rubbing her forehead.

Just looking at Mokuren, much less speaking to her, gave her instant headaches. The way the girl slept in class and forgot the name of a teacher she'd had for years - how could such a disrespectful girl become a kunoichi?

"The heck?! A girl got the best score?" A boy with pinkish-orange hair whined, standing up angrily. "That's ridiculous! Who the heck is she anyway? She doesn't look familiar at all. Are you even in the right room?" His voice was very loud, and he banged the table with his fist a few times for emphasis.