Start of Something New

Gotta love the wonderful news of a sudden test. Two days?! Can Midori be ready for her test in time?

Midori looked at Gaara with no sign of fear or hate. Midori didn't really remember this boy clearly because her long term past was still a bit of a blur, but he seemed to know her and was surprised to see her. The sand on her hand tumbled off and went inside a huge gourd Gaara carried on his back.

 

Midori didn't know what was happening but her eyes welled up and tears began to roll down her cheeks again. Without thinking, Midori wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly. She was surprised when arms returned her embrace. Midori's heart beat sped up in joy as he held her. Sand whipped up around them and started to encircle them in a soft whirlwind.

"It's...been a long time." Midori heard him say. "Too long." she agreed. Midori closed her eyes and she pictured sand which went together to create the form of an eye that looked at her. "Midori Hamatiko. Its been almost nine years..." a deep voice echoed. Midori said the first word that came to mind. "Shukaku-sama." She wondered why she'd just addressed him as 'lord'. Midori opened her eyes to be looking deep into the eyes of Gaara. "Gaara-kun?" she asked confusedly. Her eyes suddenly grew heavy and she started to nod off. "Gaara-kun?" she repeated, then fell into a deep sleep in his arms.

Midori felt warm and curled up into a tight ball on her bed. 'Wait? Bed?' she thought confusedly. She opened her eyes slowly to see she was in her own house, her own room and bed. "But how?" she murmured in puzzlement. Midori looked around her and sat up. She squinted at the window "Gaara-kun must have brought me home, but how did he know where I live? Grr...so confused!" she wondered, then complained. "Get up already!" a voice hollered.

 

Midori tossed her blanket off and crawled out of bed "Gah!" she yelped as she fell out of bed and on her face. "Oww.." she grumbled. Midori pushed herself off the ground a bit to look ahead of her and saw a pair of sandaled feet. She looked up to see Naruto standing in front of her. "Get up! Your late for pract--" he was cut off when a pillow hit him in the face, making him tumble backwards onto the balcony. Midori stood up and glared at him.

Naruto jumped up and waved his fist at her "What was that for?!" he scowled at her. "Oh, I dunno, maybe because your in my room uninvited, and out of nowhere you start screaming at me. You got what you deserved." she glared back at him. Naruto held her gaze challengingly. "Well your late." he growled. Midori gasped and held her cheek in her hand. It burned like fire. "Wh-what's wrong Midori?" Naruto asked, his mood changed to concern. He ran to her side as she stumbled a bit. "No...yeah I'll be okay." she murmured 'I hope' she thought to herself. Each day the pain seemed stronger. "Will you be able to train today?" he asked, apparently not convinced that she was okay. Midori looked at him "Either way, I'm training." she growled stubbornly. "Heh, I guess I can't stop you." Naruto smirked.

He helped her get steady on her feet. "I'll be ready in a minute." Midori said. She grabbed her clothes and had a quick shower. Midori got out, got changed, put her hair up and ran into the kitchen. "Ahh!" she grunted and collided with Naruto when she spun around the corner. "What the hell were you doing? Your supposed to wait for me at the door!" Midori snarled. She'd fallen backwards. "You were taking too long..." Midori stood up and hit him in the back of the head hard with her hand. "Oww!" he groaned but said nothing when he noticed her piercing glare. Naruto and Midori left her house and went straight to the training grounds where Midori trained against Naruto and his clones for a few hours.

Kiki had stayed home today so Midori didn't have any distractions. Midori panted hard "Let's take a break!" Naruto suggested, also panting. Midori reluctantly nodded and then collapsed in the grass. Naruto fell in beside her. "Heh, you've gotten a lot stronger, Midori. Although I can't help but wonder when your gonna get one of these, so you can call yourself a real Konoha ninja." he panted while adjusting his headband. Midori looked at him puzzledly. "I dunno." she mumbled distantly. "Also, another thing would be for you to smile more. That way you'd at least 'appear' friendly." Midori glared at him and her eyebrow twitched. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?!" she growled. "Grr, you pipsqueak--"

"Now, now, play nice like good little children." a calm, amused voice said. Midori sat up to see who it was "Grr, Kakashi" she growled. "Aww, now thats not very nice." he chuckled. "Besides, I've been watching you train lately and I have to say I'm quite impressed at how much you've grown in such a short time." Kakashi seemed to grin. Naruto sat up too, "Yeah! That's what I said! Believe it!" he agreed goofily. "Thanks, I guess." she nodded. "Anyways, let me finish. At your current level of strength and knowledge, I'd say your ready for a test. A test to see your true potential as a ninja." Kakashi said. Midori looked at Naruto, who looked back at her and adjusted his headband while smiling like an idiot.

Midori returned his smirk, then focused back on Kakashi. "Sure, what's it gonna be and when?" she asked curiously. "Well, it'll be different from a regular academy students' test. I'll have you show me your clone jutsu, and then I'll have you deliver a package. How does two days from now sound?" Kakashi suggested. Midori's face flushed white "Umm, okay, sounds good." she nodded. She just realized that she'd been getting strong in Taijutsu and hand-to-hand combat, along with fighting with weapons and building up her chakra, but she didn't know how to make clones of herself. "Uhh, Midori? You alright?" Naruto asked. Midori shook her head "Of course I am!" she answered stubbornly.

"Then its set, two days from now you'll have your test!" Kakashi said with finality in his voice. "That gives you one and a half day to prepare. Use it well. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura know how hard my tests can be." he warned, then pulled out a book and disappeared. Midori thought for a moment, then spoke. "Teach me your shadow clone jutsu!" she looked at Naruto determinedly.

 

"Umm...sure, although it is an advanced technique, I learned it because I stole the sacred scroll, believe it!" Naruto said with superiority. "Well if you don't teach me, then I'll take the scroll myself." she smirked at him cleverly. "I didn't say I wouldn't teach you, you'll just have to work really hard." he corrected her quickly. "Sounds good to me." she smiled triumphantly.

Naruto got to his feet and held his hand out to Midori with a wide grin. "With me as your sensei, you'll be an expert in no time! Believe it!" Naruto boasted. Midori smirked at him and took his hand. He pulled her up and she looked him in the eyes. "Well I hope so, if I fail the exam there's no way of knowing what I might throw at you next. I can promise, however, that it'll be worse than my pillow!" she laughed. Naruto took a step back "Your not serious?" he asked with a priceless look at her. "We'll see" Midori winked at him cheerfully. "Believe it!" she echoed his favorite phrase. "Heh..heh.." he said uneasily.

Reviews

[Sseoni]

Oo, an exam! Sounds like fun! I hope Midori learns how to make a clone fast! With Naruto as her teacher, who knows what'll happen! Great job!