Kana's kunai sliced through the air, landing dead center on the wooden target. Naruto politely clapped from beside her, drawing his own kunai.

"So," Naruto began, launching his kunai with a flick of his wrist. "Have you decided who is going to be the proctor for the tournament?"

Kana dropped her kunai, grabbing fist fulls of her white locks out of anger and frustration. "I completely forgot about that! Crap! What am I going to do?! The tournament is in a few days!"

"Yikes," Haku winced, throwing a senbon into a target. "I thought you already had someone in mind."

"Of course I had someone in mind, I had several people in mind!" Kana exclaimed.

"Like who?" Naruto asked.

"Hidan, Deidara, Zabuza, Kaneki," Kana replied. "Just to name a few."

"So why not just pick one of them?" Naruto shrugged, tossing another kunai.

"Hidan isn't very 'family friendly,' Deidara would turn it into an art lecture, Zabuza would be recognized by anyone from Kiri at the tournament, Kaneki is dead tired and doesn't want to do it, and to top it all off, they're all missing nin!" Kana groaned.

"I guess that rules out all of the Akatsuki members then..." Naruto sighed. "What about Haku?"

"She asked me if I would," Haku replied. "But I'm not very loud, and I don't think I'd do a good job."

"Argh!" Kana roared. "What am I going to do?!"

Haku suddenly grinned, taking both of Kana's hands in his. "I think I know someone who could do it."

"Really?!" Kana exclaimed.

"Who is it?!" Naruto asked, eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"It's a surprise!" Haku giggled. "Just follow me you guys!"

~~~~~~~~~~

"Where are you three off to?" Zabuza asked, casually sharpening his blade on a giant stone.

"Not sure," Kana replied. "Haku is taking us somewhere."

"Alright then," Zabuza shrugged. "See you later."

"Bye!" Naruto chirped.

In the distance Kisame could be heard talking to his sword, making Zabuza twitch in irritation. The two seemed to have some kind of ongoing sword contest, debating who had the better blade. The other members refused to get involved for fear of being chopped in half (or because they thought it was stupid).

"Bye!" Kana exclaimed, quickly leaving before their squabbling could begin.

~~~~~~~~~~

After only a few short minutes of walking through the rain, the three of them arrived outside of a small one-story house. The house had a certain charm to it despite needing plenty of work done. Even more confusing was the air of familiarity around the home, which made Kana rack her brain for answers. The rain made it a little difficult to be sure, but she was almost certain she recognized the scent of whoever lived there.

"We're here," Haku chirped, resting his umbrella against his shoulder. "Hopefully she's at home right now."

Haku lightly rapped his knuckles against the door, then taking a step back to wait for an answer. Naruto crossed his arms, his nose twitching as his face scrunched up in concentration.

"What's up Naruto?" Kana asked, tilting her head in concern. "Was it someone we ate? I knew we should've interrogated Hidan and asked where he picked that guy up from, he was awfully tough to chew."

"It's not that," Naruto replied. "I just smell something familiar."

"Me too," Kana huffed. "I wonder who Haku brought us to."

Slowly, the front door opened, revealing a tall and slim man with bluish-green hair and orange eyes. He had an Amegakure headband tied around his forehead and was wearing the standard gear for Amegakure jonin. 

"Can I help you?" The man asked, one hand coming to rest on his hip pouch.

"Hello Mr. Rokusho," Haku began politely. "I was wondering if Azumi is home right now?"

The man paused for a moment before his face lit up in realization. "Ah, you three know her from the last Chunin Exams, right?"

"Yeah," Kana nodded. "I need to speak with her, I have a job for her if she's up for it."

"Sure, I'll go get her," He replied. "You three might as well wait inside, it's raining as usual."

"Thank you." Haku smiled, bowing his head just a little.

The man disappeared around the corner, walking into a room just down the hall. When he returned a minute later, Azumi was with him, a look of confusion on her face. 

"Kana, Haku," She began, skimming over Naruto's presence. "What's all this about?"

Azumi hadn't changed much in six months, she let her hair grow a bit longer, the ends beginning to spike outwards like her father's hair. She also added her chunin vest to her attire, making it very obvious that she has already passed the Chunin Exams. 

"I know this is sudden, but Kana has something she'd like to ask you about," Haku said. "If that's alright with you."

"Whatever," Azumi shrugged. "Let's just get this over with."

"Should we go get some coffee?" Naruto awkwardly suggested.

"Good idea," Kana agreed. "You fine with that, Azumi?"

"Yeah, sounds fine," Azumi nodded, glancing at her father. "I'll be home later dad, see you."

"See you later," Her father replied. "If you're not home by six your dinner will be in the microwave."

"'Kay..." Azumi lazily replied.

"Let's go." Kana said.

~~~~~~~~~~

With their drinks finally on the table, it finally seemed like an appropriate time to ask Azumi. That and Azumi looked irritated.

"Sorry we dragged you out," Kana sheepishly apologized. "I promise this won't take long."

"Whatever, just get on with it," Azumi shrugged. "All of this waiting is making me nervous."

"So you know how the Chunin Exams tournament is in a couple of days?" Kana began.

"Yeah, what about it?" Azumi replied, taking a sip of her tea.

"Well, I kind of forgot to get someone to do all of the match announcements..." Kana awkwardly chuckled.

"And you need me why?" Azumi said, eyes narrowed. 

"Could you maybe be the proctor for the tournament?" Kana asked. "It should only be for a day or two!"

Azumi groaned. "Why not literally anyone else?"

"I didn't want someone random to it," Kana sighed. "Kaneki refused, and none of the Akatsuki members can openly show their face to people from outside the village."

"Come on Azumi," Haku said. "You can do it, can't you?"

"It's not that I can't do it," Azumi huffed. "I just don't know if I want to do it."

Kana tapped her chin in thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. "I got it! What if I hook you up with some high paying C or B rank missions? I might even be able to sneak you into the ANBU rookie training camp for some high-level practice! How's that?"

"Deal," Azumi smirked. "How could I pass on an offer like that?"

"Great!" Kana exclaimed. "Then we'll see you at the stadium at 10 am in three days!"

Azumi's chair scraped against the floor as she stood up, tossing back the rest of her tea like cheap booze. 

"Then I'll see you guys later," Azumi said, making her way to the door. "See ya."

"Can we go back to sparring now?" Naruto said, speaking up for the first time in a good twenty minutes. "Your realization kind of interrupted us."

"Oh, right," Kana chuckled. "Hey Haku, you up for a free for all?"

"I'd love to," Haku smiled, a sinister glint in his eyes. "I won't be going easy either, you two are hard to break."

Kana laughed in a concerning manner and Naruto shivered.

A/N

Thank you all so much! As of today, I'm at 450 Followers! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, apologies if it was uninteresting (since it was a lot of filler), but in the next chapter the tournament will begin! On a more serious note, I probably won't update as frequently, I started summer school today and I have to focus on that. I've had a pretty rough year so far and I won't get into detail, but I failed two classes, so I have to take one in summer school and take the other one in the new semester. Thanks for understanding guys!