Haru stared unblinkingly at the masked man now blocking her path.

She'd been allowed out on errand and hadn't wanted to waste the opportunity to roam the Village without fear of reprimand. Kasai had even felt spirited enough to join her.

Now a small shudder was making its way up her taut spine.

"Tenzo."

The word was clipped, formal, lacking in all forms of friendliness.

"You're here on business from the Hokage, I presume?"

"You presume correctly," he answered, waving a hand for her to follow.

The streets were crowded, filled with much too many untainted ears. Atop the roofs was a world of relative silence, cocooned in low-hanging clouds that obscured one's view and played tricks on the mind.

The ideal location for two Shinobi to speak freely.

Haru sat delicately at the edge of the roof, her feet tucked beneath her, Kasai dozing in her lap, while Tenzo stood stiff-but-poised beside her, his head tilted in such a way that he was both listening to Haru and observing the shrouded Village through expert eyes.

She tucked a stray strand of ivory hair behind one ear, a small habit when fighting nerves.

"Has he come a decision then?"

She was petrified of the answer. Hokage-sama had radiated an undue warmth towards her, welcomed her with too-open arms; surely he was reconsidering after having delved into her past, into the current state of Hinoiri.

"You'll make a fine Chunin," Tenzo broke the unnoticed silence, "is what he said."

He dropped his crossed arms, lifted a careful hand to his mask, fingers divided around his stoic eye holes. Breathless, reeling in a sort of shock that both numbed her limbs and sent quavering amounts of euphoric adrenaline through her constricted veins, Haru watched as he shifted the animalistic mask from his face, settling it sideways atop his head.

Critical obsidian eyes met hers, narrowed in concentration, anticipation, curiosity.

"I'll be your squad leader," he went on, blatantly ignorant to Haru's stalled breathing. "Normally, Chunin don't have assigned squads; they're constantly being sent on assignments with various other Chunin. It's rare that they have a set team. But you" - here he had somehow appeared before her, one slim finger poking at her forehead; her head fell back, white fringe lifting, as she flinched in shock - "are not exactly a normal addition to our Chunin ranks. So I'll be keeping an eye on you."

Haru was coherent enough to register his chilling words, though she longed to return to her stupor if it meant disregarding his message.

I'm doomed, she thought morosely.

"You'll also have two teammates. Kazumitsu and Ichiro Yoru. Kazu and Ichi, as they don't love formalities."

"Brothers?" Haru blinked, tilting her head to give Tenzo an inquistive brow raise."

Twins," he amended.

His brow furrowed with unpleasant thoughts, reflected dimly in his dark eyes. Haru swallowed uncomfortably. For these twin brothers to agitate the stoic ANBU to this extent, they must have been quite the formidible duo.

"They're good," he conceded - a bit forced, if Haru had to guess, "but they can tax your nerves. But from what I've seen of your abilities, they'll be a great asset to you."

So she had been watched during her excursion accompanying Kiba and co. A scowl twitched at Haru's thin lips, threatened to break out with menacing ferocity. Few things called forth her anger, deserved such abominable wrath; undue spying was one of them.

Ironic, considering her occupation.

Aware of but indifferent to Haru's rather obvious shift in temperament, Tenzo readjusted his ANBU mask, preparing to return to the bustling streets below. Haru, seeing this, rose quickly to her feet, instincts urging to follow closely behind as he moved through the throngs of naive Konoha citizens.

They neither cared nor thought about those quietly protecting them from the shadows, both figurative and literal, and Haru thought that was sad, to be give your life for a world that would never give the minimal effort required to even do something as trivial as remembering your name.

And yet, the path to being a Shinobi had been laid out for her before her birth, and it was a path she was content to follow - in whatever Village she happened to find herself in.

_____________________

They came to rest in a clearing on the outskirts of the Village - one of the Leaf's many training grounds, one that naturally went to waste when other more appealing offers were made.

It was perfectly windswept, the grass curled and bowed from the constant breeze that danced across the field, twirled fallen leaves into the air, whispered pleasant memories in one's ears.

Haru lifted onto her toes, caught up in the magic of the place, her eyes closed, arms spread slightly, fingers outstretched, as though waiting to be swept off her feet by the gods of wind.

A sigh of resignation left Tenzo's pursed lips.

He had to admit - though he would never volunteer these thoughts even if he were tortured - that Haru was an enigmatic girl, despite her rather subdued looks. She exuded an aura that opposed even the most hardened Jonin; but at times, such as now, she was as free-spirited and radiant as a fresh Genin straight out of the Academy.

He wondered which was the real her, and if she would ever trust the Leaf enough to show them.

Looking at her, seeing the euphoric smile gracing her lips, he thought - just maybe - the day wouldn't be that far off that she wholeheartedly embraced Konoha, for better or worse.

And then, like tempered glass, the moment was shattered by a gale of razor wind that tore through the clearing, causing Haru to stumble forward, nearly pressured to her knees; Tenzo stood, unruffled, amid the storm, eyes rolling behind his painted mask.

Dramatic flare.

This was the reason he so disliked working with the Yoru twins, charming as they may have seemed during first encounters. Drawing so much attention to oneself could prove fatal in the heat of battle, but the twins had never cared much for formalities, as stated before. And yet, the Hokage had chosen them specifically to watch over Haru, guide her, immerse in the culture of the Leaf.

Tenzo was beginning to wonder if that was really a decision made while sober, especially when one black-clothed blur flashed into existence, two feet from Haru (who'd yet to stand from her earlier stumble), a white-crescent smile replacing his stoic features.

Then came the identical blur, the missing piece to a puzzle too complicated to solve, standing tall next to his crouching brother, a derisive frown settled on his lips. The smooth white scar curved from the corner up his mouth to his flat brow twitched as he narrowed his slate-gray eyes, taking in Haru's controlled, cautious movements.

"Kazumitsu, Ichiro" - she deliberately spoke their given names, wanting some form of vengeance for their sporadic and unnecessary entrance - "I must tell you, my first impression of you isn't particularly good. I think you're both idiots."

She came slowly to her feet, taking special care to remove all traces of dust from her borrowed clothing, checking Kasai's condition from where she rested nestled in the neck of her sweatshirt. The small Ninken had braved the outside world for the first time in what felt like several eternities but reacted only minimally to whatever stimuli they'd come across as of yet. The sight of two young boys - one sporting a shock of gray hair, the other a more endearing brown - didn't pique her interest in the slightest.

Tenzo watched the twins' reactions, mildly amused with Haru's response.

She reminds me of Kakashi a bit, he mused, head tilting to the side in wonder.

How odd. He'd never made the comparison before. Perhaps it was due to her words - they seemed similar to something the other white-haired Nin would say when presented with such a display of idiocy.

"So, I presume you both posses Wind Type Chakra?"

Her eyes slanted, flickering to the corners to allow Tenzo a view of her unimpressed gaze.

"I see... You've been keeping the Hokage informed of my abilities then."

"Che."

The brown-haired boy rested his chin in his palm, elbow propped up on his bent knee. He appraised Haru with the air of a child judging his latest toy - guessing how long it would take to break.

"You're somethin', I'll tell ya that. All calm and cool, like ya just don't give a damn about us."

His smile crept farther into his cheeks.

"I like it.""

I'd have to say I agree."

Kazu, enigmatic boy Tenzo knew him to be, raised his hand, palm facing upwards; a sphere of writhing, spinning, devastating chakra was born, and he bent forward to blow it from his hand. The sphere - on-target with Haru's blank face - dissipated into a harmless summer breeze before it shred her fair cheeks to ribbons. He smirked at her lack of a reaction.

"Welcome to the team, Akiyama Haru-san."

She released a pent-up sigh.

The Hokage must have been a bit more put-off by her past then Tenzo had led on.

Certainly, he was sending her into the mortal world's equivalent of Hell.