Reborn in the Mist

“Do either of you know where you’re going?” Boring Tamura started again. He was always this way, questioning and doubting Maita-kun when he couldn’t even do anything himself! “I don’t want to get lost in here…”

Maita-kun scoffed and waved him away, not bothering to turn around as we continued our stroll. “Then fuck off. I’ve got no use for you anyway, why are you following me around?”

“Yeah, why are you following us anyway? He’s like a housefly isn’t he Maita-kun?” Shizuka said, skipping in step next to him.

Tamura made that sound again, like a gurgling huff through his gas mask. He sped up until he literally stood in our way. “I’m following because even if I don’t I’ll still get blamed for whatever trouble you stir up. Someone’s got to stay rational.”

Maita stopped and laughed, it wasn’t one of his fun laughs, she’d know. He glared through his smirk and poked Tamura in the chest. “And you’re going to be the rational one? You can’t even rationalize when you aren’t wanted. Get out of my sight.”

Maita-kun shoved past him and Shizuka quickly followed but not before whispering to Tamura. “You really should find someone else to bother, there’s a whole new village and you choose to stick with us?”

She rolled her eyes and hoped he would finally leave them alone. It was one thing to be stuck all night with those twins who couldn’t stop yapping about their Genjutsu and trying to make conversation about what the second exam would be and another to have her Maita-time colonized by a mask breathing creep.

Shizuka looked back and found Tamura nowhere near them, she sighed, relieved and optimistic for the day’s turnaround. It’d already gotten a rough start what with Ao-taicho forcing them to memorize over a dozen lines of random nonsense each but that was simple enough for a mind like hers. Now, it was time to have a fun date with Maita.

It hadn’t been long since they left the other teams to keep memorizing, it seemed like Team Five especially had fun sticking their nose in pointless words. Maita and Shizuka had other plans though—

She blinked. Looked around suddenly aware of the unfamiliar street and businesses around them. Then again, which would be familiar? It was early afternoon and though the village wasn’t bustling there were still many people to be seen on the streets. Many, if not all wore scarves, hoods and other protective clothing.

They caught stares, some knowing, others curious and several more predatory— she was well acquainted with the last but in this instance the only harm it meant was being scammed of their money.

“Uh…where should we go?” Shizuka asked, looking up at Maita and wrapped her arm through his. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, an unfortunate habit he’d picked up around her.

Maita sniffed, looked around at the brown coloured everything and then at the few stores lined up around the corner of the street they were turning on. She traced his eyes to one of several smoothy shops Sunagakure seemed in love with and suggested, “Let’s get something to cool off, a little early desert won’t hurt.”

Maita seemed to give up on the idea of thinking of something himself and just shrugged. There was a sit out with large umbrellas over the chairs, he sat himself down and yawned while Shizuka went in, she knew his tastes anyway and he probably didn’t bring his wallet.

The door was wide open and upon entry Shizuka quickly noticed it shared work space with the eatery next door, there was no demarcation between the two just ice cream and smoothies on one side and fried fish, meat and an assortment of fancy looking rice.

Shizuka was tempted, if only by the convenience, to buy their full meal here. It’d cost more money than she’d like to spend but if they were sitting out there and having lunch and ice cream together then…

It just might be our first date.

“Hello, can I get your order please?”

Shizuka looked up and gasped, realizing she was holding up a line. “Sorry, uhm, I’ll get uh…” She looked through what flavours they had and bit her lip. “What’s good?”

The server shook his head with a smile and wiped the counter with a cloth. “New to the village? You’ll want something to beat the heat, orange or vanilla works. If you’re looking for a smoothie the watermelon is the best, but it’s pricey.”

Shizuka didn’t need to question why it was pricey, the base prices set for the ice-cream alone were already more than she’d spend on her favourite skin cleanser. She sighed and glanced back at the growing line of sweaty anxiously waiting denizens.

“I’ll have the vanilla ice cream and watermelon smoothie.” She said quickly.

“Good choice.” the server said with a smirk Shizuka wasn’t sure to trust.

While he went about making her order she moved over to the side, there was a single cashier where the wall demarcating the two businesses ought to have been. She gathered her cash and lingered, admiring Maita drumming out his boredom.

A particularly loud party of diners walked in on the other side and at a glance Shizuka identified them as shinobi— moreover, shinobi participating in the Chuunin Exams. She caught the gaze of one and looked away a second later.

Iwagakure again. She thought, recalling some of the faces she’d noticed ogling her and the girls when they arrived at Fukasa.

“Your order.” the server called.

Shizuka hurriedly paid and gathered her order. The ice-cream came in an insultingly small cup and the heap of sprinkles did little to hide that fact. The smoothie felt sufficiently heavy in her hands though. She was about to leave when—

“Fill the damn plate up! I’m starving!”

Eyes quickly fell on the trio of Iwa-nin. Their clothes and their general comportment made it obvious they’d just gotten into the village. It was a reasonably vexing journey all the way from Fukasa— even if none of them were captured as hostages and used against their team— but their guide should have at least informed them of the accommodations and refreshments the Sand Village provided for the examinees.

Pakura-san did mention we’d have to choose between leaving immediately and staying. They stayed behind.

“Sir, this is what you asked for. A single portion of—”

“Don’t get smart with me yo-!”

“Hey!” Shizuka inserted herself just as the team's furious leader edged closer to the counter. “You’re here for the Chuunin exams…right?”

She asked the question as she approached the trio, smirks lit up on their sand dusted faces. The leader, a boy growing well into manhood walked up to her, his chest was where her head stopped.

“Aren’t you a smart little thing you are, what gave us away? My sand filled sandals or my darned headband?” He grinned as his lackeys cackled at the cheap, meaningless insult.

Shizuka was used to this much though, Kirigakure may have lost its former lethal edge but she went through the academy expecting to kill everyone in her set. She breathed in deep and gave them the information they needed.

“What gave it away was the stink. You smell like you haven’t seen water in months, if you’re here for the exams you should know Sunagakure offers a free space to shower and eat.” She eyed him up and down and threw a disgusted glance at his lackeys. “You should take advantage of it.”

He raised his hand almost immediately and with her hands full Shizuka could only flinch. “You damned whore!”

The room flooded with killing intent, the source behind her radiating it powerfully. “Lay a hand on her and I won’t even let you keep the ashes.”