Rasa has a Monster

Lets get down to business.

I found myself dressed in a formal green dress with my hair done up with a white cherry blossom hair peice at a important meeting for the village. The elders were currently arguing about who would go to represent the village at the chunin exams. The daimyo of the land of tea likes to alternate between the villages who house nobles, to choose a group of no more than four nobles, plus guards, to go and represent the country at the exams. I'm not entirely sure, but Fumi had told me before the meeting that it was important because the exams are more than just exams. They were a show of strength between countries. The land of tea may not be considered a major nation like the main five, but it wasn't to far behind the others either. The land of tea was an average country as far as other aspects, but the daimyo had his worries about our neighboring country. So he had issued about three years ago that the academies kick their test into high gear and only pass those who exceeded expectations, and for the genin sensei to only pass those who would be able to hold their own in a multitude of situations. In addition to his decree, he also put a law in that if a civilian born child wished to be admitted into the academy they would have to pass a entry exam. Clan born children would also have to take a entry exam, but it was no secret that their test was a couple levels easier then the civilian test. It was a bit of a harsh decree indeed but in the past three years there had been far more able ninjas that were appearing. Our force's strength had risen a total of 22%, which might not seem like much, but it was a dramatic increase.

Now here I sit in a stuffy meeting room with my tesson, that the elders did not realize I had at all, trying to cool myself because the great elder, Ko, did not want the windows open. It was admittedly cooler here than in Suna, but it was still hot during mid day. This apparel that I had worn was no doubt beautiful, but it was not worth it because I was sweating up a storm. We had been in this meeting for about an hour trying to decide who would be chosen to go. What I don't get is why us women had to be here. There was only three noble families in the village in addition to the five elders, who held a high status because of their ties with the daimyo. The other two noble's wives were here also, but I could easily tell they where just as uncomfortable as I was. I really failed to see why we had to be here, we had very little say in any matters to begin with so what was the point?

The first wife was, Hanan Ito of the Ito clan, a clan that I adored because they dealed in arts and crafts. From paints to musical instruments and writing utensils. They were very creative people that had a very strong feel for the fine arts. Hanan is a very sweet lady. She was about 10 years older than Fumi and I, give or take a few years, but we got along fairly well. She had a neat opinion about art. She also provided me with the finest writing instruments and stationary supplies. The second wife was Junko Kita, the Kita weren't a clan, but more of a company that took over the Gato Shipping Company after the man himself mysteriously disappeared about a month ago. They soon realized that he was dealing in some very bad things and had set to straighten out the entire thing but the lead elder, Ko requested against it, saying that the Kita company could be a link to information that would otherwise be difficult to gather. There was an extreme debate about this that almost resulted in civil war. But Fumi, being the nuetral medium between the two sides, diffused the whole thing and strengthened our shinobi force further by informing the Kita that they themselves wouldn't have to participate in any dishonorable actions. This matter was deemed S-class information and all that had been apart of the ordeal were sworn to silence on the matter, including me. So on the outside, the Kita companies reputation remained pristine while only a select few knew the truth. Though they did release their hold over the small country that Gato took over. Other than that I became good friends with Junko as well.

"Alright, we will take a small break. Everyone is expected back here in 30 minutes." Old man Ko stated. Finally! We all stood simultaneously and bowed to each other. I slipped my tesson into my sleeve and wrapped my arm around Fumi's as we walked out. "Ughh! I thought you and those old geezers were going to talk for 5 hours like last time." I groaned out as we reached the waiting area. There was a small refreshments table and a coffee table surrounded by a couch, loveseat, and a couple of recliners, but most importantly, it had an open window. "Hehe well this IS a big deal." Fumi laughed. "Yes, I know. I just don't understand why there needs to be a argument though. Just pick a noble couple and their two main guards. There is always an additional four man team to escort them there not to mention the genin team will be with them, so I highly doubt protection is a problem. If it were up to me I would put the couples in a hat on slips of paper and draw one, which ever name is drawn is the nobles that will go."  I said as we sat at the coffee table with the other nobles. Hanan giggled at me, "Mai sweety, if it was that easy then this meeting would be over by now." She giggled some more and poured some jasmine tea for us all. I thanked her and sat back grumbleing to myself. Stupid elders, making things complicated. I sat up as I heard Hanan's husband, Juro, speak "It is safe to believe that you two will end up representing the land of tea." He spoke in a chilling voice that reminded me too much of Rasa when he was mad. I'll admit, Juro is an intimidating man. He was in his forties and had been raised as a noble. He had that air of, 'I am not in the mood to deal with your bull shit so you will do as I say' and he also had the power to prove he was not a push over. The man had been one of the few from his clan that became a ninja, and he was a formidable one. But if you stayed around long enough to get to know him, he really was a nice guy. "Oh? And what makes you say that Juro-san?"  Junko's husband, Masato, questioned. I looked over, Masato was also a man who's aura screamed that you should, and will respect him. Though he wasn't as built as Juro, nor was he trained as a ninja, he knew how to play mind games. Which in his line of business, was essential. Masato and Junko where around the same age as Fumi and I. That's one of the reason we got along so well. Regardless, all of us nobles held each other in high respect because we had all been successful. We all got along well, which was an extremely good thing for the village. We wouldn't have to worry much about betrayals because we had no reason for such a thing. With Juro and Fumi being retired ninja, they knew the importance of trust and comradery. Both were loyal to their village and would protect it with their lives. Masato saw them as friends, maybe even family, and from the way he was raised betrayal just isn't an option for him. As for us wives, we all were mature ladies and have no reason to make enemies among each other. So with our husbands relationships being formed and the bonds between them being strong, we ladies decided to become friends as well. "You, Masato, cannot leave the village. Your business may still have it's golden reputation, but there are still people who know that Kita shipping took over Gato's company. Gato has debt around the world with very bad people. Said people will want your head on a silver plate. It would be best that you  stayed within the village walls. As for Hanan and myself, we aren't willing to leave the clan alone. Not only are we targeted as well, but who knows what our clan would do to terrorize the village." Juro-san replied while a look of distress appeared on his face at his thoughts of his unruly clan. I giggled. Yes the Ito clan was a bit on the wild side. Most of the clan are amazing artist whom want nothing more to share their art with the world, but sometimes their means of sharing are somewhat extreme. Fumi laughed alongside me as we remembered when the clan decided to grafiti the entire village. That was a prank for April 1st last year. Imagine Juro-san's distress when the village appeared on his doorstep complaining. Fumi and I had quite enjoyed the mural on the side wall of our shop so instead of making the Ito take it down we had asked them to coat it in a sealant so it wouldn't fade anytime soon. That had scored us some high points with the clan.

"That does sound reasonable Juro-san." Fumi said as his laughing died down. Juro hmmed and finished his tea, as did the rest of us.  A short shinobi, most likely a teen, walked into the room and bowed to us, "My lords and ladys, the meeting is to resume soon." He said. "Yes thank you." Junko said as we stood and went back to that miserable meeting room.

{Time-skip}

As it had been predicted, Fumi and I had been chosen to go. Old man Ko had said that because of Fumi's previous career as a shinobi, he could observe our genins and help us decide which to promote to genin. Fumi and I accepted, not like we had much of a choice.

"So, what can I expect from Konoha?"I asked Fumi as we started packing up. He stopped for a minute, "Well, I'm not sure. I've never been to the land of fire, much less Konoha. The most I know are things such as their important figures and Geography." He said sheepishly while rubbing his neck. I leaned against the wall, "Hmmm, so this will be a adventure of sorts?" I said thinking. "Yeah kinda." He replied, returning to packing his things. "WELL THIS WILL BE A AWESOME ADVENTURE!! JUST LIKE ALL OF OUR OTHERS!!!" I yelped while raising my fist. He just laughed at me. Hmph. He laughs at me alot. "Sure Mai. An awesome adventure." He said as he kissed my forehead. "Finish packing so we can pack A.L too." He told me. Oh yeah. A.L is coming also. He's a very noble lizard! Like I would leave him here, I would never do such a thing. I finished packing everything and moved on to A.L's things before we went to sleep for the night. We needed to get a good rest because we would be leaving first thing in the morning with the teams that were nominated to participate. This should be fun.