Memories were a funny thing, really. It was rare for someone like Gin Kuroka - an experienced warrior with a reputation of being rash and violent - to indulge in reminiscing. Most would assume that she wasn't capable of such a thing, being the apparent hard-headed brute that they often saw her as. Could she even be able to hold a memory for more than a couple of days? Surely some people in Kirigakure wondered. However, underneath her chaotic appearances and hard exterior was a highly intelligent woman, filled with doubts and worries about her own existence. Contrary to popular belief, she lived for more than just the sake of killing and hadn't been born in blood and fear. No, Gin Kuroka had been a normal child.

Growing up, she had been naive and innocent. She had been curious and hopeful about the wonders that the world could hold. She had been energetic and cheerful, giving her mother trouble at every chance that she could get. She and her older brother, Hiroyuki, would go off and seek adventure on their own. Her name was Gin Nanahara at the time and she spent her youth with a caravan of merchants. Her mother tried as best she could to drive both of her children away from a life filled with violence and death. She tried to get a young Gin to try to learn the art of sewing and weaving. It didn't work. Eventually, both siblings found the nature of their family ties to the shinobi world. It drew them into its fold, like a wild current. As much as their mother tried, she couldn't keep them away from their nature. Soon enough, both siblings had parted ways, each going to different villages in order to pursue their newly found dreams.

Of course, it wasn't easy, but Gin was fond of those early memories of her first years in Sunagakure no Sato - her days with her first team, her sensei and the orphanage. Right now, missing the place that she had once called home for so long, she couldn't help but remember those instances in vivid detail....




Thirteen years old, silver hair, a foul mouth and a knack for getting into trouble - this was likely the most accurate, albeit brief, description of a young Gin Kuroka. She adjusted the long sleeves of her purple kimono-like shirt, which left her flat stomach exposed. It hadn't always been that way. It was actually a recent result of all of her training. Had she remained with the band of merchants that she had lived with before, she would have likely never been this toned or muscular. The black short she wore were little more than skin tight and her shinobi sandals reached right up to her knees. Her hair flowed in a ponytail over her back, caressing its lower half. Needless to say, her looks were subject to critique. Those who knew her, however, paid little to no attention to it, or to her claims that the outfit was appropriate both for combat and the local weather - the scorching heat of the Village Hidden in the Sand wasn't something to be underestimated, after all.

"You know you'll freeze in Kumo, right?" said a lighthearted voice, coming from the young boy that stood next to her. Gin scoffed and turned towards its source. His bright red hair made him stand out among most of his peers. He didn't seem to mind the attention or to relish in it like Gin did. Instead, he was purely indifferent. Calm, selfless and kind, he had been by her side since the very second she had arrived to Suna. "Fine, have it your way," he said with a shrug. Of course, his outfit - a loose kimono reminiscent to that of samurai from the land of iron - was more than appropriate for the weather that they were headed towards. His choice in clothing had always made Gin wonder whether or not he had actually been raised in the Land of Iron. He certainly looked the part. However, when Gin prodded him for information about the time before he arrived t the orphanage, he often deflected her question with a quirky comment or some odd riddle. It frustrated Gin, so much so that she eventually stopped asking. Instead, she made up stories for him. The habit had become something of an inside joke between the two.

"Fuck off, Uisuki," she said in response. Both teenagers stood at the gates of their village. Gin leaned against the village walls while Sake stood poise, his arms crossed over his chest. Either their teacher was late or they were early. Both were a fairly common occurrence. Sake had the habit of dragging Gin to their meetings, mostly against her will. Truth be told, if he weren't a part of her life, she would just be a loudmouth with big ideas and little to back them up. She would always claim that she could do without him and his constant nagging, pressuring her to better herself. That was, however, one of her biggest lies. "Hey! You wanna see something I've been-" she was promptly interrupted - much to her chagrin - by a playful shove from an older man. He ran a hand through his spiked black hair and flashed them both a wide smile as he adjusted the large scroll on his back with his other hand.

"Good to see that the two of you are here early - Sake's doing, no doubt," he said as he placed a large hand on Gin's shoulder. The young girl mumbled something unintelligible under her breath as she crossed her arms over her chest, visibly annoyed.
"It's good to see you, Yamashita-sensei," Sake greeted with a curt bow. Their teacher had tried to convince him to avoid being so polite - they were a team, after all. Sake had refused several times, claiming that it wouldn't be fitting of someone in his position to address someone of his rank so informally. Eventually, the Jounin gave up and let Sake do as he pleased. "Where's Sanae?" he asked.

A small girl with dark hair hanging over her eyes raised her meek hand. "I-I've been here for a while, sir," came a weak and quiet voice from behind Yamashita. Of course the girl had been there all along. Seriously, she needed to grow a pair. The poor kid would get eaten alive in Kumo, if that didn't happen along their way there. This would be a long trip, that was for sure. Not because of the company, however, though that did have something to do with it. Gin was far too excited and had been for several days. It was, after all, that time of the year again and the first chance she got to fully participate in its festivities and competitions.

Chuunin Exams.

She was ready and there was no one on earth that could tell her that she wasn't.


[1182]

Gin remembered the road to Kumo being painfully slow. It likely only took the team a few days to get there, but for the silver haired girl, it seemed more like an eternity. She sat on a tree branch above her sensei and Sanae as they worked together to light a fire and cook the dinner they had caught for the four of them. Sensei insisted that they didn't use up their food pill in case of an emergency. He was paranoid like that sometimes, but Gin didn't really fault him. He never talked about it, but he had probably seen more than enough of his fair share of blood and death. Gin frowned as she looked at the sky, the stars shining brightly above. "You can't really see them like this in Suna, can you? The stars, I mean." Gin was visibly startled, flinching backwards and almost losing her balance. Sake's voice came from right beside her, calm and rather happy. Gin knew that he had startled her on purpose and scowled at him for a second. "Don't give me that look. It's your fault I couldn't help myself," he said with a mischievous grin that he very rarely showed.

"Fine. And you can stay up here, but only if you're quiet," Gin said with a bit of a scoff. Sake simply nodded, staying true to his friend's request. Gin swung her legs in silence, looking down at her lap now. They stayed like that for a long moment, with the sounds of the wind caressing the leaves and the fire below them crackling lightly as the only things that could be heard. The light was dim, making it difficult to make out details in what the young Genin saw. Nevertheless, Sake's eyes ere fixed on the stars in the sky, she knew that much, even without turning to look at the boy. "You think we'll have to fight each other during the exams?" She asked, not tearing her eyes away from where they were now. Her fists clenched lightly. Sake didn't say a word. "Hey! I asked you something!" She insisted, shoving his shoulder.

"You told me to be quiet or else I'd have to leave," he answered as a matter of fact.
"Yeah, but not when I'm talking to you!" She said, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her gaze to the side with a "hmph." "Idiot," she muttered. She could hear Sake snicker under his breath.
"Is that why you've been scowling all night? Because you think we'll have to fight each other?" Sake asked, somehow managing to sound both serious and amused by the idea.
"I don't know, maybe... And I'm not scowling," she said. She took Sake's silence as a request for her to continue explaining. "We've been a team for over a year now... I just don't wanna see that fall apart because of some stupid system... I mean, we both know Sanae probably won't make it past the second round, so what then? And if we have to fight, that means one of us will get disqualified, doesn't it?" Gin sounded somewhat nervous and insecure, mostly because she wasn't used to talking about these things with anyone. Sake looked at her for a moment and began to laugh loudly, gripping his sides and everything. Gin looked confused for a moment before getting angry at the boy she called her best friend. "Hey! I was serious!"

Sake shook his head as he began to calm down. "Sorry, that probably came out wrong," he began before hesitating, probably debating in his head whether or not he should say what he was thinking. "You look cute when you worry," he said. Gin's eyes widened slightly at the unexpected compliment. Her cheeks turned a bright shade of red as she looked away to hide her expression. "You know, I-" but before he could finish that sentence, their sensei had called them both to dinner.

Gin never did find out what he had been about to say.

[1874]