I couldn't believe I had lost my match, I muttered to myself as I sat on the hospital bed. The doctor had patched me up from my last fight against the Yagatsuki girl. My hair was the bane of my existence, yet that was no excuse for a future matriarch of the Kōga. I had lost in a fight and thus had dishonored myself and my clan's name. Had this been in a real battle and war, the level of dishonor would've required me to die in order to restore my honor. That was one thing I could say I was happy about in this defeat. Losing in a competition would be somewhat acceptable, but I would still feel shame.

I nodded her head at the doctor's words though I paid him no mind, still too wrapped up in my grief to care. He let me go, relieving me from the prison-like hospital. I felt fine, of course that was due to the staff's amazing medical ninjutsu, something the Kōga clan wasn't very accustomed too. Pushing off the bed, I started to head down a hallway as a nurse pointed me in the direction of the exit. Slowly I strolled, my thoughts returning to all of my various experiences from the Chuunin Exams. I had killed wolves, defeated a Kiri-nin, and then was defeated myself by an Iwa-nin. I didn't really care for checking out the rest of the Exam matches. Watching would only sting my heart more. Continuing my walk, I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't realize I was letting my expressions to flow freely, being painfully obvious to passerby of my emotions.

“Hey. . .This might seem weird. But for some reason I felt compel to talk to you. Soo. . .”

The dark-haired man caught me off guard, my thoughts on my match halted for a moment. I seemed to stand there for a bit, just looking at the man who had approached me. He was much taller than me and I found myself staring up at his chartreuse green eyes. They were so green that for a moment I seemed to be captivated by them. It had taken me several seconds to realize I was staring, dumbfounded, into the man's eyes. "Uh--hello, um..." I wasn't really sure what to say, probably one of the first times in my life. Taking a quick gulp to help me refocus, I tried again. "Hello, thank you for coming up to me, but really, I must be going."

Maybe I had been hit in the head, or it was my own Explosion Seal that had knocked me off a little, but I didn't feel completely like myself. A nice nap would do me good, maybe then I would be thinking better. Or it could be that I was so depressed about my recent defeat. Either way, I knew I shouldn't stay long, I wasn't keeping a tight reign over my emotions. Up to now I had been letting my facial expressions show how I was feeling, something a Kōga should never do. I started to walk past the tall, dark-haired and handsome man, heading towards the Hospital main lobby doors.

The man kept walking with me, ignoring my first remark. What did he want? Why was he coming up to me? I wasn’t really in the best shape emotionally to stop and have idle chit chat with total strangers. No matter how handsome.

“My name is Taigen Kichirou.” He paused, as if waiting for something. All I knew was that he had been in the Chuunin Exams. I didn’t really pay too much attention to all of the matches, only watching those that had those that I would end up facing. “I saw your matches in the chuunin exams. I'm truly impressed with the skill you showed. You must be proud of your accomplishments.”

His words stung my heart. He seemed sincere, but how could he be? I had failed, and fought horribly. “The only thing I showed about my skills was that I was lacking, and you must be a fool to not realize that.” I kept walking, now nearing the door. Here I was talking to a ninja from another village, being complimented on my failure. He must really be quite the jerk, most likely he benefitted from my defeat in the Exams. Just because he was cute didn’t make up for his insensitive remarks. Still, his face showed sincerety, but it just didn’t make sense. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you really mean what you say. If you had truly watched my matches, you would know of the dishonor I have shamed myself with.”

“The only fool I see is you for believing otherwise. Yes, I watched your fights. Yes, I saw when you lost. But do I think your skills were lacking? No, you fought with everything you had and left everything out there on the arena floor. You should be proud of your accomplishments, many weren't that lucky to make it as far as you did. Some ain't even lucky to be alive.” He said, keeping stride with her perfectly, gather his thoughts together.


“I’m sorry, but I don’t think you really mean what you say. If you had truly watched my matches, you would know of the dishonor I have shamed myself with.”

We walked outside, Kichirou stepped ahead of me, opening the door for me.  Stepping outside, a quick breeze blew my hair back and I squinted as the sunlight hit my face.  He was quite persistent and deep down I knew he was making a good point.  I stopped, wanting to hear what else he had to say.

“So you from a clan, eh?  I don't understand shinobis or clans. They put so much pressure on themselves or the younger generations, that when the individual fail at something they have the foolish notions that they dishonored themselves or the clan. Yeah, you fail, so what? Life keeps on going. You can either mop in a depressive funk and think about the 'what ifs' or you can use this failure as a learning point to improve yourself. Clans and shinobis in general are stupid in that regard. You should only feel shame, when you don't learn from failing. . .”

I shook my head slowly at his words.  He seemed to truly not understand the way shinobi clans work and yet he was one of them.  "You're right when you say you don't understand shinobi or clans, though that makes me wonder why you are a shinobi yourself, without even knowing what being a shinobi means." I looked at his eyes now, his words had helped me better understand the meaning of being a shinobi myself.  "A shinobi's honor is everything, it is something we grow and cultivate with our actions.  I dishonored myself by losing and you may be right that I should be proud to have made it this far, but I am Suzume, heir to the Kōga clan head.  Losing in the second round of the exams wouldn't have been such a dishonor to others, but I must be the strongest so I can take on the full responsibility of leading my clan."

My head was starting to clear up and my thoughts flowed smoothly.  It was refreshing to be outside again.  "Everyone makes mistakes, I know this all too well, but it is because we want to keep our honor, to grow it and make it better that makes us stronger.  We take our hits and losses, and at times we must accept our dishonor.  This urges us forward, to improve so that we can restore our honor to its former glory and then surpass it.  That is what a shinobi is and that is who I am."

I stood confident before the dark haired man.  My mood had completely changed from my little speech.  It had been just what I needed to pick myself back up.  Looking up into the man's green eyes, I couldn't help but feel happier with myself.  Not only had I defended well my clan and the way of the shinobi, but I had taught myself a lesson.  Just when I thought I was at my lowest, I realized something inside me that had been there all along.  My will and testimony as a ninja.  After saying all of this, I knew more about myself as a kunoichi, and I realized that it was because this man, Taigen Kichirou, had stopped to talk with me.

"Taigen-san, I thank you for coming up to me," I said, bowing slightly in gratitude.  "You've helped me regain my honor.  It would be my pleasure to eat with you."  I let a smile come across my face, this was a sign of trust as a Kōga didn't reveal their emotions at all.  I had personally never seen anyone besides my father and mother smile.  Even my life sensei, Daisuke-sama, had never cracked his emotionless shield before me.  I let the smile fade quickly, only letting it show for a second before going back into my own emotionless face.  I wanted to show Taigen-san just how grateful I was for our little talk.  Though I had at first only wanted him to leave me alone, now I was glad he had been persistent in talking with me.

“Please call me Kichirou. I'm not all into formalities.  Well I heard that Dragon's tongue has some of the best curry in the Elemental Nations. Is that good with you?" I blinked at his request for me to drop the formalities.  Did this mean he wanted to be good friends?  After just our first conversation, I was quite happy to be friends with Kichirou, to be honest.  He may be from Konoha, but the Leaf and the Sand have been longstanding allies, so this must be what happens between two friendly villages.

"Yes, Dragon's Tongue has excellent curry from what I've heard, too.  I haven't eaten there yet, but I'm definitely willing to try it."  We began to walk away from the hospital.  The day had really picked itself up and I felt much better about myself.  Kichirou must be a fine man to go out of his way to help out a random stranger.

"It's nice to meet you Suzume,” he said as we walked.  I noticed he didn't use formalities, but he had said he didn't like to use them.  It would take some getting used to, but I did want to enjoy a friend.  I hadn't a single friend outside of my clan to this point I realized as we walked.  Maybe this was a sign of things to come.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Kichirou."