Sparks of Change

Okay guys, sorry I haven’t updated this in sooo long! Having never seen the Chuunin exams, I had to search for information on it. I want this story to be as realistic as I’m able to make it, so here goes! With my little quirks of course! *big cheesy grin* Enjoy guys!


Sparks of Change
Chapter 3


Keitaro stared up at the gates to Konohagakure, impressed. All of his imaginings could never have prepared him for simply being there. Taking a deep breath, he brushed his bangs out of his eyes. Squaring his shoulders, he approached the gate cautiously, but with pride. A small smirk danced on his mouth and his eyes gleamed with humor.

The two shinobi at the gate didn’t know what to make of the teen approaching them. From his headband, they knew that he didn’t belong to Konoha, and yet they couldn’t refuse him passage if he had his pass.

“Pass?” The one on the left growled softly, glaring at the slight teen.

Without pausing, Keitaro reached into his hip pack and pulled out the pass Gashira had given him. Handing it over, he smirked in amusement at the serious perusal that it was getting.

“Is it in order?” He asked quietly, a knowing grin dancing on his lips.

“Yes. Please enjoy your stay in Konohagakure,” The Shinobi on the right answered monotonously.

“Please check in with the Hokage at your earliest convenience,” said the Shinobi on the left.

Keitaro nodded slightly and entered the gates of Konoha. From here on in, he’d be on unknown turf. Knowing that his ANBu guards wouldn’t be able to enter, he was slightly uneasy, however everything should be fine. If he needed them, he would find them.

Socsocsocsocsoc

Kakashi watched as Keitaro entered through the gates. He knew that the teen would have to go to the Hokage tower, so he watched and waited for the boy to leave the clearing. After the gates closed behind Keitaro, Kakashi jumped down and landed in front of the two Shinobi guarding the gate.

“Was everything in order?” He queried softly, enjoying the slight start that the guards gave.

“Yes sir, he is merely another Genin. The first from the Village hidden in clouds, but still,” The shinobi on the left shrugged, not knowing what else to say.


“Very good,” Kakashi remarked before entering the gates. With a slight nod to the two guards, he took off after his wayward charge.

“Now where could he be?” he murmured, before catching sight of the boy’s greenish-black hair.

“It looks as if he’s going to see the Hokage,” Kakashi muttered before following Keitaro through the village. Checking in with his Genin team would have to wait. This was far too interesting.

Spocspocspocspocspocspoc

Pausing in front of the Hokage tower, Keitaro took a deep breath. Straightening his shoulders, he pushed open the door and entered the Tower. Nodding slightly to the two ANBu who were guarding the steps, he moved towards the lady at the desk.

“May I help you?” She asked softly, dark eyes dancing with mirth.

“I need to see the Hokage,” Keitaro replied, bowing slightly.

“Do you have a visitor pass?” Shizune asked, looking down at the schedule book open on her desk.

“Yes,” he replied, handing over his visitor pass. As she read it, he couldn’t help the slight smirk that graced his features at the shocked look that passed over her face.

“Nii Keitaro son of the Sandaime Raikage, here to take the Chuunin exam,” Keitaro announced softly as Shizune looked at him in bemusement.

“Will the Hokage meet with me?” he queried gently, a soft smile on his face.

“Of course. Please, follow me,” Shizune jumped to her feet and approached the two ANBu guards at the foot of the stairs. “Please move, he has business with the Hokage,” She beseeched.

The two ANBu guards bowed slightly and stepped aside. Shizune led the way upstairs and bade the guard outside of the Hokage’s office to move.

Shizune paused before knocking on the door. Keitaro waited patiently, not knowing what to expect. He watched in slight amusement as she scowled before opening the door. Following her into the room he didn’t know what to expect, but he knew that it wasn’t the sight of a busty blonde woman pouring over a huge stack of paperwork.

“Tsunade, you have company,” Shizune drawled, brown eyes dancing with amusement at the yelp the Hokage gave.

Tsunade turned to the door and glared at her assistant before turning an appraising eye on the youth behind her. A smirk twisted her mouth as she took in the look of commiserating humor he gave her paperwork. Here was someone who knew the demons of paperwork personally.

“I am Tsunade, Godaime Hokage, and you might be?” She queried with a soft smirk.

“Nii Keitaro, Yondaime Raikage,” came the soft reply. Startled, her eyes flew to his and stared at him searchingly.

“Raikage? Then why are you here to take the Chuunin exams?” She demanded sharply, realizing at once that the boy was what he said he was.

With a grimace, Keitaro handed over a letter to the Hokage, even he didn’t know why he was here.

After reading through the letter, Tsunade let the page fall to her desk. Of all the things that shouldn’t have happened after the Uchiha Massacre, this was something she wasn’t prepared for. How could she let Keitaro know what had happened without breaking the truce between the lands hidden in the leaves and the lands hidden in the clouds?

“I see. Well you’re in luck Nii; we need another implant for the first part of the Chuunin exams. Since you passed your exam so easily, it would be in your best interest to go along with the retake. That way no one would be aware of your true status, and you’d be safe within the village,” Tsunade cajoled, hoping the young lord would accept.
“As you wish, my lady,” Keitaro swept a low bow to the Hokage before leaving the room. As soon as the door slid shut behind him, Tsunade dropped into her chair with a sigh of frustration. Burying her face in her hands, her shoulders shook with repressed emotion.

“What’s the matter Tsunade,” Shizune asked, looked down at her in shock.

“The boy is here to meet his fiancé,” came the muffled reply as she fought for control of her emotions.

“And who is his fiancé?” Shizune prodded as it became clear the Hokage was going to say no more on the subject.

“Itachi Uchiha,” Kakashi responded from the window. Both women whirled around and glared at the smiling Jounin.

“Itachi?” Shizune screeched as that thought became clear. “That cute little boy is engaged to that murderer?”

“I’m afraid so,” Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temples. She just knew she had a migraine brewing.

“How did this happen?” Shizune demanded softly after realizing that Tsunade was going to say no more on the matter.

“At the end of the war with Cloud, the Kage’s of our villages decided that a truce was in order. To bind both villages to this truce, the Sandaime approached the Uchiha’s and the Hyuuga’s, as both were of equal rank within the village. The Hyuuga elder wanted nothing to do with the truce and forbade Hiashi and Hizashi from offering their firstborns to honor the truce. Little Hinata because she was heir to the Hyuuga’s, and Neji because he was already showing signs of being a prodigy. After hearing of the Hyuuga’s refusal, Fugaku Uchiha offered up Itachi as a possible match. Knowing that this position would finally put the Uchiha’s above the Hyuuga’s, he pursued this match feverously. And of course it came to pass, Little Itachi was affianced to Nii Keitaro, son of Nii Yuzuki, future Raikage of the Village hidden in the clouds,” Kakashi explained softly, his visible eye thoughtful.

“And now he’s here seeking Itachi?” Shizune asked in awe at the story she had just heard.

“So it seems. The question remains however, when do we tell him the truth? If he runs into Sasuke, it’ll be over before we know it,” Tsunade remarked, brow furrowed in thought.

“And Keitaro is powerful enough to break our alliance if he so chooses,” Kakashi stated, thinking back to Gashir.

“What do you mean? His mother is Raikage, right? So while he has some rank, he doesn’t have the right to break the alliance,” Shizune declared.

“Unfortunately, Nii Yuzuki was murdered by Orochimaru just a few weeks ago, right before Itachi approached us for help. By some trait, the village has claimed Keitaro as their Yondaime. He is their leader, however due to his young age he follows the advice of his teacher, Gashir. As far as I have been able to figure out, Keitaro is also a Bijuu. He seems to have control of it though,” Kakashi shrugged slightly.

“Well this is wonderful. Just keep an eye on him for now Kakashi, Sasuke and the rest of team 7 are on a C level mission with team Gai, therefore they should have no interaction with Keitaro until after we are able to explain the whole Itachi fiasco. The elders won’t talk to him because he’s a foreigner and as long as he stays away from the public records we should be okay. Shizune, I’m afraid I’m going to need you to help prepare a statement for Keitaro. We need to give him most of the facts without betraying ourselves, so stick close to the truth and embellish it if you need too. We will tell him tomorrow,” Tsunade decided with a sigh.

“As you wish,” Shizune bowed slightly and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

“She is a godsend,” Tsunade remarked through her hands as she buried her face once more.

“That she is. Now please tell me you didn’t team up my team with team Gai? If they come back wearing green spandex with shiny bowl cuts, I’ll never forgive you,” Kakashi declared passionately at the thought of Naruto and Sasuke dressed in green spandex like his “rival”.

“I’m afraid so, but it’s a simple mission and they should be back in three days. No harm, no foul, right Kakashi? Besides Gai and his students will be good for your Genins. By the time they get back you should be able to decide whether or not your going to enter them in the Chuunin exams,” Tsunade cajoled softly at the evil look Kakashi was shooting her.

“I’ve already decided to enter them,” was all he replied before disappearing through the open window.

“Of course you did,” Tsunade smirked slightly, “care to bet on it?”

spocspocspocspoc

Keitaro wandered through the busy streets of Konoha aimlessly. The people of the village nodded politely and seemed charmed by his sheepish grin. Unbeknownst to Keitaro, the girls of the village had flocked to the square to get a glimpse of the foreigner. By the time he made it to the end of the street, his very own fan club was following in his wake.

Life in Konoha was about to get very interesting.


TBC

Okay guys I hope you enjoyed chapter 3, I don’t even want to think of all the research I’ve had to do for this story. My brain hurts, lol.

I’m going to work on Chapter 4 in the morning, here’s hoping it won’t take as long to get out!


Again, sorry for the delay guys!

Later!
Christy
SSDD