Chapter 1 - The Chunin Exam

Late evening. The village hidden in the leaves was bustling more than usual for this time of night, all because of the upcoming festivities. Merchants, traders, and tourists from across the world had been pouring into the village for the past week. This was going to be the biggest Chunin Exam final since that fateful attack more than three years ago, and word of it had spread like wildfire through the land of fire and all of its allies. What was more, it would be the first Chunin Exam that represented three of the Great Shinobi Nations, with Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning joining in alliance with Konohagakure and Sunagakure.
For fifteen year old chunin, Hinata Hyuga, who only a month earlier had served as an assistant proctor during the first and second exams, the upcoming finals merely meant that all of the extra trouble would be over with, and Konoha would resume its normal, more peaceful routine. Ever since the teams had begun to arrive for the first exam, she and her friends had been busier than ever, for on top of their duties in relation with exams, they still had to perform missions for the village as well. She hoped that would all be over soon.
For now, Hinata was enjoying a short, three day break, her first in the past six weeks. As she had learned from her friend Kiba, who had received a break two days before her, she wore simple, common clothes. In this way, she avoided the constant questions and pestering that Kiba had received on his first day, from all of the visitors and traders who had no earthly idea what was going on or how to find anything. She had even used a jutsu to hide her grey, pupil-less eyes, so that no one would connect her with the famous Hyuga Clan of shinobi.
As she made her way through the market square, not one person took a second glance at her, or at least none suspected that she was a ninja. She walked past stall after stall of merchandise, erected by the traveling merchants that had come to sell their goods to such a large gathering of people. Some sold, clothing and exotic fabrics, some sold a wide variety of culinary goods and wares, and still others were tailored to the shinobi themselves, selling weapons and tools of many shapes and sizes. Even the owners of these last makeshift shops, who had trained their eyes to spot their elusive clients, gave no hint or sign of recognition. She was free to do as she pleased, unbothered by the tumultuous events of Konoha’s nightlife.

Her first objective was to locate a place to eat, something different from the norm in the Leaf Village. This search brought her to the northern end of the square , where one of the village parks had been virtually surrounded by a variety of temporary establishments, including a few outdoor restaurants, which were set up around large chuck wagons that held supplies. From her patrol duties around the village, she knew that this area was being used by the Kajihana Clan, a clan of traveling merchants native to the Land of Fire. They were a smaller clan but were relatively well known because they hand crafted most of their goods, and their craftsmanship and service were considered high quality. The aroma of fresh cooked food permeated the air around the park, unrivaled by any of the other establishments around the market.
As she approached one of the wagons and the tables set up around it, she observed that it was a sort of soup kitchen, similar to Ichiraku Ramen Bar, which she was familiar with. There was a women leaning over a large open cook fire, checking the contents of three individual cauldrons, and another women, only a few years older than Hinata, carried a tray of soup bowls to the waiting customers. The place looked rather busy, but the cook and waitress appeared unphased, as if this was common and they had much practice. When Hinata approached one of the tables, the young waitress, on her way to pick up more bowls of soup, spotted her and came over.
“Hello, my name is Izumi and I will be serving you this evening,” she introduced herself. Though it was a common introduction for a waitress, Hinata was surprised by how personable it sounded. “What soup would you like?”
“Um, what kinds do you have?” asked Hinata in her polite but decidedly shy voice.
“Oh, is this your first time here?” asked Izumi, a look of surprise in her eyes. When Hinata nodded in response, she quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were a new customer. Please, pardon me.” She bowed respectfully as she apologized, genuinely sorry for her mistake.
“Oh, it’s not a problem,” responded Hinata quickly.
“Well,” Izumi continued relieved, “this is the Kajihana Soup Café, run by myself and my mother, Mina.” She motioned with her arm toward the woman who was still hovering over the cook fire. “Our menu consists of only three items at a time but it changes from day to day. This evening we are serving Mango-Habanero Ramen with crisp green vegetables, Garlic Wonton Soup, and Butter Corn Chowder. Each is served in snack, meal, couple, and family sizes for here or to go, and comes with fortune cookies in relation to the size of the order. The prices are 5, 10, 15, and 20 ryo, respectively, regardless of variety. Do you need to know anything else?” Again the obviously well rehearsed speech left Hinata with the feeling that it was meant just for her, as if she were the first ever customer. She was momentarily taken aback by this.
“Oh no, that’s fine,” said Hinata, “thank you very much. I think I would like to try the Mango-Habanero Ramen, a meal size to go if that would be alright.”
“Not a problem at all,” said Izumi, a friendly smile covering her face, “that is one of our specials that my little brother came up with, and it’s actually a big hit. One meal size order coming right up.”

Twenty minutes later, Hinata had made her way to the Academy training grounds, well away from all of the hustle and bustle of the market square. She had paid the 10 ryo as Izumi handed her a beautifully wrapped, sealed bowl of hot soup. She had left with the soup in tow as she departed the park, and had gone straight there, to her favorite nighttime training spot. Once there, she had removed the embroidered napkin that had covered the bowl and set it and the single fortune cookie she had been given aside. Now, in the quiet of the dark training field, she enjoyed the sweet and spicy blend of noodles, juice, and vegetables that she felt rivaled even Ichiraku’s famous soups. Her plan was to finish her meal and then follow it up with an easy run and some light training, something she had been too busy to do for a long while.
As she finished her soup she reached for the napkin. It was finely crafted of durable cotton, with a beautiful red lotus, the Kajihana Clan symbol, embroidered in silk, as much a memento as a cleaning device. She used it carefully, intending to take it with her if she ever went back, and folded it before placing it in her tunic pocket. She then grabbed the fortune cookie and cracked it open. As was her habit, she ate the cookie before looking at the little slip of paper inside it.
When she did unfold it, it read:
The friends you meet and keep shape your life
Just as you shape theirs.
Take care in judging those you meet
As destiny may have plans for you and them.
Also included on the slip was another red lotus and the characters representing wind, change, and journey. She was surprised by the rather direct nature of the words, considering she knew fortunes to be rather enigmatic, and the nature of the three characters was also unfamiliar to her. The only part of it that she understood was the red lotus, a trademark of the Kajihana Clan, as the makers of the fortune cookie. Unable to interpret what it could all mean, she placed it in her pocket as well. Now she had another reason to go back tomorrow.
“Well, Hinata,” she said quietly to herself, “I guess now is as good a time as any to get started.”
She stood and took the now empty bowl and chopsticks and threw them in one of the field’s three trash cans before walking over to the dirt path that served as a jogging path for training shinobi. She wasn’t wearing her usual training outfit, but the simple tunic and trousers would be fine for what she wanted to do. She started with a few simple stretches and, to get in the mood for training, activated her byakugan.
Looking back towards the market square she could now see a very different Konoha. Through the trees, she could see a bright mass of swirling lights, the heat and energy radiating throughout the village, through every living thing in her nearly 360 degree field of view. She could see her fellow shinobi, with their chakra reserves far higher than any civilian’s, like bright spotlights through the glowing cityscape, many of them flitting about on patrols. But what caught her attention almost immediately was an equally bright spotlight behind her.

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