"Did you hear? Someone from the Land of Iron is coming to Konoha, and I hear they're a samurai!"

"Really? I almost forgot that samurai were still around. And why would they be coming here?"

"I think I heard that it's part of a deal. Maybe they need our help fighting off an enemy?"

"Makes sense, their numbers are so small, I don't think I've ever even seen a samurai!"

"Well I'm sure it'll be interesting. Oh and apparently they're sending a kid. Isn't that a little insulting? Couldn't they give us a general or something? At least someone important."

"You never know; it could be the kid of a commander or an aristocrat. I doubt we'd make a deal with them if we didn't think it was a fair trade."

"Hmm, you're probably right. We'll just have to see how things go."

"The samurai representative will arrive today, yes?" Sarutobi asked, blowing out a puff of smoke.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I have already prepared the welcoming ceremony; everyone you have requested will be present." A masked man stated as he kneeled in front of the large wooden desk.

"Perfect. Please notify the rest of the anbu to help keep spectators at a distance. I can already tell there's going to be a crowd." The older man sighed and set down his pipe. He glanced out the window behind him.

"Of course, Hokage-sama. The guest will be sent to the designated living location after briefing." The anbu, head still bowed, said calmly.

"Good, good. You're dismissed." Sarutobi waved a hand and the man disappeared.

A crowd had gathered around the village gate, the one where the samurai 'diplomat' would be arriving in just a few moments. A wall of fully equipped anbu were the only thing separating the excited citizens from the anxious reception counsel.

"Who do you think it'll be?"

"I hope it's someone important!"

"I think it'll be one of their best samurai!"

"I bet they'll be coming with a dozen bodyguards behind them!"

"Is what they say about samurai true? Are the really that fast?"

"Do you think we'll get to see a battle or something?"

Thud

The noise immediately silenced the nervous chatter, causing everyone turned towards the opening gate. It seemed to move in slow motion as the people craned their necks to try to get a look at who this mysterious foreigner was. Stepping through the enormous gates, the person's features where revealed at last.

Brown hair.

Brown eyes.

Dirtied yukata.

And most importantly,

A child.

"So they really did send us a kid."

"Are you sure that's even the right person? Just seems like a lost brat to me."

"Doesn't really look like a samurai, does she..."

"Honestly, did we agree to exchange military support for this kid?!"

The reactions among the citizens ranged from puzzled to furious, and those among the designated receiving party were no better.

"Who is this street rat?"

"How dare the Land of Iron show such disrespect!"

"...is this the right person?"

The girl, no older that fourteen, seemed unfazed at the whispering among the spectators. She took a step forward and faced the one who seemed to be the leader of the adults in front of her.

"My name is Shiromori Mutsuko, devoted samurai of the Land of Iron. I have been chosen by both your leader and mine to come to this great village of Konohagakure. It's an honor to meet you." She bowed respectfully. The man, who had quickly regained his composure, promptly returned the motion.

"We welcome you to our village, Shiromori-san. I have no doubt you will find it to be quite different from your home, but rest assured it will meet your expectations. Please, follow me. We have already prepared a residence for you." He turned and nodded to the people with him, they immediately formed a circle around the girl and, with the help of the anbu guards, effectively created a barrier between her and the rowdy citizens.

As the group approached a large apartment complex near the heart of the village, the man from before spoke up again.

"For the duration of your stay in Konoha, you will be living here. It is very close to the Conference Halls and Hokage Tower so access to those will not be an issue." He explained.

"I didn't think I would be staying in an apartment. I've never had one before." Mutsuko thought aloud, gazing up at the towering building. The man looked back at her.

"My apologies for not being clear enough, you will be staying in that building over there." He pointed at a shiny black building a distance behind the apartments. "That is the residence used to house foreign leaders who come to Konoha, we could not allow a diplomat of your great country to live in just any home." He stated. Mutsuko blinked and sighed internally.

'But the other one's taller...'

The group stopped when they reached the base of the slick black building. It seemed to be at least five stories high and was in pristine condition, much like the other buildings in the village.

"We have arrived. Solai, please show Shiromori-san to her room." A woman from inside the building opened the door and nodded for Mutsuko to follow her. Before she stepped into the building, the man spoke once more. "Tomorrow we will explain your schedule and training regimen. Please enjoy the rest of your day." And with that, the seven men disappeared to who knows where.

"Shiromori-san." The woman named Solai gestured for her to come. The two walked down the hall and up three flights of stairs, eventually arriving in front of an average looking black metal door. "This will be your temporary residence and here are the keys you will need. Please notify any of the staff if there is any problem." She handed a keyring to Mutsuko and excused herself, quickly disappearing around the corner. Mutsuko blinked at the keys in her hand. There were only four in total. Taking the largest and most important looking one, she tried fitting it in the keyhole and twisted left.

Click

She had some trouble pushing open the heavy door but managed to slip inside just before it closed on her.

Walking around the first room, it appeared to be a dining room connected with a lounge area. Next to that was a large, shiny kitchen along with a few chairs around a square, wooden table. After that, the only room remaining was the bedroom. It was larger than any she's ever seen before, it was almost as big as the dining room and had an attached bathroom that was still bigger than her room back home.

Though everything was pristine and beautiful, Mutsuko couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable. A new home in a new village in a new country. Things were already so different. Besides, she didn't really feel safe without her weapons and armor, but they wouldn't be getting here any time soon.

'Couldn't someone else have come?' She sighed. She didn't want to let her skills go rusty because of this task she'd been forced into. 'What do they mean by 'training' anyways? Are they going to try and teach me their techniques? I swear if old man Mifune agreed to that...' She frowned and let out a sigh. 'At least they'll be sending letters. I've got a lot to say to him.' She huffed. Just then, a lloud growl from her stomach alerted her to a more pressing problem.

"Good thing I remembered to bring money, now to find a place to exchange it for Konoha's currency..."

After cleaning herself up as much as possible, Mutsuko was able to exchange some mon, the currency of her home country, for ryo, the currency of Konoha. The abnormal shape of the coins intrigued her. What an odd thing.

"Hey!" A voice called from behind her. "Hey! You're that girl from the Land of Iron right? Go back to your country! We don't want a samurai here!" It was a boy who seemed to be around her age. He wore a gray jacket and had red streaks on both sides of his face. A small dog stood by his side.

"Kiba! Don't say that, it's not nice!" A blue haired girl ran up to him and tugged at his sleeve.

"Hinata, you can't say that it's safe for a samurai kid to be in a shinobi village, right? We don't know who she is!" The boy exclaimed.

"Kiba. Shut it." Another boy approached the two, he wore dark glasses and the lower half of his face was obscured by his wide collar. He glanced at Mutsuko before pulling his friend away.

"Hey! Let me go!"

Mutsuko blinked, puzzled at what she had heard.

'What a strange place... what strange people... I should probably get some food now.'

"Why does it have to be so heavy?" Mutsuko wheezed, awkwardly plopping the overflowing bags onto the kitchen floor. A series of loud thumps were heard as she narrowly avoided a foot injury. Some people say carrying four bags of groceries at once is bad for your shoulders, Mutsuko says two trips is for quitters. "Well this is gonna take all night to organize..." She frowned at the intimidatingly full bags. "Alright! Let's get to it." After opening every single cabinet in the kitchen, she began the long arduous process of trying to organize everything: bags of bread squished together on the countertop, cartons of milk laying in the fridge, ramen cups stuffed in the cabinet under the sink. She tried to make things neat for the first hour but soon realized that was taking far too long, eventually settling for tossing whatever she could into whichever cabinet still had space. In the end, cardboard boxes lay limply on the wooden table and plastic wrap littered one corner of the kitchen.

"I think I did pretty well." Mutsuko dusted off her hands and stared proudly at the empty plastic bags on the floor. She turned to glance at the clock on the far wall: 7:00 PM. "It's pretty early, should I go for a walk? I haven't seen much of the village yet." She nodded to herself and grabbed a large black jacket: one of the only things she'd brought from home. Slipping it on, she stepped out the door and jumped over the railing, safely landing on the cobblestone road below. She looked to her left and right, eventually deciding to go left, and began walking.

'The evening here is so different. It would've been dark by now back home.' The soft orange light of the sun provided just the smallest bit of warmth, just enough to balance out the chill of the wind blowing by. Paying no mind to where sure was going, Mutsuko decided to follow wherever her feet took her. 'I wonder what kind of training I'll be getting here. How's that going to go anyways? There's no way we have the same training techniques and they couldn't possibly know anything about samurai discipline.' 'Why did I get the oh-so-high honor of having to live in a ninja village? The Senate really should have chosen an adult to come here, wouldn't that make more sense?' 'Oh, aren't I supposed to meet the village leader at some point? I think Okisuke-san mentioned something about that. Hm... what's the name again? Ho-ka-ge? A little cheesy if you ask me...'

"Excuse me." A sudden voice startled her and she whipped around to face the stranger. It was a boy, maybe a few years older than her. He had dark raven hair tied back in a ponytail and looked like the dictionary definition of a shinobi: a thick, protective gray vest, a shiny forehead protector, and a small bag strapped to his leg which, based on the books she'd read on ninja equipment, more than likely contained various weapons and supplies. Under his vest he wore a dull blue shirt with a wide, raised collar and on his back was a sword: the first thing she'd noticed when looking at him. "Excuse me." The boy repeated, snapping her out of her trance, "This is a private courtyard, you can't be here." Mutsuko blinked, it took her a second to fully realize what he had just said.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to trespass!" She lowered her head and bowed profusely. "I'm really sorry, I'll leave now!" She bowed once more and hastily began to walk away. It only took a few steps before she realized... "Oh, um, which way are the Conference Halls?" She asked sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. The boy didn't seem too surprised at the question. He pointed to a cylindrical building in the distance.

"Head in that direction. You'll see the Halls when you reach that building." Mutsuko nodded and grinned apologetically.

"Ok, I'll be going now, thanks for your help!" She waved as she began running towards the small cylindrical tower. "And sorry for bothering you!"

Following the boy's directions, Mutsuko quickly reached the brick tower and immediately spotted the Conference Halls as well as the shiny black building where she now lived. 'Note to self: pay attention when inside an unfamiliar city.' She reached the base of her building and climbed the stairs to her room.

"Uf!" She plopped down on the bed and let out a sigh. 'What a day... at least I get an actual bed. Feels nice after sleeping on the forest floor for a month.' She laid there for another minute before pushing herself up and quickly changing into a simple gray shirt that fell just above her knees. Folding her old clothes, she placed them on the leather spinning chair next to her. Mutsuko jumped into bed, rolled over and flipped the sheets over her head. A loud sigh filled the silent room as she melted into the softness of the covers. She tightened the black strap on her stomach, making sure the small blade was firmly in its sheath, then flicked the lights off, plunging her world into a pit of darkness.

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! What do you think of Mutsuko's character so far? What do you think will happen next? Please leave your thoughts in a review and be on the lookout for the next chapter!