In a Spring garden

In the colored shadow

Of peach blossoms

A girl stands

On a white path

- Otomo No Yakamochi

The Hanako Garden seemed still as the quiet, demure young girl walked through, looking the absolute epitomy of a fashionable and presentable woman. She walked forward assuredly, her head slightly looking down, covered in the shadow of her parasol. She wore a many-flowered kimono and red sandals, her toenails painted red.

Today was the day, right?

She was to report to the academy right away as thestudents were about to learn of their fates. Some would take the next step to becoming a traveling ninja, or chuunin. Some wouldn't even be accepted as a genin, leaving behind a Konoha forehead protector, or waiting another year. Most never tried again.

"Rira!" a rough voice called her from the doors leading out of the garden and into the Hanako household. Rira opened her radiant brown eyes to see her twin sisiter - well, they both used to favor each other.

Standing opposite her at the doorway was a girl with short black hair that used to be long like Rira's. She even used to wear a flower in her hair, like Rira. That was no more, as she traded in her formal attire for a loose fitting sleeveless black shirt with charcol shorts and bandages on her ankles. Her way of dressing had changed ever since she met up with a similar girl...

Both of the Hanako girls were sent to fetch some cooking supplies, and they came upon a fight happening near the shop they were to enter. Now, they assumed it was between to young men, probably trying to exercise their shinobi skills. Rira continued her path into the shop, while Ran traveled to the commotion. What she saw surprised her.

There were two girls her age standing opposite two males who looked to be at least teenagers, possibly past that stage. Of the two girls, one had purple hair and wore a black tank top with a pair of black shorts and black sandals - and a wicked smile on her face. The other one looked more worried than anything, almost seeming to hide in her oversized grey jacket and blue capris and moved her toes in her blue sandalds. The crowd didn't seem to notice the extreme difference, but stood there, having a premonition of their own. Ran herself couldn't shake it either.

Something special was about to -

"Rira, we haven't been late yet. Let's not start now!" Ran shouted, turning and running out of the house. They both used to walk to the academy together. Of course, that was when they both looked alike.

Of course now, Ran began to favor the other girl more. Her name was...

- - -

"R-Ren," the tiny voice called as the girl withthe oversized jacketstood in front of the Saki household. She stood back as she heard a few footsteps from the other side.

"Anadoru!" the door was kicked open and out leapt a purple-haired girl wearing a black tank top with charcol colored shorts with fishnets as well. This was the first time the girl with the tiny voice had seen her wear fishnets. she usually wore bandages on her legs.

"Finally! I get to see who I team up with!" she tussled Anadoru's yellow hair. "Come on, Ana!"

The purple haired girl took off running, with Anadoru behind, trying to keep a bead on the Saki as she pushed her way through the village.

She arrived at the door to see the path of destruction - a few skinned knees, some students lifting themselves off the ground, and others talking about the "purple-haired freak" that rushed through. Anadoru could only muster a sigh as she walked into the classroom and located Ren. Well, her voice for that matter. She was loudly talking with a captive listener. Anadoru sat as close as she could, as most of the seats in the back of the classroom were taken. She found herself sitting behind a boy who sat silently, looking forward, expecting the board itself to talk. He wore a gray shirt, but he looked similar to a boy that she'd seen before.

She shook the feeling, hoping that Kanaibu-sensei would show up. He was actually a pretty good teacher. She only thought this because Ren actually paid attention when he spoke. Of course, it could be because Ren wanted to pass so she could beat everyone up - with theauthority of Konoha. Anadoru watched the door impatiently, involuntarily hearing Ren chatting. She perked upas she sensed someone outside the door - but it was only the Hanako sisters.

First in was Rira, whom just about every boy in class seemed to fawn over. She was almost too feminine to become a shinobi, Anadoru thought. Behind her came Ran, who absolutely fell in love with Ren after witnessing her defeating two young men. Out of all the faces Anadoru saw that day, she remembered the awestruck look pasted on Ran's face. Ever since then, Ran wanted to hang out with Ren, talk with her - pretty much be the sister she never had. Anadoru wasn't the type of person to step in, and it felt good to see Ren having someone who wasn't afraid of her.

As Anadoru reminisced, a tall, blonde-haired man walked in, holding a stack of papers. He was dressed in jounin garb, and had bandages around his wrists. He looked out at the class this year. Not bad actually, he thought. There were some very, very promising candidates that even the Hokage couldn't help but notice. The top genin that really had the higher ranking shinobi talking was Tsurugi Inazuma, a younger member of the Tsurugi clan, or Clan of the Sword. Another was a young woman with almost supernatural senses. She showed dedication by taking up her father's trainingand completely covering her eyes, forcing her other senses to become sharper. She hadn't taken off her mask ever since, only exposing her nose and mouth.

But right now, that wasn't the assignment that was given to Toma Kanaibu. He was to read the list of teams, and make sure the right genin went where they should. He cleared his throatand thankfully, he only had to this once - and started the class. The silence told him all he needed to know.

The students knew just how important today was.