Please read the author's note at the end of this chapter :)

"Kohaku-oniisan…" the small boy whimpered. He clutched his older sister tightly, fear in his wide, brown eyes.

Kohaku swallowed against her throat, holding her brother close. They were completely surrounded by men all in black. They wore no headbands, like ninja did and they wore masks over their faces, telling the six-year-old girl they were not from Konoha.

"Hand over the boy, little girl," one of the men said, holding his hand out.

Kohaku clutched her brother tighter, her young face scrunched in fear and confusion. "No!"

The man who had spoken snapped his fingers. From behind Kohaku, a man snatched her brother.

"Riku!" Kohaku screamed, whirling around and reaching out for her brother.

"Kohaku!" Riku screamed in fear, thrashing around in his captor's arms.

"Settle down you little brat," the man said before pinching a nerve in Riku's neck. He immediately went silent and limp.

"Riku!" Kohaku screamed, tears pouring down her face before she felt something hit her neck. Her eyelids flickered shut and the world went black.

Kohaku's eyelids snapped open. A white ceiling came into view. Her heart was thumping in her chest and her bangs were sticking to her forehead from sweat. She turned her head to the left and her bedroom came into view. The furnishings were all made of white wood and the walls were painted a mint green.

"Kohaku!" there was a knock on the door before it opened, revealing her mother. "Kohaku, are you still not up? Asami's waiting for you."

Kohaku sighed, rubbing at her eyes. "Okay, Mom. I'll be right down."

Tossing the blankets from her form, Kohaku got to her feet. She wandered to her dresser, pulling out her clothes; a green t-shirt with her clan symbol stitched into the back (which was a star) and black cargo pants. Spotting the Konoha headband she had earned yesterday, she tied it around her neck. Once she had completed the rest of her cares, Kohaku made her way downstairs.

Asami was waiting for her in the kitchen. Kanna ,Kohaku's mother, had fed the girl breakfast. Asami's purple eyes lifted from her plate and to Kohaku as she entered the room. "It's about time; we're going to be late."

Kohaku's coffee-colored eyes glanced at the clock on the far wall. Kohaku waved her hand airily. "We have plenty of time. Now come on."

Asami thanked Kanna for the food and both girls made their way to the door, grabbing backpacks and slipping on their sandals. Kanna handed Kohaku her lunched, which Kohaku shoved into her backpack, before the two girls made their way to the academy.

Kohaku bounced up and down in her usual seat, the one in the top row next to the door. Asami glanced over at her friend, annoyed.

"Will you stop?" she hissed. "You're making me nervous."

"What's there to be nervous about? We're getting teams today!"

"Yeah...and what if we get stuck with someone we don't like?"

Kohaku's face paled as Haruno Sakura's face popped into her head.

"Exactly."

Color returned to Kohaku's face as she tried to wave off Asami's comment. "It'll be fine. Fate will shine down on me and I'll be put in a squad with you and Sasuke."

Asami wrinkled her nose. "No. I don't want to be put on a squad with Sasuke."

"Why?" Kohaku was clueless. Who wouldn't want to be put on a team with the best ninja (and hottest) in the class?

"Because I'm not obsessed with him. Plus I don't want to be constantly competing with that know-it-all," Asami crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. "Besides, you can't afford to be put on a squad with Sasuke. All the girls hate you from that stunt you pulled last week with him."

Kohaku shifted her eyes. "Oh yeah. But-"

But Kohaku was cut off by Iruka-sensei appearing in front of class and announcing the teams.

"Team seven: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke."

Both Naruto and Kohaku hung their heads in dismay while Sakura cheered. Asami shook her head with a smile on her face.

"Team eight: Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata and Aburame Shino."

"All the good people are being taken," Asami whispered to Kohaku.

Kohaku didn't respond. She was still upset by Sasuke being put in that lunatic's team.

"Team ten: Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akamichi Chouji."

"And finally, team eleven: Hirayama Asami, Hoshi Kohaku and Eto Haruka."

The two friends glanced at one another, pleased to be in each other's group. Then they glanced around the room, searching for Haruka. She was a fairly quiet girl, small for her age and thin as a rail. She had sandy blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail and bright green eyes. Neither Asami nor Kohaku knew much about this girl, but they supposed they'd find out about her.

"Now, we're going to break for lunch before you meet your jounin instructors. Why don't you eat lunch with your team members to get to know them?" Iruka-sensei suggested.

So team eleven did just that. Kohaku and Asami waited for everyone to exit the room until Haruka came dragging herself up the stairs to meet her new teammates. She looked so put together with her make-up, tight leggings and dress, but her moves were sluggish and tired-looking.

"So, Haruka," Asami said as the girls sat in Kohaku and Asami's favorite spot. "Tell us about yourself."

"What do you want to know?"

"I don't know," Kohaku shrugged. "What do you like to do? What kind of techniques do you use? That kind of stuff."

Haruka sat back in her seat, contemplating. Both Asami and Kohaku noticed she had not brought a lunch, though she looked like she could definitely use a sandwich. Twiddling her thumbs in her lap, Haruka answered. "Well, I like to dance and I use a lot of dance techniques in my fighting. I use a combination of speed and taijutsu. But I also have small throwing knives I can use."

Kohaku and Asami glanced at one another. This girl appeared to be too tired to move quickly and too little for the use of taijutsu. But hey, they had been surprised before.

"Well," said Asami, after the long awkward pause. "Sounds like our team will have a good balance. Kohaku is very good at ninjutsu and I'm pretty good at genjutsu, we'll be able to help each other out just fine!"

Kohaku grinned and nodded punching an enthusiastic fist into the air. "We're a good team! We'll be unstoppable!"

Haruko offered the other two a shy smiled, looking up at them through her long mascaraed lashes.

Kohaku turned to her meal, ready to eat when something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. A boy in a navy blue shirt was passing by the bench the three girls sat on.

"Hey, Sasuke," Kohaku greeted as the boy passed by.

Sasuke stopped, setting his onyx-shaded eyes on Kohaku. "Have you seen Naruto?"

"Naruto?" Kohaku's eyebrows crinkled in confusion. Why in the world would Sasuke be looking for that blockhead? "No. Why?"

Sasuke murmured something about 'killing him' and was on his way again. Kohaku shrugged, used to Sasuke's short conversations and dug into her bento.

"Are you friends with Sasuke?" Haruka asked, confused. She didn't know Mr. Antisocial had any friends.

"They're more like lovers," Asami said matter-of-factly.

Kohaku chocked on a piece of chicken. "We are not!"

"She wishes they were," Asami corrected herself.

Kohaku's face lit up like a red bulb.

"I didn't realize you were like the rest of the girls in our class," Haruka commented.

Asami sucked in a sharp take of breath and Kohaku's face contorted.

"Excuse me?" Kohaku glared.

Haruka was spared an answer and Asami was spared witnessing Haruka's death as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Asami and Kohaku packed away their empty lunch containers and the three teammates made their way back inside to meet their sensei.

'Great, three females' thought Kano Takeo. 'How'd I get stuck with this assignment?'

Takeo eyed the girls that sat before him in the grass. For their first meeting, Takeo had taken them to a large wooded forest with many trees rocks, and a river in the distance.

The girls were all pretty faces, which could be a good asset in the field. But if any of them grew fond of a boy, they were doomed. Girls were slaves to their emotions and could compromise missions.

The three girls glanced at one another, feeling odd under their teacher's gaze. He was tall, probably in his late twenties with shaggy, auburn hair and amber irises.

Takeo cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose we should get to know each other. You with the blue hair, you start."

"What do you want to know?" Asami asked.

Takeo shrugged. "What is your name? What do you like to do? What are your abilities?"

Asami glanced uncertainly at Kohaku before looking back at Takeo. "I'm Hirayama Asami and I like nature. My skills..." Asami looked to the sky in thought, she didn't like this question. "I'm protective," she finally said.

Takeo nodded slowly, sighing inwardly. She didn't sound much like a shinobi. "Okay, you with the brown hair."

"My name is Hoshi Kohaku. I like to practice with weapons. I'm good at ninjutsu, I guess."

Takeo closed his eyes momentarily. That didn't sound promising. "Next."

"I'm Eto Haruka. I like fashion. And I primarily use taijutsu and throwing knives."

Takeo nodded, seemingly bored. "Well, I'm Kano Takeo."

"...Is that it?" Kohaku raised an eyebrow.

Takeo raised an eyebrow right back. Had she just sassed him? He should have known. Women were always sassy. He hated sassy.

"Well," said Takeo, folding his arms across his chest. "I'd rather not share my information with everyone I come across. I don't just let anyone know about me."

"We're not "just anyone", though," said Asami, with air quotes. She looked at Kohaku and Haruka and then back at Takeo. "We're a team."

"For now," replied Takeo evenly. "Just because you passed the Academy exam, doesn't mean you're a real shinobi quite yet. Thus far, you failed the first part of the test."

"WHAT," Kohaku practically screeched, jumping to her feet. She pointed an accusing finger at Takeo. "What does that even mean?!"

"Kohaku…." Haruka started, in a nervous voice.

"Girls are so loud," muttered Takeo, rubbing the back of his neck. He sighed. He hoped for a team of boys, so he could really train them. Or at least two boys. Or at least one boy. But no. All girls for him. Thus far, he wasn't impressed, and he hoped for their sake, and his, the girls sitting before him would fail his test.

"Sensei," said Asami, seeing her distressed teammates. "You owe it to us to give us an explanation."

Takeo looked back at the girl with blue hair, raising an eyebrow. His first impression of her was an airhead who didn't care much about the shinobi arts, but her rationality surprised him.

"A good shinobi doesn't reveal their cards," said Takeo, "and you made that mistake by answering my question."

"But we're a team," Kohaku insisted, annoyed.

"For now," Takeo repeated. "But let's say you're on a mission. Sometimes the people you initially trust can stab you as soon as your back is turned. Even from your own village. You must be very careful about whom you share your information with. The three of you, with the exception of Asami, who didn't seem to understand the question as the rest of you, gave away all of your secrets. If we were enemies on the battlefield, I could kill you with ease, and not just because I'm stronger than you."

Asami frowned, feeling tendrils of anger begin to rise. Not only was her intelligence insulted, but her skills were also insulted in less than 30 seconds. There was no doubt about it-Takeo was a royal ass. Biting the inside of her cheek, Asami worked at keeping her emotions in check. "So there's another part to this ridiculous test of yours," said Asami, her purple eyes met Takeo's unwaveringly. "you said we failed the first part. What's the second part?"

Takeo chuckled for a good 15 seconds.

"I think he's insane," whispered Asami, to her two teammates. "I think he's cracked."

"Who the hell does he think he is," Kohaku fiercely whispered back, plopping back on the ground beside Asami. She didn't like this guy. Harkua simply nodded, looking at her teammates with wide eyes.

"Everyone take off your headbands," demanded Takeo.

The girls remained still.

"NOW!"

Asami glared at him before she carefully undid the knot at the back of her head, removing her headband from her forehead. Asami pulled her long braid over her shoulder and ran her hands through her bangs, fixing her mussed, wavy hair.

Kohaku did the same, taking her headband from her neck. Haruka did as well, taking her headband from her hair.

"Take a good look at your headbands," said Takeo.

Each girl looked at their headbands. Kohaku ran a finger across the metal plate, tracing the Leaf insignia.

In a blink of an eye, the headbands were snatched from their hands; they barely saw Takeo move. He had taken their three headbands and held them up in a fist, dangling in front of their faces.

"What-" Haruka started, so startled by his action, she spoke loudly enough to be heard.

"Until you pass my test, you are unfit to wear these headbands," said Takeo. "Meet me here tomorrow morning at dawn," said, removing a kunai from his pouch and throwing it blade first into the ground. "In my experience, women are always late, expecting the man to wait for them. Don't be late. I won't wait for you."

The sun was barely breaking over the trees as Haruka, Kohaku, and Asami regrouped where Takeo left the headband.

"Where is that arrogant basta-" Kohaku started in an angry and sleepy voice.

"Right on time," said Takeo, his voice clearly impressed. He sat above the girls, high in a tree, his back against a trunk and his legs stretched out in front of him. On a branch several feet below him, but still quite high up in the air, three headbands dangled, slightly swaying in the morning breeze. Takeo jumped down, landing with poise in front of the girls.

"Your goal today is simple," said Takeo, folding his arms across his chest. "Retrieve your headbands. You will only be able to take them from me if you have an intention to kill me. Also, I will be launching attacks against you as well. If you want this shinobi life, fight for it. Show me you want it more than anything else. You have until sunset. Failure to earn your headbands will result in being sent back to the Academy. Any questions?"

Asami looked up at her headband, dangling high in the air, taunting her. Her eyebrows furrowed. She wondered what her mom would say if she came back tonight as a failure. Worse, she wondered what Neji would say. She knew she could not lose, she had too many people counting on her to do well.

Kohaku's eyes were hard as stone. Failure was not an option. She had a goal to achieve and for that, she could not afford to be stuck in the academy.

Haruka stood rigidly still, her green eyes cast upon her headband. She had worked so hard to get to where she was now. Hours of training until her knuckles bled. She would not give her parents another reason to call her a failure.

"If there are no questions," Takeo's amber eyes searched each girl. "Then. Begin!" He jumped into the air and launched kunai at the girls. The girls had no choice but to be separated in order not to be hit.

Asami jumped and hid behind a tree, peeking at the spot where they once stood. He could have killed them! Asami's eyes narrowed, she wondered if indeed Takeo truly was insane.

While Asami hid behind a tree, Haruka crouched behind a bush. While those two girls chose to hide, Kohaku jumped out of range of kunai but still stood in the open, facing Takeo, who now stood in front of the headbands.

Takeo raised an eyebrow at the brunette. "Aren't you going to hide?"

"Nope, you're going to face me right here, right now," Kohaku said, standing tall.

Takeo watched the girl. "You're...an idiot. I will destroy you."

Kohaku sniffed. "I'd like to see you try."

Irritation sparked in Takeo. He was not known to be quick to anger, but something about this young girl got to him. She was so arrogant.

Haruka cursed, darting out from her hiding spot and over to Kohaku. She couldn't let her face this lunatic alone. Takeo was caught by surprise as Haruka's boldness. Well, they may be talentless but at least they were working as a talentless team, Takeo decided.

Asami debated going out to help, but in the end, decided against it. They might need back up and Asami might be able to use her hiding spot to get off a genjutsu. Internally she crushed Kohaku and her rash decisions.

Much to everyone's surprise, Kohaku reached into the pouch around her waist, withdrawing two smoke bombs. She threw them down in front of her, shrouding her and Haruka in smoke. Takeo's eyes narrowed. What was the purpose of this?

In the meantime, Kohaku had drawn Haruka close and was whispering in her ear. "Make a clone of yourself and then hide yourself. Your clone and I are going to lure Takeo-sensei away from the tree. Retrieve your headband and find Asami. I might need you guys as back up."

Haruka nodded, created a clone and dashed away to hide. Kohaku took in a breath of air. Look at her planning and such. Asami would be so proud.

Just as the smoke began to dissipate, Kohaku bolted to the left. Takeo figured this was some kind of trap, but he wanted to assess the girls' planning skills, so he followed Kohaku.

Once the clone, Kohaku and Takeo were out of sight, Haruka darted from her hiding spot and over to the tree. She had just about reached it when a Takeo clone stepped out from behind the tree. Haruka came to a stop, gritting her teeth.

"I figured you were up to something. Kohaku's not the planner of the group, is she? And you trusted her? That's a mistake that could very well get you killed," Takeo lectured.

Haruka's eyebrows furrowed together. What was with this guy? Why was he so condescending?

Takeo continued to lecture, but Haruka had given up listening. She liked Kohaku and Asami. She didn't know much about them, but they seemed dedicated to the art of the shinobi and she could tell they'd do anything for each other. It could very well be they'd do anything for Haruka too. Haruka needed to follow in their footsteps. Step one: get her headband.

Haruka slid into a fighting stance. Takeo smirked. "Ah yes, you're the taijutsu one, yes? How do you plan on beating me? You weigh half as less as you should. You'll probably fall and snap a bone in half."

Haruka's eyes darkened. With uncharacteristic rage, Haruka charged the clone. Punches flew from both opponents. When one threw a punch, the other countered. Unfortunately for Haruka, she was good, but she tired easily. Asami watched as Haruka's energy waned.

'That's my cue...'

Quiet as could be, Asami darted out of her hiding spot and behind the tree where Haruka and the Takeo clone fought. With practiced ease, Asami attached clear line to two kunais. One kunai she stuck into the tree trunk, the other she threw into the ground about a foot away, pulling the line taunt. Haruka kicked the Takeo clone backwards. He was about to catch himself, but his ankles caught the line instead. He fell backwards as Asami's feet. Without wasting time, the blue-haired girl plunged a kunai into the clone. It's eyes widened before it vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Haruka smiled over at Asami, panting.

Asami jerked her head upwards at their headbands. "Quick, let's grab ours and find Kohaku before Takeo-sensei kills her."

Meanwhile, with Kohaku, things were going less than swimmingly. She was completely surrounded by Takeo clones. Every time she destroyed several, more would appear.

"You do use ninjutsu with mediocre talent at your age," Takeo 'complimented' as he watched Kohaku fight off the clones. "But you suck at planning. You'll never escape if all you can do is fight and not think."

Kohaku was sweating profusely, her anger growing with each clone she destroyed. "I don't need to think, that's what I have Asami for."

Takeo snorted. "You're going to rely on someone else?"

"Yes," Kohaku exasperated. "That's why we're put on teams. You may see having partners as deadly, but I see it as practical. Not everyone's out to stab you in the back and the sooner you learn that, the better off you'll be."

Takeo was taken aback by the girl's outburst. Just then, two throwing knives landed in front of Takeo. His eyes narrowed at them until he realized that exploding tags were attached to them. He jumped back, just as they exploded, blinding him momentarily.

'He's in range,' Asami thought quickly. This was sloppy work for her; Asami always planned ahead.

Bringing her hands together she did a few quick hand seals. The thing about genjutsu was how long it took for it to take hold, but this distraction was all she needed. Immediately, her genjutsu took hold, it was a variation of the ones they learned in the Academy. Asami blinded her opponent, but Asami's version took away all of her opponent's senses momentarily-they could not see, hear, taste, feel, smell.

Takeo felt the tendrils of a genjutsu woven onto him. He felt his body slowly losing touch with reality, like ice being poured into his veins. It must have been the other quiet one-Asami. He was impressed by her knowledge, it took quite a bit of intelligence and control to perform such a feat, even if it still needed some work.

Takeo wondered what time it was. It felt like forever in the genjutsu. He didn't know which was was up or down, all he could do was picture himself biting his lip until it would hurt and hoped he wasn't outsmarted by a group of prepubescent girls. When Takeo released himself of the genjutsu, he peered up to find all three girls staring down at him, arms over their chests and smirking. All three were wearing their headbands.

Takeo was completely surprised. How? How had three young girls beaten his test?

"What was that about us failing your test?" Kohaku taunted smugly.

"Kohaku," Haruka sighed.

Asami noticed his lip bleeding. Stepping forth from her group she offered Takeo a hand so he could rise to his feet. He was a jerk, but she couldn't stay mad.

Warily, Takeo eyed Asami before taking her hand and rising to his feet, staring down at each of the girls in turn. Maybe he'd been wrong about them. Maybe they were stronger than he gave them credit for. Indeed, each girl possessed their own skill, but even more importantly, they understood each other, worked hard for each other and trusted each other. That could be a rare quality and only the best teams in Konoha possessed said qualities.

Takeo sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this but...you pass. Team eleven starts their first mission tomorrow."

"Yes!" Kohaku punched a fist into the air before pouncing on her female teammates, engulfing them in hugs.

"Kohaku," Asami whined before laughing and ducking out of the hug.

Takeo couldn't help but smirk at the team he had been given. He knew they were going to be trouble. If he had to guess, he'd say Kohaku was going to be the trouble-maker, Asami was going to be the one always getting her out of trouble and Haruka would have to be the peace keeper. He sighed. What had he signed up for? And he prayed that being their sensei didn't include sex education and talks about periods.

Hands behind her head, Kohaku made her way home. The sun was beginning to set into the earth, casting an orange hue across the quiet path Kohaku was taking home. She was lost in her thoughts when she suddenly sensed a presence next to her. She glanced over to find Sasuke walking beside her.

"Oh, Sasuke," Kohaku's hands flew to her hair, hoping it was in place.

"I heard your team passed your test today," Sasuke said, hands in his pockets, attention set forward.

Kohaku shook her bangs out of her eyes. "Of course."

Sasuke remained silent.

"What about your team?" Kohaku asked.

"We made it," Sasuke said simply.

Kohaku was used to his short answers and was happy any time he talked to her. The pair came to a stop outside of Kohaku's house. Kohaku tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "So…I guess I won't be seeing you much now, huh?"

Sasuke shrugged.

Kohaku rolled her eyes. "Good night, Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded and continued on his way home. Kohaku stared after him for a moment before turning around and headed inside.

History: This story comes from a historical series called the Adventures of Kohaku and Asami, compiled by yours truly and (formerly known as Ayashi8) a long time ago. Although the original chapters have been deleted, and myself have been working on the story. From there, we have each decided to write the stories behind our individual characters. You should go to her page and read her story, which is NejiXOC.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I also do not own Hirayama Asami; she belongs to . Takeo and Haruka belong to both of us. You may find that some of my story and 's story intertwine. Any scene that is the same has been written by the both of us.

Thanks for reading!