Ren ran into the classroom in a manner that didn't seem to be like her at all. Ren was usually a laid back person. She ignored the assigned homework and rarely finished her classwork. Although, when it came to battle, she was always focused and knew exactly what would result from her choice of action.
"Mika! Mika! Mika!" Ren yelled as she pushed her way through the crowds of people to get to her friends desk.
"Hey! Watch it!" Sakura and Ino yelled in unison.
As the words left their mouths, they turned on each other sharply, and began their usual name calling.
Coincidentally, Mika's seat happened to be near the very popular, and very handsome, Sasuke Uchiha.
Ren ignored the two girls and pushed her was through the rest of the Sasuke fan club. With one last shove, she reached her destination.
"Finally!" Ren Exclaimed in a loud, frustrated sigh.
"Oh, hey Ren. What's up?" Mika asked smiling.
Mika was a very kind and caring person. She became friends with almost anyone she met. When around her friends, she loved to talk, but when by herself she couldn't keep her head out of the clouds.
Ren grinned and sat on the edge of the table. "Guess what I just found out?" she asked tauntingly.
Mika looked at her friend quizzically. "What?"
"Well, I just found out that Hinata likes Naruto!" Ren exclaimed in a hushed, yet excited tone.
"Oh, I already knew that!"
"I know, but did you also know that Naruto can't make up his mind, and decide between Sakura and Hinata?" Ren asked raising an eyebrow to her friend, who seemed shocked at this new information.
"Oh, well, I knew Naruto liked Sakura, but . . . Hinata?! I never would have guessed!" Mika said surprised.
"Alright, class! That's enough. Take your seats." Iruka-sensei said in a demanding and gentle tone.
The class took their seats. Some people were still whispering across the classroom, which earned them another scolding lecture from their teacher.
Class went along quickly. Sakura was busy taking as many notes as she could, while Ino found it more interesting to pass notes and whisper to her friends. Sasuke remained in his ever present, stoic, and uncaring manner, but Naruto happened to be the complete opposite. Although he did make the class much more fun, he was quite a distraction to those who wanted to learn.
"Alright class, you are dismissed, except you Naruto." Iruka-sensei said, annoyed.
Naruto let out a frustrated grunt, followed by many protests. The students rolled their eyes, and some shook their heads. This had happened so many times before that they were either used to it, and ignored it, or were very annoyed at his stupidity. Few students, however did feel sorry for him. Sure he was annoying, but he had feelings too, right?
Ren was half asleep with boredom when all this happened, and those thoughts seemed to go around in her head. Ren suddenly felt herself being shook rapidly. She groaned in annoyance.
'Get up! It's time to go!" Mika said loudly.
Ren responded by rolling over onto her side, facing away from her friend.
"Come on! We're going for our exams tomorrow! I thought you were going to help me train!" Mika said placing a hand on her hip and banging her other hand on the table. The sudden noise woke Ren up.
"Right, Right, I'm coming." she said sleepily.
Mika was still a little upset with her friends laziness, but she couldn't help but smile at her interest in battle.
The girls reached the training grounds only to find that they weren't the only ones to think of practicing for the exams. Most of their friends were there, including the genin from team Guy, who were separated slightly from the younger group.
Team Guy always used this location for training because of all the resources and its large area.
Mika spotted Hinata by herself, attempting to throw kunai, and hit a straw target in the shape of a body.
"Hinata! Mind if we join you!?" Mika shouted, waving to the girl.
Hinata smiled and made a visible nod. Mika and Ren walked over to her with smiling faces. Some of the boys seemed to be watching their every move, glaring at them for interrupting their practice. The girls just ignored their looks and continued on to meet their friend.
Ren glanced at the target, the looked over to Hinata.
"How long have you been practicing?" Mika asked, trying to get rid of the awkward silence that made its way into the cool afternoon air.
Mika and Hinata continued to talk about training and their progress. Ren observed the grounds with a blank expression, drifting in and out of the conversation.
"Ren? . . . Ren are you even listening?" Mika asked waving a hand in front of her face.
"Huh? I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Ren asked, dazed.
"Hinata just asked if you knew what happened to Naruto." Mika repeated.
"Oh, no. I'm sorry, Hinata, but I didn't hear what happened.' Ren said sincerely, then added 'Maybe he needs a tutor or a babysitter to keep him in control." Ren gave a wink to Hinata.
Hinata laughed nervously, but not much. It was evident that she was much more concerned about Naruto's well-being.
In the distance Neji made a wave with his hand signaling Hinata to follow.
"Oh, um, I'm sorry, but I've got to go now. I'll see you later." Hinata said quietly.
"Oh, okay bye." Ren said.
"Bye." Mika said.
Hinata rushed off to her cousins side and followed him back to the Hyuuga manor.
The two girls began practicing throwing kunai, shuriken, and senbon at the target that Hinata was recently using.
The sun was setting and the moon was just rising in the sky. Ren sat down on the soft grass and crossed her arms over her chest, while Mika went to retrieve their weapons from the target.
"It's getting late, we should head back." Mika said looking back at her friend as she pulled two senbon from the edge of the target.
"Hm. . ." Ren mumbled.
"Come on, lets go." Mika said pulling Ren up to her feet.
The two walked home in silence.