A/N: I'm back AGAIN! And with a New and IMPROVED Naruto story. :) This, unlike my stupid Christmas special, will...be good :) I've actually revised this from it's original form that was written between me and a friend...and I must say it's a CRAP load better. There is actual characterization, no first chapter romance. And You all WILL get to know the OC's before..well lets say before I get to their "chapters". I am a horrible person when it comes to my OC's so...please don't kill me but there is a reason why I do this to them xD. I know it's not EXACTLY like the Chunnin exams and I don't care, because well...I hated the Chunnin exams. I only started it here because it introduced Team Gai right away and it is crucial :), and you will know why as you begin to read.
I'd Like to thank my bestie, and my beta Kuki Salazar, and thank Plushies I got it right this time ^_^.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters but I do own Lina and Kisho, and partially Shibano, seeing as I just recreated her look's that's just about it, and my other bestie was the wonderful creater of her :)
So with out further ado, please enjoy. :).
Song: 7 Things by Miley.
Three figures walked along the hallways of the examination building, where they, as a team of gennin, will take their first exam to be qualified chunnin. The three twelve-year olds, the first a girl with long, brown hair in a ponytail accented by brown eyes; the second was a boy with purple, spiky hair and blue eyes; and last, but not least was a girl with long, bubblegum-pink hair and vibrant green-apple eyes. The twelve-year olds were searching for the room 301, but had no luck until they saw a group of fellow gennin. The bubblegum-pink haired girl looked at a door that the gennin of Team Seven was looking at. It's a genjutsu, she thought to herself as she narrowed her eyes.
"It's nothing more than a genjutsu...Sakura, you must have noticed it first, you do have the sharpest eyes on our team." Sasuke's cold voice spoke up, snapping Lina's gaze from the door to the Uchiha boy.
"I...did? Yeah! I knew it all along. The room number says 301 when this is only the second floor." Sakura stated smartly; Lina, Shibano and Kisho just rolled their eyes, knowing that Sakura was just going along with what Sasuke said.
"Pfft. I see you passed our test, but we're still not going to let rookies like you come in here...You're only rookies, fresh out of the academy. You kids don't belong here." Spoke a gennin. At the insult, Sasuke went to kick the gennin, as did Shibano. Lina's green eyes grew wide as she stopped Shibano, but didn't have the chance to stop Sasuke. Suddenly, a green flash came out of nowhere and stopped Sasuke from attacking the older ninja. Sasuke's eyes, along with his team and Lina's team, grew wide.
"Lee!" Called a cool, male voice; Lina looked from the green shinobi to the new voice. "What do you think you're doing? It was your idea to keep a low profile." A boy with long, coffee-bean hair and milky eyes accused. Hm...He makes me hungry. Lina thought as her mind conjured up a picture of cookies and milk.
"I know, but..." 'Lee' stated as he caught sight of Sakura. "Will you do the honors of going out on a date with me?" Lee asked nicely.
"No way! Look at those eyebrows! They're soooo bushy." Sakura rejected him harshly as she turned away from him. The look on his face caused Lina to feel sorry for him; she walked up to the dejected boy and tapped his shoulder. Lee blinked and turned around.
"Your name is Lee, no?" Lina smiled at him kindly. The bushy-browed teen looked at the bubblegum-pink haired girl with shock, but nodded his head nonetheless. "Then I, Lina Hawatye, will be gratefully honored if you went out on a date with me." Lina smiled largely, her words causing everyone, especially Sakura and Lee's teem, to go into shock. Lee blinked his eyes a few times, even pinching him self to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
"You-You want to go—?"
"Yes! I would." Lina smiled at him.
"Then I would happily accept your offer, Lina Hawatye!" Lee announced with glee.
"Although..." Lina spoke up.
"I knew there was a catch." Lee said to him self sadly.
"There's always a catch." Neji Hyuuga mumbled under his breath.
"We have one date, then we must become friends." Lina smiled even more largely. Lee sighed, but nodded nonetheless.
The rules were simple, don't cheat; if you get caught cheating you and your team are disqualified. The shinobi had one hour to complete the nine questions that were on the paper in front of them. Lina sighed as she looked towards the front of the room where her purple haired friend, Kisho, was seated on the right of Hinata Hyuuga. He didn't look good at all. She moved her green eyes to her other team mate, Shibano, who was seated beside Rock Lee.
The girl sighed as she looked at her paper. These are far too hard to even answer! And it seems that each question is harder than the previous one! How the heck am I supposed to answer these? Kisho and Shibano are the brains of the team. Lina thought to herself as she looked to see who was next to her, finding none other than the other Hyuuga boy, Hinata's cousin, and...he had his byakugan activated. Why is his—HE'S CHEATING! But we aren't supposed to cheat, unless...I get it now! As a ninja, one must be able to gain information with out being seen, or caught. I totally get it now. Lina smirked as she looked at the person in front of her, when it hit her: I've got no special techniques I could use! Ugh. Lina slammed her head against the desk. Beside her, Neji looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
Lina felt eyes on her so she opened one of her apple green eyes and saw the Hyuuga boy staring at her oddly. Her cheeks reddened as she sat up and laughed silently. The Hyuuga boy just turned back to his paper. Lina sighed as she began to doodle little drawings of people; one was of Rock Lee trying to give Sakura his love, another was of Naruto in a ramen bowl, and the third one was of Shibano running from Kisho, who was in a bumble bee costume. After the hour was finished, Ibiki told them it was time for the tenth and final question. He told them if they got it wrong, the person's whole team would fail and would not be able to take the chunnin exams ever again. Then Naruto, being the idiot that he was, raised his hand, but slammed it down on the table and began to rant about how giving up wasn't his way of the ninja, and that he will one day become the next hokage. Ibiki laughed and looked at them all seriously.
"You all..." There was a moment of silence. The tension in the room was thick, they were all on edge, waiting to find out if they had passed or failed. "Pass." Lina's eye twitched out of annoyance.
"You mean to tell us we went through all that brain killing work FOR NOTHING?" Lina grumbled. The pink haired girl heard a scoff from beside her, and she turned to the Hyuuga boy with her eyes brows frowning. "Something funny?"
"Just the fact that you would find something that simple 'brain killing work,' as you put it." The Hyuuga boy mocked her. That hit a nerve, and Lina glared at the boy. "I see I hit a nerve."
"You bet you did! I may be unintelligent but that doesn't make me stupid!" Lina growled.
"Sure it does, it's fates way of saying stop while your ahead before you get yourself killed." Neji told her coldly as Lina continued to glare at him, then suddenly somebody burst into the examination room. Out came a banner that read "Anko Mitarashi, Second Proctor, Pay Attention!"
"You're early again, Anko." Ibiki told her dully, but the odd, dark haired woman only smiled largely.
"Oh, am I really?" She chuckled. Ibiki sighed as Anko faced the gennin in the room. "Alright, listen up you maggots! My name's Anko Mitarashi, I'll be your second proctor for your second exam. The exam will begin tomorrow at noon, so meet me by the gates near the training grounds. Understood!" She ordered, and everyone nodded, or mumbled a yes. The first test was finished, and everyone began to leave the room; but with Lina's unfortunate luck, she wasn't looking where she was going because she was looking for Shibano and Kisho, she bumped into somebody. The person turned around and the green eyed girl looked up to apologize. The milky eyed boy glared at her, and she glared back.
"Watch where you're walking, Rookie." He spoke coolly at her as he turned around.
"Rookie! What the heck is THAT supposed to mean!" Lina yelled as she stomped after him.
"Simple, you are only a rookie, and therefore you won't last long in this event." Neji answered her as he continued to walk towards his team. Lina glared daggers at him.
"So you're saying that just because I'm a rookie, I am not capable of being a strong ninja!"
"That is exactly what I am saying. You have no skills in team work, and by the way looks of your body, you aren't very skilled in taijutsu. You probably rely on your ninjutsu and genjutsu abilities." Neji told her, turning to face her. Lina's face flushed red, not only from embarrassment, but from anger as well. When Neji noticed Lina had nothing else to say, he turned around again and walked towards Tenten and Rock Lee.
"Hey, Lina..." Kisho spoke up as he caught up to his bubblegum-pink haired friend.
"WHAT!" Lina snapped, glaring. Kisho jumped and took a step back. Shibano looked at her best friend strangely.
"Who made you angry this time?" Shibano asked dully.
"What makes you think I'm angry?" Lina shouted as Team Five walked out of the building. Shibano and Kisho sighed as they followed their angry friend.
"Lina..." Shibano started and Lina turned around, seeing her face. Lina sighed.
"That stupid Hyuuga."
"Hinata?"
"No! The other one! That...that thinks-he's-better-than-everyone-else-because-I'm-so-much-more-smarter-than-you-and-so-much-stronger-than-you-and-I-have-more-experience-as-a-ninja-than-you HYUUGA!" Lina shouted.
"Oooh, Hinata's cousin?" Kisho asked, clueless. Lina just glared at him.
"Seriously; how can such a sweet, kind, selfless girl be related to THAT?" She shouted as she pointed to Neji as he and his teammates walked by. He saw and over heard her, and glared at her. Rock Lee and Tenten looked between Hyuuga and Hawatye.
"Have we missed something?" Rock Lee asked, clueless. Lina turned to her date and glared at him. Lee just laughed nervously and hid behind Tenten. Neji 'hmph'ed and walked off. Lina glared at his back. Then Shibano started to laugh out of nowhere, causing all five of them to look at her.
"What's so funny?" Kisho asked.
"It's just...Lina likes Neji!" Shibano laughed, and Lina's eyes grew wide.
"What nonsense are you babbling on about!" Lina asked as her face grew crimson.
"Remember back about a year ago? When you 'hated' Kiba, but you just happened to like him a lot, and you hid it by picking on him, and always arguing with him?" Shibano continued to laugh and Lina glared.
"This is so NOT the same, Shibano!" Lina stated angrily. "I only just met the jerk."
"You didn't! Remember after you got over Kiba, and we were hanging out at Hinata's, and you bumped into him, and after you told me 'He's cuuuute'." Shibano imitated Lina in a girly, Sakura and Ino voice. "Then I disagreed, but then for two whole weeks after that, you continued to hang out at Hinata's house in hopes of see him, but then when you only saw him maybe a couple times. you gave up?" Shibano explained in a breath, but Lina just shook her head.
"I do not recall those events ever happening."
"Oh, but Lima-bean, they did." Shibano laughed, and Lina huffed and took a deep breath.
"Okay. Lee! Let's go!" Lina exclaimed cheerfully as she grabbed the boy's wrist and dragged him away. The green-jumpsuit-wearing teen looked at Tenten, Shibano and Kisho with a plea in his eyes, mouthing to them, "Help me!"
"Wasn't she just throwing a fit a second ago?" Tenten asked, confused.
"Yup." Kisho and Shibano said in unison. "That's Lina for you, she has major mood swings; you'll get used to it with time." Kisho laughed.
"So Lina, how close are you to your teammates?" Lee asked after taking a sip of tea.
"Very. The three of us have been inseparable since we were eight." Lina smiled, as did Rock Lee.
"That seems really nice."
"It is, I don't know what I'd do without one of them by my side, I guess I wouldn't be the same mentally or emotionally." Lina confessed. The two continued to talk until their food arrived.
I can't believe that guy! What did he mean by 'by the looks of your body'...Hey, wait! He was checking me out!
"That pervert!" Lina shouted suddenly as she slammed her hands on the table. Lee jumped and looked at the pink haired girl oddly—He, along with everyone else in the restaurant.
"Uh...Lina, who are you talking about?" Lee asked nervously. Lina blinked and looked at Lee, then blushed.
"Uh...heh heh. Sorry about that, I guess I was thinking out loud." Lina laughed out of embarrassment.
"So who is this pervert? I shall go and punish him!" Rock Lee asked nobly.
"Uh...Lee, there's no need for that. Really..."
"No! Tell me who it is!" Lee pestered on eagerly. Lina looked at him hesitantly, but sighed.
"It was…" Lee's face just grew in wonder. "Neji."
"What! Neji, checking out a girl? Haha!" Rock Lee laughed hard, then stopped to catch his breath. "Oh, that is too funny." Lina just glared at him. "What? It is! It's something, Un-Neji like."
"Well...I don't think it was a...degrading checking out."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean...he told me 'by the looks of your body, you aren't very skilled in taijutsu.'" Lina stated while trying to imitate a Neji like voice, but failing.
"Oh. He tends to check out people to see if they're worth his time to fight." Lee stated simply, but Lina's eyes grew wide in anger.
"THAT JERK!" Lina shouted in anger as she stood up and slammed down money on the table, paying for both her and Lee. She grabbed hold of Lee and she stormed out of the shop.
"Uh...Lina...?" Rock Lee started as they, well Lina, stomped down the dirt streets of Konoha.
"What Lee?"
"Where are we going?"
"Finding that jerk!"
"By the name 'jerk,' you're referring to Neji?"
"Yes."
"Oh...okay...I should warn you, Lina—" Lina grunted and stopped walking. Lee stopped suddenly as the pink haired girl turned around and looked at him with narrowed eyes filled with anger.
"What should you warn me about, Lee?"
"Don't over react...?"
"Too late for that!" Lina glared as she turned around and began to stomp off.
I have to find Neji before Lina does, because the way she looks right now, she could get herself killed. Lee thought as he ran off, finding his rival team mate. After a few minutes of searching, he found Neji with Tenten eating at the ramen bar near Naruto and Shibano. Lee stopped running and caught his breath for a moment. Naruto noticed Lee first and turned to him and greeted him eagerly.
"Hey Bushy-brows!" Neji, Tenten and Shibano—who were in a deep discussion on the latest weapons—turned to look at the green beast. Lee turned to Neji with worry, but not for him, for the person he was about to speak of. "Hey, what's wrong Bushy-brows?" Naruto asked.
"It's Lina..." Lee spoke, this caught Shibano's attention.
"What did you do?" Shibano glared at Lee.
"Me? No! She's on a rampage to find you!" Lee exclaimed, nodding toward Neji.
"Why is she looking for find me? What business do I have with that halfwit?" Neji asked boredly.
"What did you call me, Hyuuga?" Lina's voice came into his ears.
"Oh no, Neji, you might want to apologize for what you did earlier." Lee advised, but Neji ignored him. Shibano smirked, she was going to enjoy this deeply. Lina stomped up to them and glared at the milky eyed boy.
"I hate you." She stated with her voice filled with animosity. Shibano's eyes widened. That was something she's never heard come out of Lina's mouth. Sure, Shibano had heard her best friend say 'I hate you' to people, but it was a joking way, never had the pink haired girl ever said it and actually felt it. Shibano could see the hate in Lina's eyes; she could feel the hate seething off of Lina's body.
"Lima-bean," Shibano tried using their fun nicknames for each other in hopes of calming Lina down. "Don't you think you're over using that word on him? You don't hate people."
"But I hate him! You jerk! How can you just automatically assume someone's weak just by looking at them! First I thought you were just a straight up perverted teenager! But noooooo! You're just this huge jerk that thinks that everybody is weaker than you because they aren't strong in an area!"
"Hah, it's not that I don't think that, I know you're weak in Taijutsu. It's your destiny to be weak in that area." Neji started as he glared at her, "Like it was your parent's destiny to die."
Everyone's eyes widened. Tenten and Lee's widened just because what Neji said was out of line, but they also didn't know that Lina didn't have parents. Naruto and Shibano's eyes grew narrower as they glared at Neji. Lina looked at him with tears filling the corners of her eyes.
"So what? Destiny doesn't exist! They died a noble death, and there is nothing anybody could say otherwise, you butt face!" At Lina's 'insult' Neji's lips twitched. Inside he was laughing his pretty little face off.
"Butt face? Is that the best you can come up with?" Neji smirked in mockery, but Lina just continued to glare at him.
"Yes! Because cussing is bad thing!"
"Who says?"
"Shibano..."Lina mumbled. Neji scoffed, causing Lina stand on her toes so that she was eye level with the boy. "I bet I can find seven things I hate about you." Lina glared into his eyes as Neji glared back into hers.
"I bet I can find seven things I hate about you too." Neji challenged.
"You're...jerkish." Lina started.
"You're annoying."
"You're stupid."
"You're ignorant."
"You're too proud"
"You're too stubborn"
"You don't talk a lot."
"You talk too much."
"You're too Egotistical"
"You're too belligerent"
"You're too arrogant"
"You're too cantankerous"
"You're too much of a...a...butt head!"
"You're too much of a pain in the ass!" The two ninja's faces were so close that the slightest movement from either would cause their faces to collide, and that out come would've been obvious.
"Okay you two..."Tenten tried stepping in, but she was ignored as the two kept staring each other down.
"I wonder, if they stare hard enough at each other, will they subconsciously kiss?" Shibano thought out loud. Both Neji's and Lina eyes twitched at her comment. Lina stood back, her feet flat against the ground. She turned her back from them and began walking away. Everyone, minus Neji, just looked at the pinkette with confusion. Lina left with out saying a word.
"Uuuh, was it just me or did it get a little bit colder?" Naruto asked slightly scared.
"No, Naruto it wasn't just you, I felt it too...Oh, I'm gonna have a ear full tonight. Might as well get a head start on it now." Shibano sighed as she paid for her ramen she didn't even get to finish and ran after her friend.
The next day, Lina was still pretty ticked off. Kisho had kept bugging her earlier that day but that only made her even more mad, so Shibano filled Kisho in what he had missed at Ichiraku's Ramen yesterday.
"That...that bastard!" Kisho shouted out of anger. "How could he say those things!"
"Simple." Lina spoke up. "It was a challenge..."
"That still didn't give him the right to say that about your parents." Kisho glared at the dirt road as they met up with all the other gennin at the training place where Anko had told them to meet her.
"Alright maggots, this is the Forest of Death." Anko announced to everyone as she pointed to the forest behind her.
"What an original name..." Kisho stated sarcastically; Lina elbowed him in the gut, signaling him to shut the heck up.
"Right. Each of you will be given a scroll. One is an Earth scroll and one is a Heaven scroll. The idea of this test is to retrieve the other scroll." Anko explained as she held up a navy colored scroll with the symbol for earth and a white one with the symbol for heaven. "You have five days to retrieve the opposite scroll and check in at the tower in the center of the forest." Anko finished explaining as she pulled out a huge stack of paper and handed them to Naruto, "Pass these around." she ordered. When Lina got one she looked at it with confusion.
"What are these papers for?"
"These are for you to sign and turn back to me, and then you receive your scroll." Anko started, then answered Lina's question. "These contracts are for if you die in the forest, it won't be on me." She smirked, and Lina, Kisho and Shibano sweat dropped. They sighed and signed their contracts and headed towards the table to receive their scroll. The guy collected their contracts and another guy handed Lina a heaven scroll. The vibrant team headed towards gate five and stood there.
"So, if we meet up with that bastard—"
"Language, Kisho!" Shibano scolded him.
"I don't care! As I was saying, if we meet up with him I'll tear him to shreds!" Kisho glared at Neji as he and his team came walking in the same general direction as them. Lee turned towards Lina and waved cautiously with a kind smile on his face. Lina smiled at him and waved back. Neji turned to see who Rock Lee was waving at, and he locked eyes with Lina. Lina narrowed her eyes, as did Neji. Kisho and Shibano looked between them.
"Hey, does anyone have a coat? Because it just got cold over here!" Kisho exclaimed, then laughed with Shibano as she joined in. Lina's eye twitched as she punched Kisho and smacked Shibano's arm.
"Alright! Everyone has a scroll and turned in their paper work!" Anko started a few minutes later, she raising her arm as she shouted "The second task has begun!" The gates opened and all the ninja ran into the forest. After what seemed to be forever, Kisho, Shibano and Lina came to a stop thinking that one, they'd have to rest eventually; and two, they had to come up with a secret password. After debating, and Lina's constant arguing on the subject, the password was "Lina likes Neji." It was simple because they knew that if they were to encounter Lina, she'd never say something that, even if she was in denial. The three of them split up, with Lina holding the original scroll, and Shibano and Kisho each having a copy dummy scroll. Lina yawned as she came to rest on a large tree root, but her rest didn't last long because a kunai flew past her face, cutting her slightly on the cheek. She jolted up and faced the area in which the kunai came out.
"Come out whoever you are, I'm not afraid to fight you!" She shouted as she reached for a few shuriken.
"Lina...?" Rock Lee's voice came from behind a tree. Lina slightly lifted her guard, but was still holding her shuriken just incase it wasn't Lee. Lee stepped out from behind a nearby tree and held up his hands. "It's me..."
"How can I be so sure?" Lina glared.
"Because we went to Tsumiten for our date." Lee told her something that only the two of them knew. Lina left her guard down as she sighed. Suddenly, she was attacked from behind.
"What the heck!" Lina shouted as she face planted into the ground. She shifted her head and saw Neji on top of her with a kunai at her neck.
"Hn. Weakling, letting your guard down; didn't you learn anything in the academy? One of the most important rules of being a ninja is to never let your guard down, not even for a second." Neji glared as he stood up, grabbing her arm and yanking her up, probably throwing her shoulder in the process.
"Ouch, you jerk! You're hurting me!" Lina shouted as she yanked her arm from his grasp and she massaged her shoulder. The pink haired girl glared at the coffee-bean haired boy hatefully, a look that he returned.
"Uh...Okay you two, we don't want a fight among friends..." Tenten stated as she attempted to calm the two teens.
"But what if I have the scroll you need?" Lina smirked as she kept her eyes on Neji. Tenten had obviously not thought of that, but Neji activated his Byakugan and saw that they had the same scrolls.
"Shame, and here I thought I'd finally be able to fight you to see if you're as weak as you look." Neji smirked but Lina glared at him in confusion.
"Meanie-butt-headed-jerk-face say wha?"
"We have the same scroll you dimwit!"
"Who are you callin' a dimwit?"
"You, you dimwit!"
"I ain't no dimwit!"
"I call 'em as I see 'em!"
"Why you As-Butt face!" Lina almost cussed, causing Neji's smirk to only grow wider. "What are you smirking at!"
"You almost cursed," Neji's smirk continued to grow, but Lina just glared harshly at him.
"Yeah, that's because you pi—make me so mad, I want to curse!" Lina shouted, but Neji's smirk grew even more at the second time she almost slipped. Tenten and Rock Lee sighed as they continued to just stand there, watching their teammate and their new pink haired friend continue to bicker like an old married couple. After what seemed like forever, Lina tried finding Shibano and Kisho, with the help of Lee and his team, but no luck. Lina sighed as she, along with the rest of Lee's team, sat down. They set camp for the night, knowing that they wouldn't be able to find Lina's teammates when in the dark. Lina sat on a tree root looking up at the night sky when she felt someone sitting next to her. She jumped and looked to her right and saw that it was Neji. She looked at him oddly and blinked, he caught on and looked at her.
"I was wrong about you not knowing anything about team work. I guess you do, by the way you are worried about your teammates." Neji said as he looked at the ground, Lina looked at him with slightly wide eyes, then her eyes softened. 'Maybe he isn't all that hoity-toity as I thought.' She thought.
"Thank you...It means a lot coming from you. And you're not all that much of a jerk face, you're kind of...alright, seeing as you helped me look for Shibano and Kisho today, even though you could've just left to go find the other scroll." Lina replied as she smiled softly at him. He just scoffed and stood up. He looked over his shoulder and nodded before he turned to walk back to their camp. Lee came up to Lina's left and sat down.
"He isn't all bad most of the time, but he has his moments." Lee smiled. She looked at him with an odd expression playing on her face. "It's obvious, you may deny it all you want, but you DO have some feelings for him." Lee smirked, then laughed as Lina's face reddened.
"I guess I could have feelings for him when he's acting like he is now...not like a jerk face." Lina pouted as she looked away from Lee and towards Neji. Her face softened as she observed him setting some wood down. Lee smirked as he watched Lina observe his pale-eyed team mate. "But you didn't hear it from me, got it?" Lina whipped her head around and narrowed her apple green eyes at the green beast of Konoha. Lee smiled and nodded. He stood up and made his way towards his team. Lina sighed as she continued to look at the sky.
"Thanks you guys, I really appreciate it. I'll be going now, you guys and I have lost a day on trying to get a scroll. So…I guess I'll see you guys at the tower!" Lina smiled and bowed to them and began to walk off, but Lee stopped her.
"Lina!"
"Yeah?"
"Be careful, okay?" Lee asked and she nodded with a smile on her face. She turned and began to walk away.
Lina had roamed for hours, it was already starting to get dark, and she was hungry. She saw an apple tree and went towards it. She focused her chakra on her feet, running up the tree trunk and landing on a branch. She picked a few apples and jumped back down to sit on the ground. She began to eat her apples until she heard Ino's voice. She looked over a hedge and saw Neji had his back towards them and Ino was lifting her fists at him. Neji had asked if she wanted to fight but she, along with her team mates, declined and then they ran off. Lina let out a laugh, instantly causing Neji to throw a kunai in her direction. Lina dodged it, but barely—it scratched her cheek, right below the scratch from the previous day. The pink haired girl growled as she yanked the kunai out from the trunk of the tree and threw it back at Neji.
"What the heck is the big idea, you jerk!" Lina shouted at him as she stood up from behind the bush. Neji turned to her and glared.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be looking for Shibano and Kisho?" Neji asked, but Lina just shrugged.
"I'll find them when I find them." Lina told him, and Neji's eye slightly twitched. "Usually when we really need the others, we send a chakra pulse through these…" Lina smiled as she pointed to her Konoha headband. "It was Kisho's idea to be able to do that, but It was Shibano's Idea to have different colors, so they wouldn't look like everyone else's." Lina smiled again, and Neji stared at her.
"What did you think of?" Neji asked, already knowing the answer.
"...Uh...that we should all wear them on our heads...Heh heh." Lina laughed nervously, and Neji sweat dropped. At least it was something, rather than nothing. But, now that I think about it, it was a smart move. If someone is in battle they wouldn't feel the chakra pulse right when it hits because they're using their chakra somewhere else, and if they wear it on their head then they'll be able to sense it almost immediately. Neji thought to himself as he stared intently at the pink haired girl. Lina's face grew red as she shifted her eyes around, but brought them back up to finally look him in the eyes. Neji blinked, noticing he was staring and turned away.
"Smart move. I guess you have some brains after all..."Neji told her, Lina smiled slightly at the somewhat compliment.
"Thanks...I think..."
"Good, because you wont get compliments like that from me...often." Neji smirked as he walked off. He stopped for a second and looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Lina. Look after yourself; I actually want to see if you're worth anything in the final round." Neji smirked again as he saw Lina's face redden in anger, then he continued his way back to his team's meeting spot.
Lina was again wandering around. It had been a few hours since her run in with the Hyuuga boy, and she was still pretty ticked off. She was hopping from tree to tree, looking for someone to steal a scroll from, and keeping an eye out for Shibano and Kisho. She felt a pulse of chakra hit her head. Lina stopped immediately as she recognized the energy, it was Shibano's and it had come from the eastern direction. The pink haired girl quickly changed her course of direction and headed to where she had sensed Shibano's chakra.
"Huh, that's pretty tough talk; I guess that makes your village third rate." Lina heard Neji's voice. "I wonder if any of you amateurs are ready to take on the real thing?" Neji exclaimed pompously. Lina sweat dropped and sighed. He's talking all high and mighty to some weakli—wait. Shibano's chakra's stronger...it's almos—wait! She must be here! Lina thought to herself as she hopped over to where Neji and Tenten were.
"Lee." Lina heard Tenten say out of worry.
"You blew it." Neji started as his eyes narrowed. "It looks like somebody used our teammate as a punching bag. NO BODY DOES THAT AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!" He shouted as he activated his byakugan. Lina stopped beside him and looked at him with fright. Neji's eyes shifted towards her, and for a brief, a very brief, moment, they shared eye contact. Lina looked away from Neji and looked at the scene. Naruto and Sasuke were passed out, Choji was on the ground, Shikamaru had Ino in his arms—she looked unconscious but Lina presumed that Ino was in her mind-transfer jutsu. Sakura looked all beat up and her hair was cut short, and Lee was unconscious on the ground all beat up as well. Then Lina laid eyes on her two team mates; Shibano was barely holding onto consciousness and Kisho was on the ground, beat up and unconscious. Lina's eyes widened in shock and fear, but they narrowed in anger. "No more playing around, Tenten..."Neji started, then looked at Lina. "And Lina," he added, "Full power!" Neji ordered. Lina didn't exactly know what to do, nor did she know what she was doing, but what she did know was that she was down on the forest floor faster than you can say ramen. Lina glared at the mummy looking man and hit him, then turned to the spiky looking haired guy and was just about to attack him when she was flown back into the air. She squinted her eyes waiting for impact, but it never came.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed it, please R&R, I like feed back. :)