Precious Things
So I run faster, but it caught me here

Warning/s: Profanity.
Author's Note: Yuuhi Kurenai's past. Title taken from the song by Tori Amos. The characters that are not part of 'Naruto' are of my own (including names, characterisations, and all that jazz). If I've made a mistake about Kurenai's past, then let me know, yo. Criticism is appreciated. Cheers-beers!

It was awkward sitting alone, since she was not used to it. Mostly, if not all of the time, she would have made sure that she was with, at least, two other people; maybe it was due to the fear of coming across as lonely, or even beginning to feel so. Either way, Kurenai would have gone through any sort of hassle to have others by her side, or, simply, not be seen at all.

Though not popular, Kurenai seemed to have got on well with boys more than girls; even when she was a child, she chose to play cliché ninja games and sports, rather than picking flowers, dressing up and helping out with her mother. She was accepted amongst many of her boy friends as one of their own, with the sacrifice of being prone to insults from either jealous or amused female classmates.

She figured it was the environment that she was brought up in that made her feel more comfortable around males, and, in time, she came to accept it. She had long learnt how to deal with the bothersome schoolgirls- who would have found any reason to laugh at her- even if it meant to distance herself further more from ever having a true, female friend.

While cracking her knuckles, she began to hum a tune, trying to find some sort of entertainment in the vacant room, which had been so since she got there, an hour-and-a-half ago. The blackboard was spotless- apart from the scars that had been permanently scratched in to it- eager for somebody to smother it with chalk, once again. Even the floor and desks were unsoiled, appearing brand new, as if no teacher had paced about, or, no student had sat to learn.

When it came to eight-thirty, she was still unaccompanied by a friend, or foe, and began to speculate whether she had arrived too early or too late, cursing herself for being uncertain. Another ten minutes were wasted until she finally heard footsteps heading towards the classroom. She straightened her back before hurriedly changing her posture, so that she was leaning on her elbows on the desk, erasing the appearance of seeming too eager.

The door swung open and entered somebody she was not anticipating. "Kurenai?

"Goushi-Sensei! Where is everyone? I've been waiting for hours." she exaggerated.

The man, who everyone had their own tale to tell about the scars over his face, frantically walked towards his desk, rummaging around papers, which were scattered everywhere. "Kurenai, you're meant to be in room B21."

"What!"

"Hurry and go," he calmly directed, not ceasing his search. "I have a less-"

"Shit!" she interrupted, recalling instructions that were set the previous day, and ran out of the classroom.

"Oi!" Goushi called out. "No swearing!"

'Shit, shit, shit! I'm so late!' Even though classroom B21 was close by, it seemed to take forever to get there; each pace seemed more pointless than the last.

Not taking care of her surroundings, and only her feet, hoping that it would help lessen the distance, she bumped in to something, causing whatever it was to fall down with her.

"Look where you're going, you gorilla!"

"Shit," she muttered, rubbing her head. It was a familiar red-head, whom Kurenai would have pleasingly thrown off a cliff, if ever given the chance; Okada Chiyu. "If only your fat ass wasn't in the way!" she retorted, getting up and running off. Kurenai had heard her shout something out, but did not want to listen and understand; right now was not the time to pull out single strands of her hair due to frustration.

Finally, she got there, and the first thing she noticed was how few of her classmates had actually passed; she could have sworn there were more.

"Am I late?" she promptly asked the first person she saw, who simply shook her head and continued her conversation with her friends.

Kurenai sighed, relieved, and made her way towards usual faces. The room was just like the one she had been sitting in earlier, but smaller and less clean, its inhabitancy made known. The girls and boys had claimed their own sides of it, gathered in their own branches of friends. It, obviously, did not take her even a second to think about where she was going to sit.

"Finally made it?" Gen, a close friend of hers, asked, seeming glad to know that she was not too late.

Kurenai smiled, relieved that she did not have to be alone this time. "Yeah."

"We didn't think you were coming," a slightly plump boy added. "Where were you?"

"Uh… I woke up late," she lied, not wanting to share the embarrassing mistake she had made. "Where's everyone; how come only a few turned up?"

"They got sent somewhere else, I think-"

"No, they didn't," Gen interrupted. "They're scattered around the Academy, probably on their way, now."

A few minutes later and Kurenai was already diving in to a strong conversation with Gen and the other boy, expressions of amusement plastered to all of their faces.

"Oi, Yuuhi!" the voice that harshly called out her name was, once again, that of Chiyu. "How did you become a Genin? Only the talented ones graduated." The posse of girls behind her passionately giggled, as if what she had said was the funniest thing they had ever heard.

"Well," Kurenai calmly began, faking a smile. "They must have made the exams for idiots since they let you pass." This time, the boys around her laughed, encouraging the effect of the insult, intentionally, only wanting to see Chiyu feel stupid.

"Get lost, idiot," the plump boy, from before, added. Chiyu glowered, turned on her heel and walked off to the other side of the room, with her friends following.

'Stupid idiots,' Kurenai thought as she continued her conversation, an amusing image of a flock of sheep following their shepherd.

As soon as a teacher walked in, everybody, without delay, silenced and sat down. A large portion of her life had been spent at the Academy, but this was the first time Kurenai had seen this lady. She wore an expression that made her seem sad, her black hair sat lifelessly on her shoulders, as if it was a punishment, and she made strange hand movements, which made her seem nervous. Most people suspected that she was a rookie Chuunin.

"Everyone in this room is a respectable Konoha shinobi," she began, giving no warning of speech. Her voice was soft, yet, it still held slight authority. "Don't think that just because you graduated that things will become easy. It gets harder and harder; you're only rookie Genin, remember that.

"Starting from today, you'll be paired up in teams of three; everybody has been equally divided depending on their abilities- to help create stable teams. Each group will have a Jounin teacher, and the four of you will complete various missions. When I announce your name, stay where you're sitting- you'll all get a chance to be with your team, afterwards. First group; Utsumi Miho…"

Kurenai quickly scanned the class, hoping- the same thing as others- that she got to be in a team with somebody she got on with. "Shit," whispered Gen, nudging her. "What if I get paired with Chiyu? I'd rather quit being a ninja."

She chortled for a moment, the feeling of slight anxiety returning. Just like everybody else in the class, she sat in silence, impatiently, waiting for her name to be read out, hoping to be teamed with the 'right' people.

"…and Sarutobi Asuma." Somebody, from the back of the room, moaned, causing a few people to snicker. "Third group; Fujihara Aiya, Yuuhi Kurenai and Ito Genji."

'Great!' she pondered, followed by a list of swear words.

A few giggles were heard from the other side of the room. "Look!" somebody shouted out, undoubtedly, one of Chiyu's devotees. "The first three-man team!" Almost everybody burst in to fits of giggles, even most of the boys, who could not resist the humour.

"Silence!" the teacher yelled, to which everybody, instantly, obeyed. "You're Genin, now!" she continued, the tone of her voice had changed and became somewhat bitter. "Shinobi don't mock their comrades! If you want to act like children, then leave! When you're in a dangerous situation, you'll need to support each other, not crack stupid jokes!" It seemed as if she had found her confidence, and continued to remain assertive as she continued.

"Why did I have to be paired with them?" she whispered, ignoring what groups everybody else was placed in. She rested her chin on her hands. "This isn't how I thought it'd be."

"It'll be alright," Gen assured. "Genji's a nice guy, I guess, but that Aiya can annoying, sometimes. Nothing you can't handle."

"Who are they? I don't even know them."

"You're gonna have to, now, since you'll be with them for a long time."

As soon as everyone had been grouped, the teacher announced that it was time for lunch, which meant that others could get to know their team-mates if they wished to. A boy, with striking brunette hair, walked over to where Kurenai was sitting, his hands placed in his torn shorts. "Want to eat lunch together?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm your new team-mate, obviously! We should all eat lunch together."

"I can't," she immediately replied, slightly annoyed at the fact that he was standing only two inches away from her.

"Why?"

She looked around at her friends, hoping that one of them would help invent a decent excuse. When she realised that they were just as hopeless as her, she spoke, forcing a smile; "well… I promised these guys I'd eat with them."

His expression became slightly rigid; he could see through her lie. "That's alright. I'll catch you later." He walked off to the top of the classroom, provoking a conversation with, she guessed, her other team-mate.

"That's Aiya," Kurenai heard Gen whisper in her ear.

"I can tell."

Feeling slightly guilty, Kurenai walked towards the exit with two other people, scratching her head, which soon became an irritation. "Shit!"

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know!" She began digging her nails further in to her scalp, violently scratching it, moving towards her forehead. "My head feels like it's burning!"

"Stop scratching it; you'll make it worse!" Gen forced her hands by her side, finding it hard to keep them still.

"I can't help it!"

The idea that she had been shouting in front of those that were left in the room had never crossed her mind, until somebody pointed it out. "Yuuhi has nits!" Kurenai heard somebody exclaim- no doubt it was Chiyu, encouraging more repetitive, fake giggles from a few others. "Stay away from her!"

But, Kurenai did not care. She wanted the tempting urge to rip her skin apart to stop, thinking about it only made it feel worse, she learned. Anger was building itself up in her mind, cementing it together with frustration; whatever was happening to her, she wanted to blame somebody.

And, immediately, she did; ignoring Gen scolding her, she turned to face Aiya. There he sat, with her other team-mate, a satisfied grin carved in to his round face. Needing not to assume, she ran towards him; "I'm gonna kill you, you little shit!"

Kurenai felt an intolerable pressure pull her back, causing her to trip and fall on to the ground; giggles from those that stayed behind were served as desert. It was the Chuunin teacher; no words could have described her expression.

"Let me go!"

"Shut up!" she ordered, pulling Kurenai by the arm and out of the room.

"Just let me go!" she retaliated, aware that she had no chance in winning over one with a Chuunin, yet, she did not care. "Let me go!"

"Let's get this powder off from your hair, first," she reasoned. Her voice seemed more compassionate and caring this time, even though Kurenai had refused to stop shouting.

Grabbing the student's arm and pulled it with force (a method of discipline that she did not use on little children, Kurenai hoped). "Listen! Let me wash this out of your hair, or you'll scar yourself."

For the first time, Yuuhi Kurenai obeyed, despite feeling enraged, and tried to suppress her fury. Her red eyes, she finally realised, were leaking tears, and there was blood at the tip of her nails and fingers. The teacher gestured her to lean on to her knees, resting the back of her neck on to the sink.

"It's an allergic reaction."

"I'm not allergic to anything, though." A sudden burst of cold water invaded her head, accidently pouring on to her face, though she did not care; at first, it felt as if a million needles were being jolted in to her, but, soon enough, a satisfying sense of pleasure took over.

"Well, you are to whatever he put in your hair. Don't worry; go to the school nurse and she'll sort it out for you."

After another couple of minutes of rinsing the powder out of Kurenai's hair out with water, the teacher turned off the tap. "I can guess what you're thinking, so, no. Go straight to the nurse. I'll have a talk with him and inform his Sensei."

"Like that would do any help," she muttered, expecting to be scolded for being cocky, but nothing happened.

"Now."

Obediently, she made her way towards the medical room, swearing at everybody in her mind- at Aiya, Chiyu, the teacher and even the school nurse, who would have treated her like a little child, which she did. After a few hugs, pampering and healing, Kurenai was ready to go back to her lunch, with sweets- courtesy of the ever-so-kind nurse.

She came out of the medical room and remembered that she had left her friends at the last minute; they were probably with their team-mates; it would have been far too troublesome to search for them. Not caring to randomly throw insults at Aiya, she walked in to an empty classroom, infuriated. Once again, she recalled that she had left her lunch back in B21, which led to more swearing and half-an-hour of sulking in the sunlight, trying to dry her hair.

In time, she went back, not caring that she was slightly late, truth be told. When she walked in, everybody broke the eerie silence and begun to giggle and whisper, only to be hushed by the Chuunin teacher. A few of the teams were making their way out with their Jounin instructors, looking either intimidated or lazy.

"You're late," Genji immediately stated when Kurenai walked towards him and Aiya, who gave her an intense glare before turning his head around- the teacher must have really knocked some sense in to him, she hoped.

"So?"

"So, we could have left without you."

"Oh, well. You're still here," she calmly replied, arguing with herself that she should have said either 'stop talking to me' or 'shut the hell up'; she would have only been told off.

Whereas everybody was force to, they, by choice, happily remained silent. Soon enough, the door swung open and four Jounin entered, each of them politely calling out for their teams, except for one. "Which one of you kids is Team Three?"

He was not like the other Jounin that they had ever seen; his thick-framed glasses complimented his extremely thin frame and long face, which made him look as delicate as a large plate of glass, as well as a clown.

"Well?" he demanded, not taking off the proud smile that he wore in to the room. Genji stood up, followed by Aiya, which meant that it was Kurenai's turn to introduce her face, too. "Come on, then. Let's go." He walked out, not waiting to see if they followed.

The three Genin hesitated for a moment before they moved, trailing six feet behind their new teacher. It was fair to say that they had expected somebody who would have presented themselves wearing typical Konoha uniform, as well as have the worries and experiences of many missions expressed over their face. This Jounin, however, wore pants that could have been wrapped around him three times and a skin-tight t-shirt, which emphasised his pencil-like arms.

"Is it me or does he look like he's starving?" asked Aiya, forgetting that he was refusing to talk to Kurenai.

"He's much stronger than he seems, "Genji juxtaposed, moving slightly ahead of the other two.

"How would you know?"

"He's a Jounin, isn't he?" Nobody bothered to say anything else to him, knowing that he was right.

The confusion in Aiya's expression became blatant as soon as they were outdoors, which made Kurenai laugh to herself; he reminded her of one of the human-like water fountains that were in her garden (a necessity of her father's), though she could not put her finger on what exactly was in contrast. "Where are we going?" he finally asked, speaking the words that the other two thought.

"The park," their new teacher simply said, refusing to add anything else.

When he told them that they were to go to a park, they had imagined the one that sat on the outskirts of the field, not the one that was used for little children. 'He's so weird,' Kurenai thought as he stopped in front of the swings.

"Sit on the swings, if you want," he suggested, which could have, more or less, been an order. "Or," he began, since the three simply stared at him. "You can stand there for the next hour, or two."

"You expect us to sit on swings that are meant for kids?" she asked, snarling.

"No. I'm expecting you to listen to your sensei if you want to remain Genin." Quickly, they each claimed their own small swing and sat on them, bearing the slight pain of the metal rubbing in to their hips. "I'm Nakamoto Etsuya, though you guys can call me Etsuya-Sensei or Master."

'He can't be serious...' Kurenai resisted the urge to throw in a sarcastic comment, or two.

"As you genius ninja may know, I'm going to be keeping you under my wing from now on."

'No shit.'

"Normally, I'd tell you all to hold hands, but, since you're not little children, you can just introduce yourselves." He looked at Aiya and smiled. "What's your name?"

"M'name's Fujihara Aiya."

"Ah," he whispered, moving his attention to Kurenai. "What about you?"

"Yuuhi Kurenai."

"Ah, yeah. Our mothers know each other; she's a wonderful lady." Kurenai diverted her eyes to the ground. "And, you?"

"Ito Genji."

"Like I said, you can call me Etsuya-Sensei." He adjusted his glasses, still smiling- maybe he was excited, far more than any of his students were. "Let's get to know each other better, shall we?"

"Do we have to?"

"Yes we do, Aiyba."

"Aiya."

"I can already tell that you're the loud one." Aiya snarled, whereas Genji and Kurenai held back a slight smirk. Maybe Nakamoto Etsuya was not as bad as he looked, they thought. "As I was saying, let's find out a few things about each other before I move on to important things."

"Like what?" Kurenai questioned, resisting the urge to swing back and forth.

"Well, I'd say that you three tell each other what you like, what you hate, your hobbies and dreams. And, maybe even who you fancy." Nobody replied; they stared at him with blank expressions. "No? Forget the last bit, then. Aiyba--"

"Aiya!"

"Why don't you start off, since you look like you have something to say?"

The young boy frowned and answered, with slight reluctance. "I like reading comics and pulling pranks on stupid people, because they fall for it easily. I dislike stupid pe--"

"You little shit!" Kurenai's fist had already prepared itself for a journey to Aiya's stomach, or, hopefully, his face.

"Oi. No insulting; you three are on the same team, now. Learn to respect each other." Etsuya let them dwell upon his words for a moment before continuing. "What about your hobbies and dreams?"

"I want to be the strongest shinobi in Konoha! And... Maybe the richest, too."

"Typical," Kurenai interrupted. "Everybody wants to be the strongest, you idiot. Obviously, not everyone makes it."

"And how would you know?"

"Only two have made it out of dozens of boys who wanted to be the strongest. If you haven't guessed, they're called Hokage."

"Why the hell don't you tell us your stupid dreams then?"

"Genji can go first."

"Why not you?"

"I don't mind," Genji said, as he spoke for the first time since they all had sat down. From an angle, Kurenai took notice, he was slightly decent looking; his black hair shone in the sunlight, and he did not look half-bad when he made those stern expressions, as if he was pissed off with the world.

"Ew," she muttered under her breath, recovering from her possible five second fancy.

"I enjoy collecting things, especially those that hold worth. I dislike loud and arrogant people and sea food. Sharing my dreams with people I don't know is too personal. At least, for now."

"That's fine," Etsuya said, seeming impressed with what Genji had said. "Finally," he began, turning to Kurenai, "what about you?"

"Um... Well, I like hanging out with my friends, I guess, and fighting with them." She paused for a moment, reminiscing. "I dislike idiots," she cast a glance towards Aiya, who snarled.

"You think beating people up is a hobby?"

"Shut up or I'll punch your face in!" Strangely enough, her comment had made Genji laugh to himself, which somewhat sounded as if he was in pain.

"Carry on," their teacher said, distracting their anger.

"That's it. I don't really do anything else."

"What about your dreams?"

Kurenai's voice lowered and she began to look at the ground, again. "I don't know."

Etsuya nodded, though he still wanted her to continue. "What do you want to accomplish in life, in the future?"

"I don't know; I've never thought there was a point to think about that."

"How can you not have a dream? What do you want to be when you're older?"

The loud-mouthed boy was feeding her anger whenever he opened his mouth. He sounded like her father; at least, the arrogance matched well. She mentally laughed, knowing that they would have made a decent father-son bond. "A ninja, you idiot, what do you think?"

"That's lame," he stated. "We're all going to be ninja when we're older; at least think of something better."

"If we're going to be ninja, then why would she need to think of something else?" Genji pointed out, much to Kurenai's surprise.

"All of you can shut up, now." The thin man, though secretly amused, glared at them. "If you're going to act like babies, then quit being ninja. You're in a team- if you can't support each other, help each other, then leave."

'That's what the other lady said. They've probably read it from a leaflet.' The thought of her teachers from the Academy standing in line, reading the same text, made her smile. If Kurenai could not make insults out loud, then she could at least think of them to herself, and, possibly, repeat them to Gen later on.

"I guess you all want to stay, then," Etsuya firmly concluded, since the new Genin remained seated in their uncomfortable positions. His irritating smirk had appeared again. "Good. Now that we know each other, try to get along. It's part of being a strong shinobi, to support comrades. Most importantly, take note that you three haven't officially been accepted as Genin, yet."

"What do you mean?" Everybody shot perplexed expressions at him, wanting immediate answers. "We all graduated from the Academy."

"Hmm. You did, didn't you? Well, that means that it's time to choose nine ninja that are qualified and capable of being true Genin."

"What! What do you mean? We all passed!"

"Again with the loudness, Aiyba."

"It's Aiya!" he exclaimed, feeling extremely aggravated. "What kind of sensei are you? You can't even remember my name, and it's the easiest out of the lot!"

Ignoring Aiya's personal annoyance, Genji began to ask his own questions. "What if we don't make the cut?"

Etsuya's smirk widened as he adjusted his glasses, again. "Well, you get sent back to the Academy. Tomorrow, I'll be setting you three a test. If you fail, you go back, but, if you pass, you all become Genin."
Kurenai tightened her grip around the chain, speaking after a while. "This is stupid. If we fail, we'll have to spend another year learning what we already know."

"If you know, then you won't fail." She did not reply, unsure of what to say.

Everything became unpleasantly calm; even Etsuya refused to speak a word. Kurenai felts her throat close in and her stomach churn. She was unsure what was worse; being on a team with a loud-mouth and a snob, or going back to the Academy for another year. 'This idiot's going to drive me crazy... Mother and Father will kill me if I fail, though. What's wrong with these sick people? Aren't exams enough for them?'

"Stop that," Etsuya finally said, frowning at Kurenai. "It's annoying."

It took her a while, but she understood that he had been referring to her cracking her knuckles. "Oh, sorry... I can't help it, sometimes."

"Learn to break the habit, or I'll force you to."

'Jerk. I'll force you to eat something if you don't stop smiling.' An empty threat she did not have the guts to share.

"Be here at noon, tomorrow. Bring your ninja equipment and brains; you'll need them." He dully noted the expressions on his student's faces and simply smiled, something, the students realised, they would have had to get used to if they passed. "Don't worry- if you're worthy, you'll be Genin by tomorrow evening."

"The test is going to be that long?"

"Depends if you pass quick enough, or not." Kurenai clenched her fist out of frustration, not caring if the others noticed, since they probably felt the same as her; she cursed the Academy and Etsuya. "You can sit here all day, if you want," the Jounin called out as he began to walk away. "Or, you can go home."

Instantly, the two boys stood up and made their way back together, discussing their teacher and what the test could be about. Kurenai, instead, remained on the swing and dived in to the urge of pushing herself back and forth, not caring that it hurt her hips.

"So?"

"So, what?"

"How did it go?"

Kurenai shrugged and continued to eat her food. "It was alright, I guess."

Her father, who had been eager to talk to her since she walked through the door, frowned. "A little more detail would be appreciated, Kurenai."

"Sorry, Father. They put us in teams of three--"

"Obviously!" her older brother (only by age and not maturity, she often claimed) interjected. "Who's your teacher? Who's in your group?"

"Hitoshi. Let her finish." The strong tone in her father's voice was enough to make the her brother bow his head and apologise, knowing it was wrong to disobey him.

"They put me with two other boys, Genji and Aiya. I don't like them."

"You don't think like that about your comrades, Kurenai. From today, you're friends, so protect them like you would us."

"Yes, Father..." This time, it was Kurenai's turn to bow her head.

Everybody continued to eat their food in silence; it did not take her father another three minutes before he began to ask more questions. "Who's your Sensei?"

"Nakamoto Etsuya."

"Which one is he?" he asked, curiously.

"Uh... He has glasses and--"

"Hibiki's son," the last family member, Kurenai's mother, spoke, unenthusiastically.

Once again, the room entered another zone of tranquillity. The sound of everybody else chewing their food was heard in detail; it annoyed Kurenai, who wanted to say anything to break it. She was not in the mood to have another awkward moment at the dinner table. "Tomorrow we have to do one last test. If we pass, we become official Genin."

"Only nine can pass," her mother said, not looking at her. "You'll be one of those nine."

She nodded, knowing that they were not words of encouragement, but of order. "Do well," her father added.

"You'll be fine! If you want, I can help you train a bit for tomorrow."

"No," her father said, stopping Hitoshi from making any promises. "She needs to rest; otherwise she might be too tired. She proved us wrong by graduating and she'll prove us wrong again, tomorrow."

'Thanks...' she mocked, getting up. "I'll be in the garden if anyone needs me." She did not want to stay and encourage the slight sorrow; not in front of everybody else. By then, she would have been used to expecting words like that from her parents, but it was slightly hard to endure them, sometimes, especially when they became too repetitive.

Outside, the weather was warm, dressed with a very faint breeze. When was that never the case in Konoha, Kurenai wondered. Sat on the bench that she usually occupied was a somewhat large spider. "Wonderful," she said to herself, pulling out a kunai from her weapon bag. Without delay, she threw it at its torso.

"You're so stupid," she whispered, as she lifted the Kunai and threw it away, not caring that the spider was frantically moving its legs in agony. "You'll fail and you'll never hear the end of it."

She had not realised that Hitoshi had walked out of the house, too, and was making his way towards her, until he called for her. "You better go to sleep, soon, or you'll be too sleepy for tomorrow."

"Hitoshi-niichan... It's only seven."

"Yeah..."

Kurenai wanted him to go away- the reason why she walked out in the first place was so that she could escape them, and Hitoshi sitting next to her did not help at all.

"You'll be alright, tomorrow."

"Yeah?"

He smiled and nodded, even though Kurenai doubted so. "It's easy; you might as well call yourself a Genin, now. Mother and Father will be proud."

"Not if I fail."

Hitoshi did not reply; talking about their parents was something that Kurenai avoided, and he was well aware that she would have only changed the subject if he tried to explain their feelings, doings and expectations. "Y'know... If you fail, I'll still be proud of you."

Neither of the two said anymore. When Hitoshi made his way back in to the house, Kurenai smiled and leaned back. "Thanks," she whispered, a hint of geniality in her voice.

"You all made it on time? I'm impressed."

"It's only twelve, Etsuya-Sensei. We've been up earlier than this."

"I'll keep that in mind for our next meeting." He adjusted his glasses once more, wearing his predictable smile. "I'm surprised you all showed up- I had expected you to forget you had to come out, today."

"Yeah, yeah," Aiya mumbled. "Something's different about you."

"Hmm?"

"You look different."

Genji pointed at Etsuya's torso, unenthusiastically. "Your clothes; why are they different from before?"

"Oh?" he looked at what he was wearing, which seemed to have been what most of the other Jounin were seen in- a jacket, trousers that fit him and a decent-sized t-shirt. "That was a joke. Thought I'd make you all think that I was a bit... weird."

Kurenai rolled her eyes, hoping that he would not always be like this, if they were to remain in a team. "It worked well without the clothing."

"No need to be cocky; you have a test, remember?" Everyone stared at him, remembering the purpose of their meeting. "Just keep in mind that you'll be shaping your future starting from now. Whether you pass, or not, it doesn't matter; just don't get hurt, or I'll get in trouble."

tbc