1. gum

It is a crisp December morning speckled with snow on leaves that crunch under Miriam's every step. She is sullenly trudging her way home and can't help but think what would happen when her mother saw the pink sticky menace in her long, black hair. It is stuck fast, the ice had secured the gum to her hair tightly, fingers too numb to attempt to pry it off. Miriam thinks that now her social life is over and this is officially the worst day of her life. She wishes that she's home, nice and cozy in the Kinoshita clan compound.

2. scissors

She can't resist the urge to cry when she hears the snip snip snip of scissors that her mother was working through her hair. All the Kinoshitas prides themselves in their beautiful hair, now hers would be short and ugly forever. MIriam blames the boys that were most definitely not kindred spirits; it's just her luck that the gum had chemicals in it that prevented her hair from growing any longer than the nape of her neck. Her mother cooes at her, reassuring that her hair is not everything, but deep down, Miriam knows that her mother knows that her words are lies. In the Kinoshita clan, appearances are everything.

3. glitters

Skipping around the store, she weaves in and out of aisles that are full of jewelry. She gasps at the sparkling diamonds and looks with wide eyes at bracelets adorned with emeralds. She feels a little vain, but knows that this will stop people from thinking that she is a boy. Miriam winces when she remembers the faces of people when they find out that she is, in fact, of the female species. So she buys silver chains for weapons merely for the fact that they glitter in the sunlight, and buys shorter chains that embellished with all sorts of precious jewels and metals and intertwine them in her short short short hair.

4. reactions

Her cousin, Kinoshita Calquate, gapes when she steps into the clan compound. He raises a shaking finger and says, "What are you wearing? It's not proper for shinobi to wear such eye-catching things!" Miriam loves her cousin and all -he's practically her older brother, although they're the same age- but sometimes he can be a little overprotective in small matters.

"If a boy could evade ANBU in neon orange, I think I can get by with a little jewelry," she says, "not like these are going to make any noise, I made sure of that." She's sure that mentioning a famous jounin would put Calquate at ease, after all, it's a responsible jounin that she's talking about -there were too few that were responsible that it isn't even funny. Her mother rounds the corner and gasps when she sees her appearance. Miriam sighs when she realizes that this is going to be a very long day.

5. teams

Iruka-sensei is standing with a piece of paper in his hand, and Miriam can vaguely make out her name through the paper, even though she's sitting in the back. At moments like this, she's very grateful for being born in the Kinoshita clan, for all the clan members have enhanced sight and hearing. Even if it meant being in a clan that's somewhat prudish, she still loves it. But Miriam reminds herself to get back on the topic of teams, and she's excited, nearly quivering in her seat. "Team Six! Kinoshita Calquate, Kinoshita Miriam, and Kimura Daiki. Your Jounin instructor will be Uzumaki Naruto," he announces, voice ringing out loud in the strangely quiet room -usually, it's full of chattering kids and noise and color.

She is happy.

6. ambitions

Uzumaki Naruto doesn't know what to expect of his new genin team. He didn't go through the files of his new potential genin because he's the type of person that makes his own judgements. Naruto fidgets nervously before saying, "Well, we're going to start off with introductions. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, who wants to go first?" The genin- no, students, they aren't genin yet, he reminds himself- look amongst themselves before a silver-haired boy shuffles forward slightly.

"I'm Kimura Daiki," he starts, "I like oranges, being neat, reading books, and sewing. I don't like people who are mean and shellfish. And-"

"Don't you mean selfish?" the girl pipes in a little rudely. Daiki blushes, confirming the fact that he meant the food, and goes on.

"And...I want to be a medic-nin," he mumbles. Naruto just sort of blinks, it's usually rare for boys to want to be a medic-nin, due to most of them dreaming of glory as a shinobi (he can say with some embarrassment that he was one of those boys). But, he can respect that dream and gestures for another person to go. The girl who interrupted earlier starts speaking.

"My name's Kinoshita Miriam. I likes sparkly stuff, my chains," -what chains? Naruto thinks curiously before noticing the said item hidden in her sleeves- "and my clan. I hate people who think I'm a boy and sexist jerks. I want to be in ANBU, one of the elite!"

"I am Kinoshita Calquate, I am Miriam-san's cousin," the boy with the long black braid and gray eyes states blandly. "I enjoy carving statues out of wood and shuriken. I detest those who prejudge people and those who insult the Kinoshita clan. I have no particular ambitions in mind."

This doesn't seem too bad, Naruto thinks, relieved. He then proceeds to inform them about the true Genin Exam. He now understands why Kakashi was so amused at revealing the fact that there was another test, it's quite funny to see the shell-shocked expressions painted over their faces.

7. conversations

Daiki wants to curl up in a corner and just stay there forever. Naruto-sensei hasn't shown up yet, Miriam and Calquate are fidgeting around, and he's standing there with a sort of forced smile on his face. He can practically taste the awkwardness in the air. He feels as if it's the worst for him, Miriam and Calquate are cousins, so they probably know each other well. Daiki, on the other hand, only knows them as the people with freakishly good senses. They were the kind of people that he would greet if he saw them outside of the Academy, but nothing more than that.

"Hey, guys!" A swish is heard and all heads immediately snap towards the noise. "Excited for your test?" And suddenly, the tension shatters apart and the atmosphere seems a little more bearable. Daiki lets out a small sigh of relief and mentally thanks Naruto-sensei from the bottom of his heart. Even if he would have to deal with this uneasiness among teammates sooner or later, he would rather put it off.

He is a coward, after all.

8. objective

"Okay, your goal is to try and tag me!" Uzumaki-san says with a cheery grin. Calquate simply looks at him patiently to wait for him to start explaining himself. Apparently, he has no intention to do so and leaps off into the trees. The trio stares blankly at the empty space where Uzumaki-san was a moment before before the reality of the moment catches up to them. Calquate clears his throat.

"Our objective is, as stated by Uzumaki-san, is to tag him. This will prove to be quite strenuous for he is a jounin and is well known for his speed. It is unlikely that Uzumaki-san will use full speed for we are still fresh out of the Academy. Our best plan of action is to cooperate with each other and work something out from there. ."

9. surprise

Naruto is, contrary to the almost-genin's belief, was listening in to their plan. He grins when Cal-kun, -Calquate is quite an unusual name and somewhat difficult for the Japanese tongue to pronounce- states that they will be working together. Now, he only hopes that this team will pass. They're quite interesting. He decides to actually start running and stealthily sneaks away without alerting them of his presence. Naruto doesn't want to know their actual plan, plus, it's more fun if it's a surprise!

10. predator

Miriam is hiding in the bushes, sharp eyes tracking every moment in the training grounds before her. She stifles a gasp when she sees a flash of yellow -yellow like the marigolds that decorated her mother's hair- and instead cuts a thin string with a kunai.

11. surprise

Naruto merely blinks when a log comes swinging at him, swiftly dodging to the side. He sidesteps gracefully as a rain of shuriken come boring down on him and jump when exploding tags decorate the air. He feels pride in his students, the traps that were set were nearly chuunin level.

But when he feels displacement in the wind, a figure in purple clothing dashes at him, senbon grasped in tanned hands. Daiki-kun lunges fiercely at Naruto, but with no avail. Naruto leaps up as he feels the presence of another behind him. They'll never catch me alive! he thinks childishly, tempted to blow a raspberry as Cal-kun throws a giant shuriken. His senses zero in on the girl who had been waiting in the bushes. What will you do now? he wonders.

12. dust

Daiki suddenly flicks the ground with a finger, causing dust particles to flare up slightly. He has given the signal, and all he needs to do now is to watch the show.

13. unexpected

Chains shoot towards Naruto-sensei and Miriam yells dramatically. The rattling of metal is quite loud, but she had been used to it for a long time. Naruto-sensei stumbles back a little too late, it brushes against the side of the orange jumpsuit, and everything is still.

14. over

"Well, you pass!" Naruto says cheerfully. "You tagged me!"

The three slumps to the ground, utterly exhausted. Daiki distantly hears the cry of a crow and thinks that it's rather late to be out. Calquate's mind collapses under all the stress it had been through and drifts off to a peaceful sleep. Miriam is already snoring away, arm tucked neatly under her head. Naruto shakes his head, amused. He takes a seat and leans back on a tall, strong oak tree and joins the newly minted Team Ki into blissful nothingness.