EDITED. Again, 1 year later. There are a number of inter-character dynamics that I didn't set up properly, so I'm fixing that so it makes sense later on.

EDITED. A LOT. Pretty much rewriting the whole thing haha. All for you guys. Have fun!

Previous A/N:

This is my first fic in about 7 years (the last one I made was before shippuden was out in the anime), so I guess I'm kinda rusty. Haha.

I created Kaida in my head as an OC pairing for Neji, but after a while I focused more on her personal and family history in my head, because it kinda fascinated me. That's the main reason I wrote this down. Hehe. So yeah, this is NejiOC, but I haven't worked out that development yet. We'll see.

As usual, reviews are much appreciated (good or bad, but constructive please. No flames. Do people still say flames? I'm getting old. Fine, no irrational hate or badmouthing please.) And... enjoy!

For those not in the know:

-sama: denotes "master"

onii-chan/nii-chan: brother

Tsuki, in Tsukimaru's name, means "moon". "Aka" means red, and "yami" means dark (If I remember correctly). And Kaida means "little dragon." I like dragons.


The sun beat down on Akayami Kaida as she raced down the streets of Konoha Village, her short katana bumping gently against her back in its sheath.

I'm going to be late.

Her dark red hair swung back and forth in its short, loose ponytail at the base of her neck as she ran. She brushed away the bangs that hung mostly on the left side of her face, and squinted up with golden eyes through the sunlight, at the tiny speck that flew above her. The hawk screeched, and descended to hover several meters above her, slowing to match her pace.

"Go ahead, and tell me what you see."

The bird rose, and was soon lost to view. Kaida took a right down a narrow alley, and at its end leaped up on a low roof. She ran down to the left, and took a running jump to the next rooftop. She moved swiftly from one building to the next, cursing herself for grossly oversleeping.

Tsukimaru should be there by now.

She concentrated, feeling for her hawk's presence in her mind. It did not take long. He knew she was looking for him. She paused atop a tall building, and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was flying. Tsukimaru dove, and so did she, as she rode in his mind and saw through his eyes. It was a special gift that allowed them to fly together, and they could do so with no one else.

Tsukimaru was a rare breed of hawk, known by some as a dragon-hawk. They were highly intelligent, and larger and faster than the messenger hawks used by the villages. On top of that, a dragon-hawk bonded with one shinobi for life, like a summoned creature with an unwritten contract. Kaida had found the bird outside her window one night, when she was seven years old. He had been injured, and unable to fly. She had nursed him back to health with her brother's help, and he had never left her side. The moon had been full that night, and so they had named him Tsukimaru.

The hawk perched on a tree branch, and surveyed the crowd below. Kaida looked for familiar faces amidst the many that were gathered outside the Forest of Death. She found the group she was looking for, and gave a start when one of them looked her way.

Of course he can see me. He sees everything.

She blinked, and was back behind her own eyes again. As she took off towards the arena, she fought back a smile.


Kaida stopped at the top of a rock formation overlooking the crowd gathered outside the forest, dusting off her sleveless kimono-like top and black pants. Its plunging v-neck and steep slits on either side revealed the tube mesh armor she wore beneath, while the auburn color lined with black clashed with her burgundy hair. Mesh armguards protected her forearms. The Konoha forehead protector she wore as a headband shone bright atop her head, and so did the pools of gold beneath it.

She jumped down, and was joined by Tsukimaru on her shoulder. He nuzzled against her as she stroked his feathers.

Few had paid any attention to her arrival. She ignored them, and instead waved at the one who was coming her way. There was no mistaking the pink Chinese-style blouse, or the twin hair buns. Tenten had been her friend since the academy. They were the same age, although Kaida had entered the academy earlier.

"Neji said you were coming." said Tenten, grinning. Tsukimaru squawked a greeting.

"Yeah, he saw Tsuki." Kaida replied. "He never misses a thing. How's the exam?"

"You should've signed up this year." Tenten told her as they began to walk over to where the other teams were waiting.

She shook her head. "Nah. I'm not ready."

"Are you kidding? You've been ready since you graduated!"

"You guys waited a year."

"But you graduated a year before we did, and you've already taken the exam once before."

Kaida felt her chest tighten. "Don't remind me."

Tenten paused, and dropped her gaze. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay." She gave the other kunoichi a small smile. "You're probably right. I could take the exam if I wanted to, but..." She shook her head. "Not now. Not yet."

"Then when?" The voice made them turn.

"When I'm ready." She answered coolly.

"Huh. I wonder when that will be." Hyuga Neji stood across from them, his arms folded. He turned to Tenten. "Lee was looking for you."

"Later." She said, and left them.

Kaida sighed. "Well, hello to you too."

The white-eyed shinobi leaned against a tree. Tsukimaru flew over and perched on a branch above him.

She gazed absently at the forest, remembering how she'd felt when she'd stood outside those same gates two years before - nervous, but resolute. She had feared nothing as long as she was with her team. But now...

A woman's voice, sharp and clear, jolted her out of her reverie. The teams were assembling. She turned to Neji.

"That's your cue."

"Yeah." He moved away from the tree, looking over to where the genins were gathering.

"For all it's worth, good luck."

"Hn. Luck's got nothing to do with it. You'll be watching?"

"Of course we will." She smiled as Tsukimaru perched on her forearm.

As he walked away, she returned to the rock formation she'd stood on when she arrived. She sat as the teams moved towards their respective gates, some way out of sight. Neji's team was closest to her. She whistled, and he looked back and smiled as Tenten and Lee waved. Just then, the clock struck 2:30 pm and the gates opened. The forest swallowed them whole, and Kaida was left alone.


It was late afternoon, and Kaida sat still atop the rock, golden eyes glazed over, unseeing. Tsukimaru wove in and out of the trees, foliage passing in a green blur. Nothing much had happened in the first hour, but that was to be expected. Kaida sighed, and stretched her arms.

"Enjoying the view, Kaida?"

"Tsuki, take a break." A blink, and her eyes were her own again. She stood, and bowed. "Hokage-sama, I..."

The Third Hokage chuckled. "It's quite alright." He walked forward to stand level with her, and looked down at the forest. "Watching again?"

She lowered her eyes. "Yes, sir."

The Third sighed, and looked up at the clouds. "I remember your first exam." He said after a while. "So few made it through the forest that we didn't need preliminaries."

"I... We were supposed to be in those matches." She bit her lip.

He looked at her again and sighed. "No one could have foreseen what happened."

"If I had been there, with them-"

"You would have been killed too, and then what?" He said sternly, but his gaze softened when saw he how dejected she was.

"I'll make you a deal." He said after a pause. Kaida looked up.

"The gong will sound fifteen minutes before the time for the second exam is up. If you can make it to the tower in an hour, then you can watch the preliminaries - if there are any. Deal?"

A smile lit up her previously solemn face. "Yes, sir!"


On the last day of the exam, Kaida perched on top of the fence as Tsukimaru perched on her shoulder. She had planned out her route before hand, choosing to travel along the line of trees beside the river.

BONG!

She leaped off the fence and onto a branch, while Tsuki flew level with the tops of the trees on their right, with the river on their left. As she moved from tree to tree, she mulled over what she had seen over the past few days. The exams this year are turning out to be quite interesting. Too bad I'm not in them.

The gong had chimed a second time to signal the end of the second stage when she paused at the edge of a cliff, a waterfall connecting the river to her left and the one down below. She crouched, and peered down. The cliff sloped at an angle instead of dropping straight down, and although the rocks were smooth and slippery close to where the water ran over them, the rest of the face was rough. It would be easy to run down.

And she did. The air stung her face as she accelerated towards the ground, but she didn't care. About halfway down, she could see that the river ran deep at the base of the falls, and that there were no rocks. She ran hard to her left, towards the rushing water, and pushed herself off one of the smooth stones that jutted out from the cliff face, her arms spread wide open as she swan-dived into the river. Tsukimaru met her, flapping above the water as her head broke the surface. She splashed water at him, and he screeched at her reproachfully as she swam and walked up to the banks of the river.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." She smiled as she wrung water out of her dark red hair, and jumped up onto the nearest branch. Her clothes would dry out as she made her way to the tower.

She made good time, and met no resistance the rest of the way. The examinees who didn't make it were probably outside the training ground by now. One of the chuunin patrolling the base of the tower met her, and opened one of the doors. Hokage-sama must have told them I was coming.

She found herself in a large room, and Tsukimaru perched himself on her shoulder. The setting was familiar to her, and brought back memories of her first exam. She crossed the room and went through a door, and found a staircase. Upon reaching the top, she walked down a short hallway with a couple of doors on either side. Muffled voices could be heard through one of the doors. As she approached, it opened, and she was met by Mitarashi Anko, the jounin in charge of the second stage of the Chunnin Exams.

"Eh? OI! What are you... You're not supposed to... OH." Realization dawned on her face, and she chuckled apologetically. "Hehe. Sorry about that. You're the one the Third is expecting, right? He's inside."

Kaida exhaled. Anko had almost given her a heart attack, and Tsukimaru had practically fallen off her shoulder. "It's okay. Thank you, Anko-sensei." The examiner didn't seem to hear. She'd left in a hurry, distracted. Kaida shrugged and entered the room.

"Kaida. Just in time." The Third Hokage smiled at her. The two ANBU guarding him seemed to be watching her as she entered. It was always hard to tell, with their masks on. She was suddenly more aware of the weight of the sword on her back, which resembled the ones on theirs.

"Hokage-sama, thank you again." She bowed. So did Tsukimaru.

"It was my pleasure, child. By the way, there are twenty-one examinees who made it through."

Kaida raised her eyebrows. An odd number.

As if reading her mind, the Hokage nodded, and the slightest hint of a smile played on his lips. "We may need an extra opponent."

She could barely contain the grin that was spreading across her face, but something else gave her pause. Twenty-one. Almost twice the number in my exam. Only twelve genins had made it through two years previously, too few for preliminary matches. I doubt Anko-sensei would make the exam easy. Her fingers twitched in anticipation. This would be fun.


I think this runs a lot smoother now.

Previous A/N:

I hope you enjoyed!

Side note: This part of the story progresses similar to the actual events in Naruto. I pretty much just inserted Kaida, since I thought that the exams would be a good introductory setting. Don't worry, I won't just keep writing her into stuff from the series. Haha. See you next chapter!