I walked in to the classroom to hear and sense that the large room was almost empty. I left at 8:30; I shouldn't be too early...
"Hey Rai!"
"TenTen-san," I called softly. I followed her chakra and voice to the back of the room, finding an empty chair next to her.
"I hope we get on the same team."
I smiled at the older-girl's enthusiasm. "I do too. I really do wonder whom we're with. If you're there, it will be easier to tell the team about being-" I stopped speaking, knowing she knew what I meant.
I felt her hand on my shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. "Don't worry, Rai. Your medical abilities and genjutsu will make up for that ten times over."
I smiled. "Thank you." I said softly.
I felt Iruka enter the room, his footsteps light and pleased. I turned my head to the front, indicating his entrance, and TenTen followed my motion. "All right everyone. Settle down and we will start the team assignments." Rustling and hurried footsteps sounded through the room as the other soon-to-be-genin found their seats. "Now we can start. The first team..." For the next few minutes, Iruka listed off the names of the teams. "...Finally, our four-man team will consist of TenTen, Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji, and Kohana Rai. Those are your team assignments. Now will be your break for lunch, and we will convene in an hour to meet your jounin senseis. This is good-bye, and good luck." There was a pause, and his footsteps headed out of the room.
TenTen and I stood up, heading for the front of the classroom to find our teammates. "There will be a lot less explaining to do since you and I are on the same team," I voiced gratefully, gently touching the back of her hand in gratitude.
"It also means we're not stuck with a bunch of guys. It'll be nice to have a girl to hang out with." A giggle escaped the older girl's throat.
"Wouldn't we hang out anyway, after training and between missions?"
"Of course. Oh, here come our new teammates."
Two sets of footsteps I had long since memorized were drawing steadily closer to the two of us. The heavier walk belonged to Rock Lee, a taijutsu user and the bottom of the class due to the inability to use neither ninjutsu nor genjutsu. Hyuuga Neji, a branch member of the prestigious Hyuuga clan, owned the lighter, quicker walk. He was a genius; one of the best users of the kekkei genkai titled the 'Byakugan', and was often stalked by the other female ninjas of our year. You couldn't help but feel almost sorry for him.
I turned my gaze to the ground, as I had learned, and to avoid any questions about not meeting someone's gaze.
"TenTen and Rai-chan, right? I'm-"
"Rock Lee, primarily taijutsu user, though lacking in ability, unable to use genjutsu and ninjutsu. Carries enough spirit for ten shinobi," I cut in, rattling off what I knew of him.
Surprised gazes settled on me, which I only returned with a small smile.
"Hyuuga Neji," the older male said simply.
"Proud holder of the Byakugan, top of the class, passed with top marks, strong believer in Fate and Destiny, wanted by most of the girls in our year," I repeated what was in my memory.
More surprised gazes, which, again, I only returned with a small smile.
"We know nothing of you, yet you seem to know everything about us." The Hyuuga seemed a little disturbed by this information, though he hid it well.
"I listen, you watch. That is the difference between us," I said simply. I turned my attention to TenTen. "I'm going for dango, are you joining me?"
"We should all go. That way we can get to know each other better," Lee suggested.
"That sound great," TenTen agreed.
"Fine with me. How about you, Hyuuga-san?" I cast a quick glance toward him, before returning it to the ground.
"Let's just go."
"Okay then!" Lee was excited as any new genin could be as he led the way to the dango shop.
I hung back with TenTen, nervous about lunch. I had only meant lunch with TenTen. Now I have to hide it longer... I wrung my hands nervously. "TenTen-san, how am I going to do this?" I whined softly.
The weapon's master sighed heavily. "I don't know, Rai. If it comes up, you tell them at lunch. If not, tell them when we meet our sensei. Does that work?"
I nodded, sighing softly. "It'll have to."
At lunch, it never came up, much to my pleasure, and I learned quite a lot about my new teammates.
Lee had quite a lot of spirit, as I said earlier. His energy was like a three-year-old's, never ran out. He was a strong believer that he would someday be able to pass Hyuuga's skills, but the tone of his voice gave away that he didn't know how to do it.
Hyuuga was a quiet man. If he spoke, it meant he wanted people to listen to him, and we did. Even though he mostly shot down what Lee was saying. But he asked why I was staring, once.
An odd side effect of my blindness: I don't blink often.
I merely averted my gaze to the table. "Gomen-nasai." I could feel his gaze on me for a while afterwards.
"We should be heading back. It's almost time for us to meet with our sensei," TenTen pointed out, standing up. The three of us followed her lead, tossing down money for our meals.
"Hey, Rai-chan, your meal was only 1500 yen, why on earth did you put down a 5000 yen bill?" Lee asked, confused.
My eyes widened. "My mistake." I picked up the bill I had placed down, replacing it with a 1000 and a 500. I could tell by the texture of the bills. I could feel gazes on me again, which I promptly ignored.
The walk was short, back to the academy, and we arrived upon the classroom full of eager students, ready to begin their training.
The four of us headed to the back of the room, where TenTen and I usually sit. There was light chatter between Lee and the weapon's master, but Hyuuga and I were silent. I sat back in my chair, my arms crossed over my chest, eyes closed.
Teams came and left, soon it was only the four of us, waiting for our new sensei to arrive.
"Hello, the new power of youth!"
This should be fun...