A/N: Yay! I updated on time! :D

A couple things have happened since my last update (if you don't really care about my dreary personal life, feel free to skip to the actual story) :

1) I am now obsessed with Bleach. I started the series the beginning of last year (before I discovered Naruto) but gave up on it 20 episodes in. I gave it a second chance last...Thursday, I think. I am now on episode 83 and am very upset I haven't been able to watch any episodes since Sunday D: And I also got mad at Uryuu for being so friggin noble. And fantastic. And pitiful. And my new favorite character :)

2) Yay for the end of first semester! I survived half of the year...and will probably die near the end... I'm about a month behind in my AP class (no, that is not an exaggeration in the slightest...unfortunately) and will soon die if I don't catch up.

3) I got asked to Prom! Eep! My first date D: I don't know if I'm excited or if I want to die ^^ Frankly, I'm surprised any guy is capable of taking interest in me at all...I'm pretty bland on the outside ^^ I have been freaking out about this all week and have gotten pretty much nothing done. At all. So now I'm stressed, nervous, behind, and exhausted. Feel lucky I'm updating at all, as I still have two or three hours of homework and it's almost eight x.x

4) I finally started actively working on my sci-fi novel. (OHMYGOSHBRENDANILOVEYOUICAN'TBELIEVEICREATEDSOMEONESOAMA ZING!) *Ahem* Yes, I will marry my character someday :) But anyway, more original works means less time for fanfiction...

5) I watched the Naruto Shippuden episode that came out today! *dies* GAARAILOVEYOU! I have been waiting for this fight for, like, fifty episodes!

And, now that you're up to date with my personal life (sorry, I needed that rant -_-'), get on with the fanfiction :) Sorry there still isn't much action...I'm getting to it. Hang in there for a couple more chapters ^_^'


Reina sat silently, concealed within the dense leaves of a thick tree overlooking the front doors of the Academy building. She hadn't been here for a good three years, and the sight of the building brought back memories she didn't particularly care to revisit.

Absentmindedly, she began stroking Renji, who shivered pleasantly from the touch. A smile almost touched her lips; she was grateful she had at least one friend, and she rather enjoyed his company.

She had been sitting there for some time waiting for her teammates to arrive. Her application rested safely in her pocket, forgotten for the time being as she studied the various genin entering the building. None of them appeared to be serious competition. Not yet.

Of course, she was two-and-a-half hours early, as she had finished preparing for the exams early that morning and hadn't had much else to do. There was no telling what kind of ninja could arrive between now and three o'clock.

The raven-haired genin turned her eyes back toward Renji, remembering the training they had undergone the past three days. They had finally perfected the technique they had been working on for months. He was eager to try it out in battle, but she had insisted they save it for the finals; it was best to hide their ace until the last possible moment.

He had wanted to accompany her to the entirety of the Exams, but she thought it best to go alone in the beginning. Not many ninja worked in sync with an animal partner, and she hadn't wanted to draw too much attention to herself before the Exams had even started. Besides that, he was rather big, as well as being a bit of a show-off, so she figured it would be best if he stayed behind for the indoor portion. Although she enjoyed and wanted his company, she had decided to leave him behind for the first test. The raven had resisted a bit, but in the end he had complied without much fuss because, in all honesty, he knew that she was probably right, as usual.

With an almost unnoticeable sigh Reina pulled herself out of her reverie. She removed something small and silver from a hidden pocket within the folds of the cloth she used for her forehead protector, which she wore loosely around her neck. She held the object almost reverently. Renji hopped closer to her, nuzzling against her side as a sign of comfort. Forcing the memories into the back of her mind, she flipped back the cap and sparked the odd-colored flame, watching hollowly as it burned into oblivion.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

As the time for the Exams to start drew gradually closer, more and more genin began arriving. A small cluster of them stood outside the doors, most of them mentally preparing themselves for the Exams. Renji had flown off some time ago but now landed silently on the branch next to her. A low guttural caw escaped his throat, letting her know that her teammates were almost there. She nodded her thanks, giving him one last stroke before jumping to the ground, landing lightly on her feet. She stood in the shadow of the tree until Kana and Kuro rounded the corner.

Kuro caught sight of her first, narrowing his eyes slightly as he recognized her. Kana followed his gaze, giving her a light wave when she realized who her brother was looking at. "How long have you been here?" she asked once they reached her.

"It doesn't matter," she said passively, dismissing the question. Kana just shrugged.

"All right then." She glanced at the Academy doors eagerly. "Let's go! I can't wait for these exams!" Kana grabbed her brother's arm and dragged him behind her. He begrudgingly let her lead him.

The pale genin glanced back one last time at her best friend before following her teammates through the doors, her hands resting casually in her pockets. Renji watched her go, then flew off, deciding to train on his own rather than pulling pranks on the villagers, which was what he would normally be doing. He thought he owed his partner that, at least.

"What's going on over there?" Kana asked curiously as they approached a cluster of people on one of the upper floors.

"How am I supposed to know?" Kuro replied.

Kana pushed her way to the front of the group of genin, wanting to see what all the commotion was about. Kuro and Reina followed behind, neither caring much about it.

"What's going on?" Kana asked again, this time to the two Leaf ninja blocking the doorway, noticing the two genin that had been beaten back. It was obvious who had done it to them, as the two Leaf ninja were gloating over them.

Before they could answer, Reina grabbed the back of her teammate's shirt, whispering almost silently into her ear, "Don't get involved."

Kana blinked and looked back, unsure as to what she should do; she wanted to get involved, of course, but if Reina was actually speaking out against something she figured it probably wasn't wise to do it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her twin brother shaking his head, warning her against taking action.

All right, she had no idea why she shouldn't, but Kana had faith enough in her brother to do what he suggested, especially if Reina was backing him up on it.

A team of three young Leaf genin suddenly pushed their way to the front, effectively drawing everyone's attention and cutting off any further remarks from the two Leaf ninja toward Kana.

Those are the three rookie Leaf genin Renji told me about; the ones who took on Zabuza, Reina recognized, keeping the information to herself. I'll have to keep an eye on them.

"Real nice speech. Now both of you step aside and let me through," the cocky looking black-haired one said arrogantly, taking a couple steps forward. "And while you're at it, reverse the genjutsu; we can see through your illusion, anyway. We're going to the third floor."

"What does he mean? We're on the third floor," someone in the small crowd muttered.

"I know," another replied, clueless.

"Well, well," the spiky-haired Leaf ninja blocking the doorway said.

"So, you noticed the genjutsu, huh?" the other piped up.

Smirking, the boy turned to his pink-haired teammate. "Go ahead, tell them, Sakura. I'm sure you saw it before anyone else did."

"Huh?" she responded, seeming to snap out of a daze.

"You have the sharpest eyes and the best analytical skills on our squad; you must have seen this coming a mile away."

"I must have?" A moment of silence passed as the kunoichi seemed to gather her thoughts. "Well, sure. …Of course, sure, I spotted it right away," she said confidently. "This is only the second floor."

"Right," their teammate said, nodding his head.

Reina cocked her head slightly. …There's something about him…something ominous…

With a smirk, the Leaf ninja released his justu, opening one eye as he said mockingly, "Well aren't we the smart ones? So you noticed an illusion." He sniffed. "Now let's see you deal with this!" he said, moving in to attack.

With lightning-quick reflexes, the black-haired genin reacted instantly, bringing up his leg to counterattack. Before either blow made contact, though, a goofy-looking genin appeared between them, easily blocking each of their kicks with his hands and releasing them smoothly as he exhaled calmly.

That's about when Kana decided the situation didn't apply to her anymore. In the agitated whisperings and mutterings that ensued after the revelation, she whispered fiercely to her teammates, "How the heck did I not see that genjutsu? Did either of you?"

"Yes," they answered simultaneously.

"How on earth did you catch that? It was so discreet! Am I just stupid or something?"

"No, it wasn't," Kuro sighed, answering his sister's statement rather than her questions. "It was a pretty simple genjutsu; not that hard to spot, especially to the trained eye."

Kana pouted, disappointed in her obvious inability. "…Well. Sorry for not being the genjutsu expert here," she said sarcastically.

Kuro rolled his eyes, deciding to let her remark slide. He wasn't really in the mood for a fight, even if it wasn't a serious one.

Seeing that Kuro wasn't taking her taunt, Kana turned to Reina, a questioning look in her eyes. "Well, how did you know, then? You suck at genjutsu!"

Reina sighed internally; she sometimes forgot how dense her teammate could be.

"She's blind, you idiot," Kuro answered for her. "Obviously visual genjutsu wouldn't work on her."

Kana blinked slowly. "…Oh, yeah, I forgot," she said.

Kuro sighed. "Let's just get these applications in before you hurt yourself."

"Shut up," was his sister's useless reply.


A/N: …Yes. Reina is blind. Yes, she can also see. …Not the same way, but she can still "see", in a sense. But how, you ask? You'll find out, don't worry ^_^

I wasn't originally going to let them see through the genjutsu, but when I got to this part of the story I realized there were two problems to that plan that I hadn't realized until I tried to write the scene: one, Reina is blind, so it wouldn't affect her (at least…I don't think it would…). Two, Kuro is a genjutsu specialist, so he'd probably be able to see through it pretty easily, as it wasn't a very powerful jutsu or anything (at least…I don't think it was…). So…they ended up being able to see through it ^^'

I wasn't sure exactly what kind of genjutsu that was, though. …Wait, are there types of genjutsu? I really have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to jutsus, esp. genjutu, so if anyone has anything they'd like to share about how genjutsu works I'd really appreciate it. And if I get something wrong, please correct me ^_^

So anyway, sorry for the boring crap…review, please, and keep reading :) It'll get better, I promise x.x

Thanks to madin456 for beta-ing this chapter. It is now worthy of reading :)