Hi, here's the next chapter. Enjoy. I don't own Naruto.

"Tsuya be quiet!" Yoake said to the restless girl sitting on his right. Shogo sat on her other side and sighed for the tenth time, the same amount of times Yoake had told Tsuya to be quiet. "You're going to distract him and then we'll be here all night."

The him Yoake was referring to was Kedakai, who was concentrating hard on his training with Gin. The three Akengata had been instructed to watch and pick out anything they thought he was doing wrong. Only Yoake had taken this job seriously.

"But I'm bored, Yo," Tsuya complained as she drew pointless squiggles on Shogo's outstretched arm. The other boy just sat there, holding his arm out and ignoring his sister. Being drawn on was better than having to listen to Tsuya's complaints if he refused.

"The faster Kedakai finishes this the quicker we can go home and then you won't be bored," Yoake replied, watching Kedakai from across the field. Even he had noticed the younger boys remarkable improvements in the short time they had been training together.

"Do you want Kedakai to be able to pass the exam?" Shogo asked, resting on his ink free arm. Tsuya nodded, eyes fixed on the pattern if swirls she was forming on her brothers tanned skin. "Then be quiet and let him practice." He looked down at his, now mostly blue, arm. "That's going to come off right? You didn't put any chakra into it this time did you?"

"Of course not," Tsuya replied, twisting his arm to expose the clean skin and continuing with her pattern. "Why would I put chakra into something like this? It's not like it's something important, like the animals."

Yoake seemed to find this last statement quite disturbing because he turned sharply to his sister, a look of horror on his face. "Oh no! Tsuya you didn't..." he began, but was cut off when Gin suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Tomorrow night there will be no training," the young woman said as her students climbed to their feet and Shogo rolled his sleeve down, over his blue arm. "As you know Kedakai will be taking his genin exam with Umino Iruka-san. The Hokage has informed me that, should he pass, he will become a permanent member of this team."

Yoake looked pleased, Tsuya squealed and Shogo scowled, he still didn't like the younger boy, even though he know knew Gin was innocent and Kedakai had been right to defend her. There was just something about the blue haired boy that annoyed him.

-

"Kedakai, it's nice to meet you," Iruka said, smiling as he entered the academy room where both Kedakai and Gin sat. "As you may already know, I'm Umino Iruka. The Hokage has instructed me to test you in basic ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu as well as shinobi theory. This exam will be a little more thorough than usual for an academy student, but that's only because, unlike the others, I haven't been able to watch your progress. So, are you ready?"

Kedakai smiled nervously, though he really wasn't looking too happy. He had never seen the other academy students train and he had no idea what they learnt in class, so he didn't know how he compared to them. What if he was far below the standard needed to become a genin? What if he failed the exam? What would Gin say then?

Sensing Kedakai's unease, Gin placed a hand on his shoulder. "Of course he's ready," she said, voicing a confidence the young boy wished he felt. "I have no doubt that he will pass this test as his skills far surpass most genin his age."

Iruka smiled and Kedakai felt his confidence lift slightly. If Gin-sensei believes that I can do this, then I definitely can, he thought as he stood up. I have been training under one of the greatest kunoichi in the world and who am I to question her?

"I'm ready," the boy said, all traces of nervousness gone. "Let's get this over with."

Iruka just shook his head as he lead Kedakai out of the room. He had never seen a sensei's words have such an impact before and he began to wonder what kind of teacher could command such respect from a student.

Gin watched them leave, feeling a little sad that she wasn't allowed to be present for the exam, but not nervous in the slightest. Like she had told Iruka, she had no doubt that Kedakai had the skill to be a genin, she just wished the boy could see it in himself.

When she was young she had had no doubt in her own ability. Her father had always said she was a genius, a true child of the darkness, and her skill had really been proven when she had been made a jonin. But then, for her, there had never been room in her life for doubt. She lived to be a shinobi, that was what she was born for. Her life had been full of training and nothing else.

She was happy for Kedakai, his life was worth more than his shinobi skill, unlike hers.

It felt like days before Iruka finally opened the door to the class room and ushered in a rather battered, tired looking Kedakai. When the boy saw his sensei he grinned and held out a new Konoha Hitai-ate.

Gin couldn't help but grin back.

"Thank you Gin-sensei," the boy said, unable to wipe the large smile off his face. "I never thought I would be able to live my dream of becoming a shinobi. If it hadn't of been for you I would have had to take over the Dento clan business and I would have been miserable for the rest of my life," he rushed forward and hugged her. "I have to go tell Naruto, he said he would wait for me at the ramen bar. Thanks again sensei, and you too Iruka-san," with that the boy ran out the door to share the good news with his friends.

Gin felt a small twinge of sadness as she watched the boy leave, remembering when she had been made a chunin, the youngest in her village, and had no-one to share her happiness with. She was glad Kedakai didn't have to go through the same thing.

"I was really surprised Kurayami-san," Iruka said, bringing Gin back from her memories. "That boy has excellent chakra control and an amazing memory for hand signs. He also did extremely well on his theory exam. You must be a very good teacher."

Gin shook her head and smiled. "No," she said softly. "He's just an amazing student."

-

"Your first mission," Tsunade said, holding up a scroll and eyeing the team that stood before her. The three Akengata were just looking blank. Of course they would have gone on missions before this one, so this was nothing new for them. Kedakai, however, was looking extremely excited, reminding the Hokage a little of Naruto, his new Hitai-ate proudly displayed across his forehead. "Are you sure you're ready?"

"Kedakai has just passed the genin exam Hokage-sama," Gin said, a trace of pride in her voice. "Of course we are ready."

"Right," Tsunade said, here eyes shifting to Gin. "Well this mission is rather more complicated than I would like for your first one, but I don't have anyone else available for the task. I would have sent team seven, but as you already know, they left on a mission and I don't know when they'll get back.

"A few days ago some important, not to mention priceless, artefacts were stolen from a prominent Kirigakure clan, the head of the clan has requested that we retrieve them. Needless to say we accepted the job as he was willing to pay quite a lot. The ones who took the items in question have been revealed as shinobi of a large Kumogakure clan, who have an intense rivalry with our clients. Your mission is to retrieve the items, as quickly as possible, without being seen. We don't want Kumo to know that Konoha was involved in any way. We were hired because it was impossible for our hosts to commission anyone out of Kiri without Kumo knowing. This mission will be incredibly dangerous, so, knowing this, will you accept?"

Usually she wouldn't have asked, but this task was really to advanced for a genin team. She had contemplated sending Gin in alone, but she also knew that the young woman wouldn't let any harm come to her team. They were safe with her, even in enemy territory.

"We accept," Gin said, without the slightest hesitation. She had absolutely no doubt in her teams ability and was confident that they could complete this mission.

"There is one other thing that concerns me," Tsunade said as she handed over the mission scroll. "Your team consists of five. This is really too large a number for a mission of this kind. I suggest..."

"I will not be leaving anyone in my team behind, Hokage-sama," Gin said in her usual monotone. "The Akengata are ready and Kedakai is more then willing and able to participate in this mission."

"Very well Gin, I'm sure you know the kids limits better than I do," Tsunade said, the uneasiness she was feeling not showing on her face. "Just remember that they're probably not as capable as you were when you were their age."

"If I had been anything like them back then I wouldn't have been locked away," Gin replied stiffly. "They are of stronger mind than I was at their age."

"Fine," the Hokage said leaning back in her chair. "You leave in two days time, sunset. Pack only what you'll need and travel light. I want this mission over as fast as possible and with little bloodshed."

-

"This definitely isn't going to be easy," Yoake remarked as the four genin made their way home from the Hokage's office. "I never thought our first mission in Konoha would be so advanced."

"Yeah," Shogo said with a smirk at Kedakai. "Just think what would happen if we stuffed up. I mean, we could be killed or we could even start a war. Can you imagine what would happen if Kumogakure found out Konoha was involved."

Shogo had only meant this to be a taunt at the younger boy, but Yoake nodded thoughtfully. "You know you could be right," he said. "This is probably a mission more suited for the ANBU, or, at least, a team of chunin."

"But Gin-sensei is better than twenty chunin," Tsuya put in happily, running towards a set of swings in the park they were passing through. "And besides, as long as we work together we can do this, easy. Too bad our jutsu isn't completed yet. Though I don't suppose we'll need it for this mission."

"What jutsu?" Kedakai asked, curious. He had only known of a few, extremely skilled, shinobi who had invented their own jutsu and he was extremely impressed that the triplets had been able to create one. "Can you tell me about it?"

"Tsyua!" Shogo snapped, running after her. "You can't just go around talking about things like that where anyone can hear you," he shot Kedakai an angry look. "It could be dangerous, and it's meant to be a secret."

"I don't see why we should have to keep it a secret from Kai," the girl said, hanging of the top bar of the swing set. Kedakai blushed at being given a nickname, as he knew Tsuya only did that for her brothers. "He's a member of our team now, and that makes him better than family. Please Yo, can I tell him?"

Yoake sighed but nodded stiffly as he sat down on a park bench. Shogo just scowled and walked a little distance away, kicking at a slightly longer clump of grass on the playground.

Tsuya squealed with excitement and jumped down from the swings to stand in front of her blue haired team mate. "Our strength, being triplets, lies in us being together," she explained, suddenly becoming serious. "We can share our chakra between us or make it one. We've been trying to develop a jutsu that allows us to completely combine our chakra. The only problem is we don't have a focus point and none of us want to hand all our power over to one person. We trust each other completely and it's not something we do consciously. The problem is we don't want to lose control. That's the reason we can never reach our full potential and a jutsu remains unfinished. Our old sensei thought we might need to focus on something outside the three of us, almost creating a forth being, but, no matter how much we try, it's never worked."

"Wow," Kedakai said, his eyes alight with curiosity. "I've never heard of such a thing being possible before. You guys will be really powerful once you get the jutsu to work. How did you find out you could do it? Did your clan teach you?"

"Of course not silly," Tsuya said. "Our family specialised in genjutsu, so we are really skilled illusionists. Because our clans jutsu is light based it's easy for us to make people see what's not really there or hide something that is, just be manipulating the amount of light and the way it falls on the eye. Watch this."

The rabbit that she had drawn on Kedakai's hand had faded ages ago, but as the red haired girl performed a few hand signs it started to reappear, glowing in the same blue as when it was originally drawn.

As he watched the rabbit began to move, become more solid, more real. Then there was a flash of blue light and the little picture was gone, but on the grass in front of Kedakai was the same blue rabbit. It still looked like a stylised drawing, but now it moved about like a real thing.

"Wow," the blue haired boy said, almost speechless as he reached out to touch the rabbit. His hand went straight through it and it's outline shimmered. "That's so amazing. Is that one of your clans jutsu?"

Yoake sighed, knowing that his sister liked to show off. "No, that's something Tsuya came up with herself," he replied. "Now that she's marked you she can call that rabbit up from you at any time, even when you're extremely far away. Though the further away you are the more chakra she has to use."

"And the more chakra I put into the little bunny," Tsuya said, bending down to pick it up. "The more solid it becomes. Their very useful for sending messages, or scouting, or even fighting, depending on the animal and the person it's connected to."

"Really the animals are only an illusion, made solid by ink and chakra," Yoake explained. "But I must admit they are very useful. I just wish Tsuya would tell people before she went around marking them with her chakra."

"But Yo, if I told them they wouldn't let me draw on them," his sister giggled. "And the looks on their faces are so much more fun if they don't know what's going to happen. Besides, most of the time I never get to use the animals anyway."

Yoake just sighed. "Come on, we better go home," he said as he stood up. Tsuya clutched his arm immediately, dropping the blue rabbit on the ground. "This mission is going to be long and hard and we need to get our supplied ready. Kedakai, meet us tomorrow at the training ground and we'll discuss what we're going to take with us."

Kedakai nodded and waved goodbye to his team mates as they went their separate ways. On his way back to Naruto's he noticed that the glowing blue rabbit was following him and he stopped to watch it. As he did it disappeared, his palm glowing blue for a second, before it was completely gone.

-

Tsuya threw her marker in the air and caught it, only to toss it in the air again. She was on her way to meet her brothers and Kedakai at the training ground. Yoake and Shogo had left without her because she had been taking too long with a drawing she was currently doing on the kitchen wall. She had refused to leave until it was done.

"That's the girl," a voice said from behind her, though she just ignored it and kept on walking. "I heard from the Yamanaka girl that she's crazy. She said she draws on people with that pen."

"Ha, she sounds like fun," another voice joined the first.

Two genin, maybe a year or two older than Tsuya, appeared in front of her, forcing her to stop walking or run right into them. She looked up, her emerald eyes assessing the risk involved in talking to them.

"Hi little girl," the taller boy said, he was the one who had spoken first. "You're not from around here are you? I heard they sent you and some others down from Nikko because the Hikarikage didn't want you around any more."

Ysuya shook her head. "Hiruma-sama sent us here because he thought it would be good for us, and help our countries relationship," she said quickly, not liking these people at all. "I have to go now, my brothers are waiting for me and Sho will be mad if I'm late."

She went to walk away but the taller of the two grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. Tsuya knew that she could have taken both of them on easily, but Yoake had always told her never to hurt a member of her own village, so she did nothing.

"Not so fast girl," the shorter genin said, smirking. "I want to see the famous marker everyone has been talking about. Give it to me."

Tsuya frowned as the boy snatched the marker out of her hand. The taller one was still gripping her shoulder. "Give that back, it belongs to me," the girl snapped. "I never said you could touch it."

She went to take the marker back, but the boy still gripping her shoulder pushed her away, causing her to trip and hit the ground hard.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Tsuya head Kedakai's voice and turned to see the boy coming towards them. He looked extremely angry. "Leave her alone!"

The two boys just laughed and walked off, leaving Tsuya on the ground, looking like she was about to cry. Kedakai rushed over to help her up. "Are you all right," he asked as he gripped her hand and pulled her to her feet. "They didn't hurt you did they?"

Tsuya shook her head. "They took my marker," she said softly, as if it was the saddest thing that had ever happened to her.

"Don't worry," her team mate said, smiling. Yoake had advised him some days ago to keep a marker on him at all times, adding that he never wanted to see Tsuya get mad because she didn't have one. He pulled a new blue marker out of his pocket and handed it to the girl.

Tsuya looked surprised before her face split into a wide grin and she hugged Kedakai around the shoulders. "Now you really are one of my brothers," she said happily. "Yo always has new markers for me and Sho keeps the bullies away and you do both."

Kedakai was happy she considered him one of her brothers, but he frowned at hearing she had been bullied before. "Does this happen often?" he asked, a little concerned.

"Oh yes," Tsuya replied, continuing on towards the training grounds. "There were always people like that at home, but Sho always looks after me. Yo always says not to hurt people from your own village, but Sho never listens, so he gets rid of the bullies for me."

Kedakai shook his head. It was no secret he disliked Shogo, but the way Tsuya talked about him made him sound like a good person. He found it hard to picture the moody boy sticking up for his sister, but, if it was true, then maybe they could get along after all.

Well I hoped you liked it, please review even if you didn't.

Thanks for reading,

Kwin