home is where my team is

by tentendeservedbetter

It wasn't supposed to be like this; none of them wanted to end up on the same team as one another. They were too different, too unusual. If you were to ask any one of Team 8 back then, they would agree that their team combination was a copy of their parent's team; but even then, they knew they were a family.A Team 8 Growing Up story. Eventual NaruHina, etc. Rated T-M

5. Four Heads are Better than One

The moment Kurenai left them through a pile of small, pink, cherry blossom petals on the ground, Shino was already making his way towards her without missing a beat, ready to dive into this test. The set up of this test took him back, it definitely did; having to not only use everything he learned about tracking from the Academy, but also having to apply his knowledge about all three of the ninja arts in order to find Kurenai and get her headband? The more he thought about it, the more complicated it became, and it was definitely more complicated than what they had to do to pass the Academy.

This test made sense to Shino though; anyone can pass a written exam and create a clone...except if you're Naruto Uzumaki, maybe, then you're just built different… but not everyone has the capabilities and the competency to be a shinobi.

And especially not a tracker shinobi at that.

He bent down to pick up a petal from the pile, looking at it, rubbing it against his fingers to- did Kiba just smell the petal? With his own nose? He really wasn't lying about having a sense of smell, but Shino wasn't expecting to see it in action this soon. The way his nose moved slightly after sniffing the petal, his head automatically moving around, smelling the air; he really is keeping up with his clan's image.

Nevermind, Shino didn't have time to think about what Kiba was in the middle of doing; he was in the middle of processing two different thoughts at once, trying to connect them. The first was to ensure that the petals were real and not a Genjutsu that Kurenai was keeping them trapped in.

After Kiba finished smelling the petal, he held it towards the puppy, his little brown nose wiggling as it inhaled the scent, before barking out a bunch of "arfs" and looking out off the Hokage Rock. He then bent his knees, readying himself to bound off towards the stairs heading down from the Rock, and lifted a leg up to start running, when Shino automatically stood up, the words falling out of his mouth.

"Hold on."

Kiba stopped quickly, stomping his leg on the ground, nearly tipping over his foot.

"There is no hold on. This is a test and only one of us can pass."

I know that already, Shino thought. "That's why I said hold on. There's something weird about it."

"Listen. It's weird because her reasoning for only passing one of us is incredibly vague," Shino said cautiously, slowly, trying to process the million ways he could convey the doubt he had with this entire situation. "Don't you find it strange that they would go through the trouble of putting us in specific teams only for one of us to pass?"

"It...It doesn't matter who I'm with. Even if I weren't with you guys, I'm pretty sure the rules would be the same."

Alright then.

"Kiba," Hinata started, standing nearby Shino, her voice tapering off as soon as she started, her eyes trailing away from Kiba when he glanced over at her.

And with that Kiba turned around, Shino expecting him to pounce off away- Shino looked back down to the pile of flowers, not bothering to say anything more. He can do whatever he wants. Why did Shino even think that Kiba would actually take the moment to listen to him and what he had to say? The Inuzuka hasn't listened to any authoritative figure in his entire life, he's definitely not going to listen to Shino-

"She's headed towards Training Ground 1."

His words were quiet, the quietest that Shino has ever heard the Inuzuka spoke, and likely the first and last time he'll ever use that tone. With that, Kiba gave a simple command to Akamaru, and they bounded off the path in a blink of an eye.

Well, there was always Hinata. Maybe she would hear Shino's doubts; she is just as perceptive and reflective, just as Shino is and -

"He's right," Hinata suddenly said, drawing Shino's eyes towards her, slightly surprised at the firmness in her words and yet… even though his glasses are slightly tinted, he could see her eyes hesitantly wandering. "Even if we all work together...only one of us can pass."

Shino was not expecting this, he expected her to think more into this, to doubt Kurenai's words and to think things through…

And yet, Hinata followed Kiba's direction towards the Training Ground, leaving Shino alone.

Well...that didn't go as planned, Shino thought, staring off towards the direction of the training ground beyond the Hokage Rock, lost in the multiple feelings and thoughts that were swarming inside, his insects buzzing about.

Iruka-sensei said it himself - their team was picked in order to create the best team combination and they were handpicked by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, himself. And yet, here Kurenai is, talking about how she was going to specifically choose one of them to continue on to being a Genin- while the rest of them are to be sent back to the Academy.

Shino shuddered at the thought of having to go back to those classrooms with their uncomfortable seats, the long desks forcing students to sit near each other, the constant smell of chalk roaming the air, and the lack of A/C and heater in each season and…

I can't go back and take classes with children! Shino thought, and he bent down towards the flower petals. He needed to formulate his thoughts.

He knew something was wrong about these rules. There was a reason they were placed in a team. His own father, a Jonin at that, from what he had told Shino about his missions, he always led a group of ninjas on a mission. What benefit would there be to only accept one shinobi, unless the other two were incompetent, and while he doesn't like to admit it, Kiba could be a useful asset to the Leaf's forces if he wasn't such a stubborn…person.

What was the point of saying that she would only accept one then? Are they actually being tested on their tracking skills? Or is there something underneath that… something underneath the deception. What if Kurenai was testing them, not on their tracking skills? Something else, what else…

What are the underpinnings of being a Leaf shinobi? What do they value the most in their Shinobi? They learned this before, in their Civics and History class, and he remembers the teacher going over the core values of the Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Loyalty...an undying and unwavering loyalty to the Hidden Leaf.

Perseverance…to persevere and see through any situation in order to complete missions till the end for the benefit of the Leaf.

Courage...to face adversities and obstacles in one's way.

Teamwork…to work and strive for a common goal in order to benefit the Leaf.

Teamwork…collaboration was key. After all, it was how the Leaf village was founded and established, through the collaboration of the First Hokage's clan, from the Senju clan, with others, including his own clan. Working together in order to reach a final goal...that would be a logical aspect to test out. The Academy focused heavily on teaching individual skills, moulding students to perfection in order to become impeccable shinobi- hand-to-hand combat, kunai throwing, deciphering code, tracking, jutsus...all individual skills that they had learned by the end of their schooling journey. There were times they would have to work together on group projects, though, or work together in order to complete a task assigned to them.

Creating these teams in order to create the most optimal team combination...that's what Iruka-sensei told him. There was a purpose of putting them together.

She's purposefully trying to split us up, Shino thought. She wants to see if we will work together, despite the possibility of two of us being sent back to the Academy. To see past our own motivations for the main goal - to get the headband from her head.

"I have to find them," Shino mumbled to himself, as he lifted an arm towards the pile of petals, feeling a prickling sensation against his skin, not necessarily painful, no, he had adjusted himself to the biting feeling as hundreds of cold, tiny feet crawl down along his arm. "There is something odd about these petals."

They were cherry blossom petals, pink and small, and yet...they smelled like roses, those deep red flowers and fresh. The closer he got to the petals, the more pungent the rose smell became, nearly artificial in nature. Black dots started to fly out of his sleeves, his kikaichu, swarming towards the petals, the force making the petals fly up into the air in a frenzy.

"Well?" Shino asked, as a few of the bugs returned to him, swarming around his head, whispering in buzzes that only he understood.

There's nothing there...There's nothing there...

"This is one of her Genjutsus, then," Shino muttered to himself, as he closed his eyes, focusing internally, deeper, beneath his nerves to his own chakra flow. Slowly inhaling and exhaling, the cool winter air swirling through his esophagus into his lungs, Shino focused on controlling his chakra flow, culminating it into one spot underneath his diaphragm, and he released a jolt of chakra.

Kai! The petals wavered for a moment, shifting between being and disappearing, until it dissipated into thin air, melding into the background.

That's one thing out of the way, Shino thought, shifting his glance out towards the Training Grounds. However...There's another issue.

How was Shino supposed to track Kurenai down if she didn't leave a single trace behind? The flower petals, likely the only inkling of a clue about her whereabouts, was a genjutsu, an illusion, a figment of her own creation. The rose scent attached to it would have been used to track her down...however, the scent was also an illusion.

Kiba said she was in Training Ground 1, Shino thought as he looked beyond the edge of the Hokage Rock out to the huge plot of land with multiple clusters of trees scattered about, recreating the forests found outside the walls, with a stream travelling through. He had to have used that faux scent to identify her whereabouts...He was still under a Genjutsu. Hinata must be under the Genjutsu as well.

He knew that Genjutsu is not limited to creating a scenario - it can make a shinobi move through the physical world to someplace else. The illusion broke, however, neither of them were around Shino when he came into the physical world - meaning that they had left, likely towards the training grounds. Truly, Genjutsu was a difficult technique to master, and even more difficult to understand fully. And Kurenai, being a Jonin and a master of genjutsu clearly, will be a difficult opponent to face. If he ever wanted a chance to get near her headband, he needed to focus on his surroundings, tease out anything that was out of the ordinary, in order to ensure he was actually in the physical world rather than an illusion.

However, Shino had a trump card that would give him an advantage against Kurenai…

I need to find Kiba and Hinata before she finds them. Shino bounded off his feet and ran down the path towards the ground, shifting through the air until he entered the training ground. He didn't want to try convincing Kiba - he knew Hinata would be easier to persuade and listen to his thoughts. Maybe she thought the same way as he did about the test. The Inuzuka was definitely a different story; he's stubbornness knows no bounds.

Regardless, Shino knew this was the best chance they all had of potentially passing this test and not being sent back to another year at the Academy. He might have to be more conscious about his words, his tone maybe.

I have nothing to base their scent on, Shino thought as he ran through the grounds, between the trees hanging overhead. Once he reached a segment with less trees in between and more land, he stopped for a moment, looking around to ensure that he was alone. The grass was short and dry, as he expected for this weather, and nothing much else seemed out of the ordinary. However…

"Find Kiba and Hinata," he muttered to the insects, the buzzing inside his body, intensifying at his command, seeping out of through the skin on his forearm and forming into a concentrated ball in front of him. "And report back to me once you find them."

With that, the ball of dots dispersed into separate directions, the buzzing fading the further they got from Shino. Now, Shino could wait for a while in this area until his insects came back. He didn't need a scent in order to scan the area; he can use his insects in order to retrieve information and formulate a plan of action from there. The only issue is that he is down half his workforce now; half the power he would normally have if he had all of his insects with him.

A gust of wind blew, shaking the tree branches against each other, the creaking of the main base of a few trees bending emitting around him. It was quiet...too quiet…

He suddenly heard a rustling sound to his left - unlike the rustling sound the leaves would make against the wind and one another, no, it sounded heavier...creaking downwards...and interrupted the flow of the sound in a way that you would have to pay close attention to notice. From his peripheral, he could see a light gleam of metal, and he stepped to the side on time, a whirring sound passing his ears in a blink of an eye, and a heavy thunk of metal hitting the dirt further from him drew his attention.

It was a kunai.

Shino whipped his head towards the direction the kunai came from, up above the ground towards a tree, a figure clothed in red fabric amongst the green leaves, and within the second, the figure jumped off the branch, landing gracefully. She pulled back her long, black hair behind her shoulders, piercing red eyes looking directly at Shino as she shook her head.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to figure out my Genjutsu so soon," Kurenai said. "Your other teammates haven't figured it out yet."

"That's because I'm better than them," Shino replied, eyes never straying from her form. "Genjutsu may not be my forte, but I can still figure out when I'm in one."

"So it seems," Kurenai replied, eyes scanning over Shino's form, before returning back to Shino's face. "It would have to take a backseat for now. I hope you're not going to spar with me like the other two; I know that Taijutsu is not your forte."

"...It's not," Shino admitted, taking a stance. "However, that does not mean that I am incompetent in the form."

"I'll be the judge of that," Kurenai said, as she shuffled forward towards Shino, Shino waiting for her first move. Kurenai threw a low kick towards his ankle, attempting to disable his stance, and Shino hopped to the side, pulling out his kunai.

As expected, she produced a kunai in her hand and jabbed it towards him, Shino bending his arm with the kunai to block the motion. The pushback forced both of them in opposite directions. They continued to spar, Shino noting a few things as they continued to spar, things he would keep in mind as long as he found Kurenai.

If the opportunity arises, I will attempt to get her headband, Shino thought as he dodged Kurenai's splice, back bending backwards as he stepped back. However, I need to be wary of any signs of her using a Genjutsu. If this gets too hard, I'll exit the battle and try to find the other two as soon as I can.

With another jab of the kunai, Shino did a twist of his wrist, disarming Kurenai of her kunai, the metal flying up and behind her, too far for her to reach.

Now! Shino reached over towards the back of her head, the kunai ready to splice the fabric of her headband off.

Unexpectedly, Kurenai's hand jabbed into Shino's stomach, a loud thump from hitting his lower organs in, receiving a strangled gasp from the young boy. For a fraction of a second, Shino froze midair, the impact of the punch making him float slightly. Suddenly, a loud chattering noise, high pitched and squelching, started to form, the tip of his hair started to fizzle into black dots, piling on top of each other and cascading as the fizzle continued downwards.

Kurenai let out a sound of disbelief, as she shuffled back, away from the black dots.

"I see…" Kurenai said, her lips contorting downwards, though she fixed it back into a neutral line immediately. "A substitution jutsu with insects...how peculiar."

Shino jumped from behind a bush nearby, throwing a few shurikens towards Kurenai, spinning towards her from different directions. She produced a new kunai from her thigh pocket, deflecting all the shurikens, the stars rocketing off towards different directions.

Kurenai started to form a few hand signs, the pattern unfamiliar to Shino. Dog...Bird...Monkey...Ox...and finally Tiger. Is she going to release a fire style jutsu? Or is this one of her genjutsus...

"Your genjutsu has no effect on my insects," Shino stated matter of factly. "The kikaichu didn't even notice the petals when I saw them...which could only indicate that they weren't real to begin with. I managed to get out of that genjutsu of yours - and I will get out of any genjutsu you throw my way."

"That's true," Kurenai agreed, a tad bit too calm for Shino's liking. "But that doesn't mean that you're not immune."

With that, he heard a slight whisper from her mouth. "Demon Illusion: Tree Bind Death"

Before Shino could blink, he felt something hard behind him, a crunching sound of wood sliding against each other could be heard. He immediately glanced back, about to spin on his heels to step away, but he was too late- a thick vine sprouted from the side and wrapped around his waist as more vines from both sides wrapped his chest, his shoulders, his thighs. Out of pure reaction, he tried to pull his arms out, pushing against the vines, shifting around slightly as he tried to free himself before even more vines could cover him.

"Geh," Shino grunted as the vines tightened with his resistance, snapping his back against the trunk of the tree. A sudden coldness lined against his neck, metal in nature, along the side where his carotid artery laid. He stopped moving, his breathing becoming shallow as he glanced to his peripherals, the hilt of the kunai gleaming, a pale hand tightened around with her sharp, red nails.

"I knew you have quite the advantage compared to the other two," he heard Kurenai's voice said smoothly right beside his ear, making the hairs in the nape of his neck rise as goosebumps started to from along his arm, the realisation of how close she was and how close the kunai, a real, sharp, kunai was pressing against his neck. Her black locks hung over his shoulder, he could feel the weight of it, some free strands tickling the skin on his jaw and cheek, making him almost have a shaky breath. Her voice was silky smooth, "Insects are not affected by Genjutsu because they lack a central nervous system. As long as you ensnare the user, however, the insects are useless. I guess it's true, then - a tool is only as good as it's user."

Shino kept his mouth closed into a thin line, his throat running dry, but he didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. How could he let himself get trapped so easily like this?

"If you were my enemy, I would have cut your head off clean," Kurenai hummed, a coldness to her tone, cold and distant, that almost made Shino believe that she would not hesitate to kill him in that instant. She continued, now in a warmer voice, "But for now, I will leave you here. Let's see if you can figure a way out of this genjutsu."

A low squelching sound emitted, the kunai dragged slowly along the side of his neck, retracting until Shino could feel the tip of the kunai slide off, allowing him to fully exhale and let his neck expand.

With a ghost of a smile over her lips, Kurenai's body merged to the background, swirling and shifting into pink blossoms, until she completely disappeared from Shino's peripheral sight, leaving nothing behind.

---

SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!

"Helloooooo! Shinoooo! Wake up!"

"K-Kiba, please be gentle," Hinata hesitantly said, worryingly looking between the sleeping figure of Shino in front of her and Kiba snapping his fingers close to his ears, the sharp sound making Hinata cringe. "You have to gently wake someone up from a genjutsu-"

"We don't have time to be gentle, Hinata!" Kiba exclaimed, his scowl growing deeper at Shino's unresponsive form. "We used Kai, he should wake up right away! Yo! Shino!" SNAP! SNAP! "Up! Now! Before I get Akamaru to bite ya!"

"Arf! Arf!" Akamaru barked beside Shino, tail wagging enthusiastically, ready to pounce.

"Kiba!" Hinata exclaimed in a whisper, and suddenly, they heard a low mumble, Shino stirring a bit as he...well, Hinata assumed he was opening his eyes, she still can't see because of his glasses. It was

"So...loud…" Shino managed to groan out, his throat dry and making his voice crack. There was a slight pause as Shino sat up slowly, his back immediately straight, his eyes looking straight ahead rather than up towards either of them.

"Finally you're awake!" Kiba drawled out, standing up as he lent out his hand towards Shino. "How long have you been sleeping here?"

"How long have I been here?" Shino said as he stood up, ignoring Kiba's hand. Hinata could see Kiba grimacing intensifying, eyes glowering, but he didn't say anything. Shino then shifted his head up towards the sky, the sun much higher in the sky - nearing the cusp of noon. "Too long, it would seem…"

"I'd say we're about three hours into the exam," Kiba said, hands on his hips, glancing up at the sun and back to Shino. "I'm guessing you've been here for about more than an hour. At least...that's what the burn on your face is telling me."

Indeed, Hinata now noted that Shino's face, the parts he left exposed, had been reddened from lying underneath the sun, making him look less sunkissed and more...sunburned. Even if it were winter in Konoha, the sun was out and brimming outside, and the trees around Shino didn't help angle the sun away. Hinata found it funny to look at - the bridge of his nose is a light red, and his cheeks were a rosy as well. And with the way Shino's eyebrows naturally angled down, as if in a permanent scowl, he looked...funny.

Shino didn't move at his comment, ignoring it, likely, and he continued, "When did you two find each other?"

"I found Hinata right after I fought Kurenai," Kiba replied, glancing over to Hinata. "I'd say about...an hour ago?"

Hinata nodded along, before speaking, "We've been looking for you ever since."

She had fallen into a calming slumber, her body floating in a darkness that was warm and comforting. It's been a while since her body felt this relaxed, the aching from training so hard the past few weeks up until their graduation exam seemed to seep out from her muscles. Time didn't exist in this illusionary world- not that Hinata minded all that much, she was so happy in that moment that her mind had wandered away from the goal of this test.

Hinata might have stayed there for much longer, if it weren't for Kiba and Akamaru; he had used Kai to bring her back to the material world. She was slightly terrified to see his face hovering over her, piercing eyes watching her, with Akamaru staring down at her with his tongue out. It was...unexpected, to say the least.

What was even more unexpected was when Kiba, after making sure Hinata was not extremely injured and asked her how her battle was (which Hinata gave sparing details about, because really, how interesting was her fighting skills for her to tell a whole tale), suggested they teamed up together.

"The more I think about it, the more I'm thinking about what Shino said," Kiba had said, a bit hesitant, as if he didn't want to admit what he felt. "I... didn't think it would be this hard to go up against her, I'm not gonna lie."

It was the first time Hinata had ever been alone with Kiba her entire life, having avoided being in a classroom with him if he was the only one sitting at the table. His voice was...much calmer than she expected it to be, just as soft as he spoke to her before.

"I was...thinking that too," Hinata admitted, cautious with her words. "We were put into a group together for a reason...I don't know why, but it appears the Academy would want us to stay together."

An Aburame, an Inuzuka, and a Hyuuga...according to Kayake, this group formation had happened before, and maybe even before that. A formation that must have worked out perfectly whenever the graduating class had members from each of these clans. And...Iruka had said that they considered all of their skills, all of their abilities up until this point in order to match them together. The group formation was important, they were all taught that at school, a four-man squad was the most basic form- and Kurenai wanted them to do it individually, saying she will only pick one.

Or did she really? A shinobi uses deception to their advantage...and they have to see through deception as well.

"This isn't the Academy anymore," Kiba replied. "But...you're onto something. I'm suspicious about her so-called rules... What kind of rules are there in the real world, right?"

"Right…" Hinata simply agreed. There's always the law, of course, but who knows how Kiba would react to Hinata correcting him- he already gets annoyed when Shino does it. She wanted to ask Kiba if he wanted to team up...if they should get Shino too...but what if Kiba didn't want to do that? Hinata personally though it would be good to talk about this with Shino- Shino was insightful, probably noticing something she couldn't even notice, and if they were to team up, it would be better -

"...I'm thinking that we will find Shino too, and figure something out," Kiba finally said, as if reading her mind. With a quirk of his lips into a grin, he then said, "How bout it?"

"I assume...we all fell into her genjutsus," Shino suddenly said, monotonously. Kiba looked away now, Hinata could see that his face now twisted in embarrassment.

"Yea...I did...at least…" Hinata mumbled, also embarrassed, but at least she knew she wasn't the only one from the silence that fell over them. Hinata between them, waiting for Kiba to say something, but his mouth didn't move, nor did his eyes return towards their direction, looking at the ground. Shino, on the other hand, well..Hinata didn't know where he was looking or what he was thinking.

"Arf! Arf!" Akamaru's loud barking broke the silence, and Hinata heard Kiba scoff.

"What, alright! You don't need to tell me twice!" Kiba said, and again, just as Hinata was before, she was amazed that Kiba was responding to his dog, speaking as if he understood.

"Do you...understand what he's saying?" Hinata spoke up, seeing an opportunity to generate a conversation between them, to get to the point, but she tapered, now embarrassed of asking. Yes, of course he does understand the dog, why else would Kiba respond?

"Yeah, we learn that growing up," Kiba said, not bothered by her response, his face no longer nervous as prior but rather a bit calm, giving Akamaru a head pat. "It comes in handy when he's telling me something and nobody else understands."

"What did he...just say?"

"He just told me...to ask you guys if…" Kiba's voice trailed off for a moment, abruptly stopping. Then he continued, a bit confidently now, "You guys want to team up to get that headband."

"Team...up…" Hinata mumbled to herself, and Kiba nodded.

"I mean, we all think her rules are trash- they don't make sense at all. We all went against her, and we got our asses handed to us," Kiba continued. "I hate to admit it, but it's near impossible to get near her close enough to get the headband."

"...Technically, we could get away from teaming up," Shino suddenly said, smoothly, drawing both their attention now. He paused for a moment… and then he continued. "Kurenai-sensei only said that the goal of the test is to get the headband off of her forehead. She never said the goal was to get the headband independently."

"Did she?" Kiba asked. "Same difference, though."

"Not necessarily," Shino replied courtly. "If she wanted us to get the headband independently, she would have said so. However...she didn't. She went out of her way to talk about all these rules on the side - however, the main goal is to get the headband from her head. Whoever ends up holding it, though…"

There was another silence, Hinata glancing at her hands. What should they do? What should she do? Shino isn't wrong- what he's saying does make sense, to an extent. A shinobi must look through everything and find the truth…

"To be frank with both of you, I believe she is intentionally forcing us to work against each other instead of with each other," Shino suddenly said. "I suspect that she's not necessarily testing out our tracking skill but...how we work together as a team. By making us think that we had to do it independently, by saying she would only pass one person...she wanted to cause discord between us, interfering with the goal of the test and causing us to waste time."

Another silence fell over them.

"...I…"

Hinata was surprised to hear herself speak, but she knew that she had to say something. They didn't have time to waste...and besides…

"I think...you might be right...I think that...there is a reason for us to be together, and...testing our teamwork to see if we could work well together...would make sense, especially since we would be working together on the field," Hinata added, glancing away, not meaning to say this much, but she hoped that she got her words across.

"...Kiba." Shino said, and Kiba stared at them in silence for a moment.

"...What do we have to lose?" Kiba hummed, a smirk growing on his face. "It's worth a shot. Standing around here isn't going to help us. Doing it alone didn't get us anywhere. I can believe that a master of illusions would try to pull something like that on us to see what we would do."

"So, we're in agreement; we team up and get the headband together, correct?" Shino said, a pause, as he waited for their response. Kiba glanced over at Hinata, and nodded. Hinata did as well. Shino continued, "We do not have much time...we will have to find a way to find her and we need to come up with a strategy."

"Kiba," Shino continued, head never facing him. "You said that your clan's technique enables you to track people, correct? Do you or your…" He paused for a split moment, Hinata could hear his next word starting with a 'd', but he stopped himself. "Akamaru...has her scent? It would make it easier for us to find her."

Kiba seemed to have hesitated slightly at his question, staring at him for a moment. Hinata was surprised too that Shino would bring up what he had said yesterday, much less, remember what Kiba had said to begin with; though, Shino's memory is quite sharp, from what he remembered of him, very clear cut about details and memorized passages easily that Hinata fumbled over.

"I thought I did...but it was a fake," Kiba grumbled, looking away from his two teammates while rubbing the tip of his nose slightly, unconsciously, perhaps, while pursing his lips in a pout. Childish, for sure, but it helped Hinata feel less intimidated by Kiba. "And even if I manage to get close enough to catch her scent, who's to say that it's how she actually smells? She can easily use a Genjutsu and create a new scent to throw me off course."

"That would be bad for all of us, yes," Shino said evenly. Hinata could tell by the slight shift of his face towards her direction, he was either looking at her or going to direct his question to her. Or both, perhaps. "What about you Hinata? Kiba has scent, but what do you have?"

"I...I," Hinata muttered, trying to mentally shuffle through the various pieces of information that was thrown at her. "W-Well, do you know what the Hyuuga..Hyuuga clan's...hidden secret..."

"Heard 'bout it," Kiba said, an eyebrow pulling down, eyes piercing her. "Course, they don't teach that shit in class. You noble clans always like to keep things under wraps."

"We have to keep it a secret," Shino replied before Hinata could respond. "Our clan's abilities are unique and you wouldn't find it outside of Konoha. Imagine word got out about it and the information falls in the wrong hands-"

"Are ya saying my clan's abilities aren't special?" Kiba grunted sharply, eyes squinting at Shino, who barely flinched.

"No, I'm not saying that at all," Shino said just as quickly as Kiba interrupted, never raising his voice. "But our clan's abilities...are heavily tied to inheritance or are procured from birth. Anyone has the chance of being an Inuzuka if they weren't born as one."

"Sure, but they'll have to compensate a lot more than those who inherit our sensitive noses and ears."

"And your big mouth," Hinata heard Shino mumble into his coat, and she could see Kiba - did his ears just perk up? - as he stood up, trying to size himself up against Shino's taller stature.

"What was that?"

"My clan's secret ability is our dojutsu," Hinata interjected, capturing both their attention before they could start another argument. She continued, a bit cautiously, trying to think of a way to explain it without giving too much detail - after all, the true abilities of the Byakugan has made it prime target number one for those who seek to destroy the Hyuuga line (though, truly, she doubts that either of them would want to destroy the Hyuuga line, however, she must uphold her clan's secrets, nevertheless). "The Byakugan. Our clan's kekkei genkai allows us to use an ability called the Byakugan. It...lets you see past the skin, through the muscles, and see the chakra networks and reserves inside a living being."

Kiba and Shino stared silently at her after her explanation, and Hinata didn't know what either of them were thinking, and her nervousness grew into dread. What did they think of her now? Did they think that she was...some sort of creep?

"What's a kekkei genkai?" Kiba suddenly asked, his face twisting into confusion.

"It's-" she started, but Shino intervened, his sharp eyebrows angelling deeper.

"Don't you pay attention in class?" Shino asked courtly. "A kekkei genkai is a type of genetic code in your DNA that enables someone to possess unique techniques. Each kekkei genkai has their own unique code, and can only be passed on through blood. This genotype can manifest into a specific phenotype."

"What the hell is a phenotype?" Kiba asked, sounding and looking even more confused than before, and Hinata knew that Shino's explanation was overwhelming him with the extra information he specified. Shino was also emitting an energy that Hinata knew his patience was running thin, though he didn't show it on his face nor his movement.

"It's a physical trait," Hinata stepped in, thinking of the simplest way to explain it. "Like, how my kekkei genkai gives me white eyes."

Kiba nodded along, his face less contorted in confusion.

"So basically," Kiba started, slowly, as if finally digesting what she had said and learning something new. "You're saying that you got X-Ray vision, right? And you can see through clothes and objects and you can see...everything..."

"...Yes, pretty much," Hinata said, slightly relieved.

Suddenly, she could see a realization dawning over Kiba, his eyes widening and he quickly put a hand over his chest, as if covering it and his hand reached down- oh my god.

"I'm not using it now!" Hinata squeaked out, using all of her voice power to exclaim, feeling a rush of blood and heat to her face, her cheeks turning red in what was embarrassment. She covered her eyes right away, even though she didn't do anything wrong.

"I'm just joking!" Kiba exclaimed, taken by surprise by her, his face turning a deeper shade against his tanned skin.

"Do you really think that Hinata would do something so low?" Shino suddenly asked, almost ominously, and Kiba shook his head quickly.

"No! No, obviously not!" Kiba replied, slightly grinning. "I mean, I don't know, maybe she's the type-"

"You think I would do that?" Hinata asked suddenly, genuinely, her eyebrows pulled in deeper, and she could feel a different type of nervousness over being perceived as...well...a pervert.

"I didn't think you would take it seriously," Kiba suddenly said, her voice a bit softer and looking...a bit concerned, maybe her face gave away how taken aback she was by his comment.

"I-...I…" Hinata was at a loss of words. Was he...teasing her?

She had never had this kind of interaction in her life, never being accused of any of this sort of thing, and of course, when she did have a conversation with someone, they were typically polite and formal. Her family, her classmates...she didn't have friends, no. She's never been...teased before this way, or teased at all. Nobody jokes around with her, she was an observer to others, and everything that was said towards her was, well...just factual observations, she supposed.

"I was just kidding," Kiba said, slightly bowing his head, apologetically. "Sorry, I didn't think you would take that seriously. Sorry about that-"

"It's fine," Hinata said quickly, and really, she meant it. Even though, the implication that Hinata Hyuuga, daughter of the great and noble Hiashi, was some sort of pervert would tarnish her honour and dignity that her elders would have berated Kiba for sure if they had heard. She actually felt...a sort of link now to Kiba, if he was able to make a joke like this to her, right? Before he only acknowledged her and spoke distantly, politely...she kind of liked that he teased her like this."I thought you actually meant it."

"You'll know when I mean something," Kiba replied. "Trust me, I'm not the type to lie to your face."

At least he admits it himself, as Hinata had already thought of him that way to begin with.

"So...Hinata has her eyes...and you have your scent," Shino muttered to himself. "I...also have a scent as well. And a bit more."

"With your bugs?" Kiba asked, genuinely, Hinata supposed, compared to the previous day when he was sarcastically speaking to him.

"Yes...They are a type of insect called the kikaichu," Shino said, lifting up a hand towards them. Hinata leaned over, watching as Shino slowly and gently opened his hand. She had to root herself to the ground, conscious not to flinch back in fright from the small insect on his hand. "The female kikaichu releases a pheromone that the male kikaichu is coded to follow. No matter where I leave a female, the male will follow at my command- and so, if I have a target I want to find, I just have to leave the female insect on them. It would just require me to get close to our target...so in this case...that would be Kurenai-sensei."

"Really…" Hinata said, slightly more interested after he explained the Beatles abilities, watching as the bug crawled around the palm of his hand.

"So, where do you keep your insects? Your pockets?" Kiba asked, jesting from his smile, and Hinata could see Shino's face remaining the same neutral expression he always had.

"...We do not have time for me to explain it fully," Shino replied after a moment, bringing down the joke, immediately putting his hand back in his pocket. "What are her weaknesses? Let's come up with things we noticed from each of our fights with her."

"Definitely her hand-to-hand combat," Kiba said immediately. "If you can even call it that. She mostly avoids your moves and circles around you, blocking here and there."

"I noticed that too," Hinata chimed in. "But where she lacks physical attacks, she compensates by using your weight against you...She's looking at dismantling your stance and pushes you to use your stamina."

"Yeah, right?" Kiba agreed. "But I don't think she's good at accepting punches. And she's not that strong- but she uses her nails to hurt you, and that shit hurts! She caught my hand earlier! See!"

Kiba lifted his hand, showing off the scars from his battle with Kurenai; the bleeding must have stopped and a scab was forming over the marks.

"Her punches aren't that powerful to make you take a step back," Shino replied. "I don't think she's the type to attack willingly."

"W-Well...When I was fighting her, she used her clones first to attack," Hinata replied, reflecting back to her fight- the way the first few Kurenais that attacked her were all clones that puffed into smoke. "Then, there's her genjutsus…"

"Man, we all fought her, but we didn't learn anything about her weaknesses," Kiba moaned. "We have more disadvantages than advantages."

"We have another disadvantage too." Shino continued. "Say we manage to evade all of her genjutsus. There is the possibility that she might try to mess with us by using a Transformation Jutsu on herself."

"...There's also...Wait...Do you think...that she can also transform her clones?" Hinata asked timidly .

"...Yes, that could be a possibility," Shino noted while Kiba let out an exasperated sigh. "It sounds complicated for us, but for a Jonin...it would be easier to do these things, especially with her experience. Therefore… there has to be a way for us to identify each other."

"Would...a password work?" Hinata attempted to suggest, wanting to contribute to the conversation. In the corner of her eye, she could see Kiba crossing over his arms, glancing to the ground, thinking.

"That would only be efficient if we were planning to meet at a hide out or a meet up point outside of the battle," Shino replied courtly. "In the middle of the battlefield...that would be harder to do. We need something that would be consistent and can be used as a quick identifier."

"...There is always a scent," Kiba suddenly spoke up, drawing both their attention towards him. His glance became wavered, looking between them rather than at them, and she could see the tips of his ears reddening suddenly. "Everyone has a unique scent; no two people have the same scent and there's no way to replicate someone's scent. It might change over time, but there's always something unique to the person."

"Our scent…" Hinata curiously repeated, interested in what he had to say next.

"You said you had a sense of smell," Shino said evenly. "You can tell who's who just by a scent?"

"Well yeah; I wasn't lying when I said I had one," Kiba replied, instinctively rubbing the tip of his nose for a split second. "It's the safest way to know who's who. Especially with Kurenai; she might try to make an illusion or use her clones to transform into any of us. I just…"

He suddenly became a bit quieter than before (it was still too loud for Hinata, but for Kiba, it's probaby the quietest he has ever spoken), glancing away, before saying, "I just have to...smellyouforamoment."

"What?" Hinata said, Kiba suddenly mumbling at the last part, to the point even Hinata couldn't catch it.

"I said I ...havetosmellyouforamoment."

"I know you can speak louder than this," Shino interrupted promptly, his directness taking even Kiba back it seemed. "We do not have much time left...we need to make use of any advantage we have against Kurenai."

Hinata felt an odd silence from Kiba for a moment, his glance still wandering as he grimaced, the blush from his ears never leaving. What was he so nervous about?

"I have to smell you for a moment," Kiba finally exhaled, never making eye contact with them. Hinata didn't know what to say, not really understanding what to make from his statement, and she glanced over to Shino for some sort of form of confirmation. However, Shino...actually nodded to this?

"It makes sense," Shino replied. "We never were close during the Academy for you to be overly familiar with us in that aspect. You just need our jackets, right? That should suffice."

"That...would be okay but I wouldn't have all the details," Kiba said, now crossing his arms in front of his chest, looking at Shino. "I need to...actually smell you."

"Oh," Shino replied.

'Oh' is right, Hinata thought, not knowing what to say, now feeling slightly nervous. When was the last time someone was that close to her? What did she even smell like to begin with? She was running around and rolling across the ground - she doubts she smells good, she was covered in dirt and sweat, and the jacket she was wearing hasn't been washed yet, today was laundry day so-

"I won't be long, I'm just going to be in your personal bubble for a moment," Kiba said quickly, interrupting Hinata's internal spiral. "Just from your elbows up."

"...Since this is the only way to give us an advantage against Kurenai, then that's fine," Shino said suddenly, almost forcefully, and Hinata could feel his gaze towards her. "Well, Hinata?"

"I…" Hinata hesitated for a second, the nervousness of someone being so close, closer than her own parents had ever been with her, made her perspire even more than before. She glanced up towards the sky- the sun was slowly creeping forward in the sky, and every second they spend standing here is another second they can't get back. If Kiba's right, they only really had less than two hours left for this test.

I can't hold them back, Hinata thought, determination seeping into her. It's only for a moment. Don't get too nervous, Hinata…

"Yes, that's fine," Hinata managed to say in an even tone, looking at Kiba. He looked more hesitant than Hinata was at that moment - nervousness tends to breed more nervousness, but it comforted her slightly that he was also uncomfortable, not wanting to invade her space.

"Just tell me if you don't feel comfortable, okay?" Kiba mumbled as he stepped towards her, directly in front of her, and Hinata rooted herself to the ground, trying not to subconsciously step back. She has never been this close to Kiba, and suddenly she noticed how much taller he was compared to her. "If you're too anxious, it might affect your regular scent."

"Oh, oh..'kay," Hinata said, glancing away, and Kiba held onto her left arm, gently, gentler than she expected him to. She caught a glimpse of his nails, sharper and longer than how boys usually kept their nails, chipping evident on some of his fingers.

He leaned over towards her arm, inhaling softly a few times, before going up to her shoulder, nearly touching the fabrig. Then he made his way to the back of her head, almost near the base of her neck but not quite.

Hinata felt red creep across her face, the intimacy a bit too much for her, but she held still, his hand never straying from her arm and his nose never touching her skin. Calm down Hinata...don't get nervous...calm down… She could hear him mutter to himself, his voice low, and she could only pick up a few words. "Chamomile...soft yarn…"

"Alright," Kiba said, immediately letting go and taking a step away from Hinata, further than he stood before. "Akamaru, make sure you memorize Hinata's scent too."

Akamaru barked in confirmation, and came up towards Hinata sniffing around her ankles. Hinata bent to the ground and held her hand out towards Akamaru, who nuzzled his nose against her palm. To this, Hinata felt herself swooning, and she let Akamaru use her knees as leverage to go up to her face, little sniffs here and there.

She glanced over towards Shino, who stood as straight as a plank, Kiba walked up to him, his face a bit harder compared to how he looked towards Hinata.

Shino raised a hand towards his face, palm up, and Kiba's face contorted in offense at this gesture. "What, do you think I'm a dog?"

"Oh," Shino replied evenly (maybe even...disappointingly?) and he immediately put his hand back in his pocket. "Do you have to come close to me?"

"You can, but...it's harder to make it stick in me, you know what I mean?"

"No, I don't know what you mean."

"It's just a few seconds, then I'm never gonna be this close to you again," Kiba grumbled as he leaned forward, his nose levitating close along Shino's shoulder. Hinata could see Shino's shoulders tense upwards suddenly at Kiba's gesture, but he didn't move away. Kiba followed a similar path as he did with Hinata, taking his time, but was conscious to keep a distance when Shino would become rigid here and there.

"Alright, I got it," Kiba said aloud, stepping away from Shino as well. Shino's form stayed still despite the distance between himself and Kiba, and Hinata couldn't see his face, covered by his jacket and sunglasses. "I think we have everything we need to go into battle. Now we need to find her. How do we do that?"

"...Well," Hinata spoke up. "She did say that she will only be at the Hokage Rock and training grounds. The Hokage Rock is the closest to this training ground...should we...or would that be a waste of time…"

"That's our best bet of finding a lead," Kiba agreed. "She left her clock there too- that might have been a physical clock. Maybe, there could be a trace of her from there."

"In the case we encounter her on the way, we should formulate a strategy right now," Shino replied. "Considering all of your abilities, we should-"

"Hey, wait, who made you the boss?" Kiba interjected suddenly, eyebrows furrowing in. Now Shino's head turned directly at him, the light from the sun making his sunglasses gleam sharply.

"We do not have time to decide on a leader, nor do we have time to argue over who should lead," Shino replied sharply, immediately shutting Kiba down, who zipped his lips and didn't say anything more. "Besides...I have a strategy that would accommodate everyone…"

---

They made their way onto the Hokage Rock, the sun shining brightly in the sky, illuminated the entire space in a way the morning sun didn't. They had snuck around between bushes and trees on the landscape, making their way to the spot where the clock sat, ticking away every minute and...they were watching Kurenai at the picnic table where they were at the beginning, taking a bottle from a brown paper bag and...was that a wine glass?

"She was serious about drinking," Kiba muttered, peering through the leaves of the bush they hid behind, after she poured red liquid from the bottle into the glass, filling it. "Where did she even get that glass?"

"Maybe she keeps one in her bag?" Hinata replied, and Kiba shook his head.

"Wouldn't that get crushed?"

"Well, maybe it's sili-"

"Does it look like she cares about whether her glass gets crushed?" Shino asked, pausing for a second, and just as Kiba inhaled to reply, he continued, "No, she doesn't care."

"Yeah, clearly," Kiba said sarcastically. "And she clearly took a quick trip to a store, so she lied about finding her outside of the Rock and Training Grounds."

"I think she knew we'd be confused and stay in the training grounds for a while," Hinata added.

"That, and she's a liar," Kiba grumbled.

"A liar and an alcoholic," Shino added as the Inuzuka hummed in agreement.

"T-that's kind of mean," Hinata said.

"Fine, I detract from the liar part," Kiba said. "I-"

"It's retract," Shino quickly interrupted him abruptly, with Kiba giving him a quick scowl.

" Retract the liar part," Kiba corrected himself. "I-"

"No, I think detract is the right word," Hinata unintentionally interrupted in a hushed tone, mostly talking to herself, not heeding Kiba's words. She glanced towards Shino, who maintained his gaze towards Kurenai. "It means to pull back right?"

"Yes, but it specifically means to take away," Shino explained. "For example, I would say 'I detract money from the bank'. Retract means to 'draw back' so it would be 'I retracted my hand' or -"

"Are we in a Language Class right now?" Kiba snapped. "Detract, retract, whatever . She's pretty much an alcoholic-"

"That's a really heavy label to put on someone," Hinata mumbled to herself, hoping that they didn't really hear what she had to say, but Shino was immediately on top of what she had said.

"Do you know what kind of people drink in the middle of the day, Hinata?" Shino asked, never straying his gaze away from Kurenai. Hinata didn't bother answering during the slight pause, waiting for Shino to continue- and he did. "People with depression and alcoholics. And there is a very thin line between the two."

"She doesn't look like she's depressed," Kiba pressed, gesturing towards Kurenai as she finished off the rest of her wine with a satisfied sigh. "Look at her. She's having the time of her life."

"There's more to a person than what meets the eye."

"Alright, alright, enough with the philosophy talk-"

"Psychology."

"Whatever!" Kiba snapped a bit too loudly, his voice cracking, causing Kurenai to twist her head instantly towards the direction of where they laid. Luckily, Shino had clamped a hand over Kiba's mouth and pushed them both down closer to the floor, Hinata already crouching to the ground at the same time.

"Be quiet!" Shino hissed to Kiba, his eyebrows furrowing deeper, his glasses slipping down his nose from the sudden action. His slipping glasses were close to revealing his eyes, but he managed to hold onto them with the tip of his free index finger.

This was the first time that Hinata saw Shino like this, so direct and demanding. Usually in class he would just say what he had to say and go on with life - not arguing back necessarily, but simply giving his two cents, regardless of whether the other students were yelling or berating him. And usually, she had seen, whenever someone tried to give him a high five or come near him, he would shrink away. Kiba has found a way to push his buttons in a completely different manner, revealing a new side of the Aburame.

"I know you're there," Kurenai suddenly called out from her spot at the picnic table, nearly making Hinata squeak out a yelp in surprise.

They glanced at each other, Hinata hesitating to make a move, before Kiba and Shino reluctantly stood up without another word, Hinata following them as they walked away from the bush onto the clearing.

"The element of surprise is clearly not on your side," Kurenai noted, borderline amusement in her voice, as she folded the brown paper bag, putting it to the side. She stood up slowly, walking towards them, stopping a good few meters away. "You should all work on that."

"We don't need the element of surprise," Kiba yelled back, nearly barking out his words as Hinata stood by, and she was taken aback from how sharp he sounded, especially towards someone much older and much more experienced. To this, Hinata noted that one of Kurenai's eyebrows was raised.

"We? So you all decided to team up?" Kurenai asked as the realisation dawned on her. "Do you remember what I said at the beginning of this test? There's only one headband."

"Yeah, we know," Kiba replied before either Shino or Hinata were capable of saying anything. "But we don't care about that! As long as we get that stupid headband off your head, that's all the matters. You can throw anything at us and we'll throw it right back!"

"Kiba…" Hinata could see Kurenai silently repeat the word 'stupid?' to herself, seeming slightly at disbelief with the Inuzuka's choice of words.

"That's only if you get my headband," Kurenai replied, glancing between them. What was going to be her next move? "You have only seen a fraction of my genjutsu abilities. Manipulating what would be there in the real world. However...what would you do if you weren't in the real world?"

Hinata watched as Kurenai started to form a sequence of hand signs, triggering them all to take a stance, holding a kunai in her hand as Shino and Kiba held onto nothing. This is it. No going back for any of them.

I won't be a burden, Hinata repeated to herself as she looked around the parameters, for anything out of the ordinary, before returning to Kurenai.

Behind Kurenai, there were shots of darkness stretching out, enveloping the background, covering the sky's blue into black, the sun disappearing from their sight. Kurenai slowly stepped back into the blackness, her legs disappearing first and slowly, her torso and then her head, her black hair flowing gently before she fully disappeared.

"What the hell," Kiba grumbled, as Akamaru let out a bark, his little legs readying itself to pounce at his command.

"Keep your guard up," Shino said, as Hinata started to glance around, looking for anything that would indicate an attack. She saw from the corner of her eyes that Shino pulled out a few shurikens, and threw it in multiple directions towards the darkness. The spinning sound of the shurikens grew more and more distant.

"Arf!"

"Yeah...the shurikens are still going," Kiba said. "I didn't hear them land on anything."

Suddenly, the ground underneath them started to shake, and pieces of the ground as far as their naked eye could see started to break apart and fall into...nothing. It was black, a neverending pitch black pit, and the longer they stared, the faster the pieces of the land broke apart and fell. Hinata looked around, and the pieces that fell were encircling them from all directions, with nowhere to move except in towards one another.

"H-Hey! Where'd the ground go?" Kiba yelled as he picked up Akamaru from the ground, placing him immediately on his head, watching with wide eyes. With his panicked words, the pieces became larger, and within a few seconds, they were on an island of their own, forcing them to take a few steps back.

"Kiba, you have to calm down!" Shino commanded, taking another step back as a piece of land fell from his feet, nearly touching Hinata's back. "This isn't real. None of this is."

"Real convincing when the floor is collapsing underneath our- AH!" A piece of earth fell into the blackness, Kiba stepping back against Shino, staggering on one leg now, his arms waving about as he tried to maintain his balance. Shino grabbed onto one of Kiba's arms, the veins of his arm popping out as he held on to Kiba's figure for dear life.

Hinata knew what she had to do; the only other way to get out of a genjutsu was to find the exit. And the best way to do that is...

"Byakugan!"

The clarity and sharpness of the world increased exponentially, her eyes tracing at all the details her eyes could see, all the outlines through the darkness that consumed them, and from the corner of her eyes she saw…

A light, a small tiny light from the physical world, peering through the screen.

"Follow me," Hinata spoke up quickly, taking a deep breath in order to calm her nerves as she took a step forward, before Kiba held on to her arm quickly, tightly.

"Hinata wait!" Kiba exclaimed, alarmed at her motion, holding her back to the ground, however, Shino on the other hand, noticed her glance, and started to walk towards the light.

"Shino-"

"It's okay, Kiba," Hinata said softly, mostly to keep herself calm rather than them, as they watched Shino walk over the darkness, never falling through, as if floating on air. "It's not real."

Once Shino reached the light, she could hear a sudden sound of high-pitched chattering coming from Shino, squeaking as she saw movement surrounding him, before heading towards the light, covering it. Suddenly, the blackness started to fade away, blue and green seeping through as the darkness melded into itself, disappearing to reveal the Hokage Rock they were standing on before. Hinata could feel her eyes relax as she undid the Byakugan, her eyesight returning to normal, as Kiba let go of her arm quickly, looking around.

"Did you...use that Bakugan, or something to find that?" Kiba asked Hinata, wide eyes watching as the illusion dissipated.

"Byakugan, yes," Hinata said, smiling to herself at his words of astoundment.

"Good eye," they heard Kurenai's voice further away from where they stood, and Hinata found her standing behind a tree nearby. Kurenai stepped out from the shade of the tree onto the clearing, walking casually up. "Or maybe that was too easy."

"Remember our plan," Shino said after shuffling over to Hinata's right side, Kiba taking up her left side, who had taken up his stance once again. "Once we finish the first step, anything she throws at us - genjutsu or ninjutsu - will be easier to deal with."

"Got it," Kiba replied in a low tone. "You ready, Akamaru?"

"Arf!"

"Let's go." Kiba quickly ran up towards Kurenai without missing a beat, throwing a quick jab towards her as she circled around. Kiba did not let her get around him, though, as Akamaru pounced between his legs towards Kurenai, forcing her to dodge and move further, as Kiba recalibrated and threw another jab.

While Kiba continued to spar with Kurenai, Hinata hopped to the side of the landscape where they would have ended up, watching carefully, a shuriken in her hand, holding it to the side of her body, ready to throw it. Steady...steady...now!

Hinata threw the shuriken with as much force as she could, the shuriken spinning quickly through the as it got between Kiba and Kurenai, nearly cutting through both of their headbands if they didn't move their head back during the kerfuffle.

"Watch it!" Kiba called out, as Kurenai punched his stomach quickly, making him grunt as he took a step back, falling in the process.

Suddenly, Kurenai whipped her head as Shino came behind her with a kick, and she leaned back as they spared a bit more. Hinata watched as Kiba got himself up, taking a quick breath as he waited for Kurenai to have her back towards him, and he suddenly leaped out with a jump, reaching his arm out towards the back of her head, where the headband was.

Hinata watched, holding her breath as she saw how close Kiba's fingertips were to Kurenai's headband. Within a millisecond, though, Kurenai ducked to the ground without hesitation, almost as if she expected Kiba to come from behind her, and just as Shino was about to throw a punch towards where she was, Kiba's foot caught on her arm from below, messing with his balance and trajectory and catapulting him downwards into Shino.

Hinata saw Kiba's chin making direct contact with Shino's headband on his forehead, a loud thudding sound emitting as they both fell to the ground, Kiba on top of the other.

"Kiba! Shino!" Hinata exclaimed at the sound as she walked towards them, and she could hear their grumbles of pain.

"Can't you see that I was right there!" Shino scolded, holding onto his forehead, as he slowly got himself back up to his feet, Kiba rolling on the ground in pain as he held onto his chin.

"You could've moved out of the way!" Kiba groaned loudly, remaining on the ground, as Shino dusted off his. "My chin…"

"Are you okay?" Hinata asked Shino, who nodded with a slight tip of his head.

"I think I'll be fine. No concussion or anything," Shino reported, glancing over to Kiba, who had managed to pick himself up from the ground, albeit, he never let go of his chin.

"That was close, I have to admit," Kurenai said from further away, and they all quickly looked towards her. "I might need some...backup."

Kurenai lifted her hands, her index and middle fingers straight up while the other two bent and touched the tip of her thumbs. She then placed her left fingers pointing horizontally, her right fingers pointing up and vertically in front of her left fingers, making a sort of cross sign.

Puffs of smoke spurted and exploded beside her, revealing 3...no, wait, 5 replications of Kurenai in a default fighting stance, waiting until the smoke completely dissipated around them.

"A Clone Illusion Jutsu?" Kiba said, taking a step back towards Hinata and Shino, eyes never leaving Kurenai. "This time she's using more than two. This might be bad, but at least there's three of us."

No , Hinata thought, as she quickly made hand signs, a rush of chakra returning to her head as she pulled up a ram sign. Byakugan!

"No…" She moaned, the blue chakra swirling within each of the clones making her remember what she had just gone through. "No..not this again."

"What's up?" Kiba asked, watching and waiting for a queue as Hinata's eyebrows pulled in deeper, lines etching in, her eyes squinting as she glanced over each Kurenai.

"She did this to me before," Hinata replied quickly, stare never wavering. "Every single one of those clones are physical."

"What?" Shino said, his voice louder in surprise, snapping his neck immediately towards her. "What do you mean by physical?"

"They're not illusions like a typical Clone Jutsu," Hinata explained. "These ones are not hollow shells...they have actual Chakra running through them, and they are able to attack and move like their own person. They're not as good as fighting, but they can fight back."

"What kind of Jutsu does that?" Shino said, most likely to himself, and Kiba let out a loud scoff.

"Doesn't matter what it is! I'm just going to have to get rid of all of them," Kiba growled through gritted teeth, his voice lower than before. Hinata glanced over towards him, for some reason expecting him to look unsure- but instead she saw a wicked, fanged grin grace his face.

Kiba clasped his hands together in a Tiger sign. Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry!

Hinata watched him with wide eyes as blue wisps of chakra started to seep out of his body slowly from his chakra system, small and fine flames dancing around until it enveloped his entire body, a second skin. All Fours Jutsu!

Hinata could feel her mouth open slightly as she watched a transformation before her, both taken aback and in awe, as her teammate started to look less human as the wafts of chakra thickened. His canines looked as if it had gotten longer, sharper, almost wolfish as his smile widened across his face. The tips of his nails started to elongate, acute and triangular, honed and claw-like.

It was the way that his pupils widened, but also pinholed, honing into the targets that laid before him, never straying to stare at his peripheries... that made Hinata feel the hairs of her arms rise, the atmosphere numbing, not noticing how her breathing became shallow.

"Hinata," Hinata heard Shino calling out to her, bringing her back to the situation at hand, and she knew this was it.

"I'll back him up," Hinata called back, nodding as she took a stance, targeting one of the Kurenais on the side with a swift strike of her palm.

Hinata kept track of Kiba's movement, his speed seeming to increase with each swift swipe of his hands towards another Kurenai, his body twisting and turning in ways she had never witnessed before and expected from those who were more graceful, more acrobatic rather than...a brawler. Flexibility is a necessary skill that they learn during their youth. Though the most engaged in that art were the girls, practicing gymnastic tricks along with various mandatory dance classes they learned in order to integrate into their role as kunoichi. Hinata was never that graceful, she was nervous easily when so many eyes stared at her, evaluating her.

"Hinata, to your right," Shino said, and Hinata quickly blocked the incoming attack from another clone.

"The one at the back," Kiba growled, staring at the Kurenai hanging away from the brawl. "She must be the real one."

Kiba jumped out towards the Kurenai that blocked his path towards the real Kurenai, and Hinata saw Shino make his way near Kiba, following his trajectory. Shino was now face to face with the real Kurenai, pushing off the ground and lifting his leg. Kurenai ducked as Shino kicked through the air where her head would have been, quickly moving back away from Shino, letting his own momentum spin him around and nearly fall down.

"You only have thirty minutes left," she said after flipping a few meters away from Shino, keeping her fighting stance.

Hinata shuffled over to Kiba, who was swiping recklessly through the air as the clone continued to dodge- up and down, left and right- and the fury on his face grew, a new surge of chakra running through his veins as Hinata watched. She could feel her eyes becoming weary, and she closed her eyes, slowing down her chakra, the temples of her forehead relaxing, her Byakugan vision clearing. The Kurenai clone poofed up into smoke, and Kiba stood there, hunkering over, his fangs and claws still there as he panted, staring at a spot to the ground.

Hinata could feel fright surge through her as she watched Kiba, afraid of approaching him. As if he were a beast that wouldn't hesitate to attack her haphazardly if she got too close. Hinata glanced over at Shino, who was much further away from either of them - she saw that both of his hands were behind his back, one of his hands holding up one finger.

The first step is complete. Now Kiba was in control of the next step...but he didn't seem to make an effort to look up to Shino, panting harder, his jutsu clearly not receding.

Should I check on him? Hinata thought, hesitantly, her own fright getting the best of her. She took a deep breath, glancing between Shino and Kurenai, then back to Kiba, then back to Kurenai, who was waiting for Shino to move.

It dawned on Hinata suddenly how close they were to the finish line - how close they were to finishing the test. The clock was ticking, and they were in the last half hour - they were this close to becoming Genin, full-fledged shinobi. If the next few steps go according to plan...then they don't have to go back to the Academy.

And then Hinata could prevent dishonouring her clan's name.

Just this once, don't hesitate, Hinata thought, as she walked quickly towards Kiba, taking deep breaths to calm her wavering heart, clenching her fists hard to muster the courage to move forward. "Kiba! Are you okay?"

She asked in a forceful tone, as forceful as it wouldn't show traces of hesitancy and fright, and she stood near Kiba. Kiba didn't respond immediately to her voice, and she lifted up a hand, slowly and steadily holding it towards him, waiting to see whether he would notice her or not.

Shino suddenly threw a kunai towards Kurenai, Kurenai standing still without a flinch as it skimmed past through strands of her hair, hitting the tree behind her. She slowly walked up towards the tree, pulling the kunai out from the trunk, sharply, almost menacingly, as she held it in her hand.

"You're tired already?" Kurenai asked smoothly, and Shino stood, refusing to respond, holding his ground.

"Kiba…" Hinata repeated, and her voice must have gotten through to him as he immediately looked up towards her, still breathing hard, and she noticed that his face was reddened, likely from the adrenaline forcing his blood to pulse through his body with the increased flow of chakra from his jutsu. Yet, his pupils were bigger than they were before, though still near slits as they always were, and she could see that his teeth had returned to normal...or, what was normal for him.

"Yeah," Kiba responded after a few pants. "Yeah...yeah...I'm good...I haven't used this in battle before...so…"

His voice trailed off as his eyes wandered towards the direction of Shino and Kurenai, who had started another spar, now holding a kunai in their hands as they pushed it against one another, a stalemate that Hinata could tell will not last long, as Shino's arm shaking a bit under Kurenai's pressure.

"It's your turn…" Hinata whispered, standing back as Kiba stood up immediately, perking up.

Kiba immediately let out a short, low whistle, pausing, before letting out another short, low whistle. The whistle fell onto Kurenai's ears, who pushed the kunai harshly against Shino's, making him trip backwards as she moved back. Kurenai squinted her eyes suspiciously as she looked towards Kiba, before asking, "What are you kids planning?"

"Remember sensei, Rule #8," Kiba said, a smug grin on his face. "Under any circumstances, a shinobi must never divulge information-"

"Actually, that's Rule #5," Shino called out, making Kiba harden his once smug grin into a tight line. "Rule #8 is-"

"I don't care!" Kiba sharply snarled, shooting a glare towards the other boy, before snapping his head back to Kurenai, who continued to stare cautiously. "We're taking you down! Now Akamaru!"

"Arf!"

Everything felt as if it had slowed down, as Hinata watched as the headband around Kurenai's forehead suddenly fell, her eyes widening from surprise as the headband fell towards the ground- except, it didn't fall to the ground. At the same moment as the headband fell, Akamaru shot from a few centimeters behind Kurenai, between her legs and caught the headband between his teeth, running towards Kiba quickly before Kurenai could make any movement.

"Yeah! Good boy," Kiba chuckled as he knelt to the ground, and Akamaru dropped the headband onto his hand.

"Good job, Akamaru," Hinata said, feeling the excitement of what had just happened to her, and Akamaru came up to her feet, sitting down as he stared up expectedly, his little tail wagging away as he gave a little bark at her. Did he want her to…?

"He wants you to pet him," Kiba explained to her. "Seems like he took a real liking to you."

Hinata had to hold back her swoon as she knelt to the ground and started to pet Akamaru on his hand, his soft white fur running through her fingertips. Akamaru let out another bark, before rolling on the ground, showing Hinata his stomach, and Hinata immediately complied, rubbing his stomach.

"Akamaru! You're not a pet!" Kiba scolded, but he didn't say anything else, the soft grin he had on his face saying that he was fine with what was happening. Maybe just this once, since Akamaru did do a good job.

"Everything went according to plan," they heard Shino say to them as he approached them, Kurenai trailing behind him as well.

"I have to admit, I didn't think your plan would work," Kiba said, standing up as he looked at Shino, now confidence written on his face. "But I guess, I'm just that good, huh?"

"Sure," Shino replied mildly after a moment. "However, I think Hinata supported the plan very well."

It was not an explicit 'good job', and Hinata did not mind; this is the first time she's being complimented for her abilities, and she felt happy hearing it from Shino, especially, his implicit meaning clear to her.

"I don't think you should be celebrating just yet," Kurenai interrupted, and they glanced up towards her, her hand on her hip, watching them, her expression hard to decipher. "I told you guys. The first person to get the headband gets to become a Genin. You did listen when I was telling you the rules of the test right."

The atmosphere suddenly ran cold, and Hinata could feel her smile falter at Kurenai's words, glancing over to Kiba, his grin from earlier falling as he gritted his teeth.

"You said the goal was to take the headband off your head," Kiba replied quickly, gripping the headband in his hand. "Well we all did it, so basically we completed the test."

"Sure," Kurenai replied just as quickly. "However none of you technically got the headband. I don't know how the headband fell, but if anything, it was Akamaru who caught the headband first. Technically, I could fail you all right now, since none of you physically took it yourself."

"What?" Kiba said. "How is that fair-"

"There's no such thing as fair," Kurenai interrupted harshly, harsher than Hinata has ever heard her speak so far. "The real world isn't fair. And the shinobi world is not. On a mission, when your commander tells you to do something, you do. You follow the command, or else you'll be jailed or worse, killed, for going against orders. By not following commands, you risk failing the mission and ultimately, you risk the lives of your comrades as well."

None of them replied. None of them could reply. Hinata wasn't sure what to say- in this moment, Kurenai was very convincing with her words.

"...I'll leave it up to you three then," Kurenai replied after a moment, watching them carefully. "Throughout this test, I have found that all of you were competent enough. Still...I would only prefer one student. So why don't you decide who gets the headband- which means you decide amongst yourselves who passes to become a Genin."

"We decide," Hinata repeated, looking at the two other boys, Kiba looking at the headband in his hand.

They all wanted to pass. They all wanted to become Genin. They all probably would choose themselves in a heartbeat.

Would they? Hinata wouldn't even choose herself given the opportunity. She felt as though she didn't play a major role in the plan that-

"Hinata, you take it then," Kiba said suddenly, breaking the silence, lifting the headband towards her.

Kiba...Hinata stared at the headband, the metal gleaming under the sunlight, and she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Kiba...wanted her to pass the test? He really thought...she contributed to this test.

"I-...I can't," Hinata replied quickly, shaking her head, holding up his hand as a stop sign.

"Why not?" Kiba asked, eyebrows pulling in at her response. "Without you, we wouldn't have been able to find an exit to that genjutsu. And you saw that her clones weren't illusions, and supported us while in combat and everything."

"He's right, Hinata," Shino said. "It's the little things that helped us out while we were in battle."

"But still," Hinata said, glancing down, now feeling the nape of her neck heating up, these compliments overbearing for her. "I think...it should be you or Kiba, to be honest. You both...you were in battle and were able to execute the steps that were needed to get the headband...Without either of you, working together with your skills, we wouldn't have been able to get it..."

"...If anything, most of those strategies are because of Shino," Kiba replied, not looking at him when he said that, and Hinata could see Shino turn his head to look at him. "So he should get the headband."

Shino didn't respond for a moment, his glance remaining on Kiba, who refused to look up from the one spot on the ground. He then looked towards Kurenai, and then said, "They both deserve to be here more than me. I think they worked best as a team and they collaborated together, helping each other out when they were in combat. Hinata and Kiba carried out the strategy I laid out for them, understanding their roles, and we were able to get the headband because of their own abilities and work. They should go on-"

"Nah, you know what," Kiba interrupted suddenly, gripping the headband, pointing it at Kurenai. "You might as well just fail all of us. None of us wants to go on alone. So you should either accept all of us as your students or none of us."

Kurenai stared at them, watching this entire conversation unfold, not ever interrupting. Just...watching...as if she was taking into consideration what they were saying.

"You would really do that?" Kurenai asked. "You would stay back for another year, just so the rest of your team can move on?"

"...Isn't that what this is all about, Kurenai-sensei?" Shino asked. "The ability for us to work together as a team? I think it's pretty clear that...despite you trying to make us work independently...we decided to work together. Teamwork...that's one of the underpinning of the village. It's what makes a shinobi complete a mission - without one another, we would have failed."

There was a silence that fell over them at Shino's words, Kurenai staring at him for a moment, saying nothing. Then, Hinata saw the tips of her lips turn upwards, and she broke into a smile.

"Good answer," Kurenai replied, and suddenly, her voice was warm and soft, unlike how hard and distant she had just sounded a second ago, making the cold atmosphere that fell over them lift. "You all pass."

A pause.

"W-What?" Hinata whispered, stunned at her words, feeling her heart palpitations increasing as Kurenai gave a slight chuckle.

"You all pass," Kurenai repeated, looking between them. "From now on, you're all officially Genin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

None of them could say anything, staring at Kurenai. It was Kiba who broke out in a whoop.

"ALRIGHT!" Kiba exclaimed happily, Akamaru barking by him, jumping on his little paws.

"You're right, Shino," Kurenai said, looking over at Shino. "I wanted to mislead all of you, to see what you guys would do. I wanted to not only see your individual skills, but your ability to work together as a team. There's a reason why we start off with a three-man squad; it's easier to develop a teamwork base, and it's the core squad that yields optimal results on many missions, along with one squad leader if need be. However...the forces can't just let anyone get in."

"Like I said...the shinobi world is not fair," Kurenai continued, her voice smoother, softer, almost intimate and reflective. "We can only depend on each other...on our teammates to carry out their side of the plan. There are even times when you don't know your teammates that well...there are teammates who you thought were your allies, your closest friends...could betray you and the mission suffers. You need to trust one another, and work together in order to carry out the mission and accomplish your goal."

"How did you do it?" Kurenai asked, an eyebrow raised, the tip of one of her red fingernails tapping her cheek, curiously. "How did you manage to cut off my headband without me noticing? I figured out when Akamaru left your side and hid underground. But I don't recall anyone getting near my headband."

"It's because we didn't," Shino spoke up with a smooth tone, never moving his head to look at her, choosing instead a spot on the ground to stare. "Indirectly at least. My insects were the ones who cut it off. It was when we were sparring for the first time. I planted a kikaichu on you, in order for the other bugs to have a scent to follow. The kunai that I threw at you...I intentionally missed. It had a few insects on it...and it made its way to you, and slowly cut through the fabric of your headband. Hinata kept an eye on the headband, and when she could see it slightly cut through, she told Kiba to give Akamaru the signal."

"I see," Kurenai said slowly, nodding along. "You had to coordinate a signal with them as well...I didn't notice you saying anything to them about it. You guys really did plan and coordinate this entire strategy...I'm actually impressed. I'm definitely making the right choice."

Hinata felt a smile grow on her face, and she looked down, feeling shy all of the sudden and wanting to hide her face, her fists clenched tightly.

"Tomorrow, we'll meet in front of the Hokage Office, where we will go over your contracts to officially inaugurate you on paper, and pick up the Ninja Registration Cards you guys should've signed up for after graduating," Kurenai announced. "For now, go home and rest up."

"Thank you, Kurenai-sensei," Hinata said, bowing slightly, the other doing the same bow.

"We'll see you tomorrow, sensei!" Kiba said with a smile, and they all started to walk down the path that led to the main Village floor.

Excitement, happiness, all of these emotions swirled inside of Hinata, but the biggest thing that she felt was ...relief. Her passing her test...her being an official shinobi of the Leaf...now her family might find her to be more dignified rather than pitiful, and her father might be less on her case for a while when he hears the news of her passing.

Maybe for now, she can breathe a bit easier...