Chapter 1
Kaname stared out at the sunset, waiting desperately for it to set so that it could be tomorrow already. She was ready to put the Genin life behind her, she'd been training so hard! As the breeze picked up, she shivered and blew a loose strand of hair out from between her eyes.
"Patience has never really been my thing." she said. She turned her head as she heard the sliding door open behind her.
"Kaname, are you talking to yourself again?"
"Father! Maybe...I just can't wait for it to be tomorrow! I'm ready to become a ninja." Kaname said. She had jumped to her feet and held up her fist to the setting sun. Her father laughed as a voice chimed from inside the house,
"Supper's ready, get it while it's hot!" Kaname's mother cheered from the kitchen sink. Kaname stood and joined her father as they headed inside.
Just one more day.
"YES, I DID IT!" Kaname cheered as she wrapped her headband around her head. Shikamaru ran up to her and met her with a high five.
"Alright! That wasn't too bad at all. Good to see you passed too, cuz." he said. Kaname beamed in response with a triumphant nod of her head.
At that moment, Kiba and Hinata came to join them.
"Alright, Kaname! Maybe we'll even be in the same squad together." Kiba said with a slight blush.
"Hey, do any of you know if Naruto passed or not?" Hinta asked quietly. Everyone shook their heads in reply until something caught Kaname's eye.
"Isn't that him over there?" she pointed towards the swing on the tree. Sure enough, Naruto was there, looking absolutely diminished. Guess he didn't pass, Kaname thought somberly. Everyone knew he was strange, and a little annoying, but at the end of the day he was still a nice guy.
"Hey, they're calling us back inside to determine our squads." Shikamaru said.
"I am MAITO GAI! Welcome to the greatest squad; I will lead you down the path to true ninja victory!" Gai Sensei said with a sparkle in his eye. Kaname smiled and glanced at her two companions, the three of them together creating Squad 3.
To her left was Neji Hyuga, an esteemed member of the Hyuga clan and Hinata's cousin. He had a reputation based on his ability to use the Byakugan. To her right was Rock Lee, a member of the Lee clan. She didn't know much about Lee other than he was sporting the same haircut as their sensei. At this thought, Lee looked at Gai sensei with admiration.
"I am so fortunate to be working under the greatest sensei of all time!" he regarded Kaname and Neji, "I swear to protect both of you through the many battles and enemies we may face!" Lee said.
Kaname smiled and nodded her head in agreement; how could she follow that remark up?
"So, are you ready for your first mission?" Gai Sensei asked with a smile.
The next morning, Squad 3 met in the middle of the leaf village, in Kaname's favorite forest.
"The way the light hits those back trees near the waterfall at sunset is one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. I love these woods." Kaname said as she put a hand fondly to a tree.
"Yes, it is an odd forest. Almost filled with more light than other woods in the village." Neji agreed. At that moment, Gai Sensei stepped into view with a large satchel on his back.
"Good Morning my all star pupils! Are you ready for the trials which lie ahead?" He asked deviously. All three members looked at one another nervously, what could he possibly have in store for them? Gai Sensei was renowned for his mastership of Taijutsu - not Kaname's strong suit.
Gai Sensei removed the satchel from his bag and out poured three huge tree stumps. Before anyone could ask questions, the stumps began to change shape. Suddenly, Kaname was staring at herself! The stump had taken her exact shape and stood grinned before her. She noticed that Neji and Lee were trapped in the exact same predicament. Gai Sensei spoke up,
"You will find many times in real battle that your truest enemy is yourself. You stand in your own path, and it is up to you to find the way through. Your goal is to make it out of these woods alive by sundown. Your time starts now, good luck." and then he was gone.
Before Kaname could even comprehend what was just said, she felt a kunai fly past her face and slice her cheek. Her clone had moved fast and aggressively towards her.
"We must remain vigilant! Stand together!" Lee called. Neji leapt to the left as he awakened his Byakugan.
Kaname lunged at her clone with an attack, but her clone was able to reproduce every movement she made, exactly as she made it. She slid backwards from the sheer impact of the collision with herself. As she caught her breath, she remembered what she excelled in at the academy. She rubbed and clapped her hands together before slamming her palms to the ground.
"Earth style! Earthquake annihilation Jutsu!" Kaname cried. The earth began to schism and her clone stumbled, but caught herself before plummeting down into the canyon. "Dammit, I almost had her." she muttered. She glanced around her and noticed the two of her opponents struggling just as badly as she was. They had barely made any progress and this battle had gone on for too long - it was nearly midday!
"Lee, Neji! These clones appear to mimic our every move, at exactly the same strength! I can't get through, but I may have an idea." Kaname hollered. She leapt toward her comrades until they were all back to back. Kaname lowered her voice so only they could hear her.
"If we take on each other's clones, we should be able to defeat them as long as we are stronger than our opponent." she said. Lee chimed in,
"But our exact clones won't let up long enough for us to switch our targets," he said.
"Exactly, we'll switch our targets and catch them off guard. Then we should be able to hit them with full force." Kaname said. If nothing else, it was worth trying - failure just wasn't an option. "Alright, on my word," Kaname hesitated just long enough to get their targets within range. "Now!" she yelled.
Kaname broke free from their triangle and hit Neji's clone head on. He went flying, but she hadn't anticipated any backlash. Neji's clone flew and disappeared into the river as it was diminished back into the stump it was born from, but something was wrong with Kaname.
She fell to her knees and held her head in her hands as she cried out - the world looked wrong! What had that clone done to her? She could see the word in a way that was almost too clear and she was able to interpret the others' chakra rivers. She saw Lee and Neji defeat their opponents and recognized their forms coming down to her eye level. But what was this? Neji's voice broke through her new world,
"Kaname," he called, "I don't know how, but you've activated the Byakugan. Only my clan should be able to perform this, but your eyes have changed. Try to come out of it."
Kaname shook her head in confusion and shut her eyes tight. How could that be? Could she have stolen some of this power from the clone? She focused hard and when she opened her eyes next, she could see clearly. She had come out of the Byakugan. When she fully came to, she looked at Neji.
"How is this possible? I am in no relation to your clan; I am of the Nara Clan." she said.
"I'm not sure, it's almost like you absorbed the ability from the clone." Neji said. Kaname got to her feet with his help and tried to clear her head. She wouldn't even know how to do that again, if she even could.
"I don't think I'd be able to do that again if I tried, but I do know that it's our mission to find our way out of this forest so we can report to Gai Sensei." she said.
Together, the three comrades made their way out of the woods with the help of Kaname's exquisite memory and Rock Lee's incredible ability to climb trees. Gai Sensei was perched on the top of a boulder, waiting for stood and opened his arms in welcome.
"I just knew you would be successful! I am proud to call myself your sensei." He said. Taking notice of Kaname's look of concern, he slowed his pace to match hers on their way back to the village.
"What troubles you, Kaname?" he asked. She looked up at him and smiled slightly before laughing gently and shrugging.
"I don't really know. Something happened back there I can't quite explain." when he didn't probe, she continued, "I took on Neji's clone and when I touched him, it awakened the Byakugan within me."
Gai stopped walking and looked down at her in surprise. When he started moving again, he put a hand on her shoulder.
"Kaname, when we get back to the village, I want to introduce you to a very dear friend of mine who may be able to help." he said.
"What do you mean, Sensei?"
"Kaname, I'd like to introduce you to Kakashi Hatake, the copycat ninja. He has the knowledge you're looking for about that jutsu of yours." Gai said. Kaname looked up startled.
"What jutsu? You mean my Earth style?" she asked. Guy laughed in reply and looked down at her with a smile.
"I'm talking about the Byakugan Jutsu. Not true Byakugan, but comes with many strange nuances I don't quite understand myself." he said before continuing onward. Kaname stopped momentarily and looked up at the setting sun.
"Byakugan….jutsu?"