..Chapter Seven..

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Kei sat at the long desk before her in the classroom. It was just like the one her father had sat in. Her face was in her hands, both cheeks pressing into her palms. She tapped either side of her face in boredom. Many other students were around her, talking, laughing and chatting it up with her friends. Just where were who two friends? She blew out a breath. Shin and Ryu should have already gotten here. They were never late to class. Well, it wasn't late. They still had another ten minutes before class started. Maybe she should have waited for them? Meh, she'd been in such a hurry to get to school early today. She was rather excited about passing the Genin exam finally. But, it had still been worth seeing Iruka and Konohamaru freak out when she failed. She stuck her tongue out, her eyes tightly shut as she smiled like a cat who got the cream.

"Kei-chan!"

"Ah!" she fell backwards and clung to the wooden bench which also made up another desk behind her. Her eyes were wide with surprise, the pupils and irises almost gone from sight. She breathed erratically, so deep in thought that she barely had time to think beyond her own nose. And then her eyes narrowed on the smiling red head before her. "What the hell was that for, Rai?!" She growled. "You scared me have to death, dumbass."

He laughed at her, dark eyes with white specks dancing in them seeming to laugh at her as well. He was dressed in black cut off pants today, shinobi type. He had a belt of brown color running through the loops and his shirt was tucked in there. It was a skin tight dark green long sleeved thing with the leaf symbol in the center in red color.

"I got you that time, Kei-chan! You should have seen your face!" He was still laughing. That was until someone bopped him on the head. He looked over, frowning, at his sister. His twin sister--Rei. Her hair color and eyes were the same as his. But, her hair was loosely bound up in what appeared to be decorative chopsticks.

Her clothing was almost like her father's from when he'd been a child. A sleeveless netted top that tucked into her pants, steel gray-green pants that reached just the end of her calves but not quite her ankles. The shoes were regular class blue shinobi sandals. And the short sleeved open top was gray; one short sleeve sported a green circle with a slash through it. The edges of it were lined with the same green as the circle and it only went just under her breasts. Under the shirt, to cover her breasts, was a long strip of black. Hung loosely about her hips over her pants was a belt with a few chains attached. Her hands were covered in black cuffed gloves; and from the gloves going halfway up her forearms was more netting.

Rai grumbled and rubbed his head. "Why'd you do that, Rei-chan?"

"Because," she started, her hands in her pockets in a bored fashion, "you're being... troublesome. And you're bothering, Kei." Her lips twitched. "Don't you have anything better to do, Rai?"

He pouted. "You're just as bad as dad."

She shrugged and went back to waiting for class to start.

Kei smiled. Nara Rai and Nara Rei. Twin children to Nara Shikamaru and Nara Temari . Not her best friends, but, still friends in passing. They had fun, as she did with many others, growing up. She smiled when Rei looked at her but the girl only gave her a twitch of her lips. "Thank you, Rei-chan"

"No problem" She pointed looked at her bother. "He can be annoying. I'm not even sure why I'm sitting next him, actually."

He grumbled. "You're such a bitch." And then whined when she smacked him again.

"Mom told you to quit calling me that, dumbass." Her eyes were narrowed slightly and her lip jutted out a bit like her father. It appeared she'd inherited the strong attitude of her mother and all the bored expressions of her father.

It was enough make anyone chuckle if you knew her parents.

"And dad said if he heard you disrespect women with 'such words again' he'd make you stand outside all day with two buckets of water."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He put both arms on the desk and rested his chin on them, looking defeated.

"Hn..." She rolled her eyes.

The door opened and in walked both Ryu and Shin, looking as spiffy in their normal attire as usual. Kei smiled at them, waving a hand for them to come join her just below the top row of seating. Ryu waved back and they both joined her, sitting on either side. Ryu to her left and Shin to her right.

"Hello, Kei-chan." Ryu smiled. "Are you ready for the exam?"

"Yep! You?" She turned to look at him.

He gave her a thumbs up. "Totally. How about you, Shin?"

Shin seemed lost in his own world for a moment, but replied rather coolly. "Yeah." He turned to look at them then, forearms resting on the wooden desk top. His cool alabaster eyes always seemed so distant. More so today even. "How much longer till Konohamaru-sensei gets here?"

Kei shrugged and looked at the clock. "He should be here any minute now."

And then the man they were speaking of walked in the door, looking through papers. His one good eye seemed to smile at the class. "Good morning, everyone. I hope you're ready for today's final exam."

Everyone was shouting yes or something the equivalent thereof.

"Good! Because we're doing something a little different today."

Everyone looked curious and confused.

Kei blinked and looked over at Shin and then Ryu. "I wonder what he means, hm?"

Ryu shrugged. "Who knows. This is my dad we're talking about. Despite how he acts he was just as much a prankster as us growing up." His chin rested in his open palm; elbow on the table. He reached up, scratching his tightly hair bound scalp.

She looked back at Konohamaru as he began to speak.

"Normally we would just test you today and then put you into three man teams tomorrow. However, because the exams are coming up in a few months we'd like you to have every day possible to work on your skills. So, today you will also meet your Jounin sensei if you pass."

Everyone's faces seemed to light up at that.

Kei grinned madly and nudged Shin. "That's so awesome. I hope we end up on the same team, Shin-kun." She smiled at him shyly.

He nodded and seemed to agree with her.

"Alright, so, grab your things and lets move this down the hall to the testing room." He was already walking out, moving to meet them all there.

Kei, Shin and Ryu all picked up their things and began to leave with the other students. Kei smiled at her two friends. If she were really lucky she'd end up with both of them on her team. But, even if she didn't end up with either of them she'd still be happy. Because today, she would become a ninja of Leaf.

ooo

She sat down on the bench next to her friends. It was her turn next. She could do this. She could. It wasn't that hard. Accept... the last three times she'd planned on failing. This time she realized she was nervous because she wanted to pass. Oh... if she failed because she wanted to pass she'd be so mad at herself. Plus, Konohamaru-sensei would think she was messing around again--the one time she wouldn't be.

She sighed lightly, looking worried. And she was surprised to see a gentle hand touching her own. She blinked and looked up to see who the owner was. Ryu? She blinked, feeling some coil within her at his kind smile.

"It'll be ok, Kei-chan. You'll see."

What...? All she could do was blink and stare stupidly as she looked at his face. She'd never felt this kind of feeling over him before. It had always been Shin who did it to her. What was going on? Then, she had to ask herself... had she ever really looked at him before? She was always so use to seeing Ryu with a stupid grin on his face and trick up his sleeve. He was always ready to make her laugh. Not inspire feelings of a crush. She blinked once more and he leaned in close to her, looking confused.

"Are you ok, Kei-chan?" His voice was soft and his face earnest.

She felt a blush rise to her cheeks. What could she say? Oh, Kami, he was still looking at her and expecting an answer. She was almost angry at herself and these weird feelings he made rise in her. So, she put on a frown. "I'm fine. Quit worrying about me." Oh, damnit! Why did it come out like that? Open mouth, insert foot, dummy.

He looked shocked at her for a moment and then his face turned a bit nasty, perhaps angry. "Nevermind. Sorry I asked." He placed his back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, looking irritated.

She instantly felt bad. But, then she also noted how... adorable he looked frustrated. The hell?!

"Hyuuga Kei!"

She jumped up. And then realized it was her turn. She quickly dashed into the room, barely hearing the good luck from Ryu in a distant longing voice.

Ryuunosuke. He was twelve years old. He was dashing in his own rough way and if it weren't for his brash yet reckless way of getting himself into trouble, he might be more popular with the ladies in his class. As it stood, he couldn't even get the one girl he loved the most to give him more than two seconds of his time unless they were pulling a prank or getting into trouble.

"Have you told her yet?" Shin was leaning back into the wall next to him on the bench.

He sighed. "Did it look like I told her?" His face became even more irritated, making him look even more adorable in a purely manly sort of way.

Shin sighed, his cold artic white orbs idly looking at a spot on the wall. "You should. You seemed to get close that time. I think her body heat rose up a few degrees."

"Feh, she's too busy looking at you to even see me, Shin."

He shrugged. "I love her because she's my family, just like she's yours. Not that it would be wrong to act on it. She is beautiful... But..."

"But what?" His cool orbs narrowed on his cousin.

He let out a long irritated sigh himself. "You love her, that's why. She might inspire feelings in me that I don't understand, but I'm controlled enough not to act on it. Because I know you love her. I don't know how I feel and I'm not going to pursue it."

His eyes softened at that and he turned his eyes away from his friend. "Yeah, well, you still blush like a girl when she touches you, moron."

"Tch... you might not blush in front of her, but I see the way you look at her when you think no one's watching. Then, my friend, is when your whole face lights up." He smirked slightly.

"Yeah yeah, pretty boy. Keep talking. You're lucky you're blood." He stared at the same spot Shin was a moment ago.

Suddenly the door opened with a wide slam, causing many student to jump up in fear.

Kei stood there, one hand on her hip and the other held in the air quite high. Held there, shinning in the light of the hall, was her headband. "I did it!" She grinned down at Ryu and Shin. "I finally did it." And then she was hugging them both and it was Shin who suppressed his blush this time while Ryu looked to be a flaming Christmas tree light.

"Hyuuga!"

All three of them suddenly looked over and said "What?" at the same time.

The teacher in the hall sighed. "Not you two, Kei-sama. Kei, please go back to the room and wait for the rest of the class there. Once everyone is done we'll give your teams and you'll soon meet your Jounin sensei."

She nodded and placed the forehead protector about her head, tying it tightly. She waved goodbye to the boys and ran off to her classroom. Everyone would be so proud of her.

ooo

Kei sighed. Everyone was gone and all the teams had been selected. She was somewhat put off that Shin hadn't remained with her, but at least she still had Ryu. He was sitting on top of the desk next to her, looking rather bored and irritated. It wasn't usual for him, but, she supposed it might be her fault be being so mean to him earlier when all he'd been trying to do was see if she was ok. It wasn't her fault, she'd just been... scared about her sudden wash of feelings for him. Even now she didn't know what to do about it.

She glanced over at the other member of their team. Unlike most Genin teams that seemed to be split off into two boys and one girl groups... her's had two girls. Her and Rei. She wasn't very close with her, but, they had played as children. She still didn't know much about her or her twin brother Rai despite how kind they always were to her.

She was leaning up against the blackboard, hands in her pockets as she allowed a pencil to hang lazily from her mouth. She seemed to be chewing on the end of it. One foot was propped up against the wall behind her and the other was in front of her, holding all of her weight in the slanted position.

She really was a pretty girl, despite the face that she tended to act so much like an irritated boy. She'd met Shikamaru once or twice. Temari and he were always very busy with Kage business or Genin things. Her father had told her the girl was just like both her parents in many different ways. Ah well.

"Feh... if they don't show up soon I'm gonna go get a burger," Rei muttered.

Kei sighed. Despite her kindness earlier... the girl did seem unapproachable. She'd been nice to her as a small girl when they played on the playground together. But, now, she seemed so... hard core billy bad ass. She almost imagined the pencil was a cigarette. The image really seemed to fit. She had the look, but, aside from her aggravated comments, Rei was a good student for the most part.

"Hey, Kei-chan."

She blinked up at Ryu. "Huh?"

He grinned mischievously. Seemed his true blue personality was back. "Wanna play a prank on the teach for being late?"

She grinned. "Totally." They lept over the desks and towards the front of the room. "what you got in mind?"

Rei watched them, but, did nothing.

"Hmm..." He looked around, not too sure.

"I've got it!" Her face lit up and she grabbed a dusty eraser from the board. She ran to the door and slid it up, shutting the door to hold it in place.

Rei smirked at her antics. "You actually think a Jounin is going to fall for that?"

Kei shrugged. "Who knows. But, it'll be funny if they do."

Ryu was already snickering.

And then the door was sliding open. SMACK! Yep... it hit the new sensei.

The woman rubbed her head, blinking a few times as she looked at her new students. Her laughing new students. Well, two of them. The red head was just looking at her as if to say 'You actually fell for that? Really?'. She sighed and picked up the eraser off the floor and replaced it on the board ledge. "Well, that's a nice way to start off, wouldn't you say?"

Kei smiled, happy the teacher seemed to have a good sense of humor. She was pretty too. Dark brown hair with a hint of lavender to it. Her eyes seemed to match her hair too, flecks of violet in them. On her face were two strips of lavender, rectangular in shape. They were on her upper arms as well. She wore a dark brown ninja headband with the leaf symbol on the silver plate. She had a kind face though, almost like Kakashi-sensei's.

Her clothing was typical of many Jounin, accept, it was black and deep purple. And her vest was like that more of an ANBU accept a darker more vibrant shade of purple.

She sighed at her group. "Well, let's get going. We'll make introductions later." They were all following after her, curious and a little unnerved. Kei didn't care though. She was just happy her teacher seemed kind.

After a long walk all three of them ended up in a field with three large stumps and a body of water nearby.

"Alright, everyone sit down and tell me your name and a bit about yourselves." She moved to lean against a tree, arms crossed over her chest. "You first." She jutted her finger at Kei.

She grinned from her crossed legged position on the ground and started to explain herself. "My name is Hyuuga Kei. I'm twelve years old. My parents are Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata. My goal is to one day surpass even my father."

The Jounin smiled. "Very well. You next." She pointed to Ryu.

He smirked. "Hyuuga Ryuunosuke. Twelve years old. Parents? Sarutobi Konohamaru and Sarutobi Hanabi. My goal? I'm not sure yet."

Not too bad, she mused. So, she had the Hokage's daughter and a Byakugan user with too much time on his hands and no real outlet aside from pranks he pulled with his cousin. "Ok, next and last?" She looked at Rei, as did both Kei and Ryu.

She looked bored as ever, her hands flat on the ground behind her to prop her up and her legs strait out in front of her. "Nara Rei. I'm twelve years old. My parents are Nara Temari and Nara Shikamaru. My goals?" She made a 'tch' sound and then a soft chuckle. "To get through the day."

"Good. Glad to meet you all. Well," she smiled still at her little group. "My name is Hatake Rin. My age is none of your business." She stuck her tongue out at them suddenly. "And my goals are to get you guys ready for Chuunin in a few months."

Kei blinked, wondering where she'd hear that last name before... Hatake... Hatake. Her face lit up with realization. "Oi! You're related to Kakashi-sensei!?"

She laughed softly. "You could say that. But, enough talk, let's get started."