Blah= whatever
"Blah"= talking
'Blah'= thinking or emphasis
(Blah)= Extra
(A/N: Blah)= Me
Blah = Flashbacks
Blah= Change of place, time, and POVs
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The Next day/6:35am/Normal POV:
"Gooooooood mooooooooooorningggggggggg sunshiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine~! --" BAM!
Kaori grumbled and cursed as she drew her arm back under her cozy covers, she had the most annoying alarm clock in the world, and was never happy to be awake in the first place.
She peeked open an eye to look at the time, ignoring the new dent. 6:35 am. Five minutes until the genin exams.
"Mweh, I don't want to wake up." She groaned. "Bleh…" She closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to overtake her when her eyes widened in realization.
"Five minutes? Aiiii! I'm gonna be late!"
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Please give me more time!" She prayed, fumbling into her clothes. She ran into the bathroom.
"Kaori!" Her mother called anxiously, "Are you awake?"
"Ah'm Brushingh mah teeth!"
"Hurry up, then!"
Kaori spit out the mass of foam and saliva. "Okay!" She finished plaiting her hair into her trademark braids. (A/N: braiding your hair and brushing your teeth at the same time is something only an experienced ninja can do!)
She thumped downstairs, and was now struggling to get her shoes on.
Her mother came up to the front door. "Are you sure you have everything?" she asked, dubious.
"Yes!" She said in between each violent tug on her sandals, rolling around from the huge effort.
"All right then. Good luck, honey." Amakusu Kana sighed, already heading back to the kitchen. "Oh, and it might be easier to put on your shoes if you put them on the correct feet, daughter." She added.
Kaori looked down. Her left shoe was on her right foot, and likewise with the other. "Oh." She put her shoes on correctly, noticing how easily her feet slipped in. "I-Itekimasu!" She muttered hastily, running out with a tint of rouge still visible on her cheeks.
Once outside with the building out of view she paused to whine. "Okaa-san…! That's the first thing you should've said!" Her mother made no means of hearing her daughter and Kaori continued to sprint towards the academy building.
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Academy/Genin test/Normal POV:
"E-Excuse me!" Kaori shouted, as she slid the door open violently. She took a moment to catch her breath and cringed upon looking up. She had interrupted Iruka-sensei's announcement and anger veins began popping comically onto his head. Kaori was already pretty rosy from her marathon run, but she turned redder still.
"Just take a seat." Iruka-sensei ordered, deciding to be lenient on what could hopefully be her last day. "Hai." She muttered meekly, she looked around. No one dared to be absent for the genin test, so it was hard to find a place to sit. She took a small step, but had unfortunately slipped on the stairs that the classroom floors were made of. They were pretty far apart from each other, but she hit every single step until she reached the bottom. Back where she started. "Oww!!" She yelped as the whole class laughed, glad to have something to focus on instead of the frightening exams. Kaori's face was practically glowing bright red and she could hear Kiba hooting as well.
"Is that the last of your disturbance, or is there more to come?" Iruka asked, now struggling to hold in his temper.
She shrunk, ashamed. "G-Gomenasai! I-It won't happen again."
"Fine, now take a seat- or at least make an attempt to." He scolded, the class laughed again at the joke.
"Hai…" She hid her face behind her bangs, but the fiery redness still showed clearly in contrast to her peachy skin tone. She looked around for a seat and winced when she noticed the only one was beside Kiba.
She smiled bravely and sat down. "Ohayo, Kiba-san! Akamaru-kun! Err… you guys didn't tell anyone about yesterday, right? Because it's kind of, um, embarrassing." She whispered, referring to the other dramatic spill the night before.
Her only response was a smirk and a happy bark from Akamaru. She frowned, remembering that Kiba was known for having a pretty big ego (and for frequently ditching class), he probably told his friends already. She sighed, thinking of possible scenario responses for later confrontations. She blinked when she saw the Inuzuka give her a reassuring wink. Kaori exhaled and smiled sunnily. 'That idiot! Making me worry!'
"As I was saying, we will now start the final exams." Iruka announced to the class of eager students. "If your name is called, come to the classroom next door. The subject will be a bunshin no jutsu, the replication technique."
Kaori turned her head toward Naruto, who was looking devastated. She winced sympathetically. Everyone knew about his disability to create a doppelganger. She took a peek at Kiba. 'He seems confident; so he'll most likely pass. I'm pretty sure that I have a positive chance on passing too… Please!'
"Kaori! Kaori! He said you're up!" Kiba hissed. Said girl looked up startled, as her thoughts were unexpectedly interrupted. She saw Iruka-sensei, who was waiting impatiently for her to start. She stood up, "Ack! Gomenasai!" She quickly stepped up, but staggered for a moment, practically falling on Kiba before he pushed her upright. 'That would've been bad!' She thought as she gave Kiba a sorry smile before stepping out the door to take her genin test in the next classroom.
Kaori stepped up to the front, concentrating hard in order to get the jutsu right. She took a breath, and made the seal. Feeling the chakra coursing through her body. "Bunshin no jutsu!"
She heard a poof and saw a cloud of smoke next to her. She stared intently, after the smoke had faded, she saw 3 mirror images of herself, all waving cheerfully at Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei.
She did it. She had successfully recreated her own image.
"Hmm… you did a pretty good job. They look exactly like you!" Mizuki-sensei smiled. "Congratulations! I think you definitely deserve the title genin!"
Kaori laughed happily, unable to form actual words due to her excitement. She 'poof'ed away the duplicates, and ran up to the front desk to collect her forehead protector. Already fitting the cloth onto her head. She looked at her reflection in the window and jumped for joy. She racked through her brains for the proper words, but all that came out was a "YESS!!!" Causing the other two to laugh. It was only after she bowed that she left to head back to the classroom.
She stopped outside the door and took a deep breath in order to regain posture. Once she was calm, she stepped inside, though she knew it was impossible for her to hide the relieved smile on her face, especially when eyes were on her and her new accessory. A sense of pride came over her and she resisted the urge to flaunt, as the class was already pretty wild (there wasn't a teacher to watch over them). But almost right away, a few classmates crowded around her wanting answers, as she was the first girl to go. (A/N: her last name starts with an A for Amakusu)
"C-congratulations, K-K-Kaori-chan!" Hinata stuttered sweetly, she blushed. Hoping no one noticed how much her speech impediment worsened from the pressure of the test.
"Yay! You passed Kaori!" Sakura smiled, enveloping her into a friendly hug. She frowned. "Go away Ino-pig. You're already killing the mood just by being here."
The blonde hadn't heard, thankfully, or she would have burst into rage. "It wasn't hard, was it?" She asked, as she had the pleasure of waiting anxiously till the end since her surname started with a Yamanaka Ya.
"Heh, are you scared, Ino-pig?" Sakura taunted. "We all know you won't be able to pass, so there's no point in all that worrying!"
"Urusai, Forehead girl! I'm worried that you're going to be humiliated when you and Naruto are the only ones who'll fail!" Ino retorted hotly.
Hinata flinched, already praying in her mind for Naruto to prove Ino wrong.
'Why'd they have to drag Naruto into this?' Kaori sighed. 'I'm already tired of everyone talking like this.'
In fact, she didn't exactly get why people hated him. Sure, he was incredibly annoying at times, but that couldn't really be everything. 'There are other people who are just as annoying as him. A lot of them are even worse, actually. So what exactly is their problem?'
They weren't in the least bit friends- in fact she didn't really care to know more about the Uzumaki, but she couldn't help but be curious. Her attention was too soon forced out of her thoughts.
"What did you say?" Sakura had roared.
"You heard me Billboard Brow!" Ino screamed, just as loud.
"Guys! Please stop fighting already!" Kaori scolded, annoyed that she really couldn't hear in one ear. "Can you please save it after school? I don't think now's a good moment to fight. I mean, are you sure you can't just, I don't know… talk it out or something?" She suggested, ignoring the eyes that were on their small group. Hinata, she noted, was really uncomfortable. Kaori hid a frown. They were supposed to be admiring her!
"Oh right, sorry." They muttered in unison, somewhat ashamed, but not really. Kaori sighed, not wanting to push it, and walked over to her seat… Or at least attempted to, when she tripped over Ino's foot. She reacted of course, not wanting to fall flat on her face, so she fell into an awkward somersault and after rolling frenziedly around the place, finally crashed at the front desk with a loud Bang! She sat up, sore and dizzy. The class was laughing again, but she was too lightheaded to really care at the moment.
The girls ran over to her and helped her up. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Ino cried. "It's all forehead's fault! She was in my way!"
"Uso! That's an outright lie, Ino-pig!"
"Don't worry!" Kaori assured, her words slurred from a vertigo moment. "It's no one's fault but mine. D-Don't worry, it won't happen again! B-By tomorrow, I'm going to be too good of a ninja to trip on anything!" She said, sure of herself.
"Uhh…"
Kaori, now recovered, frowned at their doubt. "I will! Just you watch!" She pouted, falling back into her seat with a "Humph!" She crossed her arms, and bit her lip again as she turned to look out the window.
"Do you have to trip on everything?" Kaori raised her head at the question, knowing that it was Kiba who had spoken. She glared at his cheeky expression.
"Go away!" She sulked, blushing when she noted that he was usually present in a lot of her embarrassing moments.
"Sorry. I can't because this is my seat, which means I sit here. Second, it's not my turn to take the test, so I have to wait here. And third, a lot of funny things happen around you. Therefore, since there is nothing left to do except bother you and watch, that's exactly what I'm going to do." Kiba replied cheerfully, as if it was that obvious.
"Well, you're… you're just a big meanie!" She snapped. "So Nyeh!" She stuck her tongue out. "From now on I'm talking to Akamaru, cause you're just a big… p… p-poophead!" She added immaturely, and held Akamaru close to her.
This time, Kiba sighed at the utter childishness. "You honestly call yourself a ninja?" He sneered. 'Meanie? Poophead? Ha, she's such a kid!'
Kaori just glared, turning away. "Did you hear something, Akamaru-kun?" She asked the confused puppy, her eye twitching as she fought to ignore the owner.
Kiba rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'll stop." He assured. "I'm gonna end up laughing to death at this rate!"
"Don't you think someone should close the window, Akamaru-kun? I keep hearing these strange noises! It sounds like this annoying mosquito-thing is trying to get my attention!" Kaori said, raising her voice to block out the dog owner. Kiba popped a vein; it wasn't hard to figure out that he was starting to get annoyed.
"Give him back!" He demanded.
"Someone please close the window!"
"Grr… Akamaru! Kill her! Bite her! Pee on her!"
"Arf?"
"See, he likes me better!"
"You're talking to me now!"
"Erk! Sh-shut up!"
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After Academy/On the way to the tea shop/ Kaori's POV:
After school, I was on my way to the teashop. I couldn't wait to tell the old man about the graduation. Of course I was going to tell my mother, but if I came to her first she would cling onto me and never let me out of the house.
I couldn't risk that.
I was also pleased that Kiba and I had surprisingly become friendlier towards each other. Sure, he was nice to me yesterday, but the moment was awkward and we had kept our distance. Today, I guess we were close enough to tease and joke around. I myself was proud of this achievement. It felt natural hanging out with him, which is what you're supposed to feel when you're with a close friend. Therefore, Kiba was kind of my friend, in a way. I was always up for new buddies- even if that included a self-centered prankster.
"Oi! Kaori! Wait up!" I spun around to see Kiba and Akamaru jogging up to me. Oh! "Hey!" He greeted, once he caught up.
"Hi! What's up… Akamaru-kun?" I asked, continuing my walk.
Kiba gave a chuckle. "Hey, we called a truce, remember?"
Oh, right. We did.
"I was just kidding, Kiba-san!" I coughed, going straight for the topic change. "So what is the first thing you're going to do now that you're an official shinobi?" I asked.
"Hmm…" He looked up, thoughtful. "I think Akamaru and I are gonna go home and celebrate, I guess."
I nodded, thinking deeply as well before smiling brightly. "But can you believe it? We all passed the test! We're genins! Official ninjas! We're all going to get our new teammates on Monday!" I squealed, prancing happily.
"Everybody except Naruto, that is." Kiba added.
I stopped jumping, frowning. "Yeah… that's right. I thought he could've passed this time. Maybe he'll pass the next one?" I added unsurely.
"Maybe." Kiba replied. Realizing how much he had ruined the mood, he continued. "Umm… well, do you think we're going to be on the same team though?"
"Hmm… maybe. But then again, we could be teamed up with anybody." I replied thoughtfully-- or obviously. 'Stupid!!'
"Yup, it makes me excited! I can't wait." Kiba grinned. He didn't seem to notice my folly. "Don't you think so Akamaru?" The canine replied with a bark himself.
I smiled, "Same here!" I stopped walking and looked up when my house came in view. "Oh no."
"Hmm? What is it?" Kiba asked, and looked up as well. "What's wrong? This is where you live, isn't it?"
I winced when I saw the curtain move in one of the windows. "She saw me…" I reached a hand up to my newly received forehead protector, and groaned. "How troublesome." I mumbled, not realizing that I was quoting a certain Nara.
"Hey! What's wrong?" Kiba demanded, still confused. Akamaru gave an impatient bark.
I smiled when I noticed just how much I was exaggerating and stretched. "Nothing really, my mom's just one of those overprotective clingy types. After seeing my new headband, she'll never let me out of the house." 'And after seeing you.' I added, exasperation showing itself again. 'Or any guy for that matter.'
Damn it all…
Kiba-san nodded, and grinned sheepishly. "I see. Hehe, sorry! I guess we gave you an early curfew."
I shrugged. "It's nothing. I wasn't really going to do much anyways." I opened the door and stepped inside. "Do you want to come in?" I asked, feeling awkward about the way he had just walked me to my house.
"Nah, we're fine. We got a lot of things to do anyways." Kiba answered, Akamaru gave a woof. "Hey! Do you wanna train or something tomorrow?" he asked casually, grinning brightly before continuing. "After all, you do owe me from falling on me before!"
I twitched. Is he talking about that time in class? I didn't actually-! "That was an almost, you liar!"
"Yeah, thanks to me!" He retorted, instantly winning with the true statement.
I pouted. I was never big on losing, especially with Kiba smirking like that. I was going to accept anyway! "Mm, fine. I guess I have time…" I smiled. "Then I guess I'll see you tomorrow then!"
He just held up a hand as he walked away. Shutting the door, I closed my eyes and chuckled. "Che, was that supposed to be cool or something?"
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Sooooo, how was that chapter? I hope it's not confusing anyone or anything like that. What do you think about it so far? Reviewwww!!!
Itekimasu means I'm leaving
Uso means Lies
Mendokuse means How Troublesome