A\N: I own nothing.

Third chapter! 10000+ words! Woot!

Introducing Sena Hyuuga. Some talking, some action, hope its not boring. Please review!

Iruka Umino stood next to the Hokage's desk, and tried not to fidget. Even though they were his comrades, it was still a bit nerve-wracking to be in a room full of people, any one of whom could have broken him in half with only minor effort. The Hokage, and eight jounin of Konoha, were meeting to discuss the final formation of the genin teams. It should have been nine, but Kakashi was, as usual, late. Iruka was there as the Shinobi Academy's representative, and he was experienced enough to note the tension in the air. All the eight jounin were, subtly, trying to dominate the room. To create a favorable impression on the Hokage. To be one of the lucky few who would get a genin team that would actually pass the Secret Genin Test.

Konoha was the Hidden Village with the highest ratio of civilians to shinobi, by an enormous margin. This had been the result of certain civilian-friendly policies that had been perpetuated since the Second Hokage. The large civilian pool meant a manufacturing and mercantile base far exceeding that of other Hidden Villages. This meant that Konoha had a second source of income apart from shinobi missions. This economic independence had proven its importance during the Third Shinobi War. Part of the victory lay in the heroics of people like Jiraiya and Minato 'Yellow Flash' Namikaze. The other part lay in Konoha's deep pockets that allowed them to keep shinobi on the front lines instead of on paying missions, until Iwa was forced to sue for peace. But having a prosperous civilian population meant conceding some power to those civilians. One such concession was the lessening of academy standards, until children from civilian families could qualify as genin. But, the shinobi leadership was comprised of war veterans. While they were willing to send children into battle, they were not quite cold-blooded enough to do so without training them properly first. Thus, the Secret Genin Test. Genin teams that passed the test proved that they had the necessary skills in spite of the lowered standards. Those who didn't were offered a choice – quit, or pass a one-year special training course. Since the special course wasn't part of the official Academy curriculum, it could be as hard as the Hokage wanted. Only a handful would pass the course, but those who did would be immediately assigned active genin status, no further testing necessary. It was an awkward, time-consuming work-around, but political compromises were like that.

The Secret Test was also the reason why 'Copycat' Kakashi had yet to train a single genin, in spite of being on the trainers' roster for the better part of a decade. He was not a particularly difficult test-taker, but he was brutally fair. And since he never bothered jockeying for one of the better teams (or even showing up to the meetings on time) he was invariably assigned the dregs. This year, though, Iruka suspected that things were going to be different.

The Hokage cleared his throat, and addressed the gathered ninja. "Let us begin. You all have known for a while that you would be assigned as instructors. I hope you've taken the time to read up on the genin candidates. Any comments?"

"Yeah. Who's the lucky bastard that's getting the Nara-Yamanaka-Akimichi team? They're a sureshot." This comment came from the Hokage's son, Asuma Sarutobi. Asuma had his father's height and a distinct family resemblance about the face, but a much burlier figure. He was also puffing on his ever-present, miraculously odorless cigarette.

"There is no such team." replied the Hokage.

This pronouncement got everyone's attention. Then there was a chuckle, as Kurenai, the only female present, remarked, "Let me guess. You're putting Kurita Akimichi with the Uzumaki kid."

There were murmurs of surprise and some protests from the others. "You're putting the Akimichi heir with the demon?" asked one vocal member.

The Hokage's glare quickly shut him up. "Hiruma may have a demon inside him, but he is no demon. I would hope the people in this room are experienced enough to know the difference."

"Still, why are we breaking up a winning combination?" asked Asuma in a reasonable tone.

Kurenai gave a snort. "What combination?" Noticing the other jounin staring at her, she wrinkled her nose in annoyance. "Didn't any of you bother observing the brats during playtime? Their families might be in an alliance, but that doesn't mean their kids are best friends. Ino Yamanaka spends all her time either with the other kunoichi or mooning over the Uchiha. The Nara boy's always off on his own trip. Hiruma's the one Kurita spends most of his time with. The two are always on the same team in any game, and they work well together."

Some of the other jounin were still looking at her as if she was spouting Greek. "Alright I appreciate that. But their clan abilities provide such a powerful synergy – even without friendship, it's a powerful tool." observed Asuma.

At a sign from the Hokage, Iruka spoke up. "We have accounted for that. In order to preserve synergy, we need to replace Kurita with another heavy hitter, and we have one. Sasuke Uchiha. They'll be Team 7."

Someone gave a low whistle. "That's a power team alright. Who's the lucky jounin?"

"Kakashi Hatake." said the Hokage.

Some jounin looked surprised, others merely looked resigned. "He's not even here." grumbled one.

"Doesn't matter. He's the only sharingan-user we have right now. We need him to train Sasuke, and Kakashi was a legendary ANBU captain. If anyone can train a team specializing in capture and assassination, it's him."

"If he passes them." There were a few good-natured chuckles at this.

"All right, I guess that works." admitted Asuma. "But who's on the team with Hiruma and Kurita?"

"Sena Hyuuga."

There was a hush at this. Then Asuma started laughing softly. "Oh man, you sure know how to pick 'em. I just wish I could see Hiashi's face when he gets the news." Kurenai joined in the laughter, but most of the others looked slightly worried.

"Are you sure about this, Hokage-sama? Why do we want to drag down the Akimichi and Hyuuga heirs with that dead-last dolt? Surely one of the other students -" spoke one young-looking jounin with short black hair.

Iruka surprised himself by interrupting the jounin. "Hiruma is a lot brighter than his grades suggest, he just doesn't test well." The words felt lame coming out of his mouth, but Iruka was under orders not to discuss the whole mess with Mizuki, so he couldn't give more details.

"That leaves Aburame and Inuzuka from the notable clans, are you keeping them on the same team or splitting them up?" asked Kurenai, trying to move things along.

"Together. We'll add Sakura Haruno. The three of them will make a fine tracking team, they're designated Team 8." replied Iruka.

"If you're making a tracking team, why not put the Hyuuga there?" asked Asuma.

"Because it would be overkill. Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka are already capable trackers with good close-combat skills, a third such member will add nothing."

Many of the jounin nodded in agreement. Over-specialization could be a serious weakness in a genin team.

"So, I guess I'll be taking Team 8?" asked Kurenai. It made sense, considering she started her own career on a tracking team.

"Yes, and Asuma, I want you to handle Hiruma's team."

"All right, if that's what you want." replied Asuma. "But I'm warning you, if they fail the secret test, I am not going to put up with any bitching from the clans. No offence." The last line was to a large, broad jounin, who waved off the comment.

There were no further protests. Some of the tension went out of the air. Everyone knew that the three teams were the ones with the best chance of cracking the Secret Genin Test. The rest of the students, no matter how you combined them, didn't have much chance. Hopefully, some of them would make useful genin after a year of re-training.

Just as they were settling in to discuss the remaining students, the door opened, and a tall, white-haired figure with an eye-patch and a mask covering the lower part of his face ambled in.

"Sorry I'm late, but a cute little girl asked me to rescue her cat from a tree on the way here. Did I miss anything important?"

o-o-o-o-o

At the same time, in another part of town, in the Hyuuga clan compound, a 12-year-old girl was undergoing her daily training. Or, in her case, her daily humiliation. Humiliation was something Sena Hyuuga had long since accepted as her lot in life. The monthly duels where she lost to her younger sister Hanabi was an embarrassment, but at least it meant one more month that Hanabi stayed free. It was the iron law of the Hyuuga clan – there can be only one heir. All spares were to be branded with the Branch family seal, a seal which allowed any Main Family members to bring intense pain or death to any member of the Branch family. It was only Sena's utter failure to live up to the standards of the Hyuuga that had allowed Hanabi to remain unbranded, kept in readiness for when Sena's failures finally reached the bound of their father Hiashi's tolerance.

So, Sena was used to humiliation and embarrassment. What she could never get used to was the fear. The mind-numbing fear of facing someone who she knew was one thought away from killing her. Only two people in the compound inspired this kind of fear from her – her father Hiashi, and her cousin Neji. Her fear of Neji might seem silly – after all, he was branded, and she was Main family – but Sena had never used the seal, and knew she never would. She had seen too many abuses of the seal to ever activate it on any one, and so she feared.

Today, her fear had a focus, for it was the day before the genin team announcements, and her father had decided to prepare her for the big day by having her face Neji in a full-contact spar. Neji himself was utterly cold and emotionless, showing nothing beyond indifference. Sena knew better. She had seen it time and again, as she lay on the floor with her chakra points shut down. She had seen in his eyes how badly he wanted to drive the final strike home, and shut down her heart. Now she faced him once more, and the fear was a flood, held back by a dike that was eroding fast.

The spar started with a few standard katas to build rhythm, then Neji struck in earnest. It was all Sena could do to deflect the attack, since blocking a Gentle Fist's chakra strike was a recipe for defeat. The Gentle Fist attacked muscles, chakra coils, and organs, and deflection and dodging were the only real options. Once more Neji struck. Sena dodged, but had no chance to counter as a follow-up was on its way. Neji was settling into a rhythm, his fingertip strikes coming faster and faster, each one with its own little promise of death. Something had to give, and today it was Sena's courage. Giving up all pretense of attack, she started to run.

She didn't leave the sparring ring, but she was no longer attacking. She was no longer in any recognizable stance. It was pure instinct, as Sena twisted, ducked, and dashed away from Neji's strikes. She was surfing on a tide of fear, each wave corresponding to Neji's next attack. The waves of fear grew higher, as Neji's frustration fed the anger behind his strikes, but she was riding it out…. "SENA! CEASE THIS DISGRACEFUL BEHAVIOR AND FIGHT LIKE A HYUUGA!" her father's roar pierced through her harder than any attack. Her steps faltered and she tried desperately to regain her stance, but her opponent was already into his attack. The rest of the fight lasted three seconds.

After the fight was over her father looked down at her, kneeling on the floor since she no longer had the strength to stand. "That was utterly disgraceful. You broke your stance. You forgot everything I've taught you, and took to running away like a coward. My own brother gave his life to protect you, and this is how you repay him! With cowardice!" Sena looked down at the floor. She didn't bother to apologize, apologizing only made her father angrier. Besides, he was right. She was a coward. Over the last six months, this failure of discipline had been happening more and more often. No matter how hard she tried to tell herself that the pain of defeat was better than the ignominy of cowardice, her body had other ideas.

Her father was still speaking, and she tried hard to pay attention. "Tomorrow, you will be assigned to a genin team. As the Hyuuga heir, you will be most likely assigned to a team with genin from other noble families. Perhaps the Aburame or the Inuzuka. Then, your jounin-sensei will test the three of you to see if you have what it takes to really be genin. And you will drag the team down to failure and disqualification, embarrassing not only me, but potentially two other clan heads as well. Isn't that right?"

"Yes father… I-I mean no father! I won't! I shall pass the test!"

"Surely not. Surely you will take this opportunity to use your failures to hurt as many families as possible."

"No, father."

"We shall see. Hope springs eternal. As for your disgraceful performance today, you shall go to your room immediately. No food will be brought to you tonight, and you shall not eat breakfast either."

Her father then turned on his heel and walked out, followed closely by Neji. Sena, getting painfully to her feet, arms limp by her side, staggered to her room. There, she curled up on her futon in the fetal position, and finally allowed herself to cry. The tears were mostly of relief, because for a few more hours, she was free of fear.

o-o-o-o-o

The next morning Sena sat in her class, with the twenty-six other genin that had passed this year. No one paid any attention to any one else today. She had even forgotten about her aches and pains and growling stomach. All eyes were on the eight jounin standing sternly behind Iruka-sensei.

"All right class, I will call out the members of each team. Those whose names I call, follow your assigned instructors out of the classroom, they will take you to your first team meeting." announced Iruka. Then, he began to call out the names.

Sena saw the called students getting up to meet their new sensei. Many of them looked eager. How could they? Didn't they know the hardest test was yet to come? No, they probably didn't. Her father had warned her not to speak about the test; it was supposed to be a secret. But if it was a secret, why had she been told? The bottom fell out of her stomach. She knew a secret that she wasn't supposed to. Her father must have made a mistake when he told her, he had been angry at the time. What if her jounin-sensei found out? Would that disqualify her? Would it disqualify the entire team? Sena was on the verge of panicking, when – "Team 7, Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka."

"HAH! In your face, Sakura!" The cry interrupted Iruka and pulled Sena out of her thoughts. Ino leaped from her chair exultantly, while Sakura seemed to collapse into a puddle of depression. Sasuke didn't even glance at the girls, though his lips thinned a tiny bit. Shikamaru muttered something that sounded like "troublesome".

"I'm glad you're so enthusiastic, but mind saving it for your instructor?" asked Iruka dryly. Ino flushed and retook her seat. "Speaking of which, your instructor is Kakashi Hatake, and he seems to be late. Just wait for him here, until he shows up."

Well, that solved the mystery of why there were only eight jounin. For a second, Sena wondered if her name had already been called, but there were 9 genin in the room, which meant it was fine. Now, she started studying the remaining few genin carefully, wondering who would be on her team, and her face fell as she considered the choices. Sakura was nice, but they were not likely to put both girls on the same team. Shino creeped her out – she'd seen what he kept under that concealing jacket – but at least he was always polite. The same couldn't be said for Kiba, who was loud, brash, and enjoyed teasing the girls. Kurita, Sena actually liked. The enormous boy always had a kind smile for everyone; he was slow to lose his temper and quick to regain it. But Kurita was always accompanied by Hiruma, and he was the last person Sena wanted on her team. Hiruma was as loud and brash as Kiba, but there the similarity ended. Even at his most obnoxious, Kiba's insults lacked real malice. Hiruma used words like kunai – find a weak spot, ram it in, and twist. That was when he wasn't using language that made even Kiba blush. But mostly, Sena was afraid of Hiruma, because her father had warned her to stay away from him. All the other children she spoke to had been similarly warned and no one knew why. Sena knew, beyond a shadow of doubt, that if Hiruma got assigned to her team, her father would blame her for it. Please, Kami, I pray to you, don't let Hiruma be on my team…

"Team 8, Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, Sakura Haruno. Jounin instructor, Kurenai Yuhi."

Apparently, even the gods had forsaken her. She tried to console herself with the thought that she might be able to hide behind Kurita, both from Hiruma and from their new sensei. Their sensei was Asuma Sarutobi – the Hokage's own son! – and he certainly looked big and intimidating enough to be descended from the man people called "God of shinobi". Sena stumbled to the front of her class, head down so as not to attract attention, the same way she had moved her entire life. "We're heading for training ground 17. Try to keep up." a deep pleasant voice said, and Sena meekly followed the rest of the team out. She was so busy looking at the floor, she didn't see the small but sincere smile that Asuma bestowed on all three genin, or the careful way Hiruma was sizing her up.

o-o-o-o-o

When people were asked to describe Asuma Sarutobi's personality, the first words used would be 'laid-back'. Other popular adjectives were 'calm', 'honest', 'brave', 'loyal', and 'a bad enemy'. None of these descriptors were inaccurate. He was considered one of Konoha's greatest jounin, and rightly so, given his distinguished career, both in Konoha and in the daimyo's bodyguard. Even the interlude during which he had forsaken the shinobi way to become a monk only added to his reputation as a warrior, rather than subtracting from it. Yet, in spite of all his accomplishments, few bothered describing him as 'intelligent', 'clever', or maybe even 'devious'. Somehow, they saw no disconnect between his noted tactical brilliance, and the bluff, honest man they all thought him. Asuma himself took quiet amusement in this. Now, as he led his new genin team across the treetops to training area 17, he considered what he had learnt of them while in the classroom.

Hiruma had spent the time reading a manga while the names were being called, but Asuma had seen the way he had carefully studied every jounin and every student over the top of his book. Hiruma also had a most impressive poker-face. Asuma had him pegged as an independent type who would resent control. People like Hiruma made either the very best or the very worst of subordinates. Often at the same time. Kurita, on the other hand, was an open book. In Asuma's judgment, the large boy was fundamentally loyal and honest, but a touch too passive. He would need to be more aggressive to make chuunin, but it was a small thing. The student who worried Asuma the most was Sena. He had been told she was shy, but shy didn't quite cover what he saw. He suspected her of a crippling lack of self-confidence, and fervently hoped he was wrong. Devious buggers like Hiruma, he could handle. People like Kurita were easy. But he didn't know the first thing about taking a broken little girl and turning her into a killing machine.

o-o-o-o-o

Sena bent over and took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. Training Area 17 was a distance from the academy, and Asuma-sensei had set a punishing pace. Kurita was huffing as well. Hiruma, though, wasn't even breathing hard.

"All right, everyone, line up." Sena fell into line beside Kurita. She still kept her head lowered, but peeked up through her lashes to study her sensei. He had seemed forbidding in the classroom, but now his face looked kind and gentle, and she felt a faint trickle of hope.

"Now, before we go any further, let's introduce ourselves. Name, likes, dislikes, dreams, that sort of thing. I'll go first. I am Asuma Sarutobi. Yes, I am the Hokage's son. No, that will not affect anything. I like cigarettes, music, and hanging out with friends. I dislike peaches, and people who break their word. I dream of marrying a beautiful woman, raising a family, and dying in bed at a ripe old age. Your turn."

Sena realized he was looking at her, and immediately froze. It took a few tries to get her throat working, and the first time she spoke so softly, Asuma asked her to repeat herself. Blushing furiously, she spoke up. "I am S-Sena Hyuuga. I l-like my family. I don't really d-dislike anything. I want to make my father p-proud of me."

"I am Kurita Akimichi. I like eating, especially Ichiraku's ramen, and hanging out with friends. I dislike how long it takes for food to prepare. I want to master my clan's techniques and develop traveling rations that taste as filling and delicious as a four-course dinner!"

Sena glanced up and saw the enthusiasm shining from Kurita's face, and she couldn't help but smile. The smile was wiped out when Hiruma spoke.

"The name's Hiruma Uzumaki. I like people I can use. I hate useless idiots. I'm going to rule the world, but becoming Hokage will do for a start." The statement was delivered deadpan, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Asuma looked at him for a second with raised eyebrows, and Hiruma stared right back with his most devilish grin.

Asuma gave a small shake of his head, either of disbelief or amusement, before addressing the group at large. "I'm pleased to meet all of you. As your jounin instructor, it will be my duty to give you on-the-job training in the art of being a shinobi. I will also be team leader on missions. I'm not a difficult guy to please, just do what I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it.

But before I can start your training, though, there is one last test you need to pass. Until you pass the test, you are not genin."

"What? But… we passed the academy!" The protest came from Kurita. He, at least, seemed surprised.

"The academy only tests your potential. It is up to me to decide if you actually have what it takes. And I should warn you in advance; this final test has a failure rate of 66%. Two out of three teams fail this test. Yes, I said teams. There are no individual scores in this test, you will all stand or fall together.

Now, the good news is, even if you fail, you can still go back for the 1-year remedial course. It's not the end of the world. But, really, I recommend you pass. You don't want to be stuck in remedial lessons while your friends are off doing missions and learning new techniques.

The test will start tomorrow, right here, at 7 AM. I will tell you what the test is then. Any questions?"

"What should we study for the test?" asked Kurita nervously.

"Sorry, can't tell you that. Wouldn't be a secret test, otherwise."

Since there were no further questions, Asuma left, with a reminder to be at the training ground by 7. Sena glanced at her teammates. Both of them seemed lost in their own thoughts. Well, she was under instructions to report back to her father as soon as class ended. Sena hadn't taken two steps, though, when a cold voice rang out behind her, "Where the fuck you think you're going?"

A lump of ice formed in her stomach, as she turned to face Hiruma. She tried to explain about her father's orders, but Hiruma overrode her.

"You heard the fucking beardy. All of us gonna pass or fail together. I guarantee it means the test will be one about teamwork, where we'll be expected to cover each other's weak points. So, you ain't goin' nowhere till I know what you can or can't do.

Now, you're Hyuuga. Means you know that Jyuuken style they all go on about. Say, I heard you guys are so good, you can knock shuriken out of the air with your bare hands. That true?"

"Um… y-yes?"

"Cool! Let's see it!" A shuriken was whirring towards her midsection. Reflexes took over, and Sena knocked it out of the air with a quick jyuuken strike.

"Fuck, yeah! Do that again!" The next shuriken was hurled faster, but again, Sena had no problems. Next came two at once, Sena just used both hands.

Suddenly, a shuriken whirled past her ear, coming in from the right and behind. She whirled around in shock. Standing there was another Hiruma. As Sena looked from one to the other, the second one grinned with far too many teeth. "I'm sorry, I thought the Hyuuga saw everything with their big white eyes. Or was that all hot air?"

Pricked by the doubt cast on her family, Sena immediately activated her bloodline ability. "Bakyugan!"

Her jaw fell slack. Standing directly behind her and to her left were two more clones. When on earth did he make those?

"Now, we can really see what you got. Fair word of warning, you think these are illusions, you gonna get hurt."

Corporeal clones? That's not an academy technique! When… how…?

There was no more time to think. Shuriken were whirring in from every direction. Sena rapidly fended off a dozen tosses, it was no different than some of her exercises. Then came one more shuriken. Sena thought it was going to miss, when it was suddenly replaced by four shuriken, two of which were on target. Anyone else and she would have thought them illusions. But the Bakyugan saw through illusions, and she felt in horror as the two copies bounced off her jyuuken strikes before puffing into smoke.

"Aw, I thought those would get you." The Hirumas were looking, if anything, even more manic. The next shuriken came at her throat, and split into six halfway there.

If this had been a training session in front of her family, Sena would have worked her hardest to persist with the Jyuuken. But here, there were no teachers, no family, to criticize her. Fear washed away all thoughts save self-preservation, and she blurred out of the way.

Hiruma blinked, then grinned even broader. "Is that all you can do?" he cried, and all four of him went into rapid-fire, each shuriken splitting four or five times, creating a blizzard of pointy metal.

Sena dropped the jyuuken entirely, and redirected all chakra to her legs, as she did her best to keep ahead of the storm.

Right! Left! Dive left! Roll, twisting jump! Duck, slide! Push off right!

As the seconds ticked by, Sena was aware of a strange sensation, as if there was a path in front of her, a path only she could see, leading through the shuriken barrage. The path kept changing, but as long as she followed it, she knew she would be safe.

Suddenly the path was no longer there. Stumbling to a halt, she realized the clones were gone. Only one Hiruma stood in front of her, and his hands were empty.

Hiruma looked at her coldly, and pronounced his judgment. "The way you are now, our chances of passing are around 10%."

o-o-o-o-o

"The way you are now, our chances of passing are around 10%." Of course, Hiruma was joking. He figured, with that kind of speed, they actually had a pretty good chance of passing. The plan was for his statement to prick the girl's pride. She would then protest his statement, and he would use the opportunity to segue into a pep talk, and fire her up with a desire to prove him wrong. That should solve the shyness problem, at least till tomorrow, he thought with satisfaction. Therefore, he was quite surprised when the girl collapsed to her knees, and face to the ground, started babbling apologies for being a failure and coward. He saw Kurita start forward to comfort her, and he snapped out an arm to hold him back. Instead, he addressed Sena. "Coward, huh? And who told you that?"

"M-my father said I was a coward. He's right, I can never keep my stance when in danger, I always try and run away from it. Please forgive me, I'll drop out and explain to Asuma-sensei that it's my fault. I n-never should have taken this test…"

Hiruma had heard enough. Normally, when he got angry, he'd bury the anger deep and use it for motivation. This time, though, he felt it was only proper that he get just a little bit angry.

o-o-o-o-o

Sena let out a squeal, as a hand grabbed her by the hair and dragged her face up. She found herself staring into Hiruma's eyes which were like two chips of polar ice. "One more word, and I'll gut you." and she realized his other hand was holding a naked kunai. "Now, listen to me, very, very carefully. When I say we got a 10% chance, do you know what I fucking mean?"

"Y-yes. I…"

"No, you don't. What I fucking meant was we could still do it. As long as there's any fucking chance, if I ever hear you talk about quitting, I'll kill you myself. Are we fucking clear?"

"Y-yes."

"So, let's try this one more time. Our chances of success are 5%. Whaddaya say?"

"W-we can still do it?"

"I don't want you to fuckin' ask me, I need you to fuckin' tell me. Our chances are 1%. What does that mean?"

"W-we can still do it."

"Say it like you mean it! Our chances are 0.1%!"

"We can still do it!"

"Louder! OUR CHANCES ARE 1 IN 10,000!"

"WE CAN STILL DO IT!"

"THERE'S A MILLION FUCKERS OUT THERE SAYING YOU CAN'T! I WANNA HEAR YOU DROWN THEM OUT!"

"WE. CAN. STILL. DO. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTT!"

Sena didn't know when she'd stopped trying to form coherent sentences. She was screaming, with no thought for how she looked, or her poise, or her position as a Hyuuga heiress. All she knew was that the sound of her voice seemed to push back the despair that had been threatening to crush her not less than a minute ago. So she kept on screaming until her voice was hoarse and she was out of breath.

Hiruma squatted down, and looked at her. His face was as cold as ever, but his voice was soft. "Our chances are one in a billion. Do we quit?"

"No. We can still do it."

Once again, the broad too-sharp grin spread across Hiruma's face, but the threat in it no longer seemed aimed at her. He leaped to his feet and hollered, "Kurita! Get over here!"

The large boy immediately came jogging, "Are you all right, Sena? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Shut up, and listen! After much deliberation, I have decided to offer Sena Hyuuga a membership in our most exclusive organization."

"Er… what organization?"

"Why, we are the ones who refuse to accept defeat as long as there is a chance of victory! We are demons, assaulting the gates of heaven even though gods and mortals alike turn their hands against us! We are… the Devil Bats! Come screaming out of hell to spread chaos and anarchy, our trail blazed for us by our very own… Demon Princess!"

Kurita seemed awestruck by the idea. Sena on the other hand, was busy trying not to laugh. She couldn't believe anyone could say lines that corny with a straight face.

"D-demon Princess?" she giggled.

"Indeed, and as a celebration of our arrival, we honor with a carriage ride to a celebratory banquet!"

"Huh?"

"Kurita, pick her up on your shoulders, and let's get ramen."

"What? No, put me down. Stop!" squeaked Sena as she found herself hoisted up on Kurita's broad shoulders.

"To Ichiraku's!" cried Kurita pompously, getting into the spirit of things, while Hiruma let out a demonic cackle. "Mortals beware, the demon princess is here!"

o-o-o-o-o

"Stop calling me demon princess and put me down! What will my father say?"

"We are the Devil Bats! What care we for parental authority?"

"What? Do you know what my father will do…"

The noise of childish bickering faded, and Asuma, hiding behind a tree, breathed a sigh of relief as he tried to steady his heart. He had left the children alone so as to observe their personal dynamics, and he had been on the verge of jumping in at least half a dozen times. He was still amazed that no one had gotten hurt. He slowly lit up a cigarette and puffed quietly, as he pondered. Well, at least Hiruma seems to have some idea of how to bring shy girls out of their shells. But I'll need to make sure he doesn't go overboard with his clever ideas. Also, how the hell does a brand-new genin know what looks a lot like the Kage Bunshin? Me and the old man are gonna have words.

o-o-o-o-o

It was the day of the test, and Asuma was pleased that he had managed to surprise everyone, even Hiruma. The kids had obviously not expected anything so obvious. All they had to do was beat him, so he told them. A bald-faced lie, but if that didn't bring out their best, nothing would.

They'd been at it for about fifteen minutes, and so far the kids had done pretty well. Asuma had already seen Hiruma's trick of shadow cloning his shadow clones' missiles, exponentially multiplying firepower, but the explosive tags were new. How does an orphan afford that many tags? One more for the mystery books.

He'd had to make liberal use of the Shushin (Body Flicker) and the Kawarimi (Body Replacement) technique to avoid them. He'd also popped four of the eight clones Hiruma had made, besides knocking all three kids around a bit. The reason it took him so long to destroy the flimsy shadow clones, was because the clones were playing it cautious, and both Sena and Kurita were running interference for them.

One particular trick which had nearly knocked him on his ass was Hiruma's shadow clones using Kawarimi to replace themselves with a charging Kurita using his family's Meatball Tank technique. Asuma sometimes felt like a flag in a pinball machine. Sena, too, had been popping up unexpectedly, trying to nail him with her jyuuken, before dashing to avoid his counterstrike. Truthfully, he could pass all three of them right then and there, but he wanted to see just how far they could go.

A barrage of Kunai headed his way for perhaps the twentieth time, and he neatly dodged out of their path. Now, if I've got the pattern down, Sena should try something… a scream of pain made him jerk around, and he saw Sena, curled up on the ground with a kunai sticking out of her abdomen and blood staining her jacket. Aw, shit, I must have been blocking her vision of the kunai…A glance at Hiruma showed the boy frozen with shock.

Asuma quickly reached the girl, and was just bending down to check, when some instinct made him leap backwards. The leap became a stumble, as his right knee was quickly losing strength from the jyuuken strike. Sena had leaped back to her feet, casting aside the kunai and dispelling the henge'd blood. She charged forward. At the same moment, a whistling in the air announced the arrival of several more kunai. And a Hiruma clone initiated a flying kick on Asuma, only to be replaced in midair by a flying Kurita. Hoo boy.

o-o-o-o-o

The three children were resting, utterly exhausted, with a magnificent collection of bruises. Well, two of them were exhausted. Hiruma still looked ready to go. His rest was being enforced by a judicious application of ninja wire. Asuma was sporting a shiner, several cuts and scrapes, and his leg still wasn't responding well. In the end, he had to bust out a low-power Ash Volcano to finish the fight. "Well done, you brats. Congratulations, you pass." Sena and Kurita stared at him in surprise, and even Hiruma raised an eyebrow. "I doubt any genin team can take on a jounin unless they ambush him. Since I knew you were coming, there was no chance of you beating me. But it was an impressive effort, which is what I was looking for. Welcome to the Konoha shinobi!"

"Yay! We passed! We passed!" Kurita leaped up, fatigue forgotten, and wrapped both his comrades in a bear hug in spite of their protests, and started swinging them around.

Asuma smiled, as he watched his team's antics. Then the realization of what he'd done caught up with him. He'd passed them. Kami help him, he'd just agreed to let a trio of children into a life of blood and intrigue, with an early grave the most probable reward. Suddenly, he felt very old and very tired.

o-o-o-o-o

The door to the shinobi bar opened, and Asuma limped in. Special Jounin Genma looked up, and chewed on the senbon needle in his mouth for a moment before speaking. "Looks like a rough mission, Asuma-san. Did you run into an enemy jounin or something?"

Asuma just gave him a baleful glare, before sitting down heavily at the bar and ordering a drink.

A\N: Writing Sena's character was hard. I had to ask myself, "what would Sena be like if I replaced his loving parents with the jerk-ass Hyuugas, and he had no Mamori to back him?" and the answer I came up with was "in even worse shape than Hinata".