Wow, reviewed and Favorited already! Arigatou!
TeamWorkIsKey: *muses* Not precisely sure how important they'll be, but I've got a rough idea. PS: I started reading 'Path of My Brothers'. It's good!
Oh yeah, and I swear I did not copy from YukiTenVianey Team's 'Sasuke's Twin'! I only read it after I finished the chapter!
'Breathe. Calm down.'
With that recited again and again in her head, Midori was her usual self when she knocked on the Hokage's door. Inside, the Hokage was talking with another man. Judging from his clothing, Midori guessed he was a Konoha Chunin or Jonin.
"Ah, Midori," the Hokage greeted her. "This is Iruka. He is an instructor at the Academy, and was in charge of the graduation exam that your brother and his teammates participated in. I assume you are ready now? Iruka will test you immediately."
Midori nodded, and Iruka cleared his throat and said, "For the graduation exam, the students had to create three Shadow Clones."
Midori made the hand sign, and in a poof of smoke she was standing beside three clones of herself. Iruka nodded. "She passes, Hokage-sama."
"Very good." The Hokage took a Konoha headband from a drawer. "Midori. You are now a Genin of Konoha. Congratulations!"
With a small smile, Midori wore the headband around her forehead. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. But which squad am I on?"
"Ah. Unfortunately, the Council demands that all the teams must have three members each, so you are not technically with your brother. Rather, you will take turns with some of the teams, your brother's included. Basically, you are without a team. I hope this is fine with you?"
"It's good, for a compromise," answered Midori. "Which team will I go with first?"
"First, we have placed you with your brother," the Hokage informed her. "Team 7, with Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki, in the charge of Kakashi Hatake."
Midori nodded, and added, slightly hesitantly, "Hokage-sama… can I ask for something? I'd like to see the files on the teams I will be sharing missions with, if I can. I want to know who I'll be training with before I meet them."
"An odd request, but I suppose so." The Hokage turned to a drawer and took out some folders. "Here. The files on your brother's team are included."
"Thank you very much, Hokage-sama," Midori said, taking the folders. "I will return them once I am finished."
Exiting the office, she headed for the Uchiha compound, the files in her rucksack. Except for the ones about Team 7.
"Dori-chan? You're a Genin now!" Sasuke smiled at his sister as she returned. He added hopefully, "Are you in Team 7?"
"For now," Midori said. "Let's go to your training grounds. I'll explain on the way."
As they walked, talking, Sasuke regarded his sister properly. After all, the last time he had seen her, it was when they were just kids. Midori seemed older, not quite as childish as back then. But then again, she had never really been very childish in the first place.
But of course, there were some noticeable changes in his sister. For one, her dark hair was neatly put in a ponytail, with a few loose strands framing her face. In their childhood, she had always favored a low braid. Also, Midori had preferred to look exactly like her brother when they were younger, by wearing similar clothes – a high-collared dark blue or black shirt and white shorts. Now, Midori was wearing a dark green shirt with a small Uchiha crest on the back, a dark brown skirt, and black shorts, with dark green sandals.
"So I'm not really going to be in your team," finished Midori. "But I'll try to go on missions with you." She had a trace of disappointment in her voice, and her onyx eyes looked sad.
Sasuke nodded, although he was disappointed too. "Well, we're together today."
Midori gave a huge grin. "Great! I thought you'd get really annoyed or upset. But ANYWAY, let's go meet Naruto and Sakura! Oh, before you ask how I know them, the Hokage told me!"
Her grin and lively speech surprised Sasuke – spooked him a little, even. Midori had never been so loud and bubbly when they were younger – she was always calm and quiet. And wasn't she just all sad a moment ago…?
"Er, alright…" Sasuke said slowly. He glanced, still startled, at his sister's face. The grin was still plastered there, but there was something odd about her eyes – they seemed to flash a bit golden in this light… "We're getting close to the training grounds soon."
"Alright, Sasu-chan." Midori's grin faded to a small smile, which relieved Sasuke. This was more like the Midori he knew. "So, what are Naruto and Sakura like?"
Sasuke looked a little annoyed. "Naruto's an idiot, and he keeps on saying he'll become the Hokage. Sakura is just as bad – she's always following me around, going 'Sasuke-kun!' It's annoying."
Midori gave a small laugh. "Matches her pink hair."
Sasuke stopped in his tracks. "How did you know Sakura has pink hair?"
"Oh… you know that girl who fetched you to the Hokage?" Midori answered quickly. "That was one of my friends – Setsuko Fubuki. She helped me out when I visited Kirigakure. Setsuko's amazing – she even knows ice jutsu."
"Isn't that a Kekkei Genkai?" asked Sasuke, remembering Haku from his first important mission. "The only people who could use it are dead, aren't they?"
"Exactly!" Midori beamed. "So she's really special… Setsuko ran away from her home when she was seven, and I met her. We became best friends…" Midori abruptly stopped, and continued walking. "Come on. I don't want to be late."
Sasuke ran a little to catch up, and looked at his sister's face curiously. Her normal expression – cheerful but still calm – was there, but there was something else too… Sadness?
Mu mu mu… Midori, past shrouded in darkness as always. WHO IS SETSUKO? Tell me what you think about this chapter!
Y'know, I think this is the longest chapter yet! (The previous ones were short - and updated so quickly after each other - because I wrote them in a notebook while on holiday, and I couldn't tell how long they'd be on the computer)
And now for thanking the people who have shown they like this story (or at least are interested)
Thank you for Story Alert: GrimmyRayne, and Hitsugaya Aiko!
I promise I will try to update more frequently with this new version!