A/N: This marks approximately two months since I started this story. I've updated like clockwork every week. I'm a little sad about the lack of reviews, but people continue to add me or this story to their follow lists. I take that as a sort of silent approval. In the end I write for myself anyway, so it's not too big of a deal. I will never hold my writing hostage for reviews, either. This chapter and one more will finish out the first part of the story. Chapter ten will begin with the creation of the teams. Enjoy.

"Naruto..." Hiroto started without even dropping his pack, "What the hell is that?"

"The best color in the world!" his adopted little brother shot back belligerently.

"But... it's so..." Hiroto seemed to be reaching for a proper way to vocalize his complaint, "Orange."

"Exactly!" the boy replied brightly.

"Should I even ask where you got that?" he waved his hand, indicating the orange and blue monstrosity the blonde was wearing.

"Some shop keeper saw me eying it," Naruto told him energetically, "When I told him I was looking for a super awesome ninja uniform he offered it to me half price!"

Hiroto's palm met his face as he moved farther into their somewhat messy apartment. He found Naruto to be oddly neat, while he was a slob.

The apartment was decently sized with a large main room split into living space and kitchen and two bedrooms off to the left on either side of the single bathroom.

He tossed his pack into his room and began peeling off his very dirty uniform. After finishing his trial he had made a trip to the hospital for his ribs, then snuck out from under the fussy nurses' noses to come home.

"So how'd you do?" Naruto asked as Hiroto stripped down to dirty white boxers and walked into the bathroom.

"Pretty good actually," he answered through the closed door, "I managed to complete the mock mission within twenty-seven hours."

"That mean you're getting promoted?" the boy wheedled as he heard water start to run.

"Don't know yet," the man answered loudly over the water, "The exercise isn't done until midnight tonight. They won't make any decisions until after that. Probably won't find out till after your first day."

After a few more minutes, the water stopped. Soon after that, Hiroto stepped from the bathroom in clean white boxers with a towel around his neck. He disappeared into his room and returned wearing a white shirt and some navy pants.

"You really are going to the academy in that, aren't you?" he asked, eyeballing the orange jumpsuit.

"Sure am!" was the response.

"You know that guy was probably thinking about making you a target, right?"

"Well duh." Naruto answered, "What ninja in their right mind would wear orange?"

"Uh..." Hiroto said dumbly, confused by the kids contradictions, "What?"

"You always said 'The ninja who wins is the one who is most surprising' and no one will expect me to be any good wearing this... as awesome as it is," the blonde said with a grin, "Besides, how hard can orange really be to hide in. Oodora and Kodora do it."

"Ugh," Hiroto put his hands to his face, "There are so many things wrong with that."

XxXxXxX

Osamu woke slowly, his mind still lost in a strange dream where thousands of whispering voices were trying to instruct him at once. His mind snapped back into reality when he heard a happy mew and felt a sudden weight on his chest. He opened his eyes to find his field of vision dominated by the black face of his companion.

"Hey, Yancha," she looked bigger to him, "How long has it been."

She meowed at him, and to his surprise he felt her answer form in his mind, 'Too long.'

He smiled when he realized he could understand her. His sister could only pick up simple ideas and complex emotions from Zuki. It looked like he could communicate fully with his own feline.

He looked out his window to see the sun halfway behind the horizon. He had performed the ritual in the morning and had then apparently slept the day away.

"Where's Nee-san?" he asked the cat.

'Below,'she hadn't even made a sound that time, 'Burning food.'

He blinked at the odd words, then realized Yancha meant Ren was downstairs cooking. He chuckled at the description. He supposed the little predator wouldn't quite understand why humans insisted on burning their food before consuming it.

He moved to get out of his bed, and Yancha effortlessly climbed from his chest to his shoulder. She had to move for him to change, but she quickly returned to her perch when he was done. His stomach growled loudly as he descended the steps, and he could feel a wave of amusement from the cat on his shoulder. He soon made it to the kitchen where his sister busied herself with making a meal. His greeting died in his throat as his senses were assaulted by a huge amount of new input.

A soft purple light was emanating from Ren, and it pulsed and shivered randomly. His ears could pick up strange noises, like the crackling of a burning fire. Even his nose was picking up strange undertones behind the smell of food. He became confused at the strange sensations, shaking his head and looking again.

His sister was now looking at him quizzically, having sensed his presence, "Are you okay Osa-kun?" she asked with a hint of worry. The green aura shivered.

"I... I think I have the sight, Nee-san," he finally told her when the odd sensations wouldn't go away.

An excited look replaced the worried one on his sister's face, and the sound of a small fire roared into a blaze, "Two from the same parents is almost unheard of!" her voice matched her look.

"What have you felt?" she asked, "Demons tend to show as dark spots in your vision, and kami can cause odd odors or even tactile sensations."

Osamu shook his head, "I can sense your aura, but I haven't felt anything else..." he trailed off seeing the look of astonishment on her face. The sounds of fire died down, and the purple light dimmed slightly.

"Reikimokushi," she whispered.

"Is that good?" he asked, a little put off by her reaction.

"Kaa-san was the first person in the clan to have it in over three generations," Ren told him, still somewhat in awe, "For you to develop it... on top of a kekkei genkai," Ren sat down roughly at their table, her knees growing week at the implications.

Osamu shuffled nervously. His sister had prepared him for the idea of developing one form of the Reimokushior another. She had admitted that it was unlikely, since there was usually only one, if any, in a generation for a family. They were direct descendants of the founder through their father, though, and had an increased chance of coming into the power.

"Maybe it's not so strange," Osamu said, considering the information he knew, "Maybe the Reimokushi is a part of our bloodline, and I'm just the first in a long time to fully develop the whole thing."

Ren considered his words as she stood to lay out their food. The idea had merit, and she couldn't deny that the ability to see spirits had the feel of a kekkei genkai on its own.

She smiled at her little brother, keeping her teeth hidden as was customary for them, "I think you may have something there, Osa-kun. Where'd you get so smart?"

"Hmm... Can't have picked it up around here," he answered with a shrug, taking the chance to tease his older sister, "No one to take after."

She shot him a dirty look softened by familial affection, and he just smiled back. They lapsed into a comfortable silence as they ate, each lost in thoughts for the future.

XxXxXxX

"Slow down, Naruto," Hiroto called with a yawn, "Getting there early will only force you to wait for class to start."

The boy in question was nearly twenty feet ahead of his guardian doing his best not to break into an excited run, "C'mon, Nii-san. I'm too excited to start my training."

"I started your training three years ago," the man pointed out.

"This is different!" Naruto argued.

Hiroto let the point go as they approached the academy. There were a great many students already there, the first timers marked by the presence of their guardians. Hiroto and Naruto stood apart from everyone to prevent a scene with any of the parents. The chunin saw many of them speaking to their children and pointing to his charge. He didn't doubt they were warning their kids off the jinchuuriki. As he continued to look around he spotted the one person in the whole village he avoided.

"Hey, Naruto. I gotta go see the Hokage now," Hiroto said quickly, "You'll be alright on your own?"

"Yea, I guess," the bewhiskered boy answered turning to look at his brother. The man was already gone, though, "Nii-san?"

"Hey look," Naruto heard from behind him, "It's the kid from the park."

He turned to see the three kids who had stood up for him. He smiled awkwardly, "Oh... hey guys."

They were accompanied by a young woman not much taller than the surrounding kids. Judging from the eyes and hair, he guessed she was family to the smallest individual. Naruto peered around nervously, looking for the massive cat he had seen with the three boys. The only felines he saw, however, were a small golden furred, black speckled cat on Osamu's shoulder and a sable one trotting at the woman's side.

"Who is this?" the woman asked, fixing her yellow-green eyes on Naruto's blue ones. The gaze was unnerving, but he felt no hostility from her. Unusual for an adult.

"Naruto, if I remember right," the one wearing the gi stated. What was his name? Hota-something...

"Nice to meet you Naruto-san. I am Sakibou Ren," She said to him politely, then waved her hand towards her cat, "I believe you have met Mikazuki."

The gears in his head started turning. He had heard that name before...

"But that was the name of the panther..." the cat looked at him with the same deep-green orbs he remembered from the great cat, "HOLY CRAP! HOW DID YOU GET HIM SO SMALL!?"

"I've been trying to figure that out for years," the largest boy said sullenly, "but they won't tell me."

"We can't just go around telling everyone about our hijutsu, Masaru-kun," Ren chided him, "That would defeat the purpose."

When they refocused on the orange clad kid, he was eye level with Zuki. He reached out a tentative hand, and after a moments consideration the cat rubbed his cheek against it, allowing Naruto to pet him.

"Zuki thinks you smell like tigers," Ren commented.

"My nii-san summons tigers," Naruto explained, "He sometimes calls them to play with me."

She raised an eyebrow, "Does he now?"

Why did Naruto get the impression he had just told on Hiroto.

"Alright kids," a voice called out from the main doors of the academy, "Let's go... time for class."

"Alright you three," Ren said sternly, "Pay attention. Study and train hard. I swear if I find out any of you try to pull a prank, I will tell Mayu-san to double your exercises for a month."

A chorus of understanding went up from the three boys, and they trudged inside, followed by a bemused Naruto.

XxXxXxX

Hiroto arrived outside the Hokage's office to find the other jonin hopefuls already gathered around. Spotting Kurenai off to the side looking slightly morose, he walked up to her.

"You already find out?" he asked.

"Still a chunin," she told him, "At least I know where I need to focus for next time."

He nodded, "You got caught during the exercise didn't you?"

"Yes, I did," she admitted, "Genjutsu can be a double edged sword. If a person recognizes the effect, your cover is essentially blown."

Hiroto nodded in agreement, but before he could say anything else, the doors to their leader's office burst open.

"BEHOLD THE BEAUTIFUL GREEN BEAST OF KONOHA IS NOW A JONIN!"

"Congratulations, Gai-san," Hiroto called a bit louder than necessary, his ears ringing.

"Ah! Hiroto-san, it is a Fortuitous Event you are here," the excited taijutsu master told him, "The Hokage has told me your Youthful Presence was required As Soon As Possible."

Hiroto ignored the grumbling of his peers as he entered the office and shut the doors. The Hokage was looking over a file, presumably the results of his trial.

"B-ranked in ninjutsu with demonstrated water, earth, and wind manipulation. A-rank in taijutsu with ten demonstrated styles. C-rank in genjutsu, but you impressed the proctor with your subtlety. C-rank in weapons. A-rank in peripheral skills, demonstrating uncanny stealth and evasion," the Hokage listed off, "Not a bad showing, Hiroto-san."

The chunin nodded at the praise, but wasn't too hopeful. Two C-rank skill sets would hedge him out of jonin in most cases. He had at least done very well in the practical exercise.

"Your practical exercise was interesting," the Hokage went on, "It says here that you eluded Hatake Kakashi after retrieving your scroll. How did you manage that?"

"I uh..." he really didn't want to embarrass the cyclops by mentioning he had been bested by a house cat, "Summoned a powerful ally to hold him off while I escaped."

"Kakashi-san mentioned you used raw wind chakra to glide," the old man said, "That's a very creative idea."

"Burns a lot of chakra, too," Hiroto admitted, "Especially since my primary affinity is water."

"Do you know anything about the odd 'trap' the proctors found?" the Hokage continued his questioning.

"That wasn't a trap," the chunin claimed, "I used that tree to launch me to the tower. Used the gliding trick to keep from turning to mush on landing."

Sarutobi stared at him, "Why is it always the crazy ones?"

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama?" Hiroto asked, a little put off by the question.

The elder man just shook his head, "In light of the skills you demonstrated during the trials, we were prepared to promote you to tokubetsu jonin, but the proctors were unsure whether to classify you as a close-combat specialist, a bodyguard, a scout, an assassin, or a spy. The pratical exercise clinched it by showing us you had what it took to be a true jonin. Congratulations, Hiroto-san."

Konoha's newest jonin stood surprised by the Hokage's words. He was amazed the senior jonin had trusted him enough with the rank.

He didn't have a chance to recover before the Hokage went on, "It is a custom of mine, one I picked up from the Nidaime, to bestow a gift on newly appointed jonin to mark their promotion."

Hiroto shook his head, "You have done far too much for me already, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi waved his hand dismissively, "Trust me, Hiroto-san. You are by no means the only shinobi whose issues I take a personal hand in. The gift is a mark of your rank. Chunin receive the flak vest, but jonin do not have that universal identifier. I won't take no for an answer."

Hiroto moved forward, grumbling about Kages abusing their power, as the old man produced a storage scroll, "You were a rather difficult one to find something for, but I believe this will be rather useful to you."

The Hokage unfurled the scroll and activated the seal on it. When the smoke cleared, Hiroto was greeted by the sight of two oddly shaped shields. He had seen more than a few of the defensive items in his time, but never in the hands of a ninja.

They looked as if they had been designed to attach to the forearms much like bracers. They were thin and long, designed to cover the entire forearm, but allow for full freedom of movement while worn. There was a slight curve along their short axis, and they tapered to a sharp point that would jut well past a wielders knuckles. On the concave side were multiple heavy duty straps and a handle for the user to grasp. On the dull metal of the striking surface were embossed and painted orange tigers, mirrored on the shields and ready to pounce. Touching them, Hiroto found the pointed ends to be razor sharp, and realized that these were weapons as much as shields.

"The Toratate," his leader named them, "They have sat in my family vault for too long. It is said that so long as you have something precious to defend, these shields will accept any blow without a scratch."

"These are relic weapons?" Hiroto asked in wonder, "I cannot accept this kind of a gift..."

"You can and will," the Hokage ordered, "I have seen how you act, Hiroto-san. You always place yourself in danger before others. With these, you will at least have a good chance of surviving your protective tendencies."

Hiroto snorted in amusement, but couldn't deny the man's words. In the past six months he had saved four lives, nearly dying every time. He wasn't entirely sure that his goal was survival. The Hokage was being a stubborn old man, though.

"Very well, Hokage-sama," he relented, "I will take them."

"You must bond them with blood," Sarutobi explained, "Once you do, they will serve you until you die or relinquish them."

Hiroto nodded and used one of his kunai to slice his thumb. He allowed a drop of his blood to fall onto each shield near the mouth of the tigers. He felt a resonance as the blood seemed to seep into the dull metal. The bonding complete, he affixed the shields to his arms.

He considered the time it took to attach them, "Getting them on in combat may prove difficult," he commented.

To his surprise, the shields vanished. He examined his arms to find the tigers now seemingly tattooed to his forearms, "Okay... that was cool."

He willed them to return, and the Toratate were again in place, ready for combat. He went through a series of punches, frowning at how the weight of the shields slowed him somewhat. He would need to train hard to get used to them.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," he bowed deeply to his leader after dismissing the shields back to their tattoo form, "I will use these to protect Konoha."

"That is all I ask," the old man told him with a smile, "You are dismissed."

Before Hiroto left, he reached into his equipment pouch and brought forth a few electronic devices and placed them on the Hokage's desk. He ignored his leader's inquisitive look, turned on his heel and left.

The next chunin in line to see the aged leader found him in the midst of a laughing fit.

"Hokage-sama?" the chunin, a little worried.

The aged leader calmed some and waved at the electronics left on his desk, "I believe I need to have a talk with Shikaku-san about the Jonin Trial procedures."

XxXxXxX

Osamu and Hotaka claimed a comfortable spot in the academy yard in the shade of one of the larger trees. Around them they could hear the chatter of their peers as they prepared to eat their lunch.

They turned at the sound of grumbling to see an irate Masaru stomping up, "Dumb sensei holding me during lunch," he plopped down with his friends, tore open his own bento, and began to attack his food.

"Maybe you shouldn't have hid a firecracker with a remote detonation seal in his podium," Hotaka grinned at his large friend.

"How'd he even know it was me?" the large boy said around a mouth full of food.

"I think he saw your chakra flare," Osamu informed him.

"Where's your cat?" Masaru asked, not wanting to stick to the topic of his little prank and its repercussions when he got home.

"You know. I'm not sure..." Osamu trailed off as he saw his trouble making feline streaking across the school yard. The cat, by some unknown means, had stolen a bento her own size, and was currently dragging it across the grass by some excess thread that had been used to secure it. Its apparent owner was chasing after the thief. The scene would have been comical had his cat chosen anyone else to mess with. One look at the pupiless white eyes made Osamu blanch. His cat had gone and managed to annoy the Hyuga heiress.

Of course Yancha didn't have the decency to avoid him. She bolted right to him and dropped the bento with a triumphant 'brow.' Before he could even tear into the cat for her antics, the panting girl came up. Osamu noted idly that her eyes weren't exactly white. Even with his muted color vision he could see the hint of lavender in them.

'She was alone,'Yancha told him, 'and sad.'

Osamu set down his own green bento to grab the deep purple one Yancha had brought him. Luckily, it was still sealed. Cringing inwardly, he allowed his reikimokushi to infect his senses. He wanted to be sure not to further insult the girl, and seeing the play of emotions in her aura would help immensely. Thankfully he seemed to have an intuitive understanding of the input, it was just slightly disorienting. He stood and held it to her, "I am very sorry, Hyuga-san. Yancha... well let's just say she earned her name."

She had quickly gotten her breath under control, but the flush never left her face. The cat user wasn't surprised to see she was as embarrassed as he was, but was confused by her lack of anger. The blue light coming off of her lacked the tale-tell pulsing that came with that particular emotion.

"It's o-okay," she stuttered quietly, taking her bento into timid hands.

"Would you like to eat with us?" Osamu offered. He saw surprise enter both her face and aura, but she shook her head.

She walked off without another word, leaving Osamu quite confused.

Hotaka snorted at her actions, "Might as well have committed sepuku for all the good it would have done you there," he joked.

"Kaa-san said the Hyuga were 'a bunch a stick-up-the-ass tightwads'," Masaru told them, mimicking his mother's gruff voice as best he could.

"I'm not so sure that she has that problem," Osamu said, almost to himself.

"What do you mean?" Hotaka asked.

"I'm not quite sure."

He couldn't pick up on subtle things yet, but the amount of loneliness radiating off the girl had caused his skin to prickle. He had seen, heard, and even smelt the emotions radiating off the auras of others, but this had been the first time he had felt it across his skin. He spent the rest of their lunch in a pensive silence as his friends discussed how they could get Masaru out of his extra exercise.

When lunch ended, Osamu claimed a seat in the back right next to the Hyuga girl. Even with his reikimokushi suppressed he could sense her loneliness. What could cause someone their age to be so despondent?

"I'm sorry again, for my cat," he told her before class was called to order, "She only wanted to play."

"I s-said it w-was al-alright," she stuttered back. Was she trying to get him to leave her alone? That didn't make much sense to him.

"I'm Osamu," he said, then he picked up his cat and plopped her down in front of the girl, "This little thief is Yancha."

He ignored the indignant look Yancha leveled at him and stared expectantly at her. He kept his face friendly, the corners of his mouth turned up and his eyes squinting slightly to take the edge off their feral appearance.

After a moment of silence the girl replied, "Hi-Hinata."

Yancha browwed happily at the girl and bumped her head gently against a hunched shoulder, purring loudly. Hinata raised her hand timidly, only for Yahncha to begin rubbing against it.

"She likes you," Osamu noted, bringing a small smile to Hinata's face.

Once class resumed, the feline climbed down to the Hyuga girl's lap, and drifted off to sleep, purring softly.

XxXxXxX

"It's good to see you, Ren-chan," Sarutobi said to the small young woman with a smile, "I'm sorry to put you off for so long."

He was truthful in that. To everyone who mattered, though, Sakibou Ren was officially a civilian. Not an important one either. That meant she was a low priority for his time.

The girl who had come to him practically begging for protection had grown into a beautiful, if petite, young woman. Her dark hair was tied back into a loose pony tail that went to the small of her back. Her features had lost the roundness of youth and taken on more angular, almost feral looking lines. She had barely made it over the five foot line in height.

She had taken to wearing a tight fitting black V-neck blouse with long sleeves that flared at the elbow and hid her hands. Her pants were a similar color, tight from waste to knee and loose below the joint. Her feet were clad in the sandals so ubiquitous in the village and beyond.

The Hokage couldn't help but think how much like a kunoichi she looked. It didn't matter too much. His village was filled with civilians with some level of shinobi training; Academy washouts, retirees, offspring of shinobi who never entered service. Unlike other villages, Konoha did discourage such things. Instead they were allowed to continue practicing the art. This gave Konoha a secondary force to call on in dire emergencies; a sort of militia. He was considering organizing them into a true fighting force.

"Think nothing of it, Hokage-sama," she had the courtesy to at least try to leave out the sarcasm, "Six hours is not so long."

The old man chuckled a bit, "I am actually glad you wanted to see me," he told her, "I wished to discuss increasing the scope of your... responsibilities."

She raised a single thin eyebrow to show her interest, "Are you activating me as an actual shinobi?"

"No, no," Sarutobi answered patting the air, "You have been an excellent watcher. Most of my data gatherers do not or cannot make some of the observations you have."

She shrugged, "Just watching got old."

The old man nodded, "I want you to start taking in data from other watchers and analyzing it. Your insights are valuable to me."

She nodded, "I can do that, Hokage-sama. Will I be provided a runner?"

"Don't worry about delivery," he said, "I'll make all the necessary arrangements. Take this as well," he tossed her small metal object, "It will make certain... activities easier for you."

She examined the item, finding it to be a small brooch. It looked like the stylized leaf that was the village's symbol, but the spiral terminated at a circle with a dot in the center. She realized it was meant to be an eye. Anyone seeing the brooch from a distance or giving it a passing glance wouldn't be able to tell the difference. She slipped it into a pocket. It wouldn't be appropriate to look as if she had received it from the Hokage.

"Now that that is out of the way," Sarutobi went on, "Why did you wish to see me?"

"I feel I should inform you that there is a new kekkei genkai in your village."

The old man leaned forward, interested, "What would that be?"

"Kononkyou," she told him, "My brother can affect a person's emotions with his chakra."

The old leader's eyebrows went up, "Are you sure it isn't just a powerful form of genjutsu?"

Ren shook her head, "Not as of yet, but he was able to cause fear in me with only a single hand sign. That was after only a few days of practice. If it is genjutsu, I didn't see any difference in my surroundings."

Sarutobi sat back to consider that. He wasn't called 'The Professor' for nothing. Genjutsu affected any of the primary senses rather easily. Sight, sound, touch, scent, and taste could all be manipulated. More advanced genjutsu could also affect the secondary senses like balance or the sense of time. A good genjutsu artist could manipulate his target by simply controlling his senses.

Many not initiated deeply enough into the arts falsely believed thoughts or emotions could be controlled with the techniques; a misconception genjutsu artists did everything they could to promote. Truthfully, any thoughts or emotions elicited by the illusions were incidental. Many masters of the art made in depth studies of the human psyche so they could effectively manipulate others.

To his knowledge, the only techniques capable of directly affecting thought were the hijutsu of the Yamanaka clan. Even they didn't have anything to control emotion. Their techniques could even be thrown off by powerful or chaotic emotions.

If the younger Sakibou could truly manipulate the feelings of others, he would be a very dangerous individual.

"Who else knows of this?" he asked.

"I ordered him to keep quiet about it."

"Good, this is a class-A secret," the old man ordered, "No one below jonin is to know about it, and only on a need to know basis."

Ren nodded her understanding.

"How have you trained him?" the Sandaime inquired.

"I have had to focus on chakra theory for quite some time now, but I have taught him the basic concepts of stealth, evasion, diplomacy, disguise, and other areas of espionage," Ren listed off.

"I can understand the espionage training considering your own talents," he allowed, "but why chakra theory? They go over it quite extensively in the academy."

Ren nodded in agreement, "I know, but his special power comes at a price. His chakra is permanently charged with spiritual energy. He can only produce balanced chakra by the methods normally used for Yang chakra."

Sarutobi sighed, "Of course. What might be the most powerful manipulation powers in a child that can't do the most basic ninjutsu."

"He can with great effort, but he is left physically exhausted," she explained.

"How is his control?" the Sandaime asked, an idea forming in his head.

"Excellent, I would say," Ren claimed with pride, "I had to go to a specialist to find out since Osa-kun can't perform normal control exercises, but the man told me he is already able to direct chakra to specific points on his body."

"Good," the Hokage said as he scribbled out a note, "I'm going to set up some additional training for him with an expert. She's only a chunin, but she excels in genjutsu."

Ren bowed deeply to her leader, "Thank you, Hokage-sama. When will he start?"

Calling a messenger bird to his window with a chakra laden trill, the Hokage took a moment before answering, "If I know Kurenai-san, she will test him today."

XxXxXxX

Kurenai looked at the note again, wondering why her leader would assign a first year academy student to special genjutsu training. Most kids that age couldn't even access their chakra, and the ones that could tended to blow it all in a single technique, if they knew any at all. Genjutsu required a very subtle touch.

Training a brat on top of escorting the Hyuga heiress to school and back would be a pain, but at least it would keep her in Konoha for an extended period so she could shore up her weak areas before the next Jonin Trial. The pay wasn't bad either. Whoever this kid was seemed to have decent backing.

She spotted him easily enough. Short as he was, it was hard to miss the amber, cat-like eyes and the speckled feline on his shoulder. Conveniently he was walking with her charge.

"So she leaps off the table to pounce on Zuki, but he's not there anymore. She ended up going face first into the cabinet," he seemed to be regaling the girl with a story about his cat.

"Collecting suitors already, Hinata-chan?" Kurenai asked nonchalantly. The girls head dipped down and a blush bloomed on her face.

"Osamu-kun, th-this is Ku-Kurenai-san," Hinata managed to sputter through her embarrassment, "Sh-she takes m-me t-to and f-from school."

The boy nodded to her respectfully, and cocked his head to the side, "I'm no ninja... not yet, but I think you should escort her yourself?"

"Whatever do you mean?" the black haired woman inquired.

"It's good, but my nee-san's cat can make better illusions," he told her with a smile. She noted he tried to keep his teeth mostly hidden. She dismissed her genjutsu, dispersing it in a cloud of butterflies. She saw Hinata's look of surprise as she dropped from her hiding place in a nearby tree.

"That was very good," she allowed, "but perhaps you should refrain from comparing a shinobi to someone's pet."

Laughter drew her attention behind her. She looked to see a young woman who could only be family to the cat-eyed boy. That made her Sakibou Ren; sister to her potential student.

"I see you two have met already," the shorter woman observed, "And that Osa-kun has managed to put his foot in his mouth."

"But it's true," the child protested, "Zuki can make better genjutsu than what I just saw."

"That's because she didn't use anything an idiot like you wouldn't be able to see through," the woman shot back, "This is Yuhi Kurenai, an expert in genjutsu. I have paid her to tutor you, but I'll understand if she backs out."

Kurenai considered doing just that, but when she looked back at her potential student he was bowed low.

"Forgive me, Kurenai-sensei, for my foolish words."

It sounded sincere enough, and the illusion actually should have been beyond him. It could be interesting to see how much he could really do.

"I suppose I can forgive you once," she conceded.

The boy gave her a big smile, again covering his teeth with his lips.

"Where are the other two monsters?" Ren asked, "You three are usually attached at the hips."

"Masaru got in trouble for a prank, and Hotaka fell asleep during afternoon classes," Osamu told her. She would find out soon anyway, "They have to stay late."

Ren sighed, "Natsumi-san is going to kill him when she gets back. I guess we'll wait for them."

"If you don't mind, I would like Osamu-kun to come with me," Kurenai said, "I want to see how much he knows."

Ren shrugged, "Sure. Watch the cat. She's a troublemaker."

Kurenai waved the two children on, and they were off towards the Hyuga estate.

XxXxXxX

Kurenai left the Sakibou residence after dropping off her new student. He hadn't known anything about genjutsu theory and had admitted as much, but he seemed to have an intuitive grasp of the way things worked. She could already tell he was going to be talented. Teaching him would also be great practice for when she had a team of her own.

She found herself looking forward to the experience. Perhaps the boy could even help her bring Hinata out of her shell. Only time would tell.