They actually got a couple of days of break before the third stage of the exam. During this time, a multitude of foreign ninja showed up in their village to watch the spectacle.

As was usual, the last round consisted of tournament-style fights in an arena. This year, they would be fighting in teams.

Team 15 - Konohagakure vs Team 3 - Kirigakure, the announcement board read when it was their turn.

"Ooh, Mist-nin," Gaia chuckled. From the looks on his teammate's faces, they were thinking of the same thing he was.

It was the first time they met up for training after their camping trip.

"Now that you're more familiar with fighting in different terrain, we're going to train you in fighting as a unit. You're going to be able to predict your teammates' movements when I'm done with you," Tadashi-sensei boasted.

"But we've already been trained together," Gaia said, "Surely we just have to spend some more time doing that, right?"

"Knowing each other's style isn't everything," Tadashi-sensei said, "Plus, you are water natured while Miho-chan is fire natured, you know what that means?"

"That he's going to be good at damage control?" Unkou suggested, earning himself a glare from their Uchiha teammate.

"What?" he protested, "Your clan is famous for causing fire damage! It's like you're a clan of arsonists?"

"At least we're not a clan of prissy little-"

"You're going to be training with blindfolds!" Tadashi-sensei announced.

"What?" the three genin asked at the same time.

"If Gaia-kun and Miho-chan can learn to use their affinities together, they will be creating a lot of mist. Unkou-kun, you might be able to look through it but your teammates won't. You'll have to practice being able to fight without relying on your eyesight. Since this is a team exercise, Unkou-kun, you will be blindfolded as well, no byakugan. This will also help you in familiarizing yourself with your teammates' movements. Predict their actions without having to see them," he grinned at their doubtful expressions. "Come on, it's gonna be fun."

And it was. Just not for the genin.

Tadashi, on the other hand, spent multiple weeks watching as his genin tumbled across the training field, narrowly avoiding being torched, drowned, or put out of commission by Gentle Fist attacks. It was great fun.

When fighting enemies, there was no reason for all three teammates to join the fight unless necessary. In fact, it was beneficial for not all of them to fight at the same time. This way there would be at least one fresh fighter if they got involved in another battle.

This, however, was an exam. They were all supposed to show off their skills, both as a way to convince their Kage that they were worthy of a promotion and to show the other villages the skills that Konoha boasted.

So each member of Team 15 focused on one of the genin in the opposite team.

As soon as the proctor gave them the starting signal, all six of the genin jumped forward into battle.

Gaia's opponent wasted no time in throwing lightning-infused shuriken at him. While Gaia narrowly avoided the projectiles, Miho's opponent, a genin with mousy-brown hair, was firing off water bullets.

Unkou's opponent seemed unsure of himself before forming three seals and filling the arena with mist.

"You idiot!" the lightning-user yelled at his teammate, "What's that gonna do against a damn Hyuuga?!"

"Well, I don't know what else to do!" the kid defended himself, he was clearly the youngest of the group, "It's not like I could get into close combat with him!"

Using their distraction to their advantage, Team 15 quickly switched positions.

When they next attacked, the lighting user was struggling to keep up with Unkou's quick attacks, the small one was dodging like crazy to escape Miho's sword, and the mousy kid's water-based attacks were clashing with Gaia's own.

Unkou took care of his opponent first, coating his fists with what dry earth was left in the arena and blocking his opponent's lighting before hitting multiple of his tenketsu and effectively removing him from the fight.

Gaia's opponent suddenly unsheathed his own sword, generating a rapid whirl of water around it.

"Creative," Gaia admitted.

The other water user gave him a sharp-toothed grin before attacking. Gaia dodged out of the way of the strike and formed a one-handed tiger seal.

"Water Release: Gunshot!"

A blast of water was shot at the Kiri-nin, who now had to dodge himself.

Seeing as the arena was getting more flooded by the second, Miho took this as a last chance and paused her attacks for a moment to form the necessary seals for her next technique.

Her hands flew through the signs at such a speed that her opponent had barely come to a stop before she called out, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" and shot a fireball the size of the Kogake's office room towards him.

"I surrender!" the young Kiri-nin yelped, trying to outrun the flames.

Seeing that he probably wasn't going to make it, Gaia took the opportunity to flood the arena completely.

The fireball was cancelled out and the three Konoha nin faced the last remaining Mist shinobi.

The kiri nin looked up into the stands at his Kage, trying to see the young man's reaction but the Mizukage's face was blank as ever. Gaia, who had followed his enemy's gaze, suddenly froze.

Right there, next to the Mizukage.

Pain in his right eye. Blood on his hands. A redheaded figure slumped down on the floor.

Realizing his unresponsiveness, Unkou quickly blocked a strike that was meant for his teammate.

Miho used another fire technique to vaporize the Kiri-nin's water while the Hyuuga got close enough and knocked him out.

The loud announcement of their victory pulled Gaia out of his thoughts at last. He blinked in confusion and looked at his teammates' worried faces.

"I-" he started, "The man…" he looked up again at the stands but there were too many people moving around now to pinpoint his target.

Unkou gently pushed Gaia out of the flooded arena, the two closely followed by Miho.

"What's wrong, Gaia-kun?" he asked.

Gaia cleared his throat. Then did it again, trying to find the right words.

"The man next to the Mizukage," he finally said quietly, "I saw him. That night," he lifted a hand to his eye, making his teammates understand.

"How can that be?" Miho asked. She didn't sound accusatory, just confused, "It was a break-in, wasn't it? If it had been active Kiri-nin, we would never have signed a peace treaty with them."

Gaia nodded, "After I found out their hitaiates were from Kiri, I always thought they were missing-nin."

"Well, I'm sure it's some sort of misunderstanding. The Hokage must not know," Unkou said.

Miho nodded in agreement, "I will ask Fugaku-sama about it," then she hesitated, "Are you… alright?"

"I-" if it was anyone else, he'd have simply smiled and said yes, "I think I am? I mean, I'm not happy about it happening but I think I've moved on? Is that bad?"

"Well, given that they took your eye, most would probably swear revenge," Miho told him.

"I… I already have different people to take revenge on…"

Before either teammate could question him, they heard a voice from the direction of the arena call out to them, "You didn't think you could just sneak away without having me congratulate you, did you?"

Tadashi-sensei was crossing his arms over his chest, looking at them with a raised brow.

"Wouldn't think of it, sensei," Gaia grinned, not oblivious to his teammates' attention on him.

"Well good, because I'm planning on inviting all three of you to a final team meeting at Yakiniku Q."

"When will we get the exam results?" Unkou asked, now as excited as Gaia had seemed.

"Since so many failed the second exam, I'd say about a week from now. My old man's gonna announce the results as soon as the foreign shinobi are gone and he had the time to evaluate everyone but I don't doubt you've passed."

They agreed to meet at the Akimichi restaurant as soon as the results were announced.

"We're getting sensei gifts, right?" Gaia asked.

Miho nodded, "Already working on mine."

"Uh, yeah. I already got mine too," Unkou claimed.

Gaia and Miho shared a look that meant they both knew the Hyuuga was bullshitting them.

"What are you getting?" Miho asked with a raised brow.

"It's a surprise. I don't want you copying my idea."

"Right," Gaia nodded with a grin, "We wouldn't want that. Well, I'm gonna get mine right now. See you later!"

"Wait, we wanted to-" Unkou started but was cut off when Gaia disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

"Damnit," Unkou cursed.

Miho patted his arm, "You'll just have to corner him when he gets home."

"What about you?"

The Uchiha sighed, "I've got clan business to attend to. The elders are being fussy."

"Do you want me to wait so we can confront him together?"

She waved him off, "I don't know how long the clan stuff will take, besides," she lifted a brow and suddenly looked a lot like their teammate, "Don't you want to be alone with Gaia-kun?"

The Hyuuga's pale cheeks became red instantly, "Shut up, Uchiha. I don't know what you're talking about."

An untypical grin spread across Miho's face, "Sure you don't."

—

That evening when Gaia was on his way home he was indeed cornered by Unkou.

"You didn't really think that you could make an ominous statement like that and we wouldn't ask questions, right?"

Gaia sighed, "I suppose not."

"So, are you gonna tell me who you've apparently sworn revenge on?"

Gaia looked at him blankly for a moment before motioning him towards the direction of his apartment.

Over the years, he had come to consider his team as a sort of family. They weren't replacements for his old family but he still had similar feelings for them.

He didn't have the reverence for Miho that he had had for his older sister but he wagered that the relationship he had with the Uchiha was very similar to what he would have had to a sister his age.

While his uncle had been a traitor and murderer, he had gotten along well with him when he was younger. Tadashi reminded him of that time, though he was a lot less tight-laced than his uncle was and actually had a sense of humour. Which was probably good, since his uncle had betrayed him in the end.

Unkou, on the other hand, was different. Gaia had never had a brother but he didn't think that that's what he thought of the Hyuuga as. His feelings for the boy were different from any other feelings he'd ever had for anyone. It was strange and Gaia didn't know if he liked this unknown.

Still, he trusted each and every one who was part of Team 15 with his life.

Gaia unlocked his door to let Unkou inside before he started talking, "My name is Kazahana Gaia. My father was the daimyo of Snow Country before he was overthrown by my uncle. I guess that makes me a refugee here."

The Hyuuga's pale eyes had grown almost comically large, "Well… I wasn't expecting that."

"... Yeah."

Silence.

"Does Sensei know?"

"I mean the Hokage does so he might have told him?"

"Right."

More silence.

"Does this change anything?" Gaia finally asked.

"What? I mean no, my feelings- I mean, it doesn't change how I see you, you know. You're still my teammate, even if you're secretly a prince or something," he gave him a careful grin, "I'm just surprised is all."

"Good," Gaia nodded, then, "Do you want to have a sleepover?"

"My father says I'm too old for those."

"So that means?"

"Of course I do!"

And just like that, they were back to how they always were, laughing about dumb jokes and gossiping over their age mates.

A week later the genin of Team 15 were no more. Instead, they were chuunin now.

Gaia, Miho, and Unkou were sitting with their now former sensei at Yakiniku Q and enjoying their meal when he announced casually, "I'm engaged now, by the way."

Unkou gaped, "Sensei! Don't just drop a bomb on us like that! I could have choked on my salad!"

"Which would have been such a tragedy," Miho teased him.

"Well if you don't wanna come to the wedding…" Tadashi started, faking an innocent expression.

"Of course, we're coming, sensei!" Gaia told him.

"And we have to meet her first!" Unkou insisted.

"Alright, fine," Tadashi laughed, "How about next week?"

The chuunin agreed eagerly.

"I suppose our gifts can now double as engagement presents, "Miho told him."

"You got me gifts?"

"It is an Uchiha custom," Miho told him.

Tadashi didn't quite believe the statement but he didn't know enough about her clan to call her out on it. He was also distracted by the heavy-duty cloth she placed on the table.

She pushed it forward and motioned for him to unfold it, "They're made of a chakra-conducting material. It's usually Uchiha-exclusive but as my sensei, I got the permission to get you some. You're just not allowed to pass them on to anyone."

Five black blades were revealed. He picked one up to inspect it. They seemed sharp enough to cut yourself on by simply looking at them.

"Thank you, Miho-san. I am honoured by your gift."

Miho nodded.

Unkou took the opportunity to destroy the reverent atmosphere by groaning dramatically, "Our gifts are gonna be so lame now."

"Ah well, I'll appreciate them anyway," Tadashi told him, contradicting his words by still admiring the blades.

Unkou pouted and pulled out a brown bag, "They monkey treats… for your summons."

Tadashi blinked, "Uh, thanks."

Gaia grinned and pulled out an orange book, "I got you literature."

"Thank- Gaia, how the hell did you get that?"

Tadashi took Icha Icha Paradise from the fourteen-year-old.

"I henged into Hatake-san. Did you know he gets a discount at the local bookstore? I think one of the owners has the hots for him."

"Well, I do now. Thank you for the gifts, guys," Tadashi quickly hid the book in his vest. "Good thing I'm no longer responsible for you," he muttered quietly.

When the three chuunin exited the restaurant that evening, Miho excused herself since she had another clan meeting to attend to.

"The Uchiha sure seem eager to hold meetings recently, huh?" Gaia wondered out loud.

"Yeah," Unkou agreed, thinking of the many times Miho had had to leave their hangouts recently for clan business. That reminded him of the last time he was alone with the Uchiha and his face reddened drastically.

"You okay?" Gaia asked when his friend suddenly turned beat-red.

"Of course!" Unkou insisted, cursing his genes for making him so pale. He was gonna asks the Hokage for a mission in Suna next time.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah it's just," Unkou took a deep breath, "dyouwannamaybegooutwithmesometimeorsomethinglikeasinonadateandmaybebemyboyfriend?"

"Huh?"

"I said-" Unkou noticed the grin on Gaia's face, "I changed my mind, I'm gonna go jump of a cliff now," he turned to leave.

The blue-haired chuunin laughed and pulled him back at his arm, "Come on, you can't just go kill off my future boyfriend?"

The Hyuuga spun back around, "So that's a yes?"

"Depends on the date," Gaia grinned.

"I- well, I hadn't actually thought of anything yet, you know. I was just going to ask first and then figure it out later when you- I mean if you said yes, which I wasn't sure if you would anyway and I didn't wanna give myself false hope in case you didn't and so-"

"I'm was kidding," Gaia interrupted his rambling, "I'll be your boyfriend regardless."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Great! Then, uh, what do boyfriends usually do?"

Gaia offered him his hand, "How about we just continue on doing what we doing and try things out as we go?"

Unkou smiled at him, "I'd like that. Very much."

—

They were sitting on a park bench, Unkou was to his left and Miho on his right while Gaia told her about their relationship update.

The Uchiha smirked, "I knew it. You weren't as subtle as you thought you were, you know."

"He was the one who asked me!" Gaia defended himself, "And I didn't even really know what I was feeling until he pointed it out to me!"

"I guess you're just both dense then," she chuckled.

Unkou huffed, "Well at least we-"

He was interrupted by a loud knocking sound.

Gaia woke up with a start and shot up in bed. The knocking continued on his door. It was rapid and seemed urgent.

He quickly threw on a pair of pants and opened the door, "Unkou, what are you-" he started upon seeing what it was.

"The Uchiha," the Hyuuga said, paler than usual, "They- There was a massacre."

"What?" Gaia asked, "Are they okay? Is Miho-"

"No, you don't understand. Everyone except for two of the clan head's kids is dead. They're all gone. The Uchiha clan in basically extinct."