Kai woke up on Neji's couch, the birds chirping happily outside the window. She was still tired, but she brushed it off and got up. She didn't know what time it was or if Neji was awake, but she decided it was best not to bother him. She stood up and rubbed her eyes, walking around the room, looking for a piece of paper. When she finally found some paper and a pen, she quickly wrote a note, informing her cousin that she was leaving. Kai left quietly, slipping out the door unnoticed. A few people were already up and walking around, but other that that, it was silent.
As she walked, Kai's stomach churned nervously. The Chunin Exams were going to start, and Kai was nervous for herself, both her cousins, and her teammates. Entering her house quietly, Kai hoped that her mother would be asleep. After she walked into her house, she ran to her room as fast as possible without making a noise.
Her room was a complete and utter mess. Books and scrolls were strewn across the room, ranging in topics from taijutsu and the Byakugan, to stories and legends. Rolls of bandages rested in odd places like under her bed and in the corners of the room. Sighing quietly, Kai cleaned a little bit, organizing her books and scrolls and gathering all the bandages and putting them together. She was aware that it was a waste of time, but it was helping to calm her nerves.
After a short cleaning spree, Kai got ready, dressing in a plain shirt with fishnet underneath and simple pants. She decided to leave the jacket that she wore in the Academy and on a few missions. It resembled Hinata's jacket, and Kai decided it was time for her to be more independent, even if it was just a little. Her clothes were black and plain and she wore the standard ninja sandals. It was an ordinary look, one that could be easily forgotten. She quickly wrapped both her legs in bandages and wrapped some more bandages around her hands for protection. Her hair was up in a ponytail and out of her face. She still had bangs to cover the Caged Bird Seal, but she wrapped a few bandages around her head just to be careful. After tying her forehead protector on her forehead and getting all her supplies and weapons together, she left and went to look for Hinata so that they could arrive together.
Kai knocked on the door softly, part of her scared that Hiashi would answer, but Hanabi answered, calming Kai's nerves slightly. "Hello Hanabi-Sama." Hanabi was younger than her, but since Kai had gotten her seal on Hanabi's fourth birthday, she felt obliged to address her more formally. Kai smiled warmly at her younger cousin, "I'm just here to pick Hinata up." She explained, the smile never leaving her face.
Hanabi nodded, "You can come in." Hanabi spoke louder that Hinata, but it was still a bit quiet compared to most people. "Hinata's in her room." Hanabi told her. Though she was younger, Kai respected Hanabi and she hoped that Hanabi respected her in return, but it was hard to tell sometimes. She thanked her younger cousin briefly before Kai approached Hinata's room and knocked softly.
Hearing Hinata's quiet voice telling her to come in, Kai opened the door and walked into her cousins room. Hinata's room was definitely neater that Kai's. Everything was organized neatly and even her bed was made. Hinata was almost finished getting ready, she just had to put her kunai and shiruken pouch. She finished quickly and both girls left quickly, a nervous silence filling the air as they walked to the building the first exams were being held.
\\\Time Skip ///
Hinata was shocked by Kai's drastic change in appearance, but she kept it to herself. To anyone else, it wasn't that big of a deal, but Kai and Hinata didn't change their looks too much just because there was no need to.
Kai and Hinata met up with Shino and Kiba quickly, and they all quickly realized the genjutsu that was placed on the second floor of the building. They all arrived at the designated area, older genin staring them down while they stuck to their corner of the room. At first, they were nervous, intimidated by the older Genin, so they stuck to themselves, making small talk. Kai was doing her best to avoid the stares from the older genin, thinking about all the information she had learned about fighting styles and different ninjutsu techniques. While she was going over the information in her head Team Asuma arrived, making the group of rookie genin grow. She wasn't aware of it, but Kai had began acting like she did in the Academy. She was silent and she was only talking to Hinata. It wasn't obvious that she was acting differently to the other teams, but Hinata and Shino could see the difference in her personality.
"Are you nervous about the exams Hinata-Nee?" Kai asked her cousin quietly, trying to distract herself from the nerves that were building up. She hadn't told her about the incident with her mother that had caused her to spend the night at Neji's, but she would tell her soon enough. She didn't want to worry or distract Hinata, so she kept it to herself.
Hinata was about to answer, when a loud voice began yelling, making Kai jump. The proctor for the first exam was yelling at the Sound ninja for causing a fight, then announced some of the rules for the exam. The exam started soon after that.
Kai sat down in the seat assigned to her, number 75. She was closer to the back and she sat in the far right corner of the room. She looked around, spotting her teammates far away from her, and seeing that she was surrounded by much older genin. She sighed quietly, and the exams began.
Author's Note:
I wrote this chapter on my phone, so sorry if there's any mistakes. Do you guys want Kai to fight anyone in particular for the preliminary matches? Thanks for reading.
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Caged
Fanfiction"A caged bird stands on the grave of dreams," -Maya Angelou Kai Hyūga, a side branch member, fights to keep her dream alive; to be one of the best kunoichi in the Leaf Village. With family issues dragging her down and personal feelings distracting...
