Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the lovely characters, just my OC's.

So I'm trying to keep the characters call in character as much as possible but in a romance that may not be possible the whole time. So warning, may contain OOC-ness.

The Hyuga Clan is one of the four noble clans of Konohagakure. The clan is separated into two branches, the Soke (main branch) and the Bunke (side branch). The main branch runs the family and upholds the kekkei genkai, Byakugan. The second branch protects the members of the main branch and keeps the secrets of the Byakugan protected. From the minute one is born, their destiny is determined. For those born into the side branch, life is predetermined. Hyuga Kori now faces the challenges of the Bunke as a full-fledged Genin-level ninja.

The Saizo Clan is a powerful clan of Konohagakure. They're known for their powerful lightning style ninjutsu and speedy attacks. During the Third Shinobi War, the Saizo Clan's ultimate ninjutsu became famous for its destructive capability and deadly cost. The Clan leader at the time was forever remembered as one who made the ultimate sacrifice for the village. Saizo Kai now joins the work force as a Genin-level Shinobi.

The Tsukara Clan is famous for their swordplay and forging skills. Their weapons are sold at high prices for their extended lifespan and beautiful design. There are very few who chose to become ninjas over blacksmiths in the Tsukara Clan though many dream of it as children. Tsukara Toshizo is among the few kids who joined the academy and is now, finally, a Genin-level Shinobi.

"Sasuke! I want to sit next to Sasuke!" Girls shrieked from the academy door.

Kori rubbed her ear in annoyance and pulled Hinata through the mob of girls and into the classroom, "Hinata-sama, today is our last day in here."

Hinata fidgeted uncomfortably, her eyes fluttering between the desk and Naruto, "Y-You're right."

"Hmm… What is he doing here? Didn't he fail…? And isn't he usually late…" Kori was able to recognize a few other faces in class. Moreover, she recognized the voices of Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino, who never seemed to stop arguing about who was going to sit next to Sasuke. She still remembered that the two had grown their hair out after hearing a rumor that Sasuke liked girls with long hair. Sakura's pink hair reached her upper back but could still be considered long. Ino, on the other hand, was more successful and although she kept her hair tied up in a high ponytail it still reached her mid-back. Kori fiddled with the strands of her own dark blue hair and rolled her eyes. She had almost cut her hair when she found out that Sasuke liked girls with long hair but she couldn't bear to part with it so she left it. She didn't have anything against the guy but she didn't want to be counted as one of his rabid fangirls. She reached up and tied it into a high ponytail but left her bangs covering her forehead and tied her forehead protector onto her head.

Kai sat in the front corner of the room but he turned around in an amused way when Sakura and Ino screamed about arriving before the other. The other girl's joined in, "I got here before both of you so I'll sit next to him."

Kai didn't really have an opinion about how attractive the guy was but he disliked the quick comparisons the girls made between the males of the class. The traditional silvery blonde hair of the Saizo Clan was a great contrast to the raven black hair of the Uchiha Clan. The girls went crazy over a guy who seemed to have no warm emotions but Kai wasn't one to talk. He didn't exactly treat girls kindly either. The Saizo Clan had their own ideas about love and marriage so he couldn't really be a player or crush on a girl. He didn't really know much about turning down a girl but he wasn't clueless. In Kai's opinion, if Sasuke really didn't like the attention he would just tell them to go away or at least say they were annoying. Or maybe Sasuke was lazy and didn't feel like telling anyone off. In any case, the girls were fast to realize that Sasuke was the nicer of the two. Rumors had spread about him after he rejected a few girls. He didn't really count but a few girls had confessed to him and he had immediately shot them down. He was the number one heartbreaker in the class and it was unfair. If Sasuke was that popular why was Kai the number one heartbreaker? Did they never confess to him? Was he too far out of their league for them to try? He would probably never know but he could care less about that.

Toshizo wasn't really a popular guy but he wanted to be. Toshi wasn't really a smart or talented guy but he had graduated and that was good enough for him. There were thirty people in their graduating class and he didn't dare compare himself to the top people in the class but he wasn't bad either. Uchiha Sasuke and Saizo Kai were the top two scores, in that order, and he was average compared to that. Number seventeen out of thirty was a good spot. The girls probably wouldn't say so but he thought so and that was good enough for him. Toshizo sat in the back of the classroom and found some amusement in watching Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke proceed with their glaring contest. He burst out laughing when the two accidentally locked lips. The girls proceeded to pummel the blonde haired boy, leaving Sasuke unharmed. Iruka, who had finally decided to wander, in had to rip them apart, "Sit down!"

"Yes, sensei!"

"Today is your last day at this academy!" Iruka congratulated them, "I'm very proud of you all. You will be assigned in three-man squads as official Genin. Each squad will be led by an elite ninja, a Jonin. We want each squad to have a balance of strengths and abilities. So that's how we set them up."

Kai sighed and crossed his fingers to pray for his group to be all male. Iruka read continued to read, eliminating a few of the girls, "Team 7! Uzumaki Naruto! Haruno Sakura! Uchiha Sasuke!"

Toshizo held in a laugh at the various reactions of the three themselves and then at the groans that escaped the lips of the many females in the classroom. Iruka continued, "Team 8! Hyuga Hinata! Inuzuka Kiba! Aburame Shino!"

Kori smiled, "Hinata-sama. That means Akamaru is in your group too."

Hinata couldn't help but giggle at the smirk on the girl's face, "Akamaru? Kiba-kun is less important?"

"Obviously."

"Team 9! Tsukara Toshizo! Hyuga Kori! And Saizo Kai!"

Kori pulled the hood of her black sweater over her head and ignored the glares of the many females in the room, "Jeez… Why Saizo?"

Toshizo frowned. Both Kori and Kai were pretty much geniuses compared to him. He hoped that he didn't weigh them down too much. Kai groaned, "Hyuga? Just my luck."

"Team 10! Yamanaka Ino! Nara Shikamaru! Akimichi Choji! And that's all the squads."

Upon hearing those words, Naruto jumped up, "Iruka-sensei! Why do I have to be paired with a loser like Sasuke?!"

"Sasuke was the highest score in the class! You were the lowest! To create a balanced group we had to pair you guys together!" Iruka scolded, "Anyways, that is all for today so you'll meet your new instructors after lunch. Return here after lunch."

Kori sighed, "It doesn't feel like our last day here. Hinata-sama, will you be returning home for lunch?"

"U-Ummm… I'm not sure." The girl stuttered.

"She won't." Kiba sat on the corner of the desk beside Kori, "Hinata, I'm in your squad so let's have lunch together before we meet the teacher. Shino's coming too."

"O-Okay."

"And how about you?"

"No thanks." Kori replied.

"Ehhh…. You're cold now that we graduated, Number Five-san."

"Huh?" She slapped his hand away when he tried to remove her hood, "Why are you bringing my score into this?"

"You think you're too good to hang out with me and Akamaru now?" Kiba smirked when he caught Toshizo's eye, "Ohh…. So that's how it is?"

"Why are you so stupid?"

"Kori…. -san? Uhh… I know we never really talked before but… I'm Tsukara Toshizo, just call me Toshi." For the first time, Toshizo realized that the girl had the traditional Hyuga eyes. He should've recognized that long ago but he had never really looked at her from this close. Compared to his deep purple eyes, hers were much less colorful.

"I'm Hyuga Kori, but I guess you knew that." Kori scanned the boy quickly. He was a pretty normal boy. His short dark brown hair hung just slightly passed his ears. He wore his forehead protecter across his forehead. He wore a black t-shirt with the Tsukara Clan's crimson hammer on the back and light brown shorts. His kunai holder was tied to his right thigh and he wore his shuriken pouch on his left. The standard dark blue tabi covered a majority of his feet.

"I was wondering if you would like to eat lunch with me… You know… To get to know each other since I've never talked to you before." Toshizo felt his eyebrow twitch once, nervously. He couldn't tell what the girl was looking at since she didn't really have visible pupils.

"Alright." She finally answered.

"Let's invite Kai-san too." Toshi bounced down to grab the less friendly boy.

Kai and Kori were quick to scan each other. Kai immediately disliked how he couldn't tell what the girl was thinking, more importantly, he couldn't tell what she was looking at. He had never actually looked at her so he couldn't even remember what she looked like. Actually, he couldn't really describe any of the girls in his class so it wasn't really a bad thing that he didn't know what she looked like. She had her hood up so he couldn't see anything more than her face. Her pale skin and white eyes contrasted with the dark color of her jacket. A few strands of dark blue hair framed her face. As if she knew he was trying to memorize what she looked like, she stood up and pulled down her hood. Her dark blue hair was tied into a high ponytail and seemed to reach her upper back. She wore dark blue shorts that reached her mid-thighs, she wore her kunai holder on the right side but carried no pouch. She wore dark blue tabi without any socks like most shinobi. Her appearance wasn't exaggerated and appeared fairly modest compared to the other girls in the class, although not as modest as Hinata.

Kai frowned when he realized that she was taking him in as well but she had seen him plenty of times already so she didn't really have to look hard to know that he was wearing a black, fitted, long-sleeved shirt with his clan's symbol, the white lightning bolt, on the back and white shorts. His silvery blonde chin-length hair framed his face but stood up in the back as if it were hit by lightning. Kori smirked at the possibility of it being extremely bad bedhead and couldn't stop smirking after comparing it to Sasuke's hair. The style was similar except, Sasuke's hair didn't completely stand up in the back, only a portion of it did. Kai cringed uncomfortably under the girl's stare and put his hand to his forehead protector.

Toshizo finally cleared his throat, "Umm… So let's eat. If you'd like we can go to my house, my mom is a good cook."

Kori smiled, "If it's not too much trouble for her."

"No trouble at all." Toshizo managed to catch the troubled look on Kai's face as he led the group down the dirt road, "Is there something wrong Kai-san?"

"Uh… no…" He walked comfortably beside them but he seemed to dislike something about the group.

An awkward silence fell over the group. Toshizo laughed nervously as he opened the door for his new teammates, "This is it."

Kai stiffly walked through the door at the sound of a female voice. Toshizo's mother was a pretty woman. She didn't wear a headband, announcing that she wasn't a ninja, "Oh, Toshi. You brought friends today? Come on in."

Kori bowed slightly and followed the boy's lead, "I'm Hyuga Kori. It's a pleasure to meet you."

When the lady turned to Kai, he managed to calmly speak, "Saizo Kai."

The woman seated them around the dinner table and set plates of food in front of them, "Eat as much as you'd like. I'll be outside in the garden so call if you need anything."

Toshizo smiled, "The house is a little messy, does it bother you guys?"

"Not at all." Kori answered quickly, "It's quite nice. Compared to my house, this is a nice feeling."

"Really? And you Kai-san?"

"My house is empty."

"Hmm… Then it must be big."

"Not compared to the Hyuga's place."

Kori lifted an eyebrow when Toshi turned to her, "I live in a separate building."

"Eh? Than who?"

"Than Hinata-sama. I live in a smaller compound."

Toshizo continued to look confused, "You live in a separate compound from your sister?"

"She's my cousin. I don't have a sister."

"What?" Kai's eyes snapped to the girl's face, "Then you're Neji's sister?"

She nodded, "You know him?"

"Not personally. I was just confused, since you don't have a seal…" Kai gestured to his forehead with his chopsticks, "Or do you have to wait until you get it?"

Toshizo's eyes widened in realization, "Ohh… The Hyuga Clan has that ritual where the members of the main branch seal members of the side branch."

Kori nodded, "So?"

Neither boy dared to ask why she didn't have one. Kai shrugged, "I guess it's better that way."

Toshizo put the dishes in the sink when they were done and the trio said their thank you's to Toshizo's mother before returning to the academy in a much more comfortable silence. The three sat together in the corner of the room and waited. Shikamaru's group was the first to leave followed by Hinata's group. Iruka sweat dropped as the time passed, "Well, your teachers will show up so… I have to go now. Wait here patiently, kids."

Kori frowned, "At least we're not the only group."

"Don't jinx us." Toshizo whined.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura still remained in the classroom with their group. Suddenly, Naruto let out a frustrated growl and snatched an eraser from the chalkboard, "This'll show him."

Toshizo laughed as Naruto wedged the eraser into the top of the door so that it would fall if someone opened the door. Sakura rolled her eyes, "Like he would fall for that. He's a jonin, you know."

She jinxed him. Just then, a man with greyish white hair walked through the door. He was a fair-skinned, fit, and relatively tall shinobi. His spiky white hair flattened slightly as the eraser fell onto his head. The only skin the man was showing was the slight amount of skin around his right eye. His lower face was covered with a tight cloth mask and his forehead protector was worn sideways to cover one of his eyes. A feminine laugh filled the room, "Kakashi… I told you they would try something if we came this late."

"Asahina… Don't laugh at me." He didn't really seem bothered by the young woman's continuing laughter, "How should I put this… My first impression of this group… You guys are a bunch of idiots."

Kai's eyebrow twitched, "Which one is our teacher?"

"Kai-kun, right?" The woman still seemed cheerful, "I'm Squad 9's teacher. Come right this way!"

Toshizo waved to the rest of the Genin right up until he was out the door. The woman led the group out to the playground where she sat in a swing and motioned for the kids to sit on the bench across from her. Kori was fast with her eyes and although the woman's hair flipped up for only a second, she saw the scar on the woman's neck. The woman pulled her turtleneck up with a smile, pulling her long crimson-red hair to cover both sides of her neck. Kori's eyebrow twitched when Toshizo whispered to her, "What if she's not wearing anything under her flak jacket?"

That was a possibility but she was probably wearing a sleeveless turtleneck underneath her traditional, jonin flak jacket and training pants. Her dark brown eyes were twinkling with amusement, "Let's take some time to get to know each other. I'm Hikawa Asahina! I like dango and I hate it when Kakashi reads that stupid book. My goal is to get Kakashi to stop reading that book."

The three genin exchanged nervous glances. Was it just them or did the teacher's expression get darker every time she mentioned Kakashi? The woman laughed, "And my hobby is to destroy Kakashi's books! You there! In the middle, you start."

Toshizo gasped, "I'm Tsukara Toshizo. I like playing video games and I hate getting burned. I don't really have a goal but my hobby is forging."

"No goals? That's terrible." Asahina shook her head, "You! Your turn."

"I'm Hyuga Kori. I like cats and dogs and I hate bugs. My goal is to… None of your business. My hobby is training with my brother."

"Hmm… You're a cold person." Asahina pouted, "You! You're the last one."

"I'm Saizo Kai. I like taking walks and I hate strong perfume. My goal is to take over as the head of my clan someday. My hobby is cloud watching."

"That's unexpected…" Asahina blinked a few times, "Cloud watching? Okay… Then we'll meet tomorrow at the training grounds with the three log posts at eleven. Our first exercise is a survival exercise, so don't eat breakfast unless you want to puke it all out! That's all! See you all tomorrow."