Genevieve was walking on crutches through the hallways in her new clothes, feeling a bit strange. The snowflake on her back seemed to burn, as did the Konoha Shinobi badge she wore like a necklace and her equipment tied to her hips, as if everyone was looking at it. She greeted Itachi who already stood at the exit with a wave before moving forward to him. 

"How is your leg?" He asked and she shrugged her shoulders. 

"Fine, but the medic says another week or so of rest for the leg until the stitches can be taken out, your father?." She said, and together they made their way to the academy. It was uncommonly slow to take the streets, and Gene felt like everyone was staring at her. Being uncomfortable, she grabbed her crutches tighter and kept her head down. Itachi was also stared at by bypassing people who whispered to each other. 

"Still comatouse, we habe a burial in a few days." he answered and she nodded. The wispers around them didn't seem to stop.

Listen, always listen, don't stop listening.

It had been her first lesson from Tsukiko when they had the first quasi Mission together. Right now she didn't want to listen, but she tried to anyway, she felt uncomfortable in her own skin and a bit embarrassed when Itachi walked with confidence, still wearing his black in Black mourning clothes, and his head held high through the streets.  

Gene followed him and decided to simply put forth the same confidence. She held her head high and tried to winch under the views of the people who all seemed to stare at her back. 

It could also just be my imagination that they are staring. 

The Academy Gates were as imposing as they were on the first day, tall and towering. A lot of other students had already gathered and made a way for them. Tsukiko who was standing in the back wearing another one piece of her embroidered and black collection, this time it was a strange dog like animal waved at them, Gene searched for Seiyu, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Tsukiko hugged Gene and kissed her cheek, "How have you been, my favorite walking catastrophe?" She asked, and Gene smiled lightly, pointing at her leg. "Hospitalized."

"I heared waht happened in a meeting this morning, sorry I didn't visit, returned yesterday evening and my mom hadn't stomached me being away well." 

"I thought she got better?", Gene, was surprised. Tsukikos Mother was living in a world entirely on her own, broken, that's what Kakashi and Tsukiko sometimes called her, broken, by life, but she never worried about her daughter when she was gone for a while, she always said her little Tsukiko was off saving the world. 

"She did, but something must have disturbed her happens, she was off tilter, but it's fine now, just a few hugs and kisses more for me, I have the most amazing Bento-box ever, look." Tsukiko drew out a gigantic Lunch Box. "And she took up embroidering more than fishes and flowers, she muttered something about this being dogs." Tsukiko took the fabric and Gene shrugged her shoulders, one needed a lot of imagination, it looked a bit more like modern art in her eyes. 

Not that I will ever mention that to Tsukiko. She adores her Mom and wears whatever she picked for her, regardless of how suitable for the situation.

"Seriously, where the hell is Seiyu?" Gene asked when the examinees were about to walk in, and still no one appeared. "He is supposed to be in one team with you and Itachi." 

"How am I supposed to know?" Tsukiko shrug her shoulders. "But I am starting to wonder, too, maybe he overslept? I mean it's the exams, and he must have been pretty nervous after all he is the only one who actually has chances of failure among our little group." 

"Notice, only Nine of us get promoted to be Genin." Itachi muttered and Tsukiko tilted her head. "Yeah, and that matters why? You are a grade one student, I am too if you leave Ninjutsu and Genjutsu out of the equation and Gene as well, okay our participation and behavior grades may be a tad bad, but we are more capable than the other students and Seiyu might have troubles, but he is a good kid and has what it takes." Tsukiko looked at Itachi and grinned. "I put a good word in for him, so he gets paired with us two, but I really hope they make it ten graduates this year because then I could manage to twist the Hokage, so he makes us a four-man team." 

"How would you twist the Hokage?" Itachi asked and Tsukiko wiggled her eyebrows at Gene. 

"Kushina. Ichiraku Ramen." Gene answered him. "You do know he is a total henpecked husband, honestly I want someone like him too."

"Gene, believe me, husbands that are this good-looking, friendly and totally wife cons are a rare species." Tsukiko said dryly. "I was male once upon a Time, there are a lot of males who wish for a little housewife. Entirely not Kushina like." 

"Did you?" 

"A good-looking, hot as hell, nice, friendly, in possession of a sense of humor, awesome wife that was successful and cool at the same time, sure I did. A man has dreams. Ended up married to a snake in human skin, divorced her, got vaporized." 

"I have no clue what the two of you are talking about." Itachi said and both of them looked at him. "I for once like my fiancée." 

"God's, only a clan heir can say something like that.", Tsukiko muttered and looked around. "Now Seiyu is really being late, has any of you seen his brother?"

Itachi shrug his shoulders. "Yeah, Hyuga the older twin entered already with a couple of others." 

"Heck, you mean one of the Hyuga twins isn't here yet, they always come together to school." Gene now seriously was stuped and worried a bit. "Maybe he is already inside and was just early?" 

"Possible." Tsukiko shrug her shoulders and headed inside, looking back at the now empty entrance zone with a frown. "I hope it's just that." she said and followed after Gene who was feeling the same as Tsukiko. 

Itachi instead was greeted by the teachers who glared in pure disgust at Tsukiko and Gene. 

Sup, they totally hate us, luckily the ones doing the exams are neutral parties. 

A Shinobi of the Sarutobi she had never seen before stepped forward on a small platform. "All of you have to demonstrate your strongest Jutsu it needs to be at least C rank, you should form a line, as for anyone who is a member of a Clan, you are not allowed to use your clans' signature Jutsu." 

A line formed and Gene, Itachi and Tsukiko placed themselves as the last ones to perform. "Say Itachi, I still haven't seen Seiyu, where the hell is he?" 

"I don't know, but this goes beyond being late and oversleeping, ask his brother, he is three heads ahead of you." He muttered and Gene nodded, seeing Seiyu's twin brother ahead of her. "Hey! Hey! Hyuga the older?", she whispers shouted forward and when he still did not react pushed him with her crutch. "Hey!" He looked back at her rather unhappy. "What?" 
"Where is your younger brother?", she asked him, and he shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know, he just vanished a couple of days ago after there was a huge uprising at the stuff he pulled with you, my parents are still angry, and he simply left the house without a word. I tried to find him, but my bro is good at hiding, he still isn't here and that wonders me the most he was really excited about the exams, said he found someone to teach him awesome stuff, I thought he is with one of you, you dragged him into it or not?" 

"Haven't seen him since that day, I was in the Hospital bloke, can't you see?"

"Why are you here, then? Stay at home you never pass the exam in crutches, now sorry, I have to pass", He stepped forward and did a strong Chakra enforced strike that, oh my god, was not the palm techniques used by the Hyuga. 

So they are capable of other stuff. 

The next two participants did their stuff until Gene stepped forward and handed the crutch to Itachi who was standing behind her. "Please don't destroy anything.", the examiner whispered. 

"Fine.", she muttered back. 

[Water style: Water prison.]

A giant ball of water formed, and she followed up with another number of Hand signs. 

[Wind Style: Not so gentle breeze.] 

A gust of wind came from her position that would have blowed away any incoming Kunai off course. She took her crutches back from Itachi and passed by her teachers raising a Tuskiko patent eyebrow. 

Now what. 

Her practical lessons Teacher almost looked as if he wanted to jump and rip her into pieces while everyone else just looked as if she was an Alien at her, after all she just pulled out a B and a C Rank Jutsu as if it was nothing. 

"Go get them." 

Itachi followed suit with a Fire style Jutsu that had the silence becoming even deeper and oppressive. The examiner was starting to look a bit pale when he saw Tsukiko, who smiled at him far too sweet. Gene suddenly turned interested, she had in fact never seen Tsukiko more than basic Jutsu, she always followed the same simple strategy that for such a Test was hardly appliable. Get close and bash their heads into the shape she wanted. 

Tsukiko did a long line of Hand signs and suddenly threw out a Kunai with a seal on it before vanishing and reappearing at the same place the Kunai. 

"Flying Thunder God.", Itachi said and stared, as did everyone else in the room. Tsukiko in comparison stood at her place swaying a bit and breathing harshly, this must have taken almost the entirety of her Chakra. 

"Emergency escape.", she muttered and walked to them slightly swaying. "Remind me not to do this again." she muttered and fell on the floor. "It's damn exhausting and if it weren't this useful." 

"Flying thunder god." Itachi muttered again. "You just used a Jutsu that our Hokage completed and that had been invented by the second." 

"The second was a moron, he couldn't have invented something more chakra efficient.", Tsukiko said and glanced at Itachi. "This kind of stuff is just plain exhausting for me, I can pull it off, just once, I use it as a last measure for escape if things get bad."