Karina

“All right, class!” Master Iruka, my teacher, stood in front of our class. I gulped nervously, then glanced sideways at Hinata . Although Hinata was a kind, cute girl, she was extremely shy, and often tried to hide behind others. As I had expected, she was staring down at her desk.

                “Today, I will be announcing the new teams!” Master Iruka continued. “Congratulations to all of you who passed your Ninja Academy exam! From here, you will be placed in three-man-cells, under the direction of a Jonin master.” A Jonin master? Cool! Jonin were, unlike Master Iruka, who was a Chunin, the elite ninja. They were the top rank ninja! Then, below them, were the Chunin, and below that were the Genin. Unfortunately, I was neither at the moment, not having passed the Genin test. Assuming there was one, anyway.

            “Now, I will be announcing the teams, so PAY ATTENTION, SHIKAMARU!!!” Master Iruka glared at Shikamaru Nara, a lazy boy who never did much but sleep. He always complained that things were “such a drag”! I hoped that I wouldn’t be on a team with him.

            I wanted to be placed with Hinata. She was extremely shy, but as her best friend, I thought that I would be able to cope with it. After all, it would be nice for both her and me.

            Another possible candidate was Sasuke Uchiha. He was almost always first in the class, and all the girls (and I mean all!) liked him. I had to admit, he was rather good-looking. Although his personality was a little cold, especially since his clan had been murdered, and he was a hard person to talk to, he would be a valuable team member.

            Ino Yamanaka or  Sakura Haruno would both be okay choices. They were both rather nice girls, but for heaven’s sake, if they were both on the same team, they would fight each other to death. (Notice the or) Those two girls were not only hot-tempered, but they both liked Sasuke and were rivals.

            Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi would both be terrible choices. They were both nice enough, but Shikamaru never really did anything, and Choji never stopped eating. They would never have enough energy to actually do anything useful on a team.

            “—Cell Number 7!” Master Iruka’s voice cut into my thoughts. I sat up with a start. I had been thinking about my new cell so much that I had completely missed the first few cells! Had my name been called already?!

            “—Sakura Haruno—“ Sakura, huh? The next one had better not be Ino…“—Sasuke Uchiha—“ Sakura and Sasuke on a team together?! Sakura would likely drive Sasuke nuts by the first three minutes. “—and Karina Katana.” I stared at Master Iruka. Me, with Sakura and Sasuke?! Why couldn’t I just be with Hinata?

            I caught sight of Sakura smiling at Sasuke, who was completely oblivious to it. Or at least, he was pretending to be. Sasuke’s eyes slid sideways and locked their gaze on me thoughtfully. I stared right back at him, until he averted his eyes and turned his focus back on Master Iruka.

            “Cell Number 8! Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuga!” Master Iruka called Hinata’s cell. I glanced over at Kiba. He was a rather mean-spirited, foolish boy who never went anywhere without his dog, Akamaru. Shino was a creepy guy who always had his face hidden. I didn’t know much about him.

            I might not have known much about Shino, but what I did know was that I would be stuck in the middle of a romance comedy, while my best friend, Hinata Hyuga, was trapped between two rowdy, freaky boys who she had never even spoken a word to. Great. Just great.

            “You are all dismissed until 1:00! Then, you will go to your assigned classrooms, which are posted on the board, to meet your Jonin instructors!” Master Iruka called, and the class stood up.

            “Hinata!” I stopped Hinata before she got out the door. She looked back at me nervously. She was always so nervous! Jeez! “You don’t need to be so nervous around me, okay?” I asked. She nodded… nervously. Oh, well…

            “Here.” I held out my hand to her, palm up. She stared at the object I held. It was a sort of necklace, made of pure silver with a charm hanging from it. I had one too; the only difference was that mine had the Katana clan’s symbol on the charm, while Hinata’s was the Hyuga clan’s symbol.

            Hinata took the necklace and tied it around her neck. She smiled, a little more confidently. “Thank you, Karina!” She didn’t stammer for once. I laughed, then leaned closer.

            “That charm, it’s not just a decoration,” I whispered. She glanced at me in surprise. “Listen carefully, and then we’ll try it out. If you’re ever in trouble or a tight spot where you need me to come back you up or something, grab the charm and send your chakra into it. No matter where I am, as long as the necklace is on me, I’ll feel it turn hot as the chakra you sent into it comes out against my skin. Then we’ll always know if the other is in trouble.”

            “W-Wow!” Hinata her charm.

            “Let’s try it out, okay? I’ll go to that side of the schoolyard,” I pointed to the right. “and you’ll go to that side.” I said, this time pointing to the left. Hinata nodded, and we both raced for our ends, eager to try out the necklaces. As soon as I reached the end of the yard, I clasped the charm on my necklace and closed my eyes, concentrating. I sent some chakra into the necklace, then opened my eyes to see Hinata running towards me.

            “I-It worked!” She said, panting for breath.

            “Good! Use it whenever you need it, okay? I’ll always come find you… no matter where I am.”