A slight grin appeared on Misaki's face in response to all those questions, despite herself. Was it possible for a nine year old to produce a grim smile? Apparently. Why would someone who is scoping out a place try to blend in? Was that her question?<br/><br/>Then Midori opted to talk about her lunch and share her thoughts, which quickly banished the smile from the ninja trainee's face. Instead, it earned the short-haired girl a snort as she turned away and started walking.<br/><br/>Of course, Midori followed along and continued to speak at her, again without any response to speak of. It was a similar experience to the walk with her relative, Junji, though there was a tension in the young white-eyed girl that didn't exist in her adult -- cousin? Uncle? A more distant relation? It was difficult to say.<br/><br/>The Hyuga knew that it would be better to remain quiet, but she just couldn't help it. It wasn't an outburst of anger, but her impatience got the better of her now that she had effectively completed her mission for the day. All that was left was the after-report. So she finally interrupted when Midori finished her words of parting, this time without turning around, her tone again testy.<br/><br/>"You may have talent, but a lot of catching up to do. We are learning to become spies and assassins, so don't speak carelessly." If she couldn't learn to talk less, she should at least learn to speak without revealing information about herself. Trusting anyone, fellow student, teacher, or even family member was dangerous. She had the mark to prove it, right on her forehead.<br/><br/>Others said that it was the way of things, that it couldn't be helped, but Misaki didn't care.<br/><br/>"Until next week," she added curtly, then leapt on top of the low wall they had been next to. From there, she quickly made her way back to the Hyuga compound.<br/><br/>---------------<br/><br/>"… and that concludes my report," Misaki finished, her expression neutral as she knelt before the head assistant. She didn't report directly to the clan head, any pertinent information would be neatly summarized and presented to him in writing.<br/><br/>"Hmmm. Well, all seems in order. I would have expected a more experienced Chuunin to be selected, but maybe a younger one is better." Kiko considered thoughtfully. After all, a teacher more close in age to the students should be able to relate to them more easily. Also, a system like this new school simply hadn't existed before, so a Chuunin not yet set in his ways would probably adapt better to teaching such a diverse group of children.<br/><br/>"Well done, you're finished here. Until your bodyguard duties begin, your time is your own."<br/><br/>Misaki rose with a quiet nod and began to head out of the room, but was stopped when Kiko addressed her again: "Try not to think of them as enemies. They're all our allies now. Rivals, perhaps, but still allies."<br/><br/>The girl frowned for a moment. Perhaps … perhaps she could do that. Allies and rivals were terms she understood, unlike such lofty things like 'friends' or this civilian idea of 'family'. "I'll try," she confirmed, then made her exit.<br/><br/>---------------<br/><br/>Two days left entirely to his own devices. No training assignments, no tutoring, not even the morning exercises that everyone in the main house participated in -- the branch house presumably did the same, but had their own facilities -- in short, Ibiki did not know what to do with himself.<br/><br/>A chance to recover from the intensified training he had gone through had sounded nice at first and he had slept like a log, but what was there to do now that he was awake? Leisurely relaxation didn't suit him and if he went to the training hall he would likely be chided since he was supposed to rest.<br/><br/>So he began the day with some light exercise in his own room: a little stretching was good to keep his muscles from getting sore and a short routine of push-ups, pull-ups, squats and the like served the same purpose. All of that took less than half an hour, however, so after taking breakfast the boy opted to observe some of the Hyuga chuunin practicing their Juuken techniques - usually barred from anyone beneath their rank, but there were some privileges to being the heir. And it was more a formality. After all, any of their line who had unlocked their Byakugan could just watch from afar if they wanted. Spying on other Hyuga within the boundaries of the compound may have been forbidden outside of guard duties, when had a determined ninja ever let that sort of thing stop them?<br/><br/>Once they were finished, Ibiki went to the archives to look through some of the scrolls - the ones that mixed history and mythology were usually quite entertaining. Legends of great sages, tailed beasts, demons and gods; many of the latter were thought to stand in for disease and natural disaster, but there was a certain appeal to the imagery. Some of them had been read to him before he had learned the letters, even.<br/><br/>His like of these was a childish fancy he didn't often indulge in, but lacking other options, it was a welcome thing to put his mind to. After reading for awhile he had started to work on an empty scroll, first practicing his letters, then attempting to paint a many-tailed goddess descending from the moon.<br/><br/>When he finished and looked at the result, he was unsatisfied with it and tore the scroll up, left the archives and tried some meditation.<br/><br/>The rest of the day was spent in a similar fashion, by and large, with Ibiki idling away the time in ways that largely irritated him because they were not what he actually wanted to do: he loved practicing his taijutsu, his Juuken, most of all. He wanted to improve, to get better -- even if the intensity of the past two weeks had been exhausting, he had benefited from it.<br/><br/>On the last day before he would begin to attend the academy, Ibiki spent most of his time with Kiko. His parents were both busy, as they usually were, and for lack of better things to do he had decided to question her about the academy. Pretty much all the intel gathered by the estate was handled by her: minor matters she managed herself, major ones she forwarded to the clan head. So it naturally followed that she would know about the place.<br/><br/>In fact, as it turned out, she knew a lot about the place. Ibiki could only conclude that she had visited or that they had sent someone to scope it out, since she actually drew him a map of the layout and proceeded to share some information on the identity of the man who would teach them, a young Chuunin named Kyoto Noboru, as well as some of the other students he would meet there.<br/><br/>" … Yuhara Midori?" he repeated in a questioning tone, surprised at hearing the name again. Especially in this context.<br/><br/>Kiko calmly laid her writing brush to the side and looked up from her work, her white eyes meeting Ibiki's. "I thought you would recognize the name. She's the girl who got lost, isn't she? I saw the guard's report."<br/><br/>"… she is," Ibiki confirmed after a brief moment of hesitation. It was silly, but for a moment he felt almost as if he had been caught unaware -- he pushed the thought aside, there was nothing to be concerned about. She was probably just a civilian who had made the cut, if she had been a spy their guard would have handled her differently.<br/><br/>"How nice, you can renew your acquaintance," Kiko added with a brief smile as she picked up the brush again. "You heard that you'll be assigned a bodyguard, yes?"<br/><br/>"Yes," he answered, this time without any hesitation. "I don't need a bodyguard, but if it's an order..."<br/><br/>"Hmm. Perhaps you'll be glad for it. I'm not at liberty to tell you who it is, but … well, you'll see."<br/><br/>"Someone from my training group?" He ventured at a guess, hoping to gauge whether he had hit the mark by his tutor's reaction. As usual, he failed to read anything from the kind but professional woman.<br/><br/>"Perhaps, perhaps not." Kiko knew the answer, of course, and expected that the reason for why the information was kept under wraps by Issun was both not to show preferential treatment for Misaki, who by all accounts was no longer considered his daughter,  and for it to be a surprise.<br/><br/>She continued to write things down on her scroll, but after about ten minutes had passed, all of which were spent under keen observation by her charge, she finally "I realize that resting is a difficult task for you, but I do need to work, Ibiki. If you like, I have prepared some documents on the Aburame you may take a look at over there." The woman pointed towards a neatly stacked up bunch of scrolls  in a different corner of the room.<br/><br/>The boy perked up at that. That was information he could use, starting tomorrow.<br/><br/>---------------<br/><br/>A pair of twins walked through the entrance of the academy, one followed closely by the other. Both clearly Hyuga, they looked identical except for a couple of minor differences in hairstyle and attire, though a good observer might take note of the difference in their movements: both moved with the ease of natural athletes, but the one trailing behind was a little lighter on her feet while the other's movements gave the impression of purpose.<br/><br/>Ibiki had a deep frown on his face. He still mentally reeled from the revelation that his own sister had been assigned as his bodyguard. First they had been separated, then Misaki suddenly was angry at him all the time and didn't want to talk whenever they did see each other and now she was to guard him with no explanation?  Well, he certainly wasn't going to try to get back in her good graces -- he'd done nothing wrong! If anything, it was she who owed him an apology. Not to mention that he didn't need her protection, not when he knew he was better than her at … well, at everything! He'd sometimes secretly watched her training in the branch house. She hadn't even moved on to the Tenketsu training yet!<br/><br/>Misaki had a deep frown on her face. She had known she would have to guard her brother, of course -- she had been in a sour mood because of that fact for the better part of the last month. And when he looked at her, she could almost feel the entitlement, the thought that he was better than her just because he received special training as the heir while she was being held back. It was disgusting, even more so because Ibiki remained unaware of that -- and she certainly wasn't going to enlighten him.<br/><br/>Misaki wore the same outfit as she had during the test -- Ibiki's was similar, though more elaborate and of course lacking the band that covered his twin's forehead. His robe was tied with a dark purple sash made of silk, beneath of which a small pouch with various ninja tools was hidden. It was emblazoned with a stylized dragon motif, the full extent of which would only be seen if it was uncurled. Concealed in his long sleeves, he wore hard leather armbands, for protective purposes.<br/><br/>His sister trailed behind as he stepped towards the classroom, perhaps to cover the hallway properly, perhaps just so she didn't enter alongside him, but when Ibiki stepped into the classroom his frown quickly grew worse. For it was Itou Sadao who immediately appeared before him.<br/><br/>The boy who had attempted to bully both Midori and Misaki during their test had been admitted, despite his disciplinary problems. The two main reasons were that he was suitable, at least physically, and it was believed by the higher-ups that cases like him could still have their bad temper beaten out of them. And his parents were wealthy merchants who offered a sizable donation just for admitting him. He had been a lot more quiet when he had entered and pointedly ignored Midori and her cat, sporting a number of bruises that hadn't been there when she had seen him last.<br/><br/>Apparently he couldn't quite reign in his temper anymore when faced with Ibiki's arrival. Ibiki, who he mistook for his sister at first sight. He practically leapt up from the table he had leaned against, back very stiff and straight as he moved over in a huff. "Don't think you've beaten me, 'Sakki'! Just because you're from a privileged clan! I'll show you what's what soon enough!"<br/><br/>Ibiki's response was immediate, though not nearly as violent as Misaki's had been. He glared at the tall boy. "… what sort of fool are you?" he asked, not really certain who or what he was facing. Sadao had openings all over and had clearly mistaken him for his sister. He wasn't fond of others calling her 'Sakki', either, all personal difficulties between them aside.<br/><br/>"… just someone I had to teach a lesson," his sister noted as she appeared beside him, giving the broad-shouldered boy an evil look.<br/><br/>Sadao stared at them with wide eyes. "… there's two of them?"  He grabbed the side of his head and just … stepped away, feeling somewhat weak in the knees at that particular revelation. "Um. I'll … I'll get back to you …"<br/>