Misaki stood in front of the Academy. She had arrived more than an hour before the appointed time, just as she was supposed to. A mission was still a mission regardless of how angry it made her and she had a duty to fulfill.<br/><br/>Unlike her brother, of whose progress she was being informed as if it should motivate her,  she had not benefited from nearly as much special training. She had received the same level of instruction as all young branch house members -- and despite her own private attempts to improve upon that training, something was missing. But what she could not catch up to in martial prowess, she made up for in knowledge. Though Kiku was Ibiki's tutor, she was still of the branch house, and Misaki had been able to borrow scrolls from her to study. Ibiki was mature for his age, but Misaki? Spurred onwards by resentment towards her own clan, she already acted more like an adult than any Hyuga child.<br/><br/>She wore the official clan uniform -- or the version for young children, at least. A set of white robes not dissimilar from the outfit Ibiki had worn when he encountered Midori, but with a belt around her waist that held two pouches for a number of tools and another strapped to her right ankle. At this age, before puberty, she looked exactly like her brother: only her hair was different, a chin-length bob cut. And, of course, the constant reminder of her lowly status in the clan, the wretched seal they had burned into her forehead, hidden behind a silk band. As long as the headband wasn't questioned and she didn't speak -- and even then, if she lowered her voice just a little and spoke with male intonation -- she could pass for him easily.<br/><br/>As the Hyuga girl stood there, she glanced around to see if anyone was watching, then decided she had the time to do it properly and began forming seals with her hands. Horse, Tiger, Boar, Hare, Rat, Dog, Horse, Dog, Hare, Rat, Boar and Snake formed in rapid succession, flowing into each other the way only a sequence practiced hundreds, no, thousands of times could. With a burst of chakra, she activated her Byakugan. It was possible to do it with only the last seal or, if one was skilled enough, no seal at all, but this was the proper way that conserved the most energy. At the age of nine, chakra wasn't exactly an abundant resource even for a well-trained child.<br/><br/>To the all-seing white eye, walls were no barrier and with another seal maintained distance was no longer a big hindrance either. Misaki examined the layout of the building, memorizing it for as long as she needed to before she allowed the Byakugan to close again. With her initial reconnaissance finished, she calmly made her way inside, walked to the classroom she was supposed to take the test in and sat down. The room was still empty.<br/><br/>At one point a staff member almost missed her sitting there and was startled when he finally did notice the eerie child just sitting there and staring straight ahead, but other than that her wait was unproblematic and soon other children began to take their seats.<br/><br/>Misaki had opted for a seat in the back, opposite of the entrance. Whereas in any other academy such a position might be assumed to be in high demand for the lazy, at a ninja academy this was a vantage point that allowed one to keep all others within their sight.<br/><br/>Most of those who came in looked worthless to her eyes - untrained, undisciplined, probably not particularly intelligent either, considering the chatter and tendency to flock to the front.<br/><br/>Midori received a brief look when she opted to sit in the back as well, but no more than that. The Hyuga wrote her off just the same after watching her movements - perhaps more likely to actually get in than others, but not really a concern. Though that she had seen fit to bring a cat was somewhat unusual. As far as Misaki knew, they were difficult to train.<br/><br/>The only attendant she examined more closely was one young boy who was heavily clothed. Though he wore the clothes of a commoner, Midori had the impression that he moved a little too well, suspicious that he might be someone from the Aburame clan sent for similar reasons as she. They had a tendency to hide their bodies but otherwise lacked a distinct look compared to other people. Without using her Byakugan -- which she could not at this moment without drawing undue attention -- she could not confirm her suspicion, however. Something for later.<br/><br/>Her expression barely changed when their future teacher, Noboru, arrived. From his look and the fact that he would be teaching academy students, Misaki assumed he was Chuunin -- Jounin were too skilled to waste on pupils in the earliest stages of training and most Genin wouldn't be fit to teach.<br/><br/>When the written test was handed out, Misaki stared at it blankly for a moment, forcing the distaste down from showing in her expression. Should she actually dignify this with a response? She sat silent and unmoving for a full ten minutes, instead watching the other children with an unfocused look to take in the entirety of the room rather than minute details. Then she began to write, answering every single one of the questions in a brief to-the-point manner. Her script flowed well and was suitably beautiful for a noble clan, but she didn't put any particular effort into it.<br/><br/>When she was done, she looked around again. The girl with the cat had finished already and was waiting patiently. Interesting. Perhaps worth more than she had initially assumed. Others were less able to follow instructions -- and would surely be weeded out, as Misaki obviously expected their conduct to be just as if not more important than answering the questions. Most of them were trivial, though of course anyone unable to handle even these was not qualified to receive instruction at this point. Many of them would probably try again next year, better prepared and hopefully more disciplined.<br/><br/>Obviously, Misaki didn't move from her seat. She remained still, silent and observant of her surroundings. When Noboru's gaze fell upon her, she calmly stared right back - analyzing. Perhaps judging, considering the tendency of her clan to turn their nose up at lesser shinobi. It was difficult to tell with those completely white orbs.<br/><br/>Her test, when collected, was of course signed 'Hyuga Misaki', her given name written as 'beautiful blossom'. Just like the civilian girl, she remained seated but had no lunch to produce. It wasn't the first time she skipped lunch and she knew that in the field three meals a day wasn't always an option, so she didn't really consider it a problem.<br/><br/>Not to mention that eating right before the physical tests wasn't really a good idea if they were tasking at all. Lacking any motivation to go elsewhere or socialize, she remained seated and continued to observe.<br/><br/>That was, of course, until one of the older kids thought he might look better in the eyes of his friends if he tried his hand at intimidating the privileged creepy kid.<br/><br/>"Well, well. Too good to talk to us, white-eye?"  He mocked, crossing his arms in front of his chest in order to look bigger -- and betraying his lack of training, since that left him far more vulnerable. "Tell you what, you be my lackey and things'll be just fine."<br/><br/>Misaki just stared at the boy, mildly amused, though she fully expected that he would grow irritating momentarily. He looked to be about twelve. Punching him in the throat would likely upset the instructors as would any other bodily harm … perhaps she could sedate him if he didn't leave her alone? It might be worth a try.<br/><br/>"Hey, I'm talking to you! Don't you ignore me!"<br/><br/>Definitely worth a try.<br/>