Their future instructor had not been wrong when he considered the Hyuga girl a shoe-in. She likely would have aced all of the aptitude tests  if she had actually tried. But that was not her purpose for being here -- she could afford to spend more time assessing the candidates.<br/><br/>----<br/><br/>As their time in the classroom continued, Misaki kept monitoring the few remaining children that were present. Midori, as well. As time went on the anger she had felt began to lessen - not disappear, never disappear, since it was part of what drove her -- and a small bit of pity wormed itself into her heart. The girl looked miserable.<br/><br/>Still, she would need to harden her spirit if she was to succeed. If Midori couldn't do that, she would never be a successful shinobi. Misaki knew that well. They were messengers, spies, but also assassins. It was not an easy thing to just kill someone in cold blood -- and that was precisely what a ninja was hired for when they needed someone removed. Her clan had left her under no romanticized illusions about what her future duties would be.<br/><br/>When the time to proceed with the next part of the test came, Misaki gave a brief sigh of relief. While she had no trouble sitting still and paying attention to her surroundings, that didn't change the indisputable fact that they hadn't been particularly interesting. Even the duo chatting over in the corner of the classroom hadn't been able to alleviate her boredom, despite her attempts to figure out what they were saying.<br/><br/>---<br/><br/>A slight frown appeared on Misaki's face when she heard the instructor curse about his charges -- while she wasn't particularly inclined to disagree, it struck her as strange for a teacher to openly voice his annoyance. But then, he wasn't particularly old either, and likely lacking in experience handling this sort of task.<br/><br/>By all accounts, she had pegged the young man as a Chuunin -- and though she couldn't  really place him yet, she assumed that he wasn't a particularly promising one, otherwise he would be sent on missions rather than teach only the basics. Still, there were definitely things she could learn in this academy, though she hoped that there would be some sort of individualized training. After all, if there wasn't, she'd spend a pretty large amount of time on learning things she already knew.<br/><br/>The first task was running. Simple enough. Misaki didn't run at her fastest, despite the instructions -- she ran fast, no doubt, but lagged behind some of the faster runners like Midori. The Hyuga ran fast enough to look like she was making the effort, but was more interested in watching those who excelled at running.<br/><br/>That Yuhara was right at the front came as a surprise to Misaki. She hadn't expected the timid girl to be physically among the more promising candidates as well, but apparently she had been mistaken. Why, she was even carrying the little cat on her shoulder as she ran, so she was running with a handicap to boot.<br/><br/>As the tests proceeded, Misaki grew even more certain that the 'girl with the cat', now identified as 'Yuhara' or Midori, would be selected. It was obvious by how she threw those balls that she hadn't done that sort of thing before, but she took to it like a natural. If she practiced, she might end up being better at it than Misaki at some point.<br/><br/>She didn't miss even one when it was her turn, precisely hitting the center each time, which likely didn't come as much of a surprise. Unlike with the running, she wanted to get it finished as fast as possible and three quick precise throws allowed her to return to her task of watching the others.<br/><br/>The third test was really weird, however. Not so much the nature of the questions, it was obvious that they were about how much attention the candidates had been paying to their surroundings and fellow tryouts as they went about their own tests, but the question she had received came unexpected.<br/><br/>The teacher didn't ask her about any such details about her partner. She had been called up together with Yamanaka Mika. She was asked a regular question. 'Did Misaki follow instructions during the first test just now?'<br/><br/>Obviously the Chuunin had noticed that she hadn't given her all and was subtly reprimanding her, or at least that was what the white-eyed girl took away from it.<br/><br/>"Uh, she came in fifth and ran pretty fast, so … yes? I didn't see her using any seals, so she probably wasn't cheating."<br/><br/>Well, Misaki noted, at least her acting was good enough to fool Mika. She'd have to work on that. But then her question came. It actually cracked her calm expression as she looked back at Noboru in baffled surprise.<br/><br/>The teacher had asked her what Mika's favorite dish was.<br/><br/>Even if Yamanaka had brought food into the classroom, there was no way of confirming whether that was her favorite or not. It was a trick question -- no, an impossible question. After a moment passed, she decided he was testing her and her features smoothed out into neutrality again. "I don't know," she admitted then, giving the man a light bow. "I could find out."<br/><br/>That earned her a glare from Mika, who wasn't entirely keen on the prospect since she assumed after the earlier dramatics, and her supposed reputation, that 'Sakki' wouldn't just ask nicely. But Noboru dismissed the idea and just proceeded with the next pair, leaving Misaki wondering if she had passed this one or not.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Misaki hadn't left yet. She stuck around the area for a bit afterwards to keep an eye on how the other would disband, who left with whom -- Yamanaka and Komori stuck together, of course. They seemed pretty much inseparable. The tall boy she had taught a lesson to earlier actually left with two others -- he had done pretty well on this part of the exam, with didn't surprise her. He had little discipline and combat training, but he was pretty athletic. And Midori, the civilian girl that had caught her attention repeatedly? She went back into the building. Odd.<br/><br/>She could probably file this under reconnaissance, Misaki thought, as she followed after her at a distance. She had no intentions of tipping the teacher off to what she was doing, however, so she kept waiting at the exit, leaning against the corner there.<br/><br/>As a result, when Midori left again, it was the sight of the Hyuga girl that greeted her just as she was about to head out of the building. Misaki regarded her with a cool expression -- though the aggressive aspect underlying her character was still there, she seemed to have calmed down since their last exchange.<br/><br/>She offered no words of greeting. Instead, she simply declared: "You'll be here next week." Her eyes briefly trailed towards the lunch box Midori was now carrying before they returned to meet her gaze. "I suggest you get a chest-strap pouch to carry that cat if you plan to keep bringing it."<br/><br/>That was pretty much all she meant to say -- certainly, she had felt some pity for the girl earlier, but she wasn't here to make friends. She was here to spy on the academy and the candidates and, starting next week, she'd be a bodyguard. Between attending those unpleasant duties and trying to actually learn something she'd be busy enough. She didn't need friends. All they did was eventually betray her, anyway. Like Ibiki. He hadn't once sought her out after she had been branded and then, when they had met again, he acted as if he was upset at her. Like she was the one who had done something wrong. No, she wouldn't trust or get close to anyone, she was just here to follow her mission.<br/><br/>So she turned and began to walk away without waiting for a response. She wasn't moving with any hurry, however.<br/>