Chapter 3 - Life of Kaa

Kaa and Ryo waited. They had arrived to their new class a little early - to make sure they found the new room in time - and were now waiting for the rest of the students to arrive. Kaa was a little bit worried about the new students, she had no idea who was going to be in her class, whether she'd know them, whether she'd like them, whether they'd like her.

After a good half hour of waiting - having had been a little too prepared, and having had arrived a little too early - the door eventually slided open, and three students, whom Kaa didn't recognize, entered, and without even introducing themselves sat down. One girl, a brunette, with medium length hair, sat down on a seat just behind her, and was followed by another brunette - darker, with slightly longer hair - who sat next to her. The third student, a blonde, sat himself down on the opposite side of the room, clearly not wanting to socialize with the other two, although Kaa had a sense that they probably knew each other.

The short brunette leaned over and waved at Kaa and Ryo, introducing herself as Sera.
"And my names, Ribekka" the other girl smiled.
The blonde remained stoic in the corner, and even once the classroom had filled - with about 20 or so different student, he had barely moved from the position eh was in when he first sat down. Ribekka glanced at him and scoffed, but blushed when she realized that both Ryo and Kaa had noticed her blatant dislike for the blonde.
"Her and Riamu just don't get on," Sera teased.
"Well what do you expect? He's just so.. arrogant"
Sera poked her, and Ribekka noticed that Riamu was now looking at them, probably aware that he was being spoken about. He scoffed once more, and then turned her head in the opposite direction - in an obvious attempt to block him out.

~

Faan and Yuan arrived a few moments after the introductions had been made, and sat themselves next to Kaa and Ryo respectively. Kaa flashed a smile at Faan, and went to say hello, but noticed that she seemed very distracted. She followed her gaze and noticed that she was staring dreamily at "Riamu". Deciding it was none of her business, she awkwardly said hello and then turned around and blushed - almost feeling like she had interrupted something.

"So, is everyone here?"
Razu had taken position at the front of the class, along with the other teachers. While they had a certain air of authority - some even seeming quite intimidating - he seemed more like just another student, and barely looked over twenty. Kaa assumed that he must have been a child prodigy, and had probably graduated from the academy quite early, and then became a teacher right after.
One of the elder teachers rose, "Now, if everyone's ready, we're going to split you into groups".
Kaa and Ryo shuddered. Both of them worried they wouldn't be put into the same groups. Luckily, their fears were wrong - and they were placed into a group along with Faan and Yuan. Ribekka was not so lucky it seemed, and through a very inconvenient turn of events - for her - had been placed in a group with Sera, a random red-head, and Riamu, whom she loved so dearly.

~

After a long lecture - explaining that the newly-made groups were now qualified to go on missions, for extra credit - the students were eventually told to file out, and regroup after a short break to meet with their teachers if they hadn't already. Kaa decided that she wasn't going to stray too far from the building, seeing how they had to return soon, so she sat down just outside, and started to drift off.

~

"It's amazing Kaa, I can't believe you passed!"
"It' because of all the extra training we put her through"
Kaa's parent's smiled down on her gleefully, she had just passed her entrance exam to the best ninja academy in the country - against her own expectations. The academy was very far away, but they knew that it was the best place to put her - even if it meant they wouldn't get to see her very much.
"But, there are other schools too" Kaa whined.
Her parents never seemed to care, but she didn't want to leave - she cared about her education, but she didn't want to sacrifice her friends and family to get one. She wished her parents would listen to her, but she knew they only wanted the best for her. At least, she sort of knew.

She began to pack her things, not really sure what to bring. She knew that she could probably get a lot of what she needed once she got there, but at the same time she also wanted to bring as much with her as she could - little pieces of home. She packed her favourite dress, her shoes, her lucky kunai, and her grandmother's ring. Her grandmother told her that the ring would bring her luck, and going to a new village she felt she would need all the luck she could get. The pink gem sparkled in the light coming through the window, and Kaa smiled as she thought about all the good things that could maybe happen in her new 'home'.

~

Kaa woke up with a start, she noticed that the other students had already gone in - and hurried back into the Academy, hoping she wasn't too late. She was joined by another girl - one she didn't recognize from earlier. The girl seemed to be in just as much of a rush as Kaa, and her wavy hair was flying behind her. She smiled at Kaa, and they re-entered the classroom together, with Kaa quietly retaking her seat - and the girl standing shyly at the back, obviously hoping that the teachers wouldn't notice her tardiness.

"Ah, Buri," Razu sighed, "I'm glad to see you decided to join us eventually"
The girl's face turned red, as the entirety of the classroom turned round to look at her. Seizing the opportunity - seeing as how there was no point her hiding anymore - she walked down the stairs and took a seat.
"Well, you've missed being put into groups." The eldest groaned
"We can just put her into another - it's not like we'd be giving them an unfair advantage." Razu said, with a worryingly serious tone.
Buri collapsed into her seat embarrassed, and also quite humiliated. Kaa gave her an encouraging smile, and she smiled back - seemingly reassured. She looked up at Razu and smiled, hoping she could crack him. He looked at her, seemingly irritated, before eventually sighing with defeat, and cracking a smile.
"I guess I could take her..."
Ryo jumped up - almost out of nowhere - and laughed, obviously having not heard the "unfair advantage" comment. He grinned wildly and looked forward to Buri joining the team. Kaa smiled also, with a feeling that Buri was going to be an 'interesting' addition to the group.