Before Class

[Keilani]

Keilani could imagine the waves crashing along the shore; she could remember the sound it would make as the wave tumbled forward and broke apart; sliding peacefully across the sand. A faint smile played across her face as she looked at the poster of a beach on the ceiling. She rolled off her bed just moments before the alarm clock began its familiar chime. Keilani reached over and turned the clock off before shuffling into the bathroom.

The cool water shook off the remnants of sleep and she looked at the mirror, examining every aspect of her own features before drying off and marching out. Getting changed quickly, she chose her favorite outfit and ran a comb through her hair almost simultaneously. Satisfied with her appearance, Keilani darted out of her room, across the hall, and straight into Reese’s room.

“Wake up sleepyhead!” She shouted as she swan dived onto the bed. Instead of landing on Reese however, she found herself on a mound of pillows. She sat up on the bed, silent for a moment, and then checked the bathroom, “Reese…?”

The bright smile faltered as she realized her brother wasn’t there either. She knew Reese wasn’t the type to be awake at this time, but he had promised he’d take her out for kunai practice before they went to the Academy, Did he… forget? she wondered but immediately pushed that thought out of her head, Where would he go this early?

Keilani walked out of the room, the movement somewhat less enthusiastic than it had previously been. She was nearly out the door when a voice from the kitchen called.

“Lani? Is that you? Breakfast is almost ready,”

“Sorry Mom,” she called back, “I have to get going, I’ll buy something at that shop down the street. Bye.”

She closed the door gently behind her and stepped out into the early morning sun. It was still early, but she decided to set out for the Academy. That way she could practice by herself until class started and perhaps chide Reese when he arrived late (as was inevitable, a fact Keilani knew from firsthand experience). Taking a shortcut she had found her first day in Konoha, Keilani soon reached the small restaurant and bought several small sweet rolls. She wrapped them in a knapsack and took the main street to the Academy.

As expected, the Academy was practically deserted when Keilani arrived. She scouted around a bit, half expecting to find Reese snoozing in the bushes; but when the search came up with nothing, she plopped down onto a bench and unwrapped her breakfast.

[Kanura]

Kanura wandered over to the Academy, as being a new Genin, to remember some memories of class.
He spotted a girl, walked on over to her and sat down.
"Hi, I'm Kanura," he said, grinning, "who are you?"

[Keilani]

Keilani ate her breakfast quietly, lost in thought and completely oblivious to her surroundings. She was nearly done when someone took a seat on the bench and spoke. Surprised, she instinctively jumped from the bench; the remaining rolls falling to the ground. When she regained her composure, Keilani turned sheepishly to look at the stranger.

Quickly, and through a single glance, she began putting details together mentally, eventually coming to the conclusion that this person wasn’t an Academy student. She remained silent, regarding him suspiciously. He didn’t look like a Chunin, so she decided he must be one of the new Genin that graduated last semester.

Keilani glanced over Kanura’s head, towards the Academy entrance. Normally it was Reese who helped her avoid any conflicts with upperclassmen; but with no sign of him, she would have to be more cautious, “I’m Keilani…”

[Kanura]

"O, nice ta meet cha," he said turning to look at her.
"You must be one of the new students?"

[Keilani]

She fell quiet again; it was her natural state around most people, “Yeah,” she nodded in response, already the embarrassment of having been caught off guard was setting in. She forced her thoughts to turn toward the ocean; the image managed to have a quelling affect on her rising tension. Keilani could feel herself calming down, if only by a little bit.

She picked up the fallen rolls and dropped them into the trash bin, keeping her eyes lowered though she could feel the Genin’s gaze. Her confidence perked at the thought of the title, with some luck, Keilani would be a Genin soon as well. She still had to take the final exam, but her chakra control was advanced enough she felt there wouldn’t be any problems. From what she had learned from past graduates, all she needed was a quality clone and transformation --- and that wouldn’t be a problem, those were her specialty…

[Kanura]

"Err, sorry 'bout the rolls," said Kanura, scratching the back of his head.
"You seem like you'll pass the test, its not hard."
The wind was blowing and there was a slight chill in the breeze.
"Are you waiting for someone?"

[Keilani]

Keilani felt herself get slightly red; the rolls had been her fault for being too jumpy, “…I… I was finished anyway…” she mumbled hastily. Her gaze strayed to the gate again, class would be starting soon and ‘he’ still hadn’t shown up.

Lani was pulled from her thoughts; Kanura had said something about the exam… She cocked her head slightly, wondering if she had missed an important tip or some pearl of knowledge that would allow her to survive the exam. No… it had been something else. Keilani fought the urge to zone out again; finally the words returning clearly, “Hopefully,”

“Are you waiting for someone?”

Silence again. Keilani listened to the wind rustling the leaves of the nearby trees and pulled her jacket around her tighter. This was a moot point of course since it didn’t have sleeves. She answered with a simple nod; cool blue eyes studying the cracks in the pavement.

[Suyaku]

((OOC: Your Reese too, right?))
o crap I posted this on the wrong accnt...

[Keilani]

((OOC: Yeah.))

[Kanura]

The breeze became a strong wind and Kanura was shivering.
"Want to go inside the Academy? Its getting very cold," said Kanura getting up off the bench.

[Keilani]

True, it was getting colder… Keilani wondered vaguely if there would be a storm coming. She frowned slightly at the thought; she had a crippling phobia of lightning. Even if she went inside, she’d still be petrified if the storm started. She looked skyward, in the distance it did look like a cloud mass was forming. It was an odd combination, Lani loved the rain but when a light shower turned into a full-blown storm, it was a horrifying experience.

Keilani decided it probably was best to go inside the Academy. Before she answered though, she had maintained enough confidence to voice a question that had been nagging at her since she had determined Kanura wasn’t an Academy student, “You’re a Genin right…? What are you here for?”

[Kanura]

"Yes, I am a Genin," said Kanura, smirking, "I just came here to pick up something I left from a couple of days ago."
Now there was a small mist coming down and Kanura began walked into the Academy.

[Keilani]

Lani thought about the response, it made sense and she quickly made a mental note not to forget any of her things in the Academy. Even though she was near the top of the class in ranking, she wouldn’t want to come back to the Academy after graduating. Once it was over, it would stay over.

She watched Kanura walk towards the Academy, but turned back to look at the gate again. The mist was setting in, and by the looks of it, the rain would quickly be following. She wondered if Reese was in a dry place already or if he’d turn up soaked twenty minutes after class starts. Watching the clouds in the distance, there was a faint flash of light out in the sky. Keilani’s heart skipped a beat, and she blinked quickly wondering if her eyes were just playing tricks on her. But when the dull rumble reached the Academy after traveling a great distance, she jumped and sprinted past Kanura and towards the Academy.

[Kanura]

Kanura looked up at the sky, watching heat lightning off in the distance.
He didn't mind much about rain, he liked it very much.
Kanura still slowly walked over to the academy.
A line of lightning struck down around him, with Kanura catching a glimpce of it with his eyes.
"What the fuck?" he said under his breath as he made a handsign.
He used the Body Flicker technique and was in the building immediatly.
As Lani walked into the building, Kanura said, "Now which are you supposed to be going to," as he walked down the hall.

[Keilani]

Keilani didn’t slow down until she was inside the Academy building. Outside, the rain had started to fall harder, and she didn’t dare look back out in case another flash of lightning appeared. She was so nervous about the storm that she hardly noticed when Kanura spoke again.

“…huh?” Keilani frowned and turned to face Kanura, “Oh…I…I, um, third classroom down,”

She chanced a nervous glance to the entrance; the rain was pounding the pavement outside. What little confidence she had during the small conversation outside was quickly evaporating as rational thought gave way to blind panic. She bit her lower lip anxiously and flinched as another crack of thunder sounded, then turned to hurry to class.