HSV: Chunin Exam Test 3

"What are you doing up here, Haru?" Aki asked her twin brother as she climbed up to the very top of the stadium. She dangled her feet over the edge when she sat next to him.

He looked at her but in a way that had her questioning where he was actually looking. It was one of those deep in thought kinds of looks. "Nothing," was his short reply. He turned his head away again absorbed in watching the light crest the horizon. Dawn would be breaking soon.

The girl nudged his shoulder with her own. "Sure, and I'm a strawberry PopTart."

His sister's attitude made Haru smirk. "Maybe a strawberry Toaster Strudel, but not a PopTart."

"How so?" Aki demanded.

"Well," he paused to think it over, "you're a bit frozen at first but eventually warm up to most people. You can be a flakey at times," he winked at her, "and everyone loves you."

Blood rushed to her cheeks. "You can be such a dork sometimes, you know that, right? I'd have to hurt you if I didn't love you so much." She poked his arm. "But seriously… why are you up here? Are you worried about the exams tomorrow?"

"Not in the slightest." Haru said honestly.

"Then…?" Aki still didn't know what was on his mind. And she almost always knew.

Haru waited a few more minutes before he answered again. "I'm just thinking."

"About…" Aki tried to get some more direct information from her unusually quiet twin. "Is it…"

"No," he cut off her words. "I'm thinking about all the changes that have been going on in the village and with the family."

"I know what you mean. Everything seems to be spinning in all directions," she nodded.

"I'm not worried," Haru glanced into the mirror reflection of his eyes. "Life feels so rushed, almost as though it's a dream. Then suddenly reality kicks in and you find yourself grasping for something solid. But I know I… we, will find a way to get through it, though." He turned to see his sister more fully.

There wasn't a response needed for his words, so Aki merely leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. The sun was rising quickly while the twins stayed put. They gazed out across the glowing village.

"As for tomorrow, the battles are sure to be interesting." Haru interrupted the peace and returned to his sister's earlier train of thought.

"It's a step in the direction of becoming real adults… real shinobi." She replied.

His laugh startled her and she sat up. "Who said we had to grow up after the Chunin Exams? It certainly wasn't me." He teased with a ruffle to her hair.

Aki shook her head but had the faintest grin.

She knew Haru was trying to ease her restlessness at what their future may or may not hold. Old friends had gone. New had come. The only constant in their lives was being ninja. And each other. But she, like every other shinobi, understood how that could come to a swift end. Haru would never let her dwell on it, though.

"If you don't want to change then don't," Haru continued. "You can grow… become stronger, but you don't have to be anyone but yourself." He stood up to lean on the stadium wall he'd been perched on for so long. It seemed as if his pensive mood was dissipating with the increasing sunlight.

Aki's concerns seemed to melt away as well. Her twin always did have that effect on her. Her own little sun.

"Well, I guess we're ready for the final part of the exams then." She swiveled around to face into the stadium with her brother.

"It's much less daunting now, isn't it?" He indicated the open arena.

"Yeah, it is," Aki beamed at him. "Can you believe we've made it this far, Haru?"