Disclaimer: Why the hell would I be writing a fanfic for it if I owned it?
(A/N): PLEASE READ! NO, SERIOUSLY! READ! Canon character's dialogue will more often than not be taken almost directly from the show, which, as stated above, is not mine!! It'll start off confuzzling, but don't worry. It'll become clear quick enough. Just be sure to read thoroughly (difficult, I know :)), or else it won't make any sense later on.
I'll also just get it out of the way that I don't have anything personal against Sakura; it just so happens that her personality conflicts completely with my main character's. Also, none of these characters are based off of me if anyone wanted to know. And yes, Azami is supposed to come across as an arrogant little bitch. She's twelve. Most twelve year olds are like that. Now let's get this show on the road!
(A/N the 2nd) yeah...reposting this. Don't ask. Long story.
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"YOU'VE CROSSED THE LINE THIS TIME, NARUTO!"
"WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU…!"
Naruto could hardly run he was laughing so hard.
He quickly pressed himself against a wooden fence and, before the Chuunin on his tail could notice, held up a camoflage sheet. The two green vested mendarted past him, and the blond lowered his disguise, roaring with obnoxious laughter. This was his masterpiece - he had woken up at three a.m. to carry out the plan. He glanced back up at the great stone faces and smirked.
'So worth it...'
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BREEP! BREEP! BREEP! BREEP! BRE-
"SHADDAP!"
Zatta Azami sat up in a tangle of blankets, snatched up the blaring black rectangle from hell by her headboard, and flung it viciously against the opposite wall. The accursed beeping had stopped, at the price of a black dent in the plaster and, more than likely, a future lecture from her older sister when she found out, but at least the daily horror was over.
The twelve year old moaned and flopped back onto her pillows. The sun was up, the birds were chirping, people were chatting and laughing out on the streets of Konoha, and all seemed bright and cheerful in the world.
"Ugh...morning...not worth it...""
"Azami!"
Azami, who had just been in the process of twisting around and attempting to become one with her mattress, froze and looked askance at the bedroom door, threatening it with her eyes to stay closed or else. She held the edges of the pillow over her ears and started up a hopeless mantra: "Ignore her, ignore her, ignore her, ignore her, ignore her, ignore her, ignore her, ig – "
The door banged open.
"Crap." Preparing for the battle to come, Azami latched her fingers around the aesthetic bars on her headboard.
"Azami, its morning. Wake up."
"Mrph."
"Azami, I'm not screwin' around today. Up."
"Mrrrrph."
"Oh, for the love of – Get. Out. Of. Bed!"
Azami tightened her grip on the bars as her sister's perpetually cold, pale hands grasped her ankles and gave an almighty tug.
"Mghrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrph!"
The sororal tugging match lasted about thirty seconds, before the elder let go and threw up her hands with an exasperated yell.
"GAH! I don't have time for this, you little freak! Now get the hell up before you lose your bed privileges!"
Azami blinked, and turned to look skeptically at her sister from under one elbow.
"…I have bed privileges?"
"Not for long if you don't get your lazy ass in gear," snapped the nineteen year old. Azami screwed up her face, then rolled her eyes, then groaned theatrically and rolled slowly off her bed.
"Man, you suck, Atsuko," she whined. Atusko scowled sarcastically.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm the most horrible, evil, wretched big sister in the universe, aren't I?"
"Glad we're on the same page," grunted Azami. Atsuko rolled her black eyes good naturedly.
"Just get ready for school. Your final exam is tomorrow, you can't miss the last day of review." Azami grumbled irritably as she stumped past her sister towards the bathroom, earning herself a chuckle and a rub on the head.
Despite the fact that Zatta Atsuko was the head of the Konoha Weapons Department, the apartment in which she and her siblings lived wasn't exactly what one would call "luxurious". Several floor tiles shifted under Azami's bare feet as she walked into the bathroom, and as she picked up her fraying toothbrush and twisted the tap for the cold water, she mentally began counting to twenty: the time it would take for the rust to clear out of the water so that she could wet the toothbrush.
Azami dully watched herself prepare for the day in a spotty, slightly cracked mirror. In accordance with her daily routine, she started making faces at her reflection for no other reason than she didn't feel like doing anything productive. She leaned in close and stared curiously into her own eyes: pale powder blue, and centered with vertical pupils. Like a snake's. Like father's…
She shook her head to clear away the old memories that drifted like fog towards the forefront of her mind. She was fully jerked out of her reverie by a fist pounding against the bathroom door.
"Hey, Azami! Other people gotta use the bathroom too ya know!" she snorted and grabbed her hairbrush from its spot on one of the medicine cabinet shelves, then wrenched the door open. Standing in the doorway was her seven year old brother, Dokueki.
Azami and Dokueki were the only two of the Zatta siblings that looked much of anything alike: they had the same sideswept black hair and similar copper-toned skin, and though Dokueki's eyes were yellow-green in color, they shared Azami's vertical pupils. Atsuko, on the other hand, was brunette, with a skin pigmentation comparable to paper and sleepy, almond shaped black eyes.
There were other subtle differences between the three that often brought about suspicion that they were even siblings. differences in facial features, for one: like Atsuko's wide, almost lipless mouth in comparison to her younger brother and sister's full, normal ones, or her long, thin nose and Azami's sharp ski-jump. The freakish tongue that dokueki was fond of sticking out at those who slighted him, or Atsuko's fangs, or the the white oval birthmark in the middle of Azami's forehead.
Not that many people knew about the birthmark, as it was usually hidden under the dark grey beanie that she had had since...pretty much forever: just Atsuko, Dokueki, the Old Fart (her own charming nickname for the Sandiame Hokage), Auntie Anko, and, as the twelve year old had gleaned from past "unintentional" eavesdroppings; a few select members of the ANBU Black ops. It was one of the many things things that made her family, as Atsuko put it, "unusual."
Having spent the majority of her childhood with her head in the clouds, Azami had only recently begun to realize what her sister meant. People glowered at them when they walked down the street, or looked away pointedly, or downright turned around and went the other direction when they saw them. Once she had seen an injured shinobi drop his crutch on the sidewalk and fall over, and when her elder sister had reached down to help him up, the man had gasped in horror and scuttled backwards.
Atsuko said that people "didn't know what to think" of their family. To Azami, it was becoming pretty clear that they knew exactly what they thought; and that it was nothing particularly flattering.
The girl snorted as she returned to the present and pushed the seven year old boy out of her way, snarling "Shove over, brat!"
"Heeeeey!"
Azami laughed loudly over her shoulder and vanished into her room. And promptly froze when she saw the Hokage monument outside the window…
Twenty minutes later, a maroon wind seemed to gust through the tiny kitchen, grab a piece of toast and full backpack in one movement, and gave Atsuko a brief one armed hug before blowing out the door with a shouted "Okayseeyabye!"
For a second after the front door slammed shut, Atsuko didn't move, staring with a bemused expression after her sister. She looked over at Dokueki, who had a piece of toast hovering halfway to his mouth. They blinked at each other, then shrugged almost in unison. 'I should probably be taking it as a bad omen that she's actually that eager to get to school…' thought the nineteen year old worriedly.
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Azami pelted down the streets, looking up every chance she got to take a gander at the now very…colorful…Hokage monument. 'He did it! Crimony, I can't believe he actually freakin' did it!'
Her maroon hoodie, obviously designed for someone at least three sizes beyond her, was plastered to her narrow frame from her own slipstream, khaki shorts barely poking out from under it. The tape that she had hastily wound around her left leg was loose and chafing slightly: she could redo it in the bathroom when she got to school. For the moment, congratulating Naruto was priority one.
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Atsuko calmly locked the front door of the apartment, Dokueki standing quiet and diligent behind her.
"Ready to go?" she said. The boy nodded happily.
"Mhm."
The two stepped out onto the street, and almost instinctively Atsuko drew her brother close with a hand on his shoulder, a now subconscious movement to shield him from the glares that were sent their way. Except that for once, all eyes were otherwise occupied. Confused, wondering what could possibly be drawing away the usual unwanted attention, she followed the gazes up, up towards the Hokage monument - only to find that it seemed to have been given a rather unflattering paint job.
Atsuko did a facepalm, while Dokueki doubled over howling with laughter. She gave the seven year old a good whack upside the head.
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"Alright, everyone, take your seats," called Umino Iruka, not even looking up from the roster as he walked into his classroom. "I just need to call roll, and then we can get started."
Had the young chuunin looked up, he would have seen fifteen or so oddly dressed twelve year olds gaping at him incredulously. As he began rattling off names, ("Aburame Shino?" "Here.") Azami twisted in her seat to face the two spaces behind her, which were occupied by Akimichi Chouji ("Present.") and Nara Shikamaru.
"Psst! Hey, guys!" she hissed "You think he really hasn't noticed the graffiti?" Shikamaru snorted.
"How could he not?" the pineapple head muttered. "He's probably just trying to act normal and keep everyone from making a big deal out of it and wasting class time. Typical teacher, he's such a drag."
Just then, a second chunnin entered the classroom at a dead run.
"Iruka-sensei! We have a problem!" The scar nosed young man raised his eyebrows, looking a bit testy.
"Uh, Mizuki, you do realize that I'm in the middle of calling roll, don't you?"
"Well then, let me save you some time – Naruto isn't here."
"What?!"
Several students looked at each other, and rolled their eyes. Shikamaru sighed. "Then again, I've been wrong before." The inevitable gossip started rippling like a tiny, annoying breeze up and down the rows while Mizuki explained the situation to Iruka.
"Everybody stay put!" Iruka shouted on his way out the door. "Sasuke, you're in charge till I get back. Just wait there!"
There was a second's confused silence, broken when Azami snorted and leaned back in her seat. "Crimony, why'd he have to put Pinfeathers of all people in charge? Now we can't even enjoy our free time."
The female reaction was immediate – and not just a little frightening.
"Don't call him Pinfeathers!"
"What's wrong with you anyway?"
"How dare you insult my future husband?!"
"Your future husband?! Excuse me?"
"You wanna go?!"
"Ooh, bring it on, girlfriend! Bring. It. On!"
"All of you shut up," the shrieking harpies quieted as instantly as they had started up at the sound of their eye candy's voice. Sasuke, as usual, was sitting perfectly still, staring straight ahead over laced fingers. "You're giving me a headache," he continued under his breath.
"Sorry Sasuke-kun!" the girls all squealed in unison, dissolving into airheaded giggles. Haruno Sakura turned to look at Azami and scowled down at her. Her glare was returned by a set of lazy, half lidded blue eyes. While all the girls had been leaping to their heartthrob's defense and crowding around to scream at her, the maroon clad girl had simply sat with her fingers laced behind her head, one foot propped on the edge of her desk, and a haughty, impassive expression on her face, in a (successful) attempt to further incense her peers by stoically ignoring them.
"You know, Azami," the pink haired girl sneered, "I think you're just mad because Iruka-sensei didn't pick you to be in charge." The other girl's eyes shot wide open with incredulity.
"What?!" she yelped. Sakura smirked, assuming triumph.
"That's right; I think you're jealous because Sasuke got picked to be the leader because he's better than you!"
Azami blinked in disbelief, and promptly burst out laughing. In a single movement she swept to her feet and placed herself nose – to – nose with the now glowering Haruno.
"Firstly, Billboard-Brow, the only thing Pinfeathers over there is better at than anyone else is acting like he knows everything." at this statement, the Uchiha narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Secondly, you're not really the one to be acting all high and mighty, as the only things you're really good at are squealing like an idiot and rattling off diagrams."
"I do not squeal like an idiot, you're just a total freak!" the pink haired girl screeched angrily. "And you're one to talk about acting like they know everything!" Azami gave a loud bark of laughter.
"Puh-lease!" she shouted. She suddenly stood on one foot and raised a pinkie finger next to her cheek, imitating in a high pitched voice "Ooh, Sasuke-kun! Sit with me Sasuke-kun! You're so good at that Sasuke-kun! Can I eat lunch with you, Sasuke-kun? May I lick your toes, Sasuke-kun?" Every girl in the class was now looking absolutely scandalized. Most of the boys, on the other hand, were doubled over in silent laughter. "And thirdly, Haruno, I never said anything about wanting to be in charge. It's like my big sister says: those who actually desire power for power's sake are the last ones who should have it. I don't have any issue with not being in charge; just with him being in charge."
At that moment, Iruka stalked in through the classroom door, a flailing, yelling Naruto trussed up and slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Alright, everyone, seats!" he shouted, and the drama was over. Once the roll was finished, (surname being Zatta, Azami was called last, and responded with the usual "I'm absent!", which didn't earn as many snickers as usual, with all the girls still mad at her for calling them out) Iruka started laying in to Naruto. Again.
"I'm at the end of my rope, Naruto! You failed the graduation test last time, and the time before that. Tomorrow you've got another chance, and you're messing up again!"
The blonde's only response was a defiant "Hmph!" Iruka smiled evilly.
"FINE! Because you missed it, Naruto, everyone will review the transformation jutsu!"
Azami groaned with the rest of the class, and looked out the window at the painted faces. 'Well, it was fun while it lasted…
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"Alright, Sakura here, let's do it! Transform!" In a poof of smoke, the pink haired girl was replaced by an exact replica of their teacher. Azami snickered and leaned over to Naruto.
"Yeah, as if one Iruka-sensei wasn't bad enough," she whispered. Naruto cracked a smile; difficult, really, as the entire class was currently glaring at him like a kunai target.
"Transformed into me. Good," Iruka said, scribbling something down on his clipboard.
"Yes! I did it! Yes! Yes! Sasuke, didja see that?" Sakura squealed.
"And I rest my case," Azami said nastily. Sakura stuck her nose in the air and stalked to the back of the line.
"Next!" Iruka called. "Uchiha Sasuke."
The smirking boy stepped forward and, with a second poof of smoke, copied Sakura.
"Ah. Good. Next: Uzumaki Naruto."
"This is a total waste of time, Naruto," muttered Shikamaru.
"We always pay for your screwups!" added Yamanaka Ino.
"Like I care," Naruto muttered, stepping up. Azami gave him a thump on the back, and frowned when she saw that he was smirking. 'Don't tell me he's actually thinking – no. No, not even Naruto is that dim. He wouldn't…not in school… Would he?'
POOF!
"WHA--?!" Azami did a facepalm.
'He would.'
"HAHA! GOTCHA!" Naruto laughed. "That's my sexy jutsu!"
Iruka was not amused.
"CUT THE STUPID TRICKS! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!"
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Azami sighed and plopped down in the grass out front of the Ninja Academy, waiting for her little brother's class to let out. 'Poor guy,' she thought, looking up at the scaffold dangling in front of the first Hokage, on which an orange clad figure could hardly be made out. 'That's sorta harsh, making him clean the whole thing by himself. Great prank, though…'
At that moment, Dokueki came running towards her, waving. Ruffling her little brother's hair, Azami started off, leading the way towards the Weapons Department, where, for once, she hoped Atsuko would be getting off on time.
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"What?! Whadaya mean 'A half hour?" Azami shouted at her sister's back.
"Precisely what I said: I'll be finished in half an hour." Atsuko glanced over her shoulder at her grumpy siblings and sighed. She turned and placed a leather gloved hand on each of their heads. "Sorry you two. The ANBU need new swords and they're really anal about these deadlines, and I spent most of today finishing up the new leaf headbands." The nineteen year old's eyes crinkled upwards with a smile. "I had to take special care with every one, after all. Any one of them could be my baby sister's tomorrow, ne?" Azami wasn't appeased.
"What are you doing making headbands? This is the Weapons Department!" she snapped, arms crossed.
"Hey, somebody had to make them," said Atsuko, shrugging. "Besides, they're technically forehead protectors, which means they fall under protective gear, which is my jurisdiction anyway." Azami glowered flatly at her sister. The older woman sighed and rubbed her temples. "Look, I'll be done soon, just go study or do homework or something in the front."
At that moment, an ANBU poked his stylized rat mask around the door into the sharpening room, where the argument had been taking place. "Hey, Zatta, those swords done yet?" He cut off with a rather girly shriek as Atsuko flung a kunai at his head.
"PISS OFF, RAT! You tryin to tell me how to do my job?!"
"N-no ma'am!" Rat the ANBU squeaked. Azami sighed and slunk over to the corner, pulling out a genjutsu scroll with very little enthusiasm. This always happened; it was always something with Atsuko: always something that would come up to keep her from spending time with her siblings.
'Freaking typical…'
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"AZAMI!"
"Wha--?"
"Zatta Azami, you wake up RIGHT NOW!" Azami blinked her eyes open and groaned.
'Cripes, I'm not even awake and I've already done something to piss her off. This must be a new record…'
"NOW, young lady!"
'Whoa, she's pulling out the "young lady" card? I really am in for it…'
"You moron! Have you completely forgotten what day it is?!" Azami groaned in protest as her sister wrenched back the curtains, letting in the morning light.
'Day…today…what's today…? Something yesterday…study for…tomorrow…exa—'
"CRAP! THE FINAL EXAM!" The twelve year old vaulted out of bed and gathered clothes for the day off of her floor, trying to ignore her elder sister's shouting.
"You've got like twenty minutes till school starts, what the hell happened to your alarm clock?!"
"Uh -- it's over there," Azami muttered, pointing over at the spot where she had flung her alarm clock at the wall the morning previously. Atsuko scowled blandly as her black eyes traveled from the black dent in the wall and down to the dark box on the carpet. Azami raked her fingers desperately through her hair, before cramming her beanie onto her head.
"'kay, kay, just one more thing! Uuuh…cripes, where'd my leg wraps go?"
"Hm?" Atsuko's eyebrows twitched upward as she looked down next to her feet at a small, haphazard bundle of white athletic tape. She sighed and dipped down to pick them up.
"Lookin' for these?" she drawled. Azami turned, and her eyes lit up.
"My wraps! Hey, thanks, sis!" the twelve year old reached for the cloth in her sister's hand, only yelp in indignation when they were jerked away, dangling over Atsuko's head.
"First," the nineteen year old said coolly, ignoring her sister's frantic hopping up and down in a desperate bid for the finishing touch on her outfit, "What have we learned?" Azami sighed in annoyance.
"Don't take my anger at the sun for rising out on my alarm clock." She droned.
"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it? And I hope you've learned a valuable – hey!" Azami snatched the bandages out of her sister's hand and darted off towards the bathroom, shouting something about needing to brush her teeth. Atsuko rubbed her temples with a long suffering sigh. "Dear sweet Kami, don't tell me I was like that when i was twelve…"
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'Phew, made it out of the house with time to spare!'
Azami cackled to herself and munched happily on a banana. Atsuko had shoved it into her hand while she was ushering her out the door. Azami's smile faded slightly at the thought of her sister. "She didn't say anything before I left. I mean, I'm no wuss, I don't need encouragement, but cripes, she could have at least –'
"Hey, Squirt!" Azami whirled and looked up to see Atsuko leaning out of the kitchen window three stories up. The nineteen year old smirked slightly. "Knock 'em dead."
Azami blinked, then grinned at her sister and gave her a thumbs up.
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"We will now start the final exam." Azami glanced over at Naruto in the seat next to her and flashed him a would-be confident grin. He returned it awkwardly. Neither of them was fooling the other -- they each knew how nervous they were. It would have been plain to anyone, just by watching the blonde nip anxiously at his fingernails and the girl reach up to yank her beanie securely over her ears every few seconds. "When your name is called, proceed to the testing room." Azami started up a mental mantra.
'Anything but clone, anything but clone, anything but clone, pleeeeease anything but clone!'
"The final test will be on -- the Clone Jutsu."
'Hell…'
Naruto gripped miserably at his spiky hair with a whine. Azami thumped her head down on the desk. 'Aw, crimony, I'm no good at that one! It takes too much concentration!' She glanced over at her frantic friend. 'Well, at least if we both bomb it we won't be held back alone. But wait!'
Azami's eyes widened in horror at the sudden thought that struck her.
'What if only one of us fails? I mean, it would suck for me because Bilboard-Brow and Ino-pig would never let me live it down, but it wouldn't be too bad. But what if I pass and Naruto fails? I can't leave him alone here! Maybe if I fail on purpose…but then Atusko would be disappointed in me, and Naruto would probably figure out what I did eventually and that would just make him feel bad! Ooooh, what do I do, what do I do?!'
"Zatta Azami!" The conflicted twelve year old jerked and looked up to see Mizuki-sensei standing in the doorway to the testing room, holding a clipboard and smiling encouragingly at her. "You're up!" Azami took a deep breath and stood slowly. She looked over at Naruto and flashed him another shaky grin.
"Well," she muttered, "see you on the other side, I guess." She set off down the aisle towards the testing room.
"Hey, Azami!" the black haired girl turned to see Naruto, for once looking serious. Not just serious, actually, but downright grim with determination. "Do your best. Remember: Believe it!" Azami felt a bit of the tension ease off of her heart, and made a face at her friend.
"I thought I made you swear on old man Ichiraku's miso ramen that you would never say that again last week." she said lightly. "Don't worry," she added, sobering up a bit. "I will. Same goes for you too though, eh?" Naruto laughed loudly and scratched the back of his head.
"Don't you worry about me, I'll pass for sure!" he practically shouted. Azami grinned at him, then turned and strode towards the testing room with newfound confidence. Maybe this wouldn't turn out so bad after all…
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"…"
"…"
"…"
Azami's face was so flushed it actually hurt. She was almost afraid to turn around and look at her -- supposed -- clones. Iruka and Mizuki were both staring at her, incredulous and trying very, very hard not to show the twelve year old how much effort it was taking them not to laugh. And failing miserably.
Slowly, almost painfully, Azami looked over her shoulder.
'What'd I mess up on this time? Did I leave out appendages? Or…dear sweet kami, don't tell me I forgot to give them clothes!!' Inner Azami moaned in dismay and pulled her mental beanie down around her mental ears. 'I don't think I could take that kind of humiliation!'
As it turned out, the issue was indeed clothing related, though fortunately not quite on the horrific scale that Azami had initially assumed. The three clones that she had managed to conjure actually succeeded in physically looking very much like her – one's hair was an inch or so too long and another was a bit pale, but nothing fail worthy. The only distinct detail that she had gotten wrong was the hoodie. The largest article of clothing on her entire body. The very distinctly maroon largest article of clothing on her entire body was, on her clones…
"P-p-pur-purple?!" the twelve year old squeaked, pulling the infamous "anime shock-fall (1)."
To be fair, the purple was really more of a burgundy; rather close to maroon -- but still. That didn't change the fact that it fell into a whole other section of the color wheel.
Azami giggled awkwardly at the two senseis, blushing furiously.
"Eheheh, heh, he…g-guess purple must really be my color, eh?" she said, abashed. Iruka sighed and picked up one of the headbands from the neat stack in front of him, then threw it across the room to Azami.
"You pass," he said sternly, "but just barely, and only because a simple mix up in color like that could still work on a night mission."
Azami gaped at the curved metal plate in her hands and looked up at Iruka.
'I -- passed? As in I didn't fail? As in I'm a ninja now? Me…a ninja…really?'
"SWEET!" the twelve year old cheered, jumping clear in the air and doing an awkward pirouette. She crowed a thanks to Iruka and Mizuki on her way out the door, into the waiting room with all the other new genin. She had passed. Never mind she would probably have the lowest score out of everybody, she had actually passed.
Zatta Azami felt like she could walk on air.
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Zatta Azami felt like absolute shit.
"Sorry, Naruto."
No response.
Azami forced a smile and thumped her friend heartily on the shoulder.
"Aw, cheer up, pal! There's always next year, right? – "
"Listen to 'em,"
Azami blinked at Naruto's cold, flat tone, and followed his miserable gaze over to the laughing group of parents congratulating their children on becoming ninjas. It seemed that none of them even noticed the two oddballs: the failure with no family, and the kid whose only guardian was so frantic to keep food on the table for three people on a single salary that she couldn't come to her own sister's graduation. But, Azami realized, they weren't ignoring them. Several people were casting her and Naruto dirty looks, muttering to each other in what the maroon clad girl supposed they thought were covert tones.
"There, you see them?" one girl was sneering to her friend.
"It's those kids…I heard that boy's the only one who failed, and the kid in the red got the lowest score out of the whole class."
"Hrmph, well it serves them right!"
"Just imagine if that boy became a ninja! I mean, it's bad enough taht she managed it, but he's the one who --"
"Shh! We're not allowed to talk about that!"
Azami narrowed her eyes angrily. She glanced over at Naruto, and found him adjusting those stupid goggles of his. She could tell he was trying to hide tears. They both suddenly jerked and whipped around at the sound of footsteps behind them. A white haired chuunin smiled gently down at the two.
"Hey, Azami-chan," said Mizuki softly, not taking his understanding, brotherly gaze off Naruto. "Is that your sister I see over there?" Azami blinked and looked around to see her elder sister, grinning and panting for breath in the school yard. Her face lit up.
"See ya round, Naruto!" she said brightly, giving him a good whack on the arm. "Let's go for ramen tomorrow, eh?"
"Yeah, alright," the blonde said, still sounding quite glum.
The black haired girl smirked and leaned over to whisper in his ear.
"My tree-eat!!" she wheedled in a singsong tone. The blonde seemed to perk up a bit at that. Satisfied with her friend's mood, Azami pelted towards her sister, waving her shiny new headband triumphantly.
Atsuko smelled heavily of hot iron and freshly applied deodorant, and her hair was stuck to her face with drying sweat. Azami felt a surge of happiness at the realization that the older woman had left work early and not even bothered to go home and shower first. For once, this one day, Zatta Azami was at the very top of her big sister's priority list.
"You made it!" the brunette said with a wide grin, playfully yanking Azami's beanie down over her eyes.
"HEY!" the twelve year old shrieked, "What's with the surprised tone?!"
Atsuko laughed loudly. "C'mon, squirt. We're going out to dinner tonight. And Auntie Anko's paying," she added as an afterthought. Azami raised an eyebrow.
"Does Auntie know she's paying?" she said skeptically. Atsuko's eyes went all shifty, the way they always did when she was up to something.
"…She miiiiiiight…"
"Big sister!!" Dokueki had just been let out of class, and pelted gleefully across the schoolyard to fling his arms around Atsuko's waist. Atsuko chuckled and rumpled his dark hair affectionately.
"Hey there, shorty. How was your day?"
"Great!" Dokueki pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and, grinning hugely, handed it to his sister. We got grades today, Big sister! Look!" Atsuko inspected the grade report and a small smile crossed her face.
"Good job, Dokueki. I'm proud of you." She said, petting his head more gently. Azami felt herself chafing at the loss of the limelight.
"Well, ankle-biter, check this out!" Azami said snottily, waving her new headband in her brother's face. "I'm a ninja now, so Ha! I trump your dumb little academy grade report!" for the grand finale she stuck out her tongue and made a victory sign. Dokueki pouted and glared, then suddenly smirked and stuck out his own tongue.
Azami made a face. Atsuko tensed and shuddered: the damp pink muscle was dangling down at the seven year old's chest, wagging back and forth tauntingly.
'Crimony!' thought Azami. 'I keep forgetting he can do that!'
"Dokueki," Atsuko said quietly. "Please put the tongue away." The boy blushed and retracted the organ, but not without a tiny, triumphant smirk at hthe middle child. Atsuko sighed as Azami returned to look with an obnoxious and somewhat grotesque one of her own. "Will you two cut it out?" she said, exasperated. "I swear, there's times I think I can actually feel my sanity dieing a slow and painful death."
"Heheh, sorry Sis," Azami giggled. The elder rolled her eyes with a smile.
"Let's just go home and wash up for dinner before Anko decides to go to the restaurant without us." Dokueki's eyes positively lit up.
"We're going out?!" he yelled delightedly.
"Yep," said Atsuko cheerfully. "To celebrate Azami's graduation. And because you got such good grades," the young woman smiled indulgently, "you can get whatever dessert you want."
Living hand-to-mouth as they did, the siblings could rarely afford to go out to eat at all, unless it was for something cheap like ramen, and even less frequent than dinners out were desserts. And when they did get desserts, they had to get moderately cheap ones. So at the news that he could order whatever with no worries, Dokueki's face almost seemed to be glowing with anticipation.
"Really?!" he cried.
"Of course," Atsuko said with a sly, evil grin creeping across her face. "Auntie Anko's paying for us, after all."
Azami scowled up at her sister. "Aren't you our older sister? Shouldn't you be setting a better example for us than mooching free meals at every opportunity?"
"Do as I say, Azami, not as I do," Atsuko said simply. She didn't even bother hiding her smug smirk.
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"Purple?!"
"Yeah, that was what I said when I saw them too!"
Azami and Anko were both doubled over the booth table in the restaurant that Anko was (apparently) treating them to, laughing hysterically. Atsuko was massaging her temples irritably, but the smile twitching about the corners of her narrow mouth gave away her amusement. Dokueki wasn't paying much attention to any of them: he was far too immersed in the most expensive sweet dumplings the restaurant had to offer.
"Well, it could have been worse," Anko said, wiping tears of mirth from the corners of her eyes. "You could have made yourself bald, like last time!"
Azami's face heated up immediately. "S-shut up! You promised never to say anything about that!"
Atsuko went form rubbing her temples to full on burying her head in her hands.
'Why me?'
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(A/N): GAAAAAAH! THAT'S IT, I'M THROUGH! I've been writing this for WEEKS!! Weeks I tell you! I'm not going to involve the sibs in Naruto's little incident with the scroll, since as far as I can tell from watching that episode only the chuunin were sent out after him, and Atsuko's a Jounin. I know I didn't actually say that earlier, but she's the head of a department, so it should be obvious. Yeah, reading this chapter through, it wasn't as good as I'd hoped, but it was sixteen pages long, and i was tired, so meh.
Name meanings (forgive any mistranslaions - I did get these off the internet)
Zatta: Miscellaneous/random – will be explained later on
Atsuko: Industrious child – I think its fitting.
Azami: Thistle Flower, symbol of defiance – also quite fitting
Dokueki: venom - for obvious reasons. And if they're not obvious…then no offence but you can't take a hint, can you? :)
(1): The anime shock fall - i'm not sure if that's the actual term for it, but you know what i'm talking about. When a character is surprised about someting and just sort of topples over. Yeah, that thing.
Chapters may be slow in coming, depending upon the episode they're about.
Thanks for reading!