First fic, yahhhhhhhhhhhh. _ _. Sorry 'bout that...
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and TV Tokyo. I do however claim ownership of any original characters in this fic.
I'm sorry to disappoint you all but I don't use Japanese Honorifics or the Japanese Jutsu names. It's just easier for me to write that way. It's a fic about the pastof Team Hurizen, and I can and will ignore canon to make a story interesting. Please Rate and Review!
Chapter 1.
Bzzzr. Bzzzr. Bzzzr.
The young man twitched in his bed, quickly flicking the covers off of his feet. He let out a deep sigh before placing his head back on the pillow.
Bzzzr. Bzzzr. Bzzzr.
He rolled over onto his side, hoping to drift away again.
Bzzzr. Bzzzr. Bzzzr.
This didn't work.
Bzzzr. Bzzzr. Bzzzr.
5:45 AM.
The young man let out a low grunt, before groggily turning off the alarm and stretching his legs. "Damn... what time is it?" He peered weakly at his digital alarm clock. Right on time, just like every other day this month. He pulled back the curtains and began to admire the first few rays of sunlight that peeked through at only this ungodly hour, before putting on his tailor-made black fatigues, with concealed sewn in armour plating. He glanced down his legs, checking and rechecking his kunai, shuriken, concealed poisons and scrolls.
6:30 AM.
He was becoming a slave to this routine, but, that wasn't entirely a bad thing for a man of his work. He thumbed through his usual papers, wrote out the usual reports, ate the usual breakfast and slipped on his usual robe.
This time however, it wasn't the usual routine. The young man was positively beaming as his confidently strolled down the crowded streets, the villages looking on in admiration of such a high ranking shinobi. He was meeting his new genin team, a team full of geniuses, full of raw potential. Sure he had lead missions and squads, but this was different. No Academy Teaching lesson plans, schedules and limitations, and none of the smug, know-it-all recently promoted chunin that came with leading a squad. These were young, ready minds, the next generation of hopefuls. He could shape them and mold them to be whatever they needed to be, and when he thought of the bonds he shared with his sensei, his excitement only grew more. Not to mention the respect a teacher receives!
"Sarutobi-Sensei?" He thought deeply for a second, mulling it over, before pumping his fist in triumph "I like it!"
Sarutobi already had a fantastic reputation with the village (although the receptionist at the local hot springs had never stopped giving him funny looks) and was already seen as a hero by the entire village. But this was a very important mission for him, it was tradition for a man of his power to lead a genin team to success and power, just like he's predecessors before him had created great ninja. This was a chance to prove he was truly up to the task and would lead even better than the ones before him. He did so because he held an unprecented and powerful position within the Konoha population.
The recently crowned 3rd Hokage.
Bzzzr. Bzzzr. Bzzzr.
7:15 AM.
The young boy groaned and wearily pulled the pillow over his ears "Crap". The boy gave the alarm a quick smack then fell back asleep.
Bzzzr. Bzzzr. Bzzzr.
The young girl flipped up, throwing her covers across the room. She tapped the 'snooze' button and skipped to her mirror.
6:30
"Honey! Time to get... up..." Her mother peered into her room, and a suddenly felt shocked, and, although she would never admit it, mildy impressed. Her 10 year old daughter was busy in a morning ritual of makeup, perfumes and a plethora of earrings and necklaces, which was, as she assured her mother many times before, totally acceptable behaviour for a child. She sprayed and adjusted with the proficiency of a world renowned beautician. She was in a trance-like state, only breaking her expression to state how dissatisfied she was with her looks, and how she was never going to look 'mature'.
She watched for a few minutes in amazement before speaking up "Umm... honey, don't you think it's getting kind of late?" She nodded towards the dim light of the digital clock, and gave her clueless daughter a weak smile.
7:30
"Ah crap!" She hurriedly fixed the last few spots of makeup, and put on her new fishnet under her shirt and new blue combat gi she received last birthday. She sprinted for the door, nudging her mother out of the way.
"Tsunade! What about breakfast?" She called out. She suppressed a chuckle as her daughter whipped around at the bottom of the staircase, toast hanging from her mouth.
"Schee ya mum" Tsunade gargled out, before practically kicking the door down and sprinting of for the Academy. Pride warmed her mother's heart. She could remember when she was so impatient and hopeful about being a ninja. Before him...
Bzzzr. Bzzzr. Bzzzr.
6:00 AM
The thin boy picked at the remains of his breakfast as the buzzer went off in his room. He gave a satisfied smirk, knowing that he had once again beaten it to the finish. He was beginning to wonder why he even bothered setting it at all.
He was stuck staring at his empty plate. 'Two hours...' He thought 'What can I do for two hours?' He started watching TV, but soon realized this was pointless and wasteful, remembering his father's wise words. 'Any genius can be great, but a true genius doesn't stop at great' He picked up his weapon pouch and made his way to the built-in dojo. It was a wide, padded room equipped with targets, dummies and logs designed for various training exercises. The walls were covered with a vast array of weapons, tools and scrolls.
He had spent most of his childhood here and because of it, was the most talented genin in the village, and today was going to receive formal training with a master of the shinobi way, like his father and his mother before him. He spent 15 minutes running over shuriken and kunai drills, but eventually the satisfaction of hitting the bullseye every time was starting to wane, and he grew bore of that too. He gathered his kunai, towelling off each bit of equipment as he went, before making his way back up stairs.
6:45 AM
"Humph"
He was thinking of leaving before a post-it-note caught his eye.
'Early mission again
Heard you training, thought you would want your privacy
I've packed your bag. It has food and weapons stocked.
From Dad'
"Another one? " He spun around to see his mother standing in the hallway, sweat and scars covering her face that seemed to melt disappear below her warm smile.
"Mum! I mean, mother" She reached out for a hug, which the boy accepted, with a look of embarrassment lining his face. This had been the first time he had seen his mother in a week, and with his father's recent promotion missions had been piling up. The boy had spent many nights alone in the great, spacious house.
"How's my little Hokage been?" She dropped to his eye level and tussled his hair. He cringed in humiliation and playfully pushed her hand away.
"First, I have been training, second I am not you little Hokage. I'm a genin and have been for years." He said with a mock seriousness, though with her son you could never tell if he was joking or not. "I am a colleague."
"A colleague I read bedtime stories to and tuck in to bed every night" She said
"That was years ago" He folded his arms and turned away from her. She grabbed him and planted a kiss on his cheek, hugging him tight.
"I really missed you Orochimaru"
"So did I" He said with surprising sincerity. He picked up bag and gave a slight nod. Then he left for his new team. His mother never stopped worrying.
7:30 AM
Bzzzr. Bzzzr. Bzzzr.
"Goddamnit! Shut UP!"The young boy flared up and delivered an earth shattering kick to the alarm clock, smashing it to pieces. "Uh... how's an artist supposed to get his beauty sleep when this crap's going on?" He pulled the covers off his head then went to sleep again.
Sarutobi 'politely' rushed through the building, nudging his way through the crowd of admirers, nodding and giving dismissive acknowledgements, simple 'Thank yous' and apologies that he couldn't stay, and how much he'd like to see all of them again later when he had more time. He was of course lying through his teeth, but a man deserved his privacy.
"Folks I'm sorry, but I really have to go. But, I will give you one last gift" He held his hands together, and in an instant a picture perfect (though bewildered) Hokage appeared in a cloud of smoke. "He will answer all your questions" He gave them a reassuring smile as they cheered. The clone pulled a face like one of those dogs at the animal shelter they were about to put down. He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked at him with big compassionate eyes, a heart as warm as the sun itself. The clone's expression melted away and he smiled. Sarutobi pulled him (It, himself? He wasn't entirely sure at this point.) close and whispered three words to the anxious clone.
"Your problem now!"
He disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the confused and furious clone gawking at his creator's crudeness. He let out a long hard sigh, then motioned to the crowd. "Does anyone have a pen?" They descended upon him like ravenous vultures, prodding him and tackling him, thinking the Hokage accepting their gifts will make their entire life worth living. Sarutobi-Clone gritted his teeth. 'He's going to have some interesting memories when I come back. Very interesting.'
Sarutobi quietly slipped into the jounin waiting room, breathing a sigh of relief. He started taking off his robe and hung it on the dingy coat rack. The entire room was of pretty poor quality, especially for a place for jounin to recuperate after missions. The TV was eye-strainingly small, with poor reception, and the stained coffee table was covered in 'adult' magazines and old cigarettes. Not exactly the haven of the elite. The atmosphere was more akin the dive bar, and Sarutobi was starting to wonder if he went to the right room.
"Hey, Hiruzen! Grab a seat" A young kunoichi with blonde shoulder-length hair frantically waved a hand at him. She wore black combat fatigues, a long-sleeved black shirt, with the lower half sewn into a dress-like shape, split down the middle, bandages covering what leg showed. It looked trampy, but it was loose enough to be comfortable, but tight enough to not get in the way. And she wore it well. Not that he thought of her like that. Just art appreciation.
"Koharu, good to see you" He nodded. "Where's Homura?"
"He's giving the graduation speech to the new genin"
"With his stirring voice? Careful, his great enthusiasm for life could rub off on them!" they both shared a laugh. God he missed his old team. Her giggle could still brighten up the dingy room.
"Hehe, well we both know Homura isn't the most... confident-"
"Or enthusiastic" He loved cutting down his former teammate.
"Yes, or enthusiastic-"
"Or pleasant"
"Or pleasa-"
"Or-"
"Will you let me finish?" She dug at him with another one of those stern looks. They were still as bone-chilling as he remembered. "Look, he's working on it OK? It's not easy on him. I mean with all the political turmoil, and work, and Sensei's-" They shared an awkward look. He felt a familiar tingle in his throat. "And your new promotion to greatest, while we're stuck here as Chunin teachers"
"Stop. You're both among the best and brightest among us. As soon as I'm officially declared the Hokage you will both undergo testing. I promise" He truly believed both had the potential to be great jounin. It was just bad luck that they weren't already promoted. Everytime they had been considered, something would come up to complicate things. A death, a failed mission, war one time, but that was understandably a seen as a bigger issue. He could tell though she wasn't satisfied by this 'promise'. She was ready now.
"Already pulling strings for your friends?" Damnit. He was here "Sarutobi"
"Danzo..." Sarutobi snarled, baring his teeth like a feral dog. Danzo looked on in cold seriousness, his black, unkempt hair framing the sneer on his face.
"'A man that abuses his power, doesn't deserve to have his power' The 2nd Hokage" Koharu held back her weak cry, not taking her eyes of Danzo, he not taking his eyes off Sarutobi.
"What do you want Danzo?" Hiruzen asked.
"What do I want? A genin team, same as you. You know why don't you?" Danzo leaned back and fingered his sword.
"So you can teach them how to completely and utterly disregard human life?" Hiruzen mused.
Danzo gave a fake grin "Clever" He moved in so close he was practically whispering to him "Your new title isn't such a sure thing, Lord Hokage" Both men unlatched their kunai holsters.
"Team 5! Tokui Uchiha! Yaju Inuzuka! Tori Hanto! You will report to Danzo Shimura" Homura cried out through the Academy Halls.
"If you'll excuse me" Danzo bowed, before dissipating in a haze of cloud. They stood in thick silence for what seemed like ages, the young ninjas mind racing. What did he mean? Was he threatening me? Is he going to assassinate me?
"Don't worry about him" Koharu broke the silence "And don't worry about the testing, we can wa-" Sarutobi raised his hand in protest.
"Don't let him get to you Koharu. He's a lying cowad, but exceptionally good at playing mind games. Don't play his game. OK?" He smiled at her, and that's all she needed. They stood there just enjoying each others company before Homura started shouting again.
"Team 10! Jiraiya! Tsunade! Orochimaru! You will report to Hiruzen Sarutobi!" He gave an apologetic look.
"We'll have to do this again sometime" He smiled reassuringly, and then left the seedy room.
An older jounin with greying hair and a receding hairline sat next and placed a hand upon her shoulder "He'll make a fine Hokage"
Sarutobi burst into the room "Uhh... has anyone seen my coat?" Koharu's face light up and she pointed to the coat rack. "Oh... coat on the coat rack, why didn't I think of that"
"Well, not a great Hokage" She chuckled, but the older jounin was gone. The quietness set back in and she was once again, all alone.
8:10
The young boy got up and stretched his arms in a tremendous display. "Ah... today's gonna be a great day" He kicked off his covers and strutted around his apartment. "I am feeling so good today" He sung like a recently neautered cat, but the complaints never stopped him. An artist's life is great turmoil he once said. He was thinking of writing a book of his wise sayings, but felt his knowledge was too dangerous in civilian hands. He was dancing around in his underwear, getting grimaces from anyone unfortunate enough to see into his room. When a sudden realization hit him
"What day is it?" He galloped down the hall tripping over the numerous toys he had become disinterested in and thrown on the floor. "Ah crap!" he hung a left at his kitchen and looked in vain for a clock. "To hell with it" He screamed picking up random piles of clothes on the floor trying them all on, then sprinted out the door.
He passed the marketplace place, centered around a beautiful golden clock.
8:15 AM
"Stupid faulty alarm clock, unable to take a full force kick" He gritted his teeth, charging down the streets like a wild bull. Three destroyed fruit carts later, he arrived at the looming gates of the Academy, proud mothers and father anxiously awaiting their children and their new teams. Amiddle aged man was shaking his son's hand, when Jiraiya crashed into them.
"Oww... hey kid, how many teams have they announced yet?" He rubbed his freshly bruised head.
"Well I'm Team 5, but I got out 10 minutes ago"
"Bah, there's still time. Thanks kid!" He was already inside by the time the newly announced ninja had realised what happened.
"Hey! That son of a bitch hit me!"
Sarutobi casually entered the room, giving Homura a sideways nod. "Good to see you"
"Likewise" They both shared the kind of comrade's smile only years of teamwork created.
"Sarutobi-Sensei!" A familiar blonde-haired girl was ran up to him and hugged him at his waist.
"Tsunade, my favourite student, how have you been?'
"Great, actually. I mean, you're teaching us!" She was smiling from ear to ear. He was glad to see her happy again. Her great-uncle's death had been hard on all of us, especially her. He was entirely sure she stuck with the Academy just to make him proud.
"And where's the rest of our team" He glanced around the room.
"Right here, sir" There was one solitary boy up the far back of the room. He gracefully made his way to his new Sensei, each step careful and precise. "I'm Orochimaru" He grasped his hands together and gave a very deep bow.
"I've heard alot about you, Orochimaru" He bowed in return. "They say you're a genius and a very willing learner. Any truth to the rumours?" He moved down to his eye level. Kids liked that didn't they?
"'Rumours are for enemies and fools, not friends'" He mechanically spouted, almost like a recorded message you hear from a girl's toy. He had spent a great deal of time learning this off by heart.
Tsunade looked on in amazement as the geniuses conversed, silently jealous. "I'm think I'll like this team" he said, the children's face reddening at this. "Where's the last member of our squad? Jira-"
A loud crash penetrated the room as the Hokage whirled around to face the door. Homura and the children's face twisted into expressions of shock and horror. The speeding object struck Sarutobi straight on the chest, knocking the wind out of him a launching him into the air. The world spun and turned as he barrelled through the air, the object still firmly embedded in him. He slammed hard against the window, cracking it and fell to the floor in a heap. Sarutobi lifted his head to inspect his wound, imagining his blood and organs covering the floor. He raised his head to find a mangled pile of limbs and white hair. His brain quickly registered everything that happened in the past few second and he snapped into action. He pushed the attacker off him, and jumped onto the table kunai at the ready. A groan escaped his would-be-assassinators lips.
Orochimaru raised his eyebrows "Oh, Jiraiya's here"
Hope you all liked it
Preview:
Jiraiya leapt ferociously through the trees, launching kunai and shuriken like a madmen. Sarutobi spun around only to be pinned and slammed into a nearby tree. "Thanks for slowing down for me old man. Now if you'll excuse me I'll be taking those bells now..."
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