"Congrats! You all have proved yourselves worthy, and have showed your bravery, intellect, and courage. I now pronounce you all, Jonin." Cheers went up as the villagers applaud at the teams before them. All wore the basic jonin outfit. I stood next to my brother Sasuke, a grin from ear to ear. I made it. I finally made it.
"You should give up now." The words stung in my ears. "You are too unpredictable with that cursemark." Tsunade looked up. Tears were pushing themselves through as the initial shock went through. Tsunade didn't want to say these words any more than I wanted to hear them. "You'll be a danger to your teammates and this village. If you want to, continue at this rank. You may make it to chunnin but I can not see you getting farther than that."
Well, here I was. Standing with the rest of my classmates from the academy. Tsunade and Jiraiya stood below, with the elders. The other jonin and chunnin stood behind them. I made eye contact with the two sannin, whose eyes shone with pride. Both trained me in various techniques. I looked passed them to Kakashi, who had a grin almost as large as mine. Tears threatened to run down, and I wiped them away. I never thought this day would come, yet here I was. The cursemark on my shoulder no longer a problem.
"You're wasting your time with her." Orochimaru stood next to a pillar. Sasuke and I unconscious from the stress of the sealing jutsu. "That cursemark will kill her. No seal will hold." Kakashi stared at Orochimaru. He shook his head. Orochimaru chuckled. "Ignore the fact all you want, she will die." He looked down at my weakened body. 'It's a wonder she made it this long...' he thought.
Us newly made jonin made our way down as our names were called. We stood in a line, letting villagers welcome us. I kept my huge smile, greeting each and every one that came by me.
When the welcoming line disparted, I walked up to Tsunade and Jiraiya. They had adopted me over the years along with their other disciples. I gave a huge hug to Tsunade. "I'm so proud of you." She hugged back, just as tight. Jiraiya put a hand on my shoulder and I turned to him next, laughing as he half picked me up in a hug.
"I couldn't have done it without you guys." I trailed off, one sannin was missing. Orochimaru was never going to be allowed in the village but yet somehow, he ended up adopting me also. He more so did only because I was a special case of a failed experiment. Either way, he helped train me also. Tsunade picked up on my reminiscence and smiled.
"We have a surprise for you. Special circumstances." I blinked, confused. "Meet us up on the hokage's in a hour." They both walked away, going to talk to other new jonin. I turned around running right into Kakashi.
"Oof! Oh, Hi sensei!" I said. He chuckled, rubbing my hair out of place. I pouted, moving it back.
"We are on first name terms now. No more sensei." His voice was almost sad. It lit up again when Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura came up behind him. They talked and I listened. Naruto's grin never stopped, and even my revenge filled brother was smiling. Sakura looked so much more sophisticated than when we first met.
About an hour later, I made my way to the top of the Hokage's. Although it wasn't a pain anymore, when Orochimaru was near, it would burn. Once I was in his presence it stopped. So, of course, as I walked up and it started burning, a mix of fear and excitement went through me. I ran up to the top, my mouth agape as I spotted the legendary snake sannin stood with Tsunade and Jiraiya, and Kabuto behind him. Tsunade turned at the noise of me running and smiled at me. "See, Special circumstances."
"You have got to be kidding." I walked up to them. I bowed slightly to Orochimaru. "Otou-san." I had developed a fatherly view with him, which lead to the formal Otou-san. Only when he was in a good mood, of course. He smiled faintly at me.
"Congrats on the rank up, child." I looked up and smiled.
"Thank you." I said.
"Kai!" Kabuto hugged me. I giggled and hugged back. Orochimaru looked away, pretending he didn't see. I looked around at the sannin surrounding me. While this was the first time they had met in a long time, the tension was slim. My grin stretched, more than I ever thought it could.
That night, I laid in bed. Sasuke's small snores sounded from the other side of our open roomed house. I replayed the days events in my head.
"Kai." I looked up, just a bit terrified on why I was called to Tsunade's office. "You have proven yourself over the last few days. These words I never thought would be said to you. I am letting you become a jonin." When those words hit me I didn't know how to feel. Suddenly I let out a squeal as Tsunade's smile widened. She laughed as I jumped up and down in joy.
I guess over the years, I have adopted Naruto's motto of "Never giving up". As much as I hate to admit it. I let out a small laugh, as I realized where I was. My goal has been achieved and let me tell you, I never gave up. Things got hard, really hard, but I never gave up. I rolled over, closing my eyes. Sasuke continued to snore. I fell asleep, listening to him. I had acomplished more then becoming a jonin. My brother was still here, Itachi had finally spoken the truth to us. While he was no longer here ( he died of health issues), we learned something from him. I looked out my window.
I hope, wherever you are, you are proud.