Hey guys! This is what I was taking about a little chapters ago regarding Kokuro's adventures. He has gotten back to me, and well... this is what he wants me to show you guys! Personally, I'm not sold on this chapter, so we're leaving it up to you guys to decide if you like it or not. I'll have a poll posted on my profile for you guys to vote on this shortly. You can vote OR comment, either will do! I hope you guys enjoy this little spin-off while I'm writing the next chapter! It should hopefully be out for its weekend update! Enjoy!
"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."- Maya Angelou
"There's so much grey to every story- nothing is so black and white."- Lisa Ling
"There is a side of the Moon which we never see, but that hidden half is as potent a factor in causing the ebb and flow of the Earth's tide as the part of the moon which is visible."- Max Heindel
Memories
Sitting alone on the edge of the Village Kokuro took in the light of the moon. He had always felt himself drawn to it. To him it was sign of peace. He waited silently in the shadows of the upper branches of a tree; he was assigned to act as the escort for his friends when they returned.
Kokuro smiled subtly his friends, how did he end up here in this crazy life. He loved it and hated it, but his friends were there for him always. He let his mind drift to how they met and how this all started.
The Hokage gathered the elders and walked to the Uchiha compound with a small boy in tow.
"Now remember Kokuro," lectured Lord Third, "You will be living with the Uchiha clan now."
"But my last name is Otsutsuki, mister Hiruzen," said the young boy.
"You will address him as Lord Third or Lord Hokage child," snipped Koharu.
"Now calm down Koharu, Kokuro is but a young boy, and it is our job to praise and strengthen the future saplings of the leaf."
Koharu nodded and they walked silently and briskly to the Uchiha compound. Kokuro walked on happily, but mildly confused. His life had changed so much after the final graduation exam.
The academy instructor had claimed he saw hints of the Sharingan in the boy's eyes during the final exam. The Hokage and elders dug into Kokuro's family history, finding it torn to pieces and hard to interpret. They had found several documents stating the Otsutsuki clan had the Sharingan as well as two other Doujutsu techniques that they hadn't been able to read. The Hokage decided it was in Kokuro's best interest to move into the Uchiha clan where he could be properly trained. Kokuro remembered when the lord third had told him.
'Kokuro, though your name is that of the Otsutsuki, the elders and I have done some digging. You have displayed use of the sharingan, a technique unique only to Uchiha. In our search we found that your clan is somehow related in ancestry to the Uchiha so, we believe that it is in your best interest to live within the clan.'
Unfortunately they hadn't bothered informing the clan leader, Fugaku.
Fugaku was outside, furious with the village elders and the Hokage. Kokuro crept away from the elders and was exploring the compound. Though he could hear the conversation Fugaku was having with the Elders. He felt confused but put on a strong face. Ninja have to be strong right, besides he is probably nervous about becoming a dad to a stranger.
"You are not throwing an outsider into my clan!" He heard the clan leader exclaimed livid.
"He is not an outsider, Fugaku," the Hokage replied calmly. "We have found record that his clan is able to use the Uchiha clan's Doujutsu."
"Have you seen it for yourselves? Itachi's six and still doesn't show any signs of activating his yet. There's no way this kid could possibly have activated it already." No one would out do his kid.
"We have seen it," the elder woman stated. "When we watched the graduation exam."
Kokuro found a girl sitting in the shrubbery eavesdropping on the elders. Kneeling next to her silently he whispered in her ear, "What are we listening to?"
The dark haired girl jumped and looked back at the young boy. He had short, black hair styled similarly to Shisui's – Itachi's cousin from what he told her. It was clear the boy was starting to grow it out though. He dressed in a mandarin collared shirt and had a red sash tied around his waist.
"What? How did you get back here?" Sintary asked in a hushed voice.
"I walked…. You weren't that hard to find." The boy said and looked her over. "Hey, aren't you Sintary Sacuna?" He took in the girl's dress was simple in design; breathable grey fabric made up the shirt which layered over her mesh training gear, and a durable dark cotton was the skirt. She had bandages wrapping around her legs acting as shorts. Her hair was coal black and hung to her waist and her eyes were an icy blue.
Sintary looked at him for a minute. "Yeah, you're Kokuro Otsutsuki, the one they're talking about, right?"
The boy nodded. "Yeah, Lord Hokage wants me to have some form a family. They said I could be an Uchiha."
Sintary gave him a wayward look. "You can't just 'be an Uchiha.'" She said
"Uhhh, apparently I can," Kokuro said smugly. "You, on the other hand, could never be an Uchiha." He teased.
"Hey! If you can be an Uchiha, so can I!" Sintary exclaimed defensively crossing her arms across her chest.
Kokuro smirked at her. "Oh, yeah, prove it!" He said getting into a battle stance, a simple spar to test her mettle and to get a feel for what it is like to have a sibling.
They two started going at it with basic techniques. Kokuro noticed that Sintary was standing her own, but he clearly had the upper hand. Her moves were accurate, but she lacked the will to finalize many of her punches, she would be a fierce opponent once she found her resolve. He also found himself smiling this girl willingly sparred with him, she wanted to fight. Could she be a friend, is she my friend, friends spar right?
Sintary glared with determination and continued forward.
"Hey!" Itachi called, coming up to the scene. "What is going on here?" He asked looking at the two.
Kokuro immediately wrapped Sintary in a loose, friendly choke hold. "We're just sparing for fun. That's what friends do right?" Kokuro recognized Itachi immediately and smiled. Kokuro thought to himself with surprise, so this is the prodigy child; this is the boy who is going to be my family.
Itachi blinked looking at them. "Sintary, you're friends with Kokuro?"
Sintary looked up at Kokuro's beaming eyes. "Uh, yeah… I guess we are." Sintary said before turning her attention back to Itachi. Kokuro found himself brimming with happiness, he had a friend.
"Kokuro, what are you doing in my yard?" Itachi asked turning his attention back to the other boy.
"I'm moving in!" Kokuro exclaimed happily, he hoped Itachi would be excited like him.
Itachi looked at him. "Excuse me? Who said anything about this?"
"The Hokage. Apparently, I'm part Uchiha." He said not understanding his family history yet.
Itachi narrowed his eyes, thinking. "Look, Lord Hokage is explaining everything to Uchiha-sama. He'll probably explain everything to you." Kokuro said. "Don't dwell on it. Let's just all be friends!"
Kokuro looked on at the older Uchiha, his eyes were dark, but he could see kindness in them. He felt confused by Itachi; he was nice to Sintary, but distant and wary of him, he had kind eyes, but he spoke bluntly and with question. Hopefully the kindness he saw would mean that they would be friends
Kokuro remembered how Sintary had been a lanky child and she looked sad, but after that first conversation they were inseparable. Always together, always training, always confiding their secrets in one another, they were one in the same. As they grew they became more than just friends they became family. Kokuro was there for her when she became sad over the memory of her parents; he held her as she wept. She was there for him when he would come home alone and cry from the stress of the academy.
Both of them had met Itachi at different times, and both of them were won over. Kokuro found a friend and brother among Itachi, and when he fully awakened his sharingan in a spar, he even found a cousin. Sintary found a friend as well, but then she found something more. With much prodding from Kokuro on both sides, he finally got the two of them to open up and admit their feelings. He wanted them both to be happy, his only two friends were his world and seeing them smile, or in Itachi's case, ease his tense demeanor, made him cherish them all that much more. Since that day, the day they became a three-man cell, they had been family, always there for one another.
Kokuro and Itachi often found themselves spending the night out on walks or spars, or all three of them at Sintary's. They had grown to love one another to build bonds of more than friendship, and they all came to call the other two 'Home.'
They were only ten.
Kokuro had originally been excited that they were part of the exams at such a young age, but then doubt hit him. Why did the elders let them in at ten, he had no idea.
Okay, maybe a slight idea.
Itachi was the Uchiha prodigy much to Kokuro's mild frustration. He had mastered several techniques before even entering the Academy at 6. He easily and effortlessly passed every exam that he was given in the academy. He had been valedictorian of his class when he graduated at 7. He had an extremely easy time learning new techniques and jutsu. The quickness of his schooling hadn't surprised him, but he had wished they could have taught him more.
Kokuro knew that he was considered another prodigy. He had been salutatorian of that same class, only one point off from being top score with Itachi. Damn the trick question on his ninja history exam. Considering his roots dug into the Uchiha family, it shouldn't have shocked many people, but so many were still in awe of producing two prodigies for the same class. Kokuro found, though he considered Itachi family, Itachi seemed to treat him more as a rival. Kokuro in response found himself excelling at advanced level ninjutsu and the art of stealth and secrecy. Kokuro also was mildly envied by the Uchiha elders because of his masterful control of a full sharingan.
Sintary had been a different story. Her painfully pacifistic ways had caused her to start to fall behind whereas her friends' ways are what made them succeed.
Itachi had seen the like-minded kunoichi and had done something he hadn't his whole childhood – he befriended her. They had talked about the war and of the attack on the village. She had shared a secret with him: she had a striking affinity for blood jutsu. She had only used it once, but its power had scared her to the point of a breakdown.
The trio trained. The boys worked her day and night to get her to trust her abilities and have confidence in herself. Sintary had trusted everything Itachi said and did, and trusted Ko to be the voice of reason and her rock. It only fueled their bond to grow. In no time, they both could see the potential she had as a strong kunoichi.
The three of them became a reputable squad: the pacifist prodigy, the mysterious orphan, and the bloodied beauty, thought Kokuro. He found it oddly comforting that even though they were so different they cared for each other in some way. To him, this is what it meant to have a family.
The first exam took place early in the morning. The squad had made their way back to the Genin academy and reveled in their old memories of the place. They had marched their way through the throngs of shinobi around them, all the villages were present: Sand, Stone. Rain, Cloud, Mist, Waterfall, Steam, Snow, and even two teams from the mysterious grass village. The shinobi ranged in varying ages, from their own too groups in their late teens. Even their looks varied, some human others grotesque and twisted, riddled with scars.
Kokuro, Sintary, and Itachi eyed the others warily as they took their seats, amongst a row of benches. After twenty minutes of idle chatter, the doors the room slammed open and a looming shinobi in a large leather trench coat marched to the center of the room.
"I am Ibiki Morino, proctor of the first exam maggots now take a seat…Did I fucking stutter? TAKE A SEAT."
Students scrambled and Kokuro's squad froze in anxious anticipation.
"Alright for the first part of this exam you are going to be taking a written exam that consists of ten questions. You need to pass with a minimum of one point, or a maxim of ten. Each question is worth one point, and if I or the other proctors catch you cheating we will deduct two points. So if you've been caught five times you're out. Also then it goes without saying that if you flunk out then the rest of your team does as well, this is a team exercise. So you have one hour beginning…NOW!"
Students set to work and the sound of pencils on paper resounded over the room. Kokuro noticed his teammates at different corners of the room, and they had come to the same realizations as him the questions get harder as they go on, and that to get a perfect score they were going to have to cheat. Time ticked by and proctors had expelled several teams, one of which was expelled by Ibiki himself using force. He had snapped a rebellious genin's arm.
Kokuro knew that the proctors were just a formality; the true meaning of this test wasn't to test their knowledge, but to test their information gathering skills as a shinobi. They wanted them to cheat and get away with it. Kokuro had reached the seventh question before truly getting stumped, there was only twenty minutes left.
Focusing his chakra, he opened his eyes and found who he was looking for. His eyes burned with the sharingan and he copied the wrist movements for the following questions. The first test, the exam, had been a breeze for the three of them, and Kokuro knew that Itachi found it easy, and that Sintary didn't struggle much either. Itachi finished and sat with his test flipped and Kokuro used his wind style to whistle the answers to the last two questions to Sintary. In the end it was a fairly simple task.
Eventually the exam ended and the remaining squads were told to wait until they received their scores. Tension grew rapidly and then each squad was called up one by one until Kokuro's was called up.
Ibiki met them in the adjacent room, "Congratulations you three, I don't know how you did it, but you all receive a perfect score for a grand total of thirty points." The squad exhaled; Kokuro and Sintary cheering, and Itachi let out a small sigh of relief. "The reason we called for the squads is to eliminate more groups. We left some in thinking that they got away with it, but we would expose them here. Now time to proceed to the second phase, if you would, please head to the training ground number forty-four, the Forest of Death."
…
The squad theorized since the first was so easy, the second would be around the same caliber. Much to their surprise they were wrong…very wrong. The exam had been going on for an hour, but they already had to defend themselves from other squads four times. The goal of the exam was to grab the opposite scroll than the one you carried and make it to the center tower in five days.
They were carrying the scroll of 'Heaven', and they needed the scroll of 'Earth.'
They had almost succeeded.
Kokuro remembered the event clearly; it would remain in his mind, burned in it forever. The 'Forest of Death' that was definitely the most appropriate name for that hell hole.
Moving through the trees and brush, Kokuro felt a group of chakras and they halted in the upper branches. They happened upon Kirigakure Genin; they were dressed in warped heavy gear, and were sweating profusely.
"Ko, Sin, these guys would make a good target. They are weighed down by their armour and weapons, and we have the advantage on them in speed," whispered Itachi.
Kokuro nodded and Itachi gave them t signal to disperse. Kokuro took off into the tops of the trees, and gathered his thoughts. "Kirigakure shinobi are proficient at water style so I can't use that, but wind and magnify other styles and act as a shield. Alright let's do this."
Itachi had led the initial assault; he wove the sign of the tiger and rained phoenix fire down on them. Sintary proceeded to use her blood jutsu to enhance Kokuro's chakra flow, so when he cast his wind style it magnified the flames into large swirling, burning, rings. The ninjutsu exploded and ran forward searing one of the mist ninja. They were going to win, or so they thought until several other teams poured out of the trees.
Kokuro kicked himself and cussed under his breath, this group apparently had made a deal to team up to take down Konoha's top team. He was proud that a group of ten year olds made other ninja sweat, but now they were out numbered. Itachi waved his hand and spread his fingers and Kokuro watched as his teammates split off each taking a team. Kokuro settled on using wind enhanced fire to finish off the mist ninja and he did. Then after they were incapacitated he ran off and faced another squad to help his companions
Itachi was running low on chakra after fending off two teams of his own. Sintary was handling her own, but was running out of energy and tricks. Kokuro watched as Itachi lured some of the shinobi into traps, and then felt the sting of an impact on his cheek as he was nocked to the ground disrupting his chakra. An enemy snow ninja used Kokuro's burst as a distraction and charged at Sintary. The enemy Nin tossed her into trees, trapping her under one. Kokuro gave a panicked look to Itachi; they both knew that Sintary was too weak to push the tree off even with her chakra. The enemies swarmed the downed Kunoichi and threatened her, saying if she gave up and made her companions hand over the scroll they might let her live
That had been too much for Kokuro to hear, No one threatens his sister, his family.
Kokuro's blood boiled and he felt a surge of chakra, it felt ancient and powerful. A cold female voice seemed to whisper to him, 'unleash the storm my child."
So he did.
Weaving the sign of the bird Kokuro felt as the air shifted around him. His own body seemed to weave the wind. "Secret Art of Wind: Fujinn's Breath."
The area around Kokuro began to shift as the sky darkened, wind whipped and the trees strained in the gusts. Funnels quickly formed around him creating a cage of cyclones, his body becoming unrecognizable within the tornados.
Kokuro's mind raced, it was full of hate and bloodlust and the world shifted to a hellish stormscape. His enemies feared for their life and immediately fled the vicinity. Some had gotten away. Anyone who had taken to the trees had been caught in the wind storm that gathered with Kokuro's cyclone. When they came out… they had been torn to ribbons. Red mist and the heavy smell of iron filled the air. Lightning ripped through the sky and demolished trees, and the twister raged on slicing and shredding anything that got in their path. The ground became sodden with blood and debris, their world became a hellscape.
The last thing Kokuro remembers is calling out to his squad mates before collapsing to the ground.
They had four and a half days of resting and repair. Kokuro remembers waking up in the middle of the second night. He had been out of it and still weak and aching, but ready to fight for his life.
Kokuro's mind was a blur still under the memory of the ambush, and he moved to leave the bed. Sintary apparently wasn't having it. She had dragged herself out of her bed and over to Kokuro's.
"Don't even try Otsutsuki," and she let herself collapse onto her friend's chest.
Kokuro struggled to lift himself, but he couldn't, not in the state he was in. He did a once over his body and realized that he looked like a mummy, covered in bandages. He collapsed back into bed and let sleep take him, exhausted and unwilling to deal with life. The following days were a blur. They were a mix of resting, training, and the consumption of large quantities of food; the squad had to be careful to have a balanced mix of strain and recuperation.
The fifth day came at last.
The whole time they were… wherever they were, they hadn't seen the teams come in. The Leaf team had been pulled from their room to a round concrete room. They assembled in single file lines by team. There had been only been three teams to pass, only three.
Kokuro shuddered, three out of fourteen original teams; he knew that some of the teams that failed would never be seen again. They were gone and it was his fault. They were dead and it was his fault. Itachi had told him what had happened; he unleashed a storm and created several tornadoes that decimated the area. He had lost control.
The next test would take place in a month, giving each team time to prepare. It would be held tournament style. Kokuro remembered feeling the anxiety of the fight; sure he had been training like crazy but the looming fear of losing control and hearing that voice haunted him to his core.
Itachi warned both of them to keep their deadly jutsu hidden from spectators. Kokuro had a horrible feeling in his stomach, he knew that he needed to show his talent, but he also needed to keep his chakra calm. He was going to ignore Itachi's advice, he knew he was trying to help, but he needed to prove his worth and that he can be in control.
Each member of the squad would be in two fights. It was set up where the Konoha squad members were individually paired against a Suna squad member and whoever won those individual rounds went up against an Iwagakure squad member.
Kokuro watched on as Sintary was in the first match; he hollered for her and cheered, trying to raise her spirits. She was paired against a large Suna shinobi who wielded imposing bladed gloves. He was a large brute that used chakra enhanced taijutsu to over whelm the opponent.
He charged Sintary without mercy and tried to take her out with a single focused punch to the temple. Upon impact Sintary screamed and was sent rolling across the arena field.
Kokuro watched as she stood wobbly, bleeding from her temple. He feared for her, it took all he had not to charge down to the arena himself. That was his teammate, hell that was his sister. He loved her deeply and watching her get beaten to a pulp mad his stomach sick.
The shinobi charged again and Sintary didn't even try to block; she took the uppercut to the stomach and coughed bloody spittle. She was launched into the air, and quickly brought back to earth with a swift kick to her back. Kokuro screamed as Sintary moved to stand again, narrowly missing the proctor's call.
Kokuro screamed in his mind, he wanted her to win, but she wasn't even fighting. What the hell was she doing? This Suna shinobi was just brutalizing her at this point. Why the hell isn't she fighting back? She could take this brute six ways to Sunday if she would just fight.
"Dammit! Just make it easy and quite now, girlie!" Her opponent yelled. "You've gotta be feeling the pain. It's too much for you handle."
Sintary's head rolled against her shoulders, and she looked at him.
"I don't feel any pain." She said. "You will though."
Kokuro watched intently, feeling the chakra gather around Sin. He saw the other shinobi shiver once and that was it. The Suna ninja began to wail on himself, without regard, breaking bone, tearing muscle and finally knocking his jaw in and collapsing to the ground. Sintary was the victor.
Kokuro found himself a mix of emotions; he was relieved, exhausted, happy, and royally pissed all at the same time. He was going to have a nice sit down with Sintary after the exam was over.
Itachi was called into battle but the shinobi he was to face quickly stepped down. His opponent took a deep bow and told him that even though they had a month to heal, he still had small fractures, and he had no intention of making them worse. The dark haired Uchiha nodded, and Kokuro felt a tinge of annoyance that he wouldn't get to see how much Itachi had progressed.
That left Kokuro as the final battle for the first round. The dark haired shinobi waved to his friends and jumped the railing as he jauntily strolled down the wall to the ground of the arena below. He knew he was showboating but, this wasn't just for the exam, the crowd was filled with dignitaries that would be making request for the village with the most impressive shinobi.
Reaching the ground he bowed and faced his opponent. The opponent twitched eerily, radiating bloodlust. He dressed in shrouded garb; long sleeves and pants, and a heavy shroud over his body. His face was obscured by a grinning ogre mask that was bleeding from the mouth. Kokuro knew this wasn't going to be easy.
"Begin," snapped the proctor and he teleported out of the arena.
All hell broke loose, the figure charged and the two began to exchange blows, each one parrying the other. Kokuro lashed out with kick towards his kidneys, but the Suna boy caught his leg and sent him sprawling with a flip. The kid drew out two wicked kunai knives and lunged for Ko. "Time for a weapon combat, Kami this kid is really out for blood," thought Kokuro as he drew out two kunai of his own and flared his Sharingan.
The two clashed and sparks rained across the arena, they were flitting shadows as the dashed, lashing out at the other. The Suna shinobi enhanced his knives with lightning chakra and they cut out at Kokuro catching his sleeve. The young Ko retreated dashing up the side of the arena. Gathering his chakra he willed wind in on kunai, and fire in the other.
"Game on sand," muttered Kokuro and then he dashed after the opponent. He slid to the ground and kicked him in the jaw with a rising kick, sending him into the air. He jumped and used the art of the leaf's shadow to mimic him. "This is it, you're done. Ninja Art: Uchiha Style Halo Dance." Kokuro moved to slash him with the knives, spinning creating multiple rings of wind boosted flame. He spun lifting them higher before smashing him to the ground with a heavenward kick.
The Suna shinobi crashed into the ground immolating and screaming. Kokuro landed deftly to the ground beside him and backed away as the proctor called the match and extinguished his flames.
Matches for the remaining shinobi took place and then they had moved into the final rounds. Sintary's second opponent dropped out. He was one of the shinobi that threatened her during the second exam, apparently now he finally considered her a threat. He bowed and apologized, and then he quickly disappeared to the stands in a puff of smoke.
"Victor, Sintary Sacuna."
The next round was Itachi's. Itachi faced and Iwagakure kunoichi who never touched him. She tried to entrap him but he got the better of her using a clone technique. The kunoichi slashed at the clones as they gathered and Itachi set them off; smirking Art of the Clone Explosion jutsu.
"Victor, Itachi Uchiha."
Finally it was Kokuro's turn. He was the final match in the exams. The sun had long since set and the moon was full and showered the arena in shadow and hazy light. Itachi moved to address his teammate, but Kokuro met his eyes and nodded. He felt his chakra boil and surge; this was going to be one hell of a fight.
Stepping into the arena he met a kunoichi with a wicked grin.
"Hey, good luck Uchiha kid, I am Kurotsuchi, granddaughter of the Tsuchikage, and you're in for the time of your life."
Kokuro nodded and took a bow, "Well I like you better than the last guy, you talk and wished me good luck, so same goes to you."
"Enough chatter," snipped the proctor, "Begin!"
The two clashed and immediately lock kunai, smirking at one another. Kokuro flashed his eyes red, and Kurotsuchi laughed.
"There we go I was waiting for that," she broke away and began to weave signs, "Earth Style: Vast Mobile Core." She slammed her hands down on the ground and the entire arena floor gave and sunk down making a deep pit. "Corrosion Style: Quicklime Jutsu."
Kurotsuchi expelled the gray sludge from her mouth and Kokuro leapt into the air to avoid it. "Damn," he thought, "Even with the sharingan she's not letting me have an opening."
"Hey, you're not getting away. Water Style: Water Trumpet" She blasted water into the quicklime and retreated to the wall flooding the bottom of the arena. "Once you land it's all over!"
"Think again, Fire Style: Burning Majestic Flame." Kokuro made the sign of the horse and expelled a large plume of roaring fire. It burned so bright the arena was lit like day. "I am not done," yelled Ko as he weaved signs ending on the sing of the dog, "Ninja Art: Art of the Cyclone." Cupping his mouth, the dark haired shinobi exhaled and swirling wind engulfed the flame expanding and hardening the quicklime. He landed with a small flip and proceeded to watch Kurotsuchi.
The pair faced off and moved to end the match. Both of them weaving signs and scowled.
"Water Style: Art of the Raging Rapids," yelled the two shinobi in tandem. Water was expelled from their mouth and flooded the exam stage.
Commotion raged in the crowd as the two moved to fought, dancing across the water's surface. People were commenting on the strength of two Genin level shinobi, and how they were conflicted by the bloodlines. The daughter of a Kage, or an Uchiha prodigy.
"Water Style: Art of the Water Dragon," the shinobi yelled as they fought in the flooded arena. The dragon's clashed and tried to vie for control. As the two ninja faced off.
"Sorry Kurotsuchi, I am ending this, Shadow Clone Jutsu."
The clones spread out and raced to the edges of the arena. And Kokuro smirked as he let himself sink to the bottom of the created lake.
"Game over, Combined Ninja Art: Hurricane Vortex." The wind whipped in the arena and the water shifted. Kokuro's clones combined water and wind to make several waterspouts that cornered, and caged Kurotsuchi. They merged and swallowed the poor kunoichi. The original Kokuro willed wind into water and created a small maelstrom, and held it until his lungs felt like they were going to burst. The young shinobi swam to the surface exhausted, gasping for air. His clones were gone and he was nearly out of chakra. Kurotsuchi fell from the faded storm and splashed into the water.
"Victor Kokuro Otsutsuki," The proctor called, and Kokuro swam to the edge of the arena and moved his way to the stair carrying Kurotsuchi in tow.
Once the stadium was repaired and drained they were all ushered down to the center of the arena. Kokuro stood between his squad mates, feeling the pressure of everyone bearing down at them. He could feel Itachi and Sin's mixed emotion: proud and happy, and pissed to all hell about his display of power.
Suddenly, the crowd bursts into cheers and woes. There had been bets won and lost; hearts struck with fear and admiration. The nobility was thoroughly impressed with display that Kokuro's team displayed. He could see Mikoto smiling down at them and even Fugaku looked impressed at them.
"Itachi Uchiha, Sintary Sacuna, and Kokuro Otsutsuki," called the Hokage, "Congratulations, I hereby promote you to Chunin."
The three of them had been promoted to Chunin status. Kokuro jumped for joy. He did it he actually did it, he made it. He looked to his teammates, Sintary smiled feeling relaxed and overjoyed, and Itachi had a light smile on his lips. Itachi came over hand hugged them both and Kokuro froze.
"We did it guys," said Itachi, "Kami bless us, but we did it."
"So we're friends now Ita," quipped Kokuro.
"We have always been friends Ko, we have always been family."
Sintary smiled and laughed as Kokuro cried and hugged them both. He was home.
Kokuro may have not had the Uchiha name personally, but that didn't matter to him he had his family name; he had taken and passed the Chunin exams with records being shattered in his name – well the team name, but that was fine by him.
Rustling pulled Kokuro from his memories, his teammate Itachi had returned soaking wet, and covered in grime and blood. He looked at Itachi with slight worry on his face.
"Hey, Uchiha," he said. "What happened?"
Itachi turned his attention to him, "Later Kokuro. The Hokage will be expecting me."
Itachi turned and vanished to the tower in a shroud of crow feathers.