Sasuke Story, Age 12, Section 1: Beginning & Land of Waves Arc
Hey, everyone! I hope you liked the Age 10 section, and I hope my faithful readers from Quizilla have been able to find me! I noticed last time, after I'd already posted, that I hadn't put up a disclaimer! D: I never put them up on Quizilla; my disclaimers were in my journal. I don't see the point of them, because this is OBVIOUSLY a fanfiction (hence, I'm on ...), I suppose they're necessary. So, here's mine: I don't own Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura (thank God), or any of the other characters! That right belongs to Kishimoto-san! However, I DO own Sohma Tami and her awesome kekkei-genkai (and bad assness). I also own whatever bits of the plotline I made up! I think that's acceptable.
Also, before you get to reading, Tami has changed a great deal since Age 10; she swears, for instance. A LOT. Also, if there's anything that looks like this 'insert dialogue, blah blah...' that's her telepathy. Just so you aren't confused, though I think I made that bit quite obvious...Anywho, thanks for reading! Enjoy!
Chapter 1
It's been two years since that night. My control over my powers has returned to normal, though now I am subjected to the thoughts of others with a single touch. It sure irritates the hell out of my brothers, but hey, they constantly annoy the hell out of me. It's just us now; my uncle comes to check on us every now and then, but that's it. Not that he needs to; I've taken control of the household – ruling it with an iron fist, mind you – and none of my brothers have dared to challenge me.
I wake to the sound of rough thuds and yelling. My brothers are at it again. I growl and swing my legs off my bed, stretching before walking over to my bedroom door. Upon yanking it open, I see my brothers in Bo's room, across the hall and one door down, beating each other up.
"Shut the hell up!" I snap loudly and they fall silent. "It's seven in the morning! What the hell is wrong with you?" They slowly distance themselves.
"Oh shut up, Tami," Fushen mutters and I fixate him with a rather hard glower. He shuts his mouth and I feel tremors of fear shoot up his spine. I turn on my heel and walk back into my room, shutting the door behind me. I lean against the wood and it suddenly strikes me that today is my first day as a genin. I sigh and run my fingers through my hair. Something tells me today is going to be BAD. Well, worse than usual, at any rate. I dress and carefully pick up my headband. Iruka-Sensei's visit flashes through my head as I look down at the shiny metal.
A knock on the door pulled me out of my reading and I hurried to answer it. Upon opening the door, I find it's a man, no older than twenty-five, with chocolate brown hair pulled back in a taut ponytail. He had a scar running along the bridge of his nose and he couldn't be higher than Chunin rank, I decided. He smiled at me warmly.
"Hello. You must be Tami-chan."
"Um…yeah. Can I help you?" I asked.
"Lord Hokage sent me to see you today. Would you like to come with me, or may I come inside?" I step out onto the porch, shutting the door behind me.
"Let's go somewhere else. My brothers are pissing me off." He nods and begins to lead me away. We walk into town and he begins to speak.
"How much do you know about the ninja academy, Tami-chan?" he asks. The –chan suffix is beginning to irritate me, but I answer,
"Just about nothing." He chuckles.
"I didn't think you would. Well, the academy is where we teach and train young boys and girls like yourself the ways of the shinobi. Quite recently, we had our graduation test, and I am very proud to say that ALL of our students passed this year."
"Have they not before?" I ask coolly, amused.
"No, we've had one student fail the test twice before, and he failed this year, but he proved himself in a most…unusual way…"
"Wait, is he the one that stole the scroll? And beat that chunin bastard Mizuki?" I ask. My brothers had talked about it earlier this week.
"Yes, he's the one."
"Well, what does all this have to do with me?" I ask.
"All of our graduates are your age, Tami-chan. Lord Hokage wants me to administer the test to you today so you can join your peers as genin."
"Alright, what does the test entail?" I ask. "My father…" I stop. Ever since I'd…well…ever since that night, I haven't talked about him. It was something I preferred not thinking about. I feel a twinge of sympathy from him and stop in my tracks, looking up at him. "Don't get me wrong, Iruka-Sensei. I hated my father, and I'm glad he's gone. I just don't like thinking about the fact that I did it." He doesn't respond at first, but finally nods. "And because of…that…my lessons were cut a little short. I just want to make sure I'm capable of doing what you request of me."
"Did he teach you how to create shadow clones?"
"Yes."
"You have to create three replicas. Now you don't have to do it right now; I want you to feel comfortable. No pressure." He faces ahead and I smirk. Cake-walk. I perform the proper handseal behind my back and substitute myself out with one of them, taking to the roofs instead and following a safe distance behind. Iruka walks peacefully alongside the clone and I stealthily follow them to the school. Once in the classroom, he turns to "me". "Okay, whenever you're ready." "I" smirk and vanish with a small 'poof'. "I" then open the classroom door and he says, "Ah, there you-" Another poof and it's gone. "I" tap Iruka on the shoulder and he spins around, only for my third clone to vanish. He turns back around and there I sit, the true me, in a seat in the front row, my feet propped up on the desk. I give him a cool smile.
"Well, that was fun. Now what?" He picks up a Konoha-Gakure shinobi headband and holds it towards me, grinning in amusement.
"You're now a genin. You'll be assigned to a Jonin instructor and be in a group of three. Well, four now, I suppose." I stand and walk over to him, taking it and staring at my reflection in the metal.
"Interesting. My instructor?" He picks up a clipboard and looks it over, thinking.
"I think I'll put you with Hatake Kakashi. He's tough, and the squad assigned to him is probably our most…diverse."
"Very well."
"All the graduates will be here tomorrow afternoon to meet their new teachers. Kakashi is a tall man with spiky silver hair. Most of his face is concealed by both his headband and a mask. Just between us…you can probably show up a little late. Kakashi isn't the type for punctuality, unless it's mandatory." I roll my eyes. Great. A lazy teacher.
"Thanks for the tip, Iruka-Sensei. And thank you for administering the test to me." I bow and walk out.
So here I sit, perched on a branch in a tree outside the academy. Most, if not all, of the students have left with their senseis, so I imagine Kakashi will be arriving shortly. I jump down and go inside. The halls are completely empty and I carefully make my way towards the classroom I'd been in the day before. Okay, a left…then a right…one, two, three…
As I walk closer to the right door, I hear two voices arguing. The first voice I hear is female, and it's whiney and overall painful to listen to.
"Cut it out, Naruto!"
"Why are we the only cell whose teacher hasn't shown up yet?" another voice demands. This one's also whiney, but it's male. "All the other teams have already gone off with their teachers. Even Iruka-Sensei has gone!" A short silence, then,
"Hey! What are you up to, Naruto?"
"Heh-heh-heh-heh! It's what he gets for making us wait!"
"Grow up! I want no part of it!" I reach the door and spot a blackboard eraser wedged between the door and the wall. Elementary. I slide the door open and catch the eraser neatly on my palm. Smirking, I say,
"Personally, I'd have used tripwire, but to each his own, I suppose." I replace the trap and turn to them. The first person I focus on is the blonde in the horribly conspicuous orange jumpsuit – Uzumaki Naruto. The boy who'd so graciously run me down in the street two years ago while I was on my way to the Uchiha compound for the first time.
Speaking of Uchihas, the last one in Konoha is sitting at a desk five feet to my left. He has a look of enraged horror on his face. Jeez, talk about holding a grudge. A bullshit grudge, at that.
"Ahem." I turn to look at my final –
"What the hell is wrong with your hair?" I blurt, staring at her head in disgust. It's pink. Bright, eye-searing PINK.
"Nothing," she says, pulling at a lock of it self-consciously.
"I'll say there is. It's pink."
"It's my natural color, and I think it's lovely," she says defensively.
"I beg to differ."
"Why are you here, anyway? Only graduates are supposed to show up today," she says.
"Uh, what the hell does THIS look like?" I ask, pointing at my headband.
"But I've never seen you at the academy before," she says.
"My, and THAT certainly is the deciding factor for who gets to be a genin, isn't it?" I ask, smirking. She gives me a nasty look, irritated.
"I've met you before!" the blonde suddenly yells, pointing at me.
"Uh…yeah," I say, turning my smirk to him. Had he really JUST noticed?
"Uhhh…what's your name again?" I feign a hurt expression.
"You don't remember me? Well, I suppose you can't remember every person you run down in the middle of the road…Naruto."
"Hey, you remembered me!" he says, looking pleased. I shrug.
"Wasn't hard." Before we can continue our conversation, the door slides open and a head spiked with silver pokes in, only to be with the eraser.
"Hahaha! Gotcha! Good one!" Naruto laughs, pointing at him.
"I'm sorry, Sensei. I tried to stop him, but Naruto…" I scoff, rolling my eyes at her faked innocence. God, she's such a kiss-ass. She glares at me. "What?"
"Oh yes, you tried SO hard to stop him. You poor girl, overpowered by a prankster. God forbid you break a NAIL." Her contempt for me is rising quickly and this makes me grin. My, this is FAR more entertaining than bossing my brothers around.
"Hmmm…how shall I put this?" our sensei starts brightly. "Based on my first impression, I'd have to say…I hate you!" My three teammates feel a drop in mood, but I just keep grinning and say,
"Aw, sensei, I think I'm going to CRY if you keep that up!" My tone is laced with sarcasm and he looks at me with the one eye he has revealed.
"Ah, you must be the new girl Iruka told me about. The one with the amusing and highly impressive graduating display."
"What gave me away?" I ask innocently.
"Have more respect; he's our teacher!" the girl hisses.
"Shut it, Pinkie, I'm not taking orders from you," I reply cheerfully. This shuts her up.
"Well, let's not dawdle, shall we? Come on, you four." We follow him out and to a roof. "Now, I'd like you all to tell us a little about yourselves."
"Like what?" Naruto asks.
"Yeah, do you mean things like fighting strengths?" I ask.
"No…you know. The usual. Your favorite thing…what you hate the most…dreams, ambitions, hobbies, things like that." I gape at him.
"Is that REALLY necessary, Sensei? I already know as much about my teammates as I care to know, and I certainly don't plan to get all buddy-buddy with any of them. It'd be much more productive for us to share what we're best at and where our weaknesses lie. Anything personal I want to know about my teammates, I'll just…" I eye them and smirk slyly. "…Pick up."
"How can you already know us? We just met," the pink-haired girl sneers.
"For your information, you snobby bitch, I met both of them-" I point at the boys. "-Two years ago, and know enough about them to make our team function. Now cut the attitude or I'll kick your sorry ass off this roof and laugh when they scrape you off the concrete like a pancake." She gives me a wide-eyed stare and I settle back against the stairs, having sat forward while I spoke.
"Language," Kakashi scolds lightly, though is amused by my little rant. "And yes, this is necessary."
"Help us out here, Coach. You go first. Show us how it's done," Naruto insists, not grasping the whole 'introduction' thing.
"That's right…You're a complete stranger to us…a mystery," the girl pipes up and I roll my eyes.
"Oh…me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm the kind of person who doesn't like talking about his likes and dislikes. My dreams for the future are none of your business…But anyway, I have lots of hobbies…" I stifle laughter and say,
"Boy, Sensei, you really shouldn't talk so much. Honestly, we don't need to know your life story." Again amused by my humor, he remains silent but I can see his lips curved in a smile under his mask.
"Now it's your turn. Starting with you, on the right."
"Me, right? My name is Uzumaki Naruto! What I like is instant cup ramen! What I like even better is when Iruka-Sensei treats me to the ramen at Ichiraku Noodle Bar! What I hate is the three minute wait after I pour in the boiling water. My dream is to one day become a better shinobi than Lord Hokage! And then all the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence at last!" I chuckle a bit and say,
"With a mouth like yours, Naruto, it's hard NOT to acknowledge your existence, believe me." He blushes a bit, but grins.
"Next!" Kakashi says. Oh boy – Uchiha's turn.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are plenty of things I hate, but I don't see that it matters, considering there is almost nothing I like. It seems pointless to talk about "dreams"…that's just a word…But what I do have is determination. I plan to restore my clan, and there's someone I have sworn…to kill." There are several reactions to this; Naruto's freaked out, Sakura's in awe, and Kakashi seems to have expected this. I merely roll my eyes again. Figures.
"Alright…the young lady with the pink hair…"
"I am Haruno Sakura. My favorite thing is…well, it's not a thing, it's a person…A boy…and that boy is…Uh, let's move on to my dream…" She blushes furiously, squirming in place and the whole time her eyes have been on Sasuke. I can't help it – I start laughing. Not just laughing; laughing hysterically. I laugh so hard I fall over, lying upside-down on the staircase. She whips around. "WHAT?" she snaps.
"Y-you are SO good at making an ASS of yourself, you know that? And I thought my brothers were dumb! Man, they can't even compare to your level of complete stupidity!" She flushes once more, this time in anger, and continues,
"I hate Naruto and THAT girl!" Naruto has a meltdown, but I merrily flip her off.
"Hate you too!"
"Okay, since you're so talkative, why don't you take your turn?" Kakashi-Sensei says, staring down at me. I sit upright and say,
"Fair enough. My name's Sohma Tami. My hobbies involve tormenting my brothers, training, and laughing at the fucked up things people think. I hate Sakura, my brothers, Sakura, the color pink, Sakura, and people who hold grudges for bullshit reasons." I feel eyes on me and turn to Sasuke. He's glaring daggers at me and I respond with a sneer. "Not a whole lot I particularly like – life is life. Naruto's alright so far, I guess, but other than that nothing comes to mind. I suppose my primary ambition is to master my kekkei-genkai and take over my family. Dreams? Well, I DID have this crazy dream once about being chased down by this huge talking raccoon, but I don't think it counts." My teammates stare at me like I'm insane and I simply shrug. "He asked."
"What do you mean by you enjoy laughing at the things people think?" Sakura asks. "How can you know what they're thinking?"
"Because I can read minds," I answer.
"That's impossible," she asserts. I arch an eyebrow at her.
"Fine, skeptic, give me your hand." She hesitates, then holds it toward me. I take it and images flood my mind as I probe her memories. I grin. "Aw, somebody a little sensitive about their oversized forehead?" She blushes, scowling. Another memory and I laugh. "Are you serious? You got into a fight with your best friend over THIS ass?" I ask, pointing at Sasuke. He throws me a dirty look, but I ignore it.
"H-how do you know Ino and I fought?" she asks.
"I – read – your – mind," I say, speaking very slowly. "I'm not making this up. My family's kekkei-genkai is psychic abilities." She gapes at me, looking impressed, and Naruto shouts,
"Wow! That is so cool! Can you read my mind?"
"Not sure there's much to be read, but I could if I wanted," I reply. He doesn't even catch my insult of his intelligence.
"Well, I'm sure we will all have a chance to experience Tami-chan's powers some other time. We have other business to attend to. I believe we all understand one another. Formal training begins tomorrow."
"Yes Sir! Our first real shinobi mission! What will our duties be?" Naruto asks, snapping to a salute.
"Our first project involves only the members of this cell."
"What? What is it?" Naruto demands, excited nearly to the point of bursting.
"Hurry up, Sensei, Naruto's going to explode if you drag on the suspense," I say sarcastically, grinning at the blonde.
"Survival exercises."
"Survival exercises?" Naruto repeats.
"Our school days were full of survival training!" Sakura objects.
"But you'll have to survive…against me. It won't be your typical practice."
"Well then, what kind of practice will it be?" Naruto asks. I stare at our sensei carefully. His mood had gone from aloof to serious in a heartbeat; he has something up his sleeve. In fact, he chuckles.
"What are you laughing about, Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura asks.
"Oh nothing, it's just that…if I told you, you'd chicken out," he answers lightly.
"Chicken out…? Why?" Naruto asks, his prior excitement wearing off.
"Of the twenty-eight members of your graduating class, only nine will actually be accepted as rookie genin. The other nineteen will go back for more training. The test we are about to perform has a 66% rate of failure." My teammates' jaws drop, but I simply arch my eyebrow. 66%, huh? "Hahaha! See? You're chickening out already!"
"That SUCKS! We have been through Hell! What about our graduation test?" Naruto fumes, stomping his feet.
"Oh! We wanted to eliminate all the hopeless cases from your ranks. The ones who are left are the only students who show true potential," Kakashi explains and I nod. That makes sense.
"SAY WHAT?" Naruto roars.
"In any event," Kakashi continues, "we'll meet tomorrow morning on the practice field so that I can evaluate each of your skills and weaknesses. Bring all of your shinobi tools and weapons. And don't have breakfast before-hand…unless you enjoy throwing up." Each of my teammates feel their stomachs lurch slightly at the thought. "The details of your assignment are in this handout. Memorize it…and don't be late!" He hands us each a set of papers, and as he gets to me I make sure our skin touches. I get a glance into his mind and quickly find the information I'm looking for. He doesn't notice, or at least appears not to, and says, "That's it. Unless you have any further questions-"
"I do, actually," I interrupt, raising my hand slightly.
"Yes?" he asks.
"You said that only nine graduates will go on to be rookie genin. Does that mean that one of us, regardless of whether or not we pass as a team, will go back?" The three others feel chills run down their spines. It hadn't occurred to them that one of us would inevitably fail.
"No. I have received special permission to pass all four of you, should you deserve it. So, if this cell passes, we'll have ten genin instead of nine."
"Alright. Thank you, Sensei. Are we good to go?" I ask, getting to my feet. He nods and we start off. I make a quick handseal and using what remains of his mental signature in my mind, I turn to him. I make sure to have very strong eye contact and say, "See you tomorrow, Sensei." He nods, again not noticing that my plans for success are already in motion.
