Genin

This takes place roughly five years after the ending of part 1! Also, yes, I know the title lacks creativity, but blah! I was at odds with what I wanted to call part 2, but I know that I want 3 and 4 to continue under the same title, so this leg in her life retained "A Scarecrow in the Storm" by default. Sorry about this taking so long. For some reason I had terrible writer's block. At the very least it's a sizeable chapter. The next one should be out much quicker. :)

As a side note, I think I'll include the name of one or two of the songs that I listen to while writing every chapter.

At the end of this chapter I finished it while listening to the song "Lil Red Riding Hood" – I stumbled across it while bored and it's admittedly something I normally don't listen to. It's an older song and some of the covers are pleasant.

Chapter Summary: In which Arashi meets her new team and gets man handled. Itachi is ravenously hungry and she's pretty sure they're only friends because he secretly finds her existence to be hilarious.

Genin

To Arashi, becoming a ninja was just another step in life. For as long as she could remember she had been preparing herself for the day that she would don her hitai-ate and look upon her Genin squad for the first time. There was nothing she wanted more than to be a medical ninja skilled enough to mend the wounds of her comrades and guard the lives of anyone who carried the Will of Fire. Countless nights she stared at her ceiling in bed and wondered who her Sensei would be.

What she had not expected was to be thoroughly pissed off when the day finally came.

Aburame Akio sat on a stool to her left, hunched over like a gargoyle. Like most of his clan, he had an aversion to revealing his body. He wore a gray coat that extended down to his knees that also had a hood he kept pulled over his head. Underneath, he wore a shirt – or at least Arashi hoped he was wearing a shirt – and lastly he covered his bottom half with a blue pair of pants. She was almost surprised that he wore standard sandals since they revealed some skin. Now that he was out of the Academy, he wore his hitai-ate on his forehead.

His face was contorted into a disgruntled scowl and despite his sunglasses; she knew he was glaring at her. She had a hunch that he was sending all of the bad vibes he could generate in her direction. The boy had never recovered from her rampage in the playground.

To her left was Kurama Daisuke on an identical stool. He examined his two teammates with a look of disappointment – deep-rooted, resentful disappointment – before he sniffed in distaste and dropped any attempt to veil his disfavor. Ever since she planted the trap that made his paint explode he had been bitter. She never knew a guy would hold a grudge like Daisuke did. In nature, he was flamboyant, but one would not be able to tell from his choice of clothing. His arms were wrapped in bandages, his shirt was blue, and he wore a pair of tan shorts. He chose to tie his hitai-ate around his neck.

Arashi had grown somewhat in height since she was six, but not much else had changed for her. At age eleven she had not expected much, anyway. She wore a purple tank top, brown shorts, a pair of purple gloves, and brown boots that ended under her knees. Her long hair was kept out of her face by her hitai-ate. In response to her situation, she had her arms folded across her chest and her nose was held up in the air.

In front of them was their sensei. He was a tall man with tanned skin, and dark eyes. His face was marred by several scars. He wore a black trench coat, a gray button-up shirt, gloves, and a bandana-like cloth covered the top of his head.

They were in the interrogation ward and had been there for a while. All of the colors were washed out and even though she could sense people moving through the building like a hive, none had come down the hallway they were seated in. He had said nothing, not even his name. All he had done so far was lead them there and then watch them. There was something about the cold, calculating gaze that bothered Arashi and as time passed she realized that the rest of her team was unnerved by it, as well.

She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose – her eyesight was a disappointment in her life – and checked the time. She frowned and regarded the man again. It was quiet in the room and every tick of the clock made her feel tenser.

It was like he was weighing their worth as students by just looking at them.

Arashi glanced to her left at Daisuke, to her right at Akio, and then forward at her sensei again. Daisuke would sit in silence until he was spoken to first, because that was just how he functioned when dealing with someone he did not know. Akio was a guy of few words. Short of his bullying stints, few had ever heard him speak more than necessary. The Jounin in front of them appeared to be content with silence.

Arashi, on the other hand, was not. Out of her entire graduating class, she was the most curious. She had a knack for sticking her nose into anything that interested her. Fortunately, her interests were few. Unfortunately, the tall, dark, and not-so-handsome man in front of her had managed to place himself on her interest list.

The man's black eyes settled on her and she held his stare. It was like he was taking her apart and piecing her back together, gauging her stare against his. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, but she knew if she backed down he would acknowledge it. If that happened, he would see it as a sign of weakness and she would rather bite her own finger off than let his first impression of her be that.

Arashi continued to watch him watch her and she focused on his chakra. She could not always decipher a person's emotions from the flow of their essence, but if she was close enough and she focused hard enough, then she could get impressions from a target. This man was pleased. It was not an overwhelming sensation, nor was it the type of pleased that was good, but the type that was tinged with something darker. Her throat tightened.

She was done with this man's silence.

She swallowed over the lump in her throat before she spoke, "Is there a reason why we're in the interrogation ward? Is this where you're usually active?"

The man exhaled a short laugh through his nose, "It's about time one of you started asking questions."

If it was possible, the three Academy graduates frowned deeper than they were before.

"Fresh out of the Academy, going along with a man that hasn't even mentioned his name like you don't have a care in the world. You think you have what it takes to be ninja?" His voice was deep and cold. "Being a shinobi is not just about knowing dangerous techniques, or being the fastest, or the most proficient in weapons. It's about asking the right questions, getting the right information, and holding onto that information in order to use it to its fullest power."

Arashi uncrossed her arms. Akio's attention shifted from her to their sensei.

"Well, if you want questions," Daisuke's amber eyes narrowed in amusement, "Should we exchange names, hobbies, aspirations, or," he leaned forward, "Are you going to stop playing with us and get this test going?"

A name would be nice, Arashi thought to herself.

"We'll get to my test briefly. I'm a busy man, so I don't plan on dragging this out too long." He replied. "My name is Morino Ibiki. Now, tell me your name, your strength, and your greatest weakness."

The Genin remained quiet.

"Unless you want to go straight back to the Academy now, then you'll start answering." He pointed to Arashi, "You, first."

"My name is Ran Arashi, my strength is ninjutsu, my weakness is, well, uh," she bristled at the last word, "genjutsu."

Ibiki arched an eyebrow. She knew that he had read her file. All of her instructors had tried to push her toward it because of her intelligence and chakra control. Everything should have fit together in theory.

"I'm useless at creating illusions." She explained tensely. "Trust me. I just am."

He crossed his arms and nodded toward Daisuke, "Now, you."

"Kurama Daisuke. I'm a genjutsu type. Been that way my whole life. My weakness? Taijutsu, I guess, but I never planned on being one of those shinobi, honestly."

Ibiki regarded Akio, "Alright. The last one."

"Aburame Akio. My kikaichu and my family's techinques." He shrugged. "My pride."

"Very self-aware of you," Ibiki snorted. "Give me another weakness that isn't a character flaw."

Another flaw? He didn't specify, so wouldn't that count? Why isn't he reciprocating with information, anyway? She resisted the urge to chew on her lip.

Akio opened his mouth, but Arashi interrupted him, "Does he have to? He gave a weakness that could be way worse than lacking aptitude in a field. Why don't you give us one of your weaknesses and we'll give you another of ours?"

Ibiki took several steps toward her and leaned forward until she could feel his breath, "You want to know my weakness?"

"Uh, yes?" she clutched her seat.

He placed his hands on both of her shoulders. Her entire body tensed. She opened her mouth to protest, but before the words left her tongue he pushed her back, stool screeching across the floor, until her back came into contact with the wall. Akio and Daisuke jumped to their feet, but hesitated. From her peripheral vision she could see Daisuke's mouth opening and closing like he could not believe what was happening. Akio, on the other hand, had a smirk on his face that made her want to slap him.

"Others tried to figure out my weakness, as well." He released one of her shoulders and pulled the bandana off his head. "They never found it."

Arashi's stomach twisted itself into a knot. Not only did he have a couple deep scars on his face, but his scalp was a mass of scar tissue. There were holes drilled into his head that never fully healed, as well as burns, and cuts. It was so severe that hair no longer grew anywhere on his head. Her imagination danced around ideas and images of what the tortures must have been like, until it was hard for her to breathe.

Did the burns come first or did they drill into his head as a first priority? Perhaps the burning was a method to cauterize some of the wounds? She was not sure, but she could not look away. All that existed was a dark room, shadows of people she did not know, voices that made her skin crawl, and acts of cruelty that went against everything in her nature.

"Hey! Let Shi-Shi-chan go!" Daisuke's voice was distant to her.

Drill. Cut. Burn. Drill. Cut. Burn. Drill. Cut. Burn.

Shi-shi-chan? She wondered and tried to pull herself away from the trance she was in. He hasn't called me that in years.

"You drop that genjutsu right now!" His amber eyes flashed in anger and he pulled a kunai from a pouch, "You heard me! She only asked a question!"

Daisuke lunged at their sensei. Ibiki's hand flew from her shoulder and covered both her mouth and nose. His other hand caught the boy's wrist and he twisted it behind the Genin's back without releasing Arashi. She started to grab one of her own kunai, but he slammed her head against the wall. It dazed her enough that she dropped the weapon and it clattered uselessly on the floor.

She could not breathe. Dots were forming in her vision and her senses were raging.

A droning buzz filled the air. Ibiki released Arashi, twisted Daisuke's other arm behind his back and turned to use him as a shield. The girl snatched her weapon off the ground and stepped behind Akio. The Aburame was covered in bugs and dozens had taken flight.

The only thing that kept the insects from going after the Jounin was the kunai that was pressed against Daisuke's throat.

Arashi felt the damage done to the back of her head with her right hand and frowned. She was bleeding and there was a sizeable knot, but that was the least of their problems. Their psychotic Sensei had one of them as a hostage.

She struggled to remain calm. Akio was tense, like a rubber-band stretched too thin and it was only a matter of time before he would snap. She had been in stressful situations before, but a person's life really was on the line on those occasions. Her father had taken her under his wing as an apprentice of sorts after Minato and Kushina had died. If working in a hospital and holding a person's life in her hands had taught her anything, it was to not panic. Panic meant failure and failure meant death.

Besides, she thought, He's playing this up, but he's not going to kill any of us. Right?

She released a breath she did not realize she had been holding, "Let him go. Your movement is limited with a hostage and you're facing two opponents." She held her hand out and waved toward the swarm, "And if these get a hold of you, it's trouble. I mean, they might not be the nastiest stuff the Aburame have up their, uhh, sleeves, but they'll suck you dry."

"Make a move and he will die." Ibiki replied and pressed the blade against his neck until a dot of blood appeared.

"No, you won't kill him." Arashi was proud that her voice did not waiver. "You won't kill any of us."

As a show of how unconcerned she was, she focused her chakra to her hand until it glowed green and closed the gash on the back of her head. In reality her heart was drumming against her ribs so hard that it was hard for her to breathe.

"Look, I know you're using our weaknesses against us," Daisuke ground out through his teeth. "But, this test totally sucks. Either fail us or pass us already."

"If you fail then you will probably never become Genin. Making the cut is hard for anyone and I'm a particularly strict man." He replied. "What would you do then with your lives? A little girl who dreamed so long to become a kunoichi that she doesn't know anything else? A boy that direly wants to follow in his deceased father's footprints at any cost? A member of the Aburame clan that just couldn't cut it? If you don't make it today, you're as good as nothing."

Arashi watched a fit of raw emotion flicker across Daisuke's face, but it was quickly replaced by annoyance.

Deceased? She remembered seeing his father walk him to the Academy when they were six. When did he..?

The bugs surrounding Akio began to fly around more erratically as his irritation flared.

"I have a proposition. How much do your aspirations mean to you? Do they mean more than one of the members of your newly formed team?" Ibiki continued.

For the second time that evening, Akio spoke, "What kind of proposition?"

"I'll take two of you as a student and the third I'll send back to the Academy. It's up to the three of you to decide who passes and who fails."

"No way!" Arashi huffed. "We are put into groups of three for a reason. To lose a teammate would defeat the purpose!"

"Well," Ibiki chuckled. "Seems like she's volunteering herself."

Her heart dislodged itself and fell into her stomach. Her chance at being a ninja was now riding on the mercies of two boys that hated her. The memory of tearing Akio's hair out flashed in front of her eyes, just as the sound of Daisuke screaming over his paint echoed in her ears. She would never forget how effeminate it sounded, nor would she forget Kakashi's hand wrapped around her own after the ordeal.

Kakashi. She had not spoken to him in five years. The thought made her sad.

Arashi blinked and disregarded her momentary melancholy. The truth was that she was screwed.

Daisuke exchanged a look with Akio. It was like they were coming to a joint decision in those seconds. Arashi's heart dislodged itself from her stomach and fell to her knee. These guys had no reason to want her on their team – not that they cared for each other, either, but at least they had no old grudges between them – whereas she had went out of her way to snub them. She was going to be a useful medic ninja, feared and loved by all someday, after all. Now it was seemingly up to them whether or not she even was going to make Genin.

The irony made her want to swallow her own tongue.

"Um, nah." Daisuke finally decided. "She might be a spoiled, girly, snobbish twat, but no."

Arashi glared at him.

"Member swaps are up to Hokage-sama." Akio murmured. "I'd take anyone else, but this is what I'm assigned to."

Arashi glared at both of her teammates, "I'm not exactly enthused about being with you guys, either."

"Well," he smirked, "I'm almost surprised to see the three of you sticking up for each other. From the way you were acting I thought you'd happily throw each other to the wolves. Despite your own agendas, you choose to stay together and support each other? Those are values I respect."

Ibiki laughed and an expression of amusement lit up his face. That was something Arashi did not think was possible. He released Daisuke and shoved him toward his teammates. She pulled him behind Akio where she dabbed the blood away from his neck and mended the wound, even though she wanted to let him bleed for a while because of his comments.

"Alright, sit back down." The Jounin ordered.

The three Academy graduates grabbed the stools and sat, but this time they were closer to each other and their general aura of distaste was now directed at the man in front of them. Ibiki returned his bandana to its place and leaned against the wall. An amused smirk was still on his lips as he looked at the disgruntled children.

His eyes settled on Daisuke, "The genjutsu user was the first to attack, but he used a kunai at close range instead of opting for a long ranged attack? All for your Shi-Shi-chan?"

"It wasn't right for you to man handle her." The boy sniffed and looked away.

"Because Arashi's a girl? You know in this world that gender means nothing. Men, women, the old, or the young; none of it matters. We fight, we die."

"Look, I don't give a snot about chicks from different countries. They can take a dive off a cliff for all I care, but I get worked up when I see someone abuse a girl from my village, alright? Am I not supposed to care about these people? I mean, I'm probably gonna die for them."

Ibiki snorted, "Well, then, how about your aspirations."

"I want to serve this place." He shrugged. "Like my parents."

"A patriot, then?" Ibiki's eyes shifted over to Akio, "What about you? What exactly is your aspiration?"

"To make my family proud and to have a purpose, Sensei," Akio replied.

"And you, girl, what is your reason?"

She frowned, "Bu-"

"If you try to bargain with me, I'll knock your head against the wall again."

She leaned back and her fingers tightened around the kunai she had yet to put away, "Uh, err, I want to help people in any way I can."

He went back to watching them. Any and every movement they made was noted. Arashi started to chew on her lip, but stopped when she realized what she was doing. Fidgeting in front of this man was hard to not do. Daisuke's hand twitched – it usually did when he wanted to draw or paint. It was a coping mechanism for him. Akio was once again perched like a gargoyle and seemed impassive.

After what seemed like an eternity, he spoke, "I suppose I'll take you all on, but remember, from this day on you're no longer who you were. You're soldiers now and your lives belong to this hidden village." He walked over to a door and opened it, "Now, I'd like to show you a little of what I do. I'm a very busy man and I'd like you to understand what it is that takes up so much of my time."

"But, wait, what kind of test was that?" Daisuke jumped off his stool. "I mean, you roughed us up a little and asked us a couple questions."

For fear of having her head bashed against a wall, Arashi opted to remain quiet.

"Unlike the other Sensei, I don't need elaborate tests to get inside the heads of children." He explained. "While most take their students to a training ground and have a sparring match with them, I hardly think that is a suitable test. If you weren't physically capable, then you would not have made it out of the Academy. Now, shut up, and come on."

When he stepped inside, the three Genin looked at each other and sneered.

Daisuke's eyes settled on the kunai in Arashi's hand, "Aww! Shi-Shi-chan, it's touching that you were ready to help me out, but that blade doesn't look blunted and we all know that if your mommy hadn't insisted, then you'd have no fingers by now."

She opened her mouth to protest with something along the lines of not being inept, but nothing suitable came to mind. Perhaps it was the stress of dealing with Ibiki, but she felt like she was in a mental fog. She crossed her arms, huffed, and looked away instead.

Akio snickered and followed after their sensei. Arashi wanted to crawl under a rock and die. Her heart fell from her knee and stopped at her ankle. She had passed, but now she was on a team with her two least favorite people.

So. Not. Fair.

When Ibiki dismissed their team, she could not get away fast enough. It turned out that her Sensei was head of the ANBU's interrogation squad, which entailed torture. For the past hour he went through a plethora of tools – things that she wanted nowhere near her body in any way – and referred to them as child's play.

Child's play, she huffed. Such a freak.

A crow flew by her face and landed on a clothes line above her head. She tilted her head back and grinned. It cocked its head to the side and looked down at her. Although many people viewed crows as being a bad omen or as an unclean bird, she liked them. When she thought of them, she always thought of what she read about their family system. They mated for life and often times their offspring would stay around and help rear the next batch of chicks. Crows were intelligent, loyal, misunderstood and she liked them.

Most of all, the sight of one made her think of onigiri and juice.

It ruffled its feathers and cawed at her several times before it took flight and circled her. The street she was on was mostly empty, but the few people that were passing by gave the girl and the bird an odd look. Even though it looked strange, it was not out of the ordinary to see birds of all sorts in Konoha and they were often delivering messages.

"Alright, alright, I get it." She murmured. "I'll follow you. Now go on."

The crow led her to a traditional café and parted paths with her. Near the entrance stood Arashi's oldest friend, watching her with a curve to his lips. He had grown somewhat in height, and his expressive eyes had taken on a more passive set. The tear duct lines beside his nose had deepened and elongated an inch or so, but at the age of ten he was still youthful and appeared far too young to be a chuunin. His black hair was tied back and he was wearing casual attire that many members of the Uchiha clan wore.

Arashi never quite understood their obsession with off the wall collars on their shirts – they looked awful to her – but it made it easier to spot an Uchiha, so she figured that was likely one of the reasons behind it. They were a proud clan, after all.

"Arashi-chan." He greeted.

"Itachi-kun, you never eat dinner at home, do you?"

"The Hokage has gone senile."

Itachi arched an eyebrow and swallowed his food, "He seemed well earlier today."

"Trust me. It's official. He's lost it."

"Oh?"

"He teamed me with Akio and Daisuke." She rested her face in her hands and groaned. "I mean, really!"

"Ahh," he breathed, "I see. The boys you attacked after we met."

"Attacked? Please!" She lifted her head and glowered at him. "Little, manipulative, five year old you totally put me up to it. Besides, they deserved more than what they got."

"Is that so?" His other eyebrow rose next to the other one. "I'm a pacifist."

"Mhm. Be that way, Uchiha-san." She huffed. "I just don't know how this is going to work out. Our teacher in the Academy made sure we never worked together during anything because of how much we hated each other."

Itachi hummed in acknowledgement while chewing on some cabbage.

"To beat it all, our new Sensei bashed my head against the wall and smothered me. I think he passed us just because he liked how miserable we were together."

"In time your squad will find its niche." He replied before taking another bite.

"You're starving aren't you?"

He swallowed the mouthful of rice without chewing, "Sorry. I spent most of today training."

"So," she picked at her own food, "You're going to go through with enrolling with ANBU?"

"Yes."

"Is that what you want to do?"

"It would please my father and it would help strengthen bonds between my clan and Konoha." He replied, matter-of-factly.

"I see." She frowned. "It's what your dad wants."

"I don't mind." He grinned. "You have nothing to worry about."

"As long as you're happy."

They lapsed into silence. Arashi picked at her food, but her appetite was off on an adventure somewhere else. Itachi, on the other hand, was working through his food like he had not eaten in days, but he still managed to seem refined and disciplined as he did so. He seemed much older than his age, even to her. When she looked at him, she saw the next head of the Uchiha clan. She never could keep up with him, no matter how hard she tried. He really was the type of prodigy that only comes around once every generation.

She knew his father spent much of his time grooming him into a shinobi and a future leader. The sheer amount of responsibility that was pushed at the boy made her uncomfortable. Her parents were loving to say the least, sometimes to a fault. Every time she met Fugaku he was stern and distant. It gave her the impression that it was a cold household, but she tried to counter that thought. Mikoto was a warm person, even if she was quiet. That was likely where Itachi got his caring streak from.

She sighed.

Despite everything, her friend was concerned about his clan and Konoha, whereas she was whining about her team. When she compared herself to this boy, she felt very selfish.

No reason I ended up on such a screwed up team. Akio always got whatever he wanted by being a bully, Daisuke would lie and act all charming, and here I am totally selfish and—

"Wait a second!" Her eyes widened and she sat straight up, "We're assigned to Ibiki because the Hokage and our teachers thought we were all selfish, manipulative brats!"

Itachi looked at her over his cup of tea and swallowed.

"We were so bad in the Academy that they put us under someone that tortures people." Her face was pale. "Like, did they think no one else would take us on as students? Or is this their way of getting back at us?"

Itachi put his cup down and laughed to himself, quietly. He turned his face to the side, but she could see one of his eyes still locked on her. He was laughing at her.

"Oh, I get it. Go on. Laugh at me." She huffed. "That's probably the only reason you still talk to me, huh? Entertainment!"

Any annoyance that she might have felt before was ushered out. Even though she had been friends with him for years, out-right laughter from him was something she had only heard a handful of times before. All of those times his laughter was directed at her, as well. It made his signature blaze and in seconds she was back to digging at her food. She was friends with a gentle flame that was very special. There was no doubt in her mind that he would go on to do amazing things in his life. Being near him helped her look at things more logically and that made her happy.

Once Itachi was finished with his meal, he stood, "I've already paid for everything."

"What? Oh, seriously, you shouldn't have."

He reached across the table and flicked her nose.

She jerked back and covered the stinging area, "I hate it when you do that!"

"Congratulations on becoming a Genin, Arashi-chan." He smiled.

"Thanks." She rubbed her nose. "For the food and everything, too."

"You should go home and let your family know. They'll be happy for you and I'm sure they want to know how everything went."

"Yeah," she winked at him, "And I'm sure Sasuke wants to badger you about playing and training, huh?"

"He's a good little brother."

With that, he left.

Well, tomorrow I go on my first mission. Crazy.

Alright, that's chapter one. Thanks for reading! If you have any thoughts, opinions, suggestions, or criticisms be sure to share them in a review. I love all forms of input!

Next chapter will be her first mission and an encounter with young Naruto. :)