Naruto: The Death Flash
AN/ Hello, and welcome to the first chapter of Naruto: The Death Flash. In this chapter we'll see Naruto get assigned to and meet his team. And let's just say, they're a bit of an oddball group.
Well, not much else to say for now.
Now, on with the chapter!
Normal speech: "what"
Extremely loud group/single person shouting: "WHAT!"
Thoughts/Speech taken out of context: 'what'
Letter/Book/Written text: 'What'
Demon/Summon speech: "what"
Demon/Summon thoughts: 'what'
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, that honor belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
Arc I: The Formation
Chapter 1: Assignments, a New Team is Formed!
— ₪ NTDF ₪ —
Room 3A was a room just like any other you would find in the academy. From the wooden benches and desks that made up its tiered rows, worn from years of use, to the teacher's podium at the front, where the instructor would lecture students from. Even the bank of windows along the wall was normal. Yes, it was a truly unremarkable room. And yet, as he entered classroom 3A that day, and took a whiff of the familiar scent of paper and metal that permeated the air, Naruto couldn't help but feel that the room was completely unique.
Not even a week had gone by since he'd graduated at the top of his class, and now he was entering this room for potentially the last time.
There was a certain sense of melancholy about it. He had many fond memories of this room, and his time in the academy. From lunches spent with his best friend Shikako, to lazy spring days when the sun drifting through the window and warm the air, causing him to get sleepy.
Though there wasn't much time to waste reminiscing. His alarm didn't go off, and he knew he was late, though hopefully not by too much. He quickly began looking for a seat in the already crowded classroom.
Naruto was a boy with angular facial features, and shaggy blond hair. In the years since the accident that had changed his life, he'd also grown to be tall, towering over most of his classmates. From an outside perspective, his clothing was odd. The plain black shinobi pants and old fashioned shinobi sandals was normal enough, but his wide-open blue kimono top was considered odd for a ninja, since it didn't offer much protection by exposing most of his chest and stomach. Not that he cared, he had learned long ago that it was easier to simply shrug out of the kimono shirt than have to buy new ones all the time.
"Naruto, up here." A lazy and familiar voice called out. Naruto looked up excitedly, and caught sight of a girl sitting at one of the desks in the middle row. She had dark eyes, and black hair that was pulled into a spiky ponytail.
He didn't waste any time bounding up the steps and taking a seat next to her. "Morning Shikako, how's it going?" He asked. Shikako shrugged.
"Not much, just waiting for Iruka-sensei's speech to start, we've actually been waiting on you," She replied, motioning to their teacher, who was looking at him in annoyance.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Hehe, sorry, about that, feel free to start at any time."
Iruka's lip twitched slightly in amusement. "Yes, well, thanks for your endorsement." The man cleared his throat, and began to speak to the entire class. "Now that everyone is here, we can begin,
"First of all, I want to congratulate you all on graduating," Said Iruka. Iruka was an average but kind man. His skin was deeply tan and he had a scar across the bridge of his nose with brown hair pulled up into a spiky ponytail. He wore the traditional Hidden Leaf uniform; a long-sleeved black shirt and matching pants with a green flak-jacket. "You've all worked hard to hone your skills, but your journey has just begun. Right now you're just Genin, low level ninja. To help you expand your skills and further your training, we'll be dividing you into teams of three, and assigning a Jonin to guide you in your training moving forward."
A restless murmur of surprised exclamations filled the hair. It was almost like a group of snakes hissing all at once. Beside him, Shikako shifted in annoyance. "Tch, I don't get what the big deal is,"
Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's words. Shikako was his oldest friend. They had met when they were ten, when she had come across him training. She was a laidback girl, and she liked it when things were calm. That was why she always got annoyed when people made more problems than were necessary.
"Seriously, don't tell me any of them thought that they'd let ninja fresh out of the Academy take any kind of missions alone?" She said.
He shrugged in response. "I don't know, I can think of at least a few people who would probably prefer to work on their own," He said, motioning over to where Sasuke Uchiha was sitting; his signature scowl in place. He was a withdrawn person with dark hair and eyes, and he wore a blue shirt with his clan's crest on the back.
Naruto's relationship with Sasuke was weird. For as long as he could remember they'd been competing for the spot top in their class. That combined with the fact their clans had been rivals for centuries made things pretty tense at times. Despite the fact they didn't hate each other, they were more acquaintances than friends.
Shikako giggled slightly. "I guess you have a point."
It was rather obvious that Iruka had done this before, because he paid the interruptions no mind and continued with his announcement. From the podium, he picked up a clipboard.
"We've structured the teams so they would have a balance of talents and ability. Now, I'll announce the squads, starting with Team 1 . . ."
To Naruto, it seemed like it took forever for his name to be called. He listened as names were called one by one and new teams formed. Sasuke ended up being put on a team with Sakura Haruno and a boy named Shin. Sakura was a smart girl with vivid pink hair the color of the petals of the flower she was named for. Although highly intelligent, her physical skills weren't so good. Shin, meanwhile, was a bit of an enigma. He was a pleasant boy who was easy to get along with, but his white hair as well as the fact he was older than most tended to make him a bit of an outcast. From what Naruto understood he had been sick as a child and ended up being held back a couple years.
Despite his annoyance at the fact it was taking so long for his name to be called, he took comfort in the fact that with each team that was announced that didn't include him or Shikako, the chances of them being on the same team increased.
". . . Team 10 will include Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikako Nara. Your Jonin-sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi."
Naruto's stomach dropped a bit when he found out he and Shikako wouldn't be on the same team. Since they were both ninja now, their schedules would be getting tighter. He was so used to hanging out with her, that it would be a tough thing to get used to. There wasn't much time to ponder it, though.
"Next, Team 11. Naruto Uzumaki-Senju, Yakumo Kurama, and Sai, with Anko Mitarashi as your Jonin-sensei."
Yakumo, and Sai? Naruto tried to wrap his mind around his new team. He had never heard of his sensei, but his teammates were familiar enough. Idly, he began to look for them in the crowd. His eyes first landed on Yakumo. She was willowy girl with long brown hair and very pale skin, almost luminescent in the light. He didn't know much about her besides the fact that she didn't talk much and generally seemed rather cold.
Perhaps the only person in the class that was a bigger enigma was his other teammate, Sai. Sai was sitting with his brother Shin in the upper right corner of the room. If Yakumo's skin was pale, Sai's was neon-pale. It was actually translucent, and contrasted starkly with his straight black hair and dark eyes. The strangest thing about Sai was the fact that he always wore an odd smile that was rather creepy due to the fact it was so obviously fake.
Naruto was jolted out of his musing when Shikako tapped him on the shoulder. She was giving him an annoyed look. It was clearly not her first attempt to get his attention. "Huh?"
Shikako huffed in annoyance.
"I said, Choji and Ino are calling me over, I'm going to go see what they want," She told him. "Maybe afterwards we can go get lunch."
Naruto nodded absently. Shikako huffed again, and got up to join a chubby boy with bushy hair in a yellow t-shirt and green jacket, and a pretty girl with long platinum and a matching purple crop-top tank top and skirt.
That was Choji and Ino, two of their other friends. If anyone had to be on Shikako's team besides himself, Naruto was glad it was them. As the heirs to the Akimichi and Yamanaka Clan's, they had known Shikako even longer than him. While Choji was kind and loyal to a fault, Ino was sort of like the yin to Shikako's yang with her bubbly and girly personality. He wasn't sure what they talked about, but whatever it was made Shikako frown. After a few minutes she came back up and gave him an apologetic look.
"Sorry, but it looks like I'm going to have to take a rain check on that lunch. Choji and Ino want to eat as a team," She apologized.
Naruto hid his disappointment, and instead smiled brightly. "Ah, that's no big deal, I understand." He replied.
Shikako hesitantly returned his smile. She stood there awkwardly for a second. "Alright, if you're sure then, I guess I'll go," She said. Though she quickly added on to it. "Maybe we can meet for dinner tonight, what d'you say?" She suggested.
This time his smile wasn't quite so forced.
"Sounds great, I guess I'll see you at the usual place at six." He replied.
Shikako nodded, and hurried off to join Ino and Choji where they were waiting for her by the door. As soon as she left Naruto let loose a sigh. Well, guess it's a good thing I brought lunch today.
He considered trying to find his teammates to get lunch, but ultimately discarded the idea and simply headed up to the roof. There was plenty of time to get to know his teammates.
— ₪ NTDF ₪ —
His lunch wasn't a fancy affair. A steak, with some greens, as well as some milk to provide calcium since he burned through it so fast with his bloodline. He chose to eat on the roof of the Academy since it provided him with a great view of the Hokage Monument. It was nice and quiet, and provided him a place to think without getting interrupted. As the top student in class he had a lot of people trying to hang out with him, and sometimes it was all too much. It was times like that he would come up here to think.
Right now he was thinking about his teammates. If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't sure how it would go. He hadn't had that much interaction with either of them. Neither of them seemed like they were the most social of creatures.
Ever since she had joined the class, he hadn't known Yakumo to say one word in class unless a teacher directly asked her a question. On all accounts, she seemed like she was slightly cold. His other teammate Sai wasn't much better, with his fake emotions. The boy had a habit of sticking his foot in his mouth due to his social ineptitude and inability to relate to emotions. At least he always provided entertainment.
He, meanwhile, was almost the exact opposite of his teammates. Despite his intelligence he got along with most of the class, and he'd made several friends over the years. All he could hope for was that it would be the same with his teammates. I really hope this works out. He'd worked so hard to get here. Many people had called him a genius over the years, but despite the fact he knew he was intelligent, Naruto liked to believe his place at the top of the class was because of all the training he went through.
Noticing the height of the sun, Naruto decided to make his way back to the classroom.
— ₪ NTDF ₪ —
When Naruto got back to the classroom, there was a group of adults standing at the front, each of them clearly Jonin. They seemed to be waiting for something. Naruto tried to figure out which of the women was the sensei for his squad, not that he had much luck. There were only a few, and the only one that stood out was a woman with messy black hair and red eyes, wearing an unusual dress that seemed to be made of bandages. Could that be her?
His attention was drawn to the podium when Iruka cleared his throat.
"It seems we're short a couple jonin, but that's okay. It just means the teams whose sensei isn't here yet will have to wait, that will be al—"
Out of nowhere, one of the windows suddenly shattered inwards. The sound of the breaking glass pierced the air and interrupted Iruka's speech. Dangerous shards of clear daggers flew through the air, glinting wickedly. The object that caused it was what appeared to be a bundle of black cloth, though that illusion was quickly broken.
The ball began to unravel in midair, revealing a person. Naruto saw a glint of steal as the woman—he had caught the flash of an orange skirt and purple hair—performed a graceful twirl, launching kunai in four directions, the corners of the black cloth tied to them as it unraveled fully to reveal a banner. The woman completed her spin, and landed on the ground with her hands on her hips and a cocky grin on her face.
Idly, Naruto noted that the banner behind her read Leaf Village's Best Rookie Sensei!
"Alright everyone, Anko Mitarashi has arrived!" She declared. "Now, which three of you maggots are Team 11?" So she was his sensei?
Naruto hesitantly began to raise his hand, not exactly sure. His eyes met those of his teammates—who had raised their hands as well—and while Sai appeared as unshaken as always, he saw the confusion he felt reflected on her face. Just what had they been thrown into?
"Ahem, Anko, you're a bit late. I was just about to dismiss them to go with their teachers." Iruka said blandly, as he pulled back the edge of the banner and peered at the woman with narrowed eyes. Behind him Naruto could see the red eyed woman rubbing her forehead in embarrassment.
Hmm, she must be acquainted with her.
Anko rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, in a way that reminded Naruto eerily of himself. "Oh, hehehe, is that right. Whoops, guess I jumped the gun a tiny bit," She replied. "Oh well, at least I'm not super late like Kakashi," Anko said with a casual shrug. "Anyways, Team 11, follow me to training ground fourteen!"
Without any further ado, Anko leapt out of the window as quickly as she had arrived, leaving Naruto blinking owlishly at Iruka-sensei, silently asking what to do. The brown-haired man let loose a weary sigh. "You better go follow her before you lose her. I'll wish you three good luck; as you can see she's quite a handful," He said.
Still slightly stunned, Naruto nodded numbly. "Um, I guess I better get going." Naruto said as he stood up. He turned his head towards Shikako briefly. "See ya later," He said with a wave.
Shikako waved back, a tiny, almost unnoticeable smirk. "Ya, sure. Good luck, it looks like you're going to need it." She replied.
Naruto made his way to the broken window—careful to avoid any glass—and hesitated a moment before jumping out the window and beginning to race across the school yard to try and catch up with the apparently crazy woman that was his sensei. It was a good thing he knew the general direction training ground fourteen was in, because their sensei was already long out of sight. He noticed, but didn't comment, as his teammates pulled up alongside him. Yakumo seemed to be struggling; not surprising considering she had always struggled with her physical skills.
Luckily, it only took them a few minutes to catch up to Anko. She glanced over her shoulder at them as they fell into formation behind her. "Huh, what took you guys so long?" She asked bluntly. Naruto felt his eyebrow twitch.
"Well, we didn't exactly have the best directions." He replied. Although Anko gave him the stink eye, his snarky reply seemed to mollify her. Naruto just hoped she wasn't as crazy as she looked.
Anko led them on a winding course across the villages roof tops and into the lush green forests that made up the villages training grounds. Their final destination was a modest looking training ground; a grassy plain surrounded on all sides by trees, with three stumps off to the side that looked as if they were there to be makeshift chairs. By the time they arrived, Yakumo was panting heavily, and looked as if she was about to pass out.
"Alright kiddies, take a seat." Anko ordered as soon as the stepped foot into the clearing.
While they took seats on the stumps, Anko herself leaned against a tree across from them. Naruto ended up taking the middle seat, with Yakumo and Sai on either side. While he and Sai sat down in their seats normally, Yakumo slumped down on her stump as they faced their sensei. They stared at her expectantly. It was the first time Naruto got a good look at her since she'd burst into the classroom. He'd been so shocked at her initial entry that he was kind of distracted. He had to fight down the heat that began to rise to his cheeks. Anko was a short woman—barely three inches taller than himself—with her violet hair styled in a fan-like ponytail, and brown eyes. But it wasn't that that made him blush. It was her rather provocative style. She wore a mesh body suit of some sort, with a short orange skirt and blue belt, and a tan overcoat over top.
"What are you all staring at?" Anko snapped shortly. "I'm not going to bite, if that's what you're worried about," She assured them. Though the effect was lessened slightly when she added, "I leave that to my snakes
"Anyways, so like I said before, I'm Anko Mitarashi, and for some stupid reason, that crazy old man decided to make me a jonin-sensei. So we're stuck with each other." She told them bluntly. "Now, let's do introductions. Since I'm the leader, I'll start. Like I said, I'm Anko Mitarashi, and I'm nineteen years old. I'm a ninjutsu specialist, and I work in the Torture and Interrogation Forces, so don't get on my bad side!" Anko paused to glare at them fiercely. Despite his years of training, Naruto couldn't help but shutter. Suddenly, Anko burst into laughter. "Pfft, I'm just kidding. Though seriously, don't annoy me. Anyways, since I'm stuck being your sensei, I've decided that for now my goal is to help you achieve your own goals. I can't have you making me look bad after all.
"Now, who's next?" asked Anko. She looked around expectantly at them. Nobody spoke up. Naruto himself felt a little hesitant to go first. He wasn't sure what to make of this woman. She was just so quirky. Anko rose an eyebrow at the silence. "Don't everyone speak up at once." She said teasingly.
Naruto felt the tips of his ears burn slightly, and licked his lips. Normally he wasn't so nervous. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki-Senju, although I usually just go by Senju. I like to train and, and sparring. I'm pretty good at ninjutsu and taijutsu, and I'd like to learn more about kenjutsu. I can't wait to start our training, so I can get stronger. My dream is to become Hokage, and surpass my father and grandfather. Nothing is going to stop me!" He said with determination.
Anko grinned crookedly. "That's right, you're the Fourth Hokage's brat aren't you? You're pretty spirited, I'll give ya that, although you might want tone down the enthusiasm. Loud guys tend to get killed first in the field," She said, her smile sickly sweet. It sort of threw him off.
"Anyways, who's next?"
Surprisingly, it was Sai that spoke up. He seemed unperturbed as always by what was going on around him. With that fake smile on his face and his eyes crinkled shut, he said, "My name is Sai, just Sai, no surname. I live with my brother Shin. I don't see how it is your business, but I like to draw. My goal is to become a competent ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village and serve my commanders." He said.
It seemed Anko didn't have a snappy comeback for Sai's intro. She simply blinked owlishly. Not that Naruto could blame her. That had to have been the blandest introduction ever! Though, knowing what little he did about Sai, it was a miracle the boy hadn't managed to insult anyone.
"Um, alright, moving on." She finally managed to say.
This time it was fairly obvious who would speak next, so everyone turned to look at Yakumo. She shifted uncomfortably under their gazes. It made Naruto feel a little sorry for her.
". . . I'm Yakumo Kurama. I want to prove I can be a kunoichi, and become the most powerful genjutsu user this village has ever seen, so I can prove to someone they were wrong about me."
Silence reigned in the wake of her introduction. Naruto was a little surprised by how much she shared. It was probably the most he'd heard her talk in one go. For the first time, he began to think Yakumo wasn't cold, but simply shy.
"Alright, that was pretty interesting, even if some introductions were a bit lackluster," Anko said, looking pointedly at Sai, who simply shrugged. "I suppose all that's left is to tell you that despite what you think, you're not genin yet. You'll have to pass my little test first."
Naruto's head snapped around to look at his sensei intensely. "Huh?" He asked dumbly.
"You're a bit of an idiot, aren't you?" She asked. "Like I said, you're not genin yet." Anko said, she spoke really carefully, as if talking to someone who was really slow on the uptake.
A tension filled the air at her words. It was readily apparent that neither of his teammates were expecting to hear th8at either. Anko smirked at them.
"What, you didn't think we'd let you be ninja with such a puny test, did ya?" She asked teasingly. "Like I said, you still have one more test to go. The graduation exam is merely to see who might become genin. Every jonin-sensei gives their team their own test to decide whether they pass them or send them back to the academy," She explained.
"We'll be meeting back here tomorrow morning at ten o'clock. I won't go into details, but the test you'll be given will require you to work together as a team. Until then, you're dismissed. Try to enjoy the rest of the day, because it might be your last wearing those headbands." Anko said sinisterly. She promptly vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving a jarring silence in her wake.
Naruto and his teammates sat there for a while. He could tell both of them were contemplating this new test, just as he was. It certainly threw a new roadblock in their way. Not that Naruto would let it stop him. His eyes narrowed in annoyance as he thought about Anko calling him an idiot. She was sooooooo going to regret that. Nobody called Naruto Senju and idiot and got away with it!
One by one, they dispersed. He was the last one to leave; he had to meet someone later after all.
— ₪ NTDF ₪ —
The sun had already begun to set when Naruto arrived at Gyuniku's Grill, rendering the sky a deep burnt orange color. Gyuniku's was the go-to place for him and Shikako to meet up for dinner. He'd stopped at home after leaving the training field to swap his shinobi clothes for a more an orange t-shirt with the Senju crest on it and a simple pair of pants.
The bell above he door jingled as he walked into the restaurant, alerting the host at his stand. Naruto recognized him immediately, it was Toru, the nephew of the owner. He must've picked up an extra shift because he usually only did afternoon shifts. Toru was a lanky young man with dark hair and tan skin. Ever since Naruto had known him he was always ridiculously cheerful, which was why they got along.
"Hello and welcome t—" Toru paused when he laid eyes on him. He smiled warmly. "Oh, it's you, Naruto. It's good to see you," He greeted.
Naruto returned the man's smile and dipped his head in greeting. "Hey Toru, nice to see you too," He replied. "So, is she here yet?"
Toru nodded with a teasing grin. "Yep, she's at the usual table. So, you two on another of your date's?"
Instead of giving Toru the rise he wanted, Naruto simply grunted in annoyance. The first few times the man had tried to imply he and Shikako were more than friends, he had been really embarrassed. By now he was desensitized to it, though.
"Yeah yeah, give it a rest." Naruto shot back as he passed the host stand. He made his way to the back of the restaurant, and to a booth tucked away in one of the corners. The inside of the restaurant was really cozy. It was dimly lit, and red-tinted lamp shades hung above each of the tables.
Just as Toru had said, Shikako was there waiting for him. There was already silver ware laid out on the table with a couple glasses of water. She was looking out the window with her chin propped on her hand, apparently enjoying the sunset. Like him, she had decided to switch out of her usual clothes for a more casual lavender shirt and black pants. She was also wearing a black choker around her neck.
She was probably lost in thought, since she didn't notice his presence until he slid into his seat across from her. Her lazy gaze flicked over to him when the upholstery of the seat squeaked underneath him. "Oh, hey Naruto, hope you don't mind, but I already ordered for us, I got you your usual yakiniku." She greeted.
Naruto waved it off. "That's no problem, as long as you remembered the glass of mi—"
"Milk, yeah, it's not that hard to remember seeing as how you drink it everywhere you go." Shikako gave him an amused smile. "I can't believe you got that tall by eating only meat, ramen, and milk," She teased.
He felt his cheeks heat up slightly, and under his breath muttered, "I eat veggies too, just not when I go out."
It probably wasn't quiet enough, because Shikako busted out in a fit of giggles. They were contagious, though. Despite his embarrassment he couldn't help but chuckle along with her. Eventually it turned into full blown laughter. Naruto wasn't sure how long it lasted, but by the time they were done, other customers had begun to look at them weirdly. He paid them no mind as he took a sip from his glass of water.
"Anyways, how'd you're meeting go?" He asked.
Shikako shrugged. Her cheeks were still slightly pink from her laughter. "It was okay. The three of us already knew each other, so it was mostly a matter of getting to know Asuma-sensei and him getting to know us," She replied.
"Oh? So what did you think of Asuma?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow. He had seen Asuma off and on during his time living with the Hokage. After his accident, the man had decided to have Naruto move in with him and his family so he was better protected.
"I don't know, he seems okay. I get the feeling he's laidback," Shikako paused, and adopted an annoyed expression. "Although his smoking is a bit annoying," She commented. "Ah well, no use thinking about it too much."
Naruto nodded in understanding. "Yeah, he gets that from gramps, only instead of a pipe, he prefers cigarettes." He replied.
An impish grin worked itself onto his face. "Although, you could always do what I do when one of them smoke in front of me,"
"Oh?"
"Douse him with a water jutsu."
Shikako giggled lightly. "Unfortunately, I don't know any of those, so I'm out of luck." She said. Her giggles faded, and she adopted a quizzical look. "Anyways, how'd your meeting go? You weren't quite as lucky as me as far as knowing your teammates goes."
"Hmm, it went okay," Naruto mused. "And when it comes to knowing them, I learned a bit about them, especially Yakumo. You know how she's always quiet and everyone assumes it's because she doesn't feel anything?" He asked. Shikako nodded. "Well, it turns out that it's not so much that she doesn't feel anything, I actually think it's because she's shy." He explained excitedly.
"Huh, that actually makes sense." Shikako commented. "So, what about Sai, and your sensei?"
Naruto paused to take another sip of water before he answered. "Sai is hard to get a read on. I can't really tell what's up with him, aside from the fact I'm certain he doesn't know what emotions are. I'm just glad he didn't insult anyone." He said. "As for Anko-sensei, she seems a little . . . off. She's pretty hyper, and a little obnoxious. Plus she thinks I'm an idiot." Naruto tried to avoid pouting. He hated when people called him an idiot.
"Anything else?" Shikako asked. She didn't even raise an eyebrow at his antics.
"Well, she threw me for a loop with that second test. Gramps did pretty good to keep something that big from me."
It was a bit of a game between him and his grandfather, him using his intellect to try and find out as much as he could about the graduation process, and his grandfather trying to keep them secret. Naruto supposed it made sense. The second test was probably designed to be a surprise to simulate the possibility of receiving a mission last minute. Those who passed were ready to be ninja, those who didn't needed more time.
Shikako groaned. "So you got one of those too? Man, it's such a drag that we have to do more tests. We just got through with a week of them at the Academy," She complained.
Although he wasn't quite as upset as his friend—Shikako hated extra work—he could certainly understand where she was coming from.
"Yeah, we got one. Anko-sensei didn't go into much detail, but she did mention we'd need to act as a team. It could be anything really." He answered. "What about you guys, did Asuma-sensei give you any info?"
Shikako shook her head. "No, he basically said the same thing your sensei said," Her eyes narrowed a bit. "Though as he was leaving, I could've sworn he muttered something about catching a cat."
Naruto rose an eyebrow at that, though he didn't comment on it. "Well, either way, you guys shouldn't have much trouble in a simple capture mission." He said reassuringly.
"Yeah, you're probably right, I just don't like all this extra work." Shikako agreed grudgingly. "You'll probably pass too, I don't really see how your teacher could give you a test you couldn't pass, even with teammates."
"You never know; she might come up with something." Naruto replied diplomatically. Shikako snorted in amusement.
"Please, don't make me laugh. The likely hood of her making a test you wouldn't be able to pass is pretty low. You could have easily graduated two years ago, but you chose not to. Despite how much you might try to downplay your skills; I know better" She shot back. "I checked the scores, do you know how high you ranked in overall scores?"
Naruto furrowed his brow, and shook his head to indicate he didn't have an idea. To be honest, he never really paid any attention to the scores. He knew he did well, and that was all that mattered. His ignorance in this occasion, seemed to amuse Shikako.
"Well, for your information, your overall score from your time at the Academy—and especially the final—was the highest ever," She informed him. His eyes widened at the information.
"Ever?"
"Yes, ever. That's including the scores of both the Third Hokage, and your father, as well as Kakashi Hatake and Itachi Uchiha." Now that was truly shocking.
"How's that even possible?" He asked. Shikako shrugged.
"Well, most of them graduated early. They didn't have time to rack up perfect score after perfect score, and none of them got a perfect score on the final exam." Shikako paused, and gave him a teasing smirk. "Don't let your head get too big, though. Almost every Elite Jonin or similar in the village could still probably kick your ass big time."
Naruto slumped forward in an exaggerated manner, and let out an overdramatic groan. "Ah man, and here I thought I was going to be able to march up to Gramps' office and demand to be Hokage." He cried dramatically.
Shikako let out another musical laugh, and muttered, "Idiot," Under her breath.
He laughed right alongside her. The ruckus they caused with their noise drew the attention of the other customers, but Naruto didn't pay them any attention. He was too caught up in having a good time with his best friend. He had no idea what tomorrow would bring; whether they would pass or fail. All he knew was that he wanted to enjoy the moment, and worry about the test later.
Soon enough their dinner arrived. The two tucked in with enthusiasm. While the pace of their conversation slowed, they continued to talk about their days. After they finished their meals they parted with the promise that they'd meet up after their tests to tell each other how it went.
— ₪ NTDF ₪ —
AN/ So there you go, the first chapter of my new story. Obviously this chapter was just about breaking the ice with many of the characters. We got a glimpse at Anko, Yakumo, and Sai, Naruto's team for this story. I decided on them because I didn't really want to put Naruto on the same team as Sasuke, since for one they will be rivals in this story, and for two it didn't make much sense because both of them were really high in scores, with Naruto having an absolutely perfect score across the board on his exams, and the highest score in both the mental aspects and the physical ones in the academy.
Tell me what you thought of Naruto's portrayal in this chapter. I tried to keep it a mix of cannon with an underlying intelligence. That intelligence will become clearer as the story continues; Naruto might act like an idiot, but he's not, not by a long shot. He IS the grandson of Tobirama after all. Also tell me what you thought about the interactions with Anko. I tried to keep the first impression of her from cannon as much as possible, but she's not going to be like that the entire time, her personality and character, as well as that of others, will get more unpeeled as the story goes on. Kind of like an onion; my goal is for each of the main characters to have several layers of nuance to them.
Next chapter will be the team test for Naruto's team—and Naruto's Dead Bone Pulse! The test I have planned is my own design. It'll be similar to the Bell Test, but still very different.
Please be sure to favorite, follow, and review. Feedback and constructive criticism/questions is not only welcome, but encouraged. Flames, though, will be ignored with the Power of Youth!
Next Time: Team 11's Test, the Dead Bone Pulse Emerges!
So, til Next Time,
RinneTaicho Signing Off!
