A/N: Thank you to everyone who favourited, followed and reviewed.
CHAPTER TWO:
Interesting group of idiots
"Team 6: Rei Koizumi, Maki Hashiri and Kazuo Nakahara."
Orange eyes averted from the window to cast a quick glance around the classroom. Her gaze clashed with Maki's, and a huge grin spread across the face of the tanned girl. After responding with a slight smile of her own, Rei resumed her searching. A frown decorated her features and a barely noticeable glint of curiosity shone in her eyes.
Kazuo Nakahara, she repeated in her mind.
Her lips pursed, and she placed her chin on the palm of her hand. Rei didn't recall having a classmate called Kazuo Nakahara. Truth be told, Rei was not a regular presence in class, and some would say she was like a lost puppy who didn't really know where she belonged. Yet, even so, the girl could recognize every face and name of her classmates with no trouble, for there weren't that many. Hence the wonderment that filled her when an unknown boy was placed in the same team as hers.
Her trail of thoughts was interrupted by a frustrated growl that echoed between the walls of the small classroom, and her attention was claimed by her blond friend. Naruto had buried his face into his arms, and it didn't take her long to figure out what had happened. By the sneaking glares he was giving Sasuke, who was surprisingly sitting beside him, Rei could tell they had been placed together in the same team.
The girl tried to hide an amused expression behind her clasped hands, forgetting about her previous task for a moment. An image of both boys working together for months, and probably for years, crossed her mind and Rei had to fake a cough to suppress her laugh.
When the class was dismissed, Rei made her way towards the freedom outside. She didn't even bother to wait for Naruto, for she knew he'd be eager to –try to– spend lunch with Sakura Haruno.
Whatever, she thought.
Rei hated nobody, as 'hate' is a strong word, but she did detest Sakura with her whole heart. That superiority complex the pinkette carried, Rei did not stand. That, and the way she treated a sweet soul like Naruto. In some ways, Sakura reminded her to the bullies she had been protecting Naruto from ever since they had become friends.
"I can't believe we've been placed in the same team," a cheerful voice brought the brunette back to reality.
Blinking, Rei glanced at Maki from the corner of her eye. Usually, Rei was the one who sneaked up on people. Not because she liked to give them heart attacks, but because such art was something she had successfully mastered and was proud of it. This time though, Rei had been so lost in thought she hadn't noticed Maki approaching.
"Every team consists of two boys and a girl, so it's quite odd," Maki kept on babbling.
A lopsided smirk tugged on the brunette's lips.
"This only proves that you should have been born as a boy," she casually commented, waving a hand in the air.
She was punched on the head by an offended Maki.
"Anyway," Rei started, rubbing the aching spot while doing so. "I don't even know who this Kazuo guy is."
Maki rolled her eyes, not surprised by her comment.
"He's just got transferred from some small village in the Land of Wind," she explained.
A frown crossed her face that same moment.
So he comes from our same country as well, Rei thought and hummed, something that had become a habit whenever she found something interesting.
"I've talked to him a couple of times," Maki continued, before her face wrinkled considerably. "He is…"
Just when the tanned girl mentally pondered about the right adjective to describe their new comrade, a boy came rushing towards them. He had raven hair that covered one of his dark blue eyes. His headband was tightly tied around his head, and he was dressed in typical ninja clothes.
"…weak," was what Maki said when the boy tripped over his own foot and crashed on the hard ground.
Kazuo Nakahara quickly stood up, and dusted his clothes. A shy smile broke in his face when he noticed the bewildered looks he was receiving from his teammates.
"I'm Kazuo Nakahara, pleasure to meet you!"
Oddly enough, he bowed.
For the love of god, he bowed; Rei was at a loss of words.
Coughing awkwardly, Maki managed to smile nonetheless at the flustered boy.
"This is Rei, and you already know me. How about we go have lunch and forget about this… little incident?"
Everyone agreed.
-#-
Another frustrated growl escaped Naruto's mouth; the third that morning.
And counting… Rei could only roll her eyes at the sight.
The boy was pacing up and down the classroom, earning annoyed stares from the rest of genin who were scattered around. Rei didn't even bother herself to drag Naruto away from them when they started to tell him off, for his constant complains were getting on her nerves as well. Thus, she opted to avert her eyes from the commotion and to the window. Her eyes got caught on the sky, which stared down at her with bright colors. The sun was still there, but she knew it wouldn't be more than two hours before the splendorous moon replaced it. An anticipated smile tugged on her lips at the thought, for she had always preferred being under its calm glow than suffering from the heated rays of the sun. Somehow, it always managed to relax every fiber of her bones. In addition, it always reminded her of home… her real home.
"Alright maggots!" An authoritative voice brought her back.
Her orange eyes widened slightly when they landed on a crazy-looking-woman. She was standing at the doorframe, her blond hair pulled into a high ponytail. Her brown eyes were glancing around as if looking for something. Surprisingly enough, those orbs stopped on Rei. Then, the girl witnessed the change in the woman's expression. As though she had just found something interesting, the woman smirked, seeming pleased.
And that was enough for the girl to know.
Whoever gets this woman as their sensei, will be definitely doomed, she thought.
Just then, the blonde woman crossed her arms over her busty chest and yelled,
"Team 6, follow me!"
She walked out before anyone could even blink.
Karma has taken a special interest in making my life a living hell, Rei mentally cursed as she stood from her seat and followed the crazy woman out.
"We're so doomed."
-#-
Rei sat down next to Maki, and leaned her back on the thick tree behind. The woman had lead them to the training fields, and was staring down at them with a hard look, as though she were trying to see their souls.
"The name's Tora Erizawa, and I will be your sensei from now on," she proclaimed, her hands placed firmly on her hips. "I want you to introduce yourselves. State your name, dislikes, and aspirations for the future."
Three pair of eyes stared at her as though she had grown two heads, which was causing Tora to arch an eyebrow to the point it disappeared behind her bangs.
"Isn't 'Tora' a guy's name?" Maki whispered to Kazuo, who nodded fervently.
"And why the dislikes, wouldn't it be useful to know our likes as well then?"
Rei couldn't help but roll her eyes exasperatedly. Her teammates were clueless about the displeased look their sensei was giving them.
"I won't tolerate disrespectful comments, and to make sure you understand I'm not someone you can make fun of, you'll do three laps around the village every time you do so."
Tora's words were enough to make the two stop gossiping, and turn their heads to stare in utterly shock at the angry woman. Her brown eyes narrowed ever so slightly. To say that the busty woman wasn't intimidating would be a lie, for even Rei was having a hard time remaining indifferent.
"Also, I do not like to be questioned about my methods, so if you're bold enough as to dare to ask about them, I hope you'll be prepared to confront the consequences."
Her grave tone left no room for retorting, and three heads nodded immediately.
"Good," Tora said, seeming pleased. "Moving on, introductions are in order."
Maki was the first to speak, fearing to face the wrath of the woman.
"I'm Maki Hashiri. I dislike many things, like bugs or ramen; I specially detest ramen." That made Rei smile amused as the sudden image of Naruto yelling at her for hating ramen crossed her mind. "As for my aspirations, I want to become the greatest user of Lightning jutsus of the moment."
That's interesting; Tora couldn't help but think, before her gaze fell upon the boy, "Next."
"My name is Kazuo Nakahara, and I don't really dislike anything in particular. However, I can say I hate losing, even though I'm used to it." He earned some glances from the genin next to him. "Unfortunately, I'm not strong enough to put my expectations as high as everyone else, so I want to use my abilities as a medical ninja to support them from behind."
The corners of Rei turned up ever so slightly, as she felt her insides melt by the sincerity of his words. However, the woman who stood before them didn't seem pleased in the least, for a frown had worked its way to her face as she looked disapprovingly at the boy. The action didn't go unnoticed though.
Truth be told, Rei didn't see weakness with good eyes either. Nevertheless, if there was something that had always earned her respect, it would be effort itself. There were many people who lacked talent, but she believed in improvement. In addition, Rei believed everyone needed to strive oneself in order to reach magnificence. But that level was too high for someone to reach; that's why she had never stopped training. Improvement is something that doesn't attains limits. Naruto had proved her so through the years they had been together, and even though he always got frustrated for failing all the time, Rei was amazed by his obstinacy. Never to give up, that was what she had learned from the noisy boy.
By the look in Kazuo's eyes, the girl could feel that he was really having a bad time admitting his weakness. However, she could also see that he was determined to help the best way he could, and she gave him credit for that.
Hard, brown eyes fell upon her figure. Tora had her arms crossed over her chest and an analyzing look in her gaze as she watched her, expectative.
"Rei Koizumi," she stated, giving the woman a piece of her own hard look. "My aspiration for the future is simple: becoming the greatest kunoichi in the five lands, overstepping my limits and creating new ones."
Something that could be seen as approval shone in Tora's gaze.
"That surely is a big dream." If it hadn't been for the interest her voice gave away, Rei would have thought that she was mocking her. "Are you telling me that you're actually planning on becoming Hokage?"
"I don't want to be Hokage."
An eyebrow arched.
"Oh? Why not?"
Tora was looking at the girl with a mixture of interest and vague curiosity. To her surprise, and everyone else's, Rei replied with a casual,
"Because Naruto is going to occupy that position."
Utter shock crossed her face when the words left the brunette's mouth, for that was the last thing she was expecting to hear. Within the seconds that followed her statement, silence fell between them. However, Tora recovered from the shock and amusement danced in her eyes.
"The Uzumaki boy." She smiled a smile that Rei didn't like in the least, for it was a gesture she had seen so many times in her life. It was the same look Naruto received whenever he insisted in becoming Hokage.
It was an expression of mocking disbelief. Something inside her churned with rage, and the girl glared challengingly at her sensei.
"What about your dislikes?"
Rei thought for a moment.
"I'm going to be bold and say that," she paused. "I dislike you."
Gasps were heard from the genin sitting next to her, who looked at her as if she were mental –which she probably was. However, the corners of Tora's mouth curled up.
"Five laps around the village, Koizumi. You've got twenty minutes to finish, if you're not done by then, you'll be running till I decided it's enough. Starting now!"
Maki shot up to her feet, and pointed an accusative finger at the smirking woman.
"Wait, you said three laps!"
"Hashiri, join her."
Without much of a glance, Rei decided to grab her friend by the arm and drag her away. Startling the girls a bit, Kazuo followed them.
"Kazuo, what do you think you are doing?" Maki blurted out, a frown slowly forming on her lips.
The boy scratched nervously his neck. A blush had crept to his cheeks, as though he were embarrassed of something. And he didn't look at them when he said,
"I'm already weaker than you two, and if you start to improve I don't want to be left behind."
A genuine smile tugged on Rei's lips before she took his hand to give him a reassuring squeeze. Feeling the sudden touch, Kazuo turned his head to look surprised at her.
"You've already wasted five precious minutes! You'll be running for the rest of the day at this rate!"
Three pair of legs began racing away, leaving a satisfied-looking-Tora behind. She watched as the team disappeared after rounding a corner, a pleased expression plastered on her features.
"What an interesting group of idiots."
# Some days later #
A tense silence surrounded her, only broken by her agitated breathing. Her eyes had still not become used to the cold darkness that invaded the cracked building, thus she was almost blind to any possible danger. Fortunately, the earpiece she carried with her connected her to the rest of her team, and most importantly, to Maki. Not to disrespect her other teammate, but Maki's abilities were way more useful and needed at that moment than Kazuo's. The boy was currently waiting outside the building in case Rei needed his help, yet she was managing just fine for the time being.
"Rei, you got two on the left and one on the right," Maki's muffled voice came from the earphone.
And just after Rei was warned, she felt someone running at her from the right. Still not used to the inscrutable darkness, the girl could only trust her instincts to fight. Quickly pulling out a kunai from her pocket, she threw it in the direction of the approaching footsteps. A sound of metal clashing echoed throughout the place, and that was enough for her to know her weapon had been blocked. Despite the situation, the brunette tried to remain calm and not let panic took control of her body. Eventually, she closed her eyes, for they were being of no help at that point, and focused.
"Chakra," Tora's words crossed her mind. Not many days ago, the woman had forced her to waste almost all of her chakra in training. Ironically, said action had helped her to improve her physical skills, and she had been taking advantage of that exhausting lesson to fight ever since.
Doing her best to ignore the rapid beats of her heart, Rei concentrated on gathering the last bit of chakra and sent it to every fiber of her body in order to create a shield around her. Of course, she knew she couldn't rely on it as much as she wanted to, but it provided her the protection and confidence she needed.
"Rei, the one on the right is right there!" Maki's voice warned her through the auricular just before the brunette received a punch in her left cheek.
Caught completely off guard, Rei could only grab a hold of her enemy's wrist as she was thrown to the ground due to the force of the impact. Fortunately for her, she managed to drag her adversary with her. As her head slammed on the solid surface, pain crept down her spine, almost knocking her out. Suppressing a moan, Rei rolled over them and quickly plunged a kunai right through their chest. Smoke immediately hit her face as the replica disappeared.
The girl ignored the burning in her head and clumsily stood up; her eyes tried to blink away the shiny dots that flooded her sight. It was still dark, yet she knew she couldn't let her guard drop or else it would mean her failure. And, as she had explained every time she was asked, Rei hated losing. She could hear Maki shouting through the auricular, but for some reason, the brunette couldn't quite comprehend her words. Thus, she mentally cursed and tossed the piece of plastic to the darkness behind her. Sweat was rolling down her forehead, she soon noticed, and she rapidly wiped it with the back of her hand. However, oddly enough, she kept sweating as though she had just run from Konoha to Suna in a day. Shaking off the bad feeling rolling down her veins, Rei began to focus on expanding the chakra around her so that way the useless shield that was supposed to protect her became stronger. As she did, she could feel her heart beating fearfully fast, and her breathing turning more labored. Her throat tightened and her muscles tensed.
And, suddenly, there was a blast as everything was blown away from her.
"Enough!" Tora's voice was distant, even though Rei could feel the woman standing right above her as her body lay completely still on the cold ground. Rounded, brown eyes stared down at her, panic and surprise written in them. "Oi, Koizumi, are you alright?"
When she received nothing but silence, Tora gave out an exasperated sigh.
'Guess not,' she thought as her mind began to ponder about the girl before her. Her head was covered in blood, probably due to the hit against the ground when one of her replicas attacked her. Turning towards the other two genin, whose faces were contorted into expressions of panic and concern, the woman waved them over. "It's pretty obvious your abilities need to be trained. Damn, I don't even know where to start. Hashiri, you definitely must work on your genjutsu. But, you'll do that after taking this insensible girl to the Hospital."
Instantly, Maki rushed to her friend and started towards the Hospital at the other side of the village, carrying the unconscious genin on her back –as she had soon realized it'd be pointless to carry her any other way.
"Where do you think you're going?" Tora's voice stopped the male member of the team as he attempted to follow his comrades. The woman stared down at him with hard eyes, her features furrowed in disappointment and displeasure. "Say, what were you doing during the test?"
"Uh, I was helping Rei." His response wasn't that accurate though; as Rei hadn't even felt his presence. Yet, truth be told, Kazuo had been attempting to aid the girl; sadly, the darkness surrounding him had been too dense and his effort had been to no avail.
A heavy sigh escaped Tora's lips; she didn't like what she was being forced to do.
"Listen carefully, boy," she began, her brown gaze scrutinizing him as she talked. "I know you said you're weak; I'm sure of that now. However, you can't expect to just wait for your comrades to get hurt so that you'll be able to do something. The point of being in a team is that you protect each other, and fight together. Thus, you need to work on something else aside from your medical jutsus."
Although the woman had a way of lecturing he didn't like, Kazuo could understand her point; she was right. If Kazuo wanted to be an actual part of Team 6 –to stop being a burden–, he'd have to learn taijutsu at the very least. Much to his surprise, however, Tora had other plans for him.
"Now, does your clan own any useful techniques?"
Kazuo blinked, taken aback.
"Well, yes," he confirmed her thoughts, and then added, "but I've never been able to learn them."
Unable to hide her exasperation towards the boy, the woman rolled her eyes and gnashed her teeth.
"Of course not, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation." She then crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, this is what we'll do: there are some things I have to deal with, so meanwhile, you look through your clan's shit and bring whatever you find useful to me."
-#-
Silence enveloped the room, only disturbed by the occasional, low coughs coming from the Hokage as he took drags on his large pipe. Smoke surrounded him, hiding his figure as he sat peacefully on the comfy cushion he had placed underneath in order to avoid making contact with the cold floor. Sighing in content, the old man closed his eyes and allowed himself to enjoy a moment of serenity. However, much to his dislike, the second he exhaled another puff of smoke, some knocks at the door brought him back to reality. A grunt of displeasure escaped his throat before he pulled a calm expression and voiced a "come in".
His features contorted into a mask of surprise when the door swung open and in walked a serious-looking-Tora. The unexpected visit provoked him to start coughing loudly, and while ignoring the aversion plastered on the woman's face, he motioned for her to sit before him.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Tora?" He asked cautiously when she obliged, his gaze searching her face. "I trust the test went as expected."
"Not really," she admitted, her voice firm. "Rei almost killed herself."
The Hokage's eyes widened at the news.
"She's resting now," Tora quickly added, to which Hiruzen gave out a relieved sigh. "I saw it from afar, and sensed it as well. At first, it looked as though she were concentrating on controlling her chakra the way I told her. However, at some point, her chakra began to combine with the air surrounding her. My hunch is that she was unaware of what she was causing, thus why she didn't see it coming and hence her confusion when a blast of wind knocked her off her feet."
As the woman explained the event, Hiruzen had been closely listening to every word. To say the Hokage was bewildered would be an understatement, for he was but expecting that kind of news. Nevertheless, he took another drag on his pipe and sent Tora a solemn stare before exhaling the smoke.
"I see, that's unexpected," he murmured.
"Indeed it is," she conceded, her nose crunched due to the smoke that was flooding her sight. "However, it might not be as unfortunate as we thought it'd be."
Hiruzen arched an inquisitive brow.
"And why is that, I wonder?" His voice gave away his discrepancy, but Tora pay it no mind.
"Considering the irritable situation Konoha is in at the moment, convoking the nations to participate in the Chunnin Exams could not be enough to stop the threat. If any of them decides to attack, it'd be better for everyone to have as many soldiers as possible," she explained.
"You mean to train Rei to become a soldier?! That's unthinkable; she's too young to throw her into that messy situation," Hiruzen exclaimed, unnerved by such proposition.
However, Tora was having none of it.
"I'm afraid it's not your decision to make," she voiced, her eyes glinting with impatience and anger. "I'm just the messenger here; the order comes from above."
The Hokage frowned at that, already fearing the worst. It was true though: his opinion would never be taken in consideration by them. Then again, he couldn't help but wonder why those people would ask for such nonsense so suddenly; they had been, after all, the voice of reason among their community.
"I don't see why you're here, then," the man spoke clearly. That woman always brought the worst out of him, no matter the conversation they could share. And, for some reason, he had the impression she was hiding something.
"You're still the Hokage. I think you deserve some respect, despite the situation." With that, she slightly bowed, turned on her heels and walked out.
Hiruzen's gaze remained locked on the closed door as his mind replayed the conversation with Tora, but the man ended up shaking his head.
Must be the age, he concluded.
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