History As We Know It
"There are Four Codes an iryō-nin must abide by, these rules are set down by the world's greatest iryō-nin, Senju Tsunade. These codes, are, without a doubt, important and reasonable. But… to me, being an iryō-nin, above all else, is keeping the people I love, safe."
—Aburame Koumi
Chapter 2: Team 7
Disclaimer: I own only the OCs.
No one is currently present within the classroom the graduating students have spent the earlier part of their day in for the team assignment, only nine desks that comes with a bench provided for every three students to share, with three in each row in three layers with differing heights. A blackboard in front, and a small teacher desk nearby.
The classroom that seems to be so crowded and noisy before, is at the moment empty of such. Silence filled the room, seemingly to enhance magically as no one is present. It is not as comforting as it is disturbing for Aburame Koumi, probably due to the state of her mood after the rejections she has recently received.
The very last row on the back of the class, the second column from the sides, is the seat Koumi is walking towards with a plastic bag containing three bentos in it. She quietly sits herself down, placing the plastic bag on top of the desk and takes out the home-made bento on the very top. The sight of the two store-bought bentos in the bag reminds her of her two teammates she has and the end result of her lunch invitation.
Not wanting to spoil her appetite, Koumi moves the plastic bag along with the bentos in them to the empty space on her seat. Considering the seat is meant for three people and she is sitting on the corner, there are plenty of spaces next to her. She can't see the bag directly now that they are placed lower than her line of vision, she may even deludes herself of not having them in the first place.
Anyway, now that is done, Koumi wordlessly pries open her bento and clasps her hands together in a prayed stance and mutters out an, "Ittadakimasu," before she picks up her chopsticks.
Lunch today is steamed rice, tamagoyaki, two octopus sausages, several pieces of chicken karaageand a salad with cherry tomatoes. Koumi has never been a big eater even after spending her day out training. She does, however, eats as often as she can when she feels incoming hunger. It is healthier that way and it suits her needs better.
It is a lunch no different than one she usually makes, the ingredients and seasonings used are about the same in both quality and quantity. So why is it, that the taste of what she is eating now, pales to the taste she usually has?
Koumi slows down her pace in eating her lunch, carefully chewing before swallowing her food and still, she feels the taste of her bento today, seems to be a bit bland. Did she make a mistake in the seasonings this morning due to her nervousness for the team assignment? But she is quite sure there's no such things...
Nonetheless, she can't deny that the taste of her bento today is off, so maybe she did make a mistake somewhere in prepping it. Food is food however, and she needs the energy from it. Koumi continues to chew and swallow, as slowly and as enjoyably as she can. It is one of the golden rules in eating: to enjoy the food.
The only noises in the room is from the soft chewing and swallowing by the brunette with the occasional noises her chopsticks made. A bit of loneliness peers out from her heart, something she can't help but feel as she never has lunch by herself even before befriending Hinata because she always has Shino to depend on.
Unlike her best friend relationship with Hyūga Hinata, her relationship with Shino is a bit more complicated. As they are from the same clan, they are, undeniably, blood-related no matter how thin that connection is. Shino, however, is from the main line of the family that produces at least eighty-percent of the kikaichu-users in the clan. Whereas Koumi is from the branch side of the family, where barely ten-percent of the members are able to host kikaichu upon their birth.
Aburame Koumi is born without the necessary disposition to host the kikaichu, thus according to tradition, she is to be trained as a clan iryō-nin and to be assigned as a personal iryō-nin to one of the kikaichu-users in the clan. This system has been there for as long as the Aburame Clan has existed, all due to the unique structure of a kikaichu-user, be it their physical bodies or their chakra pathways. Aburame Shino, heir to the position of the Clan Head, is the one Koumi is assigned to as soon as it was determined she was to pursue the path of iryō-nin.
With little gap in age and having belong to the same generation, Koumi has known Shino for as long as she can remember. For her, Shino has always been around her and will stay around for a lifetime. She is his companion iryō-nin, the one person that has full-access to his health and is one-hundred-percent aware of what's going on in his body, the owner of the chakra that he is accustomed to receiving without any troubles.
Thus, to this day, Koumi has been undergoing plenty of trainings in iryō-ninjutsu. After all, the training of the companion iryō-nin to the future Clan Head is just as important.
Shino is special to Koumi due to this, he is a friend, a brother, an existence so special he is on his own. On the other hand, her friendship with Hinata is much simpler, but no less deeper. She is the first person she befriends after starting the Academy, they bonded over a lesson in the kunoichi classes every girls are expected to attend. Little Hinata was so cute back then, her pale-lavender eyes seemingly larger in her rounder face. She is still cute now, of course.
"Team 7, eh? Mm..." Koumi mumbles after swallowing, her mind wandering away to the boys she is in a team with.
It's going to be difficult getting close to either of them. Naruto is obviously disheartened she is not Sakura and Sasuke doesn't want a team since he believes we are going to drag him down... How is she going to solve this? Will the jōnin-sensei in charge be the one helping the team to unite?
Koumi can't remember the last time she tries befriending someone after Hinata. In fact, it appears Hinata is the first and the last attempt for her. Having two friends she can share most of her everything is more than enough, so she never bothers looking for more. Now though...
She wants to sigh if it's not for the fact that she is in the middle of her meal and sighing at such a time is something she is taught to never do. Why is it so hard to be a team?
If... if Sakura-san is the kunoichi of Team 7 instead of me... wouldn't it be better for both Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun? Maybe not Sasuke-kun, but Naruto-kun... definitely.
Koumi feels like tearing up, she just can't help thinking that maybe, it is really her presence that is causing the team troubles. She feels awful. The tears are clouding her vision as she keeps them at bay, she tries hard to restrain them so they won't fall. But now her nose is getting runny and she has to sniff rather forcefully or risking her lunch.
Uh... I... I'm not crying... Koumi tells herself, she definitely is not crying. It's just... it's been a while since her good intention is refused like moments ago. She is genuinely intending to befriend them too. It... hurts.
Koumi takes a few minutes to recollect herself, her tears drying up enough that her golden-eyes are now moist instead of on the brink of overflowing and her nostrils cleared as of normal. She is okay now. Every now and then, it gets harder for her to control her emotions. Shino told her that repressing her feelings too much isn't healthy and there's nothing wrong if her dam breaks, only that she has to reconstruct it.
Her tears just now are the combination of stresses from the intense trainings from her grandmother for the past few months as well as the rejection from her teammates, more the former than the latter. Today is just the breaking point. But as always, the broken dam will stand up once more, firmer than before and last even longer.
Now that her emotions is sorted, it seems like the taste of bento is more flavourful. That, or some of her tears slipped out, thus acting out as an extra seasoning. Anyway, lunch tastes better than before, which is good. Koumi is now enjoying her food better, something she is thankful for.
Half-way through her bento, the windows to the classroom is slid open and a familiar shade of orange appears from the gap. Everyone in Konoha can easily recognise who does that shade of orange belongs to anytime of the day as the person is rarely spotted without them.
"Naruto-kun?" Koumi finds herself calling out to him before she can stop herself, her confusion clear in both her voice and on her expression.
The addressed boy jolts slightly upon being called out, he turns his head to the side, now noticing the only other presence in the vicinity. He gives out a wide grin as he recognises the girl who is his teammate.
"Koumi!" he cheers out joyfully and begins to walk over. That's when he notices that she is in the middle of her meal, a meal he was invited to and had rejected because he was searching for Sakura-chan.
Naruto sees that the brunette is sitting by herself, eating without anyone's company and her surrounding is shrouded with silence, so much that he doesn't notice someone is in the classroom before he pops in. Immediately, he feels guilts pooling in his guts. Because he rejected her kind intention, she is eating by herself. He should have known better!
One of the redeeming traits of an Aburame is how observant they are and despite not having kikaichu within her, Koumi is born and raised an Aburame. It's a child-play noticing the blonde's sudden drop in mood. She tilts her head slightly to the side, contemplating. A few thoughts flitting by and the next moment, the brunette is all smiles.
"Naruto-kun, have you had lunch?" Koumi stares directly into his eyes, golden meeting blue. Nothing but kindness shines through the striking golden pools. A soft smile is adorning her delicate features, making her to appear even more gentle.
For a moment there, Naruto, the hopelessly loud prankster, loses his focus, too stunned by the genuine care in the eyes of his teammate. When was the last time someone looks at him that way? That night with Iruka-sensei? For a while, his mind is in a bit more mess than it usually is. He regathers himself soon enough, though. After all, she asked him a question, didn't she?
"Yeah! I had lunch already!" he replies with a sunny grin, easily covering up his lie. She doesn't need to know that he is a bit short for this week's meal other then the stocked cup ramen in his dingy apartment.
If anything, today is definitely not a good day for Uzumaki Naruto. Thus it doesn't come as a surprise when his stomach chose to growl the second after he said he had eaten. Not just growl, it may as well be a roar with how loud it had been. Blood rushed up to his cheeks when he realises his lie is now discovered and he may get himself laughed at.
But Aburame Koumi just has to be the exception.
"Yokattara, you can have this one, Naruto-kun," she places down her chopsticks and takes out a box of store-bought bento from the bag next to her, offering it with two hands towards the blonde.
"I'm sorry it is store-bought. I didn't have enough time this morning," Koumi looks apologetic, patiently waiting for her teammate to take the bento in her hand. Patient and hopeful.
Naruto meanwhile, is struck speechless when the girl is offering him a lunch. She is not laughing at him, nor is she angry for ditching her invitation. She is actually giving him lunch and she is even sorry because she didn't cook it herself? Just what...?
A full-minute passed as Naruto stands there frozen, much like an idiot before his consciousness kicks in and he realises the brunette has been extending her hand towards him all the while he is lost in thoughts. He quickly takes over her burden, not wanting to trouble her more than he already did.
"T-Thank you, Koumi," Naruto stutters a bit, so unlike him but somewhat fitting when he thinks of what has just happened.
The Aburame is just delighted. This is one step successful, the other step is having Sasuke here with them, but Naruto is already here and for now, it's enough. So her smile only widens at his acceptance, his earlier rejection forgotten.
"Your welcome, Naruto-kun," Koumi returns his thanks with a joyful tone, her golden eyes twinkling with happiness.
As Naruto takes a seat next to the brown-haired girl, he notices that she has another box of bento in the bag she took out his from. Probably for Sasuke-teme...
...Sasuke told her no too, huh? Naruto realises easily, he is not that much of an idiot, just a bit slow. That's why he knows now, that even though Aburame Koumi is not Sakura-chan, that she is not as pretty as Sakura-chan...
She is nicer than Sakura-chan!
[(-O-)]
On the other side of the building, a certain raven-haired boy notices that it is about time for the arrival of the jōnin-sensei according to Iruka. Seeing as he has nothing else to do, he might as well head back to the classroom. Having decided, Sasuke thus begins tracing his way back while avoiding anyone's eyes (specifically girls').
With his mind at ease, he recalls the supposedly other teammate of his. Naruto aside, Sasuke has known that there are two Aburames in his class even when he is not familiar with either of them. He remembers one is the next Aburame Clan Head. That said, he doesn't care about them as they don't particularly excel nor do they stand out in the crowds.
If anything though, Sasuke remembers feeling glad when he realises that 'Aburame Koumi' is not one of his fangirls, and if he really has to have one in the must-have team, his choice is between her and the Hyūga girl. They, at least, don't bother his person like most girls do.
But then this Aburame has the strangest idea of having lunch together so they can get to know each other better, which is just plain stupid. He has never a need for a team. Three people in a team is two people too many. He don't need a team.
As he is avoiding detection, Sasuke chooses the windows as his entrance. Sliding them open with little noises, he is ready to jump over when he picks up hearty chatters from within the classroom, signalling him there are people inside. These voices are somewhat... familiar.
Naruto? And the other one... Aburame? Sasuke easily determines which voice is whose.
From the sounds of it, only those two are in the classroom. Naruto can be a bother, but seeing as he is occupied with the Aburame, he may as well get in and take his seat. Sasuke smoothly jumps over the ledge, alerting the two genins as he ignores their reactions in favour of closing the windows.
"Sasuke-kun!" Koumi sounds delighted finding him, her golden eyes sparkling in excitement.
"Geh. Sasuke," Naruto grumbles, never has he been happy when he is face-to-face with his rival.
Sasuke cares little of the two and makes his way to his previous seat without a word of recognition. He thought that this was it, but the Aburame turns out to be persistent if nothing else.
"Sasuke-kun, have you had your lunch?" she asks him, her golden eyes trailing after his back.
Indeed. Annoyingly persistent.
"Hn," he grunts in reply, not needing a coherent word.
Unfortunately, an Aburame is in no way fluent in the ways of Uchiha's Grunts. Thus, thinking that her teammate has yet to have his lunch like her other teammate, she happily empties the plastic bag and takes out a store-bought bento as she walks over to his seat, her hands holding the box of bento extended towards his face.
"This is for you, Sasuke-kun," Koumi has her eyes sparkling all the while, her golden eyes glittering with hopes that he would accept this time.
Sasuke who usually would snap at people forcing things on him caught the hopes in her eyes and how there's no ulterior motives there. The girl really thought that his 'hn' has been a 'no', that's why she is offering him a bento. He really wants to refuse, with proper word this time, but he finds his denial stuck in his throat at her hopeful expression.
Frankly, Aburame has good intentions behind her actions. Just a bit of a busybody. Contrary to some's expectations, Sasuke was raised by his parents to uphold manners. As he had rejected the girl earlier, this time, he will take her offer. Just this one time.
When his hand wordlessly reaches out for the box in her hands, her pair of golden eyes brightens even more. Even so, Koumi says nothing as he takes the bento and begins to eat them without so much as a 'thanks'. The Aburame trots back to her seat with a slight skip to her steps. She is not offended, but a certain blonde is grumbling about his supposed rudeness.
Thus their first team lunch passed just like this, one raven-haired boy stuffing himself with another portion of lunch to the point of bursting on a seat of his own, one joyful blonde who chatters happily to his new teammate and one patient brunette listening to and tolerating the eccentricities of her teammates.
After finishing their lunches, disposing of the remains (hum and Naruto) and packing up the lunchbox (her), the newly formed Team 7 sits together on the same seat. More like, since he doesn't feel like grouping with them, they come over to his side. Obviously, the Aburame has to persuade the dobe. Even so, he has no intentions of speaking to them.
Koumi knows that there's no way Naruto will talk to Sasuke without trading barbs, so she has to be the one keeping them from fighting here and if she wants the three of them to work as a team, then she has to be the one to take the initiative. That's why she did just that.
"I haven't make a formal introduction, have I? My name is Aburame Koumi," the brunette begins, her golden eyes gazing into both blue and onyx. The reaction she receives from Naruto is positively blinding.
"Uzumaki Naruto, Future Hokage at your service!" the blonde grins, confidence and charisma overflowing.
This is stupid, Sasuke thinks to himself. Despite his thought, he shows none of it on his expression. "Uchiha Sasuke," he simply says.
Seemingly encouraged by the responses of her two teammates, the Aburame thus takes her next step in this 'getting to know each other better'. "I think since we are a team now, Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun may want to know what I specialise in, so, umm..."
Koumi breathes in, inwardly urging herself, "I am an iryō-nin. I also use genjutsu in a fight. I am an Aburame... but I can't use the clan's techniques, by which I mean is the kikaichu," she explains.
If the Aburame wants to be goody-goody with him, then he will straight away told her off, but since she is willing to share what she can do, he may as well listen to her ramblings. After all, he can't deny this knowledge is important. Which is why when she told him she can't use the Aburame's clan techniques, he grows curious enough to inquire further.
"Why?" Sasuke throws out his one-word question the moment she finishes her explanation, ignoring the blonde's obvious attempt in speaking of his own awesomeness.
The Aburame blinks once, a bit surprised since she probably doesn't expect to be questioned by him so soon. But she recovers quickly enough and understands his curt inquiry without problems.
"For Aburame, you see, it is decided soon after our birth if we have the capabilities to host the kikaichu. To be a host, a newborn Aburame must have a certain amount of chakra reserves to ensure the life of the Aburame after the kikaichu enters the infant body. I... wasn't born with enough chakra reserves, that's why I can't use the clan's techniques," Koumi explains with a small smile, she doesn't appear sad nor dissatisfied despite admitting she can't use her clan's techniques.
For a clan born like him, Sasuke knows the sharingan is unique to the Uchiha. It's not clear if the awakening of sharingan is decided upon birth, as some of the Uchiha had never awaken theirs until their deaths, but those who awakens their sharingancan only grow stronger. And for him, having the sharingan is truly the pride of an Uchiha. That's why hearing that this Aburame can't do what makes an Aburame, Aburame, he immediately disdains her.
"You are weak," he dismisses her, not even mocking, but he truly thinks so.
Before the girl can say anything in her defense, another has jumped on her behalf, raging like a mad bull.
"Take that back, Sasuke-teme! Koumi is not weak!"Naruto has his hands balled in fists, his tanned face screwed in anger as he glares his blue eyes on his onyx eyes.
Not waiting for the boys to fight, the brunette replies with her own surprising answer.
"Mm," she hums in agreement, confusing her teammates who have expected her to deny the claim, "As an iryō-nin, I'm not physically strong. I suck at taijutsu because I lack the strength. Ninjutsu is a bit out of reach for me because the chakra cost of jutsu varies and often is high. Genjutsu is my only defense and offense."
Weak.
"...But I can help you get stronger," she continues after a moment of silence, her voice from start to finish does not waver, she truly believes in her conviction, in what she is telling them, "it's part of an iryō-nin's duty to the team."
The boys are stunned to silence once again, this meek, weak-looking girl with unassuming appearance and ghostly presence actually has her own beliefs she won't give up. Even without ninjutsu and taijutsu, she believes she can be useful to the team through genjutsu and iryō-ninjutsu, to them.
A blink and a smirk, Sasuke's final thought of the girl has improved from his first impressions of her.
She's not that weak after all.
So yeah, how is it?
Reviews are very much appreciated!
Next time: Insight to Hatake Kakashi's take on Team 7!
Thank you!
