Okami

I wasn't even panting, and Shikadai lounged lazily next to me. I had only sat down because we were told to when we were done with our fights. It was against my instincts to be off my feet with so much adrenalin going through my system.

Shikadai complained, "You're exhausting."

"Try being me," I suggested.

"Sounds hard," Shikadai remarked, "Temper, clan hates you, worthy heir, prodigy. I like being me better."

I retorted, careful to keep my voice down, "I'm not worthy until I have sharingan. If I don't have sharingan by the time I'm a jonin, I'm not worthy at all."

Shikadai realized my plan instantly.

"Average age?" he inquired.

"No idea," I replied, "No one there likes me, remember. Your clan has a lot of research no one knows about though."

He nodded quickly and offered, "I'll ask my dad too."

"Thank you," I told him.

"Too bad you can't hide anymore if you want to make jonin that fast," Shikadai said with a sigh, "I'll actually have to work."

I pointed out, "You'll get to be lazy when you're a jonin. You can take whatever missions you want."

"Yeah," Shikadai agreed reluctantly.

"Alright," Iruka-sensei said, "There's just one more test before you're officially genin. There are three summons in the forest. If you can find one, then you have passed the third part of the exam.

I grabbed Shikadai's hand and dragged him into the forest. He started running after a minute, complaining, "What a bother." There was only one summon I had ever met, but I could sense a tiny piece of his chakra, so I ran in that direction as fast as I could. Feeding the animals had never paid off so much. Well… there was one time when a talking pigeon agreed to torment one of the worst clan elders for a while…

Finally, we arrived in the clearing, and I smiled brightly at the little dog and offered him one of the treats I kept in my pocket.

Pakkun took it quickly, then offered, "You passed."

"Thank you, Pakkun," I told him with a bow.

"You smell like pack," Pakkun remarked, "Like pack and forest."

I asked, "Would you think I was an animal if you didn't know my chakra?"

"I think you're a wolf now, pup," Pakkun informed me. This blessing was better than the others, and Shikadai looked mildly confused. I'd have to tell him later.

We went back through the forest, slower this time, and then we were back in front of Iruka-sensei again.

He asked, "Give up already?"

"No," I replied, "We found Pakkun."

It seemed like the very trees went silent for a moment. (Though Okami wasn't aware of it, that was because the various jonin in the trees were shocked into silence by Okami's ability to quickly track down such a high ranking summon.)

"Good job," Iruka-sensei offered stiffly. I couldn't really figure out why, so I shrugged it off and, after a moment's deliberation, sat down next to Shikadai in the grass to wait for everyone else to come back. It took almost two hours, during which I had started weaving blades of grass the way I'd seen a woman do once, working towards a small basket. At the very least, it was nice to have my hands busy.

Iruka then called the names in alphabetical order of those who had passes the exam. That meant I was the last one to receive the leaf village headband, not that I minded. It didn't quite fit around my head, as it needed to be adjusted, but I was proud to have earned it.

Slowly yet surely, people came to collect their children. My father and Sasuke arrived together, and they walked with me towards the restaurant district.

Father asked, "Did you try to fail?"

"No, I thought of a new plan last night while checking over the requirements for a clan heir," I informed him, "If I become a jonin before I have sharingan, I won't be considered eligible. It's a technicality, but the Elders and the Branch Family Heads don't like me enough that I think it will work."

"Why do you want to be a shonin so much?" Uncle Sasuke inquired. I had considered giving up the path, as you had to be a shonin in order to inherit the clan.

I told him, my voice softer than it probably should have been, "I want to protect the village and…" I trailed off, unsure how to explain the other group I wanted to protect, "those I care about." I left out the part about finding the pack that the wolf boss had offered me. I had my father and Uncle Sasuke, but it would be nice for that pack to get a little bigger over time. If I was right, Shikadai would make a welcome addition to that pack as he helped me to avoid a legacy I didn't want.

Sasuke

Dinner was a surprisingly cheerful affair, and then Itachi and Okami went home so that Okami could be well rested for meeting his sensei the next day. I went to the Hokage tower and met my father as he left the building, council meeting finished.

"Kakashi has insisted on getting Shikadai and Okami," my father offered, "and when asked who he wanted the third to be, he told the council that if we could think of anyone that could keep up, we were welcome to assign them."

"Okami figured out a new way to escape from being heir," I offered after a moment.

Father sighed and inquired, "What's his plan this time?"

"To become a jonin before activating the sharingan," I replied, "Clan law says if that happens, he can't be heir. It's never been a problem before, but if he gets through the ranks fast enough…"

"He's going to give the Nara a run for his money," Father remarked.

I asked, "Why do you want him to be heir so much?"

"The Elders are doing everything in their power to prevent it," Father explained after a moment, "Which makes no sense. Even if he isn't as pure blooded as a normal heir. Several of the Branch Families have had bastard heirs. It's something about Okami himself. I think one of the Elders had a vision, but none of them have dared to tell me about it."

I offered, "I'll have someone look into it."

"He told me how he got those burns on his arms the other day, but he still refused to give up the perpetrator. Even if he showed disrespect, there was no reason for anyone to damage him that way," Father complained.

"Whoever they were, they'll suffer for it one day," I remarked, "Not even Danzo could stop that from happening."