A Dysfunctional Team
~After all this has passed, I still will remain
After I've cried my last, they'll be beauty from pain
Though it won't be today, someday I'll hope again
And they'll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain~
When I awoke I was sitting in a hospital bed with a sore back and a weight on my torso. I was a bit disoriented, so I was just staring at the ceiling for a bit until a loud snore pulled my attention to the weight on my stomach. Naruto had fallen asleep while waiting for me to wake up, and shifted so both of us were comfortable. I looked around and found Iruka-sensei sleeping in a chair in the corner sporting a few bandages. I had a back-up mask at home for occasions when my mask broke or was lost and I needed to go home and retrieve it before someone saw me. I tried to see if anyone else was in the room, but I saw the mask instead, on the bedside table. It was a back-up of mine that Naruto made. The mask was carved with the same slits that showed only my pupils, it was also curved to form in a fashion that when painted it would be a lady's face. Naruto painted it so that oceanic eye-shadow flowed from the slits, making it seem as if the eyes were bigger and had color. He also painted a small pink mouth upon the mask, making it a beautiful piece of ebony wood. I was afraid to wear it in-case it might break for its delicate appearance. I stared in wonder for a few moments, then Iruka-sensei spoke up. "He's remarkable, isn't he? He made me promise to not look at you until he retrieved that mask from your home." Just after Iruka-sensei spoke, Naruto woke up. "Huh?!" He looked up and suddenly I was tasting his shoulder. "ARISU! YOU'RE AWAKE! I WAS SOOO WORRIED!" I was strangled for five minutes until he let go and started blocking me from Iruka-sensei. "Don't look Iruka-sensei, Arisu doesn't have her mask on!" "Go eat some ramen Naruto" Iruka-sensei deadpanned. Which caused them to start fighting, and gave me enough time to put my pretty mask on. Naruto looked at the time and suddenly jumped up while grabbing my hand, and was almost out the door until a nurse stopped him. "Naruto! You can't just steal her away without Arisu getting checked for any injuries first." The young nurse said. Naruto was disappointed, but I told him to go ahead without me in a way only Naruto could understand. He left without a word and then Iruka-sensei walked out after him.
The nurse looked at me and I noticed her nervous look, even though she tried to hide it. That was how I knew she was young, I couldn't really discern her physical appearance that well because the eye-holes of my mask were smaller than what I was used to, but I could feel the shifting of her feet and the anxiousness in her aura. Only those who are around Iruka-sensei's age and older didn't have a problem with me. The nurse seemed to be younger than him and older than me by a few years. She hesitated for a few seconds and then started examining me. I heard her let out a relieved sigh when I was allowed to leave. When I was out of the hospital doors, I quickly ran to the academy and through the doors. I slowed down near the classroom door and made it just in time to witness a pair of star-crossed lovers sharing a kiss. I think I was the only one that pulled out a camera and took a picture. After that I hid my camera in my weapons pouch and waited for the sea to part. Naruto and Sasuke finally separated and started gagging in different directions. They almost started fighting, but then I noticed the murderous Sasuke fan-girls looking down at Naruto. Luckily, that's when Iruka-sensei came in. Everyone started rushing to their seats, but I just waited until an opening appeared. I knew I wouldn't be able to sit next to Naruto, so I walked over and sat next to Hinata. I don't think she minds my presence, I've ended up sitting next to her on occasion. When Naruto begs me to move so that he can sit next to Sakura. The first time she was nervous, but then I stopped someone from bullying her, she's been comfortable with me since. I do admit, I've grown quite fond of her, I'm still wondering when Naruto will realize that someone ACTUALLY likes him and goes out with her. I think Hinata distracts me more than Naruto. With Naruto, I can ignore him and tell him to stop with a look. With Hinata, we usually pass notes back and forth when Iruka-sensei isn't looking. But he's a ninja, I'm pretty sure he noticed and just ignores it because she's my only female friend. Currently, we were passing notes about the team placement. We were hoping that me, her, and Naruto would be a team, but you know, there are NEVER two kunoichi on a team. "They'd never put us all on the same team" Hinata wrote, I quickly wrote down We can still hope~ before passing it back to her. She smiled and then we returned our attention to Iruka-sensei who started explaining teams.
Iruka-sensei cleared his throat and started speaking. "Before we divide you all into teams, let me explain how we've split you up into three-man cells. We all tried to even out everyone's strengths and weaknesses. There will be one four-man cell because of an unexpected, last-minute genin graduate. You will have a Jounin sensei, and you will listen to his or her every instruction. Their instructions are to help you become better ninja and complete your assigned missions and duties as your new roles as Genin. Now here are your new teammates..." I zoned out until Hinata tapped me so I can hear my team. "...Team seven. Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto..." I heard Naruto shout in excitement and pump his fist in the air, one glance at Sakura showed she wasn't too happy. She had lowered her head and was surrounded by a gloom cloud, I sighed because of Naruto's ignorance. "...Uchiha Sasuke.." Naruto and Sakura switch expressions, every fan-girl in the room become murderous, and me and Hinata share a glance. "...and Suzuki Arisu." Que everyone in the room shivering except Hinata, Naruto, and Iruka-sensei. Yes, Sasuke shivered too, he just tried to hide it. Naruto decided to jump on the table and cheer very loudly "YEAAAAHHHHH!" In return, Iruka-sensei through a ruler at him to make him fall off. Hinata just congratulated me on the paper. Iruka-sensei went back to calling out the teams. "Team eight. Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hyuuga Hinata." I finally know where my other friend has ended up, and because of her association with me, I bet her teammates aren't going to be nice to her in the beginning. I stopped listening to the rest of the teams and started passing notes to Hinata again, concerned with her well-being. Are you going to be okay?~ I wrote then passed the note to her. "Yeah, I know it'll be hard without someone I know there, but I'll be fine" She passed it back. You can always call me if they bother you, I'm always here for you~ Pass note. "I think that'll only make it worse, but thank you" Pass note. We kept passing notes back and forth until all the teams were called.
The newly formed team seven was now eating lunch, making sure to stay in or near the academy. We stayed near the academy mainly because we still had to wait for our new sensei, everyone else's sensei had already come and gone before lunch and now it's just ridiculous. I decided to break the ice with my teammates later, and sat in a cherry blossom tree; it was close to all my teammates and covered my face while my mask was off so I could eat. Some branches hung over the bench Sakura had claimed for her lunch, and some grabbed the edges of the windowsill, making it easier for me to spy on my new team. I was fairly certain, that I was only on this team for my knowledge of disguises, keeping secrets, and holding out under torture. That last one was something I'm not proud of, it's the only memory that I don't remember from my travels to the leaf village. As for the benefits of this team, they probably want me to talk more, and be more friendly and less intimidating. I could probably help Naruto and Sakura, but I'm not sure about Sasuke. Is that Sasuke now? No, that's Naruto disguised as Sasuke, and he's walking towards Sakura. "Oh boy, this will not end well." I whispered. I finished my lunch and put my bento box on the windowsill near the tree I occupied and started climbing to one of the branches hanging over the awkward duo. My mask was left next to my bento because of the flowers concealment. Inching towards the branch, petals start falling off the tree, but they both overlook it and continue with what they were doing. I make it to the branch above Sakura and it dips a little from my weight. Sakura glances up but continues to watch 'Sasuke' walk towards her. "It's just a squirrel." I heard her mumble, in reply I frown, realizing that she could easily mistake enemy ninjas as 'just a squirrel' and be in danger at any moment. 'Sasuke' reaches her side and strikes up a conversation. "Hey Sakura." and Sakura tries to 'keep cool' and replies "Oh hi Sasuke." But sadly she can't help blushing. 'Sasuke' says "You know Sakura, I've been thinking..." and that's when I zoned out again because 'Sasuke' started acting weird around Sakura like when you mention ramen around Naruto. I tuned back in when they were about to kiss because I heard something. It was his stomach! Before they kissed, 'Sasuke' grabbed his stomach and ran like his ass was on fire. I started silently snickering, and I'm pretty sure Sakura was convinced it was the wind. Not too long after I saw someone wondering outside holding something in their hand. As they walked closer, I noticed it was the real Sasuke, and he was staring at...MY MASK! SHIT! "OOH SASUKE~! Are you ready now?" Sakura noticed him too. He was going to just walk on by but he decided to stop and ask a question. "Where's Naruto?" I'm guessing Naruto did something. "Him? Why do you want to know where he is? Naruto is only a trouble maker, if I did half the things he did, I would be in so much trouble with my parents. He's so lucky he has no parents, he gets to do whatever he wants with no one telling him what to do." During her whole rant I just kept getting angrier and angrier, until I couldn't hide anymore. No, I didn't jump on Sakura or in front of her or anything. I jumped behind her, with my back facing them both. It was so silent, that none of them noticed. So, Sasuke continued his part of the conversation. "You know nothing about Naruto. You don't know the misery of losing a parent, of not having one to nurture you or comfort you at night. You don't know much about the suffering a child goes through when they have no one to come home to. You have the privileges of having not only one but two parents. Naruto went through a lot of pain and suffering with no one to help him except Arisu, who was probably suffering silently as well. They probably envy you for having parents. Everyday Naruto finds the strength to put a smile on his face even through his pain, and I envy him for that." Sasuke ranted to Sakura, I think he even glared at her, I'm not entirely sure. She was stunned for a moment and could only utter "Sasuke?" That's when I joined in on the conversation. I was kneeling on the ground behind the bench during Sasuke's rant, but I decided to stand up while I gave Sakura a piece of my mind. I talked with my back facing both of them, so they wouldn't see my face because Sasuke was still holding my mask. "Sakura, you don't know anything about not having parents. You probably don't even know what happened to those who do, I suggest you be grateful you have parents, because one day, your parents will be gone." I said in my soft whispery voice and then used my speed to grab my mask and left. I looked back for a second and saw shock written on Sakura's face and a small shiver going down Sasuke's back.
We had reunited back in the classroom and we were still waiting for our sensei. Naruto was preparing a prank, Sakura was watching in hopes of excitement, Sasuke was watching in mild interest, and I was taking a cat-nap. How did I know they were doing all of this while I was napping? I can still sense things during a cat-nap. I can sense the tense and interested vibes coming from my left, which is where Sasuke was sitting before I started napping. I can faintly hear Naruto talking about how this prank is payback for making us wait, and I can feel the anticipation and worry, but mostly anticipation, coming from someone near Naruto, which had to be Sakura. At one point, Sakura got so bored that she tried to take my mask off while I was napping. It ended up with me restraining her arm behind her back, scaring the shit out of everyone in the room, except Naruto, he was pissed. A few minutes after Naruto finished setting up his prank, I sat up and watched intently. I noticed he was distracted from the door by Sakura, but when doesn't that happen. Suddenly the door started opening, and someone poked their head through. This is where I pulled out my camera and took a picture as the eraser fell on our sensei's head. I put the camera away when he started to speak. "Hmm, My first impression of you all is, I hate you." Que sweat-drops all around.
We were sitting in a circle on the roof with our new sensei, I could already tell Naruto was excited and nervous. "Okay, how about we all get to know each other" Our sensei began. Suddenly, a curious Sakura appeared, and asked "Like what sensei?" "Oh you know, your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams. Things like that" Naruto got suspicious and said "Maybe you should go first" "Very well, my name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes and dislikes are none of your business, my hobbies are confidential and my dreams are none of your concern." So, basically all he told us was his name. He then proceeded to point to Naruto and made us give away our information. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like Ramen, Cup Ramen, and my friends. I dislike the three minutes you have to wait for the cup ramen to finish. My hobbies are eating at Ichiraku's with Iruka-sensei, pranks, and training. My Dream is to become the Hokage!" "Pinkie." "I'm Haruno Sakura. My likes are, well, I-I mean who I like is...My hobbies are...My dream is..." "What do you dislike?" "NARUTO! a-and Arisu-u." She was blushing during her entire speech, except for her dislikes, she glared at Naruto and cowered away when I turned to look at her. Even Kakashi-sensei shivered a bit from my presence. "uh, um next." "...My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I dislike most things, and there are few thing I do like. My hobbies are training, training, and training. I don't really have a dream, more of a goal. I want to kill a certain...someone and restore my clan." And now I know what Sasuke needs, a giant chill pill. "Oookay, Miss Mask." I sat there for a second or two, about to speak when Naruto shouts "uh...um...Sensei, she doesn't really talk that much, she likes to keep to herself." Because he interrupted me, I leaned over and flicked him in the forehead. "OW! Why'd you do that for? I was trying to he-" "Shut up Naruto." This outburst of mine caused everyone to be surprised, especially Naruto. "Let me speak. My name is Suzuki Arisu. My likes are cat-naps, spying, and cherry blossom trees. I dislike when people touch or try to take off my mask, and when someone bullies my friends. My hobbies are training, napping in trees, and spying on suspicious ninja. My dream is to find someone, someone I lost years ago..." "Wow..." That came from Sakura, she hesitated, but she came over and put her hand on my back in comfort. I always get sad when I talk about...Him. Naruto was in tears, but he was always emotional. "Okay everyone, now that we've been introduced, we have are first mission tomorrow." "AWWH YEAH! What is it?!" "It's a surprise, meet me at the training grounds tomorrow in the morning. But just a warning, don't eat breakfast tomorrow." "Why?" The Trio of voices echo. "Because I don't want you throwing up." Que a multitude of shivers running down my back.
Hello! I'm not Dead! I'm sorry it took this long to write this, so I wrote a super long chapter to apologize! The next one is just going to include the survival mission so it might be short, but know I love you! I wanted to include so much in this chapter, I got writers block in the beginning, but I powered through and finished this! Mainly because I didn't want to be stuck on the same chapter when school starts. BLECK! That would suck! Also Bleck is a word I made up and use to express an overload of whichever feeling I'm going through. Sometimes I use it to confuse people, it's fun you should try it. Also, I think I got the order of the touchy-feely info-share wrong, if I did, know that I'm too lazy to fix it. I might not update often, so please, FORGIVE ME!
Not So Quietly Yours
Ninja