HELLO AND MERRY CHRISTMAS TO THOSE IN PACIFIC STANDARD TIME AND WEST WARD!
Well, until it becomes a new day (when does that happen anyway?)
I have a (somewhat belated) Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/birthday/December celebration gift to you all!
It's this chapter! Oooh, ahhh. So sparkly and new!
Okay, I got a review last chapter (a review, singular) and I'm sorry if I haven't been very original for you all, I've just been trying to find a non obnoxious way to write this.
Hopefully this chapter is good enough for ya'll! I'd love to know what you think, and reviews equal happier authors who can write more... -wink wink-
I'm just joking, I'll be writing anyway, I'll just be begging less!
Okay, this chapter's chapter art is -drumroll-
Obito standing with Mitsuki and Haru flanked beside him. Obito wearing a mask over the lower half of his face, Mitsuki coughing into her hand, and Haru with his sunglasses on.
Hatake Obito awoke bright and early the next day, having had the early morning sun shine down on his face to wake him up. His room was much like him, bare, only needing the basics. The only thing that gave Obito's room any personality were the three potted plants on his windowsill.
"Obito-kun, are you up yet?" Obito's mother, Hatake Kaori, said softly, knocking on her son's door softly. Obito sat up straight in bed, rubbing the sleep out of his bleary eyes.
"Hai Okaa-san, I'll be ready in a few minutes," he called out. He ran a hand through his silver spikes, making his bed head look somewhat less… wild. It wouldn't become tame anyway, so the least he could do was make it look like it was on purpose. Obito watered his plants before he did anything else, trimming away over long limbs and extra leaves.
After tending to his plants, Obito dressed himself and packed his newly sharpened weapons in his holster. Target practice with his new teammates had been fun, and he learned that Mitsuki had the quickest, most accurate shot out of all three of them. Haru was alright, but Mitsuki gave him pointers, telling Haru to use his arm to aim, not just his eyes. They were quite different outside of class, as Obito learned. He actually enjoyed going to Ichiraku with them, although he could have done without Mitsuki and the shop owner, Ayame, arguing. Thankfully Ayame's son stepped in between, reminding his mother that there was food cooking.
"Are you ready for today, Obito-kun?" Kaori asked, setting down some tea on the table.
"Yeah. Is Otou-san at work already?"
"Hai, he left an hour ago. Now hurry up and drink your tea, you've got an exciting day today. My baby boy, first ninja duty, your father and I are so proud of you," Kaori said, smoothing back her son's silver hair. Obito smiled slightly, drinking his tea quickly. The heat of it didn't bother him as he downed the cup.
"Thank you Okaa-san, I'll see you later," Obito said, bowing slightly to his mother. She smiled back at her son, before going off to get ready to work at the hospital. Obito smiled warmly at his mother's back, expressions he only saved for her, before pulling his face back into a blank mask and heading out the door.
-Meanwhile, across town-
"Haru-kun, are you sure you don't want any breakfast?" Haru's mother, Yamashiro Hana, fretted. She was standing in the kitchen, spatula in hand. Haru nodded his head, smiling at his worrisome mother.
"I'm fine mom, Naruto-sensei said to skip breakfast," Haru said. He made sure that he had enough shuriken in his holster. He was grateful for the tips Mitsuki had given him yesterday, they had improved his shot. Even his father had noted that it was better when Haru came home to practice with him.
"Hana, let Haru be. You can make him a nice dinner tonight, you can't go against a sensei's orders," Haru's father, Yamashiro Aoba, said, coming in from outside. Hana only glared slightly at her husband.
"The hell I can't! It's unhealthy for a growing boy to go without breakfast. This sensei of his is crazy I tell you," Hana said, waving a spatula at Aoba. Haru's father only laughed at his wife.
"How are the birds this morning dad?" Haru asked. He was changing the subject, true enough, but he knew his mother couldn't interrupt his father once he started talking about his birds. Hana tossed her hands up into the air, turning back to the stove.
"They're good, Yuuki and Isa are growing at a nice rate, should be flying by the time the week is done, just as I planned," Aoba said, a calculative expression on his face.
"That's good, I got to go now. Bye Mom, Dad, I'll see you later," Haru said, grabbing his shoes as he headed out the door. His parents bid him goodbye, and as the young genin closed the door, he could hear his father talking about the birds to his mother. He smiled to himself, before running off to the practice field where he found his sensei and Obito waiting.
"Sorry, am I late?" he asked, looking up at the sky. Naruto shook his head, leaning back against a wooden post.
"No, I never set a specific time. Could have come at whatever time meant "bright and early" to you. Seems to be that you two had the same idea about it, Obito got here just a minute before you," he said. Haru nodded, looking around. Mitsuki was the only one not there, and was probably not going to be there for a while.
"So Mitsuki-chan is the only one missing. She's usually late," Haru said, giving reason to the girl's absence. The jonin hummed in response. The trio waited in silence after that, thirty minutes passing before the kunoichi walked up.
Haru and Obito both noticed that their female comrade was working her fingers through her hair, angrily pulling and tugging at the short purple locks. Her hitai-ate bandana and her ponytail holders were being held between her teeth as she stormed onto the field.
"You okay Mitsuki-chan?" Haru asked, concern coloring his dark blue eyes. Mitsuki tugged at her hair one last time before releasing it. The short purple hair barely brushed passed her chin, bangs falling onto her cheek bone.
"'Mfine," she grumbled out, pulling her hair back into it's usual hairstyle of two pig tails right at the base of her skull. She quickly fastened her hair ties in before tying her bandana around her head, she seemed to take extra care making sure that Konoha's symbol was placed right in the center. Her bangs were now held out of her eyes, and slightly to the side. Once finished, silence transcended on the group. All three genin looked to Naruto expectantly, waiting for his instructions. The blonde jonin said nothing to them, did nothing, it was like he was waiting for them.
"Um, Naruto-sensei?" Haru asked, chewing on his lip.
"Hm?" the jonin asked, looking at Haru.
"Are we going to start this survival training or what? Don't call us out here to do nothing," Mitsuki said. She had begun to pop each of the joints in her arms, feeling the small shots of relief and pleasure shoot through her system.
"Well aren't you eager. Okay, fine then, you guys want to start then," Naruto said, pushing himself up off the post. He pulled two bells out of his weapons holster, bright silver ones that jingled with each movement. He held them out for all three genin to see, and all three genin had their eyes glued to the bells.
"What are those?" Mitsuki asked, her black eyes following the small silver baubles.
"Well little Miki-chan, these are bells as you can see," Naruto said in an obvious manner. Mitsuki's blank face contorted into a glare aimed at her sensei.
"I meant, what are they for?" she asked. Naruto grinned in response, bouncing the bells once before catching them in his fist.
"That's a better question, these bells are going to be what you take from me. You have to take them from me before noon, those who don't get a bell don't get any lunch. And not only will you not get any lunch, but I'll tie you to one of these posts and eat your lunch in front of you," Naruto said, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. Silence fell on them quickly, and the sound of rumbling bellies was heard.
'Tricky bastard, telling us not to eat breakfast to make the stakes higher,' Mitsuki thought, glaring at her sensei. Her hand rested on her stomach, wrapping her fingers through her mesh top. She could feel her stomach contracting, waiting for food to fill it.
"Okay, big deal no lunch," Mitsuki said, playing off her hunger. Her stomach was clenched tight, an attempt to keep it from growling. Her black eyes looked over to Haru, who had sweat dropped. Probably from having convinced his mom that he didn't need breakfast. Mitsuki had met Hana, she liked to make sure her son and his friends were well fed.
Naruto chuckled again. "What's so funny?" Haru asked curiously.
"Nothing, nothing, just that, if you don't get a bell, you fail. And since I only have one-two, two bells right here, that means that one of you is going back to the Academy," Naruto said, dropping the bells from his fist. Now the bells had an ominous gleam to them. Mitsuki swallowed heavily, her hands falling to her sides as she clenched her fists.
"So basically, putting us in these teams was useless?" Obito asked, breaking the silence that followed their sensei's ominous message. Naruto shrugged. He hooked the bells onto his left hip, where it could easily be by anyone watching the jonin.
"Now, you're allowed to use any ninja weapon that you can use, because in all seriousness, you won't beat me unless you come at me prepared to kill," Naruto said. He had a look of complete seriousness, and the genin before him felt the chill of fear strike down their spines. In the past 24 hours that they'd met him, he'd never had a look this serious on his face, it was usually so carefree. Now that it was so serious, it made him seem older, more experienced, and highly dangerous.
Haru bit down on his tongue, his toes twitching in his black ninja sandal. He didn't want to send one of his comrades back to the academy, they were just made a team. That was wrong.
"What if we refuse?" Mitsuki asked, earning the full attention of her two male comrades. Both their eyes widened from the question.
What was she insinuating? Refusing to listen to their Sensei? Did she want to fail? Thoughts raced through Haru's head, his mind reeling at Mitsuki's statement. Obito's dark grey eyes narrowed, studying the girl, before moving closer to the girl, standing shoulder to shoulder to his teammate.
"Yes, Naruto-Sensei, what happens to us if we refuse to do this?" he asked. Mitsuki smirked slightly at her comrade as she crossed her arms over her chest. Haru looked at the two as if they'd lost their mind. What could possibly have driven them to this conclusion, that they could refuse to do what their sensei ordered. But then one thought raced throw his mind, ringing loudly through his skull. Oh, that's what they were doing. Haru suppressed a grin as he moved to stand next to Mitsuki as well, shoulder to shoulder. Rebelling against their sensei.
Naruto raised both blonde eyebrows at his subordinates. They were refusing him? Well, that was an unexpected twist of events.
"Well, this is unexpected. Why are you refusing orders?" Naruto asked, looking straight at Mitsuki. She was the ringleader with this, and from her file, Naruto had somewhat expected it.
"You're asking us to fight against our comrades, condemn them to not become ninja. That's the most, ugh, pardon my language sensei, but that is the most fucked up thing I've ever heard," Mitsuki said. Naruto's eyebrows raised even more, and again did so as Obito spoke up.
"I can't participate in something that my new comrades, my new friends, would have to fight against me. I couldn't live with myself if I were responsible for sending one of them back to the academy," Obito said. Haru nodded his agreement.
"If all of us can't pass, you might as well send us all back," he said.
Naruto stared at his genin, surprise filling his mind. Could they really all think that way, when he and his teammates at this age had been so selfish? Naruto smiled, chuckling deeply. It caught the three genin off guard.
'They sure are different from us, Sasuke-teme,' he thought looking up at the sky. A large hawk flew across the sky, it's red tail catching the sunlight.
"So, you three are refusing to fight me to save each other huh?" he asked, looking at them with the coldest face he could muster. Haru nearly jumped back from the coldness of it, but stopped when Mitsuki grabbed his wrist to keep him in place.
"That's right. So, should we let Hinata-sensei and Chouji-sensei know that they'll see us in class next term?" she asked, chin held up in defiance against her sensei. Her insides were shaking like jelly, and she wanted to cry at the fact that she wouldn't get to be a ninja. But on the other hand, she wouldn't be betraying her comrades by sending them back to the academy just so she could become a genin.
Naruto stared long and hard at them, before turning around. "Follow me, I want to show you guys something," he said. He beckoned for the genin to follow him with a twitch of his fingers over his shoulder. Haru looked towards Mitsuki and Obito, but found them already following their sensei. Haru hurried after, quickly catching up to the two.
The trio followed Naruto past the wooden posts, and walked a small distance to a large rock. Obito noted that this was the village memorial stone, dedicated to those lost in battle. His father had brought him here a few times as a kid.
"The village Memorial Stone," he said, before his sensei had the chance to ask what it was, or tell them. Naruto nodded.
"Yes, this stone is dedicated to all Konoha nin who have fallen in battle. They died protecting their village, giving their life for the children of the village. You guys. When I was just a graduate, my sensei told me that this stone had some of the greatest ninja were on this stone. I was so excited, I announced that I wanted to be on this stone, but that was before he told me that this stone was for nin that had been killed in action. At the time, I didn't want that, I wanted to become a great ninja, and a greater Hokage, like the Sandaime. I didn't want to die before my dream was realized. Now, I realize that dying protecting your village is one of the greatest things a ninja can do," he said, eyes focused on the stone. Mitsuki stared at the stone, eyes roaming it to find that familiar name. Her father's name. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides, listening to her sensei's story.
"What does that have to do with our refusing to do the Survival Training?" Haru asked curiously. Mitsuki closed her eyes as soon as she saw her father's name. The familiar name she saw once a week. She was no stranger to this stone, it was her escape every Sunday. She sat there for hours, praying to her father and all the other nins that had died protecting her village. She understood her sensei, she wanted to be as great as these ninja, who protected their village to the very end.
"Do you think these ninja ended up on here by refusing to do what their superiors told them? By telling the Hokage that they weren't doing their mission at the expense of some other ninja?" Naruto asked, turning his blue eyes onto the three genin. Mitsuki visibly flinched at the accusation, looking down at the ground. Glaring at the soil. She felt stupid now. Haru stood silently next to the kunoichi, his eyes never leaving the stone. Haru stood to the side, a somber expression on his face. The trio stood in silence for a minute or two, just wallowing in what they did before Obito spoke up.
"There are many reasons that ninja are on there. They gave themselves up for their comrades, sacrificing themselves, they tried to protect their village in a threat, or were killed in combat. I don't know what all these ninja did, but I know they all died doing something great. Sacrificing themselves for the people of Konoha knowing they were doing something to help," Obito said. Naruto listened to the silver haired genin with a thoughtful expression, nodding.
"So, they gave their lives, their everything, for someone else. Either a villager, a comrade, family or friend. And all of you are willing to send yourselves back to the academy so that you don't send your comrade back yourself?" Naruto asked, his eyes locking onto each of the young ninja. Mitsuki looked up from the ground, her eyes shining with a power Naruto couldn't begin to recognize.
"Yes," she stated in a strong voice.
"Yes," Haru echoed, looking at his sensei.
"Yes," Obito finished. All three genin stared at the jonin instructor before them, prepared to be told that they were going back to the academy.
"Well… I've only got one thing to say to you three. You pass." The silence following those two words was deafening, Obito stared at his sensei, eyes widened in shock as Mitsuki fell to her knees beside him. Haru felt all the air inside him leave. Did he just say what he thought he just said? They all passed?
"We- we passed?" Haru asked, incredulously. But, they were for sure going back to the academy, he thought. They purposefully defied him, and he was passing him? Naruto nodded.
"Yup, you have displayed an amazing show of comradeship, something I wish I'd had at your age. None of you will be sent back to the academy, you are all officially genin and part of team Naruto," he said, grinning that famous grin of his. All his genin stared at him, still in shock, before Mitsuki launched herself at him. Naruto braced himself, thinking the young girl was going to start beating on him. But instead of being hit by fists, Naruto was hit by a small body, with thin arms wrapping around his torso.
"Thank you Naruto-sensei, thank you thank you!" Mitsuki said, hugging her sensei with all she had. All three males stood there in shock, none had expected the young girl to do that. Start yelling at him for tricking them like that, sure, but running up to him and hugging the sensei? Definitely not. Naruto pat the young kunoichi affectionately on the head.
"Thank you Miki-chan, and you two as well, Obito-kun and Haru-kun. You three have made me proud to be your sensei. Now, how about I treat you three to ramen? I forgot to bring you guys lunch anyway," Naruto said, grinning. All three of his genin looked up at him with a blank expression, and Mitsuki let go of him.
'What an idiot…' they all thought.
So, what'd you think? Good, bad, Coyote Ugly, regular ugly?
Questions about the chapter art? Did you see the theme? Did you know there was a theme? Can you figure out the theme?
I'll give cookies to whoever gets the theme!
SEE YOU GUYS NEXT CHAPTER!
LOVE YOU LOVEBUCKETS!