Chapter 3
The New Team
Naruto
"Naruto!" I heard as someone knocked on my dorm room and it sounded like Jushiro. Heck, I was so out of it, I really didn't care. I joined the Academy when I was ten two years ago, yet it feels so long on some days. This girl I had a sort of a crush on had been evading me at every turn, yet every other girl came running my damn way. I mean don't get me wrong, attention is great, but there are times when it becomes too great. And these were one of them. Jushiro has actually relished his popularity; the girls always go for red eyes.
The first year here was great. Since Akiko was learning seals, she stayed two years longer. Jushiro was actually as smart as he was talented unarmed, but he was mostly adept with throwing knives and daggers and also was a great medic type. I mostly became adept at parkour training and became an expert attacker with hidden blades and trench knives and one of the fastest Trainee's in my generation. Our teacher, Iruka Umino, had said that he hadn't seen a trainee as fast as me since the Yellow Flash. If he only knew that I was his son. That thought was an instant crack up to me, since no one except Jushiro and Aki knew the truth.
I got up from bed groggily and walked over to the door and opened it and wasn't surprised at what I saw. He was chewing on a toothpick, a bad habit he started after last year. "Shiro, I'm getting the sense you're going down a dark path…" I said scratching my eyes.
"No darker than you, man. Do you have any idea what time it is?" I just shook my head, making him sigh in irritation. "7:00 a.m.?" I asked.
"No, dumbass not 7 a.m., more like 10 a.m." He said pointing at his watch and I was instantly awake. "Aw, damn it! Why didn't you call my number?!" I asked grabbing my jeans and white and orange hoodie.
"I did. You wouldn't pick up." I stared at him about to object when he held a finger up. "You don't believe me? Check your phone." I did and felt bad. He did call my phone… twice at that. "Sorry man…"
"Hey don't worry about it. You're lucky we're Iruka-sensei's top students or you, my friend would be royally screwed." He grinned and it only grew wider as I flipped him off. "Now c'mon man. The whole gang is waiting."
As I got my jacket hoodie on, we soon found ourselves in front of ten different people in front of us. The first one I recognized was Shikamaru and Kiba.
Shikamaru was of the Nara assassin Clan. His clan was known for their calm demeanor and strategic thinking. Shikamaru was by far the laziest assassin I'd ever witnessed and had a habit of saying troublesome whenever he's irritated. Yet even though he was lazy, he still had your back through thick and thin and was smarter than he acted. With an I.Q. of over 210, he was by far one of the smartest student's to ever come into the Academy. The only one I'd say was even close would be Jushiro.
Kiba, on the other hand, was a different story altogether. He was blunt, rowdy and completely happy-go-lucky. His clan, the Inuzuka, was specialized trackers who relied on their sense of smell to find their targets. And while there were many types of Tracker Assassins , the Inuzuka were without a doubt one of the top three clans right for the job. Kiba was someone who was just kinda hotheaded and fun all at once.
Beside him was Shino of the Aburame. Not much could be said except that his clan is also expert Trackers like the Inuzuka only they were bug whisperers. Honestly, half the time I dunno if Shino tries to be creepy, but does a hell of a good job at it.
Behind him was the towering Rock Lee. Not much is known about Lee except the man is amazing at Taijutsu. Also a bit of an obsessive fighter with the largest brows I ever saw. Ended up calling him Bushy Brows after we first met. I guess you could say we're on good terms.
Beside him was Tenten. Say what you will about that girl, she is a weapons mistress. She can use just about any type with excellent succession. She was real pretty too, but wasn't really stuck up about it. I and she have a friendly yet playful friendship.
To her right were Neji Hyuga and his little cousin Hinata. The Hyuga clans were known for their Kekkei genkai, the Byakugan, which allowed them to sense life energy and find a person's pressure points with record succession. If there was anyone who was better at Taijutsu more than Lee, it was definitely those two. Neji seemed respectful and was always a bit of an older brother to Hinata, who was supposed to be the next head of the Hyuga I guess. She seemed a bit shy around me and Jushiro and would blush if she saw him. It wasn't that hard to see she had a soft spot for him. If only the jackass knew…
Up next was Choji Akimichi, by far the biggest assassin I ever saw. Probably wouldn't be if he didn't eat so damn much. The Akimichi were always known for their strength, not their weight. All in all, he was a good dude and we always hanged at the candy shop.
And then there was loud mouth Ino. Honestly if there was a single person I could stand the least, it'd be that bitch… First the girl is the mean-girl type, a stereo-typical one at that. Second, she never shuts up about her hair, much to my chagrin. But I guess she got points for backing a person up when they needed it. Her clan specialized in Intelligence-gathering and was hands down the best at it.
The last person I noticed was Aki, who grew her hair out more. She was by far the oldest of us and was about to turn fourteen soon. I told myself I'd get her a present soon. Every time I'd see her though I'd just stare at her eyes… then her lips and then… Oh no! Not going there! I mean she was my sister and yet… she was by far the most beautiful person I ever saw. Sure as hell wasn't gonna bring that up.
And so, this was my tight knit gang. And we were all anxious today, it was graduation for us and each would be sent into a three-man cell, a team that was led by a Master Assassin. We were all anxious to see who'd be with whom. Jushiro hoped it was his dad, but family can't teach their children. But I could understand the situation. Better someone you know, than one you don't.
We walked into the class and was caught by an unwelcoming stare from an old rival of mine; Sasuke Uchiha. We started off okay when we first joined, I mean it was his older brother Itachi that saved me, Aki and Jushiro when we first met. But the strangest and unthinkable thing happened… Itachi had attacked and wiped out his own clan for reasons still unknown. I always thought he was a reasonable guy though, at least until the news came in. I tried to apologize and be there for Sasuke since he was a friend, but he seemed to have this cold anger and brushed me away with hate. The asshole from then on kept rearing his ugly head and would try to best me anyway he could. And Sakura, the girl I had a thing for, would just completely bulldoze me to get to him. Honestly, I dunno what the hell she saw so great about him, the man's personality is about as funny as Shino's beetles.
"Weakling," He snorted. "Dickhead," I said sitting in my spot.
"Watch what you say Naruto!" Sakura said making me turn.
Sakura was one of smartest girls in my class, almost as smart Aki even. She had long pink hair, green eyes and yet a great smile. But she could be harsh at times, which pissed Aki off a lot. Like now. I didn't even have to turn to see Aki's face, I could feel it on my back. "Its okay, Aki." I whispered holding up a hand as Sakura sat next Sasuke. I looked at Jushiro whos eyes were in shock and he was paler than usual. I began to wave my hand at his face. "Dude? You look like a ghost."
"Its grandpa!" He smiled making me turn to see who he meant, and sure enough; Hiruzen Sarutobi stood, cane in hand and smiled at both of us.
Grandpa Saru was one of those hard-yet-mellow types of guys. He was fun to talk to and funny too. But he would usually be disheveled by the antics me and Shiro would come up with. I was mostly scared of Enma, the evil monkey in his large battle stick.
What would any kid wanna do after seeing his grandpa? Run and hug him, no matter how retarded it looked. And me and Shiro did just that.
"Hello my boys." Gramps smiled with the wise old voice. "Whatcha doing here Ol' Man?" I asked with a smile.
"Came to announce your teams of course," He smiled patting our head. "Now get to your seats." He chuckled softly and we did as he said without hesitation.
"Well young boys and girls," Iruka-sensei announced. "I'm proud to introduce you to your Hokage and Leader of the Konoha Order, High Master Sarutobi."
Each and every student nodded in respect, even dirtbag Sasuke. Gramps raised his hand and everyone sat down again.
"Each of you has proven yourselves to be capable and skilled trainees these past two years. And now, the time has come for you to put your training to the test." He said and six different Master Assassins walked up.
Two were familiar, Uncle Asuma and Auntie Kurenai, who both smiled and winked proudly at me and Shiro. Me and him just looked at each other and grinned. There was a guy in a bowl-cut style hair. Kinda seemed like Bushy Brows. One that instantly caught my attention was a guy with silver-white hair and a mask over his mouth. He seemed mysterious… and dangerous.
"Now Masters," Gramps said turning, "step forward."
They did as he said and he named them down. Shikamaru, Ino and Choji were teamed up with Uncle Asuma, much to Jushiro's disappointment. Shino, Kiba and Hinata were part of Auntie Kurenai's team. Aki was with two different people and a Master, making me feel sad that we'd be separated. She gave a smile that said don't worry and I sighed. And then I was teamed up with two people I never expected; Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. While I was happy about being with Sakura, Sasuke was another story all to-friggin-gether.
"Uzumaki, Haruno, Uchiha, your Master is Kakashi Hatake. You will follow his orders and learn from him. He'll evaluate your skills and give me his assessment." He told us.
We each just glared at each other. Me at Sasuke, both at me…
That night we all went for some ramen. Kiba was grinning at us all. "I can't believe we're finally getting cells!" Shiro stared at him. "You make that sound the opposite of your true meaning, dude."
"No kidding," I agreed and Shino gave a curt silent nod.
"You guys are irritating me." Shikamaru yawned. "Bro, you're always irritated." I said looking at him. "But yes, we know that Kiba is irritating." I said with a smirk.
"Screw you both!" Kiba shouted and Akamaru, his pet pup barked in agreement. "Your yelling scared my beetles away, Kiba." He said with gritted teeth.
"Vent your anger in a fight, my friends!" Lee shouted happily, leaving a long silence. He slumped afterwards and Tenten patted his back softly. I looked around. "Where's Aki?" I asked everyone. "Probably heading back home," Shiro told me.
As soon as he said it, she came up in her casual skirt and smiled. "Let's get you to our parents Naruto,"
I didn't even argue and smiled. "Yeah, lets." Was all I said as she tugged my arm and walked toward our home. "How do you feel Aki?" She looked up at me with a puzzled expression.
"What do you mean?"
"Well you just graduated. I always thought I held you back…" I said shyly. "How so," She asked more confused.
"Because you had to stay longer and I thought it was because we hanged out more." I said embarrassed. She just gave the same sweet smile and kissed my cheek.
"You are so sweet Naruto," She told me.
Not as much as you probably are…
I just thought it, because I didn't wanna say it out loud. Figures now would be the time I start falling for a girl that I knew the longest, worse part was is that she was my adopted sister. But while I got sidetracked by the thoughts I changed the subject. "I'm really gonna miss you, Aki…" I said as we sat in the grass.
She lied her head against my shoulder sighing. "I know… it'll be the first time we're so far from each other." She said sadly.
"I guess you can text me when we're off-duty," I told her.
"Yeah. You'll call as much as you can, right?" She asked softly. "Of course," I chuckled. She gave a soft giggle that melted through me. "Imma go for a walk to home." I said smiling.
She just nodded and I soon got up and walked off.
Akiko
As she watched Naruto walk away, she secretly wondered what it would be like without her little Naru around. I mean Jushiro and her were a part of the same cell; she just couldn't imagine what it would be like for the two of them without Naruto around.
She began to wonder what it was that bothered her so much about him being away.
Do I… like him..? She asked herself. I mean he's cute and everything, but I always felt like I should put those thoughts aside for both of our sakes. But what if he doesn't like me that way..? Damn…
Finally shrugging it off, she got up and ran up to him. "Naruto," She said reaching him.
"Yeah?" He said to her turning his head.
Trying to find something to say, she just blurted out, "You still haven't gotten me a gift!" She shouted stunning him.
"P-present? You didn't seem to care about-"
"You always buy a girl a present! Especially your sister," She whined and ran off.
"A-Aki, wai…" he didn't finish as she ran and she could barely hear him. After a long while she stopped and a small tear was on her cheek. "I'm such a witch…"
Naruto
Wondering why Aki ran, I just walked back to my dorm room. "What should I get her..? She seemed upset…"
Irritated I visited Grandpa Saru and told him the whole ordeal. He just chuckled and waved at me to come closer. "C'mere my boy," He whispered.
I did as he said and he placed a necklace with a red gemstone on it. "What's this?"
"Lunarstone. It's a necklace your father gave to your mother." He said making me look up.
"Mother wore this?" I asked and he nodded. "Your father gave this to her in hopes that it would protect her. The myth of a lunarstone was that whoever is given it by the wearers lover, that they'd be protected by the Heavens." He explained.
"L-loved ones?" I asked looking at him. "B-but I don't-"
"Like I said, Naruto. It's just a myth. Besides, Aki will love it." He promised and winked. I just smiled and nodded. "Thank you, gramps." I bowed respectfully.
"Oh, get outta here you." He chuckled and I ran off.
The next morning…
I knocked on Aki's door softly and she responded. "Leave me alone, Naruto."
"I have a gift for you, Aki." She didn't respond to me at all and I frowned placing the necklace in the boxlet and sat it down and walked away.
Akiko
Hearing Naruto walk a good distance away, Akiko opened her door and looked at the boxlet. It had a small note, which she looked at curiously:
I know I may have forgotten to give you a present, so now here it is. I hope you like it and don't stay mad at me.
Naruto
She opened the gift and began instantly to start balling. "Naruto…." Jushiro walked up and saw the note and smiled warmly. "Go to the retard, Akiko. His ride leaves in a few minutes." He told her. She looked at him and smiled at him. "Thank you, SHiro."
He nodded and pointed to the door.
Seeing Kakashi's car drive off, she felt deeply sad and clutched the necklace in her hand. "I'll tell you the truth, Naruto. I promise…"
All introduced characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
