Chapter 9: D-Rank, The Devil's Cruel Joke
Anko walked toward the Hokage's office with a bit of a step. She had finally beaten those stuffy old crones and had gotten herself a team. She began to think about the torture that she would put them through. She giggled like a school girl before she reached the office of the Sandaime. The secretary looked at her and allowed her to pass. She entered the room with a big smile.
"Lord Hokage I have some great… news." Anko said her mood deflating. Inside with the Sandaime were three of her most hated people. They were the elders of Konoha. Hiruzen gave her an apologetic looked before her spoke.
"Anko Mitarashi, how went your test?"
At Ichiraku Ramen, team twelve was eating their ramen in silence. The stands owners, Teuchi and Ayame, felt the tension in the air between the group. Naruto was now on his third bowl while Jakken was eating a very large beef ramen. Yakumo was picking at her food as she thought back to what Naruto had shouted at her back in the forest. She took a deep breath and turned to her new teammates.
"Naruto, Jakken," Yakumo called out. The two stopped eating to look at her. "If you would, can you tell me why it happened?"
"Why what happened?" Naruto asked.
"Why he tried to kill you." Yakumo answered. She saw Jakken get ready to leave and quickly spoke. "What I mean is, if you can explain to me?"
"Do you really what to know or are you just going to judge?" Jakken asked with a sarcastic tone.
"No, please explain it to me. If we are truly to be a team, then we should get it all out." Yakumo said. Jakken looked at her for a few seconds before smirking.
"All right then, I was ordered to kill Naruto." Jakken said.
"What does that mean?" asked Yakumo.
"It's just like I said, I was ordered to kill Naruto by my father." He said.
"Why would your father want Naruto dead?" Yakumo asked.
"You got me, it seems like most of the village hates the pipsqueak. My father beat me up and told me not to come back until I killed him." Jakken said. Yakumo still didn't understand but she was very aware about how the village treated Naruto. With the exception of the Sandaime's family, the ramen stand owners and her clan, everyone else hated Naruto. She had asked him about that once and Naruto didn't tell her. She didn't push him as he told her that one day he would explain it.
"You know, I don't understand why the village doesn't like you. Is it because of those pranks you did back in the day?" Jakken asked.
"Not really, it's much bigger than that which I'm not going to explain. Yakumo and Lee, I'll tell some day but you've got a long way before I tell you anything." Naruto replied. Jakken just snorted at him.
"You can keep your secrets pipsqueak. I don't care one way or the other. Just as long as you watch my back, I'll watch yours." Jakken said. The team went back to eating in silence before Jakken spoke again. "So, what's the deal with your powers Yakumo? Word around the village, you nearly killed your parents with it."
"Once in a generation, there is a member of my clan who's ability in Genjutsu is so strong that it makes the damage real. I am one of those people. I was being trained to control it but the person I thought I could trust didn't trust my abilities and sealed my powers. I misinterpret a discussion and got angry. The result was the fire." Yakumo explained. This caused Jakken to chuckle.
"So you had a temper tantrum?" Jakken asked trying to hold in his laughter. Yakumo glared at him and looked ready to cast a just on him.
"Calm down you two, you're not going to fight around the stand. This is holy ground and I will not allow you to disturb it." Naruto said strongly.
"Ok, ok, I'll stop." Jakken said. Yakumo huffed and turned back to her ramen. "So, can you control it now?" he asked.
"I can but only a little. The seal that Jiraiya-sama placed on me allows my second personality and I to merge powers." Yakumo said. She lifted the back of her hair to show the seal that was placed on her.
"So do you have a special type of Genjutsu you like to use?" Jakken asked.
"Well, our clan mostly uses binding Genjutsu to disable our opponents," Yakumo said when Jakken cut her off.
"That's dull. Oh you know what you should do? Conjure up ghost or specters." Jakken said excitedly.
"I've been saying that for years now. Finally, someone makes sense." Naruto added.
"You are both so juvenile." Yakumo huffed. The team continued their talks until they were full.
A slam of a hand on the Sandaime's desk was heard from outside. Inside, Homura was glaring at Anko. Koharu also looked very angry while Hiruzen and Danzo looked calm. Anko just dug into her ear like it was no big deal.
"What the hell were you thinking Mitarashi? Not only did you take three fresh Genin into the forest of death but one of them was a clan heiress." Homura shouted.
"I didn't know that I had to coddle an heiress. I thought I was training ninja." Anko said without a care.
"That will be enough of your attitude! What you did was reckless and stupid." Koharu added.
"They survived, didn't they? I thought you would be happy to know that they passed." Anko countered.
"By your report, they barely passed your exam." Danzo spoke.
"Yeah but they have so much potential. I can work with them easily and it would be fun." Anko said with a smile.
"Do you see how stupid it was to make her a Jonin sensei? Who knows what she has planned for them?" Homura said.
"Despite her lack of judgment, she now has a team. I trust Anko will do right by her new team." Hiruzen said. Homura scoffed and walked out of the room. Danzo and Koharu soon followed, giving Anko dirty looks. Anko sneered at them.
"Dried up old fossils," Anko muttered.
"So, can you bring out their potential Anko?" Hiruzen asked.
"No sweat, I'll make them into the most badass team ever." Anko cheered. Hiruzen only smirked at her antics.
The next day, team Anko met back at the training grounds. Anko looked at her charges and noticed that they were a bit different than before. While they all held a similar expression, it seemed like they had put their pettiness farther behind them. She dared thought that they had become friends.
"Ok my little rats, today you are true ninjas. Before we begin, it's time to learn to rules of Anko." Anko spoke.
"Rules of Anko?" Yakumo repeated.
"That sounds foreboding." Jakken added.
"Foreboding my ass, this is going to be torture." Naruto added.
"If you all are quite done," Anko said with an edge. The three Genin clammed up and waited for her to finish. "Rule #1; I'm the boss and you will do as I say. Rule #2; you will give it your all when we train. I don't want to hear your bitching about how hard it is. Rule #3; there will be no talking about my training. To do so, would result in a horrible punishment." The group gulped. "There are more rules but you'll learn them as we go along. Now, it's training time!" Anko said and summoned some snakes. "All right maggots, laps around the forest. Let's go!"
The snakes hissed and gave chase to the three Genin who took off like a shot.
It was now noon and Anko looked at her laid out Genin. She sighed and placed her hands on her hips.
"You three are pathetic. I can't believe that you're so tired after an hour spar. You almost had me last time." Anko said.
"Psychotic… bitch…" muttered Jakken.
"I'll… make… you… pay…" muttered Yakumo.
"You've… made… my… list…" muttered Naruto. Anko sighed at them.
"If you have the energy to threaten me, then I guess you don't need lunch." Anko said with a smile. They groaned and picked themselves off the ground. They glared at their teacher and readied themselves for another assault. As they made their move, an alarm clock rang. Anko clapped her hands together. "That ends today's training. Go and get some lunch and meet me at the tower." She ordered before disappearing via Shunshin.
"Why do I feel that we will not live through this?" Yakumo asked.
"Could be worst?" Naruto said.
"We are under the control of a crazy and mentally unstable kunoichi with a fetish for pain. How could it be worst that this?" Jakken asked.
"We could be under someone just as worst." Naruto said lamely. Jakken and Yakumo gave him a look.
Team twelve entered the mission to get their first mission. Each was very anxious to dive into the world of their profession. They all noticed that Anko was trying to hold in laughter for some reason. They looked at the Hokage who gave then a smile.
"Team twelve; are you ready for your first mission?" Hiruzen asked.
"Yes Hokage-sama!" they all said.
"Good. Your first mission… is the capture of the daimyo's cat, Tora." Hiruzen said. All three Genin looked at the Hokage with a look of pure shock. Anko took this moment to get a picture of their expressions. It would be one of her most favorite picture for years to come.
One month, one of the longest months of Naruto's, Yakumo's and Jakken's life. How could they call these chores missions? So far, they had done nothing but these 'chores' for a whole month. They all glared at their sensei, who just watched their humiliation with a grin. How were the skills they learned in the academy suppose to work do such things? Anko did explain what these missions were supposed to do but it didn't make then any more annoying.
Their first mission was one of the hardest missions to date. Whatever Madam Shijimi was doing to the blasted thing, needed to stop and stop now. The next time the cat got free, team twelve was going to kill it. It was something that each member of the team agreed on. In fact, Anko was barely in time to save the cat from a pit fall that was laced with pikes at the bottom.
Then there was the mission to babysit the terror twins. The twins of a councilman were nothing but trouble and were very defiant in taking orders from any of them. They actually managed to behave one time for the team. However that mission was given away to another Genin squad. Naruto's game of 'ninja' got a little out of hand. The 'hero' twins were pissing their pants as Jakken's version of a guillotine was used with real weapons.
Now, there was this mission. They currently were at the Inuzuka kennels. The mission was to wash the dogs, a very simple mission. Jakken was having a much easier time cleaning the dogs. When he was asked, all he said 'it's an animal thing'. Naruto wasn't having too much problems. There were some dogs that he kept away from since they growled at him but he was getting the job done.
The one who had the most problems was Yakumo. She was still attempting to get the same dog washed. It was a small white puppy that didn't wish to get washed. It belonged to a rude and rowdy boy named Kiba. Kiba just laughed at Yakumo who was getting angrier with every passing minute. Then Kiba did the something incredibly stupid.
"I can't believe they let a weak girl like you graduate. The academy is going to be a breeze." Kiba commented. Yakumo stopped chasing the puppy and took a deep breath. Kiba looked at her in confusion when he saw her begin to change. The sky began to get dark and Yakumo's hair began to whip around wildly. When she turned to face him, Kiba looked very afraid. Yakumo's face turned old and scary. Her hands turn into claws. Her teeth sharpened and looked like needles. Yakumo unleashed an inhuman screech which scared Kiba stiff.
"Do you have something to say, you little bitch?" Yakumo asked a scary, high pitched voice. When Kiba said nothing, her head grew and her fangs got wider. "I SAID, DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY?"
"N-N-No ma'am." Kiba squeaked.
"LEAVE!" Yakumo shouted. Kiba took off like a shot, a trail of water coming from his pants. Yakumo suddenly returned to normal before looking at the puppy who was also scary stiff. She glared at the puppy before pointing to the tub of soap and water. The puppy complied and hopped into the tub. Yakumo sighed before doing her job. Her teammates looked at her in shock and awe.
"That was badass." Jakken said stunned.
"Wow, she's scarier than Anko-sensei." Naruto whispered. Yakumo snapped her head toward the two who held their hands up in defense. Anko only smiled in amusement.
Anko and her team walked out of the Hokage tower. They were all tried and could wait to get home. Suddenly, they noticed that Anko had stopped. All three looked at her with cautious. Anko saw this and looked a bit hurt.
"Oh come on, I'm not that bad." Anko said with a pout. The team wasn't buying it and stood in alert. She smiled and raised her hands in surrender. "Ok, ok, I'll behave. I just have to say that I am," Anko looked around for a second and saw that there were too many people here. She quickly led her team into and ally where they can be alone. One she was sure that no one could hear them, she continued. "As I was saying, I want to say that you've been doing a great job as of late." The team looked at her in shock.
"Oh my god, it's an imposter!" Jakken shouted. He got kicked in the face by Anko and was sent flying out the ally.
"That's what I get for being nice. Be at the training grounds at 8 A. M." Anko said and walked away. Yakumo and Naruto looked at each other before going over to their teammate.
Authors' Notes: I decided to change this chapter. I like the way it is now. Enjoy!
