Sunagakure
AN; I'm so sorry for the irregular posts. The summer holidays are making me lazy.
"You-you, Kashi-sensei, are insane," Sasuke stared up at his teacher in near disbelief.
Said perverted teacher peered from behind his book, eyes heavy with disinterest. Either Kakashi was very, very reckless or planning something. After all, what responsible adult entered a six year old in a battle to the death tournament against children twice their age?
Sasuke reread the scroll, now believing whole heartedly that his teacher was trying to murder him without being suspected of homicide.
"At least it's hosted in Suna instead of Iwa," he convinced himself, as he scrambled to find something good in this catastrophe. "The people there are still 'hailing' Aniki as the next coming of the Yellow Flash. I'd practically be torn apart the second I step foot there."
"Maa…Think of it as a B-rank mission," here Kakashi pulled out another scroll from his flak jacket which Sasuke wearily accepted. "The actual reason that you were entered into the Chunin Exams so early is because the Hokage heard an interesting rumor that someone special was entering this time. Team 3, 6 and 8 are on missions, and Teams 5 is the only team available this year. Unfortunately, one of their teammates is in hospital and won't be cleared for until the Exams are over. So you will be taking over that position."
Hook.
"And… who might this fascinating participant be?"
"Akasuna no Koji [1]," Kakashi watched in amusement as his student's eyes suddenly sharpened and he could nearly see the boy's brain running through its records.
Line.
"Akasuna… as in, a relative of the Akasuna no Sasori?"
"Yes, even a more interesting fact is that he hasn't aged a day since Sasori left Suna."
"Indeed…"
And sinker.
The teacher smiled from behind his mask. Sasuke had fallen for the bait, and now all they needed was for him to sniff around Suna and the suspicious circumstances around Akasuna no Koji would be unfolded.
That is, if he survived the Chunin Exams.
Sasuke was not in a good mood.
He had been practicing this technique for a few weeks now and it had yet to work properly.
Needless to say, the preparations for surviving this Exam was not quite going as well as he had expected.
His brows furrowed in concentration, hands parallel to the ground, slowly pumping chakra into the dirt. A few seconds passed before the dirt started contorting, rising into the air and gathering into a ball. It warped until it had a head, four legs and a tail for balance, merely the size of an average house cat.
He sighed, rather disappointed, but it had been better than his last try which had only yielded one with a missing leg.
But he couldn't stay sulking when the thing rubbed its head into his palm, much like a kitten. Catching an opportunity, he started gradually pushing chakra into the thing, watching in fascination as it sluggishly grew in size until it was as tall as his waist. Now its face was more distinct, able to make out a snout and ears. Bit by bit eyes were formed and details like whiskers formed. It blinked lazily and nudged at his hip, begging for more rubs.
It was almost like having Nibi back.
"Isn't she the prettiest kitty you've ever seen, Onii-chan?" The double tailed demon cat preened at the praise and the massive boost of ego. His brother raised an eyebrow.
"How do you know that it's female? It could be male like Gobi and Kyuubi."
He pouted and cuddled he kitten closer.
"Nibi-chan is a girl 'cause she's prettier than all the others. And she doesn't mind being a girl anyway, does she?"
Sasuke froze in his stroking.
He'd never had a pet before, let alone a legendary two tailed demon cat. And he had most assuredly had never called anyone 'Onii-chan'. The thing rubbed against his hand, confused about why he had suddenly stopped.
Sasuke only stared down at it, observing the hidden muscles rippling as it moved.
Then he squeezed his hand in a fist and it instantaneously burst into a cloud of dust, raining down to its rightful place.
Had someone put a genjutsu on him without him noticing? Was he still trapped in it?
He turned away, heading back into a more civilized part of the Village. He had been quite satisfied with his accomplishment today, but more questions had burst forth with it. Maybe they could have been answered if he had kept the thing animated for longer…
But, he had been getting too attached to the thing.
And that just would not do.
It was the day they were leaving for Suna.
Sasuke had yet to meet the other two members of the team and he was rather uncertain how to act. Kakashi could not believe that he had been interrupted from his reading just for such a stupid question.
But Sasuke looked serious for once, even while doing something so odd and out of character.
"Plan A or Plan B?"
"Eh? How am I supposed to answer when I don't even know what Plan A or B is?"
"Plan A; act like a child my age should. Pros: The stronger contestants are less likely to try and fight me. Cons: Weaker contestants are more likely to hunt me because I seem like an easy target. Plan B; stay in the background and let others take the attention. Pros: Others are less likely to notice me which lessens the opponents I have to face. Cons: The more observant contestants will be suspicious of me and more likely to remove me from the competition."
Kakashi scratched the back of his head. Well, both plans had equal potential, but Plan A would be much more entertaining for him to watch.
"Maa… Plan A puts you in less danger of dying so-" he cut himself off quickly when he saw the other half of their team. It was a Hyuuga from the branch family and the daughter of the Inuzuka Head of House with her three mutts.
Interesting.
"Are you Hatake Kakashi?" At his nod, the girl continued. "I'm Inuzuka Hana. These are Ichimaru, Nimaru and Sanmaru who make the Three Haimaru Brothers," As she called their names, the indicated dog barked. The teacher raised a hidden eyebrow. They were certainly better trained then his ninken. Hana then gestured to the Hyuuga. "And he's Hyuuga Yuu [2]."
Kakashi waved a hand lazily. "You already know me. This is my student, Uchiha Sasuke. Play nice now." Since they had arrived, Hana and Yuu had been ignoring the youngest boy, but now they stared in astonishment. Obviously, they had been expecting someone much older.
Hana pointed down at Sasuke, disregarding how rude she was being.
"This pup? He's the same age as my little brother. You must be pulling my leg." Her reply was a severely out of character bright smile from the boy.
"It's nice to meet you Hana-nee-san, Yuu-san," Sasuke chirped, in the same hyperactive way that he copied from Naruto. "I hope we have fun together."
His teacher smiled under his face mask, eye turning into an upside down 'U', when the girl practically melted into a pile of cooing goo and the older boy had to let out a small smile. Sasuke was already initiating Plan A with his teammates. The beauty of it was that they were unwittingly going along with his plan by treating him like a little kid, making his act even more authentic.
Hana bent down to the boy's level and grinned cheekily at him, mood swinging into a completely different direction.
"It's nice to meet you too, Sasuke-chan," Kakashi was sure he was the only one who noticed the scowl that flickered over Sasuke's mask before it was replaced with a childish smile. "If you ever need help, just call Hana-nee-chan, 'kay?"
She received a bright nod and a giggle that nearly made Kakashi choke on air.
Okay, Sasuke acting his age was very, very strange.
[1] Yes, this is an OC. Yes, I'm going to be damned to Hell for doing this, but don't worry, he won't be here for all that long. I know that Sasori's last name isn't Akasuna, but it's practically become one, so I figured that it would be passed onto Koji by association. His name means 'light/shining second child'. And his name is significant to the story.
[2] Oh no, another OC! The problem was that I couldn't think of anyone else who could be Sasuke's teammate. And I couldn't help myself. I nearly killed myself laughing when I found out that it meant 'superior and gentle'. I mean Yuu Kanda; Superior, sure. Gentle? No way in Hell!