A/N: Hello, everyone! I know it was a bit of a wait for updates on this one but I am getting back into this so here's another chapter :) Aiming to post at least once a week from now on. Hope you guys are enjoying my stories so far.
I'll admit, this universe is a lot more complicated than the One Piece universe so if you have any questions or confusions regarding the history/tribes/culture of Suna, please let me know and I'll try to explain better!
Ch 11 - Tough Luck
It only took three questions for the Headmaster to know that Hitomi's knowledge of the shinobi rules, history, and basic strategy was beyond what was required for a Genin. It only took four questions for the rest of the room to realize none of that mattered because the Headmaster was determined to fail her.
He tried everything from lengthy, convoluted questions to questions regarding situations only Chunins and Jonins would find themselves in. When that didn't work, he attempted to wear Hitomi out in hopes to catch her in a stumble.
"...and finally, a shinobi must never show weakness," Hitomi finished in an even breath after forty three minutes of recitation, "Those are the all shinobi rules acknowledged by the Five Great Nations with the word 'never' in it. 213 in total and in order."
The Headmaster narrowed his eyes and closed the book that he was using as reference. "Very good," he said gruffly, "And for my next-"
"Excuse me, Headmaster," Hitomi interrupted softly, "But this is the 57th question you've asked me and I was wondering how many more I would need to answer."
"As many as I want!" the Headmaster snapped, "You agreed to the rules after all!"
Hitomi nodded. "That I did. I'm not complaining. I'm just asking as a courtesy to the rest of the room as they have been waiting very patiently for their test to begin."
The Headmaster stiffened and he looked around the room. He had forgotten about the rest of the test-takers and most of them did not look pleased, especially their tutors. At first, they were all elated to see the humiliation of Hitomi but slowly their patience wore out while witnessing the Headmaster's wild goose chase.
"Headmaster," the young examiner hissed at his supervisor, "Maybe it's best if we finish her questioning."
The Headmaster bristled and he directed his anger at Hitomi, "This test will be over when I say it is over. You all knew what you were in for when you signed up to take this exam. It says on the registration form that how long it takes is up to the Academy's discretion!"
"That may be," Hitomi said diplomatically, "But what about the ones who are not here to take the exam?"
"You mean your teachers?"
"No," Hitomi said and pointed a finger towards the door, "I mean them…"
The Headmaster turned around and his eyes fell on the two Council guards who were her witnesses and escorts.
"I'm sure the more time they spend here is less time with the Suna Council," Hitomi continued, "And it would reflect poorly on me, if they stayed here longer than necessary. Imagine...if a Council member actually had to come here himself to retrieve his men. He probably would have as many questions about this process as you do for me."
A bead of sweat fell down the Headmaster's forehead. The last thing he needed was a Council member poking his nose into this school. He cleared his throat again but this time his voice was less strong. "Very...very well. We will move on."
He motioned to the examiner, "Please pass out the written exam to the rest of the group and...as for you…"
If looks could kill, Tamotsu thought to himself with a grin as he watched the Headmaster point a finger at Hitomi.
"You will wait in the next room until we are ready to commence the second part of the exam."
"Yes sir," Hitomi said with a slight bow. Tamotsu offered her his arm but she walked forward without taking it, using her glass staff as a guide. The Council guards were nice enough to open the door for her on her way.
When the group entered the next room, which looked like the same lecture hall they had just exited, Tamotsu helped Hitomi into a chair and she rested her head on the desk.
"Hitomi-san," one of the guards started to say, "You did very-"
Tamotsu held up a hand towards the guard while putting another hand on the back of Hitomi's head, stopping her from looking up. "No one talk. She needs to rest," he said sternly, taking his role as her instructor to the fullest, "Gather your chakra. You will need as much as you can for the next two tests."
Hitomi wanted to acknowledge the guard's compliment but she did feel very sleepy from the whole ordeal. However, she couldn't quite relax entirely and get herself to nap. Ever since she walked into the first test, she had seen a ball of sand in her mind's eye. It was floating near the back corner of the room. It was too small for anyone to notice. She initially thought it was some sort of jutsu the Headmaster had put in to dispel any cheating but the ball had discretely followed them into this room.
She wanted to tell Tamotsu but he was in full teacher-mode, which meant all his jokes and laid back attitude was replaced with focus and discipline. Plus, she didn't want to alarm the two Council guards. Why make it a big deal? If someone wanted to watch her take an exam, they are more than welcome to. More witnesses would only work in her favor.
So for now, she won't think too much about the ball of sand. If it is still there after she passes the exam, she'll deal with it then.
The second test was a target test with five clay targets standing at different heights and distances in the backyard of the Academy. Everyone who took the exam seemed to have passed but it was no surprise to anybody who the Headmaster chose to go first.
"You got this," Tamotsu said to Hitomi as he helped her stand right behind a white line painted on the clay floor.
"Ah!" the Headmaster warned, "No talking. You cannot tip her off of where the targets are. She needs to find it on her own."
"Since when is that a rule?!" Tamotsu demanded. He stepped towards the Headmaster but Hitomi quickly pulled him back by the arm. He looked back at her and she gave him an assuring nod and smile.
Tamotsu took a deep breath and put both his hands on the back of his head. "Alright, I'll stay out of it," he said and took several steps away from Hitomi, "But just for propriety, can you tell me all the rules for this? Just don't want Hitomi to get disqualified for something I did."
The Headmaster nodded. "Five targets. You miss a target, you fail. You miss a bullseye, you fail. You put any body part out of line, you fail. I mean it. I don't even want a toenail to go past that line."
There was a murmur in the group. "Five bullseyes? But isn't it usually just three out of the five?"
"The Headmaster is giving us such a hard time this year. I thought it would be smooth sailing this year."
"It's all because of her."
"That's it?" Hitomi asked, cutting through the chatter.
"Yes," the Headmaster said.
" Very well," Hitomi said and she took five large steps back away from the line.
The Headmaster chuckled, "Trying to make it harder on yourself?"
Hitomi said nothing as she raised her glass staff with both hands. "Wind Release: Guiding Light."
She swung her staff outwards and a burst of wind chakra burst through her staff. Like in Naruto and Neji's match, the chakra that swept through the grounds illuminated the terrain in her mind's eye. More importantly, it showed the silhouette of all five targets. Although it was for only a brief second, Hitomi committed it to memory and she dropped her glass staff. It shattered as it hit the ground while she pulled out five kunais from inside her kimono sleeve.
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
"Perfect score. Hitomi Saboten, passes!" the examiner gasped as Hitomi turned to Tamotsu, who was grinning ear to ear. Even the Council guards were clapping their hands in delight.
"Wait. You-You can't-" the Headmaster blustered as the next kid stepped up to take his shot.
"Did I cross the line?" Hitomi asked with a frown, "I wasn't sure if glass staff would clear three or four steps back so I took five just in case. Although, you did say body part and not weapon...Still, I thought I was being careful."
"You were nowhere near the line," Tamotsu said as he guided her away from the crowd, "You did everything they asked."
He shot a look back at the Headmaster. "When ya ready for the next test, we'll be over here," he called with a grin.
Upping the requirement from three bullseyes to five seemed to have a drastic effect on the test takers. Only a handful were left to finish the exam and the atmosphere became a lot tenser than before.
It also didn't help that a lot of the test takers parents' and higher tribal members have come to witness this last bout. They lined along the staggered wall that fenced in both the back of the Academy and the village. The spectators who had children or favored tribal members that failed gave dirty looks to both Hitomi and the Headmaster. The latter was definitely not taking it well and his whole turban was damp from his sweat.
"Alright," the examiner said, "This next test is your last one. We will be pairing you off and whoever you are paired with will be your opponent. There are three ways to pass this test. If you can get your opponent to bleed in the first 3 seconds, you pass. If you get your opponent to admit defeat, you pass. If you incapacitate your opponent, you pass. Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu are all usable here. Anything goes."
All the test takers nodded. This was the brutal but standard Suna test. All the shinobi hopefuls were warned about this fight since the very first day of school. With the "anything goes" clause combined with the incentive to inflict maximum damage in the first 3 seconds, many have left the test scarred regardless if they passed or failed.
"I will now read off the pairings," the examiner announced, "Saya against Akiko, Fumio against Sanij, Daichi against Masumi, and lastly Goji against-"
"Me against you!" a boy crowed with delight in Hitomi's direction. Tamotsu was holding her up against his chest like a doll, "This is going to be so easy. That Suna headband is as good as mine."
The boy had the purple markings of the Aizumi tribe, the ones who specialized in ninja tools and weapons. He had a long, hook nose and orange hair that spiked up away from his face. His yellow eyes were framed by the purple face paint and he pointed his smirk at a fellow tribe member.
"Sorry, Tamotsu-senpai," he said, "I won't go easy on your protege."
Tamotsu laughed heartedly with no signs of offense. "After your match, it will be me who will be apologizing to you."
Hitomi lowered her head and smiled politely. "I look forward to our fight, Goji-san."
"Don't think I'll hold back just because you're a girl. I'm going to-," Goji started to threaten.
"Save your breath," Tamotsu interrupted, keeping the grin on his face, and feeling the subtle sag against his arms, "She's already asleep."
"She's what?!" Goji asked incredulously.
Tamotsu didn't bother answering as the first match was about to begin.
"Saya. Akiko. Please take your places," the examiner said.
By the time Hitomi's match came up, the sun was already starting to set. The clay and earth that made up the entire village was cloaked in a burnt orange color.
"Oy, Hito," Tamotsu whispered, "It's your turn."
"Finally," came Hitomi's grumble and she rubbed her sleepy eyes. Tamotsu chuckled and lowered her to the ground.
"Once we're done, Michiko and I will take you to get some dangos," Tamotsu said.
"You better," Hitomi replied. She lifted her foot to take a step out but then it got caught in the hem of her kimono. She fell face first on the sand.
Thump!
"Hito!" Tamotsu gasped as the audience roared with laughter. He helped her up and hurriedly brushed her hair away from her face for signs of injuries. She pushed his hand away. She rested her forearms across her chest and tucked her hands underneath her sleeves. She walked steadily around Tamotsu and towards the examiner.
"I'm fine," she insisted. She faced her opponent and bowed her head.
"3 seconds," Goji boasted, "That's all I'll need."
"Ready?" the examiner announced, "Set. Go!"
Without hesitation, Goji extended his arms, pulling out a string of kunais in each hand, and threw them all at Hitomi. It happened so fast that Hitomi didn't even have a chance to react.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
All fourteen kunais stuck out from the front of Hitomi in a straight line from the top of her head to down to the lower half of her torso.
"I win! I win! 3 seconds!" Goji crowed, "The best way to take you down is to use weapons directly! It's your own bad luck that you got paired with a weapon specialist like me!"
Everyone's attention shifted to Hitomi's feet for the first drop of blood, "I knew it! You can't see anything if it's not coated in chakra.
Crack.
Goji's eyes widened when a shard of glass fell down instead. He looked back up at Hitomi, who was casually pulling the kunais out of the clear, glass molding she had created to shield her front and dropping them to the floor. With each kunai she pulled out, fragments of her glass casing broke off.
"It seems you and I had come to the same conclusion. That you would attack me without your chakra," she said calmly as Goji stared at her in shock, "You are pretty clever. I'll give you that."
"When did you-" Goji started to ask but then he suddenly understood what had happened when he saw Hitomi's hands fall to her side with her kimono sleeves falling just short of her wrist. "You...You fell on purpose! You coated yourself with sand so you could create a glass casing for yourself. You hid your hands so I couldn't see you form hand seals!"
Hitomi nodded in approval as the remainder of the glass shield fell onto the floor. "Very clever, indeed. Do you play Shogi, by any chance?"
Goji bared his teeth and he reached behind him once more. "Don't take me lightly! There's more where that came from!"
He threw his strings of kunai once more at Hitomi but this time she narrowly dodged them while running forward.
Smack! Thump! Whack!
With three quick hits with her palms to his jaw, neck, and then chest, she sent him flying backwards. He landed flat on his back and coughed up blood.
"Gack!" he gasped when Hitomi stood over him and pressed her foot against his throat.
"Concede," she said.
He clenched his jaw and dug his fingers into the sand. Then his hands relaxed and flattened. If she was a normal opponent, he could've easily thrown the sand into her eyes and taken that moment to gain the upper hand but that wouldn't have worked on her. It dawned unto him now that she had memorized the trajectory and pattern of his kunais from his first attack and that's how she was able to avoid the second wave. She had pre-planned this before the match even began... , he thought as he stared up at the blind girl, If she really was asleep, that means she had already decided what to do in less than a minute...
"Fine," he choked, "I give up. I GIVE UP!"
There was a moment of stunned silence and then Hitomi felt her hand being lifted into the air. "You're winner, ladies and gentlemen! HITOMI SABOTEN!" Tamotsu cheered to the incredulous audience. Even the examiner and the Headmaster were staring at the two with jaws dropped and eyes bulging.
Tamotsu swung Hitomi's hand down in a fluid arc and he took a bow on her behalf, "Thank you! Thank you!" he said to a mute crowd.
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
Tamotsu shot a grin at the solo clapper, Michiko, who matched his grin as she looked down at him and Hitomi from her spot on the top tier of the wall.
Hitomi pulled her hand away from Tamotsu's grip and she walked calmly to the examiner with her hand out. "My headband and Genin certificate, please."
Tamotsu looked down at Goji and he helped him to his feet. "Sorry," Tamotsu said, "Tough luck ya got paired with her."
"Ah, Hito!" Michiko wailed when she tugged at Hitomi's kimono sleeve to reveal a small tear. She moved Hitomi's opposite hand so she could feel the hole herself, "You ruined another dress. These don't come cheap, you know?"
"I guess I didn't dodge the kunais as much as I thought I would," Hitomi said with a frown and then moved her hand to the plate of dangos in front of her, "Tamotsu, we'll need to do more dodging exercises next time."
"Ah," Tamotsu said as he slurped from a cup of hot tea. The light from the dango shop caught the corner Hitomi's new Suna head back while she ate her snack and the gleam matched the twinkle in Tamotsu's eyes, "We will but who knows when that will be. We might get assigned our first mission soon."
He slammed his cup down and then put an arm around Hitomi's shoulder. He roughly pulled her to him and he rubbed a fist against her skull. "Soon we will have to gather up a team and go on our first mission! Aren't you excited, Hito?!"
"Don't mess up her hair!" Michiko scolded. She sat across from them with her own plate of food and cup of tea. She folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head. "Remind me...how does teams and missions work again?"
"The Kazekage, or the Council in his absence, decides on which missions to take and which Chunin or Jonin will be the team leader. Then it's usually up to the Chunin or Jonin to pick who is the best people for the mission," Hitomi explained, "On special cases, the Council or Kazekage, will request specific shinobis to be part of that team but mostly it is up to the team leader's judgement. Chunins can pick from the available Genins and Chunins only while Jonins can pick whoever they want. Usually each team leader has a group of shinobis they are already good at working with, which is what goes under consideration when the Kazekage assigns the missions."
"Are you saying there's a chance that Hito will be assigned to a mission without you?!" Michiko gasped as she looked at Tamotsu.
Tamotsu laughed, "There's a chance alright but-"
"No one will," Hitomi finished and waved a hand in front of her own face for emphasis, "Who would want to babysit a blind shinobi? I'm still a liability in their eyes. Plus, all the team leaders already have their list of favorites. I'm not on any one of them."
"Except mine!" Tamotsu grinned.
Hitomi nodded. Then she motioned for Tamotsu to come a bit closer. He leaned down and she whispered something into his ear. His eyes widened and then he looked anxiously down at Hitomi.
"Are you sure about this?!" he hissed.
She nodded and he gulped before motioning towards the waitress. "Excuse me, miss!" He ordered, "Can I have a pen?"
The waitress hurried over and gave him a pen from her apron. "Of course, sir," she said with a smile and then looked over at Michiko, "Would you and your husband like anything else? Another round of dangos, maybe?"
"Yes," Hitomi said.
"W-We're not married! I'm not with that man!" Michiko sputtered at the same time.
The waitress turned red and quickly apologized for her mistake. "I'm so sorry!" she said, "I shouldn't have assumed. I'll go get you your dangos right now."
As she ran off Tamotsu finished writing something on a piece of napkin and he slid it casually over to Hitomi. She turned to the corner of the room and held up the napkin towards the ball of sand that had followed her throughout the exams and all the way to the dango shop.
The napkin read: Have you seen enough, Gaara-san?