*AN: So...I JUST realized I've been calling Ibiki Ibuki. Sorry about that, everyone...To be fair, though, no one has commented on it, not even my two friends who read my fanfic, so...we're just gonna continue as is and pretend nothing happened, k? Sorry about that! Also, this is a slow chapter, but I promise the next one will be more exciting. Also, I will be able to continue the regular update schedule, as I have written enough material so I won't be forced to update only twice a month.*
I had cooled down considerably since Sepi's blunder, but I couldn't bring myself to completely forgive her, so I opted to do the most logical thing: throw myself into training, even keeping pace with Guy-sensei without complaint. (Ish) Neji had figured something was wrong, but he wisely didn't say anything. He still remembered what happened to the Hyuuga that pissed me off after a day of training with Guy-sensei. Suffice to say the Hyuuga clan will never look the same way at chopsticks again.
I avoided Sepi and Fu, and they both avoided me. I didn't run into either one of them until the morning of the Jounin Exams. An Anbu had come to my compound to give me the location to meet my team for the Exams (helluva lotta more secretive than the Chuunin Exams) and I had been on my way when I literally ran into Fu as she came out of a bakery (Toru's bakery was far better) munching on a roll while holding two fresh loaves of bread under her other arm.
Wham!
I had been so preoccupied thinking about what the exam would be like (and the fact that I was late) that I ran smack-dab into her. My reflexes saved us as I grabbed her shoulder to prevent her from falling backwards, and using her as an anchor kept me from tumbling away as well.
"Sorry." I muttered. I was sorry for a lot of things, running into her being one of them, but not the most pressing. I wanted to say I was sorry for wanting to kill both her and Sepi when I discovered them in the memorial room, but my damn pride wouldn't let me come out and say it. I blamed the Uchiha side of me.
I was about to push by her when something stopped me. I looked down at the hand holding onto my sleeve and looked back at the owner.
"Just...be careful, okay?" She asked me, her eyes full of worry.
I relaxed. "Don't worry." I said, my smirk barely visible behind my mask. "I've faced worse things than this exam can throw at me."
To my surprise, her grip didn't loosen, instead, it did the exact opposite, tightening to the point of tearing my shirt. "Promise me." She insisted, her eyes filled with worry and determination.
What's with this girl? I thought, confused. Seeing as how yanking my arm away wasn't really a viable option, I relented. "I promise." I finally said.
She released my arm and was gone before I could blink. I shook my head and continued on my way, confused. The fuck was that?
... ... ...
"Glad to see you finally decided to join us." Ibuki said irritably, flanked by four Anbu. I simply smiled lazily back at him, deciding to emulate Kakashi.
"Mah, sorry about that. I got lost on the road of life." I said easily. For his part, the head of T&I simply sighed.
"Dear heavens, there's another one." I heard one of the Anbu behind Ibuki whisper, horrified. I grinned at him, my eyes glinting evilly.
Ibuki took a moment to gather his thoughts, allowing me to look around the room. Besides me, Naruto stood nearby, positively bursting at the seams. Hinata stood near him, blushing slightly, and Kiba was standing next to her, Akamaru at his side. Lee was next to Tenten, both of them probably anxious to catch up to Neji, who was already a Jounin. Choji stood munching on some chips, and the person I found myself next to was-
My blood ran cold. Sai stood with that fake smile on his face, his Anbu tanto over his shoulder. I barely glanced at him, but my mind was racing with theories on why he was here. The most obvious was Danzo wanted to keep an eye on Naruto, since almost no one was able to view the Jounin Exams, but the possibility that Sai had an objective that concerned me wasn't far off, since I had displayed my dislike of Danzo, unwillingness to follow the rules by the letter, and Tsunade had made it clear she would do everything in her power to avoid handing me over to Danzo.
"Alright, listen up!" Ibuki barked, and we all straightened to attention. "This exam will be handled by your proctors, select members of the Anbu, and the Hokage herself. No one else is permitted to know anything about the exams! To break this rule means you will be instantly disqualified and barred from taking the Jounin Exam ever again! To reveal anything about the exam after you have taken it, if by some miracle you actually make it to Jounin, you shall be demoted to Genin and barred from taking both the Chuunin or Jounin Exams every again! If you have any questions about this, too bad! You now will be assigned to a team, and you will be working together throughout the first part of the exam!"
Some brief chatter broke out, but it was squashed as Ibuki glared at the offenders before holding up a sheet of paper. "Team 1: Choji Akimichi, Rock Lee, Naruto Uzumaki, and Hinata Hyuuga. Team 2: Kiba Inuzuka, Ibukai Kokori, Tenten, and Sai." Hinata lit up upon the realization she was in the same team as Naruto, and I simply sighed in relief, as I wouldn't have to hear 'youthful' at every waking moment.
"You have one hour to talk to your team and familiarize yourselves with each teammate's ability. Meet on top of the Hokage's tower after that. If you're late, you're disqualified. Also…" His eyes narrowed. "At no time in this exam are you permitted to fight each other. Using any jutsus on the other team, setting traps for them, giving them false information, or anything else that will hinder their progress is strictly forbidden. You're all Leaf ninja, so you damn well better act like it. Dismissed!"
I looked around at my team. A long-range specialist, a stubborn Inuzuka, a ROOT agent, and me. Go fuck yourself, Ibuki.
... ... ...
I sighed in relief. Even if nothing good came of this hour, I was enjoying the view from the canyon overlooking the village. Not the Hokage's heads, though. I'd be damned if I led everyone to my private relaxation spot.
I enjoyed the view for approximately six more seconds before Kiba opened up his mouth.
"So who the hell are you? I've never seen you before." He asked, pointing at Sai.
Here we go.
"My name is Sai. It's a pleasure to meet you...dog-breath."
"...WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!"
"H-hey guys, we're a team now. Let's try to act like one." Tenten said worriedly. I could fairly hear her sweatdropping.
"But this guy-!"
"Okay, panda head."
"...Okay, I'm going to stab you now."
"Enough." I said quietly. "Tenten is right. We're a team. Leave the names out of it and figure out a way to work together, and keep level heads, or else none of you deserve to call yourselves Jounin."
"Easy for you to say!" Kiba snapped at me. "You didn't just get called dog-breath."
"He has a point. We should work together as a team," I could hear Sai looking at me, "right, half-blood?"
Tenten and Kiba froze.
It took all my self-restraint not to attack Sai then and there. Most of the reason I didn't was because I was not going to have to train with Guy-sensei again if it killed me. Oh, and I wanted to stay a shinobi. That too.
Breathe in. Calm. Breathe out. Rip Sai's head off- Wait no. Breathe in. Calm. Breathe out. Calm. Breathe in...kill- No wait. Calm. That's right. Shit, breathe!
I slowly stood up and brushed myself off. "Accurate description, but I'd stick to our actual names until you get the hang of nicknames. You're just lucky Sakura or Choji aren't here. Calling Sakura ugly or Choji fat would get you killed."
I turned around and faced the group, only to see Sai nodding in understanding while Kiba and Tenten looked at me like I had grown a second head. Akamaru was simply napping.
"Yes?" I asked, eyebrow raised in amusement.
"Who are you and what the hell have you done to Ibukai?" Kiba asked warily.
"I'll tell your mother you prefer cats, and she'll believe me, too." I threatened.
He backed down. "Hey, okay, chill. We're alllll friends here."
"The fact is that if we can't deal with being called shit, we're not fit to be Jounin." I explained. "Also, I have had three weeks of dealing with Guy-sensei, no offense," I added the last part for Tenten's benefit, "that I refuse to repeat. So, even though the three of us know each other, let's give the new guy the benefit of the doubt and explain what we can do."
"Where did you come from, anyways?" Tenten asked suspiciously. "I haven't seen you around the village before."
"That's because he's Anbu." I answered for Sai, and he looked at me with barely-concealed shock. "That blade is a dead giveaway." I said by way of explanation. "Plus, my teammate digs up S-rank secrets for fun. Give me a little credit for picking shit up."
"I...see." Sai said, his eyes narrowing slightly.
I smirked. "I'm a close-range expert with several powerful jutsus to back me up, as well as a couple low-rank Genjutsus I can use when needed. As Kiba and Tenten know, I possess the Sharingan."
"I'm a ninja hound user." Kiba growled. "Primarily I'm a close-range attacker, but I'm a tracking specialist as well."
"I'm a long-range specialist." Tenten explained. "I use a variety of ninja tools, and I can take care of myself in hand-to-hand combat."
Sai smiled. "I use ink to create ink beasts for mid-range fighting."
Tenten blinked. "I don't think I've ever heard of that happening before."
"Probably never heard of a living person who can use Lord First's Wood Style, either." I muttered.
She blinked at me as the three of them attempted to figure out what I just said. "What?"
"Nothing."
... ... ...
An hour later, we met on top of the Hokage's Tower, where Tsunade, Shizune, and several Anbu were waiting for us. Team 1 was a couple minutes ahead of us, and Lee stepped forward to greet us as my team arrived. He opened his mouth, Tenten winced, and I stepped forward with a snarl.
"Say 'youthful' or some variation thereof, and I swear I will copy Diedara's form of art." I threatened.
Everyone gave me blank looks, save one of the Anbu, who facepalmed.
Found ya, Sepi.
Lee didn't quite know what I meant, but he wisely closed his mouth and stepped away from me.
"Remember the rule, kid." Tsunade said with a smirk.
"Lady Hokage, I'll make an exception if I hear that phrase one more time." I promised.
She shook her head. "Shizune?"
Shizune hid a smile and stepped forward, holding two scrolls. "These scrolls contain your first task. Decide who will be your team leader and they'll collect and open the scrolls."
"I'll do it." Kiba said proudly, and I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever, mutt. Just don't get us killed."
"Why you-!"
"Just get the damn scroll already!" Tenten snapped, and Kiba backed off.
"Sheesh, okay. Come on, Akamaru."
Unsurprisingly, Naruto stepped forward to get his team's scroll, and just like Kiba, he started to open it as soon as Shizune handed it to him.
"You guys want to share with the rest of the kids?" I asked dryly, arms crossed.
Naruto at least had the dignity to look sheepish as he walked back to his team, but Kiba showed no embarrassment whatsoever as he and Akamaru came back.
"Yea, guys, let's do this!"
I took several deep breaths to calm myself. Yea, there's no way this can go south, AT ALL. "Kiba," I said slowly, "you were the only one who looked at the scroll, remember?"
"Yea, I know. It's a delivery to the Land of Hot Springs. An A-rank mission!"
"An A-rank?" Tenten asked in confusion, only to wince at Naruto's yell of excitement.
"At least someone's happy." I muttered.
"What is the delivery?" Sai asked, ever on task.
"A renewing of the treaty between Konoha and them." Kiba shrugged. "No biggie." Akamaru barked in agreement.
"Wanna trade teams, Naruto?" I called out. "Dealing with Lee might be easier than these idiots."
"HEY!"
"Oh, sorry. Except for you, Tenten."
"No way, ya know!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Terrific." I muttered. I turned to Kiba. "Well, oh fearless leader, what's the plan?"
He gave me a blank look. "We deliver the treaty. What else?"
I resisted the urge to facepalm.
Tenten didn't. A resounding smack- Oh wait, wrong forehead.
Facepalm, slapping Kiba in the face, it's the same thing, really.
"Dammit, Kiba! Where's the treaty? When do we meet at the gate? What's our marching order? What supplies do we pack? Do you even know where the Land of Hot Springs is?!"
I smiled. Yep, Tenten is offically my new favorite person.
She took the scroll and smacked a now-baffled Kiba over the head before turning to me and Sai.
"Pack for three days. Meet by the gate in two hours. Kiba and I will get the treaty and meet you there." She said in a huff of annoyance.
I smirked and nodded, turning away and leaping off the rooftop. Tenten was a much better leader than Kiba, not that I was going to rub it in. The guy was probably feeling embarrassed right now as it was. I'd rub it in after the exams.
... ... ...
"You're leaving?"
Fu yelped in surprise and dropped to the floor as I sent a kunai whizzing where she had been only a second before.
I sighed. "Dammit, don't sneak up on me." I turned back to my bag and continued loading ninja tools and rations into it. "I'll be gone for a few days. The mission is part of the exams, making sure we can handle ourselves while doing a Jounin's job. We'll probably be shadowed by Anbu."
"What's the mission?"
"I can't tell you." I said, closing my bag and throwing it onto my back. "A-rank. Besides, you're not actually a Hidden Leaf shinobi, so my ass would be on the line if I told you."
"And it wasn't when you kidnapped me?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion.
I sighed in annoyance. She was blocking my way out of the armory.
"Yea, you heard the shitstorm I got into when we got back to the village. You think I wanna deal with it again? Look, just stick around Sasuke until these damn exams get over with. Or, better yet, find Sepi. She'll do whatever needs to be done in order to cause general chaos."
With that, I brushed by her.
"Who were they?"
I stopped in confusion. "Who?"
"Your family." She said softly. "What were they like?"
I froze for a solid ten seconds before looking at her. She looked...vunerable. She had the face Naruto had on when he thought no one was watching, like when he ate ramen at my parent's house for the first time, when he realized we were accepting him. Wishing that he had that kind of love he saw Toru and Shena look at each other and at me with.
"I don't have time for this." I growled, running my hands through my hair.
I need to get it cut soon. I'm really starting to look like a miniature Kakashi.
Her wince immediately made me feel guilty as all hell. Dammit, she looks like a kicked puppy!
"Alright. Sorry." She said, head bowed, turning away.
I had moved before I realized it, grabbing onto her arm. "Wait."
She froze.
...Fuck you, Sepi. Just...fuck you.
I sighed. I'm gonna be so fucking late.
"Follow me."