The Psychic, The Swordsman, and The Sorcerer
Chapter 14
I don't own Naruto, X-Men, Zorro, or Harry Potter. They respectively belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox, the public domain despite what Zorro Production Inc. wants you to believe, and JK Rowling and the Warner Bros. (and the Warner Sister, Dot). The only thing left to say is that this chapter will have a Tenten interlude. Fun Fact: The original pilot for Naruto had the blond be a fox demon, himself, and the son of the Kyuubi, with several other key differences. If you look on the Naruto Wiki, you can find an overview of the plot.
Tenten had planned everything perfectly. She'd even managed to secretly invade the Uzumaki Manor, where Zabuza Momochi was staying, one time before the owner of the manor upped the security he had in place. As it was, she hadn't intend on striking just yet, as she needed to case the location to know just what she would need to do to succeed in her plan. Unfortunately for her plans, while Zabuza Momochi did in fact sleep with his blade as she expected of a swordsman of his caliber, the porcelain masked guard he had dressed as a hunter nin and called 'Haku' didn't seem to sleep. Fortunately for Tenten, there was more than one way to metaphorically skin a cat. Having seen him throw senbon at targets to train, she knew just how to begin in her process to deal with the boy. Phase One would wait until the boy was training.
Zabuza and Haku had gotten used to their host's odd behavior over the past two days. He was very friendly and hospitable, but he seemed to always refuse to spar with anyone, almost as if he was certain that a fight would cause him to vanish in a puff of smoke. Then, there was his odder habit of visiting the basement for a few minutes two to four times every single day. He gave no reason for why, and whatever was behind the door to the basement was a mystery to the pair, as he had put up some seals that would only let him or his valet through.
The valet was also friendly, keeping close to the blond so that whatever gesture he gave was quickly interpreted, which was convenient for the pair of new residents, as they wouldn't have understood him otherwise. On the third day of their new life, Haku decided to visit the nearest training ground and once again practice with her weapons, as she felt certain that she needed to practice. Donning her combat attire and her mask, she headed out, bidding Zabuza, Naruto, and Sai goodbye for the day. Surely nothing could spoil the day for her.
Elsewhere, Kakashi finally showed up at Training Ground Seven, feeling positively giddy. In his hand were three forms that would potentially save him from the monsters that plagued his existence every single day.
"That's a rather hurtful thing to think, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said in a calm tone, "Still, since you're so eager to celebrate, I'll let you tell the other two about the forms in your hand."
"I'm signing you three up for the Chuunin Exams," Kakashi said, handing each of them a copy of the form, "Sign the forms so you can take the Exam."
"Thank you for the trust in our abilities, Copycat Kakashi," Zorro said, signing his form with a flourish, "I hope that we will be able to meet the expectations needed for the Exams."
"I didn't want to be in a Tournament," Sasuke said in irritation. He never did enjoy any form of fame or recognition.
"If my teammate does not participate, then neither shall I," Zorro proclaimed, unsheathing his sword as he tossed the paper into the air. Kakashi could only watch in shocked horror as he moved to shred the paper with his sword.
Much to Kakashi's relief, as he swung his blade to slice the paper, it suddenly floated out of his reach and landed in Sakura's hand.
"I want to participate," Sakura said, her eyes almost glowing, "The Exams promise to be interesting, and in order to participate, I need both of you involved, otherwise, I can't participate. Do I make myself clear?"
"Aguamenti," Sasuke said nonchalantly, blasting her in the face with a stream of water, "Alright, I'll do it, but I swear, if I have to fight a giant snake, someone is going to have to pay!"
"Good of you to agree," Sakura said, drying off her face as the Dark Phoenix was once again pushed back, "Now, hand Kakashi-sensei your form once you're done signing it."
Begrudgingly, the Last-(Officially)-Loyal Uchiha signed the form and handed it to the jounin. Nodding to himself once the forms were in order, Kakashi said, "Alright. I'm going to turn these in, so you're all dismissed for the day. Go do whatever it is that you normally do."
If not for the need to protect his somewhat damaged reputation, he would have skipped to the Hokage Tower. As it was, he used Shunshin to leave as quickly as possible while he continued trying to remember who wrote the inaccurate records of these monsters.
"I, Kakashi Hatake, hereby nominate Team Seven, consisting of Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Zorro for the Chuunin Exams," he said when he was called upon during the meeting, grinning behind his mask the entire time.
"Are you sure that you don't feel like you need to teach them further?" Iruka Umino asked from the corner of the room.
"It was you, wasn't it?!" Kakashi shouted, "You altered their records!"
"I don't have any idea what you're talking about," one of Konoha's most notorious pranksters of his day smirked, "I never laid a hand on their records after they graduated."
The Chuunin was actually being honest, though Kakashi didn't know that. All Iruka had done was let Anko into the Academy's student record archive with false documents, after all. He never touched those particular papers. Sometimes, helping others with petty revenge would provide entertainment.
"This isn't over," Kakashi declared, pointing at a disinterested Iruka.
"If that's all," Hiruzen said, grabbing everyone's attention, "Then you are all dismissed."
Meanwhile, back at the Uzumaki compound, Haku raced through the front door and slammed it behind her, encasing both door and frame in ice in her haste before shutting the windows quickly.
"What's wrong, Haku?" Zabuza asked, having never seen his adopted daughter look quite as terrified as she did now.
"I need to hide! She's a madwoman!" Haku shouted from behind her porcelain mask, "First, she walked up to me and began complimenting my ability with my senbon."
"That doesn't sound insane," Zabuza remarked, not understanding Haku's terror.
"That wasn't the disturbing part," Haku replied, "She then pressed herself against my side and stroked my cheek, offering to go somewhere private in a tone that women often spoke to you with when they wanted to assassinate you while you slept. I tried to get her to stop, but she became more insistent, so I ran back here."
Outside the door, Tenten frowned. Her plan to seduce and incapacitate the boy had failed. She would have to do better next time. She was so close to claiming her future sword she could almost feel its weight in her hand. Perhaps she had been too subtle for the boy to understand her meaning. . .