"Wake up! Just because our new teacher is late, don't mean you can just sleep the day away!"
I internally winced as I was smacked again by my slightly aggressive younger sister. "Mah~! He's probably not going to show up for another hour! Let me sleep!"
"Get up right now Ren!" My sister screeched as she smacked the back of my head.
I released an aggravated sigh before sitting up. "Fine! I'm up! Can I go back to sleep now?!"
She immediately punched my face so hard, I fell out of my seat. "Of course not, idiot!"
I sighed once again as I looked into her green eyes. "I'm this close to just..." My mind blanked out as I tried finding a good threat. I had nothing, so I ended up shrugging. "I don't know. I'm tired. Someone kept me up all night because she was worried about-"
My pinkenette sister kicked my chest hard, cutting me off. "Shut it," she hissed with a blush on her cheeks.
"Are... Are you okay Haruno-kun?" My blonde teammate asked worriedly as he looked down at me.
I held up my thumb as I looked into the beautiful blue eyes that belonged to Uzumaki Naruto. "Yep. I'm a-okay."
He didn't looked convinced at all.
The almighty Uchiha Duckbutt gave a sigh before grumbling, "Knock it off."
I glared in his direction before slowly raising up my middle finger. "Kiss. My. A-"
Sakura stomped my middle finger into the ground. "You know you're not supposed to swear."
I looked over at my most precious finger, that was still under her sandal, in horror. "Oh my gods, you broke it! You have no idea how many people I flip off in a day! How could you do this to me?!"
She released a huff before just going back to her seat.
I was greatly relieved to find that my middle finger was fine. I petted it for a moment before finally getting up. "Alright, time to be the most immature kid in the room."
"You are not drawing on the board," Sakura growled with several irk marks on her head.
"I can never do anything fun anymore!" I exclaimed as I threw my hands into the air.
"Stop acting like a little kid, Ren!" She snapped at me.
I huffed before flopping down onto the nearest desk. "I'm so bored right now though."
"I don't care," she replied bitterly.
I looked over at Uzumaki-kun and whistled. "Hey, blondie."
"Yes white... ie...?" Uzumaki-kun replied dumbly.
I snickered as I sat up. "That was so lame."
"Well I don't know what the proper name for someone that has white hair is!" Uzumaki-kun exclaimed as he pointed at my white locks.
"You don't know what the square root of one is," I said with a small roll of my eyes.
"So I'm not good at math! Who cares?!" He yelled before crossing his arms and turning away from me.
"How are you going to calculate the best possible trajectory and velocity of your shuriken if you're not good at math?" I questioned with a smirk.
Uzumaki-kun looked back at me with a confused look. "My... what?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me rephrase that," I said mockingly before grinning at him like the asshole that I was. "How are you going to actually hit your targets?"
"Hey! I can hit my targets just fine!" He exclaimed with a bright pink blush all over his cheeks.
"Yep. And I'm the Hokage," I said as I got to my feet. I cleared my throat before giving my 100% accurate Hokage impression. "I'm old and do paperwork all day. I like to lecture kids like the old fart that I am. I bet you didn't know this, but I'm also a huge pervert that likes the sexy jutsu."
Uzumaki-kun was practically dying as he rolled around the floor laughing. He was gasping for breath every so often, but he honestly couldn't stop laughing.
Sakura was trying to hide the fact that she was highly amused, but failed.
As for the almighty Uchiha Duckbutt, he had on the tiniest of smirks, so I won in the end.
I gave a bow to everyone before taking my seat. I was satisfied with my accomplishment for the next half-an-hour or so.
That's when Uzumaki-kun got my attention by opening the door and peaking through it. He released a hum as he looked both ways.
"Cut it out, Naruto!" Sakura demanded.
Uzumaki-kun looked over his shoulder at her. "Why are we the only team whose sensei hasn't shown up yet?!" He then began to pout as he said, "All the other teams have already gone off with their senseis. Even Iruka-sensei is gone!" He then got a mischievous look in his eyes and grabbed an eraser from the front board.
Sakura noticed and yelled out, "Hey! What are you up to Naruto?!"
Uzumaki-kun gave a chuckle as he hopped up on a stool and put the chalkboard eraser between the door and its frame. "It's what he gets for making us wait!"
"Grow up!" Sakura demanded despite the fact she totally loved that kind of stuff. "I want no part of it!"
I grabbed a small paper towel and wiped up the chalk that fell onto the floor. I gave Uzumaki-kun a thumbs up and said, "Now it'll be totally unsuspicious. That guy probably won't be looking out for an eraser up there, so it'll definitely work."
Uchiha gave a hmph. "No way could a superior shinobi be caught by such a simple booby trap."
I watched with baited breath as our teacher put his hand onto the door.
The unsuspecting man opened the door, and the eraser fell onto his head. From what I could see, which wasn't much really since his right eye and the bottom of his face was covered, he looked pretty neutral about it. Deep in his black eye though, he was very reminiscent about something. He seemed slightly amused as well.
Uzumaki-kun burst out laughing and pointed at the man. "Gotcha! Good one!"
"I'm sorry sensei. I tried to stop him, but Naruto..." Sakura trailed off. Her ass-kissing skills were improving - I was such a good influence.
"Thanks sensei! Now I don't have to clean this," I said cheerfully as I picked up the eraser. I put it back and flashed a smirk at the Uchiha.
"Hmm... How shall I say this?" Our new sensei questioned as he held his chin. "Based on my first impression, I'd have to say..." He gave a small chuckle before finishing his sentence off with a nice, "I hate you!"
"No worries! We hate you too! After all, you've wasted at least 3 hours, 27 minutes, and 19 seconds of our lives!" I chimed happily as I looked the man directly in the eye.
The man gave a small sigh before grumbling, "I'm going to hate you the most."
I beamed and looked over at my sister. I received a vicious glare in reply, but didn't care too much about that.
"Alright. Up to the roof," our new teacher said before poofing away.
"Alright! First impression was a success!" I chimed happily. I was kicked by my sister and laughed before rushing up to the roof. I got there last since I took a small detour to grab a small snack from the teacher's lounge.
"Did you get lost again?!" Sakura yelled at me as soon as I opened the door to the roof.
"I'm directionally challenged, sue me," I replied as I took my seat on the stairs in front of Uchiha. I then held out a dango to her, only for her to look at it in disgust. I then shrugged and was going to take it back when Uchiha took it from me and ate it. I looked at him in horror before looking to my new teacher. I pointed at Uchiha, but the man simply gave me a shrug.
"Now that we're all here, I'd like you all to tell us a little about yourselves," the man said.
"Like what?" Sakura asked.
"You know, the usual," the silver-haired man said with a shrug. "Your favorite thing, what you hate most. Hobbies, ambitions, dreams. Things like that."
"Help us out here. You go first. Show us how it's done," Uzumaki-kun said.
"That's right... After all, you're a complete stranger to us," Sakura said as she looked at him curiously.
"Oh, me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his likes and dislikes. My dreams for the future are none of your business, but anyways, I have lots of hobbies," the black-eyed man said.
"He said a lot, but all we really got was his name," Sakura grumbled to the others.
"At least we got that much," I replied, earning a few snickers.
"Now it's your turn, starting with you on the right," Kakashi-sensei said as he looked at Uzumaki-kun.
"Me, right? My name is Uzumaki Naruto! What I like is instant cup ramen! What I like even better is when Iruka-sensei treats me to ramen at the Ichiraku Noodle Bar! What I hate is the three minute wait after I pour in the boiling water. My dream is to one day..." He shifted his headband as he looked at our teacher with great determination. "...be the Hokage! Then all the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence at last!"
Kakashi-sensei looked taken aback before his eye softened. It was quite obvious to anyone that was looking that he was smiling under that blue mask of his.
"My hobbies are practical jokes and pranks, I guess..." Uzumaki-kun then perked up and added, "Oh! I also like watching Haruno-kun's impressions of people! They're the best!"
I smiled brightly before putting my fist back for him to bump. I felt the fist bump and gave a small chuckle.
"Alright. Next," Kakashi-sensei said as he looked towards my younger twin.
"I am Haruno Sakura. My favorite thing is- Well it's not a thing, it's a person. A boy... And that boy is... My hobbies are..." My sister trailed off, but I could feel her eyes on Uchiha. "Uh... Let's move on to my dream." She gave a loud squeal that rung through my ears, making me smirk.
"What about your dislikes?" The teacher asked hesitantly, a small look of annoyance present as well.
"I hate Naruto," Sakura said mercilessly, making the boy start to sob.
"And you..." Kakashi-sensei looked just above me.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are plenty of things I hate, but I don't think it matters, considering there is almost nothing I do like. It seems pointless to talk about dreams. That's just a word. What I do have is an ambition. I plan to restore my clan, and kill a certain somebody..." Uchiha said, ending on quite the dark note.
I wanted to look back, but something in my gut told me it'd be best not to.
Kakashi-sensei looked slightly concerned, but brushed it aside as he looked at me. "And finally..."
"My name is Haruno Ren!" I piped up immediately. "I'm a total masochist, so feel free to use me as your punching bag at any time! I like flowers, rainy days, and my sister! My dislikes are... uh... I don't really dislike anything." I gave a small shrug before continuing on. "My hobbies are watching Uzumaki-kun pranks, giving my amazing impersonations of others, and being a total asshole. My dream for the future... Uh... I never really thought about it." I gave another shrug before looking up at the teacher expectantly.
Kakashi-sensei clearly had mixed feelings about someone as weird as me. "Alright, that's enough. I believe we all understand one another. Formal training begins tomorrow."
"Yes sir!" Uzumaki-kun exclaimed as he saluted the man. "What will our duties be?!"
"Our first project involves only the members of this team," Kakashi-sensei said.
"What is it? What?" Uzumaki-kun asked eagerly.
"A survival exercise," he stated simply.
I grinned excitedly, but it seemed as though my team didn't share my enthusiasm.
"Survival exercises? But why would that be a mission?" Uzumaki-kun asked.
"Our school days were full of survival training!" My sister pointed out.
"It won't be your typical practice. You'll have to survive... against me," Kakashi-sensei said darkly.
Kyaaa! He's probably going to kick my ass so hard! I can't wait! I thought excitedly as I held my cheeks.
"Well then, what kind of practice will it be?" Uzumaki-kun asked hesitantly.
"What are you laughing about Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura questioned.
"Oh, nothing. It's just that... If I told you, you'd chicken out," he replied as he waved us off.
"Chicken out? Why?" Uzumaki-kun demanded to know.
"Out of the twenty-eight members of your graduating class, only nine will actually be accepted as genin. The other nineteen must go back to the academy for more training," the man explained as he looked at us darkly. "The test we are about to perform has a 68% rate of failure."
Hah, I call bullshit, I thought with a smirk. Those of previous years haven't been back. They've been dropped from the program. I know that one.
Kakashi-sensei laughed. "See? You're chickening out already!"
"That sucks!" Uzumaki-kun yelled out. "We've been through hell! What about our graduation test?!"
"Oh! We eliminated all the hopeless cases from your ranks. The ones who are left are the only students who show true potential," Kakashi-sensei explained casually.
"Say what?!" Uzumaki-kun shrieked.
"In any event, we'll meet tomorrow morning on the practice field so that I can evaluate each of your skills and weaknesses. Bring all of your ninja tools and weapons. And don't have breakfast beforehand..." He looked all of us over with a sadistic expression before adding, "Unless you enjoy throwing up."
I grinned excitedly as he walked over and held out a few sheets towards us. I took mine and looked it over quickly.
"The details of your assignment are in this handout. Memorize it, and don't be late!" Kakashi-sensei said.
Sakura carefully looked it over while Uchiha just crumbled it up.
"Aw man! It's all in kanji!" Uzumaki-kun complained softly.
"Eh? You can't read kanji?" I asked as I looked back at the blonde. "To make a long story short, you wake up early, pack up all of your important crap, don't bother with breakfast, and then meet up in the training grounds at the asscrack of dawn. He'll be bringing lunch and will explain our training exercise there."
"Thank you Haruno-kun!" Uzumaki-kun exclaimed as he hugged me tightly.
I laughed and patted his head. "No problemo, Uzumaki-kun!"
"Come on, Ren. Let's go," Sakura said as she watched Uchiha take his leave.
"Mkay. Coming," I said as I quickly followed after her. I heard Uzumaki-kun follow, and glanced back briefly towards our teacher. I looked him in the eye and gave a rather sadistic smirk. I quickly turned my head back around with my usual grin on my lips.
~Later~
"Hokage-sama, I have a few concerns regarding that Haruno Ren kid," Hatake Kakashi said as he stood before his leader.
The old man sighed. "I figured you would."
The silvernette's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"
"His personality seemed light and cheerful, but there was something else a bit deeper inside, wasn't there?" The Hokage questioned as he picked up his pipe.
"Yes sir..." The sharingan-wielder answered.
"As long as you don't give him any reason to see you as an enemy, you should be fine," the older man said as he turned his gaze towards the window.
"May I ask what happened to make him that way?" The Hatake questioned hesitantly.
"All children react to bullying differently. Ren is the type of kid to accept it with open arms and not say anything about it until one threatens to harm that which he holds dear..." The Hokage looked back at the ex-ANBU member. "You've heard of the Black Lotus Incident from six years ago, right?"
"What about it?" Kakashi replied questioningly.
"A boy had black lotuses shoved down his throat, and he had several lotus shapes engraved into his back. He never told anyone who had done that to him before he, and his family, fled away from the village," the man explained.
It took a moment before Hatake's visible eye widened. "Y-you aren't implying that-"
"Ren told me himself as soon as word got around that the boy had been hospitalized. He was rather apathetic about the entire thing, save for when he told me his motive." The Hokage sighed as he closed his eyes. He recalled the enraged look the amber-eyed boy had before continuing on. "Apparently, that boy had pushed Ren's younger twin sister down a rather steep embankment into a creek where she nearly drowned. Ren had helped his sister out and held in all of his rage until night had come. You know the rest, I'm sure."
The younger man's brow furrowed. "He would have been six at that age. Surely-"
"You were eight when you became a chunin, yes?" The Hokage interrupted.
"But there was a war happening then," the black-eyed man argued. "Now, it's peaceful-"
"Siblings have an amazing bond," the Hokage said as he looked out of the window once more. "It can hold them together through many things, and make their bond even stronger. Certain people will hold those bonds above anything else, even their own lives. Ren is one of those people, you see."
"So he nearly killed another boy over it?" Kakashi mumbled.
"For the sake of his sister's safety, he went after what he saw as a hazardous threat and took care of it whilst blinded by rage." The older of the two saw the worry ready to burst forth from his jônin and said reassuringly, "Ren has since gotten better control of his feelings."
"But as he's expending his circle, surely the danger for such an incident to happen again will grow," the Hatake said.
"It's a good thing he's a shinobi loyal to Konoha, isn't it?" The Hokage asked gravely.
Kakashi tensed up before realizing just how risky his new assignment was. "I... I understand Hokage-sama. I'll do my best." He gave a bow, his heart throbbing painfully as worry of the future filled him to the brim.