Disclaimer: Again, I don't own anything or anybody except Tomoko, her family, and Nagareboshi Cafe. Any concepts/ideas mentioned in this fanfiction that seem to be borrowed from another media/piece of continuity - note that I don't mean to plagiarize anything or anybody in any way! This fanfic was made for entertainment purposes, not for pissing off others! So yeah!
The theme for this chapter is actually Flare Piano's cover of Naruto's Daily Life from the original Naruto Soundtrack. Originally, I was thinking about going with a song such as I'll Make a Man Out of You from Disney's Mulan, but as I continued writing, it didn't seem to work and if anything, this chapter shows that it's just another day in Tomoko's life that got pretty hectic. Hey, she doesn't actually play the song in the chapter, but it works.
On the other hand, in the beginning of Chapter 29, Tomoko does play Frozen's First Time in Forever, a piano cover which was also done by Kyle Landry. Please go check that out too!
Last note of music though, during the specific 'home' scene in the chapter, please go and listen to RWBY's Boop and "Home" songs. Honestly, the new "Home" song that was played during the Volume 4 finale (which aired last Saturday) really sums up Tomoko's feelings about her new family, and if you wanted a break from all the drama, then it's a good eye-opener. Credit goes to Jeff Williams, Alex Abraham, and the lovely Casey Lee Williams for creating such wonderful songs, and please check out their work if you haven't done so already!
Now sit back and please enjoy!
Chapter 29: Chunin Exams Again?!
When Minato-san came into Nagareboshi Cafe that morning, I initially didn't give his appearance much thought. If anything, he was just another customer - and judging by the tentative smile he was sending in my direction, I guess he needed another song to brighten his day.
The only thing that really confused me was why he would stop by considering that Kakashi was already at their meeting place for training with the rest of Team Minato. Why would the Jounin come by and risk being late?
I didn't really get the chance to entertain it further, because soon enough, the Yellow Flash himself was already pulling over a chair to sit next to me on the stage. Thankfully, I had already finished a song, providing more than enough of an opening to face him. "Hello Minato-san,"
"Hello Tomoko-chan. Think you could take another request of mine again?" The nervous glint in his blue eyes was the first alert. Nevertheless, I shoved the few swirls of doubt to a dark corner of my mind in order to smile at him, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear while nodding.
It didn't feel right to doubt him because even with the talk with Hokage-sama, Minato-san did his best to look out for me anyway.
"What song do you have in mind this time, Minato-san?"
He just chuckled, leaning back into his chair with his arms crossed. "Something cheery, if that's alright, Tomoko-chan?"
Immediately, the first image that went through my mind was of two sisters, ready to face the outside world in varying degrees of happiness and dread. It seemed fitting enough, so I just went with it. "Sure! A cheery song, coming right up!"
Once I turned back to the piano keys, the melody just flowed through my mind quite easily. Honestly, I wasn't surprised at this point, since the song that came along was actually something that I remember many people in Vy's world singing joyously when it first came out to the point of the real Leo detesting it and the original source immensely.
But hey. With winter coming about, why not reference Frozen? It at least had quite a few good morals for kids to look up to back in Vy's time, and the tunes were catchy. Heck, even when playing the song on the piano, I found myself unconsciously humming the lyrics under my breath to recall which note to play next.
Being a musician, even in the Naruto world, was a joyous thing.
I just wish bad news didn't have to be around the corner like it always was.
Namikaze Minato just couldn't find himself relaxing. Even with such a beautiful tune coming from the piano in front of him, even with the young pianist eagerly playing it with no hesitation, the Jounin couldn't stop himself from tensing.
Maybe it was the light hint of killer intent from the back corner, with the message clearly being "Mess with her and you'll face my wrath."
... That was Judai, alright.
Maybe it was the various eyes pointed on his back from the customers & regulars in Nagareboshi Cafe, some curious and others suspicious.
Or it could even be the presence of the ANBU operative on the roof, the one assigned by Hokage-sama himself, not doing anything except observing.
But the Jounin knew better. The two Chunin Exam registration forms weren't even heavy, yet felt like they were weighing down his body AND heart all at once in his back pocket. And the names on said forms would easily cause a panic in the girl sitting in front of him if he said it too bluntly.
Nonetheless, the song was coming to an end. And with the privacy seals on the piano already lit with the faint hum of chakra (Minato wondered if it was Tomoko's unconscious using of her yin chakra doing so), he knew he had to talk sooner or later.
Tomoko was already looking at him anyway.
"Minato-san, are you okay? You don't look that well…"
It was always her. Aside from Kushina herself, there was something in this civilian girl that was different from her other civilian counterparts.
Minato couldn't deny his gut anymore on the idea that she knew far more than she let on. The whole interrogation with Inoichi already said more than enough.
"How was it Inoichi?"
"... Just… goddamn, Minato. That girl's mind is almost like a maze. With previous patients, I've seen something similiar, but nothing in the degree Tomoko has."
"... Is it bad?"
"I'm not even sure of it, Minato. I can tell you one thing, though. Tomoko-chan is hiding a lot more than what you expect. I was able to get a lot of information that will be valuable in this war, but I'm not even sure if I got everything we needed."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure if you read about it from the reports I left or heard it from Hokage-sama himself, but Tomoko-chan has a split personality known as Hisako. Up until now, she's helped with Tomoko's therapy sessions due to manifesting after her trauma with the drunk nin, acting as the 'control booth', to put it simply. However, the most recent search made it difficult for me to contact her because, as she put it, I'm a 'douche'."
"Why is that so important, Inoichi?"
"Up until now, Hisako has been vital in helping me search through the whole library and maze that is Tomoko-chan's mind because of being a split personality. With her help, I would be able to go through the memories that needed to be focused on instead of hitting either mind-blocks or unrelated information. But with the revelation of Hokage-sama's orders being behind the most recent search, Hisako has completely given up on supporting me and left me on my own to explore, which is something I still struggle with. More so when the contents of said mind are already convoluted as is."
"... So you weren't able to get everything."
"... No, I wasn't. I wish I did, but there was a heavy risk of Tomoko-chan suffering more than just self-induced unconsciousness. At this point, I can conclude that Hisako is at least looking out for Tomoko-chan's mental health, which is why she hasn't actually manifested in reality like other personalities. … Just, be aware of it Minato. Maybe with you, Tomoko-chan, and by extension, Hisako, could trust you enough to give you the information we need."
"... Alright."
The Jounin just shook his head with a shaky smile. He didn't want to depress himself further. "I-I'm okay, Tomoko-chan, don't worry."
Even with his words, the civilian girl looked less than convinced, leaning in a little to take a closer look. "Are you sure about that?"
Minato just smiled again, doing his best to put on a cheerful front.
She doesn't need to hear about this one just yet.
"I'm fine, Tomoko-chan, really."
Hopefully his team would take the news much better.
Uchiha Obito was bored.
And I mean bored. Minato-sensei was supposed to be here more than 1 hour ago, and yet he still had yet to see a whiff of that spiky blonde hair.
"What's with Minato-sensei?" The Genin found himself groaning, resting his chin on his left hand while leaning against the guardrails of the bridge. He could hear the river gently flowing underneath his feet, and all it did was make him feel even more bored - sleepy even if we could put it like that. "He tells us to assemble at the bridge over the river, and yet he's the one who's late!" A sigh left him. "Give me a break."
"... You're one to talk, Obito." Kakashi's voice immediately cut through the silence, and with the towering boredom on the Genin's head, the Uchiha found himself getting annoyed.
"What did you say?!" Obito wasn't always that late! The record was 10 minutes!
"Ah?"
Rin's voice cut through all the tension with that same cute tone of hers, marred with a bit of concern. "Hey now, guys, calm down…"
"You wanna go at it right now?" Obito challenged.
Kakashi just turned his head and scoffed.
"Hey! Did you just scoff at me?!" Was the idiot Kakashi not taking him seriously again!
"What of it? This same routine of getting mad at each other is getting tiring anyway."
For some reason, the Uchiha found himself hesitating at his response, not at all expecting what Kakashi just said, and thankfully, it was at this moment when the resident Jounin decided to show up.
With the familiar POOF, Namikaze Minato appeared right in front of them, and the residual irritation at Kakashi quickly turned into excitement. "Minato-sensei!" The Jounin looked almost perplexed for a moment at the sight of the three younger ninja running over to him, but Obito didn't pay it much attention in exchange for voicing his first thought. "Do we have another mission?"
"... Not today, Obito." For some reason, Minato-sensei's voice was a little off, and it wasn't lost on his teammates either.
"Minato-sensei, do you mean…" Kakashi trailed off, uncrossing his arms.
The Jounin and Chunin just shared a look before the blonde nodded.
"... Um, did something happen?" Rin asked gently.
Minato-sensei just turned to look at Obito and Rin with a more solid smile before reaching into his back pocket. The next thing the Uchiha knew, he could see two solid pieces of paper, the kanji of Nohara Rin and Uchiha Obito staring right back at him.
"What is this, sensei?" Obito asked curiously, gently taking the offered paper without hesitation.
"Applications. I recommended you two to be promoted to Chunin."
His eyes could've bulged out of his head. Obito just glanced between the written kanji of his name and his sensei with disbelief before (once again) doing what was first on his mind.
"Minato-sensei, I love you!" Honestly, he just took a page out of Tomoko-chan's book and tackled the older man in a hug.
He was going to become Chunin!
"H-Hey, hey!" The Jounin laughed sheepishly from above him. "You're getting too ahead of yourself."
… Huh? Obito looked up from his sensei's flak jacket.
"You have to take the Chunin Exams first before you can become Chunin, Obito."
Dread cut through him like a sharp kunai blade, and the Uchiha found himself grimacing. "E-Eh…?"
Minato-sensei looked troubled at least, smiling rather hesitantly. "There's three parts to the exam and each is pretty difficult, though. It won't be easy."
"Che…" Obito let go of the Jounin with a sigh, feeling somewhat disappointed with the paper in his hand. "So that's it, huh…"
What was the point of the applications then?
Apparently Kakashi shared the same sentiment because Obito could hear the frown in his voice. "... Minato-sensei, you didn't stop by Nagareboshi before coming here, right?"
The Jounin visibly winced. "Was it that obvious?"
Kakashi just put a hand to his face. "Just tell me you didn't tell Tomoko the news yet."
Minato was now sighing in relief. "Thankfully, not yet."
Now Obito AND Rin were both confused. "Why is telling Tomoko-chan so worrying, Kakashi?" The medic piped up, having not yet spoken through the whole debacle.
The resident Chunin just sighed. "You haven't seen Tomoko when she's worried. Minato-sensei is right when saying the Exams are difficult, and it doesn't really sit well with her when someone she knows is taking them. Sensei and I both know better than anybody here how bad she can get during an Exam."
Obito could just feel the dread piling on. "How bad can it be?"
Kakashi just gave him a half-lidded, exasperated stare. "Imagine a whole lot of ranting, only more high-pitched and filled with worried babble." The Chunin sighed again, shaking his head. "Not to mention a LOT of tackle-hugs. A lot of them."
With the way his teammate worded it, Obito would've thought that he hated the idea entirely. But it didn't add up, considering the many times Tomoko-chan had done so before to his silver-haired teammate. "... Why are you complaining about it then when you always seem to accept them, Kakashi?"
Kakashi just raised an eyebrow at him. "When you've lived with Tomoko for a few years, then you get used to it. Not to mention it's kind of strength/endurance training in itself to either take on or dodge her hugs."
…. Wow. Guess the Exams would have to be taken seriously.
"But wait a minute, Minato-sensei," Rin piped in, looking confused. "I thought the exams were taken in three-man cells. How are we supposed to enter when Kakashi is already a Chunin?"
"About that…" Minato rubbed the back of his head. "When I submitted my part of your applications, I also went to Hokage-sama to ask about any other Genin that were on the reserves to take up Kakashi's place. He and I actually found someone, so you will be meeting him in a few days. In the meantime, you two need to start training. Kakashi is right about the Exams being difficult - even if they are Konoha-local, there is still risk of death." The Jounin looked a little unsure before facing the three of them again. "It's your choice if you still want to go through with this."
A shiver went up the Uchiha's spine almost instantly. Death was no laughing matter, but nonetheless, Obito put on his biggest smile.
These Exams weren't a place for his death. He couldn't die if he wanted to be Hokage!
He couldn't die here if it meant saving his friends in this war!
Obito only had to glance at Rin once, and she nodded.
"We'll be ready then, Minato-sensei! Of course we're going!"
It was when the moon was starting to rise that I saw Team Minato enter Nagareboshi Cafe. Since night was already starting to fall, the last few customers were already paying their checks or taking their leave out the front door, and I was actually helping Mama and Papa clean up the place.
In fact, I was actually wiping down the piano and checking on the privacy seals when they came in.
"I'm home," Once the familiar drawl hit my ears, I blinked and looked up only to see the deadpan look of my best friend.
"Kakashi!" Without even thinking, I dropped whatever cloth I was holding onto the piano keys to run over and tackle him into a hug, smiling the whole way. "Welcome home!"
"Oof… I'm back, Tomoko." Despite the tired tone, my best friend still caught me, arms immediately wrapping around my back. The action just made me feel even happier, even if a part of me felt disappointed for not surprising him like I used to with my hugs.
I just pulled away to give him a warm smile. "Anything happen today?"
Kakashi just raised an eyebrow at me. "Sort of. I actually invited Obito and Rin home for dinner - is that alright?"
It was at that moment that I let go to see the aforementioned teammates standing behind my silver-haired best friend, looking both curious and nervous all at once. Without even thinking, I just glanced behind me to shout. "Mama, Papa, Obito-kun and Rin-chan are here! Think they could stay for dinner tonight?"
"Just help clean up, and sure Tomoko-chan!" Mom shouted back.
I just smiled up at Kakashi. "Well, that's your answer."
My best friend just scoffed before looking back at his teammates. "Just come on in then, guys."
Obito and Rin both looked at one another before nodding. Honestly, the hugginess in me really wanted to reach out to them, so I just smiled. "Hello Obito-kun, Rin-chan. Think I could hug the both of you first?"
Rin just blinked before smiling back. "No tackles please, Tomoko-chan."
A large grin was on my face now. "No promises," And then I went about a hugging spree. Thankfully, Rin and Obito didn't seem to mind, judging by their smiles when I went over to do so. Obito was the most cheerful out of the two when reciprocating, easily squeezing back and even going as far to lift me up a bit in the air.
Afterwards, it was back to cleaning. Thankfully, there wasn't much left to do but really clean up any last crumbs of food and drink from the tables and bars, and by the time I was finished, the rest of Team Minato had already went upstairs to meet Dad and Sakumo-san.
"Tomoko-chan, help me with the food up here when you're done, okay?" Mom called out from the back.
"Okay Mama! I'm coming!" And with a single toss, a dirty cloth went into the trash can and I ran up the stairs.
Nohara Rin never expected to have dinner with so many people. She was used to either eating at home by herself or joining Obito and his grandma as kids to eat together.
Not a large living room like this.
"Tomoko-chan, where did you put the baking pan?"
"In the cabinet Mama, right above your head! And by the way, where's the salt?"
"Right in the drawer, Tomoko-chan! Judai, do you have the table set up yet?"
"Just about, honey!"
The medic found herself turning to Kakashi with disbelief, who was nonchalantly lounging on the nearby sofa. "Is this what you always come home to, Kakashi?"
The Chunin shrugged, a faint smile seen through his mask. "Yep. It can be a bit noisy, but it's home."
Obito blinked before grinning. "I can actually like the hub-bub if it's like this everyday."
"You wouldn't believe it, Obito-kun." Rin blinked before rubbing her ears.
She knew that voice. But a part of her just didn't want to believe it, and in the end, turned around only to see a familiar silver hair ponytail and a wrinkly smile.
"Sakumo-sensei!" Rin gaped.
The former White Fang beamed, waving a hand at them while walking over. "Hello again Rin-chan. You've certainly grown since the last time I've seen you. Same thing to you too, Obito-kun."
Disbelief was still rolling through her in waves. Her old Academy instructor, living at Nagareboshi with Tomoko-chan's family? "B-But… sensei, how…?"
Kakashi was the only one who was not disturbed, just shaking his head. "Dad…"
NOW the familiar silver hair made sense. No wonder Rin felt comfortable with the older man back in the Academy days - he was Kakashi's father! They had only met once before Sakumo became an instructor, so she wasn't surprised to find out that she forgot. "Oh…" A shaky laugh left the medic's lips as she shook her head. "So Sakumo-sensei was Kakashi-kun's father after all…"
"I knew it!" Obito looked rather proud of himself from his sitting position at the table, but Rin's gut seemed to say otherwise. "They were obviously related, Rin!"
In the end, Rin just shrugged and smiled. "Whatever you say, Obito,"
The Uchiha looked affronted now. "What is that supposed to mean, Rin! Tomoko-chan, you believe me, right?"
The named pianist just looked up from her work in the kitchen to tilt her head. "What?"
Obito just groaned and slumped in his seat.
"Alright people, dinner time!" The woman Rin knew best as Hikari-san simply clapped her hands together, taking off her green apron to hang on a nearby hook. "Go wash your hands!"
Now Rin just felt excited. The food smelled good, even from her distance at the sofa, and her stomach was growling.
If this was what a family dinner would be like, then she would want to have one every day!
Honestly, I think Mom outdid herself.
Spaghetti, sushi, rice, salad, heck, even okonomiyaki and sashimi!
"If I had known you were going to invite your team, Kakashi-kun, then I would've cooked more!" Mom seemed proud of herself at least, and Obito-kun and Rin-chan looked happy. If I didn't know any better, it would've looked like they were drooling.
Or sparkling. Something along those lines.
Nonetheless, my best friend just shrugged from his seat next to me. "It was kind of last minute, Hikari-san. And it's fine - it looks like they're enjoying themselves at least."
Obito just looked up after slurping some noodles, blinking innocently. I couldn't help but stare at him in disbelief, and the others in the room seemed to share the same sentiment. "W-what? Ish gwood!" The Uchiha mumbled, mouth still full.
A giggle involuntarily escaped my lips as Dad outright chuckled. "At least your teammates have good appetites Kakashi," He just reached over to ruffle my best friend's hair, and all it did was earn a tick mark on Kakashi's masked face.
"Judai-san, please don't do that." Without even opening an eye, my best friend just pushed Papa's hand away, still looking miffed even with the mask on.
Then, Papa and Sakumo-san just looked at one another before chuckling again. "Alright then, let's not let this wonderful food go cold and let's eat!"
Immediately, everyone put their hands together, myself included, and the ringing noise of "Itadakimasu!" rang through the room before the voices were replaced with tapping chopsticks and slurping sounds. I just did my best to eat what I could while not clashing chopsticks with the others, and in the end, saw quite a sight that I knew would be engraved in my memory for a while.
Obito and Rin, looking the happiest I had ever seen, eagerly eating their share of food while chattering between each other.
Mama and Papa, sharing a warm, loving glance, before feeding each other something.
Sakumo-san and my best friend Kakashi, just grinning at one another before going back to their food.
And then Obito and Rin just had to notice that Kakashi was maskless.
"O-OI KAKASHI! WHERE'S YOUR MASK?!"
"... What, have I never eaten like this in front of you guys before?"
"N-No, not at all! This is the first time we've seen you without the mask, Kakashi-kun!"
"Wow, I never thought you actually had a face!"
"... What's that supposed to mean Obito? How do you think I ate my food?"
"Uh… like a tree? You never minded the rain!"
"... Says the pyromaniac who hasn't noticed that he just inhaled a mouthful of wasabi."
"What? …. AHHH! HOT!"
I just found myself covering my mouth in an attempt to stifle the giggles escaping me while Kakashi just glanced at me to wink teasingly.
This was what home should be like.
Hoshino, formerly Yuki, Judai knew that such a large gathering of people wasn't normal. Despite every part of him disagreeing otherwise, his gut just kept screaming that something was up.
Why would Hatake Kakashi, one of the most anti-social Chunin kids he ever met, even invite his teammates home anyways?
But he didn't want to break the atmosphere just yet.
Tomoko-chan was laughing after all.
After everything that happened, with his daughter being targeted, being put under silence, being forced to not share anything like the good girl she always was, Judai was just grateful she was smiling again.
Happiness was fleeting in this world after all, even as a civilian. His memories of his ninja days, wearing that hitaite, even in rain and bloody battlefields, was proof of that fact.
But even then, Judai wanted to do whatever he could to give that little girl a childhood.
He wanted his only daughter to have something he was deprived of, at least. Tomoko-chan deserved that much, being that sweet motivator she was.
But he still had to say something. Obito and Rin looked a bit apprehensive anyway, and the food was quickly disappearing with all the people at the table.
Might as well take the chance before things got worse.
"So, Kakashi, what brought this on? You don't normally bring your team home for dinner."
The Chunin just blinked before slowly putting down his chopsticks and letting out a sigh. "Well, we actually wanted to come together and tell you all some news."
Knew it. So there was something going on. Tomoko-chan seemed to recognize this too, and blinked. "I-Is everything okay, Kakashi?"
"Yeah, everything's fine." The ninja just looked at the girl with a masked smile. "It's really Obito and Rin who have to say it, right guys?"
Judai just turned to the two Genin, and they fidgeted for a moment. "... Kids?" Sakumo interrupted.
"Just take your time," Hikari murmured patiently, passing along a plate of cookies.
Obito ended up taking a cookie and munching absentmindedly while Rin shook her head and breathed in to speak. "So it turns out that Minato-sensei actually recommended us to take the Chunin Exams this year."
The reactions around the table were expected. Hikari gasped, Sakumo just raised an eyebrow, and Tomoko-chan just freaked. "W-Wait, C-C-C-Chunin Exams?! You guys are really going into that?"
… Well, at least she wasn't outright yelling like Judai originally predicted. But Tomoko-chan was still panicked, judging by her overly high-pitched voice. "Yeah, Minato-sensei felt like we were ready!" The Uchiha's cheery response REALLY wasn't helping, and Judai had half a mind to smack the boy over the head for worsening the expression on his little girl's face.
The frown just froze itself on Tomoko-chan's cheeks and the next thing Judai knew, his daughter was starting to babble. "But you two could be heading out into uncharted territory! You could face older enemies, possiblygetintosomekindoffights, andwithoutKakashi, youmightdealwithpeoplewhocouldkickyourbutts, andyouguysmightdie, and-and, Imightnotseeyouagainafterthis, and-" Judai was very grateful for Kakashi intervening at that point, literally covering the girl's mouth with the most deadpan expression ever.
"... Tomoko. Breathe." The Hatake muttered before taking his hand away.
The girl blinked, took in a deep, shaky breath, then breathed out a few seconds later.
"... Again." Kakashi said slowly.
Tomoko breathed in through her nose, before letting out a huffing exhale out of her mouth. This continued for a few seconds, and by the 5th time, Judai had half the urge to just laugh.
Kids were hilarious sometimes.
… Anyways.
"... So what does this mean for Team Minato then, Rin-chan, Obito-kun?" Tomoko ended up saying a few seconds later, the panicked red on her cheeks having receded to a light pink. "I thought you had to have a three-man cell in order to enter the exams."
"Minato-sensei said that he and Hokage-sama actually found another Genin in the reserves to join us." Rin noted, taking the moment to actually grab a cookie from the center of the table and nibble on the edges. "In the meantime, we'd be training more often, so we might not visit Nagareboshi as much as we used to."
Tomoko was now just frowning, and Judai immediately fought the urge to cuddle the little girl. "... So I'm guessing Kakashi has to help you two out as well?"
"Don't look so disappointed, Tomoko-chan," Thank goodness for Hikari, being the wonderful woman she always was. Even with a stern, motherly look on her face, she still looked beautiful. "They'll still be around the village to visit."
"But Mama… What if something happens? What if -" Judai just sighed and flicked the girl's forehead, taking a bit of pride in hearing her surprised squeal. Heh, even when almost turning double digits, his daughter still sounded cute.
"No 'what-ifs', Tomoko-chan," Judai couldn't help the grin on his face now as he grabbed a stray cookie to chomp into vigorously. "If it makes you feel any better, we'll schedule a mandatory group dinner every week for Team Minato and the Hoshino family, okay?"
There it was again. That small, tentative smile that Judai KNEW the little girl inherited from both him and Hikari.
"... really, Papa?" Tomoko-chan asked innocently.
That smile had to be protected, at any cost.
Judai just had to glance at everyone sitting around the table, and even the Uchiha stopped munching on his cookie to smile back at him.
Huh.
Even in this messed up ninja world, he was able to at least create an environment for his daughter to be happy.
"Of course, Tomoko-chan. Now smile for us, okay?" Judai just put on his best grin, and found himself smiling even more at the sight of the little girl grinning back.
"Okay Daddy!"
Tomoko-chan deserved whatever she could get.
Minato sighed. He didn't want to do this, but he had to introduce the new teammate to Obito and Rin sooner or later. And knowing them, Tomoko-chan would get wind of this new guy too.
"... please tell me your students are at least capable, Minato-sensei," The boy muttered next to him.
Minato just shrugged with a carefully controlled smile. "Just take what you can get, Satoru-kun, okay?"
The boy just 'Hmph'ed and twirled the kunai that was in his hands. "They better not hold me back. And why are we here at this dump, anyway?"
Strange that the boy was calling one of the most popular hubs in all of Konoha a 'dump'. Especially when the sign of 'Nagareboshi Cafe' said more than enough.
Minato just huffed a breath and pushed the boy in. Once inside, the Jounin could easily see his team all seated at a table discussing something with one another, and surprisingly, the resident pianist wasn't playing her instrument for once, actually serving food to her guests.
… Well, at least they were all in one place.
The Jounin just sighed and continued to push the boy in the group's direction before someone noticed.
Kakashi blinked before looking up. "Minato-sensei, who's this?"
Here we go. The Jounin just put on his best placating smile. "Kakashi, Obito, Rin, and Tomoko-chan. This is Hitoshi Satoru, temporary teammate of Team Minato and one of many ninja attending the Chunin Exams. Please make sure he's welcome, alright?"
The named boy just twirled his kunai absentmindedly while waving a hand nonchalantly in their direction.
Minato wasn't surprised to see Obito and Rin both cheerfully greet the boy, or for Kakashi to just grunt a 'Hello' out in the boy's direction.
What he wasn't expecting though, was Tomoko-chan's reaction. Judging by the pale white of her face and her gaping mouth, Minato would've thought she had seen a ghost.
In the end, what came out of her lips sent a worrying chill down his spine.
"... Leo?"
Author's Note: Happy Valentine's Day, wonderful readers! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Not much to say since I have midterms (again), so please try not to say "update soon", alright?
Thanks again, and this is Writer-and-Artist27 going to study and make up the time she spent procrastinating on homework while working on this chapter!