Summary: In a world where everyone should know where they belong, she is the only one who doesn't.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Divergent and the cover picture.

Enjoy!

Aberrant

by cheerry-blossoms

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Chapter Four – Genin

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Naruto's blue eyes are the first thing I see.

His face brightens seeing me slowly gain consciousness, his mouth stretching widely I could almost see his gums. I blink many times to clear my vision. What happened?

"She's awake!" I hear him shout.

I observe my surroundings, figuring I was brought in a small clinic, judging from the several hospital beds and tables containing medical kits. Right, there are some Yori medics assigned to work in the Shinobi. Where are they?

Then, I see Ino shove Naruto's face down, and she begins telling me how I collapsed, how I look like I was about to die and how an idiot I am to exert too much energy. Che. Why can't she just admit she's worried?

"Sorry for making you worry." I croak. Man, I'm thirsty.

Ino's cheeks flare up, her face looking funny. It's hard to hold my laughter back. "I was so not worried!" she yells while crossing her arms. I snort.

"You were crying!" Naruto springs up from the bed, recovering from Ino's hit. Ino gasps, preparing for another loud argument with the blond. "That's not true!"

"Oh come on, Ino, we are bad liars, and you know that." Kiba smirks, only to receive a hit on the head. I hope they do realize they are inside a clinic where other patients are resting.

"H-How are you feeling... S-Sakura-san?" Hinata, who I didn't know is here, stutters, fiddling with her fingers, Ino and Naruto's loud voices booming in the background. I merely smile at her in response. I like this girl.

"Hey, Forehead!" Ino looks at me with sparkling eyes. I see Naruto and Kiba sprawled on the floor.

I narrow my eyes at her. "What, Pig?" We are so close already that we have developed nicknames for each other. They're not exactly endearing, but that's just Ino. She's too honest to be a sweet friend. After all, I practically grew up with an awfully honest person, who calls me 'Ugly' all the time and then kisses me before we got separated permanently.

But let's just forget about him.

"Let's go to The Pit!" Ino declares as Hinata helps me up. All of us hesitate at first, but then agree.

The Pit is a really lively place. It is the deepest level in the Shinobi underground where shops open only during night, thus its name. It's amazing, though; colorful and vibrant lights still give this place life. Lots of Shinobi are everywhere, getting in and out the stores.

We are given 8,000 ryō each to purchase necessities like clothes and shoes. Every week, we will be given 4,000 ryō as allowance.

I decide not to buy food to keep in the room, figuring there's a high chance my food will be targeted when my bullies get in action. Looks like I'll endure eating food with preservatives for now. I also asked Ino to hide my clothes in her bag. She didn't seem to be their target though she's my friend. Probably because they were from the same kumi.

We pass by lots of bars and clubs, which are the most frequented shops in The Pit. As we are underage, we are still not allowed to go in them. Someday, I will enter one of those and finally have a taste of sake.

I wonder if Aunt Tsunade's stash of alcohol in the hospital is already found out.

Naruto brings us to a ramen store called Ichiraku. It is apparently his favorite place that whenever he's missing, we will find him there. I think he finished five bowls before I could finish one.

After dinner and shopping for clothes and other necessities, we decide to go back to the dorms and retire for the night.

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The next day, I wear a black sleeveless shirt and jogging pants. I suppose we'll undergo physical training and not go out to the forest. I'm not sure why, but I just knew.

And I am right.

We stroll through a tunnel leading to a gigantic warehouse-like place. There are few ceiling lamps, and the absence of windows (considering we are underground) makes the place dark.

In the middle is a bare square platform under a large ceiling lamp. On both sides of it are rows of punching bags and a few exercise equipment I don't recognize.

My muscles twitch seeing those.

The Shinobi-born group is also approaching the platform area. Tobi is already back from whatever business he had yesterday.

Once all of us have gathered, Kakashi and Tobi step out in front of all of us. Tobi is the first one who speaks.

"A Shinobi has to maintain a fit physique. A Shinobi's body must endure any kind of pain and work since you aren't expected to read books, plant crops, investigate crimes, and give food to the factionless. You are expected to fight." Tobi fixes his gaze on me on that last part. I almost snort. Sasuke's eyes are sexier than his.

Much to Tobi's dislike, Kakashi delivers his speech of his own. Really, they act like children. "Shinobi fights. We fight for Konoha. The moment you chose to drop your blood on the coals, you have already given up your life to the village. It is already the oath you took in dedicating your life protecting Konoha and its people. Thus, you won't survive if you have a weak body." I can't believe Kakashi is the type to give out inspiring and moving speeches about Konoha and the Shinobi.

Though I think it's only to piss Tobi off.

The black-haired instructor walks to an electronic board showing all of the initiates' names, still enraged from Kakashi showing off. The list is arranged based on the order of jumpers from the rooftop. Therefore, I am number three. I can feel Taka and his little group glaring at me. Their names are near the bottom. Heh. I smirk at them.

"The first round of the initiation is a one-on-one physical battle. No weapons, just your body. The battle is for all Genin. Meaning, you can get to fight my team." The masked man explains seriously to us, transfers.

I gulp. Why does it have to be the physical test first? Why can't it be an intelligence one? My body's so thin!

"I want to fight the Stiff Forehead so I'll surely win." Taka comments, grinning smugly at me. How dare he mock my forehead?!

"Hey! She's mine!" His girlfriend, Ran, a short red-haired gal, whines disgustingly. They are not cute.

I glare at all of them. I imagine myself punching the living daylights out of them. Or maybe I should pull their teeth one by one first.

"Did I give you permission to speak?" Kakashi snaps at Taka and Ran, making them look down the floor. Okay, Kakashi is a good person.

He sighs and, yet again, covers the Uchiha, who is about to say something. "You will be ranked based on your performance on your duels. Winner gets ten, loser none, and five each if it's a draw. The winner will be declared once the other surrenders—"

"Or is knocked unconscious," Tobi says in a loud voice, and then looks at all of us, "Shinobi doesn't quit."

I hold back a gasp. What did I get myself into?

Kakashi rolls his eyes, stating lazily, "Only the top twenty will advance to the next round."

"Wait," A black-haired boy in Taka's group raises his hand and speaks when Kakashi allows him to, "What about the chakra control?" If I recall correctly, he was a Chi.

Though his face was covered by the mask, it is obvious Kakashi is smirking. "That is for you to find out."

"For once, I agree with him. And that's just once!" Tobi seconds the motion, halfheartedly.

"No more questions? Okay. I won't accept another one, anyway. That's all. Let's start the training."

While Naruto shouts in joy, I stand dumbly staring at the board. Only fifteen initiates will pass this round? We are twenty-nine! How can they just eliminate nine people?! Looking at my current stats, I won't be in the top twenty. I am just there at the top because Sasuke told me to jump next. If he didn't, I might have been the last jumper because I was 'selfless.'

I inwardly groan. I don't want to be factionless!

We begin doing some stretching and running around the place for twenty laps before doing some exercise. I can barely catch up with them! My weak stamina causes me to get tired fast. It is just the warm ups, what more when we get to the actual training?

My knees and legs are already giving up when the two instructors finally decide to let us use the equipments. Most of the initiates head for the punching bags, claiming some as theirs. I watch Shinobi-born and Transfers get in an argument because of it.

I shake my head, deciding to go away from them. Instead, I choose to go to the less frequented area. I wiggle my arms and hands before picking up two small thick cylinders with big circles attached on both ends. I don't know what these are called. I just have an idea on its use. God, they're heavy. I sit on one of the benches.

Since my muscles aren't toned yet, I should begin at the most basic. Punching those big and heavy hotdog bags will be useless due to my thin arms and small hands.

I am not surprised to see Hinata and Shikamaru there with me. Hinata is too shy to be in a place with too many competitive people, and Shikamaru is too lazy to punch and kick something. There are also a few Shinobi-born girls who stay in our area.

I slowly and carefully flex my arms so I wouldn't exert sudden force on my muscles. I already know what will happen if I overdo it.

As usual, I overdid it and so I walk back to the dorms with sore muscles.

The next day, we go back to the forest for the chakra control training.

That is the routine for the week. We control our chakra the first day, and then the next day we work on our physical skills. Every morning, Kakashi wakes us up earlier than scheduled and takes us out to jog around the Shinobi compound.

As expected, I do poorly in the physical trainings. I easily get exhausted, and my body is too slow to recuperate from the muscle ache. So I always end up paying the clinic a visit.

But I am advancing pretty well on the chakra control. Majority of the initiates end up soaked in water after the session. No one bothered doing the same thing I do because I'm just the 'weak little Stiff with a wide forehead.' I'm a bit offended my friends seem to think that way, too.

I manage to stick my feet on the wood, but I still have to work on my balance so it doesn't last long. A disadvantage to my technique is the aching butt.

So yeap, I'm aching all over.

Taka and his group make my condition worse. There is this one time they were able to steal my clothes from Ino's bag and dirtied it so I would have to wash them all over again. They also keep on accidentally pushing me so hard that I fall on the floor. Ino and Kiba have always defended me, but it did not scare the group, apparently. Training didn't stop them; they always find a way to disturb me even when I am kilometers away from them. It's really getting annoying. I can't tell them on Kakashi, because I would then be the 'whiny weak little Stiff with a big forehead.'

I just have to kick their asses, then.

It is a fine day. Everyone there at the riverbank are struggling to step on the running water, while I am meters away from a tree, preparing myself to level up my practice.

Concentrating the proper energy on the soles of my feet, I take a deep breath before opening my eyelids and run towards the tree. I gasp in surprise when I am able to successfully run through its trunk until I reach the top. Ha! I made it!

"Yo!"

I almost lose my balance. I stand straight and glare at the smiling silver-haired instructor on the top of the next tree. I clutch on my chest, trying to calm my violently pounding heart. "Sensei! Please don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry, sorry," He chuckles and sits down. "I was serious when I said I saw your potential. Now that you've caught the basics, it will not be hard for you to do it on the river, will you?"

It's true that I have gotten the basics, but I'm not yet sure if I can cross that raging river without fail now. "Hmm… I don't know, Sensei. I guess I have to try it first on water with a stable current."

Kakashi is eerily silent for a moment, so maybe I said the wrong thing? But then, the side of his eyes crinkles. "Aa, Tobi and I have been waiting for someone to say that. He'll get pissed to know it's someone from my group."

I gawk at him. What did he just say? Are they testing us from the very beginning? They should have just told us instead of making us suffer like this!

"Shinobi must always be ready for battle; they must also know when and where to attack. Shinobi must not be rash and careless during fights, else they will fall."

We see lots of Initiates plunging in the river.

After a short moment of silence, Kakashi points southwest without looking at it. "The current is calmer there. Apparently, someone had already thought of that idea before you, although he's having a harder time at controlling his chakra than you. Luckily, Tobi hadn't noticed him yet."

He? I wonder who that person is.

Without getting Kakashi's permission, I climb down from the tree and run to the direction where Kakashi pointed at. I am fortunately good at following directions, so I am able to reach my destination without getting lost. Indeed, the river on this side is a lot calmer than from the other. This is perfect!

I step towards the bank, lifting a foot forward to test the water. I focus my chakra on that foot, and I beam feeling it not passing through the water.

To test something, I take a few steps back, then do the initial gesture. With full concentration, I courageously walk towards the river, my heart jumping in joy as I feel my feet stepping on the liquid. It's amazing! Though I can't see it, I feel the small waves under my feet. Oh yes, I'm standing on water!

My concentration breaks when I feel someone staring at me. I open my eyes and turn to look back, seeing Uchiha Sasuke gaping at me from the riverbank.

Worse, I lose control over my feet and my body falls on the river. My heart stops beating for a moment.

I am gonna die, I am gonna die; I can't swim!

Thankfully, my bottom touches the ground under the water. I abruptly stand up, realizing the water only reaches my waist. I sigh heavily in relief. I really thought I was gonna die… again.

"Are you alright?" A husky teenage voice catches my attention. I tilt my head up, and there's Sasuke on the riverbank near me. Wait, is he worried? Oh my, oh my, oh my!

"Um, yeah." I manage to say despite the panic inside my mind.

"Here," Sasuke holds out his hand to me. I stare at it in surprise for a few seconds.

Did he just, did he just…?!

With a shivering hand (hopefully it's because of the water's temperature), I gently hold on his, and then my heart beats faster three times than normal when he grasps on my hand firmer, his large hand entirely covering my small one, and the next thing I know, I am pulled out of the water. Chill immediately hits my entire body.

Sasuke's cheeks are dusted in pink, I wonder why. He tilts his head to the side and mumbles, "Y-Your clothes…"

I curiously peek down on my clothes, my eyes widening seeing my shirt clinging on me like a second skin. And, oh god, my breasts are almost exposed!

Shrieking, I quickly wrap my arms around my chest and turn around to fix my clothes. Oh no, this is too embarrassing! First, I fell on the water in front of Sasuke, and second, he saw my chest! I hope the ground swallows me now!

"Eh, someone got here first."

Shikamaru stands far away from us, his back pressed on the trunk of a tree with his slim arms crossed on his chest. I doubt he just got there, judging from the suggestive look he's giving me. I glare at him.

My co-transfer walks to us and stands next to me. I swear if he says something inappropriate, I will punch him.

"Good day, Uchiha-san. The name's Shikamaru. Pleasure to meet you." He smirks at the Uchiha prince, who just shrugs.

"Hn," comes Sasuke's one-syllable response. Can't he pretend to be a little formal? He's talking to his future subjects, hello.

I shiver uncontrollably when cold wind hits my soaked body. I grit my teeth and wrap my arms on my torso tighter due to the sudden uncomfortable feeling. The only things I want to do now are to get away from these two, take a warm shower and change clothes.

"I-I gotta go. T-Thanks f-for, u-uh… y-yeah… B-Bye…" I grin sheepishly at the prince, who frowns at me. Well, sorry for being disrespectful! My health comes first!

As Shikamaru leads me back to our friends, a long black cloth is draped over my head. I peek back over my shoulder, finding the Uchiha prince just withdrawing his arms from me.

Just as I am about to give it back to him, Sasuke holds up his hand, his eyes narrowing at me. "Return it tomorrow." His tone says it is final. He turns around and walks away with his hands fished inside his pockets. I just noticed the lower part of his pants is drenched, and his arms are bare, so he must feel cold as well. But why give it to me? We're not even friends.

"He just asked you out on a date, idiot." Shikamaru whispers on my ear.

My cheeks warm up, shortly entertaining that thought. But, no! Sasuke was just being courteous because this evil friend of mine doesn't have a single blood of gentlemanliness on him.

"Shut up. He didn't say anything." I roll my eyes before stepping forward, properly wrapping the cloak on me. He already gave it to me, plus, I badly need some warmth. Who am I to reject this? I stop for a moment smelling the manly scent on the cloak. What is Sasuke's perfume?

Shikamaru catches up with me, a teasing grin forming on his thin lips. "You don't understand man language."

"You don't understand women."

Shikamaru laughs. "Touché."

I smile. I have always liked talking to Shikamaru.

It is good the cloak does not bear the clan insignia on it. I can already imagine what will happen once people see a lowly transfer like me getting associated with the young Uchiha Prince, especially after that stunt he pulled before he jumped from the rooftop. The bullying will get intensified, because Shinobi-born girls will surely join.

When we get back, no one is suspicious. I am just teased for looking like a wet ugly duckling. Thank heavens, Shikamaru doesn't say anything, riding along my excuse for getting lost. I know I can trust him.

Later that night, Sasuke's scent on the cloth lulls me to sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED

Thank you to those who reviewed/favorite/followed the previous chapter! You guys made my day!

So ok Sakura was totally creepy on the last sentence, but that's our annoying fangirl Sakura! Sakura not crushing on Sasuke would be... weird? She'll be appearing sometimes here, although not as annoying as in the series :DD

Oh, and the initiation arc will be long. More like ten chapters or so. Just because. :D This story is getting longer than I had originally planned ;A;

Thanks for reading!

cheerry