Beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Miaow XD
Things as they are
Chapter 6
The clatter of weapons and the pounding of footsteps broke Team 7 and Tazuna out of their state of tensed silence. Gatou and a multitude of men were on one side of the bridge.
"So," Gatou grinned in triumph, "you took care of those two. I'm glad, actually. I wanted to pay the boy back for what he did to my arm!" he held up his arm, which was in a large cast. He grinned an oily disgusting grin at Team 7, as though they'd just done him the biggest favour.
Kakashi turned an emotionless eye upon the stout businessman. "Gatou. You have been enough of a terrorizer to the Land of the Wave." He formed a seal. "You will be disposed of." As soon as he had said that, a hundred or so bunshin appeared behind him. Sasuke knew that intimidation tactics formed half of an experienced ninja's arsenal and that bluffing was sometimes the key in a fight that was otherwise tedious or dangerous. In this case, just a plain bother.
The men behind Gatou stepped back a step in fear, but Gatou laughed. "Come on! Don't you want that free meal ticket?" That seemed to boost their confidence by a little bit.
Then, Kakashi formed another seal. He disappeared in cloud of smoke, reappearing behind Gatou, who seemed not to have noticed him. "Gatou, don't you think it's a little early to celebrate?" He whispered into the man's ear. Sasuke had to appreciate the Shinobi's style. He may not be as lazy and perverted as his Kakashi, but he still had that knack for taking down an enemy in superb manner that just could not be done any better.
The stout man jumped; he had heard nothing to indicate the Konoha Shinobi had even gotten that close. He took in a deep breath to shout something, most likely some orders to his men, but Kakashi had slit his throat before Gatou had been able to say anything. Kakashi found himself wondering just how this civilian had been the terror of Wave for so long when he had tried to have Shinobi like Zabura taken advantage of and then tried to dispose of the Shinobi that had killed Zabuza. Honestly, common sense really wasn't all that common.
"Hey!"
"You destroyed our free meal ticket!" And there went the rest of the morons. Kakashi sighed, wondering how any of these fools managed to survive in their daily lives.
Suddenly an arrow flew out of the sky and landed a foot in front of the dead Gatou.
"We'll hurt you if you come any closer!" Inari's voice rang out clearly.
Kakashi smiled inwardly; so the boy had been able to recruit some of the villagers after all. It didn't matter that Team 7 would've probably been able to take the group by themselves.
After all, it was the thought that count. Not to mention, the little village was starting to understand that they had the power to take care of themselves.
Team 7 was silent as Kakashi fixed a wooden cross on a cliff as Zabuza's grave. He placed a wreath of roses over the top and stood back to admire it. It was strangely serene and majestic in the sunset; all silently agreed that there couldn't have been a better grave, nor a better death for a ninja of Zabuza's calibre.
As they turned back, Sakura asked quietly, "Sensei, Zabuza wasn't that bad, was he?"
Kakashi seemed to mull over the question for a little while. "No. He was just... misguided. He had a goal, and he chose the darker path in achieving that goal."
"Zabuza was a great ninja. Never forget that. He stood for something, was determined to obtain that goal. That is a worthy attitude to life." Sasuke added thoughtfully. "Even if his methods were not exactly the most honourable."
When the group of people had left, there was a small rustle in the trees. "Sayonara, Zabuza-san. You've been more family to me than anyone else has." The hunter-nin watched the one called Uchiha Sasuke with interest. This 'genin' knew about precious people, and he had spared Haku's life. He was strong, and he had a goal too. Haku could see it within that dark gaze. This 'genin', perhaps he could be Haku's new master.
Only, from the shadows, silently assisting where he needed. After all, Haku was merely a tool to be used by those stronger than himself.
"Are we there yet, Kakashi-sensei?"
"No."
"Sakura, stop asking. That was the third time in the last fifteen minutes."
"Baka! It's not like you aren't bothered by this heat!"
"I'm not."
"... Well, I am!"
"We know you are. We've been hearing you complain for the last two hours."
"Baka!"
Thump.
"Itai! That hurt, Sakura!"
"If you hadn't said that very unnecessary comment - "
"Both of you are giving me a headache. Sakura, stop complaining."
"Hai, Naruto-kun!"
Sasuke merely sighed.
Why, just why, did he have to end up in this world?
All of Team 7's members were relieved to see the towering gates of Konoha. For a while - or actually, ever since they had left the Land of the Waves, there had been a repeating cycle.
Sakura would complain about the heat, sore feet, and anything else that she could think of that would have even the slightest possibility of getting Naruto's attention. ("My feet hurt! My back hurts! I feel faint...") Sasuke would roll his eyes and wonder if she'd forgotten about their little talk. Probably.
Then Sasuke would tell her to be quiet, or something along those lines that perhaps wasn't as polite. ("Shut up. You're not as bad as you say." Or something like "We're all walking in the same place here and you're the only one complaining. Act like a ninja for once and stop whining.")
Sakura would shout back in anger. ("Are you calling me a liar?" or "I can't help it you're a freak.")
Sasuke would reply coolly, though less and less so every time. ("I believe that's what one's called when they don't tell the truth." Or "If I'm a freak for being a ninja then what does that make your precious Naruto-kun?")
Sakura would shout again. ("You - you - jerk!")
Naruto would tell both of them to shut up. ("Shut up, both of you. You both are giving me a headache.")
Sakura would smile sweetly at her crush ("Okay!") while Sasuke would roll his eyes. (Can she get any sweeter?)
There would be some silence, but then the cycle would start again. ("... Are we there yet?")
As yet another cycle began, Kakashi turned around and narrowed his eye at all three of them. "Look," he said, irritated. "Either all of you shut up or I'll leave you three tied up in a tree."
No one spoke for the remainder of the journey. Sasuke spent that silence planning all the ways he was going to make that orange book haunt his sensei until he damn well giggled like the perverted jonin he was on the inside.
And to think the silence on the way to Wave had been an issue.
"Name, occupation, and status, please?" The guard droned. He was beginning to tire; this job was so incredibly boring and he'd been here for hours already. Wasn't it someone else's turn yet?
"Hatake Kakashi, Shinobi, Jonin."
The guard started violently and began to stutter. He had been practically dozing off in front of the famous Second White Fang! "I, er, that is - Kakashi-san - no, Hatake-san - "
Kakashi frowned at the indecisiveness. "May we pass?" He asked with a touch of impatience in his tone. He wouldn't admit it to the brats but he was happy to be home too.
"H-Hai!"
The four Shinobi walked past the guards without saying another word. Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto were still under the impression that even though they had reached Konohagakure, Kakashi would tie them up in some tree or leave them on top of a building if they said anything, and he probably would. Kakashi was still steaming from his subordinate's and the guard's lack of concentration. This was supposed to be his team. Their attitudes were a reflecting of his teaching. He cringed at that.
Needless to say, they did not make a very happy group.
"Hey, how'd the mission go?" asked a cheerful Obito, who had unfortunately decided to come and meet them at the gate.
He got four identical glares as a response.
"Geez, I was only asking..." Obito did not miss Kakashi's silent request to get him a drink for when he got out of the Hokage's office.
And when they reached the Hokage's office, it was obvious to the Yondaime that something had gone wrong. Of course, he was still steaming over the loss of his crystal ball, but he managed to put on a smile. (Though it didn't really matter, considering that everyone in the office knew a fake smile when they saw one.) "How was the mission?" he asked through clenched teeth.
"Fine." Kakashi crossed his arms, giving Minato an immediate sign that it had indeed not been fine at all and gave him a look that stated they would be talking about this later. That scene in the crystal ball had been interesting too and he'd been dying to know what had happened since then.
"Okay." Naruto turned away with an irritated look on his face. Is that because of the mission, or because of something else? Minato wondered. Probably the mission, considering Sakura's mood as well.
The blond Hokage turned to the other two Genin, who also had their faces turned away in completely different directions. So they don't have to look at each other, Minato frowned at the lack of 'team spirit,' as Gai would put it. "And you two?" He had hoped that putting Team 7 on a C-ranked mission wouldn't be a mistake, as he had the Council breathing down his neck, but it seemed he was wrong.
"We survived," Sasuke muttered lowly; Sakura murmured her agreement with Naruto, as usual, making Sasuke scowl.
Minato sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "It didn't go well, did it, Kakashi-kun?"
Kakashi did not respond, but his eyes gave his request.
"Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, please leave." Minato's voice left no room for arguments. Silently the three Genin left. Naruto, however did glare at him, his broody mood deepening even more as he realised that this was probably about that S-classed secret he wasn't allowed to know but Sasuke was.
"Now, what is it, Kakashi?"
Kakashi's onyx eye met with Minato's sapphire eyes. A brief silence reigned in the office; then, the Jonin turned slightly to Iruka, who was looking quite startled at the attention. Minato took the hint and asked gently, "Iruka, would you mind leaving us for a little bit?"
"N-Not at all, Hokage-sama," Iruka managed a small smile and left immediately.
"Now, what is it, Kakashi?" Minato's face was stern and strictly business. Though he did not have this face on often, all knew - and perhaps Kakashi, his old student, more so than others - that he was perfectly serious and wanted the report plainly. Nothing left out, nothing added in.
"The mission was under graded. The client lied about the potential threats."
Just like that. Minato's crystal blue eyes widened. Unconsciously, his heart began to beat faster. "By... By how much?" he asked, barely managing to keep his voice under control. If the council found out about this …
Kakashi's gaze did not falter, but something - it was hard to tell, but Minato was fairly sure - flickered in his eye. Perhaps concern? "We encountered Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist as well as the Demon Brothers."
Minato sucked in a breath sharply in surprise. Then, after a split second of silence, he began to bombard his former student with questions. "What happened? Were you hurt? What about the three Genin? What about Naruto? Did they fight? Were they okay?"
Kakashi supressed an eye twitch before deciding that it was useless to try to answer all of his sensei's questions individually. Besides, wasn't it obvious that they were alright? They had been standing right there not five minutes previously. It would be better to summarize the whole story, he thought as he replied, "Shortly after we started, the Demon Brothers ambushed us, though we easily took care of them." I can add the part about Sasuke doing strange things later. "Then, we met up with Zabuza. I had no problem defeating him." Here Minato raised one of his eyebrows incredulously at the display of blatant pride, but Kakashi ignored it, "I trained the Genin in tree climbing, re-evaluated Sasuke," again the eyebrow went up, and again Kakashi ignored it, "and then we met Zabuza as well as his subordinate on Tazuna's bridge. I was distracted with Zabuza - "
"You what?!" Minato slammed both of his fists down on the table. Everyone, meaning the ANBU that Kakashi instinctively knew were there and could sense, except Kakashi jumped at the noise. "You got distracted by Zabuza and then let your three Genin fight another missing-nin?!" His sapphire eyes were burning, accusing the things he could not say as the Hokage. You got distracted and let my son and the village's Jinchuriki fight another missing-nin. Although Minato never saw Sasuke as merely the village's Jinchuriki. Sasuke had always been more than that to the Yondaime, perhaps a second son and Kakashi felt the double blow of the accusations.
Kakashi flinched. He probably shouldn't have told Sensei that. "Well... I had no choice," he reasoned. "And Naruto wasn't in danger - we had left him at Tazuna's house. Sakura was guarding Tazuna, so Sasuke fought Zabuza's subordinate, but he did an amazing job at defeating him - !" he rushed at the end, seeing how his sensei's eyes were practically burning.
"How dare you put Sasuke in danger with a missing-nin! And since you couldn't do anything, he - " suddenly Minato blinked, as if remembering something. The threatening aura disappeared immediately. "You said that Sasuke did an amazing job at defeating Zabuza's subordinate?"
Kakashi sweat dropped. How did his sensei changed moods so quickly? Bi-polar. The man was a manic bi-polar. "H-Hai..." his voice faltered for a moment, then resumed as he saw his sensei start to say something. "I don't know the details of the fight, though..."
Minato sighed, which was a better reaction than Kakashi had expected. "Continue."
"I defeated and killed Zabuza, and Sasuke defeated Zabuza's subordinate. After a surge of power from Sasuke - " At this point Kakashi tilted his head pointedly at the Hokage, earning a sharp intake of breath - "the subordinate disappeared. He might've fallen off of the bridge; I do not know if he is alive."
Minato was silent after Kakashi had finished his narration. He stared out the window, his brow furrowed with thought. Finally, he spoke, "We can deal with Zabuza's subordinate later. Now, explain to me what the hell happened with you and Sasuke during that mission." An order, not a request.
"You know about that?" Kakashi asked with a narrowed eye. Now that was just plain creepy.
"Somewhat. Now quit stalling and spill it already." Minato's mood had darkened again, only this time he was anxious and not threatening.
"Uh, well when we were attacked by the Demon brothers, I uhm, sort of, hung back, a little, so that I could see how the genin faired in teamwork. Sasuke was the one to react to the attack, taking out the two chunin with little to no effort before Naruto could even react." Kakashi stated slowly and uncomfortably at first, dreading the blonde's reaction to this development and rushing through the end part so that he at least had something positive to distract his sensei with. Worked the first time hadn't it?
"You hung back?" Minato repeated dangerously. "And Sasuke defeated the Demon Brothers?"
"Yes. Then when we encountered Zabuza he was completely unaffected by the sakki the nunke-nin had been releasing in continuous bursts, and he stopped a blow aimed to kill Naruto, Sakura and the client with a one handed kunai block." Kakashi had long since resigned himself to a slow and painful punishment. Best to get it all out now. The blonde's anger would be limited to one report and not several just in case he managed to hear anything Kakashi left out from the genin.
The stony silence he was greeted with told him he was in for a world of pain. The worst kind imaginable.
"Anyways, after an outburst from Sasuke to the client's grandchild, Sasuke left, seemingly upset over his own behaviour. Oddly enough the behaviour displayed was the most accurate display of the description in the boy's file since I had met him. I followed him in the hopes that his flustered demeanour would provide the opportunity to learn something more." Kakashi paused, tilting his head slightly. "All I got were more excuses and bluffs, like what he gave you. I re-evaluated his skills the next day and found him to be adept enough to land a blow on me. He also appears to actively lower his capabilities causing him to flounder in a fight. However, this 'habit' of hiding his skills does not extend over into real life combat situations. He knows when to push it and when to fake it, since I tried to push him into showing his true capabilities but he was so busy trying not to fall into some instinctive stance and into something more forced, but no less effective I'd imagine, that I was able to knock him unconscious, albeit accidently. I believe that had he been fighting me as an enemy rather than his sensei, if he hadn't been so focused on the amount of skill he had been showing, he would be on par with a Tokubetsu Jonin or a high chunin." Kakashi summarized and mused in the same lengthy speech, just to save some time. Perhaps even higher but I hesitate to estimate that much . . .
"When he was fighting Zabuza's accomplice, the part of the fight I was able to see. He completely bested the other, forcing the other to rely on a Kekkei Genkai technique. It seemed that the technique was something of a last resort. After the technique was implemented, Zabuza and I engaged and I lost the luxury of observing Sasuke any further. However, I believe he disabled the other Shinobi by the use of a genjutsu." That assumption was based on the silence that had come from the ice structure just before that horrendous scream of pure terror and pain from Haku. Only a genjutsu would account for that.
"I see. And so the mystery deepens. You can go, Kakashi, but I still expect a written report." Minato sighed wearily, wondering with all his Kami given intellect why on earth he deserved such a problematic genin in his ranks.
Kakashi bowed deeply and left the room. The two ANBU in the room let out a sigh. Sometimes their Hokage could act so... un-Hokage-like.
Kakashi headed towards the jonin standby station where he hoped Obito was waiting for him.
He walked through the door, ignoring the stares and whispers. So it seemed word of his little C-rank mission had spread. How long until the fact that C was now an A-rank mission spread through to the jonin? He couldn't decide if it was jealousy or awe or even irritation that dominated the atmosphere. He really didn't care.
"So how did the mission really go?" Obito asked, holding up the probably stolen bottle of sake and gesturing for the silver haired jonin to hurry up and get over to the open chair next to him.
"It sucked. Sakura started the mission with a haircut. I don't even want to know what that's all about. And I suppose it should have been a sign in itself when she didn't declare undying love to Naruto the moment she saw him." Kakashi grabbed the bottle and took a large gulp, right through his mask. Ah, that was better. So much better.
"Ah come on Kakashi, kunoichi are not that bad." Asuma chuckled, joining in the conversation.
"I said Sakura started the mission like that. That was just before leaving the village. You don't even want to know what it took to get the fricken mission." Kakashi retaliated, before taking another swig. "Anyways, after some nice lengthy awkward silence, the fricken Demon brothers attacked." Another swig."*Hic* And then Sasuke, Sasuke, whips out some shuriken and some kunai and wham, bam thank you ma'am, has them both taken care of before I can even stop my head from spinning *hic* due to the replacement jutsu. *hic* So Naruto went from broody to pissed in about 0.4 seconds and stayed that way for the remainder of the mission … no he got worse." Another swig but this time Obito rudely took the bottle away.
"You know Kakashi, I love it when you've been drinking, I really do. But I also know where your limit is, and that isn't very far let me tell you. You've already reached it. Any more and you'll be snoring on my shoulder and this is a mission I actually want to hear about." Obito cheerfully informed the glaring jonin.
"So Sasuke stopped the demon brothers?" Asuma asked, just to get Kakashi going again.
"Yep. Then Zabuza attacked, you know the one from Mist, one of the Seven Sword's men. Anyways, he wasn't much of a problem, it was Sasuke that freaked me out. He stopped that ninja's sword with one hand, one! Naturally, Naruto went from pissed to downright intolerable, since he'd damn near fainted from the sakki while Sasuke looked merely slightly itchy or something." Kakashi snorted at the thought.
"What the hell! I knew Sasuke was hiding something but that's just crazy." Obito yelled, never one for being quiet.
It suddenly occurred to Kakashi that this was something that shouldn't be making its way around the Jonin ranks and he just might get into more trouble with his sensei should he continue his little tale. After all there was still the little outburst, the tree climbing, Naruto's bad mood once again, the return of Sakura's fangirlism, more Zabuza with a splash of accomplice. Heck even he was starting to lose count of all the things Sasuke had done that he should not have been able to.
Luckily, the slightly tipsy jonin was saved from further questioning with a slight puff of smoke announced the arrival of … something.
The jonin in the room looked at it before Obito braved it out and picked up the horrendously orange little book that had suddenly appeared on the coffee table. Obito flipped it open and read the inscription out loud. "To Kakashi, this is a single step of many in my self-appointed mission to remove that stick lodged up your ass. Enjoy the present, really I mean it, enjoy it! Sincerely, Life."
"Dear Life," Obito replied out loud and just as cheerfully as ever, "Good luck with that."
Kakashi was already out cold on the couch, snoring away his troubles and trusting Obito to lug him to his apartment. Obito sighed and tucked the little orange book into Kakashi's pouch, mentally loving the reaction Kakashi was going to have in finding the little book there at a later date.
The Uchiha had his suspicions about who 'Life' was, but he was just confused as to why Sasuke would care about such things and why an Icha Icha book of all things to start with. Still, this looked like it could get fun.
"Naruto-kun! Naruto-kun!"
Naruto gave a small sigh as he politely waited for Sakura to catch up. That is, it would be a vain attempt to try to evade that overly-obsessive teammate of his. "What do you want?" he hissed, trying not to sound too irritated. The mission to Wave was still pissing him off, and Sakura's general fangirlism behaviour just wasn't helping right now.
Sakura crossed her arms. "Well, excuse me for asking you to train!" She tossed her head.
The blond tried not to gape. Where was that fangirl? "A-Ano..." Had he really said that?
The pink-haired girl raised one of her eyebrows and frowned. "Are you feeling okay, Naruto-kun?" she asked suspiciously. Then, a grin spread on her face. "Do you want to train with me?" Naruto stared at her, but she babbled on. "I'm good at chakra control, but I'm not really that good at taijutsu. I could use some real pointers, you know? And Kakashi-sensei's never around when I need him, so maybe you - "
This sudden interest in training was just too suspicious to him. It could just be another warped attempt to get close to him.
"Whatever," Naruto shrugged her request off and started to walk away. "I'm busy."
"But..." Sakura sighed, feeling dejected as her crush disappeared from sight.
"Sakura?"
She jumped at the sudden voice, whirling around to face Sasuke, who had a raised eyebrow. "Baka!" she growled once she had gotten over of her surprise. Sasuke just stared at her. Honestly, it was beginning to creep her out... Sakura's eyes twitched.
Thus began a war of the stares.
"You need help on your taijutsu?" It wasn't a rude question, just a simple, 'are you, or are you not?' question. It wasn't jeering, either.
Still, pride prevented her from a simple 'yes.' "Why do you want to know?" Sakura frowned at her teammate. Where was that pride when Naruto was involved?
Sasuke seemed not to notice her bad mood. He was cocking his head at her, but his gaze wasn't really on her, as if contemplating something. "Do you want to train with me?" he asked suddenly.
Inner Sakura's first impression was: Baka! He probably just wants to spend time with me!Though, Sakura thought, But then... he seemed so calm about it... not excited at all. Is that really Sasuke? "Well..." she struggled to find the right words. "Ano..."
Sasuke kept on staring at her.
"Okay," she said, but then she burst out, "but it's not because I want to train with you!"
A small, knowing smile graced Sasuke's lips before he smirked. "Sure."
Step one of Plan Improve Team 7: complete.
After a quick spar and some tips, since that's all Sakura was really ready for at that moment, Sasuke walked down one of Konoha's main streets. He was in a fairly good mood; now, he was certain - if he could teach Sakura the Godaime's insane power and get her to learn more jutsus, both offensive, defensive, and healing - then things would not go the way they had. Orochimaru would not stand a chance. Regardless of the fact that Orochimaru had taught him many useful and dangerous jutsus, Sasuke held no fondness for his former tutor. In fact, the man disgusted him, and if not for the promise of power there would have been no way he'd have left Konoha. In fact, looking back on it now, he would even go so far as to say it hadn't even been worth it. Considered where Naruto and Sakura went in terms of power and by staying loyal to Konoha, he had to admit that perhaps his decision had been more than slightly rash.
But just how far away were the chunin exams? How much time did he have to turn Sakura into a capable kunoichi?
Sasuke strolled past the growling citizens on the sides of the street. He had learnt to block those stares and whispers out a while ago; as long as they did not directly approach him, he would not hurt them. Besides this was an amazing time to simply reflect on what he was trying to achieve.
He cocked his head; there was a shadow on his face. What was blocking the sunlight? A building? Sasuke squinted; it looked familiar. What... oh. It was the Konoha hospital. He'd been there before a couple of times, though the experiences unpleasant. The first time he'd been there had been the massacre; the last time, Itachi's reappearance.
A jingling of bells alerted Sasuke to stop as the doors slid open. Someone was coming out, apparently on crutches.
Wait just a second.
Do I know that person?
Sasuke squinted. He knew that person.
"Otouto! What are you doing here?"
That voice.
His blood ran cold and his heart stuttered.
"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked in a barely controlled voice. His tone was ice cold and his body posture clearly emitted rage.
One of the other's eyebrows rose. "What do you mean, 'what am I doing here?' "
"You know exactly what I mean."
He laughed. Just like old times, all of those times he played with me - "Otouto, I don't have time for games." He tried to poke the younger's forehead with his fingers, like old times, but the hand was angrily brushed away. Those days are over, aniki, and I'm not so little anymore - Itachi frowned. "Don't you remember?"
"Remember what?" Ouch. Sasuke had just bit the inside of his cheek, but he ignored the pain and the metallic taste on his tongue. He had to keep calm and remain at least civil to the other, there were still ANBU watching him and if he wasn't mistaken Shisui was one of them.
"Are you okay?" the other asked, placing a hand on Sasuke's forehead. The younger jerked away, refusing to be touched. "Don't you remember what happened?"
"No."
The taller boy frowned - what was that, on his face, dejection? "Am I really not that important to you?" he whispered.
"What do you mean?" Sasuke was panicking, almost mad from curiosity and being around him. Was this related to what had happened at the Uchiha Compound?
Uchiha Itachi - him - shook his head. "Don't you remember? You went beserk in the compound a few weeks ago? I tried to stop you, but- " here he averted his gaze, "I guess I wasn't an important enough reason to stop."
What?!
"No - No, I don't believe it - "
"Gomen, Sasuke, if I brought something unpleasant up."
"I didn't - "
"It's okay. I know you didn't mean it, even though the Elders may not agree."
"I don't - argh! Just - leave me alone!"
"What? Otouto - otouto, come back here!"
"Don't follow me!"
It wasn't like Itachi could on crutches, anyway. But it gave Sasuke satisfaction in pushing away him.
He slowed to a walking pace once he was out of sight of the hospital. The rest of the conversation had seemed to take place away from himself, while he hovered above, an observer rather than a participant.
Sasuke needed to think out his thoughts. Glancing around, Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that no one he knew was around. Though many people turned their heads and grimaced because they knew who he was, he paid no attention.
Who was ani - Itachi - anyway? In the other Konoha, he was a mass murderer and a S-classed missing-nin to boot. Here... he was... still aniki. He obviously didn't murder the clan and still cared about his brother. They were completely different. Polar opposites. Same person, but different ideals. Or maybe Sasuke was missing something from his world or this world was different merely because the Yondaime was here.
Sasuke rubbed his temples. This new Konoha was so confusing. It was hard for him to act like he knew what was happening. So far, what had he gathered from this new Konoha? He began to list the changes, in the order in which he found them.
One. Obviously he had changed places with Naruto, which meant he regularly acted like him, too. As in, stupidity and everything. He liked orange, was brash, had a crush on Sakura, and lived in an apartment on the edge of town. And vice versa, with Naruto, who was a total jerk (surely he hadn't been that bad while he was Genin, right?), and wanted to surpass... someone.
Sasuke suspected that Naruto was the son of the Hokage, too, given the hint at the announcement of the Genin teams. Namikaze Naruto? How many Namikazes were there, anyway? The Hokage was the only one he could think of who had the same last name. They looked the same, too. The combination of blond hair and blue eyes was not common in Konoha. Yet no one had as of yet, in his presence, confirmed that Naruto was indeed the son of the Hokage.
Two. Naruto and his otou-san (perhaps the Hokage, but there was no definite proof of this) did not have a very good relationship. At least, there was a one-way rivalry. The Yondaime didn't seem like the person who'd have a rivalry, much less with his own son.
Three. Okay, fairly useless piece of information. Sasuke's eye twitched at this, remembering his careless mistake. The Graduating Exam does count towards the team divisions. Though it could've been the same in the other world, and he just hadn't cared...
Four. The Yondaime was the Hokage, and had an interesting relationship with him. 'Minato-oyaji,' wasn't that the nickname the Yondaime had said Sasuke liked to call him? Minato-old man? What type of nickname was that? And the Hokage allowed it, no less. Strange.
So, Sasuke thought, I and the Hokage have a "good" relationship. I wonder why? Is because of the Kyuubi? Possibly, he mulled. It makes sense. And where was the Sandaime? Surely he'd have retired and would still be alive around here somewhere?
Five. The Uchiha clan was still alive, but it seemed as if he wasn't welcome there. Apparently he had done something to anger at least his otou-san and okaa-san. Maybe some others, too. Itachi was not at home at that time; Sasuke assumed it was because he was at the hospital. Sasuke frowned. Perhaps his otou-san's and okaa-san's anger had something to do with him going berserk in the compound.
It made sense; Sasuke remembered the ramen containers he had counted on his first day. Ninety-four cardboard ramen wrappings. Now, how much did Naruto eat in one day? His brow furrowed. Definitely more than three, he thought. But then, there were those two wrappings that seemed like they had been spilled on at the same time. So perhaps, two ramen packages per meal? It was a wild guess, he admitted, but there was no harm in guessing.
So, two packages per meal. That made six packages per day, assuming there were only three meals in each day. Ninety-four divided by six made fifteen with four remainder. Fifteen days, four extra? That was two weeks and one day.
A couple of weeks ago, Itachi had said. That was when he had gone berserk. Two weeks and one day plus the three weeks he'd been here since graduation. Five weeks and one day. Four extra ramen packages, for late nights. It fit.
Sasuke gave an audible sigh in pride. Orochimaru's teachings of observations had not been in vain, after all. So Sasuke had been kicked out of the Uchiha compound because of his attack on Itachi five weeks, one day ago, approximately. But what of before and why did he attack Itachi?
He couldn't be sure; of course, it fit, but if it was a coincidence... Well, there was only one way to find out. He'd have to ask someone who knew but would not suspect him. Which, was either Shisui since the ANBU already knew he was a little bonkers or he'd have to just live with not knowing.
Six. Kakashi was a lot more serious than he was in the other world. Far more serious. He still had his hitai-ate slanted over one of his eyes, but since he had not revealed the Sharingan in the battle with Zabuza, either he was extremely cocky or he did not have the Sharingan. I remember Kabuto telling me about Kakashi, but I don't remember exactly what. Sasuke racked his brain for the information, but nothing showed. He narrowed his eyes. I hope that forgetting isn't another effect of being in this world.
Seven. Some man named Uchiha Obito was Kakashi's friend. He was carefree and much like the Naruto of the other world. And of course, he wouldn't be in the other world because Itachi had murdered the whole clan. Thankfully, this Obito character didn't seem to affect the timeline too much.
Wait, that's what Kabuto had told me about. Something about Obito dying and giving up his eye to Kakashi? Sasuke made a face. Gross. But if Obito didn't die, then Kakashi either got the eye from another Uchiha or he doesn't have one.
He frowned. That didn't really help me at all, he thought, but continued on with his list.
Eight. Haku's fate. Well, Sasuke thought it over, Haku wasn't really a change. He would've died, but ended up not because of the situation.
There was a difference between already changed and in the process of being changed, after all.
Nine. Itachi. Confusion was all that Sasuke could say. He was not even sure of who his aniki was anymore. Was he that psychopathic killer? Or a caring aniki? The way he had acted was certainly the latter.
But he's probably putting up an act, and he'll murder the clan again! a voice in his head told him. You'll have to put up with that all over again.
No! he thought. I won't put up with that again. An ache in his heart remembered the day of the massacre, but he pushed it away, replacing it with feelings of anger. If he does, I'll kill him. That's a promise.
It was a certainty.
Kakashi was paying only half attention while his team was training. Or arguing, to be more specific. It had started out training, but quickly evolved into arguing, just like every other day. He wondered briefly if he should take a more active role in their training but …
Strangely enough, the line between the training and arguing was quickly thinning.
He hadn't even done anything. The Genin just took off on fighting on their own. Sakura was the starter, Sasuke was the defender, and Naruto was the add-occasional-comments-and-see-their-reaction person.
The Jonin sighed and shook his head. Maybe he shouldn't have stayed up so late the previous night, regardless of the fact that he was trying to decide how to phrase certain sentences on the Wave Mission report so that Minato wouldn't yell his head off or add to his punishment. He rolled his head, trying to relieve himself of the upcoming migraine and that hang over wasn't helping.
And that's when he saw it.
"So soon..." he muttered, then stood up abruptly. "I have to go. Have fun," he said, knowing that the only Genin who might've heard him would be Naruto.
Kakashi performed the shunshin no jutsu, disappearing into a cloud of smoke and leaving three very confused Genin.
Kurenai was satisfied with her team. Though she had been fairly nervous about her first year teaching, the Jonin had been relieved to find that her three Genin were not as bad as they could have been. Of course, Hinata's stuttering, Kiba's brashness, and Shino's silence all bothered her, but those were things that could be fixed.
She was so proud of her team. She was actually glad she'd gotten Kiba instead of Sasuke. It just felt better with the Inuzuka. They were definitely qualified for that exam, though it was so soon.
Speaking of that exam...
"I'll be gone for a little while," Kurenai announced suddenly, and without giving the Genin time to respond or protest, she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Kiba frowned. "Why can't we learn to do that?" he muttered.
The place Asuma's team visited most was the training grounds, like any other Shinobi team. The place they visited second most, however, was as un-shinobi as could be. But granted, they had an Akimichi on their team, and although Asuma had never been a large eater himself, they had been spending many noons at a barbecue place not far from their training grounds.
As he watched Chouji stuff himself with food, Shikamaru poke at his lunch, and Ino scold the two, Asuma chuckled to himself. Glancing outside, his mind began to drift. It wouldn't be long until another Yamanaka-Nara-Akimichi team would rise. Their fathers were a powerful combination and they were shaping up to be pretty impressive themselves, personal quirks aside.
Asuma frowned suddenly. What was that outside his window? A small smile began to tug at his lips. Was it really that time so soon? "Excuse me, I have some business I need to take care of," he told his students.
Shikamaru watched his sensei rise and leave. Now, why would he leave so suddenly? And without a reason, too? Usually, their sensei gave a reason if he had to leave in the middle of training or lunch. But this time, he hadn't. Was there something they weren't supposed to know? Perhaps, concerning them?
He shook his head. Troublesome, he thought.
Murmurs greeted the Yondaime as the doors to the meeting room opened. Many Jonin shuffled in impatiently; amongst them, the Yondaime could see the three Genin team leaders: Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma. Good. They aren't late, he thought.
He raised his hand, and in a few moments all were silent. The Yondaime cleared his throat. "As most of you have noticed, it is time for the Chunin Exam."
"When is it?" asked a Jonin.
"A week from now."
Murmurs broke out, but he ignored them. "Nominations will begin now - we'll start with the rookie Genin. Those leading the teams please step forward. Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma."
Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma all stepped forward. Minato noticed that Kakashi had one of those expressions which could only be deciphered by few; it was an expression of coolness, revealing the fact that Kakashi had already chosen his decision. Kurenai, Minato noted, had a similar expression as well. Apparently her first Genin team had exceeded her expectations. Asuma, on the left, was lighting his cigarette again, though the blonde could see that he was in deep thought.
"You should already know this, but any Genin who has completed eight or more missions qualifies to be nominated for the Exam. You first, Kakashi?" Minato smiled as his former student stepped forward. I wonder how long it has been since I'd nominated him for the Chunin Exams? he thought absentmindedly but quickly shoved it aside considering the amount of years that it had been and being reminded that he was getting old wasn't exactly his favourite pass time.
Murmurs of "Why do we have to go through this again?" and "There's no way the Jonin will nominate the rookies" fluttered amongst the other Jounin, but Kakashi gave no indication that he heard them.
He brought one of his hands up to his face, forming a seal. "From Team 7, I nominate Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Namikaze Naruto. Under the name of Hatake Kakashi, I nominate these three to take the Chunin Exam." Lowering his hand, Kakashi shrugged and added, "It'll be interesting to say the least, to see what Sasuke does to piss Naruto off this time."
"You hate me, don't you?" Minato accused with narrowed eyes.
Kakashi shrugged. "Imagine what Naruto will be like if I didn't nominate him." And the blond Hokage shuddered.
Surprised Jonin exclaimed their shock in excited whispers as he stepped back. Strangely enough, neither Kurenai nor Asuma seemed surprised. Then, Minato thought, are their choices the same? An unprecedented amount of Rookie Genin in one exam. However these genin were an exceptional bunch, having been particularly tricky to place into teams.
Kurenai stepped forward, forming the same seal. "From Team 8, I nominate Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, and Inuzuka Kiba. Under the name of Yuuhi Kurenai, I nominate these three to take the Chunin Exam." She stepped back.
More gasps arose, and all pairs of eyes turned towards Asuma with the unspoken question of whether he would choose the same. He stepped forward and formed the seal somewhat lazily. "From Team 10, I nominate Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Chouji. Under the name of Sarutobi Asuma, I nominate these three to take the Chunin Exam." He stepped back as well, looking relieved that his announcement was done.
A stunned silence reigned for a split moment, and then all of the Jonin excluding those three burst out in excited and anxious chatter. "Quiet," Minato ordered, although no one heard him. Irritated, he tried again, this time louder. "Quiet!" Again, no one could hear him over the chatter. Rolling his eyes at his subordinates' lack of concentration, he slammed his fist down on his desk. "Quiet!" he roared, releasing some sakki for good measure.
The Jonin stopped their protests, startled into silence. All eyes turned on the Yondaime, who looked quite annoyed at the moment. Lesson one in dealing with Minato-sensei, Kakashi thought amusedly as he glanced at his peers' expressions. Do not ignore him. Ever!
Obito, who was leaning against the wall at the back of the room, chuckled quietly. Leave it to Sensei to get everyone's attention. Then, he frowned. But what if Kakashi really is rushing it? He sighed. He probably is, knowing how impatient he can be. But then, what are the other two's reasons?
Minato sighed, then smiled. The tense air evaporated immediately, and, satisfied that he had everyone's attention, he told the three Jonin-sensei, "I guess we have an exceptional batch of rookies this year, ne?"
All three nodded, opting for a non-verbal response. None of them wanted to risk angering their mood-changing Hokage. The blonde continued, "Well then, I guess that's settled. Now, let's move on to the non-rookie Genin - "
"Wait, Hokage-sama!" interrupted a voice, and all turned to see Iruka, whose face turned red with all of the attention.
Minato raised a brow, indicating for the Chunin to continue. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Iruka said, "Hokage-sama, these Genin were my students no more than three weeks ago. They aren't ready to take the Exam! Granted, they are very talented, but aren't they," he motioned to the three Jonin leaders, "rushing it a bit?"
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "We are their teachers now, and we know their capabilities best at the moment. Besides, I was half Sasuke's age when I became a Chunin." Kakashi hit the nail on the head and he had also forced back the stutter because truthfully, he didn't know what Sasuke was capable of, but a chunin exam was a piece of cake for the Uchiha.
Iruka felt his blood run cold. The other had known who he was most worried about, displaying that oh so fine-tuned ANBU persona of his. "Sasuke is different from you!" he tried to continue in his protest, trying to believe the worlds with all his heart because if Sasuke ever turned into something so heartless and arrogant, he didn't think he would be able to handle it. Yet, ever since graduation …
"But he, as well as the other Genin, are Shinobi now. They were your students, but right now they are my soldiers. They are completely qualified to take the Exam. Actually," he smirked lightly, "they have done more. Even after countless D-ranked missions, we took a C-ranked mission which rapidly escalated to a B-rank, and then an A-rank. So they are qualified, Umino-san." he finished, enjoying the stunned expressions of the others in the room.
Minato frowned. I wanted to boast about it first, he whined mentally, especially on how well Naruto did or didn't do, but we'll just keep that part out shall we...
"But what Umino-san is saying is true!" another Jonin, Maito Gai, supported the Academy teacher's protests. He was wearing a green, one-piece outfit with a vest on top. "You're rushing too much. I made my team wait a year so they could refine their skills even more. And besides, how can they enjoy youth if you rush them?"
"I believe my team is ready, and the other two think theirs are as well." Kakashi cocked his head, his mocking onyx eye daring the man to challenge him. "Or are you afraid that my cute little genin are going to beat yours?"
"Yosh! Is that a challenge my Eternal Rival!" The green beast of Konoha rushed forward and rose a hand dramatically into the air. "From Team Guy, I nominate Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji, and Tenten. Under the name of Maito Gai, I nominate these three to take the Chunin Exam. Yosh! May their Youth Shine Through Eternally!" He turned to Kakashi, "And may they show your students how it's done."
"Oh Gai, I seriously doubt that." Kakashi replied while the other jonin started whispering again. Any genin that had Kakashi so arrogant was sure to be something spectacular.
Minato raised his hand for everyone to be quiet, and this time, all did grow quiet. Mildly pleased at his success, he said in his most Hokage-like voice, "We will now move onto the non-rookie Genin nominations, sans Gai seeing as he's already nominated his team. I just hope it wasn't purely for the challenge that Kakashi-kun presented. You can discuss this privately with one another afterwards, if you like, but not now. This meeting is not done." Kakashi scowled at being addressed as kun in public.
And with that, the Chunin Nominations continued; although in reality, few were paying actual attention and most thought of the fate of the rookie Genin. How will they do? was the unanswered question echoing in all of their minds and what had Kakashi so confident?
After the rather unprofitable training "session," the dysfunctional Team 7 separated. That is, into two parts. Naruto left immediately, disappearing while Sakura had her back turned.
Sasuke hadn't missed the falcon, knowing that it meant the chunin exams. In fact he was actually disappointed seeing as he still hadn't been able to train Sakura. With the remaining time left he would not be able to get her to a point where she would be useful per say. The Forest of Death was turning out to be exactly like before, only this time Sasuke knew better. However, knowing better didn't mean he could change it.
Sasuke watched Sakura's disappointment at Naruto's refusal, but felt strangely delighted when she turned to him and began conversing. It was only light conversation, about the weather and happenings in the town, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
Sasuke didn't know why he liked talking with Sakura like this. He had never in the original world, but then again, here he found himself behaving more like Naruto than himself. It was frightening, to say in the least. Am I going to disappear? he thought. Will my thoughts become Naruto-ish, as well? And what about my memories?
He didn't want to lose his memories. They were the most important thing; he did not want to relive certain moments in time. Sasuke wanted to prevent them, not play along and watch it happen. It would be like reliving his life over again, only from the opposite viewpoint. And that would be the worst thing that could happen to him. Did Orochimaru experiment on me because he wanted to torture me? he thought bitterly. How did he even get here? Wherever here was, seeing as he had come to the decision that this was not a dream.
Sasuke's and Sakura's conversation was rudely interrupted by a small boy who accidentally ran into him. The small child wore a long, blue scarf and a pair of goggles on his forehead. Sasuke blinked, startled not because of the collision but because he knew the boy. He had seen him somewhere before; now, exactly where had he?
"Gomen nasai," the boy apologized breathlessly. He glanced behind himself nervously, and then continued running past the two Genin.
Sasuke stared impassively after him, but then two voices shouting called his attention to where the boy had run from. Peeking from behind the fence were two children, and Sasuke assumed they were that boy's friends. "Konohamaru-chan!" "Konohamaru-kun!" "We're gonna' catch you!" they yelled together, and then raced behind their friend.
Konohamaru. So that was the brat's name. I remember, Sasuke thought. I saw him when those Suna Genin -
Oh. This was where they met those Genin.
"Oof!" Kankuro, Sasuke remembered, turned around and lifted Konohamaru by the scarf. "That hurt, brat," he growled.
Konohamaru whimpered, too scared into saying anything. The sandy blond-haired girl beside Kankuro - Temari, he remembered - frowned. "Stop it. We're going to get scolded later."
"I'm sure he didn't mean it!" Sakura shot a glance at Konohamaru to tell him that even if he did mean it, he shouldn't say anything.
"Let go of him." Sasuke told them coldly, suddenly feeling very protective of the young boy. Sakura snapped her head to look at her teammate. There was no emotion on his face, except for a trace of disdain. Why was he acting this way? Surely things wouldn't escalate that badly, right?
Kankuro cocked his head at them and turned to Konohamaru. "But I want to play around before some noisy people come," he said lightly.
"Let go!" Konohamaru struggled, kicking his feet in an attempt to free himself from this strange person with barbaric face paint on. He wasn't used to being man handled and he certainly didn't like it.
Kankuro shook his head, grinning. "You're very energetic, kid," he chuckled.
Sasuke was at a mental crossroad. Should he interfere and free Konohamaru or let Naruto deal with the Suna genin? He mulled it over for a few seconds before deciding, an easy decision really. A smile spread on his face, and Kankuro became nervous; that Genin's smile reminded him of a predator's, reminded him slightly of Gaara even.
Sasuke's smirk widened before he disappeared and reappeared behind Kankurou with two long, slender fingers pointed at the back of his neck. "You know about pressure points, don't you?" he asked in a deceivingly casual manner, "Seeing as you're a puppet user." Sakura and the three kids gaped openly. So fast, Sakura thought. Just how much is he hiding from me?
Temari began to back away. "We should stop this before someone comes," she told them, trying to be the peacemaker.
"You're here for the Chuunin Exam, aren't you?" Sasuke asked, ignoring Temari's plea. Kankurou nodded slowly, unsure of his predicament, and the Uchiha continued. "Get lost. You shouldn't anger those whose village you're in. Especially without knowing their skill level."
A voice interrupted before Kankuro could answer or do anything. "The Chunin Exam is here already? I should have some fun." All eyes turned to a familiar blonde who was sitting on a low tree branch, one leg draped over the side.
Sasuke stared at Naruto impassively. "What are you doing here?" he asked, making no effort to hide his annoyance. "I thought you were 'busy'."
Naruto shrugged. "I couldn't let you have all the fun," he smirked. And how had Naruto known about this in the first place seeing as he'd walked away, deeming his teammates a waste of time.
"Kankuro, stop." Another voice rang out; it wasn't loud, but definitely commanding. Startled, Naruto turned to see a red-haired boy with an odd gourd strapped onto his back standing upside-down on the tree branch on the opposite side of the tree.
Sasuke frowned. Gaara, he thought. How could he forget Suna's jinchuriki, the container of the one-tailed racoon?
"You are a disgrace to our village," the redhead continued.
"G-Gaara..." It was easy to see Kankuro's nervousness.
When did this guy appear next to me? Naruto thought. He was as quiet as Kakashi.
"Losing yourself due to an untrained child, how pathetic. Why do you think we came to this village?"
"Listen, Gaara, they started it - "
Gaara's eyes narrowed a fraction. "Shut up, or I'll kill you." The blunt statement startled the Konoha Genin. Sasuke realised very quickly that Naruto had been the one to knock sense into the unstable container the first time around and now that job landed squarely on his shoulders.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Kankuro put both of his hands up in an attempt to pacify his younger brother.
"I'm also sorry," Temari said quietly, when those blank eyes were turned towards her.
Gaara turned to Naruto next, stating in a mechanical tone. "I apologize for my teammates' behaviour." And before the blonde could respond, Gaara disappeared into sand and materialized next to his teammates. "Let's go."
"Wait. Your names?" Sasuke asked them, so he wouldn't seem suspicious if he accidentally said their names later.
"Huh? Me?" asked Temari as a blush spread across her face.
Sasuke cocked his head. "All of you," he said impassively, ignoring the blush.
"Kankuro," the black-covered Suna Genin said as he jerked a thumb towards himself.
"Temari," the blonde Suna Genin said as she blinked flirtatiously.
"Gaara." the red-haired Suna Genin said just as impassively. He turned around, and his unblinking sea-green eyes focused on the Uchiha. "I am also interested in you. What is your name?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Uchiha Sasuke," he said, trying not to show how pleased he was that Gaara was paying more attention to him rather than another certain teammate. Naruto, he could see, was raging internally at the attention shown at his "rival." Served him right for not being here sooner.
Gaara did incline his head towards Naruto, but his eyes lingered on Sasuke.
"Namikaze Naruto." The blond stated with narrowed eyes.
"Mother will enjoy your blond, Uchiha. And I will feel most alive when next we meet." Gaara intoned cryptically. "Yes, I see it now. You will prove my existence like no other."
"Don't count on it." Sasuke shrugged, making Kankuro and Temari gap in surprise at him.
You should be more concerned with me, Sasuke told the Suna Genin in his mind, because I already know all of your strengths and weaknesses.
Oh, how he looked forward to this Chunin Exam.
"Kakashi-sensei, what is it?" Sakura asked their teacher the next day at a rather abrupt meeting.
"Yeah, what is it?" Sasuke echoed his teammate, although he already knew the answer.
Kakashi held up three sheets of paper in his right hand. "I've nominated you three for the Chunin Exam. I assume you know what it is?" he looked pointedly at Sasuke, who rolled his eyes.
"Of course I know," Sasuke said it as if it were obvious.
Ignoring his subordinate's tone, Kakashi continued. "You three, take these and fill them out. Turn them in at the room 307 at the Academy tomorrow if you want to take it. I'm not going to force you, and neither should your teammates," he glanced at Naruto and Sasuke.
All three Genin nodded, no further explanation needed. "If that's all then, I have a little something I've been working on." Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and Sakura sighed. She wasn't sure whether she should take it or not; after all, since the Wave mission, she had felt like she was weighing her teammates down.
She gave a little jump as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Sakura glanced up to see Sasuke, who smiled slightly. "You decide whether you want to take it or not, Sakura," he said. "I, nor Naruto-teme, should influence your decision." He then took his hand off of her shoulder, turned around, and disappeared around a corner.
Sakura stared at the sheet in her hands. Did she want to take it? Did she want to become a Chunin? Did she want to enter an exam that could cost her life?
After a few moments of staring at her paper, her green eyes narrowed in determination.
If Kakashi-sensei hadn't thought that I could do this, he wouldn't have given me this sheet. I can do it. She smiled, certain of herself, and then added as an afterthought, Besides, I won't let Ino-pig surpass me.
Sasuke stopped abruptly. Someone was following him; after years of experience (okay, so maybe only three) he could tell when someone was stalking him. I don't remember this, he frowned. In the original world... who was following me? Or was anyone?
Suddenly, he felt a breath of wind on his right side, and immediately he leaped in the opposite direction. Moving into a defensive stance, he surveyed his opponent carefully. The Shinobi had a rain hitai-ate on his forehead, and a cloak around him. It was dark, so the other's features were hidden, but Sasuke could tell that the man was fairly tall and well-built.
But after his experiences, this Shinobi should be no problem.
"What do you want?" he asked evenly, letting no emotion into his voice; expert Shinobi could obtain many things from the strangest of hints.
The other let out a deep, echoing laugh. "Weak brats like you shouldn't be competing in the Chunin Exams," he said. "or there will be no challenge for me!"
Sasuke allowed himself to show a little bit of emotion, raising one eyebrow. "You're still a Genin?" he asked incredulously.
"Ehh..." the Rain Shinobi was taken aback at the question, ruffled that his attempt at intimidation had failed. "That is..." he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, not really having expected Sasuke's response and in turn not knowing how to react to it. Sasuke rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Whatever, I'll make this quick."
The Rain Shinobi's eyes widened as a large fireball came towards him - barely jumping out of the way, he started to form some seals, but Sasuke was too fast for him. Upper kick, chin - round house kick, shoulder - and finally, a thrust at the chest. The Rain Shinobi groaned in pain, and Sasuke shook his head in disappointment.
"Pitiful," he said as he jumped away.
The "Rain Shinobi" poofed into a very dazed Iruka. "He passes..." he moaned.