This chapter was Beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Miaow
A huuuuuge thanks to everyone who favorites, follows, reviews and reads this story.
Please try to keep in mind that these chapters are still mostly the original author's work.
Things as they are
Chapter 7
Itachi was, as some would call him, the perfect Shinobi. He had many titles, including "Uchiha," "genius," and "prodigy;" some would even argue that he was the one Uchiha who could rise and defeat even Madara himself.
But regardless of these compliments, Itachi, like any other good boy, never boasted and listened to his okaa-san. And he had a good reason, too.
His okaa-san was scary when she was angry.
And since he did everything his okaa-san wanted when she was angry...
There was logically no reason for him not to go grocery shopping, right?
Itachi casually slung the bag of groceries over his shoulder, trying to ignore both the weight on his crutches and the stares of the nearby people. "How much?" he asked in an almost lazy voice.
"3000 yen," the grocer replied, seemingly unaware that he was in the presence of perhaps the most well-known ANBU captain in the Shinobi world, aside from the Seond White Fang of Konoha.
The boy frowned. "3000 yen? For these few items?" he asked, lifting the bag. "That's too much."
The grocer shook his head. "3000 yen. I'm not lowering it."
"Some fruit for 3000 yen? I won't pay that. Lower the price."
"No. Hand it over."
"No way."
Itachi glared at the grocer, who sent an equally threatening glare back. For a moment, neither seemed willing to relent, but then the grocer sighed. "Fine, I'll lower it to 2500."
"That's still too high."
The grocer began to get impatient. "Take it or leave it!"
"2000."
"2300."
Itachi paused momentarily, and then nodded his assent. "Done." He took out his wallet and counted the money out.
The grocer gaped at the wads of yen bills in there. "You cheat!" he accused. "You had enough money! You just didn't want to pay that much!"
Itachi stopped counting the money and stared hard at the man, almost as if contemplating whether to answer that statement or not. The grocer, unnerved by the boy's cold eyes, stuttered, "Never mind. Just pay up." And Itachi continued to count out the money as if nothing happened. Handing the man the correct amount, Itachi hobbled out of the shop.
Tch, he thought disdainfully. Some people have no shame in pricing.
Shifting the bags on his right shoulder to lessen the growing soreness, Itachi continued down the street. As much as he disliked crutches and the thought of being "helpless," there was no other choice but to hobble down the road. Like some crippled old man, he thought angrily while glaring at all of his watchers.
He knew why they stared. He was the Uchiha genius and here he was hobbling around in crutches.
… because of Sasuke. And apparently the boy didn't remember a thing.
He'd told Shusui about it but the other Uchiha had frowned and nodded, relaying to him the events at the compound while he hadn't been there. He added everything else too, the change in behaviour, the graduation exam, everything. Even that C-rank mission gone bad. Something was up with Sasuke and no one could figure out what it was. Soon, they were going to give it to Itachi as a mission if things didn't start looking up.
His anger did not dissipate until he reached the end of the road, where he took a left. Itachi was supposed to be heading back to the Uchiha compound, but he decided that he could gamble on his mother's temper and check the Forest of Death. After all, the Chunin Exams were going to be held there, and he hadn't been there since his own Chunin exams. Had they changed anything? He wondered.
Slowly crossing the large, green field adjacent to the Forest of Death, Itachi let his mind wander. It wasn't a thing he did very often; after all, inattentiveness could get one killed on a mission, and he often had no chance to relax between them. However, with his handicap - Itachi hated that word - he was relieved of missions for a while.
Strangely enough, having no missions was worse than having missions. It was almost as if his mind was going into overdrive because there was no challenge. No hidden scrolls, no secret codings. And now, his mind was quickly creating scenarios to challenge itself on its own. If enemies attacked 70 degrees from the right, where would I go? Could I move away quickly enough? Or would I have to stay? What jutsus could I use without having to move? But these were not his only thoughts. They travelled to Sasuke and how he never got to spend time with the boy, never got to really treat him like the little brother he so dearly wanted. He was instead forced to watch from a distance as Sasuke grew up hated, mistreated. Yet the boy had always been happy, loud and determined.
But according to Shisui, he was more like Naruto now, so much more that he hardly smiled at all.
A shadow fell over his face, and Itachi glanced up in surprise. He hadn't realized that he'd already reached the Forest. It looked the same to him, although a bit more... grown. But there was still a tall fence surrounding it, and that warning sign on the front.
Many of the trees towered over the fence, but none of their branches crossed the boundary. Wise, Itachi thought. It wouldn't be good if any of the Genin climbed out of the area, would it?
Itachi started to follow the fence around the area. He wasn't crazy enough to go all the way around the 10 kilometer diameter area and waste all of his energy, but at least he could survey some of it. There was little noise as he made his way; a few birds chirped here and there, and some snakes hissed their way across the trees, but aside from that there was silence. It complimented the dark, towering trees well, seeming to give life to the very definition of intimidation.
His time in the dark forest had not been pleasant but that was alright, it was merely because his team had been older and always felt the need to immediately jump in to protect him. That had stopped rather suddenly after seeing him compete in the third round. He'd also been promoted to chunin and they had not.
Suddenly, a voice behind him whispered, "Aniki?"
Itachi turned. "Sasuke!" he said, breaking out into a smile.
His otouto frowned. "What are you doing here?"
Straight to the point like always. But he's so cold... Hiding his dismay, Itachi smiled. "Your Chunin Exams are coming up, so I came here to reminisce about my Chunin Exams. What are you doing here?"
"Nothing. I just saw this area from the road and decided to check it out."
"I see." No, I don't. You can't see the Forest of Death from the road, because it's a secret area only for Shinobi, too dangerous for civilians. Why are you lying to me, otouto? Are you trying to cheat? Do you know something you aren't supposed to know? "Well, otouto, I'm going to be a proctor in the Chunin Exam, so I guess I'll see you then." Itachi turned to leave, but Sasuke caught his arm.
Sasuke's mouth was opened slightly. It was a small gesture, but coming from him, it revealed his shock. "You're going to be a proctor?" he repeated.
Itachi nodded his confirmation, and was about to repeat his question of what exactly Sasuke was doing there, only demanding the truth this time, when his brother interrupted him. "But you're still recovering," Sasuke pointed out.
The older Uchiha shrugged. "I don't need to walk to proctor the third exam," he said, cleverly giving a small hint about the third exam. It was a wasted effort but the older Uchiha didn't know that Sasuke knew more about these exams than even the examiners did.
Sasuke frowned, but Itachi said no more, and left his brother to his thoughts. After all, his okaa-san would be angry if he didn't deliver these groceries, and he did not want that.
"Did you hear? There are going to be rookie Genin in the Exam this year!"
"Really?"
"Yeah! I heard from Gai-sensei!"
"Rookie Genin? How absurd. Besides, even if they're good, they won't be able to beat us."
Thunk. A kunai hit the wooden target with deadly accuracy.
"I heard that one of the sensei to the rookie teams challenged Gai-sensei. He said that his team was better than us." Lee stated, looking down thoughtfully.
"How the hell did we become part of a bet?" Tenten fumed.
"Bet it was Hatake." Thunk.
"Gai-sensei does seem to have a weak spot when it comes to his Eternal Rival. Do you believe that they will win against us?" Lee continued. "Because if this is true then I must train harder than ever before."
"No. We will win and that is all there is to it." Thunk.
Sasuke tapped his foot impatiently. He was alone at the Academy entrance; he had overslept this morning after pouring over scrolls the previous night (just so that he wouldn't make a stupid mistake if they changed the exams), and in his haste, had forgotten that the initial meeting time had been changed to thirty minutes later. It wasn't that long of a wait, but he was impatient, and time became slower when one was impatient. Not to mention he kept seeing teams entering the venue and giving him a look of utter disbelief, as though he was still the Academy dobe in their eyes, the hopeless Uchiha runt.
He was still thinking about what Itachi had said the previous day. He hadn't meant to let Itachi know that he was also there, but "aniki" had slipped out of his lips as if it were oil. Although, he was glad he did, because if he hadn't he wouldn't have known that Itachi was going to be a proctor. Proctor? Him? Was it even allowed, with all of the Uchiha participating? And was it safe? He might just pull a massacre if the matches in the preliminaries aren't as interesting as he'd hope, Sasuke snorted. And just how skilled did a proctor have to be anyways?
Then, his thoughts turned to the Exam itself. He hoped that the exam would not change, but even if they did, he would be able to pass it, right? After all, he had already been far past Chunin level at the Sound, back in the original world. So, theoretically, this one he should be able to pass, regardless of the unusual batch of Genin this year. They were all painfully weaker than him.
Unless Kabuto was in the exam. Then he just might be a problem but his presence would be troublesome. Would his participation alone be enough confirmation that Orochimaru did indeed plan to invade like he had last time? Perhaps not considering his role was to spy and he had been in seven or so prior chunin exams.
Discounting Kabuto, Naruto and Gaara, the two jinchuriki, were probably the most powerful Genin in the last Exam but only in terms of raw power. Not most threatening (at least in Naruto's case). After all, power was useless unless one could control it. The actual threats had been - and would most likely be the same in this world - Rock Lee (Sasuke grimaced as he remembered his defeat, and vowed that it would not happen again), Hyuga Neji, and Nara Shikamaru. Although, Gaara would probably be one as well, along with Namikaze Naruto. Last time Neji had been the most well-rounded. Shikamaru had the most battle able mind. Lee had the best taijutsu and then there was himself. He had been in a league of his own. He supposed the Aburame, with those bugs could be a problem should he have to face them. What if he had to face Naruto, during the preliminaries? After all that selection had been completely random.
His expression souring, Sasuke remembered that he had almost no progress with Naruto. That was, progress in... friendship? Maybe I should've let Haku die after all, Sasuke thought. We gained a fairly good relationship during the Wave Mission. Would it have been better to keep things the way they were?
I hope I'm not ruining my second chance, Sasuke thought. I sold my soul to Orochimaru back then, and if not for the new jutsus, I would never have gone. Just who will Orochimaru's target be this time around? If he tries to go for Naruto, manages to mark him, will Naruto do the same as I did? His eyes narrowed. I'm won't let him. Then, his eyes widened. Am I really thinking of Naruto as a friend? We aren't friends. We're rivals. Why should I care about what he does?
But still, part of him refused to acknowledge that questioning. Is that the Naruto part of me, or actually me? Why would it be me? It must be an influence of the Naruto part... So, why is that part dominating my thought process? Why?
The more Sasuke thought about it, the more he became confused. Argh! Just - he rubbed his forehead, trying to stop the oncoming headache. I don't want to think about this, he repeated like a mantra in his head. But his mind wandered, and he could not stop himself.
I don't want to think about this! I just want to do this! I'll do this, and whatever consequences come up, so be it! I don't care! I don't -
"Sasuke?"
Startled, his eyes opened to see Sakura looking at him with a concerned expression. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Uh," Sasuke removed his hand from his forehead, " Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Trying to distract her, he asked, "Where's Naruto... " seeing her puzzled expression, he added quickly, "...teme?"
"He'll probably be here soon. I passed him on the way here, since his house is on my way, but he said he had something to do." She shrugged.
Inwardly, Sasuke was pleased that she didn't gush over Naruto anymore - Why am I pleased? I'm not her friend, am I? Pushing those thoughts away desperately, he said, "It was probably some preparation for the Exam today." Sasuke wished he'd slept in at least.
"Yeah."
They stood in awkward silence, looking anywhere but each other. The wind blew and birds chirped occasionally, but as for words, silence was deafening.
Speak! Sasuke ordered himself, but he couldn't for fear of more of the earlier confusion. Instead, Sakura spoke first. "So..." she started, "I guess you've been studying a lot in preparation, too, huh?"
Sasuke gave her a look that practically shouted, Are you insane? Why would I not study a lot? And Sakura's shoulders drooped, but he said, "Yeah, a lot. Mainly genjutsu, actually; my chakra control isn't the best, so I've been working to get it up."
Sakura's eyes brightened. "I'm good at genjutsu!" Then, she stopped abruptly, stuttering, "I mean, I didn't mean to make you feel bad..."
"No, that's okay. Your chakra control is good, excellent even - that's why genjutsu and probably healing jutsu are your type." Take the hint! Medical jutsu, Sakura! You're perfect for it. Tsunade's own apprentice kind of perfect.
"Medical jutsu?"
Yes! "It requires perfect control, but seeing how you've already got that..." Sasuke trailed off, trying to spark the girl's imagination. "It not something that just anyone can do and it's considered extremely valuable."
"I'd like that!" she said brightly. Sakura was about to say more, but then a voice from behind them spoke.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go in already." Naruto walked past them, clearly taking the leader position. Sasuke scowled at his back but otherwise did not comment.
Exchanging glances, Sasuke and Sakura followed. It would be more beneficial to just follow their teammate rather than argue.
When they reached room 307 - Or rather, 207, Sasuke thought - there was already a large crowd in front of the doors. Two Genin stood in front of the rest with sneers on their face.
"Be glad we're blocking you," one of them said.
"Did you think the Chunin Exam would be easy? People die. That's how easy it is." The other raised one of his arms and easily blocked a girl – Her name had repeating syllables, I remember, but I don't remember what it was exactly, Sasuke thought - and sent her flying back to her teammates.
"Please let us by," she begged, but the Genin paid no attention to her pleas.
"Cut it, Kotetsu, Izumo," Naruto's voice rang out clearly over the buzzing crowd, and the mob split to let his team through. All recognized him as the Hokage's son and all treated him with silent awe. Sasuke just scowled in annoyance at the teme's stupidity.
The two Genin glanced at each other nervously, and then faced Naruto. "We don't know what you're talking about," one of them said.
The blonde cocked his head, a confident smile on his face. "Yes, you do.–" his little pompous speech was cut off as Sasuke smacked up upside the head. "Teme, quit messing with the loser patrol." He tried to convey to the fuming blond all that Kotetsu and Izumo represented by simply being there in a single look.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, not yet understanding what Sasuke was getting at.
"Don't ever touch me again." He snarled.
"Or you'll do what?" Sasuke smirked, inwardly delighted at pushing the blonde's buttons. He saw Naruto's hand twitch towards his pouch but he didn't reach for the kunai … yet.
The spectator Genin whispered among themselves confusedly, wondering what was going on between the two teammates. "Is he joking?" one asked another.
The Genin, Kotetsu and Izumo as Naruto identified them, seemed relieved. Naruto turned to them and his eyes narrowed in contemplation. Sasuke rolled his eyes, wondering how Naruto was seen as the smart one in this world. Naruto's gaze took in the people around them and the fact that none of them seemed to be able to see through the genjutsu and understanding dawned. Finally.
"You're pretty good," Kotetsu acknowledged quietly so that only Team 7 could hear, and then added with a smirk, "but you're still not good enough for us!"
In the blink of an eye, Kotetsu had aimed a kick at Naruto, and Naruto had tried to block it with his hands. Sasuke, noting that Lee no longer seemed as fast to him, saw the green Genin dash in between the two and block both of them with his hands. He's still fast, Sasuke admitted, but he's still not good enough for me. Although he would've liked to show off as well, there was no reason to purposelessly start a fight with anyone who might be a possible enemy later.
Hm, he thought. I've grown more patient, although I don't remember Naruto being patient. Is this just myself? Pushing those thoughts back, he watched the scene unfold.
"What are you doing, freak?" Naruto asked Lee, who seemed not to have heard the insult part.
"We shouldn't fight before the exam." Lee stated. Then, he released his hold on the two Genin. Well one of them wasn't a genin but that was all in the finer details and who really needed those?
Kotetsu shook his head. "Whatever," he said indifferently, crossing his arms, moving back to his position next to Izumo who hadn't taken his eyes off of Sasuke the entire time. "Iruka was right about you." He murmured to the Uchiha with a frown.
Then, Lee turned to Sakura with a blush on his face. "My name is Rock Lee. Will you go out with me?" he asked eagerly. "I will protect you with my life!" His proclamation was enough to break the strange tension that had fallen over them.
Sakura's eyes twitched and a large sweat drop appeared on her head. "N-No thanks," she stuttered.
Sasuke smiled inwardly. At least Lee hadn't changed a bit.
Then, behind them, he saw Neji approach Naruto. "What is your name?" The Hyuga asked. How could he not know? Naruto was so arrogant and he was well known. Did the Hyuga live under a rock?
Naruto responded just as rudely. "Isn't it manners to offer your name first before asking another's name?"
Sasuke could see the smallest crease in the Hyuga's forehead, signalling his annoyance; however, Neji complied. "Hyuga Neji. Now yours?"
Naruto smirked. "I have no obligation to tell you." Then, he turned away, leaving a silently fuming Neji. Sasuke knew that Naruto's attitude was merely because he wanted to, because he could, believing himself to be above all those that were about to enter this exam.
Sasuke shook his head. Idiot, can't you see that you've just made an enemy of a Hyuga? He thought as they left the crowd, many pairs of eyes following them. Even he knew not to do that.
Kakashi nodded to his team as they approached him. "Good job," he said. "You did not fail my expectations."
"Then, that spectacle back there was actually a test?" Sasuke confirmed that which he already knew, cocking his head marginally.
The silver-haired Jonin nodded, slightly surprised. He had expected at least one of them to notice, but he had thought it would be Naruto or Sakura instead of Sasuke. Then again, Sasuke was always surprising him one way or another. "Also, all three of you entered. If even one of you had not come, then I would have had to disqualify all of you."
Sakura's eyes widened. "But when you told us that it was completely our choice... That was a test, too?"
Sasuke turned to her. "It showed that we wanted to take the Exam and not pressured into it by teammates. It showed that we were at least mentally ready and believed ourselves to be emotionally ready as well."
"Right, Sasuke." Kakashi was about to say more, but then Naruto interrupted.
"Just let us in. I can't wait for it to start." Sasuke was starting to strongly believe that Naruto needed to have his ass handed to him, and soon. But anything like that right now could be the difference between the blond staying or leaving to join Orochimaru should he end up being the Sannin's intended target; should there be an invasion.
Kakashi paused for a mere moment, watching Naruto with calculating eyes but he nodded without saying a word and opened the doors. They were greeted with immediate noise from the huge crowd of Genin that had appeared, including the rookie Genin. Ignoring Ino's squeal of joy and Sakura's exclamation as the platinum blonde jumped onto Naruto (better the dobe then him that was for sure), Sasuke observed the room. The crowd was roughly the same size as last time; he had not had the Sharingan activated then, but his memory was exceptional, so it was fairly easy to remember.
He saw Kabuto leaning against the right wall, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. Tch, Kabuto, you'll have to work to get close to us, Sasuke thought. Then, he turned his attention back to the crowd. I don't remember seeing that weird lady who Orochimaru posed as, but then again, I wasn't looking - oh, there she is. She's talking with her teammates... but Orochimaru could be any of these Genin. Or, maybe he isn't here at all. He could be watching. With Namikaze Minato as the Hokage this time around, there's no telling just how far Orochimaru is willing to go or what he's planning to do.
Sasuke frowned, a sudden thought entering his mind. What if he's not after Naruto? After all, Naruto doesn't have the Sharingan. He's the son of the Hokage, and maybe a little bit more talented than regular Genin, but those traits are nothing Orochimaru would want. Maybe he's after an Uchiha? His eyes widened. Me, maybe? He didn't want to risk sounding arrogant here but the possibility was there because he just didn't see what Naruto had that Orochimaru could possibly want other than large chakra reserves and that really wasn't anything special.
"Sasuke!" A hand shook his shoulder, breaking him out of his thoughts.
Sasuke turned his head to find Kiba behind his shoulder. "What is it?" he snapped, before realizing that he was supposed to act Naruto-like. "Er..."
Kiba backed off, raising both of his hands, although a grin was still on his face. "What, you're nervous?" he teased. "The oh-so-powerful Uchiha Sasuke is nervous? I guess all of your boasting back at the Academy was just talk!"
"Shut up! It's not like you aren't, either!" Sasuke shot back, mirroring Kiba's grinning expression because he figured that was as Naruto-ish as he was willing to go.
"What did you say? Of course I'm not nervous!"
Noticing Kabuto's interested expression, Sasuke turned his back and put both of his arms behind his head casually. "I don't need to talk to losers."
"What?" Kiba shouted, enraged. "You're more of a loser than I am! You were the dead-last of the Academy!"
Kabuto's interested expression vanished with a tinge of disappointment, Sasuke noted. Relieved, he told Kiba in a tone that only the dog user could hear, "I've improved. Drastically."
"Well, I don't believe it!" Kiba shouted.
Ignoring the Inuzuka's declarations, Sasuke walked over to Naruto as Kabuto approached the group. He was unsure of this alternate Kabuto's ideals. Would he try to hurt them now? Was he still trying to bond with them? Was he even with Orochimaru?
"Guys, this isn't a school field trip," Kabuto said.
Naruto cocked his head. "Who are you?"
"Yakushi Kabuto. Now, look behind you." All of the rookie Genin did so, and were slightly startled to see three ominous-looking Rain Shinobi. "They're from Amegakure. Don't get on their bad side!" he warned.
The nine rookie Genin turned back to Kabuto, uneasiness on their faces, only Sasuke's was for entirely different reasons. "Why are you telling us this?" Shikamaru asked.
Kabuto smiled easily. "We're all Leaf nin, aren't we?" Sure, sure, you just keep singing that tune. I know who you really are. Sasuke mentally growled, forcing himself not to react to the ninja.
The Genin seemed to take that response at the face value it was presented as. Then, Kabuto reached into his back pocket and pulled out a deck of orange cards. "These are information cards. I have taken this exam seven times, and now I have all of this information on these cards." Flipping the top one over, he showed it to the Genin. "See? They look blank at first, but if I channel my chakra into the cards," he did so, and an image began to show, "The information will show. It's good to be prepared."
Then, he looked at the others. "Is there anyone you would like me to check up?" he inquired.
Sasuke's eyes darkened and started to say, "No, we don't need help from you -" but Naruto cut him off.
"Yes, we do." Since when did Naruto accept anyone's help?
"Would you mind describing them as closely as possible?"
"Gaara of Sunagakure... and Uchiha Sasuke of Konohagakure." Naruto said, turning to his teammate, who looked unsurprised.
"Oh, you know their names. That makes it easy." Kabuto started to spread his cards out on the floor, giving no indication of knowing the two names.
However, the rest of the Genin were confused. "Isn't he your teammate, Naruto-kun?" Ino asked.
Sakura shuffled her feet, "Yeah he is, but Sasuke … he's not what you guys remember. He's different, strong." She mumbled and Sasuke wanted to smack his forehead.
"Sasuke?" Shikamaru suddenly interrupted with a frown, "Troublesome."
"Yeah but Naruto-kun can still kick his ass." Ino declared hotly, posture faltering at Sasuke's slight snort and Sakura's tiny wilt and her lack of immediate agreement.
Naruto did not answer, but turned back to Kabuto, who was shuffling through his cards with a strange smile on his face, like he'd been listening to the whole thing rather intently, but he didn't comment. "Let's see... Here it is." Kabuto placed a card on the floor, and all of the Genin leaned over it to see. The card glowed for a moment, and then an image appeared. A small picture of Gaara appeared in the upper left, and kanji began to write itself below.
"I don't have that much on him, since this is the first time he's taking the exam, but here it is. Hm, a few D-ranked missions, some C-ranked missions - oh! This is interesting. He came out of a B-ranked mission unscathed!" Kabuto was feigning his interest, Sasuke could tell, but the other Genin seemed not to notice, exclaiming their awe as well. Naruto's eyes gleamed with the thought of a challenge, Sakura began wringing her hands worriedly, and the rest showed similar actions.
The image disappeared, and Kabuto placed that card back in the deck. "Now, an Uchiha Sasuke of Konohagakure?" Shuffling through the deck again, Kabuto cocked his head. "And he's your teammate, who is rather mysterious even to his own team?"
Naruto nodded once, but then ordered, "Keep looking. It's no business of yours."
Kabuto smiled that knowing smile of his. "Of course," he said lightly. Taking a card out of the deck, he placed it on the ground, and channelled his chakra into it. Sasuke's picture showed up as well as some information. "This is the first time you and your teammates are taking the exam, too, so the information is limited."
Sasuke's eyes widened. He had to get that card away from Kabuto, and quickly, before any unwanted information - that is, the Kyuubi and all the other things he'd been slipping up on - got out. "Let's see oh how interesting. Says here that he managed noticeably well in a spar against his jonin sensei, Hatake Kakashi, managed to land a blow. Suspected of–" Startling the Genin, Sasuke snatched up the card. Kabuto and the other Genin watched the card slowly disintegrate into ashes between two raised fingers. Cocking his head, Sasuke grinned. "Kabuto-san, it wouldn't be very interesting if everyone knew my information, ne?"
Kabuto blinked, a startled expression on his face, but the smiling mask was soon donned again. "I see. However I read enough. Suspected of being a spy, placed on Hatake's team to be watched and executed if necessary. Also has questionable excuses to explain his equally questionable behaviour. However, skills and mission were not something I had been able to read over, just that interesting little opening paragraph."
"Suspected for being a spy?" Sakura breathed out in surprise.
"So that's the reason there was a switch in the teams." Naruto stated lowly while Sasuke looked away. "When the hell did you and Hatake spar?"
"Apparently being skilled is a problem." Sasuke murmured, not answering Naruto's question. "And he cheated in that spar." Sasuke added with a childish pout.
Kiba glared at Sasuke. "Why did you do that, baka?" referring to the burning of the card.
Sasuke glared right back at Kiba. "Would you want everyone to know your secrets?"
"You don't have any secrets!" Kiba protested, completely disregarding what he'd just been told.
Sasuke was about to answer, but another voice silenced them all.
"Quiet, you brats!"
Morino Ibiki, the first exam proctor, was here and with him came the confirmation for the remainder of the Genin exams. Looked like it was going to be the same exam as last time. How boring.
Bored, Sasuke leaned back in his chair. He already knew the answers to the exam; after all, he had used the Sharingan back then, and the answers were still imprinted in his mind.
Ibiki was going over the rules; Sasuke closed his eyes, trying to catch maybe only a minute of sleep since he hadn't had much of it before the exam had started. There are ten questions, nine of them will be written and the last will be oral, if you're caught cheating three times, you and your teammates leave, blah blah blah. Get on with it, old man.
He wasn't sure when he noticed that Ibiki had stopped talking and the only noise was the scratching of pencil lead against paper. Cracking an eye open, Sasuke glanced at the clock. Oops, I think I slept too long. It's already twenty minutes past...
Thoughts went over what Kabuto had said and their possible consequences. The information itself was worrying in that Kabuto had been able to obtain it. He should not have and it displayed a rather large gap in the Leaf's security system. He would have to inform either Kakashi or the Hokage about this.
Picking up his pencil Sasuke began to fill out the answers, adding the small challenge of writing them all in code. In a few minutes, he was done, and once again bored out of his mind. Peeking back, he saw Naruto form a few seals and aim them at Sakura. Wait, wasn't that the Yamanaka's Shintenshin no Jutsu? How did Naruto learn that? Sasuke shook his head. He must have learned it from his old man. Then, he frowned. Isn't Ino doing the same thing... at the same time... to the same person?
Stifling a laugh, Sasuke watched as Sakura was taken over by two people at the same time, jerking up as if she were stunned, and then grasping her head as if a sudden headache had attacked her. This continued for a little bit, but then she began to study her own paper. I guess Ino and Naruto agreed to work together, Sasuke thought. Or, Naruto agreed to work together. Ino would've anyway.
He turned his back to Sakura now. Taking a glance at the other Genin, Sasuke noticed that the strange lady from Ame - Orochimaru, perhaps? - was sitting in the back and also that a large percentage of the participants from Konoha were Uchihas.
He smirked, wondering if the Chunin Exams would be harder since there were more of the ultimate clan, the Uchiha.
Could they measure up to him? He doubted it. In fact he could guarantee that they could not.
Turning back to his page Sasuke wondered if he should doodle on it to pass the time or if he should go back to taking a nap seeing as only ten minutes had passed since his last nap.
The slight snoring that filled the room was all the answer any person needed to that question. Sasuke missed the slightly interested look that the suspected Orochimaru was giving him. Had he seen it, he probably would've shivered.
Morino Ibiki watched with a growing tic of annoyance as the Uchiha Jinchuriki brat continued to snore in his exam. He hadn't missed the fact that during the explaining of the rules the brat had had the audacity to take a nap then as well. Then he'd scribbled down his answers, not even appearing to use any method of information gathering as he did so.
Did the brat know the answers? Or had he not even bothered trying to get them right? Pulling out a kunai he flicked it casually at the genin's table. A hand flew up almost absently and caught the kunai before a bleary glare met his gaze.
That Uchiha brat sure was as interesting as the reports said he was.
Ibiki stood up suddenly and announced, "The time for the tenth question has begun!"
Sasuke rested his head on his cheek, almost dozing off again as Ibiki continued on about the tenth question. Genin around him murmured, trying to decide whether to quit or to take the final question. A few stood up, and then more; soon, the room was half empty.
Ibiki surveyed the room. "Anyone else?" he asked.
Sasuke almost wanted to bash his head on the table out of sheer boredom. This exam wasn't nearly as challenging as it had been the first time around. Sucked when he knew all the answers.
I can't believe Naruto was so stupid as to burst his protests out last time, Sasuke thought. That encouraged the rest of the Genin, meaning that there would be more competition. That idiot.
When no one else raised their hands, Ibiki gave a small smile suddenly and announced, "Then everyone here... passes."
Gasps flew around the room. Kiba shouted, "What?!"
Sakura raised her hand. "What about the tenth question?" she asked, unable to believe the proctor.
"You could consider that question the tenth question." Ibiki said.
"What?" From the back, Temari protested. "Then all of those other questions were all for nothing?" Many of the Genin muttered in agreement, angry that all of their hard work had seemingly been for nothing.
Ibiki replied, "They were for a reason. Information gathering, as many of you have guessed." He motioned to the crowd. "We put two Chunin who knew all of the answers in the crowd. Based on your information gathering, you answered your test. But they did not determine whether you passed or not."
He took off his bandanna, revealing a badly scarred head. "During your career as Shinobi, enemies may try to gain information out of you, but you cannot let them. Information is vital to winning a war or battles."
Suddenly, Ibiki cocked his head at the window, and a split second later, the window shattered. A huge banner flew out, latching onto the opposite wall immediately.
"The second proctor for the Chunin Exam, Mitarashi Anko, is here!" A tall, purple-haired woman wearing a trench coat grinned, but then suddenly frowned. "Ibiki, you let sixty people pass? Twenty teams?" she asked incredulously.
"We had an exceptional batch of Genin this year," he replied.
"Oh well, no matter." Anko shrugged. Then, a wicked smile played on her lips. "I'll decrease the amount by half."
And all of the Genin could swear that the room temperature dropped.
"Meet me at training ground 44 in ten minutes." Anko announced with a wide sadistic grin before disappearing.
As the genin left the room Ibiki walked over to the Uchiha brat's table and picked up the sheet. As he looked at it, he blinked in surprise. It was all gibberish.
No … wait … it wasn't. It was all written in code. This level of answering was something a chunin would be expected to do. Hang on, not only that, the answers were all switched around. Seven's answer was written next to three and five was next to nine and so on. Each question was answered so that if one did not see this connection they would simply assume the answers given were for the numbers they were placed next to and therefore incorrect. Meaning, the brat had even matched question types, grouping them in such a way that he could both code his information and hide it, making that a part of the code in itself.
That was jonin level answering.
Just who was Uchiha Sasuke?
"All right, kiddos, time for the second exam!" Anko announced as she stood on a platform in front of the crowd of Genin. Behind her was an ominous-looking, fenced forest area. A sign on the fence read, "Training Area 41, the Forest of Death. Enter at your own risk."
Anko cleared her throat. "Here are the rules. Every team will get a scroll – an Earth scroll," she held up a blue scroll which had the kanji for 'Earth,' "or a Heaven scroll." She held up a white scroll which had the kanji for 'Heaven.' "You will start at an assigned gate and will be in this ten kilometer diameter forest for five days, during which you will try to obtain the other scroll from another team. For example, if you have the Earth scroll, you will try to obtain the Heaven scroll, and vice-versa. Once you have both of them, reach the tower in the middle of this forest. Do not open the scrolls until you reach the tower. If you do," her face adopted a cruel look, "you will get an unpleasant surprise."
The Genin shuffled nervously, but she continued, placing the scrolls on the table beside her and picking up a sheet. "But before you take this exam, you have to sign these consent forms. Exchange your three consent forms for a scroll." A Chuunin behind a table to the right of the platform held up a stack of papers and one of each type of the scrolls.
Sakura, almost afraid to ask, raised her hands timidly. Already, this woman was scaring her. "Mitarashi-san, what are the consent forms for?"
Anko smirked. "Glad you asked. The consent forms say that we are not responsible for any injuries or death." She grinned at the gasping Genin. "Because yes, people will die."
Sasuke leaned back casually. He had already been through this before, and he motioned to his teammates. "Come on, let's just get the stupid consent forms and get to our gate."
He walked past his teammates, determined to be the first to get a consent form, when a kunai suddenly flew out of the air, grazing his cheek. He turned towards Anko, who was licking her lips in a predatory manner.
"Oh, you aren't afraid?" She asked, appearing behind him.
Sasuke stared hard at her. "Should I be?" he asked.
Anko frowned. Prey that weren't scared were no fun. "Hmph, well, I'll see you at the end of the exam… That is, if you aren't dead." She smirked.
Sasuke turned away and continued towards the booth, which already had a long line. Annoyed, he said sarcastically, "Whatever. Thanks for delaying me." And with that, he left her staring after him.
A smile crept up her face. What interesting prey. She had a feeling that this Chunin Exam would be different from any other one before. Uchiha Sasuke at the very least, would provide some much needed entertainment.
Cold, moist air greeted Sasuke's nose as the wire gate swung open. Small bushes dotted the rough ground, marking no straight path into the dark forest. Three bird calls sounded in succession, causing shivers to run up and down his spine. He could see that Sakura felt the same, although Naruto was his calm self. The girl was shaken visibly, and most likely held regrets about entering the Exam. The first part, the written test, had been easy for the brainy Sakura, but the second part was survival - no amount of brains alone could keep her safe from enemy Shinobi.
Needless to say, the forest had seemed so much friendlier from the outside.
"Shall we... go in?" Sakura asked weakly, ignoring the fact that they were, technically, already in the forest. Sasuke was deciding whether or not it would just be simpler to get a scroll and get to the Tower, having to sit with the questions this would raise or if they should take their time and barely make it like last time.
Naruto brushed past her with a determined expression on his face. He tossed the Earth scroll up once, and then tucked it in his bag. There was a barely noticeable trace of nervousness in his eyes, but his jaw was set and his forehead was creased; it was obvious that he had full intentions to pass this test. "Let's move already. We only have five days."
Sakura paled, as if remembering something. "Five days..." she echoed in a daze. Sasuke mentally scoffed. That was too much time in his opinion.
"Don't worry," Sasuke grinned at her. "We probably won't take that long. And besides, what builds your immunity more than sleeping in the forest with dirty bugs?" He smirked at Sakura's petrified face, and then added as an afterthought, "But I supposed killer Shinobi aren't very good for your health... especially while sleeping..." he trailed off, enjoying the pink-haired girl's expression.
"Shut up and let's go," Naruto muttered, taking the leader's position. He motioned the other two to follow him and began walking.
Sasuke started to follow, but then noticed Sakura, who was still shaking from terror. He rolled his eyes, exasperated. "I was joking about the bugs, Sakura," he told her. However, she seemed to take no notice of him. Frowning, Sasuke flicked her forehead, much like what Itachi had done to him when he was little. That snapped her out of her daze.
"Sasuke!"
"I was just joking about the bugs, Sakura," Sasuke repeated and crossed his arms. "Unless we run into Shino."
Her lower lip trembled. "But not about the killer Shinobi?" Sakura whimpered in a very small voice.
There was silence. Sasuke glanced at Naruto, who had stopped and, even though his back was turned, was obviously listening. The Uchiha turned back to his female teammate and said emotionlessly, "There will be 'killer Shinobi' wherever you go. That's the risk we Shinobi have to take. This is only a preview of what you'll see out in the field; it can get a lot worse than this." His eyes darkened with the tint only first-hand experiences could give. "People die. Teammates die. Friends die. The best we can do is move forward and prepare so that we won't." He gaze softened. "Besides, that's what teammates are for, to protect each other and to help each other grow."
For a few moments, it seemed as if it had not done anything to comfort Sakura, but then her eyes fell and she said softly, "I guess you're right. Let's go."
There was no conversation for the next few hours, and even bird calls were absent, filling the time with seemingly even more silence.
"I bet we can pass this test easily, just like the last one!" Kiba exclaimed confidently. "Let's go!" He pumped his fist into the air.
Hinata twiddled her thumbs together nervously. "A-Ano, Kiba-kun..." she said softly. The dog user, used to her quiet comments, stopped and looked at her. "W-We should be c-careful, j-just in case, ne?" She lowered her eyes. "A-After all, the f-first test was individually t-tested... Here, w-we're tested against o-other teams."
Shino nodded. "She is right. We cannot be too careful. Why you ask? Because–"
Sighing, Kiba turned back to the forest. "Whatever, sure. Let's just go, 'kay?" he stated and interrupted Shino at the same time.
"No." Shino held up and hand, and Kiba stared back at him questioningly. He had gotten used to listening - albeit sometimes grudgingly - to his teammate's wisdom. "We should have Hinata use her Byakugan first to scout the area. Then, we move. So that we know what's coming." Both of them turned to Hinata.
She let out a small sigh, but proceeded to whisper, "Byakugan!" the oh-so-familiar thin veins pulsed around her eyes, and not for the first time Kiba was glad he was with her, not against her. Hyuuga are pretty scary, Kiba thought.
After what seemed like eternity, the veins around Hinata's eyes disappeared. Breathing softly in relief, Hinata turned to the others. "T-There is no one w-within attack range. W-We should be f-fine."
Shino nodded, and then asked, "How long can you keep the Byakugan on?"
Hinata's lips pursed in thought. She didn't want to let her teammates down, but in reality she could not keep it on for long. Otou-san - and Hanabi-chan - would say I'm a disgrace to the clan, Hinata thought, her heart sinking. But she tried not to show it and said, "I-I can keep it on for a couple of hours."
Kiba and Shino glanced at each other, exchanging knowing glances - or in at least Kiba's case. It was hard to tell what Shino was thinking behind those dark glasses of him. However, Kiba could tell that Shino knew that Hinata was lying. Her limit was probably only an hour or two without a break.
"You should check every half hour." Kiba decided, and for once, Shino nodded in agreement with the dog-user's decision.
Mentally, Hinata sighed in relief. She could do that much without tiring. Maybe her fears were wrong; maybe, they would survive and even pass this horrible exam. After all, the competitors were only Genin, right?
"Let's go! I want to catch up with Naruto-kun!" Ino's eyes sparkled with the possibilities this test could give. Her ideal plan was this: first, Naruto and his team would get in danger with a Chunin-level Genin team. Second, she and her team would enter and engage in battle (which involved many dramatic scenes and her risking her life for Naruto). Third, Naruto would thank her profusely with a love struck gaze in his eyes while all of the others would stand around them, clapping with admiration in their eyes. Finally, Naruto would fall in love with her, and the rest would be history.
Of course, it was a foolish and imaginative plan, but it couldn't hurt to dream, could it? After all, sometimes dreams did come true.
Shikamaru watched the glint in Ino's eyes warily. Troublesome, he sighed mentally.
Munching alerted him to his other teammate, who was standing a few steps behind them, crunching on a bag of chips. Even more troublesome, he thought. Chouji, you shouldn't really be eating our food supply on the first day...
"Chouji!" Ino screeched. "Hurry up! And save those chips! We'll need fuel later!" Shikamaru loved the fact that Ino was related to Inoichi who often worked with his own father, and that as a consequence she sometimes, on the rarest of occasions, managed to be on the same wavelength that Shikamaru himself was on. Her outburst had saved Shikamaru the trouble of stating it himself and disappointing Chouji.
The "big-boned" Akimichi grumbled but consented to her order, after seeing the use of it. He would have loved to munch on his chips the whole five days, but he had a limited supply, and the team was better off saving them. Ino stomped on, clearly annoyed at being interrupted during her daydreaming.
Shikamaru and Chouji glanced at each other warily before following her from a distance; a mad kunoichi was a dangerous hazard indeed.
The Forest of Death was quite disturbing, to say in the least. The towering trees' trunks reached at least forty feet or so before evolving into thick, murky green leaves and brown branches. Unnaturally large animals slithered and crawled all along the trunks and on the ground, leaving gooey, slimy trails wherever they went. Little sunlight reached the ground, and even that sunlight shone only in small patches often not large enough to hold one standing person.
Sasuke watched his teammate's expressions. Naruto's was slightly wary, but clearly determined while Sakura's was obviously nervous. The pink-haired girl kept blinking her eyes, then shutting them, and then opening and blinking them again. She was not used to the darkness. However, Sasuke had little trouble seeing, as Orochimaru's lair had been this dark or even darker. And if push really came to shove, his Sharingan would definitely come in handy.
Sakura gave a small shudder, and then breathed out in an effort to calm herself, though it only worked a little. Her nerves were dancing, jumping, and scurrying about and her bravery was gone. But she wouldn't submit to her fears, not now, in front of her teammates. And not in front of Naruto-kun! She thought determinedly. "So," she started, "What's the plan?"
Both Naruto and Sasuke stared back at her, almost incredulously, and she blushed. "What?" she stammered, startled at the attention.
Naruto's eyebrow remained raised as he turned his back to her. Obviously he did not want to deal with scared girls right now, regardless of the fact that she was his teammate. Sasuke, however, disagreed with this line of thought, cocking his head at her not in an entirely unfriendly manner and replied succinctly, "We keep moving. Find a team. Get their scroll. If it's the right one, we move to the tower."
Sakura pursed her lips at his words. Clearly, they had no wish to share their oh-so-special plans with her. "Well, excuse me for asking!" she huffed, crossing her arms. She walked over to Sasuke with intentions to smack him on the head for his stupid (at least she thought so) reply, but he grasped her hand before she could raise it.
"Not right now," Sasuke whispered seriously.
There were only a few times Sakura listened to Sasuke. They were teammates, and friendly ones at that, but she knew she was the smartest of the Academy bunch and Sasuke... Well, he had been the dropout, so often there was little reason to listen to him. However, those few times she did listen to him had often made all the difference. Back at the mission to the Wave country, if she hadn't listened - well, the thought of what might've happened sent chills up her back. Most likely one of them would've died, maybe more. Now, she could tell that he was completely serious, just like back in the Wave country. There was no mistake; this was his deathly - and in some cases it could be - voice. Commenting sharply back at him was not an option right now.
Her mind raced through the possible reasons that Sasuke and Naruto-kun could be so tense and come to the conclusion that they were being caution for enemies hiding in the surrounding forest. It wouldn't help to give away their entire plan for the hidden enemy and then to fail because of it.
So Sakura listened to his unspoken command of "Don't talk of that right now" and fell silent. The trek continued tensely, and all were on their guard - perhaps too much so. Even a small bird's chip or leaves rustling jarred their nerves, but, as they had often been taught in the Academy, "It is better to be too guarded rather than too lax."
Night fell quicker than any of them had expected, and although it was hard to tell the exact position of the sun, the sunlit patches that were rapidly fading gave the rough time. Naruto, self-appointing himself as leader, suddenly veered off their course. Sasuke raised an eyebrow in silent questioning, and the blonde replied in a low tone, "We can spend the night under the tall oak there." He pointed to a large, towering oak a few yards away. The tree's coarse, thick roots stuck up, out of the ground, forming a small shelter.
Sasuke figured it would have been better to sleep in the trees rather than under them since some animal might have had the same idea but he wasn't about to argue with the blond. Not when there was just as much chance of animals in the trees as well. And sometimes, not only animals.
Naruto ducked as he entered their temporary dwelling. Surprisingly enough, it was fairly large, and would hold the three of them comfortably. Although, they would only be staying the night; the next day they would get the scroll and reach the tower, he was sure of it. He would make sure of it.
Sakura entered after Naruto, feeling relieved at the sight of a roof over their heads that night. Although she was a Shinobi, the pink-haired girl mentally shuddered at the prospect of having to sleep on the ground. Apparently, this view had been shared by many of her female peers at the Academy, and one time a girl had actually asked Iruka-sensei about it. He had not reprimanded her for thinking about such things, to their surprise, but instead laughed. "I doubt you'd be thinking about hair by the time your mission gets that bad!" he'd replied. Only now did she grasp the message he was trying to send.
None of the girls had ever brought up that topic again, too afraid at what else Iruka-sensei would inform them of, blissfully ignoring the harsh reality that being a Shinobi was.
Sasuke followed Sakura under, but not before taking one quick glance at their surroundings once again. He'd been constantly searching the forest for any sign of Orochimaru since they had left the gate, but to his relief - and anxiety - he had seen nothing. Either Orochimaru was hidden or he was not following them at all. He fervently hoped for the latter; after all, he had no idea of how strong Orochimaru was at this moment. But, I should be able to see him if he's there, right? He thought. After all, my tracking skills aren't that bad...
Well, no news is good news, in this case, Sasuke thought as he turned back to the shelter and ducked inside. There was nothing - or rather, no one - following them, and that was a good sign.
He never noticed the bush directly across the clearing rustling slightly.
The first thing Sasuke noticed was that there were birds.
It was the first thing he noticed when he awoke from his light sleep - he hadn't gotten much; it was a habit of his not to sleep to soundly. Although they were in a forest with as much wildlife as any other forest around, and it was definitely not uncommon for birds to be calling at any time of the day, but there was something that was significantly different than the previous day.
Sasuke frowned and rose onto his knees, whispering to the others, "There are birds calling to each other."
Sakura and Naruto stared at him. Then, Naruto widened his eyes in realization and his brow furrowed in thought. He rose quickly and glanced at the area around. Sakura, confused by his actions, crossed her arms. "So? We're in a forest."
"Right," Sasuke replied, "But think of yesterday. There were no birds calling yesterday, Sakura." His eyes narrowed. "Think. Why would one day have no birds calling but the next day have them? Did they suddenly decide our intrusion wasn't that big a deal?"
Sakura stopped to think about it. It didn't take her long to catch onto what he was getting at. Her eyes widened, and then darted around, as if expecting something to pop out of the bushes at any moment.
Sasuke nodded. "Exactly." So far she was doing well. No fangirlism and no freaking out.
Naruto turned towards them after his quick scan of the surrounding area. "Right. It's possible and most probable that someone was watching us yesterday. I didn't think much of it, because I thought the 'Forest of Death' wouldn't have much life in it."
"So, who was spying on us?" Sakura asked, glancing first at Naruto and then at Sasuke.
Sasuke shrugged, but Naruto answered for him. "We don't know. It could have been anyone." Then he stopped. "Though, I doubt it would have been someone from Konoha."
Immediately, an image of Kabuto popped into Sasuke's mind. "But we can't rule out that possibility. Someone from Konoha could've been, such as... a spy? Or decided that since we're rookie genin we're easy pickings." he hinted as casually as possible, throwing in the other possibility because it was plausible and it made it look like he was speculating.
Sakura shot a look of disbelief at him. "A spy? Surely we don't have any spies. And besides, would they even be Genins?" She clutched her pack unconsciously.
Naruto stared contemplatively at Sasuke for a moment, and then looked directly at Sakura, though his thoughts were still on his Uchiha teammates. He knows something. He's been showing signs of knowing something since we were saw those Suna genin. Not to mention that card Kabuto had on him. He didn't show much love for the Konoha genin. Is he trying to say something there? Does he already know if there's a spy in our ranks? And is he in league with them? Come to think of it, that Kabuto guy had information he should not have been able to get and it was information that definitely could not be gained merely from being in the chunin exams before as he'd claimed. Sasuke, could he be working with Kabuto? No, he wouldn't be hinting there would be a spy if he were… "If they're a high-level Shinobi, it would be easy for them to infiltrate our ranks and pretend to be a Genin. Since they're pretending to be someone so low level in skill, they won't be under as much scrutiny." He returned to staring at Sasuke. Distrust flashed in his eyes, an action which the Uchiha did not miss. However, he ignored it for the time being.
"Then," Sakura lowered her eyes, "If it's possible there are spies, from whatever nation, shouldn't we have a password or something? Just in case?" She gripped her pack, in preparation for Naruto to shoot the idea down.
Naruto stared at her, blinking twice. "That's a good idea."
Sakura glanced up surprised, not daring to believe that she had caught his acknowledgement. "Uh... thanks." she managed to murmur.
Glad to see that Naruto had actually taken into account someone other than himself, Sasuke asked, "What should be our password?" He just might make a friend out of the dobe yet.
Naruto held up a hand for silence. Then, closing his eyes in concentration and quickly forming some seals, he performed a jutsu. A wave of energy passed over Sasuke, and he was surprised; he had not felt this jutsu before, and thought that Naruto would not know any that he would not know. But then again, Naruto was the Hokage's son, so he was bound to learn some high class jutsus that neither he nor the Naruto of his world had known.
After a few minutes, Naruto opened his eyes. "No one is within hearing range," he announced.
Sasuke blinked once, and then grinned. "That's a cool jutsu." And very useful. If I could learn that... "What's it called?"
The blonde shrugged and tapped his chin with his index finger. "I don't know, my dad taught it to me when I was young. But before he could tell me the name, my mom came in and beat him up for teaching me a high-level jutsu."
Both of his teammates stared at him, trying to figure out whether he was actually being serious or just joking. But then, Naruto did not joke, at all, so they decided that he was actually being serious. Though, it was quite unlike their blond teammate to actually say stuff like that. That sounded almost casual for the blond.
Sasuke felt a smirk creep up his face - he couldn't help it. Naruto had almost joked - joked, really! The Uchiha glanced at his other teammate, Sakura, who was also stifling a smile. A hand covered her mouth, blocking it from view, but the laughter showed clearly in her sea green eyes.
"Really?" Sakura choked out.
Naruto held his face as impassively as possible, but one of his eyebrows twitched. "Really..."
Sasuke breathed out, willing his smile to fall. Back to business - after all, it was the second day, and he didn't want to scare Naruto into broodiness once again. "So..." he started, catching the others' attention. "Password?"
All thought for a second. Then, Sakura smiled. "How about the name of the cat that we had to catch for so many D-ranked missions?"
"Nah." Sasuke frowned.
Naruto shrugged. "I think every Shinobi in Konoha would know of that cat."
Sasuke chuckled. Another joke. Really, Naruto was changing. "How about... the name of the subordinate of that person we fought back at the Wave Country?" Haku. Although Naruto had "scanned" the area for spies, Sasuke was still cautious. After all, the spy, if they were truly higher than Genin level, could break the jutsu, or fool the performer.
Sakura nodded in acceptance, but Naruto shook his head. "Say the spy is playing two people - one Genin and one Chunin or Jonin. If they act as our superiors, they could gather information about us and no doubt they would know that name."
"Oh, right," Sasuke agreed easily, although inside he was startled. Why didn't I think of that? Are my senses being dulled? I should have known that... I'm not Orochimaru's student for nothing. "Well, what else is there?"
Sakura thought for a moment, propping one elbow with her hand and placing the free palm under her chin. Suddenly, she motioned to the others to come closer excitedly. "How about if we don't actually have a verbal password, but instead a hand motion? Maybe a different one for each person? And we could always fool everyone into thinking that it's a verbal password by saying something along with our motion..."
Sasuke grinned, but again he was startled. I could have thought of that. I should have thought of that. But why didn't I? Am I becoming more like Naruto, the dobe one?
Naruto nodded his head. "Agreed. Mine will be sticking my right hand into my pocket."
"And mine will be putting my arms behind my head," Sasuke added.
"And mine will be tucking a strand of hair behind my ear," Sakura finished.
And with that, Team 7 finished packing up and left the area. But again, it seemed as if they had forgotten to scan the area...
Shigou Kieko, a female Genin from Konoha, was extremely annoyed. How dare her teammates avoid her! She was the leader, after all. Why did they split up like that? It would only do them harm... but if they were going to be careless and get themselves hurt, it would be their fault, not hers.
A rustle from the bushes on her left caught her attention, and she, knowing fully who they were, sighed exasperatedly. "Gao, I know you're there."
A smaller, dirtier boy emerged from the bush and groaned. "Awww, can't you pretend not to know I'm there sometime? What's the point of sneaking up if you already know?"
"That's the point, Gao. Stop sneaking up on me." Kieko placed both of her hands on her hip to emphasize her seriousness.
Gao pouted childishly before nodding. "Yeah, okay, whatever." Then, he switched the topic. "Where's Yukoto?"
Kieko shrugged while examining her nails carefully. "I don't know, and I don't care." There was some dirt in her nails; she would have to clean it later. And what was that green...stuff... under her index finger? Surely she hadn't been digging or anything...
Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth. Instinctively, Kieko started to shriek, but because of her hand gag, there was only a muffled noise. "Be quiet!" hissed an all-too-familiar voice.
She quieted down and the hand came off. The kunoichi turned around and saw, to her relief, Yukoto, the third member of their team. He had an excited and slightly mischievous expression on his face. She cocked her head to silently inquire why he had gagged her with his hand.
"There's a team not far from here," he said in a quiet whisper.
Both Kieko and Gao widened their eyes, and both of expressions mirrored Yukoto's; they were all thinking of the same thing.
Stepping carefully so they wouldn't alert their prey, the three shinobi approached a clearing. They huddled together in a tall tree which would obscure their preys' views. "Surround, then attack?" Kieko asked quietly, and in response Yukoto nodded. Then, the three vanished, carrying out step one of their plan.
Naruto was positively sure someone was following him - them, that is. It was like a sixth sense - that prickling feeling on his neck alerted him, and it was rarely, rarely wrong. Was it the spy from the previous day? It would be risky for him to tell the others, so they would be on their own. Though, with what he'd seen from Sasuke, it was probable that he'd noticed already. Naruto didn't know whether he should be glad or jealous.
Sakura would not know; he wasn't being biased or anything - it was simply a fact. She was a typical Genin. An abnormally smart one, but a typical Genin in terms of strength and ability. She would no doubt be a liability in this upcoming battle, if their opponents were indeed a spy whose level was higher than Genin, she would have no chance. Sakura would most likely get killed one day, if not in this upcoming battle.
Speaking of which - ! Naruto ducked to narrowly avoid a kunai, which flew past his ear and thunked into the ground. Dark purple poison oozed from the blade, and immediately the grass which it had landed on began to wither. The battle is on.
Instantly, a small boy with a huge grin on his face leaped down and began to engage him in taijutsu. Naruto briefly heard a girl's exasperated sigh, and he had to agree with her; this boy was incredibly stupid, attacking him directly like this. It didn't take long for the blonde to trip the boy and pin him to the ground with a few kunai. He was the son of the Fourth Hokage. Did they really think they could beat him?
Before leaving to help his pink-haired teammate, though, he caught sight of the poisoned kunai that had almost hit him. Naruto frowned, and then picked the kunai up carefully and dug it into the ground before the now-trembling boy. "Just a warning," Naruto told him carelessly.
Turning to Sakura, he was surprised to see that Sasuke had already finished off his opponent (quicker than me?), a boy who was now unconscious on the ground. Shrugging, he glanced at Sakura's opponent, a tall kunoichi who was obviously more experienced than her. However, Sasuke was far above the kunoichi's level, and it seemed he did not need any help. Naruto walked over to Sasuke's first opponent and dug through his belongings.
He sifted through the knapsack. A map, keep; some kunai, keep; a few keychains, throw away; an intricate-looking necklace? Huh, I'll keep that, I guess. But where's that scroll? Come on, heaven, heaven, heaven scroll! Naruto felt his fingers grasp a scroll and he pulled it out quickly. However, his eyes fell as they noted its dark colour. Earth. Darn.
"Which is it?" Sasuke asked from behind him. Naruto stood up, kicking the boy's bag away; there was nothing else interesting in his bag. Inwardly Sasuke was frowning. They'd been attacked by a team from Konoha. They hadn't last time.
The blonde held up the scroll, choosing actions over words, and his other two teammates deflated visibly. "And we fought them and everything!" Sakura exclaimed. Then, she glanced at their fallen opponents. "Do we really have to keep it? I mean, they put up a good fight..." Sasuke scoffed at that one.
Naruto snorted. Really, Sakura would have to harden her heart if she wanted to win fights in the future. "We'll keep it. Besides, they could use the lesson. They did attack Konoha Shinobi after all and we're all about comrades here. They should learn that."
Sasuke nodded and shrugged. "If we keep it, we'll have an extra Earth scroll. And besides, if we keep one, that means there will be less competition later on." Inwardly he was surprised by Naruto's reasoning. Did he truly feel that way, or was it just preaching for the sake of arrogance?
At least one of his teammates had some sense, Naruto thought. He motioned to the others. "Let's go."
Team 7 left the clearing and their first battle quickly. After all, they had less than four days to get the tower now and with every passing hour more and more teams lost their scrolls, so they would need all the speed they could muster.
Nightly haunts Extra
A certain silver haired jonin jerked awake, reaching under his pillow for the kunai he usually kept there. He'd heard a noise and being a Shinobi with a rather high bounty, the student of the Hokage, the teacher to the Jinchuriki and the Hokage's son, the jonin least liked in the jonin station and a variety of other things that made one generally unpopular, a noise could really be the prelude to a murder attempt.
It had happened before. Really, it had. He wasn't paranoid.
However, what Kakashi found under his pillow was definitely not a kunai.
That blasted day-glow orange Icha Icha book mocked him, glowing ever so faintly in the dark. He scowled at it before tossing it out the window and hopefully far, far away. It had been bad enough when he'd found it in his kunai pouch earlier and had to explain to his ANBU superiors why it was there in the first place as it was rather inappropriate, and stuttering out 'I have no idea' didn't seem to be adequate for them. He definitely wasn't going to say that he may have obtained the book while in Obito's company and passed out from drinking too much sake. He may not be an active ANBU at that moment but he still went in every now and then to help Tenzou out.
But before he could close the window again the book, as though possessed or perhaps a boomerang in its pre-paper days, came right back and smartly smacked him on the forehead.
Kakashi felt sure that someone, somewhere out there was mocking the crap out of him and wondered just what he'd done this time to deserve it.
Outside on the opposite rooftop, Obito snickered gleefully. He would have to thank Sasuke the next time he saw the boy because really, this was the best idea ever!