Hello, again.
Now we'll be starting on canon Naruto, as well as a few personal quirks I want to put in myself.
Don't own MLP or Naruto, by the way.
'Leave my Apple Cider alone!'
"Morning, Jack. Sun up yet?"
It's been about seven months since the Harpy Incident, as it was eventually called, and things had gotten a lot better for Konoha.
While it took a while for some to truly trust Sakura and Mebuki again, Sunset and his brothers were helpful in getting people to do so. The mother/daughter pair we usually seen near at least one of the boys, but normally Sunset due to he and Sakura being in the Academy together. Mebuki became one of the first to support them during any council meeting. Sakura, in the meantime, wanted to go further with proving that it was in the past, and tended to volunteer whenever she could.
Somehow, this led to her and Hinata being recruited as future medic nins, but she certainly wasn't complaining. Certainly a lot better than her insanity spell continuing, in her opinion.
As for the brothers, well, let's take a look:
Fluttershy, while still quiet and timid, rose to a pretty substantial place in the kennels. It was to the point that Tsume had to build a separate building to serve as an animal shelter after people started bringing more than just pets on over, and left him in charge. Of course, that ended up with Hana spending more time working there with Shy instead of the main building, but Tsume saw this as a chance to get her son, Kiba, to start learning the family side trade.
Rarity, or Rare as he preferred, became a pretty big celebrity with both the girls of Konoha and the Daimyo's court. He had fainted the lord of Hi no Kuni himself had actually walked in one time and requested from him personally. Unfortunately, that led to Sunset having to learn fuinjutsu in order to keep both fangirls and jealous competitors from him. Suffice it to say, he pretty well became the go to person for formal decorations in Konoha, especially when it called for some type of crystalline look to it.
Dash and Pinkie were a bit of a different case. The pair ended up gaining a bit of a habit of pranks, occasionally popping one on random citizen. Sunset did make sure that they knew not to do any that could actually hurt. Dash did also gain a rivalry with a shinobi named Rock Lee, which has gotten on numerous nerves the times it got out of hand. That annoyed Sunset and Jack to no end, as they were usually the ones stuck having to deal with it. They would've also had to deal with Pinkie as well, if he didn't gain a bit of an obsession with 'getting the emo out of Mr. Ducky,' aka Uchiha Sasuke.
They weren't about to do anything to stop that.
Rare wasn't the only one to receive a visit and request from the Daimyo, once the man had tasted cider from Sweet Apple Acres. Jack was caught by surprise one day, out among the trees, when the Hokage came up with the Daimyo and called him over for a break. Knowing better than to argue with those two men, he brought them into the house and passed out a couple of glasses of apple cider. Ultimately, next thing he knew, he was getting a request to send at least a barrel of cider and a basket of apples to the capital for the Daimyo.
He was going to have to expand the place next year to make sure that it wasn't quite so much an issue.
As for Sunset...
"Howdy, Sakura. Sorry, but he ain't up quite yet, last I checked." responded Jack to Sakura's greeting and question, "Then again, I have been out here fer a bit, so that could've changed. Thankfully, got some Zap Cider waiting."
Sakura unconsciously let out a small breath of relief at that last part. While Sunset has been a great help, he has occasionally annoyed people once he got started on a book of some sort. Outside of training or helping out at the house, he could be found offering his time at the library. However, it has led to an interesting/irritating habit to develop in him. He can end up staying up late reading, and needed a jump-start in the morning. Thankfully, all that was really needed was a glass of cider, with a hint of lightning chakra thrown in, but it did lead to an incident that no one wanted to happen.
Even the Hokage, once he found out.
"Well, I mainly wanted to make sure that he was ready in time for the exams today." Sakura said, "Today is the day, after all."
Sakura then headed on inside, and came across Shy and Pinkie in the kitchen getting breakfast ready. The girl couldn't help but drool a little at the prospect of a meal from both of them. Shy was the first to notice her.
"Oh, Sakura!" he exclaimed, somewhat startled, "You're early."
"Yeah." Sakura answered, "The Graduation Exams are today, and I wanted to make sure Sun was there. Better safe than sorry."
"I already have the graduation party ready and waiting for afterwards." said Pinkie, carrying a few dishes out to the table, "Just be sure to keep an eye on Mizuki. People have a tendency to place him as a really big and subtle meanie during the exams."
While it did confuse the two, Shy and Sakura quickly shook it off, knowing that it wouldn't have helped if they tried to figure him out right then and there. Sakura in particular would just stick to watching out for Mizuki and see just what Pinkie meant then.
Just then, the three heard a groan come from the stairs. They turned and saw Sunset arriving at the bottom.
Sakura sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. He fell asleep in his clothes again.
Sunset, or Sun, was wearing a set of clothes designed by Rarity, and Sakura certainly liked it a lot. Black shinobi pants with weapon pouches sewn into the sides (which became a hit with both civilians and shinobi, not having to strap on pouches to carry at least certain items), and an open jacket that had a purple night sky in the front that cleanly became magenta stars surrounding a sunset on the back covering a red shirt. Black boot-like shinobi sandals completed his look.
The problem, however, was that he looked completely dead as he ambled over to where the cider Jack had mentioned was waiting.
None of them bothered to talk to him, knowing that he wouldn't be coherent in any manner until he gets his morning cup. Hinata even one timed even said something that would've anyone's attention instantly, and yet he didn't notice. So they quickly agreed not to talk to him until afterwards, sticking to one of them directing him to a better spot than in the kitchen. Unfortunately, they weren't quite able to get to him in time before a loud boom sounded, right before a big thud hit the house, rattling things enough for the cider to splash on Sunset, freezing him in place.
"What was...that..." Sakura asked before noticing Sun, "Oh no."
Sun's eyebrow was twitching like crazy as his hand started squeezing a bit. Sakura managed to get his cup out of his hand in time, but couldn't quite get him an extra cup before he mechanically shuffled his way to the nearby door leading to the outside from the kitchen. Outside, they found Dash trying to quickly pick a dazed Lee up. When the rainbow-haired boy notice them, he stopped moving and started sweating.
"...Dash. Lee." said Sunset.
Dash instantly dropped Lee, got down on his knees and started crying out, "I'msorry,Sunset,itwasn' ,Ididaccepthischallenge,but-"
"How...many...times..." said Sunset, shaking in anger, "must I say...leave...my...Zap Cider...ALONE!"
With that final word, Sunset finally peaked. Chakra surged from his body at the two, who blanched in fear.
"You two were nearly late."
"Sorry, Iruka-sensei." said Sakura, "Lee and Dash messed with Sun's morning cider."
That sent a shiver down Iruka's spine, having experienced it first hand. He had one time came and did the same thing, not happy with his punctuality that day. He ended up in the hospital with multiples bruises, a couple of broken bones, a concussion, and his chakra practically useless for a full week. The only reason the Hokage was lenient on Sunset was the circumstances behind it, and just made sure that people knew not to do that.
The boy still had to get banned from books for that week as punishment, though.
Sun was still grumbling as the two took their seats, becoming a source of mild amusement and unnerving for their fellow classmates. Hinata and Ino in particular knew about how Sun reacts, having been there the last time when their sensei, a chunin-level shinobi with a notable scar on his face named Umino Iruka, interrupted Sun like that.
"There, there, Sun." Ino said playfully, patting his shoulder, "Now they know better."
Sun pouted at her, causing the three girls to giggle at him. "This isn't funny, Ino. I need some Zap Cider to be ready for the day, and we're only really able to make one cup a day of that."
His childish anger just got them to giggle harder, until Iruka got their attention again.
"Focus, you four! Ahem, anyways, it's time for us to see just who among you are ready to head on out of here and become a shinobi. In a minute, Mizuki-sensei will be passing out the written part of the exams, and when I tell you, you may begin. Once I say 'stop,' that'll be the end of this part and we'll being heading out for the next part of the exam."
Once he stopped, Mizuki, a silver-haired chunin who worked with Iruka, started placing papers in front of each of the students. However, Sakura noticed a subtle glare as he passed one to Sunset, and suddenly remembered Pinkie's words.
"Just be sure to keep an eye on Mizuki. People have a tendency to place him as a really big and subtle meanie during the exams."
Sakura's eyes narrowed a bit, but couldn't do much else for that moment. Just make sure that Sunset didn't suffer from it. Surprisingly enough, she didn't have to, because Sunset's chakra flared up, grabbed Mizuki, and pulled him back.
"Just what is this?" he demanded, "Just because I've read more, doesn't mean I''m ready for Jonin-level questions just yet! SO FIX THIS!"
Not wanting to make things worse overall, Mizuki just replaced the paper with one of the proper tests.
Well that makes things easier. Thought Sakura, only to see Sunset gaining an irritated look at the test paper. Then again...
Thankfully, nothing really else happened during that part, so he was able to start calming down by the time they had to stop and move on to the next part.
"Okay everyone, papers down. It's time for the weapons portion of the exam." said Iruka, leading the test takers out to the Academy training grounds. Once there, he explained the rules for this part. "This test is simple. Each of you in turn will be called up and given 10 shuriken and 10 kunai. Your goal is to get as many of each as close to the center as possible. The better your results, the higher your score will be."
With that, the test began, with one of the first being a boy named Shino Aburame, that gave Ino and Hinata a bit of time to talk with Sakura and Sunset.
"How're you feeling now, Sun?" asked Hinata.
"A bit better, I will admit." answered Sun, sighing, "Although it didn't help when Mizuki-sensei gave me the wrong test."
"I don't think that was an accident, Sunset." said Sakura, catching their attention, "Pinkie said something this morning about it, actually. We'll need to keep an eye on him."
"Just gives more of a reason to wait until after we graduate to get new clothes from Rare." said Ino, "Not only do we start a new chapter then, but we could also make sure that if so, Mizuki-sensei is arrested."
Hinata nodded, but did show concern. "We just have no real evidence to prove if he actually is a traitor. Also, Sakura, your up."
"Haruno Sakura." Iruka called out, proving Hinata correct. Although none of them had any real idea as to how it was so fast for it to get to her just yet.
"Hey." Sunset said as she was about to move up. He gave her a kiss on the lips. "Good luck."
Sakura smiled. "Thanks."
"She won't be the only one who gets a kiss when they start, brother." piped in Jack, having just showed up with Rare, "We both got time to do at least that."
Ino and Hinata smiled at that while Sakura got ready to test her weapons usage. In the meantime, two classmates in particular looked in slight jealousy, but not for normal reasons.
Why did they have to get so lucky? Was the thoughts of one of them, an animalistic boy in a fur-trimmed coat named Inuzuka Kiba. For him, it was just really his animal traits getting the best of him, getting his nin-dog partner Akamaru to sigh as best as a dog could.
What exactly makes them so special? Was the thoughts of the other, which was Uchiha Sasuke. Primarily, he was just annoyed at Pinkie, and thought that one of Sakura, Ino, or Hinata could give him the answer to dealing with the 'happy pink monstrosity.' Too bad for him, they were already in relationships, so he had no idea on how to get a chance in getting his answer. Although he also didn't know that he was actually wanting something similar for himself.
The others were much simpler, as their thoughts were more in remembrance of some past times when they had helped out on Sweet Apple Acres. Even Nara Shikamaru, a rather lazy yet intelligent boy, didn't think it all that troublesome, which shocked everyone that knew him.
That didn't mean he was too willing to actually work, though.
Still smiling from Sun's gesture, Sakura accepted the shuriken and kunai and got into her stance. As an added measure, she pictured the target as an apple tree, and she was trying to cut through the stems that kept the apple on the tree.
Just like on the farm. She told herself.
Releasing each in turn, the results showed as most were clumped together around the border between the center dot and the smallest circle.
"The equates to roughly 8 out of 10." Iruka noted out loud, "Good job. Hyuga Hinata."
"My turn." said girl acknowledged, earning a kiss of good luck from Jack, as well as a quip of "Not that you need the extra luck."
Hinata giggled all the same before she underwent her test, earning an 8 out of 10 as well.
When "Sparkle Sunset" was heard, and he came up, he discovered the kunai and shuriken were a bit off balance. Which would've been a problem, if chakra manipulation wasn't his specialty. However, unlike most with excellent control, who became more med-nins or genjutsu users, he had both the control and capacity, and intellect, to affect even things such as metal. He was still a bit confused about that though, but he was working his way to an answer.
Is that really suppose to harm my chances? He idly thought to himself as he used chakra to rebalance the weapons before throwing them. However, he sheepishly chuckled and scratched the back of his head when he saw that he overdid it a bit with the chakra.
"Iruka-sensei?" he asked, "You taking a point from my score? I kind of overdid it when I had to rebalance them."
Iruka raised an eyebrow at the 'rebalance' comment, but didn't object to the request. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility with Sunset, considering helping with taking care of the apple trees usually resulted in accuracy practice. And with Sweet Apple Acres being Sunset's home, he had easiest access to that training method.
"Okay." Iruka said.
"What? But he just admitted to using chakra, which isn't allowed." Mizuki said, showing surprise at his co-worker.
"Then what about the need to rebalance them?" Iruka retorted, "Jack over there can spot a lie easier than most, and yet he hasn't said anything. I know chakra isn't allowed, but that is in regards to make them either move faster or fly straighter. Am I right so far, you two?"
"Yep." Jack said as Sun nodded.
"This time was rather unprecedented thanks to the issue Sun mentioned, but otherwise he wouldn't have used chakra." finished Iruka, "Let alone because Sakura wouldn't let him do otherwise."
"You know it!" Sakura proclaimed, grinning as she winked, earning a round of laughter from her classmates, including Sun, as that was the truth. Mizuki kept silent after that, leaving Sun with a 9 out of 10 and a big kiss from Sakura.
The rest of the test went smoothly, with it ending on a note of Ino joining Sakura and Hinata at 8 out of 10, as well as having a kiss of good luck from Rarity. Afterwards, though, he and Jack had to head back on out to their respective works. But not before Jack promised a veritable feast for the graduates and Iruka that night, with or without Pinkie's help.
That got a lot of them motivated, knowing how Jack's and Pinkie's food are some of the best around.
Back inside, Iruka started explaining the final part of the exam.
"Alright, the final test is simple, in turn, each of you will come up and do a Henge, a Kawarimi, and a Bushin. Do all three, and you pass. Sorry Sakura and Sun, but that's how it is."
Said two pouted, earning chuckles at being called out like they just were.
As they were called up one by one, the four primary friends took to small talk, not seeing much of a point in any more important topics until later. Eventually, it got to their respective turns, but Sunset really caught people off guard when he went up. For Henge, he snapped his fingers and transformed into an exact image of Iruka. For Kawarimi, his chakra lashed out and replaced the kunai used to test him with a chalkboard eraser. And for Bushin, he tossed out three tags, flared his chakra, and transformed them into three copies of himself, but with one key difference.
"Those were actually Chakra Disruption Seals, designed to act as an 'explosive' shield against jutsu. Although, I haven't quite figured out the selective matrix to ensure it doesn't go off from friendly jutsu, in case it's right beside an ally using a jutsu."
Looks like we got another one to let the Hokage know. Sakura sweat-dropped a bit, seeing one of Sunset's passions at work.
"Well...I'd say that gives you at least a few bonus points." said Iruka after a bit, taking in all that the boy said. "You certainly pass, though. Here, Rare made this one."
Taking the hitai-ate, Sunset held it up to show that is was indeed made by Rarity. Dark red silk with a golden tinted metal plate. The symbol of Konoha had a few extra lines, shaping an eight-pointed star around it. When Sakura, Ino, and Hinata noticed, they all noted to talk to Rare about making custom bands for them. Not necessarily with the additions to the symbol, but at least the coloring.
In the meantime, Sasuke grumbled as he dropped his head on the desk. All because of a few wrong words, he was pretty much banned from buying much of anything from Rare, and it wasn't because of Rare himself. His former boss was the one that made the call, saying "No one who doesn't want to understand the finer points of design and fashion will be allowed in this shop."
While Rare himself didn't like Sasuke's words all that much, he was still more lenient in comparison, preferring a 'prove me wrong' method to times like that. But all the same, by this point, Sasuke was honestly having trouble actually caring about being the top of the class.
It's not like I have anyone to share the memory with, like they do. He thought before he stopped. Where did that come from?
They expected Mizuki to do something, considering before, but he didn't quite do anything this time. They were certainly grateful that he didn't do anything, but that didn't quite clear them out of trouble just yet.
After Ino was done and passed, they walked out to find Rare, Jack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Dash, and some of the others connected to them like Tsume, Hana, and the Ichirakus.
"Knew you four would pass." Dash said.
"Did any of you help sneak him out, or is this legit?" Sakura asked, indicating that Dash still had a few visible bandages on him from earlier.
"There wasn't really all that much for them to do, actually." explained Dash, shrugging a bit, "Lee and I had gotten lucky today."
Sun, remembering the incident, glared at Dash. "Just don't push it again, got it?"
Dash leaned back in fear, nodding rapidly and getting laughter from the others.
"Still, seeing as you all passed," Rarity said after calming down, "I daresay it's time for a wardrobe change to address the occasion."
Ino especially out of the girls cheers, while Tsume smiled at the prospects of a new outfit from Rarity. While none of them have really any expressive modifications before, Rarity did promise when they graduated. Tsume, Hana, and Ayame ultimately decided on waiting until then to get new clothes as well, all of them going together to celebrate.
"By the way, Pinkie." said Sakura, getting said boy's attention, "You might actually be right about Mizuki-sensei." Curious, the others listened in as she continued, "He lightly glared at Sun as he gave him a Jonin-level test, when we were taking a Genin-level exam."
"And when I went up for the weapons test, mine were off balance in their design." continued Sunset, "And he was the only one that tried to say that I should fail because I overdid things a bit when I fixed that issue."
"Figures he'd be stuck as an idiot this time around." said Pinkie, shrugging, "Stands to reason, seeing as most make Mizuki as one of the bad guys. But since Sun passed, he'll probably be going after that big scroll in Old Man's office. You know, the one with things like the Shiki Fuin, Edo Tensei, and Kage Bushin, which you should probably take a look at Sun."
Tsume paled considerably at Pinkie's words, knowing of the scroll he was talking about. She had absolutely no idea how he knew what was on it, but still. She would need to let the Hokage know about Mizuki, understanding by now that when something like this comes from Pinkie, it's usually more true than not. Even if no one really has much of any idea what he's talking about most of the time.
"Excuse me, but I need to talk to the Hokage real quick." Tsume told them, turning to head off, "I'll be back."
She went off as Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, and Shino showed up.
"What's up with Mom?" Kiba asked, not knowing what just happened.
"Nothing you should really worry about, Kiba." Hana said, "Now let's get moving. We've got new threads and a feast to get to."
"Hold on, Sas-" Pinkie started before Shino cut him off. "He's already left, saying that he'll disincline to acquiesce to this invitation to train some more."
Pinkie pouted. "That's no excuse."
"It's just how he is, bro." Sun said, even though he knew it wouldn't do much, seeing as Pinkie already sped off to get the Uchiha. "Aaand, he's gone. Well, let's go, people. Might as well meet up back at home."
Not much more needed to be said after that, although Shikamaru, Choji, and Shino did have to tell their families about the invitation. Wouldn't have been able to attend otherwise.
In case you haven't figured it out yet, Sakura, Ino, and Hinata, as well as the other new genins are in their regular outfits for the moment. That'll change next time. As for the little bit with Kiba and Sasuke, it's mainly more 'They're so lucky.' instead of 'They're mine!' Otherwise, Kiba will be a friend, while Sasuke will be a bit more comic relief with his relationship to Pinkie. He'll still be broody and all, but most of the time he'll be trying to find ways to keep Pinkie off of him.
Until next time. Please let me know what you think.