A/N: My beta reader is sick and cannot beta my work anymore. I have a temporary beta but if you can be a permanent one then please let me know.
After the teams were announced and Iruka sensei had finished giving all the instructions, Sumiko stood up. Her two friends – teammates now – looked up at her with confusion.
"Sumiko-chan? What's wrong?" Naruto asked, blond brows furrowing behind his hitai-ate.
"I'll be back in a few." she replied with a wave of a hand, walking towards their class teacher.
Iruka looked at her approaching, a pleasant smile on his face. "Yes, Sumiko, what can I do for you?" he asked, eyes smiling down at her.
"Didn't you say Hatake Kakashi is our jounin sensei? Do you mind telling me his current whereabouts?" she asked.
He blinked at her, dark lashes catching the sunlight filtering in through the open window. She leaned forward to hear him a little better as the fresh genin chattered behind her.
"Why do you want his whereabouts?" he questioned with a puzzled frown. "He'll be here soon to pick your team up."
She rubbed a hand on the back of her head, smiling sheepishly. "Actually, I've come to know that he can be a little… er… well, not exactly punctual? I was hoping I could catch him before he decides to go wherever he goes to waste– er– spend his time."
Iruka's eyes twinkled in amusement as he looked down at her. "I've always known you to be a smart one, Sumiko. Your research abilities are really good."
"Er… It really wasn't that hard. Everybody happens to know him," she replied, the tops of her cheeks blushing pink.
"Well, that's true," he gave a chuckle. "I think all the jounin sensei are with the Hokage in the tower. They might already be heading here, so you'll have to hurry up if you want to catch Kakashi."
She gave him a smile. "Thank you for everything, Iruka sensei."
The teacher's eyes widened, his eyes beginning to bubble. Sumiko stepped back and gave a quick bow, retreating before she had to confront a crying Iruka. Leaping off the window, she jumped from rooftop to rooftop, eyes searching for an eternally late, masked ninja. She carried on till she reached the Uchiha compound and dropped in at home. Quickly changing into the Anbu uniform she had tailored from one of the civilians, she wore a toy mask and jumped back out.
On the way to the Hokage tower, Sumiko saw a flash of orange and leaped down. Kakashi stopped mid-walk, lowering the icha-icha book to look at her.
"Hatake Kakashi," she started. "You are expected to report to the academy immediately."
An eye dragged over her body, from top to bottom. She willed her face to cool down. "Who are you, may I ask?"
She paused. How did she ever think the "Hatake Kakashi" would ever follow orders without question? Clearly, this was an impromptu plan that she hadn't thought through. "Protocols forbid me to say my name."
"Surely you can tell me your Anbu codename? If the rules haven't changed, I know you are allowed to relay that much information," he replied, one hand in his pocket, the other still holding the open book. God damn, calm down Sumiko, she told herself.
"Anbu Kitten," she said, recalling the cat mask that she donned. Sumiko was pretty sure there was already an Anbu Cat, so Anbu Kitten would have to do.
He was silent, observing her from head to toe. His stance was wholly relaxed, as if nothing could ever bother him. It was almost as if he found the situation amusing.
A gust of wind passed, fluttering the falling leaves and her heart thudded in her chest. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. The Anbu uniform wouldn't be considered traitorous, would it? She hadn't informed anybody about it, and the Anbu was a secret organization. Would Kakashi take her to the Hokage?
Shit.
Her body tensed. She was about to leap away, thinking of trying her best to get away from the infamous copy nin when he finally said, "Fine. Tell your superiors I'll be there."
A rush of relief flowed through her. She gave a slight bow before turning around, jumping over branches to get back to the school grounds.
…
He was late.
Sumiko cursed under her breath, pushing away the book in front of her. It had been more than an hour since the other genin were gone, and only team seven was left. How could he ignore direct orders?! Then again, he was Hatake Kakashi. He could ignore the Hokage's direct orders and get away with only a slap on the wrist. That was how strong he was. That was how much the village needed him.
Naruto fidgeted in his seat, obviously bored out of his mind. She tapped the place beside her, sliding her book on chakra control to the side. "Come, sit beside me. We'll talk about something."
He gave it a thought before his face lit up in that peculiar way when he was up to something. She rolled her eyes, knowing exactly where this was going. Grinning, he picked up the duster and, after peeping through the slightly open door, put it in between.
"Huh." Sasuke muttered, turning his face around. "As if a Konoha jounin would fall for such a thing."
Naruto just grinned, rubbing his palms. "Let's see Dattebayo!" Sumiko suppressed a shudder. Evil Naruto would be scary… Just imagine all that energy and shit about never giving up going to do evil things. Yeah, the thought was more than a little scary. Naruto would make just as much of a badass villain as he was a hero.
All of a sudden, the door opened. Sumiko's heart gave a low thud. There was nothing to signify someone was coming – no footsteps, nothing. She couldn't even sense anything the way ninjas were supposed to. What was she expecting? This was Kakashi sensei, one of the best shinobi, if not in all big five villages, then at least in Konoha. There was no way someone like him would announce his presence beforehand unless he wanted to.
Naruto gave a grin as Kakashi sensei's head popped in, and the duster fell. She saw it as if in slow motion, watching his eye flicker to it before turning to observe them as the duster slowly plopped on his head, covering him with chalk powder. Naruto gave a burst of booming laughter as her brother gave a small noise of annoyance. Sumiko's heart, however, couldn't stop beating fast.
This was it. This was the moment she was officially going to meet the legendary Hatake Kakashi, the copy ninja. Her whole body was thrumming with excitement. She was finally going to meet Kakashi sensei, damn it! Their last meeting did not count, and she had tried her best to calm down. Now, she was allowed to be a little ecstatic, at least. It wasn't her fault she couldn't stop staring at his face, nor that she had her fists clenched under the table, eyes shining. It was Kakashi sensei's fault for being so damn cool.
He picked up the duster by his feet. "Hm… How can I put this? As for my first impression of you guys…" He began, not bothering to rub off the chalk powder. His hair flopped down under the weight of the duster. "Well, I hate you."
Ouch.
…
They were at the terrace of the school building, sitting on a small platform as Kakashi watched them.
"Let's see. First of all, let me have you guys introduce yourself," he said, one eye staring down, completely unimpressed. His hands were tucked in his pockets as he leaned back against the railing. White strands of hair ruffled in the breeze, the bright afternoon sun shining on top.
Right… It was that scene now.
"By 'introduce,' you mean we're supposed to tell you our likes, dislikes, etc., right?" she asked, tilting her head. At least, that was how it went before, if she wasn't wrong.
"Yeah, yeah. Your likes, dislikes, your future dream, hobbies, things like that," he replied with a shrug before folding his hands.
"Hey, before that, please tell us about yourself." Naruto said with a frown.
"Me?" he asked, pointing to himself, as if the mere thought that they would like to know about their teacher was astounding.
"My name's Hatake Kakashi. I don't feel like telling you guys about my likes and dislikes. I've never really thought about my future dream… As for my hobbies, I have many."
'That… wasn't all that knowledgeable, sensei.'
She decided to say it aloud. "That wasn't useful at all. Stop being modest, sensei," She gave a slight pause and Kakashi turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "Would you mind if I introduced you instead? You see, I know a little bit about you. I know about most of the interesting jounin in the village."
"Hmm…" he began. "Sure, why not. Go ahead."
Maybe she was cheating right now, but she couldn't help it. Her teammates should know who exactly was the person they would be relying on for the next year or so.
"You are Hatake Kakashi, also known as the copy ninja. Your left eye has the sharingan even though you are not an Uchiha. You probably got it in the third shinobi war. That's also the time you gained your fame as Kakashi with the sharingan. You were a student of the Fourth Hokage, who was super cool, by the way, and you are one the strongest jounin in Konoha." She could feel her lips turn up into a smile. "Basically, you're really cool."
Cheeks tinging red, she turned away from Kakashi's intense stare, instead opting to look at her teammates. Sasuke was looking at Kakashi with widened eyes, and Naruto was staring at her with his mouth open. She bit her lip, trying not to laugh. He was probably shocked she knew so much about their sensei already.
"Well…" Kakashi said. "That was a lot of information. Anyway, next is you guys. Let's begin with you." He added, looking at Naruto.
"My name's Uzumaki Naruto! I like instant ramen but what I like even more is the ramen from Ichiraku that Iruka sensei treats me to and hanging out with Sumiko-chan. I also really like something called pizza that she makes."
'Aww,' she couldn't believe he admitted to liking pizza as much as ramen.
"What I dislike is the three minutes after pouring hot water in the instant ramen. My hobby is eating and comparing ramen! And my future dream… is to surpass the Hokage! That's how I'm getting the whole village to acknowledge my existence!
She felt a smile twist her lips. 'That was a lot of ramen. Naruto really was a strange kid, wasn't he?'
"Okay, next."
Sasuke was sitting with his palms near his mouth like some goth from a batman's movie. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at his hands as if they were going to tell his fate.
"My name's… Uchiha Sasuke. I have lots of dislikes and no likes in particular. And… I don't feel like summing up my ambition as just a dream, but I do have an ambition." Sumiko's lips pursed. "The ambition to restore my clan and without fail… to kill a certain man."
There was silence as Kakashi sensei observed him with an unimpressed eye. Sumiko was silent for just a moment.
"Huh?" She exclaimed, hands on her hips, glaring at her brother. "You didn't say a single thing about me?! Do I not mean anything to you?!"
He turned to her, face devoid of expression. She brought a fist up to ground his head. "Stop giving me that look, you bastard. Don't you want to protect your sister? And what was that, no likes in particular? You're not getting any pizza from now on… or the milkshakes!"
His eyebrows drew together as he pushed her away. "Fine. It's not like I like them that much anyway," he said, turning away. He may have attempted to mask his face, but Sumiko could definitely see through that look on his face. He was so pouting!
There was a pause as she stared at him with incredulous eyes, and Kakashi simply observed them. "And lastly," he prompted. "Kitten."
Sumiko stopped the teasing. 'What did he say?'
For a whole second, she couldn't hear anything except the blood rushing to her head. He knew. Of course, he knew! She should've known not to prank him.
God damn it.
"I am Uchiha Sumiko," she said, swallowing. Her eyes met Kakashi's, only to see blatant amusement written in them.
Curse him.
"My likes… I like playing the guitar, and sometimes I like to cook, especially when the people I share the food with like it. I dislike people who underestimate children, especially kunoichi, and I also dislike useless things." She paused, thinking. "My dream… It is to keep my promise to someone and become one of the strongest kunoichi no matter what."
Finally finished, she gave a grin and pretended not to notice Sasuke's eye roll.
"Well, you guys certainly are distinctive and interesting," he said. The interesting part seemed a little sarcastic to Sumiko. "Tomorrow, we'll have a mission."
She could practically feel the excitement radiate off of Naruto. "Yes, sir! What kind of mission?"
Kakashi looked down, hands folded in front of his chest. "First, we'll do what we can with just four people."
She smiled at Naruto's impatience. Really, couldn't he wait even a little bit? Not that she had any right to say that, she already knew what was going to happen. She also knew Naruto would definitely not like that. "A survival exercise." Kakashi deadpanned.
"Survival exercise?" Sumiko's little teammate echoed.
Instead of butting in, she let Kakashi explain. "This is not a simple exercise." He said, giving a very villain-like chuckle. She could feel the frustration of her brother sitting beside her.
"Sensei, stop with the creepy laughter. It makes you seem like a weird pervert." she muttered. 'Not that you aren't one' was left unsaid.
"Per – anyway, if I tell you, you'll get disenchanted." She gave a snort. Disenchanted. Who even says that? Kakashi propped his face up, one eye peeping through the fingers. "Out of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will pass. The remaining eighteen will be sent back to the academy. In other words, this exercise is an extremely difficult test with a failure rate of sixty-six percent or higher."
Sumiko's face dropped. It really was anticlimactic when she knew what was going to happen. She even knew the answer to tomorrow's test, for heaven's sake. There was nothing to get her heart pumping. Beside her, however, her teammates were suddenly tense. She felt a little bad for them.
"See, see? You got disenchanted!"
"That's crazy!" Naruto shouted. "To have suffered that much! T-then what was the graduation exam for?"
There was a moment of silence as a crow cawed above them. It seemed to pity the kids sitting below. She agreed. Propping her chin on her palm, she drowned out Kakashi's voice. No matter how much she liked and respected him, there was only so much that could interest her.
What was the point of the exercise anyway? It was to check friendship or team play or something, right? Did it work if she already knew the answer? She didn't think so. How in god's name was she going to steal the bells? That wasn't really the point of the test, but she wanted to give it a go anyway. She had Sasuke and Naruto's help. She wouldn't have to do it alone. Seriously, there was nothing she was best at. She used to be better than Sasuke at taijutsu and shuriken jutsu, but he went ahead and unlocked his sharingan, leaving Sumiko behind. That was how it always was. She was about as useless as Sakura was in the beginning. She didn't even have her chakra control. There really was nothing she was good at, was there?
She gave a sigh, closing her eyes. There was no use thinking about it all over again. She was going to push this into the deepest parts of her mind. She had to. She couldn't sink into the depth of her problems again. There was no time now. She had to move on.
Sumiko gave a low moan. She really hated life.
"Exactly dattebayo!" She looked up with wide eyes to see that their sensei had already disappeared. "Who wants to wake up that early?" Naruto complained.
Sasuke stood up, offering her a hand. Grabbing it, she pulled herself up before raking a hand through her hair. Purple strands curled against her fingers, gently soaring through the air. "We don't really have a choice, now do we?" She paused. "Though, I have to admit we should probably come a little late. I've heard Kakashi sensei is perpetually late. Just in case, I'll bring something to eat too."
Waving goodbye, they went their own ways, promising to meet early tomorrow.
…
"Sumiko" She could feel someone shaking her. "Sumiko, wake up! We have a test!"
She gave a groan before rolling towards her brother. "Five more minutes, Sasuke. Just five more, please."
"No. You always say that and don't wake up. Seriously, get up, or we'll be late."
"Who cares?" She drawled, tucking her face between his neck and shoulder. "Let's give him a taste of his own medicine."
He gave a sigh. "You're not going to listen, are you?"
She felt his body move, taking away some of his well-needed warmth. Having lost her snuggle person, she proceeded to grab his pillow, wrapping her arms around the inanimate object instead. She heard the door close behind Sasuke and breathed a sigh of relief, tucking her head between the pillows.
Just as she fell asleep again – or that's what it felt like for Sumiko anyway – cool liquid washed down her face. With a scream, she shot up, grabbing the kunai on the table beside (she had learnt not to keep it under her pillow a long time ago. Apparently, she rolled around a lot when she was asleep). With a gasp, she blinked away the water from her eyes before shooting her little brother a glare.
"How dare you, you little–" She began, jumping off the bed to strangle one of her last remaining family.
"Be glad I haven't learnt water style yet, or that would've been way messier." Sasuke interrupted, haughty eyes looking down on her, a blue bucket in his hand. It wasn't really working with all the tousled hair.
Sumiko raised a hand, punched the air where he had been just a second before, and used her elbow to drive it into his gut. He jumped up, landing a foot behind. She brought up a leg in a roundhouse kick, and he ducked, swiping his own leg to topple her. She picked up her other leg, twisting mid-air to cross her ankles, her brother's neck in between.
In the next moment, they were both down on the floor, Sasuke tapping her calf in a surrender motion. She released her interlocked ankles, scooting away to grin at her brother. "I won this round."
His annoyed grunt was enough to wake her up for the day.
…
"You're late!" An irritated voice came as soon as Sumiko and Sasuke entered their assigned training field. "Why is everyone late?"
"Well, Sasuke wet the bed, so I had to hang the mattress up to dry. Blame him." she said with a shrug, joining Naruto under the tree. His eyebrows rose.
Sasuke gave her an annoyed side-eye. "She wasn't ready to get up." Naruto's eyebrows rose even further. "And Sumiko, don't say it like that. People are going to assume something else."
She gave a chuckle, ruffling her friend's hair as a way of greeting. Once again, she marveled at its softness, knowing how little care he took of it. "Well, that is my intention as your beloved sister." She plopped down, leaning against the rough bark of the tree. "I knew sensei was going to be late, but no one ever listens to me, do they?"
Sasuke let out an annoyed sound before walking to stand beside them, facing the entrance. As if Kakashi sensei was ever going to simply come in through the entrance. Sumiko leaned back, resting her head against the tree, and looked up. The sky reminded her of Naruto's eyes, the flitting white clouds like flecks in his pupils. It might have sounded romantic to some, but for her, it was just a symbol of her friendship with him.
She closed her eyes, trying to think of solutions for the upcoming test. She had thought about it all night yesterday but had come up with nothing. How could she possibly take the bells away from Kakashi? It was next to impossible. Even with them working as a team – and Sumiko couldn't see her two teammates ever working together peacefully – couldn't imagine them defeating their sensei. Not if he didn't yield on his own.
"Hey, Sumiko-chan, I'm, like, really bored, Dattebayo. Let's do something." Came a drawling voice.
She turned to him, giving him a thoughtful look. "Hmm… How about a spar? We haven't really done that for a while."
Naruto's eyes lit up, shining like a newly-bought lamp. "Let's do it, Dattebayo!"
…
Sumiko gave a triumphant grin, looking down at the fallen Naruto. She was slightly panting, not enough to be readily noticeable but enough to tell her that Naruto had really improved since their last spar. "I win, Naruto!"
He got back up, not bothering to brush the dust off his pants. "I'm not done yet, Sumiko-chan! Let's go once more!"
She tsked. "Uh- huh, no can do. A win is a win. It's Sasuke's turn now."
He gave a groan and went to sit under their tree. She looked up at the blazing sun above them, and just for a moment, wished she could go and sit there too. They had already had their lunch – she had somehow managed to convince them to eat with her – and had begun their practice again, having nothing better to do. In the back of her mind, she wished she could just go and sit under the shade too and maybe play some guitar instead of having to spar in such heat.
With a sigh, she got into position. Sasuke had already defeated her last time. She wasn't going to lose this time. Sumiko rolled her eyes. That was what she said every time and yet, lost the moment he activated his sharingan. If only she could do it too. It would be the last time she got defeated by her brother in taijutsu.
Just as they were about to start, a blur of green landed in front of them. "Hi, folks. Good morning!" Kakashi sensei began.
Sumiko shook her head with a smile, glancing up at the sky to check the time. It must have been an hour or so before noon. "You're late! More than late!" Naruto gaped.
He raised a hand. "Well, a black cat crossed my path, you see?" He gave a cough and walked to set up an alarm on a clock before continuing. "Today's assignment is to take the bells away from me by noon." Two bells dangled from the pinch of his fingers. "Those who can't do it won't get lunch. They'll be tied to that, and I'll have my lunch right in front of your eyes."
They all turned to a block of wood standing up straight from the ground. Sumiko bet they were glad they had listened to her about the meal.
"There are only two bells." Sasuke's observation was abrupt.
"Yes. So at least one of you will be tied to the pole and sent back to the academy for failing your examination. It can be one of you or all three of you, we'll see. You can use your shuriken. Unless you come at me with the intent to kill, you won't be able to take the bells."
She had no doubt of that. "You couldn't even avoid the duster! That's dangerous, Dattebayo." Naruto erupted.
"I've noticed only losers complain in the real world."
Smartass.
She turned to see Naruto's teeth gritted together. He was definitely going to do something stupid. Lips parted, she raised a hand in warning. Before she could do anything, he was running straight at sensei, a kunai gripped in his hand. In a flash, Kakashi had grabbed his hand, twisting it so that the kunai pointed at Naruto instead, using the other hand to force him to stay still.
Sumiko gaped. She knew that a mere academy student couldn't do shit against him but just watching him take such swift action in a moment of surprise, she couldn't help but give a small smile. He really was so cool, wasn't he? Just looking at him standing so relaxed while having Naruto at knifepoint was surreal.
"Don't be so hasty," Kakashi said, voice menacing. "I haven't said start yet."
Damn.
"But that's fine. At least you came with the intent to kill me." He gave a chuckle. "How do I say this? I feel like I'm finally starting to like you guys." A pause. "We're going to start! Ready… start!"
…
Sumiko dropped her face, inwardly cursing. The test had gone exactly as it did in canon. They were no match for Kakashi at all. The genjutsu he had tried hadn't worked on her at all, of course. What was he even thinking, using such a mild genjutsu on an Uchiha? She hadn't awakened her sharingan yet, but that didn't mean she was so susceptible to it. It was very badly done too. Did he really think she would believe a Konoha shinobi actually physically hurt another Konoha shinobi? It was absurd. Kakashi didn't know her at all yet. She might not be even a genin yet, but that didn't mean she didn't know shit.
Of course, after that, he had gotten into a taijutsu match with her, and that hadn't led anywhere good. She would prefer not to think much about that anytime in her life, thank you very much.
There was one change, at least. This time, they were all tied to the post. Yeah, her life sucked.
"Sumiko, you okay?" Sasuke's voice drifted to her.
She frowned at him. "Are you not okay? We're in the same position, you know? I'm not so weak that I can't bear being tied to a goddamn pole."
Both of her teammates stared at her. She sighed. "Okay, sorry, I'm pissed. First of all, we could do absolutely nothing against him. I know he's a jounin. Actually, he's better than most jounin, as per my knowledge, but it still sucks. I really want him as my teacher. I have a feeling that if we don't pass right now, it's all over."
They were silent. This time, they were both looking down, eyes depressed. She gave a chuckle. "Ah, look. I made you guys depressed too."
Naruto looked up at her. "Don't worry, Sumiko-chan. I'll make sure you pass this exam."
Sasuke gave a firm nod.
"Aww… look at you guys." She gave a laugh. "Don't worry. Have you ever seen a team with two genin and a sensei? He's probably just pulling our leg. He seems like a sadistic type. But anyway, if we're going to pass, we'll all pass. Even if this wasn't true, I would never leave you guys behind. Trust me." she would never survive if she did. Keeping back the hero and his best friend? Definitely not a good idea.
There was a sudden puff of smoke, and they all turned, bodies tense for a fight. Kakashi sensei stood in front, one eye glaring at them. He turned to look at Sumiko, and she suddenly felt a little ill. "You think I really wouldn't fail one of you?" He asked. "Why would you ever think that?"
Her eyes widened. Okay, Kakashi was officially scary. She resisted digging herself further into the log of wood and straightened up as much as she could with the tied rope. "Yes. There has never been a genin team with three people, including the sensei."
He glared at her for a second more before bursting into a smile. "You're correct! You pass!"
Her mouth dropped open. Was he being serious right now? Just because she guessed the point of the test? Yeah, that would probably ruin the test anyway but still pass them? "We passed? Why?" She gasped out. For a moment, it really had seemed like he was going to dunk her into the ground like he had done to Sasuke during the test.
"You guys are the first. Up until now, it was always just dunces who would meekly listen to what I said." He continued. "A Ninja must see through deception… in the world of ninja, those who break rules and codes are scum, but those who don't cherish their friends are worse than scum."
Sumiko's eyes widened as a soft smile lit up her face. She knew this quote very well, and she also knew how important it was for sensei. She glanced at the memorial stone just a few meters away and looked down, her smile no longer quite happy.
Naruto whimpered. Sumiko turned to him in surprise, only to see his watery eyes, fresh tears leaking out. "He's… he's… kind of cool." She gave a small chuckle. Didn't I tell you, Naruto, she thought.
"That's it for the exercise… Everyone passes! Group seven starts their mission tomorrow!" Kakashi said, giving them a thumbs-up. She kind of wanted to cry too.
Three shuriken slammed against the log of wood they were tied to, and ropes fell away in pieces. Naruto jumped up. "Yes! I'm a ninja! Ninja! Ninja!" Sumiko smiled at Naruto's cheers, ruffling his hair and smiling at her brother.
As they headed home, she couldn't help but think that, for once, it had been a day good.
A/N: Hi, I hope you liked the chapter. The last one wasn't very good and I understand why I did not get much response on it. Just hope you guys haven't left! I don't mind constructive criticism as I am still improving. So don't be afraid to tell me!
Thank you! xx.