Grey
Chapter 5
Graduation was a simple affair, to me at least. We only had to perform a simple jutsu to graduate. In my case, it was Bunshin no Jutsu, and naturally, I was wearing the Leaf forehead protector in no time.
After graduation, we were swarmed by parents, tutors, friends and other villagers curious to find out who had graduated and who had not. Hence, the usually spacious schoolyard seemed rather crowded today, and I sat on the rickety swing under the tree, bored.
As I watched my fellow graduates congratulate one another in the afternoon sun, I wondered sadly what it would have been like to have graduated from the Hidden Cloud Ninja Academy. Would it have been as easy as this? My heart ached as I thought about 'tousan and 'kaasan, and Pochi.
I started as I felt a hand rest reassuringly on my shoulder. I looked up, and saw Hayato-niichan behind me. He asked, concerned, "Ne, Kakashi, what's wrong? You've graduated, and you're a Genin now. You should be happy, shouldn't you? What's bothering you?"
I cursed myself inwardly, and quickly cooked up a feasible story to explain my forlorn expression, which was evident, even through my dark blue mask.
Looking up pensively at Hayato-niichan, I told him sadly, "I really wish that Otousan and Okaasan were here to see me graduate..."
I let tears roll down my cheeks, in a bid to obtain Hayato-niichan's pity. He drew me into a hug, and patted my back soothingly, as I sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder.
*****
Happily enough, Hayato-niichan, became our sensei. I was grouped together with Asuma and Tsukika in Team 4, which was great, since I worried about how I would cope with my new teammates. You see, even though I'd spent quite some time in Konoha, I only stuck to Hayato-niichan, Asuma and Tsukika and mostly kept to myself.
Of course, teamwork was no problem at all, since I enjoyed being with the people I was familiar with. Tsukika's zealousness also kept our team spirit alive even through the darkest of times.
C and D rank missions and training took up much of the time I spent as a Genin, and I realised that the missions we undertook opened several windows that revealed much about my teammates to me. Sure, I already knew them even before we were assigned to the same team, but I realised that a person's true colours would only come through under adverse circumstances.
Tsukika, who was usually girlish to the extent of making my skin crawl, displayed outstanding levels of determination that surpassed many others our age. And even though she knew that she wasn't a very talented ninja, she tried her very best in everything she did, while keeping the team's spirit up. She was especially protective of both Asuma and I when we were injured, and was always the one to resolve all the squabbles within the team.
Asuma was very laidback, and was perpetually chewing on something, be it a stick from a lollipop, a blade of grass, or a twig from a tree. This strange habit of his got on my nerves frequently, and I always had to keep reminding him of the dangers of not looking where he was going. He was especially boisterous before we set off on our missions, and would always be there to give us encouragement, especially in times when we needed it most.
Hayato-sensei was as protective of us as a hen was for her chicks. He would always be there to ward off attacks from the enemy, though he would always gave us some room so that we could learn from our experiences in every mission.
Needless to say, having spent so much time together, it was difficult to detach myself from my teammates. It took even more effort to tear myself away from Hayato-sensei to run away into the depths of the woods to practise and revise the jutsu I'd learnt back home in Hidden Cloud Country.
Hayato-sensei encouraged self-training, since he believed that this would help us develop our skills more effectively, and would also force us to discipline ourselves, and develop at our own pace in order to move forward with our teammates.
And of course, Gai was always there to pepper our lives with his ridiculous antics. The boy really thought he was cool, but he was so blinded by oblivion that he failed to realise how foolish he looked while trying to impress 'Tsukika-chaaaaaaan'. He would vacillate between being overly dramatic and 'brooding' --almost as if he wanted to intrigue her by the intensity of his thinking.
But behind all that, I knew that he was jealous, extremely jealous of me. Not only was I in Tsukika's team, I was also a better ninja than he was. Both of us knew this all too well and there was an ongoing 'rivalry' between the two of us.
Once, Gai swallowed his pride and asked me rather grudgingly, "Ne, Kakashi... What is it that you do that makes you excel? I hardly ever see you train..."
Of course, I couldn't tell him all about those endless, demanding days training back in Hidden Cloud Village. So I said, "Hi. Mi. Tsu," and stuck my tongue out at him through my mask.
It wasn't my intention to spite him, but I knew that I could never tell anyone my darkest secret. Childish pettiness was the only way out.
*****
I found my new confidant by chance on the streets of Konoha. I appreciated him for the fact that he could not speak and reveal my secrets. Moreover, he also was a reminder of the days I'd spent back in Hidden Cloud Village.
"Ne, should I go for the chuunin exam, Blue-chan?" Blue licked my cheek, and nuzzled my neck gently, its nose leaving a wet trail of saliva on my skin. I stroked the puppy's fur, and held him close to my chest. I wanted to go for the Chuunin exam, which Hayato-sensei had recommended our team for, but I felt that I was still too young to be a Chuunin.
After all, a Chuunin was supposed to be the leader of his team. Yeah, sure, right now I was the leader of our team. Somehow, it just didn't seem right: a six year old boy a barely up to his sensei's waist taking the Chuunin exam.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and assessed my teammates' abilities. From what I knew, both Asuma and Tsukika did not really possess the abilities demanded of a Chuunin. Moreover, I suspected that our nomination stemmed from my ability, since Hayato-sensei probably did not want my talent to go to waste.
I felt rather uneasy about taking the Chuunin exam not just because I was worried about Asuma and Tsukika; I was worried for myself too.
From what I had heard, the Chuunin exam required one to have ability, as well as leadership skills. Hence, most of those nominated by their teachers to take the Chuunin exam would have the advantage of experience, age, and strength.
Fingering the examination slip while absently stroking Blue's smoke-coloured fur, I leaned back against the whitewashed wall of my room and sighed. I knew I risked much by participating in the examination. What if I was caught in a difficult situation during the exam? Should I use my abilities to the utmost? Or would I withhold my strength and get beaten up so that my true purpose of coming to Konoha would remain masked?
I sighed. I simply did not know.
I scratched the area behind Blue's ears, and he squirmed happily in my lap. Hugging Blue close to me, I rubbed his back, and let him run outside.
Hayato-sensei stepped into my room, and held out his hand. Yes, it was time for our routine evening walk again.
A/n: Once again, I'd like to thank all reviewers for reviewing this fic. Honestly, I am rather disappointed by the response since I think this is one of my best fics I've written, and well, some of my other fics are total crap and they have more reviews. Ah well. Life is unfair _ Bah. I must be content with what I have.
Raspberry Jam I recently found out about the 'Janken pon' (spelling?) thing and the Kakashi vs Gai rivalry. XP I'm sorry I couldn't incorporate that into the fic because I found that out too late XP Ah well. Oh, and no, the paring isn't KakaIru. ^^;; Sorry to disappoint, but you'll see soon.