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Chapter Twenty-Seven

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Itō Asahi.

The name carved into the titular plaque on the Memorial Stone.

A faceless ninja, the Hokage told me. A man instrumental to a weak, young Konoha. Sometimes heroes were forgotten.

Itō Asahi was a name I would never forget.

And that was good, since the second graduation exam I took was much easier than the first. This time, I had the luxury of deciding what grade I wanted to receive. I had to pass. The test wasn't even difficult enough to fail. After all, my noisy friend Naruto had muttered enough correct answers to himself to probably pass.

Ugh, it was going to be so nice to get out of school and to not accidentally cheat most of the time. No more teachers trying to use low-level genjutsu that never worked on my hearing. No more listening to hundreds of children studying and taking tests.

Itō Asahi, I reminded myself as I finished the final leg of the exam and sat down to wait for Shika and Chōji to show up. That was the one comforting thing about today. I'd been forbidden to fail the exam, and I was guaranteed to break up one of the fated teams, but at least I could sit next to my friends.

Naturally, the teachers announced that our teams wouldn't be announced until tomorrow morning. Boo. Not surprising, though, since Naruto wouldn't pass until he defeated Mizuki.

I went home. Kato didn't come home until it was dark out. Daddy took even longer to show up. Whatever. I made a simple meal and spent the rest of the day copying out seals. None of us spoke much that night. Daddy and I were occupied with upcoming genin teams, and Kato was probably wondering what he'd do with his family gone so often.

I was pretty surprised when Kato decided to walk to the Academy with me the next morning. It was an off-day for him. "Are you going to work on target practice?" I asked when he followed me into the building.

"No. I actually stayed after school yesterday and took the graduation exam."

"You what?"

He shifted and scratched his neck like every male in this village did under pressure. "Sensei suggested it . . . I thought if you were going to be on a team, I wanted to, too. . . ."

I blinked, the pressure of I-singlehandedly-destroyed-the-future overflowing in a moment.

"Um, Kana, there's no need to laugh so hard. Kana?"

Oh, but imagine Kato replacing Sasuke, or Ino, or—what if both of us bumped two people off of a team? I scanned the area for Naruto, suddenly terrified that he'd been overlooked. What did one boy matter, really?

"Kana, you have problems. Let's go in and wait."

We did, and Kato insisted on sitting next to me. He didn't know anyone, he said. Lie. He wanted me to calm down. Sweet brother.

We pulled our forehead protectors out of our weapons pouches (secrecy is in our blood, I guess) and tied them on as the rest of the graduates filed in. Kato put his around his forehead. I slipped mine over a bicep. To tell the truth, I wasn't too excited to put a shiny plaque of metal on my person. Maybe I'd file it into a bracelet later or sew it onto a wrist guard or something. Food for thought.

The other graduates kept crowing over the distinctive metal plate that was our village's identification, but in all honesty, there isn't much use for the thing. A good henge can make a believable hitai-ate. Mine probably wouldn't take long to disappear from my outfit. Solid metal doesn't exactly henge easily.

Naruto arrived, and after the customary shenanigans, Iruka took pity on my sanity and braved the storm that was the roomful of excited children. Naruto, naturally, began hounding Iruka, but for once, Iruka held his ground without taking the bait. Order was restored, and Iruka wasn't stupid enough to waste the chance. He told us that we'd be divided into three-man teams (shoot, I'd been hoping that I'd get an apprenticeship) and some sentimental mush about growing up and the hard life ahead.

There were plenty of graduates in the room. Who was to say I wouldn't end up on a team with two people I didn't know? Canon didn't really matter anymore. This was the real world, and any influence I could have—like supplying Naruto with gag tags instead of real paint—might well be good, not bad. I couldn't predict the future.

Still, my rational thoughts didn't keep my heart from attempting to part ways with the rest of me. Especially as teams one, four, and five were assigned without me or any of the people I knew. Come on, the pickings were getting slim!

"Team Seven," Iruka started. "Uzumaki Naruto."

Insert pause for breathing.

"Haruno Sakura."

Naruto erupted, and Sakura did, too. I wondered just what kind of mental problem I had if I suddenly felt like fainting. It's not the most fanciful feeling. Nausea that quickly gains the force of a migraine isn't what people think of when they envision "the easy way out." Ugh, this brought back memories.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka finished.

Kato nudged my leg with one of his. "Kana. . . ."

"I'm fine," I whispered. "I'm just a bit nervous."

"Yeah, for the last month," he muttered, and sat up straighter.

Iruka announced Team Eight, no Team Nine because nine was also the word for death (or because several team names were still taken), Team Ten, Team Eleven . . . all of my nerves had been for nothing. My canon friends were all in their proper teams.

I was basking in this incredulous pleasure when Iruka finally called my name. "Team Twelve," he said, "will be Hatake Wakana, Hatake Wakato, and Kurama Yakumo. Your sensei is Uchiha Shisui."

Oh, okay.

Beside me, Kato sucked in a happy little breath and turned to look for our new teammate. I suppose he or she did deserve some attention—the Kurama clan was responsible for a few of the genjutsu covered in the recognizable B-rank techniques unit study we'd gone through recently. It was strange that I hadn't heard of the clan as Suzume, since Isami's family knew a little too much about the ninja population. Perhaps Yakumo wasn't related.

However, I can't pretend that my thoughts were focused on our new teammate.

"An Uchiha!" Kato commented as the students dispersed.

"Yes, please stop giving me sideways glances. I'm done with my quota for the day."

Sasuke had been about as shocked as I'd been. Well, bully for him. If he liked Shisui, he was going to learn how to share. Plus, if I got saddled with an Uchiha, it was only fair that someone else be blessed with Kakashi. Heh, heh. Who'd get the worse end of the bargain for this one?

"Have you ever met him?" Kato asked. Funny.

No, I hadn't met him after the trip to Mist. It had been a bit hurtful. Shisui knew I'd been friends with Itachi, so how come he'd ignored me? He didn't want one more person to call Itachi a traitor?

"Yeah, I've met him before," I admitted. "It was a while ago, though. As myself, since you're curious."

My brother gave me one of those deep, searching glances he'd inherited from our father. Stupid Hatake men. Children weren't supposed to have those expressions. Then again, I should be grateful I wouldn't have to meet my father as a child. Kato was unnervingly perceptive. Daddy, on the other hand . . . well, it's a good thing time is linear.

"It had nothing to do with that," I said. "You were busy training and I slipped out one night. He found me and I asked him if he knew where Daddy was, since they know each other." Ah, nothing like lying to one's friends to keep an ANBU's identity safe.

I hadn't met Shisui the night the Uchiha clan had found me out, but he had come to Mist because of my chakra problems. The other words had happened more or less accurately, just in a different context. "He's famous," I continued, but Kato accepted my explanation and moved on to his favorite topic.

"Daddy has another team again. Do you think he'll fail them, too?"

"He doesn't fail teams," I said. "Or—"

A split second later, I was dropped onto a generous patch of moss.

. . . Oh, how I'd missed a certain someone's impossible speed.

Not to mention the penchant for dropping me.

Hang on, wait. I was talking in a classroom. And then Shisui (typical) showed up and left me here before I could react. Shisui my new sensei. Leave your face in the moss, Kana, you are dead.

I did stay on the ground. Maybe I shouldn't have, since Kato was thrown on top of me the next second. Eh.

We were close to the Hokage Monument, and this put us further away from the Academy than I'd originally assumed. The Shisui of four years ago had improved his range. Good for him. I'd still managed to locate Kato before our child-napping sensei stole my brother. Ha!

No, wait, I knew where this was going.

Oof.

Kato rolled away and came up with his tantō drawn. "Where's—" Then he saw me, read the exasperation on my face, and sheathed the weapon.

I crossed my arms. "That doesn't mean he's not a threat."

"Yeah, but—"

Our sibling moment shattered as Shisui chuckled. I hissed. "Teams meet tomorrow. That's protocol. Tomorrow morning."

Kato frowned at my rudeness. Shisui just chuckled again. The fourth person in our little patch of forest, however, took objection.

Obviously I'd sensed her when I'd been deposited, but I hadn't looked up. Once I'd recognized Shisui, the next conclusion wasn't hard to reach. Especially as she opened her mouth. "Don't be rude to Shisui-sensei! Be grateful you're here."

Ah yes, nothing like gratefulness, I reflected sardonically.

Kurama Yakumo met my gaze haughtily. I guess it wasn't too surprising—she looked around fifteen and I was only ten—and we didn't share the same sense of style. While my hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail (to contrast with most of my henges), hers was down in the front. One side was loose, and the other side was tied in a loose braid. Her shirt was just as mismatched with one short and one long sleeve. It was almost a relief to see that at least her pants were the same length.

If clothes ever gave first impressions, hers certainly did. Mismatched sides, four layers of a kimono-style shirt, purple, red, pink, orange. She was certainly a picture. Not a bad one, just different.

Hazel eyes practically glared back at me, so I let her win the staring match and let my gaze wander back over to Shisui. Would it be rude to ask if he'd ever left a genjutsu in my head? Or a suggestion. If we were about to have the usual team combat test, that might be handy to know about.

"Don't worry, Yakumo-chan," Shisui began cheerily, "Kana-chan appreciates being here just as much as you do."

Um, ouch?

"Well," our new sensei continued, "let's gather around and introduce ourselves, shall we? After the trouble I went to to gather you all, I'd hate to lose any time."

I had a brief, chilling thought about the sincerity in his voice.

Shisui smiled. "Yakumo-chan, why don't you start?"

She looked at him, blinked oddly (oh, no), and sighed. "I'm Yakumo of the Kurama Clan. I'm the only child of the clan head. Shisui-sensei has been my private teacher for a while. I like painting and when people tell the truth. I don't like bullies. I hope we will be friends."

I hope these two kids will disappear out of my life, her face said, but who was counting?

"Do you have a dream for the future?" Shisui asked.

The brown-haired girl met everyone's eyes with determination. "I'm going to be the best genjutsu mistress the world has ever seen!"

"Perfect," Shisui said. "Kato-chan? You can go next."

Kato wisely decided not to correct the honorific. "I'm Hatake Wakato, but I go by Kato. I like ninjutsu. I want to keep my precious people safe."

It was a few seconds before I noticed that everyone's attention was on me and I hadn't yet planned what to say. I'd already been through one team introduction, after all. What good was being honest if I were destined to fail?

"I'm Kana or Wakana," I said. "I like genjutsu, and I like things that have to do with chakra. I, ah, really like learning how to henge better. I want to protect people, but I don't want to be famous at all. I hate fighting. I like understanding things."

Shisui nodded, which I gathered meant he'd probably seen into my soul. Eh. There was a lot of clutter in there. Besides, certain things weren't hard to figure out.

It's not a question of how much they see but what you show. Show, don't tell. If you don't wear your heart on your sleeve, you'll never know if you have one.

Clutter was a remarkably accurate description for my usual thought process.

"My name is Uchiha Shisui," my new sensei introduced himself. "You two have heard about me before, and I look forward to training you as a team. But first things first, you'll need to pass my test to actually become a team."

Three young people leaned forward in anticipation.

The messy-headed Uchiha grinned. "To pass the test . . . beat me in a game of rock, paper, scissors."

We won.

I also won the next twelve rounds when I challenged him to a rematch, because of course he wouldn't let us lose. Sore winner.

After all the nervous energy I'd had during Ibiki's test, Shisui's was kind of a letdown. So much for convincing myself that I wasn't good enough to be a genin! With Shisui's format, there wasn't even a way to lose. No convincing him we had the heart for it, no teamwork, no showcase of abilities. No initial reminder of our own weaknesses.

Ibiki hadn't been my dream sensei. Harsh, heavy-handed, blunt. Something told me that Shisui, for all his outward cheer, wasn't all that different. He'd really gotten into predicting that Chūnin Exam. He'd watched Kato's and my training sessions for a good month. The Body Flicker that had been impossible to dodge was now on a new level entirely.

"Now that that's settled," Shisui said once I got tired of losing at winning, "we can be the first ones for the photo session tomorrow morning. Meet me at Hokage Tower bright and early. Get some rest!"

We all blinked at the empty space he'd occupied the moment before.

I turned to Yakumo. "Do you know what time he meant?"

The brown-haired girl looked back. "Um, no. If he thinks you need to know, Shisui-sensei will tell you."

Oh, great.

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"Hey, Isami! I'm just dropping off Wednesday's order. Are you in the back room, or is someone just manning the desk with a clever genjutsu?"

"Ha," she called from the back room, where she was juggling several boxes of weaponry. "Mom stepped out to get a delivery through some red tape. I'm restocking before she gets back. It's been slow today."

"Do you need help?"

"No, you're busy. Go train and recover from your chakra thing."

I smiled fondly. So much for researching chakra conditions to give her the correct scientific name earlier. "I should have Tuesday's order done by tomorrow night. See you then!"

"Bye."

I headed back towards home, pausing for a minute to let my eyes adjust to the bright sunlight. I'd almost thought I'd seen Shisui in the glare. Oh.

The apparition winked. "Seven-fifteen."

I did an about-face and walked back to the shop. "Say, Isami, on second thought, there was something I forgot to mention. . . ."

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~Eh, the last chapter was so long that something had to make up for it, right? This chapter and the last one could have been split more evenly, but I didn't want to throw all of the new events into this chapter. Ah, well.

So, frustrating moment. I lost the last thousand-plus words of this chapter and its original bonus content. The new bonus content will still be some comments on a few aspects of the plot/teams, but let's face it, after the wordcount took a hit, I kind of lost some momentum.

Thanks for reviewing, anonymous readers! Here are your chronological replies: DSP (Oh, prodigies think they can't lose, you know? Not always consciously, but it's a dangerous mindset. This basically answers all of your questions), Anonymoose (Great thinking! That's not the big reason they failed, but you have some good analytical skills. Very true. If it helps, Ibiki kind of decided things in advance. But hey, I hope you like the new team), Guest (Ha, like I'm going to admit anything), Guest (Very true! It's the Hokage's job to find good teachers and match students with them. I bet he doesn't tolerate people failing their teams very often. Or at least not teams with good kids that shouldn't have failed. Teachers that deliberately fail their teams . . . I suspect they will be taken off the team roster and not put back on. Oh, Ibiki had his reasons. Just not nice ones).

This was kind of the "it" chapter. I managed to get two canon characters into the team, and I didn't steal people from the main teams! WOO! Now, I guess it's time to sit back and see what happens next. It's not crazy dramatic at present, but hey, if you know anything about Shisui or Yakumo, well. I don't think this team is going to be the "typical" genin team. But hey.

Any thoughts? I feel like recently it's been plot twist after plot twist. At least it's not boring, right? :D