A.N. Yay! Friday!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, any of its characters, or the Itachi books.
Now:
'Fifteen minutes left.'
Tsukiko silently stood, placing her clipboard on the now-empty chair. Catching Ibiki's eye, she gave him a respectful nod as she passed, signaling that all was well. She ignored the curious gazes that followed her as she smoothly made her way to the door.
Their plan entailed her leaving just before the tenth question was announced, as her team would likely look to her for some kind of verification of Ibiki's claim. He was going to tell them that if they got the tenth question wrong, they would be immediately expelled from the ranks of the shinobi. No doubt the young Leaf genin (not just her own team) would try to read her face. Overall, it was better that she left before that moment, if to preserve the integrity of the test, if nothing else. As an added bonus, she would be able to watch those who left, with orders to intimidate and frighten genin of rival villages, particularly the Sand.
Opening the door, she was greeted by the young Sand genin who had left to use the restroom. Stepping aside, she grinned at the "proctor" following the boy. One more had entered their ranks before the test began, and the large bundle she had previously noticed on the boy's back had mysteriously disappeared.
"Good luck," she said with a wink, closing the door in the startled boy's face.
The large room was quiet now, empty of anyone but herself. Someone had helpfully cleaned up after the young shinobi, mopping up the mess that the...rowdier bunch had caused.
'Intimidation without causing damage…' she mused, mulling over Ibiki's order. Obviously she'd have to use her Gensogan, but the damage thing was an issue. The room was plenty big enough for her to let loose a little…
'I can't use Earth in here, or Water, and Wind isn't flashy enough. Fire could work...or…' She grinned, suddenly excited to fit some extra training in. Even after three years, she'd yet to master her newest technique, but she was making steady progress.
Standing in the middle of the room, so as to limit the damage, she cracked her neck and closed her eyes, grasping for the elusive power.
"Haaah…" Tsukiko exhaled slowly, her left hand grasping her right wrist, palm up. It was something she'd learned from Kakashi, a trick to funnel chakra quickly into her hand. And for what she had in mind, she would need as much chakra as quickly as possible, to create friction between the energy and supercharge the air.
Her opening eyes slowly bled white as she focused, biting her lip in concentration. Tsukiko's hand prickled, and her hair began to drift upwards as electricity crackled in her palm. Lightning burst from her hand in a controlled flash, arching up and across the room in a bright explosion of light.
Short puffs of air escaped her lips as she struggled to hold on to the lightning. Like Fire, Lightning came from within her, and was created by clashing different chakras to create a current. And that current had to be directed, controlled, or it would quickly dissipate. But it was incredibly difficult, because she had to control multiple elements at once. Her open palm pulled Wind in, while the hand on her wrist created Fire to heat the air into electricity. And even after all that, she had to control the current like Water. It took every ounce of concentration she had.
Behind her, a muted exclamation of alarm signaled the arrival of failed genin.
Grinning, Tsukiko allowed the lightning to twist around her like a snake, sparking and fluctuating wildly, but not hurting her. After a moment of showing off, she cut the flow of electricity and turned to the large group of stunned faces that greeted her.
"Hello," she said cheerily, waving. "Don't mind me, I'm just getting ready for the next task."
Instant relief that they were disqualified swept through the genin as they left, sticking close to the wall to stay as far away from her as possible.
The young woman laughed lightly and switched to Fire, going through her practiced movements. No other genin came out, so she assumed that the rest had passed and that Ibiki was explaining the twist in his game.
A split second later, there came the faint sound of glass shattering, loud enough to be heard through the thick wood of the door.
Instantly, Tsukiko swung the door open, deadly fire curling around her arms in preparation for an attack. Once inside, however, she saw that her fears were unnecessary, though not entirely unfounded.
"Heads up, boys and girls, this is no time to be celebrating! I'll be your next proctor, Anko Mitarashi."
Anko, a pretty woman in her twenties with long brown/grey hair spiked up in a ponytail, had evidently burst through the window in her haste, even hanging a banner to announce the second exam. She wore mesh leotard that ended a few inches above her knees, and an orange mini-skirt with a long beige coat. Specially trained in being as off-putting and insane as possible, Anko was a little hard to get used to.
Without waiting for anyone to say anything, she continued speaking. "Everyone ready for the second test? Good!" Raising her fist, she shouted, "Follow me!"
Dead silence greeted her order, and Tsukiko sighed as Ibiki emerged from behind the ridiculous banner. "You're early, again," he growled.
To her credit, Anko had the self-awareness to feel embarrassed, her cheeks turning red while she laughed awkwardly.
"Sorry, sorry," she grinned rubbing her head. "I just got excited." Seeing Tsukiko, she gave her a thumbs up. "Hey! I saw the failures running out of the building looking pretty freaked out! Whatever you did musta' scared the crap outta them!"
Tsukiko coughed, her own cheeks darkening.
"Anyway," Anko turned her attention to the genin, frowning. "How many are there?" She clicked her tongue. "Ibiki, you let all these guys pass? Your test was too easy." She glared at the older male, her light brown eyes narrowing. "You must be getting soft."
"Or it could be a stronger crop of candidates this year," he countered.
The woman's critical eye studied the group. "Hmm. They sure don't look it." She grinned. "Trust me, by the time I'm done with them, more than half will be eliminated."
'But hopefully not dead,' Tsukiko added mentally.
Anko chuckled. "This is going to be fun." Straightening, she raised her voice. "Alright, you maggots have had it easy so far, but things are going to be different starting now! So follow me to your next location."
Obligingly, the genin slowly stood up, still caught off-guard by Anko's...odd personality.
As if to prove this, the older jounin suddenly stopped short and held up a hand. "Oh, yeah!" With a wide grin, she darted over and grabbed Tsukiko's hand. "I forgot to introduce our Special Proctor! You might have noticed her, kids, sitting in on this portion of the exam. Well get used to her because she's the proctor that connects us all!"
'WHAT IS SHE DOING?!' Tsukiko mentally screamed, fixing Anko with her coldest glare. Her involvement was not to be highlighted like this!
Given no choice, the younger jounin sighed and introduced herself. "Hello, I'm Tsukiko Amaya, the Special Proctor of this exam. I in no way take part in the evaluation of your skills, but am merely a spectator to make sure everything runs smoothly." She bowed. "I will see you all at the next exam."
With that, Tsukiko jumped out the broken window, mindful of the glass, and ran off to punch something. Uncharacteristic anger swirled in her mind as she headed to the next site.
Anko laughed loudly. "Oops, I made her mad! Ah, well!" She paused. "Oh! I didn't get to tell her that the plan changed!"
Then:
"I-l...can't...do it." Tsukiko's stunned whisper, filled with despair, frightened both Itachi and Fugaku with its intensity. The young girl fell to her knees, horror etched into her face.
They were out on the training grounds, the morning sun shining brightly. The sky was clear and beautiful, birds calling out to one another from their nests in the trees. The trees themselves seemed greener than usual, competing with the vivid colors of the flowers blooming, which in turn filled the air with a light perfume. It was a magical day.
And one of the worst days of Tsukiko's life.
It hadn't started that way, not at all. Fugaku was off for once, and Itachi had wasted no time in demanding that he teach them Ninjutsu. The academy didn't teach Ninjutsu until their second year, something Itachi and Tsukiko both found unacceptable.
Fugaku, brightening at the chance to spend some time with his eldest son, had agreed good-naturedly. As soon as breakfast was over, the trio had set out for the training grounds. Rather than the wooded area where Itachi and Tsukiko usually practiced, Fugaku led them to a tree-covered clearing with a large pond. Why he did, he didn't explain, and Tsukiko was too excited to ask why.
Electricity flowed down her spine, a strange mix of excitement and nerves. On one hand, Lord Fugaku, arguably the strongest Uchiha, was going to be teaching them Ninjutsu! On the other hand, she would have to do her very best to impress him. Maybe if she did, he'd recognize her as an Uchiha!
"The first jutsu you must learn," the older man began, turning to the two attentive children. "Is substitution. This jutsu is used for escape and works by teleporting your body a safe distance away and replacing it with something inanimate that has taken your form. A log with a substitution tag is standard, as it is light and easy to manipulate. These are the hand signs." He quickly demonstrated, going through the motions once quickly to show the ideal speed, then a second time slowly, actually showing them the specific movements. "This one has fewer hand signs because it is not especially difficult, so long as you clearly picture where it is you mean to teleport to. It cannot be very far away, so you must be clever. Understand?"
Tsukiko nodded, determination to impress the head of the clan burning in her mind. Beside her, Itachi also nodded, happy that his father was teaching them. He had been asking the man to show them jutsu for weeks, and it seemed like work was always getting in the way. But not today.
"Alright," Fugaku said approvingly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two small sandbags. "If you are ready, I'll throw these at you. The goal is to use substitution to dodge them."
Taking a deep breath, Tsukiko felt for her chakra, her eyes darting around for a suitable teleportation site. Today, she was dressed in a dark blue kunoichi outfit, which had been her present for her seventh birthday. It was a deep shadowy blue tunic that stopped just above her knees with matching training pants. White designs curled around the edges, and best of all, the white and red Uchiha symbol was on the back, marking her as a member of the clan. It was her favorite outfit, and she had worn it on purpose to show Fugaku that she would be proud to be an Uchiha.
Itachi was wearing his usual attire of black training pants and a high-collared shirt. He too was on edge, eyes darting around as he waited for his father to move.
The stern man seemed completely at ease, giving no sign of his reluctance to throw something at his children. He knew that it would do nothing more than give them a nasty bruise, but he didn't want to hurt them. Still training was training, and his was excellent. His body was completely relax, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Suddenly, his wrists flicked, his only movement. His facial expression never changed, giving no hint to what he had just done. The sandbags flew with deadly accuracy, ensuring a painful punch if they connected.
They had a split second to react.
Tsukiko moved quickly, her hands a blur as her chakra activated. One moment she was watching the smiling face of Itachi's father, and the next, she was in the branches of a tree she had picked out.
It was not comfortable. She had ended up in the middle of the branches, as intended, but they were closely packed and jabbed at her from all angles. She was well-trained, however, and showed no sign of her discomfort, or any other movements that would give away her location. All of her attention was directed toward the scene below, where she was fascinated to see herself about to be hit.
The sandbag hit her substitute in the jaw, and Tsukiko winced at the noise of the bag hitting flesh. 'Glad that's not me.'
Poof!
With a puff of smoke, her body vanished, a log in its place.
Itachi's substitute also returned to log form, the young boy nowhere to be seen.
Scanning carefully, Tsukiko spotted him crouched deep within the branches of another tree, his eyes flicking around to find her. Proud that she had spotted him first, she grinned cockily at him.
Perhaps feeling her gaze, his eyes found hers, and the corners of his mouth turned up at her wide grin. They had both succeeded on their first try.
"Very good," Fugaku called, his keen eyes easily picking them out. "I thought you two would master that one fairly quickly." He smiled proudly as the two young ninjas-in-training landed lightly in front of him. "Keep practicing substitution in your daily training, and you should be able to get used to the feeling quickly enough that you don't need hand signs to do it. This is one of the only jutsus that, once mastered, requires no motion on your part other than picking a spot to emerge from. Usually, you would either use it to run from an opponent, or use it to confuse them long enough to counterattack."
Tsukiko nodded excitedly, her adrenaline pumping. In another time, what she was doing would've been called magic. It filled her with a feeling of confidence, like she could actually meet her goal of being stronger than anyone else. She brushed some dirt off her arm as Fugaku continued.
"The next jutsu I'd like you to learn is the clone jutsu. This one is a little more advanced, so pay close attention." Fugaku made no hand signs, and instead simply held two fingers in front of his face. "All I'm doing is letting my chakra fill me up, and imagining a double of myself appearing next to me. This takes very little chakra, just enough that you feel it buzzing in every part of you. You must be careful to imagine yourself fully, or otherwise your clone will have no ears or something of the like."
Tsukiko nodded, inhaling deeply. On her exhale, she imagined a thin wave of chakra flowing through her, and was happy to feel buzzing in her fingers, toes, and yes, even in her ears. She held two fingers up, and imagined the chakra leaving her to form an identical clone.
Poof! Poof!
Two puffs of smoke later, and Fugaku was seeing double. He nodded, and stepped closer to the clones, examining them carefully. "Perfect," he pronounced, doing a quick walk-around. "Again, you should be able to make two or three of them by graduation, so keep practicing."
Tsukiko stared at her clone, fascinated. It turned to look at her and waved. She smiled, and reached out to touch its hand. To her surprise, her fingers went through it, the clone's skin vanishing for a moment.
Immediately, she frowned. What good were these clones if they couldn't fight? The girl turned to Itachi's father, who was watching them silently as they both explored their doppelgängers.
"Lord Fugaku?" Tsukiko asked, slightly nervous.
"Yes, Tsukiko?"
"Is there any way to attack with clones?" She waved a hand through her clone, dissipating the image. "These aren't solid, so they can't actually be involved in combat. They're good for a distraction, or escape, but that's about it. Is there a way to make them more effective?"
Fugaku frowned, staring hard at Tsukiko for a long moment. She felt her nervousness increase, and forced herself to not shift from foot to foot.
'Did I say something wrong?'
"I also want to know, Father," Itachi spoke up, frowning at his clone. "These clones aren't very useful."
Fugaku let out a long breath, slightly troubled. "Yes, but it is a forbidden jutsu."
"Why?"
"Because, Itachi, not only do the clones take substantially more chakra, but they can be dangerous. Any damage they take that's not fatal is felt by the original as soon as the jutsu is broken. But, they can attack and be useful for spying, as any knowledge they gather is also passed on to the original." As he spoke, his gaze flicked between the expressionless Itachi and intrigued Tsukiko, making sure they paid close attention.
"Will you teach us?" Itachi clearly thought any damage sustainability was well worth knowing the jutsu, forbidden or not.
The older man paused, his expression torn. "...Yes, but you must promise me you'll both be very careful." In truth, he didn't want to teach them such a dangerous jutsu, but he was curious to see what they could do.
"Yes, Father."
"Yes, sir."
"Very well. The only difference is that you must give your clone enough chakra that they can also perform jutsus. The easiest way to go about it is to simply split your chakra in half, but that is only if you plan to attack with your clone. You will not receive the excess chakra back. I usually give my clone about just enough for them to use a fireball attack, meaning I can make several. Whatever amount you give them, it must be quick and habitual. Also, this is a stronger jutsu, so you must call out, 'Shadow Clone Jutsu.'"
"Shadow Clone Jutsu," Tsukiko repeated, liking the sound of it. "Okay, here it goes!"
Immediately, she knew that her clones should have enough chakra to activate the Gensogan. It didn't take very much to do, and they could coordinate and mix elements for even more effect.
Closing her eyes, she repeated the cloning process, faster this time, giving up about an eighth of her total chakra. It was a scary loss, but worth it if the clone could attack.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" She called out, Itachi half a second behind her.
Immediately, she felt the loss of her chakra like a punch to the gut, and was glad she didn't give up more.
Once again, Fugaku was seeing double, but this time, the clones were moving.
"You did it!" Tsukiko's shadow clone said, clapping.
"Hm," Itachi's clone nodded approvingly.
"Well done!" Fugaku exclaimed, actually excited. "Of course you two would have no trouble at all!"
Tsukiko's face glowed red, and she took a moment to stare in fascination at the two clones, before releasing the jutsu and allowing hers to vanish.
Next was transformations, which was just like cloning, except you imagined the clone like a blanket over yourself, turning you into whomever you pictured. Easy. Itachi and Tsukiko both turned into the other, which was rather strange to say the least. Seeing little expression on her face and a huge grin on Itachi's face had unnerved Fugaku, who hurriedly suggested they move on.
"Alright, we have time for one last one before we need to return home," Fugaku said, looking at the sky. "This is an advanced one, so I need you two to pay very close attention."
Tsukiko and Itachi stood next to him on the small wooden dock, looking out over the lake.
Fugaku's hands moved through several different hand signs in less than a second. "Firestyle: Fireball Jutsu!" He took a deep breath, and a huge ball of fire shot from his mouth, the reflection making it look like the lake was on fire.
"Amazing!" Tsukiko exclaimed, excitedly. Fire was by far her favorite element, and already her hands itched to mimic Itachi's father.
"This is a special jutsu of the Uchiha clan, although anyone can learn it," Fugaku said, smiling at the awe in his children's eyes. "These are the hand signs." He slowly moved through them, trusting the children to memorize them on the first try. "For safety's sake, we'll do this one at a time. You should feel chakra rise in your throat, and all you have to do is blow. Stay focused, for if you waver, you can easily burn your hands and mouth. Itachi, you first."
Itachi nodded, determination blazing in his eyes. He moved through the hand signs nearly as fast as his father, taking a deep breath.
A ball of flame identical to Fugaku's shot from Itachi's mouth, and the older man applauded, grinning widely. "That's my boy! Excellent!"
Tsukiko trembled with excitement, ready to take her turn.
"Okay, Tsukiko, whenever you're ready."
She nodded, her hands moving just as fast as Itachi's had. She felt the chakra rise in her throat, and took a deep breath. Quickly, she exhaled, trying to force the chakra out of her body.
Nothing happened.
"W-What?" She had done everything right! Why didn't it work?
Immediately, she tried again, slowing her hand signs. No, they were perfect. Once again, the chakra rose in her throat, and she took a deep breath.
Nothing.
Frantically, she did it again.
"Tsukiko—" Lord Fugaku's voice was gentle.
Nothing.
She ignored the older man, panic beginning to set in. One last time...
...Nothing.
Anxiety and panic rose with the chakra in her throat, and all she could see was the jeering faces of her classmates, laughing at her inability.
'I can't do it. I can't do it. I can't—'
Tsukiko fell to her knees, all her fears crashing down on her. She would never be strong, never be good enough to be an Uchiha, never be able to protect anyone. Itachi would see her as a bother, Fugaku would be disappointed, and all those sneering classmates and villagers would be right.
She shook with anger at herself, unshed tears of frustration threatening to overflow and disgrace her further.
"I-l...can't...do it."
Fear flashed on Itachi's face and he hurriedly knelt by her, not understanding what was wrong with her. "It's okay, Tsukiko. It's just one jutsu."
She didn't seem to hear him, and stared out at the water.
The older Uchiha frowned, confused as to why she hadn't been able to perform the jutsu. She had done the hand signs correctly, and should have produced at least a spark. And with her affinity for fire, it should've—
Cold realization hit Fugaku, and his face betrayed his guilt. "Tsukiko," he said gently, kneeling down beside his son to gently pat her hair. "It's not your fault...It's because of the Gensogan."
This got her attention. She lifted her head, and the older man felt his son flinch at the look of agony on her face. A look that someone as young as her should never be able to express.
"W-what do you mean?" She stammered, confusion evident.
"There's always a price for using a kekkei genkai, and yours is that you'll never be able to use elemental jutsu," Fugaku's soft rumble felt like he was handing down a curse, shattering her dreams. "You see, most ninja have the type of chakra that uses one or two elements, like fire. This allows them to use elemental-style Ninjutsu. You, on the other hand, have four of the five elements within you, meaning that your chakra is too split to perform normal jutsus. Instead your eye converts your chakra into the type needed to control one element at a time. I wasn't actually sure if that was the case, as the Gensogan hasn't been around for several generations, and it was only a theory," he admitted. "And in truth I was too caught up in the moment to remember that you even had the Gensogan. I'm sorry."
He stood, looking away from them, guilt still etched into his features. "But I'm sure you'll find a way to recreate the Fireball Jutsu using your powers. You're a strong girl, and I have no doubt you'll get past this setback."
Knowing that his presence would only make her feel worse, the older man nodded at the path. "I'll be waiting at home to hear the progress of your training."
Tsukiko nodded numbly, tears welling up. No matter how hard she tried, she'd never be able to learn advanced Ninjutsu. The best she could do was imitate it, likely paling in comparison. And Itachi would fly ahead of her, not thinking twice.
'I'll never be good enough.'
Itachi felt helpless, a feeling that weighed him down and weakened him. Seeing his best friend in so much pain, he was frozen, unable to act. He saw her tears fall, the droplets falling soundlessly to the ground.
Softly, she began to sob.
"Tsukiko!" He exclaimed, horrified. He hated seeing her cry like this, her small body shaking with grief. And he understood, to some extent. If he had been told that he would never be able to use his family's Firestyle jutsus, he would be crushed.
But she had the Gensogan, an incredible power that he'd never have. Who cares if she couldn't do some jutsus, especially if she could just recreate them?
"I'm sorry, Itachi," She said through her tears. "I'm not good enough to be your partner." Her head was down, unable to meet his gaze.
"What are you talking about?" Itachi demanded. "Of course you're good enough to be my partner!"
Tsukiko slowly shook her head, her bleak eyes meeting his. "I can't do the advanced Ninjutsu, and I'm sure the Gensogan will make poor imitations. Meanwhile, you'll learn everything with ease, and I'll be stuck behind. You'll leave me! Because I'm nothing more than a both—ouch!"
Her words, dripping with the cry of an abandoned child, filled him with a desperate emotion. His heart beat frantically, a silent plea for her to stop talking, to stop hurting herself and by extension, him. Fueled with an uncharacteristic panic, Itachi did the only thing he could think of: he jabbed her in the forehead.
Shocked by the sudden pain, Tsukiko glared at him miserably, one hand on the red spot he'd made. "What was that for?" She asked sullenly, her tears still watering the ground.
"You were being stupid," Itachi replied harshly, his voice rumbling with broiling emotion. He never once thought so much insecurity was rolling around in his friend, and it felt like a knife in the back to know how little she trusted him. "Why would I think of you as a nuisance simply because you can't use elemental Ninjutsu?" He asked angrily, his fists clenching. "You honestly think I only care about you because we train together?!"
Tsukiko's expression was stunned. "Well I-I just...I thought that you would be annoyed," she said softly. "I thought you would think I was holding you back from your dream."
Itachi sat back on his heels, his eyes filled with a gentle tenderness as all his anger left. He sighed, unable to comprehend how little Tsukiko thought of herself. "You're a part of that dream. We're a team, remember? I won't fight beside anyone but you." And he meant it. The thought of her not being by his side was painful, impossible. She was his partner, and he was hers.
His words seemed to snap the younger girl out of her misery. "Do you—do you really mean that?" She whispered, her lovely black eyes filled with hope.
Ignoring the pink that dusted his cheeks, and the strangely fast beating of his heart, Itachi leaned forward and gently poked her forehead again. "I promise I'll never leave you. We'll always be together."
Several yards away, Fugaku smiled from his place behind a tree. He had watched the scene carefully, curious to see how his son would react.
'Mikoto was right. Tsukiko does indeed bring out the best in Itachi.'
His smile became wistful. He knew that his not adopting Tsukiko was making the girl insecure, but it wasn't his decision. If it had been, she would've been named an Uchiha years ago. Indeed, he truly thought of her as a daughter, and wanted her to be accepted as a full member of the clan.
Itachi's face was red as he helped Tsukiko to her feet, her own face putting fire lilies to shame.
Fugaku sighed with relief. "It seems things are under control for now," he muttered to himself. He watched the two children talk quietly, their hands still entwined.
'Though everything would be much easier if she could somehow join the—'
Inspiration struck the older man like lightning, an idea falling perfectly into his brain. He glanced at the children one more time, glanced at their red faces and folded hands. 'Perhaps….'
Fugaku smiled again, half-convinced. His idea, which would have to wait several years, had a high probability of succeeding, if the two children remained as close as they were now. All he had to do was tell Mikoto, and ask her advice, for she knew more of these matters than he. He was sure she'd agree, however, for she adored the little girl.
'Perhaps everything will work out, after all.'
Now:
Tsukiko leaned against the linked metal of the fence, watching Anko intimidate the genin. She was explaining that the area inside the fence, where the next exam would be held, was called the Forest of Death.
Only half paying attention, as she was still annoyed with Anko for drawing attention to her, Tsukiko also kept an eye out for the giant snakes that populated the forest. Anything slithering would be taken out with extreme prejudice, just like a certain tree outside the village that had suddenly and mysteriously been hit with lightning a few minutes ago. Her anger was mostly gone, as the older woman had, at least, taken away the likely possibility that she would be noticed at every exam and speculated about. By explaining away her presence, she could probably do her job easier.
Probably.
Naruto's voice, raised in pitch to mock Anko, brought Tsukiko back to the situation just in time to see her graze the young genin's cheek with a thrown kunai.
"Anko!"
Tsukiko's disapproving shout didn't stop the jounin from reappearing behind Naruto, her voice too low to hear as she licked the blood on his cheek.
The younger woman wrinkled her nose in distaste, walking over to the pair to pull them apart before Anko put a snake in his shirt or something.
Anko's eyes widened briefly and she turned suddenly, another kunai in hand as she felt someone come up behind her.
Tsukiko stopped short a few feet away, a shivery feeling in her back at the sight of a Grass ninja with long black hair and a large straw hat holding Anko's knife with her long tongue that slithered around as it it were alive.
"I was just returning your knife." Her voice, raspy and slightly deeper than normal, made the hair on the back of Tsukiko's neck stand up.
"Why thank you, Grass ninja," Anko said politely, completely unfazed. That is, until the ninja did nothing but stand there, tongue still out. "You know," she continued, smirking dangerously. "I only recommend you stand this close behind me if you wish to reach a premature end." With that, she took the offered kunai.
The Grass ninja pulled her tongue in, her voice losing the raspy quality when she next spoke. "My pardon. With the sight of blood and your blade slicing through my hair...I'm afraid I just became a little excited. I meant you no harm."
"That's enough then," Tsukiko's voice contained a calm authority she didn't entirely feel. "Save your bloodlust for the forest."
The Grass ninja stepped back, her cold, dead eyes now focused on Tsukiko. "As you wish, Miss Proctor. Or do you prefer Tsukiko?"
"I don't care," she replied shortly, unnerved by the cadence in the woman's voice when she said her name. Unconsciously, Tsukiko's hand rose from her side, fueled by a sudden instinct to guard her eyes. "Miss Proctor or Tsukiko-Sensei will be fine."
The ninja smiled, and with a final tongue flick, backed away to rejoin her team.
"Seems like everyone here is quick-tempered," Anko noted. "Must be something in the air." She chuckled. "This is going to be fun."
Tsukiko was unamused, staring down at her hand. 'Anko must be putting me on edge. Her plus all the snakes around...it's no wonder I'm jumpy.'
"We should get started." She had a bad feeling, her instincts warning her that, should any trouble break out, it was going to be here.
The two jounin walked back to the fence, and Anko raised her voice to address the gathered genin. "Now, before we begin this test, I have something to hand out to you all." Reaching into her jacket, she pulled out a set of papers. "It's just a standard consent form. Before the test, all of you are going to read over this form and then sign it."
"What for?" Naruto questioned, the cut on his cheek no longer bleeding.
"Some of you may not come back from this test, and I have to get your consent to that risk." The dark-haired woman laughed. "Otherwise, it would be my responsibility!"
"Umm, but isn't Tsukiko-Sensei here to make sure that doesn't happen?" One of the Sand genin called out over the outbreak of whispering Anko's words caused.
Glaring at Anko out of the corner of her eye, Tsukiko raised her eyebrow in the direction of the voice. "I'm here to make sure everything stays on track. You getting hurt doesn't involve me so long as no one disqualifies themselves, which Anko will explain. Don't expect me to come save you, because I won't. Pass or fail on your own." It was a lie, but a necessary one. Obviously, Tsukiko would do her best to help keep the blood to a minimum, but they certainly didn't need to know that.
"Yup!" Anko clapped the white-haired jounin's shoulder. "You can rest assured though, Tsukiko will probably help retrieve your body before it gets eaten. Probably." She straightened. "Now, I'll explain what you'll be doing on this test." She shoved the consent forms at Naruto. "Here, pass these out. Anyway, the first thing you need to know is that this test will tax every one of your survival skills."
She unfurled a map of the enclosed forest. "First, I'll give you all a description of the terrain on the practice field. The Forty-Fourth Battle Training Zone has forty-four locked entrance gates. There are rivers and a forest inside. In the center is a locked tower located ten kilometers from each gate.
"It's in this confined area that you'll undergo the Survival Test." She rolled up the map. "The test consists of an anything goes battle, to get these scrolls." She held up a black one with "Earth" written on it, and a cream-colored scroll with "Heaven" on it.
"Both of them?" Questioned the silver-haired Leaf genin from earlier, pushing his glasses up his nose.
Anko nodded. "Yes, you'll be fighting to get both a Heaven Scroll and an Earth Scroll." There was a long pause as she let them take in the new information. "All together, twenty-eight teams will be taking part in this test. So half of those teams will be going after the Heaven Scroll and the other half will be trying to get the Earth Scroll. I'll hand over one kind of scroll to each team, and that's what you'll be vying for."
"Okay, so how do we pass the test?" Sasuke questioned.
"Your entire squad must bring both scrolls to the tower," Anko replied.
Sakura frowned. "That means at the very best, half of us will fail—more if not every team is able to get both the scrolls."
Anko shrugged, looking unconcerned. "No one ever said it would be easy. Oh, and one more thing. The test has a time limit. You must finish it within five days."
"Five days out there?!" A Leaf genin with long blond hair in a ponytail spoke up, looking shocked.
Beside her, a portly boy in green with a white scarf shouted, "What are we supposed to do for food?!"
"Just look around," The jounin grinned. "The forest is full of things to eat, and there's plenty to feed all of you."
"Yeah, but that's not all the forest has plenty of," Glasses pointed out, smiling wryly. "There are man-eating beasts and poisonous plants in there."
"Oh man!" The kid in green shouted.
"Quiet down!" Blondie ordered, glaring at her teammate. "This is called 'survival,' you know!'
The Hyuga boy stepped forward. "That means with those circumstances, there's no way half the teams will pass the tests."
Lee nodded. "With the days getting longer, the nights are getting shorter. So we will have less time to sleep and less time to recover." He smiled, his teeth somehow catching the sun and glinting. "It is a challenge indeed."
"Sleep will be further compromised by the dangers," Midori noted. "We'll have to sleep in shifts to avoid animals and other teams, which will bring down recovery time even more as the days go by."
"Completely surrounded by enemies, there won't be time to rest," Sasuke agreed. "We'll have to keep a constant watch."
"Right," Anko nodded, placing her hands on her hips. "This rest also measures endurance behind enemy lines. This is designed to be a grueling test, and I'm sure some of you won't be up to the challenge."
A bored-looking boy with black hair in a ponytail raised his hand. "So, let's say mid-exam—can we quit?"
"Of course not," Anko scoffed. "In the middle of a battle you can't just say, 'Sorry, I quit.'" She paused a second, then amended her statement with a sarcastic laugh. "Well, I guess you could, but it's probably gonna get you killed."
"Oh just great," the boy muttered, crossing his arms. "This is going to be a drag."
"There are also some ways you can get disqualified." She held up a finger. "The first is simple. If all three members of a team can't make it to the tower with both scrolls after five days." One finger became two. "Number two—if a team loses a member or if a member becomes incapacitated and cannot continue. But most important, none of you, absolutely none of you, may look at the contents of the scrolls until you've reached the tower."
"W-What if it just happens to flop open and you read it?" Naruto ventured.
Anko's grin widened, her laughter evident in her voice. "Let me put it to you this way, young man. You don't want to know.
"But, let's just say doing so will leave you at Tsukiko's mercy," Anko thumbed in her direction. "Don't worry, she's pretty good about not killing anyone. Unless, you know, she's ticked off. But she'll be spending the next few days in my company, so I'm pretty sure she'll be in a great mood!"
Tsukiko's face was completely blank, except for a slight furrowing of her eyebrows, and her Gensogan switching colors as if she was irritably trying to pick the best way to attack them. This was enough to incite some slightly panicked whispering from the genin, ensuring that they would not be looking at the scrolls. Even the genin who knew her were hesitant, knowing how seriously she took the rules.
"There are times when a ninja will be asked to carry secret documents," Anko continued. "The scroll rule is to test your integrity." She paused, letting that sink in. "Okay, we're done. Each team, take your consent forms and exchange them over there for your scrolls." She directed their attention to a table with three ninjas seated under a wooden roof with a curtain ready to block which teams get which scrolls. "After that, each team pick a gate, and you'll be let inside. Oh, and I have one more word of advice...Just don't die!"
With that, the teams all split off to sign their forms and strategize.
Tsukiko sighed, already exhausted. 'Five days with Anko and these weird kids.' Her sharp eyes drifted to the Grass ninja from earlier, a sense of unease lingering. 'Before, I instinctively shielded my eyes, as if sensing the bloodlust from her. Is she really a genin, at her age? It seems unlikely.'
"Creepy bunch, right?" Anko leaned her elbow on Tsukiko's shoulder, following her gaze. "Hard to believe they're genin."
Tsukiko hummed in response, not entirely satisfied that someone echoed her own thoughts.
"Well, you looked startled, anyway," the older jounin continued cheekily. "You hid it well, but I thought you were going to shoot fire at her after she did that tongue thing." She tilted her head. "I didn't even know Grass genin could do something like that."
The younger girl shrugged, dislodging Anko's elbow. "It reminded me of a snake, or a lizard. You know how I feel about them."
"Too right! The first time I used a snake jutsu in front of you, I thought you were going to blast me instead of the enemy!"
"Still thinking about it," Tsukiko muttered good-naturedly, fighting a smile. As annoying as Anko was, and there was no question, she was annoying, Tsukiko couldn't help but like her somehow. At least a little bit.
"Oh! Also, there's been a slight change of plans. You're not going to be patrolling the forest, but monitoring from the tower. I was gonna tell you yesterday, but I forgot."
'I take it back,' Tsukiko thought, her eyes twitching. 'She's just annoying!'
Sighing, the young woman turned wearily to the older jounin. "And how am I meant to monitor the whole forest from there?"
Anko shrugged. "Not sure. One of Ibiki's sensory teams had an idea and got it approved. You should head over there now, before we begin."
"Alright." Tsukiko turned to jump the fence, pausing only when Anko continued speaking.
"Oh, and Tsukiko? Try not to kill every snake on the way there. We need some to intimidate the kids."
Against her will, the edges of her mouth curled up. "Tell that to them. They live as long as they don't bother me!"
And with that, Tsukiko took off, quickly diving through the trees, trying to stay as close to the treetops as possible to avoid any creatures that would delay her. The forest was peaceful, for the moment, but twenty-eight teams would soon be racing through its depths, stirring up even the creatures that normally preferred to hide away.
A short while later, she was inside the tower, and was led to the highest level by one of the chunin guarding the gates.
The uppermost level was also the smallest, as the tower was tiered like a massive red cake with yellow and white wooden planks for a roof. It was extremely visible, allowing the young genin to find it easily while also using the traditional bright colors of some giant poisonous creature, likely in an attempt to keep the area free of dangerous animals or bugs.
Inside the small room, Tsukiko was greeted by a group of three chunin from Ibiki's force arguing.
"No, I don't know when she'll be here, but I told Anko to let her know!" A young woman in her twenties with short purple hair was yelling, her thick glasses flashing dangerously.
"Well, it's no wonder she's not here!" An older man with closely cropped brown hair and a scar down his cheek growled, practically nose to nose with the woman. "So I say we just get started!"
The final member, a young man with short blond hair and a timid-looking face, was waving his hands frantically. "Guys come on! We have to do something, the test will be starting soon!"
Deciding that she'd help things along, as no one had even noticed her arrival, Tsukiko stepped forward. "Excuse me, I hope I'm not interrupting. I was just informed that—"
A flash of purple crossed her vision, and Tsukiko found herself being hugged by the woman, who was practically shaking with excitement. "You're here! Yes! This is great, now we can get started!"
Startled, Tsukiko looked helplessly at the other two members, amazed that, somehow, she hadn't even sensed the woman moving until she was right in front of her.
"Misora can drop her presence to basically nothing," the scarred man explained, his gravelly voice irritated. "Don't feel bad. She can surprise anyone and loves catching people off-guard."
"That's enough, Takaru!" Misora shouted, pulling away from Tsukiko to glare indignantly. "We don't have time for your nonsense!" She turned back to Tsukiko, immediately smiling. "Ready?"
Still disoriented by the bipolar woman bouncing around, Tsukiko took a second to respond. "Sure, but what exactly are we doing?"
Takaru huffed, crossing his arms. "Yes, what are we doing, Shinto?"
"U-Um," the timid man spoke up. "We're going to try an experiment to see if we can monitor the whole forest. In order to do that, I needed your abilities. You can read chakra, right?" He asked anxiously.
Tsukiko nodded slowly. "When I'm controlling Wind, I can feel the energy of the people around me, but it's not something I've put a lot of training into. I can't tell who they are, just if, at that moment, they are expending a lot of chakra. That doesn't mean I can look at someone and see what they're hiding away."
Shinto waved away her concerns, getting a little more confident. "That's fine. That's Misora's job." He gestured to a machine behind him, a giant blue orb-like structure. "I've been working on a prototype for an invention that will allow sensory-type shinobi to have a wide field of communication and monitoring across the village and beyond. With this, they could find shinobi in trouble on missions and send backup, even if it's in another land. Of course," he continued, deflating slightly. "It's nowhere near done, but I hope to gain some insight from your power combined with Misora's."
"And how will that work?" Tsukiko asked, intrigued by the idea of being able to communicate between other lands without messenger birds.
Misora, unable to stay quiet any longer, cut the young inventor off before he could continue. "You're going to sit in that chair closest to the window." She gestured to a large open window that took up most of the room, allowing the faint breeze to swirl around their heads. "And use your wind power over the entire forest! Then, through you, I'll be able to pick out the exact chakra signatures and locations of the genin, so we can help them if they're in trouble, or if they read their scrolls and are knocked out by the jutsu inside."
Tsukiko held up a hand to halt the babble. "One problem. There's no way I can spread my abilities that far." A couple hundred feet, no problem. A mile in any direction if she was being overly cautious. But over an area of roughly three hundred kilometers, there was no way.
Shinto nodded earnestly. "Of course, that's too much to ask. But Misora will be channeling her chakra through you in order to read what you find, and Takara here, who has quite a lot of chakra, will also be supplying you. He'll trade out with others over the next few days."
Tsukiko bit her lip, thinking it over. "It's possible," she finally said. "And I don't mind trying. It'll be interesting to see how far I can push myself."
"That's the spirit!" Misora cheered. "Sit down and get comfortable! We're going to be here for quite a while."
The white-haired woman sat down on the offered chair, activating her Gensogan. Her eyes turned gold, and she took a deep breath, imagining her chakra like a dome starting from the tower and pushing its way out. Normally, she used this technique to make sure she wasn't being followed, or that she could safely rest for the night without fear of being attacked. Once under the dome of invisible chakra, she could detect if another ninja was nearby. That said, it wasn't completely accurate. As she'd mentioned, she could only sense when chakra was being exerted. Any random ninja could be walking by, not doing anything, and she'd never know.
As suspected it became harder to push the dome out further than a mile. While not especially taxing on her chakra, it felt like she was stretching herself thin. Tsukiko closed her eyes, forcing the dome out further.
Misora placed a hand glowing with chakra on Tsukiko's shoulder, taking a seat next to her.
At her touch, it was like fireflies lighting up in Tsukiko's mind, little blue flames representing the chakras of the people around her. It also helped Tsukiko narrow down what she was looking for. Ignoring anything without a chakra, she expanded even further, using Misora's power to push out to five kilometers.
"Whoa," Misora said, tightening her grip. "I've never sensed so many people at once before! It's easier than I thought it would be. You must have a sensitivity to this kind of thing, Tsukiko. I'll bet you could read chakra signatures if you practiced enough."
"Hmm," Tsukiko replied, not really in the mood to speak. She was already trying to memorize the way Misora's chakra was targeting the signatures of the genin, seeing a practical use for such an ability. She doubted she could sense untapped chakra like Misora, but she could probably recognize familiar energies with enough practice.
Behind her, Shinto told Takara to take her other shoulder, and soon she had enough chakra running through her to see the whole forest.
Of course, she wasn't "seeing" anything. In her mind, it was like a vast black map with moving balls of light. If she focused on one, then she could "zoom in" and make out their location on the map Shinto had.
"There," she murmured, finding three rapidly depleting chakras almost immediately, another three nearby.
Misora laughed. "I recognize the three unharmed ones. Lord Third asked me to familiarize myself with the Leaf genin chakras. That's most certainly Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga, and Shino Aburame. Looks like they've already taken out one of the teams."
Tsukiko didn't respond, searching for two lone chakras. She found them traveling towards the tower, on a collision course with a set of three chakras.
'Come on, girls…' Wishing her team luck, Tsukiko forced herself to stay professional and keep an eye on everyone.
"There's one person splitting from his group," she reported, drawing Misora's attention. "He's heading for another team. Looks like he may have incapacitated one member."
Misora nodded. "Maybe with a trap or something. That's Naruto Uzumaki's chakra, if I'm not mistaken."
"Naruto?" Tsukiko's closed eyes snapped open for a second. "Then the other two—"
"Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno," Misora confined. "Looks like they're handling it. Naruto is back with the group and the lone genin is heading back to his."
"Which one is Sasuke?" Tsukiko couldn't stop the question from escaping her, but Misora didn't hesitate.
"The one on the right. He's pretty strong for a genin."
Tsukiko smiled, proud of him. Sasuke was basically her little brother in everything but name, and the chance to familiarize herself with his chakra signature was not something she'd pass up lightly.
Focusing on it, she could immediately tell that his type was Fire, as it was with most Uchihas. It felt like her own Fire chakra, but was a lot stronger than her split one. Other than that, it was hard to describe, but there was just something about it that reminded her of his smiles when he was little. This was undeniably, Sasuke.
That first hour passed quickly, with two more teams incapacitated. By now, Tsukiko was simply letting her senses roam randomly through the chakras, searching for anything that stood out. It was still a surprise, however, when three chakras just vanished.
"Crap," Misora muttered. "Our first fatalities. I couldn't tell what village they were from." She gave Shinto the location and then refocused. "Those three nearby though, they're definitely Sand ninja."
"Oh?" Tsukiko focused in on the three chakras, all racing toward the tower. She raised an eyebrow. "Already, hmm?"
Takara whistled. "Shinto, tell the guards to get ready. Our first team is returning and I want footage of their appearance, weapons, anything you can find. It would be good to let Anko know as well."
"That's got to be a new record," Misora exclaimed, watching the Sand team closely as they reached the tower door. "What, an hour and forty minutes? Something like that?"
"My clock says an hour and thirty-seven minutes," Shinto promptly replied.
Tsukiko clicked her tongue, unsure whether to be impressed or annoyed. "It's the red-haired kid, isn't it?" She opened her eyes to look out the window, leaning forward slightly to look down at the front gate.
Sure enough, it was the weird Sand kid from earlier, the one she couldn't figure out. Beside him was the puppet kid and a girl with blond hair and a large black rectangle strapped to her back.
Sensing her gaze, the red-haired kid locked eyes with her, scowling menacingly.
A grin spread across her face, and she waved mockingly back, noting the shock on the faces of his teammates. The puppet one said something, and the scary kid broke eye contact, heading into the building.
'Grumpy one, isn't he?' Tsukiko thought, leaning back.
"Urg, that kid gave me the creeps!" Misora said, making sure the dome was still in place. "And did you see? He didn't even have a scratch, or any dirt on his clothes!"
'Definitely need to watch that one,' Tsukiko thought, narrowing her eyes. 'Of course he might be why the Kazekage is making such a fuss. If this genin from his village destroys any opposition, it'll send a strong message to the other villages, particularly the Leaf. We're allies, but he could use this kid's strength to demand more favorable terms.' The Sand was always short on vegetables and the like, being out in the desert, so they had a trade agreement with the Leaf, where such foods were plentiful. In return, the Sand made excellent kunai and other weapons, which benefited the Leaf. If the Sand grew stronger, they could ask for more in return for their goods, threatening to ally with another village. If so, the Kazekage might be bringing all those ninja to protect this one genin and ensure he returned home safely.
That or there will be an attack on the Leaf. Either theory fit, but Tsukiko hoped, for their sake, that it was the former.
"Wow," Shinto said, chuckling quietly. "They're very impressive. I think the previous record was five hours or something."
"Four hours and thirty-seven minutes," Tsukiko corrected, somewhat frostily. "I should know. It's my time."
Shinto flushed, coughing awkwardly. "Oh, my apologies. I've only lived in the Leaf village for a few years. I'm not familiar with a lot of the history."
Tsukiko shrugged. "It's fine. It's good to see that this generation is getting stronger. Although," she paused, feeling the need to defend her title just a little bit. "I was only ten, and on a two-man squad."
"Whoa!" Shinto's timid nature seemed to leave the longer he spent in their company. "That's amazing! Who was your teammate?"
Tsukiko's eyes turned cold, and her friendly manner shut down. "We should get back to work."
"Huh? But—"
The young woman shut her eyes, drowning the scientist out by focusing completely on the flames of chakra that appeared in her mind.
'This is not the time to be distracted by memories,' she thought, scanning for hurt genin. Still, she couldn't help but curse Shinto for once again reminding her that Itachi ruled most of her thoughts. His memory hung over her like a curse, one that she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to be free of.
A.N. Welp, that's it for this week! I gave you guys a longer chapter of the present because there's going to be a lot taking place in the past in the next few chapters.
So, wonder why Tsukiko had such a weird feeling about that Grass Ninja, right? Oh, and Itachi's time was actually five hours and change, but because of Tsukiko, I knocked off an hour.
See you next Friday!