Heyyyy! Don't hate me. I've been writing, and then going back and revising. Then editing. Then re-writing. Aaaand it still isn't as good as it could be. But now I have two chapters done for lowering the bar! Woohoo!
Gaara: I won't be here... again. I hate this. It has no point. I feel... like... MASASHI KISHIMOTO OWNS MEEE!
I know it hurts to admit. There, there, Gaara. He won't actually appear for quite some time. I'm close to tears, seriously.
Well, after failing to make friends and talking to my remaining ones, I went home and slept. That series of events led to it being the next day- the day of meeting our group leaders, and re-acquainting ourselves with our teammates. I had never been so apprehensive about walking in the doors of the school. It would be my last day as an academy student. My hitai-ate was securely tucked in one of my many deep pants pockets. It didn't seem right to put it on, not when Anko said I wasn't officially a Genin yet. I reached into my pocket and ran my fingers over the cool metal, steeling myself for stepping through the doors. I would be a ninja. I had to. I had worked so hard, I had a bloodline ability, and I was smart. I would make whoever was unlucky enough to be on my team accept me. I breathed in and set a smile upon my face before I walked in to class and sat down. It's all downhill from here.
Naruto was present- looking loads happier, and no worse for wear. We all asked him what happened, why he was graduating after all, but he just waved us off with a smile. That made us very suspicious- it wasn't like Naruto to be secretive. I kept my silence after that, sitting in the back with Hinata, watching (or in my case, listening to) people. One of the terrorizing twins was making a big deal out of sitting next to the cold one, and then a dead silence hit the room like a sledgehammer. Retching was heard next. The terrible two started yelling, and I had to ask Hinata what happened.
"Naruto… and Sasuke…" Hinata gulped, and she sounded really angry. "Kissed." I pondered this fact for a moment.
"Well, Sasuke, I could guess if it came down to it. But Naruto, no way!" Hinata seemed to be having trouble breathing, and I hit her on the back. I smiled slyly. "Not to mention, why would Naruto kiss guys when he has you, hmmm?" Hinata really choked now, and I could feel her feverish blush from where I was sitting. She could have heated up the room by a few degrees.
"Hah- I have no idea w-what you are talking about!!!"
Then, Iruka stared making his speech, and people started calming down a bit. The first few names Iruka called, I was alert and attentive. But my name wasn't called for a bit, so I dozed a bit and leaned my head down. Then, I heard my name and I sat up again, before realizing Iruka was just making sure I paid attention. Grumbling, I settled back in my seat, folded my arms, and decided to listen.
When he got to team seven, he paused. "Now, because the top kunoichi in your class, Hoshiko…" The lack of a last name was never so prominent. "…is blind, the second-highest scoring, Haruno Sakura, will also be on the team, and to balance we have the highest and lowest-scoring males, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki. Yes, Naruto, before you ask, in. That. Order." Naruto's hand fell and he sulked. I could almost read his mind, or at least felt myself in the same place. I had someone I could stand, someone I couldn't, and his fangirl.
We waited for our sensei- for far too long- in an empty classroom. To pass the time, I annoyed frigid boy. "so… heard you kissed Naruto." No response. "Was it good? I'm in touch with certain *coughrabidyaoifangirlcough* organizations that wish to know." This scored me a 'don't fuck with me right now' look that I swear was transmitted through my ears. Ten points! It was a shame the others wouldn't join in my annoy-Sasuke game, although I thought Sakura was participating without knowing it. Naruto was busy planting traps for our beloved belated sensei. I was easily amused today, but all the same, I tired of annoying frigorific sir, and I wished our teacher would show up. And then, a mere two hours late, he arrived, walking straight into Naruto's traps. What a shame. The clap of an eraser falling on his head couldn't mask the waves of disapproval and disappointment coming from the late fellow.
I thought he was about to tell us how stupid we were, but just opened his mouth to ask me, "Why aren't you wearing your forehead protector?"
"Well, I paid a visit to a friend and she told me there was another test before we were officially Genin. It didn't feel right to wear it if it were true. "
The man snorted. "Well, well. How ironic. The one best at information gathering, is the blind one." I just grinned. "Who, may I ask, is your source?"
"Well, you are my sensei. Try to guess?"
"Oh, no, I'm much too lazy… Anko?"
"Yup!"
"Ahh, knew it. Well, shall we go?"
Sasuke butted in. "Wait, is there really another test?"
I nodded. "A practical, if you would."
"See, girl knows her stuff. But first, let's get to know each other a bit better."
"Okay, I'll start the introductions off. I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you guys about my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future? Hmm… Well, I have lots of hobbies…" We all deadpanned. All we learned was his name, clever blighter. "Right! Now it's your turn, from left to right!"
Naruto was on the far left, wanting to sit next to Sakura, blech, who wanted to sit next to Sasuke, who really didn't want to sit next to me but didn't get a choice. Naruto started, "Yes! Me! Me! My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen! I like it even more when Iruka-sensei takes me to that ramen bar." I knew that place. We went there waaay too often, because Iruka had a softness for Naruto's puppy eyes. "What I dislike is waiting three minutes for the cup ramen to cook. My dream is to surpass the Hokage and have everyone in this village acknowledge my existence! My hobbies… pranks, I guess." Nice little side note there to watch out for.
Next was Sakura. "I'm Haruno Sakura, and the thing I like is…" Glance at Sasuke here, I could just tell. "Well, the person I like is…" Score, ten points, and another glance Sasuke's way. "Um, should I say, my dream for the future…" Sasuke-glance here. And then she fangirl-squealed. Her voice went back to monotone to deliver the coup-de-grace on Naruto's head, "The thing I dislike is Naruto." And here's a Naruto-glare. This seeing thing is way too easy, I didn't need working eyes for this.
Up next was Sasuke, frosty the snow boy himself. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are tons of things I don't like but I don't particularly like anything. And… I don't use the word 'dream…" Because it's not cold enough, I thought to myself. "But I have an ambition." Oh yeah, here comes the world domination evil plot… "The resurrection of my clan and… to kill a certain man." Way too many dramatic pauses, I lost him. Oh well. It was my turn.
"Well, after that moving speech… My name is Hoshiko. Haven't got a last name, because I don't have a family. I figure we could get all the awkward abandonment issues out here, is that ok sensei?" He waved his hand in my direction so I got a breeze, and I assumed it was a signal to go on. "Well I was found near the border of Fire Country by a shinobi patrol, and brought back here. There were no clues to who my parents were or why they left me there. So that takes care of my dream- to get stronger and figure out who they were. I like fire, secrets, sour foods, and sugar. Don't give me sugar. I dislike people who speak louder because I'm blind. I dislike self-pity. I dislike sitting still. I dislike being told what I can't do. My hobby is training." I took an internal inventory. Yup, that was it.
"Okay. Tomorrow, we will begin survival training. You should know… this exam has a failure rate of 66%. Though, with Hoshiko here, the balance is skewed. If you guys make it, there will be ten instead of nine graduates. Don't count on it though. I haven't passed anyone yet. Don't eat breakfast, you'll just throw it up. See you!" He was already up and walking away.
I couldn't suppress a giggle. "Poor Anko's team. No chance!" My team just stared before I decided to walk back to Iruka's. Wait… I needed to talk to the Hokage about my lodgings. I couldn't keep staying at Iruka's house. It wasn't convenient anymore, and quite frankly that apartment wasn't made for both an adult and a kid. I should tell Iruka tonight, and he can ask for me. I started walking again. When I got to Iruka's apartment, I shouted my request out to him before collapsing on the couch and falling asleep.
The next day came. I was well rested, and was as prepared as I could be, considering my empty stomach. When I got to the agreed training area, Naruto, Coldy, and Fangirl were already there, but our sensei was nowhere to be seen. Sakura was spazzing as usual, Sasuke was ignoring her as usual, and Naruto was having an internal discussion as usual. So, it was left to me to pass the time as I usually did… going through my taijutsu. I supposed that if I was to trust my teammates, they would have to see my fighting style eventually. I didn't want to wear myself out, so I just went through the motions. The 'blind' style was an odd style, to say the least- I learned it from listening to tapes. There was no wasted movement- no flourishes, no feints, simply moving deliberately and strongly enough to hurt the opponent even if he or she blocks the blow. It was all flexibility, and thought, planning the enemy's moves before they could make them and hearing their movements, looking for a weak spot. It took a lot of practice, but I didn't really mind. It wasn't as if I had anything else to do.
As I moved through the motions of blind style, I started to think about my parents. The best chance for me finding them was to keep going, to become a Konoha shinobi. Then I could go on missions across all countries. I could make contact with so many different people, one of them must recognize something about me- my eyes were pretty distinctive, to put it delicately. I snapped out of my thoughts when someone tapped me on the shoulder and I swung around, on instinct, and kicked up hard. I finally realized I was panting. Thinking about my parents had made me mad. I had sped up my training, until I was moving as fast as I could. It then occurred to me that I had actually kicked someone and nobody was making a sound.
"Holy shit, I'm sorry! Did I actually kick someone?" A groan was my only answer, so I took it as a yes. "Ahh! I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you up…" My offered hand was pushed away, so I finally got who it was. "Oh. Icy boy. It's ok then, go ahead and bleed."
"Now now, Hoshiko, how is that good teamwork?" Kakashi finally decided to show up, right on time.
"As a team, majority wanted me to kick him." Kakashi didn't say anything, but I suspected he wanted more of an explanation. "It was me and Naruto against Sasuke and Sakura, with Sakura only counting as half because she's a fangirl. He'll be fine, I didn't kick him that hard… I think… it was an accident, really, and it's his own fault I didn't feel bad for it afterwards."
After he let out a sigh, Kakashi got back to the matter at hand. "Sasuke, I do wish you a speedy recovery, but that aside, I have set this clock for noon. Here are two bells. Your task is to take them from me before noon. Those who cannot get a bell by noon… get no lunch. Usually, there are three of you, but with Hoshiko here you better hope at least one of you gets a bell. There are only three posts. I'll not only tie the losers to those posts but I'll also eat in front of you." The team's stomachs grumbled in unison and he smiled. "At least two of you will be tied to those stumps. You must come at me with intent to kill, or you won't succeed. And if you fail…" He grinned evilly again. "You get sent back to the academy." The louder two of us started to yell, while I calmly took out my shuriken and began to make ready. It wasn't that I was trying to be cool, I just didn't know what else to do. "Start on my mark…" Naruto rushed forward before Kakashi had even started counting, and was detained by the man himself.
Sakura gasped. "I couldn't even see him move!"
"Oh my gosh, me neither!" I just couldn't resist. It didn't matter, I was ignored.
Kakashi didn't seem too mad at Naruto- he even seemed to enjoy his enthusiasm. He said, "Now… Start!"
Three of us rocketed off in different directions… but Naruto didn't seem to move. I thought I was mistaken, but then he yelled out… "Come and fight me!" Nice, Naruto. How… characteristic of you. Next, Naruto called out, "Hey, hey!? Why do you have a book?" Well, thanks to Naruto and his loud voice, I knew Kakashi had a book… he didn't take us seriously. Probably for a good reason, too… as I was reminded when Naruto kept yelling. "I'll beat you to a pulp!" He then proceeded to fail. I won't go into specifics, but there was a fire sign and an ass involved. It did not sound pretty. Screams, yelps, and more yelling.
As fun as listening to Naruto fail was, I had no idea how to really get the bells from Kakashi, and the time was draining down fast. We were all screwed.
And as a treat... for me... since youuu peopleee won't reviewwww!!!!! I'm giving back-to-back chapters! Continue. And there's a button there to resolve your guilt. Hint hint. Nudge nudge.