Greetings everyone! well this chapter is actually a little longer than I'd normally want . . . I originally tired to keep things at a nice solid 4500 with a/n and all . . . that basically went out of the window. I apologize in advance . . . my "fluff" writing skills aren't really a thing that exists . . . especially considering I didn't even know what "fluff" was until last year. this chapter is the setup for the first three episodes of the anime (for which i base everything off of) so that should be interesting. in any case, hope you enjoy, see you at the bottom.
Part 6
"Here's my registration form Hokage-sama" Naruto said as he handed a form to Sarutobi. For his part, Sarutobi took the sheet and gave it a cursory glance, seeing everything in order he nodded.
"You know, it wasn't so long ago that you used to call me 'jii-chan'" Sarutobi said with a smile "What ever happened that that?"
"Well . . . I figured it was unbecoming for a shinobi to call his superior 'jii-chan' I guess" Naruto said with a faint chuckle while scratching the back of his head. "Doesn't mean I don't think it though" he said causing Sarutobi to give the boy a fond smile from under his hat. At exactly that moment, both Naruto and Sarutobi sensed a presence by the door and Naruto clicked his sword out a notch for a quick draw. His sword was belted onto the small of his back in the same fashion that Minori's had been so he had taught himself to use the sword left handed if necessary, he was still a little put off by the over the head drawing style that the Yadokawa Kenjutsu style made him do. Before Naruto could do anything, a young boy rushed into the room holding a shuriken and charged Sarutobi, screaming about how he was going to be the fifth Hokage when, suddenly, he face planted into the wooden floorboards of Sarutobi's office. Naruto blinked once, twice, three times and then clicked his sword back into place with a sigh of relief which was mirrored by Sarutobi.
"It was a trap wasn't it!" cried out the boy who was sitting on the floor still rubbing his head where he impacted with the floor. "You! You were responsible!" The boy exclaimed, pointing at Naruto as he did.
"Honorable Grandson! Might I mention that there was no trap?" came the voice of a black clad shinobi with sunglasses and a bandanna style Hitai-ate cloth as he rushed into the room.
"This puppy yours Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked Sarutobi who chuckled
"Yes, Konohamaru, meet Naruto" Sarutobi said as the boy looked between Naruto and Sarutobi.
"Well, I won't keep this reunion then, I have things to do anyway, see ya later . . . jii-chan" Naruto said as he turned to leave, giving the Hokage a coy smile with the last comment before brushing past the man that was attempting to handle Konohamaru "Oh and it was nice to meet you Konohamaru" Naruto said, turning back for a second before continuing on again.
Ebisu waited until Naruto was out of earshot before turning to face Konohamaru.
"Honorable Grandson! You must stay away from the likes such as that vagrant! He is nothing but worthless trash and you would do best to keep far away!" Ebisu told Konohamaru who was still looking in the direction that Naruto had left. "Now, if you stick with me I can train you in Ninjutsu! I can teach you the greatest things there is to be taught! Truly, if you learn from me, I can give you the shortcut to becoming Hokage!" Ebisu turned around and saw nothing but an empty office where Konohamaru used to be. "What! Where did he go!"
"I believe he went after Naruto" Sarutobi said with a deadpan expression.
"Whaaaaaaat!" Ebisu cried out, taking a step back as if the revelation had hit him hard. "I must go after them!" he said before taking off after the errant boy.
Naruto casually walked down main street, enjoying the sights and sounds of the village as he made his slow way to the Higurashi weapon shop. He noticed as soon as Konohamaru started to follow him but he thought he'd give the boy some leniency since he was only an academy student after all. Turning back, he saw that the boy had wrapped himself in what looked like a sheet and had huddled down in the middle of the road.
"Hmm, a cloth rock with shinobi sandals . . . interesting" Naruto said before turning around and walking off. He had to admit that this was amusing him a little. Sighing slightly when he heard Konohamaru's footsteps he turned around again only to see that the boy was trying to hide against the fence with a camouflage blanket painted to look like a wooden wall, the only problem was that the planks on the blanket were sideways while the planks on the wall were straight up. "Nice try kid but the camo-blanket is wrong for that type of wall" Naruto said to the boy with a slight grin as Konohamaru dropped the sheet.
"Heh, you saw right through my disguise! You have truly earned your reputation!" Konohamaru said with a smirk. "I permit you to take me as your apprentice!" he said, walking right to Naruto and staring up at the boy.
"Oh? And what if I don't want to take you as an apprentice?" Naruto said, folding his arms and giving the boy a coy grin.
"Pleeeeeease?" Konohamaru begged "If you do, i'll call you boss!" Naruto snorted in amusement at Konohamaru's begging while the boy in question tried to give Naruto the puppy eyes jutsu.
"I've got a little bit of time I guess" Naruto said with a sigh as he walked off, motioning for Konohamaru to follow.
"So, what jutsu are you gonna teach me first boss?!" Konohamaru asked in gleeful excitement causing Naruto to chuckle a little.
"Something to help with that horrendous camouflaging ability of yours" Naruto said with a grin when Konohamaru cocked his head to the side in a confused puppy expression.
"Whatd'ya mean?" the boy asked as the two kept walking down the street
"Well, I have one jutsu that I can truly say is my own . . . the rest I have learnt from someone or something else" Naruto said, drawing out the suspense as long as possible. "I call it 'Hidden Art: Form Shift'" Naruto said with dramatic emphasis.
"What's that do?" Konohamaru asked with wonder in his eyes
"Exactly what it says on the box! You shift your form into something . . . or someone . . . else" Naruto said, nodding in agreement with his own statement. "Come lemme teach you the handsigns, the Jutsu is quite similar to the Transformation Jutsu that the academy teaches only this jutsu is not an illusion"
"There you two are!" Called out Ebisu as he finally caught up with Konohamaru just as Naruto finished telling him that there were no shortcuts to becoming Hokage and that Konohamaru had to be prepared to fight to the death for every man, woman and child in this village before he could even consider the job his dream. "As I was trying to say earlier! I can give you the shortcut to becoming Hokage if only you listen to me!" Ebisu said, in complete contradiction of what Konohamaru said.
"But Naruto-nii said that there are no shortcuts!" Konohamaru exclaimed causing both Naruto and Ebisu to look at him.
"Naruto-nii?" both Naruto and Ebisu said in unision
"Yep! From now on you are my Nii-san!" konohamaru exclaimed joyfully while jabbing his finger in Naruto's direction. Ebisu also directed his attention to Naruto and fixed his glasses as is habit for most people with glasses. "Also, Naruto-nii taught me how to do the Jutsu he created!" Konohamaru stated with glee.
"What Jutsu!? Show me!" Ebisu demanded, fearing that the boy terror he had heard so much about had taught the Honorable Grandson something lewd as a technique. Naruto kicked a rock and Konohamaru grinned as he slapped his hands together in the ram sign.
"Form Shift!" he called out loudly before transforming into a rock. Ebisu frowned as he walked over to the rock that was Konohamaru in disguise before gently nudging the rock and then kicking it just enough to turn it on it's side. At this, Ebisu's eyes widened in shock as he realised exactly what Naruto had taught Konohamaru and the boy poofed back to his normal dimensions. Naruto Grinned Mischievously at Ebisu before taking several steps back, holding one hand in a ram sign and disappearing. Konohamaru stared at where Naruto had just been before he just dematerialised in front of him.
"Well that was certainly . . . odd" Ebisu said before pushing his glasses up
"That . . . was . . . AWESOME!" Konohamaru shouted "Can you teach me that Ebisu-sensei?" Konohamaru asked, turning around to Ebisu with stars in his eyes.
"I can teach you a jutsu that is similar but not right now . . . perhaps when you are older and certainly when you are more skillful" Ebisu replied, his hand still on his glasses
"Naruto . . . what's with the sword?" Asked Sasuke quietly as he took in the blonde boy that sat beside him.
"I'm finally allowed to wear it in public now that I'm a ninja" Naruto said just as quietly as he rested his head on the desk.
"Oi, this is only for those who passed and you failed remember" came the indignant voice of Shikamaru who appeared to have just arrived. Slowly Naruto turned his attention to the boy who wore a lazy slouch and yet, his eyes were analysing every little action Naruto made.
"I thought you were a Nara shika . . . how unobservant of you" Naruto replied with a faint smirk before glancing upwards to direct Shikamaru's attention to his Hitai-ate.
"Whatever" Shikamaru said before turning around and finding a vacant seat while muttering "troublesome blond" under his breath. Suddenly the sound of running arrived to those in the classroom as two girls, Sakura and Ino charged in only to get caught in the door as they both attempted to enter at the same time. Not to be beaten by the other, the girls didn't let the door frame bar their entrance for longer than half a second before the poor frame busted off and landed on the ground with a light thud.
"I"M FIRST!" they both shouted simultaneously and were about to come to blows before their 'Sasuke detector' alerted them to the presence of their crush and, in unison, they turned to the raven haired boy who had shown his understanding of the sudden silence and a shiver ran down his back but he kept staring out the window, trying desperately to not let any emotion show on his face.
"Outta my way Naruto!" Called Sakura who had somehow materialised at the bench that Naruto and Sasuke were sitting on. Naruto sighed and looked at the front of the class where Hinata sat who was watching with keen eyes. Using his eyes to indicate a patch of bench he signaled Hinata if she wanted to sit next to him. Catching the gleam in her eyes Naruto scootched over and closer to Sasuke.
"What are you doing dobe?" Asked Sasuke, casting a glance in the blond's direction.
"Saving you the trouble" Was Naruto's simple reply as, in a fluid motion, Hinata rose out of her seat, took position on the desk in front of her, initiated a graceful backwards arc, came down on the desk behind her on her hands and pushed off, twisting in mid air and coming down on the now vacant bench space. All of this happened in a split second and left the entire class completely stunned at Hinata's display of graceful gymnastics.
"I'm sorry Sakura-san, did you say something?" Hinata asked politely, somehow managing to keep the smirk off her face that Naruto knew she would be sporting in private, even he was stunned at her display.
Iruka cleared his throat and, in the stunned silence that his classroom had fallen into, this was enough to get the attention of his students who either took seats or sat up straighter with the one exception being Shikamaru who had only put his head on the desk.
"Okay everyone! It's time for team assignments, I will now read out your names and the names of your teammates" Iruka said as he pulled out a clipboard. Naruto tuned him out and instead leant in to whisper in Hinata's ear.
"That was beautiful" he said in a voice so quiet she was the only one that would hear him. Hinata of course, couldn't help blushing at the proximity and the compliment but it was only a slight blush, she had definitely learnt how to control her visible emotions in the time training with her crush.
"Team seven will be Sakura Haruno" Iruka called out causing the girl in question to straighten at her name. "Sasuke Uchiha" he continued and a squeal of delight was heard while a dozen or so cries of outrage rose up in challenge "AND FINALLY!" Iruka shouted in order to get his female students under control "Uzu . . . errr wait . . . umm" Iruka stumbled at Naruto's name and looked up at the boy who grinned at him "Yadokawa Naruto . . . these three form team seven" Iruka said, still frowning as he walked over to his desk and pulled out a folder, flipped through it and looked at something before shaking his head and continuing on with the teams. "Team eight will be Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba and Hyuuga Hinata . . . Hinata why is there an Asterix next to your clan name?" Iruka said, posing his query to Hinata at the end who only blushed in response. Naruto frowned, knowing full well that there were only a few things that made the girl blush these days but he said nothing and neither did she. Iruka went back to calling out team names and, after he was done, he gave a pretty speech about being ninja that nobody paid any attention to.
"Let's go get some lunch" Naruto said and Hinata nodded before standing up and walking out with Naruto right behind her.
"Dobe!" Sasuke called out before the two had left the classroom, causing everyone to stop and stare at the challenging tone. "What's that symbol on your back mean?" Sasuke asked, suspicion clearly in his voice.
"It's my clan symbol . . . the symbol of the Yadokawa clan" Naruto replied.
"Never heard of them" Sasuke scoffed "Must have been some useless clan that got wiped out" he said with a smirk as the classroom went dead silent. A click was heard as Naruto's sword was clicked out a notch and his other hand flew to the handle only to stop in mid air. The cause was clear as Hinata's dainty hand was wrapped around Naruto's wrist while her other hand gently clicked his sword back into its sheath properly. Then, without any warning at all, she dashed forward and lodged a juuken strike without any chakra into Sasuke's stomach who doubled over with a grunt as the air was forced from his lungs.
"Don't insult clans you don't know Last Uchiha or people might start thinking you follow your brother's footsteps" Hinata said in a voice as cold as ice and very hyuga like. The other clan children were also looking at Sasuke with varying degrees of discontent, even Ino looked like she had been slapped in the face at his comment.
"What . . . what's the big deal! If I haven't heard of them, they aren't important!" Sasuke tried again looking straight into Hinata's lavender eyes and stone cold expression.
"The big deal is that they are a clan that is far older than you realise and, like the senju, have suffered greatly and, like the Hyuga, are considered nobility . . . clanless peasant" with that, Hinata walked off with a smirking Naruto following her.
"Bitch, don't listen to her Sasuke, she doesn't know what she is saying! Anyway, wanna go on a date with me?" Sakura asked, pushing all that was irrelevant out of the scene and getting straight back to winning Sasuke's heart meanwhile Ino was looking at the two and was troubled. She remembered when Naruto had asked her about crushes and how people would react around those they crushed on. She didn't want to draw the conclusion she was drawing but it had been on her mind ever since she had told the blond that, if a girl liked a boy, she would blush if he sat next to her, she had come to realise that she had none of those reactions. Sakura was clearly blushing from her attempts to get a date with Sasuke but something told Ino that she too didn't really mean it. Coming to a decision, Ino just walked away and decided she was done deluding herself, if anything were to happen between her and Sasuke, it won't be today.
Sakura sat on a bench by the side of a street outside of the Academy with her bento in hand. She had wanted to have a lunch with her team but she wasn't going to ask Naruto-baka and Sasuke had refused so now she was alone.
"Greetings Sakura-chan" came the voice of a woman from beside Sakura. Turning her head in the direction of the voice, Sakura saw a woman with platinum blonde hair in a light grey Kimono shirt that was left open while her chest was covered in dark green cloth that looked like some kind of wrapping.
"Umm hello miss . . . do I know you?" Sakura said politely.
"Not yet, so how is your new squad? Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun . . . both interesting boys aren't they?" The woman asked, giving Sakura a friendly smile.
"Well, Naruto is just an idiot . . . might even request a transfer! But then I wouldn't get to be on a team with Sasuke! Oh no! Damnit! I can't transfer!" Sakura started going on a little speel after that about how wonderful Sasuke is.
"How much do you know about Sasuke?" The woman asked and that snapped Sakura out of her fantasy for a minute as she thought.
"He's ark, handsome and oh! He's the Last Uchiha!" Sakura stated proudly.
"What's his favourite food?" the woman asked and Sakura stopped to think. Now that she had thought about it she had absolutely no idea but decided it was probably something like sushi, Sakura loved sushi, even if it wasn't her favourite food.
"Why does it matter?" Sakura asked, trying to get the discussion back onto something she could answer. This, however, only made the woman smirk as if she had won a victory.
"Who are his friends?" the woman asked, she was asking standard questions that someone who was 'in love' with someone would know and Sakura was aware of this but still.
"H-he doesn't have any" Sakura answered, starting to become a little self conscious as she didn't really know. The woman raised an eyebrow and sat next to Sakura on the bench while Sakura was busy wondering if she was right or not.
"Where does he live?" the woman asked and Sakura again blanked but then it came back to her.
"The Uchiha compound of course!" Sakura said with a grin as she turned to face the woman and happy that she had finally won, Sasuke will be hers!
"Where is the Uchiha compound?" the woman asked with a deadpan expression and Sakura's own expression froze on her face "And are you really sure he lives there? Or did you just assume he would still live in the compound with all the ghosts of his dead relatives?" again the woman was asking for things Sakura should know.
"What does it matter if I don't know Sasuke as well as I should! I still love him! He will still be mine!" Sakura stated with her arms crossed and an angry expression.
"No he won't" was the simple reply she got from the woman and those three words hit Sakura harder than any physical blow. "No man would ever want to be with a woman who saw them as an object, a thing, a tool to become popular" Sakura was vaguely aware she had fallen off the bench and was huddled on the ground in the fetal position with her hands over her ears but still didn't stop the words pouring into her mind. "You are weak, pathetic, no shinobi would ever want you. You are a danger to any who would call you a teammate, your Taijutsu is bad enough that even a civilian could overpower you" the words kept flowing from the woman who still sat calmly on the bench even as Sakura was crying. "And your genjutsu skills, for which you are marked as being excellent in, are non-existent, you haven't even noticed the genjutsu that's over you yet" Sakura snapped her eyes open at that.
"H-how?" The girl stammered out quietly and suddenly the face of that woman was only a few inches from her own.
"Better yourself, you are a ninja, a shinobi, forget about Sasuke" the woman said, completely ignoring Sakura.
"No! I can't" Sakura gasped at her own words as if they were hard to force out.
"You can, you know why" the woman stood back up and Sakura got up as well, dusting herself off as she did so.
"I need to improve my Taijutsu" Sakura stated.
"Why?" the woman asked with a smirk
"Because learning things like Genjutsu and Ninjutsu is easy and simple, but Taijutsu is physical so I need to spend the most time and effort on it, prioritising it first" Sakura said and realised just how true her words were.
"See that field over there?" The woman asked and Sakura turned her attention to it. "Be there at five in the morning after tomorrow . . . when you encounter the two that train there, ask Mighto Gai to 'help ignite the flames of your youth' and try to do it with some actual gusto" the woman said and Sakura just continued to look at the field "I'm sorry for practically torturing you but you will thank me later, see you later" the woman said before turning and walking off.
"Wait!" Sakura called out to the woman and only just know noticed the sword that was belted onto the small of her back. "What's your name?" Sakura asked and the woman turned back to grin at Sakura before disappearing right before Sakura's eyes as if she had never been there at all. "What . . ." Sakura said intelligently before sitting down, her bento long forgotten.
"So" came a female voice from behind Sasuke as he sat on the floor in the library in front of one of the sections with a book that had a mention of the Yadokawa clan in his hand. "Found a book on my clan did you?" the woman asked and Sasuke turned to look at her, she had platinum blond hair, was wearing a grey kimono shirt and had a sword belted onto the small of her back that was very similar to the one Naruto now wore, it was belted on the same as well. The only differences that jumped out at Sasuke was that her kimono shirt was open but her chest was still covered thankfully, and she didn't wear a haori jacket.
"Who are you?" was Sasuke's gruff reply but the woman didn't answer, merely looked over his shoulder at the book he had been reading. He had just found and read a tiny passage about how the Yadokawa clan was originally from Kirigakure and that the clan had been destroyed save for one person during one of Kiri's bloodline purges some time ago. The sole survivor had made it all the way to Konoha and had fought a desperate last stand against eight enemy shinobi just out of hearing range from the village gates. The woman frowned.
"Now how did those clever little monkeys get those details I wonder" the woman said as she took the book from a now indignant Sasuke "Pity, this is quite the informative tale but I'm afraid this information isn't for public viewing" and with that the woman pulled out a brush, flicked her hand across the book's pages faster than Sasuke could see and had put her brush away again all in the space of two seconds. "I'm sure you understand, knowledge is power, guard it wisely" and with that comment, the book burst into flames and was incinerated in just a second.
"Whaa?" Sasuke asked intelligently.
"Sasuke isn't it? I believe you are on a team with my little brother" the woman said with a smirk as the dust that indicated the book had ever existed vanished.
"Hn, what of it" Sasuke said, crossing his arms and trying to get his composure back from his little slip.
"I thought it's time we talked, I'm konoha's number one spy" The woman said and that got Sasuke's attention. "I was there the night your clan was . . . I know the real culprit" Sasuke's eyes snapped open as he stared at the woman in shock.
"The 'real' culprit is my brother Itachi!" Sasuke exclaimed, his arms by his sides.
"Said who? Oh right, Itachi of course . . . now why would a homicidal maniac leave someone alive? Oh right too weak . . . but then those must have been some strong new born babies eh?" The woman said, smirking at Sasuke.
"Wait . . . what did you just say?" Something clicked in Sasuke's head, something that hadn't clicked before.
"New born babies, one year olds, two year olds . . . all the men, women and children were murdered . . . all save for you and Itachi's reasoning as to leave you alive was because you were too weak to kill" The woman said and Sasuke looked at her, it didn't add up to him either, why had Itachi kill those that could barely cry in hunger but leave him if his only reason was he was too weak.
"Itachi went insane . . . who knows what madman will do" Sasuke said, not wanting to accept that something different was going on.
"Or, he was blackmailed, most of the bodies were burnt on the spot by the investigators but like I said, I was there that night . . . I saw the wounds, one person had paralysed everyone with a genjutsu and then they had stabbed everyone in a manner that would kill them slowly and painfully . . . then someone else had come along and killed everyone else quickly and painlessly" the woman said, looking serious now.
"Why were you there? How do I know YOU didn't have a hand in all this?!" Sasuke didn't want to hear anything that the woman had to say anymore, she was challenging his beliefs after all.
"I'm a spy . . . your clan had gotten themselves into some . . . troublesome business that required the Hokage to deploy me . . ." the woman said, looking away
"You lie! My clan are nothing but heroes! The best of the village! Nothing and nobody challenged them!" Sasuke shouted, he heard the undercurrents, she was accusing his clan of wrongdoing.
"At the end of the day, the attack on the Uchiha clan was ordered by the Hokage . . . even though he only ordered that the ringleaders for the coup they were plotting be put down . . . when I found out what he had done I nearly killed him myself" the woman said. Sasuke was shocked, he stumbled backwards and almost collided with the bookshelf until a strong arm caught him by the collar. "I told the Hokage that I suspected an infiltrator was influencing your clan's leadership with Genjutsu . . . I'd seen it in Kiri . . . right when I was about to find out who the culprit was . . . the attack happened, ordered by the Hokage . . . it wasn't until later I found out he had been fed false information and hadn't received any of my own reports so . . . the culprit had support from inside the tower . . . I know the names, I know the faces, I know the score and I will get even eventually . . . all that's left for you is to kill your brother . . . or bring him back as the hero he is" the woman looked out of the window that shone light into the little corner of the library they were in. "Yadokawa Minori" The woman said before disappearing as if she was never there to begin with.
Sasuke sat down with a dull thump and looked, for all the world to see, shell-shocked as he just stared at the ground. It was then that a thought occurred to him, if everything that woman, Minori, had said was true . . . that meant that someone much stronger than Itachi placed his entire clan under a Genjutsu and effectively killed them all. That woman, Minori, knew who they were and yet she hadn't done anything . . . maybe she knew that they were too powerful even for her . . .that had to be it, whoever could murder his entire clan in one night without leaving any evidence of their existence could not be beaten by any normal person. Sasuke needed power, he needed his Sharingan, he needed people strong enough to fight with him too. Sasuke nodded and got up, intending to head back to the academy and wait for his Jounin sensei.
"Alright, why don't we start with introducing ourselves" Said Kakashi as he looked at his three students. He had done a double take when he saw that Naruto kid and knew that Minori was somehow involved even though it had been twelve years since he had seen her.
"What do you mean sensei?" Asked the pink haired girl, if her file was anything to go by he might be able to use her as cannon fodder . . . but then again, she was probably too weak for her body to stop a Kunai.
"Your likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future . . . that sort of thing" Kakashi said, one finger on where his mouth would be if his mask wasn't in the way in a thinking pose.
"Why don't you go first so we can see how it's done" replied the pink haired girl.
"Alright then, my name is Hatake Kakashi, as for my likes and dislikes?" Kakashi paused to think about his answer "I don't feel like telling you" the three genin stared at their sensei with blank expressions. "Dreams for the future . . . never really thought about it . . . as for my hobbies . . . well, I have lots of hobbies" Kakashi said, summing everything up with the board look he have been giving the three genin. He could just see the thought processes going through their heads about how he hadn't told them anything other than his name. "Alright, you can go first" Kakashi said while Indicating Naruto, who had so far been silent.
"Name's Yadokawa Naruto" the blonde said with a slight smirk and kakashi had to force himself not to react. "My likes . . . hmmm" Naruto said "My dislikes . . ." Naruto paused to consider the question before just simply nodding "My dreams for the future . . . I don't dream" Naruto said vaguely and Kakashi just had to suspect that Naruto wasn't revealing the whole truth "Hobbies? One upping juu-chan in Fuinjutsu creations" that sentence made almost no sense to the other two children but Kakashi had an inkling.
"So the boy is already proficient in Fuinjutsu" Kakashi thought. "Alright next" Kakashi said aloud while looking at Sakura who suddenly looked melancholy.
"Sakura Haruno . . . I don't know anymore" that was all that Kakashi was going to get out of the girl but the other two students were looking at her as if this was a complete change from only a few hours ago and it was, Kakashi had been watching.
"Alright then, you" Kakashi said to the last remaining student
"Uchiha Sasuke, I have many dislikes and no particular like . . . as for my dream, it is not a dream, it is an ambition. I will restore my clan and avenge my family" Sasuke said with his hands clasped over his face.
"Interesting . . . he implied his entire family . . . could he believe Itachi is innocent?" Kakashi thought to himself as he studied the boy. "Well you are each unique and very vague . . . our first mission will be tomorrow" Kakashi said aloud.
"Sensei . . . what kind of mission will it be?" Asked Sakura, cocking her head to the side while Naruto was staring intently at Kakashi.
"A survival exercise" Kakashi replied simply.
"But sensei, we already did those in the academy" Sakura returned.
"Oi Sakura, we passed the academy now we need to pass the employment test . . . you can't expect a jounin to take us on if we don't have the right stuff, just cause we can pass the tests posed by the academy doesn't mean we are any good" Naruto interjected and both his teammates were looking at him. "Also i'm guessing there are limited slots available since there isn't a war and there doesn't appear to be one coming" Naruto said with a shrug.
"What Naruto says is correct, there are only limited slots available so . . . while all you newly graduated genin have what it takes, we only want the best of you and so the top nine will go on to become a genin and the rest will repeat" Kakashi said, confirming what Naruto said. "Meet me at training ground seven at five in the morning" Kakashi said before turning away and walking to the edge of the roof. "Oh and you'll probably want to skip breakfast . . . you'll throw up" he said before leaping off the roof.
"Kakashi" came a female voice from right behind Kakashi as he watched Naruto enter a house in a somewhat nice district of konoha.
"How long have you been back?" asked Kakashi in his bored tone.
"Dependes . . . whether or not I have to kill you know" Minori said as Kakashi turned to her and saw the pained expression on her face, she was serious. Snapping his book shut and putting it in his pouch, Kakashi gave to woman his full attention.
"Why would you have to kill me?" Kakashi asked, narrowing his eye.
"Remember what you were doing when I left? Surprisingly I have found no information on whether or not you are still amongst the enemy's ranks" Minori replied and Kakashi snapped his eye open wide in surprise. He quickly got his expressions under control.
"I'm not ROOT anymore . . . you were right, I shouldn't have trusted Danzo . . . I'm not even ANBU anymore" Kakashi said
"Six years" Minori said, looking at the ground before turning her attention to her house. "I purposefully avoided you and anyone who knew me . . . just in case"
"I never forgot" Kakashi said so quietly anyone other than Minori mightn't have heard him but she had and her eyes were wide even as she stared at the ground.
"Even though there was nothing to come of that night huh? That we weren't in a relationship?" Minori said, a hint of accusation in her voice. Kakashi just turned his head away from her. "I took the liberty of trying to fix your students for you . . . I've got your pink haired girl to go pay a visit to one of Gai's pre-dawn training sessions . . . that should either make her drop out or stick around for the long haul"
"And the Uchiha?" Kakashi asked turning back to Minori
"That one is a lot more complicated . . . I owe the boy . . . I was there that night but I couldn't do anything . . . it was all I could do to just bust out of the Genjutsu he put me under" Minori said shifting her attention back to Kakashi.
"Itachi put you under?" kakashi asked, an air of incredulity.
"No . . . worse . . . much much worse" minori said and Kakashi got a sinking feeling that he didn't want to know who . . . thus he asked.
"Who?" Who rasped out so quietly.
"Obito" came the one word reply and Kakashi felt the world turn upside down.
"No! That can't be! You're wrong! Obito is dead!" Kakashi shouted out, coming inches from Minori's face who just stood there eyes closed.
"His voice was unmistakable, mannerisms . . . fighting style, what little I saw . . . tell me Kakashi, did you see Obito draw his last breath? Did you see the light go out in his eyes? Feel his heart give out? Did he die in front of you?" Minori said, questioning Kakashi who stood stock still, one eye wide open. "Kakashi . . . did you see him die?" Minori asked again, she already knew the answer.
"He was crushed under rocks . . ." Kakashi started
"Doton jutsu" Minori said even as Kakashi was about to. "Whoever found him dragged him out and fixed him up . . . it's most probably not the Obito we knew, I am certain someone else has gotten their mitts on him and corrupted him to their whims . . . why else would he fucking murder his entire clan?!" Minori said, almost growling.
"You've changed . . . more mature" Kakashi said though with an undercurrent of Minori still being the same person he knew . . . just with new features.
"Six years of living as anyone other than myself coupled with a few times I've done it since then . . . I still have some of the habits I created for some of the characters I became" Minori said and the two turned back to the house they had been staring at. "Had any human contact since I left?" Minori asked, a coy smile on her face.
"Anko . . . once, after a mission" Kakashi replied "It wasn't the same" he added and Minori smiled fondly at the man. Minori put a hand on Kakashi's shoulder and turned to leave when suddenly her hand got caught by Kakashi. Minori turned back and saw the look that Kakashi gave her, the look that said he hadn't forgotten. Minori opened her mouth to respond but stopped and looked down at her hand, suddenly she felt like a fourteen year old again and saw that boy she knew so long ago.
"Kakashi . . ." Minori whispered forlornly only to close her eyes. "I haven't forgotten either" she said before opening her eyes again.
well, that's the end of another chapter . . . it's 03:00 . . . in . . . right abooooooout . . . now. so please excuse all of the errors . . . in any case, if you don't know what Minori and Kakashi were saying about that whole "remembrance" stuff then you should go back and read chapter 3/4 (although it's labeled as chapter 4 on the chapter list)
In any case, tell me what you liked, disliked, what you thought could use improvement and what you'd like to see more of. until next time, take care.