Back with 11!

Okay so first off I know there's lots of errors, I'm sorry. I don't have a beta so most of what I do is just what I write and toss out. I reread my stuff later and usually fix things. The mixing up of the 'you' 'yours' and 'you're' is usually the fault of spell check, automatically changing what I have. I can normally catch it but it can be harder sometimes than others. If you see major ones please feel free to tell me and I'll try to go back and find them.

On to reviews!

Harmonic Bunny: That is the longest review I have ever seen! You... kind of just read my mind with one of those things, which is a little creepy and very impressive. God, Kakashi is the best. You have so many great/terribly mean ideas for him it's wonderful. Fun Fact Asuka only tests the really-likely-to-explode things on people she likes and wants to impress so you've got a pretty accurate possibility there(except it might not be and accident .). It would totally be Asuma that taught it to Kakashi, I can't imagine anyone else. Ino I have mixed feelings about because on one hand she doesn't take shit and on the other she's a little mean and really obsessive. Pre-shippuden anyone was pretty annoying now that I'm thinking about it...

Sabie0521: I always wondered why when in reincarnations people just dropped their entire lives and just about any other skills they had in it except maybe rudimentary fighting abilities or a couple other languages. You can do so much with knowledge of this world, not just with future happenings but also with practical uses.

sharkswillruledaWORLD: First off, you have an awesome name! Sharks are the absolute best. Thanks for your reviewing, I really appreciate it! I couldn't help but incorporate some familiar things based on observation and logic that I came up with, it was too hard to resist. Hope this chapter lives up to your expectations!

Tough chick: I'll try to keep it going as long as I can, but I sometimes loose interest or see too many flaws with things and I end up giving up on them. I don't think that will happen this time, I have too many ideas for Asuka.

Freckled Mess: I'm glad you think so, and yes, I do. I'm sorry.

Lady Icicle: Spelling errors are the worst! I need a beta but I have this problem where I either don't trust someone with my writing(I've got one friend who tears into things so much I've actually cried) or I don't want to bother them with asking for help. I'm glad that you like this, the mad scientist thing was something I was a little worried about because I don't actually know a whole lot about science, but I've been doing a lot of research for this story so I think I've got a decent handle on how to proceed.

I absolutely love Tenzo, it makes me so sad that there's not more out there with him in it.

Loiosh311: Thank you!

kimchi759: I'm so sorry about the mistakes. Really, I tried to find as many as I could before posting everything but I guess I missed a lot. I'll try and go back and fix as many as I can.

As for the hole in her heart it doesn't have an actual name. This is because it's actually based off of something that my grandfather had when he was a child. They gave him ten years after diagnosis, expecting him to die at about thirteen. This was years ago and I never got to ask if he knew what it was called before he died so I'm just working off of what I do know and what I've learned from various anatomy classes.

Thank you for pointing our specific mistakes, I'm going to go fix as many as I can.

Naruto just climbed up the tree, kinda using the wall as leverage. Sasuke was admitted a little out there but I had to push it a little to get things the way I needed them.

It's funny that you mention protege's because at first I had it prodigies and I was told that was wrong. Not really sure what to do with that. And the comma's. Almost always I get told I use too many of them.

I'm really glad that you liked it even with all of the mistakes, thank you for taking the time to review all of those time. It means a lot to me.

Onward!


It was nerve wracking. My hands were shaking, my pulse was leaping and a cold sweat had broken out across my skin. Iruka and Mizuki sat at their judging tables, eyes one me, both looking friendly. There was a third party with them, one that made me pale considerably. My first teacher at the Academy took up the last seat, sharp eyes locked on me and back ramrod straight.

Rin Kaguya was a stern man of regal bearing, his eyes marking him a member of the Hyuga even if his surname did not fit the description. He was tall and proud, brown hair chopped just at his shoulders and jawline harp enough to slice metal.

He was of the firm belief that children should be seen and not heard, and instruction should be taken without question.

I held no fondness for him or his teaching style. In return he held a great deal of antipathy for me and my desire to know more than what he put up on the chalk board.

When his eyes landed on me I saw them narrow and his already thin lips disappeared entirely. My trembling hands clasped firmly behind my back and I stood in front of them, prepared for the practical portion of the exam. We had already given in out written papers, which I knew I had done well on, this last part I only needed to be proficient.

"Asuka Suzuki?" Iruka asked, a formality.

I nodded, squaring my shoulders and taking a deep breath. If I feinted here I would never live it down.

Mizuki pushed forwards a small pouch across the desk, one I accepted and refrained from opening. Not yet. "First off," he began, tilting his head off to the left (mine not his), "get as close to the middle of that target as you can. You have three kunai and three shuriken. You may begin when ready."

I wasn't ready, not even close. All of my doubts and fears slammed into me, threatening to sweep me off of my feet and into an ocean of regrets and what-ifs. Mechanically I reached into the thick leather and pulled out the four pointed stars, looking them over without really seeing a thing. My hands were still shaking.

I couldn't stay still forever, I knew, locking up would only lower my grade and I had to, had to pass.

Why though?

I had already changed the timeline. It wasn't major but it had happened. My boys were already friends, they could and would work together. Wasn't that enough? I hadn't even been thinking when I'd made this decision, it was split second, stupid, ridiculous. What had I been thinking?

I can't do this. It's too much, it's impossible, I've spent years working hard and getting stronger, fighting a hole that creeps through my chest and risking limbs and breathe for what? A future as a murderer? Why?

I should back out, I should give up, go home, give someone else my notes and move on to be a nice shop keeper, maybe sell fireworks. That would be nice right?

Without thinking I threw.

The star sunk deep into the wood of the target, two circles off center. I flinched, listening to pens touch paper and Kaguya scoff quietly.

What was I thinking? That I could do something like this, I'm a true fool. I wasted years of my life on something that would only end it sooner.

I threw again.

One circle off.

I was going to fail, I would never get past anything. Their eyes were on my back, judging me. I was in the field, the boys around me, me useless for my stupid heart.

I was standing in the school playground, above a stunned Sasuke whose rear was planted firmly on the ground. Silence was around us before Naruto broke into a wild cheer. Iruka smiled and wrote down my score on his clip board.

I threw.

The second ring was marked with steel.

The knives came out then, three, each one heavy and cold in my scarred fingers, lines crossing from wire and blade slices, patches visible from burns. I readied one of the kunai.

Some dark figure had a little blond boy cornered, their head wide open as they drew back to strike him. I threw and missed entirely. The blow landed. The boy fell still.

I was in the training ground, flinging blades under the careful eye of a girl with brown hair and a pink shirt. Off to the side two boys were in a spar, cheered on by a man of frightening exuberance.

The first blade flew.

Edge of the center ring.

Red clouds marked their arrival, straw hats tipped on their heads. Nine bodies were dragged across the ground, countless other laying in their wake. I watched their back, heart finally giving up.

My body moved without my telling it to, catching a punch aimed at my head and twisting, flinging the assailant, a year my senior, over my right hip, where he fell end over end.

The second left my fingers and clipped the edge of the first.

Orange hair and ringed eyes. The man rose above the village, floating like the clouds he wore. Arms extended. The world exploded. My end came. And so did my mothers.

The practice field was empty save me and the contraption that held an L shaped hunk of metal. A string lead away from it and I hid behind a tree. I yanked the string, the sound barrier shattered and when I peaked around the wood there was a perfect hole in the target. The weapon smoked from one end, otherwise unharmed. I had finally succeeded.

I threw the final weapon.

Bull's eye.

I turned back to the teachers, standing still until Kaguya told me to start my forms, pale eyes cold and judgmental.

I did so, settling into the familiar stance, feet apart and eyes forwards. This I could do.

Back fist, reverse punch-

Ice touched the ground, darting from water and towards my friend. The other leapt in the way, needles impaling him. He fell to the ground. The other screamed.

Step-through round kick, shuffle-up side kick-

Three of us sat in the tree, in our spot, splitting up candies and talking about everything and nothing. Naruto was nursing a bruised cheek, Sasuke had split his knuckles and my foot hurt from hitting one man's knee cap. Sasuke was the first to speak. "Forget them." He aimed it at Naruto. The boy shrugged.

Spin kick, palm strike, high kick, uppercut-

The valley echoed with birds, a dark sphere hovered in the center. Light shone to reveal two boys in the center, fingers clasped in comradery.

Elbow, chop, front kick-

"Y-you're not blocking high enough," Hinata told me, her first real criticism of anything. I was stunned for a moment before I pulled back and we started the spar again.

Left block, right punch.

I was finished.

The teachers wrote down my score and I took another breath, slow and careful. My pulse was still uneven, my temples throbbed and my stomach churned.

"Now," Iruka called my attention once more and I met his eyes, "Let's see the clone jutsu."

I nodded and brought my hands together.

Kayuya watched my first attempt at making a clone, eyeing me critically with his byakugan activated. When I failed spectacularly I looked up at him, utterly confused. He regarded me with distain. "You're chakra is uneven. There's too much spirit and mind, not enough physical energy. You won't get much further than the basics."

My hands wove seals, fingers trembling.

"If you go down this road you'll die young," my neighbor, Minamoto Hana told me.

I paused. If I passed this test I would die young. But I was already dead. So what did it matter?

I chose this path as my own, for selfish reasons. Now I've reached an obstacle and I want to give up? Why am I shaking? Why are my eyes starting to go out of focus? Why am I afraid? I've already gone through the scariest thing of all. What more do I have to fear?

I smiled shakily and lowered my hands, flicking them out and bringing them back up. My palms touched and digits moved, creating the needed gestures. My chakra, which had evened out as I trained my body, molded to my demands. I clapped together the final seal and smoke exploded on both sides of me.

I glanced from side to side, finding my clones looking just like I did. Choppy brown hair, burnt and frizzy at the edges. Dark green eyes stared out at the judges and when I looked over I found two of the three teachers smiling at me. Iruka pointed to the collection of headbands on the edge of the table.

I almost tripped on my way over, taking the metal plate in hand and bowing to the men before I made my escape, stepping out of the room in a doorway opposite of the one I had come through. Sasuke was standing outside, waiting for me, and though I couldn't see them I felt Kakashi, Yugao and Tenzo in one of the trees. With a shaky hand I brought the headband up for Sasuke to see, back striking the side of the school as I leaned on it.

There was the barest hint of a smile on the Uchiha's face as he walked over, stopping in front of me. I slid down to the ground, heartbeat still not calming, disbelief and excitement shooting through my veins as darkness touched the end of my vision.

Funny how I didn't even blink at the threat of combustion but tests nearly gave me a panic attack.

"You passed," Sasuke didn't sound surprised.

I nodded, smiling a bit and laying my head back. I closed my eyes, feeling the sun on my skin. "Wake me up when Naruto gets out," I requested.

Sasuke snorted. "You're not actually sleeping."

"No, but I might if he takes too long."


Naruto passed the test based solely on his practical skills.

He had the worst grade of the last five graduating classes.


The doctors eyes followed the movements of the girl as Asuka Suzuki, who they had watched grow from a tiny, death bound child to a still small, mentally unstable genius, pranced through the halls, a headband strapped to her forehead underneath her always-present goggles. Her smile was so wide it threatened to split her face in half.

They watched her turn into the room of her comatose mother, calling a greeting before the door shut behind her. A few shook their heads, other smiled in pity.

Inside the hospital room Shiori Suzuki lay in her bed, unable to tell her daughter how proud she was as she listened to the daily recount of events.


"I hear you passed your test."

I looked up from the memorial stone, surprised. Kakashi rarely spoke unless prompted, especially at Obito's supposed grave. I smiled brightly up at him, pushing my goggles down so he could see.

"I did it," I told him proudly, beaming up at the man. His eye crinkled in a smiled and he reached out, ruffling my hair.

"Not bad," he commented, "Did you get your team assignments yet?"

I snorted and swatted at his hand. "As if you don't know. You said you were taking on a team this year, you'll probably know who's doing what before I do!"

He shrugged simply. "Maybe, maybe."

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the stone, clasping my hands in front of me and bowing to it. I was going to celebrate my passing with Yugao, Tenzo, Gai and his team(Who I had gotten to know very well over the last year) tonight, and tomorrow I was going to see if I was right. I could only hope that I would get on the team that I needed. Funny, the most dangerous place I could think of was right beside my boys, and I would fight tooth and nail to stay there.


When I walked to the same school I had been going to for the past six years there was a buzz of excitement thrumming in my chest. I had changed my look a little bit for the occasion.

Gone were the frizzled edges of my hair, which was now chopped short, almost to my jaw. I'd traded bright T-shirts for a long sleeved shirt of green and exchanged torn up jeans for black ninja pants. The same blue sandals that everyone my age wore were also a part of my attire, and just as always my goggles were strapped to my forehead, though now they rested above the my headband. The thick gloves that Hinata had gifted me were long outgrown, and replaced by a near identical pair courtesy of Yugao.

Looking around I realized I was probably the only one who had changes style. Everyone else around me was dressed the same as always. It was funny actually, they sold ninja outfits in bulk packages of anywhere from five to fifty, so you could wear the same thing for days in a row and still change clothes every morning.

Tobio passed by me, calling farewell to his parents and I felt a sudden pang when I realized that neither of mine were around. It had happened the night before as well. I knew that Sasuke and Naruto felt something similar, but none of us mentioned it. I could at least talk to my mother, and had a small group of adults looking out for me.

I shook the thoughts out of my head, catching sight of a familiar form walking several yards ahead of me. A grin blossomed and I took off at a run, leaping into the air and nearly tackling the poor person from behind.

Shino didn't even stumble, used to my antics after a full year of them. There was a familiar hum as his hive moved under his skin in response to my actions, but they too knew me well, and understood that I was not a threat.

Shino's hands found the bend of my knees and helped support me as I clung to his back, light enough and small enough that I didn't hinder him any. In fact I was the shortest person in my class, smaller even than Hinata by at least an inch. I was no trouble at all to Shino.

"Good morning!" I chirped brightly, practically glowing with excitement and nerves. It was a funny mixture, not the terror that I had felt yesterday during the test.

"You seem happy today," the boy observed. I nodded my agreement.

"Indeed. For you see, I have graduated. That is reason enough for joy but To day is also the day that we get team assignments, and there's a good percentage that I'll end up on a team with at least one of my friends."

"That is a reason to be excited."

"Are you telling me that you're completely apathetic to it all?"

"No. Why? Because I have worked for many years for this, and those years will not be wasted."

I nodded my understanding and agreement, falling into companionable silence with Shino as we, or rather he, walked into the school. One of his insects crawled out of his collar, seeming to find me arm to be a more interesting place to be. I watched it, humming under my breath as it walked around, tickling me. I had grown used to the little things, and while I still burnt up ants and sprayed spiders with hair spray, I never have and never will hurt one of Shino's bugs. He cared about them too much.

I only got off of Shino when he was preparing to take his seat, dropping from his back and giving a quick wave as I walked up the stairs to take a seat next to Sasuke, who was having a his customary argument with Naruto. They were friends, and very close now. This did not stop them from fighting, being rivals too and all.

I watched, taking note of where Naruto was crouched on the table and how close the boys were to butting head. Tobio sat in front of them and I was struck with a sudden sense of Déjà vu.

No way.

Tobio leaned back, bumping into Naruto and sending him tripping down just as Sakura and Ino burst into the room, shoving and shouting at each other. They froze, as did the rest of the room. All of us had and were now staring wide eyed at the boys that sat next to me, their lips pressed together and horror painting their expressions.

I was the first one to break the silence, exploding into laughter that I barely covered with my hand.

The spell was broken and the boys broke apart, sputtering, spitting and gagging.

I continued to laugh as Sakura grabbed Naruto by the collar of his shirt, screaming in his ear. Sasuke shot me a glare that could have lit water on fire and my laughter died, replaced by a sly smile. I wiggled my eye brows suggestively and his glare increased.

"Shut up," he ordered sharply. My smile only grew.

Naruto limped over, nursing a bruise to the head and giving me a quizzical look. I flashed teeth up at him as he walked past to take the seat on my other side.

"Didn't know you swung that way," I teased, watching his face turn bright, glowing red.

"Shut up!" He shouted.

I stuck my tongue out. "Make me," I challenged. Then shrieked when something poked both of my sides. I spun around, eyes wide with horror. Sasuke sat behind me, his hands outstretched. There was an evil tilt to his face and I paled considerably.

"Don't you dare," I hissed, scooting away on the bench. This was a mistake as it put me right in Naruto's range. I squeaked again, jumping away when he poked me on the side, shouting 'stop it!'.

"Naruto, Asuka, is there something you'd like to share with the rest of us?" Iruka asked from the front of the room. We three looked down at him, surprised. I don't think any of us had seen him come in.

"Sorry sensei," Naruto and I chorused.
Iruka shook his head, turning to address us. "Now that that's settled, it's time for team assignment."

My nerves came back with a vengeance and I started praying to every god I could think of.


"Yeah, about the test...

The test will measure whether you are an informed, engaged, and productive citizen of the world, and it will take place in schools and bars and hospitals and dorm rooms and in places of worship. You will be tested on first dates, in job interviews, while watching football, and while scrolling through your Twitter feed. The test will judge your ability to think about things other than celebrity marriages, whether you'll be easily persuaded by empty political rhetoric, and whether you'll be able to place your life and your community in a broader context. The test will last your entire life, and it will be comprised of the millions of decisions that, when taken together, will make your life yours. And everything, everything, will be on it.

...I know, right?"

John Green