Hello everyone!
I'm moved into my new place, I have uberfast internet, and I've finished writing another chapter. Yay! This is a connecting chapter between the mission and the Chunin Exams. Nothing really exciting to report about events... I do have to say that the Village Hidden in the Shadows was relatively well accepted, as were the Shadow genin. I'm glad. They have a small amount of screen time in this chapter, though I know some people are going to hit me for what Cala does. . The Chunin Exams start next chapter, so that's where the real fun is going to start. Hope you enjoy, hope your review, but most of all I hope you enjoy reading. Much love!
~Sarai
Naruto: Kurashio
Chapter 7 – Doldrums
"Absolutely out of the question!" Tsunade shouted at the three Jonin before her, "I'm not about to re-open registration just because you couldn't make it back on time. You missed the deadline… I'm sorry, but your genin will have to wait until the next exam period."
"And what will you come up with to get us out of the way then, Baa-chan?" Naruto accused, "Jira will be sixteen by then! It's insulting to keep him a genin when he's already more powerful than half the Chunin corps."
"I don't know what you're talking about," the Hokage turned her nose up, "And there are many who don't pass the Chunin exams until their late teens."
"But Jira hasn't even been given the chance!" Naruto snarled.
"And that's not my fault!" Tsunade countered.
The blond slammed his hands upon the Hokage's desk, glaring menacingly at her, "I kept my team out of the previous exams for the sole purpose of preparing them for this round… and now you are telling me that I have to tell them no, because you didn't inform me of the registration period. I know what you're doing, Tsunade, and I'm not going to stand for it."
"You don't have a choice," she gave him a cold glare, "I'm not changing my mind about this."
[…]
Outside the Hokage's office, nine genin were tensely listening to the heated argument going on behind closed doors. They had been waiting out in the receiving area for nearly an hour, and things didn't look to be changing. At intermittent times they had heard Kakashi, Sasuke, or Naruto arguing with Tsunade-sama… sometimes multiple voices were yelling, but the result they overheard was always the same: no chance of getting into the Chunin exams.
The longer this stalemate went on, the weaker their chances grew of ever getting in. Registration had closed at noon and the first portion of the exam began at one… the three genin teams hadn't arrived in Konoha till shortly after two… the first exam would be over in a matter of minutes, and then they would have no chance at all.
"Dude, Fuma, your dad sounds furious…"
"The Hokage is being a jerk," the small dark haired boy answered. There were several snickers from the others at his comment.
Jira stood quietly off to the side, his attention focused upon the argument going on in the other room. With the Byakugan he was able to see everything, and he could tell just how angry his father was… and Sasuke wasn't too far behind him. It wasn't like Jira could blame them either; from what he could gather, it appeared like the Hokage had intentionally sent the three teams away from Konoha, knowing they would miss the exam registrations.
As far as the eldest Uzumaki child was concerned, the Hokage was being irrational and stubborn, but he was a child. What could he do to change the mind of a Hokage, if three of the most impressive Jonin in Konoha could not? Apparently the other genin gathered where having similar worries… all of them eavesdropping in their own way. Jira had been watching them with amusement. Noticing the techniques his comrades used to gather information would be beneficial in the future, and it provided a necessary distraction from his worry.
Hana had the most interesting system… she was sitting upon and open window sill speaking quietly with her white squirrel Ying. The other squirrel, Yang, had a vantage point outside of the Hokage's office and was looking in on the argument. Every now and then, Hana would send Ying out the window, where the white squirrel would then locate its partner. The two squirrels would exchange information in their bizarre form of communication, and then Ying would return and relay that information to Hana.
Another genin with interesting technique, one Jira felt was worth noting, was Gemma. The boy was intently watching a line of ants which were going in and out of the office from beneath the Hokage's door. The boy never once said a word, but about every five minutes, Gemma would pick one of the ants up with his index finger, bringing it to his ear, and after several minutes he would return it to the floor and intently begin watching the line of insects again. This wasn't so unusual, unless you knew Gemma's father: Shino Aburame, the head of the insect clan.
From what Jira could recall, Gemma's family had a long running history with a specific species of insect, which allowed them several interesting abilities… one of which was an acute understanding of bugs, their hives, and their communication techniques. While Gemma may appear to be playing with a group of ants, Jira was fairly certain the boy was gathering information about the Hokage's meeting.
And why shouldn't he be? Everyone else in the room was doing it. Kit was using Gaara's personal "sand third-eye" technique, which the Kazekage had taught him during one of their monthly visits. Chino was sitting next to the door, using his ears to listing to the sounds which vibrated against the walls, while Gakira looked to be napping. Jira immediately recognized this as the aftermath of her "mind swapping jutsu", a special technique of the Yamanaka clan, which her mother headed; Sainō kept poking her every now and then, but when she didn't budge, the nymph-like boy sat down and surrendered to his boredom for a few moments before prodding his teammate again.
Jira suppressed a chuckle and turned his concentration on the remaining two genin. His little brother was listening intently to his communicator, having trained it in on Naruto's frequency. Apparently their sometimes-absentminded father had forgotten to switch it off, which was giving the small raven a perfect way to listen in… for someone who knew how to patch into a secure channel. Fumato's technique was a little more technologically minded than the other genin, but it was rather ingenious for a young ninja without an active bloodline. It only showed why Fuma had been able to graduate from the academy so early… he substituted his lack of mastered jutsu with pure talent.
"If he ever develops sharingan… or any of our parent's traits," Jira thought, a serious mood falling over him, "He'd be an incredible ninja. Perhaps better than Kit or… even me."
Even though all of Naruto's children were labeled prodigies, Jira had to admit Fuma's genetics gave him a substantial edge… just with raw, natural potential, Fuma was already more impressive than Jira. That would be ok, because Jira had always used his intellect to make himself better than others… add that, along with his overzealous training, and the eldest Uzumaki was certain he could best all comers.
But Fumato had more than just potential; he had a way of looking at things… making connections and relations almost instantly where it would take Jira several moments or longer. Fuma was only going to get better as he got older, whereas Jira felt he might be stagnating. It was a sobering thought; one Jira almost let himself get caught up in.
In an effort to distract himself yet again, Jira forced his attention elsewhere, and found his eyes landing upon the only genin in the room he hadn't observed… possibly because he'd been avoiding looking at the tall, pale-haired youth.
Ame was staring intently out the window, looking blissfully serene and oblivious to everything around him. Something not out of the ordinary for the long haired boy, but Jira had a suspicion that this time he was looking out the window with a purpose; however, try as he might, Jira couldn't deduce how Ame was eavesdropping.
"If you keep looking at me like that, someone might get the wrong impression," Ame turned his violet eyes toward Jira and blinked back a mild bit of shock.
Jira was confused by this, but then he remembered having Byakugan active… his appearance would look mildly disturbing to someone not expecting it. "Sorry," Jira apologized and once again focused on the Hokage's office, noting that nothing had really changed in the past few minutes.
Ame chuckled, "No need. I just keep forgetting that your unique talents have a tendency to make such a pretty face so… severe looking."
"Now look who might be making the wrong impression," Jira growled, not facing the other boy.
With bloodline skill active, Jira could still see Ama shrug indifferently at his comment. "Depends," the graceful boy mused, turning back to the window.
"On what?" Jira asked out of curiosity.
"On whether or not the impression is wrong," Ame smirked, saying nothing else.
Jira felt a slight flush rise to his cheeks for no apparent reason, and he was very glad to know Ame wasn't looking at him. With a sigh, the long-haired blond crossed his arms and went back to observing the Hokage's office, but couldn't stop sneaking stray observations at the graceful boy beside him.
Of all the genin in Konoha, Ame was the only one his age. There were genin older than they were, and a majority of them were younger, but strangely enough Jira and he were the only fourteen year old ninjas in the village—and Ame wasn't even an original resident of the village, having been brought in by Uncle Itachi. Because of the close age, Jira had become closer to Ame than his other friends… and they'd also become rivals. Ame was one of the few genin who could actually hold his own against Jira in a sparring match, something the other refused to let Jira forget. They often kept a tally on how often they'd bested the other, and currently Ame was in the lead… not for actual victories but for "saves" as the pale boy called them.
According to Ame, he'd saved Jira's life twice, which counted more than sparring victories. The first save Jira had to agree with. Kakashi and Naruto's teams had worked together on several training exercises, and on their first cooperation Jira had just begun working with Byakugan in the field. He'd been so overwhelmed by the distance of his sight that he hadn't noticed a cliff's edge right in front of him. Thankfully Ame had grabbed his wrist before he fell, and Jira had been much more careful since then…
The second time was a matter of debate. It had been on their first mission together, and, in a fight with several, violent hooligans on the border of Suna, Ame had stopped one of them from shooting Jira in the back. He had of course seen the man and was more than prepared to dodge; however, Ame insisted that Jira wouldn't have been able to dodge completely and would have been hit by the bullet somewhere—therefore, by saving Jira from the bullet, Ame counted that as another "save". Jira had been fighting to even the score ever since, but, even though he constantly seemed carefree and aloof, Ame never let his guard down.
With the scale unbalanced in their saves, Jira's only comfort was in knowing that he'd managed to best Ame in sparring matches. In fact, Jira had almost double the amount of victories as the other boy, their current score being 22:13 in Jira's favor. In recent months Jira had only been getting better, so it would only be a matter of time before he settled their score… and he was no longer indebted.
At that moment Ame gave Jira an odd look… some mixture of amusement and something else. Jira couldn't place it, but he could have sworn there was a bit of anger there. Why in the world would Ame be angry with him? Jira was about to ask the tall, fair skinned boy that very thing… when a deep, gruff voice nearly frightened him to death.
"You children do know the Hokage would skin you alive if she knew you were snooping in on her conversations."
With a quick blink, Jira shut off the Byakugan and turn sideways, slowly. The person he saw before him was possibly one of the most intimidating ninja Jira had ever seen: the man was a giant, easily six and a half feet tall, wearing a black trench coat and a Konoha protector tied over his head… and his face, though obviously stern, was made much more menacing by the presence of several long, hideous scars.
The giant locked eyes on each of the children for a moment before smirking, "You know what we do with spies in this village?" When none of the genin dared to answer, the man chuckled. It was a deep, reverberating sound which was anything but amusing to the people on the receiving end. "I'll tell you how we deal with them," he said with a smirk, "They're given to me…"
[…]
Tsunade was stalling them, which was completely evident to Sasuke, but try as he might, the Uchiha could no more make her see reason than either Naruto or Kakashi. The blond hag might as well have told them they were banned from the Chunin Exams, as least such a thing would be less insulting than sending them off on a distraction disguised as a menial mission.
Sasuke sent a withering glare at the Hokage, "I can't believe you're going to sit there and insult our intelligence. Naruto I can understand, but Kakashi and myself?"
"No one is insulting your intelligence," Tsunade sighed, rubbing her temples in irritation, "But if you are claiming intelligence, please try and look at this from another viewpoint."
"I'm trying," the raven growled, "But all I can see is you sitting here, using politics as justification for manipulating our squads. These children have a right to participate and you're—"
At that moment the door to the Hokage's office opened. The four people embroiled in the argument paused, turning around to see who had intruded. Sasuke got an eyeful:
All nine of their genin were dragged into the office by none other than Head Anbu Interrogator: Ibiki Morino. The man dwarfed all of the kids, who were cowering as if they had been caught cheating on a math exam… which was ridiculous because they had been outside in the waiting room only moments ago. Sasuke raised and eyebrow at Ibiki, but the man said nothing to explain himself.
Tsunade was the one to finally break the silence, "Ibiki… why on earth are you dragging children in here? I'm busy."
"I can see that, ma'am," Ibiki nodded respectfully, "But I thought you would like to know the results of the first exam."
"So that's it then," Tsunade smiled politely. She regarded Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi with indifference, "This argument is now void… there's no way I can admit your teams now that the exams process has entered its second stage."
"But!" Naruto exclaimed.
Sasuke was about to add his own thoughts, ones that would more eloquently argue their standing point, but he was beaten to the punch by Kakashi.
"Actually…" the silver haired man drawled, removing a scroll from his vest, "If my understanding of the exam rules are correct… then a genin can be admitted into Chunin exams, or surpass the first exam completely and go into the second exam, if given a written recommendation is offered, signed by no less than three jonin officials. Am I not correct, Ibiki?"
"Hatake has a point, ma'am," Ibiki grinned at Kakashi's shrewdness.
"You would be correct," Tsunade nodded, "But such a document would have to be put together, processed, and signed before the beginning of the exam period."
"Then it's a good thing I have such a document right here," Kakashi's eye twinkled with victory, light glinting almost menacingly off his forehead protector's metal emblem. He unfurled the scroll and laid it upon the desk, "You'll see that it was signed yesterday evening… and that Naruto's, Sasuke's, and my signature are readily available, affirming our genin of their ability and readiness for the exams."
"But I didn't—" Naruto began.
"You don't remember our meeting last night?" Kakashi asked the dobe with amusement.
"But you said it was the mission scroll!"
"Come on Naruto," Sasuke said sternly, "You of all people should know that mission scrolls are turned in by team."
"But Kakashi…" the blond looked from the silver haired jonin to the raven, suddenly realizing he'd been duped.
Admittedly, Sasuke had been played as well. He hadn't realized what he was signing, but he had known Kakashi was up to something. Unfortunately, the raven had been to busy with other thoughts to interrogate Kakashi about his subterfuge; therefore, he had let it slide…. Thankfully the old man had been up to something beneficial. With this scroll they would be able to put their genin into the Chunin Exams. Sasuke smirked in triumph as he noticed the bulging vein on Tsunade's forehead; she knew they'd outsmarted her… even if Naruto wasn't aware of it yet. There was no way that she could get around this.
He couldn't have been more wrong.
"Under normal circumstances," Tsunade said, suddenly very calm, "I would be forced to accept such a document, but seeing as how the three jonin have personal stake in these genin… you cannot say you are removed from bias. Plus, Naruto doesn't seem to have any recollection of signing that document, so I cannot safely say that his signature wasn't forged. The matter is closed."
She held up a hand, preventing Sasuke from interrupting. He was forced to stand there, silently simmering in rage at the Hokage's stubborn denial of their rights.
"So… Ibiki," the Hokage said, returning to the odd scene of nine children grouped around the bear-like man, "Would you mind explaining to me why you brought these children into my office with you?"
"Funny you should ask about that, Hokage-sama," the man grinned looking down at the children, "Did you know that your office had been bugged?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, especially when Sainō and Gemma snickered at the comment and the other genin were trying their hardest to keep a straight face. Apparently Ibiki had just made an inside joke which the four people in the Hokage's office weren't aware of.
"What do you mean, bugged?" Tsunaded raised an eyebrow.
"Quite simple, ma'am," he pointed over to the trail of ants which were now evacuating the room, "Each of these children had your office under surveillance. They knew everything you were saying, and I can't say they looked too pleased with the information. I wasn't privy to the intel, but from what I've gathered… it has to do with my exam."
"You are right about one thing, Interrogator Morino," Tsunade said sharply, "You aren't privy to that information."
"No disrespect meant, ma'am," Ibiki continued, "But if these genin were in the exam I just proctored… I promise you they would have passed. I have no doubt about it. So, and I mean no disrespect by what I'm about to do…" At saying this, the large man walked over to the Hokage's desk, grabbing a pen as he bent over, and he signed his own name to Kakashi's scroll. "I'm going to give my own affirmation to their ability to take the exam…"
Tsunade looked like she was about ready to explode. Sasuke thought she might have a coronary on the spot, because of how quickly her face began to turn a violent shade of red. Both he and Naruto took a step back, expecting the immediate explosion of noise, but Ibiki interrupted her, stalling her rage.
"On one condition…" the interrogator said, turning to face the children. The entire room went silent, even Tsunade becoming momentarily calm, as they waited for the large man to finish.
"If any one of you should fail to pass the second exam… should you not make it into the third portion…" Ibiki took the time to look each of the genin in the eyes, "You will be forever banned from taking the Chunin Exams. If I were you, I would think on this closely. It would be much easier to take the Hokage's advice and wait two years… rather than risk permanent status as a genin."
[…]
Naruto's rage and frustration melted out of him as soon as Ibiki signed the admittance scroll… but they were quickly replaced by fear and anxiety as the Interrogator announced his stipulation. It was very similar to the ultimatum they were given during their Chunin Exam. Admittedly they had been forced to accept a test question; whereas, this choice was far more difficult to make. Ibiki was asking the children to make a split second decision about their future… one that was very obvious in its weight. Naruto almost wanted to tell them that the question was part of the test, but from the way Ibiki was stern-faced, the blond had difficultly telling if that was the case.
Not one of the genin moved to answer. Naruto could see they were all nervous, even though some of them hid it well. In fact, Jira looked so calm; Naruto half expected him to walk up and pronounce he was ready.
The blond wasn't the only one in the room surprise when Kit suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.
"I accept!" the small redhead shouted, "I don't care what the condition is! I'm ready to take the exams." The small boy, shorter than even Fumato if only by an inch or so, looked up at Naruto with determination, "I'm going to make you proud, dad!"
The sheer amount of certainty in Kitaka's voice made Naruto's heart swell with pride. If it wouldn't have embarrassed the boy, or ruined the moment, Naruto would have rushed over and hugged his son in a split-second. Thankfully, he was about to maintain his self-control, which allowed time for the next genin to speak.
Not surprisingly, Jira was the next to walk forward, quickly followed by Fumato.
"I'm ready too," Jira smiled down at Kit, "As my brother said… we have some very dedicated teachers who we owe this much to."
"Yes," Fuma nodded, looking down that floor.
Compared to Jira and Kitaka, the little Uchiha looked so much younger in Naruto's eyes. His charcoal eyes were filled with hesitancy, but Naruto knew it stemmed from the sudden attention. Fuma had never liked being in the spotlight and he hated people staring or fawning over him… which was unavoidable considering his parents.
Still, seeing all three of his children standing side-by-side in support of one another, Naruto felt a sense of satisfaction at the scene, knowing they were a family despite their difficulties. A sideways glace at Sasuke show a similar sense of emotion playing across the Uchiha's face, and Naruto's heart fluttered uncontrollably for a moment… everything was getting better.
One-by-one the rest of the spoke up, acknowledging their acceptance of the term, visibly encouraged by Kitaka and his brothers. Once they had all agree, Ibiki turned to the Hokage and shrugged. "I told you, ma'ma," he laughed, "They were meant to pass."
"Alright!" Tsunade barked, "Ibiki, get them he hell out of here! All of you, out! Go prep yourselves. The second exam starts tomorrow morning, and I'm not going to put it on hold for any of you!"
Naruto made to slip out with the children, but Tsunade's barking made him freeze in his tracks.
"Oh no! You three are staying put!"
Naruto looked to his left and noticed Sasuke and Kakashi frozen in similar poses of sneakiness, trying to get away from the Hokage's wrath.
"Turn around, all of you!"
Slowly and fearfully, Naruto complied with her command, turning to face the old battle-axe and half-expecting her to start yelling; however, the smile on her lips made him even more uncomfortable. Kakashi let out a small cough, obviously trying to relieve his own tension.
"You three have made this exam period infinitely more difficult than it should have been…" she whispered in a sinister way, "Therefore I have the perfect punishment for each of you."
"But, Baa-chan!" Naruto whined.
"Shut up, twerp!" Tsunade snapped, "You fucked it up, so you're going to make certain everything goes smoothly. Especially you, Kakashi!" She pointed a finger at him menacingly, "Which brings me back to my punishment. You're going to proctor the exams."
"What?" The three jonin exclaimed.
"You heard me," Tsunade leaned back in her chair, obviously content with her punishment and knowing full well it would keep the three of them busy. "Kakashi will be head proctor for the second exam, Naruto will proctor the third exam preliminaries… provided enough genin pass to require them, and Sasuke will proctor the finals along with the proctor chosen by Kirigakure. Whoever is not head proctor will be overseers… keep an eye on your genin, gentlemen." Before any of them could protest, Tsunade gave a thundering yell, "Now get the hell out of my office!"
[…]
"Ugh! I can't believe how difficult she was being! It was so stupid, and Kakashi! What makes him think he can take advantage of me? Huh! Now I have to write up a mission scroll, and I have to proctor the exams… when am I going to find time to turn that paperwork in? It's not fair!"
Naruto hadn't stopped ranting since they left the Hokage's office, and Sasuke was getting a little irritated from it. They were almost to the Uchiha district, and for anyone who didn't know their Konoha geography… that was a long walk for someone to rant. Sasuke wasn't even certain if Naruto had taken a breath once he started ranting, but surely it wasn't good for someone to yell so much.
"No," Sasuke decided with himself. It wasn't good for someone to yell and rant that much. He had Naruto's health to think about. The dobe was lucky Sasuke put such concern into his well being; other wise Naruto would end up someone only the gods could discern.
Finally deciding on his course of action, Sasuke wait for his blond to turn and look at him.
"And Ibiki! He just about gave me a heart attack," Naruto almost continued walking, not noticing Sasuke had stopped. Quickly the blonde turned around, "Sasuke? Are you listenin—"
Naruto's words were cut off by Sasuke's lips. The raven placed a hand on both sides of Naruto's face and pulled him close, catching the blond completely unaware. Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but Sasuke expertly maneuvered his tongue to prevent any further speech. The raven inhaled sharply, literally taking Naruto's breath away, and wrapping his arms around the blond to keep him supported—because it looked as if Naruto could very well faint.
A quiet Naruto was an enjoyable Naruto; Sasuke had decided this a long time ago. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy talking to Naruto, but sometimes silence allowed them to communicate differently; such as when Naruto began to kiss him back, completely unknowing of the audience that they had begun to attract.
Those few impassioned moments were enough for Sasuke to enjoy, but, like always, Naruto quickly gained his senses and pushed the raven away… roughly.
"What the hell, Teme!"
"Don't complain," Sasuke smirked, "Consider it payback for your taunt in the forest."
"But… I did that in private!" Naruto whined.
Sasuke shrugged, "Consider it payback for me listening to thirty minutes of rambling. I'm not Oyone, so it's not my job to listen to people's problems."
"We're practically married!" Naruto shot back, "That falls into the job description."
"True," Sasuke raised his eyebrows suggestively, "So do other things… repeatedly."
"You are so…"
"Charming?" Sasuke supplied.
"I was going to go with conceited," Naruto stuck his tongue out.
"At least it got you to stop thinking about Kakashi," Sasuke sighed, "And it's not like you didn't enjoy it."
"What can I say? I get excited when people watch," Naruto grinned seductively.
Sasuke knew what he was doing. Naruto was trying to flip the tables and make Sasuke feel uncomfortable about people watching. The way the blond was looking at him, Sasuke feared he might be pounced upon and molested right there in the street. He was slightly uncomfortable about the prospect, not because of people watching, because gravel was never enjoyable when it was trying to use your back as a means to meet your spine.
"Save it for the house," Sasuke said coolly, "We're only a few minutes away, besides… you never knew what perverts might be watching." That seemed to calm down the blond's libido considerably. Naruto looked around suspiciously, inching closer to Sasuke, which the Uchiha didn't mind.
"Speaking of Kakashi…" Naruto muttered, "Didn't he leave Baa-chan's office with us?"
Sasuke sighed and pulled his dobe into a half-chokehold/half-hug as they walked back to their house amid a torrent of protests from Naruto and responsive Uchiha smirks.
[…]
"I thought I told you to get the hell out of my office," Tsunade growled, throwing a venomous look at Kakashi.
"You know you secretly want me," Kakashi teased.
"Yes," Tsunaded nodded, "Drawn and quartered… unfortunately I need you alive to make my life a little less chaotic; though, you seem to be doing an excellent job of failing at that."
"I aim to please…" Kakashi chuckled.
With another growl, Tsunade threw a nearby scroll at Kakashi's head. The jonin dodged, but just barely. "Why are you still here?"
Kakashi sighed and adopted a professional manner, at least for the moment, "If you want me to proctor the second exam… I need to know which genin are taking it. Knowing the participants will allow me to assign them the appropriate overseers."
"You do know that no one can interfere with the exams," Tsunade cautioned. "People die every year."
"Which is a shame," Kakashi said glumly, "But I understand… still, we don't want a repeat of Naruto's year."
"That's funny," Tsunade chuckled.
"What is?"
"You called it Naruto's year… when did you go from having Sasuke on a pedestal to Naruto?"
Kakashi paused and thought about her words. It was true… Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all took the exams that year. Kakashi had even ignored Naruto in order to personally train Sasuke, so why all of a sudden was the old jonin referring to the year as simply being about Naruto?
"I can't honestly say…" he mused, "But… I have to admit that if it came down to it, if something happened between the two of them? I would choose Naruto without hesitation."
Tsunade nodded, "So would everyone here, even Sasuke himself. The idiot has a tendency to grow on people without them noticing."
"I agree…" Kakashi was about to say more, but a name on the genin list caught his eye, completely distracting him. "Interesting…"
"What?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"We have six villages with genin. Who's the new addition?"
"Darunōgakure."
"Village hidden in the shadows…" Kakashi paused, "Why have I heard that name before?"
"I don't know where you would have," Tsunade frowned, "I have no recollection, but apparently Hiruzen authorized them to enter, as well as the first Kages."
"No…" Kakashi muttered, going over to the wall where the Hokage scrolls were indexed, "I know I've heard that name before." He began pulling scrolls out, looking at them, and returning them in a frenzy.
"What are you looking for?" Tsunade barked.
"Old Chunin exam records."
"Well, you're in the wrong place!"
"Where should I be looking?" Kakashi asked, looking over his shoulder.
"Top right, third compartment and down," Tsunade sighed, "Stop making such a mess."
"Mah…" Kakashi said, opening a scroll, "You don't ever read them."
"That is beside the point!"
"The point is…" Kakashi said, perusing the scroll, "That I was right. Look here."
He dropped the scroll on the desk before Tsunade and pointed to a list of four names, "Right there, Darunōgakure entered three genin and a supervising jonin."
"This was the year you took the Chunin exams," Tsunade stated, looking up at Kakashi incredulously, "Do you remember them?"
Kakashi shook his head, "I don't remember much about my exams… I only remember my final match."
"I recall it as well," Tsunade spoke with suddenly realization, "Didn't you fight a girl from Suna?"
"No…" Kakashi said darkly, "I fought a demon."
"That's right…" Tsunade ventured tentatively, "Minato had to step in didn't he?"
Kakashi nodded, his eye pouring over the names of his opponents in that Chunin exam, hoping that one of them would jump out at him.
"I've tried… so many times to remember her name, but every time I think I've remembered… all I see are those eyes," Kakashi swallowed the memory came up fresh in his mind. He hadn't gone over it in years. "Those eyes," he continued, "They were dark… cold… like ice, but sharp as steel. I've never seen anything like them in all my years as a jonin."
"That girl went on to win the tournament that year, didn't she," Tsunade frowned, "I can't recall her name either."
That was all Kakashi needed, his eyes immediately shot up to the list of finalists, one in particular: the winner of the Chunin Tournament. "Kurani Akanaru…" as he read the name, Kakashi knew instantly it wasn't the woman he had faced.
"That's not her."
"Well I have an older brain than yours, Kakashi," Tsunade sighed, "If you don't remember how can you expect me to?"
"I have a legitimate excuse for not remembering," he countered, "She knocked me unconscious… I didn't remember anything about the fight."
"You got beat by a girl," Tsunade chuckled, "That's probably a blessing in disguise."
The comment didn't deserve a rebuttal, so Kakashi didn't waste his breath with a defense. He rolled up the scroll calmly and returned it to the shelf. "I'll get to work on the security detail for the second exam, Hokage. I'll have a scroll on your desk by this evening," Kakashi nodded with stiff politeness and exited.
[…]
Kitaka was busy maneuvering through the hustle and bustle of evening pedestrian traffic down in the market district. He had come down here to purchase new kunai for the exam tomorrow, having used most of his on the mission and failing to retrieve them. It had been an error on his part, but he felt excused due to extenuating circumstances.
Besides, it would be better to have new weapons for the exam… they would be in top condition and he could spend the evening practicing with them, getting the appropriate feel for their weight. It would also allow him to get some much needed alone time, because, despite things in the Hokage's office, Kit still needed to vent. He found that inanimate objects made the best targets.
He was so busy with his own thoughts, so focused on his destination; when he turned the corner to head for the blacksmith's shop, Kitaka ran head on into another pedestrian.
"Watch where you are going, boy."
Kit rubbed his head and looked up, and continued looking up until he was looking into a pair of blood red eyes, which regarded him as little more than an annoyance. They belonged to the largest girl he'd ever seen; she looked to be Jira's age, but she was almost as tall as Naruto and she had dark skin, darker than the boy had ever seen. The sword on her back was longer than Kit was tall and the more he looked at her, the more frightening she appeared, with her tattoos spiraling down her arms and vicious looking throwing axes sheathed at her waist.
"Move aside, Mavrí," another female voice said from behind the ginormous girl. The dark skinned one, called Mavrí nodded and sidestepped, revealing a small doll-like girl… and—
Kit's hand instinctively shot for his weapon; because the girl who had spoken looked almost identical to the female ninja he had seen murder the gang leader. His reaction apparently amused the three kunoichi, because they smiled at him but didn't bother to reach for weapons of their own.
"Is this a standard greeting in Konoha, or are you people just jumpy today?" the doll girl asked him.
Kit made to respond when the other girl spoke.
"Eira, we've been over this… it's best if you don't talk to people," the girl with black hair was a bit cruel in the way she spoke to her companion, but the doll girl only kept smiling.
"You keep saying that, Cala, as if it is going to work."
"One of these days I'm going to force you to be quiet," Cala snipped, turning her ice, blue eyes on Kit, "And what do we have here? A midget?"
The hair on the back of his neck bristled indignantly at the comment, and Kit snapped back, "You're not that much taller!"
"But I am taller," the other girl smirked, making a dismissive wave with her hand.
Kit noticed that she had the same blade-like nails as the ninja woman in Ishitohi, and he stood his ground, "It's doesn't matter how big you are… what matters is how well you fight with what you have."
The girl smiled at him coldly; and then, faster than Kit could react, she backhanded him out of her way. The redheaded boy hit the ground hard, flat on his back. The impact nearly winded him and he could feel the harsh sting from the blow against his cheek. A shadow suddenly blocked the light from his view, and Kit looked up to see the girl standing over him.
"You look good down there, midget," She sneered, "Just stay out of my way like that… and you might not have to feel my hand again. Although... men are stupid, so I reckon I should do it again just to make certain you understand me…?"
As she raised her hand again, Kit lashed out with his right leg, aiming for her knee. His attack never landed before it was caught by the tall, dark skinned girl. She looked at Kit and gave him a looked which was easy to read. It said: "don't".
"Mavrí?" the girl called Cala looked at her companion with irritation, "Did you just save this midget's life?"
"Yes, miss," Mavrí bowed her head, "It wouldn't be good if you killed someone not involved with the exams."
Cala seemed to contemplate this before she turned to Kit with a harsh glare, those icy eyes sending a chill straight to Kitaka's soul, "You're lucky, midget... Mavrí has a good point. You're also lucky that you aren't in the exams, or I might make a special trip just to find you."
Having said that, Cala turned away and walked down the street as if nothing happened, her black skirt swishing with the sway of her hips… as if taunting Kit to get up and try again. Kit wasn't foolish enough to do that; his instincts told him to stay down. The tall girl and the doll followed close behind their obvious leader, and soon the trio was quickly out of sight.
Pulling himself up off the ground, Kit dusted off his maroon sirwal. His cheek stung and he knew there would be a bright red imprint to mark his humiliation; however, all the eyes which were trying to discretely watch him didn't matter, not when Kit thought about the last thing Cala had said. If she found out he was in the exams… he could be in big trouble.
He didn't think there was a way Cala could actually be the same ninja as the one he had seen back in Ishitohi. There was no way that woman could have made herself so young, nor could she have gotten into the Chunin exams with a genin team… surely the Hokage or someone would have noticed a murderous psychopath trying to enter an exam with children? No, Kit was fairly certain that was impossible, but he was also fairly certain that the two women were connected. Their resemblance was uncanny…
He made his way towards the Blacksmith's shop once more, much more alert this time, and Kit also made a mental note to avoid those three ninja at all cost.
-Notes-
Oyone - a medical-nin, who was the closest Naruto character whom I could find that sounded close to Oprah. I figured some of their job description would be to act like psychiatrists.
Sirwal - pants of middle eastern origins, best reference I can give you is Gaara during the chunin exams... or Aladdin from the disney movie (though his were GREATLY exaggerated with the puffiness)