Author's Note: Second Update for the Day! Also, because I forgot to mention it before, this AU is slow-build. So it'll probably take a while or at least seem to before it derails from canon a bit (of course, things not affected by the fact Sakura didn't end up on Team 7 will probably remain the same, especially if it happened beforeeverything).
Secondly, Sasuke is a pain to write for, and I am sorry if I can't do the (little brat of a) character justice. Also, no pairing are decided, period. Unless it was pre-Kyuubi Attack, in which case it was already there, so oh well. Honestly, I'm not completely sure where I'm going with this anymore, but as long as find myself enjoying the writing aspect of it, I guess it doesn't quite matter. (Reviews still make me happy and inspire me to write more, of course.)
As always, this is un-beta'd, and if anyone catches any mistakes, please do let me know!
As for other things I forgot to mention last chapter...well, two other things, really. First, I'll be taking any suggestions for titles (I'm not all that great at it), hopefully I'll have enough to choose from by the time I hit chapter 5 (of course, not including extras and things that I might post here). Otherwise, I'll probably end up sticking with the current title (which I'm not actually all that fond of aside from the acronym, anyway); The Exceptional Art of Motivation.
Finally, I forgot to mention last chapter, but the little asterisk before 'she' when Kakashi was speaking:
[[ "Hey, hey, Kohaku! Can you make more of those bento?! That was really good!" [Naruto] exclaimed, eyes sparkling and wide as he leaned towards the brunette...who leaned a little further back, looking somewhat alarmed by the close proximity.
"Maa, I'm sure Kohaku here'll do it if *she feels like it," the Jounin spoke, clasping a hand on the sparkling blonde's shoulder and edging him a bit further away from the relieved brunette... ]]
From the scene above, the asterisk is meant as a note for the fact that he's not actually using the word 'she', since Naruto seems to have a mainly Asian language (and of course, assuming that everyone speaks a common language, that being some kind of alternate pseudo-Japanese or Chinese), in which*she is either pronounced the same as 'he' or her, his, their, etc. Or, like in the Japanese language, is usually left out and implied. Hence why the kiddo's still haven't figured out that Ko's a girl. (I'm actually still trying to decide if I should make it some kind of running gag, but I guess we'll just wait and see if things go to keikaku/plan.)
Now onto the Chapter!
edit:: Once again, I am going over chapters to try to catch and fix some of the errors I've found. Chapter 1 is complete, and slightly longer now, but still the same on the basic level, a few 'comments' in the script aside. Chapter 2 is also fixed, and -of course- updated now.
Chapter 2 (Bell Test I)
It was over. Kohaku couldn't help but to feel relieved, to be honest. After all, they'd come so close to failing despite everything, but somehow… well, somehow they'd managed to do it. Maybe not in the way they'd expected, but Kakashi-sensei (the Jounin had insisted now that they were his 'cute little Genin') had still passed them nonetheless.
Of course, that didn't mean their teamwork hadn't still needed some work, but it was probably better than what any other combination of said team might have been otherwise. Still, to think that they'd ended up cutting it so close…
Honestly speaking, the brunette was very reluctant to go through all of that ever again.
Six was a hellish time to have to meet up. The fact that they'd had to awaken even before that had probably made it even worse (not even mentioning the fact that Kakashi would, of course, be arriving late). Still, they'd managed it somehow, even if Sasuke was the only one that looked anywhere near awake as the trio met at the specified training ground in the note.
"M-ugh- morning," Naruto told the other blearily, unable to help the yawn that cut through his greeting.
"..." Sasuke, that asshole, hadn't said anything at all. Nor had he even shown any recognition other than his usual silent, bastardy presence. Still, Naruto was far too tired to really pick a fight for the moment. Oh, well...
"...Good Morning," intoned a quiet voice, surprising Naruto (and gaining a brief flicker of a glance from the raven haired avenger beside them) and cheering the blonde up at least a little despite his sleepiness and hunger.
Well, at least he didn't look quite as bad as Kohaku, though, seeing as the poor guy looked like he had gotten even less sleep than the blonde had. Still, he was so sleepy….not to mention hungry, the blonde sighed. Only to offer a sheepish grin to the others as his stomach growled loudly.
"...Uzumaki-san, are you alright…?" The tone of concern in the otherwise blank faced brunette surprised the blonde, but he still laughed sheepishly.
"Ughhh, yeah. Sorry. Just kinda hungry," the blonde admitted as the sun began to rise. By this point, fifteen minutes had passed since they'd met up, but still Kakashi-sensei didn't seem to have arrived yet. "But man, that stupid Sensei, he's late! Even though he was the one to say not to be, huh?" He offered, feeling a bit more awake out of sheer irritation and bravado.
"..." His stomach growled again, and he sighed. Man, he didn't even have the energy to complain anymore…
"...Here…" Looking up, the blonde found himself staring at...a plastic-wrapped bar?
"...But, Kakashi-sensei said not to eat anything…" The blonde started, giving the brunette (and the bar) a regretful look. "We really shouldn't-" His stomach grumbled again, and the blonde winced. Ughhh…
"...Uzumaki-san," the brunette started, voice surprisingly firm as the surprised blonde looked back up at the brunette. "Hatake-san said not to eat breakfast," tired caramel eyes seemed to bore into the blonde, as if there were some other meaning to his words. Still holding the bar out to the quizzical blonde, the other seemed to realize that he still didn't get it, because he spoke up again. "This is a snack," he clarified.
"But...we might throw up…" The blonde continued unsurely. His resolve was already wavering at the tantalizing nutrient bar that was still being offered to him, though.
"...It's still best to have something to throw up, than to have nothing even if we did, Uzumaki-san."
"...'s just Naruto," the blonde started weakly as he realized that the other had been calling him 'Uzumaki' this entire time. Biting his lip in indecision, he continued to hesitate.
His stomach growled again, and Naruto's walls broke. "Oh, fine, but if we get in trouble 's not my fault…" he protested weakly, taking the bar and practically tearing into it.
Oh man, that felt way better! His stomach wasn't complaining anymore, and he felt way more energetic now!
Hearing a snort, much brighter blue eyes glared at the condescending raven-haired male that might just (unfortunately) end up his teammate. "What the hell, Sasuke-teme! Why you always gotta be-"
A loud growl interrupted his words and he blinked. Wait a minute…
That definitely hadn't been him. His stomach was (definitely not satisfied, but) content, so there was no way it'd be his stomach so…. Eyes trailing towards the direction he'd heard the sound from, the blonde snort.
"What, were you just hungry too? Man, why didn't you just say so, you bastard! You don't have to be all condescending and shit!" The blonde declared, earning a dark glare from the ravenette.
"I was not-" the Uchiha started to speak, only to be interrupted once more.
Naruto burst into laughter, almost completely missing the spots of red that decorated the raven-haired genin's cheeks.
Opening his mouth to retort, Sasuke's words died as another bar appeared before him.
"I don't need…" he started halfheartedly, already feeling his stomach rebelling at his decision. His will weakened despite Naruto's continued laughter (the idiot was still rolling around the ground, clutching his stomach while trying to wipe his eyes simultaneously, that Dobe). The unimpressed toffee colored eyes only continued the job, as their owner's expression promised not to be as judgmental as the biased blonde, either.
Sighing, the Uchiha snagged the bar and opened it. "Only because your explanation was logical, and I'm hungry," he declared, shooting a venomous sneer at the blonde whose laughter was only now dying down.
"Yeah, yeah. Just hurry it up before that stupid scarecrow gets here! I don't want to get in trouble because he showed up before you could even finish a stupid bar," Naruto declared maganimous...magnanimal… He was being nice, okay! Even that stupid bastard should be able to understand that!
"Che," Sasuke didn't say anything, but he polished the bar off in record time, stuffing the wrapper into his pocket to get rid of later.
"Whatever, Dobe." Another sneer.
"What'd you say, you bastard…?!"
Clearly the energy boost the so-called 'snacks' had given them had brought them back to their normal selves. Kohaku almost regretted the decision when things got even louder than the stomach sounds...but at least it wouldn't make her hungry again prematurely, the brunette mused, settling down on the grass beside her bag (it always paid to be extra prepared, after all), as she chewed on another bar and watched the arguing duo.
Really, why the two couldn't get along even for a short amount of time was beyond the brunette. But if they were going to keep arguing she wasn't sure they'd be able to keep their energy up before the silver-haired Jounin arrived.
Making a decision, the brunette practically depleted the stock of nutrient bars she'd allotted for the day, throwing two more at each of her teammates. The quiet was almost worth it as the two catch the bars, if only out of habit (Naruto scrambling a bit to catch his before they fell). Noting the looks from the two (one somewhat wary and quizzical, while the other was simply confused), she blinked.
"Just in case," was all she said as the two exchanged an amazingly non-hostile look and put them away.
Best not to let Kakashi know about them after all, and it wasn't like the brunette's logic wasn't sound. Lucky for them, the Jounin hadn't expected much from them to begin with, and so hadn't decided to hide himself and watch them just yet. That would be saved for the last hour and half or so -possibly even two hours- before he deemed to show himself.
Nearly forty minutes had already passed by this point, but the trio of genin were simply too distracted to care as they settled into a somewhat awkward silence.
Too tired to really even care, Kohaku blinked slowly, bleary eyes and the warm of the rising sun on her back far too comfortable for her to really care much as she began to nod off. And despite the two males of the group trying to ignore each other, it would be the sound of a dull 'fwump' and a body falling that would finally catch their attention once again, and they turned in the direction of the sound to assess the situation.
For the second time that day, the two exchanged a glance of mutual agreement.
"...Man, that guy is weird…" Naruto muttered, scratching his hair as Sasuke nodded. Neither moved to wake the brunette, however. They could do that when Kakashi-sensei arrived.
Kami knew the brunette needed it. The dark bags (or so they assumed of the markings) under the caramel eyed genin's eyes being further -if incorrect- proof to the two, though their reasoning might have been different.
Sasuke thinking that the other would only slow him down otherwise, while Naruto figured he could just be nice and wake the poor guy up when Kakashi got here as thanks for the nutrient bars.
By the time Kakashi finally bothered to show himself, both the blonde and raven-haired boys would have dozed off at least once during the five hour wait, while Kohaku would continue to sleep straight through it (dozing under the sun or shade was a favored pastime, after all).
When Kakashi finally arrived at the training grounds (of course, scent and chakra both tightly coiled to avoid detection just yet) to observe the trio of genin that might -just might mind you- become his first genin team, the silver-haired Jounin was amused to find that two of three genin were practically asleep.
Well, almost sleep in the case of one Uzumaki Naruto, he corrected when the blonde shifted and yawned, glancing around blearily before he addressed the still standing Uchiha.
"Ugh, is he seriously still not here yet…?" The blonde asked sleepily, seeming to stare enviously as the only girl of the group continued to sleep peacefully. Why the boys were letting her sleep, Kakashi wasn't quite sure (though he could guess), but it was at least somewhat amusing.
"Hn," was the only answer the Uchiha offered. Though the fact that he'd made any attempt at doing so surprised the Jounin. Just what had happened between the two to make them so amicable…? Or was it just that they were simply too tired to argue? The silver-haired Jounin had to wonder.
Although, the fact that Kohaku could be so comfortably asleep and clearly dead to the world might have disappointed the Jounin (who'd been hoping to bother the kids with his lateness), he was still more amused that the other two had let her sleep.
Glancing at the trio between reading his beloved Icha Icha Paradise, the Jounin kept his ears concentrated on the trio to catch any changes in the kids he planned to take under his wing should things turn out well. Still, it was amusing to listen to the apparently one-sided conversation that was going on in Naruto's attempt to stay awake.
"Geez, that Scarecrow is super late," he muttered, head nodding a bit despite his attempts to straighten his back, arms resting on his knees as he shifted his pack, legs pulled up to his chest.
"Hn." 'Obviously,' the Hatake translated, flipping to the next page with a silent giggle.
"It's been four hours!" The blonde complained, sighing and stretching his limbs when it became clear to the blonde that staying in the same position made staying awake a futile effort.
"..." 'Four and a half, actually, but it's not like I'm counting,' Kakashi imagined, listening to the rustle of clothes as the last Uchiha shifted.
"Dammit, why is he still not here yet…" moaned the blonde, just as Kakashi read to where… Oh, he snickered silently, he was almost at the hot spring scene.
"...Hn," 'Hell if I know, but it's getting hella annoying standing here and waiting.'
"Man, is that all you can say, bastard?" Naruto scowled at the noirette's back, tone not heated in the least.
"..." Kakashi giggled silently, the clothes were coming off again, boy were things going to be getting... hot, he grinned.
No pun intended (or was it?).
"Ughhhh, I'm sooooo hungry…" The blonde groaned, pressing a hand against his stomach as if it would help. Clearly sulking, he shifted so he could safely flop onto his back. (Kakashi, of course, had yet to realize that the trio had bent the words he'd given them and that Naruto was actually mourning the loss of the -admittedly bland- nutrient bars the still sleeping Kohaku had given them.)
"Che," Ohh, the raven was annoyed~~ Kakashi grinned, eyes trailing back to the potentially explosive situation between the two boys. That had been clear irritation in the Uchiha's tone, and Naruto's blue eyes were flashing now too. (Again, he remained unaware that it was more Sasuke's way of stating he was not giving him either of his….not that he could have, he'd polished his own off just before Kakashi had decided to leave his apartment.)
"Bastard!" Naruto started, giving the raven a hot look, only to wilt as his stomach grumbled. Poor thing had high metabolism, no doubt not eating breakfast would be near crippling for the boy…
Well, okay, the ex-AnBu captain was just being dramatic. It wouldn't be so bad once the boy had some adrenaline running through his veins, but it would still mean none of them would be able to go at full strength.
"Uuughhhh…..I just want to get this over with already…" The blonde moaned morosely, curling back into himself as if doing so would be able to conserve his energy. Even Sasuke seemed to agree as his shoulders wilted (or hunched, same thing really, in this case). The ravenette giving a slight sigh that was pretty much hidden in the far louder and gustier sigh the blonde gave.
Kakashi skimmed past the next chapter as things wound down once again. He'd read it quite a few times already, but Jiraiya's writing never failed to capture his attention...Or, well, some of it once he'd read it a few times. The words being more reminders for him than to be read once he recalled the basics.
Well, there were a few books in Jiraiya's series by now, so was it really so surprising that even the copy-nin needed reminders now and then? And it wasn't like he planned to memorize it with his Sharingan. (Obito could remain the pure untouched virgin he remembered, thank you very much. He was not going to further corrupt his previous teammate!)
Slipping the book shut as the time hit eleven, he brought himself just outside of the training grounds and removed the jutsu he'd been using to keep his presence hidden, making sure to remain just outside any of their ranges (or more importantly, Kohaku and Naruto's ranges, since they had higher senses, and Sasuke had yet to learn to track Chakra as far as he was aware) before slowly walking over, unsealing the backpack full of bento's that he'd prepared just for the occasion.
Maybe not as good as homemade food (Kakashi wasn't the best cook, after all, hence the restaurant-brought bento), but it'd probably be good enough for a few hungry genin. As he'd been doing so, he completely missed the short exchange in which Naruto mourned his long-since eaten nutrient bars. The things had been filling for a while, but for a growing boy, they really hadn't been enough. Something even Sasuke agreed to, even if his metabolism wasn't quite as high as the blonde's...
The first thing Kohaku would notice upon awakening would be the slowly clarifying buzz of background noise that would reveal itself to her senses. The next would be the realization that she'd fallen asleep as she slowly straightened, sitting up in a single motion that brought the other two's short conversation to a halt.
She wasn't quite sure what had woken her (something she'd later on realize was actually the not-yet-familiar steps entering the range of her senses), but she felt far more rested than she had upon awakening in the far-too-cursedly-early hours of the day.
Naruto and Sasuke both snapped their heads in her direction, surprised by the sudden awareness of the genin they still believed to be a boy.
"Hey, hey! You're finally awake!" Naruto grinned, plastering the expression over the slight grimace he would've made otherwise as his hunger made itself known. Thankfully not nearly as loudly as before seeing as the blonde had finally figured out a position that would keep his stomach quiet.
Part of it being from experience, seeing as Naruto had known hunger before. And this really wasn't as bad, to be honest, but his stomach could still be super loud when it wanted to be, unfortunately for the blonde.
Sasuke's only reaction once he figured that it was just the brunette was a quiet "Hn" as he, too, remained in a position that he felt would make his hunger less obvious, arms crossed and stomach clenched as he refused to show any signs of weakness.
Even Kohaku was getting hungry again, to be honest, having already digested the bar she'd eaten before falling asleep quite a while ago. The only reason her body hadn't made any complaints being the fact that her brain was technically shut down to the bare minimum as she went through a sleeping cycle. Now that she was awake (and aware), her stomach was starting to realize that its calls for food would be noticed if it did.
Blinking slowly at the too-bright and sunny blonde and glancing at the raven-haired Uchiha that refused to look at either of them (to the point of having his back turned), she opened her mouth to try to slow the flow of chatter that had only steadily built from the blonde's lips, only to stop as the sound of a leaf crunching met her ears.
"-and he's already five hours late, can you believe it? And-" It'd taken a moment, but eventually Naruto had realized that Kohaku hadn't been listening, as he paused in his chatter. "...Ne, ne, Kohaku! What is it? Is there something interesting over there?" Naruto asked, clearly curious as he moved to take a look at whatever it was that had the brunette's attention.
Sasuke gave the two a sideways glance, curious despite not wanting to admit it.
Kohaku didn't answer though, a blank look that the two would later begin to recognize as a frown from the barely-there tilt of the lip forming on the toffee eyed genin's face. Eyes sharp as she tried to pinpoint the sound, she eventually came to note the sound of sandals moving against grass, gaze boring into the direction that they were coming from.
By now, even Naruto was starting to notice it as he focused his senses, face scrunched as if it would help his sight any, only to twitch slightly as his ears became the first to catch anything. Still curious, and yet still completely unwilling to admit it, Sasuke turned, narrowed eyes sharpening as his superior sight caught a hint of silver just past a few of the trees that made the 'official', slightly winding path to the training grounds.
Soon enough, all three could clearly see and hear the Jounin, as he offered a one eyed smile , raising a casual hand in greeting.
"Hey there, kiddo's. Good Morning!" He offered, seemingly without a care and unaware of the fact that he was over five hours late at this point.
Three sets of unimpressed eyes met his, and the Jounin almost sweat a little.
"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto exclaimed, a scowl decorating the blondes face in the clearest indication of the group's mood as even Sasuke stated his displeasure despite the fact that the blonde beside him had drowned it out with his own. Kohaku hadn't been completely unaware when Naruto had started babbling at her, and the fact that Kakashi was five hours late meant that she really wasn't impressed. She wasn't mad, however, not like Naruto or the scowling Uchiha that seemed to be glaring into the man's soul...
Actually, she wouldn't be surprised if the Sharingan could do that, if she were being honest -but that was neither here nor there. For the moment, she shot the man an irritated look as he sighed. Still, she couldn't really stay mad, even if five hours had been more than pushing it. She'd known that the Jounin had a habit of never being on time, but five hours? Really?
Resisting the urge to sigh herself, Kohaku resigned herself to her possible future of loud teammates and late Sensei. Still, even she deadpanned at the excuse he tried to give.
"Well, you see… a black cat crossed my path…" The excuse was never finished, but all of the genin could figure out the rest as two-thirds of the genin glared, the last sending the Jounin a clearly disapproving look that bored into the man just as much as the glares did. (There was an actual frown and everything!) Seriously, if that was the lame sort of excuse he was going for, she wasn't sure being a genin student under the man would be worth the trouble.
Especially seeing as the man had had the gall to make her wake up at inhuman hours just to make them wait hours past the rising of the sun without even allowing them to eat an actual meal before all of said -excuse her language, please- bullshit.
She couldn't even stay mad once she remembered the short if concise note that had been left on the dining table for her to find. Six words, six, and a henohenomoheji that had been scrawled on a small square of paper left on top of the empty container. 'The bento was delicious. Sensei approves.' Really? Really?
The only way said box could have been left there, would have been if the man had broken into the apartment to so do as well! Wasn't breaking and entering supposed to be a crime?
Okay, so maybe her look had been a little stronger than she'd noted, but honestly? That devil of a Jounin probably deserved it. Especially if those were the kind of flimsy excuses that he gave everyone for his lateness.
Smoothing her expression and blinking in an attempt to relax her eyes, she watched as the man cleared his throat, setting an alarm clock atop one of the wooden posts that served as training dummies.
"...Maa," he started, setting the alarm on said timepiece as he continued to speak. "Yosh, it's set for noon," he continued, pulling out a set of jingling bells that he dangled from his fingers for the three puzzled genin to see.
"Your true task for today will be to take these bells from me by noon," he informed them, shaking the bells to make them jingle once more. "Those who fail, get no lunch," he continued. "In fact, I'm going to be tying whoever doesn't to one of those stumps and eat my lunch right in front you," he told them.
...Yep, definitely deserved it, Kohaku thought as all three made various expressions ranging from her own deadpan to the horrified and clearly unimpressed. Beside her, Naruto groaned as his stomach growled, both of his fellow genin's expressing their displeasure at the announcement at the same time despite their owners' attempts to look casual.
The thoughts running through their heads were probably obvious to the trained Jounin.
As the two dark-haired genin were trying to get over the somewhat embarrassing episode, Naruto blinked, tilting his head quizzically as he finally made note of something important.
"Huh… But wait, why are there only two bells?!" exclaimed the blonde as he pointed at said set of bells dangling from the man's fingers.
Kakashi smiled, clearly having been waiting for the outburst as he purposely jingled the bells again.
"Hm~ Well," he started as if musing, though the jovial expression soon turned rather serious, as he spoke. "There are only two so at the very least, someone will have to go the logs~" He practically sang, shaking the bells again. "Said person will, of course, have failed the 'mission'...and will be sent back to the Academy~"
Wearing a dark grin, Kakashi had to resist the urge to giggle (giggling wasn't very threatening, after all...well, not usually, anyway) as he continued on. "It could be one of you, or it could be all three of you. Who knows~?" Smoothing his expression back into that of his usual expression of boredom and neutrality (one that suddenly brought the words of a far-too-green fellow Jounin to mind -'so hip and cool, my rival!'- accompanied by the obnoxious laugh that made him want to twitch). "Feel free to use your weapons…
"After all, you won't be able to take these bells unless you come at me intending to kill," he finished, snagging the bells back into his hand as he did so.
Silence met his declaration and he almost wondered what the trio could possibly be thinking. Were they thinking it might be easy since he'd allowed himself to get hit by that chalk eraser? Were they underestimating him because of the mask he'd worn? (No pun intended of course.)
Well, he probably wouldn't have to wonder for much longer, as the trio seemed to exchange a glance. Surprising, as it seemed that they were already building a sense of camaraderie, but the Jounin had to wonder if the tentative bond would last against his test. A nervous laugh brought his attention back to the blonde that reminded him so much of the Yondaime and his wife, and the silverette had to suppress the urge to flinch at the blatant reminder of those he'd lost, not even daring to think any farther on the matter, before he remembered his failure to save Obito as well.
And if the taunt he responded to Naruto's words later were a bit harsher than he'd intended, well, at least he knew the blonde would recover from the barbed words that escaped him before he could fully stop them, even as he mentally winced. Too caught up in the blonde that he both yearned to teach yet reviled for all the pain he caused simply by existing that he didn't notice the long look the two darker haired genin exchanged.
As it was, the blonde's almost anxious laugh (that reminded him so much of flowing red hair as well as the just as obnoxious laugh of a certain goggle-wearing teammate, and- no, no, no, Kakashi stop thinking about him. Stop thinking about her, and Sensei, and all the stupid things you've done, the precious people you've lost. You idiot, stop thinking about the past and concentrate on the future, here!) traveled easily in the otherwise empty clearing. (Stop thinking about them, stop-stop-stop! You have a mission to do, Kakashi!) And it was only the thought that he still had a 'mission' to finish that would let him compartmentalize enough not to be stuck in the past, as the blonde kept talking.
(Even if it wasn't healthy.)
"-slow you couldn't even dodge a blackboard eraser! We could really end up killing you!" The blonde exclaimed, looping his arms behind his head in false bravado as he fought the urge to laugh nervously again.
(Who cared, so long as he could continue to function?)
"You know, in the real world, it's those who hold no talent that often bark the loudest," he deadpanned.
(So long as he could do what he was expected to do. It didn't really matter, did it?)
"Well, ignoring the dead-last over there, you can start when I give the signal~"
Kakashi smiled, the expression stilted, and more than likely forced, but uncaring as he goaded the blonde. Knowing just what would happen but still doing it and ignoring the churning feeling of guilt that settled into his gut like a storm.
Even knowing what would happen, it would still end up chilling him when he came to realize that, by compartmentalizing so much and putting himself on automatic, he might actually have ended up killing the blonde that was the legacy of his most precious people had he not caught himself in time…
Maybe he should rethink having those sessions with the Yamanaka, he mused, forcing his heart to pound normally and not at the rapid adrenaline fueled pace that it had wanted to upon realizing what he'd nearly done.
(He still knew he wouldn't go to the sessions, though. Not even if the Sandaime suggested it…though that didn't cover any commands his Hokage might end up giving him, of course, understanding and forgiving as the man might be...)
'Dobe…! Dobe! ...Dobe!' The words echoed in the blonde's head, fueling the annoyance that was rapidly turning into an angry rage, as he grit his teeth. Just who did that guy even think he was? The blonde wondered, trying not to clench his hands knowing that he'd only end up drawing blood as he did. (His healing factor was freakishly fast, and if either of the others noticed his bleeding, or how fast he healed…)
He didn't notice his teammates beside him as he all but zeroed in on the man. The only thing on his mind being the words spoken and the infuriating Jounin before him. Here the blonde had actually been worried about him, and he just...he just threw it back in his face.
Not even Sasuke was that much of a bastard!
And sure, Sasuke called him a dead-last all the time, but hearing it from this guy…. Just the way he said it pissed him off, and Naruto really wasn't even sure why. He'd only been trying to play nice, even if he might have gone a little overboard about it. But if he didn't want that courtesy? Well, fine!
Fine, two could play at that game! Naruto all but growled, mind too clouded with the burst of hatred that suddenly consumed him as he pulled out a Kunai and yelled, roaring his rage at the silver-haired man as he dashed in…
The sudden change in atmosphere had been clear as day the moment the Jounin before them had spoken. Naruto could be obnoxious, it was true, but there really hadn't been anything that should have incited the sudden change as the man blew off Naruto's (and their) worries.
It hadn't been long, but even Kohaku knew that Naruto wasn't actually a bad person. A bit obnoxious, yes, but…
She shared a look with Sasuke. It was the first time they seemed to agree on something in regards to Naruto, even if the raven-haired genin seemed to ignore or look down on the blonde more often than not. There had been a moment of shared hesitation. Naruto, more and more, seeming to be the voice that asked the questions they didn't really feel like verbalizing, as the blonde wondered if it were really safe to go at the man with such intentions.
(It only took one slip to end a life, after all.)
And surely the man could've worded things a little differently? Oh, it wasn't that Kohaku doubted the man's skills. He was quite a famous Shinobi, after all, but even with the other two more likely than not oblivious to the man's skill and rank, even Sasuke looked hesitant.
His reason for being so maybe not being quite the same, but for Kohaku, who preferred to know things, yet still falling prey to the idea that maybe Hatake Kakashi isn't quite as strong as he's known to be... That maybe, the man had lost some of his edge in the time between now and back when he was far better known. Even if she doubted she was at the other's level.
Infamous ninja were heralded as such in the Bingo Books (even if she wasn't supposed to know about said things yet, considering that she had barely even started attending the Academy before she'd first caught a peek at her uncle's copy of said item) for a reason, after all. And even with two bells…
Well, she'd be more than happy to help either of the others, regardless of possibilities.
Maybe her uncle would allow her to become his apprentice if she failed anyway. (A part of her mind felt something niggling at the thought of one of them being sent back, however. Even if she couldn't figure it out right at that moment. Teams of three genin and one Jounin Sensei… Who knew if genin could be matched and mixed into another group. So did she really want to risk being wrong about it…?)
Even if she'd ended up with one of the highest scores out of the girls on the Final Test that had given her the hitaeate she wore around her neck, it wasn't like there was much she could do against a Jounin, after all. Regardless of the fact that she had basically been at a high mid-level, if only because she tended to practice more at home than at school.
Like she wanted to stay in the ring where everyone's attention was on her for much longer than she had to.
(Needless to say it'd been a surprise to the instructors when she'd done far better in her physicals than they'd expected on the day of the Exam. Not so surprising that she'd pretty much tied for top marks on the paper quiz, considering she did that quite diligently at least. So was it really that surprising that she'd ended up top of the girls? Regardless that no one actually seemed to realize she was one if they didn't actually pay attention… She was pretty sure the Inuzuka, and maybe the Aburame and Nara, might have figured it out. Maybe not the Nara if he didn't pay attention to said details, though. But anyone with high enough senses, she supposed.)
Paperwork was easy enough, as most of it was covered either in class or by the book, that it wouldn't really matter if she put her all into it. And Ninjutsu… Well, she had a Jounin for a guardian, and she practiced pretty much every day (some of it was surprisingly useful in housecleaning, if you knew how to apply said skills in training), not to mention that her uncle would sometimes give her tips or mention other tricks and such while he was at home. Sometimes even helping her train and teach her a few things (whatever he thought she could handle) if he was feeling up to it. A rare occurrence to be sure, but an occurrence that always left her with something useful. Useful skills were, obviously, useful to have after all. As was the art of figuring out how to use minimal chakra to execute a jutsu. Conservation of energy was always important.
Still, the fact that she had a far larger chakra pool than the kunoichi her age was a definite advantage. Most of it coming from hard work that had to be put in as well as clan genetics. The Mikazuki had been a mid-sized clan prior to the night of the Kyuubi, after all. Maybe not as big as the big-name clans like the more well-known clans, but big enough to be considered a clan even if they didn't actually keep clan grounds...technically speaking.
(Clan laws had been interesting though, which was why she'd felt free to take her maternal family's last name despite still being considered a Mikazuki… Actually, on official documents her name was listed as Mikazuki-Tsukino Kohaku. Despite the fact that 'Tsukino' should have come first as it came before Mikazuki's 'Mi' in the Japanese Alphabet, it had still been listed first due to it being the Clan Name. As far as she was aware, however, the only ones who got to see the actual documents where she was listed as such were high ranking officials, and all her school and everyday documents simply used 'Tsukino' for her surname. Clan Politics and Workings were interesting enough, but as far as she was concerned, only in theory. As soon as her Uncle had progeny, she was going to place the entire Clan under said progeny's control. As it was, her Uncle was currently acting head. If she wasn't sure that her Uncle wouldn't take the reins completely, she'd have shoved everything onto him seeing as he did have the right to contest for the position of Clan Head. He was her father's younger brother, after all… but she was digressing.)
Distracted as she had been with her own thoughts (while Sasuke had been eyeing the Jounin, mind running through various options he could take), it had been quite startling to suddenly find a yelling, vivid blur rushing past.
"—! Uzumaki-san—!" She called out, too startled to do much else aside from falling into a defensive stance purely out of habit.
Both Sasuke and herself startled by the sudden movement and swift retaliation as they watched the man turn Naruto's own weapon against him. (Of course he would, he was a Shinobi, after all, she thought almost hysterically.) Her eyes visually wide as she took in the sudden changes with alarm.
"Now, now. Don't be so hasty, I haven't even given the signal yet," the man intoned, dull slate staring down the trio despite the fact they weren't even standing together, the dangerous aura that had spiked just moments ago not quite dissipating as the silky words slid around their necks, tightening around them like a subtle noose.
Going soft?! As if! He was clearly still more than strong enough to take on a couple of genin at the very least. And they were supposed to get one of the bells from him somehow?!
She resisted the urge to swallow, almost distantly noting through her senses that Sasuke had actually done so. Pushing the sound of furiously beating hearts against a single steady beat, she wondered just how she could have deluded herself into thinking she might have had a chance.
Maybe if they worked together…
But no, the man had already circumvented that option by only offering two bells to pass. Like they could've taken him on with just two genin fresh out of the Academy (and what of the third? What there? Was he expecting them to betray each other just to get those bells? ...wait, something in her mind niggled at the idea —only to escape just as easily as her mind became distracted by the icy fear that had spiked at the sudden, nearly suffocating aura).
Kou couldn't help the line of sweat that ran down the side of her face, just as she was sure the others had likely broken into sweat at the oppressive aura that the Jounin was exuding. (Whether it was purposeful or not was another question altogether.)
Sasuke watched with wary eyes as dull, slate grey eyes bored into them.
"Seems you're finally prepared to come at me with the intent to kill," the man droned, "Have you finally acknowledged me?" Dark eyes watched as the man held the Dobe effortlessly in place, kunai still pointed at the back of the blonde's head as he droned on. So this was a Jounin... Impressive.
"Hehe," the man laughed, dull eyes still watching as he chuckled. "It seems I might be beginning to like you guys~"
Sasuke began to slowly and discreetly prepare to move. Any head start would be good for now, as the raven ignored the almost condescending tone that followed the sudden lift in intent. Because that was all that it could've been, that oppressive aura that had pushed down on them all (if only for a second).
"Alright then, let's get going. Ready…?" began the silver-haired man, "Start!"
Posted: 05/08/16; Updated: 04/24/18; unbeta'd, Word Count: 6,649; Paragraph Count: 150; 14.8 Pages.