Beta'd: 7/16/13
Word Count: 4,311
Please read the author's note at the end & enjoy! ^_^
Assembly
It's been three hours after noon since Team 7 waited anxiously for their new sensei to arrive.
"Rrrr! When the hell is this Yoshida-sensei getting here?!" Naruto complained.
Yes, they were very anxious for their teacher to arrive.
"Calm down, Naruto! Just stay still already!"
Well, Sakura was rather more annoyed with Naruto at the moment.
"Yeah, but all the other teams already left! Even Iruka-sensei!"
It was then that the blond jammed in a chalkboard eraser between an opened slit of the sliding door.
"Hey! What're you doing, Naruto?!" Remarked Sakura, thus gaining Sasuke's attention.
They both scrutinized the site as Naruto jumped off the table, using the force to implant said eraser. Sakura frowned, stating that she wasn't involved. What she really meant though was:
"ALL RIGHT! I LOVE THESE THINGS!" Cheered her Inner.
Sasuke, on the other hand, commented:
"like a Jounin would actually fall for such a simple trap."
A hand then emerged on the door, slowly sliding it open. The eraser fell, missing its target completely, hitting the floor with an echoed thud. Naruto gritted his teeth and Inner Sakura pouted at the result. Sasuke eyed the floored eraser before all three pairs of eyes drew towards the person in question as they stood at the door.
It was a woman in her early twenties with an a-line black haircut.
She wore a black strapless top over a mesh colored shirt, with a sleeveless, high collared brown haori(1) on top. Her forehead protector was used as a belt with her holster on her right thigh. She sported skin tight flexible grey shorts that stopped right above her knees. Black shinobi sandals that were zipped up to her bandaged ankles protected her feet, as an ankle guard prevented the zipper from loosening. Black fingerless gloves with a metal protector on both hands were donned as her right forearm had on a heavy leather band that almost reached her elbow.
She also modeled big black steel aviator sunglasses that prevented the graduates from seeing her eyes, as her bangs that were swept to the left slightly hung over the framed lenses.
The only thing that her potential students couldn't see was the belt under her headband with an attached med kit, and two pockets on both sides of the med-kit. Located above was a hidden, regularly issued Chunin Chokuto, and a slim storage scroll.
As their new sensei stared down at the eraser, Naruto continued to glower. The situation only proved Sasuke right. Sakura apologized for the Uzumaki's apparent idiocy, like within the series, as Sasuke feigned usual indifference.
The three waited for a response from their sensei, but all slightly stiffened in fear of being reprimanded as she picked up the eraser. Her gaze directly jabbed at Naruto. He scowled at her in return.
They anticipated her reply, but what occurred instead stunned the fresh Genin. Instead of growing livid, the Jounin merely sighed before walking back to the board to return the eraser. Turning back to the three, she pointedly stared at Naruto.
"What?"
The blond merely wondered why he wasn't regularly howled at like usual.
Their new sensei responded with yet another sigh before shaking her head.
"Kid, I thought you said you'd stop trying to prank me?"
Sasuke and Sakura were instantly confused as they had the same thought, 'Naruto knows her?'
Naruto was as baffled as they were – that is, until a grin cracked out a second later.
"Eri-neechan! You're our sensei!?" he exclaimed happily.
Their sensei smirked at the blonde.
"Yup. I thought you forgot me for second there, brat. Must be the new outfit. Anyway, you three meet me on the roof."
And just like that – the woman shunshined away to the stated location. As the three walked out of the class, Naruto was smiling pride and happiness. Sasuke slightly glowered on how the Uzumaki already knew their sensei and wondered if she had taught him anything yet. Sakura was just confused about the entire thing.
"Hey Naruto, how do you know our new sensei already? And why did you call her 'Eri-neechan'? She's our sensei now! You should show some respect, baka!"
Naruto responded to the Haruno casually, since he was still happy that it was someone he knew that would be their sensei. "Eri-neechan said it was fine to call her that. I met her a month ago in the market when she helped me out. She's so cool! She let's me in whenever I want, as long as she's not busy! I can't believe she's our sensei! She's super powerful too and knows a lot of stuff!"
From there on Naruto informed his teammates of how he viewed her so far. Sakura found it slightly amazing that their sensei could handle Naruto. To her – their sensei seemed serious, cool, relaxed and in control of her emotions. To Sakura she seemed very powerful, like Naruto had said, and Sakura didn't know if she would feel very comfortable when left alone with their new sensei. The woman's air of confidence intimidated her, but Sakura wished that she had that same note of self-assurance too.
Reaching the roof to see their sensei awaiting patiently, the three took a seat as she leaned against the metal railing. Observing the three, one by one, Eri made a mental note to change their style when on missions outside the village.
Silence hung heavy in the air causing a nervous reaction in Sakura. Sasuke seemed to have been eyeing their new sensei the entire time, probably sizing her up to his expectations. Naruto was just shaking with excitement, but this soon passed. He wondered why no one was speaking and was totally unaware of the mood.
"Hey Eri-neechan, aren't you going to say anything?" Naruto questioned.
Unknown to him, Sakura and Sasuke were wondering the same thing.
Cocking her head to the side she calmly answered:
"Hm? What makes you say that, Naruto?"
"Well, you're our sensei right? Aren't you supposed to say something that sensei's say?"
"And that is…?" Eri enquired.
It was here that all three Genin candidates blanched in astonishment. Inwardly, Eri was smiling and laughing at their faces. She knew that the series had some funny moments, but seeing the real thing first hand was even better. Honestly, she admitted that it was fun messing with people. As the three blinked out of their stupor, Sakura was the first one to speak up, despite her very shy demeanor.
"Well, um…we could start with introductions, sensei."
Naruto nodded in agreement as Sasuke eyed his new superior scrupulously.
"All right then. How about an example? One of you could show me." Her voice was laced with a light layer of fake wonder that the three didn't catch.
The three sweat dropped as Sakura took the initiative. Her former judgment of their new sensei went completely out the window here. Now, Sakura just thinks that despite being on the same team as 'Sasuke-kun', they were just screwed with a sensei like this.
"My name is Haruno Sakura and I'm 12 years of age. I like, um, well…*blush* the person I like-. My hobbies are-…*blushes & squeals*. My dream is *squeals*…! And I hate NARUTO!"
Throughout Sakura's entire introduction, Eri steeled herself for the worst. If she didn't like extreme fan-girling in her first life, she definitely didn't like it now. Sure, the occasional gushing and giggling was okay; but Eri couldn't help feel a bit disturbed when Sakura mentioned the word 'hobbies'.
To the three little pre-teens, this Jounin leader was overall indifferent, wasn't bothered, and could care less; inside was a different story. Eri secretly shivered in disbelief, disgust, and pity; the first two towards the pinkette, and the last one for the brooding cockatoo.
With Sakura's less than descriptive intro now over, she had left an overall image that will stain her life for all eternity while leaving a certain sniveling blond in anguish and despair. Eri ignored Naruto's cries for now as she nodded at Sakura. Eyeing the two boys through her shades, they unconsciously knew their introductions were next. Surprisingly Sasuke stepped up as Eri only concluded this to at least having a Uchiha blood relative watching over him as he grew.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke, 12 years old. I don't like most things, and I dislike a lot of things. I don't have any hobbies, and my ambition is to confront a certain someone." Sasuke left it off with a rather cold tone.
Despite the serious situation, Eri felt the wind gust through the empty rooftops. She wondered if that was a reference to the series, but focused on the more important matter on hand. Sasuke's intro was almost completely similar to that of the series. Despite Obito's presence and efforts with Rin there to help as well, he wasn't able to completely break through Sasuke's self isolating tendencies.
However, Sasuke himself seemed a bit bolder yet secretive at the same time, if that made any sense. He didn't say 'kill', but 'confront'. Perhaps Obito, Rin, and Kakashi had something to do with this.
The last and final one of the three was Naruto. His blue eyes shined with happiness as he leaned forward with that big grin Eri saw whenever he would show up at her door step.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm 12! I like ramen cause it's the best food in the world; the ramen from Ichiraku's is even better! I also like old man jiji, Iruka-sensei, and you, Eri-neechan! What I don't like is the three minutes it takes to cook cup ramen. I don't like vegetables too! My hobbies are training, pranks, and comparing the different flavors of ramen! And my dream is to surpass Hokage, and then have the people of this village acknowledge my existence!"
Eri nodded her head while inwardly smiling at the boy's statement. She knew he'd accomplish this and wondered what she could bestow upon all three of her potential students. She recognized that she was never an official member of Minato's team; so how would she pass on his will of fire to the next generation?
"All right, each of you have your own individual minds and goals; good. Now that your introductions are over and we each have a vague idea about our peers, we're moving on."
Sakura then raised her hand, drawing attention. The look on her face was pure curious innocence. Eri wondered at what the girl had to mention, but as she thought back to the series, the Jounin had a vague idea. Despite her hypothesis, Eri nodded anyway at the Haruno.
"Sensei, what about you? It's only fair that we hear your introduction, especially since we went first."
"Yeah, Eri-neechan! We went first only because you didn't know what to do! What kind of sensei does that?! It's only fair if we hear about you too!"
"Hn." Sasuke nodded in agreement with the two since he didn't need to nor want to repeat anything.
The three looked at the seasoned Jonin with furious passion, each with their own different reasons. Naruto just wanted to know more about the lady who treated him differently from all of the adults within the villege. Sasuke wanted to find out what kind of skills he could draw out from Eri's self-description, and see if his new superior was worth taking seriously. Sakura merely wanted to know out of sheer curiosity while seeing if their sensei was a true credible seasoned Jounin.
Eri merely deadpanned behind her shades while face palming her self within the context of her mind. She should've known better than to merely think that the pre-teens would just listen and obey.
Eri sighed visibly in front of the three, showing resignation. The three green Genin unconsciously leaned forward, anticipating their sensei's words and submission into releasing some type of introduction.
"Fine, fine. I guess I might as well give you a little tidbit about myself. My name is Yoshida Eri, age 26. My occupation is a Jounin kunoichi as of current. My horoscope is Taurus, and my likes are tea, books, art, peace, balance, and unity. I dislike arrogance and anything of the like. My hobbies are solving conflict and are also ranged in accordance to my likes and dislikes. And my dream… well, I guess it's world peace, and to make sure you three are fully – well trained shinobi that will make this village proud. You guys can learn the rest later."
Taking in everything their sensei had just stated, Naruto felt that much closer to his 'nee-chan'. He knew before that he could trust her, but back then there was always some small part that gnawed at the trust he put in her. It was always telling him that Eri would betray him; that it was all a façade for a chance in getting a good stab at the village pariah. Naruto was still scared and slightly weary of his sensei, but now for a different reason.
'Would she still accept me if she knew I held the Kyuubi? And if she does know, why did she even help me in the first place? How can she just accept me like that when other people gave me those cold looks of hate and disgust?'
These questions had burned the boy's soul ever since he found out that he held the Kyuubi. All in all, Naruto was scared of being rejected, but after hearing more about Eri; the woman who randomly helped him in the market, who answered the door whenever he visited, and who let him into her home whenever she could. After hearing this he felt a little more comforted. Of course this didn't make his fears vanish completely, but at least they were smaller than they were before.
Sakura could only blink in complete surprise after hearing her sensei's words. She never expected to hear so many likes, dislikes, and hobbies. She wondered what the woman did in her spare time. The young Haruno was slightly suspicious of Eri, wondering if their sensei just did what she wanted instead of taking on missions, like what a respectable shinobi should do.
Though, Sakura did smile knowing that their sensei was willing to help them become professional ninjas, even if it would be impossible to turn Naruto into a well trained soldier. She was sure that Sasuke would now be an even greater shinobi than he was before, and Sakura herself would become an awesome kunoichi. Yoshida- sensei's hobbies seemed normal enough, but Sakura didn't know what to think when the woman mentioned "debates and solving conflict".
'Eri-sensei seems normal enough now that we know more about her. But what did she mean by "solving conflicts"? Does that mean she patrols the village? What kind of person does that? Well, she seems strong enough to be our sensei, and she wouldn't be assigned as our sensei if she wasn't strong. I'm sure Sasuke-kun and I will become the proper shinobi she dreams of. Naruto; I doubt it… it would take a miracle to get him of all people as strong as Sasuke-kun.'
Despite Sakura's current doubts, she hoped for some 'much needed' alone time with Sasuke, hoping that neither the class loser nor their sensei would interrupt.
The Uchiha, however, still had no clear current idea on what to think of Yoshida Eri. Raised to be a proud Uchiha, Sasuke couldn't find anything to be impressed about. Her introduction had mostly been all these foreign ideas that he found alien and confusing at best. Sasuke didn't like the idea of not knowing or being aware of something. His father made it a point for Sasuke to be aware of everything; to be the best since he was his son. Well, Sasuke was just very confused as he could be. The only thing that seemed to help his opinion of their sensei was that he knew she was willing to help him reach his full potential.
'I'll have to find more information about this Yoshida Eri. Maybe Oji-san knows something about her.'
He didn't want to ask for help, but Sasuke thought this was the better option than going out openly in the streets where he could be followed. Since she was about the same age as his uncle, maybe he knew something about her; or at least knew of her and what her skills were. But for now, the overall impression that she left was a very confusing mix of a mysterious and weird woman.
"Anyway, now that introductions are officially over, I want you three to answer a question of mine."
Feeling that the three had enough time to ponder, Eri went straight ahead as three pairs of eyes focused on her.
"What's the question about Eri-neechan?" Naruto surprisingly asked this with a calm demeanor, much to Sakura's surprise.
"It's just a simple question that's all." Eri would explain it much later. "Okay, here's the question. Strength, speed, stamina; which would you choose? You can only pick one. Sasuke, you first."
"Speed."
"Why, Sasuke?"
"The faster you are, the quicker you can take down an enemy."
Despite the irritated tone, he at least gave a reason. At this, Eri nodded before looking towards Sakura.
Perking in attention she answered,
"I would choose stamina, because if you can outlast an enemy in battle, then you can always deliver the finishing blow thereby taking out any potential threats."
A textbook answer, as expected from Sakura. Naruto was the last, with all attention diverted to him.
He smiled widely, stating, "I would choose stealth!"
The blond was about to continue, but Sakura interrupted him as he began mid-sentence.
She shouted, "Baka! That's not an option! You can only choose between strength, speed, and stamina! Right, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke chose not to respond giving Naruto a chance to explain himself.
"But Sakura-chan, Eri-neechan never mentioned that we had to choose those three. She just mentioned that we can only pick one."
Sakura was about to reprimand and scold him for his thought process, but Eri motioned her to stop, saying, "Actually Sakura, Naruto is correct. I never mentioned or said anything about choosing only strength, speed, and stamina. You and Sasuke only assumed that. You filled in the gaps that I intentionally gave you. Naruto was the only one who thought outside the box. Now Naruto, please tell, why do you choose stealth?"
As Sasuke scowled behind his hands, Sakura deflated in embarrassment for jumping to conclusions. Both didn't expect this and were now berating themselves for falling for their sensei's mind game. Naruto on the other hand smiled proudly since he was the only one who caught on to their sensei's words.
Confessing his thoughts, Naruto proclaimed, "Well Eri-neechan, I choosed stealth because when taking out an enemy, they won't know what hit them! It'll be all quiet and stuff at first, and then BAM! The guy wouldn't know what hit him because I would be too awesome and stealthy for him to find me!"
Trying to suppress a grin, Yoshida nodded in acknowledgement before adding,
"By the way Naruto, it's 'chose'. But that's besides the point, the reason I asked you three this question was because it was a way for me to see how your thought process travels in accordance with your personalities. How you think."
The last was stated towards Naruto since he had question marks floating above his head, (figuratively speaking) from what Eri could see. The raven haired woman continued on as Naruto was able to get the main point of her statement.
"From the answers you gave me, I can already get a general idea of how you three think, as well as the inner workings of your mind. What your fighting styles might be and how you would go about it."
As the three Genin were listening all three were astonished in some way or form.
'To analyze us just from our answers; Yoshida-sensei must be very smart.' Sakura thought this with some revived respect.
'She intentionally tricked us with a mind game, and now she has a general idea of who we are as fighters. There has to be more than what she's leading on…'
Sasuke didn't feel quite comfortable with being read so easily. He always thought that no one would understand him, including his uncle; however within thirty minutes of meeting someone, Sasuke's persona was shattered. He felt exposed by being understood to a certain degree.
'I wonder what Eri-neechan meant by that? I just answered her question. Although I was the only one who, as she put it, 'thought outside the box'. Maybe she'll give me some super cool techniques because of it! Alright!'
Since Naruto didn't really think that it was important, he just went along with it. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he never really understood the raven haired woman half the time. Especially when she got into these kinds of modes which Naruto liked to call, "Eri's time of talking". It was during these times that he would just nod and listen, despite not understanding most of it.
"Okay, moving on. Tomorrow you three are to meet at training ground 7, at 7 a.m. I will meet you there and once we're all together we'll be doing a special activity."
"Activity? What kind of activity will we be all doing Eri-sensei?" This time Sakura tried paying close attention to her sensei.
"Well, it's more along the lines of what you three will be doing together."
"And what's that Eri-neechan?"
Naruto was as confused as ever, but at least he wasn't the only one.
"You three will be doing a survival exercise."
The three little pre-teens did double takes at this, wondering if they heard right.
"An exercise? But, we've already had enough training in the academy." Sakura couldn't help take out the astonishment in her voice, but at least she did know that Eri was saying this for a reason. She seemed to have gotten the idea that Yoshida Eri didn't do something without reason.
Eri nodded like usual; however the three 12 year olds couldn't help but feel a slight chill in the air as a smirk slowly grew out in the open on their sensei's face.
"This will be different though. Unlike the academy, you three will all be going against me. You three will be tested, and I'll be the judge on whether you three pass or fail. This test determines whether you three will become official Genin. Of the 27 graduates, only 9 will pass. So to speak in statistics, this test has a failure rate of over 66%."
"WHAT?! Are you serious!?"
Naruto couldn't help the outburst, however Sasuke and Sakura seemed just as shocked since Sakura's shoulders slumped in depression while Eri noticed that Sasuke was slightly sweating.
"If this is a test, then what was the point of graduating from the academy?!"
Naruto was still screaming out the shock from his system, and Eri expected this. If this were still with the series, then Naruto had the right to be shocked since he did fail the exam multiple times before graduating.
"The academy exam was just a way to weed out the people who had no chance to become Genin. Or those who did have a chance, but still needed time to improve themselves and grow."
It was here that Naruto didn't scream in the usual fashion. Instead, the blonde wore this crestfallen expression while his body shook in a nervous tremor. Eri wanted to sympathize with the boy and reassure him about the test, but she didn't. It wouldn't be fair to Sakura and Sasuke, and she needed all three students to take her seriously while respecting her as their superior. She sighed through her nose, as a way to not draw attention.
"As I said, tomorrow you three will be graded on your performance – and together you three will take me on to be tested. Bring all of your supplies and shinobi gear tomorrow at training ground 7. Be there at 7 a.m. Also, don't eat breakfast unless you three would rather taste it twice. Don't be late, and get some rest tonight. Team 7 meeting, over."
Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura watched their sensei walk off towards the door and down the stairs, instead of disappearing from the rooftop like they expected her to. Unbeknownst to the three, they each had the same thought.
'I have to pass no matter what!'
Chapter 1 End
Please leave a review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
-For now the point of view will be third person omniscient unless I feel to change up the p.o.v to keep the story of the flow going.
If there are any grammar mistakes, I guess that means I need to read it over again. Sorry. ^_^"