Beta'd: 9/11/13
Word Count: 13,277 words
Yay for the next chapter! Also, this is the first chapter to a new mini-arc within the story. So I'm going to be introducing some "new" characters that add some flavor and mix up the plot! Hehe! Hurra for drama! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this extra long chapter. ^_^
But before that, an announcement! I'm closing the poll and I've decided what to do about Eri's significant other. A big "THANK YOU," to those who have voted in the past as well as those who gave their opinion through either a review or message. I'm not going to say who won since the poll was pretty much open to the public, but nevertheless, again, thank you for your overwhelming response as it gave me some ideas as to what route this prospect should take.
Okay, now you can go ahead and enjoy!
Amalgamate
'Finally… I thought I was never going to get out of there. '
The Jounin thought this exasperatedly, clutching her forehead before sighing as she rubbed her temples.
Released from the clutches of an overstuffed area, Eri couldn't piece together just how quickly the room temperature had risen due to the amount of people the meeting chamber contained.
Despite how annoyed she was with all the murmuring that had occurred when she announced team seven's Genin exam results, the woman couldn't help but feel glee. Especially when she spotted a relieved expression on a certain scarred, pony tailed, male Chunin.
Her contained happiness only grew tenfold when she felt a few disappointed or annoyed flares of energy bursting forth the few seconds after her statement. Obviously the Yoshida knew why such an event had occurred, and of course – trying to be fair, the woman gave them the benefit of the doubt. There were other reasons as to why this notorious blond had become such a bane to the village. The fact that this individual had pranked, outrun, and boasted at the entire village...Yeah, those actions just didn't help improve the yellow head's image. While most of the villagers feared and hated the Uzumaki for being the container of a fuzzy red-orange chakra mass, the shinobi population was more annoyed and exasperated by his antics.
Other than the slight glowers of a few of the Chunin and older Jounin, the woman recognized the slight twinkle in the Hokage's eyes. In fact, when she read the mood of the rest of the room's occupants, Eri found that the rest of the crowd was either neutral or amused.
Her chakra radar was an unusually accurate ability due to her "unnatural soul". And despite the negative connotation of such a title, it had given her advanced chakra control from a young age.
She recalled a painful memory that involved some "Sen" chakra. It helped her acknowledge just how alien her spirit was. It had been a frightening wake-up call to say the least – a dangerous disaster. When she'd felt a lump of natural energy clump around her left hand, she couldn't help but take a peek.
Good thing, too, as the little girl had found her hand morphing into that of a toad's.
Smacking her hand against the ground before stomping on it with her foot, the little girl had grunted in pain to avoid voicing a yelp or holler – clenching her teeth as her eyes watered with forming tears. The young Yoshida had vowed to never again attempt to focus the dangerous natural energy until she garnered more experience.
Now that she was able to attempt to gather such a powerful source, the woman could utilize a small amount due to training and some kage bunshin – and even if it was a miniscule amount, the astonishing boost the woman gained was amazing. The thought of using it relentlessly was enticing.
Nevertheless, Eri used it very seldom, only in situations where she was able to stop and gather the force. She also had to make sure that there were no others to witness such an action. Recounting the times she'd actually called upon that chakra, she recalled that they'd been during her undercover solo missions when in ANBU. During her time, she'd been a part of the 4th division, specializing in infiltration and information gathering. The exact number of missions had only extended to the count of both her hands. The separate – but usual – assassination, black-ops, and recon missions had been done together with a small elite team under her captain.
As the possible Jounin leaders continued to announce the results of their Genin exams, the end result only boasted three teams: team seven, team eight, and team ten.
The now newly official Jounin leader couldn't help but inwardly comment on the account.
''Rookie Nine'…not only that, but they all at least have or had a shinobi as a parent.'
Despite the swelling pride she felt in hearing the next generation's success, Eri couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt and sadness in the pit of her chest. Of course she was happy, things were going along like they had in the series, but that was just it… It was all going according to the plot.
Nothing had changed, even though she'd helped to save Obito and Rin. However, that was really all she had really done to change things. The Kyuubi had still been released, Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina had still died, and Konoha had still almost been flattened by the rampaging bijuu.
Recalling a memory from her first life, the woman inwardly nodded to what her A.P U.S history teacher stated at the end of her junior year of high school.
The month was February and since the class was an actual college course, the students were preparing early for the A.P U.S history exam. The bell rang, signaling the beginning of 5th period. Everyone was already seated – getting situated for the usual day of lecture notes.
Their teacher, Ms. Clemt, was never really one to enforce many rules. However, she was a contradictory kind of teacher – a laidback slave driver.
As she gave her daily spiel, it was obvious that every student in the class was grimacing. The news of the day was their practice AP exam being held this Saturday morning. While others inwardly groaned at the coming test, they all actually cheered in mock happiness.
Our reluctant protagonist giggled at their cheer. Ms. Clemt smiled widely at the class's "enthusiasm," laughing a bit before continuing on.
It was here that her teacher stated a very memorable phrase that a certain girl would remember throughout her life, or lives.
"Remember to study, cause this test – it's going to kick your behind like nobody's business. You'll definitely want to make sure you're prepared because, believe me, the saddest thing to experience in life is regret. Leaving, and knowing that you could've done better. If you aren't prepared, you might as well drop this book on your foot. Because that's the feeling you'll get when you walk away from this test without having preparing."
The book she was referring to was the class's assigned, hardcover, about 1,690 paged AP textbook. And that wasn't even counting out the index and glossary.
Yup, to say that Eri was regretful at the moment was a big understatement. Dropping a book on her foot…well, let's say that the textbook was as big as one of the heavy technological manuals that came with every high wired machine – and then times that by eighty.
After tending to a few matters at the Hokage Tower, she went straight to the Foreign Relations department. Eri officially handed her responsibilities over to the person who was next in line. The entire department was in an uproar after hearing her formal resignation.
"Yoshida-san, why the sudden resignation?! Did it have to do with that Genin exam today?"
A very nervous pupil who was undergoing training asked this while the rest watched in anxious curiosity. The vice administrator had mentioned earlier in the day that a change was going to happen, and that their dear head of the relations department would be making a very unexpected statement.
Already familiar with and accepting of the woman's strange ways, all the men and women had thought it was something related to a vacation. The woman was already overworked as she was. It was late spring and businesses tended to thrive during this time of year, meaning more chances for conflicts to form. However, they had no idea that it would be a formal announcement of her resignation as head of the administration and top mediator!
Usually, the day would consist of her clones arriving early to open up the building. Said clones would then file away the cases that were leftover from the day before. It was only until three in the afternoon that the woman would show up in person. Popping the clones gradually to receive information, Eri would sign off on matters in accordance to importance and emergency. The day to day trivial things that were usually left over would be taken home with the Yoshida before the cycle repeated. Of course, the monotony would be broken with a few mentoring classes and a once-a-month overview on how the department could perform better.
Many of the older officials were displeased and sad to hear of the woman's resignation. Before the unorthodox Yoshida's arrival, the agency only had run things at a satisfactory level; they had only prevented small clashes from escalating at best. Those clashes had usually been miniscule and fleeting. Most of the time the council had to step in, causing more unnecessary meetings for the Hokage.
Things began to improve within a few weeks after Eri's arrival. The young woman was oddly pragmatic while idealistic at the same time. Her down-to-earth speech caught the opposing side off guard. Her outwardly indifferent composure sent an unspoken message: don't dawdle. The woman was also blunt to the point where the other party had to comply and follow her lead.
Quickly rising through the ranks, she had unwillingly become head of the agency while earning respect from her coworkers. After the Yoshida had officially been named head, major changes had been set into play. Changing the roles to a more balanced three branched system, she had made sure to keep each branch in check with the other two. The three created branches were the principal, martial, and internal branch.
The internal branch mostly watched over the domestic affairs of the village and the usual, day-to-day regulations of imports and exports.
The martial branch handled foreign affairs including neighboring villages, Konoha's clans or anything of a shinobi facet that needed to be addressed.
And finally, the principal branch governed over both branches if the expected negotiations extended beyond a branch's domain, or if the results of the negotiations would greatly affect Konoha. The Hokage was usually one to partake in the classified principal branch meetings, which was why the negotiations were important enough to earn their own classification.
The three branch system that Eri had set up reminded her of the U.S Congress from her first life. Despite how frustrating the U.S Congress had been, the system was a way to make sure that everyone was in agreement while assuring that the repercussions were mostly positive.
You could also say that the woman had been homesick.
At first, everyone had doubted that the three-branch system would work, let alone secure the village for generations to come. However, as time went on, people became more aware of the consequences of their actions. The approach combined a civilian outlook and an armed forces stance to please and improve the village. Most people were happy with the results and had no arguments.
Most was the defining word here, though.
The Yoshida was suspicious of a certain bandaged man with a cane. Whenever he voiced his opinions on the results of the organization's efforts, there was always a sharp edge to his tone. Nevertheless, despite his voice, most overlooked his opinions since the results hadn't backfired – as of yet, at least…
Eri reasoned with herself that she was being to critical of his judgment. Perhaps she was even being prejudiced against Danzou. Still, she couldn't help but be cautious around him. He was a man who caused, and will cause, a great amount of conflict.
Anyway, everyone within the administration was sad that they would be seeing less of their unorthodox head. She treated them well, despite the rocky start that had resulted from having shinobi and civilians in the same work environment.
Quickly scanning over the room's occupants, Eri sighed while scratching the back of her head. Looking at the trainee in question, the ebony haired Jounin calmly replied.
"Yes, it does concern the Genin exam that was held earlier today. I'm guessing you've all heard about me testing out a team, right?"
A few nodded at the statement while each pair of eyes showed a kind of recognition at her inquiry. Eri couldn't help but snuff in amusement, thinking, 'News traveled fast. It was probably the people I hired who're spreading the thing around like an epidemic. … I should've told them to remain silent. Knowing Obito, he couldn't help but boast about things a little. I'm going to smack him the next time I see him.'
Shaking her head in exasperation, she smiled wryly.
"Well, for those of you who haven't found out yet: yes, I've been assigned a team and have been officially 'promoted' to Genin Team Leader. Since I can't handle two jobs at once, I've been given a change of occupation from 'mediator' to 'Genin Team Leader'. That doesn't mean I'll be officially booted from this department though, you can expect me to visit once a week on Sundays, and if I'm able to – I'll be attending the monthly board meetings. But – ;"
As she bowed deeply before them all, every pair of eyes widened in shock, too stunned to do anything at the sudden gesture.
Continuing on, Eri stated:
"I'm sorry about my sudden resignation, and hope that each of you will continue to work to the best of your ability. Support each other as you continue to improve the lives of not only the village, but people outside of the village as well. Until then, I wish you all the best of luck."
Bringing herself to stand, the woman quickly walked out the doors and left the building – leaving behind only that final comment. Despite regretting her quick exit, Yoshida Eri had work to do. Being responsible for three future-defining characters, the twenty-six year old was quickly setting herself up for the months to come. She had to be ready, and besides – she could apologize next time for the quick exit.
Her train of thought led to another.
'My next visit…perhaps next time I can bring along the three brats. It might strike a chord in them. I don't know, they don't exactly need it, but the skill may help them when it comes to dealing with mission recipients. I'll think it over for now…man, I need a break!'
Stopping, the Yoshida massaged her forehead while sighing. She then turned, heading off into another direction. Relief required a certain product, and that certain product was tea – lots of tea, particularly milk tea.
After unsuccessfully asking for some alone time with a certain stoic, raven haired boy, Sakura quickly went home. Partly to tell her parents that she was officially a Genin, partly to escape a certain blond haired teammate. It wasn't that she didn't find the dead-last useless: he'd proven helpful when the situation needed it during their treasure hunt. However, there was only so much Uzumaki the girl could take for one day before reverting back to punching the snot out of him.
Rushing home, the pinkette couldn't help but put aside her enthusiasm as she became distracted. The young Haruno kept recalling her sensei's words. The Yoshida had warned the girl away from becoming a set-back to the team, pushed Sakura's goals toward a step-by-step climb of approval and strength. In her eyes, the mere suggestion was a big change. It had shifted the girl's view to one that was more selfish yet giving.
The subtle hints that Yoshida-sensei had dropped at the time now became clear as the twelve-year old traveled home. Instead of dieting, she had to eat completely balanced meals. Instead of just training her mind, the girl also had to train her body. And instead of focusing her attention on one solemn teammate, it was better if she equally distributed her attention between Naruto, Sasuke-kun, and herself. Three requests for three teammates… Sakura couldn't help but wonder if the number had some sort of value.
'Knowing Yoshida-sensei…it's a strong possibility. I'll research it later,' she thought idly.
And, if it ever came down to it, Sakura would work up the nerve to ask the woman directly. It wasn't that the Haruno was put off by her teacher's suggestion, but the girl was reluctant to change. She hoped that whatever had happened with their Genin test was a fluke, mere luck. A tiny part of her wanted things to remain the same; however, the logical part of her mind convinced herself otherwise.
Another reason to put off direct contact with her sensei was that the twelve-year old could feel her sensei's disappointment. From what her green orbs had gathered during the test, Naruto and Sasuke-kun were already spades ahead of her physically.
Despite her enthusiastic desire to improve – therefore earning praise from both her sensei and Sasuke-kun – the Haruno still couldn't shake off the shame from barely passing herself off as a ninja in terms of bodily fitness.
Bursting through the front door, the twelve-year old eagerly announced:
"Okaa-san! I'm home!"
Yet, even through her own shame, Sakura wished for things to remain the same.
Left alone by his two official teammates, Naruto traveled the streets, heading in the direction of his usual food stand. The Ichiraku ramen stand had always treated him well, and it was part of the reason why the young Uzumaki had always gone back for more. Yes, ramen had been dubbed food for the gods. But the mere fact that the blond was even openly welcomed to eat there only enhanced his overall critique of the stand. Not to say that old man Teuchi's food wasn't up to standard. No, the father and daughter pair knew exactly how to create some heavenly concoctions.
It was mostly for this reason that he wanted to introduce his team to the joy and delight that was Ichiraku ramen. The other reason was more solemn. I mean, what was wrong about having lunch with some company? It wasn't like he wanted the arrogant teme there, but without him, Sakura-chan wouldn't really be up for a meal with just Naruto.
Eri-nee-chan had left, and the orange blob understood that she had to report to Jiji, but he'd thought more about what she had said – that people needed to help one another. Also, teamwork had been the main focal point of the test, but the bewhiskered Genin slightly scowled in thought of having to work with that taunting Uchiha. The fact that he had Sakura-chan's undying attention and love didn't help.
It almost felt like…were they trying to leave him behind?
Shaking his head and shrugging off the somber mood of that question, Naruto greedily slurped up the food of the gods. His mood lightening with each new bite, the twelve-year old boy barely noticed a presence beside him. More focused on consuming his eighth bowl, the green Genin merely cracked open his right eye as a familiar voice spoke.
"I see you're in a good mood today. I'm guessing that you passed the exam your Jounin-sensei gave you, Naruto?"
Ecstatic blue eyes shot open as the boy exclaimed his surprise with a mouth full of noodles, proceeding to spit bits of ramen and miso droplets at said person.
"IRUKA-SENSEI! YOU'RE HERE!"
Slightly leaning back, said Chunin grabbed a napkin as he picked off the pieces of noodles that had come shooting out of his former student's mouth. Drying his vest of any remaining droplets of broth, the man gave the little blond an exasperated smile as said boy took the time to look embarrassed.
Nevertheless, it didn't dampen his mood one bit as Naruto was glad to have someone to sit beside in his favorite stand. Swallowing the leftover noodles and soup, the Uzumaki excitingly asked, "Iruka-sensei, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the academy?"
Happy to see the young blond in such high spirits, the Chunin smiled as he gave the boy an answer.
"I've got a new teaching assistant, so they're covering for me with the grading while I leave to get some lunch. The students, meanwhile, are being watched by some of the other sensei as they play and eat. Though, I'm here because I was looking for you, Naruto. And where else to check first than Ichiraku Ramen?"
Naruto gave grin as bright as the sun itself, deeply touched that his former sensei would actually take the time to look for him. The man had more important things to do at the academy than check up on an old student. To keep himself from showing how greatly he was affected by the simple act, he merely chuckled before letting a few noodles slip down his throat.
Iruka continued on as the blond proceeded to eat, "So, how was the Genin exam with your new team and Jounin-sensei, Naruto? There's been quite a lot of talk about a certain team being tested within the village."
The twenty-two year old had initially been worried about the orange-jumpsuit clad boy. He had tried his best to hide the surprise and worry when announcing team placements, but the man had never expected that Yoshida Eri would be assigned as a Jounin leader, especially team seven's.
Initially, everyone who knew of the team placements had thought that either Hatake Kakashi or Uchiha Obito would lead the team since, both had a great amount of skill with a certain Doujutsu – despite both men only having one Sharingan each. "ウチハの空虚さ" (The Void of the Uchiha)(1), aka Uchiha Obito, and "写輪眼のかかし" (Kakashi of the Sharingan) had both been potential candidates; but with the older Uchiha dealing with clan business, the man had been crossed off from the list. This had left Hatake Kakashi as the only suitable candidate left. On the plus side, the man had had experience in testing Genin despite not having passed a single team yet…
What really did worry Iruka was the fact that Yoshida Eri had been chosen to lead. Obviously the woman was very accomplished in both the public aspect of the shinobi world and the civilian life of a mediator, but the main problem was the Jounin's rumored sadistic tendencies. Of course, being a rank lower, the Umino hadn't really experienced anything other than a casual hello when Naruto skipped classes to vist her apartment. But fellow peers had told haunting tales of how the woman was able to fish into one's mind, only to wrench out their thoughts through their own mistakes.
Of course, the woman meant no harm, but there were few who actually knew the woman well. In fact, it was rumored that Ibiki had expressed an interest in having a one-on-one "conversation" with the Yoshida. Anyone who piqued the man's interest was bound to have a twisted psyche.
As Iruka listened in on the boy's – probably exaggerated – description of said Genin test, the Umino couldn't help but find himself in awe. A treasure hunt around the village, restricted to the roofs… Obviously, Naruto and Sasuke would have had little trouble with scaling the buildings, but this would've pushed Sakura to the limit due to her lack of physical stamina and strength. And giving each Genin a clue to the location of their treasure would've put Naruto at a disadvantage while leaving Sasuke in the difficult position of asking his teammates for help due to the requirement of gathering all three treasures to unlock the answer to their sensei's question.
The exam had not only tested their teamwork, but also focused on other areas that each of the three lacked in. In the end, the three had passed with perfect coordination, by the sound of Naruto's description.
Treating the boy to another bowl of ramen as a celebration, Iruka made a mental note.
'I have to find Yoshida-san later…'
At three fifteen, three newly promoted Genin awaited for their first training session at training ground seven.
"Naruto?" Sakura asked, frustration obvious in her voice.
However…
"Yeah, Sakura-chan?" Uncharacteristically, the blond dead-panned; he seemed floored by some kind of mental shock.
Unlike how their sensei had informed them…
"Are you sure that sensei doesn't usually do this?" Anger was thrown into the mix; the girl was slowly becoming enraged.
The experienced Jounin was…
"I'm pretty sure, Sakura-chan" Naruto nervously said while thinking, 'Though, now I'm beginning to have second thoughts…baka-nee-chan.'
Again…
"Then, why hasn't sensei showed up yet?!" Unable to keep down her boiling rage, Sakura threw what she remembered from her Genin test out the window.
Late.
Watching the ground as if his answer was etched into the floor, Naruto just stared into the grass, blinking away. The Uzumaki's silence just seemed unrealistic to Sasuke and Sakura. Even weirder, Naruto wasn't usually one to ignore someone, especially Sakura-chan when she was demanding an answer.
As Sasuke continued to watch his two teammates from the tree he leaned against, Sakura began having second thoughts about being too harsh on her usually cheery, loudmouthed teammate.
"N-Naruto?" she warily asked.
No response.
"Naruto? Hey, Naruto!" she asked louder.
"Huh? Uh, what? What happened?" He blinked curiously at her, who had shocked him out of his deep musing.
Despite her slight concern, the Haruno couldn't hold back a bite at the blond's response.
"Weren't you listening, Naruto? You know it's unbecoming of a shinobi to day dream, baka. What were you thinking of anyway?"
As the confusion vanished from his face, Naruto immediately broke out into an embarrassed smile. Rubbing the back of his head, a self-conscious titter emitted from the now sniggering Uzumaki.
"Hehe, sorry, Sakura-chan. I guess I was just spacing out. What did you say again?"
Glaring at the boy, she berated herself for being concerned about the foolhardy blond. He was being a clown like usual, so of course he was okay.
Although… Sakura's senses were nudging her to look closer. The memories of the Genin exam were still fresh in her mind.
Letting him be for now after properly scolding him, she thought warily:
'Still…that face he was making. Naruto may be an idiot, but he's always wearing that goofy smile. And now it appears like nothing… to 'think outside the box' was basically one of sensei's lessons. Maybe I was assuming things before… I wonder…?'
Pausing for a moment to consider her thoughts, Sakura shook her head.
'No, that's crazy. Naruto has always been like this. Ever since the academy, he's always been trying to show off. It must just be me. I mean, I didn't really have breakfast today, but at least I had dinner.'
Leaning against a trunk underneath the tree's foliage, Sasuke just watched his two teammates interact since their sensei was late…again.
It seemed that the dobe was actually quiet for once, but that expression on his face was unsettling, reminiscent of another bumbling idiot that the boy knew well.
Oji-san would sometimes wear that same solemn expression when a certain date rolled around. The clan head would become more wistful and less energetic than usual. Whenever that date came near, the two of them grew closer, trying to fill the gap of the missing loved ones of from their once thriving clan. Sasuke would arrive home earlier from training and the two would visit the clan gravestone in the back forest of the Uchiha compound.
Of course, after the time had passed, the two would go back to their usual behavior. Obito would pick on his nephew while over taking shinobi and clan duties as Sasuke would try and wave off his Oji's teasing, training to get stronger. The young raven wasn't one for identifying emotions, but after experiencing a wide range of them from Obito-oji and his friends, there were a few things that the boy could vaguely pick up.
Obviously Nartuto was troubled, and maybe even deeply considering something – but what that something was, Sasuke had no idea. As the blond bounced back, and the usual routine of Sakura scolding the dobe ensued, the Uchiha decided to save it for later. Getting into Naruto's head didn't concern him… Ugh, getting into Naruto's head. Why would Sasuke even do that?
"So, when do you think your sensei will arrive?" someone asked in a curious tone.
Turning towards the person in question, Sakura replied, "If we're lucky, probably in another hour or –."
As she stopped mid-sentence, Naruto and Sasuke slowly turned to the left. They were too stunned to respond. Why?
Sitting there in the grass with her legs crossed like a child's was their late sensei. Idly flipping to the next page of her novel, Eri wondered why the three were so silent. Did they really not notice her?
"Hey, what's wrong? You guys aren't usually this silent. Although, I can't really say the same for Sasuke since he usually keeps to himself – other than saying 'hn' most of the time. Though, to be fair, he'd rather observe and analyze before taking action. No wonder you isolate yourself so much…."
Not knowing whether to be offended or impressed with her analysis, Sasuke settled for overall indifference. Naruto couldn't help but smile at how right Eri was, while Sakura did take some slight offense. However, since it was their sensei that they were talking to, she settled for scolding her late teacher.
"You're late, Eri-sensei! Again!"
Nodding in agreement, Naruto eyed the still cross-legged female scrupulously, asking, "Just what the hell were you doing anyway?!"
At this, the Yoshida slammed her book shut before putting it away in her side pouch. Bringing herself up, she replied nonchalantly, "I had some loose ends to tie up. There was also some additional paper work to go through, since I'm a Jounin leader now. But, I have a question for you three."
As their annoyance and anger ebbed away, the three pre-teens only blinked in response.
"Just what exactly did you guys do while you were waiting for my arrival?"
As if it was as plain as day, Naruto spoke.
"We were waiting for you, Eri-nee-chan. Duh."
Seconds passed by as the Jounin waited for more. After those few seconds, it became obvious that she wasn't getting anything more than that.
She mused, "That's it? You three were just waiting for two hours straight?" Making it clear that she was un-impressed.
Her covered gaze radiated displeasure. Feeling the intense stare, Sakura and Naruto lowered their heads in shame, while Sasuke looked away behind his collar.
Feeling that she was laying on her guilt trip a bit too early, Eri sighed, shaking her head. She'd been hoping for more progression, but her Genin exam had really pushed them. The foundation for teamwork was already there, but since it had only been a day after, the Yoshida knew that it was time for a break so that the three could slow down and gather what they'd learned and experienced.
Softening her tone, the team leader settled for admonishing the three.
"In all honesty, I know you guys are smart. So that doesn't mean that I need to tell you every single little thing. You're smart enough to gather information while thinking for yourselves. I was hoping that while I wasn't here, you'd use the time to train and bond as a team. Alright?"
Hearing the adult acknowledge them in some form was surprising. Naruto found that line too sweet and unexpected to be real. Usually the village named him as the local plague, even downgrading his humanity.
Sakura beamed at the woman. Of course she knew that she was smart, but it was different whenever she heard it from someone she barely knew. And it wasn't out of spite or childish praise, either. The kids in the academy would usually reason that her intelligence was the cause of her large, unattractive forehead. But hearing someone say this with no ulterior motive was refreshing.
Sasuke, like his teammates, was a bit stunned; though the boy was more curious if anything. Usually he'd receive this type of compliment as praise for being a prime example in class. In fact, most of the time, these were stated in awe and amazement. Not the plain, blunt statement that had been given. With everything that had happened so far, he was willing to hold off on his opinion of Yoshida Eri.
Ending their thoughts there, the three nodded in agreement as they waited with rapt attention for their Jounin to speak. Smiling at this, Eri found their attentiveness cute. It reminded her of a moment in Shippuden when Kakashi stated that his students were cute when they listened so actively to him, giving him all of their attention. Now she knew what he meant.
Still, the Jounin found it taxing to explain her lesson through a speech. She enjoyed teaching the odd trio, but there was a reason why people only knew her by name or title. Eri wasn't exactly a very social person despite her love for people in general, as confusing as that sounded. Rin and Kakashi still couldn't make sense of this odd behavior, Obito just accepted it since they'd known each other since the academy, and Anko generally didn't give a…. yeah, you get the picture.
Getting back to the matter at hand, Eri set her team off to do some conditioning and warm-up exercises. However, before giving them the green light, she asked for each of them to hold out their wrists.
When they followed her command, albeit with some hesitance, the woman slipped a paper band on each of their wrists. After they properly placed on the three wristbands, Eri formed half a tiger sign with her left hand, activating the bands. The ink markings glowed a light blue before morphing back to black.
Immediately noticing the difference, the three Genin were anxious as they eyed their smirking Jounin. The first one to voice their obvious discomfort was Naruto.
"Hey, Eri-sensei, just what does this paper band do? My chakra feels all funny."
With Sakura nodding in agreement as Sasuke waited for an answer, Eri had a gut feeling that this was going to be a love-hate relationship.
Still smirking at the three, she replied, "Oh. Well, those paper bracelets are designed to cut you three off from your chakra supply. If you try to access your chakra supply or take off the bracelet before I deactivate it, you'll receive a small jolt of electricity through your system as punishment."
Hearing this, the three pre-teens grew frantic, all thinking the exact same thoughts:
'What?! I can't access my chakra?!'
Still not completely understanding this method of training, Sakura furthered the inquiry of their sensei.
"But sensei, why aren't we allowed to access our chakra?! I thought that it was encouraged to use chakra since it'll be inevitable when we're out on the field battling!"
Eri's smirk disappeared into a straight line. Answering the pinkette, she said in a matter-of-fact tone:
"Yes, you are encouraged to use your chakra, but it's better if you don't heavily rely upon it. It's better to build up one's physical strength without chakra, so that when you do apply chakra during physical activities, you'll be stronger than your opponent when you both have depleted your chakra reserves."
The Yoshida tilted her head as she placed her hands on her hips, stating carelessly:
"Besides, why rely on chakra when you can solely use your own body? Isn't it better to increase you physical prowess instead of using up your chakra reserves? In any case, this'll teach awareness of your own limits and strength. Because what I'm trying to establish is a balance between conscious and unconscious use of one's own chakra, so that you three know exactly when to use it, or when to save it for later. Every bit of chakra helps when your lives are in danger. Does that answer your question, Sakura?"
Nodding at the ebony haired woman, both Sasuke and Sakura saw the important objectives that this exercise was trying to accomplish. It was exactly as their sensei had stated. The more chakra you had, the more advantage over the enemy you possessed, so what was the use in pumping precious chakra throughout your body when the body could withstand all the physical trauma the user put themselves through?
Naruto, on the other hand still felt slightly anxious about being cut off from his chakra network. He couldn't argue against Eri's reasoning, but not having that warm, fluid energy course through his veins felt wrong. He trusted his Eri-nee, and would put up with the lesson if he had to, but that didn't mean he liked it.
Eri sent the three off on a few warm-up laps around the village with a set time limit, and Naruto and Sasuke came in head to head about fifty minutes later. That was a considerably good time for the boys' first time without using chakra. Although, she couldn't help but notice how the two had a few scorch marks and singed hairs along with a charred smell trailing behind them.
Sakura jogged, exhausted, into the training grounds thirty minutes after the Uzumaki's and Uchiha's arrival. The tween drenched in sweat was gasping for breath, making it clear that the Haruno had severely disregarded her physical training. Her red face and wheezing breath sent Naruto spiraling into panic as he kept shouting:
"Ah, Sakura-chan! Eri-ne – I mean Eri-sensei! Do something! Sakura-chan is dying!"
Too tired to yell at Naruto, Sakura settled for glaring at the worried maniac. She wasn't the only one, though; Sasuke's eyebrow ticked in annoyance.
"Dobe, shut up. She isn't dying, so stop yelling."
Before Naruto could retort, Eri intervened.
"Naruto, you should stop yelling, and Sasuke, you could've phrased that better. Sakura is just suffering from exhaustion and possibly heat stroke. Sakura, you can rest over there underneath the shade."
Helping the young exhausted Genin reach the shadowed tree line and setting the two boys on their third warm-up exercise, Eri was impressed that the girl didn't faint from exhaustion during her laps. Eri unsealed a chilled water bottle with some salt for electrolytes from a scroll along and handed it to Sakura, along with three onigiri to refill her energy levels. Setting the boys on five timed suicide exercises that Eri had learned from her first life in gym class, she set Sakura on her second task after cooling the Haruno down for eight minutes.
By the time the boys were done with their suicides, the two were gasping for air, coughing in exhaustion, and drenched in sweat. They also smelled…well, all three of them now smelled in general.
After she gave Naruto and Sasuke the same treatment that she had given Sakura, the two gulped down their very lightly salted water before ravaging their onigiri, leaving not a speck of rice left.
As the boys continued to rest, Eri set Sakura on her own timed suicides – though the woman lessened the amount since the girl was already suffering from fatigue. Upon finishing her exercises, Sakura joined them under the shade. Taking a seat to the Uzumaki's left with Sasuke on her right, the Jounin sat cross-legged before them.
"Alright, now that warm-ups are done, I can take off those seal bands," the woman said with easy happiness.
Instantly, three wrists were before her and three hopeful stares peered into her face. The woman laughed under her breath. Obviously her team was distressed by the lack of chakra running through their bodies.
Creating the bands last night had been well worth the entertainment of seeing her students suffer the full physical trauma. Hearing them wheeze for air was music to her ears. It meant that her exercises were doing their job. It was a satisfying sound for all the trouble that each band had been, especially Naruto's since the Yoshida had to be careful when adding the Kyuubi's chakra into the equation.
Eri had pulled out her advanced books on Fuuinjutsu that had been recommended to her by a certain blond, setting to work for half of the night and most of the morning when creating Naruto's chakra sealing bracelet. Taking extra care, the Jounin had made sure that the seal wouldn't self-destruct due to the self-shocking feature. She made Naruto's a bit more lenient since it was virtually impossible to isolate all of the boy's chakra. His reserves were too large to contain, so Eri had created a mathematic ratio that took the probability of Naruto willfully using his chakra into account.
After applying that to the seal, the rest of the process had been exactly like that of Sakura and Sasuke's wristbands, which the Jounin had then spent that very morning completing… along with a few other documents that had needed signing off.
Deactivating the three bands with a horse sign for control, Eri watched with great amusement as the three Genin relaxed before her. Sakura and Naruto sighed in joy while Sasuke gave out a relieved breath of air. Taking off each of their bands, Eri noted that Naruto's seal was slightly broken due to the stress of taking on such a large portion of chakra. However, thanks to the fail-safes that she had set up, the boy hadn't been blown to bits or shocked into oblivion.
Pocketing the seals, the Yoshida saw varied expressions on her team's faces as their eyes became slightly distant and glazed over.
'They probably noticed the difference between consciously and unconsciously using their chakra,' thought the Jounin.
As if she had read their minds, Eri was right.
Sakura felt more energized than she had ever felt before. Her chakra was super healing her exhaustion, and all the stress caused by the exercises' physical trauma was gone. In fact, her chakra was now strengthening her as she felt her reserves grow slightly. The Haruno was now more aware of how much chakra was at her disposal – as well as the chakra that trembled beneath her. She was actually becoming chakra sensitive! Since the girl was already a master at control and was, in a sense, already chakra aware – this only strengthened her awareness.
Sasuke felt the benefits of the exercise as well. He had a vague feeling of just how much chakra he had, but he still noticed the slight growth in his reserves. The exhaustion was gone, and the damage was healed quickly since his body was already cooled down and rested. The chakra that was left made him more energized and the boy felt that he could train for a few hours more after their team meeting. Despite the odd methods that his Jounin leader employed, Eri-sensei was true to her words.
Naruto was also benefiting from the return of his chakra. Although, with the amount of chakra he already had, the boy could hardly feel his reserves grow in size. But he still felt the difference nonetheless – along with the super charged healing that his chakra instigated alongside the Kyuubi's side effects.
"Okay, now that that's done, we have one more thing to do before I send you off for the day," stated the ex-ANBU.
Instead of questioning her as usual, the three Genin watched and listened to the woman with rapt attention. Inwardly smirking, she mentally praised the three for their attentiveness. They were beginning to catch on. It was better to know all the facts before jumping the gun.
She continued her explanation, "We'll go over each of your strengths and weaknesses and what we could do to improve you three in each of your chosen fields of specialty. Sakura, we'll start with you first. What do you think are your strengths and weaknesses?"
Pondering what she could say, Sakura was at war with herself. It was at this moment that she could impress Sasuke-kun, but then she might be lying to herself and her sensei about her abilities. Scanning the ground for possible answers, Sakura knew she had to be honest. If she wasn't, it would leave a bad taste in her mouth, and it wasn't like she hadn't already exemplified how physically unfit she was. Plus, it was like her sensei had said. She could work herself into something better.
With new-found confidence, she took a deep breath. Sakura faced her sensei as she brought up her gaze, aware of both Naruto's and Sasuke's attention.
"My strengths are my chakra control and my mind. I…my weaknesses… I'm not particularly strong in taijutsu, ninjutsu, or genjutsu."
Giving Sakura a small smile, Eri nodded. She was proud that Sakura had chosen honesty and integrity over vanity. Sakura was changing for the better, even if the steps were small. And that was all that mattered.
As she looked over at Naruto, the boy smiled enthusiastically. He was ready to show how strong and cool he was, especially in front of a certain Teme.
"Hehe! My strengths are my awesome kage-bunshin, mad taijutsu skills and trapping skills, and being able to outrun a pack of Chuunin!"
Astonished at the boasting twelve-year old, Sakura tried lecturing him.
"You idiot! You're supposed to be honest about your abilities! Now you're just boasting!"
Sighing silently, Eri recollected herself. She should've known that Naruto would've turned this into a competition. Calmly, the woman said:
"Sakura, it's alright. Just let him continue. Naruto, you were about to state your weaknesses right? And don't say you don't have a weakness, everyone is weak at something."
Hearing this, the Uzumaki slightly mellowed out while Sakura obeyed her sensei's command. Continuing where he left off, Naruto hesitantly said:
"Uh…Well, I guess I'm not that great with genjutsu. Ugh, and I hate studying!"
Eri mentally sweatdropped. Well, this showed just how much trust she placed in others, believing that they'd act righteously of their own accord. Sighing again in exasperation, the Yoshida faced her remaining student, Sasuke. When she motioned for him to go, the solemn boy spoke.
"My strengths are my taijutsu and ninjutsu skills, along with handling weapons. I don't really have that many weaknesses. But I'd like to improve my skills, in genjutsu and ninjutsu especially."
Smiling at her crush, Sakura couldn't help a sigh as she heard the boy speak while Naruto scowled at the Uchiha. The scowl was especially large when Sasuke stated that he didn't have that many weaknesses.
Eri noted that the boy avoided stating his exact weaknesses. He probably didn't open up to people as quickly as most. Whether it was due to his pride and the possibility of seeming weak, or whether the Uchiha heir was just overall a private person – Eri could count both reasons. But that didn't matter.
What did was that Sasuke wasn't being completely honest with himself and his team. Naruto, as well, had diverted from the truth so he could appear cool and strong.
Eri mentally frowned at her student's actions before smirking in delight. She thought darkly:
'I'll have to fix that then. Hehehe…'
Quickly, she calmed herself to speak:
"Alright, so we've established what you three each know about your current abilities and what exactly you three are lacking in. Now listen up! For this is my assessment of each of your abilities and fall-outs."
As soon as the Jounin's voice took a sharp turn, their back's straightened in attention instinctively. Closely examining the Jounin's head shift towards Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke watched as Eri-sensei peered into the girl's emerald green eyes.
"Sakura, as you said before, your strength is your masterful chakra control and an intelligent mind. Besides the Academy three jutsu and Academy styled taijutsu, you know no genjutsu, taijutsu, or ninjutsu. However, you're fine with handling weapons and traps, but you aren't giving yourself enough credit there. There is a saying 'brain over brawn,' that applies to you, Sakura. Intelligence will get you far in any field. You just lack the required abilities to unleash this mental superiority. Don't worry, you're already taking the first steps to becoming a powerful shinobi."
Smiling at her teacher's assessment, Sakura was proud to have told the truth. Hearing her sensei state that she was already changing herself for the better made the girl even more ecstatic. Sakura was now more confident than that she was changing for the better, that she could prove herself to not only Sasuke-kun, but her sensei.
Turning towards Naruto, Eri saw that the blond was excited to hear her opinion about his abilities. It was with a heavy heart that she sighed. She had to be truthful to the blond, and lying to yourself and your teammates was never a way to grow, especially in the shinobi world where you depended on trust.
"Naruto, what I've examined in you in terms of strengths is your great stamina and chakra capacity. You can also deal with large amounts of stress and pain while calling forth a multitude of kage-bunshin. Your taijutsu style isn't exactly strong – but more along the lines of unpredictable. You have great stealth, when you want to, and a mind for traps and unorthodox methods that may catch the enemy off guard. What you lack is genjutsu, long planned tactics, and a wide range of ninjutsu. Your taijutsu is sloppy and you're easy to anger and set off. You lack patience and the ability to react during the heat of battle. But don't worry, we'll work on that since we've only started as a team. Remember, this is barely the beginning."
Disheartened at the review from his Eri-nee, Naruto couldn't help but feel somewhat hurt and betrayed. He'd been hoping for something like Sakura's review, but instead he got chewed out by his sensei. Although, the fact that the Yoshida had said that he was unpredictable with a large amount of chakra made up for it. Eri had already explained what that meant to him in past visits to her apartment, but the boy was hoping for more.
Coal eyes met black aviators as Eri began her assessment of the Uchiha.
"Sasuke, it's true that you have a good range of ninjutsu for your age. Your taijutsu is clean and you're fine with genjutsu. You can handle weapons well, and you have a tactical mind that is good with logistics. However, you DO have weaknesses. Like Naruto, you are easy to anger, but what makes your weakness greater is that you're stubborn and full of pride. You lack better judgment when it comes to a person's character and automatically assume things about people without digging deeper. You rely on surface information and do not dig straight for the source. But, as I said before, your pride is your biggest fall out. Having pride can lead to multiple problems within a team setting and can cause an ineffective and dysfunctional team to fail the mission or be out-right killed in the field. Pride is very hard to overcome, but with time this won't be a problem."
Surprised by her review, the Uchiha wondered how pride was such a weakness. Hearing her explanation, it sounded like the most logical thing in the world… Still, Sasuke wanted to deny this. To have pride was a great thing. His father had always said to have pride in himself and in his clan, and that was what the Genin would do, if only to honor those who were now no longer with him and his Oji-san.
After giving her review, Eri recommended fields for each of the three to specialize in.
To Sasuke, she stated that he could specialize in genjutsu, kenjutsu, or bukijutsu like her. Because Sasuke didn't know what Bukijutsu was, Eri explained that it was weapons mastery, to reign over every weapon available in the village. She stated that it was a very versatile but hard-to-master field that few succeeded in as she was one of the few Bukijutsu masters in Konoha. Taking this in Sasuke nodded in consideration.
To Sakura, Eri recommended specializing in iryoujutsu – thereby becoming a medic-nin – genjutsu, or taijutsu. When Sakura appeared shocked by the third option, the Yoshida explained that from the few short times that Eri had watched the pummeling Sakura gave Naruto, she could see that letting out that aggression through a proper outlet would be natural for the young girl. The woman stated that it wasn't good to hold in all that rage, so putting it to use might be a better option. Flushing with embarrassment, Sakura nodded to direct the attention away from her.
With Naruto, Eri told the Uzumaki that he could become a ninjutsu specialist with his large chakra network, specialize in teamwork by getting hold of a summoning contract, or become a fuuinjutsu master since the blond had such an affinity for traps. Sakura was shocked at the suggestion while Naruto was overall just confused. After Eri explained to the blond that fuuinjutsu was an advanced art of formulas and sealing that included making letter bombs and sealing scrolls, Naruto was excited to hear his sensei's recommendation. When he wondered exactly why she was suggesting the option, Eri stated again that it was like making traps. The only difference was that they were more complex and harder to predict. This only hooked Naruto on the idea of even more.
Giving each of them a set of three introductory scrolls for beginners, the Yoshida sent them home as she walked out of the field after reminding them of their first mission tomorrow. The three tired Genin settled for eating at a certain blond's favorite stand – although, this was only after wrangling their sensei into joining them for their first official dinner as team seven.
Naruto tried the puppy-dog eye method on the woman, but she only glanced at the Uzumaki before turning to Sasuke and Sakura.
Getting the un-voiced question, Sasuke merely "hn'ed" while Sakura shrugged her shoulders. Looking back at the still begging Genin, Eri sighed while holding the bridge of her nose. Naruto knew that his efforts were failing, but the blond was obviously doing this since he wanted all of team seven to eat at Ichiraku. Denying the boy his wish, Eri flatly stated:
"You know that 'puppy-dog eyes' don't work on me, Naruto."
Slumping in defeat, the boy increased the intensity ten-fold causing the Jounin's mouth to invert, as if she was eating a very sour lemon. Slightly amazed and disgusted by the stare, Eri gave out a larger sigh that all three Genin heard.
"Fine, fine. If you'll stop making that face already, I'll go. Really, it's a little pathetic that you'd stoop to that level, Naruto."
Jumping for joy the boy screamed "Yatta!" before going back into puppy-dog eye mode. Begging the woman, he asked mournfully, "Will you please pay for us, sensei? Please?! Please, pay for us, or at least me?!"
As Sakura and Sasuke sweat-dropped at the scene, Eri disregarded all decorum. Facepalming herself, the woman shook her head and groaned before slouching in defeat.
"I'll pay for you guys, but one bowl."
Though she was hoping that he'd let up, Eri was welcomed with the view of a still puppy-dog pouting Naruto. Her eyebrow ticked in annoyance.
"Four bowls?" asked Naruto.
"No," said Eri, sternly.
"Three bowls?" asked Naruto.
"NO," Eri replied.
"Two bowls?" asked Naruto.
"….." Eri was silent.
"Please?" he asked, again.
"Do you want me to come or not?" asked Eri.
As Naruto opened his mouth to reply, the Jounin interrupted. With a dangerously dark tone, the woman stated firmly:
"ONE BOWL, and ONE BOWL ONLY. And so help me Uzumaki Naruto, if you push me anymore than you already have, I will break into your apartment in the middle of the night, and DESTROY all your ramen before replacing it with vegetables. I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE, And I WILL FIND YOU."
Each time her voice took a sharp tone, the woman's face inched closer and closer to the now horrified ramen loving blondie. And even if this was ramen that the Yoshida was talking about, somehow he had Sasuke and Sakura's sympathy. They were slightly scared of what the Jounin could accomplish with things other than ramen.
Aware that she was getting her point across, Eri gave a feral smile that made the hairs on the back of each of the three Genin's necks stand up. Finishing off her little threat, she continued in the same tone:
"You can't run, you can't hide. SO YOU BETTER PRAY THAT KAMI WILL HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUL."
Gulping in fear, Naruto slowly nodded at the woman who was practically in his face. Satisfied, Eri's mood did a completely 180 degrees turn as she smiled happily. Standing straight, the Yoshida looked over at her other two students, who were wide eyed with apprehensive fear. The woman giggled under her breath at their faces before turning to face the village.
Stuffing her hands into the pockets of her high collared sleeveless brown coat, she stated, satisfied, "C'mon, let's get moving so we can all eat dinner already."
The three twelve-year olds watched as their sensei walked out of the open field whistling. They all shared a moment of silence while exchanging bewildered glances before running after the woman, who was already far ahead. And, despite the threat to his ramen stash, Naruto was grinning, as they all arrived for an early dinner at the stand.
If only did the three Genins know how many revelations they would have about Yoshida Eri in their time under her tutelage. There was more to her than her obviously strange behavior.
When I picked up the brats the next morning, I wanted to surprise them by showing up on time for once – which turned out to be a shame, since the three were showing early signs of teamwork as they helped each other out.
Naruto was sitting underneath a tree while Sasuke was showing Sakura the correct taijutsu forms from a scroll I had specifically picked out for her. When I looked closer, Naruto was actually consumed by the scroll he was reading, and upon taking an even closer look I saw that it was about exactly what he had been excited for yesterday…fuuinjutsu.
I smiled wistfully in fond memory of another blond and another Uzumaki.
'Your son is growing up well. He really does take after both of you.'
Shaking myself out of nostalgia, I looked towards the open field.
Sakura looked somewhat distracted by her crush, but I could see that she was putting effort in perfecting her form as Sasuke patiently pointed out the flaws that she made. It seemed that Sakura was considering taijutsu, but was only testing it for now.
Sasuke, on the other hand appeared calm as usual, but teaching someone else and having them succeed under his tutelage had a positive effect on the Uchiha's mood.
Making a mental note of that, I felt that it would be best to watch over their training from afar for a while before actually notifying them of my presence.
All in all, it was actually pleasant for the first thirty minutes. It was only after Naruto and Sakura switched places that things resumed the regular norm from the series.
Sakura pulled out the intro to iryojutsu scroll while Naruto and Sasuke fought in an all-out taijutsu match with no weapons. Their spar of "friendly competition" escalated into a heated battle, fists against fists.
The more logical side of my conscience stated that it was best for them to experience things firsthand, but the other component of my brain said that the way they were going about it was all wrong.
A spar was meant to test out your skill and reaction time against an opponent, whether they were weaker or stronger than you. Competition had no place in the line of battle where people were just fighting to stay alive. It was then that shinobi would realize just how foolish competition could be on the field of battle.
I sighed, suppressing the gut feeling that things were only going to end badly.
Watching the two boys continue at it, I noticed the area that each of their fists were aimed for: the neck area.
My eyes narrowed as the two ran at each other.
'Frick…the neck is the most vulnerable part of the human body. If those punches land, the surrounding tissue area will swell and cut off their airways. The neck can only handle eighty pounds of pressure, and with the speed and power behind each of their punches, they might just hit past that point! Those idiots would die by suffocation!'
Appearing between the two boys, I slapped away their fists as their aim and force were misdirected. They lost balance with the sudden change in direction and landed face first into the dirt.
Sakura looked up from her scroll to see me standing in the middle of the field with Naruto and Sasuke suffering from dirt smudged faces.
When I waved at her with a smile, she quickly gathered her things to join me in the open field. Naruto and Sasuke looked at me with annoyed faces. Seeing their dirt and grass stained cheeks, I merely smirked at the glares they sent me.
"Eri-sensei! What the hell?! I was just about to win against that Teme!" cried the outraged blonde.
"Hmph, in your dreams, Dobe." muttered the Uchiha as brought himself to stand.
Glaring, Naruto gritted his teeth into a scowl and growled out the heir's name. Shaking my head at the two, I decided to scold them later when they were in another spar. Better to not blow things out of proportion. Joining us, Sakura smiled at me before eyeing the ticked off blond.
"Naruto, cut out, Eri-sensei is here! We'll finally be going on our first mission, so don't screw this up so early in the morning," she said while elbowing him on the side.
It seemed that Sakura was fine with my presence now as opposed to when we first met.
I couldn't help but think that it was because of all the compliments I had given her. Those weren't exactly compliments; those were more like positive facts on her abilities. But that wasn't the only other change in her behavior. The girl seemed a little less physically abusive to Naruto, which was good. However, she still needed to choose her words carefully… but, progress is progress. The only thing left was to hope that she could still remain like that under stress and exhaustion.
'Maybe another test might do just the thing?' I curiously wondered.
While I was thinking all this, Naruto's mood immediately elated as he jumped up and down in excitement. Oops… I forgot how excited he could get about missions.
Watching him with slight fascination, I saw the annoyed look that Sasuke was sending at the cheering blond. Sakura seemed to have sighed in exasperation, but her twitching brow gave away just how annoyed she was too.
I huffed in amusement after finally calming him down from his mission sugar high. But that turned into him asking me question after question about the kind of mission they might receive – as well as who needed rescuing. Smiling at the hyperactive orange blob, I merely told him that he'd see when we got to the mission desk.
'Better to let the Hokage deal with him. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out that he's stuck doing D-rank missions for the next few weeks,' I thought happily.
Having fed my sadistic side for the day, I rounded the three ducklings up and led them to the administration building. As I made sure that they stuck close due to all the winding hallways and confusing passages, we finally reached the mission office.
Seeing the Hokage already there, I had a feeling that he had been spying on each of the teams to make sure that he would hand out the newly minted team's first mission in accordance to tradition. Of course the Hokage couldn't always be present, so instead the first Hokage had made it a tradition to hand out every team's first mission.
Seeing our entrance, the man smiled at the three young Genin as I bowed in respect to the "Almighty Hokage". Don't worry about my sarcasm there. I do respect the man, but I still feel a little bitter about being coerced into taking on a Genin team and leaving my job as mediator behind. But disregarding those feelings, I watched with slight awe and, again, fascination as Naruto merely smiled at the aged shinobi before loudly greeting the powerful man.
"Hey there Jiji! We've come for a mission! Give us a really good one too! It's our first mission after all! Hehe!" exclaimed the very exuberant and happy go lucky blond.
Elbowing him on the side again, Sakura loudly whispered, "Naruto! This is the Hokage you're talking too! Show some respect!"
At this, Naruto merely cocked a brow. "What, the old man? But I always talk to him like this. And besides, he seems fine with it."
Shocked by his irreverence, she replied, "That doesn't mean you should!"
I had a feeling that Sasuke was deadpanning at his two teammates. I didn't blame him. The two were being very disrespectful in front of the skilled warrior, but looking at him, the man was nothing more than amused by the situation before him. Taking a step behind Naruto and Sakura, I placed my hands atop their heads earning a stare from each of them.
Looking down at the two, I merely cocked an eyebrow while keeping up my stare. Blinking in reaction as a few seconds passed, the two remained silent as they turned their attention forward. It seemed they had gotten my silent warning.
'That or they just withdrew themselves due to my awkward stare…Now that I think about it, it's not like they can actually see my eyes let alone my glare,' I mused.
Dropping my hands from the yellow and pink hair, I looked up to see a still amused Kage. I had a distinct feeling that the man had been sneaking glances at my unique team of Genin… I'll ask him later.
As the situation had been calmed, I went with the usual procedures.
"Hokage-sama, team seven reporting. We'd like to request our first mission, sir."
Wiping off his last facial expression, the powerfully aged man eyed me. He spoke in a slow but commanding tone:
"Hmm. Team seven… Only the second day since Genin exams were held, and yet already you show up with a team that has barely formed any comradery. Explain."
Mentally rolling my eyes, I knew the man was just testing me to see if my mediation skills up were still up to par.
But the Hokage also had another good reason to stall our early mission request. Usually Jounin team leaders waited for at least a week before approaching the Hokage for their first mission. I was jumping the gun with this early request, but I could care less about certain traditions.
Matching his tone, I answered without hesitation and my own relaxed flair mixed in. It was a method I used to break down the opposite party's defenses. If I could give them a sense that there was no threat before them, it made negotiating all the easier.
"With all due respect, sir, I believe that my team is ready. They've already exemplified the strength of their comradery during my Genin exam. An exam where they were all mentally toyed with, and given obstacles to overcome within a certain time limit as they searched for and found the true meaning of said exam. They may be young and inexperienced, but they have to start somewhere, Hokage-sama. For even all the past Hokage before us, with all their strength and experience, were at first nothing more than young children growing up."
Pausing for effect, I noticed the awe-inspired faces of my Genin team as Sarutobi contemplated my reasoning. A twinkle within the man's cold eyes appeared as I stated the punch line quote that seemed to always get people to listen to reason.
"Getting their feet wet before they swim for the first time is better than having them jump head first into the water only to drown. Again, as I said, Hokage-sama: they have to start somewhere."
Immediately the twinkle disappeared, and for a ghost of a second, I saw the man smile. Folding his hands, the Hokage tipped down his hat as he scanned the desk.
"Very well, if that is what you think as Jounin leader, so be it," he stated with some fondness.
'A little rough around the edges, but you're still at the top,' I read through his words.
Nodding solemnly, I agreed, as the faces of my students lit up with joy – particularly Naruto's. He started celebrating before going into an inquiry of what type of mission we were to receive.
Thinking back on my answer, I could've phrased it better. My skill had become a bit rough from under-use. It had been a few weeks since my last mediation. Maybe I was being too hard on myself, but this was a skill that I was proud of. It was useful to me as more conflicts could be stopped through mediation and understanding than killing.
Sighing slowly but silently, I returned my focus. It seemed that Naruto was still asking the Hokage about what type of mission we'd be sent off on. Not wanting to stress the old warrior, I drew the Uzumaki back away from the desk, after placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Naruto, calm down. He'll announce the mission we'll receive. What he gives is what we get, so be patient," I said, trying to placate the blond.
"But, Eri-sensei-!" he whined.
"No buts. It's better not to anger the one who's giving out missions, lest you get stuck with a mission you just might regret," I interrupted. The boy instantly shut up.
Nodding in thanks, Sarutobi looked over the D-rank scroll for a mission.
"Since you're just starting out with your first mission, I'll give you a relatively easy mission to accomplish here in the village. However, since it's already mid-afternoon, most of these missions were already taken. Luckily there's one left. I'll be giving the instructions to your Jounin sensei, so report to her for all of the given tasks that the beneficiary requested for completion."
Handing me the papers, the Hokage continued:
"Report to the mission office for pay after completing the written report. If the administration office is closed, do so the following day as soon as possible."
As he gave us the usual "good luck" send-off, the man's eyes and slightly hindered tone drew my attention. I had a feeling that he was sending me a direct look as we stepped out of the office and though the building. This feeling wasn't that bad, but I felt slightly apprehensive. Already I knew that it had to do with the mission we received, but it couldn't be the Land of Waves mission – that was still a month off.
Giddy with absolute happiness, Naruto tried taking a peek at the papers as soon as we were out of the building. As I lifted the papers above all three of their heads, it was obvious that they were anxious. I didn't even need to tune into their chakra. The evidence was clearly written on their faces.
"So, what do we need to do?" asked the impatient Uchiha. It seemed that he was just as excited as Naruto.
"Yeah, sensei! What do we gotta do!?" said the blond, who was bursting with curiosity.
And instead of saying anything, Sakura just nodded her head, anxious to know their first mission.
Looking down at them, I sighed before giving them a wry smile.
"Alright, alright; just wait and let me read it over."
Scanning the black text, I felt my smile drop. Lowering the parchment close to my face, I could only feel my thumb twitch in reaction. The rest of my body felt cold, heavy, and immovable. Continuing my halted breath, I never even noticed that my lungs had stopped working due to the shock. Slowly, ever so slowly, I filled them with air, only to exude it in the same manner. This…this was my first official mission with my team, and this was what the task entailed?
Hoping that it was some mistake, I had a vague sense that my students were beginning to worry at my stilled movement. The subconscious, logical part of my mind tuned into their chakra waves, confirming my suspicion seconds later. Not wanting to stall or worry them any more than I already had, I steeled myself for a second overview.
Quickly, I read over the paper again, careful not to miss a single script or mark.
'Mission Assignment. Classification: D-rank; Reward: 3500 ryo(2); Client: Yoshida Kazuo….It's…It's no mistake. This is real…'
It was with a sense of dread that I realized I was returning to the place where this had all started.
I was going home…
Chapter 6 End
(1) - Obito's nickname can also mean "Emptiness of the Uchiha". It's a bit ironic when I found out this translation, but I might just use this later on. But I might, I might not. I'll decide later.
(2) - I'm matching their currency to how Yen is roughly translated into the American dollar. So 3500 ryo (or yen) would be about $35.00. I'd say that's a pretty good price for individual pay. But it's still not that much compared to a C-rank. The amount is only impressive for a D-rank.
Also, seeing as how Eri or the Hokage never stated that the team received a D-rank mission, it was partly because Sarutobi would rather let Eri work out her private family matters herself instead of making her team aware that she had other family members within the village. It would just end up in them being curious and asking him to explain Eri's family situation. He trusts Eri to make the right decision since she's so morally just.
Eri on the other hand didn't get a chance to look over the exact details, in any case, she'd actually be fine with the unknown. But with the mood that she picked up from Sarutobi, she felt that this was important to see before informing the team, It was so that she could prepare herself for any possible shortcomings in the future. Although, she wasn't expecting a mission from her family, so the woman was shocked anyway.
I'm sorry if this chapter isn't filled with that much action, but I not really a writer that's drawn towards writing action scenes, I like writing about the human equation that is us within the world as we react to multiple causes of stress or situations.
This chapter was much more information based and filled with some character development. It also gave us a broader perspective of Eri's emotions and who she is as a person. If you were surprised by the angst in chapter five, then I can only say that there is more to come! After all, most of the characters within the series suffer from their own brand of angst. So it's only natural that Eri would have some as well.
Anyway, the next chapter is an intermission that I already have planned out! So (hopefully) the next one will be coming out within this month or the next month. Yeah, sorry; I'm still busy. But at least I've worked through my writer's block! ^_^
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please leave a review on your thoughts! Feedback is really the main reason this chapter is as long as it is. Also I'm sorry about any grammar and spelling mistakes that you may find while reading! Please, if you do find anything of that sort, leave it in a review or message me, thanks!
Thank you guys SO MUCH for all your support! See you guys next time! ^_^