Disclaimer: All NARUTO related materials are Copyrighted and belong to Masashi Kishimoto, not me.
Chapter 6
Expect the Unexpected
It was a beautiful morning in Konoha. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and at Miyako's apartment her alarm clock awoke her with a start. The reason why there was a need to wake up with the alarm when she no longer had school was escaping her. Groggily, she dragged herself to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She didn't know why but she remembered that yesterday she had decided to get an early start. What day was today, anyway?
Running water could be heard from the bathroom. Then a loud thump.
"Oh! That's right!" Miyako's voice sounded from inside, followed by several more thumps, signaling she had fallen and was getting up. "Today's the explanatory meeting! Yeah!"
Splashes came from the bathroom as Miyako continued her morning routine in an upbeat pace.
- xxx -
At 8:45 she was already outside on her way to the Academy. She wore her normal attire of the usual fishnet undershirt, olive t-shirt with ash blue sleeves, dark brown pants, blue sandals and the shiny Konoha headband proudly on her left forearm. With a goofy smile refusing to leave her face, Miyako was walking up the main street. She'd been anticipating this day ever since starting on the path to become ninja. Training, learning, doing everything she could to be ready. She had made a little progress but she was far away from being considered even remotely strong when compared to her age group. She was maybe just under Sakura's fighting capabilities. At least she hoped she was. In reality, any genin could kick her ass without breaking a sweat. But Miyako didn't care. After all, she could improve with time and more training. But all of that aside, nothing could change the fact that she was now a kunoichi.
Miyako started wondering again about what team she could be assigned to. She tried to remember the faces of other people in class that weren't part of the rookie nine. The only person that popped into her head was that dark-haired girl who was being praised by her parents for passing the graduation exam. Miyako sighed. She had been so focused on pleasing her fan self by getting along with the nine and doing well in her training that she didn't take the time to acquaint herself with the rest of her classmates. She palmed her forehead, cursing herself.
A loud noise reminiscent of a stampeding herd sounded behind Miyako. On instinct, she stepped aside and turned around, ready to avoid said herd, but instead, she only saw a certain pinkhead and a platinum blonde pushing against each other while rapidly advancing in her direction at a high speed, leaving large trails of flying dust in their wake. Now, a normal person who didn't know the two girls would sweatdrop and Shikamaru's phrase "troublesome" would accidentally come to mind, but Miyako smiled widely instead and waved cheerfully to them.
"Good morning, Sakura-nee, Ino!" she called as they passed her.
They suddenly took a halt and stared at her with an idea forming in their heads.
"Morning, Miyako!" both of them yelled at the same time. Realizing that, they glared at each other. "I said it first!" They pointed at themselves. "No, I did!" They got closer and a spark of electricity passed between their eyes.
Miyako took that cue to sweatdrop. She carefully sidestepped out of their sight and continued walking to the Academy, this time in a fast stride, hoping that they forgot all about her and wouldn't drag her into the argument.
"Miyako, who was first, me or her?" Sakura and Ino snapped their heads to stare at the spot they thought Miyako was standing to find that she had fled. They looked around frantically and spotted the brown-haired girl's retreating back, just as she rounded a corner. "Hey, get back here!" they shouted, taking off after her.
Behind said corner she was nowhere to be seen and they figured she had ran farther out of sight. The two bolted again, turning left after the next curb. Back at the same place around the corner, the paint of the building wriggled and Miyako popped her head from under a large camouflage cloth, matching the wall's color.
"Heheheh..." Miyako grinned mischievously and now that she was safe, walked away on her path to the explanatory meeting.
She may not be strong enough yet but she sure had the wits to make up for it.
- Ninja Academy Explanatory Meeting -
"Mornin, Hina-chaan~!" A brown-haired girl's grinning face blocked Hinata's vision to a certain blonde.
"Eh?!" Startled, the shy girl moved her head back and recognized Miyako's knowing grin. "M-miyako? Hello!" Hinata nervously sputtered as Miyako pulled her head back and looked around the room.
"Ooh~! It's almost full. Looks like nearly everyone's here." Miyako whistled and spotted a free seat just behind Naruto in his orange glory who was bragging about something to Shikamaru. She smiled and looked back at Hinata. "Hina-chan, I'm really sorry that there's no room to sit next to you..."
"Ah! I..." That made Hinata blush a little in embarassment. She didn't expect that someone would want to sit next to her. She felt a little guilty that she didn't anticipate a situation like this and try to save a seat for her friend.
"But don't worry!" Miyako smiled widely as if reading the girl's thoughts. "Look, I'll just go sit over there. Bye, bye!" And with that Miyako skipped away and plopped on the desk behind Naruto.
"Bye..." Hinata said quietly.
She knew Miyako didn't hear her. She always found herself at a loss for words around people like her. For some reason, the words couldn't make it out of her mouth in time. It happened mostly around energetic types. They came unexpectedly, startling her, and next thing she knew, they were already gone before she could say a thing. Hinata felt uneasy around them... but happy as well. They brightened her day and showed her a different side of life, a different lifestyle than her own. They were carefree, friendly, happy and hardworking. Hinata's gaze fell again on the blonde in front of Miyako who turned to face the brown-haired girl and efortlessly swept her into a conversation. Hinata smiled shyly. She wanted to be that kind of person.
- xxx -
Miyako sat down on the spot behind Naruto just as he finished bragging to Shikamaru.
"Ooh, Naruto! So what I heard was true! You passed!" she said happily as the orange clad boy turned to her and grinned.
"Hey, Miyako-chan! It looks really good on me, doesn't it?" He pointed to the metal plate of the headband around his head.
"Yeah, it covers every inch of your nonexistent forehead splendidly!" Miyako retorted jokingly and they shared a laugh until Naruto realized what she'd said and retaliated with an offended "Hey!"
"GOAL!" two female voices were heard from the door, drawing attention. Miyako and Naruto turned to see Sakura and Ino, both out of breath.
"I win again, Sakura," Ino teased, smirking with narrowed eyes at the pink haired kunoichi.
"What are you talking about?" Sakura thought of a comeback. "My toe entered the class before yours by a centimeter."
"Are you blind?" Ino spat.
Miyako chuckled at their silliness. She looked back at Naruto to comment but noticed he was busy blushing at Sakura. She sweatdropped at the blond boy's taste in women. Sakura looked around and brightened when her gaze stopped in Naruto's general direction. He seemed to get embarrassed for some ridiculous reason and looked away, a stupid smile on his face. Miyako traced Sakura's gaze to a person behind Naruto – Sasuke.
Oh, yeah, gloom boy was sitting there. He was so quiet that I didn't even notice, Miyako noted inwardly.
She then heard Ino yell, "Hey! Sakura!"
"Morning, Sakura-chan~!" Naruto chirped.
"Get out of my way!" the "oh, so considerate" Sakura growled as she "gently" pushed Naruto aside, making him fall flat on his face and down the stairs.
What did he expect? A hug? Miyako sighed in her head. That's Sakura after all. She won't even give me myself the time of day before she pries a greeting out of "her Sasuke-kun", it's not like it's personal.
"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura beamed upon setting eyes on the dark boy and her cheeks reddened. Sasuke turned with a blank look at her, wondering what the big racket was about. She tilted her head slightly to the side in attempt to be cute. "Can I sit next to you?"
Just then an irritated Ino stomped next to Sakura, grabbing her by the arm.
"Hey! I'm going to sit next to him!" she protested.
"First come, first serve," Sakura retorted childishly.
"I came to the classroom before you!" Ino continued their last little spat.
"No, I did!" A girl with short brown twintails barged into their argument.
"If that's the case, I did!" another fangirl yelled from behind Miyako, startling her with her loud voice.
"I was first!"
"I'm going to get to sit next to Sasuke-kun!"
The classroom filled with fanatical shouting and shrieks as almost every girl in the room, excluding Hinata and Miyako, flocked to argue who was worthy to sit next to their ninja rockstar. Miyako stared in amazement. She always thought there was an exaggeration to the words rabid fangirls. But there they were, about ten angry females cursing and glaring daggers at each other. The thought of trying to make them shut up crossed Miyako's mind, only to be disheartened by the sheer possibility of getting beaten by the same flock of fanatic females, since they also happened to be ninja as well.
The fangirls suddenly stopped and stared pointedly in Sasuke's direction. Confused, Miyako also looked that way and realization dawned on her. Naruto was on top of the desk staring intently at Sasuke, inches from his face. The fangirls glared at the orange clad boy as Sakura yelled, "Naruto, Stop staring at Sasuke-kun!" Similar sentences could be heard being repeated from the other girls.
Naruto turned to Sakura and then back to Sasuke, displeased that he was getting so much attention. The two boys narrowed their eyes and glared closer at each other as a spark crossed between their eyes.
Blushing grossly with a sinister grin on her face, Miyako leaned on her desk, trying to get a closer look. This is great! I have a perfect angle, she thought. Oh, the intensity in their eyes! And the best comes just after three...
"Sasuke-kun, beat him up!" the flock of obsessive girls yelled, "Yeah!"
Miyako's sinister grin grew a bit.
Two...
"Yeah, for real?" A boy with a gray shirt and brown hair in a ponytail leaned back on the desk behind him, which happened to be exactly the one on which Naruto was standing, and he accidentally pushed Naruto. The room suddenly got quiet. "Oh... Sorry." He turned to apologize but what he saw made his eyes widen.
The sinister grin on Miyako's face turned into a perverted one.
One.
"Wh–" A mere sound escaped Sakura's mouth as she and the girls behind her could only stare in horror.
"–y" An equally as shocked Ino finished the last syllable of Sakura's question "why", as in "why is this happening, this isn't the reality I signed up for!"
There, on the desk in front of Miyako's, the shell-shocked Naruto and Sasuke were stuck in a lip lock. That was the first time Miyako wished she owned a camera. Naruto and Sasuke separated and looked mortified at each other, unable to react.
"I now declare the SasuNaru fanclub open for business! Anyone shipping this as hard as I do, come forth! Come forth, BL fangirls, don't be shy now!" a perversely blushing Miyako stood up and announced to the bewildered public as she motioned to Naruto and Sasuke who then got back to their senses and turned away clutching their necks to gag. Sasuke started spitting and growled something about killing the blonde, as Naruto was sticking his tongue out while muttering about his mouth rotting.
"Is it my fault?" the boy in front of them obliviously asked, making Miyako burst out laughing. She liked that guy. With just one push he had both turned a tense moment funny and created the greatest ship of all time. And all of that without a drop of realization. Just because of that, she hoped he would be on her team. She would totally be best friends with that guy if they ended up being grouped together, she was sure of it.
"I sense danger," Naruto said, turning back to face the group of very murderous kunoichi.
Bwahaha! Naruto sensed a disturbance in the ninja force! Miyako laughed harder, falling back in her seat and clutched her stomach as her eyes got watery. His ninja-senses are tingling!
She couldn't think straight at that moment and she saw everything as a lot funnier than it actually was. Ridiculously so. She would probably fall off her seat laughing even if you told her the stupidest joke, the sweatdropping Shikamaru on the other side of her desk thought.
"Naruto... you..." Sakura spat with venom in her voice.
"An accident," Naruto tried to reason, putting hands up in defense. "It was an accident!"
"You're an eyesore!" Sakura mercilessly seethed.
The fangirls didn't seem to care if it was an accident or not and ganged up on him, cracking their fists. This caused Naruto to adopt a frightened look on his face. He had no way out of this, considering the crazed Miyako was currently stuck laughing her ass off.
- A few minutes later -
"Starting today, you're all official ninja, but..." Standing in front of the class holding some papers behind his back, Iruka had started his speech. "You all are still new genin. It's going to get harder from here."
Miyako wasn't listening all that carefully to Iruka. She had recovered but she was lying with her chin over her hands on the desk so she could effectively mask any laughing fits that came with remembering what had happened. And there it came. Miyako ducked her head downwards behind her arms to face the desk and started a silent snickering convulsion which from another point of view looked like she was having a seizure. Miyako was sitting next to Ino with Shikamaru by the windowside. Each time she'd start twitching, Ino would stare at her in annoyance and kick her under the desk roughly while Shikamaru made an effort to ignore them and keep observing the scenery outside, pretending he was with sane people. In front of Miyako, Naruto was also lying on his desk. Unlike her however, he was in that position out of pain, a result from getting pummeled by a horde of deranged fanatic girls.
"You will be placed in groups of three, where you will carry out missions under a jounin instructor," Iruka continued.
Miyako heard Naruto, Ino and Sakura make a surprised sound and she wondered if that statement was really that much of a shock for them when ninja generally worked in teams to begin with and they should have picked up on that sooner or later.
"I wonder who's gonna be in Sasuke-kun's team?" Ino innocently wondered out loud, catching Sakura's attention. Miyako groaned at the pettiness of it all.
"I don't know." Sakura tried to sound indifferent. She turned and narrowed her eyes at Ino as, Miyako was sure, Inner Sakura started cursing and yelling obscenities at the blonde.
Miyako heard Sasuke click his tongue. She shifted her head and stared at him for a brief moment.
Bastard! He's no doubt thinking his teammates would be a hindrance. Impudent jerkface.
"We've arranged the groups as such that the overall abilities are equivalent." Iruka snapped Miyako from her thoughts. He pulled out a batch of papers from behind his back and looked at the one on top. "I will now announce them..."
As teams were read, everyone waited in anticipation for their name to be called. It was already Team Seven's turn and Miyako hadn't yet heard her name. She figured she was probably on team nine since she remembered the number of graduates was supposed to be somewhere around 30. After dividing them all into 3 in her head, Miyako ended up with a total number of 10 teams and Team Seven, Eight and Ten were already predetermined.
"Next, Team Seven," Iruka spoke, "Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto stood alert.
"Haruno Sakura."
Sakura let out a disappointed "oh" and hung her head as Naruto stood up yelling "Yes!"
Wait for it, you two... Miyako mused in her mind and smirked.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
Now it was Naruto's turn to hang his head low while Sakura yelled happily.
They were doomed from the very beginning – a knucklehead, a fangirl and a brooder... Yep. They're totally screw–
"Nagahoshi Miyako."
There was a beat of silence, after which murmurs spread throughout the room like wildfire.
"Huh? What?" Miyako nervously stood up straight. "What did I do?"
"Mm?" Iruka looked at her dumbly. "You are Team Seven's last member," he said it like it was the most obvious thing, annoyed that she hadn't heard him.
Miyako opened her mouth but nothing came out. She sat back down as her mind went numb. Her eyes were wide as she stared at Iruka like he had grown two heads. The teacher ignored her and read out the rest of the squads. Still dumbfounded, Miyako didn't notice Sakura rub her victory in Ino's face, Shikamaru and Ino exchange words and then Ino's world crumble before her eyes after finding out she was on Shikamaru and Choji's team as secretly arranged by their clan head fathers, the original Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
"That's it for the teams," Iruka finished.
"Iruka-sensei! Why is a top-student like me in a group with this guy?!" Naruto yelled out, pointing at Sasuke.
"Sasuke graduated with the highest scores," Iruka said closing his eyes. Then he put his hands on his hips and leaned forward opening his eyes in accusation. "And you, Naruto, were dead last."
The classroom burst with laughter, springing Miyako back to reality.
"This is so the abilities are evenly divided between the teams," she heard Iruka say.
"Just don't get in my way, dead last," Sasuke repeated, making Naruto angry.
"What did you say?!" Naruto growled at him.
"You want to have a go at it, loser?" Sasuke chided again.
The class burst out laughing again as Naruto got even madder.
"Loser?! Why you ba–"
"Give it a rest, Naruto," Sakura ordered and Naruto took upon a sullen look as he mumbled her a "sorry".
Miyako stared at the three in front of her.
This can't be real... This is wrong! How can I be on Team Seven?! I' don't belong there, in a team that should be perfect without me...
Her hands were trembling.
I'm just sleeping in my bed back in the apartment. My alarm clock is going to ring, I'm going to come here again and Iruka-sensei is going to put me in some other team. Miyako tried to calm herself down as she inhaled and exhaled deeply. Yeah, that's right... it's just a dream... I've had it before. Why wouldn't I be having it again?
"Sensei, how come Sasuke-kun's team has four members? You said we were going to be assigned to groups of three!" Ino protested from the back, interrupting Miyako's train of thought. "Aren't the abilities between the teams supposed to be evened out?"
Another round of murmurs spread across the room. Miyako gaped at the blonde. Even if she had spoken out of spite, wishing she was in Miyako or Sakura's place, Ino was right. Miyako was throwing off the balance. Sakura would have probably said something herself if she wasn't so uncertain whether she was the odd one out. As evident when she bit her lip after Ino's statement, Sakura was also having doubts whether she belonged and it was all Miyako's fault, the brown-haired outsider realized with a pang of guilt overwhelming her.
Iruka peered at Ino, careful in phrasing his words. "There's an uneven number of graduates this year and as I already said, we've made sure that each team is as able as the next, Team Seven not excluded. The fact that they have a fourth team member is irrelevant."
"But it still doesn't seam fair to the others, especially because of me," Miyako finally found her voice to point out quietly.
The teacher paused to look over Miyako's sullen form for a moment, weighing his options, before sighing.
"Team Seven, stay after the meeting," he half-ordered and quickly changed the subject. "I'm going to introduce the jounin teachers in the afternoon. Until then, meeting adjourned!"
And with that said, the classroom started emptying out as the kids went out to get something to eat. The only ones left were the members of the newly formed Team Seven. Miyako was fidgeting nervously, Sasuke remained impassive and Naruto and Sakura followed Iruka with curiosity as he made his way up the stairs to their desk. Once there, all four pairs of eyes were on him.
"Well..." He took a breath, leaning on the neighbouring row of desks. "As you know, Miyako is a special case–"
"Why?" Miyako interrupted and looked at him worriedly. "I'm not supposed to be on this team, aren't I? And I'm throwing off the balance! I'm too weak to be a ninja anyway so you should probably just send me back to the Aca–"
"No!" this time Naruto interrupted, "I say Sasuke's not supposed to be on the team!" The one mentioned turned to glare at him.
"What did you say?!" Enraged, Sakura bolted up and grabbed his collar to growl in his face, "If anyone deserves to drop out and retake all his exams, that's you, don't you think?!"
"But, but, but, but Sakura-chan–"
"EHEM!" Iruka fake-coughed loudly, regaining the genin's attention.
Sakura reluctantly let go of Naruto's jacket and primly sat back in her seat.
"As I was saying, Miyako is a special case. She was enrolled in the Academy just months before she graduated with the help of you two." He motioned toward Sasuke and Sakura. Memories from Sakura's afternoon lessons and "Duck-butt's two-hour hell training" flashed inside Miyako, Sakura and Sasuke's heads.
"Even though she graduated, she's still far more inexperienced than, say, a mere first-year in the Academy."
Miyako looked down at her lap, knowing all too well how true that was.
"That's why she's in a team of four – so the three of you can make up for her shortcomings."
"But that still doesn't explain Ino's other question. Why four members?" Sakura pressed on, her curiosity getting the best of her now that she was sure her spot on Sasuke's team was secure. "You could have easily put her on a team with two strong members."
Sasuke had to agree with that, two teammates were enough baggage as it was, he couldn't believe his rotten luck for getting a bonus third one to slow him down. Though it was obvious enough that if he was the best in the class, he would get stuck with the biggest joke of a teammate along with the most average one. But the annoying pink girl infatuated with him, the loudmouthed blond deadbeat menace and the suspicious irritating twig of a weak useless tomboy seemed a bit too much for him to handle.
"When I told you the students who passed the final test are an uneven number, I meant to stress that there was going to be a four-man team either way. We put the one with the lowest scores, the weakest, the strongest and the smartest in one team so I could keep the abilities among the group even and equal to that of the other teams," Iruka explained as Sakura nodded thoughtfully.
Miyako gave an effort to believe Iruka's words. She didn't feel like she belonged but it sure sounded like she did.
"Hey, I'm not weak!" Naruto stood up and yelled as he was in the middle of trying to figure out who on his team fitted which role, "I'm plenty of strong! I'm just not... good with tests..." he deflated, mumbling at the end and shut his mouth, realizing he was actually the one with the lowest scores – the dead last.
"Naruto...!" Sakura started but Iruka put his hand up.
"Enough! I'll let you see your final results if you stop arguing."
He put one of the papers in his possession in front of Sakura as Naruto, Sasuke and Miyako huddled around her and leaned over to see. Over Sakura's shoulder, Miyako could make out that the list had several graphs. One was for the name, the others were for different abilities and the last one held the overall average. Under that were the test scores on different school subjects.
"Naruto – ninjutsu is not so good, an average at taijutsu, poor with genjutsu, has a poor in intelligence, strength below average, speed below average, his stamina is surprisingly excellent, hand seal making is poor, overall he has the worst scores and his test results are awful, as we've already established," Sakura quickly found their team and read out loud, skipping over Naruto's results with swift disinterest.
Naruto's head hung low. He really was the dead last, but at least he had his endurance.
"My turn! Ninjutsu is average, I'm a bit poor at taijutsu, excellent at handling genjutsu, my intelligence is also excellent~!" She sang the last part. "Ahem, moving on. I guess I have to work on my strength, speed and stamina, because they're poor, but at least my hand seal making is excellent. Overall I'm above average with the best test scores."
"Get on with it," Miyako couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Ah, yes, Sasuke-kun! He has the highest grades in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu–"
Sasuke smirked at that, letting out a satisfied "hn".
"Good intelligence, good strength, his speed is excellent! Stamina is good, also good with hand seals. He really is the top of the class. But his test scores are kinda uneven, bringing down his test average a little... right below mine." Sakura paused to consider this. Was she smarter than Sasuke?
"Whoa, seriously?!" Naruto and Miyako said together as their eyes widened. Miyako shared looks with Sakura and then peered at an eye-contact-avoiding Sasuke.
"Yeah, it's just that my test scores are balanced enough to put me right above him. But it's just the tests, my fighting abilities are still far below his!" She tried to smooth things out, but Sasuke didn't seem like he cared much. "Uh, so... Miyako. Average ninjutsu and genjutsu, her taijutsu is a little above average, training must have paid off." Sakura smiled sweetly at the dark-haired boy, who rolled his eyes and ducked behind folded fingers.
Miyako on the other hand grinned, a little thankful that she had been enough of an annoyance to get Sasuke worked up every time and attempt to maim her. Noticing the stupid smile on her face, he just snorted.
What was that about?! Is he thinking that I haven't really made progress?! Why that son of a–
"Anyway, her intelligence is average, average strength, good speed–"
Miyako raised an eyebrow. What? Really?! My speed is good? That means above average! Nice! Must have been from all that running away from immanent death. She threw away all previous grudges against her former mentor.
"Stamina is poor, she really needs to work on that, and she's good with hand seals. Which is surprising, considering how bad she is with concentration and chakra control to begin with." Sakura threw the girl an accusatory look, making her smile awkwardly.
She's still hung up on that, huh. Miyako caught on that the pinkette was referring to their previous lessons and how Miyako rarely practiced the meditation exercises Sakura had nagged her about.
"All in all, Miyako is a close next to Naruto for being a dead last, all because of her poor test scores." Sakura stabbed her with piercing eyes again. All those hours of tutoring, wasted, just like that...
Miyako sighed. She expected as much. The only reason she had passed was probably because she could manage to make clones, though her chakra control was a bit off.
"So now we know who is whom..." Sakura smirked in triumph. "Sasuke-kun is the best, I'm the smartest and you two–"
"We get it!" Miyako called out before Naruto could become even more depressed. Pouting, Sakura returned the paper sheet to Iruka.
"Now, if everything is clear enough for you and there aren't any more questions, I suggest you go on that lunch break and come back later to meet your jounin instructor," he said and sent them off.
- xxx -
Outside, Sasuke had somehow managed to disappear, leaving Sakura unable to ask him to join her for lunch. Naruto tried the same with Sakura but he was immediately shot down. Miyako, being the bright girl she was, had forgotten to bring anything to eat, which meant she had to go find where to buy something.
"Dammit! I'm missing all the fun!" she said to herself and bit on her store-bought sandwich as she walked the way back.
While I chow down on this, Naruto is having fun molesting Sasuke! And I wanted to watch Sakura try to kiss Naruto while he's transformed into Sasuke! And then I would pop out and yell "rape him!" ...or the sort... Why are you so cruel world, oh why?
She bit on her sandwich again and couldn't help but go back to more serious matters, even when she'd been trying to distract herself.
This is still insane. How did I end up on the Team 7?! I still can't get my head around it. It somehow sounds more impossible than me being born here. Heh, this is unbelievably awesome!
Starting on the second sandwich, Miyako grinned.
I hope I don't screw anything over. I have to handle this very carefully, so I don't mess up any space-time continuum stuff or whatever, now that I'm glued to the main characters. Jeez, things are already complicated as it is, I mean, Kakashi knows I'm from another world! And he's gonna be my sensei... maybe that's why I'm on his team? Actually, does he even realize he had been in a completely different world when he kidnapped me? Is he going to say something to me about it?! How is he going to act when he sees me?
I need to calm down, he's an experienced ninja, he's probably not even going to bat an eyelash and neither should I. I'm not supposed to know him and I'm not supposed to be able to recognize him. I've got to act like he's exactly like the other three ninja with him that I don't remember. And I think it's against the rules for him to talk about his mission. I just hope I don't get too nervous around him and let anything slip.
She proceeded to chew nervously, gulped the large mouthful and exhaled a long breath.
Okay! I got this! First things first, I'm gonna go have my fun with Naruto's stunts. Time's running out but I just might make it in time if I finish eating fast enough! It's on! she thought and tried stuffing as much of the sandwich as her mouth could take.
- xxx -
Moments later Miyako was hiding behind some bushes, watching Sakura as she sat on a stone bench. Leaves were falling down, blown by the soft wind as Sakura stood there, deep in thought.
I wonder if I missed it... Miyako narrowed her eyes behind the bush to see better.
Footsteps were heard from the left and Sasuke appeared to be coming Sakura's way.
Is that Naruto? Miyako wondered.
Sasuke got closer and Sakura jumped up from the bench excitedly.
Nah... that's Sasuke. Naruto should've been leaning emo boy style on the tree two feet in front of me. I missed it! Goddammit!
"Aww! Sasuke-kun, you're such a shy guy!" Sakura cooed, smiling as she giggled into her hands. "Are you emotionally prepared? Because I am!" She continued squealing.
Maan, Sakura, all the progress you've been making thanks to me, for nothing... Miyako commented in her head, still hiding behind the bush.
Sasuke just ignored Sakura as he passed right by her.
The pinkette noticed that and turned around, her smile fading. "W-wait! Sasuke-kun?"
He stopped and shook his head in disapproval before turning to look at her.
"Where's Naruto?" He got right to the point.
Sakura put her hands behind her and grinned sheepishly. "There you go changing the subject again..." She put on a pout and crossed her arms. "Forget about Naruto. All he does is pick fights with you. It's probably because he had a bad upbringing."
Sasuke shook his head at her again.
The pink-haired girl's head jolted, remembering something. "Oh, yeah, you know how he doesn't have any parents, right?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed at this.
Sakura, dude, you have no idea what stupid shit you're saying. Miyako shook her head slowly and quietly behind her bush.
The other girl put her hands on her hips before continuing her rant, "He's always off acting all irresponsible. My parents would get on my case if ever I did things like that. Being all by himself, he's got nobody to set him straight. That's why he's such a selfish brat."
You've got it all wrong, Pinky... Naruto's a long way from selfish. Miyako put a scowl on her face. Hey! That was a good one! Pinky... Hehe... Like Pinky and the Brain. Sakura's Pinky and Sasuke is the Brain. Pffhaha! Miyako almost laughed but stopped her fit in time, clasping a hand over her mouth.
"The loneliness..." Sasuke began with his back to Sakura. From her angle, Miyako could see he was seriously annoyed to the point that it scared her a little.
"Eh...?" Sakura stared at him in confusion.
"It's on a complete different level from when your parents get mad at you," Sasuke continued as his frown deepened.
He's probably remembering his childhood days with his brother and his parents. What a waste... His mom looked so pretty and so caring, Mikoto was it...? Miyako wondered. And Sasuke was a seriously cute kid when he was little, nothing like he is now. He had the same eyes as his mother, so expressive and full of wonder. But now, when he looks at you... he's closed his emotions away...
"What's the matter all of a sudden?" Sakura's question brought Miyako back to the present.
Sasuke turned to send her the coldest glare he had. "You're annoying," he spat, sounding particularly bothered by her way of thinking. Miyako could've sworn she felt cold chills run down her spine. Sakura stared at him, her heart breaking as he walked away.
And that's the end of the show, folks, Miyako commented animatedly in her head and stepped back as quietly as she could while Sakura was occupied staring awestruck at Sasuke's retreating back. When she was a safe distance away, Miyako ran to catch up to Sasuke. If I follow him, he'll lead me to Naruto and maybe I won't miss out on all the fun.
After about five minutes of stalking the dark haired boy from behind the shadows of trees and bushes, Miyako saw Sasuke halt in his step for a brief second and she stopped with him. He started walking again and she followed until he stopped again, making her stop, well, again.
The heck?! Miyako allowed herself to think.
"Naruto. Where is he?" Sasuke asked out loud to no one in particular.
Is the Uchiha Sasuke talking to himself? Miyako looked at the boy's back dully.
He turned to point a look straight at the bush behind which she was kneeling.
Aw, maan! Come on! Miyako popped out of her bush to face him, letting out a small grunt as she attempt-glared at him.
"What? Just one kiss from blondie wasn't enough for ya?" Miyako scoffed and crossed her hands.
"Have you seen him or not?" he ignored the mock and asked again.
"Hmm..." Miyako faked thinking. "No. But you seem a lot grumpier than earlier when you were making out with Sakura."
He stared at her indifferently. Whether he didn't know what to say or he didn't buy it, Miyako could only guess.
"You were so nice, so considerate and so... flirty! What happened to that Sasuke? I miss Charasuke already!" she continued the tasteless jest.
"That wasn't me." His tone of voice was a bit harsh. It was getting to him.
"Oh? Then who was it?" Miyako couldn't help but grin mischievously. "Was it Naruto? That would explain why you promised Sakura your virginity."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and Miyako noticed a small drop of sweat trickling along the side of his face.
"Where did he go?" Sasuke growled out.
"He was clutching his stomach, muttering about old milk and diarrhea. Take a guess where he went," Miyako stated flatly as Sasuke turned around and almost stomped away. She followed him.
"What are you doing?" she heard him ask.
"Actually, same as you, I'm looking for Naruto."
"Didn't you just imply he was in the boys' restroom?" Sasuke threw her a look.
"Yes." She paused. "You're asking a lot of questions today. So talkative."
"And you're hiding things. As always." Sasuke's face looked calm but Miyako definitely wasn't imagining what he'd said.
"What?! You don't believe me when I say Naruto made Sakura think you ravaged her lips and promised her your first time?! I'm deeply offended!"
"I wasn't talking about that and you know it."
Miyako halted in her tracks and stared nervously at the back of Sasuke's head. He stopped a moment afterwards.
"Then what are you talking about? I'm not lying about anything!" Though technically exactly that was a lie.
"Just saying you don't lie makes you a liar. We're ninja. We all lie. It's practically in the job description," Sasuke stated, turning around to face her again.
"Fine, fine, we all lie." Miyako waved it off. "Still, what exactly are you talking about?"
"You lie about yourself. Hiding things, avoiding something." Something flickered behind his eyes.
"Isn't that kinda the point of lying?" She shrugged.
"You... Do you seriously expect everyone will automatically trust you just because you seem friendly and act stupid?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
"Wha–?! That was uncalled for!" Miyako was a bit disconcerted. "Where are you getting at?"
"I know there's something..."
Miyako tried very hard not to show she was alarmed. It was impossible for him to know she was from another world. Not unless she let it slip somehow. Right?
"Someone will find out sooner or later."
"Yeah yeah, right. Well, you, Sir Duck-butt hair, are a very disturbed person that is waay too suspicious of everyone," Miyako joked yet again, hoping it would change the subject. "Have you considered therapy?"
"This is getting nowhere... So annoying," Sasuke spat out and turned around. He put his hands in his pockets and continued towards the boys' restroom.
"Annoying..." Miyako copied, making her voice sound as ridiculously low as she could, narrowed her eyes and put on a scowl in attempt to imitate the boy in front of her. She placed her hands in her own pockets and walked next to Sasuke in the similar lean fashion he did, with his trademark slouch. They walked several feet that way before Miyako boiled, "What's wrong with you?! You're so boring!"
And with that, she angrily stomped off in direction of the meeting room, leaving alone a victorious Miyako-free smirking Sasuke.
- xxx -
The nerve of that guy! I can't get under his skin without mentioning his past! He doesn't care about his looks, friends or attitude... wait! I got it! Miyako grinned as she arrived at the empty classroom. It was empty. She had been the first to come back. She sat down in her previous spot. If I remember correctly, he doesn't like looking weak and stupid when there's an audience. I just have to step on his ego in front of other people. Heheheh... That'll teach him to mess with me, she plotted her "revenge" towards her former tor-mentor. Now that they were considered equals, she would use any chance she got to try and get him of his high horse in retaliation for all the pain and humiliation she'd forcibly endured during all the training sessions.
Now, how the heck did he pick up on me having something to hide? Am I that obvious? The girl thought about it. I did ask him if he had a brother out of the blue that one time... but I was just trying to insult him. He couldn't have thought I knew something, could he? The brunette hummed out loud and looked out the window. Maybe I should start thinking of things to say if he starts questioning me out of the blue again.
Let's see... First question – "Where are you from?" She hummed again, this time looking over some of the educational posters on the walls. That's easy enough! Konoha! I've lived in my apartment alone since I can remember. Nice one! Now, second question... Uuh... "What happened to your parents?" That one's easy too! I don't even have to lie. They died protecting the village from the Nine Tailed Fox when I was less than a year old.
Next question... "Why didn't you enter the Academy when you were younger if you're so interested in being a ninja?" Well... that's a tough one. She leaned back and plopped her feet on the desk. Oh, I know! I didn't find out my parents were ninja until just recently. I don't have to lie about that one either. Neext... She threw one leg over the other.
"Why haven't I seen your face around the village even once?" Maan, I just had to think of a hard question, didn't I? Hmm... I don't think he knows exactly everyone in the village. There are, like, thousands of people here. So yeah... that'll do! Next–
"Oh? Miyako?" A drawled out voice interrupted Miyako's internal monologue.
"Huh...?" Caught thinking about excuses to cover up her foreign identity, Miyako jerked in place. But since she had crossed her legs over the desk, she lost her footing and fell over lamely. "Ow! Goddammit!"
She quirked her head as she got up and saw Shikamaru going over to sit down on his spot at the other end of the desk by the windows.
"Shikamaru?" She fumbled back up. "You're the last person who'd think of coming back early. Aren't you supposed to be with your teammates?"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," the bored boy drawled lazily and looked out the window while putting his hands behind his head and throwing his feet crossed over the desk in a similar way Miyako had a moment ago. "I just felt like hanging out somewhere quiet and I thought this place might be empty," he explained.
"Ino's being troublesome, huh?" Miyako smirked.
Shikamaru nodded, sighing. "And Choji's gone for more food. Why aren't you with your team?" Shikamaru turned to her, lifting an eyebrow. "The special Team Seven."
"It's a long story about a love triangle, brooding, a transformation gone wrong and milk gone sour that I shouldn't interfere with." Miyako chuckled.
The boy gave her a confused look but just waved it off, deciding it sounded like too much of a pain to try to decipher.
"Sounds like you're having fun," he drawled, yawning afterwards. "That's good."
"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Miyako's grin stayed ever-present.
"You sounded a bit out of it, when they put you as a team extra."
Her grin wavered at Shikamaru's phrasing of her position, once again reminding herself that she was out of place, but she pushed the feeling to the back of her mind again.
"But it's good that you aren't letting it get to you that much now," Shikamaru continued his train of thought, "Considering how late you joined the Academy, you should almost be considered a prodigy for the short amount of time you managed to catch up to the rest of us. I surely wouldn't have had the motivation for breaking my back like you did. Of course, knowing you, you probably had training before that, it's not that much surprising, being homeschooled probably had it's privileges."
Miyako perked up at that, this was high praise coming from what she knew was an actual genius, even if it was just for the sake of lifting her spirits up. She was also a bit surprised how he had filled up the gaps in her past by himself by sheer logic alone, although mixing up the details.
"So I guess Iruka-sensei and the other teachers took into consideration that if the number of graduates was off for equal member distribution and there was gonna be a need for a team of four members, then one of them definitely had to be the graduate with the least experience. That's more of an administrative issue than one brought on by any lack in your abilities as a ninja."
"Shikamaru..." If she was sure she wasn't going to make them both topple over because his feet rested over the desk, Miyako would have promptly glomped the thoughtful boy with all her might. He might not have really lessened her feelings of not belonging in their world but it was the thought that counted and he had proven himself a good friend.
- Miyako's Apartment -
In the meantime, two figures wandered around Miyako's living room. One was a very old man with white and red robes and a smoking pipe in his mouth, enjoying his tobacco, and the other was a man with spiky gray hair and a masked face in a standard Leaf uniform. The old man stood by the TV set while the masked ninja looked around the room.
"So this is where she lives, huh..." Kakashi drawled out as the Hokage nodded his head and took out his pipe to blow out smoke.
The jounin walked to the low table, resting his eye on a dirty plate. He then noticed the pile of unwashed dishes in the sink.
I'm guessing she's not much of a neat freak, he thought and glanced at the remote control next to a bowl of stale overcooked rice on the table, moving his gaze to the TV. I wonder if she watches "Of Shuriken and Love". It's gotten pretty interesting lately...
- The Ninja Academy -
A few moments later, the classroom was already filled with chatter. For some reason, Sakura looked like she was pissed at Naruto, with Sasuke pretending to be as calmer than he probably was. Shikamaru understood the love triangle thing and the thing about brooding but couldn't quite put his finger on what the transformation and sour milk were for. After the fourth time of Naruto going back and forth from the restroom, Shikamaru got a pretty good idea where the latter came from and muttered "what a pain", causing Miyako to burst into laughter for just thinking how it really was a pain for Naruto's stomach.
Iruka came in and read out the list of team jounin instructors. Each of the teachers came and went with their students, but there was no sign of the person responsible for Team Seven. People were giving them odd looks and snickering as they left the room with their senseis, letting it show that it was becoming glaringly apparent how Team Seven had already been sacrastically labeled "the special team". A painfully slow dragging hour later of Sasuke brooding, Naruto complaining, Sakura arguing and Miyako trying to make smartass comments, they seemed to be the only ones left in the entire classroom with absolutely no trace of Kakashi.
"He's late," Naruto grumbled, looking out the door in wait for his teacher.
Sasuke was sitting quietly in the first desk on the left row with fingers folded in front of his face, Sakura was leaning back on the desk next to his and Miyako was sitting cross-legged on top of it next to Sakura.
"No shit, Sherlock." Miyako grinned but everyone else ignored her for what seemed like her twentieth snark attempt.
"Naruto, can't you sit still for once?!" Sakura finally snapped at him.
Naruto looked back at her and pouted. "But why is our sensei the only one who's late? All of the teams have gone off somewhere with their new teachers and Iruka-sensei already went home," he complained.
"How should I know?!" Sakura closed her eyes in attempt to ignore the kid.
"I bet he has some really good reason, like he got lost on the road of life or something," Miyako chuckled.
Sakura groaned and shot her a "stop goofing around" look. "What kind of reason is that?!"
Miyako knew Kakashi was either reading his porn or paying respects to Obito's memory by the Memorial stone but that didn't mean she couldn't make fun of him.
Naruto took the chair from Iruka's desk and put it in front of the door, then got an eraser from the chalkboard and hopped on top of the chair.
"Good one, Naruto," Miyako called out, causing Sakura to turn her attention to him from curiosity.
"Hey, what are you doing, Naruto?" she asked, standing up to see as he hitched the eraser between the door panel and its frame.
"Hihihihi..." Naruto snickered as he had set the eraser snugly over the spot to fall on whoever might dare enter.
"Well?" Sakura voiced, nearing Naruto with an expectant look.
"It's his fault for being late," he said innocently, hopping down from the chair.
"Geez, it's your own fault if you get in trouble," Sakura grunted and felt someone rest an arm on top of her shoulder. She turned to to see Miyako's toothy grin.
"Yeah, but you like these kind of stunts, don'cha?" the brunette said but Sakura looked away and shrugged Miyako's hand off.
"Hmph," Sasuke got their attention, "A jounin isn't going to fall for an obvious trap like that."
"Yeah! Naruto, you're honestly such an idiot," Sakura supported.
Miyako grinned mischievously at Sasuke. "Wanna bet? 500 ryo if he falls for it!" He just rolled his eyes.
Just then, a hand reached from outside and slid the door open as a masked face with gray spiky hair peaked in, only to get bonked by the dusty eraser, sending a cloud of chalk flying in the air. Sakura stared in disbelief, Naruto and Miyako grinned and Sasuke just stared impassively. After a moment of silence for the fallen eraser, Naruto started laughing and pointed at the masked man.
"He fell for it! He fell for it!" He continued laughing, dragging Miyako in a fit of laughter.
Kakashi stood comically frozen in the same position, observing them.
"I'm so sorry, sensei, I tried to stop him, but Naruto didn't listen..." Sakura excused herself with a worried look on her face.
"I disagree, I'm not sorry!" Miyako laughed with a completely unapologetic face, glad that Kakashi finally got what he deserved for drugging her and sending her into a restless sharingan sleep for her kidnapping. He could have at least given her a warning that she'd feel sick for days.
Sasuke hid his face behind his folded fingers, a little disappointed that this man who was supposed to be the jounin in charge of them had fallen for such a cheap prank.
"Good thing you didn't bet anything, Sasuke. You would've owed me so bad," Miyako made fun of him with arms crossed in front of her, making the boy deadpan at her childishness.
Kakashi stepped in and picked up the eraser. He looked at the four. Miyako, Naruto and Sakura were by Sasuke's desk, smiling innocently, as the dark boy rested folded fingers in front of his mouth, just staring at the man dully. The jounin studied the eraser for a bit and then looked back at his new students.
"Hmm... How should I say this...?" He put a hand under his masked chin in thought "My first impression of you guys is... I hate you."
Everyone anime-fell.
- xxx -
Their newly appointed jounin instructor guided them to the rooftop of the building. The team sat on the stone steps in a wide open area as their sensei leaned on the railing in front of them.
"So... Why don't you introduce yourselves," Kakashi suggested with arms folded in front of his chest.
"Introduce ourselves? What should we say?" Sakura asked from the far left. Sasuke was in his usual pose next to her, Naruto crouched on his other side and Miyako on the far right with crossed legs.
"What you like, dislike, your dreams and hobbies..." The jounin shrugged with hands in the air as he explained and folded them back. "Things like that."
"Hey, hey, before that, why don't you introduce yourself first, sensei?" Naruto called out.
"Me?" The teacher pointed to himself. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no intention of telling you my likes and dislikes."
Naruto and Sakura voiced an "eeh?" and scrunched up their faces.
They're going to learn these in due time anyway, Miyako shrugged in her mind.
"As for dreams for the future..." He paused. "My hobbies... I have lots of hobbies..." He swiftly ignored giving any kind of information about himself.
"So all we found out was his name." Sakura muttered to the others as Naruto nodded with a "hm" and Miyako rolled her eyes.
"Now it's your turn." Kakashi said and looked at Naruto. "Let's start with you first."
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto," The boy happily complied as he started fidgeting with his headband. "I like cup ramen. But I like the ramen at Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei buys for me even more. I hate the three minutes that I have to wait for the ramen to be ready. My hobby is eating and comparing cup ramen!" he declared enthusiastically, "And my dream is to become the greatest Hokage! Then that'll make the whole village have to recognize me!"
Miyako saw Kakashi's eye widen for a brief moment, witnessing Naruto's growth.
"Okay, next." The jounin moved his gaze to Sakura.
She beamed and smiled, slightly blushing. "Haruno Sakura! What I like... more like, the person I like is..." She paused to glance at Sasuke. "So about my hobby..." She looked away in embarrassment. "My future dream is to..." She looked at Sasuke again and got worked up about the fantasy of marrying him. "NYAA!" She hid her face in her hands and squealed.
"And? What do you hate?" Kakashi asked, feeling that this could go on for a while if left unnatended.
"Naruto," Sakura announced flatly, her smile turning into a frown.
Naruto let out a cry as he animatedly burst into tears. Miyako just sighed a "Seriously, Sakura, it's like you're making negative progress", winning herself a stern look before Sakura got back to fangirl mode and continued happily ogling Sasuke.
"Last guy," Kakashi called out to Sasuke.
"Name's Uchiha Sasuke," the dark boy began indifferently as he kept his hands folded in front of his face. "I hate a lot of things so there's not particularly anything that I like."
Sakura let out an "oh" in disappointment.
"Also, rather than a dream, what I have is an ambition that I have no intention to leave as just a dream." The shadow cast by his hair hid his dark eyes. "To restore my clan and without fail... kill a certain man."
Even though Kakashi wasn't that impressed, judging by the dull bored look he adopted, everyone else stared at Sasuke, speechless. Naruto had frozen with a sickly color to his face and Sakura was stuck mesmerized by his alleged coolness.
That is, until Miyako decided to break the ice.
"Dude... you've got some major issues there. This is the second time today I've felt like suggesting you to try therapy."
Sasuke shot her grinning face a death glare, making her yelp and bring her hands up in defense. Got that, no making fun of gloom boy when he's in his avenger mode. If I want to live a long healthy life, I'll definitely remember that!
"Okay then..." Kakashi interrupted the glaring session and darted his eye to Miyako. "What about you?"
"Nagahoshi Miyako!" she chirped in contrast to Sasuke, dispelling the gloom and doom prevalent from just a second ago. "I like my friends, love hanging out with the guys and Hina-chan is the best! I hate being forced to do chores and people who think too much of themselves." Sasuke and Sakura eyerolled at the obvious reference to themselves. "My hobbies are drawing, taking long baths after training and watching dramas on TV at dinnertime, especially "Of Shuriken and Love", if those can be classified as hobbies," she blurted out all that useless information that might have made her sound like having the lifestyle of a grandma, but continued in a more serious tone. "And my dream is to become the greatest kunoichi this world has ever seen!" Then she brought up her hands to shake them in defense. "...but not like a Hokage or anything, that sounds too demanding so he can have it," she waved it off and smirked at Naruto. "I just want to go up a some ranks and that's it, we'll see how things go. Wouldn't mind becoming the next legendary ninja like the Sannin, but that just seems a little too outrageous, I guess." She shrugged. I need to ascend in this hierarchy just enough to become worthy of finding out the secret behind my father's legacy, she mentally added.
Naruto laughed a little at how she bunny hopped around the position he was aiming for, almost as if she believed he could some day make it... did she really?
Kakashi on the other hand raised an eyebrow, something crossing his mind about this girl which he wasn't meeting for the first time. Did Hokage-sama tell her– No, couldn't be, he told himself that now wasn't the moment to be thinking about whatever popped into his head.
"Alright, all four of you seem to have distinct unique personalities." The jounin regained their attention. "We're dong a mission tomorrow."
"Yes, Sir! What kind of mission?" Naruto brightened up and saluted.
"To start off, we'll be doing something with just the five of us," Kakashi continued.
"What, what, what, whaat?" Naruto asked impatiently.
There was a dramatic pause.
"Survival training," the masked man simply said.
"Survival training?" Naruto repeated with uncertainty.
"Why are we going to be training on a mission?" Sakura asked. "We did plenty of training at the Academy."
"True that, sis," Miyako added.
"This is no ordinary training." Kakashi said.
"Then, then, what kind of training is it going to be?" Naruto asked as Kakashi started chuckling to himself.
"Hey, what's so funny, sensei?" Sakura scowled.
"I don't think we're gonna like this..." Miyako sighed, making the other girl look at her confused.
"That's right. After I say this, I'm you guys are definitely going to get it."
Naruto voiced an "ah?"
Kakashi put his right hand next to his visible eye, casting a shadow over it making himself look intimidating. "Out of the 28 graduates, only up to a third are going to become genin. The others will be sent back to the Academy," he flatly stated in a monotone. "In other words, this training is going to be a very hard test with a dropout rate of over 66%."
Naruto gaped, despair overcame Sakura and Sasuke glared at Kakashi. Miyako just smiled fondly at the anticipation of Kakashi's bell test, making the jounin raise an eyebrow at this oddball of a student for the second time.
He shook it off however and said, "See? There you go!"
"No way! I went through so much trouble..." Naruto was quick to open his mouth to complain. "Then, then, what was the the point of having a final exam?"
"Oh, that? It just picks out those who might be qualified."
"Whaat?!" The blond boy was outraged. He felt cheated.
"If it's not final, then why was it called a final exam in the first place?" Miyako mused out loud, to make a point.
"Anyway, I'm going to determine whether you pass or fail tomorrow at the training grounds." Kakashi ignored Miyako. "Bring your ninja equipment and be there at 5 AM!"
"How can we be sure you won't be late again, huh?" Miyako approached the subject.
Next to her, her teammates were instead fighting with their thoughts, affected by the masked jounin's mind tricks.
"Oh?" Kakashi innocently said, wondering why Miyako was so calm unlike the others. "Have a little faith in me, won't you."
"Then why were you late today, sensei?" the brown-haired girl insisted on pester him so he just stood up, turned his back to them and gave a wave.
"Now then, meeting over."
Miyako sweatdropped. He was ignoring her again. Was she really such a bother to deal with?
"Oh, and it's better if you miss breakfast." He turned to look at the four with his eye. "You'll throw up."
Sakura and Naruto stared at him in disbelief as Sasuke glared. Miyako looked away.
How's that? If you're gonna ignore me then I won't listen to you either! she pouted in her head.
With that over with, Kakashi dissappeared in a swirl of smoke and leaves, going in an unknown direction. Miyako turned her attention to that.
Aww maan, I wanna learn to do that too! Uuh... but I haven't even started my ninja jumps yet. I'm really afraid of heights but I have to learn to jump high sooner or later...
Sasuke stood up and walked away while Naruto and Sakura were still in shock. Miyako also picked herself up and turned to him.
I wonder if I should say goodbye? But Sakura would snap out of it and realize he's leaving. Then she'll go after him, trying to get his attention. I don't hate him enough to subject him to this sort of evil.
After Sasuke had descended from the rooftop, Naruto finally got back to his senses.
"Huh? What does he mean we'll throw up? Is the test really that bad?!" he rose to his feet and protested, looking back and forth from Miyako to Sakura. This seemed to snap Sakura out of her musings.
"How should I know, Naruto?!" She jerked up, snapping at him and turned on her heel, taking her leave.
The orange clad boy peered at Miyako with final hopes of receiving some support. Which she happily gave him.
"Don't worry!" Miyako folded arms in front of her chest confidently and looked at him with serious determination on her face. "We're definitely going to pass!"
Naruto let out a "huh?"
"All four of us will be there, right?"
Naruto nodded enthusiastically.
"Well, then we can just gang up on him. How hard can 4 to 1 be anyway," she scoffed, grinning at him.
This seemed to light a fire in Naruto's blue eyes as he balled a fist and shot it in the air, shouting, "Yeah! Bring it on!"
Miyako laughed at him and Naruto awkwardly scratched the back of his head smiling. The girl felt that, with time, she just might actually begin to fit in with the dream team.
- xxx -
A couple of rooftops away, on top of a different building, behind a water tower, a spiky-gray-haired jounin smiled behind his mask, making his one visible eye curve upwards.
- To be continued -
For all those who favorited, followed, reviewed and criticized, sankyuu! -in a Japanese accent-
Review and criticize more, please! For it is the youthful source of my inspiration to write! YOSH! The springtime of fanfiction writing!