The Path A Ninja Walks...
Chapter Twenty-Two
Rookie Show Down: Genin Reunited!
A/N: WARNING-The character known as Sage Amesawa uses a lot of profanity and colorful language as part of his "colorful" personality. Be prepared if you are sensitive to that. Please note it is not because I condone such manner of speech, and also the character does not mean to use it as a way to be harmful, it is just his personality.
The room was filled to the brim with fellow Shinobi. Some of them even appeared to be much older than Saseme and her squad.
"Holy shit..." Sage shuttered under his breath.
"Y-Yeah...no kidding..." Hana gulped,"I guess we're not alone here, huh?"
"Of course not..." said Saseme, seeming unphased by it all,"Did you really expect us to be?" she said,"It's said the Chunin exams can make or break anyone." she stated,"I bet a lot of these Shinobi are here after failing multiple times before..."
"Failing!?" Hana gasped,"Multiple times? You really think they're that bad!?"
"Yikes..." said Sage,"Makes you wonder if we can even hold a candle to what these exams are packing..."
"If you give in with an attitude like that then you may as well consider yourself chopped." Saseme blinked,"It doesn't matter if we're the youngest ones here...or how many times these guys have taken the exams before us." she said,"Don't you dare show them they get to you...or it's over before it begins."
Hana blinked as she watched Saseme speak.
This...sounds like encouragement...?
She thought to herself.
But then the flash backs of the previous week played in her mind. Of Saseme and her conversation with the Sand Shinobi...and she began to look down at her feet, feeling conflicted.
"Sasuke~ Where have you been!?" an annoying high pitched squeal sounded just a bit further down, swiping the attention of Team 15 as a blonde leapt onto Sasuke's back in an embrace that he didn't seem too keen on receiving...
"Geez, that brother of yours sure is no slouch on popularity with babes, is he?" Sage blinked.
"Doesn't say much about Saseme who can't get a guy's attention at all~" Hana sneered.
"Yo~ Saseme!"
"Huh?" the Uchiha girl blinked as a slight rasp of a male's voice called her name. When she looked up she saw a beige wearing Genin with his hair tied up who stood next to a heavy set fellow. Someone all too familiar to her.
"...Shikamaru?" Saseme blinked, and her lips soon curled into a smirky little grin,"Oi...Shika-kun!" she ran toward the fellow Genin, with whom she instantly knocked fists with.
"What gives!?" Hana huffed,"How many guys does she actually know!?"
Sage couldn't help but stifle a laugh.
"Where ya been?" he laughed,"You studied a whole year above us and yet here you are taking the same exam now!" he smirked,"What happen? You fail last year?"
"Not exactly..." Saseme chuckled awkwardly,"I spent most of my time training in The Hidden Sand Village during that time frame." she explained,"I only came back home recently."
"No kidding." said Shikamaru,"I forgot about that." the small pow wow settled in as they watched the scene play out between Team 7 and the ever so lovely~ Ino Yamanaka, the third member of Shikamaru's team with Choji who stood by munching on yet another bag of chips.
"Huh?" Ino blinked as she picked up on Hana's presence after having yet another pointless arguement with Sakura,"Well Well~" She smirked,"If it isn't Hana of the inferior flowers~!"
"I think you mean superior flowers~" Hana scoffed," No worries though, after all, you know what they say about blondes and intelligence~" she shrugged,"Especially in your case of Lack-There-Of."
"What did you say!?" Ino snapped, and Sakura couldn't help but muffle a a giggle.
"Oh yeah, that's right..." Shikamaru sighed,"Ino and Hana...their flowers run rival flower shops, don't they?"
"Yep." said Saseme,"If I remember correctly The Yamanakas focus on selling local flowers, where as the Kimouri shop sells more on the exotic side...along with some other herbs and plant based spices."
They both sighed.
"Man...what a drag."
Shikamaru Nara. One of a number of boys she knew with whom she had been known to skip classes with on occasion from her childhood days of playing Ninja. Their little group of trouble makers was hard to forget, containing Shikamaru, Choji Akimichi, Naruto, and-
"Heeeeeeey~~~ Saseme~~~~CHAN!"
Kiba Inuzuka.
Saseme gasped as the all too familiar voice ofan all too familiar pain in the ass headed right for her, ready to pounce.
"You!" She glared intensely and instantly reacted, avoiding the unwanted embrace with a duck before turning quickly in a round house, blocking the enemy with a solid kick to the face which led the whole gathering into a roll of laughter.
"Looks like she got you again, Kiba." said Shikamaru,"Seriously just give up on her man, it's clear she's not interested and it's a real drag to watch her kick your butt time and time again."
"Kiba Inuzuka..." she growled,"I thought I finally got rid of you for good...yet here you are again~!" she huffed.
"Seriously!? Another one!?" Hana snipped.
"What's this about how Saseme doesn't get the attention of any guys?" Sage laughed," I mean from what I saw so far she's got Neji...Rock Lee...That dude Shikamaru...who ever the hell this Kiba guy is...not to mention Kankuro and Gaa-chan from the sand village who she all knows..." he stated, "And here you are with..." He counted exageratedly on one hand before holding up one finger pointing at himself, "ME!" he beamed.
"That's debatable!" Hana huffed blushing as she crossed her arms stubbornly," Besides...shows what you know!" she stated," I know tons and tons of guys! I just don't waste my time on the annoying ones...which is most of them!"
"Trust me, sweetie, you're know cupcake either." Shikamaru shrugged.
"Despite what she believes...right!?" Choji snickered.
"Ooh...who asked YOU Food boy!?" Hana huffed.
Just then the small puppy companion that rode on Kiba's head leapt right at Saseme and barked quite sassily, which the girl revenged with a barrage of snuggles.
"Aww, Hi Akamaru~!" she laughed,"All right all right I'll let your master go, you just make sure he stays in his lane next time, got it?"
"Arf! Arf!"
"What gives...!?" kiba groaned as he rubbed his nose,"We haven't seen each other in forever and you go and greet me like THAT!?" he huffed,"Didn't you miss me at all!?"
"What I miss now, is my peace of mind..." Saseme sighed,"...Never gonna get that back."
"Awww come on, Sausy~" Kiba grinned,"Just go on a date with me and I'll show you a piece of my mind, yeah~"
"Declined."
"Tch." Kiba clicked his tongue while Akamaru leapt back faithfully into his master's arms and nestled himself comfortably on his head while he glanced around the crew.
"Well, Well~" Kiba snickered,"It looks like the whole gang's back together again~" he laughed," Along with couple other new faces..."
"Nice to meet ya." Sage grinned,"We're Saseme's team mates, I'm Sage and this lady here is Hana."
"No kiddin..." Kiba said.
"S-Saseme-chan~" a timid female spoke up shyly from behind her comrade.
"Hinata-chan~~" Saseme whined playfully and ran into the girl's chest,"Control you dog, won't you~" she whimpered and nuzzled into her friend's limp embrace,"I swear, he almost bit me this time! He might eat me if we're not careful~"
"Oh, Saseme-chan..." Hinata giggled softly.
"Hey! I resent that!" said Kiba,"Besides, if I bit you, you'd like it! Guaranteed~"
"Arf! Arf!"
"...Eeeww..." Saseme groaned.
"...How can you say that when you won't even give it a chance, Saseme...?" said Kiba in a depressed sort of groan.
"Pass!" Saseme's decision however, never wavered.
"There, there...Saseme-chan." smiled,"O-Oh...hi Naruto..."
Hinata Hyuuga. She and Saseme had known each other since they were 3. And could easily be dubbed as "Saseme's best friend." She also had quite the obvious crush on Naruto- which Saseme used to tease her about when they were alone. All in playful fun of course, like girlfriends do.
A shades wearing Genin stood next to Hinata, shifting his gaze to Saseme, who, immediately creeped out, leapt back behind Sage for protection, practically shivering.
"Huh?" Sage blinked as his team mate all but coward behind him, "What gives, babe?" Sage blinked,"This is a side of you I've never seen..."
"Hold on..." Hana blinked,"Is it Shino, you're afraid of? Or is it the bugs you don't like?"
Without a further word, Saseme froze up. And that was more than enough ammo for Hana.
"No WAY!" hana laughed,"I don't believe it! The big bad Saseme Uchiha is afraid of BUGS! HAHAHAHAHA~!" she burst out laughing,"That's TOO good!"
"Oh, SHUT UP Hana...!" Saseme groaned.
"Oh, but, Saseme-chan...it's okay, really!" said Hinata,"Shino's actually kinda nice once you get to know him..."
"Back off, Hana." Sage sighed,"MOST girls are creeped out by bugs." he shrugged,"As for me I'm actually kinda relieved to see that Saseme has some normal things about her too..."
"Hmph, I'm not afraid of bugs." said Hana,"The existance of insects is proactive for plant life!" she stated,"That's why we don't use pesticides..." she said, leering at Ino who all but glared right back at her.
"...You...I like." said Shino, startling Hana, into a blush, as she didn't expect this guy to speak to her at all.
"Uhm...thank...you?"
I guess in partial to Saseme's defense...this guy IS sorta weird...
She thought to herself.
Kind of creepy...
"I see...so you guys too, huh?" Shikamaru said with a sigh,"Man, everyone's here for this stupid thing..."
"Yep...here we all are...the 9 rookies!" laughed Kiba.
"Make that 12." Shikamaru shrugged,"Year ahead or not, Saseme counts as a rookie and her two team mates are right there with her."
"Watch your step, Nara!" Saseme hufffed,"Imma have to put you back in place like I did in grade school!"
She didn't let herself get pushed around by boys back then and she certainly didn't plan on starting now.
"Says the girl who can't handle a few bugs~!" Hana snickered.
"HaHahaHa~ This is gonna be fun!" said Kiba,"At least for those of us good enough to make the cut~ right Sasuke?"
"Kiba..." Sasuke smirked,"Careful you don't get over confident~ or my sister's heart won't be the only thing you fail to attain."
"Hmph! Kiba smirked back,"Just wait, we're gonna blow you guys away~" he said with a grin,"Then Saseme will fall in love with me for sure!"
"Mm. No. No I won't." Saseme said, followed by Sage's snort.
"You'll see!" he winked,"We've been training like crazy!"
"And what do you think WE'VE been doing, huh!?" said Naruto,"Sittin' around picking daisies? You don't know what training means!"
"O-Oh, uh...mn...Don't mind Kiba..." said Hinata, twiddling her fingers shyly,"I'm sure he didn't really mean anything by it..."
As the group of Genin came to settle, a mysterious stranger stepped in from the crowd.
"Hey, you guys...You might want to try keeping it down over here." he said. The boy wore glasses and had his silver hair tied back,"No offense or anythig but, you're all the rookies, right?" he asked,"Fresh from the Academy?" he blinked,"So I wouldn't go making a spectacle of yourselves..." he said,"So just cool it...it's not like we're on a class field trip here..."
"Yeah, well who asked you!?" said Ino,"Who are you anyway."
"I'm Kabuto Yakushi."
Kabuto Yakushi, huh...?
Saseme blinked.
He wears a leaf head band but...I don't recall seeing him anywhere around the village before...hmm...
She pondered a bit as her eyes narrowed.
Something about this guy doesn't sit right with me...
"Honestly though...take a look around, will you?"
"Hm?" The gathered Genin blinked and took in their surroundings.
"You've made QUITE an impression you see~" Kabuto chuckled.
No kidding...
Saseme thought to herself.
Literally every eye is on us...the rookies...
She glulped lightly and bit her lip, to distract herself from the chills crawling up and down her spine.
Man...talk about creepy...
Thought Hana.
"See them there? The Rain Village?" Kabuto blinked,"Everyone here's a bit touchy." he explained,"This exam makes everyone tense...and you certainly don't wanna rub anyone the wrong way right now..."
"No way..." Said Sage with a gulp.
"It's not your fault, don't worry." said Kabuto,"After all how can you be expected to know how things work here? You're just rookies." he chuckled,"You remind me of myself a while back..."
"Kabuto...is that your name?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah?"
"This isn't the first time you've taken the exam?"
"No it's...my seventh."
"HUH?" Shikamaru, amongst others were rather surprised to hear that someone could have taken-and failed-an exam that many times.
"Well, they're held twice a year." said Kabuto,"Making this my 4th year."
"Woow, a Verteran!" Sakura said,"You must really be an expert by now."
"Yeah, sort of."
"Cool!" said Naruto,"You can give us insiders then~!" he beamed.
"Huh...yeah some expert." scoffed Shikamaru,"He's never passed."
"That's true." said Sage.
"Makes one wonder if his "insight" can really be trusted..." muttered Saseme.
"W-Well, they say seventh time's the charm, right?" he chuckled sheepishly.
"So I guess that means all of the rumors of the exam being tough are true then..." Shikamaru sighed,"Man, I knew this was going to be a drag..."
"Now, now...don't give up hope just yet." said Kabuto,"Maybe I can help you kids out a little..." he said as he pulled out what seemed to be a deck of cards from his pocket,"With my...Ninja info cards!"
"What the heck are those?" asked Sakura.
"It's hard to explain..." he stated,"But these cards have been Chakra encoded with everything I have learned over the past 4 years..."he blinked,"I've collected over 200 so far...so it's not like I have been completely wasting my time."
Saseme twitched. She couldn't quite put her finger on it...but there just seemed to be something sneaky about this guy named Kabuto...
"Huh?" Sage blinked as he picked up the shift in Saseme's mood,"Hey...you good babe?"
"No..." she said firmly,"I don't trust this guy..."
"Yeah no kidding." whispered Hana,"He definitely seems off.."
"You too, huh?" Sage blinked.
Without much word, she quickly gripped the hands of her team mates and pulled them back.
"Listen...Kabuto, was it?" Saseme asked.
"That's right...and you're...Saseme Uchiha, right?" he asked,"Twin to the infamous Sasuke of the well-known Uchiha clan?"
Saseme twitched.
...She didn't like this.
Somehow she got the sense that this person, though having just met her, already had information on her and her clan...as though he had spent time studying them before having met them in the first place...
And she didn't like it one bit.
"Yeah...well...listen, thanks...but no thanks." she said sharply," I do believe that my team and I have enough belief in our own merit to get through this exam without having to use a cheat sheet." she scoffed and quickly turned on heel,"Let's go you two." she said.
"Hey, who dubbed you the leader or the boss of this squad?" snipped, Hana.
"Fine." said Saseme,"Stay if you want, but I'll have no part of this..." she said before walking away quite quickly.
"Uh, hey...Saseme!" Sage called out,"Wait up!"
"Ew! Don't you dare leave me alone with these creeps!" said Hana.
Hmmmm...impressive...
Kabuto thought to himself.
It seems of the twins Uchiha, the girl has sharper senses...
He smirked.
She could be worth keeping an eye on...
To be Continued...