Well, I somehow managed to finish this sooner then expected and so I'm uploading it! But be warned that I find the fact that this fic's popularity is dropping most disturbing and with the among of collage work I have on my hands these days I will put this ON HOLD if I won't be satisfied with it's popularity. So if you wanna know what happens next, review.
Thanks for all the reviews for last time. Glad you enjoyed the story so far. This chapter brings the moment you were waiting for: the gennin teams are decided! The real adventure begins now!
With all that said, I believe the only thing left to do is to get on with it:
Chapter #9: Starting Signal
Title Page: Naruto is giving Toramaru a piggy bank ride
The moment the alarm clock rang, Toramaru jumped out of the bed and put on his regular clothes in a flash. With a wide smile appearing of his face, he stopped before a large mirror and placed his hitae-ate with the Leaf symbol on his forehead.
As he came down for breakfast, he noticed that his father already left. The boy felt a little sad due to that fact, because he really wanted to hear 'good job, son' today. But he chased away that thought immediately and smiled to his mother, who was already placing his bowl of ramen on the table.
The young blonde sat down and began eating, observed by his older brother, who sat across the table. Iruka grinned at him and asked playfully: "So, how does a pipsqueak feel on his big day?"
"Great!" replied the boy cheerfully as he finished his breakfast and turned to the white-eyed woman: "Mom, I should go. I shouldn't be late today…"
"But you still have over an hour to the graduation…" announced Hinata as she looked at the clock. "There's no need for you to rush, honey…" and with that she placed another bowl before him. "And it's actually surprising that you're so anxious to get to school… if I wasn't there, I could think you're not Naruto-kun's son…" and with that she giggled slightly, making the boys follow soon after.
---Later that day---
Toramaru, Shunrai, Naraku and Garou settled down in one row next to one another, in the middle of the classroom. By his behavior, the blonde could tell the dog ninja was at least as excited as he was.
"Can't wait!" stated Garou with a wide smile. "I wonder how the teams will be chosen! You guys think we'll land in one cell?" but as he asked that, a loud snore was heard right behind them and as they turned around, they saw Buryaku sleeping, as always: "Either way, I feel sorry for whoever lands in the same team as her… basically she slept through most of her life…"
Just then Iruka walked inside the classroom and looked around. Noticing that all the noises in the room vanished the moment he appeared in the door, he smiled under his nose slightly: "Everyday should be a graduation day…" he joked in his mind and then said out loud: "Hello everyone! As you all know, today is your last day at the Academy, so I'd like to take this chance and congratulate you all on passing the final exam and becoming a ninja! Yet you must also remember that you're only gennin and on this world walk many people who are both stronger and more experienced then you!"
"Blah, blah, blah…" whispered Garou with a slight yawn. "You know what, I think I'll follow Buryaku's example… wake me up when the important stuff begins…" and so he began dozing off, but his sleep didn't took too long, as Iruka decided to get to the point immediately:
"The real hardship of shinobi life has just began for you! From now on you'll receive duties, which you'll have to fulfill for the glory of the village. As some of you may know already, you'll be divided into three-man teams, each led by a jounin instructor! He or she will be the one giving you orders, which I hope you'll follow in completing your duties! And to keep it fair, we wanted to balance all the teams and thus I separated you, basing my judgment on your skills and grades! That way each team should have equal chances!"
"Splendid…" announced Gaki with a smirk as he stared at Toramaru and his friends.
Iruka decided to ignore him and began with the list: "Team number one…. Nara Buryaku, Uchiha Naraku…" as he said so, Naraku's yaw practically hit the floor as Garou held himself back from laughter. "… and Uzumaki Toramaru!" and with this the blonde slammed his head against his desk, while the dog ninja began rolling on the ground from laughter.
"So I'm not on Toramaru-kun's team…" concluded Shunrai disappointed, but her thoughts were interrupted by the young Inuzuka, who barely managed to speak up while still laughing: "Nice… going, guys… I can tell… that you're happy… with the female choice of the cell…" and once more he burst out laughing, while the other two boys sat totally depressed.
"Team number two…" continued Iruka, after giving the kids few moments to calm down: "Nekko Hinako, Nayamasu Gaki and Rock Gai!" and once he said so, fuzzy brows boy jumped up, yelling as loud as he could: "Yes, I'll make the spirit of youth bloom in my teammates, just like it did in me!"
"Just my luck…" stated Gaki while rolling his eyes. He didn't even bother to look at Gai, he did threw a quick glare at Hinako though and winking to her, he made the cat girl shiver slightly. "Oh yeah, she digs me…" he joked to himself and got back to not carrying.
"See, you could land up worse…" Garou whispered to his friends, yet still had to hold himself back from laughter. "I mean, Gaki and Gai together… I really feel sorry for Hinako-chan…" but at this point the chuunin went on, speaking up the name they were all interested in: "Team number three: Shunrai…" and at that point the blue-haired girl listen carefully to what the teacher was saying. "… Akimichi Choumaru and Hisakata Gitou!"
"An all-you-can-eat and germ store…" concluded the dog ninja, once more with a wide smile. "Boy, you guys are unlucky in this…" and with that he turned towards Shunrai, who didn't seem to be moved in any way with who her teammates were.
Basically, none of her teammates were: Choumaru just kept on eating chips and Gitou began coughing, which might be seen as a try to draw attention if it wasn't for the fact that he was… well, Gitou.
"Team number four…" Iruka went on. "Uchiha Gouka, Aburame Kumo… and Inuzuka Garou!" and with those last, two words, a loud 'no' was heard in the classroom, followed by Toramaru and Naraku rolling on the ground, noticing the expression that appeared on their friend's face.
"Mister Silent Treatment and Hyper Hag…" now the young Uchiha was the one to tease his friend. "You were saying something about our cells, Garou?" and with that a wide smile appeared on his face.
"Shut up…" the dog ninja shoot back, propping his chin on his desk. His eyes went onto Kumo, who sat nearby and noticed that the quiet boy didn't move an inch since the time he settled down in his desk. Then he looked back where Gouka sat and once their looks meet, she send him a death glare, making shivers run down the boy's spine. "This just keeps getting better and better…" he complained in his mind and went back to being depressed.
"Team number five…" the chuunin continued, pretending he didn't saw the students reaction on the last announcement: "Hyuuga Hitomi, Abunage Shimiru and Hatake Jun…" and once the team rooster was complete, Toramaru turned his gaze at his cousin.
The white-eyed girl noticed it and for a split second their eyes meet, yet the young Hyuuga didn't seem to care much about the blonde at this point. She never even too a single glance at her new teammates. Toramaru then looked at the two boys she got stuck with. As his sight caught Shimiru, the skateboarder winked to him and gave him the old 'finger pointing' bit.
Jun on the other hand just exchanged glances with him and then returned to observing Iruka. Toramaru let out a sigh, relieved that he could've end-up worse and also followed the young Hatake's sight, to hear the chuunin announcing another team: "Team number six: Nekata Akemi, Kagami Akai and Megane Akumo…" and in that moment a loud 'yahoo' was heard:
"You heard that, Akemi-chan?" Akai asked the green-haired girl as he wrapped his arm around her. "We're on the same team! Couldn't end up better, won't you agree?" he continued, making the kunoichi blush slightly and give her new teammate a weak smile. She then turned towards Akumo, who sat few rows back. The glasses wearing boy only threw the two a quick glance and with a small nod he turn away.
Iruka kept going with the team rooster and after announcing the last team, he put away his list. Seeing that many of his students got over-excited with what just occurred, he only sweat dropped and with a forced smile, he announced: "Time for your lunch break… after that you'll get to meet your jounin instructors… class dismissed…" as so he was gone.
Few minutes later Toramaru, Naraku, Shunrai and Garou were sitting on the nearby rooftop, eating their lunches. "Boy, this sucks…" whined the dog ninja as he took another bite of his sandwich. "I can understand that all of us didn't end up in the same team, but why the hell am I stuck with Gouka and Kumo?"
"I guess it's a part of world's justice…" joked Toramaru. "But it is a little sad that those team weren't chosen by ourselves… I was hoping to get on the same team as you, Shunrai…" and with that he smiled towards the blue-haired girl, making her face turn completely red, which she hid by looking away.
"We're still pretty lucky…" noticed Naraku as he swallowed another bite. "At least we got picked to one team… you guys are stuck with people we barely know…" and with that he glanced at Garou and Shunrai. "Or what's worse, people who don't even like us…" and at this point the image of his sister appeared in his mind.
"Yeah, this isn't going to be easy…" the dog ninja let out a depressed sigh. It was then that Shunrai held out her hand, thus making all the boy's glance at her surprised. As all eyes set on her, she said shyly, blushing deeply: "Lets make a vow then… that no matter what happens, we'll remain friends…"
And for a short moment her companions sat there shocked. The first one to get out of the trans was Toramaru, who placed his hand on top of the kunoichi's with a wide smile: "Good idea… we'll remain friends and we'll get strong so that we could meet again one day!"
A second later Naraku also placed his hand with theirs, smiling widely and soon Garou followed as well, with a huge smirk: "We'll get stronger… and we'll show everyone what we're capable off!"
---Some time later, back in class---
"Man, oh man, where's that lame excuse for a jounin instructor?" asked Toramaru irritated as he walked in circles in the class. "Everyone already left with their teachers… don't tell me we got that weird dude my father got the time he graduated…"
"You're really troublesome…" stated Buryaku with a sleepy voice. "Sit down already… whoever that jounin guy is, he'll show up here sooner or later…" and with that she returned to laying on the desk.
"Dammit…" cursed the white-eyed boy as he grabbed a blackboard sponge and placed it above the door so that the moment it'd open, the sponge would fall down, straight onto the visitor's head. "That'll teach him not to be so damn late…"
"Sometimes you really act like a brat…" announced Naraku as he covered his eyes while he shook his head. "And besides, don't tell me that you believe that a jounin will fall for something as simple as that…"
"What, now you're a sidekick or something?" the blonde boy glanced at his friend, who only let out a sigh and then raised his head as he heard a noise.
The doors finally opened, making the blackboard sponge fall down, yet to Toramaru's great disappointment, it didn't hit its target as the man who opened the door didn't walked into the classroom blindly. He glanced down at the sponge, that was now laying on the floor, and as he picked it up, he looked at the three gennin with an emotionless face, which gave them shivers.
Only when the man raised his sight was Naraku able to see how he looked like. He seemed like a man around his mid-twenties, but the young Uchiha couldn't tell exactly due to the brown shinobi mask the man was wearing, which covered his mouth. His eyes were purple and on his forehead there was a hitae-ate with the Leaf symbol. He had spiky, brown hair with a very long ponytail falling on his back. He wore a black shirt with a brown vest on that and a little baggy, brown pants. But what drew the most attention in him was a strange, metal protector with round holes all over it, which covered most of his right arm.
"I take it you're team number one…" stated the man calmly without even looking at the three gennin as he put the blackboard sponge on its right place. He then threw them a quick glance and still not showing any emotions, he announced: "I was chosen to be your jounin instructor… follow me so we can get this over with quickly…" and with that he headed back towards the door with the young shinobi following him after exchanging confused glances.
After a short trip they all found themselves on a view point from which they could see the Hokage Monument with six, stone heads looking at them. The man propped himself against the rail and glancing over to the young shinobi, who settled down on a branch, he spoke: "I'll let you guys know from the start so that you won't be surprised later on: I've never intended to become a baby sitter nor am I overjoyed with the fact that I was assigned to you guys. I don't like it and I couldn't care less whether you'll become gennin or not…"
"What do you mean 'whether we become gennin or not'?" repeated Naraku confused. "We've already graduated from the Academy, it's not like they can lower our ranks now…" and at this point the man only chuckled:
"You guys are really clueless…" he announced calmly. "Just graduating doesn't promote you to gennin… only after you'll pass my special exam will you be allowed into gennin ranks… if you fail, you'll go back to the Academy…" and with that Naraku gulped loudly, Buryaku sweat dropped and Toramaru's jaw dropped to the floor. "I assume you guys are smart enough to figure out that since I don't like you I won't be forcing your promotion… but either way, at least for this short while that we'll be stuck together, I suppose I should learn something about you brats, so why don't you tell me about yourselves… you know, name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, plans for the future…"
"When you ask someone his name you should introduce yourself first!" noticed Toramaru with an irritated glare at the man. The jounin merely sighed and after a short silence, he announced: "My name is Kinuta Teigo… my likes, dislikes and so on… I don't feel like telling that to a bunch of brats…"
"Boy, that's a lot of info…" the son of the Hokage shoot sarcastically. "We even got to learn your name…" but the jounin didn't pay any attention to that comment. In stead he glanced at Buryaku and with his voice still emotionless, he announced: "We should start with the ladies, but since there's only girls here, we'll go with you…" and at that he pointed the lazy girl with his head.
"Well, I'm Nara Buryaku…" announced the kunoichi calmly with a sleepy voice. "I like to observe the clouds, play shogi and sleep… I dislike all the fuzz and too much work… the rest would be too troublesome to mention…"
"Okay…" replied Teigo slowly with a single drop of sweat running down his face. He then turned towards Naraku and with a slight nod in his direction, he announced: "Your turn…"
"Uchiha Naraku…" the boy responded hesitantly. "I like… umm… well, I hate Gaki! As for dreams… to become worthy of my family's name and make my father proud. Hobbies… not sure… don't have any, I suppose…"
Teigo nodded and then turned towards Toramaru: "You're the last one then… I suppose you got used to that by now…" and at that comment the blonde snapped. He recovered after a short moment however and began answering the question:
"My name's Uzumaki Toramaru, son of the current Hokage. I like ramen, both instant and the one served in the Ichiraku. What I dislike is you!" and with that he glared at the jounin, but the man didn't seemed to care at all. "My dream is to surpass my father and claim the Hokage title after him! Hobbies…" and at this point he thought for a bit as he glanced at the clouds. "Ramen, maybe?"
"Okay, we'll go with that for the time being…" stated the man as he walked away from the rail and handed them some papers. "I should tell you guys about tomorrow's training, which will determinate whether you'll become gennin or not, but I seriously hate to waste my time with you brats, so I'll just tell you that you'll find all the information you need on those printouts, including the time, place and things you'll need for the test…"
"Umm, Teigo-sensei, before you go, I have a question…" announced Buryaku, rising her hand and as the masked man glanced at her, she continued: "I heard your clan's name before, but from what I know…"
"So you're the smarty pants I've heard about…" the jounin interrupted her with a tiny smirk appearing behind his mask. "But since you mentioned it, I can tell you that you heard right: Kinuta is the name of the Oto clan… and I'm a former Sound ninja…"
"What?!" at this point Toramaru got to his feet as if he got burnt. "Then why are you even in this village? Oto and Konoha were enemies! I refuse to listen to your command! I want a different jounin instructor!" and as he said so, the man only laughed. After a moment he calmed down as with a smirk still behind his mask, he responded:
"That would be hard to achieve, considering that Hokage himself choose me to be this team's leader, justifying it by saying I was the only, reasonable choice…" announced Teigo with a note of satisfaction in his voice. "Naturally you can go and whine about it, but I don't suppose you have any chances at doing anything about it…"
"My father assigned you to us?" the blonde calmed down as well, his irritation now replaced with a total surprise. "By why would he think that you're the best to watch over m…" but before he could finish, the jounin interrupted him: "You know what your problem is? Just because you're Hokage's son, you think it's all about you…"
With that Toramaru quiet down, confused to no end. Naraku seemed to be in a similar state and the only one of the three who wasn't moved by all this was Buryaku: "I still don't get it, Teigo-sensei… if you were an Oto shinobi, why did Hokage-sama allowed you to even enter Konoha? Were you a spy or…"
"I was no spy…" the man replied immediately, slightly annoyed. "I assure you that I was one of Orochimaru's most trusted underlings… during the war I killed many of your so-called 'Leaf comrades'… and the reason why your Hokage made me a leaf-nin is none of your concern… read the printouts I gave you and I'll see you tomorrow. Came in late and you're automatically an Academy student again…" and with that he was gone.
Toramaru only glance at the note he received and as he read it, a tiny smile appeared on his face: "This should be interesting…"
---The next day---
The young shinobi waited for their teacher to appear as the sun slowly began rising above the horizon. The moment he showed up Toramaru and Naraku stopped talking while Buryaku woke up. The man only glanced at the trio and with a tiny smirk appearing behind his mask, he announced: "Wow, all of you guys actually came… and I was hoping that you'll just quite and I won't have to play with you anymore… oh well, no harm done… we'll end this quickly anyway…" and so he reached to his pocket.
"The deal's simple…" he said calmly as he placed an alarm clock on a nearby stump and picked out two, small, golden bells: "Your task is to take those away from me till noon… if it was up to me, I'd think of something more fun, but your Hokage asked me to give you this one, so I didn't had too much choice in that matter… one person needs only one bell, but there's only two, so at least one of you guys will end up getting none… and those of you, who won't get their bell will fail and thus return to the Academy…"
"So we all can't get promoted to gennin?" asked Buryaku slightly surprised. "That seems kinda unfair… and troublesome…"
"Like I care…" replied Teigo calmly as he pinned the bells to his belt. "If you don't like it, you can always just quit without trying… it's not like any of you weaklings will be able to even touch those bells, left alone grabbing one anyway…"
"I'm so gonna kick your ass…" announced Toramaru annoyed to no end.
"Feel free to try…" Teigo responded, still calm. "You're allowed to use any weapon or technique you find suitable… if you want your chances of passing to be any higher then zero, you must come at me ready to kill… otherwise it's hello Academy…"
At this point Toramaru's and Naraku's eyes narrowed, while Buryaku simply yawned. Teigo smirked behind his mask as he continued: "Okay, enough chit-chat… lets get this over with quickly… ready and… BEGIN!"
---the survival training begins… how will it end?---
And so this chapter ends. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave me a review once you're done. It'll be both nice and would help this fic survive.
And now, before finishing, here's another character profile:
Name: Nara Buryaku
Family: her parents are Nara Shikamaru, considered to be the best tactician in Konoha, and Temari (now also Nara), a former Sand kunoichi. She also has a younger brother named Shikaru
Bloodline limit: none
Clan's Abilities: the control of shadows and from her mother's part wind attacks
Birth date: 1st of May
Age: currently 12 years old
Blood type: 0
Favorite food: sushi
Favorite quote: how troublesome
Favored fighting style: ninjutsu
Village: Konoha (Hidden Leaf)
Rank: gennin
Team: team led by Kinuta Teigo; her teammates are Uchiha Naraku and Uzumaki Toramaru
Techniques (used so far): none
First appearance: 1st chapter
And that's that. Thanks for reading.
Take care.