Disclaimer: I do not own.
Authors Note: I give you *drumroll* the next chapter! Enjoy.
Chapter 17- Bond
Being a teenager sucks. After having that talk with the Hokage I was expecting to wake up feeling refreshed and ready for another day, and I did. Then I looked in the mirror. Pimples, the bane of my existence, were there to greet me.
Sadly enough I did not have the time to sit and mope about things I couldn't help, and got dressed as fast as I could. My shirt gave me some trouble as I tried to fit it on. My pants and skirt came next and with that I was out of the house in a flurry of motion.
It was only after I got half way down the block that the cold hit my bare feet. Turning back to the house to get my shoes I resigned myself to being late. By the time I made it to our usual training field the boys were already there.
Hiroshi waved me over to their spot where they were discussing how we should go about training that morning. It was not uncommon for sensei to be absent from our training sessions. He tried to be here as often as possible to help us improve, but he was a Jonin and was needed for other things as well.
We were allowed to take missions without him, but nothing higher than a D-rank. If sensei wasn't here by now it was safe to assume he wouldn't make it. After warm-ups we had a race around the village. To keep variety in our training we did different things every day.
Some days we spar and others we go back to basic positions and movements. When we were given a task to accomplish, like tree climbing, we usually just ignored each other and worked on it separately. Last week sensei brought up water walking which is what we started practicing after our run.
Falling into cold water was a good motivator for us. Every time we failed we got a nice chilly dip that none of us wanted to repeat. I was at the point where I could stand on water, but moving too fast had me falling. Even lifting my feet had me swimming so the only way to move was by gliding. It looked like I was ice skating, something I had never mastered in my past life.
Hiroshi was making much faster progress than Kiyoshi or I. His efficiency with this sort of thing was cool before it got annoying. An idea popped in my head as I began to inch closer to the oblivious boy.
Kiyoshi, who was climbing back onto the riverbank, caught my eye and grinned. He rose out of the water and went back to work so as not to raise suspicion. My movements were slow as I tried not to alert Hiroshi of my ever approaching presence, as well as a safety precaution to stop myself from plummeting into the water.
He was a few inches taller than me by that point, but that was fine. I held my breath and put my mouth right behind his ear. Preparing myself for a violent reaction, I spoke.
"Boo!" Just a whisper and he was ten feet in the air. The moment he saw it was me he prepared a punch. Good thing my chakra took that moment to fail me, causing me to drop below the water's surface before he got a chance to hurt me.
When I resurfaced it was to the scene of Hiroshi chasing a giggling Kiyoshi all around the training field. My laughter had them both turning to face me.
"I will get you back," Hiroshi said, face serious and with such a tone of conviction in his voice. Oh it was on. That day marked the beginning of our favorite game. We liked to call it 'Boo'. The way to play the game was to do everything in your power to scare one or both of your teammates witless.
For the first week we had no boundaries. Sensei had to interfere after we got banned from one of the local food stalls. It hadn't been our intention to light that stool on fire but, as they say, don't cry over spilt milk.
Everything seemed to settle into a comfortable routine, training being the focal point of my life. Sometimes it really felt like I needed a hobby. I love reading, and though I hadn't really searched too hard, most of the books here didn't really interest me.
I often found myself with nothing to do. Extra training had crossed my mind, but I just didn't want to. There was a time and place for it and I didn't want training to rule my life. That was how I found myself sitting in my backyard, stubbornly refusing to do anything.
It only took ten minutes before I started twitching. These past ten years or so I had always been in constant motion, always training, running, playing, working. It had been a long time since I had just sat down to think. What was there to think about?
My shirts had been tight around the chest recently; I should probably buy better fitting ones. And… that was it. I sit down to think and all I can do is come up with a shopping list. How pathetic is that? I stand with a sigh of defeat, preparing to head out to the training field, when loud giggling interrupted my thoughts.
The noise was coming from the Yamanaka's side of the fence. I walked up to it cautiously, ready to back away if I was intruding on a family event or something, and peaked over the edge. Sakura and Ino sat at a small table obviously meant for children, having what appeared to be a tea party.
"Hey guys. Do you have room for one more?" Well it was better than coming up with shopping lists. After their initial shock at seeing me they were ecstatic at the thought of more company. A poor teddy bear got evicted from his seat to make room for me.
I didn't talk much, instead listening to the girls chat away about their teachers, Sasuke, their classes, Sasuke, a mean girl in their grade, Sasuke, oh and did I mention Sasuke? What they had for him was beyond a crush, it was infatuation through and through.
"If you guys both like the same guy how are you still friends?" I asked, fed up with the repetitive conversation. They looked at each other before Ino looked at me with a straight face and answered.
"We have a truce after school hours."
"Do you now?" I asked with mild curiosity. Sakura nodded enthusiastically. They tried to explain to me why and how but gave up after I purposefully misinterpreted what they said. The girls concluded that I 'would never understand' and left it at that.
I spent the rest of the afternoon with the girls and actually managed to get them to play a game rather than talk. My brothers were home that night for dinner having had gate duty in the morning.
It was nice to sit down with my whole family for dinner that night. We all had busy lives and weren't always available at dinner time. The atmosphere was happy and playful as we all poked fun at eat other in between bites of food.
By the time I went out to the back yard to train with Yamanaka-san I was feeling content. He had been stepping up my training recently. It almost felt like he was preparing me for something which put me on edge.
The training took a lot out of me and I was panting heavily when he called for a break. Breathing out a sigh of relief I sat under the tree and took a big gulp from my water bottle. I was sweating so much that I didn't even feel the chilly bite in the air.
"Suikazura, do you remember that time you helped out at one of my farms?" Yamanaka-san asked out of nowhere. I had to force myself not to tense up at the question. Instead I replied with a lazy, "Mhmm."
"Would you like to explain to me what really happened?" he asked. What made him think I actually knew? Either way I'd have to handle this carefully.
"I don't really know," I say in a confused voice. He watched me with a heavy gaze as if judging the truth to my reply.
"Why don't you explain to me what you were trying to do? We can figure out what actually happened from there." Jerk wasn't giving me a way out of this without looking suspicious. After having it confirmed that I had been reincarnated Yamanaka-san had been treating me more and more like an adult.
I didn't usually mind but times like this reminded me of how much freer a reign children had. I sat quietly for a moment, organizing my thoughts. How much should I give away? I ended up deciding to give him the truth in a roundabout way.
"As you already know, I grow the plants by leaking my chakra into them. From our experiments we figured out that the plants have their own chakra as well. When I make plants grow, I am both injecting my chakra and guiding the chakra they already posses." He nods to show he is with me so far.
"I didn't know this back then. That was the first time I tried doing anything with the plants chakra. Instead of guiding it, I tried to take it in. It was a stupid and badly thought out idea. Something about it messed with my chakra system and that's when I fainted." His eyebrows were furrowed in thought.
"The closest I have gotten to doing that again was when I killed the weeds on your farm by channeling the chakra through me and into the other plants." He was so lost in thought that he seemed to be unable to do anything other than nod his head.
"If you don't mind my asking, what brought this up all of a sudden?" I asked. Yamanaka-san usually gave more away when he was busy thinking. His eyes shined with amusement when they met mine, as if he knew exactly what I was doing, which he probably did.
"It has actually been plaguing my thoughts for a while now. It is understandable that a child would accidentally do something harmful, but you weren't exactly a child now, were you." I squirmed a little under his gaze.
"It occurred to me that you knew exactly what you were doing back then, and I seem to have been correct."
"Maybe just a little," I say, holding up my thumb and index finger to show just how 'little' I knew. My attempt to lighten the severity of the conversation worked when he laughed out loud. It seemed I was right in assuming that people get so distracted by the truth that they forget to ask for more.
"I will be telling the Hokage of this," he says, serious again.
"You have done nothing wrong, but I have been ordered to keep a close eye on you and anything you learn of your unique abilities," he assured me when he saw me fidget nervously. Yamanaka-san looked to the sky before turning to me again.
"Why don't we go for one more round? You can go home after that."
"Okay," I replied, eager to end our conversation. The next morning sensei was at the field before any of us. If he came to training, he usually got there exactly on time. That was our first clue that something was going on.
It had been a while since he had been available for training. Sensei didn't tell us what had occupied him the past week so we just assumed it had nothing to do with us. He put us through our paces and told us where we had improved and what we still needed to work on.
There was no mission for us to take today but before we went off to do our own things sensei asked us all out to lunch. It wasn't rare for us to eat together; we tried to keep close to each other as it helped us work well as a team, but I could tell something was up. From the look Hiroshi and Kiyoshi exchanged I could tell they had their own suspicions as well.
We entered the restaurant and took a seat at our usual table. The time until the waitress came was filled with friendly chatter, but the underlying tension was unmistakable. For a moment sensei looked almost proud of us, not that that was a bad thing. It just seemed a little out of place.
"You three have shown great improvement over the past six months under my supervision," sensei began after the food arrived. For some reason those words filled me with dread.
"Do you really think that sensei?" Hiroshi asked honestly. Aoba-sensei nodded his head and looked the three of us in the eye.
"This team has not only made great improvement, but have also filled the pre-requisites for the Chunin exam," he told us seriously. Please don't tell me he entered us, I thought desperately to myself. Kiyoshi on the other hand looked ecstatic.
"So you entered us for the exams? Wow, that's awesome!" It took a lot of self control to stop myself from hitting Kiyoshi over the head and explaining every reason why the exams are not 'awesome'. Hiroshi seemed stuck between excited and worried. At least one of them had some common sense.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Kiyoshi. I have not entered you three." Kiyoshi visibly deflated at that.
"Aww, why not?" he asked with a pout.
"Do you think us incapable?" Hiroshi asked, sounding almost offended.
"It is not that you are incapable or that you are unready. I don't want to dump you all into that situation without properly preparing you," sensei explained. Relief filled me at his words, he didn't plan on throwing us in there and letting us fumble around blindly.
"What do you mean by 'preparing us properly'?" I finally piped in.
"The Chunin exams will be starting this month. While the first two tests are always different, the third is always a one on one tournament of sorts. We will be going over what kind of situations to expect from the exams as well as watching the third. I want you all to see the level that others fight at during the third exam." The boys both calmed at the pure logic behind sensei's words.
"If you don't plan on entering us then why go over all of this with us?" Hiroshi asked. And, with a slight smirk, sensei answered, "Because I plan on entering you three in the next." Oh boy. We were about to get busy.
I guess I should be thankful that he told us all of these things six months in advance. Although it would make me worry and get stressed out, I usually worked better under stress. It pushed me forward, gave me a goal that I could work towards.
My brothers seemed excited that night when they got back. Curiosity tingling in the back of my mind, I waited for the chance to question them. Not seeing any opening opportunities, I made one by inviting them on a walk with me.
"What got you guys so excited today?" I finally blurt out at them. They seemed amused at my inability to wait for them to bring it up themselves.
"For your information, we have been recruited to work as proctors for the upcoming Chunin exams," Kotetsu pompously replied. Even Izumo had an arrogant look about him at Kotetsu's words. A plan began forming in my head…
"Wow, really?" I asked them innocently. They seemed too self absorbed to notice the mischievous glint in my eyes.
"Yep. Yamanaka-san approached us today and asked for our assistance with the first test," Izumo said with a smile.
"I guess I'll be seeing you guys then!" The moment those words escaped my mouth, they froze in their tracks. It wasn't a complete lie…
"What do you mean 'you'll see us then'? Suikazura!" Kotetsu yelled out as I continued walking.
"Was your team nominated? You're too young, you don't have enough experience," Izumo said pleadingly, as if trying to convince me to give it up.
"Relax guys. We weren't nominated. Our sensei wants us to observe them to learn more about the exams," I say, and before it sinks in I began running. Even from a distance I could feel the spike of chakra at their annoyance. The chase was on.
I paused momentarily in one of the training fields to check the distance between the boys and me. That was when they pounced. Kotetsu pinned me to the ground and after a quick wrestle he and Izumo lay down in the grass beside me.
"Don't ever, and I repeat, ever scare us like that again," Kotetsu says threateningly.
"My joke may have gone too far, but get used to the idea. We were not nominated this time, but we will be nominated for the next exams. You can't baby me forever," I snap at them, irritated by their behavior. At my words their anger loses its steam.
"Will you really?" Izumo asked after an uncomfortable silence. I only nod my head in reply; scared they would hear the nerves in my voice were I to speak aloud.
"But your team isn't ready," Kotetsu argued weakly.
"We have six months to train. Sensei set the bar high and wouldn't enter us if he didn't think us ready," was my reply. They both sighed in resignation at the same time making me snort at them in amusement.
We sat there quietly in the dark, no words spoken between us. They didn't need to tell me they were worried, just as I didn't need to tell them that I was entering whether they liked it or not. The silence stayed with us the whole way home that night, but I didn't let it bother me. All three of us would get over ourselves and feel better in the morning.
The morning came too soon. I was shaken awake at an un-godly hour by a dressed and way too energetic Kotetsu.
"Get up before I pour a bucket of water on your head," he said loudly in my ear.
"Why? I don't need to be up yet so get out," I reply none too kindly.
"If you're going to be in the Chunin exams, we're going to make sure you are ready," was Izumo's reply. I hadn't even realized he was in the room.
"I'm not entering for another six months so get out," was my barely coherent reply.
"No time like the present," was all I hear before my blankets were pulled out from underneath me and I fell to the floor.
"Fine I'm getting up so get out already!" I scream any semblance of patience lost in my usual morning irritation. I was preparing to throw things at them, but they left my room before I had the chance.
As more and more foreign Shinobi trickled into the village I trained; both in the morning with my brothers and in the morning-early afternoon with my team. It seems that training will forever be the main focus of my life, I thought one day as I made my way to the academy.
I guess that's what I get for trying to find something interesting to do with my life. I had told my parents I wouldn't be home for dinner and packed a box dinner for Naruto and Sasuke. We tried to see each other as much as possible, but it didn't always work out.
I either didn't have the time or the patience to see them. They were good kids and I liked them a lot, but they were so tiring to be around. After an entire week had gone by seeing neither hide nor hair of either of them, I decided it was time to hunt them down.
We spent the evening together catching up. Naruto told me of all the pranks he was planning on pulling, and Sasuke told me about how much his grades had picked up. Naruto made fun of Sasuke for focusing on his school work and Sasuke picked Naruto's plans apart.
They talked and bickered, ate, and then bickered some more. I eventually lost my patience and snapped at them which caused them to grow quiet, before blaming each other for my reaction. The evening was in all, just like every other we spent together.
After dinner we stopped at my house to get my big old orange ball. We had decided to play a game before we all went our separate ways. I was on my way out of the house when I saw Ino and Sakura peeking over the Yamanaka's fence.
"Hey guys, I was about to play some dodge ball with Naruto and Sasuke, want to join us?" they seemed too awed by my invite to do anything other than nod open mouthed at me. Sasuke was not as happy about our addition as Naruto was.
"Why are they here?" he asked in mild annoyance.
"Because I invited them to join us. If you think you don't need them on your team to win I'll just have them on mine," I say offhandedly. Sasuke's eyes narrow at my subtle challenge.
"Fine, it will be me and Naruto against you three. No way would we lose to a bunch of girls like you," he says arrogantly. The girls who had until that point looked upset at not being on Sasuke's team, bristled at the insult. Naruto seemed conflicted between wanting to be on Sakura's team and wanting to prove himself together with Sasuke. It was Sakura who settled everything.
"You're on!" she cried out jubilantly as Ino smirked at the boys with a determined expression on her face.
"You heard 'em, guys. We're going to kick your butts," I tell them. They both pause taking in the scene of three very competitive girls, and exchanged a nervous glance before nodding with equal determination as the girls.
"Let's go!" Naruto shouted leading the way to an empty field. Had it just been Sakura and Ino against Naruto and Sasuke, the boys would have won. My presence changed that. I may have gone a bit easy on the boys, but I made sure that the girls got all the opportunities needed to win.
In the end it was Ino and Sakura against Sasuke. Naruto and I had been eliminated earlier in the match. Sasuke was better and faster than them, but they had power in numbers and I had stayed in long enough to tire Sasuke out. Naruto cheered as hard as he could from the sidelines
With a brilliant show of teamwork the girls finished the game with a bang. When Sasuke grudgingly admitted that they had done well, they squealed so hard I thought my eardrums would burst.
Sasuke was a bit of a spoil sport; he hated losing, but I think he learned a lesson in humility. Rather than getting too upset at losing though, he took a different approach.
"Next time Naruto and I are so gonna win," he proclaimed arrogantly. I was surprised by that, but I guess it made sense. He had always admired Itachi because he was strong, and he had become friends with Naruto because he had proven his ability.
It was almost funny how drawn to power Sasuke was. Not in the sense that he needed it for himself, but that he seemed to surround himself with it. He liked being with strong people, and used them as a comparison for himself. Tonight the girls had proven themselves formidable opponents when provoked, and he was acknowledging that by implying that there would be a next time.
Ino and Sakura seemed to sense this, and for a moment I could see a glimpse of who they would become as they smiled softly at Sasuke. They had always vied for his attention and though they hadn't gotten it in the way they expected, they had still earned some.
I'd call tonight a success, I think to myself as I drop the boys off at their houses and make my way back with the girls trailing behind me. It was quiet for the first few minutes before Ino spoke up.
"Thank you for bringing us with you, Suikazura," she said gratefully as Sakura nodded her head to show her gratitude as well.
"It was no problem," I tell them honestly.
"I will, however, tell you two not to push Sasuke. Why do you think he's avoided you guys until tonight?" they seemed confused by my question and it was Sakura who answered.
"Because we were annoying?" she asked, as if hoping I would tell her she was no such thing.
"Yes. He played with you tonight because he no longer saw an annoying groupie, but a challenge." Ino seemed upset at my calling her a 'groupie'.
"We aren't that bad," she says with all the conviction of a nine year old, convinced they are right. It only took a raised eyebrow from me to have her looking down in defeat.
"So we may have pushed the line a little," she compromised.
"Do you think he will play with us again, though?" she asked, unable to hide the hope in her voice.
"As long as you treat him like a person rather than an artifact to be admired," was my blunt reply.
"I'm not going to tell you how to act around him, but pay attention to the reaction your 'affections' get. Use common sense and learn to be his friend before anything else." They both seemed lost in thought at my words. I really hope they take them to heart.
If Sakura could see past her crush and start bonding with Naruto and Sasuke, maybe it would help her improve faster. In the manga I had disliked both Sakura and Sasuke. Not because they were bad people, but because they never made sense to me.
Sakura spent so much time on her appearance and her crush that she lacked discipline and was unable to keep up with her team. Sasuke was a fool in my eyes for holding onto the past for so long and eventually driving himself insane. And he was insane.
The road to hell is paid with good intentions. He had left the village with the intentions of getting strong enough to get his revenge and to protect his friends. Over time that had warped into an unhealthy obsession and a determination to destroy everything.
As a person who valued their relationships more than anything, it was hard for me to understand how someone could just throw it all away like that. It was only after meeting the two of them that I understood. He had no one to trust, no guidance to rely on when he needed it most. My presence may not make enough of a difference, but I was trying.
Sakura never had anyone to smack her upside the head and give her a reality check. She needed someone to tell her to stop fooling around, that it may cause her to lose her life. Sadly enough, she only got that after training with Tsunade. She needed it now.
They were small differences, but I would make them in hopes that they can change. People are unpredictable, any interference I made could change anything, but I had to try in the hopes that maybe would get lucky.
I got scolded by Sakura's mother for keeping her out so late, but Yamanaka-san only seemed irritated at my forgetting our lessons that night. They weren't exactly forgotten, but I had needed the break from all my training. My own parents were rather irritated at my longer than anticipated absence.
It was worth it. Tonight had been worth it. I had played with the kids and enjoyed myself, better yet, they had enjoyed themselves. I felt like I was starting to move in the right direction, and it was worth it.
Things will start happening soon, I promise. I'm just trying to build up the proper tension. If it didn't work feel free to hate me. Either way, leave a review and come again.
ToeGirth,
Signing Out