Author's Note:
Thank you all for your patience and support! I understand the characters' personalities are a bit bland, but they'll grow into it as I go on I promise.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its ideas. I own only Cogura and whatever he screws up along the way.
It didn't take Team Jiraiya very long to get to one of the training grounds.
The three of them were lined up before the Toad Sannin soaked with morning dew, and the bruises he couldn't fully heal ached deeply from the chill.
Instead of nursing his pain Cogura was left staring upwards, struck with awe, at the white-haired man that smirked down at the dubbed 'Team Jiraiya'.
The man's black eyes scrutinized to Kazemi first; then it went to Minato, where it lingered for a long moment; and after what he could call an eternity, the man met his stare with an intense, assessing gaze.
The noirette remained silent and alert, refusing to move or show just how much it bothered him that it felt like his new Sensei was peeling away his layers one by one, trying to see into the core of his essence.
He remained stone-still when the Sannin scratched his chin and hummed contemplatively, for once thankful of his own ability to subdue any unwanted reactions.
"You certainly are an interesting bunch."
He heard something that sounded suspiciously along the lines of 'none of them have assets' before the man gave a face-splitting grin.
He blinked in astonishment at the non-sequitur.
Right... I had almost forgotten the Legendary Sannin is a renowned pervert…
"How about we begin by introducing ourselves? I'll begin!"
Kazemi opened his mouth looking halfway between confused and indignant, but the white-haired Jounin pointed to himself dramatically, cutting off the boy's protest.
"My name is Jiraiya, self-proclaimed Super Pervert! I have a particular liking for the ladies, if you know what I mean. I dislike very few things, and my dreams are too adult for you kids… Heh. My hobbies are writing, activities with cute girls, writing about said cute girls, maintaining my Super Pervert title-"
"We get that, let's move on already!"
Kazemi snapped, overcoming his shock.
Helpfully, Cogura refrained from pointing out how red the other boy's cheeks were and exactly just how mortified Minato looked.
However, admitting the defeat of his restraint, the boy let out a mirthful laugh.
Hardly a few minutes in the man's presence, and he already unsettled the three of them collectively.
He ignored the other black-haired boy's affronted glare in favor of trying to reign in his amusement, much to the apparent pleasure of Jiraiya.
Jiraiya smirked briefly before waving them off with an eye-roll.
"Fine, fine; don't get your panties in a twist, at least one of you has a sense of humor."
To the noirette's delight Kazemi's cheeks got so dark he was surprised the other boy hadn't passed out, barely hearing a faint noise of complaint from the blond.
"Introduce yourself then; your name, likes, dislikes, dreams, and hobbies!"
The olive-skinned kid's glare could put an inferno to shame, redirected from him to their new and apparently 'Super Perverted' Sensei.
"My name is Koichi Kazemi,"
The boy ground out eventually, allowing the noirette enough reprieve to school his expression.
"I like earning respect and reading. I dislike loud mouths and dishonor. My dream is to become one of Konoha's most respectable ninja, and my hobby is becoming an herbalist, my specialty is mixing and combining poisons."
Kazemi stated firmly, crossing his arms, and the man gave a thumbs-up.
"Not bad, that's quite a variety Gaki. You next."
Jiraiya chortled, and Cogura almost choked on his own saliva in surprise, but the explosion of Kazemi's impending outburst was interrupted when the meekly smiling blond stood straighter.
"H-hai!"
Minato stuttered out before the throbbing vein in Kazemi's forehead could pop.
"My name is Namikaze Minato. I like the color red, people with kind hearts, and sensibility. I dislike anyone that looks down on me, bullies in particular. My hobby is to help around the orphanage, but my dream is to earn the villagers' respect and recognition by becoming a Hokage."
Jiraiya nodded, grinning as he reached out to pat the mess of blond spikes before the kid could duck away.
"That's a good ambition to have!"
The man turned to him, and the gazes of the other two kids followed.
"What about you, *Murasaki?"
He sweatdropped at the nickname, but gave a beaming grin anyway.
Was it strange that he now felt like he was under a magnifying glass?
"I'm Kurotenshi Cogura! I like hot food, anyone with a good sense of humor, practicing the family Kekki Genkai, and anything that can make me stronger to protect my friends. I hate bullies, manipulators, liars, and those that disregard me due to my age. My hobby is cooking and perfecting my Genjutsu skills, and my dream is to prove myself to the village by surpassing everyone's expectations of me."
The noirette rambled, watching the considering expression that came over the man.
It made Cogura wonder if the Sannin knew of the Kurotenshi Kekki Genkai and its ties to Genjutsu and Taijutsu.
"Also a good start, especially for someone so young."
All three of them sweatdropped when the man posed with his hands on his hips, and they could collectively swear that they could see rays of light extend from behind Jiraiya.
If nothing else at least knowing even a fraction of the Sannin's personality- even if most of it was fake- was a small relief from the feeling of intense judgment.
"You all have unique personalities, I like it! We're going to begin the test immediately!"
Cogura's brow furrowed.
What?
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Minato's mouth open.
"What do you mean, Jiraiya-sensei?"
Kazemi interrupted the blond, onyx eyes narrowed.
"I thought we passed the necessary tests in the academy?"
Jiraiya chortled, and instantly the noirette felt a rising sense of dread.
"The Academy may have passed you, but you still have to pass my test before you can become a Genin team. If you fail, I get to send you back to the academy."
Cogura's eyes widened while the white-haired man held up a pair of bells.
The question escaped before he could think it through.
"You'll send us back?"
He blurted, unable to hold back the dismay in his tone.
"I will if you fail, but you three seem like you'll do exceptionally well. Now, the only objective of this test is that each of you have to get one of the bells from me before noon!"
Cogura glanced at his team in bafflement, seeing Kazemi with an outraged expression while the blond kid frowned in confusion.
"Sensei, there's only two bells."
Minato said slowly, eyeing the man warily, but Jiraiya only beamed brightly at the prodigy.
"Good catch, Minato-kun! Only two of you will be able to pass and advance to be Team Jiraiya. The one that doesn't gets tied to a tree stump while we eat lunch, and then sent back to the academy! Let's begin!"
In the blink of an eye Kazemi disappeared in a puff of smoke; in the same instance, Cogura saw Jiraiya flying through a series of hand seals.
"Run!"
He yelped, tackling a wide-eyed Minato just barely out of the way of a Suiton Jutsu, which some abandoned part of his analytical side told him was restrained to a Chuunin level speed.
"Damndamndamndamndamndamn!"
The Shadow-nin hissed, scrambling to his feet and watching Minato do the same out of the corner of his eye, and he leapt just out of the way of Jiraiya's fist.
His wide orange eyes beheld the crater that the simple attack had left behind, and with a burst of excitement he redoubled his efforts of escaping.
Cogura panicked when he sensed Jiraiya's chakra shift for another Jutsu, and hands flying through the hand seal, he performed a Kawarimi and got to watch the log he switched with get reduced to nothing more than a pile of splinters.
At least Minato got away,
He thought wryly, using a breathing exercise to calm his heart rate while he noted an absence of the blond in the split second after Jiraiya announced the start of the test.
Then his face twisted into a wry smirk when he watched Jiraiya vanish from the clearing of the training ground, gears turning.
He'd have to find the others; consequences be damned none of them could stand against the Sannin alone, and sticking together increased their chance of survival even if only by a little bit.
Mind made up, he Shunshined after the flash of silver that their Sensei had become, concealing his chakra to the best of his ability.
Cogura was pushing his speed, however, and almost fell off the limb of his current tree when shuriken went flying from all directions at the blurred shape of Jiraiya.
Hiding within the branches and he watched with interest while the projectiles were swatted away like annoying flies.
Orange eyes narrowed, idle hand drawing a spool of ninja wire from a pocket sewn inside his purple-black robes, he unraveled it.
If his chakra detection was correct then Kazemi was trying to face off with Jiraiya, and Minato was coming closer each second.
It was the perfect opportunity to try and get an advantage.
"Is that all you can do?"
The Sannin smirked as in a blur of movement, Kazemi stood in front of their Sensei, onyx eyes shining with determination and cold fury.
"I will not get sent back today, Jiraiya-Sensei… As annoying as you are, I am intent on graduating the academy this year."
An impressive amount of killing intent for a Genin-level kid flowed across the area, providing distraction from the black and purple streak that seemed to blur and vanish in hap-hazard intervals among the canopy.
Kazemi lunged forward, determination in every line of his body as he threw a punch at Jiraiya, but once the Sannin grabbed his fist, he went upside-down in the air and continued the assault with a series of kicks that the man blocked with his free hand, throwing a telegraphed kick that Kazemi leapt back to dodge.
Unseen by the battle-engaged Nin, a pair of sky-blue eyes peered out from the foliage.
Silently Minato tightened his grip on the kunai in his hands.
He needed Kazemi to give him an opening and he can go for the bells… Although he wasn't quite sure what to do if both bells got taken, he would certainly try his best.
Even if this wasn't the kind of collaboration he has originally intended to achieve before facing their Sensei.
"Wow, that's an impressive scowl."
He whirled with a startled gasp, stopping his kunai just short of Cogura's upside… Down… Face…
What?
The younger ninja 's orange eyes were curious, dangling with surprising skill off nearly invisible strands of decent-grade ninja wire.
"Cogura-san, you startled me,"
The blond breathed, lowering his kunai and keeping his voice low, the younger one allowed the other to get his bearings.
"We need a plan."
Minato, once he calmed down, judged that by the focused look on the Shadow Nin's face, he had the younger boy's attention.
"I'm trying to come up with a strategy, we just have to work together. I caught up to Kazemi earlier and we got seperated again so getting him in on a plan will be tough, but I figured it out; the test is to prove we can stand up to the threat as a team. I figure that at the very least we can make a memorable impression."
Minato spoke his point with conviction, as if he needed to convince the younger one that they had to work together.
Cogura's eyes curved into a happy sliver-moon shape, the telltale sign he was smiling.
"I know."
The blonde's mouth opened once, and then closed before opening again with a surprised blink inbetween.
"You… Do?"
The younger one nodded sagely, keeping tabs on how Kazemi was starting to get tired.
"Yeah, it's just common sense. None of us can beat Jiraiya on our own, teamwork factor aside… Although I do admit, I hadn't fully figured out that working together was the core point. No wonder you're a prodigy."
Minato gave a small smile, feeling a greater spark of hope now that he had a teammate at his side.
"Okay. Assuming you have skill with your wire, here's what I think we should do…"
Kazemi hit the ground on his right shoulder hard, gritting his teeth as the wind got knocked out of him.
Struggling and panting for air he stumbled to his feet, raising his arms in a hasty block to a vicious kick and ignoring the sharp pain in the same shoulder.
Gathering his last reserve of his strength he heaved just enough to buy time and Shunshin behind Jiraiya in a position to make a grab at the bells.
Poison-coated senbon laced through his fingers, he grimaced harshly as he jabbed at his Sensei.
He wasn't expecting Jiraiya to merely smirk and deflect his attacks as though they were nothing.
He watched the fist approaching his ribcage with abject horror.
A kunai thrown with deadly accuracy bounced off the surprised Sannin's glove and split the material, but it was more than enough distraction for a cloud of smoke to envelope him and arms wrap around his shoulders.
He grunted in pain, but he had no strength left to fight them by the time he realized that he was watching the fight from atop a branch where he was placed, which so far was a cloud of smoke and noise.
He looked up to the one that grabbed him, blinking owlishly up at the young head of the graduating class, the Kurotenshi kid, whom looked down at him in concern.
His gaze switched back to the battle, surprise taking over his expression when he saw a copy of himself kneeling on the ground, struggling to get up while a Bunshin of Cogura danced along a surprisingly complex web of wires, engaged in a game of dodge-the-Jutsu with Jiraiya.
"Kazemi-kun you work with poisons and herbs, right?"
He glanced back up at the masked kid, frowning, but nodding in confirmation.
The Shadow Nin eye-smiled.
"Good! You wouldn't happen to have anything flammable, perhaps?"
Kazemi blinked in astonishment, numbly fishing in the inner pockets of his Shihakusho and pulling out a storage scroll.
"Yes, I do; plenty of it, in fact. Why?"
Goosebumps danced along his skin under Cogura's decidedly scary expression while he unsealed flasks of the liquid.
"We're going to coat all of those wires with it. Can you stand?"
Kazemi scowled while he shakily got to his feet, grateful that the younger one didn't comment, and passed the pyromaniac a few flasks with a smirk of his own.
It took less than a minute despite how elaborate the web was, and he watched with an approving eye as Cogura brought out a kunai and piece of flint.
The Bunshin saw the advancement and looked at 'Kazemi' with wide eyes while Jiraiya ran them down.
"Get out of here!"
He yelled.
Jiraiya slowed for a split second, smiling proudly while the 'injured' student disappeared.
With a sight nothing less than spectacular the wires erupted in flames, popping the Bunshin and leaving 'Kazemi' the opportunity to snatch the bells away.
*Murasaki (purple, violet)