Eight

Initiation

I walked back to my room with my thoughts swirling. I could tell Tsukishima tomorrow but I needed to discuss this with Sakuraya as soon as possible. Before I made anymore decisions. Akane was fixing my closet as I walked in. She was rather quite but didn't mind talking every now and then. She didn't treat me like a child, in fact, I don't think anyone but Teru did, atleast inside the clan. Kushina still treated me like a child, Minato too. Orochimaru didn't care whether I was a child or not, he only seemed interested in results of my training.

"Akane," I said. She looked up noticing that I wanted something done. She put down the Haori she was folding and stood up. "Could please call Sakuraya-sensei here. Tell him it isn't an emergency, I just want to have a quick chat."

"It's getting a little late," she said even as she was walking out of the room. My fuuton had been rolled up and put to a side. I pulled out a cushion from the closet and placed it near the window next to the small table. I picked up the vase and placed it on the window sill instead, which happened to large enough for me to sleep there with Mahiru and Tsukishima too. It was like a second bed but I didn't use it. I can almost imagine myself as an older Shinobi jumping in from the window so tired that I'd collapse right here without even removing my shoes or my flak jacket. Sakuraya walked in then looking sleepy as he plopped down onto the cushion.

"Arashi-chan, it is really really mean for you to ask me to come here especially since I have to be at the hospital in three hours for my shift," he muttered while yawning. My eyes widened. I didn't know that.

"I just wanted to know something." He raised an eyebrow while his chin rested on the table.

"Did Wa-Father talk to you before or after our little chat?" I cursed myself for slipping up. If I called him Wakato people would notice my growing dislike for the man. Sakuraya looked alert now.

"I haven't talked to him. Why?" I put the file on the table and watched Sakuraya recognize it. "I didn't think you'd actually agree to his proposal." My eyes narrowed.

"I never told you that he was the one who asked me to join early," I hissed. Sakuraya clicked his tongue.

"Before. He thought you would come to me and ask me for my opinion so he told me to get you to agree to it. He knows you respect me."

"Respected."

"Excuse me," he asked.

"I respected you. I don't do well with betrayal," I told him harshly.

"He's the clan head and your father," he reminded me. "You know, you are so much like him." I winced. "So what do you want to know?"

"What is all this? Connections?"

"Ah yes. It is integral for a Shinobi to have connections especially a clan heir. There will be a test for entry into the Academy."

"I haven't heard of that," I added.

"It's actually mostly a formality to check how strong you are and put you in a class according to that, since its war time and you are from a clan you will be automatically monitored for early promotion." I nodded still feeling betrayed. Sakuraya didn't show any guilt or remorse.

"So what sort of connections must I build?" He took the file and pulled out some papers.

"These three are from the Uchiha clan. This one will be entering with you," he said pointing to the three papers placed in front of me as he shuffled through the rest. I pulled them closer to me. My eyes widened upon reading the first name.

Uchiha Shisui. I never thought that he would be about my age. He was five at the moment with his birthday on the 9th of September. He hadn't been allowed last year by his clan but they couldn't stop him now. I glared at the paper. So even Uchiha were better then the Senju. I wonder what happened to the clan though. They weren't as large as the Uchiha but they were still huge. A clan doesn't just disappear only leaving a person or two.

It said that Shisui was an average sort of Shinobi but a good person to be acquainted with due to his budding friendship with the Uchiha heir. The other two Uchiha were older then me. One was in the graduating class and the other was just one year behind him. Both getting above average marks. The oldest was above average but the younger one was probably going to and up as Rookie of the year if a prediction was made from his marks. By the time I was done Sakuraya had arranged the other papers by clan names and age. I grimaced looking at my lap and then opened my mouth looking up. I was about to apologize to the man but he wasn't even here. Akane was outside judging by her chakra and the gaurd outside was also there. I still didn't know who he or she was. I sighed as I grabbed the next sheet.

The Nara clan. First was Kasuga Nara. He was seven and was going to be in my class if I got bumped up a grade. Maen Nara was two years my senior in the Academy at nine. Maen was deemed a good contact as he was the first cousin of Shikaku. Kasuga was rated average because he was friends with Maen.

The Hyuuga had Tokuma at my age. As far as I remember he had the best Byakugan in all the Hyuuga. Or was that just a saying of Aburame Muta who happened to be in the same class as Tokuma and Kasuga. If I skipped the first grade which was quite likely, I'd end up with them.

I bit my lip while trying to memorize all the information on the page. It was surprisingly easy as I viewed them like character profiles, memorizing those had been perfected by me to an art form. I remembered Tokuma's profile and Shisui's much clearly then Muta's. I didn't know the others though. This got me thinking, all the information I did remember I needed to write it down before I forgot it. I was already forgetting some details and that wasn't good. I walked to the door after putting the papers back in the file and peeked out to see if Akane was there or not. She surprisingly was. She walked in and helped into a Yukata.

"Akane," I stopped her just before she left. She looked back questioningly.

"Yes, Arashi-chan."

"Could you do me a small favour?" I had already noticed that pencils were used widely here, sealing just required the ink and therefore I needed to know how to write like that. Also it was easier to make a brush from hair and ink from blood then try making a pencil in an emergency. At Akane's nod I continued, "I want a pencil and a few notebooks."

"Right now?" I nodded. "Very well, how many notebooks?" I raised three fingers. I think I should start with three. She left and that's when I started thinking over it more.

What if someone found them? I needed a code. What if they were decoded? I needed to write in English. What if there is Romanji here? Then I should use symbols for letters and add a tricode. That's when Akane came back. She placed the items on the table.

"Arashi-chan, whatever you plan to do please leave it for tomorrow, you must sleep now." I nodded and watched her roll out my futon and leave. Then I opened the first notebook grabbing a plain pencil. I titled it neatly in English or as neatly as I could. Maybe I'll rewrite it when I get older. I was really good at copying writings but I needed better motor skills. It was writing with my left hand although I was being training to give no hand preference.

'Saya; Thoughts on Manga.' I liked the name quite a lot. I flipped the page and wrote 'before' on the top in capital letters. I quickly scribbled out the details of the Pre-Konoha period. Everything I could remember about Hashirama and Madara's relation, the war going on, the treatment of people and the clans. I wrote about their dreams adding my own two cents here and there. I added analysis and explanations for their actions. I wrote about the loss of their families and to my credit I only stopped once when I got distracted remebering my own world. Once I had scribbled out everything I could remember I picked a second notebook. I massaged my hand a little before starting. I want to finish this. I need to finish this. I have to finish this.

'Saya; a Memoir.' The tile was also scribbled neatly as I tried to write out things about my own life. I wrote 'Year One' and started scribbling out all the stories I could remember. Me, falling off the stairs with my bottle. Me, getting a stomachache so bad that some inexperienced doctor was going to have me cut open. Me, being offered a modelling gig because I was so adorable. I laughed here and there remembering the pictures my mother had. I threw in a couple of drawings, Anime styled babies. I laughed a little feeling proud of everything I had managed. I took a little break sipping a little water and staring at the roof. Then I picked up the third book.

'Saya; Afterlife.' This one was a sort of diary of everything that had happened after I died starting with how I died. I was glad that Akane brought three different coloured notebooks, I would probably collect more of the same colour and hoard these for years. I managed to write my first year until my first word before I slumped onto the table and fell asleep.

When I woke up I put the notebooks to a side and darted out of the room. Akane was standing there, she walked in and helped me into a Kimono before I rushed out again to find Tsuki. He was sitting by the pond with Wataru, who was eleven now. Wataru poured him a cup of tea and they both were sipping it lightly even though I could clearly see Tsuki frowning at the bitter taste. I walked up to them sitting down with my legs folded perfectly under me. We passed greeting and then I was also offered a cup of tea. I sipped it lightly.

"Ma, Tsuki?" He looked up noticing my smile. "When does the Academy start?" His eyes lit up.

"July. Two months from now." I nodded.

"Well be ready for it." He jumped up nearly spilling his tea.

"Really?!" I nodded and he laughed happily before running a few feet. He walked back though as if remembering something. "Arashi-sama, may I leave?"

"Don't call me Arashi-sama, especially not in the Academy. And you may." He smiled brightly before running off, probably to his mother. Wataru took along sip of his tea as Tsuki walked away.

"You are going to the Academy?" I nodded looking at him expecting envy, I didn't find that though. "Congratulations." He was still a cry baby and was full of sheepish smiles but that's the way he was. I was rather confused to see he wasn't even interested in the Shinobi lifestyle. He had quite a few civilian friends because he went to the civilian school. He was sort of like a connection to the outside.

Orochimaru came devised a way to teach me the Explosive Chakra technique, it was normally seen when you have an excess of chakra being pumped out. It's the reason why the tree climbing goes wrong. Essentially I just had to pump a lot of chakra in my hands and direct it into the opposing force. I was going to be going outside Konoha for the first time. The Shodai trees shrouded the Village so we had to go a little past that but be close enough that running back to Konoha in case of emergencies was still possible. Guess who taged along? Anko. I was a little jealous, I admit but still I liked that we were going on a trip for me. She wore a mesh shirt with mesh shorts and a red skirt. Her Shinobi boots were almost knee length. She had two hip pouches too. Father hadn't been around and it took a little under ten minutes to convince Rai, the in charge, to let me go. Daichi helped me get the appropriate gear fixed. He gave me a full sleeved mesh shirt which Akane helped me put on under the sleeveless red tank top. I was wearing shorts with it. Daichi got me into the small sandals and I was yet again reminded of my small age. He gave me a large pouch on my back and a standard Tanto my back since it was the only weapon I could use. I want trained for it properly just the occasional classes with Rai before he hit Tsuki but that was only katas. I was good at wielding things in my previous life especially considering the time I had done a commercial performance and had added two spears and some knives to make it more alluring. Daichi also kept telling me to go vertical not horizontal and that blood was a key. He never explained properly but deemed the cryptic message to be good enough. I sighed for the umpteenth time as Anko stopped to point at a plant. I would watch it and stay utterly confused as to how it was any different. She was quite good at recognizing the poisonous ones for the edible ones. She also helped me memorize them which I guess was good.

"This one is called Morning Shade." I blinked.

"It's poisonous and burns your throat if eaten with water, right?" She grinned brightly as Orochimaru continued but his pace was sedated.

"So you are listening." I nodded.

"It's hard not to. You are quite loud," I told her as she pouted and joined Orochimaru who was smirking. I followed too and once we were next to him he started his fast pace again.

A few long hours later we set up camp in a sort of large clearing. I was rather tense since we were set up like sitting ducks but Orochimaru didn't seem to care. We sat down around a small smoke-less flame Orochimaru conjured in two hand signs. I stared hard at Anko's forehead protector. She was a Shinobi but I wasn't sure if she was a chunin or not. She noticed me looking and grinned.

"I'm a Genin. I'll be Chunin soon though, probably." I nodded keeping my backpack on ready to flee any moment. I wasn't willing to let my gaurd down. We were outisde our village, we were on the battlefield. Orochimaru noticed my unease and did try to get me to calm down. It didn't work though as my eyes snapped up at the slightest sound. He told us about how there was a watch system to such missions. We weren't on a mission but I didn't care trying to soak up any survival tips the man had to give. I had learned how to set up a base, what factors to look for, how to set up a parameter, ways to get water and food quickly and even a few pointers at hunting. It was an information minefield. Orochimaru - no, I'll call him sensei now, the man has my respect - enjoyed my expressions and my eagerness to learn more. He then gave first watch to me and Anko. I was to sit up high in a tree and when the time called for it I would drop the small wooden bead on the Ninja wire to my left that would fall directly on Sensei's head. He would get rid of the threat before it even knew what was going on. Anko was to sit on the branch next to me in case one of us fell asleep. I saw sensei sleeping peacefully, atleast he looked like he was sleeping his chakra was slowly pulsing outwards every fifteen minutes or so. It would wash over me and sweep out through the whole clearing before returning. He was checking if we were fine and whether there were any enemy nin around. Anko stayed still and quite even when a snake seemed to crawl into her lap. I pointed at it with horrified face she just gently massaged under his chin which made him slither off lazily. My eyes were wide as she gave me a quick smile and a small wave.

The whole trip went without anything bad happening and may have been why my gaurd went down and stayed down. I mastered the Explosive Chakra technique, it wasn't even that hard. It's like a tree-walking gone wrong. I splintered wood but I might need some gloves to stop the backlash from hitting me. I need to use two handsigns which made it all the more easier and I could call it an original techinque. Sort of. It was generally used without the whole flare with hand signs but it didn't have a proper name and no one planned to use it as their only Ninjutsu asset. Newly minted Genin could do it with a single handsign which was kinda embarrassing.

The way back had me more cheerful as I discussed the plants an poison combinations. The topic was whether mixing Black Haze - a poisonous sweet plant that temporarily removed all senses returning them only to find them in horrible conditions - with Red Root - a plant which dropped Iron levels to an anemic state - would cause death or eternal suffering. I believed the person would be stuck in bed feeling the pain but wouldn't wake up, Anko said he would probably die or be brain dead. That was when we entered Konoha.

Wakato was standing there grinning and then he motioned me over with a crooked finger. Anko waved and said goodbye cheerfully running of to do Anko things. I walked up to Father a little surprised when Orochimaru followed. He crouched down to be at eye level with me.

"Hokage-sama wants a progress report, your mother is waiting. Come on." I gulped and followed the man while still in sweaty, dirty clothes. We entered the Hokage tower and the woman sitting at the desk waved us in without a second glance. I walked in silently bowing when I was in the center. I was silent and calm but my thoughts were racing, what was I hear for? Father crouched in a proper salute with one fist on his heart. I wasn't supposed to do that until I graduated from the Academy.

"Welcome, sit down Arashi-chan, Wakato-kun," he said with a smile his pipe dangling from his lips. Mother sat on one of the chairs looking at me with a frown. I was not in appropriate clothes for a formal meeting. I sighed and plopped down in the large chair.

"I heard that you left with Orochimaru." I nodded. "How is your progress?"

"My chakra control isn't as good as expected so I am being trained to use it as an explosive. My Taijutsu has been deemed adequate and shuriken techinques are also good for my age." He blinked shocked at my report voice. Then seemed to ponder over everything for a moment.

"And what is wrong with your chakra control?" I sighed.

"There is an imbalance between my physical and spiritual chakra. Other then that my body is more willing to expel all my chakra then try to mix it and use it efficiently. I have gotten better at it by training till exhaustion." He frowned a little more.

"It seems your training isn't going as expected." Wakato was trying really hard not to frown. The Hokage then dismissed him and Mother claiming that he needed to talk to me alone. I started fidgeting as he fixed his eyes on me.

"Arashi-chan, do you know why I asked Orochimaru to train you?" I feel some emotional blackmail coming. I shook my head. He stood up walking to the Hokage portraits. I knew quite a bit about them with the stories everyone told me. The Third stood in front of the First's picture.

"That's the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju he made Konoha," he said before walking to the Second's portrait. "This is his younger brother, the Second Hokage. Tobirama Senju. He looks quite a bit like you." I nodded.

"He does."

"He was my teacher when I was about your age. My father, Sasuke Sarutobi was a good friend to them so when he died on a mission appointed by them I was assigned to his team. He was a great man, he turned the tables during the First and Second wars. There is a war going on, Arashi-chan."

"I am aware, Hokage-sama," I muttered looking at my lap.

"If we had something or someone like that it could change the tide again. Konoha needs this."

"I can't change the war Hokage-sama, I am only three," I started. "You expect too much."

"I am preparing a saviour for Konoha in you," he said. "This war could go on for a long time. Konoha can't stay in for so long." I closed my eyes. He was rather stupid for being at such a high post in the Hierarchy of Konoha. The war would end soon but he didn't know that.

"Hokage-sama, with all due respect. A single child cannot change the course of the war." He looked at me as he sat back in the chair.

"It seems Konoha is in luck, we have a lot of prodigies this time round. We need them all, they can change things for the betterment of Konoha." I grit my teeth.

"You are willing to sacrifice children in a war that could probably still be won or stopped without their involvement? Hokage-sama, I respect you, I truly do but I think children aren't the answer." The pipe in his mouth shifted to right.

"You are smart Arashi-chan," he said. "What does one do when you don't have enough troops to cover all the borders?" He looked at me analytically. This was a test. I paused to think.

"You send out Genin, don't just put people off of the Shinobi career because they failed the Academy tests."

"Aren't they children too?" I was tempted to laugh bitterly.

"So you rather send out untrained three and four year olds then eleven and twelve year olds who have marginal training? They are children but they have a better chance." He just hmmed before letting out a small cloud of smoke. I looked at the clock and then stood up.

"Hokage-sama, I believe it's time for dinner. My Father expects me there." He nodded.

"You are dismissed."

Glimpse

"Congratulations, you just failed this exam in the most spectacular way ever." I sighed and rolled my eyes. The woman was annoying.

"Next, make it fast or I'll dock have your points." I walked to the door and then pushed it open slamming it behind me.

A/N: JigokuShoujosRevenge, has highlighted it and it seems not to be very clear the spar between Wakato and Arashi wasn't just a friendly spar, I mean who tries to strangle their own three year old daughter. It can be counted as abuse but I leave that for you to decide. Any part that seems unclear can be taken up with me, just review or pm and it might have been my mistake because everything was going on in my head