I own nothing but my Oc and any future jutsu that I create
I went home, not even bothering to let Sasuke know I had gotten home, and went immediately to the underground clubhouse that held all of the things that Itachi had left me. It was more difficult now to get there now that I had grown a bit, I now had to bend over or risk hitting my head on the low ceiling of the tunnel.
The room had remained the same for the most part, but over the years I had added new furniture and more storage and personal touches. There was now three different bookshelves filled with old tomes and scrolls that covered various topics as well as an old photo of me Sasuke, and Itachi together, one of the only ones I was able to save from Sasuke's destructive path.
I went over to the bookshelf and pulled down one and sat at the newer table to study. I was trying to figure out how to start making my own seals, but so far had come across nothing definitive. Ninjas, as a rule, were notoriously guarded with their techniques and jutsu so it wasn't surprising that I was having trouble in fact I would probably only be able to learn more about sealing from another master and even then it would be limited to what they know.
I must have lost track of the time because the next thing I know is I'm sensing a chakra spike somewhere above my head.
"Sasuke must have gone looking for me again." I mutter to myself
I closed my book and replaced it on the shelf before leaving from a different tunnel to exit and minutes later I was greeting a slightly panicked Sasuke.
"Where were you?" He asked hands on my shoulders
"Studying. Lost track of the time. Sorry for making you worry." I answered short and sweetly
"Hn, just don't do it again. Come on it's late and we have our final exam tomorrow." He grumbled leading me back home
We went home in silence and after a small dinner went to bed.
The next day dawned bright and early and I didn't feel any different from any of the previous days. There was no fear, or worry, or nerves I was as calm as usual. I ate a quick breakfast and then left for the academy without seeing Sasuke, knowing him he'd already be there. The walk was quiet with nothing interesting happening on the way and when I got there I took my usual seat next to Shikamaru who was already asleep next to me.
"You nervous?" Shikamaru asked after a few minutes
"No. You?" I asked casually
"Nah it would just be a real drag if I failed my parents would never let me hear the end of it." Shikamaru groaned turning his head in his arms to look at me
I nodded and faced forward and watched as the other students trickled in, including surprisingly Naruto.
"What are you doing here I thought you didn't pass?" Shikamaru asked him
I ignored what they said after that, I didn't really care how he had come to be here the fact was he was, and waited as Iruka brought our class to order, but before he could do that Sakura and Ino came storming in like a pair of stampeding wild animals, they were Sasuke's fangirls so there wasn't much different. There arguments were loud, pointless, and annoying...it was also kinda gross how they stalked my brother. Then Naruto got up on the desk in front of Sasuke, trying to figure out what made them pay him so much attention, and when the guy in front of him bumped him into Sasuke...I covered my eyes and tried with all my might to erase the image without going so far as to use chakra to burn it out.
"Don't even think about it." Shikamaru mumbled as if sensing what I might be desperate enough to do
"Then use that big brain you have hidden away and invent something that will get the image out of my head." I replied rubbing my eyes as though that could wipe it away
"Troublesome." He muttered
"If that were your brother you would react the same way." I retorted
Iruka finally got control of the class and began talking "As of today you are all ninjas from here you face difficult trials and hardships, but that's nothing. What comes next will be far more difficult . Now you are only genin first level ninjas. All the genin will be grouped into three man squads, each squad will be lead by a jounin an elite ninja."
After Iruka announced that many of the students began to talk and mutter to each other. I had already figured something like this would occur after all we cannot be expected to go out completely unsupervised and with no experience in the field. We would just be cannon fodder to the dangers outside the village. I had not thought much on who I would want to be on a team with, though I considered that my brother and shikamaru or maybe even Naruto would be the easiest to get along with, but that's not what these teams would be for. The teams would more than likely be paired on skills, both physical and mental, the best paired with the worst in each category.
"We want each squad to have a balance of strengths and abilities. So that's how we set them up. I will now announce the squads." Iruka announced looking at a stack of papers that must have had the list
I didn't really listen to the other squads, only keeping an ear out for my name. I figured it was unlikely that I would be on Shikamaur's team dispite how easy it would be for us to get along, more likely he would be on a team with his long time friend Choji Akimichi and the loud blonde Ino Yamanaka because of their fathers famed Ino-Shika-Cho trio. The three clans had worked together for generations and they worked well. Their teamwork was often flawless and each brought a quality that covered their teammates weakness.
I listen halfheartedly the first six teams not catching my attention at all until...
"Squad seven Naruto Uzumaki, Kaya Uchiha, and Sasuke Uchiha." Iruka called
Naruto seemed both excited and disappointed at the team pairing, most likely because he wasn't with Sakura and was with me and Sasuke. Sasuke on the other hand looked indifferent though I could tell he was both annoyed and relieved because he wouldn't have to be on a team with any of his fangirls, but would be on a team with Naruto.
"Next squad eight Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame." Iruka called
I thought over this squad placing and came to the conclusion that they would most likely excell in tracking and recovering, and search and rescue type missions with Hinata's byakugan, Shino's bugs, and Kiba's nose it was obvious.
"Now squad ten Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi those are all the squads." Iruka announced
It wasn't surprising to find I was correct on Shikamaru's fate and leveled him with a simpathetic glance while he would do well with the members on his team Ino would more than likely be a pain to deal with.
"My apologies on being stuck with Ino." I murmured softly to him not looking away from Iruka
"Thanks. Sorry you're stuck with the loudmouth idiot and your jerk of a brother. That's gonna be troublesome." Shikamaru droned back
"More than likely, but I have a plan on behavior modification that has a sixty-seven percent chance of working and a few back up plans in case it fails. I will be fine once I can get them to stop arguing and work together." I replied easily
"Hey Iruka sensei why does a great ninja like me have to be in the same group as a slug like Sasuke?!" Naruto yelled pointing and standing up
Iruka hmmed in annoyance and looked up from his papers "Sasuke had scores equal to Kaya's and both had the best of all the graduating students. Naruto you had the worst scores." Iruka explained causing the other students to laugh at him "To create a balanced squad we put the best students with the worst student."
This made Naruto mad and whine in anger. Then Sasuke just had to say "Just don't get in my way Loser." making Naruto angrier.
They then proceeded to fight and argue and I sighed already tired and getting a headache from it.
"I wish you all the luck in the world, you're gonna need it." Shikamaru said leaning back
I just sighed in agreement, this may be more difficult than I anticipated.
Iruka cleared his throat to get the classes attention and said "After lunch you'll meet your new jounin teachers until then class dismissed."
I sighed and considered what to do. If I could somehow get the two together and eat peacefully it would benefit us to learn at least a little bit about each other, but it would be a waste of time if the boys only spent the whole time fighting. The likelihood of the former happened was slim to none and at any rate Naruto would chase after Sakura and Sasuke would be hiding away from his fan club.
"You wanna eat with my squad?" Shikamaru asked as he got up
"While your proposal is generous and I appreciate it, it would be counter productive to both our squads if I were to join you. The time before we meet our jounin leader should be used discussing our interests, strengths, weaknesses, our styles in fighting and how they can work together or how they need to be modified to work better together. If I were to join you my squad will not get together at all, though the likelihood even with me is slim to none and more than likely they will only fight and your squad would feel uncomfortable giving away clan secrets to a complete outsider with no connection to them other than a friend of a friend. I would not wish to hamper your success as a squad and therefore lead to getting you killed if faced immediately with a fight that you could not hope to win alone. I therefore reject your offer, but hope we can still remain friends and perhaps catch up at a later date." I explained softly
"Man what a drag you could have just said no rather than explain it all. Someday your logic will get you killed you know? Stop thinking so much all the time. Later." Shikamaru said walking off with Ino and Choji
I knew Sasuke would go into an abandoned classroom on one of the upper floors and Naruto would first go after Sakura and after being rejected would go to the roof. I sought out Sasuke first, he was my brother and if I could present the right argument I could probably temporarily persuade him to call a truce with Naruto. He was exactly where I expected him to be, but I noticed Naruto sneaking around to the window.
"Hey what do you two idiots think you're doing?" I asked entering the room
Naruto froze and Sasuke glared at me, but there was not as much ice or anger in it as there would be for anyone else.
"Naruto I realize you like Sakura, in fact it's pretty obvious to everyone, but attacking Sasuke will not cause her to suddenly like you. In fact I have no idea why you bother with her when their are others who like you the way you are right now. And Sasuke I know that you didn't want to be on a squad at all, I know you feel we'll bring you down, but there's a very specific reason that ninja are put on teams. Teamwork is the most fundamental tool all ninja must learn, without it you will not be able to do missions as effectively and you and your teammates will die. If we cannot learn to tolerate each other and put aside our differences to work together we will fail, we will not be worthy of the title ninja, and we will die." I stated as the two boys had the decency to look sheepish and slightly ashamed
"I'm sorry Kaya-chan, but Sasuke!" Naruto began
"But Sasuke nothing! Either work together or die alone! Those are the options! Out there in the field enemy ninja will not wait for you to recover, they will not hold back because we are kids, to them we are in the way of their goal when we are on a mission, your teammates are necessary to cover you while you are down, to help you when you are in over your head or injured, and to give you time to plan or execute a maneuver that would otherwise get you killed without the distraction. Do you understand now? We are genin, the ants of the ninja world, we are nothing compared to Chunin or Jounin, we are even less to S-class criminals that we may face. Alone we will fail, we will fall, and we will die, together we may stand a chance of survival slim though it may be." I stated glaring at them both
For the next few minutes no one said anything to each other we just sat silently eating until "Hey Kaya-chan?" Naruto asked looking at me
I hummed letting him know I was listening, but my mouth was full.
"I'm sorry about earlier, could we maybe...start over?" Naruto asked
This got both my and Sasuke's attention, though I suspect Sasuke would never admit to it.
"Of course. Ask me anything and I'll answer to the best of my ability." I nodded after I swallowed my food
"Oh! Um...you're related to Sasuke right?" Naruto asked though Sasuke's name still came out a little bitter
"Yes. He's my older brother." I answered now facing him wondering where this was going
"And you're an Uchiha right?" Naruto asked now sounding a little excited
"Yes." I said now getting that he would most likely be asking about my clan and our secrets and fighting styles
"So I was wondering..." Naruto trailed off, I could see Sasuke tensing
"You want to know about my clan and how we fight and maybe if I'd teach you correct?" I asked for confirmation closing my eyes
"Well yeah! I mean the Uchiha were considered to be really strong right? So I figure if I learned some of their really cool jutsu I could be an awesome ninja like they were!" Naruto announced loudly getting very excited
"While it is true that the Uchiha were considered as strong and elite ninja it does not mean that you should idolize or emulate them." I answered carefully knowing full well that what I had to say would more than likely upset Sasuke
"Huh? Why not?" Naruto asked confused
"The Uchiha were excellent ninja, that much is true, but they only specialized in select areas of the ninja world mostly dojutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu. Dojutsu being our sharingan, and ninjutsu and genjutsu should explain itself. While this made us excellent on offensive tactics and intel gathering missions it made us poor in other areas. A ninja must be well rounded and while it is ok to specialize in one area later on as a Jounin it is unwise to do so before that time as it can get you killed. Without the skills needed to defend or heal injuries on the battle field it is all too easy to get past a purely offensive ninja. Not only that, but many of our ninjutsu are copied or specified to our elemental type and chakra it would be in your best interest to come up with your own style or modify one to suit your strengths then to try and modify yourself to suit a style of fighting that you are unused to." I could see that I went a little over Naruto's head, but that some of it got through and Sasuke looked a little mad, but was grudgingly excepting that what I said was somewhat true of our clan
"So what you're saying is that you won't teach me your clan style because it may not suit me?" Naruto asked a hard thinking face in place
"Yes and it would be more productive to continue to create your own style that suits your strengths and covers your weaknesses as best as possible." I answered nodding somewhat proud that he was getting it
"Hey what weaknesses?! I am Naruto Uzumaki and as next Hokage I have no weaknesses!" Naruto yelled sounding offended
"Naruto everyone has a weakness, even the Hokage." I sighed exasperated
"Oh yeah what's yours and Sasuke's?" Naruto challenged
I smirked and snickered a bit "Sasuke's is his attitude and arrogance he will constantly underestimate his opponents and this will lead to him being injured more easily and people will be less willing to help him in those situations. Mine is in the way I over think everything. I will not make a move until I have calculated all probabilities and outcomes so that I may chose the best one. The problem in this is that I will not always have the time to do this and the best option may not always be available. It will lead to me being open for attack and it will mean that I may have to chose an unsavory outcome in order to survive."
Sasuke glared at me for the comments, but I kept his stare daring him to say I was wrong. We both knew I wasn't, but Sasuke wasn't ready to change yet.
"Yeah Sasuke is pretty arrogant, but I still don't see what you're getting at?" Naruto nodded confused
"Naruto your problem is that you don't think enough, you charge in without a plan and without an idea of what your opponent may do or their strength or weakness. This. Will. Get. Everyone. Killed. As your squad it is our job to go in with you, to defend you, and cover your back. With no plan and no idea of what we're up against our chances of survival are cut down to an uncertainty, but it is unlikely we will walk away unharmed if we walk away at all." I stated slowly to make sure it made the proper impact
Neither Sasuke or Naruto said anything else for the rest of our lunch and a few minutes later we were back in class waiting for our new sensei. We watched as one by one the different teams were picked up until ours was the last one.
"He's late." Naruto complained from the door as he looked down both ends of the hallway for our teacher
"Naruto come sit down. We can play a game to pass the time." I tried to entice to get him to calm down
"I don't want to. How come our teacher's the only one that's late? I'm ready to roll. Believe it." Naruto ranted annoyed "The other groups already met their new teachers and are off on some adventure or something and Iruka sensei is gone too."
"We know, but if you don't calm down and have some patience it will only seem longer." I tried to sooth
Naruto ignored me and proceeded to set up a trap for our sensei, a chalk eraser in the doorway designed to fall whenever someone came in or out.
"Naruto." I sighed tired
"What? That's what he gets for being late. Surprise!" He said getting off the stool he had to use to reach
"Naruto how is our sensei supposed to take us seriously if we act like impatient children?" I asked gently
"Hn our teacher's a Jounin, an elite ninja, you think he'd fall for that?" Sasuke asked dully
"You'd be surprised what someone is willing to do to get people to underestimate them so that they may have the advantage." I stated staring at the door
It was at that moment that a hand grabbed the door and a man with grey gravity defying hair poked his head in causing the chalk eraser to fall on his head in a cloud of white dust though it did nothing to discolor his hair.
Naruto started laughing hysterically and I could tell by Sasuke's face that he was underestimating our teacher already.
Our sensei hmmed to himself his hand on his chin as he said "How can I put this? My first impression of this group is that you're a bunch of idiots."
A blanket of rejection and depression fell on us, but I didn't take it personally first impressions were often wrong in personal settings and can easily be changed. We then proceeded to the roof where we all took a seat the Genin facing the Jounin.
"Alright why don't you introduce yourselves one at a time?" our sensei suggested lazily
"What exactly do you want us to say sensei?" I asked raising an eyebrow
"Just say things you like, things you hate, hobbies, and dreams for the future. Things like that." He said dully
"Why don't you tell us stuff first? I mean before we tell, tell us about you so we can see how it's supposed to work." Naruto suggested
"Me? I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate? I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future? Never really thought about it. As for hobbies, I have lots of hobbies." He answered in the same bored tone
It was a waste of time all we learned was his name and I could see the others weren't impressed either.
"Ok your turn you on the right, you first." Kakashi-sensei said crossing his arms
"Believe it. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I like instant ramen in a cup and I really like the ramen that Iruka-sensei got me at the Ichiraku noodle shop, but I hate the three minutes after you pour the water into the ramen cup. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them and my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will have to stop disrespecting me and treat me like I'm somebody, somebody important." Naruto said fiddling with his headband the whole time
"Alright next." Kakashi stated dully
"I am Kaya, Kaya Kokoro Uchiha. I like many things and though I dislike some things I cannot bring myself to hate anything or anyone. It is not in my nature to hate. My hobbies are studying, reading, and training. My dream...is not really a dream, perhaps goal or promise would be a better definition. I will protect my village, friends, allies and comrades with my life, I will keep my promise to a special someone, and I will never make the same mistakes as those who have come before me." I said quietly, but serious
Kakashi looked at me more focused then he had been this entire time, I suppose he was interested in what I had said after all there are not as many ninja, even in Konoha, who would say and do what I had said I would do.
"Last one." He stated looking at Sasuke the intensity still in his eyes
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and destroy a certain someone." Sasuke said deadly serious
I could tell by the look in Kakashi's eye that he was expecting something like this from both of us and that he was not amused or impressed and Naruto looked a little nervous.
"Good. You're each unique and you have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow." Kakashi announced
"What kind of mission will we have?" Naruto asked saluting Kakashi-sensei
"It's a task that the four of us will do together." Kakashi-sensei answered
"What?What?What?!" Naruto asked in quick succession
"A special survival exercise." Kakashi stated slowly
"Huh? Survival exercise?"Naruto asked
"We have done many survival exercises in the academy how will this be any different?" I asked trying to get information
"This will be different than your previous training like Kaya said." Kakashi stated in agreement with me
"So uh...so uh...what kind of training is it?" Naruto asked half raising his hand
Kakashi-sensei started laughing which unsettled all of us.
"It's a natural question. To get an idea of what we're up against, what we may need during this exercise and how to plan for it we need as much information as you are willing to give us so why are you laughing?" I asked narrowing my eyes
"Well if I tell you the answer you're not going to like it." Kakashi said still chuckling happily "Of the twenty seven graduates who just came here only nine will actually be excepted as genin the other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words this is a make it or break it pass fail test and the chance that you'll fail is at least sixty six percent. See didn't I tell you, you wouldn't like it?" Kakashi stated casually
"That's crazy we worked hard to get here believe it! What was that graduation test for anyway?!"Naruto yelled getting upset
"Oh that, that was just to select candidates who might become genin or not." Kakashi said as though it didn't even matter
"What!?" Naruto yelled even louder
"That's how it is. I decide whether you pass or fail be at the designated training spot at five am and bring your ninja gear. That's it your dismissed." Kakashi said turning away from us "Oh tomorrow you better skip breakfast or else you'll puke."
With that Kakashi left and we did too one after the other. When me and Sasuke got home we ate and then went to our separate rooms. I knew what Kakashi was trying to do, if we didn't eat we would be weaker and ninja had to learn what foods to eat on the road so as not to inhibit us if we were to have to fight. I packed all of my kunai, shuriken and ninja wire and on top I placed enough ration bars to feed me and Naruto and Sasuke. I went to sleep early so that I would be well rested. I only hoped I would be able to bring our team together long enough to get through this test.