"I guess I survived the first semester," Rin yawned as he walked down the steps of the academy.
"You did good Rin," Sakura smiled.
"What about you? You came really late," Rin said. "Did you manage to catch up?"
"I did fine," Sakura answered. "I was one of the top students in my class."
"Cool," Rin muttered.
"Hey Okumura!" Konekomaru called.
"Hey Konekomaru," Rin greeted.
"Hi guys," Sakura smiled, waving at them.
"Sakura!" Shima shouted, running up to her. "How have you been?"
"I've been fine Shima," Sakura smiled.
"Don't hit on her," Rin growled.
"So I guess all the regular students are going home for summer break," Konekomaru commented.
"You guys are from Kyoto right?" Rin asked. "Man that place sounds so cool."
"What are you talking about? It's just like any other town," Suguro replied.
"I kinda wanna check it out," Sakura confessed.
"Well you're welcome to join us if you want," Shima said flirtingly.
"Thanks Shima," Sakura smiled.
"Unfortunately, we don't even know if we get to go home yet," Shima sighed.
"Will you be going home if we can?" Suguro asked the pink-haired girl.
"No, I'll be staying here at the academy with Rin and Yukio," Sakura answered.
"Look," Shima muttered, pointing at Izumo.
"Who's that?" Sakura asked.
"Paku, she was a student but quit before the Exwire exam," Rin told her. "She's Izumo's friend."
"I see," Sakura hummed.
"I know you're super busy, but if you get the time, you should come home," Paku smiled.
"If I feel like it, yeah," Izumo agreed.
"You're heading home for the break to huh," Shima asked. "It's gonna be lonely here."
"I'll see you guys next semester," Paku smiled.
"Hope you have a good break," Rin told her.
"If you ever get the urge to hear my voice again, you can call me, day or night," Shima offered, giving her his cell phone number.
"You're such a moron!" Izumo shouted.
"You're funny," Paku laughed.
"I'm sure you're all excited about summer vacation, well you'll have to put that on hold," Yukio smiled. "For the next three days you lucky Exwires will participate in a field drill at the Academy's training grounds in the forest."
"The academy has a training ground in the forest?" Sakura gasped. "Why didn't you ever tell me, Yukio-chan!?"
"I…I'm sorry," Yukio replied nervously. "Anyway, I'll be coming along, as well as Miss Kirigakure."
"Yahoo," Shura greeted blankly, waving her hand.
"Now the purpose of this training is to determine whether or not you're ready to go out on missions. So stay sharp," Yukio told them.
The group stood at the edge of a forest.
"Yeah! This is going to be so rad! Like going on a picnic!" Rin cheered.
"Picnic? Are you kidding? We're camping!" Sakura cheered. The siblings slapped their palms together and cheered. "Oh man! I love the forest! It almost feels like I'm back home." Sakura cheered and jumped onto a tree branch.
"I can see us now hanging out around the camp fire, sharing stories, learning folk dances, this is going to be awesome," Shima smiled. A spider innocently spun its web and dropped down next to Shima. The pink-haired male shrieked and began shouting for it to get away. He got out a can of bug spray and began to spray it on himself.
"Is he going to be okay?" Rin asked.
"Shima's always had a hard time around bugs," Konekomaru replied.
"He's afraid of bugs?" Sakura asked. She swung on the branch so she hung upside down. Her chakra was in her feet, sticking her to the tree.
"How the hell are you doing that?" Suguro shouted.
"Simple chakra manipulation, and no you can't do it," Sakura said quickly, seeing the look in Rin's eyes. She let go of the branch and flipped onto the ground. "Now answer the damn question! Is Shima afraid of bugs?"
"Uh yeah," Suguro nodded. Sakura's face split into a huge grin. But it wasn't just any grin.
"I know that look, what are you planning?" Rin asked. He was smiling and practically hopping in his spot.
"I have this friend back at the village. He has a thing for bugs. Thousands, he owns thousands of 'em! I wanna introduce Shino to Shima!" Sakura smiled.
"Introducing him to some guy that likes bugs isn't gonna scare him," Suguro sighed. "Now if the bugs were in the guy's body that would be a different story."
"They are," Sakura said bluntly. The three guys jumped back in shock.
"Are you kidding?" Rin gasped.
"Nope," Sakura answered, shaking her head. "I'm serious. I can't get into the specifics since it's a village secret and telling would mean death, but bugs live in his body. It's his clan's specialty."
"Remind me to never go to your village," Rin muttered. Sakura chuckled and jumped onto a tree branch. She jumped over to Yukio and dropped down beside him.
"Hello otouto!" She greeted, hugging him. "Have I told you how much I love you yet?"
"No, and what do you want?" Yukio asked.
"Tell me where the campsite is and I'll meet you there," Sakura said.
"Sorry kid, the forest is set up for the drill, can't let you get a sneak peak," Shura told her.
"Aw man, that sucks," Sakura groaned.
"It's so hot," Shima groaned.
"My pack's heavy," Konekomaru sighed.
"During the day the forest is peaceful, but at night it becomes a hot bed for lower level demons. We have to set up camp before the sun sets," Yukio told him. "Let's pick up the pace."
"Look at that guy, isn't he hot in that coat?" Suguro muttered.
"You heard him, hurry up," Shura called from the back.
"Um…ma'am…where's your back pack?" Shima asked, noticing the fact that she wasn't carrying anything.
"Over there," Shura answered, nodding to Rin. The half-demon was laughing and had his hands in a small waterfall.
"It's so cold! Is it good enough to drink?" Rin asked.
"I get the feeling that Okumura's energy is supernatural," Shima muttered.
"Hey, where's Haruno?" Suguro asked.
"I don't see her anywhere," Shima said, looking around. "Mr. Okumura, we've lost someone!" Yukio paused and looked back at them. He noticed that his elder sister was gone and sighed.
"Shura, did you see where she went?" Yukio asked.
"Nope," Shura answered.
"Did Miss Haruno get lost?" Shiemi asked.
"That is truly insulting," Sakura sighed. The group jumped and saw her sitting on a tree branch.
"Where'd you go?" Rin asked his sister.
"I've been with you guys the whole time," Sakura sighed. "I'm just traveling the way that I do best, through the trees."
"Please get down here and stick with the group," Yukio requested.
"Alright, fine," the pinkette huffed. She jumped out of the tree and landed perfectly. "You're such a kill joy."
"We're here," Yukio announced, placing his pack down. The students fell to the ground, panting. Rin set his pack down and sat down, smiling. Sakura stayed standing, not even phased by the hike.
"Wow, you guys are pathetic," Sakura muttered. "You're out of breath from a little walk like that?"
"Shut the hell up! How have you not broken a sweat yet?" Suguro shouted.
"Haven't you learned anything, Suguro? My physical abilities far surpass yours," Sakura said.
"This will be our base camp," Yukio announced. "The boys and I are going to get started setting up the tents and building a fire. While we're doing that, Miss Kirigakure and the girls will draw a magic circle around the perimeter and get dinner started." Yukio took off his black over coat and nodded. Instead of being covered in sweat like the students expected him to be he was perfectly fine. "Let's get started."
"He finally took his coat off," Suguro muttered.
"Look out, someone's come to party," Shima smirked.
"This is starting to feel more and more like a picnic," Rin smiled, tapping the tent.
"It's camping, not a picnic," Suguro huffed. "And will you stop hitting the tent like that or it's gonna-." Before he could even finish his sentence the tent collapsed. "See! What'd I tell you!"
Over with the girls Shiemi laughed. "They seem to be having fun."
"This is just pathetic," Sakura sighed. She dropped her paint brush and walked over to them. "Move over," She sighed, pushing Rin back. Without a word she assembled the tent in no time, leaving Rin and Suguro stunned. "Now don't knock it down this time."
"How'd you do that so fast?" Suguro asked.
"Oh, uh, I guess you could say I camp a lot. We don't normally set up tents but it's still good to know how to do it," Sakura explained. "Now, can I leave you or will you just get into more trouble?"
"What? I'm not gonna get into trouble!" Rin shouted.
"Keep an eye on him," Sakura told Suguro. She walked back to the girls and picked up her paint brush as if nothing happened.
"Ouch!" Izumo hissed as she cut her thumb on the blade of a knife. Shiemi stared at a box of food in curiosity, not knowing what to do with it. Shura had her back turned to them as she was playing a video game, muttering moves and curses under her breath. Sakura huffed and bit a carrot.
"I can't take it anymore," Rin groaned. "Give me that." He grabbed the carrot from Sakura's hand and broke off the part she had chewed on, handing it back to her. The Exwires looked on in awe as Rin expertly prepared their meal.
"Thanks for the meal!" they said. Everyone took a bite and was shocked at the taste.
"Man! This is unbelievable!" Suguro gasped.
"If you ever wanted to switch sides, you would make someone an awesome wife," Shima complimented.
"You are really an amazing cook Okumura," Konekomaru said.
"It's so yummy Rin!" Shiemi smiled, taking another bite.
"Thanks guys," Rin chuckled.
"Cooking is actually the only valuable skill my poor brother has," Yukio laughed.
"Shut it you four-eyed mole-face," Rin grumbled.
"I disagree, Rin's a great fighter," Sakura smiled.
"Ah really?" Rin gasped.
"Uh-huh…" Sakura nodded. "You remind me of a friend of mine. A total idiot but grade A fighter."
"What!?" Rin shouted in disbelief. The others laughed at his expense.
"This is so good I could eat plate after plate," Konekomaru smiled.
"I had no idea you could eat so much Miss Moriyama," Shima commented.
"I can't help it!" Shiemi replied. She swallowed the food in her mouth and grabbed another spoonful of curry. "It just tastes so good!"
"So, one is smart, one is a fighter, and the other is a good cook," Suguro hummed.
"Hey! I'll have you know that I was ranked second in my class at my old school!" Sakura shouted.
"I have to say that Sakura seems to be more of a mix of her brothers," Shima laughed.
"I'm not a mix of them! I'm the oldest! They're a separation of me!" Sakura told him.
"Can you even cook? You didn't even look like you were trying," Suguro muttered.
"I can cook just as well as the next person, I just knew that Rin was a whole lot better," Sakura defended, her cheeks turning pink. Suguro shrugged and turned back to his meal, taking another bite. Sakura reached down for her drink and took a sip. She paused and looked at the label.
"Hey, you aren't supposed to drink that," Shura told her. Sakura noticed that there was an empty beer can next to her teacher.
"Neither are you," Sakura said with a smirk. "You're 18, right?" She tipped her head back and downed the rest of the can in just a few gulps. "Ah! Beer is good but I personally think wine and sake are the better choice."
"Man! You are my type of girl," Shura laughed. She pulled two more cans out of the tattoo on her abdomen and handed one to Sakura. "If anyone asks you stole it."
"Gotcha," Sakura winked, opening the can.
"Hey Okumura! We've got some drinks over here! What do you want?" Suguro called from the cooler.
"It's cool! I'll pick one out myself," Rin smiled. He set down his plate and ran over to them.
"Sakura, you want anything?"
The pinkette hid her can and shook her head. "Thanks but, I'm good."
"Suit yourself," Rin muttered, shrugging his shoulders.
"So, how are you enjoying it here?" Shura asked. "You adjusting? You looked pretty nervous in the bus earlier."
"I'm fine," Sakura smiled. "I'm adjusting fine. It's just taking longer than expected to get used to the transportation. Back home you either walked or went by horse or cart. Everything else is the same as back home, just a little more updated."
"Well that's good," Shura nodded, sipping her beer.
"One thing I don't think I'll get used to is the stars," Sakura said. She looked up at the night sky with a faraway look in her eyes. "Back home you could see entire galaxies. Here the night sky is so empty."
"This must be nothing compared to your home," Shura muttered, looking up as well.
"It's still nice," Sakura smiled.
"Look out!" A voice shouted. Without turning around Sakura caught a can of soda flying straight for her head. She set the can down and ate the last bite of her curry. She jumped and turned to them with a smirk. She held the soda and began shaking it.
"Run," Rin gulped. The boys shouted and laughed as Sakura chased after them.
"You know, for being someone that can kill you a thousand different ways, she sure is a kid," Shura said to Yukio.
"I'm glad they get the chance to act so carefree," Yukio smiled.
"Okay listen up, I'm gonna explain the drill," Yukio said.
"Yeah, it's a real test of courage, I dare ya!" Shura laughed, a beer can in her hand. Her cheeks were pink and there were empty cans around her.
"You shouldn't be drinking on the job," Yukio sighed.
"Piece of cake! I'm good at tests," Sakura laughed. Her cheeks were pink as well. She smiled and raised her beer can, drinking from it. She blinked and turned to Shura. "H-How do you win?"
"Don't piss your pants and faint out of fear," Shura told her.
"I was right, that does seem easy! Piece of cake!" Sakura laughed. She finished her own can and frowned when nothing came out. "It's empty."
"Nee-san!" Yukio gasped.
"Holy shit," Rin muttered. "Our sister is drunk."
"Wait a minute! Miss Kirigakure is 18! And Sakura's 16! They're minors!" Suguro shouted.
"Nu-uh! How dares you accuses us!" Sakura shouted. "Idiot!" She tossed her empty can at him. Suguro ducked to avoid the can. "In my village as long as you is a shinobi and you's six…six…my age you can drink! I am perfectly legal! Some shinobi even get stronger while their drunk!"
"Miss Kirigakure said she was 18?" Yukio asked. "This year will be her twenty si-" Yukio's words came to a halt when Shura chucked her can at his head.
"Oops, my hand slipped," she muttered.
"Cut the shit and get to work already," Yukio growled darkly. He gasped and cleared his throat.
"Lookie! I mad him made!" Shura laughed. "Wait a minute…'s not right."
"And you shouldn't be drinking! You're not in Konoha anymore," Yukio scolded his elder sister. The pinkette paused in sipping her newly opened can.
"Aw…but I like it," Sakura pouted.
"No more alcohol!" Yukio shouted.
"Fine, killjoy…" Sakura muttered. She pouted and handed her new can to Shura. The knight eagerly took it and gulped it down.
"Anyway…here's the rundown of the drill," Yukio said, getting back on topic. "You're going to spread out and find three lanterns that are hidden somewhere in the forest. The lanterns are located within a five hundred meter radius of camp. Whoever can light a lantern and bring it back in the next three days will be eligible to go on actual combat missions." This grabbed the attention of the Exwires. "However, as I said before, there are only three lanterns, which means there are only three permissions and three slots available."
"Sneaky," Sakura muttered with a small smirk.
"Now, I'll tell you what's in your shoulder bag," Yukio said, holding up one of the bags. "You'll find three days worth of food, water, and other necessities. You will also find a compass, a flashlight, one demon repelling bottle rocket and one match. By relying on your strengths and abilities to the fullest you'll find yourself on the path to success.
"Now, as I mentioned earlier, the forest is overrun with lower level demons at night. With your current knowledge and abilities you have a slim chance of completing this mission successfully." He held up the rocket that was in the pack. "If you think that you're in danger light this demon repelling bottle rocket and either Miss Kirigakure or I will come find you."
"Um…" Izumo raised her hand. "Is there a reason why we're only getting one match?"
"If you use it to light the rocket you can't use it to light the lantern, so you should think very carefully about using it," Yukio warned them.
"Sakura, I'm afraid you'll have to sit this drill out and will be ineligible for a permission slot," Yukio announced. "You are drunk and unable to perform at your potential."
"Check your facts again, little bro," Sakura said with a smirk. She stood up and pushed herself onto her hands. She walked on her hands, moving in a straight line. She pushed herself up and flipped back into an upright position. The Exwires were shocked at her clarity and stability despite her drinking. She didn't even look the slightest bit nauseas. "I'm completely sober."
"I am falling in love," Shima sighed, looking at Sakura with hearts in his eyes.
"How did you do that? You were just drunk off your ass," Suguro muttered in shock.
"That's a secret," Sakura said with a wink. "So can I join them or what?"
"Fine, if you feel that you're able," Yukio sighed.
"So all we have to do is find a lantern, light it and bring it back? That's supposed to be a challenge?" Rin muttered. Shura laughed and wrapped her hand around his shoulder. She muttered something in his ear and then pulled him away from the group.
When Rin returned his excitement was gone and he looked a bit more serious.
"You were all excited a minute ago, what happened?" Suguro teased. "You're not chickening out, are ya?"
"As if," Rin shouted.
"Bon, I've been thinking," Konekomaru muttered. "This drill is designed to make us compete. But if we do that…"
"We'll be at each other's throats," Izumo finished.
"They're not giving us a choice," Suguro said. "From here on out it'll be every person for themselves. There'll be no helping each other."
"He's right, there are all of us and only three slots, I kinda like those odds," Izumo smirked.
"Guess it's settled, sorry guys," Shima smiled.
"You guys are idiots," Sakura sighed.
"What did you say?" Suguro growled.
"If you can't see the true purpose of this drill then you're dumber than I thought," Sakura sighed. She slipped her bag on and shook her head. "But if that's how you want to play then fine. Stay the hell out of my way." Sakura turned her back to them and stood at the edge of the circle.
"What's her problem?" Suguro muttered. Rin ran over to Sakura and patted her on the shoulder.
"Hey sis," he greeted.
"Hi Rin," Sakura greeted softly.
"Did you do something like this before?" Rin asked.
"Yeah, twice. And I failed the first time," Sakura sighed. "It was designed to make us think about why we were put on three-man squads. Do you ever go into battle alone? Why do you think they put you in teams? If you can figure it out, give me a call."
"Alright," Rin nodded.
"Get into positions!" Yukio shouted. The Exwires ran to the edges of the circle, spacing out evenly. "Ready!" He raised his gun into the air. The Exwires leaned forward, ready to start their search. Yukio pulled the trigger on his gun and with a resounding bang the students ran into the forest.