"I'm going to teach you how to wield two shadow blades, Yoruka," Sayaka-Sensei started.

I groan quietly. "I'm going to have to learn how to do signs one-handed, aren't I."

Sayaka-Sensei looks surprised for a moment, then nods. "Yes, though I'm surprised you managed to guess the first step."

Great. One-handed signs are a Jonin skill. Uncle Shikaku is trying to surreptitiously get me to Jonin without my notice. I'm nearly there speed wise, and now I'm learning one more Jonin skill. I need to get into ANBU fast. "I'm assuming that's going to take more Chakra control than I have now?" I ask warily.

A sadistic grin spreads across Sayaka-Sensei's face. "Correct. Go through the katas I show you while keeping this leaf on your forehead. If it falls, you have to run a lap around the village." A cold sweat breaks out across my body. I am so not looking forward to this.

My fourteenth birthday came with a bitter cold front. Then again, cold in in Konoha was around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. 50 degrees is still a bitch on exposed toes, though. The limits to my loathing of shinobi sandals shall never be reached. Unfortunately, neither the cold nor my birthday were good enough excuses to skip morning practice with Team 12, especially since Ryu-Sensei was back from his mission.

I grinned and slipped a note I had written the night before into the pocket of my green hoodie (Apparently, the Chunin vest doesn't come in a size small enough for me), recalling the familiar moves of the hawk-masked ANBU. The note reads, 'You should totally recommend me for ANBU ;) -Yoruka.' I figure Ryu-Sensei will find it funny.

I walk down stairs to find Aunt Yoshino and Uncle Shikaku waiting for me with a package. Aunt Yoshino smiles kindly at me as Uncle Shikaku hands me the package. I glance at it curiously, then Uncle Shikaku motions for me to hurry up and open it.

I rip the paper off. In my hands lays a swath of folded tan fabric. Shinobi grade, by the feel of it. I unfold it, I see that it's actually a long, loose coat with the typical short sleeves of a Nara coat. I turn it around to see the symbol emblazoned in dark green across the back.

I grin at my aunt and uncle. "I guess I'm finally a full member of the clan?"

Uncle Shikaku laughs. "I've been waiting to give you a coat since the Chunin Exams, kiddo. I decided to hold off until your 14th birthday though, so you weren't seen as too much of a prodigy."

I quickly slip out of my hoodie, pulling the note out. Then, I throw the coat over my black shirt and slip the note into one of the interior pockets. The jacket goes down to just below my knees, I'm pleased to note. "I love it," I say as I slip out of the house.

I hear Aunt Yoshino's sigh of "She's growing up so fast," as I make my way down the path. A side effect of having the Lynx summons for as long as I have is heightened senses, I've learned. Incidentally, my incisors have gotten sharper too.

I make my way to the training grounds, enjoying the feeling of my new coat swish around my legs.

The village is peaceful this early in the morning, and I find myself looking forward to the customary birthday lunch.

I arrive at the training ground at the scheduled time to find Hana, Itachi, and Ryu-Sensei waiting for me. Hana bounds up to me in her usual jubilation. "Happy Birthday, Yoruka!" She smiles gleefully at me.

Itachi, who is much more reserved, approaches at a more sedate pace. "Happy birthday," he says as he gives me a small grin.

I smile at them. "Thanks, guys!" I reply.

Ryu-Sensei coughs pointedly. We sheepishly turn to look at him. It's like we never were promoted, I think fondly.

"Right, today we'll be starting with a free for all anything goes spar, then more specialized training for each of you," he informs us. For all that he isn't our Jonin Sensei anymore, he still acts like it. I'm not complaining, though. It's nice having a functional adult in your life that's not your primary caretaker, after all. And while Kakashi and Obito are adults, there is no definition of functional that they fit.

We spread out across the field, Hana and her ninkin lightly bouncing with suppressed energy, Itachi calm and focused, Ryu-Sensei unreadable as ever, and me in a state of pre-battle relaxation that the Naras are so known for. Ryu-Sensei gives the signal and we begin. Hana, Itachi, and I decide to target Ryu-Sensei together. We work like a well oiled machine, Hana running up and keeping Ryu-Sensei distracted with taijutsu, Itachi covering her with skillful application of ninjutsu, and me trying to ensnare him with my shadow. The strategy is one of my own making, and on anyone else would have worked. Unfortunately, Ryu-Sensei knows us too well.

Ryu-Sensei bats away one of Hana's ninkin and Itachi in one fell swoop. I break Itachi's and the dog's fall then move to engage Ryu-Sensei with kenjutsu. My speed has been increasing incrementally, so it takes him by surprise as I block one of his chakra blocking blows from hitting Hana with a shadow blade.

I whirl around Ryu-Sensei, looking for an opening as Itachi jumps back into the fight. There! One of the Haimaru brothers nipped Ryu-sensei's heel, and he stumbled! I move to pin him with a shadow, when he grabs Hana and swings her into me. Damn!

"You know..." drawls Ryu-Sensei, "when I said free for all I was expecting more interfighting." I huff out a laugh, then launch Hana in his direction using a variant of the Shadow Sewing Technique.

Itachi follows, releasing a fireball in front of him. Ryu-Sensei ducks under Hana, and catches Itachi in the stomach. "Itachi's out!" Ryu-Sensei calls. He must have knocked him unconscious.

I spin around Hana, and summon a second shadow blade in my off hand. It's not quite as stable as the one in my left hand, but it's enough of a surprise to get the job done. The second blade emerging from my right hand throws Ryu-Sensei off enough to where I can slip the note in his pocket without him noticing, but it doesn't keep him from knocking me back right after.

Hana breaks out an Inuzuka technique when she realizes I've fallen back. Her speed and strength increase tremendously as she and her dogs are shrouded by a red aura. Ryu-Sensei is put on the defensive for a moment but quickly begins to adjust. He's completely focused on Hana though, a perfect opportunity. I catch him with my Shadow Imitation Jutsu, and he freezes. "Hana, now!" I call.

Hana holds a kunai to Ryu-sensei's throat. "Surrender," she demands playfully.

Ryu-Sensei sighs. "Fine, I surrender." Then he moves off to the side with Itachi, who has gained consciousness while I was distracted.

Hana, still using her Inuzuka technique, is on me in a flash. Despite my training with Shisui, like this, Hana is still faster than me. She's always been stronger than me, so I need distance. I rush through the handsigns for Lightning Release: Discharge to cover my retreat.

Hana is moving too fast for my shadow to catch her, so I abandon that strategy and instead focus on drawing a large group of shadows together without her notice. I lure her into my trap, then spring it. I grin as spears of shadow anchor her in place, but then I remember something. Shit, I forgot about the Ninkin!

Right as I had that thought the three Haimaru brothers tackle me to the ground and start licking my face. I try to suppress it, but uncontrollable laughter bubbles it's way out of my mouth. "I yield," I gasp.

The shadows recede from Hana, and she rubs the spots they hit. "That's a really weird sensation," she says as her dogs get off of me.

Arashi poofs into existence onto my desk. He's holding something in his mouth. Something that looks suspiciously like a kitten, but I already have two primary summons so it can't be a kitten, right? Turns out it is a kitten. Arashi sets it down on my desk. "This is Sawagi. The queen likes you, so you get to raise another summons. Have fun!" Arashi poofs out of existence. I eye the kitten in my desk.

"I'm Yoruka," I introduce myself to the baby lynx. Sawagi just yawns at me and curls up to sleep.

The Hokage calls me in a few weeks later, I figure it's for a dangerous mission so I unsummon Sawagi. He's still to young for anything other than D and C ranked missions. I enter his office through the door, I'm not a heathen. (Looking at you, half the Jonin and Chunin in Konoha.) Hana, Itachi, a man in a green jumpsuit that could only be Maito Gai, a brown haired man with a faceplate that might be Yamato, and a lady who looks remarkably like Hana are already there. Minato nods at me but doesn't begin speaking, so he's probably waiting for more shinobi to show up.

I go to stand by Hana and Itachi as Ryu-Sensei arrives. He shoots us a worried look, so he probably knows more about whatever mission we're about to get assigned than we do.

We wait in tense silence until Shisui stumbles in. The older boy might be powerful, but he's so good at the clumsy facade he puts on that sometimes it's hard to tell what's real or not. Asuma walks in a few seconds later.

A solid five minutes pass until a brunette man with a bandana style hitai-ite and a senbon stuck between his teeth slips through the window. Minato looks resigned to his fate as a breeze blows an entire stack of paper of his desk. "Wow," the brunette, who might be Shiranui Genma, drawls, "You really need to invest in like a paper weight or something, Hokage-Sama."

Minato just shoots than man a glare. "Shut up, Genma," he says exasperatedly.

I overhear a whispered "herding cats," from Asuma and I think about telling him I can summon cats, but I think it'll probably be better not to.

A full fucking hour passes and the older shinobi get more an more annoyed until Obito slips through the window with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, a cat got stuck in a tree."

Minato just sighs.

"Uh, Hokage-sama?" Genma starts to ask.

"We're waiting on Kakashi, Genma," Minato says in a tone that shows that he is definitely regretting his life choices.

Half an hour passes, when we finally hear the window open. The entire room turns to simultaneously glare at Kakashi. "Maa..." he starts, "I forgot to set my alarm." I look out the window. It's fucking midday. The worst part is, with an absolutely dysfunctional man like Kakashi, no one can tell if he's bullshitting or not.

The Hokage breathes in through his nose, then out. "Since we're all here," a pointed look at both Obito and Kakashi, "we can get started." Everyone stands a little straighter at that. "There's been reports of suspicious activity in fire country and intelligence thinks it smells of Orochimaru. Yoruka, Itachi, Hana, and Ryu will be acting as bait/trackers to find and lure Orochimaru out of his hiding spot. Rumor has it, he wants the Sharingan. Kakashi, you'll be leading a team of Gai, Yamato, and Shisui tailing the tracker team to spring the trap on Orochimaru. How you do it is up to you. Obito, Genma, Asuma, and Tsume, you'll be back up. Using Obito's and Kakashi's Kamui, it should be pretty easy for backup to arrive in time. Any questions?"

We shake our heads no. "Excellent! Pack for a mission and meet at the front gates in an hour's time. Oh, and Obito, Kakashi? Be on time." Minato finishes.