"...Ghhh…C'mon," Susumu grunted as he struggled to pull his shoes on. His hands lacked the strength he was used to. After attempting for a while, he had to give up.

"…"

Taking a deep breath, a sigh of resignation escaped him, and he turned his hands over to examine them. They appeared completely normal, without any marks or scratches, and yet they weren't the same.

Susumu couldn't trust his body.

"Tch… Get it together!" He chided himself, clapping his hands over his cheeks to banish those thoughts. Leaning over, he tried once more to put on his shoes. His hands trembled, but with determined perseverance, he finally succeeded. Standing up, he grinned, casting a quick glance at the framed picture of his teammates. They returned from a long mission the other day and were supposed to meet him for lunch.

He looked at his wall clock for the time, putting his shoes on took way longer than he anticipated. He checked himself out in the mirror and secured his shoulder-length black hair in a half-ponytail. When he was happy with what he saw he grabbed the rest of his belongings, eager to leave.

As he reached the door, he hesitated, contemplating whether he should bring his cane.

"…" No, he decided against it, shutting the door firmly behind him. He headed to the restaurant, determined to show his teammates — and to himself, that he could manage without it, just as he used to.

"Yoooooo!" Ayame and Jun were already waiting by the restaurant entrance when Susumu arrived. So far, so good.

"Hey!" Susumu greeted Ayame, bumping fists with the blonde boy. He wasn't sure if Jun would reciprocate the gesture, so he awkwardly dropped his hand when he looked at her. "Er, so… How was the mission, to uh…the Sand Village?"

"It was… hot," Ayame replied.

Jun gave a nonchalant shrug, but Susumu expected that from her. Perfect, everything was back to normal.

"…Ok," Susumu motioned for them to go inside and find a table. "Let's eat!"

The hostess led them to a table and offered menus, but the trio had visited this place so often that they already knew their orders by heart.

"Nah, we're ready," Ayame said, taking a seat beside his sister. Susumu sat across from them, scooting all the way down the bench to make space.

"I'll send someone to take your orders," the hostess said before leaving them. The restaurant buzzed with conversation, but their table remained unusually quiet.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"I saw you three and knew exactly what you were going to order," the waitress arrived with steaming plates of food and set them on the table. "It's been ages since you've been here. Is that teacher of yours running late again?"

"…S-She's…" Susumu hesitated, forced to remember the absence of their mentor.

"She's not coming," Jun informed the waitress.

"Oh? Then I'll take this plate back—"

"NO!" Susumu quickly interjected, putting his hand out to stop her. "I-I mean… I'm really hungry." He picked up his chopsticks to prove it. The waitress left the table as it was and the three turned their attention to the food.

"…" Ayame tried to eat, but he found himself pushing the food around his plate. He glanced at the empty spot beside Susumu and the dish set for their missing teacher.

When Susumu realized the situation was in danger of becoming tense and uncomfortable, he forced a big grin, "Oh! I finished physical therapy while you were gone!" he announced.

"Really?" Ayame perked up and leaned forward excitedly, glad for the change in topic. "Did those doctors clear you? Think you'll be mission ready?"

"Yeah, after my last appointment they ended my medical leave; it'll be like nothing's changed," Susumu replied optimistically.

"…We're chuunin," Jun interjected, surprised that she had to bring up the matter. "You both know what that means, don't you?"

"W-What're you talking about?" Susumu knew they had kept their commission from the Hokage, but he hadn't considered the implications. He glanced at Ayame, hoping the blonde boy would counter his sister's claim.

"Teams with missing members are being restructured, and we don't have a mentor anymore," Jun explained, unaware the conversation required delicacy. "Since you're still a genin, you'll be placed with another genin team."

"..." Susumu's expression faltered. He brought food up to his mouth to eat and his hands started trembling again.

"Ah...Don't worry," Ayame attempted to mediate. "We haven't been reassigned or anything, yet,"

"Yet?!" Susumu couldn't help but react to the word and stood up in distress. "I-I mean..." He slowly sunk back down into the seat to avoid the stares from the other patrons. "They can't...It's not fair." He spoke in a low voice as he tried to stay calm.

"..." Jun sighed. It wasn't her intent to upset her teammate.

She never understood what to say in these situations, "Ayame's right, we haven't been reassigned," Jun echoed her brother's optimism since she didn't want to further ruin things. "But...I think it is something you should prepare for nonetheless,"

"..." Susumu just pursed his lips. It...really wasn't the same.

Past Prologue

"You guys have been awfully quiet," Yasu said, arching an eyebrow at her students, "Is something wrong?" No one spoke, and Ayame glanced at Susumu who nervously cleared his throat.

"…Well…" Ayame watched to see if his teammate would answer. Yasu brought her cup up to her mouth to drink, her lipstick stained the edges as she waited for him to continue.

"ARE YOU ENTERING US IN THE CHUUNIN EXAM THINGY I'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT?!" Susumu blurted out loudly, slamming his hands down on the table in a frenzy. His unexpected outburst made their teacher choke, and she coughed loudly as she tried to gather herself and avert the attention of everyone else in the restaurant.

"Yeah, yeah, are you entering us?" Ayame asked while Yasu set her cup on the table.

"…" Her icy blue eyes glared at them as she wiped away the splattered liquid from her chin.

"S-Sensei?" Susumu asked nervously.

"They usually don't let greenhorns like yourselves into the exams," Yasu said looking up in thought and her long blonde braid fell from her shoulders behind her back. Soon a smirk formed and she shook her head in amusement, "Hah…You'd fail the first test! Entering you into the exams…No, I hadn't even thought about doing that—"

"BUT YOU HAVE TO!" Susumu's amber eyes bulged with his loud retort.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Let us enter!" Ayame chimed in excitedly.

"Is this all of your idea?" Yasu asked leaning closer towards her students, she rested both elbows on the table and eyed them seriously, "You know, students have died in previous exams; these tests are dangerous…" Now even Jun looked up as her teacher spoke, "Do you all think you're ready for something like that?"

"I am," Susumu said first, "And with Ayame and Jun…with my team," he said looking at his teammates, brimming with confidence, "I'm sure we can win,"

"You don't have to win, you just have to pass," Ayame said rolling his eyes, "Man Susumu, you can't just follow up a cool saying with something stupid like that, it makes all of us look bad," he said crossing his arms; Susumu pouted, and soon that pout turned into irritation as he pointed a finger at Ayame.

"I don't see you convincing her, Ayame!"

"This was your idea!"

"Thank you for the meal, Sensei," as Ayame and Susumu continued bickering, Jun stood up, excusing herself from the table, "Good night," she added politely.

"No, no, no, I haven't heard anything from you Jun," Yasu said ushering her back down, "I want to know what you think, you'll probably give me the most reasonable answer,"

"Say we should enter!"

"Just tell her!"

"…I believe they are capable," she finished succinctly.

"Alright then," Yasu said standing up. "I'll enter your names first thing in the morning."

"BANZAI!" the two boys shouted, high-fiving each other.