Title: Definitely Emotional
Summary: Kokoro meets her new team and has a talk.
"What is she doing here?" Enkai screeched as he pointed a finger at Kokoro. His hair was still a dark-blue, but it was longer and shaggier. His eyes were still milky white in color and they were still glaring at her. Today, he was not wearing the abundance of bandages he wore when they fought. His arms and legs were on display, showing that his skin was not tan like she originally thought, but a light gray. Kokoro wondered if when his skin tanned, did it turn a darker gray color? His body was still slim, but it looked like he was starting to fill out.
"I could say the same thing," she muttered under her breath.
"You got something to say, Hatake?" Enkai growled.
She opened her mouth to rebuttal but remembered what Masumi told her right before they arrived. Despite her dislike for the boy, she didn't want to argue with him and start off on a bad foot with her new team. Junichiro was easy to get along with, and judging by his reaction to their arrival, he was excited to have her as his teammate. It was Enkao who she'd have to gain the approval of. So, she took a long, deep breath and proceeded to ignore the jabs he sent her way as punishment for ignoring him.
"Enkai," Masumi said sternly. "Kokoro is your new teammate, and I expect you to give her the same courtesy you give me and Junichiro. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sensei," he muttered under his breath.
"Loud and clear, Enkai," they demanded.
He took a breath and then shouted, "Yes, sensei!"
"Good," Masumi said. "It would do us no good to be fighting amongst ourselves. Junichiro. Enkai. I understand that we lost an important person, and I know that it still hurts. Kokoro is part of our team now. She is not a replacement. Rather, she is a different piece. It will take some time to build a team dynamic well enough to go on missions, so we need to be patient with ourselves and with each other."
Once Masumi was finished, Junichiro bounced over to Kokoro, put his hands on her shoulders, and started shaking her. All the while, he said, "I'm so happy you're our new teammate, Roke! I thought for sure we'd have some lowland!"
"I believe the word you're looking for is lowlife, Juro," Kokoro said affectionately. "I'm glad to be on your team, too."
"This is so awesome!" Junichiro shouted as he pumped his fists in the air.
Kokoro giggled at his antics before she looked at Masumi and admitted, "And I'm glad you're my sensei still, Masumi-sensei."
"Don't get too comfortable," Masumi said. "I'm not going to go easy on you."
"I know," Kokoro told them, "and I appreciate it." Then she turned to Enkai. She wanted to try to make amends since they were going to be on the same team together. She didn't want any bad blood between them, but she also knew it would take time to get on a good basis with him. "I'm willing to put the past behind me if you are."
Enkai scoffed and said, "Easy for you to say."
Kokoro sneered at him as he tried to walk away from her. With as much attitude as she could muster, she asked, "What's your problem?"
Enkai turned around and growled. "I can't believe you, of all people, are asking me that!"
"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked haughtily. "What could I have possibly done to get you to hate me so much?"
"Look, I know we have our differences, but we shouldn't fight," Junichiro tried to intervene.
"What could you have done?" Enkai repeated angrily. He took a deep breath and swiveled on his heel to look at Masumi. "How did she pass when she's this stupid?"
"Excuse me?" Kokoro said. "I'm not the stupid one pissed over a loss in the Chunin Exams that happened months ago. Seriously, how childish can you be?"
"You don't understand anything! You're just making all these assumptions! Do me a favor and go back to where you came from, Hatake! No one wants your stupid kekkei genkai here, and we especially don't want your stupid mutt smell permeating through the air!"
"That's enough, Enkai," Masumi commanded firmly. "The two of you are acting like complete children."
"Well, technically-" Kokoro sassed.
"I don't care about your age," Masumi seethed, annoyed with their pettiness. "You are genin expected to take the next Chunin Exams in a few months. If you were to pass, you'd be in a leadership position. I refuse to enroll you in them if this is how you're going to act. Pettiness gets you nowhere! Insults get you nowhere! Both of you are going to run around this village until I tell you to stop. Do you understand me?"
"I understand," Enkai said at the same time Kokoro complained, "I didn't do anything!"
Masumi leveled Kokoro with a look as they contemplated what to do. What Masumi wanted to do was a team-building exercise to get the two of them on better terms, but they doubted it would help. Enkai needed to get used to the idea of being with Kokoro, and Kokoro needed to understand the complications Enaki faced. She still needed to learn to take responsibility, too.
"Junichiro," Masumi said to get his attention.
"Sensei?" Junichiro asked.
"We need to talk."
"Just Junichiro?" Kokoro asked as she eyed Enkai.
"Did I say your name?" Masumi asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No," Kokoro said.
"Then just Junichiro."
As Masumi and Junichiro talked, Kokoro avidly avoided Enkai. She walked over to a big rock and sat down, facing away from the boy. She was annoyed with him and his stupid insults. It was offensive that he called her a mutt just because of the clan she came from. The Hatakes took pride in their ninken. They were precious and skilled companions that helped so much they could turn the tide in a fight. Who was he to insult such a strong bond. And don't even get her started on the whole kekkei genkai thing. She didn't ask to be born with it! It was just something she received when she was born. It annoyed her that her kekkei genkai was such a big deal. So she could produce ice, whoop-dee-doo! It wasn't like she was a pro at it. He was probably just bitter because she beat him by using her kekkei genkai. It was so childish. She couldn't help it when the words slipped out of her mouth.
"You're definitely not talking to me," Enkai said in retaliation. He glared at her stubborn back.
"Unfortunately, I am," Kokoro said. "You're so mad at your loss that you can't even be civil with me."
"Of course I'm mad!" Enkai yelled.
Kokoro snorted. "Such a sore loser."
Enkai walked up to her and grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around to face him as she stood up. "Listen, Hatake," he snarled in her face. "You have no idea what I've gone through!"
"And you have no idea what I've gone through!"
"Like you've gone through anything in your life," Enkai said. "You're the daughter of Kakashi Hatake and the granddaughter of Sakumo Hatake, legends among the Elemental Nations! You have a powerful kekkei genkai that was supposed to be extinct! You get personally invited by the Mizukage to come here and you fly past all the academy shit and join our team in 4 months! What could you have gone through!"
"You don't know anything!" Kokoro yelled. "Just because my life looks perfect doesn't mean it is!"
"Whatever, Princess," Enkai said as he rolled his eyes.
"Princess?!"
"Little Miss Priss who fusses when she can't get her way," Enkai mocked. "You wouldn't be able to handle my life."
"You wouldn't be able to handle mine!"
Enkai gritted his teeth before he huffed and stalked away from her. Kokoro closed her eyes as she tried to calm down. She didn't know how she was going to be in a team with him. She couldn't do it. Maybe she should ask Masumi or even the Mizukage for a different assignment. She couldn't risk all the work she put in after starting all over. She'd talk to Masumi as soon as they came back with Junichiro. Masumi would scorn her, but she had to do what was best for her. But they never came back. Kokoro waited at least an hour, judging by the position of the sun, before she got up and started walking away.
"Where are you going?" Enkai asked.
"I'm leaving," she said over her shoulder.
"We aren't supposed to leave," he protested.
"They've been gone an hour," Kokoro said as she turned around.
"Masumi sensei wants us to stay here."
"How do you know that?"
"That's just how they are. Sometimes they left us alone with some stupid excuse about having to talk to someone. It's just their bullshit ploy to get us to work our shit out," Enkai explained. He kicked a nearby rock and watched it fly across the field with annoyance.
"Well, we're obviously not going to work anything out," Kokoro said. "So, I'm leaving."
She took a few more steps before she froze. "If you leave, Masumi sensei will kick you from the team"
"They wouldn't," Kokooro said, more to herself than to anyone.
"They would," Enkai disagreed. "It's happened before. Before Yami joined our team, Junichiro and I had a different teammate."
"Yami?" Kokoro questioned.
"I'm surprised Junichiro hasn't told you. He likes to blabber to his friends," Enkai said quietly.
"He does, but he's quiet about some things," Kokoro told him.
"Not surprised he's quiet about Yami," Enkai whispered. He was silent, looking up at the cloud-filled sky. Then he said, "Yami was our teammate. She died during a mission."
"Oh," Kokoro said simply.
"Yeah. She wasn't our original teammate. In fact, she didn't even make genin. It was me, Junichiro, and Kenzo with Masumi sensei. Kenzo was messing with Junichiro and they started fighting. Kenzo pulled out a kunai, so I stepped in; I didn't want anyone to get seriously hurt. Masumi sensei broke us up and told us to wait for them until they got back from talking with someone. As soon as Masumi sensei left, Kenzo left. The next day, he wasn't there for training. Masumi sensei said they didn't have time to train someone who wouldn't try. So, unless you want to start all over, you'd better get comfy until they come back."
It was an easy sat there waiting as the sun fell and her stomach began rumbling. It was hard to be mad at Enkai when he just saved her from getting the boot. It was actually pretty nice of him. She stared at him and tried to find something she was missing. What had he been spouting about earlier? What had he been through to get so upset about a loss? The Chunin Exams were huge, no doubt about that, and it was devastating to lose, especially in the final round, but many people shook it off and fought harder the next time. The Chunin Exams were a time to bring shinobi from different nations together to build camaraderie. So, if someone lost a match, usually they took it as a rivalry or a challenge to beat that person one day. She wanted to know why he held such a grudge and why his sister hated her, too.
"You got something you want to say to me?" Enkai asked. Kokoro hadn't even realized when he had turned his head and met her stare dead-on. She'd been so far in her head that she hadn't seen the milky white irises watching her.
"I just, um, thank you," Kokoro said, "for stopping me from leaving."
"I'm not trying to ruin your life or anything," he said quietly. "I'm not heartless."
"I just didn't expect you to stop me," she said. "All the conversations we've had have been off-putting. Not to mention your sister, who has it out for me."
Enkai laughed shortly at the mention of his sister. "Yeah, Erina told me she was bothering you."
"I'd say it's okay, but she really knows how to play her cards right."
"She's just protective."
"Apparently."
Enkai closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them and sighed. "Listen, Hatake. There's a lot going on in my life. I've been dealt a shitty card. So has Erina. When you encased me in that ice, I thought life was just so cruel to match me against you. And then you received that special invitation from the Mizukage, and I couldn't stop thinking that it was unfair that you were set for life. Being noticed by the Mizukage is a high honor, and being a diplomat is too. I wanted to win and show Erina that we could get out of-. Anyway, I know you don't know about it, so I- I mean, I'm not sorry, but- you get it."
"I think I do," Kokoro said gently. "Everyone responds to hardships differently."
"Good. Glad we had this talk," he said as he stood up and stretched.
"What are you doing?" Kokoro asked. "I thought we had to wait until they got back?"
"They'll be back any minute now."
Just as he said that, Masumi showed up with Junichiro trailing behind them. They raised an eyebrow at Kokoro and Enkai, silently asking how it went.
"We didn't fix it," Enkai said. "It's more like there's a bandaid over it."
"As long as you can work together, I have no qualms about how strained your relationship is," Masumi answered. "Be here by 5 tomorrow morning. If you're late, you're running the entire time."
"Hai, sensei," Kokoro and Enkai said at the same time. They eyed each other.
"Don't start you two," Junichiro whined. "Do you know how nervous I was? I thought for sure Kokoro was gonna get kicked from the team. I didn't want to lose a friend!"
"You wouldn't have lost a friend," Kokoro reassured him. "Besides, someone like Enkai isn't going to scare me away."
"And someone like Kokoro isn't going to back down easily."
Kokoro looked at him with wide eyes before placing one hand on her chest and the back of the other hand against her forehead. "Did you just use my first name and compliment me? I must have died and gone to heaven."
"Whatever," Enkai said as he rolled his eyes. "I'm going home."
"Same!" Junichiro said cheerfully. "Walk with us Kokoro! Masumi sensei always walks us home after training!"
"It's the right thing to do," Masumi explained.
"Sure, I'm coming," she said with a smile on her face.
