"Hey, you alright?" Hisashi looked over to Tsubomi as the pair sat next to each other underneath a tree right in front of the Academy's entrance gate. Several others were chatting amongst themselves. Some were lax and jubilant, satisfied that the exam of a lifetime was finally over. Others were handling the situation with significantly less grace, being extremely silent as the anxiety of awaiting their results seeped into their hearts. For the duo, it went without saying which one was in each camp.
"Yeah—yeah, of course. W-why do you—why do you ask?" The girl could not lock eyes with him as she forced the words out. He sighed, shaking his head, letting his back slide down to the ground before he flipped himself to the side to face her yet again, palm resting on his cheek.
"Let's call it a hunch. What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"You do bad on the written portion?"
"No…"
"Uhhhh, d'you think you did bad on the transformation section?"
"No…"
"Then what're you so worried about?" He asked, irritation creeping into his voice.
"I just am, okay?!" She nearly shouted in exasperation, the boy's eyes widening in surprise at his friend's reaction. There was a moment of shock where the two of them remained silent. Tsubomi kept her eyes to the ground, eyebrows furrowed in irritation. Hisashi was still registering what had happened, before he sat back up in his spot and turned his head away from the girl's, placing an elbow on his crossed legs before planting a palm on his cheek.
"Suit yourself." He grumbled.
She looked back up at him, regret immediately seeping in. She took a deep breath in, letting out a regretful sigh.
"I… I'm really worried." She paused for a moment to see if her friend would interject. Nope, still waiting patiently with that miffed expression he always made when he got mad. "What if we're not on the same team?"
Hisashi looked up, his expression softening just a bit, before letting out a sigh.
"Yeah. That'd suck." He grabbed the back of his neck with his two hands. "But no use worrying about something you can't change, ya know?"
That was a little nugget of wisdom from his grandfather. His friend let out another long sigh in response.
"But I hate it…" She said, defeatedly, slumping into her seat. "One new person would be bad enough, but two? And imagine if I get paired with someone like Fumiko!"
"Ahh, don't worry about something like that." He waved his hand dismissively, chuckling. "Last time she tried picking on you I scared her so bad there's no way she'd ever try something again."
"Or she's still mad about it and she'll try to mess with me twice as hard!"
"Negative, negative, negative." He rolled his eyes. She did have a point; he had to admit. He liked to think of the day he got back at her—the incident—as the turning point in his storied twelve year old life. The day that marked him as one of the greats! Even if everyone else marked him as the class freak right afterwards, a title he wore with the utmost pride.
"Look on the bright side, if you were ever gonna talk to Akihiko, this might be your big break!" He flashed a mischievous smile as the girl's cheeks flushed red.
"W-w-why would I care about being on the same team as him?!" She shot back, thoroughly unconvincing.
"Just cause you're blind doesn't mean I am!" He gently nudged her arm with an elbow. "You'd better hurry, looks like Fumiko's trying to sink in for the kill!"
He pointed the two of them out, they were speaking together along with Kazuya. He couldn't make out what they were saying but she seemed to be laughing a lot at what he was saying while he was there with a calm smile, trying to look as cool as he could with that injury he still had. Hisashi would never admit it, but he was pulling it off somehow, some way.
"If you don't hurry up, he'll be married to that evil bitch before you know it—this is your chance to save him!" He teased.
"Maybe you should worry about saving yourself." She nudged her head a bit to the side without looking straight at them so as to not make them aware she noticed them. Hisashi, however, had no issue staring right back at them.
Fumiko was side-eyeing him with deep contempt, pointing towards him with a thumb while speaking before swiping a palm in the air. Whatever she had said was enough to make the two boys let out raucous laughter before she went back to pretending he didn't exist and resuming the conversation.
"Pff, she can try, that's for sure." He crossed his arms with indignance. "And don't change the subject!"
She simply stuck out her tongue at him before closing her eyes, satisfied with her skillful deflection of his teasing. If nothing else, the exchange had knocked some of the jitters out of her. Not exactly what he was going for, but if she felt better, this was a loss he didn't at all mind taking.
"If I could have everyone's attention…" Shino-sensei called out to the class, the chattering of the now settled in students dying down as their instructor commanded their focus. The anticipation in the air was palpable with everyone zeroing in on the plethora of hidden leaf headbands at the front desk. "First off, I would like to congratulate everyone for making it this far. I'm pleased to announce that everyone passed the genin exam."
Shino's words were met with roaring applause. Everyone who wasn't clapping was cheering with delight at the official start to their journey as shinobi. They quickly settled down as Shino raised a palm to indicate that they were to be quiet.
"As the highest scoring student, I would, however, like to invite Uzumaki Hisashi to grab one first." In stark contrast to his first announcement, this one was met with several underwhelmed "booooooooo"s as the boy stood up and happily went to claim his headband, completely unbothered by the disapproval of his classmates. The booing subsided as quickly as it started but he didn't even have to look back to know that the brief, weak claps that followed were from Tsubomi. And frankly, that was the only sound that had any impact on him.
As he grabbed his headband, he covered the side of his mouth to whisper something to his teacher.
"Uncle, make sure you get a girlfriend before I make it to Chunin, okay?" That advice, as innocent and genuine as it was, shocked the man's mouth open, before he simply let out an exasperated sigh and got on with the ceremony. One by one the students all got their headbands, with the main topic amongst the new Genin being the most fashionable way for them to wear the accessories.
This had been an open and shut question for Hisashi, though he made sure to be diligent in waiting for Tsubomi to get hers. While doing so, he locked eyes with Akihiko. Not one to pass up on an opportunity, Hisashi pushed his dark hair up to expose his forehead before slapping a hand over it. The message was clear.
Finally, you'll have something else to cover up your freakishly large forehead!
The response was just as swift and clear as the boy raised his middle finger.
Fuck you.
Hisashi could barely stifle a laugh. Eventually, Tsubomi returned, an awkward smile on her face and headband on hand.
"You ready?" He asked.
"Mm!"
With that, the two of them fastened their headbands together, just as they had agreed to years before the decisive moment had come. Hisashi, naturally, had decided to fasten it around his neck as he had seen his mother do in her old team photos. He looked down at it with a wide grin before turning to see Tsubomi's choice. She had decided to wear it over her head like a bow.
"Weren't you gonna wear it over your forehead?" Hisashi cupped his chin.
"Ah, well…" She looked to the side, immediately thinking of words to try to justify the switch.
"It looks nice." Hisashi waved her worries away. He had known her long enough that something small like this was pretty straightforward to piece together. "Suits you really well."
She looked surprised for a moment, before shifting to a warm smile back at him.
"Attention, everyone." Shino called out to them. "I hope it goes without saying that you should all be proud of yourselves. You've all worked very hard for today, but know that this is just the first step on your long journeys as shinobi. With that said, it's time for you all to know the two other people who will be walking alongside you—your team assignments."
The lax energy that had permeated the room dried up instantaneously as everyone's bodies stiffened. Despite their outcome having already been determined, you could see that some people were already bargaining, sending out prayers so that they would be matched with their friends.
In spite of his own words, Hisashi had a good idea of the kind of team he wanted. First off, Tsubomi was a must, especially after what she had said outside. Frankly, he hardly trusted anyone else in the class. He had confidence that he could scare ONE bully straight if she had bad luck with her team, but TWO? That would just about be a logistical nightmare! And after that, either Aki or Kazuya. They usually worked well together when it came to team assignments so it only made sense.
Only time would tell, however. One by one, the teams were called out, with their participants reacting with anything from pure shock and outrage to celebrating as though they had just won the lottery. In all this time, however, the only assignment that had stuck out in his mind was Tsuki, who was assigned with a portly looking boy who had been eating chips since he had returned and Midori, the Yamanaka who had contributed to Akihiko's still bruised face. She seemed less than enthused about her partners.
"And now for team 7." The three boys all looked alert as Shino-sensei uttered these words. They had all theorized for so long that they would be placed together on this very team. Their sister and Aki's elder brother had been, after all. Ugh, but leaving Tsubomi behind would be so hard.
"Uchiha, Akihiko," Hisashi glanced at Akihiko, who gave a small smile. Sensei continued, "Uzumaki, Kazuya," The brothers smiled at each other, fists clenching in anticipation. Two out of three so far. Could this really be it?
"And lastly," He began. Hisashi grabbed his desk in anticipation. He swore the adrenaline coursing through him would be enough for him to detach it from the floor and toss it out of a window. Would this be it? Would this be his team?! The start of their ninja journey together?!
"Hagane, Tsubomi. Please get along."
So, this was it. The start of their journey after having known each other for so long. It was bad that he wouldn't always be there to protect Tsubomi but… wait, what?
He turned to his friend, who looked completely shocked, then to his brother and Akihiko, whose eyes were wide open. He felt a pit in his stomach. As if reality itself had been broken apart and reassembled with the pieces completely jumbled. This peculiar twist of fate felt like an omen. The kind that appeared precisely at the moment where everything was about to go wrong. Time slowed. Seconds felt like hours. He swore that his sensei was speaking in slow motion when he began his next sentence.
"And now, Team 8." Uh oh. Uh oh. The feeling wasn't leaving. Why wasn't it leaving? Just what was in store for him?
"Lee, Steel." There was one path he saw moving forward. One very, very scary path that should have been so distinct amongst the millions of possibilities in the world—a calamity amongst calamities. But there was no way, right? There was absolutely no way, right?
"Nara, Fumiko." Hisashi's eyes widened even more. No way. There was no way.
"You're shaking…" Tsubomi whispered at him. He was in another world entirely, so her words fell on deaf ears. All he could focus on was the scythe that was wrapped around his neck. The absolute 100 percent worst possible outcome. A possibility that he never so much as dared allow into his mind. And yet… and yet…!
"Uzumaki, Hisashi. Please get—"
He fainted on the spot.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for another long delay! Law school and medical issues have been getting in the way, but come October I should have pretty much all the time in the world to focus on this. Please get into contact with me if you would like to proof/beta read, I have a rough time reading my own stuff so it'd be a big help.