Chapter 33: There's no place like home
Konoha.
A lively place, where Shinobis were thriving and running all around the place.
A lively place, where Civilians were thriving and… Doing civilian-ey stuff all around the place.
As much as I was riding the high of singing Naruto's first opening, in context, please, my prisoner and I arrived at the Torture and Interrogation building.
Half an hour later, I was outside again. Looking at the village before me.
"I… Don't know what I expected, Friend, but… That was NOT this…."
"Yup…" Moon-moon agreed.
Half an hour earlier, we entered the T&I building with my prisoner and directly went toward the reception.
The Chunin on desk simply took my mission scroll, opened it and directed us toward a waiting room without even looking at us.
And yes, it was a waiting room. I was somehow glad that there was no elevator music.
Arashi Senshu and I sat and waited silently. I mean… How are you supposed to act in this kind of situation?
This is fucking awkward…
I noticed that, on a table close to us, magazines were placed. I immediately grabbed one to have something to distract me from this situation and…
Kunoichi-Monthly. Dated from three years and five months ago...
Arashi calmly took another magazine. 'Fire Gardening' apparently from two years ago, I curiously looked at it and the headlines were… 'How to use earth affinity to kickstart your garden' by Nara Akari, 'Get rid of parasites with natural remedies' by Aburame Shibi…
Okay, I went back to the magazine I picked up and opened it randomly at the middle.
Konoha's finest ass: 'Maito Gaï After Training', picture credited to Yamanaka Asami.
Cue a picture of Maito Gai entering an onsen, only wearing a loincloth and his back turned to the reader. With sweat glistening on his ass... ETS! ASSETS! I MEANT HIS MUSCLES! I COMPLETELY THOUGHT 'ASSETS' AND I WON'T TOLERATE DISSENTION IN THE RANKS!
Honorable mention is 'Sarutobi Asuma Returning from His Duty as The Daimyo Bodyguard', picture credited to 'Crimson Eyes'.
…
I immediately set the magazine on fire with the trick I invented years ago.
I'll admit, I had completely forgotten that technique since the time I last used it.
Somehow, I remembered. CONVENIENT!
My prisoner raised one eyebrow as he looked at me.
"Arashi-san, you don't happen to know a Jutsu that can burn a part of my memories? Please?" I deadpanned.
"Sorry. Trust my long experience, Shinji-kun." My 'prisoner' simply turned a page of his magazine. "What has been seen cannot be unseen."
"… Fuck me…"
"Sorry, I'm happily married."
A Chunin entered our room before I could express some completely justified rage and took us to a desk.
What's your name, what's your affinity, sign here, use this for your fingerprint, drop a bit of blood here, thank you, follow me.
And so, I was dragged outside by another Chunin. But not before being told that I will be fined to replace the magazine I incinerated with the latest issue.
I should sue them for emotional damage. And to my pride as a man.
With Moon-moon help, I felt all the Kunoichis in the room perked up and looked at me with gratitude in their eyes…
"… You know what, Moon-moon? Let's just pretend this day never happened…"
And so, we made our way toward my clan's compound.
Konoha was still going strong, even with the Chunin exam finishing only two days ago, the stores were still full with clients from all the other elemental nations.
We soon arrived at my home. It was time to face the music.
As expected, as soon as I pushed the door open and announced that I was back, the Inuzuka's Chibi Ballistic Missile (ICBM, for short) hit me.
"NII-SAN! YOU'RE BACK! HOW WAS THE EXAM! DID YOU GRADUATE! OF COURSE, YOU DID!"
Since I expected it, I was able to catch him before I was catapulted back to our front garden.
Mom was back from her outing, curiously completely sober, and writing orders on some surely-highly-confidential scrolls in the foyer.
Hana was preparing breakfast for tomorrow.
Kiba looked at me with stars in his eyes, before the light dimmed when he noticed that I wasn't wearing a Chunin vest.
"Sorry, Kiba. We failed …"
Of course, we failed, we were supposed to. But he didn't need to know that.
"But… But HOW!" Kiba's eyes turned sad, before he suddenly screamed.
"You're so strong nii-san! You'll never lose to anyone! I've never seen you lose! It's because of that Nekomata girl?!"
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw mom silently acquiescing. Well. Let's put an end to that.
"No, Kiba. We failed because of me." I ignored the shock coming from my brother (and sister) and sat at our table. Kiba took a seat in front of me.
"During the second exam, we had to get a battery and bring it toward a charging tower. Since I am the fastest Shinobi of my team, I immediately rushed to grab one…"
"Of course! No one is faster than you Onii-san!" Kiba clasped his hands and looked at me, the stars in his eyes made a comeback.
Damn… This was harder that what I imagined.
"But I wasn't the fastest of the exam. A young girl called the 'Red Rabbit' from Kirigakure grabbed a battery before me. And when I grabbed another and returned to my team… Yama-kun had been singled out by our enemies… And was knocked unconscious. Since the second exam needs a team to be whole, we were disqualified."
"But… But… You did nothing wrong! Of course, you'll go to get a battery! I'll do the sam…"
"KIBA!" I slammed my hand on the table, suddenly screaming, and got up.
"Think very hard about what you said…" Maybe I put too much venom in my voice, but he needed to understand.
"I wasn't the best fighter of the exam, that was Hyuga Neji! I wasn't the fastest of the exam, that was the Red Rabbit! My job was to protect my team, not blindly rush ahead without a plan!"
I sat back and continued my prepared speech in a calm voice. "Soon, that will also be your job, little brother. During the second exam, two children as old as you died because no-one protected them. Never let your teammates behind. I was lucky that the guy that took down Yama probably never killed anyone… Or three children your age would have died. If this we were in the field, then I would have lost my best friend by my fault. Don't be as shortsighted as I was."
Kiba actually reeled from me. True, I never had to scream in his face before, but the point needed to be made.
As I took a moment to calm myself, I noticed that sis' was looking at me from the kitchen.
And mom…
"Enough of this. Kiba, go to your room and prepare for tomorrow's exam. Shinji. My study. Now."
Mom didn't wait for our answers and grabbed her files before coldly walking toward her personal study, her anger palpable in the air.
"…Mom?" Kiba asked in a very small voice, just before our mother opened the door of her office.
"Don't… Don't kill nii-san too much… Promise?"
… You could have worded that better, lil' bro…
"That would depend on both of you. If he can justify himself in a way that satisfy me, and you prepare yourself properly for tomorrow's Genin Exam, then I promise that I will only kill him a little. Do you promise?"
"YES! I'll work hard! Promise! Thanks mom!"
Thanks for the support, pipsqueak…
"Hana. Come with us. You might learn something…"
Mother opened the door of her study and we both followed her. I noticed easily that Hana was apprehensive, probably the first time she entered the punishment room that was our mother workplace, as her three ninken stood fearfully outside.
As my sister closed the door, mom did a hand-sign. The silencing seals activated and the world became Quiet again.
Hana panicked. Yup, first time for her. Her eyes franticly switching from left to right, in order to grasp anything, anything, that should be happening around us.
As for mom and me…
"Ha!" I laughed as I took a seat on the visitor seat in front of my mother's desk and Moon-moon curled in a ball against a wall. "Was my first reaction like that?"
"Nah, you were worse." Mom chuckled as she took her seat in front of me, before shrugging. "But at that time, I had just sent a wave of killing intent on you. Different circumstances and all that. Anyway, how was my sister?" Mom asked in a clearly eager voice.
"Oh mom… If you could have seen her, you would have been proud!" I answered enthusiastically.
So, in this place completely separated from the outside world, I told her everything we gather on Minami.
How she fought, how she acted, her antics with her friends that Neji and Moon-moon told me…
"Wow…" Mom said after I finished retelling her the match she had against the Swordswoman.
"The clone technique she used to put pressure on her opponent and hide herself was my father's first 'original' technique…"
"You are in front of her, she's on your left, on your right, behind you, but really..." I said with a smile.
"You're above!" Mom laughed. "He was so proud when he thought of that! 'No one ever think to look up!' he said! And then he tried it against his Hyuga teammate and… HAHAHA! I thought I'll never have another sibling after that! Even Shiroi-san, his ninken, fell to the ground! Shivering! Muttering how he became a ninken precisely because he wanted to avoid this! I've never be so glad to have been wrong!"
Mom and I laughed our heart out, as Hana was slowly noticing that something wasn't quite right with the situation.
"But the substitution with a rock? One with an explosion tag? That's completely new." Mom continued, wiping a tear from her eye. "That and the 'attach a string to your teammate ankle when he sleeps and hang him upside-down to the roof if he oversleeps'... Which is… Quite a good idea in fact… Kiba HAD been oversleeping these days…" Aaaaand mom's sadistic side was making a comeback…
"Really? New?" I asked genuinely.
"Well, let's put some context, when your grandfather tried to teach me how to play cat-cradle with ninja-wires he ended up... HAHAHAHAHA! YUP! DEFINITELY FROM HER MOTHER'S SIDE!"
I froze.
Minami's mother, Inuzuka Manami.
Jonin commander of Kiri, specialist in ninja-wire…
Fortunately, while she was too occupied by laughing her ass out, mom missed myself shivering.
"Hum… Sorry… But….?" Hana timidly tried to insert herself in our conversation.
"Ah? Oh, yeah. What's wrong my pup?" Mom stopped her fit of laughter and genuinely asked.
"I thought you were… Angry with Shinji…?"
"Oh!" Mom and I exclaimed, before looking at each other. Mom shrugged and waived at me.
"Well, the gist of it, sis, is that my team was tasked to participate and fail the Chunin exam, only so that we could use the free time between the second and third exam to gather everything we could about the two teams that Kiri had brought. So, we failed and we gathered."
"But, about how you failed…" Aaaaand fun time's over, as mom suddenly cold voice cut me.
"… Yamamoto-kun was close to Neji. He deliberately put himself close to the guy that 'defeated him', we were wearing insulated shoes, he even had to shout out for him to notice that he was 'unprotected'. He never was in any kind of danger." I said with a tense voice.
"And you didn't think of any of that when you rushed ahead, killing your friend and your team in the process for a worthless trinket that could have been easily replaced. I've read your sensei's report. You failed and you know it."
…
I lowered my head.
As far as the mission was concerned, we performed flawlessly.
As a Chunin, I failed.
The higher ups won't hold it against me. On the contrary they'll probably think that my action was the perfect excuse…
But I didn't do it on purpose… Probably only sensei and mom knew that.
This was the Chunin exam… This wasn't real…
But will I act differently when it will be…?
"It will… Never happen again…" I tried to gather my strength and look at my mother's eyes.
"I know. That's not what worries me." But mom coldly interrupted me. "You know, Hana, Shinji, I'm the Fierce of the Inuzuka, but I was never the strongest." Mon coldly cut me out.
"Inuzuka Ai, I was eight. Chunin, still unmatched in our Savagery, even by you. Killed himself after his love was killed after an ambush from Rock.
Inuzuka Asami, I was twelve. Chunin, born with a rare talent in Genjutsu. Refused the fact that her love defected, killed in battle a week later without defending herself.
Inuzuka Ena, I was fifteen. Jonin, a natural born leader. Decided to sacrifice her Genin team for the benefit of their mission. Brought back something that helped brought an end to the second shinobi war then… Took her own life."
Mom continued to list name after name, all of them meeting a tragic fate … And sis and I felt that our mother was getting angrier by the second.
"Inuzuka… Tori… Jonin… Left the village to die when he thought that his son died."
At that moment, the eyes of our mother turned to steel.
She stared at us for a long time. Hana and I were too cowered to speak out.
Then, our mother suddenly stood up, grabbed our clothes and dragged us close to her face.
We were suddenly facing the unholy wrath of our mother in her hybrid mode.
"You two are allowed to lose, you are allowed to fail, you are allowed to fear. But you are NOT allowed to despair after your first mistake. After your FIRST LOSS!" Mom snarled in our face. "YOU WILL LEARN FROM IT! YOU WILL BECOME STRONGER! AND YOU WILL PROTECT EVERYONE! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"
…Cristal clear…
I think I peed myself…
I'll be honest, I'm still not sure how I survived yesterday…
The day after the little 'heart to heart' with mom, Moon-moon and I took our leave before heading toward the Hokage tower.
Inside, Yama and Kasumi were waiting in the lobby. Yama waved at me, but Kasumi kept looking at me with an unreadable expression on her face. Which was weird, because… Yeah, nor Moon-moon or I could read what was on her mind right now…After a few minutes spent in silence, a door opened behind the reception desk and a Chunin holding a stack of papers greeted us.
"Team 4, now that you are all here, please follow me for your debriefing."
"Hum… We're not… Waiting for our Sensei?" Yama timidly questioned.
"Hiiiiii kiiiiiiiids… Don't speak too loud pleeeeease…" But he was interrupted by the weak voice of our sensei, right behind us.
We all turned in shock because there was NO ONE close to us before… And marveled at what I would call 'the perfect advertisement against alcoholism' in my old world…
Sensei was a mess.
Her hairs were unkept and dirty, like she hasn't showered for a week.
She wasn't wearing her usual Jonin clothes but… Well, let's call them 'pajamas' and move on to her face…
Bloodshot eyes, unfocused and tired…
"Kure-chan wanted to continue drinking after your mother left, Shinji-kun… And she didn't take 'no' for an answer… Again…"
Sensei, well… Wobbled as we climbed the tower stairs toward the debriefing room.
"Kyougi-sensei…?" I whispered, earning a painful whimper as an answer.
"Why are you not using that… Anti-hangover-thingy like before? It looked pretty effective…"
"Takes too much effort… Currently hoping I won't have to…"
Oh, right, Nara.
We entered a debriefing room, were two Chunin and an old hag I didn't recognized were expecting us. We all took a seat in front of them, as sensei just… Slumped against a wall to support her.
"Konoha Team 4." The Chunin on the left began to speak. "We will be hearing your report together. If you remember something that isn't written in it, please says so. Since you four were in Kumo, apparently interacting directly with the Jinchuriki of the two tails and the delegation from Kiri, Koharu Utatane-sama from the council wished to hear your side of the story."
It took all of my strength and fatigue from the last month to not shudder as I finally recognized the old grandma sitting in the middle of the desk.
Koharu Utatane, former teammate of one Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Disciple of the second Hokage.
And current member of the council along with Shimura Danzo…
"If I may…" Kyougi said in a weak and tired voice, her face completely glued to the wall. "My preliminary report should have every important information my team gathered. And everything they missed… Daaamn this wall is so cold… How refreshing… Can I take it back home…?"
"Nara Kyougi, be serious!" The Chunin on our left immediately got up and shouted, drawing a painful groan from sensei.
"Your 'preliminary' report has glaring holes in it." The other Chunin continued as he opened a scroll in his hands. "You even sent Inuzuka Shinji and Nekomata Kasumi to spy on the 'Red Rabbit' from Kiri's delegation, still they somehow appeared in the same restaurant while you were…" The guy held the sheet of paper to read it. "I quote: 'busy milking the former head of Kumo's intelligence department for all his worth'…"
"And I was that close to reaching first baaaaaaaase…" Sensei whined, sounding like a deflating balloon.
"NARA KYOUGI!" The first Chunin suddenly screamed and slammed his hand on the desk. Loudly. "FRATERNALIZING WITH AN ENEMY WITHOUT THE COUCIL'S PERMISSION IS BETRAYAL! WHY CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THIS!"
"AAAAAAH!" Sensei suddenly screamed and held her head in her hands. And suddenly we all felt her chakra flare. After a few seconds, our sensei straightened her posture and turned toward us.
"Ahhhh shit…Alright, alright… Let's get on with it… Since my preliminary report isn't enough… Please read this, Yamamoto-kun."
Our suddenly sober sensei gave a roll of parchment to my friend before taking a step back, with her hands crossed behind her.
"This is my full report. If you see something wrong, or want to add anything, simply say it."
My friend awkwardly opened it, and, after recognizing the content, spoke in a clear voice.
"23 September: After a week of travel by sea, Team 4 arrived in the lightning country.
25 September: We finally arrived at the first checkpoint of Kumogakure. They let us pass without any problem and led us to cable cars, escorted by a Chunin from Kumo.
Personal observations: choose another captain next time. No one cares about the difference between a Barque and a Brig. Not the first time I regret asking a question to pass time, but this one takes the cake."
All eyes turned to our sensei.
"What? He spent the whole journey trying to explain to me the differences between all kind of ships for the WHOLE TRIP! Even blatantly ignoring him didn't work!"
After a few seconds of silence, Yama decided to continue reading the report.
"We embarked and made our way toward Kumogakure. As our destination came into view, Shinji-kun innocently compared it to an 'inverted-onion'. An expression that, as you know, is culturally extremely insulting. The kid's got talent. Unfortunately, the Chunin escorting us calmy defused the situation."
"Unfortunately?" The first Chunin interrupted my friend.
Sensei nodded
"We arrived at the last checkpoint after an hour." Yama continued.
"We were greeted by Yugito Nii, Jinchuriki of the two tails and elder sister of Nekomata Kasumi from my team. Shinji-kun reacted as expected, as he asked her to…" Yama's voice slowed down as he continued to read the report. "… Strip…Naked… In front of us…"
"SENSEI! FOR THE SECOND LAST TIME THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED!" Of course, I had to defend myself.
"Inuzuka Shinji."
The cold voice of the elder cut me short and her suddenly powerful presence forced me to shut my mouth.
"I do not believe we need your input right now."
Aaaaaand okay! Shutting up now! Damn, never underestimate old people, they grew old for a reason…
"Personal observations:" Yama continued to read the report, before hesitating.
"…Sorry elder, it's just written: 'I'm fucking rich' …Three times…"
Again, we all stared at our reasonable adult.
"Sorry, not sorry!" Sensei then gratified us with a Gai-smile so powerful that I had to divert my eyes. And I could swear that I heard the sound of a cashing machine going 'KACHING!'…
"After this, we boarded another cable car, escorted by the now pacified Yugito Nii." Yama continued.
"My squad used their respective clan techniques to observe the Kiri delegation, that just happened to reach our range. See appendix 1.0 for their observations. 1.1 for mine."
Yama continued to read the report for a while.
There was nothing we didn't really know, at first, but the more Yama continued…
"27 September: My team rightfully suspected that the majority of the Kiri delegation were delegates for the seven-families, and I commend them for this. Still, they missed some crucial details. See appendix 2.0 for the full list."
"06 October: After observing them for a week before the last exam, I believe Sumire Ume, Hozuki Suigetsu, Kishi Hiroshi and Aozora Kiriko are the only true heirs of their respective families. The other Genin, while talented, do not match our information's about the Seven Families.
Hozuki Suigetsu somehow treat the Sumire as an equal. See appendix 2.1.
Aozora Kiriko actively try to act as an older sister with the Sumire. See appendix 2.2.
Kishi Hiroshi, on the other hand, seems to be in a one-way rivalry with her. See appendix 2.3.
Appendix 2.4 is about the 'Mizushima', the 'Akebino', and somehow the 'Civilian' have a sibling relationship with all the rest.
Appendix 2.5 is about how the Sumire is completely unaware of everything
Personal observations: This is bad. The presence of so many talented unknowns, unknowns that somehow act like a well worn Chunin squad might upset the precautious balance we have. More observations and alcohol are required to properly analyze the clusterfuck that the old fossils in the council asked me to observe. I need a drink! And Kumo's sake is shit!"
Again, all eyes turned from my friend toward our sensei.
"Hey! You asked for my unredacted report!" Nara-sensei said, sounding almost hurt.
…
"07 October: The last exam began. Kishi Hiroshi clearly is in a league of his own when it comes to ninjutsu. He can use Wind and Water Jutsu without problems. Still, he's wary about the Sumire. His feelings aren't stable. Prime candidate for recruitment.
See appendix 3.1.1 for his feeling of friendship,
3.1.2 for feelings of love,
3.1.3 for feelings of inferiority.
Personal observation: the boy needs to get laid; I know the feeling.
Yama continued to read the report, that was eerily precise if you ignored the "personal observations".
And I meant it, she even managed to list every grocery the Kiri delegation bought during the time she was supposed to train the other Konoha's team. And managed to professionally place 'the former head of Kumogakure intelligence division is also a perfect 10 in my personal scale.'
Then, Koharu spoke with a steel tone, before Yama finished reading the report.
"Thank you, Nohara-kun. I believe we do not have any doubt about this report. Still, I would like to ask you Genins a few questions."
Kasumi and I straightened ourselves unconsciously.
"According to your report, Nara-sensei, you sent Inuzuka Shinji and… Her… To spy on the red rabbit when she went out of the hotel. Two times. Why is the result of their operations not in your report?"
"Because there was nothing to report…" Sensei just shrugged before turning toward us. "Was there anything about the rabbit that the council would like to hear? Just in case?"
"What…?" Both the fact that I was taken by surprise and that *I WAS WAY TO CLOSE TO DANZO RIGHT NOW* made me say the first thing that came to my mind. "She can play the piano? And she's kinda good at it? I'm sorry but…"
"We left after a few songs. Both times." Kasumi interrupted me. "There was nothing for us to do here and I didn't particularly appreciate being forced to be with him..." She said while pointing a finger towards me, I could feel that her anger was slowly building.
The three persons in front of us looked at my teammate with a threatening glare. Kasumi held her ground.
It was somehow impressive how she brushed off the pressure…
"Very well." The elder continued. "And how did you end up in the same restaurant as your Sensei?"
"It's explained in my report…" Kyougi-sensei continued. "A report that you should have read before. What's the point?"
"The point is, because of a promise made by the idealistic head of a certain clan, the descendant of a traitor and sister of a Jinchuriki is now living inside our wall."
Koharu, the old woman of the council casually said.
"I understand your desire to protect your students, Nara-sensei. I truly do. But this is a situation that the council cannot allow. If we follow the timeline of events, she spent half-an hour unsupervised with her sister. The Jinchuriki of the two tails, our enemy's greatest weapon after Killer-B, after living for six months in Konoha."
"She wasn't unsupervised". Nara-sensei cut her, unperturbed, before turning her gaze toward me. "Shinji-kun, why don't you tell us what you discussed, hum?"
Immediately, two irrelevant Chunin, a FUCKING PROXY OF DANZO turned their eyes at my dumbfounded ass. And also Kasumi.
"Heh? I mean…? Hum… 'Hi' I guess?"
But then, a powerful killing-intent flooded the room, as Nakomata Kazumi slowly rose from her chair and directly faced the three Shinobis in front of us.
"I wanted to finally know WHY MY SISTER ABANDONED ME! DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT?" Kasumi shouted.
Of course, her outburst impressed no one. Well, maybe the Chunins, maybe, probably, but not the elder.
"Is that correct, Inuzuka Shinji, is she telling the truth?" The elder turned her gaze toward me, completely ignoring the killing intent of Kazumi.
"I guess…? I mean yeah…? I also wanted to know about the Red Rabbit but... I got no answer..."
The old hag kept her gaze on me for a moment, before drawing a long sigh.
"Very well. I believe we have enough information. This debrief is over." Koharu spoke before standing up and leaving the room.
Kyougi escorted us outside. Yama left to join his clan, Kasumi also went elsewhere, no clue where she went, probably somewhere to vent her frustration, and sensei also vanished before I could feel it, leaving me alone in front of my family's house.
Smiling in relief, I pushed the door open. At least I can finally rest and stop thinking about this new clusterfuck…
But, as usual, that was not was welcomed me.
On the foyer, Mom was silently sitting in our sofa.
Kurenai-sensei was sitting on the opposite side.
"Your second son was accepted in the Jonin-corps, with honors, and I have been chosen as his Jonin sensei. As he is a clan heir, there are a lot of things you, his clan head, are allowed to do. Least of it is forbidding Konoha to send him to a mission you deem too dangerous."
"Don't care." Mother interrupted her before rising up from her seat in the sofa and turning towards me.
"Hello, Shinji. How was your day off?"
"Fucking tiring…" I answered as I slipped out of my shoes and slumped like a mollusk in the sofa.
Kurenai soon left the place, as Hana came back from the Inuzuka clinic.
After a while, the door what smashed open and Inuzuka Kiba, fresh Genin of Konohagakure and proudly wearing his headband, made his Grand Entrance and the Inuzuka family hugged him.
At night, as we were eating, laughing and cheering for my little brother promotion, an alarm resounded in the village.
Hana and I recognized the pattern, as we were drilled into the different level of Konoha's defensive measures.
'Survival of the village compromised.'
Mom immediately stood up, a grim expression on her face, and left our home with Kuromaru without saying a word.
"So… Lil'bro… How was your exam?" I asked my brother with my most 'calm' face, because I knew what was happening outside right now… No reason to panic. None. I haven't FUBAR-ed the timeline. I checked. Thoroughly.
"Well… It was…. Iruka sensei just asked us to perform a Bushin… And… That was all."
"Huh? Seriously?" Hana was the first of us to react. "That's It? No Genjutsu? Not even Taijutsu? Just a Bushin?"
"I know right?!" Kiba answered with a hint of disbelief in his voice. "Seriously it was too easy! All my class passed! Except Naruto-kun… But he can do heaps of other jutsus! Like the Henge! He's really good at it!" Kiba exclaimed, as I wondered if this year's exam was made JUST so that Naruto failed it.
I noticed that Hana's face froze in fear when Kiba mentioned the Boy in Orange, so I changed the subject.
"So, have you met your team and your Jonin-sensei?"
"No! I don't understand this either! Aren't the sensei supposed to tell that to us at the end of the exam?" Kiba looked at us, innocence in his eyes.
"Well, it depends of the situation, younger brother." Hana continued with a kind smile. "Passing the Genin exam is not the end-all. You need a group of three to form a Genin-team. Let's try something else, who would you want as your Protectors?"
Kiba took a moment to think.
"Well, I definitely want to be with Shino-kun! His kikaichu's are wicked! And Sasuke-kun! We get along really well and he's really good!" Then, his enthusiasm took a nosedive. "But we need to have a Kunoichi with us to have a 'proper balance', right? Or something…"
I raised an eyebrow when my little brother said that he and Sasuke were 'getting along really well'.
Last news I had, didn't he shut himself from everyone like in the manga?
"Hummm…" Kiba continued to think. "If we really need to have a Kunoichi in our team… That would be KO-Shikako!" My brother exclaimed as I raised my other eyebrow as the nickname. "She's the kunoichi of our year, so it would make sense!"
…Wait what?
"Wait… No…" Kiba suddenly looked dejected. "Shikako-chan and Sasuke-kun are always together... then I won't be with Shino-kun… Hmmm… Then Baka-Ino maybe? But she scares me somehow…"
"Wait, wait, lil'bro. Nara Shikako is the KUNOICHI OF THE YEAR?" I suddenly screamed, surprising both of my siblings.
"Hum… Yeah?" My little brother answered my sudden outburst.
"She always has a perfect score in our exams. Even besting Baka-Ino and Sakura-chan!
And no-one even wants to challenge her anymore in a spar! The only person who can win against her is Hinata-chan when we are allowed to use our clan techniques…"
Kiba fell silent, seemingly thinking deeply…
"Then you, Shino-kun and Hinata-chan?" Hana said with a smile.
But before our little brother could agree, the alarm outside was cut off and our mother came back home.
Since it was WAY past bed-time hours, we three immediately went to our rooms.
And no, I did NOT notice the glare mom send to my direction when she entered out home.
Promise.
I wasn't supposed to know she had spent the night frutlessly hunting Naruto before the situation 'resolved itself'.
The next morning, I headed back to the Hokage tower.
On my way there, Yama joined me before we arrived at the mission desk.
Sensei was already here and chatting with Genma. I had an inkling about the subject of their conversation so I tried my best to focus on anything else.
And quickly found it.
Her back against the wall and with a threatening glare, Kasumi Nekomata and her Pet Nuisance were directly looking at me.
"Hi kids !" Nara-sensei said when she saw that we were all here.
With a tone way too much eager from comfort.
"Guess what? We're back to D-rank missions!" She grabbed four papers on top of the mission pile. The Chunin here tried to stop her but was too slow.
"Let's play a game!" Sensei ignored them and displayed the back of each mission scroll in front of us. "The cat from last time escaped again! Kasumi-chan, only one of those four mission is the one requesting us to fetch it. Why don't you choose one for us, hum?"
Kasumi frowned, but immediately went for the one on our right.
… It ended how you expected…
