I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, I'm just a fan I enjoyed the anime but I love the fanfics even more, they made me fall for the whole franchise.
Chapter 53
Shisui packed his belonging slowly, he spent the last few days just relaxing and reading. He didn't want to think or contemplate because then he would start doubting and regretting. He was located in the red light district inside their little investigation/surveillance house.
"Captain, it was an Honor working with you, I think you did a good job proving to many you are a truly gifted Uchiha." shisui grinned at that, he knew he did well and if anything enjoyed his time with his investigation team, including the little time spent with the blonde gaki.
"Tststs Thank you Dan it means a lot coming from you." Shisui said with clear gratitude in his voice, Dan Uchiha was not a talkative guy but when he spoke he did it because he wanted to, so wanting to tell Shisui, meant he felt it was true.
"Sir." Izumi and Rugal said at the same time saluting Shisui who turned around to face them with a box in his hands packed with all his belongings. Izumi was openly crying for her superior and friend, she found the situation so unfair. Shisui did a good job, a fantastic job in fact, if they gave him a little more time he would solve the case she was sure of it.
Rugal Aka Rash was always a man who liked to wear his feelings out there for the world to see but he looked uncharacteristically serious. They all assumed he would be the first to drop tears, it seemed life was full of surprises.
"That is Shisui-Kun to you Izumi." Shisui said with a fake glare directed at Izumi. The girl didn't last a second before running up to Shisui the Uchiha grimaced and raised both his hands up so the box was not in the way of Izumi when she tackled him into a hug.
"B-but you-you sa-said I shouldddd c-call yo-u Sir." Shisui sighed and positioned the box in his hands so it sat nicely on one hand so he could bring the other around Izumi's neck and hug the shorter girl which he did.
"It is not like I'm being sent to my death Izumi-Chan after my assignment I will be back in Konoha." Shisui reassured his best friend's girlfriend who wouldn't budge from her position.
"If you don't let go I will tell Itachi your 'little' secret." Izumi's eyes widened and she gave Shisui some space to look him in the face. Body flicker Shisui had a twinkle in his eyes that promised mischief and his grin though sad still had onto his true personality.
"You wouldn't." Izumi called his bluff and Shisui sighed when she returned to hugging him. The previous investigator now glorified street cop looked to Rash who looked like he wanted to say something.
"Permission to speak freely sir." Shisui raised an eyebrow at that,
'what the fuck Rash? You never asked before.' Was the thought that passed over Shisui's mind he decided to be a jerk to the idiot strategist who decided he would treat him like a superior when he was not anymore?
"Denied." Shisui said but he might as well not have said it because Rash opened his mouth to speak all the while scratching his itching midsection.
"I think the higher-ups are idiots and they should go fuck their grandparents while we continue these investigations behind their backs." Shisui gapped especially since Rash said all that with such a straight face, it was obvious he was serious.
"Rugal Uchiha please refrain from saying such things again about our superiors, on a more Important note I agree with him." Shisui's eyes widened even more at that, then he felt Izumi tighten her hold on him and nod against his chest.
Shisui felt so happy at that gesture, they were willing to go up against the Hokage and Fugaku's direct orders for him, then again 6 years was a long time. This was Shisui Uchiha's other family and he loved them for this gesture they just made but he had to go. Shisui of the body flicker had a mission to do and then a punishment to serve.
"Shucks thanks guys, it does mean a lot but I am not your superior anymore I am your underlying starting 5 days ago." Shisui took a deep breath and released it, there were so many emotions released there Izumi began trembling still unable to let him go.
'It is not fair, he did well.' Izumi did not want to see one of her closest friends unhappy, she remembered the excitement Shisui had when he came to her the day he got his assignment and told her he would be her superior officer that shit-eating grin was what she wanted to see, not the knock-off impersonating it.
"I will see you guys around." Izumi blinked when she suddenly found her arms hugging the air and when she turned around Shisui was already closing the door leading outside the house.
"Shisui wait!!" Izumi ran to the door, Rash followed suit and Dan simply sat on the available chair looking sad even with his stoic expression dominant on his visage. Izumi and Rash broke the door off its hinges finding themselves outside the house to a street filled with civilians and academy kids returning home but no Shisui Uchiha.
"I will go check his house." Izumi said running off in the direction of the Uchiha grounds before Rash could even say a word. The muscular Uchiha only sighed and made his way back inside the house unable to close the door because it was now located on top of a random civilian on the floor.
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Kiba knew this was gonna be a tough one, unlike Naruto he had no chance against Sasuke in the academy. He has been training hard with Akamaru and the rest of team 8. Shino already won his match, Sakura still had to fight so if he lost he would become the first weak link. Kiba looked at Anko Mitarashi and gulped he really wanted to impress her.
"Woof woof." Kiba knew this wasn't the time to start thinking about such things.
"I know Akamaru, relax boy." Kiba said before looking to Sasuke who finally reached the floor below and approached him as his partner and best friend.
"I hope you trained your mutt well dog." Sasuke began with a low blow to Kiba's image, Naruto even snorted at that having gotten it. If anything at least the dobe understood a good joke.
Sasuke frowned at the thought of the blonde, the dobe broke up with Ino the first chance he got. Did he actually love the Hyūga heiress or was he really in it for the long run on standing between him and the blind girl?
"Haha, very funny teme." Kiba replied understanding he was the mutt of the joke. Sasuke smirked, Kiba was not even able to take a joke and dish it back. The Inuzuka just growled like a mutt with a loud bark and no bite.
Sasuke went into the interceptor stance before Gekkō Hayate even began explaining the fight, Sasuke only waited to hear go and he was gonna show the Inuzuka where exactly a dog belongs in the food chain.
Kiba opened his hands to his sides before he took a stance with hands crossed in front of his face, clawed fingers ready to shred. Akamaru growled and got into an attacking position to pounce waiting to defend Kiba when attacked.
"Hajime!" Gekkō did not even begin his jump when Sasuke dashed with great speed that Kiba and Akamaru barely followed but they lost trek of him.
Kiba was quick to look behind him thinking he was the target but Sasuke was not there. The young Uchiha was coming from his left already in a kicking motion in front of Akamaru, the weakest link of the team.
"Akamaru!" They all heard a snap, a very exaggerated one at that. Akamaru flew back, head tuned 180 degrees backward. The kick snapping the dog's neck in one go killing it on contact, it never felt a thing.
The whole rookie 9 stared wide-eyed at the dog that Kiba quickly moved to grab from the air. The Inuzuka was frozen with Akamaru laying there in his arms dead. Gone just like that, Kiba's breath began to become haggard. He could not breathe, his heart hurt, his eyes stung and his mind broke.
"You are okay, right boy?" Kiba asked the unmoving pup. Sasuke scoffed and turned around walking away from Kiba, the whole rookie nine was wide-eyed including Kurenai and Asuma both knowing the importance Akamaru held in Kiba's life.
"Hey, answer me, boy." Kiba was in denial, what he saw in front of him must have been an illusion, he laughed at the bad joke. It was just the teme trying to scare him with a genjutsu. The Sharingan had that hypnotic effect right, he must have gotten caught in one.
Up in the stands, Sakura stared wide-eyed at Kiba who placed Akamaru down and made the snake seal before calling out 'Hai!' to dispel a genjutsu. Akamaru was dead, and the little white puppy part of team 8 became no more.
Hinata couldn't see Akamaru but she felt how the life was snuffed out of him. She felt how the pup's emotions got silent and his presence disappear like it was never there. For Hinata it was like Akamaru never existed, she couldn't see a body and she didn't want to.
Shino only looked away from the scene, Kiba was still trying to dispel a genjutsu that was not there. The Inuzuka did not register when Gekkō Hayate approached him and asked if he was fit to continue.
Shikamaru thought the situation was very very troublesome. It was a tournament though, depending on the rules Sasuke did nothing wrong but on a moral standing, this was pure menacing. Akamaru was part of their class, he grew up with them all, for Sasuke to snap his neck like that with a kick was brutal and he did not even look sorry about it.
Choji dropped tears when he saw that scene of Akamaru soaring through the air with a twisted neck. It didn't even let loose a final whimper, it was instantaneous, a very quick death indeed. At least Akamaru got the d'avoir of a quick death. What about Kiba going through the loss, the two were like brothers.
Itachi was a blank slate, his face was the epitome of bland and blank, and he showed no emotions at all. The Uchiha prodigy simply stared at Sasuke who made his way back towards the stairs with his hands in his pocket. Itachi spied Naruto who looked a bit taken by the scene but otherwise okay.
Naruto didn't know what to feel about what he just saw, Akamaru was Kiba's best friend but he was also a dog, a smart and cute dog but a dog just. Without Akamaru Kiba loses almost all his strategies and half his hitting power. It was a well-thought-out strategy he would have done the same but he would look to capture the mutt not straight-up kill him.
"SASUKEEEEEEE!!!!" Kiba launched himself at Sasuke like a wild animal, clearing the distance between them at great speeds, Sasuke was even impressed but he was an Uchiha you did not fight them in rage. Kiba's wide right-clawed swipe was ducked under, and his diagonal downward swipe with his left was hit back upwards before Sasuke turned to give Kiba his back and do a front flip that had his leg kicking Kiba under his chin sending him flying backward.
Kiba soared upwards but his anger wouldn't let him feel the pain, he was gonna beat Sasuke until he broke him out of the genjutsu, it was Not funny anymore. Kiba regained his balance in mid-air and looked down at Sasuke only to find him not there. The Inuzuka used his sense of smell to find the Uchiha and found him above him coming down with two Kunai in his hands.
"Now Akamaru." Kiba said grinning only for his eyes to widen when he remembered he was caught in a genjutsu that he would have to break out of on his own. Akamaru might need his help in the real world.
Kiba crossed his hands above his face and got two deep gashed on both arms. Sasuke twisted back and kicked Kiba away like a horse would a person sending him soaring back to the arena floor creating a human-sized crater with the Inuzuka's form.
Sasuke landed softly and waited, he didn't activate his Sharingan, even back in the academy Kiba was not a challenge to him, and he didn't need his dojutsu for him before, he would not start now.
Kiba's hands were the first to appear before he pulled himself out of the crater and shook his head. He looked back to Akamaru thinking the pain will break him out of the genjutsu but the pup still lay there, a pool of blood was starting to form around the dead dog's head, blood coming out of its loose open jaw being the cause.
"It is not a genjutsu genius, the mutt is dead." Sasuke informed unapologetically. Kiba blinked looking back at Sasuke to elaborate. "I don't speak butt sniffing." Sasuke said before dashing at Kiba who did not even react to the frontal attack. Sasuke reached the Inuzuka before jumping with his left leg and twisting twice parallel to the floor before bringing his right leg out to connect with the top of Kiba's head, bringing his head down face first on the floor knocking him unconscious.
"Hn." Sasuke grunted turning around and walking away from the ring while the Procter announced Kiba was incapacitated and Sasuke the victor by knockout. A group of medic Nin came to collect Kiba's unconscious body and Akamaru's deceased one.
Sasuke reached the rest of the rookies and stood against the wall facing forward not caring for any bodies opinions, he simply folded his hands and waited for the next match to commence.
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"What do you think Ibiki-Kun?" The Hokage asked, he was a bit disappointed at the young Uchiha for what he did to a fellow leaf nin but the skills he showed were Chunin worthy and his strategy of targeting Akamaru was a sound one. If Sasuke went up against another village's genin and their familiar beast and did what he did it would have been seen as okay.
"The Uchiha showed, judgment and skills worthy of a ninja." Ibiki began before looking up at Sasuke and he groaned. "But he is not Chunin worthy, he would belong much better in Anbu." The scarred man finished and Hiruzen nodded, he did not agree with all the assessments given but it did not matter.
"It is okay, you do not need to explain to me how the Inuzuka performed." Hiruzen interrupted Ibiki who wanted to continue with his deductions. The Hokage was looking for those who could stand beside the child of prophecy, help him grow stronger, and encourage his stay in Konoha.
"These are the Unpredictabilities of the exams Anko-Chan" Hiruzen Sarutobi said wisely while Gekkō Hayate called the next match.
"Rock Lee of the Lee clan vs Neji Hyūga of the Hyūga clan," Hayate said standing back in the ring where one boy lost both arms and a dog died.
"YOSH!!! Youth has answered my prayers!!!" Lee bellowed looking back at his sensei and beaming at the man, who grinned back at him and gave him a thumbs up.
"TO SHOW YOUTH LEE! I CANNOT HAVE FAVORITES IN THIS MATCH BUT JUST KNOW... LET YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHT LEE!!" Guy bellowed clearly having picked a side, not like his other student cared much he was on a mission as he walked down the stairs toward the ground level.
Author Notes.
Damn Sasuke, plead the fifth bro plead the fifth...Akamaru dead guys don't bite me I didn't do it...next chapter Lee vs Neji. I wonder how that will end up. I always wondered actually...
