A/N: I forgot how much I've missed Chouko and writing in general. This story is cross-posted over on Archive of Our Own by the way. Slowly trying to figure out how that site works.
Pass or Fail: Survival Test!
Chouko felt like the weight of the world had been dumped on her shoulders all at once as she dragged her tired body through the door. As soon as she entered the comfort of her home she discarded her shoes and collapsed against the door. It was funny to her that she was so tired considering the fact she didn't do anything today but argue with her team. She had some doubts about how everything was going to play out in the future. There wasn't any sign of her and Sakura getting along anytime soon, and Naruto and Sasuke were even worse when it came to their petty children's games, and then to top it off they had a Sensei who couldn't be bothered to show up on time - there was no coordination!
How was that going to work?! They had no plan! No schedule! No strategy! Nothing! Not a damn thing! How was that supposed to help their team succeed?!
"How did your day go, Sweetie?" Chouko jumped, startled by her mother's sudden appearance.
Chouko sighed and banged her head against the door.
"Why me?" She groaned.
"It can't be that bad." Her mother smiled, "Why don't you get washed up, and I'll fix you something to eat. You must be hungry."
Chouko perked up at the thought of her mother's cooking.
"I'd like that." She smiled.
Her mother returned the smile and patted Chouko on the head.
"I'll meet you in the kitchen then."
"Okay." Chouko nodded and stood, "Thanks, Mom."
"You're welcome." Her mother hummed.
As her mother headed towards the kitchen, Chouko went upstairs to wash her face and change her clothes. Once she was finished she made her way back downstairs and to the kitchen where her mother was waiting with a plate of food. Her stomach growled, and she took a seat at the table.
"Tell me all about it while you eat." Her mother smiled, "I'll make some tea."
"Okay." Chouko nodded as her mother left. She picked up the chopsticks and began eating.
"So how did it go?" Her mother asked pouring the hot water.
"Well, our Sensei is a weirdo." Chouko started, "And my teammates are a mess. I don't know what I'm going to do with them, Mom. They're going to be the death of me."
"I'm sure you'll be fine." Her mother hummed, "It takes time to mesh as a team, so just give it a chance."
"Yeah, but they're not making it easy." Chouko huffed, "Sasuke thinks he's better than everyone, and Sakura won't stop ogling over him."
"What about Naruto?" Her mother asked.
"Naruto..." Chouko smiled, "I'm glad Naruto is on my team."
"I'm sure he's happy too." Her mother nodded, "He doesn't have many friends."
"No, he doesn't." Chouko frowned, "I wish people would leave him alone."
"It's unfortunate, but we can't change people's opinions." Her mother sighed, "We can only do our best to change the way they see him."
"That's true." Chouko nodded, "I'll try. I'm sorry, I'm rambling...I'm just tired, I guess."
"Never apologize for your emotions, Chouko. Just because you're a ninja now doesn't mean you have to bottle away your feelings." Her mother smiled. Your emotions are how you learn and grow. Your tears are there to speak for you when you cannot find the words to say yourself. The emotions you're feeling speak of your honesty."
"But, doesn't honesty have its own flaws, too?" Chouko asked, "People use that against others."
"Well, yes, that is true." Her mother nodded, "Honesty has its benefits, and its consequences, but you can't lie to yourself. If you bottle away your feelings, they will manifest in ways that are unexpected. That's what makes humans human. We are full of emotions. You can't ignore those."
"I guess so." Chouko mumbled, "I don't want to be someone who is dishonest."
"I'm glad to hear you say that." Her mother smiled, "Being a shinobi isn't easy, but I'm confident that you'll handle it with grace. Chouko. You once told your father and me that your reasoning for becoming a ninja was because you wanted to become a butterfly, spread your wings, and break free from your cocoon...but that doesn't happen overnight."
"I just feel like I'm the only one who is trying, and no one else is. I don't want to let you or Dad down." Chouko said quietly, "You believe in me, and I want to live up to your expectations."
"And you are. Every day, I'm proud of you." Her mother hummed, "And no matter what, that's not going to change."
"But-" Chouko's mouth was dry.
"It's okay to take your time." Her mother assured her, "It's okay to stumble and fall. That's a part of the process. It's okay to feel overwhelmed, or discouraged, or afraid. You'll overcome these things and become a strong shinobi. Just keep trying, and I'll be cheering for you the entire way. So will your father. You'll never disappoint us."
Chouko could feel the tears welling in her eyes.
"Butterflies, start as awkward little caterpillars that have to wiggle and crawl their way through life before they experience the change and growth needed to become the graceful butterfly that everyone admires, and only when they achieve that growth, can they spread their wings and fly." Her mother took her hand and squeezed it encouragingly. "Give your friends wings time to grow, Chouko."
Chouko blinked away the tears and wiped her face with the back of her hand.
"So, take your time, Chouko. Don't rush the process. Enjoy the journey, and appreciate the little moments along the way. Everything will be okay, as long as you keep believing in yourself, and your friends. You can do this, Chouko." Her mother smiled.
"Thank you, Mom." Chouko sniffled, "I'll do my best. I promise."
"I know you will." Her mother nodded.
After finishing her dinner, and washing her plate, Chouko bid her mother goodnight and went to bed early. Tomorrow was going to be a rough day, and she was going to need all the rest she could get.
Chouko hummed quietly to herself as she walked through the early morning streets. There weren't many people out this early and those who were out were mostly ninjas. There were a few people out who recognized her. The friendlier of the bunch traded pleasantries while the others looked at her strangely, looking around for a certain knucklehead who would normally meet up with her in the morning. They didn't even bother trying to hide their satisfaction that he was not with her that day, which irritated her more than it should have.
Chouko stuttered in step and almost fell on her face when the familiar voice called out to her. She turned on her heel to come face-to-face with a beautiful, dark-haired woman.
"Kurenai!" Chouko happily yelled while tackling the woman in a tight hug. "Kurenai-Sensei, are you going to train your team too?"
"I am." Kurenai smiled. "Although, mine aren't quite as bad as yours, so it should be a breeze."
"Lucky." Chouko sighed.
Kurenai laughed and affectionately ruffled her hair. "I ran into your mother earlier. She said you'd be heading out soon and not-so-subtly hinted for me to check on you." Kurenai winked.
Chouko sighed. She's known Kurenai ever since she was a baby and the woman was practically like an aunt to her. It was because of her parent's close relationship with both Asuma and Kurenai that she had been around them a lot growing up and had just come to accept them as part of the family.
"Mom worries too much," Chouko muttered.
"I think it's sweet." Kurenai smiled, "Your parents are always talking about you, and it's easy to see that they're proud of you, Chouko."
"Yeah, I guess so." Chouko agreed.
Kurenai patted her on the shoulder and smiled.
"Just hang in there, okay?" She encouraged.
"Yeah. I'll try." Chouko sighed. "You and Asuma should come by sometime! Oh, we could all go out! We haven't done that in a long time. I'm sure it would make mom and dad happy - especially dad. He was so upset when I didn't get Asuma as my Sensei, speaking of, say hi to him for me!"
"I will," Kurenai promised.
"Thanks, Kurenai-Sensei!" Chouko grinned. "I should get going. See you around, Sensei."
"Of course, take care." Kurenai nodded, waving as Chouko dashed off.
It surprised Chouko when she was the first to arrive at the training ground. She was sure that Sasuke would have been the first to arrive or even Sakura. She knew Naruto definitely wouldn't be the first one. If anything, he was probably still in bed or scrambling around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get ready. Sighing, she slumped against a tree and plopped down on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest, with folded arms on top and a rested chin. She didn't have to wait long before the others showed up.
"Morning." She whispered tiredly.
Naruto murmured a slur of incoherent words and plopped down beside Chouko. The blond yawned tiredly and rested his head on her shoulder. She listened to his even breathing, counting the seconds turned to minutes before she felt him slump against her shoulder with his head lolled to the side and a trail of drool dribbling out of his mouth and down his chin. Chouko laughed and shook her head, shifting Naruto so that he could rest comfortably.
She had a feeling today was going to be a rough one.
"Why do you insist on treating him like a child?" Sasuke glared.
Chouko looked up at the dark-haired boy and rolled her eyes.
"Naruto and I are friends. Isn't that what friends do?" She countered. "If you want to lay in my lap all you have to do is ask, Sasuke-Kun!" Chouko cooed, voice dripping with overly fake enthusiasm.
"In your dreams." Sasuke glared.
"I'd rather not." She huffed.
Sasuke snorted, and she stuck her tongue out at him.
"You shouldn't be pampering him so much. He'll never stop acting like a child." Sasuke muttered.
"Says the person who treats him like he doesn't even exist," Chouko growled.
Sasuke glared.
Chouko glared back.
"Whatever. Do what you want." He scoffed.
"Oh, believe me, I will." Chouko rolled her eyes. "Mind your own business, Sasuke. I'm not treating him like a child. It's just...how we are, okay? He's like another little brother to me, so of course, I'm going to look out for him."
"Another?" Sasuke stared at her. "You have a brother?"
"Yeah, his name is Chinaru. He's eight and wants to be a ninja, too. So I got to set a good example for him. He's an annoying little brat but..." Chouko trailed off feeling awkward.
Sasuke didn't say anything, only stared out in the distance.
He looked...thoughtful, almost.
He looked kind of cute without his resting bitch face.
Before either of them could say anything else - not that they would have - they were interrupted by a loud yawn and the sound of footsteps approaching them that were soon met with a pink-haired girl, dragging her body along.
"It's so early..." Sakura yawned and slumped down on the ground, "What on earth was Kakashi-sensei thinking? This is way too early!"
"The earlier the better," Chouko said stretching her free arm while the other was still tangled in Naruto's locks. "Time doesn't wait for anyone and at our level, we need all the training we can get to prepare us for the future."
"She's right." Sasuke scoffed leaning against a tree. "Stop whining, Sakura."
"B-but, Sasuke!" Sakura gasped loudly. "This is your fault, Akimichi!" Sakura sent a pointed glare toward Chouko that just seemed to scream 'I hate you!'.
Chouko rolled her eyes at Sakura and pulled the protein bars from her ninja pack.
"Here, you should all eat one of these." She said tossing one to each of them. "They're made specifically to build up your strength. "You two, sleeping beauty," Chouko said, flicking Naruto in the head. "Wake up."
"Huh, what, what is it?!" He jolted awake, looking around frantically.
"Calm down. You're fine." Chouko snickered and pushed his bar into his hand. "Here."
"What is this?" He blinked, staring down at the bar.
"A protein bar." She explained, "Eat up. They're good for building up your strength and energy."
She handed one to Sasuke and held another out to Sakura.
Sakura glared at the snack.
"Kakashi-Sensei said we weren't allowed to eat anything or we'd throw up!" She placed her hands on her hips and glared down at Chouko. "You just want us to get in trouble!"
"If I wanted to get you in trouble I wouldn't be eating them too, dummy." Chouko glared.
"Kakashi-sensei is a liar, idiot. There is no way we'd be able to function as a unit with no energy. So shut up, and eat." She gave Sakura a look that left no room for argument as she shoved another bar into her hands. "You especially need these. You're too skinny. You need to build up some proper muscle and fat, otherwise, you're going to get pummeled into a pile of dust. And I won't help you."
Sakura frowned, her bottom lip poking out.
"Ramen would be better..." Naruto grumbled and tore into his protein bar. "Hey - these are good!" He yelled with wide eyes and a mouth full of food. "Give me another, Chouko!"
Chouko grinned handing him another bar. "Of course they're good! They're specially made by the Akimichi Clan, and we know how to make even the healthiest of things taste amazing."
"Really?! Can I have another?!"
"Only if you finish the one in your mouth," Chouko laughed.
Sasuke looked down at his suspiciously, eventually peeling back the wrapper and taking a bite.
"Not bad, I guess. Thanks." He nodded at Chouko once he figured they weren't filled with poison.
"Don't mention it. I've got plenty more where those came from."
"I shouldn't. I'm on a diet." Sakura frowned.
"What, why? Since when did you start dieting?" Chouko was flabbergasted. "What reason do you have to go on a diet? You're perfect just the way you are, idiot. You need to focus less on being pretty and focus more on getting stronger. Now suck it up and shove that protein bar down your throat. We don't need you to go fainting on us from a lack of energy." Chouko scoffed shoving the rest of her protein bar in her mouth.
"Of course, you wouldn't care about that but it's different for me," Sakura said.
Diet? The words were poison to Chouko's tongue. If she were to even mention the word diet to anyone in her clan they would think she had gone insane. Food was the heart of the Akimichi clan and made them who they were. Sometimes Chouko felt silly for feeling bad about herself and her appearance when in the eyes of her clan she was perfect; the larger you are, the stronger you're believed to become.
In the case of the Akimichi clan, size did matter.
"You're too insecure. You a lot prettier than you make yourself out to be, moron."
For as long as Chouko has known her Sakura has always been fussy about how she looks. Chouko thinks she still feels insecure, she used to get bullied for the size of her forehead all the time. Chouko thought she looked just fine the way she was, large forehead and all, and wished that Sakura would just let herself live and enjoy life a little.
She'd probably be happier if she just accepted herself the way she is.
She even found herself at times feeling envious of her and wished that she could have her confidence and looks.
Sakura's eyes widened as a blush overtook her face. She quickly looked away and shyly tore open her protein bar. She gave it a sniff before taking a small nibble and nodding in satisfaction.
"I guess you're right," Sakura whispered.
Chouko grinned, flashing her a bright smile.
"Damn right, I am."
Chouki grinned watching her friends eat their protein bars and felt satisfied knowing that she was doing something right. They could bicker and fight all they wanted, but as long as she was there, she'd make sure to take care of them the best she could.
Even if that meant giving them the extra push they needed to work harder.
Kakashi watched his darling little genin from afar, with arms crossed over his chest and a masked smile on his face. They had a long way to go but he could see the potential in all of them.
The four of them had a strange sort of chemistry, and if they kept working hard and working together, then there was no doubt in his mind that they would become an unstoppable force to be reckoned with.
Maybe they aren't hopeless after all." His eyes zoomed in on Chouko who was watching her comrades with a pleased smile on his face. "One of them anyway."
He had a good feeling about them.
A feeling that would either end up being completely right or wrong.
Kakashi chuckled, "It's been a while since I had a team this interesting. I'll have to try my best, too." He said to himself and then turned on his heel.
Chouko had been talking idly with Naruto when she felt a buzz like lightning and looked up just in time to see Kakashi-sensei walking up the path with one hand raised in the air in a wave and the other stuffed inside of his pocket. He was even later than the day before, and he didn't seem one bit bothered by it.
"Yo, sorry I'm late," Kakashi-sensei grinned, waving his hand casually. "
"You're late!" Sakura and Naruto shouted.
"You have a terrible work ethic, Sensei. If you're going to tell someone to be somewhere at a certain time then you have to honor the commitment of showing up." Chouko glared at the silver-haired man. "What would have happened if we were being attacked right now? Would you have shown up on time, or would you have been late because you didn't think it was important enough to show up on time?"
"Hmmm, that's a good question." Kakashi-sensei placed a finger to his chin in thought. "Well, Chouko, you see a black cat crossed my path, leaving me no choice but to take a long way."
Kakashi's one visible eye closed with a smile.
His chakra flickered.
"You're lying." Chouko glared.
"Am I?" He asked innocently.
"Yes." She hissed.
"It's rude to accuse your elders of lying, brat." Kakashi cocked his head at her.
"Yeah, well, your chakra doesn't lie," Chouko said.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this. She could tell he was lying by his chakra?. Hmm, now he wasn't expecting that.
His little genin was proving to be quite interesting.
"Well then, let's get started," Kakashi said ignoring his students. He walked towards a tree stump and set a medium black clock on it, "Here we go. Here we go. It's set for noon."
He pressed the gold button on top of it. Then from his pocket, Kakashi pulled out three silver bells and gave them a quick jingle.
"Today's mission is simple." He continued, "Your assignment is to take these bells from me. That's all there is to it."
Chouko narrowed her eyes. There was more to this test than he was telling them, but what?
"If you can't get them by noon you go without lunch." Kakashi pointed to a set of four bento boxes neatly aligned on a stump. "You'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you." Kakashi pointed to four posts in the distance.
Chouko leaned back with a grin on her face while Naruto started laughing. Sakura was fidgeting, obviously nervous, while Sasuke was smirking.
"Wait a minute there's four of us! How come there are only three bells?" Sakura held up three fingers.
Kakashi chuckled.
"Well, that way at least one of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission. That one goes back to the academy." He said that all with a smile that made Chouko sick to her stomach.
"But that's not fair!" Sakura cried.
"It is fair. There are no rules in the real world, and I'm making this as realistic as possible." Kakashi-sensei shrugged his shoulders and placed his hands inside of his pockets.
"You have to be kidding me!" Chouko groaned. "Everything we went through to get here and you'd just send us back there?!"
"Nope. Can't say that I'm sorry, either." Kakashi shrugged. "Then again, all four of you could flunk out too," He eyed all of them, "You can use any weapons including shuriken and kunai; if you aren't prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells."
"Those weapons are too dangerous Sensei!" Sakura cried with her arms spread wide to emphasize her point. "Someone could seriously get hurt!"
"Especially since you couldn't even dodge that eraser!" Naruto laughed loudly.
"It's not wise to taunt your superior, Naruto." Chouko sighed. "Don't ever go around taunting your enemy if you know nothing about them. That's a surefire way to get killed."
"You should listen to her." Kakashi nodded his head. "Though I would expect nothing less." Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. "Class clowns are usually the weakest links. You can safely ignore them, lowest scores, losers."
Chouko stiffened as she felt Naruto's chakra change. It almost scared her how fast it happened, how it went from feeling like standing under the sun on a warm day to being locked in a dark, cold, cell.
She looked at Naruto and saw that he was trembling with anger, and his eyes had lost the light within them.
One step forward Chouko was grabbing him by the back of his jacket, pulling him back to her and carefully disarming the kunai that he had prepared to attack Kakashi-sensei with. She pinned him to the ground, pulling an arm behind his back, and using placing her free hand over his head, forcing him to stare at the ground.
"Uzumaki Naruto, what did I just say?! You can't just go rushing into a fight without any thought!" Chouko hissed. "Calm down, and think about this logically. You'll never be able to beat him in a fight with brute force, so just calm down and breathe."
R-right." Naruto turned his head to the side hiding his blush.
Kakashi had been impressed with how quickly she reacted. Lord Hokage has commented that for being an Akimichi she was fairly nimble and acrobatic, a trait not commonly found in the Akimichi clan who were built for brute force, and using their body mass to overwhelm their opponents.
He also hadn't expected her to have a calming effect on Naruto and that was also impressive.
"Well, you attempted to come at me with the intent to kill. I'm impressed. "Kakashi smiled through his mask, "I'm starting to like you guys."
"Is that enough to get you to show up on time, Sensei?" Chouko raised a brow.
Kakashi sighed. Her mouth was going to be trouble.
"Get ready...start!"
Everyone immediately split apart and hid from Kakashi's Sensei's view. Sakura was down on the ground hidden beneath a bush, while Sasuke was up high in the same tree as Chouko crouched low, he was only a few branches lower than her. The only one missing was Naruto. Chouko had tried sensing him out and while she could feel a bit of his chakra, she couldn't exactly pinpoint him.
He was moving around a lot that she knew for sure, but why?
"What are you up to Naruto?" Chouko sucked on her cheek trying to figure out her best friend's motive.
Her eyes were drawn to the ground as she felt his chakra signature grow closer. Her curiosity turned to irritation as she watched her best friend confront their Sensei one-on-one.
Naruto was her best friend.
She loved him more than most.
But by the Gods, was he an idiot!
"You and me, Sensei! Right now! Let's go!" Naruto shouted at Kakashi.
Chouko rolled her eyes, shaking her head.
There was no way that Naruto could take Kakashi-sensei on all by himself. Kakashi-sensei was an elite jonin and an expert ninja. He wasn't going to lose to a rookie.
Unless…
'I'm an idiot.' Chouko mentally smacked herself. 'I should have realized this sooner! Of course on our own we don't stand a chance against him, but, if we all work together and combine our strengths as one, then we might just be able to take those bells after all! That's got to be the goal here! To see how well we can work as a unit!'
"You know compared to the others, you're a little bit...weird," Kakashi said looking up at him.
"Oh yeah? The only thing weird here is your haircut!" Naruto shouted and charged at Kakashi.
The jonin made no effort to move and instead reached into his weapons pouch.
Chouko watched him carefully. Kakashi-sensei said that they could come at him with everything they've got, but he never said if he would do the same or not. Naruto didn't stand a chance against Kakashi alone, but if she could catch him off guard…
"Shinobi battle techniques." Kakashi looked up at the sky as he spoke. "Part one: Taijutsu. The physical art."
'Hand-to-hand combat...then why is he reaching for?...'
The concern Chouko felt was quickly replaced by the dropping of her jaw. Her eyes zeroed in on the little orange book pinched between her Sensei's fingers. Chouko was at a loss for words. Kakashi-Sensei...read that kind of stuff? Her face turned red. She couldn't believe that their Sensei would reach such perverted things in front of them! Chouko was only familiar with the book because her father had the complete set and she had once accidentally looked inside it thinking it held some cool ninja knowledge; she's never regretted anything more in life.
Some things aren't meant to be seen by the ninja's eye.
Chouko shuddered.
"What the hell?!" Naruto shouted.
"What are you waiting for? Make your move." Kakashi shrugged while skimming over the linked pages.
"But, I mean, why are you reading that book?!" Naruto asked confused.
"Why? To find out what happens in the story of course! Don't let it bother you though. With your weak attacks, it doesn't really matter if I'm reading or...whatever." Kakashi trailed off flipping to the next page.
Naruto screamed and charged the Jonin with a withdrawn fist. Kakashi was quick to counter all of his attacks, never once blinking, never once breaking a sweat. Chouko watched with wide, starry eyes as Kakashi-sensei moved effortlessly and fluidly. She's never seen anyone move that quickly and gracefully before, it was amazing!
Kakashi-sensei never looked away from the book but then he suddenly did, appearing behind Naruto with his hands locked in a seal that was unfamiliar to Chouko
"Get back, Naruto!" Chouko yelled and jumped down from her hiding spot in the tree.
Reaching into her kuna pouch she grabbed a handful of shuriken that she quickly tossed at the jonin who easily dodged them all, leaving them stuck in the ground. With Kakashi being temporarily distracted she rushed to Naruto and grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket and yanked him behind her. She whirled around looking at him with her hands on his shoulders.
"How many times do I have to say it?! You need to think things through before just running into a fight!" She hissed.
"B-bu-tt!"
"I don't want to hear your excuses!" Chouko yelled. "If this had been the real thing you would have been dead by now, and I would have to watch my best friend get killed. Do you know what that would do to me?! I don't want you getting hurt, and I can't protect you if you keep going into a fight without thinking!"
She regretted her choice of words as soon as she saw him flinch away from her.
She felt it, an overwhelming feeling of anger and hurt, and a mixture of fear and regret that squeezed her heart like a vice.
Her eyes widened. These were Naruto's feelings. Why was she feeling them?
Is this...how she made him feel just now?
Chouko looked away feeling regretful of her words. She thought of wanted she wanted to say and picked her words carefully.
"Listen, Naruto, we can't keep running around acting like kids. We're not at the academy anymore, and from this point forward things are going to only get more dangerous. I don't expect you to change who you are, I just want you to be more careful. I don't want you dying on me." She smiled softly. "Got it?"
It took a minute before the words clicked in his head. When he finally realized what she was trying to say it was too late. The snot and tears poured from his face as the Uzumaki boy latched himself onto the Akimichi girl wailing and begging for forgiveness.
"I'm sorry Chouko I promise that I'll be better! You're not going to lose me! I'm the future Hokage, believe it!" Naruto cried.
Chouko smiled bumping her head against his own.
"I forgive you. I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Naruto." She wiped away his tears and ruffled his hair. "Ready to get serious now?" He nodded and she smiled. "Okay, so listen up, because the only way we're going to pass this test is if we use -"
"It seems you've gone and figured out my grand scheme. What a clever girl."
Chouko turned around quickly and found herself staring up at Kakashi-sensei's face.
'When did he get here?!'
"K-Kakashi-Sensei!" Chouko laughed nervously. "Please...have mercy."
"Nope!"
'I'm so dead!' Chouko paled.
"Never let your enemy get behind you~" Kakashi sang rather eerily.
Kakashi grabbed the genin by her arm and twisted it behind her, his leg swiped beneath her knocking her to the ground and causing her to land hard on her stomach. Kakashi was quick to grab her other arm and yank it behind her and then pressed his foot into her back, holding her there.
"Ow!" Chouko yelped.
"Isn't that one of the first things they teach you in the academy, Chouko?" He smiled down at the struggling girl. "Better luck next time."
"Oi, get your hands off her, Sensei!" Naruto yelled.
Chouko internally groaned. She just knew that Sakura was in hysterics over her situation right now. She could feel it in her bones. Sasuke was probably calling her a loser under his breath, and wondering how he got stuck with a team of idiots. Chouko groaned, thrashing around trying to get Kakashi-sensei's foot off of her back.
He responded by kindly shoving her face further into the dirt.
Why wasn't her team helping her?! Well, Naruto had tried, but Kakashi easily smacked him away.
Chouko stopped struggling and sighed into the dirt her face was shoved into.
"Will you get off of me already? You're too heavy!" She mumbled with a mouthful of dirt and grime that made the jonin above her chuckle.
"Are you calling me fat?" Kakashi mused, feigning hurt.
"Please, Kakashi-sensei! This is seriously embarrassing!" Chouko whined banging her head against the ground.
"I think I like you better this way." Kakashi chirped. "You're much more pleasant when you're not speaking."
Chouko swore under her breath
Her Sensei is a total asshole!
"Give your friends wings time to grow, Chouko! Yeah, real great advice, mom!"
Chouko just knew in the very depths of her heart that this was going to happen. She didn't expect it to be this big of a failure! None of them had managed to get a bell and all they had to show for their efforts was Naruto hanging upside down from a tree, Sakura unconscious, and Sasuke buried deep within the earth with only his head sticking out, also the reason why Sakura was currently unconscious.
Chouko was the only one left, and she had nothing.
She was completely exhausted.
She was bruised and sore and wanted nothing more than a long, hot bath, but she couldn't give up just yet.
She was hiding in a tree trying to think of some way to turn this hell situation around. The question is, who did she turn to for help?
Chouko looked around for Kakashi-sensei and when she didn't see him, she jumped from the tree and ran to Sasuke's location. Sasuke was reasonable, right? Surely he would have enough common sense to realize the situation by now. At the moment, he seemed like her best option. Chouko dropped to her knees and started clawing at the dirt in a desperate attempt to free him.
When her nails proved useless she pulled out her kunai which proved to be far more efficient.
"Hey, Sasuke, when I get you unburied you have to go cut down Naruto, Okay? Then find Sakura and try to wake her up."
"Why waste our time on those losers? We need to worry about getting those bells, Chouko." Sasuke scowled at her. "They're only going to hold us back and you know it. You and I are the only ones capable of doing it."
"You're wrong, Sasuke!" Chouko glared. "Haven't you figured it out yet? The whole point of this test is to evaluate whether we can work together as a team or not. Think about it, there's no way we could get those bells on our own. If we want to even get one of those bells we're going to have to work together."
Sasuke stared at her.
"We can't let personal grudges get in the way of our mission. We have to look past our differences and work together. We can't afford to fail this test."
"Then why do I have to go after those two?" He narrowed his eyes.
"It will give me time to locate Kakashi-Sensei," Chouko said. "I can distract him and then you, Naruto, and Sakura can sneak up on him and get the bells! He won't be able to stop all of us."
Sasuke was silent and contemplative.
Chouko didn't know how he was going to react, but she didn't think it would be this.
"Whatever." Though he was rolling his eyes there was a hint of a smirk on his face.
'Finally!' Chouko inwardly cheered.
Once he was unburied Chouko gave him a hand and helped him out but in return, she was shoved to the ground as Sasuke took off to do his own thing. She stared at his back as he disappeared into the forest without so much as a word of thanks. Chouko sighed and slowly got to her feet.
"Thanks a lot, Sasuke..." She mumbled under her breath.
Chouko was ready to give up. What was the point in even trying now? They had already lost the test, and they would all be sent back to the academy and they had no one to blame but themselves.
Chouko sighed and shook her head. She couldn't give up just yet. If her team wasn't willing to cooperate, then she'd just have to go and get the bells for them
'There is no way in hell I'm going back to the academy! I'm a ninja now, and a ninja doesn't give up!'
Her resolve was stronger now than it had ever been before. She had something worth fighting for and she wouldn't let it slip away from her
Not even if the whole world was against her.
With her newfound resolve, Chouko charged ahead determined to get the bells.
She'd get them even if it killed her.
Kakashi was standing in the middle of the forest with a bored expression and book in hand, "I didn't think you'd ever show up." He said to the Akimichi girl as he turned the page.
He knew she was coming.
Of course.
Chouko shot him a glare. She positioned herself in a fighting stance, though she had no real plan in mind. She was tired and hungry and ready to collapse, but she couldn't, not now, not yet.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Kakashi hummed, skimming through his book. "Time is starting to run out and you haven't made very much progress."
"I know that, Sensei. You don't have to remind me." She said hotly under her breath. She stared at the stupid orange book he read with a frown. "What kind of Jonin are you? You don't show up on time, you insult your students, and you even read pornography in front of them! You're just a lazy pervert, aren't you?" Chouko glared at the orange book he held dearly. "My dad reads those stupid books. The writing is absolute garbage. It's disgusting."
For a moment Kakashi lost all motor function in his brain. "Y-Y-ou've read them?..." He asked with a disbelievable stutter.
Chouko's face turned red. "N-Not like that! It was an accident, I swear! I would never read that trash on purpose!"
Chouko in her frazzled state lunged at her Sensei in a mad dash, though he effortlessly turned out of the way. Chouko felt that buzzing sensation behind her and turned heel, narrowly missing being grabbed by the jonin. There was a flicker of surprise in his eyes that was gone as soon as it appeared. Chouko spun on her heel drawing a kunai from her pouch and turned to strike, only to meet a block of wood as Kakashi disappeared into thin air.
Substitution Jutsu.
'Crap.'
Chouko's eyes widened as she felt the ghost of breath on her neck. She swiftly turned around and caught the kunai pointed at her throat. Kakashi stood smiling at her looking unfazed. Chouko scowled and cocked her arm back before throwing it forward into the face of her "Sensei", as Kakashi again, disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Clone Jutsu.
Chouko didn't know which direction she needed to be looking. It felt like she was being watched from every angle. The hairs on her body stood on end, and the back of her neck burned from the intensity of his gaze. She spun around frantically searching for him, but the forest was too dark.
She couldn't see him anywhere.
"You're losing focus, Chouko-chan. A real enemy won't wait for you to be ready."
"I know that!" Chouko shouted, whirling around trying to find him.
She wasn't having much luck, and the stress was getting to her. Chouko grew annoyed believing Kakashi-Sensei was only playing games and not taking her seriously.
He wasn't.
Why should he? She's a low-level genin, with no real combat experience, riding off the high of her anger and frustrations and not thinking clearly.
The hair on her arms stood straight warning her of his presence. Chouko performed a backward handspring just as Kakashi-sensei had reappeared, moving rapidly towards her with quick jabs that she could barely keep up with. Chouko was able to avoid most of his attacks. When she failed, he would use his palm to push her, sending her flying, but never too far away. He would then follow, continuing the assault with kicks and punches.
Chouko's body was growing tired, and she was beginning to make mistakes, which gave Kakashi the perfect opportunity to grab her arm twist it behind her back, and pin her against a tree, holding her in place.
"Nice try. You were able to successfully dodge more than one of my sneak attacks. I'll give you an A for effort, for an otherwise mediocre performance. He said, ruffling her hair. "And I'll have you know that Icha Icha Paradise is a passionate tale of a fiery love between a man and a woman with undertones of humor and enjoyable slice-of-life moments."
"Ew!" Chouko squealed. "I don't care! I don't want to hear your gross opinion, Sensei! That's just nasty!"
"Now, now. Is that any way to talk to your teacher?" Kakashi scolded.
Despite her situation, she smirked up at him.
"Neh, Neh, Sensei, maybe if you focused on finding a real flesh and blood woman, then you wouldn't have to read such cheesy books, yeah?" Chouko snickered. "Or maybe your dates always leave because you never show up one time?"
Kakashi sighed.
"You really are a pain in the ass, you know that?" He said before knocking her unconscious with a strike to the back of the head with what she knew was a cocky smirk on his dumb, masked face.
'At least I went down fighting.'
Chouko was really starting to believe her Sensei had it out for her...
Not even ten minutes later after she and Kakashi's mini-fight, she found herself waking up, tied to the promised post that Kakashi-sensei had warned them about and not only that, her mouth was gagged and she just knew that was to add insult to injury. It wasn't even fair! Why was she the one tied to the post?!
She was the one who did everything rightHer head hurt, and she could feel the bump on the back of her skull. She glared at Kakashi as he sat on the post in front of her.
"You guys look hungry!" Kakashi-Sensei gleefully taunted them. Chouko's stomach growled on cue making her groan. "Oh, by the way, the result of this training session is in and...none of you will be returning to the ninja academy."
Chouko didn't like the tone of his voice…
Sakura blinked. "What? But all I did was scream and faint. That was really okay?" She asked.
"Then does that mean?..." Naruto trailed off already becoming tearful.
Sasuke and Chouko were silent. Something felt off about the situation. Chouko glanced at Sasuke, who was staring intently at Kakashi.
"Yup! You four should pursue different careers because you're not cut out to be a ninja." His voice was even and his eyes sharp. "All of you are just a bunch of little punks who don't deserve to be a ninja."
"Quit being a ninja?!" Naruto yelled. "What the hell is that supposed to mean, huh?!"
Chouko clicked her tongue and used it to push the gag out of her mouth.
"That's a little harsh, isn't it? I know we weren't able to get the bells, but still! We've worked so hard to achieve!" She yelled with tears brimming her eyes.
"Let me say it again: none of you deserve to be a ninja," Kakashi repeated.
Chouko didn't even have the energy to sigh as Sasuke charged at Kakashi with a kunai drawn. He had been pinned down rather quickly and was left squirming under Kakashi-sensei's hold.
"See? You're all just no-good kids." Kakashi sighed.
"DON'T STEP ON SASUKE!" Sakura shrieked.
"Do you all think being a ninja is easy?" Kakashi-Sensei asked sharply. "Why do you think you were divided into teams and are doing this training?"
Chouko hung her head with a defeated sigh.
"What do you mean?" Sakura questioned.
"In other words, three of you didn't understand the value of this test." Kakashi eyed the solemn Akimichi in the front. "Only one of you was able to determine the answer to this pass-or-fail test..."
"Only one?" Sakura whispered.
She looked from Naruto and Sasuke and then finally Chouko, who was silently crying with gritted teeth.
"Geez, are your brains empty? You really don't understand why you're in a group?" Kakashi said.
"What's the big deal about people being in a group?!" Naruto yelled. "Are you going to tell us or what!?"
"Teamwork!" He said sternly. "The four of you working together may have gotten the bells. That's too bad."
Sakura blinked and thought for a minute.
"Wait a minute! What's the point in teamwork when there are only three bells? Even if we were to work together and get the bells, one of us would still fail! A group conflict would surely occur instead of teamwork." She yelled jumping to her feet in defense of herself.
"You're missing the point!" Chouko yelled. "That's the whole point, Sakura. The point of the test is to purposefully pit us all against one another. The purpose is to see whether we can prioritize teamwork before ourselves or not!"
Chouko scowled. She had tried getting them to listen to her all afternoon but not one of them had - not even Naruto! It was incredibly frustrating to know that she couldn't even depend on the people she was supposed to trust her life with, in a basic training exercise.
"Sakura! You were only concerned about Sasuke even when you didn't know where he was." Kakashi barked. "You didn't even care about Naruto who was right beside you the whole time! You were too focused on Sasuke and your selfishness made you ignore your comrades!"
Sakura blushed hanging her head.
"Naruto! The whole time you were just running around by yourself." Kakashi said. "There were several times were Chouko had to step in and intervene to stop you from getting yourself hurt, and in the end, you still ignored everything she told you and did whatever you wanted!"
Naruto had the decency to look sheepish, and a little ashamed.
"Sasuke!" Kakashi glared at the boy pinned beneath him. "You labeled the others as hindrances and acted as on your own. You assumed the others would just get in your way, and even turned your back on your teammate when she reached out to you for help. You ignored everyone around you, and you were selfish and egotistical."
Sasuke twitched underneath the jonin gritting his teeth.
Kakashi sighed. "Chouko," He called, startling the girl who refused to look at him. "You tried to get your teammates to work together, and for that I applaud you, but when you deemed everything hopeless you gave up and started acting brashly, and in the end, you got yourself caught."
Chouko bit the fat of her lip fully aware of the fact she was crying.
"The duties of the village are done by a squad," Kakashi said. "There's no mistaking that ninjas need unsurpassed individual skills...but what's even more important is "Teamwork". Individual actions like you all carried out today can disrupt your teamwork and throw your comrades into crisis and even death."
Chouko stiffened at the thought of one of her teammates dying because of her actions.
"For example..." Kakashi reached inside his ninja pouch and pulled out a kunai. "Sakura! Kill Naruto, or else Sasuke dies!"
"What?!" Naruto and Sakura yelled.
"You see? In the event of a hostage situation, you are faced with two impossible choices and end up being killed." Their Sensei said as he twirled his kunai before stuffing it back into his pouch. "Every mission is a life-risking assignment. There's not an inkling of room for selfishness. Even the slightest disturbance could endanger the rest of the squad."
Kakashi got off of Sasuke but the genin hesitated to move. He beckoned them towards a stone that was filled with names.
"Looks at this, the numerous names carved onto this stone," Kakashi said somberly. Chouko frowned picking up the sadness hidden in his voice, and the deep undertones of regret. "These are all ninjas who are called heroes in the village."
"That-that-that-that! I like thaaat!" Naruto yelled. "I've decided to get my name carved on that stone too! Hero! That's what I'll become! I'm not going to die like some kind of dog!"
"Naruto!" Chouko snapped. "Don't say that!"
Kakashi looked at the stone.
"Huh, but why?" He asked innocently. "Don't you believe I can do it?"
"Naruto...that's not..." Chouko sighed and shook her head.
"These aren't normal heroes." Kakashi sighed.
"Then what kind of heroes are they?!" Naruto shouted excitedly.
"They are heroes who were killed in action."
"K-Killed in action?" Naruto gulped.
"It means they died in battle, Naruto." Sakura frowned. "This is a memorial to them."
The atmosphere around them grew heavy with the thickness of melancholy and grief. It made Chouko's heart ache. The five of them shared a moment of silence as they remembered the lives of the heroes who fought dutifully for their village, and never returned.
"The names of my friends are also engraved on here," Kakashi said breaking the silence. "I'll give you one more chance. However, afternoon it will be a harsher battle to take the bell. Those who still wish to challenge can eat lunch. But, don't give any to Chouko."
"Why do you hate me?!" Chouko whined. "S-Seriously, Sensei? Isn't that kind of unfair?" The Akimichi's stomach grumbled in response.
Chouko groaned and slammed her head against the post.
"Fine, sure, whatever! I don't even care."
Her stomach rumbled again. Chouko scowled and told it to shut up.
"Consider it your punishment for being a mouthy little brat." Kakashi smiled through his mask.
Chouko doubted that. She knew that it was really because she insulted his dumb book.
"Anyone caught giving food to Chouko will be disqualified on the spot," Kakashi said while handing out everyone's bento boxes. "I am the rules here. Got it?"
Everyone nodded their heads, but Chouko's was already drooling at the sight of the food. She was starving, and the delicious smells wafting towards her made her stomach rumble in response.
This day couldn't get any worse…
Chouko stiffly sat with her back to the post and her bottom planted on the ground, enviously watching as her team enjoyed their delicious-smelling lunches. Her stomach roared at every given chance, and her mouth was watering profusely, and the longer she watched the hungrier and more irritated she got.
Naruto looked at her pitifully. He looked from his lunch to Chouko who was trying her hardest not to let her hunger show. He opened his mouth but was silenced by Chouko shaking her head and grinning largely at him.
"No," Chouko said firmly. "You heard Sensei, Naruto. Don't give me your lunch. If you do, I'll never forgive you."
Naruto looked conflicted and turned his attention back to his bento.
"Stop worrying about me, Naruto. I'm fine. This is no sweat at all!" Chouko laughed. Her stomach disagreed. "Uhh...ignore that, that's just from my dad's cooking! It was really bad so I've been having really bad stomach aches all day! Yeah, that's it..."
It wasn't...a complete lie, but no one believed her.
Sasuke looked at the quivering Akimichi while remembering the day's earlier events. He sighed and held his bento box out to her.
"Here." He said, shoving it in her face. "Eat this so your stomach will shut up."
"H-Hey Sasuke! Sensei said that!..." Sakura said, trailing off in search of Kakashi-Sensei.
Chouko frowned. She stared at the lunch and then at Sasuke.
"No, Sasuke, it's fine." Chouko said shaking her head.
"It's fine. There's no sign of him now so it should be fine." Sasuke said. "After lunch, the four of us are going to work together to take those bells like we were originally supposed to do. Without food, she'll just be in the way and that will only hurt us and besides, we need her. She's able to pick up on his movements better than the rest of us."
"S-Sasuke!" Chouko's eyes widened.
'Never knew he had it in him to care about someone other than himself.' She thought with a sad smile. 'Maybe I've been misreading them...I need to put more effort into this team, too.'
"Hey! I'm the one who is going to feed Chouko, believe it!" Naruto pointed angrily at Sasuke.
"She's my best friend and you're just trying to steal her, aren't you?!"
"That's not it at all, you moron!" Sasuke yelled back prompting an argument between the two.
Sakura looked down at her bento before a determined expression took over her face. She picked up her bento and sat down in front of Chouko with puffed cheeks and a light blush.
"Here, Chouko." She said shoving the box forward. "Hurry up and eat it before Sensei comes back."
Chouko stared at her.
"What? Just eat it already!" Sakura yelled.
"No." Chouko glared at her. "You need it more, idiot! And don't you dare even give me that diet excuse because I thought I already told you, that you're perfectly fine just the way -"
"SHUT UP AND EAT!"
Chouko yelped as she knocked her over the head with her fist.
"Ow, what was that for?!"
"I don't want to hear it, okay?! Just hurry up and eat so we can get a move on!" Sakura yelled with red cheeks.
Sakura shoved a chopstick full of rice into Chouko's mouth. The Akimichi gagged and forcefully swallowed the lump of rice that was quite good. She bet that her mother made it. Sakura had parents who were wonderful at cooking.
'You could be more gentle." Chouko blushed. "But...I appreciate it, so, thanks." She said, looking away bashfully. "You can be cool sometimes."
"Just sometimes?" Sakura smirked.
The two shared a smile before realizing it and quickly looking away. Sakura was preparing another bite for Chouko when a thick cloud of smoke filled the area and their lungs. Sakura gagged fanning the smoke away from her and the bound Akimich's face.
The buzzing was now a loud rumbling.
Kakashi had found them, and he was mad.
"What is this?!" Kakashi yelled. "You went and defiled my rules so you know what is coming!..."
He said as he prepared hand signs that formed a heavy stormcloud above them black as night.
Lightning rumbled around them and shook the area with a ferociousness that Chouko had never seen before. Her hair stood on end, and her ears were ringing.
"Do you have anything to say?" He asked the shaking genin.
"Hey. don't blame them, Sensei! It's not their fault. They were only trying to look out for me!" Chouko yelled. "You have to punish me instead of -"
"No, that's not how it works." Sasuke cut her off. "We're a four-man squad, right?" Sasuke smirked at Kakashi. "Iruka warned us that we were going to have our troubles cut out for us, didn't he? So we have to learn to deal with them, together."
Chouko's eyes widened.
That's right! The four of us are one, so you can't punish one of us for looking out for the other!" Sakura nodded.
"That's right! That's right! That's right!" Naruto yelled. "You better believe that we're a team and that we're going to look out for each other regardless of what you say Sensei! Right, Chouko?!"
The Akimichi nodded her head, and smiled.
"That's right! The four of us will stick together regardless of the situation. We will protect and support one another, no matter what happens. If you want to punish someone then you have to punish us all, Sensei." Chouko grinned. "And if you think we'll break apart then you have another thing coming! How can you expect us to just sit back why our comrade is suffering?! It's unconventional and goes against everything you just told us, Sensei! It's like..."
Chouko gasped.
Then deadpanned.
And finally, sent a pointed glare at their Sensei that just screamed: 'I hate you'.
"Oh, is that so?" Kakashi-Sensei asked as he crouched in front of them who all crowded around Chouko ready to defend her. "Well, then, you pass!" Kakashi said with a closed-eye smile and his hands held in the shape of a heart; Chouko wanted to vomit.
All four of their faces were bewildered as they stared at their Sensei who had a smile plastered on his face and his hands held in the shape of a heart.
"We passed? Why?" Sakura asked puzzled.
"You guys are the first," Kakashi said as the sky above them cleared to reveal fat, puffy clouds that Chouko temporarily got lost in. She wondered if Shikamaru saw them too. "Up until now, it was just dunces who would meekly listen to what I said. They were just a bunch of morons. All ninja must see underneath the underneath. Listen to my next words closely, you four."
The genin gave him their undivided attention.
Chouko leaned forward having broken away from the clouds. She listened closely, wondering what their Sensei was going to tell them, unaware that it would forever change the path of her future as a ninja.
"In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."
It was then and there that Chouko understood the importance of comrades and why they were considered the most precious thing in a ninja's life. She vowed to protect her teammates and make sure that nothing ever happened to them because they were her precious comrades.
And no one would ever get away with harming them.
"He's...he's...kind of cool," Naruto said with watery eyes. Chouko agreed with him.
"That's the end of the training!" Kakashi stuck up a thumb. "You all pass. Team Seven starts their first mission tomorrow!"
"Yes, Sir!" Sakura and Chouko chirped.
"I did it! I'm a ninja! I'm a ninja!" Naruto cheered tearfully.
Sasuke looked at him with a sigh, but there was no ill intention behind it; he too was happy, just more subtle than the others.
"Let's go home!' Kakashi chirped walking ahead with a chittering Naruto and smirking Sasuke.
Chouko stared at them. They weren't seriously leaving...were they? Okay, Naruto she could believe would be simple enough to forget her...Sasuke too, maybe…
But Kakashi?
No chance in hell.
"Uh, guys...?" Chouko called.
They kept walking.
"Guys?..." Chouko asked again.
They ignored her and kept walking.
"Hey, guys!" Chouko snapped. "What about me?! What was the whole emotional monologue about teamwork for if you're just going to go and leave me behind, you jerks?!"
Chouko tried to reach her kunai pouch but the ropes were snug and secured and refused to budge.
Chouko cursed Kakashi's name under her breath and hoped that the jonin suffered greatly in terms of a little orange book suddenly combusting into flames.
"Stop wiggling around so much! How am I supposed to cut through the ropes if you keep fidgeting so much?
"S-Sakura?..." She stuttered.
Sakura rolled her eyes.
She was surprised to find that Sakura had stayed back. She was sure that she would have taken off after Sasuke in a desperate attempt to get him to go on a date with her, or something. She would have never expected her to stay back and help her more than she already did.
"Just about...there!" Sakura smirked, holding up the broken rope. "Wasn't so hard, was it?"
Chouko sighed happily and stretched her achy bones.
"Thanks, again, I guess." She pouted. "I could have probably gotten myself out of there, eventually." She huffed knowing it was a bluff. "But, I'm glad you stuck around. I can't believe those jerks just left me here!"
Naruto was going to get an earful later!
"Consider this my way of apologizing...for today, I mean. Don't think this makes us friends or anything, Akimichi!" She yelled with a pointed finger.
"You and I? Friends? Wouldn't dream of it, Haruno." Chouko laughed.
"Good!"
"Good."
They both shared a smirk.
Sakura stared at Chouko before a thought dawned on her. She rummaged around her weapons pouch for a moment, before pulling out a familiar butterfly pin.
"Here, this got lost during your scuffle with Kakashi-Sensei. I found it after I woke up." Sakura said, flattening Chouko's messed-up hair and putting the pin back in place.
Chouko quietly stared into Sakura's emerald eyes. Why did she care if the pin got lost or not?
It's not like it held the same sentimental value to Sakura as it did Chouko...right?
"Ah, I didn't notice. Thanks."
"Why do you even still wear this? It's so childish and outdated." Sakura teased.
Chouko blushed and looked away.
"It's my lucky charm."
The words came out before she even realized she was saying them.
"I-I mean, just forget what I said!"
Sakura laughed. "Yeah, sure." She smiled, pulling her hands away. "Be more careful. I gave you that for a reason. It's looks pretty on you."
"R-right..." Chouko looked away. "We should get going now. You might still be able to catch up with Sasuke if you try hard enough."
Sakura's eyes widened as a shrill squeal tore through the training grounds.
"SASUUUUUKEEEEE!" Sakura cried dashing off in the Uchiha's direction.
Chouko gently touched the pin in her hair. She smiled, thinking back to the day Sakura gave her the pin as a declaration of their friendship.
She missed when they were friends…