Chapter 5: The Margin of Survival
May 13, 5 AK
I could hardly tear my gaze from the piercing blue sky of early summer. The world was lent a dreamy, neon edge by the blistering white sunlight and the haze of endorphins rushing through my head.
Marginal.
My pass was marginal. I made it by the skin of my teeth and the judicious use of my Sharingan. I was probably in the bottom ten percent of the graduating class.
But I did graduate. After only one year in the academy.
A fact which filled me anew with a fierce, predatory joy every time I remembered it.
I was reminded of the old joke:
What do you call a doctor who barely passed his exams?
A doctor.
Even with a slim pass, I still passed.
I was now part of Squad 19. Two older children I had never heard of, and a Jōnin sensei whose name I didn't catch, floating as I was in the haze of euphoric relief.
I took a breath and shook my head clear of distracting emotions.
Focus.
I looked at my teammates.
No. I mustn't think of them as faceless no-ones. They need to matter to me. I need to love them.
And then, they needed to die.
KIA, of course. Itachi would never forgive a betrayal of the Will of Fire. Just... well. It happens. The mortality rates for newly minted Genin were atrocious, even in peacetime. I didn't need to do anything precipitous. Just let nature run its course.
But it had to hurt. To awaken the Mangekyō, I needed to care for them.
And the first step to that was getting them to like me.
Curse you, shortsighted antisocial tendencies! What do children even do when they aren't training?
"Hi, uh, sorry, I was kind of distracted when they were doing team assignments," I said, putting on my best 'harmless kid' face. "I'm Hiroki. Uchiha Hiroki. It's nice to meet you. What are your names?"
The girl gave me a slightly put-upon look, as if I were intentionally dragging her down with my youth and short stature. The wild spikes of her auburn hair bristled from her hooded leather jacket. Her frown pulled at the red clan markings on her cheeks, her yellowed eyes glinting.
"Inuzuka Nikkei. This is my ninken, Kenji."
The small brown dog gave a yip of hello.
The other boy just looked a little bit sleepy. His well-tanned face was relaxed, eyelids half-closed over pale green orbs. He gave me a small wave, the motion barely shifting the long-sleeved amber shirt he wore over cornflower blue pants.
"Yo. I'm Shimura Wasabi. Sup?"
I carefully schooled my expression to avoid blinking in surprise.
Shimura.
I knew intellectually Danzo must have had a clan, but I hadn't expected to meet any of them, let alone be on the same squad as one. I smiled politely back at the shaven-headed boy, making sure to crinkle the corners of my eyes so it looked natural.
"Ahh, any relation to Shimura Danzo perchance? Advisor to the Sandaime?"
Wasabi raised an eyebrow at the name drop but nodded. "Yeah. My uncle's cousin or something like that. Don't see him much, of course. He's a busy guy."
I nodded pleasantly. "I can imagine. It is much the same in my family; father is a Tokubetsu Jōnin and since he has the Sharingan, he spends a lot of time outside the village."
Nikkei sniffed irritably, leaning back in her chair to look down her nose at me. "My dad's a full Jōnin. Front-line combat. One of the strongest ninken partnerships in a century!"
I blinked, taken aback by her aggressive posture, but recovered quickly. "Oh wow! That's impressive! I hope I get to meet him one day. I wish I had a partner I could rely on like that!"
My kunoichi teammate smirked quizzically at me in slightly nonplussed condescension but seemed pleased at the flattery. Wasabi gave her an unimpressed look, but before he could speak, I turned to him.
"What about you, Wasabi-san? Does your clan have any cool techniques?"
People always like to talk about themselves. Even the "shy" ones.
"Oh, yeah," Wasabi said, sitting up a little straighter. "It's not a Bloodline or anything, but the Shimura hold the summoning contract of the Tapir Clan. We're all really good at nature transformations. Check it out!"
He concentrated on a kunai. After a moment, it began to waver with faint heat lines.
I whistled appreciatively. Even Nikkei seemed reluctantly impressed. Wind Release at Genin level? Not bad.
We waited. And waited.
I tried to keep up a low level of small talk, mild flattery, anything to build a bridge. We'd have to be extraordinarily unlucky to get a sensei who relied on cryptic tests, but teamwork was a major virtue in Konoha. It couldn't hurt to start generating an air of camaraderie now.
When the door finally opened, hours later, I was actually in a pretty good mood. Wasabi had a dry sense of humor, and liked slipping in a bit of innuendo to see Nikkei flush. She of course denied that he was making her uncomfortable, but her blazing blush said otherwise.
I looked up to see who had entered.
My smile became fixed. Formaldehyde quality.
Gravity-defying silver hair. Slanted forehead protector. Dead fish eye.
Kakashi.
He blinked at us placidly.
"My first impression of you guys... idiots."
-----
Want to jump 30+ chapters ahead right now?
You can read the advanced chapters and support me directly on p 4 treon.
Link in the synopsis & profile: p 4 treon > ForgottenDaoist