Scars show us where we have been, they do not dictate where we are going.- David Rossi.
Sasuke walked into his home and was surprised to see his brother waiting for him.
"Itachi, what are doing home so early?" he asked, removing his shoes and placing them by the door.
His brother was watching his every move a slight smirk was in his face and Sasuke was beginning to feel uneasy. Something was going to happen, and he had a feeling that he wasn't going to enjoy it.
"Well Sasuke, I wanted to hear about how you did on your exam today," Itachi said, folding his arms expectantly.
"Yes! How did my little Sasuke do!" his mother said running down the hall.
"I was the best out of the boys. Perfect scores," he said, wondering what was going on.
"So you were Rookie of the Year!" his mother cheered.
"No."
The cheering ceased and the two looked at him in shock.
Mikoto looked at her son in shock. "How could you not be if you had perfect scores and you were the best out of the boys?" she asked.
Sasuke sighed, "Someone else showed more than I did when we were given a chance to raise our Ninjutsu grades."
Mikoto placed her hands on her hips and huffed. "And who managed to beat my baby for Rookie of the Year?!" she demanded.
Itachi was smirking evilly now and Sasuke was convinced that he already knew. He just wanted to tease him over it.
"Naruko did the Shunshin. When she was taking her Ninjutsu test, she made twenty Bunshin. She also substituted with someone who wasn't in the room. Finally, she Henged into Orochimaru and threatened to experiment on Sensei. She is Rookie of the Year, and I don't mind," Sasuke told them.
Mikoto gaped and Itachi was hiding his smile behind his hand.
"So, you like that your crush has done so well? Even better than you?" Itachi taunted.
Sasuke flushed, "I don't like her like that! I'm okay with her being the number one rookie because she actually deserves it! The other girls are ridiculous!"
His mother and brother were snickering at him.
"Ugh!" he glared and pushed past them to go to his room.
"Oh Sasuke!" his mother called out to him.
He turned slightly, showing that he was listening.
"If you want to pursue this young lady, I'd like to meet her! And your father will as well!" she smiled.
Sasuke shook his head and continued down the hall to his room. How dare they tease him about that! So he actually liked her, it wasn't a big deal!
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Naruko walked into one of the few stores that didn't kick her out.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!" a voice called out.
TenTen came running from the back room and stopped when she saw Naruko.
"You! You used me in your exam!"
Naruko laughed, "Sorry. I felt like showing the little girls what a real kunoichi was."
TenTen regarded her for a second before rolling her eyes. "Thanks I guess. So, you graduated?"
Naruko smirked, "Rookie of the Year!"
"YES!" TenTen cheered, throwing her arms up. "A girl can make number one rookie!" she yelled.
Naruko snorted, "You're a little more excited than I am!"
"Naruko, this just proves that not all kunoichi around our age are useless! Some, like you and I, actually train! And you being the best of your year, proves it!" the weapon lover smiled.
Naruko rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. Kunoichi these days were severely underestimated and demeaned because they didn't take shinobi life seriously. Instead, they devoted their time to fangirling over some poor boy and completely ruining the reputation of the few notable kunoichi out there.
"So, can I get you anything?" TenTen asked after calming down.
Naruko nodded and requested some more shuriken and kunai. TenTen was quick about collecting what she needed. They chatted for a few minutes, before Naruko left to go and train.
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On Monday, Naruko pulled out her new outfit. The one she would wear from now on. When she became a Chunin, she'd change her outfit again.
It was a black battle dress with a high collar. There were slits on either side that were outlined in white. The bottom of the dress and the pointed half sleeves had a flame design that seemed to wrap around her from every angle. Over that she wore breastplate that she herself created and painted. It was white, to contrast the black of her dress and also has flames coming up from the bottom. A large red silk cloth which matched the flames, wrapped around her waist to keep the breastplate in place. It also served as a weapon in case she needed it.
Underneath her clothes, she wore a half body suit that was also black in color. It stopped at her midriff and had a built in mask that she proudly wore. The arms cut off at the wrists. It was a special fabric that cooled when it was too hot and warmed when it was too cold.
Lastly, she wore fishnet knee highs and shinobi heels. Her colors were red black and white. A nice combination.(A/N: Think of the outfit Temari is wearing when she saves Shikamaru from Tayuya. Except with the colors I used and design I came up with. I did draw a pic before hand so I could have a good description.)
Making sure she had all of her weapons together and everything was in order, she set off for the Academy.
Time for team placement!
The class was filled with excitement. Everyone who had graduated was there. Naruko took her seat in the back again and waited for Ducky to appear.
Like clockwork, the Uchiha sat down at her left a minute later.
She noticed that he wasn't looking in her direction. In fact, he seemed to be looking away from her.
"Hey Ducky!" she called, watching as he flinched a bit. "What's wrong?"
"Hn."
Well he was normal at least. She needed to break him from this weird mood that he was in.
"Are you sad cause you haven't gotten that chest hair yet?" she teased.
His neck went red and he turned to her and growled, "No!"
She started to laugh at him and he seemed to blush even more. "Are you okay? Did a fangirl see you in your skibbies or something?"
He glared at her, "No. Can we just sit here like usual and you not ask me questions?"
She nodded reluctantly when he seemed serious.
Sasuke was having a horrible morning. In fact, his whole weekend sucked! Yes, sucked!
His mother and brother teased him all weekend and he couldn't go anywhere without being reminded of Naruko. The things they said had him blushing so hard. Then, when he left for the Academy this morning, his mother told him to have fun with his girlfriend!
How could he look her in the eye when all these thought were running through his mind? There was no way! And then she was teasing him and he couldn't take it!
The silence between them was slightly uncomfortable, but she didn't bug him about it.
Something loomed in his right peripheral and he looked to see Naruko studying him closely. Her blue eyes were shining.
"What?" he muttered.
A loud shout caught their attention.
"Naruko, get away from Sasuke!" Sakura, the queen of the banshee's screamed and hit the blonde on the back.
Naruko lost her balance and fell…..on top of Sasuke.
The poor Uchiha just couldn't get a break it seemed. Now she was laying on him. Why did the universe hate him?
He laid there as Naruko stood up and began yelling at Sakura for making her fall, and that if anyone was to blame it was the, 'banshee bitch'.
He pulled himself off the floor and sat back in his seat, waiting for Naruko to stop threatening the pink menace. Once she sat, they muttered an apology to each other and went silent.
Iruka saved the morning by walking in the room. "Congratulations on becoming Genin!" he smiled at them.
Naruko zoned out as her favorite sensei started quoting some incredibly long speech that he probably gave to some other class before. It didn't really mean anything, to her at least. She already knew what being a ninja entailed. This speech was for those(fangirls), who didn't know anything about shinobi life.
He began announcing the teams when he finally finished.
The first six consisted of people that were pretty much nobodys. Fangirls and lame boys.
"Team seven will have Naruko Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha….."
The two straightened out of fear. It was most likely, that they would be paired with an idiot.
"...and Sakura Haruno."
The pinkette leapt from her chair and yelled, "Hell yeah!"
Sasuke and Naruko looked at each other in horror! Why her?!
Naruko raise her hand, "Iruka sensei!"
"Yes?" he asked.
Naruko fixed the Chunin with a hurt look, "What did we do?"
Iruka was confused and asked, "What?"
"Since we're the best in the class, I was wondering what we did wrong to be landed with that, instead of a competent teammate," Naruko said, pointing to the sorry excuse for a kunoichi.
Iruka had to hide his smirk behind his clip board. Leave it to Naruko.
Sakura wasn't happy about the comment either.
Iruka cleared his throat, "Well, I'm sorry Naruko, but the top boy and girl….are always paired with the dead last."
Naruko leaned back, then turned to look at Sasuke. They gazed at each other, before Naruko snorted and turned away from the class toward the wall behind her to hide her laughs. Sasuke was smirking a miniscule smirk.
Naruko got control of herself, "Thanks sensei. Somehow, I feel better about this."
By now, the whole class was laughing at the pinkette. Naruko had a way with words. Even her enemies couldn't help but laugh.
Iruka continued on. Hinata, Kiba and Shino made up team eight. And Shikamaru, Choji and Ino made up team ten. No one else really mattered.
They were dismissed for lunch, in which Naruko decided to go to Ichiraku's. Sasuke chose to tag along for some reason, but she didn't really mind.
"I'll admit, that I'm worried about how this is going to play out. Especially with Banshee on our team," Naruko sulked.
Sasuke sighed, "I'm not thrilled about it either."
"I mean, you and I aren't friends, but we aren't enemies. We get along pretty well. But her! You don't like her and I hate her! How is this going to work at all? Why do we have to suffer?" she grumbled.
Sasuke held back a grin. Naruko surely was something.
Teuchi welcomed them with open arms and immediately went to get Ayame. The eighteen year old came to the front with a big grin on her face. She took their orders and talked to them for a few minutes.
When they got their food, Sasuke was looking at Naruko with confusion. How was she going to eat with the mask in the way?
"You're Sasuke Uchiha right?" the server girl asked with a smile.
He turned and nodded his head.
"I didn't think an Uchiha liked ramen. Or did you come for another reason?" the girl smiled teasingly.
His eyes narrowed and he turned back to Naruko, not bothering to answer.
His mouth dropped when he saw Naruko's bowl was empty and she was sitting there, watching him. How did she do it? He was looking at her!
His eyes bulged. When he looked at the girl, she did it! She was helping Naruko keep her secret! Damn it!
When they finally left the ramen stand, Ayame and Teuchi were snickering. "The Uchiha likes our Naruko!"
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It was four in the afternoon. The other sensei had shown up on time to collect their teams. Team seven though, was still waiting for their sensei.
"Where the hell is this guy?" Naruko demanded for the fourth time in the past three hours.
Sakura was trying to get Sasuke's attention and was failing miserably. Sasuke was ignoring her and looking at Naruko, and the blonde was pouting.
"Seriously, I have half a mind to prank guy!" Naruko said in frustration.
Sasuke's eyes widened a little. If she did prank their sensei, Kami help the man or woman, it was a slim chance, but possible.
The door opened and they all looked up. A tall man with spiky silver hair that seemed to tilt to his left a bit, walked in. He was wearing a mask, like Naruko, and had his headband slanted over his left eye. He was dressed in the standard Jonin uniform and even though they could only see one of his eyes, he somehow managed to look totally bored.
Naruko shared something in common with the man. They both wore masks, and their left eyes were covered. His by his headband, and hers, because her bangs were in the way.
He cleared his throat, "Team seven?"
Naruko looked at Sasuke with a livid eye.
He shook his head and she sighed.
The man studied them for a moment. "I'd say, my first impression of you, you're lame."
Naruko looked at Sasuke again, nearly pleading. He shook his head again, though he was glaring at the man. What Sakura did didn't matter.
"Meet me on the roof," he said and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Naruko looked at Sasuke, "Last one to the roof is a loser!" She then too disappeared in a puff of smoke, using her Shunshin to beat the other two.
The man seemed shocked when she appeared from a Shunshin right in front of him. Her attention wasn't on him though, she seemed to be waiting for the other two.
Naruko smirked when Sasuke flipped onto the roof, from the left side of the building.
"You used the window didn't you?"
"Hn."
They stood there, ignoring the man while they waited.
Finally, Naruko couldn't take it and said, "Where the hell is she?! Don't tell me she's lost!"
Faintly. footsteps could be heard from afar. The Genin looked at the door to the rooftop and then each other.
Sasuke frowned at Naruko, "And that's out teammate."
"She sucks!" Naruko said, slapping a hand to her face in embarrassment. "Seriously! A contest to get to the roof first. One jumps out a window, another Shunshin's. What does she do?! She runs up six flights of stairs!"
They shook their heads.
"I swear, teamwork is going to be impossible with her following you blindly and not paying attention to anything else. Then I'll get pissed and choke her to death, unless you hold me back!" Naruko whimpered.
The footsteps got louder as they got closer. Naruko finished her tirade with, "We're fucked…...sideways."
Sakura burst through the door, panting heavily from running.
"She's the loser. What a surprise," Naruko mumbled rolling her eyes to the sky.
Turning to the girl she asked, "What took you so long? Aren't you a ninja?"
Sakura frowned, "I'm a kunoichi."
Naruko glared in annoyance.
Sasuke laid a hand on Naruko's shoulder to hold her in place. "Don't waste your time," he whispered.
She nodded silently and sat down next to him on the steps of the sitting area. Sakura joined them finally on his other side. They looked at the man, who had been watching the interaction between the two Genin with interest.
The man concluded, that the two had no confidence or positive feelings for their teammate. Which didn't pose too well for them.
"Well, lets get to know each other and introduce ourselves," he said in a cheery voice.
They just looked at him. The pink haired one frowned, "Like…...how?"
He drew a blank there. Momentarily, he could understand the other Genin's plight. That was probably the dumbest question he had ever heard!
"Your name, likes and dislikes, dreams, hobbies, things like that," he explained.
The blonde huffed, "You first. You're the sensei. Set a good example!"
"I'm Kakashi Hatake. I like many things and dislike many things. My dreams, you definitely don't want to know about those. My hobbies, I have a lot of them," he said, smirking under his mask.
The blondes eye widened, "You're the Copy Ninja!"
He felt surprise and pride that someone as young as her knew about him.
"You're also an avid porn reader."
He was brought back down to earth with that statement. How did she know that?
"Pinky, you first," Kakashi ordered, wanting to get off the subject.
"I'm Sakura Haruno! I like…" she paused to look at the only boy on the team, and giggled. "My dream is to….." she giggled even louder this time while watching him.
Kakashi took notice how he slid closer to the blonde, a small look of disgust on his face. The blonde was shaking her head.
"My hobby is…." this got the loudest squeal in the world along with the creepiest giggle ever!
Kakashi sighed, "And your dislikes?"
The girls face twisted, "I hate Naruko!"
The blonde snorted and pressed the back of her hand to her forehead, "How shall I live on?!"
Kakashi smirked under his mask. The blonde obviously didn't care what Sakura thought of her. Kakashi could guess the many reasons that Sakura didn't like Naruko.
She was Rookie of the Year. Seemed to be on good terms with her Uchiha teammate. Didn't care about what others thought. And quite possibly embarrassed the pinkette in the past. He sighed. Girls like Sakura were sorry excuses for kunoichi. It was sad really.
"Okay then. Blondie, you're up."
"I'm Naruko Uzumaki. I love ramen and training. I hate waiting for the ramen to cook, fangirls and those who judge others on something they had no control over," she paused as her only visible eye narrowed dangerously.
Kakashi felt shock. Did she know?
"My dreams, no my goals, are to find a way to do the Hiraishin without seals, and to become the most powerful shinobi to ever grace the elemental nations," she finished with nod of her head.
Kakashi nodded as well. She's interesting. Much better than the pink one, but seems to have a pessimistic side. She also has a pretty foul mouth for someone her age. Had a fetish for ramen. And wears a mask as well. I wonder what that's about.
"Good to know. And last but not least," he said motioning to the Uchiha.
"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I have many dislikes and few likes. My goal is to defeat my brother in a spar. I train and go for walks, as hobbies," Sasuke said in a clipped tone.
Kakashi sighed inwardly, A bit lackluster for an Uchiha.
Naruko scoffed, "You have a ton of likes."
Sasuke's eyes went wide and Sakura squawked. "There's no way you know more about Sasuke than I do!"
Naruko looked at the girl, "Oh really? What's his favorite food?"
Sakura flushed, "Uh…..natto."
Sasuke cringed and Naruko shook her head, "Wrong. Sasuke hates natto."
"Well, what does he like?" Sakura demanded.
Naruko snorted, "I'm not telling you! You'll stalk him or something!"
Sasuke looked between the girls and stopped on Naruko. "What is my favorite food?"
She leaned into him and whispered almost inaudibly in his ear, "Onigiri, Okaka and tomatoes. You hate sweet things."
He blushed slightly, shocked that she knew him so well.
"She got it," he muttered.
Kakashi cleared his throat to get the attention back on him. "Now that we know a little more about each other, I'll tell you that we're having a test tomorrow."
The Genin blanched.
"But we just took a test!" Sakura stated.
"Yes, but that was to weed out the one who had an actual chance of becoming ninja. Only twenty-seven students from a forty student class passed. From here, we weed the potentially good ones out even further by putting you through a survival test," he explained, for the fifteenth time in his life.
"We did survival training in the Academy!" Sakura yelled.
"Not this kind of survival. Out of the twenty-seven that passed the graduation exam, only nine will move on and become true Genin. The others will be shipped back to the Academy for another year. This test has a sixty-six percent chance rate of failure, because you're up against me," Kakashi told the Genin.
Sasuke and Sakura's mouths dropped and he was sure that Naruko's did as well.
"So, you will meet me tomorrow morning at five, in Training Ground 7 with full ninja gear. I suggest that you don't eat breakfast, or else you'll be puking all over the place. See you then." he said and Shunshined away to a secret spot that gave him a good view of the rooftop. So he could view their interactions with each other.
Naruko and Sasuke stood and without a word to Sakura, leapt off the building and walked down the street together. It was almost as if they were a couple. But then it was like they were just friends. What were they to each other?!
Sakura frowned as she went back to the open door and ventured down the stairs after shutting it.
If they somehow managed to pass his test tomorrow, he would have a lot of work to do with teaching them teamwork. Sasuke and Naruko seemed to get along and respect each other. But Sakura wasn't even within their realm of notice. Naruko even said that teamwork with the girl would be bad and actually gave good reasons as to why.
Maybe tomorrow, he'd get a better insight to their feelings for one another.
This will be interesting.