It was hard to find her.
Yeah, we searched the whole of Buzzerstores of the narrow allies, stalls, and even those fancy stores that sold expensive spices, but we couldn't find her.
I can smell her, feel her chakra here and there, but it vanishes into thin air before I can reach it.
Hell.....she. playing with us.
Is she testing us? I swear I can hear her giggling somewhere,.....or maybe it's my imagination.
I'm sure she is in the vicinity.
In the end, I activated my Sharingan. Used it to trace her fucking footsteps that she didn't bother to wipe. Footsteps have faint traces of the chakra of the assailant, which can be seen, it's a general Sharingan technique that used to be used in the police force.
I'm now pretty sure where her line of sight is. She is watching us.
Me and Naruto did a crowd vanish and Naruto made two clones to imitate us.
Then I made a beeline to her position. Took a high ground.
From the rooftop I see her cupping her mouth while making a giggling sound, hiding behind the ally wall.
Ventriculism.?!.
"How you wanna do this?" Naruto asks.
"Act like nothing happened.", I say with a monotone. No need for unnecessary flare.
Naruto slumped. Yeah...that would be a bit anticlimactic.
"Come on man....sis tested us...don't ya think we should spice things up?", Naruto screamed while whispering. He is already calling her sis.
"You wanna eat lunch or not?" I ask.
Naruto ponders. From the looks of it, both parties have enjoyed themselves too much in this short time. We had our fun, it was time I had my tomato with chicken.
But then again....do I want to eat at a person's place who wanted to test us right off the be?
.
.
She is still giggling. My clone is smacking Naruto's clone and she is holding her stomach from laughter. That's..... not ladylike. She is also kind of projecting her chakra.....she by nature keeps it down and when she wants to be noticed she flares it intentionally. And she is not doing good. I heard these types of suppressive chakra users that are often enrolled in anbu. Some....wierd subgenre of yin chakra ?
Wait.....she is still a 12-year-old. I don't.....think she had any intention of testing us.
I guess she decided to play hide and seek for fun and ended up treating it like an infiltration.
If we don't come out....she won't move from that place.....that is next-level dreadful. No wonder she didn't have any friends except Ino.
Now that I think about it, Ino is a very nice girl.....just that Kishimoto couldn't write her right.
"Hei, you wanna sneak up on her what?", Naruto breaks my thoughts.
I sigh.
We silently land on the ally.
She still hasn't noticed us yet.
"Call her", I say.
"Why? Go poke her or something! I bet she will jump out of her skin!", Says Naruto.
I smirk.
"Go ahead, I told you so", I whisper. If Naruto dies today that would be the end of the world.
Inches away from her shoulder, Sakura does a back throw on Naruto like a well-oiled machine.
As if she had done it hundreds of times.
A cross-eyed Naruto is on the ground, and as soon as Sakura snaps out of Autopilot she screams with her hands on her cheeks.
"Eeeehhh!!! Naruto, Sasuke kun. I thought you were there. How did ya sneak up on me", She exclaimed.
I grimace.
"We wanted to surprise you, Sakura Chan...I told bastard.....em...I mean the bastard told me you invited us to your house", Naruto said. Still on the ground.
With a sigh, Sakura pulls Naruto up with a single yank and beats the dust from Naruto's pants.
Naruto just stares at the actions of his self-proclaimed sister. Yeah....Naruto doesn't even register as a guy in Sakura's mind. Maybe an infant? Child?
After that, we finished buying groceries and reached the house in the financial district.
A 2 story building.
We go inside.
"I'm home", Sakura calls.
"Welcome home pinky", a deep voice comes in.
A tall black guy wearing an apron comes out.
Has a prominent moustache and biceps bigger than my head. Armycut hair.
The Konoha logo is tattooed on those biceps.
Yeah....maybe a heavy wielder ninja.?
I looked in awe at those muscles, For some reason naruto shrinks back.
"Oh, my Sa-chan....you brought not one but two boys home?!", the guy mused while covering his lips with his fingers.
Okay.....that killed it. He ....may not be a he....or...I don't know man.
"Oh...no...Eddie. they are my teammates . Naruto Sasuke this is Eddie my godfather. Eddie this Naruto....".
Naruto fixes his hesitate," nice to meet ya",
"And Sasuke ".
I lightly bow. " It's an honour to meet you."
Looking at his tattoo I say, "I'm assuming you are Edo Tenso of the Anbu, my clan talked about you some time." I say respectfully.
"Ahh.....!" His voice changed and....as if he started emitting some kind of aura.
"An uchiha. You just happened to be my girl's teammate. I have some history with your clan. Not that I can remember fondly of it."
I look at his eyes....I see a killer there.
Bloodlust.
As expected of an anbu.
Suddenly there is a second one. It's....comparatively similar.
I see Sakura glaring at the Big Anbu.
"Eddie?" Sakura asks coldly. As the room heated up, it started getting chilli here.
Suddenly as if a storm suddenly subsided and everything comes back to normal.
The smile on "Edie"'s face returns.
"Ah...Sakura Chan...my bad! My bad! My girl's teammates are always welcome. Why don't you come in? I will prepare some cold tea." He swirls and leads us to a roam.
We were greeted with a comfortable sofa with a very nice table and a cold tea that felt like made by the angels.
As if the previous encounter never happened.
We had lunch. Talked about this and that.
There is still 1 hour left before meeting Kakashi.
So, uto decided to crash at her house.
How convenient.
We decided to play Uno. Yeah... they have Uno in Shinobi World.
"Sorry about that earlier," Sakura says in a low voice.
"It's okay", Naruto says before I can say anything. I guess the guy is too much used to being smacked in the face with a sudden killing aura more often than not.
Sakura's face goes down even more from that.
But .....that apology wasn't for Naruto...
It was for me.
With a wry smile, I distribute the cards.
"You know...Uchiha isn't the most friendly clan of the bunch. I guess ....they did something to him. If that is the case....it is I who should apologise."I say with as much respect as possible.
"No...no...sasuke Kun.... 'm the one who invited you.
It's just that....", Sakura tries to explain.
"It's okay", I stop her.
"We just became teammates today. There is no need to rush things. We will come around. Let's just enjoy the game and be done with this Jounin sensei", I say with a smile.
"And the food was so delicious, I'm sure even if he didn't like me, Eddie san liked Naruto enough", I say. If he hates Uchiha enough that he can completely ignore the village plage, then I don't wanna know what beef he had with the clan.
That comment killed the mood a bit...until I landed a pick 4 card on Naruto.
It's heated up.
######
It has been 2 hours still no sign of Kakashi.
If I were to guess....he is looking through that hole in the academy clock, as he arrived about 15 minutes ago.
I started playing acchi mitte with Naruto.
I already slapped him 3 times.
Sakura started writing something on a piece of paper.
Naruto takes notice and goes to check in on her.
Looking intently at the paper she is drawing on.
Also joined him on the calligraphy watch.
"Aren't you gonna ask what it is?", Sakura got tired of our stare. Looking at us like a bunch of kids.....which we are.
"It's pretty tough", Naruto says.
"We are bored so we are trying to guess what you are doing", I say with a straight face.
Sakura lightly taps away Naruto's head to make space for her work. As time went by Naruto's head started to block her view again, which she again lightly taps away.
The next time she taps my head away. I didn't realise I was getting in the way.
"It's a storage scroll boys. Now knock it off", Says an annoyed Sakura.
I backflip in front of the classroom door.
I smell dogs.
"He is here", I inform.
Sakura puts away her scroll as she stands up.
We line up.
"I hate being watched" " Sakura says with a sigh.
"Same here" I also sigh
"Yeah....they stand there even when you shit", naruto says with a grimace.
Sakura looks at Naruto with raised eyebrows.
The door slides open and a single eye peeks through.
White hair that defies laws of physiques, and a head protector covering one eye.
Standard jounin vest and a turtleneck.
He enters and takes a single look at us.
"My first impression. Good job noticing me. But....meh...! You guys are boring."
Oh....I remembered, should've brought it out at the beginning.
I pull out a brown pack out of my pouch.
I give it to him.
He receives it.
"What is it?", he asks.
"A gift", I smile.
"Flattery, Huh? Not gonna help you pass", He says.
"I beg to differ", I insist.
Naruto is grimacing and Sakura is looking confused.
Kakashi looks peeks into the bag.
For a second his eyes widen.
He looks at me.....I guess he wishes to know how I got my hands on it.
"I'm the illustrator ", I shrug.
With an "ehm!" He looks at us again....eyes more gentle than before.
"I guess I'm changing my impression of you. Let's meet at the rooftop, it's cramped in here", Says Kakashi. Then he Shunshins.
Sakura is now more confused. Naruto is looking away. We jump out the window and start going upwards by wall walking.
"What did you give him?", she asks.
"Latest volume of Icha icha novel", I deadpan.
Sakura halts. Naruto just ignores her and keeps moving.
"You are the illustrator of Icha Icha, the dirty porn that Edi and Iruka sensei read. You DRAW picture for it?" Sakura says with a green face.
I shrug.
There goes my impression.
"There was a job application and I took it. That's all there is to it. It's strictly business, I assure you Sakura-san", I try to explain.
"Yeah...yeah....I believe you. There is no way Sasuke Kun could like those disgusting things. Right!", she says in a shaky voice.
That doesn't sound convincing.
"Of course not Sakura-san. I infect fancy myself as a feminist", I try to ride it.
She looks weirdly at me. Okay....that didn't work.
Naruto smacks me," Shut up asshole . You are making it worse", he whispers.
I obediently shut up. I never thought a day would come when Naruto would tell me to shut up I would have to oblige since that would be the best course of action in this scenario.
Still, that's rich coming from the inventor of sexy jutsu.
We reach the roof.
Our junior instructor looked at us with raised eyebrows as we walked up to the rooftop.
"So you already know wallwalking? Points for that", he says.
He beckons at the benches, he sits on top of the railing.
We sit on the bench.
"Okay....now that we are here an introduction is in order, your likes and dislikes and what is your life's goal why do you want to be a ninja", he clasps his hand and points at Naruto.
"Starting with you!"
"Okey....My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like Ramen, I hate the time it takes to boil ramen. I'm gonna be the Hokage. Believe it!"
Then Sakura, snaps out of her... whatever thought she was having.
"I am Haruno Sakura..... I like.... them...[looks at me], I hate bullies and my hobby is training with My Edie my godfather who has taken care of me... forever and he is an amazing jounin. I want to be like him. Even stronger than him. He wants me to marry and have a normal life. So....I would like that too....", and she looks at me. A bewitching smile. But no blushing. I'm the one blushing here.
I return the smile. Naruto slumps.
"Also I want to cherish my friends."[ looks at Naruto]
Naruto springs back.
I guess.... some things never change huh?
For some reason, instead of feeling annoyed, I feel relieved. Why is that I wonder?
"Now...you.", Kakashi points at me.
"Hello...my name is Uchiha Sasuke, I like rice water with spicy mashed potatoes and eggs. I hate ghosts and chopsticks. And...."
Ow....I never really thought about being the cause of ninjas aside from wanting to survive. But I can't say that to his face. Like what'd be the point?
"I wish to restore my clan, that's one thing, but why I want to be a ninja....is to meet up with someone....someone who wanted me to be strong no matter what. Revenge is not my cup of tea....rather it's my obligation. And I do have an ambition...actually.... do something big...really big.. like the legends of Sanin or yellow Flash, of the 2nd Raikage, God of shinobi...
I want my name up there. " I point at the sky.
Kakashi sighs. I guess I'm the ideat one here....a goal crazier than Naruto. I see Sakura is proud at least.
I don't care what you think of it. It is what it is.
Pulling my finger down I point it at Kakashi.
With a deadpan look, he looks a the clouds.
"My name's Kakashi Hatake. What I like and what dislike...I don't wanna tell you about it. And as for my plans.....haven't thought about it.
My hobbies.....things I like and things I hate."
He says in a monotone.
We all look at him with narrow eyes.
"Well that's boring", I can almost hear Naruto's thoughts.
"Okay....now that we are done with your introductions, what we will do .....is a survival test."
Says Kakashi.
"A survival test?", Naruto asks in confusion.
"Yeah....the academy passed so many students...our of them only 9 would be selected as genins," Says Kakashi.
His face falls under a shadow, eyes a bit narrower.
With an almost ominous look, he says," If you fail I back to the academy".
Naruto grimaces.
Sakura has a poker face, which is a universal smile.
I tried to look serious ....but ...failed miserably due to the sneeze that followed.
"Okay...we are dismissed for today. Tomorrow meeting at 7 in the training ground", he flops down from the railing.
Then turned around and still looking ominous
"Don't eat breakfast tomorrow. You will puke."
Okay....funny or boring as he is....he can be scary when he wants to be.
In-person, It is pretty palpable.
Didn't Kakashi be the mood-swinger type?
I look at Naruto.
Clenching his fist he mutters, " I won't fail after passing that goddamn exam. I have to prove myself...I will..",
I slap Naruto as hard as I can.
The huge clap sound echoes in the distance.
Naruto bends from pain.
He punches at me.
Hits me in the cheek.
But instead of recoiling I take the full brunt and stop it with my cheek.
Pushing away his fist also with my cheek I look at him with a frown.
"What? Getting scared shorty pants?"
Instead of getting angry, his force faded.
"You're gonna be hokage...." I grimace.
"This is just a stepping stone"
Naruto looks at me with wide eyes.
Force comes back to his hands and pushes me away hard
I straighten myself with the railing.
We bump fists.
Oh...gotta say "see ya "to the newest member.
I look at Sakura.
Looking at...." us" in an indescribable expression that I would like to say between confused and happy. I wave my hand at her. She gives me her usual smile. But her chakra is .....being suppressed like she wants to hide herself right now.
Is she....feeling left out? Not left out, worse intruding?
Shit....what do I do? Emm....
Naruto extends his fist towards Sakura.
She looks at him confused.
"Let's beat whatever test he has for us, Sakura-chan!" He says with a smile that is 10 km wide.
A smile that doesn't look like it's hurting him. A smile, that must not lose its way.
[ blegh! Sound so cliche though]
Sakura bumps fist.
And approaches me.
Instead of bumping a fist her hand reaches my face before I can react and traces her finger along my scars.
"Bye, sweetheart. See ya." She says too.
"Bye sunshine, see ya", to Naruto.
And then she disappears. Smokeless as usual.
Sunshine and a sweetheart.