My Ninja Way
"Chunin Exams Pt. 2"
"Yah, Sakura, stop pulling." Sasuke complained under his breath as they were finally far enough away from the previous scene with their hands still holding onto each other as the pink haired girl led them away. She looked back at them and giggled softly before reluctantly pulling her hand away from Sasuke, dropping Naruto's hand without a care.
Seeing that the she and Naruto were the only ones left holding hands, Nori attempted to follow Sakura and Sasuke's lead by pulling her hand gently away from Naruto's however the oblivious blond simply held tighter and continued to pull her around clumsily without letting go.
Shocked, she glanced at the other two for help but they seemed not to notice. "Uh, Naruto..." Nori leaned around Naruto to stare up at him awkwardly however before she could ask him to let go another voice rang out through the room.
"You with the sharp eyes!"
Spinning around, Team 7 looked for the source of the voice and found themselves staring up at the familiar boy in the green suit. Rock Lee. He was standing at the top of the stairs they'd walked down only moments before and was staring intensely at Sasuke with a determined glint in his dark eyes.
Immediately upon noticing who it was, each person had a different reaction with Naruto shocked, Sakura displeased, Nori curious, and Sasuke simply annoyed as he stared up at the older boy.
"What do you want?" Sasuke asked in an annoyed tone, narrowing his eyes slightly when Lee grinned.
"Will you fight me right here, right now?" He asked bravely with a look of confidence and Nori's head tilted. He wanted to fight right now?
Seeming amused by the question, Sasuke's eye brow quirked upwards. "Right now?" He questioned with a look of curiosity at the boys groundless confidence. Who was this nobody to challenge an Uchiha without an ounce of hesitation or fear?
"Yes." Lee nodded and jumped down from the stairs in one motion rather than walking down the steps one by one. Despite the fact that he was wearing such bright clothes and had really thick eyebrows, Nori couldn't help but notice he was kind of cool with the relaxed feeling surrounding him despite just challenging Sasuke to a fight.
Nori watched on with careful eyes and a strange irking feeling that someone was watching her intently. After an odd introduction and blowing kisses in Sakura's direction, Sasuke and Lee had a really intense conversation only for it to be interrupted by Naruto, who was quickly becoming annoyed with all the attention on Sasuke.
"I'll fight this guy." Naruto took a step forward with narrowed eyes, roughly pulling Nori with him due to their connected hands.
Sakura huffed in annoyance, placing her hands on her hips. "Naruto, don't butt in!"
"It'll only take five minutes." Was Naruto's reply and Nori awkwardly cleared her throat, her eyes shifting from person to person before she leaned towards him hesitantly.
"Naruto, you'll need to let go of my hand then." She spoke up and eyes turned to their hands which were still connected.
Naruto blinked before he violently shook his hand away from Nori's. "Of course!" He nodded and immediately turned back to Lee with determination lighting up his blue eyes. "Let's go then!"
"I don't want to fight you." Lee replied instantly with a bored look and he turned back to Sasuke, a smirk curving his lips. "I want to fight an Uchiha."
Naruto's eye twitched irritably. "Tch, how annoying! Everyone's always paying attention to Sasuke—" Not waiting for an answer Naruto rushed forward with his fist raised towards Lee, letting out a yell of frustration and for a moment, Nori thought the blond had it however Lee simply tapped the top of Naruto's fist and pushed him away, causing him to fly to the side.
However Naruto quickly switched positions so that his feet were in the air, aiming for Lee's head. In in a flash of green as Lee spun around and kicked Naruto's hands from under him, causing Naruto to fall to the ground pathetically.
Nori winced at the big fail before she turned to observe Lee a little more closely now, her body becoming tense just like Sasuke and Sakura were.
She thought Lee was cool, just not that cool.
Lee stood back up calmly. "I will tell you this right now. You cannot defeat me because I am the strongest of Konoha's Genin right now." He told them with a bold expression and Nori's turned to look at Sasuke, waiting for his reaction.
Finally, the Uchiha smirked and took a small step forward. "Interesting, I'll accept."
Sakura let out a small gasp and hesitantly looked from Sasuke to Lee, clearly distressed. "Don't Sasuke-kun, we only have thirty minutes left to turn in our applications." She warned and immediately Nori's eyes turned to the clock to find that Sakura was telling the truth.
"Don't worry, it'll only take five minutes." Sasuke declared arrogantly without even glancing her way before lunging forward towards Lee.
Feeling that strange irk climb back up on her, Nori swallowed and turned her focus away from the fight and just briefly managed to catch a flash of blue and black to the right as a figure disappeared around the corner leading outside. The red heads feet moved on their own and she was chasing the figure before she could stop herself.
Turning around the corner, Nori turned left and right looking for the figure and surprisingly only a few meters away the boy she'd seen previously entering Konoha was standing with his back facing her, his long hair resting in a high ponytail and his long blue robes resting behind him.
Nori swallowed nervously as her throat went dry and she let her eyes run over the Noboru clan symbol displayed on his back. She wasn't ready for this. It had been so many years since she'd been in contact with anyone from her clan.
Her attention was moved away from her clan symbol when he spoke. "It's been a long time, Noriyuki." His raspy voice reached her ears and Nori cringed at the use of her full name and she looked up to meet the blue eyes of the boy. His expression was relaxed as he stared at her calmly, a hint of smugness radiating from him as he looked her over, his eyes going from the top to bottom of her body.
"You're a Noboru." Was the first thing that came from her mouth and the boy's lips turned upwards slightly as he raised an eyebrow as if to question her.
"As are you." He nodded his head lightly while he replied calmly.
Nori frowned when she finally comprehended his previous words and she observed his face more carefully. "You said 'it's been a long time' but I don't know you." She told him in confusion, narrowing her eyes. "How do you know me?"
The boy tilted his head and the icy look in his eyes never left for a second as he gave her a warm smile. "Ah, you probably don't remember me but lately you probably don't remember a lot." His comment seemed innocent enough however Nori's tensed when she recalled that during their mission she'd discovered that she didn't remember the Noboru clans move from Konoha. Her eyes met his and he blinked. "You should really stop playing ninja, Noriyuki."
"I'm not playing." Nori denied immediately and shook her head in false confidence but she could feel the mask of indifference slipping away.
He shook his head and his black bangs brushed across his forehead as he let out a tutting noise, almost treating her like a child. "That won't do, Noriyuki. He's getting very impatient." That look entered his eyes again, like he knew something that she didn't.
Nori swallowed. "He?" She repeated in confusion before meeting his eyes firmly. "Why are you in Konoha now? I don't understand."
"I'm participating in the Chunin exams of course." He replied in a mocking tone.
"But why?" Nori stressed out and shifted on her feet to take step forward, finally having enough with the games this boy was playing. "The Noboru clan wants nothing to do with Konoha, so why send people to participate now?" She asked.
The boy sighed and ignored her question. "Well, when you're ready be sure to come back home quickly." He told her and in flash he was inches away from her face with his fingertips brushing away the strands of hair falling in front of her face. His eyes roamed from her eyes all the way down to her lips before returning to meet her shocked gaze with a cocky quirk of his lips. "We'll be sure to give you a very warm welcome."
Nori stayed still and let out a small breath when frost started to form on her skin where he'd touched her and for a moment she was tempted to lash out at him however a feminine voice interrupted them.
"Hiiro." The girl Nori saw shopping a few days before stepped out from the trees and motioned for the boy, Hiiro, to come to her. "Stop playing with the girl and come." Hiiro nodded reluctantly after a few moments of thinking and as he turned away from Nori the red head caught sight of black on the inside of wrist.
A tattoo? Nori blinked and her eyes attempted to catch sight of the markings once more however the girl started speaking again and Hiiro's sleeves fell back and the markings were covered.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Noriyuki. I've been waiting a long time. I'm Mayu and this is Hiiro." Mayu introduced herself and Hiiro politely with a graceful bow, however Nori's mistrustful expression never changed. Mayu smiled gently at the sight, "Well, I guess I'll see you in the Chunin exams then?" She met Nori's eyes with a hopeful spark in her eyes and the red head was caught of guard with the girls attitude, totally opposite from the boy standing beside her.
"Yeah." Was all Nori managed to croak out as she watched the two carefully.
Hiiro smirked and Mayu smiled at the red head once more before she placed her hand on the males arm and started leading him away. Nori watched with an anxious feeling in her chest as the two left. There was something wrong.
Why would the Noboru clan suddenly participate in the Chunin exams now?
.
.
.
When Nori returned to the place where her team was she found that not only was there Lee there, but there was also an older man who looked exactly like him stood on the shell of a giant turtle.
Sakura immediately took notice of the red haired girl and pulled her to her instantly. "Where did you go? You left me here with these weirdos." Sakura cried softly into Nori's arm as Naruto and Lee started to yell back and forth from each other loudly, each of them red faced with anger.
"Uhh." Nori blinked in confusion as she looked to where Sasuke sat on the ground and then back to Lee with wide eyes. Sasuke lost?
The man standing on the turtle grinned and motioned for Lee to stop. "Hey, cut it out Lee."
Immediately, Lee calmed down and moved to stand in front of the man obediently. "Osu." He nodded his head firmly.
"You--" The older man seemed to gather up strength before punching Lee violently in the face while exclaiming, "Idiot!" Nori jumped as Lee flew a far distance away and she looked back and forth from the two identical males. She was too confused. She'd only been gone for a couple of minutes, who was this older guy who looked like Lee and why was there a giant turtle with a Konoha headband around his neck?
The strange man jumped from the turtles back and Nori watched with a twisted expression as he stopped to kneel in front of Lee while the younger male struggled push himself up. The man's expression faltered, "Lee... you..."
Lee's bottom lip stuck out and tears formed in his eyes as trails of tears started falling from the older man's eyes. "S-sensei!"
"T-that's his sensei?" Nori asked Sakura in a tone of disbelief.
"Sensei!"
"Lee!"
Nori blinked as the sensei and student embraced each other tightly, and it wasn't that hard to imagine a romantic setting around the two, something like a sunset on the beach. Unsure if she should let them have their moment or not she awkwardly shuffled on her feet and glanced at her teammates, relieved when she realized she wasn't the only one a little weirded out.
She'd spent most of her time by herself before she became a genin and she never had a friend in Konoha before, so she wasn't quite sure what was normal between people now a days.
A little while later after a crying session the two were finished and the sensei clapped Lee's shoulder like a father would. "It's okay, Lee."
Lee's eyes filled with tears once more as he looked to the older man in admiration. "Guy-sensei, you're too kind." He sniffed loudly to stop the boogers from falling out of his nostrils and Nori cringed in disgust before turning her attention to Guy when he sudden pointed his finger in the direction of the door.
"Now, run 100 laps around the training grounds under the sunset!" He declared loudly and Team 7 immediately turned to Lee to see his reaction, looking for some sort of rebellion that what show them these two weren't total complete weirdos.
Instead, Lee nodded vehemently, agreeing whole heartedly. "Yes, sensei!"
They stared at each other before Guy nodded. "Let's go."
And the two started to run off together to complete 100 laps around the training grounds under the sunset.
Nori suddenly realiazed something. "W-wait! Lee-san!" The two identical looking males stopped to glance at the red head. "What about the Chunin exams?" She asked carefully trying not to set off some sort of trigger that would cause them to start crying and doing weird things again.
"Oh." Guy stopped and turned to Lee. "You go and complete the exams and when your done we'll run--" He stuck a weird pose. "--500 laps together!" He exclaimed loudly and Lee eagerly agreed.
Nori turned to her teammates. "Should we run 500 laps with Kakashi-sensei as well?"
Sasuke flashed her a glare and Sakura turned to stare at her while Naruto laughed nervously. "No." They all said at exactly the same time, catching the red head off guard.
"Okay." Nori nodded timidly and turned to the males off to the side. But they seemed happy doing it together, almost like they were bonding.
Guy suddenly seemed to realize something as he stared at Team 7. "You three, how is Kakashi doing?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You know Kakashi?"
Guy smirked. "I don't just know him." He placed his chin in his palm and laughed. "People call us eternal rivals."
Sakura and Naruto had a rather rude reaction to his words, which of course caused Lee to speak up in defense of his sensei. Nori frowned lightly. She liked Lee. He was cool. It was sad that her teammates and his team had such clashing personalities.
"It's okay." Guy smiled. "We have a competition going on between the two of us." There was a sudden blur before Guy disappeared from beside Lee and a flash of green behind the three of the them told her that he was now behind her. "It's a win of 50 and 49 loses." He told them the score.
Nori spun around to stare at him, a little shocked. She sensed no spike of chakra that would usually be there for something to use a burst of it for speed, meaning that was his normal speed. It was definitely better than Kakashi's.
Guy grinned at he sight of their shocked faces. "Just let me tell you something, I'm better than Kakashi!" But it was a win of 50 and a loss of 49 between the two? They were probably more evenly matched. Guy looked at the clock. "You guys should probably get to the classroom soon."
Nori's eyes widened and she turned to the clock. It was almost time!
When Lee and Guy left it didn't take a genius to realize that Sasuke was in a bad mood. His eyes had that dark shadow in them that used to be so prominent in their younger years, one of the reasons why Nori was so scared of him.
Naruto only made it worse. "Heh, I guess the Uchiha clan isn't so great after all."
Sakura turned to Naruto with furrowed eyebrows. "Naruto!"
Sasuke glared. "Shut up. I'll slaughter him next time."
Nori nervously looked between the two boys in the team and noticed that despite Sasuke's obvious internal struggle with something much darker than his loss to Lee, Naruto wasn't afraid at all. Instead he seemed to understand it as he nonchalantly raised his arms above his head.
"You saw his hands, right?" He ignored Sasuke's shocked look. "That fuzzy eyebrows guy must have trained a lot, everyday... Trained more than you." Naruto averted his eyes so Nori couldn't see the expression or what he was thinking. "That's all there is to it."
There was another tense silence that Nori realized that their team would probably have a lot of and she glanced to the floor.
Then suddenly, Sasuke let out a chuckle. "This is getting interesting, these Chunin exams." He clenched his fists and when he turned to look at them he was smirking, a spark in his eyes.
Naruto let out a grin. "Yeah!"
Sasuke turned his back to them and took a step forward, Naruto and Sakura following them shortly. "Let's go!"
Nori stared at the three of their backs in disbelief. They were giving her whiplash. Constantly bickering back and forth to the point where she wondered if they could ever get along and then suddenly having silent conversations, understanding each other more than anyone could. She didn't understand what gave them so much determination.
A hand wrapping around her hers startled her and she looked up, meeting bright blue eyes. Naruto grinned, "Do I have to hold your hand always?" He asked before tugging her forward. "Come on, Norio!"
"Eh?" Nori blinked and she found herself being dragged along by the blond as their team headed towards the first stage of the Chunin exams.
It would probably happen a lot, him leading her. But she didn't mind.
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I'm really sorry, this is a terrible chapter but I knew that I needed to update super bad so here it is. Also remember that Extra I posted before? I think I'm gonna an extra every some chapters so that I don't get bored as an author having to follow the timeline of the anime every chapter, also you all seemed to really enjoy the last one so the next chapter will be Extra #2. It was be out soon, so don't worry.
#prayforbrussels