Chapter 4:
On the day of the final assessment, a pygmy owl landed on the window ledge. Haruto glanced over when the bird tapped its beak against the glass. He guessed it was the clan head's summoning. Junko informed the class that Hiroshi would find them when it was time to be tested, but never specified how. The blond walked over to open the window, and he ducked as the owl flew in. It landed on the back of a chair after a minute of flying around the room, seemingly to check out its surroundings.
Haruto saw a piece of paper rolled up on the bird's leg, so he reached out to remove it. The pygmy made no move to stop him, but its eyes watched him with a human-like quality; it was slightly unnerving. The note was brief and vague, just saying that Hiroshi wanted to meet him at the front entrance of the compound.
Haruto ensured the apartment was spotless before he left—no crumbs, dirt or garbage. He had to leave no evidence of him living here. The blond started out the door, but paused to check over his shoulder. The owl stared at him for a moment before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
After locking the apartment door, Haruto couldn't help but speculate on the type of test. Junko never said anything about it being a practical test or written. However, there was a good chance that the assessment would focus on determining how much potential he had. The main duty of the clan was to provide Konoha with strong genin who could rise to become a jonin or even an ANBU. With Hiroshi having them gathered in the front of the compound, Haruto figured the test would take place in the forest, or even in the village itself.
A soft breeze brought Haruto to the present as he walked out of the main building. A man with his dark brown hair braided over his shoulder had his back to Haruto, but turned at the small sound of footsteps.
"Ah, Haruto," the man studied him with silver eyes as the blond walked closer. Haruto wasn't sure how Hiroshi knew his name, but he bowed in respect nonetheless.
The sound of approaching footsteps from behind made him straighten, and turn. It was the twins. The rest of his classmates quickly followed, and Hiroshi briefly introduced himself to them, which was answered with a few laughs. The clan head gestured for them to follow, and led them down the dirt path towards Konoha.
Haruto nodded to himself. He was correct once again.
They walked at a fast pace, and he heard scattered conversations from his classmates about different things like whether they actually studied or not. None of it was the least bit interesting, so he zoned out for the most of the walk. He didn't realize they had arrived until he heard Hiroshi speaking.
"... and I want to welcome you all to Konohagakure!"
The large gates were wide open and led into the Leaf Village. Haruto looked on in awe of the village he had only heard about. Various buildings of size and color sprawl out before him. He could see the bustling crowds in the streets, and shinobi running over the rooftops to avoid the chaos down below. Then there was the Hokage Rock which rose above the village, and the eyes of the former Hokages protectively watch over the citizens.
"Everyone has the same reaction to seeing Konoha for the first time," Hiroshi said with a chuckle. Haruto realized his mouth would as hanging open, so he smoothed his face into an untelling expression. Curious, he glanced around. All his classmates were shocked, and excitement glittered in their eyes.
"I know this is the first time that you are stepping foot in the Leaf Village, but that doesn't mean you can act irresponsibly." Hiroshi's voice turned slightly more serious. "The villagers are starting to get used to the clan bringing you kids here every year, but it's still a relatively new process. So mind your manners! You're representing the Tsukishima Clan after all. Any questions?"
Haruto glanced around at his classmates, but it seemed like they weren't paying much attention to what Hiroshi said. The silver eyed jonin chuckled. "Okay, well we'll be going in then."
Hiroshi turned, and led them into the village that they would be dedicating their lives to.
The streets were crowded with people out doing running errands, and workers trying to direct customs into their stores. Restaurants were cooking up all different kinds of food with varying aromas, shinobi were distinctly dressed and walking the streets alongside civilians, and the feeling of the village was lively.
It was slightly overwhelming. Haruto had left the compound only once before to travel with his mother. Now he was being jostled by strangers and ignored by adults who were focused only on themselves. There was a significant difference between the secluded compound and the vibrant village.
But this was the extent of the experience for them. Hiroshi brought them off the main road, and they navigated the smaller, quieter streets of the village. Haruto guessed the clan head knew how overwhelming the sudden change was for them, and he was grateful for the brief exposure.
A few minutes later, and Haruto could hear the sound of running water. Trees rose up behind the few buildings, and the blond began trying to figure out where they were. Junko had the class memorize several maps of the village, and based on his surroundings, Haruto guessed that they were approaching one of the more isolated training grounds.
Hiroshi led them through the trees, and a clearing quickly came into view. Haruto was surprised to find that there was already a gathering of people. He noticed an old man standing in front of the others, and the man was garbed in the Hokage's typical attire. The other people in the area were all children around Haruto's age, but the blond had no idea why they were there. He only recognized the markings on one boy's face as part of the Inuzuka Clan, and another boy with the distinct eyes that belong to the Hyuuga Clan.
"Hello, my name is Hiruzen Sarutobi," the Hokage introduced himself, stepping forward to address them, "but I'm sure most of you know me as the Third Hokage. I'm excited to see what the Tsukishima clan has to offer as the next generation of shinobi." He directed that comment to Hiroshi before returning his focus to the kids from the said clan. "You're all here for your test, and these are the young boys and girls who have volunteered to help."
Hiroshi nodded, and continued to explain—the two must have planned it out. "The village allowed any child with prior knowledge of taijutsu to volunteer. We'll pair you up for one-on-one fights, and depending on the result and display of skill, you might be able to enter the Academy. You will follow the same sparring rules as you always do, and you have a time limit of ten minutes."
A small conversation started up between Haruto's classmates, but the Hokage raised his hand and silence instantly blanketed the training ground. The two leaders then proceeded to split up the kids, and Haruto saw the Hyuuga boy paired up with Asuka while the Inuzuka went up against Hotaru. Haruto found himself facing a boy with dark hair and dark eyes, but the expression on his face was anything but. The boy had a grin on his face, and his eye sparkled with excitement.
"Hi, my name is Sasuke Uchiha. What's yours?"
"Haruto."
The boy Sasuke's brows furrowed. "Haruto what?"
"Well, only kids from the Tsukishima clan are here."
"Oh yeah," Sasuke laughed, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I didn't really pay attention to the details. My brother said that when he did this years ago, his opponent was really tough. So if I want to impress him, he said to fight and win!"
Haruto just stared at the happy boy in front of him. Sasuke shifted slightly under his gaze, but they were saved from any more conversation. The Hokage wished the Tsukishima kids good-luck, and told the village children to take this time to learn. With one more word from the Hokage, the sparring matches began.
It confused Haruto that the village kids didn't bow or anything before the fight, but he didn't have much time to think about that. Sasuke was rushing him, trying to finish the fight in one move. But Haruto knew the downfall of that kind of plan: it was always easy to read.
He waited until the last second, and then twisted away, throwing Sasuke off balance. Haruto was able to spin back around to land a solid blow on the boy, but the Uchiha didn't go down like he expected. He was taught that the Uchiha clan was the strongest in Konoha, but he didn't really believe that until now.
With no hesitation, Sasuke came flying straight at him once again. Haruto should have known that a prodigy like an Uchiha wouldn't make the same mistake in a single battle. Before Haruto could dodge, Sasuke stopped short of his simple attack, and lashed out with his left fist that was in the blond's blind spot. Haruto narrowly avoided his rib cage from being hit, but his stomach received the blow instead. His body protested any more movement after that strong hit, but at least he had no broken bones.
Trying to stall in order to figure out some kind of tactic, Haruto jumped away to create a safe distance. "Ne, Sasuke. That Hyuuga boy, doesn't he look older than us?"
The Uchiha smiled at his attempt to stall, but he answered anyway. "I heard from my father that the Hyuuga clan had volunteered the heiress, but at the last second that boy took her place. I think he's a year older than us and already in the Academy. I'm pretty sure his name is Neji Hyuuga."
Haruto couldn't think of any special plan, so he was going to rely on his reflexes. As Asuka has pointed out, his reactive style of fighting. But, thought that may have worked against his classmates, Sasuke was born and raised to be a shinobi.
Haruto stumbled back from another blow to his stomach. Sasuke was relentless, and followed up with a kick to his chest. The blond wasn't sure if he imagined it, but he heard a crack from the impact. He barely managed to stay standing. As he inhaled and tried to focus, pain in his chest flared up. He doubled over in pain, and he didn't see Sasuke preparing another attack.
The world was plunged into darkness.
~*~*~
A bright light seared his closed eyelids, and Haruto winced at the intensity when he managed to open his eyes. Taking a second to take in his surroundings, he found that he was laying down in a hospital bed. The beeping noise in the background must have been the machine monitoring his heart rate.
Turning his head, Haruto scanned over his surroundings. The room was generic to accommodate the constant flow of patients, but the previous occupant must have left the window and curtains open, so Haruto could look outside.
The sun was setting, and its position resulted in the light glaring right into his eyes. He struggle to sit up to get the rays of light out of his eyes, but surprisingly his body didn't hurt as much as he thought. It must have been a few hours had past since he was last conscious if it was evening of the same day. The unfamiliarity of the room was the telltale sign that he was in Konoha's hospital. The compound didn't have the type equipment the village did.
Haruto turned his head at the sound of the door opening, but seeing the person in the doorway made him instantly regret that decision.
"I get a notice in the middle of the rush hour that after you took the final assessment, you were taken to the hospital. Kaori-san had to hurry here from the compound to help you." The words she said were laced in disappointment, and he had to remind himself to not react.
Haruto was stunned into silence. He just sat staring at her, but Kasumi wasn't completely finished. "Do you know what an inconvenience you have been?"
"Kasumi-san, I apologize for the state I was in," ha said, managing to get his mind working for a little. "I don't have an excuse for it—"
"I know you don't have an excuse," she interrupted. "Make sure it never happens again."
Haruto could only nod. With another distasteful glance at him, the woman with the darkest hair and coldest eyes he had ever seen left him to sit alone. He was under no illusion that Kasumi blamed him for his mother's death, but sometimes he wished she would keep her emotions to herself. He did it whenever they were in the same room.
And then dread set in, reminding him that he would have to still live under the same roof as her if he failed the test.
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I finally was able to get this chapter out after months of writer's block. It's on the shorter side, and I'm not really satisfied with this, so I apologize. I'll try to get another chapter out ASAP to make up for the long wait, but with school that might prove a bit challenging.
Also, I want to thank everyone who has voted, commented, and added this to their reading lists. Any sign of people enjoying this makes me happy, and more motivated to write. Please don't forget to vote, and comment!
This has been edited on 12/5/17