Ai’s POV:
Kakashi stuck his head through the door, and the eraser fell directly on his head. I immediately popped some clay into my mouth so I wouldn’t laugh. Naruto, on the other hand, didn’t contain himself.
“I got him! He totally fell for it!”
“I’m sorry, sensei! I told him not to do it, but he wouldn’t listen! I’d never do a thing like that!” the girl said, though I could tell from her voice she didn’t mean a word of it.
The boy just looked…disappointed. Kakashi picked up the eraser, and looked at it. “How can I put this?” he asked, bringing his hand to his chin in a thinking motion. “My first impression of this group is…you’re a bunch of idiots.”
I had to stuff more clay in my mouth at the ghenin’s fallen faces. Once I was sure I could control my laughter, I spit out another Ohako and looked at Kakashi. “Aw, lighten up, Kakashi, un! They were just having some fun, un!”
We all walked to the roof. I stood against a tree and played with some clay, Kakashi sat on the rail, and the ghenin sat in front of him. There was something about that blue haired kid that looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it. So, I just read my book on Biju while I waited for something to happen.
“Alright, why don’t you introduce yourselves? One at a time,” Kakashi said, sounding as bored as I felt.
Yay, introductions…Always fun…, I thought as I put more clay in my mouth.
“Introduce ourselves? Well, what are we supposed to say?” the pink haired girl asked.
“Things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies. Things like that.”
I started thinking up answers that would work. “Why don’t you tell us stuff first? I mean, before we talk, tell us about you so we can see how it’s supposed to work,” Naruto said.
“Me? I’m Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate…I don’t feel like telling you that.” I looked up from my book slightly. “My dreams for the future…Never really thought about it. As for my hobbies…I have lots of hobbies.”
The girl turned to Naruto. “That was totally useless. All we really learned was his name,” she said.
I almost choked on the clay, and Naruto nodded. “Ok, your turn. You on the right, you first,” Kakashi said, pointing to Naruto. I returned to my book and only half listened.
“Believe it! I’m Naruto Uzumaki! I like instant ramen in a cup, and I really like the ramen Iruka sensei got me at the Ichiraku noodle shop. But I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the water in the ramen cup. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them. And my future dream is…to be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I’m somebody…somebody important!”
At this point, I was at the page of the nine-tailed fox, and I saw a small picture of Naruto. I looked over at him. I could so easily bring him back to the Akatsuki and get his demon for my own, and no one would be able to stop me. I sent a clay figure to Pein without being noticed with this information, and then returned to listening to the introductions while reading.
“Alright, you next.”
“I’m Sakura Haruno,” the girl with pink hair said. “What I like…u-uh…I mean the person I like is…Uh, my hobby is…My dream for the future is…”
“And? What do you hate?”
“Naruto!” I threw more clay into my mouth to keep from laughing.
“Last one,” Kakashi said, looking at the boy I didn’t know.
The boy didn’t move. “My name…is Sasuke Uchiha.” I dropped my book and immediately turned all of my attention to him. “I hate a lot of things, and I don’t particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because Iwill make it a reality. I’m going to restore my clan, and destroy…a certain someone.”
Everyone was staring at him. I looked at him, quietly sending off another figure to tell Itachi of his brother. But before I could ask Sasuke about Itachi, Kakashi butted in. “Ok, now why don’t you introduce yourself? You’re going to be on this team as well.”
I glared at him, and everyone turned to me. I slowly pulled out another Ohako and put it in its pouch with the others. “Truth or not, un?” I asked, picking up my book and putting it away as well.
“Truth, naturally. These kids have a right to know who they’re working with.”
I sighed. “Fine then, un. Me? I’m Ai, un. I don’t really like anything other than spending time with my family, and I hate everything…including the fact that my family abandon me, un. My dreams for the future…To be Leader’s strongest Shinobi if he lets me come back home, un. As for my hobbies…I enjoy any kind of art, un.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t there something else you’d like to tell them?”
“I have absolutely no problem killing people, un. Oh, and I’m an S-class criminal, un.”
The ghenin all looked scared, and I smirked at Kakashi, who sighed. I shrugged and popped some more clay into my mouth. “Good. You’re each unique and you have your own ideas. We’ll have our first mission tomorrow.”
“What kind of mission are we going to have?”
“It’s a task…that the four of us will do together.”
Naruto looked excited, but I had a pretty good idea of where this was going. “What what what what?!”
“A survival excersise.”
“Huh? Survival excersise?” Naruto asked.
“I thought we were supposed to have a real mission, not more practice! We already did this stuff back at the Academy,” Sakura whined.
“This is not like your previous training.”
“So uh, so uh…What kind of training is it then?”
Kakashi chuckled, and I swear, it sounded more evil than mine did. I committed it to memory just so I could copy it later.
“Hey, hold on! That’s a normal question, what’s so funny?”
“Well, if I tell you the answer, you’re not going to like it,” he said, chuckling again. Then he quickly became serious. “Of the twenty seven graduates who came here, only nine will actually be accepted as ghenin. The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the Academy. In other words, this is a make it or brake it pass/fail test, and the chance that you’ll fail is at least sixty-six percent.” They all looked worried. “See? Didn’t I tell you you wouldn’t like it?”
Naruto didn’t like the news at all. “That’s crazy! We worked hard to get here, believe it! What was that graduation test for anyway?!”
“Oh, that. That was just to select candidates who might become ghenin. Or not.”
“Whaaat?!” Naruto yelled.
“That’s how it is. I decide whether you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at five A.M, and bring your ninja gear,” he said, standing. I stood as well, noticing with a barely concealed smile that the ghenin were very angry. “That’s it, you’re dismissed. Oh. Tomorrow you better skip breakfast or else…you’ll puke.”
I rolled my eyes but followed him back through the village. A man wearing all green ran over and stopped in front of me. I raised an eyebrow, and Kakashi turned to look at us.
“You are in my bingo book! I have to call the ANBU to bring you in!”
I sighed and put some more clay into my mouth, then looked over the man’s shoulder at Kakashi. He just shrugged. “They won’t do anything, but I’m honored to be in a bingo book, un. Just out of curiosity, how far up am I, un?”
“Why won’t they do anything?” he asked, ignoring my question.
“Nuh-uh. Not until I get my answer, un.”
His eye twitched. “I don’t have them in order…”
I looked over my shoulder and jerked my thumb towards the man. “He’s not too bright, is he, un? Do you know how far up I am in the bingo books, un?”
“Pretty high up. I’ll let you look through my bingo book later.”
I nodded and returned my attention to the man in green. I bowed slightly. “Ai, at your service, un. I have the Hokage’s permission to be here; reforming, as you may say, un. I’m a medic-nin for Kakashi’s team, un. Apparently, the Hokage doesn’t think anyone else is qualified to keep me in check, though I could easily take out anyone here if I wanted to, un.” I saw one of my figures flying back to me, and was able to receive it without being noticed. “Well I’ve introduced myself, so who are you, un?”
He did some sort of nice guy pose. “I am Konoha’s green beast, Maito Gai!”
I blinked. “Green beast, un? I’ve never heard of you, un.” He anime fell, and I looked over at Kakashi again. “Can we go now, un?”
Kakashi nodded, and we started walking back to the house. He looked at me. “You seem to be distracted.” I shrugged. “What’s wrong?”
I sighed. “It’s nothing, un…It’s just…I’m partially responsible for my little brother’s revenge seeking behavior, un.” He turned his head sharply to me. “Remember when you were still in ANBU, and I came with the guise of singlehandedly taking down Konoha, un?” he nodded. “That was merely a distraction for Itachi to kill his clan, un…” I looked down and pretended to be severely depressed about it, playing it up a bit to see if he would drop it.
“You’ve done a lot of horrible things, I’m sure. But you’re here now to try and make a fresh start.” I smiled slightly, happy he couldn’t see the lie behind my eyes. “Still, we should try our friendship again.”
I sighed. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, un. There’s a good chance of me getting carried away with my art and killing myself, un.”
We walked into the house and sat down, and he looked at me. “Then I’ll just have to stop you.”
“Why do you want my friendship so badly, huh, un?” I snapped. “After all, I could so easily crack and kill you, and not give a crap about doing it, either, un. And more than that, goodie-two-shoes like you wouldn’t want to be friends with an S-class criminal, un.”
He looked down. “Because I thought all of my loved ones had been killed, and I find that one of my friends is really alive. I don’t want to have to lose one again.”
I stopped mid-step and turned slowly to look at him. “Y-you still count me as one of your friends, un? Even after everything I’ve done, un?”
He smiled. “I’ve done some bad things, too. I mean, I let Obito be killed.”
“No, un,” I said sharply. “That was not your fault in any way.”
“And just how would you know that?”
“It was meant to happen, un. If he hadn’t been killed, you never would’ve gotten your Sharingan, and you may have been killed long ago, un.”
He smiled. “Thanks…”
I shrugged and walked to my room and checked my coins. Pein’s coin was completely colored: he was waiting anxiously for me to report in. So, I ran through the room, putting up seals to keep anyone out while I sent my image to him.
“You requested my presence, Pein, un?”
He nodded. “You have the Nine-tailed fox on this team you are on?”
“Yes, Pein, un. And Itachi’s little brother, Sasuke, un.”
“I see.”
“I could easily capture both of them if you would like, un.”
He thought about it. “No. Stick to the plan for now. If you try anything, they may send someone after you, and we need this mission of yours to be carried out.” I nodded and started to disappear. “Oh, and Ai?” I looked at him. “Congratulations on infiltrating the village.”
I smiled and bowed. “Thank you, Pein, un…” I said, and then frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
I told him about Kakashi. “I don’t do the whole…new friend thing, un. It’s too much pain, un.”
He looked at me, thinking. “I am not going to say you have to make any friends. You can make your own decisions about that. Now get some sleep, and see if you can challenge this Kakashi guy to a fight tomorrow.”
I nodded and bowed slightly. “As you wish, Pein, un,” I said, and disappeared.
I took off the seals and put them in a drawer in my desk, then changed into long pajama bottoms and a simple tank-top. All black, of course. After tying my hair in a low ponytail, I walked into the kitchen for some hot tea. Kakashi walked in just as the tea was finished, so I fixed him a cup as well and sat down.
“Why do you still have that eye scope/range finder thing on?” he asked.
“Oh, I guess I forgot to take it off, un,” I said, taking it off but turning on my Sharingan so I could still see. “So where’s that bingo book of yours…and do you have an extra copy, un?”
He pulled out a small book from his back pouch and handed it to me. “It’s my only copy, though.”
I shrugged. “I can always make my own copy if you let me borrow this one for a few hours, un.”
“Sure, go ahead.” I put the book in my pocket.
“So what do you want me to do tomorrow, un?”
He took a sip of his tea. “You can watch if you want. I’m just doing the bell test, so I doubt there will be need for a medic-nin.”
“I’m more than a medic-nin, thank you, un,” I said.
He smiled. “I know, I know.”
I sighed and stood up, then walked towards my room. I stopped and looked at him over my shoulder. “I think I’ll go train on my own tomorrow, un. You’ll have your bingo book back by your bed tomorrow morning, possibly with more criminals in it, un.”
He nodded and I went to my room. All night, I copied the bingo book into one of my own, semi-surprised when I was in the top five. Still, it said I was presumed deceased. Cool. After I was finished, I turned into Hitomi and put the bingo book back into Kakashi’s room. I walked back to my own room and sent my image to Pein.
“Is there something you need?”
“I just thought I’d tell you that if you send someone for the Nine-tailed fox, you would probably want to send Itachi and Kisame, un. And of course, I’ll be here to back them up, un.”
He nodded. “A good team, to be sure. I’m proud of you, Ai.”
I smiled and disappeared, then walked slowly to the training grounds, where Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were waiting. Naruto smiled. “Hitomi!” I growled softly and ran over.
Sakura started freaking out. “Th-tha-that’s a tiger!”
I turned and looked at her. Sasuke just looked away. I walked around in front of him and stared at him until he looked at me. “What?”
I sat down and turned on my Sharingan only fast enough for him to see it. His eyes widened slightly, and I walked around to Naruto again. I laid down and rested my head on my front paws. Naruto sat down and we waited for hours for Kakashi to arrive. Sakura finally sat down as well, and both she and Naruto were petting the fur on my back. I smelled Kakashi walk over and looked in that direction.
“Morning everyone,” he said. “Ready for your first day?”
I stood, and both Naruto and Sakura jumped up. “Hey, you’re late!”
“Well, a black cat crossed my path so I had to go the long way.”
I growled and walked over to him. He absently patted my head. “Well,” he said, then cleared his throat. “Let’s get started.” I followed him over to the timer. “Here we go. It’s set for noon. Your assignment is very simple. You just have to take these bells from me. That’s all there is to it. If you can’t get them by noon, you go without lunch. You’ll be tied to those posts, and you’ll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you.”
I sat down and curled my tail around my legs, flicking the end occasionally. The ghenin weren’t happy about the no-food deal.
“Wait a minute, there’s three of us! How come there’s only two bells?” Sakura asked.
I rolled my eyes, but Kakashi just smiled. “Well that way, at least one of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission. That one goes back to the Academy. Then again, all three of you could flunk out, too. You can use any weapons, including shuriken. If you’re not prepared to kill me, you won’t be able to take the bells.”
“Those weapons are too dangerous, sensei!” Sakura yelled.
Naruto laughed. “Especially since you couldn’t even dodge that eraser!”
I looked up at Kakashi, who turned to Naruto. “Class clowns are usually the weakest links. You can safely ignore them. Lowest scores…Losers. When I say start, you can begin.”
Naruto ran at him with a kunai, and I just stepped to the side. Kakashi caught his arm and put the hand behind his head while it still held the weapon, and held his head still with his other hand. I just blinked.
“Don’t be in such a hurry. I didn’t say ‘start’ yet.” The other ghenin stepped back, and Kakashi let Naruto go. “But, you came at me with the full intention of destroying me, so…How can I say this? I’m actually starting to like you guys. Get ready. And…,” the ghenin crouched, ready to go hide, “Start!”