Genin
By Flashfyre5
NOTE: “ “
= Talking
Chapter
Three: Surprises
Sasuke
awoke in sudden and excruciating agony.
His eyes flew open, reflexively summoning the power of the
Sharingan. Red eyes scanned the
room, even as his hands flew to his shoulder, where Orochimaru’s curse seal felt
like it was burning a hole in his body.
The first thought that registered in Sasuke’s pain-clouded mind was that
it was dark. /It’s still night,
then,/ Sasuke thought in between waves of agony. Than another burst of intense pain his
him, and all Sasuke could do was arch his back as he endured
it.
The
young man tried to move his feet, to pull himself into a sitting position, but
every time he tried, the pain flared up again. The skin on his shoulder where the curse
seal rested was becoming hot- very hot.
Again, the pain welled up within him, and this time Sasuke could not even
find the strength of will to keep a moan of agony from escaping his mouth. Another burst came, this one faster than
the last, and his moan became a scream.
His hands felt like they were burning, his shoulder was so hot, but
Sasuke didn’t remove them; he couldn’t.
Every movement he made brought new pain from the curse seal. Another wave came, only this one didn’t
subside. It grew and grew, while
Sasuke lost all control and writhed, screaming in pain. Somehow, he managed to roll himself off
of the futon and onto the floor, where he laid on his stomach, too hurt to even
move.
Then,
with a sudden snapping feeling, as if something had given up, the pain subsided
almost all of the way. Sasuke, on
shaky arms and legs, pushed himself to his feet and stumbled over to his
mirror. The pain was returning,
slowly. After what had seemed like
hours to the hurting boy, Sasuke made it to his dresser, over which hung a small
mirror, the only one in his tiny apartment. He turned sideways to it, even as he
could feel the pain swelling inside of him, and pulled down the shoulder strap
of his sleeveless t-shirt.
The
curse seal had somehow activated.
It was attempting to spread its’ red tendrils of power and insanity
across his body, but the seals were holding it in check. Sasuke’s eyes widened as he realized
that there were now only four seals holding the curse seal in check; it had
overwhelmed the first. /That must
be why the pain stopped,/ Sasuke reasoned before the first wave of pain hit
him. The growth of the seal was
slow, and gradual, but it was approaching the second containment seal. As the curse seal neared it, the
containment seal began to glow red as well, and repel the curse seal. Each wave of repulsion, Sasuke noticed,
accompanied a wave of pain. Every
time, however, the curse seal drew closer to the containment seal before it was
repelled. The next wave of pain,
however, was so intense that Sasuke toppled off of his feet, landing hard on the
wooden floor of his apartment. With
each wave of pain thereafter, Sasuke managed to twitch his head down, until he
managed to get a sidelong view of his seals. The last thing he saw, as the most
intense wave of pain yet washed over him, was the second containment seal
evaporating into spectral red flame.
Then
there was only darkness as Sasuke dropped into blessed
unconsciousness.
* * * * * *
Naruto pulled himself out of bed, swatting the ‘off’ button on the
blaring alarm clock that sat just out of arm’s reach from his bed. The youth had learned the hard way that
if he left it within arms’ reach of the bed, he’d fall back asleep. He didn’t often have to use the damned
thing, but when he had a morning appointment, and he’d been up late the night
before, he knew enough to set it.
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he was glad that he’d had the common
sense to set it just in case when he’d walked in yesterday. He had completely forgotten to check it
before he went to bed.
As Naruto went through his morning routine, waking up in slow degrees, he
thought about Sakura and Sasuke, reminiscing about times long past, when they
had still been a real team. He had
stayed friends with Sakura, but once Sasuke had defeated him in the chuunin exam
and been promoted, the ever-superior black-haired boy had done his best to stay
away from Naruto, out of contempt.
After a few bad exchanges with Sasuke, Naruto had also decided to avoid
the other boy, out of anger and frustration.
Sakura had been the only link between them, and she’d done her best never
to mention one of them to the other.
Around Sasuke, she pined after him, and did her best to gain some level
of respect from him. He responded
to her in the same way that he always had; by brushing her off and moving to do
more important things. Around
Naruto, Sakura had managed to relax somewhat, especially after Naruto realized
how much his constant come-ons were alienating her.
Their
relationship had taken an interesting turn when Naruto had found out about Inner
Sakura in a celebratory dinner with Ino, when she’d managed to pass the chuunin
exam. They had been reminiscing
about old fights, when Sakura and Ino’s first fight had come up. Ino had flippantly mentioned how her
Shintenshin had failed against Sakura had failed because, as she had said, “The
girl’s crazy! There’s two of her in
there!” Sakura had yelled at Ino,
and everybody had shared a good laugh.
Later,
Naruto had asked Sakura about what Ino had said. To this day, he was still amazed that
she had had enough confidence in him to tell him the truth, that what Ino had
said was true. Since he and Sakura
had been training together, on an off-and-on basis anyway, he proposed that the
‘other her’ might be useful, in a different way than Sakura could normally
fight. Naruto had talked to Jiraiya
about his idea, and the white-haired ninja had been rather surprised that Naruto
had been so perceptive. From that
point, it had taken little effort to enlist Jiraiya to assist in the development
of what was quickly dubbed the Jinkaku Kokan. It had taken a little more than three
weeks for it to work the first time.
Another month after that, Sakura had mastered the newly created
technique. The first time, however,
had been… memorable.
He was
crouching in front of her, watching as she carefully molded her chakra. Sakura had been trying all day, with no
success. Jiraiya had left hours
ago, having become bored with Sakura’s repeated attempts and subsequent
failures. Again, Sakura had failed,
opening her eyes and sighing deeply.
“I don’t
think it’s gonna work,” Sakura had said, easing out of her cross-legged sitting
position a bit.
“Don’t
give up that easily!” Naruto had encouraged her, patting Sakura’s shoulder as he
did so. “One more time. That’s all I’m asking,” Naruto had
relented when he saw her about to get up.
Sakura gave him a long, hard look, then sighed
again.
“All
right,” she had said, sitting back down.
In a moment, she had summoned her chakra, and was performing the three
simple hand seals for the technique: mouse, horse, tiger. “Jinkaku Kokan no Jutsu,” she had
whispered as she concentrated.
Naruto thought he saw a bit of chakra flare after that, but he’d thought
that for the last five attempts.
Then, he’d heard a quiet murmuring coming from Sakura. He wasn’t sure what she was saying, but
she was doing so in a rather unsettlingly angry voice.
“Umm…
Sakura? Are you all right?” he’d
asked, leaning over her to try and hear what she was saying, as well as to check
and make sure that she was all right.
What he’d heard had surprised him.
“… damn
jackass. I’m gonna kick his ass for
this, and then I’m gonna kick his mother’s ass for creating him. Don’t matter that he doesn’t have a
mother, I’m gonna kick it anyway,” she was murmuring, almost inaudibly. Upon hearing Naruto’s words, her eyes
had flown open, flaring with anger.
For a moment, Naruto had been surprised that they were blue. Soon, he’d had much more important
things to be surprised at.
“What
the HELL do YOU want?!” Sakura had demanded loudly, then clasped her hands over
her mouth. Naruto had very nearly
fallen over, having heard that particular phrase come out of Sakura’s
mouth.
“HELL
YEAH!” she had shouted, thrusting her right fist as far into the air as it would
go. Shortly after she’d launched
this maneuver, her fist had impacted something. No matter. It moved with her fist as it continued
upwards, so she paid it no mind. A
moment later, Naruto toppled to the ground, a rather nasty imprint of a fist on
the bottom of his chin.
“Well,
looks like she got it,” Jiraiya had commented, walking back into the
clearing.
At
first, Inner Sakura had been somewhat similar to Outer Sakura, except for the
fact that she was a near-genius in regards to taijutsu, especially weapons-based
taijutsu. As time progressed,
however, the two Sakuras seemed to polarize, Outer Sakura becoming a little more
shy and reserved, while Inner Sakura became even more exuberant and mischievous
than she had started as. The key
parts of their personalities, however, remained the same. Inner Sakura was a troublemaker at
heart, and the most notable change, as time progressed, was that soon nobody was
safe from her, whereas she had once respected certain boundaries of rank and
power. Outer Sakura was a scholar,
but was never afraid to speak her mind.
She would keep certain things to herself now, except around friends, that
she would have said to anybody before, but otherwise Outer Sakura hadn’t changed
much.
One
thing, Naruto noted, was that Inner Sakura loved her body. Outer Sakura loved it too, but not in
the way that Inner Sakura did. He
often saw Inner Sakura using her body to distract her opponent at a critical
moment in a fight. She was utterly
ruthless and took great delight when such a simple tactic succeeded, as it often
did. Nobody was safe; she had even
used such tactics against him before.
Naruto blushed, remembering how easy it had been for the pink-haired girl
to make him miss his landing on a rather large jump because, as she had pushed
herself off the ground, she had shoved her rear in the air in his
direction. Naruto could still
remember how badly his head had hurt when it had smacked into a stone in the
ground that he hadn’t seen.
Sakura-chan hadn’t stopped laughing for a good half hour as Naruto
sullenly cradled his head.
/Of
course,/ Naruto thought as he locked his front door, /I usually give as good as
I get. I’ve just been off my game
lately./ He hung his head,
remembering how easily Sakura had been able to sucker him with that horrible
naruto pun. The blond-haired boy
then shook his head and began a leisurely walk towards the central Konoha ninja
offices. He had allowed himself a
half-hour for a fifteen-minute walk, so he took his time, enjoying the crisp
morning air. Inner Sakura had
decided to focus on the ninja-to as her main weapon, and Naruto had to admit
that she was good with it. She had
taught herself a number of Konoha style katana skills, but she refused to
announce them as she used them. She
said that she’d rather hit with the technique than have it sound cool. Naruto had given up at that point. Then, rounding a corner in front of him,
Naruto saw Sakura’s pink flash of hair.
She hadn’t seen him; her back was turned to Naruto at the moment. Naruto started to jog to catch up to
her.
“Sakura-chan!”
Naruto called as he jogged, calling her Sakura-chan, as he always did when he
wasn’t sure which Sakura was in charge at the moment. Sakura froze in mid-step, her shoulders
creeping up a bit. Naruto quickly
caught up with her, but as he neared, she turned her head down and away from
Naruto. “Good morning,
Sakura-chan!” Naruto greeted her boisterously.
‘Uh… hi,
Naruto,” Sakura replied, her face still hidden from Naruto’s view. “And it’s just
me.”
“What’s
the matter, Sakura-san?” Naruto asked, worried for his
friend.
“I… I’m
sorry. It’s just… something that
the other me said yesterday has me rather embarrassed right now,” Sakura
explained, looking up. Naruto could
now see why she’d hidden her face form him; Sakura was blushing
furiously.
“The
naruto pun or the ‘likes me’ thing?” Naruto asked dryly. Slowly, the two continued their
walk.
“Uhh…
the second one,” Sakura said in a tiny voice.
“Don’t
worry about it,” Naruto reassured her, thumping her lightly in the back. “She’s just pulling another prank on
me.” Naruto happened to be looking
at Sakura when he said this. Had he
not, he would have missed the rather considerable darkening of Sakura’s
blush. “She is, right?” Naruto
asked, much less certain of himself.
Sakura’s blush seemed to, almost imperceptibly deepen for a long moment
before she spoke again.
“Umm…
I’ll see you at the offices, Naruto!” Sakura shouted over her shoulder as she
hopped up onto the roof of a nearby building and leapt off towards the offices
at high speed. Naruto was left
standing alone, confused, and more than a little bit
hopeful.
* * * * * *
The world slowly returned to Sasuke. The first thing he realized was that his
left shoulder hurt. The second
thing he realized was that his head hurt.
The third was that neither hurt anywhere nearly as badly as his whole
body had hurt the night before, and he was grateful for this, at least. The youth pushed himself to his feet a
bit shakily, swaying a bit before he found his balance. Light streamed in through his window,
but it didn’t make his head hurt any more than it already
did.
Sasuke remembered the night before very clearly; he doubted that he could
ever forget it. Turning sideways to
the mirror, Sasuke examined his shoulder.
The surprise that washed over him shook him out of the haze that he had
woken up in. Only the outermost of
Sasuke’s containment seals remained; all four of the interior ones had been
burned away. More surprising,
though, was the fact that the curse seal itself, the bane of his existence for
the last four years, was gone. Of
all the seals that had been heaped upon Sasuke, only Jiraiya’s angular, wild,
containment seal remained, winding over his left pectoral muscle and just behind
his left shoulder blade. Alone,
Sasuke realized, it looked pretty good, oddly enough.
Suddenly, Sasuke remembered that he had a rather important meeting to
attend that morning. He glanced at
his wall clock, hanging next to the mirror, and cursed. He was already over half an hour
late. Not even bothering with his
appearance, he struggled into a pair of loose black jeans, then pulled his white
jacket over his sleeveless white t-shirt.
One his way out of the room, he grabbed his keys and his forehead
protector. He didn’t even notice
that he’d left his scarf behind.
As Sasuke bounded over the top of building after building in his
desperation to make some part of the application meeting with Tsunade, he
noticed that his body was moving more fluidly than it normally did. In fact, he couldn’t remember feeling
this at ease in his own body since Kakashi had put the first containment seal on
the curse seal. /Maybe it really is
gone,/ he thought to himself. /I’ll
have Tsunade look at it,/ he shook his head, not having time for deep
thought.
He needed to make this meeting because, more importantly, he needed to
become a jounin. The rank itself
meant nothing to him. Sasuke needed
to become a jounin because only jounin could learn certain extremely powerful
assassination techniques. The
Chidori was only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, and even Sasuke had to
admit that it was as much flash as bang, as much as he loved the lethal
technique. He needed power. He needed it because he knew something,
knew it beyond any level of doubt possible.
Itachi would return.
Sasuke knew this because, as much as he hated it, he knew his
brother. Itachi had come four years
ago to check on Sasuke’s progress as a ninja, whatever else the elder Uchiha had
said. Itachi was pressuring Sasuke,
and had been all his life. He had
killed the entire clan because of it, for no greater reason than because he knew
that it would drive Sasuke to the greatest heights of power possible for the
younger Uchiha. Sasuke hated Itachi
for that flippant act, and hated him more for the fact that he was doing just as
Itachi wanted. All his life, he’d
pursued power, at whatever the cost… almost.
He had
abstained from one technique only, because he feared that, even with it, he
would not have enough strength to end Itachi’s life. Ever since his brother had come,
however, Sasuke had become increasingly convinced that it would be the only way
that he could guarantee Itachi’s death.
Ironically, this very technique was the only reason that Sasuke still
lived. On the other hand, it might
be the only reason his family was dead.
Either way, Itachi wanted to see it, wanted to see it like nothing else,
but Sasuke had no idea why. A
technique so terrifying that merely using it a single time would rend the very
mind from the user. A technique so
powerful, it made the Magna Sharingan pale in comparison. The ultimate, and breathtakingly rare,
incarnation of the potent Uchiha Bloodline Limit.
The
Shijuukaigan Sharingan.
So
dangerous was it to the user, Sasuke remembered as he neared the central
offices, that it had been sealed up for generations. The last person who had used it, his
great grandfather, had used it once, and spent the rest of his life in a state
of gibbering insanity. The man’s
brother had sealed up the technique, and instructed his heirs that they were
only to break the seal and attempt the technique if there was simply no other
alternative to the clan’s extinction.
If Orochimaru’s curse seal was truly gone, Sasuke decided, it could well
be time to break the ancient seal.
Even more so if he missed his opportunity to become a jounin, he
grimaced. Especially if what he
suspected was true.
Then he
was at the offices, and dashing through the front door. He whipped around corners and down
hallways, making his way to the room where he knew that he would have to meet
with Tsunade. Rounding the last
corner, he skidded to a stop as he saw Naruto and Sakura leaning against the
wall across from the meeting room, conversing quietly. His sudden appearance had caught their
attention, and he tried to look calm and composed as he walked down the hall to
join them.
“Did I
miss it?” he asked, unable to contain his worry.
“Naw,”
Naruto said, looking away and at the door.
“They decided to do the chuunin graduation before us at the last
minute. Apparently everybody forgot
how much of a longwinded old geezer the Mizukage is.”
“We’ve
been waiting for ya,” Sakura sniped.
Sasuke spared a quick glance to confirm that her eyes were blue, then
sighed internally. One Naruto was
bad enough, but when Sakura let her inner self out with that useless Jinkaku
Kokan, she could be even worse.
Sasuke didn’t even want to speculate at what the two might be like
together.
“What,
no scarf today, pretty boy?” Sakura asked, grinning. Sasuke’s hand went to his neck to check;
indeed, he’d forgotten it. /In
fact,/ he realized, looking down at his right hand, /I didn’t even bother to put
on my forehead protector./ He
lifted the light piece of armor and tied it securely on his
forehead.
“What’s
that?” Naruto asked, pointing at Sasuke’s neck.
“Huh?”
the taller boy asked, confused for a minute.
“On your
neck and face,” Naruto clarified, his brow wrinkling. “It almost looks like a
tattoo.”
“Ooh,
tattoos on Sasuke,” Sakura cooed teasingly. “Lemme see.” As fate or, more likely, Tsunade’s lack
of patience would have it, the door across the hall slid open, issuing forth a
stream of young ninjas. Among them,
Konohamaru was being patted on the back and herded forward, a look of shock on
his face. The boy’s shock only
intensified when he saw Naruto.
“Naruto-niichan…”
he said, coming to a stop. His eyes
were as big around as saucers, and seemed to be almost brimming with
tears.
“Didja
make it?” Naruto asked, a big smile on his face, Sasuke’s ‘tattoo’ completely
forgotten. Konohamaru just looked
at Naruto for a minute, then nodded slowly. Sakura, on the other hand, was poking
around Sasuke’s collar, trying to see more of his tattoo, much to Sasuke’s
dismay. “Congratulations!” Naruto
exclaimed, grabbing the smaller youth by his shoulders. “Now, don’t think that you can boss me
around just cuz you’re higher in rank than I am,” Naruto teased, clearly happy
for his friend.
“But
Naruto-niichan, they still haven’t promoted you,” Konohamaru protested
weakly.
“Aww,
don’t worry about it!” Naruto grinned, feigning cheerfulness at a much higher
level than he actually felt. “I
know that they’re never gonna promote me anyway. Stop worrying about it.” Konohamaru looked up at his idol for a
minute, then engulfed Naruto in an embrace.
“Naruto-niichan,
you’re so cool!” he said, his words muffled by Naruto’s
chest.
“Hey,
hey,” Naruto said while he patted his friend’s back. “I gotta go see Tsunade. You go celebrate with your family; I’ll
take you out for ramen or something later, okay?”
“All
right!” Konohamaru celebrated.
After close association with Naruto for so long, he had come to love
ramen almost as much as Naruto.
“I’ll see you later!” Konohamaru waved, running to catch up to his
companions. “You owe me
ramen!” Naruto just laughed in
reply.
“Let’s
go already,” Sasuke said impatiently, pulling away from Sakura’s rather invasive
examination. He then immediately
slipped through the door that the examinees had just exited through. The pink-haired girl pouted for a
moment, then walked over to Naruto and looped her arm through his. Naruto, already rather emotional from
Konohamaru’s promotion, blushed as Sakura pulled him
inside.
Standing
in the middle of the room, side-by-side, were Tsunade and the Mizukage. They were conversing quietly as the trio
entered, and stopped as they drew near.
Tsunade’s surprise was apparent on her face when she saw Naruto. Naruto wasn’t quite sure weather she was
more surprised at his presence or Sakura’s familiarity with him; Tsunade knew
well of Naruto’s crush on the pink-haired girl. Sasuke was standing before the two
already, executing a formal bow.
Naruto couldn’t remember the last time Sasuke had acted in such a
manner. For that matter, neither
could Sasuke. Regardless, Sakura
and Naruto separated and joined Sasuke in forming a little line across from the
two Kages.
“You
three are here to apply for the jounin exam, I presume?” Tsunade asked, still
appearing surprised. Naruto decided
that she was surprised to see him in this context, and hadn’t thought too much
on Sakura’s actions.
“We
are,” Sakura answered in a much more subdued tone than she’d had a few moments
ago. A quick glance confirmed that
her eyes were green again; Sakura-chan had released the
jutsu.
“With a
genin?” the Mizukage interjected, his expression unreadable beneath his
wide-brimmed hat. “Most
unusual. Especially considering
his… talents,” the old man continued.
Tsunade cast a stony look on the blue and white-robed man, who then fell
silent.
“I’m
sorry, Sasuke, Sakura. We need to
talk to Naruto alone for a minute,” Tsunade said in a rather politically neutral
tone. Sakura left without protest;
Sasuke only gave a sigh before following her. As the door slid shut behind them,
Naruto’s gut began to wrench with nervousness. This was exactly what eh had though
would happen.
“I
didn’t expect to see you here today, Naruto,” Tsunade began, relaxing a
bit. “At least not applying for the
jounin exams.”
“I’m
sorry for the trouble,” Naruto began, one hand nervously finding its way behind
his head.
“Why are
you here?” the Mizukage asked bluntly.
Naruto started, surprised.
He had been in audience with the Mizukage three times before, during his
previous chuunin exams. The old man
was never this blunt or direct.
“Are you looking to lose your life here? It’s very much a possibility in an
examination of this level.”
“No,
that’s not it at all,” Naruto retreated from the accusation, waving one hand at
the elder man.
“So
you’re just looking to fight, to kill, then?” the Mizukage accused. “My own jounin will be proctors in this
examination. I cannot afford to
lose them over the frivolous whims of a demon-child.”
“Hey!”
Naruto shouted jumping to his own defense.
“I’m not a demon, damnit!
Just cuz I got stuck playing landlord to his prison doesn’t make me the
same at that… that thing!”
“Is that
so?” the Mizukage asked, his tone showing his amusement and
disbelief.
“Naruto,
why are you here?” Tsunade asked, putting one hand on the Mizukage’s
shoulder. Her tone was calm, but
hard. “I am curious to know
myself.”
“Because
Sakura-san asked me to,” Naruto replied quickly. “I know damn well that genin aren’t
allowed to take the jounin exam, even if they don’t!” Naruto continued, his
voice rising. He gestured at the
door as he spoke for emphasis.
“Sakura-san needed my help.
Without me at least showing up and standing next to her, she wouldn’t
have even gotten the chance to try.”
Naruto calmed down after that sentence, taking in a deep breath and
letting it out before he continued.
“It’s just like my match with Konohamaru yesterday,” he explained. “I wasn’t even gonna take the chuunin
exam this year, but then Konohamaru wanted to give it a go. I spent the whole damn thing doin’ my
best to make him look good. I knew
that I wouldn’t get passed, no matter what,” the blond-haired boy elaborated,
then pointed at the Mizukage. “’Cuz
guys like him are scared of me.
They think that if I knew upper-level techniques, that I’d come after
them one by one or something. They
think I’m just that damn fox in another body,” he said, looking away and
sighing.
“I don’t
really care about rank any more.
It’d be nice, but, you know?” Naruto shrugged his shoulders, looking
up. “All I ever wanted was
acknowledgement. For people to know
that I exist, and to care about it.
It took me a long time to realize, but I’ve got it already,” Naruto
explained. “Sakura-san, Konohamaru,
Lee, Shikamaru… hell, even Neji,” He continued, a wan smile crossing his
face. “They know I’m good. They’ve helped me out over the last four
years, and I’ve helped them. We’re
friends, though, and that’s what matters.
I watch out for my friends, no matter what.”
“And
when a friend asks you for a favor,” Naruto said, finally meeting the Mizukage’s
gaze. “You do whatever you can to
help them. I know that you’re gonna
reject me, and I really don’t care.
I’m just here to make Sakura-san eligible.”
“And
Sasuke?” Tsunade asked, one eyebrow raised.
“Sasuke? Well, I may not like him, and I know he
don’t like me, but he’s saved my ass more than once before. I’ve done the same for him, too, I
guess,” Naruto reasoned, shrugging.
“But if he needed me, I’d be there next to him. I guess I am,” he finished sheepishly,
his left hand going once more to scratch the back of his head. Tsunade looked over at the Mizukage, who
nodded slowly. She then walked over
to the door, opened it, and stepped away after telling Sasuke and Sakura that
they could re-enter the room. The
two chuunin filed in and took up positions on either side of
Naruto.
Sakura,
standing next to the paper-thin doorway, had heard everything, and was rather
confused, but she kept her expression neutral. If he had heard anything, Sasuke wasn’t
giving anything away by his expression either. Tsunade followed the two over and took
her position next to the Mizukage.
“As you
may or may not know,” she began formally, “it is strictly against the law to
allow a genin, regardless of his or her skill level, to take the jounin
exam.” Naruto’s shoulders sagged a
bit, but he did his best to keep his expression as neutral as Sasuke and Sakura
managed to. “There are many reasons
for this, but I don’t think that I need to get into them.”
“Naruto,”
Tsunade said suddenly. The
blond-haired boy looked up and met her gaze, standing at strict attention. “For your performance in this and past
chuunin exams, and for the dedication to your friends that you have shown so
aptly in recent times, I, with the approval of the Mizukage, am awarding you
with the chuunin rank. Will you
accept this responsibility?” the fifth Hokage asked, a smile on her face. Sasuke’s mask of emotionlessness
dissolved into one of pure shock, and Sakura’s hands flew to her face in
surprise.
“Y-yeah,”
Naruto replied, shocked. He
couldn’t believe that this was happening.
“In that
case, since each of the three of you have completed the requisite twenty B-rank
missions, I accept your collective application to participate in the jounin
exams,” Tsunade stated, her smile still on her face.
“Yes!”
Sakura exclaimed, wrapping the shocked Naruto in an embrace, one that she would
back out of in a few moments with a blush after realizing just who she was
embracing. Tsunade and the Mizukage
made their way out of the room.
“You…
you planned this!” Naruto managed after a moment, just before Tsunade left the
room. The Hokage stopped and turned
to face the youth, still smiling.
“Congratulations,”
she said simply, then left. Naruto
let out a short laugh, then another, and soon had dissolved in to fits of
amusement. The only person in the
room that didn’t share in the celebrations was Sasuke, who was still in shock
over Naruto’s promotion.
“No…
way…” he said to himself, then shook his head. He had to talk to Tsunade about the
seal.
“I’ll see you later,” he said quietly as he left the room in pursuit of the woman that he needed to examine him. Naruto and Sakura didn’t even notice.
“Gotta Knock a Little Higher,” The Seatbelts (Cowboy Bebop OST). I just though that this one fits the mood for the chapter.
Character
themes:
Sasuke:
“The Final Summoning,” by Jared Hudson.
Naruto:
“Believe,” from the Gundam Seed soundtrack.
Outer
Sakura: "Minna
Inner
Sakura: “COSMIC DARE (Pretty With a Pistol),” The Seatbelts (Cowboy Bebop
OST).
Translations:
-niichan: This suffix is added to a name when the person whose name preceeds it is considered to be a brother to the speaker, either by birth or by familiarity. Konohamaru uses this one a LOT.