The stone slab descended behind us, sealing the stairway to the hidden chamber. With a slight smile, we unfolded the tatami mat, returning it to its original position. We bowed one final time towards the Mitamaya, paying our respects. Barring any unforeseen events, we would return a year from now for the next rites.
Our hands moved through a series of hand signs, dispelling the Fūinjutsu barrier we had set. In an instant, the outside world rushed back into our senses. The ANBU operative was still there, but now he had company—two more ANBU had joined him, silently watching the shrine. Our little excursion must have sent ripples through Konoha’s upper ranks, but the risk seems to have been worth it.
We pushed thoughts of the ANBU aside, relegating them to background noise, as we had grown accustomed to over the years. Our chakra surged as we flickered away, heading in the direction of the Mission Assignment building. Kakashi and the rest of our team were likely already there for our scheduled meeting.
Halfway there, however, we sensed three unfamiliar chakra signatures that piqued our interest.
"You three, halt!" we called out, addressing the shinobi. Our eyes flicked to their headbands, noting the hourglass-like symbol of Sunagakure.
"Yes?" replied one of them, a redhead just a bit shorter than us, his voice gravelly. A large clay gourd, nearly as tall as he was, hung across his back.
"State your business," we demanded. "What is a group of Suna-nin doing in Konoha?"
We didn’t particularly care about their business, at least not for any reason beyond satisfying our curiosity. Still, it was useful to know why foreign shinobi had been permitted into the village.
"Weren’t you informed?" The speaker was a girl with teal eyes and sandy blonde hair tied into four pigtails. She wore a light purple garment that fell halfway down her thighs, a scarlet sash wrapped around her waist.
"We’re genin from Sunagakure," she explained, pulling out what we instantly recognized as travel papers. The others followed suit, showing theirs. "We’re here for the Chūnin Exams."
"A week early?" we questioned, our eyes scanning the documents before meeting hers.
"Yeah," she responded, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "We figured we’d do some sightseeing before the exams. You know, get familiar with the village… Maybe you could show us around? You look like you know your way."
"Sure," we agreed casually, surprising the girl—Temari, according to her papers. "Meet me at Yakiniku Q’s BBQ at five-thirty today. I should be free then. I’m Sasuke, by the way. Sasuke Uchiha."
Without waiting for a response, we flickered away. A minute later, we arrived at the Mission Assignment building, two minutes late. Naruto and Sakura were already there, predictably. Kakashi, of course, was nowhere to be found.
"Ha!" Naruto shouted, pointing at us with a smug grin. "You’re late!"
"Sorry," we replied indifferently. "I wandered off the path of life for a bit."
"Ugh," Naruto recoiled, grimacing. "There’s two of them now!"
"Hey, Sakura," we greeted the girl.
"H-hi! G-good morning, Sasuke. How was your night?"
"Fine, thanks."
"...Uhm."
"Yes, Sakura?"
"I-I made you some dumplings."
"Thanks." We accepted the bento box she handed us, opening it to take a sniff. It wasn’t poisoned. Good.
"Hey! I want dumplings too!" Naruto whined.
"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura snapped.
"…Here, you can have some."
"I don’t want any of your stinky dumplings, loser!"
Sakura smacked Naruto on the back of the head. "I made those, idiot!"
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Kakashi arrived about seven minutes later. "I’ve recommended all three of you for the Chūnin Exams," he announced once he had calmed Naruto and Sakura, who were naturally irritated by his tardiness. "You’ll need to fill out these applications. The exam is voluntary, so you don’t have to turn them in unless you want to compete. If you do, report to room 301 at the academy by 4 PM next Tuesday. That’s all. Enjoy your break."
We accepted the form, glancing it over before turning to Kakashi. "Sensei," we called before he could disappear again.
"Yes, Sasuke?"
"I want to take the exam, but since joining the team, you haven’t taught me anything new. I know you’ve been helping Sakura with Genjutsu and Ninjutsu, and Naruto with Taijutsu and chakra control, but you haven’t taught me anything I couldn’t learn on my own."
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Kakashi paused. "...We’ll address that later, Sasuke. Just do your best." His response was vague, and he quickly vanished before we could push further.
Coward.
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We came upon the BBQ saloon just shy of four-thirty in the afternoon, sun low, shadows long. Temari and Kankuro already stood outside, waiting.
“Hello, Temari. Kankuro.” The words leave us as we scan the space behind them. "Gaara didn’t make it?"
“No,” Temari said, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“Busy,” Kankuro added, his voice curt. They stepped closer, each taking a flank like they’d rehearsed this dance. It doesn’t bother us. We let a small part of our mind reach out, feeling for their chakra. A precaution. Here in the village centre, the odds of a fight were slim. But never zero.
Gaara's absence was a disappointment. His chakra had a scent to it. Heavy. Blood-soaked. Something about it made the air thicker when he was near. It would’ve been worth studying. But we’d missed our chance. A pity.
Letting the thought go, we glanced at Temari. Her posture’s loose but her eyes cut toward her brother, tension between them as thick as steel cable. She wanted to be here, that much was clear. Kankuro didn’t. It was funny how human females were drawn in by things like pretty faces. Faces like ours; sharp in all the right places, smooth in others.
“Have you eaten yet?” we asked, addressing her.
“No,” she said, clipped. It’s a familiar thing, that bashfulness. We’d seen it plenty—Ino, Sakura—they all moved the same when we sat across from them. Strange things women were. Familiar in an unending myriad of ways, yet all so… varied.
“Let’s go in then,” we said. “We’re already here.”
“I’d like that.”
“Kankuro?”
The boy shrugged. “Sure. Whatever.”
We ate, small talk drifting between us like smoke from the grill. The food didn’t matter. We’re more focused on our guests. Gaara missing had been a blow to our curiosity, but this was fine. We weren’t greedy.
Afterwards, we bid Temari and Kankuro goodbye and headed back, mind ticking through all the new bits of information to be catalogued, dissected. The day had been worthwhile. Temari, more than Kankuro, had proven a pleasing companion. Yes, there was more to be written.
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A week later.
Fifteen minutes till four, and our teammates were already standing at the academy gates. Naruto’s complaint loud before we’ve even stopped walking.
“You’re late again!” he hollered, finger thrust out like a sword at our face.
“No, I am not,” we replied, brushing his hand aside. “You’re just early. Also, were you eating with your hands? They stink.”
“…No,” he lied, too obvious to be anything but.
“Stop bothering Sasuke, Naruto.” Sakura’s voice was softer. We turned to face her, nodding in lieu of a greeting.
"Good morning, Sasuke," she said. "How was your night?"
"Fine. We're all set, right?" we ask. The duo nodded. "Let go in then."
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“Hey! You’re Sasuke, right?” The voice cut from behind, stopping us in our tracks.
Turning, we saw him. A boy dressed in green, bowl-cut hair, and eyes too wide, too earnest. He was odd, even for shinobi standards.
“Yes?” Our reply was hesitant. The whole scene felt like something off.
“I’m Rock Lee!” the boy said, standing tall, too eager by half. “Let’s fight.”
We blinked, slow, taking him in again. “Here?”
“Yes!” His excitement was a physical thing, bouncing around the space between us. “My master told me to watch out for you. He said you were dangerous.”
“…And that’s why you want to fight me? Here?”
“Yes! I want to test my techniques against the infamous Uchiha Sasuke!”
We glance at the hallway, the unfamiliar faces watching the scene unfold, then back to him. We didn’t understand this boy, not at all.
Sakura was confused too. Naruto looked insulted that he wasn’t the target of this harassment. None of that was surprising.
“Shut up already,” came a voice. A girl, small and brown-haired, appeared behind the one that called himself Lee, grabbing him by the collar.
“Tenten!” Lee protested, but she yanked him back, offering us a tired smile. “Sorry about him.”
We watched them leave, our eyes following until they disappeared. Then we notice the Hyuga boy standing nearby, his pale eyes fixed on us, unreadable.
“What?” we asked, but he just turned and walked away without a word.
“What was that?” we mutter.
“I have no idea,” Sakura said, still staring after them.
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Inside the hall, another unusual scene was unfolding.
“…Next is Gaara of the Sand! Desert country! Six C-rank missions, two B-ranks! Barely any rookies get a B before they graduate, much less two!”
Kabuto's voice floated through the room as he read the stats of the shinobis in the hall from cards he picked from a deck. We watched as he flipped another card, running through the stats like it was a game.
“Since he's from the desert, I have less on him,” the grey-haired medic continued. “But you want to know what's interesting? Gaara comes back from every mission unscathed. Not a scratch.”
The hall quieted as eyes turned to focus on the Suna-nin in question. We stared at the stack of cards in Kabuto's hand, and for the first time in our life, we experienced a certain stirring in our guts. Greed, we realised.
Leaning against the wall by the entrance, Kiba grinned. “Do Sasuke next!” he shouted.
Our gaze whipped around to face the mutt. “Please don’t,” we said. Unlike most of the fools gathered here today, we would rather not have any data regarding us, no matter how irrelevant, up for public perusal. Alas, Kabuto’s already moving, Naruto and Kiba egging him on.
“Uchiha Sasuke,” Kabuto read. “The Evil Flame. Konoha. Twenty-five D-rank missions. Specializations… unknown. Threat-level… unknown. Battle-rating… unknown. At age six, he was reported to have killed Fuu Yamanaka, an ANBU-nin of Konoha.”
The room goes dead quiet again. More oppressive this time. A tinge of wariness flavoured the air.
“At age six,” Kabuto continued, “he was rumoured to have mastered a high-level fire-style jutsu, razing a third of the Uchiha district. At age six, he was rumoured to have awakened the Uchiha clan's signature Kekkei Genkai… The Sharingan.”
Eyes turned. Dozens of them. All at once.
Our gaze flickered to regard Naruto and Kiba in irritation.
How annoying.