Kapitel 12: Chapter 12: Assemble!
Being part of a team is like being part of a family. You pick each other up when you fall, you watch out for each other. For a genin, teamwork is essential, because where one might not make it on their own, the team will surely prevail. So, love your team, take care of it, and protect it with your life; because without it, you are nothing.
-Wise words from a Konoha Jounin-
-Assemble!-
-Yahizui-
"Okay everyone, quiet down!" A hush fell over the gathered students. "First, I would like to congratulate you all. Everyone in this room has passed the genin exam. You all did well, but the hard part is just about to start. Once the teams of three are assigned, your jounin leaders will pick you up. You will start learning new skills and completing missions for the village and remember, from this day forth, you are a shinobi of Konoha. Do not shame your village!"
A chorus of "Yes, ma'am!" could be heard, to which Maiko-sensei smiled.
In the second row, Yahizui fidgeted, wondering who she would end up with.
After her run-in with Naruto, she'd received a surprise visit from Itachi, and they ended up half training, half eating dango in the park as she spoke about the exam. There had been a shadow looming over him the entire time, and he didn't talk much, but Yahizui didn't let that deter her from keeping the conversation floating on her own. After a few hours, Itachi asked if he could meet this evening as well, and although she was surprised, Yahizui gladly agreed. Today, she would have lots to tell him. Of course, the most critical part would be the makeup of her new team.
"Team 4: Shourai Yahizui." Yahizui snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of her name. This was it! She will now know who her new teammates will be. Yahizui held her breath; her eyes were glued to the bespectacled teacher as she spoke the next names. "Ashiyama Tojiro…"
Yes! I'm with Tojiro!
"And Seiya Hakudoshi."
"NO!" Yahizui shot up from her seat, her eyes wide in disbelief. How could this have happened? How could they have placed him on their team, this was a disaster!
Her eyes zeroed in on their teacher, arguments already sitting at the tip of her tongue and then froze. The chilling look that Maiko-sensei gave her halted Yahizui's protest. She could see it in the woman's flinty eyes that protesting was futile, as usual. Why? Why was her opinion always second-guessed, just because she was a girl, just because she was a civilian? Yahizui's fists tightened in anger. This was unfair, this was stupid! She hated them, hated the teachers, and this institution that relied on viciously eliminating those they deemed incapable before even giving them the chance to evolve. With narrowed eyes Yahizui slammed her hands on the table and jumped out the window, ignoring the gasps of shock and Maiko's shouting.
About an hour later, Tojiro finally found her. She'd been sitting in the swing outside the building, in the shadow of a magnificent cherry tree.
"Hey," he said as he leaned on the tree's massive trunk. His headband was tied around his narrow, bandage-wrapped waist, his long legs clad in loose dark pants that tightened just below the knee and continued with bandage-wrapped calves.
Yahizui looked up at him and nodded. "Hey."
Tojiro sighed, his hand ruffling his thick mop of dirty olive hair. "Hizui-chan… you're my best friend, and I know you get emotional and all… but you can't go on like that. I also agree that all these clanned shinobi are stuck-ups, but this isn't about that anymore. We graduated, and the feuds are over. It's like Maiko-sensei said: we're in Konoha's service now, and that is even if we're former civilians. Plus, Haku's not that bad… He's got his ugly parts, sure, but we all have that."
She knew it, damn it, she knew it! Why did he have to be right?
"I hate it," she finally uttered, her hands trembling on the swing's ropes. "I hate how they look down on me, how I'm supposed to achieve less just because I'm a kunoichi, how I should always know my place… I hate it all. I wanted to get strong to protect those I hold dear, but at this rate, I'll be stuck gathering information, arranging flowers, and being… back-up."
"Then don't be. Look, there are lots of awesome, strong kunoichi out there. Who says you need to fit the role they put you in? Come now, since when did you start giving up and caring about what other people say?"
Yahizui's eyes widened. Yeah, since when did she start caring? She'd gotten so absorbed by the everyday problems and the injustice in the system that she forgot the most important thing, she'd let go of her 'I'll show you what I can do' attitude. A smile spread on her face, and she jumped from the swing, tackling Tojiro in a bear hug.
"You're right. The challenge is just starting, and I will beat it."
Yahizui stepped away from him with a grin, her eyes twinkling with joy; until she remembered who the third member of their team was. Her head dropped, a sudden gloom falling over her. "Why do I have to be teammates with that stuck-up idiot?"
Tojiro grinned as well, then pushed back from the tree. "Think of it as an exercise in patience."
Yahizui's sour face made his grin widen.
They reached the classroom a few moments later. Yahizui saw Hakudoshi leaning on a desk and a severe-looking man who could only be their new sensei standing next to the window. He had dark purple hair and electric blue eyes. And he was tall, very tall.
"You are late," said the man in a deep voice, and the scar on the left side of his face moved with each word. "This…" He critically looked them up and down. "Does not make a good impression."
Yahizui opened her mouth to say something, but Tojiro pinched her side painfully. She gave him a nasty look but bowed respectfully to their new sensei.
"I deeply apologize, sensei. Tojiro came to get me from outside."
"I don't care about the cause, or who is at fault. From now on you are a team and when one fails, all pay for that failure. Today you will all do push-ups until you no longer see the sun."
Hakudoshi's eyes widened. He stood up and schooled his voice in a polite tone. "Sensei…"
"No excuses! Once you are done, we may talk."
Too many hours later, sweat dripped down her nose, and her arms trembled. The muscles in her abdomen burned and Yahizui was sure that she was functioning on stubborn willpower alone. It was torture.
By her left and right, Tojiro and Hakudoshi panted, also at the end of their strength.
"T-this…" said Hakudoshi as he pushed away from the ground with shaking limbs. "… is your fault!"
Yahizui's jaw tightened, her teeth grinding as she released a forced breath. She went down, her nose almost touching the ground.
"I—" Her muscles tensed. "—know! If you want to quit…" she pushed up, elbows stretching. "…go ahead!"
"N-never!"
"If you have time and energy to talk, then you can do pushups until sunrise," said their new teacher with a sneer. Both Yahizui and Hakudoshi fell silent.
Five minutes later, the sun finally went down, and a voice above them said: "Enough."
All three freshly minted genin fell in a heap on the floor, their bodies drenched in sweat, muscles trembling.
"Stand!" shouted Kaito.
They stood on shaky legs, all energy and chakra expended. Their ruthless teacher measured them once more from head to toe, then smiled sinisterly.
"Don't you even think about disobeying an order. You are now soldiers of Konoha, and right now you are the lowest of the low. Follow orders, train hard and you might live."
Yahizui looked at their teacher with wide eyes. One quick look confirmed that the two boys were just as shocked. Then, seemingly satisfied by the scare he gave them, the tall man leaned against a nearby tree and waved his hand at them.
"Sit."
They didn't need to be told twice.
"My name is Murasaki Kaito, and I am your jounin instructor. I am your commander, not your friend, not your babysitter. Come to me with questions about your training and nothing else. I have no interest in your personal problems, your tears, your fears, or any other issue you brats face." His face was dead serious, his eyes roaming over their faces with bored apathy. "Now tell me your name and what drives you to be a shinobi." He pointed toward Tojiro. "You, go!"
Tojiro crossed his eyes to look at the finger pointing toward his large nose and swallowed. "My name is Ashiyama Tojiro. My motivation is proving that a civilian can become a good shinobi too… a-and protecting Konoha."
Kaito looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You thought fast and added that last bit to impress me. Weak, but you tried. As for the first thing, it has been proven by many before you. You have until tomorrow to think of something better. Otherwise, you're out." He then pointed to Hakudoshi. "You, go!"
Hakudoshi's spine stiffened. "My name is Seiya Hakudoshi. I want to be a shinobi, so I can stop the massacres happening in Kirigakure."
"A Seiya, eh?" said Kaito, his eyes roaming over Hakudoshi's white tresses and golden eyes. "Same as your teammate, find another thing to drive you."
Hakudoshi bristled his calm façade cracking. "Why?"
Kaito turned his head to the side and spat. "You're a Konoha shinobi now, kid. Interfering in another village's business can spark an international conflict. If you keep this as the thing that drives you to wake up in the morning, you might get an international restriction. Find something else." He then turned toward Yahizui. "Go!"
"I'm Shourai Yahizui. I want to get strong so that no one I care about will die on my watch!"
"Your goal is destined to fail," said Kaito in a low voice. "You are a ninja, your teammates are ninjas, and your friends are probably ninjas as well. In this line of business, people die every day. Find something else."
Yahizui looked at him with large eyes. "But—"
"No excuses."
She bowed her head. "Yes, sir."
That night Yahizui went hope with shaking limbs and dampened spirits. She was on the same team as the worst person ever, and their instructor was made out of stone. This was not what she could consider a success.
As the chilly evening air enveloped the village, the noise of someone or something knocking on the window glass woke Yahizui from her slumber. She stood up from her bed, her muscles immediately protesting, and pulled her curtains open.
"Hey there!" she said, recognizing the raven on her windowsill. "What are you doing here little buddy?"
The raven moved toward her, allowed himself to be petted on the head, and then stretched a leg. Attached to it was a small note. Yahizui took it without a second thought. She knew that the raven was Itachi's summon, so the message could only be from him.
Tomorrow evening, training ground 6.
Bring plenty of kunai.
I.
Yahizui smiled at his perfect penmanship and hopped once more on her bed. Things were good again.
She didn't know if it was his way of apologizing for his behavior a few months ago, after Izumi's funeral, but she'd seen him more lately than she had in a whole year. She fell asleep with a smile on her face, eager for the next day to come.
The following evening Yahizui dragged her feet to training ground six, trying in vain to dredge up some form of excitement in her body. It had been a terrible day, to say the least. With her head bowed low she kicked at the grass blades beneath her feet, imagining that each blade of grass she squished was Hakudoshi's head.
"What got you so down?" asked a voice ahead.
Yahizui lifted her head and saw a tall teen with messy dark hair and shrewd eyes.
"Shisui!" she said, perking up. "I haven't seen you in… ages!" She ran toward him, then abruptly stopped before him, eyes wide in excitement. Her hands itched to give him a hug, but her sharply rising pulse hindered any type of movement. She swallowed and was ready to take a step back when a large hand touched the top of her head, gently ruffling her hair.
"It's been a long time, Yahizui-chan!" Shisui said with a genuine smile.
Yahizui beamed up at him. It had been too long since she'd last seen Shisui, and as far as her memory went, she didn't remember him being so...Had he always been so good-looking?
She was just about to say something when a voice resonated from behind her.
"Shisui…" said Itachi, "stop teasing her."
Yahizui's could feel her cheeks burn when Shisui grabbed her shoulders and made her face Itachi.
"Ah, come now cous'," Shisui said in a cheeky tone. "No harm was done. Right, Yahizui-chan?"
She was sure that her embarrassment was reaching untold levels by now. This was not something she was good at.
"Get off!" she said, pushing Shisui's hands away and turning around in the hope that her blush would disappear. A few moments later she felt confident enough to face them. "Can we train now? I had a lousy day."
The two cousins looked at each other with curiosity.
"What happened?" asked Itachi.
"Tsk, don't ask…" she said, then turned toward them, fluttering a kunai by the handle. "That idiot Hakudoshi ruined the whole day and the whole team! And on top of that, I had to sit there in front of them and explain why I wanted to be a ninja and have Kaito-sensei question my resolve again! I'm sick'n tired of people questioning my resolve, and if there's one more person that tells me I should know the meaning of flowers since I'm a kunoichi, I'm gonna flip! That idiot, good for nothin' clanned prick dares to tell me I'm weak 'cause I'm a kunoichi! How dare he!"
She flicked her wrist, embedding the kunai in the red center of a target. Her eyes were trained on their surprised faces. "Do you think the same?"
"No."
"Not at all!"
The two boys shook their heads to deny any possible involvement in her current ire. Then Itachi stepped forward, making Shisui's eyes dart to him in shock. Yahizui wasn't sure why.
"You are not weak, but you have to prove it to this Hakudoshi, and your sensei. Kaito is a former T&I jounin, so he is definitely a harsh one, but I'm sure he appreciates hard work and initiative."
"T&I?" Yahizui asked, her eyes widening in surprise. "You mean the…" she gulped, beads of sweat gathering on her forehead. "…the torture and interrogation division?"
Behind Itachi, Yahizui could see his cousin nod. "Yeah kiddo, exactly that one. Your new sensei is no joke. As for the other one, you have to kick his ass, then he'll get it. That's why you're here, aren't you?"
Yahizui nodded, some of the excitement she'd felt last night returning.
"Good," said Shisui, stepping in front of Itachi and grabbing a kunai from his pouch, an excited grin blooming across his face. "Then let's see what the academy taught you!"
Yahizui didn't need to be told twice. She pulled her own kunai, and in the blink of an eye, they were at it, with Shisui giving her tips and correcting her posture each time they clashed blades before they switched. And when exhaustion finally forced her to stop, she marveled at how the two boys sparred.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein