"Tiresome," said Naruto as he regarded the two kids. It was odd how he could remember them, but the four years between them and him made such a difference.
"A 'space/time jutsu gone wrong'?" asked Sakura as she stared. Naruto was BIG. From the shortest in class, he was now tall and broad-shouldered, solid-looking. He also had a tendency to brood with sad-looking eyes that apparently saw nothing around him.
"Yeah, something like that," said Naruto dismissively.
"Hmpf," said Sasuke.
"So... what happened?" asked Sakura, her reluctance to even talk to Naruto momentarily overwhelmed by curiosity.
"Four years of stuff I can't talk about yet," said Naruto. "Hokage's going over the reports, handing out decisions later."
"Oh," said Sakura.
"You've seen people die around you," said Sasuke abruptly.
"Yes," said Naruto.
"People you knew, people you cared about," said Sasuke.
"Oh yes," said Naruto.
"It never really goes away," said Sasuke, turning so he was addressing Naruto directly now.
"No, I suppose it doesn't," agreed Naruto.
"Hmph," said Sasuke, nodding. "Just hold up your end."
Naruto's mouth crooked up, just a bit, at the edge. "You too."
Three hours later:
"Okay, introductions, likes, dislikes, dreams, that sort of thing. Let's just get it out of the way, shall we?"
"Ladies first," said Naruto. "Let's add though. Favorite jutsu, skill specialization?"
Sasuke nodded his agreement.
"Okay, that's fine," said Kakashi. "Well, pinkie?"
"Errr," said Sakura, trying to think fast. "Sakura Haruno. I like... my dream is... and my favorite jutsu would be bunshin?"
"Was that a question?" asked Kakashi, whose tone indicated he might have well been holding up an [I am NOT impressed] sign.
"Errr. I dislike Naruto?" asked Sakura, that being the thing she would have said prior to this morning but feeling really really confused about all this.
"Okay, you're next, oh brooding one," said Kakashi.
Sasuke started to speak, glanced at Naruto who shrugged.
"The dark brooding one, not the blond brooding one," qualified Kakashi.
"Sasuke Uchiha. I have nothing I particularly like. My dislikes would take too long. I don't have a dream, instead I have a goal. To kill a certain man. My favorite jutsu are assassination techniques."
"That leaves me," said Naruto, who stood up and was abruptly holding a black staff in one hand. "This is Mitternacht in Cast Mode. This is her Sword Mode." Abruptly he was holding a no-dachi of the same material as the staff. "And this is her Scythe form." The sword changed back to a staff and then extended a curving blade from the top end.
"My likes are ramen and my dream is to become the Hokage," said Naruto. "I dislike seeing people I care about dying, though I don't think dislike is quite the right word. My favorite jutsu is probably Enhance Spell."
Kakashi was about to introduce himself when something unexpected occurred.
[Mitternacht. Likes: Justice. Dislikes: Injustice. Specialization: Arcane Magic.]
"Wow, that's a lot more than you usually say," said Naruto to his staff.
[Affirmative.]
"I see, well, tomorrow there will be a little test of whether you pass to become genin or fail and go back to the Academy," said Kakashi. "I think I might want a word with the Hokage before I say anything more."
The next morning:
"Hit you with EVERYTHING I'VE GOT?!" asked Naruto, his voice raised a little. "Do you have a death wish?"
"Now, I know you pulled a prank on the Hokage's paperwork, when I read the report it was obviously doctored -" began Kakashi.
Naruto held one hand out, abruptly Mitternacht was there and pointed across the lake. "Meteor Swarm."
Two rotating discs of rune-festooned light appeared at low cloud altitude. Six screaming fireballs rocketed from the center of those discs to impact the trees on the far side of that lake.
There were explosions. Loud explosions. Shake-your-bones level of loud, columns of fire and destruction explosions. Trees and earth went flying, one centuries-old tree spinning over their collective heads (and leaving a little smoke trail) before it crashed to the earth away from them.
Kakashi blinked a couple of times. "Okay, change of plans. You two have to come after me with intent to kill. Naruto, you can explain to the ANBU I expect to show up at any moment that you were just passing the genin test by proving to me that you already have the basics of certain destruction jutsu down."
"That works," said Naruto.
Sasuke looked at the burning crater and general scene of devastation on the other side of the lake thoughtfully. "Can I learn that?"
"No," said Kakashi. "Pass test first. Talk about lessons later. And Naruto, if you've got anything to put out the fires, that would be a good thing too."
"He... that... he... what?" asked Sakura, her hair sticking up at all sorts of angles as she tried to fit her image of Naruto-as-he-was with the Naruto-who-just-did-THAT.
Maybe if he ever asked her out again, she ought to turn him down gently and politely as opposed to hitting him and yelling 'hell no'?
"So, anyway," said Kakashi, feeling he'd dodged a paper bomb or two here, "one bell as I'm giving one to Naruto for proving that he needs my training in self-control and not destroying training grounds. One bell that determines which, if either of you, passes to become a genin and who goes back to the Academy. Shall we begin?"
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(Posted Fri, 28 May 2010 00:38)
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