Fic: Lesser Nin Part 3

Alright. More Naruto fanfic.

Lesser Nin 3, continuing from my past two LJ entries. 'tho I'm thinking of shoehornin' the previous two bits I've written into a single prologue or somethin', cause they were short and solely introduction. This one's a bit more of a coherent narrative than the earlier two chapters. It's still OC cast introduction up the wazoo...but it's gettin' into story proper, I guess.

Anyway, here we go. Dubious fanfic alert.

* * *

Daiki wasn't excited.

He was a ninja, after all. A GENIN! Ninja weren't supposed to be excited.

No. Daiki was calm. He was in control of his emotions.

He wasn't trembling with barely restrained glee. He wasn't.

Really.

Well. That's what he TOLD himself, anyway. But Daiki wasn't actually fooling anyone, not even himself.

Taking a deep breath, Daiki tried to control his breathing. He was twitching like a small child with a new toy.

He couldn't help it, though.

Daiki grinned, as he ran his fingers over the forehead protector in his hands, brushing the smooth, reflective metal.

Finally!

Fastening it round his head, Daiki looked at his reflection, peering back at him from the bedroom mirror. He turned his head this way and that, studying his new profile. The emblem of the Waterfall was displayed proudly over his brow, gleaming above his eyes.

He took a step back, and posed dramatically, puffing out his chest, squaring his jaw.

"DAAAAAAIIIIIIIKKKIIIIII! HURRY UP!"

Daiki lunged forward, catching the mirror before it crashed to the floor.

When his mother shouted, his mother shouted -very loud-. Daiki sometimes wondered if she was secretly a missing-nin from the Hidden Village of Sound or something. Her lungs were virtually an offensive weapon.

Carefully, he put the mirror back on the wall, securing the frame on its hook.

"COMING," Daiki shouted back, "JUST A MINUTE!"

Tugging on his shirt, Daiki took one last look at his reflection.

Forehead protector? Check.

Stylish white t-shirt with Waterfall symbol? Check.

Gloves? Check.

Pants...

...wait.

Daiki looked down, and realised, belatedly, he was still in his briefs. Hurriedly, he grabbed a pair of dark blue shorts from the messy pile on his dresser. Pulling them on, Daiki berated himself.

Forgetting pants would be a BAD idea. Very bad. He'd had several nightmares about turning up at the Academy half-dressed, or worse, naked. He didn't need to make those dreams a reality.

Besides, the girls might lose control of themselves.

And hit him. Repeatedly.

Straightening, Daiki brushed hair from his eyes, and adjusted his ponytail. He tightened the elastic band keeping it in place, before nodding to himself.

Then he turned round, studying his bed.

And wished he'd thought of packing the night before.

A complete arsenal of ninja weaponry covered his wrinkled bedspread, enough gear to outfit a small army. Kunai, shuriken, explosive notes, flash bombs, smoke bombs, spools of wire, climbing claws, ration packs, first aid dressings, soldier pills, instructional scrolls and handbooks...there were even a couple of swords his father had brought back from a recent business trip to the Leaf.

Daiki'd emptied virtually the entire contents of his cupboard.

And now he had to figure out what to BRING.

Trouble was, he had no idea what he needed. Genin team assignment was today, but his teacher had been irritatingly vague as to precisely what it entailed. Would his new jounin sensei start them on missions straight away? Or would he run training exercises? Daiki'd even heard stories about jounin conducting their own tests for new teams, to evaluate the genin under their command.

So what should he pack? The basics like kunai and shuriken were obvious, of course, but...

"DAAAAIIIIIIIIIKKKKKIIIIII! YOU'RE GOING TO BE LAAAAATTTTEEE!"

Daiki winced, cupping his hands over his ears.

"COMING, MOM!"

Unfortunately, he didn't have any more time to think about it. So he just grabbed his usual belt pouches, and started shoveling items into them. Packing as he normally would for a day of training. Fastening them round his waist, he added a shuriken holster to his right thigh, looping the straps round his pants leg.

Then Daiki looked at the mess left behind, and grimaced. He didn't have time to clean up, much less make the bed.

Mom was gonna KILL him.

Oops.

He'd just have to apologize later.

Bounding out the door and down the stairs, Daiki skidded into the kitchen and waved to his mother.

She screamed at him, waving a large wooden ladle. It dripped miso soup down her apron and kitchen floor, as she gesticulated wildly. "YOU'RE LATE! YOUR FIRST DAY AS A NINJA, AND YOU'RE---"

Daiki held up his hands in protest. "I'm not! I'm not! I just don't have time for breakfast, that's all..."

He cast a quick eye round the room, then swiped a hard-boiled egg and a piece of toast from the counter. Blurring to the front door, he slipped his sandals on, and called back, "BYE MOM!"

Or something that sounded vaguely like "bye mom", anyway. It was quite hard for him to talk with a piece of toast wedged in his mouth.

Daiki hopped out onto the street, and raced down the path towards the Academy. The school was some distance away, across the village, facing the lake the entire town was built around. But Daiki knew a few good shortcuts, mostly involving rooftops.

He was a ninja, after all. And if ninja skills weren't good for commuting...well, what WERE they good for?

After a few minutes of frantic running, Daiki ricocheted off the grocery store's front porch, and skidded to a halt outside the Academy building, breathing heavily. He was slightly winded by the breakneck pace, but not -too- exhausted.

He'd even managed to peel the egg and eat it along the way. Admittedly, he'd left a trail of broken eggshell pieces in his wake, but they were biodegradable anyway.

Running through the door, he headed for a classroom in the back. He -was- a little late, actually. But only by a little bit. Surely they wouldn't hold it against him...

Daiki blinked, then stopped. He eyed the number on the classroom door. It was the right room. Team assignments were supposed to be here.

Except it sounded like a small war was going on inside.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

It was a very loud scream. Not quite equal to his mother's calibre, but quite close.

The cry was followed by a series of harsh metallic sounds, which Daiki recognized as the clash of opposing kunai blades.

Hesitantly, Daiki opened the door, just a crack, and peered through.

A very strange sight met his eyes.

It -was- the right room. That much was clear. His classmates were there, the other newly-minted genin who had passed yesterday's exam. There were six of them, plus Daiki himself. They were seated at the classroom desks, scattered across the room. Most of them were staring forward, in mixed shock and horror.

Daiki also recognized his Academy teacher, Masuyo-sensei. The old chuunin was standing by the blackboard, his bearded face red. A pair of kunai were embedded in the floor in front of him, just inches away from bisecting his feet.

The teacher was also staring at the scene. Staring at the two other ninja in the room, people who were unfamiliar to Daiki.

Though, after a moment, Daiki -did- recognize them. The Hidden Waterfall was a small village, and it didn't have many high-level shinobi. Thus, all the village's jounin were local celebrities, of a sort. EVERYONE knew who they were.

And the two men grappling on the ground, rolling back and forth...were jounin.

One had glossy raven-black hair. He was tall, thin, and wore a jounin's armoured vest with a ninja-to strapped to his back, the sword held securely in a glossy black scabbard. He also wore immaculate blue combat fatigues. Well, almost immaculate. His clothes were beginning to get rumpled from the scuffle. Likewise, he would have been quite handsome, if it wasn't for the look of extreme disgust twisting his face.

The other jounin struggling with him was quite different. He was shorter, stockier, and not so well-groomed. Instead of the shinobi vest, he wore a big black jacket with metal shoulderpads, plus pants in a mottled grey camouflage pattern. His hair was short and messy, and his jaw was covered in stubble.

The man in the black jacket was doing most of the yelling.

"YOU TATTERTALE ANBU BASTARD! I'LL RIP YOUR FREAKING HEAD OFF!"

And, maneuvering his opponent into a painful-looking headlock, he attempted to do just that.

Masuyo-sensei managed to snap himself out of his stunned stupor. In a loud voice, he bellowed, "KIZAI-SAN!"

Irritated, the jacketed ninja - Shinzui Kizai - stopped struggling with the other jounin. He twisted his head round, and blinked at Masuyo.

"Whaaat? Look, can this wait? I'm busy killing Seika."

Seika, though, wasn't content to hold still and die. For obvious reasons. His hands clawed at Kizai's chokehold, gaining purchase. With a ragged gasp, he broke free. Rolling aside, Seika gave a series of hacking coughs.

Kizai pulled himself into a sitting position, cross-legged on the floorboards. He scowled at Masuyo. "Look what you did! Bastard got away!"

The Academy teacher stared back. "Kizai-san, you can't kill him!"

Kizai blinked, then glanced at Seika's spluttering form. The jounin was on all fours, his long hair falling forward over his face.

Then he looked at the shocked genin still watching, from the classroom desks.

"Oh," Kizai said, scratching his head, "yeah. Too many witnesses."

Getting to his feet, Kizai patted Seika on the back, then hauled the other jounin up. "Okay, I'll kill him later, then."

Meanwhile, as all this was going on, Daiki decided to take advantage of the distraction. He opened the door a little further and snuck into the classroom, flopping into the nearest seat.

The move went unnoticed by everyone, except the genin at the next desk, a dark-skinned kunochi. She turned to blink at him. Daiki made a shushing motion, raising a finger to his lips, his eyes pleading. The girl gave him a level stare, disapproving, but held her silence.

Daiki exhaled softly, then turned his attention to the unfolding tableau at the front of the classroom.

The two jounin were glaring at each other. In the ninja world, looks -really- could kill. And it seemed like the pair were just seconds away from unleashing deadly look assassination genjutsu at each other.

Seika was growling, his voice rough and hoarse from Kizai's abuse of his throat. "YOU! I can't BELIEVE Shibuki-sama is letting YOU lead a genin team!"

Kizai took a step back, and folded his arms. "Hey," he retorted, "better ME than a prissy good-for-nothing prettyboy who only knows how to rat out other people, hm?"

Seika snarled, leaning forward, stabbing a finger at his adversary. "If this is about your last mission, it was my RESPONSIBILITY to report your SHAMELESS dereliction of DUTY to Shibuki-sama!"

"Bzzzt, wrong," Kizai smirked, "Shibuki ain't punished me, has he?"

Seika shook with anger, "Shibuki-sama is too easy on you! He...he..."

Behind the quarreling jounin, Masuyo buried his face in his hands, and sighed. Daiki was amazed. He hadn't seen his teacher so exasperated since the toilet water dragon jutsu incident.

The Academy instructor cleared his throat with a loud "AHEM", and stepped between the feuding ninja. "KIZAI-SAN, SEIKA-SAN, PLEASE! NOT NOW!"

The elderly chuunin waved a hand, indicating the rookie genin sitting in the classroom, watching their potential team leaders brawl with wide eyes. Under his breath, Masuyo muttered, "Disgraceful."

Kizai arched an eyebrow. "Well, yeah, Seika is, but what am I?"

Masuyo and Seika both glared at him.

"Yeah, yeah," Kizai muttered, throwing his hands up in surrender, "I gotcha, shutting up."

For a moment, all was quiet.

And Daiki took the time to reflect on what he knew about each jounin.

Shimazaki Seika was well-loved in the village. Or rather, by many of the village girls. And a few of the boys, too. He was the youngest ANBU squad leader in the Waterfall, powerful and good-looking, considered almost as good a catch as Shibuki-sama himself. Daiki had heard rumours Seika was taking a leave of absence from ANBU to lead one of the new genin teams. Those rumours had caused a great deal of excitement among his female classmates, though the rabid fangirls hadn't made it through yesterday's exam. Pity for them, since it seemed the rumours were true.

Daiki didn't really want to be on -his- team. He hated fangirls, and in his eyes Seika wasn't much better than his legions of brainless fans.

But if not Seika, then who? Kizai?

Shinzui Kizai was even younger than Seika. Except he looked older. Largely because he was scruffy, and badly in need of a haircut. And a shave. He also had a tendency to smell like dog fur when wet. Since the entrances to the village were mostly concealed underwater, in the lake, this was quite often. Kizai was the village's newest jounin; he'd held the rank for only a year. Opinions of him were mixed. Shibuki-sama seemed to like him, which was a point in his favour. But he also had a reputation for being loud, lazy, irresponsible, insolent...

Daiki could see where the reputation came from.

Up in front, Masuyo breathed a deep, long-suffering sigh. Looking at both jounin, the old man clasped his hands together, prayerfully. "Please," he begged, "try to get along. We have team assignments to do."

Both Seika and Kizai nodded, the latter seeming almost serious.

Almost, anyway.

Because after a moment, Kizai turned and grinned, "Hey, Seika, bet my team can kick your team's ass."

Seika chose not to dignify that with an answer.

Ignoring the byplay, Masuyo produced a clipboard, and began flipping through sheets attached to the front.

Shifting in his seat, Daiki glanced at the two jounin, in turn. It looked like things were finally getting under way, and Daiki was curious. Which would he get as his team leader? Kizai? Seika? Well, maybe neither, if the two managed to kill each other. But assuming the team assignments went through with no fatalities, which jounin? And who would his teammates be?

Daiki knew his classmates were probably thinking the same thing.

There were seven of them, all who'd managed to pass the genin exams. His was one of the largest graduating batches in recent history. But then, they all knew how badly the Waterfall needed ninja. And all, Daiki included, had put special effort in training for the exam.

Looking round the classroom, Daiki took stock of his fellow rookies.

There was Ishikawa Kameko, of course, sitting right beside him. The white-haired girl had spotted his late entry, and could have told on him. The fact she hadn't...well, Daiki was grateful for that, but only a little. He didn't really know her that well. She was sullen, withdrawn, not really a social type. She wore bits of light armour - and Daiki thought that really fitted her. Daiki knew her family were recent immigrants to the Waterfall, like his own. Except Kameko had been born in the village, while Daiki'd arrived as a child.

Again, he didn't know her well. Nobody did, since she kept mostly to herself.

A few seats away, further down the same row, was Kaiga, a slim boy in glasses and a long green coat. Like all the other genin, he was watching the dueling jounin. But he was also doodling with a pencil and notepad. the clash of personalities didn't seem to bother him. If Daiki remembered right...Kaiga was a Shinzui, wasn't he? A cousin or nephew of Kizai's. Kaiga was probably used to his relative's craziness. Kaiga was odd, too - all the Shinzui family were. But he was mostly quiet, and quite studious. He wasn't so bad.

He'd be an okay teammate, Daiki supposed. Kaiga was the youngest in their group - just ten - but he was the second-best student in their class.

Though the -top- student, the rookie of the year, was...

...sitting over in the corner, by herself, carefully avoiding contact with the other genin. She was Kurokawa Suichi, a perpetually foul-tempered girl with a head of spiky grey hair, a bandanna, and clothes in Waterfall blue-grey. She was also young, a year apart from most of the graduating Academy students. Eleven. But she acted older. Like an old woman. She'd always been mean and nasty, even worse of a loner than Kameko. All Kameko did was ignore people. Suichi wandered around with a chip on her shoulder.

Daiki couldn't really blame her, though. People had been looking at her funny ever since that business with her father. She had reason to be angry. But being on a team with her wasn't going to be a fun experience.

Suichi and Kaiga were the smart kids. Kobayashi Saburo was their opposite. Saburo was sitting in the back, looking very nervous in an ill-fitting dark blue coverall, sort of a stripped-down chuunin's suit without the vest. He kept fidgeting with his forehead protector, as if afraid it'd suddenly grow wings and fly away. Considering Saburo's Academy results, Daiki could understand. Daiki was -still- surprised the mousy-looking boy had passed the Academy exams. Especially since he'd vomited on his papers for the written section.

Daiki didn't really want to team up with Saburo, either. The guy was so clumsy he'd probably mess up missions and get them killed.

He turned his thoughts to happier options. At the front of the room was Ryoushin Naoko, a pale girl in white, still staring at the scene in horror. The soft-spoken girl looked completely shocked at the display, trembling and sinking down in her seat. Her parents were medic-nin, and the girl seemed inclined to follow their path...though if she got Kizai as a jounin-sensei, she'd probably kill herself first. Daiki didn't think her heart could take the strain.

Daiki rather liked her, though. She was pretty, and she was nice to him. But then, she was nice to everyone.

Beside Naoko was her best friend, Inoue Taura, the last of the genin. Well, not literally last - Saburo was the rock bottom student in their class. But the last in Daiki's estimation. Taura and Naoko were a pair, sure, but Taura was quite different. Daiki didn't like -her-. She was a complete fangirl. She'd been one of the airheads chirping about Seika, when rumours spread about the handsome jounin leading a rookie team. But Daiki knew Taura's current fixation was really Shibuki-sama. Everyone knew that. Because she was wearing a blue blouse and grey skirt, a feminine approximation of the Waterfall leader's usual attire. She'd even dyed her hair black, like Shibuki's. It looked stupid on her.

Daiki HATED fangirls.

Up in front, Taura turned round, apparently catching Daiki's look. She stuck her tongue out. And Daiki stuck his own tongue back.

Nyah. Damn fangirl.

Then he turned his attention back to the front of the class, where Masuyo-sensei was standing with Seika and Kizai, the two jounin instructors. It was the moment of truth, because it looked like the Academy teacher had found what he was looking for on the clipboard.

The old chuunin began speaking, and everyone gave him their full attention. Kaiga even put down his pencil and stopped doodling.

"Ahem," Masuyo began, clearing his throat loudly, "team assignments. Harrumph. Well, there are seven newly graduated genin from this year's Academy exams...seven is an odd number, since we usually divide genin into three-man teams..."

Daiki frowned, leaning forward on his desk. He knew this. He simply assumed that one of the newly-formed teams would have an additional member, or that the extra genin would be attached to an existing team from one of the previous Academy years. Teams were always missing members due to attrition, reassignment, or promotion.

But Daiki'd learnt to read his teacher's tones over the course of many boring classes, and he knew when Masuyo-sensei was building up to something important. The old man gave off certain subtle body language and verbal cues, which were usually Daiki's signal to wake up and stop napping in class.

The teacher was leading up to something now.

"Happily," Masuyo said, "this will not be a problem. Shibuki-sama and the village council have decided to remove one of you from the team assignments. This genin will not be part of a team. Instead, they will receive special training and apprenticeship. This lucky individual will be..."

He looked at the clipboard.

"...Kurokawa Suichi."

Daiki peered at Suichi, glowering in her corner. The spiky-haired girl didn't seem happy about the assignment, despite the glowing terms their teacher had used. True, she wasn't happy about most things, but she seemed especially angry at the news. Her expression remained stony, unreadable, but her eyes betrayed the depth of her emotion.

She didn't say anything, but Daiki swore he could detect a savage, inarticulate growl.

Daiki shivered. Scary girl.

But Masuyo was still talking, and Daiki turned back to watch the elderly chuunin.

"Thus, moving on to team assignments. Team One will be under Shimazaki Seika-san."

Daiki forgot the bad vibes he was getting from Suichi, and joined the other genin in waiting with bated breath.

Meanwhile, Seika folded his arms. The long-haired jounin smiled at the sudden attention.

"Team One," Masuyo said, in a slow, measured voice, "will consist of Ryoushin Naoko..."

Taura shot her friend a look of envy, but there was still a look of hope in her eyes. She clearly wanted to be on the same team as her best friend, taught by the handsome jounin.

Daiki snorted. She could -have- him.

"...Shinzui Kaiga..."

As the teacher read the next name, Daiki frowned, realising something.

None of the other genin seemed to have caught on yet - except possibly Kaiga himself, who was nodding thoughtfully. Daiki -knew- they balanced teams based on abilities and Academy scores, because he'd asked Masuyo-sensei about the selection criteria yesterday.

Kaiga was second-best among the genin. And Suichi, the number-one rookie, wouldn't be in a team. Naoko's grades were also quite good, which meant the last member of Team One would be...

Masuyo continued, in a dry voice.

"...Kobayashi Saburo."

Saburo blinked, jaw dropping.

But his reaction, and everyone else's, was eclipsed by Taura's.

She leapt to her feet, bolt upright, her face etched into what Daiki could only describe as a frightful expression.

"WHAAAAAT," she shrieked, "THAT CAN'T BE! I--I-..."

Masuyo shot her a disapproving look, and snapped, "Quiet. Sit down."

Weakly, Taura dropped back into her chair. Daiki grinned. Not making the same team as Naoko and Seika-sama was probably a bad enough shock, but wait until she figures out...

"This means," Masuyo said, "Team Two will comprise Ishikawa Kameko, Inoue Taura, and Takahashi Daiki, with Shinzui Kizai-san as jounin sensei."

Up in front, beside the Academy teacher, Kizai flashed a broad grin, and gave a jaunty little wave.

Kameko had no visible reaction to the news, she just tilted her head, and took it in stride.

Taura, though...Taura twitched. She twitched, twitched, and twitched, like she was going to explode. Or die of apoplexy. Her face turned a very unusual shade. Naoko whipped round in her chair, very concerned about her friend's reaction. But she didn't dare approach Taura, since it looked like the girl was going to explode at any moment. Literally explode. Into lots of tiny fragments.

Daiki -laughed-. He wasn't looking forward to being on the same team as Taura, but seeing her reaction made it almost worth it.

Tucking the clipboard under his arm, Masuyo nodded his head. "Your team leaders will now speak with you. Suichi," he said to the girl sitting alone in the corner, "see me outside."

Then he vanished in a puff of smoke.

And the classroom erupted into chaos.