It's A Start

I inhaled deeply the pleasant scents of our garden, sniffing each plant delicately.

"Miwa-chan, you ready to go or what?" Naruto called.

Turning away, I absent-mindedly wiped the dirt from my hands on a towel before heading back to our living room. Naruto was grinning at me brightly, his blue eyes sparkling mischievously. "Are you ready or what?"

"I'm ready," I assured my brother, turning to glance at myself in the tall mirror and making sure I had no more dirt crusted on me. My hands brushed over the soft material I wore. As orphans, Naruto and I were each given our own stipend allowance, just enough for the necessities and nothing more.

However, Grandfather each gave us our own allowance - just a small one, because we wouldn't accept anything larger... he had already done so much for us. Naruto split his allowance in thirds; half of it went to permanent savings, another part into temporary savings (his Gamma-chan), and the last part for materials needed in his pranking adventures. I split mine in half, putting half of it into permanent savings and the other into temporary savings.

Soon, we would officially be shinobi and kunoichi, and as a reward for the titles, I had spent my temporary savings on a new kunoichi outfit. Made of more durable material than Naruto's, it was easy to mend (Naruto and I both knew how to sew; out of necessity, once again), chakra-sensitive (it would be easier to regulate my body temperature with my chakra with the material) and adjustable as well; enough so that it wouldn't be a problem if I ever grew out of it. As with all shinobi outfits and gears, it came in bulk, and the other copies of it hung in my closet.

It was a cerulean blue battle kimono. Think of a regular kimono dress, shortened to the point where it fell five centimeters or so above my knees, black shorts stitched inside of it (though you couldn't see them). I bought long black leggings that went to the top of my knees. The kimono came with a standard lighter-shade ribbon, with pockets stitched inside of them, but I chose to not wear it.

Instead, I chose the longer black ribbon that Grandfather had given to me for my birthday last year (there were only two things I had wanted enough to point out to him - the ribbon, and the fox stuffed animal I cheekily named Kurama). Naruto and I were always hesitant to point out what we wanted, because he had a habit of actually giving it to us and we always felt guilty about it.

It didn't help that the villagers mocked us and him for it.

The ribbon wrapped itself around my waist, being too long for me to tie it in a big bow and have it hang properly. It ended up nearly reaching the floor, but I was too hesitant to cut it and ruin the soft material that I had marveled over for hours on end once upon a time.

A silly thing to marvel over, true, but the material was unlike anything I had ever felt before - it didn't even exist in my old world. A cloth spun nearly entirely out of chakra - mind-boggling, wasn't it? And the feeling of it... it wasn't soft, but it wasn't hard or rough either. It was smoother than silk, but had a sort of fluffy feeling to it. It was light and weighed barely anything, and at times it felt like I was grabbing a gas than a solid - or a liquid, simply due to its fluidity. The way it fell and moved... it was like watching black water fall.

So yes. I marveled over something they considered trivial and small.

I stitched in pockets into my kimono, using my ribbon to cover them. I also wrapped a kunai pack to the back of my upper left thigh. I wore a pair of basic shinobi gloves, but my long sleeves covered them most of the time.

I admired the ribbon in the mirror, making a note to myself that if I was ever rich in this world, I would buy an entire wardrobe of the material.

My hair tied into two pigtails, and once again I found it odd at how I really did look like Naruko, minus the curves.

I was immensely relieved to find that Naruto's sexy-jutsu had changed a bit so it didn't look so much like me.

Taking Naruto's hand in my own, the two of us headed off to the academy as Naruto happily retold his epic adventure of last night.

('・ω・')

I was fiddling a bit with my hitai-ate, my fingers brushing across the cool metal. The classroom was already relatively full, so Naruto and I had to sit separately as there weren't enough seats left. I ended up sitting in the back next to Shikamaru, who sat next to Chōji, who sat by the window. Naruto sat up front next to Sasuke, positively beaming as Sakura sat down next to him just in time for Iruka to walk in.

As Iruka began his quick lecture, my eyes roamed across the room and I wondered who I would be teamed up with. I couldn't imagine not being on the same team as my brother, but at the same time I couldn't really picture myself on Team 7.

"... Uzumaki Miwako, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke will consist of Team 7..."

My eyes widened and I felt an akin sense of small horror. I didn't want Team 7. Team 7 was the unlucky team. Team 7 was the team where everything went horribly wrong and you nearly died a shit ton of times. I wasn't a masochist. I didn't want to die so soon, only a bit older than I was last time I died. I didn't want that. I didn't want that at all.

But at the same time, I really wanted to be on the same team as my brother. I didn't think I could handle holding a mask of politeness and cheerfulness all the time without him. Besides, I could see their reasoning in placing me on the same team as him. Because that would mean Kakashi was our teacher, and Kakashi would be able to restrain us should anything... unsavory happen.

I smiled at Naruto's distinct lack of enthusiasm for being on the same team as Sasuke, finding it slightly endearing.

After Iruka gave us one last lecture, it was up to us to wait for our sensei.

('・ω・')

I curled up against the wall, sleeping lightly. I knew it was going take a while before Kakashi showed up, and I was a bit tired from the night before waiting for Naruto to come home, so I figured a little nap wouldn't hurt.

I was carefully shaken awake by Naruto a bit later, and yawned. I looked up to find Kakashi staring at me.

"Maa, now that I have everyone's attention, I'll meet you all up on the roof," Kakashi instructed before heading away.

I yawned again, but followed docilely behind Naruto and Sasuke up to the roof.

Sitting down next to Naruto, with Sasuke choosing to sit on his other side, I rubbed my eyes blearily.

"Mm? Still waking up, Miwako-chan?" Kakashi asked.

"Mm. Hai, Shisho," I murmured. "Does this mean you'll be our sensei?"

"Maybe," Kakashi answered vaguely.

"What do you mean by maybe?" Naruto demanded, his brow furrowed.

"Maa, maa. Before I get into that, let's hear a little bit about yourselves," Kakashi replied.

"Well, why don't you go first, so we can see how it's done?" Naruto suggested.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi, my likes are a bit too mature for your tastes, my dislikes are... my hobbies are my likes and my dreams for the future are..."

"You didn't tell us anything," Naruto grumbled. I leaned into him, resting my head tiredly on his shoulder. For one reason or another, I couldn't bring myself to wake up. I must have been more tired than normal.

"I'm Uzumaki Miwako," I murmured. "I like... I like... Nii-chan, Shisho, Jiji and Kurama. I dislike..." Konoha. The civilians. Some of the Rookie 9. Maybe Akatsuki, not quite sure yet... "... my hobbies include studying and training and my dream for the future is..."

To live long enough to be happy, or at least satisfied, with my life. To live this second chance given to me with no regrets, because even if it's not the best life, it's better than being paralyzed and locked up.

"... to... to... live with no regrets."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto exclaimed. "I like Imouto, Jiji, our garden and ramen. I dislike the time it takes to make ramen and my hobbies include pranking and gardening with Imouto. My dream for the future is something I will make come true! I'll become the Hokage!"

Kakashi eyed Naruto for a moment before motioning towards Sasuke. Sasuke stared moodily at him before muttering, "I am Uchiha Sasuke. My dislikes far out list my likes, my hobbies are none of your concern and I do not have a dream, per say. My ambition is something that I have every intentions of turning to reality... to kill a certain man and revive the Uchiha Clan."

"Kinky," I muttered reflexively before realizing what I had said and blushing brightly. My hands flew up to my mouth and I ducked my head in embarrassment when I felt the stares of both my brother and Sasuke. I knew Kakashi would be smirking. It was his entire fault anyway. Of course his perverseness would rub off on me at some time! I was an impressionable child... damn it.

Kakashi glanced at me, doing his trademark eye-smile. "Maa, maa, behave, Miwako-chan."

I flushed, refusing to meet anyone else's gaze.

"Well then," Kakashi said. "I suppose it's about time I told you about the real Genin test."

('・ω・')

"So I just... meditate?" Naruto asked, his brow furrowed.

The two of us were sitting before each other on our bed. I smiled brightly at him. "Mm-hmm. You'll see."

I closed my eyes and evened out my breathing, slipping off into the familiar world of the seal.

A heartbeat passed as I reached there, before I found myself joined by Naruto.

"Eh... Eh?!"

I giggled at Naruto's awe-struck face as he whirled around the cage, his eyes so wide.

"So this is my other jailer," Kurama sneered.

Naruto paled and turned on his heel, staring up at Kurama's wide, wide red eyes.

"Th... This is...?"

"Kurama," I introduced, "this is my Nii-chan, Naruto. Naruto, this is Kurama—otherwise known as Kyūbi."

Naruto gaped. "But... But... Why are you... Why are you so friendly with him, Miwa-chan? Isn't he... Isn't it...?"

"Kurama isn't a bad person, Nii-chan," I said. "He's just... unlucky."

Kurama snorted at this.

"And grouchy," I added.

"I don't... I don't know," Naruto said, his brow furrowed as he frowned. "I don't..."

"It's fine," I assured him. "I just... I just wanted you to know. I like Kurama very much and I want the two of you to get along. I'm not going to force the issue, but I want you to know how I feel, Nii-chan. I don't want to hide anything from you."

Naruto smiled at that. "I know, Imouto. I guess I can see why you didn't tell me about him. I'm glad you did tell me about him now, though."

Naruto turned to Kurama, seemingly hesitant before his face hardened and his tone evened out. "Listen here, you stupid old fox! Miwa-chan is very important to me, so if you hurt her, I'll hurtyou! If Miwa-chan likes you, then I guess you aren't so bad. I don't know though and Miwa-chan says that I should judge a person after I get to know him. So that's what I'm going to do."

Kurama snickered. "How quaint. You and your idiotic sister have deluded yourselves into thinking I actually care about your opinions."

Naruto frowned at this and I giggled. I leaned in to whisper into Naruto's ear, "He's just shy and doesn't know how to express his feelings. Really though, he means:Thank you so very much! I look forward to befriending you! And oh Miwa-chan is so cool."

"That's not what I meant at all," Kurama howled, snarling. "Brat! I swear when I get out of here, I'll kill you!"

Unperturbed, I continued to whisper in his ear, "That means: You know me so well, Miwa-chan. When I get out of here, I promise to give you a nice, big, loving hug."

Naruto giggled.

Kurama gave another snarl, his teeth gnashing out. "I loathe you."

"And I love you," I answered easily.

Kurama snorted again, his tails swishing. "And that's exactly how I know you're insane. Or masochistic."

"Maso-what?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Nothing," I hissed quickly, my face bright red.

Damn you, Kakashi-sensei!

('・ω・')

"... You guys... pass!"

Pure, utter silence fell over us as I lowered the box lunch away from Naruto—who was tied to the post—and stared up at Kakashi incredulously. After a thorough beat down from Kakashi on all of us individually, Naruto and I teamed up in an attempt to get the bells, but the bell rang before we could really give it a shot. Unconsciously, I shifted my shoulder a bit, inwardly wincing at the sharp stinging sensation I felt.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"The most crucial thing is teamwork," Kakashi explained, as if that sentence alone explained everything.

Which, it did of course. I knew the point of this exercise was to band together, but I just couldn't bring myself to work with Sasuke. He hadn't earned my trust, and more than likely never would.

At Naruto's frown, I leaned towards him and whispered in his ear, "I'll explain everything later."

He gave a nod and I glanced over at Sasuke, who had a look of understanding on his face. "I see. You never expected one of us to get the bells, did you?"

"Not in the slightest," Kakashi admitted. "But no matter, my cute little minions; you all have passed and are now Genin of Konoha. We meet here every day at seven hundred sharp."

"So eleven?" Naruto translated.

Kakashi only gave us a smile with his eye before poofing away.

The three of us exchanged glances before I pulled out a kunai, untying Naruto and handing him my boxed lunch. Naruto gave me a sheepish smile before he started eating away. I looked over at Sasuke, unabashedly scrutinizing him. Sasuke, unconcerned, met my gaze with one of his own.

"What?" Sasuke finally asked, irritation in his voice.

"You're an ass," I told him. Sasuke's eyes narrowed and I continued, "You're mean. You're insensitive and you're a complete narcissist. I don't like you. I don't dislike you either, though. Compared to the other options in the academy, I suppose you're one of the best."

Sasuke's eyes stayed narrowed as he glowered at me for a moment or two. He seemed to be mulling over what I was getting at, and when he finally realized what I was attempting to do, a flash of understanding dawned in his eyes. Then his face shifted and he stared back at me coolly. "You're a prick and a bitch. You're over protective of your brother—don't deny it, I saw what you did to those academy teachers—you're boring and a bookworm. I don't like you, but I don't dislike you yet, either. I am... satisfied you are not a fan girl or someone equally as useless."

"I don't think the Uchiha Clan is all that great," I said. "I think they have a totally over-powered kekkai genkai and that's cool and all, but I don't think they're that great."

"They're better than the Uzumaki Clan in the sense that they lasted longer," Sasuke retorted.

I held up my hands. "I'm not comparing our Clans, they were very different. The Uchiha carried a bloodline and were excellent in combat while the Uzumaki Clan dominated in seals and, on a side note, healing. They just had funky chakra while the Uchiha Clan had funky eyes. I hate how you're absolutely worshiped by the entire village. It annoys me to no end."

"Jealous?"

"No," I said. "To be jealous means I would have to have wanted Konoha's attention, but I've long since deemed this village idiotic and hypocritical."

Sasuke nodded his head slowly. Silence fell between us as he considered his next choice of words. "I don't understand why you and the dobe are so hated. It irritates me that I don't know."

Naruto gave an indigent cry at the name between swallows of food, but otherwise ignored us and continued eating.

"I'm trying to be a tracker," I said. "I'm quite good at it; my ninjutsu is above average for a newly graduated academy student. Perhaps average for Genin level, though I'm not too sure. You've fought me in taijutsu so you know I can hold my own against you now and then. I've rarely lost to the other kunoichi students in our class. I want to work on genjutsu next and I have abysmal knowledge in medical-ninjutsu. I'm very good at fūinjutsu, though I would prefer if you kept quiet about that."

Sasuke eyed me for another moment before nodding again. "I'm average in ninjutsu for a Genin, but above average for a freshly graduate. I'm the best taijutsu user in our class, so I would say average for Genin—I've never lost, as you know. I know basic genjutsu though I do not like using it for my own reasons. I have basic training in medical-ninjutsu and no knowledge in fūinjutsu. I'm not a tracker and I suppose I would be a front-liner in typing. I'm decent at strategy, but I don't know exactly where I would be placed."

I glanced towards Naruto. "Naruto is average in taijutsu, below average in ninjutsu for a Genin, with no genjutsu and no tracking knowledge. He is phenomenal in stealth, amazingly enough, and a genius at coming up with battle plans when pressured enough. Don't look so surprised, you must have heard about the many times he successfully pranked and escaped ANBU."

Sasuke gave a stiff, grudging nod, eyeing Naruto.

I continued, "He has no training in medical-ninjutsu or fūinjutsu, but I plan to remedy that over time. He's not a tracker, either. He's rash and as such would attempt at front-lining, and over time I would imagine he would succeed in that, but his real specialty would be in information gathering." I hesitated. "He has no training for it and I'm unsure where he could acquire said training, but I know he has a knack for it."

"Hn."

"He doesn't really like you, either," I told him, giving Naruto Sasuke's lunch box when he finished mine, seeing how Sasuke hadn't touched his food. Naruto wasted no time in starting to eat that as well. "He is jealous of how the village treats you in comparison to how the village treats us. He doesn't like your attitude, either. He acknowledges you're a good shinobi, though."

"I acknowledge his... gift for stealth," Sasuke reluctantly said, eyeing Naruto. At his words, Naruto's eyes widened as he gaped. "I don't really like him, though, but I don't particularly dislike him, either. He's annoying and too loud and I feel like he doesn't take this shinobi business seriously enough."

Naruto frowned at that, lowering the lunch box.

I nodded, frowning thoughtfully as well.

"So to work on our teamwork, we need to get over our issues of ourselves," I conceded. "Sasuke-san, you need to work on your... humility, Nii-chan, you need to be more thoughtful and quiet and I need to work on..." I gnawed my bottom lip. "... I need to be more open-minded and trusting."

Sasuke gave a single nod while Naruto continued to frown.

"We will also need to also figure out a way to build some sort of positive bond between us," I concluded. "I think... I think I have an idea on how to do that."

The boys looked over at me.

"Training and fighting," I said, feeling almost sheepish. "I think if each of us helped one another improve in some way, it would help. I also think we should start preparing ourselves to cover each other's weaknesses. Not only would this help us form a bond, but it would also make us more efficient."

I swallowed roughly, hating that I would be the first to say it, but knowing Sasuke and Naruto were too proud to go first. "My weakness in taijutsu is that I have a really, really bad habit of shielding too early and I have very, very sensitive hearing and smell. If I hear something too loud, too quickly and if I am caught off guard, I flinch, closing my eyes in the process. The same could be said about smelling something too nasty or too strong.

"My genjutsu isn't all that great; I really do want to improve on it, but I don't know how. Ninjutsu is a little difficult for me because it takes too long for me manipulate just enough chakra and not over power it—basically my chakra control isn't too wonderful. I don't know about my medical-ninjutsu because I don't have anyone to practice on.

"My fūinjutsu is at a standstill because I've read and studied all I could from the library (the part in the library that allows those who haven't been granted Genin and above access, at least), but still... until I can contact a seal master or find new scrolls, I can't really improve."

Silence fell between us and the two boys looked at each other. Finally, Naruto gave a rough swallow.

In a quiet voice he said, "My taijutsu is shitty because I couldn't ever get the hang of the academy one, and Miwa-chan's style is something exclusive to her and kunoichi—it requires too much flexibility, something I don't have and don't really want.

"My ninjutsu is shitty because I have really bad chakra control, though I guess I kind of know why. My genjutsu is the same as my ninjutsu. I don't think I have any noticeable weaknesses in stealth, except maybe I'm baited too easily into revealing myself."

We looked to Sasuke who looked like he had swallowed a bag full of needles. He looked down at his lap, clenching and un-clenching his fists. A full two minutes passed before he finally spoke.

"My taijutsu and ninjutsu are at static," Sasuke muttered, his voice low and his tone saying he wanted nothing more than to not admit this. "No matter how much I train, I've seen no improvement in the past year and a half. I refuse to use genjutsu for personal reasons. I don't like stealth because I'm... impatient. I have no intentions of furthering my knowledge in medical-ninjutsu or fūinjutsu."

I gnawed at my bottom lip. "Sasuke-san, I think the reason you appear... static... in training is because you just don't know where to go, right? You don't have any special sensei who can further train you, right?"

At Sasuke's nod and questioning gaze, I elaborated, "One of the reasons we graduate from the academy on teams is because our sensei has to help us start out on our own paths. It's like... There are many types of fighting styles, right? Poison, puppetry, support, tracking, ballistic... At the academy we're just learning the basics. Things that apply to all of the types. Then as Genin we start tochoose our types.

"Our sensei is the one to train us, to help us find that path and if possible, help us go down that path. By the time we're Chūnin, we're supposed to have already picked a path and all that's left is to either find our own private sensei or Shisho to train us in that path, or develop it on our own. Sasuke-san, I think that in your case you've only just fulfilled the academy phase to the max, and now you need to choose your own shinobi style."

Sasuke appeared contemplative at my words. "That... makes sense."

I nodded, glancing over at Naruto. "Though, Naruto and I... we haven't fulfilled the academy to the max. We're still a blank slate. But now that we have our own sensei... we'll be able to complete that path because no one would be holding us back anymore. Sasuke-san, I'm going to warn you now. Because you're already ahead of us, it might seem like we're advancing before you, but that's not the case. We're just catching up."

There. Perhaps that will give him a better mindset when Naruto actually manages to catch up.

Sasuke only gave a grunt in affirmation.

"I think that if you talk to Kakashi-sensei, he'll be happy to start testing you on which path you want to go down and stuff," I suggested.

Sasuke nodded. "... I think I can help with both of your taijutsu training. My... Clan... had a special training regime designed to force the user to develop and perfect their own style at the most basic level. I also... have a few scrolls on genjutsu that I'm not planning on using, so you can borrow them, Miwako-san."

I smiled slightly. "Thanks."

Naruto grinned brightly. "So what's the regime like?"

"Brutal," Sasuke said bluntly. "But I think it will be the most effective."

"I also have some chakra training exercises that will not only help with your control, but reserves," I added. "I think both of you will benefit from them. In fact... I can show you after we're done talking."

"What are they?" Naruto asked curiously.

"The first one's called Tree-Walking," I said, smirking a bit.

"What?" Naruto deadpanned.

"You'll see," I said, still smirking.

Naruto only grinned. "Well, I don't really have much to offer... unless you want to work on your evasion and stealth."

Sasuke hesitated. "I... would not mind a little improvement on evasion."

"That's easy," Naruto said happily. "I find it easier to learn stuff on my feet and in action, how about you?"

"Same," Sasuke admitted, as if it pained him to admit a similarity between the two.

"Then you just need someone to throw a bunch of small rocks at you until you can dodge them all," Naruto explained before a more malicious spark took his eyes. "I'd be happy to be that someone, teme!"

Sasuke snorted. "On second thought, I'll work on my evasion later."

I giggled. "Do we need to cover anything else?"

"I don't think so," Sasuke said slowly.

"Alrighty!"

('・ω・')

"Miwa-chan?" Naruto asked tiredly, yawning widely.

The sun had long since set before we had all decided to retire from the training exercise and head home. Tomorrow, Sasuke promised to bring the genjutsu scrolls with him for me to use.

"Mm?"

"Why'd we talk like that today? Why'd you tell Teme how you feel?"

I was quiet for a moment, thinking of how to answer his question. "We're supposed to be a team, Nii-chan. That's what Kakashi's lesson was all about today—what he tested us on. Even Iacknowledge that we need to be a team if we ever want to really thrive in this environment. What do you think prevents most fresh graduates from being an efficient team in the beginning?"

Naruto gave me a contemplative look. "...They don't... trust each other?"

I nodded. "Mm-hmm. That's part of it. But really... it's because no one is ever truly honest."

His brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Well," I began, "all three of us are proud people. We wouldn't easily admit our mistakes and weaknesses, especially to a complete stranger. We definitely wouldn't share our real thoughts and opinions with them, if we thought it would negatively affect our teamwork. For most fresh graduates, that's the case. We're all a bit too proud."

"So... you were open and honest and that did... what?"

"By doing so, I got rid of any barriers that would have been self-built between us. I got rid of any reason to hide things and left the only option to give a little... to trust us a little. Not to mention, by sharing our weaknesses, we now know what to cover," I said, my brow furrowed. "I'm not sure if that makes any sense, but... that's the best way I can explain it."

"Like if you tell someone a secret," Naruto tried to reason, "you usually have to trust them first. But by telling them the secret without the trust, you're sort of forcing yourself to trust them because you don't really want to imagine not trusting them now."

"I guess," I conceded. "But trust can't really be forced. I don't know. I think what I did was just rip off a band-aid really fast. We would have learned our weaknesses and issues and whatnot eventually when we trusted each other enough... I just kind of sped up the process. Sasuke-san realized what I was going for and decided to give me—us—enough of his trust to be open as well."

"It's a start," Naruto decided.

I smiled, nodding. "It's a start."

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