Chapter one:
It had been a long night and Yuuhi Kurenai was exhausted.
She?d gotten an early start that morning, so she could scout out the potential new genins at the academy. An unusual number of talented students were taking the test this year, probably enough for three full teams. That was why the sandaime asked her to take on a genin team.
She?d worked independently for almost ten years, ever since that incident. She wasn?t happy about being forced to work in a team again, but when the Hokage asks, he doesn?t necessarily have to say please.
The fact that Sarutobi did so made him even harder to refuse.
The old man was actually very considerate of her feelings. He knew that this would be opening old wounds, ever since that tragedy?
She ground her teeth to avoid the memory, but only a truly skilled shinobi would note any change of expression. Likewise, no one at the Academy could have detected her presence as she observed the students go through their routines. After the sandaime?s ?request?, she decided to utilize the remaining days to observe the students. This was unusual, as most sensei jonins simply waited for the team assignments to be made, trusting the academy instructors to construct well-balanced teams.
Kurenai was not most jonins.
Sarutobi had asked her to revive an old tactical concept, and lead a team of reconnaissance specialists. The last one had come to grief, but she didn?t think the concept itself was flawed. What happened to Nomaru, Mattai, and Kobaru-sensei had been a tragic accident. At least that was what she told herself on her good days.
On her bad days, her thoughts were much darker. Sometimes they flirted with treason. Of a sort, anyway. If her suspicions were correct, she wasn?t alone in such thoughts, just in failing to act on them.
However, she?d been having good days recently, so she occupied herself by watching the potential genins, unheard and unseen. The Inuzuka kid almost sensed her presence during recess when the wind unexpectedly shifted, but she?d been able to move before he could smell her.
Mostly she watched them talk and play. She noticed an unusual number of children from prominent shinobi families. Just like their parents, a Nara, a Yamanaka, and an Akimichi were all set to graduate together. If they all passed, there was little doubt they?d be placed on a team together. People liked to stick with what worked. It was just too bad for the boys that the Yamanaka girl looked to be an incredible shrew.
She saw a few prospects for a recon team. There was an Aburame kid who was so quiet the instructors tended to lose track of him. If he was any good with his bugs he?d be a resource for any team. She?d worked on occasion with a man who was probably this Shino boy?s father. His ?little friends? always warned them of approaching enemies, giving them plenty of time to change position. The Inuzuka boy undoubtedly had a good nose like most of his family, as would his dog. He was a little loud, and a bit of a braggart though.
There was also a Hyuuga there, and Kurenai recognized the girl, Hinata, that she?d escorted to the academy years ago. She?d done a tour at the Academy while recovering from her wounds and preparing for the jonin exam.
She?d been dispatched to the Hyuuga compound in response to a request from the clan head, Hyuuga Hiashi. The man coldly informed her that his daughter was hopelessly weak and unable to master more than the basics of the Hyuuga gentle fist taijitsu style. It was hoped that she?d be of some use to the village as a shinobi if she was too weak to serve the family directly. The fact that he told her this in front of the silent girl sorely tested Kurenai?s patience.
Of course, she expected no less from the leader of the white-eyed bastards. Aside from that silent girl, she?d never seen a member of that prestigious family that wasn?t stuck up and arrogant. Well, Mattai wasn?t like that, but it wasn?t really the same. Remembering her old comrade always brought a pang, and she needed her concentration to focus on the quiet girl.
As if in reaction against the rest of her family?s arrogance, the Hyuuga girl was still painfully shy and timid. She sat by herself and kept her head down so much it took Kurenai a while to confirm she actually had the Byakugan eyes her family was famed for. The only time the girl seemed to perk up at all was when the class troublemaker came tearing past, being chased by the Yamanaka girl and some pink-haired kunoichi-in-training that had to be a Haruno.
Kurenai was a genin fresh out of the academy when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. She and most of her friends were assigned to areas of the battlefield far from the worst of the fighting, which was probably the only reason any of them had survived that night. She didn?t have any personal animosity against the child the fourth had sealed the demon fox into. It wasn?t like the little gaki had asked for it.
Still, this Uzumaki Naruto seemed to be quite a handful. He was always pulling pranks, though never anything really mean or hurtful. Mostly he just seemed a little starved for attention. Unfortunately, that was something most of the academy instructors seemed unwilling to give him. To his credit, Umino Iruka seemed to be the least prejudiced of the lot: his irritation seemed to be focused more on the boy?s poor study habits and hell-raising.
At least his antics were occasionally entertaining. He did show a lot of creativity in his mischief, and the reactions of those around him also gave Kurenai some insight into their personalities.
Unfortunately, it looked like his lack of focus had caught up with him that afternoon, during the genin exam. A fair number of his classmates ran out of the building afterward, proudly displaying their new Hitai-ite, but the blond haired boy just trudged over to the swings and sat there, the picture of dejection.
Kurenai was surprised to note that someone else was watching the boy as well. The Hyuuga girl stared at him from behind a post. She was obviously distraught - blushing and pushing her forefingers together in a nervous gesture. At the same time, the girl stood up straighter than Kurenai had ever seen her. She fidgeted behind the post, stepping out from behind it only to step back again without doing anything. From what Kurenai could see, the girl?s cheeks were bright red.
The jonin smiled to herself as she slipped away. With no curse seal, the girl was obviously of the Hyuuga main family. For such a one to be attracted to a ruffian like the one who bore the kyuubi was an ineradicable smear on her family?s honor.
Good for her.
The thought cheered Kurenai as she made her way to the Hokage?s tower. The Sandaime and the new jonin sensei would be meeting with the academy instructors to go over the test results and decide how to split the new genins into effective teams.
It was nearly nightfall by the time all the jonins arrived, mostly due to Hatake Kakashi?s chronic tardiness. She understood the reasons for his frequent diversions all too well, but that was not a good reason to make everyone wait for over an hour. Although she supposed the same could be said of her violent dislike of the Hyuuga clan.
The first bit of bad news was that only eight students had passed the genin test. That meant one team would be short a student, or they would be forming two four person teams. Kurenai wondered if she?d be let off the hook, but Sarutobi soon scuttled that hope. He said he didn?t think the best of jonins could give four students sufficient attention for their development. The jonins sometimes whispered on drinking nights that the old man still blamed himself for Orochimaru?s betrayal of Konoha. No sane person blamed the old man for his grown student?s actions, but Kurenai knew quite well that guilt follows no logic but it?s own.
No sooner had they settled that question and began wrangling over who would only have two genins than a messenger arrived. It seemed that someone had broken into the Sandaime?s quarters and made off with a scroll of forbidden jutsus. No one was sure who had done it, but Uzumaki Naruto had been seen in the vicinity just before the break-in was noticed.
Umino Iruka went pale as a ghost when he heard this news, confirming to Kurenai?s eye that the man did care something about the unwanted child. He immediately rushed out to join the search for the boy.
?How did Naruto do in the examination?? the Sandaime asked one of the academy record-keepers.
?He did not pass, Hokage-sama,? the man asked without even checking his scroll.
?If he was able to break into the Hokage?s office and make off with a heavily guarded scroll? it makes me wonder how hard that test is,? Asuma grumbled sourly. He?d been forbidden to smoke inside and Kurenai was sure he was suffering from lack of nicotine.
Sarutobi seemed unusually unconcerned about the missing scroll, so after he went up to his office they instead sat around discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the genins as they looked through the reports. It seemed a little odd to do this when neither of the senior instructors were present.
Kakashi volunteered to oversee the training of the Uchiha survivor, which made sense given his use of a sharingan eye. He also was willing to only have two students. This was presumably so he could devote more time to Uchiha Sasuke, but Kurenai wondered how much of that was just laziness. It seemed to her that the more skilled the ninja, the more eccentric their personal habits became. It also made her wonder if her own ambitions to improve her skills would become ultimately self-destructive. The copy-cat ninja was feared throughout the ninja world, but he was also squirrelly as hell with his chronic tardiness and perverted reading material.
In fact his fingers were reaching for the corner of a brightly colored book protruding from his flak vest when Sarutobi led Iruka back into the room, the latter missing his hitai-ite.
?It looks like we have a ninth graduate,? the chuunin gasped after sitting down. He looked like he?d been in a nasty brawl ? he was covered with cuts and scrapes, including a really large gouge in the middle of his back.
?What happened, Iruka?? Maybe it was Kurenai?s imagination, but the slight smile the Hokage wore indicated he knew more than he let on.
?It was Mizuki that betrayed us, Hokage-sama. When Naruto couldn?t produce a good bunshin, he failed the jutsu portion of the exam. Mizuki told him that stealing the scroll and bringing it to him would count as extra credit and allow him to still pass the exam.?
?He fell for that?? Kakashi asked in surprise. ?And we?re considering making him a ninja why?
?If students cannot trust their sensei, who can they trust?? Iruka asked stiffly. ?We cannot punish him for listening to a teacher, can we?? He turned toward the Hokage with the last question.
The Sandaime nodded gravely. ?I agree. If we cannot guarantee the loyalty of the people who teach our children, we cannot blame them for doing no better than we.? He looked at Iruka for a second. ?What happened to your forehead protector??
Umino Iruka smiled proudly. ?I gave it to Naruto for passing the exam. He?d failed to produce a simple bunshin, but when he was defending me from Mizuki?s attacks he revealed that he?d learned Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and filled that whole section of the forest with clones. I literally lost count.?
?But Kage Bunshin is much harder to perform!? Asuma protested.
Iruka shrugged happily. ?That?s why I passed him. He?s quite surprising.?
?Well then, it looks like we have three full size teams now,? Sarutobi said with a faint smile. Most of the jonins knew he sympathized with the boy?s lack of family. ?Kakashi, if you will take Naruto, that will-?
?Your pardon, Hokage-sama,? Kurenai broke in. She?d been thinking about the Hyuuga girl. With her bloodline, she had tremendous potential, but her confidence issues were worrisome. Now she saw a possible way around them. ?I wouldn?t mind having Naruto on my team.?
?Are you sure of that?? Sarutobi asked. She also saw Asuma and some of the academy workers quietly shaking their heads. ?I understand your team is to specialize in reconnaissance missions, and Naruto doesn?t show a lot of potential in that area.?
?Or any other,? she thought she saw one of the record keepers mouth to his co-worker. Iruka shifted painfully in his seat to glare at them.
?After what happened to my genin team,? she said coolly, ?I?d prefer that my new team not be overly specialized. If they fall into a trap,? she continued, giving the last word a slightly sarcastic emphasis that made the Sandaime wince, ?it would do well to have someone with the ability to get us out of a perilous situation. A genin capable of filling the woods with kage bunshin would be able to provide quite a distraction, wouldn?t he? Besides, I also seem to remember a large number of chuunins, jonins, and ANBU pursuing that boy after he decorated the Hokage monument. He led you on quite a chase, didn?t he??
Several faces in the room looked a bit sheepish after that. Iruka, on the other hand, appeared happy that someone was recognizing his pupil?s abilities. Of course, he was also the one who eventually caught the boy.
She turned toward Kakashi. ?Kiba is passable with his taijitsu, but he also spends a lot of time working with Akamaru. They work well together and might give your students an example of the teamwork you seem to prize. Psychologically, the Inuzuka boy is like most of his family and very pack, er, group-oriented. He?s a little boisterous, but friendly enough he might be able to thaw out that Uchiha headcase.?
Kurenai noticed that everyone in the room was staring at her. She sighed. ?When I was selected to mentor a genin team, I decided to spend a few days observing them interact and getting a handle on their personalities. Am I the only jonin in this room that bothers to think ahead??
Kakashi was reading his book and Asuma was fiddling with his cigarette. Evidently, she was.
She sighed and laid her face in her hands. ?Fine, then. Just take my word for it. The Uchiha kid is a self-centered brat and you?re going to have your work cut out for you.?
?Hmmm?? Sarutobi grunted. ?I would think Naruto would be able to warm him up a bit better. And it is traditional that the highest and lowest-ranked genins be placed on the same team to balance it out.?
?Perhaps,? Kurenai agreed. ?But I think that kid?s been through enough without sticking him on a team with two people who won?t appreciate him, and neither Haruno nor Uchiha respect him at all? Besides, given what he did tonight, I?m not sure I agree with his assessment results.?
The third Hokage nodded thoughtfully. ?You think he will do better on your team??
?Aburame Shino seems neutral toward the boy, which is better than the outright disparagement he receives from other students. Hyuuga Hinata would be his friend if she were not so shy.? Kurenai paused for a moment before continuing. ?I believe that if your law mandating secrecy regarding the jinchuuriki were to be strictly enforced, all of the academy students would be made orphans.?
Yuuhi Kurenai was quite sure that, were she to drop a senbon, the clatter when it struck the floor would have been deafening in that silence.
?That is ridiculous!? One of the academy workers snapped. ?I have never heard one whisper of the Kyuubi in all the time I have worked here. No parent has told their child of it!?
?No,? Kurenai drawled, ?they instead tell their children to hate Uzumaki Naruto and shun him for no reason they will admit. You don?t hide a secret by drawing attention to it with bright lights and dancing around it doing everything you can get away with that doesn?t involve saying the forbidden words.?
Sarutobi sighed and sagged in his chair for a moment. Kurenai was reminded how old he actually was, and how he?d been enjoying his retirement up until his successor was forced to sacrifice his life to seal the Kyuubi. She felt a stab of shame that she?d reminded him of how little some of the villagers deserved his protection.
?Anyway,? she continued in a kinder voice, ?I think the gaki has a lot of potential. If I can bring it out, he may one day become a formidable shinobi.?
?That may be a lot of work,? Iruka said in a cautious voice. Kurenai?s eye caught him wincing a little, obviously torn by his loyalty to the boy. She considered that a point in his favor.
?It will be worth it to prevent any more? accidents,? she said in little more than a whisper. Even Kakashi managed to look uncomfortable, for all that his mask hid.
?Very well,? the Hokage said in a quiet voice. ?I will want weekly reports on the boy?s progress and his physical and mental state.?
Kurenai nodded. She expected as much.
__________________________
Until Chapter 2!
It had been a long night and Yuuhi Kurenai was exhausted.
She?d gotten an early start that morning, so she could scout out the potential new genins at the academy. An unusual number of talented students were taking the test this year, probably enough for three full teams. That was why the sandaime asked her to take on a genin team.
She?d worked independently for almost ten years, ever since that incident. She wasn?t happy about being forced to work in a team again, but when the Hokage asks, he doesn?t necessarily have to say please.
The fact that Sarutobi did so made him even harder to refuse.
The old man was actually very considerate of her feelings. He knew that this would be opening old wounds, ever since that tragedy?
She ground her teeth to avoid the memory, but only a truly skilled shinobi would note any change of expression. Likewise, no one at the Academy could have detected her presence as she observed the students go through their routines. After the sandaime?s ?request?, she decided to utilize the remaining days to observe the students. This was unusual, as most sensei jonins simply waited for the team assignments to be made, trusting the academy instructors to construct well-balanced teams.
Kurenai was not most jonins.
Sarutobi had asked her to revive an old tactical concept, and lead a team of reconnaissance specialists. The last one had come to grief, but she didn?t think the concept itself was flawed. What happened to Nomaru, Mattai, and Kobaru-sensei had been a tragic accident. At least that was what she told herself on her good days.
On her bad days, her thoughts were much darker. Sometimes they flirted with treason. Of a sort, anyway. If her suspicions were correct, she wasn?t alone in such thoughts, just in failing to act on them.
However, she?d been having good days recently, so she occupied herself by watching the potential genins, unheard and unseen. The Inuzuka kid almost sensed her presence during recess when the wind unexpectedly shifted, but she?d been able to move before he could smell her.
Mostly she watched them talk and play. She noticed an unusual number of children from prominent shinobi families. Just like their parents, a Nara, a Yamanaka, and an Akimichi were all set to graduate together. If they all passed, there was little doubt they?d be placed on a team together. People liked to stick with what worked. It was just too bad for the boys that the Yamanaka girl looked to be an incredible shrew.
She saw a few prospects for a recon team. There was an Aburame kid who was so quiet the instructors tended to lose track of him. If he was any good with his bugs he?d be a resource for any team. She?d worked on occasion with a man who was probably this Shino boy?s father. His ?little friends? always warned them of approaching enemies, giving them plenty of time to change position. The Inuzuka boy undoubtedly had a good nose like most of his family, as would his dog. He was a little loud, and a bit of a braggart though.
There was also a Hyuuga there, and Kurenai recognized the girl, Hinata, that she?d escorted to the academy years ago. She?d done a tour at the Academy while recovering from her wounds and preparing for the jonin exam.
She?d been dispatched to the Hyuuga compound in response to a request from the clan head, Hyuuga Hiashi. The man coldly informed her that his daughter was hopelessly weak and unable to master more than the basics of the Hyuuga gentle fist taijitsu style. It was hoped that she?d be of some use to the village as a shinobi if she was too weak to serve the family directly. The fact that he told her this in front of the silent girl sorely tested Kurenai?s patience.
Of course, she expected no less from the leader of the white-eyed bastards. Aside from that silent girl, she?d never seen a member of that prestigious family that wasn?t stuck up and arrogant. Well, Mattai wasn?t like that, but it wasn?t really the same. Remembering her old comrade always brought a pang, and she needed her concentration to focus on the quiet girl.
As if in reaction against the rest of her family?s arrogance, the Hyuuga girl was still painfully shy and timid. She sat by herself and kept her head down so much it took Kurenai a while to confirm she actually had the Byakugan eyes her family was famed for. The only time the girl seemed to perk up at all was when the class troublemaker came tearing past, being chased by the Yamanaka girl and some pink-haired kunoichi-in-training that had to be a Haruno.
Kurenai was a genin fresh out of the academy when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. She and most of her friends were assigned to areas of the battlefield far from the worst of the fighting, which was probably the only reason any of them had survived that night. She didn?t have any personal animosity against the child the fourth had sealed the demon fox into. It wasn?t like the little gaki had asked for it.
Still, this Uzumaki Naruto seemed to be quite a handful. He was always pulling pranks, though never anything really mean or hurtful. Mostly he just seemed a little starved for attention. Unfortunately, that was something most of the academy instructors seemed unwilling to give him. To his credit, Umino Iruka seemed to be the least prejudiced of the lot: his irritation seemed to be focused more on the boy?s poor study habits and hell-raising.
At least his antics were occasionally entertaining. He did show a lot of creativity in his mischief, and the reactions of those around him also gave Kurenai some insight into their personalities.
Unfortunately, it looked like his lack of focus had caught up with him that afternoon, during the genin exam. A fair number of his classmates ran out of the building afterward, proudly displaying their new Hitai-ite, but the blond haired boy just trudged over to the swings and sat there, the picture of dejection.
Kurenai was surprised to note that someone else was watching the boy as well. The Hyuuga girl stared at him from behind a post. She was obviously distraught - blushing and pushing her forefingers together in a nervous gesture. At the same time, the girl stood up straighter than Kurenai had ever seen her. She fidgeted behind the post, stepping out from behind it only to step back again without doing anything. From what Kurenai could see, the girl?s cheeks were bright red.
The jonin smiled to herself as she slipped away. With no curse seal, the girl was obviously of the Hyuuga main family. For such a one to be attracted to a ruffian like the one who bore the kyuubi was an ineradicable smear on her family?s honor.
Good for her.
The thought cheered Kurenai as she made her way to the Hokage?s tower. The Sandaime and the new jonin sensei would be meeting with the academy instructors to go over the test results and decide how to split the new genins into effective teams.
It was nearly nightfall by the time all the jonins arrived, mostly due to Hatake Kakashi?s chronic tardiness. She understood the reasons for his frequent diversions all too well, but that was not a good reason to make everyone wait for over an hour. Although she supposed the same could be said of her violent dislike of the Hyuuga clan.
The first bit of bad news was that only eight students had passed the genin test. That meant one team would be short a student, or they would be forming two four person teams. Kurenai wondered if she?d be let off the hook, but Sarutobi soon scuttled that hope. He said he didn?t think the best of jonins could give four students sufficient attention for their development. The jonins sometimes whispered on drinking nights that the old man still blamed himself for Orochimaru?s betrayal of Konoha. No sane person blamed the old man for his grown student?s actions, but Kurenai knew quite well that guilt follows no logic but it?s own.
No sooner had they settled that question and began wrangling over who would only have two genins than a messenger arrived. It seemed that someone had broken into the Sandaime?s quarters and made off with a scroll of forbidden jutsus. No one was sure who had done it, but Uzumaki Naruto had been seen in the vicinity just before the break-in was noticed.
Umino Iruka went pale as a ghost when he heard this news, confirming to Kurenai?s eye that the man did care something about the unwanted child. He immediately rushed out to join the search for the boy.
?How did Naruto do in the examination?? the Sandaime asked one of the academy record-keepers.
?He did not pass, Hokage-sama,? the man asked without even checking his scroll.
?If he was able to break into the Hokage?s office and make off with a heavily guarded scroll? it makes me wonder how hard that test is,? Asuma grumbled sourly. He?d been forbidden to smoke inside and Kurenai was sure he was suffering from lack of nicotine.
Sarutobi seemed unusually unconcerned about the missing scroll, so after he went up to his office they instead sat around discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the genins as they looked through the reports. It seemed a little odd to do this when neither of the senior instructors were present.
Kakashi volunteered to oversee the training of the Uchiha survivor, which made sense given his use of a sharingan eye. He also was willing to only have two students. This was presumably so he could devote more time to Uchiha Sasuke, but Kurenai wondered how much of that was just laziness. It seemed to her that the more skilled the ninja, the more eccentric their personal habits became. It also made her wonder if her own ambitions to improve her skills would become ultimately self-destructive. The copy-cat ninja was feared throughout the ninja world, but he was also squirrelly as hell with his chronic tardiness and perverted reading material.
In fact his fingers were reaching for the corner of a brightly colored book protruding from his flak vest when Sarutobi led Iruka back into the room, the latter missing his hitai-ite.
?It looks like we have a ninth graduate,? the chuunin gasped after sitting down. He looked like he?d been in a nasty brawl ? he was covered with cuts and scrapes, including a really large gouge in the middle of his back.
?What happened, Iruka?? Maybe it was Kurenai?s imagination, but the slight smile the Hokage wore indicated he knew more than he let on.
?It was Mizuki that betrayed us, Hokage-sama. When Naruto couldn?t produce a good bunshin, he failed the jutsu portion of the exam. Mizuki told him that stealing the scroll and bringing it to him would count as extra credit and allow him to still pass the exam.?
?He fell for that?? Kakashi asked in surprise. ?And we?re considering making him a ninja why?
?If students cannot trust their sensei, who can they trust?? Iruka asked stiffly. ?We cannot punish him for listening to a teacher, can we?? He turned toward the Hokage with the last question.
The Sandaime nodded gravely. ?I agree. If we cannot guarantee the loyalty of the people who teach our children, we cannot blame them for doing no better than we.? He looked at Iruka for a second. ?What happened to your forehead protector??
Umino Iruka smiled proudly. ?I gave it to Naruto for passing the exam. He?d failed to produce a simple bunshin, but when he was defending me from Mizuki?s attacks he revealed that he?d learned Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and filled that whole section of the forest with clones. I literally lost count.?
?But Kage Bunshin is much harder to perform!? Asuma protested.
Iruka shrugged happily. ?That?s why I passed him. He?s quite surprising.?
?Well then, it looks like we have three full size teams now,? Sarutobi said with a faint smile. Most of the jonins knew he sympathized with the boy?s lack of family. ?Kakashi, if you will take Naruto, that will-?
?Your pardon, Hokage-sama,? Kurenai broke in. She?d been thinking about the Hyuuga girl. With her bloodline, she had tremendous potential, but her confidence issues were worrisome. Now she saw a possible way around them. ?I wouldn?t mind having Naruto on my team.?
?Are you sure of that?? Sarutobi asked. She also saw Asuma and some of the academy workers quietly shaking their heads. ?I understand your team is to specialize in reconnaissance missions, and Naruto doesn?t show a lot of potential in that area.?
?Or any other,? she thought she saw one of the record keepers mouth to his co-worker. Iruka shifted painfully in his seat to glare at them.
?After what happened to my genin team,? she said coolly, ?I?d prefer that my new team not be overly specialized. If they fall into a trap,? she continued, giving the last word a slightly sarcastic emphasis that made the Sandaime wince, ?it would do well to have someone with the ability to get us out of a perilous situation. A genin capable of filling the woods with kage bunshin would be able to provide quite a distraction, wouldn?t he? Besides, I also seem to remember a large number of chuunins, jonins, and ANBU pursuing that boy after he decorated the Hokage monument. He led you on quite a chase, didn?t he??
Several faces in the room looked a bit sheepish after that. Iruka, on the other hand, appeared happy that someone was recognizing his pupil?s abilities. Of course, he was also the one who eventually caught the boy.
She turned toward Kakashi. ?Kiba is passable with his taijitsu, but he also spends a lot of time working with Akamaru. They work well together and might give your students an example of the teamwork you seem to prize. Psychologically, the Inuzuka boy is like most of his family and very pack, er, group-oriented. He?s a little boisterous, but friendly enough he might be able to thaw out that Uchiha headcase.?
Kurenai noticed that everyone in the room was staring at her. She sighed. ?When I was selected to mentor a genin team, I decided to spend a few days observing them interact and getting a handle on their personalities. Am I the only jonin in this room that bothers to think ahead??
Kakashi was reading his book and Asuma was fiddling with his cigarette. Evidently, she was.
She sighed and laid her face in her hands. ?Fine, then. Just take my word for it. The Uchiha kid is a self-centered brat and you?re going to have your work cut out for you.?
?Hmmm?? Sarutobi grunted. ?I would think Naruto would be able to warm him up a bit better. And it is traditional that the highest and lowest-ranked genins be placed on the same team to balance it out.?
?Perhaps,? Kurenai agreed. ?But I think that kid?s been through enough without sticking him on a team with two people who won?t appreciate him, and neither Haruno nor Uchiha respect him at all? Besides, given what he did tonight, I?m not sure I agree with his assessment results.?
The third Hokage nodded thoughtfully. ?You think he will do better on your team??
?Aburame Shino seems neutral toward the boy, which is better than the outright disparagement he receives from other students. Hyuuga Hinata would be his friend if she were not so shy.? Kurenai paused for a moment before continuing. ?I believe that if your law mandating secrecy regarding the jinchuuriki were to be strictly enforced, all of the academy students would be made orphans.?
Yuuhi Kurenai was quite sure that, were she to drop a senbon, the clatter when it struck the floor would have been deafening in that silence.
?That is ridiculous!? One of the academy workers snapped. ?I have never heard one whisper of the Kyuubi in all the time I have worked here. No parent has told their child of it!?
?No,? Kurenai drawled, ?they instead tell their children to hate Uzumaki Naruto and shun him for no reason they will admit. You don?t hide a secret by drawing attention to it with bright lights and dancing around it doing everything you can get away with that doesn?t involve saying the forbidden words.?
Sarutobi sighed and sagged in his chair for a moment. Kurenai was reminded how old he actually was, and how he?d been enjoying his retirement up until his successor was forced to sacrifice his life to seal the Kyuubi. She felt a stab of shame that she?d reminded him of how little some of the villagers deserved his protection.
?Anyway,? she continued in a kinder voice, ?I think the gaki has a lot of potential. If I can bring it out, he may one day become a formidable shinobi.?
?That may be a lot of work,? Iruka said in a cautious voice. Kurenai?s eye caught him wincing a little, obviously torn by his loyalty to the boy. She considered that a point in his favor.
?It will be worth it to prevent any more? accidents,? she said in little more than a whisper. Even Kakashi managed to look uncomfortable, for all that his mask hid.
?Very well,? the Hokage said in a quiet voice. ?I will want weekly reports on the boy?s progress and his physical and mental state.?
Kurenai nodded. She expected as much.
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Until Chapter 2!
