Forked Shadows

Chapter 2

"How many hours has it been?" Raicho wondered, looking out the window. Iruka Sensei had organized them all into teams and to Sakura's pleasure, she had both Sasuke and an additional girl on her team who wasn't Ino. Well, that was Raicho.

Originally, the class had been evenly divided out to make sure they all had two teammates, and that no more than three people could be on a team.

Why?

Because if there were four people on the team and they got into an argument, the team would split and make themselves vulnerable. If a fight is happening between two people in a trio, the odd person could make a decision and break the tie. The same rule applies to odd-numbered teams.

Raicho was supposed to be on a different team with two other boys, but their mothers pulled them out since they had to move. Then her assigned sensei caught a disease and also pulled out to be treated for a long-term period.

So Raicho was put on Team Seven, despite the unusual circumstances. However, her stay in Team Seven had restrictions.

First, she could only join low ranked missions C and D. If they had gotten a higher ranking mission, she would be pulled from the team until the mission was completed. Second, if she wanted to take the Chunin and Jounin exams, Raicho would need to be placed in a new team and compete separately from Team Seven. For now, there weren't any additional Genin, so for now, she would stay with Team Seven and wait for new people to show up.

"It's been two hours since the last team before we left," Sakura replied, glancing at Sasuke occasionally in glee. "He's late."

"Should we play a game?" Raicho offered, crossing her legs on the bench.

"Oh! Okay. What is it?"

"Although I won't be here permanently, we all should still get to know each other, yeah?" she noted.

"Whaddya mean?" Naruto asked, scrunching his nose in confusion.

"Well, let's see...who, on this team, of course, would most likely get lost?"

"I bet its Naruto," Sakura immediately jumped.

"Wha--"

"Then who would come next?"

"Maybe your or me, and then Sasuke-kun."

Sakura looked up to her precious Sasuke-kun, witnessing him demonstrate his cool abilities and amazing techniques throughout the years at the Academy.

"Who is scared of snakes?" Raicho grinned.

"Heck, I am!" Sakura wailed, jerking away from her friend. "Wait..." her eyes went to Raicho's jacket covering her torso suspiciously. "You didn't...wouldn't..."

"Have a snake under my jacket? Nope," Raicho said casually, removing her jacket to show her she was telling the truth. "But say, who would tolerate snakes more, me, Sasuke, or Naruto?"

Sakura scrunched her eyebrows together, glancing at her crush and me. She knew Sasuke was physically and academically strong, but she had yet to know if he could handle snakes or not...

"I don't know," she finally whined, slumping forward on the desk. "I guess...you? I mean, I know you have pet spiders at home." She glared menacingly at her, while Raicho smiled innocently.

"Well--"

"And, when we first met," she glowered, getting closer to her face with her finger poking her friend. "You had a spider...in your bra!" She whispered frantically.

Raicho laughed, making her pout and scoot away. "He was cold so I was providing some warmth while Uncle was fixing his heater. Besides, Kiba does the same thing to his puppy."

"That's different! Akamaru is a dog," she stressed. "And that snake is a snake."

"It's not like they're human," Raicho reasoned. "But they both understand what we say."

"Yeah, but--" she sputtered.

"And they both bite."

"One has poison!"

"You'd still need shots for either bite. Dogs can have rabies."

"Whatever. You love snakes. End of story."

"Alright then. Who is the fastest on this team?"

"Sasuke-kun of course!" She blushed, as though she was praising herself, and looked shyly at the boy sitting in the desk across from us."

"Wait, then who's the second fastest person?"

"Um, I guess Naruto," she admitted. Last year, Naruto had spent all year trying to beat Kiba's time in running and finally passed him. "Honestly, let's just face it: Sasuke-kun is always going to be the best, you and I are going to tie in the middle, and Naruto is the class clown who barely managed to pass. I don't even know how he passed!"

Sakura wasn't just basing her assumptions on favoritism. Sasuke scored the highest on every exam, physical and mental, and dedicated himself to training every single day after school. He worked hard to become the best, proved himself to be a model student, and earned the approval of every teacher.

Naruto sadly did not have the criteria. Like Sakura already said, Naruto was the class clown. He didn't study, do homework, attempt to train with a disciplined mind, or do his best in the Academy. At the same time, Raicho understood how he became this way and had no right to judge him for what he has become.

Naruto, having no parents or parental figure, was never shown love as every child should have from their parents. Raicho's mother hinted a few times that Naruto may have ADD or Attention Deficit Disorder. When a child has been deprived of attention, they run the risk of having ADD and have symptoms that affect concentration and a child's ability to focus. This is a reason why Naruto may be unable to do well in school as he cannot concentrate.

The only problem is Naruto is a hyperactive boy, a characteristic that is not shown under ADD but ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

As the girls watched Naruto jam the chalkboard eraser chalk in between the door and the doorframe, Raicho couldn't help but wonder if their Sensei will become that parental figure that Naruto needs.

"I hate you all."

Raicho refocused her attention back in the present and stared at their new sensei with the chalkboard eraser in his hand. He had just walked into Naruto's prank.

She blinked. Well then. This could be interesting.