"So, let's go to the roof then." With those words, he vanished in a faint cloud of smoke.
"Let's go!" Team Seven dashed out into the hall, ran down the hall, leaped past the staircase, across the lobby, and up the many flights of stairs until they reached the ninth floor and threw open the door leading to the roof. There, Sensei was leaning against the railing of the terrace.
"Oh, you guys made it," he said leisurely as the teens approached him. "Great. I guess we'll start with introductions then. Tell us about yourself."
"Like what?" Naruto demanded.
"You likes, dislikes, goals, and dreams and stuff," he replied easily.
"Why don't you go first, Sensei, so we know how it's done?" Sakura asked, Naruto, and Raicho nodding in agreement. Sasuke slouched back from his spot, and their sensei looked up at the sky in thought.
"Huh? Oh, alright then. Let's see...I'm Hatake Kakashi, and I like a few things...I also don't like several things. My goals? Never really thought about it. Dreams...eh, I don't have any. Okay, you in orange. You're next."
"All he told us was his name," Sakura said under her breath.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I love ramen! I hate having to wait three minutes, though. My goal is to become Hokage!"
During Naruto's mini-monologue, Raicho looked at Kakashi Sensei. While Kakashi Sensei did not expressively show any response at Naruto's words, he was recalling something of his past that stood out in his eyes. An event in his past that Naruto reminded him.
"Great. You in pink."
"I'm Haruno Sakura, and I like..." she hesitated, glancing shyly at Sasuke to see if he was listening. Too embarrassed to confess, however, she scrambled for her thoughts and stuttered, "I-I mean I love..."
Raicho didn't even have look at Kakashi Sensei for this part.
Love. Oh boy, here we go again.
"My goal is..." Sakura's face went pink. "My dream is..." her face was crimson.
"And your dislikes?" Kakashi Sensei prompted.
"Naruto!"
"Wah--?!" The boy in questioned yelped.
"Great, you in white," Kakashi Sensei prompt, the relief evident in his eye.
"I'm Iguro Raicho, and I like snakes and spiders. I don't like insects though, and I get angry if people tell me spiders are bugs because they're not. My goal is to become a therapist, and my dream is to help as many people as I can!"
It didn't matter what occupation you wanted, everyone needed to graduate from the Academy in order to even be considered to enter a field of their choice.
During Raicho's monologue, Kakashi Sensei didn't seem at all surprised at her love for snakes and spiders. Perhaps he knew her father's occupation...
"Oh, great. Last one." Kakashi Sensei said, turning towards Sasuke.
"Uchiha Sasuke. I dislike many things and have only a few things I like. I don't have a dream, and my goal is to kill a certain man..." he replied darkly.
Raicho studied Kakashi Sensei's face, noting he didn't look all that surprised either. In fact, he looked like he was expecting Sasuke to respond so seriously.
"And we're done. Tomorrow, we have a survival test."
"But we already passed those tests!" Sakura said, confused.
"Oh! So you did. Well, this one is different. See you tomorrow, and don't eat breakfast!" Their laid-back Sensei vanished once more, leaving the group as quickly as he had arrived.
"Yipeee! We're ninjas now!" Naruto exclaimed, fist pumping in the air. Sasuke scoffed and turned away from the other three, heading back to the stairs to leave. Sakura instantly trailed after her crush like a lost puppy, while Raicho followed them downstairs and parted ways once they had finally left the building.
Back at home, Raicho greeted her father who had been fixing a contraption on the kitchen table for his boss. "So who are you, new teammates?" He asked, wiping his hands on a dirty rag.
"Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto," she beamed. "They're alright I guess. I don't know Sasuke or Naruto that well yet."
"How about your Sensei?"
"Oh! It's Kakashi Sensei. Did you ever talk to him before?" Raicho asked, sitting on the chair across from him.
"Kaka--oh, of course. He's a former ANBU and often caught many ninjas that needed to be interrogated," Father explained, setting down the rag. "He used to be so cold and wary, but now, he's doing a lot better. I hear he's more laid-back."
"That, he is. So what's this?" His daughter pointed to the contraption on the table he had taken apart.
"Ibiki has a bunch of broken torturing devices and needs them fixed and ready to go. I have to fix what I can and put in orders for any specific parts or new devices."
"Oh."
"See this rust?" He explained, rubbing his finger against the metal edge of a device. "I've been trying to remove it as much as I can, but the rust has eaten right through it. If I try to clean it off anymore, I'll put a hole in it."
"So you're going to buy a new part?" Raicho confirmed.
"Yup. I still remember the time removing rust off of some old knives and snapped the blade right off!"
"Rusty," she joked, making him laugh.
YOU ARE READING
Forked Shadows
Fanfiction"I'm leaving." Her eyes were slightly glazed, the once strong resolve shattered to pieces, and her shoulders hunched over in defeat. Her head tucked in, away from the accusing looks and mocking threats, and her entire appearance was that of a war s...
