III

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Arc III Chapter 11

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The room was crowded. The examiners of the chunin exams and the various jonin sensei assembled in his office. Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai stood at the forefront. They recommended their teams for the chunin exams despite them being freshly promoted to the rank of genin. They only served for a single year. Iruka didn't share their enthusiasm and demanded a preliminary test for them to gauge their progress. He granted his request.

 

Hiruzen pulled on his pipe and cleared his throat. “Ahem, attention. I have a little announcement to make. Hatsu, might you please step forwards. I have something to discuss with you.”

 

Hatsu followed his order. “How may I help, Hokage-sama?”

 

“Hatsu, I heard that you intended for your team to participate, but your team lacks a third member. Apparently, Katsumi got heavily wounded on a mission and won’t recuperate in time, is that correct?”

 

 “Correct, Hokage-sama.”

 

Hiruzen folded his hands. “I think that I have a solution for your problem, Hatsu. I found a replacement for Katsumi, a girl eager to participate.”

 

Hatsu hesitated. “And who is the girl?”

 

Hiruzen handed Hatsu Asami's file, the redacted version, obviously. “Her name is Minami Asami. She is a genin who retired after her first mission due to an emotional trauma. Her entire team was killed in action. Only she survived. The girl contacted me a few weeks ago. She would like to return to service.” Her name provoked a variety of reactions from the gathered jonin, ranging from disinterest to pity, from surprise to confusion. It was only Kakashi who met his nomination with suspicion. The former ANBU captain knew what was going on.

 

Hatsu scanned the file, visibly concerned. “Hokage-sama, but is this really a good idea? Does the girl possess the necessary skill to participate in the chunin exams? As far as I can see, she hasn't completed a single mission above D-rank. The girl was inactive for the entire last year. I fear she will be nothing more than a dead weight.” Hatsu doubted Asami's qualifications, which was only natural. On paper, Asami didn't appear any special.

 

Hiruzen offered a warm smile, “Don't worry, Hatsu, I see no problem with her nomination. In fact, I can personally vouch for her abilities. I assure you, Asami won't disappoint you.”

 

“...” Hatsu didn’t look entirely convinced. “We will see.”

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Hisaaki was a proud Konoha genin. He already served the village for four years, which did wonders for his physical constitution. He was neither the weakest ninja the village ever produced, nor the strongest. He wasn't a taijutsu specialist. He didn’t possess large chakra. He didn't come from a powerful clan. He didn’t possess any fancy bloodline abilities. He was just a normal genin with normal chestnut hair and normal brown eyes.

 

In short, he was an unremarkable ninja. He would never reach the pinnacle of strength and touch the sky, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Less prominent ninja tended to live longer. Mediocrity had its advantages. History proved, strong ninja died young. High-ranking ninja didn't grow old. Cases existed, but they were few and far in between. The First, the Second, the Fourth, they all died within years. Except for the Third, none of them made it past three years 

 

“...” Hisaaki grew impatient and so did the rest of his team. They were already waiting for quite a while. Where was the girl? Did she get lost, or what? The exams were about to start, and she was nowhere to be seen.

 

Hisaaki grumbled. “Hatsu-sensei, how long do we still have to wait? She didn't appear yesterday at the team meeting and now we about to miss the exams because of her. Sensei, why did you even allow her to join? Couldn’t you have rejected her and found someone better?” His opinion of Asami hit rock bottom. The girl didn't show up neither at their training sessions, nor at their team meetings. And now she even made them wait an eternity. They were grilled under the sun, unable to do anything. He was seriously pissed off.

 

Hatsu defended her. “Don’t be too harsh on her, Hisaaki. The girl recovered only recently from her trauma. We shouldn’t expect too much from Asami.”

 

“What happened?” Hissaki looked up.

 

Hatsu hesitated. “... I don’t know for sure, but according to her file, her entire team died on a mission.”

 

“Died? Does that mean she is...” Hisaaki stared incredulously.

 

Hatsu nodded. “Yes, Asami was the sole survivor ...” 

 

Silence followed, and Hisaaki lowered his head in shame. “You are right, sensei. It's not easy to fight your way back into life.”

 

His sensei smiled. “Take it easy, Hisaaki, you had no idea ... But you are right.”

 

“Right? Right about what?” Hisaaki blinked, confused.

 

Hatsu forced a strained smile. “Under normal circumstances, I would have rejected her, but the Hokage himself vouched for her ... You can't tell the Hokage off that easily. But Hokage or not, if the girl doesn’t get her arse here soon, then I will ....” Their sensei clenched her fist.

 

“...” Hisaaki gulped. He hoped Asami arrived soon, otherwise ... she might face unpleasant consequences ...

 

“Excuse me, are you Ikoma Hatsu, Ogawa Hisaaki and Sanada Katsusane?” A meek voice sneaked up on them from behind. An unknown girl appeared, materialised out of nowhere.

 

Hisaaki glanced at her and blinked, overwhelmed by her angelic cuteness. The girl was the product of pure huggly cuddliness, clad in a lovely black kimono. Her black hair, her fluffy cheeks, her short nose, her fidgeting hands. The girl was so adorable, so cute. She immediately claimed Hisaaki’s heart. He wanted to hug her and never let go of her again.

 

“Yes, why do you ask?” Hatsu evaluated the girl. 

 

The girl fidgeted, her soft voice plagued by insecurity.“I am ... Minami Asami ..., and I am your new ... team member. I am ... pleased to meet you ...” 

 

“So you are Minami Asami, the girl the Hokage promised us?” Hatsu sighed. Her anger evaporated, and her friendliness returned at the sight of Asami's pitiful state.

 

“...” The girl merely nodded, only reinforcing Hatsu’s initial impression, the girl was useless, completely useless. The Hokage bullshitted her! The sly bastard was in for some serious talk the next time they met! 

 

“Why don’t you introduce yourself, Katsusane, Hisaaki?” Hatsu encouraged her team.

 

Katsusane took the lead. “As you already know, I am Katsusane, and the idiot next to me is my childhood friend, Hisaaki.”

 

“Hey, I heard that”, Hisaaki protested.

 

“I know.”

 

Hisaaki clicked his tongue. “I am Hisaaki and the humourless brick is my best friend Katsusane. We have known each other for a long time. And you, Asami? What are your hobbies?” 

 

“My hobbies ...” Asami struggled for words. “My hobbies are ... poetry ... and enjoying nature. I don’t like ... people. They make me feel ... uncomfortable. They are loud ... and noisy.” Her words required all her strength.

 

“Sounds great to me.” Hisaaki laughed and bought her performance. He grinned like a fool, which earned him an Asami idiot tag. Hisaaki = idiot. Idiot = Hisaaki.

 

Hatsu changed the topic. “Listen, Asami, I don’t want to be rude, but I hope that you have good an excuse for not attending our team training sessions. Your presence was sorely missed.” She had already given up, but perhaps not all hope was lost yet. 

 

The girl avoided her gaze, looking down at the ground. “Sowwy, I am ... a little bit shy. The sessions ... scared me. So, I trained ... at home. I didn’t want to bother you ... with the clumsy. Me.”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“...” Hatsu forced a smile. “I see.” Everything was lost. Her team was fucked.

 

The conversation continued, much to Asami's annoyance. Hatsu and Hisaaki tried her patience with their endless questions. They probed her background, but Asami maintained her cover and deflected their questions with her repertoire of empty phrases. She refused to share private information. The less they knew, the better. Eventually, her team entered the academy. The exams were about to begin. 

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