Chapter 13 - Genin Life (Quest 1)

A/N: I'm gonna start including the combat and other story rolls in the story now so you guys can see how much sasuke and the team fails or succeed at things.

It felt like only yesterday that I'd been fighting against our soon-to-be teacher just to secure a spot on his team. Thinking about our struggle never failed to put a smile on my face. Sakura, Naruko, and me.

There were likely a few reasons why we were on the same team, but I didn't really care all that much. The last few weeks had been filled with menial tasks or "missions." They were obviously there to encourage discipline in the overconfident ninja that had just graduated from school. Granted, they were incredibly boring.

"If I have to pull another weed or catch another runaway dog, I think I'll go crazy!" Naruko had shouted with no restraint.

Out of everyone, she was probably the most frustrated. Sakura was quiet and tended to think far ahead.

"If you can't even do this much, then there's no way they'd let us take on more important missions," she said calmly. "A ninja is supposed to put all their energy into doing the mission, no matter what it is."

And she was right. Kakashi was pleased with her answer and as a result, treated the three of us to some nice food.

"Ramen! I call dibs!"

Of course, Naruko was just as fast with her lips as she was with her feet.

"But that's extremely unhealthy..." Sakura groaned, looking at me to help her out. Unfortunately for her, I had long since surrendered myself to Naruko's whims.

"As long as you don't eat as much as her, It's fine to have a bowl or two every now and then," I said casually.

And that's how she ended up joining us. It was a slow start to our careers, but that was fine. Only a mad man would send out fresh graduates to murder and kill. sure, we'd all been taught and somewhat conditioned for it, but at the end of the day were humans- we were children. And humans could be unpredictable, children even more so.

The days were sweet and full of fun, but that would eventually end, just like everything. After all, nothing ever stays the same forever.

-----------------

"Hey, listen! Hey! Wake up!"

It was Yue's innocent voice that roused me from my slumber. I yawned and wiped the sleep from my eyes.

"You overslept! I've been calling and moving you for an hour!"

She said softly, a small hint of panic in her voice.

"You'll be late for your team meeting, right?"

My eyes went wide.

Ah shit. With how many times I've told Naruko to come earlier, she'd never let me live it down...

I raced out of my bed and nearly tripped over the sheets as I rushed into the bathroom.

"Oh? You're up late, honey!" My mom said with a soft smile as I raced past her in the kitchen. "I'm making your breakfast, so you can grab it once you-"

I didn't give her enough time to finish and ran right past her, nearly bumping into father. He easily dodged my clumsy charge and sent a small smile my way.

"Good morning, Sasuke."

"M-Morning!"

Itachi, of course, was out. As for Saeko, I saw her sitting in the kitchen and watching mother.

Hopefully, I wouldn't be too late...

-----------------------

"Ha! You're the last one here!" Naruko cheered as she pointed at me.

It hadn't taken very long to cross Konoha, but I had been stopped by some patrolling ninja. Amusingly enough, there was a "speed limit" for ninja hurrying across town without adequate reason. Apparently, being late to a meeting wasn't enough.

"And you're surprisingly early," I shot back with a small smile as I caught my breath.

"Well, Kakashi did say we'd be doing something new today, so I wanted to hear what that was!"

Ah, right, there was that. This is what I get for staying up late last night to talk to my brother. Still, it was worth being a bit late.

Sakura smiled and sent me a warm wave.

"Good morning."

I returned the gesture.

"Morning Sakura, Naruko, Kakashi."

I then took a nice lungful of Konoha's clean air. There really wasn't anything else like it.

Kakashi smiled and shut his book, turning his attention to us.

"As I said, today you'd all be doing something new. If anyone can guess what that is, I'll give them a special treat."

Oh, joy.

"A new training thingy?" Naruko guessed.

"Umm, maybe you'll take us outside the walls?" Sakura hazard.

Kakashi listened to them and then turned to me.

"Uhh... you'll teach us a new technique?"

The only other thing left would be a new mission, but we've only been at this for about two and a half weeks. There's no way that-

"Sakura was the closest, so she wins." He hummed, pulling a small bit of money out of his pocket and throwing it to the young girl.

Money? That was a new one.

"Hey! How come you're not giving her some of your stinky candy?"

Naruko huffed, arms crossing over her chest.

Kakashi let out an amused chuckle and shrugged.

"I don't have any on me right now, so that'll have to do."

Either way, Sakura seemed quite please with the reward. A part of me wondered what she'd use it on. New clothes? Makeup?

...

Ha! Maybe, but knowing her, she'd probably buy some poison or something to add to her collection. Sakura wasn't the best ninja on the team and she knew it. She was always trying to find new ways to get stronger.

"So what is the new thing?" I asked.

Kakashi gave that signature eye-smile of his and pointed towards the Hokage tower.

"I think you three are ready to take on slightly more difficult missions."

I blinked. Really?

"Maybe something that'll take us out of Konoha," he continued.

Huh.

Sakura held up her hand. There was a hint of paleness on her cheeks and also some worry.

"Nothing too dangerous, right?"

Kakashi shook his head.

"No. Maybe a simple escort, delivery or pest control mission."

She mulled over his words and then asked one more question.

"And by pests you mean-"

Kakashi moved forward and gently tapped her shoulder.

"Maybe a lion or other animals like that."

That seemed to calm her down and before I knew it, we were at the tower, staring down at a list of available missions. Naruko was excited.

"Let's do this one! No, wait, this one! Kakashi, can we do them all?"

Our teacher shook his head and I could just tell his lips were raised into a large smile under that mask of his.

"Only one for now."

I took another look at the three missions. One was helping some merchant reach his town. Another was capturing some wild, dangerous animals that had escaped captivity. The last one was subtly delivering a package to a certain individual.

"I think we should take the delivery mission," I said after some thought. It seemed to be the safest and would probably allow for a lot more freedom than the others. This would be the first time I'd really go outside of Konoha. I wanted to see as much of It as I could.

"What?! Why don't we do the extermination one?!" Naruko huffed and pouted. "It sounds a lot more fund."

"I think I'd like the delivery one too," Sakura joined in with a small, nervous smile. "It sounds like a good introductory mission."

Naruko blinked and then looked at the two of you. She grumbled something under her breath and then blew a big sigh.

"Fiiiiiine," she said. "But I get to carry the package!"

I chuckled and gave a small nod. That was very much like her. Hopefully, she wouldn't open it up or anything.

"That seems fair," Sakura said with a much more relaxed smile. "But don't go too fast or you might break the package."

"The most boring mission for sure," she whined in return and then looked up at Kakashi. "Alright, we're ready, sensei!"

Kakashi shut his one eye into that little cheery "smile" of his. How could he even see like that?

"Good. Now, let's try and get through this without incident, ok?"

The Hokage took a nice puff of his pipe and then let loose a laugh behind him.

"Enjoy these while you can," he said with a soft gaze. "Times like these should be cherished, because you never know when they'll end."

Kakashi's eyes hardened just a tad and Sakura looked away nervously.

I had to agree with him there. If there's one thing I'm happy about, it's the fact that I wasn't born too soon.

--------------

Our mission was simple as could be. There was very little chance of messing it up, to be honest.

"So, like, why do you think some big shot lady wants this thing?" Naruko asked as the four of you slowly made your way to the city gates.

Sakura had her head buried in the invoice, and of course, Naruko had only given it the barest of glances.

"Why indeed," Kakashi mused with a yawn. Much like my young, pink-haired friend, he was busy reading something too.

"Umm, it says that lady Kikiyoshi ordered t-this for p-private reasons," Sakura coughed, her cheeks a bright pink. She was mumbling a few things under her breath as she continued to read more and more.

"I-I can see why she'd want to hire ninja," she continued. "If anyone found out, it could cause a big scandal."

"What? Is it, like, some secret weapon or something?"

Sakura shook her head.

"It's something you'd want to be really discreet about," she answered, not meeting Naruko's eyes.

I slowed my pace and gave the invoice a look over. She'd been hogging it for a while, so my turn hadn't come up yet.

...

Ah. That makes sense. Still, it was a bit surprising that there were those kinds of things available in this time period. Then again, this was a weird world and there was some kind of electricity around.

"Yeah, I can see why she wouldn't want anyone to learn about that," I said with a snort. Her husband would probably be really offended.

Ah well, people are people, even in other worlds.

-----------

Konoha's gates towered over us. We slowly stepped under it, all three of our heads tilted upwards as we passed.

"It feels so weird..." Sakura mumbled as she stopped in her tracks. Both me and Naruko had done the same and were staring back at the gates.

We'd lived here our whole lives, barely stepping out for more than a few seconds of minutes.

"Yeah, but I bet we'll see lots of cool things too!" Naruko exclaimed. "Like, I hear there are dragons made of water and stuff in the land of water or something!"

"Dragons aren't real," Sakura answered after a moment. "Still, It would be cool to see something like that.

"Do keep up," Kakashi said as he started walking again. "And remember, try to be discrete."

I grinned.

This was going to be fun.

-------------------

Our destination was a small town far east of Konoha. It wasn't quite near the sea, but it was certainly closer to the coast than it was to our village.

"Assuming we keep travelling at this steady pace, we should get there in about four days," Sakura said. She'd even calculated how many times we'd need to stop to forage for supplies. "How come you didn't tell us it would take this long?"

She asked Kakashi. In her hand was a small, gray little book. She'd been taking notes in it since the moment you left the village.

Amusingly enough, it was Naruko who answered.

"It's cause learning to find food and water is part of being a ninja!" the young girl replied. "Besides, things could always go super bad and we might run out of food!"

"Oh, that makes sense," Sakura said as she wrote down a few notes in the little book of hers.

Kakashi was silent for the most part. He preferred to listen to our banter and look around lazily. Everything had looked to be going nice and smoothly. By the time night fell, we'd set up camp. I had a surprisingly comfortable time sleeping.

Of course, there always had to be issued. Thankfully, it wasn't ninja or bandits that screwed us over.

"We should have brought umbrellas!" Naruko grumbled as the rain pelted her across the face. Yesterday the sky had been bright and blue. Now? Now there was a massive thunderstorm slowing our trip.

Kakashi didn't seem to mind at all, though.

"Looks like it's going to be raging for the next eight hours," he mused.

That bad? Or was he just screwing with us?

...

No, I'd seen really bad storms like these a few times when I was younger. They were rare, but eight hours wasn't the longerst.

"Should hunker down and wait for it to pass?" Sakura asked. "It'll slow us down a lot, so we'd have to push tomorrow."

Naruko shook her head.

"I think we should just keep going. Not like we'll die from rain or anything!"

Kakashi watched on, eyes subtly studying us.

Of course, I was the deciding vote.

"What do you think?" I asked, eyes rising to meet Kakashi's own.

"Oh? You're asking me?" he said with a small chuckle.

I gave him a nod.

"You're the one in charge, so the best choice would be to ask you, right?"

"Oh, I didn't think of that," Sakura mumbled as the sky rumbled. Thankfully, the "package" we were supposed to deliver was safe in a water-resistant container. It wouldn't be getting wet any time soon.

"Hmmm, not a bad choice," Kakashi answered. "But I'm not going to be doing the work for you." He waved off my question casually.

"If this were a proper mission, it'd be obvious to go with the most experienced individual's opinion, but this is also a test of sorts," he said. The mask covering his lower face wrinkled slightly around the corners of his mouth. He was having fun with this, wasn't he?

"So, that means you three have to decide yourself."

Naruko growled.

"You're just lazy!" She accused. The bad weather had clearly been getting on her nerves. It was only time before she exploded.

"Maybe," Kakashi said with a shrug. "Still, that doesn't make my point any less true."

I sighed.

"He's right," I said, stepping forward to stop Naruko from getting any more annoyed. "He won't be with us forever, so It's important that we learn these things ourselves."

It was still a bit of a dick move to just toss us to the wolves, though. Kakashi was a good ninja, but he wasn't exactly the best teacher.

"Alright, I think I have an idea then," Sakura suddenly said. "What if we go half and half?"

Ah, so she was trying to calm the blind knucklehead down? It was a good choice because she was steaming at this point.

"We'll try to cover some ground and then find a nice place to camp. This way we won't be so behind when the storm passes."

"Not a bad choice," Kakashi said with a small nod. "But it does have its own risks."

Naruko huffed and crossed her arms.

"Everything has risks!"

"True enough," Kakashi answered. His eyes rose to the dark, turbulent skies. "Well, we'd better get a move on then. I think the weather's about to pick up."

Great. Just what we needed. More rain.

-------------------------

I had been hit with enough water to drown myself ten times over. We were planning on continuing our journey for about six hours but by the fourth, it was a struggle just to keep our feet on the ground.

"H-How are you doing that?!" Naruko shouted at Kakashi. The rusty Jonin raised a brow, standing perfectly still even as the trees next to him bent so much that it looked like they were about to snap in two.

"A technique," Kakashi said casually and raised his foot. Chakra was clinging to the bottom of his soles. The water walking technique or whatever it was called.

"Ah! Darn it!"

Naruko huffed. She bit down on her lip and tried to imitate him. It was the technique we'd tried to nail down so long ago but could never really master. Our control had grown, but we'd forgotten to really test it out since then.

"I can do thi-" She slipped." Ahhh-"

The wind picked her up like an empty paper bag and sent her flying backward.

"Oh!" Sakura had been right behind her, testing out the very same technique. Thankfully for her, she'd been paying very close attention to Naruko. She managed to just barely dodge the tumbling blond. Amusingly enough, she'd also been quick enough to snatch the mission's package out of her hands.

Me? I wasn't so lucky. Naruko had picked up enough speed that there was no way I'd dodge in these winds. Suffice to say, she smashed into me like a sack of potato.

"N-Naruko!" I roared as my feet left the ground, sucked up in the same gale that she'd been grabbed by. The two of us shouted as we rolled back and onto the wet earth, covering each other in mud and water. We tumbled through it all, a tangled mess of libs and yelps. It took us a good minute before we could find footholds and stop ourselves, but by then, our clothes were soaked and ruined.

"I-I think we need to stop," I mumbled with a sneeze.

"Y-Yeah..." Naruko groaned. "Stupid rain..."

And that's how we ended up setting camp in a nearby cave.

Joy.

---------------

"There's nothing like reading a good book by a fire," Kakashi mused as he flipped through his book's pages. The crackling of firewood echoed in the small cave as rain struck the old rock. Honestly, it sounded very soothing. "How are you holding up, children?"

I glared at him, huddling close to the fire in nothing but my underwear.

"Terrible," I grumbled.

"Yeah, it's cold!" Naruko said by my side. Like me, she was barely wearing anything at all. She, unfortunately, hadn't thought very far ahead and failed to pack a change of clothes. Admittedly, neither had I, but she at least had a towel.

"A-Are you sure you don't want my e-extra shirt?" Sakura asked, her cheeks red as cherries.

"Too sma- ACHOOOO!" Naruko rubbed her nose. "Too small."

"B-But you're not wearing a top! S-Sasuke and K-Kakashi will-"

"Who cares!" Naruko huffed, hands folded over her chest. "This towel's good enough for me! Besides, Kakashi's like, fifty, right?"

The ninja in question paused. He blinked and shut his book then stared right at Naruko.

"Now, now, I'm not even thirty years old..."

Naruko laughed. I couldn't help but find that it sounded like a fox's.

"It's about the same, right?"

"No, it's not," Kakashi said with a sigh.

"O-Ok, but Sasuke-"

"Who cares!" Naruko countered again. "It'll take more than that to embarrass him! We used to swim together as kids, anyways."

She was also still a little kid, so there was that too.

I yawned and then sneezed.

"Well, since we've found ourselves with some extra time, how about I teach you three something," our teacher suddenly said. Naruko perked up in the corner of my vision.

My eyes rose, meeting Kakashi's.

Now we're talking.

"I'll teach you what I used to stay standing, or I'll teach you something else! You can pick."

Well, I knew what I was going for.

---------------

"Ouch!" Naruko yelled as she rose off the dirty floor, dusting herself off. "The walls are so damn slippery!" she groaned and rushed the cave's craggy wall once again. Her feet stuck for the first and second steps, but then she slipped and fell, smashing her face against the wall before hitting the ground.

A blow like that would have likely broken a normal person's nose or even killed them, but Naruko just stood back up and wiped away the small scratch on her nose. Chakra was a hell of a drug, but Naruko just exacerbated those effects. It probably had to do with the massive fox inside her.

"You should try and clear your mind," Kakashi mused. He pointed towards our pink-haired teammate. "Try and follow in Sakura's footsteps," he said with a chuckle.

I didn't know whether to laugh and stare at him in wonder. Was that a pun? Had Kakashi of all people intentionally made a pun? Or was it all a coincidence?

He must have caught me looking at him weirdly because of course, the veteran ninja would be able to tell when he was being watched. The man smiled, or at least his masked twitched in such a way that it looked like he was.

Speaking of Sakura, she was doing quite fine by herself. Where Naruko could only get up a few steps before falling, she was easily touching the roof.

"A-Ah!" Of course, everyone had problems. The young ninja could only stay up there for a few seconds before eventually losing traction and falling back down.

She landed on her feet, bending with the fall and rolling forward into a standing position. Some might call it graceful, and if not, I definitely did.

"Maybe If I distribute it more evenly?" Sakura mumbled to herself and then started her journey back up the wall.

"Everyone's different!" Naruko grumbled. Her eyes fell to me.

 [Learning Roll]

DC: 30

Your Cun Roll (6d6):  18 *2.5 (Trait: Genius) = 45 PASS!

"And Saskue's just perfect, I guess," she said and stuck out her tongue.

I rolled my eyes.

"You know I fell down just like you did."

Granted, it was only once or twice, but that was beyond the point.

"Well, it took you like half an hour to get this!" Naruko huffed. "We've been at it for about two hours!"

Kakashi chuckled.

"Now, now, Uchiha are just naturally good at learning Jutsu," he said casually.

"Yeah, but that's only with their special eyes!" Naruko countered. "Sasuke doesn't even have his yet!"

Oh, right, I never actually told anyone aside from my parents. That's probably something I should fix, isn't it?

"Ah! Sasuke, could you please give me some advice?" Sakura interrupted the conversation by walking right up to me.

"How do you keep yourself stuck up there? It's not too hard to manage to adjust the chakra as I walk, but trying to do that without momentum is a bit confusing."

"Easy?!" Naruko hissed. "It's not!"

Sakura blinked and turned to her.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't want to make it sound like you're bad at this or anything," she answered softly. "I've seen you doing it and I think If you tried taking it a bit slower, you'd probably reach where I'm at in ten minutes or so."

Naruko blinked.

"What do you mean slower? Isn't the point to move super fast?"

Sakura gave a small nod and then turned towards Kakashi.

"It is, but that's after we've mastered the technique, right sensei?"

"Sounds about right," he answered with a small nod. "You should really listen to her. Remember, you're a team and you'll accomplish a lot more if you work together."

Naruko took a moment. She glanced down at the floor and then ran at the wall. She moved a bit slower, and just like Sakura said, she managed to get a few steps further.

She even stuck the landing that time!

"It worked!" she exclaimed, grinning like a loon. And then she rounded on Sakura, her brow furrowed in question.

"How come you didn't tell me anything if you knew I was doing so bad?"

Sakura's cheeks took on a hue that matched her hair.

"I, um, thought you might be angry if I tried to tell you how to do this," she said nervously. "It's no secret that you really don't like being ordered around."

"What? I wouldn't get angry!" Naruko huffed. She folded her hands over her chest and was starting to glare back at her. "I-"

Curiously, she stopped talking and blinked. After a moment, she put her hands down and blew a sigh.

"No, you're probably right," Naruko grumbled. "Still, I don't want you to not help me, so I promise I won't be angry with you, ok!"

The shark-like grin that spread across her face was a sight to see.

"I'm not stupid enough to turn down help that'll make me a better ninja!"

Sakura blinked and a soft, warm smile tugged at her cheeks. She giggled and shook her head.

"I don't think you're dumb," she answered. "The fact that you were the best Kunoichi in our class says as much."

And so, the two continue talking, completely ignoring me.

"You're good too!" Naruko said. "Oh, and I think I might know how to help you stick on for longer!"

Sakura's question was eventually forgotten as the two started trading information. Honestly, though, that was second to the fact that they were getting along pretty well.

The rumbling of thunder in the distance drew my eyes away from them. It didn't look like it would be stopping anytime soon.

I sighed and set my eyes on Kakashi.

"I guess sometimes the only teacher a person needs is their friends or something?"

Was that Kakashi's plan?

"Probably," the hardened ninja said with a chuckle.

...

I leaned closer, trying to get a better look at the damned book in his hands. Was it really that good? Or was it just that everyone here was starved for good erotic fiction that this was the only decent thing?

Either way, Kakashi held up his hand and pushed me away.

"When you're older."

I rolled my eyes and turned away. It was far from a perfect team, but we were slowly getting there, at least compared to the original trio.

--------------

The rain seemed to fall forever. As the time slipped by, I felt sleep clinging to my eyes.

"G-Got it!" Naruko shouted triumphantly.

She jumped in place, punching the air with a huge grin on her face.

"Congratulations," Sakura answered with a small smile and some applause.

I chuckled. She might have been the last to get the technique down, but she'd done amazingly well.

"Good job," I said with a smile of my own. "That was really fast."

Naruko's smile turned into a pout.

"Yeah, yeah. You two got it so much faster than me! But, um t-thanks anyways!" she huffed as her cheeks turned cherry red.

"You shouldn't put yourself down," Kakashi suddenly said. "Though your friends managed to learn this faster than you, it doesn't change that you did learn it in half a dozen hours or so."

Naruko blinked.

"Um, Is that good?"

Kakashi laughed. He shut his book and glanced out toward the cave's entrance. It seemed like the rain was just starting to let up, but night had long since fallen.

"Yes," Kakashi answered. "Most genin struggle and it wouldn't be surprising if it took them multiple days."

"D-Days?" Sakura whispered. Out of everyone here, she seemed the most shocked.

"Indeed," Kakashi replied. "It looks like I've been saddled with three geniuses, haven't I?" He said to himself.

Both Sakura and Naruko looked away with a blush. They were struggling to keep small smirks off their faces.

"Don't let it get to your heads, though," he added. "Pride cometh befall the fall and trust me- when you fall, you fall hard."

There was a certain roughness to his voice there at the end. It was a quality earned through experience.

"As for you, Sasuke, you did well."

I blinked.

"Oh, um, thanks."

He nodded.

"The only thing I'd suggest is that you try and use that extra time you earned from finishing so early to do something else."

My cheeks heated up at that.

"Eh, Sasuke's always been quick to pick up on stuff," Naruko said dismissively. "Well, on most things. I think he sucks when it comes to arm-wrestling."

I rolled my eyes.

"Not all of us can be as strong as you."

She chuckled.

"Exactly!"

I laughed and drew closer to the crackling fire. Though it was almost time to sleep, I felt my stomach rumble. Some rations would do the trick, but first, I had something to say, didn't I?

"I want to tell you all something," I said.

Kakashi blinked and tilted his head curiously. Naruko drew closer with a grin and Sakura just looked at me patiently.

"What? Do you need to use the bathroom?" Naruko joked.

"As if," I said. "No, it's actually about my Sharingan."

"Your sharing what?"

...

"My eyes, Naruko. You know? the special ones?"

She blinked.

"Oh! What about them? Did you finally get yours?"

Sakura giggled.

"You make it sounds like someone just gave them to him."

Now wasn't that something? She didn't know how close she was to one of the clan's biggest secrets.

"Right... anyway, I wanted to let you all know that I have mine unlocked," I said, allowing them to rise to the surface. The red and black pinwheels sput within my eyes.

Kakashi was the first to say anything. Though he didn't show it, I knew he had to be surprised.

"You have a fully matured Sharingan?"

I nodded in response.

"I haven't really used it much, so I'm probably not nearly as good with it as others..." It was a struggle just keeping it on when I was younger. Not to mention I didn't have many chances to really train it with school and all that.

"That's still more than many from your clan can say," Kakashi noted. "There are quite a few who've unlocked it and still haven't seen it fully matured yet."

I coughed, cheeks slightly red.

"So, like, can you make them spin on command?" Naruko asked. "Cause that's a cool trick!"

"I... I guess?" I never really tried it. A bit of Chakra had them spinning, though.

"That's the best!" Naruko said as she burst out laughing.

Sakura, on the other hand, had a question of her own.

"How long have you had them? I heard it takes a long time to get them."

...

"I've had them for a while," I answered hesitantly. "Though, I rarely use them."

Sakura nodded.

"So, does that mean we're the only ones that know? Aside from your family, then?" she continued with a small smile.

Man, she was sharp as a knife.

"Yeah. It was actually my family who said I probably shouldn't be going around showing everyone unless I wanted a lot of attention."

"That's surprising," Kakashi said. "They've already got one prodigy in the family, so I'd assume showing off another would be good for them."

"Yeah, well, they must have thought differently," I said with a shrug.

Kakashi winced.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to pry?"

Huh? What was he talking about? Wait-

"Oh, it's nothing you need to apologize for," I replied with a smile.

He gave a nod and then returned to being a silent shadow on a wall.

"I think I'm going to bed," Naruko suddenly said with a yawn. It was getting pretty late.

"Should we set up different watches and stuff?" Sakura asked, eyes going to Kakashi. "It would make great practice, right?"

Kakashi hummed for a few moments before nodding.

"That's a wonderful idea. I'll let you three decide the order."

"I'll sleep first!" Naruko shouted.

Sakura turned to me, a smile on her face.

Hmm.

"Sasuke? What shift do you want to take?"

It was Kakashi's voice that pulled me out of my trance.

"Huh?" I asked, eyes moving away

"You know? Do you want to sleep first or last?" Naruko spoke with a furrowed brow. "You ok?"

Ah, right.

"Oh, I'll take the last shift," I answered with a small yawn. "Watching you two try to master that Jutsu was really tiring."

Sakura blinked and then let out a small giggle.

"Did you just call us slow!?" Naruko huffed and puffed her lips out in an adorable out.

"No?" I said with the straightest face I could muster. "I said watching you two take so long really makes me-"

I didn't get a chance to finish. Naruko was on me like a hornet.

"Yeah?! I'll show you who's slow!"

Sakura, being the smart one, sat back and watched the chaos that unfolded. Somehow, Naruko convinced me to take her on in an arm-wrestling contest.

"How does this make you faster, again?" I asked as we started. It was like trying to push down a wall!

"Well, you see-" Her answer came swiftly and without hesitation. She slammed my hand down and won the contest. Did anyone expect anything different? She, by far, was the physically strongest on the team.

"-and that's why!" she said with a grin.

"Trying to figure out what goes on in your head is like trying to understand abstract art," I said with a small chuckle.

Naruko's cheeks went red. The gears in her head began to turn but came up short.

"Y-Yeah? W-Well I'll subtract your face!"

I couldn't help it. I laughed and pulled her close, slinging a hand around her shoulder.

She grumbled and glared at me, but we both knew that I was just joking around.

Soon enough, I was sleeping. Sakura took the first watch and Naruko took the watch before me. Joking aside, I was tired, just like everyone else. Walking through pouring rain and strong winds was not easy.

I'd be taking every chance to rest If I could.

--------------------

Just as I finished with that and ready to rest, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. By now, I'd grown so accustomed to the weird tiny box that let me bring up the menu that I barely noticed it. Seriously, I had to actually purposely look for it if I wanted to find the damned thing.

Anyways, there was something else there. I mentally "opened" the menu and found something interesting. Normally it showed my sheet, but now two new tabs had appeared. One was for Naruko and the other for Sakura.

What had prompted that? Curious, I opened them up. It was the first time I'd ever been seeing other people's sheets.

It seemed very interesting.

[Rewards Earned]

Water Walking [1/10]: Coat the soles of your feet in Chakra, allowing you to cling to most surfaces.

+Chakra Cost: 5 and then 3/round.

==================

[Sasuke Stat Sheet]

Name: Sasuke Uchiha

Age 13 Years~

Stats

(10/11) Strength [5d6] (-1: Trait)

(10) Dexterity [11/5d6] + 6d6 (Sharingan T1)

(10) Agility [11/5d6] + 6d6 (Sharingan T1)

(10) Charisma [5d6]

(12) Cunning [6d6]

(6) Luck [3d6]

(18) Soul [9d6+2]   (+2: Trait)

Injury Thresholds: 10/20/30/40

+When total damage surpassed a threshold, you gain 1 Injury.

+Reach max injuries and you begin to die.

Chakra: [68] = +36 [Soul*2] + 10 [STR] + 10 [Dex] + 12 [Cun]

Hit Roll (Fist): 15/21d6 = +5d6 (Agi)  + 10d6 (Skill:Taijutsu/Interception Fist) +6d6 (Sharingan)

Hit Roll (Sword): 8/14d6+10 = +5d6 (Agi) + 3d6 (Skill: One-handed swords) + 10 (Mugetsu) +6d6 (Sharingan)

STR DMG (Fists): 15 = (STR (10) x Unnarmed DMG Mod (1.2 + .3 (Hakkyokuken) )

STR DMG (Sword): 74 =55 (Mugetsu Base) + 19 (STR (10) x Mugetsu DMG Mod (1.9)

Skill Points: 0

Wish Points: 0

Money: 550 Ryo

====

Traits

====

Chakra Control (III): You've got large reserves, making it difficult to really control them. Jutsu cost-reduced by 15%

Enduring Soul: All soul-related rolls gain an extra +2!

Sharingan (6/6 Tomoe): Your Sharingan has reached full maturity at the age of 6. Truly, others would consider you a prodigy if they knew. All that's left to do is train with it.

+Chakra Cost: 8 Per Turn

+Dex/Agi rolls gain 6d6!

+Copy Cat +1: You can make a Soul or Cun Roll to try and memorize a Jutsu you've seen. This gains 1 bonus dice.

+Chakra Cost +2: Lowers The cost of keeping the Sharingan active by 10%

+Shift: You can decide whatever your Sharingan 'looks' like. This makes hiding them easy, as you can make them look like your normal eyes.

Mangekyo Sharingan: A powered-up version of your eyes that has some special ability. Using it supposedly makes you go blind eventually.

+Image Gate: It seems you can forge manifestation of people you know a lot about? These shades can also use their abilities?

+Tier 1 Shade Cost: 25 Chakra + 4/ Round.

+Tier 2 Shade Cost: 50 Chakra + 5/ Round.

The Price Of Power: Using the Mangekyo is not a good idea. It'll leave you blind.

+[1/300]

Chakra Nature: Everyone has one, though some have more.

-???: You're not sure what your original one is.

-Lightning (100%): You've got the hang of Lightning Element chakra. (Lighting Jutsu gain bonuses | Higher Tier Lightning Jutsu Can be Learned)

-Fire (50%): Huh, fire really comes fast for you.

Scarred: You've been through some hardships. The experience has left marks on your body and soul.

+2 Soul!

-1 STR

Genius: You've wished to make yourself incredibly good at learning and picking up new things. Some might call it cheating, you call it being smart. Though, being a genius doesn't actually make you any wiser. It just means you can learn things much faster than others.

+All training-related rolls gain a 2.5x Modifier.

Lady Killer: Amusingly enough, charm can be a real killer.

+You deal 10% increased damage to females.

+You also gain +5 to all speech rolls against females.

======

Inventory

======

Elite Smoke Bomb X1: Adds +50 to stealth rolls.

Mugetsu: An "exotic" straight sword that's uncommon in the hands of ninja. Its edge is sharp and untested, but you can see the great potential it holds.

+Adds Dex (10) or STR (10) to hit rolls (Highest)

+Base DMG: 55

+DMG Mod: 1.9

Straight Sword Damage: [74] = +19 (Dex/STR x DMG Mod [x1.9] + 55 (Mugetsu Base DMG)

====

Jutsu

====

Clone (Normal) [1/10]: The basic art of making illusionary clones.

+Chakra Cost: 3.4 = 4 *.85 (Trait)

+1d6 to your next combat roll.

Fireball [3/10]: The basic Jutsu of your clan. "It burns!!!"

+Chakra Cost: 17/34 = 20/40 *.85 (Trait)

+4d6+2 + 18 (Soul) DMG if it connects. Or 4d6 +20 (Soul *1.1) DMG if charged

Basic Genjutsu (Sound) [1/10]: A simple genjustu that produces a sound at your desired location. Limited to simple and rudimentary sounds at the moment.

+Chakra Cost: 4.2 = 5 *.85 (Trait)

+Cun/Soul DC: 10

Substitution [3/10]: Move swiftly and replace yourself with a log.

+Chakra Cost: 10.2 = 12 *.85 (Trait)

+2d6+4 to your next dodge roll.

Transformation [1/10]: Cover yourself in an illusion made of Chakra.

+Chakra Cost: 17 = 20 *.85 (Trait)

+1d6 to your next disguise roll.

Sharpening [2/10]: Coat your weapon in Chakra, making the edge slightly sharper.

+Chakra Cost: 11 = 13 *.85 (Trait)

+Add +5 DMG to your weapon.

Strengthening [3/10]: Coat your muscles in Chakra, making you slightly stronger.

+Chakra Cost: 18.7 = 22 *.85 (Trait)

+Temporarily gain +4 STR.

Water Walking [1/10]: Coat the soles of your feet in Chakra, allowing you to cling to most surfaces.

+Chakra Cost: 4.2 = 5 *.85 (Trait) and then 3/round.

==========

Other Abilities

==========

[Spoiler]

Yue (Obsidian Crystal Gift): Supposedly, the fairy was born from your crystal?

====

Skills

====

{Combat}

Taijutsu [3/10]: The basic art of fighting with one's body. +3d6 to Combat rolls | 1.2 toward Unarmed DMG Mod | Can us 2 "Styles" at once.

+Hakkyokuken [3/10]: A particular fighting style that focuses on striking power. +.4 to Unarmed DMG Mod. (Total = 1.6) (Naruko Knows This)

+Intercepting Fist [5/15]: The Uchiha clan's fighting style. Excels when used with the Sharingan. +7d6 to combat rolls. Gains extra dice per 3 Tomoe. (+2d6 Already included in total)

Throwing [4/10]: The basic art of lobbing pointy bits into other's bodies. You can hit slow-moving things! +4d6 to Combat rolls.

One-Handed Swords [3/10]: How to use one-handed swords. +3d6 to combat rolls.

{Utility}

Stealth [3/10]: Ninja Vanish! +3d6 to rolls.

Seduction [1/10]: Both male and female ninja make use of this skill. You made sure to ask your mom more about it. +1d6 to rolls.

Meditation [1/10]: A calm mind is a sharp mind. Increases your resistance to mental attacks by +1d6

{Life}

Dancing [2/10]: Your mom's a really good dancer. You kinda want to try it out.  +2d6 to rolls.

Singing  [2/10]: You've apperantly got a really good singing voice. Still, being called adorable by your mom's a bit humiliating...  +2d6 to rolls.

Cooking [1/10]: It doesn't hurt to pick up a few cooking skills here and there. +1d6 to rolls.

Breathing [1/10]: A simple technique to calm yourself down. +2 to all non-combat rolls for the remainder of the day.

==========

Current Quests

==========

-None-

=========================

Important People and Acquaintances

=========================

Familly

---------

Yue: Your wish-granting fairy. She seems... odd, but nice.

+Medium House Replica: A gift you gave her. He table-sized house she lives in. It has a pool!

Itachi: Your 'big' brother. He's pretty cool.

Fugaku: Your stern, but kind father.

Mikoto: Your mom. Love with a face.

Saeko Uchiha? The name you chose if your new sibling is a sister!

+2 Years old!

Friends

---------

Naruko: Your friend? Why is she a girl?

Sakura: She's on your team and you've helped her a few times.

Jubei: Your partner for the cat contract.

Acquaintances

-----------------

Mila: The leader of the cat contract.

Kakashi: Your team leader.

[Training]

Kakashi's Basic Training!

-1 Action (Personal Phase)

+A number of benefits depending on what you train.

[Naruko Stat Screen]

Name: Naruko Uzumaki

Age 12 Years~

Stats

(17) Strength [8d6]

(7) Dexterity [4d6]

(17) Agility [8d6]

(4) Charisma [2d6]

(10) Cunning [5d6]

(30) Luck [15d6] (+15: Trait)

(45) Soul [22d6] (+20: Traits)

Chakra: [233] = +80 [Soul*2] + 16 [STR] + 7 [Dex] + 10 [Cun] + 120 (Tailed Beast Host - LV1)

STR DMG: 29 = (STR (16) x Unnarmed DMG Mod (1.8)

Hit Roll (Fist): 13d6 = +8d6 (Agi)  + 5d6 (Skill:Taijutsu)

[Jutsu]

Clone (Normal) [6/10]: The basic art of making illusionary clones.

+Chakra Cost: 1.9 = 2 *.95 (Trait)

+6d6 to your next combat roll.

Substitution [6/10]: Move swiftly and replace yourself with a log.

+Chakra Cost: 6.6 = 7 *.95 (Trait)

+6d6+4 to your next dodge roll.

Transformation [MAX]: Cover yourself in an illusion made of Chakra.

+Chakra Cost: 19 = 20 *.95 (Trait) = [10*2]

+10/20d6 to your next disguise roll.

+True Transformation: You can actually transform your body into what you want to.

++Chakra cost increased by 100% but your transformations are tangible, adding 100% to your disguise rolls.

[Skills]

{Combat}

Taijutsu [5/10]: The basic art of fighting with one's body. +5d6 to Combat rolls | 1.5 Base Unarmed DMG Mod | Can us 2 "Styles" at once.

+Hakkyokuken [3/10]: A particular fighting style that focuses on striking power. +.3 to Unarmed DMG Mod.

Throwing [4/10]: The basic art of lobbing pointy bits into other's bodies. You can hit slow-moving things! +4d6 to Combat rolls.

{Utility}

Survival [4/10]: You know how to make the best out of a bad situation! +4d6 to related rolls.

Stealth [3/10]: You're a bit sneaky, even if you don't look it! +3d6 to related rolls!

Acting [2/10]: PArt of avoiding trouble is knowing how to cause it! +2d6

{Life}

Swimming [2/3]: Sasuke taught you how to swim. +2d6 to rolls.

Dancing  [2/10]: Why do you have to learn this... +2d6 to rolls.

[Traits]

Chakra Control (I): You've got large reserves, making it difficult to really control them. Jutsu cost-reduced by 5%

Uzumaki: You've got a strong body and mind thanks to your lineage +15 Soul/Luck

9 Tailed Fox Host: Within you lies the strongest of the tailed beasts. Don't let it devour you.  +???

+LV1 - You haven't even made contact with it. The amount of Chakra you have is only thanks to the odd seal on your stomach. +120 Chakra

Chakra Nature: Everyone has one, though some have more.

-???: You're not sure what yours is.

Brave: You've don't take anything from anyone!

+5 Soul!

[Important People / Aquaintances]

Old Man: He's the Hokage and really cool! Like a grandpa!

Sasuke: Your best friend! You'll totally beat him one day!

Ichiraku: The best cook in the world!

Acquaintances

-----------------

Mikoto: Sasuke's mom. She's cool.

Fugaku: Sasuke's dad. Seems a bit stuck up.

Itachi: Sasuke's brother. Super cool!

[Inventory]

Ramen: Lots of it!

[Sakura Stats Screen]

Name: Sakura Haruno

Age 12 Years~

Stats

(5) Strength [2d6]

(6) Dexterity [3d6]

(7) Agility [3d6]

(6) Charisma [3d6]

(17) Cunning [8d6]

(4) Luck [2d6]

(5) Soul [2d6]

Chakra: [34] =  .85 (Trait) * 40 = (+10 [Soul*2] + 6 [STR] + 10 [Dex] + 14 [Cun])

STR DMG (Fist): 29 = (STR (6) x Unnarmed DMG Mod (1.2)

Hit Roll (Fist): 8d6 = +3d6 (Agi)  + 5d6 (Skill:Taijutsu)

Hit Roll (Throwing): 9d6 = +3d6 (Agi) + 6d6 (Skill:Taijutsu)

[spoiler= Jutsu]

Clone (Normal) [8/10]: The basic art of making illusionary clones.

+Chakra Cost: .75 = 1*.75 (Chakra Control)

+8d6 to your next combat roll.

Substitution [8/10]: Move swiftly and replace yourself with a log.

+Chakra Cost: 3.75 = 5*.75 (Chakra Control)

+8d6+6 to your next dodge roll.

Transformation [3/10]: Cover yourself in an illusion made of Chakra.

+Chakra Cost: 12.75 = 17*.75 (Chakra Control)

+10d6+3 to your next disguise roll.

Water Walking [1/10]: Coat the soles of your feet in Chakra, allowing you to cling to most surfaces.

+Chakra Cost: 3.75 = 1*.75 (Chakra Control) and then 3/round.

[Skills]

{Combat}

Taijutsu [5/10]: The basic art of fighting with one's body. +5d6 to Combat rolls | 1.2 Base Unarmed DMG Mod | Can us 2 "Styles" at once.

Throwing [6/10]: The basic art of lobbing pointy bits into other's bodies. You can hit slow-moving things! +6d6 to Combat rolls.

{Utility}

Survival [2/10]: You know how to make the best out of a bad situation! +2d6 to related rolls.

Stealth [2/10]: You're a bit sneaky, even if you don't look it! +2d6 to related rolls!

Academic Knowledge [2/10]: You know a little about a lot, which is really useful. +4d6 to related rolls.

Healing [3/10]: It's always important to know how to treat a wound. +3d6 to related rolls.

{Life}

Swimming [2/3]: +2d6 to rolls.

Dancing  [4/10]: +4d6 to rolls.

[Traits]

Low Potential: You've got a much lower amount of Chakra than others. -15% Chakra.

Smarty Pants: You're pretty smart. 1.25* for training/learning rolls.

Good Memory: You've got a very good memory.

Chakra Control (V): Due to your low reserves, you've managed to become very adept and managing it. Jutsu cost-reduced by 25%

[Inventory]

Shuriken x10: Great throwing weapons. Deal 25+ 6 (Throwing Skill) = 31 dmg

Poisoned Needles x6: Don't deal much damage, but are easy to throw. They're also poisoned. | +2d6 to git rolls

+Poison (Weak): Deals 3d6 DMG every round for 1d6 rounds | Soul DC: 16