Chapter 27

"She always did know how to give you a good kick to the head when you needed it." Zae chuckled, all crooked teeth and laugh lines.

"Hrmph."

"I'll make you some chicken soup and you'll feel better." She said, sounding so much like the kindly little witch she pretended to be. "Then you'll write up a new report for the Hokage on your team." She patted him on the knee as she passed by and Orochimaru only briefly wondered at the absurdity of anyone making him chicken soup. Let alone one doing so afterthey'd come in here with the proverbial rock in hand.

He supposed stranger things had happened.

"And what's all this mess here?" He heard her call from the kitchen. "I know you don't entertain guests but that's no reason to be unkempt."

He rolled his eyes. On second thought being chastised for his cleaning habits by a god only knows how old academy instructor in his own home might be the oddest thing that had happened to him in his career.

-0-

It was nearly two days later that found Naruto and Ryoko sitting in the Hokage's office, waiting for the old man to show up.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hey yourself." She answered back. "Feeling better princess?"

Naruto's nose scrunched in distaste. "Princess?"

"We had to carry your ass like one. I was gonna go with 'damsel in distress' but that's just too long to say in conversation." She groused, not at all amused at the frustration and fear Naruto's five year old constitution had brought her.

Naruto was tempted to protest but seeing as how she had, technically put her life at risk to save him he was willing to let it go.

"Sorry I wasn't more of a help."

She shrugged. "Guess it wasn't your fault. The snake-"

The door opened bringing their attention towards Sarutobi as the aged Hokage entered, a kindly smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. "Naruto-kun. Ryoko-chan."

Ryoko stood and bowed awkwardly, utterly unused to the act. "H-Hokage-sama."

"Hey old man."

She gave him an odd look as Sarutobi ruffled his hair and patted her on the shoulder before walking by them to sit on his chair. He took off his hat, revealing his liver spotted scalp. "Word is you two had an...interesting exam."

"Your student's a whack job!" Ryoko blurted out before she blushed, remembering who she was talking to.

"That snake's bad news old man!" Naruto growled.

Sarutobi looked sadly at the boy. To think he'd once been so very fond of the pale sannin.

"Yes well..." He leaned forward, lacing his fingers infront of his mouth in a way that reminded Naruto of his Tsunade. "The fact is you two passed your exam."

"Hachiba didn't?" No one missed the cheerful gleam in her eyes when she asked.

"No. Orochimaru has deemed him unfit to be a gennin as of yet, given his panic; I'm inclined to agree. But you two passed his exam and that means you two, and whatever gennin he chooses from the reserve roster will be his students."

"You're leaving us with him?" Ryoko asked, incredulous.

"His methods were...unorthodox and I realize you might have trouble working with him. So I'm offering you a choice of staying on or being relegated into the gennin reserve list until another team can be found for you."

"How long would we be on the reserves?"

"Unknown, it depends on how badly sensei need a new teammate could be months, could be a few years though that's rare. The average is a year or two with the most fill ins being due to the gennin passing on to becoming chuunin as opposed to the death of a squadmate."

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek.

Despite his record, no sensei in their right mind would take a five year old to a chuunin examination. Without the odd outlier or desperate team he'd most likely be stuck on that reserve list until he was within a far more acceptable age.

"You don't have any other available Jounin?"

Sarutobi shook his head. "None really, and to be honest I suspect Orochimaru's involvement in that. When he wants something he plans its acquisition like a military campaign. And right now he wants this team. The only wild card he can't factor in is your respective acceptances of going on the reserve lists."

Naruto seethed at the simple circumstance that he couldn't wait! Every day was one day less in the ever shortening time-span he had to prepare for Akatsuki, for Tobi, even now that guy was going around the elemental nations laying the groundwork for everything he had lost.

He couldn't sit around with his thumb up his ass. He had to get past being a gennin and he had to do it quick.

If he had to do it while keeping one eye open for a snake behind his back so be it.

"I'm not going on the reserves." He announced resolutely. "I'll ask for a sensei transfer six months from now but I'm not going on the reserves.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, curious but he didn't press for information as he turned to Ryoko. "And you Ryoko-chan?"

The gray haired girl frowned, almost scowled, glaring at Naruto before turning back to him. "I aint quitting either!"

He had a distinct impression that it was more a competitive nature than good judgement at work there.

Still... "Very well. Then you are officially team eight under the guide of Jounin Orochimaru. Report to training ground seventeen tomorrow morning at Eight AM, I'll send word to your sensei of your acceptance later today."

And just like that their gennin life was officially underway.

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