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Kodomo Namida	By : Turtlenoise Category: -Misc Anime > General Views: 1500 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Team 13 faces the first test in the chuunin exams. We learn more about Kimi and Kuro. Daisuke and Ayumu have had a running streak of bad luck trying to get promoted. Namida sees a familiar face… Hears a familiar voice? There's no shortage of self-conscious genin, self-conscious chuunin, and self-conscious teachers.
Chapter Three: The First Exam
"Don't forget about the genjutsu – they'll try to switch up the room numbers on you. 'Yumu-chan, you're good with genjutsu, so you'll be able to tell easily."
Namida's voice was loud and a bit off frequency in their coms, resulting in a smarting feedback on their end. The trio winced and Ayumu adjusted her earpiece as Daisuke rolled his eyes and huffed. "We know, Nami-chan," he whined. "We've made it past the first round before."
They were going to cheat. It was slightly less impressive than it sounded, considering cheating was actually an expected requirement of the exam. But they certainly came prepared and gone all out. Namida was wholeheartedly ready and willing to be a part of their schemes and spoke to them through the most discrete shinobi radio systems that ninja money could buy. If she couldn't be there to support her friends in person for the first exam, she was at least with them in spirit.
They realized they didn't necessarily have to fill out the answers to any of the first nine questions. It was supposedly the last trick question that counted, but they could never be too sure. Namida had heard varying accounts, after all, and sometimes it did seem to matter.
Ayumu and Daisuke had actively cheated on the written exam before. A year after Namida's promotion had seen them without a third teammate. They had been paired with a random genin named Emon, whose squad members had been promoted the previous year with Namida. The group was eliminated in the second test and they hadn't heard anything about Emon since. Supposedly, he dropped being a nin for family reasons and moved to another part of town. Burn out, some muttered. Namida felt that was harsh. Ninja life was hard – nin should be able to sympathize and civilians couldn't possibly understand. And Namida hadchecked up on him to discover he had taken charge of his family's lucrative shop after his mother had passed, forging and selling shinobi weapons.
It was that year Kimi joined them. She was a little younger than the rest of Rookie 9, though she had essentially "skipped a grade" after Team 13's graduation. Kimi had spent some time in the same class before graduating early herself, around the same age Namida had been. Sarutobi had insisted on assigning her to Team 13 as Namida's replacement. The other two were a bit put out at being given a genin fresh out of the academy. Kuro debated if she was ready for the exams the following year, but Namida had been supportive and the others were eager to try again. Kimi would not disappoint them by refusing, regardless of the potential danger.
Unfortunately, it was Kimi who was caught and failed during the first round. That barred the other two from going on to the next test, which required a whole team. That was last year, and the real kicker was that Kimi was insanely smart with the theoretical. She produced the answers to most of the questions herself. But for the few of which she had been unsure, she tried to cheat, and Kimi had been dreadful at cheating. She was eternally embarrassed by her failure, though the team continually assured her that it was far from her own fault. They expected too much of her, caught up in the carousel of their own lives.
While Kimi had excelled in the academy with top marks, she wasn't as prepared for actual ninja life as she originally thought, amounting in the constant feeling of being overwhelmed and underwhelming compared the her team and their skills. It was fine for the sake of suitable D-ranked missions, and Kimi performed even the most remedial of tasks without a hint of complaint that the "mature" Daisuke and Namida failed spectacularly at.
But Namida remembered the rare cases – when a client would lie about the dangers presented on an otherwise routine journey, when bloodthirsty nin or renegade bandits with a myriad of trained backgrounds would chance across them and decide to attack, when a mission would be suddenly upped in ranking (in which case, they would normally be pulled back, the situation reevaluated, or those more capable would be dispatched, but exceptions still remained). It was a dangerous job, regardless of the safety restrictions put in place. Genin were put into uncomfortable and downright dangerous positions all the time. They consistently faced the unknown or unexpected. Every shinobi knew their life could always be on the line, regardless of mission severity. That was why they were considered adults as genin.
It was these more gruesome situations that gave Kimi nightmares. It wasn't like the rest of them were imperious to such things, but it seemed wrong for someone so young and novice to fall prey to them as well. Often, it made Namida think they were an infectious disease. Their actions or negligent antics caused it, begged for it. But she knew objectively that it was just a job hazard, one that Kimi – unwittingly or no – had signed up for.
Kimi lived with her family, but often she slept over at the apartment of the Yama nin. Sometimes, it would be impromptu. They would be hanging out and they would happen to fall asleep. More often than not, Kimi was more comfortable with the genin rather than the chuunin, so Namida would return home from a mission and find them dozed off. She had insisted that Ayumu and Daisuke make Kimi stay in her bedroom when that occurred, and she could take the couch or even go to Kuro's place. In those instances, Namida would get a glimpse of Kimi's fitful sleep and be there if she wanted to talk.
Sometimes, Kimi came over specifically for a consoling ear in the dead of the night. It wasn't something Namida took lightly, knowing how it was a decision the girl must have wrestled with over her nature to avoid being bothersome. Other times, Kimi sought out Kuro, who easily had them all beat in the department of night terrors and sleep trouble. Namida was surprised the first few times Kimi expressly came to her, but she was touched and eager to help the genin compartmentalize her emotions, more than she would be annoyed as Kimi feared.
"Yeah, you've already been through it. Thrice now. Ibiki-san must be sick of seeing your faces."
"Hey, I think there's a kid around here who's been through this thing seven times…."
"Besides, I'm posturing for Kimi-chan's sake. She's still green and doesn't have the run-around as, ah, well versed as you two do..." Which would explain how she got caught cheating on a portion of the exam one didn't even need to complete. They really should have done a better job giving her detailed clarification, in hindsight. It was a stupid mistake, but Namida learned from stupid mistakes all the time. Whatever else Namida was going to say was aborted when she figured out they weren't listening on the other end. She heard a shrill bang that almost made her tear out the electronic in her ear.
"What was that?"
"Who was that?"
"Why the fuck?" Ayumu's last comment made Namida's lips twitch.
"Language, 'Yumu-chan," she chastised, like a fucking hypocrite. Her vulgarity had rubbed off well on her friend. "Guys? What's going on?" She thought she heard someone else speaking. The equipment was pretty good for locating voices in closer proximity, so whoever it was must have been some distance away to hear them so faintly. Maybe they were mumbling. Maybe it was one of the Rookie 9? It was a long minute before she caught anything more clearly.
"Quick reflexes." That didn't bode well. It gave a complimentary impression, but how could it have been delivered if not following an attack? With the explosive sound still ringing in Namida's ears, it reminded her that she couldn't get too comfortable despite no apparent tells of a scuffle.
"Itsuki Haru-sempai."
"No way! Itsuki is there?" She asked, even though Daisuke clearly had not been speaking to her. He'd said the name by way of greeting, and it was clear from his voice that there was hostility behind his teeth. "Is Jun-chan with him?" She was disregarded again, though not particularly offended. She did enjoy providing background commentary.
"We can't continue to procrastinate any longer, Haru-kun." Female. If she was with Itsuki, that would mean it was probably Izanami Mayu.
"Come on, you have to go sign in." Oh… That was his voice. Though Namida couldn't see, he turned back Team 13 and gave them a once-over for the first time, then eyed Ayumu sharply with crystal blue eyes. "Tell imouto-chan I say hi." It was an innocent enough statement, but Namida couldn't help but think he knew she was listening. Maybe she was just paranoid.
Izanami followed Itsuki was dragged off, complaining the whole way. "You're no fun, Junichi-kun…"
The voices gradually faded away, but Namida's heart was a half-beat too rapid from just that weak, second-hand encounter. She didn't feel fear, though, mainly just interest and anticipation. She was excitable by nature, and the… insult of her brother's attendance felt more like a challenge. Alone in one of Konoha's many libraries, she was glad her tiny cove was crannied seclusively behind shelves stacked high with scrolls and books, shielding her from window light and curious eyes. In the dusky, dusty nook – walled in at the table she had claimed her own by a short selection of references she judged as potentially useful for her contribution to the cheating portion of the written exam – she felt it was fair enough to respond with light hand tremors and an eager smirk.
"What was that all about?" She asked casually as soon as she heard them drift away.
"Who was that?" Kimi asked, also hooked up to their frequency. She'd said so little that Namdia had almost forgotten she was there. "Nami-chan, he looked very similar to you! … Kinda, I mean… Except the hair, I guess. There's a resemblance."
"Almost like we're twins, huh?"
"Yeah, Namida, your brother's here," Daisuke picked up, sounding annoyed.
"Your brother?" Kimi was also often ignored. But it reminded her of what Junichi said in parting. Imouto-chan. But wasn't Namida older?
"And his psychotic friend just tossed an exploding tag at us out of nowhere. Complete surprise attack!"
"To test you," she said. "Or intimidate you. Not very neighborly."
"Speaking of intimidation," Ayumu responded, "he had his Aisugan activated."
"What a dick. But we already knew he had his Aisugan."
Daisuke sounded surprised. "We did?"
Ayumu chuckled. "Aren't you ever paying attention, Daisuke-kun?"
"Not as dogmatically as you two are, apparently."
"Why is Jun-chan there?" Namida wondered. "He's chuunin already."
"His teammates are still genin," Daisuke surmised. Namida had been keeping such close tabs on Junichi back then, during her attempt to glean and process Yama exam results, that she barely paid any of the other promotions attention. "He's probably one of the Chuunin that will be summoned after we open the seals on the second test."
"We'll be seeing them all again," Ayumu agreed.
"Kuro-sensei!" Namida cried, rushing through the door that had been locked. Like they hadn't already orchestrated their own private mission to steal his keys, duplicate them, and return them without Kuro being the wiser. It was cute, in a way, how he still vainly tried to hold onto his sense of privacy. Kuro owned his own quaint, one-story house, so there was no need to worry about a landlord's wrath or loudly getting on the neighbors' nerves unless they tried hard enough. "The brats passed the first exam. You ready to cook them some well-earned dinner?"
Their sensei hated when they barged in and, without evidence of lock tampering, he really should have caught on by now. But he turned a blind eye. It was an immature stunt for which they never minded being scolded before (they actually found it quite entertaining, the comical way Kuro's vein ticked) and today they were especially too animated to comply. The three genin behind Namida had passed their first test – the farthest that Kimi had come so far. But they received no answer to their entrance and Namida's call. "Kuro-sensei?"
Nothing but silence, which was answer enough. "Must be out on a mission again," Daisuke shrugged.
"He's on a mission?" she snapped, playfully stomping her foot. "At such a time? How convenient!"
"Work waits for no one."
"What if he's just out at the store?" Kimi supplied. "Or training?"
"The place is clean," Ayumu explained, settling down on the couch and preparing for a long wait. Namida flopped down beside her, apparently boneless.
"Kuro-sensei only tidies right before a mission. The cleaner it is, the more he's worried about it," she noted. He was an orderly nin by default, but he wasn't without the natural tendency of healthy disarray. The slight touch of messiness sometimes grew in proportions depending on his mood, no excessive maintenance preserved for extended periods of time between one housework ordeal and the next. His normal setting was not like the absolute cleanliness going on now. He liked coming back from missions to infirmary standards, and Namida could still smell the lemon-scented chemicals prepared for his homecoming. It made sense, since Kuro had a worrying aversion to hospitals and preferred to stitch himself up if he could.
"Kimi-chan, raid his cabinets," she whined, more than ordered. "See if we can make anything or if we gotta go shopping." The potential stigma over blatantly rifling through the belongings of one's sensei was almost immediately overlooked. Kimi nodded, always eager to please most of the chuunin's whims. The girl didn't have a hidden backbone like Ayumu and wasn't as familiar with her as the other two, who would have most likely told Namida to screw off. But it wasn't like Namida was a stranger anymore, two years after they first met. While the anxiousness had calmed down since the earlier days, it donned some identity akin to lowkey hero worship, for lack of a better term. Kimi felt she had a lot to live up to, shadowed by Namida's instrumental position in the squad.
The former member of Kimi's new team still seemed to intimidate her, probably due to being the most junior partner, even when Kuro would be busy and Namida would be sent in his stead to supervise them out on missions. Not that they really needed her command for the classification of work they received, except perhaps poor Kimi. They were a more senior genin team, like Team Gai, but Kimi being a rookie tended to land them with lesser tasks more often then not. Namida always tried to make even the most mundane work into a learning experience for the newest genin, as she had observed Kuro do for them in the past. Sometimes, Namida worried that her abridged time under his instruction had robbed her of a more nuanced understanding of his teaching methods, but she did what she could. It wasn't like her aim was to be a sensei, anyway, though it did seem like a road Sarutobi was pushing her down as of late.
Daisuke finally took a seat next to them, sparing some space for Kimi and squishing them together. "What d'you think," he asked, "Assassination in the tribes?"
"Try undercover diplomacy," Ayumu guessed, still sitting politely as Namida elbowed for more room before giving up with a deflating sigh.
"Southwest border's been a political mess. That sounds taxing. I'd hate to have to tread so lightly."
"I don't think you even know how."
"For someone so ambitious, you sure don't like to exert energy," Daisuke teased.
"Hah! My motto is to work smart, not hard."
Kuro returned late for some much needed sanctuary, but his place wasn't as he'd left it and he wasn't exactly taken aback. The kitchen was a mess beyond hope and he hadn't conserved the optimism to expect that particular area would be spared. There were blankets and pillows strewn all over his living room and it looked like his four students had found his stash of sake. His little genin were fast asleep on the couch, and Namida had been on the verge of nodding off in the adjacent, overstuffed chair before he arrived. She lackadaisically petted his cat and – from the state of her half-filled glass – was still drinking. It looked like they had done most of their consumption in that room. Daisuke still had an empty cup in his hand. Kuro desperately wished he finished it off instead of spilling it in his slumber.
Namida looked up at Kuro when he entered and took in the arterial splatters of blood covering him before the actual wounds. Preluding having to deal with those, she silently poured him a drink of his own. He took it gratefully and sat on the floor at the low table as Namida repositioned herself. She was always keen in relieving his ailments, starting with his mind (with the help of some mind-numbing agents) rather than his body. Some nights, he wondered if he should pay her for therapy.
It was a comfortable silence and a steady routine. Namida being a night owl with sleeping habits almost as poor and on par with Kuro's himself meant she was usually the last survivor to stem off sleep in anticipation of his return. Kuro secretly valued late-night chats with her. Even with the occasional raw vulnerability, there was a depth of introspection and a well of understanding he didn't imagine he'd find with the kindred spirit of an awfully young student. There was a melodic quality to the whispering not meant to wake up the others. If they did wake up, the floor was often opened to more tongue-in-cheek affairs.
As they made small conversation, the duo didn't realize that Kimi had stirred upon Kuro's appearance. Though she wasn't conscious enough for them to notice, she was aware enough to retain some of what she heard. "What were you thinking? Leaving me alone in this deathtrap?"
"It's not a deathtrap," Kuro brushed off Namida's nagging. "Next time I'm summoned by Hokage-sama himself, I'll have them stop everything and send for you, so you can explain why I'm blatantly rejecting a mission for silly fear."
"It's not silly. Suna, Yama, and Oto nin are surrounding us."
"They're allies."
"Are they?"
"Well… Suna and Oto are."
"Oto is mysterious and too new to guess what their intentions are." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "…Y'know, Junichi-kun is here."
"I'm sorry."
She peeked one eye open, staring at him shrewdly. "I'm annoyed."
"You're anxious."
"Lift your arm and raise your shirt. I can stitch up that silly laceration."
"Is it normal in Yama to trespass on your sensei's property?" He asked, as he followed instructions and Namida reached for a patiently waiting medical kit.
"Shut up. Like you aren't used to it by now," she gave him a pointedly laughing look, "or like it."
The first time he'd come home and they were inexplicably present belonged to an era before Kimi, when it was just the four of them… Kuro didn't know how else to describe it besides…new and unsure and strange. He was so exhausted and out of it that, instead of chastising them like he should have, he covered the threshold and hesitated. Daisuke and Ayumu were still dazed with sleepy stares, rubbing their eyes. But Namida had flinched at the alarming speed Kuro had used without realizing.
She stood up, engaging slowly, and he couldn't tell if she was still half-asleep or just wary. Kuro had an obvious, if not mild, concussion and blood streaked down his face from his hairline. His eyes were unfocused and distant. A fuzzy-headed shinobi was dangerous, in the worst-case scenario.
"Kuro-sensei, we were worried sick. Who the fuck sent you home in this state?" She snapped irritably. He collapsed, unconsciously grabbing her for balance and nearly bringing her down with him to his knees. She hissed at the scratch he left inside her forearm, and at the pressure he used to grip her legs when their briefly grasping hands immediately slipped. He leaned tiredly on her, moaning. She relaxed and chuckled a little with a cache of breath she had been holding. He wasn't being scary, just complaintive and concussed.
Namida kicked him lightly and Kuro readjusted himself to sit on the floor against the couch. She sat down daintily beside him, hugging her knees and watching him as he relaxed and Ayumu and Daisuke began to move and sit up. The atmosphere, instead of its usual sterile taste, was wonderfully warm and snug. He found it easy to slot himself right in. Even with the faint smell of a dinner having been made and having gone cold, it was peaceful and inviting enough that he could have conked out right then and there.
"You're bleeding on the carpet," she noted offhandedly. And then, when she realized his eyes were fluttering closed, her volume bolstered into an exclamation. "Hey! Don't fall asleep!"
"I used to be an eligible bachelor. Now my place is overrun with children."
"You're too young for ANBU."
"Well, after the Chuunin exams are completed, hopefully we'll both be promoted."
"If they all pass. If not, hey, maybe next time they'll be sent to Yama to take their exams!"
"Oh hush, you. I went with Mamushi and Bantam."
"I'm Kuro and I go on missions with ANBU operatives. I'm so cool," she teased, making her voice a ridiculously dopey caricature of his. "You aren't ANBU yet."
"You aren't jounin yet," he argued. "You act like one. It'll suit you well."
"ANBU will suit me. Kage will suit me. You're better as a sensei."
"Y'know, that's not really the compliment you make out to be. Plus, I'm a shit sensei and you know it."
"No, you're not," she shrugged facially. "But they sure as hell dog you like ANBU. Or do you know any other jounin they periodically send on classified, super S-ranked missions while he still has a team to look after?"
"Kakashi?"
"Got me there. But Kaka-sensei was ANBU before."
"Well, it's not like you guys really need me. They're hardly my team anymore. They're practically yours. Hokage-sama knows you can handle and train genin while he sends me on these missions. It's an honor, really."
She rolled her eyes. "I guess."
The second exam is next and there will be much more action!
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Kodomo Namida