Incidental Equilibrium, 1/? (2020-06-18)
In which Ringo is proactive, Zakuro is stubborn, and Tetsuki needs a little help with some legal matters.Ā
The whole friendship thing? That kind of just happens.
(Or, the Counterpoise and Externality mashup that literally nobody asked for)
1) on the matter of becoming genin
It could have gone like this:
The Uzumaki twins attempt the Academy's graduation exam two years before their age mates. Naruto is ambitious, Konran is anxious, and neither of them get what they want.
That's because the Uzumaki twins do not pass the exam. They do not graduate:
Konran gets put on a team with two boys practically slated for the corps and a jounin who has to be literally dragged into the role of sensei. Ringo and Zakuro are known for not getting along with strangers, but this time they're willing to take the risk. Somehow, perhaps out of spite, the newly formed Team Five actually passes Riichi-sensei's ludicrous test and make him face the consequences.
They are, if not happy, then paving their way toward it.
Naruto gets sent back to the Academy, placed in the class who are slated to graduate next year. Nobody knows him, but they already don't like him--the rumors and Yanagi-sensei's cold demeanor the only information they have to work with. He meets Tetsuki who, even though kindness doesn't come naturally to her, takes a chance and helps him graduate.
They get put on a team with Komadori, a neutral classmate which is the best they can get really, under the command of a displeased Kakashi-sensei.
Like the formation of Team Two, their happiness, if it exists, is temporary.
Ringo and Zakuro help Konran find herself despite everything working against them all. Naruto and Tetsuki learn enough from each other before their divergent destinies tear them apart.
... But becoming genin is only the start.
It should have gone like this:
There are no Uzumaki twins. (Perhaps that night of the Kyuubi it was otherwise. Or perhaps a few years later, even, until an ambassador from Cloud saw an unprotected child with bright red hair. Or perhaps it was always as such.) Regardless, there is only Naruto.
Ambitious, he attempts the Academy's graduation exam two years before his age mates and fails.
Ringo and Zakuro, assigned a third teammate they're incapable of cooperating with, also fail their jounin sensei's test. They go to the corps as expected and must learn to become content.
Naruto is placed in Yanagi-sensei's class where nobody knows him or likes him. That stays true the entire year. When it comes time for the graduation exam, he fails again.
Maybe he would have passed with a little help from a classmate, even one ill-suited for kindness, but none take that chance. (And if Yanagi-sensei vaguely remembers a missing student, an orphan who held her own even against clan kids until her mysterious disappearance years ago, well. Orphans disappear in Konoha all the time.)
Naruto is placed in Iruka-sensei's class where destiny finally sinks its teeth into him and doesn't let him go.
Sometimes he's happy, he thinks. He must be.
But it actually went like this:
On a random morning a few months before graduation, Ringo's parents talk over breakfast about his future.
"Your cousin Suzuka is due for a promotion soon," Ringo's mom says while he blearily chews on egg and rice. He's not the best after just waking up, true, but he has time still before he needs to train the weakness out of himself.
"She could have an apprentice" she continues, as if he answered verbally. "I can ask her next time I'm on shift with her."
"Would be better than wasting time by going through the corps' prerequisite classes," his dad says, "Honestly, why they don't allow exemptions or testing out of those--so inefficient."
Ringo's dad is of the opinion that simply being part of the Nohara clan means they are naturally better at being medics than outsiders: as if medical knowledge and jutsu were akin to other clans' blood limits or secret techniques.
Maybe they're a little better at memorization and chakra control, but Ringo thinks his advantage has more to do with being raised by and amongst an entire clan of medics than anything he was born with--wait a second...
"Ask Suzuka what?" Ringo asks, belatedly, quickly shaking awareness into his head.
"Ask her to take you as an apprentice, of course," Ringo's mom answers easily, "I won't have you squandering your time in the Medic Corps or, heaven forbid, the Genin Corps."
Ringo blinks, uncomprehending. "I could end up on a jounin led team," he says, mildly.
His parents' response are less mild: his mom's light smile immedately twisting into a harsh frown, while his dad's hands clench into fists.
"No, no, no," his mom says, almost horrified at the idea.
"They'll try to put you on a team with That Man," his dad says, warningly. "It's what happened to your older cousins."
"They failed purposefully, of course. They know better than to trust their safety--much less their education!-- to That Man. But still," Ringo's mom closes her eyes, as if pained by the very thought, "Why the Hokage even tries to put a heartless creature like that in charge of young shinobi--and at the expense of our clan! Oh, no, Ringo, I couldn't lose you, too."
Then she reaches out for his hand, for comfort, and he tries to do his best.
Ringo's not stupid. He knows who That Man is: Comrade Killer Kakashi Hatake. Aunt Rin's murderer.
He doesn't think the Hokage would allow an actual psychopath to teach children, genin though they may be, so Kakashi Hatake can't still be a comrade killer. But he knows better than to bring it up in front of his parents.
It's not a battle he will win and honestly, not one he particularly wants to win. He doesn't want to be on a team lead by the man who killed his aunt--whether murder or manslaughter--and bore no consequences. If anything, and here his mom might have a point, the Hokage's continuous attempt to make a Nohara one of his students has prevented Ringo's cousins from following any career path but the Medic Corps or, apparently if the timing is right, an apprenticeship from another cousin.
But that's not what Ringo wants for himself. If he enters the Medic Corps, or apprentices under cousin Suzuka, then he won't be able to be on a team with Zakuro.
Maybe a compromise is in order.
On a random morning a few months before graduation, Zakuro tries to sneak out of the house only to be caught.
"Zakuro," says Uncle Shinku behind him, and Zakuro tries his best to hold in the annoyed sigh that desperately wants to escape. Last time he didn't, Uncle Shinku lectured him for thirty minutes about how disrespectful and ungrateful he was.
Uncle Shinku glares. Well, that's just his default face, but it gets more glare-y. "Yes, Uncle," he says flatly, pointedly.
Zakuro holds in another annoyed sigh, "Yes, Uncle Shinku."
The man hums. Zakuro has no idea if that's approval or not.
"You will be graduating from the Academy soon," Uncle Shinku says, which is... true? Obvious? Not something Zakuro knows how to respond to.
He nods. "Yes, Uncle Shinku," he says, because maybe if he just repeats himself, the conversation (does this count?) will be over faster.
"I will not have you shaming us..."
Which is, wow. Thanks for the vote of confidence.
"Our arrangement with the Kurama clan still holds, for all that their heiress remains... reclusive. I will not have you embarrassing the Yuuhi clan," Uncle Shinku continues.
Great. Cool. This is why Zakuro needs to work on his stealth.
"When you join the Genin Corps, I will turn you into a shinobi worthy of our name, unlike your mother."
He sees an opening. "Thank you, Uncle," Zakuro says swiftly, bowing deep enough so as to hide his scowl. "I will go train so as to improve myself! Please excuse me!" Then, without waiting for a dismissal, Zakuro leaves.
If Uncle Shinku responds, he can't hear it. Not over the angry rush of blood pounding in his ears. He meets eyes with cousin Kurenai, her equally red eyes wide with a complicated mix of relief and guilt.
Why is she even here? She has an apartment. If Zakuro could live away from his asshole of an uncle, he would never set a single foot inside this house.
"Zakuro," she says, quietly, "I wanted to--"
Meanly, he interrupts with a loud, "Good morning cousin!" He spitefully enjoys the twist of annoyance on her face before bolting for the Academy.
It's early still but it's not here and that's all that matters.
If he's lucky, maybe Ringo will be there, too.
On a random morning a few months before the end of her fifth Academic year, Tetsuki sits alone in a room in T&I.
She's been here since yesterday afternoon, so by this point any adrenaline and fear have long since been replaced by bitter exhaustion.
And anyway, this is not her first time in T&I, so the novelty has worn off.
Although, at least, the room is nicer. Last time it really felt like an interrogation room: stark walls, hard chair, cold lighting. This time, they've put her in something almost comfortable. There's still an obvious viewing window, though it has a tasteful decorative frame, and she could almost fall asleep in the cushioned seat she's in.
She hasn't slept since they brought her here and, ostensibly, she's alone right now. But still, she resists. She can sense at least two other people watching her from the observation room on the other side of that fake mirror--three, maybe. There's two distinct rectangles of body temperature metal standing about a meter apart. Forehead protectors, if she's interpreting it correctly, each with a matching pouch of kunai and assorted weaponry. And while she can't sense a third one, the door knob in that room opened and shut nearly thirty minutes ago with neither of the other two leaving.
So someone who doesn't carry metal on them, maybe? Unless it was just someone delivering a message... better to err on the side of caution.
She sits, exhausted eyes half-lidded, and waits for her fate to be decided.
Last time she was here, she thought no one would care if she disappeared. No one to miss her or notice--certainly no one to speak up if they did--just one of many Konoha orphans who mysteriously vanish.
This time, she knows it to be true.
She knows why she's here, this time around--or, at least, she can make an educated enough guess. Yesterday, Yanagi-sensei and Hinoura-sensei had distributed elemental chakra paper wearing nonconductive gloves. Gleefully, everyone in class grabbed at their papers, eager to find out their elemental nature in hopes that this would lead to lessons in ninjutsu.
Tetsuki didn't have particularly high hopes--such things hardly led to anything as exciting as her classmates would hope, probably just more lectures--but she certainly hadn't expected it to go this badly.
For the most part, everyone's paper reacted in an expected way. A lot of ash from the fire natured people, some crumbled to pieces or soaked through entirely--earth and water respectively. She thinks she saw one or two slice in half; wind natured, which is rare but highly appreciated in Land of Fire.
She thought maybe that just meant she didn't have an elemental nature, there were some classmates whose papers did nothing--Neji Hyuuga for example, but everyone knows that Hyuuga chakra is weird--it wasn't too out there.
That was, perhaps, too optimistic.
Lightning natured chakra isn't unheard of Konoha. That alone would not have gotten her here, surely.
But that combined with her previous visit--where she was interrogated on whether or not she knew Cloud nin and if the light haired, dark skinned boy she used as her henge model was a real person that she knew--probably doesn't look that good.
Her paper crinkled, Yanagi-sensei dismissed everyone for lunch, and Hinoura-sensei brought shinobi wearing the T&I uniform to take her away.
They took her blood, put her in this room, had a sweetly smiling old lady ask her a bunch of questions, and then left her here.
The door to her room opens up. The person that enters is not someone she recognizes.
He's in his fifties maybe, quite old for a shinobi which he must be considering he's in this room and not a prisoner. She's not much of a danger to anyone, given she's only an Academy student, but they wouldn't bring a civilian in. Not that she would have a chance--for him to have survived to his age, he must be quite skilled.
He stares at her and says nothing, so she stays silent as well.
"You are Tetsuki, yes? Of the... Ryokushoku orphanage?" He asks almost hesitantly.
She doesn't know why, he clearly has access to her file. And it's not like a hesitant old man will get them any other answers than the sweetly smiling old lady did.
"I'm Kunugi Mokume, conservator of the Utsugi clan holdings," he introduces himself. She nods again, because she doesn't know what else to say. "The Utsugi clan has been largely believed to be wiped out during the Night of the Kyuubi. Clearly, that is not the case," he says with a small smile.
Perhaps chagrined, perhaps not, Kunugi Mokume continues, "Unfortunately, we're under something of a quandary and a deadline on top of that: The decade of reservation is nearly up before the Utsugi clan holdings reverts to Konoha's possession. You are the sole heir but, unfortunately, due to your legal status as a minor your guardian would be the one to receive your inheritance."
Her guardian being the Ryokushoku orphanage, which just goes back to Konoha. Unless...
"Given the news of your possible inheritance, any applications for your adoption would be denied at this time. For your protection," he says.
"So I started with nothing and I will continue to have nothing," Tetsuki says with a nonchalant shrug.
Kunugi Mokume flinches. She doesn't know why. It's the truth. What is a clan name if there is no family to go with it? And anyway, she has long since abandoned the hope of having one.
"There is one possibility," he says, as if this were some kind of planning session and not just some stranger telling her nonsense after she's spent hours in Konoha's T&I, "If you become a legal adult before this October, you can inherit without any issue."
"Ah, of course. I'll just age a few years right now then," she snipes because she's tired and angry and something in her hates this man more than she's ever hated anything in her life for giving her this hollow, useless hope.
Weirdly enough, that makes Kunugi Mokume smile. "When you become a genin, you become a legal adult in the eyes of Konoha."
Tetsuki stares at him in confusion. "I'm only in my fifth year at the Academy," she says slowly, which, given how frequently her teachers have ratted her out to T&I as a potential spy is frankly a miracle.
He looks back at her, equally confused. "It's been a while since I've been at the Academy," he admits.Ā
That's fair. He's old. And she knows during wartime the length of Academy schooling is shorter.
"I have another year before my class is up for graduation," she explains. "It won't be in time for this October." She doesn't know why she's bothering, this is all nonsense.
"Maybe your class won't be ready," he argues, "but you could be. If you take the upcoming graduation exam and pass..."
He doesn't need to say any more, but he does anyway. "You have nothing, right? So what do you have to lose?"
A/N: I saw this postĀ and I don't know why my brain responded by immediately smashing together two (arguably three? if you include (In)difference) still incomplete concepts as a response but I guess I wanted it enough to write the above.
I may continue this? I don't know.
