New Team, New Members, A Familiar Sensei part 1

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6:30 in the morning and I was still awake.

See, in the games, you could be awake for as long as you wanted with no ill consequences. If my theory was correct, then that was the case here too. I stayed up all night doing…well, actually I was writing.

Fallout fanfiction, specifically. In English. It seemed appropriate. Soon as 7:30 rolled around, I used a candle to burn it up. It was about the Sole Survivor and Courier Six meeting and establishing a relationship between the Commonwealth and the Mojave, something I wish I could've seen for real.

Before I died, that is.

Anyway, I was still fine, so I was right. You know, if training of any kind actually worked for me, I'd be even more stupidly powerful than I already was. Because I'd have all the time in the world to work on my skills.

So, I got dressed, slid my belt on and hopped on over to the Academy.

Quest Added: Shinobi, Assemble!

Meet your team and Jounin Sensei.

Nice. I better get EXP for that.

It occurred to me that I didn't know where Naruto's apartment was. I'll have to ask him next time I see him at lunch…wait. I think we're let out early once we meet our Jounin-sensei. So I might not see him at lunch.

There's probably a registry or something I can check. Tell him the good news.

…wait, was he swinging on that swing set after the exams?

And I missed him?

Ooh, I feel really bad now. I need to find him as soon as possible, see if he's okay.

…what if he graduated already? That would be interesting. I mean, I don't think I had enough of an impact for him to do that and he never tells me about how he's doing in class for me to help him but it's a possibility. I mean, I know he took the exam three times before finally passing in Canon so...huh.

I guess we've grown farther apart than I thought.

I need to fix that.

Anyway, I'm at the Academy. Something I learned is that it's always good to be at least a little early to every gathering. About five minutes. Sends a good message and makes sure you're never late. The gates open since Shinobi are reporting in at all hours to the administrative building, so I head into the building, and make it to the class room.

Inside, there are students already sitting in desks, but not everyone's here yet. So, I took my spot in the corner and waited for things to happen. I watched the students file in and…wow, fewer people from my class graduated than I thought. Huh.

Hisako arrived, talking with another girl who I didn't recognize. Alright. After that, a girl I identified as Tenten, being the only girl I've ever seen with the Chun-li buns in either of my lives, walked in the door. Okay, she does exist. Then Neji, who sat at the front with a stoic look on his face. Then…oh that's right! That's what Lee looked like, before he got Gai-sensei'd. Okay. He had long black hair that curled up at the ends and those...unholy eyebrows. How did I miss those things? I mean, WOW.

Right at seven, the doors to the teacher's office open, revealing a new guy. I'm guessing he's the photographer. Oh, right. We needed a card to prove we were Shinobi. I wonder what happens if that card gets stolen.

I hope I never have to find out. It'd be about as bad as getting pulled over without your driver's license, only worse because the cop could shoot you on the spot. I shall never lose my card.

"Alright, Genin!" The Photographer called out. "I need everyone to line up and we'll take your picture for your ID. After that, there'll be some papers for you to sign and if we get it done fast enough, you'll be done before the Jounin arrive."

I wonder why they didn't do this yesterday. Must've been running late. Or the camera broke. Do they use those old flash cameras? That might be why. Anyway, we got into a line, and had our picture taken. Mine went without incident, I received my card and reviewed the paperwork that I signed to make me a full-fledged member of the military.

…well, in my old life I didn't think I was cut out for the military and never joined. This is an interesting reversal. With my card in my book, because it can hold things and I never lose my book, I walked out and…wait, does my book actually hold things?

I opened the book and…yup, there it was. Whew. I don't know where my book went, but it went somewhere. Hammerspace! Wish it paused the game so I could go 'Stop! Hammertime!' when I whipped it out.

So, I sat in my usual chair and waited. Eventually, 8 o'clock rolled around and Okawa-sensei showed up, wearing a rare smile on his face and held a clipboard close to his check. I noted the door to the hall was open. "Good morning, Genin."

"Good morning, Sensei!" We chorused back to him.

"Without further ado, I will announce the teams and your senseis," Okawa-sensei said, clearing his throat.

"Team 1 will…" And he started. Trios were called, either to their cheers or their disappointment. It varied.

We were all shocked, however, when Okawa was announcing the team number, a giant cloud of smoke suddenly appeared next to sensei's desk. The smoke faded slowly, and there, standing on a turtle, was Maito Gai!

Wait, what was the team number?

Perception Check Failed: 5/9.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Well, looks like his team number will be a mystery for the ages.

"I'm ready to stoke your fires of youth!" Gai said loudly, striking his nice guy po-geeze man, do you have a laser built into your teeth? Dang!

"…Tenten, Rock Lee and Hyuuga Neji," Okawa finished, utterly deadpan.

Oh, the looks on their faces were priceless. Especially Neji, who displayed emotion for the first time since I saw him. Even if that emotion was disgust.

You know, I don't think I'd mind Gai as a mentor. Lots of laughs, knows a lot about Taijutsu which is sure to involve a lot of perks and special moves. Wouldn't mind at all. Unless he tried to get me to wear spandex, then that would be another story.

They filed out, and I caught Tenten's 'please kill me now' expression on the way out. Haha, priceless. Of course…well, I might not get someone completely terrible. Or bad for me. 10 luck is great for that, since, you know, I can't really be unlucky.

"Team 10 will be…" Oh, they're Team 9. Makes sense, I suppose.

"Team 13, Shimoda Daisuke, Yamada Hisako, and Nakamura Nichiren," Well darn! I suppose I should've seen this coming, but who's Nichiren? "Their sensei will be Hatake Kakashi."

What.

…

WHAT?!? THE?!? $%#@?!?

YOU HAVE FAILED ME, LUCK STAT! YOU HAVE FAILED ME SO HORRIBLY I SHALL CUT YOU FROM THE STATS SCREEN!

I buried my face in my hands and let out a soft whimper. Hatake Kakashi. The guy so focused on teamwork just got assigned a Genin with no charisma or anything to make teamwork actually work. This…screw this. I-I…gah!

"He's late again," Okawa, either not noticing my display or not caring, said blandly. "You three have my sympathy. Sorry about your day being wasted."

Hisako scoffed in disbelief. "Seriously?"

"Yes, unfortunately," Okawa said. "Team 14 will be…"

And two calls later and it was just me, Hisako and who I guess is Nichiren. He was hunched over and was wearing glasses. He had black hair and was drumming his fingers on his desk.

"Try to have a good day," Okawa said, sighing in disgust. "And good luck."

"What did he mean by that?" Nichiren's asked as Okawa closed the door.

"Probably a test of some kind," I said, trying to keep the bile I was feeling from seeping into my speech. Not sure I was successful.

"Oh no," Hisako groaned, tilting her hair back. "I thought I was done with the tests."

"Hey maybe it won't be too bad," Nichiren said weakly. "We could pass it with flying colors."

"Maybe but still," She said, folding her arms and resting her head on her desk. "I just wanna go out and do things."

"Passing the test is doing something."

…Optimism, thy name is Nichiren. Or maybe denial. Alright, well.

I stood up and moved down to the front row, where he was sitting. I gestured to the seat next to him. "May I sit here?"

"Oh, sure!" He seemed surprised by the question. He said as I sat down, "Didn't think such an amazing Genin like you'd want to sit by me."

"Now why in the Elemental Countries would you think that?" I asked with a frown.

"Well, everyone used to talk about how you were going to be Rookie of the Year," Nichiren explained. "I was always just average."

"I've never had anyone say something to me like that," I replied, blinking in confusion. Well, the Henge made it so people would talk to me at least, hanging out with me wasn't something they were willing to do still. Which was still better than nothing, but not as much as I was hoping.

"Well yeah," Hisako said, coming over and taking the seat opposite of Nichiren. "You knew basically everything and were good at almost everything."

"Then why wasn't I rookie of the year?" I asked, though I had a suspicion…

"Your aim sucked," Hisako stated.

"That would do it," I said to myself, leaning back. "Never thought I was that good. People tended to avoid me."

"Well…you're kind of scary," Nichiren said with an uneasy smile, as if afraid I might punch him.

"You know I'm not going to bite, right?" I said flatly. Scary, huh? Well, that's one way of looking at it. I exhaled in annoyance. Nothing to do about it now. "So, where do you guys want your careers to go?"

"I want to join the Anbu," Hisako replied, bracing her head on her fist. "They do some really cool stuff. Only the best of the best get in."

"Nice," I nodded.

"I-I uh, well, I want to be a Medic Nin," Nichiren said, exhaling. "Those guys are so brave, helping hurt shinobi right on the battlefield."

I can respect that. He's got a while to go, but saving lives is cool with me. "I wish you luck."

"Thank you," Nichiren seemed to calm down just a tad.

Hmmm…you know in Oblivion, using the Wait command would send you forward hours at a time and bring you out of it the moment something important happened.

"So, can I ask you guys a favor?" I turned to them.

They both perked up.

"Like what?" Hisako asked curiously.

"I'm going to start meditating," I lied. "If I don't snap out of it when he gets here, I want you to snap me out of it. Pushing me over is an option. Okay?"

Speech Check Success: 26/15.

+15 EXP.

Neato. 2,135 more EXP to go.

"O-okay," Nichiren said uncertainly. "I can do that."

Poor guys got serious confidence issues.

Commencing Wait.

---

I was snapped out of my trance when the door opened and therein entered Hatake Kakashi. The Copy Ninja. An S Ranked former ANBU captain. A traumatized, tortured soul. The absolute worst choice I could've possibly had for a sensei.

I swear, I'm forcing a game over if I don't get past the Bell Test. And-suddenly I'm pushed and falling out of my chair sonofa-!

As I lay there on the floor, I only had one thought.

Huh. He actually pushed me over.

While I was picking myself up, I was also cracking up, really badly. I just, it was really funny and I was so stressed and it just…hehehehe!

When I finally stopped chuckling, I looked and saw Kakashi was starting at me with an odd look in his eye.

"My first opinion?" The mask isn't muffling his voice. I call Chakra Shenanigans. "You're idiots."

"And you're late," I cheekily reminded him, still in a good mood.

"Well, if you're going to be like that," Kakashi started, turning around. "Maybe I should just go and let you get back to the academy."

"No!"

"Stop!"

"I didn't mean it!"

The three of us shouted at the same time, holding out hands out in a desperate attempt to get him to stop. He stopped.

"Oh?" He said, slowly turning around to face us. "Well then, maybe I should give you another chance."

"Let's meet on the roof," He said with an eye-smile. "Have a little get together."

Huh. That's odd, I thought he'd do something stupid like jump out the window just to freak us out. Well, whatever. Let's get this meet and greet over. When we arrived at the roof, he leaned up against the railing, folding his arms and watching us as we took seats on the air-conditioning units.

Look at him trying to be all cool with his near-total mask and laid back posture and flak jacket and-okay fine, I already established the flak jacket is cool. And Kakashi is cool. Just…ugh. I've got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"So, why don't we introduce ourselves," Kakashi said to us.

I wasn't about to go first. Maybe one of the others could? Sorry. Even with my charisma mostly around average thanks to the Henge, I'm still a little skittish of it.

"I'm Yamada Hisako," My teammate offered.

There was a silence. Hisako looked at the two of us.

"…and?" Kakashi motioned for her to continue.

"I like sharpening my kunai and I don't like being told someone's unbeatable?" Hisako offered.

...that can't be everything.

Perception Check Failed: 5/7

So does that mean there's something there or I have trouble accepting the simplest solution?

Perception Check Failed: 5/7

Oh, screw off game.

"Do you have any hopes for the future?" Kakashi asked, sounding bored.

"I want to join ANBU," Hisako replied, folding her arms. "They're the best of the best. And I want to be the best."

"Alright," Kakashi said with no hint of approval or disapproval. He pointed at Nichiren "How about you?"

"Hi. My name is Nakamura Nichiren," Nichiren introduced himself, looking like he'd prefer to hide in the infinite void then tell us about himself. "I like reading and delicious food. I don't like snakes. I want to be a…a f-field medic."

"Alright," Kakashi gave a shrug. He looked at me, "Now how about you?"

"Shimoda Daisuke," I reported, mimicking his arm fold. "I like a lot of things. I don't like being stagnant. I want to go down in history as the Shinobi with the most missions ever done."

"Huh. Okay then," Kakashi stood up straight. "So, since we're a new team, there's a little task the four of us need to do."

"What kind of task?" Nichiren asked quickly.

He just giggled sinisterly. I would've gotten the chills if I didn't know what was coming. As it stood, I almost got the chills anyway.

"I'd tell you," He said full of mirth. "But you won't like it."

I get it, this song and dance is to get us to freak out. Whatever, just get on it.

"The suspense is killing me," I replied drolly.

He glared at me and I decided now was a good time to shut up.

…please don't actually kill me.

"So the four of us just need to do some survival training," Kakashi went on as if I hadn't just interrupted him. "It's a test to see if you're really going to be Genin."

"…what?" Nichiren asked quietly.

"We're already Genin!" Hisako stated hotly.

"What? Oh, no you're not," Kakashi explained, with a tone that suggested he was talking to a child who just said something amusingly idiotic.

"Yes we are!" Hisako snapped.

"No. You're not," Kakashi stated a bit more firmly. "The exam was to bring out candidates that may or may not be Genin. The test is to see if you're actually capable of being Genin."

Which we are. Well, I am. I might actually be able to carry these two through the bell test, though I'm not sure.

"If you fail the test, you'll be sent back to the academy," At this, my fear was overcome by UNYIELDING RAGE for just a second, and I just glared at him. Think maybe I should try killing intent? Nah, I don't want to get counter-intented. "Of the 45 Students that you saw there in the room downstairs? Only nine of them will go on to actually become Genin. This test has a failure rate of 66%."

If I didn't know what it was already? I'd be scared. As it was, I was mad. And bored. The other two were starting to look nervous. Nichiren…how, exactly did he pass into being a Genin? He looks about as stout-hearted as a skittish bunny.

"So meet me tomorrow at Training Ground 3 at 5am sharp," Kakashi ordered. "And don't eat breakfast. You'll throw up."

With that, Kakashi disappeared.

Well. I wonder if eating follows the same rules as my sleeping? He did technically just order me to forgo breakfast and I know what the test is. So…time to experiment? Except I remember being really hungry when I was younger…hmmmm…maybe it was just for the tutorial? Maybe I shouldn't risk it? Or maybe I should.

"So, I'm going to go home and do…whatever," I told my teammates. "See you tomorrow!"

"How are you so calm about this?" Hisako demanded.

"Yeah, didn't you hear him?" Nichiren asked incredulously. "Most of the students who take this test fail!"

"I did hear that," I nodded. "But that doesn't mean it's impossible, does it?"

Charisma Check Failed 4/5.

Screw off, game.

"Well I dunno," Nichiren said.

"Look, Daisuke's right," Hisako replied. "The test can be beat. Don't worry about it. Let's just get there tomorrow and prove we're Genin."

"Okay," Nichiren replied, sounding a little bit better.

We each went our separate ways and…

Quest Updated: Shinobi, Assemble!

Completed: Meet your Team and Jounin Sensei.

Go to training ground 3 before Kakashi gets there.

I like how it's giving me the option to be late because I know Kakashi is going to be late. That's cool. But I'll show up on time anyway to show…solidarity to my team. I want to be a team player. Because I don't have any desire to go back to the academy whatsoever. Nooooo no.

So I head off to the Orphanage. I don't see Naruto on the way there. Oh, man. Where is he? I haven't seen him in forever! Maybe he's sulking.

I'll find him later.

Another thing I wanted to test was…how long can I sleep, exactly? That's what I want to know. Because in Fallout you could wait and or sleep for up to twenty-four hours. It was…ah, crap. It was only noon. Well, better say hi to Matron Kumiko before I konked out for the day/night cycle.

I walked around and…. "Hey, Obaasan!"

"Hello Daisuke," She looked up from her place over the pot of stew she was mixing.

"Can I help?" I asked.

"No, I can take care of it," She told me. "How was your first day of being a Genin?"

"It was okay," I shrugged. "Our Sensei was four hours late and told us we have to take a test. If we fail, we could get sent back to the Academy."

"Ha!" She let out a barking laugh. "Oh, I have no doubt you'll impress your sensei. You needn't worry."

"I'm not worried," I told her. "I'm pretty sure I can figure it out, it's just frustrating."

"Well, I can certainly see that," She smiled. "But testing ourselves is how we grow, right?"

…she's right. Dang. She doesn't even know about EXP and she's right. I've got the wrong attitude toward this test. It's just another quest. One I know how to beat, for that matter. "I know, Obaasan."

"Then why are you frustrated?" She asked me kindly.

"Because I thought I was done jumping through hoops," I groused. "But you're right. It's just…another test. Well, I'm off to bed."

"Bed?" She balked. "It's only noon?"

"Well, you know that bloodline I supposedly have?" She nodded. "With it, I can pretty much fall asleep on command, no matter how much I'm running on, so I want to see if I can sleep all the way until tomorrow morning."

"I…alright," She rose a spoon in my face. "If it works, just be quiet and try not to wake anyone up. Now taste, how is it?"

"Delicious!"

"Good," She smiled. "Have a bowl before you sleep."

"Yes Obaasan," Well, who was I to refuse?

After eating a pair of bowls of soup, I was ready for bed. Okay…so, it's almost 1? So…15 hours will get me to 4am, which gives me enough time to get ready. Alright. Here we go!

---

4am. Son of a gun, that's useful.

I quietly got dressed and gathered some supplies. Kunai, Shuriken, a couple of explosive tags the Matron was kind enough to give me, that sort of thing. No food. I wanted to see how that worked out for me.

I jumped out my bedroom window, tree-walking down the wall with casual ease. As I headed to the training ground three, I went over what I knew in my head.

Hatake Kakashi is a Jounin, former ANBU captain and has been taking teams for years, only to fail them when they failed to put their teammates lives over the Mission, something that might contradict the whole 'Will-of-Fire-Support-The-Village-At-All-Cost' the rest of the Village has going on.

He knows a lot of Jutsu and is a Ninjutsu specialist. He was able to copy those jutsu with the Shari-err...Cheatigan.

Yes, it's the Cheatigan, because having that much power in a pair of eyeballs is completely stupid. Well, okay, living a new life while subjected to rules from a video game that allows me to master a skill in as short as a day when it normally takes a life-time is also cheating, but AT LEAST I ADMIT IT!

I haven't even seen Sasuke at the Academy. I guess our class schedules were simply that well planned. Okay, I technically wasn't even looking for him, and I may have failed a few perception checks but still!

Anyway; Kakashi.

So…he knows a lot of Ninjutsu and isn't likely to take me seriously. Or maybe he will, if I act weird or something. I don't think the whole episode with the rats, as awesome as it was, will net me a whole lot of cred with this guy. Maybe I can use it to my advantage.

But I got to remember to put a team-work spin on anything I do. So while I'm slugging it out with Kakashi (which is rather generous, if I were honest with myself), maybe I could have my teammates grab the bells while I keep him distracted. Then I could bluff and say it was okay that I go to the academy and if there's any sense of justice in the world, they'll both offer me their bells and prove we've got the teamwork chops to be taught by a very lazy sensei.

Who may also have the largest collection on Ninjutsu in Konoha.

Okay, maybe this won't be so bad.

Canon's still nuked beyond recognition, though. I wonder what the repercussions will be from this? Will we take the Chunin Exams, become Chunin and leave Naruto with a more experienced teacher? One who might actually teach his sensei's kid like I heard he wanted to rather than offload him to spend all his time on Sasuke?

What if we fail and Kakashi never becomes Naruto's sensei because he's stuck with us for another year?

That…could be a possibility.

It might even be a good possibility.

Depending on who he gets stuck with.

I arrived at the training ground in 15 minutes, meaning I was there 30 minutes early.

Well, I could have planned that out better. Whatever. That's what the wait command is for.

So less than an hour later, Hisako shows up, wearing her backpack and her hair tied in a ponytail. Followed by a very hasty and really tired looking Nichiren.

Seriously, how did this guy past the Academy?

"Yo," I said, waving at them.

"Hey Daisuke," Hisako nodded.

"How long have you been waiting here?" Nichiren asked.

"About thirty minutes," I replied with a thoughtful frown. "I could've planned that out better."

Hisako scoffed. "Seriously?"

"I like being early," I said.

"But…thirty minutes," Nichiren said.

"Yup," I nodded. "By the way, have either of you had breakfast?"

"Sensei told us not to," Hisako replied. "He said the training would make us throw up."

"Yeah," Nichiren said. "Besides I woke up late and didn't have enough time to eat anything."

"Personally," I looked at them both. "I don't think we would've thrown up. I think he just wanted us hungry for the training. It is survival training after all."