sunshineverse | [backdate deluge; YEAR 60-64]

Sasuke had known that he'd need to test out of all the basic classes that had already been covered in the course of pre-Academy clan training. He hadn't been expecting that he'd need to do it all at once, in the span of a week, along with regular Academy classes for his age. As thoroughly as clan members had drilled him on fundamental taijutsu forms and basic ninjutsu and genjutsu theory, he hadn't had to sit a final written exam on any of it until now.

Sitting through class was bad enough already, Sasuke managing to avoid fidgeting like some of his classmates did out of sheer awareness that he was not only an Uchiha but the son of the clan head, and the last thing he needed to do was embarrass his family by misbehaving in the Academy. Having to write a seemingly-endless parade of tests over the course of the test-out weekend was going to be awful.

Fortunately, as always, there was Hinata. Sasuke stared at the jumble of equations that his notebook had become one last time before letting himself flop into it, face-down. He groaned, a pathetic sort of: "But I know this already."

Even if his voice was muffled by textbook, she would likely hear him; the nice thing about getting a big big was that they could both sprawl across it to study now.

Hinata laughs as she hears the light thump of Sasuke face-planting. She doesn't even look up, and keeps taking notes on her homework, writing out questions she wanted to ask Iruka-sensei or her cousin for clarification or more information. That was possibly the only good thing about being enrolled at the Academy earlier than most other clan children, she was given free reign to ask as many questions as she wanted to satisfy her curiosity.

Finishing her note, she rolled so she was on her side and looking at Sasuke. An eyebrow raised in amusement. Clearly this method of studying wasn't working. Glancing quickly over her notes, Hinata picked out an equation at random from her notes.

"Without looking at your notes explain how this equations works and what it's used for." She goes on to rattle off one of the mid-level distance equations used for tracking and waits for him to answer.

It wasn't often that Sasuke got a chance to take a close look at other clan techniques, let alone experiment with one. That wasn't the only reason he'd decided to dedicate this afternoon to Shino, but it was certainly one of several: as weird as it had been to imagine at first, the skin-crawling sensation of watching Shino's kikaichuu meander over his body had given away to curiosity.

That Shino was willing to be the subject of such curiosity was several marks in his favour in Sasuke's book.

At present, they were hidden in a corner of the Uchiha gardens, out of sight and at least partially out of earshot thanks to a small ornamental waterfall burbling right next to their alcove. Sasuke had brought a blank scroll and some pens, just in case they needed to write anything down, and had found himself a comfortable spot on a sun-warmed rock.

"How do you think we should start?" He addressed his partner-in-science, expression serious.

Edited 2015-03-24 04:31 (UTC)

Shino was settled on a small area of paving, legs folded neatly as he pondered the question for a moment. The kikaichu responded to his mood and emotions, anger, fear, joy anything strongly felt sent them into agitation or disarray in varying degrees, but did that extend further?

"Normal insects don't have emotions as far as we can tell, but Kikaichu are a contract creature and react to chakra.. Would they laugh? or become dizzy? Tou-san has the ability to remove poisons with his hive, would they consider sugar one, the same way they do other chemicals?"

He was thinking out loud, but these were all questions he had thought of himself. They felt too menial to present to his clan members, none of them having much of an impact on their lives as shinobi, but that didn't stop him from being curious.

Sasuke nodded as Shino reviewed the properties of his bugs -- he knew the basics, but it was still useful to have the information directly from an Aburame. At the mention of sugar as a possible reaction-causing substance, Sasuke frowned and reached behind him for his bag, digging out what was left from his lunch bento.

"I don't have anything really sugary," he said, rolling out the two small mandarin oranges he hadn't gotten around to eating during the day. "But we should set a baseline anyway, see how they respond to situations normally, then look for sugar to see if it makes a difference."

That was, at least, what Sasuke had gathered from the Academy's crash course through research methods. He had been somewhat less focused on the method portion and more on the part where running multiple test scenarios on a technique made it more reliable in combat situations.

Sasuke had caught a glimpse of the massive wild sow earlier, just through the gaps in the trees from where Itachi had directed him to wait and mark her movement. Even from high up, the animal looked decidedly larger than Sasuke -- much larger than Itachi, too, which was surely a mark of the confidence that the village had in assigning this mission to him solo, even if it was a D-rank.

It might have been more irritating, the assignment of a D-rank to his genius brother, had it not meant that Sasuke had successfully been able to beg his way onto the mission. Waiting until the sounds of the sow's angry movement had quieted, Sasuke adjusted the bow slung over his shoulder and began the unwieldy process of clambering down from his perch, waiting for Itachi to rejoin him for the next step in their strategy.

He waited until Sasuke had reached the ground and stilled. A break in the noise, so that he could silent land beside him.

The tracks were clean, and calm-- she had not detected their presence. Which meant Sasuke was doing a well enough job without too much direction. A natural, his little brother was.

That didn't mean he was about to be careless, however. He kneels, eye level to Sasuke, eyes on the sow as he speaks, in a quiet whisper.

"She's nearing a field, soon. That is where we'll meet up with her."

Sasuke nodded solemnly to show he'd heard, hands coming to rest on his bow. Once again, he wished he could travel as easily through the trees as Itachi could, but wishing wouldn't get them anywhere. Craning his neck, he looked in the direction of where the sow had gone, seeing only that sunlight broke through where the tree canopy ended.

"I should find high ground, right?" He asked, looking for an slope to the forest floor around them. "Then I can get her from above."

There was something weird about having his Shizuoka mentee-slash-buddy reach life milestones that made Sasuke feel older than his actual age probably should. Technically this was a milestone for both of them, given that it was nearly a solid year out from their formal introduction, but between Masa's birthday and the fact that he was about to start at the Academy, it felt much more like his.

Not that Sasuke begrudged him; this year for him had been marked largely by the markers Itachi had left that he hadn't met, and it was nice to be able to focus on someone else's progress for a change.

That, and he'd actually been somewhat excited to produce the birthday and Academy-initiation gifts he'd finally come up with after brainstorming with a bemused Mikoto, enough that he'd arrived early to the training field where they usually met. Both boxes neatly wrapped and set to the side, Sasuke climbed the closest tree to wait, wishing they'd learn chakra manipulation before graduation instead of waiting for jounin sensei to teach it.

Progress. Was that what it was? The past year had certainly seen a lot of changes insofar as Masanori had realized them and not all of them were what he would call positive, but especially with regards to his clan's behavior toward him. He had adapted, of course. There was no other option, no other consideration to be had about it in his mind. Adapt was what Shizuoka did. Read, anticipate, manipulate -- ah, but it made the respite he had discovered in the company of certain persons something he looked forward to that much more in these volatile times.

Knowing fully well that Sasuke was waiting for him had been more than enough to see the five-year-old devour whole the highly questionable culinary creation his mother had put in front of him, skip house through the window, and hit the ground running for their usual meeting place. Early was better than late, not that he would be early by very much for the obstacles he encountered leaving the district Evading cousins' 'helpful' attempts to see the clan heir kept on his feet meant giving a performance, one that turned entirely too serious when Miourugumo had seen fit to take to his shoulder and posture. As a result, he arrived just in time to be on time and give his hair a near comical run through with a distinct pluck to right his tomato step to right it, his expression just then tugging from something mildly cold into something easier.

Turning his eyes around the training grounds, he paused, spotting the anomaly. Late? Well, if Sasuke was early, he was late! Late, but happy, his eyes shooting up, do -- no, up. Up was right. That was --

"Sasuke!" And boy, oh boy, was Masanori excited, raising an arm to wave with entirely too much enthusiasm. Funny how something so annoying could be so quickly forgotten, as though his day just got that much brighter.

Sasuke was dubious about the idea of a mentor program within the Academy when it had been announced. Sure, he technically did have a mentee in the Academy right now, but Masa was a formal clan arrangement that had started well before the Academy and would extend long after. Matching people with a total strangers and expected to somehow have the right answers for them seemed like a recipe for bad advice.

Still, he'd dutifully filled out his profile sheet and turned it in next to Hinata's, and he was at the assigned meeting point -- the Academy field's northwest corner, in the comfortable shade of a young oak tree -- at noon. Mikoto had packed him an extra bento when she'd heard about the program, the two lunchboxes stacked next to him now calling to his stomach as he scanned the field for his expected mentee.

He glanced down at the profile sheet he'd gotten a third time, scanning the list of likes and dislikes and 'would like to know more's.

The little girl approaching clearly wasn't happy about the arrangement either. In fact, she looked scared out of her wits as she took very hesitant steps towards her 'senpai' for the day. Her hair was mussed and hiding her brow a bit as she peeked through those bangs, unable to hide her nerves as she stopped some distance from him, "... Hullo."

Was that his mentee? She certainly had the red hair of the photo that had accompanied her profile, and he supposed that the way that she looked like she was trying to hide behind her hair was the same as well. He wasn't sure if that might not be part of his duty as a mentor; to tell her that a mass of red hair wasn't really an inconspicuous place to hide.

"Hi," he said, glancing at the space she'd left between them. Was he somehow coming off as frightening? "I'm Sasuke. You're Adela, right?"

It took her a bit to nod silently, and she still felt incredibly shy while she looked over him. He was a year older, but already so much taller and... She didn't know. She didn't know anyone there, and being made to train with him... She didn't know what he'd be like. She didn't have Tenten there to help her in case he tried to pick on her. So, at the time, she didn't know what to do.

Which resulted in a rather awkward silence and Adela simply standing there, unsure of what else to do or say.

It was a weird running joke among clanned students at the Academy that it was inexplicably assumed that they were loaded because of clan status. The reality was something closer to the opposite: Sasuke's monthly allowance extended mostly to cover lunches on field trips, study scrolls, clothing, weaponry, and just enough spending money to 'encourage saving'.

Saving for what specifically, he wasn't sure, but he was fairly certain that this counted as something that could be saved for: Konoha's spring weaponry expo in full swing, most of the main streets in the business districts crowded over with vendors from all corners of Fire and myriad other countries. Previous years had always seen Sasuke forced to tag along with one parent or another, but Fugaku and Mikoto had both been busy this year, and Itachi's free time was close to nothing.

The latter was the only damper on Sasuke's spirits, but even that didn't keep him from keeping a close hand on his wallet and a covetous eye on the stalls. He'd seen one particularly elegant set of long-bladed kunai yesterday, due up for auction today, and had managed to push his way to the front of the crowd just in time for the set to take the place of honour.

"First bids?" The stall owner called, all smiles, and Sasuke glanced around, waiting to see where the valuation would start.

Edited 2015-03-11 05:57 (UTC)

Sasuke had thought the second part of the exam was gruelling in the desert heat. Hinata had nearly literally melted, their water rations dwindling with precarious rapidness; Sasuke had been worried enough about her health that he'd nearly called the exam once they'd run out of water. Fortunately, they'd seen the gates immediately after, leaving him free not to embarrass the clan and both of them with the first adequate hydration since the start of the exams.

Somehow, that moment of victory felt far away now. The fight hadn't even begun and Sasuke could feel heat gathering under his collar already, the damp beginnings of sweat sticking his shirt to his back. The only consolation was the lack of humidity, leaving his fire chakra comfortable instead of suppressed and unhappy.

That, and the fact that his opponent was apparently the Kazekage's own son. There was something satisfying about defeating a village leader's child in his own village, and having come this far, Sasuke fully intended to win. Ignoring the first bead of sweat trickling down the side of his neck, Sasuke turned to face Sabaku no Gaara when the proctor signalled, waiting for the word to begin the fight.

Gaara's thoughts were much simpler. The climate and terrain had made the second exam almost too easy, entire teams crushed under the dunes of the desert until the crooning voice was sated and lazy. It stirred now, tonnes of chakra and killing intent watching behind his eyes with a kind of slow, cruel amusement as the crowds in the stands far above made their bets and called pointless advice.

"I'll get you all the blood you need," he murmured, as their chakra started to mix and mesh and the sand across the area rattled in a phantom breeze. "More and more..." Intent on his conversation, he almost missed the proctor's signal to begin, only catching it by the sudden hush of the crowd. The sand too went silent, as the arena itself waited for the Leaf-nin to make his first move.

This was home turf in more ways than one for his opponent; Sasuke knew that much. He had only the rumours he'd heard up until now to work with, but the ground beneath their very feet was sand, which meant that he would be at disadvantage the very moment that the call to start sounded --

And there it was, everything going silent. The Sharingan snapped into place as soon as the proctor's arm dropped, Sasuke gathering chakra to his feet to move: but to move away from his opponent, feet barely touching the sand as he rushed for the closest thing not covered in sand. The slight curve to the arena walls lent itself to his movement, and Sasuke was up and braced on three limbs in a matter of seconds, eyes trained back on his opponent.

How much of the sand could be controlled at once? The suspense returned to the arena, Sasuke waiting to see if Gaara would make any first moves at all.

A hiss of frustration at Sasuke's retreat was the only warning he had before two belts of chakra-thickened sand slashed out and spat a hail of bullets towards the wall. They didn't have the combined patience to wait for the Uchiha to attack, so he'd force him into close range. Using his particular sand alone, the rest of the arena lay still beyond the small explosions of rock that scattered to the floor under the Sand Rain.

There -- the Sharingan caught the flare of intent as soon as chakra began to gather. The sand moved quickly, but it still had to deal with air resistance and the maximum velocity relatively malelable substances could achieve; Sasuke's muscles tensed before the bullets reached the wall, tearing across the curve of the wall and out of range.

If he could continue to draw out more attacks, he would have a better idea of how the sand was controlled and what kind of speed he was dealing with here. That sand shell was already an obvious obstacle, but getting close to it before Gaara could react was the first issue.

To that end, Sasuke whipped a return hail of kunai to ring around Gaara rather than strike at him, each rigged with an explosion tag to thoroughly disrupt his opponent's field of vision and hopefully require him to act on a larger scale.

The kunai themselves didn't trigger any kind of Defense, and Gaara paid them no attention because of it. When they ignited seconds later, he staggered a half-step from the initial inwards blast of air before the sand blocked out the explosions themselves. Not that he cared, still half-muttering and waiting for the Leaf genin to attack. Still, Sasuke's goal was achieved; the sand cut off more than half of Gaara's vision as it lingered over him, shedding charred granules and the smell of iron.

His retaliation was faster, now that he didn't have to aim; the slashes of sand that had originally been simply ammunition for the Rain twisted and morphed into huge, clawed hands that swiped along the wall all along his blind side. If he couldn't hit him, he'd catch him.

Or rather, that would catch him.

The sand was fast -- it should have been impossible to control something so fluid and heavy with nearly instantaneous reaction times, but Sasuke could see the chakra move even as the sand blurred regular vision. And more than just the defenses around Gaara were networked through with chakra: nearly the entire desert floor was criss-crossed with it, a monstrous amount of power.

Monstrous became literal in the next moment as claws rose out of the glittering dust and swept toward him, but their movement was obviously a blind strike. They unfortunately also answered the question of how much sand his opponent could manipulate with: pretty much all of it.

Sasuke considered his options for just a moment before swiping his hands through seals and splitting into three, the two bunshin precisely created to provide as close to his real weight as possible without utilising too much chakra. Both dropped to the desert floor as Sasuke himself rushed upwards, calf muscles already protesting, and latched himself to the very rim of the arena walls to avoid the destruction below.

The bunshin split up as soon as they hit the sand, both moving at full speed -- how much could movement on the surface be managed?

[backdate deluge; YEAR 60-64]

YEAR 60 | HINATA; November

no subject

YEAR 60 | SHINO; December

I AM SO READY FOR TINY NERDS

YEAH TINY NERDERY

YEAR 61 | ITACHI; June

Year 61

no subject

YEAR 61 | MASANORI; July

no subject

YEAR 62 | ADELA; October

no subject

no subject

no subject

YEAR 63 | TENTEN; April

YEAR 64 | GAARA; March; Sunagakure

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject