Growing Pains

III

“Scoping out the competition, he said. A field trip, he said. What about this is a field trip!?” Umi shouted to the forest canopy, knuckles turning while around the rubber ball she held. Kyo and Sei glanced at each other and then back at their kunoichi teammate.

“We only learned we were going to represent Kinu in the chuunin exams two weeks ago.” Kyo said.

“Yeah, and we’re cheating, looking at Konoha.” Umi said with a slight growl.

“We’re not cheating. We’re not even in the village,” Sei reasoned, earning Umi’s glare. She threw the ball at him – hard – and when it smacked his open palm, the boy winced hard, and his fingers closed around the orb. He dropped it into his other hand and flexed his smarting fingers, glaring at the girl. Only Kyo could tell Sei was frowning, since a black elastic cloth mask covered the lower half of his face. Umi never noticed as Kyo launched himself onto the smaller boy to keep him from throwing their ball at Umi’s head.

The young kunoichi gave a frustrated cry and whirled on her teammates, her anger blowing out in a great whoosh of air from her lungs.

“You two are so gay,” Umi said with a grin, arms folded over her chest. Both boys glared at her and Sei finally got loose enough to fling the ball at the kunoichi’s head. It struck her forehead, glancing off her hitai-ate with a resounding clang, and bounced into the underbrush, disappearing.

“Go get the ball, Umi!” Sei called.

“Yeah, go get the ball!” Kyo echoed.

Umi snarled at them enough to know she was going to get them later. Still, she slipped into the brush, looking for their ball. It wasn’t fair, Umi thought as she searched high and low for the ball. Kyo and Sei got away with –everything– and sensei always scolded her. She paused and snorted. Sensei was always fair, especially to Umi. He never played favourites. Not really, anyway. Sensei had two personalities; their sensei and their grown-up friend they could play with. As sensei, he kept them alive, protected them and taught them. As their friend, he treated them like siblings, taking sides and play fighting with them.

Umi gave a sigh and bent to check under a bulge of roots, grinning when she saw the white rubber of the ball. She got to her knees and reached for it, her fingertips brushing against it. She shifted, channeled a bit of chakra to her fingertips, then to the ball, and stood up in victory, the orb held high above her head. She turned to head back to her teammates but froze, listening. Somewhere out there was movement, a person. Umi had to leave, she knew it, but natural curiosity overcame her, and the adventurous kunoichi moved to discover what she had heard.

There in a clearing was a brunette girl, red faced as she clung to a yowling cat, looking plenty angry as she clutched at the bundle of fur. Umi giggled and slapped her hand over her mouth when the other girl stopped to look at the direction Umi was hiding.

“Hello?”

Umi studied the other girl for a long while. The brunette was a kunoichi, a Konoha one, and Umi knew she should’ve turned around and went back to Kyo and Sei. After all, she had no idea if this girl was alone. Her sensei or teammates could be around, waiting.

“Hello?” the brunette called again.

Umi grinned and stepped out into the clearing, smiling. “Hello.”

The brunette girl blinked, moving over to the blonde and allowing them to stare at each other, studying. Umi was the first to break the staring contest, giggling. “I’m Umi. Who’re you?”

“I’m Momogi.” The brunette replied. “I’m from Konoha. I’ve never seen you before.”

“Ah, um, that’s because I’m not from here. I’m from another village far away.”

“Really?”

“Yep! We’re on a mission here right now, but we’ll be coming back for the chuunin exams.”

Momogi grinned. “Really? Cool! I’m gonna be in the chuunin exams too!”

Umi held out her hand, grinning. “Then we’ll do great! We can beat all the boys!”

Momogi took her hand and shook it, mouth opening to say something else, but she paused, eyes widening at the sight of something behind Umi. Instinctively, Umi grabbed for a kunai and used her size and speed for an advantage, only to have her wrist caught. As she stared up into swirling black and red eyes, all she could do was smile sheepishly.

“Tell your friend good-bye, Umi.” Her sensei said in a voice that told Umi he wasn’t very pleased with her. “We need to be going now.”

Umi flushed scarlet and turned to Momogi. “Sorry, Momo-chan. I’ve gotta go.”

Momogi smiled a little. “It’s okay. I’d better get back too, or my sensei’s going to blow a gasket. See you at the chuunin exams!”

Umi winced as she felt her sensei’s grip on her wrist twitch, and waved as Momogi disappeared into the forest with the struggling cat tucked under her arm. Umi turned then to look at Sasuke and found him rubbing his temple in that nervous gesture he’d acquired some time ago. The gesture only served to tell Umi Sasuke-sensei wasn’t going to kill her. Maiming was still an option.

“What were you thinking?” Sasuke asked finally, and Umi gave a mumbled answer. “Umi.”

“I just wanted to make a friend, okay? There wasn’t anybody around but us!”

“That doesn’t make it okay,” Sasuke replied, crouching to be eye level with the girl. Umi glared into his eyes defiantly, knowing all the while if the Uchiha so chose, he could destroy her with one shot of the Tsukuyomi.

“I know,” Umi winced at the sound of the whine in her voice, “but I just wanted to have a friend that wasn’t an idiot.”

“You mean male.”

“Exactly.”

Sasuke straightened and sighed, placing a hand on Umi’s head. He ruffled her hair before pushing her along. He’d let her slide this time – maybe make her do an extra lesson with Zabuza as punishment – but still he wondered if something horrible would come from this chance meeting. The Konoha kunoichi hadn’t recognized him beyond the ‘scary man’ thought that whisked across her pretty face, so maybe he was just being paranoid.

Sometimes, he hated being a jounin.

Sasuke collected the boys and began the run back to Kinu, breathing a bit easier when the team crossed the border from Hi no Kuni to Suzaku no Kuni. With Kinugakure registered now – boy, had that been difficult. Kura-ou would kill him if she found out he’d henged her body for it – maybe Sasuke could just relax while training his three genin.

Yeah, spit in one hand and wish in the other, he thought bitterly, see which one fills up faster.

Sasuke herded his genin into the village and bade them not to go far. Now the real training would begin, even if the chuunin exams were still months away. They would be prepared or Sasuke would beat them himself.

God, he was going to need help, be it divine or –

Sasuke grinned as he saw a dark haired man surrounded by four children, each pre-genin. He approached slowly and the man glanced up at him, watching warily.

“Haku,” Sasuke crooned out, “want to help me train some genin?”

Haku’s lips twitched. “Why, of course, Sasuke.”

Punishment well in hand, Sasuke and Haku discussed their plants, leaving the four boys around them blinking in confusion, and Akashi in particular wondering what his big sister Umi had done now.