Chapter 13
Chapter 13
“Sit down, Akira.” Said Kakashi signalling the floor and taking a seat on it himself.
Akira obeyed, trying not to show how hurt he was that he had failed the test.
“Truth is, you didn’t really fail the test.” Started Kakashi surprising him. “But Konoha squads work as units of four, including the leader. One of you was bound to be left out of the team.”
“And since I failed to work with the others, its me.” Muttered Akira.
“Well, truth is, that was all my doing. I knew when I tied you, you wouldn’t be able to release yourself in time. But, before you protest, let me finish.”
Akira nodded, looking confused.
“Since I tested you, I’ve had a different path in mind for you. A genin team might not suit you as well as I might have thought before the test.” Explained Kakashi. “So let me ask you, Akira, what do you know about apprenticeships?”
“Apprenticeships?” repeated Akira, looking thoughtful. “Not much, just that they are very rare and very private.”
Kakashi sighed, knowing he would have to explain the concept.
“An apprenticeship is indeed that. It is rare and private, because the knowledge shared is much more specific and deep than in a normal teaching environment. The shisou, as you’d refer to the master, shares knowledge that they wouldn’t share with others, always after making sure the disciple is ready for it and will make good use of it. The bond between a shisou and its disciple is also much deeper than a normal teacher-student relationship, as there needs to be a lot of trust between both parties. Of course, such a relationship is also not built in a day.” Kakashi waited for him to nod that he understood before continuing. “An apprenticeship can last many years, and has nothing to do with the normal shinobi ranks. You could be the Hokage and still be an apprentice; an apprenticeship only ends when the shishou deems the disciple ready. Apart from that, there are some other technicalities, such as the payment and the timetables, but the main thing you need to know right now is this: an apprenticeship requires responsibility and commitment.”
“And you are… offering me… an apprenticeship?” asked Akira dubiously.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I think you have potential.”
“I mean ‘why me’?” repeated Akira, pointing at his own chest. “You’re a jonin and so you must know what we are, but you still don’t treat us badly and even offered me an apprenticeship; I’m not complaining, mind you, I’m just confused. Why offer me, when everyone knows I’m not all that good, an apprenticeship?”
He had to be careful here in how he answered him. He couldn’t very well tell him that he’d been waiting for him to graduate for years, right? Or that he’d specifically asked to train him years before, and being denied.
“This has nothing to do with what you are, and everything with who you are.” Started out carefully Kakashi. “Do you know what the most important feature of a ninja is? A ninja must see underneath the underneath. And I’ve seen you, Akira. I don’t know why you’ve decided to dumb yourself down and hide your abilities, but as you just said, I’m a jonin. I know you’re better than you let on. And after seeing such potential, I cannot let it go to waste. That is why I’m offering you an apprenticeship.”
Akira stared at him, biting his lip absentmindedly.
“I think I’ve given you enough to think about for now, so listen: you have until tomorrow morning to decide whether to accept or not. But take into account this: if you become my apprentice, I won’t allow any of that dumbing-yourself-down shit. You will do your best and be truthful about your abilities, at least with me. And I won’t allow any slacking off. I’m not going to lie to you: this is going to be hard and will require all your effort, but it will be worth it if you really wish to pursue a career as a ninja.”
With that said, the jonin stood up from the floor and looked down at the still pensive looking boy.
“Meet me tomorrow at the restaurant in the corner of the main market for your answer.”
And with that, he disappeared in a rush of leaves.
HPNHPNHPNHPN
When Akira got home he explained what happened to his brother. Soon enough, his brother jumped onto him, congratulating him and almost crying as he’d felt so guilty over passing when his twin had not.
They were both a little sad that they wouldn’t be in the same team, but at the same time, they were glad of the opportunity they each had now. Besides, they had the same teacher, so it’s not like they wouldn’t see each other often.
So with Naruto’s blessing and support, Akira decided to accept the apprenticeship.
HPNHPNHPNHPN
As soon as Kakashi entered the office, Sarutobi signalled for him to speak up. The jōnin didn’t beat around the bush.
“Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto are the new Team 7.”
Sarutobi sighed.
“I had hoped the twins could stay together, like I promised their mother, but I guess it couldn’t be helped in this situation. Though I admit I’m a bit surprised it was Akira who failed the test.”
“Actually, he didn’t.”
Sarutobi asked him to elaborate.
“He didn’t truly fail. If anything, he was the first to pass it. He was the only one to figure out the test’s purpose and he was the one to push the others to work together as a team, even though they didn’t want to listen to him.”
“Why fail him, then?”
Kakashi gestured for him to open the folder. At the top of the stack…
“An apprenticeship?”
“I’ve already spoken with him and I’ve no doubt he’ll agree to it. The paperwork’s all there.”
“You now have a team, Kakashi…”
“I know. It’ll be a little tight a schedule, but it’ll work. I can train him alongside Team 7 for a good part of the time and have him work with other teams to get him used to working with others he gets assigned a mission with. It would be a waste of potential to send him back to the Academy and there’s no other team to take him.”
“You’ve given the matter a lot of thought.”
“Yes.” Nodded Kakashi. “With all due respect, sir, you promised I’d get Akira once he graduated, so I’ve to ask you to hold onto your word.”
Sarutobi tried one last time.
“The Council won’t be happy. Perhaps if you took on Sasuke as an apprentice…”
“Honestly, the boy may be an Uchiha but he is far from being one of the best we’ve had. I’ll take him on as a student, but I’ll consider none but Akira as an apprentice.”
The Third sighed, but he didn’t have more grounds to complain on. It had already been hard enough to get Kakashi to agree to take on a team; he couldn’t risk him backing off when he was the only one with the knowledge to train a possible Sharingan user.
After a small pause, he signed the paperwork before him, already getting a headache at the thought of dealing with the Council.
“Anything else I need to know?”
“Actually, yes.”
“Go on.”
“It’s about the girl, Haruno.”
And so Kakashi proceeded to speak aloud his doubts about the pink-haired girl, how she was worryingly obsessed with Sasuke and didn’t get along with Naruto and how she was more worried about impressing the Uchiha than anything else.
“But she passed the test, didn’t she?”
“The test is not infallible. And it was only due to her following in the Uchiha’s footsteps.”
“And yet you allowed her to pass.”
“I know the policy about teams and kunoichis.” Answered the grey-haired man drolly.
“You wouldn’t have passed her if you thought she didn’t have potential.”
“She does have it, but she’s not focused into realising it.”
“You’ll just have to encourage her then, as her teacher.” Answered Sarutobi with a decisive nod. “And may I remind you that your own team had a very similar kunoichi?”
“Rin was a proficient kunoichi.” Protested Kakashi with a pang of pain at the thought of his old teammate.
“So is she; Sakura was top of her class.”
“Due to her theoretical scores.” Corrected the Sharingan user.
“What do you want me to do, Kakashi? You’ve passer her already.” Sighed Sarutobi.
“I am only making you aware of my doubts. I’ll keep an eye on her for now, but it might just happen that changes will be needed for Team 7 to work on the long run.”
The Hokage sighed, his headache growing.