Tag: externality

When Tetsuki wakes up again the dawn of the second day is beginning to creep through the sky, the clouds an increasingly more saturated lilac.

It’s a prettier sight than her partner’s jacket which has only gotten grungier after using his watch shift to further bolster their trap defense. Between the overt traps and the hidden ones she can kind of sense, she can’t figure out the safe path to exit–actually, she’s not sure there is a safe path to exit.

Naruto Uzumaki also presents her with two dead rabbits which he can barely look at. Apparently it’s one thing to know that they’ll make a good meal, it’s another to actually turn them into one. For now, she’ll let him turn away: he did good on catching them, she’s fine on being the one to clean and prepare them.

Next time, though, she’s tossing him in the deep end.

Stalking the bloated group of their eight classmates in the early morning is both more and less difficult than it was last night. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say frustrating.

They’re all awake–which is something in their favor, at least–but they’re noisy and sluggish, stumbling around and yawning, rubbing at bleary eyes. They seem to be in dire need of some kind of leadership but also seem to be lacking–they begin arguing amongst themselves on their next course of action, something that goes on for at least a quarter of an hour, before someone sarcastically suggests a vote.

After a few more minutes of shouting, they end up actually taking that vote.

Between herself and Naruto Uzumaki there is no need for that much structure. Except for that first negotiation, they both know what needs to be done and incorporate the other’s suggestions. If there is a leader between the two of them, she thinks it might be her, but only because Naruto Uzumaki has the kind of impulse control that needs to be actively curbed.

Finally the group decides to split up–some members remaining at the camp, which will act as a home base for everyone, and others going out to look for corresponding tokens.

For a moment, Tetsuki thinks they might be spotted, that their classmates may just get their acts together and fight these two loners hidden not twenty meters away who have four tokens between them. Even halved, she doesn’t think she and Naruto Uzumaki can take on a concentrated attack so outnumbered.

Instead, the deployed half decides to… split themselves up again?

If she weren’t so baffled and grateful, she thinks she’d be disappointed. Instead, all she can think of is Hikari-san saying: if this were wartime, they’d be dead.

The moon is but a sliver of light at the apex of it’s journey when she is roughly shaken awake. Reflexively she strikes out, fist meeting rough cloth over boney flesh.

Naruto Uzumaki gives a yelp, more out of surprise than any pain, and that places Tetsuki even better than the cool night air or the dirt floor of sleeping outdoors. That, she’s done before, but never where another person might happen upon her.

“Sorry, sorry,” they both gibber at each other, unused to company and all the more hyperaware for it.

“It’s been an hour and a half,” Naruto Uzumaki says, sheepishly, which she might have guessed for herself–unless they were being attacked or someone had stumbled into one of their traps, there’s no reason for him to wake her up.

“A little more gently next time,” she responds, shaking off the sleep.

“Yeah, I figured.”

Four hours of rest and a REM cycle each–the other on watch while the other slept–should have energized them enough for a midnight raid or, at the very least, a decent scouting.

Their traps they keep up–both to protect their makeshift camp and because, frankly, they’re pretty good and she’s impressed by Naruto Uzumaki’s ingenuity–though while it would be nice to catch someone in them, they can’t actually depend on it. Maybe they’ll catch a rabbit to supplement their ration bars.

They’ve been spiraling inwards rather than cut through the training ground in straight lines; their camp on the northern edge of the east sector. This outing they’re aiming for the center on the logic that the river bisecting the training ground would be an attractive place for those with armbands to camp–not considering that they might need more defensible positions.

Neither of them are so stupid as to think that they’re the only ones to team up: for everyone else, so long as their colors don’t match, there shouldn’t be any conflict. And considering that the two of them–who are are independent at best and friendless at worst–still managed to form an alliance, they wouldn’t be surprised if their classmates did the same–teamwork is Konoha’s most valued virtue.

They’re not expecting to find a group of eight settled together, a smokeless fire pit and bedrolls and camping gear and everything. How…

Is that a tripod with a hanging pot over their fire? Is that stew? What’s next, a tent?

… comfortable.

Not very well defended: the few traps are half-hearted at best, trip wires obvious and shining, and even the person on watch–only one, never mind they had more than enough people to do a two person watch in a three shift rotation–was staring into the fire and ruining her night vision rather than looking outwards where threats would come from.

Tetsuki wants to take them out so badly.

From the way Naruto Uzumaki practically vibrates beside her, he must feel the same.

But not yet. Foolish and audacious as their camp may be, it would still be eight to two, and in an outright fight no way would that end favorably for her much smaller team of two.

“Recon only,” she hisses to him, no matter how tempting–wait, what if this is a trap? After a few moments and no trap is sprung, she decides that that’s just her paranoia at work.

Together they make a count of the group–six armband wearers, one of them flak jacket green, and two probable token holders. No one particularly outstanding in any one area. One of the boys is better at taijutsu than either of them, but the Neji Hyuuga disguise ought to discourage that.

They observe for two shift changes–one watcher every hour, how… quaint–before the both of them decide to go back to their own, less comfortable but better defended, camp.

They’ve got a raid to plan.

By the time the sunset hits, forest canopy already turning the training ground dark, they’ve managed to find two more tokens–flak vest green and pale, pinkish peach.

“Alright!” Naruto Uzumaki cheers, “We’ve got this!”

She nods her head in agreement but doesn’t say anything. It’s true that three tokens in the first day is a decent haul, a great step towards completing their objectives. But she also knows that it definitely won’t be as easy as both time and the exam march onwards.

The remaining token holders that haven’t been hit will have gone to ground. Finding them–and specifically whoever has the copper one Tetsuki needs–will be an exercise in diligence and patience.

And that’s not even including the consequences of when news spread that two people–even if they’re not the right people–are ambushing token holders even without the matching armbands.

“We need to find a place for camp,” she says, checking the sky once more. She’s not tired, but not everyone has as awful a sleep schedule as she does.

“I can keep going,” he protests, arms waving as if to prove how energetic he still is.

It’s not as if she doubts him, it’s just. “We’ll regret not finding a secure spot later.”

Konoha at night isn’t too different from Konoha during the day–it is a ninja village after all, a great machine that functions at all hours, every day–but the both of them, for all that they’re in the Academy to one day become shinobi, still have the same civilian diurnal mindset. The same hindbrain instincts of prey animals who know that it’s not the dark which is dangerous, but the predators who use it as cover.

He doesn’t outrightly disagree, but he does bring up, “Wouldn’t it be better to attack at night? Maybe everyone else is thinking of resting while it’s dark, too.”

That’s a good point.

She says as much, because it’s an easy acknowledgement and Naruto Uzumaki blinks in pleased surprise when she does so.

They strike a compromise: for now, while the lingering light of the sun still remains, and while they’re still strong enough to search for another classmate or hold off an ambush against themselves, they’ll find a secure spot for camp. In shifts they’ll rest for a bit, until later in the night, when everyone else is either asleep or pushing the limits of their energy.

That’s when they’ll go out, refreshed, and hunt down their prey.

They are at the Academy to become shinobi, after all, it’s time they prove it.

Immediately after agreeing on their alliance, Tetsuki and Naruto Uzumaki take to the treetops. A far enough distance away from each other that they won’t needlessly overlap in their search, but not too far that they can’t signal to each other to regroup.

Tokens first. They’ll be more difficult to grab.

The token holders are already on guard, know that they’re targets if not whose exactly–if they hole up successfully, hide away or build a strong enough camp, then there’s no touching them for the rest of the exam.

In comparison, armband wearers are the aggressors. They won’t expect anyone to attack them, safe in their knowledge that they’re the ones seeking not hiding. They can be put off for later, tomorrow even, when they’ve gotten complacent.

It’s only been an hour, two at most, since the exam officially began. It’s possible that some token holders haven’t yet settled down, haven’t yet found a defensible, concealable position.

Except for the three that started in the southern sector along with them, they don’t have much information to go on. Unlike the armband wearers, token holders won’t exactly mark themselves overtly, meaning the two of them may very well just have to accost everyone in hopes of getting a token.

And if it gets out that there are classmates without armbands ambushing people…

“How’s your henge?” Tetsuki asks, drawing close for their conversation–no need to alert everyone else by calling their plans out in the open–even as they maintain a steady pace to catch up with their classmates.

The grin Naruto Uzumaki gives is wide and sly, the epitome of a troublemaker.

Tetsuki feels herself smiling back.

A few hours later, when they spot a classmate alone and with no armband in sight, it’s easy enough to take him down, outnumbered and surprised as he is. Knocking him out, tying him up, and getting a sky blue token for their efforts.

Still, it’s her idea to disguise themselves so when he does wake up, word of what they’re doing won’t spread too fast. Or, at the very least, not correctly.

It’s Naruto Uzumaki’s idea on who they disguise themselves as.

She gives it until noon tomorrow before tales of Neji Hyuuga and Rock Lee working together wind their way through the ranks of the class.

Tetsuki stares at the card in her hand.

Not her card–with its sparse, two prong objective–but Naruto Uzumaki’s card and its impossible instructions.

“This is a third of the class,” Tetsuki says, brows furrowed in consternation, “This is impossible.”

Technically, Naruto Uzumaki’s objective is also only two parts. The first being “collect five armbands.” The second being “collect five tokens.”

Of course, taking their other sector mates as the norm–one token or armband each–that would be ten people.

“Why would Yanagi-sensei do this to you? This is impossible,” she repeats, dumbly, as if Naruto Uzumaki weren’t completely aware of what the instructions on his card meant.

Somehow his face twists into a combination of defiance and bitter, unsurprised resignation, shoulders hunched up protectively, like a feral cat when confronted.

“Yeah, well, I’m still gonna try,” he mutters, but he doesn’t even sound convinced himself.

Awkwardly, Tetsuki hands him back his card, unsure what–if anything–she should say.

Life isn’t fair. Of course it isn’t. That’s one lesson she learned early on watching other children with parents, with family, with anyone beyond the impersonal reach of a government run orphanage. She knows that sometimes–no matter how hard you work, no matter how polite you are, no matter how much you really want it–life is unsympathetic.

Naruto Uzumaki knows this, too. An orphan just like her with the same scrawny, underfed and sallow look of someone who has to fend for themselves because there is no one else to fend for them. Life isn’t fair; it’s harsh and demanding and never about want or deserve or even need.

It’s never been so obviously targeted at her like this, though. Life isn’t fair because life is uncaring. This isn’t fair because someone is actively making it so–

“Here,” Naruto Uzumaki says, handing over card and token both. “One of us might as well pass this stupid thing.”

–and yet, something in him is still kind, still generous.

“Hey!” she says as he begins to walk away.

He turns back to look at her, confused.

“A deal’s a deal, right?,” she asks, bravado burbling up and out of some part of her that hasn’t gone completely cold and steely. “You help me, and I help you.”

This isn’t about being friendly, not about reciprocating kindness. It’s not even about honoring their flimsy deal, not really: life isn’t fair and nothing can change that–but there are two ways to respond.

Give up or fight back.

In the dozen or so weeks that they’ve been classmates, Tetsuki has observed the following about Naruto Uzumaki:

He has sloppy taijutsu form.

He can never sit still during class.

Whenever teachers have to speak, look, or even think about him, they get the same flat expression on their faces like someone trying not to admit they have a stab wound and might need to go to the hospital.

He gets bored very easily.

He gets bored very loudly.

He is craftier than people expect.

“What do you want?” he asks, straightforward, which is another thing she’s noticed about him, never mind that it ought to conflict with that last one.

“What do you need?” she shoots back; information more powerful than any number of kunai.

“How about, I give you my token and you help me with my objective,” he says, the back and forth they have not quite like experienced merchants–nothing like what Hikari-san and TenTen’s boss do–but a childish mimicry of it. They way all children who spend more time out on the streets than in a home learn to do.

“How about you give me your token and tell me what your objective is and maybe I’ll help you with yours.”

“No way! How do I know you won’t just take it and leave?”

“I could just fight you for it. We both know I would win.”

“You’d have to catch me first. I can outrun ANBU.”

At this, Tetsuki hesitates. She’s not sure about the ANBU part–that’s a bit of a stretch–and outrunning isn’t the term she would use, but the only thing she knew about Naruto Uzumaki before he joined her class is that every so often he’ll pull an obnoxious, public prank and not even chuunin can track him down.

She’s already shown her hand by asking for the token. He’d know who, specifically, to avoid for the next three days–she might be faster than him in a flat out sprint or even have quicker reflexes in a fight, but if he loses her in these woods she probably won’t find him until after the exam is up.

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the card with her objective on it. “I have a two parter,” she says, “You give me that token and help me with the other part of mine, and I’ll help you with yours.”

She doesn’t know yet if she can trust Naruto Uzumaki, but if she never gives it a try then she’ll never find out.

And plus, how bad could it be?

Tetsuki would never claim to be a people person. She’s not charismatic, not naturally kind or generous. The closest she might get is relentlessly civil, and even that is more of a fault than a strength–manners aren’t exactly high on the list of criteria for a soldier.

Still, even if she is no miss congeniality, at least she’s not a total ass either.

For the exam, Tetsuki was dropped in the southern sector of the training ground, along with seven of her classmates. Some of them were given tokens of different colors, some of them were given armbands–again, in different colors–Tetsuki has neither.

Naruto Uzumaki has both: the armband in a purple so deep as to be nearly black, clashing harshly against his jumpsuit, and the token a shining silver.

He hides both of them immediately, even as the others with armbands dutifully put them on, but not so quickly that she doesn’t see.

The rest of her classmates begin to disperse, some of them volunteering their objectives out loud, though most of them shake out the same: those with armbands are to find and collect the token matching their color. Those with tokens are to defend theirs for the entire three days.

Tetsuki’s objective is to collect two different tokens; one copper, one silver.

Naruto Uzumaki doesn’t move, and neither does she.

The most obvious solution would be to fight for the silver token–she could take him in a fight. Has taken him, during class spars–he’s shorter and slower and has the sloppiest kata form she’s ever seen. She doesn’t even like taijutsu.

She could collect the token by force easily and be halfway done with her objective in the first ten minutes. But…

Why would she be put in the same sector as one of her targets right from the beginning? If this really were to test her abilities, wouldn’t it make sense to put him elsewhere–make her hunt him down instead of handing him over on a platter?

And why does he have both a token and an armband?

Yes, Tetsuki is not the friendliest person. She’s reticent and cynical and her default expression is, according to Hikari-san, cold and uninterested. Yes, she could fight for the silver token and be on her merry way…

… but she is a suspicious person and that’d be too easy.

Instead of challenging Naruto Uzumaki to a fight or even attacking him without warning, Tetsuki asks for the silver token.

The immediate rejection isn’t a surprise.

The considering, curious bargaining a few moments later is.