Stumble [Rewrite]

Serpentine (1)

Part 1/2 

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Gai took a few minutes to think to himself as he sat in the Jounin Standby Station, waiting for news that the first exam had begun. He snapped out of it when Asuma and Kurenai joined him, taking the seats opposite him.

"Good morning!" he greeted them. "Have you sent your youthful students off to the Academy building?"

"Yeah, and turns out they're really letting T&I loose on this exam. Kotetsu and Izumo asked to mess around with the candidates before the exams officially started and Hokage-sama agreed," Asuma sighed with the shake of his head. "A genjutsu masking the third floor and not letting the competitors pass? They're having real fun with it this year."

"It's only a D-rank genjutsu. Those who want to become Chuunin should be able to see and dispel it with little difficulty," Kurenai said. Gai brightened.

"Then perhaps it was done to show other nations our true youth!" he exclaimed, blinding his friends with the white brightness of his teeth.

"Put those away," someone droned. Kakashi walked up to them and sat beside his long time friend.

"Kakashi! You've just dropped off you genin too, I see!" Gai smiled as he picked up his water cup. "What are your thoughts on the exam?"

"Considering the first proctor, I'm not concerned. They'll pass," Kakashi replied simply. Asuma blew out a stream of smoke and laid back against the salmon colored seats.

"You think they'll be fine with that sadist?"

"Morino Ibiki isn't someone they haven't been exposed to before," he informed, much to the others' interest. "Our team had been over to his house many times."

Gai spit out all the water in his mouth.

"What!?"

"When you say it like that you make it sound like a bad thing," yet another new voice mused from above. Sakura dropped onto the plant fixture behind Kakashi's shoulders as she marked some things down on a clipboard. Gai tilted his head at her curiously. "What he means is that they come on my invitation and the old man just happens to be there sometimes."

Kurenai blinked several times.

"You live with him?"

"He's been my legal guardian for the past four years," she clarified.

"It explains a lot," Kakashi commented. His eye twitched when she kicked the back of his head and stepped onto the linoleum floor.

"Anyway, sorry for the interruption, I'm just doing a count of all the jounin sensei," Sakura explained. "For security and stuff. By the way Kakashi, I ran into Momochi on the way here and he told me to tell you to meet him at the tea house when the exam's over—to talk about diplomacy or something."

"Fine, tell him I'll be there."

"Sure. The exam starts in ten minutes and will last a little over an hour, so try to find something to do other than being an asshole," she said. She waved to the other jounin before opening a window and hopping out. It was quiet between the four of them for a few moments before Asuma decided to break it.

"... It does explain a lot actually. Is she always this... quirky?"

"No."

Kakashi's eyes darkened.

"She's worse."

Gai—for once in a very long time—didn't immediately comment on Kakashi's laughable unfortunate circumstances. He kept a quiet gaze at the window Sakura left out of with a crease in his brow before his face was wiped to its usual jovial nature.