Shinobi Isekai!

Suspicions

"Allow me to introduce your third teammate, Hanako Hatake."

Kabuto smiled at the girl in front of him, bowing slightly.

"It's nice to meet you, Hatake-chan. I'm Kabuto Yakushi and this is my friend and teammate, Yoroi Akadou. Thanks so much for teaming up with us. I know you probably wanted to team up with people your own age."

He put on a show of bashfulness, rubbing at the back of his head with a wry grin.

Her expression—what little of it he could see—did not change, black eyes boring into his soul. Then, she bowed.

"Thank you, senpais, for taking a chance on someone as young as me. I'll do my best."

Sarutobi watched the interaction with a fond smile, puffing on his pipe as he leaned back in his chair. "I don't normally interfere with teams for the Exams, but Hanako-chan's circumstances are a bit unique. Thank you for being so flexible."

Unique was one way of putting it. Kabuto had very little trouble finding information on the girl—most of it was public knowledge, after all—and he had a pretty good grasp of her life thus far. After her—top secret—adoption, she'd proven herself worthy of the Hatake legacy, graduating at seven and jumping right into an apprenticeship with the most feared strategist in the Five Great Nations. That, coupled with an ever growing mastery of fuinjutsu fueled by the Second Hokage's notes and her own kekkei genkai, made her a threat to a lot of people.

And a fixation.

Kabuto smiled again. "It's no trouble, Hokage-sama. Lot's of genin switch up their teams. Besides, I'm pretty sure we're the lucky ones, here."

The old man chuckled. "I won't keep you. Go on and get acquainted. There's not much time left before the Exams."

The three of them bowed in sync to the leader of the village. Standing together in the hallway, Kabuto took the lead.

"So," he began. "It looks like I'm the odd one out." He mimed placing a mask on his face. "Should I get one, too? For team unity?"

Yoroi didn't respond, his sunglasses working with his mask to hide all expression. Hanako was little better, looking up at him with irreflective eyes, expression somehow just as blank as Yoroi's.

"Mah, I don't know," she said, her voice lilting with a surprising amount of humor. "This way, people know you're team leader."

Kabuto put on his bashful act again. "Oh, you think so?"

Her eyes softened fractionally. "Un."

They were outside, now, and the sun was setting behind Hokage Mountain. The village was full to bursting with foreign shinobi, and Kabuto had to keep his hackles from rising.

"What do you two say we go get something to eat? We can discuss our specialties and plan a training schedule."

Hanako nodded. "That sounds smart."

Yoroi chuckled. "Don't say that. He has a big enough head as it is."

Thus began a bout of carefully crafted banter, the two older shinobi building up the characters they had designed for themselves. Well, Kabuto had designed. Yoroi was just like that.

He watched the younger genin from the corner of his eyes, and he knew Yoroi was, too. She fit Orochimaru's description exactly—short, brown hair, those black, black eyes—and he wondered just what his master had in store for her. Her kekkei genkei was not like the Uchiha's Sharingan, which could easily be removed and implanted at will. Kabuto had never even seen the seal in action, so could not form an accurate image in his mind. Perhaps that was part of the draw. Unanswered questions were Orochimaru's drug of choice, after all. Having a new and interesting mystery to solve might keep him busy for the next decade, at least.