He heard approaching footsteps, seeing Anko and the red-eyed beauty approaching.
He sighed, his face dull and unsatisfied after his defeat.
"Hey brat! What were you thinking, acting so rash and reckless? You could have gotten seriously hurt, you know!" Anko said, bending over and grabbing Yuto by his jacket and shaking him back and forth.
Yuto looked at her dully from his position on the floor.
"Contribution points were on the line? You don't get that kind of stuff for free," Kurenai said.
Hikari looked at the red-eyed beauty drool falling from his open mouth, his face a tinge of red.
He leaned over to the now-standing Yuto, whispering in his ear with a perverted grin. "Yuto, you never said you had such enticing friends!" Hikari whispered.
Yuto looked at Hikari unamused, as he was no boot licker, he couldn't care less how attractive they were.
"I'm familiar with anko, but you... Aww, I remember... Kurenai Yuhi," Yuto said, feigning ignorance. How could he forget the genius who tried using genjutsu on Itachi?
"You know of me?" Kurenai asked, a little surprised.
"Yes, I'm quite familiar with files containing info on our village's most skilled shinobi," Yuto said.
"Yeah, the kid's a real bookworm," Anko said.
"The bags under his eyes say it all," Kurenai said.
"Oh, by the way, who's your friend?" Anko asked with a frown, noticing Hikari's eyes moving about her figure.
Yuto sighed. "My roommate, unfortunately," Yuto said.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean, yuto?" Hikari said.
"It means exactly what I said," Yuto said, shrugging his shoulders.
Hikari just growled before going back to drooling over the two chunin.
"By the way, what brings you here anyway? Didn't think I'd see you, of all people, watching our little test?" Yuto said, a little confused.
"Well, I didn't have any mission, so I decided to watch some entertainment. The real question is, why are you here?" Anko asked, raising an eyebrow.
Yuto frowned. "My team situation became a bit delicate after Gemma's promotion," Yuto said with a grimace, as he was looking forward to the opportunity.
"Hum, figured as much, but... in the meantime, you need to improve your skills!" Anko said, forcing back a chuckle.
Yuto frowned at this.
"I mean, kid, you looked terrible out there!" she said, bursting into unbridled laughter.
Even Kurenai was holding back a chuckle with her hand resting on her lips.
Yuto looked down, taking out the rubber band still tying back the hair he had left.
Anko noticed this as her laughter stopped. "Oh... your hair," she said, a hand on the back of her head, and her face apologetic.
"It's fine," Yuto said. He looked up, giving a light smile. He was holding in the hatred he had towards Touji only because he was able to see the bigger picture. It was just as he told Yugao, every fight was like an academy spar. No matter the victor, there is always something to learn, and today made him realize that while his long black hair was fashionable, it was a hindrance. If anything, Touji did him a favor, but that didn't mean he was forgiven.
He would pummel that blond idiot into the ground if it were the last thing he did.
Yuto's face was still in a light smile before he spoke.
"your right, I need to improve my skills," Yuto said.
Anko didn't seem to believe Yuto's genuine smile, but relented.
"Well, you at least won one of your matches," she said.
Kurenai stood there silently, as she wasn't as familiar with Yuto as Anko was.
"Yes, I suppose I did," he said with a light smile.
"Well, I have to get going," he said.
Anko nodded, "See ya, kid," she said, ruffling his now cut hair.
"It was nice meeting you, Kurenai," Yuto said, giving a nod.
"You as well," she said, giving a nod.
"Me too!" Hikari said, looking over Yuto's head with a cheeky grin.
"Tell your room monkey to watch his eyes while looking at a lady," Kurenai said, releasing a bit of killing intent to get the point across.
Yuto just nodded dumbly, a little frightened, even though he didn't do anything.
"Come on, Hikari, she might actually skewer you," Yuto said, attempting to drag Hikari away, but he wasn't strong enough.
His face became a little embarrassed, giving Hikari a "let me pull you" look.
Anko and Kurenai chuckled as they watched Yuto struggle to pull the teenager twice his size.
Hikari finally caught on and let himself be pulled away, giving a wave to Anko and Kurenai, as they waved back.
Later on, Yuto entered the infirmary with an envelope, creaking the door open.
He noticed the medic from before scurrying towards her.
"I got the amount you asked for!" Yuto said excitedly, as he would finally have a medic-nin tutor.
He handed her the envelope with a smile. She looked at him stoically, and, grabbing the envelope, she pulled a bill from the envelope, checking the bill for authenticity, forcing a frown on Yuto's face.
"They are all real, I assure you, all eighteen thousand," he said, a little offended.
"Where's a brat like you get all this money?" she asked suspiciously, squinting her eyes.
"Well, if you must know, my grandfather gives me an allowance," Yuto said, crossing his arms.
She frowned. "So not just a brat, a spoiled one," she said.
Yuto swouled. "I'll use every tool granted to me; the shinobi world isn't lenient on anyone," Yuto said.
She blinked a few times. "There is something in that little head of his," she thought.
"You know you're pretty grumpy for a medic, aren't you supposed to be kind and nurturing?" Yuto said.
"I'm not your mother," she said, putting away some medical utensils in a drawer.
Yuto's bottom lip started to quiver, and he put on his best puppy eyes.
"But I don't have a mommy!" Yuto said, looking up at the women with teary eyes.
The medic was unbothered by Yuto's performance.
"Nice try, but no self-respecting ten-year-old would call their mother mommy. I know because my daughter stopped ages ago," she said with a triumphant grin.
Yuto dropped the act, seeing his attempt to make the medic feel bad had failed.
"Well, when will we start?" Yuto asked.
"Well, I can't babysit today, seeing as I have to actually babysit," she said.
"Come see me Sunday afternoon at three, and don't be late," she said.
Yuto nodded. "Of course," he said.
"Alright, now get out, I need to lock up the infirmary," she said, gesturing for him to follow her out.
Yuto complied, following behind her before speaking.
"By the way, what do I call you?" Yuto asked.
"Captain Mai," she said.
"Captain?" Yuto asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I am teaching you to be a medical-nin?" she said.
Yuto nodded.
"Alright then, scurry on now," she said, locking the door behind them.
Yuto did as he was told, walking away and casually waving over his shoulder.
"See ya, captain,"
Later on. Yuto walked into the laundry room, as he had forgotten to take his load out of the machine the day before. He walked down the same aisle and was surprised to see Arata there, his brown hair damp.
"I see you also forgot about your load," Yuto said with a light smile.
Arata turned around and frowned a bit, still a bit angry from yesterday's conversation.
"You have some nerve saying that I haven't accomplished anything," Arata said with contempt in his tone.
Yuto was a little startled as he didn't think that Arata would take his words to heart. He suspected a little backlash, but he suspected that his abrupt exit would allow Arata to think it over; but he was wrong.
"Hey man, I meant no harm? I felt that telling you the truth would be much more helpful than just agreeing with you," Yuto said, raising his hands.
"The truth? You know nothing! You were looking down on me out of jealousy because I got first place in the test, weren't you?" Arata said, gritting his teeth.
"Who would have thought Sinbon Senpai would have such a sensitive brother? I was just giving him some friendly advice," Yuto thought to himself.
"Your sinbon senpai's brother, I wouldn't hold anything against you; it was just a test," Yuto said, trying to de-escalate.
Yuto realized this was the wrong choice of words as Arata became even more enraged.
"Wait! Sinbon senpai? You're the kid he chose over me for his team?" Arata said, clenching his fist.
Yuto's mouth dropped open, hearing this. He wasn't aware that he had taken his spot.
"he seemed like such a nice guy yesterday, what the hells up with this guy?" Yuto thought.
"I had no knowledge about that. I was just told to report to his training grounds, and I was accepted after my skill evaluation," Yuto said, speaking evenly, as he wouldn't kiss up to the older boy, just because he was butthurt about a position he earned.
Arata scoffed. "Whatever you say, fifth place," he said mockingly.
Yuto smiled, switching his clothes over to the dryer. He couldnt even be angry; he only got fifth place from pure luck.
Arata saw Yuto smiling, his angry face changing to confusion, then to embarrassment, as he felt like he wasn't being taken seriously.
Yuto noticed this as he spoke. "You know, this won't help you," Yuto said.
"Huh?" Arata said, still confused by Yuto's actions.
Yuto smiled. "If you truly want to be recognized as your own shinobi, bickering with me won't solve anything," he said.
Arata stayed silent, still a bit embarrassed after his obnoxious outburst, at a ten-year-old no less.
"Well, see ya later," Yuto said, walking away without a care in the world. Yuto had a shit eating grin as he knew he handled that like a champ. He planned on returning once his clothes were finished drying. In the meantime, he would go grab one of his three meals for the day, seeing that it was getting close to dinner time.
He walked up to the doors to the cafeteria, seeing someone already entering. The teenager had long, straight black hair reaching his back, with a slender build. He wore a sleeveless, V-necked bodysuit, a long cloth tied around his waist, and shinobi sandals. His V-neck showed his fishnet undershirt, a green shirt line matching his eyes.
Yuto's mind clicked, remembering him from the second test in the three-point forest trail. He had slammed into a participant in a burst of speed, creating a dust cloud. Yuto gave a slight nod, seeing the guy holding the door open for him.
"Thanks," Yuto thanked.
"No problem,"
They both walked into the large cafeteria, entering a long line of genin. Yuto hated cafeterias, especially as he looked at the milk cartons. He remembered his bullies forcing him into an empty classroom and threatening him to chug chocolate milk until he threw up his contents. The guy he walked in with noticed Yuto's grim face and decided to lighten Yuto's mood with some small talk, as he was already interested in the guy who got fifth place.
He tucked his black hair behind his ear before he spoke. "You're the kid who got fifth place during the second test, correct?" the guy asked.
Yuto sighed, as he didn't really like being addressed as the fifth-place kid, but responded anyway.
"Yes, I'm the fifth-place kid," Yuto said, showing his annoyance.
The guy chuckled. "Guess I'm not the first one, huh?" he said with a smile that Yuto couldnt interpret.
Yuto nodded. "I remember seeing you speeding through the forest at some point. I'm glad I didn't cross paths with you," Yuto said.
The guy put a hand behind his head sheepishly. "Well, you kinda were in my path, I kinda moved out of the way," he said, chuckling.
Yuto was surprised at this, as he didn't feel any tells of an incoming attack, seeing the man was just that fast. he now realized just how lucky he was, not only was he spared by Touji, but also the guy infront of him.
Yuto turned around, looking up at the older boy with shock, before his face changed to a knowing smile.
"I guess I owe you a thanks, Mr. Repunzle," Yuto said with a grin.
The older boy's eyebrow twitched. "It's Riku if you were wondering," he said, blowing some steam from his nose.
"Oh, Riku, is it? I'm Yuto Suzuki," Yuto said, reaching his hand for a handshake.
Riku took his hand with a smile.
"Oh, by the way, why weren't you in the top five? Surely you're like one of the strongest in the sector," Yuto said, a little confused.
"Well, it's a little embarrassing to say... I'm pretty fast, but I can't keep it up for that long," he said.
"Hum, we all have our weaknesses, I guess," Yuto said.
Riku nodded.
Riku rubbed the back of his head. "Well... um... You don't mind eating lunch with me, do you?" Riku asked.
Yuto looked at him and then shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have many friends here anyway," Yuto said.
Yuto ended up eating lunch with Riku, and then they parted ways, going to their separate floors.
After Saturday training, Yuto headed to the infirmary for his medical lesson.
He was paying her eighteen thousand ryo for each lesson(one hundred and twenty American dollars). he would be damned if he missed it; that was almost a quarter of his allowance.
When he walked in the room, she was already at work despite getting there five minutes early, as was required by the medical trainee facility.
She looked up from her patient, still healing their arm with her medical chakra. She was clearly confused based on her expression.
"Why the hell are you so early?" she asked, a little irritated.
Yuto was confused, as this was what his old captain asked of him on his one day of medical training.
"A medic trainee is required to arrive five minutes early, right?" Yuto asked.
"What? Wait... don't tell me your old captain was Aiza?" she said with a frown.
Yuto shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me, I was only there for one day," he said.
"Hum, well, at least you're a good boy," she said teasingly.
Yuto frowned. "Less grumpy, today I see," he said, still not happy after her teasing.
"Well, your sugar daddy money helped me with the rent, if you were curious," she said with a light smile.
Yuto raised an eyebrow at that.
"um... I see," Yuto said, as he wasn't really expecting such an upfront answer.
She chuckled at that, finishing up with her patience.
"No more training for the day, alright?" she said to the teenager.
"Of course," the patient said.
Yuto, who was leaning against the wall, looking at his fingernails, stopped as he heard the familiar voice.
"Riku?" Yuto said in surprise.
"Oh, hey, Yuto. As you can see, I was injured training, but why are you here?" Riku asked.
Yuto grinned. "Well, Captain Mai here saw my mind-blowing talent and kindly offered to teach me," Yuto said.'
She rolled her eyes at Yuto's answer, but didn't feel inclined to object.
"Hum, you? Training to be a medic? That's surprising," Riku said in surprise.
Mai got tired of waiting for them to finish up and interfered.
"Alright, get out. I need to give this brat some pointers; you can catch up later," Mai said, irritation in her tone as she pushed Riku out the door.
Riku reached his hand out to Yuto dramatically, forcing a chuckle out of Yuto before Riku was shut out.
She dusted her hands after throwing Riku out, turning her attention to Yuto.
She scoffed. "Kindly offered?" she said.
Yuto had the decency to look a little sheepish.
"Just because of that, go sanitize those medical utensils."
Yuto groaned, walking towards the counter, and looked over the tools.
"Wrong! You apply gloves and a mask first. You'll also clean that wall you leaned against," she said, already ordering him around.
Yuto turned around, seeing that his hair conditioner had left the wall greasy.
He sighed. "I'm on it," Yuto said.
"Less whining, more cleaning!" she said, clapping her hands.
Yuto slipped on some rubber gloves and tucked his mask strings around his ear.
"Now apply the hair cover and medical coat!" she said.
Yuto followed her instructions like a dog, as he was slowly starting to regret asking her for training, but he had no other choice. he would in no way waste his six months here. He planned on leaving a better shinobi and medic.
Yuto walked out as he couldnt help but feel funny wearing the oversized coat, as it covered his ninja sandals, and hung past his arms.
"What are you waiting for? Roll up your sleeves and get to work!" she yelled, trying her best not to laugh from the coat absorbing Yuto's small figure.
"You wouldn't happen to have a stool?" Yuto asked, rolling up his sleeves.
She sighed. "Give me a second," she said, walking towards a small closet and sliding the door open. She pulled a stepping stool from the closet and put it infront of the counter where the medical tools were.
"Anything else?" she asked, clearly a bit annoyed.
Yuto shook his head.
"ok, now rinse away the body fluids and the visible dirt. Then you'll use the detergent in the cabinet to your right," she said.
Yuto nodded.
"Keep in mind that when using the tools, alcohol will suffice during the operation, but after the operation is completed, the tools can be cleaned like you are doing now," she explained.
Yuto just nodded again, turning on the sink water.
"You'd better be listening, because I expect you to write these down in your notes,"
Suddenly, the door was pushed open before Yuto could even nod. A stretcher was rushed in, and a patient was put on the bed.
Mai scurried towards the patient.
"Yuto, replace your gloves and grab a new set of medical tools from the drawer on your left! Hurry!" she said.
Yuto flung his gloves into the trash and replaced them before grabbing the new set of utensils stashed in a small container.
He rushed over towards Mai, handing her the tools. He was about to walk away, but was stopped.
"What are you doing? Come over here and assist me!" she yelled.
Yuto scurried over, a little nervous as he had never assisted a medic before.
"Captain Mai?" Yuto said, confused.
"This is a delicate matter! Don't move with haste and follow my every direction," she said sternly.
"Yes, Captain!" Yuto said, as if he were a soldier on the battlefield.
"How the hell did I get in this mess? I was just trying to get some extra guidance, now I'm trying to save a life, from the looks of it," Yuto thought, a worried look planted on his face.
[Be sure to give me your power stones]