Some of you might not like that it went to this crossover, some of you might like it. Rather you like it or not, this is where it's going, and this is where it will be for an unknown (to you) amount of time.
Also, the intro will first appear at the start of chapter 2.
Let us begin, we have a long way to go and things won't get really hectic for awhile.
The Plus One of Squad 7 Ch.1
"Speech" (I may change canon dialogue somewhat if I feel like it.)
'Thought' (It's the OC's thought unless it says otherwise.)
It happened again.
It was pretty obvious to AJ not a moment after he woke up.
He blinked, and found he was on his side lying in the grass.
'Just like when I woke up on Remnant.' He thought.
This time he was in a clearing in a forest instead of a random point in the forest. Something was different this time though, it felt like there was a gap in time between the last moment he remembers and the moment he is in now. Last time it felt like no time had passed, now it felt like he was missing something… an event probably.
He stood up and looked around, it looked like a nice and peaceful area. He noticed something close by that clearly wasn't natural.
An area was flattened out and had tile or some sort of brick for a floor in a circle shape and there was an oddly shaped smooth stone in the middle. There were names written on it in a language that AJ couldn't hope to read. It looked a lot like Japanese and he briefly wondered if he was back on Earth. There was a flag pole right next to this memorial looking rock and there was a slight sense of emotion lingering here. He could only feel emotion lingering if it was there often and if it was a strong emotion, and what he felt made it clear the words written and the way they were spaced apart, they were names. These people had no doubt died in some tragedy and the names are all written here, the emotions are what really gave it away. It felt like a lot of people came here to mourn, and had done so for years.
His emotion sense gave away a more current emotion nearby, it didn't matter what it was, just mattered that it was there. Someone was watching him.
"Can I help you?" AJ asked and made sure to look where he sensed the emotion so this person knew that he knew that they were there. The person stepped out from the bush and approached him, he seemed carefree but AJ could feel the caution.
His hair was close to the same color as Ozpin's, but it was very spikey and kind of stood up high on one side. He had a mask that covered the bottom half of his face but he also wore a headband and had it hang down on one end and block his left eye, only his right eye or the upper right side of his face in general was visible which was a little bit intimidating. He had a dark blue (I am bad at distinguishing color so it might be purple for all I know) long sleeved shirt on with fingerless gloves of the same color. His pants were the same as well but he also had some sort of bandage wrapped on his right thigh. Did I mention the mask was the same color as the shirt and pants? He also had a green vest on over all this that looked a bit like Kevlar but it might not be, hard to tell. The vest had compartments on his chest that finished off the look that this guy was armed, probably a soldier, but what kind?
"No, but you could explain why you just appeared in a flash of light. Is that teleportation Jutsu?" The masked man asked.
"I don't suppose you would believe that I came from another world?" AJ asked, not really in the mood to deal with making up stories.
"I don't know. Why should I? Do you have any proof?" The man asked.
"Well… in the world I just came from we had something called Aura." AJ said nonchalantly and let out his Aura. The man showed little reaction and was carefully examining the white mist flowing off him.
"Alright, what's Aura?" The man asked.
"In the world I came from, called Remnant, Aura is the physical manifestation of our soul. With training it acts as a shield that surrounds our bodies, or at the very least it speeds recovery of any wound. By the way, what are Jutsu?" AJ asked the man.
"You don't know what Jutsu are? Well that's kind of a lot to explain to someone who supposedly knows nothing of our world." The man said and put a hand to his chin and thought for a minute. "I would need more time than I really care to use right now. Anything else to prove you just came from another universe?" He asked.
"Um…" AJ thought for a minute. "Oh! I have this!" AJ pointed at the object he now held. "It's called a Scroll! It's a piece of technology that comes from Remnant." He went to his pictures and showed a few pictures of various Grimm and explained how Grimm and pure evil creatures that attack humanity and area attracted to negative emotion. "I don't suppose your world has anything evil like this?"
"No, nothing like that. Well it seems like your story might be true…" The masked man started.
"In the end, the truth doesn't need to be believed to be the truth, or it might be a lie, but I really have no reason to lie, and come on! It's not like your world has anything like this!" AJ said pointing at the Scroll before putting it away to preserve the battery, luckily it has a solar cell that should be able to charge it.
"Well… you could be a spy and be a danger to our village so I'm inclined to be safe and not believe you…"
"Same thing happened in the last world I was in and the guy let me in any way! Then again I was injured and so they took me in and healed me…" AJ said the last part to himself.
"Well it doesn't feel like you're lying."
"Wait, really?"
"And if you truly know nothing of this world then someone will have to take you through some serious history classes… Someone has to help you, so I suppose I will take you to the village and see what we can do, how's that?" The man asked.
"YES! Thank you! You seem like a nice guy and I do really need help being stuck in a new world again so I would love your help! So um… what village are we going to?" AJ asked after calming down.
"The Village Hidden in the Leaves, also known as the Hidden Leaf Village. What is your name by the way?" He asked.
"Oh, well when I woke up in the last world I kind of forgot my name. I actually still don't know what my name is anymore, I remember everything else except for my name. I do remember that I go by AJ, but that's all I got." AJ explained.
"Well you need a longer name than just AJ… you also need a clan name, we can't really stick you in any known clans because you have no record…" The man explained.
"Well, what if we say that I was found abandoned and raised by someone else so they don't know what clan I was in and therefore don't have a clan name? Is that how it works with clans?" AJ asked.
"It could work… Come on, let's head over to the village. Our leader will want to see you."
"Oh! What is your name by the way sir?" AJ asked.
The man looked over his shoulder and with his one visible eye looked at AJ.
"Kakashi Hatake."
"Well hello Kakashi." AJ greeted.
"We'll call you Shin, which means true. Because your story better be true or I'm going to have to have the Anbu interrogate you. Assuming your story is true, you have a lot of history and training to go through. Actually, speaking of training…" Kakashi said and stopped walking. "We should see how good of a fighter you are." He got in a stance and AJ did as well. AJ relaxed his Aura as to not go to crazy with this spar.
"Wait, but I could really hurt you since you don't have Aura and I do." AJ said concerned about hurting the first person he meets in this world.
"Well, let's try some simple sparing and not use any blades." Kakashi suggested.
AJ nodded and didn't pull out his sword.
"Shinobi Battle Techniques, Part One: Taijutsu, Hand to Hand combat. The physical part basically." Kakashi said before charging at AJ with a simple punch.
AJ blocked the punch and tried for one of his own and Kakashi redirected it and hit AJ in the face before he could even react.
'Wow, this guy is fast. What are Shinobi anyway?'
AJ charged and Kakashi blocked or dodged every punch and kick easily, he was able to get a few strikes on AJ who couldn't move fast enough or just couldn't see the attack coming at all.
AJ let out his Aura to match Kakashi's speed and suddenly AJ was able to get a few hits, Kakashi was holding back though so he was still able to match the speed but the force behind it was a bit harder to manage. The fight went on for about five minutes just trading blows with Kakashi showing incredible speed and reflexes but AJ showing he can keep up decently enough.
AJ went for a punch in the face but Kakashi stopped it completely. AJ tried for a sweeping kick and Kakashi jumped up slightly to avoid it. AJ used the chance to punch him while he was in the air but somehow Kakashi blocked it by catching his fist with his palm. He gripped AJ's arm to flip in midair and go for a kick to the head so AJ jumped away, getting out of Kakashi's grip and avoiding the kick.
Kakashi suddenly jumped away and AJ got the idea that they were supposed to stop fighting for the moment.
"Well done. You aren't that bad with hand to hand, but since we started, you might as well understand exactly how ninja fight." Kakashi said.
'Wait, are shinobi supposed to be ninja!?' AJ thought, surprised that the world he found himself in might be filled with ninjas.
"Shinobi Battle Techniques Number Two: Genjutsu." Kakashi said and performed some odd signs with his hands and AJ suddenly couldn't move.
"Ah!... The… hell?…." AJ grunted as he tried to move to no avail.
Kakashi spoke as he walked towards AJ. "Genjutsu is also known as illusion Jutsu, you can't get out of that. I could have done something much worse to you but was feeling nice so I decided to just immobilize you. Want me to help?" He asked honestly.
"No…. I…. can… get out…" AJ said and started forcing Aura out of his body, more and more Aura until he found himself getting movement back and eventually was able to get free. Kakashi was pleasantly surprised.
"Well done, for someone who is not a Ninja to manage that is no small feat. Now, there is one more thing I need to show you." Kakashi said.
"What? Is there one more part?" AJ asked, getting into a ready stance.
"Yes. Shinobi Battle Techniques: Part Three, Ninjutsu. I hope your Aura can handle this."
Kakashi performed a few hand signs before stopping on one of the signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Kakashi said and put one of his hands out in front of him and breathed out causing a stream of fire to shoot out into a large fireball.
'HUH!? HE CAN BREATHE FIRE!' AJ shouted in his head and felt an oddly familiar feeling in his eyes as he saw this large ball of fire coming towards him.
AJ stuck out two fingers in front of him and created a glyph to block the fireball as the rest of the fire spread past him.
When the fire cleared Kakashi saw AJ standing behind a strange floating white circle that had glyphs along the sides of it and a symbol of white wings that touch the edge of the circle in the middle of it. AJ rested his arm at his side and the glyph faded away.
"Well well. You have a few tricks up your sleeve. Is that made possible by your Aura?" Kakashi asked.
"That it is. Though I would love to know how you can suddenly breathe fire." AJ said, eying the masked man and trying to figure out how he did that little magic trick.
"Well that's something that would take awhile to explain. Anyways, I think we're done for now. You certainly are competent enough to fight, but we'll have to train you in deception and the way of the ninja. All we did was fight, I didn't have you hide from me or lay a trap for me or try to trick me, so we will have to work on that later." Kakashi said and they started walking and AJ assumed they were going to the village.
AJ felt a weight on his shoulder and looked to see his brown furred, green and golden eyed cat Neko on his shoulder. This brought up a very important detail that he hadn't realized till now.
"Um… Kakashi?" AJ asked and Kakashi hummed, saying he was listening. "I just noticed that you never commented on the cat ears sticking out of my head or the tail that I had… why haven't you said anything about it?" AJ asked concerned what he would say.
"Well I figured you would explain that when you were ready." Kakashi said simply and kept walking.
"You aren't surprised? You don't think I'm an animal?" AJ asked.
"No… Why? Should I?" Kakashi asked like it was some joke.
"Well, no. It's just that back on Remnant the Faunus aren't treated fairly because of their part animal heritage." AJ explained.
"So these Faunus are part animal huh? Exclusive to the world, just like Grimm then?"
"Well, if there aren't Faunus or Grimm in this world, then ya." AJ answered.
"Well don't worry. I see no reason to call you an animal. You certainly are acting human."
AJ sighed in relief.
They ended up reaching the village. AJ took in the sights as they walked. It really was something of a village, it had buildings a few stories high but it wasn't exactly modern, but it was close. It certainly was nothing like Remnant and all their advanced technology.
They went to the other side of the village and approached a large structure that was sort of cylinder shaped, and behind it was a large cliff with faces carved on it. Kakashi had noticed him looking up at the stone faces.
"Those are the faces of the leaders of our village." Kakashi said. "The first, second, third, and fourth Hokage. The third is the one we are heading to meet, he is going to want to know about a stranger from another world."
Neko meowed and AJ heard his voice. "Wait, the third? Shouldn't the fourth be the current leader?" Neko asked. AJ's eyes widened in realization and he repeated the question to Kakashi.
"Our fourth Hokage sacrificed himself to save the village." Kakashi explained.
"Wow." AJ said in awe. 'So they have the classic hero that sacrificed himself thing. And it was the leader! That sounds so cool! What an interesting scenario to have a previous leader be the current one but since the newest one past away it makes sense.'
Kakashi lead him to the third Hokage and initially he didn't trust AJ, understandably, but the situation of being alone in a new world was explained and evidence was shown along with the being a Faunus thing and eventually the old looking leader allowed AJ to stay with the exception that Kakashi was supposed to keep an eye on him. AJ felt that this Hokage was a good man who wanted to protect his village and AJ said that he would help if he could. The man was also willing to help AJ in his time of need and AJ couldn't thank the man enough for that.
For the first day AJ was shown around the village and given his own apartment, eventually the day ended and now he knew what Chakra was and could feel it inside of him already. He was definitely gonna practice with it tomorrow!
He took a moment to look in the mirror, his eyes were currently green but such a dull green that they seemed grey. Since Neko was out the cat had the bright green eyes with gold flecks instead of him, but what stood out was the scars he had on the left side of his face. Two marks and one went right over his eye, yet his eye itself seemed undamaged or affected in anyway. Both marks ran straight down his face and stopped before his neck. He felt the cuts to confirm they were real.
"How did my Aura not block this? What even caused this in the first place?" He asked himself though he had no answers.
It was when he lied down that his situation really caught up with him and it was now more than ever that he wished he could just go to sleep and ignore his own thoughts.
He had no one again, he cried when he came to Remnant and lost his good friend and his mom and dad, but he realized he wasn't going anywhere and moved on. He was alone for two months until those two came along… Ruby and Yang… the two half-sisters.
They were fun to be around, they seemed nice, he helped Ruby get through her first encounter with Weiss. Weiss… AJ hated her at first, even now she can still be a bit of a pain but it's just how it is and he really doesn't hate her anymore. He guessed he could even call her a friend.
Then he met Blake…
If he had stayed on Earth, in his own boring little world, he would have been happy with what he did, but was certain he would never be in love. He came to Remnant and immediately fell in love when he saw her. It wouldn't be till the next semester when his thoughts of never being in love are shut down when they both admit they were in love with each other. He admits they did it in a bit of an odd way… but he couldn't be happier with her… and now she was gone…
He would never see her, or the rest of RWBY, or team JNPR, ever again. He was stuck in this world with almost no one again. He had love, something he thought he would never have, and of course with his fucking luck, it was ripped away from him!
It was three months of pain. Three months of trying to get over the fact that he was just gonna be stuck in this world until he left to go to another world. Three months of teaching and training, no social interaction, not that he wanted any. If the pattern kept up he was cursed to go to different dimensions. It was three months of pain, and it wasn't going to stop anytime soon…
It was just his luck after all, why even bother making friends, let alone finding love? He's just gonna get send somewhere else at some point.
He learned about Chakra and how to use it, he learned that his Semblance had changed and now he could learn some Jutsu just by looking at them, which AJ thought was stupidly overpowered but was glad he had it and was glad his Aura sped up his learning ability. He knew how to fight like a ninja, how to move faster than he already did, how to read and write and speak the language of the world, which he was pretty sure was Japanese. But they also spoke English which confused him to no end but so did quite a few things, he just didn't care anymore.
It was just another day and Kakashi walked into AJ's apartment and found him crying in his sleep again. Kakashi briefly pet the boy and tried to calm him down, 'How does he get any rest?' Kakashi asked himself. When the boy stirred he went back to his usual stance. No one needed to see him showing as much emotion as that, but he couldn't just let the boy cry like that.
"Come on, time to get up." Kakashi said.
"Leave me alone, Kakashi. Just let me sleep, I don't wanna train today." AJ said grumpily and wiped away his tears. Neko got up and stretched.
"You say that every day. Get up." Kakashi said and lifted the boy out of his bed. AJ was too tired to thrash around and struggle.
"Ugh.." AJ grumbled as he got ready for another terrible day.
"There is no training, by the way. I have a meeting, I'm being given a squad of my own, again." Kakashi explained.
"Oh, gonna torture some future Genin now?" AJ said, smiling at the thought of watching Kakashi beat up someone else.
"Oh I have something planned for them." Kakashi said laughing evilly. "Come find me when you are ready and you can watch." Kakashi said before leaving.
AJ sighed. "Alright Neko, another day." He said with no enthusiasm.
"Yep." Neko said and walked over to the door leading out of the apartment and waited for AJ to get ready.
AJ eventually stepped out. He still had his basic black long sleeve and jeans but he also had the vest that most other ninja had as well, like Kakashi for example, over the shirt. He still had his epic cloak even though Kakashi said it would only get in the way. It never got in the way before but he agreed he wouldn't wear it on a mission. He had the kunai pouch on his right leg and he had the grey ninja tool bag on his lower back, he had the headband with the symbol that said he was a Leaf Ninja but that was just a cover so he could blend in. He didn't exactly go through the whole school program after all.
Despite being dressed to head out it was now that he sat down with Neko to eat. He had ramen heated up and got some cat food for Neko and they sat and quietly ate. When they finished, Neko jumped on his shoulder and they walked out and walked through the village for awhile and AJ simply walked around bored. Birds chirping did nothing to lighten his mood these days and Neko always had to try and cheer him up, or at least give him something to do.
"You know we could just train." Neko said.
"I don't wanna train if I don't have too… But I am bored…" AJ thought for awhile. "Well I guess we could see what Kakashi has for a squad." He suggested. Neko nodded and agreed with him so they started walking to the school.
AJ eventually found Kakashi with the three students and hung out a level below them and listened in.
"Ok, your turn. You on the right, you first." Kakashi said and AJ used his emotion sense to in a way "see" where the three are and who is on the right.
"Believe it! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like instant ramen in a cup. And I really like the ramen Iruka sensei got me at the Ichiraku noodle shop!"
'Wait, I recognize that voice, and that name… oh god no… it is that kid at Ichiraku…'
"I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the ramen in the ramen cup, and my hobby is eating different types of ramen and comparing them. And my future dream, is to be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and treat me like I'm somebody! Somebody important!" The boy Naruto finished.
'Bold dream you have there kid, I like the reason behind it at least.'
"Alright. Next!" Kakashi said.
"I'm Sakura Haruno!" A girl said. AJ could tell she was the one on the left of the group. "What I like, uh… I mean the person I like is… uh… my hobby is uh… *giggles* my dream for the future is… *fangirls* "
AJ sighs.
"And? What do you hate?" Kakashi asked.
"Naruto!" The girl Sakura shouted and AJ could sense what Naruto felt after that and actually felt bad for the boy.
"Last one." Kakashi ordered.
"My name, Is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I am going to restore my clan, and destroy a certain someone…" The boy in the middle, Sasuke said.
'Gee, someone likes being dramatic as much as me. But that name, Uchiha… did Kakashi really get the last of that clan? Interesting… Wait… why is Naruto scared?'
"Good, you are each unique and you have your own ideas." Kakashi said. "We'll have our first mission tomorrow."
"What kind of mission are we going to have?" Naruto asked.
"It's a task the four of us will do together." Kakashi answered.
"What!? What!? What!?" Naruto asked, excited for a real mission.
"A survival exercise." Kakashi answered.
"Huh!? Survival exercise?" Naruto asked, annoyed.
"I thought we were supposed to have a real mission not more practice!" Sakura complained. "We already did this stuff at the academy, that's how we got here!"
"This is not like your previous training." Kakashi responded.
"So uh… what kind of training is it then?" Naruto asked.
Kakashi gave an obviously evil laugh as a response and it made AJ want to laugh just thinking about what that meant for the kids.
"Hey, hold on. That's a normal question, what's so funny?" Sakura asked, not getting the evil vibe.
"Well, if I tell you the answer, you're not going to like it." Kakashi said with a hidden smile and another laugh. "Of the 27 graduates who just came here only 9 will actually be accepted as Genin. The other 18 will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words: This is a make it or break it, pass/fail test and the chance that you'll fail is at least 66%." Kakashi explained.
'HA! Oh he just loves the shock on their faces! I can feel it! Haha!'
"See? Didn't I tell you you wouldn't like it?" Kakashi asked smugly.
"That's crazy! We worked to get here! Believe it! What was the graduation test for anyway?!" Naruto asked.
"Oh that. That was just to select candidates that might become Genin, or not." Kakashi said like it was an everyday thing.
"WHAAAAT!?" Naruto complained.
"That's how it is." Kakashi said harshly. "I decide rather you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at 5AM, and bring your ninja gear." Kakashi warned.
AJ could sense the anger that Naruto was holding in and the determination that it was bringing out. For Sakura it was fear that brought out determination. Sasuke was keeping fairly calm but there was still determination.
"That's it. You're dismissed." Kakashi said, waving them goodbye. "Oh, tomorrow you better skip breakfast or else… you'll puke." He said and once again clearly enjoyed the reaction he got. Okay maybe not "clearly" but it sure was clear for AJ, sensing emotion can be useful at times.
The three kids left, but Kakashi did not.
"You can come up now." Kakashi said to no one in particular.
AJ jumped up from the level below them with Neko still on his shoulder.
"Man you are cruel Kakashi." AJ said, laughing a little.
"I need you to do something for me." Kakashi said finally looking at AJ.
"Huh?! Why!? Ugh… What do you need?" AJ said grumpily.
"I need you to give them each a test throughout the day, see what they can do, give them something to think about before the test tomorrow." Kakashi explained. "Think you can do that?"
"Heh. If that's what you want me to do, sure! I can do that!" AJ said, perfectly fine with something other than a simple chore. AJ left to go and find them.
He walked for awhile, planning to start with Naruto, the one that would be easiest to find, until he heard someone calling out for Sakura, and he decided to start with her.
"Excuse me? Are you Sakura Haruno?" AJ asked the girl with pink hair and a red dress… he thought it was a dress at least.
"Huh? Yes, what do you need Mister?" Sakura asked the tall man wearing a cloak. "What's with the cat?" She asked pointing at the cat on his shoulder who smiled at her.
"Doesn't matter, Kakashi sensei told me to find you, follow me." AJ ordered and Sakura followed only because the man was supposedly ordered by Kakashi sensei.
"So could you take off the hood? It's kind of creepy…" Sakura asked lamely.
AJ turned around and jumped at her. "BOO!"
Sakura let out a girly scream and AJ fell on the floor laughing and Sakura pouted angrily at him.
"It's not funny, ok!?" She yelled and AJ stood up, causing his hood to fall off, revealing his face and brown hair.
"Sure, whatever." He said smiling and chuckling and continued on his way.
They went to the training field and AJ took a stance, telling her to do the same.
"Now attack me." AJ ordered.
"What? Why?" Sakura asked.
"Just do it! We're fighting now! Give it your all! Try to kill me!" AJ yelled and grabbed a Kunai, a knife that could be held or thrown straight as an arrow. Neko got off him and went to the sidelines.
Sakura reluctantly pulled out a shuriken and threw it at him.
AJ blocked it with the knife and she charged at him. He stood calmly till she got close and simply grabbed her wrist, making her drop the kunai she had. He let go and she jumped away from him and tried again with another shuriken. He leaned out of the way this time and she used the chance to get close to him. He easily leaned out of the way of her swings and eventually made an obvious swing for her and she blocked it, causing them to lock knifes.
AJ barely pushed so they would stay in the lock but since she wouldn't make a move he decided to trip her and give her a small cut on her arm.
"You are weak, simple as that. You have no technique, no skill, you aren't fast at all, you aren't strong, how do you hope to become a successful ninja?" AJ asked angrily. "You are going to drag your team down tomorrow if you aren't careful."
Sakura got up slowly and held the cut on her arm, she glared at him before realizing he had a point and looked sad. She picked up her tools and left.
AJ went out to find his next target, it was midday now and he found Naruto at the Ichiraku Ramen shop as he expected.
"Hey, Naruto!" AJ yelled as he stood outside the shop and Naruto quickly finished his bowl and stepped out.
"Yeah? What do you want?" Naruto asked, looking at the tall cloaked man.
"Kakashi told me to find you, come with me." AJ ordered.
"Hey I recognize you!" Naruto yelled.
"No you don't, now hurry up!" AJ yelled.
They started to walk over to the training grounds.
"No I definitely remember you."
"Would you shut up kid?"
Naruto pouted.
"I always saw you at the shop, but you wouldn't talk to me." Naruto said.
"I don't have to talk to you, do I?" AJ asked.
"No but… ugh…" Naruto couldn't think of a reason why he should.
They made it to the grounds.
Naruto was blond with spiky hair and what looked like three whisker like birth marks on both cheeks, he had blue eyes, wore an orange tracksuit with blue on the upper shoulder area and the waist, a red swirl on the back, a large white collar, orange pants, a shuriken and or kunai holster on his right leg, blue sandals that some (most) ninja have, he also wears the headband on his head like AJ does.
"Now we're gonna spar." AJ said and got into a stance.
"Wait really?" Naruto asked before getting into a stance and getting excited. "I didn't know you fight."
AJ took off his hood, revealing his face and more specifically, his headband.
"Oh! You're a ninja!?" Naruto asked excitedly.
AJ charged and went for a punch but moved slow enough to give Naruto a chance to block, which he did, and went for a punch of his own. AJ dodged it and palm stuck Naruto back.
Naruto stood up and through a Kunai at him. He deflected it with his wrist guards and threw a kunai of his own. Naruto dodged before going for a blindingly obvious charge with another kunai and a stupid war cry.
'Just when I thought this kid fought seriously…'
AJ casually moved out of the way and tripped Naruto, making him fall flat on his face.
"Shouldn't run with knives kid! Might get hurt!" AJ yelled, trying to egg him on.
"Jerk!" Naruto said before making a hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He yelled and a few puffs of smoke appeared. When they cleared it there were six Narutos.
AJ's semblance activated, shown with a light white glow coming from his eyes that soon faded.
"Nice little Jutsu you have there." AJ said casually. "Real clones, not just some illusion."
Naruto smiled. "Heh! Yep! Attack!" He said and they all charged.
"Neko, I need your help!" AJ yelled behind him to Neko. He made a few hand signs that he had memorized. "Animal Fusion Jutsu!" Neko fused with AJ and now AJ had the green eyes with gold flecks in them while also gaining the cat ears and tail, this helped him be more agile, which was something he didn't need against that Sakura girl.
It wasn't a real Jutsu, it was just a cover for having cat parts in the middle of a fight.
AJ now moved quickly to fight the clones. Blocking the first punch, dodging the second, redirecting the third into the first and destroying both clones in a puff of smoke. The fourth tried to kick him but he caught his leg and broke it, getting rid of that clone. The fifth threw a kunai and he caught it and threw it back. The clone dodged it and tried a sweeping kick. AJ jumped up and kicked it in the face.
The real Naruto burst through the smoke and tried for a right punch. AJ caught it in his right palm, so Naruto tried for a left punch, AJ raised his right elbow to block that and then threw Naruto over his shoulder and into the ground before twisting his arm slightly. He took a kunai and placed a cut on his arm just like he did with Sakura.
"Arg… darn it…" Naruto said through his teeth.
"Good try Naruto, you aren't as useless as Sakura." AJ said but it wasn't much of a compliment in his mind. He released Naruto's arm.
"Hey, don't say that about her!" Naruto threatened.
"You are too cocky, too direct, and not that bright from what I've heard. Keep practicing, otherwise you can just give up on becoming Hokage." AJ said simply and Naruto glared at him and gave out another stupid war cry and tried to punch him. AJ punched the short kid square in the face and knocked him on his back. " The fight is over, idiot." Naruto stood up again and looked like he was going to charge again. " If I have to hit you anymore you are going to be useless and your teammates might go on without you."
"Fine…" Naruto glared at him and left.
It was night now and time to find Sasuke.
He hadn't gotten far into the city and had seen everyone was heading into their homes.
"So, are you the one that has been harassing my teammates?" A voice asked and AJ and Neko turned around to see Sasuke leaning on a wall.
He wore a blue (or purple, again I can't really tell at all) shirt, white shorts, his hair was black with bits of blue, he had white gauntlets if you can call them that on his lower arms, his kunai/shuriken pouch was on his right leg like AJ and Naruto, he wore the same blue sandals the rest of his team wore, and his stance screamed 'overconfident cool kid.'
"Yes, and I thought I would save the 'best' for last." AJ threw air quotes for last to piss him off and it did the job well.
They went to the training grounds and got ready to fight.
AJ used his Animal Fusion Jutsu right off the bat.
Sasuke immediately threw a few shuriken and kunai at once and AJ dodged it and found Sasuke was already in front of him.
'Heh, this kid is actually somewhat fast.'
Sasuke threw a few punches and AJ blocked them easily, making sure to smile the whole time and piss off Sasuke. It did and Sasuke jumped back and made a few hand signs.
'Wait, can he really do fire style?'
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted and breathed a fireball at AJ, 'That would be a yes!' who used a glyph to block it.
"Nice one kid! Didn't know Genin could do that." AJ congratulated him before performing a few hand signs of his own. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" AJ breathed his own larger fireball and Sasuke barely dodged it.
Before Sasuke could react AJ was behind him and hit him in the back, hard, knocking him away but Sasuke quickly stood up. He saw that a white mist was flowing from AJ and he was grinning confidently.
He then found that AJ was behind him again, and found he was on the ground a couple feet away, again.
"You're a tougher one, so I'll just make it clear that you can't win." AJ said before repeating the whole motion of moving faster than Sasuke can follow and after a couple hard hits Sasuke retreated into the trees.
"Oh no, wherever did he go?" AJ asked, voice filled with sarcasm.
AJ decided to make it remotely challenging by removing his *Puts on sunglasses* Emotion sensor… get it? E-motion se- forget it…
AJ waited for awhile and had his eyes closed. It was pretty obvious that he was focusing but he knew Sasuke had to attack eventually.
His Faunus ears twitched from the sound of a kunai flying through the air, so he tilted his head slightly and dodged it, then quickly spun and threw 5 shuriken at once into the leaves of the tree behind him. There was a cry of pain and Sasuke fell out of the tree holding his left arm, he had a cut on it identical to the one AJ had given Naruto and Sakura, not that Sasuke knew that.
"Now you, my friend, are a good damn ninja, oh wait, you aren't one yet! If your squad fails their test tomorrow your skill doesn't matter because you still fail!" AJ said before leaving, enjoying the anger he filled the boy with.
He came by at 10, five damn hours after the time Kakashi told the squad to be there, and by the looks on their faces, they were there on time.
'They'll figure out someday that he is never on time.' AJ thought as he watched from a tree, waiting for Kakashi to finally arrive. He was supposed to watch from a distance and they didn't need to know he was there. Kakashi knew for sure but that was a given, so it didn't matter.
"So, you give them something to think about?" Kakashi asked, sitting beside him.
"I sure did, not sure if I really helped or just made it worse, and I'm not sure which I like better." AJ said with a chuckle and looked over his shoulder at Kakash. "Better get down there now, they are gonna be pissed at you." AJ said.
"Morning everyone, ready for your first day?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly as he suddenly stood before the three kids.
""HEY YOU'RE LATE!"" Naruto and Sakura shouted and pointed at him.
"Huh?" AJ asked himself as he looked at the Kakashi down there, then at the one sitting in a tree right next to him, then back at the one down there, then back at the one next to him, then punched the one next to him and it went up in a puff of white smoke. "Stupid shadow clone…" He said as he went back to looking at the real one.
"Well a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way." Kakashi said.
'Was that a reference to me? Cause I'm not a black cat and neither is Neko.'
"You guys all have the same cut on your arm, what happened?" Kakashi asked, knowing the answer.
"Some jerk fought me. He said you had told him to find me! Why'd you do that, Sensei!?" Naruto asked.
"Why I have no idea what you're talking about." Kakashi said.
"Wait you had to fight a guy as well?" Sakura asked.
"Wait, you mean I wasn't the only one?" Naruto asked Sakura and turned to her.
They both looked at the identical mark they had on their arms. They looked to Sasuke and saw he had the same cut as well.
""YOU DID HAVE THAT GUY COME AFTER US, DIDN'T YOU!?"" Sakura and Naruto yelled and pointed at Kakashi.
"Well, let's get started." Kakashi said, ignoring them, and walked over to a nearby log and placed a clock on it. "Here we go, it's set for noon." He started the timer on it.
"Your assignment is very simple. You just have to take these bells from me, that's all there is to it." Kakashi said as he held the two bells. " If you can't get em by noon, you go without lunch."
"WHAT!?" Naruto yelled.
"You'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you." Kakashi said and they all realized why he had them not eat in the morning.
"Wait a minute, there are three of us so how come there are only two bells?" Sakura asked.
"Well that way at least one of you will be tied to a post and ultimately be disqualified for failing to complete the mission." Kakashi explained. "That one goes back to the academy."
"Then again, all three of you could flunk out too. You can use any weapons including shuriken, if you aren't prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells." Kakashi said.
"Those weapons are too dangerous Sensei!" Sakura spoke up.
"Haha! Especially since you couldn't even dodge that eraser!" Naruto said, laughing.
"Class clowns are usually the weakest links, you can safely ignore them. Lowest scores, losers." Kakashi said and AJ could sense from Naruto that he went too far with that one.
"When I say start you can begin." Kakashi said and Naruto growled before pulling out a kunai and charging.
Kakashi stood behind Naruto before the kid could even get to him and put Naruto's hand behind his head with his own knife, still in his hand, about to stab himself in the back of the head.
"Don't be in such a hurry, I didn't say start yet." Kakashi said.
Naruto tried hopelessly to get out of the hold. The other two took a step back and Kakashi finally released Naruto.
"But, you came at me with the full intention of destroying me so… How can I put this? I'm actually to like you guys." Kakashi said, getting a smile from Naruto.
"Get ready… aaaannnd…. START!" Kakashi shouted and the three all dashed away and hid.
"Ninja must know how to conceal their movements, and hide effectively." Kakashi said out loud, assuming they could hear him.
'Well… they do seem to have that bit down so far… well most of them do…'
"You and me! Right now! Fair and square! Let's go!" Naruto shouted as he stood before his sensei.
"…You know compared to the others, you're a bit… weird." Kakashi commented.
"Oh yeah!? The only thing weird here is your haircut!" Naruto said before charging.
'Sick burn, Naruto…' AJ thought sarcastically.
Kakashi reached into his weapon pouch and Naruto stopped his charge.
"Shinobi Battle Technique's Part One: Taijutsu, the Physical part." Kakashi said.
'Oh hey he's doing this again.'
Kakashi finally pulled something out from his bag… a book…
"What the?" Naruto said out loud in confusion.
'What is he… oh… he's taunting the brat! HAHA!'
"Well? What are you waiting for? Make your move." Kakashi taunted.
"But… Why are you reading that book?" Naruto asked.
"Well to find out what happens in the story of course." Kakashi answered.
'Smartass.'
"Don't let it bother you. With your weak attacks, it doesn't really matter if I'm reading or… whatever." Kakashi said.
"I'M GOING TO CRUSH YOOOOOUUU!" Naruto yelled with yet another obvious charge.
Kakashi stopped the attack without even looking, so Naruto tried to kick him, only to fail miserably, because Kakashi crouched to avoid it, all while still staring into the book. The book of course reminded AJ of Blake and he tried to just focus on the fight.
"Now you're mine!" Naruto shouted as he went to punch Kakashi while he was crouched. Kakashi used his speed to appear behind Naruto.
"Don't let your enemy get behind you all the time." Kakashi said while preparing a hand sign. AJ knew what was going to happen and it was the perfect distraction for him.
"NARUTO GET OUT OF THERE QUICK! HE'S GOING TO DESTROY YOU!" Sakura shouted.
"Too late." Kakahi said. "Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu:
A Thousand Years of Death!" Naruto was sent flying away and fell in the water.
If they weren't so focused on the fight they could have heard AJ failing to muffle his laughter, luckily it was his gasping laugh so there wasn't much to hear.
'Oh god my side hurts! Thank you Kakashi!'
Two shuriken flew out from the water and Kakashi caught them with two fingers without even looking up from his book.
"Show off." AJ said quietly.
Naruto slowly crawled out of the water.
"What are you doing now? You know you won't get lunch unless to take a bell by noon." Kakashi pointed out.
"I know! I know! You told us already!" Naruto complained.
"You look pretty wobbly for someone who going to 'surpass the Hokage'." Kakashi pointed out.
"You told us not to eat! How can I fight when I'm starving to death!?" Naruto asked. "You just caught me off guard! That's all it was! Believe it!" Naruto yelled confidently.
"I'm, so hungry I don't have any strength! But I can't let that stop me, I've got to get one of those bells no matter what! I'll find the strength somehow, believe it! I'm going to pass this test, and I'm not going back to the academy!" Naruto shouted. " I will become a ninja! " And with that a bunch of Naruto's came out of the water.
"You're overconfident, Sensei! Shadow Clones! Attack!" Naruto shouted and the clones charged.
"Great technique, but I don't think you can maintain it for very long. You talk like you're the best Naruto but you are still the worst student. You can't beat me with this jutsu…" Kakashi said. But after he said that a clone grabbed him from behind.
"What!?" Kakashi shouted.
"Didn't you say never let your enemies get behind you? Good advice, Sensei!" Naruto said.
The rest of the clones grabbed Kakashi's legs and one of the Naruto's jumped up.
"This is for nailing me in the butt earlier!" Naruto shouted proudly as he punched… himself in the face?
"It's you… You're Kakashi Sensei aren't you!? Trying to trick me by becoming me!? Well I won't fall for it!" Naruto shouted and all the clones started hitting each other and accusing one another of being Kakashi in disguise.
"I know! Just undo the Jutsu!" One of the Naruto's shouted and then they all went up in smoke. Leaving Naruto all alone and looking like a fool.
'So he didn't transform into Naruto, which I would have thought would have fooled him, no instead he switched himself with one of the clones and hid, letting Naruto beat himself up.' AJ realized.
Naruto noticed something shiny in the grass and then noticed it was one of the bells.
"A bell!? It must have fallen off him!" Naruto said proudly and walked up to the bell only to be hung upside down by his ankle. "Somebody! Help!" Naruto said and also tried in vain to reach the bell below him until Kakashi casually walked up and took it.
"Think before you use a Jutsu, or your enemy will turn it against you." Kakashi said. "Oh and if the bait is obvious, don't take it." This infuriated Naruto.
'No kidding, that was so obvious it was ridiculous.'
"A ninja must see through deception." Kakashi explained.
"I… get… it!" Naruto said as he continued to struggle.
"I'm telling you this because you don't get it. You think you get it which is not the same as actually getting it, get it?" Kakashi explained.
AJ felt emotion that was equivalent to " This is my chance! " and saw Kakashi get taken out by a few shuriken and kunai.
'Whoa, that actually hit him!? No… it couldn't… but there is blood so…'
Kakashi went up in a puff of smoke and when the smoke cleared there was a log with a few ninja tools stabbed in it.
'Ok… geez Kakashi… thought you actually got hurt that time… Freaking Substitution Jutsu is such a pain to deal with…
AJ couldn't get any closer to see what happens now and they went out of his emotion sense range so now all he had was the girl screaming in the distance, the fireball later, and Naruto stuck in a tree right now.
"'A ninja must see through deception!' How am I supposed to do that!?" Naruto grunted as he finally pulled out a kunai to cut the rope. "Well I'm sure not falling for any more of his traps!" The moment he landed he caught in another rope trap. "AAAH! I FELL FOR IT AGAIIIINN!" Naruto shouted and heard laughing in the distance.
"Hey! What's so funny!?" He shouted angrily and the laughing stopped suddenly. "NO! WAIT! I'm sorry! Help me out here!" No response.
There's the scream.
Naruto continued to hang upside down and calmly think for a minute. He noticed something in the distance.
" Hey, what are those things down there… Hey! I know what those are! Those are boxed lunches! " He said excitedly. " Oh… A ninja must see through deception." He said and laughed like he had some great idea. " AND WOULD THAT PERSON OUT THERE THAT LAUGHED AT ME COME HELP ME NOW!? "
And there is the fire ball.
Naruto laughed victoriously. He now sat in front of the boxed lunches that he had found.
"Sensei said we can't have any lunch but if I eat my lunch now then there is nothing he can do! It's chow time!" Naruto shouted.
"Hi there."
"AAAAHH!" Naruto shouted at the voice of his Sensei hanging over him. " I was just joking Sensei. "
"Nice try." Kakashi said.
And there's another scream…
…
'Aaaaannnnd times up.'
…
"Ok why is Naruto the only one tied to a post…" AJ asked himself.
"Uh oh. Stomach's growling huh? Too bad." Kakashi said as he looked down at the three students. Naruto is tied to the same post that the clock now sits on while the others are sitting on either side of him.
"Oh by the way, about this exercise, I've decided I won't send any of you back to the academy." Kakashi said and they got excited.
'Then why do you feel like you have something else to say, you're anticipating your own words… why?'
"What? I passed?" Sakura asked. "All I did was faint and fall over, do we get points for that?"
Sasuke chuckled proudly while Sakura and Naruto cheered.
"Yep, all three of you, are being dropped from the program!" Kakashi stated. "PERMENENTLY!"
"Whoa, the hell Kakashi? All my work for nothing?" AJ asked out loud.
"What work? You barely did anything?" Neko teased.
"Drop us from the program!? That means we can never become ninja!" Naruto said. "You said if we didn't take the bells we would be sent back to the academy! YOU CAN'T JUST CHANGE YOUR MIND AND KICK US OUT WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?" Naruto demanded and tried to get out of the rope that tied him to the post.
"Because you don't think like Ninja, you think like little kids, like brats." Kakashi explained and Sasuke got pissed off at this and charged him.
"You think it's all about you!" Kakashi stated while he sat on Sasuke's back and held Sasuke's arm behind his back and stepped on his head.
"LET GO OF SASUKE! YOU CAN'T STEP ON HIM LIKE HE'S SOME BUG!" Sakura shouted.
'OH MY GOD I just figured out why Kakashi feels so incredibly disappointed in them.'
Sasuke tried in vain to move.
"You don't know what it means to be a ninja!" Kakashi said angrily. " You think it's a game huh!? "
"Why do you think we put you on squads!? Could you consider that question for one moment!?" Kakashi asked through his unseen teeth.
"I-I don't know what you mean!" Sakura said, confused.
"I mean, you never realized what this exercise is all about. Not even close." Kakashi answered.
"What it's about?" Naruto asked.
"Yes. That's what determines rather you pass or fail." Kakashi explained.
"But that's… I mean I wanted to ask you that from the beginning." Sakura said shyly.
'Then why didn't you?'
"Tsk! Use your head! Three people on a squad! Why do you think we would do that?" Kakashi asked.
"AAAGGGH! How are we supposed to know why you pick three people!? We didn't make the rules!" Naruto shouted.
"It's so basic," Kakashi said, and then he said at the same moment that AJ thought: "Teamwork!"
Realization hit the three kids, hard.
"Just working together, is that what you mean?" Sakura asked.
"That's what I mean. It's too late now! But if all three of you had come at me, you might have been able to take them!" Kakashi explained. " Well… anyway, it's over. Come on out, Shin!"
'Wait what? Oh shit, ok.' AJ used his Aura bow to teleport to them. "Yes Sensei?"
""Huh?"" Sakura and Naruto both asked as they looked at the cloaked newcomer who pulled down his hood. ""HEY I REMEMBER YOU!"" They both shouted and pointed at him. Sasuke visually bristled but couldn't move anyway, still pinned by Kakashi.
"Why now?" AJ asked.
"Because it's over." Kakashi said angry and disappointed and released Sasuke.
"You set it up with three people but only two bells!" Sakura realized. "If we worked together and caught the bells only two of us could keep them and that would lead to group conflict the squad would break up!"
"You hit the nail on the head there girl. You think he didn't do that on purpose?" AJ asked.
"What?" Naruto asked, surprised.
"I wanted to see if you could overcome that and put the squad ahead of yourselves! Genin should have a natural feel for teamwork, but you? It never even crossed your mind!" Kakashi explained.
'That's why he's so disappointed in them. Man it sounds like they were the worst squad he ever dealt with.'
AJ walked up to Kakashi. "Come on Sensei, just give 'em another chance. I get that you're disappointed but that Sasuke one has skill that shouldn't be wasted." He whispered.
"Why should I?" Kakashi asked before turning to the kids.
"Sakura! You obsessed about Sasuke, who was gone, while Naruto was right in front of you and you wouldn't lift a finger to help him!" Kakashi scolded and she looked down in regret.
"Naruto! You do everything on your own! Everything!" Kakashi scolded.
"And you Sasuke. You thought the others were so far beneath you they were worthless, arrogance. Ninja missions are carried out in squads. Of course you need individual skills, but teamwork is the most essential element. Every Shinobi understands this, when individuals put themselves above the squad, it can lead to failure, and death! For example:" Kakashi grabbed a kunai from his pouch. "Sakura! Kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies! " He said as he suddenly was standing next to Sasuke with a knife to his throat.
"That's what happens on a mission. The enemy takes a hostage and you've got an impossible choice, and someone ends up dead." Kakashi said as he put the kunai knife away.
"On every mission your life is on the line." He said and walked over to the memorial stone that AJ had appeared in front of when he came to this world three months ago.
"Have you looked at this stone? The names engraved on it? They are all ninja who are honored as heroes in our village." Kakashi explained solemnly.
"That's it! X3 Now I know! I'm gonna have my name engraved on that stone!" Naruto shouted when a kunai struck the log he was tied to right above his head.
"You idiot!" AJ shouted. "Do you really have no idea of the how you get your name written on that stone!?" He yelled as he got in his face. Naruto was still in shock from fear. "YOU DIE!" Naruto was shocked by this info before looking down sadly.
"This is a memorial stone. The names of my closest friends are written here." Kakashi said and it didn't take AJ's abilities to feel the sorrow in his voice. "… Alright Shin, I'm granting your wish, I'll give them one more chance."
They all got excited by this and AJ was shocked for a moment before nodding thankfully.
"But I'm going to make it much harder on your three." Kakashi finished. "You'll have three hours to get a bell, eat up now to build strength, except Naruto, he doesn't get any.
"It's your punishment for trying to break the rules and eat by yourself. And if anyone tries to feed him that person will automatically fail." Kakashi threatened.
"What!?" Naruto whined.
"I make the rules, you follow them. Got it!?" Kakashi said threateningly.
And with that Kakashi left and AJ decided to go back to his hiding spot and watch the coming fight while Sakura and Sasuke both ate their meals while Naruto sat there and his stomach growled.
"This is no big deal, I can go without food for days! For weeks! Believe it! This is no. Big. Deal!" Naruto yelled confidently. Then his stomach growled again…
"Here." Sasuke said handing his food to Naruto.
"What? No Sasuke you can't do that!" Sakura said. " You heard what the Sensei said."
"Kakashi is gone. We need to get those bells as a team. If Naruto is hungry he'll be weak and ineffective, that hurts the team and jeopardizes the mission." Sasuke reasoned.
Sakura debated this for a minute and decided to hand her lunch as well.
"Ok, thanks." Naruto said. " But wait I can't eat, you have to feed me!"
"Fine! But this is one time only got it!?" Sakura threatened.
"Got it!" Naruto said smiling.
He got one bite before there was an explosion in front of them and Kakashi came flying out, causing Naruto to panic.
"YOU!" Kakashi yelled angrily.
"You broke the rules. I hope you're ready for the punishment!" Kakashi said angrily and made a few hand signs causing the sky to darken with clouds that came out of nowhere and lighting could be seen.
"Any last words?"
"But you said-" Naruto started.
"YES?" Kakashi asked.
"You said there were three of us! That's why Sakura… and…" Naruto quickly forgot how to words.
"We're all on this squad and we're all in it together." Sasuke said.
"Yeah! We gave our lunch to him because the three of us are one!" Sakura shouted proudly.
'Oh wait… I can't feel any anger from him… in fact he is really happy and proud right now… Kakashi you are evil sometimes… hehe.'
"The three of you are one!? That's your excuse!?" Kakashi asked angrily.
…
" You pass."
""Huh?"" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed.
"You. Pass." Kakashi said with a much happier tone.
"What do you mean? How'd we pass?" Sakura asked.
The clouds that came out of nowhere started to recede. "You're the first squad that's ever done it. The others did exactly what I said, and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception. In the ninja world those who break the rules are scum, that's true.
But, those who abandon their friends, are worse than scum." Kakashi finished.
Sakura sighed in relief, Naruto was about to cry 'manly' tears and Sasuke was smiling for passing, or maybe in understanding, one or both.
"He's uh… you know… he's kinda cool." Naruto said, holding back tears.
"Well, congratulations then." AJ said as he appeared next to Kakashi.
"The exercise is over, everyone passes! Squad 7 starts its first mission tomorrow!" Kakashi said as he and gave a dramatic thumbs up that made AJ sweatdrop.
"Yes!"
"…"
"I did it! I did it! Believe it! I'm a ninja! Ninja! Ninja!"
"Let's go home." Kakashi said and he and AJ started walking back to the village, soon followed by Sakura and Sasuke.
"HEY! YOU FORGOT TO UNTIE MEEEEE!" Naruto yelled behind them.
Yeah, I know, you have questions. Don't bother asking. The story will answer your questions, someday far in the future.
I will answer why the number of this book is just a question mark at the moment: Because the books are numbered in chronologic order.
Yes, that is my answer.
Also, the emotion sense was an ability he unlocked in EXTRAS at one point.
Anyway, the character has changed, the scene has changed, the teammates have changed, the goal of the book has changed, and we seem to have jumped forward in time, but how far?
Follow, fav, review, whatever you want.
Have a great day.