"Run Around the Foolsberry Bush" – Chapter 1
Yay! Another story! I think I really like this one.
Well, this story will be entirely nerdly and will feature me! Well…an embodiment of me…it'll be first person (because that's how I write best) and will feature one of my closest friends: Frosty (from Tonfa ( You may know her from one of her stories (not necessarily on Tonfa) featuring a famous blueberry muffin. I'm also going to have a third character, of my or Frosty's own design (we hadn't decided who it is yet), as a main character.
So, yes, this is the spawn of random and of what discussions Frosty and I have about Naruto, Death Note, and other anime quirks. Not to mention I got the idea while writing Chapter 6 for "Incoming" (my first story on Tonfa).
Okay, so Frosty will equal Tankou Kasai (AKA Ember) in this story, "I" will be Ikasu Nanei, and the third character…will be made up. I don't have much more than that right now shrugs. Well, that's enough ramble, on with the show!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto franchise, Kishimoto Masashi-dono does. The three main characters belong to Frosty and me.
"..." - speech, '...' - thought
italicized - flashback/emphasis, bold - more emphasis
CAPITALIZED - major emphasis/ loud noise
bold italicized - change in POV/flashback on/off switch
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"Nanei! Get out here!" THUD THUD "Na-ne-iiii!!!!" THUD THUD THUD Boy, if that wasn't the morning song at my apartment, the sky wasn't blue. It was my friend Tankou Kasai, or as I called her, Ember. Her family works with metal and forges many of the ninja weapons here in Konohagakure, hence "tankou"; tankou means metal worker. Because she was never really into making weapons, her given name means fire, and, since she's a small girl like me, I call her Ember. Ember is rather short, maybe an inch or so shorter than me (A/N: I am 12 years old and stand 4'9" at the start of this story) and she's a bit on the heavy side. No, she's not fat and not because she eats a lot, but because that's how she is. If anyone calls her fat, they get a fat lip and a pretty black eye to match, courtesy of Ember or me. Her hair is a sandy blonde that reaches her shoulders, her eyes are a blueish-gray-green and she wears corrective eyewear, like I do.
Me? I'm Nanei, Ikasu Nanei to be exact. My name has no particular meaning, but it sounds pretty. I think Ikasu means "revival" or "smart"…something along those lines. My family is an ordinary civilian family; my mom works in her kimono shop and dad works as a salesman for the same shop. Because of their success, mom and dad could afford to send me to the coolest place in Konoha: the Ninja Academy. Grandpa was a ninja before he was forced to retire after the Kyuubi attack twelve years ago; he'd lost his left leg and his right eye and his right leg was badly crippled with spinal damage. I always wanted to be a ninja, to live on grandpa's dream as well as my own.
THUD THUD THUD Oh yeah, that noise. Every morning, I enjoy sleeping in and, more often than not, I will. Ember is my only real alarm, because I've already smashed my mechanical one, so she comes by to wake me up every morning. But alas, I am not a morning person, so I just grumble, roll over, and wrap myself in sheets before dozing off again. This morning, though, I can't press my bodily snooze button, so I'm just lying awake today. After a minute, there's silence. No banging, no yelling, just quiet…before Ember comes into my room and jumps on me.
"Time to wake up, Nanei! We're going to be late for school!" Ember all but screamed into my ears. Did I mention Ember is my classmate in the Academy? Along with the shy Hyuuga Hinata, hyperactive Uzumaki Naruto, and lazy Nara Shikamaru, Ember is one of my best friends. Groaning, I grudgingly opened my crusty eyes and stared at the red digital numbers on my fancy new clock I bought the other day. Being late is something everyone learned to avoid with Umino Iruka as our sensei; he's almost too strict. After a moment, I sprang to life, knocking Ember, my bed sheets, and myself to the floor. It was 8:52 AM. Eight minutes 'til class started.
"CRAP!! I'M GONNA BE LATE!!" I shouted, gathering my clothes and a few accessories before shutting myself in the bathroom. I took a record three-minute shower, dried my long brown hair (to my middle back), tied it up in a smooth pony-tail, and piled into my usual outfit: a sports bra, my long-sleeve black under-armor over that and my cream-colored vest over that. After that was a set of black spandex shorts that stopped a couple inches above my knees, a white skirt with splits on the sides, and a brown belt lose around my waist. I slipped on my favorite necklace, given to me when I was little, and popped in my usual stud earrings (my left ear is pierced 3 times from the lobe up and my right is pierced 3 times along the top arch). I thundered out of the bathroom, grabbed my glasses (I have bad eyesight) and Ember before running into the kitchen and grabbing my younger brother's toast right off the plate.
"Hey! That's my toast! Give it back!" My five-year-old brother shouted as I slipped on my black ninja shoes. The slice of sweet buttered toast was hanging from my mouth as I waved goodbye to my dad, who was just about to leave. Before anything else could be said, I jumped onto the railing in front of my apartment, Ember in tow, and leapt from building to building at top speed. Before you could say "dattebayo", we reached the Academy and ran in, being careful not to crash into anybody on the way.
"Nanei! Slow down! We have time!" Ember shouted from behind me. A glimpse at a hallway clock proved she was right, but I was notorious for being late even with tons of time. Besides, one more late appearance and I'd be sentenced to detention, which was never fun. Slowing down was not an option. I skidded to a stop in front of the class doors and gingerly opened the sliding door. I panted heavily and slowly recovered my breath while looking around the room. Thankfully, everybody was milling about and doing their own thing, while Iruka-sensei was yet to appear.
"Phew…close call." I sighed, still panting.
"Again? Gees…Nanei, you seriously need to get a sense of time." Ah, the familiar sarcastic banter of Nara Shikamaru. He's the laziest guy in class, so lazy that he fails his tests by not even filling them out. One thing that very few people know is that he's a total genius with an IQ of…well…a number way the hell up there. Every game of chess, checkers, and shogi ended up in Shikamaru winning. I only beat him once in a game of checkers, but that was because he was almost asleep at the time.
"Look who's talking Sir Sleeps-a-lot." I retorted punching him gently in the arm. Being the nerd I am, I often read a lot about knights and other fantasy tales, so I often joke with Shika about them…also because he'd be the only one (besides Ember) to get the jokes. Ember and I settled in a couple seats and I struck up a conversation with the timid, blueberry-haired Hyuuga girl. "How's it going, Hina-chan? Your cousin giving you any trouble?"
"Yeah," Ember added, "Do we get to beat him up?" Ember pretended to fight the air, punching it every now and again. Neji was never her favorite person, nor mine.
"Oh, everything's f-fine." Hinata stuttered, "No, N-Neji-nii-san hasn't bothered me l-lately. H-he's b-been out on missions."
"That's good to hear." I smiled widely at my friend, "I'd hate to have to beat him up again." You see, Hinata and I have been friends since day 1 at the academy: she was seven and I was eight (I was born March 10 and she was born December 27), she was timid and I was a loudmouth, and she was fawned over while I treated her like a normal person. See, Hinata is the oldest daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuuga clan, so Hinata is the heiress to the Hyuuga clan (hence the fawning). Cool huh? I'm friends with a weapon-smith, a genius, and an heiress! ...It all makes me seem like the person who just tags along to look cool.
But wait, what about me knowing Neji? Well, the year after we first met, Hinata invited me for a sleepover. Neji, who was one year older than us, was there and, well, let's just say we didn't get along. He called Hinata pathetic, I pulled his hair and yelled in his face, he smacked me upside the head (with his fist), and I finished it off by kicking him where the sun don't shine. Needless to say, Neji's not my closest acquaintance. The dislike was reinforced on another occasion. I laughed to myself when I recalled the event.
Flashback to one year ago
It was mid-February; the winter snows were melting away and spring was on the horizon if not already upon the hidden ninja village of Konohagakure. Early rains were expected every now and again, so most civilians, kids, and shinobi went around with an umbrella or a hooded coat. A rainstorm was also expected, so many were prepared to run for cover if the weather got too nasty.
"N-Nanei-nee-san?" an eleven-year-old Hyuuga Hinata asked me. We had just gotten out of class and we were leaving the Academy.
"Hai, Hina-chan?" my eleven-year-old self asked back.
"W-would you like to come to my s-sleepover? I-I've invited a few others." Hinata often invited only me to one of her sleepovers, but it was good to see her branching out. I smiled and nodded.
"I'd love to, Hina-chan! I'll ask mom and get some of my things together, okay?" Hinata nodded and smiled back at me as I ran home to gather my sleeping bag and the other necessaries. Later on in the night, everyone was getting sleepy and half of the people Hinata invited never showed, but there were maybe eight of us (including Ember, Hinata, and me) there. Most of the girls gossiped and we played "Truth or Dare" once or twice. It was the third round of "Truth or Dare" (we all agreed to go to bed after this one) and it was my turn.
"Alright, Nanei," a girl named Moshi started, "Truth…or Dare?" She asked, pausing for dramatic effect. I'd taken truth twice already, so I decided to pick dare this time. "Oohs" and "aahs" flew around our little circle. Moshi put her pointer finger to her chin and thought a moment before smiling devilishly. "Okay then…Nanei. I dare you to…kiss Rock Lee." Moshi said with a smirk on her face. Everyone in the circle gasped because, earlier that night, Neji had brought his ninja team over to show off to his uncle Hiashi and boy were they odd. Neji's sensei, Maito Gai, had left to go out on a "youthful" mission while Neji's teammates, a girl named Tenten and a boy named Rock Lee, decided to hang out for the night. Besides, the rain was too harsh for them to leave. So Tenten and Lee were spending the night. All of us girls met Neji's team and most of us laughed at the sight of them. Tenten because of her "cinnamon bun" hairstyle and clashing choice of greenish pants with a pink top; Gai because he wore bright green spandexorange leg warmers, his hitai-ate around his waist, and a bowl cut for his shiny black hair.
Lee was one of the funniest looking of all: his hair was long and, well, dorky looking, his bug eyes freaked most of us out, and his hands were all bandaged up like a mummy's. But most of all, Lee's eyebrows were big and furry (A/N: This is before Lee became Gai's clone.). His head fell and a frown adorned his face. I was the second to stop laughing, after Hina-chan, and patted his back apologetically after everyone else started walking away. Now, though, the girls were giggling hysterically; if I took the dare and completed it, I'd either be laughed at for a while or I'd be honored for getting near the boy. If I turned down the dare, I'd have to run around the yard in the rain…and in my underwear. Now I adore rain and storms, but in my underwear? At the Hyuuga household? Not gonna happen. But being mean was not in my nature; I only like playing harmless pranks, an attribute influenced by Naruto Uzumaki. But, while I went out to complete my dare, Neji walked past me...chaos was eminent.
"…Loser…" He muttered, knowingly still in earshot.
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" I shouted, whipping around and raising a fist at him.
"Are you as deaf as you are stupid? I said 'loser.'" Neji retorted, cool as a cucumber. His trademark smirk was etched on his face and his lavender orbs bored into my golden brown ones. Oh…this guy had a knack for pushing my buttons.
"THAT'S IT!!" I shouted pouncing on the Hyuuga and clawing dangerously at him. The fight rolled out into the yard and I immediately felt the pelting of rain on me. No matter, I still tried to kick Neji's ass. Punch, punch, claw, kick, spin, punch, spin, kick, claw, kick, punch…you get the idea. Mud flew everywhere and I actually managed to land some hits. Unfortunately, Neji landed a few too. He pushed me off and into a mud puddle, where I sat, gasping for breath. I saw his hair and clothes were caked in mud and I laughed a bit, though I wasn't looking any better. You ever hear of the mud monster? Well, that was me I guess.
"I told you…you were a loser." Neji panted slightly. I, however, was still gasping. Lee, Tenten, Hinata, and the other girls all came out to see what happened.
"Neji!" Lee shouted, "It is not youthful to fight a girl outside of sparring!" Lee, Ember, and Hinata slogged their way through the surprisingly deep mud. I regained my composure by sitting vertically and my breathing rate calmed. Hinata looked me over worriedly, but I stood, shaky and covered in mud, to show I was okay. Lee shrugged one of my arms over his shoulders, along with Ember, and helped carry me to the covered wooden walkway; the rain wiped off a lot of the mud on the way. Tenten had gotten some towels and set one for me to sit on as well as one for Neji.
"A-Are you okay, N-Nanei-nee-san?" Hinata asked as she helped rub mud out of my hair while Ember wiped some mud off my arms and legs. My breathing was still very deep, but it was better than before.
"Hai…I'm fine Hina-chan…I just…have to catch…my breath." I smiled assuredly at Hinata. I turned to Lee and nodded. "Thank you…for helping me…out of that mud…Lee."
"It was no trouble at all!" Lee said. His smile gleamed and his eyes creased into smiling curves. Taking my chance, I kissed Lee on the nose and wrapped myself in a large towel. I stood and made my way to my stuff to get myself a change of clothes.
"Hey! Don't I get any thanks?" Ember asked angrily. I laughed a bit at Ember's exasperation and as I walked past Moshi, I said, "Dare complete." And the night resumed with no further exciting events.
End Flashback
"I'll never forget that…" I sighed dreamily, my chin resting in the palm of my hand as my elbow propped me up. Kicking Neji's butt was an event I always prided myself in attempting. Bugging the Hyuuga genius wasn't too far off the mark either. Slapping paint on his face, sticking gum in his hair, and putting itching powder in his underwear drawer (he wears briefs, so it's even better!) were a few of my favorite pranks to pull on him. The only days I wouldn't prank Neji, is on formal family days, his birthday, Christmas, New Years, and April Fool's Day (so his guard would be down for the day after April Fools's Day).
"Alright, class! Settle down, settle down." I heard Iruka-sensei say as he approached the front of the class. I snapped free of memory lane and looked towards the front of the class. Iruka-sensei was there, but so was someone else. I was towards the back of the class, but this person appeared to be a guy. He had on a zip-up hoodie (hood up), long black pants that went to his ankles, close-toed, slightly heeled boots on his feet, and a curtain of cloth over his right leg (kinda like what Cloud had in the "Advent Children" movie). The guy was left-handed, judging by the shuriken holster on his left thigh, and he had a long, long, LONG braid of black hair curled around his neck, which was wearing a black leather collar, and falling free of the hoodie. From the bottom of his left eye to his jawline was a black stripe. His bangs were silver and his pitch-black eyes screamed "stay away". I shivered slightly and listened to the last of what Iruka-sensei was saying, "-so give a warm welcome to our new student, Kuroi Ada." Only a few guys waved (even then it was halfhearted), most of the girls giggled and whispered to each other with blushes on their faces, and my bunch of friends smiled warmly.
Kuroi Ada; Kuroi means black, Ada means revenge. I shivered again, but my brain claimed it was a misnomer. This "Ada" guy was probably a decent person, just a bit standoffish like the emo in class, Uchiha Sasuke. Killing the trend, Ember, Naruto and I waved and greeted the new guy excitedly.
"Greetings, Ada! I'm Ikasu Nanei!" I said happily. I wore a smile that would rival even Lee's and Gai's.
"I'm Tankou Kisai, but call me Ember!" Ember chirped, a cute smile on her face.
"And I'm Uzumaki Naruto! The next Hokage! Dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed as he stood on his chair…before losing his balance and falling face-first into the row in front of him. Ada merely quirked an eyebrow and nodded a greeting to all three of us before taking a seat towards the back of the class.
"This guy seems cool." I said to Hinata. She nodded and looked worriedly at her secret crush, Naruto. Did I mention I know just about everything about the adorable Hyuuga girl? Including secrets?
"Alright class. Today we'll be working on genjutsus. Don't forget to take notes; this could be on your final exam." Iruka-sensei said. The finals of this year were coming up pretty soon, maybe two months away. It was March fifth now, five days before my birthday, and finals always took place in late May. If I started now or in April, I'd be totally set to ace that test. Thinking about the test made me glance towards Ada.
'Is he a genin waiting to get a new team?' I thought, 'No. He has no headband. He must've moved here not too long ago and is finishing his studies as an Academy student.' I reasoned that much and returned my attention to the front of the class as Iruka-sensei went on about how to dispel genjutsus with and without the aid of another's chakra. I already knew a lot about this stuff, so I folded my hands on the desk in front of me and dozed off after a half hour of Iruka-sensei's lecture.
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Well, that's chapter 1. I rather like it, considering it takes up maybe eight pages on Microsoft Word. Mainly, the longer it is, the more I like the story. So, "Incoming" (my story on Tonfa) isn't ending anytime soon and neither is this story! Yay for writing!
Now, at the beginning I said I didn't know what the third character would be. Well, after some deliberating, I decided to give Kuroi Ada new life from being just a drawing on paper to being an actual character in a story! Besides, hairpin turns will take place as a result of Ada's existence! Muahahahaha!
...Sorry about that, couldn't help myself.
Reviews are nice!
(Chapter 1 End)