Esperwen: ...Hey! (waves) It's nice to be back and posting. Sorry for the wait; you know that I like to write the whole story first before posting.
Itachi: And your excuse this portal is...?
Ruroni: my bad. i switched schools so esperwen ended up going solo for a while. but im back now.
Kiba: Hey, I've been wondering. How come Ruroni has no idea what punctuation and grammar and everything are, while Esperwen's is always so neat, but fluffy?
Ruroni: DO NOT MOCK MY TYPING OR YOU SHAL BE DELETED FROM FUTURE PLOTS!
Shino: ...you spelled 'shall' wrong.
Ruroni: THAT GOES FOR U TOO SECONDARY CARACTER!!!!!
DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naruto, anything related with Naruto, we hate ShinoXKiba relations, the Legendary Sannin, competitions, apprenticeships, arguments between friends, nor the Sasuke retrieval arc.
Chapter One: The World Only Seems Unchanged
Chatora Pooriin stumbled out of the Aburame household with only one thought on her mind: Finally...it's over!
Daily, over the past two and a half months, the 12-year-old girl had been going through strenuous mental and emotional training with the head of the Aburame household, Aburame Shibi. She had been improving smoothly with controlling her anger, but her nerves were wearing thin. Some of Shibi's tactics were rather...unkind.
"What did he say this time?" Inuzuka Kiba asked, taking her hand once she reached the road.
"Basically, that you were gay," Pooriin informed her boyfriend tiredly, before adding, "With Shino."
"Excuse me?" a shocked baritone voice inquired to Pooriin and Kiba's right.
Aburame Shino, who had spoken, Hyuuga Hinata, and Inuzuka Michiko with her four dogs had been waiting quietly with Kiba for Pooriin to finish her training. Pooriin had been too tired to notice them when she had exited the household.
"I'm serious," Pooriin complained, dragging her feet through the moonlit streets towards her home, "He really did say that."
"Huh. I learned something new today," Michiko said thoughtfully, earning a glare from the two boys, and a giggle from Hinata, "What else did Shibi-san say?"
"That you think I'm ugly, and Hinata thinks I'm a waste of time," Pooriin answered promptly, while the group of five began walking through Konoha's streets, "Oh, and that I needed a make-over badly."
"He's getting more and more personal," Hinata said sympathetically, then turned to Shino, "Does this mean that the training's coming along well?"
"For an Aburame, considering that his comments aren't really that terrible, this is going pathetically slow," Shino said honestly, "But for an outsider, yes, Pooriin's doing well."
"Aw..." Michiko hurried forward and gave Pooriin a hug, "Hear that? You're doing well. We love you."
"I'm tired," Pooriin sniffed.
"Well, I'm not carrying you," Michiko huffed, releasing her friend from the hug, "I'm tired too. You're not the only one who's been training."
"Thanks," Pooriin said sarcastically, giving Michiko an annoyed look.
Michiko grinned; teasing Pooriin was a pasttime that both she and Kiba enjoyed; then looked at her largest dog, Athos, and raised her eyebrow. Not that Athos was very big; his head only came up to mid-shin on Michiko. The brown pup woofed and seemed to nod, and Michiko made a few handseals before resting her hand on Athos' head. The dog soon grew about eight times his usual size, making him roughly as large as a small pony.
"But you can ride Athos, here," Michiko offered, and Athos smiled at Pooriin in a friendly way.
Pooriin merely gave a tired smile to her friends, then sat side-saddle on the brown dog like it was natural for her.
"Where did you learn to do that jutsu?" Hinata asked curiously, while Athos' three brothers and Akamaru sniffed him cautiously, making sure he was the same dog.
"It's just a normal transformation, but not on me," Michiko shrugged, "It's making an object look like something else, like Naruto's Orioke no Jutsu, only on another person."
"Oh yeah," Kiba nodded thoughtfully, remembering Naruto's demonstration in class several months ago, "I remember that jutsu."
"Don't make me throw my shoe at you," Pooriin growled goodnaturedly, and Kiba grinned to show he was kidding.
"Unfortunately, that is the only jutsu that Kiba remembers from the Academy," Shino said with his usual straight face, then with a wry smile he dodged a punch from his best friend; Shino always rose to the occasion whenever there was something to tease Kiba about.
"...This is where we part," Hinata said, when they came to an intersection.
Hinata turned right, Kiba and Pooriin went straight, while Shino and Michiko turned left.
"G'night, guys," Michiko called.
"Sayonara," Hinata goodbyed.
"See you tomorrow," Kiba called.
"Wait, Michii, what about Athos?" Pooriin asked, realizing that she was still riding the dog.
"Porthos is going with him, see?" Michiko asked, pointing to the mottled dog what was still trotting beside Akamaru, "Both of them will take care of each other when they come home on their own. Don't worry! They're ninken dogs."
"Said like a true Inuzuka," Kiba grinned, waving to his adopted sister, "'Bye!"
When all three of the other 12-year-olds were out of sight, Shino took Michiko's hand in his own, and the black-haired girl couldn't help but grin.
"Now that Kiba's no longer here to tease us, right?" Michiko asked, giving her boyfriend's hand a squeeze.
"Pretty much," Shino nodded, undoing the top of his collar, and Michiko could see that he was giving a rare smile.
"You should smile more," Michiko scolded lightly, poking Shino in the side, "It's healthier than frowning all the time."
"My facial expressions are none of your affair," Shino informed her calmly, and ignored when Michiko rolled her eyes, "...you just came back from another week-long mission."
"Yeah," Michiko nodded, suddenly intent on where her other two dogs, Aramis and D'Artagnan were; she realized that they had run ahead to the apartment she and her friend Deniizu shared.
"Can't you tell me where you go?" Shino asked, pulling Michiko to a stop.
"I...yes, but-" Michiko couldn't meet his eyes somehow.
"But what?" Shino interrupted, "First, it was classified information. The second time, Inel-san told you not to say. The third time, you said you would tell me later, but you never did. It's been four times now, where you'd come back for one day, then leave for a week, without telling anybody anything. A whole month! What's going on?"
Michiko opened her mouth to say something, then shut it with a stubborn look on her face.
"Don't play the 'concerned boyfriend' card," Michiko muttered, "That isn't fair."
"Then don't make me the bad guy," Shino countered, "...I thought you wanted this to work out."
"I do!"
"Then make this work! I'm trying to be good to you, but this has to be a two-way street."
"You're trying to play that card agai-"
"So are you!"
Michiko glared at Shino, and Shino glared back. Unfortunately for the girl, he had the advantage; he could see her eyes, but she couldn't see his. Irrationally angry now, Michiko kicked Shino hard in the shin, wrenched her hands out of his, and stomped away. Or tried to; some child in the village had set a tripwire up, and it snagged her foot completely, causing her to fall in both an undignified, and very un-dramatic manner.
"Life sucks," Michiko grumbled to the sky, in a perfectly teenaged way, while Shino stood over her and looked down serenely, "...What're you lookin' at?"
"My girlfriend," Shino answered smoothly, "She's acting like a fool right now."
Michiko twisted and landed another kick on his shin, in the same spot as before. Though he didn't show it on his face, Shino felt his leg bruising where she'd kicked him; Michiko must have used chakra in the blow.
"Funny," Michiko snapped, getting up and walking towards her home again.
"You too," Shino retorted, ignoring the pain in his leg and marching right beside Michiko, "Fine. If you can't tell me now, when can you tell me?"
Michiko had reached the apartment stairs by now; after stomping her feet so hard, her anger was gone, and now there was just regret.
"I'm not sure," Michiko answered quietly, before turning back to her boyfriend, "Maybe next week, maybe never. It depends."
"Depends on...what?" Shino prompted, but Michiko only shook her head.
"I'm sorry. For kicking you and everything. But I need one more week," Michiko said softly, hugging and looking up at Shino, "I'm leaving tomorrow, and when I come back, maybe I'll be able to tell you."
"'Maybe' isn't good enough," Shino grumbled good-naturedly, "I need a straight answer. Yes or no?"
But you might be disappointed in me, Shino-sensei, Michiko thought, remembering when he was her tutor, and how angry he'd be when she made mistakes, I want you to be proud of me.
"...Please?" Shino asked, when Michiko hesitated, "I just want to know what's going on."
"You're playing that card again," Michiko reprimanded.
"It's an effective tactic," Shino pointed out.
"...Fine," Michiko sighed, pushing away from her boyfriend, "I will tell you what's going on, once I come back from my next trip. But only then."
"I'll be waiting," Shino said, quickly giving her a peck on the cheek before she went up the stairs, and then he was gone.
"That's a waste of chakra, using the Body Flicker Technique like that," Michiko called, in case Shino was still in earshot, realizing what he'd done, but she still smiled to herself before entering her apartment.
Esperwen: Yes! My fluff made it to the first chapter!
Ruroni: shut up and let the story kep going
The next day, all of Konoha was alerted that the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade, had arrived in the night and was going to become the Fifth Hokage. Much of Konoha made excuses to visit the Hokage's building, mostly just to see what the new village leader looked like, and that included Michiko and Satoki Inel. They had a mission to do, after all, and they needed to sign out before leaving the village.
"Have you seen Deniizu, Inel-sensei?" Michiko asked, while they went up the flights of stairs to the Hokage's office.
"No since two nights ago," the former Sound-nin answered, "You neither, heh?"
"No," Michiko shook her head disappointedly.
"...You should no worry about her," Inel said, seeing Michiko's worried look, "She is the strong. And she is the safe because she is most often around Itachi or Korii."
"Yes, sir," Michiko nodded morosely, and Inel decided that it would be more tactful to say nothing more. Both of them knew that Deniizu had been very hard to reach as of late; she was always somewhere other than where she had to be for her ninja team.
Presently, a dark-haired young woman in a dark robe met them by the Hokage's office.
"Ah, would you two be Satoki Inel, and his student Inuzuka Michiko?" the woman asked, then smiled when they said yes, "Excellent! My name's Shizune; you came just in time for your appointment. I'll just go in and tell Tsunade-sama that you're here."
While Shizune went inside, Michiko struggled to keep her face smooth, even though she was bubbling inside with excitement.
It's Shizune! It really is Shizune! Michiko thought happily, The great Tsunade really is in there! This is so awesome!
"She'll see you now," Shizune informed them, sticking her head out from the office doors.
"Thanks," Michiko and Inel smiled to the Fifth Hokage's aide, and they entered the office quickly.
"So you're the Michiko that Sarutobi-sama made so many notes on," Tsunade said, after introductions had been made.
"Uh...notes?" Michiko stammered, "Wh-what notes?"
"Don't worry, it isn't just you," the legendary healing kunoichi said kindly, "Both you and Deniizu. ...What? You think that becoming a ninja in a month is nothing worth noting?"
"Eto...Would it really be wise for me to answer that? Because I don't think so," Michiko said, and Tsunade smiled.
"Fair enough. Moving along, it says in this note that you have been travelling between Suna and Konoha, vying against about...five other candidates for an apprenticeship there."
The notes were accurate; each time Michiko had gone to Suna, she had taken part in a sort of 'contest' with five other ninja that wanted to gain a teacher in Suna. Temari had told her that competition was fierce, and it was! All of them were skilled healers; three of them were male, and two were female. But one by one, after each 'trial', competitors were eliminated, for things like lack of chakra control, poor focus, even for overly vague diagnosis; now, it was just Michiko and a boy from the Hidden Waterfall. But Michiko had a slight edge; she was younger than any of the other ninja by at least eight years, and if her skill wasn't equal, her control was better. This made most of the judges think higher of her than her competition. Still, she had not yet told Shino about it for fear that she would end up dropping out of the competition and simply be a huge disappointment to him.
"Today, you have come to sign out and leave for the final trial," Tsunade continued, looking at her papers, "A secret competition for the medical elite... Well. I don't see why not. Here are your passports," she said, handing them both to Inel, then made a dismissing motion, "Now get out of here! Show them what our will of fire can do!"
Dattebayo, Michiko thought, impishly. (A/N: If you watch the English dubbed (shudder) version of Naruto, Michiko means, 'Believe it!')
"Thank you, Hokage-sama. I will," Michiko grinned, making a slight bow, and she and her sensei hurried out of the office.
And even more time skips merrily by...
Was that her?
Two days later, after Michiko had left for Suna, Pooriin thought she saw a familiar grey blur on the rooftops to her right.
"Kiba, Hinata, did you see that?" Pooriin asked the two people with her.
That evening, only Kiba and Hinata came to pick Pooriin up after her training; Shino didn't usually walk with them unless Michiko was there, and she hadn't returned from her mission yet. Also, Aburame Shino and Shibi needed to get ready for a mission that would begin the next day, so Shino had decided to stay home and prepare.
"I...I think so," Hinata answered unsurely, turning to get a better look at the rooftops.
"Think it was her?" Kiba asked in a grumpy voice, "C'mon, Akamaru! Let's see if it's her."
The white dog barked, and as one, both he and Kiba jumped up to the rooftops.
"Wait for us!" Pooriin exclaimed, and she and Hinata lept onto the roofs as well.
"...Pooriin-chan, you haven't been training only your mind, have you?" Hinata asked curiously, glancing at her friend with her activated Byakugan, while they both turned to try and catch the grey blur in a pincer movement.
"Nope," Pooriin shook her head, with a wide grin, "Aniki's been helping me learn more taijutsu during my breaks during Shibi-san's training. It's been great!"
"I'm happy for you," Hinata said, smiling at her friend, then got serious when she saw something in the distance, "Kiba's caught up to her."
"Let's go," Pooriin nodded, completely businesslike, and she and Hinata sped up.
Glancing at Pooriin in the corner of her eye, Hinata couldn't help but feel a small surge of pride for her friend. When they had first met her, Pooriin had been timid, and too afraid to protect herself if she were confronted by an enemy. But now, she had more control over her fear, and she was more agile and strong when fighting. While she was still the affectionate Pooriin, she was also becoming a capable fighter; Hinata guessed that Pooriin would almost definitely rise to the occasion, should any of her friends be attacked.
Now, they could see that Kiba and Akamaru were trying to tackle a girl in grey that was their age; both of them hurried to help. Hinata jumped and managed to grab an ankle before her hold was kicked away, but not before Pooriin could get a headlock on the girl. The girl quickly flipped Pooriin off of her, and kicked Kiba hard in the gut before Hinata landed a blow on a chakra opening on the girl's leg, making it useless. Swearing loudly, the girl stopped fighting and held a hand towards Hinata; suddenly, Hinata was suspended two feet up into the air and unable to move, seemingly held by nothing. Kiba and Akamaru tackled the girl in grey as one, and managed to sit on her, ruining her concentration and causing her to drop Hinata. Pooriin took this chance to take out a bit of wire, and firmly tied the girl's arms and legs together, effectively making her immobile.
"Ok, ok," the girl grumbled from her place, lying on the roof, "I give up. Good job with that wire, by the way, Pauline."
"Thanks, Denise," Pooriin grinned, then frowned at her friend, "But didn't you have a music rehearsal earlier with Korii and Inel-san? And isn't Inel-san's house on the other side of Konoha? As in...not anywhere near here?"
"...I seem to recall something like that..." Deniizu answered slowly, looking up at the sky as if the answer were written there.
"You cut rehearsal again?" Kiba exclaimed, "You haven't been to, what...five rehearsals? And when was the last time you were home?"
"Home is where the heart is," Deniizu quipped, grinning openly.
"Deniizu!" Pooriin exclaimed, annoyed at her friend's nonchalance.
"Hinata, Juuken her until she bleeds," Kiba growled, and for a second, Hinata actually looked like she was contemplating it. Or maybe the others had imagined it; Hinata was a gentle soul, after all.
"Have you at least been helping Michiko pay for the apartment?" Hinata asked tiredly.
"Ok, no offence, but it's kind of dumb to pay for something I never use," Deniizu said seriously.
"That's a 'no', then?" Pooriin sighed.
"Hey, Michelle's ok with it," Deniizu said, shrugging, "We've had this deal for almost a month; if I don't live there, then I don't have to pay. Hell, I barely even visit!"
Michiko said nothing about a deal, Kiba thought, But it figures. If she said anything, we'd be pissed with Deniizu, and Michiko always tries to keep us from yelling at Deniizu.
"You've been hanging around Itachi for way too long," Pooriin growled irritably.
"Not true," Deniizu interrupted, "I've been staying at Korii's place lately. Ask Hinata."
Pooriin and Kiba looked at the Hyuuga heiress expectantly, hoping for a denial, and frowned when they saw her nod.
"That's it," Kiba groused, "Michiko's moving in with us. It's too much to pay rent on her own with the D-rank missions she's doing."
All three of the twelve-year-olds and Akamaru glared at Deniizu; her 'devil may care' attitude had gone from amusing, to tolerable, to simply annoying. Soon, they knew that attitude was going to become angering.
"...Well, I'm tired," Pooriin spoke up, "We may as well head home."
Both she and Kiba began to head towards the Chatora household, and after hesitating and glancing at Deniizu, who was still tied up, Hinata hurried after them.
"Oh, come on, guys!" Deniizu yelled after the three friends, but her complaints fell onto deaf ears, "Aren't you going to untie me? ...Ugh, fine."
Concentrating again, Deniizu used her telekinetic bloodline limit to undo the knots that tied the wires on her arms and legs. Once she was free, she gingerly tested her right leg; thankfully, the effects of Hinata's Juuken attack had worn off. Without even a limp, Deniizu jumped between rooftops again, searching for Itachi for the date they had arranged a few days before. As she passed by a tree, she noted that Kakashi had tied Sasuke to a tree using wires.
The Sound Four must be near, Deniizu thought, glancing around warily, So...it starts with Sasuke, too.
Tsk...Deniizu...
The next morning, Kiba's walk with Akamaru was interrupted by Shikamaru when he passed by the Akimichi household.
"Right now, Shino is out on a mission with his father," Kiba informed Shikamaru, "I guess this is what I get for waking up early and trying to take a walk," he added with a wolfish grin.
Less than half an hour later, Kiba and Akamaru were at the village gates, ready to leave on their most dangerous mission yet: Sasuke's retrieval from the Sound Four.