Chapter 2: Welcome to the Jungle

Keigo Ichigawa was an honest, hard-working young man who always believed there was good in everyone. He prided himself on his keen intellect and insight. He was also a highly compassionate individual who always tried to do everything in his power to make a difference in someone's life. Indeed, he was the kind of person who believed that he was destined to help people.

So when Ibiki told him that there was a job opening for a psychiatrist at the Konaha Ninja Academy, Keigo was overjoyed. This was the opportunity that he had been waiting for. Truth be told, he wasn't very happy working in the Torture & Interrogation Department. Granted, it did give him a lot of opportunities to flex his analytical muscle, but it was just too gruesome to deal with, plus some of the people he worked with were more than a little creepy at times, especially Anko.

Getting the opportunity to work at the academy was like a dream come true for Keigo. He truly felt like things were going his way…

…until he got to the academy.

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"Good Morning, ma'am." Keigo said cheerfully to the receptionist at the administration office, who just gave Keigo an annoyed look that said "Must you be so happy? It's too damned early."

"Can I help you with something, sir?" The receptionist, a woman named Satsuki said as she rubbed her temple. Unknown to Keigo, she was currently nursing a hangover the size of the Land of Wind's desert.

"Are you okay ma'am?" Keigo asked in a concerned tone.

"Just had WAY too much to drink last night, kid." Satsuki said as she drank some coffee.

"Oh you shouldn't drink so much ma'am. Especially when working so close to such impressionable young minds. You'll be setting a bad example." Keigo said.

The woman bolted up out of her seat, grabbed Keigo by his collar and pulled him close. "Listen buddy. When you're dealing with these little monsters all damn day of almost every day, you've earned the right to go out and get smashed. It's not just a way to deal with the stress of putting up with these psychopaths, it's a method of survival! So don't lecture me about the dangers of alcohol and how it affects everyone around me, because I don't care! GOT IT?" Keigo nodded rapidly

"Good." The receptionist growled as she let the frightened young man go. "So, who the hell are you exactly?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Keigo said, rubbing the back of his head. He then held out his hand for a handshake. "I'm Keigo Ichigawa, the new Academy Psychiatrist. Nice to meet you."

The sound of something crashing to the floor could be heard. Keigo looked to see that Satsuki had dropped her coffee mug. She looked at him with a look a pure shock.

"You? You're the new shrink?" The receptionist said in a tone of disbelief.

"Yes ma'am. Is there something wrong?" Keigo asked, confused by the woman's reaction.

"You're REALLY the new shrink?" Satsuki said, as if making absolutely sure.

"Yes." Keigo replied. "Ibiki Morino assigned to this job just yesterday and told me to be here at 7:00 AM. Am I late or something?"

For a moment, Satsuki said nothing before she replied. "Oh no. Nothing's wrong. Nothing's wrong at all."

"Oh good." Keigo said, being the naive soul he is. "So, where do I go from here?"

"Yagi. Yagi, come here." Satsuki called out. A moment later, a Chunin instructor whose left eye twitched almost uncontrollably appeared. "This is the new shrink Morino sent us. Take him to his office."

"Okay." Yagi said and Keigo followed behind. It could have been Keigo's imagination, but this Yagi fellow seemed nervous. "Perhaps I can talk with him later. The way his eye's twitching doesn't seem very normal."

Iruka walked up as soon as Keigo and Yagi left. "Hey Satsuki, who was that guy who just left with Yagi?" The scarred Chunin asked.

Satsuki just laughed before answering. "Iruka, you may want to tell everyone to get the betting pools ready."

"What do you mean? Why would I…" Iruka stopped in mid-sentence before realization dawned on him. "Wait a second. Is he-?"

"The newest sucker from Ibiki." Satsuki confirmed before laughing.

"Oh boy." Iruka said. "This is not going to be pretty. Poor guy won't last a day."

"I beg to differ." Satsuki said. "5,000 yen says he runs screaming out of here by lunch."

"Satsuki, you know the policy about gambling on Academy grounds." Iruka said. "If you're going to bet on how long someone's going to last, you have to include who you think is going to break the poor sap."

"Okay, fine." Satsuki rolled her eyes. "5,000 yen says Anko's daughter's and their firebug boyfriend drive him up the wall by lunch. Is that better?"

"Much." Iruka said as he took the yen notes from the receptionist. "I'll get the whole thing set up in the teacher's lounge."

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As Keigo and Yagi walked down a hall a little ways, a young girl with shoulder length indigo colored hair and pale lavender eyes wearing a rather thick jacket came into view. Keigo saw her and instantly identified her as a Hyuga. He worked with a couple of them back in the Interrogation Unit. He also noticed that Yagi seemed to tense up at the sight of the girl. He seemed terrified of her.

"Good morning, Yagi-Sensei." The girl said in a pleasant tone as she bowed respectfully.

"G-g-g-good m-mor-morning, L-l-la-lady Hinata." Yagi managed to sputter out and returned the bow. Keigo looked at the poor man and noticed that he looked like he was ready to have a heart attack right there and then.

Not wanting to be rude, Keigo bowed as well. "Good Morning, young ma'am."

"Oh, good morning to you as well." Hinata said as she returned the gesture to Keigo. "Yagi-Sensei, who is this?" The Hyuga girl asked.

"H-he's the Academy's new psychiatrist, Lady Hinata." Yagi said before whirling on Keigo so fast, it was a miracle he didn't get whiplash. "Introduce yourself, idiot!" He snapped.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Forgive my manners." Keigo apologized. "I am Keigo Ichigawa, the new psychiatrist. I'm glad to meet you, Lady Hinata."

Hinata's eyes widened in wonder. "Oh that's wonderful." Hinata said.

"It certainly is." Keigo said proudly. "If you or any of your friends have any problems, please don't be afraid to talk with me about them."

"Thank you Keigo-sensei. I'll be sure to do that." Hinata said as she walked off. Neither of them noticed the sinister look on Hinata's face as she walked away. "How sweet. Fresh Meat." The Hyuga Heiress said as her lavender eyes flashed blood red for a second but then went back to normal.

"Such a sweet young lady." Keigo said.

"Buddy, if you only knew." Yagi grumbled to himself.

"Did you say something?" Keigo asked.

"Nothing." Yagi said quickly as he opened the door to an office. "Here's your office."

Keigo walked in. It was an ordinary looking office with a desk, some chairs and filing cabinets. It was perfect. "This is great. You know, it's always been my dream to work in this kind of environment." Keigo started to say.

"Yeah, that's great pal. Keep that positive attitude." Yagi said as he started to walk out. "You're going to need it"

"What do you mean?" Keigo asked, felling more than a little confused.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough." Yagi said as he left. Keigo could've sworn he heard maniacal laughter coming from out in the hall.