DISCLAIMER: It's Kishimoto's Naruto and Seven Arcs' Nanoha, and this isn't intended to change that status quo.
Everything felt like it happened a lifetime ago. What I wanted was my family. What I received was a second chance.
And now, pieces of the past I had thought were gone are returning.
I must be strong to weather this storm, for all our sakes.
Naruto: Arcane Heart will now begin.
Naruto: Arcane Heart
Chapter Three: Sunrise, Sunset
"This show is crap."
Alicia Testarossa gave the blonde boy sitting next to her on the couch a knowing look.
"We sat for like twenty-five weeks' worth of weekends just to see what would happen and then it's all WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER for those guys," Alicia said, nodding her assent. "BORING!"
Precia winced a bit upon hearing this. One of her solo C-rank missions not too long ago was to deliver a message to a certain Tsunade in Otafuku Gai, and decided that bringing Alicia along on an impromptu shopping trip was a decent enough cover.
Pity Alicia had to copy the phrase off some guy who hit a roulette jackpot just as they were passing through, though she had to admit that it had a nice ring to it.
But what really got her attention was how a certain Uzumaki Naruto took to hanging out here - at the modest apartment the Testarossas called home - during the weekends: catching up on homework, getting tutored by Precia on a few basic things, watching cartoons in the morning, and generally doing... children's stuff.
She even brought a box of those colored bricks in Otafuku Gai for Alicia... and her new friend.
"I thought they wouldn't do it again. I mean, this guy gets caught in an explosion and survived before..."
"Before?" Alicia asked, her face taking on an expression of mixed revulsion and horror.
"What we just finished was a sequel."
"Shitty sequel, if you ask me," Alicia muttered.
"Alicia, language," a voice called from the kitchen.
"Sorry, Mother," Alicia responded singsong before turning back to Naruto. "So... you said that your throwing needed improvement, right?"
"More like it totally sucks. Not only that, I still don't even get hand seals right most of the time."
"Let's go practice those after we eat - I have my hand seals down right, but my speed in making them could be better, too. Sound good?"
"Yeah," Naruto answered, smiling.
As Precia saw her daughter and her friend watch another television show, she was glad that they were helping out Naruto, in a way.
Alicia had extended that invitation to the boy two weeks in - and explained it to her mother with her observations. Almost no one seemed to notice him, and the boy seemed to be... content with that arrangement.
That struck an odd note in Precia, because children of Naruto's age shouldn't be trying to vanish into the background - the tendency was for kids to think that the world revolved around them, hence the need for attention.
And now that Naruto was an unofficial part of the family, he seemed to let his guard down whenever the weekends rolled around - it had also resulted in him trying to take a more active role in his schooling.
When some of the teachers tried to ignore him in class, it was Alicia who would cough loudly, make noise, or generally cause a bit of mayhem to throw whoever that teacher was off a loop. Even better, when some silver-haired chunin tried to sabotage Naruto in learning taijutsu basics, Precia (after her daughter warned her) took some time to watch the proceedings, use Hrist to record the whole thing, and then replay it in front of the Hokage.
He ended up with a reprimand (that was a slap on the wrist if Precia ever saw one - or was it?), and thankfully decided to stay out of Naruto or the Testarossas' way from then onward - and everyone in the Academy faculty had to be objective about their teaching, prejudices and hushed whispers about "foxes" and "demon brats" notwithstanding.
One odd result was that sections of Academy students were now assigned to specific teachers - the class with Naruto and Alicia were placed under one Umino Iruka. Though met with skepticism at first, results had shown almost immediately - Naruto and Alicia's studies suddenly flourished, and the two managed to find the time to make new friends after that - Inuzuka Kiba and Nara Shikamaru (who showed more flashes of brilliance in their schoolwork due to the improved learning climate).
What was borderline hilarious about the four of them was Alicia mirroring her mother at her age and picking fights with anyone who so much as muttered insults towards Naruto - Kiba got in on the act, and Shikamaru was just shaking his head and muttering "troublesome blondes" all throughout.
As Alicia followed Naruto up to the roof of the apartment building to practice, her mind wandered to the second-most intriguing kid in their Academy class - Uchiha Sasuke.
She didn't see him the way her other kunoichi-to-be classmates did; it was because he was usually there and helping out at the Yamanaka flower shop whenever she went and picked up her mother - those chats about gardening came like clockwork.
Sasuke seemed rather unapproachable, as any and all of her attempts at conversation were quickly diverted into more mundane topics - the Uchiha would shift into a very formal style of speech as soon as she'd want to talk about something other than schoolwork, the weather, flowers...
When they were already at the rooftop and pinned the scroll which contained the twelve standard hand seals for use in various ninjutsu and genjutsu, Alicia put her curious thoughts on the Uchiha away. She wouldn't help Naruto that much if she was distracted.
"Precia-san... you seem rather pensive."
"I'm sorry, Ranmaru-san. Just wondering how Alicia's doing."
"Four days travel time plus a two-week shift on the Konoha-Ame border? You can bet that a lot of things will happen."
"Indeed... Being out of the loop isn't really my cup of tea - I can't wait to get my final proficiency and get to teaching at the Academy."
"Mugi... you want to teach too?" the masked man asked the brunette, who nodded as the four of them were camped out in the proverbial middle of nowhere.
"Anyway," the other ninja said - this one's outfit was a dead ringer for Might Guy, but without the leg warmers and a very dark gray jumpsuit instead of green, "this job's not going to be that hard, Amegakure's too busy getting itself together to try and bother a teeny little border patrol team like ours."
"You're saying what I think you're saying, Kururugi?" the masked man asked. "Imagine that... Mr. Konoha-Chou-Dai-Senpuu's getting cold feet."
"Not exactly," Kururugi replied, "as with what Precia-san and Tsumugi-san say, 'discretion is always the better part of valor'. Come to think of it, Ranmaru-san... teaching?"
"I know, I know," Musashi Ranmaru answered as he took off his face mask to tear a chunk off the roast, revealing his decidedly run-of-the-mill face, "I've got a few areas that I could be of help in. You know, codes and ciphers, strategy and tactics..."
"...ikebana," Mugi whispered.
"That's not too bad," Precia mused. "An old associate of mine raises bonsai trees. Plus, I heard the Academy teacher of kunoichi finery is nearing mandatory retirement age. You'd do a good job filling her shoes."
Mugi blushed a bit as she nodded. "Still, I'm not as experienced as she is. There's still injutsu to cover."
Kururugi Seiryuu snorted. "As if the Academy would actually teach full-blown injutsu to ten-year-old girls, not to mention the fact that there are no potential injutsu specialists in this batch of Academy students."
"True, but any Leaf kunoichi should be given at least the basics," Ranmaru answered, "just as all potential Genin should be taught the things I specialize in, especially if they've hitched onto the fast-track for promotion. You know, cover the bases."
"As far as I know, the Academy's been doing a good job in regards to that," Precia said. "The war games they hold every so often are a very good simulation of what ninja activity is like."
"But Precia-san," Akiyama Tsumugi replied, "you yourself said that based on what you've seen, you haven't been satisfied with the Academy curriculum."
"In some aspects, not in others," Precia replied. "Come to think of it, your name sounds familiar, Kururugi-taicho... are you that guy who refused a promotion?"
"I didn't refuse my promotion, I only delayed it," the jumpsuited-nin clarified with a chuckle. "Someone has to keep an eye on these two so they can get to their Academy tenure in one piece, and I got a - quote unquote - 'friendly suggestion' from the Hokage even though it was already part of my medium-term plans."
"You were on the same genin squad?" Precia asked.
Kururugi nodded. "The funny thing was, I was the last of the three of us to be promoted to chunin. Guess investing that time into mastering the Konoha Senpuu worked out fine after all."
"I can remember the look on your face when Guy showed it off against that porn fiend Kakashi," Ranmaru said. "How's stealing his Omote Renge working out for you, Seiryuu?"
"Pretty good so far," he replied. "I've also gotten close to stealing both his other and his other other secret move without resorting to the Celestial Gates."
"Well, I would want a lot more time devoted for guidance and counselling," Mugi said, changing the subject. "We've gotta prepare these kids for the world - make sure what they run into won't warp them."
Precia caught the implied message. We don't want another Orochimaru or Uchiha Itachi running around."Which reminds me of business back home."
Ranmaru shrugged. "To think our jonin-sensei - one of the best psy-ops jonin we've ever had - now prefers tending to his psychiatric practice and his flower shop."
"It's not that bad," Mugi replied. "While Inoichi-taichou has been placed in the reserve list, he's still unofficially on duty. Why do you think he's still available for a consult with high-profile cases? Not to mention, he's still keeping tabs on that Uchiha kid."
Both men nodded as their dinner was about to finish.
"So, Kururugi-taicho," Precia asked. "The usual order of watch?"
Her time with this team was very well spent, as while Team Kururugi was very well-rounded, they had no resident ninjutsu expert, a spot which Precia quickly filled. And as they were adept in the other areas of ninja technique, Precia's skill as a ninja grew quickly.
Too quickly, it seemed, until Precia revealed the instrument that had been her means to get the chunin rank right off the bat during one mission - the Intelligent Device known as Hrist. That was when Team Kururugi understood that she already had the tools to become a great combat ninja, she just needed the mentality of one. When she got over that hurdle, her growth was even quicker.
"Yes," their jumpsuited team leader said.
Business as usual.
Umino Iruka was looking over the records of his homeroom class in the Konoha Ninja Academy. The first year of potentially the best batch of graduates in quite some time had just ended, and he was pleased with the results.
Most of them - despite having been given the option to take the Academy test - declined, saying that they all had glaring deficiencies in their skills that they needed to work on over a few more school years.
What was most surprising was that the previously shy and apathetic Uzumaki Naruto had improved dramatically across all areas. Not only that, the newbie Alicia Testarossa had caught up to the curriculum with near-alarming speed. Perhaps it had something to do with her mother - Iruka had heard the stories of how she managed to have her notes on a D-rank lightning jutsu placed into the Hokage's library three weeks upon her arrival in Konoha.
The improvements did not only come academically, but in personal interaction as well. The normally aloof boy was now unafraid of speaking his mind, his confidence boosted by his fellow blonde. His friendship with the Inuzuka and the Nara also helped out a lot. And lastly, although Uchiha Sasuke still had the best academic rank, Naruto and Alicia had placed themselves in a position to make a legitimate challenge for his spot - they had actually been the second and third students out of their batch to unlock the use of their chakra.
He could still remember the day after their achievement - a disheveled and frustrated Inuzuka Kiba and Nara Shikamaru trudged into the classroom first and stared daggers at the two blondes. Their parents must have heard of the news and would not let two clanless kids pull the rug from under them. Every other "clan kid" from their batch (sans Sasuke) followed suit - gossip really does travel quickly, Iruka thought.
This year will be interesting, he thought as he opened a file on one of the new students this schoolyear. Hmm. Hyuuga Hinata. Yes, this year will be very interesting.
That night, the Third Hokage was going through some serious thinking of his own.
Iin the aftermath of whatever incident had brought the Testarossas here, he had Kakashi use the Sharingan to look over the remains of where Naruto had used the chakra flare, only to find that it wasn't a chakra flare at all - it had too many controlled elements to it, as if the boy had somehow used a powerful jutsu...
Had the Nine-Tails somehow found a way to subvert the seal? Not likely, he thought. But... a jutsu... whose recoil was powerful enough to cause a chakra flare to be felt nearly in town...
He rechecked the medical records of the Testarossas, and after leafing through the details of what Konoha General Hospital's medic-nin found, understood.
Some sort of advanced medical and/or regenerative jutsu was used - Jiraiya did say that the seal would give him some sort of healing ability.
But... to be able to extend it to someone?
I'll have Jiraiya check out the seal, the Third decided. It would not do to have Naruto spring a sudden surprise on all of them - not when the Hokage was knee-deep in planning a few surprises of his own.
"...sorry... Alicia..."
"...go... now..."
Warmth.
"...thank you..."
"I'm sorry..."
It's all right.
After all...
I am your big sister.
Your strong and gentle friends...
...are waiting for you, right?
Then... take care, Fate...
I wish...
I could have...
been with...
you...
like this...
in reality...
Alicia Testarossa woke with a start.
Just a dream... but it seemed so real...
Fate... my sister... I have a sister?
She seemed so real...
Alicia slowly got up from bed and walked towards the living room when a wave of nausea hit her.
Naruto was seated on the couch and watching television when he saw the girl unsteady on her feet.
"Alicia?" he asked, and the girl took several wavering steps towards her...
She had taken barely three steps when Naruto was on to her falling form, grabbing her before she could hit her head on something. "Alicia!"
Precia emerged from the kitchen to see Naruto tending to an unconscious Alicia.
"What happened here?" she asked, trying to keep the panic from overwhelming her.
"She didn't look okay, so I had her lie down here," Naruto answered before looking back at the sleeping girl.
"Watch over her," Precia said. "I'll go call a medic-nin."
All the while, Naruto was gobsmacked at the sudden turn of events, and could do nothing but keep a watch over the door and the girl he had come to consider as an older sister of sorts. I must not panic, he thought. Remember Medic-nin 119!
Barely five minutes had passed when the door flew open, and in walked Precia with a kunoichi outfitted with the standard medic-nin uniform.
"She's sleeping," the brunette said after running a diagnostic jutsu on the girl.
"Thank goodness, Mugi," Precia answered.
"We're not out of the woods yet. I've seen these symptoms. She's under some sort of mental shock."
"Shock?" Precia and Naruto asked, aghast.
"It happens all the time with us; misusing THAT particular jutsu almost always leads to this - or worse. Alicia-chan's mind is just tired... She'll wake up in awhile, just give her mind some time to rest," the medic-nin answered.
Alicia did wake up later that day, but not only did she look like she didn't know where she was, she looked at Naruto as if he were a stranger and her own mother with a look of pity, sorrow, disappointment and maybe a little regret.
Of course, it always had to come to that, Precia thought. So soon, I have to ask the Hokage for help so soon...
This was one of the risks I took when I made Fate...
If she sees who I was back then, she will not let me be her mother anymore...
Precia sighed as she prepared herself for the inevitable trip to the Hokage's Tower...
"You're saying he used a jutsu so powerful he caused a chakra flare that a third of Konoha felt?"
"It was some sort of medical or regenerative jutsu, as per those reports. Now tell me where the discrepancy lies in all this, young grasshopper."
Jiraiya grunted, he found the term of endearment the Third Hokage used for him rather annoying. "But that can't be. The boy's chakra coils don't reflect a jutsu of that magnitude being used. And for that matter... how would he be able to use this unknown jutsu? Unless he had some help..."
"Has the seal been compromised?"
"Not in any way, no."
"Could it be someone else? An interloper, perhaps?" the Third asked.
"Maybe..." the Toad Sage answered before breaking out into a grin. "Tell me, what was Naruto's account of the whole thing?"
"He said something about 'a purple thing coming out of nowhere', and then the Testarossas appeared, then he flared his chakra to call for help."
"Well, there you have it," the Toad Sage declared. "Minato's seal interacting with the timespace anomaly along with the boy flaring his chakra equals Naruto extending his regenerative power on those two. Problem solved."
"Yes, yes..." the Third Hokage said, nodding his assent. "The traces of jutsu usage are also similar to the traces of the anomaly we only managed to see after the fact."
"With that out of the way, there's another, more pressing reason you have me here, isn't it, Sensei?"
"Alicia Testarossa."
"The child?"
"She's been having displacement problems. Preliminary report by medic-nin Akiyama Tsumugi says that it's similar to Bunshinjutsu-based mental overload, but upon subjected to a Byakugan scan, found no residual chakra leakage."
Jiraiya's face quickly turned serious, and he paced around the Hokage's office for several minutes, gathering his thoughts while leafing through chunin Akiyama's report.
"It's got to be some sort of invisible connection between Alicia and someone else. Based on these analyses of her chakra system, it's got to be some sort of seal-based elemental Kage Bunshin," Jiraiya declared as his pacing finally stopped. "Still, though... was there really no discrete chakra link out of the girl? Even with the Byakugan?"
"No," the old Hokage replied.
"Then yes, it is similar to the feedback from the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. That's workable. Still... it doesn't make any sense. The feedback loop from the technique takes instant effect, and it doesn't show itself in dreams."
"There are more complications than you can imagine," the Third said, activating the crystal ball to show the memories extracted from Precia Testarossa.
Nothing was needed to be said between master and student as they silently looked through the record of Precia's memories that was her price to pay for being in Konoha.
"Such technology..." Jiriaya said, letting out a low whistle after he saw what Precia had done in her desperation to save her daughter. "That girl seems too alike, but too different as well. Is that what I'm guessing?"
Anxious to save time, the Hokage nodded. "Yes. Alicia was cloned to create another person in her likeness."
"Cloned? As in physical, flesh-and-blood, down-to-the-last-scrap-of-DNA clone?"
"You've seen her memories; it's possible with the technology where she came from."
"There's also the existing memory-copy; the clone seems to have all the existing memories of the original up to a point, and then it gets complicated... gracious, sensei, you were right; this is certainly a tangle."
"Which is why I called on you and your expertise with seals..."
"True," Jiraiya replied - he was about to openly disparage the weak link in their old genin team, but held his tongue at the last moment - "and if what you're saying is correct, being an actual honest-to-goodness person clone, having a working chakra system AND the memory link leads to only one thing."
"Backwash," the old ninja known as the Professor and his student said simultaneously - looking at each other after speaking in sync - chuckling, and then laughing for a good minute after that.
"On more serious matters, sealing jutsu to counteract things like that are even more complicated than the circumstances which require their use," Jiraiya then said when the laughter died down. "Fukasaku-sama did say that there was another, more sensitive reason why the use of high-level, high-output seals was limited to the Uzumaki clan, which neither me nor my student got around to finding out... which brings me to my solution."
"You'll hit the books."
"Yeah," Jiraiya said, wincing at the thought of all the reading he had to do. "Maybe there will be something related to tweaking a seal to avoid the mental backwash that follows - the things I need will be in their usual places, right?"
"Yes... oh, and about your upcoming novel..."
Jiraiya's face fell.
"Oh, come on, sensei. You just dropped a bomb the size of Gamabunta on me. With all the studies I'm going to make, I'll have to delay publishing for another two weeks at least. No one will be around to put finishing edits on my work, you know."
"You could pass it off to the girl's mother. She's tweaking some of the Academy texts as we speak. She's halfway done with streamlining procedures. And with the new school year ten weeks away, I could have her put your novel on the fast track."
"All right, then," the Toad Sage said. "That's great. The scripts are with my agent; have your editor send it over when it's done. Gonna get myself some company - might as well enjoy my last free night in some time," the Toad Sage said before going out the office door.
"There. That should do it."
The seven-point Spiral Matrix was one of the Uzumaki Clan's specialties - and it was a condensed version that had much less functionality that the Toad Sage stumbled upon in his research.
Its original function was to prevent any and all users within a certain area from using Bunshin-based techniques - and that was where Jiraiya spent most of his time tweaking the existing design. Alicia would be unable to use even the most basic of Bunshinjutsu if anything went wrong in the planning process, so mixing the elements properly were essential.
Jiraiya then placed the seal matrix right over Alicia's hara, with no side effects afterward. A usual day in the office for the Toad Sage and renowned master of fuinjutsu.
"Feels funny," Alicia said after the seal integrated itself into her chakra network.
"You don't feel the residual vertigo anymore?" Jiraiya asked. "No dizziness, altered perception or consciousness?"
Alicia nodded.
"Good, but be warned. The seal I used will prevent you from using Kage Bunshin no Jutsu as a training tool - it was necessary for me to seal it, because your chakra network is treating your clone..."
"...Sister," Alicia whispered, her eyes taking on a strange intensity.
"...er, sister..." the Toad Sage continued, "as a flesh-and-blood Bunshinjutsu. The constant feedback and memory imprinting caused these symptoms."
"And now they're gone?"
"Yeah, they're gone."
Instead of being happy or even relieved, Alicia looked... dour, as she mechanically turned her head towards her bedroom door.
"I need to be alone," she said. "Thank you, Master Jiraiya, for assisting my Mother and I."
And with a near-perfect bow, Alicia strode towards her room and closed the door behind her.
"That was odd," Jiraiya and Naruto said in unison at this.
"Here's your payment, Master Jiraiya," Precia said after a moment had passed, handing the Toad Sage a sheaf of papers.
"You're done?"
Precia nodded. "I made a few changes in wording, though. Your first draft was a bit... blatant in presentation, I worked on it so that its appeal will cross gender lines."
"You did all that in ten days?" the Toad Sage asked.
"I've been asked to advise dissertations where I came from in less time," Precia replied. "It's not a problem."
"Thanks," Jiraiya answered before heading out the door of the Testarossa's apartment. "You're getting an autographed first edition."
Precia only managed to wave gratefully before she closed the door moments after the famous Sannin left.
"You seem to be doing quite the job on young Naruto," Sarutobi Hiruzen said.
"I do my part," Precia Testarossa replied, the first report made since the Toad Sage had performed the procedure on her behalf. "He's really not that bad a kid, not like what the neighbors and other people say. He's just... sometimes he gets a bit boisterous when he feels impassioned about something, but aren't all kids like that?"
"Yes," the Hokage sighed. "Both you and Alicia have helped him return to who he was before that... incident... on his sixth birthday."
Incident?
"How are running solo missions anyway? I have heard from your former colleagues that you've broken even with them in a short time, and then Team Kururugi was a well-oiled machine up until Musashi and Akiyama went to the Ninja Academy."
"I'm getting by, Hokage-sama," Precia replied. Naruto's becoming rather obnoxious, Alicia's becoming distant... all in all, I'd say I am getting by - getting what I deserve, is more like it. "Anyway, sir, about that incident? Are you saying that something happened that made him want to disappear during his Academy classes?"
The Hokage sadly nodded. "You'll have to do your own work on your own time to find out why."
"Not to be rude or anything, Hokage-sama, but why not disclose these facts to me outright?"
"For the same reason you or I do not divulge everything about ourselves immediately," the Hokage answered, smiling. Hokage-sama's cunning smile - he wants me to do something, but what?
Maybe I'll start digging while Alicia's at school. Uzumaki Naruto... there's something familiar about him that I can't quite place...
...but Alicia...
"There is one other thing that I need you to do for me, Precia," the Hokage said, pulling a file from his desk. "It's going to be off-the-books."
What could that be?
"Do not be alarmed. This won't be that difficult a mission of a kunoichi of your caliber," the Third said, chuckling as he handed her a scroll.
"Everything you need is in there. Your time limit is a year. Good luck, and good hunting."
Precia nodded in acknowledgment - she would not fail Naruto, Alicia, or Konoha. Not with all the mistakes she made before coming here.
She saluted her Hokage with the intensity of someone who would not waste her second chance.
"Dismissed."
The Hokage smiled as Precia left the office in a crack of lightning. How quaint. She's managed to turn the basic Shunshin into a lightning-based technique... but it will take a lot more than elemental mastery to fulfill your mission, Precia-san.
Morning dawned over Konohagakure.
A month and a half had passed since Alicia's little problem was solved, which paved the way for a larger one.
"So you're trying your hand at playing this game, have you?"
"Not really. Just getting a feel for the water before taking a dive in the pool."
"Ah. Prudence. Ninja nowadays are all fancy jutsu and bloodline tricks. Makes me miss the day when all we had were shuriken, kunai and ninja wire - swords optional."
"I wouldn't know about that... mister..."
"...Shimura. Shimura Danzo. Don't waste our time with introductions, as your reputation has preceded you entirely, Precia Testarossa."
Still, it was refreshing for Precia Testarossa to finally have her daughter back to being civil towards her. Naruto may have gotten a hand or two in it.
As Alicia went off to the Ninja Academy with Naruto, Precia finally began to let down her guard in this place, ANBU watcher be damned. The Third Hokage would have not needed to hold something over her head, as she wholeheartedly threw her lot in with Konoha whether she was pressured to or not.
The feeling of having something work out well in the end was new to her, and she was enjoying it immensely - today was team training with Seiryuu and the others, and she had proficiency appraisals at the end of the month. If she could pass those tests with flying colors, a recommendation to take the jonin promotion exams would be coming.
That, and she would meet Councilman Shimura for lunch today as well.
Today was just a normal day in the life of Precia Testarossa, chunin of Konoha, even if newer things were bound on the horizon.
Meanwhile, in the Konoha Ninja Academy, Alicia and Naruto were just about ready to begin their assault on the Number One Rookie title, but little did they know that a new arrival would change their Academy plans significantly...
"...so, I heard we'd be getting some new classmates today," Inuzuka Kiba began. "Wonder if they'll be awesome like us?"
"Of course they will be," Naruto answered. "Teacher's coming, back to normal."
"All right, class," Umino Iruka began just as the last few of Naruto's classmates filed into the room and into their preferred seats last year. "Great. A lot of you guys here were under my advisory last year. There may be several new entrants into your class, but that just means it will take less effort on your and my behalf on getting used to one another.
"Oh... and don't change the seating arrangements, either," the scarred chunin added before turning towards the door, nodding for the new students to come in.
"Well, why don't you introduce yourselves?"
"I am Kurama Yakumo. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Yakushi Tsubomi."
"My name is Hyuuga Hinata. I look forward to learning with you all."
Chapter 3 - END
author's note: Musashi Ranmaru looks like he came from a Hisashi Hirai artbook. Hence nearly every mention of his face will be described as "generic", "ordinary", "dime-a-dozen", what have you. His name is also a tribute to another infamous character inflicted with Hirai-face syndrome, among other, more unsavory things. No, he won't steal the show in Twin Fates along with his pink-haired "girlfriend".
That show with the drills and orange sunglasses won't make an appearance until after the Konoha Ninja Academy Task Force is formed - the last member of the group needs to join up before drills can be spun and manly tears start to roll.
Also, in this story, Iruka will be the homeroom teacher assigned to Naruto's batch of graduates (the future Rookie 10).
And I may have shot myself in the foot regarding series chronology... but in the end would probably be handwaved as a side effect of the jutsu used. Ura Edo Tensei not only requires a metric buttload of chakra, it also has several possible spacetime-warping side effects we still have yet to see, you know?
...and yes, that bit with Iruka was shamelessly pulled from Azumanga Daioh. No, Yugito will not pull on people's tongues and start quoting Soseki titles, nor flip out when they say she looks like the Second Kazekage during better days.
next chapter: "...for she that sheds her blood today with mine, shall forever be my sister... the fact that we happen to have the same seiyuu is just gravy."
Omake:
"...Might Guy, with his ugly green jumpsuit, and his thirty-three pound eyebrows, shedding manly tears that ain't even one bit manly, throwing up that sunset genjutsu over the craps players while going 'YOOOOOUUUUUUUTH...' Sharingan Kakashi, reading his porn books, looking up skirts, looking down shirts, scaring everyone in the casino... *mimics Kakashi's perverted giggle*... and finally, we come to the biggest goof of them all, the so-called gallant Jiraiya... doing the only thing - and I mean the ONLY thing - that's managed to impress me, and that's this!" *does Jiraiya's trademark Kabuki dance while his eyes are rolled up and his tongue is sticking out*
"Remind me to get Asuma wasted again the next time we jonin go out," Yuuhi Kurenai told Mitarashi Anko as mayhem erupted in the bar, bodies and jutsu flying everywhere as the two so-called rivals double-teamed the younger Sarutobi for mouthing off... while drunk.
"Where does he get those taijutsu moves from? I should spar with him more often," Anko mused while Kakashi took several crucial moments to raise his headband and got put through a table with more unorthodox "taijutsu" for his trouble.
"STUNNER! STUNNER! BAH GAWD! IT'S GETTIN' TO BE A REAL SLOBBERKNOCKER HERE FOLKS!"
The two kunoichi spared a glance at Hyuuga Hiashi who had placed a weird hat on his head, grabbed an empty sake bottle as a makeshift microphone and started drawling a running commentary as his aptly-named "slobberknocker" was ongoing.
Just then, one of the newer special jonin (that guy with the senbon for a toothpick, what was his name? Shiranui or something, Anko thought) quickly joined the Hyuuga in shouting "PUPPIES!" when one of the medic-nin got her top yanked off in the melee...
And all the while, Precia Testarossa was situated in a distant corner of the jonin bar, eyes glued onto a scroll on intermediate elemental manipulation and hand seals, lost to the everyday insanity going on around her in Konoha's jonin bar.
Jutsu list:
Konoha-Chou-Dai-Senpuu - Leaf Super Great Whirlwind. Kururugi Seiryuu's perfected Konoha Senpuu. This is one of the few moves in this universe that operates at 97.5% efficiency. Outrageous muscle and chakra control required. Will get renamed into the Kururu-kick sometime in the future. :3
Injutsu is basically seduction arts for kunoichi and resisting seduction arts for shinobi.
