And now, continuing where we last left off...
o.O.o
After a game or two of Ninja the kids are quickly corralled together into a huddled group, where they're told they'll be sectioned off into different classes. Kiba looks a little stricken at the thought, and Shippo quickly assures him they'd be kept together.
He nods, hesitant, and they hush to listen to the names being called out.
"...Inuzuka Kiba, Inuzuka Shippo…" they both perk up here and wait for the teacher to finish calling out a different assortment of names.
"-will be in Iruka-sensei's class-" the teacher in front of them pauses to gesture over to Iruka, who was looking nervous, "so please follow him to your new classroom."
The students around her chitter and Kiba grabs her hand tightly.
"Let's go," he says, grinning bright, and drags her quickly to totter behind the other students.
"This isn't enough students for a single class," she says, to herself, and Iruka-sensei startles in front of her.
He's young. Impossibly so - far too young to be a teacher - and it takes her a moment to remember that this isn't her world. Barely-adult teachers, soldiers, were the norm.
"That's because there will be another ceremony tomorrow," Iruka-sensei says, eyes darting down to the red fang marks that bear her clans name, "where the rest of the students will be sorted into classes."
It makes sense, she supposes. She didn't think the Academy was so large as to need to host two separate ceremonies to get through all the students, but perhaps it had more to do with familial status than number of children. From what she knows of Sakura's or the other students she didn't recognize families, they tended to be rather wealthy merchants who probably had easy pull into where their child ended up.
Which brought up another question - why Iruka? Why choose Iruka-sensei to be held to task to making sure future clan leaders would graduate? She hardly thinks there was anything so special about him that he would be the figure to craft these children into shinobi, but a quick glance over at Naruto reminds her of his future.
She wonders if Sarutobi planned this, somehow, but doubts it.
"Right then everyone!" Iruka-sensei says over the chatter, "Follow me please - and don't make a ruckus!"
They're escorted once more through the winding halls that make the Academy home and into a dusty looking classroom. They're given free reign to choose their seats, and she lets Kiba drag her somewhere in the middle of the room. She takes the seat near the window - naturally uncomfortable - and idly looks around to see where the rest of the students end up.
The only students near her, besides Kiba of course, were Naruto - settled behind her - and Sakura, who takes a seat directly in front of her. Sasuke somehow ends up next to Naruto, Hinata next to Kiba, and Shino in the far back of the room.
She doesn't care about the others enough to seek them out.
"Is everyone ready to begin?" Iruka-sensei asks, looking them over with a keen eye, and grabs a piece of chalk from the blackboard.
He begins writing his name, turning to them when he's done, "My name is Umino Iruka, but you can call me Iruka-sensei. I will be your teacher for the next four years, so I hope to get along with you all!"
The class calls back a greeting, and he smiles before grabbing a stack of papers he had neatly settled on the desk.
"I have a small test here for everyone," the students around her start groaning, and beside her Kiba mutters something under his breath, "but don't worry too much. These are only questions about you, so as long as you answer truthfully there is no right or wrong answer."
He begins walking around the room, passing out the papers, and she takes her own a little warily.
She grabs a pencil out of her backpack and taps it lightly against the desk.
"Begin when you're ready!" Iruka-sensei says, sitting at his desk and starting to mark out a piece of his own paper.
She peeks over at her brother and sees him pouting at his still-blank page. She turns her attention to her own.
'What's your name?'
She blinks at the simple question and quickly scribbles out her answer.
Inuzuka Shippo.
'How old are you?'
Eight years old.
'When's your birthday?'
July 7th.
'What's your goal in enrolling in the Academy?'
She narrows her eyes at her paper. She's sure this question will be used to weed out students unfit for Shinobi life - answers like 'my mom made me' or 'I don't know' likely being determining factors on whether a child could stay. She decides on something simple and to the point; she doesn't want to give notice to her adult mind.
To graduate and serve Konoha along with my family.
Satisfied with her answer, she moves on-
'If you're a kunoichi, would you be interested in signing up for special kunoichi specific classes?'
She pauses again. She wasn't really expecting that. She glances around at her fellow female classmates - positive they'd sign up for them. She has a vague idea of what she'd learn in such classes, but has to take a moment to decide if she particularly cares about them.
In the long run-
She sighs.
It's best for her to learn as much as she possibly could to prepare for her future. There's a hard life ahead of her, regardless on whether or not she decides to join Team 7. If she wanted to keep herself and her loved ones alive, information like this could be vital. Plus it would give her ample opportunity to become close with her female classmates; allies, in the fight ahead.
Yes.
She taps her pencil against her lips as she continues filling out basic information about herself and what she wants for her future.
When she's done the students around her are either talking animatedly or finishing up their own papers. She spends her idle time looking out the window to her left.
The bell in the front of the class rings and they all look up as Iruka-sensei stands.
"Alright everyone!" he calls out, walking to the nearest student in the room, "Once I've finished collecting everyone's papers you'll be free to go, however-"
He has to raise his voice here, to be heard above the noise of his excited students.
"When you come in to officially start class next week I will start assigning roles and tasks for each student! Be sure to study on the basics before you come in and have a good week!"
He finished taking papers here, smiles at them all, and lets them begin rushing out the door. Kiba grabs her hand as they leave themselves, chattering about the test, his new friends, and the future.
They come to a stop in the courtyard where Kuromaru was lazily lying beneath a tree. She watches the children around her run off to their respective parents as she continues to listen to Kiba. Her eyes eventually land on Naruto, the only child who had no one to run to. He was watching his fellow students with sad, sombre eyes, and it hits her, suddenly-
Things could have been so different.
He could have taken that quiet sadness, that jealousy - that resentment towards the adults around him and became something terrifying. He could have so easily became the very thing they feared, but he-
He didn't.
She tilts her head at him. Somewhere, deep down, he was stronger than she gave him credit for.
It wasn't easy, placing her faith in someone who held the very life of everyone around her in their hands, but-
She didn't really have a choice, did she?
"Naruto," she calls out, and he turns.
He's looking at her with this sort of wide-eyed stare that lets her know how deep down he was hoping for...something.
"Would you like to come home with us?" she asks, ignoring Kiba's curious stare and Kuromaru's dark eyes.
"Re- Really?" Naruto asks, sounding as though he thought she was speaking in tongues.
"We can play," she says, "so would you like to?"
"Yeah!"
He rushes over to them and Kiba immediately bursts into a conversation she doesn't really make an attempt to listen to.
This is a bold decision to make, but it feels good. Right.
Hana comes to pick them up not long after, curiously looking over Naruto, and escorts them home.
She leans into Kuromaru when he brushes up against her and listens half-mindedly to Kiba and Naruto chatter away, inputting her own thoughts here and there.
This, at the very least, she could do.
She could watch over him. Make sure he turns into the person this world needs.
"What do you think of ramen Shippo-chan?"
She doesn't really have a choice, does she?
"It's good. Tonkotsu is my favorite-"
Joining Team 7 is her best bet to a safe future.
o.O.o
"So all these dogs are yours?" Naruto sounds a little baffled as he looks around the kennel they end up in.
Kiba laughs loudly and she puts down the puppy she has in her arms.
"Naruto-kun, what do you know about ninken?" she asks, and he frowns at her in confusion.
"Nin...what?"
Kiba gapes for a moment, bristling quickly-
"You don't know what ninken are?!"
Naruto crinkles back a little, looking embarrassed, and she rushes to his defense.
"Not everybody knows about ninken Kiba," she admonishes, "don't forget we're the only clan in the world that uses them. I don't think Naruto-kun comes from a clan-background, so he wasn't taught about these things like clan children are."
Naruto nods at her words, fidgeting a little, and Kiba looks guilty.
"Oh," he says, "sorry for getting upset Naruto. It's just ninken are so important to us!"
"These aren't all our dogs Naruto-kun," she says, handing a pup over to Naruto, who looks fascinated, "they're our clans. The Inuzuka clan use wolf-dogs as partners for life. They're an extension of who we are, and each Inuzuka has one."
"Wow!" says Naruto excitedly, "where's yours?"
Kiba perks up and eagerly leans towards Naruto, "we don't have one yet! But we'll go to our Choosing sometime this week, before school starts!"
Shippo sits back, content to let them have all the conversation, and feels a jittery nervousness at the mention of the upcoming Choosing.
She didn't know exactly what day it was happening, only that Kiba would go first and she would go second. Their family was being oddly quiet about the entire thing, refusing to peep even a single word that could help them figure out what exactly the Choosing even was.
Her ninken.
She wonders, hardly for the first time, who they'll be.
"Is Kuromaru with you guys-?" she hears from the door, and looks up to see her mother come in looking rather tired.
Kuromaru, who was settled by Shippo's feet, perks up.
"Oh there you are," she says, grinning, and turns to her children.
"How was orientation!" it's more of an excited shout than a question, and Kiba answers her with equal fervor.
"It was great mom! We made lots'a friends and got to play Ninja and-" he stops here, hands pausing their mad gestures, before he launches at Naruto, "and we brought a friend home! Mom this is Naruto!"
Tsume, who had been eagerly listening to her son, freezes. Shippo curls back in her seat, wondering what her moms reaction would be. She's never known Tsume's stance on the whole Naruto thing and wonders if maybe she shouldn't have brought Naruto home after all.
Tsume is quiet for a long moment, during which Kiba looks increasingly bewildered and Naruto scared, before she sighs.
"It's nice to meet you Naruto," she says, a little more quiet than she otherwise would be, "my name is Inuzuka Tsume…"
She trails off here, seemingly thinking through something. She looks Naruto over with a keen eye.
"Would you like to stay for dinner?" she finally asks, sounding resigned, and Naruto lights up.
"I-if it's okay!"
Shippo slumps a little in relief. Her worrying was, thankfully, unfounded.
Kiba yaps at their mother for a few minutes longer about school and how excited he was until she finally turns to leave; eager to cook dinner.
"Kiba," she barks on her way out the door, and Kiba stands at attention quickly, "Thursday you'll be taken to your Choosing. Prepare yourself for it. Shippo, yours is later on that day."
And with that their mother leaves.
Shippo looks down.
Thursday.
o.O.o
"I heard you've signed up for the kunoichi classes Shippo-chan!" Hana says, later at dinner, "I'm so proud of you! I took them when I was your age as well, and what you learn there is very helpful!"
"Kunoichi classes?" asks Kiba in between bites of rice, "You mean those girl classes?"
"Yes," their mother says, placing a bowl of fish on the table before taking her seat, "the expectations set upon a kunoichi is completely different from those of a typical shinobi. Male and female ninja's each have a specific skill set that comes naturally to them. While it's not impossible for a male ninja to learn and execute a kunoichi's skill sets efficiently, it is much harder for them. And the same goes for a kunoichi towards a shinobi as well."
"Think of it this way," Hana cuts in, "male shinobi naturally have a physical advantage over female shinobi. However, if a female shinobi works really hard they can easily overcome that advantage to wipe any male shinobi in the dust. It isn't really about one overpowering the other. It's more about giving girl shinobi an extra set of skills they can use in a way that male shinobi might not be able to."
"The world of shinobi isn't gender specific," mother says, "but the way a civilian might perceive us - that means see us Kiba - definitely affects how we train ourselves."
"How so?" asks Naruto, who had been listening quietly this entire time. He looks more interested than she thought he'd be.
"Well a lot of missions require some level of stealth," their mother says, taking a sip of her miso, "or some form of manipulation. Let's say you're given a mission to infiltrate a building and eliminate a target. If that target is male they might be more easily deceived by a female shinobi."
"But what about genjutsu?" Shippo asks, ignoring Naruto's and Kiba's confused stares.
"I see you've been doing your reading Shippo-chan!" Hana says, pleased, "As for your question...upholding a genjutsu like that for an extended period of time would be hard on the average ninja. Doing so requires an extraordinary amount of chakra control - or, rather, chakra in general. You'd probably be worn out by the end of day one!"
"And not only that, these classes teach young female ninja's how best to get close to and eliminate targets like these," their mother says, "as well as how to properly gather and share information, identify and administer poison, and the like."
It's odd, Shippo thinks, how casually they can talk about the people they would be killing in the future. All for the promise of coin - for having that one mission under their belt. It's odd how no one even blinks at the thought of it.
"Shippo-chan can learn a lot from these types of classes! And I'm sure the sensei wouldn't mind having you two join as well, if you want," Hana says, putting down her chopsticks and thanking their mother for the meal.
"Sounds like too much work to me," Kiba says, and Naruto nods his head in agreement.
"Your loss," says Shippo, finishing her own dinner with a happy sigh.
"Oh! That reminds me, what I was going to say was - it might seem a bit soon, but your classes start tomorrow Shippo-chan."
Kiba snickers at her and she groans. She just has to keep reminding herself that all this work will pay off eventually and she'll get through the day easily.
"You'll have them once a week on Tuesday, from 1600 hours to 1800 hours."
She picks at her empty plate with her chopsticks morosely.
It'll all pay off.
Eventually.
Tsume walks Naruto home after that, alone, and when she comes back she looks far more sombre than usual. Shippo tries not to think on it too hard when she goes to bed.
o.O.o
The next day comes far too quickly.
She spends the morning doing training exercises with her family and playing outside with Kiba. Naruto comes over again and they spend the majority of the day playing Ninja or taking care of the dogs - all of which Naruto has become absolutely infatuated with.
"They're just so cool," he tells her, carefully following her instructions on how to groom them without pulling too hard on their fur.
Kiba puffs his chest out proudly at Naruto, brushing as well, and gives a wide fang-toothed grin.
"Aren't they?" he says, "I can't believe we're finally getting our own ninken! I can't wait…"
"Do they all grow up this big?" Naruto asks, gesturing his hands at the adult dog they were taking care of.
"Most do," she answers, "but not all. Some of them only ever grow into a puppy size while others can become larger than a horse - it just depends on the dog."
Naruto nods his head in understanding, keeping his motions gentle.
"It makes me wish I was an Inuzuka," he says, a little sadly, and her heart twinges.
She doesn't really know what to say to that, so she says nothing at all.
Kiba, ever the sympathiser, immediately latches onto Naruto.
"Well we can't give you a ninken, or teach you our fighting style, but…" he thinks for a long moment, nose scrunching up, "you could be a-?"
He looks to Shippo here, for some sort of help, and she nods, quickly jumping to cut in.
"Honorary Inuzuka!"
"Honorary?" Naruto asks, stumbling over the word a little, and she smiles.
"Mom and sis like you a lot," she says, "so you've already done all you need to do to become an honorary Inuzuka. It means you can come over whenever you want and take care of the dogs…"
Naruto's eyes widen comically as he looks between them.
"Really?" he asks, small.
"Really," she confirms, and Kiba grins again.
"Me, you, and Shippo are best friends now Naruto!"
Naruto wiggles a little, excitement shining in his eyes, as he leans forward.
"Wow! I've never had a friend before! Now I have two BEST FRIENDS!"
Both Kiba and Naruto jump into excited shouts, only hushing when the dogs start yapping, and she smiles wide.
She feels guilty, because she knows-
She knows she cannot help him. Academically - there is nothing she can do. To ensure he ends up on Team Kakashi with Sasuke and herself, she has to let him become the deadlast. It'd be so easy to help him out a little, to show him how to somehow wield his chakra properly, but…
No matter what he has to end up on Team 7. He has to learn the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.
The future of this world depends on it.
She looks down.
She feels wrong just doing this much.
What would happen now, when - if - Sasuke attempted to leave the Village? Now that Naruto would no longer have the same emotional attachment; Sasuke no longer being his only friend. Would they still hold the same measure in each others worth?
Would Naruto's lonely childhood help? Would her interference disrupt things?
All she can do now is hope she's making the right choice.
She's a truly horrible person.
o.O.o
"Okay Shippo-chan," Hana says, walking her to the Academy, "do you have everything you need?"
She looks at her backpack, filled to the brim with paper, pencils, paper kunai, paper shuriken, and any manner of things that might come in handy during today's lesson.
"Yes nee-chan," she drones, having heard her sister ask this question far too many times today already.
"And you know what to expect today?" she asks, fluttering around Shippo a little bit.
The Haimaru brothers are watching her with some measure of resigned pity in their eyes. She tries not to bristle at them.
"And-"
"Nee-chan please," she says, "I'm going to be fine."
Hana's hands twitch, and she sighs deeply as she slumps down.
"You're just growing up so fast Shippo-chan! It feels like just yesterday I was teaching you how to make your own paper stars..."
Hana would make a great mother one day, Shippo can't help but think. As if sensing her thoughts, her sister reaches down to hold Shippo's small hand in her own slightly larger one.
They finally come to a stop before the Academy doors. Shippo had insisted Hana let her find her own way to the classroom so that she may start learning the layout of the halls.
"I'll be here when class is finished," Hana says, twittering nervously, "Kiba-kun and Naruto-kun are going to meet us at the Ichiraku stand. Mom isn't going to be back until tomorrow."
Maybe it's not that Hana is going to become a great mother, Shippo quietly amends, but rather that she's already used to playing the part.
She pulls Hana into a hug.
"Shippo..?" Hana hugs her back, "That's not like you at all! Although I'll gladly take a hug anytime."
Letting her go, Hana turns her around and gently pushes her in the schools direction.
"Have a good class!" she calls out, and Shippo uneasily steps through the doors.
The darkness of the Academy continues to surprise her.
She takes a deep breath.
She can do this.
It takes her the better part of 15 minutes, but she manages to find the right classrooms door after running into far too many dead ends and empty rooms.
She opens the door, too annoyed to be nervous anymore, and looks around the room.
It's already half-full, girls chittering at each other in excited whispers, and her eyes seek out the sensei.
"Your name?" an adult woman she doesn't recognize asks.
"Inuzuka Shippo."
"I have you here," the woman mutters, "alright Shippo-chan. Take a seat and class will begin shortly."
Shippo ends up sitting in pretty much the same spot she had in Iruka-sensei's class, and she glances around the room. The only girls she recognizes are Sakura, Ino, and Hinata - the rest of the children are those she's assuming won't graduate, which is a somewhat sobering thought. Soon more are trickling through the room, looking lost or frustrated, and the teacher stands to attention.
The class quiets.
"Welcome everyone!" the teacher says, writing her name on the blackboard behind her, "My name is Nishimura Tomoko, but you can call me Tomoko-sensei."
The class calls out a greeting and she nods at them.
"I'm very pleased to hear that you're interested in this class! Here I will prepare you for your future career as a strong kunoichi of Konoha. Today will only be introductions, so don't worry too much. Next week we'll actually start classes."
The girls around her give a little cheer, and she slips further down her seat. It's weird not being with Kiba.
Tomoko-sensei starts walking around the room after that, handing out papers that asked many of the same questions Iruka-sensei's did.
When the class was finished scribbling out their answers she set them loose to the playground with strict instructions to introduce themselves to each other and make friends.
She wasn't really expecting a recess session, of all things. She knows their children, so some form of socialisation is required, but - in the end it won't really matter too much. She shakes her head free of these thoughts and debates on whether or not she should attempt to make nice with someone.
She's saved from deciding when young Hinata shyly peeks over at her from above her poking fingers.
Shippo walks over to her, smiling.
"Hi Hinata-chan," she says, "are you excited about kunoichi classes?"
Hinata flushes at the attention she's receiving, but smiles up at Shippo nervously nonetheless.
"I'm no- not sure how well I'll do, but, um I-I guess I'm exci- excited. How about yo-you Shippo-san?"
She seems to struggle to get the words out and looks terribly embarrassed when she's done.
"I don't really want to do extra work, but if it will help my future then I guess it's for the best," Shippo replies, taking Hinata's stumbling in stride.
She's hardly going to call the girl out on it, is she? It's not like she can help it.
"Are you excited for school-?"
And on they continue to chatter, eventually settling beneath the shade one of the nearby trees provides, until - more comfortable - Hinata is barely stuttering at all. Shippo takes a little pride in it.
"What are you girls up to?" someone asks, and both Shippo and Hinata look up to see Yamanaka Ino towering over them, Haruno Sakura not far behind.
Seeing Hinata immediately inflate upon herself, Shippo takes it upon herself to take up all their attention.
"We're just talking," she says, "did you want to join?"
Ino seems to think about it for a long moment, before nodding her head quickly and collapsing against the ground. Sakura mirrors her motions.
That's right - Ino wasn't ever the bully, was she? She keeps forgetting tiny things like this. She's not sure why she expected Ino to start harassing them.
"I'm Yamanaka Ino," the girl says, smiling wide, "and this is my friend-"
"Haruno Sakura," says Sakura, quietly, but not unkindly.
"I'm Inuzuka Shippo."
"H-Hyuga Hinata…"
"The reason we came over is because we saw how quickly you two buddied up," says Ino, cutting straight to the chase and leaning forward to brace her hands against her thighs, "and we were wondering if you were friends."
"Yeah, we are," Shippo says, thinking it a bit odd that Ino was wondering such a thing, "why?"
"Well, it's just I've never seen you around is all," Ino says, "and most definitely not with Hinata-chan over here."
"We only became friends recently."
"Oh?" Ino's eyes glint brightly, "So you're the type to make friends quickly? That's great, because I was wondering if we could be friends!"
"Sure, we can be frie-" Shippo starts, but is quickly cut off.
"Really?! Yatta!" Ino cheers, "Us girls need to stick together you know? And since we're friends now you two just have to stay the night at my place tonight! There's no school tomorrow, so it should be fine."
"Um, I guess-" Shippo says, starting to feel a bit bewildered, and is quickly tackled by a hug from Ino.
"Lucky me!" she says, turning her predatory gaze on Hinata, "And what about you Hinata-chan?"
Hinata reddens and peeks at Shippo quickly, looking for some type of support. She nods at the girl, trying to give her confidence, and Hinata begins to speak.
"Oh, um, I-I'm sure it's fi- fine if I do, um, too," she mumbles, poking her fingers together in some form of anxious twitch.
Ino's grin, if possible, widens.
"Yay! We're gonna have the best sleepover ever!"
Shippo smiles back, wary, and wonders what she's gotten herself into.
o.O.o
"A sleepover?" Hana asks, looking at Shippo in far more shock than she feels entirely comfortable with.
"You don't have to sound so surprised," Shippo says, and Hana brightens like a lightbulb.
"Oh Shippo this is great! When is it? Tonight? It is? Oh my goodness, your first sleepover-"
Shippo lets Hana get her emotions out, even letting her wrap her in a too-tight hug, as they walk to Ichiraku.
"When we get home I'll help you prepare a night-over bag," Hana says gleefully - more excited than Shippo herself is, "I can't wait to tell mom. Oh, that's right-! Where is it again?"
"The Yamanaka household," she says, "Ino's house."
"Oh? You've made friends with Yamanaka Ino?"
"I guess you could say that."
"Oh this is so great..! My little Shippo is growing up so fast."
o.O.o
"Are you jealous?" she asks Kiba, watching him mope at her with a degree of caution.
"N-no," he lies, eyes darting to the far left in an effort to not look at her.
"You're a terrible liar," she says, and he looks at her angrily.
"I leave you alone for two hours and you go and, and-"
"Make friends?"
"Yeah!"
"Shouldn't we be happy for her, 'ttebayo?" asks Naruto, not sounding too pleased himself, and an idea quickly forms in her head.
"Naruto-kun," she says, "how about you sleepover at our place tonight with Kiba-kun?"
"Eh? Really?"
Both Kiba and Naruto look at each other in some measure of awe.
"Yeah," she says, "you two have an awesome boys sleepover while we have an awesome girls sleepover."
"Well," Kiba says, crossing his arms, "our sleepover is gonna be way awesomer than yours."
"Oh really?" Shippo replies, humoring him, "We have more people you know."
He bristles, taking the bait, "W-Well! We'll just have to invite more people than you!"
She smiles, hiding it behind her hand.
"Good luck."
"We don't need any-"
"What's this about a sleepover?" Hana leans towards them, suspicious, and Kiba grins.
"Nee-chan, it's okay if Naruto and some other boys come over for a sleepover right?" he asks, and their older sisters eyes mist over a little.
"Of course it is Kiba-kun!"
Kiba turns to Naruto, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes, before leaning in to whisper conspiratorially. Naruto nods his head every few seconds and she turns back to her ramen, mission complete.
This way she could both keep her brother occupied and make him some new friends. Maybe things would be better if the Konoha 12 had a stronger foundation to stand on.
"Nee-chan is it okay if we go ask our friends if it's okay if they stay the night?" Kiba asks, finishing his bowl of miso ramen quickly and turning to look up at her with pleading eyes.
Hana looks out at the barely setting sun nervously.
"Well alright," she says, "but you have to be home before it gets dark, understood?"
"Okay!" he says, grabbing Naruto's arm and running out of the booth.
Hana sighs.
"Would you like another bowl, or are you done Shippo-chan?"
o.O.o
Tumblr dev-fiction.
