A Man Amongst Men
Ino's Dream
(At The Saotome Residence)
Ranma laid his head down on his pillow, enjoying the feel of sleeping in a bed again. Though his father – whom was still not around – would say Ranma was growing weak by not sleeping on a floor mat. With a contended grin, Ranma let his eyes close, even as he heard Naruto slipping in through the window.
Naruto for his part was exhausted. It had been a very eventful day and he could think of nothing better than enjoying a nice hot soak in the furo. He passed a gaze over to his sleeping father, and continued onward to the bathing room already tossing his clothing to the floor with each step he took.
Had Ranma been even a little bit more aware of the events taking place even now, he might have grabbed a camera and snapped a few photos; but as it was, Naruto was clad in nothing and was reaching for a towel as he entered the antechamber. Just as the towel was grasped in the hand of Naruto, the sliding door to the furo was opened, revealing an equally naked, and now madly blushing Hinata.
From a distance, overlooking the village a scream could be heard. "EEEEK! PERVERT!"
Naruto was beside himself as he scrambled to get away from the onslaught of bathing articles; toothbrushes, soap bars and wash pails sailed across the air nailing the scrambling blonde in female righteous fury. In a mad dash Naruto rounded the corner, barely missing a collision with his smirking father. "Dad, there's a naked girl attacking me! You gotta help!" he begged as he took refuge behind Ranma.
Ranma's smirk only widened becoming a comically wide grin. "Hinata-chan, calm down, please!" Ranma called out, to the girl hiding on the other side of the corner. A loud squawk was all the young teen could get out as she came face to chest with Ranma. The poor, offended Hyuuga had been so deadset on getting retribution that she had failed to clothe herself.
As such Ranma was treated to quite the sight causing him a large blush on his face. Ranma, who managed to pull out a towel from nowhere, tried to wrap the girl only to mistakenly grope the preadolescent. It was at this time that a very concerned Anko ripped a new doorway into the wall of Ranma's house, exposing the pervert.
"R-Rannnmmmaaaa," Anko snarled, gritting her teeth. Ranma started sweating buckets as he took in the raging aura springing to life around the kunoichi.
"I just wanted to say... It ain't my fault.." Ranma tried dumbly, idling noting that Anko was displaying her first ever battle aura.
Hinata, still being molested by Ranma, managed a weak whimper causing Anko's fury to grow. Without fanfare Anko brandished an oversized mallet and drew back. "Ranma you PERVERT!" she declared as she let loose the weapon branded "Pervert Basher 3000."
(Slightly Later)
Naruto was up on the roof nailing a series of boards in a crisscross fashion to cover the newest of the two Ranma-shaped holes. "I don't get why I have to patch the holes... It was Anko-san that made 'em!" he grumbled to himself, obviously disgruntled at being up so late.
Down below Anko was watching Naruto patch the holes as Hinata glared at the boy. "I still can't believe that Naruto would be the one to flash you like that, Hinata," Anko remarked having heard the one-sided story.
"I didn't flash her," Naruto tried, his words falling on deaf ears. For his efforts, Naruto was tossed another plank of wood.
"You just patch that roof! Last thing we need is for rain to get in!" Anko shouted, earning several hisses from the blonde boy. "I guess I owe Ranma-kun an apology when he gets back."
(First Thing In The Morning)
Ranma glanced down at the sleeping form of his blonde-haired adopted son. Naruto was sprawled out in a bed, legs and arms splayed to display an opening, the likes of which Ranma was guffawed. "Honestly Naruto," Ranma intoned. He walked up to the unconscious boy.
"Rise and Shine!"
The sound of a body landing in a pool of water echoed in the early morning air, accompanied by a string of swearing as a now wet Naruto spluttered out of the pond. "What the hell was that for?" Naruto demanded, as she wiped her eyes free of the water.
Ranma only smirked, still in his male form, his eyes crinkling at the edges and his long white beard blowing in the wind.
'Wait a minute,' Naruto puzzled. "Pointing an accusatory finger at Ranma, Naruto-chan asked the question plaguing her mind. "Since when did you have a long white beard?!"
But rather than a verbal answer, Ranma opted to leap forward, attacking the young shinobi turned kunoichi. "If you can beat me, I'll tell you, Naru-chan," Ranma replied as he opened with a barrage of punches at the blonde boy.
Naruto retaliated, swinging her own fists in turn to stay off the incoming punches. This tactic worked in the beginning, but every time Naruto would block a punch another would come at her even faster. "This is so not fair! How am I supposed to keep up with you?"
Smirking as only Ranma can, the elder Saotome brought about a leg sweep which Naruto easily leaped over. "The whole point of us sparring is to get you to the point that you can surpass me, Naru-chan. Now stop acting all dainty like a weak little girl, and fight me with all you got!"
These words seemed to have the right amount of motivation, causing the young blonde to roar with rage and attack Ranma anew. This time, rather than soft strikes reserved for sparring, the blonde was going all-out, delivering punches as fluid as Ranma-himself. Naruto reached a plateau in his aggravated attack in which his mind suddenly became clear and time seemed to slow down. As Naruto beheld herself and the battle taking place, she realized something. Something quite important...
(Elsewhere)
Genma Saotome was a many of many talents. Most of these talents were completely useless. Like the ability to grovel. Which currently Genma was engaging one of his many "fearsome" techniques. Standing in a circle around Genma were a dozen ANBU and five jounin.
"Hm, I see," Genma began, his tone serious as he addressed the men around him. "So it's all come down to this, has it?"
A tall man with spiked up black hair took a step forward, his face serious, and a diagonal scar running across his visage. "You've pressed my hand, Genma. Now it's time that you owned up to your past sins." The man's voice was rough and rugged, it belayed years of hardship and had a razor's edge to it as though killing were his second nature.
Genma gulped, sweating slightly. "If you really want this, then I guess I have no choice..." Genma threatened, charging up his energy. A visible battle aura sprung up as Genma crouched into an aggressive stance.
All the surrounding ninja took defensive postures, ready to react to whatever the older Saotome had planned. It was at this same moment that Genma bellowed out his call. "Crouch of The Wild Tiger!" So saying, Genma hit his knees and rapidly brought his forehead to the ground. "Please don't hurt me! I swear I won't get the Hokage drunk again!" he pleaded.
At the sounds of Genma's pleas and the drastic change in nature, all of the ninja facefaulted, crashing hard into the ground.
(Saotome Residence)
Hinata awoke with a start. The sounds of struggling were prevalent outside, causing more than a little panic in the young girl's mind. To her side Anko was still asleep, blissfully ignoring the sounds of fighting taking place just outside. Hinata thought for a moment to rouse the kunoichi, as Hinata herself was an Academy failure and drop-out.
Giving Anko a few meek shoves to wake the ninja, she received a snore as a response. "..." Hinata stood upright and made her way to the window, wondering if the village was being attacked. What she beheld was a fistfight between her beloved Ranma and his perverted son, Naruto. 'No, he's not really a pervert,' she reminded herself, trying to keep her head level.
It was actually quite an amazing fight as she watched Ranma and Naruto leap from branches, poles, awnings and anything else in the yard except touching the ground. As the two would cross in the air Hinata could only see a blur as they traded punches and kicks.
"I-Impossible... I've never seen anyone move that fast before!" Hinata squeaked, her voice not even loud enough to be a whisper. She indulged herself a few more minutes to watch Naruto and Ranma "fly" through the air and trade blows before she turned to head for the kitchen.
As the young Hyuuga arrived in the place for cooking she looked around at a room full of dirty dishes growing mold and collecting dust. If there was a single pot or pan in the room Hinata had yet to find it. Silently cursing her luck, Hinata activated her Byakugan. While it was useless for her family jutsu and fighting it was quite handy for helping the so-called useless Hyuuga to find household objects. If her father caught her using her bloodline like this, she'd have been beaten.
Locating the pots she needed, alongside a few dishes, Hinata set about preparing for breakfast.
(With Genma)
Genma found himself now held in a chamber, chained to a wall, awaiting a visit from a certain jounin. He wasn't certain if was to be tortured or not, but things were certainly not looking good for him.
(Saotome Home)
Ranma felt a cold shiver go up his spine. Even as he felt it, he was taking a boot to his head, courtesy of Naruto. As Ranma sailed through the air and into the koi pond, his trajectory absolutely perfect – whether it was his curse that did it, or Naruto's aim improving we will never know – he had time to reflect on the feeling. 'The last time I felt that kind of a shiver was back in Nerima before I left,' he thought with remorse.
Raising out of the water was not the late-twenties Ranma, with rugged good looks. No, it was now a buxom young redhead, wearing Ranma's clothing which was now oversized. Several ANBU hidden in the trees to watch the activity were treated to a very welcome sight. The image of a redhead peeling off her wet top and exposing her bust to the world was enough to cause a massive group of nosebleeds.
Ranma, never one for female modesty, ignored the sounds of collapsing flesh about the complex, and continued on, removing her pants and sitting on the ground with nothing but boxers. "Kuso! Naruto, I'm gonna get you back for this!" Ranma challenged, her lidded glare as cold as ice.
Naruto shivered, still in her female form. 'I swear that dad actually controls the temperature!' she mused as she jumped out of the way of the glare, ducking into the house and running for the furo.
Ranma, no longer able to glare at the object of her ire, turned to face her clothing and picked the wet pile up, ignoring the bitter coldness of it all. "Well, I guess there's no point in sitting around out here," she grumbled. "Oi, Hinata-chan!" Ranma called out, her voice oozing with saccharine. "I can smell something nice, watcha cookin?"
As Ranma, topless and clad in only boxer shorts, arrives in the kitchen, she is greeted by the sight of not one, but two bug-eyed females. Anko recovered first, her surprised eyes changing to that of a leer. "Ranma?" she questioned, still trying to wrap her mind around the concept of her fiance turning into a woman.
At the sound of Anko's voice, Hinata's mind restarted and the ninja drop out blushed crimson. "Ranma-sama... H-how d-did you d-do that?" she asked.
Ranma sighed, her massive – yet perky – breasts heaving with the motion. "Well it's a long story. Wait til, Naruto gets back and I'll explain it all." Seeing the women nod, Ranma walked to the kitchen to heat some water.
(An Hour Later)
"And that's how it happened," completed Ranma, as Naruto nodded.
"But," began Anko, trying to make head and tails of the story. "And then..?"
Hinata shook her head, holding the hand of the kunoichi. "I-I t-think it's best that we not a-ask these q-questions, Anko-sama." she girl squeaked out, her face turned red once again. Being so forward with such an accomplished ninja was well outside of Hinata's comfort zone.
Anko could only nod. "That was some story!" she delivered, her voice full of mirth as she was barely restraining a giggle.
Hinata rose to her feet, seeing everyone was finished eating. It had been quite interesting to watch Ranma and Naruto fight with chopsticks as they battled over the food. The Hyuuga could have even sworn to see sparks fly from the wooden eating utensils. Shaking her head, Hinata smiled. It was the first real smile the girl had experienced in many years.
Ranma observed the girl's smile, and as she had just turned away from Naruto when it happened, Ranma decided it meant that she liked his son. "Naruto, go to the kitchen and help Hinata," Ranma commanded, his voice boisterous and overbearing.
Had one been around during Ranma's childhood that same voice could have been attributed to Genma.
(Far Far Away)
Genma randomly sneezed. "ACHOO!"
Silence greeted the man's ears just as darkness was before his eyes. "Someone must be talking about me," he pondered.
(Saotome House)
Anko had a certain gleam on her eye. A gleam that Ranma should have recognized. However, the martial artist was currently in banter with his son.
"Screw you, dad! You go help Hinata! I hate doing dishes!" Naruto shouted loudly, stomping his foot on the table as he stood at his full height.
Ranma, no longer female but still half naked, mimicked the pose. "You'll do as I say, boy!" Ranma thundered back.
Naruto swung a fist to punch Ranma, but missed as the older Saotome fell to the floor ripping open a shirt that was not previously there. "Woe is me! I spend 13 years raising an ungrateful brat! All I ask is that he take care of the dishes, and instead he beats on his old man!" Ranma crowed, his voice being magnified to be heard clear across Konoha.
Naruto and Anko sweatdropped at this. "Seriously, dad... I guess I can do the damn dishes."
Anko smirked, "Shameful, Ranma. Just shameful."
As soon as Naruto was out of the room, Ranma was back up to his feet giving off a "V" for victory sign. "Yeah! I knew he'd do it," Ranma congratulated himself.
Anko smirked and started a slow crawl towards Ranma, eventually pushing the Saotome down on his back. "Ranma-kun," Anko purred, for once not looking akin to a snake. No the woman was starting to look like something far more terrifying than a slithering snake. She was looking like a c-c-c... a demon creature.
Ranma shuddered, as the kunoichi crept her way up his crotch. "A-A-Anko-ch-ch-chan... W-what are y-y-you d-d-d-oing?" Ranma asked more than a bit nervously.
Anko grinned, possessively clutching Ranma's boxers. "Mmm, we need to get these offa you, Ranma-kun."
Ranma was sweating bullets, looking frantically to the left and to the right. This was not a position he particularly desired to be in."A-Anko-ch-ch-chan, stop that, p-please."
(In The Kitchen)
Naruto was grumbling as he washed dishes, ignoring the accusatory glare from Hinata. "I swear I didn't know you were in there last night," Naruto defended as he finished up his last dish.
Hinata refused to speak to the Saotome heir and turned back to putting away the food.
Naruto sighed and shrugged. "Well, I'm off to the training grounds!" he declared and charged off.
Kodachi vs Anko
(Training Ground)
Sakura and Sasuke stared at one another, glares marking the others' features. "I told you, Naruto-kun is mine! You can back off and go back to chasing Ino," Sasuke declared, fire burning in his eyes as he challenged the pink-haired kunoichi.
Sakura, murder burning in her eyes, withdrew a kunai. "If anyone is going to feed my beloved Naruto-sama, it's going to be me!"
"But you love Ino!" Sasuke retorted, angrily.
"No! That was a mistake! I could never love a woman,, besides I probably just confused Naruto-sama's cursed form for Ino! They look the exact same, and Naruto's a man!" she declared, swiping the kunai at the Uchiha. Sasuke flipped back and away, his eyes glaring like a wildfire.
Naruto, the currently tied up ninja, was staring wide-eyed in his female form as Sakura and Sasuke were apparently fighting over him."Oi! Oi! Both of you two idiots... Cut. It. OUT!" she thundered, channeling her chakra into the outburst.
Both teammates paused and looked to Naruto, both watching the blonde-haired girl suspiciously. Naruto nervously glanced between the two, unsure of the resolve she noted in the ninjas' eyes. "Um.. What are you guys lookin at me like that for?" she asked nervously, visibly sweating now.
As one the two asked in tandem, "Which of us do you like, Naruto?"
Naruto glancing between the two did what he figured his dad would do. "Oh look, what is that?!" he screamed in panic, looking in the distance behind the two. As both ninja turned to see what Naruto was looking at, they spotted nothing as far as the eye could see.
By the time the two turned back to face Naruto, the blonde-haired girl was gone, replaced by a crudely designed straw doll that vaguely resembled the formerly tied up genin. The eyes eyes tot he doll were literally the kanji for eyes, and the mouth read mouth and the nose was a flesh-colored button.
"Wha-what? Where did he go?" asked Sakura, glancing about the empty clearing.
Sasuke closed his eyes smirking. 'Just as I thought,' the young ninja reasoned, "Naruto-kun has given us the slip..."
As Sakura sweatdropped at the obvious a wind blew by.
(With Naruto)
Naruto panted haggardly as she beheld the pot of boiling water before her. She had a decidedly panicked look about her face as she tried whispering at the pot to hurry. "C'mon! C'mon! Hurry up and boil, damnit!" she commanded harshly.
At the first sign of steam rising, the blonde grabbed the pot and dumped it on her head. The effects were immediate, the cute budding blonde become a handsome young male. "Yosh!" he declared.
Perhaps his declaration was a bit too loud, as at that moment both Sakura and Sasuke appeared, a quick shunshin allowing them into the clearing. "I know I heard his voice over here a moment ago," Sakura declared as she and Sasuke glanced side to side.
"Hn," Sasuke intoned, nodding with confirmation. Silently the Uchiha gave a series of handsigns directing Sakura to fan right and regroup in the next clearing. As the two ninja were obscured from Naruto's sight, the blonde – whom was hiding behind a tree at the moment – moved forward at a sprint.
(Training Ground Clearing)
Kakashi was just arriving, expecting to see a group of very irritated genin for him having them wait several hours. Instead, the cyclops was treated to the sight of an empty pasture, ropes tied around a dummy that was vaguely similar to Naruto.
"Um," he wondered, pondering the scene before him. "I wonder what could have possibly happened here?"
(With Genma)
Genma was seated in a chair facing a short table with another chair on the opposite side. The room in which the portly old man was seated was completely black with only a single column of light focused on the table and chairs.
'Oh, no... Don't tell me.. it's-' What ever else Genma might have been thinking was confirmed as all the lights for the room turned on. Standing in a doorway immediately before Genma was Nara Shikaku. That doorway, Genma noted, obviously led outside as he could see passersby in the streets behind the genius Nara. "Lemme guess," Genma began, his voice a deadpan and his eyes the matching set. "You want a rematch. Again?"
Shikaku only nodded, refusing to voice himself. The Nara withdrew a shogi board from the crook of his arm and sat it in the middle of the table. Silently, Shikaku set about placing the pieces in their rightful locations.
(Training Grounds)
Naruto was visibly shaking. For you see his back was to the wall, quite literally. As he stood there he was being approached by both Sasuke and Sakura who had flanked the poor blonde. There was nowhere to go but up or down. Sadly for Naruto, who was only a genin, he could not tree-walk yet, nor was he an earth style ninja; so the two options were out.
It was at this moment, as Sasuke and Sakura pinned Naruto with stare of wanton lust, arms to either side to prevent the blonde's escape, that Kakashi arrived. "Um, what's up kids?" he offered lamely, trying to figure out what was happening.
"K-Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cried, pointing to his savior as he tore free from his team mates. "It's a good thing you came when you did, they almost had me!" he cried, a look of abject horror in his eyes.
Kakashi gave a one-eyed smile, as his other eye and lower face were covered. "Well, I see that. Mind explaining what this is all about, and why it is that none of you are in the arranged meeting place?"
Sasuke and Sakura shared a glance and turned to Kakashi, allowing Sasuke to take the lead. "Well, you see sensei we decided since we're a new team-" Sasuke began.
Sakura picked up where he left off, "Yeah! So we decided to try a team-building exercise. Right, Naruto-kun?" she asked, her voice more then a little forced as she referred to her other team mate.
Naruto shivered at the sickeningly sweet voice, and could only nod for fear of retaliation. "Um, yeah."
Kakashi looked between the three not seeming to believe a single word from any of the ninja. "I see.. Well, I believe you. Anyway, since you want to prove your worth as a team, I have a test for you three." Kakashi paused in his speech to fish out two bells from his pocket alongside a little novel. As the three genin watched on, Kakashi remained silent.
Naruto watched in anticipation. While he had no clue what would be happening it was certainly better than being chased by Sasuke and Sakura... 'And all for a kiss, too,' he thought with disgust. "Kakashi-oji-san, what's the practice?" he demanded seeing as the jounin was caught up in his book reading, the bells tied to his waist.
Kakashi glanced up, a bit miffed at being disturbed. "I thought it would be obvious by now, I want you three to get these bells from me," he answered, rattling the bells. The three genin nodded and dispersed, leaving Kakashi alone in the clearing.
Or so he thought...
A slight shift in the air was the only warning Kakashi got as he leaped back, throwing a kunai at where he'd previously been standing. It came as no surprise to the jounin when the kunai was deflected by seemingly nothing. "Interesting jutsu, Naruto."
Naruto slowly faded into existence, a big grin on his face as he held up a bell in his hand.
Kakashi lowered his gaze at Naruto. "There's no way you got that bell from me," Kakashi challenged.
"Sure I did!" Naruto retorted as he swung the bell back and forth.
"Honestly, the bell you've got is golden and three times the size of the one on my hip," Kakashi deadpanned, eye narrowed a the gall of the blonde.
Naruto at least had the decency to look abashed as he tossed the bell at Kakashi. Kakashi watched the bell approach, for some reason his eye was glued to the path of the bell, transfixed as it sailed through the air. The moment Kakashi realized what was going on, he flared his chakra, breaking free of the genjutsu. "What the hell? How is it possible for Naruto to use an illusion like that?" he asked aloud to no one in particular.
It came as a surprise when he heard a voice from way to close for comfort. "It's called hypnosis, my family specializes in it!" Naruto had his hand on one of the bells resulting in Kakashi reacting before thought. The older ninja flashed his right hand out twisting Naruto's wrist and kicked the blonde dead in the chest sending him rocketing back into and through a tree in the distance. "Naruto!" Kakashi announced with worry, but was unable to attend the blonde as Sakura and Sasuke were on him like berserkers.
Sasuke was putting to use all of the skills he;d learned of his family's style, at the same time Sakura was throwing every taijutsu punch and kick she could recall from the Academy. "You hurt Naruto-kun, I'll kill you," threatened Sasuke, his voice betraying no compassion as his hands blurred through a series of seals. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu," he barked out, his fingers twisted in the fire symbol and placed in front of his mouth. With a deep breath Sasuke let loose a horrendously large fireball. Even as he fired it forward, he was moving, pulling Sakura out of the way.
Sakura gave a nod to Sasuke as she was placed back onto her own feet. The moment that she was on the ground, and the fireball was canceled by Kakashi, Sakura let loose a a salvo of kunai and shuriken.
Off in the distance Naruto was just rising, shaking his head as he slowly righted himself. "Kuso, that hurt!" He quickly got to his feet and darted forward to meet Kakashi, whose back was turned to him, fighting Sasuke and evading thrown weapons. Naruto planted a knee in Kakashi's back, only for the ninja to poof into a cloud of smoke.
"What the hell?" Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all wondered aloud.
Kakashi, hidden within a bush was more than a bit surprised that things had turned out this way. He had assumed this would be a slaughterhouse with him laying waste to the three young ninja. Instead...
Kakashi glumly picked up a burnt book, the pages having been seared in the heat of the battle. "My precious Icha Icha," he noted with a solitary tear leaking its way down his face. "I guess I better get serious then," Kakashi stated as he rose from his hiding place. "Alright, Team 7, time to fight with all I've got!" he threatened as he lifted the hitae-ite from his eye, revealing a Sharingan.
Sasuke's eyes widened, him being the only one that recognized the importance of the eye. "H-How did you get a Sharingan?" Sasuke demanded, surging forward with his arms trailing behind him.
Sakura and Naruto shrugged, not really understanding nor caring too much about the situation. As one, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke met up with their jounin sensei attempting to corner the man. Sakura opened with several kunai strikes trying to push back Kakashi while Naruto and Sasuke came from behind each holding one end of a ninja wire.
Kakashi didn't see the wire as he evaded Sakura's advance, especially when Sasuke tried for several punch combinations. As such, the wire managed to snag the jounin's wrist and Naruto was quick to connect his end to a generator he pulled from stuff-space (Stuff-space is a location most anime with comedic relief possess. Any item needed in a pinch can be withdrawn at the time required).
Kakashi felt several hundred volts of raw electricity flow through his body faster than his own Raikiri or Chidori attacks. The steel medium of wire was unrelenting and left Kakashi unable to fight off the chakra-less attack. After a few moments Kakashi's hair started to smoke, even if the jounin refused to let out even the faintest of cries. Seeing the smoke and recalling his father's advice about electrocution, Naruto turned off the power source and allowed their sensei to fall to the ground.
Seeing an opportunity, Naruto charged forward, full speed and snagged both bells before celebrating. He was joined moments later by his team mates. "Yay! We did it!" Sakura enthused as she leaped for joy. Sasuke merely grunted, and smiled proudly at his beloved Naruto.
Kakashi... Poor Kakashi was on the ground, twitching and unable to climb to his feet. 'Damn you, Ranma. I should have known you'd teach your son to cheat...' Kakashi pondered ruefully.
(With Genma in a Holding Cell)
Genma's concentration was legendary. The way he seemed to focus on the board before him made many lesser men fall away, fear in their veins as it would appear the panda-man was out for blood. More than once, Genma was had broken his opponent's will and thrashed many a man's dreams. This time, however he was at a stark disadvantage. All of his attempts to cheat were being met and stopped.
"You know, Shikaku," Genma began, his voice reflecting deep thought, "you have me at a disadvantage... But, how will you react to THIS?!" Genma challenged, slamming a shogi piece into place, which managed to remove a certain pawn from another area of the board, putting Shikaku at a disadvantage, his king being exposed.
Shikaku paled as he beheld the board. Somehow Genma had gotten through his defenses. Again! Add to that, he could have sworn he had protected his King earlier with a pawn. But now, he was exposed and Genma was moving in for the kill. "I-Impossible..." Shikaku whispered, trying to find a way to once again stop the elder Saotome.
Genma leaned back and chuckled a hearty laugh at the position his foe was now in. "I bet you regret detaining me just for this rematch now. Don't you?" Genma challenged, his gloating causing his chest to puff out.
Shikaku deliberated, seeing no obvious signs of cheating, though he wasn't actually sure how one could cheat in shogi, so little did he know that the more he thought out the board and his gameplans, the easier it made the efforts of Genma. So saying, Shikaku placed a perfect movement to clear half of the board. "There! Now lets see you beat me, Genma-san!" Shikaku challenged.
Genma paled. 'Well, he's definitely got me now. If I don't do something drastic, this can get ugly and quick!' he pondered as he observed the board. Looking up, Genma saw the perfect move to make. "W-What the hell's that?!" Genma shouted, pointing animatedly behind Shikaku.
Shikaku spun around and looked behind himself to see what appeared to be four traveling monks. Though the size of the diminutive men was quite startling. "I'm not certain, Genma-san. I'll have ANBU look into it." As Shikaku's eyes came back to the board, he was treated to a sight that made his blood run cold. When he looked away Genma was losing, now that he looked back, Genma's one move had put Shikaku in such a tight bind, that the tactician could not think of a way out of it.
"Do you give up, Shikaku? This is only a game," Genma taunted, pressing the buttons that would hurt the man's ego even more.
Shikaku, slumped his shoulders and hung his head. "Kuso... Fine you win, Genma-san. But, I expect a rematch!" he challenged.
End of Chapter
Sorry for the late post. I normally just write and write until I've finished the chapter. Sadly, I spent the last week with family. Everyone decided they wanted to spend time with me. How terrible...
Any who, this is a rough and incomplete chapter, I've only read it over once. Anyone interested in proofreading for me?