Impassive Purple: Hi.
xxTerror33xx: You. More reading yay. See it only took us a week this time instead of two months. Not much to say except Yuuka starts ninjaing. Shut up autocorrect that's a word damnit. Anyway enjoy.
Impassive Purple: (Silently laughing as the auto-correct goes off 50 times); and yes, enjoy.
Failure. The word stuck to her everywhere she went. No information had been discovered about her brother; even her father hadn't found anything. News had finally leaked and of course it spread like wildfire as the elemental nations scurried to find the lost boy, whether to return for good favor, to kill or hold hostage, or to make him one of their own.
Which would be better? Knowing he really is alive, only to be held captive by enemies for political favors… Or being forever without the knowledge what had happened or where he is?
Was that really a question? Not in her mind.
Yuuka hadn't stepped outside for nearly a month. How could she face the world when she had failed.
"Yuuka… I'm sorry… I didn't get anything out of them either." Something she assumed would be quite the challenge, given who he was up against, a meeting amongst the most powerful shinobi in the elemental nations. Yet, all hope was pushed into the gutter at that moment. "Don't let it get to you, we will find him. I promise. Take some time off for now sweetie."
She appreciated her dad's words and the various words of several shinobi, who the twins were close with before the Kidnapping, and even the villagers gifts, but it didn't stop her feeling hollow. She knew she shouldn't blame herself, that she had no control over what had happened; it still didn't stop her from laying in bed though.
"In fact, the shinobi academy will be starting a little less than a week from now. Why don't you focus on that…?" The silent message he was trying to send to her was clear. "Take your mind off of it."
She couldn't.
Still, here she was.
Yuuka's face was a picture of resident depression. Eyes downcast, arms hanging at her sides, and hair fixed into a rough ponytail as she watched her future classmates enter the academy building. Dark bags still hung under her reddened eyes, and the shadow of the oak only made her look that much more dreary.
"Come on, Yuuka." her father placed a hand on her shoulder, giving a small smile of encouragement. He looked picture perfect, but she could tell he was still sad and disappointed with the results of the meeting. As Hokage, he had to give the image of an unfailing leader at all times.
Strong willed.
He hadn't been home much since the meeting and had taken to hiring a retired kunoichi to come by to cook and clean. One look at the lady had told Yuuka all she needed to know. Pale blonde hair and green eyes. Yamanaka.
Looking even further underneath the underneath, as Kakashi would put it, the woman was young, just a few years shy of her father. From the marks on her stomach, she had children. Yuuka supposed it made sense from a Yamanaka's point of view. If she wouldn't confide in her various male influences, why not introduce a female one, even better make it as close to a mother as possible.
If she was a normal seven year old it would've worked. She wasn't normal though. Nine tails of Yin chakra constantly influencing her mind insured she would always be ahead of her age.
That's possibly why she wanted to roll her eyes when she overheard some of the nonsense, immature ruckus made by her classmates as her and her father stepped through the door of the room. Thankfully enough, it quieted down immediately as the children caught sight of their Hokage.
And then their eyes drifted down to her.
Minato waited a second looking around at the class, before leaning down and whispering. "Don't be nervous, go find a seat. I'm going to be starting my speech in a moment."
Yuuka nodded, sighing, and mumbled a small "Ok, dad…"
She stepped forward, and although most eyes broke off from her, many stayed as she made her way up to the very back left corner, and sat next to someone she vaguely recognized as a Hyuuga. The redhead gave a small gesture of greeting, raising her hand, though the small girl beside her didn't seem to respond very well. To be honest, she didn't seem to look like she responded well to anything around her in general.
"H… H-hi…"
Usually, Yuuka would have given a normal introduction in return, but… most of the last week, including today, she had not been 'usual'. So instead, she simply rested her head on the desk in front of her, and waited for her father to start speaking.
The teacher of the class–or at least, who she thought would be teacher. He looked like a teacher-type–clasped his hands together. "Ok everyone. Hello! Welcome to the shinobi academy! My name is Iruka Umino, I'll hopefully be your sensei for the next few years, but my introduction can wait. Now, Hokage-sama is probably very busy, so if everyone would please stand in order to-"
Minato raised a hand, shaking his head with a friendly smile. "It's fine Iruka." He looked towards the class, starting off with a greeting. "Hi! I see that quite a few of you are nervous, but don't worry… As of today, everyone in this classroom–with the exception of myself and Iruka, of course–can consider themselves shinobi in training, for Konohagakure no Sato!" The blond emphasized this by pointing to his hitai-ate. He watched as grins and smiles broke out across many of the children's faces.
Then, his face became far more serious.
"Now, some of you might not last in the academy. Each and every one of you should be aware of this. If you do not try, you will not succeed as a shinobi. While it can be a well paying occupation, that is not what you should be here for… As Konoha ninja, and future Konoha ninja, we have a duty far more important than rank, or creed, or money!" Minato put a fist to his chest with an audible thump.
"To protect our friends, our fellow shinobi, this village and the land of fire, it's citizens, it's economy; our entire way of life… even at the cost of our own!" his voice was firm, his features solid. Unwavering. The blond himself remembered being the target of this speech from the third. He could only hope that every year, he was being just as inspiring.
"We are all a team, aside from our personal differences or disagreements. Is this understood?" the man's eyes tracked across the rows, stopping on his daughter for a fraction of a second more than the rest, but continuing on, making sure there was absolutely no opposition to his words. Minato took a deep breath. "I said… Is this understood!?"
"Y-yes sir!" the children all said in unison, even the quietest of the bunch. They understood the gravity.
The fourth's serious expression suddenly morphed into a grin at the response. It was quite unlike him to be so serious in normal day-to-day, however he had to drill these words into their heads. There was one easy, effective way to do that.
"Good! Now, are there any questions?"
One dark haired girl slowly raised her hand, a frown forming. "Yes… I think I do…"
"Hm? What would that be?"
"Uh… W-What made you decide to become a ninja, Hokage-sama?" Yuuka blinked. She was also interested in that question.
Minato raised an eyebrow. "What made me decide…?" He tapped his chin. "Truthfully, I didn't think I mentally had much of another option at the time. I didn't have any family, or any influence like that. Though, I would always watch the shinobi in awe as they dashed around, how they could do all these interesting techniques, and seemed so brave. I would see the Hokage's faces on the monument, watching over the village, making sure all of us civilians would rarely have to experience the hardships of war or bloodshed. I wanted to be like them; and I'm an advocate for hard work, and achieving your goals." The blond nodded in satisfaction of his own words. "That was my goal. So here I am. Does that answer your question?"
The girl slowly nodded. "Yes, sir…"
Minato waited a moment more, and seeing nothing, he decided to finish up his speech. "Ok! If that's all, then I will let the introductions start. I wish each one of you the best of luck! Iruka-sensei?"
"Ah, yes, Hokage-sama! Let's begin! I guess we'll go row by row, starting on the front left! Will each one of you state your names clearly for myself and the rest of the class?"
Yuuka saw her father wave to her as he proceeded to exit the room. She returned the salutations, and listened to the names. It wouldn't do to talk to someone and not know what to call them. She wouldn't want to create a negative reputation for herself.
The redhead made note of several of the more exuberant characters, those who were bound to be painful to talk to, and probably the most disruptive of the class, or names she had heard in passing. Especially important names, such as Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Uchiha, Aburame, Inuzuka.
"I-I'm Hinata H-Hyuuga… Nice to meet you all…" And eventually, as expected, a Hyuuga, right before the teacher pointed to her.
Yuuka stood like those before her. She looked around as all the eyes, before stating her name. "I'm Yuuka Namikaze… Hello." Simple. The girl took a breath, before slumping back onto the bench.
Her ears caught the sound of whispers, some of which close enough to make out words and making her twitch in annoyance. Nothing more than she had already heard in her life, but it still irked her, and had her mentally marking people who made them. She could catch stuff like "princess", "rich kid", "spoon fed", "brat".
There was even some talk of her missing brother. She could ignore the rest, but those particular comments, good or bad, forced her mouth open.
"…Shut up." her voice was no more than a few decibels above her normal speaking voice, yet it carried enough authority and irritation to make everyone quiet down.
"Y-Yes, please, all of you." Iruka cleared his throat. "Next please?"
After everyone finished, the class devolved into silence, Iruka looking at a clipboard and nodding his head to himself. Everyone that registered was present. No absences.
"Ok!" the man set his clipboard down on his desk. "I'm guessing none of you brought anything with you besides yourselves, right?"
This was returned with a bunch of "Yes, sensei."s, to which Iruka let a small smile slip onto his face. He was finally here, teaching his own class.
"That's fine, I didn't expect anything more, but we're going to have to go over what all of you will need in order to start practicing the techniques you'll be learning." Iruka reached into his thigh pouch, and pulled out a kunai and shuriken, hanging both on his fingers. "Everyone knows what these weapons are?"
Again, a wave of "Yes, sensei."s. Iruka ignored these replies though, sifting through the faces to see if a single one had even a hint of questioning. While most understood and knew their names, there were a few that he did catch.
"A kunai, and a shuriken." he flipped up each in order of announcement, to which slight realization dawned on a few of the children's expressions. "These are the most heavily used small weapons in the elemental nations."
He waited a moment, before continuing.
"We'll be learning how to use a lot of different weapons this year, just so you guys can get a feel for them, so you'll know how to use them correctly and… not hurt yourselves! Very important! I'd suggest every single one of you get a practice set of these two different weapons. You'll know a practice set from a real set; they'll be dull everywhere except the tips of the metal where it's intended to stick into the target."
"Yes, sensei."
"Alongside that, we'll be learning about physical fitness and taijutsu!"
Whispers broke out among the small academy students as soon as he said that, which had the man blinking. He didn't think they would be so excited about that. Iruka shrugged, continuing anyhow.
"Proper eating, proper exercise, and proper movements. Eventually, we'll also start simple sparring. This isn't a requirement for your first year, but you may not be able to pass in the future if you can't keep up."
A boy excitedly stood up and put his hand on the desk. "So, sensei, when do we start doing, uh… taijutsu?"
Iruka was caught off guard for a second, however he quickly responded with a smile. "Well, tomorrow, actually! It's an extremely important part of being a combat shinobi! In fact, why don't we get a demonstration of what you'll be learning over the course of these first few months?"
Even more furious whispers, and bigger grins.
"Who here knows the basic Leaf kata? I know there's a few of you…" a few eyes in the crowd narrowed in confusion, others remained unphased, a glint of excitement still present.
Yuuka herself contemplated not raising her hand, like several of the other clan kids had. Unfortunately, the thought that such might look awfully fishy quickly crossed her mind, and she resigned herself to lifting her arm into the air.
"Hmm… Yuuka…" Of course. "And Sasuke? Would you both mind coming down and showing the rest of the class the basic forms?"
The girl blew a strand of hair from her face, sighing as she stood up and began walking down the aisle towards her new sensei. Both her and Sasuke turned towards each other, to which Iruka stepped back.
The redhead lowered into the first leaf kata stance. She waited for the signal to go, as did Sasuke. Iruka didn't give one. It was only when she turned and gave the man a blank stare did he suddenly remember his duty as sensei.
"Oh… Hajime!"
At the command, Yuuka and Sasuke moved in mirror stepping forward, breaking that mirror when they raised their non-dominant arms in a nearly horizontal defensive motion.
Though many of the children grew immediately interested, heavy confusion passed over the previously excited of them.
"Hai!" Iruka confirmed their movement, and the two moved once more, dropping their defensive form. Both stepped forward once more, pushing their dominant arms outward into a false jab for the neck. Yuuka's fingertip touched Sasuke's neck, the same as his did her.
"Hai!"
They pulled their hand back and slid backwards.
"Hai!"
For each, a single leg was now raised, but not extended.
"Hai!" The legs came down, and both spun in a full 360 degree circle, each raising the opposite leg, and meeting at each other's calves with a hook kick motion that lacked any real power.
"Ok, great! A wonderful display! Did everyone-?"
"Oi, sensei! Where's the taijutsu?" the same kid as earlier cut the man off mid-sentence.
"Yeah, where's the fire?! Where's the wind?!" another pitched in.
Iruka raised an eyebrow. "Huh-?" What? What were they talking about?
'No way…' Yuuka's jaw loosened slightly. She looked over all of her classmates, many of them looking just as blown out of the water as she was. Even glancing to the side, Sasuke was critically staring at the boy and his friend, as if wondering if he just heard that right.
"Taijutsu?" Iruka repeated. "That was taijutsu; basic leaf kata movements-"
"No, no, no! The one where you breathe fire, and stuff!"
'HUH!?' He couldn't be serious. Yuuka was incapable of believing it.
"Oh! That's 'Ninjutsu', not 'Taijutsu'. I can see where you get confused. They do have similar names…" The sensei nodded slowly. "Er… You will be learning ninjutsu too, uh… eventually-"
"YES!"
"In a few years…" Yuuka snarked, to which Iruka coughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his sheepishly.
"Eventually…" is all the man finished with.
"WHAT?! That's stupid!" the boy raised his voice in protest.
"Well, chakra techniques require some prior development. You'll need some foundation before learning ninjutsu, and taijutsu is just as, if not more, important! I'll tell you what, though. If the class excels at learning taijutsu, and bukijutsu–weapon techniques–I'll get everyone started on chakra moulding! How does that sound?"
"I guess." The boy huffed. "I still wanted to see something cool, not that lame trash-"
Yuuka rolled her eyes, however a moment later, she swiveled her head to the side as she heard Sasuke whispering to himself. "Hitsuji, Saru, I, Uma, Tora…" each hand-seal he performed with careful movements. She stared in amazement as the Uchiha inhaled, before starting to breath out a small, burst of flame.
'Oh, right… The Uchiha coming of age thing. No wonder he can do an elemental jutsu at such a young age… He must be proud of himself-' a few squeaks in the 'audience' broke her from her thoughts.
Wait, wait, wait. Fire. Inside. Not good. Simultaneously, Yuuka and Iruka's eyes widened. "WOAH, HOLD ON! NOT INSIDE!" She made a movement to stop him. This place would go up like a tinder box! "STOP!"
Sasuke closed his mouth, cutting off the chakra to his jutsu. The fire fizzled out into thin air, and the raven haired boy shot her a blank look. "Calm down. I'm not stupid."
A lot of the room broke out into 'oo's, 'ah's and cheers. Iruka was pale–likely recovering from a stroke–, Yuuka was twitchy, and everyone in the front row was looking as if they thought their life had quite literally flashed before their eyes.
Hell, even the Nara boy, who looked like he thinks watching paint dry is mildly entertaining, was wide eyed and seemed on edge.
"Sh, sh!" Iruka raised his voice. "Ground rules! Ok?! Everyone who knows elemental ninjutsu; please refrain from using it indoors!" he pointed to Sasuke, Yuuka, and everyone sitting in the desks. "Actually, just don't do it ever! Are we clear?!"
"Why? That was so cool!"
To everyone's surprise. Iruka paused. He seemed to be debating something causing his mouth to open and shut several times, before seemingly accepting some unknown fate. He walked over to his board and pulled down a diagram of a chakra network.
Iruka stared at it lost in thought for several seconds before turning around and started in a subdued voice. "Sasuke, would you please come here?"
Sasuke seemed hesitant before nodding and walked up to his instructor. Iruka clasped both hands together nervously and seemed to present Sasuke before the class. "Sasuke is an Uchiha. He comes from a clan of well-known ninja that have been ninja for a very long time. His chakra network," Iruka vaguely waved to the picture behind him. "-is more developed in two very specific areas."
Sasuke jumped slightly when Iruka softly tapped his chest and then his temples. "His lungs and his eyes. Uchiha are known for their doujutsu, the Sharingan, and their ability to be unsurpassed in Katon, or fire, elemental jutsu."
"Now, this means that Sasuke can use fire jutsu easier and at a younger age and it means that Sasuke will also eventually be able to unlock the Sharingan. It seems like an unfair advantage and it is, but it's also a double edged sword. Can anyone guess why?"
The class, unsurprisingly, didn't answer. The lecture was very somber and breaking the increasing tension prevented anyone from speaking. Iruka waited a moment for anyone to answer before directing a question to Sasuke. "Sasuke do you know what is the greatest cause of death in the Uchiha clan, besides dying as ninja?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes in concentration for a sec before licking his lips and stuttering out a haphazard answer. "U-um, training accidents?"
Iruka hummed in minor disagreement, "That's a good guess. Much better than I expected. But no. It's cancer. In most cases, lung cancer."
Sasuke seemed as surprised as everyone else at Iruka's revelation.
"When using a Katon element jutsu, you take chakra and transform it into fire that feeds off the oxygen in your lungs. While you gather the necessary amount of fire for the jutsu, it causes smoke and other impurities to gather. Most of it is expelled with the jutsu but some stays behind. After years, it has gathered enough to cause cancer or cause lungs to collapse all together."
The class looked horrified at the news. Sasuke was trembling under Iruka hands as he continued as if he hadn't just scared the class from using ninjutsu, particularly Katon ninjutsu, ever.
"The chakra network in a Uchiha is usually able to handle the strain or can repaired before damage can become unfixable. But a child's lung cannot." Iruka's tone was solemn and tired. He stared through them in a trance as he gave his speech.
"Now, this isn't just the Uchiha or just Katon jutsu. The Hyuuga have been known to go blind prematurely from overuse of their eyes, the Nara are prone to brain damage from overusing and straining their yin shadow techniques, Akimichi can develop paralyzation from their body transformations if they aren't careful… so on and so forth. Every element type has dozens of dangers linked to it. Because children are not capable of handling the strain of some jutsu." Iruka walked around touching each of the clan heirs as he listed them.
"There are exceptions and shortcuts. Ways to get around negative jutsu side effects. People able to use jutsu at much younger ages, and etcetera."
The man gestured to himself, and then around him. "But in this classroom, I am your teacher. I don't care what clan you come from nor what you think you can do. I will ensure that no one in this classroom will use jutsu until I am able to strengthen your bodies to be able to handle the strain. Everyone is different, some will start sooner like Sasuke, some will start later. And that's ok. You don't rush it, no matter who tells you otherwise."
One could've heard a pin drop in the room.
"Is everybody clear why no jutsu will be used until I or another certified teacher gives you the go ahead?"
This time there were no "Yes, sensei"'s, only hesitant nods.
"…Thank you." Iruka took a deep breath. "Out of curiosity, I have to ask, is there anyone who can use a kind of jutsu outside of Nin, Tai, or clan related?"
Everybody seemed to perk back up from the anchor of dread the previous discussion put them under. Iruka craned his head around not surprised until a voice behind him caused him to turn to one of his demonstrators.
"I can Iruka-sensei. I can use genjutsu." Yuuka awaited a lecture or a negative reaction from Iruka. He surprised her by giving a relieved sigh instead.
"Ah, genjutsu. Much safer. Can you perhaps demonstrate the jutsu or if you can't, explain what it does, please." Iruka spoke gently no doubt trying to reassure her.
She nodded slightly before casting her eyes around the room. '27 people might be pushing it… but… ' Yuuka thought to herself and allowed her head to roll side to side before deciding that she would try. This would be a test of her own ability, given she wasn't going to be using the amplifying necklace. She was rather curious.
Five well practiced hand-seals and Yuuka intoned the jutsu.
"Jade style: Whirlpool."
Iruka allowed the jutsu to take hold despite his lips twitching in amusement at the dramatic tone Yuuka's voice tried to take. His vision gained a green tinge and then faded back to normal. The class grew restless as they waited for something to happen. Iruka waited a second and went forth to console the young girl.
'It was a good attempt. Her chakra activated but she didn't have the needed amount to contin-' Iruka's thought was interrupted as he fell through the floor and was swept up in a raging ocean. Despite knowing it was a jutsu, the sounds of twenty-seven panicked screams caused his emotion to take over. He was still gathering the chakra to dispel the illusion when it broke.
The entire class was flabbergasted when they were suddenly brought back to reality with a sound like breaking glass. Bewildered eyes glanced around at each other and at the suddenly suspicious floor beneath them.
A loud gasp from Hinata caused the class to look at her. "Yuuka, are you okay?" The class turned to see Iruka already taking hurried steps towards the Hokage's daughter. She was paler than before and sweat dripped from her face. She was leaning heavily on Iruka's desk as she gave a trembling thumbs up in response.
"Deep breaths. Don't strain yourself." Iruka pat her back as he gave advice. The class shuffled as they watched one of them nearly collapse from a jutsu.
Once Yuuka was breathing steadily and was able to stand on her on Iruka addressed the class and their obvious discomfort. "Yuuka demonstrated an amazing use of a genjutsu. An illusion based jutsu that caused panic. In combat, it would've given her time to either finish the fight or run. Genjutsu is something that takes a lot of control and something we will learn alongside Ninjutsu. But only when I allow it. While safer, genjutsu was it's own risks such as chakra exhaustion like you just saw or headaches and chakra imbalance."
More nods and darting eyes between Yuuka and Iruka.
The teacher turned and addressed Yuuka directly. "That was great Yuuka. A decently detailed illusion. I'm sure it would give a few chunin a run for their money." Iruka gave her a small smile and ruffled her hair as he praised her.
Yuuka allowed a tired smile to show while she accepted Iruka's congratulations. "Cool…"
"So, do you know what went wrong when you used the jutsu?" Iruka was testing her she knew, trying to see how much she knew about genjutsu and what other knowledge she might have.
"Too many targets. The genjutsu web was easy hold when everyone was waiting but when they started panicking the web was yanked around and I used too much chakra trying to stabilize it. The jutsu broke." Iruka nodded his head to her answer but elaborated for the class.
"Genjutsu is able to subject someone to an illusion by using a 'caster's' chakra to sink into a 'subject's' chakra and use it to feel or see whatever the jutsu caster wants. What Yuuka did was impressive because she did it for 27 people and was able to keep it going for a second until her chakra ran out and she lost control of the illusion. All of you will learn genjutsu as well, again, after we fully release and then develop your chakra."
A lot of the children started whispering between themselves at learning this. Though a few seemed quite eager to learn, the majority of the more rambunctious characters looked disinterested at best.
"Genjutsu is difficult to use because so many variables depend on a 'caster's' ability to ensnare a person. When you're calm, the illusion tends to be easiest to control, but everyone's dormant chakra flared in panic as the water hit. That was why Yuuka wasn't able to keep the genjutsu stable." Iruka waited for the expected nods before continuing.
"Yuuka's genjutsu was a beginner jutsu because it didn't influence your senses nor did it have a detailed environment. The water had no sound, smell, or taste. The sky was blurry and unclear plus the entire jutsu indicated it's starting with a green flash." The class stared at their teacher in amazement. They hadn't noticed any of that and the jutsu only lasted for a few seconds.
Iruka basked in the adoration before clapping his hands. "Whew… You know, I think that will be enough for today's… introduction." he cleared his throat.
"Welcome to the shinobi academy. Please come prepared tomorrow; we start learning how to be shinobi. Remember about the weapon sets, and I would also advise everyone bring some sort of high calorie lunch, and plenty of water. If you either can't afford the kunai and shuriken, or can't get them in time, they will be temporarily provided for you. Don't expect that to be forever though."
"Yes, sensei."
"To be honest, each one of you start saving money for your future equipment. I wish I would have done more of that when I was younger…" the man shook his head. "But, yeah. Hmm. Is there anything else…?"
"Isn't there supposed to be two sensei per class?" Shikamaru questioned. "What happened to the other?"
Iruka snapped his fingers. "Oh right! Mizuki! Yes. He should be here later tomorrow, I believe he's out on a mission…" the new sensei shrugged. "Other than that, I do believe that's it. Each one of you keep in mind what I said. You are dismissed."
Most of the kids began to exit the classroom. A few 'bye's were passed back as the children made their way for the exit, chatter breaking around the same time. A certain redhead didn't bother engaging in such activity.
"OH! If you don't have a guardian or family member to come pick you up, please be careful on your way home!" Yuuka heard Iruka call to everyone flooding into the hall from the room behind her, as she silently separated from the group of her new academy class, turning to the left to go further in, instead of the right towards the entrance. Many heads turned as she did so, though she ignored them as usual, beginning to walk through the mostly empty building towards the main office building, where her father was.
'That was… fast.' She had expected it to be longer. Maybe it would have been for a normal class. Though, she figured this class wasn't normal given it contained the majority of the clan's young heirs. Probably half coincidence, half being her father's influence. There seemed to be about a three year range between herself and all of them, some looking about a year older, and some looking about a year younger than her. A few were seemingly not ready or mature enough to think about trying to become shinobi yet.
However, that was the cost of being the child of being a child being raised to lead a clan.
Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Nara Shikamaru, Ino Yamanaka, Chouji Akimichi, Shino Aburame… and Sasuke Uchiha?
'Is he even heir to the Uchiha?' Wouldn't that title go to Itami? She would be the type to refuse it, though, wouldn't she? Just like Kiba's older sister did for the Inuzuka.
It only took her a minute or so before she was walking by the front desk and up the unreasonably long, circle-curved staircase.
'What kind of idiot does elemental ninjutsu inside?' Surely he knew better. 'Show off.'
She passed a group of shinobi talking amongst themselves and carrying stacks of paper, before rapping on the wooden door of the Hokage's office. "Hey, dad, it's me!"
A second later, she heard her father's voice. "Ahem. Excuse me gentlemen."
This was followed by two unknown voices. "Yes, sir."
"Yuuka! Come in!" The girl figured he must've been in the middle of a meeting, but to him, she was obviously of much higher priority. Brushing the red bangs that hung over her face aside, she slid the door open, meeting Minato's questioning face as he sat across the desk, and looks from the two Konoha jounin in front of him.
Yuuka lifted a hand in greeting, going to sit down on one of the benches along the walls. "Hey…"
"Well? How was it?" As he asked that, Minato pulled open a drawer, fishing out some object. As he lifted his hand out, Yuuka instantly recognized the object(s) as a small stack of ryo held together with a rubber band.
"Um…" She blinked. "It was… eventful."
"Oh? You'll have to tell me later." Minato raised a brow. "Anyway, Iruka told you about what everyone will need for tomorrow, right? Catch." with that he tossed the bills to her, which she caught.
"Um, yeah? What's this for though?" A look of confusion came over the girl's face as her eyes drifted between the ryo and her father.
His reply would have probably sounded average, had this been another family. "For you to go pick up a kunai and shuriken set." To her, it was slightly alien.
"Huh?" What was he talking about? Honestly, she really didn't pay that whole thing too much attention, as she figured she already had everything she needed at home. If she did, why was he wanting her to go get kunai and shuriken? "What for? I already-?"
"You might want to get familiar with the smith, and probably that whole commercial district in general. You're gonna be shopping at Koichi's a lot over the course of the next few years, hm?" Minato stated. "From now on, you're going to be buying all of your own weapons. It's an important skill, and maybe you'll break out of your shell meanwhile."
Yuuka's expression looked rather unamused. "But I already have kunai and shuriken? Why do I need to waste money on those stupid dull practice sets?"
Minato shrugged. "I did it when I was your age. And I wouldn't say it's exactly a waste of money if you don't actually own any…" a small smirk came to his face.
"Wait, what-?" Yuuka slowly leveled a dull glare at her father.
"It's a sunday. He'll be closing soon, and you already know Koichi's is top notch quality." Minato pointed a thumb behind himself, towards the village.
The girl simply stared at her father, before twitching.
"…Fine. I'll see you at home." As she was leaving, Minato called out over the snickering of the two jonin.
"Don't forget he's got a daughter in the academy as well try to make a fri-," The door closed and Yuuka rolled her eyes as she made for the weapon store near her home.
End
Impassive Purple: Hope you enjoyed. Also, don't be shy, you're on the internet. Leave a review! Even though I'm the one who gets the emails, Terror stalks the reviews like a lion.
xxTerror33xx: Multiple times a day. I like seeing the words of readers and what they like or don't. Next chapter is Naruto probably and some summon lands adventures. Fights, jutsu, and good ol' plot are strong in the next chapter. We will have it out as soon as we deem it ready. See ya next week (?)
Impassive Purple: Yeah… Uh… Let's go with that.
