Sorry this chapter took so long, but since it's the longest chapter I've written, and I did mention it in the last chapter.
Anyways this chapter will, more or less, be told from Nariko/Naruto's view and will also explain some parts of her life. There will also be a few flashback scenes to explain sections of her/his past and to make it more broad the flashbacks won't be told entirely from how Nariko sees' it.
Disclaimer: I do not profit from this story and the rights to Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto
Naruto: Tale of Yin and Yang
Chapter 5: Life from another view
Nariko calmly walked out of the test room with a headband worn proudly as a choker around her neck, the Genjutsu final exam was definitely unexpected and more difficult then what she had expected but it was easy enough once she worked out the secret in the test during the last few seconds.
She watched impassively as many of her admirers immediately converged on her as soon as she entered the classroom, as per usual they were showering her with praise and affection and vying for her affections. Utter nonsense as far as she was concerned.
It was a well known fact that Nariko Uzumaki spurned any advances towards her, whether they were offers of friendship, shyly asked dates or love declarations. Naturally this did not deter anyone as her status as an "untouchable flower in the garden" made her an irresistible prize to be won, to her male classmates anyway.
The endless pack of young adolescent would be shinobi's were starting to annoy her, unfortunately she couldn't just blow them all away with a wind jutsu, she still remembered the earful she got from Sarutobi, or "old geezer" as she called him in verbal conversations, the last time she did that.
Focusing chakra into her legs she easily leaped over the heads of her suitors and neatly landed on her desk, before anyone could react she leaned over and opened the window next to her seat. Grasping the window sill she swung herself out the window and upwards onto the roof, out of the reach of her many admirers.
Nariko sighed in relief and leaned back onto the ground. Dealing with all of her admirers was tiring and annoying work and it almost made her wish that they treated her like most of the other village treated her.
At that train of thought she involuntarily gave a sad sigh, ever since she was a child she had been shunned by the village, they avoided her like the plague and made no secret of their hatred of her. Her mouth tightened, she remembered the pain those years of solitude had caused, it would have been easier if it was only the older generation that treated her like this but it seemed that they had passed this attitude onto their children.
She remembered how she was bullied mercilessly at the playgrounds whether she was pushed around, verbally abuse or deliberately excluded from their circle of friends, in one particular situation she even remembered how she tried to escape a group of boys who decided to use her as target practice by climbing up a tree. This didn't stop them and they threw rocks up at her all the while calling her an unloved monster, a freak in the village and all sorts of other things. She remembered falling when a rock hit her head, after that she woke up in a hospital with Sarutobi sitting next to her in concern.
She quietly snorted at the change now, it wasn't until maybe a few years ago when the male students began taking a liking towards her, naturally this did not endear her to her female classmates but they had no reason to fell jealous about her, she never forgot how the boys treated her before however and refused to accept their pathetic advances despite the weak excuses they came up with to justify their behaviour.
Nariko reached up and fingered her long hair, the length of her hair and her figure were the only real things that could be considered feminine, part of the reason for this was her hard training schedule and apathetic attitude and Nariko needed something to remind herself that she was a girl that had feelings like everyone, it was also something of an rebellious act against the village. Long hair was generally frowned upon for ninja as they were often disadvantageous for missions and were generally only good for posing, but this was the other small reason she grew her hair out, it wasn't like she was the only ninja with long hair anyway.
She sighed and sat up, she remembered how when she was younger she used to crave attention and had tried to everything she could to get it, perhaps even becoming a ninja was nothing more then an attempt to be acknowledged, she sighed again. She was getting attention now, but not the sort of attention she wanted and by then she had already decided that she would rely on herself only, she did not need the sanction of anyone else nor desired it. A small smile appeared on her face, even so she remembered the day she finally enrolled at the Ninja Academy and made her first true friend…
---Flashback: 7 years ago---
A seven year old Nariko happily skipped towards the gates of the Ninja Academy, she was tall for her age but petite and delicate, and carried a sunny smile on her face. Finally she was going to become a ninja.
For a long time Nariko had been in awe of the many stories of the exploits of famous ninja and had resolved that one day she would also become a famous ninja, she had subsequently pestered Sarutobi into letting her enrol at the Ninja Academy and he had reluctantly acquiesced to her demand.
Smiling happily Nariko walked into the school towards the line of other young children enrolling at the academy. Upon reaching the end of the line however some of the boys who had been talking amongst themselves turned around at her arrival, "What do you want you monster?" one of them said aggressively, Nariko's smile dimmed slightly before she rallied, "I'm here to learn to be a ninja" she answered exuberantly, the group of boys glowered at her. "Forget it, they won't let your kind here. Why don't you go away you freak", said the same boy from before.
The corners of Nariko's smile began to turn downward. Even here it seemed like she couldn't make any friends, she was just about to turn around and go wait for the line to finish when she heard a voice call out, "Hey, what's going on here".
Both Nariko and the group of children antagonising her turned towards the voice, striding towards them was a tall looking ninja wearing a green vest over a loose dark blue body suit. He had a scar across the bridge of his nose and a kind expression on his face.
Stopping in front of them his gaze stopped at Nariko and widened slightly in recognition. "Alright what's the problem here", he said sternly, before Nariko could say anything the boy that seemed to be the leader of the group pointed his finger at Nariko, "I'll tell you what the problem is. The problem is letting this freak show into the Ninja Academy with all the normal kids" he proclaimed.
The scarred ninja raised an eyebrow, "Oh, what's your name", the boy seemingly thinking that he was being going to be praised preened and answered, "Shu Yamamoto". The scarred ninja nodded briskly and said, "Alright, Shu come with me, we're going have a word to your parents about you suitability, or lack thereof, as a shinobi". At these words Shu blanched. "And the rest of you", the scarred continued turning towards Shu's group, "Let this be a warning to you".
As he passed Nariko he paused and gave her a crafty wink. Glowing with happiness Nariko turned and stuck her tongue out at Shu as he walked past, he scowled in response. Smiling again Nariko happily bounded to the end of the line and waited for her turn to turn in her application.
Nariko sighed, she was bored. She had been waiting in the line for who knows how long and she had no one to talk too. She considered leaving and getting something to eat but she didn't want to lose her place in line.
Pouting she crossed her arms over her chest, she always seemed to be filled with reckless energy and was never particularly good at waiting patiently.
"Hey there", at that voice Nariko turned and saw the same scarred ninja that had helped her before, "Hello, scarred ninja, thank you for helping me with those means boys from before" she gushed out happily.
The scarred ninja chuckled at her nickname for him and answered, "It's alright, we don't tolerate that kind of behaviour at the Ninja Academy and new students are no exception to the rule". Nariko smiled happily, he was the nicest ninja she ever met and she hoped that she would see him at the Academy, she told the ninja so.
The scarred ninja smiled indulgently, Nariko happily smiled back. She didn't know why but she liked the ninja, he was nice to her and treated her fairly and there was something about him that just made her feel like she could trust him.
He suddenly looked towards the registration area and suddenly looked a little uneasy, he abruptly turning to her, "Please come with me, I think it would be better if I registered you in". Nariko seemed ecstatic at the thought, mostly because she didn't want wait any more.
Happily following the scarred ninja Nariko pelted him with questions about what being a ninja was like, "Is it hard?", "What sort of missions have you gone on?", "Where did you get that cool headband?", "Can I have one?"
All the while the scarred ninja just grinned and answered each question, "Sometimes", "Not too many dangerous ones", "I got this when I became a shinobi", "If you pass the graduation exam."
Nariko kept smiling happily, this was the first time someone had talked to her without calling her a Monster. She decided to ask one last question, "What's your name?"
"My name" the scarred ninja answered. He turned and smiled, "I'm Iruka Umino. Nice to meet you".
---End Flashback---
Nariko sighed at the memory, "I was such a little fool then" she thought. Regardless it was one of her favourite ones because she met Iruka who became her first friend, in a funny way it was all because of that obnoxious Shu, although he wasn't forbidden from attending the academy he got in some trouble and she remembered the black looks she got from him since that day.
Nariko suddenly frowned, although she trusted Iruka without question she never could shake the feeling he was hiding something unpleasant from her, it was the same feeling she got whenever she and Sarutobi discussed her past and she couldn't help but suspect it had something to do with why she was so mistreated by the village. Her eyes narrowed at the thought, if that was true then one day she would find a way to get to the truth.
Nariko looked up and noticed that the sun was already starting to set, she had been on the roof longer then she had expected. Shrugging she decided to go get an early dinner at her favourite restaurant.
Standing up she casually leaped down onto the streets, immediately she could fell the hostility of the people around her, most of them simply ignored her and went on their way, some of the more audacious ones openly sneered and spat at her. She inwardly shrugged she was so used to it now that it hardly bothered her what they thought about her, she had already accepted that she would always be an outcast, trying to change that was a fruitless endeavour as far as she was concerned.
Taking a familiar path that cut towards her favourite restaurant she idly wondered when her beliefs on the village changed, it was probably around her time at the Ninja Academy, although she said she wanted to be a ninja because she greatly admired them she realized that it was just another attempt to be acknowledged in the village.
The protest against her admission into the Ninja Academy had been great and it was that time when she realized why Sarutobi had been so reluctant to allow her to attend, it was probably when the people in the village began treating her even worse then before during her time at the Ninja Academy that changed her, she knew that greatly saddened both Iruka and Sarutobi but she had decided that the village would never accept her, well she didn't care as far she could tell, her lack of friends and support had allowed her to become self dependant, in retrospect maybe she should actually thank the village for that act.
Shaking her head and forcing out those bitter thoughts Nariko realized she had arrived at her favourite restaurant; a small ramen bar called Ichiraku Ramen. Although some people have scorned her strange taste for her favourite restaurant she had always ignored them.
As Nariko walked into the bar she allowed her cold emotionless "mask" to crack. "Hey there, Nariko, been a while since you've come here. I was worried that you'd forgotten about us" a cheerful middle-aged man wearing a standard chefs uniform and hat said at her appearance, a small smile appeared on Nariko's face at seeing him, his name was Teuchi and he was the chef of Ichiraku Ramen. More importantly though, he and his daughter was one of the few people who treated her like and actual human being. "Which is probably why I keep coming back," Nariko thought before answering, "What are you saying old man, I thought that you had learned to trust in me by now".
The man just smiled back and answered, "Yeah well, it's been a while since you've come here, me and Ayame were starting to get worried." Nariko's smile broadened, although she hadn't been to Ichiraku Ramen for several months she was never put off by Teuchi's comments, he made them every time she took longer then a month to visit for lunch or dinner and as far as she was concerned, it was his way to show he cared.
"Father? Is she back?" a voice called out from the back of the bar, Teuchi grinned and called back, "Yep, and you were worried that she wouldn't show up any more. Come on out and say hello". Rummaging could be hear from the back before a young women with long brown hair with a similar uniform to Teuchi's appeared.
"Nariko-chan" she declared happily, rushing forward to greet her. Nariko smiled and answered, "Ayame". It always made her happy to come here, even though ramen was not exactly her favourite thing to eat the warm atmosphere and lack of hostility she received made her feel comfortable, Teuchi and Ayame always treated her as well as they treated everyone else, of course it didn't hurt that they usually gave her discounts for food given her fairly meagre allowance.
"So what'll it be?" Ayame asked quickly reverting to a professional tone of voice, Nariko hid a smile and looked down at their menu, it was always amusing to her how Ayame would act whenever she took and served Nariko's order.
Looking through the selection available Nariko noticed that Teuchi had added a new product during her absence, "Special Seafood Ramen", she read. Sounded interesting.
Nariko quickly looked over the list again, given her frequent visits to Ichiraku Ramen she had sampled every single dish on the menu, consequently she was always eager to try new products and sometimes even gave her opinion on them.
After looking over the menu twice she decided. "I'll have the Special Seafood Ramen" Nariko ordered, Ayame nodded, "One Special Seafood Ramen coming up" she declared walking into the back.
Nariko closed her eyes and smiled happily, she allowed the relaxing atmosphere around her leak into her, the familiar smells of spices, condiments and cooking of the restaurant began to stir nostalgic feelings, barely realizing it she began to relax. It really had been a long time since she came, so much so that she forgot the simple feeling of pleasure she enjoyed whenever she came to Ichiraku Ramen.
Of course it wasn't always like this, in fact it took her nearly half a year before she finally managed to relax at Ichiraku Ramen. Nariko gave a short inward chuckle when she remembered how wary she was when Iruka first brought her here those years ago…
---Flashback: 3 years ago---
A rather sullen looking eleven year old Nariko was following Iruka down the streets, it had been four years since she had first enrolled at the Ninja Academy and she was starting to lose hope of being recognised in the village, Iruka was still the only friend she made and even then, because of his duties as a Chunin academy instructor, he couldn't spend too much time with her.
Nariko sighed, resigned to her situation. Iruka had been pestering her for months about visiting some restaurant that was supposedly very good, unfortunately her past experiences in eating out were less then pleasant to say the least, whether the restaurant she went too was high class, normal everyday restaurants or even just food stalls, the reception she received was the same.
Sighing again Nariko moodily looked at Iruka, he had frequently insisted on her giving this restaurant a try and when she asked why he just answered, "You'll like the people there". She frowned when she remembered that statement, rather then claiming that the food they serve was "heaven on earth" or any other clichéd line that would normally be used for this kind of persuasion, he had hinted that she would actually be accepted whether they were going.
She quietly snorted at the thought, she had given up hope on something like that ever happening and doubted that Iruka understood the true extent of the villages enmity towards her, she honestly wouldn't have even gone with him if wasn't for the fact that she had forgotten to go shopping and had no food left.
"Well either way, at least this proves that Iruka knows something about why the village hates me" Nariko thought as she listlessly followed Iruka down a rather empty street.
"We're here" Iruka called out cheerfully, Nariko glanced up and stared; it was only some ramen bar. "Ichiraku Ramen" Nariko read in surprise, despite everything she had been expecting, she never imagined that this restaurant was actually a ramen bar.
Grinning Iruka walked into the bar while Nariko more reluctantly followed, a middle
aged looking chef who had his back to them turned at the sound of them entering, "Hey Iruka, how've you been?" he asked immediately. Iruka answered, "Pretty good, how's business been?" the chef shrugged in response, "Oh you know, the usual".
Judging from the casual way they interacted Nariko decided that Iruka must have been coming to this restaurant for a while. She idly wondered how long it would take for the chef to notice her, if he was going to treat her like the rest of the village treated her, "Which is probable", she thought, then she would have preferred it if he didn't see her.
Nariko was just about to retreat backwards when the chef suddenly noticed her, "Hey Iruka, who's the kid?", Iruka grinned and answered, "Oh she's a student from the Ninja Academy", the chef grinned back. "Well if you brought her here then I doubt that she's just some regular student of yours", he remarked casually.
The chef turned to Nariko, "Hello there, my name is Teuchi", Nariko jumped a little, she wasn't used to people, other then Sarutobi and Iruka, talking to her without any spite or scorn in their tone. The now named Teuchi chuckled at her response, "Hey its okay I won't bite. Don't worry about the rest of the village I don't see what on earth is so bad about you, you look like a sweet little girl to me".
Nariko smiled shyly at the compliment and relaxed a little. Teuchi straightened and suddenly looked more professional, "So what can I get you two?" he asked. Nariko and Iruka sat down and glanced at the menus.
"Lets see, I'll have the Tonkotsu (Pork Bone) Ramen with extra broth", Iruka said after surveying the menu. Teuchi nodded and turned to Nariko, "And have you decided what you want?" he asked, she didn't answer.
Nariko frowned as she stared at the selection before her. As a result of her isolation from the village she had never had a choice on what she could dine on, among the few shops that were willing to sell to her fairly their selection was generally quite meagre, coupled with their obvious discomfort with serving her. Consequently, she did not have a very broad diet.
Looking at the variety of different foods, all ramen, that was printed on the menu, Nariko felt a little lost. She was briefly tempted to order everything just to see which one she enjoyed the most, but she didn't want to have force Iruka to pay for everything.
"Should I translate the menu for you", Teuchi asked, amused at the length of time it was taking Nariko to decide. Nariko glared up at him and answered, "I'll have the… the…", she took a quick glance at the menu again, "The Miso Ramen!", she declared.
Teuchi smothered a laugh and walked into the back, "Coming up" he yelled out. Nariko leaned on the counter and scowled at Iruka who was chuckling at her, "Don't let it get to you, Nariko" Iruka said, "He's just messing with you", she nodded begrudgingly in response.
"Father, is that a new customer?" a young women's voice called out. Nariko stiffened at the voice and turned towards the source of the voice. A young women with long brown hair was standing there carrying a bag full of various groceries and ingredients.
"Ayame, your back" Teuchi said coming out from the back, noting Nariko's wary expression Teuchi quickly tried to dispel any suspicions, "Don't worry, she's just my daughter. She won't bite". Nariko nodded but still didn't relax as Ayame walked into the stand, "Hello, you must be new here. I'm Ayame" she said as soon as she put down her groceries. Nariko just stared warily at her, wondering whether to answer or not.
Ayame frowned slightly, "What's wrong, did I upset you or something?" she inquired, Nariko still didn't answer. Iruka nudged her slightly, "It's rude to ignore someone like that" he whispered at her, Nariko's shifted uncomfortably at the statement, "I'm Nariko Uzumaki, Iruka-senseibrought me here" she finally answered in a uncharacteristically formal tone, still carefully eyeing Ayame.
Ayame smiled sweetly at her answer, "Well it's nice to meet you Nariko-chan". Nariko just nodded, taken aback by the honorific she added to her name. If she remembered correctly honorific's were generally used as a form of endearment or respect, she had never expected that someone other then Iruka would use them for her, especially when they had just met.
"Order up" Teuchi declared, carrying two bowls filled to the brim with hot steaming ramen. Setting the bowls in front of Iruka and Nariko he stepped back and waited for their judgement.
Iruka immediately took a pair of chopsticks, said his thanks and dug in. Nariko was more conservative, she carefully lifted some of the ramen to her mouth and began wordlessly eating.
Teuchi and Ayame exchanged worried looks, although Nariko had let down her guard a few times it was evident that she was still defensive around them and still found it hard to trust them.
Ayame shook her head and took on a determined look, she marched out of the stand and up to Nariko and sat down next to her. Nariko turned in surprise but before she could say anything, Ayame spoke first. "So is this your first time here?" she asked with a big smile on her face, Nariko looked rather confounded at the unexpected company and lost her composure for a few seconds before answering.
"Yes, Iruka-sensei brought me here", Ayame nodded before firing off another question, "I see, so how long have you known Iruka?", Nariko considered the question, "About four years", Ayame nodded again before asking another question "So how did you two meet".
"Why is she asking me all this?" Nariko thought to herself as she answered all of the questions being fired at her. Although she tried to maintain her curt and indifferent answers she gradually began to loosen her guard, she began to answer in longer and fuller sentences. Before she knew it she was telling her everything about herself, what her life was like before joining the Ninja Academy, what her classes were like and even what her hobbies after classes were.
Eventually she realized that she had finished her bowl and reluctantly put down her chopsticks, despite herself she had enjoyed the food and company and now felt guilty about the way she treated Teuchi and Ayame before.
"Well I think we're finished" Iruka declared, pulling out his wallet and paying for their food, "And it was just as delicious as ever" he added standing up. Nariko also stood up with a rather conflicted look on her face, Iruka looked at her shrewdly before saying his goodbyes, "C'mon Nariko, its time to go home" he said before walking away.
Nariko hesitated and seemed to be struggling with a decision. Ayame looked at her with concern, "Nariko-chan, are you okay?" she asked, Nariko turned red, "THANK YOU FOR THE MEAL!" she shouted out before bolting down the street.
---End Flashback---
Nariko smiled at the memory, it had taken her some time but she gradually came to trust Teuchi and Ayame as much as Iruka, she even started coming to their ramen stand by herself after Iruka took her there a few more times. It was times like these that she was grateful that Iruka had convinced her to visit Ichiraku Ramen although she had resisted the idea in the beginning she now realized that she was just being a petulant child then. She also had a shrewd idea that Iruka knew how Teuchi and Ayame would react to her, not that she was complaining.
"Order up" Teuchi declared snapping her out of her thoughts, taking a pair of chopsticks she stared down at her meal, a tasty looking bowl of noodles with various seafood titbits floating in it. With Teuchi intently watching her for any sign of dissatisfaction she slowly lifted some of the noodles to her mouth.
Rich flavours danced in her mouth, she could taste a variety of different flavours all mixed together perfectly, yet she could still single out every one of the different ingredients that went into the ramen.
Nariko smiled and gave Teuchi a thumbs-up in approval. Teuchi relaxed in response and gave a sigh of relief, Ayame grinned and said, "Hey dad, you shouldn't take serving ramen so seriously, even if its our number one customer". In response he just shrugged sheepishly and walked into the back.
Still grinning, Ayame quickly turned to Nariko, who was busily consuming her meal with quick and expert precision, and began to catch up on several months worth of conversation.
Nariko inwardly grinned as Ayame fired all manner of questions at her ranging from what her schooling life was like to the latest news in Kunoichi gossip. She answered all of these questions to the best of her ability and was genuinely amused by Ayame's "older sister" persona.
"So have you gotten a boyfriend yet?" Ayame asked. Immediately all amusement faded and Nariko scowled at the question. That question was to be expected but Nariko had always held the (vain) hope that Ayame would refrain from asking that question during one of her visits.
Despite her growing fan club, or perhaps because of them, Nariko had, over the years, grown VERY thin-skinned about questions concerning her love life or lack thereof. If anyone else had asked her this she would have responded with a murderous look and, if the questioner was particularly obnoxious, a sound beating for an answer.
It didn't help that many of her admirers never seem to get the hint that she wasn't interested in romantic relationships, she had rejected every one of her admirers several times at least and this had worn down her tolerance for these questions to an all time low.
To date, Ayame was the only one who could ask that question without getting some antagonism from her and so, like all the previous times, Nariko just veiled her eyes and shook her head. Ayame, long used to this answer, took in into stride and asked her next question on how she kept so fit despite the generous amounts she ate. With some relief Nariko answered the new question.
Nariko calmly walked down the streets, she had spent more time then any other visit today, mostly to catch up on conversation with Teuchi and Ayame, and the street was entirely empty. She didn't mind, she actually preferred being left alone with her thoughts for company.
Now that she was a Genin she was officially considered part of the villages military, albeit at the lowest rank, and was thus under the obligation of protecting the village, more importantly she was now effectively out of the grasp of the village. With the Hitai-ite (Headband) she was given she could effectively abandon the village and become a missing-nin. Because of the fact she was now instated as a ninja, her name would appear in the Bingo Book regardless of her rank.
Almost wistfully, Nariko entertained thoughts on treason against the village, while most people would be shocked that she was considering abandoning her home village so easily, to her it wasn't so hard. In reality she had never considered the village her home and had considered running away from the village quite a few times over the last two years.
Nariko sighed when she remembered the main reason she never considered the idea seriously; the people she had managed to befriend over the years. Both Iruka and Sarutobi had always encouraged her to love the village, to believe that one day she could find acceptance there… she really try and believe them, but over the years it had grown harder and harder and finally she had decided that all of those beliefs and hopes were nothings more then overoptimistic delusions.
Likewise Teuchi and Ayame always did their best to keep that hope alive, they frequently told her that the villages hatred was just a misunderstanding and that some day people in the village would come to accept her, to support this they frequently used themselves as examples and while it had kept hope alive for some time, ultimately Nariko could not see any of those ideals come to fruition.
Nariko stared up into the sky. Although she cherished her friends more then anything in the world she couldn't deny that they would probably be the only thing in the end that would keep her from defecting from the village, it was ironic how the most important thing in her life would be the one thing that kept her from taking the final step in her dream to break free from the hate and indifference of the village.
A sudden sound caught her ear, the noise was soft but there was no mistaking what it was. Someone was following her.
Keeping her walk casual, Nariko lightly shook her sleeve and a concealed kunai knife slipped into her waiting hand, she had learned long ago that is was dangerous, especially for her, to wander around late at night so she had taken to concealing a few weapons in easy to reach places. Nariko discreetly kept her senses open as she continued walking, she would wait for the prowler to move again, and then…
A sudden darting movement behind her! Immediately Nariko turned towards the movement and flung the kunai towards the mysterious stalker…
Mizuki lightly caught the kunai that was one a course to impale him in the stomach. Dropping down he gave Nariko a grin and said, "Hey, you should be careful about where you throw these things, if I wasn't a ninja you could have gotten into some serious trouble".
Nariko mentally snorted, it wouldn't be her fault if she happened to injure someone whilst defending herself, but keeping her expression neutral she asked, "Why were you following me Mizuki?"
Still smiling Mizuki lightly tossed the kunai back to Nariko, she easily caught it in a swift hand movement all the while keeping her eyes trained on him.
Casually walking up but keeping a respectful distance away Mizuki answered in a teasing tone, "Now now Nariko, must you be so hostile towards you teacher", a slightly serious look crossed his face, "But your suspicions are correct, though not for the right reasons. I'm not following you for a social call".
Nariko face remained emotionless, Mizuki smiled slightly and stepped closer, "I'll be quick. Because your abilities are more advanced then the other students it was decided by the other teachers that there will be an extra test for you to check your abilities better", here he took a slight breath before continuing, "It's not compulsory but if you succeed you might learn some new jutsu in the process, what do you say?"
Nariko kept her face deliberately blank but her eyes narrowed shrewdly, wondering about what Mizuki had told her.
"I'm listening".
To Be Continued
Whew. This is definitely the longest chapter I've ever written, over five thousand five hundred words.
Anyways I'm sure you can guess what's happening right now and yes, the next chapter will also be told from Nariko's point of view.
As always constructive criticism is welcome, though I'm starting to give up hope that anyone will be reading this story, and so until the next chapter.
