I have returned once more!

I don't really have much to say other than this chapter is probably not the greatest thing ever. My mind is at that point in a story where it's set everything up, but it can't just move on to the exciting bits yet, so please bear with me for the next chapter or two.

Well, for better or worse, here it is...


Kenshin

Even though I knew it was coming, I'm still surprised by the sheer size of the spread that's in front of me.

"You two were busy…"Naruto comments, drooling already

"This is nothing compared to desert."Suzume boasts, and Naruto swoons, forcing Hinata to catch him before he falls on the ground.

"Marry me…"He whispers from food heaven, making Hinata blush crimson and accidentally drop him

"It's a bit early for that Naruto."Suzume's grandfather says with a small chuckle, and I join him

I give Suzume a quick kiss and pull her chair out for her.

"Who knew you could be such a gentleman?"She asks with a small giggle

I roll my eyes at her as she sits down, and I push the chair in for her.

Naruto manages to do the same for Hinata without either of them passing out.

"Well, I would like to propose a toast before we eat. To friends, to love, and to life, and may you all be blessed with much of each."Hiruzen says, raising his glass of sake.

I raise the glass of water in front of me, as do the others, and we clink glasses with a smile. After that we dig into our meals, and we laugh as Naruto manages to spill a bowl of hot ramen on himself when he reaches for it.

"Next time make sure the bowl is safe to handle before you pick it up."I say, handing him a small bag of ice I'd gotten from the kitchen. He holds it against his reddened hand in the most indignant way possible.

Truly a night to remember


One week later…

"Welcome back everyone, I'm glad to see all of you again. I would like to extend my final congratulations before I start reading the team placements."Iruka says

We all brace ourselves for a boring speech, and none of us are disappointed. However we all start paying much closer attention when he starts the teams.

"Team seven will be Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno-"

"In your face Ino! True love prevails!"The pinkette roars at the top of her lungs, interrupting Iruka

"And Naruto Uzumaki, your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake."Iruka continues as if nothing had happened

"Damn it, I wanted to be on team with at least one of you guys."Naruto complains

"I really feel bad for you, having to be with that Uchiha emo and all."I say, giving him a conciliatory pat on the shoulder

"Team eight will be Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga, and Kiba Inuzuka. Your sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi."Iruka announces

"Dang it, I didn't get either of you guys on my team…"Hinata says dejectedly

Naruto gives her a hug.

"As team nine is still in circulation, team ten will be comprised of Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, and Ino Yamanaka. Your sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi."Iruka continues, and Suzume and I continue to hold our breath

"Team eleven will be Kasumi Uzumaki, Sai, and Takeru Koumori. Your sensei will be…well that's funny, I've never heard of this one, Yamato."Iruka says, getting near the end, and both Suzume and I grin.

"Team twelve will be Suzume Sarutobi, Kenshin Tamura, and Hikari Uzumaki. Your sensei will be…yet another name I don't know, Kisuke Urahara."Iruka concludes

"Be careful around Hikari, she might be more level headed than Kasumi, but she's still a Jinchuriki."Naruto whispers to us, but I just brush it off at this point.

"We can handle it Naruto, you should be more concerned about your own team."I tell him, and he rolls his eyes at me

"Don't say I didn't warn you."He replies

Over the next hour each team is picked up by their sensei, and we say goodbye to Hinata, until only teams seven, eleven, and twelve are left.

None of our teams really sit with their teammates. Suzume and I sit together with Naruto, but Hikari sits with Suzume. Sakura went to join Sasuke while Takeru, whom I barely remember being in our class, sits by himself, resting his head on his hands and staring out the window. Sai just sits in the back corner of the class, sketching something on a piece of paper.

"I wonder why all our sensei are late…"Suzume muses

"They were probably too intimidated by Sasuke and I to show up."Kasumi responds, implying that she and Sasuke are friends, which is news to me.

"More like they were busy, or forgot when they needed to be here."I interject

Kasumi glares at me for a few moments, then rolls her eyes and turns to look out the window as well.

We sit in silence for what feels like hours, though is really just a few minutes, before I sense something.

"They're here."I say, standing up

"What are you-"Sakura starts to complain before the door slides open, revealing three people. One has very noticeable silver hair that seems to defy gravity, and his headband is slid down over his left eye. He has a lazy air about him, but I can sense the great power inside of him.

The brown haired man standing slightly behind him has an oddly shaped forehead protector which extends down the sides of his face, though that's really the only remarkable thing I can see about him.

The last man is very familiar to me, my supposed uncle, Kisuke Urahara.

"Well, isn't this nice. I wonder which of them are mine."Kisuke muses, and I mentally roll my eyes at him

"Team Seven can meet me on the roof."The silver haired one says in a tone just as lazy as I had expected, and I hear Naruto groan. The man disappears in a swirl of leaves a moment later.

"Good luck."I whisper as he passes me, and he just grunts in response

"Team Eleven is with me, let's go."The brown haired one says, and I don't comment as Kasumi leaves with her teammates.

"Ah, so these are the three Minato gave me, I can't wait to start."Kisuke says

"So what are we doing first sensei?"Hikari asks

"First, we get to know one another, and what better place to learn something than in a classroom?"Kisuke replies, and saunters into the room, sitting behind the teacher's desk at the front of the room.

"I suppose I'll start us off. My name is Kisuke Urahara, and I quite enjoy inventing things. I guess you can say I like science, though I dislike using brute force to solve a problem. My hobbies are inventing and experimenting, though I really don't have any plans for the future. Now you, the girl with the red hair."Kisuke says in an almost bored tone, singling out Hikari

"I'm Hikari Uzumaki, and I really like to draw. I like to train with my mom and my sister, but I don't really like to train with my dad since he always uses his Hiraishin. My hobbies are drawing, training, and reading manga. My dream for the future is to become a stronger kunoichi than my mother, and make my whole family proud."Hikari responds happily

"Admirable goals, not afraid to put in effort, generally reliable. Potential to make Chunin early as well as become a successful author. Now, for the other girl my team is blessed to have."Kisuke replies, analyzing Hikari's response like I expected he would

"My name is Suzume Sarutobi, and one of my favorite things to do is cook. I like to train with my grandfather and my boyfriend, though I dislike being interrupted when I'm talking or doing something. My hobbies are cooking, training, and getting to spend time with the people I care about. My dream for the future is something I would rather keep to myself for now."Suzume says, giving my arm a soft squeeze when she says boyfriend

"Has useful skills, also willing to work, and has compassion for others. Doesn't reveal all her cards until necessary, definitely qualities looked for in shinobi. Now, last but certainly not least, my wonderful nephew."Kisuke continues, all eyes turning to me

"My name is Kenshin Tamura, and I quite like to write in my spare time. I like to train and spend time with my friends as well. I very much dislike people who judge based on stereotypes and people who act so high above everyone else. My hobbies are writing, training, and being able to spend time with my friends and girlfriend. The only dream for the future I have to tell is being a good head of the Tamura Clan."I list off, just like the others

"Interesting, you edited your response based on your teammates' and how I analyzed them. You reiterated much of the same information and gave several general opinions instead of things specific to you. However you show genuine compassion for others and a willingness to do what it takes to accomplish your goals."Kisuke says, and then stands

"Well, that's good enough for today. Tomorrow meet me by noon at the location in this envelope."Kisuke says, pulling three envelopes out of his haori and tossing them to us

"Just don't open them until you wake up tomorrow, or something terrible will happen."Kisuke warns, pulling out his folding fan which proceeds to hide most of his face, aside from his left eye, the right being covered by his hat.

Then he disappears without a trace.

"He's really weird, is he really your uncle Kenshin?"Hikari asks

"The best answer I can give you is probably."I reply, honestly wishing I could say no

"So, what should we do now?"Suzume asks, thankfully changing the subject

"Well, it's still pretty early, do you guys want to go get some lunch?"I ask

"Sure, so long as it's not ramen."Hikari says

"I think I'm going to like her."Suzume comments quietly, and then starts pulling me out of the room

We eventually decide to go to Yakiniku-Q for some barbeque.

"So what do you think Urahara-sensei is going to make us do tomorrow?"Hikari asks after we place our order

"Probably something stupid."Suzume replies, rolling her eyes just thinking of our…eccentric…sensei, and it makes it very difficult to claim the man as family.

"Well, there's only one way to find out."I say, pulling out my envelope and tearing it open. I pull out a small piece of paper, on which are two lines of words.

Avoid the lightning before it hits

Then tread carefully by the pits

"What the hell…?"I mutter, looking over the lines again

"What does it say?"Suzume asks, and I show her

When I look over at Hikari she seems nervous.

"Sensei said not to open the letters until tomorrow or something terrible will happen."She says

"Trust me Hikari, nothing's going to happen to us if we open the letters."I tell her, trying to be reassuring

Meanwhile Suzume is opening her letter and reading whatever it says. She hands it to me a moment later.

Catch the wind as it flies

But surely you won't trust your eyes

"Another rhyme? Is he trying to teach us bad poetry?"I muse aloud

"Maybe they're clues. He spent the entire time analyzing us, maybe we're supposed to analyze the clues to find out where to go."Hikari offers, hesitantly taking out her letter

I never knew she was this hesitant, though I guess I've only ever seen her in passing. I hope we can help her before it becomes an issue.

"Mine says 'Watch the skies prepare to flood. Ready your hands to stain with blood.' I don't get it, how does that lead us to a place?"She says

"Wait a second, give me your letters."I tell them, pulling out a pencil and my notepad. I write all of our lines down on a page.

Avoid the lightning before it hits

Then tread carefully by the pits

Catch the wind as it flies

But surely you won't trust your eyes

Watch the skies prepare to flood

Ready your hands to stain with blood

"Well they're not anagrams, and I can't find any kind of code hidden in the writing. Even if we rearrange the order of the lines it doesn't change much."I say

"What if it's not describing a place? Maybe it's describing something or someone associated with the words?"Hikari suggests

"She's right! I know that at least two of the lines are referring to Kakashi, the first one about lightning and the one about not trusting our eyes. They have to be about his famous Raikiri and his genjutsu."Suzume exclaims

I return my gaze to the lines, and with that information several other lines fall into place as well.

"That means that the wind is probably Yoruichi, and the one about the skies should be referring to Tessai and his kido spells. The one about staining our hands with blood could be about Kisuke, but I'm not sure about that one."I muse aloud, and then share the thought with them.

"Who are Tessai and Yoruichi?"Hikari asks

"Oh right, you guys have never met them, they're Kisuke's teammates. We'll probably be seeing quite a bit of them from now on."I respond

"Anyway, with just the first line we know that Kakashi is involved. I think we're supposed to go wherever Kakashi's team is supposed to be tomorrow."Suzume deduces, and I would have to agree with her

"What if this is all wrong though?"Hikari asks

"Don't think like that. If we're wrong we're wrong together, and that's all that matters."I respond, and she smiles

"So, let's go find team seven."Suzume says, starting to get up, but I pull her back into her seat

"We'll go after we eat. I paid good money for this food."I tell her just as our food arrives to go on the grill

She rolls her eyes at me, but doesn't try to get up again.

Definitely not the worst start we could have had today.


Again, I will admit that it's not my best work, but I now have some time to actually get some serious writing done, so you guys may get a chapter that is somewhat good during the week if I manage to motivate myself enough to do this.


My quote of the week:

"An interesting journey never follows a straight path"


Until next time

~Divine Justice