"All right, now, everyone!" Ayumi called as she clapped her hands together for her students' attention. They were gathered in front of the school, chattering excitedly to one another and completely ignoring their frazzled teacher. "Chocho! Stop chasing the butterfly and come here, please!" Ayumi groaned as the perpetually hungry girl went running off after a little yellow butterfly; she chased it across the green lawn, the grass tall from the recent rain, before returning to the group with a pouty expression. "No, no, Boruto and Shikadai, don't fight!" she cried as the yellow-haired boy ran by chasing poor Shikadai with a caterpillar. She plucked them up by the backs of their shirts, holding them aloft with an exasperated expression. "Think about that poor caterpillar, Boruto! You're probably scaring him half to death!" she scolded as she gently took it from his hands and set it down on the bark of the tree in the yard. When she dropped them, they both snorted and crossed their arms to turn their backs to one another. Good grief, when you look at them, it's impossible to tell that their fathers are the best of friends!
Eventually, Ayumi managed to get her children quiet enough for her to explain the change of pace. "Now, every one, as I explained last week, we will be taking a field trip to the Hokage Faces today. Please, be on your best behavior, and most importantly, stay together. No wandering off! Are we understood?"
"Yes, Miss Ayumi!" the small group of children chimed in unison, and the teacher smiled slightly in satisfaction. She corralled them onto the dirt streets, attempting to keep them together as they slowly picked their way to the Hokage's residence. This proved to be a mighty task indeed, for the children were easily distracted and rushed off in all directions in attempts to get closer looks at the various storefronts and the products they had for sale. Ayumi barely arrived in time to keep Chocho from pilfering a candy store, only to have to drop the girl and dash to the rescue of Sarada, who in her attempt to climb into a weapons booth nearly impaled herself when she knocked a rack of kunai off of the wall. Before the teacher could catch her breath, Inojin was making off with a small tank of turtles from the pet store, and she apologized profusely to the store owner while the quiet blonde boy watched the little reptiles swim around in the water. Somehow, she made it to the large building alive with all of her children in tow.
"Ayumi!" came a cheerful greeting from the entrance of the building. The exhausted woman glanced up to see a scruffy-haired girl waving in the middle of the double glass doors, smirking slightly. "I've been waiting. Lord Naruto is ready for you."
"Thank you, Mirai," Ayumi smiled weakly as the children cheered excitedly and charged into the building, nearly unbalancing the two women. Ayumi leaned heavily against the threshold to catch her breath while miserably watching her charges dash about the halls, squealing and touching everything they possibly could. Confused Jonin attempted to wrangle them in, only to be bombarded and overtaken by the young ninja-in-training.
"Man. Makes my job look easy," Mirai smirked as she clapped Ayumi on the shoulder and led her inside. "It's like having a dozen of Naruto!" the young girl laughed. Is he really that much of a handful? The teacher thought as she entered the building.
"Class! Enough!" she barked as her feet landed on the soft carpet flooring. Instantly, they all froze, dozens of round, innocent eyes staring up at her. Ayumi smoothed the creases in her dress, trying to look dignified in front of the several Jonin who were climbing to their feet, victims of the children's absurd energy. "I told you to be on your best behavior. Is this your best behavior?" she asked levelly. Guiltily, they looked down at the ground and pouted.
"No," chimed Boruto grumpily.
"I didn't think so. Now, Lord Naruto was very gracious to invite us into his home today, and all these very busy ninja have important jobs to do! You're all in here making a racket, and I'm sure they don't appreciate it!" she scolded, crossing her arms with a huff to make her disappointment clear.
"We're sorry, Miss Ayumi," they grumbled in unison. Ayumi smiled slightly and gathered her charges around her, patting them lightly on the heads.
"There, that's better. Now, let's get going so these men and women can get back to their jobs, hmm?" she smiled gently. They nodded and plodded alongside her obediently. Mirai whistled, impressed.
"Wow, you have to teach me that jutsu!" she mused and punched Ayumi lightly in the side of the arm. The teacher laughed, but rubbed the area of impact slightly; the young guard had quite the arm on her, and had unintentionally bruised the delicate woman.
Mirai led them to the roof of the building before bowing lightly to Ayumi and dashing off into the trees, off to patrol the area. Ayumi smiled as she walked onto the creamy white roof, raising a hand to her brow to shield her eyes from the blazing sunlight. It was comfortably warm, with puffy white clouds sailing across the sky as a breeze ruffled the trees surrounding the building. The leaves rustling was almost melodic, and she closed her eyes for a brief moment to savor the sound. Her brown eyes fluttered open again when she heard footsteps approaching.
"Nice to see you again, Ayumi," Shikamaru mused as he stopped in front of her. Ayumi blushed lightly and tucked a piece of her brown hair behind her ear, a nervous habit. Before she could say anything, however, the children began jumping at his legs, tugging on his sleeves and pulling at his shirt. Questions spilled from their mouths so rapidly that their words blurred together, and neither the teacher nor the elite Jonin could discern what any of them were asking.
"Children, children!" Ayumi laughed as she herded them away from Shikamaru. "You can ask questions later! We came here to learn about the history of the Hokage, remember?" she laughed as she settled them in the center of the roof. They plopped down into sitting positions, whispering excitedly to each other; Ayumi took her place, standing beside the small group of chattering children, and flushed when Shikamaru came to stand close beside her. "Thank you for setting this up for me," she whispered shyly to him.
"Oh, it was nothing. Naruto loves kids," he smirked back. Ayumi jumped as there was a sudden flash of smoke, and she stumbled back slightly in surprise. "Show-off," she heard Shikamaru mumble as his hand snapped to the small of her back to steady her. When she glanced up at him through her peripheral vision, he was grimacing at the fading cloud of smoke, but she thought she saw his eyes flash with happiness for a brief second. Ayumi returned her attention to the smoke, but in its place was now the Lord Hokage himself, his cloak billowing in the wind as he grinned stupidly at his audience. Elated, the children clapped and cheered- all except for Boruto, who just moped.
"Hiya, guys!" Naruto sniggered, obviously pleased at his flashy entrance. He then bowed slightly to Ayumi. "I'm honored to teach all of you today," he smiled brightly at her. He's like a child, but at the same time, he has the feel of a Hokage, she observed as she dipped her head at him. With a flourish, Naruto twirled on his feet to face the Hokage Rock and began lecturing about the founding of the village and the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Ayumi knew the story backwards and forwards, and so she found her attention lapsing, instead focusing on Shikamaru's fine features. The sharp jawline, the dark, intense eyes, the rigidness of his expression. He's all business today… It's kinda… Attractive, she thought dreamily. She was nearly beside herself when she realized that Shikamaru still had his arm around her from when he stopped her stumble. Oh, get it together, Ayumi!
Ayumi's attention was not the only one fading. Shikadai fidgeted in his spot at the back of the crowd, the Hokage's word lapsing out of focus as he began looking around in boredom. He studied the Hokage Faces, all seven of them, and imagined what it would be like to have his face carved into the rough brown stone. He was so absorbed in his little fantasy that he didn't notice Boruto sneaking through the crowd until the yellow-haired boy popped up next to him and poked him in the shoulder.
"Eh? What now, Boruto?" he hissed grumpily.
"Let's blow this joint!" the Hokage's son grinned mischievously.
"And do what, exactly?" Shikadai rebuked hotly, crossing his arms. He was listening, however; whatever mischief Boruto was about to commit was probably much more interesting than listening to Naruto prattle on about the previous Hokage.
"I'm gonna climb the Hokage Faces!" Boruto snickered. Shikadai's mouth fell open in shock, and he glanced over his shoulder to see if Ayumi had caught on to their conversation. Her back was to them, her focus bent on the Hokage's history lesson, and thankfully his father was doing the same. He looked uneasily at Boruto, who was itching to make a run for it. "Are you in or not?" Boruto demanded impatiently.
"Ugh, fine!" Shikadai grumbled. He didn't want to look bad in front of his rival. Keeping a close eye on their teacher and the Hokage advisor, they slunk to the back of the roof, dropping down into one of the trees close by. Once they were in the clear, they dashed from branch to branch in a race to reach the towering rock wall first, glaring at one another as they rushed through the leaves. By the time they reached their destination, they were huffing and puffing. "I win!" Shikadai cried as he dropped to the ground.
"Nuh-uh! I win!" Boruto frowned as he stomped into the ground angrily. Shikadai actually wasn't quite sure who won, because they both arrived within milliseconds of each other, but he wasn't going to admit that to Boruto. They argued back and forth for a minute before giving up and deciding that they tied. "Well, if it's a tie, there has to be a tiebreaker," Boruto grinned as he looked up at the rock wall. Shikadai leaned his head back to stare up the massive rock face, his head spinning from vertigo. He was beginning to think that he had made a mistake. "What? You scared, Shikadai?" Boruto teased.
"Of course not!" Shikadai snapped at him. He slapped his hands together, closing his eyes as he focused his chakra into his feet. There was a small puff of air as the dirt was pushed away from his shoes, and he glared smugly at his rival. "Well then, are you ready?" he smirked. Boruto sneered back at him, getting into position.
"Ready when you are, slow poke!" he mused. "Ready… Go!" They sprang onto the rock face, racing up the wall side-by-side. Dust fell in their wake, sending pebbles clattering down to the place they had been only seconds before.
Shikadai gritted his teeth as he dashed over the uneven rock, bending his focus to keeping a constant, steady flow of chakra to his feet. Boruto began taunting him, sticking out his tongue at the boy as he began to creep ahead. No! I can't lose! Shikadai thought determinedly and tried to run faster. However, in his efforts to try and push himself, the flow of chakra to his feet gave a sudden burst and his foot slammed hard into the rock. His other foot slammed uselessly against the wall, slipping and sliding now that the flow was interrupted. Screaming, Shikadai grabbed onto a ledge right as his feet went out from under him. He dangled there, halfway up the rock face, while the world spun below.
"Boruto!" he wailed in fright, looking up at his comrade, who was still running. The young ninja skidded to a halt when he heard Shikadai's frightened cries, and he glanced down to see the boy dangling by a few fingers.
"I'm coming!" Boruto called down and went to run down. However, he too lost focus, and his feet slipped against the dusty rock surface. He fell forward, tumbling in the air, head over heels. He released a terrified scream, squeezing his eyes shut as he waited for the end. Suddenly his entire body jarred, and his fall ceased. He felt a hand tighten around his own, and he peered up to see Shikadai clutching desperately onto him. "Don't let go!" Boruto whimpered.
"I… Won't!" Shikadai grunted as he gripped the boy's hand tightly. His other hand, clutching to the thin ledge of rock, began to shake uncontrollably. His little arm just couldn't take the weight. "I… I can't!" he cried as he fingers began to slip one by one. His feet scrabbled against the rock as he tried to regain his hold, but the bursts of chakra were too out of sync to stick to the rock. "I'm slipping!" he shrieked in terror. The boys both released bloodcurdling screams as Shikadai's fingers finally gave way, and they plummeted to the earth.
It was then that Ayumi came dashing out of the trees, slamming into the rock face and racing for the falling children. They slammed right into her chest, and the force of their impact send her skidding down the rock wall in a cloud of dust. She would have bent over backward if she had not poured chakra into her hand and slammed it against the rock wall, her fingers scraping against the rock to slowly bring her to a halt. Her other arm was wrapped securely around the sobbing children, clutching them both close to her chest.
"It's all right," she murmured softly. "I won't let you fall," she soothed. However, as she uttered the words, the entire wall trembled. The teacher glanced up to see a crack snaking its way up the mountainside, originating from the point where Shikadai had splintered the rock face. Like a bolt of lightning, it traveled up the rock face, ending with a resounding crack just below the carvings. There was a groaning sound as the mountain began to rumble, and to her horror Ayumi saw a giant boulder slowly tipping over to begin tumbling down the rock face. She glanced down, but she was still too far from the ground to risk jumping; if she tried to climb down, she would likely lose her grip, only having rudimentary chakra control and relegated to one hand while her other held the children. It was all she could do to climg to the rough rock while the boulder crashed against it, jarring her entire body. "I won't let you fall," she whispered as she curled around them and braced for impact.
It never came. A flash of yellow burst from the trees, and Ayumi glanced up to see Naruto standing protectively in front of her with a swirling ball of chakra in his hand.
"Rasengan!" he shouted as he slammed it into the boulder, and it exploded into a thousand pieces, raining pebbles down on them. The air shook with a thunderous crash as the remnants of the boulder fell to the ground. Breathing heavily, Ayumi chuckled, nearly delirious with sheer relief.
"Ayumi!" Shikamaru called from the ground. She peered down to see him standing just below her with Naruto's guard squad, including Mirai, gathered behind him. "It's all right now. Toss down the boys!" he commanded. Shikadai whimpered and shook his head, clutching onto her dress.
"No, I don't want to. I'm scared!" he sniffled.
"Shh, your daddy with catch you," she murmured back. "Don't be afraid. I told you I wouldn't let you fall. If you jump, I promise, they will catch you." Nodding reluctantly, Shikadai wriggled in her grasp to peer tearfully down to his father. He squeezed his eyes shut before slipping out of her arms, crying out in fear as he fell the short distance into Shikamaru's waiting arms. The Jonin held him for a moment, squeezing Shikadai tightly, before glancing up at Ayumi.
Boruto was trembling wildly in Ayumi's arms, his blue eyes wide with terror. Ayumi caressed his hair with her free hand soothingly.
"Don't worry, Boruto. Shikadai made it down safely. Look, your father is going to catch you," she whispered. Sure enough, not wanting to risk accidentally dislodging Ayumi from the mountain by trying to take Boruto there, he had hopped down from the rock and was waiting patiently for his son with his arms outstretched. Gulping, he eased out of her grip, dropping down into the air. Naruto caught him, taking him tightly into his chest. Boruto began to wail, burying his face into Naruto's orange jumpsuit. His mother came running, carrying his baby sister in her arms, and she tearfully cuddled him, both scolding him and cherishing him at the same time. It was then that Ayumi allowed herself to lose consciousness, and she slowly tipped backwards, falling to the earth.
