Shadow and Wind: New legends
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Disclaimer: Everything that isn't Kishimoto's is mine.
Many thanks to Zanros for Beta-reading.
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52. New Legends: Relationships
Our heroes finally receive their new mission! Team Obsidian (and Oblivion) is go!
About two hundred Chunin and more than a few Jonin gathered in a room. This large building was close to the Hokage's office, but very few had the chance to gaze upon it, let alone access it. The first reason was that the area to the right of the Hokage's Tower required a clearance of Chunin and up. The real reason was that this particular building only served for one purpose – the organization of large-scale operations. The only question in the minds of the experienced shinobi was the name of the target.
"I'll be brief," announced the Hokage, "we're taking down the Sound."
Well there wasn't much more to say to that. Those few words were enough to set the shinobi gathered on fire. This was going to be a hell of a payback for the honorable Hiruzen Sarutobi and the audacity that possessed the traitor Orochimaru to march against them. From what little info they had on Oto, they had a net advantage in both quantity and quality. The bastard and his goons wouldn't know what hit them.
However simply thinking about the legendary Sannin was enough for many to cool down. There was no way around this – if they were going to take on the S-Rank monster they needed Kage-level shinobi. Thankfully they had two of those.
"Let me tell you this, the reason we're attacking is because Orochimaru will not be there, leaving his bases with Genin and Chunin for the most part."
One of the Jonin had jerked, and then raised his voice, aiming for an important clarification. "You mentioned bases, so it's safe to assume the Sound doesn't have a proper hidden village?"
The Hokage nodded. "Correct, Asuma. The enemy is cunning. Orochimaru knows he doesn't have the advantage in numbers, so he spread his forces throughout the Rice Country."
"Fortunately, thanks to our latest undercover mission, we've been able to locate ten of these lairs. They're hidden in caves or underground. Chances are the main base is within them. The simple destruction of that base would be enough to back Orochimaru into a corner."
"Your squads will be joined in groups of hundreds to invade each of these simultaneously. The mission is three-fold – info gathering, reconnaissance, and destruction. The teams that are called will stay after the debriefing. Dismissed."
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Interestingly enough, Team Obsidian was not one of the teams that were to remain – neither was team Oblivion. In fact, Team Oblivion had been called to another meeting altogether. Naruto and Shikamaru were currently in the Hokage's office, waiting for their leader to grace them with her presence. Aunty had basically ordered them here, so they were stuck until she came back. It wouldn't be so bad if the company was better. Finally, curiosity got the better of blond Chunin.
"Neji, Bastard, what are you two doing here?" Naruto asked calmly.
Sasuke looked smug. "The Hokage called me. We're probably here for a mission."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yes, and considering you're a Chunin I kind of get why you'd be here. This still doesn't explain why Neji is, you know."
"He's here because he's part of Sasuke's two-man cell," answered Tsunade, finally making her entrance.
"Bullshit!" exploded Naruto. "How come he gets a cell and we get a squad?"
"Because shut up, Naruto," she told him with a sweet smile. The blonde grumbled while Aunty sat at her desk to explain them the meeting she had just come from. Only to add, "You few will not be participating in the Oto operation." The response was dead silence. Naruto face turned into an angry scowl, and he was sure the rest were feeling the same. Next to him Shikamaru frowned, but he wasn't angry. Naruto figured he was missing something.
He cocked his head, his anger leaving a tiny spot for his confusion to show. "I don't get it. Why were we summoned be told this if we're not taking part in the mission? Seems stupid to me, you know?"
Tsunade acknowledged the question with a nod. "I'll be informing the rest of the Chunin and Jonin that won't be participating soon, to organize the defense of the village in case of a counterattack. You, however, won't be there for that announcement since you'll be soon leaving for a mission of your own." There was a pause, likely for dramatic effect. Naruto wasn't biting. Tsunade huffed. "Anyway, you'll be going to the next Chunin exams."
Naruto cleaned his ears with his index fingers to make sure they were functional. Next to him Sasuke was openly glaring at the Hokage, while Neji looked content. Shikamaru looked strangely… subdued.
The lazy Chunin clearly feeling unwell asked, "Lady Hokage, what are the details behind this mission?"
"The exams will be held in the Village hidden in the Mist – with the stipulation that only Chunin may accompany the Genin and enter the Water Country. Also, I've received confirmation that all the other hidden Villages will be participating – including the Sound."
Sasuke and Neji were looking at the Hokage in pure disbelief. Naruto was starting to see why Shikamaru was showing signs of depression. "Isn't that the place currently in civil war? The one with the mad Mizukage and the bloodline purges?" He remembered the poor Haku talking about that. "The Bloody Mist - You want us to go there?"
"Yes," her tone switched to that of the leader of village and so the shinobi remained quiet. "Each of you Chunin will be in charge of one team. The details are in the scroll. Dismissed."
Still, as he cast one last look at Aunty, he couldn't help but think she was as unhappy to give them this mission as Shikamaru was to accept it. Oh well, at least this promised fun, even though Sasuke and Neji would be there. He opened the scroll, idly wondering which team he'd be taking care of, only to quickly take back that last thought – this mission was going to be awkward.
Naruto looked up from the scroll and froze. That wasn't fair! Things had gotten awkward and the mission hadn't even started yet!
"Naruto."
"Hinata."
The simple act of greeting her felt uncomfortable. And he was supposed to spend the mission as the leader of Team Eight? This was going to be a long mission. Naruto looked to his left, in order to seek advice from his partner only to find him gone. He couldn't believe the guy! How did he always do that? Naruto mentally sighed and prepared to face his sparring partner gone fangirl.
Later, he was going to kill Shikamaru.
For the moment, Naruto knew that he had to get rid of the weird ambience around him and Hinata. He proposed the only thing that made sense. "Hey Hinata, how about a spar?"
The girl was about to say something but closed her mouth abruptly, surprised by the proposition. She quickly nodded though.
Good. Naruto let out a small whistle and followed his sparring partner to their training ground.
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After ditching Naruto, Shikamaru headed for his district. The sky was clear today, so a nap on his roof would have to do. Thankfully he was done with most of the things he wanted to learn. All that remained was a good way to counter Genjutsu. Maybe he should learn one himself – you never knew when one of those would be useful.
He was leaving the food stalls when he heard a familiar voice and hid out of instinct. A quick look told him he had dodged a bullet there, since the voice belonged to Ichiraku's waitress, one of the more troublesome women he had the displeasure to know. What was she doing here?
Ayame looked really uncomfortable. "Really Ken, I'm flattered, but I'm really not interested in going out with you."
'Ken', from what Shikamaru could see, was a shinobi. His attire didn't reveal his rank, but from his build he was as old as Ayame. Shikamaru's verdict – he didn't like his face, or his attitude, or his menacing tone when she refused his advances, or the way he rudely grabbed her hand. He was appalled really. If his mom merely heard the whisper of a rumor about him doing any of those thing to a girl he'd be six feet under – without the luxury of a grave, or a coffin, or even dying.
Shikamaru frowned. He would have ignored the situation. They were in the middle of the street – not much the jerk could try and pull off. However something was... off. He quickly moved in to separate the two. Seeing someone ready to interfere with his conquest, Ken let go of Ayame, who looked quite relieved to see him.
"Shikamaru, what are you doing here? I thought you were out on a mission?"
Shikamaru shrugged then he turned to the troublemaker. "I don't think harming Ayame will make her go out with you," reasoned the Chunin. "The only thing it will do is make her dad come after you." …and Naruto. And boy, that guy did not want to have Naruto after him.
"Okay, who the hell are you?"
"My boyfriend!" Ayame stated.
"What?"
Shikamaru's startled yelp was echoed by Ken. What the hell was going through that woman's mind? Why would she blatantly lie like that? It's not like that guy would try to harm them. All they had to do was talk it out and have him leave. That lie would only anger Ken if he figured it out by himself. Nope too late for that – just looking at his face the young man hated him already.
"No I'm not – she's delusional," Shikamaru tried to explain, before he received a swat behind the head. "What's your problem?" he snapped, glaring at the troublesome young woman.
"Seriously, Shikamaru – how could you treat your sister like that!"
The young Nara gave his 'sister' the stink eye. He really hated this situation on one hand he would like nothing more than to leave her to her oh so comic situation. The question was would this be really worth the potential shit storm his mother would raise for not interfering if she were to know this – and she would, because Yoshino Nara was scary like that. The answer was obvious – no woman, no matter how absurdly troublesome she was, was as dangerous as his mother. Temari was an exception, but she was far, far away – thank goodness.
He'd just have to roll with it. "Well, you heard the delusional lady." This time he dodged the slap and smirked when Ayame huffed."If you simply walk away nothing bad happens, and you get to try again to woo the lady another day."
"No he doesn't."
Shikamaru twitched. "What I mean to say is that if you change your attitude and try to get on her good side I'm sure—"
"Not gonna happen!" she retorted, patting Shikamaru's head. "I have you to protect me from stupid brutes, after all."
The Chunin gave her a look. "Are you trying to get yourself in trouble?"
"No silly!" she said, sticking out her tongue. "I'm trying to get you in trouble."
Ken used the moment they ignored him in favor of their argument to try a pre-emptive attack, however Shikamaru was actually preparing his Shadow Sewing Technique. His opponent noticed too late and the tendrils pinned him to the ground before he could react. The young Nara sighed dramatically. That definitely could have gone better.
"You're lucky reporting you would be too troublesome." He said, cancelling the jutsu. "And you," he said, with apparent difficulty. He really didn't want to do this. Damn his mother's gentleman code. "I'm escorting you back to Ichiraku's, so let's go."
Shikamaru ignored her malicious grin, and made a superhuman effort to tolerate her teasing, arm grabbing, and hair tussling. Luckily for her, she had the good sense of leaving his tied hair alone. He endured this until they could see the ramen stand. Suddenly he pulled Ayame into a deserted alley and blocked the exit.
"Shikamaru? What…?"
"What the hell just happened back there?" Shikamaru was furious – to the extent that Ayame took a step back, more scared than worried.
"…What? I'm sorry. It was just a bit of teasing."
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed and Ayame flinched. "You want to be that way fine. I know that the villagers did nothing to interfere when you needed help. I know they were looking at you like they are looking at me – and I know why they're looking at me like that. So… What the hell just happened back there? And how long has it been going on for?"
Ayame's fear disappeared completely. Instead she deflated as the Chunin described the situation perfectly. Not once did she deny his accusations. That left Shikamaru with somber thoughts – apparently things were worse than he thought. "Be careful when you tell him," she asked quietly.
Shikamaru was about to open his mouth to argue that Naruto had a right to know, so that shut him up. His gaze became calculating. "You wanted me to see this?" How did she find the time to orchestrate such a thing? How did she even know he'd be there?
Ayame shook her head. "Naruto's just a child. I don't want him to do something he'd regret. I don't want him to prove them right. But I know you," she added, lifting her head to meet his stare. "And I know him. Sooner or later, he'll know. I didn't want him to ever find out. With his mood and the village slowly changing I thought I wouldn't have to."
Shikamaru understood her completely. Putting aside the fact that she hadn't answered his questions, he knew she was right. Naruto was only starting to fight for himself more. He was still a very kind-hearted person, and as his friend, he knew the blond's biggest weakness was his friends. Harm them, and he'd kill you five times before you hit the ground. Thankfully they had already planned of leaving early enough to give the Genin time to prepare for the Chunin exams. Shikamaru thought it would be enough time to let him digest the news.
Still he really didn't want to be the one to tell him this. This would be troublesome.
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By the time Naruto and Hinata arrived at their regular sparring area, some of the tension seemed to lift already. The bout started and Hinata suddenly became very motivated. It showed by the way she had torn through five of his clones in less than ten seconds. At first Naruto thought Hinata had been holding out on him, so he sent ten clones to make sure.
While she was a bit faster and stronger than he was used to, the real change was the way she was attacking the clones. It seemed Hinata's constant sparring with Naruto had paid off, in the sense that she was able to come up with an overall strategy against the numbers – divide the clones in small groups and overwhelm them. This also meant that for once, his shy friend was going on the offensive.
Since Hinata had been kind enough to make this a challenge he was glad to switch gears. He made some clones, but only to give him time to start his Storm mode. His jutsu was a bit different from when he had last used it against Kabuto. Since he now had the leisure of both spending more time using it and refining his mastery of wind chakra re-composition, the technique had evolved into something more potent – even with his basic Taijutsu. Naruto had decided to take advantage of that.
Hinata learned the hard way. She slowed her advance once Naruto activated his jutsu, but attacked anyway. Naruto saw her strike coming and parried. This simple defensive act made Hinata cry in pain and jump back. Her left hand had three cuts from the small amount of contact with Naruto's chakra.
Naruto grinned. Another notable upgrade was that now the wind chakra covered both his arms and his legs, making Hinata's offense much less effective. Still, Hinata quickly switched to defense, and focused on evasion, aiming at his unprotected chest instead. Naruto switched tactics. He pumped more wind chakra with each of his attacks. And just like that he had switched from a close-range defense, to a midrange offense. Wind bullets came out of Naruto's hand and feet with each blow. This new style wasn't nearly as powerful as his Juggernaught style, but extra range and versatility made up for his lack of power and speed burst.
Control of the range was in fact the best strategy Naruto could use given his abilities. After his remaining clones interfered it was only a matter of time before Hinata was forced to rely on her Eight Protective Trigrams – Sixty-four Palms. They both knew where this would lead to by now, so they decided to stop the spar at that moment.
"Well, I'm pretty sure we're at the limit of what was acceptable for a spar. Still, nice job pushing me to that extent, Hinata!" He gave her a thumb up "With that kind of power you'll make Chunin in no time."
Hinata swelled with pride as she nodded. Naruto couldn't remember seeing her this happy since the first time he had invited her to eat ramen. That made him groan. He liked Hinata – she was a good friend. This whole awkward thing was a pain in the ass, though – he needed this sorted out before they left or things would get worse. As much as he hated it, Hinata was way too shy to bring up something that embarrassing – hell, even he wouldn't have brought it up if he could help it. Then again, she was acting nothing like last week so maybe she had gone through a phase or something.
So he started scratching his head, and with his silly grin said. "Well, I'm glad you're back to normal – makes things easier."
The girl looked confused. "…normal?"
"Well yeah, normal – not like last week, you know?" Hinata turned crimson and before his very eyes the helpful sparring partner he knew returned to the weird girl he remembered – complete with the finger poking and the absolute refusal to meet his eyes. What was that about? "Anyway, for a second I was afraid you had turned into a fangirl or something."
For a moment, Naruto had the feeling he had said something very, very stupid. His gut turned out to be correct, because Hinata's eye twitched. Naruto took a step back, the mood today was strangely similar to that one time Hinata thoroughly kicked his ass. Finally Hinata started muttering something.
Naruto blinked. "Sorry, but could you repeat that."
"I'm going to kill Shikamaru." She said a little louder. Then she looked at him, embarrassed to have badmouthed his friend.
The blond chuckled. "Tell you what – if you do that, I'll help you hide the body." Hinata smiled. "What did he do this time?"
Hinata flushed. "…Gave me the wrong advice."
Naruto couldn't believe it. Shikamaru was smart, and he was wise. There was no way his advice could be wrong… unless it was a prank? Yeah! That totally made sense. He'd have to kick his ass after he killed him! "Well that's a load of my mind! I was starting to think this was a sort of disease – you were acting a little like Aya that time."
"…Aya?"
"Yeah, you remember her right – the purple haired bully? She just… asked me out. You two basically said the same thing, too! So I thought it was the same."
Hinata was back to twitching. "What about you and Sakura?"
Naruto opened his mouth to explain the difference, but slowly closed it. Had he really been a fanboy to Sakura? He couldn't honestly answer no to that question. No wonder the girl was so annoyed with him in the beginning. It was kind of ironic though, if Sakura clearly hated the attention and persistence of Naruto, how did she expect it to work on Sasuke? This led him to ask himself more questions. Did he truly like Sakura? He knew deep down she had more than a fangirl crush on Sasuke, but what about him? Well maybe back then he had been, but now… now he knew clearly what he felt for her, especially after that date.
"…Naruto?"
The blond focused on the worried kunoichi. He let out a small smile. "You know, you're absolutely right," he admitted. "It's a good thing I stopped."
"That's not what I meant." Hinata snapped. Naruto blinked as she calmed down. "You two went on a date."
Naruto's hand flew to his dear froggy. The simple memory of that evening made him fear for his financial life. Seeing his purse on the road to recovery, Naruto relaxed, before returning to the present. "Wait, so you wanted us to go on a friend date – like I did with Sakura?"
"Yes!" The brightened, before Naruto's sentence fully registered. "I mean, no!"
If anything, Hinata was even more upset now. He was definitely lost. She wanted a date, but not a real one like all the other fangirls, and not a friend date like Sakura. Then what the heck did she want? He was so caught up wrapping his head around this dilemma that he missed the sudden rise of killing intent, and the start of incoherent babbling. Still, he did feel uneasy after a moment, and the chilling glance she sent his way wasn't helping. After that, he saw her turn red while smiling stupidly, then quickly shaking her head. This was getting worrisome. His hunch proved to be correct when Hinata glared at him, having come up with a decision. Somehow Naruto felt a bit threatened. It was like he had somehow said exactly what he shouldn't have. Maybe it was time for a 'strategic retreat', as Shikamaru called them.
Naruto carefully took a few steps back while he said, "Well, this was fun Hinata, but I got this thing to do, you know and—"
"You are not going anywhere Naruto Uzumaki." Somehow, the way she had called him scared him. "Shikamaru was right – I need to smack you with the truth, and then some." Now, that didn't sound good at all. Maybe he should just bail. Still those eyes rooted him to his spot. There was determination, a hint of madness, and a whole lot of… something else he couldn't figure out. If he didn't know any better he would think that Hinata looked eager, if not happy to do whatever she wanted to do.
"Um, Hinata, you're kind of scaring me right now, you know?"
He was scared, true, but more than anything else he was confused, which reflected as his blue eyes widened. Hinata tried to get closer but suddenly turned into a stammering mess. "Close your eyes." she demanded. Naruto's questions only grew. He tried asking why only for Hinata to snap at him. "Just d-do it, Naruto! I c-can't, I can't do it with your e-eyes opened." Do what? But the fact that Hinata had actually shouted at him was enough for him to comply.
About thirty seconds later, Naruto noticed nothing happening still. He was feeling a bit stupid. Maybe Hinata was preparing the terrain or something. He felt hot air brush his lips. That really got him curious and so he opened his eyes.
And he nearly freaked out when he did.
Hinata's mouth was centimeters from his own! Her face was crimson, eyes were closed, and her lips were puckered. He was surprised, yet remained at the same spot – curious to see if the girl would actually go through with her plan.
In the end, his friend chose this moment to stop her advance and open her eyes. Seeing him staring at her like that, her eyes grew wide, she turned purple. She let out a small, girlish scream and fell backwards. Naruto found her both confused and upset. After several seconds of an intense gaping fish imitation, Hinata recovered the use of her vocal cords.
"W-why did y-y-you o-open your e-ey-eyes!" It sounded like an accusation, but from her color and expression, she was more mortified than upset. And her stutter was back full strength too.
"Whoa!"Naruto backed away, and lifted his hands in surrender. "Don't you think I should be the one to be upset here? Not that I dislike you or anything," He hastily added when he saw the look of hurt he caused. "I mean, how would you react if someone suddenly tried to kiss you?" This situation simply didn't make any sense to him. She tried to kiss him – him! The only kiss he remembered was that horrible experience with Sasuke – he recalled the beating that came afterwards as well. Even the fangirls at the academy hadn't the guts to try it on Sasuke. While he had to admit he was happy that a girl would want to kiss him, that action led to more troubling consequences. Did she like him?
Meanwhile Hinata's frustration grew in tandem with Naruto's confusion. "Why can't you understand?" The Hyuga was so upset that she stormed off without even saying goodbye.
Naruto remained quiet – his mind still processing what had almost happened. After a while he gave up and groaned. If their next mission was getting awkward before, he couldn't think of a word to describe it now. Hinata probably didn't realize they would have to spend time together starting tomorrow. For a moment he wondered if Hinata, his friend and sparring partner, and this Hinata were the same person.
Shikamaru was right – girls were troublesome.
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Shikamaru had a horrifying smile behind his usual scowl. The kind of psychotic glee a murderer had when he found his next victim. It wasn't because of the Chunin exams, because frankly, the last time had sucked no matter which way you were looking at it. It wasn't because of the team he was accompanying – seriously, not having Team Ten was bad enough, but they had to give him Team Gai, of all the teams? It certainly wasn't because he was going into a miniature recreation of a shinobi war, because let's face it – what else was going to happen with all five great hidden villages gathered in the middle of a freaking civil war?
No, the Nara Chunin was happy because he noticed the strange behavior of Naruto and Hinata. Naruto kept throwing unsure glances in the kunoichi's direction. The Hyuga heiress was hiding behind her teammates trying very hard not to look anywhere near Naruto. Kiba and Shino only understood that Naruto was somehow responsible for their friend's behavior and were trying to glare him into submission. Only he had a clear idea of the real situation.
Naruto knew. And Hinata knew that Naruto knew.
Now that was… interesting, to say the least. It had only been one day since they had left, and Hinata was ready to die of embarrassment, while the blond had been attacked twice by Kiba. Shino hadn't done anything either to defend of attack Naruto, but from his stares you could tell he was siding with Kiba on the issue. Oh, what fun could be had by simply watching them during the mission! He almost felt guilty for the amusement he'd get out of their missteps.
At least, that's what he thought before he observed Naruto more carefully. Each time he glanced at Naruto, he could clearly see the smile leave his eyes as he tried patching things up between him and Team Eight. And then the 'light' just turned off. Shikamaru recalled Danzo's spy and shivered. He had once thought that Naruto was scariest when he lost control to the Kyubi, but if there was any point in the future when Naruto – a guy who could take on the hatred of a whole village - broke… For some reason he could feel impending doom at the prospect.
And just like that it was back to worrying. Too bad – he had a feeling he would have needed the romantic comedy. It was the first time the 'Konoha Twelve' – Tsunade had called them that, and 'the hope of the new generation' and another bunch of superlatives – would be travelling together out of Konoha. And what a first time that would turn out to be.
Speaking of travelling…
"Let's stop here," he abruptly said to his team. Naruto and Sasuke looked in his direction, and relayed the same orders. They hadn't even reached the Fire Country border yet, since they were traveling at a leisurely pace. In fact, they were still in the forest, so they were pretty much hidden – a perfect place for camp. Neji and Lee disagreed for different reasons. The others were indifferent. He called the shots so the point was moot anyway.
Some, like Shino and Sasuke had quickly decided to do something productive and left the group in different directions after everything was in place. Naruto and Choji soon left together, so did Ino and Sakura and finally Kiba decided to track Shino down for sport, while Hinata decided to fall onto old habits. This left Shikamaru with Team Gai.
"What are we doing here?" Neji was showing his clear discontent of the situation.
Shikamaru snorted. "Do us both a favor, Neji – don't insult both our intelligence." If Naruto understood this was to be time for training, it was impossible for Neji not to.
"I don't need more time to train, Nara."
"Find something else to do, then." The Chunin looked at the other two and asked them, "What about you guys?"
"Yosh! What a splendid idea, Shikamaru! I will endeavour to become stronger buy crushing one hundred boulders in a single strike! And if I can't do that…" And already the high-spirited teen had left in order to train.
Shikamaru observed the hardworking Genin with a blank expression on his face. "What about you?" Tenten asked, dragging him back to the present.
"Watching camp," he explained, pointing at the site. Neji growled and left – a bit bitter about the situation. Tenten tagged along. Only he remained.
Time for a nap. He woke up not an hour later – someone had entered the perimeter he had set up. He wasn't a sensor, but that incredible amount of chakra could only belong to Naruto.
"Can I help you?" he asked uncertainly.
The clone grinned. "I'm here to make sure you're actually training." Shikamaru groaned. The rest of the day was as tedious as he expected it to be. The next day wasn't better.
"I challenge you to a spar. Should I win, we pack up and head for the Water Country."
Shikamaru looked at Neji for two seconds. "No. I don't want to fight you. Besides, Leadership shouldn't rely on power alone, or would you rather have Naruto has your team leader?" Both Naruto and Sasuke glared at him – Naruto because he picked up the veiled insult, Sasuke because he picked up the veiled insinuation.
Neji snorted. "One has to wonder what kind of leadership they found in you to promote you."
Shikamaru sighed. Two days and he was already tired of being Team Gai's leader. Next to him, Naruto was furious on his behalf. Well no need to fight. "How about another challenge? Here's the mission scroll. If you can figure out the mission parameters and the potential risks we'll encounter, we'll leave on the spot."
Neji caught the scroll and quickly went through it. "Basically, this time the Chunin exams will be held in the Water Country. The five great hidden villages will be participating. This is unprecedented. The Sound will also be there, so we should be careful."
While Shikamaru was glad Neji hadn't showed any ill feelings towards Kumo during his briefing, there was a lot he left out and it could get them killed.
Shikamaru turned around. "Naruto, what can you tell me about this mission?"
Naruto thought about it for two seconds. "These exams... Aunty didn't want anywhere near them."
Neji was now focused on the blond "what makes you say that? Yes she was a bit reluctant to send us, after all, this should have been a Jonin's job..."
"Exactly. The old man would've never done that, and I know she's at least half as good as he was. She had to send us."
Shikamaru nodded. "What about you, Sasuke?"
He looked grim. "We might have to face a Rock-Cloud alliance."
Shikamaru snorted. They'd be lucky if only those two villages targeted the Leaf with the Sound there. Still, this second conclusion only reinforced Shikamaru's point. And that wasn't the real problem.
"You forgot the elephant in the room. The Water Country is in the middle of a civil war." When the people around him failed to understand Shikamaru elaborated. "...The main reason being Bloodline limts."
Hinata's eyes grew wide, while Neji's narrowed. Sasuke muttered angrily. Naruto looked like he realized something else and groaned audibly.
"So," Neji said after everyone absorbed the new information, "we'll stay here and spend as little time as possible in the Water Country."
"That's the plan." Shikamaru answered. "Still doubting my leadership?" when the other Genin shook his head, Shikamaru announced that today Naruto would be watching the camp. This time the Genin all took the hint.
As they all started to leave, Naruto took out a little notebook. "Hey, Tenten! Do you mind starting our lessons on Sealing now?"
Shikamaru's hidden smile returned. Naruto didn't know it, but this was exactly the right way to get back at Hinata. The blond used one of his most useful and annoying traits – when faced against a problem he didn't understand, Naruto simply said 'screw it', and switched to something he could take care of. Hinata's surprise and subsequent glare told him she wasn't quite as gifted in that department.
Shikamaru left in order to train. He focused on finishing his designs for the Shadow and Shade seals he wanted to carve into his gloves. He would have to try first with his tag papers. So far, his tests were inconclusive, but he had a feeling today was going to be the day.
And he was wrong. Still, he was getting closer to the completion of his Shadow seal – the amount of chakra for the desired result was way above his expectations for some reason – so that was something.
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So far Naruto had no trouble learning the basics about seals. Luckily, Tenten was a different breed of teacher than Shikamaru was. While Shikamaru was more about theory and simplification, his fuinjutsu senior was more focused on a hands-on approach. She was much more patient too. Apparently Sealing Techniques were so complex and diverse that anything besides the basics weren't even required until one reached Jonin.
It wasn't easy by any means, but Tenten was encouraging. Apparently he had talent. And the month he had spent reading about the subject and practicing his penmanship had paid off as well. He was a slow learner, but he had a good instinct about seals. She told him that given a month or two, he'd be able to start modifying seals on his own. He couldn't wait to do that. He wanted to fully complete his storm mode, and the few things he needed to perfect that technique heavily relied on his mastery of seals if what Pervert Sage had told him was true. That could hold him over until he started working on the yang chakra release.
In exchange, Tenten occasionally asked for spars. She also used his clones as guinea pigs for some of her experimental seals. The results were varied – in all the wrong ways. When the seals didn't blow up, they did… weird things. So much that Naruto started to ponder on ways to not receive the memories of his shadow clones. He was barely able to protect his kodachi from her seals. On the other hand, the results of the seals that did work… let's just say they made Naruto more eager to learn.
He enjoyed learning about seals so much that it was pretty much all he did during their stay there. He focused as much on seals as his clones did on chakra control, wind nature manipulation, Taijutsu and Kenjutsu. Once again his clones were a blessing. On the other hand, he was so focused on his training that he pretty much ignored anyone that wasn't either Tenten or Shikamaru.
This led to Team Eight's displeasure. They understood after three days of this treatment that Naruto neglected them on purpose. Shikamaru had barely been helpful when he could – only the temporary Team Ten had his full attention. Sasuke only accepted spars, and even then only from Team Gai. Needless to say Kiba was not amused. In fact, by the fourth day of their stay the young Inuzuka marched right to the blond.
"Hey!" Naruto looked up from his book on Sealing theory. "Why don't you help us with training? The least you could do is make some clones for us like you did before!"
Only someone close to Naruto would have picked his change of mood by the small spark in his eye, fortunately he had always been someone to voice his feelings when you were willing to listen. "Because I don't want to. Please leave me alone."
Silence.
"What the hell is wrong with you!?"
"Me?" Naruto asked, surprised by the outburst. "I have every right to deny your request. You tried to attack me during the mission– twice. And we're not in the Water Country yet. What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Kiba looked outraged. "Hey! I'm not the one who hurt Hinata!" Akamaru barked in agreement.
"Oh really? Did she tell you that?" Kiba blinked. He looked at Hinata who was finding the ground oddly interesting. Meanwhile Shino twitched, but not so subtly that Naruto didn't notice. So they hadn't bothered to ask. Naruto frowned in anger. "In case you haven't heard, I'm the Chunin in charge of your team. That means I get to choose if you even get to participate in the Chunin exams." Team Eight stiffened. "I'm not offended you stood up for your teammate – in fact that was the right thing to do. But you got what you deserved. I'm not going to put up with this kind of shit from my team. You have a problem with me, you come to me and we deal with it." Naruto's gaze swept from Hinata to Kiba. "Or you can behave like an asshole and I'll treat you like one."
No one said anything. Shikamaru shrugged and deep down, Naruto winced. That had been, well... kind of mean. He never would have thought he had it in him to lay into Team Eight like that. Thankfully it was his day to watch over camp so he'd use part of the time to think about it. The rest would be used to study his seals. Tenten might have been one of the coolest girls he ever met, but she had promised to use him – the original – as a test subject for her seals if he was wasting her time.
He took that threat as seriously as he should.
In the mean time, everyone had left. Naruto sat down and tried to calm down. He looked up to find Shikamaru had returned. Naruto sighed. "You're here to scold me?"
His friend shrugged. "You weren't wrong. I'm surprised you handled things so... publicly though."
Naruto nodded. "I was thinking of talking things out with Hinata, but..." Naruto scratched his head in annoyance. "I guess I just snapped."
"You've changed Naruto." Naruto opened his mouth to deny the claim but his friend wasn't done yet. "You're starting to act like a real Chunin."
Naruto blinked. "Wait... What?"
"I won't pretend to know everything on how to be a shinobi, but I'm sure maturity is one of them."
"But I got angry." Naruto reminded his friend, who simply smiled knowingly and left.
Naruto's snort failed to hide his smile. Despite calling him an idiot every now and then, Shikamaru never meant it – his friend always assumed he could find solutions to his problems on his own. Every new challenge, every new trial made him appreciate their friendship a little more.
Too bad he couldn't say the same for everyone else. Again, he wondered if bringing his dark side out in the open was such a good idea. The current situation certainly wouldn't have happened otherwise. Two months ago he would've ignored Kiba, or maybe he would have kicked his ass – but he wouldn't have provoked that kind of confrontation. And what would that have solved? Maybe that's what Shikamaru meant by maturity.
Not that this new insight was enough to erase the guilt he felt. Naruto had been unnecessarily harsh, and he knew why. Team Eight's treatment reminded him too much of the Konoha civilians. The cold shoulder and glares were consistent with the way he had always been treated – like he was responsible for every evil known to man. And though a month ago Naruto would have shrugged it off for the sake of camaraderie, he certainly couldn't now, because he thought of Hinata, Shino and Kiba as comrades, friends even. Considering his standard about camaraderie and friendship had soared recently, he was disappointed that Kiba or Shino didn't have the courtesy to ask him what had happened between him and Hinata. He knew he hadn't done anything to hurt her willingly. Hinata knew as well – if she had told them about what happened they wouldn't have reacted the way they did.
There was no easy way about this, no sneaky way around it, no cheat he could use – he didn't have a solution in mind. Relationships were so annoying. Oh well... no use focusing on that for too long. Whatever happened, happened. Shikamaru and Team Ten were on his side, and that was all that mattered. Now the only thing he wanted to do was to focus on fuinjutsu before they left for their mission in the Water County tomorrow.
Speaking of missions... Naruto groaned. There was that thing, he and Shikamaru needed to do tonight.
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Shikamaru rejoined Naruto when his turn to keep watch came up. With two Hyuga, an Inuzuka, and an Aburame in the vicinity, there wasn't another way for them to leave the camp unnoticed. Of course, Naruto had used the old switch-a-roo eons ago. He almost felt sorry for his friend.
"Alright, so why did we have to come here again?" Shikamaru asked in a sleepy voice.
"I asked him to bring you here."
Shikamaru shuddered when he heard the newcomer. Then he turned to Naruto, eyes full of hurt and surprise.
"Oh come on, Shikamaru! You really think I wanted this to Happen? She just assaulted one of my scouting clones!"
"It never saw me coming." If Naruto didn't know he was talking to an ANBU, he might have thought there was a hint of pride in her voice. "Anyway I'm here with a message from the Hokage." Naruto and Shikamaru tensed. The Hokage didn't send ANBU to act as simple messengers.
"To put it simply, we'll be keeping an eye on you."
While Naruto was relieved to hear they wouldn't be setting foot in such a volatile situation without backup, Shikamaru frowned. That didn't bode well.
"Okay, I guess," Naruto said uncertainly. "Um, why are you telling us this? I'm pretty sure you could have protected us without us noticing."
"That was my secondary objective."
Shikamaru twitched. Naruto ignored him. "So what, we have to assist you with your other objective?" That would be a hassle. Between that and making sure the others made it in one piece – into and out of the exams, of course.
"Actually, the other objectives require a full ANBU squad."
Shikamaru twitched again and this time Naruto was thinking of doing the same. "Oh hell no!" he hissed, "I don't work with people that want to cut my limbs off. Besides, we're already in middle of a mission that could kick our ass if we're not careful. And we got a sidequest – survival."
The ANBU cocked her head on the side, which was kind of unnerving – porcelain mask, you know? "You're talking as if you had any say in this. One – I outrank you. Two – the Hokage has given, me Carte Blanche for this mission." The two Chunin exchanged looks of pure distress. Meanwhile, Yugao placed her hands on their shoulders. "Congratulations, you two have now been drafted in my team as honorary ANBU – codenames Puny and Whiny."
Naruto was less than pleased. "Do we at least get to wear one of those cool porcelain masks?"
"No."
Shikamaru opened his mouth for the first time during this conversation. "Why only the two of us? Why not Sasuke as well?"
"Oh, so you picked the funny one and the bitchy one?" Another woman a said, hugging the two from behind. "Oh, we're going to have so much fun with you guys!" Then she licked Naruto's cheek. "Yep – I still can taste the fear in this one. This going to be great!"
Naruto shed a single tear.
And who could this mysterious... Oh who am I kidding! Can anyone say women trouble!?
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A/N: Hey guys, it's been a while, as in two months. I hope you all had a great summer. Mine was... Uh, I'd rather not talk about it. Anyways, the mission finally started. And don't worry about the plot, it's not as bad as it looks.
In other news, this chapter took longer than I thought for one reason. You got it, the dreaded 'my comp died on me syndrome '. Fortunately I saved all of my stuff into a flash drive as well so... Anyway the real problem is that I am currently laptopless. Updates might be slower as a result. Still, I'm on track to end my first fic.
Also, thanks to the people who reviewed my Neville fic. Interestingly enough it got more reviews than I thought it would.
Anyways I said what I needed to say. Until next time guys.
P.S. (SPOILERS) Of course Kishimoto had to have the last battle of the manga be that one – I dunno why. I guess people don't change.
Snip
Rev: So awesome fic awesome characters
Naru: Usage of the word awesome, check.
R_: finally somone recognizes the sheer potential of shikamaru.
Shika: Mentions of my awesome potential, check.
R_: Oh and sorry about the long review naruto deal with it.
SShun: Obligatory jab at Naruto, check.
Naru: Yeah, yeah, screw you, Shun.
R_: continue le bon boulot.
SShun: And some French too. Perfect review right there.
Ten: *eyes narrow* I'm not mentioned in that review.
Shino: …same for me
Aya: No spicy scenes with me in it either.
SShun: …like I said, perfect
Ten & Shino & Aya: …
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Rev: I have a big question, will Shikamaru, Tenten and Shino be getting any summons? Please say yes, please. I do have some possible summon ideas if you are interested.
SShun: I'm sorry, but only Naruto will be using summons.
Ten: I already summon weapons, but I guess that's not the same thing.
Shino: bugs are a kind of summons, are they not.
Shika: …No, too troublesome.
Naru: So only I get to be awesome. That's a tough cross to bear, but someone has to do it.
Shika: Right. Because being Gamabunta's underling is so awesome.
Naru: Shut up!
R_: Although, if Shikamaru has spiders and Naruto has toads that could cause some hilarity with you since […] it could become a running gag for SShun to torment you with
SShun: I admit, that would be funny.
Shino: *stares at Shun*
SShun: Aw, don't worry, Shino, I've got plenty of other things I can torture you with.
Ten: …Um, is it too late to rescind my contract?
Naru & Shika: it too late.
Ten: *groans*
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Rev: I enjoy that your story did not turn outrageous halfway through. It is quite believable.
SShun: Good, good. Realistic, is what I'm aiming for.
Shika: Wouldn't want to end up in Kishi's OP ending, now would we.
Ten: Yeah, that sucks. I barely appeared here and there.
Shino: I would like to be more important as well.
Naru: Just as long as you realize that /I/ am the protagonist
Aya: And /I/ am is future wife.
Naru & Shika: …
SShun: *sweatdrops* children...
R_: I really would like to see more of Aya :-).
Aya: I totally approve!
Ten & Shino: *grins evilly*
Naru: Are you out of your damn mind?
Shika: Don't you realize what you've just said? Shun might actually do it, too.
SShun: I already did, you just don't know it yet.
Naru & Shika: Damn it!
Aya: Yaaaaay! I'm back, I'm back.
R_: Also, stop torturing Hinata lol.
SShun: Well…
Naru & Shika & Ten & Shino: *glares at Shun*
SShun: Okay, okay, that was the last chapter, I promise.
R_: I have a question regarding the story, will there be a transition into a Shippuden timeline?
SShun: I can't answer that yet, but you'll get your answer at the end of the story.
R_: Hey, what did Naruto and Hinata talk about after the spar?
Naru: Oh, that? I wanted to know what set her off that time, and she answered it was me talking about Sakura too much. Still don't get why though.
Aya: …*grins* never change Naruto
SShun & Shika & Ten & Shino: *slaps forehead*
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