So... This was a long hiatus. My sincerest apologies!
I had my penultimate year of high school to finish. And I finished my first end-of-high-school exams and got the results, so that took some energy. I have had to attend a few social events with my friends to celebrate the end of the school year, and had a pretty creepy experience involving a gangster. I have also been on an internship on a construction site so I have been completely exhausted out of my mind. Reconnecting with some friends that are back for the break and saying goodbye to some other lifelong buddies. And FIFA (damn the French are out. Oh well, I have pretty strong European pride so go Germany in the semi-finals!). So excuse the terrible lateness.
EDIT: To the anon reviewer who calls herself 'Ginny'... I'm really sorry I didn't manage to give you a shoutout on your birthday (May 15) since, as you might have noticed, I suck and I never updated that month. So happy very late birthday! And your embarrassing story was hilarious, thanks for sharing it! I also had a freaky stage experience. I sang alone on stage for my school's High School Musical karaoke when I was a kid in front of a hundred people. I freaked out and the lady cut off the song after barely ten seconds to give me mercy XD It was so bad.
I own nothing but my shame and I hope you guys like this chapter XD.
Last chapter:
The head councilor nods and hands me an envelope.
"The address and key to your apartment." He smiles. "Welcome to Konohagakure. Respect the memory of our late Hokage and bring pride to the village."
My teammates and I find the apartment that we are living in by searching the dodgier area of the village. What is cool, however, is that Naruto lives in the next building. We get one comfortably sized apartment with three small bedrooms, a bathroom, a pocket-sized kitchen and a nice view on the forest. I take a deep, shaky breath and pull my friends into side hugs.
"Guys... We've got a home."
You know, D-ranked missions were actually kind of fun. Most of them just felt like community service and were a pleasure to perform. We had many, many of them though. Konoha was struggling to keep up with all the missions incoming from the surrounding countries so we were basically working half the day, everyday at least.
However, the council decided to inform us a few days later that it would take us about four more months of missions to cover the hotel bill, not to mention the damage we have to repair from that day months ago when Yuuki sent senbons flying into a weapon shop ceiling.
"How about you take jobs when you are not on missions? During the invasion we lost nearly half of our shinobi, which means many businesses seek labor. We need to regrow Konoha to its former glory and we could always use a few more active, taxpaying citizens." suggests the old council member who is currently replacing the Hokage. My teammates and I exchange looks.
"OK, what kind of jobs?" I ask.
"We were going to suggest you try to work at Konoha hospital. However, after Murakami-san's little... hospital accident in the emergency room..." Ryo glares at Yuuki who starts making theatrical vomiting motions. "... And Tanaka Yuuki-san's little hospital accident." Yuuki glares at Ryo who starts making theatrical vomiting motions. "We don't think that you are competent enough to handle medicine."
I shake my head.
"Civilian jobs are probably most ideal for us."
The old man sighs and flips through papers.
"Our current math teacher for younger children at the Konoha academy is about to retire soon. Therefore, she is going to take on a student whom she is going to train until they are apt to replace her so that they would be ready by the time the academy reopens. You could apply. Except for Yuuki-san. I'm not sure what happened, but it seems that Iruka-san has explicitly states in this job offer that 'Tanaka Yuuki is not permitted to work at Konohakagure academy and in the vicinity of children, animals and clean shirts'."
Yuuki's eyes widen in discomfort and she gives us a constipated look.
"Are any of you two interested in applying?" he addresses Ryo and I. My friend and I glance at each other and communicate with best friend telepathy.
"I'll apply." I raise my hand. "I like math. And children. I think."
"OK. Otherwise, there are a few other businesses seeking hire. Here is a list of them that are currently open and that we find suitable for people with your maturity. Go look at it. Go for interviews. At sundown, return with a contract from each of your employers."
He shows us the door.
I went to sign a trainee's contract with the woman who taught math to the brats in Konoha. When I met up with Ryo, he told my excitedly that he had managed to get a job in the Konoha weapon store after profusely apologizing for the damage our team had done to their ceiling, though his mood dampened when he admitted that two of the store salespersons had died in the invasion. Yuuki hadn't really found something that she was particularly interested in, but there was an opening at the Yamanaka's flower store that she was glad to fill since she was friendly with Ino.
"You know... we are actually quite lucky that we managed to find non violent jobs. If they had decided that we were actually useful as medics we would be screwed. I don't know about you, but seeing people dying is really painful." sighs Ryo.
"That's an understatement." growls Yuuki. "Fighting is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen. It brings only pain and blood. It's unfair to those who are weaker and it's stupid. People die for all types of reasons and it's sad enough. Now people go around killing people too. That's ridiculous."
Ryo and I nod, not really knowing what to say when faced with a rare scary Yuuki. She has a point though. We are not exactly shinobi material.
We return to the eerily lifeless Hokage tower, drop our contracts and book a few training grounds on the way out.
Even if we don't like bloody fighting, in a world that is so dangerous, you cannot count on anyone but yourself to save your life in times of need. Being more 'muscle' and less 'French food' would certainly help our aerodynamics.
And that's how I started making very stupid life decisions again.
"Neji, if you stick your tongue further down Tenten's throat she is going to suffocate." I point out at the sight of NejiTen exchanging DNA. Neji breaks away from her to glare icily at me.
"How do you always manage to irritate me? And interrupt?" he growls. Tenten puts a hand on his arm.
"I agreed to train with her today. See you tonight." she grins, pressing a last kiss to the Hyuga's cheek before following me down the street.
After a minute of silence, I start laughing.
"When did that happen? Last thing I remember, Neji was moping about how painful it was to sit on a cactus called 'failed love life'."
"It happened yesterday." chuckles the older girl. "He came and... Actually apologized for being inconsiderate and cruel. It was like he was a new man. In a good way. So I forgave him."
"And now you're copulating again." I nod. "I'm happy for you."
The kunoichi gives me a scandalized look.
"Nobody said anything about... Never mind. Yeah. I'm kind of glad we're together again. Neji was my first love and he's a really admirable guy once he rises above his pride. It must not be easy for him, but I will be there for him. As a friend or a girlfriend."
I feel my heart clench at Tenten's passionate words and my thoughts flick to green eyes and red hair. I knew that it would be nearly impossible for Gaara to show me such devotion and care. He's the one who needed the care. More than I did.
Once he left, the voice had calmed down to just random interjections that blended into my daily life. I could only imagine Gaara, living with a literal demon in his mind. My condition was already mentally exhausting and terrifying, but... I was glad that it wasn't caused by a bloodthirsty beast sealed inside my body. That would be so creepy, and 'creepy' is for lack of better terms
"How are the jonin senseis doing?" I ask to start up a conversation. Tenten winces. "I heard they got into a pretty serious fight with intruders."
"Still not so good. Before I... um, met up with Neji, I had just briefly spoken to Gai-sensei. He was about to leave the village. He mentioned something about following Jiraya the perv and Naruto on their little training trip. I feel bad for those two... But, according to Gai-sensei the trespassers were really dangerous missing-nin, but he wouldn't tell me who."
Kisame and Itachi, definitely. Somehow, my entire body fills up with excitement at the thought of coming so close to these epic Akatsuki members, before I remember that fangirling over infamous assassins was probably not a good way to make friends in Konoha.
"That's scary. I also heard that Kakashi is still in a coma from the fight."
"He is! Who could possibly be strong enough to knock the almighty Kakashi out? Apart from Gai-sensei, of course."
"Someone who is as strong. Or maybe just strong in different ways." I run my hands through my hair to put it up into a ponytail as we reach the training grounds. Kakashi is the perfect shinobi and so is Itachi, if we consider jutsu and strength. The difference is that Kakashi is defending what is precious to him, and Itachi is currently attacking people for his cause. Itachi could probably tire out the copy-cat ninja by simply being ready.
"So, how good are you with weapons?" Tenten cuts through my psychiatric musings.
"Eh... Right, you didn't see me fight in the preliminaries." I rub my hands together. "I use a katana with chakra modified seals on it so that senbon can emerge from the blade. I also use kunai. I can't really fight with either weapon. I can hit targets, but not very accurately. Forget shuriken."
Tenten's eyes widen in surprise.
"You survived the Forest of Death without mastery of the kunai?" she gasps.
"Oh, I use the kunai really well. For cutting steaks. Or split ends. But for gutting people... Zero."
Tenten frowns and looks at me.
"OK. So I would say you have an amateur level. That is not a problem. Really, your weapons are a part of you and you learn to use them through application in real life situations." she explains. "Quick reflexes, especially on a defensive position, are crucial for victory. Now, try to block my hit."
I grab a kunai. She does the same, twirling the blade in her hand.
Wow. That's so cool.
Tenten suddenly lunges at me, her blade cutting through the air. I raise my weapon to parry her off.
By the time my kunai had been lifted an inch, Tenten's knife was already embed in my arm muscle.
You know, it's weird how you can stare down at your arm gushing blood without feeling pain. Of course, once you get out of shock two seconds later when Tenten gasps in horror, the raw agony hits you like a chainsaw. I look up at Tenten, pointing at my limb.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH Hooooooly shiiiiiittttt! My arm! My arm is cut open!"
"B-But I moved so slowly..."
Tenten signs my cast with a sheepish grin.
"Weapons aren't really your forte. How did you even survive your match?" she asks bluntly with complete disregard to my annoyed feelings at having my arm chopped in half. Thankfully, the medics had put me to sleep and fixed up my arm in a few hours since it was just a 'flesh wound'. I hate being bandaged up. Again.
"Good planning. I had my leg sliced up like my arm is now, though."
"Wow. You have accumulated so many cuts. If only you scarred more, you could actually pass for an active shinobi." smiles the girl, patting my arm. I give her a blood chilling glare, which she replies to with a gulp and a nervous chuckle.
"Excuse me if I heal well! No! Don't snigger! That freaking hurt!" I growl.
Tenten pats my cheek.
"I apologize for hurting you. Rest well and they might release you from the hospital tomorrow. I'll continue helping you train after you are not longer wounded." she stands up and walks out the hospital room door. "See you around. I'll tell your teammates that you're awake."
Once she is gone, I sigh.
"Damn it. Hospitalized again. What am I supposed to do now? I'm wasting so much time." I say out loud to myself. "This is boring."
As soon as the words leave my mouth the door to my room slides open again and a handsome dark-haired man stands in the doorway, smirking.
" 'Sup Himeko-chan! Wow, back so soon? You must really miss me." Kei slides my door close and fishes a box out of his scrub pocket. "I'm on break now, so we can be bored together. I'll teach you how to play shogi!"
I grin and extend one of my hands to shake his.
"You are truly my savior, Kei-san!"
After a while Kei must return to work and I end up going to sleep. Unfortunately, I wake up when it's almost time for lights out so I know that I will be in pain and tired tomorrow. Sighing, I sit up on my bed, wincing when I feel the burning pain in my arm. I quickly take some pain medication that the doctor left me and I quietly stand up and walk up to the door.
I slip out silently into the corridor and do a brief scan of the hospital. I search for a mopy emo mental voice, but I flinch when I am met instead with a deep, unconscious throb of pain. I teleport into Sasuke's room and take in his comatose form, lying sunken in the clean hospital bed.
I bite my lips when I see the dark bruises under his closed eyes and the bandages around his arms. The entire room suddenly seems to drop a few degrees.
Sasuke looks like absolute crap. I have never seen him like this before, even all the other times he has been in the hospital. This is different.
Not only is he wounded, he also releases suffocating waves of danger and hatred. My gaze suddenly flickers to his neck and my blood chills when I see the curse mark glaring obviously back at me.
Right. I almost forgot about that.
I groan and sit myself beside him on the bed. Scanning his brain, I can feel that he isn't dreaming, but that his entire being is tense. Seeing Itachi must have brought back a tidal wave of horrible memories and pent-up revulsion and absolute fury.
I can not blame him. I choke when brief flashes of blood, murder and despair shock through my mind, having escaped from Sasuke's brain to invade mine through the telepathic link I had activated.
"Sasuke... Sasuke..." I run my hand through my messy red hair, combing out the knots that were caused by the hospital pillow. I then shakily place my palm onto his forehead and close my eyes.
Think of happiness. Think of your teammates. Kakashi being a late idiot. Sakura being a lovey idiot. Naruto being a tenacious idiot.
I relax my rigid body, relieved, when I sense the tension slowly slipping out of him mind. Something seems to almost be holding onto it, though, as if playing tug of war with me over Sasuke's anger. I place a hand onto his curse mark.
Huh. It feels like normal skin. I thought that I would get burnt for touching it or something.
I carefully press my forehead against Sasuke's, fighting off the foreign shadow in his brain. Unfortunately, most of the darkness stays, because he himself has put it there. I push healing jutsu into his neck, hoping that it would contain the effects of the curse mark on Sasuke's mood long enough to let me temporarily chase out the monsters in him. Being stuck in a coma with a poisonous snake sucking out your happiness while you sleep must be extremely draining.
When I finally feel the last cloud leak out of Sasuke's brain, I smile and return to pushing happy thoughts into his unresponsive mind. This time, the boy's body completely frees itself of stress.
Sighing, I slip into the armchair beside his bed and lie my head on the armrest. With my eyesight now adapted to the dim light, I watch his peacefully sleeping form.
I close my eyes. Even out cold, Sasuke makes better company than none. It helps calm my nerves a little because I tend to think too much before I fall asleep. It's too bad that I can't telepathically calm myself like a did for Sasuke.
Ah well. A least one of us won't be having nightmares tonight.
One person out the three in the room. As usual.
In the morning when a nurse comes to check on Sasuke, I get promptly kicked out of the boy's room under threat of being sent to the council for my 'inappropriate' behavior (yawn). I return to my room to find Kei there with a smirk, so my day isn't off to a terrible start.
I am released from the hospital with stitches and an order to heal myself for a few days and return when I am more or less fixed up. My friends welcome me back with eye rolls and a chocolate cake.
"If you keep getting wounding and ending up in the hospital, people are going to start thinking that you have a thing for Kei." laughs Yuuki. "And if you do, Mei will kick you."
"Well, I will be returning to the hospital for my stitches, but also to go visit Sasuke and Lee." I frown. "You guys should come with me. You never join me when I visit people. What do you two do all day anyway?"
Ryo coughs and Yuuki smiles innocently. My heart clenches in panic. Something is up. How did I not notice? Oh right, caught up in my own problems.
"Oh my god what are you two doing? Don't tell me you two are mucking about the village. We already have a huge debt you know." I growl.
"No more mucking about than you, clumsy face." Yuuki sticks her tongue out at me.
"Oh my god. You are trying to find another way to fix our debt, aren't you? For your information, starting a strip club within the borders of Konoha is strictly illegal! I checked..." I sigh.
Ryo chuckles nervously and hands me another slice of cake, practically shoving it into my mouth since my arm is still in a cast. I lift an eyebrow.
"I'm on to you. Don't think I can't tell when someone is hiding something from me. It's been going on for a while, hasn't it? I will elucidate this mystery. Mark my words, my little pigeons. Mark my words."
And that is how I find myself hiding between two tall trees the next day, stalking my teammates. I explained that I was going to visit Lee, but really I turned around and followed them instead. I lied to them. Wow, I am such a hardcore badass.
I tail them around Konoha for about two hours. Then I really start to get bored. All they do is stroll around the village eating food and turning around random corners, as if looking for something. Well, I'm glad that my friends seem to be getting along so well with each other, but I really don't get why they have to wait for me to ditch them to perform such banal activities.
Ok, maybe I am getting a little lonely. I know that I usually leave on my own, but I am also the only one of us who ever proposes that we do team activities like training.
Now that I am sneaking around on my own, I kinda miss our arrival in Konoha. Back then, we were joint by the hip. We went everywhere together. Met everyone together. Messed around together.
Now we seem apart. Actually, more specifically, I seem apart.
Yeah. It's my fault. I have been so obsessed with Gaara while he was around that I neglected my teammates. But now, they seem completely fine on their own.
Humph. I look around at the bright stands around the street. A grin creeps onto my face when I find a few grilled mini-sausages on a stick for sale.
"Four of these please!" I point at the food. Once I pay for it, I look around. "Dammit. I lost them. Ooh... A sand pit!" I run over to the area, scaring two toddlers out of it. I suddenly get a little nostalgic. "Urg. Sand. Gaara. Dammit."
You are so annoying. Just let it go. Freaking get the feelings out so that you can spend a day without thinking about that redheaded douchebag who was a total asshole to you.
I nod, sniffling, starting to build a crappy sand castle.
"Gaara would make such a pretty castle if he were here..." I whisper to myself, shaking my head. "Would you like to build a Sandman?"
If Gaara were here do you think that he would be playing in a sand pit?
I laugh. Good point.
? POV
Target spotted. Tanaka Himeko. Age 13. Currently consuming a dozen grilled cylindrical meat tubes on a stick. Potential weapon: wooden sticks. Danger level: 2.
Origin unknown. Claims to be French. Claim implausible. Suspicious nature.
For the past two hours, she had been following her two teammates.
Tanaka Yuuki. Age 13. Origin unknown. Murakami Ryo. Age 13. Origin unknown. Both claim to be French. Claims implausible. Both extremely suspicious in nature. Only yesterday, they have been spotted by agent #3446 engaging in suspicious activity around the village.
Halt. Target has stopped in a sand pit in sector #5 of Konohagakure after viciously expelling two young citizens.
Highly suspicious. Everyone knows that sand pits are not for 13-year-old kunoichi.
Alert! She has started communicating. Seemingly to herself. Possibility of voice transistor hidden in the sand?
Red alert! Target has started... building in the sand. Highly suspicious... Wait, is that supposed to be a sand castle? Urg, that's the fugliest sand castle I have ever seen!
Ahem. Target has been overheard. "Gaara" and "pretty" found in the same sentence. Suspicion alert level 6.
No! Triple-O neon pink alert! Triple-O neon pink alert! The target has started laughing maniacally to herself!
HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY!
Considering intervention. Consider-...
"Shino-kun?"
The boy choked on his saliva and jumped about two meters into the air. Clenching a hand to his heart, the bug-nin glared at the intruder through his shades.
"Hinata-chan. What are you doing here?"
"A-Ah... Well... I was taking a walk but then I saw you spying on Himeko-san. You started sweating and vibrating so I-I got a little worried."
Shino huffed and straightened himself up.
"I have reasons to be suspicious of our new fellow genin failures. If you trust me, you shall join me!"
Hinata sweatdropped.
"O-Oh... OK?"
No POV.
Neji grunted, glaring at Hinata.
"What is she doing with that guy? Her teammate. But they are acting so suspicious..." he mused, eyeing his cousin's crouching form. The boy shrugged. "I guess that I will follow her to make sure that she doesn't get into trouble. I have amends to make after all."
"Shhh! Neji might see us!" hissed Tenten. Kiba rolled his eyes.
"Lady, he has the byakugan. He probably knows that we are following him. Why are we spying on Neji Hyuga already? And why the hell am I with you?" grunted the boy, scratching his head.
"Quiet! Neji has been following Hinata around for some time now. I don't exactly trust his good judgment around a main branch member of his clan. And don't you want to protect Hinata-chan? You have an obvious soft spot for her. I would even say you had a crush if it weren't for the fact that I am convinced that you bend more towards bestiality."
Kiba's ears turned red.
"What the heck is wrong with you!"
"... Oh hey! It's Kiba! He looks busy..." smiled Choji, prodding Shikamaru in the side. "Should we go say hi?"
The other boy sighed.
"No. That's troublesome."
"Oh. What are they doing though?" questioned the pleasantly plump genin, stuffing another handful of chips into his mouth.
"They are following Neji Hyuga who is following Hinata Hyuga who is following Shino Aburame who is following Himeko Tanaka who is following Yuuki Tanaka and Ryo Murakami who are also following a person." explained Shikamaru.
Choji lifted an eyebrow.
"How do you know all that?" he gasped.
"It is obvious if you can see the signs."
"Oh. And who are the last two following?" wondered Choji, scratching his neck. Shikamaru shook his head.
"No. The real question is... Who is following us?"
"Wow, spying sure is a good way of practicing your ninja arts!" smirked Ino. "What is Shikamaru up to? He always does something mysteriously interesting."
"Boo!"
Ino paled and swirled around.
"What...?" the blond frowned. "Urg, Billboard Brow. What are you doing here?"
"Well." chuckled Sakura. "I just visited Sasuke-kun, Kakashi-sensei and Lee-kun at the hospital. I needed cheering up so I decided to follow you to see if you were going to do anything stupid I could use as blackmail. What are you doing?"
Ino flipped around, shushing Sakura and motioned to her to approach. She pointed to her teammates.
"I'm following the boys. They're onto something. I think that they might be following Tenten."
"Why would they be following Tenten?" hummed Sakura. Ino shrugged.
"Let's find out Forehead Friend."
A man in a green jumpsuit was jogging frantically through Konoha, deep in thought.
Suddenly, he spotted two young girls. His eyes lit up.
"Ohohoh, Lee's future wife! What are those two doing?" Gai slowed his pace to more of a soft skip. "Oh! They seem to be engaging in a game of Ninja Spy and Seek! How youthful! I shall participate!"
"Dammit! Where is Gai-sensei? He was standing there just a moment ago! Why is he running?" groaned Yuuki jogging to keep up with her teammate. Ryo turned to nudge her on the shoulder.
"Chill out. He's just training. At least we are keeping fit to catch up with him."
The blond sighed, poking Ryo in the cheek with a grin.
"I'm already fit. You've got to have biceps of steel if you want to climb a tree faster than a lemur!" she grinned.
"Why would you have to climb trees faster than lemurs?" laughed the brunet. He quickly tugged on his partner's arm to divert their track when Gai took a left turn.
"Because the ones around my house when I was a little kid would steal my mother's purses. She kept food in them so the critters would simply snatch them off the patio when she was getting ready to leave the house. The big black-and-white ones were freaky, but the little ones were fast."
"Well, if I ever need to catch a lemur I'll give you a call." grinned Ryo.
The two teenagers frowned when Gai suddenly stopped running.
"Oh. Good. Should we go ask him for training advice now?" wondered Yuuki, slowing to a walk. Ryo frowned.
"Huh. He seems to be following Sakura and Ino. Strange. Let's go see." nodded the boy.
When they were about to reach Gai, Yuuki grabbed Ryo's arm.
"Hey. Do you hear something? Someone is approaching from the trees."
"Nah, it must just be a dog or something-..."
Himeko POV
I jump out of the trees, making my cousin gasp and topple over Ryo.
"Gotcha punkettes! Where are you two running to?" I shout.
"The question is, where are you three running from?"
All three of us turn to face Shino, who has just randomly walked out of the forest as well.
"A-Ah Shino! You c-can't just..." Hinata tumbles out of the forest, along with Neji, Tenten and Kiba. Shikamaru walks out, yawning, closely followed by Choji. Then Ino and Sakura follow.
Gai-sensei runs towards us, pointing his finger.
"I found you! I found you! Oh, I win at Ninja Spy and Seek! My youthful flowers, you cannot all hide in the forest! That makes this way too easy for Konoha's most handsome man (shhh don't tell Lee that he's only number 2) to find you all!"
Everyone sweatdrops and stares around the circle.
"Wait... were we all following each other? That is just so weird." groans Sakura.
"Obviously our shinobi instincts have reacted in the face of suspicious activity. Yuuki and Ryo were following Gai, who was following Sakura, who was following Ino, who was following Choji and I, who were following Kiba, who was following Tenten, who was stalking Neji, who was stalking Hinata, who was following Shino, who was stalking Himeko, who was spying on her teammates because she suspected that they were doing something suspicious... like spying on someone, for example."
Everyone raises an eyebrow. I turn to frown at Shino as people start to go back to whatever they were doing before being caught up in the world's most random Conga line.
"Why were you following me?" I ask. "Do you have something to say? You can just talk to me, you know. We had a sweet moment a few days ago, so you should know that I don't bite."
Shino's sunglasses glint and he nods my teammates and I off to the side.
Darn, what could he possible want that makes him act so... strange? And that's saying something because I wouldn't put Shino at the top of my 'most ordinary shinobi list' even on his typical days.
"I have done my research about you three. I have sent out my bug agents across borders to investigate." he states calmly.
My heart suddenly skips a beat as if it knows that we're screwed.
"My messenger bugs have informed me that France is a small, beautiful country, thriving on agriculture located far across the seas." his eyebrows draw close together. "And this country was completely razed to the ground over twenty years ago by a neighboring nation. No one has bothered investigating because no one from this continent ever crosses the Great Ocean. However, we have had a few... refugees claiming to come from 'France' and, like you, they are all suspicious in nature and obviously lying. I am not implying that your lies necessarily make you dangerous to Konoha, but I am stating that deceiving your superiors and your friends necessitates an explanation."
What?
What?
I quickly rack my brains. I never thought that someone would actually double check our information. That was a mistake. Though it's interesting to know about this world's France.
"We weren't completely lying. We all have at least one parent of French descent. Before our parents died, they told us about Konoha so we decided to travel here together to find a home. We collected data about you genin and your village along the way." I try explaining. Shino's frown intensifies and I realize my mistake. Half-truthing is complicated.
"Some people know classified information about Konohagakure? A hidden village? And you somehow just overheard this?" he tries to grill me. I shake my head quickly.
"Ah... We spied on merchants to-and-from Konoha and got into fights with a few thieves on Konoha's main commerce roads. We talked to people in nearby villages who engage in business with your village, asking them for a little information. It was all purely out of curiosity and to be prepared to what would face us here, especially since the chuunin exams were approaching. I guess we just have... bad timing."
Shino grunts.
"That makes sense. But you have abdicated my full trust by omitting out the truth in the first place." announces Shino solemnly.
"Shino-kun, if you completely trusted us, you wouldn't have checked." chuckles Ryo. "But we understand. For what it's worth, we don't completely trust you either. However, we are friends, right?"
The guy on my team extends a hand towards the bug-nin. Shino looks at his hand and nods. He grabs Ryo's elbow and shakes it.
"I respect your privacy, but try to be honest with me in the future. I am concerned for the safety of my village and I don't want Konoha betrayed by anymore of our... friends."
With that, Shino leaves, along with a huge bubble of nerves. My friends and I stare at each other with wide eyes.
"That was so freaking close..." groans Yuuki. I hm in agreement. Then suddenly a shadow monster grabs my shoulder. I scream.
I spin around to face a little girl with blond and green hair.
"Sheesh! You seriously have some issues, you mad woman." grins Kanako. "Do you three want to come visit Simba for a few hours?"
I glare at her, but decided to let this cute little witch off this time.
"Sure! How has our little kitty been doing?"
The girl lets out a hollow, soulless laugh and her face goes void of compassion and hope in the world.
"Monstrous little devil incarnate. So please, come calm him down. He misses you three."
My teammates and I start following the girl as she slowly hobbles down the road. She quickly throws a glance over her shoulder, as if trying to remember something.
"Who was that boy you were talking to?" she suddenly asks.
"Shino Aburame. Why, do you know him?" offers Yuuki. Kanako hums, going into Naruto flashback mode.
"I did, years ago. Cool guy. He's Hinata Hyuga's teammate right?"
We all nod.
"Thought so. Since Mei is practically already married to Kei, I have visited the Hyuga compound and got to know the famous relatives. Most of them are pretty stuck up, except for Kei, his close family, Hinata, her sister Hanabi and a few others. Neji was the worst. He has recently gotten a little friendly though. He kinda smiled at me once, instead of giving me this sour, indifferent, silent stare for no reason." laughs the blond,. I flick her in the shoulder.
"Oy, don't you start bothering Neji. I do that enough, the poor guy needs a break."
Over the course of the next two weeks I often go back to the hospital to give flowers to Sasuke, chat with Sakura as she watches over the comatose boy, chat with Lee and bring him flowers (I manage to get him awake! Finally!), visit a comatose Kakashi and attempt to draw penises on his face until his private nurse zaps me with an electric jutsu to keep my away from her patient.
My arm has since been freed from its stitches, though the scar is still kind of ugly for now. Being healed has allowed the village council to send us on a few missions out of the village gates. It's almost as if they were testing to see if we would run.
One day, as I stroll into the hospital, I can sense a change of atmosphere. People are smiling, for one. Not many people smile in hospitals.
"What's going on?" I ask a passing nurse. "Did someone announce a discount on rice? Where can I get discounted rice?"
"No! No rice!" grins the man. "But Tsunade-sama is back! Tsunade, the greatest medic in the world, is in our hospital! And she's here to stay, apparently!"
"This is indeed a joyful occasion." I gasp, a million thoughts rushing through my brain.
Tsunade? That means that Naruto and Jiraya are back. This means that Naruto now knows Rasengan. And that Sasuke, Kakashi and Lee are going to be fixed up soon. It also means that my team will officially become part of Konoha if Tsunade would have us.
I feel a bubble of excitement inflate in my chest. Tsunade. She is such a cool woman. I quickly send a mental shout to Ryo and Yuuki to come to the hospital quick.
I go wait outside of Sasuke's door with Sakura.
"He's going to be fine. He's in good hands." I tell the girl in what I hope is a soothing voice. The pink haired girl gives me a shaky, uncertain smile.
"I believe that. I still worry though." she mumbles.
"Of course. But Sasuke's a stubborn bitch, you know he won't give up the fight."
Sakura shoves me in the ribs.
"You could be nicer, you know? He's wounded."
"You could be gentler, you know? I'm wounded."
Sakura smiles and is about to retaliate when the door slides open. The kunoichi jumps to her feet immediately. The one and only Legendary Kunoichi steps out of the room.
"Tsunade-sama! How is he?" cries the pink haired girl. Tsunade smiles.
"He will be fine. He will be awake after another night of rest."
Sakura gasps in relief and rushes into the hospital room, leaving me alone with the almighty badass that is Tsunade.
Oh wow. She is beautiful. And her breast are absolutely gigantic. So big. Wow.
"What are you staring at?"
My heart clenches in terror and I look up at the woman, my eyes wide.
"I'm so sorry! Just... Don't you get terrible back pains with those? My boobs are slightly larger than average but not amazingly so and I still find them inconvenient."
Tsunade raises an eyebrow.
"All my clothes have built-in padding so they are held firm against my chest. And you have to get used to it, I guess." the woman sighs, then frowns. "Your forehead protector... Oh, yeah, the council mentioned something about you and your teammates. Himeko Tanaka, right? And you friends are Yuuki Tanaka and Ryo Murakami. Where are they?"
Right on cue, Ryo and Yuuki poof into the corridor. Both of their eyes go as wide as Tsunade's rack.
"Oh my god. Lady Tsunade. Hi." they both manage to say at the same time. OK, those two spend way too much time together.
"Hello you three. So I was just telling your teammate that the council informed me that you will be joining the ranks of Konoha. My initiation ceremony as the Hokage is tonight so pop by after that so that we can talk. I am quite busy on medic duty right now. Do you know where Kakashi Hatake's room is?"
I point her to the staircase and tell her the room number. She nods and leaves us.
"Wah. Tsunade. One of my heroes..." mutters Yuuki, staring mesmerized at the spot the older woman was standing.
Ryo and I nod. Yuuki particularly adores the female sanin since they both share their terror of blood because they saw their brothers and loved ones die gruesome deaths. What an ironically horrible way to bond.
Tsunade's ceremony is pretty standard. She swears to protect and lead Konoha and the council gives her a big pointy hat. Afterward, we enter her office.
Oh. She already has a few cases of booze in here. I glance over at the new Hokage, who grunts.
"I won't touch it until all the wounded are healed, you judgmental brat." growls the woman. Wow, she doesn't like official events. "So I will give you your headbands and you will be loyal to Konoha or else I, as the Hokage of Konoha, will have to kill you. Clear?"
My team nods.
"We understand. We are quite new to the shinobi life, however, so we hope that you will be patient with us." I add.
Tsunade sighs and picks a box of the floor. She opens the package and pulls out three forehead protectors. My heart races in either excitement or sinking reality as the woman hands me the symbol of my loyalty and submission to a government body that I hardly trust.
"As patient as you will be with me. You're not the only ones who are new to their jobs." chuckles Tsunade.
The cloth is smooth and the steel leaf design is chilling under my fingers. I smile.
"Thank you. We will do our best to make sure that you will never regret this decision, Lady Tsunade."
My team bows and we take our leave.
We go back to our apartment. Yuuki goes over to Ryo's room to get a pomegranate that she left in a shopping bag, so I am left alone to my musings in my own little bedroom. I look down at my forehead protect. Frowning, I take off the 'Ai' headband I have and replace it with the 'Leaf' one.
Strange. It feels different. I have yet to get used to this sensation. The feeling of belonging somewhere.
A smile creeps onto my face. It's a scary feeling, but it's a change. My life has stabilized itself over the course of the last few weeks and that is a welcomed turn of events.
Yeah. Life is alright.
Except for one thing.
I groan and drop down on my bed. The ceiling is a little cracked but, overall, the surface that stretches out above me is quite uniform.
The earlier I go to bed, the earlier today will end. And I do not want tomorrow to come.
Because tomorrow is the day that Sasuke is going to wake up and betray Konohagakure as well as all of his friends.
So that includes me. I'm Sasuke's friend. I love him to death but tomorrow he will choose Orchimaru over everyone else for the sake of revenge.
A silly part of me is hoping that he won't leave, but I know that nothing I say could change Sasuke's path. Besides, changing his path could lead to massive deviation from this entire world's story, which I do not want to be responsible for.
However, I will have to try. If I say nothing, that makes me a traitor. I will have to say something to Sasuke, even if it is just a goodbye. I haven't spoken to him in weeks and I miss his stupid pretty face.
Darn it, I'm making myself feel lonely again. I sigh and teleport into Ryo's room.
What is taking Yuuki so long? How hard is it to find a pomegranate anyway?
I get my answer. Actually, I walk in on the answer happening right before my eyes. This is incidentally also the answer to the question of why I have been left alone by my teammates almost on a daily basis.
My cousin and best friend are staring at me in horror from their spot against the door. They hastily break apart, away from each other, completely red in the face. My relative coughs and rubs her lips with the back of her knuckle, probably to wipe away the remains of my childhood best friend's saliva off of them, judging by how intensely they were imitating Neji and Tenten a few seconds ago.
I just stare. They stay silent, mortified, waiting for me to say something first. Personally, I don't know how to react to this situation and my thoughts are stuck somewhere between 'what the absolute freak just happened' and 'oh that explains a lot'. I choke on air and drag my hands over my face.
"Finding a pomegranate. So that's what it's called nowadays! Seriously, you two, I am going to have to drink so much vinegar to get the taste of that memory out of my mouth."
Wait, what XD?
OK, honestly, who saw that coming? I want to know.
Also sorry about changes of POV and tense this chapter. Writing in 3rd person in the present tense was weird so I had to adapt. I get away with everything for Himeko's narration since she is the main narrator but even with Yuuki and Ryo's POV I had to keep 3rd POV for the sake of consistency in the scene.
So, some more OC storyline plot stuff. France in the ninja world... It is weird to think that it exists, but more than once Naruto speaks about 'French' in the manga so I have to assume that knowledge comes from somewhere. Who can guess where Yuuki comes from? And Ryo? Himeko has made it quite obvious. I never really talk about my OC's origins so I wonder how you pictured them in your heads.
! If you want to know where the Akatsuki Plan inserts itself chronologically into the main plot, it would be after Himeko heals, before Tsunade comes in and gives them their headbands. The 'test missions'. !
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I know that you will like the next one XD
Peace, love, summer holidays in the northern hemisphere,
XOXO ~~~ HimekoUchia (but urg holiday work is gonna suck. NB: If you like shirtless Percy Jackson characters check out my tumblr/Deviantart and feast yer eyes.)
