Guys, guys, I made a writing tumblr for this stuff! Well, to add stuff.
Anyways, if you want to see some of Reishi's earliest concept art go to yidhra-w/./tumblr/./com (eliminate the bars and you've got it, you know how it works right? Right)
/I seek validation y.y/
Fugaku sits across the Nara, trying to look collected despite the late hour. The jōnin fidgets under his gaze; he smells like he just came out of a bar, which is frankly off putting when Fugaku thinks about how this man is supposed to be his protégé's sensei.
"Fugaku-san," he finally starts. "I'm sorry to importunate you at such a late hour-"
"It is quite alright," Fugaku interrupts. He is not in the mood for pleasantries and, even though some part of him registers that he should be more polite with a future clan leader, his sleep deprived brain – coupled with the incident with Reishi barely a few minutes ago – gives his reply a more snippy tint than it is polite. In summary, he is worried, tired and he wants to get this over with.
Shikaku seems to catch on. He quirks an eyebrow, perhaps in surprise, and clears his throat. "It came to my attention during the test that Reishi-san has some... issues, concerning you and your family."
'I'm not your daughter.'
The words echo in his head, making him frown. He had known that Reishi was... difficult. Not difficult in the loud, obnoxious way that other children demand attention, just- easy to push away, quite ready to bolt at the first sign of hostility.
He likes to think that lately she has been more comfortable in his – their – house, more at ease. Her shoulders relaxed and not constantly ensuring a route of escape like she had when she first came.
It seems like he was wrong. Fugaku nods, prompting Shikaku to continue.
"Watching her behaviour, I've been led to believe that she isn't completely sure of her place in your household, that is, she isn't sure she is welcome."
Fugaku bristles. "Are you implying that-"
"I am not implying anything," Shikaku interrupts. Tact was never his forte. "Reishi is... a complicated child, after all that happened it's normal that the trauma led to sequels such as trust issues and feelings of being inadequate in everything she does," he says, repeating almost word for word what Inoichi had been explaining before. Shikaku is good at knowing just where to hurt but Inoichi was always the one that knew why.
"And how, might I ask, did this come to your attention?" Fugaku asks, suspicious; it could be that the Nara had wanted to know his students well, but in that case they wouldn't have been having this conversation at four in the morning, so something must have happened.
Shikaku changes his posture, a movement barely perceptible for a civilian, but Fugaku sees the fidgeting nonetheless. "The test I put the team through had some psychological elements, so gathering information was necessary." This answer is as evasive as it gets, but he hopes that Fugaku won't question him further.
"I'm not telling you to fully adopt her because I won't assume your feelings on the matter," Shikaku adds, knowing that the matter at hand will distract Fugaku at least for now. He desperately needs to take the conversation into a different direction and, seeing how protective Fugaku is of the girl, this is probably the one that will get Fugaku off his tail, and also spurn him to solve the problem. "I am just saying that she has been seeing you as a father figure for a while, and letting her think that if you want to keep your relationship professional could be misleading. I'm sure that you never intended-"
"Of course not-" Fugaku says, offended.
Shikaku trudges on, ignoring him, though he is happy to see that his tactic has been successful. "Naturally, if this attachment makes you uncomfortable, the Nara would be happy to have her. I understand that keeping your business life and your personal life sepparated while living under the same roof can be difficult, especially while taking care of a baby."
"That won't be necessary," says Fugaku with a firm voice. His expression has been turning from a slightly alarmed one, to an aggravated one and finally to the stern countenance he uses when speaking with the council. The stone mask responsible for giving him such a severe reputation. "I am grateful that you brought this to my attention and I will see to it so that it won't interfere with her performance, as I'm sure is your concern."
Shikaku knows when a conversation is over, and excuses himself politely, all the while trying not to look satisfied that his plan worked. Reishi might tell Fugaku about his... social faux pas later, but by then he will have counterarguments prepared and it will look less like he's being scolded and more like they had a disagreement in their teaching methods.
Shikaku can't help but feel a little shitty about being manipulative, but this is the best for damage control, and in the end what matters is that Fugaku will fix the miscommunication with his ward and this fuck up will be over and forgotten soon. Such is the ninja way.
Fugaku, on the other hand, is tired, angry at himself and wants nothing more than to set Shikaku Nara on fire. Hearing the jōnin low-key accuse him of neglecting Reishi is one thing, but having the balls to even suggest giving up his guardianship is too much. After how much Mikoto has worked to make her feel at home in the Uchiha manor and how overprotective is his wife of the girl... well, if she had been the one having this conversation instead of him, Shikaku would have left the house with a distinct lack of tongue. Or a little scorched around the edges, at the very least.
He silently berates himself for not having pursued his initial line of questioning, he is still sure that there was something Shikaku wasn't telling him, but he let anger cloud his senses and now the conversation wasn't salvageable without further damaging the relations between the Uchiha and the Nara. He didn't trust himself to keep being polite.
On his way to the room, Fugaku stops outside Reishi's room, maybe it would be a good idea to talk with the girl as soon as possible. Then again, after a whole day of stress she must have fallen asleep almost instantly out of exhaustion and he wouldn't want to wake her up. Tomorrow morning will probably be a better time.
In his room, Mikoto is awake, with a look that says that neither of them will sleep until he tells her what happened. He regrets waking her up when Reishi ran away, but he didn't know what to do, running after her had been his first instinct but then he had thought that if the girl was running away from him, then running after her would just stress her further. He couldn't just let her go like that though, could he? So he had woken up his wife.
Great job, Fugaku.
They discuss how to broach the subject tomorrow in hushed whispers, mindful not to wake up Itachi, who is soundly asleep in his crib. Trying to talk about feelings with Reishi is like trying to get the trust of a feral cat, you can't approach it too suddenly or it will bolt away and never trust you again, you have to make the cat want to approach you itself. However, that has been their tactic for a year and clearly, even if it's working, it's being too slow.
The next morning both of them share apprehensive looks when Reishi isn't up for breakfast, and their apprehension turns to worry when she is still unaccounted for an hour later. She has never slept late before.
Reishi would like to stay in bed forever, if possible, if not possible she would like to stay anyways.
The situation on the other side of the door is bound to be awkward at best and hostile at worst, and her bed is so warm...
She is spared the decision on whether to get up or roll over when there's a hesitant knock on the door, followed by Fugaku's voice announcing that he is going to enter.
Well, fuck.
She looks at her pastel orange pyjamas decorated by koi drawings and then at the window, weighing the pros and cons of escaping through it before Fugaku can say 'good morning', and finally decides to stay. She can't avoid this conversation forever.
She doesn't bother to get out of bed when the door opens, squinting at the sudden change in light and feeling very much like a creature of darkness. If her levels of anxiety weren't skyrocketing she would hiss as a joke. As it is though, she just waits for Fugaku to enter the room in silence.
He stays for a moment at the door, unsure, then sighs and carefully kneels beside Reishi's futon. She notices that he deliberately leaves open an escape route for her in case she wants to exit the conversation and thanks him mentally; though the fact that he did it means that he doesn't expect her to enjoy what's next. Maybe he has finally decided to give her the boot. She was pretty rude yesterday, after all.
"Morning," she says. He has been thinking of what to say ever since he entered and she supposes she can help things move along by adding a little familiarity to the situation. A script.
Fugaku gives her a nod of acknowledgement. "Did you sleep well?"
"More or less, yeah."
"You're staying in bed a little late today," he says. It sounds like an observation but she know it's a question.
"I'm just tired, I came ho- I came back pretty late last night."
Fugaku hums non-committally. "I talked with Shikaku."
"Ah." She isn't sure what to answer to that so she waits for him to continue.
"He said..." Fugaku frowns and clears his throat, looking to the side as if thinking. She can barely make out the outline of his face in the darkness of the room but he seems frustrated. Finally, the sound of Mikoto's steps save him from saying whatever it was that he was trying to force out. Her shadow blocks the light coming in from the door that Fugaku left open and Reishi sighs contentedly.
It doesn't last for long though, as soon as Mikoto enters the room, she gives baby Itachi to Fugaku and opens the shutters, letting the morning sun viciously attack Reishi's eyes. Reishi groans and tries to rub her eyes, then she feels a weight beside her and finds that Fugaku has decided that her futon is the best place for Itachi to be right now.
The baby is sitting and looking at her with his huge eyes, like a tiny owl. For a moment he seems to be thinking about something, then he comes to some unknown conclusion and tries to crawl on Reishi's lap. With a long suffering sigh, Reishi sits cross-legged and picks him up, placing him on the small space her legs are forming. Itachi seems satisfied.
"Awww," coos Mikoto. "He looks so cute with his big sis, doesn't he, Fugaku?"
Reishi nearly chokes at the implication, she looks down at Itachi, who is keeping his eyes trained on her (does he even blink?) and he gurgles something incomprehensible.
Mikoto takes this opportunity to sneak on her from behind, hugging her and Itachi (carefully, mind you) and making them roll on the bed, blankets and all. She blows a raspberry on Reishi's unsuspecting cheek and Itachi giggles at the sound. Reishi's protests fall on deaf ears and she looks at Fugaku for support, but he only shakes his head with a half smile. Reinforcements won't come today.
When Mikoto decides to start tickling her she gives up. "I yield! I yield!"
"You heard that, Itachi? We won!" Mikoto cheers, Itachi squeaks happily. "Daddy's team lost, so now they have to make lunch!"
Fugaku looks at her alarmed. "My team?" he asks, quirking an eyebrow. When he looks at Reishi, who is still laying down, she lazily turns her head towards him and mouths the word 'traitor'. Fugaku sighs, defeated. This is the very reason he married Mikoto; she managed to lift Reishi's spirits, make her feel included and also make sure the two of them have some alone time to discuss things later. What an amazing woman. Not to mention that she got out of making lunch herself too, sneaky.
The atmosphere, as light as it is, turns a little awkward when Mikoto leaves to change Itachi's diaper (he's one smelly, smelly baby). Fugaku clears his throat, suddenly unsure of his footing again. Finally, when Reishi is going to get up, he speaks.
"I know that you want to move to another house as soon as possible," he says, abruptly. Reishi freezes. "You know that that is not necessary."
"I don't want to impose-"
"You are not," he interrupts her with a firm tone. "This is your home as long as you want it to be, we are happy to have you here."
"I- Okay," she says, unsure of what to answer. "Okay," she repeats while standing from her former position in the floor, as if assuring herself.
Fugaku gets up too, ready to leave the room, but seems to rethink it at the last moment and turns around to face her again. He shifts his weight and frowns, then awkwardly lifts one arm.
Reishi is... confused, at first, then she understands the gesture and tries very hard not to laugh at this awkward, awkward man. She closes the space between them and snuggles to Fugaku's side, feeling his arm wrap around her shoulders and give her two clumsy pats for reassurance. It's good that she hit a growth spurt a month ago or so, because it would have been weird to just hug his leg.
At least the pit of blackness in her gut seems to be receding to a small spot, barely noticeable if you don't know that it's there in the first place, and the beast goes back to sleep for now.
"You are so bad at this, old man," she says, her voice muffled by his clothes. She feels him snort.
She hasn't seen Obito for a while now. Well, she saw him on Thursday and the rift between them almost seemed nonexistent with how thrilled he was at having graduated and at being in the same team as Rin ('can you believe it?! Rin! This is the best day ever!'), but his team started training together that very Friday and they had also trained together during the weekend so she hadn't been able to train with him on Sunday as always.
She guesses that now that they both have their own teams, it's normal to train with their teammates, but she still wishes that she had a moment to go find him and figure out a new schedule so they can see each other. She misses that stupid idiot already.
It's not like she herself has much spare time though, she is supposed to start training and doing missions with her team daily from now on, so she doesn't know when she would be able to sneak out.
Speaking of the devil, if she doesn't hurry up she will be late for her first training session with her own team. She doesn't know why Shikaku wanted to wait until Monday to start, probably because he's a lazy asshole, she figures.
She is the last one to arrive to training ground 3, though she's barely late, more like the rest were too damn early. She can't blame them for being eager though.
"Yo, Reishi!" Ibiki waves at her the moment he spots her, making her wince at his lack of an inside voice. How this boy will manage to get into T&I, she doesn't know. He's as loud as it gets.
"Reishi-san," greets Shirakumo when she lands near them. "Good morning."
"Morning," she says absent-mindedly. She takes a few moments to scan the training ground in search of the garbage pile that is supposed to be her sensei, but she doesn't see him anywhere. She quirks an eyebrow. "Sensei?" she simply asks. Ibiki shrugs.
"He hasn't arrived yet," provides Shirakumo. Reishi hums.
It isn't long before Shikaku arrives, yawning miserably and muttering something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like he's insulting whoever invented mornings. The boys greet him enthusiastically and he winces. Reishi hopes he has a massive hangover. Petty, she knows, but imagining his suffering still makes her feel better, so she doesn't particularly care.
"Alright team, gather around," he says, sitting on a rock nearby and flipping open a green folder. "We're going to talk about your performance on the test; what you did well and what you didn't. Who wants to start?"
The three genin sit in a circle around him, feeling like they're in an improvised classroom. Ibiki's hand shoots up so fast that Reishi fears for a moment that he has dislodged his shoulder. Shikaku nods and flips a few sheets until he finds the one he's looking for.
"Alright... We'll start with you then. Generally, all of you did very well in the stealth part, you did it by the book so there's not much to talk about in that regard, what you need now is practice. What we will be talking about is the second part of the test. Okay?"
Two 'yes, sensei' resonate around Shikaku, Reishi just stares blankly, apparently waiting for him to start talking. He sighs, of course it wouldn't be that easy.
"Ibiki, you were too forceful on your questioning, you can't just start asking as soon as you face the mole. You need to be more patient than that or you'll just get a kunai to the face. The key in interrogations where the subject can escape at any moment is to make them believe that they have the upper-hand."
Ibiki frowns. "But if I don't ask questions how am I supposed to get information?"
"You let them talk until they become careless and say something useful," he uses the folder to point at Reishi, startling her. "She did a good job on that, she gave the target evasive answers and let them reach their own conclusions and answer in kind. If you keep your answers vague enough their subconscious will do the job for you," he explains, Ibiki nods thoughtfully.
In the pause that follows, Shirakumo rises his hand. "I would like to be next, sensei."
"I think you already know what you did wrong though," Shikaku says with a small smirk.
Shirakumo purses his lips and frowns, his ears take a reddish hue. "I attacked the target as soon as he discovered me..."
"Yes, and that lead to him escaping. I know that the ideal situation would be to capture the target to later interrogate them in a controlled enviroment, but sometimes we don't have that luxury." At Shirakumo's crestfallen expression, he adds, "however, you were able to see your mistake for yourself, so that is already some progress. We can make mistakes, the problem would be not learning from them."
Finally, Shikaku turns to address Reishi. "Ikotsu-san, your turn. What do you think you did wrong in your test?"
Huh? She didn't thought she had done anything wrong.
'I already have a family, thank you.'
Reishi is hit by a wave of realization.
"I let the enemy get under my skin and unknowingly gave away personal information," she says remembering the clipped tone with which she delivered that phrase, "and they used that against me."
Shikaku nods. "Exactly," he says, but he doesn't elaborate on it. His eyes tell her that they both know what she is thinking about. She is glad that he decided against talking about that with her teammates present, and at the same time mad that he has information about her he can use somehow. She knows that he isn't going to blackmail her with it, this isn't about that, but she still hates that he has the possibility.
Shikaku claps twice to get their attention, and she snaps back from her contemplative stupor. When she rises her gaze, her eyes meet with Ibiki's. He looks at her, then at Shikaku and then back at her, rising his eyebrows in a silent question. Reishi shakes her head and he shrugs, she doesn't think he will drop it so easily.
"Alright, let's see what you guys can do. You're all going to spar with me in turns, don't worry about hurting me, go all in. I want to see all of your tricks, even the cards in your sleeves. Everything, understood?"
The first one this time is Shirakumo. Thanks to his kenjutsu he is the best of them at hand to hand combat; even if Ibiki is physically stronger and has a better stamina, Shirakumo isn't far behind. This, coupled with a level of agility to rival Reishi's own, makes him a formidable opponent. For another genin, that is.
Shikaku is able to parry all his strikes with a kunai, making it look effortless. Sweat beads start to drop from Shirakumo's temples, and Reishi is sure that his forehead would be full of them if it wasn't for the hitai-ate. All in all, Shikaku overpowers him easily and Shirakumo lets himself drop beside her, too exhausted to care about being appropriate or polite. Reishi throws her water bottle at him and he nods at her gratefully.
Next up is Ibiki, his stile is less straightforward, using clones upon clones to confuse Shikaku and constantly trading places with a few kunai he threw at the beginning of the battle. Reishi hadn't known why had he thrown them at first, but she was surprised by how cunning Ibiki could be when his plan was apparent. Still, using the substitution with an object as small as that one takes a huge chunk of chakra, so she is surprised by how many times he is able to use it before exhausting his reserves. It looks like out of the three genin Ibiki is the one with more chakra, which makes sense, knowing that one of his main jutsus is a summon contract of some sorts (it's the only one she has seen that doesn't summon living creatures though).
Speaking of which, Ibiki slaps his hand on the ground and trails of ink sprouts from his touch; three chains shoot out of the earth trying to trap Shikaku, to no avail. Shikaku flickers away and looks surprised at the construction, he probably wasn't expecting a genin to have a summoning contract already.
Ibiki yields between taking big gulps of air, apparently that was his last shot.
Reishi is last, which is the best position because Shikaku is bound to be at least a little tired by now, even if he is a jōnin. Well, to be fair, two genin don't make much of a difference against a jōnin, but it's better than nothing.
Reishi decides that trying to fight him head on is a waste of her time, so the first thing she does when he announces the start of the spar is to cloak the training ground in black smoke. She has been practising to make it denser and has a mask made out of cloth to make the breathing easier. She is pleased to feel his chakra spike out of surprise while she puts on said mask, it's a pity that she hasn't figured out how to see in it yet because his face must be priceless. What she is better at though, is at throwing inside the smoke.
Two senbon soar towards Shikaku and she smiles wider than ever when she hears a yelp and two clangs of metal. He has been fast enough to deflect them but at least she has managed to throw him off even if only for a few minutes. Besides, there are no shadows in the smoke.
Soon, it becomes obvious that she can't land a hit on him despite the terrible visibility, and everytime he gets close enough to attack her she slips out of his grasp like the smoke itself. If the smoke could last forever, it would be a draw, however, it soon dissipates and Reishi finds herself forced to yield just as Ibiki had minutes ago.
"How did you know where I was and when I was throwing my senbon inside the smoke?" she asks while removing her mask.
Shikaku coughs a little and tries to wave at the remaining smoke. "Senbon are good for stealth because their shape doesn't disturb the air around it like kunai or shuriken do. Your sleeves, on the other hand..." he trails off. "Why didn't you use your wakizashi?" he asks, curious, pointing at the weapon strapped on her back.
"I only got it recently and barely have trained with it."
Shikaku nods at the explanation. "Do you have a mentor?"
Reishi cocks her head to the side, wondering if Bear counts. "A friend offered to practice with me once a week."
"That isn't enough," Shikaku frowns. "I'll pair you up in kenjutsu spars with Shirakumo, only wooden swords for now though. Alright?" he asks, looking at Shirakumo. It seems like Reishi doesn't have a say in the matter, though it's not like she would say no either.
Shirakumo gives Reishi a small bow, having recovered his breath and with it his formal demeanor."It will be my pleasure."
"That's taken care of then," mutters Shikaku, taking a gulp of water and grimacing. He is probably still tasting the smoke in the back of his throat.
They spend the rest of the morning learning the tree climbing technique and Ibiki is way too amused at Reishi's incompetence. For all their training, this is the one thing that Fugaku was never able to cram into her head.
After some unsuccessful practising, her tree is so mangled that she can barely look at it without feeling pity. She saw Shikaku actually wince looking at it.
"You know," says Ibiki while thoughtfully staring at her work. "You could try to climb your enemies..."
His expression is serious, so Reishi can't tell if he is mocking her or if he is really suggesting she try to climb people, but she absent-mindedly hurls a chunk of bark in his direction for good measure.
"She would peel their skin off," chimes in Shirakumo, grimacing at the mental image.
Ibiki turns at him with a grin. "Exactly."
Reishi frowns. "Do you think that would count as psychological warfare? I mean, imagine-"
"Children, please, don't be creepy," pleads Shikaku from his spot a few meters away. He sighs exasperated, mutters something under his breath about sadistic genin nowadays, and walks to where they are. "You keep using too much chakra," he says, contemplating the now bark-less tree. A sad drop of sap slowly forms on its surface, as if crying from the mistreatment. "Also maybe you should try with another tree."
"I know!" Reishi gestures at the base of the tree, which doesn't seem as peeled off as the rest. "I start okay but then I keep telling myself that I have to compensate for the gravity and shit and I keep increasing the amount of chakra subconsciously," she explains, exasperated.
Shikaku frowns. "You don't have to increase the chakra the farthest you are from the ground..."
"The human brain understands that, the monkey brain doesn't," she snaps back. She can hear Ibiki and Shirakumo, who had gone back to trying to climb the trees, gasp behind her. Shikaku's frown deepens.
"Snapping at your sensei-"
"Having a pack of children following you around doesn't make you a sensei," she interrupts. "Knowing how to teach does."
There are a few beats of silence in which he observes her, turning some kind of puzzle piece around in his head, before he speaks again. "I'm still trying to understand what went wrong with your upbringing," he states, more like this is something that he has been asking himself than an insult.
Reishi is offended nonetheless. "My mom didn't hug me as a child," she says in a mocking tone. She has to admit that her fuse is shorter around Shikaku and that, were he any other person, she probably wouldn't be acting as a spoiled brat.
"You should write a list and send it to me," he says sarcastically. She is surprised to see him stoop at her level of pettiness, then again, this Shikaku isn't the same as the adult one. This one is younger, just as intelligent but not as wise yet.
"I thought you liked playing therapy, sensei," she answers, her voice mockingly sweet.
For a moment she expects him to snap back or something, but instead he closes his eyes and takes a calming breath. When he seems to have calmed down, he speaks again. "Try not to think that you're going up, just forget that there's directions. Wherever you decide to set your foot on is your new down and the rest of the world's gravity shifts with it. Just take a moment to convince yourself and then try climbing the tree again, alright? From what I can understand, what you have is a mental block, not difficulty controlling the chakra, so this should work well enough."
Reishi sees him walk back to his spot, thrown off by his sudden change of heart. She is a bit disappointed at not being able to argue with him further, and also a bit disappointed that he isn't as much of a dick as she expected him to be. The advice isn't half bad either, so she huffs and sits cross-legged at the base of the tree. Meditation always helps.
She tries not to think about the chakra around her this time, just on the sensation of floating, of being suspended in a void. When she tries the nest time, she can climb the tree just fine.
.
.
.
.
Bonus Scene (because I want the chapter to leave in that last note but also I have no fucking clue how to insert this shit in the next chapter. Wtf, it's so short. What do you want from me):
"You have beef with the sensei," is the first thing that comes out of Ibiki's mouth when he catches up to her after training. Shirakumo is trailing behind him, a mild frown in place. Reishi huffs and keeps jumping from roof to roof, but otherwise she doesn't deny it. The argument from before was pretty obvious after all.
"He calls you 'Ikotsu-san', he doesn't do that with any of us," he continues. "Besides, I've never seen you snap like that with anyone, is this about the test? Did something happen?"
"Why do you think it's about the test?" comes Shirakumo's voice, curious, behind her.
"She was fine with him when we met him, she started being annoyed with him after the test. That and he didn't talk about her mistake in the test like he did with ours, which means that he was avoiding the subject on some level," explains Ibiki.
Ibiki runs until he is beside her. "What did the guy tempt you with?" he asks. Reishi stops, making them outrun her and have to come back.
"I don't want to talk about it, It's personal."
"But-" Whatever Ibiki was going to say is interrupted by Sirakumo.
"I think that if Reishi-san was hurt enough by it to snap at our sensei, then we should respect her privacy," he says. Ibiki frowns, but doesn't make another attempt at asking.
I would like to clarify that I'm not trying to bash Shikaku's character (he's one of my favourites tbh) and that I am aware of his OOCness, this Shikaku is younger and I have decided that when he was younger he was kind of dickish. Mostly because flat characters are boring and I want to write how he starts from this and becomes the man we know and love.
Also, yes, Reishi is being a bit of a brat. This is the first person she has encountered that she truly hates though, so...