Chouji had never been the kind to sneak away from his house when his mother had asked him to complete a chore before he went out with his friends. But Kuzu was here. And Kiba was yelling at him to hurry up, because they still had to get Sakura and if they didn't, Kuzu would get away and they couldn't let him leave again without a proper goodbye!
(That name didn't sound awesome enough for the old man. Kiba said that it most probably was some kind of fake name to hide his true identity. But Kiba had also created a whole convoluted back story for the old man- one that involved allegiances to multiple Villages, a great showdown against various Kage, and multiple near death experiences-, so Chouji wasn't completely prepared to believe some of the things he said about the man.)
Instead of watering the plants and feeding the chickens like he usually did during the mornings, Chouji rushed through getting dressed so he could run out of his home and follow after Kiba and get Sakura. And even though he normally would stop to eat some food, all he had time to grab was one of those breakfast bars his father would take with him on missions before he was off.
He ran after his excited friend with sleep slowly leaving his eyes and his stomach growling in protest over not having been able to be fed anything before taking part in any kind of rigorous activity.
"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" He asked in a slight pant as he followed after Kiba, "I know it's the weekend, but we've still got chores to do!"
"Of course it's a good idea! Chores can get finished any time; the Old Man, though, isn't someone we see every day." Kiba promised, "But we have to hurry and get Sakura! Kuzu isn't big on patience and I'm not letting him leave again without saying bye to him!"
Chouji did his best to keep his pace with Kiba- which was much easier now than when they had first become friends almost two whole years ago- and when they got to Sakura's house, he was allowed a slight reprieve as the Inuzuka banged on Sakura's front door.
"Sakura! Sakura! Sakura!"
It took a couple of seconds to get any sort of answer. But when the door opened, it wasn't the pinked haired person they were expecting. Instead, it was the pink haired man that happened to be their friend's father.
Chouji liked the man. He was kind and always offered them foreign candy whenever he returned from his business trips.
But right now, he looked less than pleased to see them.
"What in the world are you two doing looking for my daughter at five in the morning?" He groaned in a sleep laden voice, immediately making Chouji regret having allowed Kiba to drag him with him.
He wasn't a big expert on adults, but he was sure that they weren't the kind that enjoyed being woken up at such an early hour by the friends of their only daughter.
"We need to finish homework quick! Sakura's my only saving grace, sir!" Kiba whined, sounding both honest and genuinely distraught.
How the Inuzuka was able to say such convincing lies, Chouji still couldn't understand…
"And why didn't you work on this ye-"
"Because I was helping mom around the house the whole day, daddy."
Chouji smiled as soon as Sakura's head popped in from beneath the splayed out arms that belonged to her father. Both of his hands were holding onto both sides of the doorframe, a stance that would have most probably stopped someone his height. But not Sakura, she was much too short to be affected by his position. And she managed to squeeze past his right leg, sending him a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, I'll be safe. Chouji and Kiba are both good kids."
Her father's green eyes were wide and completely shocked. It must have been because Sakura was already completely dressed, and was even ready to leave, seeing how she also had a large bag slung over her right shoulder- resting on top of her left hip- and a healthy apple in her hand.
"Bye, daddy." She waved at her father before skipping down the stairs and smiling at both boys. "Let's go."
"Yeah! Let's go!"
Kiba had run off before he'd even finished screaming. And Chouji and Sakura quickly followed after him, both wearing smiles of pure joy and excitement.
As they ran behind their friend, Chouji decided to ask what he knew both he and Kiba were wondering, "Hey, Sakura, how'd you get dressed so quickly?"
Sakura looked at him for a couple of seconds with a confused look on her face, then giggled softly and turned back to look in front of her. "I could see you two running to come get me from a mile away. As soon as I saw two little kids running in my direction, I knew it was you two, so I started dressing." Then she patted at her bag, a large smile on her face, "And I packed breakfast for you two."
"You're awesome, Sakura!" Chouji cheered.
"Good job, Pinkie." Kiba nodded, offering a cool smirk over his shoulder before he focused in front of him to lead them towards the Old Man.
Kiba and Chouji running up to her home at an unusual hour was no longer strange. At first, it had been extremely weird and she'd been apprehensive about following them wherever it was that they wanted to go; especially so early in the morning. But after a couple of escapades in the middle of the night or the early hours of morning that had all ended in pure awesomeness, Sakura had begun to prepare for these very adventures.
Every night, she'd make sure to leave a bag filled with enough food for all three of them hanging off of her dining room table and that she had picked out the best kind of clothes for running. Most mornings- when she woke up normally without having to worry about adventures-, she took the food with her to give the boys during the day and she wore the clothes she'd picked out. Running was an everyday occurrence when one was friends with Kiba Inuzuka, after all, so she wasn't really misusing her wardrobe by doing such a thing.
Her planning ahead, though, always proved to serve her for the better whenever Kiba and Chouji sporadically showed up with excited looks on their faces.
Today, she'd woken up earlier than usual because her body had decided to wake up before either of her parents. It was odd to wake up so early, but she hadn't minded too much because she had managed to fall asleep rather early the past night. And she'd chanced a look out of her window just for the heck of it, only to find two silhouettes racing over to her home in the dim sunlight that barely shined over Konoha at this hour.
As soon as she'd seen them, Sakura had jumped away from her window, rushed to get dressed, brushed her hair and teeth, and ran down to the first floor of her home to grab her food bag.
She didn't know why they were running. But she had a hunch that it had to do with the Old Man. Especially after the little gift she'd found on her drawer last night.
With a small smile, the pinkette chanced a glance down at her left wrist. The bracelet was a simple leather one, but it was beautiful. And the bloodstone in its very center was a perfect match for the necklace she now proudly wore front and center at most times.
On Kiba's wrist, she could see a bracelet as well, although this one seemed more frayed than her own. And on Chouji's, she could see another, much thicker one.
Even though Kuzu had denied ever having been the one to gift them the necklaces with the green rocks, they had all known that it had been him. He may have said that he would never waste money on anything, but Sakura was more than sure that he loved them a bit more than he tried to let on.
The targets they had all mysteriously received a little more than a year ago were even harder to connect to the Old Man. But there was no doubt in the mind of any of them- Kuzu was too awesome to believe!
When Kiba began to slow down, Sakura slowed her own steps as well. And when they reached the edge of the forest they frequented whenever they ate with Kuzu, she was able to see a tall silhouette wrapped up in a dark cloak glaring at them all.
"Kuzu!" She gasped in surprised joy, "You're here!"
The man glared over at her, but Sakura didn't shirk away from him. She had gotten to know him rather well over the last few years. And if there was one thing she was certain of, it was that if he didn't love them to some degree, he would never put up with them. So, if he did put up with them, then he did love them… To some degree, yes, but it was still love!
"You were going to leave us again, weren't you?" Kiba questioned with a hiss as he walked over to the man and Sakura could just hear the frown in his voice. He didn't even sound winded!
All the while, Chouji and she were huffing softly to try and catch their breath.
"Dude! Why do you insist on staying away from us?"
"You kids are foolish and idiotic brats." The man sounded as if he were lamenting softly, but they just walked up to him with identical smiles on their faces. "It's too early for you to even be awake. How did you know where to look for me?"
"I've gotten better at tracking down your scent." Kiba declared proudly as he stopped in front of the man, hands planted on his hips. "And we figured out your pattern. Sometimes you appear to stay for days. Other times, you only stay a night. You only stayed the night."
Kuzu glared down at him with unamused eyes.
But Sakura knew she could see glint of pride within those green eyes.
"Breakfast time!" She announced, throwing her bag open. "It's the most important meal of the day and running after Kuzu is no excuse; we all need to eat breakfast."
Kiba groaned immediately, "What are you, my mother?" But Sakura wasn't deterred by the reaction, seeing how it was the same one that Kiba always used whenever she offered them food during their escapades.
Even with the reluctance, the Inuzuka accepted the sandwich offered to him, which was one that was wrapped up in napkins and had his name written neatly on it.
"Thank you, Sakura." Chouji smiled kindly as he took his own sandwich, which was much more stuffed than Kiba's own.
But when she looked down at her bag, Sakura noticed that she'd only packed three sandwiches. And there were four people right now… She'd never packed for Kuzu… She had never found herself needing to… Would she have to give up the apple she'd brought along to snack on later?
"I already ate."
She looked up at Kuzu's sudden growl and found him looking down at her with those intense green eyes. It was weird for him to look at her so intensely… But Sakura had a hunch as to why…
Nodding softly, she plucked out her own sandwich from her bag, smiled at the apple that was now nestled peacefully in the corner, closed the flap, and began to unwrap her food.
"So, where're you off to now?" Kiba asked over his only ham filled sandwich, making Kuzu look down at him.
"Don't eat with your mouth full." The man scolded, but then sighed as he crossed his arms. "If you must know, I'm going to Sunagakure. Money's good over there now."
"So business has been doing well?" Sakura questioned curiously, only to then furrow her eye brows, "Or has it been bad enough that you've had to travel a lot?"
"Good. And it's taking me there." He informed, but soon sighed and asked, "Did you kids seriously run out of your homes just to say goodbye to me? In the middle of the morning? Don't you have school today?"
"Yeah." Chouji answered as Sakura chewed on her first bite, "Yes. School's tomorrow, though. But you're important to us, Kuzu."
"'Sides, we've got contingency plans." Kiba let the man know, "If we do too much today, we just don't go to school tomorrow. Fake sick and everything."
Sakura kept the fact that they had never actually tried faking a sickness before to herself. Instead, she just allowed the Old Man to think about whatever it was he was mulling on. Then, after he had chosen on what to say, he spoke up with an unimpressed scowl.
"You're supposed to go." Kuzu deadpanned, which received slight shrugs from all three of them.
"We learn more from you when you choose to appear." Sakura told him in complete honesty, "Your way of teaching is much cooler. And Kiba teaches us what his clan teaches him about taijutsu, so we're all pretty much ahead of the class right now."
"And because of Sakura's brain, we're all getting mostly straight A's." Chouji just about cheered, making Sakura's cheeks become dusted in pink, "School's more like a chore than something we need at this point."
Kuzu didn't look amused at all with their words. But he didn't argue with them. Instead, he simply asked, "So you're basically offering to do anything I want for the day? Just as long as I spend time with you? Did I get that right?"
"Yup!" They all chorused immediately.
Sakura's heart was pounding loudly in her chest but she couldn't wipe off the broad smile on her face.
Her friends were awesome. Kuzu was amazing. And, really, it's not like their adventure could leave them so tired that they wouldn't want to go back to school tomorrow.
Kiba's home life had recently begun to sour even more. It had been shit before. But now it was mega shit. So whenever he found the chance to escape from his family to hang out with his pack, he took the chance.
Finding a pattern to Kuzu's movements had not been easy. It had taken all of their heads to even begin to understand how he moved. And after that, they'd been forced to remember every single time the old man had appeared in Konoha and they had known about it. It had been even more difficult when they took into account the times he had visited without them having found out.
He'd also gotten better at finding the old man's scent. It was a scent that differed greatly from many of the people inside of Konoha. So, once Kiba had managed to find the specific smells that separated it from the rest, it had become much easier to follow him.
Hunting the old man down was preparing him for a life in tracking! And his parents thought he was wasting his days by running around with Pork Chop and Pinkie!
Anyway, when he'd figured out the old man would most probably be showing up during these days, he'd kept his nose alert so he could sniff him out. And the moment he'd smelled the old man's scent inside of his room and a new trinket on his torn up desk, he'd begun to get dressed so he could chase after the quick man.
Grabbing Chouji and Sakura was second nature by this point. They were always more than eager to follow him whenever it dealt with the Old Man. And he valued their company enough to actively want to be around them.
Besides, the earlier he was hanging out with these two, the faster he could forget all about how horribly his life at home had spun out of control.
"You truly are insane brats…" The old man sounded as if he was softly lamenting the fact, but Kiba didn't really care about it.
The new bracelet decorating his wrist weighed on him with pride and happiness. It was the third gift he'd received from the old man, even though Kuzu insisted on refusing the fact that he had been the one to give them the other two things. And because he insisted on denying the true origins of those gifts, Kiba knew that it would be futile to try and ask him where he had gotten this from. He knew the true scent that had brought him this gift, that's all that mattered in the end.
"Just a tiny bit." He shrugged happily, then asked, "What're we going to do today?"
The man took a moment to breathe in and think. During those few seconds, Kiba chanced a look at both his friends.
Sakura's hair was longer now, but so were his and Chouji's. It reached to her shoulders now and needed to be clipped back with some butterfly looking clips Chouji had given her on her eighth birthday (If they had been given to her by anyone else, Kiba would have told her to drop them; but seeing how he actually respected Chouji, he respected the rather girly gift). She'd gotten taller too, but was still shorter than both him and Chouji. And she had forgone her style of decorative and nice looking clothes from some time ago and now dressed mostly in shorts and t-shirts, seeing how she was always active now. But she always kept a jacket wrapped around her waist, just in case they wound up some place cold. Seeing how her arms and legs were always exposed and was rather skinny, she got colder faster than either him or Pork Chop.
That was a fact Kiba was proud of. Because of him, Sakura and Chouji were now the third and fourth best athletes in the class. They were only behind him and Sasuke because of extremely obvious reasons. Although, for equally obvious reasons, Sasuke had recently been lagging behind, and this had allowed both of his friends to pick up his slack.
Chouji, on the other hand, was taller than him now. Seeing how big his father was, Kiba wasn't surprised to find out that Chouji would grow up to be huge. Although it still chagrined him slightly whenever they stood side by side and Chouji was only a millimeter taller than him. His own style hadn't changed much, but that was because he'd always worn pants that ended at his shins and comfortable shirts. Unlike Sakura, who favored pinks, reds, purples, and blues in her clothes and tried her best to never look as she had the day before, Chouji preferred green in his clothes.
Right now Sakura wore a short sleeved red shirt, purple sandals, her necklace and brand new bracelet as accessories, and a pair of black shorts. Today's jacket was a beige color, kind of like Kiba's own favored jacket. Chouji's shirt was light green, the vest he always wore was dark green, and his pants were olive. That kid really liked his greens… He too wore the necklace and bracelet gifted to him, though.
Their clothes didn't have holes in them. Sure, they weren't new anymore, but they'd seen their wear and tear and still didn't look completely old. Kiba wasn't sure when they had been bought, but he knew it had been not too long ago.
He didn't want to look down at his clothes. They were handed down from his older cousin and sister, had holes and sewed on patches all around, and the only thing that brought him any kind of pride was the big jacket he wore that was able to cover up most of those imperfections.
"Have you three ever been taken out of the Village?"
"A couple of times." Chouji answered with a small shrug, "Nothing big."
"One time daddy took me with him during his job… We didn't get too far, though. And it was just that one time." Sakura informed in that quick tone of hers that always lost its speed the more she spoke.
At first, Kiba had been annoyed by that quirk of hers. Now he just considered it purely Sakura. So he didn't mind it- although he didn't love it too much either.
With a nonchalant shrug, Kiba crossed his arms over his chest and looked away from the old man and his friends.
He'd been out of the Village many times before. But those had been times that were extremely bittersweet to him. On one hand, he'd been able to explore the forests of the Land of Fire without anyone barking in his ears about proper forms or shit. But, on the other, they'd been times in which he'd been completely forgotten by his family, which had been the reason why he had been able to go so far without getting in trouble.
"Lot more times than Chouji." He supplied eventually, refusing to look over at any of his pack.
He knew Kuzu would be looking at him with those disappointed and annoyed eyes he always put on whenever Kiba said anything. He just knew it. And he didn't want to look at the man judging him. Not right now.
"Alright… Well, I need to start making my way to Suna. You brats won't leave me alone; the Inuzuka will just follow me with his nose," Kiba smiled proudly at this bit and nodded for it was completely true; even though the smile was not as broad as it could have been; "So let's strike a deal: We'll get out of Konoha and see some sights. But when I tell you to leave, you come back here."
Without even thinking about whatever might happen while they were outside, Kiba jumped forward with a broad smile and thrust his hand over at the old man, "You've got a deal, Kuzu!"
Getting out of Konoha had been much less exciting than Chouji had thought it would have been. And he was pretty sure that it shouldn't have been so easy. Well, it should not have been so easy if Konoha's security really was as good as he kept hearing his dad's friends talking about.
There was a tunnel by the edge of their favorite area of Konoha that Kiba and Kuzu led them towards. It was a tunnel Chouji was sure shouldn't have been there, but, well, at least they were going out of the village.
He knew he shouldn't go. He was aware of all of the trouble in which they might end up in if they actually left the Village and got into trouble outside. And he knew that his parents would be disappointed if they ever found out about him leaving the Village to hang out with a person they believed was fictitious and his friends.
If they ever found out.
The small voice in the back of his head sounded suspiciously like Kiba, but Chouji chose to ignore that fact. Instead, he chose to take the words at face value. If they found out- chances were that they wouldn't. So, if they wouldn't find out about what he had done, how much trouble could he possibly get into?
He must have been spending too much time around Kiba and Sakura… Those two were the ones that twisted words to make bad plans sound awesome. He was simply the one that chose to tag along because he loved his friends enough to do so.
Sure, Shikamaru might have to spend today with Ino. But those two needed to make friends already if they really were going to be the next Ino-Shika-Cho team up. Even though Shikamaru didn't hate Ino, he sure didn't try to make friends with her. So not having Chouji around to distract him may just be exactly what he needed!
Yeah! That was a good thought! Besides, they weren't doing anything important in class right now and they always got good grades now because Sakura always helped him and Kiba out with whatever confused them. And the old man's own recounting of history (although much more grandiose and amazing than what they were taught in school) sure helped them stay focused during most classes. So it wasn't like their adventure being too tiring would actually harm them in school.
The only class in which he and Kiba readily struggled was math. They both hated math. Even though Sakura actually really liked it. But that was okay, because she always helped them pick up their own slack.
As they walked behind Kuzu- Sakura's eyes wide in complete amazement, Chouji's own slightly widened as he took in his new surroundings, and Kiba with complete relaxation and no excitement whatsoever-, Chouji found himself smiling like a fool.
They weren't the kind of people that would normally be friends. But he, Kiba, and Sakura had all managed to become amazing friends. Amazing enough that Kiba actually called them a pack. And that must have been big if what his father had said was true. It was supposed to be an honor to be called a pack from an Inuzuka if one was an outsider.
Trees all around. That was all that Chouji could say to properly describe their surroundings. He'd been outside of Konoha before, but that had been using the main roads. And while those had also had trees surrounding them, he'd walked over dirt paths. This time around, they were walking over roots, ground that seemed to never have been stepped on before, and a couple of very unfortunate bugs.
"Hey, Kuzu…"
"Hn… What do you want, Pinkie?"
Chouji found himself smiling softly at the man's forced indifference. He still couldn't understand why Kuzu insisted on his hate for them. If he hated them, he wouldn't have left them gifts last night. And if he didn't like them, he certainly wouldn't be taking them out of Konoha.
"Why aren't we using the main exit?"
"Because I'm sneaking two clan kids and a civilian kid out of a Hidden Village where I do not live nor work in. This constitutes as a kidnapping."
"Seriously?" Kiba cut in with excitement, "Cool! I can say I was kidnapped!"
"Aw, Kuzu!" Sakura gushed immediately, skipping over all of the roots and rocks on the ground to dance around the tall man, "You're the nicest kidnapper ever! You even asked us if we wanted to go."
The man didn't answer her. Instead he grumbled softly. And Chouji swore that it sounded like 'Brats'. But he wasn't completely sure.
~/~
They walked quite a bit. Chouji wasn't sure of how long. But he knew that the sun had barely been seen when they'd met up with the old man. But by the time they reached his destination, a little town named Midori no Miro, the sun was already high in the sky and shining brightly.
"Where're we going, Kuzu?"
The old man grunted softly, but Kiba's question went otherwise unanswered.
The Inuzuka looked over at both Chouji and Sakura in curiosity, silently asking them if they had any idea. But if Kiba didn't know where they were going, Chouji was even more lost. Out of all of them, Kiba had been the one to leave the Village the most, after all. He'd seen more of the world outside of the giant walls that surrounded their Village. If he didn't know, how could anyone expect his less traveled friends would?
The town was full of all sorts of civilians walking around, either going to their jobs or just living their lives. Chouji was able to see some little kids running around with sticks in their hands, all the while the people he assumed to be their mothers were talking inside of a small eatery. Aside from that, he saw one big man that caught his eye. He was covered in muscles, with two large scars that ran over his chest in an interesting 'X', and a rather mean scowl on his face. But when he passed by the kids running around and one greeted him, he graced them with a warm smile that had them all giggling and muttering about how kind he was.
He'd always wondered, did Kuzu smile beneath that mask? He always seemed so serious… Kiba had once said that he thought that the old man didn't have the capacity to smile because he didn't have lips surrounding his mouth, which was the reason why he wore that mask. Sakura told him he was exaggerating and then said that Kuzu undoubtedly had lips, most probably did smile, but just not often.
"You already started your proper ninja training?" The man grunted, leaning his head down just slightly so he could look at Sakura.
It was an odd question. He had been around to give them the first pointers, after all… Maybe he was asking about them officially beginning their training?
"Yup." She nodded immediately, pointing a finger at Kiba, "We've got the best grades in the class now!" She beamed at him, which made him grunt softly.
"Only taijutsu? Have you not been taught anything in bukijutsu?"
"We can all throw stuff, if that's what you want to know." Kiba shrugged, "But we've learned most things from you."
Because of Kiba, he and Sakura were great close ranged fighters at this point. Whenever Iruka-Sensei threw his little tournaments where the winner would get to pick out a prize from the mystery box, they were usually always the finalists. And because they were such good friends, they would always give each other mostly fair chances of getting to the finals.
Last time, Kiba had 'lost' to Sasuke so the Uchiha could move to the semi-finals. But Sasuke had recently lost his touch in taijutsu, which Chouji couldn't truly judge when he took account what had happened to him, and he'd lost to Sakura. She and Chouji had then squared off in the Finals, much to Iruka-Sensei's dismay.
The man had wanted to scold them for months now for their supposed cheating. But he couldn't really, not when he didn't have enough evidence against their deciding the victors of the tournaments. Because there really wasn't much to find, not really; they were good fighters and always wound up beating their other classmates. It wasn't their fault, though, that sometimes Chouji would get the leg up on Kiba during the final round or Kiba didn't feel too good to be fighting Sakura.
Sakura had won that particular bout and she'd gotten a set of practice kunai for that victory. The last time Kiba had won, he'd earned two blank notebooks, which he'd then given to Sakura because he would never use them. Conversely, Sakura gave him the kunai because she knew that he would use them more. The last time Chouji had won, he'd received a book about the First and Second Hokage's lives, which he and Sakura read out loud from time to time to get Kiba to learn about the men that had founded their Village.
Kiba was the best at throwing kunai; Sakura wasn't a big fan of it even though she was actually rather good at it, while Chouji was average.
"Got any money on you?"
This question was weird.
They all patted at their pockets. Chouji wasn't sure why the other two did; he only did so out of hopes that maybe he had some change inside of them. But he didn't.
"Mm-mm." He shook his head, only for Sakura and Kiba to follow suit.
On regular, non-school days, they would have money. They would always grow hungry by lunch time because of all the running they did, so they would usually buy something to eat. If they didn't, they would go to either Sakura or Chouji's houses to ask for food. But on school days, they would pack their own lunches. They wouldn't have need for any money. Especially because they would usually be able to run back home after school was over if they wanted to buy anything.
"Alright." Kuzu nodded to himself, then pointed over at a small shop that was only just being opened now by its shop keeper. "Today I will teach you a valuable shinobi skill that I assure you is not taught in your little Academy."
Chouji quirked an eyebrow at this, confused and beginning to grow worried.
The only skill he could think of that entailed shops, zero money, and anything remotely ninja-like was one that could get them all in trouble.
"Time for you to steal your weapons."
Chouji immediately paled.
Much to his dismay, Kiba cheered.
"What? Kuzu, you can't teach us that!" Sakura immediately began to argue, even though it earned her a sharp glare from her Inuzuka friend. "It's not ethical! It's not right! We're supposed to be honest-"
"Ninja are anything but honest, Pinkie." Kuzu cut her off with that sharp growl that let her know there was no room for arguing. "Ninja are devious and quiet. They do everything and anything they have to do to finish a mission. And one type of mission you will undoubtedly be sent on at one point in your life will be one that requires you to steal some sort of item- a document or artifact- from your enemies. So, no, thievery is not something ninja don't take part in."
For a couple of seconds, Sakura only stared up at the large man with a slightly gaping mouth. Then she breathed out, "Wow… I think that's the most you've ever talked, Kuzu."
With a sharp glare down at her, Kuzu corralled them towards an alley between two large buildings so they couldn't be heard. Then he told them to sit down, which all of them quickly did. In turn, the man picked up a crate that had been lying against the wall and sat down on it, pulling out a paper from inside of his sleeve… Did he always carry paper in there?
"Stealing is a delicate, important skill all shinobi need. And because I know that your Academy will not teach you this, I've decided to be gracious enough to teach it to you."
Sakura wanted to ask him if he'd planned for this to happen. But before she could even wonder if she should raise her arm to ask- because Kuzu sounded a lot like Iruka-Sensei again and he hated to be interrupted whenever he sounded like this-, he was speaking again.
"The first step to stealing is to find something you want." Upon saying this, the man showed them the piece of paper he'd produced from his sleeve, "It can be anything- a piece of paper, a trinket, even food. But you cannot steal anything if there's nothing to steal." After saying this, he rolled up the paper, although he continued to speak, "The second step is to identify the danger surrounding the target."
The more the man talked, the more Sakura grew sure of stealing really being a ninja art. Like, it made sense. Ninja were supposed to be silent killers. And they had enemies that they would need to gather intelligence on. So it would only make sense that, sometimes, ninja would have to steal documents from their enemies to be able to protect themselves.
Yeah… Stealing did sound like something ninja could do…
With the paper rolled up, the old man placed it down on the floor beside him, "An object far from its owner is much easier to take," Now he leaned down and grabbed it again, only nestle it between the crate and his leg, "than one right beside said owner."
Sakura hung off of every word. She was so busy learning from Kuzu- she just loved learning from this man, he was such a good teacher- that she didn't even try and see if either of her friends were paying attention. Usually, in school, she would have to smack Kiba so he paid attention and quietly remind Chouji that drawing should be left to after school instead of in the middle of class. But she was so intrigued by the man's lesson that she didn't think of either of her friends.
"Identifying the danger also means figuring out if the owner is the right sort of person you would like to catch you stealing. Even though your ultimate object is to steal without getting caught, there is always the possibility of being spotted. And the things an old lady whose purse you're stealing would do to you are completely different to what a person like me would do." To emphasize this point, he growled as he pointed as his chest.
Sakura found herself swallowing softly, deciding that, in fact, she would never want to get caught stealing from someone like Kuzu. Not even from Kuzu himself. Even though he liked them, she was sure he wouldn't take too kindly to them trying to steal from him.
… Did he even have anything they could steal? She'd never actually seen him carrying anything… The scroll would be the first thing she'd ever seen him carrying around.
"The third step to stealing is to plot out your steps and make sure there is an escape route in case you get spotted. You can't go straight up to the item to steal it; that'll draw the owner's attention." Kuzu now crossed his arms over his chest, "You've got to be smart and use deception and timing to get what you want."
That made sense. Going right up to what you wanted might be the quickest route… But Sakura was sure that only dumb people tried to take the quick route when they were doing something like stealing.
"And, finally, the last step is to go through with that plan, take what you want without getting caught, and getting away before the owner even finds out that they've been the victim of a crime."
The last bit made Sakura feel somewhat queasy. Because she didn't want to be a criminal… Wasn't it part of the ninja life to steal? If it was, why did Kuzu still call it a crime?
"Inuzuka!"
"Yeah!"
"You've got experience stealing."
Sakura blinked at the bluntness of the expression, then turned to look at Kiba with curiosity. She'd never heard about him stealing anything. But from the sly smile on his lips, Sakura could tell that he had, in fact, earned some experience in the ninja skill.
"You could say that, yeah." Kiba nodded slightly, only to ask, "Why'd ya wanna know?"
"Stand up." Kuzu commanded, which Kiba immediately did.
The man grabbed the piece of paper he had rolled up, pulled Kiba towards him, and stuck the paper inside of his jacket pocket. Once he'd done that, he pushed Kiba back to where he had previously been standing. "Walk that way." He instructed, pointing to his left, which would make Kiba walk in front of him and his friends.
"Why?"
"Just do it."
Kiba frowned softly, but took a couple of steps in that direction. Sakura and Chouji both followed him as he walked. But when he stopped, they turned to look at the old man. Kiba managed to get as far as a few feet away from the people inside of the alley, then looked back at Kuzu with narrowed eyes. "What was that for?"
"You kids saw how I put the paper inside of his jacket?"
Both Chouji and Sakura nodded. Sakura was wondering where the old man could be going with this; they all seen him doing that.
"Where is it now?"
"In the jacket?" Chouji mumbled softly.
"Are you sure? Why don't you look?" The old man sounded proud, as if he'd managed to- no way!
Sakura looked over at Kiba's pocket, trying to find the paper she'd seen sticking out from his pocket. But she couldn't find it.
"What?" Kiba asked, eyes growing wide as he patted at his pockets, "I didn't feel nothing! How'd you take it?"
When Sakura looked back at the old man, it was to find him pulling out the paper from the same sleeve he'd taken it from the first time.
"When you want to steal something, it's intelligent to wear loose clothes that allow you to conceal it without it being obvious on your person." The man sounded as if he was smirking, which Sakura was sure he must have been doing at the moment.
She couldn't believe it. She hadn't even seen him move!
"Cool…" Both she and Chouji marveled, all the while Kiba ran up to him with wide eyes, "How'd you do that so fast?"
"Years of honing this specific skill." The man grunted, returning the paper to Kiba's pocket. "Pinkie, Pork Chop, it's your turn to practice."
Both of them froze up at suddenly being called, but the man stood up before they could say anything.
"If you feel anything, Inuzuka, hit them as hard as you can. Every single time you get caught, you risk losing your life. One smack is mere child's play when compared to that." He told them all before he turned around and away from the alley, "While you practice, I'm going to scout out the weapons store."
And he was gone before any of them could ask just how they were supposed to begin trying to steal.
They all remained there in the alley, surrounded by silence and the cold walls. But soon Kiba clapped his hands loudly, snapping them out of their stupor, "Time to start training, kiddos!"
The old man was so cool! He'd always known that he was awesome, but he'd literally had no idea that his awesomeness could go so far!
And, best yet, Kuzu knew that Kiba was a good thief.
Even though he knew his parents weren't too proud of this particular skill he'd already improved, Kiba couldn't help but glow in pride. Kuzu had decided he would be the one to gauge Sakura and Chouji's skills. That meant he was awesome!
Both of his friends' first tries were disheartening. When he passed by both of them, he felt their clumsy hands inside of his pockets. So he'd smacked them each with as much force as he could muster- per Kuzu's instructions, of course.
"That may have left your hand red, but getting caught in the field could mean losing your hand!"
Their next couple of tries were much better. But he still felt them, so he still smacked them harshly.
"Kiba!" Sakura yelped after one particularly harsh slap, which only made Kiba snicker at her.
She looked frustrated and pissed off. Which was a hilarious look on her, she was kind of like an angry bunny rabbit.
"Come on! I know you can do better than this!" He tried to rally them both, "Listen, you've got to use much less strength. You can't just stick your hands into my pocket. The objective isn't to steal my pocket, it's to steal what's inside!"
"I'm trying!" Sakura huffed, all the while Chouji sighed softly, "This is hard."
They continued trying, though. And with each smack of warning, their hands became lighter and less perceivable.
When the old man arrived a couple of minutes later, they'd both managed to steal at least once without Kiba feeling it.
"Are they ready?" He asked Kiba, which had him smiling. "Good. I've got intel. C'mere."
..~..~..
Hope you all liked this! Please review and tell me what you thought!
