I am trying to expand the lore of this world a little... and I want to make it more interesting so I will be doing that when I get the chance.
This chapter would be longer but I wanted to cap it at 3000 words due to the beginning being an explanation for Mio's powers.
The look of Hana Inuzuka, a rare beauty and powerful Kunoichi as it seemed, got to Naomi a little as the women looked up from her precious Mio. Her gaze was intense, strong and almost sarcastic. "You pumped her full of chakra and was surprised that she might have blown her coils?"
Cringing, Naomi turned away feeling tears burn at her eyes. "I honestly never thought the little amount I was placing in her would hurt. You know leaf sticking exercise, I was doing that level of chakra in the pulses and she seemed to really like it. It was an accident at first, I was tired from training and learned that massaging my muscles with chakra helped my pain. An older substitute taught our class that, saying it made life easier... I had been massaging my arms for a few minutes when she leaped on me for cuddles and when I pet her I realized that I was still pumping. She liked it though and started to all but beg for it, so I continued cautiously. Eventually I started to hope it would change her, make her more powerful so I could take her out in combat like Kiba and Akamaru."
That seemed to make Hana smile. "Good, if you were just lazily pumping her with chakra with blind intent I would have ordered her taken from you for abuse. Your intentions were pure and I cannot fault you for that. Be warned though, if you push her too far I will take her away to a better home.
"Please do if you think she would be better off." And she meant that.
"Good... bow, let's focus on Miss Mio's status." She picked up the sweet cat, who meowed in protest, gesturing to her muscular back. "She is about four time stronger then a typical cat, enough to allow her to leap across buildings as you mentioned that she could. Her chakra levels are five times greater then your normal cat her size, just above a typical civilian without any anscestry or practice in anything that would bolster their chakra network. Her coils are a bit thin, but that is due to growth and should harden by the time she reaches a year old, especially if you train her. As for her intelligence, she is smarter then a trained Civilian dog but not quite on the level of one of our dogs who can perfectly understand human languages and even talk in some cases due to breeding.
What you did to her, placing chakra into her body, is actually what my ancestors did to their dogs to create the early bond between them and like them you too are being affected by the power. If you continue this path I imagine you will develop abilities not entirely dissimilar to a cats."
"How?" The mere notion was stunning, confusing and odd. "I never took in her chakra only gave her mine."
"Not entirely true, your chakra control may be more advanced then average but it isn't what is required for medical techniques meaning when you pushed your power into her, the force pushed tiny increments of her chakra into you. It won't affect you as much as your's has her, but it will change you as time progresses... you may even develop an empathetic bond with her, a bond that will allow you to understand her as well as she understands you.
Now speaking of understanding, she is actually capable of being trained, learning orders and conveying what she senses. I would be surprised if she cannot sense chakra or even smell it. Her ability to see in low light will be a very useful trait for you. She is going to grow larger then your typical cat, maybe on par with a Main Coon. She could reach twenty pounds and three feet from tail to nose, making her actually battle ready... but if she only grows slightly larger she may be less of a battle kitty and more of just a sensory ally. More of a good nose and eyes, which she will be in the beginning either way. You will have to train her to respond to your commands and how to act when exposed to certain stimuli.
I will help with that, I can train you for the next month from five in the afternoon to nine with her every day but Sunday. You need at least a month of training to have her field worthy as it is. I'll bring treats, an outfit so she will be known as a Nekonin, and your papers so you can have her legally confirmed as such, alright? Don't lose any of it, it is all important. And remember, just as I can sign off and have her made a Nekonin I can take it away if you are abusing the privilege."
"I will remember."
"Now, you may not be happy to hear this but as the master or mistress of a nekonin you have to learn proper care of her. I may include learning how to use healing jutsu. At the least you should learn advanced medical techniques for if she's hurt in battle. I will assign you several books to read as well as a diet to give her the proper nutrition that she needs if she is going to be a Nekonin. It will help speed her development up while also ensuring her health."
"""
With Mio in hand, Naomi hurried into her academy classroom, excited and almost bubbling with passion. She couldn't believe today was the day that she was going to start as a real life Ninja! She almost squealed, rather unlike her, just at the thought of it. Thankfully she managed to hold it in as she walked into her class, where she found her normal seat. Shino had beaten her to class, to no one's shock, and she greeted him with a typical smile.
"You see excited." She said, getting a small smile from the only person in class she didn't find annoying.
He nodded. "I am, why you may ask, because I am about to start my journey to honor my clan and become a shinobi."
"It is incredible, isn't it... that we are here already. Feels like yesterday that we were just starting out... sigh..." Happy and content, she turned back to her desk and started to give her kitty some soft pets. Mio wound around her, standing obediently on the desk and not trying to escape anywhere. She was being a good girl and that made Naomi more then pleased with her.
"Why is your cat here, Naomi? I cannot remember you having a Nekonin." Shino's voice shifted, moving closer to her until he was right next to her, giving her cat some extra lovings that she just relished in. "She seems like a nice cat."
"She is, her name is Miss Mio and she is my Neko Nin. I got her registered today, the vets say that she has enough intelligence to be an asset to the village and missions instead of a hinderance though until her training is complete she cannot go on missions at all. Not even D rank missions. I have to have her train for at least a full month before she can take her test and become fully registered."
"I see."
"NAOMI, MIO!" The shrill sound of Naruto's voice was like ice running down her back, slowly Naomi turned to face the happy boy who was looking at her with glee. "How are you guys! Excited!"
Many people turned to her, many of them whispering about her kitty. Even Sasuke seemed interested, though he hid it well. Realizing she had to control the situation, she put on a soft smile. " Hello Naruto, I'm doing well and yeah I am. Miss Mio is doing well too, want to pet her?"
"Do I!" He all but leapt over, ignoring a very stunned Shikamaru. Mio, to her shock, jumped into Naruto's arms and started giving him all sorts of attention, making the dull boy laugh and coo at her, which she just drank up. "Hi Miss Mio, why are you here?"
"She's allowed to become a Neko Ninja Naruto, a cat ninja. She helped with the mission that helped you to graduate, so they checked her out and she is smart enough and has enough chakra to be allowed to work with me. We need a month of training to get her started for missions but she will be there in the field with me."
"So he really did graduate." Shikamaru said as he approached. "I didn't buy it."
"Yeah, he did. He mastered the shadow clone jutsu too, a much more chakra intensive jutsu then the academy teaches. Which is probably why he couldn't do normal clones, he has too much chakra for something so finite."
"Huh..." Shikamaru said as he started to pet Mio as well. "Good for you then."
"""
"So that's the most promising new student, Sasuke Uchiha."
"Yes he's the one... but I wouldn't say he is the most promising." Hiruzen shifted the focus of his orb, showing the young Naomi. "She has shown just as much talent as Sasuke has, more in some ways. Her mastery of the substitution rivals some jonin, it really is remarkable. As you know she was involved in the Mizuki event last night by accident and dealt with it and the truth of Naruto's status quite well. I am proud of her and sad to say that I may have ignored her capabilities before this."
"Hmm... that is rare, for a civilian born Ninja to rival a prodigy especially from a clan like the Uchiha. Who is getting her as a student?" Kakashi asked.
Hiruzen, with a bit of shame, sighed out. " Originally I wasn't too interested in her growth, I admit I too was swayed by Sasuke and Naruto's development but after last night I realized that we have, in a way, failed her. She could have graduated a few years ago, as could have Sasuke and Shino Aburame. I placed her on a dead team."
There were many huffs of annoyance, they knew what that expression was for. Dead teams were, in essences, teams they assumed would fail or drop out. To put someone on one was to essentially say they were not worth putting in effort for. It was insulting, especially for a girl who apparently had the same potential as someone like Sasuke Uchiha.
"Who are her teammates?" Kurenai asked, unable to mask the irritiation he could all but taste in her tone and chakra.
"I gave her Yura Hyuuga, a distant branch member of the Hyuuga bloodline, and Ami Akamichi. Neither of them are clan heirs and in fact are the only clan members that are not heirs in that class. Aoba will be her Sensei. Aoba is specialized not in taijutsu, like all the girls are but in information gathering. Yura has yet to develop her Byakugan and is so far removed from the main family she only has a basic understanding of the Gentle Fist. Ami is a distant cousin of Choza and is also an orphan without any exceptional abilities. I never saw them as having the potential to graduate on their own, or pass the Jonin test.
I was worried that she would just fail out as well, she was a random student but when I saw how easily she nearly killed Mizuki, substituted like a jonin could, managed to make her cat develop enough intelligence to be used as a Neko Nin and handled Naruto's secret... and patched up Iruka from his wound... I realized that I had seriously overlooked her development. She has the best scores of any Kunoichi in the last fifteen years, the best substitution I have ever seen from a child her age still the academy, remarkable taijutsu for a civilian born ninja... and all reports declare her a natural leader with a great knack for strategy and tactics. She is rising star that I overlooked."
Kurenai frowned. "Are we sure she is not from Root?"
"Yes, of that I am entirely sure, though from what I gathered Danzo has his eyes on her."
"How is she so mature and developed, I mean if she is not ROOT then how would she be able to develop so much and be so mature without having been exposed to war or stressors? She wouldn't have had access to the extra teachers Sasuke had as a child, or many other prodigies have while still young."
"She has raised herself. Some people, like Naruto, act out and beg for attention to deal with the loneliness. She buried herself in training and reacted by becoming judgmental and quiet but very self sufficient. She isn't unique in that matter, we have seen similar feats with Itachi, Kakashi and several others over the years. I do not foresee her becoming a problem but we all know what that sort of stress long term can do to someone especially when they are so capable. I will be having her evaluated, as I have had Sasuke over the years, to test for her loyalty and any issues that she may have.
What I do foresee is her becoming a leader to her team and thriving with them. She has already started creating her own style of combat through the library books and scrolls she has available to her. She bought a pair of claws before she went to the Academy and is learning independently to use them."
''
Kurenai wanted to smirk, happy to see a girl the center of attention for once. The sausage fest that was the shinobi world made being taken seriously as a Kunoichi hard. Personally Kurenai had the powers of a Jonin since she was fourteen but because she was a girl she was given fewer missions to lead, fewer chances to be taken seriously to showcase not only her skills in combat but as a leader. It took her years longer to prove her worth when she easily could have done so so much earlier. Hell the only reason she didn't try to get ahead was her low stamina, something that had taken years to overcome.
She wanted this girl to thrive, to be great, to beat Sasuke Uchiha's ass and shine brighter then anyone except maybe Hinata.
It would be so satisfying to watch her thrive and defeat everyone in her way... especially if she really was on a female only team. How dare the old man consider a female only team a Dead Team... the old fool.
'I must remember to offer the girl aid should she ever ask for it. Aoba is a fine Ninja but he is specialized in information gathering. That team is all taijutsu specialists... he won't be able to help them excel to their fullest level.' It was then that she noticed the cat. " You mentioned she has a Neko Nin, is she trained yet?"
Hiruzen shook his head. "Not yet but Hana Inuzuka has taken a shinning to the girl and has agreed to train her and the Cat over the course of the next month."
'Good, knowing Hana she is going to teach the girl medical jutsu increasing her chakra control. With an intellect like she is said to have, she might be a perfect option for Illusions. I might have to offer some training... and ask her to be a friend to Hinata. Her confidence might rub off on her.'
Satisfied with her line of thought, she redirected her eyes towards the girl in the orb and watched as Iruka walked into the room.
"""
'Intimidating others is kind of fun.' Naomi tried to focus on Iruka's speech, but the memories of Mio hissing at Sakura, swiping at the girl as she was rude to Naruto was so much fun. When Sakura made the mistake of threatening her cat, well it was an easy thing to wrap a very angry hand around the girl's elbow, squeezing tightly until she screeched more then normal.
"Threaten my cat again and you lose your arm." She growled at the pale faced girl who was literally shivering. "And be nicer to Naruto, you have no reason to be rude to him. Get over yourself. " She threw her away sending the other girl several feet up the stairs, grabbing Mio and marched back to her seat.
"How did she move so fast/When did she get a cat/she's kind of hot/was that killer intent or chakra?"
The words echoed around her and she cursed herself, she never used her full speed around anyone. She knew she was fast, only Kiba was faster but only due to his bloodline. Only Sasuke was fast enough and skilled enough to keep up, so she never felt the need to show off it just wasn't her style... but when Sakura raised her hand to Mio it just...
'I can't react poorly when everyone attacks Mio, she is going to be in battle... shit I need help to make sure I can control myself so I am not a liability.'
Her name escaping Iruka's mouth shattered her flashback, returning her focus to the real world. "For Team Thirteen, Naomi our Kunoichi of the year, Ami Akachimi and Yura Hyuuga under Aoba Yamashiro."
Excitement, despite not really knowing much about her team despite their clan names, filled every cell in her body. Not caring that Iruka was still in the middle of talking, she turned to her new teammates and smiled at them where she found then. Ami, round faced with fair skin and dark hair, was sitting three rows above her tuck away in a corner where as Yura was on the opposite side of the room with her hair cut short in a page cut, making her thin face seem thinner and paler when contrasted with her almost black hair.
'Maybe I was a bit blind, I know nothing about either girl only the clan heirs. Maybe I should have paid more attention... maybe I am as bad as the rest of the academy with my blind focus?'
Vowing to do better, Naomi turned her attention back to her sweet cat and readied herself to begin the new stage of her life... a stage that, in fullness, started today.
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This is fun, interesting and I love it. She was the focus of the conversation due to making waves, if not it would have been Sasuke focused due to his bloodline mostly.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.