A/N: Hello! Anonymous reviewers are now welcome! ( I didn't know I had that filter thingie turned on. Sorry!) So you don't have to sign in anymore to review. Thanks, larrykoopa, for telling me that. Oh, I might have something like the Chuunin Exam from Naruto later on. That's a big MIGHT. I still need to get this one part I like so much out of my head! And as for the other GS characters, they MIGHT be in it too. So enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 4: One Hectic Day
Once Jenna burst through the doors of her home, she was quickly picked up by a pair of strong arms. It was her father!
"Well, well! Look how big you gotten ever since daddy left!" her father said, as she giggled with delight.
"Daddy!" she squealed.
"Dad!" Felix cried, running to his side. His father grinned and messed up his hair. "Hey! Not the hair!" Felix protested.
"Wow, son, you've gotten bigger! And look at your hair! I'm going to give you a haircut after school," his father said.
Felix violently shook his head. "What?! No! I like my hair the way it is!" he said.
His father smirked. "You should really trim your hair. It's getting too long…" he trailed off as he saw Isaac standing in the doorway, looking sullenly at his feet. "Isaac!" he said, surprised. "I didn't know you were here! Come in. Come in!" He waved his hand.
Isaac timidly did so and gently closed the door behind him. Felix's father smiled warmly at the little boy. "My! You've grown a lot too since I last saw you!" he said, patting the boy's head. Isaac smiled brightly back at his remark. "So how's your father?" he asked.
Isaac shrugged. "He's okay… He has been busy a lot…" he said, quietly.
Felix's father gently nodded. "Ahh. Your dad's a busy man. I can't blame him. He's one of the best defences this village has. Heh, I'll go visit him later today," he told the boy.
Isaac nodded, blushing slightly from his shyness. Just then, Shina came into the room. "Lunch time, kids. Everyone to the kitchen!" she sang.
Everyone filed to the kitchen except Felix's father who was blocked by her wife. "Except for you, you filthy thing. Change out of those grubby old clothes and take a bath!" she said, pointing a finger at him.
"Shina…Don't make me do this…" he warned, glaring at her with his dark brown eyes.
"Doooo what?" she said calmly, placing both her hands on her hips.
He cracked his knuckles and grinned. "This…" He grabbed her waist and lifted her over his shoulder, as she pounded away on his back.
"Put me down, you dirty man!" she giggled. He carried her into the kitchen where all the children watched them struggle. "Riko! Put me down!"
Her husband laughed as she continued to struggle out of his firm grasp. She kicked him repeatedly until she kicked too hard in one particular spot…
"OH!" he gasped. He slowly slumped forward, letting Shina go.
"Oh no!" she cried, "Oh… I'm so sorry, Riko! I didn't mean to hit that part…" She laughed nervously as the children watched them in amusement. They giggled at their little feud while slurping up their noodles and drinking their tea.
"Oh, Shina. You didn't have to kick me there!" he groaned, laughing along the way as his wife helped him up.
"Hee hee… Whoops! I guess I didn't know my own strength," she teased as she half-dragged half-carried him out of the kitchen. "Kids! Continue eating! We'll be right back!" she called out into the kitchen.
Felix couldn't help but burst out laughing at his father's silly behaviour. He had been gone on a mission for five days and finally, he was home. Felix was so glad about that. He missed his father so much for the last five days. Home was never home without him because of his constant quarrels with his wife. Jenna and Felix always watched them playfully beat each other up when they wanted one thing or another.
Jenna giggled as well when her parents both left. "Mommy always beats daddy," she said. She sipped her hot tea and bit on a cookie.
Isaac smiled at their parents odd behaviour. His mother and father didn't show that kind of passion whenever they were together. They were more of a "romantic" couple. His father always was a careless guy around women, he would somehow trip over himself whenever he was with mother. Mother was a strict but sweet person, always telling father what to do. But she cared for him in a way that her actions meant something else that only his father could decipher.
Once lunch was finished, both parents entered the room. "Ah, you kids finished. Are you ready to go back to school?" Shina asked as she poured hot water on her dry noodles.
Felix shrugged. "Maybe. We still have half an hour left, so we might," he said as he grabbed his sandals and put them on.
Riko gave them a warm smile. "Don't run or you'll throw up! I'll pick you kids up after school, okay?" he said.
They all nodded and left. "Why did he say we'll throw up if we run?" Isaac asked.
Felix shrugged. "Don't know. Maybe because you jump a lot, making your food come back out of your mouth," he said.
Jenna made a disgusted face. Isaac shrugged. "Hmph. Well, let's go meet Garet. Let's race!" he challenged.
Felix smirked. "Fine," he said. He took off first before the others had a chance to. Isaac quickly followed.
"Hey! Wait up!" Jenna called, following quickly behind.
Garet's home was on top of the highest hill, right beside Mt. Aleph. They sped along the roads and over the rooftops at their quickest pace; ignoring Riko's advice.
First to touch the house was Felix as he chose the high route; bounding on the rooftops. "I win!" he cried out below him. He grinned at his lower rival and little sister.
Jenna growled. "That… That wasn't fair!" she yelled.
Felix hopped to the ground. "Bah. You always say that," he said, brushing back his hair.
Garet emerged from his household and waved when he saw his friends. "Oi! Want some chocolate?" he called to them.
"Chocolate?!" Jenna squealed happily. "Sure!" She bounded up the porch stairs and went inside the house with the redhead.
Jenna was overwhelmed by the wondrous smells of cooking and baking in the house. Isaac and Felix were right behind her as she followed Garet through the hallway, towards his large kitchen. His family was the wealthiest in the village. Garet's grandfather used to be a merchant spy. He would disguise himself in different villages as a merchant, selling silk, jewels, and other goods. He made such a fortune. Fancy drapes, carpets, and furniture decorated the entire household. Many other luxurious items such as vases, paintings, and statues were neatly placed throughout every room.
Garet grabbed a red box off the kitchen table and headed to the living room where his now-home sister and mother were chatting with each other. Once they saw the children they smiled heartily and welcomed them.
"Aww, little Garet's friends! So how are you all?" Garet's older sister asked.
Garet frowned. "I'm not little!" he cried.
"We're fine…" the others said, quietly.
Garet's sister untied her braided red hair, letting it fall over her shoulders. Her bright red eyes shone with glee. "That's good to hear. Little Garet is little, right mom?" she teased.
Her mother stroked her swollen belly and smiled. "Garet won't be the little one anymore soon," she said as she patted Garet's head.
Garet grinned. "That's right, Kaylina. So stop teasing me!" he said happily. He opened the red box. It was full of deliciously sweet-looking chocolate truffles. He gave everyone in the room one, then closed it again.
"I can't wait till my little brother or sister is born!" he told his friends.
A little brother was what he really wanted. He already had a sister and one's enough, with the constant teasing Kaylina did whenever she was home. A little brother would be fun to have; he would look after him and play with him all the time.
The chocolate truffles filled their mouths with a sweet heavenly taste. Jenna loved chocolate. She would always come over to Garet's to get some since her mother despised really sweet things in the house. "They'll rot your teeth!" her mother would always say. But Jenna didn't care. She loved it no matter what and her mother never knew she had some.
"You better hurry, school will be starting soon," said Garet's mother as she picked up her knitting needles.
"Okay! Bye-bye mommy!" Garet said, hugging her and rubbing his hand over her belly. "I hope he doesn't come out when I'm gone."
His mother laughed. "Don't worry about it, Garet. I'm sure he or she will decide to come out when you're home," she smiled.
Garet smiled back and said goodbye to her and Kaylina. Then he led his friends back outside, with a few minutes to spare. "Let's go!" he said. He took the lead, racing towards the training grounds.
"Now, time for dodging manoeuvres," said Ida Suharu-sensei. She tied her glowing blonde hair behind her and grinned. "Then we'll start on counter attacking. Let's go back to that training area we were at this morning."
Back at the grassy area, the children sparred once more with a partner. This time Jenna was with Isaac and Felix with Garet.
Isaac punched high, missing as Jenna swooped under and swept his legs from under him. He fell backwards on his behind. Isaac back-flipped up, charged and right-kicked low. Jenna rolled to the side avoiding it in the last second. Then Isaac kicked again. This time she had to block with both hands. Then she grabbed his leg and spun him to the ground. She cheered for victory.
"V!" she said, making a "v" sign with her fingers.
Isaac scratched his head. "Phew. You're good, Jenna. It's my turn now!" he said, dusting off grass and dirt.
Jenna smirked. "Alright. Here I come!"
She charged head on. But before she was close enough to attack, she sharply turned right, throwing Isaac off hand. Then she attacked his left with a flying kick.
Seeing the oncoming attack, Isaac managed to swung his arms up in defence. Jenna's attack forced him to fall backwards, but he reacted quickly by twisting his body forward to land on both hands and using the momentum to flip head-over-heels and back up. Jenna charged again, sharply turning left this time, then swung a back kick at Isaac's right side.
Isaac jumped straight up, back-flipped in the air, and kicked Jenna squarely on her back, knocking her down. Isaac didn't have enough time to prepare a landing so he landed hard on his back. Tears of pain burned his eyes, slightly blurring his vision. But he got up quickly, ready for another attack. But Jenna was still on the ground. Fear rose inside of him…
"Oh no! Jenna, you okay?!" he cried out for his fallen friend. He knelt down beside her.
"Owwie…" she groaned. Then she flushed red and climbed back up. "Isaac!" she growled in a threatening tone. "You big meanie! I-"
"Wow. That was spectacular!"
Suharu-sensei clapped her hands for them both. "You two are handling this pretty well," she smiled. "Jenna, your plan for confusing the enemy is really brilliant, keep it up! And Isaac, keep working on your body movements; your mind must act quick to judge your actions. You keep charging in, think of a better way to approach."
Then she left to watch Felix and Garet combat each other.
Felix rolled to his left, sweep-kicked, trying to knock Garet's legs from under him, but Garet jumped up, totally missing the attack. Garet landed quickly and back-flipped away from Felix. The dark haired boy smirked, brushed his hair back, then charged. He punched with his right but Garet grabbed his arm, then he used his left but the redhead grabbed that one too. Garet then bent over and flipped Felix over his shoulder and into the hard ground.
"Bravo!" his sensei applauded. "That was a wonderful manoeuvre, Garet. Great job, Felix. You still need to practise what I taught you this morning."
Felix coughed, then he grunted. "But sensei… I already know how! *cough* I fight my own way!" he retorted.
Suharu-sensei picked up a pebble and pelted him on the head with it. "You fight my way first, young man! I don't care if you know how, I want to see it! Now, get to it!"
Felix rubbed his temple and glared at his sensei who stared hard back at him. "Alright, then!" he growled. Then to Garet, "Come at me, Garet!"
Garet nodded and ran forward, gaining speed as he got closer. He threw a quick punch at Felix's face, but Felix caught it firmly in his left palm and then he palmed Garet's chest, making the redhead fly backwards. Garet landed on his back, but he sprang back up.
"Ha!" Felix yelled. "Did you see that?! I did it! Now don't go telling me what to-"
Another pebble bonked his head. "Tsk, tsk. I'm your sensei, little man. Now, you have to listen to what I say, or else I'll tell your parents," Suharu-sensei warned.
Felix crossed his arms, "So what? What are they going to do?"
Suharu-sensei smirked. "They could take you out of my class… No wait, even better! I won't let you pass!"
Wide-eyed, Felix gaped at her with shock. "Y-You can't do that!" he cried.
His sensei pretended to examine her nails. "Oooh. I could, you know. I'm your teacher, and you're not listening to what I say…" she grinned.
Felix grumbled. "T-That's…!"
"No fair?" she asked, raising a brow. "Oh, it's fair. I run this class after all. And I can do whatever I want!"
Felix fumed with anger. He then let it slide as he took a few deep breaths. "Bah! Fine! I'll listen! Sensei!" he mumbled.
Another pebble pelted his head. "Call me Suaharu-sensei, little man," she corrected him.
Felix pouted. "Grr… Fine. Suharu-sensei!"
She smirked at him. "Much better, boy. Obedience is the key to being a ninja." The shrine bells began to ring, indicating it was mid-afternoon; the end of a school day. "Whoops. I should keep myself in track of time. Everyone! Back to the training grounds! You're dismissed there!"
All the children scurried back to the base of the mountain where their parents waited for them. Isaac was following Garet and Jenna towards their father when someone called his name.
"Isaac! Over here!"
Isaac turned and saw his father walking into the training grounds, smiling. Isaac's spirit rose as he sprinted towards his father. "Dad!" he called. "What are you doing here? You're suppose to be sleeping."
His father grinned. "What? And miss out on my son's first day of school? Of course not! Well, except the morning, but that's different. So, how was it?" he asked.
Isaac smiled. "It was fun. And painful. But fun!" he said happily.
Kyle nodded and picked him up. "Ah, that's good to hear. Tell me all about it as I prepare supper. I'm going to make something special."
Isaac raised an eyebrow. "Is it that brown stuff you made a last week?" he asked.
Kyle flushed with embarrassment. "Ha ha! No, no. This time it really is going to be a special supper. You'll see."
Isaac giggled. He waved goodbye to his friends as his father carried him home.
A/N: Heh. I got really into my story that I sketched out some of the characters. Does anyone want to see? If you do, then leave your e-mail and I'll send you a pic of the kids I drew. Try to guess who's who!