Sorry about the delay. To make up for it, double release!
Enjoy!
Ry ducked Narisa's punch, throwing up a palm to help ride the elbow she followed with. He let the momentum and strength of her attack spin him, bringing his foot around.
Narisa yelped as he hooked her ankle and took her balance. When she tried to recover, Ry latched onto her arm, twisting her fall. He could've maintained the grab and leveraged it, but only if he wanted to snap her forearm or seriously damage her elbow joint.
Rather than doing either, Ry used his other hand to guide her into a throw. Narisa hit the ground with a small spray of dirt.
Ry followed.
There was a clear disparity in their taijutsu skills. Seong-sensei had started training Narisa, and Ry had seen the results. Narisa was definitely better, if oddly quiet about the training sessions.
It didn't change the disparity. According to Kazune and Akena, his taijutsu wasn't ever going to match his kenjutsu, but he liked it. It was something he enjoyed learning, and Kazune had clearly found the Styles that suited him best.
Narisa, on the other hand, was either resisting what Seong-sensei was teaching her, or still too much in love with flashy movements. Leaf Style, as far as Ry could tell, was all about workmanlike competence. There was nothing flashy to it. Which clearly did not sit well with the blonde kunoichi. She still threw an alarming amount of punches that were far too open, too committed without ensuring her opponent couldn't take advantage. Her kicks were worse.
In the beginning of their sparring sessions, after such a throw, Ry might've backed off. Let Narisa get back to her feet and reset.
That had gone out the window the first time Narisa had introduced Ry to the horrible sensation of having dirt flung in his eyes.
Narisa had learned her own lessons. She didn't have the uncanny grace and speed Ry had seen demonstrated by Rokku or Saneko, but she was wily. Ry's follow up was stalled when Narisa used her arms to convert her fall into a roll that abruptly changed her direction.
She came up from her roll with a side kick. Ry blocked, noting Narisa's wince of pain. It was her own fault; she knew about the bracers and greaves Kazune had gotten him. They weren't designed to actually protect him, but were another training method. One Ry had remembered after his first training session with Rokku, and one Gaya had been more than eager to help Kazune procure for him.
The flowering of beautiful, passionate youth required struggle, apparently.
Ry did his best not to leverage the fact that he was wearing the bracers or greaves during their sparring, but he couldn't take them off. Only Kazune, Akena, or his aunt could, a condition they'd imposed upon his desire for the training. The same way those three were the only ones who could control just how burdensome they were.
Which is good, I guess? I don't know how successful I'd be at controlling my own progress.
Also, I'm fairly certain they keyed it to themselves to make sure that neither Gaya or Rokku had any opportunities to 'encourage' me further.
All Ry could do was wrap them thoroughly, to cushion them. He usually double wrapped them for the Academy; there were a couple of his peers that he'd noted as perfectly willing to take advantage of any infractions they noticed.
Ry threw several punches as Narisa retracted her leg. Narisa blocked the first two, taking the third to the ribs. Her grunt preceded an attempted bite at his arm. Ry jerked out of the way, but left himself open to a left hook.
As he hit the ground, Ry rolled to the side, throwing himself back to his feet. Narisa's foot smashed down where he'd just vacated, her knee aimed for his face as he tried to straighten. Ry caught it in one hand, riding the strike to stand again, using his other arm to shunt aside Narisa's two handed slam. He was staggered, even with his defense, but Narisa was off balance. Ry drove his fist into Narisa's gut.
They separated, Narisa coughing as she tried to straighten. Ry lashed out with a kick of his own. Narisa went down as he hooked her knee.
"Nice." Ry panted, loosening his stance. "Though I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to bite during sparring."
Narisa laughed, then coughed as she held a hand to her stomach. "If it worked, wouldn't have mattered, skewer-kun."
"Next time it'll earn you an elbow to the jaw." Ry snorted. "It only worked because I wasn't expecting it."
"World's number one unpredictable nin." Narisa grinned. "That's me."
"Yeah." Ry shook his head. "You want to go another round, or would you rather get some ramen? Not my treat."
Narisa pouted at Ry. "Ne, that's not nice skewer-kun. You're supposed to treat a lady nice, especially after you beat her up."
"Ha!" Ry said. "Uh-huh. So if I let you beat me up, will the reverse apply?"
Narisa scrunched her face up. "Well you're not a lady, so no?"
"That's-" Ry cut himself off. "Yeah, you know what. You're right. But I'm still not buying your ramen. I wouldn't have any money left."
"Ne, skewer-kun, think you can help me with a prank?" Narisa asked after they left Ichiraku's.
Ry glanced over at her. "What kind?"
"Meh, I need you to be a distraction." Narisa grinned. "I wanna get Inu-baka for all her crap she put in my locker."
Ry cocked his head. "Is that…you mean Inuzuka-san?"
"Inuzuka, Inu-baka, is there a difference?" Narisa smirked.
That's word play I hadn't expected.
"For you, probably not." Ry acknowledged.
Narisa snickered. "Anyways, she put those stupid I heart Neko-baka posters all over the inside of my locker. I want to dye Akahana's fur pink in return."
Ry blinked. "Akahana's a ninken in training. Forget everything else, how are you planning on keeping her from raising the alarm?"
"Being sneaky, careful timing, and knowing how to keep Akahana distracted." Narisa said, tapping the side of her nose. "And tactical applications of fluid dynamics of non-standard liquid physics."
Ry stopped.
Narisa paused in her walk, turning to look back at Ry. "Ne, skewer-kun, you alright? I break you?"
"How do you know the words fluid dynamics of non-standard liquid physics'?" Ry asked carefully.
Narisa giggled. "Eh, well I had to get the paint somehow. I used a Henge Bunshin to flirt with some boys who work for this annoying old man, while some other bunshin heisted the paint. But one of them was pretty excited and started talking about making paint and stuff. I don't know, I didn't pick up much, but he did talk about how paint could be extra sticky as long as you made it right."
"Wait…" Ry squinted at Narisa. "How much paint did you heist?"
Narisa stuck her tongue out at Ry. "Not much."
Then she kicked the ground. "Not as much as I was going to, originally. I uh, felt kind of bad. The boy I tricked would've definitely gotten in trouble, so I got him to show me how to make paint instead. I'm making it myself, or at least my bunshin are."
"Good for you." Ry said, then cocked his head. "How are…you've been buying ingredients on your expeditions?"
"Not yet, but I will." Narisa nodded. "I'm sure my bunshin have already started. I summoned more to go let some of the others know. And I've got the money, actually."
"Money enough to move out of here?" Ry gestured towards the apartment building they'd stopped a block from.
"Nah." Narisa shook her head. "Obaa-san's probably the only reason I have this place. I don't like the landlord much, but he lets me live here. I've sorta asked around at other places. They wouldn't even tell me prices."
Ry took a deep breath. "Right. So…buying the materials to make paint then. What kind of distraction do you need?"
"Oh, that's easy." Narisa grinned. "I need you to get Inu-baka out of her house for a bit, without Akahana along."
"And how am I supposed to do that?" Ry asked.
"You're gonna ask her on a date." Narisa said.
Ry stared at the jinchuriki. Narisa's statement had been made with perfect blitheness; the casual confidence was staggering.
"A…date." Ry said slowly.
"Yup." Narisa said. "Come on, skewer-kun, I wanna lay down."
Once in her apartment, Ry stared at the blonde. "I want to repeat my incredulity here. You want me to ask Inuzuka-san on a date?"
Narisa rolled her eyes where she laid on the floor. "Duh."
"Not duh." Ry replied. "Not duh for…so many reasons. Explain why you think that would even come close to working?"
"Because she's Inu-baka." Narisa said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And she thinks you're my territory, so she wants to piss all over you."
Ry stared at Narisa.
To her credit, the blonde appeared to realize the awkwardness of her statement after a second. "Uhh…she wants to take territory that's mine, and mark it instead."
Ry stared at Narisa. The blonde's cheeks slowly reddened, her face scrunching up.
"What?" Narisa growled, glaring as her cheeks darkened further. "I didn't mean it like that! Jeez, you're worse than some of those orange books!"
Ry only stared harder.
Narisa squirmed, sitting up and waving her hands. "Skewer-kun, I only meant it like I said. She doesn't like you or anything like that, but she would love to claim she got to mark the territory the dead last has."
Ry let the silence sit for a minute.
She deserves every ounce of the awkwardness she's feeling right now.
"Stop…" Narisa mumbled. "Seriously, skewer-kun, I'm sorry, alright?"
"If you're sorry, why'd you say it like that?" Ry asked, purposefully putting a bite in his tone.
"Because I was thinking about it like they do." Narisa said. "Seriously. The number of times I've heard Inu-baka talk about it, and then having Akahana pee all over my stuff…"
Ry's indignation softened. "She's had Akahana pee on your stuff?"
"Not in a while." Narisa shrugged. "I think she got bored, but one of the instructors might've stopped her because it stunk. I usually don't mind Inu-baka's pranks either, since I just get to prank her back. At least with Inu-baka, there's a rivalry. Kinda like my rivalry with Neko-baka, but Inu-baka is fiery. She just crossed a line, putting Neko-baka crap all over my gym locker, like I might have an obsession with a- with Neko-baka…well, that's personal."
Something in Narisa's tone caught Ry's attention. Combined with the way she cut herself off, Ry wondered if there was an old scar Narisa was hiding. She likely had a great many of them. Sunny disposition or not, Ry was certain Narisa had been forever marked by some of the things the people of Konohagakure had done in the past. Whether via caused actions, or even just a rumor that persisted long enough to form an impression, old scars never quite left in Ry's experience.
He let it flow by. Ry knew better than to poke at an old hurt.
"So…alright." Ry said slowly. "You want me to ask her on a date. A date you think she'll accept?"
"If I get all huffy about it?" Narisa smirked. "Course she will. She's Inu-baka."
"But I don't even like her." Ry said. "Actually, scratch that. I don't even know her. Outside of the one time she beat me in taijutsu class."
"That's all you need, really." Narisa shrugged. "You're good at taijutsu and ninjutsu, even if you lost to her. Plus you're tall and alright looking. You're no Satoshi-kun, or even Ikuhito-kun, but you're tall and you've actually got some serious muscles. Pretty sure Inu-baka likes all those things. Even if she doesn't know you, or you her, she'll be a bit interested."
"That felt like a very backhanded compliment." Ry said with a laugh.
"I don't call her Inu-baka because she's stupid." Narisa shrugged, smirking. "But because she's dumb. She was the first kunoichi to get boy-crazy, back in prep school. All the Inuzukas are kinda like that, especially the kunoichi. They say there's some sort of special connection with their bonded ninken, maybe through their chakra connection or something. But they all act like that, even the ones that have been adults for a while."
"What you're saying…" Ry trailed off, trying to find the words. "What you're saying is…that she's not going to look at me as a girl looking at a guy, but a female looking at a male in the wild?"
Narisa scrunched her face. "What? I dunno. All I know is that lots of the Inuzuka kunoichi make this tongue-lolling face when they see shinobi who are all big and stuff around. They don't appreciate truly good looks in a man, like Satoshi-kun, but their eyes remind me of some of the stuff I've seen in the illustrated orange books I've been snagging recently."
Ry blinked a few times.
That…
I have noticed that my body type isn't exactly common amongst shinobi. Most of them are the slim and short. Definitely don't have facial hair. Didn't really think anything of it. Even Junji and Tensei, who are probably the 'manliest' amongst the shinobi in training, remind me more of long distance runners. I look more like civilian guards than any of my classmates.
Though…I've seen Aoba-sensei with his shirt off. So I'm not totally alone in having an atypical body type among shinobi. Maybe the trend is due to most of the powerful ninja being kunoichi? Might be a subconscious imitation or cultural thing.
Figures though. I get jacked, and have actually been improving that, and it turns out I'm moving away from the ideal body type for shinobi.
"You should stop reading so many of those." Ry said tonelessly. "But alright, I'll accept your logic. Won't Akahana be accompanying her on the date? She carries her everywhere."
Narisa held up a finger, grinning. "Not if you take her to Shinketsi's."
"I don't know what that is." Ry replied.
"It's a really nice place that is really expensive." Narisa said. "You have to dress really nice, and they don't allow animals in. Even ninken."
"Really expensive, huh?" Ry asked dryly.
"I'll foot the bill." Narisa scoffed. "Cheapskate. Won't buy your best friend ramen, won't splurge on a date with a pretty girl. You could get a reputation, skewer-kun."
"Uh-huh." Ry said sarcastically. "You have plans for how this is going to work? What if she says no?"
Narisa's grin nearly split her face.
"Heh, I'm surprised that idiot's face didn't freeze like that." Kina said.
Ry snorted, stopping by the chair. He pulled it out, gesturing to the girl.
"Thank you." Kina said, stepping up and seating herself. "For a friend of dead last, you have way more manners than I thought you would."
"Do you make a habit of insulting the friends of your dates?" Ry asked dryly as he moved to seat himself.
Kina's cheeks reddened slightly. "Ah…no. Maybe? This is my first date."
Ry blinked as he sat down.
The process had been far smoother than he'd expected. He didn't share any classes with Kina, but he'd known there was an Academy wide taijutsu class coming up. He'd volunteered to face Kina again. She'd accepted, and then after she'd beaten him, Ry had asked if she wanted to go to dinner with him.
Narisa had insisted he do it with flowers and all sorts of other things. Ry had turned those suggestions down rather firmly. He might not know Kina well, but he could judge some things well enough. She'd been flustered enough by his question; adding something like roses to the equation wouldn't have helped.
Not to mention, Ry was pretty sure flowers weren't the gift of choice for the girl.
Inuzuka Kina typically wore a grey hoodie, with the top half unzipped. Akahana hung her head out of the front of it, sitting in a pocket sewn into the garment. The hood itself was usually back, letting Kina's wild brown waves fall freely. The shirt underneath was almost always grey or black. Her pants were dark, covered in pockets, and held a bewildering array of items mostly related to taking care of Akahana.
Everything about the girl screamed practical to Ry.
She looked very different at the moment. Her hoodie had been replaced with a black, sleeveless blouse. It had a high collar that hugged her neck, with a small slit that revealed some of her cleavage. Ry didn't know the name of the garment, but he could see it was made of silk, or some other material that would be whisper smooth to the touch. Her pants were white, and skin tight, without pockets. Her wavy hair, rather than hanging freely, had been corralled back by a headband. Everything about her outfit for their date was the opposite of what Ry had come to expect from her.
That same outfit also revealed that Inuzuka Kina was hot.
Ry was aware that part of it was his hormones speaking. She had, unusually for the kunoichi he'd seen around, a spray of freckles that dotted her face, but it was a face that had a very girl next door appeal to it. Which, combined with the way she'd filled out her blouse with far more curves than Ry had expected, turned Ry's brain to farmer's daughter comparisons.
Some of that, though, is definitely coming from the fact that she looks incredibly uncomfortable in her clothes. She keeps reaching for her stomach. Presumably to pet or play with Akahana, who isn't there.
I…sort of feel bad about this.
Ry was very grateful he had an extra decade of mental maturity his body lacked. Otherwise, he knew exactly how his hormones would have him acting. Instead, even if he felt a bit guilty, he could do his best to ensure she had a good time.
"So…it's your first date." Ry said, tilting his head slightly. "Ever?"
Kina blushed a little more. "Yeah."
Some of her bluster reasserted itself. "Is that a problem?"
Ry smiled. "Not at all. Honored, really. I wouldn't expect the Inuzuka Clan Heiress to go on her first date, ever, with someone like me. Pretty much a nobody."
Kina cocked her head. "…Why not?"
"Aren't there all sorts of marriage talks for you?" Ry asked. "I've heard a bunch of the kunoichi in our classes talking about that sort of thing, for all the clan heiresses and heirs. You and Shikahana and the others, all having to be aware of that stuff?"
Kina snorted, a grin revealing her pointed canines. "No. Not for us, at least. The other Clans might marry based on political alliances and stuff like that, but the Inuzuka don't. We're too much like our ninken to ever let that sort of thing fly. Marrying some sort of weakling wouldn't go well, for anyone married to any of our kunoichi."
A bit of a wistful look appeared in Kina's eye. "My aunt got lucky, though. She met this handsome, strong shinobi, and was able to bring him home. He wasn't as strong as her, of course, but he's her husband now. It just so happened that he was a Waterfall nin, so we got to strengthen our alliance with them."
"Huh." Ry nodded. "So you'll get to pick. Makes you unique amongst the Clan Heirs and Heiresses."
Kina picked up the menu. "Yup. Well, other than Neko-baka, but that's just because she'll get pick almost anyone she wants, really."
Ry chose not to comment on that. The politics of Clan marriages, as well as procreational practices among nin, were unnerving. Ry was very happy he wasn't from a Clan, nor associated with one. The strange mix of monogamy and polygamy that went on was baffling to him. Getting caught up in it sounded like a headache.
He already knew what he wanted to order, so he took advantage of Kina's perusal of the menu to do some discreet observation.
Narisa's clone was eating, exactly where he'd expected. There was no signal, but that didn't surprise Ry. The walk from the Inuzuka Clan compound was fairly short. Even with Kina walking slowly – the girl was clearly unused to heels – they'd made it and been seated in less than fifteen minutes.
Narisa has to wait for a gap in their defenses. Or so she said. Who knows what she's actually looking for. I trust her prep when it comes to pranks, I'm just hoping it won't take too long.
"So…why'd you ask me on a date?" Kina asked after they'd ordered.
Ry blinked. "What?"
Kina tapped her nose. "We share a lot of stuff with our ninken. Including sharper senses. You smell interested, but not in the way most of the boys in our classes smell around girls they're really interested in. So, I'm curious, if you're not really thinking about me in that way, why ask me on a date?"
Well…shit. Narisa didn't cover that in her prep for this.
Ry thought quickly. "Because you're one of the few girls not besotted with Satoshi or Ikuhito? I don't know. I got in town not that long ago, and my only real friend is Narisa. None of the guys seem to be interested in becoming friends, and the girls would probably think I'm trying for something else when I ask to hang out. It's a date, I guess, but I actually wouldn't mind just getting to know you."
Kina nodded, her dark eyes regarding him curiously. "So…it's a date, but not like the date my mom told me to expect."
"Do I want to know what your mom told you to expect?" Ry asked.
"Never mind." Ry shook his head. "I can guess. If it was a briefing on what most guys our age would want, then I can guess. No need to tell me. You're very pretty but…"
Ry trailed off. He was looking for the right words. He didn't want to insult Kina, and he knew how powerfully unintentional cruelty could alter self-cruelty, but it was difficult to convey that his mental age meant that he had a hard time seeing her as dateable.
"You're not gay, I know that much." Kina snorted.
Ry blinked, cocking his head.
Kina tapped her nose again. "Nose knows. Hmmm…let's see. I've never really paid attention to when your scent spikes, but I've noticed it. You're better at controlling yourself than most of our classmates, but it has happened a few times. Damn, wish Akahana was here. She'd be able to help me remember better."
"Remember what?" Ry asked.
Kina grinned. "Remember who you're most interested in, obviously. It's clearly not me, so I'm trying to figure it out."
"I…you're not offended by that?" Ry asked carefully.
Kina snickered. "No. I think you're cute, and my nose tells me that you think I'm hot. But you're just wanting to be friends, and disguised this as a date. I can respect that. The best hunters take their prey before their prey even know there's a hunt. Or run them down and exhaust them until they're too weak to resist, but since you don't want to date me, we don't have to worry about that."
"I…have no idea what to say to that." Ry replied honestly.
"Eh, it's fine." Kina said. "I can't really hang around with Uzumaki, my clan already gets mad enough at me for slacking off and pranking. They'd get really mad if I hung out with her. But I can hang out with you sometimes."
"…Right." Ry said after a moment. "This has not gone at all how I expected."
Kina shrugged. "Could be worse. I could've thrown my water at you and walked out already."
That…somehow I get the sense Kina's mom might've prepped that response for her. Maybe in case I did something untoward.
"Anyways…" Kina tapped her fingers on the table. "I'm trying to think. We haven't really had class together much, so I don't have much to use. Just a couple of taijutsu classes."
"I don't think that's going to help much." Ry offered. "I'm not really interested in any of the kunoichi at school. Lots of pretty girls, but I've got other things to focus on."
"That's not true." Kina's nose scrunched. "I'm sure I've smelled your scent spike at least once or twice. I'm just trying to remember who it was…oh! Seong-sensei, maybe?"
Ry stared at Kina. "How'd you come to that conclusion?"
"Well, she runs the taijutsu spars." Kina said. "And yeah, I haven't really seen you react to any of the tricks us kunoichi like to use on the other shinobi while sparring. You're kinda like Junji-kun in that regard, because they work on most of the others. But it has spiked, it just took me a minute to remember."
"Then…I guessed, and your reaction just now confirmed it for me." Kina grinned smugly.
Ry thought about his response for a minute. The waiter came over, dropping off the food.
Once the waiter left, Ry shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. She's definitely beautiful."
"Heh, you should hear what some of my older shinobi cousins used to say about her." Kina grinned. "They would pine and whine all about her when they were at the Academy together; I was only a little girl, but I remember. Then she'd beat the crap out of them and they just wanted her more. She was sorta like Neko-baka, except not part of a Clan or anything like that, and I think she had to compete with Utatane Mari and a couple others who were training at that time.
She said that name like I should know who it is. But there's no Utatane Clan, is there?
"That wouldn't surprise me." Ry replied. "I've actually seen her…well, heard her deal with some shinobi that came to ask her out once, after hours. I had to stay for mandatory lessons, but she shut him down, hard."
"You have mandatory lessons with her?" Kina's eyes widened. "Woof. Iroha-sensei is bad enough. Seong-sensei…wait, you're in mandatory lessons for taijutsu?"
"Helping." Ry shrugged. "She had some other students in mandatory lessons, but she wanted another student to work with them. So she asked if I would volunteer."
"Huh." Kina nodded. "But that means you get to see her practicing all those taijutsu stances up close."
Ry squinted at Kina. "Are you…trying to tease me about that?"
Kina smirked. "Well, yeah. My mom's taught me all the ways to rile up guys. Teasing them about other attractive women usually works."
I'm…what?
"Why are you trying to rile me up?" Ry asked.
"Because it's fun." Kina said. "Even if we're not going to date, I need more practice with this sort of thing. I know better than to try stuff like that in yuwaku, given how most of the other shinobi in training would respond. So, if I want to get practice, you're probably a safe way to do so."
"You're terrible." Ry said flatly.
"You do like her though." Kina said, grinning after a few bites of her steak. "At least, you think she's hot."
"You know you talk about other women like guys do, right?" Ry asked, unable to keep a smile off his face.
"And it turns them on." Kina shrugged, still grinning. "Don't say it's not working either, because I can smell you. Like I said, practice. Mom taught me a lot, but you're sort of my first opportunity to use that stuff. Normally I'd be trying to work on other classmates, but all the other shinobi in training that I might be interested in have their mind set on very particular prey. Anyone I'd be interested in practicing with would, at best, be looking to get bragging rights for bagging me. So, you, or I wait until I'm a genin and the older shinobi won't treat me like I'm a kid."
"I feel like I'm being taken advantage of, here." Ry commented.
Kina snickered. "Poor baby, eating a very nice dinner with a pretty girl who wants to practice turning guys on."
"You know what, fair." Ry said.
At least, in the sense that Narisa is likely trying to dye your dog's fur lurid pink at this moment.
Or she should be. Dammit, where's the signal?
The rest of the dinner passed quicker than Ry anticipated. He managed to keep Kina at the restaurant for nearly an hour and a half. Their banter was easier than Ry had been expecting, but he was enjoying it.
Still, by the end of it, he hadn't received the signal from Narisa's clone that her infiltration had even begun. Which was a problem. If Ry brought Kina back, for the end of their date, there wasn't a high likelihood of Narisa getting another shot.
I'll have to improvise. I'd ask if she wanted to go train, but she'd definitely want to go get Akahana, and change. Hell, I'm not-
"Can we go back to your place, watch a movie or two?" Kina asked.
Ry looked at the girl. "Really?"
"I'm having fun." Kina said. "You're also the kind of guy I think won't judge me for wanting to watch action movies rather than romance."
"That's…never mind." Ry shook his head. "Yeah. We can go watch a movie at my apartment. Your parents aren't going to be worried?"
Kina's grin showed her canines once more. "My mom made sure I was prepared for every eventuality. My mom couldn't be worried no matter what I do."
The way she patted her purse wasn't reassuring.
Narisa was in the middle of sliding down a wall when the memories returned to her.
They left the restaurant? Skewer-kun didn't signal that Inu-baka was headed home.
Crap. At least I had bunshin ready to tail them.
Narisa was taking Ry's warning about sensor nin seriously, but she'd also done some testing of her own.
Because from the way skewer-kun talked about sensor nin, her escapades should've always ended far quicker than they did. Most ANBU could cross Inner Konoha from one end to the other, in a little under five minutes. Narisa had timed them.
In the many times she'd cut classes, Narisa had learned ANBU's deployment pattern quite well when it came to finding her and they took a lot longer than a couple of minutes. They always started by hemming her into a section of Inner Konoha. From there, they pushed inwards, ferreting her out. At that point it typically became a game of tag.
She knew some of the ANBU indulged her more than others, but the fastest she remembered ever being caught was eight minutes after class started. She hadn't been trying to hide herself for that particular outing.
With that in mind, the last few times she'd cut class, Narisa had set up a couple of Henge bunshin to observe.
The conclusion she'd come to was that sensor nin could only track her to an area. She hadn't figured out the exact limits – and she suspected that they might differ based on which sensor nin were on duty – but Narisa knew she had about a half mile leeway in any direction before her bunshin might get flagged as an anomaly. Even then, she was fairly certain the sensor nin were primarily homing in on her. There were several times she'd forgotten about bunshin near the edges of Outer Konoha, and no one had said anything. She wasn't sure why, but as long as she kept most of her bunshin nearby, obaa-san wouldn't be alerted that she had Kage Bunshin.
She planned on testing the exact limitations more thoroughly, but not until she had a valid excuse as to why her chakra signature might be defused.
The particulars of that excuse hadn't filled themselves in yet, but they would.
Another set of memories appeared as Narisa was busy bribing the ninken.
Frowning, she went back to what she was doing. Her bunshin would stay vigilant for skewer-kun or Inu-baka once they re entered the proper distance.
At the moment, focus on the task at hand was more important.
She'd learned, after a spectacular failure of her first attempt to prank Inu-baka, that the ninken were much harder to sneak by than regular dogs.
They could sniff out her chakra and they'd been trained to recognize scents that could impair them.
Which just meant Narisa had needed to get creative.
Ry felt a good deal of trepidation as he opened the door to his apartment. He knew his aunt wasn't in; the bedroom she maintained there seemed to be more for show than anything else.
"Huh." Kina said as she stepped by him. "Smells cleaner than I expected."
"Is that a compliment, or a jab?" Ry asked.
Kina turned to give Ry a smile. "Mostly a compliment. My male cousins' rooms usually smell terrible, and my female cousins always complain about their men being worse than their ninken."
"They track mud in and shake it everywhere?" Ry asked in amusement.
"You joke, but my aunt Siari had to beat her husband with a broom until he learned to stop doing that." Kina said absently, walking towards the kitchen.
"Wait, your aunt beat her husband with a broom?" Ry asked incredulously.
"He uh, was raised by a branch that lives out at one of the yokai watch bases." Kina said. "And they have…extreme training methods for their tracker nin. Konohagakure nin call us Inuzuka feral, but they haven't seen anything. Uncle Haru is more ninken than nin, some days."
"Uh-huh." Ry said dubiously.
"I'm not like that." Kina turned, pouting at Ry. "Though I do scratch and bite."
"I've noticed." Ry said dryly.
Kina smirked. "Got you good last time we sparred."
Ry nodded. He didn't inform her that half the reason she'd been able to gash his forearm was that he was having to fight the instinct to use adhesion and Strangler Style to turn her extended contact against her. Kina was actually pretty good at taijutsu, and Ry suspected she was holding back in a manner similar to himself.
Except in her case, Ry was fairly certain she was waiting until Akahana had toughened up enough to hold her own in a fight.
"What'd you make?" Kina asked, gesturing towards the kitchen.
"Oh, I grilled some pork for lunch." Ry said. "I thought I'd…not enough airing out for your nose?"
Kina stopped tapping her nose, smiling. "You got it. It smells great though. Next time we hang out, Akahana and I will have to come over, you can cook for us."
"If you're anything like Narisa, you're footing that bill." Ry said.
"Hehe, and here I thought I might get Akahana a free meal." Kina giggled.
"Do you have to pay for meals in your clan?" Ry asked.
"No, but all the ninken love actual meat. We only let them have it as a special treat." Kina said. "It's a reward for good behavior, or when one of the Clan has enough to splurge. Ninken can eat a lot of meat if they put their minds to it."
"Yeesh you guys are hungry." Narisa said, unsealing another scroll.
Extended observation of the Inuzuka ninken had revealed a weak point: their love of meat. They especially loved beef.
Narisa was fairly certain they wouldn't accept food from anyone they didn't recognize. Narisa was the opposite of that. The first couple of times she'd tried legitimately running away from the orphanage before being allowed to move out, Inuzuka ninken were the ones who'd tracked her down.
Narisa wasn't sure exactly where she fell on the spectrum of friend or foe, but they perceived her as either harmless or friendly enough to trust food from.
The only problem was the absurd amount of food they wanted.
In the past, Narisa had timed her pranks when the majority of the Inuzuka clan was out on missions, or training exercises. She only had to bribe a couple of the hounds at any one time.
Now she had at least fifteen in front of her. All of them with irresistible puppy dog genjutsu eyes that broke Narisa instantly.
"You guys are lucky some of my bunshin got jobs in meat processing and cattle raising." Narisa grumbled as the ninken tore into the meat with abandon.
Those jobs were weird. When her bunshin were under Henge, it wasn't merely an illusion, but a full transformation. Which meant the bunshin that were applying as males were actual guys. The occasional memory dump she received always had to be carefully sectioned off.
Male versions of herself had a particular interest that Narisa didn't like thinking about. She wasn't going to be an infiltrator, and she was saving herself for Satoshi-kun. Anyone trying to flirt with her, or her bunshin, was wasting their time.
It was just that some of her bunshin liked to push boundaries. Especially the male ones; they seemed to have trouble thinking clearly when they were around someone good looking. The testing she was doing while working on the jutsu for Konohakime had only worsened the problem.
Shaking her head, Narisa focused back on the matter at hand. The Inuzuka ninken were all getting lethargic. Narisa knew better than to slip any sort of sedative into the meat, but she also knew what an overly full belly did.
Now that the adult ninken were peacefully sleepy, Narisa could infiltrate further. She knew from reconnaissance for previous pranks that Akahana stayed in Inu-baka's bedroom when not with her.
Narisa had needed her revenge prank a bit too much to wait for ideal timing. Luck was on her side however; the day she and Ry had settled on ended up being the same night that Inu-baka's parents were out late with friends. One of Narisa's bunshin had last reported them stopping in a bar with a few other nin.
Poor little Akahana.
Narisa patted the scroll she had on her hip as she grinned. People might accuse her of being lazy, but she was always willing to put in the work when it came to pranks. The scroll contained the paint she needed, as well as a certain concoction her reconnaissance had revealed to be important for Akahana. Something to help regulate her; Narisa hadn't been able to read their lips for the entirety of the conversation, and could only assume that the little ninken in training wasn't eating the right kind of diet. Reconnaissance of the Inuzuka Compound had to be done from a great distance, so Narisa knew she'd missed things.
Her presumption was a laxative. She'd used those before, and whatever the concoction was, it came from the same herbalist Narisa had 'utilized' in previous pranks.
The herbalist had looked at her Henge bunshin oddly when she'd bought it, but that wasn't surprising. Narisa hadn't heard of this particular laxative before, but from what she'd been able to understand, it was supposed to be a one and done used only in very specific circumstances. It was strong enough that the scent would be enough to jolt Akahana's biology into action. The herbalist had been very specific on that after Narisa's bunshin explained about her 'pet.' The herbalist had strongly recommended keeping her 'pet' away from all but specifically selected pets, which had confused the bunshin. Said confusion led to the herbalist explaining that the laxative's scent would linger, and cling to her 'pet's' fur, which could cause a chain reaction.
That impressed the hell out of Narisa; she'd bought six, because something that effective was far too useful for a one time use.
She wouldn't be able to fool or cajole Akahana into being quiet, but she could ensure the kind of noises she was making were ones that were expected. After all, she knew that Inu-baka had purchased the same laxative only a day before Narisa herself.
"Yeah?" Ry asked. "That almost sounds like I'd need to be cooking even before you got here."
Kina grinned. "Well, probably. Akahana's going to be starting puberty next week. Her growth rate is going to require a lot of food."
"You guys have that exact of a tracking method on your ninken's development?" Ry asked.
It made sense. The Inuzuka had been breeding and raising ninken long before the formation of Konohagakure. Ry was just impressed they had it down so precisely.
"Mostly." Kina said. "We know within a couple of months. But really, we're going to cheat a bit. Akahana's reached the right amount of chakra development and physiological stability. We'd start her right now, but I'll need to be with her for a couple of days. We've got tests this week, and my parents don't want me to miss those."
"Cheat?" Ry asked.
"Well, I can't give away Clan secrets, but we have a method of raising our ninken so that they reach a point where all their chakra development, combined with reaching a certain level of physiological stability and growth, triggers rapid maturation." Kina smirked. "They reach it naturally at some point, but we can trigger it a bit more precisely with the right methods. It's not a permanent maturation, but it makes the succeeding, natural version much smoother and quicker."
"So Akahana's at that point, and you're going to tip her over the edge, more or less." Ry nodded. "Makes sense."
"She was actually ready last month, and I bought the proper supplies really recently, but my parents didn't want me too distracted." Kina said sheepishly. "Ya know, when they put me in mandatory lessons. Again."
"Yeah, Narisa's talked about how awful those are." Ry agreed. "They must be rough."
"Yeah." Kina said. "Hey, I'm going to go use the restroom really quick. Can I trust you to pick out a sufficiently awesome movie? I call dibs on the stuffed chair."
Ry shrugged. "Sure. You still sure this is okay? I'm happy to walk you home, I really don't want to get accused of impropriety with a Clan Heiress."
Kina snorted. "I told you. My mom trusts me to handle this. She doesn't have anyone observing us or anything. As long as you can trust me of not accusing you of anything improper."
Narisa frowned as she looked in through the window.
Her work had been painstaking, after confirming that Akahana was curled up asleep on Inu-baka's bed. The window was locked, but it was easy to pick; Narisa had far too much experience for a normal lock to stop her. The Inuzuka trusted their ninken to sniff out anything sneaking in. The locks on their windows were afterthoughts, if anyone thought of them at all.
Once the window was open, she'd unsealed the scroll with the laxative, then uncorked the little glass jar. Using a small hand fan, she wafted it into the room.
Then she'd settled in to watch. Akahana was clearly well trained; Narisa was expecting her to wake up and scramble towards the small pad in the corner of Inu-baka's room. Or even try to go outside. Narisa had planned for multiple contingencies.
What she hadn't planned for was what Akahana was doing at the moment.
Rather than any sounds of intestinal distress, Akahana was thrashing around in the bed. Her eyes were closed, but her claws were out. She was mauling Inu-baka's sheets, while her teeth tore at the pillow.
Strangest of all, Akahana was growing. At a visible rate.
I think I misremembered what Inu-baka said. Because if she keeps growing like that. I don't have enough paint.
This is definitely not a laxative.
Gah! Now I'll have to figure out another way to prank her. Grr…
Narisa slipped out of the clan compound, fuming. She couldn't even go vent to skewer-kun, on the off chance it alerted Inu-baka. She was annoying to prank in the first place. Inu-baka and Akahana with their guards up were utterly frustrating to plot around.
This is not what I expected to go wrong tonight!
This is going better than I expected.
Kina smiled at herself as she pulled the headband out of her hair.
There was no scent of the dead last in Shiranui's apartment.
Kina knew that meant they likely hung out at the dead last's apartment, or out in the village. But she would get to rub her scent all over this place first.
She knew it would bother the dead last, should she ever actually come over. While most nin had improved vision and hearing, Kina had noticed long ago that the dead last had a nose that was similarly improved. Not nearly as powerful as Kina's own, but more than the average nin.
Kina had been using that fact to occasionally drive the dead last crazy. When she'd planted the posters in the dead last's locker a few weeks back, she'd made sure to get a scent sample to go with them. A scent sample she'd then left on the posters; she knew how the dead last would react to it.
The expected reprisal, a bunch of posters of cats in Kina's locker, had arrived the very next day. Kina had been surprised; she'd expected a larger retaliation.
Maybe it's Shiranui-kun's influence on her. She has been pretty quiet on the pranking front lately.
That quiet unnerved Kina. Uzumaki Narisa regularly attending classes and not pulling pranks meant she was trying to lower people's guards. Kina didn't know who the dead last was plotting against, but in case it was her, she'd decided to preempt whatever buildup she could.
Running her fingers through her hair, Kina smirked at the thought of the dead last's reaction to the 'date.' She was too much fun to poke, precisely for her big, volatile reactions.
I'll have to think about how to talk about it. Obviously Shiranui will tell her the truth; he's clearly not the type to brag, and I don't see the dead last being interested in any sort of made up stories.
Unless they were about Satoshi.
Kina walked back out to the living room. It was clear that Ry's aunt made excellent money; a two bedroom apartment, just for her nephew, was a lot. One with a spacious living room and a full kitchen was almost showing off.
Shiranui had his back to Kina, bent over and fiddling with the television.
Kina's eyes locked onto his rear. She was surprised at herself; Shiranui was cute, among the rare shinobi in Konoha that had the kind of body most Inuzuka kunoichi found attractive, but he wasn't laser focus on his ass cute.
Even if that ass was great and probably had all the power necessary to-
Am…am I getting turned on looking at his butt?
Kina was no stranger to her own arousal. She had to take care of it regularly; even more than the average nin, the bond that Inuzukas shared with their ninken amplified their baser desires.
But she was damp, and rapidly heading towards wet, at a time when she hadn't been leaning in that direction at all.
Why…he's cute but-
"Hey, I picked a good movie." Shiranui said, straightening up and turning around.
Kina nodded, doing her best to maintain her outward control while trying to figure out why she was suddenly so horny.
"Sounds good." Kina said, hearing the strain in her voice.
Shiranui clearly heard the same. "You okay? Like I said, I'm happy to walk you home."
He stepped closer, eyes peering at her with sparks of caution and confusion.
I was planning to mark this place with my scent, but maybe that's not a good-
Shiranui stepped closer, putting a hand on her forehead. "You're red, and flushed. Was there something in the fish?"
Kina's brain was too busy parsing the delectable strains of Shiranui's scent. There was a faint hint of musk, but in her heightened state, she could practically scent the concern and care for her. His body language and his smell screamed that he wanted to help her, fix whatever was wrong with her.
As the rapidly growing heat between Kina's legs made clear, there was only one thing that would fix what was wrong with her.
Kina inhaled raggedly, shaking her head. She leaned on the exercises in control that her mother and aunts taught her. Bonding with their ninken could have dangerous effects if not managed carefu-
Akahana triggered early.
Kina's eyes widened. It had been a danger, but a minimal one. If she was at school, she would've seen the initial signs and run home. Even on her own, at home, it would've been fine.
This was the only time she'd been away from Akahana in the last month and a half.
And of course this is when she naturally triggers!
Kina had no warning. Worse, she had no way to dampen the effects. If she were physically present with Akahana, there were shared chakra circulation patterns to be used, to reduce the volatility for both of them.
Kina didn't have that. All she had was the overflow of hormones coursing through Akahana reverberating along their chakra bond, agitating and amplifying her own as Akahana went through rapid physical and sexual maturation. Due to her own upbringing, training, and genetics, that meant Kina was very much in danger of ceding control to her physical body. Her physical desires.
At the one time she was alone with an attractive guy who smelled so good right now.
"Did you just whimper?" Shiranui asked. "Are you actually in pain?"
Kina hadn't realized she was making noise. Shiranui had both his strong and warm hands holding her tightly on her shoulders. Kina sagged into Shiranui's chest, her body tingling. She could feel his warmth through his shirt, as well as the well defined pectorals. Keeping herself from lunging at him was taking nearly all her control.
Her hands betrayed her, brushing over his stomach. And finding abs she wanted to grind herself on so bad.
"Kina." Shiranui's tone was rough.
He pulled her away from his chest. Kina looked up, finding his eyes with her own. Distantly, she noted his eyes had a slightly glassy edge to them. He was completely focused on her, but his pupils were significantly wider than she remembered.
He's getting hit by my pheromones.
"Do I need to take you to the hospital?" Shiranui asked.
Kina's thoughts were turning into syrup, sticking together and flowing slowly. Shiranui's lips kept moving and Kina wondered if they'd taste as good as they looked.
After a minute of Kina not responding, her body-brain disconnect only letting through thoughts about what would happen when her pheromones finally overcame Shiranui's rationality, the shinobi shook his head. His brow creased and Kina abruptly realized some of the warmth in his hands had gone away.
He pulled a hand away from her shoulder, placing it to his head. His hand flared green. Kina blinked slowly, watching as his pupils receded to their normal size as he took a few steps back.
Wow…he's resisting?
"Kina, what's going on with you?" Shiranui asked in a deceptively calm voice.
Something deep down in Kina shivered. It felt like part of her chakra bond with Akahana, but at the same time separate. Whatever it was, it urged Kina to drop down on all fours and let this man in front of her satisfy the molten heat between her legs. To give in to the primal desire.
If he can resist my pheromones…maybe…
"Akahana…" Kina ground out, even as her legs took a step forward independent of her desire to hold out. "Triggered."
Shiranui frowned. His pupils were already dilating again and Kina could smell his scent changing. Struggling to hold back her own desires, she was impressed. Shiranui was showing remarkable control for someone not at all trained in her clan's methods.
The thing along her bond with Akahana shivered again. More violently this time, sending waves of delicious frission through Kina's body. Once again, visions danced through her head of rutting with Shiranui, of him taking her until all that was left was animal desire.
"And…" Shiranui paused again, pressing his hand to his head. "Damn. What is that smell? Are you doing that?"
"So-sorry." Kina mewled.
"Right." Shiranui said.
As the thing on her bond with Akahana vibrated, and then didn't stop, Kina lost control. She threw herself at Shiranui. Her lips locked with his, and he tasted divine. So good she couldn't wait to taste him and feel him and have him fu-
As Kina's eyes rolled back in her head, Ry stood completely still. He gritted his teeth, flaring his chakra in his hand again.
Whatever was happening with Kina, using Mystical Palm to reset himself to his default state was keeping the symptoms at bay. It wasn't pretty, and it wasn't efficient, but at least he had enough control to manage it. Only the fact that Kazune, Aoba, and Akena had started purposefully concussing him, to teach him to heal himself through light brain trauma, let him manipulate the chakra even while barely holding himself together.
The scent coming off Kina made Ry want to rip her clothes off and reduce her vocabulary to one word that she'd scream out in ecstasy.
"Fuck." Ry groaned.
He pulsed the chakra through his head again, but something was a bit different. When Kina had kissed him, something had reverberated through his chakra network. Ry had been able to render her unconscious fairly quickly, but not before the reverberations had echoed through his body. He felt them disappear for a brief moment, though he couldn't pinpoint where. It was like the reverberations vanished into a hole in his perception, one that eluded his ability to discern where it wasn't. Then the reverberations flowed through him again, and back into Kina.
All in the second of time it took for Ry to register he was being kissed and pulsing his Mystical Palm at a very specific nerve cluster in Kina.
At least Hirana taught me how to do that. Useful trick to use on the unprepared and uninfused.
Pulsing Mystical Palm through himself, Ry had enough control to stop holding himself rigidly still. Kina's unconscious form was slumped against him.
Ry looked down at her. She looked fine, albeit like someone with a bad fever. Little shivers were still running through her body, despite being out cold.
"Back to your family, I think." Ry said. "Unless the hospital would…no, her family probably knows more about whatever's happening, if it's related to Akahana's triggering."
Scooping Kina up into a princess carry, Ry turned to the door.
Then immediately put Kina down, so he could open the door properly. His aunt would not be pleased with him if he broke the door down because he was too focused to consider opening it.
While Kina was down, Ry held up his hands in the Bunshin seal.
"Got it." Ry's clone nodded, taking off at a dead sprint.
Ry hauled Kina up again, running towards the Inuzuka Compound.
Did whatever Narisa was doing trigger Akahana? I thought it was supposed to be a laxative. That was what she described her 'secret weapon' as. Are laxatives the secret method to triggering explosive growth in ninken?
…And what the hell has become of my night if that's the question running through my head right now?
As Ry had expected, he only made it a few rooftops before an ANBU operative landed next to him. "Student?"
One of the sensors, maybe? Or is the partner for the one presumably interrogating my clone.
"Shiranui Ry." Ry said, continuing to run.
Even at his top speed, he knew any ANBU operative could run circles around him. Burden or no burden. It was better to keep moving until he had explained the situation.
His clone was likely doing the same, further ahead.
"Inuzuka Kina." Ry explained as he ran. "She started acting funny, barely managed to tell me her ninken triggered, then I had to knock her out when she got aggressive."
The bird mask nodded sharply. "Continue moving. We'll monitor, and call in an iryo specialist. Proceed to the Inuzuka Clan Compound. Do not depart until we've had time to question you."
The ANBU operative disappeared in a shunshin.
It took him another three minutes before he arrived at the gate of the Inuzuka compound. It was already open, and several men and women with facial features greatly resembling Kina were waiting. Including one that either had to be her older sister, aunt, or her mother.
"What happened to my niece?" The woman asked as the others bundled Kina out of Ry's hands.
Where's my shadow clone? It was supposed to be explaining this already? Did ANBU hold onto it?
"We were hanging out." Ry said, shaking his head. "Then she went to the restroom. When she came back, she was acting distinctly different. Her face was beginning to flush, and her voice sounded rough. I asked her if she was okay, and she was barely able to respond. She said something about Akahana triggering. After that…"
How do I tell her family that she started giving off some sort of smell that made me want to pin her to the nearest surface and fuck her senseless? Thank god for Mystical Palm and enough self-control to avoid that.
The woman frowned, glancing at Kina, then back at Ry. "Did she make any sort of exchange of fluids between you?"
Ry blinked. "Uh, she caught me by surprise and kissed me. I knocked her out almost instantly though, because it didn't seem like she was in control of herself."
The woman nodded. "I see. Iryo specialist?"
"In training." Ry replied. "Is she going to be okay?"
"We'll see." The woman said. "We're examining Akahana as well, as their chakra bond is under serious strain right now. You did the right thing, bringing my niece to us."
"Figured the Inuzuka would know best when it came to Inuzuka Clan secrets." Ry shrugged.
"We'll handle the rest of this." Kina's aunt said. "Thank you for bringing my niece back."
"I'm supposed to stay here until the ANBU operatives can speak with me. Do you want me to…uh, stand anywhere in particular?" Ry asked, feeling awkward.
A trio of kunoichi appeared off to one side. One was by Kina's side almost immediately, hands glowing green. Ry could hear murmured words between her and the Inuzuka with his hands on Kina's head, but they were gibberish. A glance to the side showed one of the ANBU standing next to her holding a Rat seal.
Barrier of some kind. Cool.
The bird masked ANBU stepped up. "Inuzuka-san, may we speak with Shiranui here?"
"Yes." Kina's aunt said.
Ry's report to the ANBU operative was identical to the summary he'd already given. His clone's memories returned in the middle of the conversation. Another ANBU had been holding it. The clone had been forced to sit in the middle of some sort of seal; Ry's only guess was that it was some sort of tracking formation. Fuinjutsu were not anywhere in his current studies, outside of the Academy's basic fuinjutsu used in sealing scrolls, though he was interested in changing that.
"There will likely be a follow up with your legal guardian." The ANBU operative said once she was done questioning Ry. "But it appears you acted correctly. Who taught you Kage Bunshin?"
"Hatake Kazune." Ry replied.
The bird mask tilted slightly. "I see. You're free to go."
By the time Ry got back to his apartment, he wasn't surprised to find he had a guest.
Kazune was reclined against the kitchen counter. "Maa, you should lock up after you leave. Anyone could wander in."
"So I see." Ry replied. "Is this an urgent conversation, or can it wait until tomorrow?"
"You don't look that tired." Kazune noted.
"Whatever happened to Kina put a bit of a mental strain on me." Ry said flatly.
Kazune shut her orange book. "That's fine then. I'm just here to check on you in absence of your legal guardian. But yes, a solid night's sleep should work wonders. I know ANBU, and I know you. I suspect you're free and clear of this."
Ry's eyebrows rose. "They suspected malicious intent?"
"You were carrying an unconscious Clan Heiress from your apartment where no one else was present." Kazune said, her eye crinkling. "What would you think?"
"…Fair." Ry groaned. "She was the one who wanted to come here anyways."
"You'll certainly be fine." Kazune strode to the door, then paused with her hand on it. "Oh, and Shiranui-kun, be well rested for tomorrow. You were moving a bit too lightly on your feet there. I think it's time we increased the training weights again, and Akena-chan will want to make sure your form isn't suffering."
"Crap." Ry said to the closed door. "They're going to make it noticeable again."