Chronicles of Shivaroku: Part 2
The Girl at the Flower Shop
A quick recap: Shivaroku, a curious boy with a bushy tail, was raised by kind old man named Grandpa Gohan. Under the full moon, Shivaroku transformed into a giant ape known as an Oozaru and accidentally took the life of Gohan. Turtle Sage Roshi then took over and became his teacher for the next four years, teaching him chakra control, taijutsu, fire and earth-style jutsus, and the Kamehameha. During the time, Roshi ended up cutting off Shivaroku's tail so that he wouldn't transform into an Oozaru again. Shivaroku still did not know that he himself was the reason for his grandfather's death, however. During his travels, he also met Bulma, a scientist and heir to the Capsule Corporation. When Bulma was kidnapped and injured by bandits, Shivaroku awakened a terrifying transformation in a fit of rage. Unable to control himself, he very nearly killed Bulma and Roshi after killing the bandits. Shivaroku then realized that he needed to control this new power, and Roshi agreed, but Roshi also taught him Sage Mode, so that Shivaroku wouldn't have to utilize such raw power and rage. Roshi was unable to teach Shivaroku how to control this new form, which he named Super Saiyan, so Roshi led Shivaroku to the Continental Tower. Shivaroku climbed half of the tower, where he met Korin and had to pass a challenge in order to proceed further. Korin's challenge was tough, but Shivaroku was able to succeed using his wits. Shivaroku proceeded to the top of the tower, where he met Popo, the Guardian of Earth. There Popo taught him chakra control mastery, how to shoot ki blasts, and how to summon the flying nimbus. Throughout the training, Shivaroku also got a great deal stronger and faster. However, his goal was to control his Super Saiyan form, but he had very little time left on the Lookout. Popo took Shivaroku to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, where Shivaroku got 6 months-worth of training in 6 days. Although he did not fully master his Super Saiyan form and was not fully able to separate his emotions from a battle, Shivaroku learned how to tap into his power and transform at will. Before Shivaroku left the Lookout, Popo warned him about Piccolo, a demon, and evil incarnate, who was sealed at the Lookout but will escape in the future. Since Shivaroku was also 15 years of age, he had to join a village from one of the Great Nations, so that he would be recognized as a Shinobi. After a few weeks of research, Shivaroku chose the Hidden Leaf Village of the Land of Fire, where he will begin his days as a Hidden Leaf Shinobi.
Shivaroku walked into the Hokage's office where he was met by Tsunade and her assistant Shizune. The main Jonin leaders of that year were also present: Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy.
"Everyone, this is Shivaroku. This kid is incredibly skilled and powerful. Of course, he is. He was trained by the Guardian of the Earth, of course," said Tsunade.
"The Guardian of the Earth. That's incredible, I only know of a few people who trained under him, including the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Hokages," said Asuma, as he lit a cigarette.
"Well I couldn't have done it without the training of the Turtle Sage, if I'm being honest," responded Shivaroku.
"In any case, what you did was a remarkable feat. You will become one of the greats, one day, and you will be a great help to the Leaf…actually to the entire world, I feel," said Kakashi.
"Wow! So you're telling me that you're super strong right?! And I know that your taijutsu skills must be amazing!" exclaimed Guy as he walked over to Shivaroku and got all up in his face.
Feeling a bit uncomfortable with Guy being in close proximity, Shivaroku said, "uh…yeah, I guess…hehe."
With a sigh, Kurenai pulled Guy away and shook hands with Shivaroku, saying, "Let me be the first Jonin to welcome you. These 3 boys may be strong and skilled, but they really need to learn more about having manners." The small friendly insult made the other three Jonin to the side and scratch their head.
"Thank you. I'm excited to be here. I know I can be a great help to the Leaf. My Grandpa Gohan, Master Roshi, and Master Popo all told me that I was destined for greater things. My goal is to foster a peaceful connection between all the nations of this world," said Shivaroku, proudly.
Tsunade smiled, as Shivaroku's words reminded her of her late fiancée and younger brother, who both had the same goals. "That's quite a big goal you have there. But why don't we start with the Leaf first, since this will be your home. Can't have world peace if this village is destroyed, can we?"
Shivaroku nodded.
"Alright. You four can leave and return to your students," said Tsunade to the Jonin. The Jonin nodded and walked out of the office. "First thing's first. You may have been trained by the greats, but you haven't actually gone through the regular training and education that Shinobi usually get. Normally, students would have to be at the academy for about 3 or 4 years before they gain the rank of Genin, but in your case, you're both old enough and skilled enough to be a Genin now. Nevertheless, you still need to take the graduation exam."
"Aw man, nobody told me there would be an exam…," said a slightly annoyed Shivaroku.
"Hey. You're lucky you don't have to go to the Academy for the next several years. I'm giving you a prime opportunity here, but I have to test you, don't I? Besides there are still a few things you don't know yet that the current Genin already know. For example…" Tsunade made a hand signal and suddenly multiple copies of her appeared.
"What the…is this a genjutsu?" asked Shivaroku while taken slightly aback.
"Ah, so at least you know of genjutsu. No, it's not. This is a shadow-clone jutsu. It uses chakra to create physical clones of yourself," responded Tsunade.
"Wow that's amazing."
"Yes, but it is a basic jutsu that most children are taught at the end of their Academy years."
"I see…so I have some stuff to learn. I understand now."
"Mhmm. Fortunately for you, I will give you a few weeks to train for the graduation exam. You will have the full library of academy scrolls. They have all the information and jutsus you need to know to become a Genin. No doubt, you have already learned some stuff, so feel free to skim through some of them. Come back to me in a month's time to take your exam."
"Thank you, Lady Hokage," said Shivaroku with a bow.
"Before you start your training, why don't you take a couple days to explore and figure out your way around the village."
"That sounds like a good idea!" Shivaroku bowed once more and then took his leave.
Shivaroku walked around the village. Feeling hungry, he decided to stop at a ramen shop that caught his eye. He took a seat and asked the chef for his recommendation.
"I've never seen you before. Are you new here?" asked a stranger at the last seat.
"Ah yes. I am. My name is Shivaroku, nice to meet you."
The stranger walked up to Shivaroku. It turns out this stranger was a boy. He had blonde spiky hair, a leaf headband, an orange sweatshirt, and what looked like whiskers on his cheeks. The stranger glared at him suspiciously.
"You must think I'm a spy or something, right? Based on the way you're looking at me?" said Shivaroku in a slightly more serious tone.
"Well, yeah. This village has gone through a lot in the last few months, so I don't trust newcomers that easily."
"I see. But you can ask Lady Hokage. She's the one who approved of me being here. I'm going to become a Leaf Shinobi soon, and I will protect it at all costs." Shivaroku stared at the strange boy and made a serious face.
After a couple minutes of a staring contest, the boy smiled and said, "Well, I'm Naruto. Nice to meet ya!"
Shivaroku smiled back and said "Nice to meet you too! Now that that's all cleared up, can I get back to ordering some ramen?"
"Oh I know all about this shop. Ramen is my favorite food, so take my recommendations."
"Oh uh…alright!"
Shivaroku and Naruto enjoyed several bowls of ramen. Shivaroku then summoned one of his wallets and he paid for everything, which begot an annoyed but also relieved reaction from Naruto. Both boys parted ways, unknown to them that they would become great friends one day.
Shivaroku then decided to go around and explore the shops. He walked around and a flower shop caught his eye. Well, to be specific, a certain person at the flower shop caught his eye. She was roughly his age, having blonde hair and blue eyes, almost like his Super Saiyan form. But something about her, made Shivaroku stop and stare.
"Hey, you! Are you gonna just stand there or are you gonna buy something?"
Shivaroku snapped out of his trance and realized that the girl he was staring at said something.
"Uh, sorry, what did you say?"
"*sigh* if you're not going to buy something, I suggest you leave because this is a pretty busy shop," said the girl.
Shivaroku looked up at the shop sign, which read "Yamanaka Flowers."
"Oh, sorry. I'm kinda new here in the village. Sure I'll buy some flowers. What do you recommend?"
The girl smiled and happily asked, "Well what's the occasion?"
"Hmm well, I need a plant to decorate my new apartment."
The girl immediately started pointing Shivaroku to all the different potted plants that would make a new apartment look beautiful and homely. She was very clearly passionate about plants and flowers. Shivaroku looked at the girl from time to time, admiring her excitement. At one point though, the girl caught him looking at her and innocently asked what Shivaroku was looking at. A bit embarrassed, Shivaroku said, "Well, you just look really passionate about flowers, and I really admire that. I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable."
The girl blushed a bit and answered, "Oh well you didn't make me feel uncomfortable! But you're right that I'm passionate. While I have time off my missions, I take care of my mother's flower shop."
"Oh this shop is your mother's?"
"Mhmm!"
Just as Shivaroku was about to ask another question, a group of three boys wearing leaf headbands walked into the shop. They looked like brats, with their lack of manners. The one leading the pack yelled out, "Yo' Ino! When the hell are you gonna go out with me? You know you should!" He then walked up to the blonde girl and grabbed her by the arm, saying "Comeon, Ino. You can't keep rejecting me. I'm the best guy you can be with!" The two other boys yelled out in agreement.
The way this teen was acting ticked Shivaroku off a bit, but before he could step in, Ino swept the boy by the leg and threw him out the door. "The answer is never. Leave me alone before I do something worse," said Ino with a fire in her eyes. Once the boys ran away, Ino went right back to conversing with Shivaroku, "Now where were we!"
Ino's actions both scared and impressed Shivaroku. "So your name is Ino, huh?" said Shivaroku.
"Yeah. I'm Ino Yamanaka. Yamanaka is my clan's name," responded Ino.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Shivaroku…but I don't really belong to any clan."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Well…I never really knew my clan, I guess? I was raised by an old man living in the woods. Honestly I don't really know who my parents are or where I came from."
"I see," said Ino, a little bit sympathetic.
"No don't worry, I may have never known my clan, but I've had a good life so far!"
"So are you new in the village?" asked Ino.
"Yes, I am."
"Are you a Shinobi?"
"I guess? I was trained to be a Shinobi, but I'm not technically a genin yet. Lady Hokage gave me a month to train for the graduation exam, so that I can gain the rank of genin."
"Oh wow! Usually you would have to be at the academy to even be allowed to attempt the graduation exam, but good thing Lady Hokage gave you another option!"
"Yeah for sure! I'm supposed to start training tomorrow, actually. I don't really know my way around the village yet, so I'm just exploring for today, and I happened to come across this shop, haha."
"Well in that case, do you need a tour guide?"
"Hmm, yeah that would be great!"
"Great! I get off in an hour, then I can give you a tour of the Hidden Leaf Village!"
Shivaroku blushed a bit, not expecting Ino to be his tour guide, but he was excited, nonetheless.
"Oh right, I still need to pick out a plant for my apartment! I'm gonna be living at the dorms by the way," said Shivaroku.
"Oh yeah! Here, at the end of my shift, I'll find the perfect plant for your new home, just wait outside for about an hour, okay?" said Ino happily.
Shivaroku nodded and then stepped outside, where he sat on a bench conveniently located in front of the flower shop. While he was waiting, the same three boys from earlier walked up to him. The leader accused Shivaroku of trying to make a move on his girl. Shivaroku didn't understand and said he was doing no such thing. He also added, that Ino didn't really seem to be the boy's girlfriend, since she clearly rejected him. The leader got angry and grabbed Shivaroku by his shirt. Other people started watching, as the situation started to become a little bit more hostile. Shivaroku, of course, stayed calm.
"Why don't we calm down here. There's no need to be so aggressive," said Shivaroku to the leader.
"Aggressive? I'll show you aggressive!" yelled the leader, as he threw a punch at Shivaroku.
Shivaroku dodged the punch with ease, appearing behind the teen boy. This caught the boy off guard, as he tried to turn around and kick Shivaroku. Shivaroku still did not fight back and dodged yet again. This continued to annoy the boy, as he frantically kept attempting to punch and kick Shivaroku. Meanwhile Shivaroku dodged all the attacks, but getting a little bit tired of the boy's antics, Shivaroku pushed the kid to the ground. The boy then yelled and pulled out a shuriken. Before he threw it, he stopped mid-motion.
"What the hell? Why can't I move?!" yelled the boy.
"You're trapped in my Shadow paralysis jutsu," said a black-haired stranger in a green vest with a leaf headband around his arm. "Now what's all the commotion about?" asked the stranger as he looked at Shivaroku.
Shivaroku responded, "Well these guys accused me of making a move on his girlfriend, and then started attacking me for no reason."
"Well did you make a move on his girlfriend?"
"No of course not. I never made a move, and the girl he's talking about isn't even his girlfriend. She rejected him multiple times."
"I see." The stranger then ended his shadow paralysis jutsu and warned the boys to stay away from the shop and stop causing trouble. "My name is Shikamaru. You are?"
"Shivaroku. I'm new here. Sorry, I didn't mean to cause any trouble."
"Don't worry about it, you weren't at fault. Those guys love to harass Ino, but theyre so weak that it's surprising they're even Genin. You were able to hold your own pretty well, it seems."
"Ah yeah, but it's nothing. I didn't really see any reason to fight them."
"Good choice, you could've easily killed them if you were serious."
"You can tell all that just from a few seconds?"
"Shikamaru is really smart. He's the son of the best strategist in the village. No wonder he was the first and only one of our class to become a Chunin," said Ino as she walked out of the shop. Ino also handed Shivaroku a medium-sized potted plant. It was a lily, and it looks absolutely beautiful. "I found the perfect plant for your new place. Hope you like it!"
"Oh hi, Ino. Seems you two have met already," said Shikamaru.
"Yeah, she was helping me choose a plant for my new apartment, haha," said Shivaroku. "And now she's gonna give me a tour of the village."
"Cool! Have fun you two, don't do anything reckless," said Shikamaru with a devious smile on his face.
"Hey! What the heck is that supposed to mean!" yelled Ino, as Shikamaru continued to walk away.
"Wait what did he mean?" asked Shivaroku.
"Ugh, I don't know. Shikamaru's just being an idiot. Anyway, let's start our tour shall we!"
And so, Ino and Shivaroku spent the entire day walking around the Hidden Leaf Village. Shivaroku saw the Academy, the training grounds, the park, the stadium, the entire market street, and some of the food places on the way. He also learned about the various clans that live in the village. Shivarkou and Ino then came across a tattered sign and a section closed off by tape.
"Hmm? What's this place?" asked Shivaroku.
"This is the Uchiha clan's section," answered Ino, solemnly.
"What happened to it? Why is it closed off and desolate?"
"The Uchiha clan was wiped out by a rogue shinobi years ago. There was only one survivor, a child."
"That's horrible! What happened to the child?"
Ino got a bit depressed. "Well he trained and he became a Genin. He was at the top of his class…or should I say our class. He was one of the most skilled shinobi for his age. But recently…" Ino started to trail off a bit and got sadder as she continued. "Recently…he deserted the village and joined a rogue shinobi that attacked the village a few months ago."
"Why did he do that?" asked Shivaroku.
"Um. Nobody really knows why. His best friends tried to stop him but they couldn't get through to him."
Shivaroku noticed that Ino couldn't really handle talking about this person, so he quickly tried to save the conversation. "Hey uh, we don't have to talk about this anymore. I don't want you to be sad." Shivaroku looked at Ino genuinely. Ino then turned to Shivaroku, wiped away the little tears that formed, and then smiled.
"It's okay. I kinda caused this by bringing you here," said Ino. "Why don't we continue our tour. I believe we only have the dorms left, which is where you'll be living right?" Ino and Shivaroku left the Uchicha section and walked over to the dorms. The sun was setting, and they finally reached the dorms.
"Thank you so much for showing me around the village, Ino!" said Shivaroku.
"No problem! I had fun. Let me know if you ever get lost again, hah," said Ino.
Just before Shivaroku opened his door, a voice called out to Ino. "Hey Ino! Let's go, we gotta prepare for our mission tomorrow." Shivaroku and Ino turned around to see Asuma standing there waving.
"Oh hello Shivaroku! Starting to get settled?" yelled Asuma.
"Yeah I am! Thanks to Ino, here, I know where everything is in the village for the most part!" said Shivaroku.
"I'm glad! Good luck with your training! Ino we gotta get going, we need to meet up with Choji at the barbeque place"
"I'll be right there, Asuma sensei!" said Ino.
"Sensei? Oh is he your teacher?" Shivaroku asked Ino.
"Yeah he is, and we have a mission tomorrow, so we gotta prepare for it. Good luck with your training, Shivaroku. Hope we meet again!" Ino ran down to Asuma as she waved back at Shivaroku.
Shivaroku then opened the door to his room to find a fully furnished apartment. There was a table in the middle, a nice big bathroom, a comfy bed, and even a fully stocked kitchen with dishware. He walked over to the window in his bedroom and set the lily down there. Shivaroku looked at the lily and smiled, and then he hopped onto his bed and fell asleep. Tomorrow, he began his training.
****Hey guys, I have posted a poll on how often I should release each chapter. The choices are: every day, every 3 days, every week. Keep in mind, that I only have a total of like 30 chapters already written. On top of that I just started studying for my MCAT, so my pace is much slower now. I will honor the majority's choice, but make sure to vote on the poll. Otherwise, I'll probably keep it to weekly updates.****