Chapter 78
Academic Consequences: A Lesson They Will Never Forget
"This is such a pain."
Amari sighed heavily. Normally she would admonish Shikamaru for his whining, but… "Why do I always end up in these troublesome situations? Did I do something terrible in a past life?" she mumbled. "I must've been a heartless criminal. A fiend. A deviant who relished in sin and debauchery."
And this was divine punishment for her past crimes.
A series of animalistic murmurs announced the third agreement to their plight. "You could say that again, Aoko. Whose bright idea was it to send the four of us into this mission with no plan whatsoever?" Mimi growled.
Shikamaru threw his head backwards and let out a wordless groan of unadulterated frustration. He followed it with a sigh of resignation, shutting his eyes while standing as still as a statue, chin pointed to the ceiling. Finally, after a breath, he redirected his attention to his downtrodden cousin—who was certain she bore the responsibility of their current fate—and the irritated Inuzuka—who's fingers curled into her biceps as she clenched her jaw.
"I hate to say it, but we're stuck in this mess whether we like it or not. Since our superiors couldn't provide us with much, we'll just have to make it work however we can. It's the only way we get through this."
"Excellent in theory, Slacker. Not so great in practice. We literally have zero experience for this kind of mission," Mimi pointed out, the rumble of irritation in her voice clear as the cloudless sky over Konoha.
Neither Nara could blame the Inuzuka for her attitude. The accuracy of her analysis matched Tenten's aim with ninja tools. Zero experience, underprepared by their superiors; this whole mess could test a monk's patience.
"Then we'll use what we do have experience with to our advantage," Shikamaru declared. The sudden decision left both kunoichis and Aoko confused. "Although this is the first time the four of us have ever teamed up, it isn't like we don't know each other's strengths and weaknesses. I was able to watch the three of you go all out on each other, and you two worked side by side during the Invasion. My skillset isn't hard to figure out either.
"For now, we'll focus on our strengths. Our individual skills do differ, as do our application of them. But if we strip it down to a fundamental level, what skills are all three of us proficient in?"
"Chakra control," Amari offered. "Mimi's Medical Ninjutsu gives her the finest tuned chakra control of all three of us, but we're all proficient with it on some level. It's fundamental to each of our skills."
"All three of us also use ninjutsu in some fashion," Mimi followed, calmer as they prepared a strategy. "Nature Transformation, to be specific. Assuming your Shadow techniques fall into Yin or Yang Release, we all use it and we're all skilled with it."
Shikamaru bobbed his head in a nod and brought his right hand to his chin in thought. "All right. We can use that."
Amari could see the wheels turning in his brain. A plan was forming, piece by piece. She smiled and settled in to wait patiently. Even though you're incredibly lazy, you always manage to come through when you need to.
When Shikamaru settled on a plan, he lowered his hand back to his side and raised his eyes to meet theirs. "Okay, here's the plan. I'm going to use the list we were given to learn the names of the people we're dealing with." He turned his attention to the Inuzuka first. "Mimi, I want you and Aoko to get all the information you can written down. A boring job, I know, but it's what we have to do."
"To steal your phrase, what a drag," the Inuzuka sighed, visibly deflating. She looked like the love of her life, who she had spent decades with, decided to leave her.
Shikamaru and Amari smirked at her reaction. Then refocused. "'Risu, you're on crowd control." He made a vague gesture to the targets in question. "I don't know how we're going to do it, but we need to gain control of the situation without physical violence. Honestly, I've given you the toughest job. Sorry about that. But you're the best suited for it between the four of us."
A necessary and decent plan, but there was a single flaw: He was sending her, the most reserved and quiet person here, to handle a restless crowd of people. Restricting violence only lowered her already limited pool of options.
"I'll do my best, but what if they won't listen?" she asked.
The corner of her cousin's lip pulled up into a vindictive smirk. "Then we'll get creative. Can you manage a genjutsu without your eye?"
Mimi snorted then immediately slapped a hand over her mouth to conceal her grin and laughter.
"Of course," she replied, smiling innocently. Now that was a plan she could get behind.
"Resort to that if it becomes necessary, but try not to knock them out. Or terrify them to death. We need them awake and unharmed to complete this mission successfully."
The blue-haired kunoichi dipped her head in a nod. "You got it, Shika."
"I love the way you think, Slacker." Mimi was practically vibrating with excitement. Had she not restrained herself, Amari believed she would have been bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I hope you have to use genjutsu right away. It'll be hilarious!"
"All right, we have our plan. Now let's put it into action." Shikamaru extended his hand out into the space of their huddle. Mimi mirrored the action by settling her gloved hand on top of his, with Amari placing hers onto the Inuzuka's. Resting his other hand on the top, he continued, "Well, what can I say? This is a real drag, but I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be stuck doing this with." He made a fist with his top hand and tapped the top of Amari's hand. "Let's do this."
"Right," the two kunoichi responded. Aoko barked in solidarity.
Shikamaru sat at the desk adjacent to their position and picked up the chart of names provided to them. Mimi, with Aoko resting on her head, strode away to begin writing down the information. After swallowing her nerves, Amari walked to the front of the room, eye flicking around the horde of people she had to control.
"All right, everyone settle down," she attempted to command.
Twenty different voices all talking on top of each other answered her. Hikari would've hated this chaotic, earsplitting noise. Worse, some of the voices were shouting over others with their shrill child voices.
Ugh, I don't miss this part of the Academy whatsoever.
How she, Mimi and Shikamaru were volunteered to step in for Iruka-sensei's class was beyond her. And now she had to stand in front of a classroom of misbehaving children and…teach a class. This could only be divine punishment because of that swindler and deviant she used to be.
"Everyone, please take your seats so we can begin class," she tried again.
"There's no way you're our teacher!" one of the brats yelled, jabbing his finger rudely at her.
Amari rolled her eye. "We have our orders from Lady Hokage, so sit down and don't point. It's rude."
"I don't believe you! How can you be a shinobi when you're not even that much taller than me?"
Amari bristled. So, this little brat thought he was clever by targeting her height, huh? He should be so lucky to hit his growth spurt early, but she'd bring him down a size or two for that little insult. The nerve!
Shikamaru snorted but said nothing. Mimi and Aoko murmured a few prayers for the kid; someone ought to, they figured, since he signed up for pain worse than death. Across the class, a boy with brown spiky hair and a pair of goggles shot up out of his seat. "Hey, don't talk to Big Sis that way! She earned her headband and she's smarter than you know!" Konohamaru shouted back.
"Yeah, she even took part in the Chūnin Exams!" Moegi joined her friend. "And she helped defend the Leaf during the Invasion!"
A condescending laugh echoed out of the brat and his group of friends. "Pfft, yeah right! Look at her! She doesn't look strong at all!"
"None of them do!" one of his lackeys backed him up.
"And they're pretty stupid looking!" echoed another lackey.
"Why you!" Konohamaru growled.
Diplomacy had failed, it seemed. I can't say I'm surprised. Pretty much every generation has these same little brats who think they're stronger, smarter or cooler than the rest.
Despite the Invasion they remained ignorant to how powerful shinobi could be, and the threats they would one day face when or if they earned their headbands. The innocence of youth, I suppose. Soon, though, in another year or two, they'd face their squad leader's test, and if they didn't mature enough before that then Amari could guarantee they wouldn't become shinobi.
Silently, she looked back at Shikamaru and Mimi for advice—permission really. Shikamaru simply nodded. Mimi's eyes begged her to shut them all up with a genjutsu.
With a shrug, she turned back to the class. It can't be helped.
She brought her hands up and created the Snake handseal. "Here's why you're going to listen to us," she raised her voice over them. "You see, my teammate was injured during our recent A-rank mission—shattered her hand to defeat a tough enemy. So, as she recovered, me and my other two teammates were given a stack of D-rank errand missions meant to keep us busy.
"I had timed it perfectly to finish my stack after she recovered. Imagine my despair, if you can, when instead of being given a break or a higher ranked mission with my team I ended up with another relatively small stack of D-ranks—a stack I didn't finish until late last night."
The dōjutsu wielder moved her hands into Rat. "I ran around the entire village and dealt with a few pompous jerks, all of whom cut away at my already thin thread of patience. I'm tired and frustrated. Then you decided to call me too short to be a shinobi—a very poor choice of words, I might add. You could say I'm quite sensitive about my height, which makes your insult the igniting flame to the pool of rage I have contained."
Demonic Illusion: Demon Dragon.
Darkness, spreading from her feet like spilled oil, stretched over the floor of the classroom, up the walls, covered the windows so no light could enter and consumed the ceiling. The room went utterly silent. Instantly.
Then, as if the darkness didn't frighten them enough, Amari's wild hair transformed into dark blue scaled dragons, their razor sharp teeth ready to devour the souls of her enemies. The white of her right eye turned completely black before flames erupted from both eyes, each flame searing through the darkness in a menacing, flickering orange light.
As she spoke next, it was the voice of her demonic dragon.
"Do not test me!" she roared.
She heard Shikamaru snort again. The tapping of chalk continued on the board, but she sensed Mimi and Aoko's eyes on her, and the fiendish grins on their lips.
Satisfying wails of terror from the students encouraged her to go one step further. Steadily, she grew in height until she was looming menacingly over the entire classroom. The students shrank in their seats. Her dragon hair spread out wildly and began roaring and snapping their furious jaws in all directions.
"You will do as instructed and listen to your substitutes or I will rain my fury upon you all! Understand?!"
Sweat poured from the faces of the students as they nodded vigorously. Amari released the genjutsu and everything returned to its natural state. She smiled kindly at the class. "Great! Let's try to make this as painless as possible and have some fun while we're at it!"
Keen to see Mimi and Shikamaru's reactions, she turned away from the class back to them. The former's shoulders shook, the occasional snicker escaping her. Despite what was undoubtedly a tremendous struggle not to fall to her knees gasping for air from laughing, the Inuzuka continued to draw up their lesson plan around chakra control and Nature Transformation.
Amari was most impressed.
Shikamaru just stared at her with an amused smirk, shaking his head. About as close as I'm going to get to dying of laughter with him. I'll take it as a victory.
"Time to check who is here and absent, right Shika?" she asked innocently.
"Right. When I call your name, raise your hand and announce yourself," he drawled lazily.
Shikamaru went through roll call without any further issues. As she waited, Amari monitored Mimi's progress. She was a quarter of the way done, and with how quick attendance was going she wouldn't be finished in time.
Guess I'll have to stall or teach what I know without a visual aid. A sigh escaped her as she clasped her hands behind her back.
This was going to be a total drag.
Overall, despite what she had said and the strangeness of the mission at hand, Amari's spirits were high. There'd been no pompous jerks on her missions; in fact, everyone treated her with respect. Some recognized her from the Exams and the Invasion, offering congratulations on her performance and gratitude for hers and Mimi's actions to defend the Leaf. A few even knew about their efforts to stop Gaara, which caught her off guard.
"But the more Haya excels, the more attention she draws to herself."
Shisui was right, in more ways than she realized. Still, having this class believe she might snap without warning would provide superb entertainment.
It had been two days since her argument with Sasuke and things were relatively back to normal among her team, though she sensed cautiousness now and then lingering in their interactions. She expected as much and hoped it would fade in time.
"Seems everyone is here," Shikamaru said at the end of attendance. Amari turned back to face the class as he set the list of names down and stood up. "Okay, listen up. Iruka-sensei was called in for an important meeting this morning, and since we're short on shinobi the three of us Genin were tasked to take over his class for this period today."
"Sweet! Free period!" a boy declared, standing up and pumping his fist to accent his happiness. His cheer was joined in by others of the class.
"Sit down, you idiots," Shikamaru scolded tiredly. Being a teacher was clearly exhausting him, and they had barely even started. "Although the three of us would love nothing more than to sit around and relax as all of you went about your own business, we were strictly forbidden from doing so by the Hokage. So no free period."
Unhappy groans and murmurs echoed from the class as they slumped back into their chairs.
"Furthermore," Shikamaru continued, "we weren't given the proper lesson plan to teach your class. My guess is it slipped their mind with how sudden this all came up. Considering we can't just pretend we're teaching you, we've chosen two advanced lessons kids your age haven't even started on yet."
Which is a flaw if you ask me, Amari thought. Learning chakra control earlier by practicing how to walk on water and climb trees without their hands would only help them in the long run. It certainly helped me.
"Before we get to that, we should do some introductions. My name is Shikamaru Nara. The one with the blue hair is Amaririsu Yūhi. And those two at the chalk board are Mimi Inuzuka and Aoko. Just don't be a drag and we'll get along fine."
"Aw, a puppy!" one of the girls squealed.
Mimi stopped halfway through a word to turn around and address the child. "She's not just a puppy. Aoko is my partner and has fought side by side with me during the Invasion and every battle I've had before that." Aoko barked, earning a grin from the Inuzuka. "I was getting to that. Don't be so impatient."
The ninken huffed at her partner, which only served to keep her grin in place. "She also has the special ability to sense internal and external injuries of our allies and enemies. In battle that helps me pinpoint places to attack on an enemy and keeps me updated on my team's health. After battles that ability can help me to know an allies injury before I have time to run a Diagnostic Jutsu, which can be the difference of life and death for those in critical condition."
"Whoa," the class awed.
They're an awesome team, that's for sure. Aoko's ability really comes in handy during intense situations, like during the Invasion.
"Now that introductions are out of the way," Shikamaru spoke up again, "the lesson we have in mind for you today is chakra control and Nature Transformation."
From that point on the three Genin spoke in tandem about the importance of chakra control and the concepts of Nature Transformation. For the most part Shikamaru remained true to his lazy nature and let his two kunoichi teammates do the majority of the talking. He probably thought adding a third agreement to every point made by his two teammates was pointless.
There were times where he would interrupt to ask a question to the class to keep himself and the class involved in the learning process. Otherwise he remained in his own thoughts or provided names to Mimi or Amari of someone wanting to ask a question.
None of the Genin expected the class to fully grasp their concepts or pass a test on their lesson. Their main goal was to fulfill their mission while providing some helpful information that would help the next generation later on. It was the least they could do.
I'm sure some will keep this information in mind or start training with it when they are able to.
"Ughhh. This is soooo boring!" one of the kids, a boy, groaned.
Others…not so much. Amari sweat dropped as she noticed a vein bulge on Mimi's forehead at the interruption mid-lecture.
"Yeah, what's the point of learning chakra control?" another boy echoed. "It's just so lame. Why can't we learn more about taijutsu or more about Nature Transformation stuff? That stuff is so much cooler and has more practical use in the field."
Another vein bulged. Amari grimaced. Uh-oh. Not only did they not listen to her latest point made about the importance of chakra control for the use of Medical Ninjutsu, but they just blatantly told her it has no use. The Nara groaned internally. Oh man. Talk about punching one of her buttons hard.
"Boring? No practical use in the field?" If steam could have shot out of Mimi's ears, it would have at that moment. Instead, the Inuzuka closed her left hand into a fist and crushed the piece of chalk she was holding. She opened her hand and let the white particles fall to the floor before brushing the residue off her gloves.
The entire class gulped in fear.
Quietly, Amari took a cautionary step away from her friend and tucked her right arm behind her back to clasp her left bicep.
"Interesting questions you have there," she spoke in a menacing whisper. "I must have been using too many big words for you to comprehend its importance, so let me dumb it down for you imbeciles."
Several more gulps of fear were audible in the silent classroom.
"Without precise chakra control, the entire Medical Corps doesn't exist. Without the Medical Corps, your career as a shinobi meets an untimely end."
"Untimely…end?" the first to interrupt questioned nervously.
Mimi met their nervous question with merciless sapphire eyes. "You die."
The words were left to hang in the room for an entire minute. Some of the kids lowered their heads in fear. Others had sweat build on their brow as they took in the honesty of the statement.
During the silence, Amari sat on the edge of the desk Shikamaru was sitting behind and cross her legs under her. Mimi's not quite done yet. She could have stepped in, as could Shikamaru, but both knew this point was valid.
Also neither wanted to have Mimi turn her anger towards them. That would be too troublesome.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. The arm of the wall clock ticking along was the only noise in the entire room. None of the kids had the guts to say anything else to disregard their lesson. Each were left to contemplate the harsh reality of what could happen to any shinobi in the line of battle.
Amari understood why Mimi was doing this. Both of them had been forced at a young age to face the terrible feelings of loss and death. Some among this class, like Konohamaru, had been hit by it as well. Others, possibly the majority of them, had yet to experience the same pain and sorrow they had.
Her friend was not forcing them to contemplate this because she wanted them to suffer the same pains. No, Mimi didn't want any kid to suffer like she had. One of the driving forces behind her passion behind being a medic was to prevent kids from having to lose their parents to war or any dangerous mission as she had.
But the Inuzuka was not one to sugar coat anything. She didn't beat around the bush or tiptoe around any subject if it needed to be said. These kids were the next generation. Soon their time would come where they would become shinobi just like the three Genin in the room.
Mimi, Shika and I all saw the devastation of the Invasion firsthand. Between our experiences during that and the Akatsuki incident, she isn't going to waste this opportunity to try to get them all to stop thinking like kids and start thinking like a shinobi.
Amari couldn't blame her for trying and wouldn't stop her. There was no telling what kind of troubles the Leaf would face with the Akatsuki and Orochimaru still out there. It would only benefit these kids to start thinking, really thinking, about what it took and what it meant to be a shinobi.
When a minute finally passed, the Inuzuka decided to speak again. "Tch, practical use. You've proven your inexperience and ignorance to the reality of shinobi life by saying that. You want more practical use for chakra control? Try that Nature Transformation stuff you all think is so cool. Without it you'll end up expending all of your chakra within a few jutsu's, and then you'll be helpless to your enemy. You know what happens then?"
"You die," Amari stated this time. She wouldn't stop Mimi, but she would help drive the point home. As much as I don't want to, it's time to pull an Ibiki. She slowly began to roll up her mesh sleeve to her elbow, lifting her arm up to reveal the scars of the Lightning Blade to the class.
Gasps of shock echoed out of all of them.
"Pretty nasty, huh? I received these on my first C-rank mission because our client lied about the dangers we'd face." And because I jumped in front of a powerful jutsu to save a kindred spirit. "They go all the way up my bicep and even across my shoulder. If you exhaust your chakra and manage not to die because an ally saves you, you'll end up with scars like these, and even worse scars that can't be seen on the body."
Amari rolled her sleeve back down before speaking again. "Some of you in here will have average chakra reserves like Shikamaru. Others will have large reserves and strong chakra like Mimi and myself. But the size of your reservoir and strength of your chakra means nothing if you wastefully expend your chakra. For instance, I may have a larger chakra supply to use, but if Shikamaru has better control of his chakra he can match the strength of my techniques with less of a toll on his total amount of chakra."
"I'll be able to outlast her and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike when she's unable to defend herself," Shikamaru joined in the lesson they were teaching. "That's why learning to control your chakra is fundamental to being a shinobi." He shut his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "In theory, any shinobi that has fine control over their chakra has the ability to learn any jutsu and use it. A shinobi like that would be as great as the Hokage. I'd say that's pretty cool, wouldn't you?"
Before the class could answer, the door to the classroom slid open roughly, snapping the entire room to attention.
"Boss?" Konohamaru was the first to speak to the new interruption.
Naruto, hands on his hips, beamed from the doorway at them all.
"Goofball, about time they sent your ass back into the Academy," Mimi teased the boy.
His beaming attitude fell into horrified disbelief. "What?! No way! I'm not here as a student!"
"Then why are you here, idiot? We're in the middle of a mission," Shikamaru questioned, motioning to the class and the board for Naruto to take notice.
"A mission?" The blond walked further into the room to examine the chalkboard only to wail and recoil in pure terror. "Ahhh! It's Amari's lectures written down!"
Amari's felt her cheeks flush when Mimi shot a humored grin her way. I'm not that bad…am I? She cleared her throat and banished her blush quickly. "Ahem…Naruto, what are you—"
"Boss!" Konohamaru interrupted. He jumped to the front of the class and took up a fighting stance. "I challenge you right here and now!"
Behind her, Shikamaru released an irritated sigh. "And it was going so well. We only had ten minutes left," he whined.
"Leave it to the Goofball to throw our mission into chaos at the last moment," Mimi said as she joined them at the desk. Aoko barked in agreement to her partner's statement.
"…Sorry?" Amari half-heartedly apologized on behalf of her teammate.
"Eh, not your fault, 'Risu. We'll figure something out."
In response to Konohamaru's challenge, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. "Sorry, Konohamaru. But now isn't a good time. I'm actually here to get Amari." He looked up to his teammate. "Team Seven's been summoned by Granny Tsunade for a new mission."
"Any idea wha—"
"Awww, come on, Boss! We haven't seen each other since after the incident with the Fifth Hokage," Konohamaru pleaded. "And I've worked really hard on a new jutsu that I'm dying to show you."
"I don't know, Konohamaru. Maybe later?" Naruto tried again.
"No way! You see what we're dealing with!" the boy gestured dramatically to the board. "We've been lectured this entire time on chakra control, and it's been really boring. You've got to help me bail us out so we can get an early break."
Bail them out? Mimi, Amari and Shikamaru all exchanged glances then nodded to each other. No way were they going to sit back and let Naruto or Konohamaru spring an early release on their class. Doing so would only get them in trouble, and they weren't taking that fall.
"I'll keep the others in check. You two want to handle those idiots?" Shikamaru asked.
"Heh," Mimi breathed out a laugh and slammed her right hand into her left palm. "I've been waiting for a reason to cut loose."
"It's going to be troublesome, but I'll help you," Amari agreed as she hopped off the table. "He's my teammate and my responsibility after all."
"Uhh…well, I guess I can help," Naruto conceded. "I mean, as long as you guys actually paid attention. I know the lectures are boring. Trust me, I get that. But they are important. Amari, Mimi and Shikamaru—especially Shikamaru—wouldn't waste their time explaining this stuff if they didn't think it was important."
"We did listen, and we learned a lot," Konohamaru declared.
"Well, okay. I'll help."
"Fat chance of that, Goofball." Naruto and Konohamaru turned their surprised gazes to Amari and Mimi. The Inuzuka's eyes were wild in excitement for a fight while Amari remained externally docile but ready to strike. "You're not getting us in trouble in the last stretch of our mission. Even if that means I have to pummel you both and then heal you afterwards, don't think I won't do it."
"And don't think I won't unleash a genjutsu on you," the Uchiha warned. "Don't forget that I've knocked out a client and Kakashi-sensei with my genjutsu prowess."
Naruto let a daring smile pull onto his lips at their warnings. "Heh, don't underestimate us you two." He moved to stand side by side with Konohamaru so he was the one to stare down Amari while the boy was left to face Mimi. "All right, Konohamaru. Show me your new jutsu and I'll show you mine. You ready?"
Konohamaru grinned and took up his fighting stance again. "You bet, Boss!"
"I'll give you two credit for having a lot of guts," Mimi replied, readying herself to strike and grinning wildly. "But you also have no brains whatsoever!"
"We'll show you. Konohamaru, together!"
The pair of boys brought their hands into Ram, in turn making Amari's eyes bulge in fear. Oh crap, not that handseal!
"Transform!" the boys yelled in unison.
Those idiots can't seriously think the Transformation Technique will help them, can they? Shikamaru thought, bewildered by their stupid plan.
This was Mimi and 'Risu they were fighting, the two toughest shinobi of their generation. Two kunoichi he never wanted to face in combat. Their skill in battle and separate intellects were worth fearing as an enemy. Naruto knew that, he was 'Risu's teammate for kami's sake.
So why would he and Konohamaru use a simple Transformation Technique? It made no logical sense. Maybe he misjudged them. Maybe they were bigger idiots than he ever realized.
The two boys disappeared into plumes of smoke with Konohamaru appearing first out of it. What he transformed into made the Nara boy roll his eyes and shake his head in disbelief. Morons.
The grandson of the Third Hokage's choice of transformation was ridiculous. The nude woman had clouds of steam surrounding her private areas as she provocatively hugged a staff between her giant busty bosom. Her brown hair was tied in two buns that reminded Shikamaru of Tenten's hairstyle, though he didn't think much of it.
"How do you like my new Jutsu?" the sultry transformation asked.
"Th- the hell…" Mimi stuttered in shock.
"Ohhh Amari," a soft-spoken voice called from behind the second plume of smoke. "I've longed to see you again." The smoke dissipated to reveal a shirtless man with long black hair and brown eyes. His hair was held in a white bun holder while two long locks of his hair framed his face, both bound with metal hair cuffs at the end. His skin tone was particularly pale, too. "How about a kiss?"
He…transformed into a teenage boy?
"I- I- I- I-" his cousin stuttered heavily.
Shikamaru couldn't see Mimi or 'Risu's faces fully, but he could see hints of red coating the very edges of their cheeks. Their inaction left him dumbfounded. You can't be serious. It's actually working?
What was so special about these two transformations that the two kunoichi's who never backed down were left paralyzed?
Suddenly a light bulb flashed on in Shikamaru's mind. Wait a minute. With respectful and analytical intentions, he reexamined the woman first. Her brown eyes, her hairstyle and even her facial features actually make her look like an adult version of Tenten. Plus that staff is something I imagine she might use.
Then his eyes took in the shirtless boy, fear slowly bubbling in his gut. And I've never seen 'Risu react like that to any boy before. She cared a lot for Ryu, but none of us know what he looked like, and not even Naruto is stupid enough to do something like that. Plus his eyes don't match the Hyūga eyes. That must mean he's transformed into that boy who gave 'Risu that crystalized flower.
An unnatural chill tickled down Shikamaru's spine. Whether from a wave of killing intent starting to irradiate off the kunoichis or his own fear of what these two idiots just did, he couldn't say. But he knew Mimi and 'Risu. Their embarrassment never lasted, and the first thing they'd turn to was rage. An unquenchable rage that the two idiots would soon regret unleashing.
Part of him realized they deserved every moment of the beating coming their way for their stupid perverse jutsus. But he wasn't sure they'd be able to walk again if they were subjected to it. I should at least warn them of their mistake and get them to start moving. He'd do nothing more and nothing less than that.
No way was he sticking his neck out for those two idiots.
"You idiots!" he yelled, his panic of the imminent explosion clear in his voice. "Are you trying to get yourselves killed?!"
The transformations reverted with Konohamaru of the pair only staring quizzically at the pair. He hadn't sensed the danger to his life. "I don't get it. That should have worked. I researched your teammate and everything."
Mimi inhaled sharply but still had no words. Not yet.
Naruto, on the other hand, was suddenly realizing his mistake. Fear pulled onto his face at what was surely two hundred shades of embarrassment turning into two thousand shades of rage.
"Shika- Shikamaru. You've got to hold them back with your Shadow Possession Jutsu!"
Shikamaru shook his head vigorously at the request. "No way, Naruto! Do you have any idea of what they'll do to me if I step between them and you two idiots?"
He wouldn't be able to walk away unscathed. Naruto might have been a friend and comrade, but he feared the wrath of Mimi and 'Risu to same degree he feared any woman with a hot-temper.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll just stand there and take the beating like the idiots you are."
"To hell with that!"
"Naruto Uzumaki…" Another shiver raced down Shikamaru's spine at the sound of his cousin's voice cutting through the room. Naruto stiffened and paled, almost turning into a white marble statue.
"…Konohamaru Sarutobi," Mimi's feral growl followed.
Fear finally hit the younger boy of the two.
"Uh, Boss…what do we do?" Konohamaru's voice trembled as his feet slowly carried him in a retreat towards the exit.
"Run!" Naruto grabbed Konohamaru by his scarf and bolted out the door with the boy in tow.
"You're dead! You hear me! Dead!" Mimi shouted at their running forms. Aoko growled ferociously.
"There's no place you can hide that I won't find you!" Amari yelled, bolting into the hall where the boys had disappeared.
Shikamaru released a sigh and turned his attention to the rest of the class. "New lesson, class, especially for you boys. You're about to learn why you should never under any circumstance ever piss off your fellow kunoichi's."
Sorry Naruto, Konohamaru. But you did this to yourself.
Darkness. All consuming darkness stretched along the halls of the Academy halls, absorbing all light in its impenetrable blackness, chasing Naruto and Konohamaru as they desperately tried to escape punishment. Nipping at their heels were Shadow Dragons, their sharp teeth seeking to drag them back to a fate worse than death.
On the walls, the shadows of two wolves chased them, their furious snarls dogging them every step of the way. And no matter how many turns they made, the darkness continued to consume the halls behind them.
"Ahh! Why am I such an idiot?!" Naruto wailed to himself.
He hadn't even thought about what happened the last time the Sexy Jutsu was used in front of Amari and how she chased him and Konohamaru across the Village. But could he really be blamed for forgetting? That was ages ago! They hadn't even been given a Genin team at that time. And this time he didn't use a naked woman.
I used Haku, and that was so much worse! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
What made this entire terrible situation a catastrophe promising death was that it wasn't just Amari coming after him; she alone was frightening enough. But because of Konohamaru's even stupider idea they had Mimi prepared to rip them to shreds.
Why did he have to use the word "research" back there?! Doesn't he understand what that word means to Amari? Mimi probably jumped to that same conclusion!
If his young protégé was actually peeping on Tenten he would give him a stern talk when they escaped… If they escaped.
"We really messed up this time, Boss!" Konohamaru pointed out the obvious.
"I can see that!"
"You'll never escape!" a demonic voice boomed. He was certain the walls shook.
Both boys wailed in terror and took an immediate left at a T-junction in the halls. "We just have to get out of the Academy and we'll lose them!" he told Konohamaru.
"You'll be torn to shreds before you see the light of day again!" the wolves bellowed.
Today was just not going his way.
"Are you two coming to pick up Amari for a new mission?" Iruka asked.
Sasuke gave a single nod as he and Sakura walked side by side with their former sensei. Admittedly, it was a bit strange to walk these halls as a graduate instead of a student. Everything seemed relatively the same from what he could tell, yet it all felt different. Same view, different perspective, he supposed.
"Yes. Lady Hokage summoned us for a mission, although I expected to meet Naruto outside of the Academy with Amari. He went rushing off to retrieve her as soon as we received the order," Sakura explained.
A detail Sasuke found incredibly strange. Naruto should have already picked up Amari and met them outside of the Academy. For one reason or another, though, he was nowhere to be found.
Their former sensei smiled at them. "He probably got distracted by Konohamaru. Those two are quite the troublemakers when they're together."
"True," Sakura agreed with a laugh.
"Make sure you're all careful on your next mission. The Village is still short on manpower, which means you may be sent on a mission above your rank."
"Don't worry, Iruka-sensei. We'll be careful and complete our mission," Sakura reassured.
Sasuke hummed in agreement. He was looking forward to getting a real mission again. He understood why they had to complete D-ranks. Still, they felt like a total waste of his talents and the talents of his team. Three out of the four made it to the finals of the Chūnin Exams, and all four had a role in stopping Suna's plan to release a tailed-beast on Konoha. They'd also taken on Zabuza and Haku, as well as toppled a tyrant in the Land of Snow on their latest A-rank mission.
Their list of accomplishments as Genin were growing with each mission. Shouldn't that designate them to have harder missions?
I hate to say it, but at least the Village is still short on manpower. It practically means we're guaranteed to go on tougher missions more now that Sakura is healed.
He looked forward to challenging missions. Each time they had a hard mission, each of them grew even stronger than before because they were forced to break past previous limits.
"I have the utmost confidence that you will," Iruka responded with a proud smile. "You may not need it, but I want to wish you all good luck."
"Thank you," Sakura thanked.
Sasuke dipped his head in a small nod. "Thanks."
As they made their way further into the Academy, a shrill wail of pure fear, piercing to the ear, made them all stop. Naruto and Konohamaru suddenly bolted around the corner with tears in their eyes. "Boss, it's getting closer!"
"Stop looking back at it and focus on running!"
"What on earth is going on?" Iruka was first to find words.
His question was answered by the wave of shadows and darkness entering from the previous hall, the all-consuming void seeking to consume the boys and sate its hunger. On the ground Shadow Dragons lurched at their heels while two wolves chased them on the walls.
"Shadow Dragons?" Sasuke whispered mostly to himself. That can only be Amari. His eyes bulged at the realization. What the hell did that brain-dead idiot say to her?
At that moment, Konohamaru tripped on his overly long blue scarf, stumbled a few steps then fell face first onto the floor. Naruto was quick to stop and turn back. "Konohamaru!" he shouted in shock.
Shadows surrounded the boy as he tried to get his bearings. The dragons sensed their opening and ensnared their prey. They maneuvered up both of his legs, coiling themselves all the way around them like serpents until they could wrap around his waist.
Konohamaru's daze was broken when he realized he was in the grasps of his enemy. "Boss! It's got me! Helppp!"
Naruto dove forward without hesitation and managed to grab his wrists before the dragons could drag him into the void of darkness no light could penetrate. Immediately Naruto began tugging him away from the shadows with all of his strength. "I've got you Konohamaru! I won't let you go!"
The shadows had to be gripping and pulling hard; Naruto looked like he was trying to pull a stubborn bull with a rope. His teeth were grit, neck muscles stressed. And with each inch he gained, the shadows pulled another foot of Konohamaru into the darkness.
"I…can't hold on!" Konohamaru announced in fear.
"I already told you I'm not letting you go and I never go back on my word!" Naruto struggled to keep his grip as he brought both of his hands closer together. Once they were close enough he created the clone seal and said, "Shadow Clone Jutsu."
A dozen clones appeared and sprang into action, each grabbing hold of the grandson of the Third Hokage to aid in pulling him away. Sasuke could only raise his eyebrows in surprise when he noticed progress being made.
"It's…not enough," Naruto grunted. Several more clones popped into existence and grabbed the other clones and the original. "You can't have him! I won't let you!"
"You're fates are sealed! You'll never leave this place!" a dragon-like voice roared back.
"I will tear you both apart for what you did!" the wolves growled from the walls.
That dragon voice and the phrasing the wolves used…
"No doubt about it," he spoke up. "Those two really pissed off Amari and Mimi if they're going this far."
But what the hell did they do?
"Do you have them yet, Amari?" Mimi growled as she paced furiously behind Amari in the hall.
Shikamaru had chosen to lean against the doorframe for two reasons. Firstly he wanted to see how this all turned out. Call it his inner sadist, but he was curious to see what exactly Amari and Mimi did to the two idiots. His other reason was to block the door for the other escape wannabes and block their view so his cousin could use her Sharingan without anyone seeing it.
Amari was crouched just outside of the hall with her hands set in the Rat handseal. Her Sharingan was ablaze and the entire hall in front of her was submerged in impenetrable, foreboding darkness. Just looking at it made his hair stand on end. Whether the cause of the darkness was genjutsu or something else entirely, Shikamaru couldn't say. He also wasn't about to ask either.
"I have Konohamaru in my grasps, but Naruto is fighting to keep me from pulling him back," Amari answered, her voice calm and cold. "But don't worry, I'm about to unleash a new jutsu to capture our first prey."
"New jutsu?" Shikamaru couldn't stop himself from asking.
His cousin gave a small nod as she moved too quickly through her handseals for him to see. She ended back on Rat and said, "Ninja Art: Shadow Tickle Jutsu."
Shikamaru snorted. Only you can make that sound deadly, 'Risu.
Naruto and his clones were pulling with all their might to keep Konohamaru from being absorbed into the darkness. He could feel sweat building on his brow from this insane tug-of-war. "Damn it…I never realized how powerful her shadows were," he muttered mostly to himself.
The Shadow Dragons wrapped around Konohamaru's body all suddenly stood straight up. "Eh?" The heads shifted back into thin tendrils, slithering over Konohamaru's body towards his hands. Dread filled Naruto, his eyes going wide at the approaching shadows. "What…what is she doing?"
They split apart into more tendrils than he could count at a glance and slithered to the arms of every clone holding onto Konohamaru. Naruto could only gulp in fear and shut his eyes tightly as he waited for what came next. What else could he do? He couldn't wrestle the shadows and they were all already on his arms.
Then it happened. An action he feared more than any physical blow assaulted him in a way he was nowhere near prepared for.
Tickles.
Giggles burst forth from him and his clones. "No…no, stop it!" he laughed through his horror. "Stop! That tickles!"
"Boss, your hands are slipping!" Konohamaru wailed in terror.
"I…I know! But…hehehehehe. I…hehehe….I can't hold on!"
The tickles were unending in their torture. They continued and grew more vicious as his laughter continued to grow. With each new assault he lost grip. I…can't…let go. But he couldn't stop grinning and laughing either. Tears watered his eyes.
"Fight it, Boss! Don't let them have me!" Konohamaru tried to coach.
"I…hehehehehe. Ha! Hahahahaha!"
Every Naruto lost their grip simultaneously. With their grip completely gone, they all tumbled backwards, crashing onto their butts. The shadows previously tickling him retracted, fully wrapping themselves around Konohamaru's stiff and frightened body. Naruto barely managed to meet his terrified friend's eyes, his hand reached out, hopeful he might still be saved. "Boss!"
"Kono…Konohamaru!" Naruto dove for him.
"He's mine now!"
Their fingertips brushed, but then his protégé was gone.
"Boooossssssss!" The boy was sucked into the darkness with only his terrified cry reverberating through the halls as a sign he had been there.
Dead silence followed.
"Damn it!" Naruto slammed his fist into the ground. Why, why did he have to be so ticklish?! "I'm sorry Konohamaru!"
"You'll be with him soon enough!"
Suddenly the shadows on the ground lurched up in the form of a giant wave of darkness. Naruto did what any boy in his position would do.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
He screamed.
Sasuke's eyes bulged as the wave of darkness surged to life. What did he do to her?!
Naruto and his clones all screamed in pure horror at the wave. Sasuke couldn't blame them for their fear. The original made a mad scramble onto his feet into a retreating sprint while his clones merely hugged each other and wailed. They were absorbed into the darkness.
A single Shadow Dragon shot across the floor in search of capturing the real target. His teammate was almost in arm distance when it caught his foot and forced him to trip and fall. "You're mine!"
"No way! I'm not done yet." Naruto created the clone seal again. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Several clones popped into existence and quickly laid themselves down head to foot to create a human ladder. The original Naruto wasted no time in using them to continue clawing his way towards escape. "I…won't give up! I won't!"
Sasuke finally had enough. He needed answers and he needed them now. "Naruto, what the hell is going on?"
His voice seemed to surprise Naruto, almost as if he hadn't even seen them standing in the hall this whole time. Happiness replaced confusion and a glint of hopeful tears shimmered in his eyes. "Sasuke, Sakura, Iruka-sensei! You've got to help me out."
"Not until you tell us what you did to get Amari like this," he shot back.
"I didn't do anything!"
"Liar!" the dragon bellowed.
"Ok- okay, maybe I might have done something," he amended fearfully. "But- but she's blowing it way out of proportion!" He clawed his way to his final clone, leaving him right at their feet. Naruto reached a hand up for one of them to grab with a hopeful smile on his lips. "Just help me and I'll tell you everything."
Sakura, with her foolish kind heart, sighed and reached out to him. "Fine, but don't think—"
Rapid movement caught Sasuke's eyes. "Sakura, watch out!" Sasuke wrapped his arm around her waist and retreated in a jump. Iruka mirrored his movements.
"Sasuke! What the hell?!" Naruto shouted at him, ignorant to the threat.
Too close. He checked Sakura over quickly to make sure she didn't get hit. There were no wounds visible on her, only a severe blush coating her cheeks as they were almost nose to nose. Emerald eyes shyly looked away. Way too close.
He meant it in reference to the near attack, but now that he was taking in their close proximity, it also fit for this situation.
Sasuke removed his grip and returned his eyes back to his knuckleheaded teammate, and the three other Shadow Dragons slowly retracting back into the shadows from whence they came.
"Naruto!" Iruka raised his voice. "What did you do to Amari?"
"Me and Konohamaru…may have used the Sexy Jutsu on her and Mimi," he explained. Iruka practically fell to the floor at the sheer idiocy of his former student and his ridiculous jutsu. "But…I may have used a new variation on Amari."
"You've got to be kidding," their former sensei groaned.
"What perverted idea did you have this time?" Sakura asked, disgust clear on her face along with the blush Sasuke was attempting to ignore. He fought the flush on his own cheeks.
Naruto laughed nervously. His eyes looked everywhere except at them. "Well, you guys remember that joke back in the Land of Snow…You know, the one about shirtless Haku?"
The entire hall fell silent. So silent, all three could have heard a pin being dropped on the other side of the Academy. Sasuke had always known Naruto was an idiot. He had seen it plenty of times throughout their days in the Academy and as a team.
This latest transgression was a new high, or low, for stupidity.
The Uchiha boy opened his mouth but no words came out. He opened and closed it several times, but no words seemed appropriate. He couldn't find the proper thing to say to express his utter disbelief at the pure thoughtless stupidity of his teammate.
Finally, he found something. "You…You…You brain-dead idiot! What the hell were you thinking?!"
"What do you mean what was I thinking?! You're the one who made the joke!" Naruto shouted back.
"That doesn't mean you should go and do something like that to her! It was just meant to be a joke!" How could his teammate be that stupid?! "Did you even consider what her reaction might be?! You of all people should know how she is with something like that!"
"I didn't think, okay?! Konohamaru was begging me to help bail him out and that was the first idea that came to mind!" Naruto argued as he squirmed restlessly on top of his clone. "It's partially his fault anyways! He used a transformation that looked like a grown-up version of Tenten!"
Sakura and Sasuke's jaws would have slammed against the floor had it been possible. "He did what?!" the kunoichi of the group shrieked.
Idiots. Complete and utter idiots.
"It doesn't matter!" the idiot tried to debate. "You've just got to help me! If she takes me back, I may never be able to eat ramen again!"
Sasuke shook his head. "No way, Loser. You earned their ire, now you have to deal with the consequences."
"It's over, Narutoooo!"
Several Shadow Dragons emerged from the darkness and shot forward, piercing through the clones until it was only the original left standing. "Wait! Wait!" Naruto cried as they started wrapping around him. "We can talk this out! I'll apologize! Yeah, yeah, I'll apologize and give you some of my tickets for Ichiraku Ramen!"
"Bribery won't save you now! This is the end for you!"
"Wait! Wait!" The shadows clutched his body tightly then tugged him back into the darkness. "I'll get you back for this, Sasukeeeeeeee!"
A few seconds passed. Finally the darkness surrounding the halls started to recede back to whatever the source was. The shadow wolves retreated as well.
Sasuke released a relieved breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in. Sorry, Naruto. But I already faced her fury once this week. I have no intention of doing that again.
"Sasuke, do you think we made the right call?" Sakura asked.
He nodded firmly. "Yeah, with what that brain-dead idiot did, it's best we stay out of it."
"We should still go check on them," Iruka said.
All three briskly jogged their way through the halls until they reached the closed off classroom. Iruka was the one to open it and enter first with Sasuke and Sakura following behind.
"So class, what did we learn today," Shikamaru's lazy voice asked to the class. The grin on the Nara's face couldn't have been wider or more amused.
Sasuke cast his glance across the room and found Konohamaru and Naruto both at the chalkboard writing. Fear was clear in their postures and their shaky hands. Mimi paced angrily behind them while Amari stood watch with a ruler in hand. Even Aoko looked pissed.
"Chakra control is essential to being a shinobi," the class chorused.
"Exactly. And what did you boys learn?"
A sharp glance from Amari made all the boys of the class shoot up into straight postures out of fear alone. "Not to underestimate or anger our kunoichi teammates," the boys all stated.
"Exactly," Shikamaru agreed.
"Naruto, Konohamaru, are you two okay?" Iruka asked the pair.
The boys turned their heads to look at them. The three arriving shinobi cringed either in sympathy or a mixture of sympathy and amusement. Their eyes were colored by dark bruises and nearly shut from swelling. Both of their cheeks were puffed out with swelling and huge lumps protruded off of both of their heads.
"Who said you could stop writing?" Mimi growled.
They both yelped in fear and continued writing on the board. Sasuke examined their words. He couldn't help the humorous snort to escape him. It was the last lesson the class had learned from Mimi and Amari and a lesson he knew Naruto and Konohamaru would never forget.
I will never use pervy ninjutsu again.
I will never use pervy ninjutsu again.
I will never use pervy ninjutsu again.