Two of two. Long-ish AN at the bottom if you're interested (read the chapter first!), enjoy!
"Ne, skewer-kun, do we have to practice today?" Narisa asked.
Ry glanced at the blonde. She had her hands thrown back behind her head, fingers laced underneath where her ponytail stuck out. There was a faraway look in her eye.
"Who do you want to prank?" Ry asked.
"Uh, nobody." Narisa said, glancing over at Ry.
Ry cocked his head. He continued putting his books into his backpack, trying to puzzle out Narisa's response. It was too genuine to be a deflection.
"What were you wanting to do instead?" Ry asked.
"Pineapple-chan and Crisps-chan asked if we'd want to hang out." Narisa said. "Apparently Pineapple-chan helps Crisps-chan with homework. Doesn't do her own though."
"You want free answers to the homework." Ry deduced immediately.
"If I gotta do it, might as well get the answers for free." Narisa grinned.
Ry grunted. Narisa had been doing well on the homework. He'd been a bit worried the first few days after the attack, but she'd settled back into routine remarkably quickly. Now that he'd been cleared for physical training – albeit non contact and half speed at most – Narisa had been downright cooperative when it came to homework.
Still need to figure out if that's guilt on her part.
At the moment, Ry was more interested in the sudden invitation from Shikahana and Chori. Neither of them actively derided Narisa, but they'd never reached out before.
Maybe this is because I'm here to help level her out? I have wondered if Shikahana has put together why everyone dislikes Narisa so much. She's at least as smart as what little I remember of Shikamaru from the show, but I'm not sure how she chooses to apply it.
"I don't have a problem hanging out." Ry shrugged. "But you can't get free answers on the homework. Not until you've tried at least twice."
Narisa pouted. "You're mean, nii-san."
Ry stopped in the middle of putting his last book in his bag. He looked up at Narisa, who had a dusting of red on her cheeks.
When his eyebrow quirked, her blush deepened, blue eyes cutting away.
Fortunately, while Ry was surprised, he did have a response ready. "A big brother has to be mean, especially if his adorable imouto isn't behaving."
Narisa had entirely turned away, but even the collar of her red and blue jacket couldn't hide the way her neck flushed. The way she squirmed, clearly a mix of embarrassed and gratified, was one of the most adorable things Ry had ever seen from her.
"Auntie will be so happy to be getting a niece." Ry continued, reaching out to ruffle Narisa's hair.
Narisa turned back, her fists bunched up and her cheeks puffed out. Ry felt her stiffen in surprise when he pulled her into a hug. She relaxed a few seconds in, her arms coming up to return the hug.
Ry's breath wheezed out as she squeezed. He felt her sniffling into the front of his shoulder as she tried her best to crack his ribs.
When she relaxed her squeeze, Ry held her for a moment longer. Then he let go, stepping back slightly. Narisa's eyes were watering slightly, and a faint smile played across her face.
"You good?" Ry asked, smiling back.
"Nnn." Narisa nodded.
"Good." Ry said. "You should run to make sure you make it to mandatory lessons. I don't want my adorable imouto being late."
For fun, he reached out to ruffle her hair again. Narisa swatted at his arm.
"Baka." Narisa grinned. "I'm cheating, remember? I haven't been late in two months."
"Right." Ry shook his head. "Well, I'm off to my mandatory lessons. See you afterwards. Did Nara-san and Akimichi-san give a place to meet?"
"Probably out on the hill Pineapple-chan always goes watch clouds on." Narisa shrugged. "We can meet at Ichiraku's and then head there."
Without warning, she lunged towards Ry. He accepted the hug, patting her on the back.
"Bye, nii-san." Narisa said into Ry's shoulder.
"Bye Narisa." Ry patted the blonde on the head.
Narisa had the biggest smile on her face as she walked away. Ry huffed a laugh as she disappeared around the corner.
Unexpected. But not unwelcome. Hopefully gets auntie off my back about that.
Pushing aside those thoughts, Ry made his way to the classroom that Seong-sensei had told him to find after classes. It was different than their normal classroom, and would be the standard meeting spot once a week, going forwards.
Ry was fairly certain it was where Seong-sensei was meeting with Tsugumi and Bitai during the days he was no longer needed.
Walking in, Ry paused immediately. The hair on the back of his neck rose as he took in the room.
Tsugumi and Bitai had beaten him to the classroom, which was already unusual. They were sitting patiently near a wall, both smiling smugly.
Most of Ry's instincts were warning him about Seong-sensei. She stood in the middle of the room, arms behind her back. Her attire was normal, as was the mat she stood on.
Seong-sensei's eyes told Ry that this was not going to be like their previous mandatory lessons. There was a mix of irritation and resignation in her expression, while her eyes reminded Ry of the elder Seong sister when Akena was intent on imparting a lesson in swordsmanship.
Usually by beating it into him.
"Hello, Shiranui-kun." Seong-sensei said. "Step in and shut the door, please."
Ry took in the small snicker from Tsugumi before she smothered it. Bitai's eyes were lustrous and she was focused directly on Ry himself.
He did as instructed, stepping in. The door shutting behind him felt portentous. Silence followed him as he laid his bag down on the ground to one side, before moving towards Tsugumi and Bitai.
"Not today, Shiranui-kun." Seong-sensei said.
The inflection in her voice gave Ry pause. Looking at his instructor again, he saw her gesture to stand in front of her.
"Did I do something wrong, sensei?" Ry asked as he approached.
Seong-sensei cocked her head. Then she shook it, bringing a hand up to press into her temple.
"No, Shiranui-kun, you've done nothing wrong." Seong-sensei said. "I apologize for making you think that."
"Oh." Ry said. "Then, what are we doing?"
"A…demonstration." Seong-sensei said.
Ry pursed his lips. Turning, he saw both Bitai and Tsugumi watching. Tsugumi still looked smug, while Bitai had a rather intent expression.
"First, Shiranui-kun," Seong-sensei's words drew Ry's attention back, "I'd like your explicit permission to be part of a yuwaku demonstration."
Ry grunted.
Yuwaku demonstration? One involving Seong-sensei?
Huh.
I mean, I'm not opposed. She's old enough not to bother me mentally, and definitely attractive enough that my libido is voting yes. Kina wasn't wrong on our 'date,' not about that anyways.
"Sure sensei." Ry said.
A smirk flashed across Seong-sensei's face for a moment. Ry was certain she was remembering the way she'd initially asked him to volunteer, even as the smirk disappeared.
A flick of her hand brought out a scroll. Seong-sensei flicked her hand again, unfurling the scroll. A rather large cloud of smoke appeared.
When it faded away, a series of barstools, and a bar, sat in the middle of the room. The slight clinking of glass told Ry a few bottles were hidden under the bar itself.
"Today is about information extraction." Seong-sensei said. "I will be playing the bartender, while Shiranui-kun will be playing the mark. The goal is for me to acquire information relevant to my mission."
"Seong-sensei?" Tsugumi's hand shot up.
Ry saw a flash of irritation in Seong-sensei's eyes. It was smothered instantly, but he knew he was correct. She was too similar to her sister to hide that from him, especially after months of sparring.
"Yes, Yamanaka-chan?" Seong-sensei asked.
"Do we get to know the mission?" Tsugumi asked.
Seong-sensei gave her a flat look. "After the demonstration, maybe."
"Shiranui-kun, I will ask that you step out in the hallway for a few minutes. One of the girls will come get you." Seong-sensei said.
"Sure, sensei." Ry nodded. "When I come in, am I just walking up and sitting down at the bar?"
"That's fine." Seong-sensei said. "For the purposes of this exercise though, remember that I'm not your sensei. I'm just the lady behind the bar, serving you drinks."
Standing in the hallway, Ry contemplated his current situation.
He had a strong suspicion that Seong-sensei had somehow been coerced into this lesson. Everything about the interactions between the instructor and Ry's fellow students spoke to Seong-sensei's irritation and frustration. It was an odd power dynamic, all the more so when Ry knew that Seong-sensei was the one to initiate the mandatory lessons in the first place.
Ry wasn't sure how, or even if he should, interpose himself in the conflict.
"You can come in." Tsugumi said, sliding the door open.
Ry walked in a few steps, then paused. His eyes were riveted to their instructor.
Seong-sensei had discarded the entire look of a Konohagakure kunoichi.
Her blue hair was held in a loose, side ponytail, with a bang free to drape over her face. She'd donned a tank top with a low scoop neck that revealed a rather generous amount of cleavage, even from a distance. Ry couldn't see her lower half behind the bar, but he had a suspicion he wouldn't find the standard kunoichi pants either.
She very much reminded Ry of some of the girls who'd bartended in his old college town. The same girls that had leveraged their looks and their customers' drunkenness to score great tips. Even her smile, which was so warm that it was disarming, put him in that mindset.
Just…go with it. Not like I can do anything else.
"Well hi there." Seong-sensei said, stepping away from where she'd been standing. "How can I help you today, shinobi-san?"
Damn, even the way she's speaking is different. She is definitely not this bubbly. Unless…maybe outside of teaching?
No. Can't see that. Definitely acting. Superb acting.
Ry pursed his lips as he sat down. "Ah…something to sip on, I guess."
"Sip on, huh?" Seong-sensei grinned. "Sake or liquor then?"
Seong-sensei turned around, opening the cabinets behind her. Ry wasn't sure when they'd gotten there, but the way she bent over to rummage in them, it showed off her extremely taut ass. Hidden only by leggings that were molded to her lower body, Ry was pretty sure she had to be wearing a thong.
If she's not going commando.
Blinking, Ry put his mind elsewhere. "Liquor, probably."
"Hmm." Seong-sensei hummed for a moment, then straightened up with a glass bottle in her hand. "We've got this great batch from the Land of Plains. Their distillers really know what they're doing. Not too much of a kick, but it'll warm you up. Sound good, shinobi-san?"
"Yeah." Ry said.
"Coming right up." Seong-sensei pulled a glass from underneath the bar, spinning it with a casual flick of her wrist. "You're a new face around here, not one of the regulars. What brings you in, shinobi-san?"
Ry's mind fuzzed. He hadn't been prepared for this.
Even as his brain scrambled to come up with a reasonable answer, Seong-sensei was ahead of him.
The glug of the alcohol into the glass was covered by Seong-sensei's giggle. "Oh, that's the face of a man with women troubles. Handsome man like you, shinobi-san, with women troubles?"
"I-ah, no?" Ry cocked his head.
"You don't have to be all strong and silent." Seong-sensei offered a cute pout.
It was so at odds with what Ry knew of his instructor's behavior that his mind refused to provide any responses.
Seong-sensei giggled again. "You sip on this, shinobi-san. I'll be back in a minute, you can tell Kae all your woes. Get a woman's perspective on things."
Ry brought the drink up, blinking in surprise at the taste. He hadn't expected actual alcohol.
Tsugumi and Bitai looked surprised when they sat down, but Ry understood. The point was to make it seem at least somewhat realistic. Very few bartenders were going to focus on only one customer. Not unless they tipped extraordinarily well, and from what Ry had seen, tipping didn't seem to be much of a thing in Konoha.
Unless people were greasing hands. Ry had already gotten lessons from his aunt and Narisa on the value of casual bribery.
"Good?" Seong-sensei asked when she stepped back over.
"Better than most things I've tried." Ry replied honestly.
He'd never been much of a drinker. The taste never sat right with him, especially not his stomach lining. Hard to enjoy drinking when he knew it would make him ill later.
"Great." Seong-sensei said. "So, tell me how a handsome shinobi like you is having women troubles."
Presumably this is part of her 'mission.' Might as well go along. Have some fun with it too.
"I don't know that I'd call them troubles." Ry said, offering a smile. "Unless women troubles includes my little sister, who can be a bit much to deal with. She causes trouble frequently."
"Mm, we are good for that." Seong-sensei nodded. "Your little sister off chasing boys or is she too busy breaking hearts?"
"Mmm, only her own." Ry mused. "But no, she just likes messing with people. Drags me into it more often than not."
"We're also good for that." Seong-sensei said. "I don't think I'm wrong though. Good looking shinobi like you doesn't come to a place like this on his own."
"Eh, don't really think they'd count as troubles." Ry shrugged. "You ever have someone you're interested in, but know they're completely uninterested in return?"
"A time or two." Seong-sensei nodded. "You pining for some civilian like me, one who doesn't want to deal with a nin's lifestyle?"
"She's a kunoichi." Ry smiled. "A damned good one. She's got authority over me, though, and I'm just some young guy, not anything special. Not to her, at least."
"Awww." Seong-sensei said. "That's definitely trouble, shinobi-san. Are you here to drown the sorrow that she doesn't see you that way?"
"Not quite sure why I'm here." Ry replied, smirking. "Though with drinks and company this good, I can tell you why I'm staying."
Seong-sensei smiled brightly. "Flattery will get you everywhere, shinobi-san."
"And buying more drinks, I assume." Ry replied dryly.
"That helps." Seong-sensei agreed. "Would you like a top off?"
Ry nodded.
Once she was done pouring the drink, Seong-sensei's smile shifted. "Thank you for playing along, Shiranui-kun."
"Now, I need you to leave." Seong-sensei gestured towards the door. "We can talk about your performance in a minute."
Ry shrugged, getting to his feet.
"Wait, Seong-sensei." Bitai said. "Can I try?"
"Bartending?" Seong-sensei asked.
"No." Bitai shook her head. "In this scenario, you're acting as if you've infiltrated an area where enemy nin are operating with the cover identity as a bartender. I was thinking I could do the same, but as myself. I know that wouldn't work in reality, but it would be practice, and something I already know well."
"Hmm." Seong-sensei hummed. "It's not a bad idea, but the best practice would be like reality. We can discuss a cover for you to use next lesson though. Shiranui-kun, will you step out for a minute?"
Ry cooled his heels in the hallway for a few minutes.
Bitai came out, shutting the door behind her. Ry gave her a curious look.
"Seong-sensei said I might as well wait out here." Bitai smiled softly. "Tsugumi had some specific questions she wanted to ask."
"Ah." Ry nodded. "Makes sense."
This was the first opportunity to talk with Bitai that wasn't part of an exercise. Or with Tsugumi present. Ry had questions and he wasn't going to waste the opening.
"Can I ask why you're in these lessons?" Ry asked. "You're actually pretty good at taijutsu, and it can't be that hard to use the dummies in yuwaku."
"For Tsugumi, mostly." Bitai shrugged. "She's my best friend. And I support her."
"Ah, fair." Ry nodded. "I just would've imagined that Yamanaka-san's Clan would've been the ones giving her extra lessons, not Seong-sensei. I may not be from Konoha, but it's pretty easy to tell they're protective of their nin."
Bitai's smile stiffened slightly. "That's Clan business. We're best friends, but I don't ask those kinds of questions."
I'd guess you don't have to. But that's fair. I know better than to pry further, given that kind of response.
"Yeah, fair enough." Ry agreed.
"Can I ask you a question?" Bitai asked before Ry could formulate one of his own. "What happened with Kina-chan? Last I heard, she was on a date with you, then she was pulled from school."
"Something unexpected in her bond with Akahana." Ry said. "Don't know much more than that."
"Oh." Bitai blinked.
Ry noted the way her eyes gleamed. "How was the date?"
"A lot of fun, though it was more of a friend date than a date date." Ry said. "She's fun to talk to."
"Friend date?" Bitai tilted her head.
"We established fairly quickly that I was using the date as a cover for trying to make a few more friends." Ry said, sticking to the cover he'd created on the date. "Haven't had much luck trying to do it the normal way."
"Take a kunoichi on a date to be friends?" Bitai giggled. "I wouldn't expect that."
"It seemed to work." Ry said. "We were having fun."
"Are you going to take her on another date to do that?" Bitai asked.
Ry studied her for a moment. Her tone was innocent, but something in her face gave Ry doubts. Especially when combined with the way he'd caught her staring at him a few times during their taijutsu katas.
"Probably not, at least not in the near future." Ry said slowly. "Her Clan has her in isolated training."
He'd gone to check, several times, since being let out of the hospital. Each time he'd been politely but firmly rebuffed. The last time had been accompanied with a message that while they'd passed on his concern, he wouldn't be hearing from Kina until she was done with her training.
"Ah." Bitai said. "I-"
Ry saw her expression change. Her eyes weren't focused on him, clouding slightly for a moment. Her entire body swayed, ever so slightly.
Then her eyes brightened again. A rather saucy smile appeared on her face.
"Shiranui-kin, maybe you could take me on a friendship date too?" Bitai asked.
She stepped closer to him, putting a definite sway in her hips.
Ry cocked his head. The change in behavior didn't add up. He turned slightly. As she sauntered up to him, Ry took a step to put his back to the wall even as his hand flickered through seals out of Bitai's sightlines.
"I think we could be more than good friends." Bitai said. "I bet I could suck your sou-"
Bitai's walk turned into a stagger. She was close enough and Ry wasn't going to waste the opportunity.
Using this twice, on beautiful brunettes, in less than a month. And not even for nefarious purposes. Man it's a good thing Hirana is so insistent on learning the half seal versions of Mystic Palm. And better that I'm not a terrible person.
Bitai's eyes went wide as Ry supported her sagging body weight. A grunt sounded from off to his right.
Using adhesion to maintain his grip with one hand, Ry infused himself and swung his head.
There, he saw platinum blonde hair whipping around the corner. Ry didn't pursue, letting Bitai slump to the ground in a controlled manner.
The door slammed open. Ry felt more than saw the blue blur that flashed by. Tsugumi charged out a moment later, dropping to her knees beside Bitai.
"Tai, you okay?" Tsugumi said once she'd checked Bitai over for injuries.
"She's fine." Ry said, drawing the Yamanaka's blazing glare. "I overloaded the nerves in her limbs and mouth. Give it a few minutes to wear off."
It was the less intense, more controlled version of what he'd done to Kina. Granted, Bitai hadn't been giving off pheromones, or some equivalent, that made Ry want to rip her clothes off and render her unconscious through orgasm. He'd been able to form all the half seals and maintain better control of his chakra flowing through Bitai.
Though it was interesting that I felt resistance there. It wasn't Bitai's resistance either. That was definitely foreign chakra.
"Pretty sure one of your Clan members just used a Clan jutsu on her." Ry continued. "Unless she randomly makes suggestive remarks about blowjobs in the middle of conversation on a regular basis."
Tsugumi blinked. Then she focused back on Bitai, her hands flying through seals. Outside of the few times Hirana had showcased the surgical jutsu Ry would eventually need to master if he ever wanted to operate as an iryo specialist in a nin hospital, Tsugumi's jutsu had the most seals he'd ever seen.
The ending seal was both hands in a circle, middle fingers and thumbs touching each other. Tsugumi's eyes clouded over.
Ry knew better than to interrupt her. He hadn't seen Yamanaka jutsu in use before, but iryo training emphasized just how wrong things could go when foreign chakra was injected into a body. There was a very good reason Ry was reticent about healing anyone other than himself or Narisa. He didn't want to think about how precarious injecting foreign chakra into a mindscape was.
With a grunt, Tsugumi leaned back into her heels a minute later, eyes returning to their normal brightness.
"That bitch." Tsugumi snarled, though she made no move to get up.
"Care to share?" Ry asked. "Or is it Clan business?"
"It's personal." Tsugumi said.
"Tsu." Bitai's voice was weak. "Don't. It's what she wants."
Ry was curious what that might mean.
His curiosity was partially satisfied when Seong-sensei came back around the corner. She had a disturbingly calm expression on her face as she dragged a flailing form behind her.
Tsugumi saw the same thing. Ry had enough experience with her during taijutsu spars to read her next move. While he didn't particularly care if she mixed it up with the apparent offender, he didn't want her hurt.
Which, from Seong-sensei's face, would happen to the next person that annoyed her.
Ry's hand shot out, grabbing Tsugumi's arm. "Hold."
Tsugumi's ice blue eyes glared at him.
"Let Seong-sensei do things right." Ry said. "Because if you try differently, she's going to disable you, then do things right anyways."
"Listen to Shiranui." Seong-sensei said, flipping her victim over and slamming them to the ground.
Ry saw the third Yamanaka he knew to be attending The Academy. He didn't know much about Yamanaka Rei, other than her being at odds with both Ikuhito and Tsugumi. She'd been sullen and withdrawn every time Ry had seen her.
"Now, Yamanaka, let's talk about you using your Clan jutsu on one of my students outside of a spar." Seong-sensei snarled. "Because I'd love to hear your explanation before I notify your aunt."
Rei went abruptly still.
"Sensei, if she used it on Bitai, her behavior changed without warning." Ry said. "She became very forward."
"She was gloating about embarrassing Tsugumi and I." Bitai said, her voice still weak. "I think she was going to put Shiranui-kun and I in a compromising situation."
Which seems dumb. I have to imagine Bitai is probably amongst the best trained at the Academy in resisting those kinds of jutsu.
Maybe. Or maybe she's more vulnerable due to repeated exposure?
Seong-sensei snorted. "Picked the wrong target there. Stop trying to resist, Yamanaka. Tsugumi-san, can you assist me in bringing your cousin to your Clan compound?"
Tsugumi's glare hadn't left Rei since she'd been slammed down. "Hai, sensei."
Then she looked down at Bitai. "Tai…are you going to be okay?"
"I can escort her home." Ry said. "It's my fault she has jelly legs right now, anyways."
"Thank you, Shiranui-kun." Bitai said softly.
Five minutes later, Ry was walking down the street with Bitai on his back. The kunoichi had her arms wrapped around his neck, though she was exerting almost no pressure.
"So…is that just cousin rivalry?" Ry asked. "If you can say anything."
"Rei's mother doesn't like Tsugumi's mother much." Bitai said softly. "Tsu doesn't care much about it, same as her mom, but Rei and her own mother are bitter about their position in the Clan. Especially since her father died last year."
"Ah." Ry said.
Bitai didn't reply to his noise, so Ry went with another tack. "Didn't seem like a well thought out plan."
"There's a reason Rei's never been in real contention for any leadership roles, despite her status." Bitai said, a thread of amusement in her voice. "She's never thought things through. Likely she just saw the two of us talking and acted."
Ry let out a hum. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. A big part of him was concerned someone with poor impulse control had access to mind control and possession jutsu. He wasn't sure how to effectively resist or remove something like that. She hadn't tried it on him. This time, anyways.
Should definitely add that to the list of things I need to train.
…Dammit, that list is already too long.
"That…is concerning." Ry said. "Don't suppose you have any tips or tricks on how to resist that sort of thing? I'd really rather not deal with Rei coming look to get revenge on me."
Bitai chuckled. "She won't do that. Tsu and Ikuhito-kun will both be watching her at the Academy now, even after the Clan levels a punishment. So will all our sensei. And you're friends with Uzumaki-chan. All Rei will do is glower from a distance. She's bitter, but she doesn't like taking punishments. Nor will her mother be pleased that Rei embarrassed the Second Branch of the Yamanaka Clan."
Ry's brain latched onto a specific portion of Bitai's words. "Why is being friends with Narisa important?"
Bitai's laughter was stronger before trailing off into soft chuckles. Ry continued along, waiting for the kunoichi to recover her breath.
"Rei made the mistake of starting a bit of a feud with Uzumaki-chan when she first started at the Academy." Bitai said. "If I remember correctly, Ikuhito-kun and Tsu both goaded her into it, but she bore the weight of Uzumaki-chan's irritation. Which was not pretty. Uzumaki-chan isn't afraid to play dirty; Rei specifically avoids being around her."
In many ways, that's a true statement.
"Ah." Ry said. "That's fair, on her part. Narisa is very capable of holding petty grudges."
"We all learned that back when Uzumaki-chan first started at the Academy." Bitai said in an agreeable tone. "Tsu and I never really bothered with her, which probably saved us a lot of trouble these last three years."
"Skewer-kun!" Narisa came through the crowd, planting herself in front of Ry. "You're late for ramen!"
Shadow Clone. Narisa would never actually leave the ramen. And it's not like the village's security isn't aware of her ability at this point.
I think.
"There was a bit of an accident in mandatory lessons today." Ry said. "I sent a bunshin?"
"Nnn!" Narisa nodded, frowning. "I know, but Boss wanted to let you know that you owe her the price of a bowl, and that she brought it to the normal training grounds since Crisps-chan told her that we couldn't hang out until tomorrow."
"What are the odds that Boss is eating said bowl, right now?" Ry asked, rolling his eyes.
Narisa's eyes widened. "You're so right, skewer-kun! That's what I'd do!"
Without hesitation, she punched herself in the face. Ry heard Bitai's small exclamation of surprise, followed by another when Narisa vanished in a small puff of smoke.
She's completely forgotten she's supposed to be hiding that.
Unless she just thinks she needs to hide it from the Academy's instructors. Though that does make me wonder if they've been informed of her prowess with Kage Bunshin. They haven't called out her usage for mandatory lessons, if so.
Hmmm.
"That was a bunshin?" Bitai asked. "I thought Uzumaki-chan couldn't do Bunshin?"
"Yes, and no." Ry said. "Come on, let's get you home. I apparently have a little sister to go corral after this."
Bitai was quiet the rest of the way to her house.
"Again." Hirana said.
Ry took a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he focused on the chakra flowing through his arms, down into his fingers.
Changing the properties of his chakra was second nature by this point. Ever since he'd started working on adhesion and repulsion to master tree walking and water walking, he'd had a good grasp on the concept, but his extensive practice with Hirana's assigned exercises was helping him elevate his competency.
Such as the exercise he was currently doing. Keeping his body infused, but changing the properties of his chakra specifically around his fingers. Ry was fairly certain this was how Kazune could do the cool Lightning Cutter something or other jutsu he vaguely remembered. In Ry's case, he wasn't changing the chakra's nature. Mystic Palm, and every subsequently derived jutsu, went in the exact opposite direction. Ry had to strip out every trace of elemental nature from his chakra, along with his own personal chakra signature. The closer to neutral the chakra was, the more effective it would be for healing others without their own chakra fighting against it.
Not even Lord Tsunenobu could turn his chakra entirely neutral, according to Hirana. The emerald green chakra visible in the Slug Sage's jutsu was just closest anyone had gotten in centuries.
Ry hadn't seen anything close to that. He was still at seafoam green, or something close. Hirana's instructions after his lessons always focused on that aspect, and she'd directed him to exercises designed to facilitate his abilities.
Such as trying to maintain the correct properties for Mystic Palm in his fingers while the rest of his chakra network ran like normal. In combat, dropping his chakra infusion would get him killed, so he needed to learn balance.
Ry had noted that they weren't doing anything like that in Hirana's morning classes with the other students. Hirana's response to his question had been blunt.
"They're not getting into fights with enemy nin trying to take our jinchuriki." Hirana had said. "You don't have the luxury of learning all the theoretical knowledge first and only then moving on to combat applications, Shiranui."
Ry couldn't disagree with her. He was pretty sure that this world was moving in directions far from what he knew. To his knowledge, nothing like the attack on Narisa had occurred in the show. His small ability to predict the future was clearly diminishing, if not already nonexistent.
Which terrified him. The Red Cloud nin showing up early would get him killed. Would get everybody killed.
Ry's concentration shattered as a flicker of metal appeared in his peripheral. He managed to twitch, but the kunai still cut a small line through the top of his shoulder.
"Again." Hirana said.
Ry sighed, looking down at his hand. He knew before he looked that his chakra had reverted to normal.
"Maa, Shiranui-kun, you seem to be struggling." Kazune said.
Ry didn't bother looking at his sensei. She was ostensibly standing on the wall. One hand held her iconic book, the other spinning a kunai loosely. She hadn't, to Ry's eye, moved the entire time the practice session had been going.
Ry's eyes were lying to him, and he knew it.
Kazune could move faster than Ry could visually perceive, chakra infusion or not. The kunai she'd thrown, for example, had come from his left side. Despite Kazune standing off to his front right. Moving faster than he could track to throw the kunai, then moving back was perfectly within her means.
Alternatively, it could be a genjutsu. He knew Kazune wasn't a genjutsu specialist, but that was relative. From what Ry had gleaned, she was better at genjutsu than most chunin who did specialize in the art of illusions.
Does make her damn scary though. She's stated before that her primary focuses are ninjutsu and taijutsu, then fuinjutsu and summoning, and only then genjutsu. That's just not fair, even if it does make sense considering her Sharingan. And makes me wonder if she's better than the show made Kakashi out to be. It could just be he was stuck at the ceiling of what the plot allowed, but it could also be that this world is different. I've already seen enough evidence of that.
Which only makes her scarier. Hyper-competent and lethal Kazune is a terrifying thought.
Half an hour later, Hirana declared Ry done. At which point she finally let him heal the numerous cuts on his shoulders, arms, and legs.
"Keep focusing on stripping out the elemental natures." Hirana said once Ry was done healing himself. "You've got a fairly covetable trait as an iryo specialist: your chakra signature is rather benign when you interact with others, at least from what I've witnessed. Much like Lord Tsunenobu."
"Really?" Ry asked.
"Yes." Hirana nodded, then turned to look at Kazune. "Are you going to have him tested for his elemental nature soon?"
"He wants to do it with his imouto." Kazune said without looking up from her book. "Who is late."
Ry shrugged when Hirana looked at him. "You want to try forcing Narisa to keep a schedule, you should've let me have time to stop for a bribe of ramen first."
"Ramen?" Narisa asked, stepping through the doorway. "Are we getting ramen, nii-san?"
"Maa, it's almost like a summoning jutsu." Kazune said, hopping down from the wall.
"Not yet, Narisa." Ry said.
Hmm. Wonder why she's calling me nii-san here, but skewer-kun yesterday when I was carrying Bitai home?
Ah, whatever. At least the embarrassment's worn off for her.
"We're testing our elemental affinities first." Ry continued when Narisa began to pout. "And then we can go get ramen. I'm only buying you one bowl, though, the rest is on you."
Narisa perked up immediately. "Oh! Wait, elemental affinities?"
Hirana cocked her head slightly at Narisa's question. The questioning glance was directed at Kazune, who appeared completely oblivious.
"Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water." Ry said. "There are others too, but those are the main five."
"Like the Elemental Nations?" Narisa asked.
"That's what they're named after." Ry nodded. "I'm surprised that's not part of the history you know."
"Naming stuff is boring." Narisa shrugged. "I like the other stuff more."
Ry chuckled. "Of course you do. But Kazune-sensei brought some affinity paper. We'll use that for our tests."
"Ugh, we have to take a test?" Narisa's shoulder slumped. "I'm all tested out today."
Ry lightly karate chopped Narisa on the head, smirking when she glared at him. "Not that kind of test. All you need to do is infuse the paper with some of your chakra."
"Oh." Narisa said, sticking her tongue out at Ry. "That doesn't sound bad."
"Here." Kazune held out a small square of paper. "Try this one first, Shiranui-kun."
"Hai." Ry nodded.
Infusing it with chakra was easy. The paper absorbed it immediately. Then crumbled, hitting the floor with a series of wet splats.
"Maa." Kazune tilted her head slightly. "Interesting, Shiranui-kun. Uzumaki-chan, your turn."
"What does that mean?" Ry asked.
"We'll figure that out in a minute." Kazune said. "Uzumaki?"
Narisa looked up from where she was nudging the wet paper with her sandal. "Is mine going to do that?"
"Depends." Ry said.
That wasn't one of the five reactions I've read about. It looked like water since it got wet, but water doesn't usually fall apart like that.
As Narisa held her paper, Ry pushed aside his thoughts. Kazune's words suggested that she had an idea, or a way to further refine the results.
To Ry's surprise, Narisa's paper did and did not react like he'd expected. It split completely in half, which he'd expected, but then it crumbled away as well.
Both he and Narisa stared at the floor. Then they looked up at Kazune.
"Maaa, interesting." Kazune said, an unusual amount of focus in her eye.
"What the heck was that?" Narisa asked.
Rather than speaking, Kazune pulled out two more squares. Ry noted that both were brown, rather than plain white.
"Try again with these." Kazune said.
This time, Narisa's split in half, floating down to the floor without any further reaction. Ry's grew soggy in his pinched grip.
Wait. We both have multiple affinities?
"Kazune-sensei, do we have multiple affinities?" Ry asked.
"Yes." Hirana said. "Water and Earth in your case, Shiranui, and Wind and Earth for Uzumaki. Which explains your chakra's benign nature, Shiranui. They are the same affinities as the Shodai and Lord Tsunenobu."
Huh. Hadn't thought of that.
Kazune flickered for a moment, then she was standing behind Ry and Narisa, patting them on the heads.
"Such talented juniors." Kazune said, her voice condescending.
Narisa swatted at Kazune's hand, while Ry just sighed.
Well, in the positives column, I know that Kazune knows quite a few Doton jutsu. So presumably she can help Narisa and I learn a few more.
More importantly, no one with plot knowledge is going to expect Narisa to have Doton. Which will be good, if any of the other Bound actually manage to use their knowledge to their advantage.
Here's hoping.
"That will conclude our lesson for today." Kazune said. "Shiranui, make sure to walk home via the stream."
"Hai, sensei." Ry groaned.
He could see Narisa was bursting with questions. Why she wasn't asking them, Ry didn't know for certain. What he did know was that he had an irksome time ahead of him, trying to walk on the stream while also fielding Narisa's questions.
There was no doubt Kazune knew that as well. Ry could see the 'eye smile' in his imagination as Kazune continued to pat him on the head.
Part of me feels like this is revenge for something, but I don't know what.
"Why do you have to walk in the water?" Narisa asked as they departed.
"Not in. On." Ry said, taking a direct route towards the stream Kazune was referencing.
The stream didn't move directly towards his apartment. It meandered back and forth, before getting within five blocks of his apartment. From there, it continued onwards, merging with another, larger stream that would eventually merge with the river that Konoha dominated one bank of.
The scale of Konoha had baffled him, for a while. The memories he had from the show didn't make it seem all that big. Whether that was just misconstrued, a misunderstanding in his memories, or yet another difference in this world, Ry didn't know. He just knew that the city was huge.
His best guess was that it was close to the size of Manhattan Island, if not bigger. He still hadn't seen most of it; most nin and their families lived in Inner Konoha. It wasn't called that, but there was a definite dividing line, mostly created by the string of Clan Compounds and Training Grounds semi-walling off the area nearest the Hokage Mountain. Ry hadn't even realized how big the city was until the first survival exercise. It took half a day for them to jog to the outer walls, which were far larger than Ry had really comprehended.
"You can walk on water?!" Narisa's eyes got big. "Ne, nii-san, can you teach me that?"
"Have you mastered the leaf concentration exercise?" Ry asked.
Narisa's puffed cheeks were answer enough.
"Well, we can start with that." Ry said. "When you can hold it while we practice sparring, then we can move on to tree walking."
"Mean." Narisa huffed. "That sounds impossible, nii-san."
"If you're going to be Hokage, that means you have to be the best imouto." Ry said. "And the best can certainly stick a leaf to their forehead while sparring."
Reaching over, Ry patted Narisa on the head. She stuck her tongue out at him, which drew a chuckle.
When they reached the stream, Ry took a few moments to center himself. Water walking was still challenging for him. He was still on recovery protocol, by order of Hirana, so he'd had far more downtime with shortened taijutsu and kenjutsu lessons. Most of that had been spent on chakra control, as well as learning new offensive jutsu from Kazune.
Stepping out on the water was always an act of faith. Faith in himself, and in chakra. Unlike Narisa and all the other nin in training, Ry hadn't grown up watching nin walk on water. It was something out of fantasy. Now, fantasy was his reality. He'd gotten better about reconciling that, but it still required conscious thought.
Ry wasn't totally confident in himself yet. He could walk almost effortlessly, even jog, but flat out running still caused him problems on occasion. Kazune's and Aoba's comments about learning to catch himself in motion on the water were cryptic, but Ry knew that training was coming as well. He suspected it would begin as soon as Hirana took him off of recovery protocol.
"Tada." Ry said, turning to face Narisa once he was a few steps out.
His smile disappeared when he saw Narisa tossing a small pellet in her hands. Her grin suggested bad things.
"I was gonna use these to mess with some shops later, but maybe you need help practicing, nii-san." Narisa said, giggling.
"Ah hell." Ry muttered.
He turned to run, pulling his sword as he did so. Narisa let out a whoop, running along the shoreline. The first pellet winging his way he ducked, the second he swatted with the flat of his blade.
Only to be splattered with pink paint. Spitting, Ry glared at Narisa as he continued to run. She was giggling like mad, pulling more paint pellets out as she parkoured over a bench with a couple sitting on it.
"Nii-san, you look so good in pink!" Narisa crowed. "Maybe we should try green with it?"
Growling under his breath, Ry held up a hand, forming the Tiger seal. Half his remaining chakra disappeared, his clone running alongside him. His clone let out a laugh as it drew its own sword, swatting another paint pellet.
"Cheater!" Narisa yelled, throwing another handful of pellets.
Ry avoided some while his clone deflected the others. Sheathing his sword, he began working through a series of hand seals. He turned, skidding to a stop. As he did so, his foot sank partway into the water, soaking his boot.
It also threw off his aim.
Fuiton: Water Bullet.
The very first offensive jutsu Kazune had taught Ry was incredibly simple. It molded his chakra into the water element, condensed it, and fired a compressed bullet outward. At Ry's very basic competence, he had to project it from his mouth, spitting motion and all.
Ry intentionally held back on the compression in this case. He'd seen what Kazune's could do, and while Ry was far from her ability to punch through solid steel, he didn't want to hurt Narisa if he missed.
Which he did. His bullet had been aimed at the bag she was drawing her paint pellets from. Instead, it caught Narisa in the ankle, sending her sprawling.
What Ry hadn't considered was that Narisa was running along the edge of the stream. She'd kept herself on the fairly stable grassy area, but her fall sent her face first into the muck near the edge of the water itself. Mud splattered all over her, and Ry could hear her spitting out mud as she sat up.
When she looked at him, Ry caught a disconcerting gleam in those blue eyes. It was the kind of look Ry knew well; he'd only had it turned his way a few times during his friendship with Narisa, but he was very familiar with the consequences for the recipient.
"Shit." Ry said.
"Kage Bunshin." Narisa said, forming the clone seal.
Suddenly thirty Narisas stood around. All of them covered in mud, none of them looking particularly merciful. As one, they knelt down, grabbing handfuls of mud.
"Run." Ry's clone said.
Ry ran. He didn't make it far.
Junoha walked along with her hands shoved in her pockets. Her Henge was perfect, as was expected.
It had greatly amused her, watching the Academy students in their attempts.
Henge was one of the simplest jutsu to perform, but there was a component most people neglected: concentration.
Junoha had little trouble concentrating, focusing on exactly what she wanted to replicate. It had been one of her natural talents for as long as she'd been a kunoichi. Even amongst her bloodline, she'd always been amongst the best.
This had been her longest mission to date, and she'd needed her concentration. The longer the mission went on, the easier it was to blend with her cover. Simultaneously, the harder it became to hold herself back.
She was sitting in the nexus of the future power of Konohagakure. In all likelihood the most powerful kunoichi and shinobi of Konoha's future were within knifing range, daily.
The restraint she needed to display was maddening. Stretching it over the last five years had scraped her raw.
For the moment, she could relax. Her current Henge was a hulk of a man, with a natural scowl on his face. No civilian wanted to bother him. With her skill at chakra retention and recycling, he was of no interest to any of the nin watching the village in secret. Her abilities ensured she wasn't bothered.
For the moment, she could only luxuriate in the freedom of not being watched. Though the students never knew it, Junoha was well aware that they were surveilled regularly. Her own village did the same.
Of course, most villages didn't have infiltration specialists of Junoha's caliber at their disposal. Especially not one that was so willing to commit to a mission years long.
As for the ones that were trying…Junoha had been quite amused by their efforts. Especially the one she could see sinking in the quagmire of their own disguise.
That brought a smirk to Junoha's face. On her Henge, it was an ugly, angry thing.
It's what they deserve, trying to steal from our Clan. We might be dying, but we're not dead yet.
Though I do wonder if they'll figure out what I did. Or how I did it.
Pushing aside the thoughts of her petty – yet within mission parameters – revenge, Junoha entered the bar.
It was a dingy, musty place. Konohagakure, like all the major hidden villages, had its seedier locales. They were intentional, usually monitored by village forces.
The Sway and Stumble had a reputation for decent sake and a regular supply of some of the more exotic brews. It was an established business, one handed down through several generations of the Lurase family.
With a grunt, Junoha nodded to the bartender then went to sit at a booth.
Entering the booth, she felt the small warble in her Henge. It was in no danger of dispelling, but the barrier in place washed through her chakra. If there were any marks, seals, or jutsu on her that her contact was unaware of, the barrier would pop.
She would never see her contact in that case.
The barrier stayed firm.
A waitress came up, her gait slightly nervous. Junoha ordered brusquely. Her long term identity didn't allow her to consume alcohol with any regularity, so she took advantage of the opportunities she found. Never enough to impair her, but she missed the dark brews of her homeland.
"Take a drink with me?" Junoha looked up to see a rather rotund merchant standing by her table.
"Of course, Chiura-san." Junoha replied.
The man sat down, grinning at her. He ordered a few drinks from the waitress when she returned. They talked of the caravan he'd brought in and how he appreciated 'Hishino-san's' loyalty and steadfastness. Junoha dutifully replied, pretending to be the merchant's guard.
The waitress came up, putting the mugs on the table. Chiura-san had her walk away, with instructions not to come back. Junoha watched as he traced a pattern on the table.
"Ah, it's been some time." 'Chiura-san' said, slouching back. "How are you, sensei?"
"Same as ever." Junoha replied.
"You're progressing?" 'Chiura-san' asked. "Are they going to graduate them early?"
Junoha snorted. "They should. The sensei at the Academy are hopeless. I can only blame their bloodlines for Konoha's continued production of powerful ninja."
"But they won't?" Her student frowned.
"They won't." Junoha shook her head. "There is great promise in this group, a number of their Clan heirs and heiresses amongst them. And the jinchuriki, of course."
"You've confirmed that, then?" 'Chiura-san' asked.
"Yes." Junoha nodded. "There was an attempt on her life and the seal was loosened ever so slightly. Enough to turn suspicion into certainty. Unfortunately, she's not our target."
"Of course she's not." The merchant shook his head. "Though she is an opportunity. Setting her off, Second State in the middle of Konohagakure? We couldn't ask for anything better to ensure they never rise again."
"We'll do what we have to." Junoha said. "We may not be able to take our target during our Chunin exams, but I am growing closer to her. She trusts slowly, with good reason. My identity helps."
"Good." Chiura-dono said. "Anything else of import?"
"ANBU still watches her regularly." Junoha reported. "Always, she's being observed. Similar to the jinchuriki. I'm not sure what those old crones have planned, but they watch. Always."
"Nothing changed then, she'll be pleased." The merchant said. "Secondary objectives?"
"I cannot find the Yondaime's brat." Junoha shook her head. "After so many years, I'm beginning to believe my sensei's assertion that our informant lied to us. The flaming red hair is nowhere to be found, despite the plethora of their lineage that are scattered around this village, and there are too many blondes to be certain. None that show the mothers' talent or speed either. We have too little to go off of. The Academy brats remain the same, and if they are amongst them, the Hokage has made certain it cannot be discerned from observing their surveillance. Nor do any of them show the Yellow Death's raw talent. Other than our target, of course."
"As to the imitators…" Junoha grinned. "It is clear they lack complete knowledge of my bloodline's infiltration techniques. Their use of fuinjutsu to imitate and augment what they have not truly discovered is impressive, but exploitable."
The merchant snorted and Junoha rolled her eyes. Her student always had been focused on the mission over all else. It made him excellent at his job, but he lacked the inner fire of rage that drove the truly great. It had never surprised her; few nin outside of the Clans had ever understood it.
"What did you do?" 'Chiura-san' asked.
"Augmented their disguise to the point that no one will ever see through it." Junoha said.
She watched her student with mirth. He was likely the second most knowledgeable person in the world when it came to her Clan's techniques. Junoha had her own records, but in case some branch or bastard of her Clan was ever discovered after her death, she wanted someone capable of training them.
His eyes closed. Junoha knew his thought processes; she was willing to wait.
"Did you alter the seal or the jutsu directly?" 'Chiura-san asked nearly five minutes later.
"Why settle for one?" Junoha asked. "It's already too late, but I do hope it takes them a while to realize her disguise is rather permanent and irreversible. The seal is ingenious, I will admit that, but they clearly never considered what might happen if someone were to amplify its effects rather than degrade them."
"I assume they thought they were utilizing a dead bloodline's jutsu and techniques, and therefore that no one else would be able to manipulate the seal directly without alerting the kunoichi in question." The merchant said. "So she is neutralized?"
"As an informant for her village while on her current assignment, no." Junoha shook her head. "As a future infiltration specialist anywhere else, absolutely. What I'd give to see the look on her face when she realizes the position she's trapped in."
"Do you have enough control of the seal to neutralize her if we enact any of the contingency plans?" 'Chiura-san' asked.
"It's not that kind of seal anymore." Junoha said. "Or rather, the seal I could affect isn't the seal that regulates her chakra network. She had one of those, and it was impressive enough that I suspect they may have someone of Uzumaki descent working for them. But I only know because I saw it distort when I affected the other one. They twisted into a sort of symbiotic, singular seal. I'm not sure if it's due to their use of my bloodline, or the effects."
"Regardless, she only has the chakra reserves I might expect from a genin kunoichi." Junoha continued. "And none of her jutsu are all that special. I suspect her talent lies in efficient, discreet Henge. Depending upon how long they've been working on this, that may be all she is trained in. She certainly seems to struggle, and when I trapped her, I made sure I'm able to see her chakra network clearly. Her struggles are not being faked, not when it comes to chakra control."
"And the Bound?" 'Chiura-san' asked. "Any whispers?"
Junoha studied her student for a moment. The Bound weren't part of her mission. Her student knew that.
Her student sighed, scratching his head. "Hana-sama was killed. By one of the Bound, we suspect, shaped by missing nin."
Junoha blinked a few times. She hadn't known Hana well. The woman had known her son, and taught him the Steam Style taijutsu that he'd distinguished himself with until his death.
"What distinguished them, that we know they were sent by missing nin?" Junoha asked.
"Deko." 'Chiura-san' said flatly.
Junoha hissed. "That maniac? I thought sensei had her under control?"
"Unfortunately not." The merchant shook his head. "It could've been a Henge, but if so, that same person also learned her jutsu."
"And how do we know it was a Bound?" Junoha asked after a moment to gather herself.
"Because baba killed Hana-sama herself, after the Bound did something to disrupt Hana-sama's seal. There were no seals of any kind, nor any chakra flare, but suddenly the Gobi was emerging." 'Chiura-san' said. "We've had similar reports of the same Bound being seen with other missing nin."
Shit.
Junoha's mind raced. "Who is she sending them after next?"
It was the conclusion her sensei would certainly come to. Junoha had just been gone for too long to have an accurate idea of international relations.
"Possibly Kiri." The merchant shrugged. "With ongoing operations here, and what we know of the other villages, it makes the most sense. But that's only speculation. She hasn't told anyone what came out of those negotiations. She did remove the threat that our own Bound may have posed."
Junoha nodded slowly. It made some sense, but she disagreed. Her sensei was one to play things a bit more abstractly when it came to politics, in direct contrast to her style of battle. Hiring the missing nin and the Bound made sense, but not to attack one of the other villages.
Instead, Junoha suspected the minor countries around the Elemental Five would begin suffering a series of catastrophes. Diverting eyes with spectacle and greed, allowing her sensei time to recoup their losses. It was the smarter play, and sensei had always been good at playing things smart.
Though sensei likely found a way to end the Bound as well, if at all possible. That's an intolerable wild card.
"If Konohagakure has Bound, they've hidden them well." Junoha said. "I suspect they may be training them in seclusion."
"Nothing at all?" 'Chiura-san' didn't sound particularly surprised. "Konohagakure has too much population to hide them in. I suppose-"
Junoha held up a hand, her student's words dying in his throat.
"There is…something." Junoha said slowly. "A woman, one I suspect to be a strong kunoichi, started performing for crowds of people several months ago. She has not shown combat efficacy, but her concerts are popular. Popular, and pushing a through line about supporting the nin in charge of Konoha. She says simple things, but the genjutsu her voice carries is strong. Civilians likely wouldn't notice at all, even when it failed. The effects seem to make civilians more likely to forgive the Hokage after her blunder with Kumo."
"Something a talented enough kunoichi could do." The merchant replied.
"Yes, but not songs in three entirely different languages, ones I've never heard before." Junoha said.
'Chiura-san' blinked. "And you didn't report this immediately?"
"I was unaware of the specifics until just after our last meeting." Junoha replied. "And though it pains me to admit, it slipped through my defenses and sat unnoticed for quite a while given the relatively minor effect. I had assumed she was just singing in the tongues of foreigners, given her appearance is similar to the people of the South Seas."
"And they have her, a potential Bound, singing in public?" 'Chiura-san' asked dryly.
"I can investigate further." Junoha said. "I have some assistance I can call upon, whose motives won't be questioned for their investigations."
"Do so." The merchant said. "Baba denoted the capture or elimination of other Bound to be a priority. I cannot imagine Konoha dangling such a juicy lure without a proper hook, but perhaps we can find someone else to bite down first."
Junoha nodded silently, contemplating the best course of action given the risk to reward ratios.
"We won't be alone in reaching that conclusion." Junoha said.
"No, but I suspect baba plans to tempt a certain missing nin into biting down onto that hook for us quite happily." The merchant said.
Hebiasu. Perhaps. I know our reports have her doing something with a large number of captured nin. Did she manage to capture a Bound already?
Never mind. Even if she did, everything we know about her indicates she would want her hands on as many 'subjects' as possible.
The Kemono proved that beyond a doubt.
"Even with what else we suspect of her?" Junoha asked.
"I cannot pretend to know her mind, but baba has interacted with her enough. She'll know, and if not, I'm sure one of the other villages might at least prove interested in probing." 'Chiura-san' said.
Junoha saw the logic through. Even a failed attempt to capture or kill the public Bound would force Konoha nin to up their security measures around all their Bound.
Which concerned Junoha not at all, but could potentially make her own mission far easier to execute.
"Let me do what I can." Junoha said. "But it has merit. Time to go. The seal is running out of chakra."
"Hai, sensei." 'Chiura-san' said.
As she made her way back to her stakeout point and employed twice her usual counterintelligence measures, Junoha's brain whizzed along. She was planning, proposing, criticizing, reconstructing, and reworking a number of investigation tactics.
Right up until she saw a group of Academy students walking along.
Ah, yes, it's the Yamanaka's birthday. Good. A night away from the target can be used for further planning.
Noticing one particular individual near the rear of the group, Junoha's smile widened viciously.
She hadn't been entirely truthful with her student. No lies, but a couple omissions.
You may have stolen my family's bloodline, but I've stolen your purpose. The Futsu Clan may be nearly gone for now, but I'll live another twenty years, maybe thirty if life is kind.
And I will reap a harvest from your greedy sowing. As will you, and those who so blithely put you within my grasp.
Junoha went back to planning once more, whistling merrily all the way back to her residence.
Another two chapters, done. Should've been out last week, but life got in the way. Ah well. As long as I don't turn into a Six Months Later... Title Card like you'd see on Spongebob, I'm okay with being a week late. I wouldn't expect the next chapter until late December/early January. It's done - I actually have a bit of a backlog, which was not how I expected this to go - but I'm aiming for a steady release schedule, and roughly monthly seems to be working for the moment, my failed attempt at NaNoWriMo aside. If the backlog grows by a significant amount, that may shorten, but I'm not going to promise anything.
In more author related news, I'm still having a blast. Considering actually trying out a couple other fandoms to write in as well, because this is fun as hell to do. It also turns out that faking it til you make it works a bit better than I thought in writing. If I do decide to expand (more than my tentative explorations I've poked at so far) the releases for this will likely be adjusted in their frequency, but you'll see an AN about that before it changes.
Onto actual story stuff!
I know I'm not the first to recognize this, but the original Naruto just exudes younger sibling energy to me. Perhaps that's a reflection of my own experience with younger siblings, because I didn't really recognize I was writing in that direction until it jumped up off the page and smacked me in the face. About as literally as possible, too. I was writing with an entirely different direction in mind when my brain just sort of threw it in on auto-pilot. And then it fit far too well to take back. So get used to Narisa being an overly energetic little sister.
Which, let me tell you, I am gleefully awaiting - or in some cases jumping ahead to write rough draft scenes - the moments where Ry gets to torment his little sister about relationships. Because it's coming. Boy oh boy, is it coming.
Feel free to ignore everything below if you don't care about a look into the brain of a nascent wordsmith. There's a TL;DR, ahead of the big chunk of text if you want the short and sweet. Minor spoilers ahead and I've sectioned it off if you don't want to bother reading, if you bother reading ANs in the first place.
TL;DR: explicitly sexual things are on the horizon (though don't expect them next chapter) and in a mostly unrelated note, moral quandaries are also on the horizon.
This was supposed to be a short little note about upcoming events that will lean more heavily into the M rating of this fiction. Surprise surprise, it got away from me, but feel free to read.
The 'sex' is approaching. We're going to get there, and you can probably see some of what I'm foreshadowing. But remember, the guy who has been transmigrated/isekai'd/possibly dimensionally kidnapped was a normal person. With normal, Earth mores, ethics, and in this case, western culture embedded in his skull for at least two and a half decades of his life. I hope that comes across as obvious in the way I'm writing him - and hopefully not preachy or repetitive - but I want it to be realistic, in both character and plot.
Ry is, at least in his own mind, a decent guy. Decent guys don't typically jump all over opportunities to take advantage of women, either via circumstance or manipulation. I will absolutely acknowledge and agree with the fact that 'decent' or 'good' can all too often be a façade, or simply a label for people who haven't had that opportunity come up. I'm one hundred percent a believer in the idea that no one really knows what they'll do with temptation or power until it's presented to them. Ry isn't one of those guys. (I think. Like ninety nine percent sure. My characters occasionally have minds of their own, and I'm almost always unaware of when they're going to just do their own thing until they do it, in spite of my carefully laid plans. I blame my subconscious.)
Now, with that being said, is this story coming after Ry with the intent to beat his morals into submission with a desire to inflict pain and a metal bat in hand?
Maybe.
He's in a world where he's being trained to be a saboteur, thief, spy, and killer. All for hire. I feel like that fact is glossed over a lot in canon, because that's historically what ninja were, and it's what the history of this story portrays them as. It's possible I'm misremembering - it's been a long time - but I can understand that from a shounen perspective. Kinda hard to sell a story - at least one that's allowed to be marketed to pre-teens and teens - when the protagonists are regularly contracted to do all sorts of things that would put the readers in jail. Much more fun to show off awesome powers and techniques, with the added benefit of being flashy and eye-drawing. (Sales, sweet sales, baby. I in no way blame them for this, or think it any way detracts from the original story. I wish I could make that kind of money with what I write.)
The nature of this world will not be glossed over in this story. (Spoiler: fourth years have some interesting classes coming their way, about history and other things) Without that nature being glossed over, that means there will be moral quandaries in Ry's - and possibly others - future.
With that being said, I'm going to do my best to avoid delving too deep into the quandaries related to sex. I have lines, and when it comes to sex, even fictional sex, it turns out I have a lot of lines that are almost immediate 'Hell No with a generous heaping of Fuck Off and Burn.' We'll be avoiding those lines to the best of my ability, though some of them may end up being mentioned or referenced obliquely. War is a cataclysm, and cataclysms bring out the worst in people at least as often as they bring out the best.
In a lighter turn of events, sex scenes are fun to write. Challenging, but fun. For those of you who've read enough fan fiction, or the steamier published or self-published works out there with sex involved, you've probably tripped across a couple of sex scenes that jarred you out of what you were reading. I'm doing my damndest to avoid that, but I don't expect to be perfect. Part of the fun, and challenge, for me as an author in this fic is to really give those kinds of scenes a go. (Pun sorta intended?) I'm hoping I land on the correct side of 'acceptable, and if I actually nail it (dammit, pun not intended until I re-read it) and can borrow an older turn of phrase, 'hot under the collar after reading.'
That's all for the ramble, have a great day!
