This chapter has been revised.
"You'd be wasting your time."
The two women turned towards the door. Interrupting their conversation, Jiraiya, the Toad Sannin, shut the door behind him. He had just left Kakashi, having explained things to the jounin about Naruto. Jiraiya had returned the blond ninja to the boy's former sensei. Now, it would see he would have to speak with the Fifth Hokage, concerning the dark-skinned girl. Apparently, she did not know. His former teammate, Tsunade, raised a brow. "What are you talking about?" she asked. Jiraiya's gaze shifted to Shizune. The dark-haired woman merely blinked. The male Sannin closed his eyes and smirked.
"You were telling her to gather information on Ishikari Mayu, right?" he questioned. Tsunade leaned back in her seat.
"What of it?"
"Like I said, you'd be wasting your time," Jiraiya repeated.
"Do you know something I don't?"
"Apparently."
"You have three seconds to rephrase that," Tsunade glowered. Jiraiya chuckled nervously at his former teammate's glare.
"What I meant to say was that I'm surprised that you don't know," he said. "Then again, I'm not. More than likely, the information about the girl's clan is gone. I'm absolutely positive, though, that information about the girl, by herself, does not exist." At Tsunade's curious gaze, Jiraiya continued. "Members of the girl's clan aren't recorded until they have reached the age of fourteen."
"Why is that?" Tsunade asked.
"It is the inner workings of the clan," Jiraiya replied with a shrug. "No one but its members know the reason for it."
"What else can you tell me about this Ishikari clan? I've never heard of them."
"That makes sense seeing as how you were away from the village for quite some time."
"Get to the point, Jiraiya!"
"There's not much I can tell you, anyway. They were a secret clan that kept to themselves," the Sannin went on. "Only a few knew about it."
"Knew…?"
"Yeah, years back, the clan… went through a massacre," Jiraiya stated. "On the same night as the Uchiha clan at that. Many lives were lost. Only two members of each clan survived. The girl, though, disappeared before she reached the appropriate age. Her uncle happened to be on a mission at the time."
"I don't get it—why was this clan so secretive?" the Hokage wanted to know. For a moment, her former teammate closed his eyes.
"Ishikari clan—the secret clan of the Hidden Leaf village," he began. "The clan is similar to the Yamanaka clan as the two have the ability to inhabit the body of another. However, when it comes to the Ishikari clan, once they return to their rightful bodies, they can use the techniques of whomever they happen to switch with. When the village was first established, the clan agreed to become a part of it. Due to their abilities and war, they were kept secret, though. During the time of war, they helped us immensely. It is said that they used their abilities of going inside high-ranking enemies and slit their throats."
"They willingly went on suicide missions?" Tsunade's eyes widen as though she couldn't believe it.
"No, that is another difference between the Yamanaka clan and Ishikari clan. The switch happens, yet damage done to the enemy will not affect their bodies at all once they return."
"That's… some ability."
"That's precisely why the Second kept the clan in isolation. For the longest time, they were hidden from the eyes of the world," Jiraiya explained. "Their achievements in war became rumors, and then legends."
"You mean… The whole angry spirits possessing our enemies and destroying them from the inside out… was them?"
"That's right."
"So, what happened to them?" Tsunade furrowed her brow.
"They were discovered. The Uchiha clan found out. Eventually, both clans were lost," Jiraiya stated.
"You're telling me… I have a rogue ninja and his niece from a dead clan on my hands?"
"Rogue is better than missing-nin, isn't it?" The blond woman sighed heavily and asked for a name. "His name is Ishikari Morino. He hasn't been back in years."
"Morino…?" Shizune repeated, causing the two Sannin to turn her eyes. She flushed under their scrutiny. "Sorry… I just… kept thinking that the surname was familiar to me somehow. When you said Morino, I knew."
"Explain yourself, Shizune," Tsunade ordered.
"It's nothing really. Before Tsunade-sama and I returned to the village, I happened to meet someone by the name of Ishikari Morino. He-" Her cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink. "He was quite charming…" The two Sannin stared at the dark-haired woman for a moment longer. Shizune focused her gaze downward. "An-Anyway…!" she exclaimed, trying to change the subject. The Hokage, however, interrupted, turning her attention back to Jiraiya.
"How long ago did you meet with this man?" Tsunade asked, ignoring the look of sulking from her assistant. Jiraiya shrugged.
"Probably a year ago," he answered. "The reason I'm telling you all this is because it would be foolish not to make the girl a ninja."
"Hm…?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes a bit. "That's all up to her, isn't it? How about we go watch now?"
0-0
Naruto threw multiple shuriken at Kakashi. However, the jounin merely ducked to dodge the attack. He then flung a couple shuriken of his own. To avoid the sharp weapons, Naruto jumped up high. Kakashi used that to his advantage. Because the blond was midair, he wouldn't be able to dodge another flurry of shuriken being thrown his way. Surprisingly, Naruto only smirked at the oncoming weapons. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" His exclamation, gathering of chakra, and hand seal summoned another Naruto—a solid clone. The clone hurriedly grabbed onto the original and pulled him to safety just as the shuriken whizzed by.
"Interesting…" Kakashi muttered.
"That was actually pretty good, Naruto," Mayu thought. "You've learned to use your clones better."
The girl slowly removed a kunai from her leg holster as Naruto landed. His clone transformed into a giant shuriken. However, before he got a chance to throw it, Kakashi hopped up and halted the attack. He had grabbed his former pupil's hand and gripped the back of Naruto's head with his free hand. "Well, that's enough of that." The jounin sounded a little too smug about besting a teenager. "You've grown well, Naruto. But… it seems you haven't lost any of your haste. I haven't said start ye-" A single kunai was launched from Mayu's hand towards Kakashi. The man quickly released the blonde, jumping up to avoid the projectile and the Naruto clone that had appeared behind him.
"He said start—I heard it! Crushing time now!" Mayu ran forward while grabbing shuriken. She hurled them towards the midair jounin. His eyes widened a bit. "Naruto!" The blond nodded and jumped at the same time Mayu did. "Let's go!" Her body turned and her leg shot out. Naruto reared his fist back, along with his clone. Kakashi managed to block the original Naruto's punch with his right arm, as well as Mayu's foot with his left arm. However, the punch to the back of the head by the clone could not be avoided or blocked. The older ninja was sent crashing down. As a follow up, Mayu drove her knee into Kakashi's spine, causing him to shout. "Not a clone, eh?" She slowly stood up.
"Heh heh—underestimating us, after all, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto chuckled. The man coughed out.
"I didn't think you'd be so serious this soon…" he admitted, lifting himself. "What exactly is crushing time, Mayu?" Before the girl could respond, Kakashi lifted his left leg sharply and kicked Mayu away. Luckily, the girl blocked the attack by having her arms cross in front of her chest. She slid back, only to have to evade the jounin's next attack. A flurry of fists attempted to strike her. The man was certainly fast, and she had a hard time defending. He was pushing her back, too. Gritting her teeth, Mayu swiftly moved her hand around Kakashi's. She grabbed onto his forearm, spun, and then shoved her right elbow against the ninja's chest. At such proximity, Kakashi could hardly do anything to stop the attack. Using his disorientation to her advantage, Mayu gripped his vest, lifting him up and over. She slammed his back against the ground. "Damn…" he thought. "Her taijutsu actually got me—hurts, too."
"How's that?!" Her foot lifted, intending to stomp down on Kakashi's body. Quickly, the man wrapped his ten digits around the girl's foot. He twisted, causing Mayu to scream out in pain. She hurriedly twisted the rest of her body the same way. Kakashi used the movement to throw the girl away. She landed painfully against the ground.
"Good, but not good enough," Kakashi answered. Mayu glared up at him. "And here I was expecting a 'Shazaam!' again." The girl actually blushed in embarrassment.
"My teachers told me to stop saying that…" She looked away for a moment before shifting her attention to Naruto. "Oi! Stop gawking and help me!" The shout snapped the blond out of his daze. His hands came together in his signature seal. Calling out his jutsu, multiple clones appeared and surrounded the area. They charged forward, equipped with battle cries. Mayu sighed, and then rolled to her feet.
Instead of fighting off the many clones, Kakashi headed for her. Mayu reared her head back and gasped. Of course. He was going to take care of the strongest taijutsu user first. Her body tensed, preparing for the jounin's attack. "Wait! This is just what I need!" The man knocked another clone away before swinging his leg in a roundhouse kick. The heel of his foot caught her chin, sending her up and into the crowd of clones. Multiple clones called out for her, yet not one had caught her. Glowering, the girl sat up, rubbing her jaw. She narrowed her eyes, watching Naruto and Kakashi fight. Expectedly, the clones were disappearing one by one. The blonde's taijutsu had gotten better, but it wouldn't stand up to Kakashi's. Even her, someone who had practiced Martial Arts for quite some time, and had even achieved the status of black belt, seemed weak in comparison. No matter how many there were, the result would be the same. Kakashi knew this, and that would be his mistake. "Fine then… I'll use my chakra now."
Kakashi, once again, swatted at the attempts of a clone to break through his defenses. Naruto had mature. However, his taijutsu had only gotten slightly better. Well, he had always known that taijutsu wasn't the boy's thing. Instead, it was his endurance. The boy was a powerhouse, and the many clones he produced showed that. But his tactics were… unsuccessful, and yet he continued to do it. Naruto had better do something different or the bells would remain in his possession. "COMING THROUGH!"
Hearing the shout, the jounin swiftly swiped at a clone with a kunai, causing it to pop out of existence. He then turned his attention to where he heard the shout. The army of clones had divided into sections, allowing a single clone to run towards Kakashi. No. His eyes narrowed. This was probably the real Naruto. Without warning, the blond leaned back, causing his body to fall. However, it continued to slide forward, one leg up. "That's different," Kakashi commented in thought. He had been planning to trip him up. Too bad the jounin saw it coming due to the shout.
A smirk appeared. As anticipated, Kakashi focused most of his attention on the oncoming clone. Hidden among the clones, Mayu rushed forward from her position towards the jounin. As she got closer to the center of the army of clones, she randomly grabbed one, throwing him toward Kakashi at the same time the sliding clone was about to make contact. Kakashi hopped up, just a bit, to avoid the clone's leg. His hand reached to grab the clone. However, his hand went right through.
"A normal clone…!" he thought, eyes widening. Kakashi's palm hit the ground as the clone grinned before disappearing. Behind him, another battle cry sounded. Naruto, again. The jounin maneuvered his body so that he was standing again. He lazily intercepted a weak punch from the clone. However, he was not counting on the fast leg coming his way. He managed to block that, but he could not stop the rapid punches to his chest area. Disoriented, the high kick couldn't be avoided either. His neck sprang back, and he stumbled into a group of clones.
Kakashi shook his head, and hurriedly jumped up, using his chakra before the clones could react and take the bells. He stared down at where he had been. Mayu. Of course. The girl had her gaze focused on him. She must have used the Transformation Jutsu to disguise herself, and then used the clone jutsu. All in an effort to lure him into a false sense of security, so he wouldn't be expecting a Naruto clone to suddenly have a different set of taijutsu skills. "Clever…" he thought. "What should I do now? Things were so much easier when they were younger." The jounin mentally sighed. "Looks like I won't be able to find out what happens next in the new book."
The man performed a back flip in midair and landed on one of the three stumps. "You're not getting away!" Naruto shouted. He, as well as the rest of his army of clones, raced towards the three stumps. Without warning, Kakashi's hands ran through numerous hand seals. The speed of it was incredible and shouldn't have been possible. Mayu's look of shock turned into a glower the longer the hand seals went on.
"Does it really take that many hand seals for whatever jutsu he's about to do?" she thought. Finally, the jounin stopped just as the clones were jumping up to fight him again.
"Fire Style!" Kakashi blew out. "Fireball Jutsu!"
"The hell?! Since when is he a fire type, too?!" Mayu shouted, watching the massive fireball envelope all the clones. "Damn it!" Quickly, she jumped out of the way of the fireball as it was still coming. She could feel the heat on her skin. She clenched her teeth as she slid back against the ground. The jutsu dissipated, leaving a huge crater in its wake. Her gaze shifted around. Naruto did the same. There was no sign of Kakashi.
"Damn it!" Naruto shouted. "He got away!" Mayu clicked her tongue. "He's… probably hiding there." The blond pointed a finger to the edge of the forest.
"I think you're right," she agreed, nodding. "We have to find him quickly. The sun is almost completely down for the day." Mayu clicked her tongue again. "Damn that sneaky scarecrow."
"Okay! Let's go!" Nodding, the two rushed into the forest in search of their former sensei.
0-0
It was now completely dark. Day had turned to night, and yet the two were still searching for their elusive former sensei. They had managed to find him once before. And after remaining hidden for a time, they had launched an attack. However, their efforts had been in vain. The jounin still had the bells, and the test was not over. Now, instead of sneaking around, they didn't bother to hide. Their time was limited, after all.
Mayu's nose twitched as she narrowed her eyes. "This way," she stated, heading north. To track Kakashi, she was literally using her nose. Apparently, Naruto could no longer keep his curiosity in. He asked her how she knew how to do that. "Kiba taught me," she answered. "It's a really impressive ability to have, actually, so I asked him to teach me." Mayu grinned. Naruto couldn't say that he liked it. "Kiba says I have an affinity with cats. He says he doesn't like it, but it's because of that that I was able to learn so fast. But those first few weeks were a pain. I felt like I was gonna die with all those enhanced scents. Kiba learned it way faster than me apparently."
Suddenly, Naruto stopped. It took a moment for Mayu to notice. She also stopped and turned. Naruto had planted his feet and crossed his arms. He seriously looked upset, and so she asked him what the problem was. "Kiba! Kiba! Kiba! Is that all you can say? Why are you talking about him?" His lower lip poked out. Mayu merely blinked at his sudden behavior.
"Um…" she began uneasily. "Well, Team 8 has been the only people that I've been in contact with since I've returned to the Leaf village. So naturally I would end up talking about him as well as the other members of that team." Mayu shrugged. "Besides, you're the one that asked how I'm able to track Kakashi-sensei."
"Still, his name's the only one you've mentioned…" A startled look suddenly appeared. "Don't tell me… You like Kiba?!" Mayu merely stared. "You do?!"
"I'm going to say no," she answered. "Although…" She scratched her cheek. "Kiba is really cute. Bet he'd be sexyfine as an adult." An expression of pure horror crossed Naruto's face. Mayu, not noticing, grinned widely. "Maybe I should ask him out when he gets back?"
"NO!" Naruto yelled, grabbing the girl by her shoulders. "Worst! Idea! EVER!" Again, Mayu blinked, wondering what Naruto's deal was. "You absolutely cannot like Kiba! Bad pairing! No Inukari!"
"Relax, I was just joking… Seriously, Naruto, there are more important things than dating," Mayu finally stated. "How close were we exactly? Did we treat each other like siblings?" Instead of answering her, the blond released a sigh of relief. He hadn't even thought of the possibility that Mayu would like someone else. He turned away from the girl for a moment. How would Sasuke feel to come home, only to find his girl with another guy? Somehow, he got the feeling that the Uchiha wouldn't just accept it. More than likely, Sasuke would try to blame it on him. The thought caused a shudder to go up his spine. With a determined nod, Naruto silently vowed to keep Inuzuka Kiba far away from Ishikari Mayu. "Eh, Naruto… If you're done daydreaming, Kakashi-sensei switched position again," Mayu broke him out of his daze. He sharply turned to face her.
"Well then, let's go!"
The two resumed walking. Every so often, Mayu would shift directions, reminding Naruto about how she thought about Kiba. What the heck was sexyfine anyway? Because of that, the glower did not leave his face. Unexpectedly, Mayu stopped. "There's something ahead," she murmured. Naruto followed her gaze. From behind a tree, out stepped Uchiha Sasuke. Gapping, the blond whispered his name. His form riddled with kunai, bled quite heavily. The Uchiha called out to them, saying that he escaped from Orochimaru. The image was pretty bad, but… "Huuuh…?" A flat looked appeared on Mayu's face. Apparently, she was not impressed. "What a lame genjutsu, Kakashi-sensei. Firstly, would Sasuke really look the same after two and a half years? Second-" Her hand lifted in a hand sign, dispelling the illusion. "Shouldn't you have created something that would affect the both of us?"
Naruto's lip twitched. Mayu seriously didn't feel anything? This was bad. Oh well. This wasn't the time to worry about that. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A clone appeared by his side. Naruto held out his palm, preparing to form his ultimate jutsu. To the left of him, Mayu formed a set of hand seals. She stopped, holding her palm near the side of her torso. Blue flames erupted from her hand and covered her forearm. Blue eyes widened in surprise. That was new.
"Naruto…" Mayu smirked. "Kakashi-sensei's behind that tree. Let's show him how we felt about that, ne?"
"Got it!" Naruto shouted. His clone disappeared, leaving both teens to charge at the tree Mayu had pointed out. "Rasengan!"
"Tsukeru!"
The devastating combination of their attacks not only destroyed the tree Kakashi was hiding behind, but it also set the other trees around ablaze. "Shit!" The jounin barely dodged the attack, leaping quite a bit away to avoid the collision and the aftereffects. The three stared each other down as the forest burned around them. "My mistake…" Kakashi mumbled. "It didn't work the first time, did it?"
"I suppose it didn't," Mayu replied.
"Hey, the bells fell!" Naruto suddenly shouted. Before Mayu could stop him, the blond was already aiming for the two fallen bells. For his efforts, Naruto was strung up by a rope. "Crap…"
"Ah, I guess Naruto falls for…" Kakashi began, sounding smug, but when the clone popped out of existence, he couldn't even finish his sentence.
"Not a chance!" Naruto shouted, running at Kakashi from behind. He punched the jounin hard in the face. However, the body had turned into a log. Despite the situation, Mayu found herself chuckling.
"Haha, you got logged big time, Naruto!" She even pointed a finger.
"This isn't funny! Where's Kakashi-sensei?" he exclaimed.
"Up here," the man answered. The two teens sharply looked up to a tree that wasn't burning. Again, at blinding speeds, the ninja rushed through hand seals. "Water Style! Water Dragon Jutsu!"
"What?!" Mayu gasped in surprise. There was no water around, and yet Kakashi had managed to make water appear, and sweep them up in the strong current. In the shape of a dragon, no less. Luckily, Naruto grabbed onto her and held onto a tree, using his chakra. Still, they were quite a bit away from the jounin now. Mayu shuddered once the current subsided. "This is so not fair!
"For now, let's retreat," Naruto suggested.
"Yeah… good idea," Mayu nodded.
The two teens jumped from tree to tree, trying to put a reasonably amount of distance between them and the powerful jounin. Finally, they stopped, sitting at the base of a large tree. Mayu panted lightly and squeezed her eyes shut. "We need to think of a plan, or we'll never get those bells," Naruto stated, on the lookout—just in case.
"His hands are super-fast," Mayu murmured. "If he's able to use his hands, there's no way we can get them…"
"Yeah, seriously! Kakashi-sensei's so strong that it's almost unfair!" He bit his lower lip. "He's smarter than Shikamaru. He has better sense of smell than Ki-" Naruto decided to stop before he uttered the forbidden name.
"Not to mention that he's way more experienced than either of us," Mayu said, seemingly not noticing the blonde's cut off. "Even so… no one is invincible. We have to find his—ah!" Naruto turned his eyes to the girl. He tilted his head in confusion.
"What?"
"I've got a plan!" Mayu hit her fist against her left palm. She grinned. "This is gonna be good!"
"What? What—tell me!"
"Listen closely, Naruto. For this to work, you will need to do your best!" She gave a victory sign.
0-0
"I guess I got a little overexcited…" Kakashi thought, staring up at the night sky. "Using the Sharingan so much… If I use it too much, I'll be drained of stamina. That's my weakness." He sat with his back against a tree, on the lookout for the two teens. "Let's go see what they're up to now." He was about to stand, but a noise caught his attention. "They're already here?!" Quickly, he stood, focusing his attention. However, what he saw caused him to pause. Both Naruto and Mayu were within sight. However, they only stood there, grinning.
"Kakashi-sensei! Those bells are ours!" Naruto called.
"You sound so confident…" Kakashi replied in a lazy tone.
"Get ready!" Mayu exclaimed. In unison, the two teens smacked their hands together. "Transform!" Mayu was the only one to say the name of the technique, though. Smoke surrounded their bodies. When it finally disappeared, two beautiful women, dressed in dark purple skimpy devil outfits had appeared. One was blonde and tanned while the other was darker in hair and skin color. Both women had blue eyes, which winked at the jounin.
"How's this, Kakashi-sensei?" the blond questioned, and then blew a kiss his way.
"Teach us, teacher!" the dark-haired one moaned out.
For a few moments, no one moved or spoke. Well, there was an excited shout of 'YEAH-YAH, BABY!' from Jiraiya, who had been watching the whole thing, followed by the sound of a punch being landed. But that was it. Finally, the two teenagers returned to their original selves. Naruto blinked as did Mayu. "Huh…? It didn't work." The shinobi stared flatly at his former sensei. "I thought for sure it would work on Kakashi-sensei since he's openly perverted."
"Hm…" Mayu closed her eyes, while rubbing her chin. "It is weird that it didn't work on him—ah!" Her fist hit her palm. "Maybe Kakashi-sensei is-"
"Homosexual?!" They spoke in unison again, looking as though they had reached enlightenment. "It all makes sense now!" Naruto continued, ignoring the startled look from the jounin. "He's always reading those books in public, but it's probably just a cover up for his lifestyle!"
"W-Wait…" Kakashi tried, extended his hands in their direction, but the teens were deep into their conversation.
"Ah! I see now! The whole pervert thing is just a cover, probably to hide who he has feelings for! His aloof personality is also a part of the cover!" Naruto crossed his arms, appearing deep in thought. "So then… in whose presence does he act the most aloof?" he murmured.
"Gai-sensei…?" Mayu suggested.
"Definitely not!" Kakashi shouted. Again, he was ignored.
"How about Iruka-sensei?" Mayu gave another suggestion.
"No way! Iruka-sensei is not gay!"
"I don't think that matters, Naruto. It's a crush. It's not like everyone knows who's crushing on them," Mayu stated.
"I've never even had a conversation with him!"
"It's probably Super Bushy Brow!" Naruto stated. "He only pretends to be annoyed and brush him off, but in reality… He wants some of that good spandex loving!" He clicked his tongue twice and winked. This caused the girl to laugh loudly. Pretty soon, Naruto himself joined in. "Wh-Who knew?! This whole time! But it makes sense! All these women obviously likes Kakashi-sensei, but he never shows interest!"
"Wait a second-!"
"Oh, Kakashi-sensei… We're not saying there's something wrong with that!" Mayu waved off his chance to explain. "Love is beautiful—as long as there's consent! However, it is a bit upsetting to know there won't ever be any mini-yous wandering around. They would be cute, ne?"
"Ne!" Naruto agreed.
"But-"
The sound of bells jingling caused the jounin to stop his sentence and sharply look down at his waist. To his utter surprise, Mayu was right by his side, on all fours, yanking the two bells away from his person… with her mouth. It was the good ol' days all over again. The girl grinned, and then hurriedly moved to Naruto's side. Standing, she spit the bells from her mouth. Just as the clone of her disappeared. "No way…" Kakashi thought. "I've been tricked?" he spoke aloud.
"That's right!" Mayu chimed, wiping the saliva from the bells with her shirt. She tossed one to Naruto. "Tricked to the mofo T."
"Haha!" Naruto pointed. "You fell for it, Kakashi-sensei! Mayu's plan rocked!"
Appearing triumphant, Mayu began to explain her bizarre line of thinking. "See, all we had to do was distract your attention away from the bells. Once you'd stop thinking about them, it would make it easier for a grab at them," she stated. "But who in the world could a couple of kids distract the amazing jounin, Kakashi-sensei? It was obvious to me after a bit of thinking. Bring up his sexuality!" The girl folded her arms, smirking. "For some reason, all men are so sensitive when it comes to that. Apparently, you're no different. My plan was to have Naruto and his clone, transformed as me, use the Sexy Jutsu. As a serious ninja with years of experience, I knew you wouldn't react to a silly thing like that even if you are a pervert. If I had been wrong, and you did react, then win-win for us. But you didn't. Because of this, you would feel the need to explain, but with Naruto and his clone ignoring you in favor of continuing to make you believe that they thought you were gay, you could only stand there paralyzed."
"… Huh?"
"Basically, you became too distracted, allowing me to get the bells, Kakashi-sensei," Mayu replied flatly. She jiggled the bell in front of her face. "You said any tricks, right?" The bell chimed again. Kakashi stared at the girl for a moment longer before he closed his eyes.
"She even knew that there were others watching…?" he thought. "Did I really become so distracted or is it because she is Ishikari—someone born with, and trained thoroughly in, cat like stealth?"
"Hatake, do you have anything you'd like to say?" A voice filled with authority caused the three to shift their attention. The Fifth Hokage, along with Shizune, made their way towards the group. Kakashi sighed, shoulders slouching.
"Well, they did an excellent job of stealing the bells from me," he answered. Smirking, Tsunade nodded.
"Uzumaki Naruto! Ishikari Mayu!"
"Yes?" Both teens stood erect in front of the Hokage.
"The three of you and Hatake Kakashi…" Tsunade began. "The three of you will form Team Kakashi from now on." Naruto stared blankly at the blond woman. "It means…" She had to keep the annoyed tone out of her voice. "It means that the three of you will be going on missions together. However, unlike before, you are no longer teacher and student. You will work together as equal ninja of the Leaf village."
"So, I'm officially a ninja?!" Mayu asked, enthused.
"There is some paperwork to fill out, but yes, you are a ninja as well as a citizen of the Leaf," Tsunade confirmed. From her green robe's sleeve, she pulled out a Leaf forehead protector. Mayu's eyes lit up at the sight of the blue headband. She reached for it, and then tied the protector around her forehead. Her fingers lightly brushed against the metal plate. She then smiled widely before bowing to her leader.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama!"
"Yeah!" Naruto shouted, nearly knocking Mayu over with his embrace. "Just like old times! You're a ninja! It's your birthday! You're a ninja!" The girl, now a kunoichi, returned the grin along with a victory sign.
"Dude, I'ma go to parties and people won't even know I'm there and they'll be like 'Did you hear something?' and they'd look up and see me and I'm going to be on the ceiling! And they're gonna be like 'What the—a ninja, awesome, it's a party!' I'm gonna be like 'Just throw the cake of here please!' Dude, I'm a ninja!"
"Not this again," Kakashi muttered, nearly rolling his eyes.
"You're wearing all black!" Naruto continued. Shaking his head, the jounin slid his headband back in place as the two genin snickered amongst themselves. "Yes!" Naruto clenched his fists. "We must go out and ninja in the night!"
"Shall we, Naruto?"
"Hell yeah!" He rapidly nodded his head.
"Like a shadow serpent… silence is my veil!" Mayu began the song.
"Yes, and with the precision of the cobra… ninja kill and leave no trail~!" Naruto continued. The two teens wrapped their respective arms around each other's shoulders. They sang the next part in unison. "We know ancient stuff, and we have fun fucking things up!"
"For instance!" Mayu exclaimed. "In the confusion of a smoke bomb, I could remove your underwear and you wouldn't even notice!"
"I can jump roof—to roof—and get my friends free cable… It's badass!"
"I used my ninja star… to pick the lock… and steal your car!"
"ROCK AND ROLL!"
"Ninja of the-!"
"Ninja of the-!"
"Ninja of the night~!" They ended the song in unison. Then they threw their heads back in laughter. Once they settled down, they examined the surroundings. "Dude…" Naruto started.
"Where'd everybody go?" Mayu ended, looking confused.
"Ah, who cares about them? Let's go get something to eat to celebrate!"
"Awesome idea, Naruto! I'm so hungry!"
0-0
After eating and saying goodbye, Naruto and Mayu—now teammates—went their separate ways, hoping to get some rest in before their first mission. Mayu sighed heavily as she opened the door to her home. She would have to bid days of sleeping in farewell. It was going to be hard for a while, having her body adjust to waking quicker than normal. She supposed her training would have to increase as well. But since Naruto was back, hopefully they could spar together in their spare time. His clones and stamina were going to be helpful in the future.
Covering a loud yawn, Mayu sat down to remove her boots. "Hm… I wonder if I should get ninja sandals instead of wearing these all the time," she murmured. Still, the boots were comfortable. It was easy to move around in them. In addition, the hard soles could do quite a lot of damage to enemies. "Eh, I'll think about it later." Right now, she was tired. She stood, boot free, and stepped up only to slip into her blue house slippers. As she walked through her house, she yawned three more times.
Finally, she came to her room. Mayu wasted no time in going over to her closet, sliding the door open, and pulling out the folded futon. Washing herself would have to wait until tomorrow. She would probably air the futon out tomorrow, too. Suppressing another yawn, she laid out her futon before grabbing a pillow from the same closet. She tossed it on the bedding, and then headed towards her other closet. Her pajamas were pulled. Quickly, she removed her clothes, and then put on the sleepwear. After doing that, she walked over to the window and opened it.
Usually, the house rose in temperature during the day, so the night's gentle breeze was very much welcomed. For a moment, Mayu let the wind play with her hair. She smiled, staring up at the moon. It was certainly bright. Despite not remembering, this sky was familiar to her. "Tomorrow's the first mission," she thought. "I can't wait." Chuckling, she removed her ninja headband. The moon's light caused the metal plate to gleam. "I can't wait to tell Hinata about my career!" Mayu nearly squealed, turning away from the window. She placed the forehead protector on the bookshelf, and then moved into bed.
Sighing, she closed her eyes and turned on her side. Tomorrow was a big day. Within a few moments, Mayu began drifting to sleep. However, a creaking noise halted the sleep process. Her eyes slowly opened. Strange. Not once did anything in the house creak unless there was someone else in the house besides her. No one knew of this place besides the members of Team Kurenai, and they were currently on a mission.
Mayu closed her eyes again while sliding her hand up towards her pillow. Yes. She indeed slept with a weapon. It was something she had become accustomed to while traveling with Kazuhiro Zai. It was a simple kitchen knife, but it was quite sharp enough to stab or slice. Her fingers gripped the handle of the knife before gradually pulling it out. Nose twitching at the unfamiliar scent, Mayu realized that a stranger was inside her room. "Damn… Did they use the window?" she thought, frowning. She couldn't be sure seeing as how her back was currently facing the open window. Still, she felt a presence in the room. Whoever it was, they were standing completely still mere meters away from her body.
"Mere meters, huh…?" Mayu's body tensed, and then swiftly swung her legs. The sudden attack didn't hit a target, though. "Shit!" She jumped up, eyes frantically searching the room. She didn't see anything, but someone was still here. Out of nowhere, her front slammed against the wall, arms bound behind back. The strain on her arms caused the girl to grimace in slight pain. "Bastard!"
"Drop it." The voice was calm, despite the situation. Mayu squeezed her eyes shut. The voice sounded male—a male going through puberty. He was a teenager, like her. "Drop it…!" he said again, putting more strain on her body. Her neck was feeling the strain as well. Nearly growling, she followed the order. Angry and annoyed, she demanded to know who he was. Even out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't tell. Instead of answering, the stranger scoffed lightly. "Doesn't this seem familiar? Eh, cocoon?"
"How dare you?! My name is read as full superiority!"
Her body forcibly turned because of the stranger. Before she could see him, he had covered her eyes with his hand. He was so close to her now. His chest pressed against hers. Mayu swallowed hard, panting. Suddenly, she had felt anxious, immobile, and oddly excited. "Full superiority, huh? I like that," he whispered. His breath tickled the crown of her ear. Mayu clenched her teeth, willing herself not to react outwardly. "I like a lot of things about you, Mayu."
"Who are you…?"
There was a pause on his end, as though contemplating what his next words would be. "Is your mind so foggy that you can't see me?" She felt him move just a bit. His lips—she could sense they were near hers. A completely unfamiliar feeling formed in her chest area and settled in the pit of her stomach. She breathed a shuddering breath. Her body tensed as if anticipating something. He removed his palm from her face, but for some unexplainable reason, Mayu could not open her eyes. "When you're ready… only when you're ready… open your eyes." His hands slid down her arms and squeezed her hands. Despite this, her eyelids remained shut. "I'll be waiting…" She felt him pulling away.
"Wait…! Who-"
His warm hands suddenly reached up, cupping her cheeks in his palms. "Only when you're ready," he repeated. His hands slid down until they reached her hips. Mayu couldn't see it, but it felt as though the person smirked. "Cocoon girl." Instead of becoming angry, the girl almost felt remorseful. Why? His fingers gripped her hips, pressing her harder against him. "Don't make me wait too long." She felt his breath on her lips again. He was so close, only to pull away.
"Wait!" He didn't listen. Although her eyes were shut, she lurched forward. Her hands didn't reach him. She couldn't reach him. This stranger that she felt a connection with—she couldn't reach him. "Wait!" she called again. Only silence greeted her. Mayu dropped down to her knees. "Wait…" she whispered. Her fingers curled into fists. "You son of a… DON'T LEAVE ME LIKE THIS!"
Her eyes shot open. Breathing heavily, Mayu stared up at her ceiling. Furrowing her brow, she shifted her gaze all over. She was still under her covers. Her body was wet from sweat. Slowly, she sat up, turning her head side to side. The window was open, still allowing the night's wind to enter her home. "A dream…?" Mayu murmured. Her shoulders fell. "It was just a dream." Her hand reached up and clutched her head. What was that? Who was that? The dream had felt too real to be random. What was her subconscious trying to convey to her? This person, this familiar stranger—could he be the key to unlocking her forgotten memories? Mayu scratched her cheek, and then fell back. Her head hit the pillow, but she didn't care for the impact.
Again, she stared at the ceiling. A blank expression surfaced. Naruto was right. Amnesia sucked. "Still… That guy… Should I seek a person like him out?" she questioned herself. It was obviously someone she had known, and yet had forgotten. Someone important. Mayu placed the back of her hand against her forehead. Expectedly, sweat was there as well. Sighing again, she closed eyelids.
Perhaps she shouldn't wait to shower, after all.
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