Hey there guys, I'm back! Enjoy this chapter. Sorry if its a little too short.
Chapter 3: Pride and Prejudice don't mix well.
Yoshiko was exposed to something that she had never expected in a village full of ninja. Back in her old world, there were racism, prejudice and bullying. However none on of it was as atrocious as the scene in front of her.
An adult picking on a whimpering little boy and no one bothering to help. At least back in her city as she remembered, people will come forward on their own accord to help the ones being bullied. They would call it acting as the bigger man. Her parents in her past life had drilled a moral compass in her (though she didn't really want it since it got her into trouble quite a few times); morals had she hadn't forgotten and leaving someone, even a stranger in the lurch when she could lend a helping hand goes against that compass. Like something bugging her to tell that man to pick on someone his own size!
She was scared of course, facing a grown man in her five year old body; but when she turned to her father, he was looking at her, as if he was trying to see how will she choose to react. No doubt he would go along whatever she chose to do. That gave her some sort of a boost in confidence, only a tiny bit though.
"Hey Mister, I would like to ask why are you mistreating him like that?" She strode forward, imitating her father to the max when he was acting as the Jonin Commander in hope of looking a little more authoritative. She wouldn't have stepped in if anyone would do that instead. Then again, she probably looked very stupid standing up to a grown up. The confidence boost vanished faster than a cat being dunked in a bath full of cold water.
The little blonde boy was harmless and she was determined to defend him; she was stubborn even without all that confidence. Innocent until proven guilty, the boy was not some international wanted criminal, he was just a kid for crying out loud. That in itself made her not want to walk away, stupid conscience! Her sense of preservation was being overruled by both it and her pride. She cursed to herself mentally. It's going to be another matter of time before it gets her into hot soup in this world where she rather minded her own business.
He was currently covered in tomatoes and other foods that people were throwing at him. Most likely the whole thing was initiated by the couple. Even people back in her world will not do that to a kid!
"Little girl you shouldn't be mixing with bad children like him. Your parents should know why shouldn't mix with this demon child." The man sounded dismissive and demeaning of her, like he hadn't cares if she was offended at all. Little twat! The eighteen year old Jean in Yoshiko hissed. Yep she got an ego the size of Russia and she certainly dislike being put down like a dog by its owner! I'm so gonna own you bitch! The uncensored eighteen year old hissed, surprising herself at her own short fuse. Well no five year old like to be insulted and no five year old have got the patience of Buddha!
~Page Break~
Shikaku could see his daughter getting angry before a wrathful gleam appeared in her large brown eyes. It was the look that Yoshino had whenever she was prepared to chew someone's head off or impale them with her weaponry when she was on active duty. A passive Nara was not very dangerous but a motivated Nara was deadly. Shikuka watched in further amusement as the gears in his daughter's head was visibly turning to come out with a witty insult.
"How troublesome. Women like to be dramatic, don't they dad?" Shikamaru was yawning at the spectacle.
"Hmm... A woman would show her gentle side to a man whom she loves. Your sister has inherited a flair for dramatics like your mother and her sharp tongue as well." Shikaku could tell his son was too amused by his sister's antics although the boy would never admit it on the pretext of women being bothersome. Just then, Shikaku saw Inoichi's colleague Ibiki stopping to watch this verbal spar.
Shikaku could see from the man's rather relaxed posture, he was looking at the scuffle like some sort of light entertainment after work. Well Shikaku knew that this would look like a comedy as compared to the tortures and interrogations during the working hours of the T&I head.
"Little girl? At least this little girl has a lot more sense than a grown man like you who may have the IQ and a brain the size of a bird's egg! You senseless piece of lard!" Oops she hadn't wanted to insult the man like that. Totally came out wrongly but it had felt good to get it off her chest. Seems like five year olds don't have good control over their little traps. Rather than showing any sign of remorse, she gave the man a smug smile.
"You-" The man shook with anger, banishing a finger and shaking it to prove his point. The man who was actually quite fat with multiple chins suddenly looked a lot like a hippo with his nostrils flaring and turning purple. He was supposed to look intimidating to many people, however to Yoshiko he looked like a oversized puffed up hippo dressed in human clothing that deserved to be kicked back to the mud bank. Strangely enough, he reminded her of a character in a book she read during he previous life but she could not come up with its name.
"Going to tell me how right am I?" She hissed back feeling the familiar adrenaline rush she gets when she knows that she is going to win. Her smile grew considerably larger. Childish but she can't really help it. Rational Jean is gone, leaving behind a Yoshiko who is determined to win this fight.
"Brat be more respectful to your elders!" A woman who appeared to be the man's wife yelled at Yoshiko. The woman was the complete opposite of her husband. Thin like a stick and a ridiculous long bony neck, she looked a lot like a harpy to the fuming Nara. Again she reminded her of the wife of a character in a book she read.
"How about you keep silent harpy? Or do you feel the need to demonstrate your horrible screech? Rumor has it that the T&I make use of your voice to torture criminals! Oh maybe that may be true. A harpy and hippo, excellent choice for a couple mind you. One that will even choose to bully a child like that. You know what? Only those worst than trash would treat a child who has done nothing like that!"
Walking past the shell-shocked couple she held out her hand for the whimpering boy. That was the Jean in her speaking, though a lot less rational than normal, the Jean who had more experience with dealing bullies who had picked on her younger brother for his thick glasses, freckles and being scrawny. Yoshiko was Jean and she had no intention of turning into a little child who would rather hide behind her father.
That situation had struck a cord in her, the anger, she recognized it when the same thing had happened to her little brother. The little boy seemed grateful and happy even that someone bothered to step up for him, even if help had came in the form of a little girl.
The woman moved forward as if to struck her after she recovered her own bearings only to be stopped in the act. The woman tried to resist against the invisible hold on her only to realize that it was futile.
"I would advise you to step away from my child madam." Shikaku calmly said, hands clasped in the familiar rat seal, casually sending little waves of killing intent to the civilian woman. That was when the crowd noticed that the head of the Nara Clan and his heir were standing in their midst. Most made the connection quickly that the little girl was no ordinary brat but a clan kid and probably the second in line to the Nara Clan.
That was Yoshiko's cue to go to her father. Not letting go of the blond boy's hand, she ran towards her father. Shikaku promptly released the woman who had fallen to the ground in an unflattering flop. While walking away from the scene, they were stopped by the tall imposing Ibiki.
"Shikaku-san your little girl would be a good addition to the T&I when she is older." Ibiki Morino remarked casually to his superior's friend. The way that she provoked and humiliated the couple was advanced for a five year old who Ibiki had expected to drag her father to handle matters for her. Well her father did help her restrain the angry civilians but Ibiki could see how those knife like words from a child had shocked the couple. A well executed verbal attack. More grooming from him and she will soon be able to extract information from enemy ninja; people will always underestimate a youngster or a child in this line of work.
Shikaku however had little or no intention of allowing Ibiki Morino to train his little girl, as he had not so subtly suggested. No child of mine is going to learn how to be a sadist. Sure Yoshiko had the potential, but Shikaku had rather she stay on her path to be a medical ninja. Shikaku rather his two children remain pure as pure as possible in this chaotic world of the Shinobi.
Shikamaru smirked at his sister and said dryly. "Always had a flair for dramatics don't you?"
Yoshiko gave him a half smile. "My dear Shika, didn't you enjoy the show anyway?"
Naruto looked puzzled between those two bickering siblings. He had not believed that anyone would stand up for him. People always picked on him, no matter where they were. At the orphanage, at school, on the streets... Except the old man Hokage, he was the only one who was nice to him during the weekly visits.
Naruto noticed that the girl in the red dress and the boy was quite familiar. Oh they were his classmates! But they had not sat together in class hence Naruto had found it surprising that they were siblings.
~Page Break~
After the Nara siblings and their father sent Naruto back to the orphanage, they continued their journey back home. Naruto had loudly proclaimed to the two Nara siblings about his dream to become Hokage, something that the two siblings didn't understand yet they didn't voice their opinions about it until Naruto was out of the earshot.
"Father who would wish to be Hokage? There is too many things to do and it's going to be so boring." Yoshiko visibly shuddered at the memory of the thick stacks of papers she had seen in front of the Hokage when she visited him with her father and her brother.
"It's a drag to be Hokage... I'd rather be an advisor. You know less work and less troublesome." Shikamaru drawled.
"Yeah, and I want to be a field medic or poison specialist. But dad what did Morino-san mean when he wanted me to learn from him? Is he a specialist with poisons?" Yoshiko questioned her father, her large eyes blinking rather unknowingly at him.
Shikaku preferred not to answer. Ibiki does use poisons a lot but a total different sort of poison that had almost no antidote to it. Nothing that his daughter will be interested in since she particularly liked the part about making the antidote.
"No, Ibiki-san isn't a poison specialist." He replied quickly. Shikamaru was similar to him, in terms of their ability to strategize and their common interest in Shogi. Yoshiko however would have gotten along well with the disciple of Lady Tsunade with their shared love for poisons and medical ninjutsu. His daughter appeared to like senbon as her weapon of choice and she showed average skill for other weaponry. Shikamaru would be easy to teach and train him with them being two peas in a pod; Yoshiko however... He would have to bring in a favor from dear old Choza.
So how is it? Is it too fast or slow? The story will start picking up soon and going into canon soon. Maybe in about 2-3 more chapters... Leave a review if possible, I like hearing feedback to improve on future chapters.