The Two Fawns:
Chapter 7: Meet Team Seven and The Not Quite Demonic Brothers
Hey Guys I'm back! Love all that feedback I'm getting! Enjoy reading! Do keep the reviews going! I like to read through them and see how I may further improve my writing.
Kakashi had asked them to meet at noon in front of the village gates for their mission. This meant she had the whole morning to herself, a rare opportunity to spend time with her equally lazy brother. Currently, the duo were laying on the soft grass patch in the clan compound. Shikamaru's training start in afternoon, hence he was too free at the moment.
"A game of Shogi?" Yoshiko nudged her brother with a slight grin.
"Just like the old times." Shikamaru replied back with a smile before flipping over with the grace of a trained ninja to fetch their board. Yoshiko would get the tea and snacks while he set up the game.
Yoshiko knew she will be eventually defeated by her brother unless he held back, something he never did. It was simply not an act of a good sport to not play to his/her fullest potential. They liked discussing strategies over the game and relaxed with each other while engaged in a battle of wits. Yoshiko found spending time with Shikamaru was enriching for her brain as well as fun; many had compared her brother to an old man, that she would disagree, he was simply someone that knew how to have fun in his own way. He was never influenced by peer pressure or what that was considered was normal. Shikamaru wouldn't care for it; people simply didn't understand him well except for a few choice people like Chouji.
The sight that Shikaku came back to for a document was the sight of his two children currently exchanging strategies over the board. So lost in their game that the two hadn't noticed their father's presence in the room.
"Aish! You're are too impatient. Why would you sacrifice your Silver General to take out my Gold General; this will leave your Rook vulnerable to my Sliver General? That move is reckless and too risky!" Shikamaru asked his sister, slightly perturbed by her aggressive strategy. One would be surprised to see the usually laid back Nara so anxious. Shikamaru really puts his all into the game, the only one who came close to defeating him and on the same level as him was his annoying, bossy and scary yet at the same time nice, sweet and protective sister. Woman was confusing and he had yet managed to figure out the one he would consider the least annoying woman he ever met.
"Why would you retreat when your Rook could have taken another two of my pieces? That's really silly of you Shika!" His sister retorted. The nickname Shika was something that Yoshiko started calling him when she was old enough to talk, a sign of her close relationship with her brother. Her words may sound sharp but it held a tinge of fondness in them. Shikamaru felt that though he was supposed to be older; Yoshiko sometimes acted as the older sibling rather than him. Still it doesn't take away the fact that woman are confusing, annoying and troublesome. Well he wouldn't mind being around this woman when she grows up, then again he may be biased towards his own twin who shared his space for a large part of his life.
Shikaku resisted the temptation to throw his head back and laugh at their complete opposite manner of playing. The two advising each other on basically opposite approaches was hilarious to watch as well. It was like a cat and a dog meeting and speaking to each other for the first time with completely different gestures and language. One was quite the aggressor, an effective strategy at making sure the enemy cannot catch her for she is too scattered but leaves herself open to other threats. The other was cautious, losing minimal pieces to pursue his goals but leaves himself weak to a stronger opponent's attack once he gets boxed in. Strangely enough, the duo can actually communicate within the same vein when they are ganging up against him with Yoshiko finishing Shikamaru's statements for him and vice versa. It must be the magic of sharing a womb for ten months. Shikaku wouldn't deny that the bond those two share was strong. A single Nara was hard enough to deal with but two; Shikaku chuckled at the prospect of any future foes that cross the duo's path. One was quick to react and protective when her loved ones are threatened like a doe while the other was steady and calm like the head of a herd. He couldn't wait till these two little fawns start growing up.
Yoshiko was definitely the one more inclined towards supplementing her allies' attacks as well as defense. Shikamaru worked best when covered by Chouji if they were taking down an opponent. Shikaku knew that most Nara are not heavy-hitters, hence their weariness towards being in the direct fire of the enemy. This trait was expressed in both Yoshiko's and Shikamaru's styles when playing Shogi. Yoshiko may like to attack her opponents but she does so in an extremely cautious manner and does not take them on openly while Shikamaru preferred hiding in the shadows and trapping his opponents or retreating to protect himself.
Shogi really showcases one's personality hmm... Shikaku mused to himself.
Just then, his daughter was the first to sense his presence. The sensory ability in his daughter was stronger than that of Shikamaru; but she was no match against most Jonins or elite Chunins who can conceal or suppress their chakra with an active effort.
"Dad." They shared identical grins before they both made way for their father to sit in the opposing side of them. The document was left forgotten while the three Naras played a match with against one another. Yoshiko and Shikamaru worked well to try to defeat their father; Yoshiko was relentlessly reading through his moves while Shikamaru worked his way around with his sister's findings, effectively forcing Shikaku to change his tactics once in a while to outsmart his two clever children.
~Page Break~
Noon soon came and Yoshiko had to leave for her mission. Shikamaru had mumbled a good luck to her while saying something along the lines of missions being a drag. The game was not over yet; Yoshiko made both her brother and father promise to wait for her return to finish the game before running out of the house after grabbing her things and putting on her ninja gear.
Oh no, she was so going to be late if she doesn't hurry! Unlike most Chunins and Jonins who possessed the handy trick of the Body Flicker Technique where they can transport themselves quickly from one place to another in a matter of mere seconds; Genins like her were resigned to walking or running from Point A to Point B. Plus medical ninjas need that technique for them to move quickly to save a patient's live. One second in an effort to save the patient's life could make a huge difference in chances of survival.
Being late for her missions would not reflect nicely on her records. Running hurriedly and dodging the numerous stands that passed her way, Yoshiko was glad to have arrived on the dot. The majority of the team that she was working with had arrived with the exception of the hyperactive ninja.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Naruto arrived with a dramatic entrance (it was not on the scale of Gai and Lee) and a cloud of dust. His team used to his appearance style had sidestepped the dust cloud. Unfortunately, Yoshiko was not used to his style and was left choking on the flyaway dust. The client was already there and drunk, Yoshiko was sad that he was not caught in the dust cloud. (It would be a great wake-up call for the old man.)
Walking out of the village, Yoshiko soon became alert to her surroundings; Genma-sensei had told her that should there be enemy ninjas, they would often take out the medical ninja before the rest. The reason would be due to the fact that without the medic; the team cannot be healed and thus would be taken out quickly and easily.
Gathering a small amount of her chakra; she focussed on her surroundings, currently sensing no one with a lot of chakra or a ninja leveled chakra signature. It was difficult to keep it up, the constant loud bickering from Naruto and Sakura was annoying her to no end. Raido-sensei would have tied them up on a tree long ago, knowing the man's low tolerance for insubordination from his stern teaching methods.
Bickering during a mission and not putting in their 100% was a display of unprofessionalism. It was against the Rules of a Shinobi. Much as Yoshiko would like to dismiss the book as nonsense; that particular rule was also practical. Being a ninja was an occupation, if she should compare a distracted ninja to a real occupation back in her world, it would be comparable to a policeman who had forgotten his gun in a drug raid. Besides putting themselves in danger, they would be putting their teammates in danger as well.
Yoshiko decided not to show her disapproval. Why? It was because Kakashi was their sensei and it was not her place to tell them, rather it was his. She know that the sliver-haired man was probably going to tell them on way or another, hence not bothering herself to offend her superior in this mission.
Kakashi was most likely aware of her training as a sensor via the file that will be given to him when she was added to his team as a medical ninja. Hell, he probably would have noticed from the way she was concentrating her chakra. She made it a point as well to tap the status quo at him using the Konoha standard code.
Nothing out of the ordinary... Was that chakra? She casually looked at the water puddle before her. 'Chakra is in the puddle of means that those people are quite powerful, definitely shinobi, at least Chunin leveled. Two of them.' She tapped to the only Jonin in the group.
'Don't respond to trap. Pretend nothing is up.' He tapped back, his chakra tensing up significantly although his body language had not suggest anything else. The other two Genin were too aware of the situation. The chakra concentration in the puddle was too suspicious to miss. It was not a subtle trap but an obvious one that had not required a sensor to sniff it out. The trio had tensed up slightly. It was subtle with them walking closer to the bridge builder than normal. But they kept their line of formation. Naruto however, was oblivious and was currently sulking to himself over some sort of insult that Sakura had hurled at him. Tapping in code to him had not worked, most likely he skipped that lesson as per usual.
'Course of action?' Sasuke tapped.
'Protect bridge-builder.' Kakashi tapped back. Sakura and Sasuke tapped affirmation.
Out from the puddle came two men with large metal claws and chains dipping in poison along with gas masks. They tied their chains around Kakashi and ripped him apart.
"One down." They said together. Yoshiko flinched slightly at the sight of the Jonin's remains. Turning her concentration back on those two, she saw Sasuke attacking them before they could reach the bridge builder.
Gas masks? "Look out, do not come in close contact with them! They use poison that are gaseous in nature!" She yelled at the raven haired boy before stopping him in his tracks with the Shadow Possession Technique. Stupid stupid Sasuke, always charging in without accessing the opponents first. A leopard never changes his spots, how true it was in this situation.
"Shadow Possession Technique success." She heaved a sigh of relief. Sasuke retreated when she released the technique on him, he stood by their side where Sakura hadn't left her position and protected the bridge builder while Naruto was in shock. There was no time to snap Naruto out of it. It's going to be troublesome but she will have to make sure that those three survive. God, she sounded so much like Shikamaru!
"Sasuke attack them but hold your breath when you fight against them, one whiff of that poison and you will be in a deep creek. I will back you up, we have to move the fight far away from Sakura and the rest." Yoshiko hissed urgently at the Uchiha, praying that he would let go of his pride and follow her advice for once.
He did, surprising her in the process. He engaged them quickly, making the two's chains entangle with each other while Yoshiko moved her shadows towards them, hoping to trap them.
They seemed to get her plan once they see the shadow coming towards them; Demon Brothers released the chains immediately and one of them charged towards Naruto with his claws outstretched. The other ran towards Sakura. Heh, rule 1 'medical ninja are not to engage in combat for safety reasons'; it seemed like she will have to break the rules. Trusting Sasuke to handle the other one headed for Naruto; she rushed to assist Sakura.
Sakura won't be able to protect Tazuna and herself as well as attack at the same time; alone Yoshiko knew Sakura would be able to handle the fight fine with her backing the other girl up, but she will have to be the one attacking the opponent herself as Sakura cannot leave the bridge builder's side. The mission took priority and protecting the client was important.
Fortunately, the Demon Brothers didn't know that she had a couple of tricks up her sleeve besides her Shadow Technique. Grabbing one of her assailants' leg, she sent electrical charges through his leg.
"Lightning Release: Nerve Shock. Success." She uttered dryly when the missing nin collapsed onto the ground, his body not coordinating with his mind. He tried to move his legs only to have his neck move to the side. It would only last for three minutes; she hadn't been able to sent out nerve shocks strong enough to last for long periods of time yet.
Grabbing the wire strings, she motioned to Sakura to help tie the missing ninja up against a tree. Sasuke was about done as well when she sensed Kakashi's chakra appearing again. It was a substitution? Why hadn't she felt the spike in chakra replacement?
"Yoshiko, your sensory abilities are fine for your age and experience. I simply suppress my chakra one second after the Replacement." Kakashi said calmly to the now flustered little girl. She didn't like to be caught by surprise, she liked being in control. She turned to glare at him as if to ask him to justify giving them such a scare. Kakashi understood the reference of Genma referring to his little apprentice as cute; with her flushed cheeks and her erratic breathing, Kakashi was reminded of a frightened kitten that was snarling at him the big mean dog.
"Why would I do that? Hmm... Didn't you wonder if the Demon Brothers were out for us or the bridge-builder? I was merely confirming your suspicion towards this mission. Tazuna, you and I will have a talk." Kakashi stated gravely. It was one thing to lie about the details of a mission to try get a cheap deal out of Konoha, the most outrageous part of the whole thing was endangering the lives of children.
Tazuna launch on and on about the shipping giant Gato and Co., how they took control of the Wave Country, how the people were suffering back in his hometown, how the bridge would save them and at the end of the tale gave a ridiculous half-assed sob story of his grandson. Being a hardened ANBU veteran, Kakashi could say that he was not moved by the old man's tale at all. His three little Genins however were a different story with their body language expressing clear pity for the bridge-builder. Nice little brats, Kakashi thought. The Nara brat however showed disinterest in the whole tale; in fact he could say this little girl was prepared to abandon this mission and leave Tazuna to the wolves. Naras were often ruthless in this aspect; they can be extremely loyal and protective to a fault with their loved ones, but a stranger who ruffled their feathers would be left in the cold. This made them excellent strategist, often through with their opponents and minimizing the damage received by their teammates. The herd mentality that they had went both ways. Anyone endangering the herd was a big no-no and threat, anyone not endangering the herd was no of any interest to them.
Kakashi found Yoshiko Nara interesting to say the least. Her father often bemoan that her soft heart may get her killed one day, but he was seeing none of that gentle deposition at the moment. Rather, the brunette was acting like she didn't give a damn towards the potential loss of life and was simply waiting for his orders, choosing to follow them instead. Heh. Classic sign of Nara laziness, she cannot be bothered to make her opinion known or argue with the three other Genin she was forced to work with. Kakashi concluded that with the right push, that little girl can be the second coming of Morino Ibiki in terms of ruthlessness even if the girl herself doesn't know it yet. Currently, she has the level of scariness as a little white rabbit.
Kakashi had plenty of time to figure his three cute little students over the time spent completing D-rank missions and the hours they spent waiting for him to appear. One had been more interested in romance than being a kunoichi, another had an unhealthy obsession with revenge and the last member wanted acknowledgement and respect from others.
"This mission will at least be a B-rank. It is out of your current league. This mission is out of its acceptable perimeters. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Yoshiko, you can decide to abandon this mission and return to the Konoha or you can opt to complete it." Kakashi decided to give them a choice. Even with Jonin enemy ninjas, Kakashi was confident he will be able to pull through it easily if he was alone. However, these four brats made things a lot more complex. Kakashi was sure they would either be a hindrance (Sakura and Naruto) or no help at all (Yoshiko and Sasuke). It was up to them to give him more work or he can go back home for a re-read session of all the Icha Icha series he had.
~Page Break~
Naruto had to pull all the theatrics, didn't he? Yoshiko grumbled to herself as she healed up the now panicking blonde who had decided skewering his hand that had poison in them was an excellent way of proving a point. She hadn't thought of the levels of stupidity her blonde teammate had. If Naruto had pushed the Kunai in an outward direction, it would have forced the poison out of the blood system, hell she was about to praise the blonde for his quick thinking on neutralizing the poison; but no, the idiot just have to drive the knife deep into his outstretched palm.
He had declared that he would protect Tazuna until he finished building the bridge, leaving a rather smug old man. Sakura and Sasuke had not oppose to his rather stupid decision hence Yoshiko saw little point in doing so. Instead she was extremely pissed at blondie's lack of brains.
Giving him an icy glare while she wrapped his hand up with a bandage (to allow the antidote to better mix into his blood, she left a small bit not healed for that purpose), she reprimanded him for his rash actions, "Naruto, I hope you would have better sense in future than to do that! Forcing out a poison means you point the kunai in an outward manner. Didn't you listen to Iruka-sensei when he was explaining that during a First Aids class?!" She had not expect her voice to get shrilled and more agitated as she chewed a now gulping Naruto's head out. Luckily for him, she had the antidote to the rather commonplace poison that the Demon Brothers used on their weapons.
At her screeching, Naruto gave her a sheepish smile before muttering about how he had decided to cut class during that particular lesson. Why had she not thought of that, Yoshiko rolled her eyes. But regardless of that fact, she continued her tirade, "Uzumaki Naruto, do that again and I will personally make sure you're sorry!" She finished with a flourish before slapping him on the back hard.
Naruto started to grumble about how scary she was and how correct Shikamaru was about his scary sister... Then Naruto gave her a foxy grin and removed the bandages to show no wound in his hands. Yoshiko simply gave a huff of exasperation at him. The other four people in the group looked slightly admonished at the young girl chewing Naruto's head out before leaving the scene.
Looking back at the Demon Brothers tied to a tree, she found herself reassessing the duo. The Demon Brothers were supposed to be a formidable pair who can take down their opponents quickly and easily. They had a wide range of weapons and poisons. Some of the poisons she found on their person made her wonder how lucky they were that the Demon Brothers had not chose to use them. Metallic poisons and a variety of water snake poisons were nasty things to work with, she was not skilled enough to handle poisons of a metallic nature. It seemed like the Demon Brothers were either not taking them seriously or their main intention were to not kill them. Heh, the missing ninjas infamous for their deadly ways not wanting to kill them? That would be a ridiculous assumption!
Most likely the duo had slighted their abilities a little too much. They thought that they were up against a bunch of snot-nose brats freshly out of the Academy. How naive. Although it was hard not to see why they felt that they had an overwhelming large advantage over her team. They had the element of surprise to take out the strongest link in the group and most Genins do not specialize in medical ninjutsu hence they will not be good at countering poisons or large gaping wounds. Not that there were no other Genin level medics like her; it's just that most will not be summoned to ensure the success of a C-ranked mission. Most medics rather collect information and gain experience through taking part complex operations in the hospitals. Much as she would be embarrassed at her rather mediocre surgery skills (ahem Hikari-Senpai said she always looked a little green during surgery); her poisoning skills were more than up to standard!
"Hey Demon Brothers, you wouldn't mind me taking these away right?" She gave them a million watt smile while she pocketed their poisons. The group had moved far ahead of her, Kakashi had expected her to knock them out or the like with her knock-out gas hence shepherding the group away lest they get caught in her poison cloud.
The Demon Brother simply glared at her while she blew sleeping pollen on them promptly sending them off to dream land. The Yamanakas were extremely generous with this flower's pollen when she requested for a pack from Inoichi-san while they were having the usual Ino-Shika-Chou dinner gathering a week ago. (She had exhausted all the available flowers from the Nara side of the forest and her father had not allowed her to harvest more flowers.) They called it the Golden Pollen, a fitting name for one with shimmering golden petals and pollen. In small doses, it would induce a deep sleep for a whole day. In large doses and mixed with a spoonful of snake fangs (preferably vipers), she can leave someone in a near death state via a deep sleep that they cannot awake from unless the antidote was given. Ironically, the antidote was made of a blend of the same plant's roots, a dash of arrowroot, ginseng mixed throughly in green tea. She made a glass jar worth of the poison and its antidote and currently, had a few vials of them on her person.
"Demon brothers, what a joke! More like the Knock-Out brothers!" She gave a slight snigger at the two snoring missing ninjas. They hardly looked dangerous at all with them both out like a light and slumped over in a lazy position.
Sorry people but school will be starting soon for me... So instead of 2 chapters per week, I might only be able to manage one per week. Hope you guys would understand :)