When best friends Alison McKay and Michelle Prince found a small piece of paper bearing a promise of the greatest Naruto experience of their lives, they were unwittingly sucked into the world they had only ever watched and read about. Now, hearts will be stirred, Bonds will be formed, blood will be spilt, and worlds will collide as fantasy and reality fuse inextricably into one.
Disclaimer: Obviously, as this is a fanfic, I don't own Naruto. Anything found in this story that does not exist in the real Naruto plot line though, including the characters Alison, Michelle, Shinjako and Kai, I claim as my own.
This is a comedy/drama/romance story I've been meaning to write for a long time. Any pairings will be decided as the story progresses, though suggestions are welcome. Also, before I begin, I realize that there are some of you out there who may not like my writing style, or the angle I'm taking with this story. As much as I'd like constructive criticism, please do not simply review to say how much you hated it. It's common courtesy.
Note to Readers: Fifty review anniversary! W00t W00t! Thanks you guys, for sticking with me this long. A writer is only good if people want to read their work, so thanks for all your support. (and criticism .) I've introduced a few new characters this chapter that I hope you'll enjoy, and just so you know, this is the first step toward starting the dramatic part of the storyline. Well, I haven't got much else to say, so let's answer some concerns, alright?
Ashen Rose/Drowning Lily: The anbu who was supposed to deliver the message was both lazy, and didn't know where the girls lived. Hence, he asked the first random person he came across to help him out. There's no hidden meaning in there, sorry. ; Also, Michelle was mostly just being self-conscious and whiney when Sasuke refused to forgive her. Neither she nor Sasuke is really crushing-yet. It'll happen eventually, just you wait and see. I'm not really sure who I'll use as the baddies yet...but Itachi might be good. I can't say I know enough about most of the antagonists out there to accurately portray them, so I might end up just making my own villain.
RennyKUNpow:Thanks again for mixing in the good with the not-so-good in your review. On a few of your points; ...they weren't very big sandwiches so... everyone was still hungry afterward. Yep yep! That's it!is making excuses I also noticed how creepy the line "Alison was fast asleep in bed with Naruto-kun snuggled against her legs" could sound, but figured I'd see if anyone noticed. You sick, sick people. You disgust me! blegh! I'm joking of course. Naruto-kun used in narration will always refer to the puppy, for everybody's edification.
Chuni Luni:Yes! Sasuke and Michelle are, in fact, starting to fall in love. It's just happening veeeeeeery slowly. This is the human glacier and his biggest critic after all. Patience grasshopper.
To everybody else, thanks once again for all the cheerful encouragement! You all rock!
Well, now that my speech is over, CHAPTER 11!
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Chapter 11- Team Fifteen?
New paths are coming forth to greet us,
silver and shining,
paving the way to an end we can't see.
"Tsunade-sama, I'm not sure that this is such a good idea."
The sun had gone down hours before, and the Hokage's office was dark, save for a small lamp on the desk that spread a pool of yellow light across a stack of papers. Kakashi was standing in front of that desk, arms folded across his chest. His single visible eye was closed as he shook his head in a back and forth motion.
"Oh please Kakashi-san, they'll be fine."
Tsunade muttered with a dismissing wave of her hand. She was busy alternating writing sentences on a piece of parchment, and signing her name other random documents. The dark circles under her eyes showed that she'd been at this for a while.
"How much of an amateur do you think I am? I've gone over their transfer papers time and time again, and they seem totally legitimate. That and I've had the two under surveillance ever since they arrived. If Riku-san and Atsuko-san were spies or missing-nin, we would have known by now. That, and it's not as if they actually pose a real threat to anyone, since their skills are..."
"But it isn't the girls that worry me."
Kakashi interjected.
"I've also kept my eye on them and am all but sure that they don't mean anyone any harm. That said, even if they did a jounin or two could easily take them down...the thing is, I'm worried for them rather than about them. I agree with you that it's obvious that the best thing for them is to be assigned to a team but...does it really have to be... her team?"
Tsunade looked up at him, a coy smile playing on her features.
"Oh come now, your being just as paranoid as Iruka-san. She's not so bad. She's a nice girl, talented, and of her own accord she's already been training that other genin."
"Yes, I suppose your right...but she's just so young. Surely someone else is available. If it came down to it, I–"
"That's enough Kakashi-san."
Tsunade said firmly, now sounding both tired and irritated. She pulled out another document and began to write on it.
"It's already been decided. The girls are going to be assigned to team fifteen. Case closed."
She pulled her brush away, revealing the two girls names printed in neat black ink.
---
"Are you sure it doesn't say anything about why the Hokage summoned us?"
Alison asked, reading over the regal looking scroll for the fifth time that morning, trying to pick out some hint as to what it could mean. Michelle yawned and shook her head. She held Naruto-kun tucked against her chest, since he had still been sleeping when they had left the apartment twenty minutes ago. They hadn't wanted to wake him.
"I already told you four times, I have no idea! Can we please change the subject?"
She moaned plaintively. Alison sighed, rolling the scroll back up and tucking it into her back pocket.
"Alright then...How's was last night? Is Sasuke-kun doing alright?"
She chirped, grinning ear to ear. Her expression seemed almost cat-like. Michelle groaned.
"Oh come on Riku-chan, never mind that. He doesn't seem to hate me too much anymore, so let's just leave it at that and say we both had a good evening."
Sadly, is wasn't true.
From the moment she had woken up, Alison had been going on and on, explaining in thorough detail her puppy's adventure with a bottlecap; the ramen-eating contest that Gai had tried to rope Kakashi into, only to be challenged by Naruto; The awesomeness of being able to watch the student-teacher-tearful-embrace-in-front-of-a-sunset-and-crashing-waves scenario happen right in front of her-all which Michelle had missed.
As if that wasn't bad enough, now she was now being forced to recall just how lame her night had been. Stupid Sasuke had to so darn difficult. Alison ignored Michelle's request to change the subject, and instead continued to press for information about her night.
"What you say to him? Was there this whole dramatic heart-to-heart connection thing with pretty falling cherry blossoms and stuff?"
Alison went sparkley eyed, hands clasped as she stared off into the distance in true hopeless romantic form. Michelle uttered a small sigh, realizing that this had to be pay-back for the comment she had made about Alison's crush on Lee two days ago. Any other time it would have been amusing to see Alison in such a state, but the blonde was too tired and irritated to find much entertainment in it today. On top of that, Alison was only doing it to tease her.
"One,"
Michelle said as she counted on a finger she held up, staring at the ground as she walked rather than look up at her friend's antics.
"It's summertime. Cherry trees blossoms fall in the spring, so no. Two,"
She held up another finger.
"That only happens in those gushy romantic scenes where they end up kissing and all that sentimental crap. And three, it wasn't dramatic. It was awkward and irritating, and I'm glad it's over!"
Alison frowned, screwing her face up and folding her arms over her chest. Was it Michelle's imagination...or was she pouting?
"Oh..."
The redhead muttered, not noticing the relieved look on her friend's face that showed that she was glad they'd stopped talking. She was too busy thinking to herself;
Darn. And I had hoped he was gonna kiss her...well, it was probably a lot to wish for anyway...
---
They arrived at the Hokage tower about five minutes later. Naruto-kun had woken up, and was walking at Alison's heels, his little tail wagging slowly back and forth. Security was tight, and they had show their invitation scroll and IDs to the Anbu guarding each set of doors they came to. In all, four times. When they finally arrived at Tsunade's office, Alison knocked on the door loudly. She heard a muffled 'come in' and the door swung open-or rather, was pulled open by another guard. The pair scurried into the room quickly, Michelle scooping Naruto-kun into her arms so he wouldn't wander. Strangely enough, their eyes were drawn not to the Hokage, but to a young woman who stood to the left of her desk. The girls looked at each other, as a way to be sure that neither recognized her from the series. They then looked to Tsunade, who was leaning across the desk with her chin resting on laced hands.
"Hikari Riku, Sutari Atsuko. Good to see you made it-on time even."
Alison distantly wondered if she was supposed to say 'thank-you' in response to the comment, but the lady Hokage continued speaking before she go the chance to ponder it further.
"Girls, I'd like to introduce you to Misaratae Shinjako. You have just been assigned to team fifteen, as genin under her command."
"Say what?"
Michelle asked, not indignant as she usually was when using that particular expression, but curious.
"Isn't she a bit young to be a jounin?"
The woman-or more girl really- wore her long black hair in a high ponytail with squared off bangs. She was dressed in the dark green vest jounin usually wore, with her forehead protector in it's stationary place on her brow. She also wore black cargo pants like Alison's, black gloves and black sandals. The top she wore underneath her open vest was a turtleneck, with three-quarter sleeves and showed her midriff. Slung across her shoulder was a long pole-arm. She had a look about her that wasn't unlike a small child, though her height, muscular frame and...err..."assets" told that it was just a trick of the eye, that played off of her bright eyes and posture. Even so, she certainly couldn't be more than twenty years old at a stretch.
The young woman frowned at Michelle's comment, her brow wrinkling somewhat as she narrowed her golden eyes.
They're almost...bird like.
Alison noted, not knowing if she should be interested or scared. She'd never seen gold eyes before-then again, this was anime.
"Aren't you a bit short to be a ninja?"
The woman asked with a small smirk. Michelle leaned back on her heels ever so slightly, hugging Naruto-kun a little closer, seeming quite hurt and defensive.
"Hey, that's not fair! Just because I'm short doesn't mean I can't be a good ninja!"
"Just because I'm eighteen doesn't mean I can't be a good sensei. Catch my drift?"
Their eyes met momentarily before Michelle flinched and directed hers to the floor.
"Sorry."
She murmured, suddenly feeling like a total dork. Alison was impressed. It usually took a lot more than a single rebuttal to make Michelle regret anything. Shinjako smiled, tossing her head to the side and causing her ponytail to ribbon behind her. She stepped in front of the pair, holding the shaft of her weapon across her shoulders and letting her arms hang over it.
"I'll forgive the comment, since I do get it a lot. Anyway, as Tsunade-sama said, my name is Misaratae Shinjako, but I want you to call me Shinja, or Shinja-sensei. Fewer syllables, easier to say, you know? Now before I continue any farther, I believe I should first ask Kai-san to please either mind his own business or get better at spying, since he's been out there for ten minutes thinking that no one has noticed."
Michelle and Alison looked at each other quizzically as Shinja's bird-like eyes moved to gaze over her shoulder at the window that lay behind her. Tsunade was looking toward it as well, trying to decide weather she was more irritated or amused. Several silent moments passed as four pairs of eyes focussed on the open window. A gentle breeze wafted through, stirring the drapery. Alison flinched, Michelle laughed, and Shinja had to place a hand on her mouth to stifle a giggle, as the form of a young boy crawled in through the window. The girls stared at him as he climbed half way in, fell on his face, then jumped up again and made his way sheepishly toward the group, one arm behind his neck.
"Umm, sorry Shinja-sensei, Tsunade-sama."
He dipped a small bow to each respectively.
"I was just well...you know...I..."
"Save it!"
Shinja barked. All three genin jumped. The raven-haired woman was still grinning maliciously, eyes closed.
"Two hundred punishment laps around the practice area as soon as I get this sorted out."
"Bu-but-...aww... man..."
He moaned, his shoulders drooping and a sweatdrop forming on the side of his head. Shinja simply chuckled, forcefully shoving him in Alison and Michelle's direction. He yelped in surprise and almost tripped, but regained his balance as he stopped about two feet from the girls.
"Atsuko-san, Riku-san, this is your new teammate, Amemura Kai."
Shinja said simply, making a gesture toward the boy with a gloved hand. His silver hair was worn short and messy, though it was both shorter, spikier, and less lopsided than Kakashi's. He had on a navy blue jacket, with the pockets and collar accented in bright yellow. Under that he had a white shirt, bandages around his stomach, and a pair of navy blue pants, covered in load of pockets of various sizes and also accented in yellow. He also wore ninja sandals and gloves in dark blue. He was about an inch shorter than Alison, but that wasn't saying much, since she was a giant compared to most anyway. His pale blue eyes regarded them cautiously, adding to his appearance of being self-conscious and unsure of his teacher's expectations.
"Umm...hello..."
He said as politely as he could, offering a weak smile as he reached his arm behind his neck again. Alison and Michelle stared at him blankly, also unsure as to what to make of this weird kid who had just climbed in the window. Michelle finally broke the awkward silence, turning toward Shinja with a mournful expression.
"Wait a sec...aww man! Does this mean we get stuck with this dork on our team?"
She labelled the dork by pointing in Kai's direction. He flinched, looking crestfallen for a split second before turning defensive.
"H-hey! I'm not a dork!"
He stammered out. Alison glowered at the blonde girl, cuffing her in the back of the head with a growl. Michelle yipped in pain, dropping Naruto-kun as she clutched at her head. The puppy wasn't hurt when he landed, and simply barked once, glad to be free. He loped toward Kai with his tail wagging, sniffing at the boy's ankle.
"I'm sorry about Atsuko. She's kinda dumb."
Alison apologised to Kai, ignoring the glare she got from her friend as she nursed the lump on her head.
"It's nice to meet you Kai-san! I'm sure we'll get along just great."
She said smiling, holding her hand up in greeting. The action seemed to cheer him up a bit-but not much, since Michelle was still alternating shooting he and Alison venomous glares.
"Well I certainly hope you get along! After all, Kai was my student first, so I'm sure he'll have some tips for you if your nice to him."
Said the black haired woman, who was now having her own ankles inspected by the tiny puppy. She picked him up in one hand and stroked his fur with her thumb. Shinja had been discretely giggling through the entire introduction. She wasn't worried by the fact that there seemed to be sparks flying between her older student and the blonde girl. A rocky start just made for a stronger team relationship later...or they would kill each other. Well, no use worrying to death about it! She turned and bowed to Tsunade, who sighed deeply, knowing full well that this would be a very...interesting team.
"Thank you very much Tsunade-sama. I'll just take the kids out to start their training now, and don't worry, I'll make sure that my dear little student gets a proper punishment for spying on us. I'm sure he won't do it again."
"Yes, yes. Go on."
Tsunade said tiredly, knowing full well that he would. After all, this was his ninth time Kai had been caught spying on his teacher. Shinjako motioned with her head for the genin to go out into the hall. They did so quickly, ushered by the anbu guard. She was halfway through the door following them, a voice came from behind her.
"Shinja-san."
Tsunade called. The woman glanced over her shoulder, a small questioning sound and her expression clearly communicating the sentence 'what is it ma'am?' without the need for words. The Hokage sighed once more.
"Go easy on them."
Shinja grinned broadly in return, winking.
"No worries lady Hokage. I can't kill them on the first day. Where's the fun in that?"
The door clicked shut on a snatch of mildly evil laughter, and the Hokage collapsed on her desk. She had either made a very good decision just now, or created a monster.
"Now where's that sake.."
She murmured as she opened a drawer and started riffling through it.
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Why has Tsunade been driven to drink? Is it really safe for Shinjako to have a team? Will Sasuke and Michelle ever find true love?
Find out in Chapter 12-As of Yet Untitled!
Wow...I just scared myself o.O...anyhoo...
I'm debating weather to write about their training session or just skip right to the mission, so any input you guys have on that, along with what bad guys you want would be super awesome. Aside from that, not much. To encourage people to be involved, here's a little pole for ya; Would you read a sequel to this story? Thanks for reading, and stay with me for the next chapter!