Chapter 7

It's prickly.

Don't you know? When a person stare you long enough, you can actually feel their stares poking at you.

Especially, the more intense the stare is, the more you can feel it. Like right now, I can feel I'm under a very heavy scrutiny. I'm already squeamish enough as it is, so would you be so kind to STOP STARING?!

Is this what you had been through Naruto? Oh child, no wonder your teen years went so wrong. Though I wonder what did I actually do to that guy to be on the receiving end of his 'passionate' gaze.

Thud.

Miss.

Thud.

Miss.

"You can do it!" Naruto shouts. I smile. Nice to know that someone actually believes in my non-existent ninja talent.

Thud.

"Aaaaah!"

I wince. It's not like I didn't warn them.

"Uh, Iruka-sa-nsei"

"Yes?"

"How do I say this... Uh..."

Iruka waits patiently for me to properly form my excuses... Kids have not tact, right? So hell, let's just put it bluntly.

"My co-ordinations sucks..."

In more ways than one.

"I don't think this is a very good idea?"

Naruto hearing our conversation decides to butt in.

"It'll be fun!"

"No, Naruto."

I mean come on, throwing sharp, projectile, objects with my crappy aim like I am doing now? I don't doubt I'll probably execute this exercise perfectly, more perfect than a chicken with its head cut off.

"That's why we do this exercise in the first place. Now here, use this." Iruka says while thrusting a set of very sharp, much realistic looking kunai at me.

"Maybe you'll even enjoy it. Who knows?"

"..."

I know.

Do you sense any hint of enjoyment from me?

I take a glance at Iruka who's urging the kids to avoid coming near any of my aiming vicinity and he looks like he just realized how not-so-shockingly awful my aim really is.

Considering the fact that I nearly stabbed myself with the first few kunais I held.

I'm more surprise I'm not dead yet. This is why I put a lot more effort to try and avoid things. Now I'm putting effort on barely staying alive.

List of people to avoid... What bull! I'm not even safe around myself!

"We're going to fix those clumsy hands of yours first. Till then, I'm not letting you touch these again."

Iruka says in a scolding tone. Hey, blame yourself for not listening to my words. I only speak the truth- occasionally-. I just made a noncommittal noise. Like I'm gonna set my foot here again. He just smiles and moves his attention to the other kids who seem to be excited at the thought of stabbing/throwing kunais at a tree.

Normal kids aren't supposed to look that excited at the thought of randomly throwing sharps objects. Oh, I forgot they're not normal, are they? I recommend the Hokage should start worrying by now.

"Next, Uchiha Sasuke."

I blink at the name.

"Teme..."

I hear Naruto mutter, face blank -I don't think you remember, so let me repeat that I despise blank, or an equivalent of, expressionless faces- and I wonder what had actually happened. I mean, come on! Even I can't believe the part where they had suddenly somehow, or someway, forge a deep brotherhoodness- is that even a word?- right after they got lumped together as Team 7.- Officially, I mean- It's not even humanly possible for a normal person to establish friendship that deep with such a short period of time, and these kids are by no means normal. They're emotionally retarded.

Does Naruto actually have a solid reason behind that oddly fierce attachment he has?- I'm beginning to doubt if there really is one, and neither do I believe that they'd become friends just like that- My curiosity gets the better of me and I ask.

Damn me and my curiosity. Doesn't it know it'll probably get me killed?!

"Naruto, you know him?"

"Ah."

And he leaves it at that- Thank you! I don't need to know, really- and continues to stare.

"What a drag, there was a few... 'Talks' around him that I heard from my dad, but it's too troublesome to put much thought on it." Shikamaru drawls and joins in the conversation. Naruto takes a glance at him but doesn't make a comment on it.

"Shikamaru!"

My body reacts at that scarily familiar voice.

"Ino." I hear Shikamaru grunt.

Shika-chan, why oh why do you attract blondes?! Especially troublesome ones?! I sourly think and instinctively move to hide myself behind Naruto. Noticing my sudden change of attitude, he whispers to me.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I answered a little too fast to be convincing.

He doesn't pry, but still moves to hide me. I'm touched. This kid really is considerate, isn't he? Now I sound like a sap. Eugh.

"Who's this?" Ino asks while staring straight at Naruto and me. Can this day just get any better? Nope, I'm pretty sure this is the most happiest day of my whole god damned life.

"That's Naruto and... What are you doing?"

"Uh... I'm... I..."

Help!

"- is shy and this is.."

I twitch slightly at the mispronunciation of my name. That's not even sound remotely similar!

"Uh... Hi..."

Fuck, I don't do 'shy'! It's just my very reasonable fear of your clan which makes me like so.

"Hi! I'm Yamanaka Ino!"- I know- "And this shy girl next to me is Haruno Sakura!"

What?

"My best friend!" Sakura flushes at her words.

What?

"Erm... Hi."

Again, what?

She waves her hands shyly at us. Am I in some sort of Alternate Universe? This is weird... I wasn't expecting this... Ugh, if I knew this would happen I would've probably been more prepared. I... Actually no, I've probably done everything l could to avoid being transported in the first place. As a matter of fact, I've dropped this series long ago. Dramas and conflict leave much to be desired. I don't doubt I've probably missed a whole lot of what's what. Unlike my friends, who are fans, they probably would be excited at the thought of living here, why can't they be transported here instead? I sigh and continue to brood.

Speaking of which, how old are these kids?! Oh wait, in fact how old am I?! I really don't want to think of how much I de-aged, but-but if I continue to avoid it, I won't know how much time I have left until it all goes to hell, like in the manga. There's the time-skip and...

Thud, thud.

Two kunais are stuck at the target board, nearing the middle red dot and I could hear the other kids starting to murmur in awe, but Shika-chan and the others seems to be assessing the throw itself.

"The way his arms move would make his throwing more difficult."

Shikamaru puts his input in the matter.

Thud.

True to his word, Sasuke's kunai still didn't hit the middle. But close enough.

"Hmph! If you know so much, why don't you try and do better." Ino says in a condescending tone.

"Too much trouble..." Shikamaru answers, not the least bit offended.

I just silently continue to brood in my head about the fact that I don't know shit about any of it. Wait-wait! I think I've been thinking about something very important just now. Damn it, don't distract me! By the way, that Sasuke kid sure looks like he's going to blow a casket if someone lights up his fuse.

"Ha! I can do waaay better than that!"

I blink. What? And look to my side. It doesn't look like it came from Naruto, and that's weirdly shocking in and of itself. I mean, I thought Naruto would be the one doing the shouting.

I look around to see the kid who shouted.

"Inuzuka."

I hear Sasuke snarl the name. Wow, Kid calm your feathers down. Ha, get it?! With his weird duck hair style and all. Oh, wait no. This is not the time for that.

"Now, now Uchiha-san, Inuzuka-san, this is just a friendly exercise."

Mizuki- I refuse to acknowledge this dude as a teacher- tries- read the keyword there- to defuse the situation with a more condescending tone than Ino was using.

You know the tone where an adult talks to a baby in an offending way of sort? Right, I'm bad at explaining stuff. Why am I doing this again? Oh right, narrating to keep me sane. Gotcha.

But you get the point, right? Right.

Shikamaru just raises an eyebrow at that. It seems like he also noticed that the teacher sounds like he wants the kids to continue on fighting each other.

Ino and Sakura seems to be giggling about something and talking amongst themselves. Naruto... I don't know what is Naruto doing, it doesn't seem like he'll move anytime soon, and continues on to be lost in thoughts.

I poke him. He blinks and stares at me until he's finally aware of my existence.

"Are you okay?"

It takes a few seconds before he responds to my simple question.

"Ah, yeah."

To pry or not to pry…?

...

Nope. Too much trouble and it seems like Sasuke and Kiba are going to solve their childish bicker with their fist. Like a wise man once said, 'men talk with their fists!' which in my opinion, is pretty painful. It's not like there's anything going to stop them from clawing at each other's throats. Though, Iruka seemingly tries to not take note of their crackling aura of friendliness, and joins in to calm them down.

"This wont make me stronger."

He growls in disdain. That's a lot of negative energy rolling there, kid. Kiba's puppy seems to agree with me by bristling in discomfort.

Iruka, by the look of it, had had enough of their temper tantrum and shouts.

"That's enough, both of you!"

"Now, now Umino-san don't be rash. While they may temporarily stop fighting, it won't quell their anger at each other."

What are you planning, you manipulative bastard? Iruka seems to agree at his statement. While it's true- repressing their angers at each other would do a wonderful job in the near future as a ticking time bomb- I don't think there's any better idea than what Iruka had just done, and let their animosity fade.

"Then what do you suggest?"

"How 'bout we do a spar? We can also evaluate their skills on what they are proficient at and what they're lacking in."

Iruka hm-ed thoughtfully. That's a pretty good suggestion there, but here lies my problems;

One, I don't do fights.
Two, I can't fight.
Three, everyone should just calm down.
Four, my co-ordination sucks.
Five, my co-ordination sucks, big time.
Six, did I forget to mention that my co-ordination sucks?

I hold my breath and pray that we won't have to spar, or well, at least only the two of them spar, and we spectate.

"Hm, but we can't have so much anger here. It is unreasonable for them to get so angry from such minor things. It could lead to sloppy decisions, and maybe even fatal decisions. We can't let them let their anger guide them."

"Just let them resolve this once and for all."

"Very well, then. Students, will be pair up randomly aside from these two here. Remember, the fight ends when you or your partner gets pinned to the ground, or surrenders. Any ninjutsu, aside from taijustu, is prohibited, kunai and shuriken is allowed but I will not accept any major injuries."

GREAT! PERFECT EVEN!

That's okay, I'll strut out there like a fish out of water and show them my awesome moves. All is well.
Don't I seem vain there.

"First off, let's resolve this two first."

Sasuke moodily moves forward and gets into a fighting position. Not like I know what sort of position it is. How do I describe it? Like a... Like a duck trying to lay an egg.

Wait no, that's a disturbing thought. Focus. I should be worrying about my fate after their fight.

Kiba is standing at the opposite side, already crouching and ready to spring forward.

"Get into positions."

The tensions is so thick I could cut it like butter.

"Begin!"

As if there was a delectable cuisine in between them, the two lunge forward and head butt each other. Without hesitation, they shake off the pain and continuously aim to punch the other.

As they were both lost in the pits of their fury, every hit was uncalculated, and purely out of instinct.

Sometimes, instincts are good. But hey, so far instincts aren't so great for me.

The two grab onto each other. Struggling, kicking around just to try and loosen the other's hold. They looked like they were in a chicken fight, minus the whole feathers flying everywhere.

As if Sasuke finally realized that it was going no where, he stops struggling, but keeps the firm hold on Kiba. Sasuke smirks and looks at Kiba in amusement as he watches him still struggling, not realizing that Sasuke himself wasn't even attempting to hit him.

When Kiba realizes that Sasuke had stopped struggling, he stops in a moment of shock, but it's enough for Sasuke to punch him in the face, lunge onto him and slam their bodies onto the ground.

With the feeling of surrender, Kiba grunts in defeat and attempts to kick Sasuke as a sign of 'get off me'.

"Uchiha Sasuke wins, now both of you cool yourself down. This is a good learning opportunity. Good thing for Sasuke, he realized he let his anger overtake him and look, he snapped out of it and ended up winning. Let this be a lesson all the students here never forget."

Out the corner of my eye, I see Sasuke staring at Iruka with a thoughtful look on his face. I wonder if something like this happened in the manga? Or is it because I changed something? Did I? I mean, come on, it's not like I know all the details.

Naruto started to walk towards Sasuke and left me helpless against three pair of eyes staring at me intensely. I quickly trying helplessly to catch up with Naruto- Please do not tri- until I bump my face- Ow! Damn it being short is a pain. Quite literally here.

"Get ready..."

Mizuki says and stare at me with a very blatantly malicious looks in his eyes. Oh god.. OH GOD! Is this what he's been planning? To get me beaten to a pulp?

WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU?

I screech in my head. I take a deep breath and calm myself which is supposed to calm me. But didn't.
I pair up with some random civilian kid.

"Counting down, three,"

I stand opposite to him, and stare him in the eye. Can he receive my telepathic message of 'let's not try too hard'?

"Two,"

Crap, I'm so- Oh gosh, I shouldn't think about crap! I'm freaking myself out! I'm so scared shitless here. Okay, breathe in, breathe out. Confidence is awesome, and awesome is confidence. I can do this.

"One,"

I CAN'T DO THIS!
It's official. I'm doomed, and there's no way I'm backing out of this without looking suspicious.

"Begin!"

I begin to strut towards him, one foot in front of the other.

Strut, strut, strut.

Spin, and hair flip.

Now strike a pose, and freeze.

Oh god now I did it. I see a few flashes of horror crosses Mizuki's- Ha! Serves him right!- face. My awesome pose probably reminded him of Gay? Guy? Gai?- Augh, god dangit what's his name?!- Eugh, now I'm comparing myself with that skin tight spandex wearing menace. Mind you, I like him very much as a character.

He just stares. What, you're speechless by my fabulousness?
"What are you doing? Trying to distract me? Nice try." He looks somewhat amused, but continues walking forward.

Nice to know I amuse you. I'm making myself silly to make you let your guard down, so be grateful there, kid. In no way will I do something like that in real life. Like fuck, what did I do wrong with my life to end up doing this?!

Now it's time to really fight. He lunges at me, trying to land a hit. Probably at my adorable face, sending a telepathic link to my leg; 'move and dodge!'. It ended up tipping my vision and before I realize what's happening, I'd already tripped before he could land a punch.

Shocked, he stutters and fall on top. Pinning me.

Well, that's less anti-climatic than I expected. But, Hey! I'm grateful with how pain free my fight is.

But some part of me - probably my wounded pride- doesn't feel as satisfied of just being well.. Alive and still lose. Especially after the embarrassing things I did.

"Do you admit defeat?" Iruka asks.

Hell no! But I do what I can manage, and croak.

"No.." Not yet. GOD DAMMIT I'M TWENTY FREAKING YEARS. I will not get beaten by a snot-nose no name brat. I began to struggle to free myself and try to pushes him off me with all of my strength. Which is practically non-existent - Why did all my muscles decide to randomly deflate!- He notices and begin to continuously put all his weight down.

"Augh.." KID! KID! YOU'RE GOING TO SUFFOCATE ME TO DEATH! CAN'T BREATH, SHIT. OH GOD DEITY ABOVE DON'T KILL ME OFF YET. I HAVEN'T.. Wait! Think brain! You're supposed to be mentally mature!

I fumble around trying to find the right spot and end up looking like I was groping him all around. Well, this is awkward as hell. Ehem. Anyway, I notice the weight lessen and he began to shake. Aha! Found it! The ticklish spot, I mean. I push him forward.

After the heavy weight left me. I.. Blank out. Partly because of all the excitement. But the main reason? I'm dead beat tired as fuck. Let me just rest.

A/N: Ms Editor actually wanted Narrator-san to win. Badly. xD So.. This is fully written by maple that I added a few to fit their character xD

*OMAKE*

HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN.

"What the-? Heh, that's a lucky dodge." He comments, not believing how clumsily I just dodged his attack. I don't even have the heart to thank him, considering I tripped, and wasn't even attempting to dodge his punch.

He moves back and starts running up to me again.

Woosh.

He's in my face. I can see him raise his leg, preparing to kick me. In my frenzy of panic, I step on one foot with the other, and not surprisingly fall to my face, on top of him.

OH EM GEE. JUST HOLD HIM DOWN AND I WIN.

I put all my weight on him while falling, so naturally I'd already pinned him down.

"Geez, you're so heavy! Get off!"

"Do you admit defeat?"

"Don't rub it into my face! I lost already. There's no need for me to admit defeat."

"Hah. You just admitted defeat! I WON! I feel so much more fabulous!" I get to my feet and flip my bangs to the glares at me, not liking the fact that I beat him so fast and without much effort.

"Well, well, well. Your dodging skills are incredible, Narrator-san." Iruka sounds as shocked as he looks.

Me too, bro. Me too. I can't believe I just did all that! I didn't expect my clumsiness to help me in any sort of way... It's okay, just brush it off as if you expected it. Act cool!

COOL LIKE A CUCUMBER, I SAY!

"Thank you, I try."

A/N:*STARE* I HAVE NO COMMENT ON THIS SILLINESS XD anyway tyvm Kitsu-san for liking and review~! and thanks too THOSE who newly followed and fav'ed YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE*wink* (wow now I sounded Like a creep..) I like the alerts and review much so *.* very motivating. xD Again criticism is appreciated.

TYSM MS EDITOR!- MAPLE~