I Want To Be Trained!!!

Ichiru sighed as he traipsed home, Haru's arm slung around his shoulders. He'd only been in the village for just over 24 hours and already he was escorting his inebriated friend home. Akane danced along the path a little ahead of them, Akako trotting beside her. Her twin had left the party a few hours before with Kin, as neither had really enjoyed it. Haru, however, had insisted on seeing the party through to the end, and had to be physically thrown from the garden once everyone else had left. He grinned stupidly at nothing in particular as he was half carried back to his house.
"That was AWESOME!" He shouted, throwing his free arm up into the air to give the moon a thumbs up.
Akane giggled and turned to poke her brother on the nose, winking at Ichiru as she did so. He laughed nervously, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. Upon reaching the Hyuuga compound, the next mission was to get Haru in and to his bedroom without anyone noticing just how drunk he was. This was one of the hardest tasks Ichiru had ever done. As Akane scouted ahead, using those large pale eyes to see through the walls it seemed, Ichiru pulled Haru – who was getting heavier by the second – along the winding corridors.
Finally they reached the boy's room, and with a huge sigh of relief, Ichiru opened the door…
"I wondered when you'd finally get home."
Inuzuka Hinata sat upon her son's bed, an eyebrow raised as she watched Ichiru almost drop the boy. Smiling, but only slightly, she went to take over from her guest, telling him to go to bed himself, and apologising profusely.
Akane left the room with Ichiru, stifling her laughter.
"Mother is so perceptive. She probably had a gut feeling he was drunk, and went to wait in his room! It's a good job that Dad wasn't around, he would have killed him."
With that, the girl whispered goodnight and slipped into her room, a few doors down from Haru's.
Ichiru crept to his own room, a smile on his face for no reason at all.

While all lay peacefully in their beds, the rain fell fast from the heavens. Thunder rumbled in the distance, followed by the faint flash of lightning. In the Hokage's house, Etsu clung to her teddy bear in bed. Dai tossed and turned in his sleep. Naruto whimpered slightly in his dreams, as Sakura snored lightly by his side. In the Aburame household, Ino held onto Shino tightly as the storm grew louder. Kiku crept downstairs for a glass of milk. Taro finally switched off his laptop. In the Akimichi house, Ryo turned so fast in his bed that he fell out, waking Takai from a dreamless sleep. Choji dreamt of food, and his wife, Kichi, dreamt of Choji. Far away in Suna, Temari dreamt of her family in Konoha. Her husband Shikamaru slept contentedly back home, Shinju in the next room, sound asleep. Yukio murmured in his slumber, dreaming of clouds and a beautiful woman.
In the Hyuuga compound, Haru woke up in his bed, his mother asleep in a chair next to him. Akane and Aiko slept soundly in their bunk beds. Kiba awoke and wondered why his wife was not next to him, the bed suddenly feeling very cold. Neji lay next to Tenten, a hand on her pregnant belly. He thought of his daughter, Hoshi, far off on a mission in the grass country. Ichiru slept on his back, fully clothed, where he had fallen. Kin read by torchlight next to his mother's bed, her shallow breathing the only sound. Uchiha Sasuke lay awake in the dark, wondering what he should do now…

The rain got much worse in the early hours of the morning, making a nearby river break its banks and flood a farm just outside the village. Still, everyone slept. And they slept well.

*

Morning broke with glorious sunlight. Ichiru stretched and yawned, casting last night's clothes to one side. Looking outside, no one would believe it had rained to hard the night before. The boy stood in front of the mirror in his boxers, taking in his image. He was thin and his skin was pale, just like his father's. His chest was not defined, but he wasn't weedy by any standards. Raising an arm, he flexed his bicep in the mirror, grinning ridiculously. He chuckled to himself. His arms were the best part of him, he thought. Now he flattened his hair down with his hand, running his fingers through the unruly black locks, but to no avail. His hair was never going to lie flat. The floor was cold, and when he stepped away from the furry rug he'd been standing on, he cursed under his breath at the temperature change. Goose pimples rose on his arms and legs, and he hopped to the wardrobe. He didn't have a massive selection of clothes, and most were pretty subdued, often dark coloured. Today, he chose a fresh pair of jeans, this time black, and a blue t-shirt. Glancing outside, he grabbed a black blazer from the back of the wardrobe, just in case it was chilly. Pausing by the desk, he opened a small, battered looking tin box, and reached inside it, grasping what seemed to be a locket from inside. Popping it around his neck, he left the room, heading for the Inuzuka kitchen to see of Haru was still alive.

*

Haru groaned as he rolled out of his bed. Kibou shot him a withering look from his bed in the corner, watching as the Inuzuka searched through a pile of clothes to find something decent. Picking up a t-shirt, he sniffed it, shrugged, and proceeded to pull it over his head. Upon opening the curtains, he groaned a little more, the sunlight causing his head to pound. Why!? his whole body screamed at him. But he had no answer.
A light knock on the door made him turn suddenly, to see Ichiru creeping in.
"Sorry, Haru-san. I just wanted to check you were still with us, in the world of the living. How do you feel?"
The Uchiha could hardly suppress the grin on his face as he looked at his hung over friend. Having been to the Inuzuka kitchen, he had been treated to breakfast by Hinata-sama. She'd told him to go wake her 'layabout son' up, and so he had obliged.
After a few minutes of coaxing, Ichiru managed to get Haru to leave his room and go to the kitchen, where his mother made him drink a vile smelling liquid to cure his hangover.
"Now Ichiru. Your brother stood before Neji-niisan last night and made a special request of him. This request will be sent to the Hokage. I wanted to know if you'd like to be involved too?" Hinata said, sitting opposite her guest.
Ichiru's face was blank, "What request is this, Hinata-sama?"
"Well, the request to be trained, of course! Your brother wants to be a Konoha ninja."
The colour drained from Ichiru's cheeks. Ninja? Kin asking to be a ninja? This was madness. Kin had always treated his father's stories with disdain, had never shown any interest in the ninja arts. Well, not to his brother's knowledge. And now he wanted to train.
"Ichiru-san? Have you got an answer?"
Haru was very much awake now, leaning towards his friend expectantly.
Ichiru closed his eyes, letting a sigh escape him.
"Yes. I think I shall." He said, smiling a little.
Maybe his dream would come true after all.

*

Nara Shikamaru stood solemnly and quietly at the gates of his village. He looked intently towards the horizon. How long was he going to have to wait here? A gust of wind unsettled the dust around his feet, and he breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent that the air carried with it. She was on her way. He tried not to smile or lose his cool. But he hadn't seen her for over a month.
A speck in the distance slowly grew larger, until it was apparent that it was a person. Like the wind, they ran, almost flew towards Konoha. Temari had returned from Suna.
Upon reaching the gates, and her husband, she gave him her rare smile.
"Miss me?" she asked him.
"Not too much." he replied, smiling back as he wrapped his arms around her.
The couple kissed at the entrance to the village, in full view of a group of Chuunin passing through the gates.
"Urgh, Yukio-san, isn't that your mother and father?" a small ninja exclaimed.
The tall, blonde boy nodded slowly, then strode over to his parents.
"How many times do I have to tell you about public displays of affection? It's not appropriate, and it makes me feel ill!" he said, a smile threatening to break onto his face.
Temari turned and grabbed her son, embracing him tightly.
"I've missed you too!" she said.
"Tsk, how troublesome." He sighed, hugging her back.
With that, the three turned towards home, hoping for a nice, quiet family meal once they tracked down Shinju.
Sadly, it was not to be.
"Oi, Shika! Shikamaru-kun!" A loud shout was heard from above them, as a ninja dressed in flowing white robes jumped down from a roof.
It was the Hokage, Naruto.
"I've been looking for you everywhere. I need to see you in my office." And with that, the Hokage disappeared in a poof of smoke.
"I should have known he wouldn't come to find me himself." Shikamaru grinned.
"Kage Bunshin?" Yukio mused.
"Hai." His mother said, grabbing her son around the neck to give him a kiss.

*

Naruto sat, impatiently tapping his fingers on the desk in front of him. There was a knock on his door, and Shikamaru entered, yawning widely.
"Ah, Shikamaru. I have a special mission for you today." Naruto said, grinning at his friend.
"What now, Hokage-sama? I have to baby-sit for you again? I have to wash the cat? I have to mow your lawn…?" Shikamaru yawned again, this time closing his eyes and tilting his head backwards.
"No, no, no! It's very important!" Naruto cried, feeling agitated, "As you know, Uchiha Sasuke is back in town. With his two sons: his two sons who have expressed an interest in learning the way of the ninja. Simply, I want you to be their sensei."
Shikamaru opened his eyes wide.
"You want me to train the Uchiha heirs?" he said, shocked.
Naruto nodded.
"Of course, you may choose someone to aid you in this. I thought maybe Inuzuka Kiba. He's willing, of course."
Shikamaru shook his head, "But they have no knowledge of the ninja arts, they've had no training. They have grown up far from any ninja…Except Sasuke of course."
"Yes. But Sasuke has told them things. And they are Uchihas, the sons of a genius, and the sons of a friend. This is an order, Nara!"
"Hai, Hokage-sama. I understand."

Shikamaru swiftly left the room, leaving Naruto to his thoughts.

*

Kin stood, eagerly awaiting the arrival of his new sensei. He couldn't believe his luck when his brother had told him that yes, he agreed to train too, and they would be meeting their teacher today.
They waited under a tree near the training grounds where long ago their father had become a genin. Ichiru sat at the base of the tree, eyes closed, listening to the singsong of water from a nearby brook. A slight flutter of leaves made him open his eyes. There was someone nearby; he could feel it. Standing up, he felt the presence strongly. Kin seemed oblivious to his brother, and was happily chattering away about the amazing things they'd learn as ninja.
"Well done, Uchiha. You seem to have detected my presence, so I'll make myself known."
A tall, lean man slipped down from the branches of the tree, lazily taking a drag from a newly lit cigarette. Kin's mouth hung open, not understanding the man's words at all.
"You must be Ichiru." The man said, bowing a little. "I am Nara Shikamaru. Your sensei."
Kin jumped to attention, bowing low to this man.
"My name is Uchiha Kin. I am here to learn. I want to train, Shikamaru-sensei!"
Their teacher smiled.
"I am not your only sensei. Inuzuka Kiba, who you no doubt have met, will aid me. And of course, his faithful companion Akamaru too; without him and his nose, I would not be standing here now. However, Kiba-sensei cannot join us today. So it shall just be me. I want to get to know my students a little on this first day. But first, I shall explain this training programme."
Shikamaru signalled for them to sit, and they obeyed, slumping in the shade of the tree.
"Hokage-sama has decided that you will not go into the academy. I'm sure learning with students half your age wouldn't be fun. So instead, I have been assigned to you, to teach you the basics. You will then be entered into a small exam, to see if you can graduate to genin status. From then on, you will both either be given a new sensei, or keep me, who will train you until they feel you are ready to enter the chuunin exams. Understood?"
Ichiru nodded, and Kin saluted.
"Right then. I want to know your reasons for doing this. Why have you decided you want to be Konoha ninja? It is extremely late to start training."
Ichiru bowed his head slightly as he listened to his brother explain how he'd always seen ninjas as glamorous beings. How he wanted to be able to do amazing things, like jump from building to building, and so on. Once he had finished, Shikamaru turned to Ichiru.
"And you. What are your reasons?"
Ichiru sighed, and looked up at his sensei.
"I want to make my father proud. I want to be the best that I can be. And I want to avenge my mother."
Shikamaru blinked, and stood up.
"Right. Okay. I think it's time for some sparring. Follow me."

*