(Here I am, just as surprised as whoever reads these. Wham. Chapter two. I am horrible about writing long things, so this might just be fucktons of little chapters. It was hard to make the last chapter as long as it was. Well, woop. Also, sorry if the last chapter had weird timeshifts. Apparently Fanfiction doesn't like it when I use multiples of '-' to make a page break. ( Stupid website. Ugh. Anywho, enjoy chapter two. It's gonna go pretty quick through her childhood, because honestly nothing interesting happens until graduation and team assignment. Just growth, learning, and other usual stuff that happens with kids.. Also ignore the number line. I'm trying to use it for a pagebreak since the other one failed.)
Back when Dina had been younger, she'd had a horrible disliking for children. It wasn't something she'd grown out of until her biological clock came ticking, and she decided that she wanted one of her own. But now, back in a classroom surrounded by no less than thirty children who were all a year older than her- physically at least- found Tokiko with the exact same disturbed sensation she'd had back in her prior youth.
Children were intolerable and had no sense of personal boundaries most times. Ninja children were almost worse.
Even the clan children, for the most part, were completely incompetent to start. Actively, Toki recognized a few very important faces. One, was a boy who looked damn near like Naruto, minus the whiskers. The neon yellow hair was a huge sign just of where she was going to be at in the timeline- and just what sort of thing she needed to expect in her future. There was another few Nara children- including one that she swore up and down was Shikamaru- but they were hardly better. Shikaku was by far the least intolerable of them, but even he was pulled into various shenanigans of the classroom. When the clan heir wasn't busy with other students, he was usually palling around with a Yamanaka and an Akamichi. Inoichi and Chouza, she thought. She wasn't sure. She didn't bother talking with Minato either- at this age, he still laughed with his classmates when they made poop jokes.
She didn't care to bother with them until they matured some. It wasn't like there was one who was alienated- if there had been one who was shunned, she'd have taken it upon herself to befriend them just for the principle of it.
Toki threw herself headlong into studies, pestering her sensei for more materials once she ran out of the classroom issued ones. On top of clan training, it kept her beyond busy. She didn't have time to socialize, despite what her classmates seemed to think. Toki became the only Nara in her age group that wasn't lazy, and didn't mutter 'troublesome' when put to a task. She became known as the Nara with drive.
Most lunch breaks, she spent her time eating quietly, and pouring anything she could read into her mind. Amidst that, the bench she usually commandeered was always eventually swarmed by curious brats who wanted to see what she was up to.
Today was no different- though it was only one who wandered over.
This one wanderer was bold however. The kid took a seat next to her book, and leaned down to flip the page for her, though she wasn't done yet. "Hi!" He smirked at her.
Her nose crinkled, and she glanced up to give him a dirty look. "Hi. What do you need?"
"Nothing! Just curious. You're a Nara, aren't you?"
"What of it?"
"Well, I've played with the other Nara kids many of times, and none of them look like you. You're so… Different looking." The boy pondered her for a moment, before sticking a hand out to her. "I'm Uchiha Ahichu,"
She paused, mind whirling, but accepted the slightly dirty hand to shake. He was fairly dirt covered- not something usually seen among Uchiha. They were ridiculously good at keeping clean when scuffling, which meant he might have been taken by surprise when they'd done some minor sparring earlier in class. His black hair had a slightly brown sheen to it- and a clump of grass, which meant her idea prior might have some merit. The only thing not dulled by dust was his eyes- which were the same shiny black that the majority of Uchiha had. She actually liked his eyes- they were sort of like a very shiny obsidian mirror. "… Isn't that just Uchiha backwards?"
"So? My Mom and Dad wanted something different and original." He sniffed briefly crossing his arms as if he expected her to make fun of it. "Better than Rai or something dumb."
"I suppose so. It does give you points for originality."
The dismissive answer is all she gave in turn, before turning her attention back to her book. She wasn't allowed to do so for very long, because moments later, a dirty finger pressed into her forehead and made her look up.
"So, what's your name? I can't just call you Nara, since there's so many of your cousins, and you don't talk to anyone. I'd look like a weirdo if I asked Sensei."
"Tokiko. I'm Nara Tokiko." She batted his hand away, and scrubbed her forehead. She didn't need Susumu asking questions or prodding her about why she was coming home with a brown smudge dead center of her forehead.
He nods, and flashes her a smirk. "Toki then."
She flashed her teeth at him- not a smirk, but more like she would when Sachi's pups were getting on her nerves. "I get to call you Ahi then."
And suddenly there were fingers in her mouth, holding her lips up and poking her teeth. "You have really pointy teeth!" Ahi exclaims. "You look like Tsume!"
She bats his fingers out of her mouth, and rinses the taste of fingers out with a drink from her juice. "And you have no concept of personal space. Yes, I have fangs." Passing her tongue over them idly, the Nara gives the Uchiha a bland look. "My mother was of Inuzuka blood. Now please keep your fingers to yourself."
He wiped his fingers off on his shorts, and then stole something out of her bento. Not that she minded- Susumu tended to feed her like she was an Akimichi, not a Nara.
To which she needed anyways. She kept busy enough that whatever she ate, she usually burned off by dinner time. It all went to feeding that growing sensation in her body. Susumu told her it was her chakra coils growing, storing more and more chakra as she aged. He informed her that he expected her to have rather large stores- on account of her Mother's rather large stores.
"Sure, sure. So, you're a mix of different bloods then? Do you have a ninja hound companion?"
"That's not really any of your business, Ahi. But no, I don't. I didn't mesh well enough with them to bond with one." Which was alright with her. She wanted a summons when she was older, and didn't want to make a ninja hound jealous. They would do more than chew through her morning slippers, she's very sure.
He frowns lightly, but nods. "That still bites. Puppies are adorable. More of a cat person myself though. They have such soft paws!"
She snorts, but offers him a slight smile. "I like animals in general."
"Then that's something we share!" He grins. His fingers steal forwards again, and he plucks a tomato out of her lunch. He pauses before he eats it though, and makes a face. "Aww, I got a tomato. Gross."
Lauren hadn't liked eating anything with tomato in it either. Toki felt an unfortunate fondness starting in her chest for the Uchiha. She reached out with her chopsticks to take the tomato back, and handed him a piece of sushi instead. "You know, if you just asked to have some of my lunch, you could pick through whatever you wanted and I wouldn't mind."
"Really?" He beams at her. "Thanks, Toki!"
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Really, she needed to not feed the strays, because, as Tokiko found, they just kept coming back, Consecutively, Ahi always found her during lunch, and took to sitting with her through most of it. He did, actually, bring his own lunch most days, so they usually shared because her bento was always massively overstuffed. His surprisingly contained mostly spicy food- so she always nibbled bits of that too. It was nice to be able to enjoy spicy food again without getting almost immediate heartburn like she had as Dina.
Toki found that she didn't honestly mind Ahi's company. He was a bit immature, but he was learning fast that she didn't find most of the childish antics funny. So mostly they talked, or studied, or practiced things on each other.
He was a great sport about her using her clan jutsu on him. She was very good at getting him with shadow possession, but she had issues keeping it going for a long time. Most of the problem lay in the fact she was still an academy student- her chakra stores were still maturing. But by using them up through out the day, it gave them room to expand and grow and for her to flex her chakra muscles, so to speak. She had a good grasp on it already, and was keen if there was a sudden drop in it or if it spiked for whatever reason.
In return, she helped him with hand signs and practicing them. He was trying to learn some of the Katon that his clan were known for, but he wasn't very fast with hand signs. His chakra usually burnt out before it could be exhaled, because he stumbled over the hand signs so often.
So he would practice, and she would correct him. If he failed, he had to eat a tomato, so his incentive was good for learning.
That was how she worked through most of her first few years in the school, all the while growing taller and stronger for her age. Her dark hair had grown out, trailing down to her backside in a large growth spurt that required it to be put up most days. Konoha was warm enough that she had to keep it either braided, or in a ponytail like today so she wouldn't get heatstroke. Not that she minded- She didn't look good with short hair. It was too bushy, like her father's, to be worn short. Her toddler days had seen her with an afro until it was long enough to weigh itself down.
Their little duo become something of a trio in their third year. Kushina Uzumaki came to their class in the middle of the year, and Tokiko was indeed surprised that her hair was that red of a red.
The firecracker redhead got into fights on her first day, already finding her place in the pecking order. Most of the boys tormented her, and the girls shunned her, much to Toki's disgust. Of course, she was brash and blunt and everything that a Kunoichi probably shouldn't be, but that didn't give the brats the right to harass her.
Come lunch, when she and Ahi were supposed to continue their usual routine, Toki decided to take the initiative. "Hey, red head!" Only one kid who's hair was red enough would respond to it.
As she suspected, Kushina tensed, and glared at her once she exited the door. "What?"
"What are you doing, Toki? She'll pummel you!" Ahi whispered at her back.
"You want to come eat lunch with me and Ahi?" Toki offered her a sharp-toothed grin. To Ahi, she whispered lowly through her teeth. "You extended me a hand, and we became friends. The other's are all assholes, you know that."
She looked suspiciously at her, but approached. "What's the catch, y'know? I gotta give you all my lunch or something?"
"Gods no, if I ate more than my dad packs, I'd explode." Toki waved a hand blandly. "Come, sit with us. If you don't like today, you don't have to eat with us tomorrow if you don't like."
The lure worked, and soon Toki was surrounded on both sides. The bench was going to be too small eventually, but they'd work on a different location later. For now, Toki plonked her book onto the surface, and munched on rice while Ahi rummaged through her bento for some sushi. Kushina sat on her other side, watching her suspiciously as she ate some of her lunch. She had rice, and some yakitori, but nothing to massive as Toki's box.
"Why do you have so much food if you're a Nara?" She inquired bluntly, cursing herself moments later for her rude words.
Toki simply shrugged. "You'd have to ask my dad. He apparently thinks I'm an Akimichi. But I don't mind. It means I can share with Ahi and you too, if you want some. Dad makes the best sushi." A piece is offered to the redhead, and she offers a smile.
Kushina is startled at the lack of reprimand for her words, but she takes the sushi without much fuss. She's not overly fond of sushi- preferring noodles mainly- but it is indeed better than most she's had. A flush fills her face without her meaning to. "Thanks, y'know…"
Toki simply grins. "No problem. So… I'm Tokiko in case you were wondering. We already know you, miss future Hokage."
The blush deepens without her meaning to. "It's nice to meet you, Tokiko…"
"Call her Toki!" Ahi grins. "I do. I'm Uchiha Ahichu. Don't comment on my name, and I wont call you a tomato. Deal?"
They shake on it, as Toki expected, and then fall quiet. "You can call him Ahi, by the way. He's not bad for an Uchiha."
"Only 'cause you help me with my hand signs. I've gotten better- I'm almost as fast as you!"
Kushina looked confused. "I thought Uchiha were naturally superior… That's what everyone else says, y'know?"
Toki almost inhales her juice as she snorts. "Not quite. Ahi here is a special case. He has talent, but he just has to work for it."
He grins at them regardless. "Mhm. Toki helps me a lot with my hand signs, and she practices her shadow stuff on me. Toki can probably help you too, if you want."
"I don't need any help, y'know!" Kushina exclaims.
"But if she does need help, I'll be here to do it. That's what friends are for, right?"
Ahi nods enthusiastically, and stuffs a piece of sushi into his mouth. "Ya!"
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Susumu showed up after school to walk her home, like he usually did. This time, while he looked worse for the wear and was covered in bloodstains, he tossed Toki up onto his back, and toted her home piggy-back style. She took the time to take his hair out of it's usual braids, comb it, and put it up into a ponytail. It always relaxed him when she did this- and seeing as he came to her with stitches down the side of his face, Toki figured he could use some relaxation.
He'd changed in the years too. His face was clean shaven still, but his hair was longer. It brushed below his shoulder blades when it was let down, even longer than that when it was wet. He bore no new scars that Toki knew of, but he did walk with a slight limp on super cold days. Old wounds sucked. His face was usually light hearted, and he always gave her some sort of smile when they met up. He couldn't always be there to walk her home, but whenever he could, he always took the option to do so. Today though, she wasn't met with a smile. More of a grimace than a smile.
She kept quiet until they got home. Once he let her down and settled on the couch with a heavy grunt, Toki took it as a go-ahead for talking. Settling on the floor between his legs, she handed up a comb from the table, and let him start to fuss over her hair. It had gotten long, and he usually worked it for her. It helped him relax- something he'd used to do for her mom too, he'd informed her once.
"Mission gone bad, Dad?"
Susumu sighed heavily. "You could say that, Toki. Cornrows?"
"Yes please, Dad." They would help her later this week, when she was supposed to spar with Kushina. She'd seen the girl fight earlier today- she was not above hair pulling, and Toki wanted to give her as little advantage as possible. "So…?"
"So what?"
She pinched his shin, and huffed like the child her body was. "What's got you so grim?"
His breath puffed over her head, and he sighed loudly. "Dai's in the hospital, Toki. They said he's going to make it, but they don't know if he'll be a ninja again. He broke his spine."
Dai was their third team mate, and built like a mountain. Dai wasn't a clan ninja, and as far as Toki knew, he didn't have any family living. That didn't stop the man from being a ray of sunshine. He was an odd one, for dark skin wasn't something that one often saw in Konoha. Dai was one she would all African American, if she'd been back in her world. He wasn't the darkest of dark skins, but more of a mocha. He was also covered in a massive lot of fuinjutsu tattoos that he did himself, all done in damn near white ink. Whatever dark things Dai had to do, Dai still kept his radiant smile.
"Well, if he can't be a ninja, then he can still be a tattoo artist." Toki supplied quietly. "He does the best tattoos ever, and you know it."
Susumu sighed again, and finished his daughter's hair. "I do, but to be taken off the force is…"
"Shameful?" She supplied. "I think that's stupid. If you get taken off because of some wounds, it means you did your job and you served your village. It should be an honor. Oh! Dad, he could stay here!" She beams. "I know Dai isn't clan, but he's going to need someone to support him until he can get on his feet and do tattoos for other ninja and civilians. Isn't team technically family?"
"If you skew the rules a bit, it does mean that your team is technically family by law." He hums.
"It's not like the clan can be angrier with you." Toki points out. "You kept me against their wishes, don't you? If the clan can accept a bastard child, then they can accept a crippled team mate."
There was a sharp tug on her braids. "Bastard is a bad word, Toki." He scolds. "How do you know about that anyways? We don't talk about it."
She snorts. "C'mon Dad, I'm not a moron. You don't have a wedding band, and I don't remember you ever having a tan line for one. Mom's photo doesn't have a wedding band either, and there's no marriage photos either. There's always wedding photos." She turns to face him, and sticks her tongue out. "Plus the elders talk. I'm the only child born out of wedlock in my generation."
"Sometimes I wish you weren't as smart as you are, Toki." He makes a face, and lifts her into his lap. She snuggles up against him as if she were a toddler again, and Susumu leans back to contemplate her idea. It wouldn't be the first time someone in the clan had taken in an injured team member, but it would be two strikes they had against him. He was already low on the rung of status, but status rarely mattered to a Nara.
"You know if I do this, you're going to have to help him when I'm not home to do so, right? Baths, cooking, in and out of bed… Until he can get used to it, right? There's still the odd chance they might be able to fix his back, too."
"I can do it, and I know. I just want us to be prepared in case he can't walk. All of the books I've read state that a spinal issue is very, very rarely correctable. Even the Legendary Tsunade can't always do it, Dad." She had been an in-home-care worker back as Dina. Her client, Doris, had needed help to do everything. Walk, bathe, use the bathroom, get up. She was well versed in taking care of someone who couldn't do it for themselves. "Besides, he likes my cooking."
"You and all of your strange dishes. I don't even know where you got the idea for some of that stuff, Toki." He presses a soft kiss to her forehead, and she smiles into his chest. "I'm proud of you, you know that? You're such a bright girl… You'll be a wonderful shinobi once you graduate."
"I know, Dad. I'm proud of you too. You managed to remember to put the seat down this morning." She teased him lightly.
He chortled. "Well, better than to let your backside get dunked."
"Mhm. Hey, Dad? Is Dai well enough for us to bring him some of my cooking?"
"He'll be out of surgery this evening, so sure. What did you want to make for him?"
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Dai was, unfortunately, removed from the active roster permanently. He lost the use of his legs, and came to live with Tokiko and Susumu once he was released from the hospital. His smile wasn't a bright for the first few weeks, but eventually he got back that unbending force of will that he was known for. Toki helped him with everything he needed at first- baths, showers, getting in and out of his wheel-chair, cooking. Slowly he got used to the swing of things, and she didn't have to help him as often.
Showers, for one, she didn't need to help him with. He had enough money left from his mission to purchase a shower chair- so she no longer had to go in with him and hold him up.
That had been very awkward, considering she was a young kid- going on seven- and was only just taller than his hips. Her adult mind did supply that he was very well endowed, however.
Dai got back into the swing of training- because in his opinion, even if he was crippled, his hands worked just fine, and he had the chakra to operate his wheelchair without using his hands. If ever they were invaded, the twenty year old man would do his best to keep her and the civilians safe. In that training, he taught Toki how to walk on trees- so she could help him learn to use his chair vertical- and how to walk on water so when he got stuck on the pond, she could go fetch him.
She had to fetch him often- his chair didn't do so well over the rocks that surrounded the pond.
Eventually he got his tattoo business going too, and set up shop out of a back room in their house. So there was a lot of traffic in their home most days, as old clientele, and new clients started to come by for touchups on tattoos, seals, and what have you. Toki managed to convince him to do a tattoo for her, because apparently there was no age limit if one wanted to be a ninja. She had a red rose put on her left ankle.
The years roll by again, and soon enough, graduation approaches. In the end, the duo had become a trio, and Kushina came to sit with them the next day, and the day after that. Toki assisted her with her studies, and finds that, like herself, Kushina had a massive reserve of chakra that continues to grow, so Kushina assisted in tiring Toki out.
The test was laughably easy. At the age of ten, Toki's chakra capacity and control had massively improved. Replacement jutsu was easiest to master, followed by transformation, and then clone. Ahi breezed through first, and took a black headband to show off to his group of lady friends. Kushina took the standard blue headband when she passed, and she wore it like a champ. Tokiko took a blue one as well, tying it to her forehead and under her braids with little issue.
The team assignments came next, and Toki found herself in a room with a little less than half of her prior team. Most of the non-clan ninja had failed. There was, of course, the same yellow mop of hair that marked Minato as a successful genin.
Their Sensei, a short balding man who went by Yu, sat them down to inform them that, due to the number of students who had passed, there would be ten teams, and the teams had already been decided. They had no choice in who they would be paired with, nor in their sensei.
"Team one," Yu continued, "Will be Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chouza, and Yamanaka Inoichi. Your sensei will be-"
"Hey, Toki!" There was an elbow in her side that caught her attention, and Toki glanced over to Ahi. "You think we'll be on a team?"
"I don't know, Ahi." She announced lightly. "They rarely assign two kunoichi to a team… But they might. We're more of an assault team than anything, if they take us three."
"I hope they do. I can't imagine not working with you two." He makes a face. "Everyone else is beyond dumb."
"Shh!" Kushina bumped him. "I can't hear Sensei over your yammering, Ahi."
Obediently, both of them quieted.
"-are dismissed. Now, Team Seven will be Namikaze Minato, Suruchi Toka, and Meiru Noboni. Your Sensei will be Jiraiya of the Sanin. He'll meet you at training ground four. You are dismissed." Yu flipped the page, peering down at the names as the three students got up to leave. "Team eight will be Nara Tokiko, Uchiha Ahichu, and Uzumaki Kushina. Your Sensei will be Inuzuka Hige, and he is expecting to meet you on the roof. You are dismissed."
"Uncle Hige!" Toki grinned. Snagging Ahi's sleeve, and Kushina's hand, the Nara started to tug them out of the room. "C'mon! You can meet Hige- he's awesome!"
"You already know our Sensei?" Kushina blinked. Neither of them fought against the excited Nara, instead moving to keep pace so as not to be drug by their respective handholds.
"I do. He's one of Dad's old genin squad. He's been contemplating village duty for a while since Dai got hurt." The stairs were a breeze, and then they were out on the roof.
"Is he awesome?" Ahi inquired.
"He is! Sachi!" Tokiko let out a happy laugh, and was promptly tackled by a growling ball of fur. She let go of her team, and happily embraced the massive motherly canine.
"You've gotten bigger, pup." Sachi draped over her like a bear-skin rug, and covered her in affectionate kisses. "I'm glad to have you as pack. Are your snot-nosed friends as polite as you?"
"They're awesome too, Sachi." She grinned "That's Ahi, and Kushina. Guys, this is Sachi. She was my babysitter many times when I was little."
"One doesn't stop babysitting you just because you've gotten taller, brat." A nip to Toki's ear had the girl laughing.
A sharp whistle had Sachi removing herself and trotting back to Hige. He dropped down, and took a seat on the fence that surrounded the roof. Hige flashed them all a roguish grin, and crossed his legs at the ankles. "I'm sure you brats are aware I'm your Sensei by now, yeah?"
"Y-yeah, y'know." Kushina stuttered quietly, and hefted Toki up by her armpits. "Toki called you Uncle Hige?"
"Mhm. But that's for off duty. I'm Hige-Sensei now. You can just call me Sensei though. Much easier than Hige-Sensei. This is Sachi, my ninja hound. Yes, her bark is just as bad as her bite. Now, gather around. I want to hear about all of you, before I tell you about myself and what this team is going to mainly do."
The trio gathered around him as Hige settled on the top of the roof. Sitting down, and leaning back against Sachi, Hige waited as his students settled around him like little ducklings.
"So we're supposed to tell you our likes, dislikes…?"
"Dreams for the future, hobbies, and anything you want to share. I'll do the same. He grins. "Toki, why don't you go first so they can know what to do."
"But we're best friends." She blinks. "We already know most of that about each other." Dreams and stuff was different- they hadn't mentioned it.
"But I don't know those two. So, it's for me, and for you." He hums. "Now, Toki."
"Yes, Sensei." She sighed. She shifted, crossing her legs, before speaking again. "I'm Nara Tokiko, nine years old, and I prefer to be called Toki. I like to eat, and to train, and I like to tire myself out with training, and I also like to snuggle animals of any kind. Also I think tattoo's are pretty cool, and I plan to get a few more as time goes on. I dislike sour foods, morons, and people who look down at me just because I'm a bastard. My hobbies include tending the deer on occasion, training, reading theory books and other things, and spending time with Ahi and Kushina. It's also a hobby of mine to kick their asses, and get mine kicked in turn. Dreams… Well, I want to be a kick ass strong kunoichi, before becoming a mom."
Ahi blinks. "I didn't know you wanted to become a mom. That's actually kinda sweet. You'd be a good mom."
She grins to him. "Thanks, Ahi. Your turn!"
The Uchiha hums, but nods. "Alright! I'm Uchiha Ahichu, and I like to be called Ahi. I'm ten years old, and didn't know I was older than Toki until a few minutes ago. I dislike when people make fun of my name, or make fun of Kushina just 'cause she's got red hair and a temper, and I really don't like it when people call Toki a bastard. Also, I really, really hate tomatoes. They're super gross. I really like Toki's Dad's Sushi, animals, my friends, and training with Toki. Not so much Kushina. She kicks me in the balls too often." He side-eyed her, and pursed his lips when she laughed. "I don't really have many hobbies besides doing clan training, and helping Toki when she wants to try out jutsu on me. My dreams for the future… I want to have the best sharingan ever!"
"Typical boys," Kushina snorts. "I'm Uzumaki Kushina, ten years old, and I really like Toki and Ahi. I like ramen, because it's the food of the gods, and I suppose Toki's Dad's sushi is actually good for sushi. I dislike being called tomato, or getting made fun of, and a certain girly blond boy because he's useless when others are teasing me. I suppose my hobbies include eating ramen, training with my friends, and beating up the morons who tease me. I have one dream, and I'm going to make it a reality. I'm gonna be the first female Hokage, y'know!"
Hige claps. "That's all very good and very interesting!" He says. "I'm going to do my best to make sure all of your dreams become realities- but it's going to be a hell of a time for you kids. Sachi, you want to share too?"
The dog harrumphed, but nodded. "Sure. I'm Sachi- Just Sachi. I'm twenty five, which is beyond old in dog years. I like my dog food, and really like it when I get belly rubs. It's also really fun to chase down my foe and make them scream in agony under my fangs. I dislike cats, rats, and bats, and the long time it takes for my litters of pups to grow up. My hobbies are being a breeding bitch for my clan, going on missions with Hige, and being a mom. Naps too. I like those as well." She curls her lips, and chuffs. "I don't have any dreams. I'm content with life as it is."
"Which is good." Toki nods. "Being content is always good."
Hige agrees fully. "Alright, my turn. I'm Inuzuka Hige, I am twenty six. I like to spend time with my team, and I like to train. I really like some of the food that Toki makes, and I like to snag it early from the kitchen before she can scold me. I dislike strong smells, stinky feet, and losing team mates. My hobbies include keeping up with my old team, training, doing missions, and soon it'll include handling you bunch. My dreams… I want to get married in a few years, have a couple kids, and maybe retire and work at my clan's veterinary clinic."
Toki nods- she knew most of that. The others didn't, and they learned quite a bit from it. Still, the others stayed quiet, waiting for Hige to continue. He had been the one to say he would tell them what their team would be for after.
"Now, I have a question for you three. What sort of team do you think this is going to be?"
Toki shrugged. "Probably some sort of combat? I'm not good at tactical things or planning attacks."
"Tracking?" Ahi offered. "You've got Sachi, so…"
"Definitely combat, y'know. I'm good a fuinjutsu, so I can make lots of explosive seals. Maybe demolition?"
"Toki had it right. We're a frontline team- I'm going to be helping you three become heavy hitting monstrosities in the field. Usually a team is rounded off with one Taijutsu specialist, a Genjutsu user, and a Ninjutsu user, but I am going to demand that all three of you be able to fill whatever position needed. People are going to make misleading assumptions of us because we have two women on the team- and we're going to show them that there is no weaker sex as far as shinobi are concerned."
Toki nods. "Nara aren't known for being tanks, but I think I've got the chakra to back it up."
"Not yet you don't, but by the time I am done with you three, you're going to be forces to reckon with." The man shifted, and dug three pieces of paper out. Passing one to each of his students, Hige motioned for them to use it. "Put chakra into the paper, please. I want to see what nature you all are, so I can figure what jutsu you're going to be learning before you hit chunin."
Doing as told, each of the three kids had a different reaction. Ahi yelped as his caught fire, and he dropped it quickly. Kushina's split down the center, but grew slightly soggy along the end. Toki's crinkled up, before becoming sopping wet.
She dropped it on top of Ahi's paper to extinguish it.
"Two dual natured, and a fire type." Hige mused. "Not bad. Kushina, it would appear you're primarily wind and secondarily water natured- which is fairly rare, but not unheard of given your heritage. Toki, you're lightning and water natured, fairly evenly mixed based on how your paper turned out. You'll be good for concussive destruction. Ahi, fire. Which, is expected- Uchiha are rarely anything but fire."
"So we're pretty well balanced?" Ahi murmured.
Their Sensei nodded. "Of course. I'm Earth primarily, so I balance out the basic element that you three lack, but I've had enough practice that I can wield other types of chakra. Toki is going to have the easiest time branching out from her types of chakra- because she knows how to use yin chakra. That's what her shadows are made from. But we're not going to branch from our types until you're chunin. All in all, though, you three are a very good mix. I am very pleased."
Toki nods. "I can see what you mean. I'm water and lightning, which in itself is a good mix, and it means I can aid Kushina with her water jutsu when she learns some. My lightning can be used with water jutsu to theoretically overpower earth types of jutsu. Kushina's wind nature can help Ahi's fire nature, and together you two can power up a fire type to possibly overpower a water jutsu. I'm not sure what I can do for Ahi, besides make a steam over with water and fire if need be, but I can see what you mean."
"Indeed." He nods. "You three will work well together, and it already helps that you're friends. You're used to fighting with one another in practice spars. Which also means that I don't have to do a test with you three- you're already going to be able to work together. You'll just need practice at working together in missions. Speaking of missions," he continued, "You'll all be doing d-ranks for a while. We've got four of them to do tomorrow. So, meet me at Toki's house at six am sharp. You're late, you don't get paid. I need to go plan out my week, rent some scrolls to get some starter jutsu for you three, so I'll leave you three to enjoy your first day as genin. It's only going to get better from here."
"Okay. We'll see you tomorrow, Sensei!" Tokiko grinned.
Hige waved, and then both he and Sachi disappeared in a puff of white smoke.
Ahi coughed in it. "I don't see why all Jōnin have to do the stupid smoke thing. That stuff stinks."
"Better than them getting leaf litter everywhere though. My dad does the leaf thing and he has to sweep them out the door when he gets home." Toki stood slowly, and tugged both of her friends up with her. "Alright… So we're going to meet tomorrow for our first missions. You remember the way to my house, yes?"
"Ah no," Kushina mumbles.
"I'll swing by and get you from your house then, Kushina." Ahi grins. "You're such a dork. I remember the way to Toki's place."
"And after missions tomorrow, want to pool our pay and go out for celebratory food?"
The red head perks. "Can we go for ramen?"
"I'm down for it. Ahi?"
The Uchiha nods. "I'm alright for it. But we have to get Toki's Dad to make sushi another for another celebration. Is that fair?"
"Fair enough for me, y'know!"
Toki laughs, and moves to the side of the building. Climbing over the rails, the ninja latches her shadows onto the rail, and starts to head down the side of the building. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. I gotta go tell Dad that I made Genin, and who our Sensei is. Oh! If you get there early enough, I can make breakfast for you too."
Ahi leans over to watch her go down, and then laughs. "Sure! You'll make more of those pan cake things, right?"
"And those waffles too!" Kushina demands in amusement. She had to go see Lady Mito and tell her about her day. Now that she was a genin, it wouldn't be long before Lady Mito had to… Well, before Lady Mito passed on her burden to Kushina. But until then Kushina had no intention of mentioning it to any of her team.
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That night, both Dai and Susumu gave her a gift. Dai gave her another tattoo- a fuinjutsu one across her lower back, one that she insisted was not a tramp stamp- that would allow her to manipulate her shadow out of it, and act as a guard of sorts, or extra limbs. He informed her that he didn't want her to ever suffer a fate like he did, but should it happen regardless, she could use the shadows to control her legs in ways that he could not. When she tried to use it, it just created a wispy bushy bundle of tentacle things that acted like solid tails. It was… A strange thing, but she would find a use for them once she could control the seal later.
Her father gifted her with her first set of ear rings, and a set of new kunai for her to use. Compared to Dai's gift, it was insignificant, but it was the thought that counted. She wasn't part of the main house, but most of the clan still practiced the ear-ring thing. She didn't mind- her father got her black studs, and she liked them quite a lot. They were a chakra conductive metal, so if she put chakra into them, she could make them glow. Not particularly useful, but actually pretty nifty. If she were ever locked in a dark box, she would have some form of light.
Her first day as a genin ended with her stuffed full of good food, and asleep between her father and Dai as they relaxed on the couch while Dai read them some stories.
All in all, Tokiko considered it a wonderfully good day, and was prepared to enter the world of shinobi with her first missions on the morrow.