"Naruto, are you awake?"
A boy too young to be doing what he's been doing open his eyes, showing the grey haired man a pair of peerless azure eyes. The boy has not even reached the age for him to be called a teen, yet his appearance says otherwise. He is taller than an ordinary twelve year old, and his eyes, despite how beautiful they are, are jaded; making them look depressing and forlorn. His hair threatens to hide those beautiful blue eyes of his, it's been a month ever since his last haircut.
He picks up the sturdy and battle-wrought rifle that seems to have never left his side, even during sleep. The sleek, black, scratched but polished rifle is immediately fixed to his person, holding it as if it's an extension of his own body.
"Still carrying that? We have more options you know, you don't have to stick to an AK all the time." The older man says, crossing his arms. Unlike the younger male, he has a FN-FAL with the stock folded strapped to his chest, a Trijicon ACOG 6x48 Scope attached to the upper Picatinny rails as optics and a fully loaded 30 rounds 7.62×51mm NATO magazine. Kakashi does not understand the boy's obsession with the AK. He's seen him using all kinds of Kalashnikov variants.
AK-47, AK-103, AKS-74U, AK-12, RPK, AKM… and the list goes on. Needless to say, the boy loves his AK.
The boy is none other than Naruto. His cheekbones are defined, nose prominent and jawline firm. It's hard to identify him as an underage boy from a single glance and his clothing is doing nothing but further the misunderstanding. Like his mentor, he is dressed in a long sleeved navy blue shirt with a high collar to protect him from the cold Russian night, a pair of matching heavy duty cargo pants with multiple tactical fittings fitted onto it, a plate carrier vest with three spare ammunitions fitted to the front Velcro straps for easy access, a pair of black combat boots with multiple socks stuffed inside so that he won't feel cold, a pair of olive green Oakley plastic studded gloves and a thick grey face mask which differs from his mentor's navy blue one. He also has a hood, but is simply not wearing it because it hinders his vision.
"I'm fine with this, master." The boy's voice is muffled due to the thick layer of fabric covering the lower part of his face. The boy trails through the metal and plastic surface of the gun he's carrying, as if to emphasize the scars that the gun seemingly has.
"Well, okay then." After hearing that, Kakashi does not know what to say anymore. "Anyway, hope that you took a nice nap, because we won't be getting any sleep anytime soon."
On cue, the boy snaps into attention.
"Easy there, we're not going to do anything just yet." Kakashi motions for the boy to ease up. "I've talked to the Serbian commander leading the assault on City-R, we'll be spearheading the assault, making an opening for their forces to rush in and finish up the job. After that, we're to assist them in combat against Russian forces."
"…what about support?" the boy asks, unafraid despite the idea of having to rush into the battlefield first than the others. "Are we on our own?"
"The Serbs have their mortars set up at a strategic location at a hill a few clicks away from the AO, but we shouldn't count on that." as the snow falls harder, a few dusts off his hair due to the shaking of head. "Your team will be the first to get inserted into the combat zone, are you okay with that?"
"I'm ready, if that's what you're asking, master." The boy's reply is as crisp as the snow around him. Probably as cold too.
Underneath his own mask, Kakashi smiles. "Good. Lead your team and make sure to watch each other's backs. Capture a suitable location and hold it until the next team comes."
"…you don't have to tell me that, I know what I'm doing." Though his face is covered, the pout he's making is quite evident. "My team is one of the best, next to yours." The boy momentarily pauses. "In fact, we'll give you the city."
The boy smirks underneath the mask. "I'll even wrap a nice bow on the town square for you."
Chuckling, the older man ruffles the boy's hair that has gathered some snow, thus dusting off most of them in the process. "I know you're good for age, brat. But cockiness will get you nowhere. Remember that." Kakashi retracts his hand from the boy's hair after sensing the displeasure radiating from him. "My team will be busy fighting on the other front, so I'll leave it all to you, okay, Naruto?"
Naruto.
A name that was given to the boy by the man who is now his mentor. The same man who showed him how much of a monster mankind could be. Yet, he respects a man like that.
"Understood… master Kakashi."
Underneath the pale moonlight, within the embrace of an unforgiving blizzard and before the beginning of one of the world's most brutal conflicts; a boy turns into a man. The boy turned man then embarks onto the ever distant battlefield with a worn out rifle in his young hands, backed with the help of his trusted men.
They were no more than five. Yet the walls of City-R collapse at their first assault.
All manners of defense or interception from the defender's side proved to be useless against the boy and his team of four.
The boy, leading men who were far older than he was, dragged the battle through the heart of the city; finding his place there.
They fought with efficiency and skill comparable to that of a nation's most decorated and experienced Special Force team, shooting down the defenders one bullet at a time.
When their guns ran out of bullets, they used the enemies' weapons to fight back.
When there were no more weapons to use, they used their knives to cut through their enemies.
And when their blades have grown dull, their hands did all the work.
In the end, when the remaining insertion team arrived at the heart of the city, they were greeted with a sight that they will never ever forget.
The town's square, the heart of the city, with the bodies of its defender splattered all over as if it has been painted by a tumultuous horde of unruly children. At the center of it all, they stood, their body drenched and soaked with the blood of their enemies and the ashes of the battlefield sticking to them like a second skin… victorious.
It was a frightening sight.
A group of five, one of them being a minor, men capable of pushing back the defending forces to a retreat from their own city is insane. Surreal. Impossible. But there they were, standing, as if they've been expecting reinforcements to arrive any later.
Out of the five men, the shortest of them all, who also happened to be the bloodiest of them all, spoke to the rest of the insertion team, in a high pitched tone that separates him from the men.
"Gentlemen, the city is yours."
"…Naruto! Are you listening?"
He returns to the reality of the situation at the drop of a hat. It seems that his habit of recollecting past events is still stuck to him like Chernobyl nuclear reactor stuck to its concrete grave. The blonde takes a second to remind himself of where he is. The classroom. No teacher, meaning that it's currently lunch break.
Naruto gazes at the female that, apparently, has been calling out to him while he was absorbed in his trance. No surprise, it's Yui. And judging by the pout that she's making, it seems that she finds his ignorance of the attention she has been demanding from him displeasing.
"Why are you always dozing off whenever I'm calling you?" she asks, her voice insecure. "Am I not worth your attention, Naruto?" under normal circumstances, a normal boy would swoon and reassure her with a thousand of reassuring words in the gentlest form and way they could ever muster. But he is no normal boy and neither is he going to swoon and reassure her with a thousand of reassuring words in the gentlest form and way that he could muster.
Naruto offers her an apologetic look, saying, "Sorry Yui, looks like I blanked out there for a second."
But his reply serves only to upset her even more. "Muu… you did more than just blanking out for a second! I was calling out to you for a full minute!" she expresses her frustration with an exaggerated stretching of her hands to emphasize the length of time he has been ignoring her for.
"Again, I apologize."
"Urk… when you do that, it's unfair for me…" the girl mutters to herself.
"What was that?" the blonde asks, his ears briefly picking up incoherent words from Yui's mouth.
"Nothing!" as if she's done a blunder, Yui exclaims, denying everything. "Anyway, what were you thinking about?"
Naruto actually thinks. He's thinking whether or not he should tell her that he was actually recalling one of his bloodiest battles in Eastern Europe back when he was only twelve, just to see what kind of reaction that would get out of her. But after a few more seconds of thinking, he decides not to.
"About home." the blonde says in his trademarked cryptic and concise manner.
"Home? You lived in the US, right?" Yui asks, her tone showing her excitement. "What's it like living the US? Did you have many friends? What kind of school did you go through?"
He has to admire her straightforwardness. It's hard to refuse her when she's like this, especially when she's this close to him. Shrugging, the blonde says, "It's… not really interesting. Since my guardian's job requires him to travel into many countries in the world, I have to miss school a lot of times, I even got expelled twice because of that, so I transferred schools a few times too."
Yui frowns after hearing how the story turns out to be. "Heeeh… but, but, you're smart though."
"My guardian taught me all the things that I need to know." Naruto calmly says to reassure his pink haired friend. "That includes my knowledge and general academics. My guardian's Japanese, so you have him to thank for my fluent speech."
"Whoa…" The sense of awe that comes out from Yui's mouth is definitely real. She leans back on the chair that she's borrowed in order to talk to him. "Was it fun, travelling around the world, I mean."
A faint smile graces the blonde's visage, stretching his whisker-like marks slightly. "Fun… hm… I guess you could say that."
Yes, fun. He'll admit it. Getting into gunfights with armed resistance, have mortar shells exploding only a few feet away from you, nearly having the plane you were in shot down from the sky, camping in an unnamed forest in the middle of a blizzard and killing people in overall can sometimes… be… fun.
Right?
"Uwaaa… there's that look on your face, Naruto…" the girl in front of the blonde whines, looking a little bit concerned.
Blinking, the blonde looks at her for elaboration. "What kind of look?"
"That look!" Yui stresses out, as if Naruto should know what she's talking about. "You'll always smile when you're thinking of something… unrelated to… I dunno… school or something!"
Oh? Yui's surprisingly sharp.
"And does that displease you, Yui?"
"W-Well… no… but… it's…" the girl purses her lips, hesitating. "It's uncomfortable for me to not know what you're thinking about… y'know…"
Raising an eyebrow, Naruto finds her answer to be unexpected. "So, it worries you when I'm not transparent about my thoughts." He clarifies.
"Yeah. But, only because I… eh…" red tints her cheeks as her eyes refuse to meet his or anywhere near him. "…I care… about you… and what you're thinking about…"
It was a whisper, meant to be carried by the wind, yet even with how noisy the classroom is, Naruto hears her reasoning as clear as a crystal.
Naruto is not dumb, but he's no genius either.
He knows what Yui is implying, maybe it's completely wrong, but he has a clear assumption of what it is. The blonde cannot say that he's keen on touching the topic, but he's aware that it exists. As the pupil of one of the world's strongest soldier, he's told to approach or handle problems in more than just one way, sadly for him, those are only limited to violence.
But this thing with Yui, he cannot help but be clueless.
"…I see. I care about you too, Yui."
She sees him smile.
"You're a good friend."
She returns his smile, but somehow, it's different. She giggles, her expression clearly showing how elated she is. "I'm glad that you consider me your friend."
Looks like that encounter with her dog was not a mistake after all. Looks like them meeting in the same school wasn't something done from a whim after all.
"But if you really care about our friendship Yui…" The blonde drawls out, muttering in a rather low voice. His eyes are transfixed to the girl's pink hair, the obvious hair dye is doing a rather excellent job at grabbing his attention.
"Hm, what was that?" the girl asks, completely clueless to what the boy has just said.
"…no, it's nothing." The boy smiles reassuringly. At the same time, the door to the classroom slides open, revealing someone none other than Hiratsuka Shizuka herself. "Anyway, the teacher's here."
"Um!"
The linger words that he did not manage to say… is it wise to tell her? Surely, she would mistake it for something else entirely… but regardless, if Yuigahama Yui truly values the friendship that they have, then…
…she'll know when to end it.
If she doesn't, then, she'll have to learn.
"Naruto, pass!"
"Hayato, fight-o~!"
Soccer is considered to be the world's most popular sport and this is true. There are countless matches held in the past for soccer, hundreds if not thousands of people have made millions if not billions of dollar worth of money from just playing several matches alone. These athletes deserve what they got because they trained hard to be at the spot where they are at right now. To bridge that gap between a professional soccer athlete and normal high school boys, it's safe to say that getting tired is something that is shared between the two identities.
But after seeing Naruto play… looks like not all people get tired when playing it.
The blonde takes the position of a forward player. The role of the forward player is to make passes, preferably to the striker in order for the latter to score goals. In other words, he's playing passive-offensive. He's not actively trying to score goals, but will try to score goals when he could. Luckily for Naruto's team, they have the best of both worlds with them.
Hayato, an efficient goal-scorer with a deadly aim, the striker.
And Naruto, a relentless precision passer with a never ending stamina, the forward.
These two… they're like two AIs in a soccer game coded to play aggressive-offensive at the highest difficulty there is.
Needless to say, the scoreboard's leaning towards their side of the scale.
"Go Hayato-kun!"
"Naruto-kun you're so cool!"
The girls are having a field day… pun not intended.
"Naruto!" Hayato shouts. He has two defenders behind him, paces away from blocking him completely. But he pays them no mind, he's focused at the goal and the metaphorical goal to score.
The ball is currently in the possession of the blonde foreigner, who's outrunning his pursuers, the remaining two defenders. He hears Hayato shouting his name on the other side of the field – which is not that far by the way – and that's the only sign he needs in order to make the pass. He stops the ball, bringing himself and the two defenders to a halt. The defenders have him cornered, literally as he's almost at the edge of the field, but not quite. With the edge of his foot, he brings the ball to the air, catching the two defenders off guard. As their focus are fixed to the ball which is currently in mid-air, Naruto jumps, flips his body and kicks the ball in mid-air.
"A bicycle kick! Uwoooh!" the audience marvels as the witness the perfectly executed pass.
Hayato sees this and he reacts with the appropriate action. The goal keeper has been put in a situation where he must decide which side of the field he should be paying attention to. If he goes left, then he'll miss out Hayato. If he goes right, then he'll miss the opportunity to catch the ball. Caught between two choices, he chooses the former. The goal keeper's job is the only role that allows a player to hold the ball with his hands, after all. The keeper throws his body towards the direction of the goal, hands stretched with the intention of snatching the ball as if it's a bundle of baby that has been carelessly dropped by an idiot father.
But unfortunately for him and his team, Hayato is already there first.
The son of the lawyer to the Yukinoshita family reels his head back, before letting it go, hitting the ball straight on whilst it's in mid-air. The ball launches forward, the impact from Hayato's heading being the reason of its sudden kinetic shift.
It's a goal.
Everyone cheers. Those who're in Hayato and Naruto's team cheer the loudest and they celebrate by hugging and shaking the hands of other players, both friends and foes. Naruto manages to pick himself off the ground in order to see the winning shot and it was as he expected it to be. Obviously, the match is theirs; a whopping 11 - 3 on their favor, a major landslide, in other words.
"Yo, Naruto-kun, good game out there!"
"Yeah, that bicycle kick was so cool, can you teach me that?"
Several guys approach him, bombarding him with congratulations and questions alike. Naruto breathes out, circulating the air inside his system. He gives the other grateful nods for their words. Playing soccer is good exercise, especially if it's done in a proper field, unlike this one. Still, it was a good game, one that he enjoyed.
"Naruto, good game back there. Never knew you could play like that." Hayato himself arrives to offer the genuine blonde his congratulations. "You play often?" the fake blonde asks his genuine counterpart, while holding a plastic water bottle filled with, duh, water.
Naruto shrugs, his expression fixed in the usual listless and uninterested mask. "Not really, but I've played several matches before. None of them were professional, though." Back in Leafcorp, he'd play all kinds of sports with the others, not just soccer. But Hayato doesn't need to know this. "Good game to you too, that last goal was definitely worth that pass."
The son of a lawyer laughs sheepishly, his modesty really is showing. "No, no, it's more like a split second decision, besides; I couldn't have kicked a ball that high in the air anyway." Hayato explains while smiling. "Want to play another match?"
Naruto looks at the sky, frowning at how the clouds are covering the sun. While playing soccer in the rain feels liberating and provides a sense of relief that he can't quite explain, the idea of having to return inside the changing room dripping in rain water is not something that he's particularly comfortable with. So, he declines.
"No thanks. The sky's hinting at rain, this is my last match for the day." Naruto says.
"I see." Hayato looks up, taking a look at the sky. "You're right, it looks like it'll rain anytime soon. Oh well, guess we'll have to play another day."
Naruto snorts.
Rain, rain, go away, come again another day…
The ex-mercenary shakes his head, dismissing whatever silly thoughts that occurred in his head. He walks towards the sidelines to gather his things; water bottle, change of clothes and etcetera. Unknown to him, he's being watched by a pair of endearing eyes that expresses nothing but admiration. The owner of the aforementioned eyes smiles warmly.
Open your front door.
Now normally, such a cryptic, sudden and mysterious message would make anyone paranoid, nervous or even scared. But he is expecting this. Still, not that he knows what's standing in front of his front door…
The message is sent from an unknown number, which is not surprising. In fact, he will be more surprised if it isn't, since he has not registered anyone's phone number instead of Shikamaru.
With a slight pulling motion, his front door swings open. The creaking noise that the door emits is enough to bring suspense into the atmosphere, with no particular expression or whatsoever, the blonde teenager looks downward.
His azure eyes blink as they land on the brown, cardboard box that is laid out right outside of his front door. The box itself is a relatively small box, it does not reach up to his knees and he is sure that he can pick it up no problem. Bending his body forward, he then squats down on full heels, preventing tension on his thighs and calves. His eyes glaze over the box, examining it briefly for any details worth noticing.
And immediately, he finds something worth noticing.
A gift from a friend.
…reads the soft ballpoint writing etched on the side of the box.
The penmanship itself is written legibly, making it visible even if it's written on a cardboard's surface. Obviously, it's in Japanese. And he gets the feeling that the sender is none-other than his new friends Parabellum. Sighing, the blue eyed teen picks up the box, stands up then returns inside his house, locking the door behind him.
He brings the box to the living room, places it on top of the dining table and proceeds to open it. It takes him no more than three seconds to get the sealed top off and the inside of the box is filled with an excessive amount of Styrofoam bits. Undoubtedly, the Styrofoam acts as cushioning for what's inside. Reaching inside the box, his fingers touch something cold. Something metallic. Curious, he grabs the mysterious item and brings it out of the box.
"…what is this?"
It's not really a knife… and it's not really a dagger, but from design and looks, he can confidently tell that it is meant to be used in the same manner as the two aforementioned tools.
First of all, it's light. Way lighter than what he'd expect a… dagger of this size should normally be. Everything about the dagger is made out of metal, safe for the strange red ink scribbled cloth wrapped around the hilt. The blade is shaped surreally too, making him think on whether or not this is hand-forged or factory stamped. The blade is tri-pronged, which means it has three points and is bulkier than most knives. Most of the weight resides here. It has an O-ring at the end of the hilt, which reminds him of South-East Asian blades, the Karambit in particular. The dagger is symmetrical, should he put a mirror side by side this blade, it should be able to form a perfect reflection.
Combining the symmetrical design of the dagger, less bulk on the hilt area and more material that adds more weight on the blade… this is no doubt a weapon that is not meant for throwing.
Naruto's eyes are fixed upon the intricate looking piece of art. If he is still working out there in the fields, he'll never use this as a weapon. Simply because it's too beautiful for him to use in battle…
Regardless of whatever situation that this blade is meant to be used in, he's still clueless as to why Parabellum sent him this dagger. What, is he supposed to believe that this is their way of saying 'Don't kill us! Here, have this fancy looking knife instead!'? Hah.
Gripping the blade in his hands, the hilt is wrapped around his palms perfectly. Muscle memory kicks in and with a flick of his wrist, he flips the blade in a reverse grip, not hitting his hand or whatsoever. This blade really reminds him of a Karambit. Thinking about that, he inserts his pointer into the ring, gripping the dagger like one would do a Karambit. He twirls it, spinning it by the ring. After several seconds of tinkering, he's finally used to the weight and overall feel of the weapon.
The blonde takes his finger off the blade, placing it on the table next to the box. Still curious about the box, which Styrofoam bits are now scattered, he takes another and closer look inside. Rummaging through the box, he's intent on finding anything that he might have left behind. But after a minute of checking, there's nothing inside.
"Just a knife… no notes…" this is interesting, yet awfully fishy at the same time. The gut feeling inside of him is telling him that Parabellum may not be the one who sent him this… 'gift'. He hates feeling uncertain, because that way, he has no way of expecting what might happen later.
Sighing, Naruto repacks the box, seals it tight and tosses it off somewhere for him to properly clean later. He picks up the dagger, this time he's not inserting a finger inside the ring, and carries it with him to his room upstairs.
He'll need to do a little bit of research.
Yukinoshita Haruno hates pointless chatter as much as the intellectually competent person next door.
But she cannot deny its usefulness.
"Ahahaha!"
She hates the way this man laugh as if he's worthy of her smiles.
"Ne, ne, Haruno-chan, you seeing anyone right now?"
And the nerve of this man… why is she here in the first place?
This particular evening, with the aftermaths of rain still in full effect, Yukinoshita Haruno finds herself in a less than pleasing situation. It's not her first time, nor will it be her last, sadly, but she is still not used to the fact that she has to entertain grown men like she's some sort of courtesan from the renaissance era. She does not enjoy this one bit. If it isn't for the fact that she's doing this for her family, she won't even step a foot anywhere near these dirty old men.
Speaking of her subjects, most of them are her father's… business partners. Yes, that seems to be an appropriate term. Their usefulness and importance may be questionable in the role of her family's business; it will still look bad for the Yukinoshita's if she's to decline an invitation from them. Thankfully, she is not entirely alone in this private lounge.
A spacious private lounge on one of Chiba's famous commercial district, second to the highest floor with the floor above being a personal residence to the man who she is currently… entertaining. The entirety of the room is best described in one word: grand. From the velvety red, luscious carpet to the detailed engravings on the edge of the ceiling, the designer of this room definitely did his or her job well… undoubtedly, since they must have received a very large sum of money to make this room exist. There are several other people. Men and women dressed in apparels appropriate for the occasion.
Expensive Armani business suits, genuine leather Hermes bags that must have cost both an arm and leg to purchase… it amuses her to see just how hard people try to impress others.
But what can she say? She's the same.
She, herself, is also dressed for the occasion. A strapless purple dress hugs her desirable body, leaving little to the imagination. The dress ends just above her upper thigh, giving everyone a view of the creamy eternity that is her legs. A pair of maroon, jewel studded wedges shoes protects her bare feet from the ground. With grace and naughty schemes, she loosens the faux black leather choker around her neck, making her all the more tantalizing. The fluttering of her eyelids is reminiscent to an Atrophaneura hector butterfly, teasing, transient… elusive.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
But Yukinoshita Haruno does not work all the time, nor is she Jack, nor is she a boy…
The man she is accompanying seems to be reading her signals wrong, like most men out there. The sweat that gathers on his forehead drip, signs of temptation clear on his eyes. Like a barometer with too much pressure readings, he's on the edge of bursting. The potbellied politician gulps, as if it's his only way to repress the rising urge in his system.
Haruno knows full well the effect of her actions. And, yes, she's doing it on purpose. But for what purpose, exactly?
She can't really say. But… is there a need for one?
"N-Ne, Haruno-san… you're a beautiful young woman." The older man begins his futile approach. "And you're definitely around the age where you're thinking on getting married, right?"
"Oh?" she will amuse him a little bit. "Am I? Hm… I cannot say I've ever thought of something as serious as marriage." Everything, from her expression until the tone of her voice, is staged. "Ah, but now that you mentioned it… I remember mother saying something similar along those lines."
This last point, however and unfortunately, is a fact.
"T-Then, what about it? How about we get hitched?"
Never.
…is the only word that's on her mind. If Haruno is any lesser woman, which she is not, she would have shouted what's in her mind at that point without restrain. Instead of shouting her refusal, she giggles. The corner of her lips stretching, showing the man a smile that melts his heart even more.
"Hmm~… I'm not sure if I should rush into something like that." begins the woman with a playful look. "Marriage is a serious thing, after all." She's only half-kidding here. "By the way, Endo-san, how's your wife? Is she doing well?"
The effect is instant. The man recoils, surprised, nearly dropping the glass of champagne that he has been holding all this time. Sweat breaks out profusely around his facial features, eyebrows bending in and out to express his surprise. He begins to stutter like a broken radio; it's as if he's lost his earlier flair. The man's squinty eyes desperately try to look around, finding something that could excuse him out of this conversation.
"E-Eh… ah… ehm…!"
Inwardly, Yukinoshita Haruno is smiling.
Outwardly, Yukinoshita Haruno is still smiling, but for a completely different reason.
"E-Excuse me, I-I need to make a call…!"
And he flees from the spot. If she's alone inside this room, she would have laughed her beautiful behind off at the spectacle, however, she knows when and how to act. So, she does the next best thing instead:
"…heh."
Smile.
She retreats back to the liquor fountain, grabbing herself a nice glass of wine that is poured by one of the servers there. Finding a spot next to the large, multi-paneled window, she lifts the wine-filled glass above eye level. The dark, purplish-red liquid is positioned in a manner so that it looks like it's enveloping the moon.
With a smile, she watches as the peerless, circular, white disk is fully swallowed by the potent, dark liquid.
"What am I here for, Hiratsuka-sensei?"
Needless to say, after learning about the less-than-likeable situation that his mentor is in, his mood is not in the best of… condition. However, he still maintains a listlessly stoic façade, shrouding the stormy seas underneath a convincing facial barrier. Within that barrier, a tireless Olympic is currently occurring inside his head. He has things to worry, things that may just involve the people around him, and ultimately, people from this school. He cannot allow that to happen. He won't.
"Nothing serious, fortunately." Shizuka begins with a sigh. Looks like he's not the only one with a bad day. "Your grades are too good for any serious pep talk but…" her lips purse, and was that hesitation on her eyes? "…alright, I'll be straightforward with you… how are things with Yukinoshita and her club?"
Not that he isn't expecting it to be brought up to the table or anything, it's just that, he never thought that Shizuka would bring it up so soon. It hasn't even been four days ever since he joined the Service Club.
"Everything is fine, no need to worry." He assures the teacher.
"Hm…" Shizuka is giving him a very thorough observation. She hums, eyes darting from places to places and she has not blinked from the moment she dozes off. Eventually, she recomposes herself to catch up with the conversation. "Alright. You two also had your first client, right?" she asks. "Yuigahama, if I was not mistaken?"
"Yes." Naruto answers her curtly.
"If you don't mind me being too inquisitive here… what do you think of Yukinoshita?" imagine Shizuka asking this with the straightest face that she could muster. It isn't sure for what purpose the question is for, but she seems serious enough to convince Naruto that he should answer her with the same amount of seriousness as the one she has.
"She's… tolerable." Shizuka raises an eyebrow. "It might have been awkward at first, but we'll get try to get along." He's being very careful with his wordings here. He knows that his teacher is a sharp woman and that she'll definitely question each point as if she's just dissected his sentence with scalpel.
"I see." It seems that she's holding back. It's clear for Naruto that she wants to say more, but for some reason, she's holding back.
Currently, it's recess. He was just about to have his lunch but Shizuka told him to come with her to the faculty room right away after first period was over. Admittedly, he's a little bit irritated that some of his recess time is wasted talking, but if it's from a teacher, he'll let this one slide.
"Then, is she doing her job well?"
The blue eyed blonde blinks several time, failing to register Shizuka's question. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Is she doing her job well? Remember what I told her to do when I brought you into the club?"
It takes Naruto no more than a second to remember what Shizuka is talking about. "Ah… yes, this is about how she is supposed to help me improve my social life in this school." It is rather awkward remembering that particular memory… for some reason.
"Yes. So, any progress?"
Naruto takes several seconds to choose his words carefully. "While Yukino-san is indeed helping me… integrate with this new lifestyle, the progress that we're making is slow." He pauses, as if he's made a mistake in wording out his thoughts. "In fact, I don't think that progress could be measured."
Shizuka looks at him with a rather amused look on her face. She chuckles all the while shaking her head. "Oh, trust me, it can be measured… and yes, you're right, progress is slow. Thing is, Naruto, you're all formal."
"But you're a teacher, isn't that how it's supposed to be?"
She… can't really argue with that.
"U-Uh… what I'm trying to say is, your register is formal." The teacher corrects herself. "I've observed you from time to time during recess period, seeing if you're interacting with anyone at all. To my relief, you make constant conversations with your classmates. Some even try to approach you outside of class. However, you're creating another set of barrier between you and them after breaking your previous one."
Naruto tilts his head cluelessly.
"…let's see it like this: Naruto," the blonde raises an eyebrow, "do you talk to your classmates the way you talk to me or any other teachers?" the woman asks her student.
"Not… always, but… I guess so, yes." Not a straight answer, which is strange from the boy.
"See? That's the point. You're making your friends uncomfortable if you're speaking to them like you'd do to your… let's say… teacher. They want you to be on the same level as them. The fact that you're a foreigner with completely different features and origin is already a concept alien to them, you don't have to speak to them formally all the time."
The blonde nods, finally understanding what his teacher is trying to say. He should have seen this. Through reminiscing and observations, he has to admit that the way he talks to his peers is rather… contained. Sure, he makes sure to sound as friendly and approachable as possible but he did not take register into account.
"…I'll do something about it then, Hiratsuka-sensei."
Hearing his response, Shizuka smiles. "That's what I want to hear." She leans back on her chair, stretching her back. "You can go now, I've taken enough of your time."
He nods. "By your leave." Then, he leaves the faculty room.
Shizuka watches as her foreign student exits the faculty room. Sighing, the teacher shakes her head. Looks like there is still some more work to be done to make him really… experience this whole thing.
"Oh, hey, Naruto!"
A pair of azure eyes open, taking in the sight of a bubbly pink haired girl hopping leisurely towards his direction. The sheer cheer radiating from the girl is already an indication of her current mood, proven further by the large and seemingly eternal smile fixed to her face as if someone has just glued it over there. It takes the blonde haired foreigner a few seconds to place his lunch, a combination of chocolate bread and plain white milk, down before he can even attend to the huge bundle of joy that is friend.
"Yui," he nods, eyes glazing over the girl's cheeks, spotting something out of the ordinary, ", you have a bead of rice stuck to your cheek." He points out, using his fingers to, pun not intended, pin-point the location he is talking about on his own cheek.
The, as evidence provides, messy eater stops dead on her tracks, eyes wide, redness spreading across her face. "E-Eh?! Really?" she checks, and true enough, the lone rice grain is indeed there. "A-Aww… that's so embarrassing…" the girl moans out like a whale in pain, before quickly eating the grain of rice as if she's trying to hide a very serious blunder.
Naruto cannot fight the urge to roll his eyes. But seeing Yui acting like this isn't something strange to him, good, he's getting used to it. "What's wrong Yui?"
"I saw you eating and I figured that I'd drop by and say hello or something… ehehe…" awkwardly, the girl pokes one of her cheek with a finger, face turning red for reasons that are oblivious to the blonde.
"I see." Naruto nods. Her reason is understandable for him.
But then, after having said that, the air around them transforms; descending, into an uncomfortable atmosphere of awkward quietness and silence. Naruto is, if he has to say a reason, eating. And thus, he cannot be bothered to talk. However, he's almost done eating with the pace he's going. He is seated comfortably on the low cement wall somewhere near the back of the school. He's often seen eating here because of how nice the wind is in this particular area. Near the sea, the scent that the wind carries brings nothing more than nostalgia for him.
As someone who can be officially classified as a child soldier, this particular nostalgia is short of uncomfortable memories. The scent of the sea, the chilly air and the sensation of wind blowing against his skin are three key triggers for him to remember a particular, scenic and nostalgic memory. At the same time, his happiness is not without a little pinch of sadness. Maybe that's why he's eating in snail's pace right now.
Whilst the boy is lost in his own inner world, the girl who is with the boy has been observing him with doe-like eyes. Yui does not know why she is particularly fond of the boy. She just knows that she is. Ever since that day, which also happens to be the first day they meet, Cupid or any other form of matchmaking arbiter has planted a seed inside her heart. And that seed is love. So far, nothing big has happened with that seed, at most, a little tiny shoot is what has become of the seed now.
Still, it's growing each day. That much she can confirm.
So, from just a simple act of observing him, looking at him, it makes her chest pounds way and way too much. Even now, she's perfectly aware she's dozing off. She can no longer feel the world around her, only him. Her eyes take in every single detail that his body, face and gesture have to offer for her.
His abnormally tall height which distinguishes him from the normal Japanese male is easily one of the reasons for her brain being comparable to that of a vegetable. His eyes, blue, vibrant yet mysterious draws her own pair even more each time they meet hers during conversations. The structure of his face, personality be damned, she is just a girl. And girls like her, definitely, consider the boy in front of her attractive. And… most of all, and this is just her, his posture.
Being someone who's proud to call herself as a social butterfly, Yui considers herself as someone who is very expressive. Sometimes a little bit too much… is what her friends have said to her.
Naruto… he's not very expressive, true, but the same cannot be said for his posture and tone. Unlike the others around her, he always carries this air of being aware and ready for seemingly everything that a busy daily life has to offer folks like her. He stands on both feet, tall and upright. When he's sitting, he always has his back straight and soles touching the floor while both hands are placed on top of the surface if there's one. When he's talking he always manages eye contact, never even failing once! It even comes to a point where it makes it hard for her to talk to him sometimes!
Her feet will get cold, weak and fidgety. Her brain will feel like the times when she has to do her Physics test. And most important, she cannot help herself from stuttering or even looking embarrassed.
This is a sickness, her times from those days where she used to read Shoujo Manga every night before bed tells her so.
But according to her friends, it's love.
"Hm?"
The sound of something buzzing instantly snaps her out of her midday doze. She sees Naruto, who has finished eating, reaching into one of the pockets of his pants to pull out his phone. Yui is perfectly aware that she has to give Naruto some space and privacy to answer the call, but she cannot help but be curious herself.
Fortunately for her, the boy is too focused on answering his phone to tell her of her presence.
"Hello?"
Yui's heart thumps loudly. Anxiety fills her heart as hundreds if not thousands of questions begin to fill her mind.
Who is he talking to? Is it a guy or a girl? What's his phone number? Will he want to have hers?
Although the first two are the ones she's most interested in…
"…of course. Tonight."
Her heart is beating loudly, so loud she's confident that anyone will be able to hear it. He's meeting someone tonight? Is it a friend? O-Or is it… a…
She cannot finish her thoughts.
She just can't.
"See you."
So it's really someone after all!
Uneasiness fills her mind, causing the anxiety she has been feeling to increase insurmountably. Fear consumes her and, it's embarrassing to admit it, it feels as if she's going to cry.
"Sorry about that, Yui." Naruto's voice pierces through her anxiety and doubt. "An acquaintance of mine called, saying that they want to meet me."
Acquaintance.
Hearing that specific term somehow erases all of the doubt and fear that she has felt earlier. Acquaintances are not friends and it's most definitely not a term that someone will use to refer to their significant other. Yui's body threatened to fall in relief. She feels as if the weight of the world has been lifted off her shoulders, causing her to let out a rather huge and not-so-subtle sigh of relief.
"What's wrong?" of course, this reaction does not go unnoticed by the boy. He's wondering why she's sighing.
"N-No, it's nothing." She manages to breathe out with hints of joy and happiness, but she is careful not to let them really show. "An acquaintance?" she does not know why she asks him, but there's no denying the curiosity behind that question.
"Yes." Naruto replies with his cool and stoic voice. "It's nothing for you to be concerned about, though." He mentally curses himself. Saying it like that will definitely make Yui curious about that phone call, as if it's not strange enough to receive a sudden phone call in the middle of the day during school while having lunch in the open in the first place.
"I… see." She expects that type of response from him. After all, it is not her business. But she'll be damned if she leaves the conversation to a dead end here. "S-So, Naruto, do you eat here often?" God, she wants to hit herself for asking such a stupid question!
That's got to be the lamest question and conversation starter ever! It's the same as asking someone how's the weather when the both of you know that it's fine!
While the girl is dealing with her inner turmoil, the boy is currently also dealing with one of his own.
How should he answer her? He does not eat here often, but that answer won't be anything if not underwhelming for her. Shizuka told him that he needs to be more… casual and relaxed when talking to classmates…
…does that include lying?
Immediately, every muscle in the boy's body tensed. He does not show it, but he is in fact gritting his teeth. His eyes are blinking repeatedly to shake off the uneasiness he's feeling.
Though it might seem… childish and naïve of him to admit this… he really hates lying. The concept and the existence of lies itself, to be more exact.
But most of all, he hates it when he has to lie in order to do good. An oxymoron, right, but it's something more along the lines of necessity. Don't get him wrong, he's done a lot of horrible things, things that most people will definitely consider worse than lying. But… that's exactly what makes lying so damn annoying. It's the easiest form of sin, yet it's considered to be the 'smallest' or the least bad one.
So, he has no choice but to be boring here.
"No. I just wanted a change of scenery."
"I see…" Yui's glad that, at least, the conversation's still going. "Where do you u-usually eat, then?" why is she asking these questions?!
"At the roof." He pauses. "If not the cafeteria sometimes."
"Oh." She's going to make a mental note of that… aaaand save! "And do you usually eat bread and milk only?" this time, she's not hiding her curiosity. She's been wondering, but, does Naruto not cook for himself?
"Most of the time, yes. But… I do fancy myself some ramen…" For some reason he cannot explain, he feels a little bit embarrassed to admit that, as shown by the faint flushing of his cheeks.
Yui blinks, noticing the thin and almost-invisible redness dusting the taller boy's cheeks. What was that?! That was so cute! That was dangerous for her heart, who knows that Naruto can be cute? Is this what those otaku guys in her class call Gap Moe? If so, then she wants-no, she needs to see more of this from the blonde!
"Ahahaha… guhehehe… izzatso…?" seeing such a reaction from him has made her laughing all weird and heart giddy. Why oh why is she so weird? After a moment of self-praising for managing to see Naruto make such a face, Yui sees a familiar streak of silver from the corner of her eyes.
"Sai-chan!"
Naruto instinctively turns his back, seeing who this 'Sai-chan' is.
The soft pitter patters of running shoes gradually increases in decibels, its rhythm perfectly timed with the soft yet equally masculine steps of a short, silver haired individual dressed in clothing with a majority of green. It takes several more short seconds of examination for Naruto to realize that that is in fact the school's tracksuit uniform issued to students. He has one, but he just doesn't use it often. The newcomer then walks over to Yui, giving her a wave that is accompanied with a small smile.
'A girl… no…' his eyes may have deceived him for the first ten seconds, but a careful and quick look at the person's throat does wonders in revealing several things.
"Ah, Naruto-san, a pleasure to meet you." the silver haired individual bows in acknowledgement of his presence, one that is done out of pleasantries and politeness. Maybe respect, too. "I saw your match the other day and I knew it, you're a really sporty person aren't you?"
Naruto blinks several times, indicating confusion. Is it really something to be excited about? How does that revelation excite a person in the first place? It seems that this… Sai-chan… is excited, as proven from how wide the smile on his cheeks is stretched and the intensity of vibrant glow in his eyes. It has come to a point where Naruto is feeling rather uneasy about this. He's never handled anything like this in his life.
"Uhm… I see…" he can only utter those words lamely, yes, even he considers himself lame. "Thank you?" it becomes a question, rather than an actual way of saying gratitude.
"Eh, Naruto, you don't know Sai-chan?" Yui buts into the conversation, creating a new kind of voice and topic. "But we're all in the same class though!"
Ignoring Yui's expressive display of surprise and reaction to Naruto's obliviousness, the blonde haired foreigner shrugs his broad shoulders, not the least guilty about it. "Hm…" nothing he can say here, really.
"Ahahaha…" fidgeting, almost as if he's some sort of child caught for eating the last cookie in the jar, the shortest of the three mutters out shyly and guiltily, "That's… my fault, actually…"
"Eh?" Yui is very vocal in voicing her surprise.
"Uh… eh… I was… nervous... ehehe…"
The simile of the silver haired youth as compared to a child who's been caught eating the last cookie in the jar is now even more convincing. He's not only fidgeting on his spot, but his fingers are intertwined, moving in a particular way that reminds Naruto of that one time when his co-worker had to wait for confirmation from mission command before engaging assault on an unnamed resistance camp headquartered on the outskirts of Baghdad.
"R-Right!" the pink haired girl bursts in agreement. "When Naruto first transferred I was kind'a nervous, cuz, I've never experienced being in the same class as a foreign transfer student before in my middle school, so like, it was kind'a exciting at the same time!" for someone who's nervous, she's awfully cheerful and happy now.
"Right?" the silver haired and tracksuit wearing student chuckles in amusement after seeing his pink haired friend's exuberant attitude leaking out into her explanation. "Ah, of course, it's not like I meant anything offensive when I said that I was nervous, Naruto-san. It's just that… well… ehehe…"
Naruto shakes his head in a robot-like manner. "None taken." If he remembers correctly… his first impression in this school was not the best and it certainly wasn't the cleanest, but it must've been the bloodiest and uncanniest impression that anyone has ever managed to leave behind in this school. But he's not going to be proud of that. "It's also a mistake of ignorance in my part for not noticing you…"
"Ah, that's right!" instead of the silver haired person himself, it's Yui who exclaims loudly. "This is Totsuka Saika. Or Sai-chan as I'd like to call him!" then, she giggles, a teasing expression forming on her face. "Despite the cute and feminine face, Sai-chan's actually a boy you know?"
"Oh, I know that."
"Right, surprised, ri-wait, what?!" the girl does a double take, blinking. "You know that?"
It seems that the surprised is not exclusive to Yui only, as the silver haired boy himself is showing cases of surprise, as indicated by the large eyes and slightly agape mouth. "How do you figure it out, Naruto?" Yui asks, wanting to know how her blonde classmate has managed to avoid making the same mistake that ninety nine percent of people that has met Saika has made.
The blonde raises a pointer to his own neck in a very calm and casual manner. "He has an Adam's apple. All boys have it." thank God that he only has to check that part. "But… I was almost fooled. Almost."
Hearing the continuity of his answer causes both Saika and Yui to chuckle.
"But Yui, I never know that you're so close with Naruto-san."
"Pyaaa!"
What is supposed to be an innocent statement elicits a rather… shameless display and response from the pink haired girl. As soon as Saika finishes speaking, Yui jumps several feet into the air like a startled cat… or dog in her case, before landing on her two feet again. Like before, her face is as red as strawberry with metaphorical steams gushing out of her ears. If this is some sort of Disney animated series, Naruto is sure that the girl will have be blowing out steam from her ears.
"I-Eh, it's eh… e-e-ehm… uh…!" similar to a ball of yarn, Yui's speech is tangled and compiled into one vocal nonsense that reflects nothing more than her embarrassment, as if her face hasn't done that well enough. Her reaction draws out mused chuckling from Saika yet natural indifference from the blonde.
In the blonde's defense, he's a little bit clueless as to why Yui's reacting the way she is. Feelings and personal thoughts aside, is being teased really that embarrassing? As a child back then, his master often teased him about making blunders – before correcting him for his behavior at least – in the field.
One time, the old Cyclops even joked about him being thrown into a concentration camp if he's caught snooping around the outskirts of Siberia.
That is a form of teasing… right?
In any case, he'll just have to get used to seeing other people get teased before he himself can experience it.
'I'm here…'
He's here, at the exact location where his contact told him to be at earlier during school from the phone call that disturbed his conversation with one Yuigahama Yui. 'here' is actually an unnamed bar, a place where a normal high school student like him should not be in without any adult company… then again, he is not a normal high school student. It's thanks to his foreign genes that no one's giving him suspicious looks, to them, he's just a gaijin in a Japanese Izakaya.
The place is jam packed with people. Most of them office workers who have had a day's worth of work fatigue piling up inside the bodies, only released by consuming the draft beers and fried foods that they order. His eyes quickly but effectively scanned the restaurant-sized-bar in a matter of quick seconds. Nothing stands out. That means his contact is not here yet or he's not in this part of the bar. There's a stairs leading upstairs to the second floor, and a small hallway near the bathroom entrance leading to the private rooms that are usually reserved for customers coming in groups.
His phone buzzes, alarming him and snapping him off his trance at the same time. Swiftly, his hands dig inside his pants' pocket, retrieving the tool for him to see. The screen shows a text with the sender ID Nara typed in black font.
I'm upstairs.
Naruto is expecting a concise and short reply… for some reason.
"Ah, excuse me, may I help you, customer-san?" one brave waitress, properly dressed in her service uniform, approaches him and addresses him politely.
"I'm with a friend. He's upstairs." Is Naruto's fluent and casual reply.
"Understood, please, do not hesitate to press the buzzer if you want to order something." Giving one last polite bow, the waitress leaves him be, quickly tending to the other customers present downstairs.
Without making any room for waiting, the blonde haired teen walks upstairs to the second floor. The floor above is quieter as there are less people upstairs. Naturally, this is to be expected, especially when it's quicker to order and receive your orders when you're not somewhere far from the kitchen. But the almost trademarked Japanese work efficiency minimizes the chance of any blunder or errs from happening. This time, it takes him no more than a second to spot the already familiar pineapple-shaped hair and rugged windbreaker draped over a very sleepy individual, sleeping on the corner spot of the room.
Wordlessly, he makes his way to the table, sitting down quietly. He sits down, waiting several seconds, but his contact isn't awake yet. He taps the wooden table's surface and it works.
"Wha… eh, ugh… eh… oh, it's you."
Naruto rolls his eyes. Crossing his arms, the blonde is definitely proving his point clear; he's not here for pointless chatter.
"Yeah… wait a moment…" the black haired boy yawns loudly, as if he's departing away from sleepiness. "Hm… were you followed?"
"Do I look like an amateur to you?"
This time, Shikamaru blinks. He isn't expecting a snarky response from the blonde. That sure wakes him up. "Right. Sorry, my mistake." He coughs, clearing his throat. "I'm here to give you your first assignment."
Naruto says nothing. His silence is an indication for Shikamaru to continue his explanation.
"Recently, we've been monitoring LeafCorp's overall activity in Japan. Now before I proceed further, you'll need to learn about what LeafCorp's been doing in the past three months or so. Basically, they've been reaching out to other big groups, both private and public alike, and offering them contracts. Yes, you heard me right; LeafCorp's the one who's offering the contracts. Of course, this is because they have very little influence here in Japan, so they'll need to make friends quick and lots of them. These contracts mostly include security and logistics, but instead of asking for money as payment, LeafCorp's asking these companies to form a partnership with them."
"…" the blonde stays silent, before eventually opening his mouth to speak. "Say, I'm not much of a politician as much as I'm a soldier. Care to tell me why LeafCorp, a Private Military Company, is messing around in Japan?" he pauses again. "And why are they offering contracts to these people if they can just use their seemingly endless budget to establish a foundation here?"
"…well, see it like this: they want to leave an impression on the local businesses, basically, they were testing the waters so to speak. And, anyway, this partnership is allegedly their way of cooperating while simultaneously expanding their influence within the local market… but that's bullshit. Well, it's true, but it's not entirely for that reason alone. We know that LeafCorp is paying people to be their Watchdogs, moles, informants, whistleblowers or whatever inside these organizations or if not they're sending their own people to infiltrate and plant their seeds of fuck uppery for whatever future schemes that they're plotting. Or worse, and we're all betting that this is probably the real case, they want to establish a private military market in Asia, with Japan being the continent's headquarter."
Japan, while not as strategic as a location when compared to India – with its long western coastline exposed to the maritime traffic from the entire gulf or Arab world and Eastern Africa –, Turkey – a country that is literally stuck between the Middle East, Europe and Central Asia – or even Switzerland – not so much on strategy rather than safety as it sits on top of Europe's tallest mountain ranges -, is a very fancy playground when it comes to underground business, a market range that will definitely benefit LeafCorp. It's no secret that the Japs love their politics, and those who loves politics but refuses to play by government rules will find themselves as members of a Ninkyo Dantai.
But more to that later.
Before Shikamaru can continue, Naruto speaks out, with narrowed eyes. "You lot are… awfully very informed about this…"
"Hey, we've been against LeafCorp for a very long time now, way before they arrived in Japan. That and…" Shikamaru struggles. "…we have very skilled agents working for us in stuffs like gathering intel. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said when it comes to defending ourselves… but anyway, yeah, we've endured through every inch of nails in order to get this far… and then you came." The not-so-very motivated boy gestures to the blonde with a wave of his hand, almost as if he's showing a magic trick.
"Both our potential savior and destroyer."
Naruto snorts.
"In any case, that brings us to the 'now' of the topic: you see, all of these companies, businesses that LeafCorp's been reaching out to, are nothing compared to their – God forbids it – potential future partner:"
The boy pauses, breathing in.
"The Yukinoshita Conglomerate."
…
"…Пиздец пришел…"
Don't get excited, this is not me coming back and making consistent updates on this story or even Immortal.
I'm still on hiatus, don't get me wrong, but I've found myself enough free time over the weekend to write this chapter. This is nothing big, this chapter isn't big and this isn't me rising up from sleep to work more on my stories. Consider this as those moments when you have to cut sleep in order to take a bathroom break or something…
…or tea breaks, dammit, need to buy me more leaves.
My weird analogies and lack of tea leaves aside, the latter being very dire, I hope that all of you will take this chapter as a sign that I'm not dead… yet not quite alive.
Until then.