Chapter 14
The room was silent, no one dared to breathe. Two strange white haired people just came flying through the door and collided straight into Sumato-sensei. Within two minutes of meeting the new teacher all the students knew that he was the biggest hard ass ever. So, whoever just knocked him on his hard ass was going to get it so bad.
There was sudden movement within the pile and a smaller boy with shoulder length white hair came crawling out and stood on top of the other two men. He wore a loose fitting black shirt with a purple symbol that looked like a radiating orb on the back. His shorts grey with a purple stripe on the side. But, the most noticeable thing about the boy was not actually the boy himself. But rather the small white fox that sat on his shoulder. In that moment everyone realized this strange looking boy was actually…
"Seishin Tenzen is present and accounted for." The white haired boy said thrusting both of his fist into the air. The small fox gave a little yip, which made all of the girls 'AWW' because of the overwhelming amount of cutness. Suddenly the pile began to stir again.
"Get off of me, dammit." Sumato said pushing the larger white haired man off of him. "Who do you think you are barging in my classroom and…" Sumato lost his voice after realizing who it was that had broken into his class.
"Nice to see you again Suamato." Jiraiya said brushing off his clothes. "Good to see you haven't changed a bit. Except you look a lot less 'ANBU Captain' and more… well like a teacher a guess."
"That would make sense. Considering that is exactly what I am." Sumato said picking up the papers he had dropped from the collision. "Might I ask why you are here Jiraiya-sama?"
"Well I had to make sure my student's student got to class okay." Jiraiya said gesturing towards Tenzen .
"Ah yes. Seishin Tenzen. If you're quite done ruining my classroom, sit down!" Sumato said with all of anger in his voice at 'sit down'. Tenzen shuddered at his new teachers tone. It was definetly going to be weird having a hard ass sensei after Minato and Jiraiya. But, Tenzen knew how he could make this year fun.
"Yes sir Mr. Sumato-sensei." Tenzen said putting his hand up to his head to salute his teaching, mockingly of course.
"And Jiraiya-sama if you don't mind." Sumato said leading Jiraya to the door and practically pushing him out. "Now we were was I? Ah yes…"
Tenzen looked around the room a little bit before spotting an all to familiar face and heading towards it. Some of the girls gave him some weird looks as he passed by. It could have been because it had been nearly four years since he had a good haircut, and his hair was down into his face at several awkward ways. Maybe it was because he hadn't showered or bathed in four days. Either way he was not making a good first impression on the ladies. He would have to rectify himself tomorrow. The hot mess of a boy made it half way up the stairs until something felt wrong.
"Shiro, come on." Tenzen whispered down to his little friend, and come the pup did, but not the way Tenzen hoped. Instead of using the stairs, which was much too easy, Shiro opted to jump across the desk, getting the attention of all the girls in the class. They were reaching out to get just a little feel of the cute pups fur. With a role of his eyes Tenzen made the ram sign, and BAM!. Shiro popped back to his usual form and the 245 pound fox slammed down on the table, and a large crack was made in the wood.
All the student broke into laughter in the foxes expense. But, Sumato-sensei was anything but pleased. Tenzen could have sworn that the mans face turned red, and smoke came whistling out of his ears.
"Tenzen! Sit! Down! Now!" Sumato said pointing to the seat that Tenzen was heading for next to his friends. Then pointed at Shiro. "And henge it back to its smaller size."
"Okay okay I'm sorry." Tenzen said making the ram sign once more, causing Shiro to once again become the cute little fuzz ball.
After Shiro recovered from his fall, he hurried after Tenzen to be sure the troublemaker didn't try anything else. After Tenzen took his seat next to Asuma, and Shiro landed safely onto his shoulder, he looked to his best friend and analyzed him thoroughly.
"Did you gain weight?" Tenzen said cocking his head to one side like he was a confused pup. Asuma sighed loudly in loving annoyance of his best friend. He couldn't believe after all these years he would come back and ask that of all questions. To top it off, his arrival was completely out of character. The Tenzen he knew would never come crashing in the front door like a maniac. He would slither in without telling a soul and then acting like he had been there forever.
"No." Asuma said shaking his head at the stupidity of the question.
"Haircut?" the fox summoner said cocking his head the other way. This got another sigh out of Asuma and even a snicker from Kurenei. Asuma whipped his head around and glare at her.
"Don't encourage him." The Hokage's son said.
"I got it! You got your nose done." Tenzen said snapping his fingers in realization. This got an even louder giggle from Rin and Kurenei, even Kakashi had a smirk on. Well maybe, it was a Kakashi smirk where you don't see it you feel it. Having enough of Tenzen mocking him he whipped back around at him and just before he could yell at him…
"Alright children lets begin." Sumato said opening up a book to just the right page.
"We'll talk at lunch." Asuma said lowering into his seat in defeat. Kami only new he had a million questions for his friend.
Three Hours Later:
The bell rang loudly and all the kids jumped out of their seats to head out to lunch. Tenzen's head went flying up out from behind his book where he was taking a nice nap. He looked around frantically to try and figure out what the hell was happening. He looked worriedly over to his closest friend for answers.
"It's lunch." Asuma said shaking his head incredulously.
"After lunch we will be implementing the taijutsu style we just went over. So, meet at the sparring circle." Sumato said clapping his hands together to get rid of the chalk that was on his fingers. Tenzen didn't need to hear anymore. With a huge grin on his face and a big 'yaahoo',he jumped out of his chair and headed for the nearest door and out to the yard.
Asuma shook his head in disbelief his friend was truly ridiculous. He would have thought after all these years his friend would have matured if only slightly. But, he was still his best friend and he wouldn't want Tenzen to be any other way. So, after collecting his lunch, and hitting Obito's desk to wake him up, he headed outside to join all his friends. Also, he couldn't wait to question Tenzen to death.
Outside Tenzen was sitting in a nearby tree with his Shiro and enjoying being out of the classroom. Tenzen was swinging his legs back and forth, and singing a little tune. He was more than happy to be back in his village and back with his friends, but he had no idea the academy was so boring. Besides he already knew everything they were supposed to be learning. Bushins, stealth maneuvers, and the base form of taijutsu. All of which he learned before he even left for Seishingakure.
"Hey Tenzen! Come down here!" a sweet feminine voice said from the base of the tree. Looking down from his perch he first saw Rin, Anko, and Kurenei, all of which looked more… lets say mature. Coming up behind them was Gai, Kakashi, and even further back was Asuma and Obito.
"Hey guys! I'll be right down." Tenzen yelled then promptly pushed off his perched and twisted to land straight, then turned around to catch Shiro. Looking to his friends with he cheeky grin he rubbed the back of his head. "Whats up?"
"It's so good to see you again." Rin said hopping in joy.
"Yeah, were have you Tenzen?" Kurenei said putting her hands on her hips.
"Hehe, yeah about that…" Tenzen trailed off
"I'm sure you have trained hard and attained a new level of youthfulness!" Gai exclaimed.
"I'm sure Tenzen has gotten better Gai, why else would he have been gone for so long." Kakashi said in his indifferent voice.
"So what cool new moves did you learn Tenzen. I learned the Uchiha fireball technique. I bet you can't top that." Obito added in.
"Well…" Tenzen tried to say but was cut off.
"You better have gotten a whole lot better girly. Or else next time we fight I'll kick your ass." Anko said slapping Tenzen rather roughly on the back.
"Anytime tom boy. I'll beat you so bad Orochimaru-sama will rethink taking you as a student." Tenzen retorted.
"Shut your mouth girly, Orochimaru-sensei is teaching me everything he knows, and he is the greatest shinobi in the hidden leaf." Anko yelled back angrily.
"Hmph, in case you forgot, Orochimaru-sama chose to mentor me. I didn't have to force hi like you did." Tenzen said folding his arms and raising his chin in victory.
"Why you…" Anko murmured
"Cool it you two." Kakashi said fed up with his loud friends.
The two competitors glared at each other for a while longer until Asuma stepped forward which got his friends attention.
"Whats up Asuma?" Tenzen said holding his fist out for a fist bump. This was something the two would do very often, but it felt weird for Asuma since it had been so long. But, he couldn't help but smile at the nostalgia and complied his fist bump.
"Where have you been?" Asuma asked his smile slipping from the serious of the question. Tenzen couldn't help but let his smile slip as well, if only for a second before he regained his grin.
"Sorry, Jiraiya-sensei didn't think I was ready so he kept me for four years. Guess I'm not the fastest learner huh?" Tenzen said making light of the situation and trying to put a smile back on his best friends face.
"Anybody could tell you that." Asuma said putting a smile back on his face. How could he be mad after all? It's not as though it was Tenzen's choice to stay for four more years. "So are you going to be able to graduate with us?"
"Yep, the old man evaluated me this morning and said 'he is more than ready to be a genin.'" Tenzen replied. "But he said I still have pass this year."
"Well if you keep sleeping that isn't going to happen." Kurenei said getting a chuckle from all the kids.
"Hey! The only reason I was sleeping was because I already learned all this stuff!" Tenzen hollered.
"Tch more likely you are lazy." Kakashi said in a monotone voice.
"What you say Hatake?!" Tenzen said clutching his fist at his sides in anger. 'Lazy' was by far Tenzen's least favorite word. Just the thought of it made him grind his teeth.
"I was merely remarking that it wasn't logical for you to have already learned what we are learning in class because your sensei wouldn't have taught you what they knew you would learn in the academy." Kakashi responded trying to, if anything, irritate the other boy more.
"Who said my sensei had any logic?" Tenzen retorted with a snort. "Besides, I learned most of this stuff before I was Minato-sensei's student."
All the children started to remember way, way back to when they would play hide and seek. Tenzen would often Bushin and hide in two different places. One, being the bushin, was only a few feet away from the original. So, when the one seeking got close to original the bushin would take off in a different direction pulling the seeker away from the original. But, that wasn't Tenzen's only trick. While he was hiding he would set up numerous trap, but not for hiding, for seeking. So, not only did the other have to be wary of Tenzen, but also his several clever and often painful traps. This caused them to often slip up out of fear, or to be caught nice and easy with a carefully placed net.
All of them shuddered at the thought of being caught in Tenzen's wicked traps. Often resulting in a hit to the groin. But, then a thought came to them almost all at once. They were all now ninja in training, and it was the perfect test to see if Tenzen really was as good as he said. They all looked at one another to be sure they were all on the same page, then returned their gaze to the white haired boy. Asuma folded his arms across his chest and prepared to speak.
"Okay Tenzen, Hide and Seek today after class. He will meet at the edge of the forest right before the sun goes down." Asuma paused. "We will invite everyone. This is going to be all out no rules 'Ninja Hide and Seek' so prepare yourself with anything you'll need."
All the kids had a malicious look on their face. This was the perfect idea, they would finally get revenge on Tenzen for all the bee hives, shuriken, and even fiery explosions. They were now on even terms and they were going to take full advantage.
"Hmmm… You're on! Prepare yourselves because this time things are going to be… lets say interesting." Tenzen said rubbing his hands together in a evil scientist way. He was going show them a few tricks that Jiraiya-sensei taught him.
Three hours later
The bell rang once more and Tenzen gave a good stretch. He had actually stayed awake through the last part of class. Mostly because of Kakashi's comment, he didn't want to give anyone a reason to call him lazy. Even if learning about a proper kunai technique is hands down the most boring thing ever.
Before heading out he looked to Asuma who was talking to what looked like a Nara, Akamichi, Aburame, and an Inuzuka. He could really only guess because they looked exactly like they should. Meaning like everyone else in their clan. He was sure his friend was inviting them to the game of tag. This was a bit of a problem. Not naccasarily the Nara and Akamichi, but the Aburame and Inuzuka. Their clans tracking skills are the best in the village. Tenzen knew he would have to be on his A-game if he was going to outsmart all of them. But, he figured he would be all right as long as he had his wits about him and of course he had Shiro to track. He looked to his faithful companion and the small pup gave him a nod of understanding, which he returned.
"Hey Asuma. I'll see you tonight, I have to go catch up with Minato-sensei and Kushina-chan." Tenzen said with a wave of his hand.
"Alright don't be late, and no excuses if you eat too much ramen." Asuma replied.
"I have never once complained about the consumption of ramen." Tenzen said crossing his arms and scowling. He then turned right around and left the classroom.
Outside he saw a lot of parents picking up their kids. One in particular caught his eye.
"Hey old man. How's it going?" Tenzen asked the Hokage with a big cheeky grin. "You here to get Asuma?"
"That's right. How was your first day of school?" Hiruzen asked.
"Soooooooo Boooooring. Isn't there any way you can just make me genin so I don't have to sit through this hell?" Tenzen said slumping his shoulders.
"Sorry Tenzen but every ninja has to graduate from the academy before becoming a ninja." Sarutobi laughed through his teeth. He could understand the boys pain, especially considering how advanced the boy was. Damn Jiraiya teaching the boy more than he said.
"But Jiji, the Shodai never went to the academy and he's considered the greatest shinobi ever." Tenzen retorted. The aging hokage was a little shocked, the boys argument wasn't exactly wrong, but still.
"But, the Shodai Hokage was the one to establish the academy. Are you saying that the greatest shinobi of all time was wrong in his decision?" The Sandaime said with conviction.
"I guess not." Tenzen said in defeat. He supposed he had to trust that the Shodai and the Sandaime knew what they were doing. Just then out of the corner of his eye Tenzen saw an all too familiar red head standing next to a girly looking blonde.
"Hey Tenzen! Tenzen over here!" Kushina yelled waving her hand in the air. Minato just stood their with his arms crossed and a small smile on his face.
"I gotta go Jiji. Talk to ya later." Tenzen said walking away. Kushina's excitement only heightened, as Tenzen grew nearer. Boucing from one foot to the other like a child on Christmas morning. Tenzen really didn't know if it was because he was home, or because they were going to Ichiraku's.
"Ohmygod! You're finally home!" Kushina yelled as she brought the boy in roughly for a good squeeze. Putting him down she stared into his eyes with seriousness. "What did that perv teach you?"
"Oh come on Kushina. I'm sure Jiraiya-sensei taught him the same things he did me." Minato said shaking his.
"Yeah, and look how that turned out." Kushina snapped back. "Did he teach you anything dangerous?"
"Neeeee-ccchhhaaannn." Tenzen said annoyed by her overbearing tendencies.
"Don't give me that. I need to what that perv taught you. Now spill it." Kushina demanded only annoying Tenzen even more. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed Tenzen a lot. While they were staying at Seishingakure they became a sort of family. Always eating together, laughing together, and training together. He had become the little brother she never had, and she his older sister, and she took on herself to coddle Tenzen since Minato couldn't.
"Now why would you think I would teach that little Gaki anything cool?" a familiar voice said from behind the group. Turning around they all saw the long white mess of hair and the outdated attire.
"Hey Jiraiya-sensei." Minato said with a smile. "I'm surprised you are still here."
"Sensei thought I should stick around for a bit." Jiraiya said. "But, I told him no and now I'm just saying goodbye."
" Aw man well cya." Tenzen said with a little wave showing no sadness at his sensei's leaving.
"Don't be too sad now. I'll see you again." Jiraiya said ignoring Tenzen uncaring tone.
"I'm sure we will. Bye." Tenzen said his voice becoming more annoyed.
"No Tenzen I can't stay. Don't even try and make me." Jiraiya said putting the back of his hand on his forehead in a dramatic fashion. Tenzen didn't even dignify this show with a response. "I know Tenzen you're so crushed you're speech…"
"Leave already!" Kushina shouted fed up with the sannin's pathetic show. Jiraiya jumped from the sudden outburst and his face was scrunched up into a puppy dog pout. Tenzen folded his arms in irritation and looked away from the white haired baby. But, he was struggling against the the puppy like properties of his teachers face.
"Fine, maybe I'll miss you a little." Tenzen finally said fed up with Jiraiya's persistence.
"When will you be back sensei?" Minato asked
"It won't be for a while. I need to check in on all of my contacts." Jiraiya said regaining is composure. "So Tenzen make sure you keep up your training."
"Yeah Yeah." Tenzen said with a flick of his wrist. "Can we go to Ichiraku's now?"
"Sure Tenzen, well Jiraiya thanks again for watching over Tenzen. Even though I'm sure he picked up some nasty habits from you." Kushina said
"Hey I may be a super perv, but I know my boundaries." Jiraiya said. "Besides we couldn't leave Seishingakure, and there's not a whole lot of trouble to be had there."
"True, but still thanks sensei." Minato said with sincerity.
"No problem." Jiraiya said. "Well then I'm off. Take care of yourself Tenzen and when I get back expect a test to see how far you've come."
Tenzen nod in confirmation. He was a bit upset about Jiraiya's leaving, but the day he admitted it was the day hell froze over. As the three of them watched Jiraiya walk away Tenzen's stomach growled loudly and he clutched it.
"Can we please go to Ichiraku's?" Tenzen said hunched over in hunger pains. Kushina and Minato just laughed at the boys antics. Minato nodded sharply, and the three of them walked to get there ramen on.
End Chapter 14
Well there you go. Tenzen is home and his friends couldn't be happier. How will he prepare to challenge all his friends to Hide and Seek? Find out next time.