Intuition is a suspension of logic due to impatience.
-Rita Mae Brown
Chapter 32: Suspension of Logic
A frown creased Shikaku's forehead. How had Shikamaru found out about the files in his desk? He had been sure to lock the drawer whenever he left it. As a matter of fact, why had Shikamaru been probing in his office anyways? Shikamaru had always been a curious child, but rarely did he venture out to discover things unless he was pressed to. It wasn't consistent with Shikamaru's nature. "May I ask why you happen to know such a thing?"
Shikamaru gave a careless shrug. "Things just happened. You know how it goes." Shikaku disagreed. He didn't knowhow it went. What else could Shikamaru have been snooping for in his office? Could the search have been a direct search for what was in the drawer? Shikaku slid a hand under his desk and into the darkness. Until Shikamaru gave him positive or negative confirmation, Shikaku had to be prepared to snag his son in a jutsu.
"Were you ever going to tell me? Were you ever going to tell anyone?" Shikamaru crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall. His eyes were cold like ice as he stared at his father. He noticed his father hide a hand under the desk and clenched his under his arms.
"I wasn't planning on it." Shikaku crossed his legs. "It isn't something that you have to be involved in. I was planning on getting you and Yoshino out of here before it escalated too far. I was hoping you would understand afterwards, but it seems I don't have to worry about that now." Shikaku gave a long and drawn out sigh before mumbling, "I get rid of one worry and get three more in exchange."
"And I thought mother was the only troublesome one here," Shikamaru said with a chuckle. "Were you really expecting me to be that stupid? Mother always said I inherited my 'good' looks from her and my 'pesky' brain from you. I would never let you just trick me like that."
"I didn't think you were that stupid. I just assumed that I was that smart." Shikaku hated how he felt similar to when he was a child and his mother had caught him skipping work. "So? What are you going to do now with this discovery? You realize that I was hiding it for a reason, don't you?" Shikaku didn't want to think that Shikamaru was a threat, but he wasn't in the position to assume anything at this time. If he had to disable his son to remove him from the playing field, he would. There could be no liabilities in this mission.
"Of course I realize that. The purpose of hiding something is normally to prevent people from seeing it." Shikamaru quipped. "But I won't tell anyone that doesn't already know aboutit."
"That's quite a few people, Shikamaru. There are some people, as you should know, that should not have their hands on this information," Shikaku replied, eyeing his son carefully. Shikamaru's body was relatively lax against the wall. He didn't look like he was prepared to spring into action. That probably meant that Shikamaru didn't consider him a threat, but for what reason did he assume that?
"Indeed because knowledge is power. Knowledge in the wrong hands could lead to... troublesome things. I'm surprised that you didn't protect that any better than you did. Think of me as being the test subject so you can better protect that bit of knowledge." Shikamaru smirked as he stared at his father. Shikaku's eyes bore back into him and neither Nara stood down. A minute passed before Shikaku leaned back and gave a loud laugh that echoed off the walls of the empty house.
"I am glad that you are on my side, Shikamaru." Shikaku pulled his hand out from under the desk and leaned on the arm of his chair. "Couldn't you have told me in a less troublesome way though?"
"It wouldn't have been as interesting if I did it that way." Shikamaru said with a raised eyebrow. A small smile spread across his face. "I'm glad that I won't have to face you quite yet. You would have been the only enemy that I am truly afraid of."
"Glad to know that you haven't gotten cocky yet." Shikaku lurched up from his chair and walked over to Shikamaru. The two men hugged before Shikaku pulled away. "Now it appears we have some talking to do."
"Yes, indeed we do."
-TSUME-
The straw dummy twisted to the side as the staff slammed into it. Tenten twirled the staff in her hands before striking again, sending a spray of straw out of the dummy. She grunted as she continued attacking the doll, venting out her frustrations. The sun glowed orange as it crawled back under the horizon. Tenten knew it was getting it late and it was probably a good time for her to head back home now, but something kept her there.
Maybe it was the desperation. Tenten heaved in rasping breaths as she leaned on the staff. Ever since she heard about the rebellion, a little voice whispered in her head telling her that she wasn't strong enough. If an entire rebel group had decided that Neji had to be killed, then there was no way she would be able to defeat them all right now. Shehadto avenge Neji, but she wasn't strong enough right now.
The air above her shoulder shifted, and Tenten instinctively whirled around and struck out at the newcomer. Gai snapped out a hand and caught the staff. Tenten started before loosening her hold on the staff. "Sorry, Gai-sensei. I should have been more careful." Gai let go of the wooden staff, and Tenten let it rest at her side. She shook her head vigorously to clear her mind before she asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for you, Tenten-chan. It's getting late." Gai put a hand on Tenten's shoulder and looked at her seriously, "It's very youthful to train, but do not push yourself too far. You will not be up to your youthful self when you need it if you stretch yourself too far." Tenten knew that Gai was right. It just felt wrong though.
She wiped the sweat off her brow and hummed her acknowledgement. "All right, Gai-sensei. I'll try to take more breaks." It was a white lie. She would try to take more breaks, but that only meant she would take one or two more five minute breaks out of her multi-hour long regimen.
"Take care of yourself, Tenten-chan. Also, will you come with me for a moment? I did the... thing you asked me to." Tenten could see in the dimming light that Gai looked disconcerted with what he had done. She knew that it was probably a lot to ask him to do such a thing anyways, but she deeply appreciated it.
"Thank you, Gai-sensei. And lead the way." Gai nodded and shunshined away from the training grounds. Tenten gripped the staff in her hand before shooting after her sensei. They leaped from rooftop to rooftop as they made their way to Gai's dwelling. It was a simple apartment in the residential district. Not many ninja lived inside of the building since Gai was infamous for his loudness at times.
Gai dropped onto the balcony with Tenten arriving a few seconds after him. Gai slid open the screen and stepped into the room. The green jumpsuits that were littered around the room were quickly swept away as Gai stuffed them back into his closet. He waved for Tenten to follow him into the adjoining room where a small table stood. On top of the light table was a small tape recorder. Tenten assumed that the tape contained the information that she had set out to get.
Gai closed the shutters and walked over towards the table. He pulled on a small string and the light flickered on. He pulled out a chair and sat down and motioned for Tenten to do the same. "I recorded this last night and I thought you might want to hear it." Gai tapped the buttons on the machine and the recorder whirred. Gai waited a few moments before hitting the play button just before the end of the tape.
A crackling sound was heard as the recorder began playing. The sound of wood scratching on the ground was heard and Tenten leaned forward. "I see you took your time in arriving." That was Hiashi's voice! Tenten bit her lip tightly at the thought of the man. She stopped herself from glaring at the recording and eagerly listened for what they would say next.
"I had to check on something first." A grumbling voice said. The chair squeaked under the man's weight and Tenten scrunched her face up in confusion. Had she heard that man's voice before? It seemed familiar, but not that familiar. She looked over at Gai, and he lifted a hand up to his mouth. Tenten sighed before turning back to the tape. "The seating arrangement has already been completed. Here's a file detailing it."
The sound of riffling papers could be heard as Hiashi looked through the files. "I see. And you want men deployed to these positions? I will see about what can be done." A thump was heard, and Tenten jumped.
"Don't tell me about what might be done. Tell me about what will be done. You will put those men there. Don't lie to try and to make it seem as if you are doing something difficult. It should be easiest for you out of all people." The man scoffed.
"Hold your tongue. You might be high up, but don't forget your place. You still are not higher than me and you never will be." Hiashi snapped back in irritation. Tenten could hear the files being slammed down on the desk. A clinking sound was heard and her eyes widened. She could faintly hear Hiashi saying, "What is this?" His voice grew louder, and Tenten's stomach clenched. He had found the bug.
"A listening device, is it? Whoever is listening to this conversation, know that youwillbe found. Don't even think about running to the Hokage about this. You won't even have the chance to knock on the door before you find yourself dead." Hiashi's voice cut off as a loud buzz was heard, signaling that the bug was destroyed.
Gai leaned forward and tapped the stop button the player and looked over to Tenten. "These are dangerous waters you're entering, Tenten-chan."
Tenten stared at the recording, her mind a whirl of thoughts. What was she going to do now?
-TSUME-
"The great toad sage, Jiraiya. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Hayama Shirakumo." Shirakumo inclined his head slightly towards the white haired man. Jiraiya detected a hint of sarcasm in Shirakumo's voice, but tried to ignore it.
"It's nice to meet you too. I assume Hiruzen-sensei already told you about why I am here?" Jiraiya asked lightly. His mind was quickly processing all the information he knew about Shirakumo. The man was obviously a wind affinity. Jiraiya assumed he used jutsu that required his two longest fingers because of the small scars around the adjoining fingers. There wasn't any other affinity that would cause scars that looked like that.
There was a slight favoritism towards the right leg which led Jiraiya to believe that Shirakumo had an injury of some sort on the left limb. It was well concealed though. It was only fitting since he was a jounin after all. Shirakumo crossed his arms over his chest and looked back at the inquisitive spy master. Shirakumo didn't like him much. He seemed too curious, and it was curiosity that killed the cat. "Yes, he did. Do you want to check the seal first? I don't want to waste your time."
Jiraiya laughed jollily before saying, "No, no. I'll watch for a bit. I need to see how he responds to using chakra. Training will be just perfect for that. You have no problem with that arrangement, do you?" Jiraiya placed a hand on Shirakumo's shoulder and noticed how the man shifted uncomfortably under it. "Do you?"
"Of course not," Shirakumo replied quickly, brushing off Jiraiya's hands. "Just refrain from interfering if you can. I need to train Naruto-san for the chuunin exam finals and distractions are unwelcome right now." Jiraiya nodded and stepped away from the younger man. Jiraiya quickly made a mental note to learn more about this 'Hayama Shirakumo'. Naruto needed to be watched over carefully, and there was no way Jiraiya would let an unknown character handle him.
The air was cold between them as they waited for Naruto to arrive. A few minutes later, the blonde appeared. Naruto sprinted down the dirt path as he rushed to where the two men were standing. He skidded to a stop in front of the pair and gave a mock salute. "Sorry I'm late, Shirakumo-sensei!" Jiraiya noticed that Naruto didn't even look winded as he brushed off the dust that had accumulated on his clothes. As Naruto bent over, Jiraiya let a sad smile cross his face. Naruto really did look like his parents.
As soon as Naruto stood up again, the sadness in his face disappeared, and Jiraiya gave a warm smile. "Hey, kiddo. My name is Jiraiya, the great toad sage! I'm here to watch you as you train, and then I'll talk to you a bit about some ways to improve. You should be honored to get my help, kiddo!"
Naruto twitched in annoyance. "My name isn't kiddo. It's Uzumaki Naruto, so say it right!" He stamped his foot in annoyance. In his rage, he missed the way Jiraiya started as he stomped his foot.
Something in Jiraiya's chest clenched. The way Naruto acted was so like Kushina. He could remember how Kushina always used to stomp her foot whenever Minato acted like an idiot as if it were yesterday. "Right, right. Whatever you say, kiddo." Naruto groaned and turned towards Shirakumo.
"Why is he here anyways?" He pointed an accusing finger at Jiraiya who whistled innocently. Shirakumo rubbed his forehead. The sage's mere presence was enough to distract the boy. He only hoped that Naruto could get it under control soon.
"He's here to watch you, Naruto-san. Jiraiya-san may also want to talk to you after we finish our training, but do not let him distract you. I need you to keep your focus during our training. I am going to teach you a new jutsu called theFuton: Daitoppa," Shirakumo said. "Come with me, and I'll demonstrate it for you."
"Yes, sir!" Naruto nodded and ran after Shirakumo as his sensei walked away towards the center of the field.
-TSUME-
The wind blew his white hair as he stood atop the red shingled rooftop. Kakashi watched from above as Naruto watched Shirakumo with absorbed interest. A part of him felt conflicted. He loathed the blonde demon for taking a form so similar to his beloved sensei, but... His eyes drifted over to where his two male genin were squabbling in the nearby training field. He had to admit that the demon boy had a much more preferable temperament in comparison to his own genin.
Watching Naruto during the games had made him wonder. Was Naruto really a demon? His own genin seemed more demon-like than the Uzumaki. Kakashi crouched down on the rooftop and flicked through hand signals. A moment later, a brown pug appeared in a puff of white smoke. The small dog saluted at Kakashi in his ninja uniform and glanced around the rooftops. "What do you need, Kakashi?" Pakkun asked.
"Someone to talk to. Sit down." Pakkun sat down beside Kakashi and watched the genin scattered about the various training grounds.
"They're really something, aren't they? You used to be energetic like that one over there." Kakashi raised a brow and followed the direction of Pakkun's paw. The pug was pointing past Kakashi's own genin and towards Naruto who was furiously trying to create theFuton: Daitoppa, but was clearly failing. Kakashi sighed.
"I did, didn't I? If only it was possible to be that way now." Kakashi remembered his own genin days when Minato, Rin, and Obito were still alive. Things had been very different back then. The sound of his brawling genin faded away as he watched the blonde genin training. If only Naruto had been someone else, then maybe the two of them could have gotten along. Kakashi looked away from Naruto. Whenever the boy turned towards the building, all Kakashi could see was Minato's face. Seeing a face like that... It reminded him too much of what he had lost. It was a silly reason to loathe the boy, but a reason it was.
"You can head back now, Pakkun. It has been 59 minutes since I told them to arrive. I need to keep on schedule you know." Kakashi smiled slightly underneath his mask, causing his summon to shake his head.
"I'll never understand why you're so obstinate in arriving exactly an hour late all the time," Pakkun said before disappearing.
As the summon vanished, Kakashi sighed and whispered, "That's for only me to know." He looked back towards his genin and shunshined towards them, landing just before them. Kakashi caught Kiba's fist as it was flying towards Sasuke and sent a kick at the Uchiha that was running towards Kiba with a kunai extended. "And for what reason do I have the honor of breaking you two apart?Again." Kakashi's voice dropped and the two genin flinched slightly. Kiba was the first to regain himself.
"It's all that jerk's fault! He nearly killed Akamaru in the exams!" Kiba yelled angrily, baring his teeth at Sasuke. The black haired boy rolled his eyes and got up from the ground. He brushed himself off daintily before smirking at Kiba.
"You're being such a little girl. What's next? Are you going to break down and cry when I tell you that I don't care? You're so much like that little pink weakling." Sasuke sneered as Kiba tried to pull himself out of Kakashi's grip.
"You'll pay for that, Uchiha! No one hurts Akamaru and gets away with it!" Kakashi gripped Kiba's hand tightly and pulled him into a neck hold. A dull pounding started in his head. Kakashi just knew by the end of the day he would have yet another headache. These headaches really were putting a damper on his mood. He hadn't even been able to reach Icha Icha for a few months because he felt ill whenever he looked at printed text. Kakashi felt willing to do anything that could get him a different batch of genin. If only Sasuke didn't have the sharingan, then Kakashi wouldn't be stuck with the pretentious brat.
"Well, this is unexpected." A feminine voice drawled. Kei held her leather notebook to her chest as she walked up to where the three ninja were clustered. "I have to admit; I thought ninja were supposed to have control over their emotions. It looks like secretive is no longer part of ninja's definition."
Sasuke growled at the new arrival and snapped, "Get out of here. You're just interrupting our training. I'm sure you don't know what that looks like. Girls like you should just pick up and go home!" Sasuke hated being made fun of. He hated being made fun of by weaklings even more.
"Calm down, Uchiha-san. Shimuzu-san is under my tutelage with regards to affinity training. I'll give her a lesson now and be right back." Kakashi dropped Kiba to the ground, causing the boy to cough for air. Maybe he had been holding the boy a little too high up.
"Che. I don't need your help anyways. I'm just fighting against more genin anyways." Sasuke kicked the ground violently before storming across the field. Kakashi rubbed his forehead, trying to calm himself. If he got irritated, then it would only make his headache worse than it already was.
"I'll deal with him in a bit." Kakashi said as he fumbled in the pack at his side. He withdrew a small scroll before tossing it to Kei. She swiped for the scroll and messily caught it in her arms. Kei sent a chilling glare at Kakashi. "All the instructions are in there.Shujutsu: Suishu no Jutsuisn't particularly easy to learn, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. I'll check back on you in an hour or two." Kakashi looked over to Sasuke who was storming away into the trees. "I need to make sure he doesn't get lost."
"Ah." Kei glanced over towards the proud heir and said, "I think I understand." She brushed her hair out of her face before sitting down on the ground to read the scroll. Kakashi nodded towards Kei and Kiba before shunshining after Sasuke. The girl was a brat in more ways than one, but there was at least one thing she had over Sasuke. She didn't have a violent hatred of sitting in one spot.
-TSUME-
"Dull." Anko bit the dango off of the stick before throwing it at the innocent tree. The stick embedded into the wood beside the dozen other sticks that had suffered the same fate. "Boring." Another stick. Anko reached down to the box beside her for another dango stick, but felt nothing. Anko groaned and whacked her head back against the tree. "Where are they anyways? I've been here for nearly five minutes already!"
"Five minutes isn't that long you know." Anko jolted forward at the sudden voice. She looked around wildly before slamming her palm into her forehead.
"How could I have missed such an obvious thing," Anko groaned. "I knew that this training field only had one tree." Yamato stepped out from behind the tree that bore a startling resemblance to a porcupine. His face was empty as he walked over to where Anko way. The purple haired jounin stood up from her place on the ground and crossed her arms. "It's you, huh? Why did I get stuck with the boring one anyways? There are so many more interesting people, but I got you."
Yamato raised eye brow before commenting, "I prefer the term 'effective'. If that is boring to you, then so be it."
Anko grunted. "Your brain must be boxed in by that headband of yours. You have no sense of humor or creativity." Anko picked up the empty dango box and flipped the lid closed. "So, I assume you want to meet the little girlie, right?"
Yamato nodded silently. Anko twitched an eyebrow in annoyance. She told herself to calm down. If she didn't get a grip now, the next few weeks would be hell. "Follow me then." Her voice was noticeably strained as she moved to leave the training ground.
"You forgot something." Anko looked back over her shoulder at Yamato irritably. The ANBU ninja was pointing at the tree with dango spines. Anko inwardly cursed and stomped back towards the tree. She violently yanked the sticks out and dropped them back in the box.
"Are you happy now?" She growled.
"Very much so. Continue," Yamato replied.
Anko took in a calming breath. She turned away from the grounds and shunshined away to the rooftops. Yamato pursued her, and the two made their way across the roofs. The journey back to Anko's apartment was silent. Neither ninja really wanted to talk to the other. If there was one thing they could agree on, it would be that neither of them could wait for this mission to be over so they would never need to talk to each other again.
Anko suddenly swerved from her path and dropped down in front of her apartment building. Yamato diverted his course to land beside her, and Anko clicked her tongue. "I was hoping I would throw you off. How annoying." She opened the small door and headed into the building. After navigating down a few halls, she stopped at one of the end rooms. Anko fished a key out from her pocket and stuck it in the door.
The lock opened with a click, and the pair walked into the room. Anko locked the door behind them and motioned for Yamato to follow her. She slipped through the doorway and over towards a small bed. Yamato took the time to look around the building. The room was covered in sprawling graffiti. Various pictures were pinned to the wall and were covered with dango sticks. Yamato couldn't even tell who the faces belonged to anymore. Beside the pictures were various angry doodles of dead stick figures and profanities. Yamato frowned slightly. It was so... unprofessional.
"Yo, girlie. Wake up. Someone is here to see ya." Anko shook Sakura's shoulder, and it was only then that Yamato noticed the girl on the bed. Sakura had curled up into a ball, making it very hard for Anko to get a grip on her.
"Huh?" Sakura mumbled as she slowly woke up. She sat up after a few moments and rubbed her eyes. "What is it, Mitarashi-san?"
"Call me Anko. Mitarashi-san sounds old. Remember how the old man, er... Hokage, said that one of his men would be coming to help you out? He's here." Anko slung an arm around Yamato's shoulder and dragged him over to the bed, knowing that it would be too awkward if Yamato stood at a distance as if Sakura were the plague.
"I'm Yamato. I'm here to help you with the voices that are in your mind." Anko cringed. Yamato was being too blunt! Couldn't he be at all welcoming?
"How can you do that? No one else seemed to be able to help me," Sakura said sadly. Anko wanted to punch Yamato. Couldn't they have gotten through an entire introduction without making the pinkette depressed again?
"I've had a lot of training with... closing out voices." Yamato said blandly. The image of Danzo briefly crossed his mind, but he quickly cleared it away. He had to be focused on the mission. That was all that mattered at the moment. "Just know that I will be able to help you, definitely."
Author's Note: Team Tsume just passed 100,000 hits! I'm so excited that the story had gotten so far! ^^ I'm so happy that the story has been clicked on so many times! I hope you enjoy all of the future chapters as well!
Thanks Pokepikachu1 for betaing me again!