Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, was a lovely lady who was quite quick to point us to the guest room, where we set Kakashi down on a futon. The guy was completely out cold and Naruto was extremely tempted to pull down his mask, but didn't. Naruto wanted to find out in some different way that didn't involve him taking advantage of Kakashi's current unconscious state.
"That's very mature of you." If I didn't have a conscience, my curiosity would have immediately won out and made me pull down Kakashi's mask.
"Heehee, I guess I am-ttebayo!" Naruto grinned widely as he rubbed the back of his head.
Sasuke snorted as he continued to look over Kakashi, making sure everything was completely okay.
"So what's the diagnosis, Sasuke?" I hope it isn't anything too serious.
"Nothing too bad, but I don't think he'll be able to move for a week." Sasuke sighed. "It's best he just gets some rest."
"Ahh, that's good to hear!" Naruto laughed.
"I trust everything is okay?" Tsunami had come back to check on us.
"We're fine," Sasuke insisted. "Though, do you have a mirror and a pair of scissors?"
Tsunami blinked a few times, her attention immediately shifting over to me, most likely having noticed my recent haircut. "Give me some time and I'll see what I can find."
Tsunami left the room after saying that, leaving Naruto, Sasuke, and I alone with an unconscious Kakashi. A minute passed before Sasuke turned to me.
"Now that Kakashi is out of the way," he began, "Chōko, lift up your shirt."
Did I hear that right? "Excuse me?"
"You got hit pretty badly in the gut by that water clone!" Sasuke explained. "Now lift up your shirt so I can see if there is any visible damage!"
I stared blankly at Sasuke before lifting up my shirt to show Sasuke my stomach. There was a really nasty bruise where Zabuza's water clone had punched me. So that's why my stomach's been feeling a little tender… "For a minute, I was almost worried I lost you to puberty."
"Tch, as if I could ever see you in that way." Sasuke's hands glowed green as they hovered over my stomach. "You're not my type."
"Back at you." I might as well get that out of the way since Sasuke was the one to bring it up.
"Hey, hey…am I your type?" Naruto earned my bundled up scarf in his face for asking that question. "I was joking, dattebayo!"
"Joke sometime later when I'm not showing off my stomach to you guys—wow, your hands are cold!" I think I have goosebumps…
"Sorry!" Sasuke apologized. "Cold hands aside, you don't seem to be hurt too seriously."
That's good to hear… "Can I put my shirt down now?"
"Let me just heal your bruise first…can you lay down for me?" Sasuke asked. "It'd make my job a little easier."
"Sure…" Not like I have anything better to do with this bruise on my stomach—oh crap, I just felt it now! Oww…how did I not feel it like that before?
So as I lay back on the floor, my gaze currently focused on the ceiling as Sasuke healed the bruise on my stomach, I couldn't help but wonder how the hell did we managed to make it back alive after our encounter with Zabuza. It was at that moment a certain someone decided to wake up and ask a question.
"Is there something I'm interrupting?" Kakashi had woken up, his head turned to look at us with his right eye, his left eye currently covered by his hitai-ate. "Do I need to give you guys the talk?"
Oh hell no—once was enough! "No! What's wrong with you?!"
Kakashi just laughed, making it very obvious that he was deliberately messing with us. Typical of Kakashi to do immediately after regaining consciousness—it's not like he has anything better to do.
"I'm just healing her stomach!" Sasuke snapped. "Go back to sleep, Kakashi—you need to rest!"
Naruto nodded his head. "Yeah, listen to Sasuke-ttebayo!"
"You know, Tou-chan's gonna want to know why my hair is like this." Who's laughing now?!
"Oh, sorry about that…" Okay, now I feel like a bitch for making Kakashi feel bad… "Are you okay with it?"
"To be honest, I've been meaning to cut it after I got my braid stuck on that branch." I do not want to experience a repeat of that… "I just wasn't expecting that guy to cut it off like that…you almost done, Sasuke?"
"Just a little more and…done." Sasuke removed his hands off my stomach almost at once. "It isn't much, but it should take less time for it to completely heal."
I sat up and looked at my stomach. Sure enough, it was as Sasuke had said. The bruise had healed considerably enough for its dark coloring to lighten up a bit. The pain sure wasn't as bad as it had been before. "Thank you…"
"You're welcome." Sasuke nodded his head before turning to Naruto. "Now it's your turn, knucklehead."
"I'm fine-ttebayo!" Naruto insisted. "Worry more about yourself!"
"Yeah, you did get hurt, unlike Naruto…" Zabuza's water clone stepped on Sasuke's stomach. I'm worried if that did anything serious. "In fact, you kept Zabuza from hitting Naruto."
"Thank you for that-ttebayo!" Naruto grinned widely at Sasuke. "I owe you one!"
"No problem." Sasuke smiled at Naruto. "I guess I should worry about myself…"
"Anyways!" I decided to change the subject. "What's up with you, Kakashi-sensei? You look troubled."
"It's about what you said before that hunter-nin left with Zabuza." Ahh, so Kakashi's going to tell us that Zabuza is not dead!
"What about him?" Looks like Tazuna decided to join us. "You guys did a good job of defeating a strong ninja. We should be safe for a while."
"That's the problem," Kakashi said as he sat up in his futon. "Bodies are usually disposed of on site, and yet, what did the hunter-nin we saw do with the body?"
"He took the body with him!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Exactly." Kakashi sighed. "And Chōko made an excellent point about the hunter-nin's use of senbon."
"No way…" Sasuke looked as if he had seen a ghost. "You don't mean…"
"Shisui said that senbon have little killing power!" I'm never forgetting that tidbit Shisui told me on the day Mikoto chased his ass around the Uchiha compound before giving him a lecture about taking her senbon without her permission. "You need to have proper medical knowledge in order to get around senbon's minimal killing power since what they lack in power, they make up in accuracy."
"Just what are you guys talking about?" Tazuna was starting to appear nervous.
"What we're saying is that Zabuza is most likely alive," Kakashi explained. "Hunter-nin possess thorough knowledge of the body's structure. It's very likely that one could use that knowledge to kill a missing-nin with senbon. At the same time, they could also use it to put a person in a state of momentary death."
"Which is what that hunter-nin most likely did to Zabuza…" Sasuke remarked. "It's a possibility we can't ignore."
Naruto nodded his head. "Yeah, did you see how fast that guy left when Chōko-chan said what Shisui-nii told her about senbon?"
"Well, what are you going to do?" A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Tazuna's face.
Kakashi turned his attention to us, his Genin. "I'm going to train these three."
"You're not going to leave me in a tree after getting me stuck there, are you?" Please don't… "Ah!"
Kakashi brought his hand down on my head to ruffle my hair. "Now why would I do that to my little cute Genin?"
"Hmmm…" Don't try to play innocent, ya sadist! "Can we at least wait until I fix my hair?"
"And before that—get at least a couple hours of sleep!" Sasuke looked sternly at Kakashi. "Don't make me knock you out."
"Maa maa, I'll rest up!" Kakashi held up his hands in front of himself. "We'll start tomorrow, then… Though, let me say that you three have really improved a lot. I'm quite proud of you."
Naruto laughed as a small blush tinged his cheeks. "Heehee, thanks, sensei!"
"I got a mirror and scissors!" Tsunami probably picked the best of times to walk into the room. She walked over to me and handed me a mirror and a pair of scissors.
The first thing I did was look at myself in the mirror. Holy shit, my hair…it looks so weird seeing the braid gone. It's certainly fluffed up quite a lot, in the back, due to its current short length. Not to mention, the haircut Zabuza gave me was completely uneven. Uuurgh, it's going to take me months to even out my hair!
"Do you need any help?" Tsunami asked me.
"I'm fine!" I can handle this! I hope…
"Things are sure going to get interesting, dattebayo!" Naruto sure seems excited, while I'm just relieved everything turned out okay.
"No, it's not," an unexpected guest decided to join us in the form of a little boy with spiky black hair and dark eyes.
"Who the hell are you?!" Naruto was not one to hold his tongue when it came to little kids.
Of course, the little kid didn't seem too bothered with Naruto's reaction. Instead, he seemed more focused on Tazuna, who smiled widely at the little boy.
"Inari!" Tazuna exclaimed as he held out his arms. "Where were you?"
"I'm home, Jii-chan!" Inari dashed over to his grandfather and wrapped his arms around him in an embrace. A few moments passed before Inari focused his dark eyes on us. "Who are they?"
"Inari, say hello to the ninja that escorted your grandfather," Tsunami was calm, but with a stern tone.
"It's okay." Tazuna seemed happy to be reunited with his grandson. "Right, Inari?"
Inari continued staring at us for a minute before turning to Tsunami and saying, "Okaa-chan, they're going to die. There's no way a person can win by going against Gatou."
"Wow, way to be a pessimist." Sheesh, I don't need to hear a little kid say that—I said that out loud, didn't I? "Oops…I didn't mean to say that—sorry!"
"No, don't apologize-ttebayo!" Naruto exclaimed. "This brat needs to know what's up! Listen up! I'm going to be Hokage one day and for that to happen, that means I'm not allowed to give up, dattebayo!"
Sasuke nodded his head. "We've worked hard to get as far as we've gotten."
"We have had enough brushes with death to not go down so easily…" Me, especially…I died once because irony decided to make me its bitch when I walked down those stairs. I nearly died again thanks to Orochimaru deciding to throw a curve ball in what could be considered the point of normalization in which Itachi left the village. I'm not even going to mention how risky it was to even befriend Gaara before he gained a sense of stability. The fact is I've had enough experiences for me to have a stubborn hold on my life.
I plan on staying alive for a very long time and it'd be a very cold day in hell before I allow myself to die. Ahaha, I already know how difficult that's going to be in this world, but as I said before, I'm not going to go down so easily without a fight.
"Pfft, what are you—a hero?" Inari sounded rather cynical for a little kid—a civilian, at that. "If you don't want to die, then go. Leave and go home."
Inari turned and made his way over to the door.
"Where are you going, Inari?" Tazuna asked.
Inari slid open the door before looking back at his grandfather. "To look at the ocean from my room…"
Inari left the room after that and closed the door behind him, leaving a rather miffed Naruto and somewhat irritated Sasuke.
…
"Sorry," Tazuna apologized for his grandson. "The passing year's been very difficult on everyone in Wave."
"Tch, no kidding…" It takes a lot to make a little kid like Inari that cynical. And knowing the events that happened in canon, we have Gatou to blame for all of that. Seriously, that man needs to die and Naruto looks about ready to explode. "Naruto, don't do anything you might regret—"
"That little shit needs to learn a lesson, dattebayo!" Naruto ran out of the room after Inari, most likely to give the kid a piece of his mind.
I turned to Sasuke after that, the two of us staring at each other for a moment before sighing in exasperation. Sometimes, Naruto was a bit too much to handle.
"So…how good are you at tree walking?" Kakashi suddenly asked.
I made a face at Kakashi. "Really, you're going to ask me that question?"
You are asking this to the girl you keep making climb trees to fetch your kunai. The very same girl who keeps getting stuck in said trees, and is then left there for a good amount of time before being brought down—all for the sake of phasing her out of a fear of falling.
"I need an idea, since I'm quite aware Naruto has little to no skill in his tree-walking ability and I need to know how you two are, overall, for tomorrow's training session." Kakashi got straight to the point when he wanted to. "I'm moving Naruto onto the next level of chakra control training and I need someone to be there as his partner."
"Not it!" I was quick to say.
Sasuke looked about ready to jump me for that. "You know he's going to make a competition out of this between the two of us."
"Yeah…it'll motivate him better that way." Get it in your head, Sasuke! "That's how it works with you or are you still trying to forget that you learned the Oiroke no Jutsu from Naruto by sheer accident?"
Sasuke's face lit up with a luminescent blush when I mentioned that technique. "Sh-Shut up…"
"Tsun-tsun!" I laughed. "Not so funny when I use it against you, huh?"
"I said shut up!" Sasuke said before tackling me onto the floor.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm holding scissors, you idiot!" Holy crap, Sasuke!
THUD!
"Okay, oww…" Dude—you just landed on my stomach, you ass! "You are…so lucky…you didn't land on the scissors!"
"Or break the mirror," Kakashi added. "Hey, you two, behave—don't make get out Pakkun! I'll make sure he bites, too."
That was certainly enough for Sasuke and I to behave. Sasuke got off me and I was allowed a moment to tend to my currently throbbing stomach. Oww…right on my bruise, ya jerk.
"You just finished healing that…" I said as I gently rubbed my stomach.
"S-Sorry…let me heal that for you again." Sasuke looked guilty as he held out his hand. "And let me help you with your hair—please?"
Dammit, I'm a sucker when Sasuke looks at me with those eyes… He's like a puppy, sometimes.
…
When Naruto came back to us a few minutes later, he was looking rather somber. Probably because Naruto just saw Inari crying over his dead father. Then Naruto noticed Sasuke was fixing my hair, having finished completely healing the bruise on my stomach. Kakashi had taken to watching the scene before him, even though he should be sleeping. Tsunami had taken her leave to start fixing lunch, while Tazuna had left to his room to rest up.
Naruto didn't really say much and just sat down next to Sasuke and I. After ten minutes had passed, Sasuke ruffled my hair and placed the scissors down onto the floor. He held out the mirror in front of me and asked, "What do you think?"
When I looked into the mirror, I couldn't believe what I had seen. I stared at my image in the mirror before turning to my teammates and Jounin-sensei, and then back at the mirror. I ran my hand through my hair, feeling the fluffiness of the back of my hair.
I always had a vague idea that my hair appeared the way it did due to its long length. And really, it did. Without its long length to weigh it down, my hair's true nature revealed itself. I had spiky hair…and right now, the way it spiked up in the back, it reminded me a lot of Sasuke's hair, except fluffier.
"Maa, it looks like a baby bird!" Kakashi chuckled.
I made a face at Kakashi, owner of spiky silver hair. I blinked a few times before turning to Sasuke, owner of black hair that was spiky in the back, and then Naruto, owner of spiky blond hair. Spiky hair…holy shit, with my recent haircut, this entire team possesses spiky hair.
"We're all alike, dattebayo!" Naruto seemed to have noticed.
"Team Spiky Hair," I found myself saying as I made Sasuke lower the mirror. "Unbelievable…"
"I think it looks cute on you…" Sasuke remarked.
"I thought you liked long hair…" Or did something happen over the years?
"I do, but short hair is cute, too." Sasuke, you are a serious danger to me in regards to throwing me under the bus to your fangirls.
"How am I going to explain this hair to my parents and everyone else?" Seriously, nearly thirteen years of hair growth gone out the window due to a missing-nin taking interest in me.
"You did say you've been meaning to cut it, Chōko," Kakashi pointed out. "So there's that."
"And Sasuke did help in fixing it-ttebayo!" Naruto added.
I stared at my teammates and Jounin-sensei before sighing and shaking my head. "You guys are too much, sometimes…"
"But you still love us, right?" Naruto said before latching onto me in a tight hug. "Right?"
"Right…" These dorks are who I live for. "Now get off me, I need to clean up the hair on the floor. I don't think Tsunami-san will be happy to see this mess on her floor."
…
…
I grew attached to my hair by the next day, not really minding its spikiness, due to how fluffy it felt. It also helped that, with that braid out of the way, I could finally feel the air on the back of my neck. It was a very nice feeling.
Shortly after we had woken up, Kakashi, using a couple of crutches as supports, took all of us out into the middle of the forest to begin training. I was used as an example of sorts to climb a tree, though I think Kakashi was purposely trying to get me stuck as an incentive for Sasuke and Naruto to get me out of the tree. Sasuke's tree walking skills were not that bad, but definitely not good enough. It wasn't enough to get him far up a tree, as it did with me.
In terms of how I even started tree walking, I got a good start into it on my own out of sheer curiosity. Babysitting the Takemi triplets is what helped me perfect my tree walking skills, as Kakashi gave me a couple of tips when I had to get Kiku off the ceiling. It was a similar situation to tree walking, just on a different surface. Once I did move on to actual trees, everything got easier, it was just my fear of falling that was hindering my progress.
"The faster you master tree walking, the quicker we'll move onto water walking!" Kakashi shouted at Naruto and Sasuke, who were making good progress with tree climbing.
I was at Kakashi's side, currently sharpening my kunai. I had already taken out the extra sets of kunai and shuriken out of my sealing scroll and filled my empty holster with them. Right now, I was just making sure they were extra sharp. I like it when my kunai are extra sharp—it makes it easier to embed themselves deeper into a target and—oh crap, that was fucking morbid.
"Sensei?" I turned to Kakashi. "Should I worry about having morbid thoughts in regards to sharp kunai?"
"No, it's just a sign you're becoming a better kunoichi," Kakashi explained. "There's nothing wrong with prioritizing sharpness—even if the reasons are morbid as they could very well save your life."
Kakashi certainly has a point, as disturbing as it was… "Hey, hey…just what did happen after I passed out back then? Why was Zabuza so interested in me?"
Kakashi stayed silent for a moment before saying, "I'll tell you later when you're ready. For now, just focus on sharpening your kunai. If you're up to it, would you mind doing the same for my kunai?"
Well, I got nothing better to do until Sasuke and Naruto improve their tree climbing skills, so I guess I'll be good sharpening more kunai. "Sure…only if you tell me more about Zabuza."
"Maa, you're too curious for your own good." Despite what he said, Kakashi honestly seemed amused. "Let me start off by explaining how some things work in Kirigakure…"
And so I was informed about Bloody Mist and the rather brutal practice its Academy had where students would kill each other in order to graduate. It was thanks to Zabuza that the practice was discontinued after he massacred an entire graduating class of students. The only reason this practice even came to be about was due to the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, who, if my memory serves well, was a jinchuuriki and current container of the Sanbi, Isobu.
Thinking more about Yagura, isn't he currently being controlled by Tobi? Ehh, I'm just gonna push that aside as it really isn't something I can fix. I am in no position to fix something like that and even if I could, it's a bit of a death wish because fucking Tobi. Oh man, Kakashi doesn't need to know about him yet, uuuugh, that's gonna be a huge punch to the stomach years from now.
"So that's who Zabuza is…" I'm still not comfortable with the fact that he's interested in me…at all.
"As long as you stay by my side, I can guarantee your safety from him." Kakashi smiled at me, his right eye curved upwards.
"Is that why I'm still here?" And not guarding Tazuna, as Sakura would have done in canon? "If so, then who's going to guard Tazuna?"
"I've been contemplating on using Naruto's shadow clones, since he's capable of producing so much," Kakashi mused.
"Hey, aren't they capable of speeding up learning processes?" It's been a while since I've dabbled into this. "Like, when they disperse, any information or experience is passed onto the original?"
"Right you are…" Kakashi paused for a moment. "I ought to tell him about it."
"You probably should." It could definitely speed up the chakra control exercises and help Naruto gain better chakra control at a faster pace.
Sasuke, on the other hand…the fact that he was able to learn medical ninjutsu gave sign of his advanced chakra control. He just needed more practice with it in other areas, which is where the tree climbing comes into play.
…
As a result of Kakashi informing Naruto about how shadow clones work, Naruto was able to immensely improve his tree climbing, thus, in term, improving his chakra control by the late evening. Naruto still needed some more practice, but otherwise, he was doing rather well.
Sasuke had mastered tree climbing, but stayed with Naruto as means of providing incentive and competition to Naruto.
Both Naruto and Sasuke were rather exhausted, the two of them leaning on each other as we made our way back to Tazuna's house. Times like these, I wish I had a camera on me, but I'm pretty sure Naruto left Shisui's camera at home. This would have been a perfect picture to add to the album…
FLASH!
Kakashi? "Where did you get…is that Shisui's?"
"I brought it along—just in case," Kakashi said before storing the camera in a sealing scroll. "Oh, and when we return to Konoha, we are definitely taking another group photo—to accommodate to your new haircut."
"Gee, thanks," I said dryly.
…
Dinner was much livelier than yesterday, in the sense that we actually ate dinner. We pretty much slept for the rest of the day after cleaning up the mess on the floor. Our encounter with Zabuza left us rather exhausted and once the adrenaline wore off, we just conked out. We were out like a light, curled up on the floor around our favorite sensei. We woke up like that, by the way. The only difference was that Tsunami and Tazuna had covered us with a blanket, so that we weren't cold.
So dinner…food was good, and it definitely was better than the ration bars we had been eating all day. Don't get me wrong—it isn't as if my family's ration bars are bad (far from it), but it just feels good to actually eat real food. It also helps that Tsunami is a good cook.
Tazuna was certainly enjoying dinner, especially since it had been a while since he last ate with so many people. And Inari was being a brooding little boy, saying nothing and just focusing on his food. Every few moments or so, Inari would glance at Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and I. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but stayed quiet.
After dinner, we stuck around to drink tea. Naruto had passed out on table midway through his cup of tea and Sasuke was struggling to stay awake as he finished his tea. Kakashi was resisting the urge to poke Sasuke on the head as he kept drifting off, since the two sat next to each other. And I was just resting my head on the table, my eyes focused on a picture hanging from the wall. It was a picture of four people, three of them being Tsunami, Tazuna, and Inari. They all looked so happy, Inari, especially. The fourth person might have also been just as happy, but it was hard to say, since they were torn out of the picture.
I noticed that Inari was looking at it and, like a dumbass, I ended up asking a question about the picture, which ended up being a touchy subject with Inari. Inari left the room shortly afterwards, with his mother following him out, leaving the rest of us with Tazuna.
By now, Sasuke was wide-awake, but Naruto was still out cold, despite how loud Inari had been when he closed the door behind him and when Tsunami scolded her father. It was at that point that Tazuna started explaining to us how Inari had changed, as a result of an incident that happened to his father.
"Before I can tell you about the incident, I must first tell you about the man who was known as the hero of this island," Tazuna began.
"H-Hero?" Naruto mumbled as he finally regained consciousness. He yawned loudly before rubbing his eyes. "What's this about a hero-ttebayo?"
"Tazuna-san was just about to tell us a story, Naruto," Kakashi explained.
"Oh, okay…sorry if I interrupted you, dattebayo." Naruto yawned again, but stayed quiet after that.
It was from there that Tazuna told us of Kaiza, a fisherman who had come to this island, seeking his dream. He was also Inari's father figure and the hero of Wave. Inari had met Kaiza three years ago, when Kaiza had saved him from drowning. Since then, the two had become inseparable to the point that Kaiza eventually became part of Inari's family, having married Tsunami and becoming Inari's stepfather. Kaiza later became known as a hero after he had saved the village when the dam door opened up during a storm.
Naruto had seemed to enjoy this story, but it was probably because of the way he could relate to Inari. Inari and Kaiza weren't related by blood, but they were as close as father and son. Much like how Naruto was with Shisui and Sasuke.
Of course, all good things have to come to an end and for that, Gatou can be blamed. It was thanks to Gatou that Kaiza was publicly executed in front of his people. That happened right after Kaiza had his arms cut off, which was probably done purposely to render Kaiza's words useless. After all, how was Kaiza able to protect what was important to him without his arms?
"If something is truly important to you—even it's heart-breaking, even if it's sorrowful—you keep on trying and trying, even if you lose your life, you keep on protecting it with these two arms!"
It was certainly enough to break Inari's spirit and make him call his own father a liar. Gatou really needs to pay for what he's done. A kid like Inari doesn't deserve such a childhood—especially since he's a civilian. It just goes to show that being a civilian isn't as easy as it seems.
Naruto seemed ready to make a difference and leapt out of his chair, only to fall flat on his face.
Thud!
"Naruto, you need to rest up!" Sasuke exclaimed.
"If you're trying to train, don't," Kakashi said. "You used too much chakra. Any more and you'll die."
"C'mon, Naruto, it's better if you try when you're fully energize." I really don't want Naruto to hurt himself. "There's no point in exhausting yourself over an exercise to improve your chakra control if you can't even use what you learned to fight better."
"But I want to prove…that heroes do exist-ttebayo!" Naruto forced himself to stand.
Even though he was wobbling, Naruto still continued to stand. Sasuke stared at Naruto, somewhat annoyed with the fact that Naruto was being rather stubborn. Kakashi just sighed while I face palmed. There really was no point in changing Naruto's mind.
"Sleep first," Sasuke insisted. "We'll wake up early in the morning so we can continue to train."
Naruto made a face, but nodded his head. "Fine…"
"I guess that means we should go to sleep, then," Kakashi said as he grabbed his crutches and stood up. "It's time for bed, everyone!"
Seconds after saying that, Naruto passed out onto the floor. Sasuke and I turned to look at each other, sighing afterwards in slight exasperation.
Only Naruto would do something like this.
…
…
…
A/N So it's finals week, I'm pretty exhausted from filming, I still got a video to edit and a website to finish, as well as an exam to study for, but look! An update and I sure don't regret it! Yeah…I'm seriously exhausted, ahahah…
Of course, I always am, during finals week. So anyways, I don't think I ever mentioned that Chōko's actual hair type was spiky, because it actually is. It's just that it was so long, that it never really appeared that way until now, due to how short it is. It's the same way curly hair works, the longer it is, the more weighed down the curls are.
This is based on my experience with my hair, so using that, I applied it to Chōko's naturally spiky hair. So the longer it gets, the more weighed down the spikes are, and the shorter it is, the more her hair puffs up as its true nature shows itself. Though, to be fair, now that her hair has gotten such an uneven cut, the spikes are here to stay. And so Team Spiky Hair is now a thing.
It's funny how Chōko used to be the only one in her team with somewhat normal hair (somewhat, in the sense that it was hella long) and now she's like everyone else.
Oh, and to explain a thing in regards to Chōko's hair, she basically has the same hair type as Chōji, who happens to have spiky hair as well. And, once again, Chōko has yet to notice she's missing her ribbon. Give her until someone else mentions it before she notices and expect her to freak when that happens.
And little by little, Gōzu and Meizu's fates are being unraveled. The hints are there and I really won't say much about it until the next chapter, which, by the way, is gonna be a POV shift. I won't say whom, but considering the current arc we are at, it'll be a fitting character choice.
Oh, and one thing that has yet to be mentioned is that, you know how Sasuke accidentally learned the Oiroke no Jutsu, thanks to his Sharingan? Well, he isn't the only one who learned it by accident. Make what you will with that.
Try not to look too deeply into the scene where Naruto jokes around by asking Chōko if he's her type. Really, he's just messing around. The scene was mostly played for laughs, as shown by Kakashi and his trolling.
Anyways, shout out to Kurotiger for being reviewer #330 and Ryu Kitsune Bard84 for being lucky reviewer #333. Another shout out to duchessliz for being reviewer #340 and an honorable shout out goes to Uchiha Salad!
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'm hoping to bring an end to the Wave arc by the next chapter, with the POV shift, so here's to seeing how that turns out! Until next time, everyone! KD out! XD