As I burned through boar and herbs at lunch time, I could feel the eyes from all the other students boring into my back. We'd been introduced to our teacher, Umino Iruka, but even the bright nature of his was smothered in the pure amount of awkward silence and killing intent released by the Uchiha fans whom I could hear were planning out my demise.
Shit.
I never meant to be so harsh with him, I just began venting because the description I gave him brought up some pretty painful memories. Now that I think about it, I was just some complete nobody whom just came out of nowhere, stole the spotlight for reasons unexplained, and then left as if nothing ever happened. And what was I doing lecturing him? For someone in their first day to this academy, his ability was little short of 1-in-a-million! I don't blame them for being a little put off.
My thoughts were interrupted by some growls coming from the other end of the room. They weren't bona fide ones like mine, but the sheer number and volume of it more than got the message across. And all of them were girls. How the hell do those high-pitched 'eep'ing gremlins do that!? Sighing, I finished by biting the head off of the cooked but whole carcass of the oversized animals(earning a few distant 'Ew's in response), grinding the bones and all viciously before heading to the restroom to wash my hands. Hearing footsteps creep there way from the room I just left and settle at the other side of the restroom entrance, I used clone jutsu. Opening the door and walking behind if as it opened inward, I stayed out of view while my clone walked out.
To meet a sucker punch from the side and puff in smoke.. Damn, these girls are pissed! Was that Sasuke guy really that great in their eyes? I ran out in that moment of stupor and turned to see two of the most violent, loyal to Sasuke, and pretty girls of my class. Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka. Sakura was known for her wide forehead, and Ino was part of the well-known Yamanaka clan, one that socialized in mind control and poisons. They also run a flower shop. The two girls were best frenemies, constantly sizing each other up and competing for Sasuke's affection while also having each other's backs in just about any situation that didn't concern that pineapple head. Of course, their taijutsu sucked ballers, but most people were always reluctant to hit them back because of their looks and seemingly girly nature.
"What the hell do you men want?" I asked nonchalantly, satisfied of the very visible tick mark that appeared on the sides of each of their temples. Sakura took a step forward while cracking her knuckles.
"We're-"
"No, broad head, I don't have anything to help with the rapid growth of your leg hair." I cut her off. I knew that wasn't what she wanted to ask, but since I was aware of her intentions, I set up a couple of jokes while I was washing my hands. Judging by the way her face turned a shade of pink slightly darker than her own hair.
"I-.. Wha-... Y-You..." She stammered, her mouth opening and closing while she tried(and failed horrendously) to form sentences. Then her friend jumped in.
"You humiliated Sasuke! MY Sasuke! You really thought you'd get off easy?" She yelled at me while pointing her finger accusingly. I was about to retort when I witnessed something strange.
"What!? Who said he was yours, Ino-Pig!? We both knew he's got the hots for all of this!" Sakura yelled, followed by a pitiful attempt to flaunt. As they were going back and forth, I decided to point out something to see how the unpredictable duo would react.
"You're both chest board loudmouthed gorillas..." They both stopped butting heads(literally) and turned said heads atleast 180 degrees around to face me with pupil-less eyes. What the hell!?
"Hey, Ino-pig. Do you still have those poisonous flower bombs on you?" Ino nodded and held them up with an ominous gleam in her eyes.
"You still have those explosive kunai booby traps set up, right Billboard Brow?" Sakura responded similarly. I laughed at Ino's nickname for her frenemy, earning a laugh from Ino and a wave of killer intent from Sakura(if I wasn't used to getting hunted by bears, I'm sure I would've pissed my pants). Taking the moment of weakness as an opportunity, I formed a hand seal and used the body flicker technique, teleporting in a puff of smoke before they even knew what was going on. I chuckled at their looks of utter stupor.
"Never gets old..."
"Got that right kit."
'When'd you wake up, Kyuu-chan?'
"Right when you started talking about leg hairs."
'Pretty good, huh?'
"Hm, needs work."
'Ruthless as ever when it comes to criticizing my jokes and pranks, huh?'
"Hey, I don't have thousands of years of experience for nothing."
'Fair point.'
ooo
"In two years, the ninja exam for graduation will be held. To pass, you'll have to be able to do the following freely: clone jutsu, transformation jutsu, kunai, shuriken, and windmill shuriken throws, substitution jutsu, rope escape jutsu, use of poison bombs, wire-projectile links, and explosive tags, as well as setting basic traps. This is what we will be going over from now until then. Today, we start with training overall endurance, speed, and strength. Make sure to work hard everyone!" Said Iruka-sensei as he finished explaining the academy's current and future curriculum. He'd already explained what chakra was an hour ago and this was the last part of his 'beginner's guide(aka boring ass lecture).'
"Sensei. What do I do if I already learned all of that?" I asked with a raised hand. The fact that I was an orphan, let alone a later-famous-for-having-short-temper Jinchuriki gave me clearance to buy everything that adults were able to, as the fact that I took care of myself resulted in the Hokage deeming it necessary that I'm able to buy anything I need. Huh. Never thought I'd actually think of my situation as an abandoned child with a village-destroying bastard demon fox inside of my head as fortunate...
"I heard that kit." Kyuu-chan growled.
'Pfft. I know~' I replied while struggling to stifle a laugh. It was then that I noticed that nobody outside of me, myself, and I had spoken for an unnatural amount of time. Look around the room, I noticed that everyone around me was staring at me like a deer in headlights.
"...What?" I asked nervously. This awkward silence was making me extremely uncomfortable. Seemingly shaken away from his stupor, Iruka-sensei spoke up.
"Well, uh... Could you repeat that question, Naruto?" Ok... That was weird...
"Sure, I asked what I should do since I've learned all of that already." I decided to continue, seeing as how everyone including him seemed confused.
"Like, should I participate anyways, should I help out with teaching the other students, should I take the exam early, or...?" I trailed off, since that should be enough to get them to understand what I was getting at. With a nervous sweat drop, he answered me while scratching his head sheepishly.
"Well, Naruto, since this is, er, a first-time occurrence, I don't think I have the authority to give you any shortcuts or passes. However, if you demonstrate these abilities in my place or with me as we learn them, I can count that as your exam and pass you without you having out take the exam later on. Also, if you assist me in teaching on a daily basis, I can also give you extra credit if you think you might need it." He explained. The offer wasn't anything special, but it's better than nothing. And hey, if I'm stuck teaching a bunch of talentless morons, then maybe it'll help patch up relations and remove suspicion from me in the future.
"Ok, sounds good to me!" I said with fake enthusiasm in my voice while pointedly ignoring the piercing glares burrowing into my back. With that, he continued lessons while some of my worries about making it through the year were alleviated.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad here after all.
"Look at that poser, coming outta nowhere to try and steal Sasuke's popularity." Whispers like that broke out all over the classroom in the next second.
"Sasuke-kun! No matter what, I'll always love you!" Some random fangirl screamed at Sasuke from across the room.
'... Kyuu-chan? You know what I just thought about it not being so bad?'
"Hm? Yeah, I was actually just thinking up ways to tease you with that." The stupid fox residing within me answered.
'I take it back. These next two years are gonna suck.'
"Well there goes that idea..."
ooo
'Kyuu-chan? Please remind me how I got into this situation again?' I pleaded as I side-stepped an axe kick that came from the rear and countered with a spinning back kick. My state of relief was cut short as a set of 12 kunai came at me from 3 different directions, prompting me to jump at an awkward angle from the ground and twist my body into a twirling windmill perpendicular to the ground while also sticking my chakra-pulsing hand out to block and repel the few kunai that I let get through my evasive acrobatics. Following my light landing, I put an unusually high 45% of my strength into my legs to dash forward out of the surrounding triangle formation at inhuman speeds. Sliding in the dirt due to the momentum of my dash, I turned to look at the three opponents whom were quickly approaching in an incomplete diamond formation, a smug look written on all of their faces. Yes, I was getting ganged up on by three other academy students: Neji Hyuuga, Rock Lee, and Sasuke Uchiha.
"Gladly, kit..."
FLASHBACK -
"Did you need something, Iruka-sensei?" I asked as I approached the instructor leaned up against the hallway just outside of the classroom. He'd asked me if he could see for a moment once he got wind of the fight(cough complete beat down cough cough) between Sasuke and I.
As I asked him, he turned around with a look of both expectation and excitement in his eyes.
"I heard about how you defeated the prodigy Sasuke Uchiha with very little effort. A couple of parents also informed me of what the students heard of your little lecture of the boy, what you said about what you did when you were young... Is it true?" He asked with a concerned look on his face. Was he seriously worried about me? I see. The shinobi whom used to save my hide from angry civilians back then still think that I'm a weak kid that needs constant babying. They'll all be in for a rude awakening, but for now, I have to play it cool. That'll only make it that much more of a shock later on~
"Yeah, but I'm over it. I only brought it up to give him examples of the abilities he was lacking as well as how I mastered them. Seems like people took it as me trying to make him look worse when it wasn't really about that in the first place though..." I trailed off, wondering what it was that made that guy so special that made him the most popular student by far. Iruka chuckled as we shared that thought.
"Well, you know what I said about you assisting me in class?" I nodded.
"Well the thing is, we're going to start sparring today, and I'd like you as well as the students behind me to work together to demonstrate the use of martial arts as well as the basic projectiles: kunai knives and shuriken. By the way, this means no ninjutsu or Kekkai Genkai." The instructor explained. He said no ninjutsu, but I wondered about using basic chakra techniques that didn't have enough depth to fit into either category.
"What about chakra techniques like walking on walls or muscle strengthening?" I asked. At this, I noticed him widen his eyes with a sweat drop.
"You already know how to do that!? You guys aren't even supposed to be taught that till after you graduate!" He exclaimed in shock. The stoic look on my face must've told him that I wasn't joking if the way his expression almost instantaneously changed back into one of complete and utter seriousness was any indication. Coughing once, he proceeded to respond to my question.
"Those are prohibited as this is only meant to be a taijutsu based spar, and the use of chakra to augment your abilities will be more of a hindrance to this lesson than a help." He answered. I nodded in agreement and immediately began thinking up strategies for imagined scenarios that I might get caught in due to this 3vs1 situation.
"Alright, when do I start?"
"Right about now." Was his answer while three figures stepped out from behind him.
"What the hell!? When'd they get there!?" I yelled, my shock evident in both my words and my expression. It was then that my sensei just looked at me questioningly
"I mentioned that the other students were behind me a couple seconds ago." He stated offhandedly. I audibly face palmed, wondering how I'd forgotten that fact so quickly. Before we could continue our conversation, a familiar voice spoke up.
"That's unimportant. When do I get my rematch?" An annoyed Sasuke said with a hint of impatience. I was thoroughly unimpressed with this opponent.
"I'm not interested in literally schooling you a second time." I stated sharply. Seriously, does this kid learn? Well, I guess I shouldn't have expected his arrogance, his obviously biggest flaw, would be curbed after one defeat and a small lecture by a complete nobody. He'd opened his mouth to retort when someone else decided to chime in.
"It doesn't matter, it is the destiny of the talented to defeat and outclass all others... You, a complete nobody whom is lacking greatly in formal training will lose to geniuses such as myself. Such is simply fate." The long haired figure spoke with his arms crossed and eyes closed, a frown painting his expression. Neji Hyuuga, member of the famous Hyuuga Clan known for having the ultimate Kekkai genkai: Byakugan.
"If you're such a genius, then why are you waiting until you have two other teammates to face me?" I shot back. He visibly winced, not in pain but in sheer aggravation as he struggled to contain himself. As soon as he opened his mouth to engage, I interrupted him.
"EXCUSES!" I yelled sarcastically, eliciting a snicker from Sasuke and Iruka(both surprising me) while Neji stood there dumbfounded as well as an popping vein at the side of his temple. He stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence. What's up with this kid? Either his true personality isn't as calm as he obviously tries to make us believe or he's simply not used to opposition. Based off of how he so confidently declared himself a genius as well as use a condescending tone with me despite us having met for the first time, I'm definitely going with the latter. Seems like I have two overconfident scrubs to take care of. As I mentally sighed at the predicament I was in, another thought crossed my mind. Who was the third student that I was going to be facing? As I peeked around Iruka's back, I saw a kid with a bowl cut, an overly intense looking face, and easily the bushiest eyebrows I'd ever-
FLASHBACK END -
"STOPPPPPP!" I yelled out in fear at being reminded of bushy brows. His ranting about youth fully youthful youth as well as the weird, literal fire in his eyes and his blatant hate for contractions was not something that I'd like to be reminded about in extreme detail...
"Suit yourself, kit. By the way, that look in your face is priceless." That fox didn't even try to hide the booming laughter that soon followed. Oh, she was so going to get it tonight.
'More make-up and Barbie for you then~' I mused. Oh, her hatred for girly things made life so much easier.
"NOOOOOOOO! PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING!" A high-pitched voice echoed in my head, causing me to sway on my feet. Apparently, Kyuu-chan here switched back to her human form.
'Hah, changing back to a (hot) girl isn't going to stop me this time, Kyuu-chan.' Though she was seriously hot in every way possible.
"Oh, you flatter me with your compliments, Kit-kun~" She said in her flirtatious teasing voice as I felt heat rise up in my cheeks. She heard those thoughts!? I made sure to seal them off! She must be getting better at digging through my head...
'Barbie, Bratz, and Cheetah Girls for you then~'
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I decided to tune her out then, as I noticed that my three enemies were done talking to each other, forming a strategy I presume. We've been going back and forth for over an hour now, demonstrating different skills in conjunction with Iruka's currently ongoing lecture on physics, tactics, the boring stuff that I'd long since learned. The team of three had yet to touch me, since they seem to lack the experience that I have as well as the raw strength, speed, and reflexes. All except for that Neji Hyuuga. He could predict my movements before I even knew I was going to make them, and though he was nowhere near fast enough to counter without me blocking or dodging, he made sure to cover up his openings when he struck back, avoiding the same mistake that that Uchiha kid kept repeating. And that 360 degree view didn't help much either... Looks like I'll have to get him out of his comfort zone with feints and outmuscle him in grappling... Rock Lee, he could definitely fight well with taijutsu, but his lack of experience as well as physical abilities subpar compared to my own meant that he was pretty much an easy target for my pummeling. Despite this disparity in strength, their preferred range was close enough for taijutsu, which was also their main form of attack, which kept me on my toes throughout the entire match, making this process extremely troublesome.
Sending a glare at a yawning Shikamaru whom simply looked back at me in confusion, I turned my attention back to the approaching trio. Iruka then mentioned the final part of taijutsu, usage of kunai knives for close quarters melee combat. Neji and Sasuke drew theirs and stood in the same stance, one with both legs parallel to each other while lining up at a 45 degree angle, front hand holding the kunai in inverse grip while the back hand was open with the palm pointing towards the thumb of the kunai hand. The intermediate stance that many jounin still use, popularized by its versatility. The arrangement of their legs maintained a decent guard and balance from any direction while also allowing enough mobility to attack and evade. It acceled in none of those aspects but provided a slightly above average performance in all of them, making it the closest any stance could get to omnipotence. Lee bent his front leg slightly with his knee just outside of his right shoulder while bringing his other leg back and pivoting his foot so that his heels were perpendicular to each other, a bit unorthodox, but it seemed to serve its purpose. Looking like a mix between a karate stance and a fencing stance, it allowed the kunai knife to be looked at simply as a more lethal version of one's fist while the extra bit of swordplay could both throw pure fist or sword users off whom weren't accustomed to the blend while making an attempt to cover up most areas where one stance would accel over the other. Hm. This could get a little interesting. They waited for me to get into my stance so that we could begin our last duel of the set. I let out a chuckle(some classmates seemed to mistake for a sadistic laugh) when their jaws hung open, since I simply began walking forward with my kunai down at my side. I hadn't really finished making my own stance just yet; the problem that I found with most stances is that they were mostly designed for human vs human scenarios whereas I fought mostly against wild animals. As someone whom fought like said animals, I found holes in all of their stances and strikes so quickly that I felt more comfortable going without it. Motioning for them to come at me, a smile snuck its way onto my face as I immediately began deflecting their strikes and soon pincer attacks with relative ease.
Lee came in for a stab that I blocked with my own opposite stab much to his surprise if his dish plate-like eyes were indication. Quickly following up by knocking his knife up, I nailed him in the chest with a spinning back kick that sent him tumbling into Sasuke. Neji was lucky enough to not be in the path of the human-turned-projectile and charged at from the side. I quickly sent a sweep kick that he dodged by jumping up with his body spinning parallel to the ground while sticking his kunai arm for the overhead strike.
Little did he know that I set him up.
I used the momentum of the sweep kick to twist my body out of the way via capoeira before getting him into a triangle choke hold as his attack ended and he hit the ground on all fours. He moved much slower in that position despite having more than just hang his body to push off against the ground to my amusement. Am I the only one big on quadripedals? He tapped the ground frantically and used sign language to say 'I give up,' prompting me to release him as he clutched his throat with labored breaths. Sasuke & Lee had recovered and were coming at me diagonally from opposite directions. The Uchiha launched a round house while Lee shot a sweep kick, both going in opposite directions from opposite directions. I'm sure they expected me to do the fancy twirl sideways to the ground that left me open to attack from all directions while also leaving my reactions ruined due to the spinning and peripherals only being able to cover one person at a time. Tsk tsk tsk. Always with the flashy moves, Sasuke. I simply stepped on Lee's foot and blocked Sasuke's kick with my forearm. The smirk on his face disappeared while mine grew when I gripped his ankle, bent over to grab Lee's ankle(whilst catching the falling kunai with my teeth), and spun them around before slamming them both into the ground and digging two kunai into the ground right next to their necks. At the look of surprise, understanding, and anger at their faces, I removed said weapons, put them into the pouch hanging from the pocket of my right 'cheek' and helped the two opponents up. Iruka finished up his lecture and had the class give us(mainly them. I received glares instead. Well, I'll take what I can get~) a round of applause. After a grumbling Sasuke, a scarily silent Neji, and a youth-ranting Lee went back to the group of students, I decided to stand in the front the entire group.
"Any questions on what went down just now?" I asked, getting some scowls in response. Defeating two popular prodigies must've increased my notoriety even further. Sighing inwardly, I simply waited until a familiar looking pink haired girl yelled out:
"What the hell kind of trick did you use to beat my Sasuke!?"
"How about you be quiet already? This whole thing was meant to be a learning experience for all of the class including you, so I'm sure that you can put your damn blind fangirling on hold for a fucking minute for those that care to actually try to become a shinobi." I snapped, cutting off her ranting and attempts to one-up her blonde best friend/rival. She was put into a stupor as most people, especially guys, never stood up to her when she was pissed, let alone when it pertained to Sasuke. My unwavering glare evidently told her I meant business, as her shocked state gave a random brown haired girl more than enough time to raise her hand and speak.
"How did you dodge those shuriken earlier?" She asked politely. Shooting her a smile, I answered her question by explaining to her the analytical skills, superior reflexes, flexibility, grasp of physics, and control of the body that a good shinobi must possess. Then, I made a diagram in the dirt with a stick showing the trajectory of each shuriken as they flew as well as why I dodged the way I did, the way I performed that particular maneuver, and the situations that it would be best used in. After I was done, she thanked me and Iruka simply stared down in awe.
"Anyone else?" I asked. This time, 6 different hands went up. Chuckling inwardly, I picked a random hand and began responding to their question.
This was going to take a while.
ooo
"And that covers it. Anyone else?" I'd been explaining the battle for the past two hours and these kids just would not let up. Wait, I'm a kid too. What the heck...? Anyhow, wait, two hours!? Just as another girl began to talk, I cut her off more rudely than I meant to.
"-Ah ah. Write it down for tomorrow, look at the time! Well I guess that ends the questionnaire for today..." I said, pointing to the sunset. Amidst all the boo's and aww's, I swiveled my arm off to the right and pointed to their parents, all of which were waiting just outside the academy entrance expectantly. Most of them were shooting me glares, to my amusement, and my sharp ears picked up the nasty rumors that they were whispering. I couldn't help but smile widely at their soon-to-be demise(earning a lot of very visible shivers from said parents) before cracking my usual smile and sending the kids off. To my surprise, most of them thanked me, sans a couple of overly loyal fans, butthurt spar partners, and angry gorilla fangirls.
'I hear you laughing at that, Kyuu-chan.'
"What do I expect? Those were pretty accurate descriptions..."
'But I'm sure you've heard better before, hm?'
"But I'm sure I- wait, how'd you know that I was going to-"
'Hah! I know everything about you, bastard fo- I mean, Kyuu-chan!' My arrogance-inducing-victory screwed me up good there...
"You know, I think I'll just go take a shower and corrupt your mindscape with perverted images of my-"
'No! I'm sorry, Kyuu-chan! Anything, I'll do anything!' She used that image to wake me up once. The burning in my eyes lingers to this day.
"Haha, I think I'll use that one more often~" I shuddered at that thought...
I'm going to get that, stupid nine-tailed, tormenting, insane, son of a-
"Oi!" My thoughts were interrupted by an angry approaching man, probably mid-forties. He was tall and had a pretty good build, but nothing exceptional. His eyes and hair were brown, though one could see the occasional grey strands here and there. He had a very small beard coming along, as if he lost his shaver a week or two ago. A frown was plastered onto his face as he rushed over to me with the same girl from before tugging his pants.
"Daddy! Don't hurt him, he didn't do anything wron-" she pleaded, but was immediately cut off by her raging father.
"Quiet, Tenten! Damn demon brat, thinking he can try to intimidate my daughter. Just because he has a fox inside of him doesn't mean he can push my baby girl around!" He ranted to himself, prying off the little girl's fingers gently before rushing in my direction. What's his problem? I guess I'll just wait and see.
"Oi, you, demon brat!" He yelled as he broke the ten foot bubble that most adults kept themselves and their kids away from. This man pissed me off already, and judging by the permanent blush on his face, he's also drunk. Just great.
"Can I help you?" I asked with a strained grin. I wanted to say 'Don't call me that or I'll rip your throat out you old fuck,' but that would raise too much suspicion and I want the deaths of these citizens to make them regret the way they've lived their entire lives relative to their treatment of me as much as possible. The look of utter shock, disgust, fright, understanding, and realization on their faces, I'll savor it. Those moments are the moments I live for and would give everything up for.
"Yeah, you actually can by doing something other than dying for once." He stated offhandedly, prompting an eye twitch from me. Keeping up my façade, I threw him a polite grin that caused him to scrunch his face up in disgust.
"What might that be, sir-" A fist found its way into my lower chin and I found myself launched around half my height up into the air. Correcting myself with a backflip, I landed lightly on my feet. I simply spat out into the grass off to the right and then laughed. With the amount of bear attacks I've suffered my body was hard as steel. I hardly even felt that punch and I didn't have a scratch on me.
I wanted to punch his lights out right there but (more)people were watching and I had to make it clear that I was trying to be peaceful before knocking this asshole out.
"What was that for? I don't know you, sir, so please tell me what I've done to elicit such behavior?" I asked with my fake polite smile. One idiot yelled 'how about existing,' but I merely smiled eerily at him(and made him choke due to killing intent) before looking back to the assailant in front of me.
"How about scaring my daughter you little prick?" He said as he swayed dangerously on his feet. Apparently that last punch took whatever balance the drunk had left. But what the hell does he mean? I never scared or did anything to Tenten!
"I've done nothing of the sort sir, I believe you most likely misinterpreted what your child is saying." I stated. Before he had a chance to form a rebuttal, I dashed next to Tenten, my speed making it seem like teleportation to the average person(and most non Jounins). Putting a hand on her shoulder and giving her an understanding smile, I asked Tenten to try to correct her father's train of thought as it didn't look like he was going to be listening to anyone else anytime soon. But to my and many parents' surprise, Tenten's father batted her aside when she walked to him and tried to snap him out of it. I was treated like a damn virus the entirety of my life, with no family to lean on for support. Just me, myself, and I. For the longest time, I had hoped, wished, prayed for anything, ANYTHING remotely close to a family, but I got nothing and eventually gave up. But Tenten has family, so why did she get smacked around like that? That's not what family does! Parents don't hurt their own children!
My fuse blew right there.
"You son of a bitch..." I muttered, dropping the nice guy act as I walked up to the drunken madman with a venomous tone. The idiot somehow thought it made sense to laugh and taunt me at the moment.
"Haha! What the hell are you gonna do? I'm not afraid of you, even if you have a demon inside you, you're still just a damn kid!" He hollered.
"Not scared? You should be. I don't need the fox to beat you down!" I screamed as I leaped up with a cross to his face that hit him so hard that he went flying two adults' heights away from me. What kills me is that I have to hold back a crapload lest I kill him.
Doesn't mean that I'm going to leave him unscathed though.
...No, not at all.
With this in mind, I began pummeling his face further and further into the ground punch by punch before gut punching him nonstop, hitting him hard enough to make him cough up blood on each impact. After what felt like two seconds but was really two minutes, I held the bloodied man up by his neck; I wasn't sure if he was conscious or not, nor did I care.
"If you ever dare attack my classmate like that again, I will hurt you so much that not even your great great grandkids will escape unscathed! Got it!?" I finished, fueled by rage. To my annoyance, he let out a weak smirk to me and mouthed 'fuck you.' Scowling, I tightened my grip on his neck so much so the the began bruising extensively.
"Don't think I won't kill you. With people running me out of this damn village and trying to murder me, I learnt how hard life is and how to kill without second thought. Why do you think the village hadn't heard from me in years? What do you think I was doing? Partying in goddamn Tanzaku town? Now if you don't give me what I want and apologize to Tenten by the time you wake up..." I let the threat hang in the air for effect, and smirked when I saw the smug look on the man's face replaced by one of complete and utter horror. He nodded vigorously before an expression of confusion made its way on.
"When I wake up?" He asked in between gags. At this, I simply smiled and chopped the back of his neck, knocking him out cold. Ignoring the crowd's mix of cheers, insults, threats, and gossip, I walked over to Tenten who'd been sent reeling from her dad's nasty swipe. Picking her up bride style, I asked her if she was alright, getting a nervous(it seemed that way to me atleast) nod in response. I had her point me to her mom and walked over to said parent.
"I assume you saw everything that went down?" I said, not wasting time to sugarcoat the situation. She nodded with a look of utter seriousness before bowing in apology.
"Sorry about... Him. He's been drinking nonstop lately and I don't know how to deal with it anymore... I can't afford to get rid of him yet since he's the main provider for the family." She said, obviously fighting to hold back tears.
"I can see how he can be a handful... Don't you worry about a thing. Just make sure to take his side in this situation instead of my own, I won't mind. Tell you what, when I graduate, I'll help you guys financially so that he won't be a nuisance to you anymore." I said, putting a bandage onto the cut on Tenten's forehead. Her mother nodded thankfully with a smile before I offered to take them home.
"So where do you guys live? I'll take you guys home and then take him to the hospital."
"We live across from Ichiraku Ra-" That was all it took for me to take them via body flicker to said destination.
"I go to Ichiraku's all the time! How'd I not notice you guys?"
"Tenten always looks at you enviously from the front windows these days."
"M-mom... Don't tell him that..."
"Tenten. I have nothing worth envying." I said with all seriousness. What surprised me was when the girl and her mom dropped their jaws in awe. Then, Tenten began a rapid-fire refute to my words.
"But you're super strong, even stronger than Neji! And you've mastered all the e-ranked jutsu already, I saw you pra- I mean and you moved so fast that I could barely see what you were doing half the time! And also you can sew, cook, hunt, forge-"
"Whoa! How did you know that about me? I've only ever done any of those outside of Konoha!" Seriously, what the hell? Just then, Tenten faltered and she stuttered in failed attempts to form sentences. Her mom laughed and took over the explanation.
"You see, Tenten here has always been skeptical of the way the Kyuubi was defeated. Even when it was said to be defeated by some kind of jutsu, she got suspicious when nobody would tell her what it was, or how the entire battle happened. So she asked around, and one of the anbu -to this day, I have no idea how she struck up a conversation with one- faltered by telling her it was a sealing jutsu before trying to cover his tracks, but my baby girl got what she needed and ignored his flimsy cover-up stories. Then, we both began doing some searching, and immediately figured it out when we noticed how the neighbors would treat you as well as their insults to you. At that point, Tenten, became intrigued and watched you, even more so when she saw you ran out of the village that day. Needless to say, she followed you with the help of some Anbu that kept them all hidden and came home with stories every day since then." She finished her explanation with a smile while Tenten flushed and shrunk behind her mom and I was at a loss for words. Somebody found me important enough to watch me on a daily basis without trying to set up times to jump me? Whoa, her family is now on my list of people to spare... With me being tongue-tied, I turned to one of my many forms of escape for such situations.
Fibbing.
"Oh crap, I'm late for a sparring session with a friend! We can continue this conversation tomorrow at or after school if you'd like." Without giving her a chance to respond, I body flickered my way out of there, leaving nothing a puff of smoke behind.