CHAPTER FOUR:
"...So steady as she goes (steady as she goes)
Steady as she goes, are you steady now..?"
TRAINING GROUND 44..
Near the outskirts of Konoha, Naruto and her teacher were about to start Tuesday's training.
"Okay, kiddo! I'm gonna start you off with some stretches, then some calisthenics, and then I'll show you the katas for the taijutsu style my bastard of a sensei created!" Anko said, stopping right outside the fenced-in forest of Training Ground 44.
Naruto fought the urge to stare at the looming, dark forest held back by wire fences just a few meters away. She could've sworn she saw some glowing red eyes hidden in those shadows…
"Er, calisthenics..?" Asked the blonde, tilting her head. Anko slammed her palm to her forehead, suppressing a groan.
"Kid, it's like… Okay, calisthenics help build your muscles, and the stretches will improve your flexibility. And katas are the forms you'll use for your taijutsu style. Which, by the way, is called the Hebi, or Snake style. Any more questions or can we get into this?" The tokubetsu jounin asked, her impatience seeping into her words.
Naruto searched her mind for questions, before shrugging. "Nope!" She replied curtly.
Her sensei rolled her eyes, before beginning her demonstration. "First, let's do our stretches."
The woman began leaning to her side, one arm inches from the ground and the other at her side. Naruto mimicked her movements, although with less ease. Anko repeated this stretch, bending to the opposite side, before moving on.
For ten minutes, the jounin showed her student stretches, while Naruto parroted her movements.
"Okay, great, you gotta stretch to stay nimble, and fluid, or whatever… Now, drop and give me fifty, maggot!" Anko said, cracking a devious smile.
"Huuuh?" Asked the girl, tilting her head once again.
"50 push ups! Now! Drop!" Shouted her sensei, snapping her fingers. Naruto dropped to the ground, starting her pushups with fury. She mumbled under her breath, counting each pushup. Anko turned, preparing to practice her aim, but didn't get the chance.
"Finished!" Declared Naruto, sucking in deep breaths. She was once again standing on her two feet, slightly slumped.
"Fifty more! Scratch that, one hundred! More stretches to cool down, and then… Then I want pull ups on that tree branch, until your arm turn to noodles! And more stretches, then er, squats! Two hundred squats!" Anko improvised, purposefully giving the kid a regiment completely impossible for a beginner.
She needed to make sure her senbon accuracy was still beyond perfection, and she couldn't do that with the kid finishing 50 pushups in 2 minutes.
The ball of golden fury known as Naruto whined, but dropped back to the ground. "I'll show you!" She said indignantly, under her breath.
Anko stalked off, beginning her senbon practice. The purplette began her practice, first starting by hitting specific areas on a nearby tree base. When that no longer satisfied her, she began aiming to pierce the leaves. And then, she started aiming with her eyes closed.
About fourty-five minutes later, her student called out to her.
"I'm.. Finished!" The girl said, wiping sweat from her forehead. 'I swear I'm gonna use this kid for target practice!' Anko growled internally, turning on her heel
She was shocked that her student even managed the makeshift routine, let alone finish it so quickly. And besides being out of breath and sweaty, the girl didn't even seem exhausted.
It was then that she got a genius idea.
"You know what? I need to practice my accuracy, so why don't we do some evasion training before we move onto katas?" Anko suggested, more like demanded, with a sadistic gleam in her eyes.
Naruto blanched, but before she could sputter out some reply, she was hit by a senbon in her left arm.
The senbon pierced her skin, and she made a girly squeak. "Aw, I missed." Anko said, making an exaggerated pouty-face. Naruto yanked the senbon out, growling.
"How the hell did ya miss when you got me in the arm, 'ttebane!?" The injured blonde asked indignantly.
"I was aiming for your heart, gaki." The gaki in question squeaked, narrowly avoiding three more of the throwing needles.
"Crazy ass sensei! Kichigai! Are you trying to kill me?!" She asked, leaping away from two other senbon, waving her good arm ostentatiously.
"Two words: Evasion. Training." Said her sensei, as if it somehow explained everything.
The young jinchuriki roared in fury, as the dangerous game between student and sensei began.
It started out messily, Naruto getting speared and nicked by the needles, before she eventually began to catch on. The girl had never considered herself nimble, but this so-called training was changing that. Needles whizzed past her sides, over her head, narrowly missing over and over again.
Her sensei was never genuinely aiming to hurt her student, even if she thought the way that Naruto reacted to nearly being pierced was quite funny.
It only stopped when Anko ran out of her needles, which currently littered the ground around them. If Naruto had to guess, she would've assumed that Anko hid nearly three hundred needles in that trench coat of hers…
If she ever decided to learn how to use those kami-forsaken needles, she'd have to get her own trench coat. After all, it's stylish and practical.
Both the student and the sensei were out of breath as they collected the needles from the ground, thankfully, no animals were harmed during this particularly destructive method of training. It didn't take long for them to gather all the silver needles, and Naruto gave them back to her demented teacher.
"Well, that was fun! Ready for more training, or are you gonna tap out?" Asked Anko teasingly, but still taking notice of her tiring student. She wanted the girl to continue, to push herself, but she'd never force the kid to exhaustion.
Her student was littered with small nicks, the size of cat scratches. There were small tears in her clothing, nothing she couldn't sew back, and her existing wounds would heal in no time.
Despite Naruto losing a lot of her energy, she still felt capable of continuing.
"Hell no! I don't ever give up, dattebayo!" Naruto shouted ferociously, to which Anko only chuckled. "Alright then, it's time I show you something other than the pathetic excuse of a taijutsu style they teach at the academy." Anko declared, shoving her needles back into their places, hidden inside her coat.
She tossed her coat to the side, letting it land in a heap on the ground.
"First off, this is called the Hebi Style. It's heavily inspired by the Budo taijutsu style, but with a better focus on flexible movements to avoid attacks, and strong defenses when you can't swerve away. So basically, you dodge whenever possible. If that's not an option, take up this position.." Anko shifted into a defensive move, her arms raised in a block, and her feet as far apart as her shoulders.
Naruto knew that her feet were in that position to remain firmly planted in the ground, despite never having heard of this particular style. She parroted her teacher, shifting her body into a wonky version of the same block.
"You're too stiff, kid. As I said, this style focuses on fluidity and evasion for the most part. This means that, once you've finally mastered it, you'll be prepared to fight unarmed and armed opponents with your taijutsu alone." Anko explained. She was struggling to explain to her student, and shifted into the same defensive position once again, allowing her student to copy her once again.
"What do you mean by finally mastered?" The blonde asked, her own impatience beginning to show.
"What did you expect? Taijutsu styles aren't something you learn after a month. It takes hard work, observation, and total dedication. And once you've got the basics, you've got to learn how to tweak it. How to shift the positions just slightly to accommodate your size, while still being effective... and of course other stuff too, which comes with experience..."
For once, Naruto quelled her defiance, and nodded obediently. It took her years to fully conquer the academy style, she really shouldn't be surprised that this new style would take ages to learn as well. Anko shifted into another kata, and Naruto followed to the best of her untrained ability.
"The Budo aspect of this style lies in the focus on balance and distance. Just like Budo, the Hebi style is all about using your opponents moves to your advantage. So, by retaining perfect balance, you remain firmly planted and ready to go whenever necessary. So, perfect balance opens the door for fluidity. And, as for distance.. By closely watching the movements of your opponent, you can tell where they'll strike next. Watch." Anko shifted barely, her left arm extending.
Naruto slid her left side away, retaining balance, but remaining too stiff.
Whether Anko knew it or not, she was gaining even more of her student's respect. Anko may not have been the best at explaining, but her teaching was perfect for the blonde. The jounin was intelligent, but didn't use words or terms or wordy explanations that Naruto couldn't understand. She explained the premise, and why it was important, then showed her what to do. And that suited Naruto just fine.
"Good enough, for now. In a real fight, your enemy won't be that obvious. Instead, they'll strike the moment you notice they're going to move, or they'll change plans. So, let's see if you've retained what I've shown you so far." Anko said, taking up the starting position.
Her feet were firmly planted, but her arms seemed relaxed, despite being in a perfect kata.
Naruto went to deliver a punch to her teacher, who dodged easily, swerving left. Somehow, the woman's feet were still firmly in place, just as far apart as her shoulders.
Naruto watched her sensei carefully, losing some of the rigidness in her form.
She noticed her sensei's right arm rush forward, and Naruto tried to mimic her sensei's swerve. Instead of remaining perfectly in place, she ended up falling right on her behind.
Anko chuckled lightly, offering her hand. "Like I said, kid. It's about balance, fluidity, and using your enemy's moves against them. Once you get these katas burned into your memory, which will take a few months, you can start changing it up a bit. More offensive moves, or whatever suits you best. "
And so the morning continued, with Naruto trying, failing, and trying again, while Anko tried her best to be a good teacher. However, 2 PM soon arrived, and Anko had to leave for work at T&I.
"Okay kid, I gotta head out. Take a break from all this, and work on your new weapon until 5. I'll see you tomorrow for another D-rank." She ruffled the blonde's unruly hair, giving her a small smile.
"Where are you going?" Naruto asked curiously, plopping down onto the dirt ground.
"Got work. There are spies to torture and thugs to interrogate." Anko gave a lazy wave as she walked off, and Naruto obviously didn't follow. She watched her sensei disappear over the horizon, feeling the afternoon sun shine down on her.
She sighed, before unsealing her weapon and the book Tenten gave her.
"What's that phrase again? Ain't no rest for the wicked?" Naruto asked herself, flipping open the book. "Yeah, no rest for the wickedly cool. Especially if you're a wickedly cool girl with a wickedly cool name like Naruto." She muttered nonsensically, eyeing her weapon with tired blue irises.
"Welp, there's no time like the present…" She stood up, and began practicing the attacks shown in her books on an innocent, nearby oak tree.
That night, Naruto went home more exhausted than she'd been in maybe her entire life. Her muscles felt light, but like overcooked ramen noodles at the same time..
Limp, and mushy…
She shuddered, throwing herself down onto the orange loveseat which served as her couch. Her sweat-soaked, dirt covered clothes practically made her skin crawl, and she briefly wondered when she had become such a..
Such a girl! Old Naruto certainly wouldn't be disgusted by a little sweat. And blood. And dirt, and tears...
Nonetheless, Naruto carried her weary body to the shower, to where she mourned for her torn muscles and lackluster water heater.
She practically dragged herself out of the lukewarm, soon to be cold, shower water.
Naruto gathered her blonde hair into one large ponytail, detangling the soaked golden locks with her brush. She yanked it from the wall it was stuck in, and gently brushed it out.
Before she went to bed, the girl ate three servings of microwaveable ramen, each a different flavor. "Sweet, sweet bed…" She murmured, relaxing into her neon orange comforter, face nuzzled into the equally orange pillow.
Naruto awoke the next day just like the one before, her soreness and exhaustion nearly gone. She knew that it was either the Kyuubi, or some other special Uzumaki thing. Speaking of which, Naruto realized she definitely needed to do more research on her heritage.
Which led her to her current situation…
KONOHA'S SHINOBI LIBRARY.
Right after Naruto finished her supposed D-rank "mission" with Anko, they went their separate ways. Mitarashi had to go into the T&I office early on Wednesdays, which was why the Uzumaki was left to her own devices.
And so, Naruto landed herself here, hurriedly scouring the shelves on the Konoha Shinobi Library's shelves. The librarian was kind, but seemed busy, so Naruto didn't want to bother her for help.
She had been searching the C-section in the history division of the library for nearly ten minutes, when she finally found what she was looking for. "Clans of Konoha: An Official and Extensive Alphabetically Organized Book of each Major Clan."
The long-winded title nearly made her snicker, and she began flicking through the dusty pages.
She spotted several familiar names as she searched for Uzumaki, such as Akimichi, Auburame, Nara, Inuzuka, but of course there was no Mitarashi. Right after she flipped past the page called, "UCHIHA," she found what she was looking for.
"UZUMAKI:
One of the three founding clans of Konoha, the Uzumaki spiral is prominently featured throughout the village, notably on the Chuunin and Jounin uniforms. Uzumaki are fearsome warriors, known for exceptional healing abilities and long lifespans. Despite being renowned for their proficiency in fuinjutsu, there are other notable feats associated with this prestigious clan. They have strange chakra, able to manifest outside of the body. It is also noted that Uzumaki's have a bloodline capable of chakra sensing, which has been compared to the Byakugan. These sensors use some sort of 'third eye.'
Uzumaki are physically known for their fair skin and red hair. It is also said that Uzumaki's are all mentally unwell, but that is hearsay entirely unfounded by science.
UPDATE: The Uzumaki are now seemingly extinct. Their homeland, Uzushiogakure, or The Land of Whirlpools, has been nearly annihilated by a combined attack from enemy villages. May their legend live on in their surviving descendants and fuinjutsu developments."
The entry ended there, and Naruto felt a crippling sense of wistfulness dawn on her. Of course her family were gone, it seemed obvious. She was an orphan, and she was the only one with the last name Uzumaki in her entire village.
They must've been truly powerful for enemy villages to ally up and destroy them, that much Naruto was certain of. She decided then that she would hold pride in her name, even if those around her didn't know the story of her lost clan.
Fuinjutsu, though… She'd heard her sensei mention that before.. Maybe, just maybe, she'd check it out someday.
She closed her book, and returned it to its place on a nearby shelf.
The blonde Uzumaki was yanked from her musings when a high-pitched voice called out to her.
"Naruto? What are you doing here?" The voice asked, getting an agitated sigh from the blonde.
She turned her head towards the voice, her pigtails whipping behind her at the break-neck speed.
She was surprised when she saw a familiar pinkette, emerald eyes staring at her with disbelief. She scowled at the taller girl, who looked even more taken aback after that.
"I was reading, Haruno. Duh." Naruto replied, surprised at her own snarkiness.
At least she wasn't pretending to crush on the girl anymore, though.. That… Was a huge regret of hers. Trying to make friends because she crushed on the prettiest girl in class, just like every boy did, was not a good tactic. Who knew.
She tried to push back her own feelings of embarrassment as Sakura's feelings crashed down upon her. Her slightly pesky sensory ability picked up on the pinkette's feelings with ease, without even trying.
Disbelief, anger, indignance, curiosity..
"Welp, have a nice day, Pinky! I've got some relaxin' to do." Naruto said, fully prepared to go home and slack off. She'd probably eat some ramen, read a bunch of that book Tenten gave her, jam out to some music, and then crash for the night.
Yup, that'd be exactly what she'd do.
And Naruto was completely content with that.
As for Sakura, well.. She was entirely confused. She had come to get some weekly reading done, and she was caught off guard by seeing Naruto here..
She was surprised that Naruto had even managed to become a genin. None of the Rookie 9 had even heard from Naruto, even her old friends Choji and Shikamaru hadn't seen the blonde. Naturally, Sakura and a few others just assumed she'd failed her secondary genin test.
Clicking her tongue, Sakura began looking for her newest book. At least she'd have some new gossip to exchange with Ino next time she saw her.
When Thursday arrived, Naruto once again started her day with her sensei. After finishing three D-ranks with the use of her clones, it was time for what Naruto was most excited for.
"Today, we're goi-"
"NINJUTSU TRAINING RIGHT?CMONLETSJUSTGETSTARTEDALREADY!" Naruto said excitedly, her words meshing together into an incoherent sentence.
Anko sighed, briefly glancing at The Forest of Death only a few meters away.
She could always just toss the kid in and call it survival training..
The honey-eyed woman shooed that thought away, pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment. "...We'll get there eventually, but first I need to see what you're working with."
Anko reached into her over-the-shoulder satchel, pulling out two peculiar pieces of paper. She passed the two slips of white paper to her student, who practically glared down at them.
"Are you gonna make me study or something?" Naruto asked, furrowing her blonde eyebrows.
"...No, Naruto. No studying. One of those pieces of paper will tell us your chakra affinity, and the other will tell us about how much you've got in those reserves of yours." Anko explained, running a hand through her messy purple bangs.
Blue eyes stared at her with a look of complete incredulity.
"Hold one in each hand. One will react to chakra nature, and the other will change color based on your reserves. The colored one will become more vibrant based on how much you have, and will turn either red or blue to indicate your level of control. Purple would be average, red would mean piss-poor, and blue would mean great."
Naruto put one slip of paper in each hand, and her jounin continued her explanation.
"The other paper will change based on your affinity, which is your chakra's primary nature. Earth crumbles to dirt, fire turns to ash, you get the point." Anko finished lamely, looking down at her students' hands.
"Well? Get to it, squirt! Focus your chakra into the papers!" The taller woman directed, feeling a sensation of anticipation over Naruto's results.
Naruto closed her eyes tight, focusing on her chakra.
She could feel her blue chakra flowing throwing her tenketsu, and she could feel the mass of evil chakra resting in her gut. Knowing that was the kyuubi made it easier to avoid that foul mass of crimson resting in her core, and she tried to remain focused on the blue.
The blue was tranquil, determined, it was hers, and hers alone.
She pushed the chakra to her hands, feeling a bullet of sweat travel down her brow. She didn't need a piece of paper to tell her that her chakra control was horrible, she could feel it herself. It was a struggle to just make a normal clone, even after her forced training with that bastard Ebisu, which felt like centuries ago by now.
The young genin opened her eyes when she heard the sound of paper tearing.
Her sensei was openly gawking at the results, especially when the torn paper lit aflame, turning to ash. In her other hand, the paper was a bright shade of red, with the slightest pink tint to it.
Naruto rubbed the back of her neck with her empty hand, looking sheepish.
"So.. You've got wind and fire affinities, massive reserves, and practically no control. I hate to say that it makes sense." The blonde screwed her lips to the side, unsure of what to say to that.
"Ebisu already told me I was a wind affinity, and he made it pretty obvious that I had zero control too." Naruto said, shrugging. It was true, Ebisu had told her those things, although he had never exactly proved them.
He didn't feel the need apparently, instead opting to taunt her during the entirety of their training. In all honesty, if the whiskered girl ever saw Ebisu again, it'd be too soon.
She really disliked him.
"Did he? The Hokage told me about how he forced you to train under that guy. Tch, with the stick up that guy's ass, I'd imagine it was borderline torture." Anko mused, looking up at the sky with distaste etched into her face. Briefly, Naruto wondered how they knew each other. Clearly Anko didn't like Ebisu, either.
"You're wrooong." Naruto chirped playfully, to which Anko sent her a look of confusion.
Before she could ask the blonde jinchuriki to elaborate, Naruto spoke again.
"Ebisu doesn't have a stick up his ass. Actually, there's a whole tree in there. Like, an entire tree just took up residency inside his ass, 'ttebayo. Could be an entire forest."
Anko fought off a snort, before breaking into a peal of howling laughter. In response to her sensei's laughter, Naruto crumbled into tomboyish chortling.
"It's a miracle the creep can even walk." Naruto added, looking at her sensei with mirthful eyes.
"I don't even wanna know what kind of creatures would survive in Ebisu's Ass Forest ecosystem." Anko said, her face scrunched in amused disgust.
The woman fell down onto her back, a hand on her stomach as she laid against the dirt ground.
"Are you.." A fit of giggles interrupted her sentence, "Okay, Anko-sensei?" The blonde asked, a foxy grin plastered on her face.
If anyone were to see the current scene, they would've definitively concluded that Naruto Uzumaki and Anko Mitarashi were entirely off their rockers. Insane, clinically nuts, or just mentally unwell.
After all, seeing two females sitting right outside the most horrifying training ground in all of Konoha, cackling to themselves, is certainly a sight to behold. This sight only grows more odd, when you realize these particular girls are universally feared and distrusted by their village. And once more, it grows odder when the older of the two is rolling in the dirt howling, while the young jinchuriki is pointing and laughing.
Anko eventually regained control of herself, wiping unshed tears of joy from her eyes.
"I have no idea why that was so damn hilarious." She said plainly, still grinning like a madwoman. The blonde tittered, taking in sharp breaths.
The two sat in silence for a minute, before Anko abruptly remembered what they came here for. "Shit, I'm supposed to help you with your ninjutsu." She said, still laying against the dirt ground. The pair were silent once again, Naruto's blue eyes occasionally flickering over to her sensei.
Wistfulness, joy, nostalgia, amusement..
Those feelings emanated from her sensei, and Naruto tried to push her sensory abilities away. It almost felt like intruding, reading her teacher's feelings like that.
She fought to suppress the ability, and when her eyes closed so he could better focus, she noticed something else entirely.
Her constantly guarded teacher was no longer guarded. Anko wasn't hiding her feelings, or true self. Her chakra was relaxed, open. Naruto would've gawked, had she not been so happy to discover it.
Part of her urged herself to suppress her ability, to shove it away, to stop intruding. A nagging sensation of guilt dwelled within her as she extended her senses towards her sensei. Her flowing blue silhouette was finally showing itself, and Naruto took her chance.
Her sensei's chakra felt like a cool day in October, when it's neither swelteringly hot nor bone-chillingly cold. She wasn't warm like Tenten, but she wasn't cold like those ANBU guards.
It was comforting, a mature kind of protectiveness residing within her.
Naruto smiled softly to herself, Anko felt like how she imagined an older sister would. She was just about to stop reading her sensei's chakra, when she felt something else entirely.
The blonde sensor nearly flinched when she noticed it. Much like the Kyuubi within herself, Naruto's sensei had her own mass of evil chakra in her.
In her sensei's shoulder, there was a small orb of something malignant. It was a concentrated ball of pure darkness, causing her skin to crawl.
Her eyes snapped over, meeting the expectant gaze of her sensei. "Checkin' me out, eh?" Anko asked teasingly, trying to hide the solemn undertone to her voice.
Anko knew her student was reading her chakra, she'd learned that when Naruto closes her eyes and goes silent, she's probably reading nearby chakra. She'd seen her student do it several times now.
"You- Your shoulder!" Naruto sputtered out, covering her mouth immediately after. Anko remained collected, even though long-gone feelings of anger, disgust and betrayal rose from within her like bile in a sickly person's throat.
In a way, she did feel a bit sickly at the thought of her cursed mark. Anko allowed the awkward silence to linger in the air, trying to tame her emotions. She wanted to scream, to tell Naruto not to shove her nose where it didn't belong. She wanted to cry, because she'd never truly recovered from her sensei's betrayal. She wanted to hug her student, to explain that's how she understood the girl so well.
There were so many conflicting emotions, that she opted for silence. Silence would be the safest option as for now.
Although the silence was safe, it soon grew unbearable. Like a hefty weight crushing down on her, crushing any remnants of her previously pleasant mood. The air seemed thick, hard to breath, nearly suffocating.
Anko had to leave. She needed to go. To find a place where she could breathe, where she could calm herself, and decide where to go from here.
"We'll finish this talk later. You'll need to work on your chakra control for the next few weeks before I'll show you any jutsu. I'll see you tomorrow, kiddo." She said, biting back all her emotions.
Naruto just nodded dumbly, watching as her sensei stood up, and walked away.
"You're such a screw-up, Naruto.." She mumbled to herself, remaining on the ground. Her sensei had been unguarded, trusting her, and Naruto had violated that trust.
What if she never trusted her again? What if her sensei hated her now?
Naruto felt that earlier nagging sensation grow into a clawing beast, tearing at her for being so stupid. She cared about her teacher, who was quickly becoming like an older sister.
Now what would she do?
Anko had told her to practice chakra control… But, Naruto only knew one chakra control exercise, and that was the one Ebisu taught her.
Tree-walking it is, then..
She went for a running start, her ninja sandals cracking the bark as she desperately tried to run higher. The girl only made it about halfway before she fell, landing on the ground in an undignified heap.
She shouted in frustration, faced with the reality that tree-walking was even harder than she remembered.
"This sucks!" The girl announced to the world around her, which only consisted of untamed wildlife. People never came out here, she was entirely alone out by Training Ground 44. "Everything sucks!" She added, as a sort of afterthought.
"Well, not everything.." Naruto continued, counting the things in her life which didn't suck. Ramen didn't suck, it was the food of gods. Her sensei, Anko, is the awesome-est kunoichi ever, so she doesn't suck either. Her sorta-friends back at the academy weren't so bad, either.
Momentarily, she pondered what her life would be like if she were on a team.
What if she were with Shikamaru and Choji? Or Kiba and Hinata? Or even Shino and Sasuke? She could've even been teamed with civilians, like that mean girl Ami or the brilliant Sakura. It seemed there were so many possibilities out there, yet she had landed here.
She had no team, but she had her sensei. She didn't really have any true friends, either.
But that could change, she'd met Tenten because of sensei, and she was certain they'd be friends eventually.
At least Naruto wasn't alone anymore, she had Anko. Of course, she'd had Iruka-sensei and the Old Man before then, but.. Iruka was simply a kind teacher, while the Sandaime Hokage was just doing his job.
Anko-sensei was different. They had a kinship, and Anko had chosen her as a student. Next time she sees her sensei, she'll apologize for what she did. And hopefully, they can move on from there..
Naruto sighed, before picking herself up off the ground. There would be no use in moping, she had work to do. She was determined to get strong enough to become a chuunin 5 ½ months from now. She would become a strong chuunin, and she'd make her sensei proud.
It didn't matter that the road ahead was rocky, because Naruto was ready for it.
She was determined to roll with the punches, to become better.
Naruto Uzumaki wouldn't give up, even when faced by a daunting workload, uncomfortable odds, and the torturous training referred to as tree-walking.
She would have to build her strength from the ground up, and damn it, she was ready!
When Naruto finished her internal pep-talk, she rushed at the tree in front of her once again.
KONOHA'S MOST POPULAR BARBEQUE RESTAURANT
Meanwhile, with Sakura, Ino, and their four unfortunate teammates...
The group of 6 were currently having lunch at a local barbeque restaurant, owned by the Akimichi clan.
Of course, Team Seven had been headed there of their own volition, when they encountered Team Ten.
"Hey, Ino-pig, been a while!" Sakura said, slightly smug. Ever since Ino focused her fangirling towards Sakura's other teammate, Sai, they'd become more friendly with one another. That didn't mean that the hurling of petty insults had stopped, though.
It probably never would, in all honesty.
"Well, well. If it isn't the girl with the biggest forehead in all of Konoha! Sakura-chan, it's such a delight to see you." The blonde Yamanaka ground out, an equally smug expression on her face. A vein nearly popped in the pinkette's forehead, who took a seat across from the blonde.
Shikamaru nearly groaned when he realized that Team Seven were joining them, and Sasuke scowled at the same realization.
Sasuke hadn't wanted to get dragged out with his teammates in the first place, but Sai's mocking had forced him to begrudgingly tag along.
Sai took a seat right beside Sakura, across from Shikamaru, and Sasuke filed in after him.
Choji, being the polite boy he was, seemed entirely unbothered by the newcomers, and the aggressive girls.
When everyone had finally made their orders and gotten comfortable, conversation finally broke out. And by that, it meant that Shikamaru and Choji were making small talk, Sasuke was hn-ing, and Sai was doing that weird thing with his face.
The eyes-closed, tight-lipped smile thing.
"Hey, look who it is!" A masculine voice announced, causing the bickering girls and their teammates to begrudgingly look towards it. There stood Team 8, Kiba Inuzuka standing confidently a few feet away from them.
"H-hello.." Said a soft voice behind him, belonging to a familiar girl by the name of Hinata Hyuuga. The third member of their team, Shino Auburame, merely adjusted his glasses.
"Team 8! Wait, that means the whole Rookie 9 is here. C'mon guys, scoot over and let them in." Sakura said, tugging Sai further into the booth. Thankfully, the booth was in a large U-shape, so there was plenty of room.
"...Troublesome." Muttered a tired voice, shifting in his seat.
Sasuke scowled once again, moving over to make room. Choji welcomed Team 8 happily, mowing down on his barbeque while they took their seats.
"Wow, we've only been in our teams for a few days and we're already all meeting each other again." Choji said, between mouthfuls of food.
A waitress quickly compensated for the additional members of their party, by bringing several more plates of well-seasoned beef.
The Hyuuga heiress squirmed uncomfortably in the leather seat, fidgeting with her hands. She didn't say it, but she noted that one particular girl was missing. Naruto Uzumaki, the blonde she'd idolized the entirety of their academy years.
She'd wondered what happened to the boisterous girl.. Maybe.. Maybe once her cousin Neji was promoted, Naruto took his place on Team 9?
She deflated at the thought of her cousin, even more so than at the thought of Naruto, practically shrinking in on herself. He'd been nicer lately… At least..
When Kiba finally mentioned the unseen Uzumaki, Hinata brightened a bit. At least the whiskered girl hadn't been forgotten, Naruto would surely be upset if no one noticed she wasn't here.
"If only Naruto were here. Then the whole gang would be back together again!" Kiba said, before shoving food in his mouth in a very undignified manner. Sakura clicked her tongue, and Ino joined the conversation.
"Hey, whatever happened to her? She didn't get placed on any team." The Yamanaka questioned. "Who?" Asked a curious Sai, who had dropped his ghoulish attempt at a smile.
"They're talking about the academy's infamous Dead-Last." Sasuke added grumpily, reflecting on Naruto's constant pestering. Ino snorted at his rude remark, but stopped when Shikamaru shot her a glare. Shikamaru turned his own grumpy expression toward Sasuke, brown eyes staring at him.
If Sasuke noticed his challenging gaze, he certainly didn't show it.
"Y-you shouldn't talk about Naruto-chan like that.." The Hyuuga heiress said softly, which half of the table seemed to ignore, or not even hear. The Yamanaka heard, however, and periwinkle eyes seemed to dim with guilt.
"Speaking of Naruto, I actually ran into her yesterday." Sakura informed, stirring the pink lemonade she had ordered. "Hn?" Sasuke hummed, vaguely prompting her to go on.
"She was at the library, the Shinobi Library specifically." The pinkette added, getting a smile from the Inuzuka.
"Hey, that means she passed!" Kiba said, his brown eyes seemingly to glow with joy.
He teased Naruto occasionally, but he still considered her a friend, even if they weren't close.
"Awesome!" Choji added, an equally bright smile on his face. Hinata couldn't help but smile herself, she was happy for Naruto. "Tch, how could she have passed without a team?" Sasuke asked, genuinely curious. He was an Uchiha, though, which meant he could never express curiosity towards buffoons like Naruto.
"She has a jounin instructor." Shikamaru threw in, a bored expression on his face.
"R-really?" Hinata asked, pale eyes meeting with coffee colored irises. He nodded, not bothering to elaborate. "Who is it?" Inquired Kiba, who was passing a piece of raw beef to the dog atop his head.
"Dunno. Never seen the lady before." Shikamaru replied, being completely unhelpful.
"Perhaps I could tell you the identity of this woman? During my time in Root, Danzo made us familiar with many of the normal Jounin working in Konoha." Sai supplied, eager to join the conversation.
"Why would you need to know stuff like that?" Sakura asked rudely, quirking a pink brow upwards.
"Many reasons, Ugly. Now then, what did this woman look like?" Sai asked, turning away from a fuming Sakura. Ino was trying, and failing, to suppress her laughter as she tried to hold Sakura away from maiming her teammate.
"Purple hair, brownish eyes, trench coat." The lazy genius explained, not bothering to go into detail. That would just be too troublesome.
"Ah, I believe that would either be Yugao Uzuki or Anko Mitarashi." Sai said, fake smiling once again
"Anko Mitarashi? I've heard that name before, I think my dad's mentioned her.." The blonde Yamanaka mused, tapping her chin with her index finger.
The other members of the group looked curious now, sharing glances with one another.
"That is unsurprising, Gorgeous. She is rather infamous in the T&I department." Sai said, getting a blushing, smiling Ino from the nickname he used.
Internally, he applauded himself. Smiling and blushing were positive results, it seemed his books were helping.
He would remind himself to use nicknames like that for women more often. Then he would certainly make many friends.
"WAIT A MINUTE, WHY IS INO GORGEOUS BUT I'M UGLY? I'LL PUMMEL YOU FOR THAT, JUST WAIT!" The infuriated pinkette screamed, lunging at the dark-haired boy.
Elsewhere in Konoha, a blonde and a purplette sneezed...
Friday morning, Naruto awoke feeling refreshed, and also, kind of horrible. The events of yesterday, her rude behavior towards her sensei, still weighed heavily in her mind.
She'd never been one for apologies, so it would certainly be an awkward experience.
Maybe she should buy her sensei a gift as an apology? Take her out to dango?
That would be perfect, but Naruto knew she wouldn't have time for that today..
"Aha! I'll apologize and take her to dango after we're done today.." The blonde concluded, throwing on her kimono top haphazardly.
She checked her appearance in the mirror, tightening her two pigtails.
"Lookin' snazzy!" She said, pointing finger guns at her reflection. Before walking out the door, she marked off another day on her ramen-themed calendar.
She stepped out into the familiar streets of Konoha, before deciding to put her hours of tree-walking to use. The genin focused her chakra to her feet, with noticeably less difficulty than before, and ran up the side of a building.
Her legs carried her as fast as possible towards her destination, the Hokage's Tower, where she'd meet her sensei. Today she'd be going to the T&I offices, for Kami knows what reason.
Naruto had never considered that she'd be involved with the Torture and Interrogation unit of Konoha's shinobi force, but she wouldn't complain.
As long as she didn't have to do any weird stuff like eye-plucking or graphic, nightmare-inducing torture, she'd be fine.
Or so she thought. When she and her sensei arrived at the large, two-story building, she wasn't expecting to be made into an errand girl.
KONOHA'S T&I BUILDING:
She groaned as her sensei passed her another stack of papers. "Take these up to Ibiki Morino, his office is on the second floor. There's a 'One' on the door, it's the biggest office up there. Should be easy to find." The woman said, signing through a few papers of her own.
She lumbered up the steps, ignoring how some of the other T&I shinobi seemed to snicker at her misfortune as she passed them.
It wasn't hard for her to find the office that Anko mentioned, seeing as it was right beside the steps.
Without even bothering to knock, the blonde kicked the door open, nearly knocking it off of it's hinges.
A man sat behind a dark mahogany desk, not even looking the least bit perturbed by the blonde's disturbance. His face had two long scars stretching across it, and a cap that covered his head.
"You're Ibiki Morino, right? My sensei sent me to deliver these." The girl said, dropping the stack of papers on his desk.
"And who are you?" Ibiki inquired, his voice stern and stoic.
"Naruto."
The pair engaged in what looked to be a staring contest to any outsiders. Two round blue eyes stared into sharp black ones.
Naruto supposed she would've been afraid of him she hadn't met her psychotic sensei already. She blinked twice, and she nearly missed a slight, upward twitch in his lips.
"You're Anko Mitarashi's student, eh?" The man asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. Another two blinks. "That's me, 'ttbayo."
"Welcome to T&I. Let's see how long you last, maggot." Said the scarred male, looking down at his newest stack of paperwork.
"Are you challenging me, Morino-san?" Cherubic blue eyes narrowed, taking on a distinctly fox-like appearance. Ibiki knew then that this kid was different. Most would've been frightened by his stare alone, but this kid wasn't.
This girl had spunk.
"I'll show you, old man!" She said, turning on her heel. She didn't bother shutting the door behind her as she rushed back downstairs, and Ibiki felt a slight migraine coming along. Young bloods.. He forgot just how irritating they could be...
"Great. Anko 2.0." He muttered, slamming his office door shut.
The blonde trotted back to the lobby of the T&I building, where her sensei was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a broad shouldered blond man was leaning against the wall.
"Oi! Did you see where my sensei went?" Asked the short blonde. Inoichi looked down at the kid, noticing that she looked about the same age as his own daughter.
He looked around the room, truly wondering where the hell the girl came from.
It dawned on the man that Anko had taken up an apprentice, and a grimace made its way onto his face.
"Did Anko-san drag you out here?" He asked, crouching slightly. "Yup." The girl replied, popping the P.
"Can you tell me where she went?" The girl asked in return, hands resting confidently on her hips. The man gave a dry chuckle, causing the girl to wrinkle her nose in distaste.
She folded her arms, staring up at him.
"Sorry, kid. Anko's busy with something right now, and you can't exactly help her." Inoichi knew Anko was busy with a torture session in the basement right now, and there was no way he'd send some kid down there to witness it. How old was this kid, anyway? 12? 9? 14? Fuck if he knew, but specfics weren't the point.
Especially not when said kid was the same age as his own daughter, who would no doubt be traumatized by Anko's torture sessions.
He hadn't even joined the Intelligence Division as a whole until he was 15, he didn't really approve of a kid her age hanging around T&I.
"Why the hel- heck, why the heck not?" Questioned Naruto, tapping her foot impatiently. Inoichi's eyebrows nearly rose to his hairline, but he schooled his expression quickly.
"Listen, kid-" The younger blonde interrupted, "It's Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." Pale blue eyes stared at her blankly for a moment.
"...Right, Naruto.. Anko is currently..Extracting information from a prisoner, so you'll just have to wait here." The girl's lips stretched into a thin line, before she huffed loudly.
"Whatever." Naruto relinquished, not wanting to see a torture session anyway.
She was fairly certain she wasn't ready to witness something like that yet. She knew that it would probably be inevitable, after all, shinobi kill and torture daily..
Samurai were the ones with honor, not shinobi.
Her skin crawled at the thought of taking a life with her own two hands. To snuff out someone's very being.. It wasn't a very exciting idea to Naruto, rather, it was slightly disturbing.
Shaking the thoughts out of her head, Naruto sighed.
TENTEN'S HOUSE...
Friday came and went, and Saturday arrived. Naruto hadn't got the chance to apologize yet, but she tried to shove those thoughts away.
She'd apologize soon, certainly.
Naruto opened the door to Tenten's weapons shop, bells jingling as it swung open.
She inhaled deeply, allowing the warming sensation of Tenten's chakra to reach her.
"Hey! Naruto-chan, you came!" Said the double-bun wearing girl, who was currently polishing a display sword across the room. The blonde's face split into a bright smile. "Of course! I would never ditch someone!"
"Good to hear, I was looking forward to this!" Tenten said, replacing the sword on it's mount. Naruto looked down at the cobblestone floor for a moment, smiling softly.
That was new. People had never really looked forward to Naruto's presence. If anything, people loathed her existence.
"So, have you figured out your weapon yet?" Tenten asked, a soft expression painted on her face.
"Oh, yeah! I figured out how to use the basic functions of this thing pretty easily! That book you gave me helped a lot." Naruto said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.
"Cool, follow me. We can spar in my backyard." Said Tenten, gesturing to a door by the check-out counter. The brunette girl opened the dark oak door, stepping into a winding hallway. She removed the apron she wore, hanging it up on a coat rack next to two others.
Naruto followed behind her, blue eyes studying her surroundings. "Dad! Naruto and I are gonna spar, the shop's yours for the rest of the evening!" Tenten shouted, hoping her dad overheard.
A brown-haired man peeked around the corner at the end of the hallway, before giving a thumbs up.
Tenten lead Naruto to a sliding glass door, leading to a backyard fenced in by bamboo sticks. Naruto's eyes took in the scenery, noticing how nice this house was in comparison to her apartment. The house was traditionally designed, despite the weapon's shop occupying the front of the house.
Naruto assumed that Tenten's family must be rather well-off to afford a place like this. Lush gardens occupied the perimeter of the fences, clearly well-maintenanced.
Tenten stepped off of her porch, and into the vibrant grass.
"C'mon!" The girl said, snapping the blonde out of her staring.
Naruto followed behind Tenten quickly, and pulled her weapon's scroll off of it's place on her leg garters.
She unraveled it quickly, causing her enormous meteor hammer to fall out onto the ground. The girl picked it up by it's thick handle, spinning it in her hand for a moment.
She was internally grateful she'd spent most of her pre-genin days doing strength training, otherwise she might have never been able to lift such a bulky weapon.
The brunette smiled, whistling at the sight. "You already swing that thing around like a natural!" She remarked, eyeing the spikes.
The chocolate-eyed girl reached into the weapons pouch on her hip, pulling out a scroll of her own. Naruto took up a defensive stance, a combination of her basic Hebi-style defense position and a ready-stance that she had seen in her book. It was by no means good, but it would work.
Tenten unwinded her scroll, causing a tandem of kunai to fire out, directly towards Naruto. The blonde swung her weapon in a panic, spinning it in a wide circle.
She deflected the kunai, knocking them away from her.
She launched herself forward, and Tenten pulled out yet another scroll. Naruto gripped her weapon tight, aiming to strike the brunette with the large iron spike-ball.
Before the deadly spikes could impact with the weapon's specialist, Tenten had pulled a broadsword from her scroll.
The blade of the sword met with the iron meteor hammer, causing brilliant sparks of friction to fly in every direction. The taller girl ducked down, abandoning her sword. Naruto nearly fell forward because of Tenten's sudden drop. Anko's words rang in her head, balance and fluidity.
She would definitely need more lessons in that aspect..
The silver sword dropped to the ground next to Tenten, who quickly grabbed it again.
Naruto leapt away, attempting to put distance between her and Tenten.
This proved to be futile, and the brunette rushed forward with her sword extended.
Tenten rushed forward, Naruto was nearly backed against the bamboo fencing. The blonded muttered a few curse words, and Tenten swung her blade at Naruto just as the expletives left her lips.
The blonde barely managed to duck below the blade, blue eyes watching as it swung right where her neck would've been. She gulped, and Tenten kept up her assault.
The brunette changed forms quickly, aiming to strike down upon Naruto.
The world seemed to go into slow motion as Naruto lost her footing, having still not mastered the art called balance. Just as the blonde dropped into the flowerbed, she straightened the chain of her meteor hammer. Two hands held firmly near each end, one holding the edge of the chain and the other gripping the handle. It was a last minute block, but served its purpose.
Each girl furiously pushed their upper-body strength to its limits, Tenten aiming to strike, and Naruto holding up her defense. Naruto's quick-thinking spontaneously kicked in, and the blonde stopped gritting her teeth to smirk victoriously.
With one leg firmly planted in the dirt, she lifted her right leg and kicked Tenten as hard as she could, directly in the abdomen.
Tenten made an, "Oomph!" sound as she was knocked back by a few feet, giving Naruto just enough time and space to straighten herself and stand up.
"When are you gonna switch it up?" Tenten asked, sucking in deep breaths. She wiped the sweat from her brow and righted her posture.
"Whaddya mean?" Naruto asked, twirling her hefty weapon overhead.
The brunette girl stared at her blankly for a moment.
Blue eyes met with warm brown eyes, and Tenten finally broke the short spell of silence.
"...Your weapon.. It's.." She pinched the bridge of her nose, still smiling despite her exasperated gesture. "It's made of chakra-conducting metal for a reason. If you push enough chakra into the weapon, you can shift it into one of four forms."
Naruto eyes filled with twinkling stars. "No way!" The blonde said, looking at her weapon in genuine disbelief.
"Yes way! I told you it was a super special weapon, didn't I? My dad traded a pretty big supply of kunai and shuriken for special weapons like these, all the way over in Takumi no Sato." Tenten said, a look of pride on her face.
"Where's Takumi?" Naruto asked, tilting her head to the side like a confused puppy. The bun-headed girl giggled lightheartedly, as she sealed away her sword again.
"Oh, it's also called the Village of Artisans. It's in the Land of Rivers, I'm not surprised you've never heard of it. They make some really spectacular weapons over there." The taller girl explained.
Naruto began picking up Tenten's kunai, which were strewn across her yard.
"Wait, if they're so spectacular, why was that one so.. Affordable?" The blonde questioned, passing the kunai she'd gathered to her sparring partner.
The brunette took the sharp weapons, resealing them before she replied.
"Because, not only is it a super uncommon weapon, it's also attuned to wind chakra, which is practically nonexistent in Konoha. I believe that weapon was originally designed as a custom for someone, but the customer never came through. So that's why my dad ended up with it later on." Tenten explained, subtly enjoying the fact that she could explain weaponry to a dedicated listener.
Naruto picked up her own weapon, and Tenten watched her with slight anticipation.
"It takes a lot of chakra to change a weapon's form, so don't be to upset of you ca-"
Her jaw snapped shut when the weapon began to glow a soft golden hue, as Naruto pushed her chakra into it.
First, it shifted into a real meteor hammer. With two hefty spiked balls connected by a thick chain, it looked every bit as dangerous as it had before.
Forcing more chakra out, she made a rather minor change from the original this time. The staff shortened, and a section transformed into a single-headed meteor hammer.
Meaning, it was a spiked-ball attached to a chain, but with a larger handle rather than a chain. Naruto would compare it more so to a spiked club.
Naruto recalled that this kind of weapon was also referred to as a mace, and that it was essentially known for the same purpose as a regular meteor hammer or morning star.. Damage through puncturing, and blunt force at the same time.
The girl fought the urge to grimace at the thought of how brutal her weapon could be.
She pushed more chakra into the weapon, and the metal began to glow and re-shape once more.
Tenten's jaw fell open when it was once again altered, into its last form.
After forcing her weapon through 3 forms, she finally was feeling a drain from using a surplus of chakra. To change her weapon three or four times, it would be completely exhausting in actual combat. At least at her current skill level...
Naruto disregarded those thoughts as her weapon finished it's transformation.
It was nearly all chain, besides one large spike at the end, and a handle on the other side. However, one end of the chain had what looked like hooks, presumably for grappling opponents.
"That.. Is.. So cool!" Tenten said, rushing over to get a closer look.
She delicately ran her fingers across the iron chain, being especially careful as she caressed the razor-sharp hooks.
"This is a chain whip, right?" Naruto asked, despite knowing the answer.
"Yep! This is a super unique one, too. This weapon really is something else." The brunette remarked.
The two girls pulled their attention away from the chain whip when they heard a noise by the door. The blonde quickly sealed away her weapon, tucking the scroll back into it's place. Looking over, Naruto saw a chubby woman who looked far older than Tenten's father. With dark hazelnut colored hair streaked with gray and rosy cheeks, she looked like the perfect image of a friendly grandma.
"Ten-chan, dear! Bring your friend over here, you ladies can't do all that ninja stuff on an empty stomach!" The woman called, beckoning over the girls.
The brunette girl looked vaguely embarrassed, a light pink dust on her cheeks. "Y-yes, oba-san." She replied obediently, taking Naruto's hand to lead her over.
If she hadn't, Naruto probably would've frozen in place.
Naruto had never stayed at a friend's house, or met a friend's parents. Or grandparents, rather. And although the girl had spent years daydreaming of making wonderful friends, she'd never imagined their family's treating her so kindly.
Had Naruto ever even had real friends? Or simply school acquaintances?
But here she was, in the real world, at a friends house. A friend whom she'd just sparred with, but held no ill-will towards her like everyone else did after spars.
Here she was, at a friends house, watching her be cooed over by her kind-hearted grandmother.
And here she was… Also being cooed over by said grandmother?
"Oh dear, just look at you!" The elderly woman said, pinching Naruto's whiskered cheek.
Tenten looked positively humiliated, "Oba-san! S-stop babying my friend!" She croaked out, trying to pull Naruto away. The blonde blinked owlishly at the entire situation, partially taken aback by what was currently occurring.
"Just look at this little thing! My, you're one of the cutest little things I've seen in all my days!" The older woman said, pinching Naruto's other cheek now.
The allegedly cute little thing was currently lamenting the pain in her poor, poor face, squinting her eyes shut. "If you keep this up, Naruto won't ever come back here! Seriously!" Tenten pleaded, as if Naruto somehow couldn't hear her.
The older woman released Naruto then and there, harrumphing childishly.
"Fine, fine. I brought you and Naru-chan here some onigiri and lemonade for lunch. Have fun now.~" Said the chubby woman, before she gave the young kunoichi polite smiles. She waved as she went back inside, leaving an utterly confused Naruto and an embarrassed Tenten.
The blushing, bun-headed girl took a seat on a red tatami mat, beside the tray her grandmother brought. Naruto hesitantly took a seat across from her, and took a sip of her lemonade.
Tenten glanced up at her friend, noticing the pink marks on the skin of her cheeks.
"Sorry, my grandma can be a bit much. Next Saturday we're totally going to your place after we finish sparring." The girl brunette said, shooting a heated glare at the door.
Naruto snorted, rubbing her cheeks softly.
The brunette took a bite of her onigiri, and Naruto dug into her portion
"I don't think you'd like my apartment all that much." The blonde remarked, rice in her mouth.
Tenten tittered at her unladylike behavior, not really caring. In fact, Tenten thought Naruto's tomboyish behavior was a bit refreshing. She hadn't met any other kunoichi who were even similar to herself, so she couldn't help but smile.
"I'm sure it's fine. Do you.. Live by yourself?" Tenten asked, knowing that her teammate Rock Lee had his own apartment because he was an orphan.
Naruto rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, nodding.
"I'm sorry, that's probably tough on you, Naru-chan." The weapon's mistress empathised with Naruto, despite not knowing what such a life would be like.
Tenten's mother had passed, though, so she at least knew what it was like to have one missing parent.
Naruto smiled brightly at the nickname, feeling a warmth flood her own chest.
"Don't worry about it! You know, since you're calling me Naru, I get to come up with a nickname for you, 'ttebayo!" Declared the blonde, still grinning.
The brunette, double-bun wearing girl chuckled.
"Fine, just don't call me Ten-chan like my grandma does, it's too embarrassing." Tenten replied playfully, finishing the last of her onigiri.
Naruto wrinkled her nose and tapped her chin, "Well, this calls for some creativity!"
The blonde had never actually given someone a nickname before.
At least not a polite one..
Well, there was Shikamaru, but she rarely ever used his. She only called him Shika when she was trying to get under his skin.
Which, never seemed to work…. He'd need a new nickname, too, but that was a thought for later.
She studied Tenten, looking for an appropriate feature to name her after. Her eyes landed on her hair, and she snapped her fingers. "Aha! I've got it!" The blonde said, applauding herself internally.
"Okaaay?" Tenten replied, gesturing for her to continue.
"I'm gonna call you Bunny-chan!" The shorter girl replied, practically beaming. The newly dubbed Bunny-chan sputtered, tripping over her words.
"That's even worse than Ten-chan!" She shouted indignantly, folding her arms. She pursed her lips, attempting to force down a smile. She'd never admit that she actually thought the nickname was quite sweet.
She almost thought the entire day was too good to be true. She'd made her first like minded friend, who also liked cool weaponry, and loved sparring as much as she did. Who also happened to be a girl, as a bonus. And, she had the cutest nickname in existence to show for it.
"Pfft, it's too late to take back now! Blame it on your hair, not me,!" The blonde replied, shrugging nonchalantly.
Tenten turned her head to hide the smile blooming on her face, rolling her eyes.
She already knew that her and Naruto would soon be attached at the hip.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Another chapter finally edited.. I'm not super excited to edit the next ones, considering how long they are. Oh, to have a beta-reader...
I jest, I jest!
Anywhoo!
Song this chapter: 'Steady As She Goes,' by The Raconteurs.
Thank you for reading, much love, and reviews are always appreciated!~