AN: See bottom
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Warnings: The norm, I guess?
Chapter 19: New Beginnings and Stuff
Kinme tip #28: Assumptions makes dead munchkins.
~The Weird Tutor
We should've asked for the blueprints of our future dwelling first. Or better yet, asked to actually take a tour of the house.
It's not like it wasn't worth the million yen we spent on it, no, on the contrary, it was only bigger than what was expected, what with three bedrooms, two full-sized washrooms, a living room, dining room, kitchen, storage room, an amazing yard and even an attic. But the layout, goodness grief, the layout was horrendous.
So, the matron's partner was the one to direct us to our new dwelling while Yamanaka and the matron talked, reminiscent of how he was also the one that showed us to our room in the orphanage. Indeed, it was about two streets down from the orphanage, but only a street-and-a-half away from the bar that I have, according to Dōsukēru, "pledged my musical talents to". She might've still been a touch pissed at me making such a decision without talking to her first.
Then it was the unveiling and entering our new home.
Oro sniffed a bit. At this point he was practically vibrating from the inside of his coat, Sugiryuu twined around his left arm underneath all the layers. If one didn't know better, then my brother probably looked like a short, stubby child with a sausage left arm. It was with even more vibrating excitement that he ceremoniously unlocked the door, and Kibamaru unceremoniously bit the knob and twisted it open. We will… need to clean the knob of slobber later, lest it freezes into slobber-icicles.
As was previously stated, the layout of the house was horrible. Perhaps it was the amazing front garden that prompted me to let my guard down, or perhaps the currently rather sparse existence of neighbours, but I was not prepared to see the washroom the moment I stepped through the door. Hell, it was even equipped with a bathtub and shower, despite being smack on the bottom floor.
"This… is not what I had in mind." Dōsukēru said, her voice a small hiss in my ear. I nodded in instant agreement.
Oro and Sugiryuu probably didn't realize anything wrong with layout yet, what with them being just a bit over four years old.
Fuck. I just unleashed two curious, chakra-wielding four year olds into an unknown building.
Well, judging from the current appearance of the house, perhaps renovating after a bit of breaking down would actually function to fit our purpose. I could already hear future carpenders crying inside, trying to keep up with all of our demands. At least they'll be paid well.
Sudden moving aside, our day was filled with exploring the nooks and crannies of the relatively new house. There were a few points that I could already make about it, other than its layout being horrendous.
First of all, Hashirama vastly overestimated the explosive growth that the village would undergo within the first decade. Granted it did grow explosively, but the clans all marked their territories within Konoha proper, and the actual frickton of houses that he conjured out with magical ninja bullshit did not receive the number of civilians that it should've.
Since most of the civilians live in family homes in this day and age, living and dying within the same hundred or so kilometer stretch of land, not a lot of them were willing to uproot themselves. Then the Shinobi war happened and they were even more cautious. Some chose to travel to a village in hopes of some ninja protection, but some even more adamantly chose to stay away because in a war, the base is targeted, and in ninja wars, those affiliated with the enemy will be killed without mercy.
Anyhow, this house was meant to be for a family of four or more– what with its number of bedrooms and bathrooms– but of the numerous townhouses on this same street, only a third abouts were actually occupied. And, it was meant for a civilian family, so we were also currently living in a civilian district.
That went off topic.
Second of all, Hashirama must've been experimenting with architecture when he got to this particular patch of land, otherwise the layout wouldn't be so screwy.
Third of all, it faces south, which is favourable for us, and one of its few blessings.
And last but not least, Hashirama did not believe in the difficulty of purchasing furniture in the smack middle of winter. Hashirama can make houses, so Hashirama can make furniture, but needs to leave something for the carpenters of the village, right? At least we had some furniture sealed into the rooms that Sugiryuu has packed with him, but not everybody would be as frivolous as us. Actually, they probably brought some of their furniture with them, so never mind.
Whatever happens onward though, we now had a lair, I mean a home, and that changes quite a lot.
Despite the now-large space available to us, we ended up all clustered in the single "master" bedroom that was present in the upper of the two floors, the other two remaining empty for the time being. It wasn't like we needed that much space right now anyways, and before we managed to make the house "lived in", we might as well all share. The heating could be a problem for longer winter nights, but for now we could just plug out some of the thermoregulatory seals that our clan relied on for stable indoor temperatures and hire ninja with higher chakra capacity to fill them. They would do anything for a stable income, including selling their little amounts of chakra periodically for small sums of money.
Thank gods we're rich.
The carpenters will probably thank us for being rich.
The rest of the morning was spent moving the rest of our near non-existent belongings from the orphanage over to the townhouse (house number 47 of Cedar street), and using the large, wooded backyard to slowly shuffle some of the furniture out from the bunkers that were stored with Sugiryuu. It wouldn't have taken so long if we were older and stronger, but as it was, we were flabby noodle kids with even noodle-ier snakes and can't really lift actual furniture like desks and bookshelves.
This resulted in us hiring a genin team to help move some inconsequential furniture out of the living room and bedroom pages of the bunker.
Methinks our constant upchucking of storage seals has broken the Yamanaka lady. At least she left with the genin team, probably to write up a report on the creepy snake kids for our Hokage and whatever else we can contribute, like puking escort items. Ugh.
Me also thinks that the cold broke my brain, because I could have potentially just carried out some of the stuff myself by using the storage seals on me, just like what I tend to do with my piano.
By the time we were done, the sun was creeping past the midline of the sky and we were off to search for the beautiful nourishment of lunch and a locksmith so that I can have a copy of the key as well. Off to the market we go!
Lunch-finding and key-making went wonderfully well, except now the four of us were hovering around the entrance to the bar that I would be "contributing music" to.
At this close of a distance, I could easily differentiate the two Uchiha signatures that we encountered last time from the rest of the patrons. Theirs were tucked in close, the originally cat-fire chakra like wings against the body of a nesting firebird. Or in this particular instant, like frazzled flamingos, hence the hesitation around the door, until someone inside roared "get the brats inside this instant or I'll spike each and every one of your damned drinks!"
There were a few drunken cheers at the declaration of heavier alcohol, but someone, probably a regular, seemed to teleport straight to the door before bundling us into the warmth and heavy scent of woodsmoke, alcohol, and assorted alcohol accompanying foods. What the bartender spike their drinks with is a mystery I'd like to leave unsolved for as long as possible.
The four of us being deposited in the middle of the bar received quite a bit of mixed attention, some curious, some amused, and quite a bit annoyed.
"Are you getting old? Dotting on kids like this?" rumbled a customer.
"It's her grandmotherly instincts kicking in!" hollered another.
"Shut your stacks you bunch of hooligans!" said "grandmother" laughed back, "if I'm a grandma, then why don't half of you all have a foot in the grave by now?"
"Because you get us drunk and hungover before we make any stupidass decisions!"
"Because you got the Shinigami drunk!"
The bar lady cackled, "damn right!"
I… think whiplash is a gentle term to describe the contrast felt between the difference between the first personality I saw in the matron versus the one currently present. Either last time was a ruse, or this time is a mask… or both are just parts of a multiple-personality disorder… That is most definitely disheartening and I'm regretting quite a few of my life choices now.
Dōsukēru reared her head out of my scarf, and in a perfectly level tone, said "excuse us for passing through, but we might've gotten lost on the way to the marketplace." I nodded along with her and discreetly tugged Oro towards me, hopefully we'll be out the door while they seem preoccupied.
A sudden roiling flare of chakra broke out from behind the counter and it was all I could do to not kneel over right then and there. Pretty much all the adults that we've met so far either didn't have the amount of chakra required to exert such a palpable force, or had it tightly reigned enough that it wouldn't affect the everyday function of everyone else. This was ouch.
No wonder there are so many legends of sensors or other, chaka-attuned individuals becoming hermits and living far, far away from human civilization. If just randomly stepping into a bar in a supposedly friendly country results in a sensation of being choked by the air itself, then where could people go other then away?
Then my knees did fold and I ended up clutching onto a chair for dear life, Dōsukēru not much better through our link and almost shared abilities. The ceiling didn't spin when we entered, so why was it dancing now?
"Nee-chan, nee-chan?" the little fella sounded absolutely horrified.
As fast as it had originally appeared, the tidal wave of chakra was reined back and a crash sounded of glass breaking sounded from behind the counter. I could only tell that Oro shifted to stand in front of me, hands spread out as if to ward off some monster by the way his chakra trembled through every limb. Sugiryuu lifted his head out from Oro's hood, and hissed an actual hiss. He sounded adorable.
"You will not hurt my nee-chans." My little brother said.
The chakra that flashed out from behind the counter hovered a few meters away, pricklings of sparks jumping around in agitation.
"I will not intentionally hurt your nee-chan, I am sorry for the scare earlier, it was not known to me that these two are chakra sensitive, but it was my fault for assuming that it would be ok." The voice said. Then she continued, "can I come over and try to help your sisters?"
Huh. She really does think of Dōsukēru like an individual on the level of a human. Thank gods.
My brother hesitated, and Sugiryuu probably just chose to bare his fangs in the most extreme version of intimidation he knew. Spoiler alert, at his age, it's still rather adorable. Being at least a bit more unaffected than me, Dōsukēru slowly wound her way up the back of my head until she could be seen sitting on my face. Apparently sometime in between I had fallen flat on my back, how odd.
"Yes, you may help us if you don't want to lose your future musician."
Geez, thanks for selling me out, buddy.
It's not like I could do anything about that though, what with feeling quite paralyzed at the moment. There was the brief sensation of a weight being lifted off of me, and I panicked.
Why was Dōsukēru getting picked up, and why wasn't she resisting? If anything happens to her, I will bloody murder my way through everyone in this bar even if it takes me a decade and this second chance at life.
Wait, Oro would've at least had some sort of reaction if it was against her wishes, so perhaps it would be ok? The whispering between my partner and the Uchiha bar lady was a bit too soft for me to pick up though. Then Oro chimed in with the little-kid whisper, "yes please, that would probably work for nee-chan!"
Why are the remaining members of my family here all conspiring against feeble, noodle-fied me?
Suddenly I could hear the Uchiha lady talking to Dōsukēru, and it would be dumb if I didn't think it was because she wanted me to hear.
"So you have somewhere to live and practice your flute skills now?"
"Uh-huh!" agreed my little brother. Some of the other customers were snickering now.
"So your sister no longer needs to work here only for a private booth?"
"Correct," chirped Sugiryuu. The lot of them are all lil' traitors. And the rest of the bar was not much better.
"Then… what could she work for, if you already have money, and housing, and education? Hmmm." The Uchiha lady mused out loud. If she was a comic book villain, she would have probably been stroking a cat right about now. But… wasn't she currently holding my partner?
The she said, "I know! She can work for food, someone to watch over brother while she's in the academy, and if she's particularly lucky..." the eyebrow wag was practically audible, "perhaps even jutsu!"
Holy fuck yes.
I shot my hand into the air with a thumbs up, mentally overriding the paralysis somehow, blame chakra probably. This solves two of our problems at the same time, what with my cooking skills being jackshit and my having to attend the academy and leaving Oro and Sugiryuu home by themselves. Granted, the Inuzuka matron had already sort of guaranteed that she'll help watch over the two little ones while I was away, but she had an entire orphanage to run. That would mean that we would need to constantly hire genin teams to take care of my brother, and I honestly don't think that would be necessary as anything other than a precaution that costs a fortune. We can't even get civilian babysitters because of our clan traits, and it would also be an insult to my little brothers' intelligence.
If we could get this down on paper as a formal contract with a few reliable witnesses, I would be willing to start my new job right this very instant.
But just for appearances sake–
"You feed us good food and take care of my brothers, I will work for you." I said. From the ground that I still haven't gotten up from. Yeah… what a brilliant impression I must be making.
There might've been some whispers somewhere off to the side that sounded like "that kid just sold her soul to the devil, I'm betting a meal on she quitting in ten days."
"Over ten days? Nah man, I'm betting my next mission's pay on a week."
"You lot shut up!" There was a sound of something non aerodynamic flying through the air, said non aerodynamic object hitting something soft and squishy, and vivid swearing censored only by distance and drunk incoherent slurring. So it appears that I didn't hear the whispers wrong.
There was a moment of silence, and then Sugiryuu said, "can I bet my next shed skin on her lasting at least through her academy years?"
They let him. They bloody let a snake bet his skin. Wow that was weird to think out loud.
Somehow the Uchiha lady contacted a chunin within moments of my snake brother betting his next shed skin, and formalized the betting ring that I should pretend to not know about. The fire in Sugiryuu's eyes basically screamed at me to win this bet for him, because even though he would probably shed soon, generally we keep the skin as a momento, or even make separated individual scales into ornamentation like earrings, or necklaces, or some things of the like. Occasionally if the snake was large enough or known to have especially tough scales, even armour and other defensive equipment wouldn't be a stretch. Either way, he wouldn't actually have bet his scales on bad odds, so I'm awfully flattered.
But we'll need to somehow wean out the gambling hobby of his, before it grows out of hand. Or better yet, only have him bet against Tsunade whenever she shows up, then we'll be rich in no time at all, especially if history becomes our future, then she'll be on their team and we'll have a mobile bank with Senju written all over it.
The chunin also presented a work contract in a flourish that said he's done it a few too many times. Judging by the way he was eyeing Uchiha-san, it probably wasn't the first time at this particular bar either. That's a touch discouraging, but beggars can't be choosers, especially when the deal presented is quite a win-win situation, so the expression doesn't really apply at all.
We went through the ordeal of paperwork together, her giving me some mochi as recompense for nearly blasting me unconscious with her chakra, and I finally found out that her name was Uchiha Asuka. No forgetting. My employer's name is Uchiha Asuka. Asuka.
It still astounds me by how formal she was when speaking to us kids, yet so free and careless when talking to her customers. Isn't it usually the opposite? Honestly though, just being able to speak to anyone right off the bat without having to hide behind someone else or stuttering is my interpersonal communication goal. Hopefully working here would help me with that.
Anyhow, the contract was the normal binding stuff yada yada yada, with the two of us writing down in chakra-infused ink what each of us will bring to the table. A bit of hashing later and I would be contributing two hours a day during weekdays, and five hours on weekends, or just an overall twenty hours a week of piano playing. She would provide us breakfast and supper on all weekdays along with lunch for Oro and Sugiryuu, and three meals during the weekend. She would also let my brothers stay in the workers lounge during the times I spend at the academy, on account that he doesn't wander around and cause trouble.
Hopefully he won't, because at this time we're still only new immigrants that haven't yet earned enough trust.
Perhaps it was a last minute thought, but at the very bottom she added one last tidbit.
On days of insecurity, Suijami, Dōsukēru, Orochimaru, and/or Sugiryuu may ask and receive an escort to their residence.
That line froze Dōsukēru, and me as well. We've known this lady for all of less than two hours, and she's already willing to do so much for a couple brats she doesn't know. Why were the Uchiha prosecuted so bad in the original world if this is how they treat people? Granted I don't have a decent body of data yet, but she treats myself and my brother both as human, and even our partners. Her husband doesn't seem to mind either, and didn't disagree with anything other than adding a meal for our weekends. In comparison to the distrust and active hostility displayed by Suna, it was simply astounding.
Then again, Suna doesn't have many clans, most of them being large ninja families or even civilians that practice a bit of chakra to survive in the desert. They most certainly didn't have any clans with non-human partner that accompanied them 24/7, but had practitioners of poison that bred poisonous creatures for their capabilities in combat. Konoha has the Inuzuka clan, the Hatake, and the Aburame clan, each residing in a symbiosis relationship with their life-long non-human partners-in-crime. So what exactly was to blame for Suna's hostility? Fear of the unknown? Or fear of their opponents gaining the power of the unknown?
Pondering about the political state or ninja mentality of the elemental nations wouldn't do us any good now, so we might as well go with the flow until we can solve the reasoning behind it. And slaughter the few that got away from the Last Day.
Thinking a bit and quietly discussing it with Dōsukēru, we decided to even out the deal a bit.
After conducting relevant research, Suijami and Dōsukēru will share non-confidential results and utilization strategies with Uchiha Asuka and Uchiha Kazuya.
Yeah, the other Uchiha goes by Kazuya. I'll probably forget by the end of the week, which is a vast improvement from some other people I know.
But– if someone is honest and good and honestly good to us, it will always be returned in the same manner. Even if that wasn't what our parents and elders and other assorted guardians taught us in this life, it is a principle that I carried forward from before, and is something that I will pass down to my partner and brothers. Even if ninja mentality gives a thumbs up for occasional backstabbing, a strict moral compass would be something that can be used to stabilize one's sense of self in times of doubt.
On the brighter side of things, it doesn't matter to Uchiha-san what genre of music I play, as long as its music and not imbued with chakra for some nefarious purpose.
Since it'll be the first, actual piece that will be played as part of this employment, the only choice I had in my repertoire for this occasion would be Circle of Life from The Lion King. The base melody might've been patchworked from second guessing every single damn note, but I got it down on paper anyhow and embellished it with whatever I could throw in without making it sound horrible.
Now I only need to remember the lyrics.
Despite the earlier cheerfulness and carefreeness displayed by the bargoers, I could still feel every gaze like a laser when I leaned down to press my hand on the bar floor near a wall after I got permission to do so. Considering what our clan might've been notorious for, that wasn't a surprise. Having seen me do this once already Uchiha-san was perfectly relaxed, and her presence soothed most of the ruffled feathers.
The piano was a welcome sight for sore eyes, and I could nearly imagine being sixteen again and playing with hands large enough to span an octave. It however, also conjured up the bitterness that the only family that I would ever get to play for from now on would not include my parents. Which hurt, still, and will continue hurting until sometime in the distant future where I could actually do something about it.
Bleh, emotions. Sometimes they really should've stay stuffed in Pandora's box o' wonders. But coming from another perspective, does one without emotions really live? We live trying to fulfill something, to be happy, to know that once upon a time, we existed on this ground to watch the sky. Or perhaps one couldn't see the sky or hear the birds and the wind or smell that smell of home, but everybody must live for something, and without emotion, would they be living for something?
Frick, as depressing as some parts of the movie was, Circle of life was not supposed to be this sad sounding damnit.
I think I can hear someone crying in the background. Did Uchiha-san actually spike their drinks? Honestly though, one might've thought that these full grown ninjas would've heard music better than what a random-ass six year old was playing in a bar.
Or perhaps, they don't always get to hear music in a safe setting while drunk. From what I've seen and heard so far in the elemental nations, people that are able to dedicate themselves to the arts are few and far between, what with most people worrying about murder-ninjas vaulting across their rooftops and trying to put food on the table.
They aren't yet advanced enough for most people to be allowed to dedicate time to something not linked with survival. Which sucks a hell lot more than I thought it would be.
Having lived before in the 21st century meant that music was a part of everyday life, whether it be on the radio, Youtube, or just music found in some corner of a bookstore, retail shop, in the hands of a violinist on the side of a street. The quality wasn't what always ensured, but the existence of music was a constant throughout the life I once spent living.
Even the short six years I spent with the clan meant that I could hear some sort of music on a near weekly basis, whether it was from someone performing, through my parent's practicing and experimentation, or even my own playing. I believe it wouldn't be unreasonable to say that music was part of what made me who I am today, who I will be tomorrow, the day after that, and even the long years after.
Then considering that the arts were a valued, expensive resource that is hoarded in noble courts or used as a weapon for murder, maybe it wasn't as strange for someone to start crying.
Or maybe it was because I forgot to take out the sheet music and playing from memory wasn't going so well, oops.
Dōsukēru tapped along to the beat of whatever I was playing from the top of the seal piano, and Oro was trying his best to mimic her. Sugiryuu was a bit of a lost cause, being nearly completely tone-deaf since the day he was hatched. Even Hikaru's butchering of that weird instrument he played didn't faze the snake as much as it murder our eardrums.
Stumbling a bit on the last chord with little sausage-fingers, Oro clapped, starting a round of claps throughout the bar that ended almost as quickly as it came. "Can nee-chan do the river song?" he asked, delighting in the fact that he knew the pieces that I played while no one else did.
"Piece, Oro, music without lyrics are called pieces," I said absentmindedly, rooting through my pockets for a crumpled up piece of paper. Being one of the few pieces that I could actually remember almost every bit of the original, it had to be put down on paper to be preserved lest memory decides to take a dive off the deep end and relieve myself of the few things I could recall clearly from Before.
Why it was still in my pocket would be a forever mystery, but uncrumpling the piece of paper revealed an ugly scrawl denoting the piece as "River Flows in Your", an inside joke of mine concerning how the piece was found in my last life. The music was mostly complete, except due to its repeating nature a few of the sections might've been jumbled up. For now though, it'll do.
Dōsukēru let me prop the paper against her as if she was a stand instead of my partner, or perhaps she let me prop it up against her like a stand because she was my partner.
Methinks somehow suddenly having a house under our names has made my thinking today incredibly loopy, nostalgic, and unnecessarily fake-deep.
What matters was that it worked, the piano pieces that I managed to churn out one after another with too many mistakes. As my piano teacher of a time long passed once said, "no one other than you would know that you made a mistake playing if they don't know the piece, unless you chose to show them." It removed the tendency of me grimacing when a slip happened real quick.
Two hours later and fresh out of piano pieces, the four of us left the bar, stomach full and warm and off to explore more of the village. It was a good day to be alive.
It was not a good day to be alive.
See, one of the first things we had set up after the moving team left was a summoning seal. Much like a summoning contract, it allows summons to get from their realm to others, except without the need of a summoner. It's a pity that this type of seal probably becomes lost after the fall of Uzushio, since canon Naruto had to carry around a huge scroll and actively use it to summon his clones from Mount lots-of-ugly-frogs. I think.
The seal was inscribed in the center of the master bedroom, disguised as the design on a fancy rug. Chakra ink was fascinating, and so was sealing, but it'll probably be one of those things that I can only read and make the smallest changes to.
As fascinating as sealing was, having the seal activated was not something we would've liked to witness in this period of time. Normally if there was something that we want to send over to Ryūchi Cave, I would be the one to summon a messenger snake over, and they would then take whatever it was back over, be it live prey, research, or something that may make their lives easier. The only occasions that the actual seal would be used would be if there was an emergency and they needed to get us information asap. Reverse-summoning to a point where there isn't a chakra source on the other end as an anchor is extremely draining not to mention they can't be sure of the surrounding environment on the other side of the seal, both factors dramatically reducing the times that this seal actually sees usage.
Most of our clan was massacred not even half a month ago, what bloody emergency is it this time?
The messenger that showed up wasn't the usual cobra, but instead was a gaboon viper.
If there was any significance to this change, none of us would know, considering that was information that wasn't taught to us while in the clan, and wasn't written about in the clan handbook.
Despite the direness of the situation, I nearly laughed out loud.
Having grown up with snakes, most of our clan finds them on a spectrum of adorable, beautiful, or perhaps tough-looking. In general, this means that absolutely none of us are scared of these marvelous creatures that constitutes nearly literally half our soul. This also means that instead of the horrified terror that most would be consumed by when encountering a gaboon viper, I just found her very amusing looking.
Gaboon vipers are known for a few traits, the most obvious ones being that they are very, very flat, with a very abruptly small, stubby tail. Their camouflage is also top notch in the animal kingdom, typically various shades of brown and that weird yellow-brown colour that I still don't know the name of.
What makes them absolutely terrifying to those that know of them, however, is their venom. A gaboon viper can easily murder a man in a single bit, and if that wasn't enough, they also have the longest fangs of any natural, non-summoning breed of snake. Of course, they also produce an insane amount of venom.
Denial, in my fashion, apparently can be described as mental procrastination.
Having sensed us approaching the house, the gaboon viper had slithered her way to curl around the stair rails and stayed there waiting.
Seeing such a flat snake smooshed onto the railing was what nearly caused the laughter, but the reasoning behind her appearance was able to choke the laughter into an early grave.
Takumi village was attacked. Half of their population was decimated, and only a handful of their proud smiths remain in the world of the living.
The members of our clan that wanted to settle there didn't survive.
There were four of them there, including one of the adults.
That means three children, three of our children, were killed.
If I screamed loud enough, could it break down heaven's doors and bring them back to us?
From a sensor's perspective, there was enough palpable despair and anger among those present to summon a demon that can kill our clan's murderers. Unfortunately that's not how this world works, otherwise no ninja would remain.
Killing other people's children for money, or just killing children at all should be outlawed.
Wasn't this what the village system was designed to prevent?
Don't muffle your crying Oro, we all need to mourn today.
Having gone to sleep numb and early after crying out our fill of tears, we spent over twelve hours in the land of the unconscious. It was not a night to go to the "murder pond" as Oro had termed it, because any more surprises would probably break something in me for any close, future events. Waking up just as the sun was rising was not part of the plan, as was the knocking at the front door.
Perhaps it could be described less as knocking and more of intermittent flashes of chakra, out of rhythm and at a stupidly fast tempo that can't be ignored. This is when chakra sensing is a curse.
Blast them, whoever they are.
Morning person, none of us are. Pissed people, we very much are.
Turns out the Yamanaka lady wasn't all that happy after we very obviously got up and left her in the cold for an extra ten minutes, but what can I say? At that moment in space and time, spite was our ambrosia.
It was also at that moment that I was able to affirm the fact that Yamanaka-san was our handler. It wasn't exactly a wonder, what with our clan having just being massacred and the only evidence being a null existence. Since she was the one that went into my head, she probably also saw what I perceived as reality, a reality that could easily be influenced by genjutsu. Especially due to the abnormal skill levels that Dōsukēru and I have demonstrated in regards to… stuff in general, we were probably under suspicion for being spies sent to infiltrate Konoha during this period right after the Shodaime passed.
And the even more unfortunate part of this mess, was that even if I tried to plead not innocent of sabotage or otherwise spying activities, the suspicion would only increase tenfold.
This would be the detrimental effects of our clan policies. If we were more outgoing and communicated with more of the larger villages, our absence would actually be noted within a short period of time. As it were, the more reclusive clans could probably vanish without a trace and people wouldn't realize until years later, when all the tracks were gone and the ashes settled, leaving only vengeful ghosts wandering their old clan compounds.
Since our clan has been gone for barely two weeks, and these two weeks generally being when our clan moves to Suna and settles down for winter, the other greater villages wouldn't even have received word that we have fallen. Senju Tobirama wouldn't just trust the words of two children, no matter how innocent and harmless and great the potential contribution they could possible contribute, at least not before he verifies some of the information himself.
The shiver that ran up my spine was not from the cold air that hit my face when opening the door to let Yamanaka-san in, but came from deeper within.
I now sincerely believe that if Uzumaki Mito wasn't there that day in the office, then our next destination wouldn't have been the orphanage, but instead the deeper bowels of T&I.
"So," Yamanaka-san said, clapping her hands together and confining her chakra down to a tempered flare instead of the anger that I would've been able to read, "I heard the two of you went to a bar last night and got your future scheduling down."
"Did we?" Dōsukēru blinked at me innocently.
"Maybe?" I replied, blinking back at my partner with equally innocent wide-eyed looks.
"I surely hope you did, because today you will be starting at to academy and you'll need to figure out where Orochimaru-kun is going to go." Yamanaka-san's eyes were opened just a slit. "I could just drop him off at the orphanage. The other kids must be curious why you two left so quickly."
Wow, she must need her morning dose of coffee as well. And fuck, why didn't anyone tell me that the academy started today? The principle-headmaster-Nara-dude literally saw the lot of us less than 24 hours ago, why didn't he tell us that we were beginning today? And here I was, hoping that at least some time would be given to us to get acclimatized to our new home. Luck has not stood with us for a long time, it seems.
Hopefully the academy will help me take the mind off of things, like the recent death of four clanmates, and the kind folk that lived in Takumi village. Maybe this was the prompting that had Tenten's family move to Konoha? Or was her background of having ancestral roots in Takumi fanon? At this point my memory can't seem to differentiate these facts anymore, especially with Tobirama alive, which I am ninety percent sure doesn't correspond to canon.
Whatever, screw canon, Kishimoto fricked up the characterization of too many good characters in that last chapter of his, it has been canonically proven that fanon is better. Which… means I'm living in fanon. Talking about the world I currently live in as a made-up story in someone other than the original author's head is a bit too fricked up, even for me. Disassociation sucks. Besides, if I was ever to reincarnate into something, I would've chosen a cat or a bird, or if possible, a dragon of some kind, not some world where ninjas can smoosh a civilian just by landing in the nearby vicinity, and certainly not a world where almost everything I've been holding dear gets ripped away before I even reach the single decade mark. If there is a someone in charge of this stupid reincarnation cycle, I want a refund.
But then again, without existing here, I wouldn't have known Dōsukēru, or had Oro and Sugiryuu as brothers.
I no longer want a refund, compensation, however, would be fair game.
As per usual these days, I was lugged to the academy as if my physique was a particularly heavy potato sack. My brothers were dropped off at the bar, Uchiha-san giving me a smile when telling me that she'll take good care of them, and a shark's grin for Yamanaka-san. There's some bad blood there, I can smell it.
My respect for the Uchiha also went up a few notches when she tucked a little box of breakfast under my arm, because if my stomach growled louder than I could talk at the academy, then I might as well spend the rest of my educational career as a laughing stock.
The academy was already ongoing by the time we arrived, the mind-reading lady being barely out of breath and not a hair out of place. The two of us did not fare so well, I think I can still hear Dōsukēru's whispers about how delightful it would be to puke in said lady's hair. As I said, my snake partner is most definitely the other half of my soul.
"Now, the term started a week ago, so the kids already know each other. Since you wouldn't get up in the morning–" she gave me a look, "you're also late for class. Here's your schedule for the week, don't lose it, and we'll adjust it according to your performance." With that said, she gave my head a pat through the layers of hoods I had on, and whipped out a piece of paper from some pocket that seemed to blend in with the fabric. Invisible pockets are goals.
First class throughout the week was all a homeroom session in room 206, and the rest of the classes varies.
I looked up, and the mind-reader was gone. Shit, I needed to ask her what day of the week it was.
Patting at the bulge around my neck, I asked "what day is it today?"
The muffled answer was "Thursday." Thank the blessed Sage for giving one of us a sense of time.
Pushing through the doors revealed a long hallway, a clock on the wall proclaiming the time to be nearly ten thirty. Right, winter means the sun rises later than usual, so when we rose with the sun… well.
I matched the time on the timetable she gave me with the current ten thirty, and breathed a sigh of relief when it was a homeroom class. Given that Nara-san said that my classes would be much more physical-orientated, I had assumed that it meant mostly combat, stamina, or even workout classes. Introductions, in my non-expert opinion, were much easier when they aren't followed up by punching people in the face. But still, class with little brats. I trudged onwards to my doom.
"You'll help with the intros, right?" I said.
"Why wouldn't I?" was the reply.
Room 309 was located on the highest floor, and judging from the distance between doors, medium sized. There were perhaps fourty or so brightly lit candles of chakra in the room, and a much larger bonfire. Nothing on the scale of Tobirama or Mito, but considerably larger than our handler's. Strangely, it was concentrated around the lower right limb.
I knocked.
There was a shuffle and some muffled whispers from inside the room. "Come on in," the person who was presumably the teacher said.
The room was a lot more spacious than I had assumed, and the seats were all tiered with many of the students clustered in groups anywhere but the middle. The teacher himself looked like a grizzled veteran, but his right leg was in a cast. So does chakra concentrate purposely around long-term injuries, or is it a subconscious thing to do with the bullshit energy criteria?
The teacher nodded at me, only a faint ripple in his chakra showing any signs of surprise. Perhaps I was a bit smaller than he thought I would be? Or maybe he was also worried about Dōsukēru?
"You are… Kinme Suijami?" I nodded. "And your partner Dōsukēru?" Said partner lifted her head out of my scarf, and also nodded.
And so, the screaming began.
AN: I... might be temporarily sacrificing quality for quantity (if there was any quality to begin with, lol)
So far, I'm almost on track with NaNo, but will have to slow down just this week because Life, but next week will be better what with reading week break and all.
The response I got from last chapter almost made me tear up, thanks y'all, you guys are all amazing!
If there's anything wrong with this chapter, be it spelling errors, grammar issues, or just.. issues in general, please don'w hesitate to point it out and I'll get back to fixing it as soon as I can, thanks!
Please leave a review on the way out!
Thanks for reading!
~Cadriona Morningwing
Uploaded November 7, 2018