A/N. Sooo I read the story over again and technically this next scene doesn't really have any plot importance but I thought it was funny so I kept it in.
"So. Repeat after me: 'I, Sarutobi Ayame," She gave me a droll look.
"I, Sarutobi Ayame," She said, in her most nasal voice possible.
"Solemnly swear to adhere by the terms agreed upon by my pact with Arata,"
Her frown grew deeper. "Solemnly swear to adhere by the terms agreed upon by my pact with Arataaaa,"
Come on, just a little more. "And therefore agree not to attack Sarutobi Asuma or any of his constituents."
"And therefoooore agree not to attack Saruto—This is stupid! I don't even know what constituents means!" And I failed.
Torune startled, accidentally ripping the skin of the pheasant she was plucking. "Guys. A little help? I wanna have dinner before it gets dark.."
"Yeah, in a second. Look, I just want you not to attack people on sight. Is that so much to ask?"
"Yes! They started it!"
"That doesn't mean anything."
"Yes it does! It means we finish it!"
"Guys?"
"No! It does not!"
"Yes it does! Watch, I'll go out right now and beat their stupid butts all on my own!"
"Guys!"
"Right in time for brea—what?"
"Guys I heard rustling in the bushes over there!" Torune pointed over to a dark spot.
Ambush? And I didn't hear it? Am I an Inuzuka or what? "Three chakra signatures, huddled together. 20 meters." I'm so embarrassed. How did I not notice?
At my prompt of their location they burst out of their hiding place, trying a pincer formation.
"Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" Ayame blasted out enough fire to reach almost all three of them, making them break formation.
We scrambled to regroup. "Oh look. Just who I was looking for!" Ayame yelled in jubilation.
And whaddaya know. Guess who showed up to attack us, but Asuma and his cronies. Well, at least he brought the elite force this time. Kurenai and Genma gave us particular trouble in the last three rounds.
Turns out that massive battle? That was just the beginning. Any chance they get they go at it, usually to be stopped by one of the sensei to get them to do their regimens. Many had already bowed out, whether because of the harshness of the training we already had, or because they were scared of getting injured. Frankly the repeated fights were starting to get old. If there was any solace in this, is that the sensei's plans backfired so satisfyingly.
"Another fight? Can't we stamp out a peace treaty or something? I'm tired." Next to me, Torune nodded emphatically.
"I agree. We could all just get along." She added.
"Shut up, you crybaby!" Asuma accused.
"Yeah! And isn't Torune a boy's name!?" Genma helpfully added. Torune bristled.
"Okay, nevermind." Just one more round couldn't hurt. ...What? What do you mean I decided too fast?
Ayame was way ahead of me, launching herself at Asuma before I could shout out a strategy.
"Bestial Illusion: Anxiety's Jaw!" The genjutsu fell over them, and they hesitated, just long enough for Ayame to catch Asuma in one of her grappling combos, knocking him to the ground.
"Damn it! That's not how you use genjutsu!" I shouted, warding off Kurenai, (who had quickly broken out of the genjutsu-induced fear) with a push kick to her stomach.
"Partial Multi-Size Technique!" Torune shouted, punching a still jittery Genma back into the bush he came from.
"Nice!" I ran through my Four Legs, sprinting over to Kurenai. Let's see if I can get this right.
"Ookami Rendan!"
I slide tackled her, making her dodge up into the air, then jumped off using my hands, matching her height. One punch, she blocked. The other kick, she didn't expect, nor the follow up one sending her to the ground. Nor the Passing Fang she got while on said ground.
Don't worry. I didn't use my claws. She's fine. Probably.
I bounced backwards, taking stock of the battle. Torune's done, having gone back to plucking her pheasant. Oop, and Asuma is two seconds away from having his face burned off.
I rushed over to—"Aaand that's enough." Yamada-sensei appeared before the two struggling children, tearing off a manic Ayame from a very frightened Asuma.
"AAARGHH! I'll get you eventually! You can't escape from meeeeee!" She yelled, held by the collar, as Asuma ran off. His cronies followed him.
A scowling Yamada-sensei faced us. "You have twenty minutes. Failure to complete the given task will result in—" Banishment from the program, yes yes I get it. He talked some more after that, all of which I ignored. Finally, he dropped Ayame to the ground and left.
Serves you right. You started this mess, you'll have to clean it up.
I deactivated the Four Legs with a sigh. "Are you okay, Ayame?"
She pushed herself up. Her hair, which had come down during the fighting obscuring her face. "I thought you didn't want me beating those guys up anymore."
"Yeah well, I like sticking it to the man more than not defending Tomoe right now, okay?"
"What does sticking it to the man mean?" She asked, having pulled her hair back into her ponytail.
Mmm. I imagined Ayame flipping the bird to the Hokage. Yeah, no. "I'll tell you when you're older."
I looked up at the darkening sky, trees rustling slightly in the wind. The pervading smell of rotting leaves became stronger the more I focused on it. Fall was starting again.
It's been almost a good three months and there's been no word from the outside yet. Can't imagine the war getting any less intense, though. Did anyone I know get deployed yet? Tsume's expected to take Heirship soon, so she probably won't be in the first wave. Does that mean Mom and Dad will be?
To be honest, the lack of news is unsettling. Not that, as new recruits, they would tell us much, but some word would be appreciated. To be honest, the little fights serve as a distraction to get my mind off what we're all here for. Preparing for war. I don't feel ready, and I don't think I ever will be. Everytime a sensei interrupts a fight it makes me realize more and more the level of opponents we'll be facing out there will probably be a lot higher than we're prepared for.
I took a good look at Ayame. She's talented, yes. Prodigal by some standards. But even she couldn't fight off the chuunin sensei. What chance would we have out there, where we could face much worse?
"Why are you staring at me like that?" She gave me a weird look, her huge eyes narrowing as if looking at a puzzle. "You know you get really weird when you come out of the Fast Doggy Jutsu."
I do? I haven't noticed." Its called the Four Legs Technique. I've told you this."
"Fast Doggy Jutsu." Right.
"Hey guys! I don't wanna do everything by myself!" Torune yelled over, having already started cooking the pheasant. Woops.
We walked over.
Tsume P.O.V.
"Han!" "Chou!" "Chou!" "Han!" "Chou!" "Han!" "Chou!" "Chou!"
The place reeked. You could almost taste the scent in the air. I honestly don't know how she survives in this place. It's disgusting.
I had to enter the gambling house under henge, my clan markings too obvious for an infiltration, if a short term one like this. I was too close to the village for them not to recognize my sizably giant and perfect fangs.
Ah I love this undisturbed mental space! No Kuromaru to tsukkomi me today! Freedom!
"Chou!" "Han!" "Han!" "Chou!" "Han!" "Chou!" "Han!" "Chou!"
I looked around. The room, for all it's width, wasn't all that spacious, and I had to squeeze in between the old ugly men, looking for my target. I did a chakra sweep, using my nose, just to make sure. Downside is, I got more of this rancid air.
"Heh, I didn't know they made oiran like you anymore." Some missing teeth wheezed out next to me.
Chakra tends to smell like rotting onions, the more rotten the more concentration. The walls had an ever present tinge, so there were most definitely seals. No surprises there. The dealer's hand also faintly smelled, too faint for the average sensor to pick up on. Aaand there in the corner, exactly who I was looking for.
"Ah, where ya goin'? I got good coin, you can trust my left ball sack on that! Ahahaha!"
I sat down just behind her. "It seems certain leaves like blowing off their branches more than others." Where the fuck have you been?! Hiding? Now?
She didn't bristle. I didn't hide my scent, unlike her. "I didn't know I'd left the ingredients out this morning?" How did you catch me? I suppressed and everything!
The man she was.. entertaining seemingly didn't notice our play-by-play, too caught up in the almost rhythmic tsunami of shouting to hear us.
"Most of the time, I prefer to have the tides as they are. I just like how they keep turning, as if on a schedule." Don't ignore the question. I don't got all day.
Her too-perfect nose scrunched up, pushing markless cheeks up with it. "I thought the trees would have already browned this time of year, so I moved up the harvest." I saw the mess. I just didn't want to deal with it, alright? I fled. Sue me.
"Regardless, mushrooms sprouting from the ground need to be culled sometime, and I'd need all my farmer's hands to do that." Whatever. I'm forming a strike team, hoping to combat the coup. I need you on it.
She stayed silent, closing innocently big yet alluring eyes.
"Han!" Chou!" "Han!" "Han!" "Han!" "Chou!" "Han!" "Chou!"
Her small mouth opened. "A lover's heart is not easily swayed. Only a widow's can be brought into the embrace of another." I got a mission here. Help me finish that, and I'll help.
Kami I hate geisha-speech. Just a little more now. "As quick as the flicker in the flame, so will I obey." Yeah alright. Let's just be quick about it. She shot me a dirty look. Hey! My kunoichi classes were like forever ago alright! Stop judging!
She didn't sigh. She was too good for that. Instead, she moved perfectly manicured hands from her client's waist upwards to his chest, tracing his tattoos. That caught his attention. "What is it, wench? I'm boutta win big here!"
She smiled, and began talking.
"Remind me never to do a co-op mission with you again. That was horrendous." Michiko complained, changing out of her furisode into her jounin vest.
"I told you it's been a while! I just don't do those kinds of missions anymore!" I waited patiently just outside the shrine, having already abandoned my ruined disguise.
"So what's the strike team?" She asked from inside.
"Just you and Shizuka for now. Kuro's supposed to work on getting Rika-oba."
"Small team." I kicked a pebble.
"I like it better that way." I didn't want to admit I probably couldn't pull more people into this than that. She knew anyway, so I don't know why she bothered commenting.
She stepped outside the shrine fully dressed, pulling her hair back into a braid. "So what's my mission?"
"I need you to get close to someone in the Tower, someone with political pull. Shizuka will give you more details when we get there. I need him near for when shit gets going. Eyes and ears of the Fire and all that."
"Time frame?"
At no word or signal, we took off into the trees. "Before the Hunt."
She was quiet for a while. "Arata's Hunt? That's risky."
"I'm going to do some political maneuvering. Cause a good old ruckus and make sure Nobuyuki overreaches to quell it. He'll think he'll be taking the Headship from me, when all he will get is exposure to the Hokage. If all goes well, he faces trial for attempted murder and dissent, and his support crumbles alongside him."
"And if it doesn't go well?"
"We all die."
I heard her gulp. "So how does the Hunt factor into this?"
"As Head Caretaker, Nobuyuki has to proctor it, so he'll be in the woods. There's a lot of obscured space in there, and not many are allowed in during the Hunt. It's the perfect place to try something. The challenge will be in getting your target in there with us."
I smelled sweat. "Us? Tsume, this plan reeks of rushed desperation. Can't we wait a little longer to hash out some more details?"
I clenched my fists. "No. They Separated Mom, Michiko. I'm not waiting."
"Wha?" Genuine shock crossed her face. Mom and her were always close. Sometimes Michiko would come over purely for her instead of me. They would do their nails together or something. Without me. No, it didn't sting, what you talkin' about? ...no response. I'm talking to nothing again. Maybe I do miss having Kuro in my head.
We traveled silently for a few minutes. Michiko's chakra was roiling inside of her. "I see. Anything else I need to know?"
"Oh. Yeah. I'm pregnant."
She missed her next branch.
A/N. So I'm cutting this chapter in two cause it's been too long since my last update so I don't wanna make it wait another day.
Anyone else enjoying the increased chapter release rate because of the quarantines? Just me?
I see. Mmhmm. Tell me more. I'm very interested. Where is this leading? Idk. Review if you have thoughts. If not, do what you want. It's 1 in the morning. I'm done. Good morning.
Small revisions on 12/6/2021.