often right now, so it's possible that some of the upcoming posts will be late. But without worry I will not leave this story until I finish it.
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The restaurant seemed quite busy considering it was long past lunch time. Almost all the tables were filled with mostly ninja customers, the older ones I'd guess between Kakashi's age and older weren't paying that much attention to Naruto which was somewhat of a relief. It was a bit awkward for the rest, but none of us paid attention because they wouldn't dare to make a scene in the restaurant of one of the Nobel clans. Shikaku was also sitting with us at a private table so no one could try to bully Naruto. Especially since Shikaku insisted that I sit across from him and Kiba and Naruto were sitting on my lap.
,No one dared to mess with the Shinobi Commander either civilians or shinobi., When he approached us on the street while I was arguing with the old man, the man simply jumped up to report me and carry out the victim not realizing that Shikamaru the son of the Konoha commander was by my side the whole time. It was kind of satisfying to watch the poor man get caught in his trap as Shikamaru briefly explained to his father what had happened. But somehow in all this we all ended up, four kids and I at a table in a restaurant with Shikaku who was waiting for one of the kids to talk about where they disappeared for so long because even the anbu couldn't find them for the last few hour.
Choji looked like he was going to cry again under the older Nara's gaze as his son and the others avoided his eyes. The only reason he didn't try to question me was because I said at the beginning that it wasn't my story to tell. After all, the kids should have taken responsibility for what happened and learned a lesson. Yes, I adore children, but I also know that by giving in, I will only spoil them and subconsciously encourage them to do it again, running away without telling anyone.
"Shikaku, did they find the boys?" Choza asked in a worried voice as he approached the table noticing Choji sitting on my left side. The moment he saw his father his mood changed to completely happy in a second as his father took him in his arms and give him a big hug , while the concern slowly disappeared from his face. "Where have you been?" asked Inoich who noticed my presence with a surprised look on his face. I politely nodded my head in greeting, and he responded with the same gesture, taking a seat next to Shikamaru, who was sitting to my right.
,, So?" Kiba tried to squirm out of my arms and hide under the table but Tsuki wouldn't let him, more or less because he took up the entire space there. Choza then sat on the Choji's previous seat and waited for the kids to speak. One by one they started to reveal the story of how they got to the lake and what happened. Choji started to cry a little bit about how he almost drowned and took his best friend with him there were various feelings mixed in the air but the most dominant was that all three adults breathed a sigh of relief considering that everything could have ended much worse.
,, Arigato, Maix-san. My clan owes you for this. if.." in that moment I raised my hands in front of me, wondering where this was going. Tsume was testing me with such an offer, while Choza on the other hand just wanted to express his gratitude. I saved his son after all. But I didn't want to get a favor that would surely attract a lot of attention from other clans that I wasn't even ready for yet. Divided party politics is a dangerous thing, especially if you don't have certain information that I don't. Even what I have I can't just use because most of them are well guarded and my knowledge would be more than alarming to them.
"There is no need for that. I was just doing the right thing that's all, so you don't owe me anything." Choza looked a little disappointed but understood as the elder Nara let out a frustrated sigh, "Why are you so troublesome?" I couldn't believe my ears. I'm not saying that I'm an angel, but since I got here, most of the problems that have befallen me have not been my responsibility. ,, Come on Shikaku-san. It would be too boring in this village without ones like of me." This time the children giggled along with Choza while Inoichi only had a small smile on his face knowing his friend didn't like it when someone talked back and teased him with a prize. ,, You're not funny Maxi -dream." grunted Shikaku looking me straight in the eyes with a dead serious look that clearly said shut up but,, I never even said I was."
This time the kids started to laugh as Inoichi placed his hand on Shikaku's shoulder and whispered to him that doesn't care too much Shikaku didn't have the best opinion of me from the start, and my current behavior didn't do anything to improve it.
The food that the Ino-Shika-Cho trio had ordered at some point started arriving . Almost as soon as the waiters put the plates down in front of the children, they immediately rushed in as if they hadn't eaten in days. Soon the adults started serving themselves and I was too. There was a large number of different dishes and side dishes on the table. I gave all my meat portions to Tsuki, who happily devoured whatever I gave him. I was not a big fan of meat, I barely consumed it. But despite that, I had a stable and varied diet and included all food groups. Kiba and Naruto noticed how I was feeding Tsuki, so they took a few pieces of their food and gave it to my overgrown wolf who didn't complain at all about the extra food. But when Choza tried to give him some of his pork Tsuki almost at the same second let out a warning growl at the shat Choza disappointedly pulled his hands and food away from Tsuki who immediately calmed down the next second. ,, I am sorry for that. Tsuki isn't much of a fan of strangers."
I said in an apologetic voice, until Tsuki didn't care at all that he was growling at the person who wanted to feed him. "And yet he has nothing against children." Shikamaru commented probably remembering how Kiba and Choji were riding Tsuki when he met us on the street. Of course, Nara could not let my word be the last, but I decided this time to remain silent, even though I felt that there was more that he wanted me to say. ,, What about you shinobi and playing around the topic. If you have something to say, say it." I said as calmly as I could, not wanting to show too much impatience.
Of course, I had no desire to start a conversation that I wasn't sure how it would end. After all, the man before me is none other than Shikaku Nara , knowledge, tactics, interrogation, he was with Inoichi the Head of I&T, the main commander and the hokage's right hand, "What are you looking for in the Nara forest?"
I froze for a moment, not expecting him to ask me something like that. I was scrolling through my brain for a sign of anything that would indicate that I was in their clan's territory. I was always careful not to approach any clan except of course the Inuzaka where I had constant training with Tsuki and Hana, as well as the Uchiha with whom I visited Mikoto at least once a week and sometimes Sasuke, if he wasn't away to train. It took me a minute, but it was like lightning in my head, I remembered.
"Herd of deer," as I exclaimed, everyone around the table almost jumped out of their skin, and I could bet that the whole restaurant heard me, if not the whole area. I immediately lowered my head into Naruto and Kiba's hair avoiding looking up at the trio muttering.,, I thought they were wild. It won't happen again. I promise. " How could I forget the Nara clan has a deep connection with the deer and their forest is beyond the reach of anyone outside the clan. Not even all members of the clan are allowed to enter that forest for some reason. That's exactly why Shikamaru buried Hidan there, so that no one could revive him with a jutsu.
,, Our forest is not kind to foreigners, and often their first incursion is also their last. On the other hand you go in and out every time without any problems." I slowly raised my head looking at all three who were watching me like a cat a mouse waiting for me to speak. Of course this was not enough to intimidate me. The situation is awkward, and I really fell on their area without asking, but I wasn't aware of it. "Besides, you picked up a few flowers in the forest, I'd like to know why." This was already suspicious. Why would anyone make a fuss about a couple of agrimony plants. It's not like they have some toxic effect so I can be accused of poisoning someone, despite my reputation.
,, What's the matter with Maxi-nee picking a couple of flowers, dattebayo?" Naruto asked who was starting to look worried in my lap as Kiba glared at them not liking the way they were treating me. But what else to expect from Inuzaka, when they accept someone into the pack, that's it, friends for life. And Tsuki started to show signs of displeasure and tension, as if he could attack at any second Shikaku was trying to get out of me as Inoichi had an encouraging look in his eyes for some reason.
"That was the only place I was able to find agrimony in the whole village and in the surrounding forests," I started as I took a deep breath and started talking like I was about to take an exam at my school. Of course I couldn't find the stupid weed anywhere else. , because she mostly worked in Europe at home while the climate of Konoha was much hotter and drier like that of Southeast Asia. But somehow I managed to find her in their forest which had a lot of shade and was fresher clime.
,, Tsuki had a serious wound on his back when I found him, and the medicine that Hannah prescribed for me for some reason didn't have any significant effect, so I took matters into my own hands. I made a salve of calendula, agrimony, and comfrey." I said as I scratched Tsuki's leg under the table to get him to relax. Choji looked down at Tsuki with pity, not liking to hear that he was hurt. Although there was almost no scar left at the place where the wound was. So if they ask me when and why there are no signs of a wound, I can easily send them to Tsume and let her solve the mystery. I believe that will make them think twice before questioning me.
It wasn't their fault that Tsuki was a hybrid and that's probably why he had a weaker reaction to certain drugs. I think I also have such a problem, half of the drugs do not work for me, for example, ibuprofen does not work for me at all, while paracetamol works. Then I started making lists of the effects of each plant separately, where they are used and which parts for what. I bet even Inoichi was somewhat impressed with the amount of knowledge I spat in Shikaku's face while the kids listened intently and with interest. "You're good." coming from a man who can barely stand me, it was a good sign that he was slowly writing me off the list of people he hated.
After that, Inoichi started a conversation on the topic of psychology and the mind construction. I used this to find certain answers to the questions I had. For example, how useful is his method in analyzing the mind, how much can be different definitions about the structure of mind from my world and theirs, realizing that some areas are far more advanced in theirs and some in mine, we were all at what the old people would call the golden mean. "I have something very important to ask you, Maxi-san." Inoichi asked me, but with a more serious tone in his voice, I didn't really care.
After running through my mind, he must have had a lot of questions. Nodding enthusiastically, I signaled him not to hesitate with questions, to which he gasped. "You see, I found something very interesting in your mind." ,Anyone's brain is interesting man, you never know what nonsense you will find." I saw a psychologist before I entered middle school. "It crossed my mind. The way you achieved lucid dreams and used them to treat trauma is very fascinating. I would like to compare your methods with ours?" Weight literally fell off my shoulders when I heard that. So it wasn't my ADHD that was causing him discomfort.
Many people when they hear about a mental condition treat you like a schizophrenic, especially when bullies smell something like that. "Did you expect something else?" I was asked by Inoichi and Shikaku, who miraculously both seemed more relaxed than at any time since entering the restaurant until now. I didn't feel the most comfortable sharing that with everyone even though my ADHD was in a milder form and more or less under control. Shikaku pulled out a scroll from his ninja bag and unsealed the board with shogi figures on the table giving me two Kage figures in front of me to choose which one to play.
I have never played shogi in my life. Jean, she suggested that I try it a couple of times since I used to play chess with my cousins and grandfather from time to time and I wasn't bad and I didn't make much progress with it... I think I know what the pieces are and how they move more or less, but I don't remember exactly how the promotion of the pieces goes I've never practiced strategy for them like shogi. I was even better at playing Go than this game. But why not, I might find this game interesting, since chess or any other game from my world, I won't see soon.
I chose the white player knowing that black in shogi is the first to move so Shikaku is going first. No sooner had we made a couple of moves than Kiba and Naruto got up from my lap and started playing more or less with Tsuki who this time allowed without hesitation to thank them for the extra treats he got from them, but if they were too much he will warn them or simply push them away. On the other hand Shikamaru for some reason crawled into my lap on Kiba's place watching the game. Choji followed Shikamaru and managed to settle on my lap next to him so they could both comfortably watch.
Of course Choza and Inoichi laughed at how the kids were acting cute around me, but I wasn't sure if these two saw me as someone they could trust or a comfy chair who could play shogi. Their luck was that they are so cute and adorable.
A few minutes passed, after which Inoichi spoke first. "Is there something you're trying to hide Maxi-san?" He asked me while I was trying to figure out how to get my pieces back since a third of them were already captured and I didn't even know why Shikaku still didn't checkmate me. "Everyone has their own inner demons Inoichi? Mine used to be pretty scary." I replied trying to change the subject as Shukaku got closer and closer to victory.
The game turned out to be quite interesting, but I wouldn't play it every day to be stuck in one place for hours. That would be real torture for me. Inoichi seemed to take the bait I threw, leaving the first question behind us. "What were you afraid of inside yourself? Your mind space is quite stable and calm."
I watched Shikaku finally checkmate me, so I took the opportunity to collect my thoughts and answer honestly and stubbornly not to give any answers. And the game had exhausted me along with this questioning and this whole damn day that I can't wait for it to end. "Can I ask you something now?" For some reason, the kids turned their heads towards me, apparently taking an interest in what I had to say. And maybe it was for the better.
"This was what my grandfather often would say me." There are two wolves in each of us. One is light, hope and joy. The second is darkness, depression and despair. The question is which wolf wins?"" It seemed like no one expected anything like this to come out of me, but in a way that whole story was an answer to Inoichi's questions at the beginning. Shikamaru was the first to speak. ,, This is some metaphor right?" he asked me to which I nodded my head wanting to see if any of them would know the answer.
,, The one you feed more." Choza was the one who answered my question with a gentle smile while the others had a look of approval and Shikamaru was I nodded my head and then went to put the shogi figures back on the board. "But no matter how much we starve any of them, they won't go away. My dark wolf may be weak, but it's still there."
The adults understood what I was trying to say and did not bring up my taboo topic again. I then began to slowly pack up under the pretense that I should drop Kiba back to his mother before she leveled the entire village to find him, which drew laughter from the older trio while the kids sighed and complained. Of course, the moment after I leave with Kiba and Naruto, they will start scolding, and if I stay a little longer, Kiba might get a beating. "I'm expecting your report next week if that's okay?" He informed me to which I gave Gai the usual thumbs up and wink after getting the two little ones on top of Tsuki who was still not in the mood. Probably because he wasn't getting all the attention he usually gets daily...
,, You're not good at shogi by the way!" Shikaku said louder, trying to press me hard on the blister as I was leaving, but whoever laughs last laughs the sweetest. "Of course. I've never played shogi before." With that Tsuki and I started jumping from rooftop to rooftop noticing that it was slowly getting dark and I still hadn't done my shopping.
"This is hilarious. A girl who had never played shogi in her life lasted longer against you than most other shinobi." Choza laughed with Inoichi while Shikaku was still taken aback that someone who had never played before, played better than those with years of experience. According to him the girl was either smart enough to pick up the rules quickly or she was lucky. But since he doesn't believe in luck he had to admit she wasn't stupid at all.
For weeks he'd been getting reports of chunins and even a couple of jonins hanging from a tree, passed out, dazed or caught in some sort of trap. The group monitoring her until recently reported that she had placed privacy seals and security barriers between A and S rank. In combat, she used a combination of water and wind techniques with great precision as well as a couple of additional techniques that he didn't knew where she learned them from.
Whenever Inoichi scattered, they couldn't find one who teach her the shadow clone, the temporary paralysis, this in itself said she was like a genius. But there were so many elements he couldn't figure out about her, and that was her smart ass personality, her childish outsmarting, her inability to hide her emotions, her naivety. It seemed as if she had not even been trained to be a ninja first. All this gave him a headache.
If Tsume ever heard what happened here, she wouldn't let him live that down. He had to admit, too, that he had suspected her of being a spy all along, ever since she'd appeared wandering their forest looking for medicinal herbs. But the deer did not try to throw her out of the forest, nor were they at all aggressive towards her. In fact, quite the contrary, a couple of his shinobi had seen a few times that even fawns would approach and cuddle with her.
Her knowledge of medicinal plants and psychology was at a more than solid level. It's no wonder that the rest ended up being outsmarted by her. She was underestimated due to the fact that only little more then month ago she unlocked her chakra, which suddenly increased to an amount greater than most jonin possessed. Not even Kakashi had that much and neither did Choza.
For someone who moved from one dimension to another without any knowledge of rules, customs, she handled herself like a pro. ,, I didn't understands what she was talking about. Can you explain to me Shikamaru." Choji asked as he looked confused at his friend who was preparing to make the first move of the game. ,, In short, just because someone is positive and a good person doesn't mean they don't have a bad side that will come out if the situation demands it." Choji seemed to catch what his friend had to say and took it as good advice.
"You really like her, Choji." Choza asked his son who nodded energetically then looked at his friend son. Shikamaru made the first move while speaking at the same time. "She's fine, but very unusual." Shikaku immediately made the next move by asking his son, "Why do you think so?" he asked him.
Shikaku himself thought that the girl was an unusually complicated paradox of mystery, but he wanted to hear his son's opinion as well and for him to develop his own conclusions as, what did he do with Naruto. ,,She didn't ignore Naruto like the rest of the village, She treat us same way, even we are from clans and that we are heirs meant nothing to her. I mean you have almost the highest rank in the whole village and yet she had the guts to argue with you and always have the last word. Every time she looks at us it's like she sees you and what you are, not your clan, origin, parents. I'm your son, if you understand what I'm talking about." The adults fully understood what little Nara was trying to say. Maxi did not care about the rank or status of a person, she treated everyone as a human being. This only confirmed even more that when she takes the position of sensei, she will not play favorites but be fair. "That's good since she will be your new Sensei."