Chapter 43. Abnormal team pt. 1

When the current rushing through the water faded, they continued their journey. Tazuna, feeling guilty, took them to his house to rest. Though team seven wasn't injured, Asuma's students were still recovering from a near-death experience.

Tsunami, Tazunai's daughter, greeted them at the door of their house built in the shallow waters. Tazuna, perhaps to lighten the mood, began to praise his daughter the way fathers did. Sakura cringed, thinking of her own father and his tendency to brag about her.

In her late twenties, Tsunami, with her dark hair and eyes, smiled warmly at them. She welcomed them in and thanked them for protecting her father. Her bow was directed at Kakashi and Asuma, presuming they were the main contributors. Their students didn't correct them and instead went inside.

"Sorry for the intrusion," they chorused as they took their shoes off.

"We don't have much room, but you can stay in the room upstairs," Tsunami offered, leading them up the stairs.

"Thank you for the hospitality," Asuma said as they arrived at the small room. Team ten collapsed as they entered the room, fatigue finally catching up to them.

"I couldn't take another step," Ino groaned as she lay hugging the floor.

"I'm so tired," Choji agreed. "And hungry," he added after his stomach growled.

"This whole mission is a drag," Shikamaru turned his back to them as he grumbled to himself.

"I'll make something to eat," Tsunami offered.

"No need," Sakura said before she could runoff. Confused, Tsunami eyed her as she took out a scroll. A table appeared in a poof of smoke, surprising Tazuna and Tsunami. As the smoke cleared, a buffet of food sat atop the table.

"Eat up," was all Sakura said as she pocketed the scroll. Choji didn't need to be told twice and quickly dug in. The rest of team ten was hesitant.

"First, you had those butterflies follow us, and then you have a buffet prepared. Could it be?" Ino eyes Sakura oddly. "You care about us?" Sasuke and Naruto wisely stepped back. Sakura considered Ino a rival and so went out of her way to hate her. Saying that she cared about her was…

"Of course I do," Sakura's voice took on a motherly tone. She knelt beside the Yamanaka and clasped her hand. "I couldn't bear it if something happened to you. You mean more to me than you know. Without you, there is no future." Suddenly, Ino, who was barely sitting up, was pinned to the ground with Sakura hovering over her, green eyes filled with… something. "You're the perfect girlfriend, the only one that can truly love and be loved. Losing you would be a fate worst than death." At this point, the male gathering's mouth hung open, including Choji.

Ino's face heated. Her words weren't supposed to invoke this can of response.

"Y, you're the worst!" she yelled and tried to push Sakura away. Keyword. Try. Sakura didn't move. She usually responded to the wishes of others, but with her attention split, she didn't notice Ino trying to regain her lost pride. It wasn't until Ino pushed a little too hard on Sakura's chest that her eyes became more focused.

"Yes?" She asked as though the previous conversation didn't happen.

"Get off!" Ino demanded, and Sakura sat back on her legs before her eyes became clouded again.

"What are you even doing?" She asked when she noticed Sakura wasn't all there.

"Scouting," Sasuke answered, the first to recover from the scene. He sat down at the table and began to eat. "Sakura's sharing her vision with her summons," he said, pointing to the butterflies in the room when Ino pressed him for more information.

"So those things are summons? I guess it makes sense," he had his guess, but it was nice to have them confirmed. "But what is she looking for?"

"Found them," Sakura announced. Her eyes turned blue as she looked skywards. "I found Gato."

"What the hell, Kakashi!?" Asuma demanded. He franticly struck his lighter until it produced flames for his cigarette. He drew on the bud and sighed smoke. His stress levels were through the roof ever since he went on this mission.

An escort mission was something he could do with his eyes closed, so why was it so hard.

"You'll have to be more clear, Asuma," Kakashi smiled innocently at him as though he was clueless. With the twitching of a vein, Asuma grabbed Kakashi's collar to get him talking.

"Whatever happened to your sense of humor." Kakashi rose his hands in surrender.

"It snapped along with my sanity the moment I met your students."

"You looked fine when you left the village, though."

"Kakashi," Asuma trembled with frustration. "Don't you think you're pushing them too hard? The war is over, you know that, right?"

"Tell that to the Uchihas," Kakashi said bluntly. Asuma released him and puffed his smoke. He hadn't exactly forgotten about the tragedy of the Uchihas, but it wasn't in the forefront of his thoughts. He glanced over to Kakashi, who witnessed his father's demise and suddenly understood.

They were all there the night of the massacre, each walking away with something; a scar, trama, and knowledge of their faith. Asuma sighed; even if it wasn't wartime, seeing something like that as a child is bound to warp you.

"How are they coping?" Asuma conceded. So maybe Kakashi didn't intentionally make his team into monsters.

"Better than I did," Kakashi confessed. After losing his father, he wasn't the same. He devoted himself to the rule, even if it meant losing a teammate. And he lost all of them. "I was worried that Sasuke would be filled with hatred and go on a path of vengeance."

"He's not?"

"He is, but the pain is shared. He isn't alone; his brother, his team, the Hyuga. They were there with him and stayed beside him, sharing the burden. " Kakashi smiled at a memory of his students sleeping leaning on each other. "I'm glad. They support each other in ways I didn't expect. They were a team before I became their sensei."

The smile on Kakashi's face was perhaps the most genuine Asuma had ever seen. The idiot was attached to his team. But with the way they are now, they will become Chunin and leave him behind. The Sarutobi kept the harsh truth to himself.

"Even so, don't you think you're going a bit too fast?" Asuma looked back toward the house. "I haven't even thought mine tree climbing, and yours already know how to water walk and summon. Not to mention Shadow clones jutsu."

"Oh, I didn't teach them those."

"Huh?"

"I told you, didn't I?" Kakashi said, amused. "They were a team before I became their sensei. They learned all that on their own." The smug look was back on his face as he grinned at Asuma. "Naruto learned the shadow clone in a night, I'm guessing Sasuke and Sakura learned summoning from their family, and as for water walking, I haven't found who is to blame for that. I was looking forward to watching them struggle."

Sadist!

Asuma sighed, smoke. It wasn't unusual for children to learn jutsus from their families. His team learned clan jutsus from a young age, and should master it by the time they become genin.

"Naruto, and Sasuke I can understand, but what's the deal with the pink hair?" Kakashi's silence was telling. "Those butterflies of hers aren't normal. They tanked two hits from Zabuza, and I thought my hand would break from one."

"Oh, those things," Kakashi muttered, thoughtfully. "A graduation gift from her parent, I think."

"She's only had them since graduation?"

"She has that much control despite having them for such a short time?" Asuma was amazed. She controlled her summons from such a distance.

Bang!

"What did you say!"

A scream came from the house, getting their attention. Leaving a group of brats alone for too long was never a good idea. Kakashi tapped Asuma on the shoulder as he walked back to the house.

"From what I heard, she's still an amateur when it comes to controlling them," Kakashi whispered. "Then again, she might be holding back. She likes to do that sometime."

Asuma wasn't sure what he felt about that. The fact that Kakashi acknowledges her meant there was something there.

"What do you say we have team training sessions?" Asuma bit the kunai and asked Kakashi for help. Kakashi's eye smile was unnerving, and Asuma was already regretting his decision.

"I'd be honored to have a team-building exercise," the devious man said. Asuma would later realize his mistake and regret not noticing the signs earlier.

"…Appreciated."

Kakashi nodded, his smile still on his face as he walked back to the house. Tsunami didn't want Asuma smoking in her house, so he stayed to enjoy his smoke. He couldn't afford to waste a single light; who knew how long this mission would take.

Ino pinned to the ground as she ranted about brats needing a lesson was what Kakashi walked in on. Shikamaru wasn't pleased to serve as a shackle for his teammate, but he couldn't let her go on a rampage. Tazuna's grandson said some choice words that rilled her up after her attempts to play nice failed.

She screamed as her sister team and teammates watched blankly. Kakashi walked up to Sakura who told him what happened. Inari, Tazuna's grandson, came by to welcome back his grandfather, and Ino, in her need to be loved by everyone, tried to befriend him.

She was called ugly and a fraud that could never protect his grandfather.

"Gato is going to kill you all; there are no heroes in this world." Is what he said." Sakura explained, not interested at all. She looked over to Naruto with a worried gaze, Kakashi followed her stare. Naruto had his head down, visibly irritated. Sasuke appeared unaffected as he stood next to the blond, but his clenched fist said otherwise.

"No heroes, huh?" Kakashi patted her shoulder. "Maybe he just needs to be saved."

"Not our mission," Sakura said flatly, her eyes narrowing at the window. "You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved."

Kakashi said nothing as he observed her. Her stare was blank, indicating she wasn't present and likely still watching Gato, but she too seemed irritated by what the kid said. He signed and rubbed the back of his head. He wasn't good when it came to comforting anyone. Sakura was the heart of the team; if she broke, he wasn't sure they could fix her.

"Have you put up a surveillance perimeter?" he asked to distract her.

"Can't," she said flatly.

"Why not?"

"Shikamaru."

And that was it wasn't it? His biggest fear with team interaction was already taking effect. Chakra incompatibility.

What a pain.

"How can I help?" he asked

She looked at him with surprise, her full attention on him.

"Really?" she asked. There was a deeper meaning to her question, but he missed it.

"Yes, I'll help however I can," he nodded. She looked at Shikamaru, still sitting on Ino's back, complaining about troublesome women.

Sakura reached into her pouch and pulled out a piece of paper. Kakashi suppressed the gasp that threatened to escape. It only made sense she would have something like this. She handed the paper to him.

"This is only temporary. I indeed to deal with this problem, personally." Her eyes seemed to glow red. "I will not allow such a weakness to continue."

Kakashi patted her on the head. "So long as you don't kill Shikamaru, I say go for it," with his words of encouragement, he approached Shikamaru. Shikamaru looked up as he saw Kakashi

"Finally, I thought you guys were going to leave this mes- " his words were cut off as Kakashi slapped the paper on his forehead. Shikamaru's eyes clouded over as his chakra was forced back to sleep in his body.

The "Sleep" written on the paper came alive and flowed onto Shikamaru's forehead as the blank paper fell to the ground. Shikamaru's body became limp, and he fell forward into Kakashi's waiting arms. Ino, now free, looked up to see Shikamaru's limp body and gasped.

"Skikamaru, whats wrong?" She screamed in horror. The boy tried to speak, he truly did, but his body didn't respond. Only his eyes moved as he wanted. He looked up into emerald pools and knew fear.

Sakura looked down at him with s satisfied look. Today really wasn't his day.

I couldn't feel it. I couldn't feel the void. Like a storm passing, the sun returned to the sky. How was his chakra more potent than Naruto's?

I despise weakness. The fact that this boy is yours is disgusting.

I cringed at the parasite's words.

I'm working on it! How would you like it if someone could physically touch your soul?

…A child having access to your naked soul is truly terrifying.

The irony and sarcasm weren't lost on me.

"He's fine, Ino," Kakashi patted Ino's head, "He's just exhausted, is all."

This man's ability to lie ever ceases to amaze me. He looked at me, and I took that as my sign to act. Earlier I didn't dare to stretch my senses for fear of interacting with his chakra. Now, I didn't have to hold back.

Pulling out a kunai, I gripped the blade and pulled.

Drip drip.

"Ahhh!" Tsunami screamed; I forgot she was still here. It didn't matter in the end.

"Senkei," I muttered, and the blood glowed pink. "Senbonzakura kageyoshi." From my blood, countless Springflys flew. Rotating around me, they drained my chakra before flying out the window and forming a dome 100 meters in all directions. They blocked out the sun before scattering.

I sat down before I fainted, nothing more uncool than fainting after a jutsu. Even as I tried to play off my exhaustion, Naruto and Sasuke were there before I sat. Naruto offered me food while Sasuke silently sat behind me and leaned back.

The backlashed came as views from countless angles flooded my psyche. This jutsu would suit Naruto well. With his clones, he could share the mental burden. As it was, I had to rely on a parasite to support me.

It never ceases to amaze me how weak you are. To find something like this a burden, heh, you wouldn't survive the clan was.

Yes, I would. The law of survival is easy, ya know. Find the toughest guy around and either befriend him or beat him.

You would be accepted by Hashirama, no doubt. The fool would take any rat off the streets.

What? You wouldn't take me in?

I would for your medical ninjutsu, but I wouldn't trust you.

So no ninja romance, shame.

I realize you have a thing for Uchiha's, but I doubt you would find me… appealing.

You mean your tendency to burn things?

…

I don't know. I hear fire can be cant of hot.

… you disgust me.

I giggled despite my desire to burst out laughing. I heard somewhere that talking to yourself was a sign of madness. Bursting into laughter while not talking to anyone even more so.

Those around me thankfully misread me. Naruto pouted. "I'm not a mother hen," he muttered. He must have thought I was laughing at his behavior. Choosing not to correct him, I took a bite of the meat he offered.

Mom went all out when preparing meals for my team. The Akamichi, and likely Choji's mom, help out immensely. With that in mind, not feeding Choji would be a crime.

I watched as Choji continued to stuff his face when he realized Shikamaru was okay. The Nara was technically still conscious, but he would need to get used to not having his chakra strengthen his body.

His dark eyes found me, and he seemed to be glaring at me. Shikamaru remains a reluctant strategist until he experiences character development.

"Without trama, a shinobi can't grow, huh?"

"Huh?" Naruto asked, and I realized I said that out loud.

"I was thinking of taking Shikamaru under my wings." I decided to be honest.

"Naruto stilled. "You mean like Hinata?" I clapped happily.

"That's right; I'll make him stronger and improve his character." I was happy he understood so I wouldn't have to explain it to him again.

"Character development?" Sasuke asked to confirm.

"That's right."

"Is that really necessary? They have a pretty strong sensei," Naruto spoke as thought o discourage me.

"Hinata also had a strong sensei," I reminded him. "It's not about strength, but character." I looked back to the host of the void, and shivered. Yeah, I will speed up his development, since my life depended on it.

Sorry for missing an update. School has got my psyche in a pinch. I can't think straight.

Anyway hope you enjoy this chapter, and I didn't mess it up with my mush for brains.

I need a vacation from life.

Have a good one.

Night song~

So tired.

Next chapter

Oct 26.