Light had barely started creeping over the horizon when a harsh knock on the door echoed through the house. I hurriedly ran from the kitchen while trying to get both hairpins to stop from falling out. A glance out the window showed Takeo-sensei standing awkwardly outside.
"It's early," he said as I opened the door to greet him.
My head cocked in confusion at the obvious statement and then at the large sack slung over his shoulder. We had a brief staring contest until it dawned on me that he expected a response. "Yes. It is," I said blandly.
He nodded at my statement, then continued to just… stand there. I looked around the house's sides to find the dogs. They weren't anywhere I could see with a brief look, and Takeo wasn't hurrying to talk. That didn't mean they weren't around, but as far as I could tell he came without them.
I'd almost started closing the door to escape the awkwardness when he held the sack out and said, "You live alone."
I looked incredulously at the enormous bag hovering in between us, then back at the blank look on Takeo's face. "Why don't you just come in," I said. The strangeness of the situation overwhelmed any trepidation I might have at giving out the invitation. The calming breath he took before going inside had me frowning at his back as we walked through the hall.
He dumped the sack's contents on the dining room table when I said it was okay. From it came an avalanche of shuriken and kunai. A few metal arm and leg guards stood out as dull mountain peaks in the mess that had become of my favorite table.
"I thought you might need some tools," he said in response to the insane look I was giving him. My dumb nod had him standing tall at having done his good deed for the day. A hint of pride entered his voice as he spoke again. "The team meets at 9. I came here early so we can buy anything else you're missing."
The lovely sound of a kunai sliding off the metal pile and stabbing into my floor caused a violent twitch to shoot through me. I would've been tearing my hair out at the sight if the gesture wasn't weirdly sweet. Why he felt the need to do this at six in the morning was a mystery that I didn't have the energy to unravel.
"Thank you sensei. Let me grab the list of what Tsunade gave me and you can see what I'm missing," I said while rummaging through a drawer filled with all the notes I'd taken from the Sannin's lessons.
Takeo accepted the long list without a word. The gentle hum as he read sharply contrasted his usual growl. It was easy to follow his request to look at some of the material she had gifted me. Storage scrolls made organizing and retrieving the cluster of items a breeze.
Rummaging through dozens of tools and weapons finally seemed to relax Sensei. He was content to quiz me on the different uses of ninja wire as I finished getting ready for the day. Pausing only to accept the bagel I offered and eating it in one bite.
"Have you trained in any of these?" He asked after spreading out a dozen different weapons on the floor.
Tsunade had given me every type of weapon you could think of in a scroll unhelpfully labeled as 'Weapons.' They looked well-made to my untrained eye. The lack of instructions for any of the weapons made them as useful for me as a sharp paperweight.
"No. The only ones I'm interested in are the war fans. But I don't know how they work. I've just left them alone." Women who could cool themselves down with a fan after killing a man have been my role models long before I'd been reborn.
He nodded in understanding before silently helping me to seal everything back up. The ease of cleaning up a mess made fuinjutsu even more appetizing. I didn't know when the Hokage would provide the learning material, but I'd be sure to dive right into it when he did. Mild embarrassment set in with how excited I was at using an incredibly powerful skill for household chores. I'll consider it practice instead of laziness.
I'd have to find a place to keep all the kunai and shurikens he dumped on my table. The closet where I kept all the seals Tsunade had given me couldn't handle them. Maybe I could look for old family photos and turn the ugliest person's room into storage until I learned how to make my own seals.
If I knew where Mother put all her ninja tools, I could keep them there. Maybe there was another property owned by the Ikeda family? "Where do you keep all of your weapons sensei?" I asked curiously.
"On the table," he said without a hint of irony. Takeo then glanced at the clock before standing up and said, "You've got everything covered for now. We can get a head start on training today." Another twitch ran through me when he commented on how clean my house was.
Despite a deliberately slow pace, we arrived terribly early to the Inuzuka training fields. Once there, Takeo-sensei had me copying his stretch routine while using as few words as possible. Preferring to lead by example or nudging me into the proper form by hand.
Most of them were familiar from when Rin or Mother used to do it. He had a few that were more focused on building strength than flexibility. Not to say he couldn't bend in unnatural ways for someone his size.
I was still the more flexible of us two, but it was a close thing. Stretching was taught and required in the academy. Most ninja didn't take it to the extremes that their bodies allowed. My fighting style, undeveloped as it was, didn't require it either. The mild obsession I had with it stemmed from memories of being a cheerleader. They demanded I take advantage of these chakra fueled joints as long as possible.
Takeo gave an approving nod once I finished with a few stretches he hadn't done. He then pulled out two kunai and planted one in a nearby tree with a vicious stab. The second one was launched startlingly far into a tree on the opposite side of the meadow.
"Sprint back and forth." He said, pulling out a watch and a piece of paper.
"How many laps?"
"Until I say stop."
He didn't say stop for a very long time. He let the training end when my body had been screaming at me to quit for the last 10 minutes. I collapsed in relief almost immediately, gratefully chugging the canteen of water handed over between heaving breaths.
The break lasted long enough for me to do a quick medical scan of my legs. I had to resist the urge to numb them entirely and only worked on encouraging growth like Arako had taught. Fully repairing them would make the workout useless. I also didn't want to break something and not know it because I'd turned off the pain receptors.
My gratitude for the long rest ended when I realized Takeo was gathering pebbles by the stream. My fears were realized when he introduced dodging practice into the next run. At least this was nicer than the blunted kunai I was used to using with Shizune.
In case you were worried, he hit me enough times to make up for it. I started out dodging most of them, even felt good enough to catch one and drop it back in his pile with a laugh. Big mistake. More were in the air instantly, and they were going a lot faster than before.
Takeo kept ramping up the difficulty after. Which got worse as exhaustion set in. Some rocks would curve unnaturally while others tried to herd me down a specific path. The number of hazards in the air would increase every subsequent lap.
They weren't particularly harmful. Even getting hit with a handful at a time did little. But kami, did they sting like crazy! Especially the one that hit me right between the eyes. Sensei felt bad enough after that one to wait for my eyes to stop watering before launching more at me.
He called stop soon enough this time around that my legs were only almost completely dead instead of fully. I think it had more to do with ammo running out than feeling bad at hurting a sweetheart like me. I couldn't stop the groan when I saw him collecting pinecones and pebbles during this rest.
.
The sound of barking drew my attention away from the ration bars Sensei had supplied for breakfast. He'd interrupted what felt like the 10th healing session of the day with a grunted 'eat,' then sat down to do the same.
Kuromai and Shiromai crested through the trees, and both boys followed soon behind. The ninken dashed to Takeo the moment they saw him. Each took one of his sides and relaxed when he gave them a bar of their own. I was intensely jealous of the impromptu cuddle pile but managed to keep from showing it.
I didn't manage to hide the panic at seeing Hide approach. Doing my best ninken impression, I gave the dogs puppy eyes while occasionally darting them at the approaching Hyuga. Kuromai seemed to understand what I wanted after a few moments. A sound close to laughter came from her, but she still moved to sit between me and the enemy.
"What a joyous morning to find yesterday's dream was reality." Speak of the devil and he'll wax lousy poetry.
"Wooo," Naori said in a dead tone. A groan followed when he spied the kunai still stuck in the tree. "Are we going to start over from the beginning because of the newbie?" The Yamanaka complained before glancing down at me with a frown.
I started to respond when Sensei coughed to get our attention. "You boys warm up, then work with Kuro and Shiro. I'll decide what to do after," he said.
Naori puffed up to argue but deflated after a look from Sensei. He still gave me a dirty look before spinning around and heading towards the creek to stretch. Hide gave a polite bow that earned him a scoff from me. His polite smile grew a smidge wider before turning to follow the other boy. The dogs scampered after them once Sensei motioned me to come over.
We spent the next few hours reviewing common hand signs for communication and squad formations. It was more complicated than I expected with the addition of two ninken.
My favorite part was when Takeo transformed his hand into a paw to show how they could do basic gestures to mimic some of the hand signs earlier. But him doing realistic howls when explaining what each one meant was a close second. Made me wonder how teams adapted to having an Inuzuka partner.
Were the signs and howls standard across the clan or unique to each squad? That's before you add outliers like Kakashi into the equation. The number has to be low, but surely there are enough animal summons in Konoha for it not to be an unheard of issue.
Learning from Sensei was a pleasant excuse to not interact with the rest of my team. Hide was a lost cause from the start. Part of me had hoped that Naori would be okay. That dream was burning up enough to send smoke signals.
At least his animosity seemed to be teenage boy issues instead of more conspiracies. I can handle a snot-nosed brat with ease.
A part of me filled up with… something. Team 7 made it obvious that your genin team being a second family wasn't guaranteed. That didn't mean I hadn't hoped for something better.
I had graduated nearly 2 years later than the boys. They'd all fought and killed by now. Had all the first steps for baby ninjas. For crying out loud, I was a replacement for a dead teammate and came with my own baggage. Was it so strange that we didn't start with hugs and kisses at our first meeting?
The mental picture of Hide puckering his lips almost caused me to miss Takeo yelling instructions at the boys and waving for me to follow him again. I shadowed him quickly, eager to get the horrible image out of my head. We stopped a short way away from the boys as they placed a few stakes in the ground.
"It's odd to have a new teammate join this late into a team's life," Takeo said seriously. "We'll make it work, but you'll need to hit the ground running. Pay attention to the boys' spar. When they're done, I want a rundown on how you could fit in."
I nodded sharply and settled down to watch them finish marking out the edges of a makeshift sparring area. Once done, they stood a few paces away from each other. Naori pulled out what I hoped was a blunted version of his sword. The Hyuga smiled serenely with his arms hidden from view. Each of them tucked into one of his wide sleeves.
Kuromai gave a loud bark right next to my ear, making me jump in surprise. The risk of missing any action was the only thing that kept me from giving the black dog an aggravated look. That I could see her make the paw gesture for amusement out of the corner of my eye didn't help.
Turns out I would've had more than enough time to express my displeasure. The boys had done little besides circle each other. My surprise at the lack of action exposed a bias I'd developed. Naori had seemed like a hothead that would leap into the fray immediately. Instead, he'd been cautious the entire time. Using impeccable footwork to keep Hide square in his vision without sacrificing his stance. The sword in his hands was rock steady no matter how he moved. Always ready to keep Hide more than arm's length away because of the danger he posed.
Hide was odd in comparison. The steady yet brutal style he employed in the academy had yet to appear. His movements were much smoother than they had once been. Almost swaying with each step as he moved around.
A swell of something passed through Hide, and then he exploded forward with a sudden burst of speed. His hands flashed outward, almost looking like a pair of swords themselves. One was sent at Naori's blade while the other aimed at his stomach.
The Yamanaka didn't budge in the face of the threat. Sparks flew where blade met palm, and a sharp knee to an elbow diverted the other hand off course. Naori's arms twisted suddenly, and Hide had to dance backward to avoid being gutted.
The next few exchanges followed a similar pattern. Naori would deflect or redirect violent stabs by Hide, then counteract with his own.
Hide held most of my attention with his strange taijutsu style. His hands never formed a fist or changed shape. All five fingers were pointed straight and squeezed tight together. Some sort of jutsu was being used to protect them based on the sparks and his lack of fear regarding the blade. Its blunted edge didn't mean that it was incapable of harm.
The exchanges never looked quite the same but were formulaic enough for me to know a trick was coming. I was almost sure that it wouldn't come from Naori. He was never given a moment to breathe or try to shake things up. Hide would constantly keep him on the back foot. The rare times a hand would come off the sword, the Hyuga would instantly overextend to force him back into the deadly dance.
I knew it was over when he stopped trying to break the status quo. Hide's face didn't change from a polite smile, but I could feel the smugness radiating off him from forcing Naori into playing his game.
The trap sprung with a sudden boom. Like a miniature cannon had gone off in the middle of the spar. Hide deflected the sword downward, and his hand exploded against it with a shower of rock. The force of it sent the sword sharply down into the dirt, and the Hyuga swung with the sudden momentum into a vicious kick.
The force of the impact hurled the blonde boy across the dirt. He somehow kept hold of his weapon despite the two sudden attacks.
It didn't matter.
Hide was on him before he could get to his feet. The now moveable hand wrenched the other boy upward. Bringing the other palm to rest against Naori's face. He slacked in surrender immediately at the implied threat. It wasn't a kunai to the throat, but the explosion could be just as deadly.
They separated after doing the seal of reconciliation. I was impressed by how well Naori took the loss. Frustration and anger twisted across his face, but a grim determination took over not a second later. He sat down to meditate during the brief rest after.
He didn't falter for a moment when they lined up to fight again.
.
They fought at least half a dozen more times before Sensei called an end to it. One of them ended with bruises and cuts all over. Their clothes were slightly singed or mangled from when being hit. The other was a bit dusty, with maybe a couple of slices etched into their sleeves.
No points for guessing who matched the descriptions.
It was eye-opening. Naori was excellent for his age. Quick and strong, with mastery over his body. The sword he used was an extension of himself rather than a tool. His greatest show of skill was turning a standard fire ninjutsu into a whip of flame guided by his sword.
He was good. Very good. Hide was just better in every way. Physically faster and strong enough to meet every blow. Yet controlled enough to always be the slightest bit ahead of Naori. All the spars went precisely as he wanted them to. The few hits he took were glancing blows that allowed him to end the match in brutal retaliation. His only jutsu used was a lightning-fast rock wall. Fine-tuned to block an attack and drop away right after.
Hide had been the best in class by far, and he hadn't rested on his laurels once graduating.
The desire to beat him swelled in my heart like a fever. Not just once or twice, but like he'd done today. Where there was never any doubt about who would win. That I wasn't there yet didn't matter. I'd get to that level and higher. No matter what.
"What do you think?" Takeo asked, breaking me out of my daydreaming.
I took a moment to chew it over before answering. Needing the time to reorient myself back to a teammate instead of rival. "They're both quite skilled. Naori seemed overly focused on counter-attacking. That might have more to do with his opponent than his actual style. He was good with taijutsu the few times he was forced into it. But he seemed to get tunnel vision often."
My feet started moving, pacing back and forth as restlessness took over. "Hide was excellent of course," I said, "Always adapting and scheming. His hand technique was strong but forced him to commit to it. Its utility fell off when there was any distance…. Neither boy used genjutsu. They seemed skilled with the few ninjutsu used but were limited in their number and types. The lack of any other type of tool or weapon might be a handicap, but that could have more to do with it being a spar than not having the ability. To beat them, I would—"
"How would you fit in as a teammate instead of an enemy?" Takeo interrupted in his growling tone.
My head tilted in confusion before I blushed at being caught. I'd forgotten the point of the exercise in my excitement. Lips pursed in thought as I looked over at the boys. Naori had pulled out what seemed to be a real sword and was polishing it. Hide caught my eyes and gave a smile.
Kami, I'd like to pluck his eyes— no no Rinko. Teammate, not enemy. I took a few more moments to think before I said, "I'm quicker than Naori and use a more varied style. I should be able to give him more options to follow up on my attacks instead of him only countering when the enemy makes a mistake. My senbon are a solid contrast to him swinging that ugly stick around. Have the enemy so focused on dodging it that they don't notice a slight nick from me. I wouldn't have to be fighting the same person either. It takes less than a moment to throw senbon and the poison could strain an enemy enough that they make more mistakes. Perfect for how he likes to fight."
Sensei nodded in agreement and then pointed at Hide in an unsubtle hint.
"I think he'd compliment me more than I'd compliment him. A Hyuga is flashy at the worst of times. Add that weird hand technique, and it would be hard for someone to notice me over him. I could use my speed to get in close when they don't expect it or focus on a more long-range fight. As for other ways to compliment them, the main thing would be… Wind!" I exclaimed at the idea, "I can handle a couple bursts of wind ninjutsu. Add it to Naori's whip or Hide's earth ninjutsu and it would explode in power. Perfect for causing confusion or destruction."
My fist smacked down on my palm excitedly at the possibility of arson. The crack it made was loud enough to get all the boys and dogs to look at me in confusion. I could feel heat grow on my cheeks at their looks and glanced down at my hands in…. wonder?
"I'm not great with genjutsu, but with enough time, I might be able to make one tied to the sound of Hide's explosion. It's disorienting being hit with that already. It would be hard to notice something else was affecting you immediately after."
My rambling outbursts surprised Takeo momentarily, but he smiled warmly when I finished. I grinned right back at him, excitement filling me with the options we had. Then Hide's stupid voice ruined it when he said, "I should've believed the stars when they whispered a miracle would happen. To think a wayward spirit would wish to join in my journey."
My grin died along with all my hopes and dreams. My mouth still worked well enough for me to open it and—
"Good thinking Rinko," Takeo said before I exploded, "Let's do some light stamina work, then take a break for lunch. You can spar after. Tomorrow, we'll start doing teamwork drills."
Lunch passed quickly. We had all eaten alone in an unspoken agreement to not push the new dynamic further.
I spent less of that time strategizing on the upcoming spars than you'd think. The excitement of the day had made focusing difficult. There was also a large part of me that didn't want to. It was hard to be surprised at the academy. You knew what everyone could do and what people were working on. Having to fight against someone new was an exciting opportunity I wanted to relish.
That my team had odd skill sets made it even better. I'd never fought someone who could use a sword, and Hide's style had changed enough to be nearly unrecognizable beyond a few habits.
My mood was good enough to finish my trek back with a few skips. Kuromai dashed up to join me in a 4-legged version of one. Shiromai seemed amused by it. But both ninken sobered up when Takeo said, "Today, you'll have a few matches against Naori. I'll give you an exercise list after. I expect you to keep up with it."
"Of course Sensei!" I said with a salute that did little to amuse him. "What are the rules for the spars?"
"Fight until surrender or when called. Blunted weapons only, and don't maim anyone."
"What about using, well, you know?"
His hand ran down his face with a sigh before he said, "Do you have any that aren't deadly or won't put him out of commission for a week?"
"That depends. Has he learned how to force himself awake with chakra?" My smile turned a touch cruel when Sensei shook his head no. "Then I have a couple that will work. He might just have a nice nap."
The aforementioned blonde showed up right after I finished speaking about him. He gave me a flat look after I grinned in his direction. Everyone ignored Hide's approach and nonsense greeting. Takeo-sensei started going over the plan with the boys once he finished talking.
None of them batted an eye when I went a few steps away to stretch with the dogs. The relative peace didn't last long.
"What's the point of—" Naori shouted in frustration before Takeo gave him a severe look. He looked away at the rebuke but continued talking in harsh whispers I couldn't understand.
Apparently, whatever was said wasn't what Naori wanted to hear. He stomped towards the square makeshift arena from the morning. Pausing to look my way angrily, he shook his head instead of saying something.
I glanced at the other two for an explanation. Sensei was too busy sadly watching him walk off. Hide glanced over at me once and gave an apologetic shrug. I finished my stretches rather than worry about it more.
It didn't take a genius to know he was mad at his dead teammate getting replaced by a stranger. I wasn't happy with his attitude, even though I understood it. But that was life in this world. He'd have to get over it eventually.
"Go ahead and spar with him Rinko. Shiromai will signal when it starts, and she can call it early if need be," Sensei said after tearing his gaze away from the angry genin.
Didn't have to tell me twice. I bounded over with a smile, trying to observe my opponent without looking threatening. He was sitting down and cleaning another blade in what I assumed was habit.
Annoyance still hung off of him, but it was getting restrained with each passing moment. The boy was an oddball of a Yamanaka from my few interactions with the clan.
Most of the ones I have seen around Konoha looked dainty. Fair-skinned, with soft faces and delicate features. They also tended to be more lithe than lean compared to most other ninja. Naori was well-tanned and had broken his nose a few too many times to be mistaken as delicate. Not to mention his personality. In the short time I've known him, he fluctuated between angry and incredibly focused.
A sharp contrast compared to his clan. The adult members I've interacted with had seemed far colder. They were never outright rude but carried themselves with a touch of apathy. The couple of kids I'd seen in the academy acted normally for their age. Maybe the clan waits for them to be older to teach a certain mindset? None of them were quite how I recalled Ino to be. However, with the changes between my memories and reality, judging the clan based on her made little sense.
There was always the chance I had only run into the jerks of the family when you consider my luck.
Shiromai did something like a whistle to get our attention. Giving us a paw gesture that seemed to say, 'Get ready.' We both nodded and made our way to the center. Stopping a couple meters away as usual for open-air spars. A slight bit of movement to the side drew my attention. I could see Naori turning his head in curiosity as well.
The other half of the team was in the middle of an animated discussion, ignoring the two of us altogether. That was until both of them turned to glance at me and then went back to talking after getting caught. My frown grew with each of the additional looks Hide sent my way.
"What's the issue?" Naori said in as gruff of a tone that he could manage. I struggled not to giggle at it. Hard to be intimidating when your voice was cracking.
"I think they're talking about me."
He scoffed and said, "Of course they are. You joined a team with a dead teammate at like 12 years old."
"I'm 9," I flatly responded before speaking to Shiromai. "Let's get this started already."
She nodded in agreement and perked up. A couple of heartbeats after came her howl, and then the fight was on.
Naori advanced on me instantly, showing more initiative than any of his matches with Hide. I flicked three shuriken to slow him down with one hand and armed the other with a kunai. The effort only bought me half a step with how easily he deflected them with his sword.
The first clash between us made it clear I wasn't ready to bring a knife to a sword fight. He had much more leverage and could easily knock the kunai aside. The angles were also a lot different from what I was used to. I was one kunai down already after his sword slid toward my fingers after a few exchanges. A weak strike thrown after was all that stopped him from taking advantage of the mistake.
I made a mental note to ask Tsunade how to not get my fingers cut off before our next training.
My discomfort with his fighting style didn't go unnoticed. Naori ramped up the aggression further. He was comfortable enough to overextend multiple times because of my lack of ability to punish it. He nicked me a few times with the blade and never took more than a glancing blow in return.
There wasn't much damage, but it sure stung like hell. A grin took over my face in contrast to the pain at the next cut inflicted on me. I'd bought enough time to plan.
The first step was putting some space between us. I launched a kunai in his direction, powered by a blast of chakra from my palm. It was impossible to aim accurately when doing that, but it made him pause long enough for me to send a vicious wave of shuriken.
I turned tail and dashed away immediately after releasing them, hands flicking through the seals for the standard clone technique. A dip of chakra later, and four copies of myself were born. Three went after him, and the last kept running. Its hands mirrored mine while working on another jutsu.
Naori destroyed the ones running at with a jutsu of his own. The fire whip he'd used earlier against Hide but far weaker. The short-lived distraction gave me enough time to finish the genjutsu seals and prep the trigger. A sharp smile took over my face when he fell for my first trick. He aimed a simple slash at me, thinking the clone still running away was the real one.
Kunai and sword met with a loud clang. His eyes widened at the sudden resistance even before the genjutsu set in.
An instant bout of vertigo had him lose his footing. Perfect for me to put my foot firmly in his stomach. The sudden pain was enough to end the illusion. Unfortunately for him, the ground was all too real. In a mirror to his first fight with the Hyuga, I was on him before he recovered.
Naori had enough sense to drop his sword and block the first punch with a hasty guard. The next one he blocked left him hissing in pain. Three senbon that were barely sticking out of my fist had embedded themselves in his arm. A flurry of panic shot through him as he fended off further blows as best he could. Taking a few more good hits before securing his sword and forcing me to get some distance.
Logic and fear fought in the Yamanaka's mind at the knowledge poison was swimming in his bloodstream. I took the opportunity he gave me with glee.
"It's hard to get the dosage just right," I said while twirling a senbon. "Be careful that you don't take too much."
I didn't bother to use poisoned senbon afterward. Throwing clean ones was enough to have him dancing in the palm of my hand. His exhaustion exponentially increased as the seconds ticked by.
Our fight ended with me gliding around a sloppy attack and reintroducing his ass with the dirt. His arms shook as they struggled to raise him back up in defiance before they gave out on him.
Naori was completely passed out by the time I walked over to collect the senbon embedded in him. Pride swelled in me when he didn't flinch after I pulled them out. My poison had worked perfectly and taken down someone who'd been a genin for years.
The rest of the team, dogs included, huddled around the knocked-out member. The lack of tension from the others surprised me. They accepted my declaration he was fine after I'd checked his pulse and breathing. Hide seemed overjoyed at the blonde's current state, laughing as he poked Naori's cheek.
I stepped away to gather all the weapons we'd tossed around during our brief fight. You couldn't believe how much time it took to find everything. It was one of the many mundane aspects of shinobi life that the anime didn't touch on.
Sensei was content to leave me to it. Only waving me back over after the ninken finished sniffing. "How long will he be out?" He calmly asked as I approached.
"About an hour. He'll be groggy after, but not for long. A med-nin could wake him up in just a minute," I stopped talking and looked toward the Inuzuka compound in thought, "A vet who can use the mystical palm should be fine too."
"A med-nin," he said while giving me a flat look. I shrugged at the implication and started scratching Shiromai. Her sister was busy being amused by Takeo's constipated look or else I would give her attention too.
Takeo sighed at me. Rubbing his face in frustration at my defiance. It was stupid of me, and anxiety bubbled in my gut at the thought of him reacting badly. I didn't want to be labeled as someone who needed protection. I'm going to become the Goddess of Shinobi. Not a damsel in distress.
"Rinko…. just take him to a vet. Kuro you show her the way. No helping carry Naori either. If he comes back with any more scratches, you're running laps until midnight," He said with a finger aimed at me.
That was fair. Good practice for carrying an incapacitated teammate too. Though I doubted that's what he wanted me to take from the lesson.
AN: Not much to add. Have another chapter ready for the next release and progress is going well on the one after.
Working on the background details and slight AU stuff has been fun. Fleshing out some ideas and inconsistencies is a nice way to flex the old writing muscles.
As always, let me know you have any questions or if I missed anything