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evil-overlord-scriptology · 4 years

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But I Don’t Want to be a Sensei! Pt 3 (ARCHIVED)

Chapters 11, 12, & 13

Chapter 11: Training, Yanagi-Style!

Demon of the Mist. Master of the silent killing technique.

So why didn't he kill silently?

Why did he make his presence known and draw me into a long battle instead of killing Tazuna before any of us could suspect something.

Tazuna went off on the little brat, but Naruto ignored him by exclaiming that people were hiding around in the bushes all around us. I was about to hit him for being stupid when I felt a surge of chakra behind me.

Naruto seemed to follow my instincts and aimed another kunai knife at the spot I felt the chakra surge. Tazuna smacked Naruto upside the head and the brat and drunk had yet another yelling match while I went to investigate. Just below the kunai that Naruto had thrown a white rabbit was having a heart attack.

A white snow rabbit.

Curse my cursed damn luck. The karma demons must really loath me.

I stepped away from Naruto's sobbing apologies to casually inspect the clearing, searching for chakra signatures. I wasn't a very good sensory nin, most of it was just pure natural skill since I had spent most of my training on my sharingan and attacks, so I wouldn't be able to sense anyone who was suppressing their chakra at a jounin level.

Considering that I couldn't sense anyone meant that my suspicions were right and our next attacker was a jounin skilled opponent.

I hadn't been able to sense Zabuza until he wanted me to.

So why did he want me to?

And that kid with him, he was also able to suppress his chakra enough that I didn't sense him until he felt like it too.

Why?

Why didn't the false hunter-nin attack me? We both knew that he could easily take me out as weak as I was. Towards the end of the fight, I had been putting on a front. That hunter-nin knew that, I could feel it in his gaze. But he only retrieved Zabuza. Did he want us to be surprised when Zabuza came back to attack us? No. That false hunter-nin would know that I'd be able to figure it out. People like Zabuza and his allies wouldn't underestimate anyone.

Zabuza was hired by Gatou, I know that. Which meant he was in it for money... or was he? Gatou would want Tazuna dead quickly, so Zabuza should have killed him quickly. Instead he went after me. That meant that Zabuza didn't care for money as much as it would seem. So why? What did Zabuza really want?

Something to do with Gatou. He had money–Zabuza could be hired by anyone else for that. He could offer protection–Zabuza didn't need it, he was capable of protecting himself and he had an ally. Gatou practically ruled over the Land of Waves–I doubted Zabuza was interested in that. Gatou had a shipping company...

“Obito-nii! You said you were going to teach me something cool! This is geography!” A younger me whined.

My older brother laughed, “Just you wait, imoto, you'll see this is cool!” I gave my brother a skeptical look. Obito often lied to me for the heck of it. Nii-san, seeing my expression, reached over to ruffle my curly hair, “That's a promise!” He said cheerfully. I automatically smiled. Whenever Obito-nii said those words, that meant whatever he was saying was true!

Turns out he was right. It was very interesting learning about rebels often hiding in secluded areas like small islands. Obito was going to teach me about smuggling too, but then Kakashi-baka-nii-san came and interrupted everything.

Rebels. Smuggling. Zabuza.

My mind recalled Zabuza's page in the Bingo Book. He attempted a coup d'état on Kiri because he disagreed with the government. It was rumored that he had joined the Mist Rebels, but it was never proven.

Could working for Gatou be a cover up?

...

“Frizzy-sensei, I know you're awake!”

“Idiot, don't yell!”

“Shut up, Teme! I know Frizzy-sensei is awake! She keeps twitching.”

“N-Naruto, p-p-plea-please q-quiet down. S-sensei is try-trying to r-r-rest.”

My eyes snapped open and I immediately glared at Naruto, “You call me that again and I'll kick your ass.” I growled threateningly. I tried to sit up and immediately groaned as my chakra system convulsed painfully causing my muscles to spasm and freeze up as well.

A woman I didn't know was by my side in an instant, “You shouldn't move.” She said in a mothering tone. I eyed her, she looked a lot like Mikoto-oba except her face was a lot plainer than my aunt's. She even acted like Mikoto. “Until you're feeling better you should just lay down.” I gave in with a sigh and laid back down. If this woman was anything like Mikoto-oba, she wouldn't take no for an answer. It'd be in my best interest to just listen to her.

“S-sensei, are you al-alright?” Hinata asked, coming to kneel beside my futon.

“Hn.” I responded with the Uchiha general answer for everything.

Naruto, of course, wasn't going to take that for an answer though, “What happened anyway, sensei? You were fine one minute and the next you were passing out! What gives?”

Sasuke bopped Naruto upside the head, “Idiot, Yanagi-itoko used too much chakra.” I gave Sasuke a strange look, since when did he call me 'itoko'?!

Tazuna spoke up from behind Hinata, “Well you did take down a powerful ninja, so I guess you've got an excuse.”

“He's not dead.” I said, turning my gaze to the ceiling.

I think everyone had a miniature heart attack.

“W-what?! What do you mean he's not dead?” Tazuna practically screeched like a girl.

I closed my eyes and struggled to sit up again. It tore at my pride that Hinata had to help me, but at least I wasn't laying down like some helpless invalid anymore, “Hunter-nins destroy the body where they make the kill. So why did that boy take Zabuza away?”

Silence permeated the air as that information sunk in.

Hinata gasped a little, “T-those needles he-he used...” She said under her breath. Everyone looked at the shy heiress and she blushed. “S-sorry!” She squeaked, ducking her head and twiddling her fingers.

I reached out and pushed her hands down, “No, what were you saying?” I asked. Now wasn't the time for shyness. If Hinata had information, then she should share it.

The girl nibbled at her lip in nervousness and, after a long silence, finally stuttered out, “W-where he h-h-h-hit... i-it was a pres-pressure p-p-poi-point... that c-ca-causes d-death if hit h-hard e-e-en-enough.” Of course Hinata would know. The Hyuuga fighting style specialized in pressure points, hitting them with chakra to cut off the chakra flow.

Sasuke stiffened, “The senbon needles. They don't have a high casualty rate.” He said, mostly to himself.

I nodded, “Exactly. Unless hitting a vital organ, senbon needles don't kill. My guess is that the hunter-nin used the pressure points on Zabuza's neck to create a temporary death. A hunter-nin is an expert in human anatomy, causing the heart to stop temporarily is child's play to them. Also, the fact that the hunter-nin we ran into took Zabuza's body away instead of taking care of him on the spot and using senbon needles for a weapon points to one fact: that boy was trying to save Peaches... not kill him.”

Tazuna tried to reason with us, “Come on, you're over thinking things!” By the tone of his voice, I could tell that Tazuna really want us to be paranoid and not right.

I gave the man a serious look, “An Uchiha does not over think things.” I said, a little more harshly than intended. Tazuna cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away. More calmly I recited a rule from the Shinobi Handbook, “The Shinobi Handbook states: 'Encountering suspicion, the ninja prepares quickly. Hesitation leads to disaster.'” I narrowed my eyes at Tazuna, daring him to comment again. I should thank Kakashi for being a ninja robot when I first met him; because of him I memorized the entire handbook by the time I was seven.

Involuntarily, of course.

I glanced at my genin to gauge their reaction. Naruto was grinning a little psychotic grin and Hinata looked extremely pale. Sasuke wasn't showing any emotion.

Naruto stood up, his hand still clenched in a fist, “Alright! Let's prepare then!”

Blinking, I looked at my dumbest student with surprise. Honestly I had expected him to start yelling about going and hunting Zabuza down, not training.

Even more surprising was when Hinata gave Naruto a look that could have been called a glare... if she wasn't blushing, “B-but Naruto, Y-yanagi-sensei is hurt!” Hinata wasn't even stuttering as much, and she was talking to Naruto! Normally she couldn't say one word completely when talking to her crush.

“Uh... Sensei?” I blinked and shook my head a little before focusing on a confused Naruto, “What's with the funny look?” The blonde asked, the dread in his voice apparent. Mildly I wondered if he though I was going to whip out another Uchiha-style training session like I did when they bothered me too much.

I smiled kindly at them, “I'm just impressed by how much all of you have grown. Especially you Naruto.” Naruto squinted at me. I grinned wider until my eyes closed, “You've grown the most.”

Should have known the praise would go straight to his head, “So you noticed, huh? Things are going to get even better, believe it!” Naruto exclaimed.

“I don't believe it!” A childish voice, not so different from Naruto's actually, shouted behind the blonde. I looked past Naruto to the doorway where a small child in green overalls stood. He glared at us from under his hat with eyes so filled with hate and... loneliness.

“Who are you!?” Naruto enunciated each word loudly, pointing an accusing finger at the kid.

Tazuna spoke before the kid could, “Ah, Inari, where have you been?” My eyes went from Tazuna to Inari, so this was the kid that would cry and cry if we hadn't taken the mission to protect Tazuna after we found out how dangerous it was.

He sure didn't seem the type.

Inari, ignoring the rest of us, ran for his grandfather, his voice suddenly happy and eager, “Welcome back, Grandpa!”

“Inari! That was very rude, these ninja helped your grandfather and brought him here safely.” The woman who I had yet been introduced to scolded. No doubt she was Inari's mother and Tazuna's daughter. Seemed to me that she wouldn't resent Konoha if Tazuna was killed.

Grandpa Drunk was a dirty blackmailer.

Tazuna waved off Inari's mother, “Ah, it's okay. I'm rude to them too.” He chuckled.

I shot him a nasty glare, “Same to you, Grandpa Drunk.” I snapped. Tazuna tried to glare at me, but he didn't hold a candle to any Uchiha. Not even Ibo.

Inari gave us all a blank look before turning to his mother, “Mom, don't you see, all these people are going to die! Gatou is going to kill them all!”

Naruto had the right idea when he yelled, “What did you say brat?!” He gave a cocky grin, “Listen up, you know what a super ninja is? Well that's me, only I'm going to be better.” Contradictory much? “I'm going to be Hokage!” Oh dear kami, not this again, “This Gatou or Blatou or whatever he's called is no match for a real hero like me!”

The brat scoffed, “There's no such thing as a real hero. You're just full of stupid ideas!” Inari snapped, looking very much like a miniature Uchiha in appalling fashion at that moment. Yeesh, talk about dramatic.

There was a brief moment of silence before Naruto started for him, “WHAT'D YOU SAY?!” Sasuke luckily leapt up to grab the blonde idiot before he could murder Inari. I almost felt sorry for my cousin for having to be so close the that blaring mouth. No doubt Sasuke would be deaf by the time he was twenty.

“If you wanna stay alive you should go back where you came from.” Inari said snobbishly then started walking away.

Finally, finally, Tazuna scolded him, somewhat, “Inari, where are you going?”

“To look at the ocean!” Inari snapped as he opened the doors and left, slamming the door behind him.

I sighed, “That boy is going to have a bad attitude when he's a teenager...” I commented to no one.

Tazuna looked at Naruto after a moment, “Sorry about that.” He said in a 'not so sorry' tone. I should know, I used it all the time.

Inari's mother took over then and shooed everyone else out of my room, saying I was still supposed to be resting. I sighed when I was alone and wondered what everyone else was up to. Not that I cared, I was just bored. I nearly cried when I realized that if Obito found out about this he was going to murder me for getting hurt! Kakashi would be right behind him. And Shisui would never let me live it down.

Still moaning about my morbid future, I closed my eyes to rest and plan ahead.

vvv

I flicked three small squares at my genin. Being ninjas, even miniature ones, all three snatched the paper out of the air without thinking. They looked at the chakra paper confused, then at me. I leaned against the tree I sat under, “That's chakra paper. When you channel your chakra into the paper it will react according to your chakra nature. For instance,” I held up a fourth slip of paper and channeled my chakra into it. The paper split in two. “That's the sign that I have Fūton nature.” I waved my hand at Sasuke, “Go, Duckass.”

My cousin gave me a small glare before concentrating on the bluish paper in his hand. As we watched the paper began to crinkle. Sasuke looked at me for explanation. I nodded once, “Seems you have a Lightning affinity. Being an Uchiha you also have Katon nature, correct?” Sasuke nodded silently. Of course he did. The Uchiha clan was born with fire affinity, no two ways about it. There was a reason why we were famous for it after all.

Naruto went ahead and channeled his chakra into his paper without my say-so. The paper cut in two, “Cool! We have the same... uh... katra nature, Sensei!” He exclaimed.

“Chakra” I stressed before mentally running through all my wind ninjutsus. I didn't have that many that were low level, and those that I did weren't really battle-oriented. Anything I taught him would be useless in the inevitable battle against Zabuza. Maybe I should start him on a higher level ninjutsu. With his large chakra stores, Naruto shouldn't be in too much danger.

But it was Naruto we were talking about.

Shaking off my dilemma for now, I nodded to Hinata for her to go. She channeled her chakra into the slip of paper and watched as it turned damp with water.

I tsked, “Well, I don't know any water ninjutsus. It goes against my fire chakra nature.” I said, feeling slightly sorry for Hinata especially with her pulling that disappointed look. She was the one who needed training the most and I couldn't help her at all. Not many people could, really. Unless... I snapped my fingers, startling my three genin, “I can teach you some stealth techniques for now, I noticed you're good at that. And I'll try to find you someone someone to teach you Suiton jutsus later.” Already my mind was going through a mental file of everyone I had seen using Suiton techniques.

All three of my genin were giving me strange looks. I raised an eyebrow in question, but I already knew what was going on in their tiny little minds. “Why... why are you being so helpful?” Sasuke finally asked.

I gave them a smirk, “What, you miss the surly sensei? Because I can easily go back into that.” Cue a quick head shake from all my precious genin. I rolled my eyes and explained, “We're going against a S-ranked criminal and his unknown ally. I was barely able to defeat Peach-boy last time-”

Naruto interrupted me before I could continue, “But that's the point!” I was mildly surprised at his outburst, “If you were unable to beat Zabuza then what makes you think we can?!” Was Naruto... admitting that he wasn't strong? “You passed out last time after that battle, and that weird guy in the mask will also be there this time, so what makes you think we're ready for that kind of-”

Being the awesome sensei that I am, I smacked him in the head with one of my crutches to shut him up.

“Didn't I just say that you're getting stronger?” I asked hotly, irritated that my rare praise wasn't warming their sorry little hearts. First time I ever praised Naruto and he was whining about not being strong enough! “Look, I wouldn't have been able to do anything during that fight if you three hadn't done something.” I think the genin were a little shell shocked.

Naruto, stupidly, tried to speak again. I grabbed him by his collar and pulled him down until we were inches apart. “Look here, Obito Mini-me, you're going to shut up and learn a jutsu because if you don't that little promise you made back when we fought those chunnin will go to waste!” Naruto clammed up after that. I let him go and struggled to a stand, “Good. Now, lets start training. Sasuke, heel.”

My cousin's right eye twitched at being treated like a dog but came forward anyway. I stared at him intently, trying to figure out what jutsu I could teach him. I already knew he could to the Grand Fireball–it had been a big thing around the clan when Sasuke mastered the technique when he was seven, making him yet another prodigy.

I swear the Uchiha clan spat out either prodigies or total losers.

“Do you know the Phoenix Sage Technique?” I asked suddenly, looking down to the duckass haired boy for his answer.

Sasuke added a slight frown to his otherwise emotionless face, “Aniki says that's a Katon technique.”

“I know that. I have Katon and Fūton chakra, I can't teach you any Lightning jutsus. Yes or no, did Itachi-san or anyone else teach you the Phoenix Sage?” I said testily. Damn this little brat and his need to question everything!

Sasuke shook his head 'no'.

I grinned sadistically. “Good. Now I get to apply Uchiha-style training on you.” I said then chuckled evilly. It might have been my imagination, but Sasuke seemed to turn three shades paler than his normal pasty self. But first, “Sit, while I deal with the others.” I commanded my cousin before pushing down on his shoulder, forcing him to sit.

Naruto was over his gloom and doom attitude already, “Oh oh! Sensei, me next! Me next!” He yelled eagerly, waving his hand in the air like a child eagerly wanting to impress the teacher.

Ignoring him, I turned to Hinata. “You're training is simple to explain. Go out deep into the woods and try to sneak back here. Try to suppress both your chakra and the noise you make. If you make it back here before the boys can hear you, then you pass. Got it?” Another nod. “Shoo then.” I said, waving my hand towards her. Hinata hesitated for only a moment before disappearing.

As soon as Hinata was gone, my vision was filled with yellow and orange, “Yanagi-sensei! Teach me next! I want to learn a kickass jutsu!” I was kind of starting to miss the 'doom and gloom' Naruto...

Picking up a leaf that laid at my feet I gave it to the blonde brat, “Here.”

Naruto squinted at the leaf in confusion, “Huh?”

I picked up another leaf and held it in my right palm, “To master any Fūton jutsu, you need excellent control, even more than the control required for tree walking. Use your chakra to cut the the leaf; it'll be harder than cutting the chakra paper since you must consciously cut, not just channel chakra.” I focused my chakra to cut the leaf I was holding and did just as I told him, “Do that and I'll teach you the Wind Blade.” The Wind Blade was a B-rank jutsu. But since Naruto already knew the shadow clone jutsu, which was forbidden, I doubted he'd have too much trouble.

“WHAAT?! You said you were going to teach me a cool jutsu!”

“I will. After you learn to control your chakra better.”

“I already know how to do that! Teach me the jutsu!”

“Don't make demands, kid, or I'll do nothing. Shut up and train with your leaf.”

Naruto pouted, predictably. He crossed his arms and turned his nose into the air like a child. Rolling my eyes I leaned over and pinched his nose between my index finger and thumb. Naruto screeched and tried to swat me off, but I didn't let go, “Look, if you don't learn this then you'll never get any of the wind jutsus I'm going to teach you.” A complete lie, but what's a little white lie if Naruto never found out about it? I let go of Naruto's nose and straightened up, “Unless you want to be defenseless when Zabuza comes back, I suggest you don't question my methods. Get to work.”

Before Naruto could say another word, I grabbed Sasuke by his ridiculous Uchiha collar and bodily dragged him away, ignoring all his protests along the way. I only let go when we reached a clearing well enough away from Naruto and made Sasuke sit again.

I sat down across from him, staring intently at my cousin. There was a long moment of silence as we stared at each other. Eventually Sasuke wilted under my gaze and shifted nervously. Finally he looked away.

Quickly before he knew what was happening, I shunshined further away and made the appropriate hand signs, “Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!” I intoned and several fireballs flew towards Sasuke.

My cousin's eyes widened as the fireballs roared towards him. I watched in amusement as he dodged the first five before creating a Grand Fireball to cancel out the last of my jutsu. When the fire died away, Sasuke was glaring at me. I smirked and did the same hand signs, “Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!”

Repeat.

By the time I did the third Phoenix Sage jutsu, Sasuke was pissed. He snatched a kunai from his weapons pouch and charged me. I laughed at his puny attempts to attack and backflipped away. “Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!”

“Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu!”

I shunshined behind Sasuke to avoid his fireball and recreated the hand signs, “Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!” Sasuke turned around, his eyes wide and filled with horror as he saw the several mini fireballs flying towards him. There was no way he could avoid them in time. I watched passively as Sasuke managed to dodge the first and second fireball. The third skimmed his right forearm, making the brat cry out in agony. He leapt away from the others, getting out of the fire zone and crouching down to cradle his injured arm.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” He shouted at me. I was impressed that he wasn't crying from the burn. The Phoenix Sage Jutsu was hot enough that if the fire grazed you, it would result in a second degree burn. When Obito first taught me the jutsu I was bawling my eyes out when I got burned.

Instead of answering his question, I started making the hand signs again. Sasuke, finally catching on, leapt away. I kept following him, spitting out fireballs, but every time I did Sasuke only leapt back again. He looked good and riled now. My mouth twitched upwards in a smirk, time to throw in insults.

“You know for being a prodigy, you're a pretty lousy one.” I drawled casually. Sasuke straightened up from his crouched position, his brows drawn low over his nose. I nodded as if he had said something, “Even my brother, the famed 'dead last of the Uchiha', was chūnin at eleven and had unlocked his sharingan at age thirteen. And let's not get into Shisui and Itachi.”

“What's your point?” Sasuke snapped angrily.

I sneered as I made the hand signs again, “My point is that you're going to have a hell of a time learning without that sharingan. Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!”

vvv

“Ouch!” Sasuke actually yelped later that night as I applied salve to his burns.

I rolled my eyes, “Hush up, you big baby! I'm not even hurting you.” I swatted the brat over the head for good measure.

Tazuna snorted, “Now you are.” He chuckled then made a squeaking noise in the back of his throat when Sasuke and I glared at him.

Naruto seemed torn between laughing at Sasuke and being jealous that he got to learn a jutsu while Naruto only got to practice more chakra controlling exercises. By mid afternoon he had mastered the leaf exercise to I gave him another, when he master that one I gave him another and another. Sasuke seemed grateful every time Naruto showed up saying that he mastered the exercise, since it was a break from my torturous training methods.

I tied a knot in the last bandage and pulled it tight, causing my cousin to wince. Sasuke glared at me as he rubbed his arm. I smirked, “If you tell Itachi-san, he'll only tell you to train more. You know he will.” I teased, reading exactly what was on my younger cousin's mind. Well Itachi would probably kill me too, but I'd leave that part out.

No need to give Sasuke any funny ideas.

Feeling an evil look staring at me I looked up to see Tsunami glaring at me hotly, “Yanagi-san, you overdid it today. If you keep this up you won't be able to protect us when that man comes back!” Tazuna's daughter snapped at me.

I waved a flippant hand, “Eh, I'm a jounin, I've been dealt with chakra exhaustion before.” I said dismissively. Granted when the last time I had been on an A-rank with chakra exhaustion I had other jounin to back me up, not fresh genin. Not that I was telling any of them that.

Tsunami just continued to glare at me.

Giving in I stood up with a sigh, “Fine. I'm going to bed. Hinata, since you already mastered your training I'm putting you in charge of guarding Tazuna tomorrow. See you two boys in the morning.” I said deviously. Sasuke paled a fraction while Naruto cheered happily. With that I hobbled off for another night's rest.

vvv

“Uh... Sensei, what are we doing...?” Naruto asked. Sasuke was off in a little corner of the clearing, practicing the Phoenix Sage jutsu–he had finally memorized the hand signs I had used for the jutsu–while the Kyuubi brat and I sat in a meditative pose in the center of the clearing. It was mid-morning and so far had been peaceful except for Naruto's consent nagging.

I opened an eye, “Right now? I'm enjoying the morning. Shut up and meditate.”

“But-”

“No.”

“Sensei-”

“Meditate.”

“What does-”

“Shut up.”

“Hmph!” Naruto pouted, but at least he fell silent. I relaxed and let my mind drift over my musings on Zabuza and his ally again. I needed to figure out what they wanted before they attacked again. Maybe... maybe if they're intentions weren't as evil as I originally thought I could talk them out of their job and thus save bloodshed. Gatou, he would have to go. I didn't need the drug lord around and trying to control the Land of Waves. This whole mission was just a tangled mess. I had to worry about my genin and Tazuna. I had to figure out how to get rid of Gatou. I had to do something about Zabuza and his ally.

Why didn't I have Itachi's insane ability to plan years in advance?!

Bamf!

I opened my eyes to see Naruto had fallen over, asleep. I sighed. This kid was a long way from being Hokage, that much was for sure.

“Hey, idiot! Wake up or I won't teach you the Wind Blade!” I yelled in Naruto's ear. From his shriek of pain, I guessed that I probably burst his eardrum.

...Oops...

vvv

“Come on...” I groaned to myself as I dragged the unconscious Naruto back into the house. For a kid, he felt like he weighed a ton! I dumped him at the table and dusted my hands off.

In the meantime, Tsunami was gaping at Naruto's crumbled state, then at me, “What happened?!” She asked shocked. After a moment the older woman's eyes narrowed as if she blamed me for Naruto's sorry state. Though, it kinda was my fault...

I gave her a raised eyebrow, “He fell unconscious. He'll be fine tomorrow.” Normal kids took months months to recover from near chakra exhaustion; but Naruto was the Kyuubi container, a little chakra exhaustion wouldn't bother him too much.

“What's the use? You're just going to die!” Three guess who the doomsayer was, and the first two didn't count.

It turned out that Naruto wasn't as unconscious as I thought, he was just being extremely lazy, “What do you mean?! We're training very hard to protect you, and you just-”

Inari cut him off, “It doesn't matter how hard you try, there's no such thing as a hero!” With that the little brat ran out of the room, slamming the door shut. Tsunami ran after her son, calling out his name. I looked at Tazuna, knowing that he had answers.

Grandpa Drunk sighed and set his tea cup down. He nodded towards a torn picture hanging on the wall, one that showed his family there smiling. I squinted at the picture, along the edges that had been torn, I could barely make out part of a masculine torso behind Tsunami. There was a story behind this family's strange behavior, I could practically smell it.

“He wasn't Inari's real father, he came into our family later...” Tazuna started. I sat back and laced my fingers behind my head, I knew I was in for a treat.

Chapter 12: Bitter Taste of Reality

I nudged Naruto's side with the toe of my sandal. He didn't even twitch. Squatting down I poked the brat's cheek with a rigid finger, “Hey, dumbass...” I said loudly, knowing that a knucklehead like Naruto would react if I called him names. He still didn't move. “Obito Mini-me. Brat. Idiot. Dumb blonde. Dead last. Coward.” When the brat didn't react at all I stood back up with a sigh and turned to the others standing in the doorway.

“Well either he's dead or out like a light post.” I told them, scratching the back of my head. Hinata gasped a little, her hands going to her mouth as she no doubt thought that her precious 'Naruto-kun' was dead.

Tsunami looked as equally worried as the little Hyuuga heiress, “You don't think he overdid it in training, do you? He was looking pretty exhausted last night.

“Hn. He was passed out in the forest yesterday morning.” Sasuke commented thoughtfully.

I groaned and hung my head, I really didn't need this at the moment, “Fine, Sasuke will be on guard duty today and Hinata will train.” I said defeated. I hated it when people screwed up my schedule! “Hinata you know the rules. If anyone suspicious shows up, head for the bridge and warn everyone.”

“H-Hai.”

Sasuke frowned, “But that was the rotation yesterday.” I glared at him. Like I didn't know that already, idiot.

“Hinata still needs to train in her stealth and since Naruto is stealing your rest day, you can take his spot on guard duty. Don't complain, Duckass, true shinobi don't protest orders.” Like I predicted, Sasuke snapped his jaw shut and didn't make another sound.

Really, it was insulting how predictable that kid was.

“Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll go with you that way you can relax at the bridge.” Everyone but Inari gave me strange looks. I returned their gaze with an unamused look, “Stop staring like calves at a new gate. I'm bored.” I snapped, perhaps just a little too defensively. By Sasuke's sudden smug look I was guessing he knew why I really was going.

I was worried about the brat.

With good reason though. There was no such thing as a jounin who didn't have a sixth sense for danger; and I felt more jittery than when Obito accidentally released those rabid squirrels in the house.

I mentally shuddered at the memory.

I moved past the miniature crowd and lead them outside. Turning to Tsunami I began issuing orders, “When Naruto wakes up, just tell him to practice his taijutsu; you also have permission to send him on any errands you have. Hinata, I want you to try and sneak up on as many woodland creatures as you can. If you catch five animals in a row then join Sasuke and I on the bridge. Duckass, Grandpa Dunk, let's go.” I turned on my heel and immediately started for the bridge without waiting for the two idiot males catch up to me.

“Geez, for a woman you walk pretty fast.” Tazuna panted when he and my cousin finally caught up. It was really pathetic that we were almost to the bridge by that point.

I gave the old drunk an unimpressed look, “Not all women are geishas or civilians who don't have anywhere important to be. The success of a mission could rely on fast feet, I could possibly save a life that would otherwise be lost if I arrive quicker than my enemies anticipate.”

Tazuna pulled a face, “Hey kid, are all shinobi like this one or is it just her?” He asked Sasuke.

Sasuke just shrugged and didn't comment. He practically had to jog to keep up with us adults; I couldn't tell if he wasn't answering because he didn't want to or because he was too focused on not falling behind. I was guessing it was a little bit of both.

“Tazuna, how long do you have before the bridge is finished?” I asked the old man. Now wasn't the time for fun and games. That sense of dread I had been feeling all morning was getting worse the closer we got to the bridge.

Grandpa Drunk shrugged, “Depends. If I have a full roster of workers, it should only be a few weeks. But with Gatou controlling everything and scaring the people, I keep losing my workers. Just yesterday I had one of my foremen quiet! I don't even have half of a roster now, it could take months with the amount of workers I got.”

Grimacing, I halted at the entrance to the bridge, “That's what I feared.” I muttered.

Tazuna gaped at his unconscious employees littering the bridge. I could tell by their chakra levels that the men were still alive, but only just. “What tha-?!” Tazuna exclaimed, his face twitching in horror. I glanced at him then at Sasuke. Sasuke looked back at me, his eyes gleaming with an odd shine of excitement. He was ready.

A sudden mist blew in from the ocean. I snarled in frustration and stepped in front of Tazuna, “Stay behind me.” I said sharply. Tazuna didn't say anything, but he didn't move.

That stupid creepy chuckle drifted out from the fog, “Sorry to keep you waiting, Uchiha. I see you still got that brat with you, but what happened with the other two? Did they run off?” I heard a slight clicking behind me, but didn't glance towards my cousin. I knew he wasn't doing something stupid. Of all my genin I trusted Sasuke the most in a fight, even if he had bouts of cowardice when I least expected it.

Peaches chuckled again, “Oh look, he's shaking again. Pathetic.” The nuke-nin laughed mockingly.

There was a small intake of air from Sasuke and I felt Zabuza's chakra spike as water clones surrounded the three of us. I tensed and palmed a kunai, ready to throw it at the clone's head that was in front of me if he so much as blinked in a way I didn't like.

Sasuke scoffed, “I'm trembling with... excitement.”

The Zabuza water clones seemed surprised at the admission and I only rolled my eyes. Why couldn't the need for dramatics skip Sasuke? It skipped Itachi and me, why not one more generation?! I had enough drama from Naruto, I didn't need Sasuke filling in for that little brat too.

Speaking of brats...

I glanced at my cousin out of the corner of my eye, “Play nice.” I said teasingly. That was all the permission Sasuke needed. He twirled the kunai in his hand around a finger so that the blade was pointing at the clone in front of him. With a delightful smirk that reminded me a little too much of Obito's sadistic grin, my baby cousin pounced at the water clones.

While Peach-boy's clones were busy trying to defeat an Uchiha brat, I ran through the signs for a summoning and slammed my hand to the bridge's surface, “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” I heard Zabuza growl angrily as a swarm of normal sized hawks flew up from the seal, spiraling into a twister of feathers and harsh cries that surrounded me like a moving wall. I held up my right arm and one of the hawks detached itself from it's flock. “Fly to Hyuuga Hinata and inform her to come as back up.” The hawk dipped its head at my command and took off to the sky, flying out of sight before turning in the direction of Hinata. No need to tell our enemies where an ally was after all. The rest of the hawks dispersed among the cables of the bridge, their sharp yellow eyes watching.

While I was busy with my summonings, Sasuke finished up his little spar with the water clones. He looked about as cocky as a true Uchiha when he returned to his spot beside me. I mentally whimpered and hoped that I didn't get an arrogant little brat who thought he was God's gift to man. If so, I was going to beat that out of him and suffer Itachi's wrath with a smile on my face.

“Ooooo, the brat's improving.” Peach-boy said from my right. All three of us turned to see the man with horrible fashion sense giving us a leer. At least I thought it was a leer, it was kind of hard to tell when the lower half of his face was bandaged up. His ally stood beside him, still wearing that false hunter-nin mask. “Looks like you've got competition... Haku.” Zabuza continued.

“So it seems.” The boy, Haku, murmured quietly.

Trolling time.

“Oi oi. Peachy's ally, or whatever the hell your name is, are you a boy or a girl? Because honestly, you're a very androgynous individual.” I asked, intentionally playing the ignorant idiot. Tazuna and Sasuke were giving me looks that could only be described as 'way to ruin the suspense, dummy'.

Haku and Zabuza exchanged looks and I took my chance to continue, “You know what? It doesn't matter anyway, I think I'll just call you Zabuza's Bitch.” I said with a smirk. Both nuke-nins snapped their heads around to glare at me–well I assume Haku glared, it was hard to tell with the mask–while I cackled in delight of pissing my enemy off.

“Take care of the brat. I'll take the bitch.” Zabuza growled.

Haku turned his gaze on Sasuke, “Right.” The kid murmured again. Then he moved. Startled I opened my mouth to shout a warning to Sasuke, but Zabuza was on me before I could utter a single syllable.

I back flipped away from Tazuna, distancing myself from the client and the man trying to kill him. At the moment Zabuza seemed pretty focused on me, so I didn't have to worry. I smirked as I kicked Kubikiribōchō away from me. “Don't tell me I struck a nerve.” I cooed as I deflected another swing with my kunai. Zabuza snarled like an angry animal and charged at me again. I snorted and ducked under his swing. If I had know pissing Peaches off would make him attack like a predictable wild animal, I would have done it a long time ago.

Kicking off the ground, I gave myself enough time to spare a glance at Sasuke. My eyes widened as I saw Haku performing hand signs with only one hand. That wasn't something you saw everyday. I wonder if the sharingan could somehow pick it up.

Before I could activate my sharingan to see if I could, Zabuza attacked again, “You're opponent is me! Let's leave the kids to their game.”

I shot Zabuza a nasty glare, “Oh, go drown in your own water ninjutsu! I didn't come all this way with a bunch of brats and a drunk old man to hear you blowing steam, ya old windbag.” I snapped, getting irritated. I knew Zabuza wasn't taking this fight seriously. He was just trying to keep me from Sasuke and Haku's fight.

Peachy paused, “A bunch of brats, eh?” He quoted, sounding oddly interested. “So you don't think that those genin are worth anything either.”

“Oh I think they're worth a lot of things, I just like calling them brats. They're my brats and I'm the only one allowed to call them that and get away with it.” I snapped back and flung my kunai at Peachy-boy's head to emphasize my point. He easily ducked under the kunai and charged at me, his sword back and ready for a strong strike to my legs. I leaped into the air over his blade and put my hands down on Zabuza's back, flipping over him to land between him and the kids.

I smirked, “Ya know, some people would think you were compensating for something with that big blade of yours.” I commented sweetly.

“You're letting that big mouth get away again, Uchiha.” Peachy growled.

I shrugged, “Well at least I'm not trying to prank you as well as fight you like my brother does. That's just annoying.” I said coolly. From the look in Zabuza's eyes, he thought my inappropriate remarks were a hell of a lot more annoying.

“Argh!” Both of us whipped around to see Sasuke kicking Haku away.

Sasuke stood in his spot, smirking, “Seems you're not as fast as you think you are.” He said, idly spinning his kunai around his index finger. Cocky little git, I was definitely beating that arrogance out of his system.

Zabuza glared at his ally, “Haku. Stop messing around and letting a brat beat you, get on with it!” He ordered.

The masked boy stood back up easily, “Yes.” He responded in an almost robotic voice.

Frowning I turned my back on Zabuza to watch what the masked brat was doing. Icy blue strands of chakra haloed Haku and he bowed his head, “I'm sorry it's come to this.” The boy said softly and made a strange sign. The temperature dropped drastically and I uttered a curse under my breath as I automatically regulated my chakra to keep myself warm. Of course our newest enemy would have some kind of tie to cold weather. It wouldn't be hell if he didn't.

Stupid karma demons and their stupid agenda against me.

The water around Sasuke and Haku suddenly leaped up into the air to form flat frozen surfaces. Haku stepped into the mirrors, senbon needles in his hands. Meanwhile I gaped in surprise, it was not cold enough to form ice like that. Even the most powerful shinobi with water nature had a hard time creating ice even in temperatures where it was easy to form. That only meant one thing.

Kekke Genkai.

Peaches chuckled behind me, “Seems you figured it out.”

Growling I ran for the ice mirrors, but Peach-boy flash stepped in front of me. “If you're going to fight, you will fight me.” He snapped.

I glared at him. “Bastard.” I spat out.

The peachy nuke-nin chuckled creepily, “Oh? Out of your witty comments? I'm crushed.” I could practically taste the sarcasm in the air.

“You have three seconds to step aside before I really crush you.”

“How cute. You think you can defeat me. You weren't able to before, what makes you think you can now that we're surrounded by even more water than before?” My eyes widened a fraction and I flung my kunai at the water clone that I thought was Zabuza and leaping away before the real Zabuza could cut me down. He didn't look all that happy when he turned to face me. He scoffed when he saw my sharingan, “That again? Are all the Uchiha so weak that they rely on that silly Kekke Genkai of theirs? How pathetic.”

Sasuke yelped and I looked over Peaches shoulder to see Haku raining senbon down on my cousin like a vengeful thunderstorm. Anger washed over me, hot and heady, when I landed my gaze back on Zabuza. “Two seconds to move.”

Peaches sneered.

“One.”

He didn't move.

I held my right arm above my head and brought my left to my mouth. Curling my index and thumb around my tongue I whistled loudly, using a small wind ninjutsu to amplify the sound. My hawk summons, having been sitting on the sidelines forgotten, all took flight. They flew in circles like a roiling thundercloud of brown and black, using my upraised arm as the pivot point.

“Last chance to move.” I said. Zabuza stubbornly stayed where he was. My mouth twisted in an ugly grimace and I lowered my right arm to point at the Mist nuke-nin. The hawks gave one last turn before following my finger and shooting straight towards Peach-boy.

He smirked.

My eyes widened.

“Hha!” I felt water douse my back and I spun around to see Hinata standing in a puddle of water, formerly a water clone, panting slightly. She gave me a shaky grin, “I-I'm sorry Y-Yanagi-sensei. I c-came as fast as I c-c-c-could.” She stuttered slightly, a blush forming on her cheeks. I didn't blame her, Hinata had suddenly become the center of attention after pulling a stunt like that. Even Haku stopped torturing my poor cousin to stare at her.

I grinned, “Hey, I'm not complaining. You just saved me from being skewered like a roast pig.” I joked before turning serious, “Guard Tazuna, don't leave his side for any reason.” I ordered. Hinata gave a firm nod and leaped sideways until she was in front of Tazuna, in a Gentle Fist stance. When I turned to face Zabuza again, he did not look amused.

“Oh... did she ruin your little scheme?” I asked innocently, pressing an index finger to the corner of my mouth like a slut trying to act cute.

That did it, I could practically hear Peachy's patience snap. He snarled and charged at me, “Shut up!”

I laughed as I jumped away from him, “Looks like you underestimated my brats, Peach-boy. Sasuke and Hinata are clan kids and having been training with their families since they could hold a kunai right.” I ducked under Peachy's swing and shot my left leg out for a round house kick. Zabuza launched into the air to avoid my leg and I pulled back before he could land on it. “Sasuke is the best in his class and no one can defeat Hinata in taijutsu. She's a Hyuuga after all, it's in her blood.” I taunted as I back flipped away from the Kubikiribōchō.

Skidding to a halt a few feet away from Peaches I smirked, “And what have you got? A coward with a nice Kekke Genkai. Well, I've got two brats with Kekke Genkai and neither of them are cowards!”

Zabuza's face twisted unpleasantly, “Haku, stop goofing around and kill that pest!” He barked out, his gaze darting over his shoulder to where the ice mirrors stood. Haku didn't respond, but only started throwing more senbons at Sasuke at a more rapid pace than before; I tried not to flinch when I heard Sasuke cry out. Peachy looked back at me, his gaze deadlier than before, “That big mouth of yours is going to get your brats killed, Uchiha.”

I only smiled, “I'm confident they can handle one little brat, even one as powerful as yours. Besides, you forgot something.” Peach-boy stiffened as it dawned on him that Naruto had yet to appear. My smile twisted into a sneer, “You know, I think my last student deserves to be called the 'Stupidly Brave Shinobi of Konoha' more than I do. After all, not many genin are brave enough to fight someone like you, Peach-boy, let alone get the better of you.”

As if planned there was a puff of smoke to the right of Haku's mirrors. Naruto's voice drifted from the white billowing vapors, “I resent that, Frizzy-sensei! Call me the 'Fearless Shinobi of Konoha'! That's right, Uzumaki Naruto is here!” My eye only twitched a little at the nickname. I'd let it slide this one time.

Peach-boy blinked slowly at Naruto then looked at me, “You think some brat like him can do anything?”

I shrugged, “Why not? It was a dead-last like Naruto who helped turn the last shinobi war back in Konoha's favor.” I responded coolly. I should know, Obito was the idiot I was talking about. “I feel Naruto can do the same with this little spat we have. Dead-last shinobi have a tendency to surprise people.” Naruto took a second to gawk at me, not use to my free praise. All I could say was he had better back up my claims or I was going to murder the little sucker.

Naruto got a really big grin on his face, “You know how the hero always shows up at the last minute and kicks butt? Well that's what I'm going to do, right now! So don't you worry sensei, you can just sit back and watch me beat these guys!”

I facepalmed.

The blonde idiot ignored me, “Alright, you're history!” He formed a sign, “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” But before Naruto could form a single clone, Zabuza twisted around and threw a handful of shuriken at him. Like with the Demon Brothers, Naruto's first reaction was the freeze in fear.

“Move Naruto!” I yelled, my heart in my throat as I watched the throwing stars head for my frozen student. I wouldn't be able to get there in time to stop them, not even my hawks surrounding the bridge would be able to grab the shuriken in time.

Out of no where, senbon needles collided with the shuriken and knocked them off course. I jerked in surprise and twisted to stare at Haku half leaning out of his mirrors, still in the position of someone who had just thrown something. Zabuza narrowed his eyes at his ally.

Now that he was out of danger, I felt it safe to yell at Naruto, “You imbecile! This is a real battle not a stupid spar; a shinobi's lifestyle is deception, not a damn talent show! Always keep your enemy guessing, be unpredictable so they can't figure out how to defeat you. So get your head outta your ass and think before someone makes a dartboard out of you!”

Naruto turned about as red as Hinata did when Naruto got within ten feet of her. He started yelling apologies, but I ignored him to glance at Haku. Everyone else seemed to think that Haku had thrown senbon at Naruto at the same time Zabuza did and their attacks ended up colliding; but I knew better. One look at my cousin-turned-porcupine told me that Haku did not miss his targets. Which could only mean... he meant to throw those shuriken off track.

The question was why.

Peach-boy seemed to be thinking the same thing I was, “Haku, what are you doing?” Peachy demanded. His tone was dangerous and angry, he was pissed at Haku for disturbing his attack. In Zabuza's state of mind at the moment, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he attacked his own ally out of anger.

One could only hope.

Haku straightened out of his position and dipped his head towards Peaches, “Zabuza-sama, let me fight this boy in my own way... please.” The brat rasped. Mildly I wondered if all Kiri nins had that smoker rasp, or if it was just these two idiots.

Naruto glared at the masked boy, “Bring. It. On.” He challenged before I could tell him to not be stupid. I suppressed the urge to hang my head in defeat at the stupidity of the blonde brat and wondered if he knew how powerful Haku was. Sasuke was hardly a match for the nuke-nin, what chance did Naruto have against him?!

Zabuza chuckled, “As usual you're too soft, Haku. Fine, if that is what you wish.” Soft? What part of that masked brat was...

I glanced at Sasuke. He was injured but not too bad, nothing that would cause any lasting damage. So either Haku was very sadistic and liked to play with his enemies; or he was soft as Zabuza said and wasn't trying to hurt Sasuke, just stall him. Still, knowing Naruto, he'd piss Haku off enough that the nuke-nin would tear him to shreds. I started to take a step forward to intervene before things got worse, but Peaches blocked my path.

“Don't even think about it.” Oddly enough, Peachy sounded amused. “You know what will happen if you take on Haku. I'll go after the bridge builder and that little girl.” I stiffened and looked to the left where Tazuna and Hinata stood. There was no way that I would be able to end Haku and protect those two at the same time. Against a long sword like the Kubikiribōchō, Hinata's taijutsu was useless; and without me guiding my hawk summons they couldn't do shit but sit there and look pretty. I supposed I could summon a larger hawk to deal with Zabuza while I took out Haku, but that would cut down on my chakra and possibly put me in a dangerous position.

Damn.

Zabuza seemed to know I was in a bind, he smirked underneath those bandages, “Relax, Uchiha. Lets see how our students do... one on one.” I gave him an Uchiha Glare, but he wasn't even paying attention to me. I didn't dare attack, he might not be looking at me, but I know the Peach Bastard was still prepared to fight me. Only an idiot would think otherwise.

Apparently Sasuke was an idiot.

While Haku was talking to Naruto, a kunai came flying out of the ice prison that held Sasuke. Haku easily dodged the knife and looked at my cousin, “Don't think I forgot about you, not for an instant.” The masked nuke-nin tilted his head a little, “Some warriors accept defeat gracefully, they know when they are beaten...” Oh great, know I was going to have two idiots who couldn't think straight, “Others do not. So be it, let us finish our battle then.”

I couldn't help but groan quietly as Haku reentered his mirrors. Zabuza actually snorted and gave me an amused look as if we weren't enemies fighting to the death but two people just watching our students spar. I shot him a brief glare and looked away. I refused to think Peaches was anyone else but my enemy.

It was torture having to watch my cousin practically being torn to shreds by multiple attacks coming from all the mirrors. With my sharingan I could pick up the real Haku and how he jumped from mirror to mirror to keep the element of surprise. The little pest was fast, even with my sharingan I could just barely pick up his movements as he flashed between the mirrors. But I still didn't know how the mirrors worked.

“Sasuke, Naruto think! You have to attack the mirrors from the inside and outside at the same time to figure out how they work!” I yelled. Naruto's face brightened with an idea and there was a poof and...

He was gone.

It was only when Sasuke started yelling did I realize where he went. My eye twitched and I glanced at Zabuza. The nuke-nin looked like he was on the verge of laughing, I was almost tempted to tell him that I was disowning Naruto as my student after a stunt like that.

“Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!” Sasuke yelled out and there was a brief glow of orange that surrounded the multiple mirrors at various angles, but none of them melted.

I could hear the amusement in Haku's voice when he said, “You'll need more firepower than that to melt this ice.” I stiffened slightly. More firepower? I could easily do that, but...

Peaches smirked at me, easily reading my mind, “If you melt the mirrors you'll incinerate your students. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?” He asked. I shot him a nasty look and mildly wondered why he hadn't attacked yet. Peach-boy didn't have a problem earlier, was he just stalling then to get to this point and showcase his student? He had been hired to take out my client, not show off his student's prowess.

Once again my suspicions of his involvement with the Mist Rebels surfaced. I eyed the man, trying to figure out his game. I doubted that he was ever fighting me seriously. All he had done was send water clones and swing that big ass sword around. Zabuza had been part of the Seven Swordsmen of Kirigakure, he had gotten the position by being a master of kenjutsu. So far Zabuza had been attacking as if the Kubikiribōchō was just a piece of metal to be swung around and not a great sword.

Of course it was always possible that he was downplaying his abilities to keep the element of surprise; I had been doing the same by only dodging Zabuza's sword and tossing kunai around when I got the opening. But it just didn't fit Peachy's personality to use deception when he had the opportunity to strike. I glanced at the ice prison as Haku bounded from mirror to mirror, raining senbon down on Sasuke and Naruto. Haku was the same. I knew that that jutsu was meant to trap and destroy an opponent. The positioning of the mirrors and the pure speed of Haku proved that point easily enough. So why weren't my students dead yet? From what I had gathered on Haku, I knew he wasn't the sick twisted kind of shinobi that enjoyed toying with their victims. Not even Zabuza was that way. Zabuza's way of killing was quick, painless, and silent; leaving any survivors baffled and frightened of the Demon of the Mist.

Naruto's yelling stopped my musing, “I won't quit! Not ever, I'm going to survive and become Hokage because that is my dream!” I didn't know if I should be proud that he still wasn't giving up even after that downpour of needles or still embarrassed that he had gotten himself into that mess.

What Haku responded with surprised me, “I didn't want to be a shinobi, it's painful. I don't want to kill you, but if you come closer I will have no choice.” What? “I will kill the kindness in my own heart and fully embrace the shinobi way. This bridge will the battlefield where our dreams collide. I will fight for my dream, just as you fight for yours. Please do not blame me, I fight for someone who is precious to me. I live for him and I will face death for him so that his dream will become reality. That is my dream, and for the sake of that dream, if I must I will act as a shinobi and take your lives!”

I bowed my head and glanced at the silent Zabuza. It was obvious that Haku was referring to Peach-boy, but why? What did Zabuza do that made the kid so loyal to him? And furthermore, just what was Zabuza's dream? The more I listened to Haku, the more reluctant I was to kill the kid, but if he got in the way of my mission then I would cut him and Zabuza down.

Peaches shot me a haughty glance, “Tell me Uchiha, does that wimpy village of yours still avoid the most important rule of being a shinobi?” He asked as if he were genuinely curious.

I only started at him in silence. It was a loaded question, so I saw no need in wasting my breath with an answer that was already obvious.

Peach-boy cackled like a madman, “I wonder what your precious little Hokage will say when you come back with two bodies instead of three live genin... if you survive that is.” I heard Tazuna inhale sharply as it dawned on him just how outnumbered the genin truly were. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see how Hinata was holding up to the news of her possible death.

Not too well.

Zabuza followed my gaze, “She's going to faint.” He observed in a tone that could only be amusement. He looked back at me, “How is it that you ended up with three incompetent brats? You're supposed to be an A-class kunoichi, and yet here you are... babysitting.”

“Hn.” I grunted. That insult was so pathetic I knew I would lose brain cells just by answering it. One would think that the Bloody Mist would pencil in a trash talk class right after their academy students learned how to gut a helpless victim. At least so they wouldn't kill their opponents from the lame insults flying around.

Unless... that was their stupid plan all along.

The damn man didn't shut up though, “Falling back on the Uchiha customary response? How unlike you.” Great now he was adding sarcasm to the list. My eye twitched and I came close to planting my fist in his stupid, bandaged face if only to shut him up; but I somehow refrained... for now. “It must goad you that your precious Hokage would dump a bunch of brats on you. It's such a waste of your skills, chasing after three brats like you're their nanny while shinobi weaker than you take over your missions.” Peachy continued on, not even bothering to see if he was really insulting me or not.

Finally I got fed up, “Your insults are pathetic. Even my pacifist cousin can talk trash better than you.” I deadpanned. Peachy didn't even have the decency to look offended. He only smirked at me from underneath his bandages.

I reached into my weapons pouch and brought out a fan. Snapping it open I began lightly fanning myself like a geisha would. I even fluttered my eyelashes at Peaches, “Let's get this over with, ne? I want to leave by dusk.” I simpered like a primping airhead and reactivated my sharingan, having had deactivated it once I realized I would never figure out Haku's jutsu with my eyes.

Zabuza jerked his gaze away from my sharingan and he reached back into his own kunai pouch. As he charged at me, I made a sweeping motion with my arm so that my fan cut through the air like a blade. When he came into my range, I thumbed the little lever on the handle and fourteen senbon needles shot out of the fan's ribs. Unfortunately due to the large curve of the fan's edge, only five senbons were heading directly at Peaches. He easily knocked them away with his two bladed kunai and jumped back.

I snapped the fan shut and pointed it at him, “Lesson number one of kunoichi tactics: Everything can be a weapon.” I depressed another button on the bamboo frame of the fan and a three inch blade shot out of the little slot that was embedded into the fan, just to prove my point. Zabuza did not looked very pleased with my Fan of Wonders–as Obito called it.

In fact, I could swear he was pouting.

“This won't be like last time, Peach-boy.” I promised him, my smirk melting away to be replaced with the expressionless mask every shinobi seemed to have.

The bandaged nuke-nin seemed to have stolen my smirk, “You're correct, because this time even if you do defeat me, you have no chance against Haku. When I found him he was just a street rat, but I trained him in the most advanced techniques. I taught him everything I know, and with that Kekke Genkai of his, soon he was able to take on dangerous enemies. Even outnumbered and in total darkness, he could strike with perfect accuracy. He cared nothing for his own life, or the lives of others. Haku became a unique fighting machine, a shinobi. In the end even he surpassed me, with that Kekke Genkai of his nothing can defeat it! I've created a tool that can destroy anyone who stands in my way, unlike those useless brats that follow you around like little lost puppies!”

I grimaced in disgust at the man before me. Then I glanced over his shoulder at the prison of ice mirrors where the shouts of pain from Naruto and Sasuke were still originating. When I head heard Haku's speech I was ready to put an end to the battle peacefully, just to save the kid the pain of losing his precious person. Now I was ready to roast the fool who dared take advantage of loyalty like that.

Zabuza laughed as he looked back at the ice mirrors with a crazed look in his eyes, “You think those punks can defeat Haku? He's the ultimate battle tool of destruction!”

“Would ya shut up already? Geez you sound worse than my uncle when he's talking about Itachi!” I snapped, getting irritated with this 'Haku is so great! You can never defeat him!' bullshit. Was Zabuza Haku's fangirl or senpai?!

Zabuza didn't understand the reference, so he wasn't offended. Though I had now doubt he would be throwing a temper tantrum if he knew how Fugaku was when he was bragging about my cousin. “Fine, but there is one more thing you should know.” I raised an eyebrow and decided to humor him, not that he needed any encouragement, “Did you really think our last battle was just win or lose? Haku had been watching the whole time, watching every move your made with that sharingan of yours. Haku can see a move once and immediately devise a counterattack; it's one of his... gifts. I've been waiting to see the look on your pretty face when you realize that your sharingan has become worthless!”

I kept my face blank just to annoy him.

Zabuza held up two fingers, “Suiton: Hidden Mist Jutsu!”

Deja vu, anyone?

The thin mist that had already layered the air thickened to the point of no visibility. I cursed, my sharingan eyes darting to pick up the slighted movement in the mist; but all I could see was Hinata and Tazuna fidgeting around, looking left and right for a thin spot in the thick mist. I pinned Hinata with a look. She was twitching nervously and shaking in fear, “Hinata, stay with Tazuna. Don't leave his side for any reason.” I ordered her in a sharp tone. The Hyuuga girl seemed to get over her fear at the order and nodded firmly before shifting from an offensive to a defensive taijutsu stance. I had noticed over the weeks that she seemed to lose her cowardice when given a direct order. Hopefully she would stand by it even if I went down.

Shuriken came out of no where and I easily batted them away with my closed fan. I took a cautious step in the direction the throwing stars had come from but stopped and twisted around when I felt Zabuza's chakra behind me. I blinked when I saw that his eyes were closed. Was he trying to prevent looking into my sharingan or was it another reason entirely? I frowned when he started to speak.

“Next time you see me, will be the last time you see anything.” Okay, for Peach-boy, that wasn't a half bad attempt to be intimidating; but still... even goofy Shisui still beat him by a mile. Of course, goofy Shisui happened to be pretty terrifying when someone did the impossible and actually pissed him off, but that was irrelevant. “Without your sharingan, you're nothing.” Zabuza rasped and then disappeared again before I could attack. I twitched in annoyance. If this was just going to be a hit-and-run tactic I was going to murder someone.

Preferably Peaches; but I would take Tazuna for putting me in this mess in the first place too.

Fine. If he wanted to play this game, then I would just pull and Uchiha Tactic straight from the Book of Bullshit and own his sorry ass before he could sneeze. I ran through the appropriate hand signs and slammed my palms together with a loud clap, “Fūton: Gale Palm!” In a large ejection of wind oriented chakra, I managed to disperse most of the mist thinning it out enough that I could see Zabuza's faint outline several paces to my right. I turned to face the outline and began a new set of hand signs, “Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!” I shouted and sent a steady stream of fire at Zabuza.

I grinned when Zabuza had to leap out of the mist and into my sight, just like I wanted, “I'm sorry, I didn't catch that last part. You left to quickly. Something about me being without my sharingan...?” I said teasingly. Boy, did Peaches look pissed off.

Somehow that set off a monologue of how Peach-boy had figured out the secret behind the sharingan. I almost started nodding off when he started explaining the piercing eye and the hypnotic eye and how I had used them in battle. Seriously, what was with this guy and explaining things to invisible audiences? Was he so enamored with his own smoker voice that he liked making long winded speeches over obvious things?!

That would explain a lot of things, actually.

After he finished lecturing me about things I had grown up knowing, he started talking about his 'ultimate plan to win the day'. Finally I gave up pretending to listen and groaned loudly, “Oh. My. Kami. SHUT UP! At least try to make it harder on me by not explaining your stupid little plan. Dear Lord, do I need to give you the 'a shinobi's lifestyle is deception' lecture I gave Naruto too?!”

There was a beat of silence when even Haku stopped fighting Naruto and Sasuke, before Zabuza's annoying raspy voice spoke again, “Fine. I just won't give you a sporting chance.” If that was what he called a 'sporting chance' I would gladly go without, if only to keep my ears from bleeding.

In the back of my mind I wondered who could out talk the other: the Hokage or Peaches.

The fighting between the three boys resumed with vigor, but something was different about it. I could hear Sasuke using the fireball jutsu as well, which was strange. Didn't he already try to melt the ice and figure out that it didn't work? What could those two idiots possibly be up to? I risked a glance in their direction, hoping that it might shed some light on their plan.

“Pay attention to your own fight!” Zabuza roared and I snapped my head around with a gasp just in time to feel his foot connect with my jawline. There was a dull crunch and I tasted the sharp coppery twang of blood flooding my mouth; seconds later a wave of pain bloomed from my jaw, momentarily causing my mind to blank. I landed in a heap on the ground, my jaw throbbing painfully. I reached up to cradle it and winced when my hand grazed against the bruising area. The bone was cracked at the very least.

High killer intent brought my head up and my eyes widened when I saw Zabuza descending from the air, the Kubikiribōchō raised over his head and positioned to bisect me at the waist. Scrambling, I twisted to the side and got my feet under me just as the long blade dug into the ground almost three inches deep. I winced and tried not to imagine what would have happened to be had I been any slower.

I was really starting to regret pissing Peaches off.

The Kiri nuke-nin yanked his big ass sword out of the ground and turned towards me, a deranged look in his eyes. “Seems I finally succeeded in shutting up the Uchiha with the runaway mouth. Now to make it permanent.” I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the lame trash talk. This guy was truly pathetic when it came to being intimidating. I was starting to think that awkward Iruka could be more terrifying than this guy. The chunnin might be terrifying to kids, but he was just a socially awkward wimp when it came to adults.

Peachy disappeared.

I stiffened and looked around, trying to discern any chakra signal with either my sharingan or my sensory abilities. I swallowed a mouthful of blood, trying not to gag at the overbearing taste of copper, and ran through my options. While the wind jutsu had momentarily cleared the mist, it was back in full force, once again hindering my line of vision. Sight was out, I could deal with that. Peaches was a master of the silent killing technique; he could enter a crowd full of people, kill one person, and be gone before that person even hit the ground–all the while not making a smidgen of noise. That mean I could not hear Zabuza's attacks either and if I did it was probably a distraction. Still I could manage without hearing too.

That left my sensing abilities and scent. I wasn't a tracker and I was no where near as good at olfactory perception as Kakashi or the Inuzuka clan, but I still had a sharp nose. However, the problem with that was my sense of smell was being overridden by the smell of my blood still filling my mouth. My chances of predicting Peaches next attack were starting to slim down. My chakra sensing abilities weren't the best, it was mostly just raw talent, but I still should be able to pick out Zabuza's large chakra source in the thick mist he had created. It would be like trying to pick out the early morning sun in a thick fog, but it was still doable. Unless Peach-boy suppressed his chakra, I should be able to sense him.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on spanning my awareness about the bridge. I could feel the chakra of the three boys flitting around inside the ice prison, which appeared to be a thin dome of Haku's chakra, and I could pick out Hinata's still relatively high chakra reserves right in front of Tazuna's stunted civilian level chakra. Wait.

Hinata.

Damn it! I had a Hyuuga with me the whole time and I was too caught up in my ego to even think about asking her for help. There wasn't anything that could hide from the Byakugan! And now, I couldn't talk because of my cracked jawbone. Growling deep in my throat I was about to shunshin to Hinata and signal what I needed in my rusty genin hand signs, when the object I was looking for appeared.

Right where I didn't want it.

Chapter 13: Reassuring Brats is Such a Drag

“W-where's N-N-N-Na-Naruto-kun?” Hinata asked the next day as she came down for breakfast. I ignored the conversation as I absentmindedly went over my supply of weapons. My instincts were telling me that the final battle between my team and Zabuza was approaching fast. I wouldn't be unprepared this time, I was going to make sure I was as prepared as I could be with my limited resources. I sighed through my nose and wished that the Land of Waves had a weapons shop of some sort. I had gone as far as whittling down sticks I gathered in the woods into makeshift senbon needles.

There was no way in hell I was going to lose this fight.

Tsunami's worried voice brought me back to reality, “Well I hope he's alright. A child shouldn't spend the night out in the woods alone.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I reattached my weapons pouch to my hip. Civilians would forever think that a child was a child and not a ninja, no matter what we did to convince them otherwise.

“I wouldn't worry.” Everyone turned to look at me. I found it amusing that there were sparks of anger in the eyes of the two genin present. It was especially funny coming from Hinata. I shrugged, “Naruto is an immature brat, but he's still a genin. He'll be fine...” A smirk crawled up the corner of my mouth, “Although, he could be dead from chakra exhaustion. He's an idiot for practicing that jutsu day in and day out.”

Hinata squeaked in fear and daintily covered her mouth with her hands. “S-sensei, you d-d-don't th-think that he–” She didn't finish her thought, as if she was afraid that if she said Naruto was dead it would be true.

Sasuke hummed to himself, “Sensei is probably right. That dobe is probably dead somewhere.” I mentally grinned evilly as I filed away the quote for future blackmail against Sasuke. If Mikoto ever found out that Sasuke was being rude to Kushina-san's child, my aunt would hang Sasuke by his toenails and proceed to skin him alive.

Duckass stood suddenly and started to walk away, “I'm going for a walk.” He said nonchalantly as he stuffed his hands into his shorts' pockets.

I grinned at my cousin as he passed me, “Say hi to your boyfriend for me when you find him!” I called teasingly. Sasuke actually snarled when he glared at me and I laughed with true delight. I swear teasing Sasuke was almost as fun as it had was to tease Kakashi-nii.

Actually teasing the duckass was more fun because he didn't throw kunais at me.

Or tell Shisui where I was at any given time.

The door clicked shut behind Sasuke and I immediately stood up, “Let's go Hinata, you're turn for practice.” I didn't miss Hinata's flinch, but I ignored it. Now was not the time for personal issues, we were about to have a fight on our hands.

Hinata followed me quietly until we reached the clearing I had in mind to use as Hinata's training ground. I sat down in the middle of the clearing and closed my eyes, “Alright, go out in the woods for a bit and try to sneak back here. I'll tell you if I hear you or not.”

She didn't move.

I waited for a moment longer before cracking an eye open. Hinata stood there, still in her strangely defiant mood. If not for the blush on her cheeks or the nervous way she twiddled her fingers, I would have said she was glaring at me. I guess I wasn't getting out of this easily.

“Look,” I started as I leaned back on my hands and closed my eye again, “it's my job as your sensei to prepare you for the world. I won't apologize for seeming a little harsh; to me Naruto, Sasuke and you are all adults so I won't coddle you. If you can't handle it, then resign from your career as a kunoichi and find a less stressful job.” I opened my other eye to pin the quiet Hyuuga heiress with a serious look, “Otherwise, start practicing.”

Hinata was quiet for a long time. She just stood in her place, staring at me. I held her gaze. Hinata may be a shy child who stuttered a lot, but I could tell by her eyes that gaining her respect would be a challenge for anyone, and once the had it she would never stop respecting them no matter what they did. I knew that her philosophy came from her clan, so I would respect her beliefs, however much they differed from the Uchiha clan.

Finally the little girl bowed deeply, as one would to a highly respected elder, and ran off into the woods. I smiled, I was actually starting to enjoy this jounin sensei gig... well at least with Hinata.

The two boys were still annoying.

When I was could no longer feel Hinata's chakra signature, I pulled a blank scroll out of my weapons pouch and opened it. Setting it down in front of me, the tip of my foot resting on the edge to keep the scroll from rolling back up, I took out my fan I used for wind ninjutsu and unfurled it. I felt along the fan's edge for the rib that was just slightly larger than the others. Hooking my fingernail under the tiny lip at the top, I pulled out my field brush then I flipped the fan over so I could feel along the base for the compartment that held a block of compressed and died ink.

With all my supplies laid out I proceeded to make the ink. Scratching off a good bit of the powdered ink into the large thumb indent on my fan that doubled as an ink pot, I spat saliva until the ink was smooth and thin enough for writing. Carefully, to avoid spilling my hard won ink, I set the fan down by my leg and dipped the brush into the ink. Leaning closer to the blank scroll I began the emergency report.

'Red Update

Mission status: C-rank updated to A-rank

Team: Genin Team 7

Report: Three days out of Konohagakure, Team had encountered two chunnin level nuke-nin known as the 'Demon Brothers'. Minimal injuries. The nuke-nin were taken out by Team Leader with a minor AoE genjutsu. Client confessed to requesting a B-rank level Mission under the rank C. Team decision made to deliver Client safely to Destination and abort the Mission. En route to Destination, Team encountered A-class nuke-nin known as Momochi Zabuza. Presumed Alive with Unknown Ally. Team Leader mildly injured: Chakra Exhaustion. Political tension. Gang trouble caused by man named Gatou. Team has made unanimous decision to remain at Destination until problems are resolved.'

After the ink dried I rolled the scroll back up and drew three bands around the outside, marking the information as High Priority information. Setting aside the scroll I twirled my brush around and used the sharp end of it to stab my thumb. Quickly I made the hand signs and slammed my palm to the ground, “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!”

A small puff of smoke and a small brown hawk stood there, her head cocked to the side as she stared at me with one sharp yellow eye, “Yanagi-sama? You have use of me?” The hawk summon questioned in her smooth silky voice.

I picked up the scroll and presented it to her, “Take this to the Hokage in Konohagakure, fast.” The hawk jumped into the air and grabbed the scroll in her talons. I bowed my head in thanks and the hawk was gone so quickly she was nothing but a speck in the sky within a minute. Breathing in relief I knew the scroll would reach Konoha withing two days. All my hawk summons were naturally fast; but Izon was the fastest of the group, I could rely on her.

As I finished wiping the ink out of my fan's thumb imprint, I called out, “I know you're there. Go back and try again.” There was a moment of silence before I could feel Hinata's chakra starting to move away from me again. For her to get within 50 meters of me without my noticing was a feat; maybe I underestimated the Hyuuga girl.

vvv 3rd Person~ Sasuke vvv

Sasuke found Naruto alright, talking to some weird androgynous boy. The Uchiha boy didn't know if he should be amused that Naruto thought the boy was a girl, or annoyed that the loser was blabbing to a complete stranger about shinobi matters. He was leaning towards annoyed. Sasuke wasn't dumb, that boy down there with Naruto wasn't some innocent civilian boy. Having grown up in a ninja clan, Sasuke could spot the small telltale signs of a trained shinobi and that boy was definitely a shinobi of some sort. Why he was bothering Naruto... that was the question.

Sasuke knew enough espionage to know that one should never be discovered loitering around. When it was clear that the strange boy was getting ready to leave, Sasuke ducked back a few yards and began slowly walking back towards the pair. He tucked his hands in his pockets and made a casual show of looking around; when the boy turned around Sasuke pretended that the movement caught his attention and picked up his pace, his dark eyes solely on Naruto. Sasuke glanced up at the strange boy passed him, just a false curious glance, before returning his gaze on the confused blonde.

Only when the boy was far behind him did Sasuke pause and glance back. He knew that subtle tension anywhere, he had seen it in his father, Itachi-nii, Shisui, even Kaa-chan. Almost every adult he had ever come across in the clan had that same invisible aura of caution that seemed to run in their blood. There was no mistaking it now: that boy was a shinobi. And from his careful avoidance of Sasuke, the navy haired Uchiha also knew that the boy wasn't an ally.

Yanagi-sensei was going to be pissed if she knew there was a possible third-party of ill intent; but she would be even more pissed off if Sasuke didn't warn her of the possibility. Sasuke couldn't help but sigh a little, never had he understood why Shikamaru was always babbling about troublesome women until now.

To take out his frustration, Sasuke bashed Naruto on the head. The loser automatically started snapping at Sasuke, both his hands raising to cradle his poor abused head, “Hey what was that for?!”

Sasuke crossed his arms, “Hey, loser, did you forget about breakfast?”

The blonde idiot blinked a few times before giving Sasuke his signature cheesy grin and chuckling obnoxiously. Sasuke made a disgusted sound and pulled a face, knowing he wouldn't like whatever this idiot just did. He was starting to understand why Yanagi was always so grouchy; if Naruto was anything like Obito-itoko then Sasuke's respect for his female cousin just raised a few pegs.

Naruto's grin grew until it took up one-third of his face and he jerked his thumb towards him with a large wink, “Just wait til you see what I mastered last night! Frizzy-sensei is going to be so impressed!” With that the blonde idiot leapt to his feet and took out the much battered fan that Yanagi-sensei had loaned to him.

Sasuke mentally groaned. Yanagi was going to murder his teammate for destroying one of her weapons.

vvv Normal POV vvv

Bam!

“Jounin-san! Don't do that!” Tsunami squeaked in alarm when I banged my head against the table. I only responded by repeating my action, just to annoy her. Damn it damn it damn it! I didn't need any more complications! I needed a nice, straight-forward battle to the death with the Demon of the Mist; I didn't need some secretive little bastard trying to throw a stupid plot twist into this! Especially not with three genin to watch over. I was going to have a hard enough time keeping the brats alive while fighting Peaches, having a secondary opponent was going to be next to impossible!

Just kill me now, please.

“Er... Yanagi-sensei...” My head snapped up and I pinned Naruto with a deadly glare. He immediately went white and visibly shivered. Both Hinata and Sasuke edged away from the little brat, knowing that all hell was about to break loose.

I lifted a hand and jabbed my index finger in Naruto's direction, “You.” I hissed, my voice so cold I was almost surprised that I couldn't see my breath, “You had better start recalling that conversation you had with that bastard. Every. Word. Or. Else.”

Naruto chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his neck, “Uh... Okay... I woke up and I saw this guy sitting there, only I thought she was a girl and-” He fell silent. The Kyuubi brat's breathing started to quicken. It was obvious that he couldn't recall the conversation to save his life, which was truly on the line at the moment. His blue eyes darted to Sasuke in a panic, trying to seek out help. My cousin only looked away from his teammate, obviously not wanting to get in the crossfire.

My eyes landed on Sasuke, he wasn't going to get out of this. “If you have information, share. Don't withhold information simply because you're too scared of your own sensei.” I snapped.

I might not have interacted much with my cousin before I became his sensei, but I knew how to push his buttons long before I met him. I made a point in knowing ever single weak point in all my clansmen, both physical and mental. Sasuke wasn't one of the only Uchiha who didn't like being called a coward, but he was the most irrational when someone did. Sasuke was very easy to manipulate. Having a father like Fugaku did wonders; you would either end up as unbreakable and unpredictable like Itachi or basically a pawn like Sasuke.

As predicted, Sasuke stiffened and turned to glare at me. I kept my expression blank so he wouldn't see the victory in my onyx eyes. This boy was even more easy to manipulate than Obito, which was saying something.

I closed my eyes, “Stop glaring and start blabbing.” I said to both the boys. Leaning back against the wall by the doorway, I closed my eyes as I began memorizing whatever came out of their mouths. Both were amateurs when it came to relaying information, but I could work with that. In the back of my mind, I added reporting in a concise manner and memorization at the blink of an eye to the already long list of what I needed to teach my brats.

If we survived this stupid mission that is.

“What does it matter?!” All conversation stopped when Inari screeched in that whiny voice of his. My eyebrow twitched in irritation, this kid was really pushing it. My already endless patience was coming to an end and someone was going to get hurt soon.

Everyone looked to see the littlest brat standing at the doorway beside me, his childish eyes wet with unshed tears, “You're all going to die anyway! Gatou has a whole army, they'll just beat you and kill you. You're only wasting your-OW!” Inari fell over on his butt with his strange little hat flying off.

Everyone twisted to give me various looks of surprise and anger. I only cracked my knuckles and shook my hand, “Such a hard head, that actually hurt.” I grumbled to myself. And I thought Naruto had a hard head, but he had nothing on Inari.

“Jounin-san!” Tsunami cried out in alarm and anger. I had punched her child after all, any decent mother would be upset; even if her brat was asking for it. I wouldn't be surprised if she kicked the team out because of what I did.

Still, I had to set this doom and gloom brat right. I set a cold gaze on Inari, who shivered and whimpered. The little coward. I hit Naruto harder than that and he never acted any different. “Never tell a ninja that their career is a wasted time. And stop sniveling, it's silly and childish.”

Inari was very close to tears by then, “You don't know anything!” He wailed, “You don't know anything about this country, you're just butting in! All of you are just laughing and playing around, you don't know what it's like to be treated like trash!” I was positive that every member of Team 7 stiffened at that comment. We all had sob stories that were worse than Inari's and we knew it.

Naruto cut in before I could even open my mouth, “Oh yeah? Listen to yourself whining like some sorry little victim.” I glanced at Naruto as my expressionless mask fell over my face, concealing any trace of emotion. First I would see how the kiddies handled it, then step in and finish up whatever was left. Naruto glared at Inari, his blue eyes full of anger and self-righteousness, “You're nothing but a coward!”

“N-Naruto!” Hinata squeaked in a tiny voice, her pearl eyes wide with surprise. I doubt she had ever seen him so serious. Even I hadn't, and I had been put on his watch many times while I was part of the military police.

Naruto stood up and stomped away with a growl of frustration. I watched him go silently, keeping an eye of the reactions of my other two genin brats. Hinata looked as if she wanted to go after him, but she stayed in her seat, her Hyuuga eyes trailing after Naruto's appalling orange jumpsuit. Sasuke had retreated into his own mind, keeping his expressions to himself like I was doing, but I could tell by the way his eyes followed Naruto that he was mildly concerned for his teammate. I returned my gaze to Inari to find the little brat sobbing, thick trails of tears coursing down his cheeks. He sat there for a moment, his head bowed so no one could see his eyes, before fleeing from the room like the coward he was.

Time for me to step in.

I waited until everyone had gone to bed before searching out the gloomy brat. Even though Inari was a civilian, he still had a chakra signal, albeit an extremely weak one, so finding him on the back porch was a piece of cake. I smirked when I found him sitting at the porch's edge, his knees up to his chest.

“Hey twerp, got a minute?” I asked, bopping the kid on the back of the head lightly.

Inari flinched away from me, his hands going to hold his hat in place, as his black eyes stared at me with nervous anticipation. Seeing how I nearly tried to brain him at dinner, I didn't really blame the brat. Inari quickly covered up his fear with a sharp glare that didn't belong on his young face, “What do you want?” He asked, his bravado only breaking when his question ended in a high pitched squeak.

I took that as an invitation to sit down beside the brat, “You asked what do any of us know about suffering. It came to my attention that Naruto never answered your question, so I thought I would.” I said conversationally. Inari shifted away from me a little. I scoffed at his blatant fear of me and leaned back on my hands, my feet dangling inches above the water, “Where do I begin? Hm... well, I was raised by my brother, whom I don't really like, because my parents died before I even turned three; during the Third Shinobi War. Both Nii-san and I are practically outcasts from the clan because of some stupid reason, too. Sasuke's father constantly belittles him and says he should be more like his older brother Itachi. Hinata's father... yeesh, that guy is worse that Sasuke's dad. He actually thinks that Hinata is a waste of space because she's not the strongest in the clan. Even worse, she's the Hyuuga heiress so the expectations put on her are doubly high.”

Inari looked more and more surprised at each passing sentence. His young face began to lighten with understanding that he wasn't the only one suffered. I met his gaze and turned serious, “Then there's Naruto. He grew up without knowing his parents too; even worse, he didn't even have friends or anyone who cared about him. At least I had my brother and his team, Naruto had no one ever. Still...” I trailed off and looked up at the low hanging moon, “I never saw him cry or give up. Not even when he completely screws over a mission, he'll still try his best to make amends. That brat wants to be respected, and he'll do anything to get it.”

I smiled kindly at Inari, “My whole team has a bunch of sob stories and we all reacted in our own way. It's part of what makes us who we are and not your everyday idiot walking around on the streets. I guess you can cope through your losses by crying too... but won't you get tired of crying after a while? Isn't it better to be happy all the time, and loud and obnoxious?” Inari looked down at his feet, contemplating. I chuckled and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. He didn't flinch, “If there's anyone who can possibly understand what you're going through, it's Team 7. We're here to protect your grandfather and make sure your home stays safe from Gatou. And, if I have to die for that to be a reality, then so be it. I'll gladly give my life.”

The little boy stared at me, awe buried deep within the obsidian orbs. I snorted at his expression and moved my hand from his shoulder to wrap his neck in a playful choke hold. With my free hand I ground my knuckles into his scalp, “Eh, don't give me that look. I may be a grouchy kunoichi, but I still have a heart. I just like confusing people!” I said teasingly and for the first time since my team had arrived, I heard Inari laugh. I grinned in response as I let the kid free from my grip and leaned back again. In truth, I didn't know how to talk to people unless I was yelling at them, but for some reason this little brat managed to break the ice.

I snorted as I closed my eyes. If Nii-san could see me know, I was sure he would die laughing.

VVV^^^OMAKE^^^VVV

The Curse of the Uchiha

vvv 3rd Person vvv

“Man, why are we always the ones called off on stupid S-ranked missions?” Obito complained as Team Minato checked in at Konoha's gate. Kakashi shot Obito an irritated look while the two chunnin guards snickered. The Uchiha gave them a sideways glance, they seemed familiar, but Obito couldn't remember their names to save his life.

Rin giggled behind one hand and smiled fondly at Obito, “Because, Obito-kun, we're the only full team outside of the ANBU Corp that is cleared for S-ranks missions.” She explained happily. It wasn't often that Rin got called out on missions, but she loved every chance she got.

Obito beamed at his childhood crush, “Oh yeah! I guess it's awesome to be so powerful. But still, I wish they'd give Team Minato some off time. Between the police force and missions for Konoha, I'm being worn out.”

“Yet you somehow still manage to run your mouth.” Kakashi interjected drily.

Immediately Obito glared at his rival/friend, “Got something to say, Baka-Kashi?!”

“I just said it.”

Obito pointed at Kakashi, “Stop being so cool! We're not little kids anymore!”

Kakashi pulled out his book and opened it to his place, “You could have fooled me.” He commented. Kakashi smirked under his mask when he heard Obito gritting his teeth. Mentally he made another tally. While he refused to participate in that silly rivalry with Gai, Kakashi saw no qualms in annoying Obito.

Both men jerked forward a little when someone hit them upside the head, and turned to Rin, who was standing behind them looking annoyed, “You're both children, now grow up and march! We've gotta report to the Hokage.” The little woman ordered. Before Kakashi or Obito could do what she asked, she grabbed her teammates by the fronts of their jounin vests and dragged them along behind her.

Obito pouted as he struggled halfheartedly to escape Rin-chan's grip. “Rin-chaaaan! We can walk on our own, ya know!”

“It's not the walking that's the problem, it's your bickering! Honestly, you two never quit.”

Kakashi didn't seem all too bothered about being dragged around by a woman half his height and weight. “You don't care when it's Obito and Yanagi fighting.” He commented, still not looking up from his porn.

Rin and Obito both shot their teammate nasty looks, but Rin was the one who spoke, “That's because they're siblings and it's none of my business. Besides I'm not constantly around Yanagi-chan. It's you two idiots I've got to deal with.”

Kakashi muttered something under his breath that Rin couldn't catch. Obito, however, seemed to understand him and snorted in amusement. The Uchiha quickly ducked his head in shame and sheepishly looked at Rin, proving that whatever Kakashi had said wasn't very kind about her.

Rin could sometimes understand why Yanagi was so short tempered, if these goons were the ones who raised her. Luckily for Rin, they had arrived at the Missions Office and could give their stupid report and disperse. While Rin loved her teammates like her own family, she could only take so much of them in one sitting.

vvv

Hiruzen groaned and rubbed his temples after the rowdy team left. He would never understand how Minato-kun stayed sane around them, especially after all the drama that had happened between the three kids during the Third Shinobi War. It was one thing to have a student supposedly die and come back months later alive and well–that happened a lot in war; but it was entirely another thing to have another student be captured by Kiri-nins and forced to be the jinchuuriki of the Sanbi.

It was because of Team Minato that people said having an Uchiha on the team was asking for trouble. What was alarming was most of the time they were right; Team Minato, Team Shisui, ANBU Team Ro, and now apparently Team 7 all had horrible luck when it came to missions.

Hiruzen looked at the emergency mission report he had received from Uchiha Yanagi only moments before Team Minato came barging in the Missions Assignment Office. How on earth did Team 7 manage to somehow go from a normal C-rank mission to A-rank was beyond the Hokage's understanding, even with the explanation Yanagi had given him.

Frustrated, Hiruzen took a long drag on his pipe and read over the report again. This put him in a bind, he knew that he should send reinforcements to aid Uchiha Yanagi, but he doubted they would be reached in time. His only hope was the pray that Yanagi had the situation under control, she didn't request reinforcements which meant she could handle it.

Hiruzen paled at the very thought of how many people would be after his hide if Yanagi's team failed to return. At the top of that list would be Obito and Kakashi. Hiruzen shuddered at the thought of facing the two top shinobi in the village.

#Script's Archives #sensei fanfic #naruto fanfiction #fanfiction

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soprana-snap · 6 years

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Magnolia Seven-Seven

Chapter Three: Too Much of a Bad Thing

Summary: Magnolia is like every other city, full of traffic jams and hoards of people. When Captain Gajeel and Detectives Gray and Natsu get involved with a shady crime boss that seems to have the whole crime ring in his back pocket, they need a little more backup to bring him down: i.e ADA Lucy Heartfilia, Evidence Technician Levy McGarden, and Caffeinator Juvia Lockster.

Rating: M for adult situations and language

A/N: Hey guys. It’s been a while, huh? I’ve been busy planning my wedding and taking care of some elderly family members. I didn’t have much time to write...or the will to.

Recently, my brother had an accident and he didn’t make it. I’ve been kinda lost for a bit, hence me going through some old drafts and trying to pick up writing again. Here’s to trying.

Be warned, there is some heavy adult themes in this chapter: Drug use, sexual implications, classic CSI. We can’t have all sunshine and rainbows in this M-77 ride!

Previous Chapters: One Two

“Have you ever, you know, tried to be anything more than an over-sized child?”

Gray leaned back slightly in the booth, swallowing down his pizza with a few chugs of soda. Cheese strings hung from his lips, swinging like willow branches in the wind.

“Uh, no?” he said, slurping them up and wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He didn’t mind the stains, making a mental note to dump half a bottle of stain remover into the laundry. “Since when did this make you feel childish?”

The man sighed, glancing over to the giant mouse currently dancing with a toothy five year old wearing a party hat. Or, more like some guy in a mouse costume, the mascot of the place.

“Chuckie Cheese. Really Gray? How much longer are we going to pretend like we are the same old kids?”

Gray scowled, laying the pizza on the pastel plate and leaned in close, brow twitching. “Oh? Is that so? Then why are you holding on to all those tickets, Lyon? Give’em to me.”

Lyon paled, scrambling to grab the pile of pink tickets from Gray’s seeking hands, nearly leaping from the booth. “Wait-let’s not get hasty! I earned these.”

“Come on, give the over-sized child what he wants.” Gray teased lightly, making a show of reaching further and laughing when Lyon slapped his hands away.

“Only you are the over-sized child here. Ultear would back me up on this!” Lyon laughed, rolling the tickets around his wrist. He could never be too careful with Gray. He was nosy as hell and loved to ‘borrow’ stuff. If he got his grubby hands on these tickets, Lyon could kiss his Captain Planet power ring set goodbye. “Too bad she didn’t come, huh?”

Gray rolled his eyes, grabbing another slice of pizza instead and digging in. “Yeah, something about a meeting in the capital. Jeez, she could have just said she didn’t want to come.”

“Yeah, well being a senator makes her too busy for her brothers nowadays. You know she would have kicked your ass in skee ball.” Lyon said, taking another slice for himself.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Gray sighed. “She’s always had a stick up her ass. I don’t know how her and Ur were related.”

Lyon blinked at the name, glancing up to stare at Gray for a second before returning his attention to the pepperonis. “But she’s always treated us like her brothers, even after Ur passed.”

Gray frowned, his mood turning somber. “On second thought, I can see the relation.”

Lyon licked his lips, glancing down to the chipped wooden table with the faded logo before speaking again. “Speaking of Ultear, I have some good news to share, although she will hear about it from my texts...I’ve almost got enough money to do it! Meredy and I counted our assets just the other day.”

Gray glanced up, broken from the somber mood in a heartbeat, his grin wide. “Finally going to be a big boy and get a real job?”

Lyon pouted, flicking pizza crust at Gray, unsurprised when the man caught it and ate it in less than five seconds. After all, it was Gray that said even adopted siblings shared the cooties. Plus, with the animals that were his roommates, Lyon was sure Gray got over whatever little germophobia he had. He had once watched Natsu ingest a hole can of expired green beans, crowing about going to Valhalla as he did so. His younger adopted brother learned by examples, after all.

“Lay off. Uber eats is a fine job! I make enough to get by and save. Meredy also makes good tips at Moe’s.” Times had been rough before, but the future was bright in Lyon’s eyes. They finally got it turned around without the constant offer of help from Ultear and Gray. Old debts were getting paid. He could make it by on his own.

“You don’t even have a car. You deliver by bike.” Gray deadpanned.

“For now! I almost have enough to buy that old building off on Waters Street. Then, the era of Vastia’s Realty will dawn! Vastia will sell your house fast-ia!” The moment it slogan rolled off his tongue, Gray’s cheeks inflated, his poor attempt to stifle his laughter failing. Lyon sighed.

“D-Did’ja...pfft, think of that by yourself?” Gray wheezed, slow clapping. “It really...shows your passion.” He broke into a fit of laughter.

“It’s still in the works.” Lyon dismissed coolly, mildly put off by his brother’s lack of enthusiasm.

“Oi, I think you’ll be great...just, leave the marketing to Meredy. That slogan was pretty rough.” Gray rolled his shoulders, adopting a contemplating expression before speaking, “Come to Vastia Realty and meet the most interesting realtor in the world! How about that?”

To be honest, Lyon did kind of like it. But, Gray actually being helpful was fishy in itself. “And how would I back that up?”

Gray’s smile turned wolfish. Ah, here it comes. “We can hang baby pictures of you up in the lobby and tell stories like how you wet the bed until you were-”

“Okay, let’s not.” Lyon interrupted a little louder than he wanted. Some mother shot them a withering glare before turning her attention back to her tot trying to count tickets. “I like the ‘most interesting realtor’ pitch, but let’s leave out the rest.”

Gray shrugged, helping himself to the pitcher of soda. “Suit yourself. I thought it had flare.” He waggled his free hand in a poor rendition of ‘the ol’ razzle dazzle’.

Lyon flashed a pointed tongue at him. “You would. You’ve always had bad taste...and a stripping habit!” he added as Gray fidgeted with his shirt, lifting it up past his pectorals. Lyon swore he could hear the indignant whispers of mothers all around. “Stripping is bad enough. Stripping in front of kids is worse.”

To his credit, Gray paled and shoved his shirt back down. “Still haven't kicked that habit. Remember when we tried out for the swim team and asked Ur to train us?”

Lyon blinked, a wistful smile crossing his face. How could he ever forget anything that had to do with Ur? “I do. I remember her telling us about when she was an olympic swimmer and how she would train. And like fools, we asked her to push us and push us hard.”

Gray let his face fall into his palms. “Oh, that was the worst decision we ever made. Remember when we had to ‘think speed’? Strip down to our shorts as fast as we could, then sprint at and dive into the water? She made us run that drill until I strip out of habit!”

His brother laughed softly, eyes gleaming with fond memories as well. Something about Gray eating it one day with his pants half off. That was hilarious. “Yeah, but it got us on the swim team. Ur was so proud.”

“The little league swim team. I don’t know why she had our team pictures on the fridge.” Gray chuckled, pushing his empty plate away, shifting on the uncomfortable booth seat.

“She was proud because we set out and did it. For the first time, her two lost boys found a way with pure grit.” Lyon said, staring into his glass of ice water. “We weren’t lost anymore.”

The silence that stretched after that lingered long after the pizza had grown cold. Lyon could see the grease of the cheese start to coagulate, the pepperoni curling up as it dried.

“So-” Lyon finally said, his voice a croak “-what is Gray Fullbuster up to these days? I yakked about my plans. What are yours?”

Gray blinked, at odds with the fact that for once with Lyon, he didn’t have the heart to brag about his life. Not after remembering all that was in their childhood. Ur wouldn’t want them putting each other down.

“Well...the guys and I have this new case. Natsu is raring to go as usual, but he put both of us into a produce cart when we were in a chase. I told you about Lucy, right?”

Lyon nodded with a small smile. “Still not giving him the time of day?”

Gray grinned. “You got it, but I see her easing up. I think that asshole enjoys giving chase to her.”

Both men sighed, Lyon rolling his eyes. “That guy is something else.”

“Yeah, well, he’s takin’ to quoting Shakespeare at her...incorrectly. So that’s a thing. Gajeel, well, still has a steel rod up his ass but he keeps us in line.” Gray sighed, looking at his watch, mildly uncomfortable sharing anymore details. “At this rate we are gonna be here for dinner.”

Lyon started, glancing at his own phone in surprise. “Whoa, I’m late. I got an extra gig and I still have to run home and change.”

“Run, Lyon, run.” Gray teased.

“Shaddup Gray.” Lyon snapped as he stood, flopping a measly two dollars onto the table.He paused, looking grim as he dug deeper into his ratty wallet, pursing his lips as his search continued to be fruitless.

“Oi, I got it.” Gray said finally, “Get going. Next time, I treat you to this really great coffee shop.”

Flashing a grateful smile, Lyon slid his wallet into his pockets quickly, bumping fists with his brother before whipping around and hustling away. Watching him go, Gray rolled his eyes, fishing out his own wallet, not in the least peeved.

After all, he had plenty of time to pester Lyon to pay him back.

Some people didn’t just have days off. No rest for the wicked. That sort of thing. As Gajeel leaned closer to the stack of paperwork he had on his desk, it didn’t make the sort of difference he wanted. The stack was still tall, and half of it wasn’t his own.

Damn that Detective Fullbuster for putting in a day off right under his nose when he fell behind on paperwork. He had better things to do that pick up the slack!

At least Natsu did his paperwork on time...with doodles for ‘extra credit’ as he called them. Some of them were little stick people getting eaten by dragons, others were of miscellaneous things like cheeseburgers or the scribbles of ‘Mr. Natsu Heartfilia’.

God, he was pathetic.

Gajeel let his forehead smack the desktop, once, twice, a third time for extra assurance before he took up his pen again, signing away. Register evidence to the locker? Check. Release personal items to families? Check. Release news to press? Fuck that, the vultures can find it on their own!

The stack loomed over him, reminding him of the drill sergeant he had in the academy. It’s been years before anyone actually tore him down to the bare frame, his mind honed in a carefully forged body of muscle. Sure, he was a little rebellious back then and needed a lot of work, but he had people to put him back on the right path.

So did Fullbuster and Dragneel.

Gajeel sneered at the memories of the three of them, three boys desperate to be changed men. They didn’t realize it at the time, but they all were after the same thing: belonging. As much as it ground his gears in the beginning, they were a pretty good set besides the tiffs every now and then.

They were still fucking morons...but they could be morons together. Absently, he touched his left eye, where Dragneel had given him a black eye once, then is right cheek, where Gray had once slugged him. If anything, Gajeel imagined them to be like brothers, not that he had any desire for some. They kinda just...fell into his lap one day, literally. They had a fight in the mess hall and fell into his lap, knocking his grilled cheese into orbit.

Assholes.

But that’s how they became friends, and he used the term loosely. They paired up for sparring, got stuck in the same bunk area, had the same obstacle courses, and eventually volunteered each other for pepper spray and taser tests. He could still remember Natsu’s cackle when he got to taze Gray, and Gray’s chortles when he got to pepper spray Natsu. He, however, got to taze and spray them both.

Somehow, the fuckers ended up studying with him, comparing notes and giving backhanded advice to each other. They became some funky trio, like the Three Stooges. The two stuck like glue to him. Gajeel could see why.

Natsu, with his fucked up past and his desperate push after his adopted dad’s death, felt alone and clung to the one thing that kept his feet grounded on the right path: the police academy. He was volatile, shouting at instructors and usually running extra laps, but it was all a face to hide the pain. Gajeel had heard of the gang Tartaros before, back when he was young and in the gang life too. He knew of the Black Wizard, the leader, and of his little monster brother, END. It wasn’t until later in the academy that Gray and he learned the truth. That Natsu was one and the same: END. Gray’s snooping habit bit them in the ass, intercepting a letter from a penitentiary. What a mistake. They let Natsu wallop them that time.

But it cleared the air and Natsu slowly came down to the land of actual people.

Gray, well, had an equally screwed up past. The death of his parents by the drug lord, Deloria hit him hard. The foster system dropped him like a hot potato after he started getting picked up in juvie. It was pure luck that a foster mother suitable for assholes like Gray picked him up, adopting him not long after. Gray had a more stable life than he or Natsu, but it shattered just as fast when his mom died, leaving the older sister to care for them. From what he knew, Gray’s brother started getting into trouble where as Gray pulled himself up by his bootstraps.

As for himself, well, he was naturally a troublemaker. Which of course drew those dweebs to him like flies to food.

Then they graduated, moved into a rented house together, and lived happily fucking after. That was nearly five years ago. Which is how long it’ll take him to finish this paperwork!

With a snarl, Gajeel shoved a stack aside, just barely stopping himself from pushing just a little more so it all toppled into the garbage. Gray would be in so much shit, but then his leadership would look bad too. With all the faith this department put into his sorry ass, that was unacceptable.

He signed away paper after paper, not bothering to check the clock. The stack began to shrivel, still a formidable size for Gray to deal with tomorrow.

Was he allergic to paperwork or something? Why was it so hard? All he had to to was not read and just sign. Then, he got to get yelled at for not reading. It wasn’t rocket science.

He supposed that he got stuck with them as punishment, for what, he didn’t know. It was shitty, shitty karma.

He glanced up for a moment, freezing as he stared out of the glass of his office and into the halls. Or rather, in the conference room beyond the hall.

It was a quiet room, one designated for detective use only. Cork boards and whiteboards decorated the walls, all meant for cases. There were a few desks too, but the main table was an oval, situated where one would see the biggest whiteboard.

Inside, fingers tangled in his hair, nails scratching away in frustration, stood Natsu. He faced down the largest cork board, photos and sticky notes plastered all over. Even from a distance, Gajeel could see the red yarn that Natsu favored, tied around thumb tacks and drawing lines. It was old fashioned but effective; Natsu being a hands on-learner requiring more of the old fashioned.

By the looks of it, he wasn’t making headway on whatever case he was looking at. Be it the increased car thefts or the increased amounts of misdemeanor crimes. It was looking like he had no headway in either.

Though, the same could be said for Gray as well. No leads on the increased drug trade or the sudden flux of counterfeit money in the city now. But he didn’t see Gray on the edge of a mental breakdown.

Or...kicking a chair over.

The clatter was lost over the distance and walls between, but Gajeel saw Natsu cringe at the sound, calming immediately. That guy...mind like a steel trap but still with a temper.

He watched Natsu move, gently setting the chair upright once more before returning to the board looking more pensive.

Gajeel didn’t get to squint and take a peek at what Natsu was dealing with, because a figure crossed his sights, passing between the rooms through the hall. Orange sweater with a yellow headband, blue hair. His heart sputtered, his mind cleared of any questions about Natsu’s cases. Levy slowed, turning her head to look at him, eyes locking on.

Time slowed for a moment before she sent that smile. Fuck, now he was blushing and squirming in his seat. He had time, right? Paperwork could wait. Those manly butterflies were back, strumming electric guitars and singing ‘shooby doo’.

They dropped like lead, however, when Levy blinked, glanced to his door, and flushed the brightest shade of red. He heard the knock echo in his head as Levy looked to the floor and scurried away, taking his music with her.

There went that.

“Come in.” he grumbled, pretending to be working and schooling his face back into a scowl. Who dared come through his door?

“Redfox.” Oh fuck.

“Scarlet.” he greeted, praying his brow didn’t have sweat. She was oblivious to most things but the scent of fear. She was viciously scary without trying, the air around her heavy with threat.

She smiled and he relaxed. No, she didn’t know.

“Enjoying your day?” she mused, eyeing his completed stack with approval in her face. “You’ve certainly been busy.”

He would have been busy with something else if she hadn’t darkened his doorway. Someone else.

“Eh, yer definition of enjoying varies from mine.”

The smile stayed. So she was amused? Wha-

“So you forgot about your court appearance, I suppose?”

His stomach bottomed out, eyes tearing to the clock. He wasn’t- aw shit he was late. Standing up, his chair rolled back as he scrambled around the desk, accidentally getting his foot stuck in the wastebasket. A curse on his lips, he kicked it away, stumbling his way over to the door. Erza stepped aside with that stupid smirk. If only he could wipe it away.

Ah.

“Finish up my paperwork for me, thanks Scarlet.” he said, flashing a sneer of his own. If anything made her frown, it was paperwork.

The smirk widened, like a hyena with a plot. “Me? Why Detective Dragneel happens to be right across the hall. I’m sure he has the time. I’ll do you a favor and pass it along.” With a toss of her hair, she nodded to the door. “Well? Get moving!”

A shiver crawled down Gajeel’s spine. Well, he tried! Without even glancing at Natsu and sending a mental apology, Gajeel hustled away, knowing he’ll be forgiven by Natsu after a punch or two...but never by Lucy if he left her hanging, not until he bought her a new law book.

“Ms. Heartfilia, could you please get off your plane of existence and explain your point frankly?”

Gods, she was so tired, her eyes burned like she opened them in the ocean. It wasn’t her fault that they couldn’t follow the leads she was laying down. She spent days getting this evidence, days arguing it in court, and at this point it will be longer. She literally just proved this guy guilty while speaking plainly.

Oh well, she forgot that some people never went to law school. She looked at the jury, embarrassment flooding her at the blank looks that greeted her. Oh, maybe she did overdo it.

Judge Fernandes seemed to have followed her but he was just as on par with her trail as she was.

“Of course, your Honor.” she allowed, closing her eyes and taking a breath in. Okay, simplify.

“The evidence against Mr. Prominence is overwhelming. He has DNA evidence linking him to no less than ten missing women this year alone. Of the most recent: Millianna Gato, Susan Farlow, and Michelle Starbrooke. All three of high school age and interested in a summer internship. An internship sponsored by Mr. Prominence, himself.”

Lucy breathed in, and instantly regretted it.

“Objection!” Bora’s defense growled, spittle flinging from his lips.

“On what grounds?” Judge Fernandes asked.

“I object on the grounds that Ms. Heartfilia is trying to sway the jury through plain statements that hold no full proof that my client is in fact guilty of these girl’s disappearances.” He was still slinging spit, like a leaking faucet.

Lucy scowled. Of course she was trying to sway the jury. It was her job. What kind of crackpot lawyer did this guy hire?

Judge Fernandes seemed to have the same idea. “Overruled. There have been no full statements from Ms. Heartfilia that directly accuse Mr. Prominence. Ms. Heartfilia, proceed.”

“Thank you, your Honor.” Lucy said graciously. “As I was saying, this internship, if you recall, took young and ambitious girls that dreamed of becoming models and promised a study abroad trip that the internship funded should the girl not be able to provide.”

She stepped closer to the jury, moving her hand in sweeping gestures as she continued, “Prosecution has presented bank statements linking Mr. Prominence to the girl’s tickets purchases, evidence that the girls met with him before their disappearances, and evidence that these girls have been sold as slaves to Bosco with handwritten receipts.” Honestly, he wanted to get caught. He never wiped the hard drives before police seized them. He filed printed bank statements in a cabinet. He was the most self-incriminating criminal she had ever seen in court.

“If the jury desires, I can present even more evidence-” she began, freezing when the Judge coughed.

“Ms. Heartfilia, we are out of time. I will adjourn until a later date. I will take a parting statement.”

Crap. She took too long.

“Of course, your Honor. I only leave the reminder that should the jury wish, I will present more evidence to support a sentence.”

She thought she heard a groan from some of the jury. They should fear. She won’t take ‘not guilty’ for an answer. Those girls deserved as much.

“Indeed,” Judge Fernandes conceded, “something the jury will deliberate next session. This court will adjourn until next Wednesday at eight AM.” His gavel hit the desk and instantly Lucy relaxed her muscles.

“Officer Redfox, now that you have joined us, please escort Mr. Bora Prominence to the detention officers.”

Lucy tensed all over again, whirling around and watching Gajeel sheepishly move from the aisle to enter the floor, fishing out his cuffs. So he did show up! She hadn’t seen him at all during the defense nor when she took the floor. Meaning, he was late when he promised not to be. Judging by the way he avoided her pinpoint gaze, she figured he knew she noticed.

Sounds of the jury standing and shuffling to the back room echoed through the courtroom; the polished wood that accented every inch of the room made it reverberate like they stood inside a drum.

It was the music of dismissal, the melody of justice that she had become accustomed to since her internships.

A sigh on her breath, Lucy wandered back to her table, trying to gather her chaos back into her briefcase. Today was yet another day of frustration potent enough for her to get messy with paperwork. This trial has been going on forever and truth be told, she was even tired of it. The jury was wilting, looking bored each and every day now. No matter how much evidence she dug up, the defense barely managed to counter.

This trial was a joke. What a waste of her precious time.

By the time she latched her case and slung it over her shoulder, Gajeel had returned, holding open the gate that separated observers from the court.

“You were late.” she said, stepping through and pausing for him to follow.

His gaze averted for a second before he met her eyes. “Yeh, I figured ya noticed.” He flashed her a grin, ruffling her hair and snorting when she squealed, “My hair!”

“Sorry bunny girl, I had to cover Fullbuster’s paperwork and Dragneel was busy with his cases. Time ran away, I guess.” It was true...enough he supposed.

Lucy smiled, walking alongside him through the halls. “Well, that’s acceptable. Nobody got rowdy this time.” She brushed strands of hair from her face, eyes drifting to the old tile floor as her heels clacked on it. “And, I’m not surprised to hear that Gray skimped out of work...or how hard Natsu is working.” She laughed lightly then, “They are something else, huh?”

Gajeel rolled his eyes, grumbling, “Oh yeah, something else, alright. Both are moronic monkeys on my back.” Bringing up his hand, he scratched at his chin, scowling at a point along the farthest walls. “Gray’s hidin’ something. He’s always texting someone, not saying who it is. He’s starting to be absent from dinner and sometimes not coming home at night.”

Lucy blinked, staring up at Gajeel before a sly look crossed her face. “Oh~.” she hummed, a glint in her eyes. “Getting worried, are you? Gajeel, I never expected you to be a mother hen!”

She was teasing, but it grated his nerves enough to flash her a glower. “Careful what you say, bunny girl. I won’t stand for that kinda talk.”

Lucy stuck her tongue out at him. But instead of rising up, Gajeel grinned cheekily and went for a lower blow. “Oh yeah, Dragneel told me to tell ya, ‘What is a drunken man like? Me when I see you.’”

Her face warmed, but she laughed lightly, shaking her head. “He never gets the quotes right.” she sighed, reaching into her purse and pulling out a small composition notebook and her pen. Natsu never got the quotes right, but she would remember every single one.

“I don’t think he realizes I double majored in Law and English literature.” she sighed.

Gajeel shrugged, his lips bordering a sneer now. “If he ever figures out you write down every single one of his botched quotes-”

Lucy smacked his pierced cheeks with her pen, a playful scowl that did not hide her raging blush on her cheeks. “You are sworn to secrecy, crepe chef.”

Gajeel clamped his mouth shut, starting to pout. Ah, checkmate.

“I swear you, Erza and Levy can be wicked. All these women managing to keep me in check. I can’t even make fun of the idiots now.”

He was so full of pizza he felt like he had to roll home. Every time Gray invited him to lunch, he always pigged out. Meredy actually teased him about gaining a few.

Stepping over a pothole in the sidewalk, Lyon walked on with what could only be described as the swagger of a full and confident man. Of all the things he was proud of, deceiving his brother once again was one of them.

He hated it, sure, but lying seemed preferable to actually having Gray disappointed and insisting on helping he and Meredy out financially. He wasn’t a damn child, no matter how he and Gray teased each other.

The realtor business wasn’t even close. Their funds weren’t even in the ballpark. They lived off of ramen and spaghettios. He stole WiFi from his neighbors.Their water was shut off twice this month alone.

Ur would be ashamed and Lyon knew he couldn’t handle the shame in Gray’s eyes too. Ultear was never around much, so his secret stayed safe from her, at least.

Ur’s two perfect children and the one not-so-perfect one.

He and Meredy needed a call soon or they’d fall short on rent again. After just barely squaring it away from being four months in delinquency, the landlord promised to be far less understanding in the future.

He’d do anything to keep her off the streets, cold and hungry.

As if by a miracle, his phone buzzed in his pocket, the ringer long since malfunctioned to forever stay silent. Not like he could afford a better phone anyway.

“Yo.” he greeted coolly after flipping the phone open, effortlessly pulling off his classic ‘Badass™’ look.

The voice on the other side was like an angel, his one kryptonite.

“Hey Darlin’, I was just thinking about y-”

An angel that had some fantastic news, apparently, since she didn’t wait for him to flatter her properly.

“What? A job?” He tried not to sound too overeager. He failed when she gave him the payload.

“A-Are you serious!? Twenty grand just to do that?!”

She spoke again and he had to grasp the wall of the nearest building to prevent him from falling to the earth.

“Each?!”

He felt like Icarus, the boy that fashioned wings of feather and wax to take to the skies, to taste that freedom that had been eluding him for so long. As long as he stayed away from the sun and the tumultuous waves below, he could soar forever.

With Meredy sounding just as thrilled as he, it was hard not to smile. This was they big break. This was their moment.

“Count me in. Where do I need to be?”

Magnolia was a beautiful city, accented mostly by the canals and the gorgeous cathedral. While tourists stuck to the well lit, well patrolled parts, most locals knew where not to be at certain parts of the day. Like now, Main Street would be overflowing with traffic, so much so that cars would clog the intersections because the lights never changed fast or often enough.

It was the case now here in the development district. No local in their right mind would be on Abandoned Row, the street filled with the most abandoned warehouses. Most belonged to Heartfilia Railways, but after the latest stock hit, the company had to sell off a few assets...and abandon some too.

Locals avoided it, so naturally it was the perfect place to do the less than legal things.

He was a little late, so by the time he was speed walking up to the meet point, Meredy was already motioning to a large, unmarked truck to line up with the loading zone. She flashed him a smile, one that never failed to set his heart aflutter, before returning her focus back to the task at hand.

Lyon had just enough time to sidle up to her side, assuring that the warehouse doors were accessible as the truck screeched to a stop. If he had to guess, the left rear axle was needing some serious diagnostics, but that wasn’t his job to care.

Before his sweet Meredy could open her mouth to finally greet him, the door to the truck started unfurling, metal sheets clanking as they rolled up to the top.

Then, Lyon laid his eyes on something as pretty as a heap of stinking garbage.

“Lyon. Meredy.” The man greeted coolly as he kicked out the ramp, steadying it on the loading dock before making his way across the gap. “I see not much has changed around these parts, then.”

“Kageyama.” he said just as icily, pasting on what could only be a leather-like smile. Maybe the corner of his lips started cracking. “Still you, I see.”

Meredy shot him a look out of the extreme peripheral of her eyes, her lips pursed. Ah, right. Manners.

Kageyama threw his head back with a bark of a laugh, no humor behind it at all. “Just as well. I’m only in town to clean up Erigor’s mess and then I’ll be out of your hair.” He kicked at a chock with the point of his shoe, watching the pyramid bounce away and fall down through the gap of the loading dock. “Getting arrested and all. His shit still needs to be shipped.”

“A minor setback, of course.” Meredy spoke finally, tossing her hair and turning to the warehouse door. The lock had already been disposed of, the metal shears left abandoned in the corner. With a dainty kneel, she grasped the handle and lifted with her knees, raising the door up with all the upper body strength she had.

“Gotta like a woman that can bend and lift.” Kageyama mused, grinning wider when Lyon shot him a withering look. “Aw now, I ain’t stepping on your territory, man. Just admiring.”

“You treat her with respect, you-” Lyon began, baring his teeth just a little.

“Boys. I’d like to get home sometime today. Let’s go.” Meredy cut in, giving Lyon yet another meaningful look before turning to enter the dark warehouse, a chuckling Kageyama following behind her.

“Yes Ma’am.”

He waited until Kageyama was deep in the truck, adjusting boxes so that the goods wouldn’t get damaged in transit, before speaking to Meredy in low tones.

“You know I don’t like when you’re disrespected.”

She flashed him a gentle smile, one usually reserved for him in private moments. His breath hitched and her eyes got just a little bit brighter.

“I know, babe. But we gotta keep it together. The Boss needs to keep a firm hold on his business or Mard’s gonna sweep us all out.” Her hands, soft and small, brushed his cheeks as gentle as a summer wind. “Play nice and we’ll be living the high life soon.”

Play nice. Her warning was clear. “Yeah, I got it. It’s kinda nice not having to fight Mard’s shitheads anymore. I get to do business on both turfs now that they came to a truce.”

She hummed, gathering more boxes in her arms. “Right. So, let’s get this truck gone by nightfall, hm?”

He couldn’t find the will to argue with her when she gave him that look. So, he put his head down and pushed, wishing more than anything to watch that truck drive off into the dusk and leave him alone with the one girl that could ever understand him...and a wad full of cash for his best behavior.

He felt he looked quite the part of insane, gazing up and down at the walls of his cell. His fingers were dusted white, as well as his palms. Of course, it wasn’t the white powder he was used to dealing with but when the guard on duty offered something occupy his time other than just singing annoying songs, he couldn’t resist adding substance to his planned insanity plea.

The song that never ended was not a popular choice of tunes for the cops, he supposed.

Half the chalk was gone now, being replaced by repetitive games of tic-tac-toe scribbled all over the walls. He was losing to himself, 130 to 0 if his count was correct.

It was so dull here in his little corner of hell. He had half an urge to lay on the floor and draw out his chalk outline just for giggles. Or maybe imagine it as that pesky Redfox’s outline. That would be something too.

From the open spaces beyond his cell, a throat cleared, and Erigor, ever bored and curious, turned to glance behind him.

White hair fell like waves of silk from her head, her smile ever so sweet as she stood before his prison. The classic police uniform she sported was the same as the guard’s had been, but she wore it like one of those cheesy camera girl bits, her cap tilted to the side and her buttons undone near her throat.

He grinned at her, eyeing her from head to toe, focusing on the tray of food she held out.

“Angel.”

Her grin widened, her eyes fluttering. “Erigor. Good to see you, as always.” She knelt down, sliding the tray through the opening under the gate. “I brought extra. Lord knows they don’t feed anyone enough in this joint.” she mused with a cute giggle.

Erigor didn’t wait, snatching the tray and dragging it to him as he sat cross legged on the floor. A burger and fries, how nice, he thought as he started to smother the bun in mustard and ketchup from the packets provided.

“Thanks doll. Maybe you are good for something other than being the Boss’s hot piece of the week.” he barbed, biting into the burger and watching her reaction as he chewed.

Angel just smiled serenely, letting the insult slide off her back like water off feathers.

“Always such a gentleman, Erigor. I’m charmed.” She followed it up with a bat of her wrist playfully, eyes falling to his food. “Anyway, try the fries. I got em from Fred’s, unsalted of course to make sure they were as fresh as possible. You got salt there to your right.”

Erigor grinned like a cat got the cream kind of way, snatching the salt and practically dumping the whole shaker over the fries. “Thanks. I haven’t eaten all damn day!”

For once, Angel cringed, still watching him from her kneeling position. “You know, too much salt can kill you one day. Maybe you should cut back your consumption a little?”

To reply, Erigor met her eyes and dumped even more salt on his fries before shoveling them into his mouth. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

He was halfway through his burger when something made him freeze mid-chew. His mouth felt dry, his cheeks hot and puffy. With wide, horrified eyes, he stared at Angel, who was smiling gently.

“What? Don’t like tomato?” she asked, watching his now pale face in interest.

Erigor didn’t reply, instead spitting out the chewed mess and scrambling for the bottle of water, chugging noisily. Then, he dropped it and curled on his hands and knees, dry heaving and sobbing. After moments of failure, he dug his fingers into his mouth, reaching for the back of his throat.

“I told you, didn’t I? Too much salt can kill you.” Angel said, still kneeling just outside the cell, watching his every move with calculation. “Although, that wasn’t just salt but really, all I know how to do is spread my legs, right?”

Erigor wheezed, panic aiding in his failure to retch. “Why…?” he managed, losing strength in his limbs alarmingly fast. The sight of her was blurring, his head spinning like he had too much liquor.

She laughed brightly, as if he told her a joke. “He is not too pleased with you, Erigor. Plus, you might squeal to the cops and he can’t risk that, can he?”

He started to convulse, gasping and grunting as his fingers scrambled for the tray. His eyes were rolling to the back of his head, making him more like a grotesque fish out of water than a man.

“Keyes is going to make this look like a natural death and you will be laid to rest like a dog in a backyard. How is that for your so called ‘greatness’?” Angel added, her smile twisting into the cruel gleam he knew was beneath it. So that was how she got her nickname.

He choked on his answer, drool and foam oozing from his dry lips as his body finally collapsed to the floor.

“Remember my name as you pass, Erigor. Angel of Death. I'd love to stay but I have more important things to do than watch you die, you know. Ciao.”

He can’t see, so he isn’t sure if she’s actually gone, but he reached out anyway, dragging his fingers through the smears of mustard and ketchup.

He can’t feel his body anymore, so he isn’t sure if he’s making it clear enough, but he tried anyway, dragging his fingers along the concrete floor.

His eyes rolled back, his last breath like a series of knives in his throat. He stared on, hoping his effort wasn’t wasted as his pulsing ears hear the calls of others echoing all around him.

“Help! Detention Ward!”

With his final moment ticking by, Erigor stared at his ketchup and mustard stained fingers, the colorful ‘AoD’ he scrawled just beyond his vision.

With that, Erigor died, surrounded by nobody on the cold floor of Magnolia’s second district county jail.

#nalu #gajevy #gruvia #fairy tail #my writing #m77

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