#bye. the way you try to brat still but it dies down almost immediately with the way they act

[poppy-metal]

Crying, sobbing, cumming, throwing the fuck up when you come from your date with the guy eren doesn’t like. Giggling and being way too handsy as you enter your house with him. God they are fucking fuming. Your phones turned off, their beds a fucking mess, and you went on a date with this fucking loser. Yeah yeah this is all I’m gonna think about )-:

Yeah :(((( you've been a real bad girl :((( what you imagined happening isn't far off, though, its a lot less....sweet. i mean, you expected armin to mock you a little but now you've gone off and pissed eren all the way off.

he's so conflicted, getting that video...you'd send in the gc the three of you sometimes use for mundane things like asking what you want for dinner nd such, so he and armin saw it at the same time. first he'd felt shock, then shame, shame for the way his cock got hard, then it was just pure infatuation nd lust, at your voice, the words you were saying. how you wanted to be his and mins girlfriend, how you wanted their cum, their love, how you called them 'daddy'

and then he got angry, because, what the fuck are you trying to pull? on their bed? he thinks, well he plans, originally, to just send you to your room after he yells at you for being so inappropriate. but then you don't answer your phone. he can't find your location and you're not home when he and min get there and then they go up and see the fucking mess you made....that's your fucking pussy jucie, god damn.

hes so out of it, armin has to calm him down. he's smarter about these things so he knows to look up all your friends Instagram stories. Hes calm, but inside hes fuming too. Fuck you for that, you know? He can't stop thinking about you moaning his name, and he can't stop glancing at where you'd stained their bed, ruined it, where they fucking sleep. You're such a fucking heinous brat, fuck you.

It all comes to a head when he finds that guys insta story. Sees you all happy and flushed, eren looks over his shoulder to see too, and they're both just kinda quiet, simmering in that rage as they watch a video the guy taking a lemon wedge from your mouth, dangerously close to kissing you.

The phone nearly cracks in armins hand. He's more angry then He's ever been, and he's waiting for eren to go into a rage but he doesn't.

He just takes armins phone and turns it off. Then he takes his hand and walks them to the couch, he doesn't bother turning on a light.

Armin knows eren has finally seen through your daddy's little girl act, so. They sit and wait.

#ask #tw: stepcest #naur bc imagine coming home to a dark house eerily quiet. #nd u stumble in w ur date. only to see them sittting there #tension so thick the guy gets nervous immediately and with erens clipped 'you should go' hes out the door #bye. the way you try to brat still but it dies down almost immediately with the way they act #erens...cold :(( daddys mad :(( #n when you say 'daddy im-' #he snaps 'dont call me that. im not you're fucking daddy. not after tonight.' #nd armins just like 'did you have fun?' #n ur like no :(((( #'but you had fun making a mess on our bed?' #well...yeah:(( but only bc...u want them ;((( #but dont you know? bad girls don't get what they want. and you've been. so bad. #hhh #they're so cold. they make you clean their sheets. wash everything. while they stand in tje door and watch. and you cry #at the end you're sobbing and begging again:(( nd eren just looks down st you like #'did he touch you' #and you're ljke what? and erens like #'did that peace of shit touch daddys cunt' #n of course he didn't;((( you're a virgin #'we'll see about that' and he makes you get on the freshly made bed. #'you've made your daddy very angry. you've made us angry. you know what you need to do right?' this from armin and he pauses #'....you want us to love you again?' #you do 🥺 #then spread your legs

[sergeantsporks]

Whatever It Takes

Rating: Teen and Up, Gen

TW: Self-harm, attempted suicide, emotional manipulation

“While I’ve got you here, want to hear the complete history of wild magic? I’m sure you’ll find it very interesting, considering that you’re old enough to have lived through it.”

“I am not, you little brat. Shut your mouth, I don’t want to listen to your voice.” “Yeah? What if I don’t want to shut up? What if I feel like singing?"

Hunter is a difficult prisoner to keep, and Lilith and Eda are about to find that out the hard way.

Ao3

Ch 1/4: Assassins

“Eda! King, Willow, Gus, Amity and I are going to the Knee for some training! Be back in a few days, love you!”

“Bye! Watch out for coven scouts!” Eda called back, watching Luz and King walk out the door and down the path. The instant they were gone, she whipped out the scrying potion Lilith had given her, and her crystal ball. “Liliiiiiiii!”

Lilith’s face appeared in the crystal ball. “Edalyn! I finished drawing those maps of the keep. Have you managed to…?”

Eda sighed. “Not one single BAT left. I was hoping maybe there was one or two I never met, but nope. Raine really did decide that they would take down the throne with three teenagers.”

“And you.”

Eda felt her face heat up. “Lot of good that did them. Ugh. You’re sure Belos didn’t tell you anything else?”

“Not a single thing. I think he was always planning on replacing me with the Golden Brat as coven head, he just wanted me to get that portal first.”

“Alright, what do we know? Day of Unity bad, but Belos needs all of the coven heads to do it. So we take one out. Same plan as before, just this time we get one alone. You and I can handle one measly coven head, especially since I’ve learned a few feathery tricks since last time.”

“Which one? The Golden Guard? He goes out on missions alone a lot, it wouldn’t be hard to ambush him.”

Eda’s eyes narrowed. “Hold that thought, Lilith. I can think of another one who I’d really like to get my hands on. We might be able to kill two birds with one stone.”

“What’s that?”

“Darius. He likes to talk, and he’s a prissy coward. Not to mention, he was the last person who I know saw Raine. If we go after him, we might be able to find out where Raine is, and if we can rescue him, then we’ll have a coven leader dead AND more information on the day of unity.”

“I’ve always wanted to kick mud on him and his stupid fancy cape. Watch that scrying potion, and call me the next time Belos sends him out. We’ll have to move fast. Will you be bringing Luz along?”

Eda shook her head. “No. The fight Raine started—it’s my fight. She needs to focus on her schoolwork, and on making her portal home. Plus Luz, she… ah, she has a big heart. And most of the time, that’s a good thing, but when it comes to an assassination… I don’t think this is a part of my life I want to share with her.”

“Alright. The two of us should be able to handle it on our own. Just say the word, sister.”

Xxx

Hunter knelt before Belos’ throne. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Ah, yes. It has come to my attention that there will be an attempt on Darius’ life.”

Hunter nodded. “I’ll assign him a protection detail immediately.”

“No.” Belos leaned forward. “I want you to protect him. Personally. And… discreetly. Darius will know that you are protecting him, of course, but I want you to stay hidden, so that the assassins will not know you will be there. Catch them if you can, kill them if you can’t. Above all else, I need Darius alive. Don’t let him die.”

Hunter inclined his head. “Yes, sir.”

Xxx

“Ready?”

Eda nodded, pulling up a scarf over her face. “Watch out. His abomination form can be a real pain.”

Lilith threw a potion to the ground in front of Darius, and it erupted in a haze of smoke. Eda shifted into her harpy form, and Lilith grabbed onto her talons. Eda flew them down, dropping Lilith and dive-bombing Darius, her talons ripping at his skin.

He shifted into his abomination form at the last second, coughing from the smoke. Lilith came up behind him, slapping a glyph paper onto him. It glowed, and the goop he was made of started to freeze, stopping him in his tracks.

“Tell me where Raine is!” Eda demanded.

Darius rolled his eyes. “This is ludicrous. You aren’t going to win.”

“You seem awfully confident for someone who’s about to freeze into a popsicle,” Lilith snarled.

Eda felt, rather than saw, the attack coming, and she yanked Lilith out of the path of a little blur of gold. “Oh, great.”

Darius broke free of the ice by shifting back to his witch form. “Nice of you to turn up.”

The golden guard didn’t respond, instead launching another attack at Eda, singeing one of her wings. She growled, tackling him, but he zipped out of the way, sending another blast of magic that she just barely managed to dodge.

Lilith slapped a glyph combo on the ground, and vines burst out of the ground, surrounding Darius and Hunter in a wide circle, and then lighting on fire. “Nowhere to run.”

Eda dove once again for Darius, snatching his shoulders in her talons and ripping through his cloak and skin, but another blast from Hunter made her flap backwards to avoid getting hit. Lilith froze the ground, turning her ring of fire into an ice rink as well, melted on the edges. Her sister had strapped fire glyphs to her feet, allowing her to melt the ice and create a stable place to stand wherever she stepped. Eda flapped up, then dove again, this time aiming for Hunter. He zipped to the side, but almost immediately slid on the ice, nearly slipping into the fire ring. Eda dove again, smacking him to the side with one of her wings. He skidded across the ice into Darius, who was fending off attacks from Lilith, back in his abomination form.

Lilith tossed a piece of paper up to Eda, and Eda dove back down, slapping it on Darius’ shoulder. It was the ice glyph again, and the coven leader started to freeze.

Lilith whipped out another glyph. “Nowhere to go, Darius,” she taunted.

She activated her glyph, and Eda soared up out of the way as a blast of light and fire shot out of the glyph.

Darius was half frozen, but he shifted back to his witch form. It happened almost too fast for Eda to catch, but as Lilith’s spell raced toward him, Darius grabbed a dazed Hunter as he struggled to get up and whipped the guard around in front of him, using him as a shield.

The spell struck them, hitting Hunter square in the chest and sending both of them flying backwards. They crashed into Lilith’s flaming wall, breaking the vines and skidding into a tree.

“No!” Eda yelped as Darius rolled to his feet, pushing Hunter off of him and racing away. “GET BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!”

Lilith caught her leg as she started to fly after him. “Edalyn! We got what we came for!”

Eda twisted back to look at her sister. “What are you talking about?! He’s getting away!”

Lilith nodded to the limp golden guard on the ground. “He’s the head of the emperor’s coven, Eda. Coven leader. We got what we needed.”

“You didn’t…”

“Kill him? Doubtful, I designed that glyph with the intention to blast Darius’ abomination form apart so he’d be forced to return to his witch form.”

Eda landed next to Hunter’s limp form. His helmet had been cracked hard enough to fall off. Beans. Despite the fact that her wing still stung from his attack, it was hard to remember how dangerous he was when he looked like this. He was just… some kid. If it weren’t for Belos, he might even be one of Luz’s friends.

“Well? Finish it. This is how we stop Belos!”

“He’s just a kid, Lili. I can’t kill him.”

“I can.” Lilith stormed forward, holding an ice spike. She held it pointed right over Hunter’s heart. “Goodbye, Golden Brat.”

Eda waited. Lilith didn’t make another move. Her sister’s hand was shaking on the ice spike. “Soooooo, are you going to do it, or…”

Lilith tossed the spike to the side. “Alright. Fine. I can’t kill a kid either, even a brat like him. But we blew our shot with Darius, what else are we supposed to do?”

Go figure that her sister had no problem trying to kill Luz, but now, when child-killing was a skill she needed, Lilith had decided to be a better person. “Lili, how do they appoint new coven leaders?”

“There’s an initiation—”

“No, like, what about the old coven leaders? What do they do to them? If they specifically need coven leaders, what do they need about them?”

Lilith frowned. “I… I’m not sure. Darius, he can turn into an abomination. Eberwolf has an extra beast form. The leaders before them had the same abilities, if memory served. But they didn’t have them before becoming leaders.”

“Okay, what about the old leaders?”

“After the old leaders retired, they lost those abilities.”

Eda snapped her fingers. “It’s passed on. From leader to leader. Belos never intended to keep you as the coven leader, so there was no need to keep you around to switch coven leaders. Whatever it is that makes the head of the emperor’s coven special… he’d already given it to Hunter, I’m betting.”

Lilith crossed her arms. “Of course.”

“Lilith, can we leave the self-depreciation for later? I think I’m onto something. Belos needs the old coven heads to pass on the powers—I don’t know what happens if one of them dies, but if the old coven leader is alive, they’ll need that coven leader to pass on their power. So if we just keep Hunter…”

“He’s minus a coven head!”

Hunter groaned and stirred on the ground. Lilith yelped and bashed him over the head with her staff. “Stay asleep!”

Hunter went limp again, and Eda grinned. “Yowch, there, Lili.”

Lilith pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m… not certain that keeping him prisoner is the best idea, Edalyn. It’s a lot harder to hold someone against their will than it is to kill them. Especially the golden guard.”

“From what I’ve seen out of Kikimora this far, it might be just as hard to make him stay dead.” Eda glanced down at Hunter. “And besides, I… I want to ask about Raine.”

Lilith sighed. “Oh, Eda. The emperor… he’s not a merciful man. You might not like the answer.”

“Please, Lili. We can tie him up in the basement, Hooty can hide the door so that Luz won’t find him on accident when she comes back, and if you help me keep an eye on him, he won’t get away.”

“And how long are you planning on keeping him in your basement? Until Belos dies? Until you die? You can’t just keep someone tied up for their whole life, it would be kinder to kill him.”

Eda rolled her eyes. “Fine, if I promise to take him for walks, and buy all of his toys with my own money, and housetrain him really well, can I keep him, Mom?”

“This isn’t a joke, Eda! You are planning on keeping a dangerous individual in your home! He will try to escape! I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to kill you on his way out!”

“Day of Unity, Lilith. I think… I think it may be a one-time event, a chance that doesn’t come around often. We just have to keep him until then. If Belos ramping up his wild-witch catching is any indication, then it must be coming soon. Help me? Please?”

Lilith sighed. “Fine. But when something goes wrong—”

“When? Geeze, put a little more faith in me, Lili!”

“Yes, when something goes wrong, I am absolutely going to say ‘I told you so.’”

Xxx

Darius knelt before Belos’ throne. “My lord!”

“Darius. Where is the Golden Guard?”

“You were right. There was an attempt on my life. The Golden Guard stayed behind to ensure my escape.” No need to mention that it hadn’t exactly been of his own free will.

“Oh?”

“Yes. I would have stayed, but I know how important it is for the day of unity that all coven heads are present, so I’m afraid that I had to retreat.”

Belos leaned forward. “I’m sorry, what was that last part?”

“I… know that all of the heads of the covens must be present?”

“Interesting. And what, pray tell, is the Golden Guard, other than my right hand?”

A bead of sweat dripped down the back of Darius’ neck. “The… head of the… emperor’s coven?”

Belos stood up, his eyes flashing that terrifying glowing blue. “Exactly. So, what, pray tell, does that say about the Golden Guard?”

“That you… need him to be present on the Day of Unity?”

Darius didn’t see him move, but in an instant, Belos was right in front of him, staring into his eyes with those creepy flaming blue ones. “So you can figure it out.”

“My Lord, I’m sorry—”

Belos put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing just tight enough for it to hurt, and steered him out the throne room door. “You will go out there and correct your mistake. You will go back to where you left him, and you will find out what became of him. Oh, and Darius?”

Darius gulped. “Y-yes, my lord?”

Belos released his shoulder. “Don’t bother coming back without him.”

Ch 2

#toh #the owl house #toh fanfiction #my writing #toh hunter #edalyn the owl lady #lilith clawthorne #edalyn clawthorn

[shackermanwrites]

Lifetime

Summary: When everything's falling apart in your life, and you don't know what to do anymore, maybe asking the universe for something isn't a bad idea after all. In which Sol Reader finds herself in another reality after begging the universe for something. Everything is going well not until she was put into Levi's squad.

Chapter 2 -> Chapter 3

Lifetime Masterlist

The loud banging on the door made you instantly jolt up from your bed, and you looked at the digital clock beside your bed.

“It's 4:44 am; give me a break.” You mumbled to yourself as you got up from your bed.

It’s the first time in months that you have gotten a night of sleep for more than three hours and only to be interrupted by a loud knock, you could honestly punch a wall right there.

As soon as you open the door, the smile on Petra’s face was immediately replaced by a frown.

“You look terrible, Are you okay?” She invited herself in and placed her bag on the table beside the door.

“Geez, good morning to you too huh, you woke me up, genius” you plopped down back to your bed and hugged your pillow.

“I just want to see you before you go, and also, my mom cooked some food for you and your family. It's not much, but she made your favorite banana bread.”

Petra sat on the side of your bed and lay next to you, not caring if it’ll ruin her hair. You have been like this for almost a year, and you treat each other like sisters since she’s an only child, she confessed that she looks up to you like an older sister. Her family also treats you as their own, and you are beyond thankful for them. You honestly can't imagine how you will survive if it weren’t for them.

“Thank you, Petra. I appreciate it” You gave her a brief smile while you pinch her cheeks for a second before getting up from the bed.

You were supposed to wake up at 5 am, but since you are already awake and it's almost 5, you went to the bathroom to wash your face and take a bath. The faint sound of the television and the running cold water is the only thing you can hear.

-

You arrived at your house around 5 pm that day, the trip was indeed tiring even though there are not many people traveling considering that it is almost the holiday season.

As soon as you stepped inside the house, a blonde girl who’s holding a book came rushing at you with a big smile on her face.

“Historia! You have gotten a lot taller since I last saw you.” You immediately let go of your baggage and hugged the girl. You honestly missed her, and you know she did too. She was left alone in this house, and you know how it must be hard for her to grow up alone.

“I missed you so much, Sol. I have so many stories I want to share with you, mom! Dad! Sol is here!” the excitement and joy are all over her voice.

Your mom greeted you on her apron. She gave you a smile before glancing at the living room.

“Oh honey, you're back. Your dad is in the living room. I'm glad you could make it before Christmas.” your mother smiled at you once again before she went back to the kitchen.

You hate yourself for being mad. The feeling of being unwanted rushes through your body once again.

You didn’t want to face your father, but you're here now, and there's no backing off. You pat Historia’s head before your feet made their way to the living room to where your father is.

“Father, I'm home.” Your father didn’t look at you. He didn’t even try to glance in your direction. Instead, his eyes are glued to the book he is reading.

“I haven't seen you for two years. I forgot I have an older daughter.” The palm of your hands started to turn white as you clench your hands into a fist. You didn’t want to disrespect your parents, so you forced yourself to utter the word ‘sorry’ before excusing yourself.

-

“The fuck are you doing, cadet?! Get the hell up and start running!” The people who pass through the man shouting at a cadet lying on the ground clenched tighter on the rifle they are holding as they run faster in fear that they might get called.

Tired, thirsty, and hungry are the exact words you can describe the soldiers running under the sun while holding a 4kg rifle.

“So, a new batch of brats just graduated last night? How many are they?”

“Not more than 70 but not less than 50, eight from the top 10 decided to join survey corps. Don’t you need three more cadets to annoy you for your squad?”

“Shut it four eyes, and I do need someone who has a great aim at rifle since the last squad you gave me were nothing but shit. One cadet cant even shoots properly, and the other was shaking non-stop tch, pathetic.”

“Yeah, sorry shorty, but say less since they will be here early morning tomorrow. I just hope I get Reader and Ackerman in my squad!”

“Both of them topped their class? Tch, of course, those brats will pick you, considering that being in my squad means leading their own lives to hell. Anyway, I need to go, Hange.”

“Bye, Levi! Keep the weather down there cool!”

Levi Ackerman, one of the most outstanding soldiers on Paradis Island. At the age of 14, he was already in the survey corps after his mother died, he had no choice but to survive and live, and the only thing to survive for a homeless person on the Island is to become a soldier and fight for their home.

Most of the soldiers who joined are because of the ranks, a privileged to every family who has a soldier in survey corps is seen as honorable. Homeless people who want to join the military are a joke to them since they know that they are desperate to keep going in life. Still, Levi isn’t one of them at that time. He’s exceptionally strong, wise, and disciplined. That’s why no one ever challenged him after beating up the section commander in his first year in training.

Levi is an exceptional soldier, his rank went up throughout the years, and he’s currently holding the title of Squad Captain for Special Operations at the age of 26.

The wind danced his green cape that holds the title of his rank while he walks over to a bunch of cadets panting after running laps for hours under the beaming hot sun.

“Take a break and come back after 5 minutes, don’t even bother coming late” Levi watched as the soldier in front of him salute and instantly went to do their business.

He looked up to the sky to see a bunch of birds flying across the sky. He wanted something, yet he can't put the right words into it. Maybe he even needed it instead of want.

Aiming at the sky with his rifle, he shoots at the sky, causing a bird to fall in front of a cadet, making him caught off guard.

‘A bunch of pussies ’ Levi thought.

-

A loud bang from the door causing you and Historia to flinched while lying on the bed on your stomach. The both of you have been catching up with each other for almost an hour now with a bunch of stories about her school.

You heard your mom called you and your sister saying that it's already dinner time, so both of you went down to the kitchen.

Your father was already sitting at the dining table while reading a book while your mom prepares the plates and utensils to the table. You didn’t manage to help since, by the time you have sat, your mother was already finished preparing the table.

As all of you started to eat, no one bothered to engage in a conversation, and it bothers you because you feel awkward the entire time. Luckily for you, your mother is the first one to talk.

“How's college? You didn't come home for almost two years.”

You grip on your fork tightly, you had hoped to yourself that one of them would ask how you are doing, but here they are asking you how college is.

You compose yourself before answering her question. “I'm sorry, I'm just busy, but college is fine. I'm doing great academically, and I am passing my subjects.”

Your mother nods at your response before she returns to her food.

“At least be a responsible sister to Historia, the poor girl kept asking for you last year. I did not raise to be irresponsible,” your father coldly said while giving you a bored stare.

You want to cry at that moment.

No, you want to scream.

You're trying; your mind was filled with thought and screamed inside your head, but you managed to give an apologetic smile to your father.

“I'm sorry, father, I will do better next time.”

You can't look at them in the eyes because if you do, you know youll burst into tears and don’t wanna embarrass yourself in front of your family.

You excused yourself from the dinner by making up an excuse that you're tired.

You are.

Once you entered your room, you quickly took a shower before throwing yourself at your bed to rest.

You're tired from the travel, and you're exhausted from holding yourself back from anything and anyone.

‘fuck you, universe,’ you thought to yourself.

“Take me home, universe, I know I'm not home, take me to my home universe, whatever the cost is,” you softly mumbled to yourself a bunch of times before closing your eyes as you took a deep breath.

You stayed like that until you fall asleep while hugging your pillow.

-

“Sol, I know you're tired from celebrating but get up before the higher ranks get mad” a faint voice made you groan from disturbing your sleep.

You don’t know what time it is, but you want more sleep, so you rolled over to the other side of the bed.

Not a minute had passed, but a pillow was slammed into your arms, and a voice quickly followed it. “Sol, I woke you up, don’t tell me I didn’t, get up and get ready, Armin, and I won't wait for you.”

A couple of silence before footsteps can be heard, then the sound of a door closing.

You stayed in that position for a couple of minutes before opening your eyes wide open and sat on the bed.

You saw a bed beside yours and a bunch of books on the table beside your bed.

You're not in your room.

You don’t know where you are.

#levi fanfiction #levi ackerman #levi fic #levi #levi x reader #levi x y/n #levi ackerman x reader #levi aot #levi au #levi attack on titan #levi fanfic slow burn #aot fanfiction #aot x y/n #aot #aot x reader #hurt comfort #captain levi

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

But I Don’t Want to be a Sensei! Pt 2 (ARCHIVED)

Chapters 8, 9, & 10

Chapter 8: Don’t Mess with Yanagi

“Damnit Yanagi, have you seen my goggles?” Obito asked frantically as he shunshined all over the house looking for those stupid things. I rolled my eyes and ignored him as I guzzled down my morning tea. I didn't need ruckus this early in the morning, especially not when I was going to have to deal with Naruto later on in the day. It was always the same. Obito was always able to find his goggles on any normal day, but the rare days that his team got called for missions was when he lost the things.

 I spoke, “Why does it matter? Rin knows you and Kakashi are going to be late. That's why she set the meeting at Godforsaken four in the morning.” If there was anyone who knew how to manipulate the Copy-nin and the Uchiha Prankster, it was Rin.

 “Stop making snarky comments and help me, woman!” Was all my brother responded with.

 Sighing I looked directly at the object he was looking for. Obito's battle goggles were laying on the kitchen table, where he always tossed them after his police squad finished for the day. I contemplated in telling Obito, but then that would take away the fun it would be to watch him tear apart the house looking for his goggles.

 “Why do you even wear them anymore? It's not like you still have that eye problem.” I called. Obito had been born with some kind of defect that made his eyesight weak. When we were younger, his eyes would constantly dry out, forcing my brother to carry around an eyedropper and wear goggles to protect his sensitive eyes. When Obito finally activated his sharingan, the eye problem disappeared but he didn't stop wearing those stupid goggles.

 Obito made some remark about his goggles being part of him or whatever. It's not like I ever understood what he was talking about half the time anyway. I knocked back the rest of my tea and turned around to set the cup by the full sink. My eye twitched at the sight. Reason Number 27 why Obito and I didn't get along: I was a clean freak and he wasn't.

 “You forgot to do the dishes again!” I yelled as I made my way towards the door.

 Obito poked his head out of my room, “That's not important right now, Yanagi. I need to find those goggles!”

 I glared at him as I sat down to put on my sandals, “Well they're definitely not in my room. Have you even looked in the kitchen yet?” I heard Obito grumbling about something, but I chose to ignore it. Whatever he was saying would only piss me off anyway.

 There was a spike of chakra that told me Obito was shunshining into the kitchen, followed by his exclaims of delight. I stood and retrieved my weapons pouch from the small table by the door where I had set it last night, trying to ignore the cheering coming from the kitchen. I was tempted to tell Obito to find a room, but that would only start another yelling match. It was too early in the morning for fighting.

 “Bye! Have fun on your mission!” I called as I ran out the door and into the foggy predawn morning. For some odd reason I felt as if I were a genin again, eagerly running to meet my team and show off the cool new jutsu my brother had taught me the night before.

 Not that I wanted to be around Team 7, of course.

 Training ground six, where I trained my genin, was one of the lesser used training grounds that the Uchiha clan owned. Obito and I were normally the only ones who actually used it since it was the closest to our house, so making Team 7 meet there wouldn't be a hassle to anyone. I didn't need more of a headache than what I got by just standing in those brats' presence. Anyway, I liked training ground six. When it wasn't being used, the area was very quiet and peaceful. If one ignored the burn marks and notches in the woods from stray weapons, one could say it was very beautiful.

 Settling myself in the crook of my favorite tree, I pulled out my book and opened it to the well-worn bookmark and began reading. I only had an hour of this peace before a certain knucklehead blonde came and ruined it with his loud mouth.

 It wasn't long after I arrived that my first genin did. I had maybe read ten pages when I felt the presence of a puny amount of chakra. Well... puny to me. For a genin, that amount of chakra was quite a bit; but considering that I had two clan kids on the team it wasn't surprising they'd be more advance.

 “Come out, come out.” I called softly, like the antagonist in children tales. Like I expected Hinata shuffled into my view, her cheeks dark with a blush and twiddling her fingers in anxiety. I easily leapt from the tree and landed in front of her, “You know we still have an hour until the team meets right?” I questioned.

 Hinata just fidgeted nervously, “I-I...” She started then stopped, her throat working as she tried to spit out words and failed.

 I raised an eyebrow, “I'm not going to bite.” I pointed out, feeling that I probably should. This poor kid was obviously terrified of me. I wondered what I did to make her so nervous, I hadn't been that bad... hadn't I? I waited for a little longer, but when it was obvious she wasn't going to make a peep, I rolled my eyes, “Well, it's a good thing you are here early, now we have an hour to get rid of that shyness. Sit.” I put a hand on her slight shoulder and pressed down, making the girl sit on the dewy grass.

 “Here.” I said and shoved a book into her hands. Hinata looked down at the cover and immediately blanched, so she recognized it. I laughed, “Best way to get over shyness, read that book.” I said.

 Hinata swayed, looking faint. I rolled my eyes again and snatched my brother's copy of Icha Icha from her hands, “Alright, maybe not.” I said and tossed the book over my shoulder, not caring where it landed. I had planned to rip the pages it out and make wallpaper for Obito's room, but I didn't want to touch the book longer than necessary. Sitting down in front of the shy Hyuuga heiress I tried a different route, “Did you know when I was in the police force I had a teammate who talked less than you?”

 Pearl colored eyes glanced up at me nervously, as if I were some type of monster luring her into a false sense of security. I decided to ignore her look and continued talking like she wasn't there, “Yep, his name is Uchiha Ibo. He's extremely shy, more so than you. He uses hand signs to communicate.” Hinata seemed surprised that, for whatever reason. I guess it was surprising to hear that someone was worse than she was.

 I clapped my hands loudly, making Hinata jump, “Right then. You're a kunoichi, so you're going to have to get over that shyness one day. Best start early before you're stuck in a jam because you put this off. Any questions before we begin?”

 “D-did y-y-you h-ha-have p-p-prob-problems?” Hinata asked shakily.

 “Are you kidding? Obito-nii would have beaten any shyness out of me before I was five.” I deadpanned. It was probably true. I'd never know since I grew up assertive and stubborn, being an Uchiha branded that personality into me at an early age. I honestly didn't know how Ibo had managed to keep on to his timid  nature for so long. The clan saw timidity as a weakness, so to find a twenty year old man who rarely spoke and blushed almost constantly was a rare find. “Now, first lesson of the day...”

 vvv

 “S-sensei?” Hinata asked later that day, while we, or rather they, were cleaning out the dumpsters behind one of the Akimichi restaurants.

 I ignored her and continued to read my book.

 “S-sensei...?” Oh great, she was even more hesitate now. I kept my eyes firmly glued to my book, taking note that Sasuke and Naruto were pausing in their work to watch Hinata. I had told Hinata that I wouldn't speak to her unless she addressed me without stuttering. Until she said 'sensei' without stuttering I wasn't going to look up from my book.

 “S-s-sensei?” Nope. Ignore.

 “Hey! Hinata-chan is talking to you!” Argh, I should have known Naruto would butt in. It would be uncharacteristic of him not to. He wouldn't be Naruto without messing up something. Still I wasn't going to say a word until I got what I wanted. These kids would soon learn that no one could break my silence treatments.

 “Sss...ensei?” That was better, but not perfect. I licked my thumb and flipped a page of my book. I flicked my eyes briefly towards Hinata, enough to show that I was listening but not enough to acknowledge she was actually speaking. Hinata would know what I meant. The girl took a deep shaking breath and said, slowly, “Sensei?”

 I finally turned my full attention on her, “Yes, Hinata?”

 “C-can,” My eyes narrowed and she blushed red before starting over, “Can I... ask you a q...estion?” The Hyuuga heiress managed. I rolled my eyes at her almost mistake and waved my hand for her to continue, “W...hy do we... h-ave to... to do mi...ssions? Won't y-ou t...each us some-something?” I frowned at the stuttering towards the end.

 I stood from my seat on a pile of wood pushed up against the back fence, “Tired of D-rank missions already?” I asked amused.

 Sasuke and Hinata said nothing, but their expressions said 'yes'. Naruto was more vocal about his opinion, “Yeah! These don't teach us anything! I want to get out there and fight some bad guys!” He said pumping his fist to show his eagerness.

 Sighing, I pressed my fingers to my forehead and shook my head sadly. Woe to those who has to deal with Naruto. “Slow down, brat, you'll get killed that way.”

 “But if you teach us, then we won't get killed!” Naruto snapped back.

 “No matter how much I teach you, that kind of recklessness can get you killed.”

 “Won't! I'm going to be the Hokage!” Naruto yelled childishly. And just was did that have to do with getting killed on a mission? I could tell him that there were thousands of people who wanted to become Hokage and they all died before their first B-rank mission because they had the same reckless behavior Naruto did. But I didn't since I wasn't that cruel.

 I gave up on the argument, since it was futile to argue with stupidity, “Keep telling yourself that, kid. I'm going to enjoy laughing at your failure at tree walking.”

 “Hey! I won't fail at... wait, are you going to teach us something?!” Man, if anyone needed to have something announce, they should just hire the Kyuubi brat. I swear the people in Kumogakure could hear him.

 “That's what I said, didn't I?” I questioned dryly with a raised eyebrow.

 Naruto leapt into the air with joy, whooping and cheering that he was going to learn an awesome new jutsu while Hinata and Sasuke looked mildly excited. I guess doing chores all day was really getting to them.

 “Alright, finish up this mission then I'll teach you tree walking.” I should have known disaster would strike then. What would Team 7 be if a mission went without incident?

 vvv

 “Tree walking is one of the hardest but most common chakra controlling exercise. It's also the first step to water walking, which is an essential tool in many fights.” I started, glaring at Naruto when he opened his mouth to interrupt me. The boy immediately quelled under my harsh gaze and didn't speak. I waited a moment to be sure that he didn't go ahead and interrupt before I continued, “To walk up a tree, you must use the right amount of chakra to stick your foot to the tree; too much and the tree explodes underneath you, too little and you slip and fall. Observe.” I turned and walked up the tree I was leaning on with ease. Though tree walking wasn't as commonly used in combat as water walking, it was still useful–mostly as a way of traveling through trees. Especially in Konoha. I turned to face my team with I was a good two meters up the tree trunk, “Any questions?”

 “Yeah, what the heck does this have to do with learning kickass jutsus?!” Of course it was Naruto.

 I leapt off the tree and landed in front of the three genin again, “Simple. In battle, ninja fight with jutsus. Jutsus require chakra to perform. Having good chakra control enables the user to perform jutsus to their maximum efficiency without wasting any chakra. Thus it also gives the user more chakra to use in a battle. Understand?” All three shook their head 'no'. I sighed, well damn it. Why did I get stuck with the stupid kids?

 “Look think of it this way, say a person can use about twenty different jutsus with medium damage in a battle without learning to control their chakra. If that person does learn chakra control, they can boost the number of jutsus they perform from twenty to say... thirty as well as boosting the power of their jutsus. Learning chakra control also is essential to learning medical ninjutsu and Konoha has a rule that there must be a medic nin on each team. One of you will be learning medical ninjutsu as well.” I stared right at Hinata when I said that. The kunoichi was usually the one who learned medical ninjutsu since women have better control than most men.

 Naruto, being the dramatic brat that he was, groaned exaggeratedly and fell back on his back, “But why?” He persisted.

 My eyebrow started twitching in irritation. Up until now I had been almost civil to the brats, they were highly amusing after all, but my patience was starting to wear thin... not that I had that much to begin with anyway. In a sharp voice I started counting off the benefits to tree walking, “Increases chakra control, gives you better balance, can be used in battle, is the first stepping stone in walking on water...”

 There was a slight breeze that suddenly shot past me. Being a jounin I immediately flinched to the right, automatically thinking that I was being attacked. I spun around, hand already going for my kunai pouch in preparation for whatever came at me. Instead all I got was the sight of Naruto's blazing orange back racing towards the tree I had walked up.

 He got three steps before falling flat on his back. I didn't even feel a spike of chakra coming from the untrained genin. By the time someone reached my level of experience, even lower actually, there was hardly a sign that they were focusing chakra to their feet. A genin however, especially a dead last like Naruto, needed time to focus their chakra.

 “You didn't even use chakra, did you?” I questioned dryly, already knowing the answer.

 Naruto went from rubbing the back of his head and grimacing in pain to shouting at me, “That was just a practice run!”

 This kid was just like Denryoku...

 “Sure it was, brat. Now why don't you try for real this time. Focus your chakra first, then run for the tree. You'll get better results.” I said before glancing at Sasuke and Hinata. They hadn't moved from where they were. As a Hyuuga and an Uchiha they should have already been introduced to exercises similar to tree walking, especially Hinata whose clan fighting style relied on strong chakra control. “Alright you two, practice even if you already know it.” I said and the two kids strode after Naruto.

 I sat down where I stood and pulled out my book. Now that the brats were occupied with training, I could finish it.

 vvv 3rd POV~ Sasuke vvv

 “Hey...” Naruto said in a creepy mysterious voice. Both Hinata and Sasuke stopped practicing their tree walking to look at the blonde. Of all three of them, Naruto was the most bruised since he had no prior training. Sasuke fared a little better, his clan focused more on ninjutsu than building stamina; while Hinata remained unscathed.

 Naruto looked to the right then left in a shifty manner, “What do you think Frizzy-sensei reads? She's always reading that book.” He whispered, jerking his thumb over his shoulder towards their oblivious sensei.

 Sasuke had to admit that he was curious. He hardly knew anything about either of his cousins, other than that they were related to him through Kaa-chan and that both were extremely ill tempered. For some reason, Obito and Yanagi didn't get along with Otou-san; but why exactly, Sasuke didn't know.

 “Shisui says that Obito-itoko reads perverted books.” Sasuke said, mostly to himself. The navy haired Uchiha glanced at his sensei/cousin, could she...?

 “Eh? Who's Obito?” Naruto asked, his eyes squinting in confusion.

 Surprisingly it was Hinata who answered, “O-O-Obito i-i-i-is S-sen-sensei's b-b-b-b-b-bro-broth-brother.” She managed to wring out, blushing red. Sasuke was tempted to tell her not to try and talk to Naruto. Hinata risked fainting every time she even looked at her crush. How Naruto hadn't noticed their teammates affection yet was beyond Sasuke.

 “Oh... then who's Shisui?”

 Sasuke rolled his eyes, “Shisui is my Aniki's best friend. He is close to Obito-itoko. Shisui says that Obito and Kakashi-san read Icha Icha all the time. It's their favorite book series.”

 Hinata was turning even more red. Sasuke glanced at his female teammate curiously. Normally she only blushed when she was thinking about Naruto, or speaking to him, or looking at him, or hearing his voice... basically anytime Naruto was within ten feet of her. So why was she blushing now when all Sasuke did was mention a book series?

 Shrugging it off as strange girl behavior, Sasuke continued, “Do you think that sensei might read the same thing?”

 Naruto started snickering, “I knew there was something weird about her!” He said between snorts. Then he suddenly lit up with an idea. Sasuke had learned already that that usually didn't bode well for the team's health or sanity. “Hey, what if we...” More shifty looks, “found out if she does read those smutty books?”

 Sasuke had a mild panic attack. Trying to go against Yanagi would be like trying to prank Obito: suicidal. Sasuke had already learned his lessons about messing with his cousins and he didn't wish to repeat either of them.

 Bamf!

 Hinata fainted, of course. Luckily Sasuke managed to catch her before she hit her head on the ground. He glared at Naruto, “Do you have a death wish?” It wasn't that he feared Yanagi; but he had noticed that everyone in the clan, save very few people, usually took steps to avoid her when Yanagi was pissed. Caution was always a good trait to have when you're a shinobi.

 “Of course not! Frizzy-sensei can't be that bad.” Naruto defended hotly. Then he immediately went back into his 'scheming mode' “Now... here is what I was thinking we should do.”

 Why Sasuke even listened, he'd never know. But the young Uchiha had to admit that his blonde teammate did have a talent for pranking. Though... it was no where near as good as Obito's talent.

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 “Sensei?” I glanced up at Naruto and raised an eyebrow. The kid's expression was uncharacteristically serious. I automatically suspected something.

 “There's no way you're finished with the exercise.” I said, my voice carefully void of all suspicion. I had learned from growing up with Obito that you never let the prankster know that you know they're up to something. Besides, with Naruto's one track mind, I might be able to distract him.

 No dice.

 Naturally, being an Uchiha and a powerful jounin, I refuse to admit to anyone what happened next. One minute the Kyuubi brat was standing in front of me, almost frowning, and the next he was tearing across the training grounds with my book in his hands. It took me a second for it to click that some damn newly made genin just stole something right out from under my nose.

 Someone was going to die.

 “UZUMAKI NARUTO!!!” I roared as I shot to my feet. I was delicate for both my height and age–I barely looked like a proper jounin let alone a chunnin–but I had a pair of lungs courtesy of having a fire chakra nature. All shinobi with Katon ninjutsu had to have a healthy set of lungs, especially to pull of the Uchiha style Grand Fireball technique.

 Plus growing up with Nii-san helped too.

 I had nearly caught the damned brat when he tossed the book across the clearing to Sasuke. If I wasn't so pissed I'd be impressed by his arm strength. My cousin caught the book easily and leapt up into the trees, taking off to a destination unknown. I shunshined twice to narrow the gap between us and reached out to grab the brat by his Uchiha collar. I'd never understand why most of my kinsmen liked those stupid high collar shirts.

 Sasuke stopped abruptly and dropped the book, letting it fall towards the ground, before evading my grip. Great. Now I had to change trajectory and free fall to grab my book.

 I was going to murder whoever thought this was a good idea.

 Three Narutos passed in below me, one nabbing the book out of the air while the other two stalled me for a brief moment, allowing the first Naruto to gain distance. What made matters even worse, they started jeering at me. I glared and grabbed the Naruto to my right and swung him into his partner. They both disappeared in a puff of smoke. That took me by surprise. I hadn't known that Naruto could create shadow clones.

 Maybe he wasn't such a dead last after all...

 But he was still dead.

 Shunshining closer to the culprit who had my book I yelled out, “Stop right there or else!”

 Naruto grinned at me over his shoulder, “What will you do? You can't even catch me!” He teased. I stopped on the branch I had just landed on and watched with a flat expression as the still mocking Naruto slammed into a tree.

 I take it back. He was a dead last for sure, he just had a very unexpected high ranked jutsu in his arsenal. And probably the only one too.

 “You gonna hand the book over now? Or do I have to get serious?” I asked boredly, my arms crossed over my chest, when Naruto finally caught his bearings.

 The kid squinted at me, “What is this book, anyway?” He asked curiously. I was surprised he didn't think to open it and look for himself; but he was dumb enough that I doubted he knew how to even open a book.

 “Hand it over and we'll forget this stupidity on your part.” I said, holding out my hand for my book, “You won't ever bring it up and I won't make your life hell, alright?”

 He tried to open the book.

 I snatched it from him before he could read the characters on the page. For extra precaution I stuffed the thin volume down my flak vest, not trusting my genin to try and sneak into my weapons pouch where I normally kept it. Without a word I turned away from Naruto, who was blinking dumbly at his suddenly empty hands.

 I was so signing them up for the 'Retrieve Tora' mission tomorrow. I deserved some damn entertainment after this stupid stunt!

  Chapter 9: Cats, Aunts, and B-ranks, Oh My!

“Good job team! Real nice action out there today.” I said cheerfully as Team 7 walked back to the Missions Assignment Office after a hard day's work of one D-rank mission. Though, considering it was the infamous 'Retrieve Tora' mission, I guess I couldn't blame them for taking all day. Honestly, some teams took weeks to capture Tora.

 I heard Sasuke mumble behind me, “Why do I get the feeling Sensei enjoyed this?” I ignored his comment, since it was true. I loved watching Naruto getting beaten by a cat, again; I had a feeling the blonde was starting to really hate cats. Especially after he nearly deafened the rest of Team 7 with his declaration of loathing cats for all eternity.

 ...Shouldn't have stolen my book yesterday.

 Naruto answered Sasuke's rhetorical question in a much louder voice that I couldn't ignore, “Because Frizzy-sensei is in league with the devil! Look at her, Sensei is holding that demon cat!” It was true, Tora was purring happily in my arms, not at all like the creature who just kicked Naruto's skinny ass into next week.

 And if Naruto called me 'Frizzy-sensei' again, I was going to kick him into the next century.

 “Oh Tora, my precious baby! You must have been so scared!” The Daimyo's wife cooed when we returned Tora to his owner. “Mommy was so worried about his fuzzy little face! Oooooo I'll never let you out of my sight again~!”

 Naruto laughed, “Ha! That kitty deserves to be squashed.”

 My eye twitched and I contemplated on swatting the blonde upside the head, but decided against it with both the Hokage and Iruka in the room. They were too overly protective over Naruto that I couldn't get away with hitting the idiot. Especially Iruka, he had a trick that he could use to get revenge. The guy knew about my silent treatment towards Shisui; if I hit Naruto I didn't doubt that Iruka would sic Shisui on me in retaliation.

 While the Daimyo's wife, Lady Shizimi, continued to smother her cat with affection, the Hokage began reading off more missions. Babysitting, shopping, gardening... the normal boring D-rank stuff.

 “Noooooo!” Naruto whined, putting his forearms up to make an 'X'. I glared at him for interrupting the Hokage. “I wanna go on a real mission! Something challenging and exciting, not this kids' stuff!” I frowned a little, thinking what I could do to make Naruto's life more interesting, since he obviously thought everything he was doing was 'kid stuff'. And by interesting, I meant more entertaining for me. Maybe if I made his life hell enough now, he wouldn't beg for a higher ranked mission.

 I glanced at the two silent clan kids. Sasuke was ready to go on C-rank missions, I'd admit that. But Hinata was nowhere near ready. While the girl was more advance in training than the boys, her personality was a major fall back. Hinata wouldn't last well outside the village, she'd probably faint when a rabbit hopped across her path! Still C-rank missions were simple. There was supposed to be little or no enemies on C-ranks, in fact C-ranks were generally just D-ranked missions that went outside the village. Maybe Hinata wouldn't do so bad on it...

 I punched Naruto in the head when he started yelling at Iruka about D-ranks not being real missions, causing the brat to facefault. “Cork it, kid.” I said flatly. Ha! Now Iruka wouldn't get mad at me for hitting Naruto since I was only controlling the rowdy brat's behavior. While I watched the blonde whine and moan, though I didn't hit him nearly as hard as he was making it out to be, the Hokage began another monotone speech.

 Ugh. Kill me now.

 Immediately Naruto turned his back on the Hokage and began talking about the ramen he had over the past week. Out of sheer boredom, I listen to him. Hinata was the only one really listening to him though, Sasuke and I were doing it so we didn't have to hear the Hokage drone on and on.

 “Silence!” Hiruzen snapped, though not very loud. He didn't seem like the person to actually yell–at least to people who didn't really know him. Hinata jumped like she had gotten caught drinking heavy sake or something; the rest of us just turned our attention casually back on Hiruzen.

 I glanced at the Hokage, “...Sorry.” I said in a 'not-so-sorry' tone. If the Hokage wanted people to listen, then he should really learn to put inflection in his voice.

 Naruto, still sitting for some stupid reason, turned back around, “You're always lecturing me like you're my grandfather or something,” Well... he kind of was. Naruto did call the Hokage 'jiji' sometimes, “but I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time!” Oh really? Than was do you call yesterday? “I'm a ninja now and I want a real mission!” After the somewhat speech, Naruto crossed his arms with a childish pout and turned around again. Whatever credibility he had just made, it was thrown out the window by his actions.

 I sighed and wondered why the karma demons hated me to much.

 The Hokage laughed. I mentally cringed, that laugh meant that I wasn't going to like what came next. “Naruto wants us to know that he's a former brat, and he wants a mission... so be it.” Cue surprised looks from all three genin and a groan from me, “Since you're so determined I'm going to give you a C-ranked mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey.”

 Damn it. I hated when I was right.

 Naruto cheered and leapt up, “YES! Who? Who are we guarding? A princess?! Or some big league councilor?”

 The Hokage still have that evil smirk on his face as he said, “I'll bring him in now. Send our visitor in.” He called a little louder.

 The door behind us opened and we all turned to see a wizened old man, though he was younger than the Hokage, come stumbling in with a sake bottle hanging loosely in his grip. “Wha tha? A bunch of snot nosed kids?!” I raised an eyebrow, it wasn't even noon and already he was drunk. I liked sake as much as the next person, but I drew the line at being drunk during the day. The client took a swig of his sake and pointed to the team, “And you, the short one with the idiot face, you expect me to believe you're a ninja?”

 I glanced at my team and smirked. Naruto was the shortest, even Hinata was a full inch taller than him. The kid predictably cracked up and glanced at his two teammates, not understanding that he was the one our client was talking about. I had to hold Naruto back when it finally dawned on him that Mr. Drunk was talking about him.

 “You can't kill the client if he's annoying, Naruto... that's my job.” I said patiently as I griped the struggling genin by his appalling orange jacket. I could feel the Hokage and Iruka's equally disapproving looks drilling into my back. I ignored them.

 The drunk introduced himself as Tazuna, a bridge builder from the Land of Waves. He gave a nasty little speech about protecting him even if it cost us our lives. I glared at him for that. I believed in sacrificing yourself for the life of a friend just like anyone else; but it was an automatic 'screw you' if someone who wasn't my superior, namely the Hokage, was telling me to give my life for them.

 I wondered if the Hokage would dock my pay if I hogtied the man and dragged him to the Land of Waves by his hair.

 Nah, better not; it'd set a bad example for the kiddies.

 Snapping my fingers, I brought all attention to me, “Alright, we leave at three this afternoon. Go pack for a month long mission, and be at the gate by three or you can stay in Konoha. Sasuke, you're escorting the Grandpa Drunk around. Keep an eye on him. Now all of you shoo.” Sasuke was probably the only one who could handle being around Tazuna without trying to kill him or fainting. I completely ignored Tazuna's indignant shouts and Naruto's laugh as the four of them filed out of the room.

 Hiruzen gave me a brief rundown of the mission: Team 7 would escort Tazuna to the Land of Waves, protecting him from any bandits we might come across, then act as a bodyguards as he and his men finished the bridge that would 'change the world' or whatever. When the Hokage finished his briefing, I gave a small bow and left.

 The Daimyo's wife was still in the hall when I closed the door behind me. Tora had long since stopped struggling and coiled up in his owner's arms, purring like he hadn't been trying to escape. I smirked and gave a small bow, “Always a pleasure, my lady.” I said, meaning it.

 The woman gave me a smirk that equaled my own, “Oh dearie, you know I love teasing genin. Both me and my precious Tora.” Lady Shizimi enjoyed screwing with impressionable minds almost as much as I did. It was one of the reasons why she and I got along so well. After all, there weren't many women out there who would purposefully train cats–all named Tora of course–to give newly made genin hell. It was almost a rite of passage for genin to take on the infamous 'Retrieve Tora' mission. Even Obito said that Minato mentioned doing the mission when he was a genin; though if I remember correctly it had been another Daimyo's wife, not Lady Shizimi, who had 'lost' Tora.

 vvv

 The house was empty when I got there. Obito didn't say how long his mission with Rin and Kakashi would be, but when the best jounin squad was called out on a mission, they could be gone for months. Seriously, what kind of mission required the best medic Konohagakure had, an ANBU captain, and an infiltration expert? Whatever it was, it had better be preventing another damn war.

 I went to my room and pulled out my ready made mission pack I kept under the bed. Being a jounin and one of the top most powerful Uchiha, I was used to having missions at the drop of a hat so I always kept a mission pack ready just in case I was called out. Slinging my pack over one shoulder and grabbing my haiti-ate that I wore only when outside Konoha, I went to the kitchen to scribble a quick note for Obito in case he got back before I did.

 Gone on C-rank with genin brats.

 I won't interact with any men.

 Don't look for my candy stash, it's hidden.

 Hit Shisui for me.

 And yourself.

 And Kakashi.

 Tell everyone I hate them.

 ~Yanagi

 I took a kunai that needed to be sharpened and impaled the note to the kitchen table so Obito would see it. He hated it when I did that. Nii-san was weird about cuts in the table for some reason. Something about the table being the only thing we had of our parents left.

 Whatever. Our parents died before I turned three, so I didn't care.

 I still had two hours before we left. I was a stickler for being early and all, but even two hours was too much for me. Besides, it was lunchtime, I could eat something before we headed out; but with Kakashi gone with Obito I had no one to eat with. I wasn't keen on eating by myself, too many men tried to flirt with me when I was by myself. I might not like Obito being an overprotective troll of a brother, but I hated flirty men who didn't get the hint that I wasn't interested even more.

 Still... I did have one option.

 “Sensei?” Sasuke questioned when he opened the door. By the look of his face, I think I successfully stumped the kid. It wasn't a secret that Fugaku detested me and my brother and visa-versa; as a result Obito and I avoided from the Uchiha Main House like the plague.

 I gave my student/cousin a blank look, “Is your dad home?” I asked boredly. Sasuke shook his head 'no' and I grinned, “Perfect. Then I'm staying for lunch.” Mikoto had giving Nii-san and I an open invitation to come over for meals at anytime. But we usually declined because Fugaku was there. While I loved my aunt, I didn't want anything to do with her husband.

 Before Sasuke could answer I ducked around him and took off my sandals. As I pulled my gloves off, I looked at the still somewhat dumbfounded Sasuke out of the corner of my eye, “Where's Grandpa Drunk?” Please tell me he was tied up like a dog. Please tell me he was tied up like a dog. Please tell me he was tied up like a dog-

 “HEY! You've gotta awfully lot of guts calling me names!”

 Damn it.

 I glared at Tazuna who was in the hallway glaring right back at me. Behind him Itachi stood giving me a sort of disapproving blank look. I honestly didn't know how my cousin could do that. Glares normally didn't bother me, but Itachi had a way of getting under my skin with his staring, even when he was still a brat just learning to walk. I eventually found a way to bypass Itachi's stares, by accusing someone of bothering Sasuke they got the brunt of Itachi's looks and I got to sneak away with my dignity.

 “Like you have guts calling my students idiots?” I asked Tazuna in a false sweet tone. Okay so he only called Naruto an idiot, but it was worth stretching the truth to see Itachi full out glare at Tazuna while the drunk broke out in a sweat. Ruffling Sasuke's hair as I walked past him–didn't want the preteen to feel left out–I headed for the kitchen, calling out for my aunt.

 To say that Mikoto-oba left the stove to hug me when I stepped into her domain was saying something. That woman wouldn't leave the kitchen if the Kyuubi attacked again... maybe. I really didn't want to test the theory though. “Yanagi! Sasuke told me you're his sensei, I hope you're not going easy on him.” Mikoto-oba said when she finally let me go.

 I grinned evilly, “Of course not.” I joked, “But don't worry, I'm not singling him out for torture. All three of them get the same evil treatment.” I continued lightly. Mikoto laughed. That was the reason while I liked my aunt. Unlike the rest of our family, hell the entire clan really, Mikoto had a sense of humor. She didn't get offended over a joke... unlike two certain cousins who were glaring at me.

 Little brats.

 I shot Itachi and Sasuke a disdainful look before smirking and turning back to my aunt. There was one topic that made the two extremely uncomfortable. Well, at least Itachi; I didn't have much interaction with Sasuke until I became his jounin sensei. “So... any good prospect for the boys?” Itachi seemed to be choking on air behind me, but I ignored him.

 Wasn't my fault that Mikoto's hobby was matchmaking.

 My question launched a full hour of listening to Mikoto spouting about all the different prospects of potential girlfriends and their advantages and disadvantages. Tazuna and I got a kick out of it while the Uchiha brothers were pretty much trying to murder me with glares. I'd chalk it up as dinner and a show.

 “So, what about you Yanagi? Do you have a man yet?” Mikoto asked once she finished her rant that took up the majority of lunch. The downfall of asking my aunt about her hobby, she started playing matchmaker on me.

 My amused expression fell flat, “No.”

 “What?! Yanagi, you're in the prime of your life! You should live a little before you become old like me.”

 “You're not old, Mikoto-oba!”

 “Don't change the subject! Why aren't you dating?” Mikoto demanded, glaring at me darkly. I blanched. If there was one person who truly scared me, it was my aunt. I doggedly ignored Sasuke's quiet snickering across the table from me.

 “Talk to Obito-nii. He's still an overprotective prick.”

 “Don't call your brother a prick.”

 “Yes mother.”

 “And I'll talk to Obito.”

 “I never said I wanted to date anyone!”

 By Mikoto's expression, one would think I had just said that Itachi and Sasuke were committing incest. Slowly her horrified expression turned into fury. I was in trouble now. I stood up and grabbed Tazuna and Sasuke by the backs of their shirt collars, “Gotta go. Mission. Bye!” I said quickly then bodily dragged my two meat shields from the house.

 vvv

 “Yeeaaaaah! Alright!” Naruto screeched the moment he stepped outside the village gates. The rest of us just stared at him.

 Hinata, surprisingly, was the one to ask what everyone was thinking albeit more politely, “W-what is it, N-Naruto-k-k-kun?” Well at least she wasn't taking a minute just to stutter out a word anymore.

 The blonde Kyuubi brat began looking around exaggeratedly, jumping around the well worn road that lead to Konoha's gates, “This is the first time I've ever been outside the village! I'm a traveler now, believe it!” The kid exclaimed then began laughing like a loon.

 There wasn't a word good enough to describe his stupidity.

 Tazuna look at me, “Hey, am I supposed to trust my life to this runt? He's a joke!” I noticed that Naruto stiffened up as he overheard the drunk.

 I gave the man a Kakashi-style eye smile, “Oh don't worry about that. I'm a jounin so I'll be able to protect you should the need arise. What you do need to worry about is if idiocy is contagious; I hear Grandpa Drunks catch it very easily.” I said cheerfully.

 “HEY!” Two equally offended people shouted. Three guesses on who. Sasuke was giving me a look that said 'no matter what you say, I'm not related to you' while Hinata looked horrified for some odd reason. I only giggled at their faces.

 Walking forward I grabbed Naruto's backpack straps, “Come on. I don't want to be late.” I said mildly as I began dragging Naruto behind me. He was too busy shouting at Tazuna about being Hokage to pay attention anyway. Besides, he'd probably attack the client if I let him go.

 …

 “...and then I had beef ramen again for lunch. I really like the beef, but my favorite is pork ramen! Though miso ramen is another good one! I also like naruto better than menma in my ramen because I'm named Naruto! Plus menma tastes nasty, it's like I'm eating grass instead of yummy naruto! Last week Iruka took me to Ichiraku ramen again, that place is so great! I like it better than the instant noodles I used to eat when I was in the Academy. When I become Hokage, I'm going to eat Ichiraku ramen all day long and-”

 “That's unhealthy.” I broke in. From the relieved sighs, I was guessing that everyone else, even Hinata, were glad for a break in the three hour long ramen speech.

 Naruto looked up at me confused, “Huh?”

 I gave him a flat look out of the corner of my eye, “Eating nothing but ramen is unhealthy. You should add vegetables and fruits to your diet. I'd say stop eating ramen altogether, but that's not going to happen.” I added the last part under my breath so Naruto couldn't hear me. If he did the brat would no doubt go into a long rant about the pros of ramen.

 Naruto stuck his tongue out and made a face, “Ewww! Vegetables are gross.” He said childishly.

 “Only if you don't cook them right.” I snapped right back.

 “No they wouldn't! They'd still be gross.”

 I leaned down so that my face was inches from the squinty eyed kid, “Oh really? Listen here, Obito Mini-me, my brother doesn't like vegetables either but he likes the way I fix them.”

 “I'M NOT HIS MINI-ME!!”

 “Actually... you kinda are.” Sasuke suddenly piped up. Naruto and I turned to my cousin to see him looking Naruto up and down. By the contemplating look on his face, I'd say that Sasuke was making many connections between the Kyuubi brat and my annoying Nii-san.

 Naruto turned red with anger and slammed his foot into the ground, “Listen here, teme, I am not that creep's Mini-me! We are nothing alike!” I sighed as Sasuke vs Naruto Round 254 started. And yes, I was keeping count.

 Hinata and Tazuna exchanged confused looked, not known Obito on a more personal level like the three of us did. I grabbed the two arguing boys heads and turned them forward, making the two keep walking. I was not going to stop for every time Naruto decided to pick a fight with Tazuna, Sasuke or me. He can learn to walk and talk like the rest of us.

 “T-Tazuna-san?” Hinata asked several minutes later after Naruto and Sasuke went to sulk in their separate 'corners'.

 Grandpa Drunk swallowed his gulp of sake and turned to the shy Hyuuga, “Yeah?” Hinata asked something about the Land of Waves, but I wasn't paying attention. My eyes were on that sake bottle of Tazuna's. I was going to be an alcoholic if I had to continue to deal with Naruto's idiocy, that much I was certain of. Might as well start now... if I could get a hold of that bottle that is...

 “S-ensei?” Hinata questioned, pulling me out of my alcohol musings. I looked at my nervous student and raised an eyebrow. “A-are there any nin...ja in the L-and of W-waves?” She managed to say without stuttering too much. Well it was better than when she graduated at least.

 Wait, I had to do a lesson didn't I? Weren't they supposed to learn this in school?! “No, not in the Land of Waves; though in some other countries there are hidden villages. Having a hidden village means having shinobi. But there's not a hidden village anywhere in the Land of Waves. There are five great nations that have a hidden villages: the Lands of Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, and Lightning. There are smaller countries that have hidden villages, but they don't have a Kage. The Kages are the leaders of the hidden villages in the Five Great Nations. Konoha has the Hokage. There's also the Tsuchikage, Kazekage, Mizukage and Raikage. Those five are the rulers of thousands of ninja in their own country. Got it?” Quickest rundown on hidden villages and shinobi ever.

 “So-so Lord H-hokage is r-r-eally important?” Hinata asked when I finished my spiel. I look at her, then at the two boys. From their expressions, I could tell that none of them were thinking really highly of the Hokage at the moment. But who could blame them, for all they knew the Hokage was just a grandfather figure. Not the war general the adults in Konoha knew.

 Still I wasn't going to let them get away with it, it was a golden opportunity to scold the lot of them, “You're doubting the Hokage aren't you?” I asked sternly, my hands going to my hips. All three kids looked away sheepishly. I rolled my eyes, they were just making it obvious. I put my hand on Hinata's head, “Still. Don't worry about any foreign ninja. This is a C-rank, there's hardly ever and confrontations on a C-rank mission.” That seemed to take a load off the three.

 Was it just me or was Tazuna stiffening up?

 vvv

 It was relatively quiet now. Naruto wasn't rambling on about ramen and Hinata wasn't pestering Tazuna with stuttered questions. The only sounds were the happy songs of birds in the trees and the footsteps of five people. I was tempted to take my book out and start reading, or possibly get into Tazuna's sake stash, but something was telling me not to. Twelve years as a kunoichi taught you to listen to your instincts. Man, if it was me just being paranoid again I was going to strangle myself.

 My three genin walked right past a puddle and didn't even look down; Tazuna didn't notice it either. As they should have. Puddles were meant to be inconspicuous and overlooked.

 Damn it. I hate puddles.

 “Hold up!” I called. My four companions turned around in enough time to see me bending over as if to readjust my left sandal strap. Out of view, my Sharingan activated and gave a quick spin before darkening back into obsidian.

 Try getting out of an Area of Effect genjutsu now, suckers.

 While everyone was under the genjutsu I shunshined into the treeline and watched as the chunnin level Kiri nins, if their headbands were anything to go by, leapt out of that damn puddle and used their chains to cut 'me' to ribbons. Literally.

 Ugh. I hate Bloody Mist nins.

 Both nuke-nins went after Naruto, who was too busy screaming my name to pay attention to the Kiri nins. He froze in fear, predictably since Naruto was only a genin with no previous battle training, as the two nuke-nins came for him. Their chains were still dripping in 'my' blood. My cheek twitched a little, maybe the genjutsu I had cast was a little too gruesome for genin. I tensed, ready to intervene and screw the plan, when Sasuke jumped out of no where and pinned the nuke-nins' chains to a nearby tree.

 Guess clan training/torture does come in handy sometimes.

 Using taijutsu, Sasuke managed to kick the Kiri nuke-nins back and thus breaking their chains in the process. The two attackers recovered quickly, as expected from chunnin level shinobi, and went for Naruto again. I frowned, wondering what their motive was. Were the two really after the Kyuubi, or were they just clearing out the competition before they went after the real target? Regardless of their true target, it would have been strategical to finish Sasuke off since he was the higher threat.

 One of the shinobi broke off and went for Tazuna and Hinata. The Hyuuga whimpered plaintively and stood in front of Tazuna, the kunai in her hands shaking so badly I doubted she would be able to even hit the enemy if he was two inches in front of her. She didn't move as the enemy reached out with his clawed gauntlet for... Tazuna behind her.

 So Tazuna was the real target.

 Sasuke leapt in front of Hinata, arms wide, intending to take the blow that wasn't even going for the Hyuuga heiress. Then I saw the glove move slightly down so it would stab straight through Sasuke and possibly through Hinata as well. Killing two birds with one stone, as it were. Shit shit shit shit! If they did hit Hinata and Sasuke it would ruin the genjutsu!

 I shunshined out of my hiding place and grabbed the nuke-nin going for the brats and bodily swung him into his partner. They both went rolling head over tail before crashing head first into the tree that Sasuke had previously pinned their chains to. I shunshined after them, grabbed the chains and tied the annoying piss-ants up using their own weapons. If they happened to get cut with their poisons chains, too bad so sad.

 Dusting my hands off to get rid of their filth I turned back to the group, all of whom were staring at me like they had seen a ghost.

 Oh wait...

 I put up two fingers and exclaimed, “Kai!” The world we were standing in dissolved away, 'my' nasty and very gruesome remains disappearing along with Naruto's scratch from the shinobi that attacked him. The nuke-nin twitched, “Y-You mean it was just a genjutsu?!” The one of the right with the darker clothing asked.

 “Well yeah... what did you expect when fighting an Uchiha?” I said as if it were obvious. Which it should have been. I looked back at my team, “Nice work Sasuke, very smooth.” I complimented. After taking on two chunnin level nuke-nins and actually giving them trouble for a few seconds, my cousin deserved some praise from me. The others... not so much. Though Hinata did stand her ground instead of fleeing. “I'm proud of you too Hinata. That was very brave.” The two kids looked at me surprised.

 Naruto on the other hand... he looked genuinely horrified as he thought back on the fight. I wasn't going to say anything. My silence would be enough of a reprimand. After all, Naruto had just thought he faced a life and death situation, anyone could freeze up like he did.

 Then Sasuke decided to egg him on like the little prick he was, “Hey, you're not scared are you... scaredy cat?” The look on my little cousin's face was so evil, I didn't know if I should be impressed or swat him upside the head for teasing Naruto. Maybe both.

 I settled on both, “Don't torment Naruto, Duckass.” I snapped while I was mentally cheering him on. Not that I'd ever tell him that, the kid didn't need that already big ego of his inflated anymore. “By the way, Tazuna...” The drunk stiffened and turned to me, his stance automatically defensive. Well, any doubt I had was just laid to rest, “We're going to have a nice long talk.” The man gulped.

 Good.

 I pointed to the two slouched over nuke-nins, “Those are chunnin level shinobi from Kirigakure, according to the Bingo Book they go by the Demon Brothers. They specialize in relentless attacks, often to the point of being suicidal.” Why they weren't trying to escape now was strange though. Surely I hadn't freaked them out enough they they actually gave up. Wimps.

 The nuke-nin to the right spoke again, “How did you know about our ambush?”

 I held up three fingers, “Three reasons. One, I'm a jounin. You had better damn well know I'm better than that, it's an insult. Two, I'm a sensory type, I could feel your chakra in the puddle; which leads me to my third point,” My expression turned flat. “A puddle, on a clear day when it hasn't rained in weeks. Seriously, how did you two become chunnin?!”

 Tazuna gave me a glare, “Then why did you leave it for the genin to do the fighting?”

 “They were never in any danger.” I said calmly. Everyone else shifted, obviously thinking the same thing. I rolled my eyes, “I'm an Uchiha. Genjutsu is the clan's specialty. If I can't cast a simple Area of Effect genjutsu, then I'm a lousy clan member.” There was no way I was going to explain the intricacies of my genjutsu in front of the enemy. Everyone else can ponder all they want and come up with their own damn conclusions.

 I continued before someone else could ask another question, “These wimps were no problem. I could easily kill them, but then I wouldn't know who they were after... would I, Tazuna?”

 “What are you blathering about?!” Boy talk about defensive.

 “It's obvious that these men were after you, Grandpa Drunk, don't bother denying it.” I said flatly. The man didn't say anything else, he only blushed a little. “A C-rank escort mission is a standard escort mission. There aren't supposed to be any ninja hunting clients during C-rank missions, just bandits and ruffians looking for easy pickings. Having enemy ninja on your tail is a B-rank or higher.” Tazuna looked more and more guilty for getting these kids in his mess with each word I spoke.

 Hinata spoke up, “N-Naruto-k-k-kun is b-bad-badly h-h-h-h-hurt. W-we-we sh-should get him m-me-medical treat-tre-t-treatment f-fast.” She stuttered out from her spot. I turned to Hinata and opened my mouth to tell her that Naruto didn't need any help when the idiot suddenly stabbed his hand.

 “What are you doing?!” I shouted, spinning around to stare at my stupid student. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hinata faint and Tazuna catch her. Don't tell me she fainted at the sight of blood too!

 Naruto shook in pain and closed one eye, his expression serious for once. “Why am I so different? I work very hard to get here! I pushed myself until it hurt and trained alone for hours to get stronger and achieve my dream! I won't let someone else rescue me again, I won't back down. I will never run away and I will not lose to Sasuke. On this wound I make this pledge... believe it. Tazuna-san, I will complete this mission and protect you with this kunai. A real ninja never gives up, and neither will I! Now let's go!”

 Tazuna and Sasuke seemed awed about Naruto's speech, I just stared at him deadpanned, “Naruto... that was, uh, really ...cool... and the speech was great but... um, there's no wound. And if you lose anymore blood, you're going to die.”

 Naruto slowly looked down at his now injured hand and saw only the wound he had inflicted on himself. He was turning steadily paler, whether from blood loss or from the fact that he just had a unknown emo moment, I couldn't tell.

 “Bu- I did get hurt! That guy hit me and he had poison claws and-”

 “That was under genjutsu. He was actually striking that tree.” I said and pointed. Everyone, including the Demon Brothers, looked where I was pointing and saw three scratch marks on the tree, “Everyone thought it was you, but it wasn't. The wound disappeared when I released the genjutsu.” Naruto started sweating bullets as he looked at his still bleeding hand. I smiled, “Now would be the time to stop the bleeding... seriously. You have like a minute to live.”

 Cue the freak out.

 I rolled my eyes, “Let me see your hand.” While Naruto still did his freakout dance I took his hand and turned it over to see the wound. Lifting up my free hand I started the Mystical Palm Technique to heal it, creating green chakra around my fingers, until I noticed that the would was closing right before my eyes. I stiffened slightly then narrowed my eyes.

 So the Kyuubi was healing him.

 “Um...” Naruto started. I looked up to see him staring at me intently, shivering in fear, “You have a really serious look on your face... I'm not going to die am I?”

 Hmmmm... troll him or reassure him? Choices... choices...

 Troll him.

 “Naruto, I'm sorry to tell you this but...” I trailed off and sadly shook my head. Tazuna gasped behind me. Naruto turned a sickly green color, then went whiter than a sheet. I stood up abruptly with my face impassive, “But you're going to live to annoy me longer. Congrats.” It took a second for Naruto to comprehend that he wasn't dying. Then I felt a soggy something slamming into me. “Ugh! What-?” I looked down to see Naruto burying his face in my side.

 He turned his face up and gave me a teary, snot filled, smile, “Thank you, thank you, thank you sensei!”

 “GET OFF ME, YOU DISGUSTING BRAT!” I yelled and tried to pull the kid off me. I was a clean freak, I didn't like snot nosed sobbing kids! I especially didn't like them hugging me. Naruto clung tighter as he continued to yell 'thank you'. I continued to yell for him to let go of me.

  Chapter 10: Peaches

I sighed and snapped my book closed, giving up on trying to read. This fog was so damn thick I couldn't even read! I don't know why I let Naruto talk me into not turning around and going back to Konoha after the fight with the Kiri chunnin. I just knew there was going to be another big problem before this stupid mission ended. It wouldn't be a Team 7 mission if we didn't run into some kind of trouble.

 “WOAH! It's huge!” Naruto suddenly shouted. I glanced up to see what the idiot was talking about now while the boatman scolded the blonde about his loudmouth. Like that would make a difference. Still, I was mildly impressed by the bridge Naruto had screamed about. Too bad we wouldn't see it finished, since I was dragging my team back to Konoha the minute Tazuna's foot hit the shore.

 Still there was one thing bothering me...

 “Yo, Grandpa Drunk...” I started. The man didn't react like he usually did, which gave me an insight to how serious this was. “Tell me why there are men after you.” I was still aborting the mission when we dropped Tazuna on shore, but due to morbid curiosity I wanted to know why this guy had gone from a seemingly harmless drunk to someone rogue ninja were after. I could smell a good story behind all this.

 Might as well entertain myself with story time since I couldn't read.

 I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing when Tazuna said, “I have no choice but to tell you–no I want you to know the truth.” Man was this guy dramatic, “Like you said, this isn't a true C-rank mission, the one who seeks my life is a very short man but cast a very long and deadly shadow.” I wondered mildly if Tazuna was trying to keep us interested enough to stay, or if he was just a naturally gifted story teller.

 “ 'Cast a long and deadly shadow'? Hmmm... Who is it?” I asked, deciding to play along.

 Tazuna gave me a solemn look, “...You know him... as Gatou. He's one of the wealthiest men in the world and-”

 “I know of him.” I said flatly, not wanting Tazuna to continue his blathering. Granted I didn't know the midget was a black market dealer who worked in dirty under-the-table tactics, but still.

 Naruto was doing his squinty face again, “Huh? Who? Who? What? What?” Seriously, the kid sounded like he was five years younger than his actual age. How I got saddled with him, I would never understand. The Hokage must have some beef with me that I didn't know about.

 Grandpa Drunk went on to explain the dirty deeds of this Gatou, all without losing that dramatic flair he had going. Seriously, if this guy hadn't already devoted his life to bridge building he should have gone into professional story telling. The genin were hooked; even the boatman was listening raptly, all while rowing the boat of course. Tazuna went on to explain how the bridge would break Gatou's control over the Land of Waves, and thus putting Tazuna's life in danger. Blah blah blah, boring boring boring. I got enough drama from Obito, I didn't need it from Grandpa Drunk as well. Though, I had to admit, Tazuna was better at telling the story than Nii-san.

 “So why did you request a C-rank, when you knew this was a B-rank mission?” I asked, keeping the conversation on track before Tazuna could go down the road of ramblings.

 The old man looked down, silent for a moment, then spoke, “Because the Land of Waves is poor, not even our Daimyo have little money. I couldn't afford something higher than a C-rank.” I gave a flat stare. It was something as simple as money? With all the drama already saturating the story, I thought it would be more spectacular than that. “This bridge will bring prosperity to my home, but if you just drop me off there won't be a bridge. They'll assassinate me.”

 My three little genin looked guilty, though Sasuke hid it better than Naruto or Hinata. I just continued to stare at him unimpressed by his blatant guilt-tripping. After growing up with Obito and Shisui I was immune to all guilt-trips of any kind.

 Tazuna moved on to flat out blackmail. He gave us a fake smile and said in a light tone, “But don't feel bad about that! Of course my sweet little grandson will be upset. He'll cry 'Granddad! I want my granddad!'” The change in voice was amusing as Tazuna mimicked his 'grandson's voice. Hinata and Naruto looked extremely guilty now, like they had accidentally kicked a puppy. But Tazuna wasn't finished yet, “Oh and my daughter will condemn the ninja of Konohagakure, denouncing and blaming you for abandoning me and living her life in sorrow.” The old coot added quickly as if it wasn't a big deal. The man's beady eyes darted to my still unaffected stare and continued, “Ah oh well, it's not your fault, forget it!”

 I stared at him stoically.

 Tazuna sweatdropped, thinking his little scheme failed.

 Finally I sighed reluctantly, “Fine, we'll keep guarding you.” If I had said no Naruto and possibly even Hinata would annoy me until they convinced me otherwise. It was best just to give in for now and let the drunk have this round. Tazuna lit up and I glared at him, causing him to whiten under his tan instantly.

 Beside me Sasuke smothered a snicker. He knew from experience that it was foolish to blackmail the Blackmail Queen.

 vvv

 I groaned when I saw Sasuke and Naruto having some kind of speed walking race. Why couldn't they acted like a normal rivalry? Why must it all be passive-aggressive and loud?! Naruto ran ahead and did a funny little 'look left and right' thing. I was about to ask what the hell was he doing when he suddenly threw a kunai, “Over there!” He exclaimed.

 Everyone–read: Sasuke and I–immediately leapt into defensive stance around Tazuna and waited for the attack.

 Nothing happened.

 Causally Naruto stood back up, “Hm, just a mouse.”

 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 ninjutsu, 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. The right side of my mouth twitched up and I almost sang out 'come out come out wherever you are~' but I didn't.

 Especially since our opponent was already attacking.

 “DUCK!” I roared and immediately all members of the group hit the dust, barely avoiding the big ass sword flying through the air. I was on my feet the second that stupid sword was past me and staring up passively at the jounin now standing on his sword hilt.

 Cow print arm and leg warmers. Grey striped pants. No shirt. Big ass sword. Damn it.

 Time to troll.

 First I ruined his sense of mysteriousness, “So... you're Momochi Zabuza, eh?” Silence from the cowboy. Guess I'd have to kick the trolling up a notch, “Feeling... peachy today?” I got a small minuscule twitch from the man and I grinned. That minuscule twitch from him meant he was extremely annoyed. One more time and I'd push him over the edge. “I have a very serious question. I need you to answer honestly.” I paused for a moment, “Is peaches your favorite food? I hate them.” Now I got a glare and a sliver of killer intent.

 Naruto began running for Zabuza like an idiot. Luckily I was able to stop him. I might be able to tease Zabuza, but that didn't make him any less dangerous. Naruto would just be killed needlessly if I let him  attack.

 “Don't. This guy is out of your league.” I said seriously.

 The blonde didn't seem to like that, “But I can take him!” He said confidently. If only he knew how wrong he was.

 I gave the kid a very stern look that made him back down. Ever since I became Team 7's sensei, I had been very surly and often glared at the trio of brats. But I knew they got the feeling I was kidding most of the time, that I was only fooling with them. Now I wasn't. I was truly being serious. “Stay. Back. Naruto. When I say this guy is too powerful, I mean it.” I turned my stare to Sasuke and Hinata, “All three of you stay out of this. Protect Tazuna, that's an order.” I said and shoved Naruto backwards, out of danger.

 Looking back up at the still silent Zabuza, I changed moods and called out cheerfully, “Hey, Peach-boy, any chance you'll let us go?”

 Silence.

 “Is that a yes?”

 Silence.

 “Are you mute or something?”

 Silence.

 “...Do you like pineapples?”

 Silence.

 Man, this guy was worse than I was when Shisui was around. I dropped the act and fell into a defensive stance, “Fine, Peachy, if you're not going to talk then you can at least attack. I've got things to do than try and drag answers outta you. That's T&I's job, not mine.”

 Silence.

I rolled my eyes and in the process of doing so activated my sharingan. That seemed to get his attention. Zabuza perked up and asked in a raspy 'I'm-obviously-a-heavy-smoker' voice, “So you're an Uchiha. By your unusual behavior... you're Yanagi, are you not?”

 I tsked demurely and flipped my ponytail over my shoulder, “Why I'm just flattered to death. You know my name, and here I thought I was overshadowed by the stupidity of my brother.”

 “The Stupidly Brave Kunoichi of Konoha.” Zabuza rasped, naming one of my various catch names I had gotten.

 Laughing I waved a hand, “Lame, isn't it? I don't know who came up with it; still it is a better nickname than some.” A certain nickname from an annoying Uchiha who I wasn't on speaking terms with came to mind and I frowned. Quickly I erased the frown and replaced it with a cheerful grin, “But I have to say, you're nickname is better... Demon of the Mist.”

 Zabuza seemed to be getting tired of our little mind game, “Hand over the old man.” He said.

 I scoffed, “Seriously? I admit I dislike the man as much as you do, but asking for me to hand him over is just lame and lazy. And your intimidation tactics aren't working, Peach-boy. It's kinda hard to be intimidated by someone with the last name of 'peach soil'.”

 A thick mist suddenly began to build up. Guess I pushed the peachy cowboy too far. I smiled. Goody, now the fun began. “In the Kirigakure Bingo Book, it's listed that you had a runaway mouth, Uchiha.” Zabuza commented.

 “I have a runaway mouth. I'm not dead yet, dumbass.” I corrected hotly. How dare Peachy insinuate that I was going to die!

 Zabuza gave a creepy chuckle, but it didn't hold a candle to Obito in his pranking moods, “Soon.” He promised. I rolled my eyes again. As far as trash talk went, this guy was not a pro. It was almost embarrassing how predictable his insults were. Peach-boy continued before I could insult him back and show how a true master of disrespect did it, “In our Bingo Book it's said that your fire ninjutsus are some of the most powerful in the world. Too bad it won't do you any good.”

 Well shit.

 Being from Kirigakure, Zabuza would naturally have a water nature. I was lucky enough to have two chakra natures–fire and wind–but that wasn't going to do jack against freaking water. Water nature beat fire, and wind was practically useless against it anyway. That left genjutsu and taijutsu to fight with. However Zabuza's sword would put a hindrance on my taijutsu and just be plain annoying anyway. I was also pretty sure that Zabuza knew in advance that I was an Uchiha and would take lengths to protect himself against genjutsu.

 Double shit.

 “Now...” Zabuza started. Immediately my three genin leapt into a defensive formation in front of Tazuna. I shifted my weight onto my left foot, ready to spring forward at a moments notice. I might be at a major disadvantage going against this S-ranked criminal, but I was damn well going to give him a hard time and make the bastard earn his prize... if I even let him have it.

 Peach-boy suddenly leapt away and onto the water. The genin and Tazuna seemed surprised that he was able to accomplish such a feat. I was more worried about the huge amount of chakra Peachy was building up. Whatever Peaches was doing, it wasn't going to be good. I thought back on all my spars with Kakashi when he used water based jutsus. None of them required this amount of chakra, so what was Peachy doing?

 “Suiton: Hidden Mist Jutsu!” Zabuza called out and the mist suddenly thickened with chakra, creating nothing but a white wall all around us. I could barely even see the kids behind me, let alone wherever that prick disappeared to.

 The tension was high in the air. I stayed coiled, ready to strike out defensively if so much as a leave rustled the wrong way. I was a jounin of Konoha and the only one able to stand a chance against Zabuza. There was no way in hell that I was letting the Demon of the Mist past me and lay a scratch my genin team.

 “S-sen-sensei...?” Hinata stuttered nervously. I knew the poor girl was shaking badly. Damn it, I knew she wasn't ready for real missions yet. Though, granted this wasn't supposed to be a real genin mission.

 “Don't worry. He'll come after me. You just keep guarding Tazuna.” I said, my red eyes darting from place to place. But even with the highly advanced sight of the sharingan, I still could hardly see past the thick chakra infused fog.

 “Who is this guy?” Naruto asked, for once sounding nervous and serious. I guess the kid finally realized that this was real and he could very much die out here without ever getting close to his dream. Strangely, I wished that he was still that naïve kid from three minutes ago.

 “Momochi Zabuza, a nuke-nin from Kirigakure and former captain of the Hidden Mist Assassination Unit.” That's all they needed to know. I didn't want to scare the kids. They were nervous enough as it was.

 Zabuza seemed determined to tell then anyway, “Uchiha, you're forgetting something...” That raspy voice sounded eerie coming out of the mist, like some vengeful wraith looking for a soul to devour. Peaches didn't even have to explain his silent killing technique for the kids to be frightened, but he did it anyway. I glared off into the mist, no one could frighten my brats except me.

 The fog thickened to the point that I couldn't even see Team 7 anymore. Shit shit shit! Zabuza spoke again, this time his creepy voice seeming to come from all around. I let loose my killer intent, my chakra swirling around me and dissipating the fog a little. I could practically feel Sasuke freezing up in fear, the killer intent coming off Zabuza and I were hitting my younger cousin. This wasn't going well, Sasuke was the best support I had out of the three. Though I hated it, I was probably going to have to call on the genin's help to take down Peach-boy. If he was unable to move because of fear...

 “Sasuke!” I said, my voice cutting but reassuring at the same time. My cousin tensed, seeming to come out of his fear induced stupor, “Calm down. You've got nothing to fear,” I glanced over my shoulder at Team 7 and smiled soothingly, “I'll protect you even if I die for it. That's a promise!” Nii-san used to say those three words when we were younger, and Obito always kept his word.

 So I would do it too.

 Of course Zabuza had to spoil our little bonding moment with his creepy intoning, “I wouldn't be so sure... it's over.” Suddenly his voice wasn't everywhere at once like it had been. It was in one specific place.

 Right in the middle of my genin team.

 OH HELL NO!

 With a reaction speed that could only be achieved through training with a sharingan, I leapt for the Peach bastard as my four companions leapt away from him. My kunai knife plunged deep into the man's gut. Zabuza grunted and leaned against my shoulder, his warm breath brushing against my dark brown curls that coiled around my ear. For a brief moment, a silence fell over the world, as if acknowledging that a life was ending.

 But both Zabuza and I knew it wasn't.

 Naruto suddenly screeched, “Sensei, behind you!”

 I spun around, the Zabuza water clone bursting to spray cool water all over my back, while the other Zabuza swung his Kubikiribōchō and cleaved me in half. Blood flew from my mouth as I stared in surprise at my killer. Zabuza seemed to smirk under his bandages.

 Then he frowned.

 I dissolved into butterflies.

 Zabuza spun around, spitting like an angry cat; though his voice retained that raspy calmness when he said, “Nice work, Uchiha. I didn't even notice the genjutsu.”

 From my hiding place among the trees I leapt down behind Peachy and placed my kunai knife along his throat, “Don't move.” I growled threateningly. This guy threatened my genin, he had made it to the bottom of my 'shit-list' in record breaking time.

 Peaches started a boring monologue of how I was able to distract him while I reassured my team and cast the genjutsu while he was distracted. I was tempted to kill him just to shut the idiot up. Seriously, what was the point of explaining everything as if there was an invisible audience watching this fight? It was boring and drawn out and sometimes just plain stalling.

 Oh.

 Yet another Zabuza appeared behind me, Kubikiribōchō once again back and ready to cleave me in half. This time, I didn't have a genjutsu ready. Naruto yelled something about being a water clone while I ducked underneath Peach-boy's big ass sword. Zabuza followed his sword's swing and stabbed it into the ground before using it as a leverage to kick me into the air.

 I twisted in enough time to meet Zabuza as he jumped after me, but his axe kick propeller me into the water. The one place I did not want to be. Just like I expected, the little prick appeared behind me with an air of smug victory. I tried to spring away from the water before he could catch me, but it was too late, “Water Prison Jutsu!”

 My world took on a watery blue tint and I immediately felt cold and clammy. The water that imprisoned me felt thick and viscous like honey, I couldn't move an inch. I snarled angrily at the man holding the prison, my red eyes promising a very violent death if I ever got out. I wish I wish Zabuza would just glance my way, long enough for me to cast a very painful and horrific genjutsu, but he didn't. Peach-boy seemed to know what would happen if he met my gaze; seems I'd have to think up a more physical torture to dish out then.

 Congratulations, Peaches, you just managed to piss off one of the most hot headed Uchiha known in existence.

 vvv 3rd POV~ Sasuke vvv

 Sasuke felt Yanagi-sensei's killer intent spike drastically, but strangely this time he wasn't afraid. Perhaps her promise that she would protect the team with her life had gotten to him more than he knew. Sasuke frowned, in the few weeks of being under Yanagi's tutelage he knew that she was a very powerful but... he never expected her to be taken out so easily.

 “Water Clone Jutsu!” The man called Zabuza shouted. Dimly in the mist, Sasuke could see another Zabuza burst from the water and stand between Team 7 and the real Zabuza. Sasuke tensed, they would have to go through the clone first to get to Yanagi-sensei. If that brief fight with the clones was anything to go by, these water clones weren't at all weak.

 The water clone suddenly appeared in front of Naruto, causing the blonde to fall back and in the process lose his headband. If this wasn't such a serious moment, Sasuke would scold him for being clumsy. Given the fact that even Yanagi-sensei wasn't doing so just went to prove how serious this fight was.

 At a loss, the Uchiha genin watched as his teammate landed far away from him, too far to help. Sasuke didn't want to leave the protection of Tazuna to Hinata alone. The Hyuuga was already scared out of her wits, Sasuke doubted she would be of much use.

 Yanagi suddenly shouted, her voice muffled and wavering by the water that held her prisoner, “Leave you idiots! Peaches is only able to fight you with his water clone, now's your chance to run. The clone can't follow you forever, so run you imbeciles! Get out of here, complete the mission, do you hear me!?”

 Sasuke glared at his cousin, running was no longer an option. The second Yanagi got caught was the moment that Sasuke knew that Zabuza would stop at nothing to kill Tazuna. It was better to stand and fight rather than run away and prolong their life for a short time. That was the act of a coward. And Sasuke was not a coward!

 With a sudden surge of confidence, Sasuke shot forward, determined to rescue his cousin and sensei. Throwing shuriken after shuriken at the water clone, Sasuke leapt into the air and, just as he reached the clone with his attack, was thrown away like nothing more than a rag doll. Naruto called out the younger Uchiha's name, fear and concern lacing the blonde's voice. As Sasuke struggled to stand back up, Naruto suddenly charged for the clone.

 Of course the blonde goofball was thrown aside easily, coming to a stop at the feet of Hinata. The shy Hyuuga heiress quickly went to her knees to ask in her wobbly voice if Naruto was okay; but Sasuke eyed what the blonde had retrieved with interest. It seemed that the whole attack was just to get his headband back. Sasuke frowned, what was so important about that headband? Surely what the clone had taunted about not being a true ninja hadn't gotten to the blonde. It was just trash talk, like what Yanagi-sensei had been doing when Zabuza first showed up.

 Naruto stood up, the scowl on his face dark and serious. Sasuke was slightly impressed by the blonde's change in attitude, “Hey, you no-brows freak,” Sasuke couldn't help but smile a little at the attempt to imitate Yanagi-sensei's insulting nicknames, “put this in that book of yours... the person who is going to be Hokage of Konohagakure...” Naruto reached up to tie his haiti-ate around his forehead and glared up at the impassive water clone, “he never backs down. And his name is Uzumaki Naruto!” Unlike Naruto's previous claims to become Hokage, Sasuke had to admit that this one was serious. For once, Sasuke actually believed that Naruto could become Hokage.

 The serious aura surrounding Naruto turned into something akin to cocky and confident, “Alright, Sasuke, can you hear me?”

 The navy haired Uchiha gave his teammate a flat look. He was standing two feet away from the blonde, of course he could hear Naruto! “Yeah, I can hear you.” Sasuke said, his tone a touch exasperated.

 “Alright! I've got a plan.”

 So he finally had a plan, huh? As opposed to flailing around like an idiot? Sasuke scoffed, “So you're finally thinking about teamwork? What's the plan then?” Naruto gave Sasuke a foxy grin.

 Unknown to either of them, Hinata watched from her spot in front of Tazuna. If ever she doubted her awe for Naruto, it had been replenished. The Hyuuga felt as safe being protected by her two teammates as she had when Yanagi-sensei stood in front of them, promising to protect the team with her life. Whatever the two boys were planning, Hinata had no doubt that it would succeed!

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 Poof!

 Everyone, other than Sasuke and Naruto, was surprised to see the second Fuuma shuriken transform into Naruto. I watched with anticipation and awe as the kunai Naruto and thrown back at Zabuza made it's way, in what seemed like slow motion, towards the Peachy bastard. If I could move, I would be shivering in excitement. There was no possible way to dodge that kunai, not without releasing me from my prison.

 Although, it probably would have been better for Zabuza to let the kunai hit him.

 It would have hurt less.

 Zabuza turned on Naruto, the Fuuma shuriken he was holding spinning dangerously as he cocked his arm back to throw it at my student. Seemed Peaches forgot about me; I should be hurt, but the anger of been imprisoned–on top of my students being threatened–was overriding any hurt. “I'll destroy you!” Zabuza growled, his raspy voice finally showing anger.

 I. Don't. Think. So.

Still dripping water, I raised my fist and caught on of the blades on the hand guards of my gloves. I didn't even grimace when the thin metal cut into my skin unable to take the pressure of the shuriken's sharp blade. Naruto, not having any water walking training like Zabuza and I, fell into the water unharmed. I just hoped he had enough sense to get the hell out of dodge, because I wasn't going to wait. I wanted to tear Zabuza a new one right now. Zabuza met my gaze only to find a full on Uchiha Death Glare.

 It made me dance happily on the inside to see him pale a little.

 “Naruto. That was an excellent plan, I'm proud of you.” I complimented, feeling the need to. After all, without that brat's help, I would still be giving glares in a water prison instead of outside like I was now. Naruto laughed like it was no big deal when we all knew it was. My eyes flickered to him, “Now get your ass back to shore. I've got a rotten peach to incinerate.” Naruto gave a mock salute and began swimming to shore.

 Hmm... maybe as I reward I'd teach the team water walking. They had gotten tree walking down... somewhat.

 Zabuza and I struggled briefly for the Fuuma shuriken. Being female and weaker than Zabuza, I was losing and the sharp blade came closer to my neck. Narrowing my eyes I bent backwards, my right leg flying up to kick the shuriken into the sky, then back flipping away from Peach-boy. I crouched on the surface of the water, watching Zabuza warily. I knew he would use water ninjutsu, thinking that I would have little to no defense against it.

 My hand drifted towards my kunai pouch as I thought over my choices. I could block the attacks with well placed wind ninjutsu, but that risked diverting an attack to the genin, or I could copy Peach-boy's hand signs and fight ninjutsu for ninjutsu. The only problem with that option was I wouldn't have much chakra to use. Using a chakra nature that wasn't mine would use up too much chakra–especially if the jutsus were powerful like I knew they were going to be–and they would be substantially weaker. Unless...

 Nii-san always said if you can't win with power, win with annoyance.

 I smiled. Zabuza, suspecting something, leapt away and I mimicked him, going in the opposite direction. I copied Zabuza's stance and started weaving the hand signs he was making at an almost inhuman speed. But my sharingan eyes could pick them up.

 Zabuza's first mistake: weaving signs in front of an Uchiha.

 We finished at the exact same second and both called out, my voice mimicking his to the best of my ability, “Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu!” Two dragons composed of water rose at the same time, moving in the exact same way. Perfect mirrors of each other. There was no way to tell whose was whose other than chakra. Zabuza's dragon crashed into mine and the weaker one flailed a little before twisting around and biting into it's opponent’s 'flesh'. Water rose from the banks and flooded the clearing, nearly drowning my poor genin.

 Eh, they probably needed a bath anyway.

 Especially Naruto.

 While our water dragons were busy battling it out, Zabuza and I shot forward to meet underneath the ninjutsus. Kubikiribōchō clashed harshly with one of my fans I used in wind ninjutsu; I grimaced when I heard the crack of some of the fan's ribs breaking under the pressure of Kubikiribōchō's sharp edge. Maybe I should have grabbed a kunai instead...

 I could tell that Peachy was thinking back on the battle, obviously confused by how my water dragon formed at the exact came time that his did. After all, the sharingan copying the jutsu, so I should have been a nanosecond behind at the least.

 Zabuza's second mistake: showing doubt to the sharingan wielder.

 I felt Zabuza's muscles tense and guessed his next move. Leaping back at the same time, I landed three feet from where we were struggling to get an upper hand on physical strength. My red eyes picked up a subtle twitch in Peach-boy's right leg and I matched his pace as we began running in circles, staying the same distance away from each other. I kept my mimicking up, copying the exact way his head was tilted or the way his fingers curled. He stopped. I stopped. He lifted his arm. I lifted my arm. His eyes widened. So did mine.

 Zabuza's third mistake: forgetting that eyes are the windows to the soul.

 “...going to do next?” I finished his thought as I dropped my arm in perfect sync with Peachy. I think I broke his brain, if that expression of pure surprise was anything to go by.

 Shouldn't have trapped me in a bubble of water, now should you Peachy?

 He made a hand sign as I did, “It makes you furious doesn't it?” I asked, reading the subtle twitches of his eyes.

 Zabuza was starting to look crazed. “You're just copying me, like a monkey!”

 “You can't beat me with cheap tricks! I'll crush you!” We said at the exact same time, in the exact same tone. I even managed to make my voice a little raspier than normal, just to match Peaches. It took Zabuza a second to realize that I had said exactly what he said at the same time, shooting down whatever claim of me copying him.

 Zabuza made some lame comment about my monkey mouth as he started to weave signs. I did the same. Unknown to him, my mouth twitched up slightly, ending my perfect mimicry of the Kiri nuke-nin. My tomoes began spinning slowly, so slow that it went unnoticed to Peaches even though he was meeting my gaze fully. Zabuza faltered for a brief moment, seeing the ghostly genjutsu of him behind me as I finished the hand sign he had already been making.

 “Suiton: Giant Vortex Jutsu!” I said in a loud commanding voice. Zabuza stared in utter shock as the jutsu that he had thought I was copying from him came roaring towards him. He didn't know that the genjutsu had stalled him for a nanosecond, long enough for me to read how his hands twitched and predict the last hand sign without his help. Peachy thought I had done the impossible, when I had just done was was expected of an Uchiha.

 Zabuza's final mistake: he thought he could beat an Uchiha.

 While I watched my vortex do it's job, I checked on my genin. Hinata was standing in front of Tazuna dutifully, her kunai knife no longer shaking with fear, while Sasuke helped Naruto out of the raging waters. They were lucky that the vortex didn't pull them in too. Then, out of the corner of my eye, my sharingan picked up another chakra source. One that hadn't been visible to me before. Outwardly I didn't show any signs of knowing, whoever this newcomer was they obviously weren't our allies. They would have leapt in by now. The question was: were they Zabuza's ally?

 The vortex died down and I leapt into the tree that it smashed Peaches into. I flung kunai at Zabuza to pin him there and keep the bastard from causing any more trouble. I wasn't going to underestimate this guy any longer, he would be dead before the minute was up. I withdrew another kunai knife from my pouch, “Now your finished.” I said and cocked back my arm to throw the kunai, aiming for the spot between his eyes.

 Zabuza gave me a bewildered look, the first true emotion I had seen on his face all day, “How did you-? Can you see into the future?” He demanded in an almost scared voice.

 Was it really that mind blowing to go against a sharingan? Sane people usually ran when they saw the Uchiha red eyes, but no one I fought with had forced me to use the Uchiha kekke genkai for so long. Normally it was just a quick genjutsu like the one I used early in the battle.

 Maybe I should ask Shisui-...never mind.

 “Yes. And I see death in your future.” I said.

 A tiny buzzing sound alerted me of something out of place. My sharingan eyes darted towards the source, but Zabuza's cry of pain snapped my attention back to him. My eyes widened when I saw him crashing to the ground, senbon needles sticking out of his neck.

 A womanly laugh drew my attention further up the tree that I was in. Long dark hair was brushed over a white mask with a swirling red pattern that curled around the nose and left cheek. The Kiri embalm was stamped into the mask's forehead: a hunter-nin. “You're right... it was his last battle.” The Kiri hunter-nin said.

 I leapt down from the tree and made a show of pressing two fingers to Zabuza's neck and felt no pulse. That didn't fool me. I could see a small amount of chakra still shimmering in Zabuza's core with my sharingan. A near death state then. There were three possibilities why Zabuza was alive: the hunter-nin was incompetent and couldn't even make a clean kill. Unlikely since she was a hunter-nin going after a A-ranked criminal. Two, she had a sadistic streak and wanted Zabuza's kill for herself, knowing Kirigakure it was possible. Or three, she was in league with Zabuza and 'killed' him before I could truly end his pathetic life.

 “He's dead.” I said from my squatting position and looked up at the hunter-nin for an explanation.

 She immediately bowed, “Thank you.” She said softly, “I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time.” My eyes narrowed at her voice. It wasn't... feminine enough to be a woman. A boy then? If the hunter-nin was male, then he was very young, probably as young as Team 7.

 “You're a hunter-nin from Kirigakure, correct?” I asked.

 The boy dipped his head in acknowledgment, “I am.”

 “What is this?!” Naruto suddenly shouted. Both of us turned from each other to look at the frustrated blonde. He was pointing at the hunter-nin accusingly, “Who do you think you are!” The masked boy said nothing, irritating Naruto even more, “Did you hear me?!” The brat enunciated each word.

 “Stop it Naruto. He's not our enemy.” I said. My sharingan picked up the slightest twinge from the hunter-nin's left pinky finger. A sign of guilt. I didn't look at the Kiri nin. If I let him know that I knew, he would attack. I couldn't take down a wimpy hunter-nin in this state. The two Suiton ninjutsus really bit into my chakra reserves. Soon I would have to be forced to deactivate my sharingan or risk chakra exhaustion. Honestly, I don't know how I was still standing at this point.

 Naruto spun on me, “That's not the point! He just took out Zabuza, just like that! I thought you said Zabuza was powerful, and that guy killed Zabuza with one move! It makes us look like idiots! How can I accept that?!” I had to admit, from Naruto's point of view it was a little too much to take. But then again, he didn't have a younger cousin like Itachi. I grew up knowing that Itachi would always be more powerful than me so I accepted the truth and moved on.

 I stood up, careful to show that it wasn't a struggle to do so, and walked towards my student. I stopped in front of him with a passive look, “You don't have to accept it, but it's still true. There are many kids out there that are younger than you but stronger than me.” Kakashi had pounded that into me at an early age too, when he was still a prick who didn't believe in teamwork.

 Naruto looked away mulishly.

 The hunter-nin, having gotten tired of my scolding Naruto, teleported from the tree to beside Zabuza. Easily the kid lifted Zabuza over his shoulder, ramming home what I had just told Naruto, “You're struggle is over for now. I must deal with the remains. Please excuse me and farewell.” The boy held up on hand, palm flat, as the wind began swirling around him again, and teleported both Zabuza and himself out of my sensory range.

 I sighed as Naruto yelled about the hunter-nin's disappearance. Naruto ran to the spot that the two disappeared from. “He's gone, Naruto.” I told him in a tired voice. Didn't this kid ever learn?

 “What are we doing here then?! I can't believe it! All that hard work and for nothing!” Naruto shouted as he began punching the ground, as if it were Zabuza's face he was pounding in. Behind us, Hinata stuttered out the blonde's name in concern.

 I grabbed Naruto's wrist before he could swing again “Let it go, Naruto. Being frustrated will not help things. Nothing will ever be just easy, so save it for the next enemy.” That's what I did. That's what the Uchiha clan was taught. Save it for the next enemy and pulverize him with the anger from your past defeat. I turned to the rest of our group, my hand still wrapped around Naruto's thin wrist, “Alright let's move on. We'll rest at Tazuna's house.” If the old man complained then I would kindly remind him that Team 7 shouldn't have even helped him. Rules stated that we would be wise to abandon the mission instead of continuing.

 Pulling Naruto to a stand, I turned to lead the group towards town. Just a few more hours and I could fall onto a nice futon and sleep until this whole damn thing blew over. I took one step, one measly little step, and my body froze. I felt my sharingan deactivate on it's own and had the strange sensation of falling.

 I didn't even feel the pain when I hit the ground.

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

[modreduscycle]

Green Knight Pt. 2

Gawain stared out at the snow blowing outside. For some reason, the thought of going out in it didn’t bother him. It was probably the last snowfall he’d get to see.

It had been a good year, tournaments, quests, hunting, and just the general mayhem of the round table had kept him occupied. He wondered if heaven would have any of those things.

Gareth helped adjust his fur cloak, sniffling. “Don’t go, please don’t go,” he begged.

Gawain smiled sadly and ruffled his hair. “You know I have to. Hey, look at me.” He lifted Gareth’s chin up. “Be good, okay? Or I’ll come back to life just to kick your ass. That goes for all of you.”

Mordred rolled his eyes. “If you are still alive after all this, come back immediately. Don’t let us worry for longer than we need to.”

Agravaine glared bloody murder at his little brother. “If he survives getting his head chopped off?” he demanded incredulously.

“Did Aunt Morgana ever figure out something?” Gawain asked. Mordred had written to her earlier in the year, asking for help. He’d put it off until the last week of summer due to his usual reluctance of involving Morgana’s “assistance” with their problems, considering how overboard her solutions tended to be. Mordred hadn’t said anything about her response earlier, which didn’t bode well, but he could still hope.

Mordred let out a heavy sigh. “Yes and no. It’s… Goddamn it, it’s so stupid.” He rubbed his temples and sighed again. “Look, I told her I wouldn’t tell you what she’s doing so just… just act like you usually do.”

“When were you going to bring this up?” Gaheris demanded.

“I’ll tell the three of you everything two seconds after he leaves. I just can’t tell him,” Mordred explained, not answering his brother’s question.

“So… then Agravaine and Laurel don’t have to start trying to make an heir?” Gareth asked. Agravaine smacked him over the head with a closed fist. “OW! What? If Gawain dies, you’re next in line!”

“Laurel and I are not having sex, period,” Agravaine snapped. The other four fell silent and stared at him for a full minute. “What?”

“What about on your wedding night?” Gawain asked.

“You do remember our marriage was purely for convenience, right?” Agravaine asked.

“So you have never consummated your marriage?” Gaheris demanded.

“My wife likes men in exactly the same way Aunt Morgana does. Trust me, it would not be fun for either of us,” Agravaine deadpanned. He shrugged. “Besides, it’s not like anyone can prove we didn’t.”

“Then you’re a virgin?” Gareth piped up.

Agravaine’s face turned red. “Why are we talking about this? Gawain’s about to die!”

“But Mordred implied he might not,” Gareth piped up, grinning. “So let’s talk more about your love life.”

“Shut up, you brat! How many girls were you getting serving in the kitchens?” Agravaine snapped.

“Try saying that to Uncle Kay’s face, see how that goes,” Gareth retorted.

“Uncle Kay doesn’t care, he’s less into romance than freaking Dinadan, and that’s saying something.”

Mordred shook his head and pulled Gawain into a hug. “I am so sorry for not telling you what’s about to happen. And I am so, so sorry our entire family is so goddamned stupid.”

Gawain snorted and pulled the rest of his siblings into the hug as well. “Be good you four and if I don’t come back… well, you can tell me about everything you get up to when we meet in heaven. A long, long, long time in the future.”

“Considering our family history of violent death, that’s not likely,” Gaheris pointed out dryly.

“If I die and I see you again within ten years, start running,” Gawain warned. He shook his head. “This was supposed to be touching, goddamn it. You’ve all ruined it.”

“Well, let’s fix that.” Gaheris hugged his brother one more time before stepping away like the others. “You are the best older brother I’ve ever had, and I will never forget you.”

“Hey!”

“I meant what I said, Agravaine.”

Gareth rubbed the back of his neck, looking away as he tried to keep from crying. “I wish we could’ve been knights together for longer. I’ll make you proud, Gawain, I swear it.”

Gawain barely held back a sob as he pulled Gareth in for another hug. “You already have.”

Agravaine looked at the ground. “I…” He clenched his fists. “You’re the best big brother any of us could ever have and I hate that you’re throwing your life away on some stupid game but you’re my older brother and you’ve always looked out for me and I love you.”

They all stared at him. “Holy shit,” Gareth muttered.

“No one say a damn word about this,” Agravaine warned. “Mordred, say your goodbyes, then get the hell out of here, Gawain.”

“Yeah, I’m good. You have fun, try not to freeze to death on the way. I’m going to help Merlin with his research,” Mordred said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder and backing away.

“I… alright,” Gawain replied lamely. He assumed Mordred’s reaction was because of whatever Aunt Morgana told him, but he could not think of anything that she could say that would make Mordred this lax about it. “Well, bye.” With that, he stepped out into the snow and mounted the waiting Gringolet. He’d have to ask the Green Knight to take care of him after he was dead. He was such a sweet horse, regardless of what Agravaine, Gaheris, Gareth, Mordred, Arthur, Kay, Lancelot, Bedivere, Percival, Tristram, Galehaut, Dinadan, Bors, Lamorak, and Palamedes said. Even with how capable Gringolet was, Gawain wasn’t sure if he’d make it in the wild. With a heavy heart, he set out.

….

Mordred had a point about him being stupidly lovestruck, Gawain had to admit. Maybe if he hadn’t been so smitten, he would’ve remembered to ask for bloody directions! He had learned from locals on his way the general direction, thank God, but that didn’t help now when he was lost in the middle of the woods, snow was flying around him, his hands were freezing even in his fur gloves, and Gringolet was tired and shivering. At this rate, he’d end up missing the Christmas deadline not through his own fault, but because of his shit sense of direction.

He winced as a gust of wind blew flakes into his face, showering his hair and freezing his face. Snow blew around him, the wind lifting up the drifts on the ground to mingle with the snowflakes in the air. His breath came out in visible puffs and it hurt when he inhaled. He was going to die of hypothermia before he’d ever reach the Green Chapel at this rate.

Gringolet lifted his head and snorted, then broke into a canter. “Whoa, hey!” Gringolet refused to listen to him for a good minute before Gawain finally got him under control. “What is up with… you…” A flicker of light in the distance caught his eye through the blackness of the night. “You genius horse, I will give you all the carrots in the world once we’re—” Gawain stopped. He almost said, “Once we’re back in Camelot.” He swallowed heavily, then started Gringolet in the same direction, toward the light.

It took them nearly half an hour to get there and it was with a frozen fist that Gawain banged on the front door of the castle. A servant opened it and Gawain nearly got down on his knees begging him to ask his lord or lady. The servant looked surprised and immediately dragged him inside, ordering another servant to go attend to his horse and gear. He was stripped of his armor, bundled into furs, and shoved in a comfy chair before the fire. He really, really hoped the lord or lady of the castle was okay with him staying there because otherwise he’d be having a very awkward conversation.

The servants were behaving oddly as well, rushing to attend to his needs. He noticed one had been frantically sent off earlier to get their master and it almost seemed like they had been expecting him but he had come too early. The logical part of his brain told him that was ridiculous, but the thought was still there.

The fire crackled before him, warming him up slowly. He could start to feel his fingers and toes again. The tenseness left his shoulders as he sank into the chair, the soft comfort of the furs and the warmth of the flames lulling him into a torpor. He just wanted to go to sleep right here. Or have the Green Knight chop his head off right here, at this point he didn’t care which.

“Wouldn’t you rather rest in a bed after you’ve had something to eat?” a voice whispered just behind him. Gawain nodded sleepily before he realized he was talking to someone. He sat up and looked behind him, and felt his heart skip a beat. Two people stood behind him. One was a lovely young woman, with vibrant red hair that had small flowers littered throughout her wavy, curly locks. The second was a giant man, easily as large as the Green Knight, with darker red hair and a beard. The woman, who had spoken, offered him her hand. “Come on, how about we sit down and have a meal together?”

#so yeah Mordred knows the whole situation and what's going on #Morgana just made him promise not to tell #also Agravaine's way more upset than he's letting on he's just not great at showing it #arthuriana #king arthur #Arthurian #Arthurian legend #gawain #gawain and the green knight #green knight

[in-tua-deep]

yooo pls give me headcanons on five being an even younger child. unless you're saving them for fics ofc!!

Actual little kid Five or from the one fic idea I have where Five ends up being even younger than 13?? Regardless, I have a lot of thoughts so I’ll do both!

under the cut bc I can already tell this is gon get long

Actual baby Five - 

I already mentioned my headcanon that as a little kid when his powers were just manifesting, his powers sort of? Acted up just a little? Like he’d get little blue sparks playing across his hands constantly but without actually jumping. And, since touching the fabric of the universe is a bit tingly, Five would just chew on his hands to make the itchy feeling go away. 

Someone suggested mittens like the ones you give kids with chicken pox and I just about died so that’s 100% being added to my headcanons as well. And Five HATES those mittens with a passion and would have yelly screaming fits about them and just bash his mittened hands against the floor in outrage. Absolutely terrible.

Five could absolutely not control his powers at first. So he would just. Jump somewhere accidentally. Sometimes it was a kind of wishful thinking type thing like “hmm if i get up on the counter i can reach the cookie jar” and BAM suddenly Five is up on the counter. Other times it was more just “guess i’m gonna fall through the fabric of the universe and end up wherever lmao” and basically what I’m getting at is he gave everyone multiple heart attacks literally all the time

Sneezes. When Five sneezes he jumps by accident. Just ACHOO and a flash of blue light and he’s gone. Bye bye bitch. It’s involuntary and a nightmare when he gets sick.

Five was that little kid who LOVED to draw. Like he would just sit for hours with a crayon clenched in his chubby little baby fist drawing scribble monsters. Of course after a Certain Incident that included drawing on the walls Reginald Hargreeves banned drawing because it’s ‘childish’ or whatever. There’s a part of me that wants to say that after everything he picks up drawing again as something to occupy his hands that isn’t obsessively working and reworking equations

I’m going to go ahead and assign my own childhood bullshit to Five because why not so I headcanon that Five as a small child would DEMAND to be read to. At all hours. I’m talking literally attempting to pry the nannies eyes open and demanding that they ‘wead to [him]’ in the middle of the night. Most of the time he didn’t even actually care about being read to he just liked hearing someone talk so he was just as content just sitting with them while they chatted to someone else tbh (how did my parents not assassinate me as a kid smh)

and now i’m even sadder about him being alone in the apocalypse thanks

Would hide when he was upset. Also very good at hide and seek. Look this is a big ass house and Five can literally teleport out of a room and out from under watchful eyes I’m saying that he must have been the most stressful child in existence to watch over holy shit but yeah when upset crawls into some small space and hunkers down until he’s less upset. Start checking the cabinets you fools. Can and WILL fit into spots you think are too small for him to fit in. If there’s a larger space behind even he shouldn’t be able to squeeze in, he can jump in so don’t discount those as hiding places as well.

Cheated at tag. Cheated at tag so much. They literally have a special version of tag called ‘five tag’ designed specifically to handicap him because even when they ban using powers he still ends up being way too fucking good at tag like holy shit

okay this isn’t even much of a Five one but as little kids before Reggie decided to go on his “Vanya sucks” crusade they would team up against one another and Klaus was caught in the middle bc he was number four. Luther, Allison, and Diego would squad up (back before Luther and Diego were at each others throats I actually headcanon they were close before powers became a thing) and declare war on Five, Ben, and Vanya and then it became a game of trying to tempt Klaus onto a certain team. Klaus usually went with Five-Ben-Vanya but there were occasions that he was 100% a turncoat. Trust me I had an odd number of siblings this would have been a thing.

honestly though these nannies were dealing with seven kids under the age of four like god damn i have so much respect for them. That nursery must have been a fucking battle zone. There are no sides there is only survival. and these kids have SUPERPOWERS. Hell is empty and all the devils are looking at them with innocent eyes like the entire room isn’t completely trashed behind them. Where’s Five, kids? Where the fuck is your teleporting brother? Six put those tentacles away so help me god you will go straight into time out, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred. NUMBER ONE if you don’t put down that cabinet RIGHT NOW - 

Now i’m thinking about the first time Reginald dealt with one of the kids having a screaming meltdown in front of him. I feel like it would have gone very badly for the kid in question :(

and now for not quite a baby!Five

Extremely salty. Furious that he’s so small. Will stab you in the knees to make you get down to his level if you dare condescend to him. Probably stands on counters or tables when talking to his siblings, but has on at least one occasion hit his limit on jumps and been unable to get down without asking for help. Decides that he lives on the kitchen counter now because fuck that noise

Would rather die than be carried anywhere but if he’s the one to climb on someone then it’s okay. Prefers sitting on shoulders because a) taller, and b) they don’t have to hold him up and he can pretend that it’s entirely his decision

A sleepy bitch. Overuses his powers frequently getting to places he can’t easily reach anymore. Sleepy and grumpy. Doesn’t give two shits where he falls asleep and will sleep sprawled out across the floor, had been stepped on or had someone trip over him before and yet still refuses to stop. Honestly it’s a bit of a roulette whether he’ll wake up if they try to put him somewhere else, with just as much danger implied. Klaus produces traffic cones from god knows where and gleefully surrounds Five when he finds in which… is as good a solution as any tbh

His powers are still like,, almost on the fritz? Like when he was a little kid he couldn’t control them. He can now, but also they glitch out occasionally and his hands are all itchy again because they keep pushing at the boundary of the universe without him even thinking about it and it’s the most irritating thing in the world

His pain tolerance is back to being shit which he doesn’t appreciate. However everyone else freaks out way more than him when he accidentally slices his hand open trying to steal one of Diego’s knives, which was pretty funny

Claire comes over and immediately teams up with Five. No one saw it coming and everyone regrets it except for the tiny duo.

She asks him why he’s a kid if he’s her Uncle Five and he gives her the whole story about him growing old in the apocalypse and coming back etc. etc. and that he’s actually a grown up and he doesn’t think she’s going to understand but Claire just says “Oh, like Narnia?” and Five is like “EXACTLY LIKE NARNIA” and she is automatically his favorite

Claire literally tells Five point blank that he’s wasting his potential. How does Five not know all the tricks to being a brat and getting what you want? Puppy dog eyes first and progress into tantrums my friend. Look, Claire is Allison’s daughter and Allison was manipulative as fuck as a child and Claire has inherited at least some of that

Five’s eyes are fucking OPENED and everyone wishes they would be closed again. Five’s puppy eyes are surprisingly and devastatingly effective, especially when he tears up and lets his little lip wobble. Claire is so fucking proud of her protege

Claire rules the house with her tiny iron fist and Five readily follows her lead. Look, he never wanted to be the leader okay he was content to leave that to Luther and he’s equally happy now to leave it to Claire

The first time Patrick came to pick Claire up Five kicked him in the shins and ran off and Patrick was just very very confused about why Allison’s nephew (cover story, Klaus probably gets to pretend to be his dad again or something) has decided to hate him

Five still hides when he’s upset and now he’s tiny literally no one can find him. The first time it happens everyone freaks out and searches the entire house and after a few hours Grace just pops off and retrieves a now sleeping Five from like, the top shelf in the linen closet or something idk

On at least one occasion has had to be stopped from eating some kind of insect or spider off the floor. It’s like owning a cat or something. For the most part they hate it but one of them (Klaus) has 100% pointed out one to Five like “GET IT” but honestly this could be a headcanon for any age Five

#ask #anonymous #tua #the umbrella academy #five hargreeves #number five #klaus hargreeves #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #grace hargreeves #the nannies #claire hargreeves #my rambles

[sportyheroesimagines]

Soulmate IV {Dabi}

 (Part I) (Part II) (Part III) (Part V)

 You open your eyes slowly, adjusting to the streams of sunlight pouring through your blinds. The light catches on pieces of falling dust that dance and swirl through the air. Yesterday felt like a nightmare; you never imagined your hell would be tinted in blue flames. You roll over in your bed, pulling up your warm comforter around your chin as you sink into the softness of your mattress. You close your eyes again, and a strong arm wraps around your waist. The smell of campfire fills your nose; it’s smoky and comforting. You smile when you feel gentle kisses pressed along your hairline.

“Sleeping in this morning?” a tenor voice asks.

“Mm-hmm.”

“If you sleep in, you’ll be late.”

“Ugh, don’t care.”

“Come on. Time to wake up.”

You whine, hiding your face, “No.”

“Wakey-wakey.”

“Five more minutes.”

“Wake up,” he says, pinching your cheek playfully, “Come on. Rise and shine, doll face.”

Your eyes shoot open; you immediately recoil, bringing up your hand to block the light. You try to sit up too fast and nausea washes over you. The room spins like a top as your eyes begin to roll. You teeter, careening over to the side, but you are caught by Takeyama, who sits in tin folding chair beside of your hospital cot.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, take it easy, (Name)-chan,” she says.

“Yuu-san?” you groan, holding your pounding head.

She’s dressed in casual clothes today. A nice purple blouse and slim tan khakis with flats. Takeyama smiles, flipping her ponytail, “The one and only.”

“Ugh, Yuu-san, what happened?” you ask as you catch a glimpse of the dark night sky, “Wait, what time is it?”

“It’s almost eight-thirty. You overexerted yourself during the joint training and passed out so thee doctors did a few tests. You’re fine. You just need rest.”

She lays you back down on the bed. Overexerted. Right. Your breathing slows. Again, those blue flames flicker in your mind and even smell of smoke fills your nose. He smelled like smoke too. As he held you close to his body, taking your breath with his fiery kiss, his scent, like a bonfire, filled your nose, coated your skin, and clung to your hair. Inescapable. Like the dreams and the memory of his mouth against yours. You touch your lips with your fingers.

“What was the casualty count?” you ask.

“Low. Some were affected by smoke inhalation and minor burns. They’re in the hospital, but no one died.”

“That’s good ... that’s good.”

Takeyama looks at you, but you’re staring at your fists, gripping the sheets until your knuckles show white. Her eyebrows knit together with slight worry. She gives your arm a gentle touch.

“Hey, Kamui Woods told me you kicked ass. Well, he didn’t say it like that, but I heard you fought well.”

You purse your lips, “The one who did it got away though.”

“Sometimes the guy does get away, but you saved a lot of people,” she smiles, “(Name)-chan, you know the joint training accident wasn’t your fault, right?”

You nod your head, although the voice inside knows differently. You bite your trembling lower lip, tasting iron on your tongue. The familiar sting of tears pierces your eyes; you swallow them back. It was your fault. He was there searching for you. He put those people in danger to get to you. The blue flames that hungrily swallowed a district whispered your name as they crackled. Because you are his and he is yours, souls intertwined.

“Hey, look at me. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, really.”

“You sure? Because it doesn’t look like that,” Takeyama says with a nudge, “You know you can talk to your senpai about anything.”

Anything, huh? Can you tell her about Dabi? Or about the fact that you dream about him every night? What will she say? How will she look at you when she knows that you wanted him, a villain, to kiss you more than anything? The tattoo on your wrists burns; you double over, covering the black writing. Takayama cocks her head to the side and raises an eyebrow. 

“What’s up with your tattoo?”

Your eyes widen, and you shake your head, though your hand is still locked on your wrist.

“Soulmate tattoos just don’t hurt like that you know. Unless ... Oh, my god. Oh, my god, that means,” she says as her jaw slackens, “Oh, my freaking god, you met your soulmate, didn’t you?”

“Yuu-san, hold on. It’s not—”

You’re cut off when Takeyama gasps loudly, cheeks flushing with excitement, lavender eyes glittering with anticipation. She waves her hands in front of her face as she bounces in her seat like an eager child. Scooting the chair closer to the bed, Takeyama rests her elbows on the bed and beams at you. Your stomach cramps; you swallow thickly though it feels like your throat is incredibly tight.

“You met your soulmate! (Name)-chan, I need the details like yesterday. What’re they like? Are they hot? Oh, how did you meet? When did you meet?” Takeyama asks, blurting out questions, “Wait, wait, more importantly, why haven’t I met them yet? Are you worried your senpai will embarrass you?”

“N-No ... I ...”

“Ah, you’re so lucky, (Name)-chan. So young, but you already met your soulmate.”

“Yuu-san ...”

“I mean, just look at me,” she says, pulling down the collar of her v-neck which shows the elegant soulmate tattoo lining the curve of her breast, “I’m so damn hot, but I’m not getting any younger, and I haven’t met mine yet.”

“But Yuu-san,” you say in a low grave voice, looking at your fists, “It’s not like that.”

Takeyama flinches when she sees sparking tears fall from your eyes, landing against the back of your hands. You shake your head and try to swallow back your tears. You offer her an “I’m okay” smile, but she doesn’t buy it, not with that glossiness shimmering in your eyes. Takeyama grabs your hand, pulling your face into her breasts. She wraps hers arms around you and hugs you tightly. She’s wearing perfume. The scent is fresh in your nose. It’s lavender and lilies. Nothing like smoke and soot. It smells so good. Your hand comes up to grip the back of her shirt and you hug her back.

 Toga drapes her body over the back of the leather sofa. She watches Dabi sit at the bar and stir his drink with his straw. Kurokirgi is on the other side, talking to the young fire starter; though, Dabi couldn’t possibly seem more disinterested. She smirks. He’s been so different lately. There’s been this far-away look clouding his eyes, and he has this unmistakable scent to him now. It’s something so intoxicating, a thick smell that completely floods her senses. Toga giggles to herself, hiding her mouth behind her long sleeves. Dabi shoots her a look over his shoulder. 

“What the hell is wrong with you, psycho brat?” he asks.

“Nothing, at all!” she smiles, sliding down from her perch, “What’s been going on with you, Dabi?”

He sips his drink, “Nothing.”

“Oh, that’s not true now, is it?”

Toga laughs again. She trots over to Dabi and throws her arms around his neck. He scoffs, pushing her off with ease. The blonde tumbles to the ground but her laughter persists. She holds her sides, running her hands over her body.

“There’s someone you li-ike,” she sings as she drags her hands down her face, “I can smell it on you.”

“Mind your own damn business.”

“But how can I not notice it? It’s such a delicious scent. You’re in love and they’re the only thing you want. You just want to be near them forever and ever and you’d do anything, just anything to be with them. You’d even kill anyone in your way, right, Dabicchi?”

“Shut it and don’t call me ‘Dabicchi.’”

“But, Dabicchi, you and I, we’re the same now,” Toga says, blushing, “There’s someone I like too, you know.”

“And why should I care?”

“Because we’re friends now!”

Toga jumps to her feet. She springs upwards and wraps her arms around Dabi’s torso. Again, he swings his arm, but Toga bends back, avoiding his attack. She sits in the free barstool beside him. Dabi sucks his teeth, but he doesn’t do anything to shoo her away. Toga rest her elbows on the bar.

“We’re both in love so we understand each other, and that makes us friends,” she says, “I know you met someone! A soulmate, perhaps? Oh, tell me! Tell me please!”

“You really want to know, don’t you?”

Toga nods her head eagerly with a surprisingly sweet look in her eyes. He scratches the back of his head before gulping down the rest of his drink. With blood on her face and a knife in her hand, it’s easy to forget she’s just a high schooler. Crushes and boys are probably all she’d be talking about with people her age if she wasn’t a living, breathing psychopath. Dabi sighs; he could humor her this once.

“Yeah, I met somebody.”

Toga claps her hands, squealing and kicking her feet, “I’m so happy for you! It’s great, right? Isn’t it great to be in love?”

He smiles as the memory of your lips mixes with the buzz of alcohol, and the tattoo on his chest tingles pleasantly, “Yeah, I guess it is.”

The blonde blushes, holding her cheeks and shaking her head. Dabi raises an eyebrow at the girl’s crazed laughter. Her high-pitched, maniacal giggling shakes her body as images of her love, bloodied and bruised, flash through her mind. A warm feeling washes over her. She sighs; this sensation … being in love … this unbridled ecstasy … there’s nothing else like it! Toga jumps from her stool and wraps her arms around Dabi’s torso. She nuzzles her nose into his black, soot-covered jacket, inhaling his scent.

“Listen, psycho. Let go of me or the arms get burned off.”

Toga releases him with a grin, “You know what? I’m going to do something for you, friend!”

“Oh, yeah? And what might that be?”

“It’s a surprise!” she says as she leaves the lair, “Bye-bye, Dabicchi!”

Toga shuts the door behind her and skips off into the night, humming and twirling her butterfly knife. She grins at the half moon in the sky that smiles back. There’s such a pleasant smell out tonight. Toga touches her flush cheeks; there must be love in the air.

 You take a deep breath of the warm night breeze. It feels good as it fills your lungs. Reaching upwards, you stretch your body. Today seems like one of the longest days of your life. Even though you’ve been unconscious for a few hours, your muscles still ache with every step and your eyes feel so dry. The only thing you need is bed and blankets and quiet. 

“Hey, I'm talking to you, you know,” Takeyama says, snapping her fingers in front of your face.

You blink and rub the back of your head, “Sorry, what were you saying?”

“Man, you’re really spacing out,” Takeyama says, looking at you, “Are you sure you’re okay to go home alone?”

You play a fake smile, “I’m fine. I’m just a little tired still. Come on, Yuu-san, I can walk home by myself.”

She gives you a skeptical look, narrowing her eyes at you and pointing her finger, “Don’t lie to me, (Name)-chan.”

“I’m not, Yuu-san. I promise. Aren’t you going to be late for you date with Takeru-san? I hear your phone buzzing.”

“Oh, I’ve been late for, like, over thirty minutes now. He’ll wait. Are you sure you’re okay though?”

“Yep.”

“For real?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, fine,” she concedes, “but you better text me as soon as you get to your place, you got me?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Ew, don’t call me ‘ma’am.’ Makes me feel old.”

“Sorry,” you chuckle.

Takeyama laughs as well, wrapping an arm around you before heading home on the opposite direction. You slide your hands into your pocket and begin to walk to your place. You find a decent sized rock on the ground. Absentmindedly, you begin to kick it along. You just want a bed and sleep and your dreams where you don’t feel so guilty for wanting to be with him. The rock skips along the ground, rolling and bouncing until it hits a pair of brown loafers.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that, I—” you pause, instinctively taking a defensive stance.

Something about this girl puts all of your senses on high alert. She wears a school girls’ uniform with sleeves that seem too long for her arms. Her golden locks are thrown into two messy buns. The girl doesn't appear to be a threat; she looks petite enough with her thin, pale knees and her slender face. But her eyes shine like a manic cat’s orbs, glowing and looking at you with an expression you’re afraid to place. You take another step back.

“Oh … it’s you.”

 The bottoms of her loafers scrape the ground, the scuffing growing louder as she continues to approach you.

“You have the same scent as he does,” the girl says, summoning a butterfly knife from her sleeve.

Her knife glints in the light of the street lamp and you take steps backwards. The blond runs her tongue over the flat side of the blade. A broad grin spreads across her face, flashing her pronounced canines.

“It has to be you,” she says.

“What are you talking about?” you ask, “I don’t know you.”

The girl doesn’t answer she charges at you. She flips the knife in her hand and stabs the blade into your forearm. You open your mouth to scream, but she covers your mouth with her hand, bringing your foreheads together in a cracking blow. You stumble backwards, disoriented and holding your arm. The girl twirls the knife between her fingers skillfully.

“You have the same scent as him. You smell just like Dabicchi!” she lunges at you again, “There's no doubt about it. You’re in love!”

#Dabi #dabi x reader #reader insert #soulmate au #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia

[ladyseaheart1668]

Endless Summer Fan Novel (Book 2, Chapter 9)

A stunned silence settles over us. Zahra and I step closer to Aleister, flanking him protectively as we watch Iris.

“I know you were very young, Aleister,” she says, “but do you not even recognize my voice?”

Aleister's mouth opens and closes, his whole body quivering. “I—your voice is—“

Iris's holographic eyes close. Her lips move, and a sweet melody, sung in a pure, golden mezzo, floats out between her lips. “...I told my love a story with no end...I gave my love a baby with no crying, and then...”

“...Mother?” Aleister's voice is almost a whimper. “It's...it's you...”

“Hold up!” Zahra cries. “What in the name of fork-exec is going on here?!”

“You see,” Iris says, “I was human once. My name was Imogen. Everett was my husband and Aleister was my son.”

“Why didn't you tell us any of this before?” I ask.

“I didn't have access to memories of my former life until very recently. Had I known before, I'd have--” The hologram stutters erratically. Iris seems to be struggling to maintain her composure.

“...Iris? You okay?”

“I don't have much time. I need to tell you how to access the Lernaean Gate. Do you recall the device you used on the rooftop of The Celestial?”

“The portal gun?”

“That gun was an experimental prototype of a far more powerful machine. The Lernaean Gate is an advanced prismatic hyperpermeator housed at a facility to the north.”

“Advanced prisma...what?”

“Prismatic hyperpermeator,” Zahra informs me. “Pay attention.”

“It can safely transport all of you home. Or to another location, should you wish. You'll need to bring the large prism that was activated at the Hostiles' Stronghold last night.”

“The Island's Heart? How did you know we...”

“I detected energy levels consistent with the presence of a major crystalline lattice in your vicinity.”

“Sounds about right,” I remark.

“The Lernaean Gate requires a power source of incredible magnitude. The 'Island's Heart', as you call it, should be sufficient. Bring the prism to the MASADA facility approximately one quarter mile off the time of the northern peninsula. I can promise you that there, once and for all, you'll finally be able to leave La Huerta behind.”

“...But...aren't you on Rourke's side now?” I ask, still a little wary.

“Yeah,” Zahra agrees. “Last I checked you were into blinding people at spectacularly sucky moments.”

“Irrelevant!” Aleister snaps. “She's clearly not lying or attempting to manipulate us!”

“Dude, you can't seriously be buying this!” Zahra cries.

“Everett activated a part of my programming that prevents me from acting against him. However, I choose to see your departure from La Huerta as beneficial to all involved parties.”

“...So...you couldn't come with us?”

“I cannot.”

“And that's...that's it?” Aleister asks, his voice strained. “You're all that's left of my mother, and I'm never seeing you again?”

“I can't tell you how sorry I am that I couldn't be part of your life, my...Aleister. Though I don't have the opportunity to be a mother to you, I can certainly say that I'm proud of the steadfast and forthright young man you've become.”

“More like bred fast and uptight,” Zahra whispers to me.

“Zahra!” I hiss reproachfully.

“What? Too soon?”

“It seems I must terminate this connection shortly,” Iris says. Her voice is starting to shift, back towards the voice I've grown familiar with. “Please hurry to the facility. It won't be safe to travel that way much long--” She struggles to continue speaking. “Good-bye...Aleister...I...love you...very much...”

“No! Mother, wait!”

The hologram flickers out. The terminal goes dark.

“Aleister...” I whisper. “I'm so sorry...”

“I was only two when she died...I never thought I would remember her face...” He lowers himself to the floor, resting his face in his hands. “My megalomaniac of a father brought her back as an automaton! A mere servant! The next time I see him, he'll have hell to pay!”

The sound of a distant growling makes us pause. I feel a twinge of fear and look around wildly.

“Uh, guys? Anyone seen Murphy?”

“The sound's coming from inside that hole,” Zahra says. Inside the partially collapsed wall, there's a narrow, cave-like space, quite like the one we first found Murphy in. And sure enough, at the far end, Murphy is crouched and ready to pounce on a small crystalline fragment. He growls at it, and green fire flickers into being along the surface of the crystal. Murphy yips a warning at the object.

“That shard looks like there's a evil spirit trapped inside,” Zahra mutters. It reminds me of the light that surrounded Quinn, but I don't say that. I approach carefully, gently nudging Murphy aside.

“Stand back, fella,” I murmur. I stretch out a hand and cautiously poke the crystal with my index finger. The flames instantly recede. I pick up the crystal shard, and slip it into my pocket.

“...How exactly did you know to do that?” Aleister asks warily.

“Uh...wild guess?” I clear my throat. “...We should get back to the others.”

The three of us emerge from the bunker with Murphy trotting behind. I immediately spot movement in a thicket of trees nearby.

“There's something over there,” Aleister says lowly.

“Get ready,” I murmur.

We conceal  ourselves, preparing to fight or run from whatever rampaging beast may be approaching, when we hear a familiar voice.

“Ha!” Varyyn says. “Another miss!”

The elyyshar comes running out of the undergrowth with Diego close behind. They don't seem to notice us hunkered down just a short distance away.

“You think your so fast!” Diego laughs. “Eat this!” He hurls a seed pod at Varyyn, who deftly dodges. He stops, pretending to look for cover, intentionally keeping himself open. Diego picks up another pod and pegs him in the chest.

“Oh!” Varyyn gasps with mock indignation. “How dare you! I am the elyyshar!” He dramatically falls to the forest floor.

“It is official!” Diego cries triumphantly. “I, Diego Ricardo Ortiz Soto, have caught them all!” Winded, he sits down beside Varyyn.

I notice Zahra getting ready to clear her throat, but I put my finger to my lips, grinning conspiratorially. She shrugs and heads back to the beach. Aleister picks up Murphy and follows. I watch Varyyn and Diego together, lying on the floor amid shimmering bioluminescent flowers.

“You know,” Diego says, “I really owe you a whole handful of those seeds right in the face. How many times did I get in trouble for telling everyone you were studying when really you'd snuck out to surf Colonnade Cave?”

“Many times. You are a very good tutor.”

Diego snorts. “And now you're the elyyshar and I'm one of the Twelve. Who would've thought?”

“I never expected to take my mother's place so soon. It happened so fast, I...” Varyyn suddenly seems on the verge of tears. It strikes me watching him how young he is, especially in Vaanti years. “...I never got to say goodbye...”

Diego places a hand on his shoulder. “Ximeadra was very brave to do what she did. She did it for all of us, but mostly because she loved you and knew you'd make a great elyyshar.”

“...Yes...”

“And as it turns out, you're basically Aragorn! The king no one expected, but everyone hoped for.”

“...You really think I'm Airborne?”

I see Diego wince a little. “Ara...” He trails off, smiling. “Never mind. Yes. I do.”

Varyyn sits up and pulls Diego into a tight embrace. I can see Diego's face over the Vaanti's shoulder, startled and blushing. He awkwardly pats the elyyshar's back.

“...Thank you, Diego.”

“Of course!”

They separate slightly, their eyes meeting. After a moment, they pull apart, looking away awkwardly. Diego clears his throat.

“Uh...so...how many tribal festivals have you guys had, anyway?”

“Aside from today, I've only attended one other Valinorim. I was no older than Taari then. My mother was occupied with hosting and I wasn't getting much attention...so I took Uqzhaal's symbol of office, a very special clay whistle, to the top of a coconut tree, and dropped it on the quuk'tanoi champion's head. It broke into countless pieces.”

Diego burst into peals of laughter. “You were such a brat!”

“I was. Poor Uqzhaal.”

The two of them lean back on their hands in silence, looking off into the rainforest. Diego moves his arm closer to Varyyn's. Varyyn tentatively reaches out to take his hand.

“...Diego...I am grateful to have met you.”

“Pleasure's all mine,” Diego replies.

“...You have pleasure?”

“I mean, pleasure not like...that's not...er--” He rubs a hand over his face. “I'm gonna try to pretend the last three seconds didn't happen.”

“Do or do not,” Varyyn says. “There is no try.”

I actually have to clap a hand over my mouth to smother my laughter. Diego blinks, astonished.

“That...was actually a pretty solid reference.” He entwines his fingers with Varyyn's. Varyyn turns to squint into the trees, looking in my direction. From the way his presence comes to the front of my mind, I can tell he's picked up on mine. He smiles slowly, no doubt realizing my game.

“Alodia is a very good friend to you,” he remarks.

“Best I've ever had,” Diego agrees. “Why do you—Oh. Hey, Allie.”

“Hey, guys,” I say with a grin. “I hope I'm not interrupting, but I've got some news, and we need to gather everyone together.”

* * *

“...So apparently, this Lernaean Gate can get us home, but we'll need the Island's Heart to power it.”

I look around at my friends, gathered on the beach with several of the Vaanti. They look back at me, their expressions a mixed bag of confusion, uncertainty, and hope.

“Home? Already?” Raj murmurs, “B-but I was kinda enjoying myself...”

“Yeah! We worked hard for this vacation!” Craig agrees. “I think we should see it through!”

“Uh, pretty sure it was given to us for free,” Diego says.

“...Well, to be fair, there was a lot of fighting and almost dying before this party,” I point out.

“Okay, fair, but still.”

“The real question,” Jake says, “is whether we can actually trust Robomaid now that Rourke's reprogrammed her?”

“My money's on no,” Zahra says flatly.

“See? There ya go. Besides, what's so bad about this place anyway? I kinda like it here!”

“I'm with Alodia,” Michelle says. “Honestly, Craig, how many times have you almost died in the last week?”

“Uh, think I lost count.”

“I trust her,” Aleister says firmly.

“You do?” Jake asks.

“My father may have made her what she is now, but even he couldn't take away her humanity. She wasn't lying to us. She clearly wanted to help.”

Everyone pauses a moment, considering his words.

“You can't know for a fact that she was telling the truth,” Zahra says softly. “An AI with unlimited database access is not someone you wanna trust.”

“That's a good point,” Grace agrees, but if there's even a slim chance we can get home, I think we should try.”

“Grace is right. Who knows when we'll have another opportunity like this?”

“So...you are leaving, then?” Varyyn asks softly.

“...I...guess so...” Diego answers uncertainly.

“...I will be sorry to see you go,” the elyyshar says. “But I suppose I must accept that your destiny is larger than Vaanu.”

“Are you okay with us taking the Heart?”

“Of course. I will accompany you to ensure that it returns to Elyys'tel.” He exhales slowly. “The northern reaches are dangerous. It is different there.”

“So this is the un-dangerous part of the island?” Zahra scoffs. “Great.”

“I will arrange for several of our best warriors to come along as well.”

“All right. So we're doing this.”

“Lila, you haven't said anything yet,” Estela remarks. Lila doesn't respond. She sits a short distance away in the sand, looking mournful.

“You all right, Lila?” I ask.

“Huh? Oh...” She forces a bright smile. “I'm fine! Everything's great! We're going home! Yay!”

“...Were you hoping to stay?”

She sighs. “I just really thought we'd find out where the guests at The Celestial went by now. If something happened to them, it's my job to find out about it and report it to Rourke International.”

“They can't expect you to comb every inch of the island.”

“If you can't help someone, sometimes you must trust in their ability to find their own way,” Estela adds.

“I guess that's true,” Lila sighs. She stands and seems to shrug off her melancholy. “Thanks, you two. I feel a lot better now.”

“You're welcome,” Estela says with a smile.

“I think the island's finally getting to me,” Jake deadpans. “I could swear I saw Wednesday Addams over there give someone a pep talk.”

Estela just shrugs. Uqzhaal approaches with a group of Vaanti scouts.

“Like the ever-roaming constellations themselves, the Catalysts journey toward a new horizon!” the shaman says. He removes the Island's Heart from a satchel and hands it to me. “Good fortune on the path ahead, friends. You will always be remembered by our people.”

“I wanna go, too!” Taari exclaims.

Seraxa puts a hand on the boy's shoulder. “The Catalysts' path is leading them away from our people, Taari.”

“But I'm a Cat-a-liss, too!” he protests.

“You are a little boy who's about one word away from not eating supper!” Seraxa says firmly. Taari goes silent, pouting. Satisfied, Seraxa continues. “We owe much to you, Catalysts. May your stars guide you.”

“Cat-a-lissus forever!” Taari cheers.

“We should make our preparations and then get some rest,” Sean suggests. “We'll head out first thing in the morning.”

Jake salutes him with two fingers. “Aye aye, Cap.”

* * *

The next morning, we bid the Vaanti goodbye and set out on our journey northward. I shed my Vaanti warrior clothes, replacing them with the camo gear Jake gave me. The catalyst idols clink against each other in my backpack. As we crest the foothills of a mountain range, the warm sea breeze gives way to a noticable chill. One of the Vaanti scouts suddenly stops and points into the distance.

“Much snow up ahead!” he says. I look toward the distant slopes and see gleaming snow running all the way down to the shoreline.

“It will be very cold soon,” Varyyn says. “We must prepare.”

“But this is a tropical island!” Quinn protests.

“How far did we walk anyway?” Craig asks.

“It must be a time anomaly,” Grace muses. “Maybe an ice age from thousands of years ago.”

The scouts produced rolled blankets and start passing them out.

“You will need these.”

“Yeah, I'll take one,” Zahra agrees.

“Tosskal,” Diego says. “Thank you.”

“It's something, at least,” Michelle concedes. Eventually, though, the scouts run out. I and a few of the Vaanti are left without extra covering. My breath is turning into clouds of steam in the air. My teeth start to chatter. Jake drapes an arm over my shoulders, drawing me under his blanket with him.

“Th-thanks, Top Gun, but we're gonna have a hard time walking like this...”

Grace, already wearing a jacket of her own, digs into her bag. “Here, Alodia. I've got an extra.” I blink as she pulls out a puffy green coat.

“You brought more than one jacket to a tropical island?”

She grins. “I'm always cold. I always pack extra layers. Try these on.”

I slip the coat on and zip it up. It's lightweight, but well-insulated. After a couple minutes of my body heat circulating within, I am feeling perfectly toasty.

“Thank you, Grace. Well! Let winter come! I'm ready!”

With most of the group bundled up, we proceed on the journey. As we trudge onward, the snow underfoot becomes thicker. Thick enough to crunch with each step. Cold winds drive clusters of falling snow into our faces. Aleister draws his blanket more tightly around himself.

“This is just miserable,” he mutters.

“Freakin' ice age around here,” Craig grumbles. “What's next, some kinda meteor impact?”

“Don't give the anomalies any ideas, Gronk,” Jake warns.

There is one member of our group who actually seems more chipper than ever. Murphy repeatedly runs ahead, then stops and waits for us to catch up. I snort.

“At least he's in his element.” Suddenly, Murphy stops, letting out a howl of alarm. “Huh? What's wrong, fella?”

“Someone's there,” Estela murmurs. We all stop. A lone silhouette stands amid the white haze. I squint.

“Um...hello?” I call. There's no response. “Who's there?”

A small circle glows red near the figure's face, accompanied by a wisp of smoke. I approach carefully. The figure in front of me is hulking large. The red glow vaguely illuminates a dark face and glittering dark eyes. Atop a military jumpsuit, he wears an intricate steel exoskeleton.

“Alodia, get back!” Jake shouts. He rushes to stand between me and the figure, pushing me protectively behind him. He addressed the figure in a snarl. “Lundgren. What the hell are you doing here?”

My stomach flips wildly. I grasp Jake's arm. Lundgren takes another drag on his cigar, fixing Jake with a piercing gaze.

“Jacob. How long has it been?”

“Not long enough, you miserable--”

“Your family's disappointed in you, McKenzie. First you sold American arms to a Kharzistani dictator, then you resisted arrest and took yourself off the grid.”

“What do you want, you asshole?”

“You, McKenzie. I'm here to bring you in.” My grip on Jake's arm tightens.

“Jake, who the hell is this dude?” Craig demands.

“Pretty sure that's the asshole commander he told us about,” Zahra says flatly.

Lundgren ignores them. He keeps his eyes on Jake.

“Had to break the news to your mama myself. 'Sorry, ma'am. Your son betrayed his country and endangered his fellow soldiers'.” He smiles in a way that makes my skin crawl. “And then I held her while she cried hysterically. Least I could do.”

“Don't. You. Dare.” Jake's voice is a low, dangerous growl.

“That all you got, boy? Lyin' around in a hammock's made you soft.”

“We both know what happened, Lundgren. What you did. You killed him.”

“Jacob, while I'd love to catch up on old times, I'm gonna need you to come with me if you don't want your new friends to get hurt.” He pins his gaze on me, standing close to Jake, grasping his arm protectively. “...She's a pretty one, ain't she?”

“Alodia,” Estela sidles up to me and murmurs in my ear, “we should be able take him if he's on his own.”

“Arachnid!” Lundgren shouts. “Into position!”

At his signal, a series of armored Hummers come roaring over a nearby ridge. At least two dozen soldiers emerge from the vehicles and begin to move into formation, readying their rifles. They all wear bizzare futuristic full-body armor. Their faces are covered with masks that flash with tiny lights. Jake turns me toward him, gripping my shoulders and looking into my eyes.

“Listen to me, Princess, it's me he wants. Take the others and get out of here.”

“Jake, I can't just--”

“Are we really doing this right now?!” Michelle cries.

“Go, Alodia! Please!”

“I'm not leaving you!” I reach up and grip his face in my hands. “Don't you dare ask me again!”

His lips quiver as he looks down at me. “...Dammit, Princess. Why you gotta make me feel weak at a time like this?”

“Now!” Craig suddenly shouts. He and Sean and Zahra launch a series of hard-packed snowballs at the still readying soldiers.

“Everybody run!” Sean cries.

“Scouts, protect the Catalysts' retreat!” Varyyn orders.

The Vaanti scouts draw their spears and rush forward to engage the soldiers, trilling battle cries. We make use of the momentary distraction to scramble toward a nearby ravine. Rounding the mountain slope, we nearly run off the edge of a cliff.

“Diego!” Varyyn cries out as Diego's foot slips on the edge of the precipice and he struggles to throw his weight backward. I spring forward, latching onto him and pulling him back.

“Ohmygod,” he gasps, trembling. “...Thanks, Allie.”

“You have my gratitude as well,” Varyyn says. I look at Diego.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I'm good. Just need to start breathing again...”

Grace steps up to the edge and peers over. “Ohhhh, that is a long way down....”

I dare to peek down as well. The bottom of the chasm is completely lost in the darkness hundreds of feet below. I hear Murphy yipping ahead of us.

“Dudes, there's a path around the edge!” Raj calls. “Follow Murphy!” He moves as fast as he can up a narrow walkway, bottles clinking in his messenger bag. We follow him, stepping carefully over the slick stones. Jake glances back the way we came.

“Shit! They're gaining on us! Keep moving, Princess!”

As we ascend, the snowfall gets heavier, stinging my face with icy blasts. A wrecked aircraft comes into view, its wings balancing precariously atop two adjacent cliffs. As my gaze returns to the walkway, I notice someone rounding a corner ahead. A woman, wearing armor like the others, with two katanas crossed in sheathes behind her back, smiles at us.

“Well, well. Don't I just feel like the Pied Piper.”

“You!” Jake growls.

“You know her, too?” I ask incredulously.

“You might say Wolf and I go way back,” the woman drawls. She reaches over her shoulders to draw her blades. They're tech-enhanced, radiating waves of heat that cause the cliffside to weep melting snow as she moves closer.

“Here, kiddie kiddies,” she purrs.

“I don't like her,” Zahra declares.

“Uhh, a little help here, guys?” Raj calls from the front of the group, the first one in Katana Chick's sight.

“Raj, douse her!” I shout.

“But I've only got my good stuff on hand!” he protests.

“Just do it!”

He reaches into his bag and pulls out a champagne bottle. “I hope you like Chateauneuf du Pape! ...'Cause I do.”

He sabers open the bottle, causing foam and liquid to spray at the woman. She yelps as popping sounds come from the champagne-coated katanas. A cloud of hissing steam rises, blinding her.

“Good call, Alodia!”

But a series of heavy thuds makes me realize that someone is approaching behind us. A tanned man with a massive body-builders' physique and fearsome tech-enhanced gloves on his hands, approaches with a wicked smile.

“Told Lundgren I wasn't going to kill any of you.” He points one mechanical fist toward the mountain slope. “Guess I lied.”

The power fist strikes the rock face with a deafening crack, causing the walkway to tremor beneath our feet. Fissures for in the slope, and huge chunks of stone roll down toward us.

“Head for the plane!” Sean yells. “We gotta cross!”

“That plane looks like it could fall at any minute!” Diego protests.

“If it was gonna fall, it would have already! Come on!”

“Leaving so soon?” Katana Chick asks in a snarl. She touches a disc near the center of her suit, and suddenly she is nearly indetectable against the cliff. “Don't worry. When it happens, you won't see a thing.”

As she and the hulking brute converge, we all rush onto the wings of the plane. Gunfire rings out across the chasm.

“There are more on top of the mountain!” Aleister cries. I look. Lundgren and his soldiers are standing on the summit, their automatic rifles pointed at us.

“Crap! We're sitting ducks!” Craig yells.

Estela drops onto the cab of the plane and uses her heel to bash open a rusted boarding door.

“Inside! Now!”

One by one, we jump into the gutted interior of the plane. Estela stands guard by the door. Lundgren's voice comes from outside.

“Gas 'em, Mouse.”

There is a moment of dead silence. Then, a masked figure in red and black drops onto the nose of the plane and smashes the front windshield. Four cannisters roll into the plane, spewing acrid violet-colored gas.

“Oh, no...I don't have a cannon this time,” Grace says weakly.

“Hang on, everyone!” I stumble over to the control panel, searching the buttons desperately. The violet-colored clouds sting my eyes, making them water. My head starts to spin. I can just barely make out the label on the small metal switch: Emergency Oxygen Masks. I flick it with a trembling hand, and feel myself slump against the dash...

… “Alodia! Alodia!”

I open my eyes to find Sean hovering over me, a mask over his mouth and nose. My face feels strange, but my head is quickly clearing. I'm in one of the dusty, frosty passenger seats. I raise a hand to my face and feel one of the masks secured over it.

“...Sean?”

Sean exhales slowly and smiles. “She's okay, everyone!”

“That was a good call,” Jake says from my other side. “Unfortunately, you also managed to get a pretty big breath of the stuff.”

“Is everyone okay?”

“For now.”

“...What about Murphy?”

Sean chuckles. “Well, see for yourself.” He gestures to where a very grumpy Murphy perches on top of a seat, whining and pawing at the mask fixed awkwardly to his muzzle. Diego strokes his fur.

“I know it's uncomfortable, little guy, but you saw what those clouds did to Allie. And your lungs are much smaller.”

Murphy sighs resignedly, slumping on the seat back. I hear a rattling sound, and glance over to where Craig is struggling to open a wall-mounted first-aid cabinet.

“How the hell are you supposed to get this to...”

“Craig, what are you looking for in there?” Michelle asks.

I bolt to my feet, hot dread filling my chest. Within the cabinet, I can see a glint of amber. I dash over the help Craig with the latch. The door of the cabinet swings open and a crumpled note falls out. I pick it up and smooth it out.

Found this during the excavation. Silas should be interested in it. Don't show it to any of Rourke's people.

--Henry

“Odd place to stash it,” I murmur. Craig pulls out the idol. It depicts a man with the head, shoulders, and arms of a bear, crouched and ready to attack. He passes it to me. I try not to let him see how my hand trembles as I reach out to take it. The gutted plane around me washes away in a wave of rippling colors...

… I'm on the tarmac in a small airport. The signs around me are all in Spanish. I recognize this place. This is the airport in Costa Rica where we all took off for La Huerta. Sean and Craig stand beside a small pile of luggage.

“This is it, bro! One tropical island vacation comin' up!”

“Can't wait,” Sean agrees, grinning. “Hey, did you find out yet?”

“Uh, nah. They'll probably email me tomorrow or something.”

“Hey, you got this, Hsiao. I talked to those NFL guys about you.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, man! They were like, 'So what do you think of 68? He any good?'”

“...And...?”

Sean shrugs. “I told them the truth. They aren't gonna find a better run-blocking guard at any school in the state.”

“Wow. 'Preciate it, bro. I dunno, maybe I do have a shot.”

“Oh, wow! Is that Zahra Namazi?” A short distance away, Zahra opens a black duffle and slips out her laptop. “So she's coming, too? Geez, I haven't seen her since...”

“Sophomore year,” Craig finishes, sadness nipping at the edges of his features. If Sean notices, he doesn't comment.

“No way!” I hear Diego gasp. “Sean Gayle is coming on this trip, too?”

“Really?” Grace asks. “He is?”

Several other students flock over to Sean, though I am not among them. God knows what I was up to at the time, but now I watch through Craig's eyes. Sean's confidence and assured ease seem to immediately dazzle our classmates. Craig watches from a completely different world. A buzz from his phone distracts him. An email has come in. The one he's been waiting for. Heart pounding, he reads it:

Dear Mr. Hsiao,

Our draft scouts were glad to make your acquaintance at the Hartfeld Varsity Mixer. As I'm certain you're aware, we're limited on the number of athletes we can consider for the 2017 NFL College Draft. While we won't be able to iclude you on our list, we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

The sound of laughter and cheering comes from the group surrounding Sean. Craig's gaze slips to the floor as the scene begins to dissolve.

My vision grows dim as I'm yanked through space and time. The inertia brings me to the edge of nausea. I find myself in an unfamiliar laboratory, no doubt somewhere on La Huerta. Several of my friends gather around a computer terminal. Craig stands near a steel double door.

“You comin' or not, Big Guy?” Jake calls. “Portal's almost ready to go!”

“...Ain't nothing for me back home,” Craig says softly.

A muffled explosion shakes the room. The door cracks open slightly.

“They'll be inside soon!” Estela cries. A trap door opens in the floor, and everyone begins climbing down. Michelle waits on the ladder, looking up through the hatch.

“Craig, what the hell? Come on!”

Craig walks over to the terminal, squints at the screen, and taps a button.

“...It's been real, guys.”

“Crai--” The hatch snaps shut above her, cutting her off.

Another detonation knocks the double door off its hinges. Three soldiers rush into the lab.

“Surrender or be neutralized,” one barks.

“Screw you!” Craig snarls back. As the soldiers ready their weapons, Craig runs headlong into them, roaring. He plows them over like rag dolls, sending bodies and weapons scattering. He turns to run through the door, but a towering figure blocks his path. The man with the mechanical fists grins down at him.

“Heh. I like your style, kid.”

“One side, asshole!”

“...That's my line.” The titan of a man deploys both mechanical fists into Craig's chest. He's thrown clear across the room, crashing heavily against the opposite wall. He slumps to the floor, groaning and gasping. The brute looms over him. “You gonna tell your friends to come out? Or do I gotta make you fly again?”

Craig coughs, blood oozing from between his lips, but he smirks up at the brute. “You're too late. ...Gonna suck to have to tell Rourke you blew it again. He probably wouldn't even waste a cryo tube on a loser like you. Just...scrap you...for...spare parts...” His chuckle turns into choking. He struggles for breath in vain. Finally, his head drops...

… In a flash, I find myself back in the gutted plane. I tremble as I grip the bear idol.

“Good god...”

“...You okay, Alodia?” Craig asks.

I force a smile, stuffing the idol into my backpack. “Fine. Just...wishing this gas would clear out.”

The violet-colored clouds finally begin to dissipate through the holes in the plane's hull. Diego cautiously lifts his mask.

“Unless we can make this thing fly, we should probably get out of--”

He is interrupted by the piercing screech of metal grinding on metal. We all clap our hands over our ears. Estela peers out the door. Her eyes widen.

“She's cutting apart the wing!”

Katana Chick grins at us from the other side of the chasm, sawing through the wing's tip. “This is your captain speaking,” she calls, her voice echoing across the canyon. “Fasten your seatbelts! It's gonna be a rough landing!”

“There's a door on the other side!” Lila cries. “Everyone together!”

We all rip our masks off. I help Murphy with his, and we all ram into the opposite door, forcing it open. I'm the first out, climbing out into a cloud of snow, a heavy blizzard that makes it impossible to see beyond a few feet. The plane lurches violently beneath us.

“Go!” Sean yells. “Before she cuts it down!”

We make our way carefully across the wing, fighting to keep our balance in the driving wind and bitter, biting cold. Murphy scampers ahead, undampered by the cold or the wind.

“Everyone, join hands!” I call. “Form a chain! I can get us across!”

I feel Jake's hand in mine, and look back, barely able to make out his face. “We're good, Princess! Go!”

I concentrate and steadily make my way across the icy wing, leading my friends behind me. “Keep going! Don't look down!”

“We're almost across!” Raj calls. “We're almost home free!”

At last, my feet hit snow-covered stone. I leap forward, giving the rest of the chain room to tumble to safety. Aleister startles me by being the first to wrap me in a tight hug. Then he composes himself and pulls back.

“...Thank you,” he says. “For not getting us all killed.”

“Seconded!” Lila chimes in.

I'm about to answer when Katana Chick's superheated swords finally slice through the last of the far wing. A loud rumble fills the air as the plane careens into the shadowy abyss. I shudder.

“...I'm starting to think bad luck with planes is genetic,” I mutter.

“Oh, god, don't say that,” Diego pleads

I'm distracted from answering by a hail of bullets whizzing through the densely falling snow around us.

“Get back over here!” Katana Chick roars. “Playtime isn't over yet!”

“Dammit!” Mecha-Fists snarls. “We can't get across!”

“Now's our chance!” Lila declares. “We can lose them in the blizzard!”

Slowly, painfully, we make our way up the other side of the chasm. We barely speak, concentrating on the climb. Finally, I crest the top, and find myself on a wide plateau. The snow piles are up to my knees here. My classmates disappear within the driving white clouds, but I over the howling wind, I can discern voices.

“Sean...?” Michelle calls. “...Anyone?”

“You guys still there?” Quinn whimpers. “Please say something...”

“Follow my voice!” This call breaks through the din of the wind like a cannonblast. “Come to me, Catalysts!”

“...Varyyn?” I hear Diego call. “Where are you?”

Gradually, we begin to find each other. When we're satisfied that we all made it, we hold onto each other and press forward, eager to put distance between ourselves and the chasm. A little ways ahead, I make out the shape of a large crate poking out of the snow.

“...What is that...?”

“It must be from the cargo plane,” Grace says.

There are words printed on the metal box, but snow clinging to the surface obscures them. I pull my hand into my jacket sleeve and brush it away, revealing the words: Mansingh Transglobal Tech. Grace recoils in shock.

“Wh-what?!”

“Grace, isn't that your mother's company?” Aleister asks.

“Why would they be sending equipment here?!” Grace cries.

“I dunno, but we're not gonna figure it out now,” I say. “We should keep moving. This storm doesn't look like it's gonna let up.”

We trudge on through the blizzard. I lose track of how long we wander through the endless snow drifts. Dread fills my belly. Our meager protection against the snow isn't going to last forever, nor is our energy, especially without food. If we don't find shelter soon, we're going to freeze to death.

“Guys!” Diego calls out, his voice hoarse. “There's something over there!”

I look where he's pointing. There's a building looming in the distance, large and gleaming. We turn towards it. In our present state, I think we would walk into Rourke's laboratory if it were dry and heated. As we approach, we can just make out the words on a sign half-buried in the snow: 'Elysian Lodge Resort.'

“Another resort?” Sean croaks. “All the way up here?”

“We're...saved...!”

Aleister looks up at the building with resignation. “...So we hope,” he murmurs. “...Let's go.”

#Endless Summer #play choices #pixelberry choices #choices stories you play #Diego Ricardo Ortiz Soto #jake mckenzie #sean gayle #raj bhandarkar #craig hsiao #aleister rourke #estela montoya #quinn kelly #michelle nguyen #zahra namazi #grace hall