Present Future Demons

Questions and Identities

"Talking"
Thinking
"Otherworldly being talking"
Otherworldly being thinking
-~-:

Shikamaru POV

Team 7 was late to whatever this thing was. No one would tell me why we were all gathered in some random forest outside the village. Ino had disappeared before our sensei had even brought this thing, whatever it was, up to us.

What a drag. If only someone would tell me what this troublesome thing was, I could start cloud watching. I haven't been able to figure it out and it's been hours.

Suddenly, people in masks that looked similar to ANBU masks started to appear. They all wore some kind of tight shirt and loose pants that were tied to their legs. They all had a pouch on a leg and one or two at their hips. None of them had anything on them that identified them as ninja of any village.

Troublesome. Owl is standing behind the Hokage. Who is this stranger?

They stood in a line facing us. Owl, Bear, Dragon, Wolf, Wolf, Tiger, Fox, Panther, Dove. They had something covering their hair.

"Greetings to all those gathered for our demonstration. There seem to be a great many of you here. If you can tell us who we are? We'll remove the masks. And the henges. However, you only get one collective guess per person. Good luck." Something was familiar about Owl's voice.

Troublesome.

After some discussion, the adults decided to let me guess at the people, likely only because my dad is known as the smartest in the village.

What a drag.

"Am I allowed to ask questions? Am I allowed to have you guys move around a bit? Are you going to even give me a chance of figuring this out? Is this just some game to get our hopes up?" I cut myself off from asking more questions that might reveal too much about my thought process.

This time, one of the wolves spoke up. This wolf had green detailing, so I automatically called them Green Wolf. "You may ask us questions, but we cannot guarantee an answer. We may move around a bit as we see fit."

Purple Wolf, named following the same logic as Green Wolf, stepped forward and continued answering my questions. "There is a chance that you might figure at least one of us out, but we aren't trying overly hard to mask our identifying traits. This is a game and not a game. However, the ones trying not to get their hopes up is us."

It's too troublesome to make my own order of questioning and they are already in a line. Let's just use that order for questions.

"Let's just go down the line you guys already have formed. Do I know you in my personal life?"

Start easy and go one question at a time. Treat it like any puzzle and the ending may be less troublesome to get to.

"We do know each other in our personal lives." Owl nods at me as they speak.

"Sadly, we did not have the opportunity to know each other personally." Bear gives a sad shake of their head.

Dragon puts a hand on Bear's shoulder for a few seconds before they speak. "I would say that we know each other in personal life, but not very well known personally."

The wolves step forward together, and they are leaning on each other much like Dragon and Bear are doing now, shoulder to shoulder. It seems like they are seeking comfort.

Interesting. This puzzle might be a drag, but at least I can safely say that it's interesting.

"We do not know each other well, but we do at least know of each other." Green Wolf seems to be trying to only look at me in this small crowd of people.