The Ultimate Weapon (Naruto Fanfic)

53-Poor Reasons

They reached the village within two days, Aoi having set a fast pace. It wasn't as fast as he would have liked, but the genin couldn't have kept up otherwise. They emerged from the forest, and immediately buildings rose up before them, as if trying to meld with the trees in their sudden emergence. There was the quiet bustle that signaled life within the small town, and so, staying in a group, they entered the town.

Leading them confidently down the streets Aoi entered into a building with a sign out front depicting a bed. Jinhai, Eiji, and Kuria looked around the quietly busy streets in awe, before, with a prod from Jinhai, they all entered into the inn after their teacher.

"We would like a room for tonight," Aoi was already speaking to the woman at the desk when the three approached.

The woman looked the group over. "Are you sure you won't need two rooms?"

Aoi tilted his head ever so slightly. "Why would we need two rooms?"

A blush came over the woman's face. "W-well you... I mean..." she coughed slightly in embarrassment. "One room then." There was still a questioning tone in her voice, but she instead turned toward the ledger and made a small note. She looked up, then down again, as if hesitant to say something. Noticing this, Aoi prodded her.

"Is there a problem with the room?"

She started in surprise. "Um, well, no not really. The thing is that there is only two beds, and while they are rather large..." Glancing back down at the ledger her gaze rose again to look pointedly at Kuria. "Are you sure you won't be needing more space?"

Faintly, a spark of understanding lit in Aoi's eye. "It won't be a problem, only these three will be using the beds."

Confusion, and then comprehension, crossed her face and she let out a sigh of relief. "I-I see, sorry for the confusion. I'll just go get the room key for you."

It was barely a minute before she returned, handing the key to Aoi. He led the three upstairs, unlocking a strong oaken door. Though it seemed unnecessary, he held the door while his team filed through. They didn't question the action. Aoi's scrutiny of the door, as well as his handsigns, went unnoticed. A small light flashed before a barely visible brown symbol appeared over the lock on the door.

The room was sparse, but comfortably furnished with necessities. There was a small tea kettle over a portable stove in the corner next to two cushioned wood chairs. As the woman had said, the two beds that took most of the floor space were large. Aoi knew that even with Jinhai and Eiji sharing there would be no problem. The three dropped their bags on the beds, already having claimed spots for the night.

Jinhai sat on the edge of the bed and looked at his blue haired teacher. "Aoi-sensei, what did you mean when you said only we would be using the beds?"

"I have something to do tonight, don't worry." He walked over to the window and looked out into the street with apparent interest. Hiding the handsigns with his body, he placed a jutsu to match the one on the door. "We'll meet up with the client tomorrow, stay in the room until then."

Eiji jumped up from where he had flopped onto the bed. "Eh? You mean we can't explore the town or anything? It's not even close to nighttime yet!" Kuria looked from Eiji to Aoi, but remained silent.

"Stay in here and work on focusing your chakra. Go to bed early, I'll be back before morning." Aoi having left the room, the three kids all sighed in defeat as the door shut firmly.

_+_

Scarcely an hour had passed and the room was a pit of boredom. Jinhai was actually training his chakra, sitting still in intense concentration. Eiji was looking out the window longingly, hoping that something interesting would happen. Kuria tried to train, but she kept fidgeting and moving around. Finally Eiji stood up and started toward the door.

Kuria immediately perked up. "Where are you going? Aoi-sensei told us not to leave the room."

"Is there really any reason not to though? He doesn't tell us anything!" Eiji paused just before the door. "If there was really any reason for us to not go out then he should tell us. I'll bet that he just wanted to have fun on his own, so there isn't a reason why we can't."

Stirred from his training by his teammates, Jinhai tried to placate Eiji. "Maybe he couldn't tell us. We are only genin, so maybe it's a top-secret mission?"

"You might still believe the lies he told us while we were in the academy, but I don't. There isn't any reason to stay here, so I'm leaving."

"Wait, Eiji!" Kuria stood from her bed. "Why don't you just-"

"You won't convince me to stay here for no reason, Kuria," Eiji started to turn.

As fast as she could, she interposed herself between Eiji and the door. "Fine, I'll let you go, but we should all go in that case. We're a team, so we can help each other out if we do end up getting in trouble."

"Hey!" Jinhai rose now. "Don't drag me into this! I would rather not have Aoi-sensei mad at me!"

"If you don't come with us though, there is an equal chance he'll be mad at you for not keeping an eye on us. Especially if we do end up getting in trouble." Kuria hid a smile, placing her hand on her hip.

Jinhai opened his mouth with a prepared rebuttal, but paused for a second. He stood there a moment, and the conflicting arguments played across his mind. Finally he put both of his hands to the sides of his head and mussed his hair, crouching slightly. Kuria smiled slightly as her teammate bent in half toward the floor, knowing she had won.

Straightening abruptly, Jinhai turned behind him to grab his kunai holster that he had set on the bed. "Fine!" He pointed while holding the weapon pouch, "but if we get into trouble I'm going to say that you two dragged me out against my will."

Eiji fist-pumped slightly in excitement, ready for the coming exploration. As the three walked out the door, each felt a small itching sensation on the back of their neck, but didn't think anything of it. They continued on into the streets, not aware that as they stepped onto the street in front of their hotel a set of eyes watched their movements.

_+_

Rather short, it's true, but I'm working on a writing assignment for class right now. It's a fractured fairy tale using Robin Hood as the base for it. I'm really happy with how it's coming along, and will be sure to post it soon so you can enjoy. My first project for that class has been posted in my random idea book thing, so feel free to read that as well.

I technically should be studying for a test or two that are happening tomorrow, but well... I quickly got bored of that, so enjoy the short chapter I wrote during a break. I wanted it to be longer, but I also don't want to keep you guys waiting another week (at the least) for an update. So here we have what has become of it. Just enough to let you know I'm still working on it.

As a last parting comment, just so you are all aware: Be respectful to workers in the food industry, or in general. We go through a lot of crap from people, and it's honestly very stressful. I got yelled at 10-15 times yesterday because our fryer broke down and we had a limited menu. It's like... I have no idea how to fix it! Do I look like a fryer repairman to you? Anyway, basically just be understanding of other people. They have their own crap going on, and they don't need a shit-ton of your bullshit. So don't be an asshole. You'll get through life much happier that way.

Anywhore, now that I have totally and utterly ranted at you all, here's a riddle for you!

My first is foremost legally. My second circles outwardly. My third leads all in victory. My fourth twice ends a nominee. My whole is the only key. What am I?

-Nicky~