A frog in a well does not know the great sea.
Pain.
Anger.
Loss.
Was I really ready to feel those things again? I know I told Tsuki-Yumi I would try this, but was I really ready to loose them all again?
My narrowed, red eyes watched the little genin as they trained. Naruto and Sasuke were at each other's necks and Sakura...well she was ogling the Uchiha. Kakashi was over on the other side of the field, nose buried deep into the dirty words of Icha Icha.
They continued this routine for an hour before I snapped.
"Stop!"
My voice seemed to ring throughout the training grounds like a roar. Everyone paused and looked in my direction. A frown etched in Sasuke's face and Naruto had frozen. Sakura furrowed her brows and Kakashi managed to peel his eyes from his book.
Good.
"This is what you call training? This...bickering and ogling? Tch." I crossed my arms and gave them all individual, scrutinizing glares.
"How did you become Genin again? Performed a clone jutsu if I remember right. And you want to protect this village with your weak selves?"
That seemed to tick Naruto off. His fists balled at his sides, almost turning white. His eyes were shadowed and he was shaking. "You're wrong." He muttered. I raised an eyebrow and formed an 'o' with my mouth. Casually, I glanced to the others. Sakura looked sad—she was weak. She knew that already. The Uchiha survivor was in about the same state as Naruto.
"Am I though? What have you done that makes you strong? You're loud and obnoxious. Your outfit is basically a beacon saying 'hey look at me! I'm a ninja! Attack me!' You're a walking target. I doubt you could even land a punch on Sasuke. Let alone an enemy."
It seems I've hit a nerve. Sakura spoke up next.
"You're wrong! Naruto and Sasuke are strong!" She exclaimed hesitantly. My steely gaze switched to the small pink headed girl. She shrunk back under my glare and looked down.
"Haruno Sakura. You are the weakest one here. I have not seen you do a thing except fan over Sasuke. Tell me, what makes you think you're a ninja?"
That seemed to make Naruto snap because he was rushing at me with a loud cry of anger. His arm swung backwards before coming at me full throttle. I just stood there, unmoving as the attack came.
In a flash, I caught his fist and twisted his arm behind his back painfully. A smirk tugged at my lips as I whispered in his ear.
"Did you really think that was going to work on me, Uzumaki?"
He shuttered in my grip. Narrowing my eyes once more, I kicked him away. Hard. Sakura yelled out as he was sent flying—only to disappear in a poof of smoke. I glanced at the smirking Sasuke, feeling the cool edge of a kunai at my throat.
"Did you think I was stupid?" Naruto boasted in my ear. Everyone was watching intently as he went to hit me again. I said nothing, just disappeared in the same poof of smoke that he had. The blonde looked around frantically and scratched his head.
"Eh? Where did she go?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and huffed. Where did she go? He wondered cautiously. By chance, the Uchiha looked up to see me coming down from the sky, leg extended for what was obviously a kick to Naruto.
"Move you idiot!" He yelled at the Uzumaki. The blonde looked up before screeching and diving out of the way just in time. My foot made contact with the earth, shattering it with a force that created a mini crater.
Once the dust settled, leaving me standing in the crater with a smirk. I saw Naruto shaking and glancing from me to the crater.
"T-that was close, dattebayo..."
I clicked my tongue, turning to the Uchiha and looking him up and down. "You are weak as well. Hardly strong enough to kill Itachi." The look in his eyes darkened as he charged at me wielding a kunai. Oh, definitely struck a nerve there.
I easily evaded all his attacks, humming and stuffing my hands in my pockets. This seemed to piss him off enough to actually think about how he could possibly land a hit. Yawning, I waited for the little Uchiha to form a plan.
He smirked, launching at me again. I rolled my eyes as we engaged at a fast paced taijutsu fight. Well, fast for him, slow for me. I briefly wondered what he could possibly have up his sleeve. Could he actually land a hit on me? Hmm...
He suddenly jumped back, weaving fast signs for what I recognized to be the fireball jutsu the Uchiha clan specialized in. Quickly making a move to get away, I realized something had grabbed my ankles. I glanced down to see the arm warmers Sasuke wore and small hands latched onto my ankles tight.
"Headhunter jutsu. Hmm."
I tilted my head up to feel the incoming heat the fireball produced and smirked again. I disappeared in a burst of...dust? The fireball hit and everyone covered their eyes.
Had they finally got me?
They all scrambled to see, only... There was nothing. Just sparkling dust.
"What?! You totally got her that time, dattebayo!"
Sasuke was immediately on guard, sharingan activated and searching. I just sighed, appearing behind them.
"A valiant attempt, but still weak." I remarked, arms crossed over my chest. I was disappointed to see Sakura cowering away, but admiring Sasuke. I thought she could do something—she definitely could use that brain of hers and beat me. Maybe.
The three genin stood there, glaring. "Show me you can be strong, then I'll consider you worthy. We meet tomorrow at the same time. You are dismissed."
I turned immediately and strode away, my lips set in a thin line. It wasn't long before Kakashi was walking beside me, book still open in his hand. We walked in silence through the village, but rather slowly.
"You didn't have to be so rough with them, they're good kids." He turned the page, eye set upon me. "Good kids, yes. Strong? Not so much. They wouldn't last one day out there." I replied, stopping at a stand selling little trinkets. The man with gravity defying hair stopped as well, book finally put away.
"They fought Momochi Zabuza and survived. Outsmarted him even. They're strong in their own ways." Kakashi informed, watching as I picked up an old looking briefcase and inspected it. When I didn't answer he continued. "Sakura is brilliant. One of the smartest genin of the batch. Sasuke lost his entire clan—he is quick witted and unbelievably talented. Naruto... He had no parents and refuses to be put down because of it. Tell me, how does that not make them strong?"
I paused in my task, putting it down gently.
"I already knew all of those things, Kakashi. I have no doubt in my mind that they are all those things. But that doesn't mean they can handle what happens in the real world. They. Are. Not. Strong." I replied, buying the old briefcase and turning to the jounin. His lazy eye studied me before he sighed.
"Ah. Well, see ya." He held up a hand but didn't wave, then disappeared in a poof of smoke. I sighed.
I just didn't want them to die...
*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*
"But Shi-Sensei! I wanna go on another mission, dattebayo!" The hyperactive blonde whined. It was amusing, seeing how he had bounced back from the rage filled kid he was yesterday to the one determined to show me he was going to be the strongest ninja.
I shook my head and crossed my arms. "No! You need to train more. You all do, so no missions until then!" They all groaned and skulked away to do their own thing.
"You know, a mission might be what they need right now, Shi. They're bored out of their minds." The silver haired man stated in boredom. He had his hands in his pockets and his eye was surveying his genin. I glanced at him with a raised brow and shifted my weight to my right leg. I then glanced back at them all, seeing how unmotivated they were.
I had to admit, they were working hard. Even Sakura was doing something productive! She was showing signs of interest in medical ninjutsu, which was excellent for her level of chakra control. I briefly talked to her about it and she seemed hesitant but willing. So, I offered to help her.
A heavy sigh passed my lips as I rubbed my forehead. "I suppose I can't keep them here forever. Fine, I'll go see about a mission. Stay here and... Watch them." Sending a pointed look at the jounin, I disappeared in a flicker.
"Yo, Hiruzen."
The Hokage glanced up from his stack of papers to see who had come in. The old man smiled and placed his feathered pen in the inkwell it belonged to. "Ah, Shiranui-san! What brings you here?" He didn't ask about the team, seeing as I am to write a report every two days. I have so much work...
"I'm here to see about a mission for...my team." The last part came out slowly. I still wasn't used to the idea that they were my team. Maybe it won't ever be something I get used to. The Hokage nodded and spun in his spinny chair to grab a stack of what seemed to be missions.
I suddenly felt really bad for him, that's gotta be a lot of paperwork...
"What kind of mission were you thinking?" He inquired as he scrolled through the D-rank and C-Rank missions.
"Something that shouldn't entail too much danger. But nothing in the village. The genin are getting restless." My tone was amused as I leaned on the wall next to Hiruzen's desk. Smoke puffed out of his mouth as he set down his smoking pipe. That man is going to die of lung cancer I swear.
"Perhaps another escort mission?" He pulled out a file and handed it to me for review. I took it and looked it over, nodding in confirmation. "Thank you, Hiruzen. Ja'ne!" I flickered away once again.
"Alright, since you brats have been begging me, I've decided—along with Kakashi," I gestured to the male who stood there lazily. "That we are going on a mission." Naruto immediately jumped up and started running around. "Ne, ne, what kind of mission?! And S-rank?!" He asked , jumping in my face.
I leaned back and pushed him away with a smirk. "No. Something better." I replied, reaching behind my back and pulling out the file containing the mission info.
"An escort mission. C-rank. Nothing too dangerous."
The genin looked at each other most likely remembering their last escorting mission. "Hey, don't worry. Not everyone has assassins after them. We leave tomorrow, 7 a.m. Sharp. Anyone who's late gets fifty laps around the village." Everyone groaned except Kakashi. "Including sensei's." I added in with a smile, waving and flickering home.
Tsuki-Yumi was lazing on the couch with a bored look on his face. "You're home. I'm getting bored sitting here all day." The spirit greeted, lifting his head to follow me as I sat down beside him.
"Don't worry mutt, we're going on a mission tomorrow. C-rank." Why was I so tired? Right, balancing missions with my ANBU squad and being a Sensei... Why do I always over work myself?
Tsuki-Yumi snorted and laid his head back down. "Finally. I thought I was going to rot away in here!" He exclaimed. I cast a curious glance at him. "Can you even rot away? Technically you have no definitive form so wouldn't you just disappear?"
The spirit rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath before falling asleep. I sighed once more, taking a mint out of my pocket and popping it into my mouth. I hope nothing goes wrong... If so, I'll do everything I can to keep them safe. They can't handle themselves out there.
One last look around and I was asleep.
Word count: 2046
EXCLUDING AUTHOR'S NOTE.
So I started another Naruto story. It's called Echo and you should totally check it out.
I think it's obvious, but why do you think Shi doesn't think the genin are strong at all? Or why she was a little harsh on them?
Hmmmmm.
Anyways, don't forget to comment, vote and maybe share!
じゃあまたね !