章 16: Parallel Dinners
"…so that's how I screwed up my teammate trying to apologize to me," I summed up, taking a slurp of the ramen noodles from my sticks.
"Are your teammates just not good at listening or something?" Naruto asked over his bowl of Miso.
"I think it has to do with my tone of voice," I replied, stirring the noodles. "I sound mad without meaning too, I guess."
Naruto huffed with an indignant expression. "You'd think they'd have figured it out by now. Always take what you say at face value."
"Thanks Naruto," I smiled, raising my cup filled with water to him. "You always know what to say."
I had come to Ichiraku for the express purpose of finding Naruto. I didn't know how to talk to people. He did. So I needed…if not advice, then at least some companionship. My teammates, well intentioned though they may be, keep misunderstanding me and in the case of Nichiren, seeing way more than I was comfortable with.
"No problem," Naruto smiled, inhaling another chopsticks-full of noodles. "So, what was it about the dinner party?"
"It was last night," I continued. "I got a nice suit, gave myself a social bonus…with a jutsu..."
"What kind of jutsu?" Naruto looked at me.
"It's like a supped up version of the Henge," I explained with a frown. "It makes me look better and messes with my brain so I don't put my foot in my mouth so much."
"Woah," Naruto blinked. "I didn't know jutsu could…wait, you've been messing with your brain?"
"Sensei told me not to use the jutsu anymore," I replied. "And I don't really want to do it either."
"Okay good," Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. "I mean, it sounds cool, but messing with your brain's gotta be dangerous. No offense."
"None taken," I replied, taking another stick-full of noodles into my mouth.
"Okay, so you were saying?" Naruto asked. "The party?"
"So, it went well enough," I shrugged. "I was kind of wishing…I had parents, afterwards, but you know."
"I hear you," Naruto nodded, stirring his sticks into his freshly refilled bowl.
"Today though, Nichiren…he said that he got in trouble with his folks because they thought he was exaggerating about how bad I was," I continued. "He…made some observations that I'm having a hard time dealing with."
"Like what?" Naruto asked after slurping down a large group of noodles.
"Well, I know I'm bad at talking to people," I said with a frown, looking at the clump of noodles grabbed in my sticks. "If I know I'm bad, and how I'm bad at it, then I should just not…act badly, you know?"
"And you agree with him?" Naruto looked at me with a pensive look on his face.
"I think he's got a good point," I elaborated. The Super-Henge was a lie, anyhow. "I just don't know what to say to that."
"Well, I think he's being really unfair," Naruto replied with a frown. "You have a bloodline, right? It lets you do a lot of awesome things. It just also came with being an uncanny statue-man. It's so bad you still wear that Henge around in public."
"I gotta do what I gotta do," I replied, hunching my shoulders defensively.
"But that's just it," Naruto continued. "You're dealing with it. You're going out of your way to not to be someone people don't mind being around as much. For him to just say that you shouldn't be bad in the first place...makes me really mad."
"So what do I do?" I asked with a frown. "I can't ignore it and I don't want to demolish him. He is a friend of mine."
"Yeah I get it," Naruto sighed. "I don't know what you can say. Just…keep being you. And seriously, no more Super-Henges or whatever it is you did. That's just begging for trouble."
"You got it," I replied with a frown. "How about you? How's the academy?"
"It's going way better since Iruka was able to tutor me," Naruto smiled.
"Does he tutor you on everything you need help with?" I asked with a risen eyebrow.
"…not everything," Naruto said quietly. "He's super busy all the time. He helps me when he can, anyway."
"Anything I can do?" I asked with a frown.
"No, it's okay," Naruto looked at me with a smile. "I'm sure you're really busy too."
"You sure?" I pressed. "You'd be shocked at the amount of free-time I have."
"No, no really," Naruto laughed uneasily. "It's fine, you don't need to do that."
…that's odd. Why doesn't he want help from me? Well, I did just regale him with tales of how I screw up everything when I'm asked to speak, so that might be it. Understandable. "Alright, well…is there anything else that's bugging you?"
Naruto was quiet for a couple second, his smile fading as the gears turned in his head. "There's…this girl."
"Oh yeah?" I said with a smile. "What's her name?"
"Haruno Sakura," Naruto admitted sheepishly. "She's super smart and really pretty. I never saw a girl with pink hair before, but she makes it look good."
"Smart and pretty?" I asked, trying to give the sentence an air of 'hypothetical'. I remember that Naruto had a crush on Sakura from the anime and I was wondering when I'd see it. "Nice. What's the problem?"
"She's in love with the prodigy in our class," Naruto sighed, resting his head in folded arms on the bar-table. "I can't get a date with her no matter how hard I try."
"I wish you luck, my friend," I said with a sad smile. "I can't talk to girls to begin with, so I don't think I can help."
"I know," Naruto sounded just a little irritated. Then he sighed. "It's okay. Nothing wrong if I just keep trying, right?"
"Uhhh…" The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If I can't help him, then someone else has to be able too. I looked around and…saw Ayame ladling some ramen to a customer. That could work. She was old enough to look at Naruto like a younger brother, right? "You're pretty good friends with Ayame, right?"
"Huh?" Naruto looked at me with a confused look on his face.
"Ichiraku Ayame?" I clarified, pointing at her over the counter. "That girl right there?"
"Oh. Yeah!" Naruto nodded. "She's one of my really good friends, sure. Why do you ask?"
"You'll see," I nodded. Then I put my hand to my mouth like half a horn. "Hey, Ayame! Come over here for a second!"
She looked at me, a little concerned. She finished ladling out the ramen and wiped her hands on her apron on her way here. "Yes, Daisuke? You're not getting sick again, are you?"
"Nope," I said. "Naruto here's got a girl he likes and he needs advice."
"Daisuke!" Naruto shouted in alarm. "What are you doing?"
"Oh that's adorable!" Ayame put both hands together and squealed. "Young puppy love! That's so cute."
"Daisuke," Naruto said in an embarrassed growl.
"I'm helping you," I nodded. Then I looked at Ayame, who had a smile on her face. "I think."
"So tell me about her," She said, still smiling.
"Uhhhh…" Naruto was blushing. "Her names Haruno Sakura. She's really smart and really pretty."
"Ooh," Ayame said. "So, what does she like?"
"I don't really know," Naruto shrugged. "She's never said yes to a date, so I can't find out."
I'm half tempted to leave right now. But Naruto was my oldest friend and I did just sic a teenage girl on him. So, I, no matter how uncomfortable I was right now, was going to stick this through. Even if he tries to kill me at first opportunity. If it works, he'll be thanking me. Probably.
"It's probably too early to go on dates," Ayame said, looking thoughtful. "You said she's never said yes? Probably should relax and give her some space for a bit."
"But then she'll go out with Sasuke!" Naruto groused.
"Sasuke?" Ayame blinked. "Has she actually gone on a date with him, or is she trying?"
"…just trying," Naruto said. "She really likes him though. Fawns over him constantly. For some reason."
"Oh, then you don't have anything to worry about," Ayame shrugged. "If she's fawning over him constantly and not getting anything back, he's clearly not interested. If anything, that just makes him even less interested."
"Wait, seriously?" Naruto shouted, propping himself up with his arms. "That's awesome!"
"That also means you shouldn't ask her out again for a while," Ayame continued. "That just makes her feel like you don't respect her."
"But I do!" Naruto said, looking affronted.
"I know you do," Ayame placated. "But it's all about what she sees and if you keep asking her out, then she doesn't see you respecting that she said no."
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Naruto asked with a frown.
"Give her space for a couple weeks," Ayame replied. "Then ask her to hang out later. Not as a date, be sure to make that clear. Invite a few friends a long just to make it seem more like a get together."
"…okay," Naruto blinked, processing the information. "That's an idea."
"You do have friends besides me, right?" I interjected. "Right?"
"Yeah!" Naruto nodded. "Iruka-sensei and the old man!"
"Do you have any friends your own age?" Ayame asked with a mix between hopeful optimism and dread for the answer.
Naruto looked very uncomfortable. "No."
Right. Kyuubi's a problem, isn't he? "Sorry."
"Well," Ayame began with a frown. She pointed to me. "What's wrong with Daisuke?"
"I'm a walking social disaster area," I explained. "It's really for the best that I stay away."
"Which stinks," Naruto grumbled.
"Oh yeah," Ayame nodded with a frown. "I heard your story about the apology. I'm sorry that happened to you."
"Thank you?" I wonder if Naruto's natural charisma is rubbing off on me like a passive aura or something.
"I think she'd like you if she actually spent time with you," Naruto grumbled.
"Yeah but we're trying to find out how to get her to spend time with you," I stated. "We don't need to make a hard task impossible."
"Anyway," Ayame continued, a deep frown on his face. "That's a problem. You might need to give her space for longer, then."
Naruto groaned, slamming his head into the counter. By some miracle, his bowl of ramen was moved to the side and out of the way before he impacted. "She'll be dating that jerk in no time."
"No," Ayame tried to comfort him. "She won't. I promise you that…by the way, do you call the boy she likes a jerk to her face?"
"Yeah," Naruto came back up. "Why wouldn't I? He's a jerk."
Ayame thought for a second. "If a girl you didn't know too well came up to you and insulted Sakura, how would you feel?"
"I'd be pissed off," Naruto shrugged, folding his arms. "I'd shout at her and make her apologize."
"That's how Sakura feels whenever you insult him," Ayame nodded with a pitying smile. "So if you want to date her, you should stop that."
Naruto shouted in frustration, grabbing his face with both of his hands and arching backward in the ultimate expression of frustration. Then he slammed on the bar with a whimper. Then he grumbled something I didn't quite catch.
"Sorry, what?" I asked.
"I said fine, I can go without insulting Sasuke," Naruto grumbled, not looking happy at all.
"Good," Ayame smiled. "You actually have a chance, now."
Naruto kept grumbling, which Ayame, classy lady that she is, ignored said grumbling altogether.
"Now how to get around the 'no other friends' issue," Ayame cupped her chin in thought. "Hmmm…"
"Ayame!" That was her dad calling. "Don't just sit around talking to Naruto, we've got a shop to run!"
"Sorry, Dad!" Ayame jumped. "I'll be right back. Keep thinking about it, alright?"
"Sure," Naruto grumbled.
She ran off to take another customers order and ask the previous one whose ramen she had been filling earlier if he'd like a refill.
"Daisuke?" Naruto asked quietly.
"Hm?"
"Do I really need to be nice to Sasuke?" Naruto asked.
"She didn't say 'be nice to him'," I reminded him. "She said 'stop insulting him when Sakura's around'. That's completely different."
He grumbled before his face lit up. "Hey yeah! You're right, that is completely different."
Still…the no friends issue. Seriously, Naruto can't use me, Sakura would avoid Naruto more because he's associated with me. Uggghhh…It'd be really good for Naruto, too, because she's smart and can help him out when Iruka can't and…
"What're you thinking?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Oh, just thinking how awesome it would be for you to date Sakura," I replied. "You said she was super smart and she might be able to help you in the academy and stuff."
"I hadn't even thought about that," Naruto said with wide eyes. "That'd be awesome!"
"What'd be awesome?" Ayame came back. "We can't much longer, my dad's getting impatient."
"Just how Sakura's really smart," Naruto nodded. "She'd be able to help me when Iruka can't tutor me."
"Oh," Ayame said. Then her face started to light up. "Oh. Oh! OH! That's it!"
"What's it?" I asked. What was she seeing that I wasn't?
"Ask her to help you with academy assignments," Ayame seemed giddy. "I mean, you'd have to emphasize it's not a date and really play up how much you need help but it's the perfect way to get her to spend time with you!"
"Wait, really?" Naruto started to light up. "I could just ask her and she'd help me?"
"Well, you'd still have to give her space for a couple weeks," Ayame replied. "But if she's worth dating, she might help you. You might also need some spare ryo…"
"Done," I offered. "If she wants to charge you for tutoring, I can foot the bill."
"Seriously?" Ayame blinked at me. "Wow."
I simply shrugged. "Anything for a friend."
"Alright then," Ayame smiled again.
"Okay yeah," Naruto nodded, his expression starting to get brighter. Then he hugged her over the counter. "Yeah, I can do that! Thank you, Ayame!"
"You're welcome," She said with a chuckle, returning it.
They separated. Then he jumped and hugged me, which I returned. "Thanks Daisuke!"
When he let go, he jumped off the seat. "Bye Daisuke, Ayame!"
"Good luck!" I waved at him and he disappeared. I turned to Ayame. "How much do I owe for the ramen?"
"Nothing," Ayame looked at me with an incredulous smile on her face. "You paid for two hundred bowls. He only got through twenty."
"Can you add the change to his tab?" I asked, grateful for the A-rank pay and for the fact that I didn't actually need to eat.
"Ummm…suuuure," Ayame shrugged, tilting her head.
"Cool," I said, hopping off of the stool after I made sure my bowl was empty. "It was delicious and I'll probably see you later."
"He's lucky to have you, you know," She told me. "Really."
"Thanks," I said with a wave goodbye. "See you."
I turned around and barely avoided bumping into someone a head and a half shorter than I was. She had short dark hair, Byakugan, wore an overly large jacket for this weather…this was Hinata. I didn't forget about Hinata.
I did forget that she used to be Naruto's stalker, however.
"Sorry," I nodded to her.
She pressed her fingers together and bit her lip. "It's okay."
I tilted my head. "…what's your name?"
Her head sunk even lower than before. "Hyuuga Hinata."
Cool. "Nice to meet you. Have a good day."
"Th-thank you," She muttered.
I shunshin'd away, heading back to my apartment.
The sun was at least a few hours from setting at least, but I wonder what she was doing stalking Naruto at what was assuredly dinner time? I never liked that about her. I liked everything else about her, I thought she was a great character, but I never thought that stalking someone was okay.
…I've got strong feelings about the 'stalking is love' trope. A holdover from when I hated Twilight and Stephanie Meyer for making my religion look bad.
Geeze, I barely remember anything about that book to begin with. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but I'd like to forget it completely. I probably won't, though, because my INT stat scales with level. So I'll probably remember more as time goes on.
DANGIT.
Whatever. What am I going to do for the rest of the day? Invent jutsu? I'm out of ideas that don't involve a higher check than 55. Would you believe Shadow Clones take a check of 65? I was furious. Invent Genjutsu? I've got moral quandaries with that: I didn't want to become Charles Xavier and mess with people's heads for the greater good.
I'll probably end up doing that later, but for right now, I prefer not having the temptation. Plus there's the fact that I'd end up casting those jutsu on myself without a test subject…make sure it'd work, right?
So…that leaves exploring the sewers.
The place the Sludge-monster from C'Thulhu's lower bowels tried to take me through after grabbing me near the end of that adventure. The place where Root is assuredly stationed and closer to the jaws of death than I actually feel comfortable with. Also assuredly the location of Orochimaru's old labs, where I'm guaranteed to at least find a few goodies.
There's a sewer entrance in an alleyway near my apartment.
I'd been putting this off. I can only die once, after all.
But…it needs to be done. For the EXP.
So, I jumped into my apartment, grabbed a few storage scrolls that contained the entirety of my inventory then I…wait.
I was most definitely under surveillance.
My bloodline, the pure blend of nonsense that it is, is valuable. I wouldn't be surprised that I've got a file in the Hokage's desk that's the source of several migraines and maybe an ulcer. So there's probably an ANBU or two watching my apartment.
And following me around on my nightly runs.
Oh boy, the fact that I don't really need to sleep has been documented. That's got to be fun. Following a guy who never sleeps or stops can't be easy. Most likely not as fast as they are, but still, the endurance requirement has to be staggering.
Well, okay, I do sleep my nights away some times. But that just means I'll need a higher stealth skill before I even think of heading down there. That's both relieving, and disappointing. Well…ugh…I'm annoyed, now.
The sun was approaching the horizon. I opened the window and just looked out. The sun was still too bright to watch on the way down, but just taking in the fresh air was relaxing.
Meanwhile, back at the training ground, Kakashi was looking at his two students, as well as Gai and his students. Daisuke had just left, vanishing out of sight in a rather impressive Shunshin. Hisako was holding her head in her hand, saying nothing but had a look on her face that suggested she was close to a breakdown. Nichiren had his glasses in his hand, looking at them from every angle he could, trying to find something to say.
Team Gai was staring at the place Daisuke had leapt up too before he continued rooftop hopping. Gai had a rare, serious and introspective expression on his face, which Kakashi knew meant that something serious had just happened and he was trying to figure it out. Lee was staring with wide eyes and a slightly gaping jaw. Neji had his Byakugan active, his eyes moving just slightly after the form of Daisuke leaving before they just stopped and he deactivated it, looking at the ground. Tenten looked at Neji with eyes filled with concern, only glancing at the space Daisuke had left before looking at her teammate.
Kakashi knew he had to do something. His team, experienced with the nonsense that Daisuke brought was close to a breaking point. Including him. Four other people, who had no experience with what his prodigy could do, just got punched with a taste of it in the gut, when he utterly shamed the Hyuuga Prodigy whom everyone thought was the best Genin of the year. Then he just left with the barest hint of a farewell.
"So," Kakashi started, getting an idea. "I think we should all go to dinner and celebrate Gai's thirtieth win."
Gai, of course, whipped around to face him with tears in his eyes. "You…you really mean it, Kakashi? You think we should celebrate?"
"Yes," Kakashi nodded. "It'll be good for all of us…to recognize your clear win today."
Like the dependable shinobi he was, Gai caught on. "Yes, it shall! I know the perfect place! The Akimichi Buffet!"
Relatively cheap and all you can eat, delicious food. Kakashi nodded. "Alright, let's go, everyone!"
They each walked back into Konoha. The Genin were all quiet on the way there. Lee, to his credit, was actually containing his exuberance and was walking with a wide smile and though he didn't say anything, everyone could feel it. Gai was happy too…but he was also curious. Kakashi was hoping that he'd be able to talk to Gai solo, so he could disseminate the knowledge in a way that his Genin could handle.
And also give his Genin a chance to be around normal, non-emotionally taxing Genin of their own age. If they vented, that could be good for them, and if none of it made it back to Daisuke, which isn't unlikely, as Daisuke has…very few friends outside of his team, it would be great.
Except for Uzumaki Naruto, who reportedly has been friends with him since the early days of the orphanage. But Naruto has no friends either, in spite of the fact that he deserves all the friends he can carry, so all was well.
The Akimichi buffet was horribly busy, as usual. Civilians and Shinobi alike both came here when it was time to celebrate, eat, drink and be merry. It was advertised as having the finest Akimichi cuisine available for the masses, but no Akimichi could be seen doing anything at the buffet other than making the food. Kakashi had it on good authority that the buffet had all of the Akimichi's cheap recipes which were still amongst the best ever tasted, and easily mass produced.
It was loud, it was crowded, and that made it perfect for discreet conversations to be held with very little danger of the details being overheard.
Kakashi, out of good courtesy, paid for everyone's entry. The cashier letting them in was a civilian, a pretty young woman with blonde hair that he surmised was hired solely to provide a pretty face for diners to see as the first thing they saw when they came in.
"Let's find a table," Kakashi said after being handed a platter and cup. "Then we can get whatever we want and meet back."
Gai gave a thumbs up and the Genin gave their approval for the plan.
The tables they found were actually a pair of booths with a table each. One table was capable of seating all of the Genin without the Jounin, which fact Kakashi and Gai exploited to let the Genin sit by themselves, and claim the booth directly behind them. With that, they all scattered, piling whatever food they wanted on their platters.
Sushi, ramen, prawn and more all decorated their platters, with tall glasses of various Akimichi Elixirs. There was no Sake, which was Kakashi's only complaint about the buffet. Apparently, the Akimichi considered the buffet a family affair. If you wanted alcohol, you could go to the grill two blocks down the street, which also had the better Akimichi food.
Not the best food, just the better kind. The best was reserved for private parties hosted by the Akimichi.
Upon arriving back to their seats with their food, they wasted no time digging in. Kakashi was dipping a sushi-roll into a small cup of Soy Sauce when Gai returned, sitting across from him with almost enough food to make an Akimichi thumbs-up in approval.
Almost.
"So," Gai began quietly, picking up a small bit of cooked fish with his chopsticks. "Can I ask about your hip and cool protégé?"
"Ask away," Kakashi replied with an internal sigh. "But he's not really my protégé. I haven't taught him nearly as much Nichiren or Hisako."
"Then where did he learn such impressive Taijutsu?" Gai frowned, staring at the bite held in his sticks before sticking it in his mouth.
"You remember my report on the day my team passed my bell test? How I said he had the Taijutsu of a tokubetsu-jounin?" Kakashi said, taking a sip of the elixir he brought with him, the bubbly liquid swimming down his throat. "As far as I can tell, he's always been absurdly skilled at Taijutsu. He's just gotten better. Inexplicably."
"Inexplicably?" Gai replied. "How so?"
"Daisuke doesn't train unless I tell him too," Kakashi elaborated.
"What?" Gai looked alarmed.
"He doesn't train," Kakashi repeated. "I've followed him around a couple of times, he's under ANBU guard for his bloodline, obviously, and we've never seen him do anything that amounts to training in his free time. A lot of it is wandering his apartment, deep in thought as far as we can tell, when he's not running around Konoha for fun. The closest he ever came to training was during his furlough following the House Incident."
"I see," Gai nodded. The House Incident was now infamous throughout the ranks of Konoha's Jounin and Chunin, in spite of the few scant details available to everyone. "So how did he train?"
"He…" Kakashi sighed in frustration, putting his hand under his chin while he looked for the right words.
Audible to both Jounin, their students began talking.
"So what's the deal with Daisuke?" Tenten asked, sounding genuinely curious.
"I don't want to talk about him," Hisako grumbled, clearly not in the mood for much talking or eating.
"…I don't really know what to say about him," Nichiren said. "I don't understand why he's still a Genin? How can one person be so smart yet so dumb?"
"He's dumb," Neji spoke up, like he wasn't sure he'd heard correctly. "How is he dumb?"
"He's socially incompetent," Nichiren remarked with a tinge of disdain. "Have someone try to apologize to him, and he'll be apologizing to the person who tried to apologize to him for offending them."
"Thanks Nichiren," Hisako almost growled.
"Sorry," Nichiren sounded sincere.
"He wore a Henge," Neji stated with clearer disdain. "He looked like a moving statue beneath it."
"He wears it so people around him aren't freaked out," Hisako replied with irritation. "Coming from him, sensitivity like that is incredible."
"I just thought it was comical," Neji snarked. "A shinobi with so much power is fated to scrape and scrim at the bottom of the barrel to fit in with the others around him."
Hisako groaned. Nichiren didn't say anything.
"I thought he was amazing!" Lee gushed. "I had never seen Taijutsu that splendid before in my life!"
"Neither had we," Hisako remarked quietly.
"Seriously," Tenten agreed. "Where did he learn how to do that?"
"I don't know," Nichiren confessed. Hisako said nothing.
"Really?" Tenten asked. "You don't know where he got that level of training."
"Nope," Nichiren answered. "Kakashi's been…getting me up to speed for most of the time we've been a team and he's only started putting more energy into teaching Hisako, so…"
"Getting you up to speed?" Tenten asked. "What does that mean?"
"I…uh, I cheated on my graduation exams," Nichiren explained sheepishly.
"How un-youthful!" Lee decried.
"I know, I know," Nichiren replied. "Trust me, I know. I got a lecture from the Hokage and everything."
"That means you must work twice as hard to make up for the time you've lost!" Lee replied, full of vigor. The sound of the table briefly shaking meant that Lee was now standing on top of the table. "Because you've been given a second chance and you must not waste it!"
Gai was holding back tears of joy. "I'm so proud."
"Not to ruin the moment Gai," Kakashi replied. "But I think he's drawing attention we don't want."
Gai's shoulders fell. "Right, right. Of course.
He stood turned around a looked around the wall. "Lee-san! Your youth is legendary! But we don't want to start a scene, so…you mind getting down?"
"Yes, Gai-sensei," The table shook briefly, but there was no sound of clashing dishes. So everything was fine and Lee was off the table. "Sorry Gai-sensei."
"That's okay, Lee!" Gai gave him a thumbs up. "Just remember, there is a time and a place for everything."
They went back to their meal.
"But Daisuke hasn't received much training," Neji brought the group back on topic.
"No, he hasn't," Hisako sounded more and more defeated with each passing syllable.
"Wasn't he your main sparring partner in the academy?"
"Yes," Hisako sounded insulted that he even brought that up. "He almost always won, too. Then we got out of the academy and now he just always wins. 'Graduating the Academy was very Inspiring' my boot. He was holding back."
"What?" Tenten asked. "What does graduating the academy have to do with it?"
"That's what he told Hisako to explain the spike he had in skill," Nichiren replied.
Gai looked at Kakashi with a confused look on his face.
"That doesn't make any sense," Tenten argued.
"We know," Hisako almost snarled. "Believe me, we know all the different ways that Daisuke doesn't make sense."
"I…don't buy the youthfulness of that explanation," Lee replied, sounding disappointed. "The fact that I was allowed to graduate in spite of my lack of talent was incredible, but it didn't simply raise my ability with Taijutsu through sheer inspirational power. Only hard work can do that."
"Thank you," Hisako breathed in relief. "Finally, someone actually notices something!"
"I'm sure everyone that's met your teammate has noticed something unusual," Neji pointed out.
"Probably, but they all seem to brush it off as normal or something," Hisako retorted. "You all understand that he's completely abnormal with no good explanations."
"He obviously has a Kekkei Genkai," Neji sounded mildly upset.
"We know he does," Nichiren said. "That's literally his excuse for everything impossible he does."
"Like what?" Tenten sounded a little upset too.
"For starters, there's the fact that he can regenerate any wound with a good night's sleep," Nichiren replied, sounding tired. "Like the time he lost an eye; It was stabbed clean through and then it was back the next day."
"That's incredible!" Lee said in awe.
"How did he lose an eye?" Neji sounded like he didn't want to think of such a horrible thing happening.
Both were quiet for a second, then there was the sound of someone getting up.
"Kakashi-sensei?" Hisako came around the booth. "Can we talk about what happened at the house?"
"Yes," Kakashi nodded. "The Hokage gave us permission for us to share our experiences there."
But not the actual details of the investigation, simply because it was on-going with no good leads. Not even the butler knew there was anything inside the house besides walls and furniture and he volunteered for a Yamanaka mind-read. With the owner dead, all leads were temporarily dried. Not that Hisako, Nichiren or Daisuke knew that, but it was enough to give Kakashi nightmares.
"Thank you, sensei," Hisako bowed lightly and went back to her booth.
Gai pointed at the wall behind him, like he was asking if he could listen. Kakashi gestured in a matter that said 'be my guest'.
"So, two weeks ago, we get a D-rank mission," Hisako started explaining. "A merchant was moving out of Konoha and selling his house. Simple enough, right?"
"It does seem simple," Lee agreed. "What happened?"
"Nichiren and I were sent to go clean the master bathroom," Hisako continued. "I'm…not sure what happened, but we were put under a Genjutsu. We saw…bad things and Kakashi managed to save us both. Apparently, we got pulled into a room and when I came too, I saw Kakashi…and saw that he went to save Daisuke first."
"That makes sense," Neji replied. "He does have a unique and valuable Kekkei Genkai."
Kakashi stood up and walked over to their table, balancing himself on the divider that separated the two. "Just to clarify, Daisuke managed to break free of the Genjutsu on his own. I had trouble getting you out as I needed to use one of most dangerous and chakra intensive techniques to get you out and the house kept making earth clones to attack us."
"That's almost worse," Hisako buried her face in her folded arms.
"Just helping you understand what happened," Kakashi replied. "Please go on, we're listening very intently."
Gai stood up and went to the opposite side of Kakashi with a winning smile, that was supposed to be re-assuring.
"Okay, well," Hisako took a deep breath. "Kakashi saved me, then Nichiren. Apparently Daisuke's got himself out. Somehow. Anyway, we got up to leave the house when we saw this…raven-man standing in one of the windows. Up by the corner of the roof."
"Woah," Lee looked like couldn't imagine something so cool.
"This was the owner of the house?" Tenten frowned.
"Apparently," Nichiren shrugged.
"Probably a Henge," Neji supplied, eyes focused and unmoving. "Or something similar to the Inuzuka's man-beast transformation."
"I guess," Hisako replied. "But that's not the scary part."
Nichiren took a deep breath.
"The raven-man made a hand seal, and the floor, down on the first floor exploded," Hisako explained with a deepening frown. "The concrete foundation of the house was alive, every last inch of it covered in glowing red seals."
Team 9 all gave surprised looks, with Tenten's being filled with fear, Neji's being too understated to tell and Lee's being filled with excitement.
"The giant concrete monster shot up, swallowed Daisuke and made a giant concrete wall that I was scared was going to crush us," Hisako took a deep breath, then swallowed a mouthful of elixir and shuddered. "It didn't, but it slowed Kakashi-sensei down long enough for the raven and the monster to escape down a tunnel network that was apparently under the foundation."
"How did something like that even get made in Konoha?" Tenten asked with a startled look on his face.
"I don't know," Hisako shrugged helplessly. She looked at Kakashi.
Kakashi also shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."
"You're kidding," Hisako said blankly.
"Nope," Kakashi replied. "You did kill it, though."
"Yes we did," Nichiren nodded, looking a little pleased with himself.
"How did you kill it?" Lee asked, giving his full, undivided attention to the two members of Cell 13.
"It was Nichiren's idea," Hisako replied.
"Yes it was," Nichiren now looked even more smug. "I brought along some explosive notes and ninja wire. While they were down there, Hisako carried me down there along the wall and I rigged the tunnel entrance to explode. We managed to get back up before Kakashi-sensei came back with Daisuke on his back. Then the monster came back and I detonated the tunnel entrance."
"That makes sense," Tenten nodded. "That's very clever."
"Thank you," Nichiren smiled.
"Why did Hisako need to carry you?" Neji asked with a risen eyebrow.
"The staircases had been completely destroyed," Nichiren answered. "And I didn't know the tree walking technique yet."
Neji hummed and frowned, but didn't say anything further.
"So you killed it with giant explosions?" Lee asked with a giant smile and wide eyes.
"Well, we greatly reduced its size," Nichiren clarified. "It made all the difference, though."
"Yes it did," Kakashi nodded. "If you both hadn't have done that, we wouldn't be standing here today."
"Thanks Sensei," Nichiren smiled.
"What happened next?" Tenten asked.
"I'm curious as to what that has to do with losing an eye," Neji frowned.
"I'm getting there," Hisako frowned. "So, Daisuke and Kakashi-sensei are down there fighting the raven-thing and the remains of the concrete monster. They come back up to the third level after a little bit. Apparently, Kakashi-sensei was starting to suffer from chakra exhaustion from so many…what was it called? Chidori?"
"That's the one," Kakashi nodded. "The walls resisted everything else."
Gai looked alarmed, taken aback by that. "What?"
Kakashi held up a hand. "Let's let her finish her story before we get into the details."
"Alright," Gai nodded.
"Well, the thing follows them. The monster, which absorbs chakra, I learned, trapped Kakashi-sensei and the raven-man went after Daisuke," Hisako blinked heavily and took a deep breath. "I heard a loud splat and Daisuke started screaming. Nichiren and I both walked over there and saw the raven…his entire bottom half had been reduced to a red smear on the ground and Daisuke was in a fetal position, holding his eye, because he had a feather lodged into it."
"Amazing," Lee's eyes were wide. "And yet he had both of them when we sparred today."
"The basement monster died with the owner," Hisako finished with a frown. "Kakashi rushed Daisuke to the hospital and Nichiren and I were both allowed to go home after telling ANBU what happened."
"We went to check on him the next day," Nichiren said. "I expected to see a heavily bandaged Daisuke who was now a cyclops. What I got was a perfectly healthy teammate who was reading and looking bored."
"He regrew his eye," Neji stated, unbelievingly and with a blank look.
"They had to remove the eye to remove the feather," Kakashi supplied. "Daisuke's bloodline, initially, was a full recovery on a goodnights sleep. Then he started piling other stuff on top of it."
"That's crazy," Tenten replied, her eyes boggling.
"We know," Nichiren tiredly confirmed. "Believe us, we know."
"Anyway, I just wanted to listen to the story," Kakashi eye-smiled. "Carry on."
He walked back to his seat, and picked up his chop-sticks. Gai sat across from him.
"There's rumors going around," Gai started with a grim look on his face. "About that. About what was inside…some even say we don't have a clue how the house got there."
"I can't talk about the current investigation," Kakashi said, sounding depressed. "I'm sorry."
"The other Jounin are scared, Kakashi," Gai said with a frown.
"I am too," Kakashi replied quietly.
"So you're upset that Daisuke outstrips all of us as a shinobi," Neji started. "That you're fated to be on a team where you have no hope of contributing anything meaningful in comparison to him."
Gai face-palmed, grumbling to himself, while Kakashi looked at him oddly.
"I wouldn't say it's fate," Hisako said in a monotone. "I'd call it bad luck."
"There's no such thing as luck," Neji continued. "It's all fate. Daisuke's fated to dominate as a shinobi, but be completely incapable of maintaining a friendship and you're fated to never catch up to him and hate him for the rest of your days."
"And what would you know about fate?" Hisako started to get angry. "Does fate send you a messenger hawk to let you know the days forecast?"
"It's obvious what fate has decreed," Neji was getting angry too. "You just need to look how a person starts to see where they'll end up."
"Daisuke started as a no-name orphan with nothing going for him," Hisako stated blandly. "Now he's got a monster Kekkei Genkai and is the future leader of a clan filled with people with that monster Kekkei Genkai. Sorry, your logic doesn't hold water."
"He still can't hold a friendship," Neji sniffed dismissively. "His entire clan, if he even gets one, will quickly find themselves ostracized by the rest of the shinobi world and thrown out of Konoha, then split apart into a thousand pieces because none of them can stand each other, basically dooming the whole clan to being no-name orphans with nothing going for them."
"And where will you be in the future?" Hisako asked sweetly. "What's your fate, Neji? What's going to happen to you if we judge you by your beginnings?"
"I-" Neji began hotly, then fell silent.
"That's what I thought," Hisako grumbled.
Gai wiped his brow in relief. Kakashi could feel the almost killing intent coming from Neji pouring from him right now.
"L-Lets just eat our food, shall we?" Tenten asked nervously.
クリエイターの想い 
Leylin_Farlier
Leylin_Farlier The Previous was a Fanbased Work of Fiction, written by Fulcon. Naruto is owned by Shueisha, Viz Entertainment and Masashi Kishimoto. Please support the Official Release.
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