A strange new life. [Naruto]

[okashihime]

"And then Hinata-chan, the bone freak said: 'You're too important and amazing Naruto-kun; I'm taking you somewhere nefarious to do horrible, horrible things to you.'"

I had already met with Kakashi-sensei and invited him for dinner at Sasuke's. I wasn't sure if he would attend. His response left me more confused than anything else. He just nodded, patted my head, gave me a sad eye-smile, spouted one lame excuse or another, then fled. Yes, fled.

What did I do to scare off Kakashi-sensei?

Now, Naruto, Karin, and I were at the brat's favorite ramen stall, slurping down tasty noodles while the sunshine brat told the details of his mission. This was the same day after I crafted the new weight seals. Karin had hers, and I often caught her fiddling with her bracelets between giggles. Was it still too heavy? Should I craft a set for Naruto as well?

I was somewhat skeptical about the whole story. It might be just a hunch, but I think Naruto was exaggerating things—just a little bit.

Before the retelling started, I had told Naruto about dinner at Sasuke's. To no one's surprise, Naruto was more than happy to attend. Given how he was obsessed with Sasuke in the original story, it was a miracle that nothing more than friendship developed there.

Was this obsession because of that whole fate thing? The Curse of Hatred and Will of Fire? Naruto was the latest iteration of Asura, while Sasuke was Indra's.

That reminded me that I still had to talk with Sasuke about many things: the person he wanted to kill, making sure he's not suffering too much because of the seal, and maybe just trying to see him as a person instead of the character I didn't like in the show.

Naruto's story took me back to the present.

"My clones and I plummeted the bone freak like we did with Gaara. You should've seen Hinata-chan. My super powerful combo attacks – the Uzumaki Naruto Nisen Rendan! I was about to send him packing when the young-obaa-chan and the black-haired one arrived."

It was hard to take Naruto's story seriously. By my side, Karin was in a constant state of giggles. Given how much the stall owner rolled his eyes at every new development, it was fair to assume he also didn't believe it that much.

Young-obaa-chan was Tsunade, right? So, Naruto fought Kimimaro, and the slug princess and Shizune arrived to help? Where was Jiraiya?

"Where was Jiraiya?" I wrote my question with threads. Karin stopped giggling just enough to read it.

"Ehh, ah, right! The Ero-sennin was getting his butt kicked by that other freak, the shark dude." Naruto slurped more of his noodles. "You see, Karin-chan, the Ero-sennin might like frogs, but he can't swim! Shark dude somehow transformed the whole area into a huuuge lake, and If I wasn't there to pull the Ero-sennin out, he might have drowned."

Jiraiya getting beat up by Kisame? The stall owner shook his head.

"Wasn't you busy with the bone guy, Naruto-kun?" Karin read my other question out loud. I had to keep Naruto's focus. Learn what happened with Kimimaro.

"Right, so, yes, obaa-chan arrived and was like: Imma gonna kick your ass, but then got her ass kicked instead. I had to save her and the Shizune lady. That was when I mastered my new awesome jutsu, the Rasengan."

Naruto's hands flashed with seals, and a clone appeared by his side. He went through the whole song and dance of creating the ball of chakra.

"Cool, right? It's super powerful!"

Ayame, the stall owner's daughter, covered her ears. I had a brief moment to wonder why before I learned of the reason.

Naruto lost control of the jutsu. At least he had the sense to hurl it away before it exploded on us.

The impact shook the whole street. It was almost as good as an explosion.

"NARUTO!"

The bellow was deafening. A bit late, I also covered my ears—not that it helped. Ayame gave me a sympathetic look. While the locals crowded around Naruto with angry glares and gestures, I stopped to think about the whole situation.

Kimimaro and Kisame teamed up. Was Orochimaru still part of Akatsuki? In the original story, he left after losing to Itachi, but Itachi never joined Akatsuki due to my meddling. What about Kimimaro's disease? Wasn't he supposed to be on death's door? Why was he going about and picking fights with legendary ninjas?

And now that I think about it, what about Itachi? Wasn't he sick as well? Is he still sick? Should I try to find out?

The commotion died down, and Naruto returned, somewhat ruffled and slightly banged up. His face was still full on with a smile.

"What happened next? And no demonstrations!"

"Ah, right. The bone freak went even more freakish, with black lines crawling his face and chest. He created a huuugee and deadly forest of bones. I managed to fend them off near me, so I was safe, but the obaa-chan and the other couldn't."

Ok, so at some point, Kimimaro used part of his cursed seal. Not the second stage, I don't think; otherwise, Naruto would have talked about Kimimaro shifting into a monster-like thing.

Naruto sat down again and looked at the food, part of his enthusiasm gone.

"Then the other dude arrived. And was like: You can't defeat this magnificent Naruto? We need to flee for our lives."

"A lot of people died, Hinata-chan," He said, now without the early fervor.

That… took a turn?

"The young-obaa-chan turned into an old-obaa-chan trying to save Shizune, but Tonton still died."

What? The piglet died? Shit. She was so cute.

"Tsunade left after telling us to bring Shizune back. I don't know where she went."

Tsunade's alone now? Shit, that was a bad outcome. Somehow, I think Shizune was a bigger part of why Tsunade hadn't fallen even lower, but now, the slug princess had isolated herself even more.

Naruto looked forlorn, sad. I could deal with those details later. I didn't like seeing Naruto like this. I got up, walked to the brat. Hugged him. He looked a bit startled. I pinched his cheeks.

"You did your best, right?" I asked.

He nodded. His eyes were a bit misty.

"Then all you can do is train harder and do better next time."

He nodded again. I pinched his cheeks harder. Let go of him and returned to my stool.

Wrote on my board. "How did the bone guy fight?"

Naruto perked up, the heavy mood from earlier gone.

"It was like fighting two of you and Sasuke at the same time. He was fast and good at taijutsu."

Naruto pushed the empty bowl of ramen aside.

"I tried doing like you always tell me to do, send in the clones and attack from behind, but it didn't work at the start. It was like the guy had eyes in the back of his head."

"How so?" It was Karin who asked now.

"Eh, no idea. Like I said, he was creepy."

I mulled over things. Naruto hadn't said anything about clothing, but if Kimimaro had joined Akatsuki, he would be wearing the black robes, right?

"What did he look like, Naruto-kun?"

"Older than us, younger than Iruka-sensei. Dressed in black robes." The brat paused, one hand at his chin. "White hair, red marks on the forehead. One eye green, another white."

I blinked. No, it wouldn't be, would it? White eye and seeing things behind his back. I knew about a dojutsu that matched those descriptions. I even knew there was one eye yet to be found.

"White eye?" I wrote.

"Yeah, creepy," Naruto said.

"Did it look like Neji's white eye?" I wrote again.

Naruto stopped, scratched his head. Then he nodded like he had just understood something that had been bothering him for a while.

"Yes! I knew I had seen white eyes like that somewhere; I just didn't remember where."

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Wed.

Yes, sorry, I'm skipping next Monday. Two reasons: My wrists hurts a little bit, I want a break from computer this weekend and prob won't write anything. Second, work is been very hectic, which is also why today's chapter is a bit late.

On a separate note: started writing Chapter 9. Currently named: Search for..., Redux. The name will prob change.

On another separate note: Dearest CakeEight, beloved and bestests of all cakes is going through a rough patch and won't have time, at least for a while, to proofread things. Thank you CakeEight, for all the help. <3

On yet another separate note: Anyone good with grammar who wants to read a few chapters ahead? Send me a PM if you do.

On the last, really, separate note: I've talked with a few artists regarding illustrations. There's one by the same artists that created the chibis. It's going to be Ino and Hinata on that picnic scene on the Kunoichi 201. I've also agreed with another artists, Fulminaire for a new illustration/cover for the story.


Thank you all for reading. <3

 

[okashihime]

I would have asked for a more neutral ground with the Hyuga. She is not one of them so they can't order her.

Click to shrink...

Was also a bit of a powerplay on the Hyuga side.

 

[Bladesunder]

She should bust out the cupcakes.

 

[Edifier]

Karin learning sealing arts is gonna be good. Having a buddy to do research with, especially since she has way more free time to study and research it. It'll be good for her.

Orochimaru spotted! And in cannon that guy was cultish enough to try resurrect Orochimaru. Tho considering how in this world the death reaper seal took way more than the arms. I kinda think if it's Orochimaru then he'll be just a voice in his head. In cannon only his arm chakra circulation got crippled, here tho it has got to be way more.
I think the rinnegan would probably make it trivial to resurect Orochimaru through the cursed mark. However the death reaper seal means that path is probably stifled still.
I am thinking Orochimaru in this world didn't directly join the Akatsuki. Instead he sent his favorite test subject to join em as a double agent. Actually I think it might have been done under the request of Danzo. Cause in cannon Itachi was sent to Akatsuki for such reasons. And in cannon Orochimaru only joined for wanting Itachi's eyes.

I am guessing the eye tho is one of the originals rather than a cloned one.

 

[Rocketer]

Was also a bit of a powerplay on the Hyuga side.

Click to shrink...

She should summon a sage from badgers then or ask Naruto to accompany her, remind hyuuga that while they are acting like feudal lords its a cultivation setting and they lack power.

 

[MARKOS3521]

Those damn eyes are causing as much problems as Uchiha eyes in canon, thank God she didn't share her past life, you don't share such a thing with a preteen, friend or not giving someone existential crisis about free will and shit is not good.

 

[okashihime]

It wasn't even the morning of the next day when I disentangled myself from Karin. I needed to get a new bed for her. My sleep and sanity depended on it. Maybe it was because Karin was somewhere new, but she'd been even more grabby and kicky than usual. It was impossible to sleep.

Not that I was feeling sleepy, anyway.

I walked to the window and looked at the still-dark sky. The sun was late today. Rood.

Since no amount of wishing would make the sun rise faster, I went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast and bake pastries.

For this first training session, I was going with the standard finger sandwiches and tea. I'd use the pastries as a reward for the training. That was positive reinforcement 101, right? Also known as manipulation, the good kind. It didn't matter in this instance, though. Ino wanted to get stronger; I would make her stronger even if I had to drag her kicking and screaming into the stronger.

I didn't make stuff just for me and Ino. I made extra portions for Karin and Naruto. Since I was already cooking for two, why not do it for more people? The effort increase was negligible.

After the sandwiches were the cupcakes and muffins. I know, the order was strange, but it didn't matter. I still had hours until the damn sun decided to grace us with its presence. Why was it taking so long today?

Hours idled away while I baked, made tea, and thought about training ideas.

The talk with Karin regarding the seals gave me a few ideas I wanted to try. I might have been… a bit too enthusiastic about explosions and dealing in lethal force. I didn't regret the enemies I killed, even if I still thought somehow my reaction to that whole affair was strange. But again, I was a soldier and had been training to kill since I got here in this world, even if most of the lessons were coated with a layer of pink.

Was it that surprising that killing didn't affect me that much?

No, what I regretted was not trying to help the chimera from Orochimaru's lab. I had theorized and even created barrier seals that increased the weight of those inside. A non-lethal version to capture instead of the deadlier exploding barrier.

I didn't even consider that one then, so enamored was I with the booms. It probably would not have been enough or feasible to help them, but I could have at least tried.

Outside, the sky started to brighten, and the lazy sun was finally on its way.

I organized the packs, sealed what needed to be sealed, left others on the table for Karin. I labeled everything and even left a written note to make things easier.

Back inside my room, I glanced at the redhead that was now torturing—grabbing my pillow. I wished the poor pillow luck in its next life. I looked over my outfits. The dress shirt, the skirt and tie. All in black.

I picked a blue shirt and shorts. It was civilian clothing, but that was fine. I had ideas about a new outfit. I'd start working on it after the training.

I left the apartment, made a quick detour to Naruto's house. Left breakfast hanging on his door. The brat would see the stuff there, right?

Konoha's shinobi highway was deserted at this time of the morning. Sun had just risen when I landed in front of the Yamanaka shop. I had agreed to meet Ino here at sunrise to start training. The street was deserted, apart from sleepy-eyed civilians walking to and fro.

I looked around, just to make sure I wasn't missing a hidden Ino anywhere, but nope. Had she forgotten?

Should I knock? Had I mistaken the time?

A chakra bundle crossed the store and arrived at the entrance. I looked at the door in time to see it open and Yamanaka Mother looking at me from inside.

"Good morning, Hinata-chan," she said.

I waved.

"Come in, Ino's still sleeping."

I scratched my cheeks. Man, this was embarrassing. I walked closer, and before I entered the store, I presented my offering.

"What's this?" Yamanaka Mother asked.

I popped my board, wrote words. "Finger sandwiches and muffins."

Yamanaka Mother moved away from the door and waved me in. I got past her, closed the door behind me, and followed her inside.

"Sandwiches? What's that?"

I erased the words, wrote more. "Thin slices of white bread with chicken, cheese, mayo, and lettuce."

"Hm," the woman hummed, looking at the miniature seal.

We crossed the store and entered the residence. Inoichi was already up, drinking tea. He gave me a nod.

"Are you going to open a confectionery?" Yamanaka Mother asked.

I considered that question. I did want to open a bakery. I just never had the time to think about it in detail. But that was a good idea, wasn't it? It could serve as a front for my ninja activities as the flower shop did for Ino's family.

"Come speak with me when you're ready." The matriarch said. "I can give you tips on managing a business."

I bowed in thanks.

"Now go wake up the princess, or you won't train today." She said, waved me off.

With one last bow to Inoichi, I changed paths and ran toward Ino's bedroom. I knocked, but when no one answered, I slid the door open and stepped inside.

The blonde was fast asleep.

I approached, gently shook her shoulder. "Wake up, Ino-chan."

Ino mumbled, blinked. "Hinata-chan?" Questing hands appeared from beneath the blanket, holding out to me. I held her hands, ready to help Ino out of the bed. It didn't happen. Ino pulled me onto it instead. She turned around, pulling the sheets over us, then promptly fell asleep again.

I luxuriated in the warmth. This wasn't bad. Perhaps I could indulge for five minutes? I wiggled in Ino's embrace until I was comfortable. She smelled nice. But I couldn't indulge for long. Five minutes, then training.

---

"Weren't you going to train today?"

Inoichi's voice woke me up from a pleasant dream. I opened a bleary eye. He was at the door, resting against the frame.

"It's halfway into the morning already." He said.

Oh… oh! Damn, the training!

I disentangled from Ino and got out of bed. The blonde turned around, pulled the covers over her head. Inoichi shook his head, smiled, left the room. I turned back to Ino. The nap was nice, but it was time to train!

"Wake up, Ino-chan." I shook the blondie and whispered.

"Don't wanna," she whined.

It was time for my secret weapon. "If you don't, I'll give the cupcakes to Naruto-kun."

---

Twenty minutes later, we were at the training field. Ino still looked sleepy, and her hair was a bit of a mess, but that was fine. She was pretty anyhow, anywhere, anytime.

God, so sappy. I had to control this. What was I? A teen in love?

"…"

I ignored that thought, popped my comms board.

"I have something for you," I wrote.

Ino yawned. Read the message.

"What is it?" she asked.

I pulled the small bag I had prepared and presented it to Ino. She took it, opened and found the bracelets and necklace.

"What is this? It's pretty." She said, running a finger over the purple stone in the necklace.

"The Ultimate Variable Weight Distribution System For The Discerning Shinobi." I wrote.

Ino looked at the board. Blinked. "The what?"

My shoulders slumped. I erased the cool name and wrote the boring description: "Weight seals to help with training."

Once she had read, I showed her mine.

Ino walked closer, looked at the bracelets, then the necklace.

"Are they the same?"

I nodded.

"Let me see it." She said, pointing to my seals.

I tilted my head, shrugged. Removed the bracelets — ankle and arm — removed the necklace. Placed them in Ino's hand.

She picked it up, looked at them. Nodded.

"How do they work?" She asked, then clasped mine on her arms.

I blinked. I was still surprised when Ino also clasped the ankle ones, then handed me over the black necklace.

"Help me put it?"

I nodded, took it, walked behind Ino. She pulled up her hair, exposing the back of her neck. My fingers brushed against her skin while I was tying the necklace.

Ino giggled. "It tickles."

Damn, it was a lost cause. I sighed.

"How do they work?" Ino asked again.

She didn't let me answer. She took the purple bracelets and clasped them around my arm. Same with the ankle ones. She faced me, ordered. "Turn around."

I did.

My hair wasn't long enough to cause trouble for her, but I did the same as she did, exposing my neck. After she'd tied the necklace, I took the board. "Send chakra in on each. Adjust how much you want them to weigh."

I stopped. Thought back on what Karin had asked. Wrote more words.

"They don't make you heavier, just make your muscles think you're heavier."

I saw the moment Ino activated it. She groaned, but unlike Karin, she didn't fall.

"Ow, ow. Forty is good, right?" She asked with eyes full of expectation.

I opened my mouth. Closed it. Looked away. Then nodded.

"Hinata-chan," Ino said, voice almost like a growl. "How much is yours?"

I turned around, power walked deeper into the training field toward the wooden dummies.

"Let's train Ino-chan!" I said instead of writing. I didn't look back. "Taijutsu?" I asked, hoping to distract Ino.

"Hinata-chan! How much!"

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Friday.

 

[Pandaemonium04]

Seriously tho, how much is it now? Also can she fight without it now? Her clones must have made her used to it

 

[okashihime]

Seriously tho, how much is it now?

Click to shrink...

If Hinata can still walk about, it's not heavy enough.

Also can she fight without it now? Her clones must have made her used to it

Click to shrink...

Yep. It hasn't been an issue since arc 3. She can operate with or without them.

 

[okashihime]

"How…" Ino wheezed, taking deep breaths. Sweat poured out of her every pore. "Is this…" She lifted her arms, tried to punch the dummy. "Even possible?"

I understood Ino very well. Training with seals was a different beast, but I still think she was overdoing it.

"Lower the weights a bit?" I wrote, showed Ino my board.

She wanted to get stronger, but it was her first time doing this. Abusing it like she was now might backfire.

Ino's scathing glare was my response. She still hadn't let it go, huh?

I wrote more words. "Ino-chan, It took me almost two years to reach the same amount in each seal." I tried again.

"And… how… old— " Ino shuddered, wheezed again. "Were you?"

I looked away. I was seven, maybe eight? I didn't remember the details that well. I looked back at Ino, still trying to hit the dummy. I wrote more words.

"Fill your arms and legs with chakra. It helps." Once the blonde had read, I erased the words and wrote others. "In the evening, soak in hot water. It'll hurt tomorrow, but don't give up, okay?"

If she wasn't backing down, the least I could do was help.

---

It was the third day since my return, which left me two days to what would be the most embarrassing dinner of all time and three days to what could be a deadly confrontation with the Hyuga.

I wasn't keen on entering the Hyuga compound. I had only agreed because Shisui promised to come with to mediate things. Whatever that meant.

But right now, I sat on the grass of training field three. Ino had her head on my lap, and I pretended I didn't see the tears in her eyes.

Silly girl. Abusing weight seals on her first day wasn't smart.

When I went to her house this morning and found her worse than a shambling zombie, I tried to convince her to stay in bed and rest for the day, but Ino refused. She put on a brave face while we were still in front of her parents, only to break down once we were alone.

Could I do something to help?

"Ino-chan, I'll try something that might help, okay?" I whispered. At this point, I didn't even know why I didn't speak all the time. The pain from speaking was nothing when compared to the bone seals. Habit, maybe?

Ino, the poor thing, groaned. I took that as a yes.

I wasn't a masseuse, but I was utterly familiar with my muscles and body, given the amount of meditation time I spent trying to learn all the details about the seals and after resting from my training sessions.

The tip of my index finger touched the shoulder I'd seen Ino try to relieve the pain more than once. I pushed my chakra inside the muscles, circled it, and stimulated it like I did to mine after a training session.

The breathy moan-sigh Ino let out told me it worked.

I stopped the chakra flow and removed my finger. Ino whined, like I had just taken her favorite candy away. I created many, many chakra threads. Who needed fingers, right? Why not go all in?

---

My ears were still burning hours later. It had been a success on all accounts. What I had forgotten was how massages can cause pleasure, even more so after intense training sessions. Ino's moans would haunt me until the end of my days.

But it had worked! Within fifteen minutes, Ino recovered enough to move. The improv massage session lasted for about an hour.

"…"

Now, we were discussing training strategies, and I was trying to convince Ino Kage Bushin was the training cheat.

"Shadow clones?" Ino asked.

I nodded, and my threads wrote the message. "You need to be careful because the jutsu splits your chakra between the clones, but it helps with training."

"How so?"

Well, this might be a secret, but maybe not? Kakashi-sensei already knew it, Naruto also knew it.

"The clones are independent copies," I wrote. "Once they disperse, you receive their memories and experiences. Even if you create just one clone, it's like double the training time."

Ino scowled. "So, is it just more training? I'll have to suffer double?"

I opened my mouth. Closed it. Ino wasn't wrong. I nodded.

Ino's scowl turned worse.

After Kage Bushin, I taught Ino Shunshin no Jutsu, and Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu.

Ino, for her part, taught me a trapping technique for which she had no name. I recognized it for what it was: the one she used when fighting Sakura in the original show to trap her with hair. Ino's family used this technique to immobilize the enemy and hit them with mind transfer. She also taught me another one, which Azuma insisted her team learn, a defensive earth release that created a wall on demand: Doton: Renga no Jutsu.

Right now, Ino was showing me her family jutsu.

"Let me show you," Ino said. Her hands flashed with seals. She pointed towards me, and immediately, I felt the chakra trying to invade my head. My own rose in response, but this time, I held it back. This was a demonstration of her family's techniques; there was no need to interrupt Ino's jutsu.

There was this moment of weightlessness like I wasn't in my body anymore.

"Huh? It worked?" I heard my voice say. I felt the sting of pain in my throat, but it was distant, muted.

"Ow, ow, ow," I heard it again. "Why does it hurt so much?" My voice whined. The chakra inside my head vanished, and I regained control of my body.

Ino covered her mouth with one hand before she turned to the side and spilled her guts out. Her face crumpled on a mess of tears and snot.

What happened?

I got up, walked to Ino, knelt beside her. I rubbed slow circles on her back. Once we cleaned the mess, Ino hugged me like I was a lost puppy who needed help or something. I didn't mind being hugged, but I wasn't sure why she was hugging me.

It took her minutes to speak again.

"Why are you always in pain, Hinata-chan?" Her voice trembled.

I tilted my head. Thought about Ino's jutsu. Ah, right, damn. I hadn't considered that.

"Orochimaru left seals inside my body," I whispered.

Ino shuddered.

"One of them is trying to kill me, and I'm failing to contain it."

Ino gawked at me, her expression caught between disbelief and anger. Then she shot to her feet and yanked on my arm, trying to haul me up. "We're asking Dad to help."

I didn't budge. Ino kept pulling my arm, but she wasn't strong enough to move me if I didn't want to be moved. She yanked again, and again. When I didn't follow, she whirled on me.

"What?"

How could I tell Ino I didn't trust people in the village to poke around my insides? I was willing to trust Inoichi, but he wasn't a seal master or a medic-nin, to my knowledge. Could I really let some stranger tamper with the seals inside me? What if that person screwed up? What if they didn't have my best interest in mind?

"Remember I told you about Danzo?" I wrote out.

Ino read the message, nodded.

"How can I be sure whoever your dad finds won't be a spy?"

Ino's face turned dark, teeth clenched. "Can't we just talk to him, please? Maybe he knows something that might help, even if you don't let anyone check the seals."

Ino's pleading eyes stabbed my heart. Could I refuse it? I couldn't. I sighed, nodded.

Ino's face lit up, and she dragged me toward her house.

---

One thing followed another. Before I knew it, I was being led into Konoha's hospital, except instead of a regular room, we went underground. Ino and Inoichi never left my side, which went a long way in making me feel better. With the mind ninja here, the chances a spy would try to mess with me were all but nil, right?

Unless the mind ninja was the spy.

I shuddered, pushed away that thought. Couldn't live without trusting people.

The underground room stretched wide, looking like it took up the entire floor. Against the walls, I saw computers and other diagnostic tools, a trolley, desks, computer monitors, and several other tools that were a mix of medicine and fuinjutsu.

The door opened, and two people entered. One I recognized immediately—the new Hokage. The other was a young woman dressed in a black kimono with a fishnet shirt under it.

"Hello, Hinata-san," Shisui said when he approached. Now that I was closer, I got a better look at the woman: short dark hair, black eyes, and a sallow and tired face. "This is Shizune," he said, gesturing to the woman. "Tsunade's apprentice."

Oh… oh! Damn, Shizune was here? Fangirl-sama, who had been sleeping for the past days, stirred.

"I see you recognize the name," Inoichi said. There was this strange gleam in his eyes I couldn't place. I nodded.

The door swung open again, cutting the conversation short. Another figure stepped inside.

Tall and broad-shouldered. Spiky white hair pulled into a long ponytail. Red lines slashed down his face. A forehead protector stamped with the Kanji for 'Oil.' The big rolled scroll strapped to his back.

Jiraiya walked until he was in front of us.

I shook, just a bit. I had seen the Ero-sennin once when Naruto taught me the frog summoning jutsu, but at the time, I was too tired and didn't interact with him; but now? The man, the legend, was here on my behalf. How could I stay calm?

"You're…, you're…" My whisper was hoarser than usual.

Ino gave me a strange glance, then looked back at the newcomer.

Jiraiya heard me. He smiled. Took a pose.

"I'm the most holy hermit of Mount Myoboku: the Frog Sannin. Pleased to meet ya, young lady!"

Shisui looked at me; I caught the brief hints of a smile. "I invited Lord Jiraiya. He might know more about Orochimaru's seals."

My mind focused like never before, inspiration struck. I knew what I had to do. Something that was missing, and only now I realized. A fundamental part of me that couldn't be denied. Something I couldn't not do it, if I was ever to be myself again.

With trembling hands, I rummaged through my stuff, happy I had already started resupplying my essential supplies. Out popped my comms board, and my threads wrote my message. That got me a few raised eyebrows from everyone around, aside from Ino.

I took samples of my good impression kit v:2.2. Out popped the cupcakes and tea. I turned the board around so that people could read my message.

My words spelled: "Please, take care of me, Ero-sennin!"

---

Spoiler: AN

Thank you for reading. Next chapter Monday.

 

[jayofgrey]

My words spelled: "Please, take care of me, Ero-sennin!"

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Perfect introduction! 10 flustered jeezers out of 10!
All the buildup makes me wonder about all those covert shadow games everywhere. Like what is Shisui cooking? What is Danzo plotting? What will Hyuga clan become fall guys for?