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* * *
Fuinjutsu: 69 / 100.
It took me until 3:43 this morning to finish Anko's book. Sadly, the book only increased my skill points by four, even though the notes she left in the margins should be enough for a skill book in of themselves.
Maybe if I read it again?
Nah, skill books don't work that way.
I gingerly set the book on my nightstand, making sure that no part of it was damaged. Beyond the skill increases, it was exactly the information I needed to start theory crafting my stat-enhancing chakra therapies.
This book was perfect for what I needed and that...well, I can hardly believe my luck.
I made sure to place the Chakra Control manuals in a separate storage scroll. I was going to read them on the mission since, you know, I didn't need sleep. Lots of benefits when your brain didn't start shutting down from literature overload.
With that done, I was ready for my mission. I opened my front door and saw Anko standing there, hand raised in order to knock.
She and I looked at each other in surprise.
I smiled. "Hey, you're up early."
"Had to come see you off," Anko said, a small smile gracing her face. "May I come in?"
"Sure," I replied, stepping aside and gesturing inside. I thought about saying 'mi casa su casa' but she wouldn't have got it. "Come on in."
"Thanks," Anko said, entering my abode. "I'll be quick since you need to head out soon. I had a going away present for you."
I stopped for just a second.
Charisma Check Success: 7 / 6.
She's...not talking about something material, is she?
I turned to face her and her smile had turned a little...devious. "Close your eyes."
Oh, I think I know what she's doing so...I played along.
After my eyes shut, I felt a soft pair of lips press firmly against mine. For a moment, I held my breath, the blood rushing straight to my face as her fingers snaked through my hair to hold me closer. When she broke off, I'm sure I would've been mistaken for a tomato.
...that was amazing.
Anko's half-lidded eyes looked into mine and her smile eased to one of contentment. "You stay safe and there's more of that waiting for you when you come home."
"Oh, I will be back," I said, adopting a rakish grin as I looked back at those amazing lips.
She hummed in excitement, standing back up to full height...our height difference wasn't that great, just a couple inches since I was very tall for my age compared to everyone else in the Elemental Nations.
"We should, ah," Anko said, not moving from her spot in front of me, still looking into my eyes. "We should get going."
"We should," I agreed. Her eyes were like a pair of polished lavender stones. Like some in Konoha, they didn't have pupils and for some, that might be unnerving but here? I could just look in them all day.
Anko's face was starting to grow pink and her smile took on a bashful tone.
Chakra: 80 / 85.
I wrapped chakra strings around her back and pulled her to me, bending her head so her lips met mine again. She offered no resistance. In fact, she wrapped her arms around my back and used a pair of boa constrictors to complete her hold. Our lips pressed together, doing a tango of breathe and passion. My hands traveled from her wrists, up her arms and around her back as I finally was able to touch this vision of perfection that had been taunting me since the day we met. Her hands went to my legs, rubbing my inner and outer thighs in a near taunt in our passionate, iron-clad embrace.
My tongue rubbed against her teeth, demanding entry. Her mouth opened and her tongue raced to meet mine. The bitter yet sweet taste of her mouth drove me crazier, making my hands grip her shoulder and back tightly, respectively. A moan of pleasure escaped her mouth. She disconnected and I kissed her neck briefly before coming up for air myself.
She was breathing as heavily as I was, all smiles. "I haven't done that in so long."
"You could've fooled me," I replied, arching an eyebrow in playful fascination.
She giggled and let out a contented sigh. Then her expression shifted to one of slight worry, making me wonder what on Earth could be wrong that she's worried and how I could fix it. "Listen, uh...this is as far as I want to go. N-not because I don't want to keep going, but-"
"Say no more," I said, unwrapping my strings from around her back and moving them around to open the door. "I gotcha."
"Thanks." She let out a sigh of relief. "As long as we don't, uh...go any further than that? We can do as much as you like."
Perception Check Success: 7 / 7.
Charisma Check Success: 7 / 7.
The unspoken part of that is as long as I keep being as helpful and considerate as I have been. Because this is the first time in a very long while that she's felt romanced enough for her physical needs to come out in force.
I smiled. "Certainly! Now if you'd do me a favor?"
Anko nodded and paid rapt attention.
"Keep being appreciative when I do things for you?" I asked with a smile of my own. "I live for that smile of yours. It makes it so easy to be helpful, you know?"
"Oh," Anko replied, nodding and cupping her chin. "Yeah, I can do that. Absolutely. Remind me from time to time, okay?"
"Happily," I said, pulling the door open with my strings. "After you?"
She gave a small laugh and pulled ahead of me...then fell into lockstep behind me as her professionalism took over and she became my bodyguard again.
* * *
I was the first one at the meeting spot, which was odd, given how I was delayed. Well, I say first one, but the Carriage driver was here first, though he was napping, his chin resting on his chest. Fat man, overweight and snored very loudly. He wore a long coat like Anko's but instead of transparent mesh, thankfully, he just wore a t-shirt and cargo pants.
Perception Check Failed: 7 / 10.
So what did I miss? His beard is a little greasy and gnarly? The straw hat on his head almost perfectly covers his bald spot? That aside from that spot he had a mullet going down past his shoulders? The bandages wrapped all on his arms and hooking over his thumbs like he had been mummified?
...no?
Alright, fine.
Why does he even get 10 Perception check anyway?
He was sitting in the drivers seat of the wagon which was pulled by a team of oxen. The wagon was filled to the brim with crates with no spare seats for any of us; we would definitely be walking for the trip. The oxen didn't really smell, as far as I could tell, which I was surprised by. I don't know, I just always thought large animals like that smelled badly. They were looking around like they were bored, but they were too well trained to start doing something like wander off.
Quest Updated: The Eyes Have It!
Completed: Rendezvous with the wagon driver.
Wait for the rest of your group.
"Daisuke-kun!" I looked up and saw Hisako running up to me. She was accompanied by Nichiren and they both were carrying a pair of large storage scrolls on the back of their belt.
"Hey, Hisako. Nichiren," I said with a grin. "Now we just got to wait for Sensei and then Team 9…"
It was at that second that team 9 rounded the corner. Gai and Lee were talking animatedly. Tenten was rubbing one of her tired eyes and Neji looked as robotic as ever. Like me without my charisma boosts except he actually looks human.
Lucky...
"Hey you three!" Gai greeted with this gigantic smile on his face.
We returned his greeting with a formal bow. Team 9 similarly bowed to us and we started mingling.
"I guess we're just waiting for Kakashi?" Gai asked, keeping his voice surprisingly low given the early hour.
We all nodded.
"Mitarashi-san," Gai took notice of my bodyguard with a respectful bow. "Burning the midnight oil, aren't we?"
"Well, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to my charge," Anko replied with a smile and bow of her own. "Besides, I couldn't just let him head off without saying goodbye."
And what a goodbye it was.
Perception Check Success: 7 / 5.
Hisako got really still, with an angry glare at the ground as her fingers clenched around her arms tight enough to turn white. In mid conversation with her, Tenten looked at her in confusion, then in enlightened sympathy.
Charisma Check Success: 7 / 6.
She is trying really hard to not attack Anko, verbally and physically. This is the first time I've seen her this aggravated besides when I graduated early and she didn't think she'd ever see me again and she's been nursing this crush for a long time, hasn't she?
Well shoot!
I...huh.
How to handle this?
Intelligence Check Success: 10 / 6.
Well, I mean, Anko kind of pointed out that I didn't necessarily need to reject her yesterday. It'd be a really hard thing for all involved and I'd need to handle it delicately to make sure she wasn't miserable but...huh.
Need to think about it.
"Kakashi-sensei," Nichiren greeted our eternally late instructor. Everyone bowed as normal.
"Hey everyone," Kakashi replied with an eye smile. "Sorry I'm late, my alarm clock's battery came loose and I overslept."
Hisako groaned.
"Well, now that everyone is here, I feel like I can let you go," Anko said, looking at me with a smile. She gave me a hug I eagerly returned. "Stay safe, okay?"
"Always," I replied.
After we separated, she started walking off, but it was weird. It was almost like she was dancing. Walking a one woman waltz, her hips gently swayed to imaginary music. I mean, I hoped she enjoyed our time together, but I didn't think she liked it that much.
Charisma Check Success: 7 / 7.
Then again, if what she said about not kissing in 'many years' was literal, perhaps any kind of affection was going to put her on cloud nine.
"So," Kakashi-sensei pulled me from my thoughts. "Are we all ready to go?"
"Yosh!" Gai replied with a grin and thumbs up. "We just got to wake up the carriage driver and our C-rank can begin!"
Quest Updated: The Eyes Have It!
Completed: Wait for the rest of your group.
Escort the wagon on it's route to the border. (0 / 4).
What do you know, Gai was standing right next to the driver, so he just reached up and tapped the guy on the thigh. He woke up with a start, scratching his side and yawning. "Oh...s-sorry about that. I had a late last night. You're all…here."
The driver looked over all of us in surprise. "That's weird. I thought we only paid for one team?"
"Konoha's providing an extra one free of charge," Kakashi explained easily. "There's a shipment of weapons in your cart and there's been an increase in bandit attacks on the road to grass."
"Oh, really?" The driver asked, clearing his throat with a cough. "Well, alright. I feel safer already! We all ready to move?"
The large group gave their assent and he snapped the reins, starting the team on a slow trod forward.
* * *
The trip was slow, but it was a peaceful slow. Kakashi and Gai brought up the rear on either side of the wagon. In the front, Lee and I both walked next to the drivers seat. Behind me, I could feel Neji's eyes burning holes in the back of my skull and behind him, Nichiren was reading a book, that he'd occasionally look up from the scan his surroundings.
On Lee's side, Tenten and Hisako were talking.
"But there's more poem types than Haiku," Hisako said, having just finished up a rousing lecture on Haiku and how it grew from simply describing the seasons and the changing thereof. Or something. On another occasion, I'm sure it would be interesting, but I really just wanted to take in the sights of the trail since this was the first time I've ever left the village since my birth. "Concrete poems, for instance. Designed to take a shape on a page, like a lantern or a kunai."
Tenten hummed in pure fascination. Then she gasped. "It's a blue bird!"
"Oh it's so pretty!" Hisako snapped from her focus of her subject of choice to mutually admire the bird as it flew through the trees and over the road ahead.
"Anyway, your family owns a weapon shop?" Hisako asked with clear interest. "That's where I got my kunai. I never throw these things, though, so I'm thinking of changing them out for something for suited for melee though."
"You might consider a set of trench knives," Tenten started. "Kunai are great mostly because of how disposable they are. They work but they chip kind of easily and are usually made with cheap steel just because they're meant to be carried into battle by the dozen."
"Wait, really?" Hisako asked. "I haven't noticed any chipping in mine."
"That means you take good care of yours," Tenten replied, sounding impressed. "But it'll happen sooner or later. Trench knives are made with a higher quality of steel, which means they're harder to damage and easier to take care of."
They continued along that conversation thread as effortlessly as they pursued the first conversation about poetry and demonstrated a yet unseen skill to talk about anything. And everything!
Maybe it's just my patience wearing thin, but I was hoping to see the sights and commune with nature or something since this was the first time I've ever set foot outside of the village since I reincarnated.
"Anyway, I've been considering improving my marksmanship," Hisako started a new thread. "Sensei taught us all a lightning jutsu, but I'd rather have something steel, you know?"
"How's that lightning jutsu coming, Hisako-chan?" Kakashi-sensei asked from the back.
I could tell Hisako jumped. "Uh...It's coming! I guess."
"You still can't do it?" Kakashi surmised flatly.
"I still can't do it," Hisako admitted in shame.
"We'll have to see to training it when we get back to the village," Kakashi said with what I assumed was an eye smile.
"Must be a really tough jutsu, huh?" Tenten asked, her voice lower.
"No, I'm just not that good at Ninjutsu," Hisako replied flatly. "Working on it, though."
Our trip continued much like that. Honestly, I was surprised by how quiet Lee and Gai were, but then that was just a testament to their discipline and how little credit I gave them on first impression.
Everyone made sure to drink a gulp of water every five minutes. Well, everyone except me. I kind of just forgot since thirst was a thing of the past and so was hunger. Catching Gai eyeing me oddly was what reminded me to take a swig just to placate him.
When the sun hung at high noon, the carriage was pulled off to a grassy knoll carved into the hillside and stopped.
"Why are we stopping?" Kakashi asked.
"Lunch time," The driver replied, whose name I still didn't have. I mean, it was in the mission briefing but I haven't read the briefing because Sensei had it. Details like that got glossed over when it turned out my mission had a name. "I'm gonna go take a leak. And a smoke. Away from all the feminine conversation."
Charisma Check Success: 7 / 6.
Hisako and Tenten looked really irritated, because that meant they couldn't hold a simple conversation without annoying anyone. They were also embarrassed, because they hadn't meant to annoy anyone, they were just holding a conversation.
A really long one.
"I advise against wandering off into the woods," Kakashi said. "Bandits are really bad this time of year."
"I'm not going far," The driver said without even trying to care. "If I'm not back in an hour, you can say you told me so in the Pure World."
I found myself liking the man in spite of myself. But why is he so lackadaisical?
Kakashi sighed. "Fine."
He disappeared behind a tree and Kakashi started walking forward. "I'm going to tail him. Gai, if you'd keep watch for me?"
"You got it, Kakashi!" Gai beamed.
Kakashi bolted off faster than I could see and Gai turned to us. "Alright! I noticed that everyone kept a watchful eye out for anyone trying to sneak up on our wagon here, even Hisako-chan and Tenten-chan, who kept careful eye even while they were talking!"
Tenten scratched the back of her head with an embarrassed smile. "Thanks, Sensei."
"Now, lunch time!" Gai said, pumping his fist. "It is essential that we get all the proper nutrients in our bodies to fuel our youthful fires so we can see this mission through so eat!"
"Yosh!" Lee shouted enthusiastically. "After lunch, can we do some training, Gai-sensei?"
"Lee, the fires of your youth burn so brightly, it brings tears to this grown man," Gai replied, actually crying. "But no! Lee, we are on a mission, which means we cannot exhaust ourselves improving ourselves. Trying to do two things at once will leave us unable to accomplish either."
Lee was heartbroken. But he nodded. "Yes, Gai-sensei! I swear I'll put my utmost effort into completing this mission to perfection!"
"Then you must eat! Your! Lunch!" Gai instructed so sincerely, it sounded like he was still giving a motivational speech.
I will not laugh.
I will not laugh.
I will...not…
Endurance Check Success: 5 / 4.
Okay, the urge to laugh is gone. Whew!
I sat down and pulled some sushi rolls out of a storage scroll. After inhaling the rice-rolls, I stretched. Honestly, now would be a good time to use the wait command to get back to the mission asap for me. Hisako and Nichiren were chatting up Team 9, so it should be…
…fine?
You cannot wait while enemies are nearby.
I'm sorry?
I narrowed my eyes in spite of myself. I looked around, at the tree line, at the hill behind us. Down where the carriage driver and Kakashi had walked down.
You cannot wait while enemies are nearby.
Well, that's not good.
I stood up and leaned against the wagon. The sound of the oxen kicking at the grass to my right seemed really loud for some reason, even as the conversations of my fellow Genin seemed to get tuned out.
Charisma Check Success: 7 / 7.
I need to tell everyone we've got company. Obviously.
Intelligence Check Success: 10 / 10.
But the issue is that these enemies might not even be attacking us. They could just be hostile wild-life that doesn't know we exist. No lakes around so it's not like we're dealing with Tamriel's Slaughter Fish. The last thing I need is to get everyone riled up over nothing because of a random text prompt that didn't even update my quest. Especially since Neji's been making periodic sweeps with his Byakugan.
So the solution is to keep watch.
"Uh...Daisuke-kun?" Hisako asked, sounding concerned. "Is something wrong?"
"Just keeping watch," I said, trying to smile. "Something's bound to happen sooner or later, right?"
Charisma Check Success: 7 / 7.
Speech Check Success: 36 / 25.
"Well, if you're sure," Hisako said. "Just let us know if something goes wrong, alright?"
"You got it, Hisako-chan," I replied with a more genuine smile, thankful that even though she noticed that I didn't deny that something was wrong, she didn't press me on it.
I tried waiting two more times while the other Genin finished up their lunch and started socializing. Both times, I was denied due to the presence of enemies. But Neji would've seen something, wouldn't he have? Especially with the sweep he did just now?
Really, confused here.
Which makes me nervous.
Which is making my team nervous.
Which is making Team 9 nervous.
"Shimoda-kun, is everything okay?" Gai asked warmly. "You seem nervous."
"It's probably nothing," I said, not taking my eyes off of the treeline. "Especially since Hyuuga's been diligent with his sweeps."
Almost on cue, Neji did another sweep.
"Are you sure?" Gai asked.
"Positive," I replied.
"I do not see anything, Sensei," Neji added. "Only Kakashi-sensei and the Driver."
Wait.
The driver.
He's the only one of us that isn't above suspicion, isn't he? But even then, why would he be setting off my enemy alarms? He isn't hostile, is he? That's typically how this thing goes in Bethesda Fallout's; you can't sleep when hostile, murderous NPC's are next to you because obviously. But Brutus wouldn't have stopped Julius Caesar from taking a nap until it was time for the assassination.
So maybe it's not him.
But then what's going on here?
Does Neji want to kill me for making a fool of him during the training exercise?
...
Wait, that almost makes sense.
Intelligence Check Success: 10 / 2.
Except no it doesn't, that's dumb.
Then...the Driver? Is he just biding his time? I mean, if there's anything that the armed insurrection taught me is that Konoha's got enough holes in it's security that they could easily let some kind of infiltrator in and coming as a client would be the perfect cover.
But would that stop me from passing the time with a wait command?
I don't feel like it should.
So now I'm back to square one.
"Good work, Neji-kun!" Gai said with a shining smile.
"Though I think it'd be a good idea if we all talked when we get to our first checkpoint," I let him know. "You know, while Kakashi-sensei is here and I don't have to repeat myself."
"Gotcha," Gai nodded firmly. "Say no more, I understand completely."
"Thanks, Gai-sensei," I replied.
Eventually, Kakashi returned and Gai...hurriedly passed him a note I didn't even see him write and they exchanged nods. A moment later, the driver pulled himself out from the trees, smelling of smoke and tobacco. "Alright, that's my business all taken care of. You all ready to go?"
There were nods of assent and we continued on.
* * *
Quest Updated: The Eyes Have It!
Escort the wagon on it's route to the border. (1 / 4).
We finally came to our first stop near sundown, a small town with high walls. There was a three-story motel that we checked into as a unit once we had overseen the wagon's internment in a warehouse owned by Soma Shipping.
One of the interesting things was that I noticed one of the crates was marked along the bottom by a seal, which Kakashi explained to me as being a security seal; that was the crate that contained the weapon shipment and those seals would prevent the crate from being moved by anyone aside from authorized personnel and I really wanted to get a closer look at that seal to see what I could learn from it.
We were all crowded into an apartment room and everyone was looking at me expectantly.
"So, we all know about my premonition," I began, not entirely sure how to talk about this without sounding crazy. But then, I've got some credentials from Nevermore, so maybe I can be a bit straighter. "There are other times when I get them."
"Like when?" Nichiren asked.
"Like when I try to go to sleep," I answered flatly. "Or when I try to zone out to pass the time, or 'waiting' as I call it. There's few things that stop me from doing either of those things. One of those being the presence of enemies."
Neji's eyes narrowed. "But I didn't see anything on our journey here."
"I know, and that's why I was confused." I took a deep breath. "...you don't want to kill me, do you?"
Neji arched an eyebrow. "No, Shimoda. I do not."
Charisma Check Success: 7 / 2.
"Yeah, I didn't think so," I replied with a nod. "Sorry, I thought that idea was dumb, but I had to ask. So that leaves us with the carriage driver, but then I'm still confused."
"Why are you confused?" Kakashi asked, his eye narrowed.
"Because he's not outwardly hostile," I explained. "That's the weird part. Unless he's actively acting on a desire to harm me or is otherwise actively antagonizing me, it shouldn't stop me from taking a nap. That's why I didn't want to bother anyone with this, because I didn't understand the situation."
Everyone was quiet for a minute as they processed this information.
"...how, exactly, do you know that?" Kakashi asked, looking confused.
Charisma Check Success: 7 / 3.
I blinked. "Uh...last time this became a problem was the Kyuubi attack."
Kakashi gave a nod. "Understood. If we're act on the assumption that Arai is an enemy, we'll need to do some quick investigation. Gai, how suited are your team for stealth operations?"
Wait, Arai? Arai's the driver. Okay, glad the one person who actually read the mission brief could give us this minor detail.
"They're quick and quiet," Gai affirmed with a nod. "We can find and tail Arai. Yours?"
Sneak Check Failed: 17 / 25.
Wait, since when would a Sneak check happen now? I'm not sneaking!
"Daisuke has lead feet," Kakashi replied pointedly, offending me greatly. "Stealth is his worst skill. He'll be staying here."
Hey, I strenuously object to that accusation!
Melee Weapons is my worst skill, not Sneak. By Two! Whole! Points!
"Ah! Then in the spirit of camaraderie, Lee shall stay here with him!" Gai said.
Lee saluted. "I won't let you down, Gai-Sensei! I shall keep Shimoda company!"
"...you guys can just call me Daisuke," I said, trying not to sound exasperated.
"Yosh!" Lee gave me a thumbs up and a smile that didn't quite sparkle the way his Sensei's did.
Everyone turned to get started on their tasks, but then quickly turned to me.
I arched my eyebrow. "No, there was no update to the Mission."
"Just checking," Kakashi said.
* * *
So while the rest of my team went to go have fun and perform the mission to the best of their considerable abilities, Lee and I were left in the apartment. He had brought a deck of cards, so we were playing go fish.
"Do you have any twos?" Lee asked, six cards in his hand.
Quietly, I handed him my single two.
"Yosh!" Lee grinned, placing the completed set down on the ground in front of us.
"If you don't mind me asking Lee," I started. "Why did you become a mini-Gai?"
"Gai-sensei has become an inspiration to me in the short while that I've been a Ninja," Lee answered, his eyes sparkling happily. "He has encouraged me and believed in me when no one else did. He has called me a genius of hard work and I am proud to be his student!"
"Sounds like you admire him a great deal," I said with a smile.
"He is the best sensei ever and I will always strive to be worthy of the faith he has placed in me," Lee said with an enthusiastic grin. "I will defeat all obstacles and become a splendid Ninja!"
"Well, I mean, you're already splendid," I pointed out. And he was! A little extreme and enthusiastic, but you can't argue with the guys heart.
"Thank you, Daisuke," Lee replied, looking positively ecstatic. "That means a lot, coming from a Shinobi such as yourself."
"I'm nothing special," I said with a shrug. "Just overly specialized."
"How can you say that?" Lee asked, aghast. "You closed one of Neji's tenketsu without the Byakugan! Something I didn't even think was possible!"
"As a result of my overspecialization on Taijutsu," I pointed out. "But beating him isn't that hard. I imagine you've done it several times."
He blinked and looked somewhat ashamed. "No, I must confess that I've never beat him."
"Really?" I asked, confused.
…
Oh, right. That was a thing in the anime. I don't understand how it's possible for Lee to have never beaten Neji but...that's true.
"Yes, it's true," Lee said, acting like I had just brought up something he regret severely. "I have never beaten Neji. But one day, through training and hard work, I will surpass him in Taijutsu and then I will truly have earned the title of splendid ninja."
I frowned. "Okay, but there's just one thing wrong with that."
"Daisuke, please do not tell me that it is hopeless..."
"I wasn't going to say that."
"...or that hard work simply cannot match talent..."
"I wasn't going to say that either."
"...because I will not accept anything but the constant drive to improve!"
"Admirable. You'll go very far with an attitude like that. But seriously…"
Lee sighed. "Very well. Say what you were going to say."
"You're already better than Neji."
He braced himself like he was preparing an insult. But my words shook him and he looked at me like I had grown a second head. "Excuse me? I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you properly."
"You heard what I said," I flatly reprimanded. "You're already better than Neji. Even with those training weights of yours. I watched you fight and I watched him. You're faster, stronger and more tactically efficient with your moves than he is."
"I'm sorry, Daisuke. While I appreciate the kind words," Lee started, smiling but looking hurt all the same. "I cannot condone flattery, especially when it is so clearly untrue. If I were better than him, I would've beaten him before now."
"Well, I wasn't done," I cut in, annoyed at being interrupted again. "If you haven't beat Neji, then it's because you keep screwing up somehow. Likely a small mistake that's easily corrected. You mainly focused on the Strong Style, right?"
"That's right," Lee said, looking unsure of my words.
I stood up. "Come on, get into your stance."
"Gai-Sensei has instructed that we not train on a mission," Lee protested with a frown.
"We're not actually sparring," I said, sighing in irritation. "I refuse to spar with you while you've got those weights on. No, I'm just checking something. Come on, get into your stance."
Reluctantly, he obliged me, settling into a loose horse stance.
"Excellent. Now, pretend I'm Neji and do what you'd normally do when we're sparring," I said, settling into a mimicry of Neji's Gentle Fist stance.
Taijutsu Check Success: 80 / 75.
Lee's eyes widened slightly and I could see the muscles beneath his spandex tighten with anticipation. Or dread. I threw a strike forward and he blocked it with his forearm.
"Found the problem," I said, relaxing my stance. I sat right back down.
Lee blinked in disbelief. "Wha – just like that?"
"Just like that," I confirmed, nodding. "Sit down."
"So what's the problem?" Lee asked, almost sounding anticipatory.
"You can't block the Gentle Fist," I replied. "Neji doesn't rely on strong hits or breaking bones or whatever, he only needs to touch you. When you block and parry, all you're doing is giving him what he wants; physical contact with the tenketsu in your arms. If you want to defend against the Gentle Fist, there is only one sure way to do it."
Lee's eyes got wide. "To dodge."
"Precisely," I said. "Dodge and counter attack. That's how you win."
Imagine for a moment that Lee was a video game boss with a pulsating, glowing weak point. A great, green beast with an exposed heart, if you will. Neji would be the MC of this hypothetical game. Lee blocked Neji's attacks would be the equivalent of fighting this video game main character without once ever covering his exposed heart.
A bad idea.
Lee was quiet. His hands were shaking slightly and his breathing got deeper. "That's how you won. You used dodging to prolong the fight until you could reverse engineer the Gentle Fist. You did the one thing I didn't know how to do. Neji...the key to defeating him was in front of me the entire time."
"The smallest thing can bring a giant to their knees," I said with a smirk. "Glad I could help. But don't think you'll just beat him automatically, he is good. You'd need to train dodging."
"How do you recommend I train dodging?" Lee asked, his eyes on fire.
"Well, there's more Taijutsu Styles than just Strong Fist," I replied with a shrug. "For dodging? There's the Serpent Style, the Bamboo Reed Style...and the Drunken Fist."
That last one seems extremely appropriate, now that I think about it.
"Right," Lee sounded like his mind had been blown. "What about your style?"
"I don't really...have a style," I said, shrugged. "At least, not one that I can certainly call a style. I haven't set any kata or written any books on it. But if you wanted to fight like me, you'd need to master Tree Walking and have a good grasp of Water Walking."
Lee looked downcast for just a moment. "Okay. I will talk to Gai-sensei about other styles of Taijutsu. I confess, I hadn't thought of the possibility of training other Taijutsu styles, I just wanted to focus on mastering the Strong Fist."
"The Strong Fist can take a lifetime to master, so that doesn't surprise me," I said without hyperbole or exaggeration. There was a lot of material in the Strong Fist, even with its weaknesses. "Actually, if you're willing to memorize the human body and the position of the tenketsu, you could learn Gentle Fist. Turn the tables on Neji."
Lee laughed, and got a thoughtful expression on his face. "Neji has said that no two person's tenketsu network is the same, so all that would do is give me a general idea of where they are are."
"True enough, but a general idea is all I needed to close his tenketsu," I pointed out. "Besides, there's more to Gentle Fist than just shutting down a chakra system. Just like how there's more to the Strong Fist than breaking bones into splinters. If nothing else, it'll help you devise defenses against him."
Lee blinked. "You're right...you're right! That is true! There is more to the Gentle Fist than shutting down an opponent. I hadn't thought of that!"
"I mean, if you're going to master Taijutsu, you might as well master all of the Taijutsu, am I right?" I asked with a smirk.
Lee nodded. Then, his expression shifted from one of enthusiasm to one of solemnity. "I believe I have made a mistake."
I frowned. "How so?"
"When I was first placed on Gai's team, I had named Neji my rival," Lee intoned, the fire in his eyes having returned. "But this rivalry was one sided. He did not regard me as an opponent or a friend. But I see this is because he is not my rival. Shimoda Daisuke, I officially name you as my rival!"
Oh no.
"So we must challenge each other to see who is the best," Lee demanded, pointing at the ceiling. "So, my eternal rival, you gain the first challenge!"
I hate to do this, but I'd like to come back to Earth now.
"Alright," I said, sitting up straight. Lee looked at me with full anticipation. "I challenge you to finish this game of Go Fish with me."
"What?" Lee looked thunderstruck. "Come on, seriously!"
"A Shinobi should never commit to something he doesn't intend to finish," I replied with a wry smile.
Speech Check Success: 36 / 15.
"Oh, alright," Lee huffed. "Not like we can do a real challenge on a mission like this."
"Precisely. Got any fours?"
He looked at his cards with a new seriousness. A seriousness that bespoke decisions that would decide the course of war. Uproot armies. Annihilate civilizations. Then, slowly, he looked up at me. "Go fish."
Aw…
* * *
Right as Lee won our game, the door opened and everyone that was gone filed in. We stood and bowed to greet them.
"Gai-sensei," Lee said.
"Kakashi-sensei," I said. "How'd it go?"
"The driver did nothing suspicious the entire night," Gai reported enthusiastically. "He went to a bar, drank two bowls of sake, then returned here to sleep off the alcohol."
"It was so boring," Tenten complained. "How was the warehouse?"
"Same," Hisako replied, scrunching up her nose in distaste. "We couldn't find anything in the warehouse records of anything amiss and this Arai guy has worked for them for years. Literally hours of stress for nothing."
"Well, when you put it like that, I'm glad I didn't have to go," I said with a grin.
Hisako gave me a dark look. "And what did you two do all night, play War?"
"Go Fish."
Hisako rubbed her eyes in frustration.
"Uh, not to put too fine a point on it, but we've got an early day tomorrow," Nichiren pointed out. "So if we're done, could we head to bed?"
"I have to agree with Nichiren," Neji interjected. "We need rest."
Well, you need rest. I'm bored.
Kakashi nodded. "Alright, everyone, to bed."
* * *
I wound up sharing a room with Nichiren. A little unfortunate because I wanted to stay up and read and keeping the lights on would keep him up. But nothing was going to stop me from reading my books, so I head to the bathroom our room had, shut the door and turned on the light.
Chakra Control: 96 / 100.
Chakra Control: 100 / 100.
That conversation with Lee was illuminating to me, too. Mostly because I realized something.
The Gentle Fist used chakra in it's fighting style.
Such an obvious statement. Like hur dur, they use chakra when they fight. But it's really profound because the Gentle Fist style of injecting chakra has very little difference with Tsunade's Megaton Punch.
This means that, for as long as I've been a Shinobi, I've been fighting below my capabilities. Sure, my Ninjutsu skill is a barely acceptable 29. But my Taijutsu skill is 80 and there's a whole crap ton of stuff you can do with just Chakra Shaping.
Like...take the Rasengan.
Chakra Control Check Success: 100 / 80.
Chakra: 20 / 85.
This glowing ball of grinding death that I'm holding in my hand? It's just chakra shaping. And honestly, I'm kind of underwhelmed. Not because it isn't an impressive achievement by the Fourth, because it is, but because it wasn't created for someone like me.
The Fourth Hokage's innate Chakra Nature was Wind. I'm Lightning. I'd want is something like the Chidori, but Kakashi-sensei hasn't taught me that yet. Not that I've asked. Not that I'd be able to use it, with my Ninjutsu score being 29.
It's kind of a shame because the Chidori is more than a hand-held lightning spear. It basically straps a rocket to your back and yells Yahoo!, making you move so fast your vision blurs. But if I recall correctly, Kakashi-sensei created the Chidori for the same reason the Rasengan doesn't work for me; he's a Lightning user.
But I've got ingenuity, I've got lightning, and I've got time.
So, Bootleg Chidori!
Chakra: 75 / 85.
Much like the Rasengan, I started by created a chakra loop. The difference is that this loop hovers above my clenched fist and instead of adding more loops, I simply tightened this loop until I came as close to an actual point as I could.
Then I added the lightning chakra.
The sudden noise of the electrical sparks made me stop because I didn't want to wake up Nichiren. Or anyone else on the floor.
Chakra: 85 / 85.
I quietly hummed in thought.
What about, instead of trying to create a bootleg Chidori, especially when I can just ask for the real thing, I just take the techniques I already know and just add Lightning Chakra to them.
Way less complicated than trying to recreate other jutsu.
...I'm just going to sleep now.
With that, I shut off the light and headed to bed.
As I got beneath the covers, I had one last thought before I forced myself to go to sleep.
I wonder what the Megaton Punch looks like when it's been juiced up with lightning?
* * *
Chakra Control: 100 / 100.
* * *
Author's Note: I think Daisuke's about to accidentally crack Lightning Release Chakra Mode. Not even kidding. From it's description, it's literally just wrapping your body up in Lightning Chakra and honestly, I'm here for it. Can't find any hand-seals for it, so it doesn't trigger a Ninjutsu check even though it is a Ninjutsu and 'you do not know that jutsu' doesn't apply because he isn't trying for a specific jutsu, he's just experimenting.
Still, we'd have to see where it goes.
I hope I did Lee and Daisuke's conversation justice. I just always thought that, even though he was always trying to get stronger through push ups and sit ups, he could've also been exercising his mind through deliberately trying to learn other styles of Tai Jutsu. As Daisuke points out 'why not master all of the Taijutsu'. I mean, he's got the dedication for it.
Last but certainly not least, Daisuke and Anko. Aside from voicing my awareness that they're moving fast, I'm kind of glad they can take a break from each other. Daisuke's about hit that spot where he just plain needs to be left alone so he can feel like himself again. Much as he likes Anko, he needs his Daisuke time.
I believe Hisako and Tenten count as having passed the Bechdel test? Let me see...two girls? Check. Talk to each other? Check. About something other than a man? Check. Also, I hope you appreciate that Hisako starting to grow out of her insecurity about her poems and is starting to talk about it.
Anyway, thank you for reading!
Until the next time!
~Fulcon
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