Chapter 98: The calm before the storm (part 1)
Several months had passed ever since Homura decided to teach Takao he knew about ninja arts for real.
It wasn't exactly much, but to a child without real knowledge or experience related to fighting such as Takao, it was more than enough to make him happy; at least for awhile... his pseudo-teacher was Homura after all.
Before entering the academy, it was quite hard for Homura to teach Takao anything about being a shinobi; because he didn't know much about being one.
Besides performing a few exercises or help him increase his ability at using some weapons or avoiding them.
He didn't know much because the manga never went too much in depth into it, and the overall story of the manga followed Uzumaki Naruto.
A boy that was from being the average ninja and the list of abilities he knew of or had was rather low when it came to diversity.
However, now that he was in the academy and had practiced in taijutsu and was well aware of the basics of the exercises he needed to learn and perform at the academy, Homura, was now more easily able to plan a training regiment.
Combat between shinobi is often defined by awareness of a person's surroundings and the ability to take their opponent when their guard was down.
A single moment could heavily alter the entirety of a fight.
If Homura could teach Takao to remain calm in a stressing situation, then even if he was not the strongest person around, it could still buy him time and avoid making a rookie mistake.
Especially, if he were to ever be put in a situation where his life would be in danger.
Which was probably going to happen soon.
However, at the moment Homura was not currently training with Takao.
He was instead in one of the many outdoor training areas within the academy having class.
It was only a few minutes past noon and the children were having another class to help them sharpen their skills at handling projectiles.
They had to practice until the weight and shape of the weapons they used became like second nature.
Homura understood and memorized the complete shape and weight of the projectiles assigned to him, that he could tell if something was off about them just by the sense of touch alone.
Using a weapon not familiar to them, could be difference from life and death.
Everyone at the academy understood that, since it was drilled to them to fear projectiles and always be mindful of their surroundings.
Though currently their surroundings were not that much in danger as in Homura's group, they were still waiting for Naruto to give up trying to hit the target in front of him.
-Urgh...(Naruto)
Naruto was about to throw the kunai he was holding on his right hand towards the assigned moment but at the very last moment he seemed to have hesitated and took a deep breath as he stretched his arm.
-What? What is it this time?- asked Homura, who was genuinely frustrated by Naruto's overall behavior. He had been waiting for Naruto to be done with his turn for almost 20 minutes, but it now seemed like an eternity.
- Kuh! Darn it! I am so tired of this repetitive cr*p, again and again, and again!? (Naruto)
Naruto threw away the kunai as he then expressed his frustrations with wild body gestures and words.
-Then, hurry the hell up! Tch!- said Homura as he clicked his tongue at the end to show his dissatisfaction.
-What did you say?!- yelled Naruto while turning around to look at
-What's wrong with you? are deaf now?
-Sh*t up! It's still my turn! I have about 5 minutes left!(Naruto)
- 5 minutes? you've been doing this for 30 minutes already! Move aside and I will show you how it is done!
- You b*stard! You getting too cocky just because the teacher praised you in class yesterday! (Naruto)
- At least I was praised! When was the last time you got praise in class? Uh, never because you suck at everything!
- grrr! (Naruto)
-grrr!
Both boys literally butted heads, as their foreheads seemed glued to one another.
As they continued pressing their foreheads against each other.
- Oh boy, here we go again. (Kiba)
-*sigh* Enough guys. Break it up. (Shikamaru)
Shikamaru, already used to Naruto's and Homura's bickering, steps in between them to try to break things of from escalating further.
Which was quite surprising that one of the students was deemed to be the laziest in the class and had no motivation to do.
However, what was even more surprising is that both boys actually listened to Shikamaru and went back to their respective spots.
It seemed that Shikamaru's effort paid off.
- Hmph! (What's with him getting up on my business lately?) (Naruto)
-Tch!(I don't care about this...but this guy is able to shatter every once of my patience somehow )
It was quite hard for Shikamaru to manage to break the 2 boys apart in the beginning as the two boys told him to pick a side, however after Shikamaru explained to them very clearly that he finds both boys dumb and that he would never pick a side unless one of them was clearly right, only then both Homura and Naruto seemed to trust his opinion.
Though it had been a long time since then, Shikamaru had yet to truly agree with any of the boys' arguments.
So much so that they forgot about it and Shikamaru was now no more than some sort of mediator in between them.
- (Phew, if things go well... we won't have to do another remedial class again because of those two, but I can't be too safe...) So, Naruto ...what's wrong (this time)? (Shikamaru)
- Besides Homura being a complete Jerk!- he said giving Homura the stink eye. (Naruto)
-...*Pissed*
Although Homura was pissed he simply closed his eyes and crossed his arms.
- Yes, we all know that but besides that... (Shikamaru)
-(Hey! He's not going to deny that earlier part of the comment? What an ass...)
Homura although heard something that deeply offended him, he just didn't want to enter a shouting match with Naruto, and he was never well liked anyway so it wasn't much of a shocker.
-.....Every day is the same kunai this kunai that! How to prepare a kunai. How to make a trap with kunais. How to use kunai in creative ways... History of kunais. (Naruto)
-Ok, I patiently listened to your poor explained cr*p, but that last one you clearly just made it up!
Homura listened about Naruto's complains, and even though Naruto clearly did not know or remembered the names of the topics they had studied so far, the last one was so outrageous that it made him blurt out his honest feeling without filters.
-Yeah, we never studied that. (Kiba)
- He probably fell asleep again and dreamed it up.
- Hahaha! Huh!?- Homura and Kiba.
Both Kiba and Homura laughed at the same time, but then their laughter decreased as they remembered that they didn't like each other even less.
- S-Shut up, you bastards! I-I remember studying that... (Naruto)
- What is it with you today? You finally lost your marbles? (Kiba)
- Yeah.
- Sh*t up! But seriously guys, aren't you guys tired of doing the same things over again? (Naruto)
- I mean I'd rather not train altogether, I miss when I could just play all day long. (Shikamaru)
-I am a genius. I don't really care.
-Oh, yeah? Mr. I failed my last cooperation exam I went on my own and got lost. (Kiba)
- I was clearly right. If we had taken my path we would have made it much faster to the finish line.
- You have no sense of direction and an even worse tracker, even Naruto is better than you. (Kiba)
- Yeah! (Naruto)
- Not by much though- said Kiba with a smile plastered on his face.
- What did you say Kiba?! (Naruto)
- You heard what I said! (Shikamaru)
- Oh, easy for you to say that.- rebutted Homura.
- You b*stard what are you implying? (Kiba)
- Aw, I am sorry we don't all have mutts with us at all time like you, to help us out in the dark corner of a forest! You goddamn cheater!- said Homura while pointing at Akamaru who started barking at him.
- Yeah! That's right! (Wait, did I just agree with Homura? I feel sick.) (Naruto)
- I am no cheater! I train with Akamaru all the time! His skills are my skills!
- Sure buddy....Cheater.
- That's it! I am going to- (Kiba)
- Guys, guys come on we don't have time for that. (Shikamaru)
Shikamaru once again interfered.
Putting a stop at any of the banter being exchanged among Homura, Naruto and Kiba.
- Does anyone here wants to get assigned extra work? Over the weekend? (S)
- I mean...-said Naruto, not even trying to entertain the idea. (N)
- I have things to do...- said Homura conflicted at all the time and money he would lose fro, complying.
- Tch! (K)
The ninja academy homework is far from normal homework, even if Konoha was extremely more lax than other villages'.
It wasn't too different, especially when the homework is related to studies.
It could be anything from having to climb a mountain, having to look up for a specific item within an area or drown under a pile of scrolls they have to read and give a detail report or explain everything in them.
Not the kind of homework any child would shy away from having to perform, either be a normal child or one trying to become a ninja.
- (I don't want extra homework...)
Was a thought shared by all present.
-So, Naruto. (S)
- Huh? (N)
-So you don't want to throw any kunai towards the target anymore, are you saying you want to train shuriken throwing now? (S)
-It's the d*mned same thing! Are you making fun of me too now!? (Naruto)
- I mean the teacher just told us to practice throwing weapons towards targets, kunai or whatever other weapon you're proficient at using. (S)
-...(Naruto)
-So then, what would you have us do in your opinion? (S)
Shikamaru tried to press Naruto for an answer, so all the other boys looked at Naruto expecting an answer; though some were quite confused by the whole ordeal that had just occurred.
-(Shikamaru truly is a cold hearted b*stard. Of course Naruto isn't proficient at handling any weapons yet, especially not weapons that we haven't been taught how to handle...What exactly is his game here?)
- Hm...What exactly are you talking about? I couldn't understand half of what you said.- professed Naruto to Shikamaru while making a confused face.
He clearly had no idea of what the boy in front of him meant.
- it's not like we can change our classes or stop doing today's practice. So hypothetically, if you had something in mind we could easily do. It's free practice after all. (Naruto)
Free practice was a time allocated for all children to try and polish their skills in the area they excelled or lacked.
But it was still a supervised class and students had to show results.
One of the easiest thing students wanted to use that period was shurikenjutsu, having access to the academy's field and resources was quite the enticing offer for many to do.
So it was no wonder Homura when he heard Shikamaru's proposal became less than happy about the idea.
- That's it! I've heard enough of your nonsense Shikamaru! And you Naruto, you're just mad you suck at shurikenjutsu. (I don't care about brats playing mind games or brats throwing a tantrum!)
- *Sigh* (S)
Seeing Homura ruining his plan to slowly pacifying Naruto, Shikamaru could not help himself from sighing.
- You're wrong! I am good at shurikenjutsu! (Naruto)
- Then shut up, and hit the center of the target already, so that you can stop wasting our time!
- Fine! I will show you all what I can do when I am serious! (Naruto)
Naruto once again grabbed the kunai that he refused to throw and starting this whole mess.
- (Why do I have to partner in a group with those 2 loudmouths? )-wondered Shikamaru as he was watching Naruto getting ready to throw the weapon in his hand.
Naruto then threw the weapon towards the target with as much strength as he could muster.
The kunai that was thrown went straight ahead towards the target.
It them passed by the target and hit the wooden fence nearby it.
- Tch! See your incessant whining made me miss. (Naruto)
- Like it's my fault that you missed! Just shut the h*ll up already!
- Grrr! (Naruto)
-Your damn excuses already I've heard them a million times. Oh, today I am going to beat Sasuke but you lose every time! You're a certified loser!- said Homura while getting really close to Naruto.
- Like you're one to talk! You lost to your last against him too!- Naruto protested while pressing his forehead Homura's.
To the surprise of the other boys looking at them at how easily both boys went back to their usual arguing.
Suddenly a thought came to mind from the boys watching Homura and Naruto going at it.
- (These 2 guys sure talk a lot about Sasuke.) (S)
It became clear that the 2 boys' point of contention wasn't the fact that they were good or bad at one thing or the other, but the fact that Sasuke was beating them both in areas that they were both stressed out.
- Oh yeah? At least I wasn't defeated in less than a minute by him!
- Oh yeah?! At least I didn't give up on fighting him last week. Chicken! (Naruto)
- What?! How dare you! I-It wasn't a test there's no need to go all out! Besides that b*stard steals moves!
- Nice excuse. At least I have the gall to fight him without caring that he could steal my moves! (Naruto)
- Like you have any moves worth stealing!
- What did you say?! (Naruto)
- You heard me!
- Grr! (Naruto)
- Grr!
Calling it destiny or seeing it as unavoidable.
The descendants of Indra Otsutsuki and Ashura Otsutsuki could not help but to butt heads easily.
Especially after Homura used Sasuke's DNA to enhance himself, which caused him to physically getting much stronger and several smaller changes.
Whether it was due to his chakra becoming different or much more powerful as of late as he had started to learn how to use more chakra, it was nonetheless undeniable that him and Naruto were now more easily prone to butt heads than in the past.
It is said that chakra created by someone is able to carry one's emotions within it, so it was certainly possible that Homura was also affected by it as his body changed due to the foreign DNA inside his system.
- Tch, I don't want to talk to you anymore. Move and let me show how real genius does it!
-It was the wind! I missed it because of the wind!- replied Naruto with fervor in his voice as if he managed to convince himself that it was the truth.
Though it certainly could have been.
Naruto wasn't as meticulous as he could have been as a child, accounting for weather and other things are not things that first year academy students easily put into consideration.
Though, it was something that Homura who has trained with C, is able to unconsciously account for whenever he performed an action.
-Pfft, enough of your poor excuses move aside. If you tell anymore of your lies your body may not be strong enough to support that hot, big head of yours anymore- said Homura as he shoved Naruto aside from the podium as he made his way towards it.
-Teme! Homura! (Naruto)
Although Naruto was annoyed by Homura's words and wanted to kick his high and mighty ass, he could do nothing but comply and let Homura have his turn at trying to hit the target.
-Those born with great destinies... will always succeed in the end.- said Homura as he grabbed 3 of the kunai left on the table nearby and started juggling with them.
As if it was the easiest thing in the world.
-(Show-off)- thought Kiba and Naruto as they looked at Homura increasing the speed of his hands.
Not that Homura paid them any mind as he put tried more daring moves for absolutely no reason whatsoever other than trying to show the gap between himself and the rest of the boys watching.
-...
He started concentrating more and more while still juggling the 3 kunai jumping in and out of his hands, until finally he threw them one after the other as they landed on his right hand.
*Tap*
*Tap*
*Tap*
To no one's surprise all Homura's kunai hit the center of their target perfectly, without hitting each other in a triangle like pattern.
Showing his talent for the art of throwing projectiles to all who witnessed it.
Not that anyone was surprised by it, in fact Homura missing to hit his target would be far more surprising.
they had studied together for several months now, everyone in the class knew that he was good in shurinkenjutsu, taijutsu and general studies.
Everything else, he was either bad at it or average.
- Hmph.- seeing the perfect display of skill, Homura closed his eyes as if indicating it was obvious that he succeeded, while he then smirked.
He was clearly the time of his life showing others the skills he had worked so hard practicing.
He was proud of having Uchiha blood coursing through his veins.
A clan that was said to excel in shurikenjutsu due to their eyes and motor abilities beyond the norm that made them so dangerous.
And his ability in shurikenjutsu skills may as well at this point be the source of his pride and the only thing way he could openly display his heritage, while not officially being part of the Uchiha clan.
Alternatively, not sharing the clan's name.
A clan reputed for birthing unparalleled geniuses.
However, to Naruto and the others who saw what had just transpired, it was far from the idea that they got.
Especially for Naruto, who was used to seeing Homura's smug face every time he would seemingly would prove to be right.
The smug look on his face pissed Naruto to no end.
- Tche! You were just lucky. (Naruto)
-There's no such thing as luck!...but I guess you already hit everything else except for the target, so in a way thank you Naruto for showing what not to do.
- Grrr, hmph! (I swear one day I will show Homura's big mouth will-) (Naruto)
Seeing Naruto stressed and hurt by the difference in skill in shurikenjutsu between them, Homura decided to add salt to the wound.
- Don't be like that, it was inevitable that I would succeed. I am just that great.
Homura did not want to get back at Naruto, but as the school year had already started Naruto was clearly having difficulties.
Thus, he was lagging behind.
And Naruto would often drag or interrupt classes by trying to pull pranks and other things.
Homura was getting tired of this seemingly desperate cry for attention.
Not that he did not understand the reason as to why Naruto did those things, he remembered enough from the manga and had been around Naruto for a long time to not know the plight of the boy, but he was also stressed with many things happening in his life currently.
He was trying his best to juggle many things at the same time, and if he were to lose precious time because of Naruto's antics, at the very least he didn't want to get involved.
He had too much on his plate.
Thus he was somewhat harsh on Naruto, because he wanted the teachers to stop making it his problem, by seemingly having strong misgivings about working together.
So far the strategy was partially working.
- Now, who between the 2 of us with has a big head!? (Naruto)
- You believe in the concept of destiny but not in luck? When there's no proof for either... (S)
-Naive, I expected better from you Shikamaru.(If the ugly and powerful Otstsuki Ishikki somewhat believes in destiny, who am I to not to?)
Homura couldn't help but close his eyes and smirk, which intrigued Shikamaru more than the other boys who thought Homura was just full of hot air.
It wasn't the first time that he would randomly make weird claims about things beyond their years.
-( !? Why is he expecting things from me? We barely even talk to each other outside the academy.)...is that so? Do prey tell. (S)
- Simple. Our abilities are what define our destiny. Those among us born with gifts will always shine brighter than those without. So making our destinies foretold conclusion. -said Homura with a proud look at his face while he pointed towards Shikamaru.
Among all the boys in the class, Shikamaru was the only one with a certain degree of true maturity and able to introspect his actions.
So although Homura wasn't a big fan of Shikamaru, he was sometimes the only child present that he could have a more or less deep discussion that didn't involve anything related to studies or the village in general.
-That's one way to see it.- said Shikamaru, as he pondered about Homura's words. (Shikamaru)
Although he never really thought too deeply about such things, he was a ninja from a major ninja clan.
Clans usually specialize in their strong points and he had seen a lot of ninjas from special clans often follow a single path or share a common factor between them.
Such as the Inuzuka, being good with dogs or the Gekkou clan members having swords with them.
As the eldest son of a major clan he had accompanied his father to many bothersome things, someone with Shikamaru's mind was easily able to understand several things without having to be told.
However, not everyone had such ability for insight or perspective.
-Grrr! I don't agree! I don't agree at all!- Exclaimed Naruto in protest by Homura's claim.
He couldn't agree with Homura's way of seeing things.
He had basically told Naruto that hard work didn't matter if one didn't have the ability to do what they wanted to accomplish.
An example of that would be saying that a man with a limp can never truly run because his body is physically unable to perform such a task to begin with; expecting the opposite would be cruel and self-defeating.
Though his denial of Homura's rhetoric was understandable, none of the boys present were prepared for Naruto's small outburst.
-???
Thus it was no surprise that the 4 boys present, were quite surprised by Naruto's louder than usual denial.
- A-as long as one trains hard enough they can surpass anyone! Believe it! Hmph!- Said Naruto, closing his eyes and crossing his arms as if he had just said something undeniable.
-....
Everyone became speechless.
Not because Naruto's words were profound.
But it was such a strange thing to say for the 4 boys looking at Naruto, to see such an argument from the boy that tends to joke around and fall asleep in class all the time.
In other words, the class clown and the boy deemed to have the least amount of talent than all the boys present had.
Over the last several months they have been compared to each other, competed against each other and more or less a hierarchy was slowly building inside their minds.
It was simply a common truth of the shinobi world, that those with the highest amount of talent was often regarded differently from others with less talent.
And there was the boy who was dead-last but even then his eyes remained as strong and full of confidence as ever.
Naruto's tenacity was something they were all well aware of.
One could only look at the log where the target was attached to, in order to understand Naruto's strength.
There were over 30 kunais sticking out from the log and all around it, from the many of Naruto's try and failing to hit the target.
But even then he didn't stop after his first 3 tries, but continued throwing to most of the boys' present indifference.
In the beginning, none of the boys cared about stopping Naruto.
Thinking that he would tire out but even though he did he still pressed on for far longer thought he would.
If Homura hadn't stopped Naruto, it was highly likely that he would have continued throwing kunai until their stash was all gone or hit the target somewhat.
Even though he was complaining all the time.
Though having to listen to both Naruto's and Homura's arguments, Shikamaru could not help but to be somewhat astonished by his classmates; individual strong personalities.
- *sigh*...I really can't tell who among the 2 of them is more stubborn. (S)
- ! *mad*- Homura looked at Shikamaru, annoyed by the comment he had just made.
-Maybe they are just as stubborn *crunch* *crunch*- said Choji as he started eating chips from a bag he was holding.
Seeing Choji's bag of chips, Homura panicked slightly.
-W-Where did you get that?(I am pretty sure he didn't have it just a few moments ago...Seriously how the hell did he get that without me noticing?)- said and thought a slightly unsettled Homura at Choji's weird ability to take out food without being noticed until it was too late.
- *crunch* Hm?...I am not sharing with you this one it's my favorite flavor!- said Choji as he dug further inside his bag while giving Homura a serious stare.
- *shudder* Not what I was asking...(Why am I being intimidated by the likes of him?...He's not that strong, right? And why does his docile personality shift so easily in moments like these? The Ak- Aka...?... The Choji clan is perhaps a valuable bloodline for me to dig in further about...But still )
However, Homura having heard Naruto's speech felt conflicted.
He certainly put a lot of hard work in order to achieve his current level, but it was also true that he had abilities that supported him in everything he did.
Why did he try so hard then?
He wasn't born perfect, it took him a lot of blood, sweat and sacrifices to get to his current level of strength and even then it was still laughable when compared to ones such as Itachi and Shisui had probably when they were about his age.
Should he give up?
As of now there was no way he could live up to such geniuses.
Even competing against Sasuke was hard.
He was someone that progressed extremely fast.
Whatever gap he and Homura may have or had, the gap would soon close in favor of Sasuke.
His talent was just above his, there was no denying it.
By his own admission he should not waste his time competing with others far above his level.
There was no way he could one day surpass the reincarnation of the son of the sage of sixth without resulting in major sacrifices and ingenuity.
Unless Homura was someone could attain his stride at a latter time in his shinobi career such as Naruto will... everything he had done up to this day was pointless
So Naruto's words revealed the duality of his thinking and his own hypocrisy.
-( In a way... Naruto is right...)- he agreed but at the same time the opposite was true.
Looking at all the kunai Naruto had thrown to hit its mark there were so many of them spread on the ground.
However, it was also true that some were near the log where the target was located.
And two of the tens of kunai had reached the mat.
Either being due to sheer luck or the number of projectiles thrown was uncertain.
It's bound to probability that some would probably have a decent of making it close to the target.
But it was also true that none had reached the mark, while he did using his abilities.
Which path was superior or to follow was clear if he wanted to get ahead was clear. But to him it was a mystery as to why it felt somewhat wrong.
Nonetheless, he was reluctant to accept Naruto's words fully, since it seemed to deny his way of thinking.
-Hm...
A conflicted Homura could do nothing but ponder if feeling that way was right, but he would soon be taken out of it, by a news he was not expecting.
- Guys, big trouble. (???)
One of their classmates they hardly talked to had come to share some recent news Huh? A confused look was shared between the 5 boys present.
By the unexpected arrival. Though Homura quickly regained his normal demeanor.
- (well, whatever it is; it doesn't concern me.)
To his surprise, the next words spoken by the short-haired girl who came to deliver the news, would almost instantly contradict his insensitive inner thoughts.
- it's Saya chan! (???)
- huh?
Everyone paused after hearing Saya's name being mentioned.
And none more than Homura, who felt incredibly unsettled by the mention of his oldest friend having something bad happening to them.
Chapter end.