There was no sound inside the apartment, aside from the front door, where someone was trying to open it with their keys. The fact it was taking so long for them to do so was either a sign of intoxication or exhaustion.
The answer became apparent as the door finally opened, allowing the owner of said keys to enter. His outfit was torn in several places, a twig with several burnt leave on them stuck in his hair, his gate more like a gorilla than a human.
“I’m done,” he muttered, tossing the keys on the counter, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Entering the door, two more of the individual appeared, each one carrying one of their female roommates.
“Bastard could have at least turned on the light,” muttered the one carrying Nabiki.
Ranma turned back to his Kage Bunshin, Ranma-1. “He’s us.”
“Then he should have known better.”
“Scary snake lady breathes fire,” muttered Mihoshi, somehow hiding her head in the crook of Ranma’s shoulder.
“No shit,” muttered Nabiki, riding the back of Ranma-1. “This is minimally invasive?”
“Yeah, we got screwed, what else is new,” mumbled Ranma as he handed Mihoshi off to his remaining Kage Bunshin. “Take them to the bathroom and disperse, I’ll get started on dinner.”
“Better not be ramen,” the Tendo sighed, as the struggling clone took Mihoshi’s weight and made his way slowly to the bath.
Snorting, Ranma went to the kitchen, being careful not only to drop the bowls and pans from exhaustion, but also when his clone’s memories hit him.
“Hey Ranma!”
He barely had the energy to keep a glass-mixing bowl from hitting the ground, as he had not prepared for Naruto’s surprise entrance, reminding him to shut the door.
“Wow, you should really be careful,” stated the Jinchuuriki.
Ranma just directed a hooded glare at him, one that might have been fatal had the gender-cursed boy been in his female form. All it did was made the blond extremely nervous.
“Anyway,” gulped Naruto, backing up slightly, “I was wondering how your test went.”
Slowly standing back up and setting the bowl back on the counter, Ranma just sighed. “Bell Test, sent our assigned Jounin to the hospital, got assigned a new one with an assistant, and spent the last few hours fighting for our lives in the name of training.”
“… Wow,” muttered Naruto. This was definitely a sign he had chosen the right path in trying to study under Ranma. Oh how he wished he had sent Kakashi to the hospital, more for the butt-poke disguised as a ninja technique than being left tied to the pole for an hour. After dinner, he was going to spend the rest of the night working on that scroll Ranma had given him.
Of course, he hoped Kakashi’s training didn’t leave him looking like that.
“So, you staying?” Ranma asked, mixing several things.
“Sure!” chirped Naruto. It was always nice to hang out with his friends, especially when Ranma cooked. It was almost as good as Ichiraku ramen. But Ranma couldn’t help it that he couldn’t match the skill of such a Kitchen God.
“No ramen for dinner or Nabiki would kill me. And as tired as I am, she might be able to do it.”
He was also now a cowardly bastard!
Ranma chuckled weakly as he saw the look that descended on Naruto. Sure, it was mean, but even Ranma understood you couldn’t just eat ramen all the time.
He paused in his stirring, his face flushed as the clone’s memories hit him.
“You okay?”
“Yes,” Ranma said quickly as he returned to stirring, fighting to keep from offering any other sign of what said memory had been.
Sometimes, Mihoshi was a bit too friendly. Mental note: never go into the bathroom with Mihoshi ever again.
“Oh, they are so perfect,” cooed Anko, sitting in the Hokage’s office with Yamato and Sarutobi. Not only was she finally assigned Genin—granted, as an assistant instructor, but you had to start somewhere when members of the Council still thought you deserved to be executed—but Genin with the skills to not get blown up or otherwise slaughtered.
“Really?” asked Hiruzen.
“They were quick,” Anko replied with a sinister smile. “The girls could use a bit of work.”
Yamato nodded. “Nabiki needs to work more on defensive while Mihoshi needs … well everything.” He was surprised the girl had passed her exams. The girl had created a single Bunshin … that had then been dispelled by impacting a tree. How was it then that this girl was able to somehow get a spy to confess on their own?
Then again, Uzumaki barely looked and acted like a kid who could steal the Forbidden Scroll. Perhaps even Genin understood the importance of deception.
Well, that, or the two were idiot savants.
“Should the team be dispelled?” asked the Hokage. As much as he wanted to protect them, sending an unprepared team out would be a severely poor choice on any Hokage’s part. The outside could be just as dangerous as the inside, especially with Danzō running about.
“Nah, nothing we can’t fix,” waved off Anko. It was definitely going to be a challenge.
And she loved a challenge.
“Saotome seemed to also show signs of being a chakra sensor,” offered Yamato. “He detected our arrival before we appeared; even Anko’s opening attack from underground, plus several ANBU.”
“Really?” asked Sarutobi, eyes narrowing. His decision was quickly appearing to have been the right one. Someone with Saotome’s skills and jutsu repertoire would be a perfect recruit for Root’s founder. Obviously, the kid wasn’t top of his class for nothing.
Yamato nodded. “While there was no doubt Saotome was the most skilled of the trio, he worked quite well with Tendo and Kuramitsu. Tendo seemed to be able to discern some battle plans and styles while meshing possible reactions with the abilities of the team.”
“I see,” Sarutobi replied, inhaling his pipe for a moment. “Will you need anything else?”
“I don’t believe so,” replied Yamato. “Anko and I have agreed on some goals and teaching strategies.”
Anko snorted. Sometimes a good scare was the best teaching tool.
Then again, the psycho who taught her team turned traitor and the rest of her team was dead. She could be wrong.
“Continue as you see fit,” said Hiruzen, setting his pipe down. “But try to do it without destroying the local forests or the training grounds. They do cost a lot to repair.”
Anko sulked for a moment. “Fine.”
Luckily, some D-Rank missions were outside of Konoha. He never banned anything there.
Ranma hobbled into his room, hoping whatever practice Naruto had planned would be quiet from where he slept. The meal had helped, but Mihoshi refused to turn out the lights or go to sleep without several security seals. Even then, he hoped she slept in Nabiki’s room that night.
Right now, all he wanted to do was curl up on his futon, and fall into a peaceful sleep, allowing his body to regenerate from the ravages of his teachers. Man, Naruto might have actually been able to kick ass with Yamato at the start. Guess I owe Hiroshi a soda when I get back.
Knock-knock!
Blankets over him, his eyes slowly rotated to the ceiling. “You can’t help yourself, can you?” he asked, not expecting an answer, but half expecting a sudden leak in the roof to spring up.
The fact nothing happened didn’t exactly fill him with confidence. “Yes?”
The door slowly cracked open, revealing a very familiar mop of hair. “Um, Ranma?”
So much for hope. “As long as you got some clothes on, come on in.” At least she didn’t snore.
“OhthankyouverymuchIwasafraidtheangryandscarysnakeladywouldtryandattackmeinmysleep!” she replied quickly, opening the door further in pulling…
“Not what you think, Ranma,” Nabiki spoke, her voice nearly as tired as he felt. “I’m just worried she might be as sadistic as we fear and actually try and sneak in here tomorrow for a ‘proper’ wakeup.”
He wanted to complain, he really did. But frankly, the bed was warm and he didn’t even have the energy to fight back. Akane could have charged though that door with something new she had ‘put her heart and soul into cooking’ and he doubted he’d have the energy to avoid the first ladle-full. “Fine,” he muttered before closing his eyes, drifting away to—
“COLD FEET!”
“It happens, Saotome.”
Why was his dream turning into a nightmare?
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(Posted Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:38)
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