"First we have to get out of the building," Naruko pointed out.
"Why do I have the feeling this is going to get more complicated than getting out of a building has any right to be?" Kiba muttered.
"Well it wouldn't be if you could fly," Naruto grumbled.
"Naruto, we don't need another fine for in-city flight," Hinata chided.
"The elevator takes too long!"
"Fine?" Kurenai interrupted.
"Flying without a vehicle is a minor crime in a city like this," Hinata said. "Apparently things get chaotic very quickly if mages are zooming around in midair as they please."
"But they usually look the other way when you keep to the side of a building and just go straight up and down," Naruto grumbled.
"There's an easy solution to this," Kurenai said with an only slightly evil smile.
"Much more complicated," Kiba groaned.
Kurenai had Naruto show her the window they used as an exit when flying and opened it. Chakra glowed briefly on her hand and she tested the wall. "This should work. We'll just run down the wall."
"We'll what!?" Kiba yelped. "But we're still new at that! What if we slip?"
"I would suggest not doing that," Kurenai said unhelpfully. She knew the others could fly, so Kiba being the only one worried was expected. And she knew this was a lot to ask of him at once, but team eight was growing fast, faster even than team seven by the reports she heard. This would exercise would either give Kiba's confidence a much needed boost or give him a failure he could learn from without being humbled too badly. "Naruko, you lead. And remember, no flying."
The familiar gulped slightly – she was easily the worst at tree climbing. Something about her chakra was really bad at that stable output required. "O…okay, sensei." She carefully focused her chakra and stepped out the window, planting her feet on the side of the wall. Heights didn't bother her – she knew how to fly from the moment of her creation. Yet knowing that she had to go all that way without flying made the apartment seem very high indeed. She took a few cautious steps down, keeping her focus as steady as she could.
Hinata was next – she was the best at control, even without Reynard. Naruto followed her, Gungnir's standby form close to hand. His chakra control was better than it used to be, but Gungnir's device mode made it much better. Kurenai agreed that such assistance is a useful tool, but she wasn't about to make Naruto rely on it. Kiba was next and then Kurenai took the rear, where she could keep an eye on everyone. "Okay, Naruko," she called, acting completely unconcerned that she was standing perpendicular to gravity's pull, so far above the ground the strange carts below were only the size of her thumb, "start running."
Naruko nodded reluctantly and set off, running straight down and trying not to think about the chakra in her feet. If she thought about it, she'd worry about it. If she worried about it, she'd tweak it. If she tweaked it…her foot slipped. "Naruko!" she heard Naruto yell. It was pure reflex, of course. Naruko caught herself almost effortlessly and hovered alongside the ninja, now disconcertingly oriented with gravity's arrow and her feet planted on nothing instead of the wall. "Sorry," she said.
"That was longer than you've run before," Kurenai said encouragingly.
"Still got a ways to go, Kitsune?" Kiba teased. To prove his point he made a show of leaning back and resting on just one foot with a cocky grin on his face.
Akamaru sighed loudly. "Arf!"
"I'm not going to fall!" Kiba protested.
"We should probably get down to ground level," Kurenai interrupted, looking below them. A small crowd had gathered and was watching the unusual display with interest. Kurenai was still too far away to see the details of their faces, but the general body language was consistent with civilians watching the signature techniques of friendly foreign-nin. "Hinata, take the lead."
"Yes, Kurenai-sensei."
Kiba smiled to himself as they neared the ground. Naruto had cratered his footprint into the wall and had to use his staff/spear thing to boost his control for the rest of the run. Hinata had made it through without any problems, and now…yes he was on proper ground! He made it! He grinned smugly at Naruto, who was collapsing his staff back into the jeweled bracer form.
Naruto scowled slightly. Kiba wouldn't feel so smug after Naruto mastered tree climbing!
Kurenai glanced between the two and nodded with satisfaction. Kiba had been pulling his weight, but as the youngest member on the team with the fewest flashy jutsu, his ego was taking a beating. A healthy rivalry with Naruto would help Kiba take heart in his strengths and inspire Naruto to focus on relearning the ninja way of doing things…although somehow Kurenai thought Naruto would end up re/inventing/ the ninja techniques. The boy had a knack for making variant techniques and improving them into unique jutsu, although so far he hadn't really applied that to anything useful in a fight.
With that resolved, now that they were at ground level, Kiba and Kurenai quickly realized how foreign this world was. The ground had been entirely paved over in some strange concrete or tar. The carts they saw from high above moved at velocity that a chunin couldn't keep up with. As disturbing as the high apartment had been, the artificial canyon of buildings around them was so much worse.
"Ya never get used to it," Naruto grumbled, a slight edge to his voice.
"This would be a security nightmare," Kurenai muttered.
"I'm ready to go back to Konoha," Kiba offered.
"Shopping first," Naruko insisted. She took a step towards the road and held out her hand.
"What are you," Kiba started. Then a taxi pulled up and opened its doors. "…doing?" he finished.
"Taxis are a lot better here than on Nanoha's home world," Naruto said in a completely unhelpful explanation.
"Exactly what kind of money do you three have here?" Kurenai asked, suddenly suspicious.
"Um, I'm not sure," Naruto said. "Gungnir, get to work on that."
[On it, boss.] The little gem started pulsing slowly.
"Well? Get in," Naruto said, getting into the taxi.
"What is Gungnir doing?" Kurenai asked. She followed Naruto cautiously, taking note of the many strange materials in the cart's construction.
"He's findin' out how much money I have in my account," Naruto said. He shrugged. "I don't get it either, but money here is some numbers held in a computer somewhere."
"I'm the one that manages the finances," Naruko said, sliding in and closing the door. "The market on seventh, driver."
The driver didn't look at them, simply nodded and put the vehicle in motion. Kiba and Kurenai boggled for a moment before turning back to Naruko. "So how much do you three have here? Or how much would it be in Konoha?"
Naruko considered. "Well, if we use food costs as a base of exchange…" she worked out a number.
Kurenai coughed and Kiba's jaw dropped. "You're joking," Kiba breathed.
"Mage jobs pay very well," Hinata mumbled. The Hyuga had enough money that she wouldn't have noticed, but she'd had to reign in Naruto's spending binges a few times before he realized that you only had money as long as you didn't spend it. "We only get a few such jobs a month, though. If we tried to live at that income, we'd be broke."
Kurenai nodded slowly. She knew some civilians that had far more money than their lifestyles suggested, because they saved like panicked squirrels. It sounded wiser than it really was, but for a few children on their own it was some pretty impressive thinking. "So you have a nest egg to dip into to cover this shopping trip."
The mage-genin nodded.
The market on seventh turned out to be a five story tall mega mall. It was a monument to consumerism that teetered on the edge of awesome and disgusting. Kiba couldn't even begin to imagine how big it really was, and just stared at the façade in utter shock.
Kurenai was slightly more composed, but only because she was on the lookout for threats. It was a ninja thing.
"Hey! Hey Naruto! Hinata! Kitsune!"
Kurenai blinked and turned to look at the voice.
Naruto smiled and waved at the stranger. "Hey, what are you doing here?"
"You think you can teleport in without TSAB noticing?" the person asked. "They sent out a general alert when that weird mana of yours popped up."
Naruto blushed. "Oh. Um, Kurenai-sensei, Kiba, this is…"
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(Posted Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:15)
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