Chapter 7: Plans in motion, How far they have come
As a mother, it is my duty to help my son as best I can, so I am putting my plan into motion to get him a wife, a partner, or a companion, however it is called among shinobi nowadays.
While he is busy trying to make up for lost time and has even pulled in the other children of the clan as well, that gives me ample time to get things in motion as well.
It has been ages since I met with Tsume Inuzuka, my old friend who is one of the few still alive after the war, clan wipeout due to a traitor, and the fox disaster, taking away so many.
While I was thinking about how to broach the marriage thing to Tsume, trying to gauge how she would react to my idea of getting my Bunta and her Hana together. I quickly jumped across roofs with a fast shunshin, leaving an afterimage in my wake.
In the distance, I saw the Inuzuka area coming quickly into view, a massive flat plain with grassy fields and mud around small water sources or small lakes, with scattered large trees providing shade to cool down during sunny days.
The wooden houses are large and cosy-looking, big enough to even let some of the bigger Ninken or mid-sized summons into the homes, and not make it feel cramped or crowded.
Although most houses are just normal houses, around the outer area closest to the village.
Further inwards are larger ones that are more specialised for clan use.
"Halt! Who are you and what is your business with the Inuzuka!" I was suddenly stopped after I jumped the outer-walled fence by two Inuzuka clansmen and their Ninken partners.
"I'm here for your clan's Matriarch Tsume. You can go tell her Kyo Akimichi is here to see her. Oh, and if she refuses, I'll just do as she always does and barge straight in, beating people up with my warhammer if I have to." I casually said with a smile, watching them pale and seeing the one who spoke just now rushing away, while I stood there, hand on my hip and my warhammer on my shoulder held with my other hand.
I watched the other Inuzuka chunin pale-faced, as the young lad was shaking on his legs. Guess I will also need to inform my old friend, the outer guards or patrols, need some tough loving, being shaken up like this from just a name, no way they will last if anything happens.
Just that idea made me smirk, almost burst out into loud laughter. I mean, tough loving… is the worst kind of training for Inuzuka's because that is personal training from the clan leader, and even I fear Tsume doing so like so often during the war to make everyone ready because of the war raging on. It is harsh, but it saved many lives of her clan, and even our own teams survived because of this.
Just when I was about to imagine what would happen in that regard, all the screaming that would happen, the first one returned.
"You can enter, you are expected in the clan's training ground." I heard the returned Inuzuka clansman say before he and his fellow clansman jumped away with their ninken in tow.
After jumping a short while, I could see my old friend standing in the training ground, stern-looking and ready for trouble.
'Seems she still has not learned how to relax, or maybe it is because I showed up after so long, making contact myself instead of her showing up and barging into my place after years.' I thought, watching her stern face turn emotionless
"So, you do remember to visit after all." I heard Tsume growl out through clenched teeth
"Ha! Of course I do, but many things happened and we both needed time after everything that happened…" I scoffingly said before turning downcast
Before I could finish what I was saying, I felt a pair of arms lifting me off the ground in a strong bear hug.
"You fool! You, Akimichi, are always so emotional. Not everyone is like you, needing years to recover, but I'm also to blame. I have been too busy with the clan and my pups… It is good to see you doing well." I heard Tsume say after releasing me
"It is good to see you doing well, but my visit is business related, about Hana and what happened to my Bunta, I'm afraid." I turned away, walking to her home, knowing I had caught her attention already
Before long, we both sat at the kitchen table across from one another with her ninken partner Kuromaru sitting to the side, paying attention
"What is this business about my oldest pup, and that boy of yours, Kyo? I know what happened, it was rather big after all, I heard about it from Kiba and the effect it had on poor Chōji." Tsume said while I took a deep breath
'Here goes nothing, her reaction will depend on how to continue or drop the matter and switch topics.' I thought before taking the plunge into the deep
"We are not getting younger, Tsume, and with what happened to my Bunta and the council eyeing up Hana for being the Heiress and only female clan Heir of marriageable age… I'm here to talk about a marriage between Hana and Bunta." I quickly said in one breath, sitting back down, all relaxed as if a huge weight was gone from my back
I could see Tsume's pupils dilate, before growing big, then turning small again, multiple times in quick order.
"YOU WHAT! YOU DARE COME HERE! AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! FOR THAT! YOU KNOW DAMN WELL I HATE THAT TOPIC!" Tsume yelled, jumping from her chair, smashing her hands on the table, making it shake on its legs
'I knew she would react volatile, she hates arranged marriages with a passion, maybe I was too direct, but it needs to be done.' I thought watching the seething Inuzuka matriarch sitting moments before across from me, now standing bowed over the table, looking enraged and feral.
"I will never have her become part of the council's plans or anyone's plans, not even YOU!" Tsume growled, clearly surpassing herself, from jumping and attacking.
"I do not care about that brat of yours, Kyo… Hana will never be with him EVER!" Tsume growled again, turning more feral and breathing ragged, making me clench my warhammer and stand up myself
But nothing came from it when I saw Tsume's nose twitch and eyes grow wide when we both soon heard a door smash closed with four pairs of feet rushing away.
'Oh… Hana was here and as an Inuzuka she heard everything rather clearly… woops.' I thought with a sweatdrop on my head, thinking that Hana kind as she is, could be worse than her mother in temperament.
— — — — —
While this happened back with Bunta in the Akimichi compound, on the field where he has had the eating contest, and can now be seen training the clan's children.
"Alright, kids, it seems some of you need some more work in the stretching department, while the few of you completing them need more work as well, since you're groaning too much doing them as if they are painful." Bunta spoke up loudly for all to hear, looking sideways at the parents
This look alone showed me that the parents tried to look away, some rubbing their neck or mumbling about being too stiff or too old, such for such things.
I did this, look at them with a meaning of 'you slacked off, they slacked off.'
But that is besides the point, once I become a Jounin, I'm going to drag their parents into training as well, because to me, none of them are worthy of that rank anymore and have become weak due to peace.
"Now then, let us begin, shall we? To see how far you all have come till now." I saw their flushed faces from stretching turn pale again, and I am sure I even heard a few groans.
"We will start with a nice run of five laps around the clan leaders' courtyard walls, only five for those in the academy and ten for the Genin, oh, same for you, Chōji, ten of them, since you will become a Genin soon." I looked at the children with glee.
"Now line up in a row, I will run along so no slacking, you are no Naras, even if you had been, I would not let you." I walked past the children, drawing a clear line on the ground, dragging one of my feet along
Just after I was done, drawing the line for the start and finish, I saw the children reluctantly drag themselves towards it, looking apprehensive, wanting to be anywhere but here.
"When I say 'GO', you will begin." I spoke up loudly and saw to my surprise that one of the children had already started running. I followed as well
"Start running, Boy! As shinobi, you never take things at face value, he said Go!" Behind us, I heard a parent yell. Looking back, I saw that all the other children started quickly running as well
For me, this was more like an extremely slow jog, while most of the children, this tempo most definitely was anything but their full speed.
'Seems I got my work cut out for me to get them to a decent level, none of the current genin will survive any of the Chunin Exams in the future, and some are already Genin for a year or longer.' I thought, looking at the struggling children
Originally, I had planned to throw some water or rubber balls at them for evasion training while running. Sadly, I did not bring any, but with how slow the children are and how heavy some are breathing already, and the younger ones even show signs of collapsing soon. I doubt I would even have been able to attempt it at all, even if I had brought it along.
'Not good, I really have to push them in the time I have left. The peace has been bad and will not last, and the horrible state of the academy is worse than I expected it to be, sabotaging everyone, even the clan children… my eyes are open and not in a good way.' I thought, watching the heavy-breathing children close to collapse after just three rounds of the courtyard walls, even if it is ten times the size of the academy's training yard.
"Five laps done, take a short break, all of you, and do some stretching to prevent cramps." I told them that after the first one finished, and waited for the others to get passed the line
'They are about to collapse, let them stretch and be done for now, that way I can focus on Chōji and the ones already Genin.' I thought with a slight shake of my head
While I saw the kids fall to the ground in relief and the younger academy children start doing the stretching exercises in pure relief, I looked at the parents still standing to the sides.
While running, I heard some bragging about their kids being fast for their age or faster than the others, as if in a pissing contest.
'Time to destroy their pink colored glasses, and wake them all up.' I thought unhappily, and the fact that I saw young Chōji pale along with his parents, I guess they knew what it meant for my smile to be gone.
"YOU ALL SHUT UP!" I yelled in displeasure at the parents and walked menacingly towards them.
Being a giant and way taller than all of them, it does look rather scary, and the fact that my smile is gone, they only know it to be plastered on my face at all times. The last time I truly lost my smile was during the fox attack, if memory is correct.
"You fools, if you have time to do a pissing contest, you have time to train! I'm leaving, I will be back in a week, and I promise you all a lot of pain. If those kids can't do the laps required properly in a week, with the stretching included. You will all pay the price! By being my Personal Sparring partners!" I growled at them before showing the scary eye smile that Kakashi Hatake is known for to give to unnerve others
"Oh, as they are now, they are only meat shields ready to add their names to the memorial stone." I told them with the eye smile still in place
I walked away, any semblance of me wanting to test Chōji and the others completely gone. If I continued, it would only harm them or even kill them with how badly their forms are.
I hope I woke them and their parents up today, even if it is only a few, it is a win in the long run.
I kept walking till I left the clan grounds and entered the village proper once again, and just kept on walking, trying to clear my head.
While not long into my walk, and thinking of where to begin to look for changes in this world or village, at least like with 'Team 9', who seemed a mix of both manga and anime, I was assaulted by a trio of light brown and white colored dogs, above half being light brown and the rest of the body being white.
The fact that they jumped in front of me, acting cute, begging for attention, returned my smile with how silly they looked.
"Hahaha! The Hai-Ma-Ru brothers, so if you are here, then your partner can't be far behind." I spoke with a boisterous laugh, seeing the three ninken who are triplets looking at me with sideways heads, with their tongue out of their mouths with eyes closed, and tails wagging while I was patting them.
I guess they noticed me being unhappy and charged me to cheer me up by acting goofy and cute; those three always do that, even ignoring Hana Inuzuka, their partner, when situations are not life-threatening.
'Animals always know the emotional state somehow, guess I needed this more than expected after everything… can't remember the last time I truly relaxed at all.' I thought while smiling and petting them slowly walking to a small park nearby
— — — — —
A few blocks away, a young woman with long, brown hair done in a ponytail with two locks of hair framing her face over her large, black eyes. She can also be seen wearing a light shade of lipstick and with the traditional red colored fang-like tattoos of the Inuzuka clan on both of her cheeks.
She could be seen wearing the beige Konoha medic uniform, a thick coat with long sleeves, of which the underside is cut off, showing her wearing black shorts with mesh underneath till just above the knees.
On her feet can be seen a pair of black open-toed sandals with heels bound in place around the ankles with a small bind.
The young woman in question is Hana Inuzuka, looking distracted and sighing, rubbing her temples in agitation.
"*Sigh* Those three keep doing this, where the hell did they rush off to now? They got so excited all of a sudden, and now I have to find them again." Hana said after a heavy sigh
'Hm? I smell something familiar with my boys, smells like earth and tea? Why does this smell familiar? Better take a look before those three cause too much trouble again.' Hana thought quickly, moving further ahead
Soon enough, she reached a small park and saw a literal giant sitting cross-legged in the field with her three ninken around him, one with its head in his lap being patted while the other two run around chasing a stick being thrown before bringing it back again and again.
'Sigh, you've got to be kidding me… Bunta should have known that smell. It is the same as on Kyo Akimichi, who visited my mother today about marriage. What should I do now?' Hana thought, rubbing her temples again and sighing again
That is when Bunta looked up and saw Hana standing there after her three ninken rushed towards her, yapping and barking happily
"Greetings, Hana Inuzuka. You seem distracted. Would you be interested in some tea and talk about it?" Hana heard him say with his ever-known smile on his face
'I wonder if he knows or what he thinks about his mother doing this, better find out now before others give it their own spin if they heard about things.' Hana thought before walking forward to give her answer, trying to school her face not to look too worried and failing horribly.
"Sure, we need to talk anyway about a few things." Bunta heard Hana say. Getting a bad feeling from this.