Naruto: A Lazy Life

-2 Years after the Nine Tails attack-

Pov: Kana.

*Clang- Clack- Clack*

...?

"I don't get it" I speak up, raising my hand.

"Hn?" Takumi turns his head, raising an eyebrow.

*Clack-*

"Explain further kid" Yu tells me.

"Uhhh... why are you guys pacing back and forth- occasionally clashing swords?" I ask hesitantly.

"This is sword fighting on equal terms- without chakra enhancement, secret techniques or added variables. Standard humans cannot commit to an attack without opening themselves up to a deadly blow in return" Takumi explains slowly as he and Yu slowly circle each other.

"So how do you win?" Naoki pipes up.

"I cannot win this- if I make the first move, Takumi exploits it and takes me out without question. I have to wait for him to make the first move, as I have a higher degree of success when Captain makes an opening instead of me" Yu tells me.

"We are not equal- due to my experience, I can exploit any opening he makes using moves he may not have trained as well nor heard of" Takumi raises his blunt rapier and launches forward- thrusting for Yu's chest.

*Clash!*

Yu bats the opposing rapier away from him- deflecting the attack and pulling his rapier back to counter thrust Takumi.

*Woosh- Tap!*

Takumi calmly slows down from his thrust and tilts his body to avoid Yu's strike- tapping his opponents head with the butt of his weapon.

"And I have won" Takumi notes.

"Again..." Jun yawns.

"It's just how it goes when facing Captain with blades- it's like... facing a fish in a swimming contest" Yu rubs his head, frowning.

"Do you think you would have a better chance without the Blade?" Itachi asks.

"Yes. Using the same metaphor as before... it's as if I started running on land next to the swimming fish. The fish is still probably faster, but at least I am out of his territory" Yu notes and takes Takumi's Rapier, placing both weapons near the forge.

That forge thing is so loud... and warm- I wish Takumi would let me help him when he makes stuff...

"I don't have to worry about that stuff- I'll shoot the fish out of the water" Naoki smirks.

"Learn to string your own bow before that" Takumi notes and sits down in front of us, crossing his legs on the dirt as we sit on his veranda.

Naoki grumbles and I giggle.

"Why can't we learn the chakra thing before this stuff though? Shouldn't we get power to not worry over this boring clash at all?" Jun waves his hands.

"You will not use your chakra- you may grow it, but I will not teach you how to use it. If I am to teach you, I will teach you the right way" Takumi nods.

"Hm!" I nod my head seriously.

"Teachers pet" Jun glances at me.

"Someone stealing my title?" Uncle Saburo opens the door behind us, holding a plate of sliced fruit.

"Don't call yourself my pet. Either of you- that's... disgusting..." Takumi scrunches his face.

"Ohoh-! That looked like you recalled a bad memory" Saburo places the fruit next to us and we all indulge.

"I did. {Shameful worshippers would do anything to get my attention... it was truly horrifying}" Takumi admits before speaking in his other language.

Ah!

"You said you were going to teach me that language a month ago! Please! Please! Please!" I stand and point at Takumi.

"Hn. I forgot" Takumi nodded.

"That means he didn't want to- I think he likes having secret conversations with me~" Uncle Saburo whispers loudly at me and chuckles.

"I prefer our conversations to remain secret. But I will indulge the promise I have made with Kana- you three will start learning an additional language starting tomorrow" Takumi sighs.

"YES!" I Jump in excitement.

Jun and Naoki facepalm- upset over this.

"Could I join?" Itachi speaks up, more curious than anything.

"I am afraid not- Team Takumi only" Uncle Saburo shakes his head.

Itachi nods in understanding before looking at me, seeing my face immediately brighten.

"We... are... team... Takumi!?" My eyes shine, growing wider.

"You are his three disciples... Wait, do I have to learn this coded language too?" Yu gives me a confused look, before muttering to himself.

I giggle excitedly and sit back down to kick my feet with glee.

"Calm yourself- eat the fruit" Takumi commands and I try my best, only managing to complete one of the objectives.

I eat a few apples slices extremely quickly.

"Too much- too quick, slow down...!" Uncle Saburo warns.

---

-2 days later-

Pov: Jun.

*Kick- Splash*

The stone plops into the river- and I turn to look at Naoki and Kana.

"We got an hour before training again" Kana reminds us.

"So little time to play" I frown and sit down next to them on the grass.

"Why do you complain so much?" Kana asks.

"Why do you like Takumi so much?" I poke my tongue at her.

"He is cool" Kana folds her arms.

"He is the furthest thing from cool, wearing pyjamas and lazing about is not cool at all" Naoki replies.

"Nuh uh" Kana shakes her head.

"Yuh uh" I nod mine.

"I get why you like him though" Naoki speaks up again.

...

"Why?" I furrow my brow.

"Do you remember the... the night we became orphaned" Naoki leans forward, deep sadness in his eyes.

"Not really, I woke up with a terrible headache the next day and everyone I knew was gone..." I groan out.

...

A heavy silence sits between us three, as we look towards the river.

"I remember my roof missing... along with the second floor- wind howling and splinters through my body... I remember getting up with tears in my eyes and looking around at the... what remained of the neighbourhood. I remember... looking up again, thinking about where my mum and dads bedroom was..." Naoki begins to narrate, eyes haunted by the past.

...

He takes another brief moment to think.

"I remember seeing the... the fox swinging it's tail towards us. And hearing the thunder of it crashing into the neighbourhood again... only to realise it didn't strike the buildings, but just some random guy in pyjamas" Naoki hides his face in his knees.

"I was buried for a few minutes... I tried pulling myself out- and the dirt continued to fall in on me... I remember nearly making my way through only to be met with the head of the fox... I stopped thinking and... and..." Kana starts to tell her story.

"I felt someone pluck me from the rubble and throw me into safety... I saw Takumi die for me... he is the coolest guy I know. So don't question him alright?" Kana sniffles and shakes her fist at me.

"... Sorry" I bow my head.

"He saved you as well... dummy, you just forgot it" Kana pouts.

...

"He looked cooler when I hadn't met him" Naoki clears his throat and admits.

...

No one speaks up to defend Takumi.

---

-5 days later-

Pov: Naoki.

"Hey! Itachi! Haven't seen you in a while!" Jun waves at Itachi who enters Takumi's backyard.

I walk up next to Jun and look over the fence with him.

"Hn. I have been busy" Itachi nods.

Jun hops over the fence and into Takumi's yard, I follow and roll onto the grass.

"You here to train?" I ask as I stand up.

"Yes. Takumi promised to help with my Shurikenjutsu" Itachi notes.

"Shinobi stuff? Why can't we learn that?" Jun frowns.

"I am learning to throw things..." I reply.

"But not like him- he has this whole... bapow- whading- clash- shabam throwing technique" Jun throws his hands around to mimic shuriken flying.

"I... yeah- guess I am not shinobi level" I frown.

"You are just learning the basics. It is fine to start at the beginning and not the end" Itachi smiles warmly at me.

"You are starting at the beginning of many ranged arts- don't compare yourself to Itachi" Takumi yawns as he enters the backyard.

Hmm... I was always told I was talented... but after seeing Itachi... I guess I am lucky I never became a shinobi, they seem so much more talented than us. So much stronger... Saburo is able to move so fast and Yu is able to cut through that huge fireball Itachi breathed from his mouth the other day.

...

Yeah, I was just being praised for baby steps- shinobi are definitely out of my league.

"You look like you are thinking of something foolish. Cease" Takumi orders.

"Huh?" I look back up into reality.

"-Can you teach me how to do that slashy cut and clash thing now?" Jun begs.

"Using the dagger to create openings?" Takumi questions.

"Yeah- and then I slash with the big sword in my other hand!" Jun makes some odd movements that resemble some form of attack.

"Hn. Come back tomorrow, I am training Itachi today" Takumi waves us away.

"Ah- cmon' Naoki, lets go catch some bugs" Jun pouts before leaping over the fence again.

...

Bugs?

"Bugs? Is that what kids do for fun?" Takumi asks.

"It's what Jun does for fun..." I smile awkwardly and start pacing backwards.

"Have fun" Itachi nods at me- as I climb back over the fence.

---

Pov: Itachi Uchiha.

...

"How is the Shinobi world so far?" Takumi questions me and I turn from Naoki to face him.

"The missions are easier than I thought" I admit.

"That's the one good thing about this system, you brats aren't immediately thrown into fights. Hn- I suppose that only accounts for peace times and not the war that just occurred however... I heard you caught a glimpse of that scenery" Takumi walks past me and towards his weapon racks, grabbing the shuriken.

"Yes, I am lucky to become a shinobi after the war died down" I nod.

"And yet unlucky enough to be a shinobi at all" Takumi clicks his tongue.

"Do you hate shinobi..?" I raise my head.

"I have mixed feelings about them. But this will of fire thing seems to... at least dwindle my rage towards a system that forces kids to become killers" Takumi begins rolling some targets across the grounds, placing them on the walls of the house and around the yard.

"... I can't really defend that position" I lower my head again.

"You shouldn't have to- ignore my words however. The only opinion you should care about is yours, don't let some lazy fool change your mind with his ideals" Takumi returns to me and hands over five shuriken.

I grab them and look around at the eight targets scattered in opposite directions.

"Strike each target once" He asks.

I move three shuriken to my other hand and prepare them to be thrown, before looking around once more and pulling my arms back... throwing each shuriken in quick succession.

*Clink- Clash- Stab!*

Three shuriken clash before meeting one target, scratching it's surface and successfully 'hitting it' before landing dead centre in three other targets.

The other two similarly clash mid air and scratch two targets before planting themselves into a target of their own.

Five shuriken- eight targets.

"Hn. Acceptable" Takumi shrugs.

I have grown accustomed to his lack of care towards my talent... it is actually refreshing to try my hardest and be met with criticism- different from my fathers and unlike everyone else who praises me...

"Can you do it with three shuriken?" Takumi prompts.

"... Yes" I nod.

"Two?"

"Yes"

"One...?"

...

"No" I lower my eyebrows.

"Hn. Neither can I" Takumi nods.

"Hn?" I raise one eyebrow.

Sometimes I think that Takumi is one odd individual... now is one of those times.

"Let's focus today on improving your precision, you are hitting the centre on those four targets- scratching the middle rings on those three and you failed to plant your shuriken on the centre of that last one" Takumi points out my mistakes.

I grab the shuriken from the targets and return to him.

"You have the technique and ability down- we just need to master it" He nods to me.

"How can I hit dead centre on that last target?" I ask.

"Let me show you" He pulls out two more shuriken and repeats my prior move- two shuriken clash in the air, scratching the centre of the target before planting dead centre in two other targets.

...?

I tilt my head and examine the shuriken- running what he did through my head.

"Hn- did you see what I did differently?" Takumi questions.

"... You put less power into the second shuriken and that allowed you to control it's path better with the shuriken clash... due to the wind blowing strongly in the second shuriken's favour you are able to lessen the power but achieve the exact same result" I note.

"Hn- acceptable. always take into consideration your environment, I am sure that has been told to you a multitude of times, correct?" Takumi asks another question.

"Yes" I nod.

"Good. Then I shouldn't have to repeat myself. Try it again" Takumi collects his shuriken and stands in front of one target.

"I might hit you, if you stand there..." I speak up.

"Not if you do it right" Takumi yawns.

...

I stand ready to throw.

Sorry for releasing this on Tuesday and not Monday, I was pretty sick yesterday :/