Game of the Year: A Naruto Quest

[Katsuragi]

@Vesvius

Spoiler: Ino: Witness

Predictable.

That was the word Ino thought to herself as she watched the situation unfolding. Dai and Sasuke were competing for the top spot, and while she was confident herself that Dai was more deserving, the teachers needed a final demonstration. Knowing politics, it was likely to cover their asses. "While Daisuke might be a nobody from no class, his performance was neck and neck with the last Uchiha and defeated him in the final spar."

His tactics were also predictable. Enough so that she called them as soon as the match was announced. Dai had a good edge up close (ha ha) so he'd do what he could to close that distance. He was phenomenally skilled in genjutsu, so he'd use that to get in close.

Sasuke was quicker on his feet and better at range. The gap wasn't large enough so that Dai could end it decisively with a singular opening.

How would she counter him? She was better than Sasuke in close range, but not good enough to beat Dai in a equal match. The genjutsu was annoying, but she had more experience throwing them off than anyone else in the class at this point from helping him train it up. It wasn't a focus in academy classes as genjutsu specialists were rare.

Still, she wouldn't want the constant disruptions of having to kai every time Dai made a metal on metal tone. Getting his fan away from him was an option. She'd done it before, but she doubted Sauske trusted his close quarters combat skills enough to risk it. Only other option was...

Ah, there it was. Plugged ears. Dai didn't have a great way of punishing him for that, so it was a good option. Something he should work on so his opponents couldn't shut down an entire side of his technique triangle with some cotton balls.

Dai's reserves were good, and they were getting better. Physical stamina was amoungst the best in the class. Sauske outlasting him wasn't an option. He was going to have to bait him in and go for the kill. She favored traps and her family techniques for that, personally, but there wasn't much time to get any of the former into position in this particular situation.

Initial fireballs were met with dummies. Those fucking dummies. Anyone that had fought regularly with Dai knew regardless of how clear you thought the field was, there were dummies around. The straw ones were bad enough, but the wood ones?

She shook her head slightly. She -knew- those things weren't just laying around, and they still formed a core part of his fighting style. She didn't have a solid answer, but her suspicion was that he'd been sealing dummies into his clothes with a fuuinjutsu talent he'd never bothered to tell people about.

It wasn't the best theory, but it would explain that he seemed to have a limit on how many he could toss out before he got some alone time to restock, not that anyone other than her would have picked up on this.

Still. The ending of the fight caused her to raise an eyebrow, as it was the only moderately impressive thing shown. Amusing that it would be something as simple as the academy three that really sealed the deal, but there was a reason that they were taught. For their simplicity, they were some of the most versatile jutsu in existence.

She'd been complaining about having to learn them to her father one point and he'd gotten a very serious look on his face before handing her a book from the library. "The academy three and you, 99 ways that mastering these techniques can save your life, all based on true stories." By Jiraya of the Sanin. She'd been required to memorize it, but it hadn't taken much convincing.

When she'd stated a desire to go out and get other books by him her father sternly told her that it was the only written work he'd ever produced that was worth reading, and that she shouldn't touch such trash.

Naturally, she'd secured one the next day, and felt a slight heat to her cheeks as she remembered it. The more amusing part had been recognizing said book having a twin hidden in her father's study.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts, the match having wrapped up. Dai was a sure in for Genin of the year regardless of what she did here. If she'd been paired up with Sauske, or they'd gone too far like boys sometimes did...still, second wasn't nothing.

She turned her attention back to her opponent.

"It would appear that there fight has concluded."

She nods and gives him a slight smile. "Yeah. Thanks for waiting."

"Of course." He replies with an even tone of voice. "I was interested myself, and neither of us would have been able to perform at our best if we did not wait for it to end."

She chuckled lightly. "Mm. And it would be a shame not to be at 100% when we decide second in the rankings."

"Indeed."

"Well." Her face grows more serious, and even his does fractionally so. "Let us begin."

I won't fall behind Dai. I'll be on your heals the entire step of the way, and if you slip even for a moment, it'll be your turn behind me.

 

[Katsuragi]

@Vesvius

Spoiler: Yui, Problem Solver

"Sakura." You are...annoyed, with your friend. That's the right word. Well, words. Annoyed, and friend. Because she was still most certainly your friend and you weren't up to the level or irritated...yet. But it was drawing closer with each day.

"This can't continue, Sakura."

"Yui..." She looks a bit drawn in on herself, but she's standing her ground. That's good. No wilting wallflowers here, you wouldn't tolerate that.

The drawn in on herself. Well. You had been waiting on her to walk down this particular alleyway on her way home. This was a conversation for the two of you, not one for ease dropping ears.

"None of that now, Sakura. It's unbecoming of you." Your tone is a lecturing one, and that lights a bit of a spark in her. Good, the conditioning you've inflicted on your classmates at the academy hasn't faded. "It's time to grow up."

She glares at you. "What would you know?"

"Many things, Sakura. In this instance, it's that tomorrow you'll officially be a konoichi and no one wants a petulant brat on their team."

She looks hurt at that. Good. She needs a good spanking, even if it's only a verbal one in this case.

"They won't want me on their team at all." She mumbles.

It's your turn to glare. "You are 11th​ in the class to my 13th​. Will they not want me as well? I'm shocked and hurt by this fact."

Petulance draws itself on her features. It's not a good look for her, you muse. "Of course they will! You're almost as good at me at academics, you're solid in the two of the academy three and smoke everyone else at the third! And that's not even getting into your perfect marks in the konoichi classes!"

You give her a picture perfect light smile. "And you've nearly perfected the other academy two, solidly beat me in the academics, and a straight spar would not end in my favor. Don't think I haven't noticed your increase in physical conditioning." She finishes with an appraising look.

Sakura flushes slightly. Good. Keep her off balance so she can't fall into rote.

"And." She continues before Sakura can form a rebuttal. "No one else in class can do what you did in the spars. Tangible shape manipulation at your age is nearly unheard of."

"But almost useless with my tiny reserves." She grumbles, and you level a kind of glare on her than your fellow students have come to regard as a near physical slap.

"It won you your match, so by evidence there it's anything but worthless. Even with your small reserves it's an amazing trump card you'll only refine with practice if used with intelligence, which is something you are not lacking."

"It wasn't enough."

If you were one of your friends, you would have snorted, or maybe chuckles. As you are Hazakura Yui, you mearly allow a small, amused smile to slip onto your features. "You weren't going to close the gap between yourself and Ino in that small a time frame, Sakura."

She takes a slight step back. "How did you..."

"It's obvious. You used to be best friends, so it's natural you compare yourself against her. If it weren't for the blinders you have on due to that, you'd recognize yourself as the talented konoichi that you are. Sakura, Ino comes from a long line of Shinobi and has that advantage at home. She does not have any distractions in the way of civilian life as anything that resembles that would be pushed aside in the name of advancing her skills as a ninja. It's a point of clan pride and politics that she be the best she can possibly be any no option is spared, be that tutoring from her shinobi family or ordinary chores handles by someone else. Further, she's currently in a best friendship and rivalry with Dai, which has certainly kept a fire lit under her to actually reach the heights her home life provides for her rather than slack off and enjoy more frivolous things as she otherwise might."

"Well, Dai doesn't..."

"Have those advantages? No. But he does have a mother than dolts on him and make sure that all of his own home responsibilities are kept to a minimum, a particularly talented konoichi is a frequent guest in his home, and the boy is a mutant."

"Mutant?"

"He's only slept three hours a night for the past half a year. Before that it was six."

She blinks at that and raises a questioning eyebrow at you before voicing her thought. "Kairi?"

"Kairi." You nod slightly.

"The point is. Stop comparing yourself you Ino. You are not Ino. You are Sakura. You have your own background and your own skills and you're own talent. If you keep trying to be Ino you're not going to be anything but a pale shadow, but a Sakura that is Sakura can stand beside her. So tomorrow, you're going to woman up, march over to her, and congratulate her on her placement. You are then going to apologize for being a twat, and she'll do the same before showing amazement and appreciation at your new technique."

"You really think..?"

"I absolutely know it." You reply decisively.

"Ok...ok." She breaths in and out. "I'll do it."

 

[Redhawk]

[X] Ino's parents are throwing her a party, and you're invited. It'd be rude of you not to attend and hang out with your best friend!

Another omake! Where a missing nin receives an offer that's too good to be true!

Spoiler: The Daily Life of A Shitty Assassin

As a missing-nin, you know of the value of caution. You've learnt how to not draw attention to yourself. You hold a plain forgettable face, an ordinary gait and plain clothes. The ideal marks for an assassin. The only reason you've survived these last twelve years is you've never been stupid enough to stand out from the crowd. You never were a particularly capable ninja. You held no Kekkei Genkai or any fucking fancy schmancy technique. This is the reason the old farts from your home village have never made any special effort to hunt you down after their first few attempts to kill you failed. Why would they when you held none of their secrets, no special ability and have shown no interest in their boring old affairs.


"Do we have an agreement?" This bastard stranger looks at you, making no effort to hide his impatience. His nostrils flare with every exhale, his eyebrows are furrowed, and the fucker has his arms crossed, tapping his shitty fingers to his arm. Clearly, he's used to having his way when dealing with trash like you. However, you're no ordinary trash. You're the special kind, that glitters and shit. You endure in your silence for several more seconds if only to piss him off even more.


"Master? You're not thinking of doing this, are you?" A voice interjects to your right. Gakushu's a good kid but he should know better and keep his fucking mouth shut. He's a good kid but a shitty killer for hire. Always with the compassion and empathising with the target.


"We are willing to pay one million upfront. Four after the job's completion. My benefactor is a generous man and is willing to provide you shelter from your home village. Say the word and you will always have a friend in the Land of Iron. All it requires is assassinating one troublesome child."


It's an exceedingly generous amount. It's more than ten times your usual pay, but you're not sure it's worth the fact you'll be pissing off the Hidden Leaf. Still, it's a fuckload of money.


"I'll do it. Satomura Daisuke shall die within the next month."


"Thank you. We shall make it worth your while."


The smarmy git bows too deeply to be sincere and strides away. Your pupil is smart enough to keep his trap shut until the git has left your clearing.


"Sensei, I understand this may be a tempting offer, but to kill a Genin of the Leaf is to invite upon yourself the wrath of the Strongest of the Five Villages. Please, do not do this." The kid's polite. You've taught him well. He was young when you found him. Even younger than he is now. A spunky kid willing to do anything for a pay. You'd taken him under your wing and taught him what little you knew of the shinobi arts. You'd taught him how to suck up to your smarmy customers, how to be polite when all you wanted was to wrap your fucking hands round their greasy little fat necks and choke the pathetic life out of them. Poisons on the other hand, they were your specialty. The fast-acting ones, the subtle ones. The painful kind and the merciful kind. You dare say you haven't met too many like you. Even the brat hasn't surpassed you there.


"We're not killing this kid." You mutter. Your student's eyebrows raise up in surprise and he looks to you, waiting for you to elaborate. He knows you ain't taking this job just out of the good of your own heart. You've killed kids before.


"You didn't expect me to refuse that cunt's offer to his face, did you?" You ask. You did that once and you learnt your lesson. Bastards never take it well when you refuse them. "We're taking that idiot's money, snitching to the Hidden Leaf and fucking off to some shitty backwater country. No money is worth pissing off those tree-huggers."


You bare your teeth in what some may describe as a smile as your student's shoulders relax. If that nobody's boss finds out you snitched to the Hidden Leaf, he'll be angry, but it'll be worth it. It won't cost you a thing and this little favour you're doing them might pay off. It never hurts to keep those in the Great Five Villages on your good side.


You've worked with the tree-huggers before, doing them a solid when one of their creepy little blank faced kids got in a spot of trouble and they paid you back big time. Your ambition is to one day retire in peace to some out of the way village with no shitty assassins to bother you. Give Gakushu a nice life free of fear, of assassins in the dark. No longer having to live day to day, travelling from one shitty village to the next. This little favour might bring you one step closer to that goal. You turn to the kid and give him a pat on the back. That's the kind of thing you do with kids, right?


"That Land of Iron bastard was a nobody. No matter what shit he was spewing, his shitty benefactor was a small fry, otherwise they'd paying off a real assassin, not little old me. Now pack my bags, kid. I want to leave before those bastards realise we've pulled a fast one on them."

 

[Katsuragi]

@Vesvius

Spoiler: Battle of the near lasts

"They're...sure going at it over there." Ren idly commented as he watched from across the arena from Shikamaru.

"Yeah." Replied the human pineapple, who had momentarily shifted his attention to the battling shinobi from the clouds.

"So...should we, like, you know, fight or something ourselves?"

"Eh. No one's paying attention to us." Shikamaru shrugged before laying down on the ground.

"What? That doesn't matter! This is the final spar! They'll show how awesome we are to everyone!"

There were some shocked exclaims from the various sparing areas around them as heat washed over from Dai and Sasuke's sparing area.

"So let's do this!"

Shikamaru sighed slightly, his tone shifting to something a little more serious. "This is the last bit of piece and quite I'll be getting for several years. I'm going to use it."

"Eh, what?" Ren, master at eloquence.

"After this, we go to Genin teams. On genin teams, I will be pressed by a teacher that has far more time to do so than one overseeing an entire class, and by my teammates. If patterns hold, this will be Chouji and Ino. So every day I'll have to deal with Ino pushing us to keep up with Dai. It's...troublesome."

"You're a ninja! You're supposed to push yourself to be the best you can be! It's the will of fire!"

"Tch. I never wanted to be, and yet, here we are."

"Why then?"

Why indeed? "No choice, when you're the clan heir. As it was with my father, and his father before him, all the way up to someone who's luck of the die landed on ambitious."

Ren looked like he didn't really had a good answer to that, lack of comprehension dawning on his face. "What the hell do you even want then?"

"A nice quite, unremarkable life without anything particularly good or bad happening to me, and to eventually die calmly in bed just like that."

More commotion drew Ren's attention back to the other fight, sparing Shikamaru his attentions for a short while in which he got to watch the clouds in peace.

"I...I can't believe that." He finally says. "No one gets to be a ninja like that, you don't get to live like that!"

"Troublesome." Shikamaru dismisses.

"No, that's it. I'm not going to just stand here and take this. I'm going to push myself and show the teachers I have what it takes, and if you don't want to get hurt you're going to have to show off your own skills as well! So stop looking at those clouds and fight me!"

Shikamaru sighs and begins running through a few handsigns.

"What...what are you doing?! You're not going to be able to accomplish anything from over there! The only long range jutsu you know is..."

Rather than the intelligent thing of jumping back (or really, having any situational awareness at at), Ren looks down at his feet where Shikamaru's shadow is connected to his own. This means he has no time to actually do anything about the situation,

"Kagemane no jutsu complete." Shikamaru states calmly, as he watches the clouds at peace.

A long time later, after all of the other fights were done and it was time to head in, the lazy genin would calmly walk his opponent out of the arena, much to the frustration of his teachers.

 

[BadAtScreenNames]

@Vesvius

Spoiler: Yui, Problem Solver

"Sakura." You are...annoyed, with your friend. That's the right word. Well, words. Annoyed, and friend. Because she was still most certainly your friend and you weren't up to the level or irritated...yet. But it was drawing closer with each day.

"This can't continue, Sakura."

"Yui..." She looks a bit drawn in on herself, but she's standing her ground. That's good. No wilting wallflowers here, you wouldn't tolerate that.

The drawn in on herself. Well. You had been waiting on her to walk down this particular alleyway on her way home. This was a conversation for the two of you, not one for ease dropping ears.

"None of that now, Sakura. It's unbecoming of you." Your tone is a lecturing one, and that lights a bit of a spark in her. Good, the conditioning you've inflicted on your classmates at the academy hasn't faded. "It's time to grow up."

She glares at you. "What would you know?"

"Many things, Sakura. In this instance, it's that tomorrow you'll officially be a konoichi and no one wants a petulant brat on their team."

She looks hurt at that. Good. She needs a good spanking, even if it's only a verbal one in this case.

"They won't want me on their team at all." She mumbles.

It's your turn to glare. "You are 11th​ in the class to my 13th​. Will they not want me as well? I'm shocked and hurt by this fact."

Petulance draws itself on her features. It's not a good look for her, you muse. "Of course they will! You're almost as good at me at academics, you're solid in the two of the academy three and smoke everyone else at the third! And that's not even getting into your perfect marks in the konoichi classes!"

You give her a picture perfect light smile. "And you've nearly perfected the other academy two, solidly beat me in the academics, and a straight spar would not end in my favor. Don't think I haven't noticed your increase in physical conditioning." She finishes with an appraising look.

Sakura flushes slightly. Good. Keep her off balance so she can't fall into rote.

"And." She continues before Sakura can form a rebuttal. "No one else in class can do what you did in the spars. Tangible shape manipulation at your age is nearly unheard of."

"But almost useless with my tiny reserves." She grumbles, and you level a kind of glare on her than your fellow students have come to regard as a near physical slap.

"It won you your match, so by evidence there it's anything but worthless. Even with your small reserves it's an amazing trump card you'll only refine with practice if used with intelligence, which is something you are not lacking."

"It wasn't enough."

If you were one of your friends, you would have snorted, or maybe chuckles. As you are Hazakura Yui, you mearly allow a small, amused smile to slip onto your features. "You weren't going to close the gap between yourself and Ino in that small a time frame, Sakura."

She takes a slight step back. "How did you..."

"It's obvious. You used to be best friends, so it's natural you compare yourself against her. If it weren't for the blinders you have on due to that, you'd recognize yourself as the talented konoichi that you are. Sakura, Ino comes from a long line of Shinobi and has that advantage at home. She does not have any distractions in the way of civilian life as anything that resembles that would be pushed aside in the name of advancing her skills as a ninja. It's a point of clan pride and politics that she be the best she can possibly be any no option is spared, be that tutoring from her shinobi family or ordinary chores handles by someone else. Further, she's currently in a best friendship and rivalry with Dai, which has certainly kept a fire lit under her to actually reach the heights her home life provides for her rather than slack off and enjoy more frivolous things as she otherwise might."

"Well, Dai doesn't..."

"Have those advantages? No. But he does have a mother than dolts on him and make sure that all of his own home responsibilities are kept to a minimum, a particularly talented konoichi is a frequent guest in his home, and the boy is a mutant."

"Mutant?"

"He's only slept three hours a night for the past half a year. Before that it was six."

She blinks at that and raises a questioning eyebrow at you before voicing her thought. "Kairi?"

"Kairi." You nod slightly.

"The point is. Stop comparing yourself you Ino. You are not Ino. You are Sakura. You have your own background and your own skills and you're own talent. If you keep trying to be Ino you're not going to be anything but a pale shadow, but a Sakura that is Sakura can stand beside her. So tomorrow, you're going to woman up, march over to her, and congratulate her on her placement. You are then going to apologize for being a twat, and she'll do the same before showing amazement and appreciation at your new technique."

"You really think..?"

"I absolutely know it." You reply decisively.

"Ok...ok." She breaths in and out. "I'll do it."

Click to shrink...

Nicely done. Partially canonized! The part that's canon is that Yui tried to fix things, not that she succeeded. Take 60 XP.

Click to shrink...

Partial sequel to this, based off of the partial canonisation. I present-

Spoiler: Troubles over Tea

Manami had opinions on all of Daisuke's friends. Jabari was a nice boy who made an effort to be polite in spite of his... less cultured... upbringing. Ino was halfway to being adopted, whatever her father said. Sakura was... also there.
But Yui?
Yui was a tricky one. On the one hand, excellent manners, and a spine etched out of steel. But on the other, she was...

was...

there really was no word for it other than smart. And normally that wasn't an insult. But when the girl in question smiled that infuriating, I-know-better-than-you smile, it left Manami wanting nothing more than to strangle her. Possibly with her own kimono. It wasn't very charitable, she knew. But she'd never been a charitable woman before, why the hell should she start now?

But that smile wasn't there now. In and of itself, that felt like reason enough to celebrate. She hid her gloating behind a polite, slightly chilly purse of the lips.
"Yui, dear," she murmered. "So lovely to see you."
"And you as well, Lady Satomura," came the pitch-perfect response.
Wait, no. That wasn't pitch perfect. Manami's eyes flickered over the girl's face; a brow ever-so-slightly furrowed despite every effort to unfurrow it. The slightest twist of the lips downward. A hint-
Manami almost gasped.
-a hint of puffy redness around the eyes, still showing through carefully applied eye make-up. Yui was upset. That was... unexpected, from a child always so composed.
"Is Daisuke at home?" Yui asked.
"I'm afraid not," Manami replied. "He's training with Gai-Sama and his... delightful kohai." Yes. Good description of Lee there. Solid.
Yui's polite smile didn't drop, but there was a flicker around her eyes. "I see. I'm sorry to have bothered you."

Something... utterly unexpected unfurled inside Manami's chest. Yui. Infuriating Yui. Utterly composed, precise, irritating Yui. Was upset. And clearly looking for someone to confide in. Yui. Daisuke's friend, Yui.
...HER Yui. You did NOT upset Manami's son's friends, you just didn't. This was not going to stand. She'd have to act fast, though; the girl was already leaving. More than that, she had her (admittedly merited) pride.

"Before you go," she said, smoothing her tone to cover the abruptness, "could I trouble you for a favour? I've made a little too much tea to finish myself. It would be a shame to let it go to waste. Would you have some with me?"
It was a long way from the most elegant invitation she'd ever given. She was losing her edge out of court, she really was; ninja were always so direct about things. But it seemed to land well enough. Yui turned, looked at her with a hint of confusion visible under her smile.
"I would be honoured, Lady Manami," she said.

Manami held the door open for her, and the little girl (Kunoichi, remember that, she's graduated now) came inside, bowing politely at the hearth. Manami bowed back, and brought her into the kitchen.
(A little secret; Manami kept a pot of tea brewing every day, just for situations like this. It was a far better social lubricant than alcohol. Admittedly she went through tea leaves like a hungry panda, but such was the cost of social niceties. Tsume apparently did the same thing with sake, although that had to keep better.)

The tea went into two clear glass cups, fashionable these days, and they bowed over the refreshments. A clear, heady, minty scent flooded their nostrils. They rose, took their cups in two hands, and sipped.
"Thank you again, Lady Manami," said Yui. Manami waved the compliment away.
"Oh, please, just Manami," she said. "And it's always nice to spend time in civilised company. How are you, dear? All alright?"
Yui nodded, hiding her expression behind her cup. Good move, that. "All is continuing as expected, yes. And yourself?"
"Oh yes, you know. Muddling along." That was better than the invitation, at least- familiar tone, mild expression of weakness without any actual details to use against her, slight hint of since it's just us girls... Yes. She was waking up a bit. "I'm given to understand you haven't seen much of poor Daisuke?"
"Sadly not," replied Yui, tone pleasantly unreadable. "I came to remedy that."
And then the poor thing slipped up.
"With the business with Sak- with exams, and of course the history projects-"

Manami watched the poor girl desperately try to cover. That was... poor. Very poor, actually; the child could do far better than that. Something was clearly very wrong.
Ninja were direct about things. For all the girl was clearly properly brought up, she was a kunoichi. if this was to get anywhere, Manami would have to treat her as such.
She winced in sympathy, and made no move to hide it. Yui didn't quite stare, but it was a close thing. Then Manami put her tea down, and leaned forward slightly.
"Yui, dear," she said, gently. "Look at me."

Yui stared into her teacup. All of a sudden, she seemed very small.
"Yui."
At last, the girl looked up.
"What's wrong?"

A long pause. This, apparently, was not expected. There were so many ways it could go wrong, clearly. But...
"Sakura," she said, in a tiny voice.
"What about her?"
"She... she won't talk to me anymore."

Manami sighed internally. This again. She like Ino, she really did, but whatever had possessed her to associate with that pink haired little idiot? No. Focus.
"I'm very sorry to hear that," she said, careful to keep even a hint of a patronising tone out of her voice. "What happened?"
"I was... I was talking to her. About how much she's improved, and... and how she needs to stop- stop fighting with Ino. And she just... she just exploded, Manami-san. She told me to... to..."
"To go away," Manami finished gently. Yui nodded, staring into her teacup.

This was clearly a lot for the poor girl. Give her a second. Let her collect herself. Manami drank her tea to fill the silence.
"I know," said Yui bitterly. "I know how silly it is to be upset by... by that, of all things. She didn't call me names, or... or say anything uncouth-"
"It's not silly at all," said Manami, calmly. "Not when it's coming from a friend."
"You wouldn't have let it stop you."
"I have been doing this for far longer than you. It's different."

Yui nodded, sniffed, visibly fought back tears. She was clearly not going to let herself lose control in front of Manami. She could respect that.
"I don't know what to do," said Yui, eventually. "It was... it was amusing to start with. But now it's- I don't want them to keep arguing. We're graduating soon. Then we'll have our Genin squads. We won't see each other if we don't make an effort to. I don't want everyone to... to just drift apart."
Manami nodded. "Very sensible thing to worry about," she soothed.
That did it. Yui's face crumpled into sobs. Manami was around the table before she'd even realised she'd moved, arm cradling the girl. Yui for her part was clinging to her like a limpet, crying hot, ugly tears. Manami rocked her back and forth, making soothing noises. Let the poor thing ride it out.

The tears went on a while. Then Yui stilled, and started to put herself back together. Manami, unasked, fetched her makeup kit and mirror. Yui nodded in thanks, but before her hand could touch the brush Manami started gently applying foundation.
Yui stilled. For a moment, Manami thought she could have objected. But she let Manami paint her face, concealing every hint of tears with a master's finesse. Then, she undid the girl's hair, brushed it out, and then carefully bound it up again.
"Please... please don't tell anyone I cried," said Yui, in a tiny voice.
"Of course I won't," said Manami, brisk but gentle. "These things are no-one's business but ours."
"Thank you."

They were done, at last. They finished their cold tea without comment.
"Will you tell Daisuke I was here?"
"Certainly. As soon as he gets home."
"Thank you. And thank you for the tea."
"Oh, come now. You were doing me a favour."
Yui half-smiled. It looked good on her, Manami noted somewhere in the back of her mind. No smugness, just a little melancholy and a lot of appreciation. The girl rose, made her farewells, and left. Her head held high, her walk an exercise in grace and decorum. Good. Good girl. Never let them see you bleed.

She closed the door. This stupid business between Ino and Sakura had gone on too long. Clearly, Manami would have to solve it for them. She stalked towards her kitchen table, and started to scheme.

@Vesvius , hope you like it, any exp into Endless Sword: Winter's Stillness, please. @Katsuragi , hope you don't mind me building on your work.

 

[Cryos]

Another Omake, this one is about Divine level Bluff
@Vesvius

Spoiler: The Power of Lies

You are Satomura Daisuke,Jonin of Konoha, to everyone, you are the greatest of shinobi, a pillar of society, no man is your equal, your legend is known far and wide across all the elemental nations, but only you know how it started.

You graduated early, not because you were the strongest, the fastest, or even the most intelligent, but because your
instructors thought you were. What allowed you to survive your second C rank mission, turned A rank thanks to the interference of a missing-nin from Kumo, was not your superior reflexes or your brilliant mind, nor was it your mastery of basic academy techniques,indeed your Sensei possesed these qualities and far more in spades and yet she was defeated all the same, no what allowed you to win that day was your offer of surrender and to join him,it was ridiculous to expect a ninja of Konoha to do that, and yet without even a second thought, he believed you, thus he was completely caught by surprise when the hilt of Tokei's blade slammed into his skull knocking him out.

You were promoted to Chuunin and then Jonin in record time, the youngest to reach that rank since Kakashi Hatake, you didn't deserve the rank, you couldn't handle yourself in a fight with someone of that level, but everyone in Konoha believed you to be a genius and whenever someone challenged you, you somehow always managed to maintain the facade whether by distracting them or tricking them, still your new rank came with the benefit of increased salary.....which was kind of pointless as you had long been able to just permanently "borrow" whatever you needed from the shopkeepers of Konoha, yes, even food, you still weren't sure how that worked.

As your mastery of Lying surpassed the realm of Man and entered that of Legends and Myths you started to get a bit scared of your power, people started to believe everything you said,even the most ridiculous claims you could think of, you could tell someone they were a duck, and they would start to quack, you could tell Naruto that he had had enough Ramen for the day and he actualyl stopped eating, and, in a fit of ,perhaps childish, irritation, you had yelled a number of things at Sakura, she had since changed her name to Manfred von Richthofen....you should probably fix that....eh, you'll give it another week.

It had happened just a few days after convincing the Third to let Naruto try being Hokage for a week as a training session, when it happened, a bell chimed in his Ear and he read
YOU HAVE ATTAINED THE ACHIEVEMENT 'THE POWER OF LIES'! CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENT!
Thus, your life changed forever.

You stood in front of Madara Uchiha as he spoke: "Your efforts are futile,the Infinite Tsukuyomi will come to pass."
"I don't know....",you began, "I see a few problems with your plan...", Madara narrowed his eyes "and what would these problems be? Do you honestly think there's anything YOU could do to stop me?" he asked, daring you contradict him, you ignored him.

"Well for starters you need a Mangekyo Sharingan....which you don't have" you began saying, at this Madara widened his eyes, which were indeed lacking their Mangekyo Sharingan, "It's true....how could I be so foolish! How did this happen, have my brother's eyes finally betrayed me?!" he asked himself frantically, "Your brother's eyes? What are you talking about your brother's right there." You point behind the Uchiha, indeed standing a few feet away is Izuna Uchiha alive and healthy, "Brother...", he begins, but you continue interrupting him "And he's very disappointed in you", immediately Izuna's expression morphs into a frown "How could you, brother...", Madara's face is at this point a kaleidoscope of emotions, pain, joy, fear,relief all dance upon his face, "Izuna! I....I thought you were dead!....I SAW YOU DIE!"

"Nah...", you say, "he was just playing hide and seek all this time,I suppose it was irresponsible of him to hide for almost seventy years but hey you gotta admire his dedication to the game. Still that's not the only reason your plan wouldn't have worked" you continue as the reunited brothers look at you "You also forgot that today is not even a full moon", indeed after raising their eyes to the sky everyone can see that the moon is only a quarter full.

"Huh...why did I ever think that would work?" is all Madara has to say.
.
.
.
.
"Wait! Wait! Wait! What about Zetsu?!" Ino exclaims, "Oh...he was just a collective hallucination, in fact thanks for reminding me, from now on we won't see him anymore" you say.
.
.
"Eh..?" is all Zetsu can say before slowly disappearing like a bad special effect.

 

[Katsuragi]

@Vesvius

Also, blame Ves.

Spoiler: The Talk. Yes, that one. You've been warned.

"As you can see, my young pupil, sex is nothing to be afraid of. Via these handy charts and graphs." He gestures at all the teaching aids he's been using as the vening has progressed. "You not understand the changes going on in your body and what the physical acts you're being driven for entail. You've also been warned of the dangers. Now we move on to safe practices."

You are Daisuke, and you've currently got your head buried in your hands on your desk. There probably isn't a more humiliating thing that was possible to happen to you. That your mother had fostered the talk off on Gai....gaaaah.

That last sound must have been audiable, because Dai pauses. "You had a question, pupil?"

First thing non sex that comes to mind, go! "Uh...you had all of these lying around?"

He crosses his arms. "I knew that you lacked a father in the villiage. As your instructor, and primary male rolemodel, it would be remise of me to not be prepared to give you this talk. I was thrilled when Manami trusted me with the responsibilities of explaining the fires of youth to you."

"Ummm." Arrrgh. Mother! "Ok."

"Now, we move on to safe practices. Young Dai, it is important that you understand the...equipment that is used. Much like with sparing, and come to think of it many of those lessons are applicable, you must understand the safety equipment."

He places a role of condoms on the desk. "These are...safety equipment." He lifts his leg and rests it on the desk. "This is your...well, a representation of the part of your body that needs protected."

"Now, before I demonstrate via applying this safety device to my leg, I must caution you. Those who manifacture them are devious. It is rare that they are of sufficent stretchiness to not tear when applying. Further, they will cause circulation issues enough that you will suffer damage to your equipment if used for too long or too frequently. It is for this reason that I recommend to you to do as I have done and obtain sufficent mastery of your body to no longer require such tools."

Your eyebrow twitches. They seemed large enough to you when they had you practice in your own time for the academy class...oh hell. We're they...did that mean...you were suddenly feeling less than adequate.

"Now, equipment varies in size and shape, much like a fist." Oh thank god. "If you are unlucky you'll be like my hip rival Kakashi, who says he's never used safety devices. My poor rival must have suffered much for having to obtain mastery of his body before partaking in his spring time."

Oh, no. Just you then. Could you...do something about that? Medical jutsu maybe?

The following half an hour was increasing horror as Gai showed you how to wear a condom. He went through many before he was able to successfully cover his lower leg in one.

"Now that we've covered proper safety equipment, it's time to move on to the lecture of supplimental gear. Much like a Shinobi can be effective at the mission with nothing but themselves, so to can you! However, a good shinobi has any number of tools on hand..."

Oh kami, why? Damned your mother, damned her.

 

[Fabled Ranger]

Hopefully not to short to qualify as an omake. I felt that if I went any longer and looked into more characters I would lose track of things and make the idea less fresh. Whatever it takes I will have enough exp to get taijutsu and our physical skills back to prominence! @Vesvius

Spoiler: Jabari's Combat Protocals

The few who knew his secret had two schools of thought. Either his efforts were a result of paranoia or a joke. Much to his satisfaction none had been able to guess as to why he developed his plans. At first, neither had he, but as time moved on and the skills of his classmates grew he came to a logical conclusion. That there was always a bigger fish. That no matter what you specialized in there would always be someone who was more skilled, more dedicated, or just more talented than you could ever be.

That's what inspired him to create the plans in the first place. So that way you could have a counter whatever his opponents had in store. Looking down at his charts he went through his notes again.

Sakura Haruno: Limited Chakra reserves, but fantastic control. Pair that with her stunning intellect and she is a force to be reckoned with. Given enough prep time of course. Engage in close quarters combat quickly before she can have time to create traps. Use Kambo to aim for joints to minimize the ability to create traps.

Ino Yamanaka: Strength in clan jutsu's, swordsmanship, and whatever else Daisuke has decided to show her. With the recent improvement to her mind-body transfer jutsu earlier plans need to be reworked to include her faster recovery speed. You still possess the strength advantage and a good strike with the Kambo should be enough to stun for long enough.

Naruto Uzumaki: Lacks in technique, but makes up for it in massive levels of endurance. Since initial strikes with Kambo won't work go for a submission hold. Barring that target joints to limit mobility.

Shikamaru Nara: Lacks in speed, strength, and endurance. However by no means should he be underestimated. Under no circumstances should he be given prep time for traps or plans of any kind. Overwhelming force from a surprise attack should do the trick or physically outmatch him which shouldn't be too hard.

Hinata Hyuga: What she lacks in presence she makes up for in her families style. Close range combat does not seem to be an option. Further research has indicated that the presence of Naruto Uzumaki has a dehabilitating effect on her. Perhaps his presence can be used in some way?

Yui Hazakura: Favors the substitution jutsu to the point of overreliance. Make full use of that weakness with sweeping strikes to limit her available space to substitute. Establish a zone of control and batter down at whatever pace is required.

Sasuke Uchiha: Powerful ninjutsu, talented with the use of ninja tools, and able to fight Daisuke for longer than 15 seconds in hand to hand. Look into earth jutsu to counter widespread fire ninjutsu. As of now strike hard and fast with kambo and aim for the head.

For Daisuke Protocols refer to location 3.

 

[Taka]

COMBAT. DOGGOS.

@Vesvius

How much ever I get from this, all into Beast Mastery please.

Spoiler: Night at the Dog House

You had them, sometimes. These vestiges of your past. Much of them came and went due to the Naruto franchise, but that's probably because of one of those perks you had. And, honestly, you weren't exactly sure how all of that complicated after-life magic happened. But however the hell it happened could be summed up as preparation for this moment.

This one perfect moment where nothing at all could be ruined.

"Who's a good boy?!"

You crooned as the most adorable ninja pup allowed you to scratch its belly. It was just so fluffy! Practically a walking cotton ball! Ugh, how did people even get the gall to hurt these precious creatures?! It even tried to nip at you arms whenever you so much as pulled back. The mere sight of it melted away whatever level of professionalism you could muster.

Somehow though, you managed to not ask the care taker if you could keep him.

It did help stave off the boredom when you ended up being shanghaied by your Mother to visit the Inuzuka's compound. Something or another about card night, and that you really had to get out more and meet new people. All that training of how to act like a noble should not be wasted. Not that there were a lot of people to begin with. Sure, there were the usual civilians that bore the marks. Some Chuunins here and there, probably taking a lighter workload.

But none had exactly struck upon you the impression that they required being impressed. That, and Hana wasn't around. So, it was half a moot point. Which is probably why, throughout the duration of your fluff-induced euphoria, you took the time to get to know the caretaker. She was an old woman. Widowed not too long ago. Easily in her 60s. No actual ninja-training, but having been around Ninken enough did give you an idea on how to take care of them. And she made these treats that were somehow safe for both ninja and ninja dog consumption!

A part of you was fascinated by it. A bigger part was fascinated by how easy some of the dogs could be made to move by just wagging the treat in front of them.

...You really ought to visit this place more often.

Time passed by and so too did the enthusiasm your mother had for the Adult Card Game. Given how much of a sore loser she was, it was only expected that she harangued, or what counted as haranguing for your Mother, you out of your little slice of heaven. Something about going home and how that one git who said old dogs didn't learn new tricks was a complete liar.

It didn't even phase you anymore. Not really.

You did feel better when the old caretaker invited you to come visit again. Said she might teach you a thing or two about how to take care of 'Combat Doggos', as some of the kids called them, if you had the time.

 

[Katsuragi]

@Vesvius

Spoiler: Shoe Shopping

You gave Ino a strained grin and she did a small twirl in front of you, making a particular show of her feet. "They look good Ino."

"You really think so?" She has a look of pondering far too serious for the situation. "I think the last pair of shoes matched more of my wardrobe."

You almost feel your teeth crack as you grind them, but you manage to keep your expression under enough control that she doesn't notice. Probably because of the sheer level of attention she's paying to her shoe shopping. "Hm. I'll have to compare them! Be back it a few."

You breath a sigh of relief as she vanishes back into the shop and you're left in the blissful silence of the "relaxation room." Also known as "The place men are men while their women do the crazy shoe thing."

You have been here frequently enough to have noticed the patterns, and seen it all. Asuma, for instance, was a frequent visitor. Despite the fact that they weren't dating, as near as you could tell, Kurenai was oddly insistent on getting his opinion on various footwear.

...he didn't seem as bothered by this as the majority of men, which you took to mean some uncomfortable things about him.

Either of the Nara males could be seen here once a week, hit and miss on which. Both were some of your most treasured companions as you could pass the day away, shoe interruptions aside, in blissful silence. You'd even found that more often than not you could strike Shikamaru up in a board game or two.

...Boy had no right to had you your pants every time given that he spent 90% of his life asleep.

...Did go to a secret dream realm to train? That would explain...a lot.

You shake your head slightly. Being here was driving you mad. That was the kinda tripe you saw in the class newspaper, like that garbage article written by an source that wished to remain secret that suggested you had a secret mastery of fuuinjutsu which you used to keep dummies sealed in your underwear. Or the other one that suggested you'd found the hidden dummy clan and made a contract with them.

You snort to yourself. If that were true you'd be summoning half your class from time to time.

...alright, that was a bit mean. But seriously, this place was evil.

Going back to "the list", you'd even seen the Hokage in this room once. You weren't sure with who or why, but like hell you were going to ask the man that.

...you should get a pipe. It certain seemed like it helped mellow him out. He wasn't ever the slightest bit annoyed with the situation.

You feel an arm tossed around your shoulders as you're lost in thought, It takes you a moment to process that. Very strong, corded muscles, but under a thin layer of soft body fat. Only one person had that particular build and would toss their arm around your shoulder.

"Auntie Anko." You turn your head slightly to give her a small smile.

"..." She pokes you in the forehead. "Brat, I'm nowhere near enough to be your aunt. If you don't stop calling me that..."

You take on your "playing dumb" expression. "But it's possible to have aunts and uncles younger than you!"

"It is." She nods he agreement. "This is not that. It makes me feel old. You will stop it, or you will be babysitting my snakes tonight."

You blink. "But I'm going to a party."

"That would make it awkward, yes."

"...if you're not my aunt, you can't tell me what to do." Is your petulant reply.

"Hm. Ohh, right. You graduated today, right?"

You nod slowly. "Yes..."

"Here!" She cheerfully thrusts a box into your hands. You take a peak under the lid and see a selection of alcoholic beverages.

"Um. I don't think I'm allowed to have these..."

She leans in close and whispers in your ear. "You're a grownup now technically, on paper. So you totally can!"

And then she grabs you by the ear and twists. "And as your mom's bestie, if I ever find out her little boy was abusing his rank to drink, I'd have to punish you severely."

You gulp, but see the underlying message. "These are for you. Be responsible. If I find out, you obviously haven't been responsible and there will be hell to pay."

"...thank you." You say sincerely, before putting them away. You were a responsible young man. These would be saved for special occasions. Always the right drink for the right situation, that was your motto. At your age, said situations were very few and far between.

"Now that congratulations and presents are over!" She smiles wickedly at you. "I am not your aunt. However, as of earlier today, I am one of your commanding officers."

"Oh. Oh shit."

"Oh shit indeed." Her smile is beatific. It's also horrifying. Beaurrifying? "So you'll be dropping the aunt thing, or I'll be ordering you to babysit my precious snake."

"Yes, Ms. Matarashi."

"...that's even worse. Take it back, now."

"Yes ma'a...erm, yes Anko."

She nod once. "Much better. Makes things less awkward anyhow."

"Hm?"

"Kid, I'm a very good Konoichi. You can't sneak a glance at me without me noticing it."

You look away embarrassed and she laughs. "Hey, nothing wrong with that, I've got it going on! Not that you have a chance or anything, cute as you are, but the whole aunt thing was a bit uncomfortable."

...yeah, you suppose it is, in hindsight.

"Erm....so why are you here? You know what this room's for?" You just now notice other men hiding in the room shooting the two of you subtle glares.

"Kurenai." She shrugs. "Asuma's dealing with some shit for his old man, and she wanted to look her best for her new team, so I got dragged along."

"Ah." That fit. Anko is...Anko. This wasn't her kinda place any more than it was yours. The rest of the men seem to complicate this before deciding as one that she's an honorary member of the "hide from shoes" club.

Ino picked that moment to walk back in. "Ah!" She eeps cutely. "Matarashi-san!"

Anko glares at her and grinds out. "Just Anko....Genin."

Ino's a quick cookie and catches the subtext, but that doesn't stop her from beaming at the address. "Sure, Anko!"

You're quickly subjected to another round of "how do these look." And so goes the rest of your afternoon.