CH_5.26 (169): TILINE
Takuma stared at the class of children running an obstacle course. There were the few in the lead, competing against each other; the large middle pack; and the small group in the back, making up a trail. He was once in a similar situation, but it seed so far away in the past that it looked alien to him.
“Thanks for eting
here,” said Iruka, standing beside him.
“It’s okay. Sorry, I couldn’t find free ti in the evening,” Takuma smiled at Iruka before returning his gaze to Iruka’s academy class.
If it were only a couple of weeks back, Takuma would’ve refused to set foot in the shinobi academy while classes were in session. He had zero desire to see Iruka’s class of students. But Takuma was going away for war, and when Iruka asked to et him, he agreed to et him in the academy because Takuma had no free ti in the evening. He wanted to see how the future of the Hidden Leaf was doing before he went away, which was why he had set up the eting so that Iruka couldn’t take him to a al during the lunch break. He figured just seeing them from afar while he conversed with his old chunin leader wouldn’t be strange.
“I didn’t think you would be conscripted with your position in the Narcotics Taskforce,” said Iruka.
“Neither did I, but here we are,” said Takuma as he looked at the yellow-haired ball of energy in the front of the pack. The whiskered kid was athletically superior but lacked in dexterity, which made him lag behind the onyx-haired leader after every complex obstacle—though he seed to be trying his best to be in the first position. “My superiors in the Police Force said it would be good for
to take so ti off from my duties before they relieved
of my duties.”
“War is not taking so ti off.”
“It will be a change of scenery for sure.” Takuma looked to Iruka, “How is teaching suiting you? Is it everything you imagined and more?”
Iruka chuckled as if he had heard a joke. “Not at all. These kids, with their ungodly energy, can be nightmares if I don’t handle them properly. They are a hassle and a half on a good day.” He smiled, “But it is indeed more than I imagined. These children are so much better when I was their age.”
Takuma knew that feeling. He had a cousin in middle school who was just so much smarter than him when he was that age. Kids were generally always smarter.
“That cane is worriso,” said Iruka.
“Doctor’s orders,” Takuma glanced at the cane he had been carrying for the last month. He didn’t want to admit it, but he still sotis felt stiffness in his lower back. It was improving every day, and even though Takuma didn’t use the cane, it did give him a sense of safety.
“In situations like yours, the most important thing is the commanding shinobi under whom you will be serving. Did they give you a na?” asked Iruka.
“Yes, they did. In fact, I just got the information earlier today,” Takuma said. “One Jonin Toridasu Kossori. Any idea who that is?”
“Can’t say I do. But if it’s a jonin, he will have chunin under his command; you will probably be assigned to one of those chunin.” Iruka glanced at Takuma. “Are you nervous?” he smiled.
“Shouldn’t I be?” Takuma rolled his eyes. His relationship with his commanding shinobi and his peers was crucial. He didn’t want a repeat of his initial days in the Organized Cri—it had taken a long ti to get the people to warm up to him. And unlike the well-protected Police Force headquarters, his new place was a conflict-torn border. He couldn’t afford a rocky start.
“Act and perform like when you were working under , and you will be just fine. They will be lucky to have an asset like you,” said Iruka. “Your versatility will shine much better there than it ever did when you were working the sa few types of C-rank missions under .”
“I hope so,” said Takuma. “So… that’s the jinchuriki, huh.”
“…Yes.”
“And how is that side of things going?”
Iruka sighed. “It’s as you said. He’s the jailor… and he is just a dumb kid.”
Takuma was relieved to hear that. He would’ve shit bricks on the spot if Iruka told him that he hated Naruto.
“Oh no, what now?” Iruka muttered.
Takuma followed Iruka’s eyes to see Uzumaki Naruto running towards them with a heavy frown.
“Iruka sensei! Tell the jerk that I won the race,” Naruto yelled.
The “jerk” in question was Uchiha Sasuke, who followed after Naruto with a relaxed walk. Unlike the Sasuke he had read about, the kid in front of Takuma was different. Sasuke was an aloof kid, but he lacked the coldness one would gain from a certain traumatic experience.
‘He will gain that soon—’ Takuma shuttered that thought faster than it had co up.
Sasuke spoke, “Even an idiot like you should be able to tell that the one crossing the line first is the winner.”
“This wasn’t a race,” Iruka sighed. The young teacher looked like he was already tired. “I wasn’t looking, so I couldn’t tell who won, so let’s just leave it at that.”
“Eeeh! That’s not fair!” Naruto pouted.
Sasuke didn’t say anything, but you could see the crease between the boy’s brows. No decision ant Sasuke couldn’t concretely claim he was the first.
“I was watching,” said Takuma.
All three sets of eyes locked onto him. Iruka had a pleading look, asking him to stop. Naruto looked outwardly imnsely interested, while Sasuke’s eyes held a subtle interest.
“Both of you crossed the finish line at the sa ti. It was a draw,” said Takuma.
As Takuma expected, neither looked satisfied. So, Takuma took out the secret weapon he had prepared before coming to a school full of children. “Here you go, a reward for completing the course,” Takuma handed each of them a chocolate each.
What child didn’t like sweets? The effect was imdiate. Naruto jumped in giddiness as he opened the foil. Sasuke hesitated for a mont before picking up the chocolate from Takuma’s palm, joy in his eyes.
“Thank you,” said Sasuke. “What are you doing here, Mr. Takuma?”
Takuma had been visiting Mikoto’s house five tis a week, and it was natural that he would have so level of interaction with his teacher’s family. Because of the eting ti and that they t during the weekdays, Takuma had close to no interaction with Fugaku, who was at work. As for Itachi, the number of tis Takuma had talked to him could be counted on one hand; the ANBU shinobi wasn’t ho often, but when he was, Itachi stayed away while his mother was conducting lessons. Sasuke was the family mber Takuma had the most interaction, but it wasn’t a lot—much like his brother, Sasuke considered Mikoto and Takuma’s lessons as sothing not to be disturbed, and the little boy was very well-behaved. Takuma and Sasuke had only exchanged small talk occasionally, but nothing else.
“Your Iruka sensei here was my commanding shinobi before he beca your teacher. I ca to talk to him,” said Takuma.
“Mother told
you got injured on a mission. Is that why you haven’t been coming to the house?” asked Sasuke.
Takuma smiled. There was no need to tell a kid soone had tried to assassinate him. “Yes, I had a bit of a tumble,” he raised his cane. “I’m alright now. Not good as your teacher here, though.”
Iruka shook his head with a small smile.
Takuma then noticed Naruto staring at him. He had chocolate around his mouth. “Is sothing wrong?” he asked.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at Takuma before his brows went up. “Ah! You’re the big bro who gave
the chocolate!” Naruto shouted while he pointed at Takuma.
“Naruto! It’s rude to point,” Iruka rebuked.
Takuma was surprised. He didn’t think Naruto would rember. It was more than a year away, and they talked barely for a few minutes. That was like a lifeti away in kid’s ti.
“You t Naruto?” Iruka looked surprised.
“…Ah yes, we crossed paths a while ago,” Takuma said as he gazed at Naruto.
“What’s your na, big bro!” Naruto asked abruptly.
The mory of him telling Naruto to ask his na the next ti flashed past Takuma’s mind.
“My na is Takuma.” He took out the bag of chocolate from his bag and handed it to Naruto. “Here you go; share it with the rest of the class.” He turned to Sasuke. “Will you make sure everyone gets one, Sasuke?”
The two kids ran away to the rest of the class. A big bag full of chocolate was probably the most exciting thing to them right now.
“You never told
that you t him?” Iruka said.
“I had forgotten to be honest,” Takuma lied. “I t him the sa day you told
about my transfer to the Police Force. I didn’t know he was the jinchuriki when I t him. I an, it’s not like I knew what he looked like. I was just consoling a… sad orphan.”
Takuma felt Iruka’s gaze on him.
He did not feel guilty lying to Iruka.
———
.
“You should get out of the Narcotics Taskforce before it gets bad,” Takuma said before stuffing his face with a big piece of fried chicken.
Arisu, who was sitting across from him, raised her brow. “Are you saying that because you were kicked out or because you’re looking out for ? I’m afraid I can’t tell right now.”
He had invited Arisu out for dinner before he left. He wanted to thank her for all the support she had given him since Day-1 of joining Organized Cri.
“Why not both? I won’t give up my informant, so the performance will plumt after the team runs out of the current investigations. You should leverage your position into sothing promising—like getting assigned directly under a jonin. Let the Narcotics Taskforce be a stepping stone. Diversify and whatnot.”
“What if I think the team can continue at the sa level without you?”
“First, I will ask you to stop lying to yourself,” Takuma smiled, “but then I will say I’ll be happy if you prove
wrong. If the team can continue working as usual, it will an that we were able to develop an excellent team.”
“We, you say.”
“Give yourself more credit. The Narcotics Taskforce wouldn’t exist if you didn’t convince people to join. The team would’ve been
and Minoru, and we wouldn’t have made it out of the first trial month.”
“That’s true. You would be nothing without ,” Arisu smiled as though pleased with herself.
Takuma simply smiled.
“You know I never asked you this, but why aren’t you participating in the Chunin Exams?” asked Takuma. “I think most people in our batch are going for it. And it’s not like you’re like Taro, who didn’t go for it because he was lazy.”
“I don’t think I’m ready yet,” said Arisu. “I’m in no rush to advance the ranks. I want to take so more ti to learn before I start trying diligently. There’s no use half-heartedly when I’m not ready.”
Takuma put his chopsticks down for a mont. “Chunin is a leadership position. You have been managing a team for a while now, and you have done it with great success. I personally think you’re ready for the exams if you want to, but if you want to take ti, sure, go ahead.” He paused for a mont as he picked his chopsticks back. “And well, you’re a Fuma. If you do well, you will be promoted through the Police Force.”
“You had to say it, didn’t you,” Arisu narrowed her eyes. “It’s not my fault that I’m from a clan.”
Takuma shrugged and winked. “Hey, your family background is a resource. It will be a waste not to use it. I would’ve if I had it. A good shinobi uses all the tools in his repertoire.”
Arisu sighed and said no more.
Takuma raised his hand to order more food. He had been stuffing his face for the past few days, and today would be no different.
They eventually ca out of the restaurant. Takuma took in a deep breath and enjoyed the cool air. The weather was nice enough that he wanted to take a walk and was about to ask Arisu if she would like to accompany him when she called out to him.
Takuma turned to face her, and even though he was a trained shinobi with excellent reflexes, he couldn’t react when Arisu leaned forward to kiss him. It was a chaste kiss that barely lasted a couple of seconds, but Takuma froze up like an ice block.
“W-What was that?” Takuma exclaid.
“A-A parting gift,” said Arisu, flustered, before imdiately leaving with the Body Flicker Jutsu no less.
A thousand thoughts rushed past Takuma’s head as he tried to make sense of what had just happened, but he imdiately shut them down. He did not want to think about it because he knew where his thoughts would eventually lead him.
Screw the walk, he thought.
Takuma now wanted to smoke so weed and knock himself to sleep.
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