Chapter 5: Team 3 Hanging out.

He was being patronized by both Nomaru and Sora so badly, and he knew it. He'd lost this battle. He'd given in to their stupid little game, and deep down he hated himself for that. He sure created a great reputation for himself this first day with his team... But tomorrow would be different. Tomorrow he would be himself. This was kind of a dirty trick from the two though. It'd probably leave him with a grudge afterwards. 

Since it was too late now, he took another zip of the glass Nomaru gave him. 
Whatever... Just bring me home after this stuff ok? I can't even walk straight anymore... 
Oh yeah, home... Where his parents were waiting right now... This was a terrible situation, absolutely terrible. He kinda felt like he should've just gone with Torame...
He hadn't even drunk that much, but then again, he felt terrible. Luckily since he hadn't drunk that much he didn't really fear becoming dumber or anything, which was what he feared about drinking.

Sora grinned and shook his head smiling as he hugged an arm around Hotarou's shoulder.
"Ahh! Don't worry Nomaru-chan, I'm just messing with him. In fact I even covered for him with his parents already. I am your Sensei aftherall, which makes you my soldiers and I always take good care of my soldiers. " he would say before snapping his fingers to cause a small flame to appear from the tip of his index finger with which he lit his own cigarette and took up his own glass toasting Nomaru and Hotarou. "Glasses up Hatake-chan. One last drink and then you need some water and a bit more meat. You really need to learn to hold your liquor. It WILL come in handy." he chuckled and chugged his drink before taking a few more hits from his cigarette and smiling at Nomaru, actualy more of a cocky and amused smirk.
"So...what's your story? They tell me you are very gifted, yet a problem child. I'm interested though to hear your version of it." He said leaning back in his chair again crossing his legs.

Houtarou was glad to hear the issue with his parents had been covered by Sora, but of course he had to make a stupid remark again right after that. 'Hatake chan'? He kinda seemed like a bully up until now. A strong bully however... 

Shutz up u.... I shud be da proud one here. Houtarou said, sounding like a drunken idiot. At least I haven't gotten used to alcohol nor became addicted to smoking on our age...  He mumbled softly after that.

Nomaru's story was coming up? It could be interesting. He raised his glass with Sora one last time and proceeded to listen, as bad as his concentration was right now...

A puzzled look appeared on Nomaru's face as Sora asked her the one question nobody ever asked her. Her story. She wasn't even really sure what her story really was. In her school there were a lot more people who could have been more fucked up due to child traumas and what more, like Tenshi. That girl didn't even have parents. Nomaru had parents that cared for her and loved her. A problem child was the last thing she would consider herself. 
  She deeply inhaled the smoke of her cigarette and was trying to figure out what she really wanted to say about the subject. As she exhaled she smiled at Sora, blowing the smoke in his face.
  "Well, you see..."  she began, not really sure where her story was going, "When a child is born, parents immediately have their ideas about what a child should become. Their unfulfilled dreams and hopes can be planted in this child. They intoxicate us with their vision on love and hate, right and wrong. Children eventually start believing the lies their parents tell them, hunting a dream that's not actually theirs, having visions about what the world should look like, but at the same time are not their own." Nomaru fell silent for a bit and starred at the sealing. 


 "They always tell us what to do and what not to, just because we're too young to make our own choices on our own. By the time we are old enough we're already pushed into that corner that the adults want us to be in. It's almost like people here can't think for themselves. They all live the dreams they have been pushed into, usually by others and I guess..." She made a bit of a face, realizing she was describing her life in a really abstract way. She didn't really like talking about the subject, but she had been drinking a bit and that always made her a bit more of a talker. She knew anything she would say could and would be used against her, but she didn't care. Nobody ever asked her this question before. All she kept hearing at school and from the neighbors when she was being a bad kid again, where things like: "Your parents will be very disappointed when they hear about this, Koui Nomaru." She made the mistake to do something "wrong" and never had been afraid to admit something like that. What did her parents have to do with it? 


  "Nah, it doesn't matter. " Nomaru smiled at Sora, who would probably understand her story. Nomaru never was really fond of being in the center of attention when talking about subjects like these. She didn't like persons with issues and didn't want anyone to bother her with their issues so she kept hers to herself, never really saying much about her own life. When she did she would always talk in third person, as if it wasn't even her life she was talking about. 
  She stood up with her cigarette in her mouth and went to the toilet before anyone could say anything. She did feel the alcohol a bit and decided to get a bottle of water on her way back. Nomaru really didn't want to end up like Hatake.

  "Here you go Hachiko," Nomaru smiled at the Hatake when she got back from the toilet, putting the bottle of water in front of him. "Enjoy!"

Sora smiled at Hotarou and ruffled his hair a bit.
"Relax kid, if you can't take a joke from your comrades, then who can you take a joke from. You may not realize it yet....both of you. But your lives will literally depend on me and each-other. If you want to even live to be my age...and I am only a year older. You all need to step your game up." The Uchiha chuckle.

Sora listened to her story and she would see his eyes tracing over her, him being a pervert, perhaps he was checking her out, and it seemed like that at first indeed, but if she'd pay attention she would see him watching her facial expression more than anything else, her eyes, eyebrows, lips, nose, cheeks, chin, the movement of her tongue, her voice, the vibration of it. The eyes of the Uchiha sparkled a bit in interest. It was as if her abstract information about her life was giving Sora a 10 times more detailed picture of it. As if to him that little bit of information like a code translated into a full book.
"Interesting. I wouldn't have imagined a girl coming from a regular family to have a similar problem to that of myself."
The Jounin let out a little chuckle and closed his eyes puffing out some smoke as he waved one hand dismissively as he spoke.
"I never really understood many of their reaction either to be honest, their devotion to the village and especially their clan and the shinobi life. I mean, we're soldiers, killers, goons for hire...and worst we are not as loved and respected as we used to be, people are starting to fear us. But....."
He said a bit high and mighty dismissing the opinions of the ones he referred to as strange. But then his face would become somewhat sad as he looked back at Hotarou and Nomaru.
"But perhaps it would help you to understand them better when you realize most Clan bound shinobi like myself and even Hotarou-kun here....are human weapons, genetically engineered human weapons even. We are property of our Clan and the Village from womb to tomb. We have no choice. We are like kunai in the weapon shop. Meant to kill and be killed even before we are made....I never had a choice.....and when I got bad grades....my father would beat me....he beat me a lot.....and when I got good grades.....some of the kids in class would gang up on me and beat me.....saying I was showing off just because I was an Uchiha...and that I shouldn't act like I was special....but when I didn't....My dad beat me....and then....then I realized why....why my dad beat me. The moment I came face to face with the situation of being surrounded by powerful and dangerous enemies out to kill me and my friends...and most of us if not all. Being Clan bound and thus having never had a choice but to be there. And we were all facing death. That is when I realized, that is why he beat me if I didn't push myself....he didn't want to see me die...."
Sora bursted out, perhaps the alcohol got him saying too much as he couched and shook his head.
"N....never mind...I...uhm....I'm just rambling on....but I hope this will perhaps help you understand the others a little. Maybe they are just trying to cope with something they have no escape from...a form of self inflicted genjutsu maybe."

Arigato Nomaru-chaaaaan! He said, half drunk again. 
He really was thristy though, so he drunk all of the water all at once. Water sure was easier to consume than that alcohol... He always drunk a lot of water. It's what the majority of his body was made of after all, haha!

The fact that Sora said he was just joking with all his silly stuff kinda felt like a relief. 
Thanks, Uchiha-senzeiiiii! He said, still sounding like a drunken idiot... 


He liked what he heard Nomaru say when he listened to her story. He kinda agreed with it, really! His parents always taught him to be tolerant and peaceful but they never had tried to program their own ideals into him. It made him think again about how lucky he was to have his parents. 

What a confusing day... He just didn't know what he had to think of Nomaru and Sora! They felt patronizing at one moment, but on the other moment they seemed like really nice people. Guess he wasn't in a state to judge now... He was gonna be optimistic for now though. He always took the optimistic approach. 

He listened to Sora's story. It got him to be serious again. 
That was touching... So Sora really had another side to him too. He wanted to criticise his claim how shinobi were weapons again, as he strongly disagreed with that, but felt like this wasn't the time.

He wasn't sure or this was the right thing to do, but it he partly did it because of the alcohol takeover. 
He placed his hand on Sora's shoulder and said:
Thanks, sensei. I know we're just worms compared to you, maybe even bacteria, but we'll be there for you like... gut bacteria! He threw in a little bit of a biological reference there, but he was pretty sure Sora knew how his own body worked. The fact that all bacteria were bad is a stupid myth, bacteria like gut bacteria help break down your food, which is only good! He loved learning interesting stuff... 


''Anyway, I hope I haven't made this into an awkward situation...'' Houtarou thought. He stood up to get some more water, as he was still quite thirsty. 

When he got to the bar and asked for some water he was proud of himself, because he had only fallen once on the way there!

As Nomaru listened to what Sora had to say she would just continue drinking, as if there was nothing to complain about in Sora's life. She understood how the clans worked, kinda. Nomaru never really looked into it, but this was pretty much reality. And she agreed with Sora on most parts anyway. The story about his dad didn't really touch her as much as it probably should have, she wasn't really much into the empathy thing.
  "It's just unfair. For all of us really," Nomaru replied, including pretty much herself and every other shinobi that had to do something because of his family or bloodline in that line. 

The clans, their forced lifes. That's one of the reasons she usually thought her life was unfair. Her dad had absolutely no elemental affection with anything really. At her moms side of the family her great great great great grandmother -if not further away in her family line - could do some magic tricks with wind, lightning and water and it was kinda lost in the family, until Koui Nomaru was born. She wasn't part of some stupid clan, just talented because there were some genes in her family hidden away that she had to inherit. She should have had the choice to become or not become a Shinobi, since nobody really would care if she didn't. No angry clan-members trying to make her go to the same thing they had to go to, just parental pressure she couldn't escape from because of the values this world had like respecting your parents and family. Her family did not own her, she was just a teen, still a kid really. Not really old enough to change the world.
  "You know what Sora? There is something terribly wrong with this world." Her or even Hatake becoming a Shinobi would not change anything about that. It was mankind who had to change. She would think about this subject for a while, slowly smoking her cigarette.

Her line of thoughts ended as she heard the Hatake say something about gut bacteria at the same moment she took a big hit of her cigarette, nearly killing herself with it. She started coughing uncomfortable and replied: "S...seriously Hatchiko?" still coughing. "Gut bacteria? Please speak for yourself. A worm I would be okay with, or an ant... or even a spider! But a gut bacteria?" She made a face as if she was grossed out by the Hatake comparing her to a gut bacteria. 
  Nomaru had really no idea how to reply other than that, being compared to a creature that lives in someones intestinal, no matter how enthusiastic he had sounded and no matter how handy the creatures were, it still felt a bit like an insult...

Houtarou got back with an empty bottle of water, as he had already drunk all of it while walking back towards the table.
He heard what Nomaru had to say. He felt like he could concentrate a little bit better after all the water. He still was in no condition to run a marathon or solve some random mathematics problem though...

There are many things terrible wrong in the world, Nomaru-san. But if these problems were created by humans, they can also be solved by humans!
They'd probably call him naive for that, but he didn't care. His pacifistic idealism was his own will of fire!

A slight chuckle escaped from his mouth as Nomaru was talking about the bacteria. 
I'm not talking about the physical strength of these beings, Koui-chan! He kinda was clueless about how to address Nomaru... Well, if whatever he called here wouldn't fit here, she'd probably let him know huh? It was Nomaru though, so he wasn't so sure whether the 'letting know' part would be nice...
See, ants, worms, and spiders don't really support humans. Maybe sometimes they do indirectly, as a spider might, for example, catch a disease carrying mosquito or something which could have been a pain to you, had it not done that, but basically what I'm trying to say is that gut flora support you directly. 
Looking at it from another perspective, how would our sensei be able to kill something so small he can't see it? Looking at it like that, a bacterium might be stronger than an ant!
He laughed a bit after he said all of that. He might be drunk, but maybe he could still say some sensible things... He just didn't want to make her go all angry again, although it didn't seem like she was in the mood for that now. 


He turned to Sora, and wondered about how he felt right now. 
He continued eating after that, as he still wasn't finished, and still was hungry!

As Hotarou would look back at Sora he would see his sensei's eyes having become red and 3 tomoe dots spinning around the center hypnotically. As if inviting one that looks onto his optics to look deeper and to keep looking.
"I don't miss anything.....no matter how tiny...or fast....or surprising." He would smirk a bit cocky as his eys would turn back to normal.
"One of my best friends is from the Aburame Clan, we spar all the time. And he uses various sized bugs....so I am pretty sure I can fight some pretty tiny opponents quite well."
He took a puff of his cigarette.
"And you're no bacteria compared to me. In fact, I'm nothing too special. I've just been through a lot that's all and was kinda forced to work hard to get through all that alive. But...Anyone can kill anyone. Killing another person is easy as fuck, trust me. However, apprehending  a strong person that is out to kill you while making sure not to kill them, is very hard. Very VERY hard."
He stressed the last words and gave a serious nod to the Hatake boy.
"This is why, for you as a Shinobi....your attitude towards killing....is near suicidal."
He would then shake his head raise his shoulders and make a sour somewhat pissed off face as he turned back to Nomaru.
"This is why I friggin don't get why your parants would be so stupid as to want you to become a shinobi in the first place, even be proud of it and support that choice. You're basicly blademeat now." He sighed and put out his cigarette.

Nomaru simply laughed at the Hatake. "Who knew there are some brains in that thick skull of yours, Hachiko. But don't get me wrong, I still disagree with you." She drank some more sake as she listened to the words Sora had to say and was quite impressed with the boy, even though he was a total showoff with the eye thingy and most other things. He definitely had something in common with her in a really weird way but then again, this was one of the first conversations she really had with someone about the subject that bothered her. The only other person she could talk to was her grandmother from her mothers side, who lived in a small town not too far away. Her grandmother hated her son-in-laws guts for pushing her only grandchild to become a shinobi.

  "This is why I friggin don't get why your parents would be so stupid as to want you to become a shinobi in the first place, even be proud of it and support that choice. You're basicly blademeat now."
Nomaru looked at Sora with a surprised face. Nobody had ever told her such thing. She was almost shocked, a look that almost scattered the thick wall she had created for so many years. 

  "Well I..." Nomaru just didn't know what to say. All those years she had been fighting with her father about this subject where basically put into one line by an expert on the subject. Something she could never even make a bit clear to the man. She lit a new cigarette and bit her lip for a bit as she wasn't sure what to say. 
  "It's mostly my dad who wants me to become a shinobi. My mom's just clueless about most things. The only thing she's good at is cooking and cleaning and gardening and giving obvious mom-like advice... It's like she's... I don't know. Just ignorant? I don't know how else to say it. It's like she ignores all the wrongs in the world to keep herself from going insane. She's always so happy and cheerful, she smiles when the first flowers start to bloom in springtime and she smiles when the sun shines. Heck, she even smiles when it's raining. And my dad... O-m-g. He's like the worst person you'll ever meet!" This was definitely the alcohol in her blood talking. "Getting desperate enough to buy a 4 year old into the dream he never could achieve, because he's a useless piece of shit! It's like now I have to die for his fucking shitty dream, because he donated some sperm into the creation of Koui Nomaru! I don't want to kill people, be a dog of the military, being put into some kind of corset society wants me in. For fucks sake, I don't even know what I want in life myself, but nobody ever gave me a chance to figure that out because oh-no, some old shithead needed something to make his life seem less of a failure... I'm only fourteen. That second coming of you is only like...  what? Seven or something? He should still be playing with I dunno, non-sharp objects on a playground with his little human worm baby friends instead of whatever it is he does now!" 

She bit her lip again after her rage about her parents. During her speech of fire and brimstone she didn't really show a lot of emotion on her face, as she usually didn't. Her voice however was filled with hatred and frustration.
  This was nothing like her at all and she had no idea why she really said all this. Part of her wanted to get out as soon as possible. Out of the restaurant that is. She didn't know these people and yet it felt as such a relief to finally have this off her chest. These exact words about being a shinobi and her thoughts about it. She never ever met anyone who would question her parents other than her gran. And even her grandmother occasionally would side with her parents, because "It are still your parents."
  People always kept telling her how great her parents were, but they didn't have to deal with them every single day. They were all so happy for her, for having both of her parents. Loving her, supporting her on her dreams. They didn't know shit about her nor her life. Yes, she could do some magic tricks with some elements. Whooptie-fucking-doo. She'd rather be a normal child. 
  This exact thing was the reason she would not bring people over to her house.

Nomaru took a hit from her cigarette, which she had completely forgotten about in her speech about failed parenting. She took some time to figure out what her next step would be. Not staying here sounded like a good plan. And after all: this was her team, the other Uchiha boy wasn't really a team member in her eyes. He was too young for her, pretty much like the Sarutobi-child.
  Nomaru stood up, rubbing her belly. "I think I'm going for a walk, trying to find Ten-chan I guess. I owe her a drink... I'll get back here later..." and clear my head... "If you want to you can join me Hachiko. And you too Sora." Nomaru acted as if her emotional throwing up never happened, she would just try to forget about her ever saying such things as she always did. She hated it when she did things like this. Luckily for her it didn't happen too often. Maybe once a year on a bad day, a day like this one.

But sensei... How could you see microscopic life smaller than a single cell of your own body?! 
He wasn't sure whether Sora was bluffing/joking or the power of the sharingan actually went that far...
Made him wonder about whether Uchiha Torame possessed that power... He didn't know very much about Uchiha powers... Although with 2 Uchiha's in his team he could say ''not yet''. 

He listened while Sora was talking about how easy killing another human was and how difficult it was capturing one compared to that. He wasn't in a state where he'd want to get into that debate now, but still, if a bit more effort in battle was what it took to do good, he'd pay that price. 
He'd been called naïve many times before, but he became a shinobi to realise his own ideals, and not obey a village if he disagreed with its actions! He hoped he would never be put into a position where the village assigned him to do something against his own morals... 

Nomaru started talking about her life and parents after that. She definitely sounded frustrated, but he could understand that. Parents who'd decide your life... Didn't sound nice, and it made him again appreciate his own parents he loved so much. 
Not knowing how to react to Nomaru, he just stayed quiet and tried his best to give her an understanding look while she was done talking. He wanted to avoid big discussions as he still felt a little empty in his head from that shitty alcohol. He wasn't gonna do that again for a loooong time... Or at least until he was 16. That might be difficult though with these 2 in his team!

Nomaru said she'd leave after that, and he kinda felt like he was done with this place too. He wanted to see his parents and dogs, and he was getting a bit tired, but how would he explain his semi-drunken state to them now?! He'd see what would happen... 
He figured he'd just go with what Sora said. Leaving the guy alone here wouldn't be nice either huh?

Well, sensei, I'll leave it up to you, either way is fine with me!


Nomaru had been calling him Hachiko a few times now, but he hadn't got a clue as to what it meant... Figured he might as well ask straight away!
Oh, and Koui-chan, what's up with the ''Hachiko'' thing?! 

Sora would listen to Nomaru amd nod
"I see..."
He said closing his eyes for a moment.
"I truely wonder what it is parents are thinking sometimes. But they tell me I can never truly understand until I am one myself."
He said and then forced a smile and a chuckle.
"Guess I'll just have to go make some babies then now, huh?"
He grinned giving a little wink to Nomaru and then shaking his head.
"Nah I'll be fine....you guys go on ahead without me. I'll see you 3 tomorrow, don't be late. Or I promise you....You'll be sorry you were.""

(torame left a long time ago... just saying)

Nomaru grinned at the baby-making comment of Sora. "Well, if I'm pregnant I can't do the whole shinobi thing right?" Not that Nomaru wanted children, but she definitely knew her children wouldn't get the same fate she did, no matter how talented. She ran to the bar and ordered one big bottle of Sake. "Bye Sora."
  "Alright then, more Sake for the quest to find my little angel!" She really wanted to get pissdrunk after her speech and never ever wanted to think about today ever again. 
  My life is over...
She grabbed Houtarou by his arm and dragged him outside with the bottle of Sake in her hand. "Hachiko is a dog from some film. He would walk his owner to work every day, wait for him to be done with work and walk him back. Even after the death of the man Hachiko would still walk that same walk every day, just to wait for his owner to come back. My mom loves that film, she watches it at least once a week. I'm surprised you've never heard of it, Whitey. You seem like a dog-person." Nomaru opened the bottle of Sake outside and put it to her mouth as she started drinking. "Now where could Ten-chan be?" She remembered something at a meeting somewhere, but as usual she didn't listen and had no clue where that could be so she just started walking in a random direction.
  "Say Hachiko, what are your thoughts on that toddler who chickened out?" She asked at the Hatake.

See you tomorrow then sensei! Houtarou said as Nomaru pulled him out of the restaurant. 

So that's were ''Hachiko'' came from. Well, from what she said about that movie it sounded loyal, which was probably a good thing right? 
Haven't seen that movie before, but I do indeed like my doggies, so I should watch it sometime! He said stretching his arms while walking after sitting in a restaurant for so long. 
I haven't got a clue as to where she is, but haven't you got her number or something? He asked.
He still felt a bit dizzy after all the alcohol, but he, seemed like he could walk... For now. 

He listened as Nomaru asked him about Torame. 
I don't really think he would 'chicken out' when just meeting his new team, he seemed like a nice guy, but he said something about having to go to the Hokage. Why would he have to see the Hokage? I'm curious... He can't have made that up right? Why would he? There must therefore be something going on...
Anyway, what do you think he was up to?

(So I've rewriten this post because my phone was fucking up bigtime and it made no sense to me what I was really trying to say. Fuck you iPhone.)


Nomaru giggled like every teen girl would do. "Don't watch it unless you want to be ruined for life. I've seen what it did to my mom..." Nomaru made a grossed-out face. 
Nomaru kept walking in her random direction and drank some more sake as she heard the Hatake say something about Tenshi's phone number, but when Nomaru thought about it she didn't really have anyone's phone number. She scratched her chin and ignored the question. Nomaru didn't really want anyone to have her phone number anyway. 
"He seemed like he chickened out if you'd ask me... but he probably did have some meeting with that piss-for-brains Hokage... Now that I think of it, the dude wanted to meet Ten-chan as well..." She looked at the Hatake. "So Hatchiko, are we going to check the Hokage's place or whatever?" Nomaru didn't really want to come anywhere near the Hokage's office. In her eyes he was one of the people organizing all this shit, making kids able to become shinobi's.

Nomaru didn't really seem to like the hokage. He himself had always respected the man, as he always tried to keep peace. And becoming a shinobi was a voluntary act, so he didn't really agree with her. On the other hand, she was forced into becoming one, so he did feel bad for her...
They were both summoned? I wonder what's up with that... I'm curious now... so I guess we might as well go there!
As they continued walking, Houtarou thought about what Nomaru said about her parents.
He Nomaru-san. About your dad... I understand it must be a pain having him order what you have to do, and it doesn't seem like an effective way of bringing you up, it not being what you want and all... Have you never talked to him about it? It's your dad after all, if he really wants you to be happy, wouldn't he accept you being what you want to be? 
He didn't want to get involved into her family business too much, so he figured he might've said to much here. He wanted to help her though. He always wanted to try and help people. 
Anyway... If you need help with something, just ask. We're teammates now after all, haha!
He said it smiling, but he again felt like he had brought something up he shouldn't. 

The hokage's office wasn't too far away from where they were now, them being in the city and all. They'd probably arrive soon. He was curious as to why both Torame en Tenshi were summoned by him...

A few minutes before Nomaru and Hotarou would arrive at the Hokage tower two guards would already have been stationed at the entrance right after the 3 invited Genin had entered. There were also 4 ANBU positioned on the rooftops.
The ANBU would suddenly fall asleep and as the guards at the door looked up to notice it and gasped surprised someone would appear behind them and knock them out in the blink of and eye.
Their knocked out bodies would be dragged behind the building and hidden there.
When Nomaru and Hotarou arrived there were no more guards positioned near the Hokage Tower allowing them free access.

[You guys are allowed to post at the Hokage's office.]