- 7:00 AM -
The sun had risen. It's light shining upon all in its path.
Shikamaru had waken up unusually early, while Kai was still asleep.
Yoshino had finished cleaning the house, and was now cooking breakfast.
And Shikaku was heading upstairs.
- Kai's POV -
"NO, MADARA! DON'T DO IT! DON'T DO IT! I'LL GIVE YOU NARUTO, JUST DON'T KILL ME!" I yelled, screaming at Madara, who was rapidly approaching me, a kunai in his hand.
"I don't need your help to get that retarded jinchuriki, brat!" Madara replied and stabbed his kunai towards me at unbelievable speeds, aiming for my left eye.
"NOOOO-"
"Wake up, son." And it was Shikaku's tired voice that snapped me out of my dream.
Thank god, it was a dream.
I opened my eyes and looked at Shikaku, "Yeah, yeah, I am getting up."
"Good." Shikaku said and looked at Shikamaru's bed, "You know, it's the first time I've seen Shikamaru wake up before you."
"What?" I looked at Shikamaru's bad, and it was true, he wasn't there.
"What the hell got him to wake up so early...." I muttered, wondering why the boy who'd have to be waken up by Yoshino's yelling had woken up so early today.
"Breakfast is ready, let's go." Shikaku said and gave me one last look before turning around and going downstairs.
I rubbed my eyes and got off the bed, and walked over to the mirror.
I looked into the mirror and fixed my hair before turning towards the stairs.
As I soon got down the stairs, I could smell the scent of eggs.
Shikaku was sitting near the table, reading the newspaper.
And.... Aelira was sleeping on the floor?
That naturally got me curious, "What's she doing on the floor?" I asked.
"Training." Shikaku said, flipping to the next page of the newspaper, "She got up early at like 4 in the morning, she was training in the yard, practising her kunai throwing and exercising. Apparently, after you got home last night, Jiraiya had left her some scrolls to study."
"That sounds about right.." I said and walked over to Aelira and lightly kicked her in the back.
"Mmmm...." Aelira mumbled in her sleep.
"Wake up, you gotta have breakfast." I said and kicked her bum, this time a little harder, causing her to turn over.
"Hmmm?...." Aelira mumbled, finally waking up and looked around before rubbing her eyes, "Good Morning..."
"Miss white-star, may I urge you to sit at the table, for this mother of mine, has prepared a breakfast most delicious." I said, dramatically, bowing.
Aelira's left eye twitched as she stared at me, "Don't call me that." She said, annoyed.
"Alright, don't blast me." I said and walked and sat beside Shikaku.
I looked outside the door, and there he was, the Messiah of sloths, sleeping by a tree.
"What's he doing out there?" I asked.
"He was training." Aelira said, walking over and sitting infront of us at the table, "With me."
"What." I asked, shocked, looking at Aelira, "Is this some sort of joke?"
Aelira shook her head.
I looked towards the kitchen, "Mom! Is the world ending?" I yelled towards Yoshino.
Yoshino huffed loudly, "Oh believe me, I was just as shocked as you."
"At this point, OJ being innocent is more believable." I said.
"Who's OJ?" Shikaku asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No one." I said and walked up to the door and picked up a rock from one of the pots.
"Hey, catch this!"
I threw the rock straight at Shikamaru's forehead.
The rock flew straight toward Shikamaru's forehead.
THUNK.
"...Troublesome."
He caught it without even opening his eyes.
Silence.
I blinked once.
Aelira blinked too.
Even Shikaku lowered his newspaper slightly.
Then Shikamaru lazily opened one eye from beneath the tree.
"...You throw too slow."
I pointed at him dramatically.
"HE'S BEEN REPLACED."
"Unfortunately not," Shikamaru muttered.
Aelira stared at him for a second.
"...You reacted before opening your eyes."
Shikamaru yawned.
"I heard the rock."
"No, you didn't."
"I did."
"You absolutely didn't."
"I did."
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.
"...Dad."
"Hm?"
"Is this a genjutsu?"
Shikaku snorted quietly into his coffee.
Yoshino finally walked out from the kitchen carrying plates.
"Come on, eat up." She turned towards Shikamaru, "My sweet diligent son Shikamaru! Come and eat your breakfast." She said in a happy voice.
Shikamaru shivered visibly before getting up and walking towards the house,
"Troublesome.."
Shikaku and I chuckled as Yoshino put a plate of breakfast infront of us each and we started to dig in.
Yoshino placed a plate infront of Aelira, and gave her nearly twice as much food as me and Shikaku, "Eat up, Aelira, eat to your heart's content!" She said and patted Aelira's head.
Me and Shikaku both stared at Aelira's plate and then took a look at ours.
"Oh well." Me and Shikaku both said in unison.
By now, Shikamaru had come over and had sat beside Aelira.
Shikamaru dropped into the seat beside Aelira with the energy of a dying old man.
Yoshino immediately placed a plate infront of him.
"Eat properly."
"...Yeah."
The table went quiet for a bit as everyone started eating.
Well—
Quiet by normal standards.
By Nara household standards, this was basically a festival.
Shikaku flipped another newspaper page while eating with one hand.
Then casually spoke.
"The clan elders asked about you yesterday."
I looked up from my food.
"...Me?"
Shikaku nodded once.
"They want you back training with the clan again."
Ah.
That.
Makes sense.
After all, from their perspective, I had suddenly started progressing absurdly fast after getting separated from the normal clan schedule.
Clan elders noticing that was inevitable.
"What'd you tell them?" I asked.
"That you're under Jiraiya's supervision right now." Shikaku replied calmly. "Which is true."
Shikamaru yawned.
"They probably hated hearing that."
"They did."
Shikaku took a sip of coffee.
"But don't think too badly of them either. They're just being cautious."
That sounded about right.
The Nara clan wasn't obsessed with raw power like some clans.
They valued intelligence, stability, reliability.
If one of their children suddenly started changing rapidly, of course the elders would want involvement.
Still—
Shikaku looked directly at me now.
"For now, ignore it."
I blinked once.
Shikaku folded the newspaper shut.
"Your current environment is better for your growth than sitting in meetings with old men arguing over training structures."
"...That's surprisingly direct."
Shikaku snorted quietly.
"I'm lazy, not stupid."
Yoshino hummed approvingly from the kitchen.
"Besides, Jiraiya-sama taking personal interest in you is an opportunity most shinobi would never get."
Shikaku nodded once.
"The clan elders know that too. They're just annoyed they can't control it."
That sounded way more believable.
Aelira quietly listened while eating, not interrupting once.
Though I did notice her glance toward me briefly when Jiraiya got mentioned.
Shikamaru noticed too.
Of course he did.
That guy noticed everything despite acting half asleep all day.
After breakfast finished, Yoshino kicked all of us outside before anyone could pretend they were too tired to train.
Now the backyard was occupied by four children and one lazy genius of a jonin.
Yoshino sat peacefully on the porch knitting something while occasionally watching us.
Probably making another sweater.
The backyard itself was fairly large.
Training posts.
Open grass.
Some trees near the fence.
Shikaku stretched his shoulders slightly before looking toward me.
"So."
His eyes narrowed a little.
"Show me what Jiraiya taught you."
I stepped forward immediately.
No point hiding it.
Besides, he was Shikaku.
He'd figure things out eventually anyway.
I focused chakra into my legs.
Compression.
Release.
BOOM.
The grass bent beneath my feet as I flickered several meters forward instantly.
Not perfect.
Not even close.
But controlled.
Shikamaru's eyes sharpened slightly.
"...Body Flicker already?"
Aelira looked toward where I had originally been standing.
Shikaku hummed quietly.
"Not bad."
Which, from him, was basically applause.
I formed a hand sign next.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
POOF.
Two clones appeared beside me instantly.
Shikaku raised an eyebrow.
"...Two?"
"That's my current limit before the feedback starts becoming annoying." I said.
One of my clones stretched lazily.
"The headaches suck."
"The headaches do suck." The second clone agreed seriously.
Shikamaru stared at us.
"...That's disturbing."
"You're disturbing." One clone replied immediately.
"Troublesome."
Shikaku looked between the clones carefully.
Then toward Aelira.
"...Actually."
His gaze sharpened thoughtfully.
"Aelira."
She immediately looked at him attentively.
"You should learn this too."
I blinked once.
Shikamaru did too.
"The Shadow Clone Jutsu?" he asked.
Shikaku nodded.
"Her chakra reserves and control are unusually balanced for her age."
Aelira stayed quiet.
Waiting.
Not questioning.
Shikaku crouched slightly and drew a quick diagram into the dirt with a stick.
"The normal Clone Technique creates illusions."
"The Shadow Clone creates actual physical bodies."
He glanced toward me.
"Which means the chakra division has to be precise."
I picked up from there.
"If your control slips, the chakra balance collapses."
Aelira nodded once.
Listening carefully.
Shikaku demonstrated the hand sign slowly.
"Try it."
Aelira copied the sign immediately.
No hesitation.
No wasted movement.
Then chakra surged.
And both me and Shikaku's expressions changed instantly.
"...Wait—"
POOF.
POOF.
POOF.
POOF.
POOF.
Smoke exploded across half the backyard.
And suddenly—
There were Aeliras everywhere.
At least fifteen.
Maybe more.
The entire yard froze.
Even Yoshino stopped knitting.
One clone blinked.
Another looked around silently.
One accidentally bumped into another near the fence.
And the original Aelira herself just stood there staring at the army she'd accidentally created.
Silence.
Then Shikamaru spoke.
"...What the hell."
One of the Aelira clones looked toward Shikaku.
"...Was that too many?"
Shikaku slowly rubbed his forehead.
"A little."
One of my clones burst out laughing immediately.
Another pointed dramatically.
"She's multiplying!"
"Shut up." I said while dispelling both clones instantly before they embarrassed me further.
Aelira looked slightly unsure now.
"...Sorry."
Shikaku waved it off calmly.
"No, that's actually impressive."
His eyes scanned the clones carefully.
"Very stable too."
Which was true.
None of them looked distorted.
None were flickering.
That meant her chakra control was absurdly clean for a first attempt.
Honestly ridiculous.
Shikaku exhaled slowly.
"Alright. Dispelling them properly is also important. Focus."
The clones nodded together.
Which looked creepy as hell.
Then—
POOF.
The backyard cleared again.
Aelira swayed slightly afterward from the chakra drain, but stayed standing.
Yoshino smiled proudly from the porch.
"Good job, dear."
Aelira quietly nodded once at the praise.
Then training started properly.
Shikaku rotated between all of us.
Shikamaru got dragged into shadow possession drills.
Aelira practiced clone control and kunai precision.
I got forced through chakra control exercises and movement drills.
And despite acting lazy the entire time, Shikaku somehow noticed literally everything.
Every mistake.
Every imbalance.
Every wasted movement.
"Your shoulders tense before moving."
"You're overcommitting your footing."
"Too much chakra."
"Too slow."
It was annoying.
Because he was almost always right.
By the time the sun had climbed higher, me and Shikamaru were both preparing to head toward the academy.
Shikamaru looked like he already regretted existing.
Aelira was learning how to knit from Yoshino on the porch.
And then—
A familiar voice echoed from the fence.
"YO!"
We all turned.
Jiraiya stood there casually atop the wooden fence with his arms crossed.
Like he'd been there the whole time.
"Morning, Lord Jiraiya." Yoshino said, bit annoyed.
"...You know normal people use gates." Shikamaru muttered.
"Normal people are boring." Jiraiya replied instantly. "Good morning, Yoshino!" He said to Yoshino.
Then his eyes landed on me.
"Kai."
"Hm?"
Jiraiya grinned widely.
"Training time."
I blinked once.
"...Academy?"
Jiraiya waved dismissively.
"Send a shadow clone."
Shikaku immediately snorted.
"You're corrupting him already."
"Damn right I am."
Jiraiya dropped down into the yard dramatically and threw an arm around my shoulder.
"This brat's got potential. Classroom boredom is the enemy of talent."
"The academy exists for a reason." Shikaku replied lazily.
"And shadow clones exist for a reason." Jiraiya shot back proudly.
Honestly—
He wasn't exactly wrong.
I formed the hand sign.
POOF.
A clone appeared beside me.
It looked at me.
I looked at it.
Then both of us sighed at the same time.
"...You go."
"...Troublesome."
Shikamaru stared at the clone.
"...He's becoming worse."
"He's learning from greatness." Jiraiya declared proudly.
The clone grabbed the academy bag and walked toward the gate beside Shikamaru.
Jiraiya watched them leave before grinning toward me again.
"Alright then, brat."
His grin widened.
"So, i read that scroll about you, the one where you wrote down information about what, like the first six summons you had information about?" He asked.
I nodded.
I told the clan I had some clear information on the first six summons - The Divine Dogs, Rabbit Escape, the Toad, Nue, Max Elephant and Great Serpant.
Why not the others? Well, because I didn't have all that much information on them, and because I didn't wanna tell them about Mahoraga.
Good lord, wars would start if anyone learned about Mahoraga's true ability.
And besides, when I did try to look into their signals, I felt the Round Deer and Mahoraga, but Piercing Ox and Tiger Funeral were definitely different, like they had been replaced.
"Well, I read that." He said and moved his hands up and flapped them as a gesture, "So, I've decided we'll be taking that flying chicken! Nue!"
Well, I'll be damned.