The Uchiha Incident: Chapter 5

Bridging Gaps

That girl, Shuten, saw her eyes. There was no denying it. She could see it with the way she looked at her while she sat there, grinning at her from across the room. She knew, or maybe she was just probably amused at Taku's current situation. Either way, Taku was not a happy camper as she found herself in between two bickering idiots.

"Taku's my friend so I get to sit with her!" Shouted Ami as she stomped angrily. Teeth barred and fuming, her friend looked just about ready to throw hands because of one little detail. She wasn't the one sitting next to her; That would be Kiara.

With an amused huff, the redhead smirked back at the pissed off blonde. "Well maybe you should have woken up a bit earlier because I got here first," She fired back before turning back to her, "Now where were we Taku-chan? Oh right, training! I've never seen someone keep with sensei. What exercise do you do?"

Seeing that beaming smile on her face and that starry look in her eyes, Taku caved in. "I don't know," She shrugged, cheeks rosy as she glanced away from the betrayed look in Ami's eyes, "Just a lot of them, healthy food and good rest?" What else was she supposed to do, kick her out when she was being nice? She would also rather not piss off a clan while she was still settling in.

Also, It wasn't like there was a set rule for the sitting arrangement. Kids just sit where they want which was clearly becoming a problem as her friend clearly wanted her seat. "I had to work extra shifts yesterday," Ami grounded out as a strained smile stretched across her face, "I would have slept earlier if I could."

Seeing the dark rings under her eyes, Taku winced. No wonder she was in a foul mood today. Thankfully, Kiara wasn't going to be a bitch about it as she let out a defeated sigh. "Fine," Kiara muttered as she glared at the other girl, "I'll switch over after lunch, but not a moment before, got it?"

It was not the best solution, but it should satisfy both parties right? Taku's hopes, however, would be dashed as Ami refused to budge on the mutter. "No, this is my seat before all of this and you know it." Grabbing Kiara's chair, she gritted out, "Now move."

Hackles raised, Kiara narrowed her eyes as she bit back, "Make me." Seeing where this was heading, Taku tried to intervene.

"Um, girls?" She called out, but she would be ignored as the two butted heads with neither refusing to give grounds on the issue. Things were quickly getting out of hand.

"You really want to do this?" Ami gritted out as she pushed against Kiara.

"Hah, I should be asking that," Kiara replied with a savage grin as her hair started to smoke and smolder. "Think you can handle the heat?" The girl gritted out as she pushed against the smaller girl.

Reaching up, Taku let out a sigh as she started massaging her aching temples. Of all the things to be caught up with in Kumo, it had to be classroom drama. Looking around, she tried to find someone to mediate between them, but the other kids were quick to back away.

"That's your problem," Mouthed a dark skinned kid as he crossed his arms in front of him, clearly not wanting any part of this, "You deal with it."

"Coward," She mouthed back as she glanced over to her teacher, but she was clearly asking far too much from the man. She would find Zed leaning back on his chair, smut book draped over his face, while he dozed off.

"Lazy bastard…" She muttered. Why did she have to deal with this shit and so early in the morning at that! As if to make things worse, the powder keg that was the two finally set off. She wasn't sure who started it as she was looking away, but the two were all too eager to finish what was started as Ami launched herself at Kiara.

"Get off now!" The blonde shouted as she tried wrestling the girl off her seat.

Not one to give up, Kiara shouted, "Never!" As Ami pushed her hands against her face, her eyes widened. "Hey, wait! Stop it!" Kiara cried as she pulled at Ami's dress, trying to free herself from the Blonde's grasp, "You're ruining my hair! Do you know how long it took to fix it!"

"I'll let go if you let go!" Ami shouted as she pulled harder, "Stop pulling so hard! You're going to rip it! This is my only set damn it!"

"Wait, stop it you idiots!" Taku shouted, stepping in now, but it was far too late. Before she could get up from her chair, she heard a loud tearing sound. Mouth agape, he watched as Kiara tore a piece from Ami's dress.

The three of them stood there frozen as Ami stared at the piece of pleated cotton in Kiara's hand. Staring up, Kiara tried speaking up before Ami launched herself at the girl. Shuten laughed, Taku despaired and the classroom cheered as first started flying. It was a mess.

What was once a small scuffle quickly turned to a fist fight as the two started hitting, clawing and biting. Not wanting to deal with this, she did something she should have done earlier. "Ok, knock it off!" Taku shouted as she gave both of them a punch.

As the two clutched their heads, she grabbed both by the scruff of their necks before dragging them over to their napping teacher. Time to make the lazy bastard useful. With a quick kick on the desk, the man jolted awake.

Not even bothering to lift up the smut fic off his face, the man slumped on his chair. "Damn it, what the hell is it this time?," He grumbled, "didn't I tell you kids that Homeroom is nap time-I mean free time?" Waving them off, he muttered, "Do whatever the hell you want. Just don't poke your eyes out or something."

She would have just let it be if she didn't care, but she did. This shit has gone far enough and it was time to fix it… Even if it means she had to swallow her pride. "Sensei," She gritted out, "I need your help."

Zed froze before slowly lifting up the book covering his face. The smug smile he sported quickly faded as he noticed the two cute little hellions she brought with her. "Trouble in paradise?" He asked before the two started ratting each other out.

Giving them a quick chop on the head to shut them up, Taku scoffed, "Get your head out of the gutter, Pedo-sensei." She might have a soft spot for the two, but that doesn't mean they were hers. She was simply their minders, that's all.

Snorting, the man shifted as he asked her, "So, what do you have in mind kid?" Glancing at the two, he smiled wryly, "Words aren't going to cut it with these two, you know? This ain't like your old stomping grounds." Indeed it wasn't.

While there were many similarities between Kumo and Konoha, the way they solved things here was not one of them. They were rather… confrontational and the two were the perfect example of such. Despite her warnings, the two were already raring to go, ready to pick up where they left off earlier.

Clearly, they needed an outlet. "That's why I wanted to ask if I could use the training grounds after school," She replied, already having something in mind.

As the man quirked a brow, Taku rolled her eyes before leaning in close and whispered her plans. It was a long shot, and it might not work the way she intended considering how younger they were than the average genin, but it was the best she could come up with at the moment. Pulling back, she asked, "So, think you can help me sensei?"

Scratching his chin, the man asked, "Isn't that a bit too much effort?"

"It is," She admitted, "But it'll give me some peace of mind then I think it's worth it." Reaching down, she ruffled both her beloved idiots' hair as she grinned, "Besides, might as well start early training these two because I have a feeling I'm stuck with them."

The man stared at her before he chuckled. "You're full of surprises, you know that?" He shooked is head as he leaned back on his chair once more. "But if that's what you want, might as well make it worth your while."

Now it was her turn to quirk her brow. "Meet me down at the valley below after class," The man replied cryptically as he flashed her a lazy smile, "Just tell the old ferryman that I sent you and he'll know where to take you."

As she raised her hand, he snapped his fingers, "And oh right!" With a casual flick, two small chalks were flicked right at their forehead. Taku had to blink twice just to make sure she saw that right. "You two go outside and stand in the hallway. I'll deal with you after homeroom."

The two cringed, eyes down cast and face red as they made their walk of shame outside. "Please go easy on them," Taku asked with a sigh. While those two were idiots, for better or for worse, they were now her two idiots. It would reflect poorly on her for them to mess up too badly

-x-x-x-

As soon as classes ended, Taku grabbed the two and headed down to the valley below. The walk was long and winding, but the view was well worth it as they meandered down a river. The Land of Lightning wasn't just all mountains as it turns out, it had rivers and lakes aplenty.

It was just a shame that the two couldn't appreciate the awe inspiring sight with her. Glancing to the other occupants of the boats, she found the two still in the same foul mood they had earlier even after they spent some time in the principal's office. It might have been worse in fact.

With how much bad blood now ran between the two, it was a surprise that the two agreed to follow her. Still, she was glad they did. It saved her the headache of having to kidnap the two. She just had to tolerate the two as they made their displeasure quite clear.

"This is stupid," Ami muttered darkly as she sat on her end of the boat.

"You're stupid!" Kiara shouted as she glared back, "Because of your little stunt, my perfect record has a stain on it!" Arms crossed across her chest, she hissed, "How am I going to explain to my Grandfather that Papa has to come to the office!"

"Well excuse me princess," Ami snarked, making Kiara's hair smolder all over again, "At least you don't have to deal with your mom screaming at you for ruining another dress."

"It's just a dress," Kiara replied as she puffed at her hair, putting out a stray fire, "You can always get another one so stop being overly dramatic." Poor choices of words, however, as that got Ami all riled up.

"You just don't get it do you," Ami spat out, "Not everyone's born lucky."

Letting the two vent out their frustration, Taku groaned. She had always suspected that Kumo might have some preferential treatment to those possessing Bloodlines, but she had failed to take into account how that might cause resentment with the rest of the population. Ami's resentment was proof enough.

It would be all too easy for people to think that a clan member merely got just lucky with life and in a sense they were right. Winning the genetic lottery was a way to power, but with those power came expectations. This was a society of ninjas. It wasn't just enough to have the tools. They must be willing to use it or else be seen as dead weight.

Now while she empathized with Kiara, she was not making it any easier. The girl was abrasive to say the least and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. That proud boisterous energy mixing with Ami's resent made for quite the explosive reaction; Something which she had to deal with and deal with fast. She just hoped what she had planned was enough.

As she looked back at the old ferryman in apology, she found him smiling, pointing beyond the ever present clouds hugging the mountains; They were here. Out from the fog came the banks of a forested island. It was big, with jagged rocks jutting out to the sky along with plenty of trees in between. There were plenty of places to hide; Perfect for what she had in mind.

Disembarking, Ami grabbed her hand. As she looked back at her friend, she asked, "Taku, why did you drag us here?" Glaring at the red head as she thanked their ride, she muttered, "And why did we have to bring her along?"

"You'll see," Taku replied as she grabbed the girl's hands, "Just trust me ok?" The girl frowned, but nothing a quick look couldn't fix. "Can you do this for me?"

Cheeks burning, the girl muttered, "Fine, but you'll come visit my family restaurant ok?"

Taku smiled as she nodded. Ami was a good girl, but a stubborn one. Right now, she has some silly misconceptions and her friend, it was her job to fix it. She helped her when she needed it most, now it was time for her to return that favor.

Seeing a shadow dash in the side of her vision, she turned and found their teacher waving at them. "Sorry for being late, I had to shoo away some of the wildlife." Those must have been quite some wild life if it took him that long.

Pulling away from her friend, she walked over before bowing. "Thank you sensei for letting me use this place," She thanked him.

"Don't thank me yet kid," The man replied as he gestured at her companion, "You still have a bunch of brats to deal with." Eyeing the two as they made faces at each other, he asked, "Are you sure you want to do this? They could hate you, you know?"

"They could," Taku replied. This could easily create a rift, but she trusted Ami to be mature enough. "But they're good kids." Smiling back, the man nodded before slipping back into the shadows, leaving her with the duo.

Taking a deep breath, she called out, "Ok listen up!" Immediately, the two froze as they turned towards her. With their attention on her, she continued, "You two are wonderful girls and I couldn't have asked anyone better to be friends with, but you two things for me because you two are making me choose!"

As they shied away from her glare, she scolded them, "While I wanted to be friends with both of you, you two made it clear that you can't tolerate each other."

"Since it became clear that you two would rather butt heads and fight than talk it out, we'll solve things your way," She told them before pulling out an egg timer, one she had set for half an hour.

"You want to be my friend?" She asked, "Then prove it." Setting the timer down on a rock, it started ticking. "Anyone who remains on their feet after the time runs out will be my friend." Tilting her head at them, she asked, "Think you two can handle it?"

Hearing her challenge, Taku saw the fires of determination burning in their eyes. Cracking her knuckles and glaring at Kiara, Ami asked, "Just that rules right? Like I could say… Knock someone out?"

"You could," Taku replied, making her friend grin.

"You're awfully confident for someone at a disadvantage," Kiara huffed as her hair started to glow. Squaring up, the two walked to separate ends of the clearing, facing each other down.

"Just because you're some flaming chicken doesn't make you any special!" Ami shouted as she stuck out her tongue, "Don't worry Taku! This will only take a minute!"

"I'll make you eat those words!" Kiara fumed as her hair burst.

"Then make me-!" Ami shouted before Taku moved. The two had their banter, it was now time to introduce them to her game. Fist cocked, she threw a lazy punch.

Boom!

"Oh, I missed," Taku yawned as she shook her fist before climbing out of the small crater she made. God she loved how bullshit Chakra was. All she had to do was pump her body with Chakra and she gets to do crazy stuff like this!

"Taku!" Ami shouted as she and Taku backed away in fear, "What the hell?!"

"Oh yeah, about that," Taku chuckled as she turned to them with a smile, "I never told you girls that won't I be joining in on the fun, did I~?" If they don't want to be near each other, she had to force them together and what better way than to traumatize them!

Letting out a small giggle, she grinned, "I suggest you run~"

A/N:

Was planning to post this and the other chapter today, but it's looking like I'm going to make a third chapter cause of the sequence of events I made. Sorry there was a delay on posting this. Should have done it yesterday honestly.