Illumination – A Naruto Fantasy

In a small diner titled "Sake & Yaki", a lone waiter was serving drinks to three children

With a slender figure, she was a young teenager of fifteen years. Black hair with chestnut eyes and light skin

"Three green teas. Your plates will be coming in just a sec"

"Thanks again for opening so early for us today Akina"

"Anything for our favorite customer Rei!" (Akina)

 

Creak! Akina returned to the back to check on the food

Rei was the first to take a drink

Slurp

"Are you finally ready to talk? Suzu and I have been waiting"

Slurp

"Um..."

Slurp...Slurp

"Rei!" 

"Hm?" (Rei)

Across from Rei was Tai with a frown on his face. Suzu seemed to be losing her patience as well

"Start...talking...please" (Tai)

"Oh...sorry. I was really thirsty" (Rei)

"..." (Suzu)

Eager for answers, Tai compelled Rei to explain why he brought them here

"First, when comes to providing the right 'answer' to his test, I want you two to think back on Sensei's words" (Rei)

"He said if we don't show him a better 'introduction' than last time we're going back to the academy" (Tai)

"What exactly did he mean by that? You know the answer right?" (Suzu)

"Yes. And if you look carefully at his words, you'll be able to figure it out as well" (Rei)

Tai and Suzu pondered

"Hmmm. A 'better introduction' than last time?" (Tai)

"Is he referring to our attitude when we first met him? But I don't think any of us were being disrespectful towards him" (Suzu)

"You're freezing. Look carefully at his sentences. Use all the information at your disposal" (Rei)

Slurp

"...'No man is an Island' is what he said" (Suzu)

"Yeah...I almost forgot about that" (Tai)

"You went from freezing to cold" (Rei)

Slurp

"...He also said if we fail we're going back to the academy...but that doesn't make any sense..." (Tai)

"What do you mean?" (Suzu)

"Warmer" (Rei)

Slurp

"Wouldn't it make sense to say we'll lose our shinobi status instead of going back to the academy. Ya know, because of the strict school rules when it comes to enrolling?" (Tai)

"...That's right. Admission into 'Cloud Academy' isn't free. Because of the three-year period, they don't accept new students once classes have begun. And it's too late for us to enter the special 'Fourth year' classes for students who failed to graduate" (Suzu)

"And yet he went out of his way to mention 'academy' in his sentence" (Tai)

"Hot" (Rei)

Slurp

"Better introduction..." (Suzu)

"Going back to the academy..." (Tai)

"..." (Tai & Suzu)

"..." (Rei)

Slurp

With a sudden realization at hand, the two suddenly stood up and shouted

"OUR ACADEMY INTRODUCTION!" (Tai & Suzu)

"And now you're radioactive. Oh, and I finished my tea. Akina! Refill please!" (Rei)

"Be right there!" (Akina)

Akina walked to their table with dishes in hand

"Here we are. A rice bowl for each of you. Plus, seasoned dried seaweed for the young lady" (Akina)

"Thank you" (Suzu)

"Miso soup for the young man" (Akina)

"Thanks!" (Tai)

"And grilled fish for our favorite customer! I'll have your refill in a moment Rei, I just need to brew a fresh pot" (Akina)

"No problem. Take your time" (Rei)

As Akina returned to the kitchen, Rei turned to the others who themselves had an expectant look

"It was 'read between the lines' right?" (Tai)

"Yup. You remember we refrained from mentioning family names during our first introduction back at the academy right?" (Rei)

"Yeah, I told you it was a scare tactic to give any student who thought of attacking us to think twice based on the fear they would offend someone from a powerful family. If they found out you were from a poor family, you'd be an easy target to bully" (Tai)

{Well...that may have been YOUR reason} (Suzu)

"Our academy was designed to have us compete with each other constantly for three years straight. That's the purpose of the three year school term. That's why they have everyone start in the same year and not accept any students until those three years are up, to ensure there were no students in a year above others. A means of making things fair for everyone" (Rei)

Clasping his hands

"Itadakimasu" (Rei)

Munch! Rei began chowing down on his food

"..." (Tai & Suzu)

"Come on guys, you don't want your food to get cold. I'm paying for it so go nuts. Don't worry, I'll continue explaining" (Rei)

After looking at each other, they repeated Rei's actions and started to eat

"When we first met Tango-sensei, we made a mistake" (Rei)

"And that is?" (Suzu)

"Suzu. What's my last name?" (Rei)

"..." (Suzu)

"Tai. What's my favorite food?" (Tai)

"Um..." (Tai)

"Suzu. What exactly was Sekiei implying about your heritage when you fought during the graduation test?" (Rei)

"That's..." (Suzu)

"Tai...what's YOUR last name?" (Rei)

"..." (Tai)

"Why do either of you want to be shinobi? Do either of you know why I want to be a shinobi?" (Rei)

"..." (All of them)

None of them spoke for the next minute before Rei broke the silence

"The whole island mission was basically a trust exercise that tested our teamwork as well. That's what Sensei wants from us. To be a TRUE team" (Rei)

Tai and Suzu thought back to Tango's words

{"No coordination, no sharing information, no teamwork, and no trust"} (Suzu)

{"You may be working together, but you're not WORKING together"} (Tai)

"We may be Genin, but we've been acting like we're still at the Academy. Treating each other like competition, rather than comrades who rely on one another. I didn't notice it at first because of my persistent nature to keep things myself. Fortunately, the words of a certain jackass helped me see the truth" (Rei)

Tilting their heads with a confused look

{Certain jackass?} (Tai & Suzu)

"Tai" (Rei)

"Yeah?" (Tai)

"There's no real trust between us" (Rei)

"What are you talking about? We've been working together for a while now. Our 'partnership' remember?" (Tai)

"A relationship that was built not on trust, but rather, mutually beneficial service. Each of us had something the other lacked. You had intel, and I had strength. That's the only reason we worked so well together in the academy. But that alone cannot take us any further" (Rei)

"...Y-yeah...I guess that's true" (Tai)

"Suzu. You remain as stoic as ever, not even bothering to talk with your team" (Suzu)

"..." (Suzu)

"And me, the one who never shares the important details" (Rei)

The mood took a melancholy turn

Munch!

"..." (Rei)

"Ngh..." (Tai)

"...Haaa" (Suzu)

"Man. What a mess we are. I'm starting to see why Sensei had such a disappointed look on his face" (Tai)

"Mhm" (Rei)

"Aaaaahhhh. You wouldn't happen to know of a way to fix this would you?" (Tai)

"You wouldn't have brought us here if you didn't have one, right?" (Suzu)

Munch!

{Wow. I haven't been here lately. I almost forgot how good this food is}

"Ahem! Even a child knows that when you make a mistake, there's something you should do" (Rei)

"?" (Suzu)

Rei stopped eating and bowed his head down

"Tai. Suzu. I'm sorry that I kept my suspicions about the mission to myself. And...I...apologize for letting myself get separated from you during the mission" (Rei)

The two were flabbergasted at Rei's action. It was completely uncharacteristic of him to bow his head down

"...Well...I'm sorry too. I didn't tell you guys about the extra equipment I brought. If I had, things might have gone differently" (Tai)

Tai bowed his head as well

Still surprised at the sight before her, Suzu hesitated before speaking

"...I...Um...I-I'm sorry as well. I should've remained at my post and worked with Tai. Then you wouldn't have been separated from the group and Tai wouldn't have gotten hurt" (Suzu)

Suzu was the last to bow her head

After a few more seconds of silence they raised their heads

"...Where...do we go from here?" (Tai)

"I don't..." (Suzu)

Akina returned from kitchen with a fresh pot of tea and refilled their cups

"You're a treasure Akina. Thanks" (Rei)

"No problem. Just let me know if you need anything else" (Akina)

Akina left them to their thoughts as the sun began to rise

"Mm. That rising sun feels good, it's already past six" (Tai)

"Well...we were brought so EARLY now weren't we" (Suzu)

"You'll forgive me, but I had a reason to bring you here so early. As it relates to that question you had Tai" (Rei)

"Huh?" (Tai)

"What are we supposed to do now..." (Suzu)

"The way I see it...there's only one way for us to go now" (Rei)

"And that is?" (Tai)

"..." (Suzu)

Slurp

With a smile on his face, Rei uttered one word

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Forward"