Chapter 43 - Nightmare

Ryouko was even more deep in thought as he left the library for the first time in a week. He could go back later, but it was best to get away now. After only sleeping a few hours in such a long stretch, and having done more than enough studying to allow himself sleep, Ryouko reached home, sent a summon asking Lady Tsunade to hold his missions for twelve hours, and proceeded to fall into a long, but fitful sleep. One nightmare in particular outlined things for Ryouko.

(Fifteen Years in the future)

“I know this is personal for you, Ryouko. You can say no…”

“Think nothing of it, Lord Hokage.”

Lord Hokage shifted; this was almost certainly going to be a problem, but who else could be trusted with such a volatile team?

“I know you’ll handle the Uchiha boy…it’s his parents that worry me…” Lord Hokage admitted, chancing a glance at the only other person in his office.

“Are you worried for my sake, or for the boy’s sake? With all due respect, sir.” Ryouko nearly snapped the question out harshly, but saved his tone, but only barely.

“Both. I know the history there…are you sure this is fine? I’ve heard the boy is just like his father…and even worse, his sister is like her mother…can you look me in the eye and say you can handle that?” Lord Hokage asked, looking up at Ryouko, feeling tired suddenly.

“Lord Hokage, if you don’t trust me, don’t give me the group. If you’re going to ask for my judgment, then tell me ‘too bad, don’t want it’, then you’re wasting my time. And that, as you know, is of the essence,” Ryouko snarled, not bothering to hold his tongue this time. This was getting tiresome very quickly.

Lord Hokage nearly growled back, but he understood Ryouko’s frustration.

“I’ll entrust them to you, then. Best of luck Ryouko.”

Ryouko turned before leaving the room. “The best of the bad luck is reserved for me, Lord 6th.”

Ryouko left Naruto to ponder that.

I hope I’m right…Sasuke and Sakura with two kids, and giving both to the man who loved Sakura? If I thought anyone else could handle them…Old Man Third might not have been far off the mark in treating Sasuke and his clan with kid gloves…

--

“So who’s our sensei again?” Uchiha Suki questioned her brother. With pink hair and natural black highlights styled by her mother, Suki looked like a strange mix of Sakura and Sasuke.

“Some guy named ‘Ryouko’. I don’t know his family name,” came the reply from Uchiha Kasai. The boy dressed in all black, with his black hair combed out to the sides, while the back stuck out like spikes.

“Hope he’s like the sensei my dad had! Or my mom!” added Uzumaki Yuuka. Her eyes were white (from her Mother’s side), but her hair, while black, went in every direction, in a strange mix of her father and mother’s style.

POOF!

“Let’s see…Uzumaki Yuuka, and Uchiha Suki and Kasai, right?”

The three genin looked at their instructor. Five o’clock shadow, cigarette hanging out of his mouth, hip flask on his belt, and thick brown hair. Suki suppressed a squeel; their teacher was hot!

“That’s us, who are you?” Kasai demanded. Ryouko looked back, eyes half-lidded, the bags under them clearly evident.

“You’re just the spitting image of your father. I’m Ryouko, your instructor. But there’ll be time for that talk once we get to lone pine hill. Follow me.”

--

“Okay, so let’s get to know each other a little. Who’s first?” Ryouko asked. No volunteers. “Fine, me then. My name is Ryouko. I’m thirty-five years old. My hobbies and interests are studying and training. What I like and what I hate are pretty much one and the same, and personal. That’s me. Now, since none of you spoke up, I’ll pick. You, Yuuka, please go ahead.”

The girl with the white eyes, black hair, and gray jacket stood up briefly, and talked in a low, but rambunctious, whisper. “My name is Uzumaki Yuuka. I’m 12 years old. I like to work on my Byakugan ability. I like my uncle, Hyuuga Neji, and I hate evil. I want to be Hokage some day, like my dad!”

Ryouko nodded kindly. “Alright, how about you, Suki?”

“The name is Uchiha Suki. I like…(Giggle) well, um (giggle giggle). My goal is to be the top medical ninja, like my mother. (Giggle)!”

Ryouko had to try really hard not to say anything about the giggling. It was all too familiar.

The image of her mother…it’s not hard to see what Lord Sixth is doing here. It’s like a mini version of his team. Am I supposed to be the Kakashi? I’m hardly the cool jonin…

“Alright then, thank you. And you, Kasai?”

“Uchiha Kasai. I don’t feel like saying anything else,” the boy with the dark eyes shot back, his head propped up on his hands.

Ryouko had to literally bite his tongue. What the hell does this kid have to brood about?!

“Alright. Before we get started as a team, are there any questions?” Ryouko knew as soon as the words were out of his mouth that it was a mistake to say them.

“Yeah. You’re not a jonin, or even a chunin, why are you instructing us?” Kasai remarked.

“Because I was told to. Is there…a problem?” Ryouko wanted to know.

“Yeah. Some genin training us- that won’t cut it with dad.”

Ryouko nearly snarled his answer. “I know your father. I’ve fought with him, I’ve fought against him, I’ve dealt with him so many times that I know exactly what he’ll think. Rank isn’t important, it’s who holds the rank.”

Ryouko surveyed his group. The Sixth was right…

“Alright then. Tomorrow, meet at the training field at noon. Don’t eat breakfast, unless you enjoy throwing up. See you later.” BAMF, and Ryouko disappeared, leaving three bewildered students behind.

“You’ve totally got a crush on him, don’t you?” Yuuka asked Suki.

“Well, he IS cute…”

--

“Turn them over to Kakashi, he can handle them.”

Ryouko was through being diplomatic.

“What made you decide this?” Naruto, the Sixth Hokage, questioned.

“Simple. First of all, Sakura’s daughter has a crush on me. THAT is a kick to the nuts all by itself. Second, they asked me why a genin is training them. I asked myself the same question. And I didn’t get a good answer.”

Naruto stood up, next to his old friend. “You know you’re a unique case. You’re as powerful as any jonin. So I can’t give you the rank, big deal. But…if you’re sure about this…what do you plan to do with yourself?”

Ryouko closed his eyes. “Join ANBU.”

Naruto winced. “You know that law about no genin in ANBU…”

Ryouko turned to Naruto, holding three fingers up. “Three Hokages…not one of them could get me to chunin…I thought you might be the one to look at me and see ability…”

Naruto started to say something, but Ryouko talked over him.

“…I’m tired of the political bullshoot, Lord Hokage. My track record, modesty aside, should speak for itself! But that’s not enough, is it? It never is!”

The door to the Hokage’s office opened, and Sasuke strode in, ignoring Naruto, and heading right for Ryouko.

“Kasai said that some genin was training him…I knew he had to mean you. No offense, but I want someone different teaching him. A jonin. My son deserves that.”

Ping.

Ryouko stared Sasuke right in the eyes. “You got your wish- I just got done resigning. Oh, and, no offense, but you can rot in hell.”

Naruto had to speak up. “Ryouko, he didn’t mean anything by that! You know that’s how Sasuke is!”

Ryouko had already taken off his hitai-ate and jammed it in his pocket. “You misunderstand, Lord Sixth- I resign, not just from this assignment, but from everything. I’m tired of being the genin errand boy, getting the leftover scraps of missions no one else wants. It’s been twenty years, this is ridiculous. I’ve overlooked a lot of stuff, but not this time. Not this time.”

Ryouko disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Sasuke and Naruto alone.

“Damn it! I can’t say I didn’t see this coming, I guess. And I can’t blame him either.” Naruto brushed back his hair, looking flustered.

“It might be better this way. I mean, he’s a loose cannon, a liability. We’re better off without him, talented genin or not,” Sasuke remarked in his own, subtle-as-a-bag-of-hammers way.

“I had hoped that the years would make him less bitter over all that’s happened. I hope he’ll come around…” Naruto closed his eyes and tried to relax, knowing now that his intuition was incorrect.

--

Ryouko tore through town, to his apartment, stopping only when he found Kakashi waiting outside the door for him.

“Kakashi-sensei? Did you need something? Oh, that’s right, the case file for the new team.” Ryouko handed Kakashi (Now in his mid-forties) a folder, and then started to look for his keys.

“I heard you hung up the headband…” Kakashi remarked.

Ryouko shrugged. “Twenty years of getting nowhere is all I have to show for all the work I did. Oh well. I hung on as long as I could; long enough to prove I’m not a quitter. Now…I just can’t handle it anymore.”

“Is it because Sakura married Sasuke, and you got their kids?” Kakashi asked, a little gleam in his eye.

“Not entirely. Although, in a ironic side note, Sasuke and Sakura’s daughter has a crush on me. If THAT isn’t a kick to the nuts, I don’t know what it.”

Kakashi shrugged. “Well, I don’t blame you. But it’s a shame you’ve never been allowed to reach your potential. You would be a great instructor. Alright, I’m off.”

--

That night, Ryouko lay awake, thinking back over the years. As he began to study at three am, there was a knock on his window. Pushing aside his scrolls, Ryouko opened the window and let Gamakichi hop in.

“Here ya go, your missions from the Sixth Hokage!”

Ryouko took the missions. “Thank you, Gamakichi.”

“No problem! Catch ya later!” the orange toad replied, hopping out the open window and into the night.

“Wanna bet?” Ryouko muttered. Biting into his thumbs, Ryouko performed his Dual Summoning Jutsu.

Holly and Taleo, Ryouko’s dog and hawk, respectively, were both waiting instructions.

“Holly, this (hands her a scroll) is for Lord Hokage. Don’t take any messages from him, unless it regards my request. Taleo (ties a scroll to his leg), this is for the Kazekage, alright? See if you can get a response out of him.”

The two animals rushed off to do as Ryouko said. Tomorrow morning, Ryouko knew, there would be all kinds of chaos. But chaos seemed to be the only way out of the rut he was in. A rut that got bigger and bigger every day.

--

As expected, the next morning, Lord Hokage was all but breaking down Ryouko’s door. Purposely, Ryouko took his time answering, and made sure to look half-asleep when he DID manage to open the door, which he had miraculously locked from the inside and forgotten how to open.

“What the hell is this?!” Lord Hokage demanded, shoving Ryouko’s scroll into his hands.

“Oh, did I write this? Maybe I drank more than I thought…oh well. So, can I take the name?” Ryouko murmured, stepping aside to let Naruto in.

“The name? THE NAME?! IS THAT ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT?!” Naruto roared, nearly knocking over a candle holder as he wrung his hands in a rage.

“It’s not a light matter, ‘Sarutobi’ was my sensei’s name, you know, the Third Hokage. I’d like to use the name, since my family name is forbidden. Chakra cigarette?” Ryouko said/offered. Naruto smacked the cigarette away. Ryouko shrugged and lit one for himself.

“Damn it! Fine, the name, okay, sure! But this other note, as you damn well know, is what I’m referring to! What the hell do you mean to say with this?!”

Ryouko pretended to study the note. “Oh, THAT. You mean the ‘temporary body adjustment to Sunagakure for study, under the understanding that the move may or may be for six monthes, although Suna can opt to extend the contr-”

“SKIP THE LEGAL JARGON! You’re going to Sunagakure for six months? And what about your duties here?!” Naruto demanded to know.

“Find another thirty-five year old genin to do them,” Ryouko fired back. No more crap from the establishment. That was how it was going to work. Tsunade’s reign had been bad enough; Ryouko had expected better from Naruto.

“Fine, go! But if you do, it’s a black mark against you, Ryouko!”

Ryouko faked a shiver. “Oh no, you might not promote me?! How will I live with myself?!”

A tap at the window told Ryouko that Taleo had returned from Suna. The crest the bird was carrying told Ryouko that the hawk had brought news from the Kazekage. Holding out his arm, Ryouko let the bird flutter down onto his arm.

“Neiri,” Ryouko said, ending the summoning jutsu for Taleo. Holly had come back with Lord Hokage, and Ryouko was petting her absently.

“Well, aren’t you going to rub it in?!” Naruto demanded. Ryouko shook his head.

“I didn’t get the job. I’m stuck here.”

Ignoring Naruto, Ryouko got up and left, taking an aimless walk, floating down the stream of life. All streams had rocks that altered it’s course; the Leaf Village was a dam, or so it seemed to Ryouko. Wasn’t there any progression beyond it? Something better? Or, if not, some recognition of his abilities here?

--

“Ryouko! Hey, wait up!”

Ryouko nearly swallowed his cigarette. Can this day GET any worse?! But Ryouko held up and let Sakura catch up to his stride.

“Hey, what’s going on? Did something happen with you and Sasuke yesterday?” Sakura asked. Time had miraculously avoided aging her very much.

“Not really, nothing worth mentioning,” Ryouko said with a shrug, already feeling for his hip flask, though it wasn’t even ten in the morning yet. It was going to be a long day.

“Hm. Sasuke thought it was worth mentioning…I’m sorry about how he acted. If I had my choice, I’d want you teaching my kids. If that’s worth anything to you,” Sakura said carefully, looking for some change in Ryouko’s face. There was none to be found.

“That’s nice of you. Well, they’re in better hands with Kakashi. Besides, Sasuke had a point. They deserve a jonin instructor.”

Sakura didn’t know what to say to that. “So, what are you going to do now?” she chanced.

“Hopefully stop drinking so much. I really need to lay off the sauce. Maybe I’ll go see what the Akatsuki are up to.”

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. Did he say the Akatsuki? Just like that, as if it was no big deal? This is bad. He’s only been like this once before…What made him this way this time around?

Ryouko kept walking, knowing his words had enough shock value to end the unpleasant conversation. Sakura would, of course, figure out that Ryouko had just said it for the hell of it soon enough. Whatever. One less unpleasant memory to deal with for the moment.

Of course, more unpleasant memories came walking across his path. Kakashi and his new team. Ryouko nodded to Kakashi and the team upon being sure they had noticed him first.

“So you desert us? Loser.” Kasai told Ryouko with a smirk, knowing that Ryouko wouldn’t dare hit him.

“Ryouko-sempai, what’s up? Why did you leave?” Suki asked quietly, feeling a little hurt by Ryouko’s sudden departure yesterday.

“You deserve a jonin instructor, and Kakashi-sensei is the tops. I thought I was going to be leaving to go on a trip, but that didn’t work out.”

Kasai smirked. “Too bad. They wouldn’t take you? Pathetic, even for some old genin like you.”

BLAM!

The building just above Kasai’s head crumbled slightly, Ryouko’s fist being the cause. Ryouko smirked upon seeing the smirk on Kasai’s face. Slowly withdrawing his bleeding fist, Ryouko looked straight at Kasai.

“Look me up in a few years for a fight then, hotshot.”

After that, Ryouko looked to Kakashi.

“Sensei, I got the name approved. Not that I can do much with it, but you know, it’s nice to be able to introduce myself properly now.”

“Well then, congratulations. Sarutobi Ryouko has a nice ring to it. Well, I’m off to give these three the bell test. Let’s see how they do: Better or worse than their parents.”

“It’s like seeing clones of their parents. Although the attitudes are different, to be sure. All except for you, Kasai. You are most certainly your father’s son. That’s both the highest praise and the biggest insult I could give you.”

Just like Sasuke, all Kasai had to say was “Hmph.”

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